Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-04-11

ground could be
broken, yet this
sufficed in the m--
rich soil along the "S va q
Missouri to produce good crops, ample
for their own use and, in the case OF
the Mandans, for barter with the hunt
ing tribes who came long distances to
buy corn.
We are told that when on a long
journey, Indians carried with them
parched corn, when they could get it,
and it provided all the s%ustenance they
needed. The corn they cultivated vas
of the Squaw variety and, like Joseph's
coat, OF many colors. Ears OF it are
decorative, and must have given the
round houses and platforms Of the
was hung or laid for drying.
Early in the history of the human
race, seed time and harvest became
seasons for religious observances. Some
god or goddess must be propitiated in
order to cur an adequate return
from the sOWn seeds. Among the
Pawnees, this took the age old form
of Sacrifice-human sacrifice. This
idea arose, it is suggested, from noting
that where the blood of a slain animal
moiStened the ground, better plants
grew.
Most of our Indians being nomads,
with no settled abiding place, before
the coming of white men there was
little agriculture here. The first white
residents being trappers, hunters and
fur traders, the cultivation of the soil
was neglected. Trappers and hunters
were as nomadic as the Indians, re-
sembling these more nearly than they
did civilized men. Our fur traders, an
like DR.. Mclaughlin of Fort Vancouver,
seemed to have little inclination for
watching green things g~rowing-they
were too busy / n exploiting the Indlans.
In the course Of time the Catholic
missionaries came here and, in the
Bitter Root valley, began to instruct
the Flathead Indians in agriculture.
These Indians were of the nomadic de-
scription that does not take kindly to
any work. They felt it a dissertation
that Mother Earth should be defaced.
What is the uSe?" they questioned.
Does she not already produce the cam
as, wild turnip, and the bitter root in
abundance, and quantities of berries
and chokecherries? Why desire more?"
1t was possible these fruits and roots
supplied the Indians simple needs; but
farSighted missionaries had other OBJ
jectS in view than merely feeding their
converts. They knew that agriculture
was the first step towards civilization.
Those who practiced it must cease to
be wanderers or the face of the earth
and become settlers.
The Indians viewed the efforts of the
fathers in this direction with suspicion.
They derided the sowing of oats.
Whats the use of all this %trouble?"
they openly said, 1T will come
up!" The fathers assured them it would,
If a fence were built about the field
to keep out horses and other tres
passers. And SO q fence was built.
1t then remained for the Indians to
demonstrate that the fathers were liars.
1t would prove a signal triumph If this
this subject be false, what they had
to tell Of this new religion of theirs
might prove to be equally unreliable.
And SO, during the long days of spring,
like crows, they perched upon the
fence hemming in the lot until the
first yellOw-green sprouts appeared.
The oats were really %sprOuting. Evident
ly the Fathers could teach the Indians
some things they did not know. Per-
hapS it would be well to heed this new
religion they taught.
1t vas no slight matter to provide
grain for the planting Of an extensive
area. One of the interesting chapters
in our history is that descriptive Of the
long journey made by Father DeSmet,
much of the way on foot, to the Hud-
sons Bay post of Fort Colville where,
from a protestant factor, he secured
all and more than he asked.
Agriculture in the Bitter Root valley
was a success from the very beginning.
While it may have been the initial
1t was destined to prove their undOing.
They had demonstrated the fertility OF
this valley.
A few years sped by when the dis
covery Of gold brought miners and
would-be miners from all over the
country to the camps on Gold creek
and the Grasshopper, In the part Of
Idaho later to be known as Montana.
They came from every condition in life,
except that of the very rich. Shops,
farms, factories and professions con-
tributed representatives. Some knew
how to mine and the majority did not.
OF these latter, those who were I'M
successful and had not enough money
to leave the country, looked about for
other NEAR Of making a living. A few
trades 1Ound plenty TO do IN the min
ing camps; others were forced to seek
work elsewhere.
This was a desert land-every one
learned that at school in the early days
the nineteenth century-and who
would have the courage to tackle the
desert with any expectation of making
it blossom like the rose? Well, there
were men here endowed with that
courage. Their early lives we're spent
farms in the east Or south. These
farmer boys began to realize that the
ground, If fertile, would yield what
could be turned into gold. and they be-
gan to look about for desirable places
TO locate.
1t Is probable some heard OF what
fathers were doing over In the Bit
hungered Tor fresh vegetables, and were
tn nav p~ynOrhffapt prfroc for