Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-04-25
Rx ELLEN NYEl

Inc S60Ey 81 Antoine E12u4a ss An
interesting one for the picture Ii gives
OF the early h1atsTy Of western Mon
tana- He was fAa@ founder Of ome "a
those #Ezraz Families Of the Fiat
head, having married into the Fiat
] head Indian tribe whose blood Is SO
largely mingled with that Of tine
early white trmppeF and French Ca
madam adventures.
He came into this part Of the country
| from over the mountains to the east
/ as his first wife explained to her chill
dren. He seemed versed In white mans
ways and also their form OF worship,
for his wife had remarked that he
mace the sign Of the cross and per-
formed acts OF devoutness even before
those Iroquois came whom history
speaks Of as having brought the pray
ers and symbols of the Catholic church
to the Flatheads and who were In
strumentaI IN getting the F1atheads TO
send to st. Louis for the Black Robes
in 1881.
John Work. builder Of Fort Col
vile post Of the Hudson Bay Co, and
its first chief factor, mentions In his
journals several Plante brothers who
served as trappers in the early SOS
along with several Finley brothers who
have left many descendants on the
Flathead. Governor Stevens mentions
Plante number of times as did Cap
tin Mullan. Antoine Plante, however,
seems to have been the only brother
to survive the dangers Of those early
trapper days.
It was only In the early SOS that
Antoine Plante and his family settled
permanently In the Flathead. At that
time they took aIIotments on the fer
tile flats along the Jocko river near
Ravalli, part Of their holdings COM
prising what is now the Edward Schall
farm. Here too came Louis Brown,
whom historians named the first |
permanent settler Of Frenchtown. This |
French Canadian had married sis
ter Of Antoine's second wife. Another |
sister, Susan, had married Camille |
Langtu, who also has descendants Iiv-
ing on the reservation.
Historians of the Spokane valley
claim Antoine Plante as their own, and /
he is known to them as the first set
tier there. At his farm on the Spokane
river at the site now occupied by the
Inland Paper Co, Antoine conducted
a ferry in the early SOS and Camille
Langtu was a partner. Mullen spoke
highly OF this ferry and placed it on
his official route. Camille was a car
penter by trade and had built the
ferry and also the substantial log
house in which Plante lived. Here, as
Al &QOFGAnQA J1GNEAlH AObCHs II
government parties passing through
'eceived hospitality. Duncan Macdonald
as a little boy stopping at |
he Plante home and recalls that the
main room of the house boosted q |
handsomely decorated ceiling. There
we're apples on trees and grain in the
tack. The grain would be taken to i
7ort Colville to be ground into flour.
Duncan remembers particularly one
icif vu1aT1 cNFrn cOlTf0ysc mara ffoTse II
,assing the time in target practice
With his father, Angus Macdonald.
But the story of Plante before settling III
own in the Spokane valley Is an in
ereSting one. His first wife was a II
END d'Oreille woman named Mary 1
herese and to them were born two ]
hildren, Julia in 1886 and Francois in
1888. Francois was killed in middle III
&c on a horse raiding trip into the II
slackfoot country. Julia married HI
'homas Stengar, a Hudson Bay en-
lOye from the Orkney Islands, who Hi
ettled where Addy, Wash, is nowlIl
)cated, and to them were born four II
hildren, among them Maggie, who
iarried Duncan Macdonald, son of iii
ngus and brother of Duncan. Mrs ii
Laggie Macdonald still lives in Dixon III
here her family moved on allotmentS II
! 1910. iii
But it seems Antoine wanted to sep II
rate from his first wife. which he did III
/ 1910, explaining to her he wished III
, go home to the east. The parting III
as amicable. He took the girl, Julia, III
long with him and left his boy, who III
as an infant, explaining that the girl III
ould need to be provided for in better HI
tape than the boy, who only needed III
breech cloth for some time. The II
other prepared food and clothing for II
le travellers. But Antoine did not go
asst" instead he joined party go
81 to the Colville country. In the
eantime, the mother repented of
lowing Julia to go and followed the III
ther to a camp near Revais creek,
70 miles west Of Dixon, where she III
9pealed for the return of the child Hi
1t seems to have been appeased with III
e gift of horse. She appeared again III
another camp farther down In the II
)wer Horse Plains valley near Plains. III
mere she almost succeeded In kid III
Gping Julia, but was discovered and III
ut back empty handed. Shortly aft ii
ward, Antoine married his second IL