A 

 
 IN 
 
 THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 OR 
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 
 
 BY 
 
 AL. J. NOYES (Aj.x) 
 
 STATE PUBLISHING CO.. HELEN*. MONT. 

 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1917 
 
 By A. J. NOYES 
 In the Office of Librarian of Congress, at Washington 
 
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 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I shall offer no excuse for giving this story to the public. 
 Many will read it with delight; while others will cast it aside with 
 contempt. No man can write for all people — that is, to interest 
 all people — successfully. 
 
 While this is a story of Blaine county, many of the people 
 along the valley of the Milk river should find much that will 
 prove of an educational nature, as the material was gotten from 
 men who have been identified with the "Land of the Chinook" 
 for many years. 
 
 It is no easy matter to gather the incidents and stories that are 
 herein recorded. It requires days of travel, almost endless ques- 
 tions and much research to trace down a fact. What I have 
 placed before you is as truthfully done as possible. I find that 
 men get an idea they are right, and they tell, for truth, something 
 which has been told to them that can not be traced to fact. Any 
 mistake that you find here was given as some other man saw or 
 understood the matter. 
 
 Harry Norton, an early-day newspaper man and prominent 
 writer, said: "I know not what the truth may be; I give the 
 story as 'twas told to me." 
 
 I could not conclude this without thanking those people who 
 were kind enough to render assistance in the work. 
 
 My first encouragement came from Thomas M. Everett and 
 Earnest Ekergren. From Everett I received very much of his- 
 torical value, as he has been one of the most prominent men con- 
 nected with this section of Northern Montana. Ekergren looked 
 at it from the standpoint of business; in fact that such an attempt 
 should be encouraged by the people of the county. To Jack 
 Saddler I wish to extend thanks, as he gave me many names to 
 whom I have been and from whom many things of interest were 
 gotten. To each and all of the following, singly and collectively, 
 I extend my thanks: "Daddy" Minugh, Sam Goff, Bill Bent, 
 Billy Cochran, Col. Healey, Jim Snell, "Curley" Ereaux, Wm. 
 Hart, Jay Rhoads, Jesse Angstman, Herbert Anderson, Chas. A. 
 Smith, George Herendeen, Raymond Noyes, Jack Brown, 
 Bradley, Father Eberschweiler, Bob Stuart, "K" Lowery, Chas. 
 M. Russell, "Kid" Price, Si Gamble, Frank Dorrity and Mrs. 
 Moore for stenographic assistance; James Dorrity, Mrs. James 
 Dorrity, Arthur Scott, Min and Mrs. Arthur Cowan, Senator 
 
 256668
 
 Taylor, Joe Mosser, Louie Shambow, Billy Skillen, Bro. Van 
 Orsdel, W. B. Sands, Mrs. Lincoln, the first white woman of 
 Northern Montana; "Daddy" Marsh, Chinook Democrat, 
 Burton of Harlem and A. M. Allison of Chinook, for photos, 
 River Press of Benton, E. M. Kenedy, Vernon Butler, Ed 
 Broadwater, and last, but not least, my friend, Louis V. Bogy, 
 the first man to build a shack in Chinook. 
 
 May there be many happy days in store for each of them. 
 
 AL J. NOYES ( Ajax) .
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 To my son, Charles Raymond Noyes, who has struggled for 
 years to make a Dry Farm in Northern Montana yield a fair 
 return, this little story of the men and conditions in "The Land 
 of the Chinook" is dedicated by a loving father.
 
 I— I 
 
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 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The First Inhabitants of Blaine County Were 
 Indians — Grosventres and Assinniboines. 
 
 There is a story handed down by the Grosventres (Big 
 Bellies) that many, many moons ago, a time, in fact, so long ago 
 that it is now a myth, the Grosventres and Arapahoes came from 
 the East and when they arrived at the confluence of the Missouri 
 and Yellowstone the Arapahoes turned to the south and the Gros- 
 ventres crossed the Missouri and followed its north bank. The 
 Grosventres speak of the Arapahoes as their children and it is said 
 that their language is somewhat similar. 
 
 The Grosventres claim to have gone as far west as the land 
 of the Blackfeet. In those days the Grosventres were quite a 
 powerful tribe and numbered many warriors. Anyway, it is said 
 they made it so disagreeable for the Blackfeet that they were 
 persuaded to take up their headquarters along the Milk river. 
 
 Even though the Indians were the first inhabitants of this 
 section they, by common consent, held as neutral ground the land 
 in this vicinity. They traded at the different posts that had been 
 built for that purpose along the Milk and Missouri rivers. 
 
 I say neutral ground — yes — among themselves, but not to 
 the Sioux when they came to this section to hunt the buffalo 
 which had taken refuge in this country. 
 
 Fort Browning was one of the first trading posts to be built 
 in what was after to become Blaine County. This post was a 
 short distance below the mouth of Peoples creek. When Ben 
 Phillips got his namesake cut off the old site became a part of 
 Phillips County. 
 
 This post was built in 1868 and was abandoned about 1872 
 for the following reason : As above stated, the Sioux came in 
 large numbers to hunt the buffalo, and their presence made it an 
 impossibility for the Milk River Indians to continue their trading 
 at Browning. This is proof that the Sioux were altogether too 
 powerful for the tribes of this section. 
 
 While the post was in operation the whites attempted to 
 farm. Their attempt was an abortive one, however, as all that 
 was done was the breaking of about fifteen acres of land which 
 was never seeded. This was, no doubt, the first land that was
 
 8 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 ever plowed in Northern Montana or the Milk river. They did 
 put in some potatoes but there was no great success attending the 
 experiment as the potatoes they raised were very small. 
 
 After it was shown that Browning was no longer in neutral 
 ground the post was abandoned and the building of "Old" Fort 
 Belknap Agency, or post, across the river from what is now known 
 as Chinook, the county seat of our county, in '70 or '71. 
 
 There was probably not more than fifty miles difference as 
 to distance between these two posts. Why the Sioux did not 
 cover that distance and make it disagreeable for the people located 
 there, has, to my mind, only one explanation. All the other west- 
 ern and northern tribes had more or less in common and could 
 be relied upon to form a coalition to protect themselves from the 
 powerful people to the east. 
 
 There can be no doubt but it was these same people who had 
 caused the Grosventres and Arapahoes to leave the lands of their 
 fathers and seek new hunting grounds along the waters of the 
 Upper Missouri, in one case, and, in the other, to find more con- 
 genial homes in Wyoming and Colorado. But be the reason 
 what it may, the Sioux did not molest them very much at Belknap. 
 Thus we find that the Grosventres and Assinniboines were the 
 first people to inhabit Blaine County. 
 
 What kind of people were they? In fact, what kind of 
 people are they, as they are still quite a factor as far as popula- 
 tion is concerned in the county. In the first place, if I have been 
 correctly informed, they were friendly to the whites and I can 
 find but few instances where they ever killed them. One case 
 that was of particular importance happened in the following way : 
 A white trader came among them at one time and so far forgot 
 the rights of the other man that he eloped with the young and 
 comely wife of one of the leading Indians. The Indian, as soon 
 as he found his wife missing, set out in hot pursuit, overtook his 
 enemy and both firing at the same time, were killed. It is too 
 bad that the Red Man had to die, in this case. 
 
 It is only natural that we should like to know something of 
 the traits and peculiarities of these people whom we found when 
 we came here and who now occupy one of the most pleasant 
 sections of our county, the Ft. Belknap Reservation. They 
 number 1400 to 1500. Their tribal relations have become more 
 or less disrupted. They no longer have Chiefs to direct them 
 as they once did. (In the olden days of tribal relationship the 
 chief was all powerful. The hunters went out and killed the 
 game, which was brought in by the women to the tepee of the 
 head man and he divided it so that each family had some share.) 
 The young men of the tribe no longer feel that they must subject
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 9 
 
 themselves to the arbitrary ruling of some one whom they think 
 has no more rights than themselves. 
 
 The father was the owner of his children and sold, as a gen- 
 eral rule, his daughter to the highest bidder or to the one who had 
 the most to exchange for her. Of course there are instances 
 where the father has allowed his friendship for some man — 
 whether young or old — to take advantage of his avarice and make 
 a present. 
 
 Courtship. 
 
 The courtship under such conditions could never have been 
 as is too often depicted by the person who wishes to throw the 
 mantle of romance around these people as they have done in so 
 many instances. The young Red Man could not have paid 
 much attention to the girl by saying soft things to her when he 
 knew that the way to her heart was through the pocket of her 
 father. The young Indian would see some girl that he wished to 
 purchase and would probably take a horse and tie it near the 
 father's lodge. If the father considered the horse, or whatever 
 the thing may have been, worth as much to him as the girl he 
 would untie and take possession. But if there was a possibility 
 of the swain coming thru with something more elaborate the horse 
 was left, apparently unnoticed until more presents, either horses 
 or trinkets, had accumulated to satisfy the greed of pater. One 
 can hardly consider that a courtship which has only one side, but 
 there may have been a coy look in the eye of the Indian maiden 
 to show the young warrior that she would be willing to follow 
 him to his lodge. 
 
 When the trade was finally made she was taken to the lodge 
 of her husband and began, at once, the arduous duties that the 
 women of the tribes were expected to perform. The drudgery 
 was their part of the contract and the bold husband was to hunt 
 the game and protect the wife from the bands of roving Indians 
 who would too willingly claim her as a trophy. 
 
 When an Indian had married the oldest daughter of a man 
 he could, if he so desired, marry each and all the daughters of 
 that man. Many of them had, for wives, as many as seven or 
 eight sisters. When there was more than one wife in a lodge — 
 one of the white men who had married into the Indian tribe, told 
 me he had seen as many as nine wives in the same lodge — the fav- 
 orite wife was the leader in all the domestic duties, and her word 
 was law. It might be that she was the oldest, or it might be 
 that she was any one of the nine down to the very last and young- 
 est, if she was the favorite she laid out the work and they all fell 
 to and did it. The tanning of hides, the drying of meat, the
 
 10 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 making of pemican, or the clothes, was done in that way. Jeal- 
 ousy was the exception and not the rule in these large families. 
 
 The husband had complete control over the lives of his wives 
 and no one could gainsay it. If a woman proved untrue she 
 might be killed or disfigured, by having the ears or nose cut off. 
 This was certainly a mark more pronounced than appeared on the 
 brow of Cain. Men have told me that they have seen Indian 
 women bearing these horrible mutilations and going thru life for- 
 ever branded as untrue to their lords. One instance was called 
 to the notice of the writer as follows: A young man fell in live 
 with the youngest wife of an Indian of wealth. He fled with 
 her to a friendly tribe in a land far distant, but word came to 
 the bereaved husband that his wife was there. He called one of 
 
 his friends, a man of parts, and said: "In the camp of the s 
 
 you will find the woman who left me for a younger man. Go and 
 bring her back, see that she returns with you and I will reimburse 
 you for your trouble." 
 
 The journey was made and ten buffalo ponies — horses that 
 were particularly fitted for the chase of the buffalo — was the 
 price exacted. She was brought back to her lord and master and 
 he said: 'Take her to her lodge." He asked the friend how 
 much he had to give for her release and he told him that the price 
 was ten buffalo ponies. Hie payment of the debt was made 
 at once and he went to the lodge where the young woman was 
 sitting, with her head bowed down with grief and fear, and cov- 
 ered in the folds of her blanket. She knew full well the anger 
 that was in the heart of her husband and also knew that her lot 
 would only be what he should desire. She had been given to 
 this man, so far as her body and life was concerned, not by any 
 law of God, but by the law of the most selfish of all beings, man. 
 Why should man, and especially one who was governed by a 
 law which he had made for only selfish reasons; one which 
 allowed him to run almost as loose as the beast of the field, make 
 a law to govern the woman and keep her bound in subjection? 
 
 I have no time for the fool man who thinks himself wiser than 
 the woman who was given him for the gratification of his desires 
 and to help him make this world a place that is really worth 
 living in simply because she was an after-thought of God. Bosh! 
 Man has lived a million years on this earth and instead of raising 
 the standard of life to the highest plain he has raised Hell in his 
 race for selfish aims. 
 
 Even in America where the woman is beginning to receive 
 some recognition, where she is being given a chance to help to 
 make the world better, to make it what God must have intended 
 it should become in order that one and all should get the best
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 11 
 
 that there is in life out, even here, man believes himself one 
 on whom all the responsibilities rest, and with whom all wisdom 
 and goodness lies. 
 
 This is a digression, maybe, but I believe it belongs right 
 where it is found. That Indian woman, of tender age, given to a 
 man old enough to have been her father and one who had several 
 women for the gratification of his passions, for that is all the 
 credit that can be extended to one who lives under such laws 
 and conditions, could not be to blame if some one nearer her 
 age had signified a desire for her as she was nothing but an 
 animal any way, according to the law of nature as practiced by 
 the primitive people. 
 
 And when her owner stood over her he was kind enough 
 to tell her the price, in horses, she had cost him for her safe 
 return to his lodge. 'You are back to my lodge again and you 
 have cobt me ten buffalo ponies," and with that remark he shot 
 her, not once, but ten times, a shot for each horse. 
 
 And that man that over-persuaded her to leave her husband 
 knew the Indian law and knew that the woman would meet that 
 fate, yet he, for a few ponies, surrendered her to be slaughtered. 
 This is only one instance that could be recorded of the frightful 
 price that some Indian women have paid for breaking their mar- 
 riage vows. 
 
 There is another thing that seems strange, and that is the dis- 
 position to change the conditions of the distribution of marriage- 
 able people, that is, that you will find many old men with young 
 wives and young men with old women for wives. The first time 
 the writer was on the reservation his attention was called to the 
 matter but the party who told him, though one who had lived for 
 years in that section, could throw no light on it. I must admit 
 that, to the writer, that was not the correct way of making the dis- 
 tribution. The why (?) was asked for such a custom and the 
 answer came from a man who had lived for forty years, more or 
 less, among the Indians, that it was simple, when known. "There 
 is no courtship, at least as we know it, known among the Indians. 
 The woman is a commodity to be purchased by the highest bidder, 
 as it were. The young and tender girls, even of seven or eight, 
 might be chosen by some old Indian who had many wives already, 
 if he had accumulated ponies or property with which to buy them, 
 while the aged wife of the same man might be purchased by 
 some younger man who was less fortunate or had not become 
 old enough to have made raids among his Indian neighbors and 
 stolen the requisite number of horses to give him a start in the 
 world." 
 
 When one takes this as the reason he no longer wonders at 
 the condition as he knows that the man who holds woman as
 
 12 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 property can not and does not form affection for her. I have 
 heard, though, of Indian men who have been as much in love 
 with their wives as any one of the higher races in civilization 
 could possibly think. A gentleman told me of one man, and one, 
 too, who was a big chief, who would sit for hours and comb the 
 hair of his better half. This man could hardly leave her to go 
 to war or to the chase. Surely an exception. 
 
 Talcum Powder in Big Bunches. 
 
 Not many years ago when a child was born to one of these 
 women it was placed in the baby sack, and as a preventative for 
 chafing, was packed in the dry pulverized dung of the buffalo. 
 This had been rubbed until it had become an almost impalpable 
 dust. These mothers were much as the more civilized ones in 
 that some of them were very careful and changed their little ones 
 as often as necessary to keep them comfortable, while others 
 became careless and allowed the little one to suffer agony because 
 of the accumulation of filth about them. This dry dung is used 
 much as the Talcum powder of the white mother, but surely in 
 more generous quantities. 
 
 I have been told by men who have lived among them that 
 they were more cleanly before the advent of the whites than they 
 are now. Baths were of frequent occurrence and many were 
 known to open the ice and jump in. I recall a story of the 
 particular carelessness of one Indian woman in this part of the 
 state as related by Larpenture, a man who was at Ft. Union 
 years ago and who left a very interesting story or diary which, 
 in the hands of a noted writer, has become of much value to those 
 who like to study the conditions of men. He said: "It was 
 thought necessary by the factor of the post to go up to the Milk 
 River country and make a trade with the Indians in their winter 
 camp, so another man and myself were selected to make the trip. 
 It was one of those very cold and disagreeable winters when one 
 would have been much more comfortable at the fireside of a cabin 
 than out on the prairies of the Northwest in the Indian camp, 
 especially when they were camped where wood was hard to get. 
 We arrived at their place of encampment and it was so cold and 
 the snow was so deep that we could get about but little. We 
 had been invited to the lodge of one of the principal men and 
 was partaking of his hospitality, which had lasted for several days, 
 when the man who was with me began to lose his appetite. I 
 was somewhat alarmed at this as he had been able to make a 
 full hand at the table and this sudden change bothered me not 
 a little as I could hardly get my stuff back to the post if he 
 became incapacitated. I asked him what was wrong and his 
 reply was somewhat startling to one with a weak stomach, as 
 he said: 'I saw the squaw use her butcher knife to remove the
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 13 
 
 frozen increment from the nether garments of her papoose and, 
 without washing it, she proceeded to cut the meat for our supper, 
 and from that time till this I have not thought as much about eat- 
 ing as I have in changing boarding houses.' It is needless to say 
 we soon wound up our business and started for the Fort, though 
 it was a very serious matter at that time of the year.' 
 
 There were instances among the tribes where separations took 
 place by mutual consent. There were also women in some camps 
 who would barter themselves for a price. These women had been 
 the wives of men who were not blood-thirsty enough to kill or 
 disfigure, but allowed them to live in the same camp a prey to 
 the desires of men. 
 
 Indians, though they appear stoical to the whites, are as full 
 of jokes, when left to their own devices, as are the whites. They 
 are fond of their tribal dances and have built several large dance 
 halls or houses on the reservation at convenient points. These 
 buildings are round. They congregate at these places often. The 
 writer was informed by a man who has lived for years among 
 them that the dances of today are too immoral for any use and 
 are more for the gratification of the animal passions than for 
 social enjoyment. That this is a fact was substantiated by a 
 young man who said that it was too true. 
 
 The advent of the white man did not benefit the Red. While 
 it is a fact that many good white men did marry Indian women 
 and were true to their family relations, there were too many who 
 lived for their personal gratifications — careless of the final results. 
 When the railroad came too many of the "Bucks" made the 
 mother of their children a commodity to satisfy the lust of the 
 grader and hanger-on. 
 
 The Indian would always steal from his enemy, but seldom 
 from his tribe. An incidence that took place several years ago 
 was related to the writer by William Bent, who said: "Bill 
 Hamilton, the frontiersman and author, boasted that there was not 
 an Indian in America who could creep up to him in the night 
 and relieve him of any of his possession. Bill would not sleep 
 any place except out in the open. There was a noted Indian- 
 horse thief, "Grosventre Jerry," who had never been known to 
 miss anything he had started for. The boys, knowing the 
 Indian's almost uncanny ability, wagered Bill that they knew a 
 man who would get something that he possessed, but, of course, 
 would not state any definite time. Bill always laid down with 
 his gun by his side, his revolver under his head and a famous bull- 
 dog at his feet. 
 
 One night he made his usual preparations, hanging his field 
 glasses on some bushes at the head of his bed and placing his 
 revolver under his head. Jerry had been told that if Bill caught
 
 14 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 him in the act of pillage it would be sure death. I do not know 
 what the incentive could have been that would cause the Indian 
 to take a chance such as was put up to him ; the trying to secure 
 something from a sleeping man, noted for his caution, and espe- 
 cially from the bulldog that would have killed him if Bill hadn't. 
 The next morning old Bill raised a big disturbance because his 
 revolver, from under his head, and glasses, from off the bush, had 
 been taken, and neither himself, or the dog, heard the approach 
 of the thief. Bill never again boasted of his prowess but made a 
 particular friend of Jerry, for whom he would do anything." 
 
 I can not take too much of my time in recounting the tales 
 of these peculiar people, nor in trying to throw light on their 
 characteristics because this could not be done in one short chapter. 
 When everything is known of them and, of other races and peo- 
 ples, then we can say that they are a different people from any 
 others whom we know. The man who is the student of man- 
 kind — the ethnologist — will tell you that men are pretty much 
 alike the world over. Men are only peculiar to us as they differ 
 from us in our mode of thinking. 
 
 That there can be no sin where there is no intent to do evil, 
 holds just as good among the various nations and tribes of earth 
 as it does in our own laws. The Indian woman who has been 
 tiaded and sold for the price that men would pay for her had 
 nothing in her ethics that would cause her to blush with shame. 
 
 The Indian who had been taught to steal the enemies' horses 
 should certainly not be condemned, too severely, as we find the 
 white men in their warfare doing things much worse. 
 
 The Indians worshiped the sun and other things as they 
 would worship rocks of peculiar shapes. Their theory of the set- 
 tlement, or the way they happened to be here was, as told to me 
 by one of the old men, so Wm. Bent says, as follows: "Long 
 time ago our people were on a big frozen lake and one of the 
 women had a papoose on a sled. We came to a place where 
 there was an elk horn protruding from the ice and the baby wanted 
 it and in our endeavor to procure it the ice broke, drowning some 
 and separating the party. Those who were on this side of 
 the hole came and settled this country." Who knows but what 
 the Bering sea was frozen over and that the Indian did come 
 to this land in that very way. 
 
 In closing this chapter on these people, who came here before 
 we did, I want to say that they are among us, and will become, 
 as soon as the reservation is thrown open, a part of us. They 
 will present problems for us to solve and in solving them let us 
 treat them as men who will have the same rights that we enjoy 
 as they are to be amenable to our laws.
 
 Cl'RLEY EREAUX.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 "Squaw-Men." 
 
 If one were to speak about the men who have taken Indian 
 women, derisively, he would be considered as anything but wise, 
 in some parts of Montana. The fact is that some of the best 
 men had Indian women in the early days when women were at 
 a premium and before the advent of the pioneer white women. 
 
 I have met many of these men and have heard of many more 
 and must say that while many of them at this time are touchy 
 on the subject and would not like to have their names mentioned, 
 others do not care, as it is known that they live with these women 
 as affectionate husbands and fathers. They are married to them 
 by the white man's law and by that same law do they protect 
 them. The writer does not believe that the mixing of races 
 is the proper thing as the law of caste and congenality precludes 
 such a union. 
 
 The white man did not woo the woman in the prescribed 
 white man's way as that would not do when dealing with a race 
 that had a different law and that was governed by different 
 methods. If they were to secure the Indian woman who appeared 
 to be the most attractive to them, they had to pay the price as, 
 the Red man did. This price is, or was, not a general one, but 
 depended probably as much on the wealth and standing of the 
 Indian family as it did on the woman herself, that is on her per- 
 sonal charms. 
 
 Some times the price would be a horse or maybe a bottle of 
 whiskey that would soon disappear into the recess made for such 
 liquors, with the result that as soon as the effects of the "fire- 
 water" had died out the Brave would forget that he had made 
 the trade and trouble would occur. 
 
 I remember that one of the men of my acquaintance, while 
 in a reminiscent mood, told me some of his experiences. He 
 said: "I have had seven or eight Indian wives in my long and 
 varied experience on the plains. Let me see, how did I get the 
 first one? Oh, yes, I traded a second-hand cook stove for her; 
 and the second one, rung-in on me." Now probably the Indian 
 woman was not unwise when she "rung in" as she found that she 
 could get plenty to eat for what ever service she could render her 
 master. 
 
 Now this man was somewhat of a philosopher and I am going 
 to give the result of some of my conversations with him, though 
 some of the material recorded will be, in a way, a repetition. 
 
 'There was one custom that was used by the Indian woman, 
 and one of my wives used it on our children, and that was the
 
 16 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 placing of the new born child in the baby sack in which there 
 was a generous amount of pulverized horse or buffalo dung. 
 The child is swathed in this until about one year old. Why it is 
 done I do not know but believe it is to prevent chafing." How 
 is it that one finds old men with young women as wives and the 
 young men with the old women for wives? was asked. 'The 
 young fellows never had property with which to buy the girl of 
 his age — and as marriage was simply to satisfy nature — they 
 could, for a nominal price, secure the old and cast-off wife of 
 some wealthy tribesman." 
 
 The Indian woman was the man's property and for infidelity, 
 his right, an undisputed one, was to kill or disfigure her. This, 
 no doubt, bred fear in her to such an extent that she was gen- 
 erally, in the early days, virtuous. This may be a poor defini- 
 tion for the word virtue, but probably many people are compelled 
 to lead virtuous lives — not because of their innate refinement that 
 one must respect in what he knows to be a good man or woman — 
 but for the same reason that the Indian woman remained true to 
 her lord and master — fear. 
 
 When the woman found a new master — thru the cupidity of 
 the old one — she must assume her new duties and proceed along 
 the new lines and new places that would be opened for her 
 thru her new owner. Such a condition could not have proved 
 conducive to the highest development of virtue. 
 
 The woman who holds her passion in control, because her 
 husband is a brute, who holds her life in his hands, cannot arise 
 to the same high plane as does the one who is governed by love 
 for and a desire to please her mate. The Indian woman was, 
 then, the slave that must do the bidding of the master no matter 
 what that would be. She left his camp fire, her children and 
 the little things which she had gathered about her, for which she 
 must have had some affection, to go to the lodge of any man, no 
 matter how repugnant he might be to her, at the behest of her 
 
 owner. I want to know who in h 1 ever gave any man the 
 
 right to dominate woman ? Surely it must have been a right given 
 by the rules of Hades rather than by a God who is supposed to 
 love. 
 
 While there was not and could not be — under such condi- 
 tion — love and respect that is supposed to exist between the more 
 civilized mates, there was an affection for the offspring, borne 
 by both parents. The father would take delight in assisting the 
 son with material wealth to help him become a brave. They all 
 appeared to be proud of relationship and wished to be known as 
 such to the third and fourth generation. There was one peculiar 
 custom which I could never get the reason for and that was the 
 "shame" feeling that the mother-in-law had for the son-in-law.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 17 
 
 She was never supposed to see his face after he had courted 
 or purchased her daughter. She was never to enter his lodge 
 while he was at home. 
 
 Several of the stories that will appear in this work will be the 
 stories of men who are squaw-men. They were the men who 
 helped, to some extent, civilize the Indian. And it was from 
 them that much of the early story of the Northwest must be 
 had if had at all. 
 
 We find that some of the young men and women — half- 
 breeds if you will — are among the most respected of the inhab- 
 itants, because they behave themselves and try to live upright and 
 decent lives. While it is a fact that many of the unions between 
 the white men of the plains and the Indian women were only 
 matters of convenience, there were other men who were honorable 
 enough to make the union legal. 
 
 Affection of white men for their Indian children was not of 
 the same nature that was felt by the white father for the white 
 child. It can be better illustrated by the following story told me 
 by a cowboy who once rode the range of the reservation. 
 
 The Cowboy's Story. 
 
 "i 
 
 'I was riding the range in the vicinity of an Indian reserva- 
 tion and got so I would attend the dances given by them. Their 
 tribal dances were not alone indulged in as they also danced many 
 of the square dances of the whites. I was young and probably 
 foolish. There was one of the young girls with whom I struck 
 up an acquaintance. Often I would drop my bridle lines at 
 their cabin door and call on her. She was, so far as I know, 
 as virtuous as any white girl. One evening, riding that way, 
 I got off my horse and walked into the cabin. As soon as I got 
 in the whole family left. This was, to me, a strange proceeding 
 as it had not occurred before. I made my visit short. Again I 
 called and the old Indian father kissed me on the cheek and 
 then they all left. I asked the girl the meaning of this seeming 
 affection — a thing that I had not experienced before. She simply 
 said: 'My folks like you, in fact would be willing for you to 
 become one of the family.' 
 
 "I soon retired and went to camp. A short time after this I 
 was at one of our camps attending to my horse, when one of 
 the men who has been identified with the Indians for years, came 
 in to the stable and watched me for a while. I could see that 
 there was something of importance on his mind although he hesi- 
 tated somewhat in finding an opportunity to express himself. At 
 last he said: 'I notice that you have been frequently, of late, 
 at the Indian dances. I don't like it myself and wish to tell you a
 
 18 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 story. I came into this land when I was a young man. There 
 were no other than Indian women. I was, as you are, healthy 
 and passionate, and proceeded to purchase a woman, then the 
 only way of getting one. That same Indian woman happens to 
 be the little woman I am living with now. Soon nature operated 
 in its usual way and a little dark baby came to our lodge. It 
 was then that I pitied that woman, the mother of my child, and 
 pitied more, the child'. This was my fault and I a white man. 
 Well, others came and I have stayed with the woman that I would 
 have wronged by leaving her. I have loved, not as the white 
 father would the child of his loins, but my love for them is more 
 of pity, that I had brought half-castes into existence where they 
 would always be handicapped. Now, my boy, I have told you 
 this little story of my life, hoping that you may never be the 
 father of any little child you will have to pity.' 
 
 "To see that little man standing, wrought by his feelings to 
 such an extent that the tears were welling up and flowing down 
 his cheeks, made an impression on me of such a nature that I 
 never went again to see the Indian maiden but lived to know no 
 affectionate pity for my babes as they are the babes of a white 
 mother." 
 
 That was only one instance that came to my notice when 
 after material to make a story. One other which I will relate 
 will give much the same results. My narrator said: "I recall 
 that one time I was riding with a cowboy who was of a good 
 family. I shall not tell his name as he is a mighty proud man 
 and might take exceptions to anything of a personal nature. He 
 was so proud that all of his clothes had to come from the east. 
 No clothing that would be shipped for the use of the ordinary 
 cowboy was good enough for this man who had been raised to 
 finer things. This day our conversation turned on the men who 
 had taken Indian women. He said: 'If I had a black bunch 
 
 of babies as has I would throw them into the Milk river 
 
 the same as I would any other animal that I wished to get rid of.' 
 To me that did not sound right. The sequal shows him in a 
 little different light. He secured a woman off the reservation and 
 took her to his cabin. There was an Indian Agent who appeared 
 to have a little higher idea of right than those who had been there 
 before, as he issued an order that white men living with Indian 
 women must either marry them or else bring them back to the 
 reservation and leave them alone. This was not considered by 
 many of the white men as any business of the Agent. My friend 
 said he would do as he pleased. He did not at once take the 
 woman back. Once more the edict came forth to either marry 
 the woman or bring her back. There were no uncertain terms 
 and no fooling in the demand made at that time and on that
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 19 
 
 occasion. He loaded up the furniture and took her back and 
 was going to turn her adrift. When the time came he found that 
 he, the son of a noble sire, had unknowingly formed an affection 
 for this little dusky woman and he could not turn her loose. He 
 called in the proper authority and wedded her. Then to his 
 cabin came little dark fellows, not one, but many, and the Milk 
 river never became as the Ganges, the burial place of unwelcome 
 babes, so far as this man was concerned. He lives on the reser- 
 vation and lives for those children as few white fathers ever have 
 lived for theirs." These two instances should be proof of the 
 peculiar affection that the good white man has for his half-breed 
 offspring. They could be multiplied if one would wish to go 
 into the matter to a more thorough extent. 
 
 All of the men who came into the Indian country were not 
 men of high class by any means. They were wild and reckless 
 and were only after personal gratification. They were, many of 
 them, the cause of trouble between the whites and Indians. It 
 would not take much of a stretch of the imagination to prove that 
 a man who had gone to live with the Indians when he was a 
 young man could be lead to become a horse thief. There was 
 nothing an Indian would not attempt in the way of securing a 
 horse. A large number of them together would make it an 
 almost impossibility, as they could too readily be seen while try- 
 ing to get their position where they could get the horses with the 
 least amount of danger to themselves. This taught caution, the 
 one thing needed in doing this kind of work. Now the white 
 man who had no high standards could fall into this kind of work 
 and use the Indian as a shield. That is, he could cause the Indian 
 to be suspected, as he was noted for his love for someone else's 
 horse. This was known to have caused much trouble in the 
 early days of the settlement of the wilds of North America. 
 
 It is not an easy thing to go to a man and ask him anything 
 of a personal nature. Many of them are like a man of my 
 acquaintance, a man very prominent in the state and one for 
 whom a county was named, from whom I tried to get a story. 
 His reply was: "I only wish I could forget some of the things 
 that have occurred in my life." 
 
 Now he is not the only man who wishes to forget. Some of 
 the squaw-men of the reservation, so I have been told, would 
 like to forget. No one will ever write the stirring and true 
 stories of the early days, nor tell the truth about the Rustlers 
 who caused so much trouble among the stockmen. Many a man 
 who would have been hanged, if caught, twenty years ago, is a 
 respected citizen whom no one would ever suspect of having been 
 anything except what he appears at this time to be, a perfect 
 gentleman.
 
 20 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 It can truthfully be said that the men who came to the west 
 and took up the roving life of the Indian did not as a general 
 thing accumulate much property. Nor did they, ordinarily, 
 benefit the Red Man by teaching him thrift and industry. The 
 early life on the plains was of such a nature that men could not 
 stay in any particular place for any given time as they never 
 tried to cultivate the soil or build permanent habitations. 
 
 The reason for this is plain; they had to follow the chase for 
 a livelihood and wherever the game went they would go if not 
 deterred by some stronger tribe. 
 
 No property that they could get would be anything but per- 
 sonal which only caused them more or less anxiety, as it was a 
 menace rather than a pleasure, as other tribes and people were 
 ever anxious to take it from them. 
 
 Their sustenance seemed to be a secured thing, as they could 
 not, in the early days, understand how it would be possible to 
 destroy the numberless buffalo that covered the plains from 
 Mexico to the great lakes of Canada. 
 
 I do not believe the ordinary Squaw-man ever found out much 
 of real value concerning the people among whom he went to live. 
 He was not a student of conditions nor did he care to find out 
 any of their peculiarities, or learn what they knew about them- 
 selves. 
 
 He worked along the lines of least resistance and simply knew 
 the Indian as a companion on whom he might rely if he was 
 friendly and knew the Indian woman as a matter of convenience 
 as she did the work around his tepee and gratified his physical 
 desires. 
 
 And far too many of them were men of no education who 
 were but little higher in the human scale than the people with 
 whom they cast their lots. Let us leave them and not condemn 
 them as we only "see according to our lights." 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Buffalo and Their Hunters. 
 
 One who never saw the buffalo in the times of plenty, when 
 they roamed the Great Plains in countless numbers from Texas 
 to the Canadian line, could not be made to realize, by written 
 word, even though it might be penned by the most gifted describer 
 of events and conditions, their immense numbers or the wonder- 
 ful life and variety they gave to those same plains.
 
 ■ *■ "zr'X&i^^^^^ 
 
 ^s*!BHPi 
 
 Hl'FFAI.o (»X TIIH PLAINS.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 21 
 
 The Red Men, in all their picturesque costumes, rode the 
 plains in their chase for food and robes. Under them these herds 
 increased to millions and would have continued to have been their 
 main support for ages, as they killed and saved all portions, and 
 only hunted when in need. 
 
 Many years after the advent of the whites the plains were 
 covered with these herds because the whites had not reckoned 
 their value as to hides. Many noted plainsmen got more or less 
 a questionable notoriety by their slaughter of these brutes. Buffalo 
 Bill, for instance, got his name and much of his fame in that way. 
 Bill was one who must have had more or less talent in the adver- 
 tising line as he was in a position to make the most of anything 
 of that nature that came to him. The fact that he was advertised 
 to such an extent that he became the chief guide when the Grand 
 Duke Alexis of Russia came to America to hunt, was the Red 
 Letter Day for Bill. Many a man to whom Bill could not hold 
 a candle, so the writer has been told by the old plainsmen and 
 hunters, have hardly been known to the general public. 
 
 Cree Halfbreeds. 
 
 These people were the natural offspring of hunters, as both 
 the father and mother were of that class. They were from 
 Canada and came to the Milk River section to hunt, as there 
 were not many buffalo as far north as they resided. I have an 
 idea that these same people used to hunt in North Dakota before 
 the buffalo were driven to the West along the Missouri. 
 
 Louie Shambrow, who came to the Milk river in 1 865 came 
 with these people. They were men who were used to the hard 
 conditions of the plains and were always willing to fight the 
 Indians, if necessary, in their struggle for existence. They were 
 a happy people who found enjoyment as they passed. One of 
 the first things they would do on arriving in camp would be to 
 put up the tent or lodge in which they held their dances. They 
 had a floor with them. The one thing that the priest could not 
 do was stop their dance. Many of these people were so fair 
 that they would be taken for whites. They had light hair and 
 blue eyes. Shambrow was for years thought to be one of them, 
 as he was with them when he was only twelve years of age. Not 
 many of them spoke English, so it fell to the lot of Louie to become 
 interpreter. 
 
 The conditions along the Milk river were well adapted to the 
 life they were to lead as the buffalo came to know the country 
 as grazing ground. These people built cabins in several places 
 along the Milk River valley and lived in settlements so that they
 
 22 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 could be strong enough to protect themselves from Indians, and 
 also for their social life. 
 
 These people were too near of the Indian nature to have 
 exterminated the buffalo. It required the man who was a hunter 
 of hides for the money that was in it that would soon destroy the 
 last vestige of them. Then, too, it took the big trading companies 
 to encourage even these men before the work was fully accom- 
 plished. When the time came for their extermination hunters did 
 the work so rapidly that it was done so suddenly that all the 
 frontiersmen were astonished. One of the men who had been on 
 the plains for fifty years said that the hunter would begin in 
 the north and as the great herds began to move south they would 
 send telegrams to others that the herds were coming and in that 
 way they were met and slaughtered. Noted shots would employ 
 men to do the skinning and they would do the killing. 
 
 V. Bogy says that one of the noted hunters of those days 
 was Brisbeau, who at this time is living on the reservation. Bogy 
 said that this man had killed as many as 300 head at one stand. 
 They were about all killed from '82 to '85. 
 
 The bones were gathered in piles and the railroad did a 
 thriving business hauling them to the Eastern market. Pages 
 could be filled with the stories of the days when the men were 
 killing the buffalo. These men came from all over the West 
 and Southwest. Some will say that many of the buffalo hunters 
 became, later, the cattle rustlers as they got so they could see but 
 little difference between the Indian's cattle (the buffalo) and 
 the white man's. 
 
 Charlie Russell, the Cowboy Artist, once said to the writer: 
 'You can't blame the Indian very much for being sore at the 
 whites as they killed what nature had provided for their food and 
 did it wantonly." 
 
 It is true that General Miles had said that the only way to 
 subdue the Indian was to kill the buffalo so they could not sustain 
 themselves. The American Indian had been a problem ever since 
 the first white men landed on their soil. Those first white men 
 found a race that were not vicious. At least the overt act was 
 on the part of the race that should have been the best and should 
 have used its education and religion to uplift and enlighten. They 
 had no thought other than to make a dollar, with the result that 
 the Indian was taken and sold into slavery in foreign lands. Noth- 
 ing could be more cruel than the separation of families in such 
 a way. It was done in a way that taught the Red Man that the 
 white one had no kindly feeling for them. They could not see 
 that all the whites were not of the same class as they could only 
 judge those whom they first met and these certainly had treated 
 them in a most contemptible manner.
 
 MRS. LINCOLN'. 
 We came here in 1S78 on the steamboat Benton, having taken fourteen 
 days to come from Bismarck to Fort Benton. Landing there we went overland 
 to Fort Belknap and found one man there, Tom oTIanlon, acting as post trader. 
 
 This reservation had been established several years before, but had been 
 abandoned and my husband. Major W. L. Lincoln, was the first agent upon its 
 re-establishment. He had supervision over about two thousand Indians. Gros 
 Ventres and Assinniboines. Mr. Lincoln served two terms, a period of eight 
 years, at the end of that time the reservation was opened to the railroad and 
 the Indians were moved to Harlem. 
 
 My son-in-law. C. G. Fish, was bookkeeper and his daughter Nellie, now 
 Mrs. Robt. Cline of Highwood, Mont., was the first white child born there. 
 
 Mrs. W. L. Lincola. 
 
 Note from caption : Mrs. Lincoln, first white woman to live in the Milk 
 River Valley.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 23 
 
 The Indian went to the plains of the far west and in that land 
 thought for a time they would be safe, but the cupidity of the 
 white race brought them also and they overran that, too, and 
 crowned all their efforts by the utter extinction of the supply that 
 nature had furnished for the Indian's sustenance. 
 
 There are two sides of this question but the settlement of it was 
 on the side of the majority. Whether this was right or wrong 
 must be decided by that ONE who made us all and who may 
 some time judge. 
 
 The American Buffalo or Bison was a wonderful animal that 
 lived in vast herds. Men have seen them in such great numbers 
 that no one who had no real experience in the early days could 
 believe that the stories told could possibly have any virtue. 
 
 In the early days when the steamboats were used as a means 
 of transportation on the Missouri, they had to be stopped while 
 the herds were swimming the stream. One man told me that on 
 one of his trips to a trading post on the Milk river he had to take 
 men and drive the buffalo out of the way so the ox teams could 
 get through as they were so thick the teams could not, with 
 safety, make their way. 
 
 The buffalo hunter and wolfer were peculiar men who were 
 used to many hardships and who would go for months without 
 any other food than that killed from day to day or the jerked 
 or dried meat of some other killing. One man told me that he 
 lived for eight months on meat alone and for three months of 
 that time without salt. 
 
 The hide was worth about five dollars delivered along the 
 banks of streams that one could navigate in any kind of a boat 
 and especially on such streams as the Missouri and Yellowstone. 
 
 The Government did not try to stop the slaughter but rather 
 encouraged it. It does not appear to me that there could have 
 been any romance attached to work of that nature. The Indian 
 had been subdued and was no longer a menace. If he had not 
 been in the minority the buffalo would still roam the broad plains 
 of this countrv in untold numbers. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 First Settlement by the Whites. 
 
 "I will give the story as it was told to me, not knowing what 
 the truth may be," as Harry Norton, a once well-known News- 
 paper man said, when writing of the early days and the tales that 
 came to his ear.
 
 24 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 There are three ways in which history can be obtained: Live 
 it, hunt the written records or get the stories of those who have 
 lived it. 
 
 Living at this time in Blaine county is a man on whom one 
 may rely for facts concerning the time which he has spent in 
 Montana, "Billy" Cochran is well known to all of the old-timers 
 on the Milk river and the writer will give a statement made by 
 him. 
 
 The first settlement in what was afterward to become Blaine 
 couniy was on Rock creek in the Little Rockies one mile east of 
 where Landusky is now. Wm. Cochran, John Dillon, O. B. 
 Nevins and Adam Armstrong left Fort Benton about the first of 
 October, 1865, in a mackinaw with goods with which to trade 
 with the Indians. On the 15 th day of that month they found 
 some Indians at the mouth of the creek from whom they bought 
 some horses. These were the Gros Ventres and River Crows. 
 The expectation was to trade with these Indians at the mouth of 
 the creek. The natives, however, said that the Sioux were too 
 troublesome as they would come as soon as the river was frozen 
 over and make it so disagreeable that there would be no enjoy- 
 ment in trying to stay in that vicinity and the better thing would 
 be for all of them to move to the mountains. We took their 
 advice and went up the creek and built four log cabins. Two 
 of these were on each side of the enclosure and formed two sides 
 of it while the stockade formed the other two. 
 
 There were about 500 lodges and probably an average of 
 five people to the lodge. We had no name for the post. There 
 were but few white men in the country that winter. There may 
 have been fifteen. I recall some of them: George Boyd, above 
 the mouth of the Musselshell, at Holly; "Old Man" Reavis, 
 Jake Leader (killed in 69 at the mouth of the Musselshell) ; 
 Cyprenne Matt and Jim Wells. Dave Pease (who helped to 
 build Ft. Holly) was at Ft. Union. We were in the Rockies 
 about four months trading for robes and had no trouble. Prior 
 to this time men may have made a winter camp in this section as 
 it is known that the hunters and trappers from Ft. Union would 
 often pass through it in their quest for game and pelts. 
 
 We know, also, that the Cree half-breeds were in the habit 
 of coming to the Milk river to hunt and that they built cabins and 
 had several settlements up and down the valley. We find that 
 about 1868 Ft. Browning was built down below the mouth of 
 Peoples creek in what is now Phillips county. When the Sioux 
 came and made it unsafe for the other Indians to trade at 
 Browning it was abandoned and Old Belknap was constructed 
 in the early seventies just across the river from Chinook.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 25 
 
 It was hardly safe yet for men who were not living with the 
 Indians to begin to settle as there was still a chance to lose one's 
 scalp. In '79, after the Nez Perce war was a thing of the past, 
 the government came to the conclusion to build Fort Assinniboine. 
 That post gave some security to the people, yet, once in a while 
 it seemed necessary for the soldiers to go out and hunt Indians.* 
 
 There are men living in the valley today who will tell you 
 that the Fort was really of more benefit to the contractors who 
 supplied the place with various articles than it was to the settler. 
 
