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About The Ekalaka Eagle (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920 | View This Issue
The Ekalaka Eagle (Ekalaka, Mont.), 10 Aug. 1917, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn85053090/1917-08-10/ed-1/seq-3/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
' 15. THE EHALAKA EAGLE. THREE MUSKETEERS OF RIVER LIE PRI FORGOTTEN GRAVES MONTANA STREAMS, VICTIMS OF TREACHERY AND REVE FAMOUS INDIAN 4 FIGHTER PASSES 4 1 MAJOR JOHN B. CATLIN, HERO OF THE BATTLE OP THE BIG poLE, DEAD AT MISSOULA. Lived Life of Adventure; Fought His Way With Nelson Story Into Mon- tana Through Thousands of Hos- tile Indians; Led Volunteers in the Nez Peree War. Major John B. Catlin, hero of the Battle of the Big Hole, died at his home in Missoula a few days ago. With his passing the state is here** or one of the heroic figures of pio- neer, days. He had lived a life of aOventure, and from the crest of his 80 years could look back to the field of many a hard fought battle. Ile was a distinguished soldier cot the civil war, participating in many engagements during his five years of service. He was a captain when he was mustered out after the grand review in Washington. This was Major John B. Catlin, Hero of the Battle of the Big Hole. along in 1866 and he decided to come west. lie could not keep away from a fight. Ou his trek across the prairie he volunteered to help settlers clean up the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, his military experience standing him in good stead. Was in Nez Perce War. Ile participated in the campaign against the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 as captain of the company of volunteers raised at Missoula and in the Bitter Root valley. The volun- teer soldiers did valiant service at the battle of the 131g Hole. This was the last battle of importance that Chief Joseph and his warriors fought. Aft- er that began the 1,000 mile retreat of Joseph, famous in history as one of the great achievements of Indian warfare in Montana. Big Holo Battle Site. General Gibbon picked the site of the battle of the Big Hole. It is out in the open N.vith Indians on all sides of the soldiers and volunteers. The picking of the site was disastrous tO the white men. When Captain Cat- lin came up he was very angry. Ile demanded to know who had picked the exposed position. Ile was told that General Gibbon had ordered the halt. \I don't give a damn if he did; it's a of a place to camp,\ he exclaimed wrathfully. But like the good soldier he was, after he had made his protest, he did the best he could for his men. Ile ordered them to throw up entrenchments and dig themselves in. This they did. In the battle he had 43 men. Of these five were killed. Gibbon's forces were beaten at the Big Hole, although the Indians re- treated immediately after the battle. The Indians were the strongest nu- merically, and (7hief Joseph's gener- alship was fully equal to that of the trained commander of the soldiers. But one of the greatest achieve- ments of Major Catlin was when he helped Nelson Story, with a force of 30 men, convoying 3,000 head of cat- tle from the southern ranges, through the country alive with hostile In- dians, into the Yellowstone valley and up to the Gallatin. Fort Phil Kearney was the out- post of the army that hail been sent out to subdue the Indians. General Carrington, who afterwards figured in Montana history as the soldier who moved Chief Chariot from the Bitter Hoot, was in command. The hostiles were so thick and so aggressive be- yond the fort that Carrington refused to give Story and Catlin permission to pwceed on their journey on ac- count of the danger. Pioneers Fool Carrington. So these two doughty pioneers •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• MR. FARMER! Coin the ineotne froon your farm toe increased toy Improvement—by add- ing livestoek. better buildings, or breaking out more land? This Corporation is In position to furnish the money on reasonable terms and fair rates—and %%it! t delnyt A home institution—the larg- est farm mortgage bank In the North:west. The Banking Corporation Helens Morttana On kthe banks of the Yellowstone river, near where that stream empties into the Missouri, at some unmarked spot which has been forgotten for nearly a century, are the graves of two of the extraordinary characters who were associated with early steam boat days on the Missonri, surround- ing whose lives and that of an asso- ciate, whose unmarked grave 48 somewhere along the banks of the Teton river, is woven a tale that sur- passes any fiction in its remarkable details, and gives an idea of some of the types who