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About The Ekalaka Eagle (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920 | View This Issue
The Ekalaka Eagle (Ekalaka, Mont.), 09 Jan. 1920, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn85053090/1920-01-09/ed-1/seq-3/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
TEE EE.A.L.\-Xte EAGLE. EARLY EXPEDITION OF JAMES-BRIDGER VISITED BIG ,t.'TRN COUNTY IN 1855, SEVEN - YEARS BEFORE GOLD STRIKE AT ALDER Ire i ;aed an Expedition Which Was Financed dy a British Nobleman; Killed So Many Buffalo That Only the Tongue and Tenderloin Was Used as Food. James Bridger, the famous scout, is said to have heep the first man to explore the Lodge Grass region of the Little Big Hotn, in southeastern Montana. In 1855, eight years be- fore gold was discovered in Alder Gulch, Bridger led an expedition, which had been Hi:lanced by Sir George Mopre, an Englishman, from Tongue river north to 'the Yellow- stone / They camped for the winter and, so goes the story, killed .six thousand buffalo, of which' they only used the tongues and tenderloins. The Bozeman Trail - About ten years later the Bozeman eXpedition came through under Brid- ger'e\guidance and the famous Boze- man trail was established from the Platte river to Bozeman. It was to be a short cut to the gold fields, but on account of constant difficulties with the Indians and the numerous disastrous conflicts, the route was at length abandoned. This route pass- e only a few miles from Lodge Grass S t e rifle pits which -were built along the route for 'protection are still to be seen. The ;Crows, who possessed this land, were constantly at war with other tribes anxious to dispossess them of the beautiful country ex- tending south of the Yellowstone from Powder river to the Rockies, and, many were the battles with th •Cheyennes and the Sioux: In Park - Man's \Oregon Trail\ are numerous stories, of these battles and a descrip- tion of a battle between the Crows and some Blackfeet invaders, which must have taken place near here. The Blackfeet were outnumbered and entrenched themselves. When the Crows Charged The Crow warriors _worked them- selves into a frenzy and, when a brave was sufMiently enthused, he would rush upon the Blackfeet while his comrades looked on and applaud* ed. The Blackfeet kept putting these braves out of action, one. by one, in this fashion until a trapper by the name of Beckwith suggested they should all rush upon the Blackfeet at once, The plan was carried out and the band of Blackfeet annihil- ated. IEL11 HOT POILIITHCS AND LAW MONTANA WAS IT OF DAKOTA In 1861 all that portion of what is today Montana was included 'in the territory of Dakota, and remained under the Dakota territorial govern- ment until Idaho became a territory in 1663 and too:* part of Dakota's area; and in 1864 Montana became a territory with its boundaries the same as are those of this state today. • The first territorial government that the scattering white population in all that great area of Montana east of the Rockies had, therefore, was the -Dakota government at,Yankton, which was 1,657 mlles by river from Fort Benton. Yankton was establish- ed in 1859 on the Missouri at kpoint on the southtastern corner of what is today South Dakota.: Steamers coming up- the river in the spring of 1861 brought news of the approval by President Buchanan of the bill creating Dakota territory, which was signed March 2 of that year. Two or three Fort Benton ;nen at once took a trip to Yankton to learn something of the territorial laws -it was proposed to organize and to find out in a general way just haw conditions up the river were to be affected by the region coming under territorial law. They found that William Jayne of Illinois had been appointed governor of the territory, witb John Hutchin- son of Minnesota territorial secre- tory. P. Bliss of Ohio was chief jus- tice; L. P. Williston of Pennsylvania and J. L. Williams of Tennessee, as- sociate justices; W. E. Gleason of Maryland, district attorney; Henry A. Kennerly was appointed register of the land office. Kennerly was later in the employ of the American Fur Company and died some years ago at Cutbank, Montana. The first town of any consequence was Sioux Falls, where the Dakota Democrat, the first newspaper in the territory, was published Sioux Falls was attacked by the Sioux in 1862, 1 however, and the white population fled after several had been killed. The Sioux then burned the town. - When Dakota became , a territory there were only 2,402 white persons rediding within its confines, accord- ing to a census taken at the time, which included Fort Benton. Wild West Legislation nThe first legislature in the new territory assembled in September, in 1861, at Yankton. The sessioa was a stormy one and many exciting scenes took place over