A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 1

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

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ATTENTION:

BAR CODE IS LOCATED INSIDE OF BOOK

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

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M. L

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

a B. Lighter Helena Mont .1905

STATUE OF WILBUR FISK SANDERS

A HISTORY

MONTANA

BY HELEN FITZGERALD SANDERS

VOLUME II

ILLUSTRATED

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY (Not Incorporated) CHICAGO AND NEW YORK

1913

1132580

HISTORY OF MONTANA

WILBUR FISK SANDERS. (By Judge Henry N. Blake.) It is fitting that a review of the services of Wilbur Fisk Sanders, a pioneer and builder of Mon- tana, should appear upon the pages of this volume. The important task of the writer is difficult, not from a lack of material, but from an abundance, and injustice . may be done to the subject by errors of omission.

Mr. Sanders was a son of Ira Sanders, a native of Rhode Island, and Freedom (Edgerton) Sanders, a daughter of Connecticut. He was born May 2, 1834, in Leon, Cattaraugus county, New York. His father was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the infant was named Wilbur Fisk, as a devout tribute of esteem to a renowned champion of the faith in New England. He attended the Sunday School and through his religous training and marvelous memory his mind retained manifold texts and hymns, and few clergymen and no layman could quote more. He was a diligent pupil in the public schools and was a teacher before he attained the age of twenty years.

Mr. Sanders removed in 1854 to Akron, Ohio, the residence of his uncle, Hon. Sidney Edgerton. He continued his labor as an instructor of youth and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1856, and was a partner of Mr. Edgerton in the practice of his profession.

He was married October 27, 1858, to Miss Harriet P. Fenn of Tallmadge, Ohio, a daughter of Joseph Fenn and Nancy (Carruthers) Fenn.

Mr. Edgerton was elected a representative in Con- gress in 1858 and re-elected in 1860. While he was absent in Washington during his first term Mr. San- ders acquired a valuable experience in transacting the business of the firm. The bombardment of Fort Sumter resounded throughout the land in April, 1861, and the law office was closed in the tumult of arms. Mr. Sanders was among the first who obeyed the patriotic appeal for men to defend and preserve the American Union. His zeal and energy were successful in recruiting and organizing a battery of artillery and a company of infantry. He received a commission as lieutenant in the battery, but was transferred in Octo- ber, 1861, to the Sixty-Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volun- teers, infantry, commanded by Colonel James W. For- syth, by whom he was appointed adjutant. He partici- pated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing and other engagements and afterwards, when Colonel Forsyth was commanding a brigade, acted as assistant adjutant-gen- eral and assisted in the construction of works for the protection of railroads south of Nashville. He was compelled by physical disability to resign his com- mission August 10, 1862, and with an honorable dis- charge returned with reluctance to his home in Akron.

The career of many persons is often changed by the occurrence of events over which they exercise no con- trol, and thus was the destiny of Mr. Sanders. deter- Vol. II-1

mined. Mr. Edgerton occupied a conspicuous rank in Congress and was appointed by President Lincoln chief justice of the supreme court of Idaho, when this territory was organized. The governor of Idaho was clothed with the power of defining the judicial districts and assigning the judges to them. It may be observed in a general way that the part of Montana east of the main ridge of the Rocky mountains was embraced within the boundaries of Idaho and com- prised the third district. Governor Wallace assigned the chief justice to this district, which was undesirable.

The urgent invitation of Mr. Edgerton to "go West". was accepted by Mr. Sanders, and the long journey from Akron to Idaho was commenced June 1, 1863. In the party were Mr. Edgerton and wife and four chil- dren, and Miss Darling, a niece, and Mr. Henry Tilden, a nephew of Mr. Edgerton, Mr. Sanders and wife and two children, Miss Gear, now Mrs. Henry C. Harrison of Harrison, Montana, and Messrs. Gridley, Booth and Chipman. They proceeded by rail to St. Joseph, Mis- souri, and thence by boat to Omaha, Nebraska, where they "outfitted," a term rarely used in these days. They started for the unknown country and within a brief period were beyond the frontier of that year and pursued slowly a tedious course with six cows and four wagons, drawn by oxen. When we look at the modern map on which has been marked a network of railroads, it is hard to believe that the other route was upon the water via the Gulf of Mexico, the Isthmus of Panama, the Pacific ocean and the Columbia river.