 If one could believe all that is told of these days one could see 
 without any glasses the reason why some of the men now at the 
 bead of affairs in Montana became so wealthy. 
 
 It is said that one load of hay would be hauled and delivered 
 so often that the teamster would need stop and grease his wagon 
 to keep the wheels from locking. A prominent citizen of the 
 Milk river told me he had never attempted to get a hay con- 
 tract while the Fort was in operation for the reason that no man 
 could expect to get his stuff accepted unless he first gave the 
 man in charge of those commodities a present. 
 
 In those early days when the Government had sent out men 
 to fill positions of responsibility too many of them fell through 
 the wiles of the tempter and were ruined themselves though the 
 men, whom they had made rich, escaped. A man told me that 
 one of these officers had been apprehended and sent to the peni- 
 tentiary, here he had remained for five years but that the man 
 who had been benefited was a pretty good fellow for "I saw a 
 check for fifty thousand dollars which he had gotten one of his 
 clerks to send the man." Now that man, who received the bene- 
 fit, is a much respected citizen and a banker as well as merchant 
 in this state today. 
 
 Though men came and went in the early days one could 
 hardly say that there was any real settlement on the Milk river 
 until the Great Northern Railroad was finished, or until it came 
 into that section. The railroad came in 1 887 and people began 
 to settle along the river. At that time, the fact is, the whole 
 section was an Indian reservation and one could not settle with 
 any chance of holding a claim. The Reservation was thrown 
 open, or at least a part of it was, on May 1 st, 1 888. 
 
 At the time of the opening of the reservation the Great North- 
 ern advertised the Milk River valley as the only portion of Mon- 
 tana that could be farmed without irrigation and the valley was 
 settled up, especially around Chinook, and almost every 1 60 acres 
 was taken up and farmed without irrigation. In the fall of 1 889 
 a man by the name of T. C. Burns came to Chinook from the 
 Yellowstone where he had practiced irrigation. He and his 
 family filed on about 1800 acres of land under the old desert land
 
 26 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 act which granted a section to each applicant and permitted a 
 homestead in addition to it. He started in the fall of 1889 to 
 build a canal from the Milk river to irrigate his claims. He 
 worked on his ditches till 1 890 when a suit was brought against 
 him by the Great Northern Railway, an injunction secured by 
 the company, stopping him from building the canal. The Com- 
 pany claimed that in 1888 they had filed a water right covering 
 all the waters of the Milk river for tank purposes for its engines, 
 but the real reason given by the officials of the road was that 
 the building of the canal would put a damper upon the immigra- 
 tion from the east as it would lead the settlers to believe that irri- 
 gation was necessary and having no experience with that kind 
 of farming they would refuse to settle the country. The case 
 dragged through the courts for several years and it was finally 
 decided in favor of Burns and the injunction dismissed. 
 
 In the meantime a succession of four or five years had caused 
 the most of the farmers to leave the valley as dry land farming 
 in the valley had proved a failure. The only people left in the 
 valley, except a few stockmen, were the settlers engaged in the 
 construction of irrigation canals at Chinook and Harlem. 
 
 The first irrigated ranch in what is now Blaine county is the 
 one on which Thomas M. Everett is now living. Mr. Everett 
 owned it at that time also. His land was flooded and a fine crop 
 of hay raised the first year. 
 
 In 1889 there was a large crop raised from the overflow of 
 1 888. In 1 900 a ditch was constructed from Parallel Creek, t 
 now called Thirty Mile. This ditch was built by Thos. M. 
 Everett, J. M. Everett and James E. Fox, from a point near 
 the James E. Fox homestead buildings. 
 
 The Harlem canal, from Milk river, was started in the sum- 
 mer of 1891 and the first water was turned on the land from 
 that canal in 1895. The Paradise Valley Canal was started 
 about the same time as the Harlem canal to irrigate the south side 
 of the river west of Harlem. 
 
 The lands along the Milk river were very smooth but were 
 generally covered with sage brush and needed cleaning before the 
 hay could be cut. 
 
 It was about this time that the cattle men began to fetch their 
 stock, as has been said in another place, they were compelled to 
 move from the older settled sections of the Territory to the lands 
 north of the Missouri as the grass was getting thin in the older 
 ones. 
 
 This caused the streams and watering holes to be filed on 
 as they were the only parts of the country the stockman thought 
 had any value. It had been proven by several futile attempts 
 that the dry lands would not raise a crop and if such should prove
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 27 
 
 the case then the water holes would always be very valuable, as 
 it was safe to say there would be all the grass needed by them 
 for years to come. But, then, they had not taken into considera- 
 tion that the sheep would come and make the stockman so much 
 trouble that he, too, would be required to stop his range busi- 
 ness and go into something else. 
 
 The people who lived on the Milk river in those days could 
 put their land under the ditch and protect their stock from the 
 hard winters, or they could get rid of them and sell their hay 
 to the west, as the kind of hay raised, Blue Joint, was much in 
 demand, as horse hay, by people as far removed as the coast. 
 
 There had to be trading points on the railroad, so Chinook was 
 started in 1888, that is, there was a station about three-fourths 
 of a mile up toward Havre from what is now the station, that was 
 known as Dawes. 
 
 When the railroad was being built into the valley Tom 
 O'Hanlon was running the store at Belknap. Louis V. Bogy 
 was working with him and they came to the conclusion that there 
 must be a town some place near the Agency. Tom had made 
 up his mind that the proper place would be on the creek some 
 place but "V." thought that the "little hill" would be much the 
 better place as the spring had shown that water would cover 
 the point which Tom had selected. It would be useless to try 
 and get a patent to the land as it would be out of the question 
 to homestead, as that would require too long, and the preemption 
 law was not in effect on the Milk river. It was thought wise to 
 have Bogy build a cabin and squat on the place picked out and 
 then when the reservation was thrown open they would have the 
 first right. So he built a little cabin near where George Cowan's 
 barn is now. 
 
 Bogy and O'Hanlon had no idea of making any money out 
 of the town site but were to turn it over to a town site company 
 which was composed of a Press Association that was financed 
 by several farm papers of the east. These people took it over 
 but did not get a title, so the Government had to reserve it for a 
 town site and the money from the sale of lots went into the 
 school district. 
 
 The name Chinook was chosen by D. R. McGinnis, one of 
 the newspaper men, so L. V. Bogy told the writer, and he 
 should know. 
 
 Rideout had the first hotel. The Chinook House; Wynkoop, 
 the Pioneer Restaurant; Kingsbury, the Townsite King; Kelsey, 
 the Feed and Grainman; Coombs, the General Store; "Uncle 
 Johnnie Lewis" with his stock of drugs; Lee Cumm, the China- 
 man, built the Montana hotel; Vincent, with his brick kiln; A. 
 H. Resor was the first blacksmith and then came Ballou, Elliott
 
 28 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 of "The Bank," the unfermented juice man; Letcher, the barber; 
 Maney, the choice brandy man; Rainbolt Bros., furniture house; 
 Raymond of the Boston store; Judge Stevens, a notary public and 
 first railroad agent. 
 
 T. C. Power and Brother same as Tom O'Hanlon; Barton 
 and Stam, heavy hardware; Lohman and Bartzen, general store; 
 Chas. A. Hanson, livery stable. 
 
 The foremost building of that day was the brick built by 
 Thos. O'Hanlon, 1889. Soon the old town hall was built by 
 popular subscription, and used for school and church by the little 
 band of pioneer educators and Christians of all denominations 
 numbering less than a score. 
 
 Miss Lizzie Curtis was the first teacher, and the trustees of 
 the district which was the tenth in old Chouteau, were Thomas 
 O'Hanlon, A. H. Resor and W. N. Woolridge. In 1893 they 
 built the first brick school house with two class rooms and a reci- 
 tation room. Prof. J. S. Whitehead was first principal. In '99 
 the W. H. Duke building was erected; later, 1900, the Lohman 
 block and the Bogy building; in 1901 the Chinook hotel. 
 
 Dr. Chas. F. Hopkins was the first physician, he came in 
 1890. 
 
 Akin to these pioneers, who have laid the foundations of a 
 strong and vigorous Commonwealth, are Wm. Duke, who 
 embarked in business here in 1898; Julius Lehfeldt, who pur- 
 chased the A. S. Lohman business in 1 898 ; Attorney W. B. 
 Sands, who hung his shingle out in 1895. Frank Boyle, the 
 clothier; Marvin P. Jones, C. M. Williams, A. Perkins, John 
 C. Duff, G. E. Fuller, Samuel Houston, Thomas Dowen, E. S. 
 Sweet, John M. Montgomery, J. S. McKibbin, Ed. Price, A. 
 W. Ziebarth, "Daddy" Marsh and Frank O'Neal, the genial 
 landlords of the Montana hotel; J. F. Williams and a long list 
 of others have helped to make this a city of homes and one of 
 the nicest places of its size to be found any where. 
 
 In 1 899 Chinook was incorporated and A. S. Lohman was 
 elected mayor; L. V. Bogy, J. W. Stam, Dr. C. F. Hopkins and 
 M. P. Jones aldermen, with Samuel Houston magistrate and A. 
 W. Ziebarth marshal. 
 
 When the new county of Blaine was organized the city of 
 Chinook had "pull" enough to become the County Seat. A 
 beautiful court house was erected that would be a credit to a city 
 several years older and for a county much richer. The people 
 of Chinook have gone about beautifying their city until today it 
 is one of the best built towns in the northern part of the state 
 and bids fair to grow for years to come. Its people are wide- 
 awake and are ones to whom we kindly express pleasure for having 
 received so many favors.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 29 
 
 The little city of Harlem had its first start in 1 889. As it 
 was close to the Agency and only a short distance from the Fort 
 Belknap Indian Reservation there was some probability that it 
 would make a good point. The first house was built by Thos. 
 M. Everett; first saloon by Al Cecil; first store, Chas. A. 
 Smith; first hotel, Manning Bros.; first bank was opened in 1906 
 by eight men, Thos. M. Everett, Walter French, E. M. Kennedy, 
 Chas. Owens, who was cashier before Mr. Hatch; Carver, who 
 used to be president of the First National Bank of Chinook; 
 Sprinkle Bros, and Major Will Logan. 
 
 Steven Carver had organized a bank in Chinook. The first 
 white woman in Harlem was Mrs. John Manning. She came in 
 the fall of 1 889. The first white woman in this vicinity was Mrs. 
 J. A. Wise, who came in 1888 and settled on the little knoll 
 where Dr. Williams has his house now. The first wedding was 
 Al Cecil, who married a niece of Louis Riel. Their daughter 
 was the first white girl born in Harlem and is now the wife of 
 Ole Nelson. 
 
 Right here will be a good place to give some of the experi- 
 ences of the man who was the first merchant in the town, Charles 
 A. Smith. In the fall of 1888 I was at Rockey Point and 
 Johnnie Lee insisted that I stay with him that winter and hunt 
 wolves. John Lee, "Dutch" Louie and myself started for Valen- 
 tine Spring with traps and ammunition to catch wolves. We got 
 there and camped near a cabin, intending to stay all winter. Next 
 day we got some deer, then John started back. 
 
 I noticed the knuckle on my hand was sore, the second day it 
 got worse and the third I was down with inflammatory rheuma- 
 tism. I had to have help so Louie put me in the cabin and started 
 for the Point. I had to make my bed on the ground and never 
 left it till he got back. That night was the most terrible one I 
 have ever experienced because that old chimney was full of 
 mountain rats. As soon as it got dark they came and ran all over 
 me and even ate the hair off of my head and I couldn't do a thing 
 but yell at them as I could not move a hand in self-protection. I 
 got a little sleep in the day time and Louie came by night. I 
 hadn't had a thing to eat for two days. 
 
 In the morning he put me in the wagon and took me forty 
 miles. How I suffered. I got to camp and for six weeks I never 
 moved hand or foot. Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Marsh, now of 
 Chinook, took care of me. 
 
 In the spring the Curry boys got me, I was stranded, hadn't 
 a cent on earth, and took me to the Curry ranch. I stayed with 
 ihem for a couple of weeks and told the boys I was going to 
 pull out for the St. Paul's Mission to work. I took my blankets
 
 30 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 and some bread and bacon and started on my walk of fourteen 
 miles to the mission. I worked there all summer till August and 
 then came down to Wayne creek and from there to Chinook. I 
 received $225 from Mr. O'Hanlon which I had coming for the 
 work at the mission. I made up my mind to come to Harlem. 
 There was nothing here then but a boxcar for a depot. The 
 first night I spread my blankets about where the depot is now. 
 The next morning we took our blankets to the bank of Thirty 
 Mile under the big trees and not far from where this house is. 
 I remained in that camp for about a week and then came to the 
 conclusion to start a little store here. That was in the fall of 
 1 889. There was only one family, no store or hotel. Henry 
 Playmondin was going in with me. 
 
 I went to Chinook and had a talk with Tom O'Hanlon, but 
 he discouraged me. I reported to Henry, but hold him I would 
 go once more and see Tom. I met Chas. C. Conrad as I was 
 getting on the train, who was glad to see me, and asked me what 
 I was doing. I told him what I wanted to do and he told me to 
 come to Benton and he would give me what assistance I needed. 
 On Sunday I went to Benton. The next morning I called on 
 Conrad and he handed me a note to his head man telling him to 
 give me all the credit I wanted. I only had $167 and my part- 
 ner one hundred. We bought goods to trade to the Indians, out- 
 fit costing eight or nine hundred dollars. Got a small 9x12 tent 
 and had all our stuff sent down to Harlem by freight. Freight 
 moved sooner in those days so I soon got to Harlem and within 
 an hour from the time I landed there we had the tent up and 
 were doing business. That tent was pitched about where the 
 Rasmussen saloon is now. I slept under the counter which was 
 a plank I had brought with me. I took in about $28 the first 
 day and had a little trouble with my partner and bought him out. 
 I put up a log cabin 12x18 and that was the first store in the 
 place. Next year I built a store 24x30. 
 
 Al Cecil had a saloon about where Phil Buckley is now. He 
 was the man who took up the land on which the town is but he 
 never made anything out of it. By that time we had four box- 
 cars for a depot. I was the first postmaster and the postoffice 
 was a shoe carton. Everybody came in and looked to see if there 
 was anything for him and no questions asked. I improved a 
 little on that as I took a beer box and made it into an office and 
 it was much better as it had natural pigeon holes. Still every 
 one acted postmaster. We soon got so we were allowed to handle 
 postal money notes. These looked like a meal ticket and ran 
 from one cent to four dollars and ninety-nine cents. Then we got 
 the money order.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 31 
 
 The first hotel was run by W. R. Sands with a store. C. 
 H. Barton came from Chinook and was a partner for some time 
 to later buy him out. The first school was taught by Martha 
 Matherson. The school was down along the tracks opposite Mike 
 Buckley's. This was in 1 892. In the summer of 1 892 they 
 built a school which is now Saddler's Hall, owned by me. 
 It then stood north and south. That and my store were the 
 only buildings, except Tom Everett's cabin on this side of the 
 track. The first white woman was Mrs. John Manning. Next 
 white family was Sands. My daughter was the second child 
 born, her name is Hazel." 
 
 Harlem today is quite a place and one of the best little towns 
 in Northern Montana. Two banks, one good hotel, four lumber 
 yards, four elevators, three large feed stables and several stores. 
 I can not name them all and it would hardly be fair to mention 
 some and not all. 
 
 There are some well known characters around the little burg 
 that one is sure to meet if he goes there. One of them is a large, 
 portly gentleman who wears a star and will sure capture you if 
 you don't look out. He is called, by all, Daddy, and while not 
 the father of his country he would like to be. 
 
 Then there is my friend Lon Ellis who looks like he was 
 always hungry but he isn't because he and "Daddy" often go 
 bear hunting up in the mountains and always take something along 
 so that they will not have to tighten their belts too often, as they 
 were never known to kill anything and have never been able to 
 find anything in their hunting except "dead soldiers." And if 
 you went to Harlem and did not find Bill Hart and Jack Saddler 
 trying to string some one it would be because they are dead. Yet, 
 all the same they are good fellows and I like them. Of course 
 you can't help meeting Bill Reed and Earnest Ekegren because 
 they are trying to get a corner on business, and deserve to, as they 
 are rustlers; when I say that I don't mean cattle thieves. 
 
 Then there is Charlie Kemp who actually thinks he knows 
 where there is some homestead land left and would locate you 
 if he had to do so by sneaking you over the line into Canada. 
 Who is that classy looking young fellow who is going over to 
 John Rancelers' picture show? Why that is Schultz. And 
 that fine looking little fellow that you see crossing the street to 
 guy some one in Jess Angstman and the fellow who has just run 
 across is Jay Rhoades looking for mavericks. Taken all in all 
 they are a pretty decent bunch that in some way, past finding out, 
 have managed to stay out of the "Pen."
 
 32 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Prospecting and Mining in Blaine County. 
 
 It is an actual fact that the discovery of gold in the Little 
 Rockies is clouded to such an extent that, probably, no one will 
 ever be able to say: "I knew the man." 
 
 The writer, in his search for truth, has found only conflicting 
 statements. That William Hamilton's party was the first 
 authentic one concerning which we have heard there can be no 
 doubt. This was in 1868. "Bill" Bent was one of this party 
 and he tells their experience in quite an interesting way in the 
 story of his life which will be found in its proper place in this 
 work. 
 
 That any one else came until 1 884, when actual placer mining 
 began, Bent does not know, though he says: "I heard that some 
 men who had been mining in some of the Western camps got off 
 a boat, went to the Little Rockies and were never heard of again." 
 
 The writer can only give the different versions as they have 
 come to him but it will be too readily seen that it is not authentic 
 history. The story of Harry Rash came first to the writer and 
 it may or may not be true. I have no reason for believing that 
 it is anything but true as in a conversation with Charles Smith, 
 one of the first men to mine in that section, I asked if he knew 
 who discovered the gold in the Little Rockies and he replied that 
 he did not. He said: "I have always understood that 'Dutch' 
 Louis and Pike Landusky and some other man found it." Harry 
 Rash said that he was with "Dutch Louis" and Pike Landusky 
 and that he (Rash) found it. Daddy Minugh says that "It is 
 a cinch that Frank Aldrich was the man who found the gold in 
 the Little Rockies." 
 
 Now, if you go to Chinook for information of the early days of 
 the cow country, which means the Milk River section, the Bear's 
 Paw and Little Rockies, as well as the story of the peculiar class 
 of people that once builded their homes among the Bad Lands of 
 the Missouri, you will be told to see "Billy Skillen" the sage 
 of Old Fort Belknap. As we were in Chinook we went to see 
 "Billy." Here is his story. 
 
 Discovery of Gold in the Little Rockies. 
 
 "On the third of July, 1884, Bill McKinzie stole 'Spud' 
 Murphey's horse down on the Missouri river and started for Ft. 
 Maginnis, 65 miles away. Lee Scott at Rocky Point started 
 to look for McKinzie and the blue mare. The report of the 
 theft got to the cowboys and they caught McKinzie, close to 
 Maginnis, shot him and hung him on a big coltonwood tree about
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 33 
 
 one mile and one-half below the Fort on Hancock creek. About 
 the Fourth of July there was some trouble at the races over bstting 
 between a white man and a breed. "Rattlesnake" knocked the 
 breed down and made him apologize and give back the money. 
 They rode into town (Lewistown) tied their horses in front of 
 a saloon and went in and got a drink. When they came out, 
 the citizens opened fire on them and "Rattlesnake" and one inno- 
 cent man were killed. From this time on the strangling of horse 
 thieves and road agents started throughout (Northern) Montana 
 and the Missouri river. 
 
 'Dutch Louis' ran a ranch on Crooked creek where these 
 men (toughs) would stop, going from the Missouri back and 
 forth. Suspicion fell on Louis. He, getting afraid, left his ranch 
 and went into the Little Rockies with Pike Landusky and Frank 
 Aldrich. They prospected for gold and found some in a creek 
 which they named Alder. When they found gold Pike left 
 to carry the news, coming through what was after Landusky, to 
 North Moccasin to Maiden, giving his friends the news that gold 
 had been discovered in the Little Rockies. Mat Foley, Sport 
 Welsh, Denton Doer(?), Billy Leg and William Skillen left 
 that night for Maiden to outfit with grub, lumber and so forth 
 (George Herendeen sold this lumber to them) and with other 
 parties, Willard Duncan, Clois Steadman and Tony McFarlin 
 went down to Crooked creek, the Missouri river and to the Little 
 Rockies. 
 
 "A mining district was organized and Willard Duncan was 
 elected Recorder. This was the first discovery of gold in the 
 Little Rockies. No sign of other work ever having been done 
 was found by them in the Little Rockies. (Frank Aldrich says 
 that they were not the ones who found gold in the Rockies as 
 there was a pit 1 00 by 1 50 feet that showed that mining had 
 been done years before.) It was first suspected that this was 
 what was known as the lost Key's diggings. 
 
 'There must have been two thousand men in there that fall 
 as they came from ever}' place on that stampede. Right after 
 the talk of big discovery, soldiers were ordered from Ft. Assinni- 
 boine to investigate the conditions there and report to the depart- 
 ment. They were under the command of Captain Potter of the 
 Eighteenth Infantry. He notified the miners that they could stay 
 there until such time as a report was made on the conditions but 
 that no liquor could be brought in as it was an Indian reservation. 
 Under the first investigation of the soldiers there, the first pit was 
 opened in Alder Gulch, the discovery running about one dollar 
 to the pan, on bedrock. (The writer was told that in order to 
 show the Captain that there was pay dirt some one 'Salted the
 
 34 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 ground.' As to that the writer could not get Skillen to say.) The 
 department ordered a detachment of soldiers, under the leadership 
 of Scott, from Ft. Maginnis to be stationed at Rocky Point to 
 keep order and supervise the reservation. 
 
 'The heaviest gold found on the Little Rockies was found 
 at the mouth of Alder Gulch, on a high rim, by "Nigger" Shelby. 
 Quite a little money was taken out at this point. The heaviest 
 piece of gold found in the Little Rockies was found by William 
 Skillen. This nugget weighed a little more than eighty-three 
 dollars. It came from Rock creek and was valued at seventeen 
 dollars an ounce. This nugget was sold for one hundred dollars. 
 
 "Gold quartz was discovered in the Little Rockies, in Mon- 
 tana gulch, by Pike Landusky. The first lead was discovered, 
 The August, by Bob Orman. There was also some small quan- 
 tities of galena in the creek beds." That is Billy Skillen's account 
 of the mines as he saw them in the Little Rockies. Men depend 
 too much on memory and do not think that some time they will 
 be called on for facts. 
 
 After the reader had gone through all that is recorded he will 
 find the story of the discovery of gold in the Little Rockies of 
 a contradictory nature. Why it is that people become impressed 
 with a thing as a fact that is more than half fiction, I do not 
 know, but several have given me a story of the finding of gold in 
 this part of Montana. None of them were under oath to tell the 
 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, as one who 
 is trying to gather facts and information for history can not afford 
 to try and get his material in that way, as men from whom he 
 was expecting facts would rebel if one even suspected they were 
 careless in their statements. As the lands where the gold was 
 discovered was on an Indian reservation no one would have a right 
 to stay there. If it could be made to appear that the values were 
 sufficient to prove that this ground could be made to produce 
 more as mineral ground than it could for Indian sustenance then 
 the Government allows the whites to remain in charge. When the 
 soldiers came there to make their investigation, the miners, so I 
 have been told (see above) salted the ground on bedrock so that 
 it would appear to carry more value than it really had. Be that 
 as it may the miners were allowed to stay and that part of the 
 mountain range south of the summit was thrown open so that 
 no more conflicts could occur as to the invading of the Indian 
 rights by the whites. 
 
 The bad lands of the Missouri, in those days, were more or 
 less the homes of many who could lay no claim to right living. 
 These men had come as buffalo hunters, traders, wolvers or what 
 not and many of them had become free-lances who could see no
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 35 
 
 particular use for law and order as they had done something some 
 time or some where to throw them beyond the pale. Some of 
 them became rustlers and made havoc among the big herds of 
 cattle that had taken the place of the vast herds of buffalo that 
 had so recently been wiped from the face of the earth by these 
 same hunters. Of course not all of these hunters and wolvers 
 could be considered bad men because some of the finest men on 
 the frontier helped to slay the Indian's food supply. 
 
 There were enough of them, however, who did not believe 
 in the property rights of others and these were the ones who made 
 it necessary to form a vigilance committee under the leadership 
 of Granville Stuart and Reece Anderson. These two men were 
 old pioneers of Western Montana who had passed through a 
 period of outlawry, in the early sixties, when it had become abso- 
 lutely necessary to form a band of valiant men to safeguard the 
 rights of men who could not protect themselves from a band of 
 men who had made the Western part of the state an unsafe place 
 until they were exterminated. 
 
 While this is not a part of the chapter on mining in the county 
 it was owing to the peculiar conditions of outlawry that at that 
 time existed that caused the gold to be found in the Little Rockies 
 if "Billy" Skillen is right. 
 
 It does seem too bad that we cannot get the truth of things 
 that happened not more than fifty years ago. Chris Keyes and 
 John Lepley found the first gold in what was to become Lewis 
 and Clark county. It was found at Silver Creek in 1 864. This 
 same man Keyes is the one that Skillen mentions as the man that 
 might have found the first gold in the Little Rockies as it is known 
 that he had written to Lepley to drop all he had and come. It 
 was not long after this that we find he was killed down on the 
 Missouri when on his way to the claim he had written to Lepley 
 about. 
 
 A noted character of the plains and mountains, Cyprienne 
 Matt, some one tells, heard that J. M. Arnoux, Tom Haley and 
 another man found gold in the Little Rockies in 1 866. 
 
 While Skillen may be right as to dates, it is a fact that the 
 first news given to the world of discovery of gold was September 
 3rd, 1884. And that "Dutch Louis" was the man, according to 
 most reports. 
 
 Frank Aldrich had come a few days after Louis. He went 
 to Ft. Assinniboine for grub and Louis panned, while he was 
 gone (two weeks and two days) One Hundred and Nine Dollars. 
 
 Bob Main and Charlie Smith and "Dutch Louis" and Frank 
 Aldrich were the first to begin sluicing and took out as much 
 as $20 per day to the man.
 
 36 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 Frank Aldrich's Story. 
 
 "When and under what circumstances was the discovery 
 made?" was the question put to Aldrich by the reporter on The 
 River Press of Benton. 'We struck it on the 15th day of June. 
 Charlie Brown and myself were prospecting the little Rockies and 
 came upon Louis Meyers or "Dutch Louis" in this gulch. He 
 had found good indications but had not prospected the gulch 
 well. We proposed to crosscut the gulch working together, and 
 did so. We found two channels where good prospects were got. 
 On bedrock where we worked we got as high as $3.50 to the pan 
 and it averaged 25 cents. There is five feet of solid gravel that 
 will average a bit to the pan. (The discovery claim was set aside 
 for Aldrich, Brown and Louie.) We were not the first to find 
 gold there as near the mouth of the gulch there was a pit 100 
 by 150 that had evidently been sluiced out years before." This 
 discovery was made on Beauchamp's creek. 
 
 Generally when gold is discovered the news travels very 
 rapidly. That it did not get out in this particular case is because 
 of the fact that those fellows had no right in there prospecting 
 as it was an Indian reservation. The Government had learned 
 that when the prospector finds gold he will have it no matter where 
 it may be located so as socn as they could they threw open that 
 particular portion of the reservation as it would be much the wisest 
 thing to do. LI ad they attempted to have driven the whites out 
 would have resulted in too much expense. 
 
 Quartz was soon found and the quartz mining began to take 
 up the attention of many of the people and large mills for the 
 reduction of the ore was soon in operation. Some of them did 
 not prove of any value till some new process was learned so that 
 some of the largest mills for the reduction of gold ore in the 
 United States are now to be found in the Little Rockies as a result 
 cf Dutch Louie's trying to hide out from the vigilantes. 
 
 Bear Paw Mountains. 
 
 It is not many miles from the Little Rockies to these mountains, 
 so men tried to find both placer and quartz in them. 
 
 We find in a report by Leon J. Pepperberg, the following: 
 'The placer deposits of the Bear Paw Mountains are of very 
 little importance, although some coarse gold has been recovered by 
 panning and crude sluice methods from the small gravel bars 
 occurring along the drainage ways throughout the group. Since 
 the early seventies prospectors have searched the mountains for 
 lode deposits, and although several pieces of promising looking 
 float which were reported as having been picked up within the 
 district were brought to Havre and Chinook, no vein of value
 
 ., 
 
 I 
 
 < 
 
 
 • 
 
 o 
 
 — 
 »2 
 02 
 
 02 
 02 
 
 . ) i
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 37 
 
 was discovered until about 1 888. (V. Bogy says the lead was 
 first found in '78 by Lloyd.) In 1888 work was begun on an 
 argentiferous galena vein about three miles southeast of Lloyd 
 postoffice, by a number of Chinook business men. 
 
 Development was continued for several years and according 
 to L. V. Bogy, of Chinook, who is interested in the property, 
 about seven tons sorted ore was shipped to Great Falls for treat- 
 ment. The claim was patented in 1 892 and since that time 
 nothing has been done with it. 
 
 In 1 906 Steven Randall discovered a vein of supposed copper 
 ore about three-fourths of a mile southeast of Clear Creek P. O. 
 Immediately after the discovery the Copper Gulch Mining Com- 
 pany was formed of Chinook men, to sink on the claims Randall 
 found. The shaft sunk on the site of the original discovery 
 showed the vein to carry values in lead, silver, gold and copper 
 and as a result of this showing much prospecting was done during 
 1906 and 1907 along the tributaries of Cleark creek, especially 
 around the head of White Pine Canyon. The district is not a 
 producer at the present time." 
 
 The veins that carry gold in the Bear Paw mountains are 
 very thin so far as known. There may be at some time values 
 opened up in that section. The leads of the Little Rockies have 
 been large and valuable because of that fact. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Church in Blaine County. 
 
 The writer has been very fortunate in being able to find in 
 Father Eberschweiler, of Havre, one who has the early story of 
 the Catholic Church of Blaine County, as far as the records show, 
 well in hand. We quote from a letter from the Father the fol- 
 lowing: "Father De Smet was the first missionary who traveled 
 through the country in which the Assinniboines and Gros Ventres 
 lived, and through which Cree half-breeds, of Canada, roamed 
 in their extensive buffalo hunts. Then Father Point visited those 
 Indians in passing. Father Giorda came from Fort Benton to 
 them for only a few weeks before Easter, 1862, and baptized 
 1 34, mostly children ; after which he had to leave for work in the 
 far west. 
 
 "Under President Grant the missionary work for the Indians 
 of the United States was divided among the missionaries of 
 diverse beliefs. Under that order each reservation was exclu- 
 sively confided to a certain denomination. The care of the large 
 Ft. Kelknap Reserve was given to the Methodist preachers, none 
 
 256668
 
 38 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 of whom ever came to do any work. Nevertheless the Jesuit 
 Fathers were forbidden to reside in the reservation or do any 
 missionary work among its Indians. Anyhow some Fathers came 
 from the St. Peter's Mission, the headquarters of East Montana, 
 to visit the hunting Cree half-breeds. On one of these visits 
 Father Philip Rapaglio became sick and died on the 7th of 
 February, 1877, at a place near the present railroad station, 
 Zurich. This place is marked by a cross and now called "Priest 
 Point." He was buried in the basement of the Jesuit Church 
 of the Sacred Heart, the first church in Helena, which became 
 the cathedral of the first Bishop of Montana, Right Rev. J. B. 
 Brondel, when he arrived at the end of August, 1883. Father 
 Grassi visited the half-breed Crees, 1879; Father Damian till 
 1883; Father Bandini, 1884. 
 
 "At the end of August, 1883, Father Fredrick Hugo Eber- 
 schweiler, S. J., came from Burlington, Iowa, to Helena; he 
 was attached to St. Peter's Mission and appointed to be the 
 first resident priest to which belonged a very large district. At 
 one of his visits to the garrison, Fort Assinniboine, Indians told 
 him that they greatly wished that a mission be founded for them. 
 The Father wrote to President Cleveland asking the permission 
 to erect a mission and school buildings on the reservation belong- 
 ing to the Fort Belknap Agency. On the first of November, 
 1885, he received the official letter granting the request. 
 
 'The exclusive distribution of Indian missions to special sects 
 was no longer upheld. He went to the Fort Belknap Agency, 
 showed his official letter to the Indian Agent, Lincoln, made 
 arrangements with the Indian trader, Thos. O'Hanlon, to build 
 there a log cabin which, for a time, could be a priest's residence 
 and a chapel. Mr. O'Hanlon was always a most generous friend 
 of the missionary until he (O'Hanlon) died. 
 
 "On the eighth of December, 1885, Father Eberschweiler 
 occupied the erected building, which was the first mission house 
 and church of any kind ever erected in the Fort Belknap reserva- 
 tion. During the winter his chief occupation was to learn the 
 Assinniboine language with the gratuitous help of Mr. William 
 Bent, the Indian interpreter, and to compose an Indian cate- 
 chism and to teach the children, who came from the Agency 
 school, to his chapel, to say and sing prayers. 
 
 'The Indians wished that their permanent mission should be 
 built in the Little Rockies, a sub-agency nearby, as many of the 
 Indians wished to settle near there. Their missionary formulated 
 their petition, to which their Chiefs subscribed, and sent it to the 
 President. Senator Vest recommended it to Congress, which 
 favorably received it; all to be settled in a treaty to be made.
 
 i 
 
 _,*^*Hsr^-,i-i:i 
 
 ftWffia mf* £ frrS. -tip 5 
 
 
 V ' 
 
 fs^S 
 
 : T *5 ^m _je**a 4&> - •KB 1 
 
 ST. PAIL'S MISSION. 
 Drawing made 1911 by Indian boy 12 years of ago.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 39 
 
 "On the first of May, 1 886, the missionary went to the Little 
 Rockies and selected for the mission the place on Peoples creek 
 where it comes out of the woody mountains into a beautiful valley. 
 He then traveled to Fort Benton to find a contractor and workmen 
 for the erection of the mission buildings. Meanwhile a war 
 between the Balknap Indians and the Canadian tribe of Bloods 
 had started and no man would come into their land and expose 
 his scalp to be taken by either of the warring tribes. It was also 
 not possible to get the material for the buildings. The Great 
 Northern railroad was not yet built, nor Great Falls. 
 
 "In summer time steamers brought all kinds of articles up the 
 Missouri river from St. Louis to Fort Benton, from where they 
 were freighted to other places in Montana and Canada. There 
 was no surplus of lumber nor did any freighter like to come to 
 a country of warring Indians. 
 
 "Father Eberschweiler returned to the Little Rockies, where 
 he found some gold miners. He made a contract with Mr. 
 Umstet to erect, with the help of his companions, large log build- 
 ings for a residence for the missionary, a church, school and 
 dwellings for pupils and Sisters. The necessary lumber was 
 ordered and it arrived in the summer of the next year, 1 887. 
 The work was begun; logs were cut in the near woods, the 
 foundation and basement was built. The corner stone was laid 
 on the fifteenth of September, 1 886. The work was stopped 
 unfinished before winter. During the winter of 1 886 and 1 887 
 Father Eberschweiler remained at Fort Belknap. 
 
 "From January 18 to January 23, 1887, Indian commission- 
 ers from Washington made a treaty with the Indians by which 
 the lines of the present reservation were defined and their petition 
 regarding the Little Rockies agreed to and the selected place for 
 the future mission given to the Jesuit Fathers. Father Eber- 
 schweiler subscribed to the treaty as witness. That summer the 
 Belknap tribes and the Bloods smoked the 'Pipe of Peace.' The 
 mission buildings were, little by little, finished on the 15th day of 
 September, just one year from the day when we started. 
 
 "Father Eberschweiler traveled with some Ursuline Sisters 
 from St. Peter's Mission and some Indian pupils to St. Paul's 
 Mission and occupied its first mission buildings. 
 
 'The successors of Father Eberschweiler built, in the course 
 of time, large stone buildings for the flourishing mission." 
 
 Fredrick Hugo Eberschweiler, S. J., was a native of Prussia, 
 Germany. He was born at Waxweiler, in the beautiful Rhine 
 province, on the 19th day of June, 1839. He pursued his 
 studies in the college at Treves, entered the Society of Jesus on 
 the 30th day of September, 1858. He was ordained a priest 
 on the 15th day of June, 1870. When the war broke out
 
 40 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 between Germany and France he was a hospital chaplain. He 
 came to America in August, 1872, worked in Cleveland and 
 Toledo, Ohio; Burlington, Iowa, and finally in Montana and is 
 at this date (December, 1916) at Havre, Montana. 
 
 The St. Paul's mission is in a beautiful cover, or amphitheater, 
 at the northwestern base of the Little Rockies, and was built for 
 the education of the Fort Belknap Indian children. The place 
 selected is one of great natural beauty on Peoples creek where 
 it emerges from the canyon. 
 
 The main buildings are of stone and in good repair. The 
 church is stone and the entire ceiling is covered with paintings. 
 They may not be works of art of the highest kind but the themes 
 were chosen from and help tell in pictures, much of the story of 
 the Bible. To the American Indian this means more than written 
 word could ever convey as they were adepts in picture writing. 
 If not adepts it was their way of conveying their thoughts other 
 than spoken language or the sign. 
 
 That the Jesuit Fathers had any other desire than the upbuild- 
 ing of their church and the wish to assist the Red Man to become 
 civilized is not my business to find out. That they have tried to 
 reach out and preach the doctrines of their church to all nations 
 is a certain thing. That many of the brightest and most highly 
 educated of their belief have lived lives of unselfishness must be 
 the verdict of those who may be in no way associated with them 
 and may not at all believe as they do. 
 
 Certainly many good and true men and women have assumed 
 the mantle of chastity and celibacy to teach what they believe 
 to be for the best interests of mankind. 
 
 They have poled their boats up the swollen rivers of the 
 west; they have driven the light birch canoe across the wild, but 
 beautiful, lakes of the east; they have urged their dog teams across 
 the frozen tracks of the north; and sent their best men in to the 
 fever-stricken sections of the south; but here in Blaine County, 
 Montana, and beneath the pine-clad summits of the Little Rockies 
 they would meet with no particular hardships and could bend 
 their knees in grateful thanksgiving to their Father in Heaven for 
 the particular blessings He has bestowed upon them. 
 
 The mission proper consists of the large stone church above 
 mentioned and two four-story stone buildings, one for the boys 
 and the other for the girls. About forty of each sex, boys and 
 girls, find a home at the place. Father Boll was in charge at 
 the time the writer was there, December, 1916. Father Dinier 
 is the Missionary. Both of these men are French, and no doubt 
 highly educated. 
 
 Besides the buildings mentioned there are shops, stables, out- 
 buildings and a nicely arranged and well-kept farm.
 
 REV. FATHER EBERSCHWEILER. 
 Founder of St. Paul's Mission and a Grand Old Man.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 41 
 
 Sister Josephine has been longer at the mission than any 
 other person. 
 
 Sister Eulalia has charge of the girls' school and Mr. I. 
 Nicholson, of San Francisco, is trying to instill into the minds of 
 the boys the right way of living that has been prescribed for those 
 who must now travel the white man's road. These boys do not 
 learn too readily, so the teacher said. 
 
 Connected with the mission is a trained nurse, who has her 
 home in the little cottage which is used for guests. 
 
 As above mentioned this is a most beautiful location for a 
 church, school or ranch. It was first occupied by Col. Healy, 
 now of Lodge Pole, who had selected it as a place for his resi- 
 dence. He sold his cabin to the Fathers and went to another 
 place on the reservation as he, having an Indian wife, was granted 
 that privilege. 
 
 Father Eberschweiler's attention was called to the place by 
 William Bent, who was well acquainted with all of the Milk 
 River country. It was to Bent that the father had to go to get 
 some one who could help him translate the English into the 
 Assinniboine language. 
 
 Father Eberschweiler was one who had the appearance of 
 a man who had tried to live as he had preached. His was a 
 most benign countenance, full of the milk of human kindness 
 which impressed me with his sincerity. 
 
 Just a short distance up the creek from the mission is a most 
 beautiful natural bridge which should be seen by any passing that 
 way or who visit the mission. 
 
 Rev. Peter Thompson. 
 
 The Catholics are not the only ones who are trying to upbuild 
 the Indian character in a religious way. Over near Big Warm 
 is the home of Mr. Thompson, a half-breed, who is giving up his 
 life to the advancement of his people. He is a Presbyterian and 
 has a nice little church which has the appearance of being well 
 cared for. We were not fortunate enough to meet this gentleman 
 though we called at his place. These are the only places on 
 the reservation where there are houses of religious instruction. 
 
 As mentioned by Father Eberschweiler the reservation was 
 given over, under President Grant, to the Methodists. There 
 were but few preachers of that denomination in Montana in those 
 early days and they were in the mines and not on the outskirts 
 of civilization as were the priests of the Catholic church. There 
 was but little chance that the ministers of the Methodist church 
 would be able to go among the Indians with as small a possibility
 
 42 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 of being killed as the Jesuits, as the priests of that denomination 
 had been for years among the Red man and had taught 
 them to have respect, more or less, at least, for the Cross, which 
 was worn by them as an insignia that was so well known that the 
 Indians had respect for those who wore it. The preachers of other 
 denominations did not wear this badge of honor hence could not as 
 well protect themselves from the cupidity of the Red Man. 
 
 The Cree half-breeds who came to the Milk river as early as 
 1865 had their priests with them. These people came from 
 Canada and with them (while they were prosperous, as Louis 
 Shambrow tells us) their priests. He said: 'These fathers were 
 the most prosperous ones that were in the camps during the days 
 when the buffalo robes were most plenty but as soon as the hunt- 
 ers became poor the priests no longer came." I suppose as long 
 as men live we will have imposters. It may have been that those 
 so called priests who followed the fortunes of the buffalo hunter 
 were only there for the purpose of getting wealth from their 
 ignorant people. This is not really a digression but as an explan- 
 ation why the ministers of the other denominations did not get out 
 among these peculiar people. 
 
 We find that the next man to try to reach the people with 
 the Word was "Brother Van." Now we have known Brother 
 Van Orsdel for years and feel that he thought he had work to 
 do among the whites, in the mining camps and out along the 
 streams where the scattering ranch homes were. They were just 
 as much in need of religion as were the Red Men of the plains. 
 But there is one thing certain and that is that so soon as others 
 came to take his place among those of his first choice he, with his 
 characteristic willingness to do his duty, got down in the cow 
 country and tried to help the cowboys. So we find that his is the 
 first name mentioned in his profession after E. 
 
 The first Protestant denomination to begin work on the Milk 
 river was the Methodist, as we find the following from "Bro. 
 Van:" 'The first Methodist Episcopal minister to visit Chinook 
 was Dr. W. B. Spencer of the Board of Church extension. This 
 was in July, 1889. He preached and sang in the hotel. The 
 same summer the Rev. Jacob Mills, Presiding Elder of the Boze- 
 man district, preached. At the Annual Conference held in Liv- 
 ingston, July, 1 890, the Great Falls District was organized which 
 took in all the country from the summit of the Rocky mountains 
 to the Dakotas, and from the Musselshell to the Canadian line. 
 
 "W. W. Van Orsdel was appointed Presiding Elder. There 
 were five preachers in the district. The Presiding Elder came 
 to Chinook in the month of September. He visited the town at 
 different times, and in February, 1891, Rev. George Logan of
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 43 
 
 Fort Benton accompanied him, and they held a series of meet- 
 ings for two weeks. 
 
 "The church was organized with nine members, as follows: 
 R. D. Perret and wife and their daughter Mabel, Peter Denny 
 and wife, H. D. Riegle and wife, Mrs. Gelder and Mrs. Rain- 
 bolt. Bro. Lewis Wilson and family came soon after. 
 
 "In July, 1891, the conference, Rev. R. A. Armstrong was 
 appointed pastor at Chinook and Glasgow, being the only Pro- 
 testant minister in the whole Milk River valley, in fact from Fort 
 Benton to Dakota. It was during his pastorate that the present 
 church site was secured and a subscription was taken, and the 
 church was built. To the best of our knowledge this was the 
 first Protestant church between Great Falls and Dakota. Brother 
 Armstrong served his charge for two years successfully. He was 
 succeeded by the Rev. Thos. Hicks, who remained but one year. 
 
