׉?4ׁB!בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://QZnfWKKk5ZDwbyfoQc9GaFFZ_HaYA03NTgqlzCAZ_I8`׉ 7cassandra://jAsvuinRhpHgl7bdQepRN6yTQxdLKTnwVuoiRqqh5b4͆`s׉ 7cassandra://uGwIjTWPf__6jofcFSabDzLxzMHx1oTkrB7O9bmPqSg)`hJM]8A$ט(u׈O'נhJM]8A(̏ 9ׁH#https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ׁ ׁ Ј׈EhJM]8A׉EMAY 2025 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From The Herald News, May 5, 1949 , MONTANA COWBOY HALL OF FAME M C H F L e g a c y I n d u c t e e GEORGE W. “MAC” & ANNA (ATOR) “ANNIE” MCCOY DISTRICT 1 - YEAR 2025 In 1898, recognizing ranching and grazing opportunities that would soon open up in northeastern Montana, George and Anna (Ator) McCoy made the decision to move their young family from the Stanford area of the Judith Basin in central Montana, to what would eventually become Sheridan County, Montana. By 1899, George, Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ nicknamed “Mac” and Anna, known as “Annie,” were among the first white settlers to put down roots in the area north of present-day Plentywood, Montana, and thus began a fourgeneration family legacy of Montana farming and ranching. Mac was born in 1869, near Brighton, Iowa to James and Laura (Nelson) McCoy. When he was four years old, his father died of complications from wounds suffered during the Civil War. At the age of 13, having been orphaned by the death of his mother, Mac went west to the Judith Basin with his older cousin, George Bain. Several of Mac’s Bain relatives had established ranches in the Judith Basin and it was from them that he learned the ׉ 7cassandra://uGwIjTWPf__6jofcFSabDzLxzMHx1oTkrB7O9bmPqSg)`hJM]8AhJM]8A(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://Rb7XjcNhKvwmkpDziYiciwlkd4gD-w8_iYq2cK1WTGQ `׉ 7cassandra://NOUc7QeLByOqal1oZB6cfVULLap0oI65YlzJKuV1kpU͙`s׉ 7cassandra://UFjXEF1_CskbKJaTS4XvGiuwM_QFOupbxlLqXYuDiug/`hJN]8A)ט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://U3ktK4UxBNaa1YnEIx3xFc2C-nueLsKQoZ4k5TTBFp8r`׉ 7cassandra://wuNrPyNi_T9HLq9hCHxw2rEmfHxkktsukwBU0pqsdy0͐`s׉ 7cassandra://ttLrJBkhUPRqVsRd0YG3kgJMq2v5o8iHHBc6Gi-sBvc$`hJN]8A*נhJM]8A'9׉H http://www.montanacowboyfame.orgGׁ ׁ rנhJO]8A-9ׁH http://www.montanacowboyfame.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r know-how needed to cowboy and ranch in the West. By fifteen, Mac was working the Judith Basin cattle roundups and is seen seated with Charles M. Russell and other cowboys in an 1884 photo taken at Utica, Montana. A native of Cedar County, Missouri, Annie Ator was born in 1877, to George Newton and Virginia Alice (McMillan) Ator. At a young age, Annie and her family left Missouri and migrated to Montana by overland wagon. The Ator family settled in Great Falls, Montana then later moved to Stanford. It was while Annie was working as a cook and housekeeper on the ranch of Mac’s cousin, George Bain, that she and Mac met and later married in December of 1896. Their oldest child, Clem, was born in Stanford in 1897. Mac first saw the plains of northeastern Montana in 1892, while trailing sheep from the Judith Basin to a railhead in western North Dakota. He was impressed with the vast areas of rolling hills covered with rich grasses, natural windbreaks, streams, and free flowing springs. When it became apparent that the area he had been so “taken by” in his youth would soon become available for homesteading, Mac and two of his brothers-in-law, left Stanford and headed east to stake out their ranch sites. Upon Mac’s return to Stanford, he, Annie, and her family, began planning for the move. The McCoys and Ators spent the winter of 1898-99 at Fort Benton, Montana, waiting for the arrival of steam ships bringing in the supplies that would be needed for the trip east, and the building of their new homes. With the coming of spring, the two families headed east by wagon. The Ators settled south of Plentywood, along what became known as Ator Creek and the McCoys to the north. A few months after arriving, Annie gave birth to the McCoy’s second child, Martha. The small family began the hard work of making a home on the banks of what is now called McCoy Creek. The only tree standing within sight, they aptly dubbed, “The Lone Tree” and it became the family’s generational marker as the place where the McCoy Ranch began. Living in a small log cabin, Mac, Annie, Clem and Martha had miles of wide open and unfenced country to themselves. Mac saw the land as a place ready-made for raising