Ben D. Kline: A True Leader of the Métis

Courtesy of Lewistown News Argus**
Sunday, December 12, 1999
Christmas Edition by George D. Mueller

(Editor's note: Among the large Métis settlement in Lewistown's infancy, one man stood out as a leader. That man was Benjamin (Ben) Kline.  A considerable amount of material for this article was taken from a sketch of Kline’s life by his friend, Rev. Fr. Victor G. van den Brock, pastor of St. Leo's church. He prepared it for the Montana Historical Society library. It appeared in an article in the Great Falls Tribune on May 16, 1926.)

Photo of Ben Kline      Photo of Ben Kline with cart and horse

 Ben Kline was born 18 miles east of a place now known as Fort Totten, near Devils Lake, N.D., on Oct. 13, 1847. His father was a half-breed German on his father's side and Chippewa on his mother's. Ben's mother was a Beauchemin, whose father, a French Canadian from Montreal, had married a half-breed Crow.

 As a boy he attended a mission for six months where the minister's wife, who spoke Chippewa, taught him the English language. However, his English was somewhat limited as his school days were cut short by an uprising of the Indians. They destroyed the school and mission buildings.

 Kline made his first trip into Montana Territory in 1865 and was so well pleased with the country that he returned with a number of companions. Following up the Missouri River and then up the Milk River, they selected a camp site between the present towns of Malta and Glasgow. They erected a number of cottonwood cabins there.

 A short time after being established, an epidemic of small pox broke out among a band of Indians who had a camp near their cabins. However, Kline and companions remained immune. The fact aroused the jealousy and anger of the Indians who were losing a large number of their sick, especially children.

 It was said that they maliciously visited the Metis camp and did everything in their power to communicate the disease to them, but without success. However, as a precautionary measure, Kline moved back to Devils Lake.

 About 1866, he married Angeline St. Peter. Ten children were born to them.

 Kline again returned to Montana Territory in 1867. In the fall of that year X. Beidler, United States Marshal for Montana Territory and known for his association with the Vigilantes, having heard that Canadian traders were at the camp illegally transacting business in the U.S. came among them.

 Beidler gathered evidence, confiscated the entire stock of the Canadians, valued at not less than $15,000, set fire to their cabins and ordered the traders, Antoine Gladue and James Francis, to return to Canada. He allowed the other members of the party to remain.

 Kline and those with him asked Beidler how they were to get supplies for their families and ammunition for hunting. Beidler turned to Francis Janeaux, a member of his own party, and asked Kline how he would like to have Janeaux as storekeeper.

 After consulting with members of his party, Kline replied that Janeaux would be acceptable to all. This was to be the start of a close friendship between Kline and Janeaux.

 Janeaux had been picked up by Beidler near Fort Belknap where he had been working in the post store. He went to Fort Peck for supplies and returned in a month to the Metis camp.

 In March 1868 or 1869, Frank Ouelette and his brother crossed the border from Canada with supplies they desired to exchange for buffalo hides. After acquiring a good supply of hides, Beidler suddenly came upon them, arresting Ouelette and confiscated his supplies and hides, which he sent to Fort Peck and appointed Janeaux as detective.

 Soon after this, Janeaux arrested Joseph La Fournaise for bringing a 10 gallon keg of whiskey from Canada for sale to the Metis. La Fournaise was fined $20 and Kline was sent to Fort Browning with a dispatch addressed to Marshal Beidler, advising him or the incident.

 For the next two years Kline and the other members of the 25 families in all continued to live on the Milk River, never wandering farther away than the Little Rockies hunting buffalo. The hides, after dressing, were sold to the T.C. Power Company.

 Pierre Berger was the leader of this band, but Kline, being the only one who could speak English, was next in command and practically transacted all the business of the camp.

 The Metis were meat eaters and from 1869 until they moved south, they lived exclusively on fresh and dried buffalo meat, bread and tea. Kline said they had potatoes only once. They gave two buffalo robes, representing a value of $10, for a sack of potatoes. They never had any other sort of vegetables.

 Others in this camp were Isadore, Isaie and John V. Berger, brothers of the leader, Pierre Berger. Vital Turcotte and Frank Ouelette, all of French-German-Cree-Chippewa and Assiniboine origin.

 The moving of the band from the Milk River country to the Judith Basin was the result of the discovery in the winter of 1878-79 by Frank Daignon and John Laverdure of some horses belonging to Major Reed of the Reed and Bowles trading post. When notified of the find, Reed, accompanied by Matt Sitteljin, a Canadian, went to the Metis camp in January 1879 to identify the horses.

 During his visit, Reed told the Metis of the beautiful country in which he lived - a basin surrounded by mountains with fine streams full of fish, game in abundance and large herds of buffalo roaming the whole of the basin. His description so stirred the imagination of the hunters that they decided to move immediately to the new hunting grounds.

 Captain Williams, the commanding officer at Fort Benton, furnished the Metis with an escort of two soldiers and two civilians who guided them as far as what in later years became known as the Felix McGinn ranch on Cottonwood Creek.

 From there the party moved toward Big Spring Creek and camped on the former John Crowley ranch north of the former Great Northern freight house in Lewistown.

 Two hunters were sent to Black Butte, northeast of Lewistown, to locate the buffalo. In a short time they reported they had found a large herd northeast of the butte. After a few days of rest, all the hunters went after the buffalo and killed large numbers.

 It was necessary for the Metis to follow the buffalo and they drifted in the direction of Flatwillow Creek. In July 1879, they were joined by Pierre Laverdure, Frances Daignon and Francis Janeaux, who had traveled from Fort Benton.

 They all moved south of the Big Snowy Mountains toward Judith Gap where they found the country literally black with buffalo,  and they killed so many that it took them a week to dress and dry the meat.

