The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-06-12

binary laDOr6rS IN the SUI
vey were paid $50 and rations pc
month.
According to Guillot the BIRTHS.
party was split into two chief fiel
parties, one under Captain Feather
stone, and one under Lieutenant Gall
way, both astronomers, he being at
tached to the Featherstone party. TIL
American party came in about tn,
same time and all were camped a
Pembina until late in the fall.
Run Into Prairie Fire
The line of survey was divided III
into blocks of 20 miles each, thu
American and British parties alter
mating along the line. When winter
came on the American surveyors sus
pended operations until the following
spring, while the British party re
manned on the work, covering thai
stretch of the country between the
Red river and the Lake of the Woods
this being a swampy section which
could not be surveyed until after il
had frozen up early in the winter.
"In the spring of 1878 the survey
was resumed westward from Penn
bina. Along in August of that year.
when the survey had progressed to
a point somewhere east of Woody
mountain, the party was travelling
with it's train of from 10 to Is wa
CONS owe a rolling country when 1t
ran into a prairie fire. The members
of the party became panic stricken
and started to run in all directions
to escape the oncoming flames.
81 was in the real of the train with
a light wagon carrying the instru-
ments," says Guillot, land had with
me a young fellow named Tracy. |
drove to the right on a run and then
stopped and set a backfire. Captain
Featherstone, on a saddle horse, came
galloping up and began to upbraid
me for my action. I told him to get
down off his horse and assist, which
he did, and after getting the fire well
started we rounded up the rest of the
party and got them safely on the
ground we had burned off with the
backfire. After that when anything
went wrong the old man always came
to me for help"
Indian War Parties
According to Guillot the surveying
parties never had any trouble with
the Indians, although on n or two
occasions they ran into war parties.
cone day, when we were on the
east side of the Milk river, a party OF
80 painted warriors rode across the
line just at the head of our train.
They were travelling in single file and
paid not the slightest attention to
us, never stopping or speaking to any
&c 49,, 80 NV irvine q NJ infimn- l.
of even seeing us. One of our
topographers, Wilson, was about a
mile north of the line taking some
notes, his pony grazing a short dis
lance from him. The war party rode
within a few feet of him but paid not
the slightest attention to him. Will
sons pony, which he had bought
some Indians, started to follow
The warriors and Wilson called to
hem to drive it back. He might as
we'll have called to a rock Or a tree.
Then he stripped off his coat and
on a run after the party, fl
tally succeeding in catching the ami
nal in the midst of the party. Still
he Indians paid not the least atten-
ion to him and, mounting, he rode
Jack to the line angry and disguised.
con the east side of Poplar creek,
n the Montana line, some of the sur
party discovered the body of
man tied to the only tree visible
within miles. 1t appeared to have
dead for a couple of months and
vas entirely dried up. 1t could not
,e ascertained if it was the body of
white man or an Indian and it look
d as though the mar had been tied
here and left to die.
"Out north of the Sweet Grass
ills, about 100 feet north of the line,
hink they were Crees. They were
ntirely naked and the head of each
ad been scalped to the extent that
appeared the heads had been skin
ed. About four or five miles south
f the line others of the party found
he bodies of seven Blackfeet, which
ad not been scalped, an indication
hat in a battle between the Black
get and the Crees the former had
cen victorious"
Work Started in 1872
The survey of this stretch of the
International boundary was made by
Joint party of Americans and Brit
h, under the provisions of a con ,
ention between the United States
nd Great Britain held in 1878. !
Upon recommendation of the presi-
ent of the United States in his an i.
ual message to congress, December .
1870, during the third session of I
le 41st congress, the house adopted .
joint resolution appropriating
100000 for the survey, but it failed
pass the senate. At the succeed
lg session, 1871-72, congress APP J
ropriated $4,000 for the purpose, I
hereupon the chief of engineers, OF {
lie war department, detailed Col. f. '
!. Farquhar, Major w. j.. Twining, I
lieut.. James F. Gregory and Lieut.. J
/. V. Greene to carry on the work !
the American commission. I
Early in July, 1872, Colonel Far
thar, with his assistants, went from t
Tashington to St. Paul and there e
'ganized a train at Fort Abercrom- a
e and on August 29 the train was p
arted out for Fort Pembine, reach t
g that point September 5. Camp e