Joseph Robinson

Notes:

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Notes:

Percy Robinson was a white man. He is listed as deceased in 1909.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Percy married Victoria Munro about 1877 in Calgary, , Alberta, Canada. Victoria (daughter of John William Munro and Isabelle Calder) was born in 1861 in Devil's Lake, Alberta, Canada; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

BIO:On her August 1, 1909 affidavit to the BIA Victoria states she was born at Devil's Lake, Canada in 1861. She left there at an early age and came to Fort Benton. Her family traveled from place to place until she was five years old when she went to Edmonton with her parents. They stayed there in the summer and followed the buffalo herds. When she was 12 years old they moved to Rocky Mountain House, Canada for about 3 years. She then went to Calgary where she married Percy Robinson, a white man. In 1877 she moved to Fort Benton with her husband and they moved from place to place. She separated from Robinson in MacLeod, Canada and stayed there for six years. She then moved to the Blackfoot Reservation and stayed with her father. She received rations, tools, two wagons, cattle and stoves before her ticket was taken up. She married McKay in 1898. In 1901 she moved to Cypress Hills and they have lived there ever since.

TBL:1861 Born at Devil's Lake, Canada 1862 Moved to Fort Benton, MT, with parents 1866 Moved to Edmonton, Canada, with parents 1873 Moved to Rocky Mountain House, Canada, with parents 1876 Moved to Calgary and married Robinson 1877 Moved to Fort Benton, MT 1883 Separated from Robinson at Fort McLeod, Canada 1889 Moved to Blackfoot Reservation, MT 1898 Married William McKay 1901 Moved to Cypress Hills

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

Notes:

ARCHIVE RECORDS OF JOHN MUNROE & FAMILY

John's birthdate based on Reservation Census Records although these vary widely. He may have been as born as early as 1822. His son, Angus Munro states John's age as 85 when he died 12 August 1908 (thus b. 1823). Gerald Morrison research states a birth year of 1931.

PICTURE:20H*JOHN MUNROE (ca. 1905)

PICTURE:John Munroe, half-blood son of Hugh Munro and his Piegan wife Sinopah, expanded his cattle interests into the empty grazing lands north of the Two Medicine River. (Photo by Thomas Magee)

Blackfoot records states he married Isobella Calder, who was reportedly 1/2 Cree and 1/2 white. Gerald Morrison states he married ISOBEL FRANCOIS LUCIER on 7 June 1857 (no location). Whether married once or twice, "Isobel" appears to have died before 1890 when John returned to the Two Medicine Creek area. Then there is much confusion about the name of wives; they are listed variously as "Susan, Justin(e), and Christine." He was married again, listing Justine as his wife on the 1900 Federal and Blackfoot Census. Listing of oldest children born to John and Isabella are confirmed by affidavits listing their brothers and sisters.

National Archive Blackfoot Census Rolls
Age in... 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 JOHN MUNRO 64 65 66 67 70 74 Susan 32 33 34 35 36 40
Angus 4 5 6 7 7 7
Peter 1 2 3 4 - -
Joseph 7 8 9 10 - -
Wilson/William 12 13 14 15 - -
Francis 15 16 17 18 19 -
4 mo. male
Louis - - - - 13 14
Justin - - - - 23 24

Blackfoot Agency Records (Microfilm # 1275620 - SLC 1994) 1895 1896
JOHN MUNRO Husband 68 74
JUSTIN Wife 36 40
FRANK Son 19 -
LOUIS Son 13 14
ANGUS Son 7 7
JUSTIN Daughter 2 2

In 1897 the following census was recorded for John Munro:
#1795 JOHN MUNRO Head of House age 70
Justine Wife 45
Gust Son 9
Lewis Son 8
Frank, Jr Step-son 16
Francis Son (or S-son?) 22
Justine Daughter 28

The following Blackfoot census is listed for 1899-1902:
Age 1899 1900 1901 1902
JOHN MONROE Father 76 75 75 78
Louis Son 18 20
August (Hank) Son 11 12 14 15

School Records & Census (Microfilm # 1275621 - SLC 1994) 1902
JOHN MUNRO Father 75
LOUIS Son 21 (Cree)
ANGUS Son 14 Mission School

1900 Federal Census, Blackfoot Reservation, Teton County, Montana (Microfilm # 1240915 - Enum Dist # 212 - Dwelling 440
Born Place of b. Father b. Mother b. John Munro Head April 1830 70 Canada Canada Canada Justine Wife March 1855 45 Canada Canada Canada Angus Son April 1889 11 Montana Canada Canada
John states he has been married a total of 20 years
Justin also married 2 years, has had two children; 2 are still living.

On the 1908 Blackfoot affidavits the following is recorded: "Christine Munroe, wife of John Munroe, Sr., says she is a Cree and the wives of William and Joseph are Crees. Christine says that all the children of John Munroe, except Angus and Louis got script. She herself got it. John Munroe put his name down on the books but did not get his script." February 18, 1908

Blackfoot Agency records: Births, Marriages and Deaths MF#1275621-22 #173 JOHN MUNRO 85 years old Died August 12, 1908
Informant: Angus Munroe, son #174

No listing is found for Justine in 1910. Did she return to Canada to live with her family?

JOHN DOCUMENTED BY EARLY WRITERS

John is frequently listed in the writings of early Blackfeet Indian historians as "John Monroe, the son of Hugh Munro the White Blackfoot." In 1890-96 George Bird Grinnell visited the Blackfoot Reservation and surrounding areas accumulating information in his effort to have the area set aside as Glacier National Park. He spent some time in interviewing Piegan Indians as material for a book eventually published as "BLACKFOOT LODGE TALES" by Scribeners and later (1962) reissued by the University of Nebraska Press.

In this history of Blackfoot customs and beliefs Grinnell refers to Hugh and his family:

"The veteran Prairie man, Mr. Hugh Monroe, and his son, John Monroe, have also given me much information. William Jackson, an educated half-breed, who did good service from 1874 to 1879, scouting under Generals Custer and Miles..has given me valuable assistance."

In Warren Hanna's 1988 publication of "lost" Shultz manuscrips (JAMES WILLARD SHULTZ, RECENTLY DISCOVERED TALES OF LIFE AMONG THE INDIANS, Hanna, Mountian Press, Missoula MT 1988) Shultz comments:

TBL:"Piegan, Montana, Oct. 24, 1893 - John Monroe came in yesterday from the headwaters of Badger Creek, and brought with him the head of a very large bull moose which he killed up there. He says there are quite a number of elk, deer and bear in that vicinity, and is going back there tomorrow to have another hunt. Monroe is said to be the best moose hunter in the Northwest. In the early days, when he was employed by the Hudson's Bay Co. way up in the Saskatchewan country, he was far and away the most successful hunter of this game. He is getting pretty old now, and his eyesight is poor, yet it seems he still knows how to "get there."
No-one in this country, Indian or white, knows how to call moose, and they are not much hunted. As near as I can learn Monroe finds the track asnd then instead of following it he keeps circling until he locates the animal".

BIO:JOHN AS "EAGLE CATCHER"

BIO:Before the white men came to Blackfoot country, the Indian standard of value was eagle tail feathers. They were used to make war head-dresses, ornament shields, lances and other weapons. Wings were made into fans, and body feathers cut to fletch arrows.A wary bird, the eagle could not be approached close enough to be killed by bow and arrow, and indeed, it was considered improper to kill one that way. The capture of the eagle was viewed as something of a sacred nature, was preceeded with prayers for help and success, and was the domain of only selected individuals.

