A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 7

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

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"In the early fall of 1857 two men who had come into the Flathead country and who had been at Fort Walla Walla, gave me a glowing account of the country, and this made me more anxious to go there, but how to reach this land of promise was difficult to determine. About the first of November I had occasion to visit the Catholic mission at St. Ignatius, some thirty-eight miles north of the place where I was then stopping, and while there I met a lay brother of the Coeur d'Alene mission. He was a good-natured . old Irish- man, named McGeen, and he told me that he was going to start from St. Ignatius on a certain day within the next week, and would take a short trail to the mouth of the St. Regis de Borgia river, where it joined the Bitterroot or Missoula river, and that if I wanted to go to Fort Walla Walla and would meet him on the day named, I could travel with him and his half-breeds to the Coeur d'Alene mission, this being on my direct route to Fort Walla Walla.

"When the time came to make the start it did not take a great while to make the necessary arrangements. I had two riding horses. On one of them I put a pack-

saddle, placed my small belongings, consisting of a single pair of blankets, a small quantity of bread and dried buffalo meat, a small flour sack containing two extra shirts, a few old letters and keepsakes from my distant home, a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost, and a few et ceteras with which to pay Indians for ferriage, etc. Upon arriving at the place where I was to meet Brother McGeen it became apparent that some mistake had been made as to the time of our starting, and that he had started one day earlier than he had intended, or I one day too late, for we failed to meet at the desig- nated point. I could see the remains of his camp fire on the opposite side of the river, but not a man or horse was in sight."

The foregoing account shows the preparations made by Judge Woody for his hazardous trip, and, after due deliberation, he made the dangerous ford of the Mis- soula river and on the following day overtook the Mc- Geen party, with which he proceeded until they reached the Coeur d'Alene mission, where the future jurist was received with utmost hospitality, and where he remained a few days for rest and for recruiting himself for the remainder and most dangerous part of his journey. He employed a Coeur d'Alene Indian as guide, giving to him one of his horses in recompense for service thus to be rendered. Upon arriving at the foot of Coeur d'Alene lake this guide declined to go farther, but procured another of the tribe to continue the journey. Under the new guidance Judge Woody proceeded down the Spokane river two or three miles and then forded the stream. They camped the first night with a party of Coeur d'Alene Indians and the second night the Indian guide deserted, while his companion was sleep- ing. Through a wild and dangerous country, of which he had no definite knowledge, Judge Woody made his way alone and finally reached the Snake river. He finally reached a camp of Nez Perces Indians and en- deavored to prevail upon them to ferry him across the turbulent river. This they refused to do, and a serious dilemma now confronted the weary traveler. From this point is given, with but slight change, the account as written by Judge Woody himself.

"I soon made up my mind to take a desperate chance and attempt to cross the river. I noticed that there was considerable driftwood on the banks of the river, and at that point there was very little current in the stream. As I had two hair ropes with me I determined to get two large sticks of driftwood and last them together so as to make a raft, turn my horse loose and make him swim, and attempt to cross on my raft,- a decidedly dangerous and desperate undertaking. While looking for a good place to make the attempt, I came on two Indian boys with a large canoe, gather- ing driftwood on the banks of the stream. From the fact that their hair was cut short I knew them to be slaves, as this was a distinguishing mark, and I rode to them and asked them to put me over the river, for which service I offered them some Indian goods which I had brought with me, to trade for ferriage and provisions. I showed them the goods and offered them all I had if they would put me over. At first they absolutely refused, but after. consultation between them- selves they responded finally to the lure and made signs that they would take me across. They took my saddle and little pack off of my horse and put them in the canoe, then told me to enter the boat, after which we started across, leading my horse, which swam behind the canoe. In a few minutes we were over, and a hap- pier tenderfoot you never saw. I saddled up and started without any trail, and when I climbed to the top of the hill I looked down the river and saw an Indian camp about three or four miles below the point where I had crossed.

"I traveled all that day in the direction, as I sup- posed, of Fort Walla Walla, and over a high, grass- covered country, devoid of trees, streams or trails; and

*From this point on the narrative of Judge Woody will be abridged, with minor paraphrase.

