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 44
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 44
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 44
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 44
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 44
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 44
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 44
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Of the forty-six men who were in Fort Pease at the time of the first attack by the In- dians, six were killed, eight wounded, and thir- teen had left to try and make their way to the settlement, so that only nineteen were left when General Brisbin's aid arrived.
Lieutenant Jas. H. Bradley, who was a member of a force going down the river to take part in the Sioux war, was at the fort on April 21, 1876,-a short time after its abandonment. On that date he wrote in his journal : "We found the fort in the condition it had been left.
and it is evident that the Sioux have not since been in the vicinity and are ignorant of its abandonment." The next month the Sioux discovered that the fort had been abandoned and destroyed the buildings by fire.
In telling the story of Fort Pease we have advanced into the year 1876. Now let us re- turn to the closing days of the preceding year and tell of some of the incidents that took place in the territory of the present day Yel- lowstone county. We have already told of the arrival of the few settlers opposite the mouth of Stillwater during the year 1875. These were the only permanent settlers in what is now Yellowstone county that year. But there were a few others whom we may, for the want of a better word, term temporary settlers. These were trappers and wolfers, who estab- lished camps (in one or two instances, log cabins ), from which they operated. These were all in the eastern part of the county, in the vicinity of Fort Pease, and their presence here was due largely to supposed protection that the fort would give them against hostile Indians. One of these camps was Geo. Her- endeen's place, at Baker's battle ground, which became a sort of headquarters for the wolfers. Another was a log cabin built by David Ken- nedy and John Williamson, and known as Topping's camp, on the west side of the Big Horn and about three miles above the mouth of that stream. The adventures of some of these pioneers make interesting reading.
In November, 1875, E. S. Topping, author of "Chronicles of the Yellowstone," built a mackinaw at Bottler's ranch, on the upper river in the present county of Park, and with a load of specimens from the National park, started down the river on his way to the Phil- adelphia Centennial. David Kennedy, an ex- soldier from Fort Ellis, accompanied him on the trip. A day's run brought them to Ben- son's Landing, and finding there Jack McKen- zie and Billy Smith preparing to take a stock of goods down the river, they waited there
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until the third day, when the fleet of four boats started down together.
Mckenzie's boats were not well handled and were turned over several times on the trip. At least one-half of his merchandise was lost and nearly all the remainder was carried in the large boat. When near Fort Pease the weather turned cold, and Topping, seeing that the river was going to freeze up, concluded to stop near the fort for the winter and wolf, so just above the mouth of the Big Horn he left some provisions, ammunition and bedding and ran the boat down to Pease. Here David Kennedy and John Williamson, who had joined at Baker's battle ground, walked back and packed their things about three miles up the Big Horn, and built there a small log house, then went to hunting and putting out wolf baits.
On the morning of the 15th of December, Orin Mason, Jeff Thompson and Billy Castro left Baker's battle ground for the Big Horn river, to take a part in the winter's wolfing. They had their riding horses and five pack ani- . brush when they first unpacked. When near mals loaded with provisions, ammunition, etc. the place he was fired on by several concealed savages, who were so near him that he was powder-burned, though untouched by bullets. He ran back, and the three worked carefully toward the creek, and about ten o'clock they crossed the stream, and, choosing a time when the moon went under a cloud, they made a run across the flat and found refuge in a coulee, several miles from their camp, where they remained until the next night. Their intention was to go to Topping's camp, but, not knowing its exact location, they went too high up and came in sight of the river about ten miles above its mouth. As they came to the edge of its bottom, about 100 Indians came dashing from coulees on each side and in front. They saw at once that all they had to hope for was to save themselves so they left their horses and ran to a little washout nearby, and from it fired at every Indian that showed his head. About fifteen minutes after the fight commenced, Orin Ma- son, while raising his head to take aim at an Indian, was hit in the forehead by a bullet and instantly killed. The others escaped without injury.
