By Ken Robison
Fort Benton has been home to many colorful characters over its long history, but few can top J. D. Weatherwax, or as his many friends would say “Old Waxey.” Over six feet tall and bearing a commanding presence, he made and lost fortunes, married and left families in “The States” and Fort Benton, and made his mark at every stop along the frontier from the Belly River to the Judith.
Born in New York in 1840, J. D. married Martha Sanks in Illinois, and by the outbreak of the Civil War they had two sons. During the war J. D. made a fortune in cotton and lost it. In 1867 he boarded the steamboat Agnes in St. Louis bound “for the mountains.” Arriving in Fort Benton, he worked his way into partnership with Scott Wetzel, and throughout the 1870s the firm Wetzel & Weatherwax became famous as an aggressive merchant house competing with the powerful T. C. Power and I. G. Baker firms. By 1871 Weatherwax was knee-deep in the “whiskey trade,” establishing Fort Weatherwax on the Belly River near Fort Whoop-Up.
In February 1875, the North West Mounted Police arrested Old Waxey for selling whiskey to Indians, and although the charge was never proven his outfit was seized, he was fined and held for six months at Fort Macleod. Old Waxey returned to Fort Benton, a hero among the local Irish Fenians. He “married” a young Piegan woman, Mary Bird Tail Woman, and they had at least seven children over the next decade. Many descendents live today on the Blackfeet Reservation. Old Waxey continued his Indian trade at Willow Rounds, but he stayed well south of the Medicine Line. Toward the end of the 1870s, Old Waxey withdrew from the firm and began ranching and serving as Choteau County commissioner.
By 1881 fewer buffalo roamed the fertile Judith Basin, and Old Waxey became one of the first ranchers. He built a log building in the fledgling town of Utica and opened the first store. An old ledger shows one unpaid account for saloon and clothing charges by cowboy Charlie Russell for $36.43, and by 1885 Old Waxey had extended too much credit to friends so he lost the store. A few miles above Utica in the Belt Mountains, J. D. opened a mine at Yogo. In October 1887, while working his promising mine, he slipped and fell striking his head and breaking his neck. Old Waxey is buried in an unmarked grave in the Utica Cemetery.
14 November 2008
25 October 2008
Tribal Warfare in the Medicine River Valley
By Ken Robison
[Fort Benton River Press 12 Nov 2008]
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Oswald C. Mortson came to Montana Territory with the Seventh Infantry in 1870. When he died 32 years later, the editor of the Great Falls Tribune wrote: Professor O. C. Mortson “is gone from among us, but he has made the world a better and pleasanter place.” He became expert in geology, minerals, and fossils. Not least of Professor Mortson’s gifts to posterity were his little known historical writings. His Christmas gift in 1897 was a fascinating collection of anecdotes on the Sun River valley, or as the Native Indians called it, the “Medicine River.” In his account, Mortson presented details from an oral history by Blackfeet Chief Little Plume about a major battle between the Blackfeet and the Crows that decimated both Indian nations. Professor Mortson wrote as follows, and my comments and minor corrections appear in brackets:
The Sun or Medicine River, the second confluent of the Missouri River in Northern Montana, and draining an area of nearly 2,100 square miles, is one of the most interesting localities in the state, not only for its vast pastoral and agricultural resources, but also for its historical associations.
The printed record we have of Sun River is found in the travels of Lewis and Clark, who on June 14, 1805, first viewed the lower part of that fair valley from the bluffs above the Black Eagle Falls. On his return from the Pacific slope Capt. Lewis followed down Sun River valley for a long distance to reach his cache at White Bear Island. The captain praises the Medicine River valley (as Sun River valley was then termed by the Indians) for its streams of pure water, rich pasturage and abundance of game.
After these two visits of this exploring party, this section of Montana was over run by hunters and trappers belonging to various trading companies, especially the American Fur company, who built Fort Lewis near Pablo’s island in 1844 [1845], which was replaced by Fort Benton in 1846 [1847].
In 1859 an agency for the Blackfeet Indians was built on what is commonly known in the past as Sparks’ place. [Note: William R. Sparks settled in Sun River in January 1869 and proved up 115 acres, now part of the Toman Ranch.] About this period, Sun River valley was a common hunting ground for Blackfeet, Crow and Pend d’Oreille Indians, in search of game, horses, and scalps. Tradition among the Indians says about 1854 occurred the great flood in which year Sun River covered the valley from bluff to bluff.
It was, (as far as can be learned by the writer) somewhat later in the fifties, that there occurred that terrible three days fight between the Blackfeet and Crows, which decimated the two tribes. [Note: The time of this important battle is not entirely clear. Father Pierre-Jean De Smet sketches a similar Blackfeet-Crow battle that occurred in 1843 while Canadian historian Hugh Dempsey uses 1833, and Sun River pioneer Robert Vaughn has it in the early 1850s.] The following account was given by Little Plume a chief of the Piegans in an interview in 1884 with the editor of the Sun River Sun [Chief Little Plume was born about 1851 and died in November 1909. According to Robert Vaughn, Little Plume gave his account to frontiersmen James Gibson, Judge Burcher, and S. M. Carson, who was on the staff of the Sun River Sun under editor Will Hanks.]:
“When I was a boy and had not yet gained a name for myself in the annals of war, I was witness to one of the hardest fought battles ever waged in Sun River valley. The chief of the Piegans [identified by Hugh Dempsey as Bear Chief] and a small party of his followers were encamped on the river near the mountains, when one morning a deputation of Crows came in praying that a council be made, saying they were tired of war and wished to make a treaty that would insure peace between them for all time to come. To the council, the chief readily consented and stated that on the morrow everything would be in readiness to receive the Crow chief [Hugh Dempsey identifies two Crow chiefs Painted Wing and Spotted Lip], as their head men were not so far away but that they could be summoned by that time.
When the morrow came, the Crows and Piegans feasted together for the first and last time. The council had proceeded without even so much as a sign of hostility in the past, and as to the course to be pursed in the future, it was to be one that would make the Crows and Blackfeet as one nation. Everything had progressed to the satisfaction of all. The council had adjourned to give place to feasting and dancing during the night, and to gain time so that Skoon-a-tapse-quan, a medicine man, who had not yet arrived might be present at the final agreement [Hugh Dempsey and James Willard Schultz identify this man as Big Snake Person.] The feasting had been one unbroken round of pleasure from the first, and much good will was shown by both parties. Still the feast went on and yet the “Strong Man” had not arrived.
A few more stragglers from the main Crow camp further down the river now and then dropped in. Among a bundle of moccasins the prying eyes of the Piegan women found a fresh scalp which on closer inspection proved to be that of a Piegan. Fearing to cry out lest they should but give the signal for a general massacre, they quietly informed their chief [identified by Hugh Dempsey as Big Lake] of what they had found, and the chief as wisely said nothing, but after a little he quietly went out from the lodge, and, to his astonishment, he saw dangling from the neck of a Crow the identical burning glass with which the “Strong Man” was wont to light his pipe. He knew then that Shoon-a-tapse-quan would never give his consent to a treaty of peace with the Crows. Going back to the council he told the Crows that it would be impossible for him or his people to sign the treaty of peace until the “Strong Man” had given his consent, and further, that until such consent was given, they would be considered enemies. Having thus delivered himself he walked out, being followed by several of the leading men of both tribes, who enquired of his reason for thus breaking up the council. His only answer was to the Crows, whom he told to go to their camp and prepare for war.
The council having been thus suddenly broken up by the Piegan chief, it was deemed by the Crows, necessary to put as great a distance between the two camps as possible. They, therefore, hastily moved their camp down to the breaks, some 15 miles above where the village of Sun River now stands. Here they threw up fortification and prepared to meet the Piegans if pursued. The Piegans, on the other hand, sent runners to all the different camps, informing them of the murder of their medicine man, and the turn affairs had taken. By the time night came on the peaceful camp was broken by the hurrying tramps of over a thousand war horses, each carrying upon his back the sworn enemy of the Crows.
The particulars of the murder of Shoon-a-tapse-quan had been learned by several of the outside camps about the same time the chief discovered it. It seemed that the “Strong Man” had received the summons and had immediately set forth accompanied by his assistant, and when within a few miles of their destination, they were suddenly attacked from behind whilst in the act of lighting their pipes. The “Strong Man” received his death wound from the first blow, but his companion was only stunned, from which he recovered in time to see the murderous Crows hastily making off with the scalp of his leader dangling from the saddle bow of a young brave. Knowing that to stir or show any signs of life would bring certain death, he stay quiet for a long time, not even daring to raise his hand to his aching head, from which the scalp had just been torn. After lying in this position for a considerable time, he raised himself to a sitting posture from which he cautiously took in the situation, and seeing no signs of the Crows, he immediately made off as fast as his legs could carry him. Having arrived at the camp from which he and his companion had so hopefully started in the morning, he told of the tragedy in as few words as possible, and then fell exhausted on the floor of the lodge. Runners were immediately sent to all the outlying camps, informing them of what had happened and ordering them to at once repair to the camp of their chief. So rapidly does news travel in an Indian country that before darkness came on several hundred warriors were with their chief.
On the morrow the Piegan forces were largely augmented by these new arrivals and the chief deemed it best to immediately move against the Crows, who were reported by the scouts as being entrenched at what were then called the “Breaks,” every preparation having been made, the whole force moved forward in one vast column. When about where Alex Pambrin now lives they fell in with the Crows and drove their out-outposts into the trenches, and then commenced one of the most bloody battles ever fought between two nations having a red skin.
The Piegans, after fighting all that day and night, finally succeeded in dislodging the enemy, who, early in the morning, began to move on down the valley. After resting until evening, they again started in pursuit, and overtook the Crows at what the white men call the “Middle Bridge,” which is about two miles below the town of Sun River. Here, if you remember, a high point of bluff put in close to the river, affording great defensive advantages. This is where the Crows made their second stand. Bright and early on the morning of the third day the Piegans moved forward, and, against the most fearful odds, succeeded just as night was coming on, in driving the Crows out of their intrenchments; but, owing to the peculiar formation of the bluffs at this point, it was of no great advantage, as the ground immediately beyond was as well adapted for defense as that just lost.
The Crows had again intrenched themselves, and when morning came, yells of defiance answered the taunts of the Blackfeet. Both parties had received such reinforcements that the combatants numbered over 5,000 on either side, each bent on the extermination of the other; and so near did they accomplish this end that when the fight was won, over 500 Piegan warriors marked the spot where the final charge was made. For two days the fight continued, the Crows yielding but a little at a time. They seemed to still have some hope of victory, but fate was against them.
Just across the river from Robert Vaughn’s place [in present day Vaughn] they made their last stand. Here the hardest fighting was done, and when the last charge was made by the Blackfeet, the ground was literally piled with killed and wounded of both tribes. The Piegans were so crippled by the continuous battle that when the Crows broke from their cover and retreated down the river and across the Missouri, they were satisfied and made no effort at further pursuit. [The Blackfeet named this site “The Place of the Painted Wing and Spotted Lip Massacre."]
Although” said Little Plume, “it took the Blackfeet nation over 20 years to recover their strength, Skoon-a-tapse-e-quan was only partially avenged. As long as there remains a Crow and a Piegan, so long will there be war. When the last Crow shall have been killed, then, and not till then will the “Strong Man” be avenged.”
This is only one of the many battles fought in this valley by Piegans; or Blackfeet. Several years later a great battle was fought at Flowerree’s ranch, but not with the Crows. Old Man Monroe and Charles Chouquette and several other old timers took part in this.
In 1862 or 1863, Malcolm Clarke, killed by Blackfeet in 1869, near Mitchell, in Prickly Pear canon, established a trading post at the mouth of Simms’ creek, which was abandoned a few years later.
In 1865 occurred the memorable Sun River stampede, in which so many men lost their lives and others were crippled. By braving the icy blasts of 40 degrees below zero in their search for the gold fields which never existed.
In 1866 the Blackfeet burned their agency, killing its occupants.
In 1867 the Thirteenth Infantry headquarters and four companies of the same regiment arrived from Camp Cooke and made cantonment at the old mission near the ranch of Dave Churchill, and in August of the same year Fort Shaw was established, Lieutenant Colonel G. L. Andrews in command.
The same year John Largent bought a cabin of Goff, a trapper, which stood near the site of his present residence at Sun River.
In 1867 also John J. Healy built a cabin where H. B. Strong afterward lived [now Toman], therefore, Messrs. Healy and Largent were the first real settlers of Sun River.
In 1867-8, the bridge at the town of Sun River (since replaced by a steel truss bridge) was built by John Largent and Healy Bros.; and another one at the leavings by some German boys, in 1870. Henry Miller and a Frenchman built another bridge at the Churchill ranch known as the lower bridge. These three bridges, the upper, middle and lower, were built to secure the traffic, then of great magnitude, between Helena and Fort Benton, resulting from most of the freight for Montana territory being brought by steamboat to the latter place. Of course, Sun River was an important point on the route, and the upper bridge at the town of Sun River being the best as to location, as also to proximity to the fort, led to the two lower bridges falling into a state of innocuous desuetude and few marks are now found to denote their former existence.
In 1869 Robert Vaughn located what is now the Couch ranch, and he was the first settler to prove up on land in northern Montana.
From the first settlement of Sun River crossing, a state of desultory warfare existed between the whites and the Blackfeet Indians, and the town of Sun River was the scene of several skirmishes. The former residence of John Healy still bears marks of one of these conflicts, in which several Indians were killed, one being shot while climbing in at one of the rear windows, his body falling into the well. Another time a white man was killed down at the middle bridge, and one of the Indians who committed the deed was hung to a tree which then stood just back of John Traxler’s house [later Bill Leach Farm], while the other accomplice was taken to Sun River town and locked up in a cabin, being shortly after shot while trying to escape. At last these predatory incursions of the Blackfeet became unbearable and the military authorities decided to inflict a signal punishment on the tribe. In the early winter of 1869-70, Col. Baker, U. S. A., with detachments of the Second cavalry and Thirteenth Infantry, left Fort Shaw, and on the Marias river, below Conrad, wiped out a camp of Blackfeet, in which fight 173 Indians joined their ancestors. This [Baker Massacre] salutory lesson had a permanent pacific effect.
In 1870 the Seventh infantry, Col. John Gibbon commanding, relieved the Thirteenth infantry at Fort Shaw.
In the early ’70’s the South Fork country was not a desirable location for a quiet family. Owing to the isolated situation of this section it furnished all the requisites necessary for a safe harbor of refuge for pursued criminals, who, it is unnecessary to say, took advantage of it. Several highly sensational stories have consequently originated here, one of which is quite romantic and worthy of repetition, owing to the probable truth of it. During the early part of the ’70’s a portion of the famous Plummer gang, who operated throughout the territory, were hotly pursued by the vigilantes, made their escape into it, where they cached themselves until safe for them to return to their rendezvous. A short time after this, one of the gang who was chased into this section was captured in the lower country by the vigilantes, and just before he was swung into eternity he wrote a letter to his wife in St. Louis, telling her of a cache the gang had made of some $30,000 in coin in a cabin on a on a tributary of Sun river, in sight of the Haystack butte. A short time after receiving the letter the wife, accompanied by her son, came to this section and made a search for the missing treasure, but without success. She came back the second time and made that section her residence and continued the search, with what success is not known, as she suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace. Since that time repeated attempts have been made by various parties, and many is the lone shack whose floor has been torn up in the vain attempt to discover the cache.
In the summer of 1872, 200 soldiers from Fort Shaw participated in the Yellowstone expedition under Col. Baker, and in 1874 military roads were constructed from Fort Shaw to the British boundary and Camp Lewis (Lewistown), in the Judith Basin. The latter road crossed the Missouri river at Great Falls, on the present site of the railway bridge. About this time the last murder on lower Sun River by Indians occurred in a cabin near the site of lower Sun River bridge, when one man was killed.
In 1876 the Largent hotel was built at the town of Sun River, being the first brick building erected in the valley. In 1879 the Seventh infantry was relieved by the Third infantry, Lieutenant Colonel Brooks, commanding. In 1888 the Third infantry was relieved by the Twenty-fifth infantry, Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Van Horn commanding, and a short time after Fort Shaw was abandoned for military purposes, after being headquarters of the military district of Montana for 21 years.
With the withdrawal of the troops from Shaw, a new era, as regards the civilization of the northern Indians commenced in Sun River valley. Schools in place of bullets were to exercise their influence. In the early part of 1892, G. B. Grinnell advocated that Fort Shaw with its reservation be turned over to the Interior Department for the establishment of an Indian school. On Dec. 27, 1892, under the supervision of Dr. W. H. Winslow, the school was formally opened under the name of the Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School. The school is at present under the same superintendent, and under his able management it’s standing is second to none of the Indian schools in the United States. It is also somewhat remarkable that the children from the Blackfeet nation are in the majority, learning the arts of civilization and the ways of making themselves self-supporting, on the banks of the same river where their forefathers proved such a constant menace to settlers in earlier times.
Historically, not much more need be said regarding Sun River valley. The description of its towns and settlements practically pertains to a future article on its mineral, pastoral and agricultural resources. The foregoing brief sketches however may probably prove interesting to the citizens of Great Falls, within the corporate limits of which Sun River empties into the mighty Missouri. Twelve miles of railroad already extended from Great Falls up that magnificent valley, and when that line is extended to the upper settlements of the great South Fork country and direct mail routes established, then Sun River valley will proved no inconsiderable factor in the prosperity of Great Falls. [Signed] O. C. M.
[Sources: Great Falls Tribune Daily 24 Dec 1897, pp. 3-4; Sun River Sun 25 December 1884; “Indians Battled on Sun River in 1833” by James Willard Schultz in Great Falls Tribune 5 Sep 1937, pp. 14-15 and 12 Sep 1937, p. 15; A Pictorial History of the Sun River Valley, pp. 10-11; The Blackfoot Papers, by Adolph Hungry-Wolf, Vol. Four, pp. 1050-56; Father De Smet’s Life and Travels Among the North American Indians by Chittenden and Richardson, Vol III, pp. 1037-43; “Massacre at Sun River” in The Vengeful Wife and Other Blackfoot Stories by Hugh A. Dempsey, pp. 29-35; “Bloody Battle and Tragedies in the Sun River Valley” in Then and Now by Robert Vaughn, pp. 132-39]
Photos:
(1) Professor O. C. Mortson [OHRC]
(2) Blackfeet Chief Little Plume [OHRC]
(3) Map of the Sun River Battle Sites [OHRC]
[Fort Benton River Press 12 Nov 2008]
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Oswald C. Mortson came to Montana Territory with the Seventh Infantry in 1870. When he died 32 years later, the editor of the Great Falls Tribune wrote: Professor O. C. Mortson “is gone from among us, but he has made the world a better and pleasanter place.” He became expert in geology, minerals, and fossils. Not least of Professor Mortson’s gifts to posterity were his little known historical writings. His Christmas gift in 1897 was a fascinating collection of anecdotes on the Sun River valley, or as the Native Indians called it, the “Medicine River.” In his account, Mortson presented details from an oral history by Blackfeet Chief Little Plume about a major battle between the Blackfeet and the Crows that decimated both Indian nations. Professor Mortson wrote as follows, and my comments and minor corrections appear in brackets:
The Sun or Medicine River, the second confluent of the Missouri River in Northern Montana, and draining an area of nearly 2,100 square miles, is one of the most interesting localities in the state, not only for its vast pastoral and agricultural resources, but also for its historical associations.
