steamboat. However, this journey was much more difficult. People used pack trains, mule trains, and oxen on the trails. Interactions with natives Overland roads followed traditional pathways that Indians had been using for thousands of years. Troubles and raids by the Northern Shoshoni slowed traffic in 1862. The US army halted these raids by establishing Forts to protect American pioneers. Not only were the Shoshoni hostile to freighters and emigrants in Montana, but the Sioux were also especially brutal to the pioneers. Over time, people were able to get military protection along the roads. In the summer and the fall of 1878, settlers and freighters were fearful of the continuation of the troubles with the Indians. The worst involved freighters and Bannock Indians along the Lost River. In this incident, Indians killed the leader of the freight train as well as five oxen and three horses. In other incidents, Indians burnt haystacks, let stock loose and terrorized pioneers and settlers. Freighting and trading The trail was a main supply route for gold camps and created a lucrative trading network during the spring and summer months, generating a fierce competition between several entrepreneurs. One of these entrepreneurs was Benjamin Holladay. A stagecoach magnate, he lowered freight rates until the competition was driven out and then raised them to new heights He was able to drive out the competition by gaining a government subsidy to carry mail. When he realized that trains would drive out his business, he sold his company to Wells, Fargo & Company, which provided a flow of goods, carried passengers, and continued delivering the mail until the Union Central and Pacific Railroad Lines came into the picture. Transporting mail provided most of the company's profit, which made wagon leaders care more about the mail than their passengers, even though the company charged passengers around $150 for the journey. Stage coach companies also carried the mail and transported people to new towns in Montana. Bandits, bad weather and accidents did not stop the flow of goods during the 8 months of the year the trail was opened. Although bandits and indians infested the road and scared the travelers, only blizzards stopped the flow of goods when snow covered Monida Pass. Mule skinners and bullwhackers Freighting was one of the main uses of the Montana Trail in the 1860s and 1870s. Freight companies used the Missouri River as well as