BIO:In his volume on the Blackfeet Grinnell identifies John Munro as "a famous eagle catcher." He relates the account narrated by John of how he caught eagles:

TBL:A pit was dug, six feet long, three wide, and four deep, on top of the highest knoll that can be found near a stream. The earth taken out is carried a long way off. Over the pit is laid two long poles lengthwise, and smaller sticks are laid across, resting on the poles. The smaller sticks are covered with juniper twigs and long grass. The skin of a wolf or coyote is stuffed with grass to look natural. A hole is cut in the wolf skin and a rope passed through it, one end being tied to a large piece of meat which lies by the skin, and the other end passing through the roof down into the pit. The bait is covered with grass and the eagle-catcher returns to his lodge for the night.
During the night he sings his eagle songs and burns sweet grass, rubbing the smoke over his arms and body to purify himself. Before day he goes to the eagle pit and lies down in it, uncovering the bait, and holding the rope. In the pit the eagle-catcher can see out through the twig covering, and can hear the sound of an eagle coming. When the bird settles on the ground it does not land on the bait, but at one side of it, striking the ground with a thud - heavily. The eagle walks toward the bait and onto the roof of the pit. Seeing in which direction the head is, the man reaches out through the roof twigs and grasps the eagle by both feet, and draws it into the pit. He wrings the neck to kill the bird, closes the opening and repairs the twig roof. So the man waits and collects the eagles that come through the day. He may get nothing or, again, have 8 or 10 eagles at the end of the day.
At the end of the day the eagle-catcher goes home. He carries his eagles to a special "eagle's lodge" prepared outside the camp. He places them on the ground in a row, and raises their heads, resting them on a stick laid in front of the row. In the mouth of each one is put a piece of pemmican, so that they might not be afraid of people, prayers are said and the feathers were blessed for use.

BIO:JOHN MUNROE'S DESCENDANTS ON THE BLACKFOOT RESERVATION

BIO:John is listed early in the various narrations of Hugh Munro's descendants among the Blackfoot Indians. He, and his sons, were well known to early government and independant agents among the Indians. The majority of Munro descendants on the Blackfoot Reservation today mark their descent from John, mainly though his son, Joseph, who had nine children who settled on the present reservation lands. John not only raised his own family, but also provided a home for nieces and nephews as well as step-children when they had need of a home in the absence of their parents.

PICTURE:20F*CATHOLIC PRIEST WITH MR. & MRS. JOHN MUNROE

PICTURE:One of the most famous of the Black Robes was the Jesuit missionary, Father de Smet, called Long Teeth by the Blackfeet. The Jesuit shown is photographed here with some of the more Christian mixed-blood families of the north side of the Reservation: Mr. & Mrs. John Munroe, Mrs. Upham, Mrs. Kipp, and Mrs. Croft.

BIO:The Jesuit Missionaries, known as "Black Robes," provided the initial Christian contact with the plains Indian tribes. Those entering the Flathead and Blackfoot areas journeyed south from Canadian trading posts. Hugh Munro guided the Jesuit priests into the Flathead area in the 1840's where they established St. Mary and St. Ignatius Missions. Hugh also was the guide for Jesuit Father Peter de Smet when he first came among the Blackfeet in the 1840's. Father Nicholas Point baptized Blackfeet in Montana in 1845 and 1846.

BIO:St. Peter's Mission for the Blackfeet was initially established in about 1857 on the Teton River near Choteau and had a varied and changing history. It was then moved to a location on the Sun River near Fort Shaw where it operated for six months. Due to the nomadic life style of the Blackfeet, plus U.S. Government conflict in the 1860's, the Mission was again established, as St. Peter The Apostle Mission, in 1861 on the Marias River. From 1862 to 1866 St. Peters operated at a site on the left bank of the Missouri River.

BIO:In 1866 the U.S. Government awarded the Blackfoot agency and missionary responsibility to the Methodist Church. Agent John Young, a Methodist minister, came into open conflict with the Jesuit missionaries, and banned them from the reservation and forbid them to preach among the Indians or administer sacraments on Blackfoot territory. For eight years, from 1866 to 1874, the Methodist church was established as tutor and guardian of the Blackfeet children, despite the wishes of their parents.

BIO:After the 1870 "Baker Massacre" in which a peaceful band of Piegans were annihilated by U.S. soldiers from Fort Shaw, Congress decided to shift the general Indian policy to practice peace rather than war. Part of the "Peace Policy" was a more determined effort to educate Blackfoot children, and a day school was established at "Old Agency", the new Blackfoot agency complex at Badger Creek created by Agent John Young.

BIO:When the Blackfoot Reservation boundary was moved north in 1874, St. Peter's Mission was left sixty miles to the south. Unwilling to give up his missionary work and "desert" his Catholic Blackfoot families, Father Prando built a small mission complex just across the reservation boundary on the south side of Birch Creek. Although off the reservation, St Peter's Boarding School continued to operate for many years, providing basic education and training for Blackfoot children.

BIO:In 1887 Chief White Calf, who had been baptized by Father Prando in 1882, contributed land on the Two Medicine River for a Mission church and school. Father Damiani and three Ursuline Sisters built and and opened the mission school, Holy Family, in 1890. With few exceptions the students spent the entire year at the school. They did not go home for holidays and parents were not allowed to visit, although a student recalls that "the families of the children would camp in the bush and the kids would visit them on holidays." Student isolation from family was used to break down the "old ways" and habits, and to convert them to "civilization" by eradicating traditional Blackfoot language, values and daily practices. The curriculum at Holy Family was vocational and spiritual as well as academic. The children started with "ABC's" learning to write and speak English at the same time. School was from grade one through grade five. The students also provided the labor for household duties such as cooking, baking, washing and ironing clothes, etc.

BIO:Some of the children and grandchildren of John Munroe enrolled at Holy Family after 1900 were: Augustine (Hank), Antoine, Campbell, Mary, Sarah, Jennie, Eliza and Charles David Munroe.

BIO:By 1910 there were 771 children of school age who could attend the Holy Family Mission; a day school at the Old Willow Creek complex; the new Agency boarding school at Cut Bank; or the off-reservation schools at Fort Shaw in Montana, or Carisle in Pennsylvania, although the space available in these scools fell far short of the number of children of school age. In 1905 the Browning Day School opened as a public school for children who actually lived in Browning or at the agency itself.

BIO: John was known among his Blackfoot compatriots as "Piskun" or, in english translation - Buffalo Corral. This is probably appropriate as he settled in the Two Medicine River Valley wherein lies a high cliff over which the Indians drove buffalo to kill or collect them for butchering. This bluff still exists only a short distance from the old Holy Family Mission Church and cemetery. Nearby is land still owned by Munro descendants and used for winter cattle grazing.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.

John married Isabelle Calder on 7 Jun 1857. Isabelle was born about 1825; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Isabelle Calder (or Lucier).

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.

Notes:

!An interesting addition to the preceding family group is the documentation of the life of Hugh Munro or "Rising Wolf" of the Blackfeet indians in the Centennial Canadian Issue (No. 10. 1967) of the Clan Munro Magazine from Scotland. J. W. Schultz wrote two books* on the life experiences of Rising Wolf (Hugh Munro) from direct acqauintace with him in his later years. Hugh states he spent his early years roaming the outdoors near his Quebec home, spending only enough time at his studies to learn to read and write. At 15 years of age he joined the Hudson Bay Company as an engage' and journeyed west. He never returned to eastern Canada or saw his family again.
There are a number of his descendants among the Blackfeet Indians; a grandson, William Jackson, was a scout for Custer, later becoming a partner of the author Schultz.

Schultz states in his narrative of Hugh Munro's second year with the Blackfeet (RED CROW'S BROTHER, James Willard Schultz, Houton Mifflin Co, 1927) the following about the Glacier Park area: ...We came to a beautiful lake, the second one of the lakes of Two Medicine Lodges River. At its head was a pine-clad, steep mountain which Red Crow said was named Rising Bull. It did have the appearance of the sharp back of a buffalo getting up onto its feet. (1) And just to the north of us was another and still higher mountain, of reddish rock, which was I-kot-ei Is-tuki (Red Mountain), one of the great peaks of the range. (2)

(1) Later named Sin-o-pah-ki Is-tuk-i (Fox Woman Mountain). Fox Woman was the faithful wife of Rising Wolf (Hugh Munro) (2) In 1896, after our old friend died, and we buried him in the Two Medicine Valley and in sight of this mountain that he loved so well, we named it for him: Rising Wolf Mountain.

