Oct. 10 – On this day in Montana history in 1918 the Yellowstone Monitor in Glendive printed the entire statement of Jude A.C. Spencer in sentencing former Dawson County Clerk and Recorder R.L. Wyman to not less than six years nor more than 12 years at hard labor for sedition. In the dark days of WWI near hysteria gripped Montana and the rest of the nation and Spencer’s questioning of the good of the war led to his conviction. But even the judge seemed conflicted:  “It hardly seems possible to me that any man who has occupied the position that you have … can be guilty of the offense of which the verdict on the jury has found you.”  

Oct. 9 – On this day in Montana history in 1902 a long column in the Dupuyer Acantha reminds us that few things in entertainment are new. Almost in the same language as Martha Stewart uses in her popular television show, the writer shows the reader how to make a “pretty table fernery” at home. “Make a birch bark box six inches wide, nine inches long,” it begins. “Gather, during a walk through the woods, an armful of ferns selecting perfect ones.” With a few more flourishes and touches– voila – “it’s a good thing” for your table. 

Oct. 5 – On this day in Montana history in 1877 a dramatic attempt that began in Oregon by Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce to outrun the U.S. Army and escape to Canada came to a tragic end at the Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains in northern Montana. Although it is now disputed, Chief Joseph was quoted by a reporter at the surrender to Gen. Oliver Howard and Col. Nelson Miles: “Hear me my chiefs, I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

Oct. 4 – On this day in Montana history in 1902 a grizzly and fiery train wreck on the Northern Pacific Railroad between Park City and Columbus killed two and injured many others. Passengers had to be cut from smoking cars. The Billings Gazette struck out angrily in the lead paragraph of its story on the crash: “Although nobody could be found who seemed to know, or knowing would tell; the facts when they leak out will probably show that somebody was responsible for the collision.” 

Oct. 3 – On this day in Montana history in 1907 a car owned by legendary Montana sheep rancher Charles Bair set the automobile world record for five-miles at the Helena fairgrounds horse track. The winning time was five minutes and 17 seconds. The car was a steam driven Stanley nicknamed “Whistling Willie.”

Oct. 2 – On this day in Montana history in 1901 Edward Brady was lynched by a vigilante mob in Helena. Brady, who had been in trouble with the law before, had been accused of sexually molesting an adolescent girl two days before the lynching, and she had identified him to authorities. Vigilantes had taken Brady from the jail and hung him from a telephone poll with the order: “Pull Away, Boys!” That same day a County Coroner’s Jury found: “We, the jury find that James E. Brady came to his death at a place called the Haymarket in Helena … between 1:30 and 2:30 at the hands of unknown parties.” Whether it was justice or not, it was swift.

Brought to you by your friends at the Montana Historical Society

Oct. 1 – On this day in Montana history in 1952 President Harry S. Truman was in Montana to dedicate the $102,900,000 Hungry Horse Dam. Speaking to a capacity crowd at Flathead County High School gymnasium, Truman took the opportunity to attack “power monopolies,” the Republican Party and then Gen. Dwight Eisenhower of standing in the way of public power development. Truman praised Montana Sen. Mike Mansfield for his tireless work in getting the dam built.