were the earliest white men to reside in what is now Mon- tana. There were some queer men among the crews of the old keel boats that fought their way up stream through the wilderpess in the early 20's of the last century, and one of the queerest and most notorious of these river boatmen was Mike Fink, the chief of the trio who came into the wilderness as fast friends and met violent deaths as the result of a feud that sprung up among them in a country that knew no law of man. Mike Fink was born at Pittsburg, Pa., about 1800. He had but little education, and used to ridicule what little knowledge from books he did possess. He loved to talk in the ex- treme of the barbarous jargon that was then the language of the unlet- tered boatmen of the western rivers. He early begame fascinated with the boatman's life, and the sound of the boat horn was music to his ears. Ile learned to imitate its notes so per- fectly that when he first took service on a keelboat, he could fill the office of trumpeter without any instrument. The river life suited his tastes and he longed to visit its remotest ports— even New Orleans, where he had heard that people spoke French and wore Sunday clothes all the week. Crack Rifle Shot. When the water was too low for navigation, Mike spent most of his time in Pittsburg and vicinity, killing squirrels and shooting at a target for beef at the frequent Saturday shoot- ing matches and company musters of the militia. He soon became re- nowned as the best shot in the coun- try. acquiring the nickname of \Ben- gali,\ and on account of. his extraor- dinary skill he was not allowed to compete with others in shooting. As a reward for this exclusion he was allowed the \fifth quarter\ of the beef as it was called—the hide and tallow. His usual practice was to exchange his \quarter\at a dram shop for whisky, with which he treat- ed everybody, amt particularly him- self. Ile became very fond of strong drink, but it is said that he could drink a gallon in 24 hours and never show a sign of intoxication. His language was a perfect sam- ple of the half -horse, half -alligator dialect of the early race of boatmen. He was a good deal of a wit, a quality that won the admiration, but at the same time excited the fears. of the whole boating fraternity; for he was in the habit of smashing with his heavy fists any one who did not laugh at the proper time when he was tell- ing a story. \Loved the Wimming.\ Mike's most favorite announcement concerning himself was: \I'm a Salt river roarer, and I live the wimming, and as how I'm chock full of fight.\ And it is related that he did have a sweetheart In every port. Among his confederates in all sorts of reckless enterprises were two men conspicuous for their prowess, who were his fast and confidential friends. Their names were Carpenter and Tal- bot, and each of the three met a vio- lent death in Montana. Each of them was a match for the other in fighting waited until Carrington had cooled down. One night when all was quiet they slipped by the fort with their men and cattle, and when morning came were, so far into the Indian country that Carrington was afraid to send his soldiers out to bring them back. One man in the expedition ob- jected to the proceeding, and they made a prisoner of him until they were well away from the fort. After one night's march away from the fort they turned him loose, and told him to go back to Carrington and safety. \Ile didn't want to go back,\ said the major in telling of this incident. \But we had made up our minds that we were on an adventure of hazard and we could not afford to have a man with us who had a yellow streak.\ Story Him Beau Ideal. One man was killed on the trip. The train continued by night marches until it reached Fort Smith in tho Big Horn. They were then in the coun- try of the friendly Crows, ana danger was far behind them. The rest of the journey, clown the Bozeman, was an easy one. Catlin conceived a great friendship for Story on this trip. lie always claimed that Story was his beau ideal of the western fighting tnan. The trip was one which fired the imagination of all the pioneers of the territory, and excited4nuch favorable comment. The last 40 years of his life were years of peace. He was much es- teemed by the residents of the Mis- soula valley, many of whom had good reason to aepreciate his courage. