The Glasgow courier., 1916-12-22
PRINCE ROUCHED
IT IN MONTANA
MACMILLAN OF WED CAME UP
MISSOURI ON STEAMBOAT
IN THE EARLY DAYS.
Caught Between Two Fires When
Rival Indian War Parties Battle;
Rifle Kicks Him Out of Action
When He Aids Garrison to Repel
Attack"

Among the earliest explorers of
Montana was Macmillan, prince of
Wied-Neuwied in Rhenish Prussia.
Macmillan was born in 1862,
served as young man in the Prus-
sian army and at an early age, de-
veloped a liking and talent for ex-
ploration.
After the close of the Napoleonic
wars, from which he emerged as a
major-general, with distinguished
record, the prince, in 1915, set out
for Brazil. After two years in South
America, during which he made sew
eral notable contributions to science,
he decided to come to North Ameri-
ca. But as affairs of state delayed
him, it was not until 1882 that he
was able to resume exploration and
he landed in Boston in July of that
year.
Among his companions was
Charles Bodmer, young Swiss
painter, who was one of the first real
artists to visit this section, and whose
views of Indian life are classics.
Ascends Missouri on Steamboat
Macmillan journeyed westward
slowly and reached st. Louis in the
spring Of 1888. Here he met Gen.
eral William Clark, and through him
was introduced to officials of the
American Fur Trading company.
They, in turn, advised him to ex-
plore with their posts on the Mis-
souri, as base and the prince and his
party embarked on April 10, on the
steamboat Yellowstone, for the up
per Missouri, Kenneth Mckenzie be-
ing a passenger.
At Fort Pierre the passengers
were transferred to the steamer AS
sinniboine. They made slow progress
and it was not until June that the
party reached Fort Clark, near a
Mandan village occupying the site of
Bismarck, South Dakota. Proceed
ing up the Missouri to the Yellow
stone confluence, they arrived at
Fort Union June "a. From here,
after stay OF two weeks, during
which BOdmer seems to have made
number of sketches, they went on
to the central village of the Black
at Fort Mckenzie.
Caught in Midst of Indian War.
The prince decided that here he
had found the base of his explora-
tions, but after he had spent two
months wandering about the vicinity
engaged in hunting and in scientific
observations, war famed between
the Blackfeet and the Assinniboines,
and the Prussian, who had been one
of the heroes of Jena, decided the
country was too hot for a peaceful
| scientist.
He unWittingly witnessed bloody
battle between the aboriginals and
thought it very spirited, indeed. It
was in the latter part of August, at
Fort Mckenzie, when score or more
OF Piegans who had camped with
their families under the walls of the
fort, were charged, at dawn, by
thousand or more Assinniboine, who
seemed to rise from the ground.
Prince Worsted in Bout With Rifle.
The garrison, presuming the invad-
ers aimed to capture the fort, flew
to arms. They numbered only 20
white soldiers, but they manned the
works valiantly and the prince, who
was then on old man, seized rifle
and began firing with the rest. In
the excitement he overloaded the
crude weapon and it kicked" the
poor old princeling entirely across a
bastion. He fell with a thud upon
the seat of his breeches, much shaken.
in spirit and utterly disgusted with
American guns. The garrison by
this time had learned that the ASSN
niboine had come to attack, not the
fort but the Piegans; and the whites
ceased firing. The Piegans had TAX
en- refuge within the fort but score
of their women and children were
killed by the enemy. In the excite
! 1NNn h1 NScIn %<N L. \
gone unnoticed, but he was in realty
| seriously shaken up and his dignity
scarcely survived the shock. Need
the grit of the White-haired old Prus-
sian, as valiant in age as in youth,
and doughty warrior still, for all
his ignorance of just how many
ounces of power you could stuff into
muzzle-loader with safety.
Attacked by Scurvy.
The prince soon after returned to
South Dakota, and, after suffering a
severe spell of illness there, due to
scurvy, made his way back to New
York and thence home.
His journey constituted real SER
vice to science, as his contributions
to ethnology and philology, as the
|
standard. His "Travels in North
America" were widely translated and
gave many Americans their first real
picture of this section of the country.
The prince was a man of the highest
attainments and it is pleasing to
know that he did not share that
naughty contempt with which Euro
peans, untitled as we'll as titled,
were wont to speak of the American
people, at that time. "There are two
distinct points of view," he wrote, in
his travels" "in which that remark
able country may be considered.
Some travellers are interested by the
rude, primitive character of the ma
tural face of North America and it's
aboriginal population; while the ma
jority are more inclined to contem-
plate the immigrant population and