The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-08-15
SDecial CORRESPONDENCE of the MINER.

substance of these affidavits only haC
reference to hearsay evidence relating
to the boundary line of Montana on
the west, and to hearsay evidence as
to the time when the force of graders
on the Northern Pacific crossed the
line. The whole of the five aftiants
are said to have been saloon men and
sports-the camp followers who were
engaged in the laudable business OF
wringing from the hard hands OF
lahoring men their filthy lucre by
ways that are dark. That a party,
sometimes arrogating to itself the
designation Observation-Disclosures.
ty," should raise the cry of fraud and
seek to defeat the recorded will of the
people with such instruments is a
thing that will not appeal very pow
erfully to the public moral sense.
IF the contestant had been in earn
est in ascertaining just where the
10th meridian of west longitude is
the best evidence would have been
that of the engineers Of the North
ern Pacific who took ooservations for
the purpose of establishing the line.
If he had been sincere in his desire to
fix the time VIXEN the grading force
crossed the line, he would have Sc
cured tho dispositions of the con-
tractors who were with the men and
superintended the work as it pro-
crossed. The evidence is of such a
fimsy and unlawyerlike character
that it will no doubt be ignored by
the Committee on Elections when
the contest comes on to be heard.
One or two of the atlantis testified
that they did not cross what they I'M
derst0od to be the line until after the
9th of May, 1882, and when asked by
Mr.. Mccormick if they voted they
answered in the affirmative. These
witnesses may yet grace the halls of
the p%enitentiary before Mr.. Botkin's
contest comes on to be heard.
The truth Of the business is that
the main force of the graders crossed
the line, which is some three miles
this side of Cabinet Landing, before
the 9th of May, 1882; and that, al
though they were not identified with
the Territory or MANY Of them ex-
pecting to make it a permanent
home, they were legal voters under
the laws of the Territory, which al
low every citizen or alien, who has
declared his intention to
become a citizen to vote after a six
months residence. The country is
full Of transient people who are vot-
ing here every year. Men may ques-
ton the moral right of people to vote
under such circumstances, but not
their legal right. Noone here thinks
for a moment thatany fraud in the
election in Missoula county last fall
can be established, nor that any
thing will come out Of the contest |
further than possibly to furnish
Botkin mileage to and from
Washington, a place he no doubt
to visit this winter. But some
distinguished friend should tell Mr..
Botkln that contestants are not al
ways voted the usual sum of So, 900 to
cover expenses, and that he will
to make more of a case than he
has done so far in Missoula county
before Congress will grant him even
hearing.
AS Missoula county is a factor in the
general Territorial prosperity, mat
;ers relating to local prosperity are of
interest. Other parts of the Terri
'ory have had their Indian reserva-
ions circumscribed or the Indians
'emoved to other localities as The
ands might very possibly be
needed for set: lement. But Missoula
county has had her fairest portion.
Bitter Root valley jointly occupied
" whites and Indians and Jocko
reservation exclusively by Indians
led up against settlement and pre-
mption. The interests of the peo-
lie now require that the Indians be
segregated. The collisions inevita-
lie make this desirable for both races.
the other day an incident &C.
urred which emphasizes this neces-
ity. A party of drunken Indians
n the border of the reservation,
lghteen miles from Missoula, where
endors of gin do congregate, took in
passer-by and rolled him for his {
honey. A collision followed shortly
in which n of the In !
was shot in the leg. The tele- {
raph clicked the cry for help and ;
lortly afterward the train carried
ut three companies from Fort Mis-
'ula to the seat of Indian war. OF
'urse there was no fighting and no
of peace and harmony to be q
'und when the detachment arrived. +
1t the idle rumors about The burn i
g OF the t~restle, the tearing up of t t
le track and the cutting of the !
'res' curdled the Missoula air for r
NJ. +
Is among the things that are in u
liable that the Indians will be de-
'uched as they are brought into II
oser contact with the whites. The h
Of our species will gather on D
e borders and seek to thrive IN h a
Mr. ] IL