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at night I camped at a spring that I found in the hills. The next morning the country was covered with a very heavy fog, which continued nearly all the day. After traveling some distance I fell into a large Indian trail, and later in the day I saw, through the fog, the tops of trees, afer which I soon came to a stream of water. This I have since learned was the Touchet river. Here I stopped and let my horse rest and feed, the while I ate the rest of my provisions. I then resumed my journey, still following the Indian trail, and finally I noticed a place where someone had been cutting grass and, going a little further, I discerned wagon tracks, so that I knew I was near the promised land,-and a happier mortal never lived. Upon discovering some- what later, two soldiers herding dragoon horses I felt that my troubles were over, as well as my fears for my personal safety. I was informed by these soldiers that the fort was about two miles distant. I rode on and soon came in sight of the dragoon encampment. As I crossed Mill creek, just above the sutler's store, I met Col. William Craig, Henry G. Miller and William Scott. I presented to Colonel Craig a letter of intro- duction that had been given to me by Henri M. Chase, and he directed me to his house, about one mile distant, telling me to go there and stop and that he would soon be home. I went to the house, turned out my horse and prepared to take a rest, as I was nearly tired out, and that night I had the first square meal for many days, with the result that I did full justice to the same. This ended one of the most venturesome and dangerous journeys ever taken by a young tenderfoot."

As already noted, Judge Woody returned to Mon- tana in 1860, and during the first decade of his residence in the territory he worked at such employment as could be obtained. He was identified with freighting, mining, buying and selling merchandise, etc., and his ability and energy soon gained such objective recognition that he was drawn into politics. In 1866 a vacancy occurred in the office of the clerk and recorder of Missoula county and he was appointed to serve the unexpired term. At the succeeding election he was formally elected to this dual office, by an almost unanimous vote, and thereafter he served almost continuously until 1880, when he positively refused to continue longer in office. During his tenure of the position of county clerk and recorder, that office was combined with that of pro- bate judge, and Judge Woody was thus virtually the incumbent of two offices at the same time, besides which he was for eight years deputy clerk of the Second judicial district court of Missoula county.

His tenure of the official positions noted brought Judge Woody closely in touch with legal affairs and court procedures, and he became, through such experi- ence and well directed study, so well informed in the minutiae of the science of jurisprudence, that in 1877 he was admitted to the bar of the territory, upon ex- amination before the supreme court. Bringing to his profession an earnest zeal, a well trained mind and inde- fatigable industry, his success was assured from the start, and he rapidly forged his way to the front, with the result that he gained prestige as one of the able and representative members of the bar of the great Northwest.

In 1869 Judge Woody was chosen to represent Mis- soula and Deer Lodge counties in the territorial legis- lature, but as doubt was expressed as to the legality of the ensuing session of the legislature, he did not attend the same. In 1892 he was the Democratic nominee for the office of district judge of the fourth judicial district, and was elected by a gratifying plu- rality. In 1896 he was re-elected to the same office, of which he thus continued the incumbent for eight years. While serving on the bench he made an admirable record, with clear apprehension of the legal principles involved in the causes presented for his adjudication, the while he labored with a deep sense of stewardship

to conserve equity and justice, so that few of his de- cisions met with reversal by courts of higher juris- diction. Of more recent years Judge Woody has devoted his time and attention to the general practice of law, and he not only controls a substantial and representa- tive practice but is also known to be as active, alert and enthusiastic as his younger confreres at the bar. Genial, considerate and sympathetic, he has a wide circle of friends in Montana, and he is honored. alike for his sterling character, and his worthy achievement.

In the year 1871 was solemnized the marriage, at Missoula, of Judge Woody to Miss Elizabeth Country- man, who was born in California, and who is a daugh- ter of Horace and Elizabeth Countryman, her parents having been residents of Montana at the time of their death. Judge and Mrs. Woody have three children, Frank, Alice M. and Flora P. The only son is now numbered among the representative practitioners of law in the city of Missoula, and is a member of the law firm of Woody & Woody of Missoula, said firm consisting of father and son.

