Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-04-08

Wayside murals may be used at ga
pretty potent in those days, however
since there Is no way to gain title to
land which has never been surveyed
and is, therefore, undesirable.
/ In october Of 1892 Rufus Thompson
4 had every right to feel well pleased
with his financial status, for he was
well on his way to being one of the
/ wealthiest men in the state of Mon
tana. But the great heart. rumored TO
be as big as the man himself, craved
love and companionship, and he mar
ried Mrs Imogene Jacobs Brown, q
young divorce who had been his
housekeeper and cook. She had three
daughters by her first marriage and
she could make pies like mother used
to make back in Vermont
No lover of western life was Mrs.
Thompson, however, and in 1897 after
diphtheria had taken their son, Faye
Thompson, and nearly caused the death
of their daughter, Marion, and herself,
she persuaded her husband to build a
home for her in York, Neb.. near the
Thompson feeding station at Seward.
Here she lived with the children until
1906 when they built spacious home
in LewistOwn.
In the meantime, Rufus had become
rich and influential, was elected state
representative from Fergus county and
became president of the Empire bank
at LewistoWn. A man who once met,
could never be forgotten, stories Of
his size and honesty and good nature
became widespread.
A Mason and a Shriner, he never
missed a convention. Judge w. L. Ford
of White Sulphur Springs tells the
tragic story of a trip to an early Ma
sonic meeting at Helena. Several OF
them were driving to the capital city
In a wagon and Rufus, who seldom
used tobacco, was smoking a pipe. When
he was through, he thoughtleSSly showed
it into a back pocket still lit. When
the conflagration was discovered under
meath Rufus then 325 pounds, the
whole seat Of his trousers had been
burned out. Arriving at Helena the
party was faced with the very real
problem of getting him into the Placer
hotel without melting riot. He had
only one pair of pants with him and
the only substitutes handy were
couple Of wool sacks. These they fash
Toned into a skirt which served to get
Rufus into a room without undue dis
play. But the problem was not yet
solved. They separated into scouting
parties and searched the town for
pair Of trousers to fit Rufus-in bed
at the hotel-and when all had re-
turned they had not even a pair Of
overalls which he could get leg into.
So they did the only thing possible
looked up a tailor and hired him to
make a pair. Fortunately, the fellow
had sufficient material.
Many were the Jokes played on Rufus
and no one laughed longer and louder
at them than he did. When he at
tended q woolgrowers' meeting at Miles
City in 1910 they hung a sign on him,
Grown In Montana without Irriga- |
tion," and he displayed his 325-pound |
bulk In a three-mile parade-roartng |
all the way.
But ultimately, it was no joke. On
Dec. 2, 1914, the layers Of fat |
quietly smothered his heart while he |
slept. His daughter, Marion, found him !
in the morning with a smile on his |
face-aS though he had Just made a |
pleasantly with death-as though, per- |
haps, that, too, was Just joke-on
twice that of Montana's entire popu-
lation.
Even the recession of 1887 did not
stop tourists from visiting Montana. |
1t Is estimated that the money spent !
during 1887 when the recession was
being felt, was approximately two |
million dollars less than the 1886 total |
Of $30.0O0.000 spent In this state.
According to the Montana highway |
survey for 1887, the port |
of entry stations situated at Culbert- /
son and Miles City showed a decrease
in the number of tourists entering |
Montana while all other stations |
showed an increase. Because of these !
statistics 1t is believed that tourist |
business from the east suffered be- 4
cause Of road conditions in neighbor-
ing states to the east.
The port of entry station eight miles |
west of Missoula shows a decrease this |
year over last year In persons enter
ing Montana. But 1t also shows that |
from June is to Sept. IL there have
been 1900 cars registered there. This
means an average Of more than $500
cars per month.
Highway statistics show an average
Of 3.l9 persons In every car entering
the state and that each person spent
on the average of SPOTS during stay
Of nearly four days. A large percent
age of these tourists visit Montana for
The express purpose of spending a va
cation in either Yellowstone or Glacier
national park Others come to visit
friends and relatives, and to fish, swim
and hike In the Rockies.
1t Is estimated that 1888, 663 persons
paid lodging at hotels and tourist
lamps for more than 4,115.000 days.
These persons distributed several mil
ion dollars IN Montana, spent for food,
wages and upkeep Most OF them we're
favorable In their comments, express
ng appreciation OF the scenery and