White mule of Bill Hamilton famed for 175 mile ride in 1858
The article recounts how a white mule owned by William T. Hamilton, then an army scout at Fort Walla Walla, carried him 115 miles of a 175 mile dispatch run to The Dalles in under 22 hours. Hamilton later sold the mule for $500. The piece places this in a broader history of mule use by trappers and traders in the West and notes Hamilton’s later Indian trading and reconnaissance work with Lieut. Sheridan in 1858.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
William T
Uncle Billy) Hamilton
Fort Walla Walla
Wash
Little Dog
Walla Walla
Hamilton
Dalles
Quartermaster’s Department
St. Louis
Green River
Wyoming
Yellowstone River
Montana
California
Oregon Country
Colonel Wright
Phil Sheridan
Yakima
Wright
Yakimas
Drumhead
Buffalo Country
Rocky Mountains
Alex McKay
Army Scouts
Fringe
Marias River
McKay
Piegan
Piegan Village
Mission to Missoula and Indian trading routes in 1858
The diary describes Hamilton and McKay traveling with pack mules to the Missoula region trading with Palouse Flathead and Coeur d Alene Indians. They carry government credentials, face caution from tribes, and plan to establish a trading post while seeking buffalo robes and news of conflicts along the Spokane Yakima war.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hamilton
Wright
Washington
Cam
Missoula
Spokane
McKay
Couer d'Alene
St. Joe
Pend Oreille
Montana
Blackfoot River
Victor
Morese
Yakima
Buffalo Country
Missouri River
Main Range
Cadette’s Pass
Dearborn River
First Train Robbery in Montana Near Livingston in 1888
The article recounts Montana's first train robbery near Livingston on June 16, 1888. Bandits seized control of the Northern Pacific train for about an hour and twenty minutes, securing small sums from coaches and the express car, while passengers and crew endured heavy gunfire and danger. The robbers fled toward Wyoming, pursued by multiple posses, but the gang remained at large.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pacific Coast
Montana
Big Horn
Sta
Sargent
Livingston
Webb Smith
Northern Pacific
Charles H. Spencer
New York
J. H. Hall
Maine
Yellowstone Park
Smith
Hall
Ed Beaman
Yellowstone
Wyoming
Custer County
Sheridan
Johnson Country
Hole In the Wall
Glacier Lake Dam touted as highest in country for irrigation
The Glacier Lake Dam completed south of Red Lodge in Montana acts as a supplemental reservoir for 54,000 acres in Rock Creek valley from Rede to Silesia. Built as a rock filled earth and stone structure at 9,765 feet elevation, it includes a 90 foot spillway and a 115 foot long tunnel outlet. Contract awarded to S. J. Groves & Sons with a total unit cost of 82,731 dollars, part of a larger project alongside the 450,000 dollar Cooney dam on Red Lodge Creek.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Montana
WPA
Valentine
Fergus County
Sheridan County
Garfield County
Rosebud County
Glacier Lake
Amer
Red
Montana Water Conservation Board
Rock Creek Valley
Rede
Silesia
Glacier Dam
Red Lodge Creek
S. J. Groves & Sons
Minneapolis
CCC
The
Water Board
O. E. Moenetareere
Capturing Wild Horses by Car Is Sport Near Sandusky
Wild horses along the Missouri badlands south of Sandusky are pursued by motor trucks in a sport where riders on saddle horses chase, rope, and corral to endur hundreds of miles of chase. The hunt relies on relays, field glasses, and strategic concealment as riders push weary mounts to their limits. Leaders use trucks to spot herds, and ropers strike from hidden positions to loop a horse. The practice highlights stamina and skill, with some horses broken after strenuous chases and others escaping into timber and coulees.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Little Dog
Hamilton
Fringe
Big Horn
Green Rivers
McKay
St. Mary's Lake
Kootenai
Badland
Missouri River
Sandusky
Also Mentioned on This Page
Bill ‘Hamilton
Pullman
Rowley
Bandit
Sadale
Dians
South Fork
Sun River
Piegan Indian Agency
Colonel Vaughn
Piegan Agency
Teton River
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!