George Bird Grinnell, who wrote many articles and books about his experiences with the Indians, also was also a friend of Hugh Munro. In his book PAWNEE,

BLACKFOOT AND CHEYENNE (Scribner's 1913) he related the following about lakes in the Montana mountains (Glacier Park):
This region is known throughout northern Montana as the St. Mary's Lake country. In a narrow valley running back into the mountains lie two great lakes, the upper about 12 miles long, and the lower seven. These are enlargements of the St Mary's River, a branch of the Saskatchewan. Here, forty-eight years ago (about 1837), Hugh Monroe [sic], a devout Catholic, assisted by a party of Kootenai Indians, set up on the shores of the lower lake a great cross made of two pine trees, and called the lakes St. Mary's.

BIO:HUGH MUNRO, JR - HIS EARLY YEARS IN L'ASSUMPTION

BIO:LA PAROISE DE L'ASSUMPTION - REPERTOIRE DES BAPTISMES 1724-1800 Publication # 17 (1981) LaCentre de Genealogie S.C. Ottawa, Canada Children of Hugh and Angelique Munro:

TBL:#6318 MUNRO, HUGH Born: 25 Aug 1799 Baptised: 26 Aug 1799

BIO:BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES AND SEPULCURES of PAROISE St. Surplise, L'Assumption de la Vierge Marie, de Montcalm, Quebec; diocese of Montreal, Quebec. (1724-1876) Mf # 1018241, SLC, UT 1994 VBM

TBL:BAPTISM: de Hugues Munro: Le vingt Six Aout mil Sept Cent quatre vingt dix neuf par moi Fretere Soussigne a ete Baptiste hughes ne' hier de legitime Mariage de Monsieur hughes Munro, Merchand et da Dame Angelique Leroux les fere et Mere de cette Paroisse. Le Larein a ete' Monsieur Charles Dorion et la Mareine Marguerite Dorion. Les quels out Signe avec vour ainvique le Fere present. deap mot interlique's et deux ralure valable. [Signed] Hugh Munro Charles Dorion Marguerite Dorion

*James Willard Schultz, "Rising Wolf, The White Blackfoot: Hugh Munroe's Story of His First Year On The Plains", "Red Crow's Brother: Hugh Munroe's Story of His Second Year On The Plains", Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, N.Y., 1919 & 1927. In 1951 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released part of his story adapted as the Western "Across The Wide Missouri" with John Hodiak as Hugh Munro.

BIO:Biographical information of Hugh Munro is mainly contained in the volumes on the Blackfeet Indians written by James Willard Schultz who was a contemporary of Hugh in the last two decades of his life. Schultz describes Hugh as: "slender, but not tall with brown hair and blue eyes." (The blue eyes are a legacy still seen in various present descendants!) He records the following from his conversations with Hugh "Rising Wolf":

TBL:NOTE:Biographical data provided by J.W.Schultz has proved grossly inacurate in some areas. It must be kept in mind that Schultz was a "story-teller" and consigned his recollections to paper long after Hugh Munro had died. Some of his narrations are "composites" of experiences written in a manner to provide a a free flowing story.

TBL:Hugh was born in the Three Rivers area of Quebec where his father, Capt. Hugh Munro of the British Army was associated with his mother's family in business.
His mother was of a noted family of French emegres' and her father owned a fine mansion in Montreal as well as a large estate in the Three Rivers area where they lived. His childhood days were quiet enough as he played with the peasant children. A Jesuit Father, residing with the Leroux household, taught Hugh a smattering of reading and writing in both French and English. The gift of a light smooth-bore gun was a turning point in his young life. From that time on he spent most of his time hunting in the forest surrounding the settlement. At age 12 he killed his first deer; at 13 he shot two black bears. An old pensioner of his mother, a half-breed Montagnais Indian, too old and feeble to do much for himself, taught him to trap beaver, otter, fox, fisher, martin and mink. Every spring his grandfather sold the pelts for him in Montreal for a good price.
In the autumn of 1812, during the months of the War, his grandfather sent for them to live with him in Montreal. Hugh disliked city life as he could neither hunt nor trap, and he did not understand the "town boys" whose interests were so unlike his own. Mornings he had to attend the parish school, but afternoons he escaped to row on the river or visit in the warehouses of the Hudson Bay Company with which his grandfather was affiliated. There he met voyageurs and trappers from far places. They presented a exotic picture with their buckskin clothes, fur caps and colorful beaded moccasins. He became fast friends of both the French and English factions and spent many happy hours listening to their tales of wild adventures, of fights with Indians, encounters with fierce bears of the Far West, and of the perils of canoe trips on madly running rivers. He began to beg his family to let him join "The Company" and go West.

BIO:Young Hugh would have been living in a "family of women" at L'Assumption. He was preceeded in birth by five sisters [two surviving] and followed by another two sisters and only one brother - five years his junior. He would have had every opportunity to taste the excitement of the voyageurs, fur trappers and traders from even his own front doorstep. L'Assumption lies in a noted horeshoe bend of the l'Assumption River and the canoes were all beached at one end of l'Assumption's main street - Rue la portage'-, carried up the street and launched again at the other end. Fronting on the upper portage landing were all the commercial establishments of this important trading town: the Custom House, the North West Fur Offices, and all the merchant establishments serving the area. Little wonder that this first son of Hugh and Angelique, who was a notorious "truant" from the classroon - by his own admission "not a scholar" - begged early and long until he finally convinced his parents to let him join the furtrading adventure !

BIO:His father finally agreed saying: "He is obviously born for the adventurous life, and nothing else, so we may as well let him begin now and grow up to a responsible position with the company." His mother shed many tears but finally agreed to let him go after securing a promise from him that he would return for a visit at the end of his 5 year indenture. Angelique spent many tearful hours sewing and packing his clothing, and assembling a kit that included a razor for a lad too young yet to need to shave ! She slipped a Missal between his shirts and prayed for his safe return. Hugh, ever the practical Scot, handed his son a pair of dependable flint-lock pistols, and followed them up with a few basic rules from the " Army rank and file" to help keep him out of the worst troubles and temptations. "Just remember your heritage and depend on it," he admonished. "You are a Scot and a MUNRO. For centuries Munros have been courageous adventurers and Highland warriors. You have that courage - you will do well."

BIO:FROM MONTREAL TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORT WITH THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY
BIO:Very early on the morning of May 3rd, 1814, almost four months short of his sixteenth birthday, he signed his Articles of Appreticeship to the Hudson Bay Company for five years at 20 pounds per year. As the heavily loaded canoes bobbed beside the quay Hugh endured the tearful kisses of his mother and her admonitions to remember his prayers. The proud Scottish father could only gaze into the bright blue eyes so like his own, grip the hand of his young son and mutter, "Keep your nose clean and your hair on !" before Hugh scrambled aboard the wallowing canoe. As they turned out into the river and the voyageurs sang and dug in their paddles Hugh waved and watched until the little knot of figures on the quay faded from view, little knowing that he would never see Montreal or his family again.

BIO:There were five boats in the flotilla, each one loaded with 4 to 5 tons of goods for the Indian trade. Everything was done up in waterproof packages of 100 pounds each. The heavy goods were mostly guns, powder and balls, and flints, tobacco, beads, beaver traps, brass and copper wire, axes, copper and brass kettles of various sizes, and small hand mirrors. The lighter goods were blankets, woolen cloth, needles, awls, thread, and trinkets to strike the Red Man's fancy. It was not a very valuable cargo in Montreal but at Mountain Fort in the Rocky Mountains it was of enormous value. There a gun was worth sixty beaver pelts, and even a twist of tobacco sold for two beaver skins !

