Hungry Horse news and Columbian. [volume] (Columbia Falls, Mont.) 1946-1948, 1946-10-03
Timer, Bystander Guest
Te||s Origin OF
Hungry Horse

+! name. Hungry Horse" up until
II week appeared to be unknown.
BET. in the folklore of this region
L Hire were traces that it wasn't Ind
IN in origin, but rather the story of
"a trapper or freighter who lost a
~horse and later found him up the
South Fork, starved reminder of his
former oat-fed days.
There were actually two hungry
horses, Tex and Jerry, and they
were the property of William Prindi-
vile. His brother, David, 70, lives in
Kalispell, and the story of the hun
grv horses is printed nearly as David
Prindiville wrote it:
How Hungry Horse Was Named
During the winter of 1900 and
1901, William Prindiville of LaSalle
at that time, but who died about six
months ago, was freighting from
Bolton up the North Fork of the
Flathead river to Kintla lake, where
oil was supposed to be. They were
taking up the drill, castings and pipe
50 when they struck oil, they could
pipe it down to the railroad. The
company which was doing this had
to make showing as they were sell
ing stock.
Drilled Where Rig Upset
In freighting the drill up the North
Fork, the sleigh with the drill upset,
so Al Jacqueth, the Flathead county
surveyor in charge, said this was as
good a place to start drilling as any.
Jack Rueter had the contract to do
this freighting, and him and Bill
Prindiville, the two Meader brothers,
one of the Shannons, little French
man named Johnny, and Ed Potter
was the cook. 1 forgot the rest of
them.
When they started they shipped
up from Columbia Falls in a box car
or two The horses had never been
over the road before, and they got
there, why instead of coming back
the same way, they drove back as
they had no load. They took the
harness off their team leaders, chain
ed them to the rear of their sleighs, |
and so started.
After they crossed the South Fork /
of the Flathead river, they discover
ed that Prindiville's two lead horses
were missing.
Tex and Jerry Strayed
Prindiville's two leaders, Tex and |
Jerry, must have looked for better |
place to ford because it was all ice
and slippery, why instead of trying
to cross there, they went up the
South Fork looking for a better
ford or bridge That was the last
seen of them for over month. This
was in March, 1901. Bill was hunting
for them all the time, but could not
find them or their tracks. The snow
was belly deep.
Well, when he did find them you
can imagine how they loked living
on nothing but willows and brush.
Bill had to break trail into them
and pack in oats and feed them be-
fore he could get them to stand the
trip out They were nothing but skin
and bones, and you never seen two
hulngrier horses than they were. 1t
took him two days to fetch them
home
Il The first night he stopped at the
Tom Lee place think he said some
Thing about Pete DeGroat and his
wife living there at that time. When
ne went through Columbia Falls the
next day, they all came out to look at ]
The two Hungry Horses, as they call ]
ed them They asked Bill where he
Eound them at. They all knew he'd ]
been looking for them for over
month.
When he told them he found s
them up the South Fork, why
some fellow spoke up and said
that was an awful Hungry Horse I
country up there. (Today there is
mall Hungry Horse lake, a Hungry
Horse creek and a Hungry. Horse r
mountain up the South Fork.) 8
Bill later traded Jerry to Charlie 1
luple, and afterwards Charlie work I
d for the Kalispell fire department.
nd he must have sold this horse to
he city because he used to drive him
n the fire wagon.
The last seen of Tex, why the Kali
spell Mercantile company had him
n their delivery wagon, and all the
Id hands who are there now re- e
lember him. $
The mother of this horse Tex was L
black mare named Lory, called the ,
'rindiville mare. She won a race at v
Columbia Falls in October, 1892, for Il
400 against grey mare called Grey
agle owned by Calix Dugas and .
len LaFarge. Ben LaFarge was .
tepfather and Calix Duaas a half =
rother of Gaspard Martin, he whoI =
Re town of Martin City is named q
fter. Tex was out of that black race -
lare. He was sired by a running :,
orse called Starlight owned by Mr.. 7
arabee, the Deer Lodge banker
The genial oId-tirner who wrote =