The Indians were upon the warpath and the trip was never free from danger and hardship. One of the teams was seized by them, but recaptured immediately, and Mr. Sanders forcibly took the whip from the savage driver. Deep rivers were forded and high mountains were crossed in following the perilous roadway via the South pass and Snake river. On the one hundred and tenth day, September 18, 1863, the weary home- seekers arrived at the mining camp of Bannack, on Grasshopper creek. Lewiston, the capital of Idaho, was the objective point, and Mrs. Plassman, in a sketch of her father, says: "News of the recent gold discov- eries at Bannack, together with the fact that the season was somewhat advanced, brought about the decision to go north from Snake river." Vol. 3, Contributions to Historical Society, p. 336.

Little was known of the mountain ranges west of Bannack, and Mr. Edgerton intended, after the enjoy- ment of a short rest, to travel to Lewiston, hundreds of miles away, but the fates decided against his pur- pose. This was a fortunate epoch in the history of Montana and life of Mr. Sanders.

The abnormal conditions prevailing in this vast domain must be noticed. The first legislative assembly of Idaho convened December 7, 1863, and adjourned February 4, 1864, and the statutes were not published

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

until 1865. Theorists have dreamed of a happy country blessed without the reign of law, but this is the only segment of the globe where the experiment was wit- nessed. There were no national or territorial courts for the trial of controversies or persons accused of crime. There were no officers who possessed the legal authority to do any act, and Mr. Edgerton did not find any one before whom he could take his official oath as chief justice. The people as a whole were citizens of the republic, who had lived in the states where their rights were protected, and met the remarkable exigen- cies of the times with practical remedies. Voluntary organizations sometimes inflicted punishment for offenses after a speedy trial of the criminal, and doubt- less substantial justice was done. The miner's court was a tribunal, presided over by a judge, so-called, who had been elected by the residents of a mining district, and the juries varied in number. An appeal could be taken to a meeting, from which none were excluded, that was usually held on Sunday, and its verdict was conclusive. The proceedings were based on the free consent of the governed and the judgments were executed by persons who assumed all the func- tions of a rightful official. Lawyers were permitted under some. restrictions to appear for parties whose interests were to be adjusted in this irregular mode, and Mr. Sanders at the hearing of his first case gained a reputation for eloquence and ability and won a respectable clientage. His residence and primitive office were at Bannack, but the discovery and development of the rich placers of Alder Gulch occasioned conflicts respecting claims and demands for his professional services in that locality. He removed to Virginia City February 6, 1864, and thus within five months after the sojourn at Bannack, Mr. Sanders was a leader of his fellow-citizens in eastern Idaho.

An awful chapter in the building of Montana must be read to illustrate one phase in the character of this pioneer. During this eventful period, when the miners were prospecting for gold, murders and robberies were perpetrated almost daily by an organization of assassins who defied with audacity the moral element. Their chief was Henry Plummer, who had been elected sheriff of the settlements within what are the counties of Beaverhead and Madison, and his deputies were mem- bers of his band. This election did not have the sanction of law, but its validity was not questioned, and the gravity of the situation can be readily understood. It was a serious problem to solve, whether it were possible to destroy these formidable pirates without the aid of the strong arm of the government. These out- laws in number and record of unlawful deeds were never surpassed in any section of the United States. But at last the crisis came, and the decisive combat between the good and the bad was fought.

George Ives, who ranked next to Plummer in the enormities of his villainies, added to his list of mur- ders the name of Nicholas Tbalt, a German. He was arrested by citizens of Nevada, and a graphic descrip- tion of his trial has been written by Dimsdale, Lang- ford, McClure and other authors, but the attention of the reader will be directed to the conduct of Mr. San- ders on this momentous occasion. In December 1863. Ives sat in a wagon in a street of Nevada, surrounded by hundreds of armed men, mostly miners, who were to render a final vote on every question. An advisory jury of twenty-four persons had been selected from the districts of Nevada and Junction, who were to act in the first instance and return a verdict. The defend- ant had bold and desperate friends in the motley crowd and was assisted by able attorneys. Mr. Sanders was the principal counsel for the prosecution and performed his great work with the highest honors. Let others tell the wonderful story.

