Incident at Murray Bar Was One for the Books BY DAVID S. LEWIS Livingston, Montana, has attracted more than its share of celebrities over the years. No one knows why. Some enjoy greater prominence than others, and in July 2000, one of the more notable, a prominent female journalist—beautiful, intelligent, experienced—happened to stroll into the Murray Bar, and an encounter … [Read more...]
Virginia City, Montana’s First Incorporated Town, Born in Gold
BY RICK AND SUSIE GRAETZ Returning home to Bannack from a gold-searching trip in the Yellowstone Valley, six tired prospectors were captured by the Crow Indians. Had it not been for the quick thinking of one of them, their consequent good luck wouldn't have come about. Showing no fear and trying to prove to the captors he had special powers, Bill Fairweather placed a … [Read more...]
Doing Nothing, Again
It's Something to Do BY DAVID S. LEWIS 8-15-15 Last spring, if you recall, we landed in Pescadero, Mexico, and did absolutely nothing for a week while living in a casita on the beach, sleeping under a palapa roof, the senses pounded into gelatinous submission by a thundering Pacific surf. Had in mind doing something like that again in April, on the Gulf side, then … [Read more...]
Maybe You Need a Barn Cat
BY AMADA HERAUF So, you've got yourself a nice little piece of land and maybe a few horses or cattle. You enjoy the rural lifestyle, except for one thing: mice. The little varmints are causing mayhem. Laying traps everywhere is a pain and, as for poisons, well, they don't just destroy the rodents—kids, livestock, and pets can be harmed by them as well. What can you do? The … [Read more...]
John Mayer Sings the Blues Again
New Tour After Months of Rest, No Vocals Tickets went on sale recently for part-time Pine Creek, Mont., resident John Mayer’s first major tour in three years. The Blues artist goes officially vocal July 6 at SummerFest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with American Idol’s Phillip Phillips as his opening act. Suffering from vocal problems caused by the stress of constant touring and … [Read more...]
Drivers Often Break Cell Phone Law
The Technique for Avoiding Police Detection: “Cop Drop” BY QUINCY ORHAI The driver of the SUV turns the corner in downtown Bozeman and sees the patrol car ahead in the oncoming lane. Instantly, the cell phone pressed to the drivers ear drops to his lap. As the officer drives by, the motorist switches to speaker phone, and the conversation continues. Bozeman's ban on cell … [Read more...]
Apple’s Newest Gadget
You’d Better Be Sitting Down for This One TECH UPDATE With Apple’s stock in the hopper, and Steve Jobs (inventor of so many fantastic Apple gadgets) no longer with us, it seems his successor, Tim Cook, has taken up the challenge of following in the tradition of brilliant innova-tion that has come to be associated with the on-again off-again largest company in the … [Read more...]
The Search for Wolverines in the Wilds of Mongolia
Skiing Biologists Go to Extremes BY EVELYN BOSWELL A team of wildlife biologists are now skiing 400 miles through northern Mongolia, searching for signs of wolverines in the rugged, frigid mountains of the Darhad region. Headed by MSU graduate Gregg Treinish and featured on National Geographic’s education website, the researchers left Bozeman March 19. Four of the five … [Read more...]
Warning: Spring Migration Means Bison Are on the Road
Travelling to the West Yellowstone area? Be advised: wild bison migration is underway and bison are currently on or near the highways, day and night. Moving towards their calving grounds, members from the central herds roam out of Yellowstone's high elevations, snow-covered lands, toward the exposed south-facing slopes of Horse Butte and surrounding lands in the Madison … [Read more...]
Taken by the Sioux – My Ordeal Continues
Our March Into the Wilderness BY FANNY KELLY (First published in 1872) The Indians left the scene of their cruel rapacity, traveling northward, chanting their monotonous war song [after having massacred our wagon train, then kidnapped myself and my five-year old, Mary, on July 12, 1864, at Box Elder, in Wyoming, as we were headed for Montana]. After a ride of two miles, … [Read more...]
The View From Above
Up in the Air With Chris Boyer BY PAT HILL Chris Boyer of Bozeman is a pilot with a love of the land and an eye for detail. Those qualities combined with an affinity for photography and conservation have led to sometimes startling and often award-winning images in his portfolio. Boyer, who turned 49 in March, said a summer trip with his family to a Wyoming dude ranch, when … [Read more...]
Baseball is the Answer
One Kid at a Time BY DAVID S. LEWIS Looking at the world sometimes, a person wonders what’s gone wrong. Everything seems so complicated and disturbed, and few seem to possess the compass (or compassion) necessary to guide themselves from one side of life to the other. Many people have, in fact, given up, resigned themselves to cynicism and defeat. But consider … [Read more...]
You Too Can Go Postal
Dress Like a Mailman—the Post Office Hopes It Will Help BY DUSTIN HURST Who knew there would come a day when the United States Postal Service competes with the like of Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle and Hugo Boss? Yet, that day will arrive soon, as the USPS announced this week that it will create its own clothing line in a bid to generate more money. The … [Read more...]
The Gatling Gun’s Fire Power Hits the Mark for 150 Years
Say Hello to My Little Friend BY PAT HILL When Dr. Richard Gatling conceived the world's first reliable machine gun, an invention his name would come to be identified with, he probably had no idea just how far his gun would travel, both historically and technically. The six-barreled, hand-driv-en crank weapon that Gatling invented was patented in 1862, the second year of … [Read more...]
Words We Would Expunge From the English Language
BY DAVID S. LEWIS People do goofy things to the English language, and it would be better if more of you called them on their foolishness. Since you don’t, we will amuse ourselves by doing that here, and even expunge (as if) certain sayings from the lexicon of the English speaking world. In the last several years, people began saying they are over it, when they are … [Read more...]
Taken by the Sioux – The Attack, the Massacre, and the Abduction
(Originally published in 1872) BY FANNY KELLY A train of wagons were coursing their westward way, with visions of the future bright as our own. Sometimes a single team might be seen traveling alone. Our party were among the many small squads emigrating to the land of promise. The day on which our doomed family were scattered and killed was the 12th of July, a warm and … [Read more...]
My Captivity Among the Sioux
They Told Us the Indians Were Friendly—They Were So Wrong BY FANNY KELLY The summer of 1864 marked a period of unusual peril to the daring pioneers seeking homes in the far West. Following upon the horrible massacres in Minnesota in 1862, and the subsequent chastisements inflicted by the expeditions under Generals Sully and Sibley in 1863, whereby the Indians were driven … [Read more...]
Be a Cat in the Forest
Montana Winters, and Your Body BY DAVID S. LEWIS Years back, over a decade ago, a friend asked me to help coach soccer, a team of boys and girls ten and eleven years old. When we came up a man short for scrimmage one day, I filled in, playing soccer for the first time since high school with a bunch of kids. Having warmed up a bit, I felt I was ready, but in short order … [Read more...]
A Crime Against Nature
Ketchup-on-Hot-Dog Lovers, Here’s What Detective Harry Callahan Had to Say BY JUSTIN CASE The central issue of our time was raised in last month’s Starting Thoughts, in an editorial composed by the illustrious editor of this publication, that issue being the highly controversial practice of adorning hot dogs with ketchup, and then actually eating them. A representative of … [Read more...]
Tips for the Next 26,000 Years
BY DAVID S. LEWIS Congratulations, for having arrived at this point in time and space. December 21, 2012 has passed and of course all is well (unless you live in Syria). Yet what many do not realize, even Mayans, is that this time marks the beginning of a 26,000 year cycle, punctuated by the recent (Dec. 21) winter solstice sunrise that aligned on that icy morn with the sun … [Read more...]