The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1903-10-13
TALE OF THE
OLD TIMER
John Neeubert of Teton Relates a
Forty-year Experience.
IN THE MONTANA COUNTRY
Up the Missouri in '62-With the Viu
ilantes-GoId Digging and Indians.
Now Has Fine Ranch on the TIE.
ton River.


up the Missouri. This steamer was
chartered by Campbell and Pecault,
fur traders who had posts all along
the Missouri up as far as the present
Fort Benton. They had a post at that
time, and for some years previous to
1857, just opposite where now stands
Oscar Johnston's stable in Fort Ben
ton, and it was called Fort Campbell
and it was in charge of Malcolm
Clark. | hired that year to Campbell
& Pecault as tailor. at $500 year
my station to be Fort Campbell I do
not know how long Fort Campbell
had been built at that time, but l be-
lleve it was built before Fort Benton
The steamer Twilight, on which |
had passage. established a new rec
ord that year. succeeding in getting
higher up the river than any of her
rivals; but she only got up as far as
Wall point. There were 125 men
aboard. and they were all turned out
there in the woods and proceeded to
build mackinaw boats with which t.
continue the trip up the river Five
of these boats We're built, the goods
loaded in, and with about % men
hitched to each boat the long hard
pull for the head Of navigation be-
gan. We arrived at Fort Campbell
on the 23d of October. 1857. | stay
ed with the company that winter and
next spring went down the river in
an express boat as far as Fort Ran
dali. l stayed at Fort Randall until
the boats came up again. In 1858
the boats got up as far as the mouth
of the Muddy. AS | did not dare to
come up again with the Cordella. |
came up overland with Colonel
Vaughn. the Indian agent. arriving
again at Fort Benton, or Fort Camp
bell. The company operating Fort
Campbell was rival in the fur trade
of the American Fur Co.. the owner
Of Fort Benton. and they had an
agreement between themselves not
to hire men who had been in the en-
ploy of the rival company. AS | was
thus out of a job. there was nothing
else for me to do but to so among
the Indians. This I did. passing about
a year among the Piegans out near
the Musselshell, I also met many
Flatheads. Mes Perces and Pondera
indians. | became quite familiar with
the Piegan language, and could also
understand some Grow. I lived the
true Indian life. being nearly all the
time ON a meat diet. Occasionally
a little coffee could be had from
some chief who had obtained it from
the government. During this time |
met James Stuart, if l am not mis-
taken. and the Findlay boys, who
were with the Flatheads, looking over
the country and trapping beaver.
During my stay with the Piegans
I witnessed a fight with the Crows.
About five miles from the camp was
in was camp of Flatheads and Mes
Perces. This camp was attacked by
a band of Crows and II Flatheads
and Mes Perces killed and all their
horses driven off. We heard the
shooting at our camp. and started out
to investigate. We met the Crows.
with the Flatheads and Mes Perces
chasing them; so the Piegans turn
ed in and joined the chasers, and an
other battle was fought in which 33
Crows were killed. and the horses all
recovered. There were two Plegans
killed. Colonel Vaughn had made
me present of a breech-lOadlng
Sharpe rifle. an entirely new sort OF
fire arms in that part Of the country.
My new gun was much admired by
the Indians. being a much more rapid
firing gun than the old muzZle load
ers. I used this gun in the fight with
the Crows. and I was pretty good
shot at that time. l did not take
any scalps. but the Indians and
squaws took plenty. In fact they
hacked and cut up the bodies of the
Crows horribly. One would have
leg and another an arm, and they had
scalp dances for week.
In the summer of 1859 came back
to Fort Benton. and from there went
down the river with old Malcolm
Clark to Fort Union, at the mouth OF
the Yellowstone. Clark was in
charge of the fort. I stayed two
years at Fort Union. In 1861 We had
a fight at Fort Uniou with the Sioux.
Eight hundred Sioux attacked Fort
Union. and we had only II white men
and one negro The Indians tried to
burn the fort. but did not succeed.
We killed Is of the Indians. They
killed 40 head of stock, took all of
the horses, burned the corrals and
hay. and also an eight-horse power
sawmill. We kept them off the fort.
but it was a tough proposition, and
we got away with Is OF their num-
That was August 22d
During the year 1862 I started up
the river On the steamer Chippewa
but at the mouth of Poplar river the
boat took fire and blew up. After
arriving at Fort Benton in 1862, Matt
Crawl and myself. and old man Mon
roe started on prospecting trim on
Bow river. across the line. We didn't
find anything. and came back and
stayed again at Fort Benton. About
Christmas, in 1862. we heard about
the strike at Bannack. and in Janu-
ary 1868. Tom Clary and myself and
four others started for Bannack.
When we came to where East Hell.
ena is now. We found that the snow
was too deep to get over Boulder di-
vide. A party of Indians came
through and started over the noun
iains tow."G Deer 70 ~ we FL
l.,