USA > Montana > Yellowstone County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Park County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Dawson County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Rosebud County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Custer County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Sweet Grass County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
USA > Montana > Carbon County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102
Following the withdrawal of the protection of the company's property by the strikers, Su- perintendent Finn made an effort Friday night, July 6, to enlist men to be sworn in as deputies to guard the property of the company. This resulted in failure, for as soon as a man was secured the strikers would interview hint, and he would refuse to act in any capacity for the company.
This failure brought the superintendent again in communication with the county gov- ernment. On Saturday, July 7, he sent the fol- lowing communication to the board of county commissioners :
the 2nd inst., I wish to inform you that minor depre-
To the honorable board of county commissioners of Park county, Montana. Replying to your favor of dations have been committed upon the property of the receivers of the Northern Pacific Railroad, such as greasing the track and disconnecting our water works at Livingston; breaking into our car house at Elton ; explosion of dynamite at Muir tunnel ; the intimidations
offered to those whom we undertook to employ as de- puty sheriffs; the intimidation of those whom we un- dertook to employ at Livingston for the purpose of icing perishable merchandise in transit, are such as lead us to believe that other and greater injuries are likely to follow, and particularly at the following points : Muir tunnel and city of Livingston, and bridge across the Yellowstone river. The property of the company now situated at the city of Livingston be- longing to the Northern Pacific Railroad exceeds in value $500,000, and we hereby request that you furnish sufficient deputy sheriffs, as may be necessary from time to time. to properly guard and protect the Muir tunnel and the property of the said company at the city of Livingston and the bridge crossing the Yel- lowstone river.
J. D. FINN, Superintendent.
As two of the county commissioners were absent from Livingston when this communi- cation was received, it was not until Monday, July 9, that action was taken on the matter. Then the board decided that Muir tunnel was not within the province of Park county, as it was apportioned to Gallatin county for taxa- tion. The county attorney also advised the board that the railroad property in Livingston was subject to city control, and upon his advice the board referred the matter to the city coun- cil. The sheriff was, however, instructed to guard the bridge across the Yellowstone near Livingston and also one belonging to the county near Big Timber. This he did, arming the guards with Winchester rifles.
Having failed to secure deputized watch- men through their own efforts and having ob- tained but little relief from the county com- missioners, the local officials enlisted the aid of the government troops at Fort Yellowstone, in the National Park. On Saturday evening, July 7, Captain Anderson, of that post, re- ceived orders from General Schofield to take a sufficient number of his troops to Muir tun- nel and to guard that passage through the Belt range mountains. He accordingly started that evening at six o'clock with one lieutenant, 4 hospital steward and 33 privates, and reached the tunnel early Sunday morning, July 8.
On Sunday also came word to the strikers
141
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
that two trains, guarded by government troops, had started simultaneously from St. Paul and Tacoma at six o'clock on the evening of July 7, and that they were due to arrive in Livings- ton on Monday, the 9th.
No train arrived until Tuesday. On that day President Cleveland issued his proclama- tion placing the entire Northwest under mar- tial law, and at the same time President Debs, of the A. R. U., was placed under arrest on a charge of interfering with the United States mails. But before this information was re- ceived in Livingston the train with the troops had arrived from St. Paul, and the most excit- ing scene of the strike, locally, had been enacted.
The train, running in two sections, and manned by "scabs," arrived in Livingston on the 10th. It was guarded by two companies from Fort Keough and two from Fort Custer, the two former under command of Captains Lockwood and Crittenden, and the two latter under command of Captain Ord and Lieuten- ant O'Neil. Captain Lockwood, as ranking captain, was in supreme command. The train was made up of mail, baggage, express, pas- senger cars and a full complement of the boy- cotted Pullman cars. A large crowd of strik- ers and spectators assembled on the depot plat- form to witness the arrival of the first through train since June 27. We leave the telling of the dramatic incidents which followed to the pen of the editor of the Livingston Enterprise : * *
* The two sections of the train arrived in the lower end of the yards at 4 p. m., where engines were changed after a delay of half an hour, and the train, with its engines and cars covered with 'swaddies,' whose bayo- nets bristled in every direction, pulled up to the passenger depot. * * As the stop was made at the platform the 'brave defenders of the nation,' ashen with alarm, climbed down in front of a crowd of 600 or 700 persons who lined the track on either side.
