Keepers of the history
The purpose of this page is to pay tribute to the more recent historians who have left us but kept the history of the Bryant Mining District alive. Without them, much of the history available on this site would no longer exist or be available. Thank You!
James "Jim" Eighorn
1933-2015
I will begin this page with someone who was near and dear to my heart. He was a man of incredible humility and had a childlike innocence about him. Though, he did not attend high school, life's experiences and hard work made Jim a very wise man, always full of advice and sharing many stories. He had a presence about him that commanded respect. Jim and his wife Gloria were amazing people whom I got to know over the years. There was always a seat around the dinner table when my visits with Jim ran long. (One day too soon they became part of the history of the Bryant Mining District themselves).
Obituary: James was born on May 24th, 1933 and passed away on November 7th, 2015 at the age of 82.
James Eighorn passed away on the 7th of November at his home in Maidenrock surrounded by his family and a lifetime of treasures, deemed priceless with historic values by none other than the old storyteller himself. Jim was born to George(Shorty) and Mabel Eighorn on the 24th of May, 1933 in his Grandma Seidnick’s house in Butte, Montana. He grew up at the ranch west of Melrose until it was sold, and shortly therafter, his father passed away from Rocky Mountain Tick Fever leaving him pretty much on his own at the ripe old age of fourteen. He worked on various ranches around the valley into his late teens. This is when he met Miss Gloria May Dupuis. They were married on February 18, 1952 and the tall, lanky teenager became a jack of all trades, which included, but was not limited to ranching, mining, and crane operating, and doing whatever it took to provide for his wife and children. A history buff by nature, Jim spent a lifetime gathering and collecting historic artifacts from the surrounding area and beyond, pouring over The Hecla Mining Company’s ledgers, diaries and cancelled checks, and constantly searching for something he might have missed. Dad will be remembered by his wit and charm (or not so much) and a dry sense of humor, and his ability to turn a good story into a great story. He will also be remembered by his uncanny ability to not only create and build, but to also fix and repair anything that friends and neighbors would bring over. He was a lifelong member of the Church of the Big Hole and his life was a witness to his faith in God.
The following narrative are the words of Jim and I will not edit for grammar as these words are the true feelings and thoughts put down on paper as Jim remembered and told them.
In Jim's own hand:
I George James Eighorn was born May 24th 1933 in Butte Montana. My father was George “Shorty” Eighorn Jr. Mother Mabel Seidnick Eighorn. I have a Sister born in 1929 Margaret Eighorn and a halve Brother Donald Bechtold born 1916. In my early years up until I was fifteen years old we lived on a ranch one mile west of Melrose in Beaverhead County that my Grandfather George Eighorn bought around nineteen hundred after the Smelter shut down in Glendale were he worked as a Forman at the Smelter or Reduction Work’ s.
I had a wonderful childhood living on the ranch, one in which I wish every child could have, I was not a little spoiled as my dad was forty four years old when I was born and a very proud father he was, he took me about every place he went if it was a horse drawn implement or wagon he held me on his lap if on a saddle horse he would hold me in front of him I think he took me before I could walk or remember up until I was big enough to sit on a seat by myself , My Mother spoiled my sister as much or more than Dad did me she was four years older than and had the jump on me on every issue it seemed to me, when I became a little older I acquired a few chores to do like gathering eggs and feeding the chicken’s, then cleaning the barn, help with milking, feeding the teams and so one, when riding on the wagon hauling wood or anything if it was a gentle team my Dad would give me the lines and I would think I was a real teamster and in time I got so I could do every thing half right.
Dad broke a lot of horses to work and done a lot of horse trading that’s how he supplemented his income along with selling cream to the Dillon Creamery as darn near every rancher did in those days, the cream check paid for odds and ends the grocery bill was paid once a year , in the fall after the calfs were sold all the bills were paid up, the grocery bill at the Melrose store. the parts bill consisting of leather harness parts, small tools, nuts and bolts, and miscellaneous of all kinds were charged at the ( D.I.) the Dillon Implement, I remember a story they told about the DI and credit, it seems one fall when they done innovatory and was totaling up the bills they was one mowing machine short, and nobody was billed for it and no one working at the store including the owner could remember who bought the mower, so the owner said all you working here think who might have bought the mower and put the cost of the mower on there bill and those who never bought it will protest and the one who did get it will go ahead and pay for it.
I think they put the mower on seven different bills and all seven paid for it, so they had to go back to square one, I don’t recall how it turned out, another story about the D.I. was told by the owner J.E.Morse, he was himself working in the store when in came a man who looked like he was on the up an up struck up a conversation with J.E. and told him his troubles and was bad down with his luck. he talked J.E. into grubstaking him for a team and wagon harness, trap’s, tent, and even grocery’s that he needed to get him to this place were the Beaver are begging to get caught and all kinds of fur aplenty, and he would pay him off next spring with fur and with interest. J.E. gave him every thing he wanted and sent him off, the next spring he received a letter from old Mexico from the trapper he grubstaked the letter said ( this morning I crossed the Mexican border and ifen this ain’t fur enough I will go a little further.) I have heard this story from several old timers that seen the letter the trapper sent J.E. and that he kept the letter in the store to show a few people who wanted credit to leave the country and to show his friends, he got a big kick out of it.
Paddock and Tyrow was a farm machine dealer in Dillon that billed rancher’s once a year, as most of all stores did. in the 60s I myself paid my gas bill once a year but when I suspected a little padding on the bill and started to keep track of the gallon’s I quit that particular supply, and found myself saving a good amount money, but in the old day’s that kind of thing rarely ever happen , pretty near all people was as honest as the day is long and the ones that weren’t honest was widely know and treated as crook’s . My dad could do math in his head quicker than most people can do on a calculator One time a neighbor bought some oats from dad and when they had the sacked and in the backseat of a air cooled Franklin car the man was figuring the weight’s and said this is what I owe you handing dad the figures, dad looked at the paper and said this is not right you owe me such and such, the man said well figures don’t lie, No my dad said they don’t but liars figure ,and then took the pencil from the man and showed him were he was wrong, a lot of hay and oats, potatoes, wood, ice and other things left that place and never was paid for, my dad would say they have tough luck or they need a little help or nobody has got any money they will pay when they can.
I can remember going to town with a wagon load of wood for my Grandmother Eighorn and also several sacks of potatoes and a ham or two salt cured and smoked he would stop at different places on the way through town and give the things away as we made our way to Grandmother who lived in the upper part of town with only the wood left, I have had people tell me in later years that there was times before you were born and after that if it wasn’t for you dad giving us potatoes and pork during hard times we would have been mighty hungary more more than once, he gave away a lot more than ever sold. He hated to see people out of work and hungary, especially kids being hungary, he was a kind hearted man in a lot of way’s, but he stood up for what he believed in, sometimes very vigorously,he had little trouble defending himself in times of need, people that knew him never gave him any trouble mostly because they had no reason to,he was not one to argue and could not stand a blowheart or bragger.
He also was a great tease and would lay away night’s finding a way to job someone, they say that his father was the same way, I unfortunately did not inherit that trait, Dad got tired of ranching and sold the place in the spring of 1948 he said there was no future in raising livestock, the ranchers are about all of them are saying the very same thing today in the year of 2003 he also predicted that I would see the day that there would be no cattle run on government or public ground and that I would see the day that I would haft to pay to camp on government ground, and that there would come a time that the cost to summer a cow and calf would be as much or more than the cost to winter them. this has not all happened completely yet but you can see that dad’s predictions are approaching very rapidly.
He was going to take the money from the ranch sail 22.000 dollars and buy summer pasture ground, he said we could fix fence and ride in the summer and go south and ride for some big outfit or stay here and do whatever we wanted to do , It sounded good to me and it took some of the sting our of leaving the only home I ever new, but it never happened. The Vipond Stock Ass. had to have a rider heard the cattle from spring to fall and in around 44 the Assn, had hired Hillred Taylor he was Winny Sira Brother he done a wonderful job and him and my dad became good friends,the whole family liked him a lot. he went south in the winter months and rode for a big outfit I think it was the Holt Cattle Co. in the fall of 47 Taylor never showed up after the cattle was off the range, every one thought he was still reriding looking for cattle Hunting Season came and still no Taylor .
My dad was beginning to worry and the first day of hunting he had primmest Harry Corning that we would go hunting with him, Harry wanted dad to take him and I up trapper creek to cherry creek crossing and we would hunt Morrison hill and meet him on cherry creek , this we did , I remember we got fogged in on top of the mountain and we must have walked in circles a couple of hours, when finely got to the car I could see on my dad’s face that something was bad wrong. Dad said Taylor’s dead they found him this morning on the road above Trusty Lake look’s like the horse bucked him off and he hung in the stirrup, after investigating the thing the Corner called it a accident, but dad did not agree, he always said that something’s about the whole thing just wasn’t right. and I believed him and still do, the one boot with a spur still on, as Taylor had a very high instep and he struggled pulling and could not take them off without a boot jack and with a spur strapped on dad said his leg would have come off first, and the spur tracks on the saddle did not look right, one stoking ten feet up a tree.
The rope looked as though it was taking off and threw up the road. his horse was found standing at the cowcamp gate with the saddle under his belly, his body was on the lower side of the road in a sitting position with his back leaning on a dead tree. his two dogs never left him and both pretty gant. there tracks showed they did go to Trusty lake and drink as it was not very far. Taylor had a broken neck and the Conner said he had been dead about a week. he did live a day or so the evidence showed mark’s he had made with his bloody mouth like he tried to bite into a package of Camels cigarettes and left a bloody print of his gum’s as he wore fall’s teeth these were never found . my dad could read sign as good as any Indian and as he said he could and probably never could put a finger on it but there was something that just was not right , as they found his 32 20 six shooter a long ways from were his body was. my dad said that we will probably never know what happened for sure.
