Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-04-29

Z AluCL Gu1CAl Az ACIGLAOGAg AONOt JbAAN'
the party a few hours late, and nj
signature to the agreement was over
looked
The Stuart expedition was to havI
been Joined In the Madison country b.
the Fairweather party, but band 0.
Crows held up FairWeather and hi.
men, stealing their horses. Stuart, won
dering at Fairweather's failure TO show
up, went on, while the luckless $50 i
J seemed) Fatrweather crew turned back
toward Bannack, to camp on an I'M
4 explored creek and find gold In fabu-
/ lous quantities and start the stampede
/ to Alder Gulch. What a difference
/ lust a few Indians madel To the Fair
weather party 1t meant riches instead
of tragedy and hardship that summer.
Stuart tried to follow Captain Clark s
trail through the Gallatin valley and
over the divide to the Yellowstone, but
having rather poor maps, he found his
way up what Is now known as Brldger
creek, and then down Bracket creek
TO the Shields river near the present
Clyde Park, thence down the Shields
to near its junction with the Yellow
stone.
Scourge Of Grasshoppers
To draw a parallel between 1853 and
the present decade, Stuart laments at
intervals in his record of the trip from
the Shields river to the Big Horn that
grasShoppers and cricketS They're
Mormon crickets today were so thick
they we're destroying vegetation in al
most identically the same areas in
which farmers sustained great losses
from the insects during the past few
years.
On April % came the first serious
encounter with Indians, an experience
that was to be repeated many times
before the expedition reached the SAT-
ETY. Of the Oregon Trail in southern
Wyoming, a route of return not con-
templated at the start.
A band OF some 80 crows invaded
the night camp at a point on the yell
lowstone, and asked for the captain
Stuart announced himself in that ca
pacity. Three bucks, the principal chief
and two subordinates, stepped for
ward. The principal instructed the
white men to put all their property in
their tents to avoid losing it, While
Stuart smoked and snapped lies with
the chief, according to the record, the
started dispute as to who should
possess the best Of the whites horses.
Here Hauser enlarges on Stuart's
comments:
For several hours there was a
struggle and excitement in
the camp-the young bucks taking
forcible possession of our horses and |
blankets, and our men by superior /
strength retaking them
Several times they fired their guns |
leach one was armed with a double
oarreled shotgun sawed off short, and /
also with bow and culver of arrows) !
Within six inches of our mems heads, I
md would draw their bows back to the
lrrowheads, placing them directly
against the mems breasts. This state
# things continued for several hours,
md until some of our mems anger be-
ran to get the best of them, particu-
arly Watkins and Bostwick, who had
,een in Indian fights before, and were
lot disposed to wait any longer before
commencing the fray with them, and
n fact all of us, believed would have
o begin sooner or later.
Quiet Finally Restored
Finally one of the Indians fired his
run close over Watkins head, who had
ust said he did not intend TO wait for
with the Indians firing
Watkins went for his revolver, but, for
unately, an Indian standing directly
ehind him, quickly threw a buffalo
ODE over his head and clasped 1t about
is arms and body. This only exaSper-
ted Watkins, and when released by
he other men, who instantly rushed
p and slung the Indian off, he swore
e would wait no longer, and several
the other men seemed to agree with
i'm, and were upon the eve Of COM
lencing the fight, when at this juno
IRE ran up to the captain and ex-
ltedly told him that unless something
ras done Immediately, the shooting
'ould start without orders or concert
I action.
"He told me to tell our men to keep
Dol, and wait till he began the fight,
r gave orders to begin. And turning to
re chief, he told him, In peremptory
me, to order his men to come out from
mong the horses and tents and keep
uiet. The chief, who instantly saw
nat q crisis had come, signaled his !
len to drop their guns (for both
arties were In an attitude Of battle),
hich they did, and quoted down and
adhered around the camp fire.
"Our men also cooled down and be-
an preparing for the night, and as 1t )
as now p. M, talk broke up As the !
1iefS kept close watch upon our cap !
AIMS movements he thought 1t best
OF to give his orders to the men di-
sct, but quietly told me to tell them {
lat at daylight we would saddle our !
ding horses first, and get them ready
nd then II the Indians attempted to .
Ike possession Of our packs or pack
orses, we would turn loose on them,
III as many as we could, and then
lount our horses and strike into the ]
fountains toward Fort Benton, thus
citing good start on them before |
.