The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-10-12
SOME HISTORICAL INCIDENTS
Trail Blazers Tell Of the Days When
the Prairie Schooner Navigated
the Plains-Well-known
Men Relate Them.
Especial Correspondence

dotes told We're the following:
Frank" said J. Chatfield to Judge
Frank H. Woody of Missoula county, u
thing l know that man.
You ought to- was the reply.
This conversation took place at Ham,
ilton on the occasion of the Pioneers ex-
cursion to that place last week from Mis-
soula where the old-timers had met In
annual reunion.
Mr.. Cha ttield had been introduced to
pioneer by Judge Woody and the two
had walked away after the introduction.
Il should think you would, repeated
the judge, land l will recall him to you.
You saw him but once to my knowledge
and then under what is now called
strenuous circumstances. Do you re-
member being in Worden & Co.'S store
at He'll Gate one cold night in Decem-
Der. 1882
Very we'll. I now know the man."
Il thought you would"
That was a warm night the judge
continued. "A party of us We're seated
in the store. playing cards. Several 9TH
ers were lounging about in chairs or on
the counter Worden's store was the
general rendevouZ for all travelling
through the valley. There We're fully
dozen in the store. One man was keep
ing the stove red hot. Besides our party
PLAYING cards at one table there We're
four others seated at another table, play
ing. Suddenly I heard someone say, I
can shoot as we'll as ye.' Looking up l
saw three men on their feet, all with re-
volvers drawn. One of the men was the
man who had been attending to the fire.
He ws.s a stranger who had recently
come into the valley and had been given
room to spread his blankets. The other
two We're men who had been playing
card. t,'j 80
line shooting commenced. There was
a scatterof us all. l Rugged the floor
and I suppose everybody else did. The
lights went out or We're shot out. but the
shooting went on in the dark. Besides
the popping we could hear men strug-
Cling and breathing hard. Then. all at
once, silence. When we ventured to
light up one man was lying dead upon
the floor, another was sitting in a chair
desperately wounded. and the third man
had disappeared. The wounded man re-
covered. We buried the dead man. I
did not see the man who disappeared
for twenty years. There was never any
made to arrest him. He is now
an honored member of society and one
OF the best men living. He is the man
Chatfeld recognized. We frequently
meet. but neither has ever spoken of
that night at He'll Gate. I don't know
who was in the right or the wrong. I
only know that when bullets are flying
thick and fast in a room that I am in
can make a floor sag in my efforts to
press down into the basement. His
name? I don't know what his name was
in the stat:s.'
Recently" said Robert Nelson, RAJ
valli county pioneer, Il saw in the Ana
conda Standard a statement that Father
Ravalli erected the first sawmill in the
Bitter Root valley and that it was built
in 1854 Such is not the case. Father Ra-
valii built a grist mill in 1854 but there
was no sawmill built until 1861, and that
was put up by Major Owen. l know
this to be true, for helped to build and
operate that mill. It is best to be correct
in matters of history. OF course. if it
ha dn't besn for Father Ravalli Major
Owen would never have come to the Bit
sawmill and that was not built until
1851"
John Van erbilt one of the oldest of
the ioneers told a story during the re-
cent gathering of ancient and vener-
abiss. which s'ows to what straits the
old-timers We're put to have a sod time.
''At Barnack in the early days." he said,
TUE 70 Io, 40
scarce and each one could have her pick
of dozens of partners. The boys, as a
rule. laid aside their mining clothes when
they went to a shindig. Store Clothes,
however. We're scarce and the fellow
who had good suit was envie1. Tom
Holden and Jake Hart were partners.
owning fairly rich claim. Both were
young and vigorous, about the same size,
and fond of dancing. They owned one
good suit Of clothes between them,
whenever there was dance Holden
would put on the suit, go in and dance
for an hour come out and change clothes
with Hart. who would repair to the
dance-hall and hoof it for an hour This
was continued during the night.
The boys had good time during the
winter with one suit of clothes. The SER
pent entered paradise. however. She
was a woman. Both boys became in
fatuated with the same girl. Holden led
off as usual one night at a dance and
Hart waited in his cabin for his turn,
which never came. Holden couldn't tear
himself away from that girl. He danced
with her all night, and the natural con-
sequence was that when he reached the
cabin next morning he and his partner
mad fight in which the suit of clothes
was wrecked. The rest of the season
the boys remained away from Dances"
II hate to soy It," said r. G. .Pelkev
Who came to Montana in 1853, and is the
father OF the first white child born in
Montana. Jefferson Pelkey, now a resi-
dent of Mssou!a. but Virginia City in
the cary days resem' led Egypt when
the plague of lice had been turned loose
because Pharoah had hardened his
heart. The dirt floors of the cabins
swarmed with vermin and it was limos