by Kenneth Jones
Sometime around the turn of the century (1904 would make him 21), Leon rode a horse from York to Troy, Montana. Single-handedly he carved a home out of the wilderness. Near the source of Keeler Creek, he cut down the trees, built a cabin and barn, cleared the stumps from the ground, and cultivated the fields. He raised a few milk cows and some chickens. He married Martha Squibb, a school teacher who had come from Grangeville, Idaho.
Leon and Martha lived on the place and supported themselves off of the land until he sold out and came back to Helena to care for his aging mother. She died in 1958 at the age of 101.
One of the many stories Leon told is as follows:
While living in Keeler Creek, Leon and Martha needed some fresh meat, so Leon went hunting. It is important to know that Leon was one of the finest woodsmen who ever lived. As stated above, he had conquered the wilderness all by himself, living among the animals and protecting himself from the elements.
Both Leon and Martha knew the country for miles around and the animals that lived in it. They knew the habits of the animals and had even named many of the deer, such as lop-ear, spot, etc.
When Leon went hunting, he knew just where to go. This particular time, he went where he knew a small bunch of white-tail deer followed a game trail at the same time each day. The deer moved from the hillside where they browsed, to the creek where they drank.
The trail entered a patch of timber and emerged on the other side, a short way down the mountain. Leon stationed himself at a place where he could see the trail on both sides of the timber, but closer to the down-hill side.
As expected, the deer came into view up the trail and disappeared into the timber, as they followed the trail down the mountain.
Leon cocked his rifle, a 33 caliber, lever-action Winchester and took a rest across a downed log that he was using as a hiding place. The wind was blowing gently against his face and he was confident the deer would not know he was there.
Sure enough, at just the length of time it would be expected to take the deer to traverse the patch
of timber, the first deer stepped out into the opening -- only it wasn't a deer, it was a man wearing
HOME CONTINUED