A couple of old timers told me after the Taylor funeral that was the only time they have ever seen tears in my dads eyes , I never seen them on account my eyes were also full of tears, the whole family felt as if they had lost a son or some part of the family. In the spring of 48 after the ranch was sold we moved to the big City of Melrose I did not adapt very well , I had just turned fifteen and was about like a homeless pup.then dad took the riding job for the summer and made camp first on the Sira place on Canyon Creek , I stayed with him and rode helping some , I was probably in the road more than I helped any way it was a lot better than living in Town, when haying season came one day while we was at the store getting grocery’s a man buy the name of Dickerson asked me if I could drive a team when I told him yes I could he offerd me a job haying , I went and talked to dad and ask him what to do and he said it’s time for you to make some money for yourself if you want to, you can come back and help me after haying and so I did .when we got the hay up Joe Byuon asked if I would work for him for a couple of weeks haying that’s were I was when I got the bad news about dad.
He had been home sick a few day’s when they found a woodtick on him and mother right away took him to Butte to the Murry Hospital were they treated him for Rocky Mountain Fever this went on fro several days and he was getting worse they sent a sample to the woodtick labatory in the Bitterout and the next day sent report back to the Hospital that dad never had Rocky Mountain fever and that he had Tularamie a disease that gets in rabbits and apparently the wood tick that was found on dad got infected by biting a infected rabbit, they received the report from Hamelton a hour or so after dad died, I was at the Buyon place when my Uncle Walter “Washy” Eighorn came and told me that dad had died and that he would take me to my sisters were mother was, he must have thought I was some kid for I could not talk or cry I was like a def mute, I looked at every thing a whole different way then before, when we got to Butte at my sisters I was still mute and to this day 2003 I have a hard time writing about dads death.
The pain is still with me only a little duller after 55 years , after I came in contact with our lord and saviour thanks mainly to my good wife Gloria the death of my Mother was a whole lot easer to take as I knew that mom was in a far better place along with my dad and that some day we will all be together again. With out any faith I can’t see how folks deal with a loved one dying, to me it would be intolerable, Mother had a hard time with dads death she grieved for years and athough she had faith in God, it was still hard for her to coop as it was for us all, at fifteen year’s of age and living in town I roamed around like a caged lion I came and went as I pleased and never paid any attention what Mom said or any one else for that matter, one day she said that we was going to move to Butte and live with and I could go to Hi school there, I said you go ahead I will stay here to hell with Butte and school, so that’s how it was Mom moved to Butte and I stayed in Melrose, I wintered that year helping Ray Jud feed cattle for Tom Conner he offered to let me live there and go to school in Dillon and helping out after school and weekends, but I turned his offer down cause deep down I did not want to be around a bunch of strangers telling me what to do, so Conner’s had to let me go as he had no work for me, then I went to work for another rancher feeding cow’s for sixty dollars a month I stayed in town and road my bay mare to work and back, that was the winter or 48 &49.
It got forty below and stayed that way for almost a month, and the worst part was that he never had a team and the tractor a 9N ford I fed with would take the biggest part of the morning getting it started, sometimes I would go to Dickerson’s and borrow his team to pull the tractor to get it started , then take the team back and some times shovel snow drift’s going to the hay corral, sometimes it would be noon just to get to the hay stack, one day it was after noon when I got the cattle feed and the boss was chopping ice our of the water trough and I stopped to help him , and he started cursing that I would have to get water to the cows earlier than after lunch, it had warmed up to about thirty below and I dumped the man in the water trough went and got my horse and went home. I can still see him in my mind’s eye all humped up dripping with wet headed for the house, thus ended my career with that fellow.
Mother came back and keep me from starving the rest of the winter, I worked on different ranches the spring of 49 and when haying started I worked for Joe Buyon driving team, racking, mowing, and buckracking. I liked it there mostly because Helen was a very good cook and Joe treated me well. One year hayed for Tom Connor bucked hay with a team. he had two teams bunching loads and one power buck putting hay to the Bearveslide and two hay stackers, the two men that were stacking the hay were wineos and draw there pay (six dollars a day) every night and go to town right next door to the bunk house and spend the six dollars and be hungover the next day. one evening Tom refused to pay them because they would be hungover and could not keep up with buckrake, so they both quit and the Tom had to pay up, and now he was short of two hay stackers and none to be had in Melrose, next morning at breakfast Tom said he guessed that we would have to lay off until he could a couple of men.
I told him that if he would give me two hay stacker’s wages I would finish stacking what he had left to do, he kind of grinned and said I don’t think you could do two man’s work, I said you could try me it could save you a trip to Dillon for that’s wear you would have to go to get men, if there was any to get, he though a minute and said your right it wont hurt to try if you are serous. the first morning was not to bad as they had fairly long hauls, we moved to a new hay yard after lunch with the hay all around very close, I think they tried to kill me as the loads were coming one right after another and they came very close to doing it the only thing that saved me was as I remember it clouded up and cooled of a lot and I thought there really is a God, when eating supper that evening Tom said I think you can do the work of two men but you can eat more than three men, he seen I was a little emberest and let up with the razen and said eat all you can hold and if you run out of food we will cook more.
It was ether four or five days and we finished up, when it came time to settle up I was the last one to get paid when it came my turn and every one else left he said kid I been thinking it over and there is no way I can pay you fourteen dollars a day all the rest or the rancher’s in the valley would tar and feather me if they got wind that I payed a kid fourteen dollars a day for stacking hay they would run me out of the country no doubt , well I thought I was going to cry right then and there but choked it down all I could say was well my dad was wrong he told me one time that Tom Connors keep his word and took the check and left. a man by the name of Frank Gordon ran the store in Melrose had a big pile of thawed out cottonwood in the ally in back of the store and one day after school I was in the store and he said to me did I see the woodpile in the ally I will give you a contract splitting it up what will you take.?
I said I will look at it and let you know how much, he said better do it right away cause there are others that would like to do it. so I went out back and looked at the big pile and though all kinds of things I would buy with all the money but better not be to high or he will let someone do it cheaper so I went back in ant told him I thought ten dollars would do it ,and he stuck out his hand to shake and said you got a deal, ten buck’s I thought I will no doubt be the richest kid in town. so I made arrangements with my dad that I would be late doing my chores at home and it was alright with him. I hardly slept that night thinking about the ten buck’s and what all I could buy, if you know anything about cotton wood as I now know it is one of the hardest wood to split there is in this country, when froze good it splits like glass when thawed out it is like trying to split a big truck tire, as I soon found I had to Russell up a couple of splitting wedges and a good sized double jack, I beat on that woodpile two to three hours a night till school was out and then off and on for another couple of week’s and when I finely got done.
I went in the store and said to Frank finished he took out of the till a ten dollar bill and handed it to me and smiled and said did you learn anything and I said yes I did, and that was that, this happened before the lesson I received and a degree from the Conner Collage this wood splitting school was my first lesson, and there is still a advanced class from the Frank Gordon school, My first really good paying job was working in Frank’s sawmill a little ways out of town he paid one dollar an hour and worked a eight hour day a forty hour week, I thought man O man what a job, I unloaded coal for Frank for one dollar a ton split with another man I thought that was good pay but the dollar a hour seemed a lot better, the put me on the green chain were all beginners go at there first job in the mill the sawmill was steam power and a good sized Avery Steam Engine Powered all the mill except for a little donkey engine also steam they used to pull the logs up a slide into the mill and a old Nova gas engine that ran the cut off saw, one Friday night after work Frank ask Bill Mallory and I if we would want to unload a rail road car of stoker coal for the school house over the week end and we both said we would now Bill was old but when it came to hard work he could stay with anyone around , we started early Saturday morning the coal was in a gondola car flat bottom it was all shoveled over the side into a Diamond T ¾ ton pickup and weight on Frank Moore scale’s and shoveled into a chute that went to the basement of the school house.
We got that car unloaded I think about twelve hours, close to a or was a record , we went in the store and reported that the job was done and Frank did not be believe us and went and looked, he came back in the store with a big grin on his face and went over to the till and handed us twelve buck’s a peace, I said that is six dollars short, you always paid one dollar a ton and thirty ton is thirty dollars that’s fifteen a piece you gave us twelve a piece you owe us another three dollars apiece, he is still grinning and said I paid you a dollar a hour, twelve hours is twelve buck’s that’s what I pay at the Mill and that’s what I pay here, I being a little on the hot headed side started to tell him what I thought of him, when old Bill got hold of my arm and drug me out the door, and said let’s let it go, we still have the job at the mill and it’s only three dollars that will not make us or break us, we took for granite that he would pay one dollar a ton, but he never said what he would pay, and we never asked so let’s let it go this time and we will be sure to have a price agreed upon the next time we do any work for him, so that’s what we done.
Payday at the Saw Mill came and forty dollars looked like a lot of money to me but after he gave me the check he handed me my store bill and it was close to fifty dollars, I had bought work shirts pants sock’s shoes and things and I ended up with two dollars for fifty hours work, I thought to myself that’s more than I would have had if I had not worked, I called the bad deals I had tuition, and I paid my share of it in all my working day’s and dealings but I feel I have learned more than if I went to Hi School or Collage maybe not book stuff but every day living stuff I feel that I went my own hardheaded way and made it all the way through the Collage of hard knock’s and maybe a year or two extra although I never received a diploma I did receive a God given dose of commend sense and I Thank God it has through no fault of mine served me well.
