The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-04-01

On September Sth, 1883, one OF
the most distinguished gatherings
of celebrities that Montana has ever
seen was held on historic Gold
Creek, now in Powell county, to wit
ness the driving of the golden spike
that symbolized the completion of
the Northern Pacific railway and
furnished Montana with a transcon-
tinental line.
The ceremonies were carried out
under the supervision of Henry Viii
lard, first president of the Northern
Pacific, who had brought with him
some of the biggest financial men of
the United States, several noblemen
from England, noted foreign CAPT
talists from Belgium, France and
other European countries, and, last
but greatest, U. S. Grant.
Willard was extremely unpopular
in Montana. He was a man of I'M
pleasant personality and much egot-
ism, who had shown very little APP
probation or gratitude for many
favors shown him by Montana peo-
pie. His only interest in Montana
lay in the possibilities that existed
for making money out of its lands
that had gone to the railroad as an
inducement to build the line to the
coast; and whatever freight business
that the state might develop.
When ne arranged for the cere-
monial exercises to mark the COM
pletion of the road, including the
driving of the golden spike, he ig-
nored Montana people entirely and
made no place for them on the pro-
gram. In fact he was so little re-
gard did he have for the proprieties
of the occasion in his anxiety to in
clude his financial friends in the
that he entirely ignored
General Grant and left him out of the
proceedings.
Wizards Program Spoiled.
But when the great gatheringJ
up around the point where the
spike was to be driven, and
after Willard had called on two fin
anciers to strike the spike, a sturdy
Montanan pushed through the circle
and shouted: LET Henry the
strike"
Willard looked up in surprise, but
lis wife caught what the Montanan
meant an6 smiled. "He means let
,ur little son strike" The sledge
vas therefore placed in the hands
# Wizards fiv~e-year-old son and he
the spike, amid much cheer
ng.
Then the Montanan shouted loud
Y, General Grant, General Grant,"
nd the people cheered wildly again.
IS the general stepped forward and
.ok the sledge, the Montanan shout
d, "Send her home, Grant" and
18th one hard blow the general drove
be spike to it's head in the tie. I
Willard turned to a railroad en-
ineer who had been in charge of the :
abroad surveys in Montana, and E
aid: who's that man who spoiled
program?"
THAT" said the engineer, sis Rod
eggat of Butte"
Made Leggat Popular.
The incident described above made
popular man out of Roderick Dhu
eggat, and no doubt many old =.
mers in the state thought of how :.
eggat broke up Wizards program /.
st week, when news of the pictures =
old pioneers death at Butte was :,
over the state, for there was e
no better known or better =
ked member of the Montana =
ioneers' society when he passed =
way March Is at a Butte hospital.
be body of the pioneer was taken to
Haven, Mich, where it was
i'd at rest by the side of his mother J
a cemetery donated to the city of
rand Haven by her more than SO &
,ars ago. :
Roderick Dhu Leggat vas 80 years
d when he died, and he had been
Montana 81 years. In 1856 he
Id his brothers, John and Alexand- !
/, bought a steamboat, the Gallatin, I
ID loaded it with goods, which they a
ought up the river to Fort Benton, e
nich they reached in August of that Il
ar. There they had an offer for ii
e steamer and sold it. q
What to do with their stock of '
erchandise was the next question. u
at Helena, Virginia City b
d other of the larger mining camps Z
emed to be overdone, but Leggat "
d his brothers heard of a new is
mp, Highland Gulch, near where W
g city of Butte stands today, which ;"
smed to be a promising diggings. st
.ey therefore contracted with al
fighters to transport their mer- d
.ndise, and upon its arrival at
ghland Gulch, at once opened a
re in which Leggat was interest
until 1872, when he sold out. Al
Mr.. Leggat was a prominent mem of