The Glasgow courier., 1916-12-29
FEW DAYS AGO there died in

L \ Judge Frank H. Woods, who
came to Montana before any man
now living. He entered the
borders of what is now Mon
tana in 1856, driving team of
oxen, and when he arrived at the site
of Missoula, he found an encampmentI
of 800 Indian lodges where the city
was to rise. He became the first may
Or of Missoula, and from 1856 to
1880 served as county clerk and re-
corder, which, in the later years, was
combined with the post of probate
Judge. In 1869 he was elected al
member of the territorial legislature
for the counties of Missoula and Deer
Lodge, but as there was doubt of the
legality of the session that followed
he did not attend. He lived for SO
years in the same house in Missoula,
which was situated consecutively in
the territory of Washington, the ter
ritory of Idaho, the territory of Mon
tana and eventually in the state of
Montana. AS a matter of fact, he in
forms us in a memorandum he left
that he really lived in four territories
and one state, while yet within the
boundaries of Montana.
when I first came to what is now
Montana" he wrote, land lived in
Grass valley, within eight miles of
what is now the city of Missoula, the
country was then Washington terri
tory. I then went to Bannack, in
1862, at that time in the territory of
Dacotah; then in 1864, I came back
to He'll Gate, five miles below the
present city of Missoula, which was
in hn dol h0o
Montana territory and then the state
of Montana"
In 1859, Mr.. Woody, with the as
sistance of Henry Brooks and James
Holt, made a plow that turned the
first furrow ever made in the He'll
Gate valley-or in Montana with the
exception of the missionary settle
ment in the Bitter Root valley.
Many Months of Hardship.
1t was only after many months of
hardship that Judge Woody succeed
ed in making his way overland to
Montana. While he was in Utah
he was obliged to walk 100 miles for
! a job, living as best he could on the
Mormons enroute. He afterwards
said of himself and of the
two companions of this trip: II think
we were the first three original
tramps in the United States" His
associates were Jim Tingsley, from
Indiana, who had joined the Mormon
church in hope that living thereby
would be made easier; and Sam
| Ballingee, a native of Kentucky.
eve had a consultation" wrote
Judge Woody in telling of that ex-
perience, "and I might say formed a
trust. Sam put in his rifle and
pouch and powder-horn, Jim his blan-
ket, and I, my experience. After
some discussion, We agreed we would
subsist on the Mormons by passing
ourselves off as Mormons and beg
ging our way. We drew straws to
see who should attempt to get some
thing to eat, and the one to whom
the lot fell to do this was to continue
in that business during that day. l
think We were the first three original
tramps in the United States, and we
followed the methods very closely
that are pursued by the tramps of the
present day.
/ Meat an Unknown Quantity.
'The houses along the road were
scattered, but we never passed one
without asking for something to eat
Occasionally we would get a small
piece of bread, but never any meat,
that being an unknown quantity with
us at that time. In This way we sue
ceeded in getting enough bread to
keep our hunger down to a certain
extent and finding some place where
we could lodge, which was usually in
an clubhouse.
i after walking Is or 20 miles, we
stopped one day, just after noon, al
quite farm house on the side of the
road for the purpose of trying to .et
something to eat. This was Jim's
day to provide. We went to the
house and found three or four ladies
and number of children, but no man
was seen Now Jim had gall the equal
of any man I ever saw. He went
around to the kitchen and jim
told that we wanted something
, to eat. One of the ladies said
they did not have anything to
give us, that they were short oil
provisions themselves and people
were travelling by all the time an6