The Ghosts of Coalridge: Bootlegger’s Narrow Escape Exposes Montana’s Secret Underbelly

February 3, 1928, was a day of narrow escapes and close calls for Prohibition Director E.T. Corcoran and the lawmen of Sheridan County, Montana. A notorious bootlegger, known only as ‘Rudolph,’ had been evading capture for months, but Corcoran was determined to bring him to justice. Last Sunday, Corcoran and his team finally closed in on their quarry, tracking Rudolph through the snow-covered hills of Coalridge country. The bootlegger, mounted on an unhaltered horse, spotted the approaching officers and made a break for it, dodging bullets and fleeing for his life.