Another time at Maiden Rock about a mile in the mountain was the 27 cross cut that went to surface the motorman parked a string of cars out side all after noon and it was around 20 below zero and the car’s was about covered with a couple of inches of frost and very cold, mean while back in the mine 8 or 9 of us was waiting for the train in a doghouse or lunch room , now the Mutt was in a playfull mood and was relaxing every body he could,somebody finely got a belly full of him and tore all his clothes even took his boots off, he then was all huddled up by the heater , he still was kind of chilly , in time the motorman came back to get us and haul us out. he went outside an got the frosty cars and came back in and stopped by the dog house for us to load up, the mutt would not come out he is bare naked and wont let go of the heater,some one finely went in and picked him up and threw him a car,he hit on one toe and road all the way out balanced on one big toe, when he hit the dry some one threw a bucket of cold water on him and another held the door shut so he couldn’t get in the warm dry, a shift boss came along and the fun was over, the mutt was still blue a week later ,as time passed he got even with every one of us sooner or later we all paid with interest and then some,it would take awhile to print all the happy times we all had with the mutt, he is now mining at a lot higher level then he was at the Rock,we all hope he don’t get the urge and relax Saint Peter.and the Saint has a sense of humor,
About the same thing happened a little while latter only it was not as cold. Big Bob had a rip in his overalls and at noon he had all the work done and Bob spent all afternoon sewing up his overalls ,quitting time came and when Bob got on the man train he was shown every body what good job he done sewing and somebody said I hope nobody puts there finger in that hole you left and rip them fancy stitches,Big Bob huffed right up and said no one here big enough to tear them stitches,no sooner said and Big Bob was under three of fore men and the rages were a flying, now Big Bob was a screaming in some language we had never heard before it could be some rag’s got stuck in his mouth?
When we got to the surface Bob was dressed like a savage ,I think he had one mine boot on and the drift was home to a lot of good grease rag’s , Big Bob was very meek wile hopping on one foot on his way to the dry,and he was never again heard to say that no one was big enough to do anything .
Then there was Dutch another contract minor who had many talents he would eat double edged razor blades he would put one in his mouth and chew it up and stick his tongue out with the ground up razor blades on it and take a swig of beer to wash it down and several times I have seen him take a bite out of the beer glass then order another beer , one time another miner came in the saloon were Dutch was drinking and had been all day and said hey Dutch what do you think of my now car,Dutch looked out the window an replied nice car ,you know he said they sure don’t make them like they use to . it is a swell looking car but they are making them a lot tinnier nowday’s Ill bet you I could eat the fender off from that car , the fellow said come on now , what would like to bet ? Dutch said how about 20$ the guy said your on , Dutch went out to the car and got down on his knees an attempted to take a bite out of the fender and in doing so his big old yellow tooth put a quiet a scraich on the fender and the guy said hold it the twenty is yours and leave my car alone .another time later on a payday evening a bunch of miners was haven a few in Nick’s Saloon when a friendly wresting match started with about ten participants .the big Indian jumped to his feet and hollerd some one is short a tooth and was holding up in his hand a big long yellow tooth, some one said it looks like one of the ones that should belong to Dutch and sure enough it was his they immediately put the Dutch on his back on the poker table and put his tooth back in the hole it came out of . but when they let him up it would fall back out they tried everything but they ask Nick for some glue but he had none .Nick suggested to tap the tooth in a little with a hammer and gave the Indian the hammer , by this time the patient was getting a little hard to hold so they called for more volunteers from the bar and had no trouble getting them,they then got Dutch back down on the poker table with a man or two on each limb then the Indian started the task of placing the tooth back in the tooth hole witch he done relatively easy until he tried to set the tooth more solid with the hammer , now this Indian don’t know his own strength he thinks a tap is like setting a 20 penny nail home with one tap , he got the tooth back in the tooth hole and gave it a tap,and the Dutch shed his holders like a duck shed water hit the floor a looking like he is going to war with the Indian , he stares at the big man for a while and sees the big grin on the Chiefs face and the Dutch becomes meek as a lamb and sayes the hell with the tooth , lets all have a drink,and we did.
Another time on a payday evening a bunch of the boys were a little gased up when they decide in the early morning hours to go have breakfast at Skeets in Dillon so in the car and off they went It had been raining hard for quiet some time and down the road by the cut the Highway was full of tadpoles they stopped and Dutch put a handful in his coat pocket , they got to Skeets and the Dutch ordered a bowl of soup . when the young waiter came with the soup and turned her back to go Dutch put the tadpoles in the soup and said to the girl you should tell the cook to kill there frogs before putting them in this hot soup this is cruel and about that time a couple of tadpoles jumped out of the soup onto the table and Dutch scooped them up threw them in his mouth and swallowed them. the waiter fainted , cops came and the hole gang got to spend a day or two in the Dillon Jail.
The Dutch had a habit of getting hurt in the mine on payday about a hour after he arrived at his working place some one usually his partner would take him out of the mine and turn over to a shift boss or the safety man ,they would send him to the Hospital he would always pick up his check ,at the Hoslital they would send him home to rest and he would cash his check at some bar and probably be there all weekend ,one summer he was mining in a stope on the 5700 level that was holed trough to surface ,he would let his partner slush and he would go out side and lay on the hillside with a camera waiting for a flying saucer to show he said that as soon as he got a good picture of a flying saucer he would quit the mining for good .when fall came and it started to cool off the Dutch moved back in the mine to rest up as he said he had a dam rough summer, if he was successful in getting any pictures of flying saucer’s he did not tell us.
I don’t know what ever happened to him, last I new anything about him he was a security guard at the Saint James Hospital , I think he took a job there just to be close to a Hospital in case something went wrong with his belly from eating all that glass and junk in the past. He marred a young girl and they had eighteen children and then he divorced her ,I don’t know were any of them are, I could write some more about this fellow , but I am afraid that if I did write more that you readers might get thinking that this is a lot of B.S.there can’t be no such animal as this character , the author is dreaming all of this , I can truthfully say that have witnessed most of the story’s with my own eye’s except the one about the tadpoles and I got that story from more than one good sorce so I an sure it’s true ,
I will now till a little bit about the Big Indian , the Chef was a good natured guy , always joking and fooling around . and a good worker to,he had awfully good hearing and sight, more than once when we were outside in the summer eating lunch on the 5800 or the 27crosse cut , we would be talking all at once and Chef would tell us to shut up and listen, he would have one ear cocked and would say rattler by god , he would get up and get a short piece of fanbag wire put a small hook in one end of it like a sheep hook and walk slowly up the hill , some times he would go over couple hundred yard’s and hook the snake with the wire and bring it back to us, when we could see that he had a snake most of the guy’s had to go back to work , lunch finished or not back in the mine they went, he would put the rattler down right in the middle of us of course there was plenty of room as we all backed up a lot so as not to crowd the snake or the snake handler and he would demonstrate his snake charming ability and get the snake so mad he would bite his own self and die , I have never witnessed such a thing as most of the time I was with the group of men that was running late and had to go back work early,but some of the men that stayed said that it was true that they would get so mad they would bite themselves and die if the snake din’t bite himself the chief would play and tease the poor bugger all afternoon and then kill it,I am not sure if he kept the rattle’s or not
The chief was very strong and quick for his size and he liked to play , wrestle , twist arms , trade punches. pull fingers , any thing for him to demonstrate his power he loved, one time there four of us eating lunch on top of this large stockpill of ore of about fifty feet high and Indian started to mess around , and it was not long that he had the ball a rolling . and I was supposed to be his partner in this championship of the world match, we all four was going at it at a very fast pace and got to close to the edge of the stock pile and over we all went in one big ball well I thought I had better stay close to the Indian cause if he lands on me from any distance at all I might get hurt so I grab around his neck and by his butt and hung on for dear life . all the way down the Chief is screaming in my ear wrong ass!wrong ass! I was glad when he got a mouth full of ore and he couldn’t scream no more , I couldn’t hear out of the one ear for a week and the one poor guy was black and blue all over his body.we all thought at the time it was a lot fun;
The chief lived in Sheridan and one stormy windy morning when his car pool showed up his wife was out side hanging up the washing on the clothes line and the guy’s in the car said to the Chief way don’t you buy your poor little woman a cloths dryer he grunted and said why should I buy a dryer when the wind is free,He died a few years ago from a heart trouble he was a little heavy the last I saw him .he talked about riding one of them bikes that don’t go any place to keep his weight down apparently he never went far enough I am sure he made it to the happy hunting and is having a good time.
B.S. Stories from the past. some are true some are not all are hearsay ,I will try to use original names of original story teller to protect the innocent mainly me .All or most of them are long since gone .but my memory of them lives on ,so I will try to record some of the stores they told me or I herd them tell some one else .Will start out in the late 30ds early 40ds my dad would come to the town of Melrose a couple times a week to play heart solo with the boys in Sweed Olsens Saloon later it was Nick DeLeons as Sweed moved across the tracks .If it was the middle of the month instead of going in the saloon with my dad I would go in the old Co. store run by Frank and Ada Gordon wear most of the old timer would be at that time of month on account they had spent there money on booze and would congregate around the Gordons pot belly stove eating there peanuts that was in a barrel not far from the stove and see who could tell the biggest story.I would stay back out of the way but within earshot and take it all in.at first I din,t now rather to believe all I heard or not so on the way home I would tell my Dad a story that one of them told and ask him if it was true Sometimes he would get to laughing so hard he just about run in the ditch.No he would say it,s not all exactly true ,some of them old fellers have been known to stretch the truth some.don’t believe every thing you hear and only half of what you see.so I then tried in my mind to sort out and separate fact from fiction I soon realized it was impossible to do so and gave that idea up .I often think back and wonder how these old fellers could stand there and come up with the stores right off the top of there head one right after the other until one would outdo all the others so bad they would all leave.If then I would have had a tape recorder to get all the stores on tape it would have something.but no such thing them days so will have to rely on memory what is not the best but hear goes.
