The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1935-04-19

north bank of the Missouri and in
tended for trading with the Black
feet and eros Ventres. Business was
carried on there through about II years.
Then occurred an incident that caused
its abandonment.
The incident that started the big
troubles for Fort Brule was a shocking
tragedy. The Blackfeet had commit
ted some minor depredations against
the post, SO the factor in charge, one
F.. A. Chardon decided he would show
resentment. He awaited an occasion
when a band of them came to trade. AS
they were assembled in front of the
gate he let loose a shot from his can
non, loaded with bullets and metal
scraps, and about 80 of the Indians
were killed. OF course, the whole
Blackfeet tribe declared war on the
post. The situation was composed in
some degree by the discharge of Char
don and the resumption of command by
Culbertson. This was in 1912. Events
sequent to this case will be treated in
paragraphs further on in this present
writing.
In 1882, Mackenzie sent Tullock and
40 men to set up an establishment at
the mouth of the Big Horn river. A site
was fixed on the south side of the yell
lowstone and about three miles below
the mouth of the Big Horn. The post
wa laid out $50 feet square, had a
high picket stockade and had bastions,
or guard towers, at two diagonal cor
ners of the square. 1t was named Fort
Van Buren,. Concerning this Fort VAN
Buren,, Stuart wrote: TN 1868 I saw
the location. The pickets showed
! plainly, they had been burned to the
ground, and several of the chimneys
were not entirely fallen down." It
seems that some observers have mistak-
been the site of the Manuel Lisa post
of 1907.
In 1886 Tullock was ordered to quit
Fort Van Buren, and build another post
lower down the Yellowstone. This new
post was named Fort Cass. It held fur
trading possession of this region for
about IL years.
After the Fort Brule trouble, as set
forth in a preceding paragraph, Char
don built his own post. locating it on
the north bank of the Missouri and just
above the mouth of the Judith on the
south side. He named it Fort F. A.
Chardon. This was in 1843.
In 1874. Culbertson abandoned and
burned Fort Brule and set up a new
post as its successor. The new post was
named Fort Lewis. It was located on
the south side of the Missouri river,
near Pablois island. Inside of a year
it brought about the downfall of the
competing Fort F. A. Chardon, which
later was burned, probably by the
vengeful Indians.
Fort Benton was built by Culbertson
in 1916. It was located about seven
miles below Fort Lewis, and on the
north bank of the river. Fort Lewis then
was abandoned. Fort Benton became
a permanent trading center, and it Ill
timately developed into the present city
and county seat of Chouteau county.
In 1848, Fort Alexander, named for
Mr.. Culbertson, was built by a Fort
Union representative named Lavender.
It was substituted for Fort Cass, which
had succeeded Fort Van Buren,. The
new Fort Alexander was placed vet
further down the Yellowstone, although
the south side remained as the chosen
side.
In 1850. Fort Sarpy, another enter
prise directed by Culbertson, was built
to succeed Fort Alexander, which latter
post then was abandoned. Fort Sarpy
was set up at the mouth of the Rose
bud. 1t was used three years. After its
abandonment, in 1853 there we're nc
nor fur-trader posts built on the
Yellowstone, except the fleeing Fort
Pease in 1876.
The four successive posts set up on
the south side of the Yellowstone were
for trade with the Mountain Crow In
dams. Stuart's writing says: "They
wanted their trading post changed
nearly every year." He condemns those
people in general as "an insolent and
treacherous tribe of Indians"
Although it does seem that those
Crows were more expensive than they
were worth to those fur-traders, it Is
probable that Stuart's extremely harsh
feelings toward them were founded on
his harassing experiences in contact
with them in 1868, while he was with
the miner expedition into their country
in search OF gold in the Big Horn noun
tainS. It was in the course of this
1868 expedition that Stuart and his
companions saw the ruins of old Fort
Van Buren, just below the mouth of the
Big Horn.
The pre-pioneer trappers sought
specially the small skins, beaver, otter,
martin, etc. The earliest trading with
the Indians after the posts were es-
tablished was in these small skins. But
the traders urged the Indians to bring
11fo1 In rNhoc TT uro Y,nf 1nYoo hofNrn
these robes became the principal raw
material of the Indian trade. To the
Indians the hunting of buffalo thereaf-
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