18 June 2011
Ben Kline was once described as a man of “blocky” build. Surviving photos of him confirm that description. He was born near Devils Lake to a Métis couple. His maternal blood-line included French-Canadian and Crow. His paternal side was Chippewa and German.
In the diverse world of the Northern Plains, Kline spoke Chippewa and some English. He was a hunter and often joined with other Métis searching for buffalo, not a simple task. The herds that once roamed through present day Minnesota were moving west. By 1870 their most eastern point of movement was between the Missouri River and the Red River. Hunting the buffalo meant moving with the herd. It was a long-distance commute that took hunters across territorial lines and national borders. The hunting season would last for months.
When back at Devils Lake, Kline would cut and cord wood for $1.50 a cord. He also took a job as a scout for a mail service that ran between Fort Totten and Fort Stevenson. He earned $40 for a two-day, two-night journey.
It was on one of those mail runs that Kline met Francis Avila Janeaux for the first time.
Related Posts:
It Was a Very Bad Year – Maybe Not July 30, 2010
Why do you search the past? August 2, 2010
Identity of Average Joe June 4, 2011
Sources:
Ben Kline reminiscences, 1925-1931. Portion donated by Victor van den Broek, 1925. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana. (Copy of Oscar O. Mueller, 1932 interview with Ben Kline in writer’s notes. Mueller’s interview is also available in the “Ben Kline reminiscences, 1925-1931″ at the Montana Historical Society Research Center.)
Proposed Finding – Technical Report, Figure 5: Buffalo Range, 1800-1889; Summary under the Criteria for the Proposed Finding for Federal Acknowledgment of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana; July 14. 2000; http://www.bia.gov/idc/groups/xofa/documents/text/idc-001419.pdf
