Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1878-01-10

VI CO. DouA 8s D0AOOoDs 1>0 0HDS
= Preschers, Newspapers,
- Etc., Etc.
n HELENA. NJ. r., Jan. 4, 1873.
- Editor Arant Courier:
> A few days sojourn in the Territoria
- Capital has tendency to remove un
u founded prejudices. and favOrably lmpres
= the dullest mind with the importance. sol
idity, steady growth and prosperity of tn
d town-Q might say city, but for the alb
a sence of an incorporation and city govern
II ment.)
The writer had occasion to pass through
s all that there was OF Helena In the sum
e mer of 1865. 1t was then in its infancy
g and in very crude state at that. A few
rough log houses and miners cabins scat
tered up and down the gulch and over the
J foothills between Last Chance and Dry
! Gnlch, with little attention to either SYM
etry and form, or streets and alleys, was
all that constituted the '.city of Helena
the future metropolis of Montana.
But it was lire town then. Money
was almost as plentiful as gravel stones,
and every one appeared to be doing rusi.-
ing business. Maintaining its most desira-
bic and effective characteristics - '.grit''
and gold dust-it has had a steady growth
and almost unabated prosperity from that
day to the present. There is really more
to it. and more of it than appears at first
sight: for it must be borne in mind that
its location-partly in narrow gulch and
partly in and through and around rough
and abrupt hills and spurs Of mountains
precludes the possibility of a flattering es-
innate or impression either Of its size or
structure.
| The buildings, too, although generally
of a very substantial character, are not
very imposing structures. Few of them
are more than one story in height. and
none. except, perhaps. the st. Louis Hotel,
are over two; SO that, to person accus-
toned only to Eastern cities, this looks
small and unpretentious. Yet its store
rooms and business houses. in their inte-
riOr arrangements and finish. will compare
fayorably with those Of almost any East
ern city, while the business annually |
transacted in them is so far in excess of
similar number Of houses East as to be al
most incredible. Think of a little retail
establishment selling one hundred thou
sand dollars worth of merchandise every
year! A small jobbing house, from "a
quarter to half million! A small bank
ing house with private deposits Of half a
million dollars! A newspaper with cir
culation of 1000 to 5000 in town of little
more than that number of inhabitants.
And, then, remember there are two news
papers here, with an aggregate circulation
in the city and Territory of, perhaps, 5000
to COCO. True, have no sworn statement
or statistics before me, but l presume nei-
Their of the offices would feel compliment
ed if should cut down the above figures.
My scalp may possibly be in danger for
making such low estimate; for, you
know. these newspaper men are quite sem
sitive and get very beligerent 1t times.
If you will pardon this depression las the
say) there is an open secret to
the success and prosperity of Helena to
which other ambitious towns in the Terri {
tory might well take heed. 1t is this: The ;
citizens OF Helena are unit in everything {:
hat constitutes their local and material in
erests. They harmonic on everything, s
rom the Delegate ~ Congress to the '
Rocky Mountain Club; the former helps I
hem to the Assay Office, and the latter to '
he Capitol. They wine and dine Generals t
3elknap and Sherman, and thereby obtain I
| regiment Of the ''boys in blue;'' and I
bout the next good thing We shall know, c
hey will have persuaded the balance Of
he Territory into grantinga small subsidy c
hat will bring railroad to their very Q
loors. Not but that they are human, and g
rave their little feuds and personal bicker-
ngs, and enviOus quarrels, and wars Of I
words; but that they bury all these in OBJ J
ivion when ''Reduction Works. are need I
d. an ~. 5. Assay Office" is to be obtain y
ID, the ''Capitol" to be located, a newspa- t
'er to be supported, or city to be rebuilt. t
This unity of effort, combined with those 0
Western characteristics-libcrality, public c
piritcdncss, determination, and indomita- '
'iO PSsSCNNsaii'S-i hAt'tC liiC 4lClCud VI
o-day. Thrice have the dcvouring elc- a
ncnts reduced the fairest portion of the I
ity to ashes. but as often has it been re- p
uilt, each time in more substantial and X
ttractive form. il
The Helena Herald. with commendable n
enthusiasm and proverbial enterprise e
this week, an exhibit or business Il
irectory Of the town at the close Of the a
ear 1877. You might call it stereoscopic n
lew if one column were an exact duplicate II
another, but such is not the case. al II
longh there is an apparent repetition OF Il
ames in the studied effort at classification, y
lat makes It (as Mark Twain would ex- n
ress it) somewhat lnonotonous.' But
king it at the usual rates of discount, it
lakes very creditable showing for the
letropOlis Of Montana. A town that can
lpport a hundred merchants, twenty sa-
IONS, sixteen lawyers. and three ministers
the gospel. must be established on
retty solid basis and enjoy wonderful re- ca
,urces.
In Justice to Helena we must say, how Al
'er, that the apparent disproportion of pl
inisters to other professions might pro- \
Ice an unfair estimate of the liberality, as "
ell as the moral and religious character