P a g e 2 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 They were both younger sons of upper-class English families. Lowther’s family included a speaker of the House of Commons, an ambassador and an army officer. He was a large outdoors type of man, who loved horses and fox hunting and was an excellent tennis player and businessman. His speech was impeded by stuttering, however, and it is a general consensus that he may have been shipped off to Montana to save his family embarrassment. Courtesy of Musselshell Valley Historical Museum Clifton was almost an exact opposite. He was of slight build, although taller than Lowther, very shy; almost feminine in appearance. He smoked a pipe and his main interests were playing the piano and raising exotic chickens and rabbits. It was said that he owned the only piano between Billings and Lewistown at that time. Lula Metzell, who was living in Musselshell in those years, says she very vaguely remembers them. She said a Mrs. Strait (whose husband, William Strait, owned a store in Lavina) used to boast she was the only woman who had ever been inside the NF Ranch House. The reason for her admittance was that she was an accomplished musician and had been invited to play the piano. Neither man was ever known to gamble, drink to excess, court a girl or lose his temper. It would seem they adhered strictly to the code of English gentlemen. J.W. Bradshaw was foreman of the ranch while Lowther and Clifton were the owners. They also employed a Chinese cook whose name was Tulip, but they call him “Lipp” for short. He was cook, houseboy, gardener, laundryman, and maid of all work. Courtesy of Musselshell Valley Historical Museum Betty Eiselein Wetzel, a Roundup-born author, who now resides in Bigfork, Montana, has done extensive research on the Englishmen. Her article, “Mystery Men of the Musselshell” published in the June 26, 1958 issue of the Roundup-Record Tribune, states that Lowther was a member of England’s Turf Club and was a kindly man although he was rather uncomfortable around children. She wondered if Lowther and Clifton were even friendly since in the diaries of Lowther found on the property (and now in the Musselshell Valley Historical Museum) Clifton is scarcely even mentioned.
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