Old Missoula

Ben W. Russell Early Missoula Story

Early Days in Montana

(By Ben W. Russell.)

I came to Montana in 1865, about March 1, camping on the Rattlesnake creek at Missoula. We stayed in camp about one week to let our horses rest, and then left for Last Chance, where Helena now is. We could not find anything there to suit us, so we came back to Missoula and started the first blacksmith shop there, John Weller and myself, on the ground where the Florence hotel now stands. We worked together that summer and did very well, and in the fall I bought Mr. Weller out, who wanted to go to Bozeman to open a shop, which he did. But he had not been there more than three or four months when he was killed by a large black stallion he was shoeing. The horse was the one Captain Ball rode at Fort Ellis. Mr. Weller’s family lived at that time in Portland, Ore. In the fall of 1866, I sold my shop to Christ Martien, a Dutchman. I then took a United States mail subcontract from John Hallman and Mr. Huntley from Missoula to Walla Walla, a distance of 350 miles, beginning on December 1, 1866, until the last of June, 1867, seven months. The terms of the contract were once a week, carried on horseback, letters only. That summer Higgins and Worden started their flour mill the first in Montana, at Missoula. Flour at that time being $35 a hundred, and that day it dropped to $20, and we had a grand time, a ball and oyster supper, and Bill Quirk furnished the courage from his saloon, the only one in Missoula at that time. Well, I can tell you we had a time too, for that made plenty of flour to get at a more reasonable price. Well, that summer, 1867, I met John Allen, a packer from Walla Walla, loaded with flour for Missoula and the country above there, and, of course, he heard of the mill starting in Missoula, and thought he would camp at Horse Plains, now called Plains, for awhile until he could hear from Helena. But, anyway, he and some of his men and Joe Herron and his party, all went together prospecting and discovered some diggings and called them Libby creek, John Allen naming the creek after his daughter Libby. The Allen family were living in Oregon at that time, so he told me. Allen and party discovered Libby creek. They were about out of grub, and they concluded to go to Walla Walla to lay in a supply and other necessaries to open up their claims. The party came back on the old Kootenai trail by Bonners Ferry, and then up the Kootenai river to the mouth of what they then called Cherry creek, and then up Cherry creek to Libby creek. Libby creek proper is a small creek running into Cherry creek. Well, when the party was about half way up Cherry creek they camped for the night, and in the morning the Kootenai Indians attacked them, and John Allen and two others were killed (their names I have forgotten), and Joe Herron was wounded. One man, an Englishman, got away or the Indians took him away, for we never heard of him after. Joe Herron was shot in the back, between the shoulder blades, the bullet coming out of his breast. The Indians made their attack on them in the morning about 6 o’clock. There was a little slough running into Cherry creek. When Joe Herron was wounded he crawled down the bank and under a log until the Indians left with the party plunder, and then crawled over a little divide to Libby creek, something like about 18 or 20 miles, in eight days, and he lived on berries. At the time the party left Libby creek for Walla Walla for grub Jack Fisher was one of the party, but Jack came back to Missoula to get some of his and Joe Herron’s things they had left at Missoula with Uncle Billy Stevens, a hotel keeper, and about the time Jack Fisher thought it was time for the others to get back from Walla Walla, he and one or two others left Missoula for Libby creek, and when they got to Cherry creek they saw by signs that there was something wrong, so they came back to Missoula for help, and about 25 or 30 men went back to Libby creek, myself being one of the party, and when we got to Libby creek we found Joe Herron there wounded and in a small cave, and he told us about the Indians. So we took him from Libby to the camp on Cherry creek, and there we found John Allen’s body and the other two men, and buried them in one grave under a big fir tree. The bodies were badly decomposed when we found them. I think I can go to their grave any time. Jack Fisher died at my place about three years ago at Kalispell. He was one of the party that discovered Wild Horse creek, British Columbia, commonly called Kootenai diggings. We brought Joe Herron out with us to Missoula and he was nursed by what few women there were in Missoula at that time and Dr. Buckner. After he got well he and Johnny Caine, who used to be clerk at the Flathead Indian agency, left Missoula for Arizona or Nevada, and we, at Missoula, heard that Joe Herron had become sheriff over there, and that is the last I ever heard of him.

After I was through with my mail contract I moved from Missoula to Horse Plains, now called Plains. I went into stock raising and ranching, a business at which I was quite successful for some years until the Plains began to settle up so fast that there was not enough feed for all, so I concluded to move out, which I did, going to the Big Hole country. And there I found a fine range for both cattle and horse and plenty of meadow land to cut hay on. When I left the Plains with my stock I left a man on my ranch by the name of Charles Waller. He afterwards died in Missoula, so I understood. I was getting along fine in the Big Hole country with my stock, and was in the road to become a rich man when Chief Joseph’s renegade band of Indians came along from Idaho and commenced to kill my cattle, and from all appearances they were about half starved. That was the afternoon before General Gibbons attacked them. The next morning General Gibbons ordered his men to shoot the balance of my cattle to keep the Indians from getting them, causing me to lose all of my stock, and leaving me dead broke without a hat or a coat to my back, besides me being wounded in several places, keeping me in bed for nearly a year. Two of my men I think were killed as I have never heard of either of them. The name of one was Samuel Black and the other Cal Lawson. I tried to get my claim put before the government, but could not. I was broke, and when I did make a raise they said that my claim was outlawed. So there I am to this day.

I think the Hon. Judge Woody of Missoula remembers the circumstances in regard to Libby creek; also Joe Herron.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on June 12, 1908.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/349238297/

Ben Russell shares his name with the more famous C. M. Russell who was barely born when Benjamin Russell came to Montana. Artist C. M. Russell was born in St. Louis, Mo. in 1864 and came to Montana in 1880 at age 16.

Benj. Russell – age 29 – appears in the 1870 census for Missoula with wife, Louisa – age 30, and two others, Mary Duncan age 14 and Benj. Chatfield, age 6.

Benj. Russell is listed in the 1870 census as born in Eng., Louisa born in Ky, Mary Duncan born Cal., Benj. Chatfield born in Mt.

A few other interesting Missoula County pioneers whose names appear on the same 1870 census page with Russell, included Duncan McDonald, Joseph Specht, and Rev. Lawrence Palladino.

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