Montana State University - Sentinel Yearbook (Missoula, MT)

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FORT FIZ ZLE Misvxilo settlers blockade the way through Lolo Valley to stop Chief Joseph and the Net Perce. When Joseph bypassed the stockade, the fort was obondoocd without a fight Following Lewis and Clark were the fur dealers One of the more famous trappers was John Colter, member of the Lewis and Clark party After the expedition he returned and wos captured by the Blackfeet Indians In a run for his life he gambled ond won Later, he wandered into Yellowstone Park When he told his unbelievable tale about nature ' s oddities there, the people jokingly called the area Colter ' s Hell After receiving word that they were needed by the Flathead Indians, the Jesuits sent a party of Block Robes to the wilderness orea to convert the Indians to Christianity The leader of the Black Robes was Pother DeSmet Not long after his arrival, he built St Mary ' s Mission in 1841 Later, another outstanding missionary, Father Ravalli, came to help the Indians With priests in the area, settlers began to invade the Bitterroot valley and other parts of Montono Strangely enough, it wos not the fur trapper, not the farmer, but the mmer who tamed the ter ntory Even though it was during the Civil Wor, cold-weathered Montana was populated by a ma- jority of southerners Thus came another nick- name, The Stubtoe State, because of the big con- federate boots being mangled by Montana rocks Agom without historical proof, Benetsee Finlay is supposed to be the first to discover gold «n Mon- tana The strike was on Gold Creek in 1856, but the first big rush wos to Grasshopper Creek, loter Bannock, in 1862 After Bannack came Virginia City ond Lost Chonce Gulch Todoy, the moun- toins ore dotted with ghost towns that were once prosperous mining camps In the 19th century 8

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Statistically speokmg, Montana covers an area jf 147,138 square miles, which makes it the fourth orgest state Population-wise it is forty-second ith only 674,767 persons (a density of 4 6 peo- ple per square mile) But, we possess one charoc- eristic which is lacking in most other states That rharactenstic is western hospitality As Man- ranons, most of us proctice the golden rule of help- ng one ' s neighbors Coming bock to history, although it is not ven- ted, Francois and Louis Joseph Verendryes ore iaid to be the first whites in Montono It was hey, m 1743, who coined one of the state ' s nick- names, The Land of the Shining Mountains ' ' fter Jefferson ' s representatives bought the Louisi- ana Purchase in 1803, members of the Lewis and Hark expedition followed the Missouri up, crossed he Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, and returned, eaving their brond for eternity on Montana Lond- narks overflow with names christened them by the xirty such as Judith Basm, Marios River, Clark ' s : ork. and Pompey ' s Pillar FORT OWEN Deserted now. fhn pott wot O buttling center MULLAH ROAD College chums stroll down o dirt rood similar to the one that first connected the Mivsoun to the Columbia Indian trade in the I840Y

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VEULVE HALL Thii historic building is named offer Montana ' s winner of the 1877 Congressional Metol of Honor and is located of historic Fort Missoula With such quick riches come the criminal, trying to get rich quicker and easier Ironically, these leeches were named The Innocents Crime was prosperous in early Montono, but citizens finally formed o vigilance committee Warnings in the form of a code were sent to undesirable citizens telling them to get out or else. During the Vigilantes ' reign, twenty-four men were hanged in six weeks — a record surpossmg even the California group ' Among those to swing was Henry Plummer, sheriff of Bannack ond leoder of the Innocents BUFFALO Once kings of the proine. these moieshc onimal ' now survive cn government ranges TWO MODES OF TRANSPORTATION The statue of John Mullan stands beside o steam locomotive to symbolize Montana ' s earliest days. 9