Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-03-21

] The Town OF MOTIFS AS &s ARYe@<B AOAA
For. whether wise or not, he was a dic~'
| tator and q one-man rule seldom wins
universal popularity. After IS years
one senses, up In Norris, breath, here
and there, Of the hot bitterness that
once stirred mems pulses.
Alexander Norris must have been an
outstanding character In those days Of
lax morals in the wilds Of Montana,
for he didn't believe In drink nor
gambling and he remained staunch IN
his convictions. he SCORED az tne no
ton that q man couldn't stop drink
ing whenever he chose. IN prove to-
you that I'm right. Dick" he said. And
so. deliberately, as an experiment, ne
began drinking, and for months no one
saw him sober. Wherever he went he
carried a bottle. Then one day, he
said to Dick Lands: Dick, I'm going
to quit today" and he was never known
to touch another drop of liquor. True
to his ideals he visioned clean town,
free Of the vices prevalent at Red
Bluff. He believed that town, built
soIidly on the foundations OF morality,
stood a better chance OF survival than
one springing into mushroom prosper
ity nurtured by evil.
He was a young man when he came
from Pennsylvania to homestead on the
land where later his town sprang into
existence. He built himself little log
cabin which Is still one of the land
marks of Norris. He prospected, as old
almost every man of that time, finally
locating the famous Revenue mine
which he sold for $4,000. With the pro
ceeds from his mine he went into the
cattle business, for he saw greater and
more certain wealth in the vast Mon
tana plains covered with rich range
10 e~II Earc4 V1nFrFaa6 from
| the hills. Gradually he proSpereu, al
| though doubtless his fortune was never
as large as it was reputed to be, or as
! large as it might have been. Very slow
| ly the little town of Norris grew, too
slowly to suit the impatient residents,
never more than a modest rival TO the
neighboring town of Red Bluff. Alex
ander sold lots, but only when he chose,
and only to his favoriteS. The reputa-
ton of his town meant more to him
than profits on sales. A prudent, far
seeing man, his every deal was REL
stricted by the stipulation that no
saloon should be erected on the town
lots.
However, despite his caution, Norris
did eventually get its saloon. Alexanderl
sold a lot with the understanding that
butcher shop was to be built on the
ground. The purchaser wanted an extra
lot and Alexander, for reasons OF his
own, refused to sell. The man, tndig-
nant transferred his site to another
who erected the one and only saloon
Norris ever boosted But the town was
never wild" 1t never knew boom.
Never did it enjoy the unSavory pros
perity that made Red Bluff for a time
the metropolis of that region. Nor was
it, in the true sense, mining town:
Rather as today, 1t was the center OF
~ fhn ln0trQl mari
ket for incredible pounds OF cattle ana
wool shipped east.
Alexander Norris was a quiet man,
going his wordless way, aware OF the
resentful hatred in the hearts Of thoSel
who felt he was sitting the growth OF
their community, yet never wavertng,
although almost friendleSs and perhaps
lonely at times. He remained bache-
lor and, as years passed, 1t began to be
limited that "old man Norris was get
ting queer" It is difficult now, with so
few of his old-time companions left,
to get down to the heart Of the story.
There Is Just that vague impression
that the old, friendleSS, lonely man.
whose pride had been the building OF a
clean, moral town, did, or was said 70
have done, queer" things. But run
ming counter current TO that vague Inn
preston, another runlor persists,
OAAN S~-@@~~0N
termine, that Alexander Norris was the
victim of foul play and that those
false hints of an unbalanced mentality
were but propaganda, part OF q scneme
to nut him out of the way, for, even
in later years, he was deemed wealthy
man.
one-tine owner of the rich Stuart
mine. still living on his ranch half way
between Norris and Ennis, was one OF
Alexanders few loyal friends Many a
meal the two shared in the log cabin
back of the Morris Club" and Dick
has nothing but pleasant memories OF
the unpopular man. Norris was dis
liked, Dick maintains, because he was
He was an all-round
good man who loved to argue heatedly
about every subject under the sun, and
whose religion was to give every man
a square deal.
one day Dick was to have dinner
with Alexander. When he got TO the
cabin his host was not there. For an
hour or more he waited When MOTIFS
did come In from somewhere out in
the hills his face was very white and
blood was gushing from his nostrils,
There was no doctor within call. All
that day and night Dick worked with
his friend, doing everything he knew
to staunch the flow of blood. And after
that, he believes, the 'Queerness" which
many had noted became more pro-
nounced. It is Dicks theory that If
Alexander Norris did suffer from some
mental trouble, that incident marked
the beginning Of his tragic end. Dick
Lands, with many others, is convinced
that the fair play which was the creed
of his life may not have been metedI
out to Alexander. A mystery clouds the
last years Of the man who fathered the
town Of Norris, a mystery no one wssl
sufficiently interested tn to probe.