This one particular evening the topic of conversation was about great pulling teams of horses ,it started out fairly reasonable but as always as each one took his turn it soon become unreasonable like the next to last story was a freight train with two engines going south became stalled on the Apex grade on account of to much weight and the good doctor happened by and offered to give them a pull with his very fine buggy team . The engineer looked at the doctor with a big grin and said we surely would appreciate it well sir the good doctor backed his buggy up to that train hooked up with stout chain and spoke soft words to that anxious looking team and away they went right up the apex grade at a good rate of speed The engineer was awestruck when they neared the top he said to the fireman watch this and applied the brakes well sir the train never stopped but the buggy begin to grow in length when fear overcame the engineer he released the brakes just as they reached the top and the team stopped unhooked and the train went on its way .Well sir every thing was fine sept the buggy was now a good 12feet longer It turned out that the dock sold the long buggy to the undertaker who turned it into a hearse that would hold two coffins tandem.he then stroked his chin and looked around and said to the fellow who has not said a word all evening your turn,the man replied I don’t no nothing about pulling horses but one of my uncles once owend a champion backing up team.Well what could they back?was the question.Well when my uncle won the championship that there team backed up 5 sections of spiktooth harrow up a 45 degree grade with out a brichen .everybody left at once ,all muttering something I could not get.
For those of you who don’t know what a brichen is.back when a country boy would ask a town person what brichen was and he didn’t know ,he would say any horses ass should know that. A brichen is a strap that goes around a horses hind end that is hooked to quarter straps to pole strap to neck yoke in order to backup any thing you have a brichen.
On another occasion the topic was about poisonous snakes,in Africa said Ray,they got a snake they call the twostep for after he bites ,you go only two steps and your dead.Yes another one said in India they got the one step snake after the bite you go one step and lights out.Yep said another I saw one of them there nasty critters down in South America right close to the rubber mine I worked in,only whith this here snake youd be lucky to get a half step before cashing in. What did they call this snake someone asked this snake was so bad that he never had a name. Well said this retired teamster you can talk about them forerun step and no name snakes all you want.
But we have here in our own county some of the most deadly critters in all creation Not to many years ago when I was driven string team ( or jerk line) for Murphy& Neil freighting High Grade Ore from Hecla to Glendale had 12 up and two wagons just got off of dead mans hill and startin into Graders Cut when down the road aways looked like a pole a layin in the middle of the road when we got closer I thought yep someone haulin wood has lost a piece but it was parallel to the wagon tracks and wouldn’t bother nothing but when the leaders straddled it they turned there heads to look , the pointers looked and spread out a little, the swing team snorted at it and that’s what made me take a closer look and I see it was a snake a big snake a real big snake he looked dead but come to find out in a minute he was only asleep well sir when the wheelers were astride him he came awake and struck at the off wheeler he missed the horse but hit the wagon tongue landed under the wheel and bumped over him like running over a log don’t think it hurt him a bit for I looked back just in time to see him strike a granite boulder bout the size of a wash tub and crawl off in the rocks ,no sir I don’t think he was hurt a bit,well we were just about out of Graders Cut when I looked down and thought was that tongue always that big?looked again and bet the farm that son of a bugger was a swellin up at a rapid rate ,I got off the hill just in time ,for I think in a short while that swelling stick of hardwood would have crushed that big team of wheelers had I not got them freed in time .Well sir I went on to Glendale and got a set of running gears with bunks and went back and loaded up the tongue and took it to the Co. saw mill ,Now this will be hard for you to believe but we got 10.000 board feet of good oak lumber out of that snake bit tongue .And there aint no way to prove it but I swear the rock that snake bit is three times the size it was. Now every one just kind of looked at one another and left I think I herd one of them muttering something about the rock.
The blacksmith was asked what was the strongest thing he ever seen,whitout hesitation he said taint far from hear I seen the strongest thing that ever was right up Canyon Creek in Crescent Lake one evening bout dusk I was a fishing in a tin boat right out in the middle of the Lake when I got a strike not to hard in fact you could hardly feel it I set the hook and give a tug nothing happened a better jerk I gave it and it does not give I thought I had a snag I gave it a good steady pull and it begin to move well sir it started to pull the boat slow at first and then a little faster and faster until I count not hold on so I took a rap around the bow of the boat and away we went now it’s a getting dark cant see a thing but I can tell were a gaining sped .when the Moon finally came out the scattered pine along shore looked like a picket fence and the bottom of the boat is a getting hot the rivets has got a red glow to them , so I took the bail bucket and bailed water in the boat to keep it from melting apart, this created a lot of steam that impaired my vision completely as I had my knife out to cut the line but could see to do so for the steam. This is it I thought better say your prayers I am agona drowned. When all of a sudden we begain to slow down and when about stopped I looked and there was the fish right along side the boat I took the net and netted him in the boat with no trouble rowed to shore and cooked him for supper ,I was sure glad that trip was over. Some one said Jack just how big was that fish he had t o be a couple hundred pounds to do all that. No sir that peculiar fish only weighed two pounds,Like I said at the start he was the strongest thing I ever saw.
Charles “Chuck” Boggetto was the safety engineer at all the Phosphate Mines in the Stauffer Chemical holdings of Phosphate Leases in SouthWest Montana. Before he came to Maiden Rock he worked in the Butte Mines as a shift boss and had a lot to do with safety , when he first came to Maiden Rock he was a contract miner ,then a shift boss, then he became safety engineer, and according to some of the miners the job kind of went to his head, and if you wasn’t form Italy decent, you had better watch your back side, It seam’s he acquired a dislike for a number of contract miners, and any little thing that he thought unsafe he would give the man three days off without pay. and if he got three days off three times within three month’s that called for automatic discharge.
I will now talk about one contract miner who could not see eye to eye on any subject what so ever at all, I will not mention any names so as to protect the innocent, so we will call this miner the tall one, it was command practice for the miners to get the lamps for other men from the compressor house for it was located a little way’s from were the men boarded the man train, and instead of all the men going to get there own lamp they would take turns and one man bring maybe six, eight, or ten lamps plus maybe a dozen roll’s of fuse with primers attached, these were made up in a room in the compreser house by the lamp man, they came ten to a roll fifteen and twenty feet long.
It was a few days before Christmas one chilly morning and it was the tall one’s turn to fetch the lamps and it turned out to be a large order of primers to be brought back along with the lamps, and he must have had a dozen lamp’s and twenty rolls of fuse and when he arrived in front of the shop he dumped the rolls of fuse and primers on the ground which was the norm as every one did the same when it was his turn, and each man helped him self to the fuse and as each man had a number which was on the lamps they would find there lamp and in a matter of a few minuets the pile on the ground was gone, this particular morning the safety man happened to be in the shop looking out the window and went to writing up a three day off slip for the tall one, he did not give the tall one the news until the shift was over, he did this in the dry when day shift and night was in the dry, he got every one’s attention and made a little speech about how unsafe it was to throw primers on the ground and the tall one was getting three days off for the act so committed, there was a lot of mumbling but nothing much said, a few of the guys on there way to the parking lot stopped at the main office and complained to the Sup. the tall one stopped in the main office also and asked the safety man to decide which three teeth he would like to have removed, and the Supt. took the slip out of Boggetto hand and tore it up and told the tall one to not let this happening to leave this office and this was a warning , being a new safety rule and you must obey the rules.
A few years later the tall one and John Turk were partners driving a intermediate on the fifty seven hundred level of East LaMarche when the tall one was always asking Turk how to say some words in Italian as Turk was raised up around Boggetto and other Italian’s and could speech it fairly well,one day or too before the safety man was due the tall one asked Turk how to say go F your self in Italy the Turk thought a while and replied FataMasaga and no more said in Italy, Safety day rolled around and in there working place came Boggetto and the Shift Boss and when approaching the tall one the Safety man said good morning and the tall one replied Fata Masaga, What did you say about shouting or in a loud voice and the tall one said again Fata Masaga ! Do you know what you said , Yes of course said the tall one Turk said that’s how you say good morning in Italy, the Turk was on a ladder blocking down a set of timber and he all but fell off the ladder screaming I did no such a thing the Turk was so upset he could hardly talk and was having a hard time convincing the safety man of his innocents, the Shift Boss was about to split a gut and had to leave before he did. It was a matter of days before the Turk would talk to his partner the tall one and when finely did his opening statement was , you S.B. I will never tell you how say anything in Wapp again ever, and that’s the way it was at the Rock.
Another time the Safety Man had to many beers at Divide one day after work and about half way home he had to relieve him self in doing so when done he happened to shake it at a lady who was passing by and she got his number and turned him in to the Police who was waiting for him at his house and arrested him for indecent exposer. the tall one told him he should get three months off for doing such a thing and setting a very bad example for the miners at the Rock.
This short but true story is in no way intended to belittle the Safety Man of the Maiden Rock Mines, in truth he done his job well for the times and place’s he had to work with and he did work hard at his job and I am sure he through his teaching’s every week prevented some accident’s and probably even fatalities. if the truth be known .
