Remember When?

EXCERPT FROM BOOK “WILD HORSE PLAINS”

BY JOHN RHONE 1969

Introduction - Yes, I know I’m late – about thirty years. This job of writing a history of this section of Montana should have been done about that time, while many of the old timers who were actually here and took part in the early day events were still with us.

Part of Rowena (Garber) Lyle’s story reads as follows: “My people came here from Missoula in 1889, and lived in the section house and my youngest brother was born there. They later moved to the ranch by buying the squatter’s right of one “Whiskey Jack” for $300. Father’s section crew consisted of a crew of coolies, and I remember my mother giving them chickens for their New Year’s dinners. They thought a lot of Dad because he doctored them when they were ill.”

That brings to mind another of the important cogs in the operation of a railroad in those days, the section crew. As a kid, I used to sit along the track and watch as those little Chinese laborers did repair work, taking out defective ties and replacing grades and whatever was necessary. They would work right along, chattering in their native Chinese. It seemed such heavy work for such little men.

Of course the crew had to have a foreman, and the one I remember is Louis Ostlie, who was always there directing them. They came to and from work in a handcar which they rode and carried the necessary tools. The crew consisted of about six men and the foremen. (foreman?

When there was a big job of track laying to be done, the “extra-gang” was sent in, consisting of 40 to 50 Chinese, and again it was fascinating to watch those little men carry those heavy rails and put them into place. As I remember, they would use tongs with which to hold the rail. Then with 25 or more men on each side of the rail they would move the rail. The same with the heavy ties. These extra-gangs had cars which served as bunkhouses, and also a car which was used as a kitchen and dining room.

The Ostlies came to Paradise in 1887 where Mr. Ostlie was section foreman, and was transferred to Plains in 1899 where he held the job until 1910 or 1911 when he homesteaded upon land near Hot Springs.

The section crew had their own house in which they lived and cooked their own meals. In addition, they had a small tract of land fenced off on which they raised an abundance of vegetables. Their irrigation system was unique to say the least. In those days there was a good sized ditch with water taken from above the present Maud Johnson ranch, and running clear through town on the south side of the tracks to irrigate hay land on the C.C. Willis ranch. In dry weather these little Chinese would rig up a yoke which they placed over their shoulders, with a bucket on each end, and make trip after trip from the ditch to their garden with pails of water until their garden was sufficiently irrigated.

The big days for the Chinese were Christmas and their New Year. On the Chinese New Year, they would set off firecrackers and give candy to the kids. Then they would prepare a feast in every sense of the word. Their main dish was chicken, specially prepared with sauces imported from their native China. The Ostlies were especially invited on these occasions, and Mr. Ostlie and his little daughter, Nellie, never failed to attend. The Chinese had their quarters scrupulously clean, and the Ostlies were treated like royalty.

There was a Chinese Cemetery down on what is now the old Loder or Crossen place. They put food on the graves after burial, a ceremony in which they believed. I am told the Indians would then steal this. These bodies were later moved to China.

Once each month the “pay car” would come along and the crew would be paid. This car consisted of a caboose, and at each point the laborers would be paid in cash. This payroll was in charge of a well-educated, well dressed Chinese who took care of the paying off efficiently.

This, in brief is a review of an inconspicuous but important part of the development of the west. Without the section crew, the railroads could not have operated long. Mr. Ostlie took up a homestead when the reservation opened, but that life was not to his liking and he returned to railroading. He had charge of a section crew at Perma where he met with an accident which resulted in his death in 1918.

Sometime before World War I the Chinese disappeared from the scene, and were replaced by white laborers. Where did all these thousands of little men go? Who knows? Perhaps most of them returned to China where they were able to live out their lives in luxury on the money they had saved working here. Perhaps others drifted into the Chinatowns of San Francisco and other coast cities and went into some business venture. Anyway, we don’t see them around here anymore.