Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-10-01

80
Al H. WILKINS
was considered honest till he VIA
proven doubtful. Nowadays he is con.
! sidered doubtful until he Is proven
/ honest. 1t is true we had some bas
men in the west in early days, but the
real bad men usually came to the enc
/ of their rope with the other end ovel
1 the limb Of tree.
! In the wild days of Montana, whex
/ the territory was fun OF game AND
] hunters, il was interesting to watch the
hunting outfits get QUILTED for 8
winters hunt. Their main edibles were
dry salt bacon, flour, salt, sugar, and
dried apples If they were in the stores
then came cartridges by the thou
sand round boxes. The most of the
hunters were squawmen who made sure
that their sQuaw and themselves were
well clothed before starting out. AL
their supplies were usually paid for
about six months later when the hunt
erS came back with their furs.
The return of these hunting parties
after having been out in hunting camps
for several months would have made q
fine picture play. The old baling ma
chimes were repaired for a summers
run baling furs, as we now bale hay.
The furs, which mostly consisted Of
green buffalo hides, and coyote and
grey wolf skins were pressed into COM
pact bales and tied with rawhide
thongs for convenience in loading the
furs on the steamboats,. I have seen
many thousands of bales of furs ricked
up on the Fort Benton wharf covered
with canvas awaiting shipment down
the river to st. Louis.
About eight years ago visited my
old stamping ground around Fort
Benton, after an absence Of so years.
found a great change in the old historic
place. The old adobe walls Of the once
strong government Fort were tumbiing
down. No uniformed men there as of
old However, / noticed one relic that
looked very natural-close to the
tumbled walls of the old post stood
the old-time weather-bea cannon,
like it was still standing guard over
the last remains of a cherished friend
I could find only few white-haired
frail old-timers there Of my boyhood
days. When I left Fort Benton In the
spring of 1885, the place supported
two newspapers, the River Press and
the Benton Record. I once owned
shares in the River Press which still
survives the tide Of over 81 years. The
Benton Record was a frail concern
when it started and soon died out.
IVY Acot A4O4AkE Ia b1AC A1CA4tO4 LOnl4bAV
was on the Teton river, about % miles
above Fort Benton where father and
were In the stock business for several
years.
Record of a Bad Man
Shortly after we located on the
Teton, was riding after stock one
day when noticed large herd Of
horses coming my way. I stopped and
waited till the lone rider came up to
a L.
breed friend, Charles Jackson, Of the
upper Sun river. We had a long talk.
He told me he was located on the second
elbow of the Teton river about three
miles above our place. In the mean
time had heard great deal about
jackson. He had got his start in the
horse business by stealing the best Of
the Nee Perez Indians horses In Idaho
and driving them to his secluded range
on the upper Sun river.
I never knew Of jackson stealing
from the whites, but he was impartial
as TO what tribe Of Indians he stole
from. The Piegans and eros Ventres
were rich with ponies and Jackson
stole horses from them and drove them
into Idaho where he traded them for
horses of his own. II he was followed
by Indians, il was seldom that all of
them came back. jackson was a large,
well-built man-active as a cat, and I
believe, the stoutest man I ever knew.
He had but little use for q snubbing
post to hold a wild horse. He held
most anything he got his rope on and
rode It bareback or with a saddle.
In the spring Of 1882, believe it
was, there was camp Of 10 lodges Of
Piegan Indians on Q hunting trip
camped just across the river from
Jackson's place. The Indians had some
good horses which we're q great temp
tation to jackson, and according to
his old habits he got busy. He took
three Of the Indians best horses and
caShed them in some bad lands about
10 miles away. The Indians failing to-
find their horses accused Jackson Of
the theft. This started trouble. Jack
son knocked a young chief down and
sought in a more forcible manner to
drive the camp away. After the chief
went to camp Jackson got his VIM
chester, jumped on horse and rode
into the center of the camp and with
a war whoop, jumped from his horse
and started shooting. jackson killed
the chief and two other Indians when
his gun jammed on him and he was
shot down while trying to remove the
stalled shell. He crawled and dragged
himself to Rutherford's cabin close by
where he died about midnight His
faithful sqllaw, hearing the shooting,
knew what was up. She arose from her
confinement bed, gathered up box Of
cartridges and waded the river TO take
ammunition to her husband, believing
that Charley would shoot his way out
Of 1t as he had done many times be-
fore-but she was too late. The man
she loved had quit fighting with a
deadly wound In his chest. Had this
fearless mans gun worked right, 1t was
generally believed he would have
cleaned out the camp.
The next day was a busy one for the |
few settlers-forr boxes had To be
made Jackson was buried In the
ground and his victims on top Of q |
high bluff overlooking the river. (This |
was not my white friend Charles
Jacksom.