"Then came the exhibition of cowardice
and brutality unequalled in the history of civ- ilized warfare. Captain Lockwood climbed onto the south platform, taking with him the 'royal jag' he had accumulated by frequent trips to the bar of the diner. He had no sooner alighted than, in the presence of the men, ladies and children who had assembled to see the 'wheels again revolve,' he ordered his men to 'Drive back the G-d d-d s- of b-s! Drive them back!' He then crossed to the opposite platform, still accompanied by his faithful 'jag,' and repeated this order, supplementing it with a command to the thoroughly affrighted and almost stampeded regulars to enforce his order with their guns. Here the crowd was much more dense and necessarily slower to move, although falling back as rapidly as possi - ble. Their movements, however, did not sat- isfy the drunken and nervous anticipation of Lockwood and that officer drew his sword and made a savage thrust at the abdomen of one of the inoffensive spectators, and afterwards slashed Frank Toland over the head. The blow was a murderous one, but fortunately Toland had on a stiff straw hat which checked the force of the blow sufficiently to save his life, although the blade cut a gash on the left side of his head which necessitated sev- eral stitches by Dr. Alton in closing the gap- ing wound. Having thus acquitted himself in a manner that would not only disgrace the army but would add fresh laurels to a Bowery tough, the captain formed his company in line along the train and sought safety behind the muskets by retiring to the dining car to hit the 'can' and replenish his stock of courage.
"This dastardly proceeding was reported to Mayor Beley, who sought an interview with Captain Lockwood to enter a protest against the assault and assure him of the loyalty and peaceable disposition of our city. When told by the mayor of his official position, Captain Lockwood replied, 'You are a d-d - - mayor. This city is under my control today.' "In the meantime a warrant charging
145
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
Lockwood with assault with a deadly weapon was sworn out before Justice Lepley and placed in the hands of Sheriff Conrow. Before it was served, however, it was learned that the pres- ident had proclaimed the entire west under martial law and it was decided as futile to take further action in the matter in that direction, and the train soon pulled out with Captain Lockwood and his 'jag,' the train crew, sol- diers and passengers. *
**
* As soon as the first section of the train pulled out Company D, of the 22nd, under command of Lieut. O'Neil, marched from the depot down through the yards to the sec- ond section of the train. Shortly after, a party of 'scabs' came up and began washing ice for the cars. They were hooted by the crowd and finally one of them drew a revolver, when the crowd closed in on them, and they started down the track at full speed to seek protection of the colored troops. A few minutes later Lieutenant O'Neil, at the head of Company D, was seen coming up the track at a double quick march. His men had their bayonets in place and cartridges in their guns. They were formed along the east side of Main street, and when the lieutenant discovered that his pres- ence was not needed to quell any disturbance, he ordered bayonets sheathed, guns unloaded, and his colored 'swaddies' were marched back down the track.
"At 6:30 the second section of the train, which had been held at the lower end of the yards, pulled up to the passenger depot. The train was guarded by two colored companies from Fort Custer under charge of Captain Ord and Lieutenant O'Neil, and both officers quickly demonstrated that they were entitled to respect. Their demeanor, in striking com- parison with that of the drunken Lockwood, won the admiration of the crowd. When the train stopped, Captain Ord ordered his men down from the cars, formed a line along the train, and in a respectful but firm manner in- formed the spectators of his duty in guarding
the train and warned them not to pass the line of soldiers. The only incident that marked the stay of this section of the train was the ridicule hurled at the 'scab' crew, and after waiting the return of the hog 496, to assist it over the hill, departed at 8 p. m. for the west."
The two companies of colored soldiers from Fort Custer were left in Livingston when the trains pulled out. They were marched back to the yards and put in camp just west of the shops, where they remained until Sep- tember I. Patrols were established along the passenger depot platform and in different parts of the company's yards.