The printed record we have of Sun River is found in the travels of Lewis and Clark, who on June 14, 1805, first viewed the lower part of that fair valley from the bluffs above the Black Eagle Falls. On his return from the Pacific slope Capt. Lewis followed down Sun River valley for a long distance to reach his cache at White Bear Island. The captain praises the Medicine River valley (as Sun River valley was then termed by the Indians) for its streams of pure water, rich pasturage and abundance of game.
After these two visits of this exploring party, this section of Montana was over run by hunters and trappers belonging to various trading companies, especially the American Fur company, who built Fort Lewis near Pablo’s island in 1844 [1845], which was replaced by Fort Benton in 1846 [1847].
In 1859 an agency for the Blackfeet Indians was built on what is commonly known in the past as Sparks’ place. [Note: William R. Sparks settled in Sun River in January 1869 and proved up 115 acres, now part of the Toman Ranch.] About this period, Sun River valley was a common hunting ground for Blackfeet, Crow and Pend d’Oreille Indians, in search of game, horses, and scalps. Tradition among the Indians says about 1854 occurred the great flood in which year Sun River covered the valley from bluff to bluff.
It was, (as far as can be learned by the writer) somewhat later in the fifties, that there occurred that terrible three days fight between the Blackfeet and Crows, which decimated the two tribes. [Note: The time of this important battle is not entirely clear. Father Pierre-Jean De Smet sketches a similar Blackfeet-Crow battle that occurred in 1843 while Canadian historian Hugh Dempsey uses 1833, and Sun River pioneer Robert Vaughn has it in the early 1850s.] The following account was given by Little Plume a chief of the Piegans in an interview in 1884 with the editor of the Sun River Sun [Chief Little Plume was born about 1851 and died in November 1909. According to Robert Vaughn, Little Plume gave his account to frontiersmen James Gibson, Judge Burcher, and S. M. Carson, who was on the staff of the Sun River Sun under editor Will Hanks.]:
“When I was a boy and had not yet gained a name for myself in the annals of war, I was witness to one of the hardest fought battles ever waged in Sun River valley. The chief of the Piegans [identified by Hugh Dempsey as Bear Chief] and a small party of his followers were encamped on the river near the mountains, when one morning a deputation of Crows came in praying that a council be made, saying they were tired of war and wished to make a treaty that would insure peace between them for all time to come. To the council, the chief readily consented and stated that on the morrow everything would be in readiness to receive the Crow chief [Hugh Dempsey identifies two Crow chiefs Painted Wing and Spotted Lip], as their head men were not so far away but that they could be summoned by that time.
When the morrow came, the Crows and Piegans feasted together for the first and last time. The council had proceeded without even so much as a sign of hostility in the past, and as to the course to be pursed in the future, it was to be one that would make the Crows and Blackfeet as one nation. Everything had progressed to the satisfaction of all. The council had adjourned to give place to feasting and dancing during the night, and to gain time so that Skoon-a-tapse-quan, a medicine man, who had not yet arrived might be present at the final agreement [Hugh Dempsey and James Willard Schultz identify this man as Big Snake Person.] The feasting had been one unbroken round of pleasure from the first, and much good will was shown by both parties. Still the feast went on and yet the “Strong Man” had not arrived.
A few more stragglers from the main Crow camp further down the river now and then dropped in. Among a bundle of moccasins the prying eyes of the Piegan women found a fresh scalp which on closer inspection proved to be that of a Piegan. Fearing to cry out lest they should but give the signal for a general massacre, they quietly informed their chief [identified by Hugh Dempsey as Big Lake] of what they had found, and the chief as wisely said nothing, but after a little he quietly went out from the lodge, and, to his astonishment, he saw dangling from the neck of a Crow the identical burning glass with which the “Strong Man” was wont to light his pipe. He knew then that Shoon-a-tapse-quan would never give his consent to a treaty of peace with the Crows. Going back to the council he told the Crows that it would be impossible for him or his people to sign the treaty of peace until the “Strong Man” had given his consent, and further, that until such consent was given, they would be considered enemies. Having thus delivered himself he walked out, being followed by several of the leading men of both tribes, who enquired of his reason for thus breaking up the council. His only answer was to the Crows, whom he told to go to their camp and prepare for war.
The council having been thus suddenly broken up by the Piegan chief, it was deemed by the Crows, necessary to put as great a distance between the two camps as possible. They, therefore, hastily moved their camp down to the breaks, some 15 miles above where the village of Sun River now stands. Here they threw up fortification and prepared to meet the Piegans if pursued. The Piegans, on the other hand, sent runners to all the different camps, informing them of the murder of their medicine man, and the turn affairs had taken. By the time night came on the peaceful camp was broken by the hurrying tramps of over a thousand war horses, each carrying upon his back the sworn enemy of the Crows.
The particulars of the murder of Shoon-a-tapse-quan had been learned by several of the outside camps about the same time the chief discovered it. It seemed that the “Strong Man” had received the summons and had immediately set forth accompanied by his assistant, and when within a few miles of their destination, they were suddenly attacked from behind whilst in the act of lighting their pipes. The “Strong Man” received his death wound from the first blow, but his companion was only stunned, from which he recovered in time to see the murderous Crows hastily making off with the scalp of his leader dangling from the saddle bow of a young brave. Knowing that to stir or show any signs of life would bring certain death, he stay quiet for a long time, not even daring to raise his hand to his aching head, from which the scalp had just been torn. After lying in this position for a considerable time, he raised himself to a sitting posture from which he cautiously took in the situation, and seeing no signs of the Crows, he immediately made off as fast as his legs could carry him. Having arrived at the camp from which he and his companion had so hopefully started in the morning, he told of the tragedy in as few words as possible, and then fell exhausted on the floor of the lodge. Runners were immediately sent to all the outlying camps, informing them of what had happened and ordering them to at once repair to the camp of their chief. So rapidly does news travel in an Indian country that before darkness came on several hundred warriors were with their chief.
On the morrow the Piegan forces were largely augmented by these new arrivals and the chief deemed it best to immediately move against the Crows, who were reported by the scouts as being entrenched at what were then called the “Breaks,” every preparation having been made, the whole force moved forward in one vast column. When about where Alex Pambrin now lives they fell in with the Crows and drove their out-outposts into the trenches, and then commenced one of the most bloody battles ever fought between two nations having a red skin.
The Piegans, after fighting all that day and night, finally succeeded in dislodging the enemy, who, early in the morning, began to move on down the valley. After resting until evening, they again started in pursuit, and overtook the Crows at what the white men call the “Middle Bridge,” which is about two miles below the town of Sun River. Here, if you remember, a high point of bluff put in close to the river, affording great defensive advantages. This is where the Crows made their second stand. Bright and early on the morning of the third day the Piegans moved forward, and, against the most fearful odds, succeeded just as night was coming on, in driving the Crows out of their intrenchments; but, owing to the peculiar formation of the bluffs at this point, it was of no great advantage, as the ground immediately beyond was as well adapted for defense as that just lost.
The Crows had again intrenched themselves, and when morning came, yells of defiance answered the taunts of the Blackfeet. Both parties had received such reinforcements that the combatants numbered over 5,000 on either side, each bent on the extermination of the other; and so near did they accomplish this end that when the fight was won, over 500 Piegan warriors marked the spot where the final charge was made. For two days the fight continued, the Crows yielding but a little at a time. They seemed to still have some hope of victory, but fate was against them.
Just across the river from Robert Vaughn’s place [in present day Vaughn] they made their last stand. Here the hardest fighting was done, and when the last charge was made by the Blackfeet, the ground was literally piled with killed and wounded of both tribes. The Piegans were so crippled by the continuous battle that when the Crows broke from their cover and retreated down the river and across the Missouri, they were satisfied and made no effort at further pursuit. [The Blackfeet named this site “The Place of the Painted Wing and Spotted Lip Massacre."]
Although” said Little Plume, “it took the Blackfeet nation over 20 years to recover their strength, Skoon-a-tapse-e-quan was only partially avenged. As long as there remains a Crow and a Piegan, so long will there be war. When the last Crow shall have been killed, then, and not till then will the “Strong Man” be avenged.”
This is only one of the many battles fought in this valley by Piegans; or Blackfeet. Several years later a great battle was fought at Flowerree’s ranch, but not with the Crows. Old Man Monroe and Charles Chouquette and several other old timers took part in this.
In 1862 or 1863, Malcolm Clarke, killed by Blackfeet in 1869, near Mitchell, in Prickly Pear canon, established a trading post at the mouth of Simms’ creek, which was abandoned a few years later.
In 1865 occurred the memorable Sun River stampede, in which so many men lost their lives and others were crippled. By braving the icy blasts of 40 degrees below zero in their search for the gold fields which never existed.
In 1866 the Blackfeet burned their agency, killing its occupants.
In 1867 the Thirteenth Infantry headquarters and four companies of the same regiment arrived from Camp Cooke and made cantonment at the old mission near the ranch of Dave Churchill, and in August of the same year Fort Shaw was established, Lieutenant Colonel G. L. Andrews in command.
The same year John Largent bought a cabin of Goff, a trapper, which stood near the site of his present residence at Sun River.
In 1867 also John J. Healy built a cabin where H. B. Strong afterward lived [now Toman], therefore, Messrs. Healy and Largent were the first real settlers of Sun River.
In 1867-8, the bridge at the town of Sun River (since replaced by a steel truss bridge) was built by John Largent and Healy Bros.; and another one at the leavings by some German boys, in 1870. Henry Miller and a Frenchman built another bridge at the Churchill ranch known as the lower bridge. These three bridges, the upper, middle and lower, were built to secure the traffic, then of great magnitude, between Helena and Fort Benton, resulting from most of the freight for Montana territory being brought by steamboat to the latter place. Of course, Sun River was an important point on the route, and the upper bridge at the town of Sun River being the best as to location, as also to proximity to the fort, led to the two lower bridges falling into a state of innocuous desuetude and few marks are now found to denote their former existence.
In 1869 Robert Vaughn located what is now the Couch ranch, and he was the first settler to prove up on land in northern Montana.
From the first settlement of Sun River crossing, a state of desultory warfare existed between the whites and the Blackfeet Indians, and the town of Sun River was the scene of several skirmishes. The former residence of John Healy still bears marks of one of these conflicts, in which several Indians were killed, one being shot while climbing in at one of the rear windows, his body falling into the well. Another time a white man was killed down at the middle bridge, and one of the Indians who committed the deed was hung to a tree which then stood just back of John Traxler’s house [later Bill Leach Farm], while the other accomplice was taken to Sun River town and locked up in a cabin, being shortly after shot while trying to escape. At last these predatory incursions of the Blackfeet became unbearable and the military authorities decided to inflict a signal punishment on the tribe. In the early winter of 1869-70, Col. Baker, U. S. A., with detachments of the Second cavalry and Thirteenth Infantry, left Fort Shaw, and on the Marias river, below Conrad, wiped out a camp of Blackfeet, in which fight 173 Indians joined their ancestors. This [Baker Massacre] salutory lesson had a permanent pacific effect.
In 1870 the Seventh infantry, Col. John Gibbon commanding, relieved the Thirteenth infantry at Fort Shaw.
In the early ’70’s the South Fork country was not a desirable location for a quiet family. Owing to the isolated situation of this section it furnished all the requisites necessary for a safe harbor of refuge for pursued criminals, who, it is unnecessary to say, took advantage of it. Several highly sensational stories have consequently originated here, one of which is quite romantic and worthy of repetition, owing to the probable truth of it. During the early part of the ’70’s a portion of the famous Plummer gang, who operated throughout the territory, were hotly pursued by the vigilantes, made their escape into it, where they cached themselves until safe for them to return to their rendezvous. A short time after this, one of the gang who was chased into this section was captured in the lower country by the vigilantes, and just before he was swung into eternity he wrote a letter to his wife in St. Louis, telling her of a cache the gang had made of some $30,000 in coin in a cabin on a on a tributary of Sun river, in sight of the Haystack butte. A short time after receiving the letter the wife, accompanied by her son, came to this section and made a search for the missing treasure, but without success. She came back the second time and made that section her residence and continued the search, with what success is not known, as she suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace. Since that time repeated attempts have been made by various parties, and many is the lone shack whose floor has been torn up in the vain attempt to discover the cache.
In the summer of 1872, 200 soldiers from Fort Shaw participated in the Yellowstone expedition under Col. Baker, and in 1874 military roads were constructed from Fort Shaw to the British boundary and Camp Lewis (Lewistown), in the Judith Basin. The latter road crossed the Missouri river at Great Falls, on the present site of the railway bridge. About this time the last murder on lower Sun River by Indians occurred in a cabin near the site of lower Sun River bridge, when one man was killed.
In 1876 the Largent hotel was built at the town of Sun River, being the first brick building erected in the valley. In 1879 the Seventh infantry was relieved by the Third infantry, Lieutenant Colonel Brooks, commanding. In 1888 the Third infantry was relieved by the Twenty-fifth infantry, Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Van Horn commanding, and a short time after Fort Shaw was abandoned for military purposes, after being headquarters of the military district of Montana for 21 years.
With the withdrawal of the troops from Shaw, a new era, as regards the civilization of the northern Indians commenced in Sun River valley. Schools in place of bullets were to exercise their influence. In the early part of 1892, G. B. Grinnell advocated that Fort Shaw with its reservation be turned over to the Interior Department for the establishment of an Indian school. On Dec. 27, 1892, under the supervision of Dr. W. H. Winslow, the school was formally opened under the name of the Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School. The school is at present under the same superintendent, and under his able management it’s standing is second to none of the Indian schools in the United States. It is also somewhat remarkable that the children from the Blackfeet nation are in the majority, learning the arts of civilization and the ways of making themselves self-supporting, on the banks of the same river where their forefathers proved such a constant menace to settlers in earlier times.
Historically, not much more need be said regarding Sun River valley. The description of its towns and settlements practically pertains to a future article on its mineral, pastoral and agricultural resources. The foregoing brief sketches however may probably prove interesting to the citizens of Great Falls, within the corporate limits of which Sun River empties into the mighty Missouri. Twelve miles of railroad already extended from Great Falls up that magnificent valley, and when that line is extended to the upper settlements of the great South Fork country and direct mail routes established, then Sun River valley will proved no inconsiderable factor in the prosperity of Great Falls. [Signed] O. C. M.
[Sources: Great Falls Tribune Daily 24 Dec 1897, pp. 3-4; Sun River Sun 25 December 1884; “Indians Battled on Sun River in 1833” by James Willard Schultz in Great Falls Tribune 5 Sep 1937, pp. 14-15 and 12 Sep 1937, p. 15; A Pictorial History of the Sun River Valley, pp. 10-11; The Blackfoot Papers, by Adolph Hungry-Wolf, Vol. Four, pp. 1050-56; Father De Smet’s Life and Travels Among the North American Indians by Chittenden and Richardson, Vol III, pp. 1037-43; “Massacre at Sun River” in The Vengeful Wife and Other Blackfoot Stories by Hugh A. Dempsey, pp. 29-35; “Bloody Battle and Tragedies in the Sun River Valley” in Then and Now by Robert Vaughn, pp. 132-39]
Photos:
(1) Professor O. C. Mortson [OHRC]
(2) Blackfeet Chief Little Plume [OHRC]
(3) Map of the Sun River Battle Sites [OHRC]
22 September 2008
A Woman’s Life on the Frontier: The Fort Benton Years
A Woman’s Life on the Frontier: The Fort Benton Years of
Martha Edgerton Rolfe--Part 1
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Rare indeed is the account written about Fort Benton during its transition from the lawless era of whiskey trading of the early 1870s to the “civilized” steamboat transportation hub by the end of the decade. Although “civilization” began to come to Fort Benton with the arrival of women and children after 1875, we find few accounts of life in the little city at that time, and fewer still written from a woman’s perspective. What a treat then to find both a memoir written by a woman and a series of articles recording the life of her family and the social scene in Fort Benton from 1879-1884.
This remarkable woman, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann, was a true pioneer. Young Mattie, as she was known, first came to Bannack in what is now Montana, then Idaho territory, with her parents in a covered wagon in 1863. Her father, Sydney Edgerton, served as Montana’s first Territorial Governor. Just over one decade later in late 1876 Mattie returned to Montana as Mrs. Herbert P. Rolfe, when Herbert became the first Superintendent of Schools in bustling Helena.
From Helena, Martha and Herbert Rolfe moved on to frontier Fort Benton, arriving in December 1879 with two young children. The formative Fort Benton years found Herbert active in surveying, legal work, and politics, working hard to build a Republican party organization in a town dominated by Irish Democrats. Reflecting his northern birth, Herbert was a “Lincoln Republican,” called by their opponents “black Republicans” for their support for Abraham Lincoln, his emancipation of the slaves, and his attempt to integrate the former slaves into the politics and economy of the country. Martha shared the political beliefs of her husband, advocating suffrage for not only Black Americans but also for women of all races. Herbert’s hard work in Fort Benton not only improved the family’s financial situation, but attracted the attention of leaders in the community. Paris Gibson was impressed with the talent and drive displayed by Herbert and hired him in secrecy to serve as surveyor and lawyer as Gibson quietly moved forward with plans to found a town at the confluence of the Missouri and Sun rivers. The growing Rolfe family were among the first settlers in the new town moving there in the summer of 1884.
Both Herbert and Martha were remarkable achievers. Mattie had watched the course of events in Montana from the beginning of its territorial days, and, by virtue of natural ability and educational training and that happy faculty possessed by few of the pioneers of being able to record the history of Montana both accurately and entertainingly. Much of Mattie’s life was devoted to recording the history of the Treasure State. After the untimely death of Herbert in 1895, she became the first woman editor of a Montana daily newspaper, taking over the Great Falls Leader. Following the death of her second husband, Theodore Plassmann, in 1896, Mattie worked at many jobs to support herself and her seven young children. Mostly, though, she wrote historical accounts that were published in newspapers throughout Montana.
Fortunately, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann wrote about her life in frontier Fort Benton from 1879 to 1884. The story that follows combines portions of her unpublished memoir, “Memories of a Long Life,” and newspaper articles, “Rough Travel in Early Days: Runaway Stage Ride from Helena to Fort Benton” and “Frontier Days: Pioneering in Old Fort Benton--Living Conditions in the Old Missouri River Town in the Late Seventies.”
Part I describes the arduous trip of the Rolfes from Helena to Fort Benton. In the words of Mattie: “In 1879, my husband, Herbert Rolfe, having finished three years as superintendent of the Helena schools, graduated its first class from the high school, and been admitted to the bar, decided to locate at Fort Benton. This town, being at the head of navigation on the Missouri, was then the most promising in the state, with the sole exception of Butte. It was an important distributing point, and during the summer months, when the boats were running, business was lively. No one could then predict, what eventually happened, that the railroads would kill traffic on our magnificient waterways.
We left Helena [on a bleak early December day], going by stage, and with us were our two children, one but a month old. The weather was intensely cold for that time of the year, necessitating wearing many wraps to keep from freezing. Our stage was the two seated kind, known as a “jerky,” and with us were two other passengers, both men. These considerately took the front seats leaving us the back seats. Bundled up as we were, the six of us found the conveyance uncomfortably crowded, and I had difficulty in keeping my baby from being smothered.
