The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-11-03
MARQUIS De M0RES ERATlC FRENCH M0BLENA ONE OF MOST
SPECTACULAR FIGURES IN HISTORY or MONTANA AND DAKOTAS

Ono q the most EXTRAORDINARY men
among the unusual ,charactors whose
names are 10 b found ID the pages
q 1ontana's history was Antoine de-
Vallombrosa, Marquis de Noree. SOM
q . French duke and . member Of
the noted Orleans family, who was
remotely In line for the French
throne. The amazing exploits Of the
Marquis Dc Nores a I business way
ana otherwise In eastern Montana
and western Dakota are still remem-
bered by old timers In Miles City and
eastern Montana, but to the present
generation h1e name % unknown.
In the Bad Lands Of western Da-
kota, Just across the Montana line,
on the Northern Pacific railroad, III
the late 70's and early sos there
was . little settlement known as|
Little Missouri, or more popularity
- Little Misery" which boosted
that It was % tough . community -
existed In the entire west. lts record
In this respect was for several years
fully sustained, for It knew Of mo-
law excepting that Of the sfxshooter
and its little cemetery on Graveyard
Butte had ~ . majority Of it, popu-
latlon men who had died with their
boots on. Il was an ideal hangout
for outlaws Of all kinds, and it, IN.
hAbitants looked with disfavor on
any invasi6n Of the territory sur
rounding Il by stockmen or others
engaged In legitimate lines Of indus
try.
The astonishment Of the residents
OF Little Missouri may be imagined
when. one day In March. 1883, . fine
looking young man, fashionably clad
In garments strange to the commun-
ity. alighted from the west-bound
passenger train and. followed by .
neatly-dressed serving man who car
ried his baggage. strolled to the
group OF log and frame shacks that
constituted the town and inquired
with . pleasant manner for Howard
Eaton.
Eaton, then . recently arrived cat
tie man from Pittsburg, died last win
ter. at Sheridan, Wyoming. near,
where for the past Is years he had,
with his brothers, operated the world
famous Eaton dude ranch" at Wolf,
Wyoming. It happened that Eaton
had that day ridden into Little Mis-
souri, after the mail, 30 the letter was
presented at once. It was from a
prominent eastern business man, and
It stated that the bearer, the Marquis
de Mores, was the son-in-law of
Baron Won Hoffman, a wealthy New
York banker Of German blood. The
letter ended: II don't know what
experience he has had in business or
anything of that kind, but he has
some large views"
De Mores' Ambitious Plans
It appears that the Marquis had
visited Little Missouri as the result
OF visit to the Bad Lands of Da-
~kota the previous year of his cousin,
Count F1tx James. descendant of
early Scotch exiles to France. Count
Ftt1 James had been on 4 hunting
trip to the Bad Lands, returning to
France with stories OF the new cat
tic country that stirred the Marquis's
imagination. Being an adventurer,
the tales Of frontier life in western
America had excited his interest, but
his ambitions were not along the line
of sport. but were directed toward
making . huge fortune In some COM
mercial venture.
After telling Howard Eaton brief
~ the facts concerning his circum-
stances as follows: II am going to
build q great abbatoir and packing
plant. I am going to buy all the
sheep. cattle and hogs that come over
the Northern Pacific. am going to
slaughter them here and then ship
them to Chicago and the east"
Eaton observed that 1t would take
a lot Of money to buy all the stock
that was shipped over the Northern
Pacific.
'That Is Of no consequence" re-
piled the Marquis. "My father-in-
law has ten million dollars and can
borrow ten million more. I've got
Armour and the rest Of the packers
matched dollar for dollar"
Organizes Refrigerator Company
The first move the Marquis made