Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1882-01-12
A THRIVING TOWN..

OOmmefClal importance OF helena, M0n-
tana-The Territorial Center Of Sup
plies-Discriminstion in Fneghts
Against California Merchants
An Orderly Community.
Correspondence San Francisco Chronicle
In the fall of 1864 party of prospectors,
aiming to reach reported rich diggings in
British Columbia, found themselves where
now stands the city Of Helena. . Satisfied
that they could not complete their journey
that season, they camped and prospected
what they called Last Chance gulch and
found good pay dirt. The word went. abroad,
supplies came in, a town grew and was
named st. Helena. The st" was soon
dropped, probably from pioneer disposition
to go it alone, without sanity or other aid.
The mines, although not very extensive,
were rich, and many millions of gold We're
taken out in this immediate vicinity. In
1865-66 there was a large migration from the
partially exhausted placers OF Alder and
Grasshopper creeks The cost of bringing
goods, into the country by train and team
was immense, but steamboats, in numbers
soon foundl their way to Fort Benton, the
head OF navi igatiOn on the Missouri river,
from which transportation was cheap and
easy to Helena, 13O miles distant. The
steamers bring freight from st. Louis to
Fort Benton at to / J cents q pound, thence
by wagon to Helena it is hauled for one
cent, and even as low as three-fourths of a
cent, the stock feeding onsthe rich and abrn-
dant bunch grass along the road.
But the river season is short and supplies
had to be laid in for half year ahead
Helena became great distributing point
and to-day has undoubtedly larger iobbing
trade than any place of the same size in
America The population does not reach
5000, but there are grocery and clothing
houses occupying fire-proof buildings, with
three. floors crowded with goods, and whose
annual sales reach into hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars. When the river is as at
present, the Utah & Northern Railroads.
feeder of the Union Pacifc-arranges it's
tariff upon the principle of no competition,
and charges accordingly. Freight for Helena
is'dropped at Dillon, 1875 miles south, and l
was told that a'tparty paid to that point
few days since 81 cents freight on cement
from St Louis. At present California is al
most absolutely barred from participating in
the Montana business. The marrow guage
charges local treights from: Ogden north in
some cases more than the rate on through
bills of lading. The Northern Pacific rail-
road is advancing rapidly from the west In
1882 it will be nearing thee Mullen Pass tun-
mel, ten miles from Helena and then Califor-
MIA business men may hope to compete on
even terms with the merchants of the East
for the trade of this growing section.
A GOOD STOCK COUNTRY.
Said an enthusiastic citizen: Montana
beats the world for mines and bunch grass
1t is great stock country. Where the buff
talo range, cattle can safely follow. Almost
every Helena capitalist has bands of cattle
scattered over the country. What were
called in California "rodeos," are here known
as "round-ups." Increased attention is being
paid to breeds, and notice Norman Perch
eron horses advertised as well as herds. of
Shorthorns. The grain raised in the valley
is very fine and heavy, especially in the Gal
latin section. Oats run forty, even as high
as forty-fve pounds to the bushel Barley
as feed is almost unknown. fla horse is not
worth feeding oats he can eat grass do
not think the grain yield as large per acre as
on the best virgin soils in our State. Helena
is made up OF old citizens-prosperous re-
liable business men, satisfied with them
selves, their business and their prospects,
proud of, Montana, its productions and
its climate. A number of mines are located
about Helena, at distances varying from five
to thirty miles, but no district has yet as
sumed paramount importance At Wickes
very extensive smelling works are being
erected.
NEWSPAPERS AND CHURCHES.
There are two well-conducted daily apers
here, the HERALD Republican, and the
Independent (Democratic), both good local
unfortunately, dependent upon
for egraphic news.
~, ILL.,
the congregations have q praiseworthy habit
of paying their ministers fair salaries-pay-
ing them, not owing them Since / came
here one society has bought $4,000 parson-
age, so that the rector can in the spring bring
his family from their eastern home. There
is frame theatre and handsome brick
Opera-house not often opera, as travel has
been too expensive and tiresome to tempt
companies off from the beaten overland
track, but the coming railroad will work a
change in this respect. s' aa
OF course the supply of saloons is eq ual to
the demand, and the sporting element is not
unrepresented but there is NJ quieter or
more orderly community. At the railroad
fronts there are. some rough characters, but
it is safe to say that in Montana crime of all
kinds is mere certainly, and what is almost
equally important, more speedily punished
tnan In older communities. Ihere are ABOUT
sixty prisoners in the Territorial peniten-
tiary less in proportion to the population
than California shows.
HOW ORDER WAS RESTORED.
With the first discovery of gold there
came from all directions crowd of desper-
ate men, and during 1863 an absolute reign
of terror prevailed. An organized band of
robbers and murderers held high carnival,
some of the number being at the same time
officers of the law: Crime after crime fol
lowed unpunished, until the Montana Vigi-
lance Committee sprang into existence with
the beginning of 1864. 1t was not mere
local mob, the creature of an impulse of pas
sion, but an organized body of stern, deter
mined men, with branches in every camp.
Within few weeks over twenty despera-
loes at different points went to their last ac-
,onnt and many others took shorter jour
1eys, Or changed their habits if not their
characters. In 1870 the Association again
md in the same way gave tangible evidence
,t,its vitality, and there is to-day very
general feeling that should crime again be-
,ome rampant, and go unpunished through
.droit attorneys, milk-and-water juries and
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