sheep, and within four years the McCoy’s were grazing over 2,500 head. As the community began to expand with the coming of more settlers, so did the entrepreneurial and community-minded spirit of the McCoy’s. Annie was often sought out by neighbors for medical care. She attended the births of many of the children born in the early days of settlement. Her obituary noted, “There was hardly a pioneer in the entire section to whose family she had not ministered”. By 1905, Annie’s work included general ranch chores, cooking for the many ranch hands who were employed throughout the year, and tending to a growing family that now included Clarence, Maggie and Jimmy. Annie’s interest in civic responsibility led her to take advantage of Montana’s early recognition of a woman’s right to vote, as her name can be found on the 1916 Sheridan County list of registered voters. Mac and Annie faced not only the hardships that naturally came with the building of a successful ranch in ׉ 7cassandra://UFjXEF1_CskbKJaTS4XvGiuwM_QFOupbxlLqXYuDiug/`hJM]8A׉E P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r an isolated area but in 1903, they endured a devastating prairie fire that destroyed their grazing land, sheep sheds and stock of winter hay. The most tragic event that struck the young family was the 1907 drowning of their two-year old son, Jimmy, in the creek that ran past their house. Unable to continue living so near to the place of Jimmy’s death, Annie filed on a Desert Land claim two miles north. The house and other buildings were then moved to the new location. It was there that two more children, Abby and Bill, were born. Mac looked to the future with a keen understanding of the changes that were happening all around the once isolated ranch. Committed to raising sheep and cattle, he seized opportunities to diversify his operation, thus allowing him to continue ranching. Seeing more and more land being broken up for farming and knowing there would be a steady need for horses that were still being used for farm work, he began importing stallions to sell and use for breeding purposes. In 1906, he and a partner traveled to Culberson, bought the area’s first horse-powered threshing machine, then began a profitable trip home by custom threshing fields from Culbertson to the Canadian border. Realizing that horsepower would eventually give way to machinery, they soon sold the thresher and bought a steam engine and Case grain separator. They again hired out, plowing land for area farmers. Mac’s resilient spirit led him to develop a variety of ways to keep his ranching operation profitable. He used the water of McCoy Creek to irrigate a large truck garden, raising a selection of vegetables including several thousand heads of cabbage. In 1936, the operation was promoted by a Sheridan County agent as an example of how area farmers could use handmade pumps to irrigate small truck gardens, raise produce for family use, then sell the excess at a considerable profit. Mac also made use of McCoy Creek during the winter by selling the ice that formed in it during the cold months. His ingenuity served him well, again, when during the dry years of the 1930s, he shipped stock to the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota for summer grazing in areas less affected by the drought. The deaths of Annie in 1933, and George in 1940, did not bring an end to their ranching legacy that was honored as a Montana Centennial Farm and Ranch in 2020. Today, a grandson and great grandsons continue to operate McCoy Farms, Inc. on the same land that brought Mac and Annie to northeastern Montana over a century ago. -Courtesy of Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, www.montanacowboyfame.org Sources: Family stories: Ardelle Hart and Dale McCoy Sheridan’s Daybreak compiled by Magnus Aasheim copyright 1970 by the Sheridan County Historical Association Library of Congress: Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers “The Producers News” (Plentywood, MT “The Searchlight” (Culbertson, MT) “Plentywood Herald” Library of Congress: Prints and Photos Division: George McCoy 1937 Montana Historical Society Research Center Montana’s Centennial Farms and Ranches, Christine Brown, Montana Historical Society Hart Family Research: 2020 ׉ 7cassandra://ttLrJBkhUPRqVsRd0YG3kgJMq2v5o8iHHBc6Gi-sBvc$`hJM]8AhJM]8A(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://RA1-NRkW3lScd5PDF5Fk0VxtiwQ54Os318rQ0nhaykM`%`׉ 7cassandra://sPuZBHRiJcx56LmGSiGAyartOvrML1N3Gi4uPdVI3Rsͩi`s׉ 7cassandra://BtnB-gK1ILJhKoZdrkEhBJqEl_lQYOQqrjXLHhFLFDQ.u`hJO]8A.