Professor Thomas J. Dimsdale wrote: "The hero of that hour of trial was avowedly W. F. Sanders. Not

a desperado present but would have felt honored by becoming his murderer, and yet, fearless as a lion, he stood there confronting and defying the malice of his armed adversaries. The citizens of Montana, many of them his bitter political opponents, recollect his actions with gratitude and kindly feeling. * * * ** The Vigilantes of Montana, p. 93.

Bishop Tuttle wrote: "And no braver act, followed by tremendous consequences for good, was ever done than that of Colonel W. F. Sanders, when in the moon- light of December 21st, 1863, after the miners' jury had given their verdict, he mounted a wagon and moved that George Ives be forthwith hanged by the neck until he was dead. It was the supreme critical moment. Scores and hundreds of bold and reckless men in the crowd were ready to organize a rescue, and equally ready to shoot the man in the wagon, had they not been dazed by Sanders' fearless promptitude." Remi- niscences of a Missionary Bishop, p. 123.

Hon. N. P. Langford wrote: "The highest praise is due to Colonel Sanders for fearlessness and energy he displayed in the conduct of this trial; for it fur- nished an example which was not lost upon the law and order men in all their subsequent efforts to rid the Territory of the ruffians." Vigilante Days and Ways, Vol. 2, p. 76.

Hon. A. K. McClure wrote: "The young advocate who thus braved defiant crime in the very citadel of its power, and hurled back the fearful tide of disorder, was Colonel Sanders, and he is today beloved by every good citizen and hated by every wrongdoer for his sublime heroism in behalf of the right." Three Thou- sand Miles Through the Rocky Mountains, p. 394.

After the execution of Ives, December 21, 1863, there was a thorough organization of the Vigilantes and the doom of the road agents was sealed in blood. Mr. Sanders returned to Bannack, another era dawned and eastern Idaho was truly saved.

A meeting was held in Bannack in October, 1863, to discuss the policy of establishing another territory, and Mr. Sanders was a member of the committee to obtain the cooperation of the people of Alder Gulch. The mission was successful, funds were raised to defray the expenses, and Mr. Edgerton was sent to Washing- ton in January, 1864, to present the matter to Congress. The result of these efforts was the organization of the Territory of Montana, May 26, 1864, and Mr. Edgerton returned as Governor.

The election of a delegate to the house of repre- sentatives was held October 24, 1864, and Mr. Sanders was the choice of the Union, or Republican party. He made a gallant canvass, engaged in a joint debate with Hon. Samuel McLean, the Democratic candidate, and achieved a brilliant reputation as a political speaker. It was the first test of the views of the citizens on public affairs, but the majority were opposed to the adminis- tration of President Lincoln and Mr. Sanders was defeated.

The first legislative assembly convened December 12, 1864, at Bannack. A joint resolution, approved February 6, 1865, was passed appointing Messrs. Miller, Sanders and Stapleton commissioners to codify the laws of the territory. A measure of importance to all was entitled, "An Act to Incorporate the Historical Society of Montana," and approved February 2, 1865. The first meeting of the corporators was held Feb- ruary 25, 1865, at Virginia City, and Mr. Sanders was elected president pro tem. The permanent organization was effected March 25. 1865, and Mr. Sanders was elected president and discharged its duties during the succeeding years until February I, 1890, when he re- signed. His interest in this society never abated, and he cheerfully devoted his valuable time to its objects and carried on an extensive correspondence in its be- half. In gleaning fields for historic materials, he found everywhere

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

"Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, ser- mons in stones," and to him each stream and mountain "could a tale unfold" in our annals.

A feeling of unrest was manifest among the Indian tribes of Montana in 1865, and Mr. Sanders received from Governor Edgerton a commission as colonel of the militia, a military title by which he was afterwards known.

Colonel Sanders affiliated with the Masons in Ohio, and upon the receipt of a charter joined a lodge in Virginia City. He filled the office of grand secretary of the Grand lodge from 1866 to 1868, when he was elected grand master. The addresses which he deliv- ered as the representative of his brethren were notable features of the exercises on public occasions.

