State's first 'White Man Christmas'
The following is a rerun column from December, 1986:
English teenager Ross Cox and his band of fur traders reached the confluence of the Flathead and Clark’s Fork River below Flathead Lake on Dec. 24, 1813. Another trader, McMillan, who also worked for John Jacob Astor’s fur company had just erected a fort there, but had nothing to trade to Indians. Cox had ammunition, tobacco, rice, tea, coffee and 15 gallons of “prime rum.”
A band of Salish Indians were camped near McMillan’s buildings, and were delighted to have those provisions, which were brought from New York clear around the Horn of South America by Astor’s ships.
On Christmas Day, word reached Cox that a warrior band of the Salish had just returned from the high plains, where they had captured a mixed group of the dreaded enemies, the Blackfeet. Now, it was time to torture them to death, one-by-one, so Ross went to the Indian camp to watch. The slow death of a Blackfeet warrior tied to a tree and killed by inches was more than Ross could stand. It got worse when they dragged out a young female.
As Ross objected to the torture games, many of the Salish leaders jeered at him and said the Blackfeet treated captured Salish the same and this was a historic ritual of revenge.
They also said that they were not about to give up this form of gratification.
An old Salish priestess took charge of putting the girl to death. Cox drew the line. He told the Indians “as much as we esteem your fine furs and value your friendship, the fort will be closed and white men will leave with his guns and trade goods if the tortures are not stopped.”
It was a risky ultimatum and, in spite of the furious old priestess, the girl was returned to the other prisoners. There followed a considerable howling from the pro-torture group, who even called some of those who weakened “cowards and fools with the hearts of fleas.”
Cox told the cooler heads that it would be better for the Salish to have guns to protect themselves from the stronger and more numerous Blackfeet and he eventually talked them into giving the prisoners enough food and equipment to make it back to Blackfeet country.
These actions actually resulted in less warfare between the two tribes and there were no further incidents between them as long as Cox was in what is now the Lake, Mineral and Sanders County area.
Salish hunters had shot some mountain sheep on nearby cliffs, so with fresh meat, spices, smokes and rum, the first white man’s Christmas in Montana came to a joyful end those 204 years ago. All this helped make it possible for us to have pro football on TV, McDonald’s, shopping malls and the interstate. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
* Ross Cox lived to return to civilization and wrote a book, “Cox’s adventures on the Columbia River.” In his 1890 “Historical Sketch of the Flathead Indian Nation,” Major Ronan says the Cox book was published in England in 1817, however, Weisel’s book “Men and Trade on the Northwest Frontier,” has the Cox book published in New York by J and J Harper in 1832. It would be a fascinating read. Those interested in such things would love the Ronan book.
It was reprinted and issued by the Montana Historical Society in 1965.
G. George Ostrom is an award winning columnist from Kalispell.