the hill loca- ting the capital there. The members of the legislature included ministers, doctors, merchants and rough fron- tiersmen wearing. •buckskin suits, moccasins and long hair. A historian of the early legislative sessions was the late Moses K. Arm - t. Moses IC. Armstrong, First Congress man to Represent What Is Today Montana at Washington, and Wh o Had Some Exciting Times Cam- paigning for Election Among the Rough Frontiersmen Along the Mis- souri River Before tile Civil strong, who became a member of con- gress from the territory. Describing. one of the early sessions, he wrote: \My'seat in one of those early ses- sions was near a frontier desperado, by name Jim Somers, who some years IN 'WHEN TERRITORY later was shot dead in a fight over a claim he had juinped. He was a giant In frame and absolutely ferules.. He gloried in his gaudily decorated buck- skin suit and long hair. At Yankton once he rode his horse into a saloon HANK WINTER'S BEAR FIGHT By RAWHIDE RAWLINS Just as Everything's Turnin' Black Bed -Rock's Winchester.—Drawing by Charles M. Russell. \It ain't no birthmark,\ said Hank Winter, in reply to my inquiry about his left leg, which was crooked and caused him to walktwith a decided limp. \Up to the time I'm 25,\ he con- tinued, ;;I'm tux sound as a hound's tooth. The way I get this game leg Is lookin' for a bear and findin' him. It's this way: \Just after.the Yogo stampede in '79, me ,11,n' Be(1-Rock Jim is pros - pectin' on the south side of the Snow - lea. We're takin' it easy, not carin' much whether we find anything or not bein' it's so easy to live—the country is lousy with game them days--blacktail deer, mountain sheep and elk in the mountains; antelope, whitetail and buffalo in the valleys. But we're atayin' pretty close to the mountains on account of Injuns. We had seen a band of 20_91.2 -em, all afoot, one a breech - clout th clothes consists of paint an' f ers. ed-Rock says: 'When yoff see ese goin' south it's a sign of cold eather; but it ain't sure, 'cause geese ain't always reliable. But when you see Injuns afoot, it's a sure sign somebody else'll be afoot short- ly. If there's one place where an In= jun shines, it's stealin' hosses, an' they don't mind sendin' their owners to the next world in the smoke of a shootin' iron, keeping their hair to remember the trip by.\ \But me an' Bed -Rock don't fig- ure on ricatterin' our locks among no bunch of savages to trim leggin's with, so we pulls for the head of SwiMmin' Woman creek. It's there mix up 'with thitt bear. 11... \One night I'm woke up by the snortin' of the hosses, which shows there's somethin\round the camp. I think it's Injuns, but listenin', I tum- ble there's somebody in our.grub; by the Round, my guess is it's a bear. He's smackin' his chops an' goin' on like he's pretty well pleased. ) About twenty feet from where we lay our' meat's hangin' in a dead pine, an' the noise is comfit' from that direc- tion. 'It's that smoky fall weather that makes the nights as black as a nig- ger's pocket. I can't see nothin' but I find my gun and aim for the sound. When my Winchester speaks she's answered by the damndest bellerin', nortlre an' bustin' brush you ever heard, \This wakes Bed- i llock. He seems mighty anxious to know what's goin' on, an' I tell him how the play comes up. Mr. Bear has quit bellerin', but we can hear him down the gulch, whimperin' liRe he's nursln' his wounds. He finally quits and we don't hear nothin' more of him that night. \Next mornin' one of the hoses has pulled his pin, but he ain't gone far. Our meat looks mighty mussy, Ahowin' that Mister Bear has had a good feed. These things goes to prove that it ain't no bad dream I had. \While we're eAtins breakfast I tell Bed -Bock I'm goin' to round up that bear. It seems he don't approve of. bear roundups much, an' he tells me a yarn about a pardner of his'n who goes look in' for a- bear down in Colo- rado. He follows this bear into the brush an' never comes out till Bed - Bock runs onto him next day. lie's In such chunks that he's mighty un- handy to pack. Bed -Rock buries him In a flour sack, an' he says he never did find all of the pieces. \This yarn don't scare me none, as I'm young an' foolish, so when gets through . feedin', I picks up thy inchester and starts out huntin' acks. They ain't hard to find, for t e bear's left considerable blood, m in' his trail as plain as a picture boo but when I look at the size of his tracks I 'know I ain't after no cub. 1 \I feller his trail along a timbered ridge, now an' then seem' where he's made a fight with a tree or log, like they ain't got no right on the same mountain with him. One place- he's tore all the bark off a big pine for six feet up an' bit a hunk out of it like it's ginger cake. All these little outbreaks of temper goes to show he's got it in for somebody, an' it