The sun., 1903-12-27
\A1EEKsvlLLE IS
Wv STILL ON THE MAP.
Bot Henry Villsrd's Metropolis Of the
Flathead Reservation Is Now
Only a Railroad Siding.

sWeeksville Is switch. or siding as you
would call 1t. on the Northern Pacific road
In Missoula county. Montana-that's all,
said Montana man who has come down
from Butte on purpose to hear "Parsifal.
Nothing about him indicates that he livee
so far away, except his manner OF speech
When he had been introduced by his New
York friend as Major Blank from Weeks.
vile. although he halls from Butte. some.
body said he knew where Weeksville wa
and the Butte man replied as quoted.
at was hus Ting town when went there
in company with Henry Willard some years
ago, said the New York man.
"Mr. Willard was we'll known in Weeks
vile when the town was in existence" said
the man from Montana.
The New York man said he hadn't heard
that Weeksville had been destroyed.
1T wasn't" the man from Montana re-
piled. ut just disntegrated until nothing
is left to mark the site except the railroad
and the siding. 1t is where the flyers on
the Northern Pacific pass one another. A
wave of reform seemed to be fatal to Weeks.
vile.
THE town sprung up in 1882 when a Mr.
Hallett, who was the superintendent OF
construction of the Northern Pacific, To-
Gated his camp there. Hallett allowed no
saloons about his camp, but few miles
away there was camp Of the worst gang OF
desperadoes that ever worried the vigi-
lantes.
-Hallett's monthly payroll was S125, 900,
and when his men got their pay the des-
were regular society calls In point Of brevity.
The host was loaded with tarantula drops
quicker than wink, hit on the head, robbed
Of his earnings, and the visitors returned
with their pockets bulging with that which
you New Workers call dough.
The desperadoes put in their odd time
IN holding up trains. Finally the people Of
Weeksville organized vigila nte committee
and went after the train shoppers On one
occasion two leaders Of the gang we're
ro%rSsd Se yH1 W AMID swH9g Sa on Res@p PITY fellow,
what never heard was done for despera-
does before-buried 'em in one grave. One
OF the two was cripple and bumped 1t in
life on crutch. When he and his pal had
been planted the vigilantes stuck the crutch
at the head of the grave and it remained
there Until it rotted away.
Two other leaders remained and the
Weeksville vigilantes ran them down in
time. The two were pursued to river.
They jumped in, dived, came up and fired
back from the stream in which they were
epldSllIlS dICuIu. 4NODOdy hIOWb LOT CcT-
tain whether they died in the water or took
headers and swan out
This work of the vigilantes stopped the
monthly visits to Weeksville. and train rob-
berries were few in the hill. The ever
lasting quiet of the snow peaks just settled
down on the town, broken only, now and
then, by Chinaman's sudden demise, 80
to speak, and that didn't count.
Il don't know why 1t was, nobody knows,
but the lack of excitement seemed to be
like . milestone on the neck of Weeksville
Its eople liked law and order, but they
didnt like it steady.
First one and then another, and then an
other quietly went away. and never come
back; and this kept up. gradually, until
there wasn't but one house left on the
Hte-for the departing population took
their houses with them when they went
away. The houses in Weeksville, l may
say, were not built on the New York plan.
Il think the postmaster was the last man
to leave. For some months before he quit
he had nothing to do but draw his pay,
and then he had to go out Of town to spend
it.
THE Northern Pacific company uses the
town site as passing point for their trains
not 80 much because 1t is a good place for
trains to pass, think as because Mr.. Vii
lard was once entertained there, and be-
cause he thought at the time that Weeks
vile was going to be the metropolis OF the
Flathead reservation.
But there 10 the name still kept on the
N. P.'s railroad maps, just as If the town
was really there"