The Carbon County chronicle. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1924, 1924-09-24


ed captain of the company, anc
they set out for this unexplored re-
gion. They had no good map Of
the country, and their guide wa:
Hilderman, who was later Danish
ed from the Territory by the Vigil
lantes, and who had acquired the
nickname of THE Great Ameri-
can Pie Bitter" for good and suf-
flcient reason. Another of this
company was the notorious Jack
Gallagher.
Colonel de Lacy kept a journal
OF this trip that is published in Vol
| Of the Montana Historical So
ciety, and is not only valuable from
the historical standpoint, but is an
interesting story from beginning
to end. Although no gold in pay
ing amounts was found, new
country was explored; a lake dis
covered; and glimpse gained Of
the lower Geyser Basin.
They journeyed about five hun
bred miles; passed through Jack
sons Hole; by the forks of the
Eirehole river; coming out at the
headwaters of the Madison and
Gallatin rivers, and reaching Vir-
ginia City in about fifty-one days
from the time they started.
The first map of Montana was
made by Colonel de Lacy, in 1864
los, at the request of the Territor-
ial Legislature. In 1867, while
craftsman in the Surveyor-Gen-
erals office he made another map
Of Montana and. at the request OF
the Surveyor-General, the name Of
de Lacy was given to the lake he
discovered. Professor Hayden's
clerk renamed it Shoshone lake
stating, says de Lacy, THAT the
numerous and outrageous errors
in my map, deprived me of any
claim to the perpetuation of my
name, and insinuating that
claimed to have been but had not
been in the region"
N. p. Langford sought to rectify
this mater, bu wheher he was sue
cessful as Intermediary, is doubt
full. At the time of the publica-
ton Of de Lacy's journal, no steps
had been taken to correct the Hay
den report.
When I knew Colonel de Lacy
he was always quiet and retiring
in society, taking little or no part il
conversation and | do not remem-
Der ever having seen him smile.
believed him devoid of humor. II
was therefore delightful surprise
upon reading his journal, to find
that he had plenty of Celtic wit, as
the following excerpt shows:
Il had a white, bob-tailed cayuse
usually called 'Muggin) who had
the popularity of having one eye
black and the other a very light
blue. When you looked at him or
one side he had a very obstinate
and devilish look, as if he was up tc
any michief land so he was) Look.
in g at him on the other, he seemed
a very good-natured, steady, ole
horse, with a tendency toward re-
ligion. He had other PECULIAR
ties besides these, amongst which
was that when you tried to leaJ
him, he wouldn't go anywhere i
he could help it, and if you lei hin
| go loose, you could not catch hin
under an hour.
| This evening as the wind we
cold, and he had been good for ;
long time he concluded that thu
time had come to distinguish him
| self. He was just before me, ant
| looking around he cooked his blacl
eye at me, as much as to say, 'Lool
out for squalls, and gave two o
three preliminary kicks, whicl
threw off the pack, which he me
with his heels, and sent the coffe
) pot. frying pan, a piece of elk,
chunk of bread, and other miscel
laneous articles into the air. H
! then galloped around, scattering