The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1923-06-14
CULBERTSOM AND DAWSON THE TWO MEM
WHO BUILT AND DEVELOPED FIT. BENTON

when the rest Of the Blackfeet were
detained by him as hostages. The
next morning, n of the hostages.
watching his opportunity, seized a
horse, mounted him and dashed away
when he was fired upon by inc 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 & Steele, the old-timers
began to lament that civilization was
e~ncroaching and that things were
getting too civilized.
Major Andrew Dawson was born
April rs, 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
Fun company. 1t was at Fort Union
where Dawson and Culbertson met,
and in 1854 Dawson succeeded Gull
bertson in charge of Fort Benton and
was entrusted with the task of en-
larging and completing the fort.
Dawson had a 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 vas 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 harrow 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
It was during the winter of 1858,
which was considered the severest
ever known in Montana-the true
intensity of the cold could never be
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 a 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
When he was discovered in
the morning, he was SO weak and
.paralyzed that they had considerable
difficulty in getting him out of the
alive. Becoming weaker ply
every year, and having almost
completely lost the use of his legs
the hips downward, he decided
to retire from business, so in the
summer of 1854 he sailed from New
York for his childhood home at Dali
Scotland. Soon after the com
.any disposed Of its interests to Hub
bell, Hawley & Smith, who operated
under the name of the Northwest
Fur company. The same year, 1854,
Carroll, who died in Helena
on February g., 1909, and George
Steele erected a store building out
side of the fort. Other buildings fol-
and in 1866 a townsite was
laid out by Colonel w. W. DeLacy.
In 1877 the Northwest Fur company
closed its business and leased the fort
to the government. The fort was oc-
for military purposes for anly
short time, however, and the his
old post oon began to fall into
decay.