Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-12-21
old TINES RECALLED
"reminiscences Of the Early Days Of
the State Recalled by State
Treasurer-Elec
An Early Frontiersman Who Prospect
ed at One Time Nearly as Far
as the Klondike.

MllIau passed SUNDAY IN the city a
guest at the Dacotah and at the same
time visiting his daughter who is a
student at the state unworthy. In
conversation with a representative Of
the Plaindealer Mr.. Mcmillan dropped
into a reminiscent strain of thought
and recounted many interesting Incl
dents in connection with his career
in the far western portion of this coun-
try and British Columbia a quarter Of
a century ago.
1t was while MI. Mcmillan was in
the queens far western domain that
the Canadian Pacific railway was be-
ing constructed. While nominally a
prospector through California, Ore
gon, Nevada and the British possess
sions, at times he engaged in other
occupations. 1t was during one of
these occasions that he was employed
in work on the railroad. The first
boat to pillow the waters of the Fraser
river, which is an extremely danger
II stream with many engulfing and
treacherous rapids, was partly the
work of the hands of the present state
treasurer of North Dakota. Unfor-
%tunately for the steamer, which was
built by the road to save teaming, it
lasted but two trips when it was cast
1,n0r tho ,,0n1-r NV %hN ~x,vs T. N,,, %r
a complete wreck.
Zone thing which attracted my at
tention most on first going into the
British province was the absence Of
side arms, which were as customary
article of dress in the states as any
thing else," remarked MI. Mcmillan.
1T was about as uncommon a sight
to see a person carrying a gun there
in the mining towns as it was to find
one without the article on the other
side Of the border. This was due in
a great measure to the influence of
one man, Sir Matthew Begbie, the
chief justice Of the present province
of British Columbia. He was a ter
ror to evil doors in every sense of the
word and it was often said of him
that he took an actual delight in or
dering a man hung. After a few
summary executions criminals of all
classes came to have a wholesome re-
gard for Canadian justice and seldom
ran foul of the law and Begbie. Why,
l remember on one OCCASION" con-
tinued the now interesting narrator,
that a company of the lowest class
of roughs from San Francisco arrived
to work on the railroad and also to
turn an honest dollar under cover of
night when opportunity offered. Soon
after becoming acquainted with the
severe and at the same time strictly
lawful mode of dealing out punish
ment, they were the most docile and
inoffensive people to be found. They
had found their master for once and
gave up without any attempt to run
things according to their IDEAS"
MI. Mcmillan prospected far north,
at n time reaching nearly the pres
emit confines of the Klondike. For
five years he was engaged in prospect
ing for gold and wooing the tickle god
dess of fortune in that guise, but never
succeeded in making any strike par
ticularly worthy of note. At times
to be sure he succeeded in amassing
what would now be looked upon as a
competency in these days, but with
the high prices prevailing throughout
that territory it soon melted away like
a cake of ice on an August morning.
After giving five of the best years of
his life to lne quest of gold Mr.. Nc
MILAN returned east and, settled in
what is now the state of North Da-
kota where he has since resided and
become one of the most prominent
and most trusted citizens.