ט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://mc0sYXxUUagVPHAt8gMhOqNq-AVqhQB49Zqvm0KC-Hg]`׉ 7cassandra://aSEpjxrC6I1Kqm4vhHmWtK4HCO2JpA0FE0eVeShGZKk͜`s׉ 7cassandra://43D4skzlJyyEHEruL8okVUiRUUB-CRONeqOa8XhTNjw-`hJO]8A/נhJN]8A, 9׉Hhttps://www.nwmt-ffla.org/Gׁ ׁ rנhJO]8A2 9ׁHhttps://www.nwmt-ffla.org/ׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r The Green Campbell Mine -Silver Star, Montana Considered to be one of the first and most prosperous mines in Montana during its tenure, the Green Campbell Mine stands abandoned as a relic to the state’s rich mining history. In 1866, a prospector named Green Campbell discovered gold on a hillside just outside of what is today the town of Silver Star, Montana. Campbell would quickly patent his new mining claim, becoming the first entry in the Montana Book of Patent Records. The mine was the first in the area and became known as the “Green Campbell Mine.” Because he had no interest or experience as a mine developer, Campbell quickly sold his mining claim to two investors from Ohio, named Salisbury and Everett. They officially commenced operations a year later. Although the site was primarily used to mine gold, it also produced silver, copper, and quartz, as well. By 1870, in fact, the Green Campbell Mine was considered the most valuable quartz mine in the county and prompted the introduction of other mines in the immediate area, including the Broadway, Hudson, and Iron Rod Mines. Throughout its lifetime, the Green Campbell Mine would see many different owners with a lot of varying success. The mine exchanged hands so many times that nailing down every past owner is almost impossible. By 1877, the mine was struggling to stay open. A new company, the William Morris & Co. of Virginia City purchased the mine and immediately went about updating and removing the problem areas in the mine, to include outfitting it with a new mill and pumps to adequately keep water out of the mine’s underground sections. By 1903, the Photo by @exploringwithesch Photo by @exploringwithesch mine had produced over $250,000 in profit and was purchased by a new set of owners from Connecticut, known as the Green Campbell Consolidated Gold Mining Company. Unfortunately by 1907, things were not going well for the company. A June 1907 issue of Mining World was quoted as saying, “The Green Campbell Consolidated Gold Mining Company which has been struggling against adversity is about to go out of existence.” The company had apparently put a lot of money into building a new mill to process the ore from the mine, but the mill was receiving an inadequate amount of water to run properly. The cost of constructing the mill had already crippled the company, but with the mill seemingly inoperable, the company was completely sunk. Things remained quiet at the mine until 1937, when a man named Walter Giebel created the “Green Campbell Mining Company” and purchased the property. Unlike its predecessor, Giebel’s ׉ 7cassandra://BtnB-gK1ILJhKoZdrkEhBJqEl_lQYOQqrjXLHhFLFDQ.u`hJM]8A׉E P a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r new company began mining operations immediately and turned a profit. The mine’s renewed success would be short-lived though. In August of 1942, the U.S. was thoroughly engaged in World War II and in great need of reallocating resources to help the war effort. As a result, the War Production Board mandated gold mining operations across the country be shutdown to focus on mining natural resources needed Photo by @exploringwithesch for the war. Unfortunately, this government mandate essentially sealed the fate of this historic mine, leaving its buildings and machinery to sit and rot in Montana’s harsh seasonal weather conditions. Recently, (as of 2020), the Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society published a newsletter briefly detailing the history of the Green Campbell Mine and claiming that a group known as the “Kennecott Exploration Company” was testing in and around the old mine to see if it could potentially be reopened with minimal servicing. Whether the Green Campbell Mine reopens or not, it remains a wonderful relic of the town of Silver Star, and a significant piece of Montana’s rich mining history. - @exploringwithesch Photo by @exploringwithesch If you enjoy abandoned and/or historical media, please consider