Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-01-29
ID. SsSamdbar' Brown
Was A COlOrful Pioneer


pioneers, died at MissOuIa recently
at the home of a daughter, Mrs.
Rutledge Parker. Infirmities of age
was given as the cause of death.
Mr.. Brown was born at Bedford City,
Nelson county, Virginia, Nov. Il,
1S45, the son of Ludwell Harrison
Brown, whose great-grandfather was
Benjamin Harrison, a signcr of the
Declaration of Independence, and of
Margaret Washington McCielland,
whose great-grandfather was Richard
Henry Lee, also a signer of the Dec
laration of Independence.
The most adventurous phase Of his
career had its inception when he en-
listed for service in the Confederate
army as an orderly for James B. Sed-
don, his cousin, who was secretary OF
wal in the confederacy, serving in that
capacity until all clerical forces were
ordered into the field. AT the close OF
the wal his regiment was at Drury's
bluff on James river, where they sur
rendered to the 18th regiment of Penn
sylvania Bucktails and were taken to
Petersburg and paroled. The war
brought ~desolation and insecurity to
the southland and under these condl-
tons the young veteran of the con-
federacy decided to leave his native
state and seek his fortune in the west,
this course being made possible by
receipt of rations and transportation
at the time of his parole from Peters,
burg to st. Louis, Mo.
The experience Of this venerable
pioneer covered virtually the entire
gamut of development and progress in
Montana. He witnessed the driving OF
the gold spike at Gold Creek that
marked completion of the Northern
Pacific railroad, the joining of its con-
structed lines from the east and the
west in 1884. In 1878 Mr.. Brown moved
to Philipsburg to join the Northwest
ern Mining company n during n
next 40 years he managed and devel-
oped many we'll known placer and
quartz mines of that vicinity. Once
he had charge of gold property Of the
late Charles d. Mcclure, He was also
owner and editor of the Philipsburg
Mail, one of the pioneer newspapers
O. Montana. and gained his nickname
of "Sandbar'' through the signing OF
many articles with that title, which
was published in the old Northwest
newspaper edited at Deer Lodge by
Capt. James H. Mills, in early papers
of Silver Bow county and in the Phil
ipsburg Mail.
Mr.. Brown well recalled immense
herds of buffalo roamed through the
west and he grew to know the great
frontier as thoroughly as the Indians.
In his long and vital career in the
west, Mr.. Brown kept in touch with
the march of development and prog
ress along both civic and industrial
lines and was a matter of satisfaction
to him that he had been permitted
to participate in the transformation in
his home state. He was secretary OF
the Montana State Pioneer society, of
which he was also a past president
and he also was a past commander
of the northwest division of United
Confederate Veterans, which division
includes Colorado, Montana, North and
South Dakota, Idaho, Washington,
Oregon, Wyoming and California.
The following is an account OF his
experiences in Montana as written by
the venerable pioneer.
II was a young Confederate soldier.
After Lees surrender l went TO st.
Louis and entered the employ Of the
American Fur company, and arrived
at Fort Union Feb. IL, 1865. OF an
adventurous disposition, I went out of
the service of the company the March
following, with two half-breed French
men, to trap beaver and otter on the
lower tributaries of the Yellowstone.
I engaged in this work more or less
proftably, but being bothered by the
Sioux, went over to the Judith and
Musselshell, where l traded at Fort
Hawley and Fort Benton. In the
spring of 1872 1 was employed for
Hayden's survey expedition to lay out
a line on the north bank of the yell
lowstone under the escort of Colonel
Baker, post commander at Fort Ellis,
Bozeman. Felix Ingram and my
self were TO furnish meat TO the sur
vey outfit Of Colonel Hayden. We had
our first fight with the Indians on a
slough-an inclosed piece of land OPP
posite the mouth Of Pryor's Fork, and
H. ic NV honest pDinioO that had il