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About The Hardin Tribune-Herald (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973 | View This Issue
The Hardin Tribune-Herald (Hardin, Mont.), 15 May 1925, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn86075229/1925-05-15/ed-1/seq-5/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
SENTINEL PINE FROM ITS VANTAGE POINT ON MOUNT JUMBO HAS WITNESSED WESTERN MONTANA HISTORY FOR 350 YEARS (By A. L. STONE) • If your house burns it's hard luck, but you can rebuild. It a tree is burned, God, Himself, can't replace it right away— Forest Anthology. H IGH on the hip of Mount Jum- bo stands Sentinel Pine. Re- mote from its kind, this yellow pine overlooks Hell Gate and the Mis- soula valley in Western Montana, with view unobstructed. Lonely It keeps its vigil, exposed to sun and storm. Dean Spaulding of the school of forestry at the Montana State Uni- versity has measured the life of this guardian of the pass; the pine's own story, told in the succession of year - lines which constitute its auto- graphy, tells of a growth of more than 350 years. Lightly, these days, we speak of centuries and millions, epochs and billions, without comprehending the significance of the terms we employ. TWree butiliMd - ind fifty years -.that does not mean much, perhaps, as we say it. But reckon back. Three hundred and fifty years ago — three centuries and a half—that takes us to 1575. Elizabeth was England's queen and the struggle for religious freedom had but just be- gun, which was to culminate in the emigration of the settlers of New England. In France the bitter strife over religous questions was at its height. Europe rocked with the agi- tation which peopled America. . It must have been a bird in flight which dropped upon the bare slope of Jumbo the seed which gave birth to Sentinel Pine. Or was it a gopher, traveling far for food, that brought this seed? Whatever the agent which the Creator employed, this pine started its growth in that re- mote past. When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, this tree was 45 years old. When New England farmers fired \the shot heard round the world\ the pine was just 200 years in age. On April 19, this year, as we listened to the echo of that, musketry fire, 1775, seemed a long way in the past; yet the tree on Jumbo had been grow- ing there two centuries before that. Does this comparison add to appre- ciation of the long growing process. which has made up the life of this yellsow pine? If it does not, perhaps realization of what a span this really is—three hundred and fifty years— may come if we turn back the clock and standing beside this tree on the wind-swept hillside, review the pan- orama of life which it has witnessed. 0 _ able soil of Jumbo's slope, save for there were the causual visits of the Selish. The a peaceful five tribes of this nation journeyed below the little tree as it kept its early vigil, on their way through the pass to the buffalo country on their hunting trips. Over this trail, too, they made their way on their forays into the country of the Blackfeet and the Crows—sometimes on the war- path and again in quest of material Untenanted by humans was the Missoula valley when Sentinel Pine thrust its head through the inhospit- I FOUR WEEKS' TUITION FREE! In Summer School —A splendid opportunity for out-of-town pupils who want to better their present condition. —You will enjoy spend- ing the summer in Great Falls amidst the beatitAltil pnritif and scenic beauty of the Niagara of the West. ---The metropolitan at- mosphere—the diversi- fied commercial activi , ties, will rend to round out your business edu- cation. Great Fails. Commercial College GREAT FA MR MONT. Dean A. L. Stone, who in the ac- companying article gives voice to the sentiment which alone belongs to nature—a senthnent which is so well exemplified In the famous Sen- tinel Pine. for their paints. This valley was their rendevous for council; the grove where they met was set almost in the center of the valley over which this lone sentinel kept watch. There wae game in abundance; in the streams which coursed the valley fish in quantity It was scene. Sometimes the Selish bands return- ed from their eastward jaunts chant- ing loud songs of victory; sometimes they came back with the death song on their lips. Many times the Senti- nel heard the yells of battling war- riors and the other sounds of strife —for there were fierce conflicts in the little basin on the other side of Jumbo, when foemen waylaid the Sel- ish. Then the peace of the valley was jarred and the tree wondered. Again strange Indians, whom the tree did not know, crept stealthily along the trail below, moving westward. They were the eastern foes of the Selish, bent on war or horse-stealing—for the horses of the Selish were of rare quality. And, just as the tree had seen its friends come