Of the three children, Frank, the son, is married and resides in Missoula. The daughter Alice M. is un- married and resides with her father and mother in Missoula. The youngest daughter, Flora P., was mar- ried on December 10, 1909, to Lieut. Davis C. Ander- son, of the Sixth United States Infantry. A few days after the wedding, the Sixth Infantry Regiment was ordered to the Philippine Islands, and remained in the islands until the summer of 1912, when they returned to the United States. During their term in the islands, Lieutenant Anderson was promoted to a captaincy and assigned to the Ninth Infantry, and is now stationed at Fort Thomas, Ky., opposite Cincinnati.

FRED E. ALBRECHT. In Mr. Albrecht Montana has another of the sons of her pioneers who is making a name and a place for himself in the commercial world. He is the son of Charles Albrecht, a native of Ger- many, and of Emma Boehler Albrecht, of Davenport, Iowa. Her father came to America from Germany and founded the American branch of the family in the days when Iowa was a sparsely settled region. Charles Albrecht came to Montana in the '6os and set up in business in Helena. He was by trade a boot and shoe maker, and he was one of the earliest merchants in that line in the city. When the call for soldiers came from President Lincoln he responded to the need of his adopted country and went to the front as a private. He came out of the service a lieutenant, and resumed his business as a civilian. After coming to Montana he made some investments in different mining projects, but these never yielded him any considerable returns. In his shoe business, however, he was successful, and he continued to carry on his establishment to the time of his death. Mr. Albrecht was a member of the An- cient Order of United Workmen, and he also main- tained his connection with the Civil War Veterans, being a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His death occurred at Helena in 1889, on the twelfth of November. His wife and two sons survive him, Charles Albrecht and Fred, who make their home with their mother at 409 Dearborn avenue.

Fred Albrecht was just eight years of age at the time of his father's death, as he was born on Novem- ber 7. 1881, in the city of Helena. He attended the schools of the city both in the grades and the high school until he was fifteen. When he went to work it was for the R. G. Dun Mercantile Agency, with whom he was associated for three and a half years. Mr. Albrecht gave up his position with the Agency to enter the mercantile field, and for the next ten years was identified with various enterprises in that line. On March 17, 1910, he again entered the employ of the Dun Agency in the capacity of traveling reporter. Less than two years later, on December 12, 1912, the com-

Granville Stuart In His Seventy-Eighth Year.

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pany tendered him the position of manager of the Helena branch of their organization, and he is now filling this office. There are but two branches in the state, so that the work of this office is heavy and im- portant. Its responsibilities are such as Mr. Albrecht is well adapted to discharge, as he has in addition to his executive ability and capacity for detail a prac- tical acquaintance with conditions and experience in operations in the mercantile business.

Mr. Albrecht is a member of the Episcopal church, to which his brother belongs as well. He holds mem- bership in the Helena Commercial Club and in the social organizations is one of the Helena Lambs' Club. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks. He is a Republican, but only as an individual, not participat- ing in the activities of the local organization. The leisure which he does not spend in the open is apt to be given to reading, as he is fond of literature and freely indulges his taste for books. .

GRANVILLE STUART. Although virtually a resident of what is now Montana since 1857, Granville Stuart claims only a prospector's interest in the state previous to 1860. Just when his actual citizenship begun is a matter of little moment. The thing of vast importance to the state of Montana is that he did actually become a citizen, and as such has given to his adopted state the best of all he possessed. Ambition, courage, per- severance, brilliance, and every other admirable trait so prominent in him,-all have gone into the melting pot of the future of a great commonwealth, and the . benefits that have accrued to that state as a direct re- sult of his life and labor thus far can never be rightly estimated.