All went fairly well until, in crossing the Bird Tail divide, a spring broke. It could not be repaired, and there was no other coach at the station where we next stopped after the accident occurred. We were forced to go on in our disabled vehicle. No stage driver in those days drove slowly in consideration of his passengers; his duty was simply to get them to their destination on time. Our driver was no exception to the rule and so we bumped and clattered along over the rough road, trying vainly to keep warm, and save ourself from the frequent jolts, as the coach struck stones or other obstructions. By the time we reached Reinecke’s, we were completely exhausted from this dual effort, and my eldest child was crying because he feet were frosted. [Note, Mrs. Rolfe later identifies the stage river as Matthew Carroll, later of Diamond R prominence.]
At Reinecke’s, on Sun river, as at other stations along the route--notably Spitzley’s which was one of our first stopping places--we were well entertained. Mrs. Reinecke proved to be a former stage companion of mine, on the long journey from Franklin, Utah, in 1876, the terminal point of the Utah Northern railroad, to Helena. She, and her husband, treated us more as guests, than what we were; transient customers that brought them small financial return, and much work.
Stage stations were often far from other dwelling, and the main events in the lives of those who kept them were the arrival and departure of the stages. The time of their arrival was never certain, and their coming meant the hurried preparation and serving of meals for one or many people. This was especially hard on such women as did the cooking and had young children. At a station on this trip, I have a vivid recollection of one young woman who was hastening to get our supper, with a baby fastened in a high chair beside the stove, while another scarcely able to walk, clung to her skirt, and followed her every step from stove to table; from table to stove watching the strangers with curious gaze but never crying. I wondered how the woman could accomplish anything with such hindrances, and still never display impatience. At this station, the woman did the work, and her husband the entertaining. At Reinecke’s the division of labor was better arranged, husband and wife bearing an equal share.
Here, after we had rested awhile, and were once again warm, a hearty breakfast added to our comfort, and gave us courage to pursue our journey, which should end before the coming night. My baby was none the worst for the long hard miles we had already gone over, and could be expected to endure the few remaining. Her little sister, with her feet well protected from the cold by a pair of heavy woolen socks, kindly furnished by Mrs. Reinecke, no longer cried because of the cold. The day was sunny; we were warm and well fed and fortified to endure the coming hours of travel in the springless coach. Then the unexpected happened. When the coach drew up at the door we saw there was another passenger and one we recognized. An [Irish] old, old timer, who belonged to the fur trading days. He was the soul of gallantry, and never more so than when drinking, as he evidently had been on this occasion.
There was no room for him inside, had he cared for a seat there, for being an old timer, he chose to side with the driver, who gladly made room for him; securely buckled the boot about him, and away we sped.
As I have already said, the day was sunny, giving a clear shadow of the coach, and making it possible to see what was going on without, where the driver sat. First we noticed a flask being frequently passed from passenger to driver. This was not surprising, the biting air, notwithstanding the sun’s rays, called for extra stimulant. But after a while, I recognized that the stimulating was being overdone, and I became apprehensive as I saw the shadow passenger take the reins from the hands of the shadow driver, and seize the whip as well.
Then things began to grow exciting. The whiplash stretched out over the backs of the half wild horses that drew us, and the stage gave a lurch forward that, might have unseated us, had we not been wedged in so tightly. Over the level country we rushed, turning not a whit aside to avoid anything in the road, the wild Celt on the box industriously plying the whip, regardless of how the pace he set affected the shut-in passengers, infatuated as he was with the love of rapid motion. And the flask continued to be shared. With heads thrown back, one, and then the other would take a pull at the bottle, the shadowy rising and falling of an Adam’s apple, indicating accurately the number of swallows, of which they were fully enough to have verified the proverb, and made a summer--several summers in fact--and following every drink the whip was swung more vigorously.
The coach, to use a favorite but applicable expression, went forward by leaps and bounds; sometimes on four wheels, and sometimes not. I clung to my baby with one hand, and with the other held on to the side of the coach, expecting any moment might see us overturned. Then those two up aloft, totally unconcerned as to our fate, broke forth into song, accompanied by the crack of the whip; the galloping feet of the horses on the frozen ground; and the rattling wheels of the swaying and bounding coach beneath them.
Shut in the coach as we were, protests from us, against the terrific pace set by the drunken man who held the reins, would have been useless could they have been heard above the general racket. Figuratively speaking, we were on the knees of the gods; and if we could have been there in reality, it would undoubtedly have been a far more desirable position than what we then held.
My fear was not for myself, but for my children. In the event of an overturn, they would surely be crippled, if not killed. Fortunately they were ignorant of the danger, and managed to sleep notwithstanding the severe jolts to which we were subjected. We elders suffered the misery attendant on riding rapidly in a springless vehicle--almost unendurable backache and sideache.
At length we came to the summit of a hill, down which we tore at unprecedented speed until, reaching level ground, we bowled along through the main street of a village, and suddenly stopped with a jerk before a low wooden building with a front mainly in glass. We had arrived. this was Fort Benton’s hotel; and the end of our journey reached two hours and a half ahead of schedule time.
Bruised, stiff, and half frozen, we crawled out of the coach, and entered the sitting room of the hotel. Here I attempted to seat myself on a tete-a-tete placed invitingly near the redhot stove, but came near finding myself on the floor instead, this piece of furniture having but three legs.
Our bedroom that night adjoined the sitting room, and also had a door into the hall. The barroom must have been somewhere in the neighborhood, for all night long there was tramping up and down the corridor and once our door was tried. Tired as we were, it was impossible to sleep well with so much commotion without. The next morning at breakfast, we asked the puffy-eyed waiter who it was made such disturbance during the night. He mentioned the name of a paymaster of the army, and the president’s brother, who had just returned from Fort Assiniboine, and was stopping at the hotel.
“He done it, ma’am,” said our informant, “and wasn’t it a shame; and him an officer ‘nd a gintleman?”
With this adventuresome trip the Rolfes arrived December 8, 1879 to make their lives and fortune in Fort Benton. Part II will continue Martha Edgerton Rolfe’s account of life in frontier Fort Benton.
[Sources: Undated article by Martha Edgerton Plassmann in Missoula Public Library Vertical File MEP File; Memories of a Long Life by Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassman; Benton Record]
Photos:
Martha Edgerton Rolfe [OHRC]
“Jerky” stage to Fort Benton [OHRC]
Overland Hotel, the Rolfe’s first residence in Benton City [OHRC]
Martha Edgerton Rolfe--Part 1
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Rare indeed is the account written about Fort Benton during its transition from the lawless era of whiskey trading of the early 1870s to the “civilized” steamboat transportation hub by the end of the decade. Although “civilization” began to come to Fort Benton with the arrival of women and children after 1875, we find few accounts of life in the little city at that time, and fewer still written from a woman’s perspective. What a treat then to find both a memoir written by a woman and a series of articles recording the life of her family and the social scene in Fort Benton from 1879-1884.
This remarkable woman, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann, was a true pioneer. Young Mattie, as she was known, first came to Bannack in what is now Montana, then Idaho territory, with her parents in a covered wagon in 1863. Her father, Sydney Edgerton, served as Montana’s first Territorial Governor. Just over one decade later in late 1876 Mattie returned to Montana as Mrs. Herbert P. Rolfe, when Herbert became the first Superintendent of Schools in bustling Helena.
From Helena, Martha and Herbert Rolfe moved on to frontier Fort Benton, arriving in December 1879 with two young children. The formative Fort Benton years found Herbert active in surveying, legal work, and politics, working hard to build a Republican party organization in a town dominated by Irish Democrats. Reflecting his northern birth, Herbert was a “Lincoln Republican,” called by their opponents “black Republicans” for their support for Abraham Lincoln, his emancipation of the slaves, and his attempt to integrate the former slaves into the politics and economy of the country. Martha shared the political beliefs of her husband, advocating suffrage for not only Black Americans but also for women of all races. Herbert’s hard work in Fort Benton not only improved the family’s financial situation, but attracted the attention of leaders in the community. Paris Gibson was impressed with the talent and drive displayed by Herbert and hired him in secrecy to serve as surveyor and lawyer as Gibson quietly moved forward with plans to found a town at the confluence of the Missouri and Sun rivers. The growing Rolfe family were among the first settlers in the new town moving there in the summer of 1884.
Both Herbert and Martha were remarkable achievers. Mattie had watched the course of events in Montana from the beginning of its territorial days, and, by virtue of natural ability and educational training and that happy faculty possessed by few of the pioneers of being able to record the history of Montana both accurately and entertainingly. Much of Mattie’s life was devoted to recording the history of the Treasure State. After the untimely death of Herbert in 1895, she became the first woman editor of a Montana daily newspaper, taking over the Great Falls Leader. Following the death of her second husband, Theodore Plassmann, in 1896, Mattie worked at many jobs to support herself and her seven young children. Mostly, though, she wrote historical accounts that were published in newspapers throughout Montana.
Fortunately, Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassmann wrote about her life in frontier Fort Benton from 1879 to 1884. The story that follows combines portions of her unpublished memoir, “Memories of a Long Life,” and newspaper articles, “Rough Travel in Early Days: Runaway Stage Ride from Helena to Fort Benton” and “Frontier Days: Pioneering in Old Fort Benton--Living Conditions in the Old Missouri River Town in the Late Seventies.”
Part I describes the arduous trip of the Rolfes from Helena to Fort Benton. In the words of Mattie: “In 1879, my husband, Herbert Rolfe, having finished three years as superintendent of the Helena schools, graduated its first class from the high school, and been admitted to the bar, decided to locate at Fort Benton. This town, being at the head of navigation on the Missouri, was then the most promising in the state, with the sole exception of Butte. It was an important distributing point, and during the summer months, when the boats were running, business was lively. No one could then predict, what eventually happened, that the railroads would kill traffic on our magnificient waterways.
We left Helena [on a bleak early December day], going by stage, and with us were our two children, one but a month old. The weather was intensely cold for that time of the year, necessitating wearing many wraps to keep from freezing. Our stage was the two seated kind, known as a “jerky,” and with us were two other passengers, both men. These considerately took the front seats leaving us the back seats. Bundled up as we were, the six of us found the conveyance uncomfortably crowded, and I had difficulty in keeping my baby from being smothered.
All went fairly well until, in crossing the Bird Tail divide, a spring broke. It could not be repaired, and there was no other coach at the station where we next stopped after the accident occurred. We were forced to go on in our disabled vehicle. No stage driver in those days drove slowly in consideration of his passengers; his duty was simply to get them to their destination on time. Our driver was no exception to the rule and so we bumped and clattered along over the rough road, trying vainly to keep warm, and save ourself from the frequent jolts, as the coach struck stones or other obstructions. By the time we reached Reinecke’s, we were completely exhausted from this dual effort, and my eldest child was crying because he feet were frosted. [Note, Mrs. Rolfe later identifies the stage river as Matthew Carroll, later of Diamond R prominence.]
At Reinecke’s, on Sun river, as at other stations along the route--notably Spitzley’s which was one of our first stopping places--we were well entertained. Mrs. Reinecke proved to be a former stage companion of mine, on the long journey from Franklin, Utah, in 1876, the terminal point of the Utah Northern railroad, to Helena. She, and her husband, treated us more as guests, than what we were; transient customers that brought them small financial return, and much work.
Stage stations were often far from other dwelling, and the main events in the lives of those who kept them were the arrival and departure of the stages. The time of their arrival was never certain, and their coming meant the hurried preparation and serving of meals for one or many people. This was especially hard on such women as did the cooking and had young children. At a station on this trip, I have a vivid recollection of one young woman who was hastening to get our supper, with a baby fastened in a high chair beside the stove, while another scarcely able to walk, clung to her skirt, and followed her every step from stove to table; from table to stove watching the strangers with curious gaze but never crying. I wondered how the woman could accomplish anything with such hindrances, and still never display impatience. At this station, the woman did the work, and her husband the entertaining. At Reinecke’s the division of labor was better arranged, husband and wife bearing an equal share.
Here, after we had rested awhile, and were once again warm, a hearty breakfast added to our comfort, and gave us courage to pursue our journey, which should end before the coming night. My baby was none the worst for the long hard miles we had already gone over, and could be expected to endure the few remaining. Her little sister, with her feet well protected from the cold by a pair of heavy woolen socks, kindly furnished by Mrs. Reinecke, no longer cried because of the cold. The day was sunny; we were warm and well fed and fortified to endure the coming hours of travel in the springless coach. Then the unexpected happened. When the coach drew up at the door we saw there was another passenger and one we recognized. An [Irish] old, old timer, who belonged to the fur trading days. He was the soul of gallantry, and never more so than when drinking, as he evidently had been on this occasion.
There was no room for him inside, had he cared for a seat there, for being an old timer, he chose to side with the driver, who gladly made room for him; securely buckled the boot about him, and away we sped.
As I have already said, the day was sunny, giving a clear shadow of the coach, and making it possible to see what was going on without, where the driver sat. First we noticed a flask being frequently passed from passenger to driver. This was not surprising, the biting air, notwithstanding the sun’s rays, called for extra stimulant. But after a while, I recognized that the stimulating was being overdone, and I became apprehensive as I saw the shadow passenger take the reins from the hands of the shadow driver, and seize the whip as well.
Then things began to grow exciting. The whiplash stretched out over the backs of the half wild horses that drew us, and the stage gave a lurch forward that, might have unseated us, had we not been wedged in so tightly. Over the level country we rushed, turning not a whit aside to avoid anything in the road, the wild Celt on the box industriously plying the whip, regardless of how the pace he set affected the shut-in passengers, infatuated as he was with the love of rapid motion. And the flask continued to be shared. With heads thrown back, one, and then the other would take a pull at the bottle, the shadowy rising and falling of an Adam’s apple, indicating accurately the number of swallows, of which they were fully enough to have verified the proverb, and made a summer--several summers in fact--and following every drink the whip was swung more vigorously.
The coach, to use a favorite but applicable expression, went forward by leaps and bounds; sometimes on four wheels, and sometimes not. I clung to my baby with one hand, and with the other held on to the side of the coach, expecting any moment might see us overturned. Then those two up aloft, totally unconcerned as to our fate, broke forth into song, accompanied by the crack of the whip; the galloping feet of the horses on the frozen ground; and the rattling wheels of the swaying and bounding coach beneath them.
Shut in the coach as we were, protests from us, against the terrific pace set by the drunken man who held the reins, would have been useless could they have been heard above the general racket. Figuratively speaking, we were on the knees of the gods; and if we could have been there in reality, it would undoubtedly have been a far more desirable position than what we then held.
My fear was not for myself, but for my children. In the event of an overturn, they would surely be crippled, if not killed. Fortunately they were ignorant of the danger, and managed to sleep notwithstanding the severe jolts to which we were subjected. We elders suffered the misery attendant on riding rapidly in a springless vehicle--almost unendurable backache and sideache.
At length we came to the summit of a hill, down which we tore at unprecedented speed until, reaching level ground, we bowled along through the main street of a village, and suddenly stopped with a jerk before a low wooden building with a front mainly in glass. We had arrived. this was Fort Benton’s hotel; and the end of our journey reached two hours and a half ahead of schedule time.
Bruised, stiff, and half frozen, we crawled out of the coach, and entered the sitting room of the hotel. Here I attempted to seat myself on a tete-a-tete placed invitingly near the redhot stove, but came near finding myself on the floor instead, this piece of furniture having but three legs.
Our bedroom that night adjoined the sitting room, and also had a door into the hall. The barroom must have been somewhere in the neighborhood, for all night long there was tramping up and down the corridor and once our door was tried. Tired as we were, it was impossible to sleep well with so much commotion without. The next morning at breakfast, we asked the puffy-eyed waiter who it was made such disturbance during the night. He mentioned the name of a paymaster of the army, and the president’s brother, who had just returned from Fort Assiniboine, and was stopping at the hotel.
“He done it, ma’am,” said our informant, “and wasn’t it a shame; and him an officer ‘nd a gintleman?”
With this adventuresome trip the Rolfes arrived December 8, 1879 to make their lives and fortune in Fort Benton. Part II will continue Martha Edgerton Rolfe’s account of life in frontier Fort Benton.
[Sources: Undated article by Martha Edgerton Plassmann in Missoula Public Library Vertical File MEP File; Memories of a Long Life by Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassman; Benton Record]
Photos:
Martha Edgerton Rolfe [OHRC]
“Jerky” stage to Fort Benton [OHRC]
Overland Hotel, the Rolfe’s first residence in Benton City [OHRC]
20 September 2008
The Celestial Kingdom in the Sun River Valley
By Ken Robison
[Pending publication in Sun River History]
During the late 19th Century, the Chinese found conditions right in the Sun River valley to serve as servants for senior military officers at Fort Shaw and cooks for the most successful ranchers. Some of the earliest Chinese in the valley owned small laundries and restaurants in the town of Sun River. By 1880 there were at least ten “Chinamen” living in the valley. The Sun River Chinese were an extension of the Chinese long accepted, however reluctantly, and working in both Fort Benton and Helena. Newspapers, such as the Benton Record, often reported on events and personalities among the resident members of the “Celestial Kingdom.”
The 1880 U. S. Census recorded five Chinese in Sun River, three employed as cooks and two unemployed:
Ah Quay 28 born China Single Cook [6 months unemployed]
Ah Hang 30 born China Single Unemployed [5 months]
Ah Quang 48 born China Married Unemployed
Tong Ting 29 born China Single Cook
Ah Toy 25 born China Single Cook
The same census recorded five other Chinese working for officers of the U. S. Army Third Infantry Regiment at Fort Shaw:
Ah Lee 35 born China Single Servant in household of Regimental Commander Colonel John R. Brooke,
Charles Chinaman 35 born China Servant in household of
Army Surgeon Charles R. Greenleaf
Ah Wing 40 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. John W. Hennay
Ah Lee 23 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. F. B. Jones
China Jim 24 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. Joseph Hale
In May 1884 Wing Lee, or Jim Chinaman, opened a Laundry “Washee” in Sun River, advertising in the Sun River Sun “Washing and Ironing done on short notice.” Three months later, The Sun notified that Wing Lee had sold his business and was going back to China, yet Wing Lee and his laundry continued in business. In August 1885, L. D. Browning opened the Sun River Laundry in competition with Wing Lee’s business. In less than a month Browning realized his mistake, closed his laundry, and moved on to Helena, realizing that “he could not hope to compete with the Chinaman’s low prices.” By mid 1886, Wing Lee sold his laundry to Yuen Lee, and two years later Sun River had another yet another new Laundry, conducted by Lem Chong.
In October 1884, Ah Joe opened the King Bee Restaurant in Sun River, advertising in The Sun: “Tables Furnished with the Best in the Market. Travellers and day boarders will find this a good place to stop.”
Despite their small numbers, the Sun River Chinese celebrated their traditional New Year with a round of festivities ending in fireworks. The Sun River Rising Sun reported their celebrations: “Our local Chinese commenced the celebration of their New Year last Monday, and will close the round of festivities by a grand pyrotechnic display to-night. The Emperor of China has changed the calendar so that New Years comes one week later this year than formerly, but it is alee same John, and the festal is observed as though nothing had happened.”
