In the spring of 1879, Flora Gardner traveled from Kansas to Bozeman with her family, via steamboat and wagon. Once settled in her new home, Flora sent a letter to friends in Kansas describing the trip’s adventures. This is the second of a four-part article sharing Flora’s letter chronicling the family’s two-week-long wagon adventure from Fort Benton to Bozeman. Last month’s article ended with the Gardner family journeying southwest out of Fort Benton and bound for the Sun River west of present-day Great Falls. An edited and annotated continuation of Flora’s letter follows.

We travelled ten miles and stopped for dinner near a muddy lake. I forgot to say that we had to haul our wood as there is not a stick to be had on this road. Wednesday evening we camped at the Twenty-eight mile Springs, more water and more alkali. Here there is a Stage Station where the passengers take supper. It rained some that night and was still raining next morning when we started.  None of us felt very well [they had made the mistake of drinking alkali water two days prior], but we rolled on just the same. At noon we were at the great lakes. I guess they were great if plenty of water would make them so.

This is likely a reference to the shallow wetlands area known today as Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, north of Great Falls. Created by ancient glaciers, this region floods seasonally and can cover up to six thousand acres.

By this time mother was very sick, and I felt as if I had eaten soap and washed it down with lye. I tell you we were as blue a looking set as ever. We did not stop long, the wind was blowing a gale and cold, dear me, it did seem we would perish. Thursday night we camped again in the same kind of country, the same water and no wood worth speaking of. Some of the children were crying with cold and mother was so sick she could not sit up or eat a bite. Ed managed to get some tea made and we went to bed to thaw out.


That was the most desolate night I ever spent. Ed was taken with a severe pain in his breast all at once and could not draw a long breath. I did not know what to do, did not know how far we were from any place…I hardly knew myself asleep that night. The horses were cold and uneasy. They kept trying to break loose from the wagons and finally got to kicking at each other and squealing.
I thought one of them was choking to death and called Charley. Poor boy, he was so tired and sleepy he could not get it into his head for a good while what was the matter. He finally got up but could not find any of his clothes. I told him to run as he was or some of the team would be dead. He did run but the tent strings were tied in a hard knot. Of course he could not untie them, he tried to jump out, got one leg over and there he was. I have laughed a hundred times since, but you may be sure it was not funny at the time. His Pa told him to take out his knife and cut the tent open, but mercy, he did not know any more about his knife than he did about his pants and boots. He finally got out and found the horses were only kicking each other and not choking. He changed them around and came back to bed with his feet full of prickly pear thorns and nearly perished with cold.

Next morning we all felt a little better. At noon, we were at Sunriver crossing. This is a very pretty little town, has a large brick hotel, and quite a number of pretty dwellings and yards. The river is larger than the Nodaway [a tributary of the Missouri River in Iowa and Missouri] and has a toll bridge. We had to pay three dollars to cross it. We camped there and rested that afternoon. Here we all began to renew our strength and have been on the mend ever since. You would hardly know us; we have grown so young and handsome. We thought Sunriver was well named, as we had scarcely pitched our tent when the sun came out warm and pleasant and the wind quit blowing. It did seem so good to get a pure fresh drink of water right from the mountains. Ed went to the store and bought a ham, some potatoes, cheese and canned fruit. I prepared dinner and you may know it was a little extra.

The small community of Sun River is located just west of Great Falls along the Sun River in Cascade County. Beginning in the mid-1860s, immigrants crossed the river here during the long trek overland from Fort Benton to the gold rush towns of Virginia City and Bannack.

Friday morning, we are all better and think that we will live to get through. The boys soon have the teams harnessed, and here we begin to go up hill again. All who have walking tickets find plenty of use for them. The boys would often say they thought their tickets were about worn out, but it did not cost anything to renew them. We were overloaded and I felt so sorry for the teams that I walked every step that I was able, and that was not a little. Soon after we left Sunriver, we came in sight of Ft. Shaw. It is on Sunriver five miles higher up than where we crossed it…I think the grass and leaves have a brighter and fresher look in this country than in Missouri and the wildflowers are lovely. Mary is very fond of flowers, and sometimes she would get a long way from the wagons gathering bouquets.

At noon we stopped near a ranch where there is a large spring. They had little ditches all through the garden and around the yard, and that clear, cold water runs wherever they have a mind to turn it. Mother and I went to the house and called on the lady. She was Irish, and she had been in the country nine years, and was well pleased. They made butter and raised vegetables for sale. She said she received 40 cents a pound for butter. I did not get any for I knew I would have tasted the 40 cents for a week after the butter was gone.

Dinner over, all aboard that don’t go afoot. Eagle Rock was where we wanted to get that night. It was not long before we were in sight of it, but it was near night when we arrived there. Getting in sight of a place in this country is nothing, getting there is the question. Eagle Rock is an immense bald looking rock, set up on the top of a mountain. You can imagine that it looks like an eagle with the feathers all pulled out. Fin, Charley, and Florence all climbed to the top of it. This is a stage station and there is just room enough between the mountains for the house and barn and a little garden. [Like Benton Lake and Sun River, Eagle Rock was a landmark noted by early travelers making the journey from Fort Benton to Helena.]

After supper a lady from the house came over to call. She was from Helena and was visiting her sister, who lives at this place. She knew we were Pilgrims and thought she would give us a word of encouragement. [She did, but also left the Gardners with a Montana warning.] “Let me warn you to look out for the wolves tonight. There was one that sat under my window and howled the greater part of last night, and of course they will come around your tent.” The boys examined their revolvers and put them under their heads. The children all wanted to sleep in the middle that night and so did I. Next morning when breakfast was ready and the ten tin plates were filled there was one for each plate so I knew none of us had been carried away during the night. From the way they all ate I don’t think any of them had been very badly frightened.

Sabbath morning the question whether we had better lay over or travel was debated…we traveled. The clouds were hanging on the tops of the mountains, and we were afraid of rain. We passed some large herds of sheep and cattle. All looked fat and the little calves were beauties. At noon we stopped at the foot of Bird Tail Mountain…I tell you it was up hill business. Fin and Archie ran off to one side a little way and brought us some snow to eat. It was a fine treat for we were pretty warm by this time. Every step brought us nearer the clouds and it was not long until we were in a cloud and in the rain, too. When we reached the top, Florence and I sat down on a big rock, talked about our old home and looked around on the country below. The sun was shining brightly in the valley and we could see horses and cattle grazing at the foot of the hills. There were some very pretty flowers blooming on top of the mountain, wasting their fragrance in the clouds. 

To be continued…