BIO:The voyageurs paddled up the St. Lawrence River and turned into the Ottawa River which they ascended as far as it was navigable. They then portaged the boats from lake to lake until, early in September, they arrived at York Factory on the Saskatchewan River close to Hudson Bay. There they wintered and set out again as soon as the ice went out in the spring. At last, on the 10th of July, 1815, after many weary days of rowing and cordelling up the swift Saskatchewan River, they arrived at Mountain Fort. The fort biuldings, built of logs and roofed with poles and earth, were in a heavily timbered bottom above the high-water mark of the river. It was enclosed in a high, log stockade with a bastion on one corner in which there were two small cannon. It was later to be known as BOW FORT as the stream it was on was a main tributary of the Saskatchewan River known as the Bow River. [This location is now near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.]

BIO:Camped in the vicinity and milling about the grounds of the Fort were thousands of Indians awaiting the annual arrival of the company's flotilla of boats loaded with trade goods. There were three tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy as well as Gros-Ventures and Saksikas making over 30,000 Indians at the fort. Hugh saw the smoke curling from countless numbers of tall tan tipis through the roiling dust created by the mounted Indian riders yiping around the camp area, and the children racing about in play. He was speachless with excitement and fascination as he viewed the exotic scene - even more wonderful than any of his wildest imaginations !

BIO:Hugh was acknowledged by James Hardesty and immediately put to work inside the Trading Post. First the cargo had to be unloaded and inventoried into the proper books, bundles, barrels and bins. Then the long days of trading began. From dawn to dark Hugh fetched, weighed, counted and carried. The factor and clerks took the furs, examined them for condition and grade and tallied them. Then the bargaining and trade began with the Indian through the interpreter. As items were chosen they were piled upon the counter after many comments and examination and fingering of the available goods. With silent wives and eager children looking on, the transaction is finally completed and the brave packs up and leaves as another takes his place.

BIO:To Hugh the days seem endless. He toils away in the dimly lit back rooms preparing stock and delivering items to the counter. Hardesty and the clerks leave little opportunity for him to watch the bargaining and trade, or interact with the Indians waiting in the store. After dark there are still furs to stack and bundle for the long voyage to Montreal. He thinks about the thousands of tipis camped along the river and wonders if he will ever get out into the day light again ! This was not what he had bargained for ! He thought he would be outdoors among the trappers and Indians, and able to live and hunt in the wild. How could he possibly spend the next five long years of his life doing this ?

BIO:In desperation he finally manages to find time between duties to escape outside occasionally and talk with the post interpreters and employees. In hunting and trapping they soon found he was not the "greenhorn" they had expected, and recognized his keen interest in the Indians. Hugh had a good ear for languages and was quick to pick up the universally used sign language of the Indians and traders. They quickly began to take him on their evening "visiting rounds" among the Indians at the camp. Soon Hugh was able to go alone and found several Indian youths near his age that he could "talk" to. He began to spend most of his free time with Red Crow, a member of the Small Robes band. Hugh envied Red Crow's freedom to hunt and trap and his nomadic life, as well as his large hospitable family.

The Hudson's Bay Company was eager to expand fur trading with these tribes, but suffered by a lack of interpreters of the Blackfoot tongue. The Blackfoot Confederation did not allow encroachment on their traditional hunting and trapping areas by white trappers or other tribes. They "discouraged" tresspassing by hunting down and killing any outsiders found in their territory.

BIO:Factor James Hardesty was quick to note Hugh's interest in the Indians as well as his eagerness to be out doors. He also watched the growing friendship with Red Crow and saw an opportunity that would be of benefit to both "The Company" and the Blackfoot. Hardesty had often thought that the ideal way to stabilize his fur trading relationship with the elusive Blackfeet would be to send a white trapper or agent to live and travel with them and learn their language. So far he had not been able to suggest this possibility to any of his agents or employees for two reasons. First, he had noone who would be willing to embark on what they would consider a virtual death sentance as a tresspasser into Blackfoot country ! And second, the Blackfoot were so aloof that a suggestion of this kind could be mistaken in it's intent, and he would break his tenous trading hold on them and lose them to the North West Company.

BIO:Despite his proclivity to join the Indians Hugh was bound by his contract with the Hudson Bay Company, and soon settled into the annual acivities and routines of the forts. He thrived on the expeditions and trips into the wilds and endured his time within the company forts. The following summarizes his experiences during his sojourn with Hudson's Bay.

TBL:Hugh Munro entered the service of the Hudson's Bay company and was appointed apprentice in the Edmonton District. His "parish" was entered in the company books as "Canada."
During the summer of 1816 he was at Carlton House under John Peter Pruden. In the fall of 1818 he traveled with Francis Heron from Carlton House to Edmonton House and apparently spent the winter of 1818-19 there. In May 1819 Heron left William Flett in charge of Edmonton House with Munroe as one of his assistants. At the end of outfit 1818-19 Heron reported Munro as being "not of much use at present, but may be of some service hereafter." Munro remained at Edmonton except for short excursions to the Beaver River and Acton House (the post in opposition to Rocky Mountain House of the North West Company), until January 19, 1820 when he was sent to Summer Berry (Pembina) River to remain there until spring. On May 4, 1820 he arrived at Edmonton House having been directed to abandon the post at Pembina River since the Indians were leaving that quarter. From the middle of May until nearly the end of November Munro was stationed at Acton House; on his return he remained at Edmonton House until February 19, 1821 when he was sent to Carlton House for supplies, returning March 30.
Later in the spring he was at Moose Lake where he remained until June 4. He spent the summer in various short expeditions from Edmonton House to Pembina River and Moose Lake. On September 8 he started from Edmonton for Moose Lake, but this post was abandoned shortly afterwards in favor of Dog Rump Creek House, situated about three miles above old Buckingham House. Munro apparently served at Dog Rump Creek House under Patrick Small, returning to Edmonton House on April 28, 1822 with letters "from several parts of the country."
On June 5, 1822 Munro arrived at Carlton House from Edmonton. From there he was sent to Cumberland House on July 28 in order to join the Bow River expedition. He was recorded in Bow River accounts 1822-23 as a clerk with a family of one. In the spring of 1823 he was sent with the Piegans to learn thei language and began his long sojourn with the Piegans.

BIO:Between the Saskatchewan and the Missouri Rivers Hugh camped and hunted over a great stretch of country that no white man had ever seen. At the Falls of the Missouri River he crossed the trail of Lewis and Clark; between the Missouri an Yellowstone River traveled country not yet seen by whites. Through his efforts
the Piegans made peace with the Crows and persuaded them to go north to Mountain Fort to trade their winter furs. Hugh and the Piegans returned to the fort in the New Grass Moon - April, 1824. During Hugh's second year with the Piegans they hunted and trapped in the area now included in Glacier National Park. There he saw the "Lakes Inside" and mountains held sacred to the Blackfeet. And so Hugh fulfilled his contract with Hudson Bay and then became a "free trapper," returning to the post during the trading season as interpreter and occasional employee.

BIO: George Bird Grinnell relates the following story told by Hugh:

TBL:"I was often detailed by the Hudson's Bay Company to go out in charge of a number of men, to kill meat for the fort. When the ground was full of holes and wash-outs, so that running was dangerous, I used to put on a big timber wolf"s skin, which I carried for the purpose, tying it at my neck and waist, and then to sneak up on the buffalo. I used a bow and arrows, and generally shot a number without alarming them. If one looked suspiciously at me, I would howel like a wolf. Sometimes the smell of the blood from the wounded and dying would set the bulls crazy. They would run up and lick the blood, and sometimes toss the dead ones clear from the ground. Then they would bellow and fight each other, sometimes goring one another so badly that they died. The great bulls, their tongues covered with blood, their eyes flashing, and tails sticking out straight, roaring and fighting, were terrible to see; and it was a little dangerous for me, because the commotion would attract buffalo from all directions to see what was going on. At such times I would signal to my men, and they would ride up and scare the buffalo away."