When Fred C. Campbell became Superintendent of the Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School in 1898, he brought along Joe Ling to cook in his household. Although the Campbells departed in 1908, Joe Ling stayed on with the new Superintendent John B. Brown. In 1910 F. C. Campbell sent a remarkable letter to his long-time Chinese cook, “Dear Joe,” urging him to come cook for Campbell at the Fort Peck Agency, and concluding “A great many of your friends down this way have been inquiring if you are coming. I feel sure you will like the work and the people.”
By the turn of the 19th century, valley ranchers sought the services of Chinese cooks as a status symbol in the community, much as those in the Fort Benton area did. Successful rancher J. C. Adams employed Hong Ching as cook on his ranch. Hong Ching was born September 1867 in China, immigrated to the U. S. in 1882, and had been married for five years at time of the 1900 census.
Through an oral history by his daughter, Ida Johnson, Alvin Sauke observed the phenomenon of Chinese ranch cooks.
Emigrating from Minnesota to Montana in August 1908, Sauke arrived at the Great Northern station in Great Falls where he observed a big “Welcome” sign on the depot and another sign that read “Chinaman don’t let the sun shine on you here.” Great Falls "prided" itself that the town did not allow Chinese residents for many decades. Alvin caught the train to Vaughn the next day, and walked to Sunnyside. There, T. C. Power owned the Sunnyside Store, handling lumber, coal, and groceries. Sunnyside had a huge garden and was managed by J. Clarence and his wife Fay Adams Morgan. The Morgans employed both a Chinese cook and a gardener. Sauke remembers Morgan yelling to one of the Chinese to bring watermelon from the garden. Sauke remembered also that at the Floweree Ranch, manager Hamilton employed a Chinese cook and possibly a gardener, J. C. Adams had a Chinese cook, and possibly other ranchers in the valley employed Chinese cooks.
Sources: U. S. Census; Sun River Sun; Sun River Rising Sun;
F. C. Campbell Letter, from F. C. Campbell Papers in possession of Fred De Rosier; Oral History Alvin Sauke by Ida Johnson.
Photos:
(1) A Chinese gardener in Fort Benton [Overholser Historical Research Center Photo]
(2) Chinese cook at the Joseph A. Baker Ranch [Overholser Historical Research Center Photo]
[Pending publication in Sun River History]
During the late 19th Century, the Chinese found conditions right in the Sun River valley to serve as servants for senior military officers at Fort Shaw and cooks for the most successful ranchers. Some of the earliest Chinese in the valley owned small laundries and restaurants in the town of Sun River. By 1880 there were at least ten “Chinamen” living in the valley. The Sun River Chinese were an extension of the Chinese long accepted, however reluctantly, and working in both Fort Benton and Helena. Newspapers, such as the Benton Record, often reported on events and personalities among the resident members of the “Celestial Kingdom.”
The 1880 U. S. Census recorded five Chinese in Sun River, three employed as cooks and two unemployed:
Ah Quay 28 born China Single Cook [6 months unemployed]
Ah Hang 30 born China Single Unemployed [5 months]
Ah Quang 48 born China Married Unemployed
Tong Ting 29 born China Single Cook
Ah Toy 25 born China Single Cook
The same census recorded five other Chinese working for officers of the U. S. Army Third Infantry Regiment at Fort Shaw:
Ah Lee 35 born China Single Servant in household of Regimental Commander Colonel John R. Brooke,
Charles Chinaman 35 born China Servant in household of
Army Surgeon Charles R. Greenleaf
Ah Wing 40 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. John W. Hennay
Ah Lee 23 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. F. B. Jones
China Jim 24 born China Single Servant in household of
Lieut. Joseph Hale
In May 1884 Wing Lee, or Jim Chinaman, opened a Laundry “Washee” in Sun River, advertising in the Sun River Sun “Washing and Ironing done on short notice.” Three months later, The Sun notified that Wing Lee had sold his business and was going back to China, yet Wing Lee and his laundry continued in business. In August 1885, L. D. Browning opened the Sun River Laundry in competition with Wing Lee’s business. In less than a month Browning realized his mistake, closed his laundry, and moved on to Helena, realizing that “he could not hope to compete with the Chinaman’s low prices.” By mid 1886, Wing Lee sold his laundry to Yuen Lee, and two years later Sun River had another yet another new Laundry, conducted by Lem Chong.
In October 1884, Ah Joe opened the King Bee Restaurant in Sun River, advertising in The Sun: “Tables Furnished with the Best in the Market. Travellers and day boarders will find this a good place to stop.”
Despite their small numbers, the Sun River Chinese celebrated their traditional New Year with a round of festivities ending in fireworks. The Sun River Rising Sun reported their celebrations: “Our local Chinese commenced the celebration of their New Year last Monday, and will close the round of festivities by a grand pyrotechnic display to-night. The Emperor of China has changed the calendar so that New Years comes one week later this year than formerly, but it is alee same John, and the festal is observed as though nothing had happened.”
When Fred C. Campbell became Superintendent of the Fort Shaw Indian Industrial School in 1898, he brought along Joe Ling to cook in his household. Although the Campbells departed in 1908, Joe Ling stayed on with the new Superintendent John B. Brown. In 1910 F. C. Campbell sent a remarkable letter to his long-time Chinese cook, “Dear Joe,” urging him to come cook for Campbell at the Fort Peck Agency, and concluding “A great many of your friends down this way have been inquiring if you are coming. I feel sure you will like the work and the people.”
By the turn of the 19th century, valley ranchers sought the services of Chinese cooks as a status symbol in the community, much as those in the Fort Benton area did. Successful rancher J. C. Adams employed Hong Ching as cook on his ranch. Hong Ching was born September 1867 in China, immigrated to the U. S. in 1882, and had been married for five years at time of the 1900 census.
Through an oral history by his daughter, Ida Johnson, Alvin Sauke observed the phenomenon of Chinese ranch cooks.
Emigrating from Minnesota to Montana in August 1908, Sauke arrived at the Great Northern station in Great Falls where he observed a big “Welcome” sign on the depot and another sign that read “Chinaman don’t let the sun shine on you here.” Great Falls "prided" itself that the town did not allow Chinese residents for many decades. Alvin caught the train to Vaughn the next day, and walked to Sunnyside. There, T. C. Power owned the Sunnyside Store, handling lumber, coal, and groceries. Sunnyside had a huge garden and was managed by J. Clarence and his wife Fay Adams Morgan. The Morgans employed both a Chinese cook and a gardener. Sauke remembers Morgan yelling to one of the Chinese to bring watermelon from the garden. Sauke remembered also that at the Floweree Ranch, manager Hamilton employed a Chinese cook and possibly a gardener, J. C. Adams had a Chinese cook, and possibly other ranchers in the valley employed Chinese cooks.
Sources: U. S. Census; Sun River Sun; Sun River Rising Sun;
F. C. Campbell Letter, from F. C. Campbell Papers in possession of Fred De Rosier; Oral History Alvin Sauke by Ida Johnson.
Photos:
(1) A Chinese gardener in Fort Benton [Overholser Historical Research Center Photo]
(2) Chinese cook at the Joseph A. Baker Ranch [Overholser Historical Research Center Photo]
07 September 2008
Preserving Historic Landmarks
[Written in 1916] Some months ago Frank D. Brown, the first historian of the Montana Historical society, first suggested the idea of permanently marking the route of the historic “Mullan Road” by appropriate monuments to be erected by the different towns and cities, through which ran the old military road from Fort Benton to Walla Walla.
The building of the road was a distinct achievement in the early history of the northwest. It was the first real connecting link between “the states” and the scattering fringe of white settlers along the northwestern coast line.
Trade and settlement in the inter-mountain country was prohibited by the absence of any means of transportation, beyond the head of navigation on the Missouri at Fort Benton. The building of the Mullan Road was the forerunner of construction work on the Northern Pacific railroad.
It is eminently appropriate that the people who now live in the territory that was opened up to white civilization through the efforts of these pioneer builders should pay this small tribute to their great work.
Poor indeed is the man or nation that takes no pride in the achievements of his or her progenitors. The State Historical society has done invaluable service to future generations in preserving the early history of the state.
All of us have heard much of the “Mullan Road.” How many of us can give any accurate account of the history of its construction or tell with any exactness its definite route or location beyond the general statement that it ran from Fort Benton to Walla Walla.
[Source: Missoulian in Fort Benton River Press 12 Jan 1916, p. 5]
Ken Robison Note: This proposal for marking the Mullan Road led within a decade to monuments to Captain John Mullan being placed at Fort Benton, Great Falls, Hellgate near Missoula, and several other places near the historic Mullan Military Wagon Road.
The building of the road was a distinct achievement in the early history of the northwest. It was the first real connecting link between “the states” and the scattering fringe of white settlers along the northwestern coast line.
Trade and settlement in the inter-mountain country was prohibited by the absence of any means of transportation, beyond the head of navigation on the Missouri at Fort Benton. The building of the Mullan Road was the forerunner of construction work on the Northern Pacific railroad.
It is eminently appropriate that the people who now live in the territory that was opened up to white civilization through the efforts of these pioneer builders should pay this small tribute to their great work.
Poor indeed is the man or nation that takes no pride in the achievements of his or her progenitors. The State Historical society has done invaluable service to future generations in preserving the early history of the state.
All of us have heard much of the “Mullan Road.” How many of us can give any accurate account of the history of its construction or tell with any exactness its definite route or location beyond the general statement that it ran from Fort Benton to Walla Walla.
[Source: Missoulian in Fort Benton River Press 12 Jan 1916, p. 5]
Ken Robison Note: This proposal for marking the Mullan Road led within a decade to monuments to Captain John Mullan being placed at Fort Benton, Great Falls, Hellgate near Missoula, and several other places near the historic Mullan Military Wagon Road.
11 August 2008
Captain Grant Marsh: King of Montana River Navigation
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
On Saturday August 16th, 2008, Captain Grant Marsh, the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, will come to Fort Benton one century after his last trip to our town. His trip to Fort Benton this year will not be by steamboat and he will not arrive at age 174, but rather in the form of Arch Ellwein, a colorful role player in an appearance at the Upper Missouri Monument Interpretive Center. This visit by "Grant Marsh" affords a good occasion for us all to learn a bit about his remarkable career on Montana's rivers.
On his last trip in July 1908, Captain Grant Marsh came to Fort Benton by train to meet the government steamboat Mandan. The July 17 Great Falls Leader covered this visit, drawing memories of the old days of steamboating on the Upper Missouri in the following article, under the headline “How Conrad Caught the River Trade. Steamboat Men in Fort Benton at the Recent Arrival of the Mandan Tell of a Successful Coup of the Early Days.
The sound of a steamboat whistle which is familiar to old-time residents of this city, brought a large crowd to the lower levee about 8 o’clock Thursday morning [July 15] to welcome the government boat Mandan, says yesterday’s Fort Benton River Press. Her trip up the Missouri river from Sioux City has occupied several weeks, part of the time being occupied in removing snags, and making new charts of localities in which the course of the river has been changed.
Captain [William H.] Gould, who is in charge of the Mandan, made several visits here in steamboating days, and is renewing acquaintance with many of his old time Fort Benton friends. The Mandan is a strongly built boat, constructed especially for river work, the hull and lower deck being covered with steel sheathing. Her bow is fitted with a derrick, from which is suspended a mammoth snag-lifting apparatus with iron jaws that will accommodate any obstacle that it is desired to lift.
Among the visitors who are in town to meet the Mandan is Captain [Grant] Marsh, one of the pioneers of the upper Missouri river steamboat traffic, who made frequent trips to this point in the 70’s, his last visit dating back to 1879. Captain Marsh relates many interesting stories relating to steamboating in early days, one of them relating to a business transaction with W. G. Conrad, the well known Montana banker, who was at that time employed by I. G. Baker.
Captain Marsh was in charge of the steamboat Josephine, which was loaded with a cargo of freight from Sioux City to Fort Benton, and as it was late in the season it seemed probable that the boat could not go further up the river than Cow island. Upon his arrival at that point, Captain Marsh found Mr. Conrad camped with three bull teams, and was informed that the low stage of water would prevent his reaching Fort Benton. He inquired the rate for hauling from Cow island to this city, and as it appeared to be exorbitant it was decided to proceed up the river, and the Josephine being of light draft managed to reach her destination.
Two larger boats were scheduled to follow the Josephine, and in the meantime Mr. Conrad had tested the depth of the water at various places between Dauphin rapids and Cow island by wading into the river and using a sounding stick. He discovered that the larger boats could not possibly pull through some of the shallow places, and patiently awaited their coming. When they arrived and the question of freighting the merchandise to this city was discussed, Mr. Conrad quoted a rate three or four times the steamboat rate from Sioux City.
The steamboat men refused to pay the price, and attempted to continue their trip up the river, but they soon encountered trouble and concluded to accept Mr. Conrad’s terms.
Captain Marsh will go down the Missouri river with the Mandan in the interest of the Benton Packet company, to inspect the conditions and report to Captain I. P. Baker, manager of that line, with a view of running a steamboat between this point and the mouth of Milk river. It is proposed to inaugurate this business the present season if possible.”
Captain Grant Marsh’s record of achievement on the rivers of Montana is stunning in terms of the number of trips, late season operations, and pathbreaking events. Captain Marsh earned the honor of Steamboat King of Montana’s rivers, the Missouri and the Yellowstone. Look at the record:
Year Steamer Events
1866 Luella In 1866 during the height of the Montana Gold Rush, Capt. Marsh received his first command, the Luella, and both the boat and Capt. Marsh became Upper Missouri River legends this year. Capt. Marsh, acting as both master and chief pilot, arrived at Fort Benton June 17 from St. Louis. Keeping Luella on the upper Missouri throughout the summer, Capt. Marsh returned to Fort Benton July 11 from Fort Union with cargo for the North West Fur Company. Capt. Marsh arrived Fort Benton for the third time August 10 with cargo and machinery salvaged from the steamer Marion at Pablo's Rapids. The first to remain so late on the Upper Missouri, Luella departed Fort Benton August 16, and dropped down to Cow Island for a September 3rd departure after boarding 230 miners returning to the States. Capt. Marsh piloted the Luella down the Missouri River through water barely two feet deep with a cargo of 2 1/2 tons of Confederate Gulch gold dust, conservatively valued at $1,250,000. This was the richest cargo ever to go down the Big Muddy.
1867 Ida Stockdale Capt Marsh brought this new construction boat from Pittsburgh to Fort Benton, arriving June 16. After bringing a second load including passengers and cargo from the wrecked steamer James H. Trover to Fort Benton June 29th, the Ida Stockdale took the Trover's machinery down to Fort Buford. Passing down river the Ida Stockdale was hailed 220 miles below Fort Buford by the military, who wanted Capt. Marsh to return to Fort Benton for a third time to convey Major General Alfred Terry, commanding the Department of the Dakota, and his staff. Stopping at the new Camp Cooke for one day, the Ida Stockdale arrived Fort Benton on August 5th and began a slow return to St. Louis.
1868 Nile Departing St. Louis the Nile steamed up the Missouri River arriving Fort Benton May 21, double-tripping back to Fort Hawley for the balance of her cargo. Returning to St. Louis too late for a second trip to Fort Benton, the Nile engaged in trade on the lower Missouri. In October the Army Quartermaster insisted that Capt. Marsh take a load of three small agencies to satisfy provisions of a new Indian Commission Treaty with Red Cloud and the Ogalalla Sioux. Although convinced that he would not be able to deliver to this late in the season, the Nile departed St. Louis October 15 for the Upper Missouri facing low water and impending icing. Capt. Marsh skillfully took the Nile up the Missouri to a point 140 miles above Fort Randall, where much of the cargo was offloaded and stored. Nile then steamed on another 150 miles to the Cheyenne River Agency, before heavy flowing ice stopped progress. The remaining cargo was unloaded, and the Nile turn southward as Capt. Marsh tried to escape the winter elements. At a point 25 miles below Fort Thompson, Nile became imbedded in ice for the winter.
1869 Nile Capt. Marsh began the year by extricating the Nile from her shelter position without damage from breaking ice and bringing her down St. Louis. This marked the first time a steamer had wintered on the Upper Missouri and returned downriver in the spring undamaged. After a quick turnaround, the Nile departed April 25 for a quick trip to Fort Benton arriving May 27 with Marshal "X" Beidler and "Liver-Eatin" Johnston aboard and returning to St. Louis by mid July.
Tempest In St. Louis Capt Marsh was contracted to go overland to Fort Benton, by mackinaw boat to Cow Island, and there take command of the steamer Tempest being held by a mutinous crew. Upon arrival, Capt Marsh immediately shut down the bar and supply of whiskey, bought the crew in line, and got the boat underway, steaming slowly down to St. Louis.
North Alabama Late in the season in October, Capt. Marsh successfully steamed the North Alabama northward up the icy river to deliver supplies to forts in the Dakotas up to Fort Buford. Twenty-five miles short of its destination, ice closed in solid around the North Alabama. The supply of vegetables aboard was transferred overland to Fort Buford. Ten days later the temperature moderated, and the North Alabama broke free to return to Sioux City November 15.
1870 [Kate Kearney] The St. Louis trade with the Upper Missouri waned with arrival of the railroad at Sioux City, Iowa, so Capt. Marsh engaged in commerce between St. Louis and lower Missouri ports.
[Ida Reese No. 2] Late in the season, Capt Marsh assumed command of the Ida Reese No. 2, and took this Durfee & Peck steamer from Sioux City to Fort Buford.
1871 [Nellie Peck] During this season Capt. Marsh supervised construction and then operated the new Nellie Peck on the Lower Missouri.
[Silver Lake] Late in the season in November, post traders at Fort Buford, Leighton & Jordan, asked Capt. Marsh to take command of the old, slow Silver Lake for a successful trip to Fort Buford. On the down trip, Indians fired into the Silver Lake 40 miles above Fort Rice, and Pilot Joe Todd was painfully wounded. The steamer was frozen up near Fort Thompson.
1872 Nellie Peck During this season, Capt. Marsh brought this steamer from Sioux City to Fort Benton on two trips, arriving May 18, the first boat in, and June 30. During the second trip the Nellie Peck, with a larger cargo, and the Far West raced each other from Sioux City to Fort Benton with the Far West overhauling and passing the Nellie Peck, beating her to the Benton levee by several hours. A new record was set for the trip from Sioux City to Fort Benton, just 17 days, 20 hours.
1873 Josephine By early 1873, Capt. Marsh joined other investors in forming the Coulson Packet Line, whose major contracts were with the military to carry troops and supplies up the river. Capt. Marsh moved his family to Yankton and began this season with his first trip from St. Louis up the Yellowstone River.
Key West Capt. Marsh then took command of the steamer Key West, and on orders from General Phil Sheridan he was selected by the Army to explore the Upper Yellowstone. This began Capt. Marsh’s long period of exploration and contract support for the Army on the Upper Yellowstone. His first trip from Fort Buford entered the Yellowstone May 6, steamed to a point 200 miles up the river, and was stopped by a reef of rocks two miles short of the mouth of the Powder River with General Sheridan and General "Sandy" Forsyth and staff onboard. Their mission was to explore the Yellowstone and select army posts on the Upper Missouri. Key West departed Fort Buford again on June 25 to act as transport and patrol boat for General David S. Stanley of the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Yellowstone Expedition. This pathbreaking season ended with the return of the Key West to Bismarck.
1874 Josephine During this season, Capt. Marsh returned to Missouri River navigation, making three trips from Yankton and Bismarck to Fort Benton, arriving June 1, June 22, and July 22. Josephine made a late season fourth trip up the Missouri to Cow Island arriving August 28.
