The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-05-04
BY E. III. Cooney.

tee of the Society of Montana no
neers in selecting Frank ID. Sand
bar" Brown of Missoula as secre-
tary of the association to succeed
the late j. U. Sanders, was par
ticularIy happy one, for there is
probably not a man left In the state
today who is more conversant with
the affairs of the association than
"Sandbar" Brown, historian OF the
society for many years, and pioneer
extraordinary as well as plenfpo-
Tertiary to every ghost city of the
west.
Besides which "Sandbar" Brown il
the most outstanding figure of the
western type which has passed since
the days of the late Beidler and his
red silk handkerchief tie, spotted
vest, sombero white hat, top boots,
gun belt with gun, long moustache,
goatee and little FURNISHES" atop OF
cheeks. OF course "Sandbar" does
not look that way, but he is in a
class by himself, and no one will ever
pass him by without knowing him
to be of the vanishing west.
Also Some Author
Unlike some of the boys of the
olden days "Sandbar" Yields a wicked
pen, can make up set of books, has
Shakespeare and the rest of the old
timers at his tongues end, and is a
particularly brilliant and pyrotechni-
cal onversationalist- some ora
tor.
Once upon time "Sandbar" lived
in Philipsburg, but long since drifted
down to Missoula to make his home,
to become a fisher in the beautiful
Bitter Root, and feature of the
Hells Gate landscape. Incidentally
he bought right of way for the Mil
waukee railway, traded in real es-
tate, raised Mcintosh red apples, and
adopted the pursuits of peace gen.
orally, even going so far as to for
sake the hightop "made" boot of the
old time shoemaker for the string
tied shoe of the scissorbill-and that
was going some.
Between times "Sandbar" located
the old Mullen trail from the head of
navigation at Benton to the head of
the Lo Lo pass, or some such place
and not only located the trail but
talked w. A. Clark, Con F. Kelley,
John D. Ryan, the late "Jim" Muir
ray, and some other millionaires, out
Of real cash enough to spike the trail
down with marble monuments and
Mr.. Mullen in bas relief scattered
here and there along the trail, at |
$4,000 per each.
Visitors Shocked.
Great Falls has one of them located |
It the south entrance to Gibson park,
nd nervous strangers coming upon
t suddenly in the dusk of evening
ave oft been shocked at the apparent
way in which Great Falls scatters
Ter memorial headstones athwart the
ocund places of the living. How
yer, the trail is marked, and some
ay Great Falls is going to get
ouple of bronze memorial tablets
nd plant them at the city depots to
I'll the weary traveller all about it,
s they do down at Harper's Ferry
n the B. & o., or maybe it's the
). & o.
Which has nothing to do with the
xcellence of the choice of Sand
ar" as secretary of the association
passing brave men and women who
AIRED to blaze the trails in the perils
wilderness that the mighty Mon
ina of today might be macadamized
5 to roads, and populated by great ]
merican people, but is simply con-
'ibuted as side remark while the
recession passes.
Which again brings us to the name
"Sandbar" as attached to Frank |
Brown. Not vouching for the
DRY, but telling it as it was told to
e in the days when every man had
tackled onto the name his
lks gave him, it relates to Mr..
rown and the red brother of the
lys when scalplocks were more fash
nable in the Indian village than
Tort skirts to the rail brigade of t
day, Mr.. Brown was rather sud- [
IN with a gun in the early time, and $
so was chief clerk of large insti- n
tion, between prospecting and hunt v
g trips. e
Indians Looking for Fight
The Henry rifle, predecessor of the N
esent Winchester, had just come S
to use and Mr.. Brown grabbed the a
'st one off the boat. The Henry
rs brass bound, held 16 cartridges a
IA calibre, with one in the bar o
l, and rim-fire (the cartridges, not r
e barreD. fl
Mr.. Brown was travelling along in u
cent like near the Missouri river Il
e gladstone summer day and was
mped by about 20 red brothers, a
io