Granville Stuart was born in Clarksburg, Virginia, now West Virginia, on August 27, 1834, and is the son of Robert and Nancy (Currence) Stuart. The family is of Scottish origin, coming from Scotland in the early history of the Atlantic states and being iden- tified with the development of Virginia until 1837, at which time Robert Stuart removed to Illinois. In 1838 we find the family settled in Muscatine county, Iowa, and in that state Granville Stuart received his early education, attending school diligently until 1848. Sub- sequently he assisted on the homestead farm and in the Heath store at West Liberty village. In 1849 Robert Stuart visited California remaining there until the win- ter of 1851, when he returned to his Iowa home. In May, 1852, he set out on his second trip overland to California, accompanied by his two sons, James and Granville. The younger Stuarts remained in Califor- nia until 1857, when they came to Montana, then known as Washington Territory, and settled in Deer Lodge valley, about three miles north of the present village of Pioneer at the mouth of Gold creek. In company with his brother, James Stuart, and Rezin Anderson, Thomas Adams, Fred H. Burr and John W. Powell, Granville Stuart did the first prospecting and mining for gold in Montana on Gold creek, near Pioneer, between 1858 and 1862, and it was their operations in that period which caused the veritable stampede which settled this portion of the country. In 1867 James Stuart visited his Iowa home, returning to Deer Lodge in the same year, where he remained until 1870. Then he was ap- pointed to the post of physician at the Fort Peck agency, holding that position until his death, which came as a result of cancer, on September 30, 1873. His body was removed to Deer Lodge where interment took place. In 1863 Granville Stuart removed to Alder Gulch just following its discovery, and there he with his brother James, since deceased, entered the mercantile business. They continued in business until September of 1865, when they sold the business to Messrs. Gorham and Patten. In that same fall, the brothers entered in business in Deer Lodge, conducting a heavy trade from then until 1873, Granville Stuart, however, being the

sole proprietor for the last three years in which the business was conducted, having bought the interest of his brother James in 1870. It is here worthy of men- tion that the opening up and settling of the country between the years of 1863 and 1873 was due principally to the activities of Granville Stuart and his party of prospectors, and to the letters which he wrote to Thomas Stuart at Black Hawk, Colorado, but now of Deer Lodge, setting forth the wonders of the then wholly undeveloped country, but which his prophetic mind recognize for what it later proved to be,-the Treasure state of the Union.

In 1873 Mr. Stuart gave over his mercantile interests wholly because of the state of his health, and engaged in the more primitive labor of mining, principally as a means to recover his former health and strength. In 1876, after three years of roughing it, he removed to Helena where he became a stockholder in the First National Bank, taking the position of bookkeeper in that institution, one of the pioneer banking houses of that section. The confining nature of the work de- pleted his strength to such an alarming extent that after three years he gave up his position and engaged in the cattle business, being associated with S. T. Hauser of the First National Bank and A. J. Davis, the mil- lionaire miner of Butte. Since that time Mr. Stuart was controller and manager of that extensive business, until 1888, which has grown apace since its inception. The business was launched with a capital stock of $150,000, doing a business of $40,000 per annum, and in July, 1883, the value of the investment had increased to $400,000, as evidenced at that time by the sale of a two-thirds interest in the property to Conrad Kohrs for $266,667, which represented the share of Messrs. Davis and Hauser. In spite of his close attention to business, necessitated by the demands of such an in- dustry, Mr. Stuart has been able to give some time to matters pertaining to governmental affairs. He was a member of the territorial council in 1872, of the house in 1875 and 1879, also the extra sessions of that year in July, and he was president of the council in 1883, being elected on the Democratic ticket, of which party he has always been an earnest adherent. At the present time he is librarian of the Butte Public Library.

Perhaps the greatest work Mr. Stuart did for his adopted state was in his early life in these parts, when he wrote the book. "Montana As It Is;" a splendid work dealing with the geographic and climatic condi- tions of the territory now known as Montana. Of Mr. Stuart and his book, the Butte Miner of November 19, I911, has to say in part: "Though Montana numbers her boosters by the thousands and hundreds of thou- sands, the daddy of them all is City Librarian Granville Stuart, who is the author of the first book ever written on the resources and wonderful possibilities of what is now the Treasure state. It was penned nearly half a century ago, and woven around the book is a story of coincidences which found its equal but recently. It is a tale illustrative of just what a little world this is and of the freakish pranks fate sometimes plays.

