It Happened in Montana: Remarkable Events That Shaped History

by James A. Crutchfield

Overview

Author James A. Crutchfield has mined thirty-seven of the most colorful episodes from Montana's provocative past—from the first glimpse of French explorers of the "Shining Mountains" in 1743 to the attempt to round up the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains. These episodes are a lively look at life in the Wild West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762771943
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/01/2016
Series:	It Happened in the West
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

James A. Crutchfield is a popular western historian and the author of more than fifty books, including several other It Happened In books. In 2015 he was inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement in Western History and Literature. He lives in Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Preface x

A First Glimpse of the Shining Mountains, Bighorn Range-1743 1

Lewis's Confrontation with the Blackfeet, Marias River-1806 4

John Colter's Sprint for Life, Three Forks-1808 7

The Birth and Death of a Fur Company, Billings-1823 10

Mike Fink: A Rowdy at Henrys Fort, Fort Henry-1823 13

Prince Maximilian: Tourist Royale, Fort Mckenzie-1833 16

Father DeSmet's Chapel in the Pines, St. Mary's-1841 19

Liver-Eating Johnston's Gruesome Revenge, Northwestern Montana-1843 22

Crazy Woman Morgan and the Massacre, Musselshell River-1846 25

Fort Benton: Mecca on the Upper Missouri, Fort Benton-1860 28

The Golden Cornerstone, Alder Gulch-1862 31

Blood on the Bozeman Trail, Fort C. F. Smith-1863 34

The Innocents at the End of Their Rope, Virginia City-1864 37

Jim Beckwourth: Adopted Son of the Crows, Statewide-1866 40

Shoot-Out in the Hay Fields, Fort C. F. Smith-1867 43

Pointing Them North on the Texas Trail, Central Montana-1870 46

King Copper, Butte-1876 49

A Sioux Chief's Account of Custer's Last Stand, Little Bighorn-1876 53

"I Will Fight No More Forever," Bear Paw Battlefield-1877 57

The Slaughter of the Buffalo, Miles City-1883 60

The Hard Winter, Statewide-1886-87 63

"Lady" Cameron: Montana Photographer, Terry-1889 66

Bicycles vs. Horses: Providing Transportation for the US Army, Fort Missoula-1896-97 69

The Birth of Glacier National Park, Glacier-1910 76

Shelby's Day of Glory, Shelby-1923 79

Charlie Russell: Cowboy Artist Extraordinaire, Judith Basin-1926 82

Plenty Coups: Chief of the Crows, Pryor-1932 85

Smoke jumpers to the Rescue, Missoula-1939 88

From Montana to Hollywood, Helena-1941 91

Jeannette Rankin: A Dove in Congress, Missoula-1941 94

Will James: Montana's Mystery Man, Billings-1942 97

The Killer Quake, Hebgen Lake-1959 100

The Wild Horses of the Pryor Mountains, Pryor Mountains-1969 102

The Centennial Cattle Drive, Statewide-1989 104

A. B. Guthrie: Literary Giant, Great Falls-1991 107

The Capture of the Unabomber, Lincoln-1996 110

Tracking Early Humans in Montana, Wilsall-2014 114

Montana Facts & Trivia 121

Further Reading 123

Index 125

About the Author 131