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday the citizens of Missoula gave him a party. It was attended by all the old timers of the valley, some of whom had Berved under him againet the In- dians. Fliee are like some men. You can't get rid of them with a verbgl knock and you are compelled to do some swatting. and markemanship, and they were all expert boatmen. Mike's weight was 180 pounds. He was five feet, nine inches high, with broad, round face and pleasant fea- tures; brown skin, tanned by the sun and the rain; blue and very expres- sive eyes, broad white teeth, and square, brawny . form, well propor- tioned, with every muscle fully de- veloped, indicating the greatest strength and activity. Except in stature, he was a perfect model for Hercules. Some Shooting.Records. Some of Mike's shooting records are still of record. On one occaskin while ascending the Mississippi river he saw a sow with eight or nine pigs on the river bank. He declared in boatman phrase that he \wanted pig,\ and took up his rifle to shoot one. He was urged by the officer on the boat not to do so, but . neverthe- less raised his rifle to his face, and as the boat glided up the river under easy sail, forty or fifty yards from the shore, he shot at one pig after another, cutting their tails off close to their bodies, but not doing them any other harm! In 1821, while standing on the levee in St. Louis, he saw a negro on the river bank, lietlesely gazing into the river. He had a remarkably shaped foot, peculiar to some Afri- can tribes. His heel protruded to the rear so that his foot seemed to be an much in the rear as in front of the leg. This unshapety form of- fended Mike's eye and_he determined to correct , it.• Lilting his rifle at 30 paces he shot the heel away. The boy dropped to the ground, scream- ing \Murder!\ Mike was indicted in the circuit court of the country, tried and found guilty. His plea in jus- tification of the offense was that he wanted to fix the boy's foot so that he could wear a \genteel boot.\ He drew a short term in jail. A Test of Nerve. Mike's friend, Carpenter, was also a great shot, and it was a common thing for him and Mike to fill a tin cup with whisky and shoot it from each other's head at a distance of 70 yards. The feat was always perform- ed successfully, the cup being bored through at a safe distance above the head. In 1822 Mike, Carpenter and Tal- bot were all in St. Louis and enlisted in the company which General Ash- ley and Major Henry were organizing for their attempt to open up a trade with the Indian tribes up the Mis- souri. The company ascended the river'aSfar as the mouth of the Yel- lowstone, where a fort was construct- ed, from which the party wee sent out in detachments to trade on the trib- utaries of the Missouri and the Yel- lowstone. Mike and his friends, with nine others, went to the Musselshell river, where they made a warm :.nd commodious habitation for the river. It was at tpie point, not far from the present town of Glendive, that Mike and Carpenter fell ieto a dead- ly quarrel; which, however, was smoothed over by friends interven- ing. The quarrel was over a squaw, whom both admired. In the spring the little party re- turned to the fort at the mouth of the Yellowstone, and here, over a drink- ing bout, they renewed their quarrel. Again they made a treaty of peace, and in evidence of their sincerity, Mike proposed that they repeat their familiar feat of shooting the whisky cup from each other's head. This would not only be a test of reconcilia- tion, but of mutual trust ana conri- dence. Mike Murders Carpenter. The first question to be decided' was who should have the first shot. \Let's - 'sky a copper,' \ said Mike. The coin was flipped and Mike won the first shot. Carpenter, who knew from long experience the uncompro- mising character of Mike's hatred, declared his belief in his comrade's treacherous intent, and said he would surely be killed. But he scorned life too much to repudiate his agreement, and accordingly he prepared to die. lie bequeathed his rifle, bullet pouch, powder horn, belt and wages to Tal- bot; and then went to the place where the trial was to occur. He filled his cup with' whisky, and placed it on his head, while Mike was loading his ri- fle and picking‘his flint. Then Carpenter stood at the prop- er place, erect and serene, without a change of countenance to indicate what was passing in his mind. At a distance of 60 yards Mike leveled his rifle. He smilingly remarked, \Hold your noodle steady, Carpenter, and don't spill the whisky, as I shall want *tome presently. He fired and Car- penter fell dead without a groan. The ball had penetrated his forehead in the center, an inch and a half abov& the eyes. Mike cooly set the breech of his gun on the ground, and apply- ing his mouth to the muzzle, blew the smoke out of the barrel, all the while keeping his eye on the pros- trate form of his old-time friend. Finally he said: \Carpenter you have spilled the whisky.