, 1865-03-16

Now, Il there Was . probability that no
one wonld be deceived BY this ignorance
save they who were merely going to convey
worth while to do more than put In general
DENIAL Of the premises assumed but when
we bear in mind that thousands of tons of
freight will find its way to market In
Montana, It becomes matter Of the first I'M
portance th1t there should be widespread
knowledge Of the facts. Nov, am willing
ability 10 establish BY ineffagable evidence,
that practically the Missouri river Is not a
nayfgRb1e stream above Sioux City at any
season Of the year, and only 20 far In high
water TINT Fort Benton never has and never
has and never can be reached hy any steamer
drawing more than twenty~eight or thirty
ir,rpes Of water and th1t no boatman is JUS.
tiatd in contracting to ca1:y freight to that
point if his rrafl draws~ than twenty-lau
inches OF water loaded.
Further, If boats should succeed In working
Their wy up there, it costs more to getffeight
through by that route, and consumes mora
lane: :" Freight is transported rom the boz
der to Virginia City for 25@30c per pound,
overland. By the river 1t costs CSC
from st. Louis to Fort Benton, and
from Font Benton to Virginia City 12c more,
Win no certainty Of characterization. TO il:
started for Virginia City last spring with 4
small quantity Of paper and material with
which toprinta newspaper. He left Omaha
by boat nearly week before lett the same
point by pirate mule train. WAS in Vir.
ginIa City just three weeks before Buchanan
reached there, and had had much pleasanter
started lever reached Fort Beltan, and bis
printing Office WAS dumped of ut Cow Island,
$50 miles below. where 1t would have been to
tins day, had not the proprietor luckily found
man at Fort Benton who had couple Of
10 fe @ o1 .'f 5es OK he s1s R
same boat, had not reached Virginia City
when left there, August 22d, and the owners
did not know where It WIS or when it would
Eet thsongh. Out Of the eight Or ten boats
that started for Fort Benton last spring, two
only succeeded in getting thtough-the Ben
ton and another ight- -draught boat t-and both
Of them did 20 By leaving part Of their freight
below, as Was informed by passengers.
"ihe principal mining tettlements in Mon
lana and idaho" are yet to be bnilt up, V1r-
gn1a C1ty being the only point In Montana
City and Trickly Feat are points Where. T. Il
said, very valuable silver bearing ouartz has
been discovered, but there are no more min.
ing camps established there than there are in
the midst Of the Great Sahara sands. Calls.
lin City is eighty miles from Virginia. on The
cultural valley, ard has population Of len
or twelve families, mostly French Or half
breeds. Deer Lodge City, go called in the
&nttnd, was never before heard Of, not even
bv the i'oldest inhahitant - neither WAS Deer
Lodge Diggipgs. The only *.digglnge'' there
arest Deer Lodge. or within 15o miles Of
there, are comprised Of the few, "'potato dig.
rings" now nearly ''worked out, }" belonging
10 8 lev Pend O'Reille Indians established
ncar there, where there IL Jesuit Mission.
Besides the Priests there are two Ffenchmen,
Eraz1ere, living within twenty miles OF Deer
Lodge, and these constitute the sole
members Of the two communWltles' y
Iodcc % Dicgiings." M One could travel through
a thousand such cities and not become awnre
thai be was out OF the Wilderness. Bannock
CITY will some time be busy mining camp,
but not before machinery Is introduced there,
and quartz mining Is carried On there, the
wash diggings proving utterly valuelese.
Bannock City was quite deserted last season. .
route, no sane man would ever think Of: such
thing. After reaching Fort Benton, Idaho
| City, better known as West Bannock, cannot
| be reached In less than eight hundred miles
| of land travel, and that ria Bannock City,
snake River, ETC.; all on the regular Greg IN
trail ria Sanders Cut-0d, Blackfoot Greek,
| etc.
These are part Of the facts, mildly stated.
1 u Gen. Alfred 6ully, who knows aN about
! This nlntter, were to bt5consulted, he would
cofEohora'e my statements concerning the
1e:aeaoliny Of navigating the'Uppez Mlssissip-
p t1Ser, IN every essential particular. No
craft larger than good-sized yawl can nayi.
gate that river. The two Lacrosse boats that
s&af1eo last spring, had an Illustration of that
fact. Youra. Firmly.
WHITEWATER, Wis, March 10, 1886: