GREAT FALLS AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT - Montana and Wyoming - page 140

Built in 1882, the Grand Union Hotel is still one of the state's best.
Information
The Fort Benton Chamber of Commerce (1421 Front St., 406/622-3864, winter 406/
622-5203, www.fortbentonchamber.org , 9am-5pm daily May-Sept.) is part of the Informa-
tion Center inside the old fire station next to the walking bridge.
Getting There
Fort Benton is 40 miles east of Great Falls on U.S. Highway 87.
CUT BANK
At the edge of the Blackfeet Reservation between Browning and Shelby, Cut Bank (pop-
ulation 2,919, elevation 3,733 feet) is famous for being the site of Lewis and Clark's only
armed encounter with Native Americans. On July 26, 1806, Meriwether Lewis, joined by
George Drouillard, Joseph Fields, and Reuben Fields, met with eight Blackfeet Indians.
When Lewis revealed that the U.S. government intended to outfit all the Plains Indians with
hunting rifles, the Blackfeet became angry because they had controlled the firearms trade