Great Falls tribune., 1922-02-20
Yesterdays Questions Answered


1.-The first white women to see
the great falls Of the Missouri river
were Madame LaBarge, wife of John
LaBarge, and Margaret Harkness,
daughter of James Harkness, who were
passengers on the steamboat Emile"
which came up the Missouri river from
st, Louis to Fort Benton in the spring
Of 1862. Messrs. LaBarge and Hark-
ness had formed trading firm, La
Barge, Harkness and company, for the
purpose of engaging in trade with In
dams and early settlers in the vicin-
ity of Fort Benton. They purchased
two steamboats,, the Shreveport" and
the .Emilie," to transport passengers
and freight to this country and back.
Messrs. LaBarge and Harkness built
trading post, Fort LaBarge, a mile
and half north of Fort Benton, work
starting on it's construction June IL,
1852. As rival post Of Fort Benton
it was failure. On June 30 of that
year "a party was made up at Fort
Benton to visit the great falls OF the
Missouri. In the party were: Eugene
Jaccard, Father De Smet, Giles Filley
and son Frank, Madam LaBarge, Mar
garet Harkness, Mrs. Culbertson, wife
of the commander of Fort Benton
Major Alexander eulbertson, and son
Jack, W. G. Harkness, Tom LaBarge
and Cadotte, the guide, the last three
being on horseback and the others IN
an ambulance drawn by four mules
They reached the great falls at about
8 O'Clock in the morning Of July J.
1862. Madame LaBarge and Margaret
darkness leaving the ambulance ane
running to the point from which the
| first glimpse of the falls could be had
2.-On February 2, 1865, company
of men in which were W. f. Sanders
J. H Kiskadden, r. ?. Lewis, Frank
FL. Angevine, N. w. Burris and many
others, secured charter from thu
Bannack legislature for the Ophi1
Town company which had for ITS 90
ject the building of a town by tha
name at the mouth Of the Marias river
near the present railway stations O
Cbappell and Liscum in Choutea'
county. which was planned as "th
crate arrangements were made for de
yeloping the town and its environs
| Three separate townsites were plan
ned, Ophir, North Ophir and Eas
Ophir. Nine other associated com
panies were organized, among then
being ''the Missouri River Portag
company" which would construct
wagon road or a railroad, or both, Z
transport passengers, freight and mail
around the great falls of the Missouri
The Upper Missouri River Steamboa
Navigation company" which proposes
to open and remove all obstruction
and make navigable to upper Missouri
river from the great falls to the thre
forks Of the Missouri and to have tn
exclusive rights to the navigation o.
the river between these points; ''Th
| Marias Ferry company" which ha
exclusive right to operate ferr
across the Missouri at Ophir; "Th
Ophir Ferry company which had ex
elusive right to operate a ferry acros
the Marias at any point desired with
three miles of its junction with th
! Missouri; THE Ophir & Flathea
River Wagon Road company" whic
would contract road from Ophi
west by way of Lewis and Clark pas
to connect with the Mullan .Sad, ct,
Mr.. Burris was selected as active man
ager Of these companies in the fiel
of DEVELOPMENT and he went to th
site of Ophir in the spring of 1S6
with large force of men to lay OF
the town and start building it. Tn
first building was a saw mill. On Ma
%, Mr.. Burris took a party of me
I'D the Marias to visit q logging cam
where timbers were being cut to b
used at Ophir. While at the loggin
camp. the party was attacked by is
Blood Indians and all of them mas
sacred. This tragedy brought all wor
to an end at Ophir, the workmen VIII
were left scattered and the entcrpris
unS neynr renewed