July 31, 1893
"Pax vobis," proclaims Bishop John Brondel, wishing peace on a congregation of more than 1,000 people and launching the liturgy of a Pontifical Mass at St. Ignatius Mission. It's the first in the majestic gothic-style brick church, which will still be in service in the 21st century.
The dedication has been set for this Monday on the feast of St. Ignatius, the patron saint after whom the mission was established in 1853.
"When fully completed, (it) will be the finest church edifice in the state of Montana," writes Peter Ronan, agent of the Flathead Reservation.
Children at the mission give a school exhibition and a brass band composed of 16 Indian boys entertains after mass. More than 300 children attend the boarding school, which is comprised of a boys' department, conducted by Jesuit fathers; a girls' department headed by the Sisters of Providence, and St. Joseph's kindergarten, which is conducted by Ursuline nuns.
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In the days leading up to the dedication, Father Jerome D'Aste documented the arrival of clergy and others.
"Quite a number of Indians came in, among others old Michael, Charlos and good many Flat Heads," he wrote on July 29. "The Bishop arrived to night."
July 29, 1914
The era of stagecoach robberies in the West is long since past - except in Yellowstone National Park.
In an hour's time starting at 10 a.m., Ed Trafton and Charles Erpenback hold up 15 excursion coaches in succession at Shoshone Point, a few miles east of Old Faithful Inn. They relieve 165 tourists of some $1,000 in cash and jewelry before riding off.
Erpenback flees on foot to a cabin near the park's western edge, where he'll be captured a couple of days later. He will eventually confess and finger Trafton as his accomplice. Trafton will be arrested 10 months later in Rupert, Idaho, and sentenced to five years in Leavenworth.
Masked by a black handkerchief, Trafton steps into the road and stops the coaches one by one. Erpenback remains in the woods behind to prevent the coaches from turning back.
Passengers are forced to line up and deposit their money in a sack Trafton has placed on the ground. He controls the situation "by very forcible language backed by a dangerous-looking rifle which he held in a position ready for instant use," the acting park superintendent will write in his annual report.
The robbery is aided by park regulations which prohibit visitors from carrying firearms.
July 30, 1916
Should the U.S. enter the Great War in Europe, Montana stands ready to mobilize … its automobiles.
"It is interesting to note that in this mountain State nearly every town has one or two garages, fitted with small machinery that could be used in case of need," Howard E. Coffin says in a report of "industrial preparedness" issued in New York.
"In the hasty supply of cavalry troops Montana could play a prominent part with its great horse markets at Miles City and Dillon," Coffin reports.
He's chairing the committee charged by the U.S. Naval Consulting Board. The panel is inventorying some 30,000 manufacturing concerns in the nation that can render "important service in the event of war."
The report is based on a three-month volunteer study by engineers. It addresses each state's resources in alphabetical order. Montana's end is headed by Edward Mathewson, general manager of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co.
