The 405 Aired Sept 9th, 2025

Today O.K. gives us the story and some of the history history of a local man. Napoleon Joseph LaFornay

Click here to view the episode transcript.

Episode Transcript

OK Solborg (00:00):
I wanna again welcome you to the 4:05 Coffee
Break. Get you a cup of coffee,glass iced tea, bottle of water,
blah blah blah blah blah. Hesays that every day. Let's see
what's happening. Spring wheat,$5.09 a bushel.
550 pound steer calf, not movingat this point in time. Give it
about six weeks. So I'll sharewith you what a 946 pound steer

(00:24):
calf will bring you. $3.32 apound. Multiply that out and you
get $3,140 for a 946 pound steercalf that's not yet ready to
slaughter.
That's a lot of money. A butcherhog in Iowa, 62¢ a pound, and a

(00:46):
100 pound fat lamb in Billings,a $1.98 But guys, there's more,
much more. Okay. Okay.
Now listen. History lesson.History question. Listen
carefully, class. Was it chiefSitting Bull that was active in

(01:06):
the Bear Paw Battlefield?
Yes or no? Second historyquestion. Was it chief Joseph in
the battle of the littlebighorn? Yes or no? How'd you
do?
The answer to both of thosequestions is no. False. I mixed

(01:26):
up the names to test yourknowledge. It was chief Sitting
Bull in the battle of the LittleBighorn, and it was chief Joseph
in the Bear Paw Battlefield.Listen.
On June 25, while camped alongthe Little Bighorn River,
Sitting Bulls Village withapproximately 7,000 Lakotas and

(01:49):
Cheyennes were attacked bylieutenant colonel George
Armstrong Custer's seventhcavalry. Sitting Bull, beyond
fighting age, did notparticipate in the combat,
though he did send his nephewsWhite Bull and One Bull into
battle with his own personalmedicine to protect them. The

(02:10):
battle resulted in the death ofapproximately 80 Lakotas and
Cheyennes and the completeannihilation of five companies
of soldiers under Custer'simmediate command, end of quote.
So I have a chief Sitting Bullstory for you from local

(02:30):
history. A friend of mine loanedme a book, and it's a big book,
about the people that grew up inand around Glasgow and Opheim.
It's titled Homesteading, OurHeritage, North Valley County.
On page 77, we have a story andhistory of Napoleon Joseph

(02:52):
LaFornay. At the end of thecount, it states that missus
LaFornay died in 1934, andNapoleon went to live with
daughter Eliza and son-in-lawFrank Thompson in Havre.
Napoleon died in 1943 and wasburied in the Glasgow Cemetery.

(03:15):
His daughter, Louise DeBray ofMalta, followed in death by one
day.
End of quote. Anyway, don'tforget chief Sitting Bull from
the battle of the littlebighorn. Listen as I read, when
Napoleon was 15 in the year of1876, he was on a hunting foray,

(03:40):
He and his horse were gorged bya wounded buffalo. Among other
injuries, he suffered a severeskull fracture, which caused him
trouble periodically all therest of his life.
That same year, 1876, he was atFort Woody Mountain,
Saskatchewan, north of Glasgowwhen chief Sitting Bull and his

(04:04):
followers entered Canada afterannihilating general Custer and
his entire force on the LittleBighorn Battlefield in Southern
Montana. Sitting Bull's thousandteepee camp was set up on the
flat east of the old fort Withother young French Canadians,
Napoleon several times saw theSioux celebrate their victory at

(04:29):
huge dances. Shortly afterwards,Napoleon's horses all
disappeared. Knowing who hadtaken them, he invited one of
his companions to go with him.The two rode into the vast camp

(04:51):
of Sitting Bull and proceeded toround up the horses.
Promptly, they were surroundedby warriors and taken to the
chief. Sitting Bull looked atNapoleon and perhaps noting his
youth, turned to his followersand he said, he is a brave boy.

(05:18):
Give him back eight of hishorses. End of quote, end of
story. I like that story somuch, I wanted to share it with
you.
Bravery was honored andrespected. It took a lot of
nerve to go into that huge campand start gathering up your
stolen horses. Chief SittingBull was pleased with bravery.

(05:42):
I'll close with a bible verse,and it seems likely that young
15 year old Napoleon knew thisverse from his youth. Be strong
and courageous, do not be afraidor terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes withyou.
He will never leave you norforsake you. Deuteronomy thirty

(06:04):
one six. Great verse, greatstory, great story of bravery
and courage. Thanks my friend.So until next time, as you go
out there, remember now, don'tbe bitter.