joining me in the adventure on Instagram, Facebook, Atlas Obscura & YouTube: @exploringwithesch Robert’s Lookout was established as a crows nest lookout in a tree in 1920. In 1924 the wooden 6 x 6 cab and the 40 foot tower were built. The lookout sat on Roberts Mountain just west of Fortine. Locals called it “Shorty’s Lookout” for Ross “Shorty” Young who was stationed there from 1924 to 1943. He was a trapper, a brick mason, a machinist, gunsmith, and cook par excellence. Young’s usual Forest Service duties were maintaining trails and repairing telephone lines before spending the fire season on the lookout. After the fire season, he constructed new trails until the work season was over. The tower was last used in 1962 and moved to the Tobacco Valley Museum in 1979 after it was donated to the museum by the Forest Service. –Thank you to Terry Divoky for coordinating with Darris Flanagan to complete an interpretive sign to help tell the story of this lookout. –Courtesy of The Northwest Montana Lookout Association, For more info, visit their website at: https://www.nwmt-ffla.org/ Photo by @exploringwithesch Photo Courtesy NMLA ׉ 7cassandra://43D4skzlJyyEHEruL8okVUiRUUB-CRONeqOa8XhTNjw-`hJM]8AhJM]8A(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://9jkZj41cP3qGYjFVC8q2ynfdptoFKpG2RcBk64gdesg"`׉ 7cassandra://7u040ZdWurF8Fuu88RQ2q1WpmfblqE4D1rJmAy84MSg͐}`s׉ 7cassandra://SyBT400jiDP3kvvJWsIz1r-a7f3SkwNgRNWfgidkkUs'`hJP]8A3ט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://rC5JIuno7jCkuwH3fdtNkTMVu4Vlk1Y3dsEds8IqnGw`׉ 7cassandra://BaMBmu25S4Y9eqNXJWt5amtbSRZuzqB8XJRaypNq8W8͓`s׉ 7cassandra://SWNm57mkHZTM_hCJ3Ge_2YeAzeM8qAk5sg92n54ZGTc*`hJP]8A4׉E P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY-continued From The Livingston Enterprise, January 1, 1900: Livingston Water Works. In the organization of a city one of the most important items to be considered for the welfare of its residents is a complete water works system—one that can be relied upon for supplying an abundance of water at all seasons, as well as an unchangeable amount of it in a pure and healthful condition. Early in 1889, Isaac Orschel, Charles H. Stebbins and Samuel Bundock, residents of Livingston, were granted a franchise to supply the city with water for a period of twenty years; and soon after it was resolved into the organization of the Livingston Water Works, with a capital stock of $50,000. The works were not completed until the summer of 1890, since which time they have been in constant and uninterrupted operation. The water works plant is situated on the bank of the Yellowstone river at the foot of Third street. It is built of stone and brick, 25x60 feet, and contains the pumps and motive power for furnishing water by gravity and direct pressure. The reservoir is situated one-half mile west of Park street, and has a capacity of 350,000 gallons. Its elevation above Main street is 180 feet, giving an eighty-pound pressure at the hydrants. This reservoir is built of solid masonry, while a double roof protects its contents from surface impurities. A well, fourteen feet in circumference, and located sixty feet from the river, supplies it with water by filtering through the intervening gravel beds. This well is connected with the Yellowstone by pipe, as a precaution against a possible failure in case of excessive fires. The power house contains two fifty-horse power boilers; one Dean Duplex steam pump with a capacity of 750,000 gallons per 24 hours; one Dean Compound Duplex steam pump with a capacity of 450,000 gallons per twenty-four hours, and one Bar pump with a capacity of one and one-half million gallons per twentyfour hours. Experts say that the city of Livingston, for its size, has the finest water works system in the state of Montana. The system of mains originally covered a total distance of about five miles, while at convenient points for fire purposes were located twenty-five double-discharge hydrants. Today, there are about eight miles of mains, ranging in diameter from four to ten inches, while fifty-three double-discharge hydrants are necessary for the city’s protection. The present officers of the company are : President, W. J. Anderson; vice-president, Chas. Angus; secretary, E. C. Day; treasurer, T. M. Swindlehurst ; consulting engineer and superintendent, E. C. Ross. So complete is this plant, and so satisfactory are its operations that it is impossible to find one grumbler throughout its present