George was born Jan. 21, 1840 in Pennsylvania. While
in the United States, he had ridden the Pony Express
with Buffalo Bill, drove stage for Wells Fargo Express,
and served as Sheriff of Choteau Country, Montana.
He is believed to be the first white man to set foot on
the present site of the city of Lethbridge. All he saw was
miles and miles of grassland. There were trees in the
nearby river valley but none at all on the windswept prairie.

George Houk settled in the Pot Hole district, a mile or two
north of Pot Hole Creek, where he ran cattle. He had
married a Blood Indian woman in Montana and lived happily
with her until she died, predeceasing him by many years.
He knew the Indians intimately and spoke their language
fluently, and, although, in later life, he had a home in
Lethbridge, he lived for the most part with the Indians.
He could always be depended upon to lead the parade
of Indians at the annual Exhibition and Fair.

George died May 27, 1928. The Pemmican Club erected a
stone cairn in Mountain View Cemetery honoring the
"Squaw Man". The 1935 Jubilee Issue of the Lethbridge
Daily Herald carried the following story.

George Houk --AT WHOOP-UP IN 1864, TEN YEARS
BEFORE THE MOUNTIES CAME

Believed to be the first white man to set foot on the
present site of the city of Lethbridge, George Houk,
liquor trader, squaw man, cowboy, and keen baseball
supporter, is remembered by old timers of Lethbridge as
one who contributed generously to this city's future. His
colorful career began in Newcastle, Pennyslvania, and he
was self-styled a "Pennsylvania Dutchman " He passed
away in Lethbridge on May 27, 1928 at the age of 81 years.

George Houk was one of the oldest, if not the oldest old
timer in the southern part of the province. He first arrived
in what is now Alberta as early as 1864, ten years before
the Royal North West Mounted Police, with whom he
went as guide when they ferried across the Belly River
close to where Lethbridge now stands.

Houk knew that the arrival of the "Mounties" spelt the end
of the whiskey trade. But he unselfishly gave an open
hand to the representatives of law and order and gave
them his fullest co-operation thereafter.

Centre of Houk's early dealings with the "fire water" craved
by the Redskins was old Fort Whoop- Up. He clearly
remembered its construction in 1869 and explained the
system of barter. For one bottle of whiskey, worth 80 cents
when smuggled in without duty, Houk and his fellow traders
received one buffalo skin which sold in New York for
six dollars. In the U. S. he rode the Pony Express with
Buffalo Bill and drove stage for the Wells Fargo Express Co.

But all that ended with the arrival of the Police and Houk
turned his attention to more legal means of earning a
living. But he did not sever his connection with the Indians.
He had married a squaw in Montana and lived happily
with her until she passed away, predeceasing him by
several years. He knew the Indians intimately and spoke
their language fluently. His love for his Indian wife was
touching, and after he was deprived of her companionship
he lost much of his interest in life and soon began to decline.

Houk, survivor of another day and another picturesque
generation, turned to cattle raising for a livelihood. He
lived for the most part with the Indians and could always
be depended onto lead the parade of Indians in
connection with any Lethbridge festivities. The annual
exhibition and fair always featured the squawman riding
at the head of the braves in all their plumes and war
paint. On such occasions he was clad in doe-skin
surtout, slouched hat and bandolier. Even when an
old man he bore himself proudly on his steed, a
veritable centaur, a man used to the saddle.

Cherished Possessions

To his dying day the colorful old man cherished two
weapons -- a rifle and a revolver. The former, a
Winchester 1873 model, aimed with the clear eye of its
owner, spelt doom to hundreds of buffalo in the foothills
country. The side arm a beautifiilly engraved.44 calibre
weapon, was presented to him by the "boys" when he was
sheriff of Choteau county, Montana. It was from that state
that he made his way to Alberta, although the boundaries
were by no means as well defined then as they are today.

Baseball in Lethbridge today would not have experienced
its advancement had it not been for George Houk. Always
a keen supporter of the diamond game, he organized
Houk's Savages, a simon-pure club that one year won
the Alberta championship. Despite his age and infirmities
towards the close of his career, he seldom missed a ball
game and helped many an aspiring young player with his
comment and encouragement.

Long past his allotted three score years and ten, George
Houk passed the quietude of his evening of life in his
home in the city on a spot where the buffalo once roamed.
He suffered from rheumatism which at times caused him
great pain but his mind was ever clear. He lived much
in the past and his memory was ever vivid on the "good
old days" before the coming of civilization.

The article was accompanied by this picture with the
following caption:

He came to this country, it is said, in 1864 for the first
time from Montana territory. He helped build Fort Whoop-
Up in 1867, trading with the South Alberta Indians in those
days when nobody knew or cared where the 49th parallel
was located, and who in his later years was rancher,
businessman, sportsman and raconteur of Old Time
tales to the populace. He died a few years ago, one of
the best known figures in Lethbridge.

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