Bio:No record has been found of the origin of Hugh's Pikuni name "Rising Wolf." Among the animals especially respected among the Blackfeet and supposed to have great power, are the buffalo, the bear, the raven, the wolf, the beaver and the kit-fox. The wolves were the people's great friends; they traveled with the people.If a person was hungry and sang a wolf song, he was likely to find food. Men going on a hunting trip sang these songs, which would bring them good luck. The Blackfeet had great belief in visions and dreams, and an animal coming to a man in his dream with a message important to his life, was then regarded as his special protector.

BIO:In 1922 Schultz recorded this narrative by Frank Munroe, son of Rising Wolf:

TBL:My father was "iksatosim." ("Of the sun." Or, "great medicine.") Soon after he took my mother for his woman, before any of us children were born, he one night had a powerful vision. A wolf came to him and said, "I am chief of these great plains, and I have taken a liking to you; therefore I am going to tell you how to make something that will preserve you in times of danger. Go and get the tail feathers of an owl, skins of weasels and minks, and make a war bonnet." In his dream he collected the feathers and skins and made the bonnet, but it did not please the wolf; he took it apart, rearranged the materials, singing all the time as he put it together. When he was satisfied with his work, he put the bonnet on my father and walked around and around him, looking at it, still singing, and at last said, "There, it is as I wanted it. This will preserve you from the enemy; you and any relative or friend to whom you may lend it. And do not forget this, my song that goes with it, and which you are to sing when you put the bonnet on and face danger. However, your possession of the bonnet, just your having it near you, in your lodge, on your person or your horse when travelling, will itself protect you from the enemy." My father's shadow came back into his body. He awoke and thought about his wonderful vision and then woke Fox Woman and told her about it and she was glad. "Sun is kind! He has pitied you; he has caused his child, Chief Wolf, to give you the one thing you need to become a warrior of our tribe ! Make the bonnet at once, so that I may no longer fear for your safety when you go out to hunt and trap."
My father made the bonnet, just as his vision had directed, and kept singing the song over and over until he knew he would not forget it. He carried that bonnet in a painted and fringed rawhide cylinder that he made, and as Chief Wolf had predicted, it helped him safely through many a place where his life was in danger. Time and again he lent it to my grandfather, Lone Walker, and Three Suns, my uncle, and they wore it on raids against the enemy, and with great success. In his old age he gave it to Three Suns; it is now in Three Suns' grave, down below here on the Two Medicine River.

BIO:Frank also related how the sign of Rising Wolf protected them from attack by friendly Indians in many campsites during their trapping and traveling days. Once when Frank was only eight or nine years old Rising Wolf left the Pikuni camp on the Bear River and came north to the Two Medicine Lodge country to trap beaver. They had set up camp in a grove of cottonwoods and his brother, Little Wolf (John), was driving the horses to the ridge to graze for the night. Suddenly, a gun boomed, and a bullet struck a tree in front of him. As soon as he called for help the shooter called out in good Pikuni that he was a friend. They embraced his brother and came down to the lodge where they were welcomed by his father. The friendly Kooteni Indians apologized for mistaking their camp for that of some Cree Indians. After eating and smoking they suggested that Rising Wolf mark the trail to his camp and surrounding trees with his sign to prevent friendly indians from mistaking him for an enemy. The following morning his father blazed trees along the trail and around the camp, and on the white surface painted in black the sign for his name: a man and a wolf rising. And thereafter he did that at every camp that they made, and so more than once saved them from attack from war parties of tribes that were friendly to them.

BIO:"When we had grown a little older, my brother and I made the name signs for him. My brother was angry because I could make the best signs. They were like this":

PICTURE:20F*Drawing by Heavy Eyes of Rising Wolf's Name Painting

BIO:Although documentation is scarce and scattered, various records for Hugh and his family show that for the next fifty years he roamed the western wilderness with the Piegans, ranging from below the Yellowstone to the far north of present Edmonton, Canada. Sometime in the 1820's he married - according to Indian custom - Sinopah (Kit Fox Woman) daughter of Lone Walker, Chief of the Piegans and Small Robes Band. Together they raised at least seven children in the Indian community and were successful in living through the epidemics of smallpox, scarlet fever, "coughing fever," starvation winters and intertribal warfare that decimated the tribes. The lack of documentation of Hugh's life depended a great deal on the seclusion of the Blackfeet from white intervention until the 1855 "Lame Bull Treaty" which first opened their living area and hunting grounds to white men and the Army.

BIO:Early records of the Blackfeet Nation did not include a census or name list until 1888 when all United States Blackfeet were confined to the designated reservation in Montana, and the Northern Piegans were required to live north of "The Line" (49th parallel) in Canada. Even those early records of the Indian Agency are sketchy and incomplete with no birth and death documentation. The Jesuits kept records for the Missions and schools but most early records of the Jesuits were destroyed in at least two disasters: once when lost in the sinking of a boat, and secondly when the Mission Church at St. Mary's Mission in the Okanogan valley burned. Other records were inadvertantly destroyed with some obsolete notes and papers. While some of his children were eventually listed on the Blackfoot Rolls, Hugh (as a white man) was not enrolled or named on the Indian census.

BIO:Occassional glimpses of Hugh occur in writings of western adventurers and U.S. Government records. He meets Sacajawea, guide to Lewis & Clark, in the late 1820's. He befriends and trades with James Kipp in the 1830's and knew George Catlin, Prince Maxmilian and the artist, Karl Bodmer. Among others his friends among the Mountain Men were Jin Bridger, Kit Carson, Johnson, and Peter Ogden. He guided the Jesuits, Father Lacombe and Father DeSmet, in their travels among the Blackfeet in the 1840's and 1850's.

BIO:At one time or another he is associated with the Hudson's Bay Company, the North West Company, the Missouri Fur Company and the American Fur Company as well as trapping as a "free trapper." He is a friend of Alexander Culbertson, James Dawson, Kenneth Mackenzie and other Factors, as well as a succession of Indian Agents. He was known and respected at Forts Rocky Mountain House, Bow, Union, Lewis, Benton, Belnap, Shaw, MacKenzie, McLeod and Carson. He also eventually made and maintained a friendship with tribesmen of the Blood, Gros Venture, Siksika, Crow, Cree, Sarsi, Kootenai, Pen d'Orille, and Flathead Indians, and shared their hunting and trapping grounds.

BIO:As a Christian and devout Catholic he erected a cross at St. Mary's Lakes with Father Lacombe, and yet is known for his respect of the Blackfoot religion. His children and descendants were known as "some of the more Christian of the mixed-blood families of the Reservation." He acknowledges that he believes in "dreams" that are warnings of events, and carried a "war bonnet" that he was convinced had protected him on several occassions.

BIO:In 1865 he is the "Post Hunter" at Fort Benton, and in 1887 is reported as living in Canada and at Fort McLeod. Late in his life he relates his life experiences to George Bird Grinnell and James Willard Schultz.

BIO:By 1880 the buffalo had virtually disappeared from the Great Plains, and the Blackfeet became dependant on beef rations and U.S. Government supplies. Hugh makes the difficult transition to reservation living, spending time with his children and grandchildren in areas on the Two Medicine River, the Marias and areas included in the present Glacier National Park.

BIO:Hugh always intended to keep his promise to return to Montreal to visit his parents, but somehow it was just never a good time to be gone so far away. He procrastinated from year to year. Then word arrived that his father had died, and his brothers said he should come East to help settle the estate and his inheritance. Once again Hugh just could not leave - now it was because of his wife and new baby. Across the long miles finally came the papers for him to sign to provide directions in administrating the land he had inherited.