Colonel Sanders was again called on in 1867 to bear aloft the standard of the Republican party. Before the advent of railroads, the canvass for the trust of dele- gate was conducted from camp to camp, hundreds of miles were traveled in wagons or on horseback, and discomforts of all kinds were endured. He was imbued with the fervor of the faithful missionaries of old and fearless in declaring his sentiments regarding the affairs of the country. We confess that he was lacking in the qualities of an adroit politician, and was as guileless as a child in controlling the mechanism of American politics. In common parlance he "called a spade a spade," and uttered his opinions on all subjects with moral courage and regardless of the consequences to himself or his cause. He entered the lists single- handed in this and later congressional campaigns in Montana, and was commonly called the "Republican War Horse," or "Old War Horse." He was also nominated for delegate in 1880 and 1886, but Montana continued to be anti-Republican in its partisanship.

Colonel Sanders was a delegate to the National Republican Conventions in 1868, 1872, 1876 and 1884, and through his untiring labors the right of the repre- sentatives of the territories to vote, for some time denied, was upheld.

The tide of population was flowing northward, and in September, 1868, his residence was fixed in Helena.

In 1872, 1874, 1876 and 1878 Colonel Sanders was elected by the voters of Lewis and Clark county a member of the house of representatives of the legis- lative assembly of Montana. He brought to the per- formance of his official tasks a profound knowledge of law and, above all, an earnest purpose. He served with the minority, but his influence in shaping legisla- tion was second to none, and his record as a law- maker was without a flaw.

Colonel Sanders was the president of the board of trustees of the Montana Wesleyan University from 1889 until his death. He sought with characteristic zeal to foster this institution and advance the cause of higher education. He also acted as school trustee of the district including Helena.

The admission of Montana into the Union was fol- lowed by dual legislatures, and Colonel Sanders was elected by the Republican body United States senator and given his seat in 1890. It would be a gross abuse of the privilege of the writer to make any further statement. His term expired March 4, 1893, and he retired to private life with the esteem and confidence of his distinguished colleagues.

It is needless to remark that the activities of Senator Sanders did not cease at any time. He attended, when possible, all the meetings of the Society of Montana Pioneers, and served as corresponding secretary in 1884 and 1885 and as president in 1888.

The public library of Helena was strengthened by his intelligent action, and he was a member of its board of trustees when he passed on.

Senator Sanders was a member of the bar of the Territory and State of Montana and the United States. He was a strong advocate of the codification of the

statutes and every measure that savored of reform in procedure or the courts. He was president of the Montana Bar Association in 1885, upon its organization.

Senator Sanders was a charter member of William English Post, Department of Montana, Grand Army of the Republic. He was unanimously elected March 28, 1905, department commander, and with the com- position of the patriotic order for the observance of Memorial Day finished his course.

The legislative assembly passed a law, approved February 7, 1905, creating the county of Sanders to show its appreciation of his services to the people of Montana.

On July 7, 1905, the brave soldier, sterling pioneer, grand orator and wise lawgiver fell asleep in his home in Helena. He was survived by his widow and three sons, James U., Wilbur F. and Louis P. Sanders.

Senator Sanders was a leader at the bar and upwards of forty years his resonant voice, with a melodious cadence, was heard by delighted audiences in every hamlet of Montana. It might be Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, a gathering of army comrades or pioneers, the exhibition of a school or the com- mencement of a university, a meeting for the location or the construction of a railway, the laying of the corner-stone of a church or Masonic temple, the com- memorative rites of an old-timer or the executive of the United States, an assemblage of the bar, or a banquet, the miners' court, the justice court, or the supreme court. He was ever aggressive and independ- ent, and his battle cry in the heat of the strife was "No quarter." In his mind all things were upon the same plane, and he showed the same intense spirit in a ward primary to nominate an alderman, or a national convention to choose a candidate for president of the republic.

Let us dwell on a trait all, especially students, should emulate. The favorite abode of Senator Sanders was his library; his reading embraced the best authors of England and America; knowledge was his treasure house; his memory of everything was wonderful; and his vocabulary was unsurpassed by any person in the state. His style was unique, the meaning of every sentence was clear, and his ideas and illustrations were clothed in felicitous phrases. He handled the keen weapons of logic and satire with dexterity.