 "In August, 1 894, Rev. Allen Rogers was appointed pastor 
 of Havre and Chinook. During his successful pastorate a new 
 organ was purchased, and the interior of the church was finished. 
 A gracious revival was held and thirty united with the church. 
 J. A. Martin of Glasgow and Superintendent Van Orsdel assisted 
 the pastor. It was during this meeting that A. W. Hammer, the 
 Cow Boy Preacher, was converted and soon commenced his suc- 
 cessful ministry." 
 
 The people of Montana have known "Brother Van" for 
 many years and feel that he thought he had work to do among the 
 whites in the mining camps and out along the streams where the 
 scattering ranch homes were. These people were just as much in 
 need of religion as were the Indians of the plains. But there 
 is one thing certain, and that is, that as soon as others came to 
 take his place among those of his first choice he, with his char- 
 acteristic willingness to do his duty, got down in the "Cow Coun- 
 try" and tried to help the cowboys. So we find by some writer 
 who has not taken time to verify his story that "Bro. Van" was 
 the first one, after Father Eberschweiler, to preach the gospel 
 along the Milk river, but the foregoing account of Brother Van's 
 has given credit where credit is due and the one who wants facts 
 will find them in this chapter on the Church in Blaine County. 
 
 Other men who came here to help carry on the work were 
 Rev. Brewer and Revs. Stringfellow and Chrisler of the Episco- 
 pal church and Revs. I. N. Roberts, Baird, Mills and Day of 
 the Presbyterian church. 
 
 These men did their work well and left behind them the fruits 
 of their labor in the churches and schools that are to be found in 
 convenient places throughout the country.
 
 41 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Cowboy Days. 
 
 It took no stretch of the imagination for one to believe that 
 cattle could be raised to advantage on the northern plains, Milk 
 river, and the mountains adjacent. 
 
 The plainsmen, traders, freighters and squaw-men, had seen 
 the actual conditions of each season. The buffalo that had ranged 
 in countless numbers needed grass, and plenty of it, to keep them 
 in good condition. It was known that there were seasons of 
 drought and seasons of plenty of rainfall; that many a winter 
 the snow did not fall and that the Chinook was almost sure to 
 melt the snows, if they came, and give the cattle a chance to live. 
 The years that the snow would fall deep and stay were exceptions. 
 
 To begin stock raising on the plains as soon as the whites 
 came would have been suicidal. The buffalo would have 
 destroyed all hopes of success, even though the Indians had 
 not been there to bar the way. Then, again, the mountains 
 and valleys of Western Montana were ideal places in which to 
 raise cattle, horses and, later, sheep, as hardly any snow would 
 fall, to lay, and the settlements precluded any possibility of loss 
 through Indian raids. The rustler had not become, so far as 
 Montana was concerned, a menace. But, in a way, the valleys 
 in the mountains were becoming settled and the stockman, ever 
 being afraid of being crowded, pulled for the eastern and central 
 part of the state as soon as the Indian was no longer on the war- 
 path, as too many whites had come to settle the country for it to 
 be longer safe for him to go on his raids for scalps. 
 
 The Judith and Musselshell were to be settled first — as they 
 were known to be less hazardous than the Milk river country. 
 When these sections became over-crowded (?) the stockmen 
 began to look for new pastures; and, as above mentioned, the 
 conditions were known in the Milk river section, they pulled for 
 there with their numerous herds. 
 
 As near as I can find out, though, Thomas O'Hanlon and 
 others of the Old Fort Belknap Indian Agenc}', were the first 
 men to see the possibilities of cattle raising in what is now Blaine 
 county. They could not, however, run them in large herds, as 
 the Indians were apt to get away with them. They had to be 
 closely herded, which is not by any means a good way to raise 
 cattle to any advantage. 
 
 This, according to Mr. Joe Mosser, was in 1 878. They 
 had permission from the Agent, who had secured the privilege 
 from the Government. Al Shultz became the foreman of this 
 outfit. This was before the post was built at Assinniboine ; hence 
 before there was any protection to be had from the soldiers.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 45 
 
 The cattle of the O'Hanlon company must, then, be con- 
 sidered as the first to be raised. They were not raised exactly 
 under what might be called range conditions, though they fed 
 on the range. 
 
 In 1882 Simon Pepin moved his cattle from their range in 
 the west and Pepin and Broadwater run cattle for years. Louis 
 Shambrow, the noted scout, was one of their cow-punchers. 
 
 This must have been the first herd under range conditions as 
 I find that the next cattle to come in were those which belonged 
 to Granville Stuart, Kohrs and Bielenberg and others. They 
 had been running their herds south of the Missouri but got per- 
 mission from the Government to run them north of the river and 
 on to the reservation in the summer or fall of 1 886. Daddy 
 Marsh told the following concerning the moving of the 
 cattle across the Missouri river in 1886. 'The season was 
 exceedingly dry and Granville Stuart came to the conclusion that 
 it would be wise to cross them. He got permission from the 
 Government to take them to the reservation near the Little 
 Rockies. The water holes were drying up on the south side so 
 that when the cattle came to the Missouri at Rocky Point they 
 were in misery. There was a big bar of quick sand that ran 
 down quite a ways. I ccalled the foreman's attention to it and told 
 him that he had better station his men to change the course of 
 the herds as they approached the river so that they would not 
 get caught in the trap. Say, you couldn't stop the leaders, as 
 soon as they scented the water they rushed for it and soon hun- 
 dreds of them were hopelessly entrapped. The boys tried to haul 
 them out with their saddle horses and then hitched their teams 
 but no good was coming from their efforts. Soon a steamboat 
 came along and the Captain thought he could help so he ran out 
 a spar and they dug down and put the rope around the animal 
 and turned their engine loose with the result that they pulled the 
 brute in two and never pulled her feet out of the sand. The boys 
 had to use their six-shooters on the bunch and kill them to put 
 them out of the way. I tell you the half-breeds that were around 
 there had a picnic for days cutting in and getting what meat they 
 could." The winter which followed was one of the most dis- 
 astrous ever known to the stockmen of the Northwest. Books 
 could be filled with interesting incidents of that winter. Men 
 who had been considered wealthy — not considered, but actually 
 wealthy — came out the next spring without a cent, and some of 
 them in debt. Many were crippled so they never again recov- 
 ered. They simply lost their nerve and quit. Though the 
 range conditions were never again as bad, and they could have 
 made good, they would not try.
 
 46 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 John Bielenberg and Con Kohrs — now men who have all 
 they need — lost all they had. Mr. Bielenberg told the writer 
 that that winter of '86-'87 they lost $400,000 worth of cattle. 
 They had enough with which to pay all their debts and as they 
 were noted for their ability to rustle and also a knowledge of 
 cattle and range conditions they were extended credit by A. J. 
 Davis, the rich banker and mining man of Butte, and got on 
 their feet once more. 
 
 Mr. Kohrs told the writer the following concerning that trans- 
 action: "My experience in the stock business savers somewhat 
 of the romantic. I was a green German boy when I came to 
 Montana. I was trying to get out of the territory and go west. 
 I was camped on the Deer Lodge river and was waiting for the 
 party to pull out when something occurred to change all my plans. 
 I had learned something about the butcher business as a boy and 
 thought I could make a living at that. While we were camped 
 on the Deer Lodge a man had a beef to kill and asked if I had 
 ever done anything of the kind. I at once told him I was sure I 
 could do the job and he told me to turn myself loose. Hie pay 
 that I was to receive was the head and neck. Now I want to 
 explain to you that we had been living on short rations for some 
 time and I was hungry and when that head was cut off I am 
 ashamed to say it had the longest neck I ever saw on a cow brute, 
 as it was cut off pretty well down toward the tail. Soon after 
 I had finished this artistic job, a man who was to be somewhat 
 noted in the story of Montana, Hank Crawford, came along and 
 learning that I was a butcher (?) told me he would give me $25 
 per month and board if I would go to Bannack and work for him. 
 Now twenty-five dollars was not much money in those days and 
 that did not appeal to me but that word board was the one that 
 made me consider his offer and take it, as I had not had enough 
 to eat for days. I was a very able-bodied man in those days and 
 did not know what tired meant but I was soon to learn it in all 
 of its variations. That fellow Crawford must have sized me up 
 for an animal of some kind, probably an ass, as the work first 
 assigned me was surely some job. He had bought three wild 
 heifers of some one on Cottonwood (the creek where the City 
 of Deer Lodge is now) and helped me take them out a few 
 miles and then told me that I was to take them to Bannack, a 
 place that I had never seen. (He had asked me where my 
 butcher tools were and I rustled a butcher knife and a hatchet and 
 borrowed a hand-saw from a friend. These were well wrapped 
 up and put in a wagon that some one was taking with them to 
 the mines.) When he turned me loose with those heifers they 
 were in no frame of mind to give me much trouble because there 
 were no other stock in sight. When I got the other side of
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 47 
 
 Dempsy creek the baby cows saw a band of cattle that belonged 
 to Bob Dempsy and they took for them as fast as they could go. 
 The weather was hot and the exercise, which I did not need, 
 
 caused me to get mighty warm. The fact is I was d d hot in 
 
 both mind and body. I chased those heifers and that band of 
 stock all over those hills trying to cut them out. It seemed to 
 me to be a useless expenditure of muscle and wind as it did not 
 seem to do any good. All at once I saw a man going by on 
 horse-back and I called his attention to my trouble and asked him 
 if he wouldn't use his pony to help those heifers change their 
 minds and get them strung out on the road to Bannack as it 
 seemed that I was about to run my legs off without accomplishing 
 anything. Sure I was a foot! That was what I meant when 
 I said that Hank must have taken me for some kind of an animal. 
 "I afterward learned that the gentleman who helped me 
 change the minds of those brutes and get them strung out on the 
 road again, was Dr. Glick. He cut them out and helped me for 
 a few miles and then rode on his way. It was one hundred and 
 twenty miles from Cottonwood to Bannack. We came by the Big 
 Hole and forded the river near the place where Brown's Bridge 
 was afterward built. This was the first place where I could 
 rest. I laid down thinking that the cattle would be tired enough 
 to rest for a while at least. I know that I had only been asleep 
 but a short time when I missed the heifers. I started on the back 
 trail and caught them before they could cross the river. This 
 was enough to satisfy me that they needed more exercise and that 
 my only hope was to keep them going. I got after them and 
 hazed them right along and when within a few miles of Bannack 
 Hank came out and met me and they were soon placed where 
 they could not run any more. I had made the 1 20 miles in about 
 36 hours. I only worked for him for one month at $25 per 
 month, as he soon found out I could keep his books so he raised 
 me to $100. I worked for him for some time and came to the 
 conclusion to go into business for myself. I saw several of the 
 miners and got them to loan me some money with which to buy 
 a starter in the business. Some one had several steers for sale 
 and I bought them with the borrowed money. I turned them out 
 up the Grasshopper just above town and that night they were run 
 off by the Indians or some one else and I had to begin over again. 
 The miners from whom I had borrowed the money knew the 
 shape I was in and they asked me what I intended to do and I 
 told them they must loan me some more in order to give me a 
 chance to make something to pay them what I had first borrowed. 
 They were nice fellows who were making money and they kindly 
 helped me again.
 
 48 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "When they discovered the mines at Alder I went there and 
 began the business. Every time I could find steers for sale I 
 got them and was a big cattle man in a very short while. I 
 bought the John Grant ranch in '66 and with it about 600 head of 
 cattle, probably the largest herd in Montana in those days. This 
 gave us headquarters until we got more than we could handle 
 to advantage in the Deer Lodge country so we had to change 
 our base and look to the range in the central and eastern part of 
 the Territory. A lot of us who had been in the business for years 
 soon found that the Judith was well adapted to stock raising so 
 we sent many of our cattle to that section. One soon expands on 
 the range, that is, he soon allows his herds to scatter into the 
 places where the best grass is to be had. It was in that way that 
 we got several miles east of the Judith country by the season of 
 1886. The grass being better on the north side of the Missouri 
 we got permission from the Government to put our cattle on the 
 Belknap reservation. That winter we made such a big losing 
 that we were broke. I met A. J. Davis one day and he said: 
 'Con, I hear that you have met with some heavy losses this past 
 winter, how is it?' I replied that we had, but that we had enough 
 to pay all we owed.' He then said: 'There is $1 00,000 to your 
 credit in this bank so you can start in the stock business as soon 
 as you want.' This was a surprise to me that the judge should 
 offer us a credit without solicitation on our part, so I asked him 
 how long the offer would hold good. I did not have any definite 
 plan in my head as to what I wanted to do. I soon came to the 
 conclusion to go to Oregon and look over the situation. I soon 
 found that I could spend the $100,000 and as much more in 
 what looked good to me. I wired Davis what I thought and 
 asked for an additional $100,000. His reply was to do what 
 ever I saw for the best. I had no sooner spent that money than 
 I found where I could use $60,000 more and so wired him. To 
 make my story short the judge allowed me to use that also. When 
 I returned to Montana I owed him $260,000. I will say 
 that that credit for which I had not asked came to us in time to 
 help us make a success in the stock business. I had lived so 
 long in Montana that Mr. Davis knew I had always met all of 
 my obligations." 
 
 The man who would have the nerve to attempt to drive three 
 head of wild range cattle on foot for over one hundred miles had 
 nerve enough to get out from under almost any serious load. 
 
 The ordinary cowboy would never have started on such a 
 trip. He would have invited Hank to or directed him to a most 
 decidedly disagreeable climate and gone off disgusted to think 
 that anyone took him for such a fool as to even try such an almost 
 impossible feat.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 49 
 
 All cow men know how hard it is to drive two or three cattle 
 any place. In the large herd they will stay together and, even 
 though one happens to stray a little to one side, the main herd goes 
 on and the stray can be brought back without any serious trouble. 
 Take three head and if they do not stay together, and they are 
 not apt to, there is all kinds of hard feelings in the cowboy's mind 
 toward that little outfit. One will go one way, probably the 
 other two in another direction, or the three may make up their 
 minds to go in three different directions at the same time, while 
 the cowboy is sure that there is only one way at a time that he 
 can go. After the cattle have acted in this way for some time 
 there is only one place where the cowboy wishes them to be and 
 that is a place where the barbecue is certain and where they will 
 no longer bother him. It recalls to the writer's mind a little thing 
 that occurred at his ranch one day. One of his sons was trying 
 to cut out a saddle horse from a band of fifty horses and take it 
 to the corral. He was having a whole lot of trouble. Wm. 
 Montgomery, the big ranchman of the Big Hole, was looking 
 on and he said: 'That boy of yours puts me in mind of a hired 
 man I had on my ranch. I sent him out after a saddle horse and 
 he began just as the boy is doing, to cut the horse out and bring 
 it in alone. He was not successful. He came and reported and 
 I asked him why he did not bring the whole band in? He turned 
 on me with disgust depicted in his face and said: 'How in hell 
 
 can you bring in a whole band when it is d d hard to bring 
 
 in one ? 
 
 The brand of Kohrs was the D-S. The foreman was John 
 R. Smith. They had their headquarters on Dry Beaver at the 
 east end of the Little Rockies. The circle C, Bob Coburn, came 
 from the same section and located not far from Kohrs. Horace 
 Brewster was in charge of their stuff. Henry Seiben came about 
 the same time with Frank Arnett as foreman. 
 
 The Bearpaw pool came in 1891 with L. B. Taylor, now 
 Senator from Blaine county, as foreman. 
 
 Charlie Williams came with the Shonkin pool about the same 
 time. 
 
 "Si" Gamble came with the Tom Crain outfit in '89. 
 
 It did not take long to take up the range, that is, all that was 
 outside of the reservation. Thousands of cattle were finding 
 plenty to eat, and big frisky calves were growing and getting fat 
 to become toppers, as steers, on the Chicago market. Hundreds 
 of cowboys and cowmen roamed all over Northern Montana 
 clear to the Canadian line. Wagons would start in the spring 
 and the boys would gather and brand the calves, then the beef 
 herd was to be gathered in the fall and taken to market.
 
 50 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 The getting of the steers to the railroad some times required 
 days and even weeks. Of course weeks when men from Montana 
 had to drive their stock to Cheyenne to load in those times before 
 we had railroads in this country. To take cattle that distance 
 required care, as they must take on flesh and not lose any. The 
 way that could be done was to allow them to drift in the direction 
 they were to go and their ordinary travel to fill would take them 
 the required distance toward their destination for the day. 
 
 The fording of streams that must be crossed was not the 
 easiest thing in the world. When such streams as the Yellow- 
 stone are at their high times it is no fun to swim a bunch of cattle 
 and get your outfit over in safety. One man told me that it took 
 them three days once to cross the Yellowstone with a herd of Con 
 Kohrs' cattle and that eighty-three head were drowned in the 
 attempt. 
 
 On these trips there was the night herd to be stood. It might 
 be very easy pastime or it might, before morning, spell tragedy to 
 some of the cowboys who might be mixed in a stampede. But 
 it was a life the boys liked. 
 
 I recall a little story that was told me by Nick Bielenberg. 
 "Quite a number of years ago I bought some cattle of Granville 
 Stuart. We had to move them across the country to the railroad. 
 Granville was along with the outfit but as far as making a hand 
 was concerned he was no good. He was always a great fellow 
 to read. He thought it would be a good thing to take a whole lot 
 of books for the cowpunchers' enjoyment. Darned if I know 
 how many he had, but anyway a sack full. The v/ay those cow- 
 boys would tackle those books was a caution. They would come 
 into camp and pick up a book and the cook would holler 'Grub 
 Pile' till he was red in the face and he could never get all those 
 fellows to come at the same time. Just as soon as a fellow would 
 drop a book some other galoot would grab it. The cook called 
 me aside one day and told me he was going to quit as the boys 
 thought more of Granville's books than they did of his grub. It 
 would never do to lose a good cook at that time in the game and 
 I told him not to say anything and I would see that they would 
 cause him no more trouble. It was the next day that we arrived 
 at the Yellowstone so I gathered up the books and threw them 
 into the river, thus starting the first circulating library ever known 
 in Montana." 
 
 Many an amusing incident took place in the cattle shipping 
 days. Some of the things would not bear repeating. A cowboy, 
 or several, if the train was a long one, would need to be along 
 to see that the cattle were not injured. When stock got down in 
 the car there was a chance that they would be tramped to death. 
 Care was required at all times to keep them on their feet. If an
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 51 
 
 animal was lying down in a natural way there would be no 
 danger unless it was so lying that it might be in the way and 
 upset some of its fellows and thus make a pile-up. There are 
 many things to do in such cases but it is not part of this story 
 to try to educate those who do not know how to ship cattle to 
 market. 
 
 After the boys got to market they would take in the town and 
 have a little innocent fun. If there was a one who was green 
 along it was up to them to see that he became wise to all that 
 was to be known. 
 
 There was a character in the range days of Montana known 
 to all Montana people either by sight or by name, "Two Dot" 
 Wilson. He was one of the big stockmen in the state but he was 
 the most careless man as to his appearance known in the country. 
 
 One season he made a shipment to Chicago and sold his 
 steers. The cowboys thought that they would have some fun at 
 the old man's expense so, as they were walking up the street they 
 met a policeman and told him that the old man coming behind 
 them was a vag as he had just asked them for money to eat on. 
 When Two Dot came up the police said "Come with me." 
 Wilson wanted to know why, but was told not to talk back that 
 he would know why soon enough. He went along with the 
 officer till he got to a bank where he did business and 
 asked the gentleman in whose custody he was if he could go in. 
 For some reason he was allowed to go into the bank and he 
 walked up to the cashier's window and said : "Can I get a check 
 cashed here?" "Why, certainly, Mr. Wilson, you have about 
 thirty thousand dollars to your credit, how much do you want?" 
 
 "D if I know how much this S — , pointing to the 
 
 policeman, wants." It is needless to say that the man was some- 
 what taken aback and would have given quite a lot to have found 
 the cowboys who had given him a "bum steer." 
 
 But to return to the days of the range; the line riding in 
 winter, on cold and disagreeable days, was something that would 
 try men's souls. The life of the cowboy was by no means a 
 picnic. 
 
 It was a life that had much of the hum-drum in it as well as 
 the moments of fun and excitement. The class of men who 
 followed it were not much different than the ordinary ones, whom 
 we meet on the frontier. The writer has been all his life from 
 early boyhood a cowman, a ranchman, if you will. He never saw 
 the peculiar class of people of whom the story writers tell. 
 
 The fact is the cowboy was almost human, as will be seen 
 today, if you will try to get next to him and not be afraid. 
 
 In the last legislature, in Montana, we had Senators John 
 Edwards, L. B. Taylor, Meadors, Featherly and McCone. It
 
 52 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 is said that you could actually approach these men and talk to 
 them without having your hand on your gun. These men were 
 noted cowboys and cowmen. Even the late Governor of 
 Wyoming, now Senator, John B. Kendrick, was a cowboy. 
 
 They can even run autos and dance the Turkey Trot with 
 the good-looking girls who most do congregate at Helena when 
 the legislature is in session (at least some of them can), and 
 have not killed any one for such a long time that if you were 
 to ask them when their last great scrap came off they might even 
 lie to you and tell you they never killed a man. 
 
 But I will tell you this, these same men — men who are at the 
 heads of affairs in Montana could, had they have wished, in 
 those range days when they were working as hard as men can 
 work, for "cattle punching" was hard work — could have taken 
 time to have thought up, and had brains with which things could 
 have been invented, to make the tenderfoot story-hunter see many 
 things that were the exceptions rather than the rule. 
 
 When you take into consideration that Charlie Russell, the 
 great cowboy artist; Frank Linderman, the poet and author; 
 Wallace Coburn, the movie picture actor, and Senator B. D. 
 Phillips, the foot-racer, cowman, politician, sheepman and mil- 
 lionaire miner, were all cowboys at some time in their lives, you 
 can see that you could, had you been at all susceptible, stung by 
 some of the original dope they could have mixed for you. 
 
 If these fellows didn't suit you, tackle young Dr. Treacy of 
 Helena, Chub Reed of the Big Flat, Jay Rhodes of Harlem, 
 George Barrows of Chinook, Bob Stuart of the Reservation or 
 Frank Landon and Tommy Flynn of the P. & O. bunch. Stung, 
 yes, so badly that you could not tell the truth again if you saw it 
 coming up the road in less than nothing. 
 
 It was in the fertile brains of just such men as these that the 
 great (?) cowboy stories have gone out to the gullible readers of 
 the east. 
 
 It was always a wonder to me that any of the cowboys ever 
 lived to grow up as there were so many shooting scrapes (?) 
 The boys were young and full of life — as it took a red-blooded 
 fellow to follow the trail; no place for a weakling. 
 
 They had their dances, which would be held as soon as 
 there were women enough to form a quadrille. 
 
 They even might indulge in the stag dance in order to keep 
 in practice. No doubt horses were run to test their speed and, 
 of course, there would be no interest to the onlooker unless he had 
 a wager up as to results. 
 
 The bucking horse held out a little diversion to the onlooker 
 but no particular fun for the chief actor — no matter what he may 
 say to the contrary.
 
 ■ 1 K I »_Jl- ' 
 
 - ~ 
 
 JAY RHOADS. 
 A well-known Cowboy of Blaine County.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 53 
 
 I am led to believe that once in a while a little game of stud 
 or draw-power might have been indulged in to pass away the 
 evening in the bunkhouse, not for love of the money but for the 
 excitement. Certainly some of the boys would go to the little 
 town and shoot it up — but mostly up — that is, their guns would 
 be held at such an angle that there was no danger from the 
 bullet unless it fell on someone. Some of them got full at times 
 and much wordy ammunition was fired point blank at a mark 
 which received no particular injury from the discharge. 
 
 Yes these were the cowboy days and to prove to you how 
 they could play their pranks for the unsophisticated, I will relate 
 a few of the incidents that have come to my notice. One of 
 them I will put under the following caption: 
 
 How We Got Rid of a Tenderfoot. 
 
 "He was a great big, finely-built fellow who had recently 
 graduated from a Chicago college but as he had fallen off so that 
 he did not weigh more than 220 pounds his dad thought he needed 
 a rest cure. 
 
 "Dad went to see the Rosenbaum Brothers, the livestock 
 commission men, and asked the senior member of the firm if he 
 would not try and find a place where his darling could go and 
 camp out and receive at the same time the attention due his 
 birth. 
 
 "Rosenbaum was well acquainted with several of the mem- 
 bers of the Bearpaw pool and wrote to Stadler and Kaufman, and 
 others, to get their consent to allow the boy to come and accept 
 the hospitality (?) of their cow camp. Of course a request of 
 this kind was soon granted and the young fellow came to Chinook. 
 
 It was in the spring of the year before active operations began 
 for roundup. George Barrows was foreman but he stayed in 
 Chinook and allowed Jay Rhodes and Frank Owens to look out 
 for the camp. Owens was really a bad man from Texas who had 
 used his gun or knife with serious effect several times. 
 
 'The Chicago boy was taken to camp to become a guest, as 
 he thought, and that the cowboys were to make his days, days of 
 pleasure and his nights long dreams of bliss. 
 
 'The cowboys rebelled at this as it is needless to say that they 
 could not see any good reason why they should play flunky to 
 some one who was able to take care of himself. 
 
 "Jay happened to be in Chinook one day and he called 
 Barrows' attention to the fact that their guest was too exacting 
 and they did not enjoy his company. George said: 'Why don't 
 you get rid of him in some way? Don't kill him, but make it so 
 disagreeable for him that he will quit.'
 
 54 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "The first thing they did was to take him off on the range 
 one day and ride off and leave him and he was two days finding 
 camp again. They would try all kinds of things but he stuck. 
 
 "Shortly after losing him on the range, Owens went to 
 Chinook and got into trouble with a fellow and cut him severely 
 in the abdomen. He rode back to camp expecting that the 
 authorities might come at any time and take him, although, in 
 this particular case, he was not the aggressor. When Chicago 
 learned that Owens was really a bad man he began to fear him. 
 Owens would intimate that the water bucket was empty or the 
 fuel gone and big boy would hustle and see that they were 
 replenished. 
 
 "Cook would come in and make a statement that breakfast 
 
 was waiting and that it was time that the S had better get 
 
 up. The way they had of flying into their clothes was a caution. 
 Jay found out that Chicago was deathly afraid of rattlesnakes. 
 Near the camp, which was located near the Snake Creek battle 
 field, is a rocky butte that was the den of snakes. Jay went up 
 one evening and killed a good big fat fellow, as he wished to see 
 how persuasive it might be in getting rid of their guest. He put 
 it in one of Chicago's boots and as the cook was in on the play 
 they were to be routed out in haste the next morning. In he 
 came early and said : 'You fellows turn out in a hurry as I have 
 a hunch that the officers are coming.' This language was couched 
 in very explicit if not complimentary terms, so the boys jumped 
 up and hurried into their clothes. Chicago thrust one of his feet 
 into the boot that was empty and tried to get the other on but 
 found he was not able to do so, so he turned it up and the big 
 rattler fell at his feet in such a way that the head was toward 
 him. 
 
 'The big fellow said: 'Oh, my God,' and fell over in a 
 dead faint on the bunk, to be drenched by the cook with two 
 buckets of cold water from the spring. He was brought to and 
 told that he should act more manly in face of danger and not 
 faint. He ordered his horse so he could go to Chinook to see the 
 doctor before the poison could take effect. The doctor could 
 find no evidence of a bite so the young fellow rode back to camp 
 and packed his grip, no longer in need of a rest (?) cure in a 
 Montana cow camp." 
 
 Another story gives the same side to the life of the cowboy. 
 
 How We Were Double Crossed. 
 
 "Quite a number of years ago," Jay said, "I was foreman of 
 the T U, which had its headquarters on Cow creek, south of the 
 Bear's Paw mountains. I received a letter, one day, couched in
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 55 
 
 '\ijii 
 
 . I ..'-.!_ 
 
 the nicest language I ever saw, from a party who wished to get 
 the job of cooking in our camp. The truth of it is we had a good 
 cook and did not want to change. 
 
 "The letter went on to explain that the writer had cooked for 
 bishops and others high in the ecclesiastical profession — and that 
 he was not alone a concocter of special viands — but was an enter- 
 tainer of no mean talents as he was a performer on musical instru- 
 ments, as well as a vocalist. He hove in sight almost as soon as 
 his letter. 
 
 "A cowman who had a horse deal on down in the breaks of 
 the Missouri happened into camp that night with a box of cigars 
 and a bottle of whiskey. The cigars were opened, the cork pulled 
 and all invited to fall to and help themselves. 
 
 'The new man was asked to take a drink but he declined, 
 saying he never indulged. Then one of the boys asked him to 
 sing a song for their entertainment. To this he replied he could 
 not without his music. 'Certainly you can sing something,' his 
 tormentor said. 
 
 "So he sang 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' and 'Rock of Ages.' 
 (Very appropriate in such a gang and at such a time.) One of 
 the boys who was as full of hell as needs be, staggered over and 
 requested the singer to take a drink, at the same time pouring a 
 small amount of whiskey into a small cup that was on the table. 
 He declined with thanks. The cowpuncher did not take kindly 
 to this so he pulled a big gun from some place about his person 
 and pointing it at the party asked him if he would not have a 
 drink with him. 'Certainly I will drink,' was his reply. Several 
 times he felt it unhealthy to refuse the drink and the same influ- 
 ence got him to smoke his first cigar. It only required a few 
 moments for the whiskey and cigar to work to such an extent that 
 he could no longer hold a grip on something for which he never 
 had a desire, so he rushed to the hitching post and in his agony 
 called on his god to forgive him for having been compelled to 
 become drunk through force and to forgive him for having been 
 found in such company. 
 
 "It was now made up by the punchers that one of them, a 
 son of one of the owners and now a prominent doctor (Treacy) 
 of Helena should take the part of the stranger. 
 
 "When the next meal was called the young doctor requested 
 the bad man to pass the bread, to which no attention was paid. 
 
 Another request was made and the reply came back 'Go to h 
 
 you S I wouldn't pass you anything.' 
 
 'This unwarranted assault brought forth words from each 
 that could only be satisfied by the death of one or the other. 
 There was only one gun in camp and that belonged to me, but 
 the new man did not know that. There were only two cartridges
 
 56 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 on the place. The duelists went out of doors and I gave orders 
 for all of the boys to stay at the table. Soon two shots were 
 fired and Holmes fell. One of the boys had rushed into the 
 kitchen, dipped a dishcloth into the juice of some raspberries, went 
 to the fallen man, bound up his wound which, to all appearances, 
 was in one of his shoulders. He was brought into the cabin and 
 placed on his bunk and I led the reluctant stranger in so he could 
 look at the poor boy who was about to pass away and told him 
 to forgive him for the ungentlemanly act of forcing him to take 
 a drink. His hand gripped my arm so it pained me. I told him 
 I was sorry that the thing had occurred but that it was a mighty 
 tough bunch of fellows and the shooting scrapes were of frequent 
 occurrence, but this was a little different than any that had taken 
 place before, and as Holmes was a favorite, the boys had made up 
 their minds to lynch his murderer, and as he was more or less 
 the cause of the trouble they would no doubt hang him also. My 
 advice was for him to go, and go at once. 
 
 "It is needless to say he lit out and camped in the cowshed 
 that night to make his escape the next day to the reservation where 
 he tried to find Major Logan, one of the members of the firm, 
 and tell him of the horrible thing which had taken place on Cow 
 Creek. Logan was in Helena, so the party sent word to Dr. 
 Treacy that his son had shot and probably killed one of the other 
 boys and that the place had become noted for several killings of 
 late owing to the particular number of bad men who had found 
 jobs on that particular ranch. 
 
 'The darned fool notified the Pinkerton agency of the affair. 
 Logan, to whom the doctor showed the telegram, told him it must 
 be a fake, gotten up for some reason among the cowboys for 
 the benefit of some tenderfoot, because no more peaceable bunch 
 of boys rode the Milk River range. 
 
 "I followed the tenderfoot into Harlem and learned that he 
 had notified the Pinkerton men and that some of them were about 
 to come and investigate and that Dr. T. was to come from 
 Helena. I at once sent a message to Logan 'Nothing doing,' 
 and he understood. Our friend went to Canada and wrote back 
 that the cowboys of the north were nowhere as bad as those of 
 Montana. 
 
 "But the way we got double-crossed in the affair was this: 
 We had one rider who was so deaf that no ordinary conversation 
 could be heard by him. 
 
 "Our cook was somewhat of a josher himself, so he took 
 Deafy down in the brush and explained the whole plot to him 
 and told him to take the shotgun and go in and cover Treacy 
 and ask him why he shot young Holmes. We were all lying 
 there in our bunks talking over the fun we had with the tender-
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 57 
 
 foot, who was even then hiding out in the cow shed, when in came 
 Deafy with the biggest shotgun I ever saw in my life and pointing 
 it at Treacy wanted him to explain why he had shot Holmes. 
 Say, you never in your born days saw a bunch of cowpunchers 
 light out and hit the high places. They almost tore the jamb off 
 the door trying to get out, at the same time with Deafy after them. 
 
 I sure was some scared myself and rushed for the cook room, 
 only to find the cook doubled up with laughter at the exit of the 
 bunch of bad men who could not face Deafy's gun. 
 
 "The cook had double-crossed us." 
 
 A great many people wonder why all who entered the cattle 
 business in the early days of Montana did not become rich. There 
 were several reasons and some of them were the peculiar climatic 
 conditions. One might have had a nice herd of cattle and the 
 winter of some one year would take their all. Then the rustler 
 had to be taken into consideration. The man who would go out 
 and gather your stock and kill or sell it or who would change 
 the brand was mighty hard to deal with. Then, too, the distance 
 from market made the prices so low that many could not possibly 
 continue the business. 
 
 As soon as the sheep man came the cattle man thought that 
 he could no longer stay, as the cattle were a little bit disgusted 
 with the scent of the little pest with the golden hoof. Cattle 
 have become used to staying on the same range and many men 
 who once fought the sheep owner are now raising both to advan- 
 tage. 
 
 The cattle range that gave way to the sheep and his herder 
 is now the home of the Dry Farmer, where all kinds of stock will 
 be raised, if one is to make a success. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Sheep Days. 
 
 Men who would not attempt to take a dollar away from you 
 in any but a legitimate way would take a chance in the stock busi- 
 ness to crush your very existence, if possible, by using all the 
 Government range that you had formally used as a cattle range 
 for their sheep. There is something about a sheep that cattle and 
 horses do not like. Probably it is the scent. Sheep men and 
 cattle men have had their wars and if all that has ever occurred 
 in those feuds could be written one would surely have much of 
 intense interest. 
 
 It is probably the manner in which sheep are handled that 
 causes the destruction of the range. A sheep, if left to its own 
 device, will have a tendency to build up rather than to ruin the
 
 58 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 grass. One can not leave a sheep in this manner as it would 
 be only a short time before the sheep business would be on the 
 bum and the fur business would be a poor one. 
 
 Now as to the first sheep in Blaine county. It does not appear 
 to be possible to find any one who will assert that he knows just 
 who the man was who tried out the experiment. Billy Cochran 
 says that in 1 888 or '89 B. G. Olsen had sheep in the section that 
 afterward became the county. All others seem to think that it 
 may be possible that he was the man. T. M. Everett says he 
 recalls that Nick Beilenberg and Joe Toomey had some which 
 they tried to winter on the Milk river just below the mouth of 
 the North Fork the season of '89-90. That was a hard winter 
 and their losses were almost complete. Joe Mosser said that he 
 could not say for sure but that Frank Sayer, of Benton, and 
 Olsen, both had sheep on the Milk river early and he did not 
 recall which was the first. The writer called on Mr. Sayer and 
 he said that some one had them before he did, so there you are. 
 
 Now the sheep business today, 1917, is one of the most 
 prosperous ones in which men have ever been interested since the 
 earliest recollection of history, in the, stock business. Wool over 
 fifty cents, fat lambs on the market at $1 7.50, ewes at $18.00. 
 That it is now good is not saying that it was always one in which 
 a person could engage with any certainty of success. 
 
 There have been many men in what is now Blaine county and 
 what it was before Phillips county was cut off that have made 
 good in the business and are today the prominent men of the 
 county because they were successful in their undertakings. 
 
 And these men were not ones who were born with a silver 
 spoon in their mouths but were born with a desire for success and 
 with a determination to fight it out along any line in which they 
 got a start even if it took them not "all summer" but many win- 
 ters and summers. 
 
 Jurgan Kuhr, now one of, if not the largest sheep man in 
 the county, began in a very small way, but continued till today 
 he is a factor in the county. If you were to go to him for a 
 story of his success he would tell you that many a time he was 
 not sure of the final results. The Sprinkle Brothers, now men 
 of wealth, began, so the writer has been told, as herders of the 
 "Little fellow with the golden hoof." 
 
 Senator B. D. Phillips had at one time probably 100,000 
 running at large on the ranges of northern Montana and inside 
 of his large enclosures. The sheep business forced these men to 
 secure large tracts of land at prices that were low so that today 
 their land holdings would make them rich. 
 
 But if today the sheep business is one in which men would 
 like to engage there was a time when it was just the opposite.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 59 
 
 Sheep were hardly worth anything, as their wool was as low as 
 six cents and their lambs only worth what a pound of wool is now. 
 
 Then there was a hazard in more ways than one attached to 
 the business. Out there some place on the northern plains, where 
 the grass was best, you had taken the band of sheep and turned 
 them over to a man, to whom, if he wanted to borrow fifty dol- 
 lars you would have thought twice. But he was one in whom you 
 had more or less confidence as you expected him to stay with 
 that band no matter what condition should arise. The tall grasses 
 of the range land might catch on fire and the destruction of all 
 you had would only mean minutes. Minn. Cowan told the writer 
 of one prairie fire that took place on Woody Island creek. Jurgan 
 Muhr had a band of sheep out in that country when one day a fire 
 started. The men in charge rounded them up and were trying to 
 get them to the bed ground and would then try and fight the fire 
 back. All their efforts proved futile. The grass was only about 
 eight inches high with a strong wind blowing, but h — would have 
 been a cool place alongside of it. The loss was between 2300 and 
 2400. That was certainly a big barbecue that Jurgan had not 
 planned, so roast mutton was. the cheapest thing you ever saw. 
 
 Minn says: "My first experience in the sheep business was 
 none too pleaant. Shortly after I began to herd in the fall of 
 '93, in the month of October, a big blizzard of a day and night 
 came up. Everything looked alike to me but what I could see was 
 snow, snow, snow every place. There was no use in leaving the 
 sheep for that would have been very unwise and if one stayed 
 there would be a chance that you would be picked up as soon as 
 the storm was over as they would be sure to hunt for the band as 
 that meant money. I stayed right with that band for two nights 
 and two and one-half days. Even after the storm quit I could 
 not find camp. Chris Maloney found me about three o'clock the 
 third day. I had all the sheep. The sheep bedded down each 
 night. The second night they drifted to an old sheep shed where 
 there was a tent but no bedding, but as there were some pelts 1 
 managed to get by. It never occurred to me to leave them." 
 
 Scott Cowan, who has been a pretty successful sheep man in 
 the Milk River country, has had many and varied experiences. 
 He said: 'The winters were by no means all bad and the life 
 of the herder was not too uncomfortable during normal conditions. 
 When the exceptionally hard ones came, much suffering came to 
 both men and flocks. I remember that one season one of the big 
 sheep men moved a part of his stock to Canada and did not get 
 there in time to make full preparatoins for their safety. The 
 result was a very heavy loss. The next spring some of his friends 
 asked him if his loss was very heavy and his reply was: 'No, I 
 saved some of the dogs and all of the sheep herders.' I recall one
 
 60 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 winter that we had had bad luck by losing our dogs. We had 
 to take out snow plows and clean off a section of ground so the 
 sheep could spread out and feed. If the conditions were at all 
 favorable the boys would take their blankets and stay all night. 
 One morning for some reason I got it into my head that there 
 would be trouble if we took the sheep to any great distance from 
 home, so advised that it should not be done. About ten it cleared 
 up so I changed my mind and the sheep were started. When 
 we left home the sun was shining as brightly as could be. There 
 was a coulee at some distance from the house in which we wanted 
 them to feed as the grass was nice and thick. We had just arrived 
 on the feeding grounds when it began to cloud up and in a very 
 few minutes not a thing could be seen. I told my brothers 
 (Arthur, Minn and George) to hold them and I would go to the 
 house and get a little hay and that there would probably be a 
 chance of getting them back to the sheds. I got a 'half-breed' 
 sled and loaded on a little hay and started back to find the band, 
 which was done by accident as I had Fred Brockway, then only 
 a small boy with me, who called my attention to the trail the sheep 
 had made while being driven before the blizzard. When we 
 found the boys they were more or less excited, but I told them 
 to take it easy and we would pull through all right as we had 
 to stay any way. I left the sled at one end and we tried to hold 
 the herd by walking around it. We could not see one another 
 and did not meet unless we happened to come to the sleigh at 
 the same time. 
 
 "Along about evening the sheep began to bleat and began to 
 take interest in things so we thought we could get them 
 home to the shed. We started with the team ahead and had 
 only gone a few minutes when one of the boys shouted that 
 the band had broken in two. I stopped and went back to find 
 that the tail of the band had not moved at all. The leaders were 
 about two hundred yards in the lead so we had to get the two 
 bunches together and stay with them, I thought, so we began to 
 do so. In this we were not successful because, try as we might, 
 we could not find the leaders and did not get them together until 
 we came to Chris Maloney's place, where we were fortunate to 
 get the men so that they could get something to eat and to put 
 Fred who was, as I have said, only a small boy, in a comfortable 
 place to keep him from freezing." 
 
 Minn says of the same storm : "When I went in, Scott's face 
 was so badly frozen that I had to go out in his place. I had to 
 cut off his mustache so he could close his mouth. I did not get 
 back till about midnight though the band was only about one- 
 quarter of a mile away from Maloney's house. The next day we 
 got a team and snow plow and managed to get them to our place,
 
 * s? :," *»ffl3Sta»K\?»^S 
 
 CHIEF JOSEPH. 
 
 The Indian who whipped every army that tried to capture him, not 
 excepting Miles, whom he had going if he (Joseph) had made one rush when 
 the buffalo came in sight.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 61 
 
 which was only a mile and a half. The snow was probably three 
 feet deep. My face was so chilled that I did not get back to work 
 for over a week. I had been with that herd all that night. When 
 a man does a thing like that he earns all he ever makes in the sheep 
 business. That was on the 5 th day of February, 1895. 
 
 That was not the only bad winter we had up in that country, 
 for the winter of 1906-7 my brothers gave Gene Aiken $100 to 
 take a little grub and two pitchforks to the ranch and he was a 
 week making to Woody Island and back to Harlem." 
 
 After one of these hard winters the lamb crop would be small 
 as the mothers would have no nourishment for the little ones when 
 they came. The season of lambing was one always to be dreaded 
 as extra men were in demand and they were often hard to get and 
 sometimes harder to keep. When a person has property that gets 
 its start from the foundation such as lambs that do not come to 
 this climate strong enough to know there own mother, or worse 
 yet, a fool mother that does not know its own offspring, then he 
 surely had grief. 
 
 This article is not to educate the reader in sheep raising but 
 to give the story in a vague way of the sheep industry in our 
 county. A book could be filled if one were to get the stories of 
 the herders who have braved the storms of an Arctic winter for a 
 small consideration, to protect their charge from the wild animals 
 that roved the range or from the terrible blizzard that might prove 
 their undoing. We do not hear of many of the heroic things the 
 sheep herder has done in his fight for life and in the sacrifices he 
 has made to protect the property placed in his hands but, neverthe- 
 less he has been a factor in the upbuilding of many of the fortunes 
 in Montana today. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Last Stand or the Battle of the Bear's Paw. 
 
 The last battle to be fought between the Indians and the 
 whites in Montana was commenced September 30 and finished on 
 October 5th, 1877, on Snake Creek, sixteen miles from Chinook, 
 now in Blaine county. 
 
 In order to give the reader who may have never heard the 
 causes that led up to this battle a clear view it will be necessary 
 to go back and explain the conditions prior to this last stand of the 
 Nez Perces. 
 
 Our first knowledge of these Indians came to us through Lewis 
 and Clark. The impression left by these explorers was one which 
 gave due meed of praise to them; as it tells of their friendliness to
 
 62 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 them and to the expedition under them. These men concluded a 
 treaty of peace that lasted through all the stirring times of north- 
 western border settlement. 
 
