In 1904 sixteen year old Frankie Barnes, was living on the Gillies ranch and had been there since the previous fall. Frankie fell off his horse crossing a branch of Rock Creek while going to bring in some cows Monday evening, May 30. The horse was found wet indicating a struggle getting out of the creek when found by Mr. Gillies.
A full scale search was mounted but there was no sign of the young man and the horses tracks entered the creek at a point where the water was high, with a swift current. During the search, Lochie McDonald’s horse slipped and he almost drowned, but for August Greenheck who witnessed Lochie’s horse stumble and fall and was able to attach a rope to the fallen man as he held onto some overhanging willows and pull him to shore. After this occurred, the search was called off until the river receded.
Frankie was the son of Charles Barnes who died in Granite County in 1891 and Mrs. Mel (Jane) Matheson, daughter of Benjamin Walters. He had attended school at intervals in Philipsburg but chose to live with his grandfather Benjamin, who lived on Rock Creek, so this made it impossible to continue attending school in Philipsburg. He started working as a hired hand at his aunt and uncle’s home (Mr. and Mrs. Gillies), in the fall of 1903 stated the June 3, 1904 Mail.
The next news article concerning Frankie stated that Ike Sanders and his son ( article does not identify the name) were out hunting cattle when the young Sanders saw something in the water. He was unable to determine what it was, so rode into the current to investigate and found the body of Frankie submerged and caught on a log. Each time the current went over the body, the stump of his arm (which the current had caused the hand to be worn away) would come to the surface. Ike and son rode to the Gillies ranch and with the help of Mr. Gillies they were able to get the suspenders unhooked from the snag and pull the body to shore. Because of the cold water the body was well preserved except for the damage from the current during the fifty-six days it was submerged. The body was wrapped and anchored near the creek shore and the coroner was notified. An inquest was held the next day and the cause of death was determined to be from drowning.
The body was brought to the “Allison undertaking establishment.” Rev. Butter conducted the service on July 26th with interment in the Philipsburg cemetery. Pallbearers were: Ralph McCleod, Holland Fairbairn, George Cartier, Lewis Brown, Lonnie Mitchell and Wingfield Brown, with nearly everyone from Rock Creek present according to the July 29, 1904 Philipsburg Mail.
The Gillies and Walters’ families were related because Benjamin’s daughter, Annie Walters McCale (who had three children) married James Gillies sometime before their son Joseph was born in 1903. Unfortunately, Annie caught the measles while caring for the Pullar brothers who were neighbors and died May 6, 1911, at the age of forty-seven. Benjamin Walters was born in England in 1834 and came to Montana June 22, 1879. His first wife died in Indiana in 1874 and the second wife referred to only as Mrs. Walters, that he married in 1976, died at daughter Jane’s house in Philipsburg in 1899.
Ben resided on Rock Creek until his death from Pneumonia December 14, 1914. Survivors were two daughter: Mrs. John (Jane) Phelps of Philipsburg, Mrs. Andrew Simpson of Missoula; Son: George of Granite; grandchildren: Ida Guinanne, George McCale and Midge McCale Martin. As referenced above the reader now realizes the McCale family tree also becomes involved as happens so often in the pioneer population of Granite county. This will be a good discussion in a future article.