Hon. William Scallon, who prepared the obituary of Senator Sanders for the American Bar Association, wrote: "He was noted for his mastery of the English language and for his eloquence, his power of invective, wit and sarcasm. His keenness of intellect and his powers of speech called forth from Robert G. Ingersoll, to whom he was opposed on the trial of a noted case. the remark that 'Sanders was the keenest blade he had ever crossed.'" Proceedings, Vol. XXVIII., p. 859.

He studied diligently the meaning of words and the rules of grammar and rhetoric, and the sentences in a letter on a common topic were framed as correctly as a document of the highest concern. In oral arguments and informal talks he sought likewise to be exact in the use of terms and state his propositions with pre- cision. He was not content with his erndition in this regard, but consulted often treatises and lexicons to improve his' diction and strengthen his intellectual forces, and the lesson taught by this illustrious exem- plar should be remembered.

The observation of Cicero in the essay on the Republic is worthy of repetition: "Nor, indeed, is there anything in which human virtue can more closely re- semble the divine powers, than in establishing new states, or in preserving those already established." It was the rare distinction of Senator Sanders to illustrate both attributes of this exalted character. He was a soldier in a regiment of Ohio volunteers, recruited in 1861 for the salvation of our Union, and a master workman in building the strong foundations of our

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state. The Roman orator justly lavished his wealth of speech upon achievements of this grandeur.

The last sad rites for the departed were witnessed at the Auditorium in Helena on the Monday following his demise. From the bar and press, from the pulpit and societies proud of his membership, and from the people in every part of Montana came messages of sympathy and gratitude. In Forest Vale cemetery Wilbur Fisk Sanders rests in peace.

good gray head which all men knew,

O Iron nerve to true occasion true,

O fall'n at length that tower of strength

That stood four-square to all the winds that blew!"

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK. Futile were the attempts to express within these circumscribed limitations of a sketch of this order all that Hon. William A. Clark has meant to Montana, and all that the great Commonwealth has meant to him during the long years within which the state has been virtually reclaimed from unsubdued wilds and fastnesses, of valley and mountain, to become one of the splendid Commonwealths of our vast national domain. A pioneer of pioneers, a man of courage and ambition, a man of initiative power and of great con- structive ability, a citizen loyal and progressive in all things, Senator Clark has been a dominating force in the civic and industrial development and upbuilding of Montana, and for all time will the state owe him a debt of gratitude and honor-a debt which becomes the more a matter of recognition and appreciation as the long years have thrown the works and achievements of Sen- ator Clark into clear definition against the screen of time.

His has been a life conspicuous for the magnitude and variety of its achievements, and not only has he been a distinguished figure in the history of the territory and state of Montana, but his influence has also transcended such local environs to permeate the national life.

It is not easy to describe adequately a man who is as distinct in character and who has accomplished so much in the world as has Senator Clark, and the neces- sary limitations of this article are such as to permit only a glance at the individuality and achievements of the man. Much that he has done as a man of great affairs and as a citizen of utmost loyalty and generous liberality has become a very part of the history of the State and Nation, and other publications of more spe- cific order have made adequate record concerning his activities, on which score the sketch at hand may well be offered as a mere epitome of the career of its honored subject.

William Andrews Clark, former United States Sen- ator from Montana, claims the old Keystone State of the Union as the place of his nativity, and is a scion of families whose names have long been identified with the annals of American history. He was born near Connellsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of January, 1839, and is a son of John and Mary (An- drews) Clark, both of whom were likewise natives of that county.

The paternal grandfather of Senator Clark, likewise bore the name of John, and was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, whence he came to America soon after the close of the War of the Revolution, and established his home in Pennsylvania.

The maiden name of his wife was Reed, and she was a resident of Chester county, Pennsylvania, at the time of their marriage, her parents having emigrated to America from the North of Ireland. William and Sarah Andrews, the maternal grandparents of him whose name initiates this review, were likewise from County Ty- rone, Ireland, and they settled in Western Pennsylvania in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The maiden name of Mrs. Sarah Andrews was Kithcart, and con- cerning the family genealogy, the following data have

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 1

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002