The people of Livingston were aroused to the highest pitch of indignation by the conduct of Captain Lockwood, and immediately after the assault upon Frank Toland a number of the leading citizens met at the office of Smith & Wilson, when the following dispatch was formulated and sent to Senator Power at Washington.
Livingston, Mont., July 10, 1894. Hon. Thomas C. Power, Washington, D. C .- Today a mail train in charge of soldiers commanded by Capt. Lockwood stopped here. Many citizens through curiosity were at the station. All were quiet and unarmed. The captain without cause struck an unoffending citizen on head with saber while standing on street, seriously wound- ing him. The captain used vile and profane language in presence of ladies and publicly insulted our mayor. Our community feel greatly outraged.
FRANK HENRY H. J. MILLER JOHN T. SMITH GEO. H. WRIGHT
L. N. LEPLEY ALLAN R. JOY J. R. KING
J. E. SWINDLEHURST J. S. THOMPSON
In the evening a mass meeting was held at Hefferlin's opera house, which was packed to overflowing by the citizens of Livingston, to further express the indignation of the people over the outrageous assault upon Frank To- land and the disgraceful conduct of the army officer. Enthusiasm was unbounded in endors-
IO
146
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
ing the indignant protests of the speakers. Resolutions were adopted and forwarded to Governor Rickards, demanding that an in- vestigation be made of the outrageous conduct.
Under the protection of the United States troops a few trains were sent over the road during the few days following the incidents above related. The strikers knew that there could be but one outcome, but they doggedly hung out. There were gradual desertions
from the ranks of the strikers, and on July 13 the Northern Pacific issued a bulletin, stating that the strike was broken and offering to take back all old employes except those who had been instrumental in causing disturbances. But it was not until July 19 that the strike was formally declared off by the local union. That day at a meeting held in Populist hall, it was voted to declare the strike off so far as this division was concerned. The motion was carried by a vote of about four to one of the sixty members present and voting. Men- bers of the union with few exceptions at once made application for their old positions. Some were accepted, while others were rejected.
The great strike was at an end, but the troops which had been guarding the company's property in Park county remained for several weeks more. Those at Muir tunnel departed August 30, while those in Livingston left on September I.
Governor Rickards, of Montana, had taken up the matter of the conduct of Captain Lock- wood with the war department, and that branch of the national government investigated the charges, completely exonorating the of- ficer and laying the blame for all that happened to the citizens of Livingston. The result of the investigation was made known through a letter to the governor from Jos. B. Doe, as- sistant secretary of war. That official said that the commanding general of the depart- ment of Dakota detailed a discreet officer to in- vestigate the charges, and after a full consid- eration by the major general of the army and
the war department, the conclusion was reached that the circumstances that gave rise to the accusation against Captain Lockwood were no less than an insurrection against the United States and open defiance of the national authority. Continuing, the letter said :
"The circumstances justified and required whatever forcible measures might be necessary on the part of the commanding officer of the troops to promptly suppress that insurrection. It shows that even idle bystanders, having no intention to take part in mob violence, did, nevertheless, by their presence with the lawless mob, give countenance and encouragement to the insurrection. If the citizens suffered some violence at the hands of the troops be- cause the latter could not discriminate between innocent and guilty, it would seem that the citizens are themselves to blame for their mis- fortune; and it is the opinion of this depart- ment that the action of the commanding of- ficer, under the circumstances, was entirely justifiable."
The first and only legal execution to take place in Park county occurred on Friday morn- ing, July 13. 1894, when Robert A. Anderson, commonly known as Bob Fields, was hanged at Livingston for the murder of Emanuel Fleming on April 20, 1894.
Park county had been fighting, almost from the date of its organization, against the dis- memberment of its territory. With every ses- sion of the legislature would come some plan for the organization of a new county which desired part of Park county's territory, and at nearly all of the sessions an attempt would be made to annex a part of Park county to Yellowstone county. Each time the people of the western part of the county would earnestly enter the contest for the preservation of the county. But in 1895 the inevitable came to pass. Two new counties were formed, each taking a portion of the older county, and Park county was reduced to its present boundaries. By the creation of Sweet Grass county about
147
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
$1,100,000 of taxable property was lost, and Carbon county took about $400,000 more.
