Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-10-24

at lnp lIlTte lOlhS Vi lllC AsAL2s'oetH' 800"
was established in 1909, In the heart OF
the hostile Indian country. and was
subjected to many attacks by the IN
dams in which not less than 20 OF the
garrison lost their lives.
Harassed by the Indians, the men
we're unable to make more than small
catch of beaver and some of the party
started down the river. leaving the
fort in charge of Alexander Henry,
rartner of Lisa. who soon after aban-
coned the fort and crossed the noun
tains. establishing a fort on the North
or Henry's Fork, of the Snake river.
The Three Forks fort. which has
been popularity ascribed to Lewis and
Clark, consisted principally OF douoie
stockade of logs set three 1eet oeep'
inclosing an area about 300 feet square:
1t was built on the tongue OF lano
about half a mile wide between 'he
jefferson and Madison rivers, aoou.
two miles above their confluence ana
upon the south bank of the channel Oh
the jefferson river.
Tn 1870 the outlines of the old Stock
AIDE were intact, but since that tniie
tho inroads of the stream has carried
away practically all the land contained
within the stockade. When henry
abandoned the fort he left behino
hlacksmith's anvil. probably the llrst
ever brought into what is now Mon
tana IT remained in the old tort 1or
9o or 40 years. gazed upon only py
indians who regarded it with super
stitious awe, but at last 1t dlsapPealeu
and is said to have been removed by
party of white men.
II was in 1862 that A. K. stanton
w n Tracy, F.. J. Dunbar, w. J. Beall'
n z Rouse. Elisha Rouse and w. y: r
11ovee who we're among the earliest
sett,ers of the Gallatin valley, TO-
c,ted Gallatin City and took up
ranches sin that vicinity on East 1ai Ia.
tin or Reese Greek, winch We're .,,e
first agricultural settlements Ill o"'
latin valley.
Organize Town Company
On Dec. 30, 1862, the Gallatm iown
company was organized with Aiileu
Raw. N. w. Burris James boui'ol,'
Edmund Ash, George Lemley' M. ~
Rurris Felix Burton, Albert Green
william Townsley, Benjamin Townsley'
p r, Burchit. E. House, S. Simpson
George Wiliford Dr. Click. P. c. WOOD
Y PS Smith, Monroe Atkinson, J. B.
Cowen. A. F. Watkins, E. P. Lewis, John
AMT. G. M Davis, G. M. Stapleton and
samuel Mccain as the incorporates,
the object being to survey and plat
town below the mouth of the Gallatln,
as located Nov. 20, 1862. The company
was afterwards chartered by the legls-
lature, the act of incorporation being
approved Feb. 2, 1865.
After the incorporation OF the county
of Gallatin the first meeting OF the
county board was held March IL, 1865,
at the residence of A. F. Nichols, near
Gallatin City. and at the meeting OF
June %, the same year, it was agreed
that the county should rent from J. B.
Campbell his residence at Gallatm
City for the use of the county clerk at
5000 a year. The board also appropri-
ated $4,000 for the erection at Gal
latin City of county buildings, which
however, were never built.
At the election of Sept. 4, 1865, "a
electors appeared and voted at the
polls in Gallatin City.
The first district court in Gallatin
was held in Major Campbell's
house in Gallatin City in July, 1867,
Owing to the clouds of mosquitoes
present, court was held in the midst
OF dense smoke created by burning
pine boughs, which dispersed the mo-
squitoes and well nigh dispersed the
court. At this session, Colonel George
May of Helena and Sam Word of Vir-
ginia City, lawyers, occupied opposite
sides on almost every case that was
tried.
Gallatin City, after its initial boom,
either did not look very good to the
sole newspaper of the territory, The
Montana Post of Virginia City, or
else community Jealousy prompted 1t
to belittle the new community, as in
the issue of Sept. 3, 1864, there ap-
peared under the caption "Gallatin
City," the following editorial:
I'VE have got the headline, and be-
ing loaded looks well on paper. Not
wishing to say by any means this is
a paper town, oh, No! The old noun
taineers frequently resort thither when
game becomes scarce in the settled
portions Of the territory to hunt, and