The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-03
THEY HAVE BAD RECORDS
Characters of the Principals in
the Indian Murder.
FIRST CLASS DRUNKARDS
Ambrose Was a Tough Citzsn ana
Played Gay Lothar.o With Great
Ability Interesting Bits OF
Indian History.

MiSSOu1a, Dec. 2.-County ATTORNEY
Denny has received from Duncan Nc
Donald an interesting letter regarding
the principals in the recent Indian
murder for which Lolo was sent to the
penitentiary last week. According to
Mr. Mcdonald, both Ambrose, the
murdered man, and Lolo, who did the
killing, have bad records and the kill
ing was not altogether unexpected by
those who were familiar with the habits
of each. Ambrose had a bad record as
a roue and libertine among his people,
and was an habitual drunkard and
gambler. He was called Young Am
brose by many, but he was man so
years old, and his record of late years
had been bad one. In referring to
Ambrose, or Ambrose" as the !ame
should be spelled, Mr.. Mcdonald says:
This dead Indian is now. l presume,
a good Indian where he is
He was a son of Chief Ambrose Of
the Flathead tribe, and his father was
man of exceptional ability and recoS-
nized integrity. His son, however, had
for years been a bad man and the only
wonder seems to be that he was not
killed long ago. He was reckless
fellow, whose boast was that he could
win any wife away from her husband,
and whose record showed that his
boast was not altogether vain. At the
| time of his death he was living with
| another Indians wife. He had a habit
| of dropping these unfortunate women
as soon as his fancy led him to choose
| another, and he has caused much un-
| happiness and suffering amongst his
| people. There has been, apparently,
little mourning over his violent death
| In connection with the death of Am
brose, Mr.. Mcdonald recalls an Incl
dent that is remembered by the older
residents of Missoula. When the North
ern Pacific people We're treating with
| the Indians for a right of way through
the reservation in 1882, A. B. Ham
mOnd, then a resident here, assisted
in the council of the Indians at the
agency. While this council was in
progress on the treaty ground near the
agency, Ambrose became angry and OPP
posed the advances that We're being
made by Assistant Attorney General
McCammon and Mr.. Hammond. In
the course of the discussion he at
mond but was prevented from carry
| ing out his purpose. He was a man of
high temper and base motives Mr..
Mcdonald writes:
Young Ambrose. as you call him,
was about my age, so years. I re-
| /
think about March. My father and
Chief Ambrose were camped where the
city of Helena now stands, and this
young Ambrose was good sized lad
Lolo is a cousin of mine and Little
| Mary is his aunt. The news that we
get here is that Ambrose had gone tC
| l.olo and told him that he would take
away his dolo's) wife before his eyes
That is probably the provocation that
Lolo had. Still it is good for Lolo tC
be where he is, in jail. Both men, Am
brose and Lolo, were first-class drunk
ards and gamblers"
In speaking of the two men Mr.. Nc.
Donald says, further: These two men
Ambrose and Loo. were both descend.
ants of Mohawks and Iroquois blood
from their mothers side. Both womer
were Marys and their brothers ant
cousins immigrated into Montana with
| the Hudson Bay company. They in
termarried with the Flatheads, Koote
nails and Sill-cat-com- schnts. The
last tribe named is what you call the
Pend d'Oreilles. The French word wa!
intended for the Calispellums and no
for the Sill. cat-com-schints, as 1t il
now used. The Calispellums live in thu
Calispelum valley, about so miles nortl
of Spokane Falls. The city of Kalspel
should be Calispellum.
The cause of the immigration 0
these Mohawk and Iroquois Indians
/ WAS ltlt continuous wars lnat the span
ish, French and English waged will
each other for the possession of Nortl
America The white nations introduced
bounty upon the scalps or heads o
their enemies and whenever the saw
ages killed any of these whites the.
| presented them for the bounty, bring
ing in the scalp for evidence. This wa
the reason that the Indians used tn
scalping knife. The knife was not or
isinally used by the Indians, but wa
given to them by the whites, who ar
forever damned for it. In this muddl
the Mohawks and Iroquois had a han
in turning over scalps to the natio
that paid the highest bounty. Thei
part in the warfare caused them t
skip out for Montana for safety.
was from these same Iroquois that tn
Flatheads learned of the Black Robe
and their religion, and it was this new
that led the Flatheads to send runner
to st. Louis for Black Robes, Rev. Fl
DeSmet was, I believe, the first to re
spond to the CALL.
One thousand dollars worth of rOCl