 The Nez Perces were always proud that they never shed one 
 drop of white man's blood. 
 
 The land that they claimed and held at that time was roughly 
 bounded by saying that it contained or comprised all the country 
 between the Bitter Root mountains on the East, the Blue Moun- 
 tains on the West, the Salmon river from below the mouth of 
 White Bird on the South, and the North Palouse on the North. 
 
 As Dr. Moody says: "It was a land of natural advantage, 
 warm in winter, cool in summer, abundant grass, plenty of water, 
 hills covered with game and all that would make it a lovely land 
 in which to reside, to the white as well as the Red Man." It was 
 mighty hard to give this land up to the behest of the white man. 
 
 "When the west-bound emigrant reached the Nez Perce 
 country he felt safe, for at no time did these people harass travel- 
 ers as did the tribes of the East." 
 
 It was only after a number of years when the whites looked 
 upon the broad acres with covetous eyes that trouble began. 
 
 "Before the dawn of history, of them, the Nez Perces had 
 been ruled by a dynasty of chiefs of which the Joseph of our day 
 was the last. His immediate predecessor was his father, called 
 by the whites, 'Old Joseph,' to distinguish him from his son." 
 
 The Oregon Trail ran through the land owned by these peo- 
 ple, and all together too soon for the Indian, the emigrant turned 
 his cattle loose along some rippling stream where he built his cabin, 
 fenced the land and began to turn the sod. This last act, to 
 the Indian, was desecration, as the earth was his mother and the 
 white man had wounded her bosom. Not alone did he do that 
 but he was coming in such numbers that he was taking the grass 
 that the Indian needed to feed his ponies. 
 
 "Old Joseph" had called the Indian Agent's attention to the 
 fact that the whites were taking their land and eating their sub- 
 stance, but this did no good. More whites came and clashes took 
 place in which an Indian was killed. (Remember this fact, the 
 whites did not only take the land but they were the first to shed 
 blood.) 
 
 The valley of the Wallowa was a particular section that the 
 Indians desired to hold. A treaty was made and signed June 1 1 , 
 1855, by some of the Indians but never by "Old Joseph," who 
 was the one who was the most interested. The old chief died in 
 1 872 bequeathing the reins of tribal government to Young Joseph, 
 at that time about thirty-five years of age. 
 
 Before the old chief died he called his son to him and exacted 
 a promise that the Wallowa should never be given up.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 63 
 
 Ere Columbus had set sail for India, these people had lived 
 in their beautiful valley by the flowing water. Their dead had 
 been placed in consecrated ground which had been moistened by 
 the tears of loved ones. No other sun ever shone as bright as did 
 this of theirs. They may have been savages but they were men, 
 as Gibbon found to his cost, as he was whipped on the banks of 
 the Ruby. They were never untrue to their fathers or their tradi- 
 tions, as is evinced by their having taken the war path. No party 
 of men, since the world began, ever put up a more glorious effort 
 for independence than did the Red Men of the valley of Wallowa. 
 
 Troubles of various kinds took place for years and culminated 
 in a war that began in June and ended in October, 1877. 
 
 The first man to be killed was Richard Devine, an old miner 
 who lived alone in a cabin above the mouth of the White Bird, 
 on the Salmon. 
 
 That took place on June 15th. Col. Perry, who was sent 
 after the Indians, was defeated on the 1 7th of June and General 
 Howard started in to clean out the Indians. Several engagements 
 took place in Idaho in which the Red Men showed their ability 
 in a most signal way. They came to the conclusion to leave 
 the land which they had for so many years called home and go 
 through Montana to Canada, where they thought it possible to 
 establish a new residence. 
 
 That they had not thought of mistreating the people of Mon- 
 tana in making their passage through this Territory, is now known. 
 
 As there were two battles and several skirmishes in the section 
 now known as the State of Montana we must give something of 
 them in order, as was above mentioned, to enlighten the reader. 
 
 I know of no more interesting matter to publish in respect to 
 their coming to Montana than the one by Mr. W. B. Harlan of 
 Como, who was one of the men who saw all that he has herein 
 described. 
 
 The Fiasco at "Fort Fizzle" on the Lolo Trail. 
 
 Early in July in 1 877 word was brought to us in Western 
 Montana that Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce Indians 
 had broken out over in Idaho across the mountains from the Bitter 
 Root valley. 
 
 "Aggravated and enraged by the encroachments and depre- 
 dations of some of the lawless whites, the Indians had killed some 
 of the settlers, burned their homes and were sure enough on the 
 'war path.' 
 
 "After some inconclusive fights with the soldiers sent to sub- 
 due them, the Indians, some 900 strong, counting men, women and 
 children, but all well armed, started over the Lolo trail, their
 
 64 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 objective point being the British possessions where they evidently 
 expected protection and immunity from arrest and punishment for 
 their crimes ( ?) . 
 
 'They were pursued at a safe distance by Maj. General 
 Howard, Col. Miller and about 600 soldiers of the regular army. 
 The Indians sent couriers into the Bitter Root valley asking the 
 Flatheads to help them fight and exterminate the whites. Chief 
 Charlos not only refused, but said he and his tribe would fight on 
 the side of the settlers if necessary. 
 
 'The Nez Perces then sent word that if they were allowed 
 to go through the valley peaceably, they would not fight the whites 
 or destroy their property. No answer was made to this offer as 
 no one had authority to make any such agreement. 
 
 "In the meantime the settlers of the Bitter Root, becoming 
 much alarmed for the safety of their families, placed them in old 
 Fort Owens at Stevensvilie and two new sod forts which they 
 hastily constructed at Corvallis and Skalkaho. 
 
 'The Indians were now reported to be on the Montana side 
 of the mountains and they finally encamped on Woodman's 
 Prairie, some ten or twelve miles up the Lolo from the Bitter Root 
 river. We learned that the soldiers from Fort Missoula were 
 going up to meet them and attempt to turn them back or obtain 
 their surrender or fight them, as the case might be. On a Tuesday 
 morning 35 men, pioneer settlers of the valley, left Fort Owens 
 for the Lolo. They were, of course, well armed and took with 
 them their blankets and a few days' provisions tied to their saddles. 
 
 "About where the town of Lolo now is they met Captain 
 Rawn in command of 25 soldiers. With him were Captain 
 Logan, Lieutenants English and Woodruth and two others whose 
 names I do not recall. 
 
 "John Robertson, Cortez Goff and I were delegated to have 
 a talk with Captain Rawn and explain our situation to him. We 
 told him of the defenseless condition of the valley; of the hundreds 
 of women and children, to say nothing of our property that would 
 be at the mercy of the Indians if infuriated by an attack that would 
 not and could not be a defeat for them. 
 
 "Captain Rawn, with somewhat of that contemptuous manner 
 that too often characterizes regular army officers in their inter- 
 course with mere citizens, would hardly listen to us, but did say 
 that he had been ordered to meet the Nez Perces and turn them 
 back or fight them and he proposed to do so with or without our 
 help, and added that 'he might as well throw up his commission 
 if he did otherwise.' 
 
 "We realized that a fight with the Indians, whether by sol- 
 diers or citizens would have the effect to make them hostile 
 towards us, so we decided to go with the soldiers and naturally
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 65 
 
 placed ourselves under the direction and command of the regular 
 officers. 
 
 "Word was being sent out from Missoula to all western Mon- 
 tana for help, and for them to come running. The call was nobly 
 responded to, for in two or three days several hundred well armed 
 men from Missoula, Philipsburg, Bear Gulch and Deer Lodge, 
 together with 90 out of the 1 00 settlers of the Bitter Root valley 
 were at the front up the Lolo. 
 
 "But to return to my story, on that Tuesday night the soldiers 
 and citizens — 60 men in all — rode ten miles up the Lolo and went 
 into permanent camp in the heavy timber in a narrow part of the 
 canyon and about three miles below where the Indians were 
 camped on the big prairie. 
 
 "We immediately began felling trees and building log breast- 
 works, and with the help of new arrivals, had in two or three 
 days a very strong barricade across the gulch, behind which we 
 felt secure from an attack in front, the only direction from which 
 the commanding officer seemed to think an attack possible. 
 
 'There was no protection from the cross-fire of the Indians, 
 dodging from tree to tree on the mountain sides and it was the 
 belief of most of us, that in case of a fight, especially before our 
 reinforcements arrived, it would have been another Custer 
 massacre. 
 
 "On Thursday Governor Potts came up and with an escort 
 of about fifty men went to hold a pow wow with the chiefs at 
 the lower end of the prairie about half way between the opposing 
 camps. Here we were met by an equal number of Indians who 
 came down and stopped in line a hundred yards from us. Gov- 
 ernor Potts with Captain Brown rode out and met Chief Joseph 
 and Looking Glass with their interpreters and talked for a half 
 hour or more. The situation was just a little bit tense and strained 
 as we sat facing each other with guns ready for instant use and 
 each side watching for the first sign of treachery. We remembered 
 the fate of General Canby when killed by the Modocs in a similar 
 situation, but nothing happened and we rode back to repeat the 
 performance the next day. 
 
 "Nothing came of the meetings, the Indians refusing to turn 
 back or surrender, so the Governor went back to Missoula and 
 left the situation as he found it. 
 
 "The Indians had announced that they would move Saturday 
 morning, but it was as yet unknown to us whether they would 
 turn back or go north over a trail that would bring them out near 
 Frenchtown, or come down headed for the Bitter Root, with the 
 almost certainty, so far as we knew, of a battle. 
 
 "Early in the morning I was sent with five men as an advance 
 picket to a point a half mile from camp and high up the mountain
 
 66 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 side to watch and report the movements of the hostile camp. 
 Lieutenant English loaned me his field glasses and we took a 
 position where we had a good view of their position. 
 
 "About nine o'clock I sent word that the Indians were driving 
 in their horses and breaking camp. Another man was sent in 
 when it was seen that they had packed up and had started down 
 the valley toward us. By the time we had decided to go in, the 
 Indians were below us and between us and camp, so we had to 
 make a hurried detour and dodge among the trees to avoid them. 
 
 "I reported to Captain Rawn that the Indians were beginning 
 to climb the ridge a fourth of a mile above our camp and were 
 evidently going around us. He replied that it would be impossible 
 for them to go around on that steep hillside and it was only a scout 
 that I saw, and when I said I saw squaws and children with camp 
 stuff going up, he turned back into his tent with the insulting 
 remark that 'The trouble in this camp is that there are too many 
 God Almightys in it' As partly explaining such conduct and 
 language, I will say that early that morning, Bill McQuirk, a 
 saloon keeper of Missoula, had brought in a demijohn of whisky 
 which was on tap in the headquarter's tent, with the result that 
 when we finally broke camp an hour later the commanding officer 
 could hardly sit in his saddle and the second in command could 
 not, but was hauled out, stretched out upon an army wagon load 
 of tents and bedding. 
 
 "Quite a number of Flathead Indians were with us and 
 showed their true friendship by preparing to fight with us in the 
 expected battle. They had white cloths tied around their heads 
 so we could distinguish between friend and foe. I well remember 
 Delaware Jim's exhortation: 'Shoot low and kill horse, then shoot 
 Injun,' which would have been good advice if the Nez Perces 
 had been fools enough to attack in front, and on horseback. 
 
 "As the Indians were passing around, a detachment of thirty 
 or forty citizens went out to the foot of the mountain, and a 
 little way up, to see that no surprise attack was made from that 
 direction, but with the exception of a few stray shots fired from 
 the hill into the barricade, no hostile demonstration was made, and 
 the whole body of Indians came down into the valley a mile 
 below us. 
 
 "A half hour later we were ordered to mount and were hurried 
 down the canyon after them. Several miles below we were halted 
 in the edge of a wood facing a half mile of prairie where we 
 could see the Indians in the timber on the far side, and we were 
 told that here was to be the battle sure enough. We stood in 
 battle line for a half hour expecting an order to charge, but none 
 came. It was soon evident that the Indians had disappeared so 
 we were led peacefully down the road.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 67 
 
 "Until we reached the junction of the Lolo with the Bitter 
 Root valley, none of us knew which way the Indians would turn; 
 whether they would go by way of Missoula or by the Bitter Root. 
 The former was the shorter route but was much more thickly 
 settled. When we reached the mouth of the canyon we found that 
 the Indians had gone up the Bitter Root valley and right there the 
 regular soldiers and all the volunteers from Missoula, Philipsburg 
 and Deer Lodge turned north to Missoula and left the Bitter 
 Root to its fate. 
 
 "We did not understand then, nor do we know now, why 
 Captain Rawn, with more than five hundred men to back him, 
 should decline to fight that day, while only a few days before he 
 had been so anxious to open battle with only twenty-five. Whether 
 it was under the advice of Governor Potts, or under the influence 
 of Bill McQuirk's demijohn, has never been made public. 
 
 'This ended the 'Fiasco at Fort Fizzle," on the Lolo Trail. 
 
 "But the Bitter Rooters could not evade all the responsibili- 
 ties and solve their problems so easily. 
 
 "On that hot Saturday afternoon there were cooped up in Fort 
 Owens two hundred and fifty-eight women and children with just 
 four old men with two shotguns to protect them, while in the two 
 sod forts up the valley there were probably nearly as many more. 
 
 "Now that we were released from the authority of Captain 
 Rawn and knowing that we could have no outside help in pro- 
 tecting our families and homes, we were naturally anxious to get 
 past the Indians and beat them to the fort. We did not believe 
 that they would stop and camp till they were past the thickly 
 settled part of the valley, and well away from the soldiers and 
 volunteer citizens, they not knowing, so we thought, that the 
 Bitter Root had been abandoned by all but her own men. 
 
 "As about thirty of us, including just two from Missoula, 
 Judge Stephens and Mr. Kinney — afterwards state auditor — 
 galloped up the road across what is now known as the McLain or 
 McClay flats, we decided to leave the west side road near where 
 Florence is now, and cross the river at the Eight Mile Ford, thus 
 avoiding the Indians. What was our surprise as we topped the 
 Carlton bench to see, just in front of us, the whole Indian encamp- 
 ment. 
 
 "They had turned their horses out on the prairie and the 
 squaws were busy putting up their lodges on both sides of the road. 
 To the right and left we could see the gleam of rifles in the timber, 
 while in front were hundreds of Indians with guns in their hands, 
 waiting. 
 
 "We halted, and realizing that we could neither advance or 
 retreat, without their consent, and that to fire a gun meant instant 
 death to each and all of us, we sent a half-breed, Alex Matt, to
 
 68 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 their camp to ask Chief Looking Glass to come down and talk 
 with us. Now it is known that while Joseph was the war chief 
 and was in favor of fighting the whites at every opportunity, Look- 
 ing Glass was the peace chief and was in command of the whole 
 expedition while on the march and it was his influence that saved 
 the valley, people and property, from destruction. 
 
 "Looking Glass came to us and as we circled around him 
 thirty or forty warriors, not knowing what our intentions were, 
 jumped on their ponies and came rushing down but drew up a 
 hundred feet or so from us and watched us. 
 
 "Acting as spokesman for our party I asked the chief if we 
 could go through his camp to our wives and children. With much 
 sarcasm, that we did not just at that time care to resent, he 
 replied: 'This morning when you were many and strong you 
 wanted to fight, but now that you are few you want to go home 
 in peace.' With much more in the same vein he told us, at last, 
 that we could go through his camp in safety. He and his warriors 
 then rode back to camp, we following slowly in single file. 
 
 'The Indians were lined up on both sides of the road with 
 guns in their hands, probably hoping for an excuse for shooting 
 us down, but we gave them none, for just then we were 'too proud 
 to fight,' and even Bryan himself would have been satisfied with 
 our peaceful attitude. 
 
 "As I would pass a particularly ugly group in Chief Joseph's 
 part of the camp, standing with their guns half-raised and with 
 fingers on the triggers, I could feel a nervous twitching of the 
 muscles of my back that belied the brave front I was putting up. 
 
 "As we passed the last Redskin, each of us urged his horse 
 to a lope and stopped for nothing until we had reached the fort, 
 where we found all well but somewhat anxious, as a deserter had 
 brought them word of an actual battle in progress. 
 
 'The next morning we took possession of all the whisky in 
 the saloons in Stevensville and locked it up in a cellar at Fort 
 Owen. That day the Indians came up and camped opposite 
 Stevensville. They came into town and announced that they 
 wanted supplies, that they would pay for them, if permitted, but 
 would take them anyway. 
 
 'The merchants of Stevensville were much criticised for sell- 
 ing goods to hostile Indians but, under the circumstances, they were 
 certainly justified. 
 
 "Looking Glass sat on his horse in the main street of the town 
 for two days watching that none of his people started trouble, and 
 on one occasion jumped off and jerked a quarrelsome warrior out 
 of a store and sent him to camp across the river. 
 
 "Having obtained their needed supplies the Indians moved 
 slowly up and out of the valley, apparently not fearing General
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 69 
 
 Howard, who always kept several days behind them. It was a 
 common report, at the time, that if General Howard found the 
 camp signs too fresh he would stop and wait a day or two and 
 this policy was followed until General Miles headed them off and 
 fought them to a surrender in the Bear Paw mountains near the 
 British line. In that battle Chief Looking Glass, the tried friend 
 of the whites, was killed. 
 
 "But the Indians as they left the Bitter Root valley (and in 
 going through which they destroyed nothing) were not aware of 
 the rapid approach of General Gibbon, who was bringing a few 
 soldiers from Fort Shaw, picking up those at Fort Missoula and 
 about forty whites from the valley. 
 
 "If they had known of him he would not have gotten to sur- 
 prise them in his attack on the morning of August 9th in the Big 
 Hole which, though a surprise, was not by any means a victory. 
 That is, though, another chapter in the story of Montana for some 
 other writer." 
 
 Mr. Harlan is a high-class citizen of Montana who would not 
 willingly take advantage of even an Indian. He has given a true 
 statement of one of those things not generally known — the way 
 the Nez Perces treated the whites in the Bitter Root. What a 
 lesson to those very same white men who claim civilization under 
 the advanced teachings of Christianity. 
 
 That chief of the Nez Perce tribe who held his warriors in 
 check the summer of '77 — who did not allow them to be even 
 insulting — was more of a follower of the Meek and Lowly One 
 than the same Bitter Root volunteers who had had their lives 
 given them only a few days before by that same chieftain who 
 could have, had he been the blood-thirsty fiend the Red Man 
 is so often depicted, taken all their property and ravished and 
 murdered their wives and children. What a wonderful lesson 
 could be learned by the nations at war in Europe today if they 
 would tear one leaf from that Red Man's life story and read of 
 his decency and honesty as he made good his given word. 
 
 The Battle of the Big Hole. 
 
 On the morning of August 9th, 1877, the Nez Perces were 
 surprised at a time when most of them were asleep. This fight, 
 which has been the theme for many a writer, was fought by Gen- 
 eral John Gibbon and one hundred and ninety-eight men, includ- 
 ing thirty-four citizen volunteers from the Bitter Root. Now, in 
 a way, I do not believe that those Bitter Root boys had any right 
 to be in that fight. In the light of these latter days I really 
 believe that most of them would like to forget that they were there. 
 Now I do not want to say that those men were not honorable men,
 
 70 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 because I know they were. They were good citizens but ones 
 who did not hold the rights of the Indians as anything which a 
 white man should respect, especially when they were on the war 
 path. He was simply an Indian who, in their desire to settle the 
 country, had been a stumbling block that had to be destroyed. 
 They had not taken time to go into the matter, as they would in 
 the case of the white man, to see who was right, they had simply 
 given the best of it to the whites, no matter how little they 
 deserved it. 
 
 It was a good thing for Gibbon that they were there as, 
 without them, he would, without doubt, have been destroyed. 
 
 Even though the whites had surprised the Nez Perce they 
 could not retain the ground they had taken long enough to know 
 they had taken it. The Indians rallied and soon had recovered 
 the lost ground and made it so warm for the whites that they were 
 compelled to seek cover on a point where there was some timber 
 growing which could be used for fortifying, as many of the trees 
 had fallen down. Here, without anything to eat, the whites 
 were held for some time, not knowing what their fate would be. 
 The truth is they would have all been killed if it had not been 
 that Howard was known to be not far away. It was a fearful 
 battle to the Red Men and one that those of the whites, who were 
 engaged, will always remember. Over one-third of the white men 
 were killed or wounded and probably the same proportion of the 
 Red ones. 
 
 The Indians pulled up the Big Hole river and passed out at 
 its head and down Bloody Dick Creek to the Horse Prairie. On 
 Horse Prairie they killed several white settlers. It is the opinion 
 of the writer that the volunteers of Bitter Root were the direct 
 cause of the massacre of the men on Horse Prairie. As the men 
 of Bitter Root had been in the engagement with Gibbon they 
 (the Indians) could not tell whom their friends might be so they 
 became as all other people at war, more ensanguined. 
 
 After they had killed these men on Horse Prairie they went 
 into Idaho and began their long trip to the Yellowstone through 
 the National park on their way to Canada. While this was the 
 longest route it appeared to them much safer as there were many 
 less settlers with which to contend. In fact there were no settlers 
 along the route which they chose. They did not know, though, 
 that there were several troops of soldiers that the Government 
 could call at any time when necessary, and were almost within 
 striking distance of them and would be called if those who were 
 already after them failed in their attempt to conquer. 
 
 Not alone was General Howard after them but several com- 
 panies of citizen volunteers were on their trail.
 
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 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 71 
 
 One night they came back and surprised Howard and stole 
 many of his horses and mules. They also captured some people 
 in the park and one or two were killed or wounded but some were 
 turned loose to later find their way to the settlement. 
 
 The country through which they were traveling, especially in 
 the Natoinal park, was exceeding rough. They left Howard's 
 command in the rear and reached the waters of the Yellowstone 
 below the mountains and crossed over and started toward the 
 Missouri. They had a set-to with the soldiers who did not seem 
 strong enough to hold them, and continued on to the north and 
 crossed the big river at Cow Island. 
 
 In the days before the railroad the steamers would start for 
 Benton and go as far as they could. Some times they would get 
 to their destination and, when the water was too low, they would 
 only get as far as Peck, Carroll or Cow Island. This year they 
 must have gotten as far as the island, for the Indians captured and 
 destroyed a wagon train at the mouth of Cow creek and became 
 well supplied with provisions and other things which came in 
 handy. 
 
 After the destruction of this train they continued toward the 
 Canadian line but stopped when they arrived at Snake Creek at 
 a point on it about or almost one-half way from the Bear's Paw 
 mountains to the Milk river, sixteen miles from Chinook by the 
 wagon road, but several miles nearer by air line. 
 
 The ground which they chose for their encampment was about 
 twelve miles north of the mountains and to the ordinary observer 
 it showed no strategic strength. The writer had read all that he 
 could find descriptive of this battle and had been lead to believe 
 that the place was chosen for its impregnability by the wiley 
 Joseph. 
 
 The fact is it was chosen as any plainsman or mountain man, 
 be he white or Red, would have chosen for a camping place, 
 especially at that season of the year, October, for comfort. 
 
 No crags, no canyons, no timber or brush, no serrated peaks 
 or giant rocks, where the besieged could skulk and defy, because 
 of the strength of their position itself, a party superior to theirs 
 in number. 
 
 When the writer visited this place he was so surprised that he 
 told his son and another young man that surely this could not be 
 the place where Joseph held an army twice as large as his war- 
 worn warriors for several days before he had to finally give up 
 and say as he surrendered his gun "From where the sun now stands 
 I will fight no more forever." 
 
 Let me try to give a pen picture (if possible a photo will 
 accompanv this) of the field. The Snake creek runs in a north- 
 easterly direction from the mountains to where it runs into the
 
 72 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 Milk. The great plains extend from the base of the mountains to 
 the north farther than the eye can see toward the Canadian coun- 
 try. The place chosen for the camp was a crescent shaped flat 
 or cove which laid on the east side of the creek. It is a strange 
 thing, but the peculiar shape of this cove or flat is typically primi- 
 tive ctnd to even the casual observer not hard to trace as the back- 
 ground form the bow and the creek the string. The back of this 
 bow does not arise more than twenty-five feet high above the 
 bottom land on which the Indians had made their camp. At the 
 upper end of the cove is a cut bank that rises abruptly. This 
 particular cut bank did not offer much protection, though it did 
 help the Indians some as the whites could not approach near 
 enough from that direction to shoot without exposing themselves 
 to the marksmanship of a band of Indians of whom Lieutenant 
 Woodruth said after the battle of the Big Hole: "Don't try to 
 sharp shoot with them because they are the best shots I ever saw, 
 and I had several years' experience in the Civil war as well as 
 years on the plains fighting Indians." This cut bank came to the 
 creek at the upper end of the bow. The back of the bow was not 
 abrupt but it, too, came to the creek at the lower end in a bluff or 
 ridge. To the west or northwest, in front of the string (creek) 
 was a plain with a gradual slope toward the stream. From this 
 part of the field the whites had a good view of the Indian camp. 
 The whites came in from the southeast and the guides or scouts 
 found the Indians, or many of them, hunting buffalo which dotted 
 the plain in almost every direction. It is a fact that the Indians 
 thought that they were beyond the danger zone and as the buffalo 
 were in abundance they would stop right where they were and 
 lay in a supply of food as they had done so many times in years 
 past. Tired and weary with the long flight and their many fights 
 with the several armies which the Government had from time to 
 time sent against them, they had found the very acme of Indian 
 happiness in the numberless buffalo, so easy to be procured. 
 These same buffalo proved the temptation which, listening to, 
 proved their undoing as had the apple to our first mother in 
 another garden so long ago. 
 
 Out on the vast plains of the west the Indian and plainsmen 
 had found fuel in the dry dung of the buffalo which was called, 
 to make it sound more pleasing to the refined ear, "Buffalo chips." 
 Here where Joseph had chosen his camp fuel, water and grass 
 were abundant, an ideal place for a few days. 
 
 Coming in from the northeast was a small coulee that came 
 in and cut the back of the bow near the lower end of the camp. 
 This coulee had formed two mouths and it was because of that 
 peculiar formation that the point became a strategic one. Between 
 the mouths of the coulee was a triangular bar of about one acre in
 
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 OTED SCOUT 
 
 LOUIS SHAMBO, PRIEND OF PER- ( 
 
 SHING, HITS LAST TRAIL 
 
 IN THIS CITY 
 
 Special to The Record-Herald. 
 
 HAVRE, Nov. 7. — Louis Sharabo, one 
 of the pioneer scouts of the north- 
 west, is dead here. 
 
 The late scout was born in Grace- 
 ville, Minn., in 1846, and he was one 
 of the greatest scouts blazing the trail 
 to civilization known to the west. He 
 was a government scout and guide 
 with General Miles during the time 
 of the capture of Chief Joseph in the 
 Bear Paw mountain district in 1876. 
 After this he served in the capacity 
 of scout and interpreter for the gov- 
 j eminent. 
 
 He was a special fj-iend of General 
 
 Pershing in the early '90s at Fort As- 
 
 sinniboine in his official capacity as 
 
 interpreter and government scout. 
 
 I Shambo was very reticent in his de- 
 
 ! meanor, silent and reserved, friends 
 
 | only in his reminiscent mood could get 
 
 i him to divulge his experience of the 
 
 t 
 
 j early days. 
 
 Volumes could be written of private 
 | history related in his personal experi- 
 ence. He lived as a boy among the , 
 Chippewas of Minnesota, grew to man- j 
 hood among the manners and customs 
 of the aborigines, graduated in the 
 school of frontier life, thus becoming 
 ' a valuable servant to the government 
 | in later years as one of the most val- 
 I iant and reliable scouts that this coun- 
 try has ever known. 
 
 He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. 
 Maggie Bureh, and a son, Edward 
 Shambo, both of Dodson.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 73 
 
 area, with its base along the stream. The gulches formed by the 
 coulee were not more than four feet deep and of gentle slope and 
 not abrupt. The soil in the bottom of the ravine was alluvial and 
 easy to dig. The Indians had taken advantage of this particular 
 section and excavated many holes that were jug-shaped, as the 
 opening was much smaller than the main room. Some of these 
 holes were connected by tunnels. Behind these ravines the bar 
 came to a point and offered a splendid view of the plain from 
 which the whites would approach. The point was used as a 
 means of defense by digging pits and placing some small rocks 
 close enough so they would be a protection from the rifle bullets. 
 To the north, the right hand side of the ridge which formed 
 the coulee, ran out a little, or one should say the creek cut around 
 the lower end of it so it extended out a little into the valley 
 or cove and on it there were some rifle pits fixed in the same way. 
 The peculiar formation of the triangle furnished the Indian a full 
 view of the soldiers' battle line to the west and the rifle pits gave 
 them the view of the rest of the field. After the Indians had had 
 time to entrench it was impossible for the soldiers to take their 
 position by a charge. Another thing that was in favor of the 
 Indians, they could get all the water they needed as their fortifi- 
 cations extended to the creek down the ravine. 
 
 Now the description of the battle as given by Miles or Howard 
 does not enter into detail. A story without detail lacks everything 
 that goes to make a story interesting. It has been the writer's 
 good fortune to have found some of the men who were actively 
 engaged in this fight and he is going to let them tell their stories 
 in their own words. 
 
 The scout who found the Nez Perce camp for Miles was 
 Louie Shambow, at this time (Dec, 1916) living in Havre. I 
 am going to allow him to give his description as I consider it very 
 interesting and because it has never been given to the public. 
 
 Shambow's Story. 
 
 "I had been one of Crook's scouts and had made a trip to 
 the Redwater, Dry Fork, etc., with 'Yellowstone Kelly.' I was 
 introduced to Miles by Kelly. Miles wanted me to work for him 
 and said he would give me the very best wages. I asked him 
 what they were and he said 'Seventy-five dollars a month.' As 
 I was at that time packing and getting $125 I did not feel that 
 the wages offered were any inducement so I told him that the 
 offer was too low but that I would consider the same price from 
 him that I was getting. 
 
 "His reply was not one that made me feel very friendly toward 
 him as he said in a tone, which I did not like, that he could get
 
 74 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 good men for forty dollars, placing too much emphasis on good. 
 I turned on my heel and told him to get his forty dollar men, 
 
 thinking then that I would see him in h before I would work 
 
 for him at any price. When we got into the Little Missouri the 
 scouts they had did not know the country. They came to me for 
 information and I told Captain Clark of the Second Cavalry to 
 look to Miles' forty dollar men as I did not wish to interfere with 
 their plans. 
 
 "When we got to the mouth of Powder river a fellow came 
 from Keogh to tell us to come to that post as fast as we could. 
 We went to Keogh to get ready to go after the Nez Perces. We 
 crossed the Yellowstone in two or three days. The night after we 
 crossed the head man came to me and said : 'You will not go on 
 this trip.' I asked him why, and he replied that he wanted me to 
 break in a bunch of mules to pack. My reply was that I might 
 not want to stay; that I might go back to Wyoming. I went to 
 the quartermaster and told him I was going to Miles City and 
 when he wanted me he could send for me. In the course of four 
 or five days an orderly hunted me up and said the commanding 
 officer wanted to see me right away. I went over and he told 
 me that the Nez Perces had burned a bull train at the mouth of 
 Cow creek and asked me if I knew where it was. I told him 
 yes. To my answer he said: 'Here is a dispatch and I want 
 you to take it to General Miles.' I told him that I was no scout, 
 that I did not go much on General Miles anyway from what he 
 had said to me, and as they could get forty dollar men they had 
 better get them. He turned td me and said: 'You had better 
 go, Louie, as Miles will be sure to make it all right with you; and 
 anyway there is no one else here that we can depend on.' A 
 little of that kind of talk and I fell for it and told him I would 
 go. 'When will you be ready?' My reply was that all I wanted 
 was a good horse and I would go. I started at once and overtook 
 Miles the third day out at the east end of the Bear's Paw. I 
 had a little trouble to get inside the guards but did so and delivered 
 my dispatch to the General and went to bed. The next morning, 
 so early that I could see no sense in it, they called me to go to 
 Miles' tent. 
 
 "He explained to me that the guides did not know the country 
 any more and wanted to know which way the Indians would go, 
 as they were supposed to join the Gros Ventres. I told him that 
 we were in the land of the Gros Ventres right now. He then 
 replied to me that he wanted me to find the Nez Perces. 'I will 
 give you ten Cheyenne scouts, see if you can find any trace of 
 these people, and I will make it all right with you, money will be 
 no object.'
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 75 
 
 "I started with the Indians and only had gone about four miles 
 when I found their trail. I sent an Indian back telling him the 
 place where the Indians were going and for him to come on. We 
 had only proceeded seven or eight miles when we saw a bunch 
 cf them running buffalo, probably ten or twelve of them. They 
 soon discovered us, as they had glasses. I soon noticed that they 
 were the Nez Perces as they had striped blankets — the other 
 tribes had solid colors. I sent another Indian back to tell the 
 General that we had found the Nez Perces and that they had 
 better hurry up. The Nez Perces took what meat they wanted, 
 as we did not crowd, not getting nearer than one-half mile. 
 
 "When they started for camp we followed but could see no 
 lodges but could see their horses, which were on the northeast side 
 of the creek. We had no business any nearer those fellows, so 
 hung around till Miles came. 
 
 "Finally he came up and asked me what I had found. I told 
 him what I had seen and that they were camped on Snake creek. 
 He wanted to know how far and I told him about four or five 
 miles. He told me he wanted me to take him to their camp and 
 I told him I could not see the camp but that I knew where they 
 all went in and came out. We got within a mile of them but 
 could not see them. Again he told me to take him right where 
 I thought they were and had the bugle blow for 'double quick.' 
 
 "We did not see a thing of them till we got within seventy or 
 eighty yards. (This was between eleven and twelve o'clock in 
 the morning.) The Indians were waiting for us and opened fire 
 and Miles stopped his command right there instead of making a 
 charge — and it was right there he made his big loss. (We buried 
 twenty-two men and they were dying all the way back.) I was 
 in the lead and thought that Miles was coming. The Indians 
 shot my horse three times and he fell dead and I was behind him 
 for an hour or more or until the bullets began to come through and 
 made my fortifications no pleasant place to stay. There was a 
 boulder about four or five feet from me and I wiggled to and got 
 behind it. It was not a large rock, only an inch or two above my 
 head when I was lying close to the ground. Pretty soon 'Yellow- 
 stone Kelley' and Haddow, a soldier, came to me and wanted to 
 know if I saw anything. I told them I did and that I was getting 
 some shots that counted. Haddow crowded up close to me and 
 placed his arm around me and I told him to lie low or they 
 would get him. I had no more than told him when a bullet hit 
 him just above the collar bone and ranged down. I looked back 
 and saw that he was shot to die, so I asked Kelley to take him 
 by the legs and pull him off and we would see if we could get 
 him to a place of safety. We started but he died on our hands.
 
 76 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "Those Indians were the best shots I ever saw. I would put 
 a small stone on the top of my rock and they would get it every 
 time. They were hitting the rock behind where I was lying which 
 made me duck so hard that it made my nose bleed. 
 
 "The next morning after the first day's fight a bunch of 
 buffalo were coming into sight and the soldiers thought it was 
 Sitting Bull's outfit. They could see black horses, pinto horses 
 and every other kind and they called me and said that Sitting 
 Bull was coming. 
 
 "I told them it was buffalo. You see it had snowed that 
 night and the snow had blown into the hair of the buffalo and 
 made them look white and spotted. I told them it was buffalo and 
 look a horse that belonged to Miles and rode over and killed one 
 and brought some of the meat back. Miles gave me fits for it. 
 I believe that if the Indians had charged right then the soldiers 
 would have run like hell. I have been in harder fights than that 
 and will always believe that if we had not hesitated we would 
 have ended that fight in fifteen minutes as there were twice as 
 many white men as there were Indian warriors." 
 
 Surely that gives something that has never before been written 
 for the people to think about when they study the fight at Snake 
 creek. 
 
 The buffalo hunters that they had out had kept the Indians 
 from being surprised, and they had returned to camp in time to 
 be prepared to meet Miles with surprise and with such deadly 
 effect that he waited and gave the Indians time to fortify. 
 
 We want to give the reader something of the battle as 
 described by Col. Miles and then let him judge. Shambow says 
 that he saw the Indians hunting buffalo and that they saw him 
 and that they were ready for the soldiers when they made the 
 charge between 1 1 and 12 o'clock. Now what does Miles say? 
 
 "The Nez Perces were quietly slumbering in their tents evi- 
 dently without a thought of danger, as they had sent out scouts 
 the day before to see if there were any troops in the vicinity, and 
 as the scouts had reported 'none discovered,' but that they had 
 seen vast herds of buffaloes, deer, elk and antelope quietly graz- 
 ing on the prairie undisturbed, and no enemy in sight. The 
 Seventh Cavalry was thrown in line while moving at a gallop, 
 the commanding officer, Captain Hale, riding in advance. With 
 a smile on his face he dashed forward to the cruel death awaiting 
 him. 
 
 "Tyler's Second Cavalry was ordered to sweep to the left and 
 then turn down the valley and secure the horses. The Fifth 
 Infantry, under Captain Snyder, was deployed in the rear of the 
 Seventh Cavalry at first, and finally extending the line to the left,
 
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 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 77 
 
 charged directly on the camp while the Second was sweeping the 
 valley of the horses. 
 
 "When the charge was made the spirited horses of the Seventh 
 cavalry carried that battalion a little more rapidly over the plains 
 than the Indian ponies of the mounted infantry, and it was 
 expected to first strike the enemy with the Seventh. The tramp 
 of at least six hundred horses over the prairie fairly shook the 
 ground, and, although a complete ( ?) surprise to the Indians in 
 the main, it must have given a few minutes' notice, for as the troops 
 charged against the village the Indians opened a hot fire on them. 
 (Italics are mine.) This momentarily checked the advance of 
 the Seventh Cavalry, which fell back, but for only a short dis- 
 tance, and was quickly rallied again and charged forward at a 
 gallop, driving that portion of the Indian camp before it." 
 
 N. C. Titus 
 
 Says: "With slight reconnaisance, Col. Miles ordered Capt. 
 Hale to form his battalion (three companies of the Seventh Cav- 
 alry) in battle line advance and charge direct the southern end 
 of the camp, Capt. Tyler, with two companies of the Second 
 Cavalry and thirty Cheyenne scouts, was ordered to approach the 
 north end of the camp and prevent the escape of the Indians and 
 capture the ponies. Miles approached the left with three com- 
 panies of mounted infantry. The Seventh trotted forward in 
 battle line and from Col. Miles' column could be seen sweeping 
 forward over the undulating prairie, in the depressions out of 
 sight; on the ascending slopes and succeeding ridges, the orderly 
 columns reappear and roll over the crest and disappear. They 
 are at last near the lodges, they are lost to view of their anxious 
 comrades; for a few minutes the dreadful silence is unbroken; 
 then a few scattered shots are heard, followed by the terrible 
 roar and din of musketry. All are in suspense and press forward 
 to learn the fate of the gallant men of the Seventh. Some minutes 
 pass in awful uncertainty, when Lieut. Eckerson, alone, covered 
 with blood from his wounds, rushed to Col. Miles with the words : 
 
 'I am the only d d man of the Seventh Cavalry who wears 
 
 shoulder straps, alive.' In fact he had seen every officer shot 
 down, either killed or wounded. 
 
 "Miles ordered the infantry to attack and the four-pound 
 Howitzer to occupy the ridge northwest of the Indian camp. In 
 this attempt one rider and two out of the four mules were killed, 
 the gun left pointing toward the attacking force until night, when 
 it was stationed for defense." 
 
 Miles continues: 'The Fifth Infantry, under Capt. Snyder, 
 charged forward to the very edge of the valley and opened a
 
 78 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 deadly fire with their long range rifles (it was good that they 
 were long range) with telling effect. 
 
 'The infantry swept around to the left to enclose that portion 
 of the camp and force the Indians into a ravine. A great part 
 of the line encircling the Indian camp was dotted with dead and 
 wounded soldiers and horses. The fight had been sudden, rapid 
 and most desperate on both sides. 
 
 "Capt. Carter in one charge had thirty-five per cent of his 
 command placed 'hors de combat.' I felt positive that we had 
 secured the beleagured Indians in their camp without a possibility 
 of escape. I did not, therefore, order a general assault, as I knew 
 it must result in the loss of many valuable lives and possibly a 
 massacre. (Massacre of whom? No doubt he meant his com- 
 mand.) The Indians occupied a crescent-shaped ravine and it 
 was apparent that their position could only be forced by a charge 
 or a siege. The first could not be accomplished without too great 
 a sacrifice. 
 
 "My one concern was the Sioux Indians under Sitting Bull 
 only fifty miles away in Canada. On the morning of the third 
 day of the siege the ground was well covered with snow and 
 scouts reported a large body of black objects on the distant hills, 
 moving in our direction. This occasioned much excitement among 
 the troops, and every eye was turned to the north, from whence 
 it was feared that Sitting Bull might come. I watched this with 
 much anxiety. It was soon found to be buffalo. It was surely 
 a relief to know it. 
 
 "Joseph came out under a flag of truce, and from him we 
 learned that the principal chief, Looking Glass*, and four other 
 chiefs had been killed, besides a large number of others killed or 
 wounded. He was informed that he must surrender. 
 
 "While Joseph was in our camp I directed Lieut. Jerome to 
 ascertain what they were doing in the village, supposing that he 
 would go to the bluff and look over into the camp. But mis- 
 understanding my instructions, he went down into the ravine, 
 whereupon he was seized and held until he was exchanged for 
 Joseph. 
 
 "Howard came up on the evening of the fourth and Joseph 
 surrendered at ten the next morning. Those who surrendered 
 with Joseph and those taken outside the camp numbered four 
 hundred. There were twenty-six killed in all and forty-six 
 wounded. 
 
 "I had twenty-two killed and forty-three wounded." 
 
 Joseph surrendered to Miles on one condition; that he was 
 to be allowed to return to his home in Oregon. Miles says that 
 
 * Looking Glass was killed at Big Hole — (Noyes).
 
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 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 79 
 
 he agreed to those terms but that the Government did not sanc- 
 tion it. Now you do not need to read between the lines, for the 
 fact stands out as clear as the noon-day sun, that Miles did not 
 surprise Joseph but the soldiers were themselves surprised and did 
 not know what to do after they had met their first rebuff when 
 the Seventh charged the camp. It was in that one charge that 
 about fourteen out of the twenty-two were killed and over half 
 of the wounds were received. The repulse was of such a nature 
 that the soldiers got back to a place of safety. Miles says they 
 fell back. Louie Shambow, a man who had been in more Indian 
 fights than Miles, said that if they had charged, fifteen minutes 
 would have decided the conflict as there were twice as many 
 soldiers as there were Indians. Miles tells us that four hundred 
 surrendered. Did he any place tell in his life's story of what this 
 four hundred consisted? No, but others who wanted to play 
 fair, tell you that there were eighty-nine men, one hundred and 
 eighty-four women and one hundred and forty-seven children. 
 That kind of an outfit it took Miles six days to get and yet he 
 said they were "slumbering in their tents." If he was right and 
 those sleeping Indians put up such a scrap where would he and 
 his troops have been if those Nez Perce warriors had been awake 
 when the charge was made? 
 
 How many men did Miles have? Some say four hundred, 
 some say three hundred and fifty whites and thirty Cheyenne 
 scouts. Miles said: 'The tramp of at least six hundred horses 
 over the prairie fairly shook the ground." 
 
 Joseph had made the most wonderful retreat in the history 
 of the world. He had taken his men, women and children and 
 property for nearly two thousand miles through the enemy's 
 country and had fought several battles, all of which were to his 
 credit. Here on the cold, bleak plains of northern Montana, 
 when the cold blasts of an early fall with its chilling storms of 
 snow made it too disagreeable without fire, for the women, chil- 
 dren and wounded, he had to quit. His almost indomitable 
 spirit was broken because the assistance he had expected from 
 his Red brothers had been withheld; yes, turned to the assistance 
 of the white race, which had never been anything but an enemy 
 to the natives of America. 
 
 To give some idea of the kind of men the whites stripped 
 of their native land and forced into exile the writer has appended 
 the following comments. 
 
 Gibbon, after the fight at Big Hole: "Who would have 
 believed that those Indians would have rallied after such a sur- 
 prise and made such a fight?" 
 