back exultant or depressed, so it beheld the re- turn of their foes--eometimes vic- torious, sometimes vanquished. Ex- ultant or despondent, they passed in review before the Sentinel Pine in- to the shadows of Hell Gate and out of its vision. Save for these inter- ruptions, there was little change in the scene, which stretched before the pine as it waxed sturder and taller, Each morning the sunrise glittered upon Lob o peak, away to the west- ward; each evening the light waned as the sun sank behind the rugged skyline of the Bitter Roots. Season followed season and year succeeded year until 230 years had passed, and the tree knew only its Indian friends and the animals whose home was in the valley. It was in 1805 that the change in the valley began. In that year the Sentinel Pine beheld a strange cara- van turn out of the valley into the Lob o paste What manner of men they were the tree knew not, but they were different from the Selish. Nor were they like the foes of the Sel- ish. But the caravan moved on and was lost to view. Another year and the caravan came back down the Lo - lo trail; this time it divided and part of it moved across the valley and came along the trail of the Selish. Close below, beside the Rattlesnake, these strange men camped at noon and when they had rested they came on along the eastward way. Into Hell Gate's shadows they moved and the tree saw that they were white of skin. Lewis and Clark had come and gone. The valley of the Senti- nel Pine had been discovered by the white man. Came then, stragglers from time to time, more of the white men but they did not tarry. Fur -hunters were they or adventurers, seeking whatever they migh find. A band of strange Indians came, too, and remained. That was in, 1821. The Indians were from the far east—Iroquois harking westward before the press of the in- vading whites. And they became one with the Selish people. In 1835, and again in 1839, the Sentinel Pine. be- held, the one time four and and the other two Selish padding along the trail eastward bound. They were the messengers of the Indians to the Black Robes, asking that priests be sent to teach these people the Truth The Sentinel Pine did not witness the first coming of Peter DeSmet, the Black Robe who came to Montana in response to the persistent and insist- ent Plea - Of The - ffellsb, but in 1842 when the young priest, who was to become so important a factor in pre- paring the valley for civilization, came back to Montana prepared to establish permanently the mission, he came down the Hell Gate trail and the pine beheld this staunch crusader. Another epoch had dawned in the his- tory of the valley. Of all the figures which have passed before the gaze of the sentinel, none is more strik- ing than this. Another decade—the narrow trail below the sentry post, worn deep by padding feet in moccasins, has be- come wider. The travois has been succeeded by the pack train. The fur - traders have located west of the mountains; their parties move back and forth across the valley; their posts have become fixtures among the Selish \The Mah with the Beard\ (Angus McDonald) has taken his trust pf the Selish and became their friend. It is 1853. There Is a great con- clave at Council Grove. General Ste- vens, now governor of Washington, camps with the Selish; there is much talk. When it is ended, the Selish have made treaty with the white man. They have signed something which will lead them to the irksome restrictions of a reservation, but not all of them realize that the day of their great freedom is passing. And High on the hip of Mount Jumbo stands Sentinel Pine. Far remote from any of its kind, this yellow pine overlooks Hell Gate and Mis- soula valley in Western Montana. yet another innovation. In the midst of its valley a village appears, differ- ent from the tan tepees of the Selish. This village Is of logs—a cluster of rude vabins. The white man lives now in the valley. The towns of Hell Gate is born—a town whose perma- nent population was never more than 14, but in whose burial ground there were later 19 mounds. Closer to the lookout of the pine a lone cabin springs up, near the mouth of the Rattlesnake—Bill Hamilton has er- 1 Wild BM Ross, His Outlaw Hoss, and Some of The Interesting Exploits of His Youth (By MON TANA LOU) CI B ORN in San Antonio, Texas, reared on the plains where the sunsets linger in the golden - flooded twilights that are absorbed by the rising curtains of darkness, out on the western rim of the world; in his boy- hood days acquaintfd with the long horn cattle o f th e s o uth_ raged like a tempest in his being, he I a n d; a broke with the school authorities and two - gun returned to the states to resume his man in the work on the Texas frontier. There he MON TANA L017 valley o f Grand e when yet man— a m e m ber Engaged to rid the border of un- of the fam- desirable smugglers from Mexico