Among the trappers in the vicinity during the winter of 1875-76 were James Parker, William Smith and a man named Squires, who was stopping during December with George
Herendeen, at Baker's battle ground. On the 26th of the month they concluded to go up Pryor's creek on a wolfing expedition: so packing their three horses-themselves being afoot-they started. During the afternoon of the 28th they arrived at and camped on Pryor's creek, and, picketing their horses on a bluff near by, prepared supper. An hour after- wards, while they were smoking their after supper pipe, they heard on the bluff the sound of animals running. Thinking it to be buffalo, they picked up their guns and ran toward the hill. They were not more than fifty yards on their way when a large party of mounted In- dians came dashing over the hill shooting and yelling. Each of the three fired a shot and then ran to the brush, which was quite thick at this point, the Indians followed them very closely, and for an hour were scouring the brush, several times passing near to the place in which the three lay concealed. Just at dark Parker tried to get into camp to secure some ammunition that had been put in the edge of the
They saw the Indians several times during the next day, who did not succeed in finding them. At night they resumed their journey toward Herendeen's, but in the darkness did not take the right course, and came to the Yel- lowstone about six miles above the present lo- cation of Billings. Finding a cave, they built a fire and stopped there until sunrise in the morning, when they again struck out. When four miles down the river, some Indians came in sight and made signs that they wished to
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talk. The boys refused to have anything to be in the bluffs. This program was carried do with them, and waved them back. Three out, and without being attacked they came into safety and rest. of the reds persevered and came on. When they were about three hundred yards distant Smith took careful aim and fired. The center Indian was supported and carried off by his two companions, either killed or wounded. The Indians now commenced firing at long range on the three whites, who lay down in a buffalo wallow and returned the fire. In about thirty minutes the firing ceased and the Indians left. The worn out and hungry wolfers continued their course, and soon came opposite Heren- deen's cabin.
The same day on which these men had started on their trip, "Skunkum Joe," Ed Forest and Ben Walker came to Herendeen's place to spend New Year's day. Latein the afternoon of the 29th, a party of fifteen Crow Indians came to the same place and concluded to spend the night. They made a little wicky- up between the two dugouts, and were given flour and coffee and dishes to cook them in. Early the next morning, as they were prepar- ing to leave, Herendeen found that they had stolen some choice wolf skins from a number that were hanging to a scaffold near by, and, leveling his rifle at the leader of the party, he forced him to have them hunted up. When the missing articles were found the transgres- sors were allowed to depart.
In about half an hour after their departure heavy firing was heard up the river, and two of the boys at the dugouts went up and brought the horses to camp. By the time this precau- tion had been taken Squires and companions had come to the opposite side of the river, which was open at this place, but was frozen across about one and a half miles below. The three desired to have the horses brought over, but the running ice rendered the exploit haz- ardous, and they were told to go down the river to the ice bridge and the party at the cabin would walk down on the opposite side and protect them from the Indians who might
All the trappers in this section believed that the attacking party in this case was Crows, who did not wish to see their reservation in- vaded. The three horses captured by them on Pryor's creek were killed, which would not have happened had they been Sioux. And it is known, also, that a Crow warrior (brother of Good Heart) was killed near here during the winter, and it was supposed that he re- ceived his death wound from this party. The second attack was probably made by the Crow's that had stayed at the dugout the night before, as they were generally incensed at the humili- ation of being forced to surrender the stolen wolf skins, and had left muttering vengeance.
So far as Yellowstone county is concerned, there were very few incidents of importance during the year 1876; but only a short dis- tance to the southeast, within the boundaries of the present Rosebud county, occurred, on June 25th, the most noted Indian battle of the west, in which the gallant Custer and his command met death at the hands of the liostile Sioux. The continued hostility of that nation during the early part of the year had the effect of driv- ing out of the country about the mouth of the Big Horn those trappers and wolfers who the winter before had made their headquarters in the neighborhood of Fort Pease.
Under such conditions, it was only natural that there should be no further settlement of the future Yellowstone county. The trading post opposite the mouth of the Stillwater still continued to hold its place on the map, how- ever. A force of soldiers who traversed the upper Yellowstone valley in the spring on the way to take part in the Sioux war report hav- ing passed the Countryman ranch, "the last occupied house on the Yellowstone."
The command above referred to was a force of 27 officers and 42 men, besides a de- tachment of Crow scouts, under command of
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HISTORY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY.
