Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1940-02-09

LlBnL, NeZ ferCe Cllltl Idlll, llluo any
ing himself with an important Indian
clan. Thirteen children were born. to
them. Duncan Macdonald, the last
surviving member of this large fam
lily, died few years ago at his home
in western Montana. Many grand
children of Angus Macdonald reside in
western Montana, Idaho and Wash
ington.
One of Angus MacDonald's manu-
scripts from the Montana historical Ii
brary is entitled "a Few Items of the
West" This piece, by the way, was
published several years ago in the Mis-
sissippi Valley Historical Review: 1t
describes the route from Flathead lake
to Vancouver, B. c., and contains many
interesting vignettes OF life among the
traders and trappers of the l340s and
SOS. One of these is the story OF one
of the greatest drinking spreeS in the
history of the northwest frontier, a
party that became legend among the
scattered settlements as the absolute
tops for bouts with BacchuS.
Chief participants in this famous
party at Fort Colville were Angus Mac
Donald. the host, Gen. George B. Mac
Clellan of the United States army, and
Governor Stevens, chief executive of
the Washington Territory. 1t was the
summer of 1858 and the Hudson's Bay
Co. was making efforts to keep on
friendly terms with United States
authorities, a reversal of the company's
former policy. Mcclellan, who later
won national fame as commander OF
the army of the Potomac during the
Civil war, was in charge of govern
ment surveyors in the northwest and
had gone TO Fort Colville for a confer
ence with Governor Stevens Angus
Macdonald had orders to treat the two
notableS royalty and this he did in his
own Scotch way. He laid in a supply of
liquor and let human nature take its
course. Angus Macdonald is a master
Of understatement in his writings but
his account OF the famous spree of
Colville presents enough facts to tell
the reader that it was really quite q
revel.
Could Handle His Liquor
From the account, it is plain that
Angus could handle his liquor. for at
the end of the first day just he and
Mcclellan, of all the participants.
were left on their feet. Governor
Stevens had passed out rather early
and finally MAGELLAN, too, suCCmbed
and Angus was left to carry on alone.
A biographer of Mcclellan has doubt
ed this story of the Colville party be-
cause Mcclellan made no mention of
it, describing his conference with Stew
ems merely as satisfactory meeting"
That phrase might mean any number
of things, depending upon the writer's
viewpoint, but 1t is obvious that Mac
Clellan would not have reported to
his SuperiorS that he was cOmmuning
with the demon rum when he should
have been engaged in official business
In reporting the event, Angus Mac
Donald wrote:
II had full instructions as TO the
hospitality and the entertainment OF
the guests and the discretion of it was
entrusted entirely to myself I
had so Imperial gallons of extra ra-
tons to entertain the gentlemen.
ernor was rather fond of it and laid
back about ten on the first night to
sleep the darkness out. His last words
that night were, Mac, this is power
full wine!'
All hands had been stepped during
the day and found the grass or their
blankets as best they could. AS all the
party had disappeared, Mcclellan
began to sip the juice of the wine more
freely and we sat on the old sofa to-
gether as close as space would allow.
Having had to undergo the noSpitall-
ties of the day to all hands, felt my
grog inviting me to go up to my blan-
kets But I was well trained to that
splendid brandy and in the prime OF
life, too, and hard to make me give in
to it. Suddenly the general put his
arm about my neck and whispered in
my ear, Mac, my proud father, too,
was at Culloden.' and then he quietly
slipped down off the sofa to the floor.
I made him an easy place for the
night and he and the governor never
moved until daylight. This spree has
been spoken of God knows where not.
Good Second Act Curtain
Macdonald does not give details but
the picture of the good general sliding
off the sofa to the floor would make
a good second act curtain for farce
comedy. The great fighter succumb-
ing to the festive brew. Evidently he
was Dragging about his family, for the
"Culloden" he speaks of is famous
battlefield where the Stuarts were de-
feated and forever gave up Their
story of the generals spree became
famous and much embroidered and he
once told it himself at gathering of
army men who were in Europe to OBJ
serve the Crimean war many years
later
Another of Angus MacDonanld's in
teresting "reminiscences is his deScrip-
ton of his meeting with a clarinet
footing Jesuit brother. He describes a
scene on the shore of Pend d Oreille
lake and says:
Il came here once and camped with
two fathers of the Jesuit society. One
of them had his clarinet and my two
daughters being with us he blew on his
instrument some of the best old airs
of Scotland and they accompanied him
with their voices"
Macdonald gives good picture OF
this unusual scene beside the lake so
far from civilization, the two little
Scotch-Indian girls singing and dane
ing the highland fling, the sword
dance and other steps of the Scotch
highlands, while the black-robed Jesuit
played AS he warmed to the rhythm
the music ECHOED from the cliffs and
across the lake" Reading about it, one
wishes he could hear more about that
clarinet-playing blackrobe.
Angus Macdonald knew the Indians
as well as anyone in the early north
west and he was especially close to the
Flathead people. although his wife was
a Nez Perez. Speaking of his Indian
Fria Ie 1,1 no f~1o &c