"The story involves one Edwin E. Purple, a New Yorker, with whom Mr. Stuart became very intimate in the early sixties, when they made a census of the state. They were living at Bannack City, the first mining town in Montana, when the census idea siezed them. During their compilation of the name of every resident of the territory they became fast friends. This was in the spring of 1863 and about one year later Mr. Stuart commenced his book, originally intended for a dictionary of the Snake Indian language and Chinook jargon, with comprehensive explanatory notes, but later developed into a splendid work, dealing with the topography, geography, resources and climate of the territory now embraced in the state of Montana. It was given the title 'Montana As It Is.' Fifteen hundred copies of the book were printed by C. S.

1132580

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Westcott & Company, printers, 79 John street, New York City, in 1865. They cost the author $1500.00. Before delivery was made the publishing house burned down and only 400 copies were saved. Later all of these were taken by Hon. James Tufts, ex-territorial governor, who expressed a desire to superintend their distribution with a view to encouraging emigration to this state. The ex-governor sent Stuart one hun- dred copies, addressing them to Deer Lodge, where he was then in business with Judge Dance. The books were sent from St. Joseph, Missouri, by an ox train bringing the equipment for a quartz mill in this state. The first winter the train wintered at Laramie, Wyo- ming, proceeding on in the spring, and arriving at Deer Lodge before the following winter, about two years after the books were sent from New York. During the winter at Laramie snow had blown in on the books so that when they arrived at Deer Lodge they were rotten and in such shape that for the greater part they were worthless. Such as could be saved were distributed among the author's friends. As to what disposition was ever made of the other three hundred copies remaining, Mr. Stuart has never learned. A few of them, however, must have been sold, for a few years later one of them was purchased by the author for $2.50 from an eastern book dealer. This copy has been in the Butte library for several years.

"In 1866 Purple returned to the east, tiring of the hardships of the west apparently, for he never returned. On April 3, 1870, he wrote to Mr. Stuart asking for information as to where he could secure a copy of his book, and on April 27th, Mr. Stuart replied. He said 'Yours of the ninth instant arrived last mail. It gave me great pleasure to hear from you and find you had not forgotten the poor devils you left in the wilder- ness. The book, "Montana As It Is," was pub- lished by C. S. Westcott & Co., 79 John street, New York City. I do not know where you would be most likely to find a copy in the city if they have none. Hon. James Tufts, our ex-governor, had charge of some three hundred or four hundred copies in New York City. What he did with them I never knew as I never got a cent for them. He is still in the ter- ritory at Virginia City, I believe, and by writing to him he may know where you can procure a copy. James Reese, Judge Dance, and myself, are still rough- ing it here and all send respects. I shall be glad to hear from you at any time and will respond.'

"Mr Stuart never heard again from Purple, con- sequently wrote him but the one time. Whether or not he ever procured a copy of the book he did not learn until more than forty-one years later. The sequel of the story commences some time in 1902, when Mr. Stuart, in looking over a catalog of books issued by Francis B. Harper, found a copy of 'Montana As It Is,' by Granville Stuart, advertised for sale, to- gether with an autograph letter from the author. Anxious to secure a copy of the book and curious to learn to whom he had written the letter, Mr. Stuart forwarded the $10 asked for the book and letter with instructions to send it to him. By return mail he re- ceived word that the book had been sold before the order arrived. About three months ago a catalog of second hand books was received at the library from a collector of books in Nashville, Tennessee. In that Mr. Stuart again found trace of the book. It, together with an autograph letter from the author, was adver- tised for sale for $20. He immediately sent for it, and shortly afterward received a copy of the book, beautifully bound. The collector explained that he had taken a fancy to the book and sent it to England to be bound. Between the cover and the first page of the book Mr. Stuart found the autograph letter from the author which had been advertised by both dealers. It was his letter to Purple written April 27,

1870. It was in the same yellow envelope with the quaint little three-cent stamp of that date in the right hand corner, and was just as it had been written, bearing a notation on the back indicating that it had been received May 10, 1870. Purple had apparently secured a copy of the book and placed the letter inside. Later, it seems, he must have noticed a newspaper article reproducing a letter written by Mr. Stuart to the Indian peace commissioner at St. Louis and pre- served it, for this also was in the envelope. Just how the book came into the possession of the New York dealer and then migrated to Nashville, thence to England and back can only be conjectured.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 7

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