The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-11-05

yet see a kid that didn't have an empty
belly"
Russell was no more demOnstrative as a
boy than he was as a man. He rose with
out a word and followed his new friend.
He ruStled wood for the fire and went to
the river for water for the coffee. The man
piled him with questions and found out
his story.
Then the stranger said: Son, my names
Jake Hoover. I'm huntin' and trappin' up
on the South fork CT the Judith. You'd bet
ter come up there with me when l go back
and stay till you get sOmethin' better to
do. You can help me round the place"
Russell accepted, and after Hoover had
sold his load of elk and deer meat to a
few settlers around Utica, and had bought
some tobacco and food necessities, the
the South fork which was to be RusselIs
home for the next two years.
HOOver's Beautiful Camp
Jake Hoover was one of M~ontana's unique
pioneer characters. He was more or less
responsible for the discovery of the great
YOgO sapphire mines, and several years ago
sold his interests near Utica; he left Mon
tana and established a boat house in Sc
attic where he died a few years ago. HOOV-
ers camp on the South fork, which he had
filed on as a ranch to hold it, is one of
/ the most beautiful mountain ranches in
Montana. 1t is approached through a mar
row defile with towering cliffs on either
side, and, in those lays it was possible to
reach the camp only with saddle horses
and a pack outfit. Later a road was blast.
ed through. In recent years the ranch was
the property Of Walter Bright Of Lewis.
town.
To the then 15-year-oId Russell, yearn.
ing for the rOmance Of western life, HoOV
er's camp on the South fork was a para
disc, and Jake Hoover, the best hunter IL
Montana, with his knowledge of the woods
of all the wild animals II Of frontier lift
in all it's complexities, seemed an ideal com
paniOn to the boy. Hoover had been in tn
| - nan - Wsnnfnfn D7fm RQnnnaE ON
Last Chance in the early, COS and he ha'
a hever-ending supply of stories Of the OLE
welt which Russell loved to hear.
4. short time before his death, Hove
said OF Russell: Charlie Russell and
only had one quarrel. Russell was an ar
!, dent sOutherner in his ~sympathies, Will
I espoused the cause Of the North in on
discussions Of the Civil war. One day tn
battle got so hot that Russell packed hi
5 bedding and hit the trail. Two weeks late
he was back, and after that we never mel
, toned this subject again"
Becomes Horse Wrangler
It was in this Hoover cabin that the DO
0 first gave expression to a real desire [
s draw, and for hours at a time, this have
in the heart OF the Little Belt mountain
4 At the end Of two years the youth wa
! attracted by life on the range and he b.
d came a horse wrangler. He had gone baC
4 to his home in st. Louis on a visit an
2 had brought to Montana with him on h
return a cousin, by the name OF jim Flu
kinson. The latter died Of mountain fe'
S er at Billings about two weeks after the
arrived.
That "Ornery Russell Kid"
e Russell had spent all Of his funds an
a with fifty cents in his pocket started o.
to cover the 200 miles beween him and o
y Jake's cabin in he mountains. When o.
k about fifteen miles on the snow-cOver'
trail, he met a COW outfit and with tn
concern he received employment as a mig
wrangler Of horses. The outfit Joined {
Judith roundup on the Ross fork and he
r the boy was hired as night herder. His o