One other thing on the funny side of his career,when he was working in the Butte Mines he was building a house in Walkervill and night shift was hauling building supplies home from the mine at a after dark discount when he had two sixteen foot ladders tied under his car frame side by side but when he went to turn on park street the wheels hit the ladder’s and up on the side walk he went striking a building ,broke both ladders and the front of the car and radiator was in bad shape, it just goes to show the crime don’t pay.
Before my time there was Deputy Sheriff shot and killed in Melrose, I think it was one of Albert and Ralph Streb Brother , the story I got from a few old timers was that when the evening train arrived in town the Deputy had orders from the Butte Sheriff Department to check out the passengers and look for a man that fit the description they had sent previously,I think the man was wanted for murder. When the Deputy went to the Depot and was walking on the platform the criminal was across the street on the Hotel Balcony with a rifle and shot the Deputy dead. Before the turn of the century when the Hecla Mining Co. was going strong there was quite few shootings in and around the whole area . I have a few that I have transcribed from the Hecla Co. letter books or impression books that will follow these later day happenings.
I will now tell one of a well known lad that must have had an angle on his shoulder the day of this occurrence and quiet a few other days also,he had not been married but a short time when his father in law and he was in Nicks Bar drinking all after noon and along towards evening the father in law must have got thinking that he was Joe Louis cause he started to argue with the son in law and this guy has a very short fuse and it wasn’t long till son in law slapped him with a open hand it sounded like a cannon going off knocking him out the open door.
The father in law seemed to have lost all interest in the argument and stagger’s to his feet and headed directly for home ,he didn’t have far to go as he lived a little way’s across the tracks and very shortly he returned to the bar with a shotgun and nobody seen him coming he stood alongside the open door and said in loud voice, come outside I have something for you ,and when the lad came out the barrel was jammed in his guts and the trigger was pulled and click ,a misfire ,he then went back home cursing all the way , his wife was standing on the porch and when he arrived he hit the porch with the shotgun and it went off and she fainted we all thought he killed her,some one was watching over the lad ?
There is a sad but true story of a shooting that happened in the town of Wise River as I recall the one was retired from the Forest Service and the other one was the victim and also retired as a rancher and cowboy,the two were in one of the local saloon’s having more than a few drink’s ,and getting along good , having what looked to be a good time , as said by the other people that was in the bar at the time that they never got out of line one time during the hole evening. there was another fellow that was giving the Forest Service man some trouble all during the evening but nothing become of it, they was all pretty well full of booze and the retired Forest man had enough and went home to his trailer house that was not far away and went to bed , after a while his cowboy friend decided to spend the night with his drinking pal as he lived quite a few miles from town ,.so he walked to the trailer house and knocked on the door and after a short time later the door came open and a shot was fired and the old cowboy was dead.
There was a hearing and the poor old shooter said that he woke up with a start as somebody was trying to break the door in and he thought it was the man that was giving him such a bad time all evening and that he feared for his life and grabbed his rifle and went and opened the door and the and the man started to come in so he shot him once and he died.
I don’t know what ever became of the poor old fellow ,I don’t think he had to do any time in the big house , but someone once told me that he was never the same and that he never took another drink. To me it was another bad happening that could have been prevented if the party’s involved had practiced moderation drinking and all went home a lot earlier then they did, then the old cowboy would have probably went to his own house and the whole episode would have never happened .
STORYS FROM THE PAST .
One evening in the store one old time miner said say Sidney the other night you said something bout workin in a rubber mine I knowed you was a miner but never herd tell of a rubber mine.I thought rubber growed on trees,No not all said Sid they mine a lot of it in South America the one I worked was the biggest rubber mine in the World that lead of rubber is 55miles long 11 miles wide and they don’t know how deep,when I worked in the shaft we were down 4 ½ miles and no sign of given out then, My partner and I ran drifts we had 7 headings the reason for so many headings was that it took about seven days for the muck pile to stop bouncing after the blast,the high grade that is now the low grade some times would quit bouncing sometimes in 4 or 5 days but you could not depend on it ,hence the 7 heanings.We had two big black men for helpers each weighed 450 imported from Africa but was of a gentile disposition The slower stout one was furnished with a 75# sledge hammer the faster one had a 5 foot meat clever ,the hammer man would hit the face with a mighty blow and a chunk of rubber would bout the size of your fist bounce out maybe 6 or 7 feet and the clever man would cut it off and you would have a hole to load powder in.it only took 11 holes for a 7x9 drift but took 300# of powder as the rubber was hard to brake to a manageable size.You had to be careful when mucking with a mucking machine that you dint hit the muck pile to hard for if you did the machine would bounce back and pull the air hose into every time.Worked at that mine a little over two years when one day my partner fell down the main shaft A very sad day indeed he bounced for fourteen days when I could not take it any longer I Shot him to keep him from starving to death.and my uncle and I came back to the states My uncle Joe was a tuff luck sort of a guy like every thing he tried to do seemed to go wrong .when we got home we both went to work in a Carbide Mine in North Dakota as you know Carbide becomes a very violent gas when exposed to moister there for peeing or sweating to hard is strictly prohibited.Now Joe was a beer drinken man and Saturday and Sunday Must have confused him as he thought Sunday was Saturday and came to work Monday plum full of beer now we just no more got to our work place and Joe had to pee he hollerd for the bucket boy whose job is to patrol the mine and get the bucket to the miner in need of a pee well it took a while for the lad to get there and you ought to have seen uncle Joe dance he was a hurtin for certin now these pee buckets hold over two gallon when we see it wernt going to hold all Joe,s got to offer we said to the Boy go get another bucket The boy jumped to run and kicked the bucket over and you can guess the rest,We all made it to safety except the hoist man who after the last cage load of men got off he lowered the cage down the shaft must have caused a spark for the hoist.hoist house and hoist man were never seen or herd from again They think now that these was the first man made things ever to orbit the earth.
I parted company with Joe and came to the Butte Mines which I found was a lot safer than hanging out with uncle Joe .He stayed in North Dakota and bought a small farm that had no water so he dug a well but he dug it so crooked he fell out of it,so then he hauled water from town which was not to far.He then planted 100 acres of beans as beans were brining a good price at the time he planted them but harvest time came and he could not give them away,so he bought a big bunch of chickens to eat the beans which they did very well but they done a lot of farting and being so close to town the smell became unbearable so the people made uncle get shed of the chickens at a terrible loss,He than got into pigs and it looked like they would pull him though as they were doin good on the beans with very little gas ,then it begin to rain and it rained for a fortnight ,Now Joe”s soil was all pretty much red gumbo and it got to hanging on them pigs tail a little ball at first but it growed daily when the sun came out and dried them big gumbo balls on there tails he lost every one ,for the weight pulling on there tails they couldn’t get there eyes shut and died from the lack of sleep.So Joe went to the poor farm to finish out his days but he must have took his bad luck with him for it was not very long before the poor farm became so poor the county had to shut it down ,I am not sure were he now is . some say he went to work in Arizona,s petrified forest as a fire guard others say he went to the east coast got a job putting diapers on pee clams So I just don’t Know were he is but sincerely hope he don’t come here. Then one older gentlemen said that’s just to dam much to grasp in one settin im going home and they all left.
Jack Dean a old time Blacksmith could make up stores faster then could ever imagine my Dad would buy him a drink and say what is the fastest thing you ever seen Jack, Jack would scratch his head and say without hesitation well the fastest thing I ever saw I built myself ,I was over in India worken in a saw mill sawing Teak Wood a mighty hard wood to saw for you get only a board or two sawed and you would have to shut down to sharpen the saw which was a band saw ,so I went to the shop put a fire in the forge and made a automatic saw filer so before each tooth hit the wood the file shot out and sharpt the tooth yepp twas the fastest thing I ever seen for sure
The Maided Rock Mine had another Native American .we will call him little chief. He didn’t like to fool around like the big chief did .although he had a wonderful cense of humor and would tell a lot jokes and some would be about his self ,one time during hunting season he came home after an all day’s hunt and when pulling his 270 rifle out of the jeep barrel first it discharged and the bullet hit in the middle of his chest making a terrible hole were it came out his back , but he lived , he was off work for a while and with no apparent ill effects , A few years later just before hunting season,a bunch was taking a shower in the dry and the conversation was of course about hunting and gun’s,and one fellow said he was going to buy a new rifle but he could not make up his mind as to what caliber or make to get ,the little chief spoke up and said well sir I cant tell you what kind to buy but I can sure tell you what kind not to buy,the prospective gun buyer asked, and what kind is that?, little chief replied a 270, how come?asked the fellow , because a dammed 270 wouldn’t even kill a small Indian shoot in the brisket , One time over at the Canyon Creek Mine he was running a mucking machine and it jumped the track pinning him against a drift post ,doing quite a bit of bodily harm, broken ribs twisted gut’s , talking to him later I said to him doggone chief you aren’t haven very good luck here of late, no he said I was just thinking about that a little bit ago and I said to myself if it was raining soup I’d probably be out in it with a fork,
He used to hunt a lot with Art Reichle who lived in Glen and hunter most of the time on McCarty mountain , one day they walked all day on the rough side of the mountain and was very tired when they got home ,Art told the Little Chief you know if they could lay McCarty mountain out flat it would be bigger than the state of Texas .After the little Chief was operated on about third time he requested for the Doctor to install a zipper in his front and back as it would save a lot time and money any thing went wrong just un zip and ever thing would be right there in plane site to be worked on, it would even work on checkup’s just open up and have alook
One time a miner got hurt on night shift I and the Big Chief had the honer of taking the hurt man to Butte to the Hospital and it so happened that the hurt man was quiet a boozer and he talked us in to stopping at the Divide Saloon and buy a jug of whiskey to help kill the pain .the only problem was that none of us had any money but after we told the Bar keeper how much the poor miner was in pain and we dint think he would make it to town without some kind of pain killer , he must have had a soft spot in his heart cause he ended up giving us a fifth of bar whiskey.which was a bit hard to swallow the first two or three swigs after that it went down smooth as silk ,we got as far as the It Club in Rocker and was out of booze we then ask the hurt man if he could make it on to Butte without any more painkiller he said he didn’t think so , now the Chief and I have been a helping this poor fellow out by taking our turn at the jug it just would not be right for him to be a drinking all alone so therefore we was all three in about the same shape or so I thought until the Indian went to get out to see if he could get another jug he got the door open and fell out right on his face,I got out to help him up and I will admit my leg’s were a little rubbery .