flourishing patronage, while the existing healthfulness throughout Livingston can Water Works Plant ׉ 7cassandra://SyBT400jiDP3kvvJWsIz1r-a7f3SkwNgRNWfgidkkUs'`hJM]8A׉EP a g e 7 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r without doubt be traced to its humane water works company. Northern Pacific Shops. One of the most important enterprises located at Livingston is the Northern Pacific machine and repair shops. They were constructed at this point during the summer of 1883. Of all the rival towns desiring their location, Livingston was selected on account of its central location from terminal points. From a monthly disbursement of $5,000, it has grown to a monthly pay roll of $25,000 in the machinery department alone, while an average of $40,000 is placed in circulation through the payroll of the operating department which includes dispatchers, trainmen, switchmen, telegraph, bridge and repairing crews, all contributing directly to the prosperity of Livingston. Bird’s Eye View of Northern Pacific Shops Crew of Employees of Northern Pacific Shops The machinery department proper consists of a group of buildings including the following: Machine shop, 120x202 ½ feet. Engine house, 26x36 feet. Boiler house, 38x38 feet. Blacksmith shop, 43x212 feet. Storeroom and offices, 44x100 feet. Car shops, 67x152 feet. Inspector’s office, 16x18 feet. Roundhouse, fifteen stalls. Oil house, 20x30 feet, capacity 18,204 gallons. Lumber sheds, 19 ½x51½ feet. Platform, 46x152 feet. Iron and coal house, 76x72 feet. Turntable, diameter 54 feet. Chimney, height 115 feet. Two coal bunkers with a capacity of 1,000 tons each. Two water tanks. This plant with its machinery represents an expenditure of nearly half a million dollars and is under the supervision of Master Mechanic W. S. Clarkson and General Foreman H. V. Haskell. The machine shop, the largest of the group, is under the supervision of Foreman George Strickland. It is filled with machinery of the latest pattern and design for making and fitting parts necessary to repair disabled engines. Although its capacity has been increasing each year, yet its present equipment enables it to completely rebuild seven locomotives each month. Upon the tracks that traverse the building and connect it with the roundhouse may be seen engines in all stages of repair, while a small copMachine Department of the Northern Pacific Shops ׉ 7cassandra://SWNm57mkHZTM_hCJ3Ge_2YeAzeM8qAk5sg92n54ZGTc*`hJM]8AhJM]8A(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://m1H8Un0h0yBLKEPPYLREjlAoMO94ktyaatVDjiediDI`׉ 7cassandra://rdH7ACoPwtbrMbpRpVWXvWyQqrD7fe2UdeAln6akLUk͕`s׉ 7cassandra://kgoK7_61x1JsDu2eMk0guDzsl-aJoEsrLxGEv-tjBmA*``hJP]8A8ט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://D6mcJdk6R4HintGCZ5XVMrC6TCtzopfkeIv3Amq51tcb`׉ 7cassandra://6-AbbUIFjUVOv6IpSVL4lmxvNaSczoAWUnLtOM5wIOA͟D`s׉ 7cassandra://pbC5NPTg2T7SOQdhnfeRbU7KaErBNHIS93rjNlKlbkA)``hJQ]8A9נhJP]8A6\9׉HRhttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UL6TZCWUUTCWNGׁ ׁ rנhJP]8A7cE9׉Hhttp://www.garnetghosttown.org/Gׁ ׁ rנhJQ]8AAcL9ׁHhttp://www.garnetghosttown.org/ׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 8 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r per and tin shop graces a corner room, thus enabling the covering and burnishing of the engines. The boiler shop is the next in size, being devoted to the building and rebuilding of boilers and their accompaniments, G. M. Wilson is the foreman, while the blacksmith shops are under the supervision of James Towers. In these departments the boilers of locomotives are overhauled and repaired preparatory to turning them over to the force in the machine shops, to which they are readily conveyed by means of the complete system of tracks in use. The blacksmith shops also supply such iron and steelwork as may be required in all other departments, and for which its equipments are intended. The car and paint shops occupy a building 67x152 feet, under the foremanship of Millard Lashorn. In the car department all repair work for the Rocky Mountain, Montana and Yellowstone divisions of the road is done. It is fully equipped with all modern machinery for entirely rebuilding the woodwork for coaches, cabooses and cars, having during the past year turned out on an average of 600 cars of heavy and light repair work. In addition to this work the cabs, tanks and pilots of locomotives, undergoing repairs, are put in condition, or rebuilt when necessary. Boiler