Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-01-09
Gold E1uded Stuarts Pretentious Yellowstone |
Expedition But Death, Tragedy Were Plentiful !

WcSt Tor one pUrpOSe-tO ket riCn,
and while their methods were fire.
quently at sharp variance-ranging
all the way from legitimate OPP
erations to stasecoach stickups and
cattle rustling, many Of them sue
ceeded in laying aside sufficient
coin Of the realm to see them
through their declining years in
handsome fashion.
But the risks they ran were ter
rifle, even those who went about the
business in honest fashion. All white
men looked alike to hostile Indians
and the territory, with its rich gold
deposits, attracted scores Of very
coarse Characteristic came not to
dig wealth from mother earth but to
take it out of the hides of the gentle
men who did.
The prospector, especially, lived in
the shadow of death. Many of his
kind we're rubbed out by road agents.
Indians claimed others, and cold and
privation added to the toll.
James Stuart, brother of the illus
triouS Granville. led an expedition
into the Yellowstone that had more
than its share of misfortune in the
spring of 1868.
Following the remarkable strikes at
Bannack and Virginia City, pros
pectors arriving too late to get in on
the kill, went into the hinterland in
quest of new Alder gulches. Within a
year every stream in a radius of 500
miles of the big strikes was thorough
ly prospected.
Stuarts Yellowstone expedition was
a pretentious effort. The men were
well armed and equipped and the pur-
pose was to explore all streams flow
ing into the Yellowstone-quite ar
assignment. Plenty of men were keen
to follow Stuart. He was a bold spirit,
a miner seasoned by experiences in
the California gold rush. He possessed
proves and intelligence.
IA Accompany Him
When he declared his list full,
Samuel T. Hauser, afterwards governor
of Montana, John Vanderbilt, Charles
D. Watkins, James N. York, Richard
McCafferty, James Hauxhurst, brewer
Underwood, Harry A. Bell, William
Roach, A. S. Blake, George H. Smith,
Henry T. Greery, Ephriam Bostwick
and George Ives had agreed to accom-
pany him.
They left Bannack in April, in high
spirits, confident that placer deposits
could be found in all streams in the
state. But two months later, the sur
vivors of the expedition. half starved.
limped back into the settlements. The
history of the expedition was one of
bloodshed and privation. They had
found hostile Indians but no gold,
three of their members had been killed
and several others badly wounded.
After being out five days they en-
countered some Bannack Indians
coming in from a buffalo hunt. The
reds were friendly and did not modest
them, but on April % they had less
pleasant experience with a band of
Crows. The Indian chief professed
friendliness and sat and smoked with
Stuart, ignoring the conduct OF his
men, who were taking forcible pos
session of horses and blankets and
stealing everything in sight.
Soon the Indians were firing rifles
and brandishing bowie knives menac-
ingly and making plain to the chief
that at a signal from him they would
go to work on the palefaces.
This was more than Stuart could
stomach. He ordered the chief to call
off his men, and the latter, seeing he
had to obey or fight, followed the
command.
The white men kept double guard
over the camp that night but despite
this the Indians were crawling about
among the horses and tents and doing
an efficient Job of pilfering, for which
they were noted.
1t was Stuart's aim to get an early
start in the morning and leave the
unwelcome guests, shooting them down
if molested or detained. At daybreak
they began quietly saddling their
horses when the Crows took forcible
possession of the animals, as well as
blankets and other articles.
Stuart told his men to remain quiet
and not to fire until he did. The In
dams, confident that they had the
whites thoroughly subdued, fell to
quarreling over the loot. But this con-
troversy was of short duration. Sud-
denly Stuart wheeled on the chief with
his rifle, aiming at his heart In
stantly every other man in the party
covered a Grow.
Stuart upbraided the chief for his
bad faith and threatened to send him
to the happy hunting ground if he
did not get his warriors out of sight
at once.
Chiefs Defiance Waves
The chief gazed defiantly at the
captain. 1t looked for moment as
If he would prefer death to loss Of
face But finally he sulkily called his
warriors off and they put up their
weapons and sought their ponies.
But the white men were not through
with the Crows. Sadder incidents were
to follow. While camped in the Vi
cinity of the Big Horn river, the night
WHY SHE RESENTED IT