I got holed of him and tried to get him up but it seemed like someone got to him before I got to him and nailed him down to the ground I thought I can’t leave him here in the parking lot some one might run over him ,so after some thought I put the spare tire on his back as I figured they would surly see now,I went on in the bar and it was jammed packed and luckily some of the miners from day shift still there and they bought us another jug then they came outside with me and helped get the Chief back in the outfit and away we went on to the Saint James Hospital . I talked a miner into going with me to take the Chief’s place and when we got to the Hospital the Chief woke up he tried to help but could hardly stand up , we has drag the hurt man in to the Hospital .and the nurse that was on duty panicked and ran to get a doctor he came out with a couple of helper’s and said which one is hurt and I pointed to the Chief well the Dock started towards the Chief and the Chief fell over laughing saying no no it’s him pointing to me ,
I could see the Dock is a thinking this is not funny and told the girl behind the desk to call the Police I begged her not to after I told the hole story to her she must have felt sorry for us and didn’t call the cop’s ,which was a good thing for us or we would have all wound up in jail ,the Chief now was getting happy and was going to show us how his Granddad sang and danced but before he got a good start the Dock came back with a gurney and loaded the hurt man up stated down the hall .then the Chief hollered hey Doctor man if you have to cut him open be sure to save the heart and liver , the Doctor spun around on one foot like cutting horse .stomped back towards us shouting get out get out and stay don’t never come back, and we did. We found out latter that they wouldn’t work on the poor hurt man until he got sober the next day . they held a special safety meeting and made very clear the next time that happens and it better not happen again but if it ever does there will for dam sure be an opening for some miners ,
We had a neighbor who has two boys and one day the oldest came over about noon and had lunch with us which they did quite often,as we were eating he said boy I am sure tired, I ask what have you been doing?. and he said butchering O you finely killed the steer that you been getting fat all winter ?, no we never killed the fat steer,well then I said you didn’t butchering a thin steer did you? , No he said ,And then I realized that he didn’t want us to know what they killed so I never said no more , quiet a little time had passed with out any body saying any thing when out of no were the boy said chickens , I said you butchered chickens this time of year, As it was in the spring,yup we did, Then I said just what kind of chickens would be ready to kill this time of year, He said they wasn’t ready but they got killed anyway, I then was getting kind of curious as to just what did happen and I then thought I wont say no more and he will tell us when he is good and ready and it wasn’t long till he could not hold it any longer and he blurted out the laying hens the old man shot a lot of our laying hens I asked what in the Hell did he do that for , At that the boy pushed his chair back from the table , leaned back, threw his chest out .Then it all came out just what did happen, Well Sir, he talked at this point just like his father it’s like this as you probably have herd by now that some dirty curse has been stealing all our eggs and a few old hens and last night the dogs was raising hell and they woke the old man up and he was going to cache them chicken thefts right in the act well sir he went and got the double barrel shot gun and headed for the chicken house bare ass necked as he got closer to the hen house he could here the hens cackling like they were being caught he then cocked both barrels and poked the barrels through a large crack were the chinking fell out and he was bent over try to see the culprit when the old dog came up from behind and stuck his cold nose right up the old mans rectum and the old man pulled both triggers on the shot gun and killed and wounded over half our laying hens and they weren’t nobody in there at all it were a skunk that was the theft and he never even got him but he must have gotten close to the skunk cause sure did smell bad , I said to the boy you had better not tell that story around a tall or your pa might willow your butt, and he said yea he told me not ever to tell anybody but I know you will keep it a secret ,wont you? sure never fear I said and now that the old fellow is long since dead I think it is now time to share a good story with folks . A story like that one don’t come along every day , And so the morel of the story I think that if the dogs are raising hell at night around the chicken house wait until daylight before checking it out,+ This chapter will be dedicated to the shootings I have witnessed in Melrose and have herd about from some old timer’s They are all kind of funny and none of the ones I have seen have not been fatal .One Saturday night in Melrose it was payday both at the mines and railroad workers and all thee saloons in town were full a miner and I were in the Swedes Bar and two rail road men were arguing about jet airplanes they was getting rather loud when the one man (a track walker that walked the canyon twice a night to watch for rock on the tracks ) threw a shot of whiskey in the section worker’s face , and the section man turned around and out the door he went and we all thought he was going home cause he was headed in that direction.thesewfsaaao, trackwalker said that’s the way to get rid of that S.O.B and then went out and in the Café next door.We never thought no more about it and probably from ten to fifteen minuets went by when I felt something cold on the back of my neck and a drunken voice behind me said tell me were that no good trackwalker is or I might just shoot you to start with a sense
fear ran though my hole body cause I knew from past experiences that anybody that have been drinking boiler makers for a few hours was capable of doing some very bad things.Some one at the end of the bar said I think he went to the Café next door .and out the front he went with a30—30 rifle in his hands I said to my drinking partner out the back door maybe we can head him off , off we went on the dead run and just about the time we were about even with the back door of the café a shot was heard .and out of the back door came a elderly lady with a big frying pan in her hand and there no grass growing under her feet a five pole jackleg fence was in her path and she jumped it with a foot to spare with no problem . when we got inside the café we found the railroad man on his back with one Mr. Hoffman sitting on his chest doing a good job of holding him down, they said that when the man came in with the rifle he put the muzzle on the back of the trackwalker’s head and pulled the trigger and Mr. Hoffman who was sitting along side of the victim and split second before the rifle went off Hoffman thru up his arm knocking the barrel out of harms way the bullet hit the stone fire place and ricocheted threw a window in the front missing a fellow’s head by not far. Every one in the vicinity considered them self’s lucky that someone never got hurt,Me for one.
Another time at Nick’s Bar about daybreak they were six not to stable men playing stud poker at the rear of building when through the front door came a woman who seamed quit upset because her man was a little late coming home, she held in her hand a woodsman auto 22 pistol that held nine shot’s she only took one or two step’s towards us frighten innocent sleepy card players before she open fire I don’t know were the first shot went but the poker table went right up to the ceiling and stayed as six men were trying to get under it wile the other eight shoots were being fired luckily nothing got hit could not find a bullet hole any were. When things quieted down some and the mad lady left her spouse said dam I just bought that gun for her birthday and she tries to shoot me I said you mean she tried to shoot us, a older gentleman remarked well son I’m sure glad that you dint teach her how to shoot we all said Amen and went home leaving the chip’s and card’s fell were they may,the next day Nick had all the chip’s divided up . he said we all broke even , and we all agreed .
A few years later some big doings at Nick’s place a lot of woman and kid’s when the Husband of the above shooter was playing pool with three other guy’s and became angry about some little thing and threw the pool stick on the floor and Nick hollered from behind the bar and said if you break that pool stick I will break your neck the fellow then came to the bar grabbed Nick by the neck and dragging him over the bar slapped him a little and said if there’s any neck to be broke it’s going to be yours they then got in amongst some empty beer cases stacked high against the wall they fell over on top of the two not to dangerous people I and another fellow dug them out of that mess and the Nick went back behind the bar and went straight to the other end of the bar to a draw in the back bar I knew what was in the drawer . a German Luger . he took it out of the drawer and stated back down toward the end of the bar with the gun partially hid, I followed him on the outside of the bar to its end and when he came out from behind the bar he raised the pistol up to shoot his aggravator and I grabbed the gun by the barrel and jerked out of his hand when I pulled it out of his hand the barrel was pointed at my stomach the reason it dint go off and shoot me in the belly is on a German luger there is a safety device on the back of the grip that has to be depressed in order to pull the trigger or else I surly would have been gut shot. when the pistol left his hand it cut it rather bad and another miner took Nick to the Doctor in Butte and got it sewed up. The next day Nick sent word that he wanted to see me and I wondered if maybe he wanted me to pay for the sewing job?