 Titus said : 'The humanity and noble generosity of the Nez 
 Perces in caring for the wounded soldiers on the battlefield fur-
 
 80 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 nish the brightest page in Indian history. In fact the Nez Perce 
 had never scalped or mutilated the bodies of their dead foes or 
 tortured a prisoner." 
 
 Gen. Howard : 'The leadership of Chief Joseph was indeed 
 remarkable. No general could have chosen a safer position." 
 
 Speaking of the battle on the Salmon river he says also: 
 "Joseph was able to hold out for several days against twice his 
 numbers at the battle of the Bear's Paw." 
 
 Again Howard said : "And even at last, the natural resources 
 of his mind did not fail him. Broken in pieces by Miles' furious 
 assault, burdened with his women, children and plunder, suffer- 
 ing from the loss of his still numerous, though badly crippled herd 
 of ponies, yet he was able to entrench and hold out for days 
 against twive his numbers." 
 
 Let us acknowledge that this was a man. 
 
 Mrs. James Dorrity's Story. 
 
 "I was a little girl of nine when the battle on Snake creek 
 took place. I remember of hearing the cannon, though, it was ten 
 or twelve miles away. My uncle Bent had been to the battle 
 field and on his return trip was captured by the Nez Perces who 
 took his clothes away and sent him home in a blanket. (Mr. 
 Bent says this is not wholly correct, that they only took part of 
 his clothes, as the reader will see in Bent's experience in another 
 place.) There was a little Nez Perce girl whom I afterward met 
 who managed to escape from the Indian camp. 
 
 "She got a short distance down Snake creek where she found 
 some horses, one of which she managed to catch. By using a 
 part of her clothing she managed to make a kind of a bridle so 
 she could ride and guide the pony. She was riding down a 
 coulee when all at once she saw two Indian women rise out of 
 some bushes. One of them had a broken arm. They persuaded 
 her to help them. She, in helping the wounded one on the horse, 
 pushed her clear over, and though the woman cried with pain, 
 she, girl like, could not help laughing. Years after, when she 
 was telling me, she could not keep a straight face. 
 
 "Along the Milk river in those days there were many half- 
 breeds living in cabins — really a considerable settlement — the girl 
 took the Indian women to one of these places — from which they 
 could be assisted to escape into Canada. The young girl went 
 to Fort Belknap and when a little older married Left Hand, 
 an Assinniboine. Both of them died, later, on the reservation. 
 She was part Flathead — her father belonging to that tribe — and 
 happened to be on a visit to her grandparents in Idaho when 
 the war started, so never got back to her people. She spoke very 
 good English.
 
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 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 81 
 
 'The Indians at Fort Belknap were not allowed to harbor 
 a Nez Perce. Two Indian women and three men came for 
 succor; they were taken to a lodge where they were fed their 
 breakfast then driven to a large sandbar on the river, about five or 
 six miles west of Chinook, where they were killed by Long Horse, 
 a Gros Ventre. 
 
 "One of the Indian women had the papoose sack on her back 
 filled with the clothing of her dead baby, of which she was so 
 careful she would not allow any one to touch. This was a 
 brutal thing to do but the whites, especially General Miles, had 
 told the Gros Ventres that they must not harbor a Nez Perce 
 under pain of death themselves. 
 
 "Whether Long Horse was really mean, and did this brutal 
 act for fun, or whether he was actuated through fear of what 
 Miles had said can never be known as he is dead and can never 
 tell his story. 
 
 "And the woman, an Assinniboine, who rode to see the death 
 of the Nez Perces, died last year, so we can never probably know 
 the exact truth. According to the story of the Flathead girl 
 Joseph had been in camp on Snake creek for four days before he 
 was attacked by the soldiers. 
 
 "Joseph thought he had passed beyond the point where there 
 would be any more danger from the whites. Buffalo were abun- 
 dant and Snake Butte was black with them. They had killed 
 and were curing and jerking meat for their winter's use and had 
 several par fleshes full of the meat in their lodges and they were 
 more or less a protection when they were attacked. 
 
 "It was after both of her grandparents had been killed that 
 she made her escape. It was surely a sad thing to think about; 
 these Indians who had never injured any one until driven to fight 
 by the misdeeds of the whites whom they had never injured, even 
 when they could have done so with safety, could not go to their 
 own race and receive the protection that one would extend to a 
 stray dog. After all their struggles they had to succumb to the 
 strength of the white men and to their rapacity. 
 
 "I will always remember this cruel thing with horror." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Stories of Plainsmen. 
 Billy Cochran. 
 
 "I was born within two miles of Atlanta, Ga., June 13th, 
 1 844. My last work in the east was steamboating on the Missis-
 
 82 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 sippi river between St. Louis and St. Paul. Father was the cap- 
 tain of the Pembina. Came to the conclusion to go west, so out- 
 fitted at Burlington, Iowa, in March, 1861. We crossed the 
 Missouri at Plattsmouth and followed up the South Platte all 
 the way to the mouth of Cherrie and was on that stream all winter. 
 
 "June 1st, 1862, went to Salt Lake via old Fort Bridger. 
 We had started for the Salmon River country and at Salt Lake 
 we heard of the discovery of gold on Gold Creek. We pulled 
 out and went up and prospected some along the Snake, with no 
 success, and arrived at the mines in Bannack the first of October. 
 We remained there that winter and the next spring a party of us 
 went prospecting. The party consisted of John Morehouse, my 
 uncle, John Cochran, Bill Bevins, Jeff Perkins, Adam Miller, 
 better known as 'Horn' Miller, and myself. We got some ground 
 in Alder but by August first had discovered Bevin's gulch, which 
 was named for Bill as he panned the first pan of dirt. (There 
 was a trial by the miners' court of a young man accused of rob- 
 bery and the judge was a man by the name of Darwin, the story 
 will be found in the 'Story of Ajax'.) Bevins was a rich camp 
 No. 6 above discovery, paid fifty dollars to the man per day. I 
 continued to stay around Bevins till June, '64, when I went to 
 Benton for a short time but came back and the winter of '64-5 
 went on the Silver Bow stampede where I only remained one 
 month. In February, '65, I went to Helena and got some ground 
 on Grizzly, where we made a little money. Later we located 
 Ora Fino park. Our party consisted of Bill Williams, Dick 
 Jones, Henry Newton, John Hardrick and my brother John and 
 myself. We made some money when we had water. (I left 
 Bevins with $28,000.) We worked all the summer of '65 
 and then came down on the Missouri, as related to you in my last 
 fall's talk. 
 
 "In 1866 I went to work for the Northwest Fur company, 
 fifteen miles above the mouth of the Musselshell and built old 
 Fort Holly. 
 
 "Jim Wells, George Boyd, Charlie Conklin, Fox, 
 
 Louie Brampar, Jake Leader and Jack Brown were there after 
 the post was hung up. Fort Peck was built in 1867 and I was 
 there. I recall a little thing that happened on a hunting expedi- 
 tion; there was Bill Martin, O. B. Nevins and myself in the 
 party. We needed meat so we went for buffalo. Everything 
 was going along smoothly and we were getting plenty of game 
 when the first we knew when we were going back to the fort we 
 were ambushed by about forty or fifty Indians who had heard us 
 shooting and wanted to get us. We met them right in the trail. 
 We managed to stand them off until after dark and made our 
 escape; they got me in the leg.
 
 BILLY COCHRAN. 
 Who built tin' first Trading Post in whal is now Blaine County.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 83 
 
 "In 1866 McGinnis brothers had a wood yard at the mouth 
 of the Musselshell. Jack Brown, O. B. Nevins, John Dillon, 
 Adam Armstrong and myself were at Holly. A young fellow 
 deserted from Camp Cook and had started to work for McGinnis. 
 Along about the latter part of September one of the McGinnis 
 boys came to Holly, where he arrived in the morning, and told 
 us a war party had killed the young man whom they had working 
 for them. He said he was sure he was dead, though he had not 
 seen him. We went up and found the young man, he was dead 
 with his head cut off and smashed with an axe. 
 
 'There were two men at work cutting hay a short distance up 
 the river from us. Three days after we got back from burying 
 the boy, Jack Brown, George Boyd and myself were out on the 
 river bank in the evening when we were startled by hearing some 
 one shouting from the other side of the stream. It was too dark 
 to see anything but Jack said that was surely a white man that 
 was hallooing so he called but got no reply. We had a skiff and 
 could have gone over but the Indians once in a while did those 
 things to entice one over into their ambush so, as we received no 
 answer, we did not go. 
 
 'The next morning our outfit was hired to go up the river 
 and hunt for the two men. We took a mackinaw and cordelled 
 it up the stream. We knew the bottom where they had been at 
 work and were going toward it when about half way up we ran 
 onto some tracks on a sand bar. This bar was about seventy- 
 five yards in width, that is, it was about that distance from the 
 river back to the brush. We followed the tracks back to the 
 river bank and in the bushes there was a large log. When we 
 came to it Nevins said: 'These tracks are fresh, could have only 
 been made recently.' I jumped on this log so I could look around 
 a little and was not surprised to see a man lying naked, just on 
 the other side. He had on one sock. He was dead, though he 
 had only been dead a little while. He was mutilated in a most 
 horrid and unmentionable way. We continued on to their camp, 
 which we found destroyed, but could find no traces of the part- 
 ner. Indians afterwards told us that they had seen a crazy man 
 who was naked out there somewhere in the breaks of the Missouri. 
 
 "In November of 1867 Adam Armstrong, O. B. Nevins 
 and myself left Old Fort Holly and came out by our old 
 fort on Rock creek, put out poison for wolves, then followed 
 Beaver creek to the mouth and made our camp at Tiger Buttes. 
 We wintered there that winter. Wolves were plenty and we 
 were getting more than we could handle. We would always skin 
 those that were found before they were frozen and pile the 
 frozen ones up and cover them with brush or anything that came 
 handy so we could find them when winter broke up. It is a fact
 
 84 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 that by spring we had so many that we needed help to skin them 
 so Nevins and I went to Peck and hired three men, Henry Keiser, 
 John Dillon and Bill Martin, to help us. We were to pay them 
 five dollars a day; we had no grub, had been living on meat 
 straight for eight months and for about three months without salt. 
 
 "As it required a lot of meat we would hunt, that is the part- 
 ners, each alternate day. It came my day to hunt and, as three 
 days before, I had seen a bear track I was very anxious to secure 
 him as the meat we had been getting was very thin at that sea- 
 son of the year while a bear might furnish us with some grease. 
 In the meantime the men were all busy in taking off the hides. 
 This was on the banks of the Milk river and at points where the 
 buffalo had to enter the river they had made deep trails in the 
 bank. It was about a mile from where the boys were at work 
 that I saw something dark in one of these trails. I thought it was 
 a bear and pulled down to fire when five or six Indians jumped 
 for the brush on each side of the trail. 
 
 "I had a Henry rifle, one of the first in that section, which 
 had cost me $180. I also had a muzzle-loader which I generally 
 used for game. I want to say that I had killed an elk and was 
 getting out of the timher wben I saw my bear? 
 
 The Indians had gone over the cut bank, but as the river was 
 full of ice they could get no farther. There was a coulee that 
 ran from the river back to the buttes and I thought by making for 
 that there would be some possibility of reaching the boys, save 
 my scalp, as well as theirs as there was a chance that they did not 
 know anything about a war party being out at that time of the 
 year. I made for the coulee and got in it and was running back 
 toward the buttes when I was seen by the Indians, forty-two of 
 them, and they separated and tried to head me off. When I 
 started to run they shot and hit me in the back of the neck but 
 as it was a spent arrow the thickness of my buckskin shirt saved 
 my life, though there is a scar which I am still packing. I had 
 unslung my Henry and it was owing to that that I got away 
 because I was doing something that the Red fellows did not 
 understand, shooting without stopping to load. My first shot 
 killed one and the second hit one in the leg. Armstrong and 
 Nevins heard me shoot and they came to my rescue. We man- 
 aged to escape and reach camp, where they held us for three 
 days without even allowing us to build a fire. They were making 
 it so disagreeable for us that we came to the conclusion to get 
 away as we had nothing to eat and were getting no rest that any 
 one could enjoy. I knew the Indian nature well and was sure 
 they would never leave us till they had killed some one to get 
 even on the fellow which I had shot the first day. At the end of 
 the third day, in the night, we went to the river as the ice had
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 85 
 
 run out, and in the dark found three dry logs big enough to hold 
 up our guns and into that cold water we went and swam to the 
 other side and went to a butte where they kept us three days. We 
 could not build a fire and could not shoot anything so had to 
 depend for food on the poisoned carcasses of the buffalo which 
 we had put out for wolves. Of course we knew there was no 
 danger as the manner in which we had put the poison out was to 
 skin the front part of the animal and scarify it into which we 
 sprinkled the strychnine. This left the hind-quarters perfectly 
 good so we felt safe on trying to satisfy our hunger on the meat 
 that had been killed for other purposes. 
 
 "I forgot to say that the other boys, believing us dead and 
 seeing the large number of Indians which had attacked us, made 
 for Peck as fast as they could go. 
 
 "We at last came to the conclusion to go back to camp and 
 also try and find the boys whom we had left skinning the wolves, 
 not knowing that they were in a place of safety. When we got 
 to the river we got some dry logs with which to make a raft and 
 try and get over without getting wet. All we had was willows 
 with which to bind the logs together. Armstrong was placed so 
 he could watch the other bank and to see if there were any 
 Indians in sight. Our idea was to get the raft ready and get on 
 and keep close to the shore till we could drift down far enough 
 to land on the opposite side in a place free from brush. Every- 
 thing was ready and Armstrong was called and as soon as he 
 reached us he told us that the timber on the other side was full 
 of Indians and that we were to get up on the bank as soon as we 
 could, but not till he came down and held the raft, for if we were 
 to leave in a hurry the Indians would think that we had discov- 
 ered them and they would shoot us before we could get up the 
 bank, but if he came down they might get us all when we got to 
 the other side. He came down and got hold of the logs and 
 told us to get, and we did, where we were soon safe but they got 
 poor old Adam by the time he had gotten to the top of the bank 
 and before he could get to a place of safety behind a tree. The 
 wound was clean through his body and he died that afternoon. 
 We got him back into the brush where we stayed so we could 
 hide the body and figure on making our escape. 
 
 "We managed to get away and went to Peck, where we 
 found the others safe. We got Dillon and Bill Martin to come 
 back so we could get Armstrong's body and give it decent burial. 
 
 "We did not save all of our hides but managed to get 1,700 
 rafted down the Milk to the Missouri where we waited for a boat 
 so we could sell them. 
 
 'There had been a mail contract from Diamond City to Fort 
 Abercombrie on the Red River of the North. I packed mail on
 
 86 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 this route for a time and then came to the conclusion to go down 
 the Missouri. A couple of us got in a skiff and went down to 
 Randall, from Fort Union. When I got to Randall I hired out 
 as scout and courier to Capt. Otis (?) I carried mail for him 
 between two of the posts till the spring of '72, when I bought two 
 four-mule teams and began to freight between Randall and the 
 Spotted-Tail Agency, 300 miles, head of White River. 
 
 "On one of the trips I had charge of Huston's six teams and 
 with us were thirteen teams that belonged to another outfit with 
 Bill Emery as wagon boss. We camped at the crossing of White 
 river which was half way and the stock were all turned out and 
 the night herders took them in charge and put them on good feed. 
 It was the custom for them to start for camp early in the morning 
 just before day. As they came in they would call one of us who 
 would go out and take charge till they had their breakfast, then 
 the stock would be harnessed and we would pull. The next 
 morning early the herders called and I went out to meet them and 
 asked where the stock was and they said that they were in the 
 river bottom a short distance below. A person could not see any 
 thing at that time in the morning so I concluded to ride so as to be 
 far enough down the stream to be below the stock, which was a 
 mixed bunch of horses, cattle and mules. Just about daylight I 
 could hear the mules running so I started to head them off as they 
 were going down the stream and away from camp. The first 
 thing I knew the horse was shot and the bullet hit me in 
 the foot. I turned and started my horse for the higher ground 
 but looked and saw. some one on the other side of the river and 
 pulled my gun to shoot, when some other fellow to the side or 
 kind of back of me shot and hit me in the side right under my right 
 arm as it was raised to shoot. The bullet went almost through me 
 and lodged near my left shoulder blade. My horse ran about five 
 hundred yards when he fell dead. I fell by his side and soon saw 
 two Indians sneaking up to get me but that was their last sneak 
 because I hit one of them as he was coming toward me in a stoop- 
 ing position, in the top of the head and as the other fellow straight- 
 ened up he got his and fell close by his chum. It was about five 
 that afternoon before the boys found me. 
 
 'The Indians had seen me but they did not dare come within 
 gun shot. In those days if you were hauling for the Government 
 and the Indians raided your train you would get pay. I was haul- 
 ing for private parties and as the Indians got all my stock and 
 the freight I had to pay $2,000 beside the loss of my outfit. That 
 broke me completely as I was in the hospital for eight months. 
 Of course my first act was to stuff a part of my shirt into the 
 wound and keep from bleeding to death.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 87 
 
 "After I got so I could travel I went to Cheyenne and got a 
 couple of horses and with Tom Russell went to Salt Lake City. 
 My uncle, John Morehouse, was there. I wintered with him 
 that winter and came back to Montana in '73. 
 
 "About that time I was packing mail from Randall; the 
 distance was quite a long ways. There was one station where I 
 generally put up and one day when I came there I noticed sev- 
 eral fellows who went out a little before I did and when I came 
 up they surrounded me and rode for a short distance when one 
 of them said: 'What have you got in the sack?' I told him 
 that I did not have anything that he wanted but he replied that 
 he would be the judge as to that and for me to fork it over. I 
 turned and they had me covered so that it would have been 
 foolish for me to try and help myself. They took the sack and 
 I rode to the post where we formed a posse and went back. 
 Sommers, the leader, was killed but we never found the other 
 fellows. (When Billy said: 'Sommers was killed but I did not 
 kill him,' I had to take his word for it but there was something 
 in his eyes that belied the words as it is known that few men ever 
 on the frontier were ever in his class when it came to shooting, 
 but of course there was a posse there at the time and some of 
 the others may have shot first.) This put an end to a tough 
 gang because as soon as the leader was killed the others never 
 came back. They went to Canada. 
 
 'To resume, in the fall of '76 I was in Deadwood, White's 
 gulch. Pike Landusky and I were going to Spearfish for some 
 reason and when we got ready to start were told that the Indians 
 had stolen some cattle from a sawmill company and that they 
 would give us twenty-five dollars a head for all we could find. 
 
 "When we got to Centennial valley we were overtaken by 
 five or six others and they reported that the Reds had stolen a 
 big band of horses. We went on and soon overtook them but 
 most of them got away. There was one whom we were chasing so 
 close that he quit his horse and jumped over a cut-bank into some 
 wild cherry bushes. These bushes were so thick that we could 
 not see any one. Soon others came and there was plenty to sur- 
 lound the place and get him if he showed himself. They rolled 
 rocks down but he simply took them and made a breast work so 
 that he would be pretty safe if any one went down. The place 
 was shot so full that no one could hardly think that he could 
 possibly be alive. A man by the name of Brown said he was 
 going in and get that fellow and we tried to dissuade him but it 
 was no use so he went down, saw the Indian and shouted: 'I've 
 found him,' and there was a shot and Brown was dead. Another 
 rellow went in and he was killed also.
 
 88 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "All the other fellows quit except Pike and myself but as 
 Pike wanted to stay we did and just about daybreak the fellow 
 came out, supposing all had gone, in which he made the mistake 
 of his ife for it was soon safe enough to go in and get the two 
 bodies. I never traveled with a better man than Pike Landusky. 
 I was a messenger on the stage coach in the Hills in '76. In 
 '77 I was at the Crow Agency and went with Howard to Miles' 
 battle field on Snake Creek." 
 
 Few men in Montana have a more interesting life study than 
 the study of this sketch. I regret very much that it was not pos- 
 sible to get more of the interesting incidents that have been a part 
 of his life. There is too much of interest left untold and before 
 long we must get it for the future historian. He is the sub-agent 
 of the Belknap Indian reservation, and resides at Hayes. 
 
 William Bent. 
 
 This man is one who has had a most varied experience. 
 
 The son of Col. Bent, the noted frontiersman who built Bent's 
 Fort on the Arkansas, in Colorado, was born in St. Louis in 1 846. 
 He was the nephew of the famous Kit Carson by a marriage. Mr. 
 Bent said: "I remember Carson and Freemont and have eaten 
 with them when they had been at my father's house after some 
 of their trips that have helped to make the story of our country. 
 In the light of my own experience I can come to but one conclu- 
 sion and that is my Uncle Kit was an over-rated man. These 
 same hair-breadth escapes, these same trials caused by hunger and 
 cold have been gone through by many a man who has helped to 
 make this country and not one word has been written into the 
 story of their deeds. Kit happened to have his lines cast close 
 to those of Freemont, who had a way of using his pen to advan- 
 tage; and getting himself into the limelight of public opinion and 
 approval. So it has been with many of the men of our frontier. 
 The famous Buffalo Bill never could hold a dim light to some of 
 the men who are living today in Blaine county. Many of these 
 may have never been heard of on account of their modesty." 
 
 William Bent is about five feet and eight inches tall and 
 shows that he has had a good constitution. I do not know what 
 the color of his hair has been but at this time it is gray. His eyes 
 are blue and his voice low and pleasing. There is no sign of dis- 
 pleasure in mode or jesture, when speaking of things which most 
 men would rather forget. His whole make-up is one that would 
 distinguish him as a plainsman who had been brought up under 
 such an environment that he has taken it for granted that he had 
 his life cut out for him and that it was filled, more or less, with 
 enjoyment. That he married Indian women and made them the
 
 BILL BENT. "DADDY" MINUGH. 
 
 Two Characters of Milk River.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY S9 
 
 respected mother of his children is something that the ordinary 
 reader unfamiliar with the early days of the western territories, 
 can never be made to understand. These men, like Bent, intro- 
 duce you to their wives and children with as much pride as would 
 the whitest of white men to the whitest of white women. And 
 why not? When these men came to make it possible for the 
 chicken-hearted, of these days to come, after all the real rough 
 places had been planed off the map, and establish homes where 
 they can live in no fear of the wild beast or the more savage men 
 who once roamed these hills, valleys and mountains, they did not 
 find any other to mate with but the daughters of Red Men. That 
 they took them in a legal way, some times, there can be no doubt. 
 Not all of them were high-minded enough to unite themselves in 
 wedlock as many of them simply bought their women to discard 
 them and leave them the fruits of that connection to rear as best 
 they could. 
 
 No father can love his white child with any more affection 
 than do the fathers of these half-caste youngsters. When I say 
 that I mean any of those men who are worthy to be fathers. The 
 reason is, as explained to me by one of them, as follows: "Can't 
 you understand that these children are to become handicapped in 
 their race for life because of their blood? Well understanding 
 that you must know that the right kind of a father feels that he 
 has been responsible for their lot and for that reason tries in every 
 way possible to make their lives as pleasant as he can by throwing 
 his love and protection about them." 
 
 No man has had any more to do with the cilivization of the 
 Milk river than Bill Bent. We will not say that he settled in this 
 section with that end in view, as that would not be correct. The 
 establishing of the reservation was somewhat due to his influence 
 over the Indians as well as was the treaty to allow the building of 
 the railroad. 
 
 The Indians have seemed at all times to have had confidence 
 in him. Bent has not been one who has made it his life's work 
 to profit by his knowledge of them and of their ways. 
 
 He can leave no other heritage than the one that comes to 
 the Indian as his right, the right to select a piece of land whenever 
 the reservation is thrown open. In other words, he has not made 
 a fortune through his connection with the people. Right here I 
 want to say that I believe that the white man, instead of teaching 
 the Indian to work, has himself, like the Indian, learned to follow 
 the lines of least resistance. 
 
 "My father was Col. Wm. Bent who built Bent's fort on the 
 Arkansas. Mother was Sarah Sullivan and came from Indiana. 
 Her folks before her fought at Valley Forge and nearly, as I 
 could ascertain, in every war since. My father was a frontiers-
 
 90 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 man and had several Indian wives before he married my mother. 
 He and Kit Carson married sisters, that is Indian women. 
 
 "I was born in 1846 in St. Louis. One of my father's broth- 
 ers was Provisional Governor of New Mexico and was killed by 
 the Mexicans. Just when I do not know. (It took place in 
 1847.) When I was a small boy I went with Lieut. Gunnison 
 and his men to explore the Gunnison river. My father supported 
 Albert Sidney Johnson during the trouble with Mexico. Old 
 Col. Leavenworth was also a friend of father's. 
 
 "I went to school, in a kind of private school at St. Louis, and 
 my room-mates were two Spaniards who were the sons of Senor 
 Romero, a minister to the United States during Grant's admin- 
 istration. These boys were Fernando and Bernado. Fernando 
 killed Bernado while at school. I remained in school for quite 
 a long time as mother was trying to keep me out of the war. An 
 uncle said I was old enough to go to war and help save his 
 negroes. When mother died, as some of my friends were going 
 to join the army, I went with them and remained till it was over. 
 I was wounded at Chickamauga, in the second day's fighting. 
 
 "When I returned to St. Louis I thought some of going to 
 Mexico to join Maximilian but instead drifted north and came to 
 Atchison and met Bill Anderson, one of Quantrell's men. I 
 remained for a while with an old fellow named Murphy and then 
 drifted west with some people into the Platte country and there 
 fell in with a Spaniard called 'Sago.' We wandered around quite 
 a lot and at last got into the Yellowstone park from which place 
 we went via Bozeman to Virginia City, where we arrived in 
 June, 1 866. I did not mine, though I was offered $8.00 per day 
 to do so. I left the same summer and went into Dry Gulch near 
 Helena. I left Helena with Henry McDonald and went down 
 to the Musselshell country. We drifted around there until that 
 winter and in 1866-7 rode the Pony Express from Diamond Citv 
 to Fort Hawley on the Missouri. 
 
 'Two men always rode together. Two went from Hawley 
 to Wolf Point. (That point received its name from a large num- 
 ber of wolves that had been caught and piled up by Charlie 
 Conklin and two other fellows, but the Indians came and they 
 never got a chance to skin them.) The route extended on past 
 Union, Devil's Lake to Fort Abercombrie, on the Red River of 
 the North. I quit riding the spring of '68. 'Liver Eating' John- 
 son rode one or two trips with me. While I was riding with 
 Johnson was when I first met Billy Cochran; he was camping 
 at the east end of the Little Rockies. 
 
 "In the fall of 1868 they began to hire men at Fort Benton 
 to build Fort Browning on Peoples creek in the Milk river coun- 
 try. This was about the fourth day of August and Hubbel and
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 91 
 
 Hawley, the Northwest Fur company hired the men to build a 
 trading post and a place for a representative of the government. 
 After the r* ort was finished there were too many men and we were 
 told to look out for ourselves. Bill Hamilton, one of the men, 
 said, 'Boys, suppose we go into the Little Rockies and hunt for 
 gold.' Bill would not work at the fort as he would not work at 
 anything like that, he was trapping and hunting most of the time. 
 We formed a party with Bill as leader. Bill, Joe Wye, Fred 
 Merchant, John Thomas, myself and three others made the 
 party. This was in the fall of 1868. We went round on the 
 east end of the mountains and prospected on Dry Beaver. We 
 found gold, but not in paying quantities, and that was, to my 
 knowledge, the first gold found in the Little Rockies." In reply 
 to a question Mr. Bent said: "I heard, through a man named 
 Grinnell, that some men who had been mining in the west went 
 east and on their return got off the boat and went into the Little 
 Rockies and were never heard of afterward. Grinnell was later 
 killed by the Indians. 
 
 'The ground froze up on us before we could do much and 
 we threw everything in the mining line away. Bill was not very 
 religiously inclined and after the ground froze up he cussed 
 God Almighty. We killed some elk and packed the skins to 
 Benton. I stayed there a while and took supplies back for wolf- 
 ing on the Milk river. The wolfing party consisted of the same 
 men with the exception of Joe Wye, who would not come. We 
 went on the Upper Milk river into the Piegan country." (Here 
 some incidents happened to come into the old man's mind and we 
 record them because they are too good to miss.) "I want to tell 
 you a little story about Major Culbertson and Agent Fenton. 
 The major was a great lover of whisky and one winter at Old 
 Fort Belknap the major was pretty full most all winter and no 
 one could tell where he was getting his supply. There was a 
 cellar in the cabin in which Culbertson lived and Fenton was 
 agent. That fall the Indians brought in a two-headed buffalo 
 calf and as it was a curiosity, Fenton wished to secure it, so he 
 could take it the next spring back to the Smithsonian Institute. 
 In order to keep it he sent for a large keg or small barrel of 
 alcohol and putting the calf head in it put it down cellar for safe 
 keeping. There was no whisky to be kept there as it was an 
 Indian reservation. 
 
 "When spring came the agent sent a couple of men down for 
 the keg and told them it was heavy and that they should be care- 
 ful not to drop and break it. When they got down they found 
 ihe keg was not at all heavy and so reported to Fenton who, 
 on examination, found that it was too true as there was but little
 
 92 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 except dry calf heads as the Major had found and tapped the 
 keg and used the liquor for libations. 
 
 Another Incident. 
 
 "Old man Meldrum was trading down on the Missouri near 
 Fort Union one time and some Indians came and they seemed to 
 have something on their minds, though he was anxious to trade 
 he could only do so when they got good and ready. There were 
 several different parties of them and they had been around quite 
 a lot since he had seen them and they were recounting the strange 
 things they had seen on their trips. One party said they had seen 
 funny things in the south and the party that thought they had seen 
 the funniest thing was one that had been to Fort Benton. 'We 
 have seen the white man's mother.' Meldrum said: 'Are you sure? 
 Was it the Queen of England or was it a white woman in the 
 country?' 'No, it was the white man's mother and how different 
 from us did God make her. We were raised on our mother's 
 breast but they, the white men, are so different.' Meldrum asked 
 what she looked like and how she was different. 'Well, it did 
 not look like us, it was spotted and had a tail.' The white men 
 had a milk cow at Benton and the Indians sneaked up when they 
 were milking and saw some of them drinking the milk so that 
 was the reason they thought it was the white man's mother. 
 
 'The Indians claim that the white men drove the buffalo back 
 into their holes from which they came. They had rounded them 
 all up, drove them into the hole and closed it up so they could 
 not get out. Even 'Old Nosey,' the chief of the Assinniboines, 
 could not be argued out of the question. He said they had done 
 it so as to make the Indian come around to the white man's ways. 
 
 "At the time that Major Logan wanted to fence the reserva- 
 tion the Indians did not want it done as they had been fooled so 
 often that they were getting sore. They said if I would come 
 to the council they would listen. It was satisfactorily arranged 
 and the reserve was enclosed. 
 
 "I have trapped on all the streams of the Bear's Paw and 
 Little Rockies and have many experiences. In the fall of 1869 
 a steamer was stuck on a sand bar and could not be moved. She 
 had a load of supplies, whisky, etc. Major Reed said that they 
 would go down and wreck the boat as she had a hole stove in 
 her. He hired several men who were around there and took two 
 teams. Major went himself. I forget all of them but Jim Wells, 
 Anderson, John Thomas, Billie Smith and Steve Tabor and 
 Jim Campbell and several others. They wanted me to go but I 
 told them they were going to get into trouble, so went into the 
 Little Rockies and put in forty-four days alone. This was near
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 93 
 
 the Middle Butte on the east end. I do not think I am supersti- 
 tious, but living alone for that length of time got me. I got so 
 things began to puzzle me. Every morning I would go out and 
 get on a big rock where I could look all about. When game 
 was quiet I knew no Indians were about, if it was moving I 
 knew that war parties were out. My wolf baits kept me pretty 
 busy, so busy in fact that I could not skin all of them so had 
 to pile them up. While I was living there alone the game would 
 come right down to the cabin but I was afraid to shoot on account 
 of the Indians. 
 
 "I used the fat of the wolf to fry my dough banks in. While 
 in the camp that winter there was one thing that occurred to me 
 which I never could understand. I had been out all day, as the 
 baits had turned up several wolves, and while they were fresh I 
 skinned them. The result was that when I got back to the cabin 
 I was very tired. It was almost dark when I arrived, so I built up 
 a good fire and sat down in a camp chair and began looking at 
 the fire when all at once I seemed to hear a sigh. There was 
 a little hole that I used for light in one end of the cabin not far 
 from where I was sitting. When I heard the noise or whatever 
 it was I turned and cold see a dark face and two large eyes look- 
 ing at me. I sat there spellbound, could not move hand or foot. 
 The fire was burning brightly and my gun was close to me, but 
 for a time I could not reach for it. I can not say how long I 
 sat there but at last I grabbed my gun and went out but could find 
 nothing, not even a track. That face was just as plain as yours 
 is at this minute, I can't understand what it could have been. 
 
 "Another time after I had been out all day with my traps I 
 returned home late in the afternoon. I noticed some tracks. At 
 first I thought it was a bear when I remembered there were no 
 bears in that section. Then I came to the conclusion it was an 
 Indian hunting my cabin. I went into the house and was there 
 a little while when I looked out and noticed something moving 
 on the hillside toward the spring. I went out where I could have 
 a better view and saw the object get down on all fours and drink. 
 When it raised up I could see it was an Indian woman, but in 
 the most terrible condition I ever saw. I drew her attention by 
 whistling and she made a peculiar noise through her teeth. Her 
 feet were bare and her face was frozen till it was black and partly 
 gone. I watched her as she started to move away from me and 
 thought I would shoot her and put her out of her misery. I 
 actually raised my gun to fire the fatal shot but thought better 
 of it and she left. I never saw her afterward, but in relating my 
 story at Browning, some of the Gros Ventres hearing it said she 
 was a Crow. They told the Crows about it and a young man 
 from that tribe came to me and told me that he thought it must
 
 94 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 be his mother as she had strayed off from their camp and had 
 become lost. He was very anxious to find her and said his folks 
 were wealthy and that he would give me the finest horse in the 
 Crow tribe, besides other things, if I would go and try and find 
 her. I never went. 
 
 The Steamboat Party. 
 
 'To return to the party under Major Reed: All the rest of 
 the fellows went with the major. Moses Solomon and Jimmie 
 Dwyer were there also. They went down to Peck first, then 
 started to the wreck and when about ten miles from that post 
 noticed some Indians in the hills. Some thought them Assinni- 
 boines. Tom Campbell did not like their action as he knew 
 Indians pretty well. The boys continued on their way, however, 
 and as they were going over some hills they noticed some Indians 
 on both sides. They were not molested but allowed to come 
 down from the hills into the trap the Indians had set for them. 
 The party proved to be Santee Sioux who were hunting elk. 
 Just as soon as they got in the bottom the Indians closed in on 
 them and they tried to withdraw but the Indians kept them going 
 and they began to run their four-horse teams in order to make 
 their getaway but the Indians were running on both sides of the 
 teams and soon began to fire on them. They shot one of the 
 leaders in Mose Solomon's team. Mose then cut his other horses 
 loose from the wagon and the other boys jumped off and ran 
 for a cut bank that was close by. They jumped over the bank 
 into the willows but before they got there they killed McGregor, 
 John Thomas, Steve Tabor and Montgomery. In the meantime 
 Mose and Jimmie Dwyer had jumped on a mule and started to 
 get away with the Indians after them. They shot Mose in one 
 foot and one bullet passed between them without injury. The 
 other fellows were held in the willows. Some of the Indians 
 came up on one side and some on the other and they were so 
 close, so the boys said, that they could hear them drop their trade 
 balls into their guns. Billie Smith killed one of the most noted 
 Indians in the Sioux nation in that fight. The boys were held 
 in the brush till night, when they abandoned their wagons and 
 walked back to Peck. Tom Campbell escaped on a big black 
 horse that belonged to me and brought the news to Peck. 
 
 The Nez Perce Campaign. 
 
 "A year before the battle, where Joseph was captured by 
 Col. Miles, there were a lot of Nez Perces that came down with 
 horses to trade and some which they gave away as presents to 
 the Assinniboines. They told them that they expected to have
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 95 
 
 trouble with the whites in the country where they lived. It appears 
 that some of the Nez Perces agreed to the selling of a certain part 
 of their reserve in Idaho but that a large number opposed it but 
 anyway the Government allowed them to be crowded off without 
 their consent. They tried to remain anyway but their agent told 
 them they must move to another place. They explained that it 
 would never do as their stock would be sure to go back to the old 
 range and then there would be trouble with the whites as they 
 would never let them get their stock once it got in their possession. 
 They were right about this, because it actually happened. A 
 short time before the battle I was at Old Fort Belknap when I 
 received word from Fort Benton. Major Algers was in charge 
 of a little band of troops there and he sent word to me to keep 
 the Indians well in hand as the Nez Perces were traveling this 
 way and were fighting down on the Missouri. Murray Nichol- 
 son and Eph Woolsey had been paid $500.00 to bring me the 
 letter. 
 
 "I at once called the Indians together in council and told them 
 that the people who were here the summer before with all the 
 horses and presents were fighting the soldiers and that the soldiers 
 were after them and coming this way and that the best thing they 
 could do would be not to have anything to do with them as the 
 soldiers would punish all they found in arms. In less than an 
 hour's time after the council was over some of the Nez Perces 
 came. The majority of the Nez Perces were south of the Mis- 
 souri and coming toward the Bear's Paw. There were five Nez 
 Perces that came. About two days after, quite early in the morn- 
 ing, we heard scattering shots south of us, between us and the 
 Bear's Paw. The Indians who were out in the hills came in and 
 said there was lots of shooting and they thought there must be a 
 battle. A little snow fell that night, about an inch. That evening 
 we heard the big guns and I said the fight is on. The next day we 
 still heard the shooting and I was holding the Indians as close as 
 I could. Some of them wanted to go and find out what was going 
 on, but I told them it would be better for me to go for if I ran 
 into the soldiers I would be safe. So I started and kept going 
 toward the sound and got south of the West Fork of Snake creek 
 and it became so dark that all I could see was the flashes of 
 the guns once in a while. I got up to where I could see the 
 pickets in one place and laid down and waited till morning. As 
 soon as it was light enough I went to one of the men on picket 
 and explained who I was and he told me to go in. I could see the 
 whole thing, the pits of the Indians, and the breastworks of the 
 soldiers, and away back were the tents. I went over and reported 
 to Miles. My first attempt was not very successful for I saw 
 a fellow all togged out whom I saluted as I was sure it was the
 
 96 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 general, but noticed that some of them laughed and pointed to 
 another, Miles himself. In my report I told him what the Assin- 
 niboines were doing and the orders I had from the War Depart- 
 ment through Algers. He told me to go back and keep them in 
 hand and see that they did not get in the fight. I called his atten- 
 tion to the fact that his was but a handful compared with the 
 number of Sioux who were at Pinto Horse Butte under Sitting 
 Bull and that it was only seventy miles, which would be but a 
 short ride for an Indian. I also told him that all of his pits were 
 a defense on the side toward the Nez Perces and that if the 
 Sioux came he would be in a bad fix as they would come in from 
 the rear. (The Nez Perces had sent for the Sioux but they did 
 not come.) 
 
 "After going back and telling the Assinniboines what Miles 
 had said I returned to the battlefield. I think it was the fourth 
 day of the fight that Miles, Sweeny, Arthur Chapman, an inter- 
 preter from Idaho, Captain John, a Nez Perce, and myself went 
 down to have a talk with the Indians. John was sent down into 
 the pit to talk with the Nez Perces while we laid down peeping 
 over a hill. He rode a pinto horse with a hospital sheet tied to 
 a pole. He would stop and wave the flag and halloo at them 
 and at last he was allowed to approach near enough to carry on 
 a conversation. You could still see them throwing out the dirt, 
 as they were occupying all their spare time fortifying. After a 
 little some of the Indians came out and John went out of sight 
 for a few minutes and then appeared again with six or seven of 
 them. They all had their guns with them and Miles said to 
 Chapman: 'You tell those fellows not to use any treachery be- 
 cause there are hundreds of men looking through their sights ready 
 to shoot.' They shook their heads and came on. Of course we 
 did not know who they were. We started towards Miles' tent 
 but as a lot of officers began to crowd around, the Indians stopped 
 and Miles said to Arthur: 'What's the matter with them?' 
 Chapman replied that they did not like the officers to be so handy 
 so Miles ordered them back as they were confusing the Indians. 
 We all went over to Miles' tent and he got some camp stools for 
 the Indians, but not enough as some had to sit on the ground. 
 They sat there a while and then he said that they had better have 
 a smoke but for the Indians to furnish the tobacco as then they 
 would be sure it was all right. After a while Miles began to talk. 
 He said that it pained him to do what he was doing but it was 
 his duty. They did not make any reply. Captain Baird and 
 another officer were taking down everything that was being said 
 in writing. When Miles was talking he was addressing a very 
 fine tall Indian who was sitting on a stool not far away. When 
 Chapman was doing his interpreting he was looking and talking
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 07 
 
 to an Indian sitting on the ground. The Indian to whom Miles 
 was talking would hardly say anything but the Indian sitting on 
 the ground would smile. A little while after I noticed an old 
 gray-haired officer come in and stand way back, he only had 
 one arm and the coat sleeve was pinned across his breast. As 
 soon as the Indians saw him they seemed to be awful angry, their 
 eyes blazed. This was Howard. 
 
 "Miles once more addressed the Indian sitting on the stool 
 and asked him if he hadn't had enough of this by now. But the 
 Indian did not reply. Miles turned to Chapman and looked for 
 an answer. Chapman had noticed that Miles had addressed all 
 his talk to the particular Indian who would not reply and as Miles 
 looked at him he said (pointing to the one on the ground) Why 
 don't you ask him? Miles said: 'Who is he?' 'That's the 
 leader, Chief Joseph.' Miles was surprised but he got up and 
 handed his stool to the Chief and from that time all his remarks 
 were made to the proper person. Joseph said that White Bird 
 did not want to surrender and that he would take one more night 
 so as to give him a chance to think it over. During that night 
 White Bird escaped with his two wives and went over the line. 
 The next day, the last day of the fight, Miles said: 'I want 
 you to go down to the river and tell the Indians down there not 
 to kill any more Nez Perces. About seven Nez Perces were 
 killed by the Assinniboines. 
 
 'The day that Joseph surrendered he said he thought the 
 river was the line and that the Indians would be friendly but as 
 they were enemies he would give up. He handed his gun, muzzle 
 first, to Howard but Howard said: 'No, that man, pointing to 
 Miles, is the one who won it.' He then turned and handed his 
 gun, butt first, to Miles. I have always thought that if Howard 
 had reached for that gun he would have been shot. 
 
 My Capture by the Nez Perces. 
 
 "When I left the battlefield to go to the river to tell 
 the Indians what Miles had said I was captured by some of the 
 Nez Perces that had escaped. One of them talked to me and 
 said: 'You are a soldier.' To this I said 'No.' He said: 'You 
 are a liar you are a soldier and you came right from them and we 
 saw you.' I replied that I was not a soldier but belonged on the 
 river and that my children were the offspring of an Indian mother. 
 They asked me if I was living with the Indians to talk some of the 
 language to them. I talked Crow and made several attempts to 
 talk several different Indian tongues so they would know that 
 I was not lying. Then they noticed the horse which I was riding 
 and it belonged to the Government. 'Why are you riding a Gov-
 
 98 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 ernment horse if you are not a soldier?' I told them that I had 
 a small pony which had played out and that Miles had given me 
 this one so I could go down to the river and do some good work 
 for them. I swore to God in the Indian fashion that I was telling 
 the truth, and they shook hands with me and told me to ride and 
 ride fast. I started out but turned back to say something but 
 they motioned me to keep going on and I took them at their 
 word. Miles had offered me twenty-five ponies, the pick of the 
 band, and five hundred dollars for the capture of White Bird, 
 dead or alive." 
 
 Bent is at this date, May, 1917, near the reservation. 
 
