The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-11-21
BAPrISfE DVsiARME.
The Oldest Old.Timer Now Living In
Montana.

The Territorial press have lately been
publishing the life and history Of this
noble old man and have awakened quite
an interest in his history. We there.
fore have secured true history of his
life. written ty Gallatin t., n:y gentle
man, who recently int r icwc,l The Old
gentleman.
Baptiste Dusha-inr tac II Of Fran
| els Dusharme, a farmer, was born in the
village of Lanorie. forty-five miles from
Montreal, March 18th, 17sl. He conld
not content himself with the quiet and
peaceful life of farmer, but at the age
of nineteen years his heart was filled
with the ambition of leading the daring
and romantic life of a frontiersman, and
trapper. He then left his home and
+, engaged himself to parties to trade and
trap on the head waters Of the Mississi-
Poi and their tributaries, going out OF
Canada and down the Mississippi to a
post below the mouth of the Missouri,
where st. Louis now stands. On this
circuit he continued to trade and trap
until 1920. He then returned to his
native village with the intention OF
spending the rest of his life on the farm
| but he could not accustom himself to the
rigid forms of the social circles his neigh
bors had adapted, and the fascination
The freedom Of mountain life had for
! him, induced him to once more enter
''pon the trying life of trapper and In
dian man.
In 1922 he left his native home in
Canada and went to St. Louis and en-
gagged himself to Ashley for eleven
months to trade with the Indians on
Green river. While there he and their
teen others were left by the company.
Mr.. Dusharnle and part of his party
worked their way up Green river and
crossed the Wind river mountains, on to
the head waters of Wind river; thence
~ the head waters Of the Madison, Gal
latin and Yellowstone rivers Here they
found a country, whose equal for beauty
had never met mortals eye; or
"Where every God did seem to set his seal.
To give the world assurance of a Paradise"
They also found the streams we'll sup
piled with beaver, which they caught
and sold to traders belonging to the Hud-
son Bay and American Fur Companies.
He would follow down the Madison to
the Missouri, then up the Gallatin;
thence down the Yellowstone, then cross
ing the Judith country to Fort Benton;
then to the Hell's Gate river, following
it up until he could cross to the Jeffer-
son; thence to the head of Snake river.
Such was the country he travelled over,
and trapped in for eighteen years, living
the life of an Indian, and subsisting upon
wild meat, and the natural productions
of nature, and no other associates but the
Bannacks, Snakes, Shoshones and Crows.
The Blackfeet being the only tribe hav-
ing any hostile feelings towards the
whites
In 1910 he followed the Snake river
down to the Columbia; then down the
Columbia to Fort Vancouver; thence up
the Willamette valley to Corvallis, near
which place he located a farm upon
which he lived for seventeen years, fol-
lowing the avocations of farmer
In 1875. he returned to what is now
Montana; bringing with him his horses,
cattle and farming implements, with the
intention of opening farm and raising
cattle. He stopped on the Hells Gate
river, and located a farm where French
town is now located.
In 1859, Mr.. Dusharme, IN company
with Nose Reyes and Louis Brown,
whip-sawed lumber and built a FIGURING
mill on Mill creek, one and half miles
from Frenchtown. At this time Mr..
Dusharme had flattering prospects of
being one of our country's wealthy and |
prosperous citizens. But old age and |
adversely drew him down to the last |
stage of poverty. He now lives in a |
home near Frenchtown and
Ill his earthly wants are supplied by the |
Deneficent hands of F. J. Demcrs.
When the Northern Pacific railroad
vas completed, some of Mr.. Dusharme's !
leighbors took him to see the railroad |
he first he ever saw in life of over one /
hundred years.