1875 Josephine Capt. Marsh began this season with a trip from Yankton to the new port of Carroll at the mouth of the Judith arriving May 10 as the Coulson Line tried to break Fort Benton’s role as head of navigation on the Missouri River. Capt. Marsh then returned to Yellowstone exploration, taking the Josephine with General J. W. Forsyth aboard 483 miles up the Yellowstone River some 75 miles above the Big Horn. Stopping June 7 just below "Hell Roaring Rapids" within 60 miles of the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park. No other steamer ever went that far up the Yellowstone River.
Far West Capt Marsh departed Yankton on September 24 for a late season trip with Army freight and recruits up the Missouri River to Carroll. At Carroll he left the Far West to take command of the Josephine for the return trip to see his family at Yankton.
1876 Far West Under Army contract, Capt. Marsh departed Bismarck in support of Generals Terry and Custer expedition against the Sioux. During the season, Far West remained between the Powder and Big Horn Rivers. Capt. Marsh steamed and warped the Far West up the uncharted Big Horn River to re-supply and rescue the survivors of the battle of the Little Big Horn. In a navigation feat never equaled on Western waters, Capt. Marsh brought more than 50 wounded survivors from Major Reno's command 700 miles down the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers to Fort Abraham Lincoln in just 54 hours, arriving at 11 PM July 5, 1876. This was one of the most remarkable exploits in Missouri River steamboating annals. It was Capt. Marsh and those he brought with him who relayed the fate of the Seventh Cavalry to the rest of the nation then celebrating its centennial year.
1877 Rose Bud In early spring, Capt. Marsh met this new construction Coulson Line boat at St. Louis and brought her to Bismarck. Once more Capt Marsh was chosen to move a high level Army delegation and supplies up the Yellowstone River, General Sherman, General of the Army and his party, were on an inspection tour of Montana military posts. With General Sherman’s party onboard, Capt. Marsh proceeded from the Yellowstone up the Big Horn and then the Little Big Horn to the new post under construction, Fort Custer. For the rest of the summer, the Rose Bud remained on the Upper Yellowstone shuttling Army supplies between the Tongue and the Big Horn rivers.
1878 F. Y. Batchelor In early spring Capt. Marsh went East to take command of this new construction boat, Capt. Marsh steamed from Pittsburgh to Fort Custer on the Yellowstone. After five more trips up the Yellowstone moving supplies to Forts Keogh and Custer during this long season, Capt. Marsh finally returned to Bismarck in early November.
1879 F. Y. Batchelor During this long season, Capt. Marsh made eight trips up the Yellowstone with Army supplies. In late September he departed Bismarck on a late season trip up the Missouri River to Coal Banks Landing with 100 Army recruits for the new Army post, Fort Assiniboine.
1880 F. Y. Batchelor This demanding season for Capt. Marsh began with five trips up the Yellowstone with Army supplies. He then made two trips to Fort Peck Reservation at Poplar River on the Missouri River. Even though very late in the season, the Army insisted that Capt. Marsh make a final trip up the Missouri to the mouth of the Musselshell, with a cargo of grain to support operations by General Miles. Departing Fort Buford in early November, Capt. Marsh navigated through extremely low water conditions to arrive at the Army depot on the Musselshell November 12th. By the 16th of November, snow began to fall and winter conditions set in as the Batchelor became imprisoned in ice near the mouth of the Milk River. Leaving the boat under guard, Capt. Marsh and part of the crew went overland to Yankton, suffering severely from the winter conditions.
1881 F. Y. Batchelor This year began with major flooding on the Missouri River at Yankton. Capt. Marsh departed early to the Milk River to extricate the F. Y. Batchelor and bring her down to Fort Buford. With the Batchelor, Capt. Marsh made one trip up the Yellowstone returning from Fort Keogh with a cargo of furs valued at an exceptional $106,000.
Eclipse Taking command of a new steamer, Capt. Marshoperated the Eclipse for the rest of the season. Again under Army contract, Capt. Marsh steamed up the Yellowstone as flagship of a five boat fleet up the river to Fort Keogh to bring 3,000 Indians held by General Miles for transfer to Standing Rock Agency.
1882 W. J. Behan In the spring Capt. Marsh bought the packet W. J. Behan, the last Upper Missouri River boat he would have. With the W. J. Behan, Capt. Marsh participated in one more notable event in late April 1882, transporting Sitting Bull and his remaining 171 followers from Fort Randall, where they had been detained after their return from Canada, up the river to Fort Yates.
For a decade and a half from 1866 to 1881, Capt Grant Marsh plied the difficult waters of the high Upper Missouri and the Upper Yellowstone, without ever losing a steamboat. He was a great Captain not least because he was a great pilot and master at low water operations. His reputation for achievement and professional skill became legendary. Grant Marsh earned the honor of “Steamboat King of Montana’s rivers.”
Sources: Great Falls Leader Daily 17 Jul 1908, p. 8; Joseph Mills Hanson, The Conquest of the Missouri Being the story of the Life and Exploits of Captain Grant Marsh; Joel Overholser, Fort Benton World's Innermost Port; William E. Lass, Steamboating on the Upper Missouri; William E. Lass, Navigating the Missouri Steamboating on Nature's Highway, 1819-1935; The Robison-Wahlberg List of Upper Missouri Steamboat Operations.
Photos: (1) Captain Grant Marsh, great steamboat master and pilot [OHRC Photo]
(2) The government engineering boat Mandan [OHRC Photo]
(3) Steamboat Josephine at the Fort Benton levee in 1883 [OHRC Photo]
(4) The steamer Nellie Peck at the Fort Benton levee[OHRC Photo] [OHRC Photo]
(5) The Far West docked along the Yellowstone River [OHRC Photo]
This continues the series of historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
On Saturday August 16th, 2008, Captain Grant Marsh, the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, will come to Fort Benton one century after his last trip to our town. His trip to Fort Benton this year will not be by steamboat and he will not arrive at age 174, but rather in the form of Arch Ellwein, a colorful role player in an appearance at the Upper Missouri Monument Interpretive Center. This visit by "Grant Marsh" affords a good occasion for us all to learn a bit about his remarkable career on Montana's rivers.
On his last trip in July 1908, Captain Grant Marsh came to Fort Benton by train to meet the government steamboat Mandan. The July 17 Great Falls Leader covered this visit, drawing memories of the old days of steamboating on the Upper Missouri in the following article, under the headline “How Conrad Caught the River Trade. Steamboat Men in Fort Benton at the Recent Arrival of the Mandan Tell of a Successful Coup of the Early Days.
The sound of a steamboat whistle which is familiar to old-time residents of this city, brought a large crowd to the lower levee about 8 o’clock Thursday morning [July 15] to welcome the government boat Mandan, says yesterday’s Fort Benton River Press. Her trip up the Missouri river from Sioux City has occupied several weeks, part of the time being occupied in removing snags, and making new charts of localities in which the course of the river has been changed.
Captain [William H.] Gould, who is in charge of the Mandan, made several visits here in steamboating days, and is renewing acquaintance with many of his old time Fort Benton friends. The Mandan is a strongly built boat, constructed especially for river work, the hull and lower deck being covered with steel sheathing. Her bow is fitted with a derrick, from which is suspended a mammoth snag-lifting apparatus with iron jaws that will accommodate any obstacle that it is desired to lift.
Among the visitors who are in town to meet the Mandan is Captain [Grant] Marsh, one of the pioneers of the upper Missouri river steamboat traffic, who made frequent trips to this point in the 70’s, his last visit dating back to 1879. Captain Marsh relates many interesting stories relating to steamboating in early days, one of them relating to a business transaction with W. G. Conrad, the well known Montana banker, who was at that time employed by I. G. Baker.
Captain Marsh was in charge of the steamboat Josephine, which was loaded with a cargo of freight from Sioux City to Fort Benton, and as it was late in the season it seemed probable that the boat could not go further up the river than Cow island. Upon his arrival at that point, Captain Marsh found Mr. Conrad camped with three bull teams, and was informed that the low stage of water would prevent his reaching Fort Benton. He inquired the rate for hauling from Cow island to this city, and as it appeared to be exorbitant it was decided to proceed up the river, and the Josephine being of light draft managed to reach her destination.
Two larger boats were scheduled to follow the Josephine, and in the meantime Mr. Conrad had tested the depth of the water at various places between Dauphin rapids and Cow island by wading into the river and using a sounding stick. He discovered that the larger boats could not possibly pull through some of the shallow places, and patiently awaited their coming. When they arrived and the question of freighting the merchandise to this city was discussed, Mr. Conrad quoted a rate three or four times the steamboat rate from Sioux City.
The steamboat men refused to pay the price, and attempted to continue their trip up the river, but they soon encountered trouble and concluded to accept Mr. Conrad’s terms.
Captain Marsh will go down the Missouri river with the Mandan in the interest of the Benton Packet company, to inspect the conditions and report to Captain I. P. Baker, manager of that line, with a view of running a steamboat between this point and the mouth of Milk river. It is proposed to inaugurate this business the present season if possible.”
Captain Grant Marsh’s record of achievement on the rivers of Montana is stunning in terms of the number of trips, late season operations, and pathbreaking events. Captain Marsh earned the honor of Steamboat King of Montana’s rivers, the Missouri and the Yellowstone. Look at the record:
Year Steamer Events
1866 Luella In 1866 during the height of the Montana Gold Rush, Capt. Marsh received his first command, the Luella, and both the boat and Capt. Marsh became Upper Missouri River legends this year. Capt. Marsh, acting as both master and chief pilot, arrived at Fort Benton June 17 from St. Louis. Keeping Luella on the upper Missouri throughout the summer, Capt. Marsh returned to Fort Benton July 11 from Fort Union with cargo for the North West Fur Company. Capt. Marsh arrived Fort Benton for the third time August 10 with cargo and machinery salvaged from the steamer Marion at Pablo's Rapids. The first to remain so late on the Upper Missouri, Luella departed Fort Benton August 16, and dropped down to Cow Island for a September 3rd departure after boarding 230 miners returning to the States. Capt. Marsh piloted the Luella down the Missouri River through water barely two feet deep with a cargo of 2 1/2 tons of Confederate Gulch gold dust, conservatively valued at $1,250,000. This was the richest cargo ever to go down the Big Muddy.
1867 Ida Stockdale Capt Marsh brought this new construction boat from Pittsburgh to Fort Benton, arriving June 16. After bringing a second load including passengers and cargo from the wrecked steamer James H. Trover to Fort Benton June 29th, the Ida Stockdale took the Trover's machinery down to Fort Buford. Passing down river the Ida Stockdale was hailed 220 miles below Fort Buford by the military, who wanted Capt. Marsh to return to Fort Benton for a third time to convey Major General Alfred Terry, commanding the Department of the Dakota, and his staff. Stopping at the new Camp Cooke for one day, the Ida Stockdale arrived Fort Benton on August 5th and began a slow return to St. Louis.
1868 Nile Departing St. Louis the Nile steamed up the Missouri River arriving Fort Benton May 21, double-tripping back to Fort Hawley for the balance of her cargo. Returning to St. Louis too late for a second trip to Fort Benton, the Nile engaged in trade on the lower Missouri. In October the Army Quartermaster insisted that Capt. Marsh take a load of three small agencies to satisfy provisions of a new Indian Commission Treaty with Red Cloud and the Ogalalla Sioux. Although convinced that he would not be able to deliver to this late in the season, the Nile departed St. Louis October 15 for the Upper Missouri facing low water and impending icing. Capt. Marsh skillfully took the Nile up the Missouri to a point 140 miles above Fort Randall, where much of the cargo was offloaded and stored. Nile then steamed on another 150 miles to the Cheyenne River Agency, before heavy flowing ice stopped progress. The remaining cargo was unloaded, and the Nile turn southward as Capt. Marsh tried to escape the winter elements. At a point 25 miles below Fort Thompson, Nile became imbedded in ice for the winter.
1869 Nile Capt. Marsh began the year by extricating the Nile from her shelter position without damage from breaking ice and bringing her down St. Louis. This marked the first time a steamer had wintered on the Upper Missouri and returned downriver in the spring undamaged. After a quick turnaround, the Nile departed April 25 for a quick trip to Fort Benton arriving May 27 with Marshal "X" Beidler and "Liver-Eatin" Johnston aboard and returning to St. Louis by mid July.
Tempest In St. Louis Capt Marsh was contracted to go overland to Fort Benton, by mackinaw boat to Cow Island, and there take command of the steamer Tempest being held by a mutinous crew. Upon arrival, Capt Marsh immediately shut down the bar and supply of whiskey, bought the crew in line, and got the boat underway, steaming slowly down to St. Louis.
North Alabama Late in the season in October, Capt. Marsh successfully steamed the North Alabama northward up the icy river to deliver supplies to forts in the Dakotas up to Fort Buford. Twenty-five miles short of its destination, ice closed in solid around the North Alabama. The supply of vegetables aboard was transferred overland to Fort Buford. Ten days later the temperature moderated, and the North Alabama broke free to return to Sioux City November 15.
1870 [Kate Kearney] The St. Louis trade with the Upper Missouri waned with arrival of the railroad at Sioux City, Iowa, so Capt. Marsh engaged in commerce between St. Louis and lower Missouri ports.
[Ida Reese No. 2] Late in the season, Capt Marsh assumed command of the Ida Reese No. 2, and took this Durfee & Peck steamer from Sioux City to Fort Buford.
1871 [Nellie Peck] During this season Capt. Marsh supervised construction and then operated the new Nellie Peck on the Lower Missouri.
[Silver Lake] Late in the season in November, post traders at Fort Buford, Leighton & Jordan, asked Capt. Marsh to take command of the old, slow Silver Lake for a successful trip to Fort Buford. On the down trip, Indians fired into the Silver Lake 40 miles above Fort Rice, and Pilot Joe Todd was painfully wounded. The steamer was frozen up near Fort Thompson.
1872 Nellie Peck During this season, Capt. Marsh brought this steamer from Sioux City to Fort Benton on two trips, arriving May 18, the first boat in, and June 30. During the second trip the Nellie Peck, with a larger cargo, and the Far West raced each other from Sioux City to Fort Benton with the Far West overhauling and passing the Nellie Peck, beating her to the Benton levee by several hours. A new record was set for the trip from Sioux City to Fort Benton, just 17 days, 20 hours.
1873 Josephine By early 1873, Capt. Marsh joined other investors in forming the Coulson Packet Line, whose major contracts were with the military to carry troops and supplies up the river. Capt. Marsh moved his family to Yankton and began this season with his first trip from St. Louis up the Yellowstone River.
Key West Capt. Marsh then took command of the steamer Key West, and on orders from General Phil Sheridan he was selected by the Army to explore the Upper Yellowstone. This began Capt. Marsh’s long period of exploration and contract support for the Army on the Upper Yellowstone. His first trip from Fort Buford entered the Yellowstone May 6, steamed to a point 200 miles up the river, and was stopped by a reef of rocks two miles short of the mouth of the Powder River with General Sheridan and General "Sandy" Forsyth and staff onboard. Their mission was to explore the Yellowstone and select army posts on the Upper Missouri. Key West departed Fort Buford again on June 25 to act as transport and patrol boat for General David S. Stanley of the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Yellowstone Expedition. This pathbreaking season ended with the return of the Key West to Bismarck.
1874 Josephine During this season, Capt. Marsh returned to Missouri River navigation, making three trips from Yankton and Bismarck to Fort Benton, arriving June 1, June 22, and July 22. Josephine made a late season fourth trip up the Missouri to Cow Island arriving August 28.
1875 Josephine Capt. Marsh began this season with a trip from Yankton to the new port of Carroll at the mouth of the Judith arriving May 10 as the Coulson Line tried to break Fort Benton’s role as head of navigation on the Missouri River. Capt. Marsh then returned to Yellowstone exploration, taking the Josephine with General J. W. Forsyth aboard 483 miles up the Yellowstone River some 75 miles above the Big Horn. Stopping June 7 just below "Hell Roaring Rapids" within 60 miles of the northeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park. No other steamer ever went that far up the Yellowstone River.
Far West Capt Marsh departed Yankton on September 24 for a late season trip with Army freight and recruits up the Missouri River to Carroll. At Carroll he left the Far West to take command of the Josephine for the return trip to see his family at Yankton.
1876 Far West Under Army contract, Capt. Marsh departed Bismarck in support of Generals Terry and Custer expedition against the Sioux. During the season, Far West remained between the Powder and Big Horn Rivers. Capt. Marsh steamed and warped the Far West up the uncharted Big Horn River to re-supply and rescue the survivors of the battle of the Little Big Horn. In a navigation feat never equaled on Western waters, Capt. Marsh brought more than 50 wounded survivors from Major Reno's command 700 miles down the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers to Fort Abraham Lincoln in just 54 hours, arriving at 11 PM July 5, 1876. This was one of the most remarkable exploits in Missouri River steamboating annals. It was Capt. Marsh and those he brought with him who relayed the fate of the Seventh Cavalry to the rest of the nation then celebrating its centennial year.
1877 Rose Bud In early spring, Capt. Marsh met this new construction Coulson Line boat at St. Louis and brought her to Bismarck. Once more Capt Marsh was chosen to move a high level Army delegation and supplies up the Yellowstone River, General Sherman, General of the Army and his party, were on an inspection tour of Montana military posts. With General Sherman’s party onboard, Capt. Marsh proceeded from the Yellowstone up the Big Horn and then the Little Big Horn to the new post under construction, Fort Custer. For the rest of the summer, the Rose Bud remained on the Upper Yellowstone shuttling Army supplies between the Tongue and the Big Horn rivers.
1878 F. Y. Batchelor In early spring Capt. Marsh went East to take command of this new construction boat, Capt. Marsh steamed from Pittsburgh to Fort Custer on the Yellowstone. After five more trips up the Yellowstone moving supplies to Forts Keogh and Custer during this long season, Capt. Marsh finally returned to Bismarck in early November.
1879 F. Y. Batchelor During this long season, Capt. Marsh made eight trips up the Yellowstone with Army supplies. In late September he departed Bismarck on a late season trip up the Missouri River to Coal Banks Landing with 100 Army recruits for the new Army post, Fort Assiniboine.
1880 F. Y. Batchelor This demanding season for Capt. Marsh began with five trips up the Yellowstone with Army supplies. He then made two trips to Fort Peck Reservation at Poplar River on the Missouri River. Even though very late in the season, the Army insisted that Capt. Marsh make a final trip up the Missouri to the mouth of the Musselshell, with a cargo of grain to support operations by General Miles. Departing Fort Buford in early November, Capt. Marsh navigated through extremely low water conditions to arrive at the Army depot on the Musselshell November 12th. By the 16th of November, snow began to fall and winter conditions set in as the Batchelor became imprisoned in ice near the mouth of the Milk River. Leaving the boat under guard, Capt. Marsh and part of the crew went overland to Yankton, suffering severely from the winter conditions.
1881 F. Y. Batchelor This year began with major flooding on the Missouri River at Yankton. Capt. Marsh departed early to the Milk River to extricate the F. Y. Batchelor and bring her down to Fort Buford. With the Batchelor, Capt. Marsh made one trip up the Yellowstone returning from Fort Keogh with a cargo of furs valued at an exceptional $106,000.