 Ranch Mouth Snake Creek, 
 Fort Belknap Ind. Reservation, 7/30 — 1915. 
 Mr. Thos. Dowen, Chinook, Mont. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your letter of the 20th just received. In replying 
 I would say the small brass cannon, you mention in your letter, 
 was brought to the territory, now the State of Montana, early in 
 1850 in mackinaws (boats) cordelled by Choteau's men, or by 
 Alex Culbertson to Fort Union (afterward Fort Buford) , then 
 again to Fort Benton by river; then again down the river to Fort 
 Hawley, above the mouth of the Musselshell river, then when 
 this place (Hawley) was abandoned in 1868 it was hauled by 
 bull team to the new Fort Browning, on Milk river. I was then 
 at Fort Browning helping to build this post when the two cannon 
 were brought there by the Northwest Fur company by Louis 
 Hubble and Geo. Boyd in charge. The mate of this gun is at 
 Fort Belknap Agency now. When we abandoned old Fort 
 Browning in about 1 870 we hauled most everything up to the 
 new post, Fort Belknap then being built up to near where Chinook 
 is now. As we had hauled about everything our last, next trip, 
 was to be some flooring we had torn up, and the two brass cannon, 
 one in the northeast and the other in the southwest bastions (block 
 houses) corners of the stockade. In making our next to last trip 
 we had not gone ten miles, when, looking back, we saw an 
 immense column of black smoke and a little while after saw a 
 war party of hostile Sioux Indians following us. We then knew 
 they had burnt the abandoned old Fort. We had left nobody there. 
 Afterwards when we went back we found the old Fort partly 
 destroyed; that is the southwest bastion, was completely burned. 
 This cannon you are asking about was in this fire (bastion) ; the 
 other cannon, its mate, was taken up to new Belknap, near where 
 Chinook now is ; then afterwards to the new Agency near Harlem. 
 These small guns were used twice at Browning on the hostiles. 
 We also used them to salute the friendlys, when large trading
 
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 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 99 
 
 parties, loaded with buffalo robes and skins, came in to trade with 
 us. There was never any military or soldiers stationed at old 
 Browning, only once, Maj. Freeman with two companies of infan- 
 try stayed at old Fort Browning about one month, no others. The 
 most important man in Indian affairs here then was Maj. A. J. 
 Simons; (Alex Culbertson and myself, his interpreters.) 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 W. BENT. 
 
 Harlem, Montana. 
 
 If there is any more information you would like on this sub- 
 ject, please let me know. 
 
 Joseph Mosser. 
 
 "I was born in Alsace, France, July 1 Oth, 1 840. I came to 
 the U. S. in 1 846, to New Orleans. We came in an old sailing 
 vessel and were sixty-one days on the ocean. My grandfather 
 was with Napoleon and was one of the few who came back from 
 Moscow. (His name was Joseph Martin.) We did not remain 
 very long in New Orleans, but went to Kenton county, Kentucky. 
 I remember seeing Daniel Boone's name carved on a tree on the 
 Licking river. The date was there but I do not at this time recall 
 it. We farmed in the summer and in the winter took bolting and 
 staves down to Cincinnati in flat boats. I was in New Orleans 
 in '61 when the war broke out, when the first gun was fired at 
 Fort Sumpter. We got a steamboat and were captured at Helena, 
 Arkansas, and held three days. They had a grudge against Cin- 
 cinnati as arms were coming from that city to Arkansas. The 
 boat was the Queen of the West. When I arrived in Cincinnati 
 I tried to enlist but they would not accept me as they said my 
 lungs were too weak. We leased a farm and moved to it in '64. 
 In '64 I left St. Louis for Fort Benton on the steamer Benton. 
 Thomas Ray was captain and Henry A. Dolman chief clerk. 
 We arrived at Benton, June, '64. I did not go to the mines as I 
 saw too many who said provisions were so high that a small 
 amount of money would only last a short time, so I returned to 
 St. Louis on the same boat. I worked up and back and received 
 $65 per month. When we arrived at St. Louis I was put on as 
 watchman for a few trips to Cairo. I was in business in Cincin- 
 nati from the summer of 1 864 to 1 868, and again went to work 
 on the Success, under the same captain and clerk that had run on 
 the Benton. After reaching Benton I went back to the mouth of 
 the Musselshell, then called Kirtzville, at that time supposed to 
 be the county seat of Dawson county. James Brewer (who was 
 afterwards at White Sulphur Springs) was Sheriff. Bert Whit- 
 son and some other man were the County Commissioners; no
 
 100 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 Judge, just a Justice of the Peace. I was appointed Deputy 
 Sheriff to care for some property (cord wood and a yoke of 
 cattle) . There were two stores there at that time, George Clen- 
 denning-Montana Hide and Fur company, and Jacob Smith 
 at the head of a Helena firm. I put in my time at that place till 
 some time early in the winter chopping wood. About Christmas 
 I went to Rocky Point and worked for Lohmire and Lee, who 
 had a wood yard. I worked for them until the spring of '69, 
 when I went down to the mouth of the Musselshell with John 
 Duffy in a skiff. It was only a short time after we arrived there 
 that the fight took place between the men in the post and the 
 Santee Sioux. It was ten or eleven in the morning when about 
 125 or 1 50 Indians got themselves in readiness to wipe us out. 
 The first we knew we saw them on a rise a short distance away, 
 waving their blankets and shouting that we were dogs, cowards 
 and everything they could think of to belittle one. They shouted 
 that we dare not fight. Finally one of the boys said: 'Let's 
 
 give the a go anyway.' To this the others agreed. Clen- 
 
 denning said that that would be all right, but not to leave the 
 place in his care all together as we might get into something 
 that we could not carry through in the best kind of shape, or, in 
 other words, we might get wiped out. Some ten or twenty stayed 
 with him. 
 
 'There was a deep, cut bank coulee that ran into the Mus- 
 selshell, a short distance from the fort, and fifty or sixty of the 
 enemy got into that thinking to cut us off from the fort when 
 we went after the fellows on the hill. If it had not been for 
 Jake Leader's dog we would no doubt have fallen into their trap. 
 The dog scented the Indians and looked over at them and Jake 
 followed him up and was peaking over when an Indian shot him 
 in the point of his nose and the bullet came out the back of his 
 head. (See the Story of Billy Cochran) . After this four men 
 went across the Musselshell in a skiff, and came up opposite this 
 hole and began to throw shots in so fast the Indians could not 
 stand it so that they had to get out. Thirty-one or thirty-two 
 of them were killed. These men were Frank Smith, James 
 Wells, Joe Girard, a little Frenchman, and someone else. 
 (Cochran says Frank Smith. Jim Wells, G. R. Norris and him- 
 self were the four men) . The fight did not last long after it got 
 well started, maybe one-half hour. The Indians were too badly 
 scared to return but kept running as long as they could, but some 
 got so full of lead that they had to stop. The last one to get 
 out of the hole was a half-breed boy who ran toward the whites 
 and said: 'Me good Injun,' to which 'Liver Eating' Johnson 
 
 replied: 'If you are good you are in d d bad company,' 
 
 and raising his gun killed him. Then he took out his knife and
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 101 
 
 cut out the liver and putting one end of it in his mouth took his 
 knife and cut off a piece and said: 'Boys try a piece of this, 
 it is as good as antelope liver.' This act gave J. J. Johnson 
 the name which he ever afterwards carried, 'Liver Eating' John- 
 son. Soon after this fight I went up to Rocky Point on the first 
 boat. In those days if a person wanted to go any where he was 
 careful not to start till it was dark as the Indians were always 
 lying in wait for him. I was in a good many scraps with the 
 Indians but was very lucky in getting out whole. Three of the 
 boys were killed at Carroll Point. They were old man Lee, 
 Drew Denton and Charlie Williams. These men were going 
 along the river when they saw the Indians and they got into 
 some brush to hide, but the Indians saw the tracks and charged 
 their position. Old man Lee was killed when he rose up and said 
 'How, How.' He was shot in the head. Williams was flesh 
 wounded in the shoulder; he had a lot of cartridges and a bul- 
 let hit some of them and they exploded and he cried out: 'God, 
 Drew, I'm blown up.' Drew replied: 'Never mind that, keep 
 shooting.' That same bunch of Indians were at my place that 
 morning and had run us into the stockade. (This was in April, 
 1870.) Drew and Williams came up on the other side of the 
 river from us and shouted across to us and we went over and 
 got them about two o'clock in the morning. They said they had 
 fought the Sioux all day and that old Lee was dead. We went 
 down about two days after this and buried him, close to where 
 he fell. There was evidence of a good sized scrap. The Indians 
 told some one that they lost eleven men at that time. This was 
 at Carroll Point. They were trying to make it the head of 
 navigation, instead of Benton. I quit the river in 1871 as the 
 boats quit running, to any extent, and most all the wood yards 
 were abandoned. I had only made a living during my business 
 career on the Missouri. I had five hundred cords of wood (that 
 went into the river afterwards) and one yoke of cattle which were 
 killed by the Reds, so I backed the wagon into the river and 
 let go too. I did this to keep the Indians from getting the spokes 
 with which they made handles for their whips. I had made 
 more money chopping wood for three dollars per cord than I had 
 in running the business for myself. There were only six boats up 
 the river in 1870 and as high as forty were running in the old 
 days before the railroad was built to Corrinne. The railroad 
 changed the conditions on the upper Missouri. WTien in the 
 wood business on the river we trapped and hunted and tried to 
 make a little extra money in that way. Wolf hides were $2.50; 
 coyote, $1.25; lynx, $5.00; bobcats, $1.50; foxes, $1.25. In 
 1870 I went to work for Tom Bogy at Claggett (old Camp 
 Cook) . That was the year that Billy Claggett was elected to
 
 102 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 Congress. The vote for him at that place was unanimous. There 
 were only five of us, just enough for three judges and two clerks. 
 That night we sat in a game of freeze out and played to see 
 who would have the pay we were to get as judges and clerks of 
 the election. I won the pot and sold my script to Tom Powers 
 for sixty cents on the dollar. I was helping Bogy at anything 
 needed and would have charge of the store whenever he was 
 away. We had four horses which the Indians swam the Missouri 
 and stole from us. I had gone to get them, not knowing that 
 there were any Indians near. The boys shouted for me to come 
 and, supposing the Reds were right on top of me, crawled under 
 a cut bank. These were Fort Peck Indians, as we got the horses 
 back from them a little later. 
 
 'To go back a little in my experience on the river. I will say 
 that in '64 we had left a barge at Fort Benton as he had adver- 
 tised that we would take passengers. We had gone down to 
 Fort Gilpin (Gilpin was an old Indian trader) for freight but 
 could not get back on account of low water. While near this 
 place we were cutting wood when the Indians came and chased 
 us back on the boat — only one man was hit. This was my 
 first experience with wild Indians in their real wild state. I 
 did not think that these fellows meant any trouble till they began 
 to shoot. I made for the boat under a cut bank, stubbed my toe 
 and fell over and over. I heard one of the boys say 'They have 
 got one of our men.' I raised up running and replied 'Not by a 
 
 d n sight.' I was soon on board. We cut the line and 
 
 throwed the anchor out till we could get up steam. We wanted 
 to get an Indian head for a trophy to stick up on the flag staff. 
 We were never able to get it as there were too many Reds out 
 there in the timber and the boys kept shouting for us to come in 
 as they could see the enemy all about us. 
 
 "We had to wait for the barge before we could pull out. 
 When it did come it had forty or fifty men who were going down 
 with us. We sold the barge and pulled out. It was no picnic 
 in those days steamboating on the Missouri. In 1 872 I left Ben- 
 ton and went to Bismark and from there to Covington, Ky., 
 where I bought a news stand in the postoffice. It was only a 
 short time after this when carriers were established and the peo- 
 ple no longer came after their mail, so it broke me. Jesse R. 
 Grant, the father of General U. S. Grant, was the postmaster at 
 that time. 
 
 "In seventy-five I came back to Claggett, as Bogy had kept 
 writing to me. This gave me a job as soon as I got off the boat. 
 (Bogy sold soon after this to Jim Wells.) Bogy was to go north 
 and establish a line of posts so went east for goods. I did not 
 go with him as T. C. Power wanted me to stay with Wells. I
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 103 
 
 remained at this place till March, '76, and went to Benton and 
 became a watchman on the levee, as they did not have warehouse 
 room. 
 
 "In June I went to Bismark and from there to the Black Hills, 
 Deadwood, seeking a fortune in gold mines, chasing fantoms as 
 it were. I stayed there till '78, but did not succeed. I got into 
 Deadwood a few days before Wild Bill was killed and heard 
 the shot that killed him. That was truly a tough place. 
 
 'Those were the days when the Indians were bad. In fact, 
 they had become such a menace that the merchants of Deadwood 
 offered a bounty of $25 for all Indian heads brought in. A 
 greaser brought one in and collected his pay and a short time 
 after this a Texan came riding up the street (Main street) with 
 an Indian head tied to the end of his lariat, quirting his horse all 
 the way up. He made such a show of himself that he could 
 not collect the bounty. He was very angry and said: 'You 
 would pay a greaser but you would not pay a white man.' 
 
 "Calamity Jane came in with Crook's soldiers. She was a 
 mighty fine looking girl. She always dressed in buckskins. 
 
 "I left the Black Hills and went to Old Fort Belknap and 
 went to work for Tom O'H anion. We had come from the 
 'Hills' on horseback but had no trouble. Major Lincoln was the 
 agent in those days. 
 
 "I remained for two years with O'Hanlon and then bought 
 a freight team and began to haul from Benton to Belknap. Fort 
 Assinniboine was started in '79. I hauled freight to it also, from 
 Rocky Point. 
 
 "I also hauled grain from Maple Creek, Canada, to Assinni- 
 boine. T. C. Power had had the contract to furnish corn and 
 oats to the post and as the grain could not come up the river on 
 account of low water the grain was shipped in bond to Canada 
 on the Canadian railroad and hauled to Assinniboine by team. 
 Major Field, who succeeded Lincoln at Belknap, was a mighty 
 fine man and though this was an Indian Reservation he told me 
 he had inside information that the reservation would soon be 
 thrown open and that I had better settle some place — any place I 
 chose. 
 
 "In 1884 I cut 1260 tons of hay on Big Sandy for the Post 
 at two dollars per ton, cutting and bunching. Broadwater had 
 the contract and got twenty dollars delivered. 
 
 "Owing to the advice of Field I went to Clear Creek and 
 located a ranch about thirty miles from Chinook. I put the first 
 trout into that stream that were ever in it, they were furnished 
 by the Government and had come from Colorado, 8,000 finger- 
 lings. There had been no trout in any of the streams that ran
 
 104 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 to the Milk river. There were some on the south side in Eagle 
 and Birch. Birch was full of them in 1 876. 
 
 "Bear's Paw was full of elk, deer, mountain sheep and buf- 
 falo. One season a party of us had come to hunt elk in the 
 Bear's Paw but the buffalo had eaten the grass off so we had 
 to go back. On this trip I got snow blind and they had to tie me 
 on my horse and take me back to the Musselshell. 
 
 "I run cattle and horses on my Clear Creek ranch till 1916, 
 when I sold out and moved to Chinook to reside. I had seen the 
 oats grow in favorable seasons in the tracks of the roundup 
 wagons but could not believe that such land would ever grow 
 crops in paying quantities. I had seen Milk River without any 
 water except what was in holes and the fact that Old Fort 
 Belknap was located where it was, was because there was a 
 large hole there that never went dry. 
 
 'The cattle business began in '78 in a small way by Tom 
 O'Hanlon and others. The cattle had to be close herded. Al 
 Shultz was foreman of the company a little later. 
 
 "Permission had to be gotten from the Government or agent 
 who had secured the privilege from the Government. As to 
 sheep, I can not say who really did try them out first. Frank 
 Sa3/er brought in some in '89 and B. G. Olsen came in '89 or '90. 
 They had them down on the east end of Bear's Paw. 
 
 "Old Fort Belknap was built of cottonwood logs cut on 
 Milk river. I contracted to cut and haul some fir logs with which 
 to construct buildings in '86. This timber was secured in the 
 Bear's Paw and hauled thirty miles. Two of these buildings 
 still stand on the old Agency about 500 yards from the old 
 buildings. 
 
 "In trading with the Indians the value was according to the 
 Indian's desire. A sky-blue bead that was purchased at the cost 
 of fifty or sixty cents per gross would be exchanged for a robe 
 worth five or six dollars at the rate of fifteen beads for a robe. 
 
 "As we are talking and thinking of these things I recall in a 
 way many things that I could not think of as they appeared, con- 
 secutively, but one thing I now recall was that only a short time 
 after the battle at the mouth of the Musselshell in '69, probably 
 that same fall, a number of Indians came one day without their 
 women or children and said they would like to trade. One 
 of the men who could understand them told Clendenning that 
 they were not there on any legitimate business and that we must 
 watch them. They examined the goods, asked prices, and told 
 what they would be willing to pay for them. They went out and 
 gathered all the bones of the dead Indians and came back to 
 the stockade again. When they all got inside, the gates were 
 closed, as the interpreter heard them say they would kill the
 
 GEORGE HBRENDEEN. 
 The hist of the Great Scouts.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 105 
 
 whole bunch. There were only seven or eight men. The closing 
 of the gates was something the Indians could not understand, so 
 they asked the reason for such an act and were told that as they 
 had come there to kill the whites, they, the white men, had come 
 to the conclusion that they could all die at the same time. How 
 is that? The Indians wanted to know. The interpreter said: 
 'You saw that man go into the cellar — that place is full of powder 
 and when the first shot is fired by you that place will explode and 
 all of us will be blown into eternity at the same time. In fact it 
 will save the trouble of a lingering death by gunshot wounds. 
 
 'This was too much for the Red's nature to stand so they 
 begged that the gates be thrown open so they could go on their 
 way to the final burial of the remains of their people who had 
 fallen by the same band of white hunters the spring before." 
 
 It must have been a peculiar class of men who were around 
 those wood camps and about the trading posts in those days. 
 Some of them were mighty good citizens but many were only 
 noted for their bravery but not for honor. — A. J. Noyes (Ajax). 
 
 George Herendeen — One of the Last of the 
 
 Great Scouts. 
 
 One of the characters of Blaine county is that most unassum- 
 ing of all men, George Herendeen, the subject of this sketch. 
 He was born in the fall of forty-six on the Western Reserve, 
 twenty-eight miles east of Cleveland. His parents died when he 
 was thirteen. After the close of the war he went to Indiana and 
 lived with an uncle for some time. The hum-drum life that one was 
 to live in the Middle West did not appeal to George, so he came 
 to the conclusion to "Go West" and try to grow up with the 
 country. 
 
 Colorado, especially Denver, was a section that was heard 
 of as a mining country more than any other, except California, 
 in the sixties, and to Denver, George went. He does not say what 
 he did while in Colorado. From there he went to New Mexico 
 and while he does not say what he did while there we infer that 
 he was cow punching, as we find that he is headed for Montana 
 in '69 helping to drive a herd of Texas cattle. He came through 
 Wyoming into Idaho via Taylor's Bridge, on the Snake, into 
 Montana via Horse Prairie. These cattle belonged to Housen 
 Cooper. The winter of '69 and '70 George stayed at Horse 
 Shoe Bend near Three Forks, and held the cattle. 
 
 From that time on he was engaged in various things until '73, 
 when he went to the National Park with Captain Jackson of 
 Bozeman. In this party were Taylor Blivens and Sam Shank-
 
 106 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 land, clerk of the Crow agency, and several more, ten in all. 
 Their object was to look over the park and blaze trails. This 
 experience gave our subject a knowledge of that most interesting 
 section of the United States so that he knew it so well that he 
 was selected by one of the noted hunters, later as guide. 
 
 The Seventy-Four Expedition to the Yellowstone. 
 
 In the spring of 1874, February, 149 men left Bozeman for 
 the Yellowstone expedition. This was one of the dirtiest and 
 most disagreeable springs to the pioneers of Montana. 
 
 There were twenty-two teams, of all sizes, from a two-horse 
 to an eight-yoke of cattle. Nels Story furnished the big Prairie 
 Schooners for the big teams and probably most of the cattle. The 
 object of this trip was not given out at the time the boys started, 
 as they would not have been allowed to continue their journey 
 had the object been known to the authorities. Their object was 
 to prospect for gold, but they said they were going to look out a 
 route for travel. 
 
 Even their organization was left till they got over to the Yel- 
 lowstone. They followed down that stream and prospected on 
 the Porcupine, where they had been led to believe gold could be 
 found in paying quantities by a man who had deserted from the 
 army. They crossed the Yellowstone with the intention of going 
 south to the Powder river and prospect that stream also. They 
 had no sooner crossed that river than trouble commenced for 
 them. It came in great big gobs and was flung at them by almost 
 the whole Sioux nation under Sitting Bull. Trouble of that kind 
 did not disturb these fellows in the least as they were there looking 
 for it. Seldom has there been gathered together such a band of 
 men. Each one of them was a captain in himself and needed no 
 guiding hand, but they had selected one who was "Johnnie on the 
 Spot," Frank Grounds. 
 
 From the moment they got across the river they had to fight, 
 and while they were in several battles only one man was killed. 
 
 The Indians thought it an easy matter to wipe them out, but 
 they soon found that it was not possible Even Sitting Bull told 
 his young men that they were wasting their time and too many 
 lives on such a bunch of foolhardy fellows. The story of that 
 expedition is a book in itself and much of it has been written and 
 is in the Historical Society at Helena. 
 
 The boys came through in safety, though they did it under 
 difficulties that would have been too serious for any men not 
 toughened to the life of mountain and plains. 
 
 In 1875 we find that Herendeen is ready once more to try 
 the Yellowstone country. He has not been deterred by the trials
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 107 
 
 and troubles of the year before as they are the things of yester- 
 day, forgotten, in a way. 
 
 Nelson Story had some mackinaws built on the Yellowstone 
 for the establishment of trading posts on the lower river, as George 
 said: "We made two boats thirty-six feet long, at Pease's ranch 
 above where Livingston was afterward laid out. There were 
 twenty-eight of us. We were to meet the Coulson line of steam- 
 boats that were to come up the river. The steamer got up the 
 river near where Billings is now on the tenth day of June. They 
 blazed a cottonwood tree and went back. We continued on 
 down the river and camped on an island to be free from the 
 Indians. From there we went to Pease's bottom and built a stock- 
 ade. We were only four or five days putting the logs up. 
 
 "Major Pease, John Peck and I took a boat to go on down 
 the river and see where the steamer was. We were five days and 
 nights going to Fort Buford, at the mouth of the river, and found 
 that the matter was off so far as the steamer was concerned. We 
 arrived at Buford the morning of the Fourth of July. 
 
 "We had to be mighty careful going to Buford as there were 
 quite a number of Indians in that section that were not at all in 
 love with any one who was entering the Yellowstone country with 
 an object of settling it. 
 
 "Pease went east, I waited and caught a steamer up the 
 Missouri and was all the fall getting to Helena. Got their fair 
 week, the first day. I remained around Helena till after the fair 
 and then took the stage for Bozeman. The next day after arriv- 
 ing in Bozeman I went over to the Yellowstone, just below Liv- 
 ingston, took a boat and went to Baker's battlefield and built me 
 a 'dugout' and stayed there all winter and wolved. 
 
 'The next spring, in March, the Government sent four troops 
 of the Second Cavalry and others to take all the people out of 
 the Yellowstone. I was the only one at my place (See the rest of 
 his story) . I was loaded up and taken to Fort Pease. Major 
 Brisban had sent Paul McCormick to tell me that he was to 
 take me out. I objected to being moved as I was not doing any 
 harm. Brisban persuaded me to go and taking my pelts in the 
 wagons we went to Pease and back to Bozeman. 
 
 "Of the twenty-eight men at Pease eighteen of them had been 
 killed and wounded, four killed and fourteen wounded. 
 
 'That spring Gibbon had come from Fort Shaw and had 
 organized at Fort Ellis. He had four troops of Seventh Infantry. 
 He wanted me to go with him as scout, but as the Government 
 had not made arrangements for pay, other than a teamster at 
 $16 per month, I would not go. Paul McCormick and I built 
 a boat and went down the river and found Gibbon at Fort Pease.
 
 108 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "Paul got a chance to take a message back to Bozeman and 
 then he brought back some goods and started a canteen. There 
 were several boats at Pease that Gibbon was going to take, but 
 I told him that I was one of the men to help build the fort and 
 as I was the only one there the boats belonged to me and he 
 could not have them. I told him I would take Captain Clifford 
 and the boys down, as we could scout and cover more ground 
 that way than on the land. (I did not work for Gibbon.) We 
 traveled down the Yellowstone pretty near the mouth of Powder 
 river. One morning we took a boat to go down the river, Major 
 Brisban, a soldier or two and a couple of Indians, were in the 
 boat. He did not say what his object was but we soon found 
 out that it was to see if there was a steamboat down the river, 
 as it was about time that the forces were getting together. We 
 run through the Wolf rapids and found a steamboat just landing. 
 We went on the boat and found General Terry and staff. We 
 learned that Custer was coming across from Fort Lincoln and 
 was expected any day. Terry, the day before, had sent scouts 
 out but they had been driven back and he was worried as to 
 how he could get word to Gibbon. 
 
 "He told me he would give me $300 if I would take a dis- 
 patch to Gibbon that night. I started out and got to the camp 
 about three in the morning. Gibbon did not move. Terry 
 steamed up to where Gibbon was, the next day. We then went 
 to the mouth of the Rose Bud. Custer's command came up on 
 the opposite side and camped. That afternoon they had a council 
 of war on the steamer (Far West) about the campaign. Custer, 
 Gibbon, Brisban and Terry were there. Custer sent for me to 
 come across the river and see him. When I reached them they 
 had a map lying on the table and as I stepped up Custer put his 
 finger on the map and said: 'Do you know that place?' I 
 told him I did and he replied: 'You are the man I want.' 
 
 'That evening we started for what was to be Custer's Battle 
 Field. I knew all that section of the country like a book and 
 was not long in leading him to the place concerning which he 
 had asked me. 
 
 "When we arrived at the point where the battle took place 
 Custer turned to Reno and said : 'Lead out and take the scouts.* 
 Those were the last words we ever heard him say. Reno went 
 to the stream and retreated to the bluffs to a place of safety. In 
 doing this there were thirteen soldiers and Herendeen who had 
 not heard the command and they were left in some brush. It 
 is said that it was the knowledge of Herendeen's plainsmanship 
 that rescued the men and took them to a place where Reno was. 
 
 "Afterwards when the Government was investigating the 
 failure of Reno to do his full duty that day, Herendeen was
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 109 
 
 called as a witness to Chicago and was complimented by the offi- 
 cer in charge by saying, after the trial was over: 'Mr. Heren- 
 deen, I believe you are the only man who has told the truth.' 
 
 "Such a remark from such a source and at such a time was 
 certainly a compliment. Herendeen could only see that the truth 
 was what was wanted at that time. He is not one who talks 
 much and has no wish to pose as anything but just an ordinary 
 frontiersman who was doing his duty. He could not have had 
 the fear of Indians very strongly in him as you find him all the 
 winter, before, in his lonely 'Dugout' on the banks of the Yellow- 
 stone, where he was not safe for weeks on account of the Red 
 men. For days he did not feel safe in going over five hundred 
 yards from his camp as the signs were too numerous of the 
 enemy. He never speaks of any of his experiences as out of the 
 ordinary, just natural occurrences. 
 
 "When the last battle had been fought he became a guide in 
 the National park to Colonel Picket and was there with him in 
 1 880 killing bear and showing the Colonel how to get bruin. 
 
 "He was elected a complimentary member of the Society of 
 Montana Pioneers at Bozeman in 1914. He attended the anni- 
 versary of the Custer Battle in June, 1916, and expects to help 
 mark the trail that Custer followed from the Powder river to his 
 death, in 1917. 
 
 'Truly a frontiersman of whom it may be said when he goes 
 on his last hunt, 'He played the game like a man'." 
 
 The following little incident was told the writer by the old 
 scout, George Herendeen. It is one of those things that happen 
 to the old plainsmen in their lives on the frontier and which they 
 consider as of no particular moment, that is, of not enough inter- 
 est to the general public to bear repeating: 'The expedition of 
 seventy-four to the Yellowstone county was one full of quite 
 interesting things. We always took them as ordinary occurrences, 
 so thought little of them. In fact we thought no more of them 
 than would the people who live the hum-drum of every day exist- 
 ence in any walk of life. 
 
 "We had gone down the north side of the Yellowstone to 
 the mouth of the Porcupine, which we had prospected, and made 
 up our minds to cross the larger stream and go to the south, just 
 where we did not care, as we had plenty of provisions and good 
 transportation. On March 25th we made the crossing and were 
 compelled to camp for five days on account of a big storm of 
 snow which started soon after we were over. 
 
 'The country to the south was rough, coulees, rolling hills and 
 ridges, on which there were some scrubby pines.
 
 110 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 "On April 1st we had resumed our march and had chosen 
 a coulee as it was the only means of approach to the hills and 
 benchlands that overlook the Yellowstone on the south. 
 
 "We had about twenty wagons, well guarded, as we had 
 plenty of men. In all commands you will find some fellow who 
 was more or less foolhardy — willing to try any experience once — 
 and this particular day the hero (?) must be Charlie Dryden, 
 a long-legged youth who carelessly rode on in advance of the 
 party up the coulee and on to the divide. On that divide there 
 was a great big surprise awaiting him. If he is alive today he 
 will, no doubt, recall vividly the occurrence and while he may 
 have no picture of himself as we saw him, he would not care 
 to dispute our version of the affair as we were looking at it from 
 another angle. 
 
 "It must not be considered a digression at this time to prepare 
 the reader's mind for the cause of Charlie's excitement. 
 
 "While we were camped on the Yellowstone in the storm we 
 had made big fires that caused great volumes of smoke to arise 
 to such a height that any roving bands of Indians, though miles 
 away, might see. 
 
 "Now that was just what happened. When Dryden passed 
 over the divide he was discovered by a band of thirteen young 
 Indians who, no doubt, were out to see what the smoke had meant. 
 They were riding toward him when he was seen but they had 
 time to disrobe and with nothing but their breech clouts as cover- 
 ing made for him with the expectation of soon affecting his cap- 
 ture alive. There was one thing that they had not taken into 
 consideration and that was that that particular pony which Dryden 
 had under him was a race horse with the speed of light and 
 which no Indian pony could approach and particularly so with 
 the fear they had put into the heart of her rider at that time. 
 
 "On hell-bent came the pony and not far behind the Red 
 boys in full pursuit, expecting that they would be successful. 
 They did not know that the advance guard was coming and that 
 they would soon run into a trap, as they only knew that there 
 was a lone white man who had strayed and who looked good 
 to them. On Charlie came with his long legs fanning the side 
 of the pony like the wings of an old-fashioned windmill. The 
 advance guard opened up and he was safe. The Reds then 
 turned and rode back but the whites gave them no time to pick up 
 iheir saddles and clothing which were soon discovered and ap- 
 propriated. This little thing did in no way disconcert the main 
 body and we continued with our journey until time to camp. 
 
 'There may be some guiding hand to lead us so that we, for 
 a time, escape, what appears, by the breadth of a hair, from 
 places of danger. After we had gone into camp and had some-
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 111 
 
 thing to eat five of us started out to look over the country in 
 order to pick out the most desirable road or to find if it would 
 be possible to proceed at all over a section of country where no 
 wagon had ever been before. The party consisted of Frank 
 Grounds, the captain of the expedition, Buck Buchanan, 'Wild 
 Cat' Bill Hamilton, the noted plainsman and author, 'Yank' 
 Everetts and myself. We had proceeded but a short distance 
 when I saw a deer track which led me to suspect that it could 
 be followed and its maker killed. The other boys continued on 
 while I struck out for the deer. Only a short distance away was 
 a small grove of pines to which the track lead. When I had 
 arrived at this place the desire for deer was soon dispelled as there 
 were plenty of fresh pony tracks which I knew to be the marks 
 of the Indians, so I started to overtake the four men who were 
 ahead. The point to which they were making was a wooded 
 hill. They were at the bottom of this rise and could not see the 
 summit. What caused me to look up I do not know, but I did, 
 and on the hill I could see an Indian on horseback waiting for our 
 approach. I was probably five hundred yards away but I pulled 
 up my rifle and blazed away, at the same time shouting to the boys 
 to look out for the Indians. 
 
 "As soon as I shot I ran towards the boys and they began to 
 fall back toward me — shooting at the top of the hill as they 
 retreated. Bill Hamilton was deaf as a post and was much in 
 the way as he could see nothing to shoot at and the others had no 
 time, under the circumstances, to explain anything to him and 
 tell the trouble. The boys began to spread out. Buck and myself 
 to the left about one hundred and fifty yards from the other 
 three. We would retreat and stop and hold the Indians while 
 the others fell back. This continued until we could retire to a 
 place of safety or until the boys in camp came to our aid. As I 
 have said Bill could see nothing to shoot at but knew something 
 was wrong some place as Frank had hold of him trying to pull 
 him back. At this time Buck and myself were some one hundred 
 and fifty yards back and Bill, seeing us, pulled his gun and was 
 going to use it as he had an idea we were showing the white 
 feather and leaving the others to do all the fighting. Buck saw 
 
 Bill and said: 'See that old , he is pulling his gun on 
 
 me.' With that remark he leveled his gun on Bill and that changed 
 the old fellow's mind to such an extent that we had no more real 
 trouble from him. In the meantime the Indians kept firing at us 
 but we were too far away for the old guns they had to do us 
 any harm. It only took a few minutes till the boys came and we 
 got back to camp. 
 
 "Jack Bean and Bostwick were standing picket duty 
 
 some two hours later when Bostwick, who was a harum-scarum
 
 112 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 fellow, wild as he could be, came to the conclusion he would go 
 and have a talk with the Indians. He had not taken into consider- 
 ation that these fellows were not dressed for company and for 
 that very reason were in no good humor for a visit from a white 
 man who was one of the party who held all their clothing, except 
 their breech clouts and a little war paint which adorned their 
 bodies and that April 1 st is not warm enough to allow one to be 
 in a pleasant frame of mind when so dressed. They allowed him 
 to come pretty near to them, but when he came close enough to 
 carry on a conversation he had changed his mind and made for 
 the camp with the band after him, with the result that he got 
 four flesh wounds from some old cap and ball pistol that did 
 not lay him up, for he was ready for the fray only four days after 
 on the Rosebud, when the whole bunch attacked us. 
 
 "He would, though, have been killed had it not been for 
 Jack Bean, as an Indian was so close to him that he was trying 
 to knock him off his horse with a quirt. 
 
 'That night we fortified a little by digging rifle pits. We had 
 fifty-six head of oxen in the gulch below our camp where they 
 were left to graze. Richardson, a butcher of Bozeman, was 
 watching them. Some time during the night an Indian was trying 
 to crawl up and drive them off when he was seen by Richardson 
 and shot. This alarmed the camp and when asked why he shot 
 he explained what he saw and that he thought he had hit his 
 man. This proved a fact, as soon after this we could hear the 
 wounded fellow calling for help which must have been rendered 
 him as we did not find him the next day. 
 
 "In the light of today one may say that the escape we made 
 that day was more or less miraculous. If I had not seen the deer 
 track and followed it to the bunch of timber where I found the 
 pony tracks we would no doubt have all been killed, as the 
 Indians were waiting for us and could have held us at their mercy, 
 as it would have been a complete surprise." 
 
 James H. Snell. 
 
 I was born August 4, 1854, West Moreland, Pa. We 
 moved from there to Rock Island, 111.. I was then a year old. 
 My father was a contractor on the Rock Island railroad during 
 that year. We then moved from there to Nebraska City which 
 then comprised two stores, the names of which were Philadelphia 
 No. 1 and Philadelphia No. 2. I was about two years old 
 at that time. We then crossed the Missouri river, which was 
 called the boundary at that time, and my father took a farm or 
 homestead nine miles west of Nebraska City and I remained there 
 until I was ten, about 1864. We then moved west upon the
 
 JAMES SNELL. 
 Seoul and Plainsmen with Miles al Battle of the Bear's Paw,
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 113 
 
 Platte river to Fort McPherson, Nebraska. We remained there 
 until 1866, then I went east to school in Missouri, a little place 
 called Phimore. I went from there to Pennsylvania to school. 
 In 1868 I came back to Nebraska college, three miles southwest 
 of Nebraska City. In 1871 I moved back to Cheyenne, 
 Wyoming, and in 1 874 I was with the expedition that went into 
 the Black Hills to take out the first white men that were digging 
 gold there. I then went from there to Fort McPherson and then 
 back to Cheyenne. In 1 876 I was with Crook's expedition after 
 the Sioux in Montana. I was with General Crook's command at 
 the time of the Custer massacre. I was probably about 70 miles 
 from the battle, but we never went to the battle. In 1877 we 
 went back that winter and wintered at Camp Carland, Wyoming. 
 In the spring of 1877 we started out under the command of 
 General Hart and we were held at Fort McKinney, near old 
 Fort Reno; then we came on down to the Yellowstone to the 
 mouth of Tongue river, what is known as Fort Keogh. During 
 the early part of the spring and summer we went on another 
 expedition to South Dakota to Hart River and Cannon Ball after 
 Indians and over to Old Man's Butte, then returned to Fort 
 Keogh about the first of September, where we were ordered to 
 Fort Custer to join General Buwell's command to get after Sitting 
 Bull. The expedition broke up, then we returned to Fort Keogh 
 and General Miles was ordered out to see if he could not inter- 
 cept the Nez Perces. He had a dispatch that they had crossed 
 the Missouri river at Cow Island, between the Bear Paws and 
 the Little Rockies. The dispatch was brought down by Johnnie 
 Buckman (Father) by skiff on the Missouri river. We then 
 made forced marches day and night after that and we had to 
 abandon the wagon train at Pochette with 100 soldiers and 
 cannon to guard same. We then traveled day and night after 
 we got the dispatch. The scouts discovered what was supposed 
 to be the whole camp on Big Beaver creek at the foot of the 
 Bear Paws. We charged in on them, supposing them to be the 
 whole camp, which proved to be only the rear guard. Then we 
 formed a line of battle and followed them up. The infantry was 
 mounted on Indian ponies which we had taken from the Indians 
 up on Mud creek and they being poor riders formed a poor line 
 of battle and we had to stop and form over again. This was on 
 Sunday morning, October 1, 1877. There was about four 
 inches of snow on the ground. It was about nine or ten o'clock 
 in the morning. We followed them over to Snake creek from 
 Peoples creek and when we got up on the ridge on this side we 
 formed a line of battle and again we charged the camp as soon 
 as we saw that it was down in the bottom. The Seventh Cavalry 
 was the right battalion and the Second Cavalry was the left bat-
 
 114 IX THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 talion and the Fifth Infantry was the center battalion in reserve, 
 and the horses of the Indians were on the left side under the 
 care of the Seventh Cavalry. Sergeant McEwen had placed his 
 little Rodman gun in the center of the battalion. The Indians 
 had raided a store up at Highland and also a wagon train loaded 
 with supplies for western points. These goods were piled up in 
 the camp and back of them ; it formed a kind of breastwork. We 
 fought the Indians from then until the third day and then we had 
 a peace talk and we had a good interpreter who could talk good 
 Nez Perce and Miles offered him or anybody $300 if he could 
 get them to surrender. Up to this time the Indians supposed that 
 this was Howard or Gibbons or some other command which they 
 had defeated. We talked a while on the third to get them to 
 surrender. In the meantime we had sent back for the wagon 
 train that had the munition and soldiers. We were talking with 
 Chief Joseph and another Indian called Mox Mox and at 
 the time we were talking to them Lieutenant Jerome and Cayuse 
 George, the interpreter, were down in the Nez Perce camp and 
 when the train came in sight on the hill some one in the right 
 battalion, the Seventh Cavalry, fired his gun off accidentally or 
 intentionally, and then the peace talk was all off. This was 
 along in the evening and they kept Lieutenant Jerome and Cayuse 
 George and we kept Joseph and Mox Mox in our camp all 
 night and shooting was going on every now and then all night. 
 They told Lieutenant Jerome and Cayuse George to keep down 
 as they did not want them to get killed. Snell said: "If I had 
 owned the whole world I would have given it to have been out 
 of that fight — at one time — as I never saw such shots in my life." 
 The clothes I wore were all riddled with bullets. The next morn- 
 ing they stopped firing long enough to trade back. We gave 
 them Joseph and Mox Mox and got Jerome and George. Gen- 
 eral Miles made a present of a pair of shoes to Joseph. Joseph 
 said he did not want to fight the whites but was compelled by 
 the other chieftains. After we swapped back war was resumed 
 and continued until the coming Saturday evening. They came up 
 and surrendered their arms. They thought Miles was going to 
 send them back home if they surrendered. The next morning 
 we started back for Fort Keogh. We camped the first night 
 just below my present residence, at the east end of the Little 
 Rockies, about a mile and a quarter of where I am now located. 
 Little did I think then that I would be located here. In all my 
 Indian career I never was in a standing fight until I struck the 
 Nez Perce tribe. General Miles gave me eight head of ponies 
 and a span of mules for carrying water for the wounded soldiers 
 when nobody else would go. Captain Snyder was ordered by 
 Miles to take a certain position and about thirty of the Nez
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 115 
 
 Perces held this position and fought this company of soldiers 
 from a little ridge, they being about seventy-five yards apart and 
 forcing the soldiers back. If the Indians only knew, they had 
 Miles defeated. Some of these holes were joined by tunnels. I 
 never went up against anything like the Nez Perces in all my 
 life and I have been in lots of scraps. 
 
 I was the first United States marshal in the eastern part of 
 the mountains of Montana. 
 
 "Daddy" F. M. Marsh's Story of Kid Curry. 
 
 In the early story of old Chouteau county and in that part 
 that afterward became Blaine county, Kid Curry, the outlaw, 
 was very prominent. 
 
 I have no wish to say anything wrong of this man, but to try 
 and tell a little concerning him and some of the reasons or causes 
 which made him a hunted man. 
 
 "Daddy" Marsh, the man who must be considered one of 
 the characters of Chinook, was for years a trader on the Missouri 
 at Rocky Point. From him much of the following was learned: 
 "It must have been in the summer of 1884 that Hank and Kid 
 Curry came to our place looking for work. They soon got a job 
 riding for the Circle Bar. As they were among the last to begin 
 work for that outfit for the season they were compelled to quit 
 as soon as the busy season was over. They were industrious and 
 needed something to do. They had a pony and with a half- 
 breed sled, as a means of conveyance, cut and hauled, from the 
 breaks of the Missouri, something like forty cords of pitch pine 
 knots, for which they received about eight dollars per cord the 
 next spring when the steamboats began to run. They began 
 once more, when spring opened, to ride for the Circle Bar. 
 
 "As they were very saving they thought it a good plan to 
 take up a ranch near one which was owned by Pike Landusky. 
 The boys were illiterate — never having had a chance to go to 
 school so could not write their names. Hank said to me one day: 
 'Daddy, I would give all I have if I could write as well as you 
 can.' I explained that that was surely a probable matter, if he 
 would try. 'What! Do you think I can learn to write?' he 
 asked. I told him yes and sent and got a Spencerian copy book 
 and told him to practice. Every moment he could spare he would 
 work along that line. Soon after this he told me the happiest 
 day of his life was when he was able and did write out an order 
 for some goods at my store. To tell the truth, I could not 
 believe my eyes when I saw that order with his name signed to it. 
 
 "I said that he went to live near Landusky — Landusky had 
 been a plainsman for years and had in some way gotten into a 
 fight with the result that his under jaw had been shot. Pike was
 
 116 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 as kind-hearted a man as could be and would give the shirt off 
 his back to one whom he liked. When he was loaded with 'rot- 
 gut' he was as senseless as any fool. At such times he forgot 
 everything manly. Hank Curry, for some reason, thought the 
 less one had to do with Pike the better off he would be, so told 
 the Kid to use him right but never have any business relations 
 with him. It seems that Pike borrowed a plow of the boys and 
 did not return it, but when they got it back it was very much 
 worse for wear. 
 
 "I might say that by this time two more of the boys had come 
 to this section — Johnnie and Lonnie. John was a little fellow 
 who soon learned to pack a gun and wanted to be bad. 
 
 "In this same section of the country lived Winters and Gill. 
 There was also, another man living there who had some trouble 
 with his wife and she became the common property of several 
 others, to become intimate with Johnnie Curry later. Her hus- 
 band sold their ranch to Winters, who took possession. After 
 the woman became the property (?) of John Curry he came 
 to the conclusion to drive Winters off the land as he claimed 
 the woman had as much right to it as her husband, but that she 
 had not received anything for her portion. One day he rode up 
 and told Winters that he would give him just so long to vacate 
 the place. Winters was not by any means a man who would 
 easily surrender his rights and so explained himself. 
 
