P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Though no one realized it yet, the railroad era in American history was over. Trains built the country and made Montana. But when Henry Ford rolled a cheap Model T off the Dearborn assembly lines in 1915, the world changed. Automobiles, trucks and highway construction constitute the next, enduring chapter in Montana’s transportation history. It was a great ride for 15 or 20 years on either side of 1900. Railroads and homesteaders go together in Montana. Each had its glory days. We still have farmers in Montana, and trains, but the romantic connection is history. Provided Courtesy of: Harry W. Fritz | University of Montana | Department of History Originally published on THIS IS MONTANA, an uncommon website. By means of photography, essays, maps, and much more, the University of Montana presents a vivid portrait of the beauty and uniqueness of the Montana. Check out more at: https://www.umt.edu/this-is-montana/ default.php “KID” CURRY GANG For some 10 to 15 years the four Curry brothers, Henry, John, Loney and Harvey (The Kid), members of the ill-famed “Wild Bunch,” which included Harry Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid) and Butch Cassidy, made the Little Rocky Mountains their headquarters. The Curry Brothers’ real name was Logan. The fact that they had come to Montana under an assumed name is perhaps an indication that they had been in the business of bank robbery, train holdups and murder before their arrival in the early 1890s. No attempt will be made here to delve into their pasts or activities in Wyoming, Utah or Colorado during their careers of crime and violence. This tale is of their activities in the Little Rockies and Northern Montana. The stories have been told by old timers, long dead from pioneers who still remember them and from faded old newspaper files. Mrs. Edgar Williams of Malta recalls stories told by her mother, Mrs. Julius Wysoski, when she came to Montana in 1888. After Wysoski’s death, she married John Kolczak, and widowed when Kolczak was killed in a gun fight in Landusky. Mrs. Williams says her mother told her of her friendship with Kid Curry. The Kolczak ranch was a haven for cowboys riding the range. They were always welcome to a meal or a bed. Kid Curry was among the riders who frequently stopped at the ranch. He was a courteous, rather quiet young man who was always glad to give a hand at ranch chores or chop a supply of wood for the widow. Bill Kellerman, a long-time businessman and resident of Zortman, told another side of the man. Keller
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