Eclipse Taking command of a new steamer, Capt. Marshoperated the Eclipse for the rest of the season. Again under Army contract, Capt. Marsh steamed up the Yellowstone as flagship of a five boat fleet up the river to Fort Keogh to bring 3,000 Indians held by General Miles for transfer to Standing Rock Agency.
1882 W. J. Behan In the spring Capt. Marsh bought the packet W. J. Behan, the last Upper Missouri River boat he would have. With the W. J. Behan, Capt. Marsh participated in one more notable event in late April 1882, transporting Sitting Bull and his remaining 171 followers from Fort Randall, where they had been detained after their return from Canada, up the river to Fort Yates.
For a decade and a half from 1866 to 1881, Capt Grant Marsh plied the difficult waters of the high Upper Missouri and the Upper Yellowstone, without ever losing a steamboat. He was a great Captain not least because he was a great pilot and master at low water operations. His reputation for achievement and professional skill became legendary. Grant Marsh earned the honor of “Steamboat King of Montana’s rivers.”
Sources: Great Falls Leader Daily 17 Jul 1908, p. 8; Joseph Mills Hanson, The Conquest of the Missouri Being the story of the Life and Exploits of Captain Grant Marsh; Joel Overholser, Fort Benton World's Innermost Port; William E. Lass, Steamboating on the Upper Missouri; William E. Lass, Navigating the Missouri Steamboating on Nature's Highway, 1819-1935; The Robison-Wahlberg List of Upper Missouri Steamboat Operations.
Photos: (1) Captain Grant Marsh, great steamboat master and pilot [OHRC Photo]
(2) The government engineering boat Mandan [OHRC Photo]
(3) Steamboat Josephine at the Fort Benton levee in 1883 [OHRC Photo]
(4) The steamer Nellie Peck at the Fort Benton levee[OHRC Photo] [OHRC Photo]
(5) The Far West docked along the Yellowstone River [OHRC Photo]
05 August 2008
Blazing the Mullan Road: Reminiscences
Reminiscences of the Mullan Military Road Expedition
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
In August 1860, 148 years ago and before there was a Montana Territory, Army First Lieutenant John Mullan, Jr. led a military expedition to construct a wagon road from Fort Walla Walla in Washington Territory to Fort Benton, the head of navigation on the Missouri River. Departing Walla Walla in June 1859, Lieut. Mullan’s men carved the road through the mountains of Idaho into Montana, arriving at Fort Benton in August 1860.
One of Lieut. Mullan's hard working men was Charles Schafft, an immigrant born in Berlin, Germany in 1838, who enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1853 at the age of just 15years old. He was promoted to Sergeant, and served in Company D, 3rd Regiment, U. S. Artillery. By 1858, Schafft was out of the Army and living in San Francisco. When news came to California that Lieut. John Mullan would lead a road-building expedition across the Northwest, and Charles Schafft decided to sign on. Many years later, when Schafft began working for the first Fort Benton newspaper, the Benton Record, he wrote a series of "Literary Contributions”. Schafft's first contribution was a reminiscence of his time with Lieut. Mullan, building the Mullan Military Wagon Road. As you read Schafft’s account, remember that it was written long ago and printed in the January 2, 1880, Benton Record Weekly. Charles Schafft wrote:
Commencing at Walla Walla in Washington Territory, and terminating at Fort Benton, in Montana, is located one of the oldest public roads in the Territory. Its construction was commenced and consummated nearly a quarter of a century ago, and although much of it is as yet a public convenience, and was to within a year or two, the only wagon-road connecting at least one county with its neighbors and the outside world, much abuse has been heaped upon the superintendent [Lieut. John Mullan] of its original location, when instead, he should have some credit with honor upon the pages of our history. From time to time short, but erroneous articles related to the "Mullan Road" have appeared in the local papers, intended as "Bits of history," and many inquiries have been made by private parties in regard to the road and its builder, with no satisfactory answer. As most every early event in our history is of some interest, the writer was induced to prepare an article from personal experience and memory on the subject in hand.
It should be remembered that twenty-five years ago [1855] very little was generally known of what was eastern Washington Territory, and of what is now Montana, except and mainly from the official and necessarily brief report of Lewis & Clarke and the vague accounts given verbally by unlettered employees of the fur companies. The whole country was looked upon as a primeval wilderness, fit only for the Indian, the trapper, the hunter, and no least of all the zealous missionary. The section called Montana was then deemed far more remote from civilization than Alaska is now.
Under the administration of Jeff. Davis, as Secretary of War, several expeditions were organized 1854-55, to explore the various Territories, make topographical surveys, and report upon the feasibility of constructing railroads. Col. Williamson, of the Engineering Corps, had charge of the central part. Lieut. John G. Parke, also of the Engineers, surveyed and explored the southern portion between San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas, while Gov. I. I. Stevens, of Washington Territory, was placed in charge of the northern reconnaissance and surveys. Among the officers assigned to duty under the latter, were Lieut. Doleson and Lieut. John Mullan, of the 4th Artillery. Governor Stevens, who was Ex-Officio Superintendent of Federal Affairs for his Territory, was advised by his instructions to make treaties with Indian tribes, and report upon the general resources of the country visited, with the view of inducing the formation of settlements. The country was thoroughly explored, and scarcely any Indian tribe was left without a treaty of some kind. During the winter 1854-55 the expedition cantoned in the Bitter Root Valley, near the present site of Stevensville, and in July the following year a treaty was made with the Flatheads, Pend 'Oreilles and Kootenays, who confederated as one nation, with the Flathead, Victor, as head Chief. The year terminated the work, and the Governor made a detailed report to the Departments, which was duly printed and published. Among the recommendations made, was the construction of a military wagon-road from the Columbia to the Missouri, which was to serve not only for the cheaper transportation of troops and military supplies to far western posts, but also for the benefit of enterprising emigrants who might select homesteads in some of the beautiful valleys on the line of the road. This recommendation was approved of, and an appropriation for the purpose was made by Congress 1857-58. Lieut. John Mullan, who ranked Lieut. in the army, as an engineer of ability, was selected to open up the road.
The writer hereof, who was in San Francisco in April, 1858, with Frazer river as his objective point, reading one day in the papers the arrival of Lieut. Mullan and a corps of assistants en route to Walla Walla, felt induced to approach the Lieutenant when already on the Oregon steamer, and seek for employment on the expedition. Mullan's arrival and his departure for Oregon to open up a wagon-road to the Missouri river, created some excitement in San Francisco at the time, and the expedition was looked upon much the same as a trip to the North Pole is looked upon now.
The Dalles, in Oregon, being the last place connected then with steamboat transportation, was selected as the rendezvous, and the expedition started from thence and reached its real point of departure without mishap. Work was then commenced and proceeded from Walla Walla for a distance of about fifty miles to the mouth of Tricanyon creek, as which point operations were suspended on account of the retreat of Col. [Edward] Steptoe, who had been up the Palouse on a military reconnaissance, with a force of troops lightly armed and mounted on horses unbroken to stand fire. The Indians were unwilling for the whites to penetrate their country, and had advised Steptoe to return; but upon his insisting to go on, fire was opened by the Reds, more as a defiance and a warning, than to kill. In trying to return the fire, some of the recruits were thrown from their horses. A panic was created which resulted in a hasty retreat. Of course the road expedition could not go forward in the face of defeat, nor was it proposed to fight its way through unknown numbers of apparently hostile Indians, and consequently had to await further events.
General [William S.] Harney, who was then at Vancouver trying to settle the San Juan question, took prompt measures to punish the Indians, and Col. [George] Wright with all forces that could be collected, was dispatched against them. The campaign resulted in the utter defeat of the Indians, who had congregated quite an army out of nearly all the tribes between the Rocky mountains and the Columbia, and it also resulted in opening the Walla Walls country, which had heretofore been Indian territory, to settlement.
As the war consumed the whole summer, the road expedition had been disbanded, to be reorganized in the year following, and a small extra appropriation was made by Congress in 1858-59 to cover and make good losses sustained in stock and supplies.
In the spring of 1859 the expedition had its rendezvous again at the Dalles, where Captain [Thomas] Jordan, Post Quarter-master, furnished the necessary supplies and transportation for its escort of fifty men drawn from the 3rd Artillery at Fort Vancouver. Lieut. Mullan hired about one hundred men who were bound to serve by certain conditions, the ordinary wages paid being $50 per month, and the old army ration. To break his men a little to the labor required, some work was done improving the old emigrant road between the Dalles and Walla Walla, the latter place being reached in June. And now the expedition fully equipped and organized, was really ready to commence operations in earnest. We left Fort Walla Walla in June 1859, a few days after the departure of Major [Pinkney] Lugenbeel, who had gone with two companies of the 9th Infantry to establish Fort Colville, and proceeded to the mouth of Tricanyon, where a rock breastwork called Fort Taylor, had been built during the Indians war. At this point we crossed the Snake river, and the conditions of service were once more read to the men, while the settlements were easy of access.
A day of twenty miles travel, early in the hot month of July, took us from Snake river to the left bank of the Palouse, immediately above its picturesque falls; thence the road was located up the Palouse and over to the St. Joe valley. Little hard work had so far been required, except the occasional grading of a side hill or a crossing, but the descent to the St. Joe needed the construction of a heavy grade and some corduroy work. In this beautiful valley (now a reservation for the Coeur D'Alenes) we made a time camp. Two ferry boats had to be built, one for the St. Joe and the other to be taken around by the lake to the Coeur D'Alene river. Swampy bottoms had to be corduroyed, and a road had to be cut through the timber over the Coeur D'Alene range, which divides the two valleys. When we reached the Coeur D'Alene river, it was at a point twenty miles below the Mission, and the expedition crossed in the boat built on the St. Joe. To follow up the river required time and work, on account of timber, swamps and grading, and it being already in September continuous rains made it disagreeable for the men. Arriving at the Mission, we had the Bitter Root mountains in our immediate front, and the difficulties to be encountered through them, a distance of 75 miles to the Missoula river, were painted so formidably, even by the missionaries, that winter quarters began to look a long ways off. Had the object of the expedition been solely to construct a road for the accommodation of travel, and had not official instructions prevented, it is probable that Mullan would have diverged here and built the road around Pend 'Oreille Lake, which would have avoided the mountains, but lengthened the distance over eighty miles. There had been a difference of opinion between Stevens and Mullan in regard to the feasibility of railroad construction through the mountains, and the facts in the case were to be determined definitely by a party of engineers taking a line of levels from old Fort Walla Walla as the starting point.
Mud Prairie, eleven miles above the Mission, was fixed upon as a depot camp. This prairie, naturally a swamp, was made more so by the previous heavy rains, and had to be partly bridged to get the wagons to its upper end. An examination of the surrounding hills found them full of springs and impractical for grading. We were now at the main barrier of the entire road, and it was a serious one. The pass on both sides was obstructed by an almost impenetrable heavy growth of pine, cedar, tamarack and fir, long since thinned out by frequent firs occurring almost annually for the past twenty years. The mountains hugged the streams so closely that numerous crossings or time-consuming or laborious grades, were unavoidable. The timber on the line of the road had been set on fire, probably by Indians, and everything looked smoky, dismal and discouraging; but gloves had to be laid aside now, and working parties provided with eight or ten days' rations were pushed ahead to cut out, inch by inch as it were, the timber marked by the engineers, who were crawling through the undergrowth, unable to see more than a few feet before them. The road followed the bottom of the canon, because it would have taken nearly a whole summer's work to grade the hills, even if that were practicable; as it was it took nearly the whole month of October to open a merely passable way for the wagons from Mud Prairie to the summit, a distance of only twenty-five miles, and the men were working hard from the earliest dawn till dusk. Mullan, who did not hesitate to put his shoulder to the wheel, was ever among them, to instill courage and hurry up the work. A fall or two of snow began to warn us of the approaching winter. While at Mud Prairie a Quarter-master's train brought out the winter supplies for the military escorts, which necessitated double tripping on part of our teams to the next depot at the foot of the mountains.
Early in November the next depot was established on the east side of the mountains, at what is now called Packer's Ranche, on the Reguis Borgia river [St. Regis River near today's Superior, MT]. The work down this steam was somewhat lighter, because the timber was more open, but headway was made slowly on account of the numerous crossings. Winter having now set in for good, made it still harder on the men, and the indispensable work cattle began to suffer for want of feed. It had been thought all along that we could find winter quarters in the valley of the Missoula, but it as impossible to get there, and reluctantly the order was given for the building of a winter camp at the leaving of the Reguis Borgia, about thirty miles above its mouth. The camp was called "Cantonment Jordan."
Mullan, who had his winter supplies shipped to Benton, with the expectation of having easy access to them from the Missoula valley, found himself disappointed, and had to begin making drafts on the Quartermaster for stores. The citizens of the expedition having exhausted and worn out their supplies of clothing and other necessaries, began to suffer for want of shoes and bedding, and anxiously began to look for the arrival of Messrs. Friedman & McClinchy, Sutlers to the outfit, who were on the road from Walla Wall with a pack train of one hundred animals loaded with merchandise. These merchants had started for the camp rather late in the season, and with overloaded animas, and after they passed the Coeur D'Alene Mission and began to enter the mountains, their animas gave out and perished for want of feed or owing to the effects of the cold. Their merchandise had to be abandoned, and was promiscuously scattered all along the road from Mud Prairie to the foot of the mountain. Friedman reached the camp with only two or three packs, and a few loose animals. The loss of the train was felt severely by all concerned, and the owners of it were at a clear loss of $10,000. Mullan, it was said, was interested in the loss. Some few of the abandoned goods were got to camp by soldiers, who hauled them over the mountain in hand sleds.
Winter quarters being established, and it being likely that the supplies would run short, some of the men were released from their engagement and allowed to proceed to the valley. The others were kept steady at work.
During the winter an order arrived from Washington that the War Department advised it would send four or five hundred men as recruits up the Missouri the following spring, for Forts Walla Walla, Colville, etc. and specified that Mullan was expected to be at Benton in time with his wagons to furnish transportation for those troops. This order necessitated the prosecution of the work more vigorously than ever, and the soldiers who had heretofore performed no labor, were called into requisition, and sent ahead to aid in road building. It was necessary to have the way open for travel necessary to have the way open for travel as far as Hell Gate Ronde, with the earliest spring, and most of the grades up the Missoula river were dug out of the deep snows of mid winter. Most of the work animals perished, and a new supply had to be sent for to Camp Floyd, in Utah. There was not much enjoyment in this winter camp. As early as possible in the spring of 1860, the expedition moved over the laboriously made road to Hell Gate; thence as rapidly as wagons could be got over obstacles up the Hell Gate canyon to Deer Lodge, and thence over a comparatively open country to Fort Benton, and arrived there in due time to furnish the desired transportation to Major Blake and the recruits. On the return to Walla Walla some important work was done by the soldiers, and the road had been opened and the wagons had rolled over it both ways; but it was like all new roads, a hard one to travel.
Upon recommendations made by Major Blake, who was authorized to inspect and report upon the work done, and who reported very favorably, Mullan was sent again into the field early in 1861 with a new [second road-building] expedition to do more necessary work and improvements. This expedition had with it only about fifty hired laborers, and an escort of one hundred men from the 9th Infantry. The road this time crossed Snake river at the mouth of the Palouse, and thence followed the Colville road twenty miles to Cow creek, and thence over an open prairie to Antoine Plants, on the Spokane river; thence up the Spokane around Coeur D'Alene Lake to the Mission, abandoning entirely the road made the previous year from Snake river via the Palouse and St. Joe valleys. There was no difference in distance on the new route taken, but it was entirely a prairie road, with the exception of thirty-five miles between the Lake and the Mission, where considerable work had to be done over spurs of mountains. The main part of the labor to be performed lay in the Bitter Root mountains, and between the Missoula river and Deer Lodge, (the only portion of the country where the Mullan road is yet distinctly marked, and where it was always be known by its proper name.) A careful examination of the pass revealed the fact that either a continuous grade would have to be made for a distance nearly fifty miles, or that the road would have to remain along the bottoms of the canyons. Grading was found impracticable for the want of means and time, therefore the old road had to be retained. Much work was required and done to clear it of fallen timber, and to level standing stumps with its bed. The many crossings of the stream were a serious draw-back, and Mullan tried the experiment of bridging. Timber being plenty, rough bridges were easily and quickly constructed, but in most instances the embankments were very low, and it was not expected that the bridges would withstand any high freshet, as at most they were only intended for temporary structures. Leaving the mountains proper, many repairs and improvements were made along the Missoula river, and to save crossing it, and establishing of ferries, it was decided to retain the road made before. The Hell Gate canyon, where but little work had been done the previous year, had yet to be attended to, and winter quarters were built on the left bank of the Big Blackfoot, near its mouth.
The camp was called Cantonment Wright. Most of the soldiers were distributed in small parties along the canyon, and the grades on the Hell Gate were broken from the ground during the winter of 1861-1862, one of the severest known in the history of this country, and the work went along very slowly. A fine bridge, covered with whipsawed lumber, was thrown over the Big Blackfoot, but being severely damaged by the unusually high freshet of 1862, it was soon after replaced by a private toll bridge. Late in December two horse thieves, Butler and Williams, were followed and arrested in Deer Lodge Valley, by authority of Lieut. Mullan. They received no jury trial, but were both fastened together by the legs, and rendered efficient service in digging out rock for the filling of the piers of the Blackfoot bridge. In the spring they were set at liberty with some good advice for their future guidance.
In January 1862, a citizen connected with the sutler store, while en route to Deer lodge, had his feet frozen, and medical assistance being unable to reach him in proper time, the amputation of both legs became a necessity.
Near the ending of May 1862, Mullan, who had just been promoted to a Captaincy, having fulfilled his instructions, disbanded the expedition; many of the citizens going East via Benton, and the soldiers returning West. Captain Mullan, on account of private affairs, found it necessary to resign his commission in the army.
It was customary while constructing the road to set up posts or brand trees, at convenient points, with the letters "M. R." military road, and the number of miles from each terminus. Those brands were intended as guides, and also to keep off trespassers. Notwithstanding some of the best portions of the road were "taken up," and toll was collected, while the most sections requiring much labor for improvement were severely left alone for free public use. So outrageous became the trespassers at last, that the legislature of Montana found it necessary to enact a law declaring the Mullan road to be a "free public highway."
That the portion of road between Walla Walla and Deer Lodge, (upon which much money and time had been expended,) fell into disuse, was the result of various apparent causes. Owing to the Eastern war no troops or military supplies were sent over it; the discovery of gold in Montana and Idaho diverted emigration from it, and in western Montana there were no markets to tempt freighters to try it. Mullan expected the road would be used, and by use improved. In many of the swamps, and where grass was scarce near camping places in the mountains, he had caused grass seed to be scattered to provide good feed in the future, and fine timothy patches can now be found as the result. It was one of his projects to have a mail route established between St. Paul, via Benton and Portland, Oregon, with a branch coming in from Leavenworth and connecting in the Missoula valley. It being claimed that by this route Oregon would receive its mails quicker than by the old routes. A part of the road he built will probably long remain in public use, notwithstanding the fault-finders who never saw the principal part of the work, and whose imagination can't picture the hardships endured by those who toiled upon it. General Sherman, who traveled over it, did not condemn it, nor did he advocate the building of a new one, but he found the old location good and important enough to cause it to be reopened, if only as a military necessity. It is not reported that the troops who worked on it last summer had more efficient engineers than Mullan but they had to obey orders likewise, and could not deviate from the assigned track, which is yet and long will be a subject for much improvement.
