The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-12-03

ifornia, after a few days he started
north hoping to intercept an emigrant
train on the overland trail. He met a
man, however, who told him there were
no emigrants on the trail and who in
duced him to return to a place called
Willow Greek and work for him making
dobie brick for SIS a month and his
ing charcoal for this man. He took
part Of his wages in trade, two hickory
shirts at 50 each and a pair of elk
skin pants at $11. Woody spent the
winter with a family who gave him his
board and room for teaching their
children.
In the spring of 1856 Woody went to
Spanish Fork, 60 miles south OF Salt
Lake City and worked for the govern
ton system on the Utah Indian reser-
walton. He remained there until the
middle of August. He then returned to
Salt Lake City with the intention of
going on to the emigrant trail to
catch a California bound wagon train.
But he was told that the trains had all
passed. So in Salt Lake City he and
another man named Bill Madison hired
out to a trader named Van Etten to
drive two bull teams to Hell Gate, two
miles below where the city of Missoula
is now located.
The outfit left Salt Lake City in
September, 1856. There were two
wagons owned by Van Etten, each
pulled by four yoke of oxen. The firm
of Hooper & Williams also sent three
wagons, one pulled by four mules and
two by four yoke of oxen each. They
travelled up the east side of Salt lake,
crossed Bear river where Corinne is
now located, continued up the Malade
valley to the head of the stream of
that name, crossed Bannack mountain
and struck the river of the same name.
After following the Bannack river for
a time they turned north to the Port
Neuf river, crossed it and continued
on to hit the Snake river at Fort Hall,
forded the Snake a few miles above
there and followed it to where Idaho
Falls is now located.
From there they turned north past
Market lake to Medicine Lodge creek
and followed an Indian trail along that
stream to the summit of the Rocky
mountains. They crossed the mountains
without trouble and followed what
Woody afterwards thought must have
been a branch of Red Rock creek in
Beaverhead county. They entered what
They then crossed Horse Prairie and
Big Hole prairie and followed what
Judge Woody years later thought must
have been Trail creek to the continent
tai divide, which they crossed at what
is now called Gibbons pass, to come
down into Ross hole, in the extreme
upper end Of Ravalli county
Coming down the mountain into Ross
hole there was no road but an Indian
trail which in places was very steep.
Making the descent they not only had
to rough lock the wagons, but hitch
two yoke of cattle to the rear end of
each wagon with a man at their heads
with q club to make them pull back.
Even then they came down the hill at
breakneck speed, but fortunately with
out wrecking the wagons. Two or three
lightly loaded wagons had followed
that road into the country in the fall
Of 1855, guided by Emanuel Martin, a
Mexican trapper, but they were much
more easily handled than the heavily
loaded wagons which Judge Woody
accompanied.
From Ross hole the wagons had to
detour and cross another mountain,
which brought them into the Bitter
Root valley. Where Corvallis is now
located there were several log cabins
which had been erected by a part Of
the Mullan expedition which w1ntered
there In 1854. The place was then
called Willow Greek, and there they