BIO:After living with the Pikuni Hugh had his own ideas about the land, who owned it - or even IF it should be owned ! He signed the papers to accommodate his brothers, Horatio Munro and Francois LaRocque, and told them to do as they liked with the land as he had no use for it. After all, he freely roamed over hundreds of square miles, he had no need to "own" a few square feet in Ontario!

BIO:Again Hugh felt guilty about his promise to his now widowed mother. Still he procrastinated - it was the wrong time of year - Fox Woman needed him - there was another new baby to look after - they had to have the income from this season of trapping - he couldn't leave the Fort without an interpreter.... Then, long months after the actual occurance, word arrived at Fort Benton that his mother was already gone - at rest these many months in her d'Esneval tomb. He sighed, and yet was relieved. Now he had no reason to go East, and he need never again have to consider taking that long trip back to Montreal.

BIO:RETIREMENT ON THE BLACKFOOT RESERVATION

BIO:Glimpses of Hugh's life were recorded in the Hudson Bay records. After several years as a free trapper Hugh again enlisted as an "interpreter" at Bow Fort and Rocky Mountain House in 1832-34; his family now consisting of 1 woman, 3 boys and 1 girl. From 1837-1844 he is again engaged at Edmonton House, and later it is reported he was again in Edmonton but left in 1870 and returned to Montana. In 1888 he was at Fort McLeod where he was the subject of letters from Father Lacomb to HBC discussing his "infermity and destitution." Family recods show that Hugh spent most oif his last years in Montana, often living with his grandson, William Jackson. With his advancing rhumatism the last years are quiet ones for Hugh as he spends the long summers in the sun within sight of his beloved mountains, and the winters before the cabin fire. Finally, in 1896, in his 97th year, Hugh is also delivered of his earthly cares and laid to rest in the fields beside the Holy Family Mission Church and overlooking the Two Medicine River, only a short distance from the great "buffalo jump" where he and the Pikuni so often drove the buffalo. Although no stome marks his grave, no visitor to this lonely spot would deny that his spirit lingers on in the soft moaning of the prairie wind.

BIO:The best marker and memorial of his long life among his beloved Piegans in the western wilderness is the tall, red wedge of mountain towering over Two Medicine Lodges Lake and valley bearing the name "Rising Wolf." Nearby to the south lies the mountain named "Sinopahki Istuki" - Kit Fox Woman Mountain - for his faithful Piegan wife.

TBL:[NOTE: In the forward to Warren Hanna's JAMES WILLARD SHULTZ, RECENTLY DISCOVERED TALES OF LIFE AMONG THE INDIANS (Mountain Press Pub, Missoula MT, 1988) Hanna relates that most of Schultz's works were written and published AFTER 1904 (when he fled from Montana to avoid a poaching charge)and eventually relocated in Southern California. Of MY LIFE AS AN INDIAN, Shultz's most popular work, Hanna states: "The title suggests an autobiography, but it was in fact a romatic novel centered upon his wife and their life together." Shultz was nearly 50 when his first book was published in 1907 and did not take up "full-time" writing until about 1912 - long after the death of Rising Wolf and his grandson William Jackson. Research in legal records has proved that dates and other details in Shultz's biographical narratives may be in error, although the general substance of these works is truthfully protrayed. VBM]