\ After a moment he exclaimed: \It is all a mistake, for I took as fine a bead on the black spot on the cup as I ever took on a equirrel's eye. How did it happen?\ , He then curied his rifle, the bullet and finally him- self. ' Talbot Kills Mike. In this remote region where there was no law, and among a party who had an exaggerated dread of Mike's prowess, the crime was permitted to pass off as an accident, and no one said anything. But Talbot, who was Carpenter's fast friend, burned with secret indignation, and resolved on revenge when the chance came. Some weeks after, Mike, during a drink- ing bout, declared that he had killed Carpenter on purpose and was glad of ft. Talbot instantly drew his pistol, the same which Carpenter had given him, and shot Mike through the heart. Mike fell and died without a word. Talbot was not called to account, first because no one had any author- ity to do so and prouably none had any inclination to punish him, as it was considered a just penalty for the killing of Carpentel. Moreover, Tal- bot was a terrible enemy, ferocious and dangerous as a grizzly of the prairies. Later he fought in a bat- tle against the Aricarees, where he displayed a coolness and bravery that compelled admiration. He came out of the battle unharmed, but ten days later, while attempting to swim the Teton river, he was drowned. His body was recovered and buried. FROM ©012CUS ROUSTABOUT TO CAPOTALIIST EIS THE RECORD OF PATIPTICK Ho SEXTON From roustabout with one of the old-fashioned wagon circuses, which flourished in the south and middle Wein until the larger aggregations of marvelous animals and wonderful people with their own complete trains came into existence a quarter of a century ago, to capitalist and booster extraordinary for the state is the up- ward climb made by Patrick II. Sex- ton of Montana, who lives nt Great Falls but claims the whole state as his place of abode. Pat Sexton is known the length and breadth of Montana and most of the states adjoining. Anyone who has -met Pat does not readily forget him, for his height of more than six feet, striking appearance and magne- tic manner catch and hold one's at- tention, and he has cultivated his nat- ural gift of entertaining conversa- tional ability to a point where ite in- variably hae a crowd around him lis- tening to his observations on men and events and illustrating the points he makes with a never-ending and never -twice -repeated assortment of anecdotes and stories. With his at- tractive personality, vivid imagina- tion and a \fetching\ Irish brogue that is second only to Colonel NOlall'S of Ilelega, he has an individuality all hie own and a larger list of ac- quaintances than most men in the state. It was while the south was still seething over the war of the rebellion that Pat, a youngster in his teens. left his father's plantation in Louisiana, which had been ruined by the war, and took up arms in the battle for existence. He wat4 a tall, handsome lad of fine physique, with a young Irishman's natural love for adven- ture, and for a year he drifted over the country trying his hand at what- ever appealed to hint. Having a na- turally easy manner of approaching people, he became a fire insurance so- licitor and a successful one. Business Is Bad. But the unsettled business condi- tions in the south made this occupa- tion a precarious one at the time, and one day Pat found himself out of em- ployment and with the last hole in his meal ticket punched. Rising ear- ly in the morning in a little town in Louisiana one day, he strolled about until he came upon a small eiretie preparing for a performance in the village. Pat stood idly watching the roustabouts at work putting up the big tent, and as he viewed the scene he was impressed by two things. One was that the roustabouts—mostly negroes--were working to very poor purpose; the other was that the com- missary department seemed to be particularly well supplied and the head cook was a workmanlike person whose appearance - and manner gave promise of excellent meals. While Pat was half -unconsciously associating the idea of a hot break- fast with a certain gnawing sensation from within, the manager of the cir- cus brnite forth out of a large, cov- ered wagon nearby and began a sar- castic commentary on the manner in which the roustabouts were getting the tents up. As he proceeded with a startling line of oaths and invective his fury increased untir the atmos- phere grew blue. Finally the fore- man of the roustabouts threw down a inallet he had in his hand he stalked This was Pat's opportunity. With- out a word to the manager, he stalk- ed in _among the disorganized roust- abouts and began giving rapid-fire commands. A huge negro, who had the