Stocky and solid.  Neanderthal brow, low ears, jutting chin.

An honest man, hardworking, dependable.   He is a bit slow, but once his mind is made up, it is almost impossible to get him to change it.  He believes in plain dealing, and he has a vague uneasiness when he is round fast talkers.  His great weakness?  GAMBLING.

the pejoratives he hears hurled at him are: Pig Farmer, Sob Buster, Tatter picker, squatter.

Self-Employed

Position: Homesteader - farmer - pig farmer - sod buster

A homesteader on a spread outside Kalispell.  He lives in a small place with his wife, Emma, and his daughter, Abigail. 

Hiram is a civic leader (if a crooked one) having been elected as Mayor of Wagon Mound, up in Dakota territory.  Later, he was appointed a Territorial Judge.  Often, he could be seen bearing witness, after intoning, "By the powers invested in me by Statute 83d and all other statues thereto appertatum..." standing solemnly, cheeks loaded with chaw and his hands gripping his lapels, while the condemned fell through a gallows' trapdoor.

Wife: Maude Potee

Daughter: Abigail Potee

He is a loner (except for his family).  He began homesteading in 1875 .. since then, all he has to show for it are callouses and grain and feed bills.

He is an "associate" of Judge Hiram Priest Esq.   They have both prospered from other-than-legal schemes.