April 10, 2007 Montana Nuggets Newsletter

Enjoy the diverse stories in this issue of our newsletter. And you can get it directly by signing up on our website: www.ultimatemontana.com

In This Issue:
• Greycliff Prairie Dog State Park
• 5 Things You Might Not Know About Lewis and Clark
• On This Day… April 3, 1996
• 1790s History Mystery Stones


Greycliff Prairie Dog Park
By John and Durrae Johanek

Springtime in Montana, the shoulder season, the time of year when we walk around in shorts and T-shirts one day and shovel 8 inches of snow the next. In a spring blizzard we stubbornly put out patio furniture on our decks, because we just know we’ll be enjoying it tomorrow. If cabin fever has you looking for signs of life, it’s time to head to Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park.

Its denizens, black-tailed prairie dogs, also are welcoming spring, looking for the first green shoots of vegetation to push up through the snow. This rodent reservation is an actual “town” complete with its own exit off the interstate a few miles east of Big Timber. It has neighborhoods, a social structure, and even crime.
Although there are many of these towns across central and eastern Montana, Greycliff has the most accessible and easily viewed residents. Pull up to an active mound, and the dogs will disappear, but within a few minutes curiosity wins out. The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is native and unique to North America and colonizes primarily grazing lands from Canada to the Southwest.
So many other animals depend on prairie dogs for food and shelter that if the dogs were to disappear it would be devastating to eagles, hawks, foxes, and black-footed ferrets. They’d also be missed by burrowing owls, badgers, and rattlesnakes, who frequently move into abandoned burrows. The mountain plover uses the town’s gravelly habitat for nesting.
Each burrow is surrounded by a mound of dirt that serves as a handy lookout against danger. A soaring golden eagle, for example, will cause the “watch dog” to go into action: he twitches his tail and signals the others with a series of high-pitched “barks,” earning the species its name. The rules apply to locals as well: no dog may stray into another’s territory or it will be chased away.
Greycliff exists because of Livingston wildlife photographer Edward Boehm, who was instrumental in preserving the site when the interstate was built. Assisting was The Nature Conservancy, the Montana Department of Highways, and Fish, Wildlife & Parks. As at any of Montana’s state parks, signs warn you to keep your pets on a leash, which is especially important here because prairie dogs carry fleas, which in turn transmit plague (not likely a problem, but it nearly wiped out a colony at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge). Besides, loose dogs harass wildlife and ruin the experience for others. Please obey the signs that ask you to not feed the prairie dogs! No matter how cute or hungry they appear, breadcrumbs or your well-meaning popcorn wreaks havoc with their digestive system and habituates them to humans, making them less wild. Your good intentions could kill them, and lord knows they’ve already got their hands full with interstate traffic.



5 Things You Might Not Know About Lewis and Clark

1. What was the total cost of the entire Lewis and Clark expedition?
$38,000.

2. How long did it take Lewis and Clark to portage the eighteen miles around the five waterfalls of Great Falls?
Thirty-two days.

3. How much did Lewis earn for his efforts during the trip?
Forty dollars per month. Clark earned $25 per month; the privates earned $5 per month, and Sacajawea and York earned nothing.

4. Approximately how old was Sacajawea when she and her infant son joined the Lewis and Clark party?
Fifteen or sixteen.

5. How many years after the Lewis and Clark expedition ended did it take William Clark to receive the promotion Lewis promised him, from lieutenant to captain?
195 years. It was awarded by President Bill Clinton.

From “Montana Trivia” by Janet Spencer, published by Riverbend Publishing
$10 + $2 S & H Call toll free 866-787-2363
Montana Quizzes available free to any publication, contact Janet@TriviaQueen.com



On This Day…April 3, 1996
Theodore Kaczynski, the so-called Unabomber, is arrested by the FBI at his cabin outside of Lincoln, Montana. Kaczynski is charged with crafting and planting at least 16 mail bombs over 18 years, killing 3 people and injuring more than 20. Kaczynski is described as a hermit by some Lincoln locals, “a nice guy.” With the FBI came the media, swarming into Montana and questioning many in the area.

Kaczynski was a math genius with academic papers published and considered to be on tenure-track, before leaving the academic world. His madness, genius, trial, guilt and innocence are still debated, with books published about him; references made to his life in works on the brain and psychology; and websites dedicated to his life, writings and discussions of his case.