ain't hard for me to guess who it is. \Well I go about a mile, when his tracks lead me down the mountain into the timber an' rocks. It's a mighty ticklish place to toiler a bear. The timber's as thick as hair on a dog with lots of windfalls. Just as I reach the edge of this I hear some- body say: \'Don't you reckon you'd better draw out of this game?' \Lookin\round, there stands Bed - Rock Jim, who's follered me. ' His remark makes me hostile, an' bein' young an' hot-headed I make sore remark about his havin' a yeller streak. Ile don't sy nothin', but looks mighty straight, an' I notice them roan whiskers of his tremble an' jerk like he's got somethin' hard to swallow. \I plunge into the brush through the timber, lookin' fort trouble, an' it ain't long till I find it. I'm just climbin' down a ledge of. rock when I hear a roar like all hell's turned loose, an' that bear's on me before I can bat an eye. lie's skinnin' his teeth an' his mouth is open so I c'an see clear to his grinders. \I fire one shot, but I'm so rat- tled she goes wild; Before I can throw in another ca'tridge he knocks the - gun loose from my hand and his claws tear my right sleeve from the shoulder down, cuttins my arm plumb to the bone. I try to use my knife, but my hand is that slick with blood it slips my hold an' falls to the ground. Then he clerics in an' I turn cold all over, for it looks like the end's\' come. \But just as everything's turnin' black I hear Bed -Rock's Winchesket, an' the way he throws lead shows hl• ain't no stranger to a gun. He's shoothe so _fast it sounds like one long roar. The Inst. I remember the smoke of his Winchester's hangin' on my clothes. \When I come to I ain't got rags enough on me to pad a crutch an' Bed -Rock's try in' to pry Mister Bear's jaw loose from my leg with my broken gun. It seems like when this bear's light went out he takes a death grip on me, breakin' my leg like it's a match. I played mighty lucky gettin' out of it alive. Of course, I've got Bed -Rock to thank for that, an' I ain't backward about dein' it an' tellin' What a fool I made of myself. \I've heard about men fightin' bears with nothin' but a knife an' winnin', but if I ever get a chance to bet on that kind of a fight I'll play the human wlth a copper.\ and shot the sheriff., His own death followed shortly after. \I remember vivdly the only speech Jim made in the legislature. It was short; but full of threats of vengeance against all who should dare to vote against his biltlegalizing marriages between white men and squaws. Jim and his pistol were oth loaded, that morning when he rose with fire in his eye and swore he would blow out the brains of the assembled lawmakers if they killed his bill. \'What Dakota needs is less brains and more children,' he roared, strik- ing' his fist on the desk. 'I move that this legislature adjourn and every man go out and get himself a squaw and we'll get this blankety- blank country populated.'\ , • A Red Hot Campaigner Old General C. T. Campbell, a noted and eccentric Indian trader, was a political power of those days. He was a red hot, rip-roaring demo- crat and had a trading post on the Missouri aliove Foil Randall. When he heard that Arndstrong had 'been nominated for congress by the demo- crats he sent down his mule team with a requisition from the candidate for three barrels of whisky and some array muskets and ammunition with which to storm the enemy's works on the frontier. He reported that the voters were waiting to be persuaded and preferred wet ammunition, but that there were some they would have to use powder and lead to con- vince. During the campaign Armstrong paid a visit at General Campbell's trading post, where a hot rally was held. There was a big Indian dance, a dog feast, a shooting match and plenty to drink. When the old gen- eral was making his star speech- for Armstrong, some mountaineer on a back seat shot the general's hat off and shattered with another bullet a glass decanter Of whisky beside the general's hand. The fiery old speak- er paid not the slightest attention to these interruptions, but went right on speaking with yehement eloquence and finishe,d in a blazing peroration, when he called for the candidate to call everybody to the bar for liquor. Armstrong sugiested to the gen- eral that it would be a good idea to curb the shooting if possible, but the oath: General trader blurted out with an th General a Good Adviser \Now Armstrong, don't be a damned coward. I brought you here to show these Democratic hyenas the kind of stuff you are made of. If you show the white feather you're a dead duck with this crowd. You should have done your praying before you crossed the county line. \You must bare your breast an' tett 'em to shoot, - And you'll get the vote of every galoot.