Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-01-13
CHAMBERS DIARY
FULL OF INTEREST
ENTRIES MADE AT FORT SARPY
IN 1855 FORMED HIS PRT-
vATE RECORD
Tells Of Advent Of New Year, 1855, as
Remote Fur Trading Outpost In
What Is Now Southern Montana;
Celebrated with Vengeance"

One Of the c0l0rful histories Of
early days of Montana, q document
that obviously never was intended
for publication, Is the diary Of
James III. Chambers, copy Of
which Is In possession Of the Mon
tana historical library. Chambers
wrote his diary over a period of
years, the fifth being started on
New Years day, 1856, at Fort
Sarpy, Mont. The language he en-
pl0yed and the candor with which
he expressed himself and the
nakediness of his expressions of
opinions of others prove conclu-
sively that he had no idea that
his writings weuld ever see the in
side of a print shop.
It would be well for the gentle read
er to be prepared to skip suddenly en-
tire paragraphs and pages, yet in be-
tween such passages are set down
picturesque descriptions of life in the
territory that afterward became Mon
tana.
New Years Day Entry
Here is part of the entry for Jan.
1, 1855:
Here we have a new year upon us.
God grant that it may be a prosper
Gus one; not only to the natives Of
the prairies but the white men that
are IN this country, as also all others.
"Our little band of brothers are
celebrating the day with vengeance.
They are cooped UP in the fort waiting
for the Dawes heads party to start
and be killed and captured by the
Sioux"
Continuing, the writer makes it plain
that the party that had been guests
at the fort and who were about to
leave at the risk Of their lives, were
Crow Indians, who greatly feared the
Sioux. Chambers at times expressed
considerable contempt for the Crows,
calling them towards, loafers and
the worst of the begging tribes and
he saw in them no virtues at all.
six Ia Blackfeet Indian) asserts
that q Crow can smell coffee five
miles," wrote the keeper of the diary,
who then expressed indignation be-
cause the cook at the fort had declined
to start the noon meal until another
party of visitors, which had departed,
had gotten six miles away from the
camp. If the departing braves should
smell coffee, he inferred, they would
abandon their march to war and re-
turn to the fort
A Mild Winter
The winter of 1855 seemingly was
mild. On the first day of the year
Chambers wrote: $50 far we have had
no snow and but a few cold days
river still open but think 1t may close
up tonight"
Chambers frequently took to task
in his diary, the officer in charge of
the fort because of his generous feed
ing of the begging Indian tribes.
On the 18th of January that year,
after having complained of the loaf
ing Indians about the fort for week
previous, he contented himself with
this terse entry: Saturday, Jan. 13-
Hardly room to breathe. Oh! you
pests. Fort full of Indians" was his
frequent plant.
Slang phrases that were popular in
Montana In 1855 we're not so numer-
GUS as the expressions of today but
there was one phrase that appears
several times in Chambers writings
and also In another diary or log book
that was kept at Fort Benton about
the same time, author unknown. This
was "You can take my hat"
The diary shows that winter came
at last" on Jan. 81, but that Feb.
was "a beautiful day" and the ice
broke in the river again on Feb. z.
The Crows and Blackfeet were
bitter and constant enemies and there