Firecracker Fishing

Another order for C. W. Rank & Company in Virginia City, Montana, this one dated June 15, 1903. "This Bill Due July 5th". Which meant that Passmore Paper expected C. W. Rank in Virginia City to pay up after the fireworks went up in smoke. Although Passmore Paper billed itself as "THE ONLY STRICTLY WHOLESALE PAPER AND STATIONERY HOUSE IN MONTANA", there was no paper line items on this billhead. It was all fireworks, but for the 5 packages of punk on the bottom line.

Firecracker labels are actually collectible. Until the turn of the century, most of the firecrackers and fireworks were made in China, but in the early 1900's, India began marketing fireworks as well. I looked at literally thousands of Chinese firecracker labels on the web. I found Cowboys and Indians of all kinds, but only one fish. I hooked this one. I've heard of dynamite fishing and blast fishing, but never firecracker fishing. Now I have. 

GOOD MEDICINE - Kickapoo Sagwa

A billhead from the Montana Drug Company in Butte, Montana, dated the 6th of May, 1903. The second line item grabbed my eye immediately when I found this billhead. The recipient of this order was C. W. Rank & Company, in Virginia City, Montana. This business was the first 'drug store' in the territory and hence in the state, and is still in business in this restored historical landmark. Virginia City was not the site of the first gold strike in Montana, but it was one of the richest. The image of the bottle is from a photograph by Elaine Selene, and I found it by doing a Google search for Kickapoo Medicine. "For the Relief of Biliousness, Constipation, Sluggish Liver". I have some serious questions about the cure of sluggish liver, since the alcohol content is 9 and 1/2 percent. This should probably be classified as Snake Oil, but we have a hung jury on that one. This piece of paper will go with me to Great Falls, Montana, for the Western Heritage Artist Show and Sale in March

July 4th, 1904 - Virginia City.

An order for Fireworks, including Electric Torpedos, Triangles, 4 Ball Roman Candles, Rockets, Serpents, Hornets, Sky Larks and assorted Crackers. From a paper company in Butte, Montana, to C. W. Rank & Company in Virginia City. Up until the turn of the Century, the Chinese had pretty much cornered the market on fireworks. Then India got involved. The oldest Indian fireworks company is Standard, and they are still in business. This is another piece I will be taking to the Western Heritage Artists Show, and if you're interested, we're also on Facebook!

The Steamboat Dacotah

The Steamboat Dacotah

This is a veritable treasure as history goes. The particulars are as follows: Dated the 16th of June, 1881, Montana would not be a state for another eight years. It is a bill of lading addressed to J. H. McKnight who had the trading post at Fort Shaw, West of what is now Great Falls on the Sun River. It was one of three sister steamboats built specifically to haul freight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Fort Benton, Montana Territory. The three sisters boats were the Montana, the Dacotah and the Wyoming.Of those three boats, the Dacotah hauled the greatest tonnage of freight to Fort Benton, and did that on its second trip of the year in 1881 arriving at Fort Benton on the 4th of July.

The Dacotah was actually the 6th boat to arrive at the levee, and the date indicated on this way bill is not the day that it arrived, but rather the day the freight was unloaded. This boat actually belonged to the Coulson brothers, and was not a boat which belonged to T. C. Powers. My assumption is that some of the freight belonging to Powers was put on the landing at Coal Banks, and was then transported to Fort Benton on the Dacotah, thus explaining the reason why this is a Power way bill rather than a Coulson way bill.

Regardless of who this boat belonged to, this image was taken from the only extant photograph of the Dacotah.

Frackin' Bolshevik

This is the first in a series of pieces of business paper for C. B. Stalnaker. He was known as "Charlie" in the oil extraction business of the early 30's, 40's and very early 50's of Northern Montana and Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. I have an image of a device with this label on it, and I also have a piece of Charlie's business paper that specifies this very device - a torpedo - by name. This one has some information missing or I could actually point to a spot on the map where he used 35 quarts of oil explosive - nitroglycerin - to improve the output of the well. Charlie was an expert. He died in bed at the age of 87.

Common Goldeneye #23 in Series

This is my art work for the 2013 Federal Duck stamp issue. I'm finally back to doing some art in my studio, and these needed to be done for subscribers that have been waiting for three months for something that they've paid for already - at least the stamps. And - it's not quite duck season. I'll be back to the Charlie Stalnaker story in short order.