The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1868-02-22
Correspondence Of The Cecil Wing.
letter from Montana Territory

EDIroR CECiI WnIG.-Since the publica
ton of my three first letters in your paper,
| have received four letters from Cecil, ask
ing my private opinion as to the proprety of
them-the understanding to Montana.
Believing those persons to be readers of
The Wing, | desire 10 say to them through
its oolumns, that | entertain no private opin-
ions upon the sub jet that differ at all from
what you have printed. especially refer
/" the letter contained in your issue of De.
cember 18th, as containing my views as to
The qualifications person should possess to
enable him TO get along in this county,
You made little mistake in printing enc
paragraph. wrote ''if q man possesses
onty one or two of these accomplishments
le had better stay away" &c. The types
made me say ''0ny" one or two.
enclose you copy OF one OF our daily
papers from it you can let your readers see
what an editor thinks of people coming here.
| wish to remark. however, that editors in
these new countries always give such mat
1ers u slightly rose color, especially il they
happen To have an interest, positive or pros
peclivc, in town lots. 1t is a fact, though,
that no one here needs the aid of charitable
societies, Tree soup houses, or Freedmen
Bureaus Such things are not needed in the
mountains. He is Il poor cuss. indeed who
up enough to support him during the three
winter months. And she is u Lhrliless wo-
man, where washing and ironing shirts is
5000 per dozen, who cannot lay up little
something,
Speaking Of winter reminds me to say,
that in first making up my mind to come
here, looked at a map and saw what high
latitude it was,--how far north ohvered
at the prospect OF eight or nine months Of
bitter cold weather: expected to sec every
thing frozen up as early as the middle OF
September and remain so until June. Judge
my agreeable surprise, then, to learn by OK
perience that the fall, and thus far in the
winter, the weather has averaged about iii
teen degrees more mild than in Elkton.--
We have, so far, had but twelve days OF
real cold weathcr-lour in Deccmber and
eight in January. Those eight days in Jan.
nary--trom the ith to the l2th--wcrc gen.
une Arctic days, the mercury ranging from
30 to 50 degrees below zero. Fortunately,
fire wood is plenty and near at hand, and
blankets not excessively dear-so people at
tended to but little else than making up the
fire.
Helena as ii town, has had an existence
OF Just three years, and contains Il perma-
nent population of about 5000 souls. Dur.
ing the business and mining season, | think
not less than 10000 persons were fed here
every day. The present year, the least san
gune Of our business men expect to see the
permanent population doubled. The town
derives its chief consequence from being the
principle wholesale market for the Territory;
though the mining interest, in the very cen
ire Of the place, is quite an important item.
There is one National and five private banks,
four private Assay Offices, three churches,
four Sabbath schools, three newspapers, one
theatre, five hotels, fifteen restaurants, one
lodge Of Odd Fellows, three Masonic lodges,
and one Royal Arch Chapter.
Masonry is the institution that overshad-
ows all others in influence, numbers and
usefulness. Operative Masonry is more
infinitely and more skillfully worked up to
It's intended results, in Helena, than in any
place it has been my good fortune to visit
Every member of the Order, who first saw
the light here, is qualified to be W.M.-
The Catholic Church has long had the credit
of being the first to carry the Scri ptures to
the forest to the prairie, and to the noun
tans of America. In one notable instance,
however, the "Holy Mother came up mis-
sing. When the first session of the Terri
torlal Legislature met in the winter of 1864
st a place way up in the mountains, called
Bannaci-the members all assembled, some
having ridden three hundred miles to be
present-the United States officer was there
10 swear them in-when 10 and behold, there
was 10 Bible to be found to qualify them
upon. There was stumbling block. No
church within hundreds of miles, no godly
men Or women in all that mountain region.
After enjoying the dilcma awhile, one old
erIzllcy bearded mountaneer-a member
arose and said he knew of at least one Bible
being in the settlement--that one being in
possession of the Masonic I.odge-a Lodge
composed of eight members. That Bible
enabled the Legislature to organize. A
..hsrch may assemble for worship without
'hat book; $" may legislative body--a
Masonic Lodge, never without the Bible
there can b. no Lodge
notice in The IVhiy that l.. Brown &
Bro. are selling coal oil nj 81 cts. per gallon.
Great is Brown: bully for Brown -
Ektonians ought to paironize Brown. All
The first families in Helena would, if it were
not so inconvenicnt, as the price here is
$1,000 per gallon. REM.