So I went over to see what he had to say and when he seen me walk though the door tears came to his eyes he pored us both a drink and said we both thank you very much for talking the gun away from me for no doubt I would have killed the man and spent the rest of my life in prison . I replied well Nick that’s what us fools is for.to help one another in time of need.I then went over to the and took a look at the threshold to see if it was still in place or tore up as people told me that when the would be victim and my sisters husband seen that Nick had a gun they took of at the same time and got stuck in the door you could see the spin marks on the threshold next day or two. another lucky time that nobody got hurt. The next miner we will, Chuck ,Chuck has a wife of rather large proprieties around the top and bottom both she also had a yellow mustache ,they both drank a lot but not at the same time, the one who got the drunkest always got a good whipping by the other one , once I went into Nicks to see what was going on and Chuck had been in there all day drinking and was out on his feet .Nick asked if I would get him out of there so I took him to his house I had to hold him up as his lower parts was not working I got him as far as the door and held him up as I knocked on the door she hollered who is it Chuck I said , the door flew open and she smacked Chucky in the face with a twelve inch skillet tipping us both over backward off the steps I crawled from under and him and got out there as fast as possible ,he looked like he was run through a hay chopper that Monday at work,
One Sunday the town was full of people and a good part of them was drunk, and you might say a little disorderly and who came up the street but the little big lady with the yellow mustache with a war like look on her face ,this hair lipped fellow who also worked at the mine was getting out pickup when the little lady was approaching him in front of Nicks Bar she was mumbling that if she had a gun that she would shoot that sob the hair lipped fellow said to her I got a shotgun you can use if that will help ,he give her shotgun and somebody seen this transaction and went in the bar and warned Chuck well Chuck took out the back door down the ally and out on the main street towards Live leys Bar and the shotgun donor seen him and tells the gun holder there he goes pointing to Chucky that seemed he was plum serious about changing scenery ,she up and fired the old 12gage and one her butt she went the gun loner helped her up handed her the gun and said to her now lead him a little bit she fired again but by this time Chucky who has got his nose about two inches off the ground and was losing no time was out of range, The nice little was on her but in the middle of the street a rubbing her shoulder and cursing the nice man that loaned her the shotgun and every body else that was within hearing distance ,the Chuck stayed away for a good week or so some of his buddy’s thought that she got some lead in him and he crawled off some place and died , but that never happened ,some say he came back and they made up and they lived happily ever after but I wonder if that was possible I don’t think so
One up on a time not to long there was a man who oiled on construction and was my oilier on a bridge job seven miles south of Melrose , we will call him Dud ,He some times seamed like he did not halve both ores in the water , one time he was fueling up a portable pump with gas and he let it run over and gas was all over the motor, I see him go around the pump to start the motor I was sitting in the crane and hollered to him don’t start it up he hollered why not ,and I said it is liable to catch on fire, he shouted back bull shit and hit the starter and whoosh she went up in flames ,the boss came running over to the rig and I told him to stand by and ill see if I can hook the headache ball to the picking eye onto the pump and I will swing it around and dunk it in the wet cell behind the crane I swung a round fast lined up and luckily hooked up the first try and got in the wet cell and got the fire out without any damage and I told the Dud in a nice way that he really should pay attention to what I tell him to do , and like I told him that a lot or times I can see things sitting up in a crane that a lot of times people on the ground cant see, and visa versa a lot of times people on the ground can see things that I cant . so you should at least look at both sides of the issue at hand and then make a decision and don’t take responsibility fore doing an act that you are not a one hundred percent sure about let the other’s decide ,
That was not the only thing that the Dud messed up,some times it looked like he would do things wrong on purpose just get under my hide , it got so I wouldn’t say nothing to avoid making a scene on the job site ,A few weeks went by and one evening I took my two daughter’s to a Four H meeting in Melrose and I went over to Ray Moe’s Saloon along with my oldest (boy he was probably about fourteen years old at the time ) there was a bunch of town guy’s in Moe’s that wanted to play pitch so we all set down by the door which was located close to the main door , we played a few hands of pitch when in came the Dud about half drunk he ordered a beer and sat down at the bar and stared at me , he mumbled some thing and then said loud I think you are all a bunch of chicken shit’s and everybody ignored him and went on playing card’s and in a bit he said the same thing a lot louder, and I said are you talking to me? he then got up off the stool and said yes I’m talking to you ,you ( a mile long string of cuss word’s ) come on outside and I’ll show you something,I told him to go home and cool off and we would talk about what ever is bothering you tomorrow , he then said if you don’t come out Ill drag you out , well that left me no choice so I got up and went outside all the wile trying to talk him out of doing battle but to no use he was sure that he wanted to fight and then started swinging slow and wide ,
I seen right away that he has not been in very many street fight’s (which by the way we were right in the middle of the Highway as this happened before the Interstate came through in fact that is what we working at the time , as the Saloon was located on the very edge of the main Highway so outside was the middle of the road) but I saw there no use trying to talk him out of doing battle so I saw he could be hit at any time and I thought a couple of stiff jab’s to the smeller might do the trick , because I truly did not want to hurt the man but all the jabs did was make madder and he seemed like to me that he was more serous and coming closer to finely hitting me ,I thought this just isn’t working,so I decked him at first after a good stiff right he never wavered I thought boy this man can take a fair punch I had better settle down to business and the his legs buckled ,delayed action they call it , I then like a dam fool tried to get him up and off the highway and he got me by the leg and pulled me down on top of himself I placed my arm on his throat and shut his air off he than became more agreeable and we both got up and went back in the bar and had a drink ,
Moe got a wet bar towel and cleaned up the Dud’s face as it had sprung a few leek’s during the fracas ,well every thing was all settled or we all thought it was when the Dud apologized and went home , well we had not played over a couple of hands of pitch when Moe happen to look out the window and said look out here he comes with a gun,when he came through the door Jack was sitting behind it when was open and he got up reached around and grabbed ht rifle by the barrel and got it away from the Dud , I did not know that when we were out in the middle of the middle of the road jumping around somebody called the deputy sheriff about the time I made up my mind to work this gunner over good , I just got a good start when the deputy arrived he wanted me to sign some papers and then take the Dud to jail in Butte I then had a talk in privet with Dud and told him that if he would promise to forget the whole affair and never bring it up again that if he would do this I would not sign the papers and that would keep him out of jail ,but if he ever made a crooked move toward me he would be far better off to go to jail now, and it was finely over at last, he quiet his job oiling for me and went to work for McIntiyer Construction who had the dirt job from south of Melrose to Moose Creek , a few weeks past and one day I was in Nick’s Bar getting some smokes I see out the window the Dud was parking along side My truck he came in and walked up behind me I was watching his approach in the back bar mirror and will have to admit that the adrenaline was coming on rather fast and he just stood there looking at the back of my head.for seemed like a long time ,all kind of things were going my head I can remember thinking if he starts something one of us is not going home , he finely stepped along side and sit down on a stool ,I on the other hand remained standing ready for something that was about to happen ,when he said how about me buying you a beer .no thank you I said got work to do or I would ,He then said I saw your truck and thought I would stop and tell you that I and my wife both don’t know how thank you enough for not having me throne in jail as on account of my past I would probable would not see daylight for quiet a while ,he said he was sorry for what he had done and it would never happen again and on and on , and I excepted his apology and left , that was the end of the trouble with the Dud ,I after that we came in contact with one another quite a few times and never had any trouble but I have to say that every time I saw him I did not feel all the way comfortable ,
This is a story about Uncle Clay and myself ,the two of us were Swedes Bar having a few to many and who came busting in the door but Edith ; Clays wife who talked Fayle into bringing her to town to get us and all they had for transportation was a two ton stock truck with the rack off.they stated to argue when I told Clay that we better go with her and that I had a plan,and out we went outside and I said there is not room for all of us in the cab I will ride on the back and Clay said and ill ride there with you ,that was agreeable with her and we started out and I then told Clay as soon as we get out of these town lights we better jump and walk back to the bar and he thought that was a hell of a good idea ;well we got a little out of town and I jumped off with out much trouble but Clay never got off until they was doing about twenty five mpr then he stepped off and crashed I could not see him but I could here him thump bump bang and rattle I walked up the road a far piece to see if he was dead and whent to his body in the bowwow pit he was just coming to, a few scratches and some torn clothes is all that happened to him , we walked back to town and retired for the night . Mean while back at the ranch when the two got out of the truck Edith saw the two beer bottles on back of the truck she thought it was us and went in the house and got the little kids bee bee gun Fayle thought it was the twenty two and afraid she could shoot somebody followed Edith outside and from Faile we get the rest of the story , Fayle said she stayed behind a ways so Edith would not know she was there and said that she threw up the kids gun and tried to fire it at the two bottles but it would not fire she beet the gun on back of the truck cursing it and ended up throwing in the bushes in the yard , she started talking to her self and said I know were you two basterds are you are in the hayloft sleeping it off stay asleep you two sob Ill run you through with a pitch fork and you never even wake up ,after stabbing the hay she then went down to the chicken house a thinking we was in hiding ,Fayle got tiered and went back to bed , and said that Edith never came until daylight and never went to bed . but raised hell all the day.
B.S story past and present.
One old fellow once told a story about the time him and his brothers was logging in the Big Hole basin in the winter of 02 he said they had a circus tent that was about 45feet wide and close to 100 feet long they lived in one end of the tent and they had six black stud horses they kept in the other end , they used these horses to skid the timber with , the snow got awful deep that winter he said about 30 feet, the snow road to the tent was about on a 30% grade , the way they mersured and got the true depth of the snow ,was they waited until spring when the snow went off and measured from the bare ground up to the scars on the trees still standing along the skid trail wear they said some places the scars were higher and in other places they was lower but averaged 30 feet he said that it was a bad winter for snow.
One morning when they went to work about a mile from camp there was the biggest moose they had ever seen , one of the brothers went back to camp and got the rifle a 33 Winchester and shot the moose right between the eye’s , the one brother started to gut the moose and the other two went back to camp to fetch two of the stud’s to drag there meat back to camp , it took quiet a while to gut him out as he was so large ,they hooked the horses up and found right away that they was short of horse power, they then had to go back to camp and get two more stud’s , well by golly he said you know them four horses could pull that animal but it was all they could do, now he said we are talking about these horses will weigh close to a ton and none of them was afraid to pull,after talking it over we decided to get the other two stud’s , well he said you know them six pulled there gut’s out to get there big SOB back to camp and then we about pulled the tent down hanging him up . we were about froze as it was on the thermometer that morning forty below zero , this is nothing new it has been that cold all winter and it stayed that cold until the last of May . I asked him how the moose was to eat . and he said that is the bad part of this story.we never got to eat any of him on account the flies blowed him , ruined the hole thing, a shame
A Fence Or A Ambulance
Twas a dangerous cliff,as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over its terrible edge there has slipped
A duke and full many a peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said,”Put a fence around the edge of the cliff,;
Some ,”An ambulance down in the valley.”
