Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-02-08
Butte Once Had Name of
widest Camp on Earth"

. SHINING 1Our-horSe team, thu
time on the Denver to Omaha road
/ his section OF the route icing neal
] the Nebraska and Colorado line, from
I the CottonWoods through Julesburg to
7 was working for Charley slade
who was afterwards hanged at Vir-
GINA City," said the pioneer in an
/ early-day interview. "On my first trip
T Bill Berry, who was called the Mon
tana Kid and / got into JuleSburg
two hours after Slade had a run-Jn
with Jules Remey, the FTenchman
who was running the station there.
I notice the newspapers, when they
mention Slade in telling OF the early
days, always call him A. j. Slade, but
everybody knew him as Charley In
the old days.
SHADES Revenge
This Frenchman named Jules was
a Squawman, and he was rustling
SHADES horses and then selling them
back TO him. Being a squawman, he
was In with the Indians around there
and when the horses were turned out
for food they would run them off and
cache them in the gullies Then Jules
would go to Slade and offer to find
the horses for a reward, and when
he got the money he'd send out and
have the Indians bring them In.
Finally Slade got wise 70 the game
and he roped this Frenchman and
snubbed him up to post in the corral
and cut his ears off. remember he
cut off his right ear and put 1t in his
right vest pocket and then his left ear
and put 1t in his left vest pocket. he
told the Frenchman that he would cut
his heart out but 1t was so black II
wouldn't keep He beat the French
man to death with the butt Of his
six-shooter and they dragged Jules
out and buried him within 10 feet OF
the corral fence. Then we all went
over and had a drink. I
Berry went to work for Slade ct
running a blacksmith shop, |
and afterwards drifted into Montana, |
where he was one Of the best known /
men in the territory in the early days. I
I understand that he died in the poor
house at Butte few years ago, but I
knew Berry when he took fortune
out Of hole in the ground and then
dropped 1t within few days at faro
bank"
Three months was the term of serv-
Ice for Higganbotham on the Cotton
Mcpherson route under
5lade, then the wanderlust turned his
rail to Texas, where he secured en-
Dloyment with the Iowa Stage COM
lany. operating stages on several
-outes in the border state Here he
net Bob Galloway. brother OF the
general superintendent of the stage
company, and a partnership was
ormed which continued for many
years. Their first trip together was
o Kansas City in the spring Of 1864,
md from there an unforeseen circum-
tance turned their steps to Montana.
Bob Was Careless
Bob was darn nice fellow. but
Re was careless" said the old-timer,
n detailing the accident which
brought them to the Treasure state.
We we're putting on little party
n Kansas City and Bob suggested
hat we should take a boat ride, but
being that he was so careless, he
orgot to ask where the boat was
,oing and the first thing we knew we
anded in Fort Benton. We made the
rip on the steamer Charles w. Meade
IN old 'one-horn' boat, as they called
hose with only one SmokeStack. We
anded in Fort Benton In June Of
1854. and as long as we were there we
figured we had better see what this
country looked like, so we started
overland to Helena, $50 miles, on the
tage
L remember the first meal we had
N the trip, which was at Bob Ting
ey's station at 28-mile spring. Bob
Tingley was a squawman and he after
ward broke his back by falling out
4 a wagon when he was on a berry,
ng trip with a bunch Of squaWs. He
vas pretty big man in the territory ]
md had a big ranch and a lot of
attic Well to 20 back to the meal
III we had to eat was boiled buffalo 1
neat and black coffee, and Bob gave
IS the marrow from the buffalo bones
o use for butter And then he had ]
he nerve to charge us $3.50 apiece for
he meal These fellows that talk
bout the high cost Of living now
ught to have had a few Of Bobs
meals then"
The attractions Of Helena were soon
Exhausted for the pair Of Argonauts,
nd Virginia City next drew their at
ention, the night of July 4, 1864, wit
lessing their arrival at that camp.
Gov" Pollinger, in charge of a stage
inc out Of Virginia City, proved TO
e an old friend from Kansas, and
Charley at once went to work, driv- :
ng the stage from Fort Hall, on the
make river, on northeastern course
1to the Sheep Creek Basin country.
| year and a half were spent on this
ection of the Salt Lake to Helena
DAD and then, in 1865, the richness
I the Butte camp lured them there.
Virginia City Next