The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1937-12-03
Vests First Labor Trouble Bull1uhacker Walkout;
Judge Frank Ell. Woody Was One of Nine Strikers
w y HAT might be termed the
first labor trouble in the
M Rocky mountain region oc-
w CURED in the early summer

\/A/ Rocky. mountain region &C.
CURED in the early summer
of 1855, when nine bull
whackers quit their Jobs with q wagon
train that was crossing the plains at
. point eight or nine miles above old
Fort Laramie in what is now Wyoming.
One Of the nine was the late Judge
Frank H. Woody of Missoula, n Of
the earliest of Montana's pioneers. He
arrived in Montana in the fall Of 1856
and made his home here continuously
thereafter until the time Of his death.
The nine bullwhackers didn't strike,
they walked out one evening after a
drunken wagon boss had pulled a gun
on mt of their number to climax a
series of abuses and unsatisfactory con-
time the wagon train left Leavenworth,
Kan, for Salt Lake City.
Woody, a native of North Carolina,
had Joined the Kansas rush and ar
rived at Leavenworth, then known as
Leavenworth City, in the spring of 1855,
with 3,, ss5 in n, his tsp, pocket og e The t S'',5d, was
constructed of green cottonwood
boards. He went hunting for work, and
was told that the army wanted team
sters. In his "reminiscences, written for
the Montana Historical library, Judge
Woody says that he went to the army
corral several miles out Of town, but
~ liz %" ~
ing and breaking big wild mules IN
their teams, he decided he would look
for something which he considered
more suitable to his talents. He had
been a school teacher in North
Carolina.
He eventually hired out to a man
named John Waddell, who had contract
to haul freight from the Missouri river
to. Salt Lake City for the firm of Liv-
ingston & Kinkaid, who ran a general
store there. Woody and his companions
in Waddell'S employ were to receive
$25 a month and board. Their flrst
work was herding the cattle that Wad:
dell was buying to pull his freight
wagons across the plains. Most of them
were wild cattle and had to be branded
and broken to the yoke. Also. most OF
the teamsters we're green hands at the
business.
When the orders came to the team
sters to select the cattle for their
teams, the few experienced men Q
all of the gentle bulls and left the
wild, unbroken animals for the mex
perienced teamsters. when the wagon
master saw what was going on he in
terfered and divided up the cattle so
that no team was composed entirely
Of recently broken bulls, but each
team had its share Of the trained an
imals. The train consisted of As wagons
W1Cn 1IO1u GWO W OLA yOhC VI Al PoA4
ing each wagon. The start was made
on June S, but the first day the train
made only three miles. Apparently
most of the time was spent In untang-
ling bulls, wagons and teamsters.
Bull Team Ran Away
Going down one long incline. for in
stance, Woody's wheelers wouldn't hold
the wagon back. When he locked the
wheels to keep it fom running down
on them, they wouldn't pull it. He
solved the problem by getting on the
wagon and taking the lock off, where
upon the wagon ran down on his bulls
and the bulls ran away, tore down 10
rods of government fence and got into
a mess from which the wagon master
had to come and pull him out. Most Of
the other green teamsters were having
similar experiences and it took several
days for the wagon train to get organ
lied and going good.
Dan Patterson, a Cherokee Indian
half breed, was head wagon master. He
had been promised a bonus by Waddell
to get his train through ahead of other
trains hauling goods for competing
firms, and drove his men and animals
early and late. They would start early
lin the morning, travel until II o'clock.
turn the bulls out to Craze until 2,
then hitch up again and travel until
dark. Both men and animals were worn
out. Among the teamsters were a num-