As the story of the creation of Sweet Grass and Carbon counties will be told in another part we shall pass it by here.
Although the loss of territory occasioned by the creation of these two counties was re- gretted by the people of what was left of Park county, it was not a serious blow. The effect of the hard times was wearing away, and the county was once more becoming prosperous. Although the county had lost nearly one-half of its territory, the value of the taxable pro- perty it had lost was much less. The assessed valuation in 1894 had been $4,689,126.50; in 1895 it was reduced only to $3,492,006.
Early in the spring of 1895 the county commissioners again took up the question of the erection of a county court house. Park county was badly in need of such a building. During the eight years of its existence the county had conducted its business in rented buildings, which were inadequate and in which the public records were imperiled. Besides, at this time the county had a large sum of money on hand which would not be available to apply on the payment of the bonded indebtedness for many years, and for which there was no immediate use. Accordingly, on February 28, 1895. the commissioners let the contract for the building of a court house to H. J. Wol- cott for $9.680, the building to be completed before July 15th of that year.
But action was taken which prevented the building of this structure. On Saturday, March 9th, in district court, Judge Frank Henry presiding, a temporary restraining order was granted against Mr. Wolcott and the county commissioners, restraining them from building the court house. This action was taken at the request of C. S. Hefferlin, from whom the county rented the building used for county purposes. This action was brought on the grounds that the act was unconstitutional. and this section of the constitution was cited :
"No county shall incur any indebtedness or liability for any single purpose to an amount exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) without the approval of the majority of the electors thereof, voting at an election to be pro- vided by law." It was shown that the county had let the contract for the building for $9,680, had paid $3,200 for the building site, had paid $700 for plans and specifications for the build- ing, and had further agreed to pay $250 to an architect to supervise the construction. This would have brought the total cost up to $13,- 830, an amount in excess of that allowed by the constitution.
The restraining order was made permanent March 20th. An appeal to the supreme court was taken at once, and in a decision in the latter part of June, the ruling of the lower court was sustained. As a retaliatory measure an action was then brought against the county and Mr. Hefferlin, restraining the former from paying to the latter the money on certain war- rants, which had been issued to him as payment for rent of county buildings. The same sec- tion of the constitution was cited that Mr. Hef- ferlin had employed. It was shown that, if these warrants were paid, the amount that would have been paid out in rents for county buildings would be in excess of the constitu- tional limit of money that could be paid out for any single purpose without the approval of a majority of the voters. The court did not take this view of the matter, however.
The county was not to be balked in its ef- forts to get a court house, however. July 20th the commissioners decided to submit to the vote of the people the proposition to build a $25,000 structure, and named Thursday, August 15th, as the date for holding the election. It will be remembered that on two former occa- sions the voters had disapproved the erection of a county building by overwhelming major- ities. Now, however, it was all the other way. There was hardly any opposition.
On October 5, 1895, the contract for the
1.48
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
erection of the building was let to Day & Horn- beck, of Livingston, for $18,095. The build- ing was completed and furnished ready for oc- cupancy in July, 1896, the total cost of build- ing and furnishings being about $23,000. On the last day of July the county officials moved to the new court house.
The year 1897 witnessed the complete re- covery from the "hard times" period. That year there was an unprecedented demand for agricultural and stock raising lands. New set- tlers came into the county, and during the next few years Park county advanced as it had not done since the boom days of 1883.
During the history of Park county there have been scores of murders and homicides committed, but there never was a crime which created the excitement and aroused the indig- nation of the people to the extent that did the murder of Sheriff Geo. T. Young, of Living- ston and the serious wounding of Under Sheriff Frank Beller at the depot platform at Springdale, on Friday evening, November 9, 1900, while attempting to arrest a man, whose name was unknown, but who was wanted for shooting a man at Logan two days before. Sheriff Young was shot through the heart and died instantly. Beller was shot squarely in the chest and also received a wound in the foot, from which injuries he recovered.
