The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-06-15
AND DAWSON THE TWO MEN
WHO BUILT AND DEVELOPED FIT. BENTON

Wnen the rest of the Blackfeet were
detained by him as hostages. The
next morning, one of the hostages,
watching his opportunity, seized a
horse, mounted him and dashed away
when he was fired upon by one of
Lewis men and killed.
The 10 years in which Major Daw-
son was in charge of Fort Benton
saw the beginning of the end of the
FUR trade as it was known in earlier
years at the fort Much of the cere-
mony that had been observed in trad
ing with the Indians was dispensed
with. When, in 1864, the first trad
ing store was built outside the fort
| by Carroll e Steele, the old-timers
began to lament that civilization was
encroaching and that things were
getting too civilized.
Major Andrew Dawson was born
April 25, 1917, at Dalkeith, Scotland.
He came to America and to ST. Louis
in 1S43, landing there with rs cents
in his pocket A couple of years
later he started up the Missouri and
entered the service of the American
Fur company. 1t was at Fort Union
where Dawson and Culbertson met,
oAo III 1OOt DdWoOu ouCCSOu6u OuI-
bertson in charge of Fort Benton and
was entrusted with the task of en-
larging and completing the fort.
Dawson had great sense of hui
NOR and generally saw the amusing
side of life. He was, too, a genial
host and entertained many famous
men from Europe who visited the
west. One of these was a certain |
Count Koskiosko, grandson of Count |
Kossuth, the famous Polish patriot |
koskiosko was a most congenial soul |
and loved whisky a little too much. |
On account of drinking proclivities, |
Dawson nicknamed him Count Cask |
of Whisky by which title he was
known up and down the river.
Dawson was greatly respected by
the Indians and somewhat feared, as
the cures for their sicknesses which
he effected with medicine made them
suspect him of having supernatural
powers. He had many remarkable
experiences and some narrow escapes
from death at the hands of hostile
tribes but he was absolutely fearless
and extremely resourceful. He was
a successful trader and made the
operations at the fort very profit
able.
Dawson Badly Injured
1t was during the winter of 1858,
which was considered the severest
ever known in Montana-the true
of the cold could never bel
estimated as the mercury in all Their
mometers was frozen-that Dawson
met with an accident from which he
never completely recovered. He had
a trap door over cellar in which he
kept all his important documents
Having neglected to close this door,
he fell down the cellar and was
stunned by the fall, lying there all
night. When he was discovered in
he morning, he was so weak and
,aralyzed that they had considerable
difficulty in getting him out of the
'ellar alive. Becoming weaker ply :
ically every year, and having almost
lost the use of his legs n
rom the hips downward, he decided '
o retire from business, so in the 7
ummer of 1864 he sailed from New a
'ork for his childhood home at Dali r
eth, Scotland. Soon after the COM n
any disposed of it's interests to Hub i,
ell, Haw1ey & Smith, who operated n
nder the name of the Northwest f,
'ur company. The same year, 1854, q
1atthew Carroll, who died in Helena +,
n February 8, 1909, and George o
teele erected store building out
lde of the fort. Other buildings fol- u
owed, and in 1866 townsite was n
lid out by Colonel w. w. DeLacy. 4
q 1877 the Northwest Fur company =,
osed its business and leased the fort n
, the government. The fort was oc- h
lpied for military purposes for anly Il
short time, however, and the his ;e
,ric old post soon began to fall into n
ecay.