 After returning to Big Spring Creek, they camped near Reedsfort where they found Paul Morase and a Canadian named Renaud who had come from Rocky Point on the Missouri.

 They were so pleased with their surroundings that they decided to take up land and make the basin their permanent home. Morase and Janeaux located on the present site of Lewistown and streets are named for them.

 Other Metis settled on Burnett and Boyd Creek, which empty into Big Spring Creek near Lewistown. Some went further east toward Grass Range on coulees and streams tributary to Big Spring and McDonald creeks. They remained there and raised their families and increased in numbers.

 From 1890 to 1900 they had a population of probably 400 to 500. During that period they attained considerable political strength with a representative vote of from 75 to 100, and their support was largely sought by the politicians.

 Due to the untimely death of Francis Janeaux in 1888 at the age of 49, Kline took over as leader of the Lewistown area Metis.

 Ben Kline was one of the few who could speak English, a leader among them and a man of great influence. He took on much prominence as he usually directed the political leaning of the entire band. About 40 Metis votes figured in Lewistown election, while there were 30 to 40 votes in the country toward Grass Range.

 In 1880, Kline took up a homestead a few miles east of Lewistown on Half Breed Creek and developed an excellent ranch property there free of encumbrances. In fact, during his life, he was one of the few who never let himself get into debt and always lived within his means.

 In an interview with the late Oscar 0. Mueller shortly before his death, Kline revealed several interesting facets of his life not previously known.

 Mueller described Kline as having a casual appearance. blocky, of medium height, weighing about 175 pounds when in health and wearing long gray hair, which he stated was always white as long as he could remember.

 Kline revealed he was a scout assisting a mail carrier from Fort Totten to Fort Stevenson on the bend of the Missouri River south of Minot, and about 200 miles west of Devils Lake. They would leave in the evening, traveling only in the night on account of the marauding Sioux Indians.

 They traveled by compass. Kline indicating by signs the method used. They would usually lay over during the day, hiding in a slough, which is kind of a lake pond with high grass. One would sleep while the other watched. They used a grass cap instead of their regular head wear so as not to be seen when looking out of the tall slough grass.

 It took two days and two nights to make the trip, or at least they were paid on that basis at the rate of $10 per day and per night, or $40 for the trip.

 They usually arrived at Fort Stevenson in the early morning and usually didn't attempt to go down to the fort until daylight and then would shoot off their guns and make other signs to indicate they were not enemies. The people at the fort were delighted to see them.

 Kline cut wood around Devils Lake at $1.50 per cord, but was unable to make a bare living.

 He chuckled when he told Mueller he was able to borrow $25 from a Jew merchant at Fort Totten to make the trip to Montana Territory in 1866. The next year he sent him five buffalo robes as payment. Kline had a keen sense of humor and emphasized the fact that he was able to talk a Jew into making a loan without any security.

 Francis Janeaux had built what was known as Fort Janeaux on Frenchman Creek. Kline was one of the clerks. They traded mainly with the Metis, having a federal license to do so and of course all liquors were prohibited. There was practically no money used and Kline stated that even so much as 35 cents in actual change would be a curiosity.

 Kline recalled his and Janeaux's connection with Beidler. Janeaux was very fond of liquor, as were practically all of the men of that day.

A bootlegger arrived at the trading post and gave Janeaux a few bottles of liquor. Of course, this was prohibited. In order not to allow an infraction without some punishment, Janeaux, who was sort of a deputy marshal under Beidler, fined the bootlegger $10.

 He then pulled a $10 gold piece out of his pocket and paid the fine himself. He sent Kline to the headquarters of Beidler with a letter and the $10 which Kline delivered to Beidler. He was very much delighted with the transaction.

 Thereafter, they had no trouble with Beidler and his deputies. Beidler was also very fond of liquor and in his duties of running down bootleggers, consumed a considerable amount of the condemned material.

 Kline told another amusing incident of how Beidler, knowing that one of the Metis was making moonshine whiskey, would approach him and ask him if he had any. The Metis responded that he had and that he had tried it out on his father-in-law and that it did not kill him, whereupon Beidler informed him that he was willing to also take a chance.

 They stayed at the trading post on Frenchman Creek for about two or three years and then moved down and located a trading post for about a year or so near where Saco is now located.

 Kline told of an amusing incident of their trip from the Milk River to the Missouri River escorted by soldiers. The Metis were lined up in their Red River carts single file extending about a mile in length.

 The soldiers and some of the Metis started a run on a bunch of buffalo. The buffalo, in order to escape in a group, made a run toward the line of carts, puncturing the line and knocking the Metis and their carts down like a bunch of ten pins.

 The Sioux Indians later robbed the Metis of all their ponies and they were finally forced to travel about on their carts or by putting their cows in the shafts in lieu of ponies.

 According to his friend David Hilger, Ben was honest, straight-forward and reliable, intelligent, though not educated and well informed in business matters. He never sought public honors and never accepted a public office.

 According to Frances M. Shoup, Kline's granddaughter, Ben had a number of prominent close friends other than David Hilger and Fr. van den Brock. Some of these were Charles Kelly and Judge Roy Ayers.

 Kline was proud of his membership in the Society of Montana Pioneers and attended several of its conventions.

 He was frequently seen in town driving his family buggy. In later years, it was sold to the late Sam Zellick and his family enjoyed it for six years.

 In failing health for two years, Ben Kline passed away on Jan. 13, 1932. He is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Lewistown. 

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** Consent to post the stories and photos for non commercial use from the Lewistown News Argus was graciously granted by Dave Byerly former owner and Publisher. These stories and photos may not be used by any commercial entity for any reason without consent from the Lewistown News Argus.