General Gibbon, which was proceeding down the Yellowstone from Fort Ellis. The route was on the north side of the river, and the whole length of the country was traversed in the journey to find the Sioux and take part in the battles against them.
Following the tragic annihilation of Gen- eral Custer and his command on the 20th of June, 1876, came a relentless war against the Sioux nation.
The members of that tribe were chased from pillar to post; they were defeated in de- tail: their power was broken; no more were they to strike terror to the whites who wished to make settlement in the Yellowstone valley and other parts of the northwest.
The effect of the chastening of the Sioux on the territory of the present Yellowstone county was good. Before, the settlement in the county had been confined to the few men in the extreme western end of the county. In 1877, after the power of the Sioux was broken, we find that settlers to the number of a score or more had built homes all along the river, on the north side, within the present county from the mouth of the Stillwater to the mouth of the Big Horn. Not only was this the case in the future Yellowstone county, but the whole length of the Yellowstone river.
These settlers began arriving immediately after the Custer massacre of 1876. One of the first was H. A. Frith, who took up a ranch on the Yellowstone near Baker's battle ground. Another settler of 1876 was Henry Kiser, who built a cabin on the creek in the western part of the county, which creek has since borne his name. Early in the winter 1876-77 the Mc- Adow brothers, of Bozeman, realizing that with the cessation of Indian hostilities the rich and fertile valley known as Clark's Fork bot- tom would soon be settled, located a large amount of land in that part of the valley near the present city of Billings. Here they estab- lished a store, which was run by P. W. Mc- Adow, who became one of the leading citizens
of Billings when that flourishing town was built.
On of the most civilizing events of the year 1877 was the establishment of a mail and stage line along the north bank of the river from Bozeman to Miles City, a distance of 340 miles, which was put on in the summer. Gen- eral W. T. Shedman, who made the trip up the valley in July, wrote to the secretary of war: "We found ranches established all along down the Yellowstone, and the mail contractors have already put on a line of two horse spring wagons, so that soon the route we passed over will fill up with passes." This line connected with another at Miles City, which continued to Bismarck, Dakota territory, the terminus of the Northern Pacific railroad. The dream of the people at Bozeman was finally realized, and the Yellowstone valley became the thorough- fare to the east. We find that in 1877 no less than fourteen steamboats ascended the river above the mouth of the Big Horn. These brought freight and passengers destined for Bozeman and points further west, and from the head of navigation the freight was hauled by wagons up the river to its destination. It was expected that the boats would be able to ascend the river to within 150 miles of Boze- man the next year, but this was not accom- plished.
Of the operations of this stage line Dr. WVm. A. Allen in "Twenty-five Years in the Rockies" wrote :
I soon tired of life in Bozeman and found employ- ment on the stage line running from Bozeman to Miles City, a distance of 340 miles. We had no regular time for making trips, for it was impossible to forsee what might happen to detain us upon the road. At every station we would stop to get a fresh team, but often found that the horses had been stolen, the man in charge frightened away, or, worse still, that the station house was in ashes.
This was the case only during the Nez Perce attack in September.
With the establishment of a stage line came the bulk of the settlers of the year 1877.
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HISTORY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY.
These settlers were for the most part keep- ers of the stage stations, those who had charge of the handling of freight, and men who en- gaged in the store and saloon business for the accommodation of the passengers, freighters and hunters, who made the station their head- quarters. We shall now tell of some of the settlers of this year.
Alonzo J. Young was the first settler on the upper Clark's Fork bottom, coming in the spring of the year. He kept one of the stage stations. Isaac M. Hensley took up a ranch where Rapids station is now located. Near Canyon creek H. H. Stone and Elliot Rouse took up a ranch and established the Canyon Creek stage station. Two miles down the river from this point Bill Brockaway had a ranch.
