Yellowstone Kelly

 Yellowstone Kelly

Occasionally an historic character passes through Ransom County. Take Luther S. Kelly, for instance. His birth name won’t be recognized, but when his contemporaries added the nickname “Yellowstone,” he became Yellowstone Kelly, a historic character who made a name for himself on the frontier.

As a younger man he tried to join the military during the Civil War, but since he was only 16 years of age, the army denied his enlistment wishes. He still wanted in, though, but didn’t go to the lengths one young enlistee made when he wrote the number 18 on a piece of paper and slipped it in his shoe. When he went in to enlist, he swore that he was “over 18.”

Whether that story was true or not, Kelly was successful the second time he tried enlisting because of the help of his mother. We don’t know if it was ego or tongue-in-cheek when he wrote that the army officer who examined him this time “seemed impressed by my good looks and tall stature.”

In the spring of 1867 while still wearing the army uniform, he was stationed at Fort Wadsworth in Dakota Territory which is near the Sisseton we know today. His company received orders to build a fort near Bears Den Hill. As they travelled along to this assignment, they came upon the startling scene of dead buffaloes as far as the eye could see. They appeared to be healthy animals and did not bear bullet or arrow wounds so the cause of their death remained a mystery. Nevertheless the scene impressed him because they were the first buffalo Kelly had ever seen.

His first look at Bears Den Hill did not impress him. He called it a grass-covered knob set in a rolling plain that was bare of timber except for trees along streams and coulees. They immediately began building the fort which for the most part consisted of plain log buildings having rough board floors lighted by candles. Kelly tells us more than anyone does about their daily lives at the fort. Daily rations consisted of salt pork, bacon, beans, rice, dried apples, and peaches, together with coffee and tea. For the evening meal the cook dished out a plate of cold boiled pork, a big chunk of bread, and a pint of tea.

Fort Ransom couldn’t hold Kelly. His term of enlistment ended less than a year after arrival and he chose not to re-enlist. The wide open spaces beckoned and he chose an independent life of adventure. He went to Fort Buford which was situated in the midst of white and Indian turmoil. Whenever mail passed between Fort Buford and Fort Stevenson, an escort of mounted troops usually accompanied it. Kelly gained respect for the following event.

One day an expected delivery of mail to Fort Buford did not arrive, and they suspected the mail carrier and his escort had been intercepted. The officer-in-charge wanted to send some important mail to Fort Stevenson, but no soldiers could be spared for escort service. Kelly stepped forward

and volunteered to take the mail through alone. Because of his youthful appearance, people overhearing his offer broke out laughing at him. He persisted and received the go-ahead.

He crossed the ice on the Missouri River and reached Fort Berthold two days later. After resting for a few hours he headed out to Fort Stevenson which he reached in good order and handed the important dispatch to Col. de Trobriand. Wasting no time, he headed back.

On the return trip he encountered a situation which the famous western painter C. M. Russell preserved on canvas. Kelly met two Sioux warriors who began shooting at him. They wounded both Kelly and his horse, but he began defending himself and killed one with a shot to the heart. The second one took cover behind a large cottonwood tree and while ducking back and forth took quick shots at Kelly. The game didn’t go on long because Kelly anticipated the warrior’s timing and connected with a timely shot.

In 1873 General Forsyth received orders to explore the Yellowstone River and realized he needed a reliable guide, and Kelly came highly recommended. He went on to guide for the different expeditions undertaken by the military in Montana. The years passed until an episode in his life called the Alaskan expedition occurred. The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 and then forgot about it until gold was discovered there in 1896. The government realized the area was a blank spot on the map and sent military units there to conduct surveying and mapping work. Kelly hired on as an interpreter and guide. Their work made possible the building of the Alaska Railroad in 1923 because it followed the route mapped by the 1898 expedition.

He went on to fight in the Philippines after which he served as the Indian agent at the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. As he grew older, he received recognition from the outgoing President Theodore Roosevelt who invited him to the White House for a breakfast gathering of people that TR admired for their work. In addition to Kelly were Seth Bullock, the sheriff of Deadwood, Gifford Pinchot, head of the forest service, and almost thirty others. Finally, to cap it off, Kelly retired to a small farm in California.

In his 80th year he realized the fact of his mortality and requested that upon his death he be sent back to Montana for burial. When he died in 1928, his casket was accompanied by a military honor guard to Billings, Montana where he was borne by horse-drawn wagon to a spot on The Rimrocks overlooking the Yellowstone River Valley. A thousand people attended the ceremony.