The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-13
CRUMBLINC TO DUST
Age Has Reduced the Old Benton
Adobe Fort to Pulp.
1T is A HISTORICAL RELIC
The One lettering Tower Should
Be Preserved = How the New
Great Falls Affected Business
at the River Metropolis.

Great fdIS, J6fl. L. w hiAC CT INA
ton few days ago. a Standard repre-
sentative visited the site of the old
adobe fort erected at the head of navi-
CATION on the Missouri river. nearly a
century ago. 1t was a stately structure
in its time, and around its massive
walls in early days congregated ho-des
of dusky warriors, drawn thither by a
desire to trade buffalo robes ami DINER
peltries for guns, ammunition, blankets
and the like-and to watch an orportd-
nifty to take advantage Of any care
lessness on the part of the people of the
fort to gain admittance thereto ana
massacre the trader and his employees.
The huge walls have crumbled TO dust,
and there is left but the wreck OF one
tower to indicate the location of what
was once the greatest fort ana the
heaviest trading post in the Northwest.
Efforts should be made to preserve
what Dis left of the notable old struct-
ure. 1t is a tottering relic OF the past,
but its historical associations are Itch
and Invaluable.
The fort finally became unsafe and
was abandoned, troops were brought TO
Montana, the monopoly OF the Ameri-
can Fur company was broken, ana
Benton became the trading and COM
mercial center of a territory greater in
extent and area than half a dozen
Eastern states. Powers and Bakers
and Conrads and Steele and Carroll and
Wetzel and Weatherwax and other
firms engaged in the trading business,
and gathered in the rich pickings Of
fered by Indians, hunters, whiskey ira
ders and frontiersmen generallq, and
vast fortunes were acquired from the
profits derived from immense business
transactions. OF these old-time mer-
chants, Tom and John Power yet re-
main In active business. Matt Carroll
is an invalid and resides at Helena,
George Steele is Indian agent at the
Blackfoot agency, w. G. Conrad Is
president of a Great Falls bank. Char
ley Conrad owns a bank at Kalispell
and is largely interested in the town.
site, 1. G. and George Baker are In
terested in st. Louis banks, A. t.
Weatherwax died in the Judith basin
and Scott Wetzel died in this city some
years ago.
Then came another epoch in the his
tory of Benton. Steamboats, began to
ply between lower Missouri river points
and the head of navigation. AIT that
time there were no railroads in Mon
tana and, during the summer months,
Benton became the supply depot for
nearly the entire territory. Thousands
of tons of freight were unloaded at her
levees and shipped TO every town of
Importance in Montana Large bust
ness houses and handsome residences
were erected there, real estate scared
in the clouds, water works and electric
iron bridge costing $4,000 was con-
structed across the Missouri river-and
Benton was in the mad whirl of a
treacherous and deceptive boom-but a
dandy while it lasted Then came the
location OF Great Fails, followed by
the Great Northern railroad, and the
sure but gradual decline of the river
metropolis as the commercial and
financial center of Northern Montana.
With the advent of the railroad, steam
H. 81 rn1
and Benton became, and is to-day, the
quiet. orderly seat of government of
Choteau county. Her boom days are
over, probably for all time TO come, and
there is every reason TO believe that
the people are glad of it. They have
settled down to an everyday state of
existence, and are among the happiest
and most contented people on earth.
The business houses enjoy a good trade
and take care of 1t properly and salts
factorily. The one bank of the town
has had the same cashier for Is years,
and 1t is one of the strongest financial
institutions in the state. The men in
business there to-day were engaged in
the same line 20 years ago. Their hair
has been whitened by time, and that is
all the difference noticeable The peo-
pie are loyal to Benton and will fight IL
necessary when the reputation of their
town is assailed. The county buildings,
churches and public schools compare
favorably with any other town in the
state, and Benton is the only town in
the world of the same population that
sustains a daily newspaper like the
River Press. Mr.. A. Flanagan has had
charge of the postoffice for Is years and
he informed the writer he never yet
had time to visit Great Falls, 40 miles
distant. Charley Rowe and Jerry Sui
hvan conduct the two hotels. The for
mer is mayor and the latter chairman
of the board of county commissioners.
When business Is quiet at the hotels,
these gentlemen create business for
themselves The mayor visits the coun-
ty commissioner and spends little sill
YER Later in the day the county COM
missioner visits the mayor and blows
I'm the same silver. In this way the
money lis kept in circulation, business
Is kept up, and no one is much loser.
James Douglas devctes his en-
tire time TO entertaining strangers with
marvellous stories of thrilling incidents
that occurred before the "cussed RAID
road ruined the town by driving away
steamboats," and he is also remarkably
successful in tracing the resemblance
and peouliarities of half-breeds to
white men who now. and have in the
past. made Benton their homes.
Morris Gray informed the writer, con-
fidentially, that the Burlington road
would build into Benton this season.
This is important, If true. His infor-
nation, he sad. came from a Gros
Ventre belle. who had been making
medicine" devoutly for several days.
and whose oontortions so pleased the
Great Spirit that the information was
given her as a reward for her refusal
10 indulge in her usual jag.
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