1790s History Mystery Stones

In 1956, four miles northeast of Wibaux, a farmer noticed some curious stones he was clearing from his fields. The stones had carved in them the names of Dean, Mead, Neil, Pike and Watson, and included a minister and two women. All of the stones have two crosses engraved on them also say “1791, June 18, killed in the raid”. James Mead’s stone states he was killed in 1790, and Rev. Neil’s has four crosses on it. Why the mystery? Who were these people and what were they doing here years before Lewis & Clark explored the area? Scholars have attempted to solve the mystery, but haven’t found anything conclusive. None of the names were found in the records of the Hudson Bay Company or in any of the Canadian fur companies during that period. Were they even trappers? What explanation is their for the women and the minister? And who survived to carve the stones?

Going Dutch In Churchill

Here's the recent feature article in our Montana Nuggets Newsletter...

Going Dutch In Churchill
By John and Durrae Johanek, Authors of Montana Folks

In 1980 when Cornelia Flikkema closed her Churchill, Montana, coffee shop known for its Dutch specialties, the local school asked her to host a fundraising supper. She optimistically prepared food for 400 people—600 showed up. Today, you’ll likely stand in line with at least a thousand other dinner guests at the Manhattan Christian School each March. This is the annual Dutch Dinner—the social event of the year in this predominantly Dutch town about 20 miles west of Bozeman.

Although the last Friday in March in snowy Montana seems like a strange time to host a major event, in farming towns like Churchill there’s good reason. It’s near the beginning of the planting season in prime potato country—any later and there would be no volunteers. And it’s the volunteers who make the dinner a success by donating time and the majority of the food. Even the local retirement home gets into the act by peeling the tons of potatoes that go into stamppot—the Dutch delicacy that’s the heart of the feast.

One might think that for a dinner party this size you’d need a dining room the size of a gymnasium, and that’s exactly where it’s held. The meal is served cafeteria style at four stations, each offering a different specialty. The main course, stamppot, is four globs of mashed potatoes flavored with kale, rutabaga, cabbage, and carrots. But to do it up right, you need to douse your spud piles with a ladle full of bacon fat and bits from the nearby crockpots.

Is that exploding arteries you hear? It’s tough to tell over the thunder of wooden shoes pounding the hardwood stage as the school’s klompen dancers perform in full Dutch attire. One year there were no klompen dancers—yikes—but public outcry brought them back.

Before the butter-drenched klont settles, loosen your belt and waddle over to the dessert table if you dare. Desserts are à la carte and with good reason—you won’t be able to stop at just one. Take a seat on the bleachers, enjoy the crowd, and notice how few people are actually overweight.

In more than 25 years the menu hasn’t changed, but nobody is complaining. The supper still draws folks from throughout Montana plus quite a few out-of-staters. Still, the organizers sometimes wonder if the supper will remain popular. Will attendance slump? Will people get tired of the same menu? Yeah, right—like the thought of snert doesn’t make you salivate.


Directions: South of Interstate 90 at the Manhattan exit, in Churchill.

For more information: 406-282-7261; last Friday of March; 4:00 to 7:30 p.m.


The Johaneks’ second book Montana Folks is available at Amazon.com.

Montana History: Kid Curry and The Wild Bunch

I hope you enjoy this "Wild West" part of Montana's past....

For some 10 to 15 years the four Curry brothers, Henry, John, Loney and Harvey (The Kid) made the Little Rockies their home and headquarters. Their real name was Logan and the fact that they came to Montana under an assumed name suggests that their past was not pristine before they arrived here in the 1890s. The brothers, along with Harry Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid) and Butch Cassidy made up the infamous “Wild Bunch.”

Bill Kellerman was an orphan, befriended and adopted by the colorful Pike Landusky. Kellerman recalls, “A Christmas dance was being held in Landusky. That night the Curry Gang shot up the town, including the dance hall. They shot the piano to splinters, broke guitars over the musicians’ heads and generally wrecked the place. The Curry boys were pretty active around the old mining camp the first few months after I arrived. One time, three or four of them rode into a pool hall and played a game on horseback. One of the horses broke through the floor and horse and rider dropped into a dirt cellar. They were always coming into town, getting liquored up and shooting up the camp.”

The Currys had a special beef with Pike Landusky. At one time, the Currys and Landusky were neighbors and got along fine for several years. But somewhere along the line a feud started between them over Loney Curry’s courtship of Landusky’s daughter. Pike had a chance to vent his anger one day when two of the brothers John and Harvey “The Kid” were arrested for altering a cattle brand. Pike was the deputy sheriff and reportedly roughed them up pretty good while they were incarcerated. The brothers were released for lack of evidence and swore revenge on Pike.

