The Ronan pioneer., 1917-07-20
HOW 0E KPP INVADED CANADA AND BUILT FORT STEAMBOAT
DEFED HUDSON BAY COMPANY CHANGING G@WMTRYS HISTORY

came up every spring from st Louis
with goods for the traders and sup
plies for Helena and other mountain
camps, went back with towerins
loads of tarpaulin bales of buffalo
robes and pelts of beaver, wolf, elk
deer and antelope.
Benton Is Threatened.
The people at Fort Benton took
toll of the traffic to and from the
mountain camps and were content
with that share of the gold mining
business They were not lured by
the enormously rich strikes of Aide,
Gulch, Last Chance and other places
They felt that in the fur trade, in
Guiding the important wolfing indus
try. they had a source of wealth OF
their own, and it was a line of buSi-
ness they understood and could de-
pend upon. SO they traded with the
Indians and with the miners from
the mountains. and they prospered.
The best paying portion of their
business with the Indians was in the
line Of winter tanned robes and the
wolf pelts that they secured. princi-
pally from white wolfers. In those
days it was easy for any one in the
winter months to take few bottles
of strychnine and return with sew
eral thousands of dollars worth of
wolf pelts. All told there were not
more than 200 men engaged in this
trading and trapping, and the profits
were big for all parties to the bar
gaining. They were a brave. OPEN
hearted, honest set of men, typical
Of the old western frontier.
But suddenly cloud appeared on
their horizon in 1870 in the form of
a United States marshal of the name
of Harding, with the ultimatum that
no more whisky should be shipped
into the Indian country, which in
cluded Fort Benton and all the terri
tory for hundreds of miles on every
side. Harding showed that he meant
business by confiscating several
stocks of liquor in the town.
Indians Refuse to Trade.
The Fort Benton Traders realized
that their occupation was gone un-
less they could outwit the marshal,
for the Blackfeet, the Gros Nentres
and other tribes demanded some
whisky along with other trade arti-
cles of necessity and luxury, and if
the Benton traders could not supply
it, all they had to do was to transfer
their trade to the Hudson Bay COM
pany across the Canadian line, which
concern would give them all the
whisky they desired.
The Blackfeet and Gros Ventres
chiefs had council, and finally pre-
sented their ultimatum to Joe kipp,
whom they trusted implicitly. He
thought over the problem for sever
al days and then sought out his old
friend and prospecting partner,
Charles Thomas. "Charlie," he said,
"I have the scheme We will go
across the Canadian line and build
post where the marshal can't touch
u.s."
"Yes," objected Thomas, "but he'll
surely grab us on the trail. It's a
hundred and fifty miles to the bor-
der and it will be easy to watch US. y
But Kipp had card up his sleeve,
and when he had explained all of his
plan, he found Thomas entirely will
ing to try it.
Marshal Watches Kipp.
Marshall Harding was in Fort
Benton, watching the traders closely
SO one dark night Kipp saddled up
and started for Helena, $50 miles
away. There he bought rs cases of
high proof alcohol, containing 750
gallons, to be delivered on the Mis-
souri, river just below Helena. h-e
goods were bought from Murphy,
Neil & Co., who had a store there as
we'll as at Fort Benton. They agreed
&c re-case the spirits in strong boxes
md bind them with wire, but before
he job was completed, Harding APP
)eared and set watch on Kipp The
after kept his fine black saddle
horse at the Overland stables, and
many times a day and night Harding