The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-09-12
BEAUTIFUL BOHEMIAN
A Condensed History OF
the Town, etc.
WRITTEN BY JUDGE H. N.
MCGUIRE.

The last rail of the Northern Pacific
Railroad has been laid, the golden spike
will soon be driven, and the greatest Of
the Pacific roads opened to the traffic Of
the world. The iron horse traverses the
valley of the Yellowstone, crosses the
belt range through the Bozeman Pass
and Is watered and fed at Bozeman, the
commercial metropolis of Eastern Mon
tana. passes on through the great Gala
tin Valley to the western seas. Bozeman
will now spring forward and assume the
position among western cities that her
vast and varied resources entities her to
hold. Through the coming years she
will be pointed to as one Of the brightest
examples of American progress and en-
terprise.
The time and occasion are fitting for a
review of the past and speculations upon
future prospects.
On the 5th of July, 18O5-7S years and
two months ago-the first white men
entered the valleys of the Upper MIS-
souri,, and camped about 25 miles in a
westerly direction from the site of Boze-
man, near the site of Gallatin City. They
were members of the Lewis and Clarke
expedition. On the 18th of July of the
next year branch of the expedition un.
der Capt Clarke camped at the same
place. Passing up the East Gallatin to
the Yellowstone, they decended that cur
rent in canoes. By pre-arrangement
they Joined the branch under Captain
Lewis at or near the mouth oYthe Yel-
lowstone. Even that early the American
pioneer had forced his way into the heart
of the continent Near the present site
of Buford two white men wore found,
named Dickinson and Hancock, from the
Illinois river, who had ventured thus TAI
into the wilderness on a hunting excur-
sion up the Yellowstone Valley-all
their knowledge of which must have
come from the uncertain reports Of the
prairie tribes.
Lewis and Clarke's report awakened
the first general interest in the Yellow
stone and Upper Missouri regions and
excited the cupidity of the enterprising
fur traders, soon resulting in tho estab-
lishment of a chain of trading-posts all
the way across the continent. But it
was not until the discovery of gold in
this region in 1862 that there was gen
eral movement of emigration towards
the Upper Missouri, though the world
had long before been informed of the de-
lightful natural conditions of the coun-
try-its pure air, sparkling rivers, richly
grassed valleys and lofty pine-mantled
mountains through the reports of gov
ernment and individual explorers.
Among and Immediately following the
first gold.seekers were many who pre-
ferred the less hazardous pursuit of farm.
ing and stock-raising to mining. A few
settlers located in the Gallatin Valley
soon after the first gold claims were
opened.
The town-site of Bozeman las yet un-
named) was located by Daniel E. Rouse
on the 7th day of July, 1864. He built
upon it the first house, the site now be-
ing occupied by the business houses OF
Rich & Wilson. The next improvement
was on the ground now owned by the
Masons, at the northwest corner of Boze-
man and Main streets-Judge Fitz, from
Chicago, opening there the first store
Stafford & Rice opened the second
Among the first houses was the cabin Of
VIM. H. Tracy. northwest from the in
terection of Black and Main streets.
On the LIST of August, 1884, Col. John
Bozeman arrived on the site Of Bozeman
named in his honor, having piloted All
emigrant train of 40 wagons, embracing q
large number of families, from the North
Platte along the eastern base of the Big
Horn Mountains. About the same time
arrived the trains of Major Bridger and
Capt. Jacobs, which aggregated 126 wag'
gons. At the time there probably were
not more than 25 settlers in the Gallatin
Valley. The three trains went on ovel
to Virginia City, then and long after the
center of the gold mining interest; but
Col. Bozeman and some of his followers
were SO impressed with the beauty and
fertility of the Gallatin Valley that they
soon returned and made permanent To-
cations. p. w. Meadow and Thomas
Couver located mill-site on Bozeman
creek, now within the town limits in the
fall of 1864, and had their mill in opera
ton the succeeding year. Then the
fourishing city of Bozeman was founded,
and thenceforward. population rapidly
increased.
Col. Bozeman was killed in the Vel
lowstone Valley by hostile Indians in
the spring of 1867, Thomas Couver at the
same time being wounded. These, with
other atrocities committed that spring,
caused General Thos. Francis Meagher,
then Acting Governor, to call for volun-
teers. Several hundred, well provision
ed and supplied with munitions of war,
entered the field but the hostiles kept
out of the way, and no fighting was
done.
In the fall of 1867 Captain La Motto
arrived, commanding three companies
of United States troops, when Fort Ellis
was established, q miles east of Boze-
man. The volunteers were then disband-
ed.
= From this time on the Gallatin Valley
steadily gained in population, the nucleal
points of settlement being Bozeman, at
it's head-always the most populous,
Hamilton, twelve miles northwest from
Bozeman, Spring Hill, twelve miles
north, and Gallatin City, at the junction
of the jefferson, Madison and Gallatin.
These continue to be the most prominent
points.
In the fall of 1860 the first number Of
the Pick and Plo,c was issued in Bozeman,
the circulation of which reached 1900;
and this, along with the discovery of the