Down the river a short distance from this settlement was one of the best known points in the early days. This was Baker's battle ground, opposite the location of the present day village of Huntly. Here in 1877 Black and Daniels kept a supply depot for their trains going up and down the river. The same year Omar Hoskins and Thos. McGirl established a stage station, which became one of the most noted on the whole route. Says Dr. William A. Allen of this place in his "Twenty-five Years in the Rockies :"
This was the best stopping place along the line, and was a favorite resort for the hundreds of hunters and trappers in the territory, owing to the genial qualities of the proprietors and the plentiful supply of well cooked food always on hand. Hunting and trapping were lucrative employment. Meat, skins and furs found ready sale, and outfits were made up daily for a so- journ in different parts in quest of game.
Being the headquarters for the trappers of this vicinity, qnite a little settlement grew up at Hoskins and McGirl's place, which was christened Huntley by the many hunters gath- ered there. There were many scenes of vio- lence enacted in that frontier village.
Further down the river than Hoskins and
McGirl's place, on the north side of the river and just west of the month of the Big Horn, was established in June of this year a little trading post by a man named William Taylor. Soon afterward Paul McCormick located there and quite a little village sprang up. This was first known as Terry's Landing, but the name was soon changed to Junction City. The trade was with the river men, soldiers and miners of the Maginnis district. T. C. Graham and J. H. Graham located here in 1877 and en- gaged in the freighting business from this point to Maginnis and other places.
The establishing of the trading post at Ter- ry's Landing was brought about by the estab- lishment of the Cantonment Terry, a depot of supplies, just across the river, by the army then operating in this field. We can tell of the establishment of the supply depot no better than by quoting extracts from two letters writ- ten by General William T. Sherman to Sec- retary of War Mccrary in July and August, 1877. He wrote :
On the Steamer Rosebud, Big Horn River, July 25, 1877. The location of this post [at the mouth of the Little Big Horn] is in the very heart of the Sioux country. With this one and the one at the mouth of the Tongue river. occupied by strong, enterprising garrisons, these Sioux can never regain this country, and they will be forced to remain at their agencies or take refuge in the British possessions. At present there are no Indians here or hereabouts. I have neither seen nor heard of any. General Sheridan saw none nor any trace of any, so that the principle end aimed at by the construction of these posts is already reached, and it is only to make this end permanent that we should per- sist in their completion. The one at Tongue river can be supplied by steamhoats. This one at the mouth of the Little Big Horn, cannot depend on this river, the current heing too strong to be navigated by ordin- ary boats with a fair cargo. General Terry and his quartermaster, General Card, are at this moment re- connoitering to select some point near the mouth of the Big Horn whereat to establish a supply depot, at which all freight destined for this port can be landed and hauled up there.
We have on board a company of infantry to guard this depot and we are nearly agreed that the best place will be a point on the Yellowstone proper, three miles above the mouth of the Big Horn, where the hauling
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HISTORY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY.
will ht alweit thirty miles by ox teams. These can be hired her. and will do the work more surely and bet- ter than the steamboats, for they have been sometimes two weeks in working up the Big Horn and have left their loads strung along the banks at points hard to reach by wagons. I am convinced that this is the wisest course, and thus we can maintain a strong military post in the very heart of the hostile Sioux country, with only a haul of twenty miles, which is insignificant as compared with most of our posts south of this. The country, west of this is a good country and will rapidly fill up with emigrants, who will, within the next few years, build up a community as strong and as capable of self defense as Colorado.
I have company L, of the second cavalry, Captain Norwood, which belongs at Fort Ellis, Montana Ter- ritory, now camped on the west bank of the Yellowstone opposite the mouth of the Big Horn. to escort me up to Ellis. As soon as we have decided on the merits of the point mentioned as a supply depot for this post, I will land and start for Ellis, leaving General Terry with this boat to report in full all the matters to the adjutant general, so that this letter is only preliminary. *
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W. T. SHERMAN, General.
Fort Ellis, M. T., August 3, 1877.
Dear Sir: I wrote you last from the steamer Rose- bud, coming down the Big Horn in company with Gen. Terry and others on the 25th of July. We had con- cluded that the current of the Big Horn was too swift to be managed economically, and that the garrison at Post No 2. at the month of the Big Horn. could best be supplied by establishing a depot on the Yellowstone, just above the mouth of the Big Horn, where stores could be hauled thirty miles to the new post. A com- pany of the IIth infantry was left there to establish and guard the depot, when the steamer Rosebud dropped down to the point just below the mouth of the Big Horn. where company L, second cavalry, Captain Nor- wood, was camped with an outfit. This consisted of six Indian horses, two light spring wagons, and one light baggage wagon. The Rosebud landed us at 2 p. m., when she started down the river, leaving us to begin our real journey. In a few minutes the escort saddled up, and we started on horseback up the Yel- lowstone.
