“Fire in the hole,” someone yelled as the ear-piercing crack of a black-powder rifle split the silence last Saturday at Fort Connah, north of St. Ignatius.

Around 25 spectators and black-powder enthusiasts gathered for a Turkey Shoot, with turkeys awarded to the best shots in three contests. The winner of a poker shoot received a cast-iron cooking pot.

Amber Gray was learning to load and shoot a muzzleloader under the skillful tutelage of Bob Saint-Louis, president of the Fort Connah Restoration Society. He patiently showed her how to load the flintlock rifle by first compressing powder in its barrel before adding the ball and then taking aim at the target – in this case an array of playing cards.

Saturday was cold and overcast, making it challenging for shooters to keep the powder dry.

“Sometimes this doesn't work because there's moisture in the air right now,” Gray said after two failed attempts to fire the rifle. “So you have to clean it off because it has to be dry.”

Her third try was successful.

Board member Myles Dauterive said the day began with three tests of skill and accuracy:

“On the left, we had a candle shoot where you had to shoot the flame off a candle without touching the candle,” he said, gesturing toward the target area.

The second contest was a string shoot “where you had to shoot a piece of baling twine, not nick it or fray it, but break it.”

The final contest in the series required contestants to “shoot the sharp edge of a hatchet, break your ball, and then break two clay pigeons behind it.”

Participants were fairly close to the target, in an effort to keep the event “fun and playful,” Dauterive said.

The event was a fundraiser for the historic trading post, which was first established in 1846, and finished a year later by Angus McDonald for the Hudson Bay Company. It remained active until 1871. One of the fort’s original structures remains and is believed to be the oldest building still standing in Montana.

According to Dauterive, proceeds from the Turkey Shoot will help fund a middle school art program with students encouraged to depict their heritage through artwork. Board members will select winning submissions to showcase on Fort Connah cards and stationary.

Dauterive, who lives in Polson and has a degree in history, says he became involved with Fort Connah about a year ago. The fort, he adds, “scratches many itches” for history enthusiasts.

“It's a great resource for the school kids and the 4-H groups in the area. We have Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, school groups and 4-Hers come out all the time,” he said.

During those visits, board members and re-enactors discuss the fur-trapping era and local history with youngsters. “It's a really cool piece of Montana history,” he added. 

The fort is home to an annual Rendezvous, held in June, and ongoing restoration efforts.

On Saturday afternoon, it was also the site of a memorial for former state legislator, Montana history buff and popular St. Ignatius Middle School teacher John Fleming.

Gary Steele of St. Ignatius, who has been teaching primitive survival skills since 2013 and is the resident “mountain man” at Paws Up Guest Ranch, was at the fort for both the Turkey Shoot and the Fleming memorial, where he planned to demonstrate the atlatl.

Fleming was “one of my local heroes,” he added. “Just because of who he was and what he did.”

For more information Fort Connah and ongoing restoration efforts, visit fortconnah.com.

    Participant fires at cards during the poker round of last Saturday's Turkey Shoot at Fort Connah. Organizers say the inaugural event attracted about 20 participants and several onlookers to the historic trading post. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Youngster waits his turn at Fort Connah's Turkey Shoot last Saturday. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)
  

    Robert Saint-Louis displays the firing mechanism on a flintlock rifle during the Turkey Shoot held last Saturday at Fort Connah. (Kristi Niemeyer/Leader)