People
THE EVANS FAMILY
From 'Fanning the Embers', published 1971, Range Rider Reps, Miles City, Montana
By Annette Evans Stark Smith
George Evans and two daughters, Grace and Helen, along with two cows and a registered Jersey bull, their household belongings and machinery arrived in about 1906. Two brothers had preceded them to Montana and had also taken up homesteads at the head of Graveyard Creek on different branches. George and the girls homesteaded about one quarter of a mile down the creek from Jim, while Frank lived over the ridge on the other side. George Evans built a log cabin with a full basement made from native rock; this part was used as the kitchen. After George passed away the girls moved over to live with Frank. Frank enlisted in World War I and was sent to San Franicsco where he died of pneumonia, there being a point at San Francisco called "Pneumonia Point". Frank's cabin had a dirt floor and the girls had the prize Jersey bull picketed out. They heard bawling and looked out and here was the neighbor's bull coming on the fight. The bull, a big Hereford, belonged to Mr. Van Horn. The girls ran and upstaked their bull, taking him in the house. Well, in there he caused quite a bit of confusion so Grace took the broom and ran him out. As luck would have it, Mr. Van Horn was close behind and all things settled down. Jim and his wife and son moved to the Rosebud Creek where they ranched for many years. They moved to the Gallatin Valley near Bozeman where Jim continued in the ranching business, raising registered Brown Swiss cattle, until he passed away. His wife is now living in Wisconsin. Helen married Arndt Hanson, a nativeborn Norwegian. They homesteaded on Six Mile Creek near the Tongue River, later moving to the Powder River country, where four children were born to them, Eudocia, Louise and a set of twins, Dan and Don. "Mother" Bradshaw delivered the twins. From the Powder River they moved back to the Six Mile Creek area to live with an uncle of Arndt's, Hans Bjornstad. During this period, they were building the road from Miles City to Hathaway and then on. It so happened on rainy days, or weeks when they did not have funds to work with, they had a camp set up on Theade Creek and headquartered there. In their spare time they had up ended a big rock with the Fresno and they used it to carve their names on. It had a carved cross at the top and their names in the following order, John Ellis, Arndt Hanson, Tommy Hook. When Highway 10 later built through this area the rock was found. The story got around that it marked the grave of three men hung by the Vigilantes. This was common talk everywhere in Miles in the Creamery, in Rosebud by school teachers and so on. It so happened that all three men were still alive so in the years that have passed the story has finally been corrected. Arndt Hanson was the last of the group to pass away and that was in 1963. But, every year, the Highway Department would paint the rock, and put the names back in their carving with black paint. One story goes the County run out of funds on this creek and these men were out of work. Thus, they carved on this rock, "Here lies J. W. Ellis, A Hanson and J. E. Hook. The Highway Department believing there were men buried there, gave them due respect of the dead only to find out later it was the dead end of the County road at that time and no dead men buried there. Old timers got quite a kick out of the wild tales told about these men and if the Highway Department keeps painting this would be marker, there will be future tales but this will verify the old land mark.