Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-02-08

shook dice for the dust" the pioneer
+ sald. IN describing the settling OF ac-
/ counts at the end OF the journey, ana
i / won 1t. / had 1t made into q ring,
1 but later I lost the ring IN Butte We
4 didn't make much money but that
4 gas a great trip, through great coun-
/ try. We landed In Fort Benton m tne
summer Of 1873 and / worked there Tor
six years, herding cattle for I. Q.
Power and driving stage, then got
/ a lob driving the stage from Deer
! Lodge to Butte and worked on that
route during 80 and 81.
"Wfse Osborne was shotgun n1eSsen-
ger on that stage and he and framed
quite a joke on the Butte paper. BIZ
Etolte who kept the station as Silver
Bow, was a big fellow and he had
linen buster and one OF these palm
leaf hats Cap Bently was another big
fellow there who had q linen buster
and a straw hat. and wise and ] bor-
rowed their outfits to wear into Butte.
The thermometer at the corner OF
Granite and Main registered 66 de-
prees below zero that day and we put
the busters on over our buffalo coats
and when we pulled around the corner
OF Montana and Park we ditched our
caps and put on the straw hats and
came ulbU tJWAl SAA h4AC
How They Kept Warm
Brown, the lean Job artist on the
paper, saw us coming up the street,
heil bent. with the busters flying and
waving the straw hats. The next day
the paper had q big piece about the
stove the stage drivers and shotgun
messengers carried inside Of them
Another funny thing happened |
when I was driving the stage from
Melrose to Butte I used TO have TO |
cross a bridge that was down there
where those buildings are on the west |
side Of town. Bill Warfield, the chief
of police, and Pete Hanson, another
driver, were on the seat this day and
I didn't pay any attention to sign
that said $50 fine for crossing faster
than a walk When hit the bridge I
Just shook them up and let them go.
''Warfield said, Say, can't you see
that sign?' but Pete saved me.
HE said: oh, that's all right, Bill.
The damn fool can't read"
BY reason of the time -honored
methods of celebrating holidays before
the 18th amendment had been heard
Of, Higganbotham was pitch-forked
into the honor Of driving the stage
which carried the last mail south out
Of Butte, when, in 1881, stage service
vas discontinued upon the completion
Of the Oregon Short Line to Silver
Is the Utah & Northern, the old timer
aid, and the last stage trip was made
N Christmas day.
'I'll never forget that Christmas
he said. THAT was the
lay that Joe Campbell and Bodie Joe
lad a shooting scrape In King &
Iowrys saloon on Main street. Joe ;
Campbell killed Bodie Joe that dav.
George Moshier was the agent for
Gilmore 81 Salisbury, who ran the ,
tage line, and the barn and office ]
1ere at and z West Quartz street.
We were moving the stage office to |
iilver Bow that day and everybody in j
he outfit was celebrating Christmas ]
t the same time, and they forgot
II about the mail until after the last {
Tagon had gone. {
Ie Started Early
II had started my celebration early I
nd so on Christmas I was working /
n the grain wagon, hauling grain [
rom the Deer Lodge valley to Butte. :
hitch was the way they had Of filming
S for discipline. I remember George )
ave me 10 days on the grain wagon {
Or starting my celebration before the
ght time. pulled into the barn with
It gram WdBOn JUST hlVSI Tie 1dSb
.age had pulled out, and there was
he mail lying on the floor, and 1t :
las up to me, so the last mail out Of
lutte was hauled in the grain wagon !
} South Butte.
ut reminded me Of what the Bible
avs about The last shall be first
nd the first shall be last was the
rst man to carry the mail into Butte
nd the last man to carry 1t out Of
ere"
Following the suspension of the
5age service, Higganbotham went into
usinesS in Butte, purchasing a livery
able from Red" Clark. He operated
ne stable, which was located on West
roadway, for a year before the
burned out and he lost
Is entire investment.
II have read many times that Fat
ack put the first hack on the streets
{ Butte, but that Is mistake" he
eclared. 7 put the first hack on the
reefs from my stable on West Broad
ay and ran it for two days and then
Did 1t to Fat jack and Tom Mays.
had team Of grays on that hack
nat I bought after nobody could do
with them and they were
allied the runaway grays.' sold
lem with the hack"
Following the fire which destroyed
is livery business, Higganbotham
'ent to work hauling ore for the
/ &