Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-10-07

Falls. At the forks Clark sent a detach-
ment by canoe down the Missouri to join
Lewis, and himself, with 10 remaining
men, the Shoshone woman. and her
papoose. went up the Gallatin, bound
so~utheastward to descend the Yellow
stone. They found the Gallattn abound
ing in deer, elk, wolves. hawks, crows and
geese. The portage between the two rivers
proved q matter OF 48 miles. not difficult
Of traversal.
Trading Post Unsuccessful
The confluence of the three forks was
the site OF What was TO be
the first permanent trading post in Mon
tana. For there. only two years after
Clark, came Manuel Lisa and Andrew
Henry. 1t was but the year before that
Lisa had built his one-year post at the
Big Horns mouth. But the keen trader
had perceived that the Blackfeet had a
better f~ur-trading country than the
Crows, N so had moved from the Yell
lowstone to the Missouri. This was after
his affiiiation with the Chouteaus in the
newly formed Missouri Fur Trading COM
pany. Incidentally, Captain William
Clark was a member Of the firm in that
year In which it was founded
With Lisa was Andrew Henry, whose
task 1t was to stay In charge of trade
at the Three Forks post all winter. while
Lisa's was to Jake the collected furs to
Nv 1aV 1890 ""S
the Gallatin region, both that year and
the next, losing many men and horses
the first year., and the second taking
refuge across the mountains into Idaho
In 1910 Father Peter DeSmet made his
way for the first time up the Gallatini
escorted by Flathead Indians, on a mis-
sion to whose tribe he had come to Mon
tana by way Of Red Rock creek and the
jefferson.
Past the Three Forks led all the prin-
cipal Indian and trapping trails OF the
region, especially those leading to the
Yellowstone. The Bannacks and the
Shoshones. as well as Montana tribes
the Crows, the Flatheads, the Pend
d'Oreilles Tor Kalispells)-came there.
First House Built in 1869
The first house built In the Gallatin
valley was that Of F.. j. Dunbar, who
thrice crossed the plains and in 1885,
had brought up at Bannack City. In
November OF the same year he moved
from there to the mouth of the Gallatir
and built his log dwelling. That set,
Element had been the county seat OF
jefferson, one Of the territory's original
10 original counties.
j.. M. Bozeman, who perceived that the
Yellowstone route would be increasingly
important, in 1868 worked out q practi-
cal route from the Missouri to the Platte
and in the next year founded the tow
that bears his name. The incipient
strength of that settlement vas that
like Fort Benton, Bozeman was not c
camp. but a s~trategically located sta.
ton by the way.
j. Burrell was attacked On the Bozemar
route when, in 1854. he came to Mon
tana with oxen, leading q wagon trair
of $50 settlers. The attack was at Pow.
der river, when $50 Sioux engaged them
But MIR. Burrell came on through with al
but three of his party. Before the years.
end he abandoned Alder Gulsh, his frs
destination, for Ian near the present
Gallatin city and settled to raise grair
and toe
During the year 1866 traffic through
the Gallatin valley and down the Boze'
man route was heavy. But by govern
ment order 1t was closed the e year
SO alarming was the attitude Of the rib
In January of 1867, there were in al
the southern half of Montana just tw,
garrisons of United States troops-Caml