Billings Senior High School - Kyote Yearbook (Billings, MT)

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 C L i Xyolt location was: latitude. 45 de- grees and 45 minutes; longi- tude. 31 degrees west of Washington; 108 degrees and 30 minutes west of (ireemvich: section 33. town- ship 1 north; section 3. town- ship 1 south: range 26 east: 000 miles west of Duluth: 915 miles west of St. Paul; X) miles north of St. Paul; 3112 feet above sea level. Its site was laid out by the Minneapolis and Mon- tana I.and and Improvement company. This company had a stage coach put on exhibition in Boston, and. in this way. sold thousands of dollars worth of lots liefore even a shack was erected. Before May. as soon as the weather was good and the rain over, the engineers' building was started. A street car line was built l etween Billings and Coulson. using horses to pull the cars. Both towns were trying to exist, refusing to come to a satisfactory agreement. I lu new town was several months old before the |M st office was moved. Therefore, Billings people were forced to go to Coulson for their mail, and. with every round trip ticket, each person received a free glass of lieer at Coulson. Whiskey was easier to get than water, this being considered a luxury. Until 1886, all water was hauled from the river in barrels. About this time, the Northern Pacific Railroad company built its railroad and thus furnished the necessary boom, as well as the name, for the town was later named after the president of the company. Frederick Billings. The two main streets were parallel with the railroad and so were named for the com- pany, Minnesota and Montana avenues. Saloons lined one side of the street and hurdy-gurdy places lined the other. By June, there were 500 people, and Billings was enthusiastically called the “Magic City ’ But, two years after this “Magic City” had enjoyed its Iwjoin. it was afflicted with the hardest times from which any town ever recovered. In 1883. when a depot was erect- ed for the Northern Pa- cific, the railroad refused to use it. Billings was practically “made to order,” found-

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Klk In Pa«tur«—Th« Rim l crs, fur-traders, hunt- ers, ami prospectors from all parts of the country, as well as a stop for the overland stage. The advertisement tor the Benton Stage Line gave the departure as Tuesday. Thursday, and Saturday at 3 a. m.; and the arrival. Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 12 o'clock, noon. Every time that the stage came in. the driver told of being held up. Sheriff and deputies would rush to the scene of the holdup and then back again with- out a trace of desperadoes. Holdup Cut was near the head of Five Mile creek where the road swung away from Alkali creek. If the stage were ever once cornered, there was no possible way to turn around because the road was skirted by a point of rock on one side and the creek on the other. Along this road, the stage coaches, with their pas- sengers and their treasure, ran according to schedule, changing horses every fifteen or twenty miles ac- cording to the nature of the country through which they passed. Passengers were way-billed like so much freight. Treasure was sent under special guards, for these coaches were watched with a keen interest by the road-agents who infested the country. People stopped riding on the stage and sending mail, so the roblier had little for his pains. Thus, the whole performance got to l e quite a joke in the town. Murders were every day occurrences. When pay day came, hilarious cowboys took |H ssession of the town and left only when the last cent was spent. Great bands of cattle and sheep roamed the hills and val- leys. Deer. elk. and ante- lope were plentiful. Then, one day in March, 1882, a group of men de- cided to move west two miles and build another town. The geographical An K riy ration shop Th Shannon Drug Company

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ear ed as a sjjeculative enterprise by this group of finan- ciers and promot- ers. It offered excellent oppor- tunities for irriga- tion; then, too, other valleys branched out of this central one. (’on Ison would never have made a permanent town for it was too near the railroad bridge which crossed the Yellowstone and was without sufficient room for yard facilities. Billings was prosperous in adverse times because of her commanding location with regard to the commerce of eastern Montana and northern Wyoming, because of the climate, to|x graphy, and resources of the surrounding country, as well as the courage, foresight, and energy of her pioneers. She has more than fulfilled the expectations of her founders. Some of those who were well known in early Billings and are now read about with enthusiasm by the younger generation are: Jim Bridger, the most famous scout of all time; Bill Cody, “Buffalo Bill”: John Bozeman, who had charge »f the mail trails; Muggins Taylor, who took the first message of the Custer fight on its first lap of its journey, to Columbus; Charlie Reynolds, (’nster’s favorite scout: Yellowstone Kelly, who was a hunter: Skeleton Butte, who was a scout known for his fearlessness: Cncle Billie Hamilton, who was the most efficient sign talker in the west; X. Bidler, who was one of the first deputy sheriffs; Liver-Eater Johnson, who was never known to shirk a duty and was true and loyal to all friends; and Calamity Jane, who had her good points as well as her bad ones. Many people have won- dered why the principal north and south thorough- fares of the city should bear such large numbers as from twenty - fourth to thirtieth street. The reason is to be found in the history of the city, and, all that remains of hirst street is some unrecog-