Friday Photo: Dolly Davis

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 97-72.7

Dolly Davis displays coyotes killed near Roundup circa 1937. I know hunters who wish they could shoot as well as she did. Have a great weekend.

Friday Photo: Hunting Season

I hope you all enjoyed October's haunted history series as much as I did. For this week's photo, let's switch gears to another seasonal topic that has Montanans buzzing. And no, not the election.

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 948-563

Except for the vintage car, this 1913 photo looks pretty similar to what you might see on a Montana road today. Some things never change.

Bonus: These hunters might have used Mrs. J.W. Arthur's recipe for broiled venison steaks from the First Presbyterian Church of Lewistown's 1902 cookbook, Daily Bread: Compiled from Tested Recipes of the Ladies of Fergus County. Would you try it?

Steaks are usually cut from the leg or haunch. They are not good unless very hot. Put the dish in which they are to be served over a kettle of boiling water to heat. Put in it a piece of butter size of a walnut, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, add 1 tablespoonful of currant jelly if desired. Grease the griddle with suet, lay steaks on it, broil over a hot fire, turning almost constantly, put them in the heated dish and turn them in the butter once or twice; serve on heated plates. The quantities given are for two steaks.

P.S. Remember this recipe for duck?

Friday Photo: Duck Hunting

Duck hunting season opens this weekend, so this photo seems timely.


Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 948-572

This circa 1914 photo is simply titled "Duck Hunting on the Hi Line."

Bonus: Here's a recipe for duck from The Progressive Cook Book published by the Billings First United Methodist Church in 1893. It was written by Juliet Corson.

Roast Duck with Apples
Pluck and singe a duck, draw it, wipe with a wet towel and lay in a baking pan; wipe a dozen small sour apples with a wet cloth, cut the cores out and arrange around the duck. Put pan into the oven and quickly brown the duck; then moderate the heat of the oven and continue cooking until the apples are tender; baste both every five minutes until done, then serve both on the same dish.

Enjoy!

Trail of Destruction

On this day in 1854, Irish nobleman Sir George Gore arrived in St. Louis to prepare for a hunting trip of astonishing destruction. An Oxford educated scholar and avid hunter, Sir George had thrilled to tales of the American west and organized a three-year hunting trip. His party soon set out from Westport, Missouri, under sanction of the American Fur Trading Company; famed mountain man Jim Bridger was guide. The caravan included 110 horses, 20 yoke of oxen, 50 hunting hounds, and 28 vehicles, 16 of them carrying Sir George’s luggage. When the party camped, a large green and white striped canvas wall tent provided Sir George’s shelter. French carpet, heating stoves, a brass bedstead, a steel bathtub, an oak dining set, and a commode with a fur-lined seat and removable pot promised Sir George all the comforts. For two years he passed the evenings enjoying sumptuous banquets, fine wine, and literary discussions with Bridger. By day Sir George pursued game on his gray thoroughbred named Steel Trap. Aside from trophy heads, he rarely retrieved the meat, instead leaving it to spoil. After he devastated the Yellowstone valley in 1856, Crow estimates of his terrible waste there included 105 bears, more than 2,000 bison, and 1,600 elk and deer. Sir George's reputation preceded him, however. In the Black Hills, en route to St. Louis, his party fell prey to a band of Sioux. Stripped naked and forced to abandon their goods, the arrogant hunter and his party experienced survival for real. During his stay in Montana, Sir George left one lasting legacy. He named the Yellowstone’s local tributary “Glendive” from which the town, some twenty-five years later, took its name.