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city;
A fence may be useful or not, it is true,
But each heart became brimful of pity
For those who slipped over that dangerous cliff;
And the dwellers in highway and alley
Gave pounds or gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley,
For the cliff is alright, if you’re careful,” they said,
“And ,if folks even slip and are dropping,
It isn’t the slipping that hurts them so munch,
As the shock down below when they’re stopping.”
So day after day, as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would these rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell off the cliff,
Whit their ambulance down in the valley.”
Then an old sage remarked; “It’s a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results then to stopping the cause,
When they’d much better aim at prevention,
Let us stop at its source all this mischief,” cried he,
“Come, neighbors and friends,let us rally;
If the cliff we will fence we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley.”
“Oh,he’s a fanatic,” the others rejoined,
“Dispense with the ambulance never!
He’d dispense with all charities, too, if he could;;
No! No! We’ll support them forever.
Aren’t we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us? Shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence,
While the ambulance works in the valley?”
But a sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not with such nonsense much longer;
They believe prevention is better than cure,
And their party will soon be stronger.
Encourage them then,with your purse.voice, and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They will scorn all pretense and put up a stout fence
On the cliff that hangs over the valley.
Better guide well the young then reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling,
“To rescue the fallen is good, but’tis best
To prevent other people from falling.”
Better close up the source of temptation and crime
Then deliver from dungeon or galley;
Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff
Than a ambulance down in the valley.
Letter Jim Eighron transcribed.
Rochester Mont.
Nov.14 1935
Dear Ethel
I will write a few lines to let you know I am back in Rochester I couldn’t work down there, Bud he came down and lasted three shifts and Kaly he is back home to. Well Dear I only got in 13 shifts and had 42.25 and I got some new tires for the car and a few clothes and I didn’t have anything left. I would not have gotten the tires if I had of known I wasn’t going to stay.but I had bargain for them before I blew up and had to take them. well Dear it makes me sick because I cant send you any money, but I cant do her and don’t know when I can but will do the best I can. I am back living at home and went to work for that fellow that has got the Miller mine leased have to take chances on the ore for my money . don’t know how it will come out but I think it will be alright, well Dear I sure would like to see you but don’t know when I can, as I cant run the Chev at all now. I have got dandy tires but the Transmisson is gone completely and I cant run it until I can get it fixed so you see what I am up against cant get out of Rochester which is probably a good thing. Well Dear wish you were here with me but guess it cant be , so you had better stay there and do the best you can until we can be together, well I don’t know any more to say so will close for this time. With Love.
write soon
as ever Jack Ploof
There was this older lady that had a small farm and also had two daughters one was a shade slow you might say, there old mother died and left them the farm and a few cows, The two sisters moved on the place and soon discovered that they had no bull to go with cow’s . and they both decided that they would have to buy a bull.so the smarter sister went to the Bank and took out all the money that was there $601.oo and went out looking for a bull , she soon found one but he cost 600.oo dollars , she then went to wire to her sister to bring the pickup and horse trailer to haul the bull home but the telagraph lady told her the cost would be $1.oo per word, being that’s all the money that she had was one dollar ,she thought a bit and told the lady to send the message one word Comfortable the lady said alright but how will sister make any thing out of that message ? the smart sister said my sister is a little slow and she will read it like this –Com-for-the-bull
There was once a man by the name of Ed Clark that ran a saloon and he also had a few race horses , his jockeys name was Sam Frazel and in the winter season Sam would winter in Arizona and race the horses a couple of times a week.After every race he would call up Ed and tell him all about the race and would talk 15 or 20 minutes, well things begin to go down hill they was not winning any races and Ed told Sam that they had to cut cost and instead of calling him after each race to wire him instead and to abbreviate the message as he could understand race horse lingo to keep the cost down. well a week went by when a telegram arrived that read as follows S.F-S.F.-SF.-SF. Clark was rather upset at Sam as he could get nothing out of 4 SF’s he finely got Sam on the Phone as ask what in the #@!@# does all the SF mean and Sam told him Started Farted Stumbled Fell See you Friday Sam Frazel
A Tom Nolen Poem
The old man sit on the Grand Stand Chair with Shit on his Shoes and Straw in his hair
He said win wy she’s a cinch to win she’s out of black bess and lazy Joe she’s sodoggone fast she can’t go slow
A Ed Duffy Story
A good Irish lad went to the confession booth and told the good father that he had committed a sin the father then asked what he had done , The lad said he stolid a bunch of eggs from the widow Browns hen house , the father asked him what did you do with the eggs ? the lad said he hid them under the steps of his neighbor,s porch , The father said go my son your sins are forgiven , And about a week went by when the same lad came to the father and said I have committed a worse sin than last time, I sleep all night with the widow Brown , then the father asked and just were does the widow Brown live ?
To “Hell” with you said the boy , I told you were I hid the eggs.!!
A lady’s dog died and she took it to a priest and wanted him to give the dog his last right’s and the father did not give animals the last right’s and to take him down the street to the Presbyterian Church they might do it, and the lady said do you think they would if I put $25000 in the collection plate and the priest said O my child I did not know the dog was a Catholic.
A James A.LaMarche Story
A old prospector and his old mule both got killed in a rock slide and made it up to the pearly gates when St Peter came and said we are sorry but there is no room for you we are all filled up. The old prospector asked St Peter if he made room enough for him and his mule could he stay ,St Peter said yes you could stay ,but your not going to get any one to leave heaven .. In a sort time here come the people out 20 wide headed out and when every one was out the last on was the old prospector and his mule St Peter was in disbelieve that all the people was leaving heaven and he said to the old fellow “What in heaven did you tell all these people to get them to leave this place , He said it was easy I just told them there was a gold rush in Hell .and you know there might just be something to it and he went with the crowd
Another time a fellow made his way up to the pearly gates and on the way he noticed that the father he went the dryer it got and he wondered if he had took the wrong fork in the road a ways back and when he got to the gates and looked in he was sure he took the wrong fork in the road as every thing was burnt up the grass and flowers are all dying the leaves are all gone of from the trees and when he looked down every thing was green and flowers blooming beautiful it was down below ,St Peter showed up and asked the follow if he wanted to come in and the follow replied no I wanted to get to heaven but apparently I took the wrong road. St Peter said no you are right this is heaven and the man said are you sure look inside it’s all burnt up look down below every thing is all green and beautiful St Peter looked and said dam them Moormans have stole the water again
This is a true story about a 90 year old cow herder that is not to particular about his appearance The Post master in Melrose is a nice lady and she visits all the people that come to get there mail , Now this Sea Biscuit craze is going around and the postmaster thought that Charley being that old was probably around when the race horse was , So when Charley came for the mail she said Charley what do you know about Sea Biscuit and he replied Lady I don’t know much about cookin
Another true story about a man that was or is a little or a lot hard of hearing the was a relative that got married in Butte and the reception was at the Deep Creek Ski place
after the ceremony in Butte it about a 45minet drive to the Ski Place we happened to get the before the crowd including the Band . Now this place has very little parking space any thing over a half a dozen cars would have to park by the hyway and walk up to the lodge . the two brother inlaw’s got the beer keg taped and had a good start on drinking when the main crowd started to come the one beer drinker said I wonder were the RestRoom are at, and the hard hearing guy looked out the window and said hell there an’t noroom for them to park when they do get here ,he thought he said I wonder were the rest of them are at,
Water, Erosion, Drought, Natural Resources , & Stupidity.
We all learned in the first or second grade in school about water and without water there would be no life of any kind on earth ,
When God made the world he gave it water in abundance and since he has given us no more and has taken none away ,no matter how hard we try we can’t get ride of our water , we freeze it ,we boil it, we pollute with all kinds of chemicals , top soil, and all kinds of pollutant ,but still in a given time it will come back pure water, the only water that is leaving this earth is what the astronauts take with them in space,and they probably bring most or all of it back to earth , I don’t know about that.
So it seems that there is no water leaving the earth and no water coming in to earth , so what water we had in the beginning we still have on earth . It does much damage to all life on earth every year ,except maybe the fish, a large percent of the fish survive water catastrophe’s . Floods cause a lot damage world wide every year,take a lot of lives and take a lot of good top soil to the ocean , with the human population growing by leaps and bounds every year and our good soil going away every year , it seems to me that it won’t be to long and the earth won’t be able to feed the people ,and also every year thousands and thousands of acre’s are taking out of production in the way of subdivision , highway’s , airports, urban sprawl, and etc, the land that is taken out is most of the time our best soil. and the better climate for growing things , so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see were this is going.
I often think of all the money the Army Core of Engineer’s spend on levee’s and dykes on the Mississippi River every year, and could it be a waste of time and money,could it be better spent at the headwaters of all the big rivers that feed the Mississippi ,and build dams on most of the creeks and lakes in the Rocky mountains would that not be better flood control ? than trying to stop the flooding at Sea level or below sea level, if this would have been done in the good old days ,before the N double C.. and cruel and unusual punishment , with the convicts they could have done a lot of dam’s and reservoir’s rather cheep, it seems to me that with hand tools , wheelbarrows, pick and shovel , elbow grease , and engenuety a lot of dames and water storage could have been built at a very low cost,