The valley is strongly marked, about three miles wide, flat. with good grass, the banks of the river and the streams well wooded with cottonwood trees. In this valley, the Yellowstone, a broad, strong stream, meanders back and forth, forming on both sides strong, perpendicular bluffs of rock and clay, forcing the road constantly out of the flat valley over the points, and causing wide deflections in the road to head the ravines or "coolies," which flow to the river. There is a strongly marked wagon trail, but no bridge or cuts, a purely natural road, with steep ascents and descents,
and frequent gullies, about as much as wagons could pass. We sometimes shifted into our light wagons, to save the fatigue of travel. * * * * * * *
We found ranches established all along down the Yellowstone, and the mail contractors have already put on a line of two-horse spring wagons, so that soon the route we passed over will fill up with passes. The land is susceptible to cultivation on a small scale, but admirably adapted to cattle raising.
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W. T. SHERMAN, General.
Another settler of the year 1877 was Major Pease, who in the fall of that year built a trad- ing store opposite the mouth of the Stillwater, the first cabin erected on the present townsite of Columbus. Here he traded sugar, flour and a few other staple articles to the redskins for hicles and furs.
Thus we find that during 1877 the "pale faces" for the first time in history had posses- sion of the future Yellowstone county. Where before no man's life was safe for a moment, now were ranches and little settlements, the in- habitants of which lived in comparative safety. No longer did the Sioux warwhoop resound along the Yellowstone valley.
But we have one more Indian outrage to record before we leave the people of the future county of Yellowstone in peace and security. This was perpetrated by a band of bad Indians foreign to the Yellowstone valley-the Nez Perces, whose homes were far away, in Idaho and Oregon. It is not necessary to go into de- tail of the breaking out of the Nez Perce war. Suffice it to say that that tribe, under the lead- ership of Chief Joseph, went on the war path in Idaho in the summer of 1877, were attacked by the United States troops and volunteers, made their escape, and were followed by the soldiers for hundreds of miles, making the most famous retreat in the history of Indian warfare.
The few years following the events of the year 1877, were fraught with fewer incidents of a hair-raising nature than those that had preceded, but they were interesting times,
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nevertheless. The future Yellowstone county was being reclaimed from the savage state in which it had been since the beginning of time. Settlers did not pour in as they did a few years later when the railroad was built up the Yel- lowstone valley, but a number came, took up stock ranches and became permanent settlers ; others found employment in the freighting and staging businesses, and other occupations. The stage line did a prosperous business. With its establishment came the opening of postof- fices, and around these points sprang up little trading points and villages. These places were Coulson, two miles down the river from the present site of Billings; Stillwater (now Columbus), opposite the mouth of Stillwater river : Huntley, headquarters for the trappers and hunters in the vicinity, located on Baker's battle ground, across the river from the pres- ent village of Huntley ; and Terry's Landing. or Junction City, a short distance above the mouth of the Big Horn, on the north bank of the river.
In 1878 nine steamers plyed the waters of the Yellowstone in a total of fifteen trips, as high up as Sherman, and some of these went up as high as Terry's Landing, and one to Camp Bertie, near Pompey's Pillar. The arrival of these boats made business for the freighters, hauling up the valley to Bozeman, and for the stage lines.
Among the settlers of 1878 was a party from the Gallatin valley, who came in the spring and builded homes in the new country. This party consisted of R. W. Clark, O. N. Newman, A. T. Ford and a Mr. Kinney. The last named settled near Young's Point; the others came farther down the river and settled upon land extending from the Josephine in- scription to the Coulson stage station. An- other settler that year was John R. King, who in the fall settled near Coulson. Mr. King had been in the Yellowstone valley on different missions as early as 1873. During 1875 and
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