Department Northern Pacific Shops Carpenter Department Northern Pacific Shops The motive power for this immense plant is supplied by a handsome Atlas-Corliss engine of fifty horse power, supplied by steam from three large boilers, 54 inches in diameter and 14 feet in length. The exhaust steam from the engine is utilized in heating the entire group of buildings, which are brightly illuminated with arc and incandescent lights furnished by the electric light company. The roundhouse is a semi-circular building provided with fifteen stalls for the accommodation of engines in from a division run. Tracks from these stalls converge to a turntable, situated east of the roundhouse. Its capacity is not commensurate with the demand, while several other tracks have been laid adjoining the building for the temporary accommodation of engines. -Read More in Next Month’s Issue! Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Get your Ghost Towns of Montana Map! The size of the map is 11 x 17. It features 40 towns with a map on the front side and a little history and specific directions to the towns on the back side. The map is laminated. Send a check or money order in the amount of $20 (S & H included) to Ghost Towns & History of Montana, 99 Lampert Ranch DR, Anaconda, MT 59711. U.S. orders only, please) Or, paypal here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UL6TZCWUUTCWN ׉ 7cassandra://kgoK7_61x1JsDu2eMk0guDzsl-aJoEsrLxGEv-tjBmA*``hJM]8A׉E dP a g e 9 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r THE SHOOTING OF THOMAS H. McGUIRE Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz L. R. Bumbaugh of Garnet last Saturday afternoon shot and seriously wounded Thomas H. McGuire, another resident of the Bear Gulch metropolis. Mr. Bumbaugh had for some time past been in charge of the Mussigbrod mill at Garnet and several parties who had been discharged laid the blame for this on Mr. Bumbaugh and harbored a grievance against him on that account. Among these parties was Tom McGuire, who had the reputation of being a bad man. For this and other reasons, Mr. Bumbaugh always carried a revolver when alone at work in the mill at night. The night before the shooting there was a dance at Garnet and McGuire, with others, celebrated the event by staying up all night and drinking, and this celebration continued well into the day--Saturday. About 3 o'clock that afternoon while Bumbaugh went after his lunch bucket preparatory to going on shift he was met on the street by McGuire and several others. McGuire was spoiling for a fight and without much ceremony pitched in on Bumbaugh. He struck him and then clinched and was getting a strangle hold on him when Bumbaugh managed to get out his gun and fired. The ball entered McGuire in the breast and ranging upward lodged in the shoulder. Mr. Bumbaugh gave himself up to constable Elkins and was brought to Philipsburg the same evening. He is now at the county jail awaiting a hearing. This will be had as soon as it is known whether or not McGuire will recover, which now seems probable. Thomas H. McGuire is the same man who figured as the victim in a saloon row in Garnet in January, 1899. He was stabbed five times on that occasion and recovered. The parties who "done him up" at that time were Mike and John Lavelle, Joe Irwin and Dan McPherson. They were tried in the district court here and acquitted, it having been shown that McGuire was a quarrelsome man and always hunting for trouble. He had no doubt not profited by his experience in 1899 and contained his search for trouble until he again found it. There is very little sympathy for him this time, and it is generally accepted that Bumbaugh was justified in shooting his assailant. Mr. Bumbaugh has been a popular resident of Garnet and vicinity for many years. He is a peaceable man, who minds his own business, and has never done anybody any harm. His reputation is that of an enterprising and peaceful citizen. Mr. Bubaugh fully realizes the position into which he has been forced and no one regrets the unfortunate affair more than he does; but he, no doubt, considered his own life in most imminent danger when he resorted to the use of his revolver. Dr. Peter S. Mussigbrod, it is stated, has interested himself in Mr. Bumbaugh's behalf, and he has also the sympathy of every good citizen in the community where he has resided for so many years. The latest reports from Garnet concerning McGuire are that he is resting easy but is very weak. Dr. A. N. Chamberlain extracted the bullet last Monday and since then his patient has been doing fairly well and the chances of his recovery are favorable.