BIO: TIME LINE HISTORY OF THE BLACKFOOT INDIAN CONFEDERACY

TBL:1730 First horses seen by Blackfeet, being ridden by Shoshoni warriors.
First guns also seen, used by Crees and Assiniboines. Arrival of first
trade goods such as glass beads and metal arrowheads. 1780 HUDSON BAY COMPANY builds Buckingham House along the Saskatchewan River;
first trading post close to Blackfoot country. 1781 Smallpox epidemic strikes Blackfoot camps for first time; over half the
population dies. The disease was picked up when Blackfoot warriors raided
a very sick Shoshoni camp in the Bow River country. 1784 The NORTH WEST COMPANY of independant fur traders and trappers moves into
Blackfoot country to compete with Hudson Bay Company. Guns, knives, axes
and arrowheads began replacing primitive weapons. Blankets, materials,
pots and awls helped to make Blackfoot tribal household life easier.
Tobacco, beads and paints became first luxury items. 1787 David Thompson, of the Hudson Bay Company, becomes the first trader to
winter with the Blackfoot (Piegans) along the Bow River. All these early
trade encounters took place in Canada. 1794 Economy: 14 Beaver pelts = 1 trade gun
1 Beaver pelt = 20 rounds of shot with powder
30 Beaver pelts = 1 large keg of "Blackfoot Rum," made by
mixing 4 or 5 quarts of pure alcohol with
about 7 gallons of water. 1799 Rocky Mountain House built by North West Company, west of Edmonton,
Alberta, becoming main Blackfoot trading center for some years. 1806 Piegans meet part of Lewis & Clark expedition in their territory, now in
Montana. Fight breaks out and one Piegan is killed, starting bad
relationship between Blackfeet and American white men. 1809 Economy: 1 common horse = 1 gal. "Blackfoot Rum," 2 fathoms of twist
tobacco, 20 balls with powder, 1 awl, 1 scalper, 1
fleshing knife, 1 gun worm, 1 P.C. glass, 1 fire
steel, and 1 flint.
Richest Piegan in that year said to own 300 horses.
Population estimate: Lodges Warriors Persons
Piegan ......... 350 700 2,800
Siksika ........ 200 520 1,600
Kainah ......... 100 200 800 1815 A 17 year old boy from Montreal named Hugh Munro becomes the first "white
Blackfoot" marrying SINOPAH, the daughter of Piegan Chief LONE WALKER, of
the Small Robes Band and learning the life
of her people. He remained with the Blackfeet near Browning, Montana,
until his death in 1896, being survived by many descendants. 1819 "Coughing" epidemic - one third die. 1821 Missouri Fur Company sends American trappers into Blackfoot country for
furs. Piegans resent their intrusion, saying they stole the furs and
traded guns to enemies, besides. A large war party annihilates most of
the trappers in an ambush before the first year is through. 1823 Population estimate: Siksika...500 lodges Blood...300 lodges
Piegans...550 lodges Total...10,800 persons 1831 James Kipp, of the American Fur Company, befriends the Blackfeet and
offers to trade for their furs, rather than sending trappers out after
it. They agree to let him build Fort Piegan on the Missouri River in
their territory. The first few days of trade brought in 6,450 pounds of
beaver, which his company sold for $46,000. The Bloods did not like
this, so they burned the post down after the trading season was finished. 1832 Blood head Chief Bull's-Back-Fat brings the first delegation of his
people to Fort Union in Assiniboin country, where they make peace with
that tribe. George Catlin becomes the first white man to paint Blackfeet,
calling them "perhaps the most powerful tribe of Indians on the
continent." Catlin estimated 500 lodges of Piegans, with the Small Robes
Band as the largest with 250 lodges. 1833 German Prince Maxmilian spends late summer with the Blackfeet. Estimates
Confederacy population at 18,000 to 20,000. The Prince and artist, Karl
Bodmer , witness an immense battle between Piegans and Cree and
Assiniboin warriors, ending peace. Piegans eventually win fight although
with heavy losses. 1835 Blackfeet bring 9,000 Buffalo robes to trade at new Fort McKenzie, 32
days travel by boat, upriver, from Fort Union, at the junction of the
Missouri and Marias River. 1837 Smallpox again strikes the Blackfeet, arriving with infected people and
clothing aboard a steamboat. Two thirds of the Confederacy is said to
have died. Over 10,000 buffalo robes were brought in for trade the next
winter. A frontier journal from that year notes that 40 to 50
independant trappers were being killed in Blackfoot country each year. 1841 Blackfeet brought in 21,000 robes for trade. Some Indian hunters became
eager for trade goods start killing buffalo for hides. Professional
white hunters kill even greater numbers of buffalo, mainly for tongues and
hides. Father DeSmet baptized first Blackfeet to Christianity. 1844 Good relations between Blackfeet and traders break off after troubles lead
one trader to fire a cannon into an innocent group of Piegans, killing 10
and wounding others. 1845 Another smallpox epidemic strikes the Blackfeet. 1846 Fifty families of Small Robes band of Piegans wiped out by Crow attack,
ending this group's often independant journeys, sometimes in company of
the Flathead tribe. Blackfeet bring another 21,000 buffalo robes to trade
to the new Fort Lewis, near the later Fort Benton. Head trader is
Alexander Culbertson who is married to Medicine Snake Woman, daughter of
Blood head chief. 1847 Culbertson moves Fort Lewis 3 miles down and across the Missouri River,
renaming it Fort Benton. This becomes the most important trading center
in Montana. Supplies travel 2,415 miles upriver by steamboat from St.
Louis. Economy: 1 Buffalo robe = 25 loads ammunition, a gallon kettle,
three knives, or 1 1/2 yds. of calico.
3 Buffalo robes = 2 1/2 point wool blanket
10 Buffalo robes = 1 trade gun (cost $4. back East) 1853 Observers wrote that the "quantity of buffalo is almost unbelievable,"
and that "the entire country of the Blackfeet perhaps the best Buffalo
Country in the N.W." Gov. I.I. Stevens meets head men of the Blackfoot
Confederacy on behalf of the U.S. Government and proposes a great peace
council to end war between the tribes, and to guarantee peace between the
Blackfeet and the whites. Chiefs agree to council.
Population estimates: Lodges Persons Warriors
Blood.............. 270 2,430 810
Siksika ........... 290 2,600 870
South Piegan ...... 200 1,800 600
North Piegan ...... 90 800 270 1855 "Lame Bull Treaty" signed by 26 principle chiefs of the Blackfoot
Confederacy defines tribal territories and proclaims peace between the
tribes and the U.S. Government. "Major" Edwin Hatch becomes first
Blackfoot Indian agent, with an office at Fort Benton. 1856 Major Hatch writes first annual report; reports he gave out treaty
annuities to about 8,000 Indians. 1857 "Major" Vaughn becomes second Blackfoot agent - the only one for many
years with good relationship with people. 1858 Agent Vaughn recommends government prohibition of trade in Buffalo robes
to prevent senseless slaughter of the animals. The suggestion is ignored
by everyone. 1859 Jesuits build first mission in American Blackfoot country, St. Peter's,
near Choteau, Montana. Indians show some interest in these unuaual
spiritual ways, but are still 100 percent devoted to their own faith.
Missionaries plan to wipe out old Indian ways, while Indians only want
Christian prayers as added blessings to what they already have. Father
Lacombe is first missionary among Canadian Blackfeet, having arrived in
1855. Agent Vaughn supervises first Blackfoot "farm," with limited
success. 1861 Long-time alliance between Blackfeet and Gros Ventures ends when an enemy
group steals horses from Gros Ventures and leaves some at Piegan camp,
leading Gros Ventures to believe the Piegans stole them. 1862 Montana Gold Rush brings illegal miners to foothills of Rockies, well
within hunting grounds reserved for Blackfeet by 1855 Treaty. Small,
bloody encounters become frequent. 1863 Blackfeet see neither Agent nor annuities promised by 1855 Treaty. New
Agent arrives at very end of year, describes Blackfeet as "degraded
savages." Things get worse and liquor flows more freely. 1864 Scarlet Fever kills an estimated 1,000 Blackfeet. 1865 U.S. Government persuades a small group of leaders from Blackfoot
Confederacy to sign a later unratified Treaty reducing official Blackfoot
country by well over 2,000 square miles, in return for about one million
dollars. Blackfeet and whites murder each other, even within Fort Benton.
Governor of Montana fears war is imminent and helps plan military action
against the Blackfeet, who avoid conflict by moving North into Canada. 1866 American whiskey traders driven out of Montana into lawlwss Alberta area,
where they build Fort Stand Off and other liquor posts, increasing
problems. North Piegan war party burns down Blackfoot agency farm on Sun
River. Nearby Jesuit mission is abandoned. Head Chief Little Dog, and
son, murdered by drunken Piegans near Fort Benton for being too friendly
with whites. Economy: 1 buffalo robe = 2 tin cups whiskey
1 fast horse = 4 gallons of whiskey 1867 Fort Shaw on Sun River becomes first U.S. Army post in Blackfoot country,
near new Blackfoot agency. 1869 Smallpox epidemic kills 2,000 Blackfeet. Popular Montana rancher Matcolm
Clarke is killed by relatives of his Blackfoot wife, leading to cries for
revenge. 1870 Major Baker leads large cavalry force from Fort Shaw to arrest killers of
Clarke. In the depths of winter they attack the wrong Piegan camp and
kill 173 people, mostly women and children. This only armed conflict
between Blackfeet and U.S. troops becomes known as the "Baker Massacre."
The last large intertribal battle takes place near Lethbridge, Alberta,
when Cree and Assiniboin forces attack a Blood camp on the Belly River,
not realizing that angry and well-armed Piegan "reugees" from the Montana
troubles are camped nearby. Attackers lose between 200 and 300 men. 1871 U.S. Congress declares end of treaty-making with Indian tribes and
nations. Ranchers begin raising cattle along the Sun River, claiming the
Blackfeet have too much land. 1873 U.S. Government arbitrarily moves southern boundary of Blackfoot country
north by 200 miles, thowing open a huge piece of territory for
settlement. Blackfeet are neither consulted nor paid. 1874 Mounted Police detachment brings law and order to Canadian Blackfoot
country and builds Fort Macleod. Northern buffalo herd estimated at four
million head, roaming Blackfoot country and centering around Sweet Grass
Hills. 1876 New Blackfoot agency built on Badger Creek, within new reduced
reservation in Montana. Blackfeet reject tobacco sent by Souix, asking
them to join in battle against whites, after Custer's defeat. I.G.Baker of
Fort Benton ships 75,000 buffalo robes to the East. Ranchers and settlers
begin to arrive in Canadian Blackfoot territory. 1877 Treaty Seven is signed at Blackfoot Crossing in Canada. Siksika, Bloods
and North Piegans separate from South Piegans and the U.S.Government,
although members from all divisions continue to go back and forth across
the border for some years, to collect treaty goods and payments. 1879 Buffalo virtually disappear from Canadian prairies, forcing government to
issue beef rations to Canadian Blackfeet for first time. South Piegans
make last great buffalo hunt in Judith Basin country of Montana. 1881 Mange epidemic said to have killed about half of Piegan horses, making
younger warriors eager to raid enemy camps, in spite of peace treaties
signed by older chiefs. Winter buffalo hunt in Montana not very
successful. 1882 Large buffalo herd discovered on reservation, south of Sweet Grass Hills.
Blackfeet make final tribal hunt. Each year more Indians depend on
government agency for food as buffalo disappear. 1883 Only a few buffalo killed. About 3,000 Indians living by agency when
rations start to run out in late winter. Government red tape holds up
additional food; people start starving. Agency gardens a complete failure 1884 Last wild buffalo killed by Blackfeet; four lone animals near Sweet Grass
Hills. "Starvation Winter" kills several hundred South Piegans
(one-fourth to one-sixth of tribe) before sufficient rations arrive. About
2,000 surviving South Piegans settle within 15 miles of their agency. 1889 Last Blackfoot war party to take enemy scalps - combined group of Bloods
and Piegans. So-called "old days" are now over.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9

Hugh married Sinopah Kit Fox Woman about 1820 in Northwest Terr. Sinopah was born in 1796-1798 in Dakota Territory; died about 1880 in , , , Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

BIO:"SINOPAH" KIT FOX WOMAN - WIFE OF HUGH, THE WHITE BLACKFOOT

BIO:George Bird Grinnell in one of his books about the Indians - PAWNEE, BLACKFOOT AND CHEYENNE (Scribner's, NY, 1913) documents Indian accounts of the coming of the white men and the acquisition of horses by the Blackfeet.