and one Texas clashing with the natives of that Rangers— country, he early learned the use of early 1 n firearms and was recognized as an the saddle expert rifleman. In company with by day and night be- hind and In front of stampeding herds of steers; caught in the movement that led out the old Texas Trail to the feeding pastures of the north coun- try and into Montana two score of years ago; a lover of horses in the U. palmies tracing days of St. Louis; a business man engaged in the whirl of commerce on the Mississippi; in- terested in railroad management and operalton, and finally finding a permanent location in Miles City, Montana, in brief, this is the present life span of William NOble (Wild Bill) Ross, reconteur, lover of art and animals, branded with the hos- pitable qualifications of the south and a hale, hearty fellow, well met. Educated in the common schools, and the career of a physician selec- ed for him by his father, \Wild Lill\ matriculated in lieidelburg univers- ity, Germany, when a young man standing on the threshhold of his life's journey. Chafing uncle- the re- straints of university confinement and yielding to the natural urge that Bohemian Hop -Flavored PURITAN MALT Gives Best Results Choicest Materials Ask Your Grocer Mont anal, OW& libul I orm— BUTTE MALT FiliRUP CO. S54 So. Labb• sc. Butt*. Mostass gained a knowledge and familiarity with men and cattle that stood him well in hand in following along tile line of his keenest desires. other rangers he spent a considerable portion of his younger life on the bounc.ary that separates the United Statee from the republic to the south, and assisted in establishing order and upholding the traditions of his coun- try that peace is more to be desired than conflict. Opportunities arise out of exper- iences, and experiences either.broad- en the mind and increase the outlook of the individual on the problems of life, or allow for the creating of im- pressions of satisfaction with condi- tions with its consequent desire to re- main and make no advance. Mr. Ross, while he was competent and coMPletelY qualified as a Texas Ranger soon caught the signals from the towers of greater accomplishment and \hitching his wagon to the star\ of his destiny, found his way leading to the north country. Before his departure he left his mark upon ilia soil of his native land. Vengeful Mexicans sought his 11011LR It09191 - Of- Miles 4711,,, 'sometime twoiran man and Tex\ Ranger. He is the presideant of the Miles City Roundup and Historical Association, and an esteemed citizen of Old Milestown. life. On his arm he bears the scar of the stiletto, and the only reminder left of the incident is a little mound of six feet of earth somewhere in Texas where peacefully sleeping awating the sound of Gabriel's trumpet lies his would-be annihila- tor. In his body he carries a bullet, a souvenir of an encounter with an- other Mexican, the latter gone long ere this to the bourne from whence no traveler returns. Tail, erect, silver -tipped he has taken his place in the ranks dr Mon- tana supporters and boosters. Bid- ding farewell to the trail, he turned to commercial pursuits and identifi- cation himself with the development of the Pacific northwest. It is but a step frosi the hill country and plains to the piatitirM ot - a railroad organi- zation and for many years Mr. Ross has been connected in various capac- ities with railway operation and transportation service. For the past six years he has been a resident of Miles City. lmediately upon his arrival he identified himself with every civic movement that had to do with the upbuilding of his com- munity, the place of his residence. Three years ago he became president of the Miles City Roundup and His- torical association. He was re-elect- ed for the second term, being the on- ly one who was ever honored with that distinction. His admiration for and his love of horses; his high re- gard for the riding ability of brou- co busters, his intimate knowledge of the ways of men enabled him to ad- minister the affairs of the associa- tion in such a manner that never be- fore had the guaranty fund paid in advance to insure the success cf the year's exhibitions been returned to the original donors, a thing howev- er that was done under his manage- ment and direction. Early in this neetion with the management of the Roundup he became in contact with Skyrocket, famous outlaw of the plain and owned by the association to which animal he formed a strong attachment. Skyrocket became his pet; but Skyrocket was never ridden. Gentle in the halter, like his admir- er, he never permitted man to sit on his back without protest and al- ways succeeded in conquering him and riding free. That is the, spirit that -was ns both the horse's admirer and - tle-anTmal; and hbspitable in a large degree, friendly In the common exchanges of felicitations and mighty in the re- serve