Mullan was one of the pioneers of this country. His name became permanent by a public work of peculiar difficulties, and those that are acquainted with the circumstances well know that he rather lost than make a fortune during the time he was employed upon it. There certainly is some credit due him.
[Signed] C. S.
So, what became of Charles Schafft after the expedition? As he related in his account, in January 1862 "a citizen connected with the sutler store, while en route to Deer lodge, had his feet frozen, and medical assistance being unable to reach him in proper time, the amputation of both legs became a necessity." That "citizen" was Charles Schafft! In the words of Lieut. John Mullan:
"I here mention, with regret a sad accident that occurred to a citizen in passing from one to another of our camps, and which will tend to show the degree of cold we experienced during January [1862]. He (Charles Schafft) had left one of the camps with the intention of going to the Deer Lodge valley. Night and severe cold overtaking him before he could reach another camp, he halted to build a fire, and being wet endeavored to slip off his moccasins, when he found them frozen to his feet. He became alarmed, and retracing his steps reached the point he had started from, late at night, but with both feet frozen, and on their being thawed in a tub of water all the flesh fell off. The poor fellow suffered intensely, and his life was only saved by his suffering the amputation of both legs above the knees; the operation performed by Dr. George Hammond, U.S. Army. A purse of several hundred dollars was raised for him, and he was left to the kind charity of the Fathers of the Pend d'Oreille mission, where he remained up to the date of our leaving the mountains."
Despite the handicap of the loss of his legs in March 1862, Charles Schafft remained active in Montana as the new Territory was formed, and by 1864 he served as a county officer in Missoula County. Two years later he became postmaster. In 1880 Schafft moved on to Fort Benton where in addition to his literary contributions to the Benton Record, he worked as a bookkeeper for Robert Mills of the Centennial Hotel. Later, Charles Schafft returned to Missoula, where this remarkable man died March 2, 1891 and was buried with a Union veteran's headstone to mark his grave.
As we near the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Expedition at Fort Benton and the completion of the Road, we can value the unique perspective of Charles Schafft's account of the Mullan Military Road Expedition.
Sources: Benton Record Weekly 2 January 1880, p. 4; U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914, p. 240; 1870 U. S. Census Missoula County; 1880 U. S. Census Choteau County; Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Vets; Mineral County Museum "Blazing the Mullan Road."
Photos: (1) Lieutenant John Mullan, leader of the difficult road-building expedition from Fort Walla to Fort Benton [OHRC Photo]
(2) Colonel Edward Steptoe, whose disastrous military defeat in 1858 delayed the Mullan Expedition for one year [OHRC Photo]
(3) Wagon master John A. Creighton assembled his wagon trains at The Dalles to provide logistical support for the Mullan Expedition [OHRC Photo]
(4) The Mullan Road cut along the Bitter Root mountains near Superior, Montana. This May 2008 photo shows the difficult task of road building through the mountains [OHRC Photo]
(5) The route of the Mullan Wagon Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton [From Pioneer Trails West]
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
In August 1860, 148 years ago and before there was a Montana Territory, Army First Lieutenant John Mullan, Jr. led a military expedition to construct a wagon road from Fort Walla Walla in Washington Territory to Fort Benton, the head of navigation on the Missouri River. Departing Walla Walla in June 1859, Lieut. Mullan’s men carved the road through the mountains of Idaho into Montana, arriving at Fort Benton in August 1860.
One of Lieut. Mullan's hard working men was Charles Schafft, an immigrant born in Berlin, Germany in 1838, who enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1853 at the age of just 15years old. He was promoted to Sergeant, and served in Company D, 3rd Regiment, U. S. Artillery. By 1858, Schafft was out of the Army and living in San Francisco. When news came to California that Lieut. John Mullan would lead a road-building expedition across the Northwest, and Charles Schafft decided to sign on. Many years later, when Schafft began working for the first Fort Benton newspaper, the Benton Record, he wrote a series of "Literary Contributions”. Schafft's first contribution was a reminiscence of his time with Lieut. Mullan, building the Mullan Military Wagon Road. As you read Schafft’s account, remember that it was written long ago and printed in the January 2, 1880, Benton Record Weekly. Charles Schafft wrote:
Commencing at Walla Walla in Washington Territory, and terminating at Fort Benton, in Montana, is located one of the oldest public roads in the Territory. Its construction was commenced and consummated nearly a quarter of a century ago, and although much of it is as yet a public convenience, and was to within a year or two, the only wagon-road connecting at least one county with its neighbors and the outside world, much abuse has been heaped upon the superintendent [Lieut. John Mullan] of its original location, when instead, he should have some credit with honor upon the pages of our history. From time to time short, but erroneous articles related to the "Mullan Road" have appeared in the local papers, intended as "Bits of history," and many inquiries have been made by private parties in regard to the road and its builder, with no satisfactory answer. As most every early event in our history is of some interest, the writer was induced to prepare an article from personal experience and memory on the subject in hand.
It should be remembered that twenty-five years ago [1855] very little was generally known of what was eastern Washington Territory, and of what is now Montana, except and mainly from the official and necessarily brief report of Lewis & Clarke and the vague accounts given verbally by unlettered employees of the fur companies. The whole country was looked upon as a primeval wilderness, fit only for the Indian, the trapper, the hunter, and no least of all the zealous missionary. The section called Montana was then deemed far more remote from civilization than Alaska is now.
Under the administration of Jeff. Davis, as Secretary of War, several expeditions were organized 1854-55, to explore the various Territories, make topographical surveys, and report upon the feasibility of constructing railroads. Col. Williamson, of the Engineering Corps, had charge of the central part. Lieut. John G. Parke, also of the Engineers, surveyed and explored the southern portion between San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas, while Gov. I. I. Stevens, of Washington Territory, was placed in charge of the northern reconnaissance and surveys. Among the officers assigned to duty under the latter, were Lieut. Doleson and Lieut. John Mullan, of the 4th Artillery. Governor Stevens, who was Ex-Officio Superintendent of Federal Affairs for his Territory, was advised by his instructions to make treaties with Indian tribes, and report upon the general resources of the country visited, with the view of inducing the formation of settlements. The country was thoroughly explored, and scarcely any Indian tribe was left without a treaty of some kind. During the winter 1854-55 the expedition cantoned in the Bitter Root Valley, near the present site of Stevensville, and in July the following year a treaty was made with the Flatheads, Pend 'Oreilles and Kootenays, who confederated as one nation, with the Flathead, Victor, as head Chief. The year terminated the work, and the Governor made a detailed report to the Departments, which was duly printed and published. Among the recommendations made, was the construction of a military wagon-road from the Columbia to the Missouri, which was to serve not only for the cheaper transportation of troops and military supplies to far western posts, but also for the benefit of enterprising emigrants who might select homesteads in some of the beautiful valleys on the line of the road. This recommendation was approved of, and an appropriation for the purpose was made by Congress 1857-58. Lieut. John Mullan, who ranked Lieut. in the army, as an engineer of ability, was selected to open up the road.
The writer hereof, who was in San Francisco in April, 1858, with Frazer river as his objective point, reading one day in the papers the arrival of Lieut. Mullan and a corps of assistants en route to Walla Walla, felt induced to approach the Lieutenant when already on the Oregon steamer, and seek for employment on the expedition. Mullan's arrival and his departure for Oregon to open up a wagon-road to the Missouri river, created some excitement in San Francisco at the time, and the expedition was looked upon much the same as a trip to the North Pole is looked upon now.
The Dalles, in Oregon, being the last place connected then with steamboat transportation, was selected as the rendezvous, and the expedition started from thence and reached its real point of departure without mishap. Work was then commenced and proceeded from Walla Walla for a distance of about fifty miles to the mouth of Tricanyon creek, as which point operations were suspended on account of the retreat of Col. [Edward] Steptoe, who had been up the Palouse on a military reconnaissance, with a force of troops lightly armed and mounted on horses unbroken to stand fire. The Indians were unwilling for the whites to penetrate their country, and had advised Steptoe to return; but upon his insisting to go on, fire was opened by the Reds, more as a defiance and a warning, than to kill. In trying to return the fire, some of the recruits were thrown from their horses. A panic was created which resulted in a hasty retreat. Of course the road expedition could not go forward in the face of defeat, nor was it proposed to fight its way through unknown numbers of apparently hostile Indians, and consequently had to await further events.
General [William S.] Harney, who was then at Vancouver trying to settle the San Juan question, took prompt measures to punish the Indians, and Col. [George] Wright with all forces that could be collected, was dispatched against them. The campaign resulted in the utter defeat of the Indians, who had congregated quite an army out of nearly all the tribes between the Rocky mountains and the Columbia, and it also resulted in opening the Walla Walls country, which had heretofore been Indian territory, to settlement.
As the war consumed the whole summer, the road expedition had been disbanded, to be reorganized in the year following, and a small extra appropriation was made by Congress in 1858-59 to cover and make good losses sustained in stock and supplies.
In the spring of 1859 the expedition had its rendezvous again at the Dalles, where Captain [Thomas] Jordan, Post Quarter-master, furnished the necessary supplies and transportation for its escort of fifty men drawn from the 3rd Artillery at Fort Vancouver. Lieut. Mullan hired about one hundred men who were bound to serve by certain conditions, the ordinary wages paid being $50 per month, and the old army ration. To break his men a little to the labor required, some work was done improving the old emigrant road between the Dalles and Walla Walla, the latter place being reached in June. And now the expedition fully equipped and organized, was really ready to commence operations in earnest. We left Fort Walla Walla in June 1859, a few days after the departure of Major [Pinkney] Lugenbeel, who had gone with two companies of the 9th Infantry to establish Fort Colville, and proceeded to the mouth of Tricanyon, where a rock breastwork called Fort Taylor, had been built during the Indians war. At this point we crossed the Snake river, and the conditions of service were once more read to the men, while the settlements were easy of access.
A day of twenty miles travel, early in the hot month of July, took us from Snake river to the left bank of the Palouse, immediately above its picturesque falls; thence the road was located up the Palouse and over to the St. Joe valley. Little hard work had so far been required, except the occasional grading of a side hill or a crossing, but the descent to the St. Joe needed the construction of a heavy grade and some corduroy work. In this beautiful valley (now a reservation for the Coeur D'Alenes) we made a time camp. Two ferry boats had to be built, one for the St. Joe and the other to be taken around by the lake to the Coeur D'Alene river. Swampy bottoms had to be corduroyed, and a road had to be cut through the timber over the Coeur D'Alene range, which divides the two valleys. When we reached the Coeur D'Alene river, it was at a point twenty miles below the Mission, and the expedition crossed in the boat built on the St. Joe. To follow up the river required time and work, on account of timber, swamps and grading, and it being already in September continuous rains made it disagreeable for the men. Arriving at the Mission, we had the Bitter Root mountains in our immediate front, and the difficulties to be encountered through them, a distance of 75 miles to the Missoula river, were painted so formidably, even by the missionaries, that winter quarters began to look a long ways off. Had the object of the expedition been solely to construct a road for the accommodation of travel, and had not official instructions prevented, it is probable that Mullan would have diverged here and built the road around Pend 'Oreille Lake, which would have avoided the mountains, but lengthened the distance over eighty miles. There had been a difference of opinion between Stevens and Mullan in regard to the feasibility of railroad construction through the mountains, and the facts in the case were to be determined definitely by a party of engineers taking a line of levels from old Fort Walla Walla as the starting point.
Mud Prairie, eleven miles above the Mission, was fixed upon as a depot camp. This prairie, naturally a swamp, was made more so by the previous heavy rains, and had to be partly bridged to get the wagons to its upper end. An examination of the surrounding hills found them full of springs and impractical for grading. We were now at the main barrier of the entire road, and it was a serious one. The pass on both sides was obstructed by an almost impenetrable heavy growth of pine, cedar, tamarack and fir, long since thinned out by frequent firs occurring almost annually for the past twenty years. The mountains hugged the streams so closely that numerous crossings or time-consuming or laborious grades, were unavoidable. The timber on the line of the road had been set on fire, probably by Indians, and everything looked smoky, dismal and discouraging; but gloves had to be laid aside now, and working parties provided with eight or ten days' rations were pushed ahead to cut out, inch by inch as it were, the timber marked by the engineers, who were crawling through the undergrowth, unable to see more than a few feet before them. The road followed the bottom of the canon, because it would have taken nearly a whole summer's work to grade the hills, even if that were practicable; as it was it took nearly the whole month of October to open a merely passable way for the wagons from Mud Prairie to the summit, a distance of only twenty-five miles, and the men were working hard from the earliest dawn till dusk. Mullan, who did not hesitate to put his shoulder to the wheel, was ever among them, to instill courage and hurry up the work. A fall or two of snow began to warn us of the approaching winter. While at Mud Prairie a Quarter-master's train brought out the winter supplies for the military escorts, which necessitated double tripping on part of our teams to the next depot at the foot of the mountains.
Early in November the next depot was established on the east side of the mountains, at what is now called Packer's Ranche, on the Reguis Borgia river [St. Regis River near today's Superior, MT]. The work down this steam was somewhat lighter, because the timber was more open, but headway was made slowly on account of the numerous crossings. Winter having now set in for good, made it still harder on the men, and the indispensable work cattle began to suffer for want of feed. It had been thought all along that we could find winter quarters in the valley of the Missoula, but it as impossible to get there, and reluctantly the order was given for the building of a winter camp at the leaving of the Reguis Borgia, about thirty miles above its mouth. The camp was called "Cantonment Jordan."
Mullan, who had his winter supplies shipped to Benton, with the expectation of having easy access to them from the Missoula valley, found himself disappointed, and had to begin making drafts on the Quartermaster for stores. The citizens of the expedition having exhausted and worn out their supplies of clothing and other necessaries, began to suffer for want of shoes and bedding, and anxiously began to look for the arrival of Messrs. Friedman & McClinchy, Sutlers to the outfit, who were on the road from Walla Wall with a pack train of one hundred animals loaded with merchandise. These merchants had started for the camp rather late in the season, and with overloaded animas, and after they passed the Coeur D'Alene Mission and began to enter the mountains, their animas gave out and perished for want of feed or owing to the effects of the cold. Their merchandise had to be abandoned, and was promiscuously scattered all along the road from Mud Prairie to the foot of the mountain. Friedman reached the camp with only two or three packs, and a few loose animals. The loss of the train was felt severely by all concerned, and the owners of it were at a clear loss of $10,000. Mullan, it was said, was interested in the loss. Some few of the abandoned goods were got to camp by soldiers, who hauled them over the mountain in hand sleds.
Winter quarters being established, and it being likely that the supplies would run short, some of the men were released from their engagement and allowed to proceed to the valley. The others were kept steady at work.
During the winter an order arrived from Washington that the War Department advised it would send four or five hundred men as recruits up the Missouri the following spring, for Forts Walla Walla, Colville, etc. and specified that Mullan was expected to be at Benton in time with his wagons to furnish transportation for those troops. This order necessitated the prosecution of the work more vigorously than ever, and the soldiers who had heretofore performed no labor, were called into requisition, and sent ahead to aid in road building. It was necessary to have the way open for travel necessary to have the way open for travel as far as Hell Gate Ronde, with the earliest spring, and most of the grades up the Missoula river were dug out of the deep snows of mid winter. Most of the work animals perished, and a new supply had to be sent for to Camp Floyd, in Utah. There was not much enjoyment in this winter camp. As early as possible in the spring of 1860, the expedition moved over the laboriously made road to Hell Gate; thence as rapidly as wagons could be got over obstacles up the Hell Gate canyon to Deer Lodge, and thence over a comparatively open country to Fort Benton, and arrived there in due time to furnish the desired transportation to Major Blake and the recruits. On the return to Walla Walla some important work was done by the soldiers, and the road had been opened and the wagons had rolled over it both ways; but it was like all new roads, a hard one to travel.
Upon recommendations made by Major Blake, who was authorized to inspect and report upon the work done, and who reported very favorably, Mullan was sent again into the field early in 1861 with a new [second road-building] expedition to do more necessary work and improvements. This expedition had with it only about fifty hired laborers, and an escort of one hundred men from the 9th Infantry. The road this time crossed Snake river at the mouth of the Palouse, and thence followed the Colville road twenty miles to Cow creek, and thence over an open prairie to Antoine Plants, on the Spokane river; thence up the Spokane around Coeur D'Alene Lake to the Mission, abandoning entirely the road made the previous year from Snake river via the Palouse and St. Joe valleys. There was no difference in distance on the new route taken, but it was entirely a prairie road, with the exception of thirty-five miles between the Lake and the Mission, where considerable work had to be done over spurs of mountains. The main part of the labor to be performed lay in the Bitter Root mountains, and between the Missoula river and Deer Lodge, (the only portion of the country where the Mullan road is yet distinctly marked, and where it was always be known by its proper name.) A careful examination of the pass revealed the fact that either a continuous grade would have to be made for a distance nearly fifty miles, or that the road would have to remain along the bottoms of the canyons. Grading was found impracticable for the want of means and time, therefore the old road had to be retained. Much work was required and done to clear it of fallen timber, and to level standing stumps with its bed. The many crossings of the stream were a serious draw-back, and Mullan tried the experiment of bridging. Timber being plenty, rough bridges were easily and quickly constructed, but in most instances the embankments were very low, and it was not expected that the bridges would withstand any high freshet, as at most they were only intended for temporary structures. Leaving the mountains proper, many repairs and improvements were made along the Missoula river, and to save crossing it, and establishing of ferries, it was decided to retain the road made before. The Hell Gate canyon, where but little work had been done the previous year, had yet to be attended to, and winter quarters were built on the left bank of the Big Blackfoot, near its mouth.
The camp was called Cantonment Wright. Most of the soldiers were distributed in small parties along the canyon, and the grades on the Hell Gate were broken from the ground during the winter of 1861-1862, one of the severest known in the history of this country, and the work went along very slowly. A fine bridge, covered with whipsawed lumber, was thrown over the Big Blackfoot, but being severely damaged by the unusually high freshet of 1862, it was soon after replaced by a private toll bridge. Late in December two horse thieves, Butler and Williams, were followed and arrested in Deer Lodge Valley, by authority of Lieut. Mullan. They received no jury trial, but were both fastened together by the legs, and rendered efficient service in digging out rock for the filling of the piers of the Blackfoot bridge. In the spring they were set at liberty with some good advice for their future guidance.
In January 1862, a citizen connected with the sutler store, while en route to Deer lodge, had his feet frozen, and medical assistance being unable to reach him in proper time, the amputation of both legs became a necessity.
Near the ending of May 1862, Mullan, who had just been promoted to a Captaincy, having fulfilled his instructions, disbanded the expedition; many of the citizens going East via Benton, and the soldiers returning West. Captain Mullan, on account of private affairs, found it necessary to resign his commission in the army.
It was customary while constructing the road to set up posts or brand trees, at convenient points, with the letters "M. R." military road, and the number of miles from each terminus. Those brands were intended as guides, and also to keep off trespassers. Notwithstanding some of the best portions of the road were "taken up," and toll was collected, while the most sections requiring much labor for improvement were severely left alone for free public use. So outrageous became the trespassers at last, that the legislature of Montana found it necessary to enact a law declaring the Mullan road to be a "free public highway."