TBL:"..I presume that their first horses may have come into the hands of the Blackfeet in about 1804-6 or in the very earliest years of the present century (1800). This would agree fairly well with the statement of Mr. Hugh Munroe, who says that in 1813, when he first came among this people, they has possessed horses for a short time only, and had recently begun to make war excursions to the south on a large scale for the purpose of securing more horses from their enemies. Hugh Munroe's wife, who was born about 1796-98, used to say when she was a small girl the Piegans had no horses, dogs being their only beasts of burden.."

BIO:Sinopah, the daughter of Pikuni Chief Lone Walker by one of his nine wives, was only about seventeen years old when Hugh began his travels with the Small Robes band. As a constant companion of her brother, Red Crow, Hugh would be in intimate contact with Sinopah for several years before their marriage by "Indian Custom" in about 1820. Although women may have married young, it was the custom among the Pikuni in these early years that the young men had to achieve a certain maturity in life experience as well as age before they married. At twenty-one years of age, Hugh was marrying at an early age - perhaps allowances were made for his unique status in Lone Walker's family. In a culture where most young women were the victims of "arranged marriages," one wonders if perhaps this marriage was an exception? Perhaps Hugh was repeating the action of his father in becoming enamored of a young woman he could not forget ! The union of Rising Wolf and Sinopah seemed to be one of genuine love and affection and lasted well over fifty years. Together they raised a happy, close-knit family - surely a reflection of their own love for each other.

BIO:In the sketchy records that survive among the Blackfoot accounts, seven children are documented for Sinopah and Hugh. It is most likely that there were also other children born besides those documented as there are long periods between some of the birth dates. Many infants and children were lost among the Blackfoot families during the years of harsh winters and disease epidemics.

BIO:Sinopah and Hugh spent many years of their life trapping above the 49th Parallel in Canada, although Hugh also later anchored his life around Fort Benton, the American Fur Company post on the Missouri River, in the present state of Montana. After the Civil War, when the area became over-run with traders, soldiers, miners and other "riff-raff" of impending civilization, Rising Wolf and Sinopah left Fort Benton to go north to the "Saskatchewan Country" to trap for beaver in the spring of 1873. (See William Jackson account) Their grandson stated that he never saw his grandmother again - she died before Hugh returned to the Blackfoot reservation in the late 1880's. No record has been found of her death.

BIO:BLACKFOOT INDIAN CULTURE

BIO:The Blackfoot were a confederacy of three tribes with an Alongquian background also known as the Siksika: the Blackfoot proper, the Blood or "Kainah" and the Piegan, or Pikuni, meaning "Small Robes," located along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, south of the Marias River.

BIO:Each of the three tribes was divided into autonomous bands, with the Piegan having at least 23. In the winter the bands lived separately, usually in sheltered river valleys. In summer the bands would gather by tribe to hunt buffalo and celebrate the Sun Dance. Each band was led by a head man; the head men together formed the tribal council, and selected the tribal chief. The Blackfoot were famous horsemen, hunters and warriors who were greatly feared by their enemies.

BIO:The Blackfoot religion was very rich in both group ceremony and personal expression. Medicine bundles, consisting of a collections of sacred objects, were owned by individuals as well as bands and societies. Group ceremonies, such as the annual Sun Dance, were occasions for personal sacrifice and offerings.

BIO:The buffalo skin tipi was the usual house style of the Blackfoot as well as other nomadic Plains Indians. The women constructed and put up the tipi. Other duties of the women included dressing hides, making clothing, gathering, cooking, storing food, carrying food and water, and all work connected with packing and moving camp. Women owned the tipis, travois, household implements and the horses they rode.

BIO:The Blackfoot were primarily buffalo hunters, but supplemented their diet by gathering wild foods such as turnips, potatoes, onions, cherries, plumbs and berries. Meat and plant foods were usually dried and stored. Pemmican was made of dried, pounded meat mixed with dried berries or chokecherries and stored in skin bags. They also hunted or trapped deer, elk or antelope, but buffalo was the preferred game, providing them also with food, shelter, clothing, tools and utensils.

BIO:Decorative art included quill work and beadwork, usually applied to clothing. Women wore a long one-piece skin dress belted at the waist. Men wore skin shirts, leggings and moccasins.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9
Oct 1996

The following account is extracted from "Montana Its Story and Biography" Vol. III; Tom Stout, editor; copyright 1921; p. 1438. Since this narrative says Sinopah was 92 years old, it must have been written about 1880-1890.

The romance in the life of the aged lady, known to her tribe as the Fox woman, but to her white neighbors as Mrs. Mary Monroe, reads like a novel, but it is true, and the fact that she and her husband lived very happily together after consummating their love affair, is also authentic.

Coming to the tribe of Blackfoot Indians a youth of eighteen years as a representative of the great Hudson Bay Company, Hugh Monroe, a Frenchman, was hampered in his dealings on account of his fear of them which grew out of his not understanding them or their methods of doing business.

While trying to negotiate with them for the purchase of their furs, he happened to see the daughter of the chief, known to her people as the Fox woman, and a love which never died was kindled in his breast, but he was not permitted to speak with her, nor could he tell if he had made a favorable impression upon her, for the little Indian maiden modestly dropped her eyes and ran away.

Rendered almost desperate through learning of the presence of another suitor who was a member of her tribe, Hugh Monroe sought some other means to recommend him to her father and in vain, until one day he saw the chief trying to light his pipe. Holding out his hand he motioned to the chief to let him have it, and the surrounding Indians thought that had sealed his fate, as the pipe was not for the hands of strangers.

Probably, however, the chief knew more of this young man's character than he had hitherto admitted, for to the surprise of all, he gave it to young Monroe and stolidly watched him. This was long before the days of matches, and travelers like young Monroe carried what was called a sun glass with them. By directing the sun's rays on the glass he was able to light the pipe, and after taking a puff of it to see that it was properly lighted, he handed it back to the chief. The latter uttered a cry which made the young man feel that his last hour had come, but which was merely a summons for his warriors with whom he held a conference, all of them smoking the pipe young Monroe had lighted.

As a result of this conference he was made a member of the tribe and the husband of the Indian princess. They were married according to Indian custom, the man raising his right hand in the presence of the chief and promising to remain with and care for the woman the rest of her life. He was furnished with a wigwam, richly supplied with furs, and the chief taking him to his band of horses told him to take what he wanted of them.

The confidence displayed in him was never regretted. He took his wife's name of Fox among the Indians as was their custom, and lived with the tribe the remainder of his life, learning their language and wearing their dress. He and his wife had ten children.

She survives him and is now ninety-two years old. Mrs. Monroe is cared for by her niece, Mrs. Maggie Fox, a daughter of Edward and Maggie (Monroe) Houseman. Mrs. Maggie Fox has two daughters and one son, namely: Edith D., Olive C., and Cecil. These children have been well educated and attended both the Government and public schools of Montana. The daughters have magnificent heads of hair reaching to their knees.

Mrs. Fox's mother was a very handsome French half-breed, who was also noted for the luxuriance of her hair. When sitting in a chair she could throw her hair over the back of the chair and it would reach to the floor in great waves.

Leonard Fox, husband of Mrs. Maggie Fox, was a veteran of the war between the North and South.

The Fox residence is at Glacier Park, where the family is engaged in ranching. Their neighborly kindness has made them a large circle of friends.