of power and strength, man and beast each understood one the other. It was a sad day in the history of the association when Skyrocket died. No one felt the loss more than Mr. Ross because of the attachment that had grown up betweeh them. As an earnest of his admiration and the sorrow he felt over his passing, Mr, Boss. on the eccasion, of the eleventh annual Roundup exhibition in 1923, in the -pmsenee of the vast audience that filled the arena and nterflowed * into the bleachers and out along the /enemy, ararnged for a memorial ler- . (foutinurd on Agricultural Page) Stevens leaves John Mullen to spend ected the first structure on Missoula's the winter in the valley and to find site. a way for a road through the moun- tains. In five years the pine sees I The next year is important In ,trange performances. The widened 1858 the pine had watched the ribbon which marked the route of the ' place amongst those who won the old trail is further broadened and. Stuarts and their companions on the under the direction of this Mullah, start of their journey up the can - man, becomes a road. As the travois yon—a journey whose end was to yielded to the pack train, the long line of horses gives way to the wagon. The rude traffic of the Selish has be- come the commerce of the white man. be the discovery of gold in Montana gravel. Travel has increased since then. Hell Gate has become a stop- ping place for freighters. The In 1861 the Sentinel Pine beholdslO'Keeffe has built his castle at th west end of the valley. There is ex- citement in the little town. The val- ley's first trial by jury is being held. Formal dispensation o; justice by recognized code has begun. A fist fight is incidental to the trial, it is true, but it is a \real\ Court just the same. And in this year, too, the pine witnesses the first marriage of white people upon what is now Montana sell. There is a new home built along the trail. Also in this year, from a -cabin farther_.down_____the valley, the pine hears the lusty wail of the firet white child born in this region. Truly a great year! Another year has just begun—it is the first month in 1863—when through the darkness of a winter night the Sentinel Pine hears the stamping of horses' hoofs in the mouth of the pass, the murmurs of men's voices, low -toned, and then at n - idnight sees dimly the forms of riders galloping at top speed down upon the town below. By noon the next day four bodies swing from a corral gate and the last vigilante court has executed its sentence, Skinner, Carter, Johnny Cooper and Bob Zachery have paid the penalty for their outrages. Graves and Shears are added to the list before night. The end of an important chapter has been written in Montana history. Two years pass; it is 1865: Mon- tana has become an organized terri- tory. The little town of Hell Gate is abandoned Directly below the vantage post dr the pinea mill sends forth the strange rumble of grinding grain and the starting buzz of saw- ing timber. The flow of the Rattle- snake has been harnessed for the ser- vice of man and a city has begun its existence; so Missoula is born. Out where the Bitter Root swings toward its confluence with the Mis- soula another group of building ap- pears. Its builders wear clothing dif- ferent from any other that the tree has seen; they are the men of the Great Father and they wear the uni- form of their country; before they have completed the erection of their little fort they are sent in pursuit of I the Nez Perce cousins of the Selish who have declared war against the whites. The Selish protect their friends in the valley, but not all of the soldiers return. Afterward the for becomes larger; many men in the blue clothes are there. The fort is a busy place until, years later, a call to arms for a far-off war summons its men agaile and the pine sees them march away to the sound of trum- pets and the cheers of friends in the city. Through years there have been strange goings and comings along the trail below.. The strange coach has a joined the freight wagon and the road is'busier than ever. Then men come with machines. There is a stir which the pin can not realize. Shin- ing bands extends along the way and in 1883 the picket on the hill beholds it knows not what. The first railway train steams into Missoula. The wilderness is a wilderness no more. _ Ten years later, 1893, the Sentinel Pine hears something about a univer- sity. In 1895, it sees the start. In 1898, across the river from the point where the vigil of centuries has been kept, there rise buildings which (Continued on Agricultural rage Champion is outsellirrg throughout the fwetrld because it is the better sptrk plug. .Chompion ?Liar Forda60c. Blase Box for all other cars, 75c. More 4 ha n 95000 dealers sell Cham- pions. ou will know the gen- uine by the double.ribbeci core. Champion Spark Plug Co. \Toledo Ohio Windsor, Out., London. Part.
