The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

They were a strange lot, these pi-
Oneers of tn e North country.
Amongst them could be found such
desperadOes and sWashbucklers as
Alexander Harvey, and quiet, re-
sOurceful men, like Major CulbertsOn.
There were Scotch, English, Irish,
German, French, Spanish, possibly
Italian, and certainly many native
Americans. Here in the wilderness,
they fraternized after a fashion,
drawn together by the common de-
sire for profit and self-prOtectiOn.
OF this number was one man, a
| bOOkkeeper, who furnished a vast
amount of gossip and speculation
among the other employees, and re-
NAMED a mystery to them through
out his stay at the fort.
1t is not to be understood from
! this fact that the lives of the major
! ity of those who were employed at
or frequented this post we're open
pages for all to read. Quite the con-
itrary. Far too many of these men
had thought it a part of wisdom to
get beyond the pale of the law. They
felt themselves more at home with
lsavages than with civilized people,
land some of them, in this new envir-
lOnment made good. Rose was an
example Of this. He was an anar-
chist by instinct, and would not be
bound by law, but among savages he
ranked as a leader, and was a Law
unto himself.
''Then what was there about the
subject of this SKETCH" it may bC
asked, 'that should have caused
those with whom he associated to re
gard him with more than Ordinar!
cUriOsity?"
1t was mainly because he cOulC
not be classified. His type was un
familiar One thing was evident; hi
being an Englishman, and he wen
by the name of Hamilton remark
ably good name on both sides Of tn
Atlantic. From LarpenteUr's few re
ferences to him, one might infer tina
he was a middleaged, or past, as b
is generally spoken of as 'the oil
man." when his name is not given.
All his fellow employees recognize
his being a person "Of UncOmmO
education, cOnversant with man
subjects, and quite capable of keel
ing books"
But Hamilton was not the Onl
one at Fort Union possessed of thes
qualifications, and these could NJ
have made him ''the object of WOl
der and gossip to the rude inhab
tants of the Upper Missouri valley
He was suspected of being a nObl
man who, for some unknown reasC
had left home to bury himself in Il
wilds of America, and his frequel
attacks Of gOut gave color to Il
sUrmise, as gOut is held to be a &
sease of a peculiarly aTistOcratic n
ture, that does not afflict membe
of the lower classes. It would appe
that Hamilton was one of the a
vance guard of remittance men, WI
are not uncommon today in he Un
ed States and in Canada.
Elliott CoUes quotes DR.. Mathe'
concerning Mr.. Hamilton, and max
clear that he remained a riddle
the trappers, and fur traders of
post, who had probably never /
fore seen his like. Says Dr.. M;
thews:
''He was an Englishman of hi
social position at hOme-whO nev
fell into the negligent habits of t
country. RumOr made him a scion
nobility. He took no one into
COnfindence and was reticent as
his antecendents. He wore none /
the finest clothes, and always dress
in the latest London fashion. Eve
year boxes were sent from London
st. LOlis, and thence forwarded
him at the mouth of the YeIlOwstO
"SOme of the French Canada
have told me, in tones of awe, that
took a bath and put on a clean sh
every day. He wore ruffled sh
fronts, had a great gold chain roU
his neck, and was always polish
scented and oiled to the highest