That the portion of road between Walla Walla and Deer Lodge, (upon which much money and time had been expended,) fell into disuse, was the result of various apparent causes. Owing to the Eastern war no troops or military supplies were sent over it; the discovery of gold in Montana and Idaho diverted emigration from it, and in western Montana there were no markets to tempt freighters to try it. Mullan expected the road would be used, and by use improved. In many of the swamps, and where grass was scarce near camping places in the mountains, he had caused grass seed to be scattered to provide good feed in the future, and fine timothy patches can now be found as the result. It was one of his projects to have a mail route established between St. Paul, via Benton and Portland, Oregon, with a branch coming in from Leavenworth and connecting in the Missoula valley. It being claimed that by this route Oregon would receive its mails quicker than by the old routes. A part of the road he built will probably long remain in public use, notwithstanding the fault-finders who never saw the principal part of the work, and whose imagination can't picture the hardships endured by those who toiled upon it. General Sherman, who traveled over it, did not condemn it, nor did he advocate the building of a new one, but he found the old location good and important enough to cause it to be reopened, if only as a military necessity. It is not reported that the troops who worked on it last summer had more efficient engineers than Mullan but they had to obey orders likewise, and could not deviate from the assigned track, which is yet and long will be a subject for much improvement.
Mullan was one of the pioneers of this country. His name became permanent by a public work of peculiar difficulties, and those that are acquainted with the circumstances well know that he rather lost than make a fortune during the time he was employed upon it. There certainly is some credit due him.
[Signed] C. S.
So, what became of Charles Schafft after the expedition? As he related in his account, in January 1862 "a citizen connected with the sutler store, while en route to Deer lodge, had his feet frozen, and medical assistance being unable to reach him in proper time, the amputation of both legs became a necessity." That "citizen" was Charles Schafft! In the words of Lieut. John Mullan:
"I here mention, with regret a sad accident that occurred to a citizen in passing from one to another of our camps, and which will tend to show the degree of cold we experienced during January [1862]. He (Charles Schafft) had left one of the camps with the intention of going to the Deer Lodge valley. Night and severe cold overtaking him before he could reach another camp, he halted to build a fire, and being wet endeavored to slip off his moccasins, when he found them frozen to his feet. He became alarmed, and retracing his steps reached the point he had started from, late at night, but with both feet frozen, and on their being thawed in a tub of water all the flesh fell off. The poor fellow suffered intensely, and his life was only saved by his suffering the amputation of both legs above the knees; the operation performed by Dr. George Hammond, U.S. Army. A purse of several hundred dollars was raised for him, and he was left to the kind charity of the Fathers of the Pend d'Oreille mission, where he remained up to the date of our leaving the mountains."
Despite the handicap of the loss of his legs in March 1862, Charles Schafft remained active in Montana as the new Territory was formed, and by 1864 he served as a county officer in Missoula County. Two years later he became postmaster. In 1880 Schafft moved on to Fort Benton where in addition to his literary contributions to the Benton Record, he worked as a bookkeeper for Robert Mills of the Centennial Hotel. Later, Charles Schafft returned to Missoula, where this remarkable man died March 2, 1891 and was buried with a Union veteran's headstone to mark his grave.
As we near the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Expedition at Fort Benton and the completion of the Road, we can value the unique perspective of Charles Schafft's account of the Mullan Military Road Expedition.
Sources: Benton Record Weekly 2 January 1880, p. 4; U.S. Army Register of Enlistments 1798-1914, p. 240; 1870 U. S. Census Missoula County; 1880 U. S. Census Choteau County; Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Vets; Mineral County Museum "Blazing the Mullan Road."
Photos: (1) Lieutenant John Mullan, leader of the difficult road-building expedition from Fort Walla to Fort Benton [OHRC Photo]
(2) Colonel Edward Steptoe, whose disastrous military defeat in 1858 delayed the Mullan Expedition for one year [OHRC Photo]
(3) Wagon master John A. Creighton assembled his wagon trains at The Dalles to provide logistical support for the Mullan Expedition [OHRC Photo]
(4) The Mullan Road cut along the Bitter Root mountains near Superior, Montana. This May 2008 photo shows the difficult task of road building through the mountains [OHRC Photo]
(5) The route of the Mullan Wagon Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton [From Pioneer Trails West]
Our Historic 5,000,000th Tractor
The International Harvester Model F-1066 Farmall 5,000,000th Tractor
By Ken Robison
On February 1, 1974, at 9 a. m., International Harvester made history, producing its 5 millionth tractor. When this historic tractor, Serial #2610172U035153, was produced at International Harvester's Farmall Plant in Rock Island, Illinois on February 1, 1974, IH became the first manufacturer to claim the production of 5,000,000 tractors. The orginial press release photo caption reads: "In special ceremonies at International Harvester's Farmall Plant, Rick Island, IL, Stanley F. Lancaster, vice president, marketing, Agricultural/Industrial Equipment Division, Chicago, and local beauty, Valerie Robb, 22, hail production of the company's record 5,000,000th Tractor on Friday, February 1. IH is the first tractor to claim this distinction and marked the event with an assembly line commemorative celebration." [see two internet images from the unveiling: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/results.asp?keyword1=66&keyword2=farmall&subject_broad_id=1&subject_broad=Agriculture&subject_narrow_id=39&subject _narrow=Tractors&search_type=advanced&sort_by=date&boolean_type1=and
The tractor came equipped with nearly every option IH offered along with a special paint scheme, chrome exhaust, grill and rims. The following two years, the historic tractor was featured at fairs, conventions, and shows across the United States.
On September 26, 1976, this tractor was offered at auction to all International Harvester [IH] dealers attending a new series 86 Tractor announcement in Chicago. Of 177 entries, the winning bid of $40,086.86 was submitted by the Montana IH Dealer group. The keys to the tractor were presented to these dealers on November 5, 1976. It was immediately announced that the proceeds from the auction would be used to establish a Research Program under the direction of Montana State University for a study to further improve tractor operating efficiencies. The Montana IH Dealer group at that time consisted of thirteen implement dealers across the state of Montana. In the years following, the tractor was rotated around the state for showing by IH dealers.
By the early 1990s, only three of the Montana dealers remained in business. These dealers, the Musick Implement Company of Denton, the Big Sky Equipment Company of Conrad, and the Kamp Implement Company of Belgrade, decided to present the 5,000,000th Tractor to the new Museum of the Northern Great Plains in Fort Benton. This museum is designated by the Montana State Legislature as the official "Montana Agricultural Museum." On the 15th of June 1995, the tractor arrived in Fort Benton, where it remains today on display at the Museum of the Northern Great Plains.
This historically significant tractor is an important part of agricultural history, not only in Montana but also across the United States.
The 5,000,000th IH Tractor as it appears today:
By Ken Robison
On February 1, 1974, at 9 a. m., International Harvester made history, producing its 5 millionth tractor. When this historic tractor, Serial #2610172U035153, was produced at International Harvester's Farmall Plant in Rock Island, Illinois on February 1, 1974, IH became the first manufacturer to claim the production of 5,000,000 tractors. The orginial press release photo caption reads: "In special ceremonies at International Harvester's Farmall Plant, Rick Island, IL, Stanley F. Lancaster, vice president, marketing, Agricultural/Industrial Equipment Division, Chicago, and local beauty, Valerie Robb, 22, hail production of the company's record 5,000,000th Tractor on Friday, February 1. IH is the first tractor to claim this distinction and marked the event with an assembly line commemorative celebration." [see two internet images from the unveiling: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/results.asp?keyword1=66&keyword2=farmall&subject_broad_id=1&subject_broad=Agriculture&subject_narrow_id=39&subject _narrow=Tractors&search_type=advanced&sort_by=date&boolean_type1=and
The tractor came equipped with nearly every option IH offered along with a special paint scheme, chrome exhaust, grill and rims. The following two years, the historic tractor was featured at fairs, conventions, and shows across the United States.
On September 26, 1976, this tractor was offered at auction to all International Harvester [IH] dealers attending a new series 86 Tractor announcement in Chicago. Of 177 entries, the winning bid of $40,086.86 was submitted by the Montana IH Dealer group. The keys to the tractor were presented to these dealers on November 5, 1976. It was immediately announced that the proceeds from the auction would be used to establish a Research Program under the direction of Montana State University for a study to further improve tractor operating efficiencies. The Montana IH Dealer group at that time consisted of thirteen implement dealers across the state of Montana. In the years following, the tractor was rotated around the state for showing by IH dealers.
By the early 1990s, only three of the Montana dealers remained in business. These dealers, the Musick Implement Company of Denton, the Big Sky Equipment Company of Conrad, and the Kamp Implement Company of Belgrade, decided to present the 5,000,000th Tractor to the new Museum of the Northern Great Plains in Fort Benton. This museum is designated by the Montana State Legislature as the official "Montana Agricultural Museum." On the 15th of June 1995, the tractor arrived in Fort Benton, where it remains today on display at the Museum of the Northern Great Plains.
This historically significant tractor is an important part of agricultural history, not only in Montana but also across the United States.
The 5,000,000th IH Tractor as it appears today:
15 July 2008
"Shorty," We Hardly Know Ya
By Ken Robison
Shorty Wallin is a tall mystery! Several months ago I received a query from Dr. Paul Fees of Cody, Wyoming asking what we had on "Shorty Wallin." He came to us because he'd come across a "Charlie Russell style" illustrated letter that Shorty had sent to Vic Alexander, a buddy of his working for the Hollywood Saddlery in California in the 1940s. The letter read:
"Howdy Vic:
How would you like to be camped in a log house like this, up here in the cow country. You've been here so you savvy what i mean.
You an i we rode for a spread one time heap long time back many moons in the belt mts.
This feller standin here is a crow Indian buck. He owns a heap of range. He keeps fat for he lives on wild meat the year round includin Buffalo meat Elk & Deer,
Well i am still on the pay roll on this old cow spread. There is 300 antelope on this mans range. Including some 5000 rattle snakes that live in the rocks. Well Vic tell your lovely wife & girl hello. I am your very Meek & Humble wild Range Critter
From Black Hawk Shorty Wallin."
Shorty Wallin’s sketch of the Square Butte Ranch in 1943
Shorty’s sketch of a Crow Indian
All I knew was that Shorty Wallin wrote a letter in August 1943 with a return address of Square Butte Ranch [the W. P. Sullivan Ranch in those days] in an envelope postmarked at the post office in Square Butte Montana. We had nothing on Shorty Wallin in our files at the Overholser Historical Research Center, so I turned to old-timer Frank Mayo of Square Butte. Frank didn't let me down.
In the early 1940s, Frank was about 11 or 12 years old and helped out during haying season on the Sullivan Ranch. The Ranch was a big outfit surrounding the tiny town of Square Butte at the eastern base of Square Butte Mountain. Frank remembered Shorty Wallin as a cowhand working on the Ranch in those days. Shorty was short, perhaps 5 feet two inches, with broad shoulders and a little potbelly. He was graying some with bushy eyebrows and about 40 years of age. Frank recalls that Shorty had been a jockey in his younger, thinner days. He rode well and was a good, but not "top hand." Shorty liked to go drinking with the boys. On occasion he’d go to the town bar drinking on a Saturday night and not show up back at the ranch until the next Saturday.
One time Frank was helping hay on the Ranch. Shorty was driving a buck rake and inadvertently brought a rattlesnake in with a batch of hay where they were stacking. The rattler stirred up the horses, and the excited horses bolted breaking a broad beam on the stacker. The boss W. P. Sullivan was furious, and the snake hid inside the haystack.
Frank remembers that Shorty kept some "art stuff" in the bunk house, and he had the impression that Shorty "wanted to be Charlie Russell" but didn't have the talent.
One more clue about Shorty comes from Dr. Fees who believes that Shorty once worked on another ranch in southeastern Montana, the Bones Brothers Ranch near Birney in Rosebud County. The Bones Brothers Ranch, long owned by the Alderson family, is on the National Register of Historic Places for its historic association with the evolution of the livestock industry in the Tongue River Valley and with the development of dude ranch tourism. One of the Alderson brothers, Floyd Taliaferro Alderson, had a long career as an early cowboy actor under the name Wally Wales. Ironically, Floyd Alderson’s favorite hobby was landscape painting.
That’s about all we know of Shorty Wallin, the drifting cowboy. Where he came from and where he went remains a mystery. If you know, share your Shorty Wallin stories with us at riverplains@mtintouch.net.
Shorty Wallin is a tall mystery! Several months ago I received a query from Dr. Paul Fees of Cody, Wyoming asking what we had on "Shorty Wallin." He came to us because he'd come across a "Charlie Russell style" illustrated letter that Shorty had sent to Vic Alexander, a buddy of his working for the Hollywood Saddlery in California in the 1940s. The letter read:
"Howdy Vic:
How would you like to be camped in a log house like this, up here in the cow country. You've been here so you savvy what i mean.
You an i we rode for a spread one time heap long time back many moons in the belt mts.
This feller standin here is a crow Indian buck. He owns a heap of range. He keeps fat for he lives on wild meat the year round includin Buffalo meat Elk & Deer,
Well i am still on the pay roll on this old cow spread. There is 300 antelope on this mans range. Including some 5000 rattle snakes that live in the rocks. Well Vic tell your lovely wife & girl hello. I am your very Meek & Humble wild Range Critter
From Black Hawk Shorty Wallin."
Shorty Wallin’s sketch of the Square Butte Ranch in 1943
Shorty’s sketch of a Crow Indian
All I knew was that Shorty Wallin wrote a letter in August 1943 with a return address of Square Butte Ranch [the W. P. Sullivan Ranch in those days] in an envelope postmarked at the post office in Square Butte Montana. We had nothing on Shorty Wallin in our files at the Overholser Historical Research Center, so I turned to old-timer Frank Mayo of Square Butte. Frank didn't let me down.
In the early 1940s, Frank was about 11 or 12 years old and helped out during haying season on the Sullivan Ranch. The Ranch was a big outfit surrounding the tiny town of Square Butte at the eastern base of Square Butte Mountain. Frank remembered Shorty Wallin as a cowhand working on the Ranch in those days. Shorty was short, perhaps 5 feet two inches, with broad shoulders and a little potbelly. He was graying some with bushy eyebrows and about 40 years of age. Frank recalls that Shorty had been a jockey in his younger, thinner days. He rode well and was a good, but not "top hand." Shorty liked to go drinking with the boys. On occasion he’d go to the town bar drinking on a Saturday night and not show up back at the ranch until the next Saturday.
One time Frank was helping hay on the Ranch. Shorty was driving a buck rake and inadvertently brought a rattlesnake in with a batch of hay where they were stacking. The rattler stirred up the horses, and the excited horses bolted breaking a broad beam on the stacker. The boss W. P. Sullivan was furious, and the snake hid inside the haystack.
Frank remembers that Shorty kept some "art stuff" in the bunk house, and he had the impression that Shorty "wanted to be Charlie Russell" but didn't have the talent.
One more clue about Shorty comes from Dr. Fees who believes that Shorty once worked on another ranch in southeastern Montana, the Bones Brothers Ranch near Birney in Rosebud County. The Bones Brothers Ranch, long owned by the Alderson family, is on the National Register of Historic Places for its historic association with the evolution of the livestock industry in the Tongue River Valley and with the development of dude ranch tourism. One of the Alderson brothers, Floyd Taliaferro Alderson, had a long career as an early cowboy actor under the name Wally Wales. Ironically, Floyd Alderson’s favorite hobby was landscape painting.
That’s about all we know of Shorty Wallin, the drifting cowboy. Where he came from and where he went remains a mystery. If you know, share your Shorty Wallin stories with us at riverplains@mtintouch.net.
13 July 2008
A Lot of Fort Benton History
If you are researching early Fort Benton or Choteau/Chouteau County History, you may have discovered a site called "A Little Fort Benton History." This is a flawed site!
While this site has usefull biographic sketches of early Fort Benton, it fails to show source attribution. It is taken, without credit, from Michael Leeson's History of Montana. Rather than using this "pirate site," I'd recommend you use the valuable University of Montana Digital Collections. These digital collections provide easily searchable access to both Leeson's History of Montana and the later Progressive Men of the State of Montana.
Access the UofM site at: http://www.lib.umt.edu/research/digitalcollections/default.htm
HISTORY OF MONTANA 1739-1885
A history by Michael Leeson of Montana's discovery and settlement, social and commercial progress, mines and miners, agriculture and stock-growing, churches, schools and societies, Indians and Indian wars, vigilantes, courts of justice, newspaper press, navigation, railroads and statistics, with histories of counties, cities, tillages and mining camps; also personal reminiscences of great historic value; views characteristic of the territory in our own times, and portraits of pioneers and representative men in the professions and trades.
This book, originally published in 1885, is a 1,367 page reference exploring topics such as the exploration and occupation of Montana, Indian history, wars, trading and military posts, mining, newspapers, churches, and societies during the time between 1735 and 1885. The book includes treatments of 13 Montana counties as well as personal "reminisciences" from several notable Montanans. The book also contains over 500 illustrations of people, buildings, farms, ranches, and natural features of the era.
Progressive Men of the State of Montana ca 1903
This book was originally published about 1903. It is an 1886-page reference work containing over 2500 biographies, nearly 200 of which are illustrated with portraits. From Charlie Russell to all the early governors, there are biographies of most people who were prominent in Montana history between the 1850's and 1900.
This computerized edition shows images of every biographical sketch and picture, just the way they looked in the original book. The whole book is also indexed by last name, Montana county, and Montana city. The "Search" link searches words in all indexes, but does not search the text of biographies. It's good for finding first names.
While this site has usefull biographic sketches of early Fort Benton, it fails to show source attribution. It is taken, without credit, from Michael Leeson's History of Montana. Rather than using this "pirate site," I'd recommend you use the valuable University of Montana Digital Collections. These digital collections provide easily searchable access to both Leeson's History of Montana and the later Progressive Men of the State of Montana.
Access the UofM site at: http://www.lib.umt.edu/research/digitalcollections/default.htm
HISTORY OF MONTANA 1739-1885
A history by Michael Leeson of Montana's discovery and settlement, social and commercial progress, mines and miners, agriculture and stock-growing, churches, schools and societies, Indians and Indian wars, vigilantes, courts of justice, newspaper press, navigation, railroads and statistics, with histories of counties, cities, tillages and mining camps; also personal reminiscences of great historic value; views characteristic of the territory in our own times, and portraits of pioneers and representative men in the professions and trades.
This book, originally published in 1885, is a 1,367 page reference exploring topics such as the exploration and occupation of Montana, Indian history, wars, trading and military posts, mining, newspapers, churches, and societies during the time between 1735 and 1885. The book includes treatments of 13 Montana counties as well as personal "reminisciences" from several notable Montanans. The book also contains over 500 illustrations of people, buildings, farms, ranches, and natural features of the era.
Progressive Men of the State of Montana ca 1903
This book was originally published about 1903. It is an 1886-page reference work containing over 2500 biographies, nearly 200 of which are illustrated with portraits. From Charlie Russell to all the early governors, there are biographies of most people who were prominent in Montana history between the 1850's and 1900.
This computerized edition shows images of every biographical sketch and picture, just the way they looked in the original book. The whole book is also indexed by last name, Montana county, and Montana city. The "Search" link searches words in all indexes, but does not search the text of biographies. It's good for finding first names.
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