Christmas of 1894 Pike threw a pretty good party for the town. He had four dozen quarts of Baltimore select oysters shipped in for the celebration. Word got out that Landusky was throwing a grand party. As reported in the Great Falls Tribune, “From that time until the big day the camp was all feverish activity. The big time was all the topic of conversation and fully a barrel of bourbon was licked up in considering details and devising new features. Word had gone over all that sparsely settled country that Landusky was entertaining; they all heard it and they all came.… They drifted in from the badlands 60 miles away, from grassy valleys in the foothills, from the alkali flats farther out, from remote places in the river breaks and from the gulches of far reaches of the mountains. They came in all the vehicles that were known to the time and they brought food enough to feed the multitude in the wilderness, those who didn’t get a break on the loaves and fishes.”

About 100 people showed up for the party. They danced, drank, and ate nonstop for two days and nights. But throughout the celebration there was a tenseness—a feeling that something might explode between the Currys and Landusky. On the morning of December 27th Pike made his usual mid-morning visit to Jew Jake’s saloon. Within minutes of his arrival, Kid Curry entered the saloon. He slapped Landusky on the shoulder, and when Landusky turned around his jaw received a load of knuckles. Onlookers ordered the patrons of the saloon at gunpoint not to interfere. The Kid’s blow knocked Landusky to the floor and the Kid beat him relentlessly to a bloody pulp. When he was certain Landusky was finished, he got up only to see Pike rise and draw his gun. According to the Great Falls Tribune, “It was one of the new fangled automatics that had just come out at that time, and either Pike didn’t know how to use it or it went wrong. … Anyway, it didn’t work. The Kid found himself in a moment, drew his .44 and it was all over. He shot Pike twice in the head—and missed the third time—and Pike battled no more.”

The Curry Gang rode out of town after the killing and hid on the ranch they had established south of the mountains. The ranch was strategically located for a quick get-away and was a good headquarters for the meetings of the Wild Bunch. Sheriff’s officers were sent from Fort Benton and scoured the country following up every lead in search of the Currys.

Sometime towards the spring of 1895 Kellerman recalls walking to the Curry ranch. The Kid, Longabaugh and the cook greeted him cordially and invited him in. The Kid was watching a team and buckboard headed towards the ranch through a powerful field glass. He figured it was the “law” and he and Longabaugh slipped out the back door, mounted their horses and headed for the Missouri River. Kellerman says “I was fooling with the Currys’ pet gopher when the buckboard stopped at the ranch. A man wearing a star stepped down and asked me if anyone was at home. I said ‘no’—figured the less I said the better off I’d be. I’d learned a lot in the short time I had been in Montana.”

John Curry was involved in a shooting episode at the Jim Winters ranch south of the mountains that not only resulted in his death, but, ultimately, the death of Jim Winters. Dan Tressler and his wife had separated and John Curry, whom she planned to marry, took her to a friend’s ranch on the Missouri River. Tressler sold the ranch to Jim Winters and his half-brother Abram Gill. Mrs. Tressler didn’t like the fact that she’d been cut out of the deal and persuaded John Curry to retrieve the ranch for her. Curry sent Winters a note to vacate within a certain period or face the consequences. Winters knew what the consequences would be and kept a loaded rifle behind the door. When the deadline arrived Winters saw Curry approaching the place on horseback. A few shots later, John Curry lay dead. Six months later, Jim Winters took two shots to the stomach while walking to his outhouse. Several agonizing hours later he was dead.

Later, Abram Gill sold the ranch for $10,000 to the Coburn Cattle Company. He left with a down payment check of $2,000 in hand. He and his white horse vanished somewhere between the ranch and Lundusky. No trace of him was ever found.

The robbery of the Great Northern “Flyer” at Exeter Creek was probably the most famous escapade of Kid Curry. By now his brothers were dead. John killed by Jim Winters, Loney killed by lawmen, and Henry dead from tuberculosis. This was the last robbery credited to the Wild Bunch. The holdup was believed to have been planned by Curry and Butch Cassidy.

On July 3, 1901, the “Flyer” stopped for water at Malta. Kid Curry and another accomplice boarded the train. After the train was underway, they made their way to the engine and stuck a gun in the engineer's back ordering him to stop the train. They ordered the fireman to open the express car where they proceeded to blow the safe and a load $40,000 in currency and cash into a sack. The money was never recovered and historians differ on what ultimately happened to the Kid.•

*Remember, you can view lots more Montana information at http://www.ultimatemontana.com