Bearmouth and Weaver Archeological History

 

A couple of years ago I wrote about the Fred Burr archeological dig and planned to write about some of the other research in the area but got off topic. The recent death notice of Joan Weaver reminded me that a fair amount of archival findings were present on the original George D. Weaver ranch in the Bearmouth district. 

The Master Thesis of Patricia Flint written in 1977 and on record at the University of Montana details geological and aboriginal history of the Clark Fork Canyon around the hot springs located near Nimrod and Bonita close to Bear Gulch which became known as Bear Mouth. Nimrod and Bonita were railroad designations and most of the landmarks are no longer visible. Flint states that ethnohistoric evidence indicates multi-tribal use of the Bearmouth area. The Semte’use were probably the earliest identifiable inhabitants and left most of the identified prehistoric remains. They inhabited the area before the introduction of the horse circa 1730 and used the area on a regular basis of the exclusion of most other tribes, until they were almost exterminated and merged with Pend de Oreille tribes. I have discussed the location and history of this tribe in articles that were not published in the Philipsburg Mail, but are online at Granitecountyhistory.blogspot.com for anyone interested in more detail. 

Numerous archeological digs are recorded on both sides of the canyon from this area as indicated by the state recording and designation of numerical identification. The Bearmouth pictographs are numbered 24GN1001; Medicine Tree Hill 24GN63; Tyler Creek 24GN2; Old School House Site 24GN115; Camel Slough Occupation Site 24GN116; Antelope Creek Occupation Site 24GN117; Talus Slide Burial 24GN64; Weaver Site 24GN3; Little Bear Creek 24GN4 and these studies cover research from the 1950’s forward. In Patricia’s Master Thesis she drew pen and ink drawings to record the artifacts discovered at the various sites but did not draw any of the pictographs. When Patricia did a presentation for The Granite County Historical Society in 2015 she had made cast replicas of some of the flint and faunal tools that had been recorded at these sites. By that time, Patricia had earned her Doctorate and was busy working in the Mesa Verde area in the Four Corners region. I was privileged to have a long conversation with her while we wandered the Flint quarry at the “Eye Brow site” near Henderson Gulch in the Flint Creek Valley. 

The Weaver site was first reported by the Hell Gate survey in 1954 when a basalt knife, flint scraper, eight basalt flakes and a flint chip were discovered. These were located on the George D. Weaver Ranch property. George was born in Glostershire, England on April 23, 1956 and immigrated to Canada at the age of fifteen. At sixteen he moved to Nevada to live with an uncle and began his mining ventures. In 1876 he travelled on foot from Corrine, Utah to Deer Lodge, Montana. He was involved in mining at Gold Creek and Bear Gulch plus worked for the Hope Mining Company, Black Pine and Combination. In 1908 he ”bought a splendid ranch near Bearmouth and engaged in the cattle business”, until 18 years before his death when he sold his cattle and became a sheep rancher. 

The 1910 Federal Census shows George at the age of 52 with wife Emily age 48, sons: G. Maurice 12, James 14, C. Gregory 11, and Harry 9. George was serving his sixth term as a Granite County Commissioner, when his death came after a long illness, at his home four miles below Bearmouth on December 28 1927. Survivors were his wife and four sons: G. Maurice of Philipsburg, James and C. Gregory of Bearmouth and Harry of Philipsburg; one brother James P. of Hall and two sisters: Mrs. Charles Quinney of Pendleton and Mrs. Herbert Margaret of Buenos Aires; five grandchildren; six nephews and four nieces. Services were performed by the Philipsburg Masons and he was buried in the Philipsburg cemetery. 

Because of the need to keep the archeological sites from being destroyed by artifact seekers I have been careful to not describe exact locations. Many early sites were not as fortunate as the Fred Burr Site to be able to catalogue and make the findings available to the public to view. Please take advantage of the display at the Granite County Museum if you are interested in the artifacts that are representative of the Semte’use and other Salish and Nez Perce tribes.