 "Not long after this he looked out and saw Johnnie coming 
 riding one horse and leading another. He placed his double- 
 barreled shotgun near the door so it would be handy. Johnnie 
 called to him and when he opened the door Johnnie shot but 
 the bullet went wild and hit in the jamb just over Winters' head 
 and before he could shoot again the shotgun had done its work 
 and Johnnie Curry would no longer ride the range. 
 
 "Prior to this, though, Hank had taken sick and died with 
 consumption, so the balance wheel in the whole Curry machine 
 had been destroyed. 
 
 "Kid Curry had gotten into trouble that had caused his 
 arrest by Sheriff Buckley. For some reason, Buckley placed 
 the Kid in the custody of Landusky. Landusky remarked he now 
 had the Kid where he had long wanted him and was not at all 
 particular in the choice of language used in addressing him. He 
 had also chained the Kid with a log chain for safe keeping, 
 though there could have been no particular reason for doing so. 
 
 "After the Kid had come back from Benton he told several 
 that he intended to whip Landusky for the insulting remarks — 
 remarks that took into consideration the chastity of his mother — 
 and which no self-respecting man could possibly allow to be ad- 
 dressed to him without trying to punish the person who made them.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 117 
 
 "In fact he had told Pike that when he returned he would 
 surely take revenge. Pike, after his return, tried to make friends 
 but the wound was so deep that nothing he could say could 
 possibly pacify his enemy. Jim Thornhill tried to keep the Kid 
 away as he was sure of the final results, that is, that one or the 
 other would be killed. The day of the tragedy came and the 
 Kid walked into Jew Jake's saloon, where Pike was drinking with 
 his friends. Kid explained what he was there for and handing 
 his gun to Thornhill started in and punished Landusky till he 
 cried enough. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe 
 the blood from his face he pulled, as he returned it to his pocket, 
 a revolver which, in some way, failed him or the Kid would have 
 lead the procession to the lonely grave yard on the south slope of 
 the Little Rockies instead of Pike. 
 
 'Thornhill saw the movement and shouted: 'Look out, Kid, 
 he's going to shoot!' At this Curry jumped and grabbed his gun 
 which was held out to him by Thornhill and Pike fell shot to 
 death. 
 
 "If Curry had given himself up he would — so most think — 
 have been discharged — as Thornhill, who was arrested and tried 
 for complicity, or as an accessory, received no sentence. Curry, 
 however, seemed to fear jail and imprisonment; he was not cap- 
 tured and became an outlaw." 
 
 (Billy Skillen has this to say: 'The leading up to the killing 
 of Landusky was over the dispute about a plow between the 
 Curry brothers and Landusky. At the time the trouble started 
 Pike Landusky was acting as deputy sheriff and arrested the 
 Kid and Lee Self, taking them down to his ranch at the mouth 
 of Rock creek. He put them in charge of his brother Tony. Lee 
 Self made his escape. Some time after the trouble was over, 
 Pike Landusky was standing in front of the bar in Jew Jake's 
 and talking to Jake when the Kid, his brother Lonnie and Jim 
 Thornhill walked into the saloon. The Kid and Pike had a 
 little conversation when the Kid grabbed Pike by the shoulder 
 and turned him around facing him and struck him in the face 
 several times. When he quit Pike asked him what he had struck 
 him for and Kid told him for the abuse he had to take when 
 he was in his power and could not help himself. Pike was trying 
 to get his gun when the butt showed and Thornhill saw it and 
 shouted: 'Lookout, Kid, he is going to shoot.' Kid threw his 
 arms around Pike and held him close and reached down and 
 'drawed' his gun and pulling it up between them to Pike's breast 
 and Pike fell dead. Reaching into Pike's pocket he took his 
 gun and the three went out of the saloon, got into a wagon and 
 drove up the gulch and were gone. Lonnie Curry was arrested in 
 Chinook afterward by Wm. Skillen, acting as deputy sheriff, and
 
 118 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 taken to Benton and lodged in jail. He stood trial. After hear- 
 ing the evidence of the state's witness, Jew Jake, Judge DuBoise 
 ordered the jury to stand up. He told them that if they brought 
 in a verdict of guilty it would have to go to a higher court as the 
 state's witness showed that Kid Curry had killed Landusky in 
 self-defense. That acquitted Lonnie Curry and Jim Thornhill 
 was never arrested.") 
 
 'The killing of Johnnie Curry by Winters was a well-known 
 fact and he was advised by his friends to leave the country, but 
 this he would not do. One morning as he was coming out of 
 his cabin he fell at the hands of his assassin, who was hiding 
 near his outbuildings. 
 
 'The night before he was killed, Jim Thornhill went to a 
 neighbor's house and stayed — no doubt to prove an alibi. This 
 led people to believe that the Currys had killed Winters. As 
 Gill was a partner of Winters he took much interest in the matter 
 and tried to trace up his murderer or murderers. He was told by 
 his friends that the safest thing he could do was to saddle up his 
 horse and leave the country if he placed any value on his life. 
 This he would not consent to do. Detectives have hunted for his 
 remains, but no one has ever been able to find one single trace 
 of either horse or rider — the work of destruction had been so 
 thoroughly done. 
 
 "On July 3rd, 1901, the Kid led the gang that held up 
 No. 3 at Wagner. They blew up the express car and got several 
 thousand dollars of unsigned currency that was going to Tom 
 Marlow's bank in Helena. They escaped to the Little Rockies 
 and it was a long time before the Kid was apprehended, in Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., in 1903. His arrest took place when the police 
 raided a negro gambling house in the outskirts of the city. The 
 Kid, ever suspicious, and always 'heeled,' smoked up the place so 
 badly that he caused two or three funerals to soon take place in 
 that southern city. 
 
 'The officials got it into their heads that the man whom 
 they had arrested was the famous Kid Curry. Frank O'Neal, a 
 one-time sheriff of Chouteau county, and his wife were sent for 
 to identify the man. Mrs. O'Neal saw him but he was too wise 
 to recognize her. Frank, himself, did not see him. 
 
 "Before the trial came off the guard was found tied up to 
 the cage and the favorite saddle horse of the southern sheriff was 
 missing, never again, probably, to be returned to his stall. 
 
 'The Judge of that particular district was in Harlem one 
 time and was asked by an old-time friend of the Kid's how he 
 managed to escape. The reply was: 'It seems that the Kid 
 had a sister out west who was rich and she exchanged about 
 $25,000 of her cash, with the sheriff, for her brother's freedom.'
 
 OHAS. M. RUSSELL— Cf&'boy Artist.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 119 
 
 "By men who seem to know — it was the band of horses owned 
 by Jim Thornhill, a particular friend of Curry — that had been 
 sold, the money sent to the sister, who used it to help her brother. 
 
 "Kid Curry! No one of his old friends — and he seems to 
 have many in the land of the Chinook — knows where he is. None 
 of them seem to care to express themselves in anything but terms 
 of affection, as they seem to think he might come back some 
 time and place them in such a condition that they would cease 
 to have an opinion. 
 
 "It is said that he was not the only man on the Milk river 
 who deserved a prison sentence; also that his true name was 
 Logan." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Charles M. Russell. 
 
 Probably no other man who ever lived in what is now Blaine 
 county will be as well known to posterity as the subject of this 
 sketch. Charles M. Russell was born in St. Louis, Missouri, 
 March 19th, 1865. He came to Montana over the Union 
 Pacific and Utah Northern to old Red Rock, then the terminus, 
 of the latter line. From Red Rock he came via coach to Helena. 
 He came with "Pike" Miller, or Willis Miller, as he was known 
 to others. 
 
 Col. Shirley Ashby tells of the first time he ever saw Charlie. 
 "He had arrived in Helena with Miller, a man with whom I had 
 some previous acquaintance and meeting me I invited them to my 
 place to lunch. I really had never seen as green a looking boy 
 as Charlie Russell was the day he came to my house. After 
 we had lunch Miller said that Russell had an idea that he could 
 draw some and might become an artist. He turned to him and 
 said: 'Charlie show Mr. and Mrs. Ashby what you can do.' 
 He took a piece of black wax from his pocket and made a little 
 horse which we kept for years. Charlie's hair was too long and 
 I thought he needed shearing." In a conversation with Russell 
 the writer got the following: "We did not stay over two weeks 
 in Helena and bought a four-horse team and wagon. The lead- 
 ers were brown saddle horses and the wheelers bay. The saddle 
 horses were not the best but a fellow could ride them. We 
 started for the Judith Basin via Diamond, White Sulphur Springs 
 and Judith Gap. Jack Waite and Pike had sheep and my first 
 job in Montana was herding them. I wasn't much of a success. 
 You see it was like this, I didn't think the boys had monev enough 
 
 to keep me supplied — as I could lose the d d fools about as 
 
 fast as they were turned over to me. Then Pike and I had a
 
 120 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 row about a saddle horse and I found that there was a job herding 
 horses at a stage station so I quit. Before I could put in an 
 application, however, Pike double-crossed me by seeing the party 
 first and telling him that I was no good. Part of it was true 
 because I will confess now that I was a bum sheep herder. 
 
 "Have always had a tender spot in my heart for him as I 
 needed that job. Losing out there I went to live with Jake 
 Hoover on the South Fork of the Judith. He was a hunter. 
 
 "In the spring of 1882, in April, I returned to St. Louis and 
 remained a month and then came back to Montana on the North- 
 ern Pacific. A cousin — a boy about my own age — came with 
 me but he died soon after in Billings with the mountain fever. I 
 left Billings on his horse, broke, and started for the north country. 
 Just out of the city, on Alkali creek, met John Cabler with about 
 forty saddle horses, on his way to receive some doggies. They 
 were a mixed bunch of the following brands: Z, C T and 12. 
 He asked if I wanted work and I said yes. 
 
 "I night herded for him, my first job of that kind. At Ross' 
 Fork we met the Judith round up and I took a position as horse 
 wrangler with that outfit. I night herded horses in the spring 
 and beef in the fall. Never did take kindly to broncos as my 
 mind and theirs did not seem to work in unison. The fact is I 
 only punched one season (83) and that was on the Shonkin 
 range. 
 
 "I could always draw a little; can't remember my first work 
 in that line as I was too small. No, I never dreamed of fame. 
 
 Story of the Last of Five Thousand. 
 
 "Why that story is generally well known isn't it? Oh, you 
 have heard different reports? Well, it was like this: The 
 winter of '86-7 was a noted one. I was with Jesse Phelps on 
 the O. H. ranch. Jesse got a letter from Louie Kaufman asking 
 how things were. He sat down to write a letter and explain 
 things and I told him I would make a sketch and put in. The 
 sketch was a — R cow, Kaufman's; nothing said about the last 
 of five thousand — only, 'Waiting for a Chinook,' was the name 
 given it. It was on a piece of writing paper and was only a 
 small thing of probably 2x4 inches. No letter was sent. Ben 
 Roberts got it from Kaufman and later sold it to Wallis Huide- 
 koper, who says he may give it to the Historical Society. 
 
 "It was done in water colors that I used to pack in a sock in 
 those days. 
 
 "Indians are quite observing as I recall a picture I painted of 
 Bill Jones. In the braids of his hair he had seven brass tags or 
 buttons which are used for ornamental purposes. I failed to get
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 121 
 
 in more than five and he soon called my attention to the fact and 
 asked that the others should be put in. When this was done 
 he looked at it and said, 'Good.' Not long after this I was down 
 on the reservation and was called into Bill's lodge as he said 
 he wanted to show me something. He had a package which he 
 began to unwrap and after a time he exhibited the picture which 
 he had tacked to a board and holding it up said: 'Bill Jones, 
 
 Good man, son of a .' It seems that Bill's vocabulary was 
 
 very limited and as he wished to use all that he knew in his con- 
 versation, he always wound up with the last phrase. As I never 
 had any acquaintance with Bill's family he may have been telling 
 the truth. 
 
 "No, I am not the 'Chip of the Flying U\ I knew Bertha 
 M. Bowers and she married Sinclair, the cow-puncher whom we 
 used to call 'Fiddle Back.' 
 
 "My Indian study came from observation and by living with 
 the Blackfeet in Alberta for about six months. I don't know 
 much about them even now; they are a hard people to 'sabe'." 
 
 When asked what he considered his best picture, he replied : 
 "I have never painted it yet. I feel that I am improving right 
 along. It takes me longer to paint a picture now and I work 
 harder. The highest price I ever received for a picture was $5,000, 
 the one in the Capitol. If some of the high officials had had 
 their way that work would have been done by an eastern man. 
 
 "I was married in the fall of 1 896 to Nancy Cooper. I never 
 could remember the month or date — you would have to ask her 
 about that. We never had any children until recently, when we 
 adopted a little boy. Say, they are some people, those little 
 baby fellows and no one could love that fellow more than we do. 
 'Yes several of my pictures were sold in New York. Had 
 some in London but the war stopped the sale. 
 
 "Oh, yes, Linderman has told you about a reception in 
 
 London? Well, it was about like this: Sir was giving 
 
 a reception to which Mrs. Russell and myself were invited. I 
 was handed our hostess for my partner when we went into the 
 dining room, and I was surely handed some bunch, for she was so 
 large that we could not both go through the door of the dining 
 room at the same time so I stepped back and carelessly trod on 
 her train. Say, she squatted and pulled on that encumbrance like 
 a cayuse on a rope. I got off as soon as I felt the strain, but 
 not before she had ripped quite a lot of her gown, and then I 
 simply straddled the long-tailed dress and went in tandem until 
 there was room enough to go in double harness again. 
 
 "What seemed to be the funniest thing to me in London was 
 when I wanted to get my watch fixed. I slipped into a jewelry 
 store and asked a fellow if he could 'fix' my watch; he said 'Naw.'
 
 122 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 I knew that they could as I saw them at work. I stepped out and 
 meeting a man whom I knew had been in the U. S. I said : 'What 
 does a fellow have to say to these guys when he wants to get his 
 watch fixed?' 'Why I don't know what you mean Russell.' 
 Well, it is like this, my watch won't go and I don't know how to 
 make these fellows understand. 'Oh, don't you know, you 
 should have said repahred'." 
 
 'There is altogether too much civilization; no place to camp 
 out any more. I have a saddle horse and ride each morning, but 
 a fellow has to ride in the alleys, if he rides in the city, as the 
 pavements are so smooth a horse can't keep its feet. There was a 
 tirr ' when I could tie my horse in Central avenue in front of the 
 
 Silver Dollar, but a fellow would be in a h of a fix now as 
 
 there are too many autos; you can't get near the sidewalk. My 
 wife has an auto and I ride with her once in a while but I just 
 as leave go in a street car." (While the writer was getting a 
 story from Charlie he was busily engaged on one of the historical 
 paintings which he is doing for Cole, the Duluth millionaire, of 
 which there are to be four. Three of them represent scenes in 
 the life of "Buffalo BUI," "Killing of Yellow Hand," "Hunting 
 With Duke Alexis," "Discovery of Cheyenne Camp" and one 
 Lewis and Clark, 'The Meeting of the Shoshones" on the 
 Beaverhead, While talking to me he was working on "Killing 
 of Yellow Hand." In the studio at the time was the young boy, 
 Joe De Young. He is also a St. Louis boy, 23 years of age, 
 though he does not look to be more than sixteen. He is deaf. 
 He bids fair to become a noted man as he is working under 
 Russell. Was at work on a picture at the time. 
 
 Charlie Russell came to Montana as a boy of fifteen and at 
 once became identified with the range country. Fifteen is not 
 an age when one can expect much wisdom in a boy — and espe- 
 cially when one is thrown in with a free and easy lot of fellows 
 such as the majority of cowboys were. One can readily see that 
 a youth would be apt to fall into the faults his associates had. 
 Charles M. Russell is now known as a national character. As 
 he said: "I do my work because I love it." Sawing wood, dig- 
 ging ditches and working in disagreeable occupations would not 
 appeal to one of Russell's temperament. He is a great story 
 teller and was fond of the cowboy life and the cowboy pranks. 
 He would try anything once, and if he liked it try it again. Night 
 herding gave him more chance to visit and study the different 
 classes of men and the conditions, as he saw them, than if he 
 had been a full-fledged cowpuncher putting in long hours on 
 the range. He rode in the Judith and later came to the Milk 
 river country, where he was well known. In order to give some 
 of the human side of this now noted man the writer went to some
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 123 
 
 of the old-time cowpunchers and asked them for a lineup on him, 
 any little story they thought would be of interest. He was able 
 to gather some very active and interesting incidents connected 
 with the subject, on the Milk river and especially Chinook. They 
 are as follows: "I first saw Russell," Jim Dorrit says, "at High- 
 wood, Canada, at a ranch where I had gone for a horse. He 
 and his partner, who had a broken collar bone, were stopping at 
 an English ranch. There was no oil in the place so the boys had 
 rigged up a light (of ill sounding name) with some grease in a 
 small dish and a rag for a wick. One of them would stir the grease 
 while the other would read a few lines. Neither of them could 
 read very well then and they would comment on it in a corneal 
 way. He was drawing some in those days but was not considered 
 much of a painter." 
 
 Much of the following was told by Bob Stuart and K. Lowery 
 and they are true. They are old-time friends of Russell. 
 
 Bob said: "The winter of '91-2 Charlie Russell, Al Mal- 
 lison, Toney Crawford, 'Kik' Price, John Thompson, Trumbel 
 (cannot recall his first name) and myself got a cabin and started 
 in to batch. 
 
 "W. C. Kester of the Chinook Opinion gave the boys quite 
 a little space and dubbed us 'The Hungry Seven.' We had about 
 $175 which we put in the 'pot' an d got as many supplies in the 
 grub line as we could. We were all young and full of fun, but 
 some of the stunts look better now, than they did then, to those 
 on whom our little jobs were pulled off. Charlie and the 'Kid' 
 should have been preachers — if preachers are not lied about — 
 because they were mighty fond of chicken. As they had none 
 themselves they went on still hunts for them in the evening when 
 one was less apt to see them than if they went in the day time. 
 Kester had a fine bunch of chickens, which was too much of a 
 temptation for the boys, so one night Charlie and the 'Kid' made 
 up their minds (and that was not hard) to raid his hen house. 
 Russell stood guard while the 'Kid' went in to secure the birds. 
 He was to give the high-sign if anything turned up, and it did, by 
 Kester coming to the back door of his house. Charlie saw him 
 and in his excitement pushed the chicken house door to and rushed 
 for the cabin as fast as he could run, leaving the 'Kid' to the 
 tender mercy of Kester, if he should be found. Kester went out 
 loaded for bear but finding the door closed went back to the house 
 and the 'Kid' soon arrived at the cabin with some fine birds. We 
 proceeded to get them ready for eating as we had no wish to 
 wait till morning as we never knew what would turn up, and 
 another thing, we would be sure we would know where they 
 were. Charlie was hardly over his nervousness by the time the 
 Kid came. The chickens were about done and the table set
 
 124 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 when there was a loud knock on the door. Russell grabbed the 
 hot frying pan, pushed it under one of the bunks. When the door 
 opened there stood Frank O'Neal, the sheriff. 
 
 'You could almost hear those fellows teeth chatter. Frank 
 could hear the chicken frying in the hot grease under the bed and 
 he said: 'You are having a feast, aren't you — well, go ahead, 
 all I want is to get three or four of you fellows as witnesses on a 
 case that is to come off in Benton.' Kester never really knew who 
 got his chickens, but he went into his house and told his wife that 
 he wished he could have gotten a shot at that fellow who ran 
 away. 
 
 "In those days there was a lady who was a very active church 
 member. She had made up her mind to invite the minister to a 
 chicken dinner the following Sunday and had told Kid Price 
 about it. She evidently did not know him or she would have 
 withheld such information because he went that night with Rus- 
 sell and stole the two young birds that were to have been the 
 'piece de resistance.' Not only did they get the roosters, but they 
 dressed them, cut off their heads and took them and the feathers 
 and placed them in the back yard of the pastor. When the lady 
 got ready to kill she missed the poultry and seeing the Kid, sought 
 his sympathy, He was much surprised but recalled that he had 
 seen fresh chicken feathers as he passed the preacher's house. Of 
 course they might not have been from the missing chickens, and 
 then again they might, as no one could tell. The lady had a 
 little boy who went over to the minister's home and soon returned 
 with the heads, saying: 'They are ours alright.' The lady went 
 to church but marched out with her head held high and the 
 preacher got left. 
 
 "I also remember Charlie's first girl. He had become intro- 
 duced to her and wanted to take her to a dance. He was to 
 get a team and take her but as he came to the conclusion he could 
 not drive he got me to take her and he rode on horse back. He 
 had taken her to several dances and thought he was making an 
 impression. One night he had her to a dance at Chinook. They 
 were sitting having a nice little sociable chat when one of the 
 stock men named Charlie Williams came in and entered into a 
 conversation with her in which she turned her back to Charlie 
 Russell. She sat there for some time very much interested in 
 what Williams was saying and Russell, becoming disgusted, 
 tapped her on the shoulder and said: 'I'm here yet,' got up 
 and left her and never tried again to win her affections. 
 
 "It is kind of funny what will come into a fellow's head 
 when thinking of those old days. We did not have much money 
 so Charlie thought he had made a good fellow of himself and 
 established a credit at Lohman's. He came back highly elated.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 125 
 
 I guess he must have bought about forty cents worth of tobacco 
 and papers for the makings, when he was shut off in the follow- 
 ing way: When he ordered anything he had a way of holding 
 up a finger, which meant 'Charge that.' One day he went for 
 a few things and held up his finger and Lohman said : 'Russell, 
 that finger of yours is too long already.' Russell returned to the 
 cabin and put in two days painting a picture for which he received 
 seventy-five dollars and told us never to buy another thing of 
 Lohman. 
 
 "Those were great days. Charlie was a prince alright, with 
 one of the biggest hearts any man ever had. He was never a 
 cowpuncher because he never liked the wild horses. I recall one 
 night when it was raining and he had to go on the night herd. 
 He put on his slicker and that made the horse nervous and he 
 soon got nervous, with the result he had to crawl on again. One 
 night on the Big Sandy, Charlie and myself were trying to hold a 
 bunch of beef and as it was getting late in the fall it began to 
 rain, which turned to sleet and our slickers would simply pop 
 every time we moved. The storm was coming from the northeast 
 and the cattle began to drift toward the Coal Banks on the 
 Missouri. Charlie said: 'What are we going to do?' I told 
 him if he would go ahead and try and keep them back I would 
 bring up the drag. He soon came back and said: 'I can't hold 
 
 them, they are going in every direction; let 'em go to h and 
 
 we will get them next fall.' I replied all right, but you will have 
 to make good with the boss. In speaking to Charlie about this 
 particular night he said he recalled it very well. That they had 
 a time finding the camp and when he did he got so near the tent 
 he stepped right on the face of 'Missouri Jim,' the boss." 
 
 When in Chinook the writer told "Kid" Price what Bob 
 Stuart and K. Lowery had told me and he said he never batched 
 with such a bunch, as he had too much respect for himself. "I 
 had a little money with which I bought two mavericks and gave 
 to them but they traded the meat off for questionable pleasure and 
 I had to steal chickens to keep the sons of guns from starving. 
 You ask Russell if he remembers the time that Judge Richie was 
 after us with a blunder-bus and we could not make as good time 
 as we wanted to as we had a chicken under each arm." When 
 the writer got to Great Falls he called Russell's attention to the 
 stories he had heard and asked if the boys had been stringing him. 
 'No, they have all told you pretty near the truth, except the 
 'Kid,' because he did batch with us and he was the fellow that 
 gave pretty near a whole steer away and was the only one to 
 receive any direct benefit. Did the 'Kid' tell you about the time 
 one of the ladies ( ?) of Chinook, who was a splendid cook, told 
 him if he could furnish the chickens she would get up a nice
 
 126 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 dinner and invite the gang? Well, he ought not to have forgotten 
 that. He got the chickens and a splendid dinner with all the 
 'fixin's' was the result. She bragged about what fine fowl they 
 were — that she had never eaten better — and well she might, for 
 when she went to feed her birds the next day they were gone. 
 
 "Those were good days in Chinook. Say, how is 'Daddy 
 Marsh'?" When answered that "Daddy" was fine, he asked: 
 "Does he drink any these days?" 
 
 The writer replied that "Daddy" had told him that he had 
 not taken a drink for nineteen years. "Why, 'Daddy' must be 
 a liar because I was down to Chinook about ten years ago, and 
 the whole town was drunk — at least that is the way they appeared 
 to me." 
 
 In closing this I want to say that Russell has been told that 
 these little things — giving the other side of the picture — are to be 
 printed. They only show the human side of a genius. Russell 
 has become a famous man, but today he said: "I can't paint an 
 Indian head with Ed Paxon, nor can I mix his colors." 
 
 The uncouth Missouri boy who came to Montana with 
 "Pike" Miller could hardly have expected to go down in the 
 story of cur state as one of its famous men. When the wealth of 
 Daly or Clark shall have been dissipated — and grand structures 
 become dust — the works of Russell "The Cow Boy Arist," will 
 be treasured by those who like art. He has painted a condition 
 that, but for him, would have been lost to future generations. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Topography of the County. 
 
 Blaine county is bounded on the north by Canada, east by 
 Phillips county, south by Phillips county and the Missouri river, 
 and west by Hill county. The area is 42 1 9 square miles and it is 
 not easy to state the number of inhabitants, as it being a new sec- 
 tion, people are coming in very fast. Information received at 
 Helena states the number of inhabitants as 10,830; assessed valu- 
 ation, $5,587,686.00. 
 
 It is really in the valley of the Milk river. The river rises in 
 the Rocky mountains and runs north into Canada and then south 
 into Montana, thence in a southeasterly direction to the Missouri. 
 The major portion of the county is plains and bench lands, with 
 the Little Rockies and a part of the Bear's Paw range on the 
 south to form some relief to the general monotony of the country. 
 
 All of the Bear's Paw are not in Blaine county, as part of 
 them are in Hill county. The range does not constitute a true 
 mountain range, but consists, in the eastern part, of a group of low
 
 The following is a fae-simile of a letter from Chas. M. Russell, the Cowboy 
 Artist, to his old friend "Kid" Price, of whom Russell said : "The 'Kid' could 
 sure ride the bad ones." 
 
 | if 
 
 J 
 
 C. M. RUSSELL 
 
 ORE ft - ITANA 
 
 rf't^Ml X. S»nt« 
 
 CUffi^lX , -Set tfT.W-t ~ltX. 3& &G-CrlX fH><.**~ ?*WJL oti^ $%££ 
 
 c^L Itf ,ycru. •runt frusk. y^t faU \t, &a
 
 C. M. RUSSELL 
 
 (a i ill t " * "^t^ict 
 
 J A- A/ 
 
 \/,(M(/< ( . J^.(. <$'*& cn*- •••' " v t <■(/</<! 
 
 ,<-*rr- ■: 
 
 
 ,,. vLrUAl. i i>.e<-i i ■ ■> t <t,*iA use. "j/r* ■Wtz*t" <%*«$l AlfA^l'ti 
 
 (rid. kw >• caiW,£ ••'*' y^^i ^7* ■-'•< •/".< . ( ,;^ 
 d ;W*> jYi/V-. #*4/t? /rr/ &&U-$6

 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 127 
 
 rounded buttes more or less separated from one another, and in 
 the western part of a series of dissected ridges gradually rising 
 higher toward the west to their culmination in Baldy or Bear Paw 
 mountain and Centennial peak. The highest, Bear Paw, being 
 7040 feet above the level of the sea, and about 4000 feet above 
 the plains. 
 
 The Little Rockies are the part of the south boundary that 
 separate Blaine and Phillips counties. 
 
 The Little Rockies have very promising gold quartz mines 
 on which there is one of the largest gold producing plants in the 
 world. This section was only a part of Blaine county until such 
 time as would be necessary to pull the string and get a county 
 for Ben Phillips. The Little Rockies appear to be a true moun- 
 tain range with a length of probably twenty miles and a width 
 of ten. In the canyons of this range one finds many beauty spots 
 and at one place not far from the Saint Paul's Mission is a very 
 pretty Natural Bridge that is formed over a dry canyon. 
 
 Several fine mountain streams have their source in these 
 mountains and flow toward the Milk river, or more particularly 
 into Peoples creek, which is a stream rising in the Bear's Paw and 
 flowing in an easterly or northeasterly direction to the Milk river, 
 near Dodson. 
 
 Snake creek also rises in the Bear's Paw and flows north- 
 easterly into the Milk river, near Harlem. The valley proper of 
 the Milk river is three or four miles wide and is susceptible of 
 irrigation and will respond verv nicely to cultivation when under 
 water. The soil is very heavy clay or "gumbo." The Milk 
 river is a small sluggish stream that can be and may be when the 
 wise (?) men at the head of affairs in Washington wake up, a 
 considerable factor in the upbuilding of the state, as up in the far 
 western portion of the plains is the St. Marys river that has its 
 head among the mountains of Glacier park. That stream flows 
 into Canada, but the water can be diverted and sent to do much 
 good in a section where good water is at a premium. 
 
 The northern portion of the county is a high bench or plateau. 
 Much of the county can be and is at this time successfully culti- 
 vated. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Political History of Blaine County. 
 
 At the time when what is now Blaine county was being set- 
 tled by ihe "Dry Land Farmer" there was in Montana, the sec- 
 ond largest county, in area, of any state in the Union. The
 
 128 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 largest was in California, and was some two or three thousand 
 square miles larger than the old Chouteau of northern Montana, 
 which contained over sixteen thousand square miles. 
 
 It was probably perfectly proper in the days of the stockman, 
 when it was sparsely settled, for only one county to exist, as the 
 business could be transacted at Benton without too much expense. 
 When all of the available land was taken up for farming, the 
 people found that there was some excuse for making new counties, 
 so the reason for the division of Chouteau county might be con- 
 sidered from two standpoints : One was that the enterprising citi- 
 zens in various parts of the county were desirous of obtaining a 
 county seat for themselves and the other one was of the size of 
 the county and the distance to the county seat, which was at Fort 
 Benton, in the southwestern part of the county. 
 
 In 1893 a bill was introduced in the legislature to organize 
 Blaine county to consist of what is now Blaine and the east third 
 of Hill county, including the city of Havre. This bill passed 
 one house and lacked one vote, I believe, in the other house. 
 
 Another effort was made to organize this county in the name 
 of Bear Paw county in 1901 or 1903. Ex-Senator T. M. 
 Everett was then in the house and George Bourne was in the 
 senate. The bill passed the house very quickly but was held up 
 in the senate until the next to the last day of the session. Enough 
 senators were pledged to pass the bill, but on the morning the 
 vote was taken, J. M. Kennedy, senator from Deer Lodge 
 county, got up late and came in just after the vote was counted. 
 It lacked one vote of a tie. The lieutenant governor had agreed 
 to vote for the bill in case of a tie. Kennedy expressed great dis- 
 appointment and chagrin at being late. 
 
 It seemed hardly possible that we could get another bill back 
 to the house and through the senate before time for closing the 
 session, but we went at it resolutely, and by changing the boun- 
 daries slightly on the south to meet the objections of McNamara 
 & Marlow, who were opposing the bill, we got it to the commit- 
 tee and the house ordered the bill printed the first day. When 
 we took the bill to the state printers they claimed they could not 
 get it out until the next morning, which meant death to the bill. 
 Nothing daunted, however, we hired a private printing outfit to 
 get it printed during the night. About nine in the evening some 
 one came in and bribed the printer who was employed on the 
 work. However, we found another to do the work and placed 
 sentries at each door so no one could get in. At about eleven, 
 when we were ready to go to press, the power was turned off and 
 we had neither power nor light to run the press. There was a 
 hand power press in the building, however, and we started that 
 and by working all night, were able to have the bill out the first
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 129 
 
 thing in the morning. For those who knew Charlie Barton in 
 his lifetime, it may be a surprise to know that he was one of the 
 chief pushers on the hand press. I venture to say he sweat more 
 on that job than on any job since he was a young man. The bill 
 was quickly passed through the house under the leadership of 
 Ex-Senator Everett, who was a prime favorite in that body, and 
 it was brought to a vote in the senate late that evening. This 
 time Kennedy was there, but instead of casting his vote in favor 
 of the bill, he cast it against it, as did one of the other senators 
 who had previously voted for it, and county division was dead 
 for two years at least. 
 
 The next effort was made in 1907, and included the same 
 territory as the former bills; that is, all of Blaine and about one- 
 third of Hill county. By this time Havre had become quite a 
 city and its people were very much opposed as it left them very 
 much to one side of the county, the west line of the county run- 
 ning near Fort Assinniboine. This time the county was to be 
 named Bear Paw county. In this case, the bill passed the Senate, 
 with Harlem as the temporary county seat, but did not get a 
 favorable vote in the house. The fight to name the temporary 
 county seat between Chinook and Harlem was very heated, but 
 the personal popularity of Senator Everett, and the fact that 
 Harlem was almost in the geographical center of the proposed 
 county, gave Harlem the best of it. 
 
 In 191 1 another bill was prepared and printed for the crea- 
 tion of Blaine county almost according to its present lines. These 
 lines were agreed upon by the people of Havre, Chinook and 
 Harlem previous to the preparation of the bill, and probably the 
 bill would have passed if it had not been for the enactment of 
 the general law authorizing the organization of counties by the 
 people within the county. When that bill was passed, no further 
 effort was made to create Blaine county by act of the Legislature. 
 
 In the summer of 1911, the people of both Havre and 
 Chinook commenced the agitation of county division. The Havre 
 people wanted a county to embrace all of what is now Hill and 
 Blaine counties, with Havre as the county seat. The Chinook 
 people naturally preferred a different arrangement, and they very 
 quietly prepared a bill for the creation of what is now Blaine 
 county, then they started a very energetic campaign to get signa- 
 tures, sending out fourteen teams or more the first day. Before 
 the Havre people realized what was being done, the Blaine county 
 people had almost enough signatures to insure the submission of 
 the question to the people. The Havre and Harlem people pro- 
 posed to fight the Blaine county proposition, and circulate instead, 
 petitions for the creation of the county of Hill to include Blaine, 
 but when it was found by the Havre people that the Blaine
 
 130 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 county petition was almost completed, they abandoned the hope 
 of defeating the organization of Blaine county, and they immedi- 
 ately commenced the circulation of Hill county petitions to em- 
 brace only that part of Chouteau county as later organized into 
 Hill county. 
 
 The original law for the creation of counties by the people 
 was very indefinite, and the proponents of Blaine county were 
 compelled to get an order from the Supreme Court before the 
 Commissioners would order the election. In the meantime, the 
 Hill county petitions were prepared and filed and election was 
 held on the same day in both counties in February, 1912. The 
 Hill county returns were filed one day earlier than Blaine county, 
 so Hill county was in fact, the first county organized under the 
 law for the organization of counties by the people, but Blaine 
 county was the first to circulate and file petitions under this law. 
 
 As soon as the Commissioners ordered a vote on the Blaine 
 county petitions, would-be office holders got busy. Chinook citi- 
 zens contented themselves with the county seat. All officers were 
 elected from the eastern part of the proposed county. A non- 
 partisan convention was held at Dodson, presided over by Mr. 
 McCandless, manager of the Ruby Gulch Mining company at 
 Zortman. Everything went off peaceably and every one ap- 
 peared to be fairly well satisfied. The vote was very strong in 
 favor of the creation of the county. The selection of a name for 
 the new county was left to Attorney W. B. Sands, who prepared 
 the petitions for circulation. 
 
 At the time Blaine county was created, the first officials were : 
 L. B. Taylor, senator; John Collins, representative; Thos. 
 Dowen, E. M. Kennedy and Robert Coburn, county commis- 
 sioners; Isaac Neibaur, sheriff; Daniel C. Kenyon, treasurer; J. 
 Dwight Jones, clerk of the district court; Vernon Butler, clerk 
 and recorder; William Johnson, assessor; Donald L. Blackstone, 
 county attorney; Miss A. L. Short, superintendent of schools; 
 Preston M. Bosley, public administrator; Dr. Kosciusko, coroner, 
 and A. G. Middleton, county surveyor; all Progressives, as it 
 was a Progressive year in this part of Montana. 
 
 At the time of the creation of Blaine county there were two 
 aspirants for the county seat, Chinook, situated within eight miles 
 of the western boundary of the county ; Harlem, which was situ- 
 ated very near the geographical center of the county, east and 
 west. The geographical location of the two towns should have 
 given the county seat to Harlem, and perhaps would have done 
 so, except for the fact that Senator Ben. D. Phillips, who lived 
 in the southeastern part of the county (or to be exact, owned 
 large interests there and who lived the most of the time in Oak- 
 land, Cal.) had in view a further division scheme which would
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 131 
 
 segregate the eastern part of the new county, and with the west- 
 ern part of Valley county create a new one, which was to be 
 named for him. In order to carry out his dream he entered into 
 an agreement with the town boosters of Chinook to deliver the 
 vote of the east portion of the county to Chinook for the county 
 seat. 
 
 The Honorable (?) B. D. Phillips, being the principal 
 owner of the mines in the Little Rockies, as well as one of the 
 largest sheep men and land owners of the state, was in a position 
 to deliver the vote, and hence the county seat as he had agreed 
 to do. 
 
 It is easy to see why Chinook got the county seat; because 
 the man who could see into the future far enough to work the 
 people for personal reasons and for selfish motives, without regard 
 for their personal interests, wanted to strengthen a future plan by 
 which he could again tear asunder the new county which he had 
 helped create and from its members make something that was to 
 bear his name so the future generations would know that he had 
 lived. Had I been Ben I should have left this to some other 
 generation or to other hands to place my name on the scroll. 
 
 Two years is only a short time in the story of a county, but it 
 is long enough to see the scheme of the honorable gentleman 
 carried into effect. The new county of Phillips was created out 
 of the sections as above mentioned. 
 
 The assessor of Blaine county in one instance at least, assessed 
 Mr. Phillips on a portion of his mining property in the Little 
 Rockies. This was something that had seldom been done when 
 the property was in old Chouteau county. This act in itself was 
 teaching him that he must get busy and create a county where 
 his political influence would be of value, as it was a little on the 
 wane, as too many new people were coming in as settlers who 
 were not acquainted with him and did not feel under any obliga- 
 tions to him. 
 
 He wanted a county which he could control, politically, and 
 especially as to taxation of mines, so he manipulated the lines 
 of the new county of Phillips so as to take in all his property, 
 and at the same time leave as much political opposition as was 
 possible, out. 
 
 After all is said and done, we have got to take our hats off 
 to Ben Phillips. A great many mean things have been said about 
 him and have been published about him in some of the leading 
 magazines in the country. To me, who has known him for 
 many years, there is much that can be said in his favor. Ben 
 Phillips was brought up under a peculiar environment. It was 
 not given to him to be raised in the most refined way, for his was
 
 132 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 always the life of the pioneer, among the miners and the cowboys, 
 whose ideas would not reflect credit upon those of the people of 
 today. Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not going to say 
 that those old-time fellows were bad, or that they were not just 
 as good and, maybe, better, than the majority of the people of 
 today. To them their code was good, for the reason that there 
 were nowhere near as many laws or fads as now. They lived 
 close to nature and did many things that, at this time, would put 
 men in jail, or the penitentiary, or keep one fined to such an 
 extent that one would be continually broke. If the writer were 
 to stop right here, one would say that those old fellows, who 
 were brave and hardy enough to break the trail into this new 
 country, subdue the savages, drive out the wild beasts, and con- 
 quer adverse conditions, were a mighty hard lot who had been 
 driven from their old haunts by better men who simply wanted to 
 rid themselves of a nuisance. Such is not the case by any means, 
 and the writer, himself, one of them, thanks the Giver of All Good 
 that he was one of the old pioneers of this great state. 
 
 It was not wrong in those days to fish or hunt without a 
 license. It is now. It was not wrong to play poker or gamble 
 in those old days, nor to pass the time away, for the sake of 
 change, in the hurdy house. It was not wrong to run a foot-race 
 or try the speed of the pony you thought so much of and which 
 was a part of you. It wasn't quite so bad to drink in those old 
 days, as men were not drinking poison, as their drinks were not 
 adulterated, as now. 
 
 Men in those days did those things and broke no laws. They 
 were within their rights then, but now they would be beyond 
 the pale. 
 
 Many a good woman danced in the hurdy house and raised 
 boys who have escaped the penitentiary, and girls who did by 
 no means become outcasts in society. 
 
 Many a man who now fills in, in life's most responsible places 
 were saloon-keepers, hurdy-house owners, Indian agents or trad- 
 ers, prize fighters or gamblers, and their sons and daughters hold 
 their heads just as high and occupy just as honorable positions in 
 society as do the sons and daughters of the minister or jurist. To 
 us, of today, this was lax and certainly not right. To them, I 
 repeat, not wrong. 
 
 If the subject of my sketch had enjoyed the higher educa- 
 tion or been raised in an exclusive set, he might have been honored 
 for his brilliant abilities that had been used for the express pur- 
 pose of upbuilding the race and to set an example for this genera- 
 tion which, to attain, would have been the best heritage he could 
 have left his children. Phillips became a power in old Chou-
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 133 
 
 teau county to such an extent that he was elected to the state 
 senate. But Phillips got into the legislature of Montana at the 
 wrong time. He got into it at a time when two Gladiators had 
 cast their gauntlets into the political arena and proposed to gain 
 their ends, even if they debauched the state and besmeared the 
 fair names of their best friends, so that future generations could 
 not cleanse them from the filth. 
 
 The fight of Clark and Daly made the one particular dark, 
 unerasable, blot on the fair page of Montana's political story. 
 Before their day men had fought for political supremacy, in a 
 less contemptible way, and left no trail covered with political 
 derelicts, without an honorable aim, to guide, or a friendly hand 
 to help them on their way. Yes, the great plains of the east, the 
 mountains and valleys of the west, had men returned to them 
 whose names were covered with filth and slime that the purest 
 water ever distilled from the fairy forms that fall from heaven 
 and fold their arms around our granite peaks, can never wash 
 away. 
 
 And Phillips, and many more, men even who had been raised 
 by the fairest mothers and the most princely fathers, under the 
 best environment, fell when tempted by these men who were just 
 as devilish in their day, and propably even worse, than that Devil 
 who took his Lord on the mountain top and tried to seduce Him 
 with promises. But let us not judge these men who sold them- 
 selves too harshly, my reader; you never had $50,000 or prob- 
 ably $10,000 promised you for your vote, and if you have not, 
 don't condemn these men who fell. 
 
 Clark and Daly were equally guilty when the fair name of 
 Montana was bandied about and made a thing of reproach in 
 a political way. It was a matter of fancied wrong on the part of 
 Daly, and to fight fire with fire that caused Clark to fight back. 
 
 Clark's superior brains and larger quantities of money gave 
 him the victory, dearly bought though it was. 
 
 But to return to Phillips, he was and is a man who made 
 a good neighbor and one who helped to upbuild the section in 
 which he lived. It appeared to me that he was kind and very 
 generous with his neighbors in more ways than one, and the fact 
 that he was able to hold these people in line and get such a stable 
 monument, a county, erected in his name, proves it. 
 
 Many funny things in a political way were in practice even 
 in the earlv days of our history. Many of them may have been 
 fabrications, but they are more or less interesting reading at this 
 time. 
 
 In the days when the Honorable Martin Maginnis was 
 elected delegate to congress from the territory of Montana, there
 
 134 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 was a voting precinct at a point on the Missouri river, in the 
 southeast portion of what was later to become Blaine county, 
 known as Wilder's Landing. The election was pretty close be- 
 tween Maginnis and his opponent and for a long time it was not 
 known who was elected. Finally the returns came in from 
 Wilder's Landing, casting some four hundred and odd votes, all 
 for Maginnis. At that time there were about one dozen voters 
 in the vicinity, but the government was holding near there four 
 hundred mules used in transportation of supplies from Wilder's to 
 Fort Assinniboine. It is unknown as to who positively cast the 
 vote for Maginnis at that precinct, but it was generally supposed 
 that those four hundred mules, in sympathy for their ancestor, the 
 Democratic Donkey, cast a solid vote for Martin. 
 
 It is also said that a great many amusing things happened in 
 politics in northern Montana before the days of the Australian 
 ballot and the registration of voters. One incident is related of 
 a certain work or construction crew of one hundred or more men 
 under the guiding hand of the Hon. Jerry Flannigan, since of 
 Butte (he died in the Placer hotel during the meeting of the 
 legislature of 1917, being at the time one of the representatives 
 from Silver Bow county) who started in voting at the first pre- 
 cinct this side of the Dakota line and voted that day at every 
 precinct along the line of the Great Northern from that point 
 to Havre, and including that place. 
 
