Interesting Facts about Montana

• On the present site of Helena, a little party of gold miners agreed that they had reached their "last chance" to find wealth. Then they made a strike on what is now the city's main street, Last Chance Gulch.
• In 1867, Montana's territorial governor, Francis Meagher, a hero of the Civil War, boarded a Missouri River steamboat at Fort Benton, went to his stateroom, and was never seen again.
• Montana Indians believed that stealing a horse was the best way to show bravery.
• Early visitors to Montana prairies noted the many mounds of earth covered with flowers and were startled to learn that these were the sod houses of the settlers.
• In a house near Frenchtown, four brothers were born, but each was born in a different territory. Before statehood Montana had been a part of five territories.
• Montana shepherds spent many lonely hours piling rocks into high stacks called cairns. Some cairns can still be seen.