The murderer escaped, and then began one of the most determined man hunts in the his- tory of the west, second only to that of Harry Tracy a few years later in Oregon and Wash- ington. Bloodhounds were secured to track the murderer, and posses were formed in nearly all the towns of the country. The mur- derer started east and was seen two miles west of Big Timber. From there he was traced up Boulder creek a few miles. Then he made his way to Grey Cliff. He was seen near that place and also at Reed's Point. From the latter point he was traced to Red Lodge country and later into the Hole-in-the-Wall country of Wy- oming, where all track of him was lost. His
pursuers would catch sight of him at some point and then he would disappear as com- pletely as though the earth had swallowed him up, only to reappear in a day or two at some point thirty or forty miles distant. With an endurance that seemed almost superhuman the murderer braved the excessive cold, clad only in summer garments, with nothing to eat ex- cept what little he could steal from sheep camps. The country over which he traveled was a strange one, and he was frequently run- ning into places where recognition immediately followed. Then he would disappear hours be- fore his pursuers could take the trail. For two weeks the chase was continued by at least an hundred men. Then it was abandoned, and no trace of the murderer has ever been found.
The federal census of 1900 gave Park county a population of 7,341, a slight gain over the census of ten years before, nothwithstanding the fact that the county had lost about half its area in the meantime. A census today would show about twice that number. The years 1901 and 1902 were particularly prosperous ones, the latter being the most prosperous one, up to that time, in the history of the county.
While there has been only one legal execu- tion in the history of the county, a second man had received sentence to the supreme penalty. This was Martin Zidmair, who was sentenced to be hanged September 4, 1903, for the mur- der of Geo. Reider. He cheated the gallows by hanging himself in his cell the day before that set for his execution.
The year 1905 was a banner one for the min- ing industries of Park county. Numerous smelt- ers and mills were started in different parts of the county. All the coal mines and coke plants of the county were in operation, and gold and silver mining took a new impetus. This activ- ity has continued up to the present time, and there was never a time in the whole history of the county when times were as good as they are at present. The total assessed valuation of property for the year 1906 was $4.923.602.
149
HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY.
CHAPTER III
LIVINGSTON.
Within the county of Park there is only one town that enjoys municipal government. This is Livingston, the county seat, a city of about 5,000 people, ranking well up among the important towns of Montana. Besides this city, however, are many smaller, but im- portant, villages, which depend for their ex- istence upon the surrounding mining or agri- cultural country. Among these are Gardiner, Aldridge, Electric, Shields, Cooke, Fridley. Jardine, Springdale and Clydepark, ranging in population from a few hundred down to a few score. Besides these might be named a few railway stations and country postoffices, which have not yet reached the distinction of being called towns. There are twenty-three postoffices in the county as follows : Aldridge, Bruffeys, Chico, Chimney Rock, Clydepark, Cokedale, Contact, Cooke, Electric, Fridley, Gardiner, Hunter's Hotsprings, Jardine, Lat, Livingston, Meyersburg, Miner, Muir, Pine- creek, Rockcreek, Shields and Springdale. This chapter will deal with the history of the city of Livingston ; the one following with the histories of the other towns of the county.
LIVINGSTON.
At a point on the Yellowstone river where that mighty stream, in its long journey from the mountains south of the Yellowstone Na- tional Park to the Missouri river, makes the great bend to the eastward is located the city of Livingston, the county seat of, and most im- portant town in, Park county. Just below the point where the river breaks through its third and last canyon the forces of nature have formed a broad circular basin, and upon this
is built the city, at an elevation of 4,491 feet above sea level. The location might also be described by saying that it is on the main line of the Northern Pacific railroad and at the junction of that road and the National Park branch; that it is fifty-nine miles north of the National Park; that it is 1,007 miles west of St. Paul, the eastern terminus of the Northern Pacific; and 124 miles to the east- ward of Helena, the capital of the state.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.