—Courtesy of our friends at the Garnet Preservation Association, Find out more about them and their work or about visiting and supporting Garnet Ghost Town at: http://www.garnetghosttown.org/ May 1901 Philipsburg Mail Compliments of Jennie Pak ׉ 7cassandra://pbC5NPTg2T7SOQdhnfeRbU7KaErBNHIS93rjNlKlbkA)``hJM]8AhJM]8A(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://fmFcI_wxeJSspgxwiQhhiGhD4SeMlbfFivqkrmQps8Ma`׉ 7cassandra://fBidEjsgNPzecEXoZxtj4v7LtrDVNt5PltMcgj5wdJE͖`s׉ 7cassandra://lKEEKL5RML_w0zwNiRiBb9RpuPCTAE7gc7AbPKvpkCo* `hJQ]8ABנhJQ]8A<K>*9׉H0http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.htmlGׁ ׁ rנhJQ]8A=LP9׉H0http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.htmlGׁ ׁ rנhJQ]8A>\b9׉HMhttps://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/05/29/in-search-of-the-flathead-lake-monster/Gׁ ׁ rנhJQ]8ADLQ 9ׁH%http://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/myׁ ׁ Ј׉E vP a g e 10 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Flathead Monster Captain James Kerr, piloting the U.S. Grant on Flathead Lake in 1889, made the first recorded sighting of a mysterious creature in Flathead Lake. He and his passengers saw a 20-foot object swimming in the steamboat’s path. Passengers panicked. One man fired at it and missed. The boat nearly capsized and the creature disappeared. Since then, there have been nearly 100 sightings. One of the most credible was that of retired army major George Cote and his son Neal in 1985. Trolling in Yellow Bay, they saw an object "…as long as a telephone pole and twice as large in diameter." As it slowly undulated, they counted four to six humps above the water. It then sped away, stopped, looked back, and disappeared underwater. They knew that no one would believe them and kept quiet. Then in 1987, Major Cote again saw the creature as he drove along old Highway 93 near Lakeside. This time the entire head, body and tail were visible. Cote wrote of his encounters to Fish Wildlife and Parks in 1990. As a veteran fisherman, he knew what he saw. He had no doubt that it was a huge creature. FWP biologist Laney Hanzel has never seen the monster but has observed huge holes in nets officials have pulled from the lake. Even renowned Whitefish author Dorothy Johnson believed there was something in the lake. In a letter to the editor of the Flathead Courier, Johnson wrote: "I don't think the monster should be done with tongue in cheek. You have eyewitness accounts by people who were scared and didn't think it was funny. I remember hearing about something in Flathead Lake more than forty years ago, so don't give the Polson Chamber of Commerce credit for dreaming it up…." And back in the dim past, the Kootenai Indians had a name for the lake they passed down through generations. They called it “Monster Lake.” -Ellen Baumler Compiled by Laney Hanzel Documented sightings of "something" in Flathead Lake Ellen Baumler was an award-winning author and Montana historian. A master at linking history with modern-day supernatural events, Ellen's true stories have delighted audiences across the state. The legacy she left behind will be felt for generations to come and we are in debt to her for sharing her extensive knowledge of Montana history in such an entertaining manner. To view and purchase Ellen’s books, visit: http:// ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html My/Donor Information: SUBSCRIBE TO THE GHOST TOWNS AND HISTORY OF MONTANA NEWSLETTER! Renewal? Y/N Send a Gift to: NAME____________________________________ NAME___________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________ CITY______________________________________ CITY_____________________________________ STATE__________________ZIP________________STATE_________________ ZIP________________ Yearly subscriptions are $19.95 (published monthly). Please make checks payable to Ghost Towns & History of MT, LLC and send with this clipping to 99 Lampert Ranch DR, Anaconda, MT 59711 ©2025 Ghost Towns and History of Montana, LLC. All rights reserved. ׉ 7cassandra://lKEEKL5RML_w0zwNiRiBb9RpuPCTAE7gc7AbPKvpkCo* `hJM]8A"׈EhJM]8A#hJM]8A"(,%Ghost Towns & History of MT- May 2025rJoin us for photos and stories on the people and places that made us who we are here in Big Sky Country, Montana! hJHO'