silk on the end of his long whip - been soldiering on the job, stood with ; lash like Pat, or bring the big Con - his arms folded in open rebellion. cord up to the hotels and stage sta- \Who told you -all to run this job? tions with the flourish that he did. he shouted. Two or three other negroes stood Other Occupations. at ease, grinning, equally inquisitive concerning this point. Pat whirled suddenly and landed a terrific punch on the solar plexus of the big negro, Who went down with a groan. T h e n, putting his 180 pounds behind a couple of swings where they would do the , MOBt good, he put two more astonished A M- eans on the turf. T h e rebellion was over and in a few minutes the gang of blacks were working indus- triously and in harmony on the job of getting the tente up. The manager, who had taken in this unsehectuled performance in silence, merely remarked: \That is your job,\ and turned away, sat- isfied that Ile had left it in good hands. off the grounds, leaving the job with- i brought into Deadwood, Pat was out a boss. idriving it. The manager of the stage Pat Takes the Job. I line at Deadwood liked the way Pat handled the ribbons and offered hint a job as driver. For six months Pat herded six horses along the trail be- tween Cheyenne and Deadwood, and no driver along the line could throw Pat Sexton. For a couple of years Pat drove stage and freighted over the western trails. Then he returned to the in- surance business and became known as the biggest producer of farm fire insurance in the west. In the sum- mer he worked Montana, Washing- ton, Oregon and Wyoming. In the winter he usually was busy in Texas or elsewhere in the south. Pat had a unique method of solicit- ing, entirely characteristic of him. He would hire the finest buggy team and best equippage to be had. He al- ways wore the best of clothes, with a handsome driving coat and a $25 Stet- son hat. When he approached a big ranch, for he never went to the small ones, he would halt outside the gate and send his driver in to announce that Patrick II. Sexton of San Fran- cisco was without and wished to con- verse with the ranchman. When the latter came out he could not fall to be impressed with the fineness of Pat's equippage and personal appearance, and he invariably extended a hospit- Able invitation to him to become his guest. Pat used to write five-year policies covering everything the ranchrnan had, so that he had to work a territory only once in five years. Pat Becomes Wealthy. When Pat finally decided to settle down, his manner of doing so wee This was the original Sells Bro- typical of him. The Rainbow hotel there' circus. Pat got the tents up in Great Falls had just been corn - and enjoyed his breakfast. Ile as- pleted. Pat had spotted Grekat Falls sumed the job of general foreman as a town of big possibilities. He and drew good wagee. For a time went to the Rainbow and asked for the roving life and the glamor of the the finest suite of rooms in the hotel. sawdust ring appeared to him. The \How long will you want these circus people liked him and he added rooms?\ inquired the clerk. a lot of efficiency to the organization. \Oh! Perhaps twenty-five years,\ In his spare time he trained the replied Pat. \I'm going to make my \spielers\ and made the \bally-hoo\.- home here, you Understand,\ he add - attract greater crowds. One day the ed. Pat still has the rooms. ringmaster left the show and Pat The first thing Pat did was to or - took hia Job, too. Attired in faultlees ganize the Rocky Mountain Fire In - fitting evening dress, with hie black surance company. With George Lloyd moustache and magnetic personality, he sold the stock and took over the he made an ideal ringmaeter. In general agency of the company. He those days the ringmaster was a far purchased the Sexton Park addition more important adjunct to a circus to Great Falls, adjoining the city lim- than he is in these times, and Pat its on the east, and plotted it, putting became known to the circus world the lots on the market. He and as the best one in the business. Bar- Lloyd built the Sexton -Lloyd block, num offered him a big salary to work a three-story structure in the business for him in that capacity, but Pat, who district. He purchased some of the had been with the Sells people for best corners in the Great Falls busi- nearly a year, had grown tired of the nese district. Ile organrzed the Sex - life and left it. ton Theater company and'opened the Pat, still in search of adventure, biggest moving picture house in headed westward and at last reached Great Falls, which he operates at a the Black Hills in South Dakota. It big profit. waa in Deadwood, one day, that Pat Pat Sexton is worth a quarter of a had another means of livelihood In1111011 dollars today, and he has forced upon him bY, fate. As he was made it all within the last six years. loitering In the Palace, hotel *end \Not bad for a man who started as came in that the stagecoach from a circus roustabout,\ he says. Cheyenne had been held up by Big Nose George and his gang and the The long -faced hypocrite who driver and two passengers shot. A maintains that it is a sin for a man posse was quickly formed, which - Pat to smoke is going to do his smoking joined. When the stage was finally after he dies. Pat as a Ringmaster. 