The Monticellonian., 1906-10-11
TOLD NATION NEWS
FIRST PUBLICATION OF DETAILS
 OF CUSTER MASSACRE.
Helena Herald Printed Sad Story cn country's Natal Day--Vetersn Editor Tells Story of
 Great Scoop

Deputy Postmaster 4. j. Fisk of Helena. Mont, a veteran newspaper man. having with his brothers pub l lished Montanas first day newspaper the Helena Herald-was in a reminiscent mood the other evening and related the story of how the first news of the Custer massacre was given the world through the medium of press association. Said he:
 As was the custom in the early days. the Herald did not publish pa per on the 4th of July and editors and printers were supposed to put in the whole day celebrating.
 At that time. in 1876, l was the As sociatcd Press agent for Helena, position which I filled for a period ot 30 years. or lip 10 two years ago.
 About noon on the fth of July, tS76 1 came downtown to see If there was any news of importance to wire 10 the association. l was sitting in the business office. when in the door walked Horace CouHtryman. dusty. dirty. with haagard eyes and looks. and having the appearance of one who was about all in.
 T sprang to the counter. grasped him by the hand. exclaiming. 'CoHn- tryman. what in Gods name is the matter?'
 Jack, he replied Custer and all with him are dead-were massacred on the Little Big Horn by the Sioux. Muggins Taylor, the scout, brought the news to Saltwater. He being eX- hausted. l volunteered to bring the news to Bozeman. Arriving at Boze- man, l found the government wire down, so got fresh horse and came on to Helena
 T told him to come in and sit down and wait for q moment until could send out and try to locate some printers in order that We might get out an extra
 Our foreman, the late William Me Catehey. was located, but it was per haps an hour before We had force getting ready for the extra.
 Then Countryman ga1e me the par
  veyed to him by Muggins Taylor To this day l remember one of his sen tences:
 'Gurley, the Indian scout and tho only person who escaped to bring the news, said the firing was very rapid: it sounded like the snappins of the threads in the tearing of d blanket
 At four o'clock in the afternoon the lIerald's extra was on the streets of Helena. It was the first news of the awful event to be given to the public
 The excitement was so great and our force so limited that 1 did not fad time to send the news out of the city until after the extra was out. Then grabbed copy of the extra and made fast time to the Western Union teie. graph office.
 There was only one wire. but Man ager0perator Fredericks laid all else aside and gave the massacre story preference, with the result that on the morning of July all the newspapers of the country contained the news of the massacre.
 There was little rest for me the night of July 1. Every 15 minutes or so there would be ring at my door, bell. announcing telegram from some paper demanding further de- tails of the awful affair.
 T remember one New York paper having authorized me to send scouts to secure additional news. l informed he papers that our complete story had been given the press association and that furthe. details would come from Bismarck, when the scouts reached that city. which they did on the following day, and it was through these eouriers that on July the gov efnment at Washington received it's official dispatches.
 disclaim any desire for notorie'y In the premises. but in history Helena md Montana scouts and frontiersmen should have the credit for furnishing to the world the first news of Clusters late. and not the couriers who reached Bismarck on July }. In my long ex. psrience as a reporter and newspaper man. this Was my greatest scoop. = \. I. Tribune.
 Snow That Is Alive.
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