Montana Trail

Montana was a very isolated area and the trail helped to keep Montanans connected to the rest of the United States.

Travel peaked during the mid-summer months when low water levels grounded steamships on the Missouri River.

[2] People said that they could pull out a sagebrush plant, shake out the roots, and collect a pan's worth of gold.

[1] The trail was a main supply route for gold camps and created a lucrative trading network during the spring and summer months, generating a fierce competition between several entrepreneurs.

[3] When he realized that trains would drive out his business, he sold his company to Wells, Fargo & Company, which provided a flow of goods, carried passengers, and continued delivering the mail until the Union Central and Pacific Railroad Lines came into the picture.

[1] Bandits, bad weather and accidents did not stop the flow of goods during the 8 months of the year the trail was opened.

[1] Although bandits and indians infested the road and scared the travelers,[1] only blizzards stopped the flow of goods when snow covered Monida Pass.

"[3] The mule skinners and bullwhackers, although respected for their skill at driving the pack trains, were known as heavy drinkers and profane speakers.

[1] As the population grew in Montana, so did the demand for food like beans and fruit, as well as cloth and other goods.

During the winter of 1863–1864, heavy snows caused a flour famine which resulted in the "Bread Riot" in Virginia City.

Only four trips a year were usually planned by the wagon masters, and the lack of steady service drove up prices.

On occasion, the return freight trains would bring rich ores, wools, hides, or furs from Montana.

[1] As the Utah and Northern Railway was introduced to Montana by the Union Pacific, ox teams and pack trains had to compete for customers because of the difference in time and cost.

Farmers flocked to the construction sites with teams to help build the rails, earning up to $2.50 a day.

Businesses had trouble finding wagon teams to take goods north because prices dropped as low as $.04 per 100 pounds by June 1878.

Those that could not afford to travel by first or second class in the trains all the way to Montana were told to buy a ticket to Omaha or Lowell and continue their journey by teamster, or ox and wagon.