Urban Diteman of Billings, dubbed the "Flying Cowboy from Montana," took off in a monoplane from the airstrip in Harbor Grace, Newfoundland.
He was presumably headed for New York. Only his wife knew differently. Diteman handed the manager of the airdrome a letter marked, "Open after departure." Inside it read: "Am bound for London," and instructions to forward a package and letters to his wife in Billings.
"Few fliers who have confined their flying to the land realize that with a cloudy sky over the ocean your horizon line disappears and for all practical purposes you are flying blind," the American distance record holder Clarence Chamberlin told the New York Times.
Diteman was never seen nor heard from again. He'd named his black and yellow craft the "Golden Hind" after a ship of Sir Francis Drake, an ancestor.
Oct. 24, 1926
Western artist Charles M. Russell died shortly before midnight at his home in Great Falls. He was 61.
A rheumatism attack in 1924 and a goiter operation earlier in 1926 led to a weakened heart that finally gave out. Russell's wife Nancy and a doctor were the only ones present, although the funeral for Russell three days later attracted thousands. At Russell's request, a horse-drawn hearse in storage for the previous 15 years was used in the funeral procession.
Born in St. Louis, "Kid" Russell came to Montana in 1880 at age 16. His work as a cowboy in central Montana during the dying days of the open range inspired much of his artwork. Nancy became his self-appointed agent and helped bring Charlie's works worldwide acclaim. Russell, also a writer, reached the peak of his fame in the two decades before his death.
In 1925, he received an honorary degree from the University of Montana "for the greatest historical achievement, in a historical way, of any person in the state."
Oct. 26, 1903
"If they crush me today they will crush you tomorrow."
So warned F. Augustus Heinze to 10,000 laid-off miners from the balcony of the Butte courthouse.
Four days earlier Heinze's nemesis, the powerful Amalgamated Copper Company, shut down all its enterprises in Montana, eventually laying off nearly four-fifths of the wage earners in the state.
The "Great Shutdown" was a response by Amalgamated, a holding company for Standard Oil, to unfavorable mining claims rulings in Butte district court. The rulings were made by judges allied with Amalgamated's chief antagonist, F. Augustus Heinze.
"They will cut your wages and raise the tariff in the company stores on every bite you eat and every rag you wear," Heinze told the miners. "They will force you to dwell in Standard Oil houses while you live, and they will bury you in Standard Oil coffins when you die."
The shutdown lasted into December, when a special legislative session considered the Amalgamated-backed Fair Trials Bill. It allowed either party in a lawsuit a change of venue if it thought the judge was prejudiced against its case. The law passed quickly and remains in effect today. The following day, Montana went back to work.
Kim Briggeman can be reached at 523-5266 or at kbriggeman@missoulian.com.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)