\ Armstrong followed the general's advice and got the votes. He then made another trip of 400 , miles northward to the half-breed settlement on the Pembina river. There he traveled for' a week in a two -wheeled Red river cart harnessed with rawhide to a trotting ox. The ox would take a pacing rack and cover 30 miles a day. One amusing incident in connection with the second territorial legisla- ture was the appearance one morning of an armed detachment of 20 City- alrymen, j who entered the lower house of the legislature with bayo- nets fixed and with instructions to preserve order, make arrests if ne- cessary and to protect the house from violence. . The legislators were tits mad as hornets and immediately adjourned to find out from the governor the reason for this unprovoked insult. They found that the speaker of the house, S. M. Pinney, had asked—the governor to send the troops because he fared violence to his person. Pin- ney had been very partisan and ar- bitrary in his rulings, and he had a tv. ELECTRIC GIANTS IN STATE SERVICE MONSTER LOCOMOTIVES MARK NEW SPEED ERA ON MON- TANA RAILROAD New Machines Weigh 287 Tons, Are 76 Feet Long, and Put Into Effect 8,240 Horsepower; Will Develop Speed in Excess of 65 Miles Per Hour. Another revolution in the' hist- ory of American—and in fact the world — railroading, was brought about one day recently on the Mil- waukee line between Butte and Deer Lodge, when . a new electric locomotive, as far ahead in speed and power of the 914 Milwaukee electric engine as the latter trans- cended the ancient steam engines, rolled Into the 'Butte\ depot. The new locomotive is the -first of 17 new motors to be used on the Montana division early in the new year. --The old motors are to be sent to the new electrification division in Washington on the recently electri- fied line from Othello to Tacoma. • The new engine is adapted for great speed ffnd is considered more economical than the old ones. Re- generation of electric power, which was possible on the old style engines only at a 15 -mile -an -hour speed or faster, is possible with the new en- gine running at three miles an hour.- • The armature and driving wheel form virtaally one piece in the new engine while in. the old they were two distinct units. This locomotive is the largest and most powerful passenger engine in the world. It weighs 267 tons, is 76 feet long, 18 feet high, uses 3,000 volts direct current, and has a horse- power of 3,240. Its speed is in ex- cess of 65 miles an hour. Three of the new locomotives have arrived on the division and are at the Deer Lodge shops. Fifteen of the 17 new locomotives will be used for special passenger business, while two of them will be known as switch motors. The recent test is the Mitt real try- out of the new locomotive. On the eastern eleitritied_14011, the voltage is loafer than on the Mon- tana lines, which gave a voltage of 3,000 with 100,000 in the high line. Consequently the supreme test was not possible in the east and it remain- ed for the Montana division to make a trial run, which marks a new era in an already fast progressing age of railroad transportation, notion that if he had soldiers to guard him, th,e menlbers could not unseat him. e immediately lost his „Owe (war,eia,er and the legislature went ahead 'with its work. The Noted \Nigger Bill\ One of the bitterest fights in this session of the legislature was the celebrated \nigger bill,\ which pro- vided that any negro or Mulatto, bond or free, who came into the territory of Dakota, should leave within 20 days or be locited up in jail until he or she consented to go out of the ter- ritory. One stiff -haired, fierce -look- ing gentleman characterized this bill as \the legitimate offspring of four gallons of villainous whisky.\ After a hot and lengthy debate the bill was indefinitely postponed. Had it pass- ed the house, as it did the upper council, a number of black men would have had to leave Fort Ben- ton. The legislature was flooded with letters from women, urging the pass- age of a divoece law so that they could get rid of their husbands. One woman wrote that her husband was \no better, than a wooden man.\ Another complained that her husband was addicted to habitual \sleeping and* shoring.\ A third averred that her husband was not \a natural af- finity,\ which proves that the \af- finity\ idea is not a new one, al- though much talked about today. .• Coffee trodbles Vanish • Wiwi the table drink i& ? changed from coffee; to . Posium Cereal Us rich flavor makes it fully acceptable to - those who like coffee but find coffee doesrik like them., This healthful table bevertage has not increased in -price, At Grocers and General Stores Two Sizes Usually sold at 1s4 and 254 Made by Postum Cereal Co.BattleCreek,Mich. i f N.6 7 1 .I. 7 1 0, 7 'le 1 16 7 1 0 71 0. 7 \ di\ / 116•61 7 1 . 7 % 7 \•67 Nib , N•e' Nrs , WNW No.> Noe . Nola • AM.
