The Western news., 1903-10-07

Walla Walla county was afterwards
divided and we became part of Spo-
kane county with the county seat To-
Gated at Fort Colville.
We remained a part of Spokane
county until Dec. IA, 1860, when the
Legislature of Washington territory
divided that county and created the
county of Missoula with the county
seat at or near the trading post of
Worden & Co. Hell's Gate roude.
A PART OF IDAHO.
The county of Missoula as at first
established, embraced all those por-
-tions of the present counties of Mis-.
soula and Deer Lodge, lying on the
west side Of the main range of the
Rocky mountains. Missoula county
remained part of Washington territory
until Idaho territory was organized.
on the 3rd of March, 1868, when it be-
came portion of that territory.
The first legislature of Idaho created
Missoula county, with nearly the same
boundaries that it had prior to the
cession of Ravalli and Flathead, and
located the county seat at Wordens-
vile.
MONTANA CREATED.
On the Goth day of May, 1864, CON
gress created Montana territory and
the first legislature, which met at Ban
mack, created on the End day Of Feb
ruary, 1865, the county of Missoula
and located the county seat at Hell's
Gate. From the foregoing it will be
seen that Missoula county has at diff
ferent times comprised a portion of
four territories and five counties.
LEWIS AND CLARK.
Probably the first white men who
visited this portion of Montana were
Lewis and Clark, who, with Their
party, sometime during the summer of
1905, entered the Bitter Root valley
from the south through a pass known
at the present time as the Big Hole
mountain, near the head Of the Bitter
Root river. 1t was in Ross Hole, a
small, round valley near the head of
the Bitter Root river, where the party
of Lewis and Clark first met and gave
the name of Flatheads to the tribe of
Indians now known by the name.
CHIEF NOISE OF THE
FLATHEADS.
A number of years since the writer
was we'll acquainted with Noise, the
second chief Of the Flatheads, who
was boy at the time when Lewis and
Clark passed through the Bitter Root
valley and we'll remembered the event
and many circumstances connected
Herewith, the party being the first
white men ever seen by the Indians.
Noise was warm and devoted friend
of the whites from the time of his
first meeting with them up to the time
of his death, which occurred about
1867.
NATIVE INDIAN TRIBES.
Western Montana has been occupied
from time i,nrnemorable by three diff
ferent Indian tribes, to-wir The Sal
ish-called by Lewis and Clark Flat
heads, and by which name they are
generally known. The Kelespelmns,
now exclusively known by the French
name of Pen d Orellles, and the Koo-
tenais. These tribes speak dialects
slightly different, and most probably
constituted at a remote date one tribe
or nation. Tney have a tradition that
they came from the far north, but this
tradition is exceedingly vague and in
definite.
From the time of Lewis and Clark's
expedition up to about the year 1885 or
1886, we have no definite knowledge of
what transpired IN this part of Mon
tana. At a very early date number
of Canadian voyaguers and Iroquois
Indians from Canada, visited this
country and some time between 1920
and 1885 the employees of the Hudson's
Bay company visited it for the pur-
pose of trading with the Indians and
extending the power and dominion of
that gigantic company, but these early
adventures left us no available data
from which to write their travels and
adventures.
IN QUEST OF RELIGION.
About the year 1885 or 80 the Flat
head Indians, who inhabited the Bit
ter Root valley, had gathered some lit
tie knowledge of the Christian religion
from the Canadian voyagers and Iro-
quois Indians, who visited the country
for the purpose of trapping and trad
ing for furs. The Flatheads were anx-
ious to gain further knowledge and
sent to St. Louis. Mo-, for priest, or
as they called him "Black Robe"
Three different Darties of Indians varo