1\ I , LOUIS BLODGETT ON A BIGGER JOB HUMAN DYNAMO OF THE JUDITH TAKES MANAGEMENT OF BIG THREE FORKS COMPANY Story of Hifi Achievements Read by Chicago Capitalist, Who Finds in Young Montana Live Wire the Man He Needed for Handling Big Prop- osition. Last February there appeared ini this newspaper the story of Louis Blodgett, the Human Dynamo, secre- tary of the Lewistown Commerclia club, who has done wonders in that city in bringing together for their mutual benefit the businees men of the town and the farmers of the Ju- dith Basin. The Lewistown Com- mercial club, under the able manage- ment of Blodgett, has gained a na- tional reputation. It happened that the story about Blodgett, above -mentioned, came into of hands of John Quincy Adams, the well known Chicago capitalist, who Louis Blodgett, Whose rield of Activ- ities HAS Been Enlarged. owns a large area of land adjacent to the town of Three Forks, as well as the Three Forks townsite. The Adams Investment company, of which John Quincy Adams is the head, had in view plans for the re- clamation of 30,000 acres of its Three Forks land, besides other large improvements in and around the tpwn. The company was looking around, moreover, for a man of thor- ough knowledge of Montana condi- tions, combined with a whole lot of energy, ability and experience in Montana agriculture. Read About Louis. When John Quincy Adams read the story about the IIuman Dynamo and what he had done in the Judith basin, he began to think that Louis was the man he was looking for. But being a man of affairs and much experience in organization, he did not act with undue haste or without going further into the matter. He wrote to a big business man of Lewistown of his acquaintance and asked him for a detailed report on Louis\ Blodgett's ability to handle a big job in a big way. The endorsement that Louis received from that Lewistown busi- ness man would make even the Hu- man Dynamo stop work for half a minute to shake hands with himself if he had an opportunity to read it, which he did not have, by the way. Adams investigated further, and be- fore he had completed his task, he knew more about Louis than Louis knew about himself. The one day Louis received an in- vitation to visit Three Forks to help in revitalizing the commercial club there. Ho went to Three Forks and put their commercial organization on a working basis in about three hours, with a $6,000 a year budget all ar- ranged for and apportioned. The next week he was summoned to Chi- cago to interview Benjamin S. Ad- ams, son of John Quincy Adams. There a contract covering several years was drawn, under the terms of which Louis Blodgett becomes Mon- tana manager of the company at a salary approaching what the United States government pays to a senator. On a Big Job. L01118 is on a big job. The plans for irrigating 30,000 acres and the entrance into the Three Forks dis- trict on one of the biggest sugar re- fining companies in the United States, to follow the reclamation work, were announced at Helena last week. J. W. Beadsley, representing the J. G. White Engineering company of New York, is in Montana in con- nection with the engineering end of the irrigation work. The sugar company has made a preliminary investigation of the land and it has been demonstrated that the land is unexcelled for sugar beet cultivation. Blodgett issued a statement to the effect that this project differs from most other reclamation projects in Montana in that the settlers are al- ready living on most of the land to be irrigated. The irrigation system, if found feasible, will be Installed on a basis of its cost plus a percentage and no one will make a cent out of the increased value of the land ex- cepting the owners, themselves. Plac- ing their lands under the ditch will simply mean an adaptation of their system of farming to Irrigation meth- ods. Where grain Is the principal crop now, alfalfa and sugar beets will replace them when water is delivered. In the meanwhile, Louis, although not given to blowing his own horn, is convinced that being advertised is not unprofitable. n
