In his history, H. S. Lyman speaks of "Montour, a character considered
fabulous by Bancroft, but said to have made a settlement on French
Prairie."
Referring to notes given me by Mr. L. H. Ponjade, one of the old
residents on French Prairie, I found the following:
My father, the old French doctor, had studied at Montpelier,
and after receiving his diploma as surgeon and physician,
was immediately taken into the service of Napoleon, and
served three years as surgeon on the army of France, mostly
in Spain. He naturally did not wish to serve in the army
again, so came to America, found his way to Oregon, and from
force of associations, made his home on French Prairie.
Our first camp was at the ranch of old man Monture, that at
that time looked like an old farm, as it was well improved.
Peter Depot then owned the claim where Gervais is now
situated, and I understood that he got it from Monture some
time previous to that, but do not know the particulars.
Monture had two sons, named George and Robert. Whether they
were both sons of the wife he then lived with I do not know,
as morals were rather loose previous to arrival of the
missionaries. There was a custom among ex-servants of the
Hudson Bay Company to claim a wife wherever they might be
among the Indians. After the arrival of Father Blanchet they
were allowed to have but one wife.
I remember that George Monture was a very large man and very
powerful; must have weighed 350 pounds. I have seen him
lasso wild cattle and hold them to be branded without any
cinch or other thing to hold the saddle on the horse. He did
it by mere weight and bodily strength. He would do this for
half a day together at a time.
Bob--as he was called--was not so large, but was stout and
active. He was a fine shot with his rifle.
When I saw this mention of "Montour," I wrote to my old friend, L. H.
Ponjade, to ask if his mention of Monture meant the same that Lyman
thus referred to, and he confirms it as the same, and adds: "The old
place where they lived was about one quarter of a mile west of
Parkersville. Every man with any knowledge of old settlers knows of
the Montures."