 This was the same Jerry Flannigan who had conducted, for 
 many years, a bull train for Col. Broadwater and it was as such 
 that he learned railroading. He was also, the same Jerry to 
 whom Col. Sanders, when handing a ragged bill to him for fare, 
 to which Jerry objected, said: "If you don't want it give it to 
 the company." 
 
 It is said there was a time when even the best citizens of 
 Harlem were susceptible to that particular thing we call the root 
 of all evil, as our friend Mac, who was running for senator of 
 Chouteau county and having plenty of money, and not desirous 
 of defeat, sent his henchman and foreman to our precinct, noted 
 for its Republican partisanism, and openly purchased at ten dol- 
 lars per vote, all those who were willing to exchange their man- 
 hood for so trivial an amount. 
 
 We who now find ourselves possessed of homes here on the 
 broad plains of Northern Montana, in the County of Blaine, 
 have a duty to perform that will prove our worth to future gener- 
 ations. We live but a day and are then gathered to our fathers, 
 to become dust as they, but let us build in this new common- 
 wealth, well, so that no ill reproach may be attached to our 
 memories.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 (Tune, Beulah Land.) 
 
 I've reached the land of wind and heat 
 Where nothing grows for man to eat; 
 This awful dust and scorching heat, 
 In all the world is hard to beat. 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 Oh, Idaho land, 
 
 Oh, Idaho land, 
 As on the alkali beds I stand, 
 I look across the sage-brush plains 
 And wonder why it never rains 
 Till Gabriel blows his trumpet sound 
 And says the rain has all gone 'round. 
 
 The farmer goes out to his corn, 
 I never saw him look so lorn, 
 He is amazed, he's almost shocked 
 To find the corn amid the stalk. 
 
 Chorus: Oh, Idaho land, etc. 
 
 The people here are all one race; 
 Starvation stares us in the face; 
 We do not live, we only stay — 
 We are too poor to move away. 
 
 Dry Farming. 
 
 That the great plains of Eastern Montana were always to 
 benefit the stockman was the idea that prevailed in the minds of 
 the wisest of those who had come in the early days to make their 
 homes — in what was then known as the "Buffalo County" — 
 later, when those animals were driven out, to become the home 
 of the big stockman; whether engaged in cattle, horse or sheep, 
 it did not matter. 
 
 The extinction of the buffalo was a thing that was accom- 
 plished in a manner that was heartrending to the Indians, but so 
 effective that it only required a short time to so thoroughly efface 
 them that where millions roamed in the '70s, none were to be 
 found in the later '80s. General Miles, so it is told, had said that 
 the most successful manner of subduing the Indian would be the 
 complete annihilation of the immense herds of buffalo that were 
 used by them both as food and a medium of exchange, as the
 
 136 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 hide had become valuable or was valuable as a unit well known 
 to both white and Red. (Their extinction will be told in its 
 proper place.) 
 
 By whom dry farming was first attempted in Montana I 
 do not know. I would like very much to give credit to that 
 person who began something which has since made many homes 
 for those who have been willing to try to subdue the dry lands 
 on the great prairies of our state, as well as the hills and bench 
 lands above the ditch. 
 
 The fact is that "Dry Farming" is simply a term which is 
 used in contra-distinction to irrigation. The modes of farming 
 are as different — in a way — as the individual farmer wishes. It 
 is true that the conservation of the moisture can be done by using 
 a certain formula that has been, and is being taught by the scien- 
 tific or "book farmer" which simply means one who is observant 
 enough to note conditions and what produces them, with the 
 faculty of reducing them to writing so that some one else can have 
 the advantage of his knowledge, which is the result of observation. 
 
 The writer has been in Montana for over fifty years and has 
 seen all the changes take place that have changed the buffalo 
 pastures into fruitful fields, the benches and hills into farms and 
 orchards and that leads one to believe that the great state of 
 Montana is even now in its swaddling clothes. 
 
 In 1909 he was working for the state as an agent in the 
 department of the State Lands. This gave him an opportunity 
 to go over much of the country, as a part of his duty was to 
 appraise for the sale and lease. 
 
 (While working in this capacity he feels particularly proud 
 of certain work which was accomplished through him and which, 
 were it not for a matter of history, he would not relate. He saw 
 that the school lands of the state were being used by some, not 
 alone for grazing, but for agriculture as well. He could not 
 believe that this was looked at in the correct light by the men in 
 charge of the land office, and so told them. This was a matter 
 which was something new to them and was not looked upon 
 kindly by those who were over him. He went to the Governor, 
 Edwin L. Norris, and gave him an explanation of his idea and 
 wishes, and the Governor, ever-ready to secure the best results for 
 the people of Montana, called the Board of Land Commissioners 
 together at once and a resolution was passed at that meeting mak- 
 ing a grazing and also an agricultural price which should be paid 
 by the lessee. This resolution which the state board passed at 
 that meeting has made, so Joseph Oker said, "Hundreds of thou- 
 sands of dollars for the school fund.") 
 
 The writer feels that he has been well repaid for the thought 
 that came to him, as the results have been so beneficial to the
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 137 
 
 state at large. He could see no reason why any one should extract 
 the substance from the soil of land owned by the state without 
 paying for it. 
 
 He admits that though he had seen many fine crops taken 
 from the land above the ditch in the Gallatin valley, he was not 
 wide-awake enough to see the possibilities and probabilities of 
 the Great Plains to the east. 
 
 There was a reason why the hills and bench lands of the 
 inter- mountain section might produce crops above the ditch, as 
 the conformation of the mountain ranges caused more precipita- 
 tion than was known to exist on the lands far removed from such 
 influences. 
 
 He had seen the accounts of the experiences of the Hon. 
 Paris Gibson, of Great Falls, who had claimed that there was 
 no such thing as desert land in Montana, and that one could make 
 a success by using the methods that had been advanced by the 
 book-farmer. 
 
 He had also seen articles by Professor Campbell, who had 
 been compelled to stick with his claim in South Dakota because 
 he was to poor to leave. 
 
 He had met Professor Linfield, of the Montana Agricul- 
 tural College, at Bozeman, and listened — as he had too many 
 others — without heeding the advice of this man who had given 
 up his life to agricultural pursuits, believing, but never positively 
 asserting that he knew, that the arid lands would prove his pre- 
 delictions, and make homes for thousands of hardy pioneers who 
 would try out the experiments of the Scientific Farmer. 
 
 The writer was in Bozeman and the Professor asked him 
 if he intended to attend the Dry Farming Congress which was 
 to convene at Billings the coming fall. As he was working for 
 the state he could hardly see how he could quit his work for a 
 week and put the state to the expense of a visit of that nature, 
 when he did not really believe that the state would receive any 
 benefit in dollars and cents. 
 
 He thus explained the matter to the Professor, who came 
 back: "Noyes, you go to Billings and attend that meeting and 
 you will have learned enough so that for every dollar you will 
 spend the state will be reimbursed to such an extent that you will 
 be glad you went, and that you took my advice. It is needless 
 to say that I accepted the gentleman's advice and never missed 
 one of the talks, morning or evening, during the whole meeting. 
 
 Men were there from all over the known world. I listened 
 to them with wrapt attention, when they told how things could 
 be done that would open the eyes of those who did not want 
 to see.
 
 138 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 I saw the results of their labors in the many beautiful displays 
 of grains, vegetables and fruits — all raised on land above the 
 ditch, and some of them where drinking water was at a premium. 
 
 I met many of these men. Among others, I met one who 
 had at one time been in my employ, working in the dairy or at 
 any kind of labor that a ranch required. He was at that time 
 in the employ of the government as an expert, to become later 
 the Dean of the Agricultural College of the state of Kansas, 
 and one of the leading agronomists in the world, William Jardine. 
 
 Professor Linfield was right, the author had learned a 
 lesson and put at once into practice the information that had 
 come to him, by placing a higher value on the lands susceptible 
 to agriculture. 
 
 He recalls one piece of land, not far from Manhattan in the 
 Gallatin valley, on which he placed a value of $22.50 per acre 
 and which was thought by the boys in the land office too high — 
 in fact so high that a re-appraisement must needs be made before 
 the state could realize on it. The same fall that land was sold 
 at Bozeman for $51.50 an acre. 
 
 How the Writer Learned of the Land on the Milk 
 River or Northern Montana. 
 
 In one of his trips to the Northern part of the state he had 
 stopped at Harlem to look over some land, from which place he 
 was to go as far as Coburg and Saco. On the train from Harlem 
 to Coburg was a pioneer plainsman, John Forgy, who told him 
 of a section of country to the north and just south of and border- 
 ing on the Canadian line, which was noted for its fine soil and 
 excellent water. He also said that some of the people in Harlem, 
 with J. J. Hill and the Agricultural College of Montana had 
 begun to experiment along agricultural lines. While the writer 
 listened attentively to the gentleman he could see no reason why 
 he should at any time take advantage of the information. The 
 one thing that impressed him the most favorably was the good 
 water, as that was an unknown quantity along the bottom lands 
 of the Milk river valley. 
 
 After attending the Congress he explained to his wife — who 
 had always been willing to follow his fortunes (as The Story of 
 Ajax will prove) that he thought it would be a good idea to look 
 into the section of country concerning which Forgy had told him 
 earlier in the season, and that probably they might repair their 
 broken fortunes by taking up a piece of land and by using some 
 of the knowledge that he had absorbed by listening to the men 
 who had succeeded along the lines which he now contemplated.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 139 
 
 Not caring to go at this matter blindly, he went to see Pro- 
 fessors Linfield and Nelson, two of the men under whom the 
 work had taken place at the experiment farm north of Harlem — 
 and sought their advice, as well as what knowledge they had 
 secured through their work and observation. 
 
 Both of these gentlemen spoke in glowing terms of that par- 
 ticular section of the state; told what they thought of its future 
 and explained what had been done, handing a pamphlet that gave 
 a description in concise language. They thought that they knew 
 of no particular place — then to be had — that would prove better 
 adapted to what one wanted — the making of a home on the 
 prairie. 
 
 The writer also sought information from Senator Thomas M. 
 Everett, of Harlem, a man who had made a success as a ranch- 
 man on the bottom lands of the Milk river under irrigation, and 
 who had been instrumental in having the experimental station 
 started to see if it could not be demonstrated that the land was 
 more valuable for agriculture than it was for grazing. 
 
 The senator replied to his letter, giving him the results of 
 what had been done and saying that the year just passed ( 1909) 
 the grain, especially oats, had produced over one hundred bushels 
 per acre and that everything else that had been put in the ground 
 that year had done so well that many people had come to the 
 conclusion that no longer was the raising of crops, in that section, 
 problematical, but an assured fact, and they were beginning to 
 homestead the lands that were near the 'farm.' This letter was 
 not one that was misleading in any way, just a good, common 
 sense communication to one who wished for facts, so far as the 
 facts could be known. 
 
 The writer came to the conclusion to go and make a personal 
 investigation. He also thought it would be a wise idea to go east 
 with an illustrated lecture on dry lands of Montana and try to 
 secure emigrants whom he thought were coming to the state. 
 
 On the second day of February, 1910, he got a team, and 
 with Hans Twete, who had taken land near the experiment sta- 
 tion, as driver and guide, went to look over the country. 
 
 While several had located that fall there was only one house 
 occupied and that was by Bob Gorsuch and brother. A young 
 Dane who was building a shack three or four miles east, was 
 staying with the Gorsuchs that winter. We accepted the hos- 
 pitality of Bob, who had seen the experimental farm while the 
 grain was being harvested the fall before, and concerning which 
 they gave such glowing accounts. (Bob never stayed long enough 
 to prove up as the hot and dry seasons so completely discouraged 
 him that he sold his claim for a small amount and quit.)
 
 140 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 Here was a new world to conquer and to one used to the 
 life of a pioneer there could be no great hardships to encounter 
 that would deter any one with nerve. We returned to Harlem 
 the next day well satisfied with what we had seen and learned. 
 
 To go east and secure many emigrants who would be willing 
 to pay for the correct information as to a good location was 
 thought to be an easy thing. I must admit that the attempt was 
 made without any good results and a return to Montana was 
 considered the best thing to be done, if we wanted to get a claim 
 for ourselves, as we found that J J. Hill and the big railroad 
 interests of the country were doing all they could to see that the 
 free homesteads of Montana should be taken up, as they could 
 see that they could derive some benefit, at least while the opera- 
 tion was taking place. Then, too, Hill had seen the Dakotas 
 build up and thrive. 
 
 The writer and his son (Raymond) hurried back to Harlem. 
 When we arrived there we found that almost every man, woman 
 and child had become obsessed with a wish to help locate the 
 "Scissorbills" and secure a little of the money they were bringing 
 into the country — get it while they could, as too many of them 
 had no hope that these people would succeed in making a per- 
 manent home for themselves. 
 
 The truth is, the stockmen had seen the hot sun burn the grass 
 to a crisp or had seen the seasons when no grass had grown at 
 all for lack of moisture. Then some, who had stock, thought that 
 the Dry Farmer would secure their pasture and, while they could 
 not make a living themselves they would drive the stockman from 
 his rightful possession, as the buffalo hunter had driven the Indians 
 from their hunting grounds, as they had left nothing to hunt. 
 
 The scramble for land was on. Any one who had come to 
 the Northwest through the gateway of St. Paul could not help 
 but see the splendid display that had been gotten together by the 
 Great Northern Railroad company. One could hardly believe 
 that Montana could produce such a variety of products that were 
 there assembled. Such profusion; such quality and quantity. It 
 was truly enough to make the homeless man turn his pockets to 
 see if he could find enough to take advantage of the low (?) 
 cost of homesteading. 
 
 Of course Hill's men and Hill himself did not say that all 
 people could and would make a success, but the door of oppor- 
 tunity was standing ajar and to him who would push it open 
 and delve deeply and wisely among the treasures there assembled 
 would surely find some gem of great value. 
 
 So they came, men and women, from all over the middle and 
 eastern states to take advantage of the chance thrown out to them.
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 141 
 
 In those days when we were trying to settle the lands on the 
 big prairies we had all kinds of discouragements in the advice 
 given by those who did not, for several reasons, wish us to stay. 
 The writer recalls that one morning he came from his room and 
 listened to the impassioned speech that a gentleman was making 
 concerning the influx of settlers. He said, among other things: 
 "Any man who has no more principle than to locate men on these 
 plains in northern and eastern Montana, where the drouth and 
 hot winds will surely sap the strength from every plant that they 
 attempt to grow should be hanged by the neck until he is dead. 
 No greater crime could be committed than the one now being 
 carried into effect. These people will come here, led by false 
 representation, and when they have tried and failed they will be 
 broke, paupers, on the hands of those who can ill afford to 
 assume such a responsibility. Why, I will agree to haul with one 
 four-horse team, and at one time, all that they can ever raise." 
 I have never doubted but what that man, at the time he was 
 making that talk, believed what he said, and actually thought 
 he was telling the truth. 
 
 I listened to him for some time and then told him he sounded 
 to me much like a stockman who wished that what he was saying 
 would come true. That he had personal reasons for saying what 
 he did in order to keep people from taking up the range. I told 
 him that he surely did not know what he was talking about, but 
 that he was not to blame for that as many of us in Montana 
 had thought as he had, but that we were not yet enlightened to 
 the fullest concerning the possibilities of the country. I admitted 
 that up until a very short time before I had thought and talked 
 as he had, but that we must face the issues as they were pre- 
 sented to us, and one of them would be the taking up of all the 
 land thai was at all susceptible to agriculture. I told him what I 
 had seen at Billings and left him completely silent with a parting 
 shot to "atop and think." 
 
 Before going on to give some of the actual experiences that 
 took place under my observation, concerning the farming of dry 
 land in Blaine county, I wish to give credit to those men who 
 first thought there was some possibility of making the land, if 
 rightly farmed, produce enough for a livelihood. 
 
 The First Dry Experiment Station. 
 
 Dry farming in an experimental way was begun in 1 905 to 
 determine the feasibility of raising crops without irrigation in what 
 is now Blaine county. This was the first experiment station in 
 Montana. This station was financed by a few of the business 
 men of Harlem — Charles A. Smith, Charles H. Barton, Henry
 
 M2 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 C. Turner and Thomas M. Everett, with a few small contribu- 
 tions from some of the other citizens. 
 
 The first year's crop was sown on the sod and was only a 
 partial success. About ten to fifteen acres were put in in wheat, 
 oats, barley and flax. 
 
 The following year the same parties, in connection with the 
 State Agricultural college and the Great Northen railroad, 
 selected a section of land near the place we had used and which 
 Congress set aside for ten years for experimental purposes. Dry 
 land farming was carried on upon about 1 00 to 1 60 acres of land 
 for five or six years, with a yield that demonstrated beyond a 
 doubt that dry-land farming, if carried on scientifically, would 
 produce a good yield, at least every other year, with summer 
 fallow. The crops averaged, during that time, from fifteen to 
 forty bushels of wheat; twenty to one hundred bushels of oats; 
 eighteen to forty-five bushels of barley, and ten to eighteen bush- 
 els of flax per acre. Corn and garden stuff were grown in the 
 same way. 
 
 This work was carried on until the cultivation of dry farms 
 was general and it was no longer necessary to carry on the farm. 
 
 All the first settlers who came into the country seemed to be 
 of the opinion that the land in the immediate vicinity were the 
 only lands that could be successfully cultivated, so they were the 
 first taken up. (We have to thank the Hon. T. M. Everett for 
 the above information.) 
 
 To resume our narrative: We find that the spring of 1909 
 many settlers came to locate the dry lands in what was soon to 
 become Blaine county. 
 
 The spring was early and the month of March was dry and 
 hot with not a vestige of moisture. 
 
 Of course there was a possibility that there would be plenty 
 of rain in the growing season and a few people came to the 
 conclusion that they would put in a few acres. 
 
 The writer had no idea from any thing of a practical nature 
 what farming meant. 
 
 It was at last agreed upon, by others of his party, that he 
 was to go to the west and get some horses, machinery, etc., and 
 put in as large an acreage as possible. He returned with six 
 head of horses and the breaking of the sod began. It was too 
 soon demonstrated that there was too little moisture to allow one 
 to plow. Our first breaking consisted of about two acres. This 
 land was planted with potatoes which cost $1.75 per sack at 
 the railroad, which was 30 miles away. It took eight sacks to put 
 in what we considered the proper amount. 
 
 After the seed was in, all we could do was to wait for the 
 heavenly sprinkling cart to come along and with its aid, and the
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 143 
 
 revivifying rays of the summer sun, cause those tubers to spring 
 into life, producing something which would be a thing to eat, 
 if not "A thing of beauty." 
 
 While we were waiting for the water wagon to come along 
 and do its part we began to have our day dreams. We could 
 imagine the many fine things we could buy when we had har- 
 vested the crop (?) If we could get much of a yield and the 
 price was as good as in the fall as it was when we bought the seed 
 we could take a trip to California or some other place where we 
 could be far removed from the rigors of an almost Arctic clime. 
 In fact we spent that money in many ways, in our minds (and 
 that is the only way we ever had to spend it) while we were 
 waiting for the rain. 
 
 That season there must have been a great big umbrella or a 
 mammoth Zeppelin hanging over our northlands, as no moisture 
 fell. We had seen some place that the rain falls on the just and 
 the unjust. We couldn't have been either one or the other as 
 no moisture fell in quantities sufficient to cause the spuds to get up 
 a sweat. 
 
 The hot sun came and the waves, of hot air, as they rolled 
 in billows over the parched fields left no moisture, for a time long 
 enough, to bring to life any of the seeds that many a time, under 
 more auspicious conditions, must have dotted those vast plains. 
 
 No flower sprang into existence to entice the bee with its 
 fragrance, and not a bird warbled its sweet song to break the 
 awful stillness that surrounded the "shack" on the thirsty prairie 
 we had selected for home ( ?) . 
 
 No blast that ever blew across the seething flames of Hades 
 could have more thoroughly withered the small blades of grass, 
 as they tried to lift their heads from mother earth, than did those 
 hot winds that came from a h , of a self-made nature. 
 
 Prairie fires caught in the grass of a year that was dead — and 
 in the month of June — when all the land should have had a 
 carpet of green with clusters of flowers to beautify the scene, 
 swept every vestige from the soil and left it a black, bleak space. 
 
 Our potatoes? Why, they would not grow. They, many 
 of them, even refused to sprout and were dug, later, and eaten 
 after they had remained in the ground all summer. Other people 
 did not fare any better than we did. It was surely a year to 
 be remembered. 
 
 The experimental farm was worked and while it did not 
 produce a large crop it did, however, produce something and was 
 not a complete failure. 
 
 This was proof of what the Professors had said: "Conserve 
 your moisture and you will be sure to have some kind of a crop."
 
 144 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 The writer and his wife left this uncongenial section to secure 
 work in a more favorable field so that the younger ones of the 
 family might remain and hold down their claims. 
 
 No hay had grown and the only means of keeping their 
 horses during the coming winter would be either to cut the dead 
 grass or haul hay from the Milk River valley, thirty miles away, 
 and pay a high price for it. It was thought wise to cut the dry 
 hay, but it proved any thing but a success. The horses were 
 allowed to go to the range each day and in that way they were 
 brought through, though they were in very poor shape to do 
 much work the next spring. 
 
 The spring of 1911 found us with fifty to sixty acres of land 
 ready for seeding, as there had been a little moisture during the 
 winter. 
 
 As flax had been high the year before we came to the con- 
 clusion to put in at least fifty acres into that seed and try a 
 few acres of wheat and oats. The flax, for seeding, had cost us, 
 laid down on the farm, four dollars per bushel. With the mois- 
 ture we had that spring and the persuasive heat of the sun's rays 
 properly applied that fifty-acre tract looked like the blue waters 
 of some wonderful lake, or a garden of flowers, that was soon to 
 produce wealth in the myriad bolls that were to take their place. 
 
 The boys could see success every time they looked upon that 
 smiling field and our neighbors, with more experience than we, 
 congratulated us on a crop that would produce 1000 bushels. 
 But, alas, for our dreams and speculations, they were to be nipped 
 in the bud, as the hot sun tempered the wind to "sear" the flax, 
 and instead of having 1000 bushels, we had 84! 
 
 This was really and truly a disappointment, that to be appre- 
 ciated to the fullest extent, must have been felt to be thoroughly 
 understood. 
 
 Mother and myself, with two of the young people, would 
 leave the farm for the winter, thus placing the care of the stock 
 in the hands of one who would be able to care for it; as it would 
 be much more economical than to try and haul our wood as the 
 boys had done the year before, thirty miles. 
 
 We had the flax seed for several acres of ground for the 
 next year's seeding. We did succeed in getting several acres of 
 new ground ready. We put the ground we had had the year 
 before into flax into oats. We sowed a few acres of wheat but 
 put most of our new land into flax. That year (1912) proved 
 that nature could smile on the dry plains if she wanted to. 
 
 The birds came back and once in a while a bee could be seen 
 flying among the flowers! Yes, flowers! Many beautiful bloom- 
 ing plants came to beautify the scene and their delicate perfume 
 filled the senses with pleasant memories. Every one who had
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 145 
 
 been fortunate enough to have land prepared had his hope, in a 
 final success, renewed. It was a bumper crop. 
 
 How strange it is we do not have all our hopes fulfilled. It 
 must be that being human — and full of mistakes — our desires are 
 not wise ones, or thev would culminate more often in pleasure. 
 
 So far as we were concerned (I mean all the new comers 
 when I use the word we) the desires were by no means of a 
 selfish nature. We had come to a new country with limited means, 
 which had been too soon dissipated through, to me, the malicious 
 action of Nature itself. 
 
 We had tried to produce our bread "By the sweat of our 
 brow," and completely failed. The land had been prepared as 
 well as we knew how, the seed had been sown and cultivation 
 had been given, but Nature smiled in derision on every effort of 
 puny man and withheld her assistance, without which man can 
 accomplish no more than can the most microscopic specimen known 
 to the scientist. 
 
 But this vear nature smiled on all our work and the pro- 
 duction was lavish throughout the whole world. As has been 
 mentioned, we paid high prices for seed two year? before, but 
 when the bumper crop was ready for market the price had become 
 so low — 104 for flax, 15 cents for oats and sixty cents for wheat, 
 that no one under those circumstances could make both ends meet. 
 
 This made the third season on our dry farm, two of which 
 were complete failures, that would have made us objects of 
 charity (as it did some others) if we had not had other means 
 of support, and one fat one that did not much more than return 
 the cost of production after the haul of thirty miles to the railroad 
 had been made. Surelv not much encouragement to one who 
 had expected better results. 
 
 People began to feel discouraged and look forward to the 
 time when it would be possible to get a title to something that 
 appeared almost worthless- — so they could go to some other place 
 where there was a pos c ibility of netting a sure return for their 
 labor and capital. Others, who had been wiser and had fol- 
 lowed the advice of the "Book farmer" (to summer fallow) had 
 been more successful than those who had gone on heedless of the 
 wisdom of the careful experimenter. 
 
 Man. himself, is not more erratic than nature. If there is any- 
 thing in hereditv man should be excused in the final reckoning 
 for all his peculiarities of temperament and activities because his 
 mother, nature, has treated him with more incivilities and actual 
 punishment than could ever be dreamed of in the minds of man. 
 
 She had taught him to be selfish, as he has to hoard the accum- 
 ulations of the fat seasons for the time which is sure to come, the 
 lean ones. If it had taught him a sense of proportion, so he could
 
 146 IN THE LAND OF CHINOOK 
 
 have known his needs, and secreted only enough to gratify them, 
 then he would not have developed, to such an extent that he lost 
 all sight of the needs of his neighbors in his blind greed for more 
 than he could use, but which, if distributed, would have relieved 
 the pressure on his more unfortunate brother and made his life 
 a thing of pleasure and not a cause of remorse and misery. (I 
 must admit that I am not writing a work on moral philosophy, 
 simply the story of a new county in the great state of Montana.) 
 
 The dry years of 1910 and 1911 made the stockman laugh 
 with glee. No longer could the "Scissorbill" possibly stay in a 
 section that had so wilfully withheld all support. 
 
 The writer heard them as they were sitting in the shade of 
 their more comfortable roofs, in town, say: "Another year will 
 get them. They cannot stay." If the homesteader moved the 
 stockman would be more than repaid for the few years' worry 
 they had endured, because the buildings, wells and improvements 
 would be left, things of value to them, but of no earthly use to 
 the man who had tried and failed. 
 
 It has been the belief of the writer that those people who 
 came to the state in 1910-11 were more unfortunate — if they were 
 compelled to stay on their places — than were those who came 
 later, when crops were actually raised through their first 
 endeavors. 
 
 The years 1912-13-15-16 had proven conclusively that there 
 was a possibility of making a home on the dry plains. The year 
 1913 had not by any means proved one full of success, but it 
 had not been a failure. These years marked the destruction of 
 the range for range purposes alone. Houses of more pretention 
 began to take the place of the little black shack, stables displaced 
 the sod hovel, trees were planted to break the monotony of the 
 bleak prairie, schools and churches in convenient places had been 
 erected, and peace and plenty began to cause the smile of con- 
 tentment to suffuse the faces of many that had begun too soon 
 to be lined with care. 
 
 All the known land that had any agricultural value, was soon 
 in the hands of the private owner and began to take a money 
 value, and was a thing sought for by those who would not at 
 first believe. 
 
 We would like to write of some of those who have passed 
 through the different stages and name them, but if we should 
 give credit where due to the men and women who have helped 
 to make the county of homes we would only have a book of or 
 a list of names and not conditions. 
 
 We have given only a few of our own experiences, as thou- 
 sands of people on the dry farms had the same that we did and 
 they can lay claim to any thing in particular that they wish to
 
 THE STORY OF BLAINE COUNTY 147 
 
 take home to themselves — as all went through about the same 
 heartrending troubles before they were successful — if they had 
 families. 
 
 The young men or young women were more fortunate, as 
 they could leave and find employment in more favorable locali- 
 ties. 
 
 Some one will tell the story of his or her life on the arid 
 plains in such detail that the tears will flow down the cheeks of 
 the sympathetic and the heart will throb in unison with him 
 who was brave enough to stay and win success through hard and 
 self-sacrificing endeavor. 
 
 That success has been won is proven by the fact that all the 
 land was taken up in a few years and that elevators that once 
 had not a bushel of grain, were full to bursting, and that instead 
 of one or two in a county, dozens were needed ; that banks, stores, 
 churches and schools were multiplied in sections that only a few 
 years ago was the home for a few stockmen whose cowboys and 
 sheep herders "Were monarch of all they surveyed."
 
 148 INDEX 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page. 
 OnAPTEB I. 
 
 The First Inn, Etc ; 7 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Squawmen 15 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Buffalo and Their Hunters 20 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 First Settlement of Whites 23 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 Prospecting and Mining 32 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 The Church in Blaine County 37 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Cowboy Days 44 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Sheep Days 57 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 The Last Stand 01 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 Stories of Plainsmen 81 
 
 Billy Cochran 81 
 
 Wm. Bent 88 
 
 Joseph Mosser 99 
 
 George Herendeen 105 
 
 James H. Snell 112 
 
 Daddy Marsh, Curry Story 115 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Charles M. Russell 119 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Topography of County 12G 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 Political History of Blaine County 127 
 
 Chapter XIV. 
 
 Dry Farming L35
 
 INDEX 
 
 14!) 
 
 Page. 
 
 Aiken, Gene 61 
 
 Alexis 21 
 
 Aldrich, Frank .32-33-35-36 
 
 Anderson, Bill 90-92 
 
 Anderson, Reese 35 
 
 Angstman 31 
 
 Aratpahoes 7-8 
 
 Arnoux, J. M 35 
 
 Armstrong, Adam 24-83-85 
 
 Armstrong, R. A 43 
 
 Arnett, Frank 49 
 
 Ashby, Col. Shirley 119 
 
 Assinniboines S 
 
 Baird, Capt 96 
 
 Baird 43 
 
 Ballou 27 
 
 Bartzen 28 
 
 Barton, Chas. H 28-31-129-134 
 
 Barrows, Gep 52-3 
 
 Bean, Jack 111-112 
 
 Bent, Col 88 
 
 Bent. Bill 13-14-32-48-88-9-99 
 
 Beilenberg, John 46 
 
 Beilenberg, Nick 50-58 
 
 Bevins, Bill 82 
 
 Blackstone, Donald L 130 
 
 Blackfeet 7 
 
 Blivens, Taylor 195 
 
 Bogy, V 22-27-28-37 
 
 Bogy, Tom 101-2 
 
 Boll, Father 40 
 
 Boone, Dan'l 99 
 
 Bosley, Preston M 130 
 
 Bostwick Ill 
 
 Bourne, George 128 
 
 Bower, Bertha M 121 
 
 Boyle, Frank 28 
 
 Boyd, Geo 82-3-98-21 
 
 Brampar, Louie 82 
 
 Brewster, Horace 49 
 
 Brewer, James 99 
 
 Brewer, Rev 43 
 
 Brisban, Major 107-8 
 
 Brisbeau 22 
 
 Broadwater, Col 134 
 
 Brown, Jack 82-3 
 
 Bryan, W. J 68 
 
 Buchanan, Buck... Ill 
 
 Buckley, Sheriff in; 
 
 Buckley. .Mike 31 
 
 Buckley, Phil 30 
 
 Buffalo Bill 21 
 
 Burnes, T. C 25-20 
 
 Butler, Vernon 130 
 
 Cabler, John 120 
 
 Calamity Jane 103 
 
 Campbell, Prof. 137 
 
 Campbell, Tom 94 
 
 Page. 
 
 Campbell, Jim 92 
 
 Canby, General 65 
 
 Captain John 96 
 
 Carson, Kit 88 
 
 Carter, Captain 78 
 
 Carver, Steven 29 
 
 Cecil, Al 29-30 
 
 Chapman, Arthur 96-7 
 
 Chinook, Who Named 27 
 
 Chrisler, Rev 43 
 
 Claggett, Billy 101 
 
 Clark and Daly 133 
 
 Clendenning, Geo 100-104 
 
 Cleveland, President 38 
 
 Coburn, Robert 130 
 
 Coburn, Bob 49 
 
 Coburn, Wallace 5 
 
 Cochran, John 82 
 
 Cochran, Billy 24-58-9O-1O0' 
 
 Collins, John 130 
 
 Conklin, Charlie 82-90 
 
 Conrad, Chas. C 30 
 
 Cowan, Geo 27 
 
 Cowan, Minn 59 
 
 Cowan, Scott 59 
 
 Cowan, Arthur, Minn., Geo 60 
 
 Cooper, Housen 105 
 
 Cooper, Nancy 121 
 
 Crain, Tom 49 
 
 Crawford. Toney 123 
 
 Crawford, Hank 46 
 
 Culbertson, Major 91 
 
 Oumni, Lee 27 
 
 Curry Boys 29 
 
 Curry, Kid 115-116-11S-119 
 
 Curry, Johnnie and Lonnie 116 
 
 Curry, Hank 115-116 
 
 Curtis, Miss Lizzie 28 
 
 Custer 108 
 
 Darwin 82 
 
 Davis, A. J *6-S 
 
 Dawes, Station 27 
 
 Day, Rev 43 
 
 "Delaware" Jim 66 
 
 Dempsey, Bob 47 
 
 Denton, Drew 101 
 
 Devine, Richard S3 
 
 De Kind. Father .IT 
 
 Dc Yon, Joe 122 
 
 Dillon, John 24-83-4-6 
 
 Dinier, Father 40 
 
 Dolman. Henry A 99 
 
 Dorrity, Mrs. James 80 
 
 Dowen, Thos 98-130 
 
 Dryden, Charlie 110 
 
 Duke, William 28 
 
 Dutch Louie 29-32-3-5-<; 
 
 I toucan, Willard 33 
 
 Du Boise, Judge 118 
 
 Dwyer, Jimmie 94
 
 150 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page. 
 
 Eberschweiler, Father 37-8-9-43 
 
 Eckerson, Lieut 77 
 
 Edwards, Sen. John 51 
 
 Ekergren, Ernest 31 
 
 Ellis, Lon 31 
 
 Emery, Bill 86 
 
 Eulalia, Sister 41 
 
 English, Lieut 64 
 
 Everett, T. M 26-9-58-128-9-139-142 
 
 Everett, J. M 26 
 
 Express, Pony 90 
 
 Featherly, Senator 51 
 
 Fenton, Agent 91 
 
 Field, Major 103 
 
 First Laud Plowed 7 
 
 First Irrigation Ditch 26 
 
 Flannigan, Jerry 134 
 
 Flynn, Tommy 52 
 
 Forgy, John 138 
 
 Fox, James E 26 
 
 Fox 82 
 
 French, Walter 29 
 
 $50,000 Check 25 
 
 Gamble 49 
 
 Gibbon, General 8-63-70-79-107 
 
 Gibson, Paris 137 
 
 Glick, Dr 47 
 
 Gill 118 
 
 Giorda, Father 37 
 
 Goff, Cortez 64 
 
 Gorsuch, Bob 139 
 
 Grant, General 37-41-90-102 
 
 Grant, John 48 
 
 Grant, Jesse R 102 
 
 Great Northern R. R 25-6 
 
 Grinell 91 
 
 Gros Ventres 7-8 
 
 Grounds, Frank 106-111 
 
 Haddow 75 
 
 Haley, Tom 35 
 
 Hale, Captain 76-7 
 
 Hamilton, Bill 13-32-91-111 
 
 Hammer, A. W 43 
 
 Hanson, Chas. A 21 
 
 Hardrick, John 82 
 
 Harlan 63-9 
 
 Hart, Bill 31 
 
 Hatch, Mr 29 
 
 Healey, Col 41 
 
 Herendeen, Geo 33-105-9 
 
 Hill, J. J 138-40 
 
 Holmes 56 
 
 Hoover, Jake 120 
 
 Hopkins, Dr. Chas. F 28 
 
 Houston, Samuel 28 
 
 Howard, General.-27-64-9-79-l-3-8-80 
 
 Hubble, Lewis 98 
 
 Huidekoper 120 
 
 Page. 
 
 Jardine, William 138 
 
 Jerome, Lieut 114 
 
 Jew Jake 117 
 
 Johnson, Albert S 90 
 
 Johnson, Liver Eating 90-100-101 
 
 Johnson, William 130 
 
 Jones, Dick 82 
 
 Jones, Bill 120-1 
 
 Jones J. Dwight 130 
 
 Joseph, Chief 63-5-8-71-78-9-80-1- 
 
 94-"97-114 
 
 Josephine, Sister 41 
 
 Kaufman, Louie 120 
 
 Keiser, Henry 84 
 
 Kelsey 27 
 
 Kemp, Charlie 31 
 
 Kendrick, J. B 52 
 
 Kennedy, E. M 29-130 
 
 Kennedy, J. M 128 
 
 Kenyon, Dan'l. C 130 
 
 Kester, W. C 123-4 
 
 Keyes, Cris 33-5 
 
 Kinney 67 
 
 Kingsbury 27 
 
 Kohrs, Con 45-6-9-50 
 
 Kosciusco, Dr 130 
 
 Kuhr, Jurgan 58 
 
 Larpenture 12 
 
 Landon, Frank 52 
 
 Landusky 32-87-8-115-6 
 
 Leader, Jake 14-82-100 
 
 Leavenworth, Col 90 
 
 Lee, John 29 
 
 Lehfeldt, Julius 38 
 
 Lepley, John 35 
 
 Letcher 28 
 
 Lewis, Johnnie 27 
 
 Lewis and Clark 61 
 
 Lincoln, Major 103 
 
 Lincoln, Mrs. W. L 23 
 
 Linfield, Prof 137-9 
 
 Linderman, Frank 52-121 
 
 Lomire and Lee 100 
 
 Looking Glass 65-8-9-70 
 
 Lohman, A. S 28-124-5 
 
 Logan, Major 29-56-92 
 
 Logan, Geo 42 
 
 Logan, Capt 64 
 
 Lowery, K 123 
 
 Maginnis, Martin Hon 133 
 
 Main, Bob 35 
 
 Mallison, Al 123 
 
 Maloney, Cris 59-60 
 
 Maney 28 
 
 Manning, Mrs. John 29-31 
 
 Marlow, Tom 118 
 
 Marsh, F. M 28-32-45-29-115-126 
 
 Martin, J. A 43
 
 INDEX 
 
 151 
 
 Page. 
 
 Martin, Bill 82-4-5 
 
 Matherson, Martha 31 
 
 Matt, Cyprenne 24-35 
 
 Matt, Alex 67 
 
 Meadors, Senator 51 
 
 Meldrum 92 
 
 Merchant, Fred 91 
 
 Middleton, A. G 130 
 
 Miles, General 22-43-711-4-0-7-8-9-81- 
 
 04-5-0-7-114-135 
 
 Mills, Rev. Jacob 42 
 
 Miller, Wallis 119 
 
 Miller, Col 64 
 
 Minugh, "Daddy" .»..:..": 32 
 
 Montgomery 94 
 
 Montgomery. William 49 
 
 Moody, Dr 62 
 
 Morehouse, John S2-87 
 
 Mosser, Joe 44-58-99 
 
 Murphy, Spud 32 
 
 McCone, Senator 51 
 
 McCommick 107 
 
 McDonald 90 
 
 McGregor 94 
 
 McKinzie 32 
 
 McNamara 12S 
 
 McQuirk 67 
 
 Neibaur, Isaac 130 
 
 Nelson, Ole 29 
 
 Nelson, Prof 139 
 
 Xevins, O. B S2-3 
 
 Newton. Henry 82 
 
 Nicholson, 1 41 
 
 Nicholson, Murray 95 
 
 Norris, G. R 100 
 
 Norris, Edwin L.... 136 
 
 Norton, Harry 23 
 
 Xoyes, Raymond 140 
 
 Oker, Joseph 136 
 
 Old Nosey 92 
 
 Olson, B. G 58-104 
 
 Owens. Clms. 29 
 
 Owens. Frank 53-4 
 
 O'Hanlon, Tom ....27-8-30-38-44-5-103 I 
 
 O'Neal, Frank 28-118-124 
 
 O'Neal, Mrs. Frank .... lis 
 
 Paxon. Ed 126 
 
 Pease. Major 107 
 
 Pease, Dave 24 
 
 Pepin, Simon 16 
 
 Pepperberg 36 
 
 Perkins, Jeff 82 
 
 Phelps. Jesse 120 
 
 Phillips. B. D 7-52-58-130-1-3 
 
 Picket, Col 109 
 
 Pinkerton 56 
 
 I'l.ix inondin. Henry 30 
 
 Point, Father 37 
 
 Page. 
 
 Point, Priest's 38 
 
 Potts, Gov 65-7 
 
 Potter, Capt 33 
 
 Power, T. C 28-102-3 
 
 Price, Ed 28 
 
 Price, Kid 124-5 
 
 Quantrell 90 
 
 Rainbolt Bros 28 
 
 Randall, Steve 37 
 
 Rash, Harry 32 
 
 Rawn, Capt 64-6-7 
 
 Ray. Thos 99 
 
 Raymond 23 
 
 Reavis, Old Man 24 
 
 Reed, Bill 31 
 
 Reed, Chub 52 
 
 Reed 92-4 
 
 Reservation Open 25 
 
 Resor. A. H 27-8 
 
 Rhoades, Jay 31-52 
 
 Richardson 112 
 
 Rideout 27 
 
 Riel, Louis 29 
 
 Roberts, I. N 43 
 
 Robertson, John 64 
 
 Roberts, Ben 120 
 
 Rodgers. Allen 43 
 
 Rosenbaum Bros 53 
 
 Russell, C. M 22-52-119-122-3-4-5 
 
 Russell, Tom 87 
 
 Russell. Mrs. C. M 121 
 
 Saddler. Jack 31 
 
 Sands. W. R 31 
 
 Sands, W. B 28-130 
 
 Sanders. Col 134 
 
 Saver. Frank 50 
 
 Scott, Lee 32 
 
 Seiben, Henry 49 
 
 SHiultz ' 31 
 
 Shambow, Louie 21-42-73-70 
 
 Shankland, Sam 106 
 
 Shelby. Nigger ■". ! 
 
 Short, Miss A. L 130 
 
 Shultz. Al 104 II 
 
 Sinclair 121 
 
 Sitting Bull ... 78-96-106 
 
 Skillen. Billy 32-34-35-117 
 
 Smith. John R 40 
 
 Smith, Chas. A 20-32-35-141 
 
 Smith. Frank 100 
 
 Smith. Billy 92 01 
 
 Snell. James II 112 
 
 Snyder. Captain 76-7-111 
 
 Solomon, Mose 04 
 
 Spencer." Dr. W. B.... 12 
 
 Sprinkle Bros. 58 
 
 Stam .. 28 
 
 Stadler & Kaufman 53
 
 152 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Page. 
 
 Stevens, Judge 28-67 
 
 Story, Xels 106-7 
 
 Stringfellow, Rev 43 
 
 Stuart, Bob 52-123 
 
 iStnart, Granville 15-50 
 
 Sullivan, Sarah 80 
 
 Sweeney 96 
 
 Tabor, Steve 92-4 
 
 Talcum Powder 12 
 
 Taylor. L. B 49-51-130 
 
 Terry. General 108 
 
 Thompson, Rev. Peter 41 
 
 Thomas, John 91-2-4 
 
 Thompson, John 123 
 
 Thornhill, Jim 117-119 
 
 Titus, N. C 77 
 
 Toomey, Joe 58 
 
 Treacy, Dr 53-56-7 
 
 Trimble 123 
 
 Turner. Henry 142 
 
 Twete. Hans 139 
 
 Page. 
 Umstet 39 
 
 Waite, Jack 119 
 
 Wells, Jim 24-82-92-100 
 
 White Bird 97 
 
 Whitehead, J. S 28 
 
 Whitson, Bert 99 
 
 Wild Bill 103 
 
 Williams, Charlie 49-101-121 
 
 Williams. Bill 82 
 
 Williams. Dr 20 
 
 Willson, "Two Dot" .",1 
 
 Winters 116-8 
 
 Wise, Mrs. J. A 29 
 
 Woodruth, Lieut 61-72 
 
 Woolridge, W. N 28 
 
 Woolsey, Eph 9 
 
 Wye. Joe 91 
 
 Wynkoop 27 
 
 "Yellowstone Kelley" 73-5 
 
 Ziebarth 2-28
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 
 
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