The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1883-10-19
THE DEER LODGE.
The Derixas,sa Of The Name and sornsihias
Of the Hotel and Asylum Located There

ThE DEEh LCoSEs
The Dsrisai,sa Of the Name and sonnsil'ias
Of the Motel and Asylum Located Thsrs.
aDeer Lodge What an odd name, and
withal what pretty one, and what pretty
town it Is applied to. 1t ought to be spelled
Dear. By the way, what Is 1t derived
from? Here Is county, and river ana q
town, called Deer Lodge There should %
some significance in the name, and yet 1t Is
not apparent"
He was newspaper man from skowhegan
or "Ni-Yorick," or some other euphontous
seaport along the other shore. and the local
scribe complacentiy answered, eyes, Deer
Lodge has significance to those who know
the tradition that adds to rather than detracts
frem it,"
"Oh, there's tradition, In there? That's
good: It's better than New York, and New
Jersey, and New Brunswick, and that class
of half imported and half domestic nomen-
clature that suggests either lack of origin
ality or that those who applied them were
not quite prepared to cut loose from the Ola
country. What is your tradition"
"Indian, of course. When the whites
settled here they brought printing press,
and since that its history. There was re-
mote period, however, when the red msn
had a monopoly of this country. This valley
living In q bend of the mountains, was for
generations disputed ground between the
Snakes, Blaclxfeet and their respective allies,
and when they were at war it was good
place to keep away from. With its frequent
streams, magnificent grazing, willow shell
tiers and isolation, it was a paradise for game |
and was noted among all the tribes for the
plentifulness of Whitehall deer that ranged |
here. Ipresume you noticed as yeu came
down the railroad the village at Warm |
Springs, and large mound surmounted by a |
pavilion"
Eyes, but we did not have time to stop"
"Well, that mound Is caused by the over
flow and deposit of thermal spring. 1t Is
thirty feet high and a hundred feet in diam
eter at its base. 1t can be seen at distances
of ten to twenty miles from almost every d.
rection. Its forces are wasted now, and the
hot spring in its apex is little more than
tepid, while scores of springs of water, with
an average temperature Of 1A' bubble up
near its south and southwestern base, and
are making an extensive deposit similar to
that of the old mound But many years ago
the mound spring was, If not an active
geyser, at least a very strong flowing central
spring, from which in cold weather rose con-
stantly q great column of vapor, visible
much farther than the mound can now be
seen. The mound, with its rising steam,
bore q strong resemblance to an Indian
lodge with column of smoke, and taken in
connection with the game characteristic of
the valley, the Indians called 1t in their Ian
guage, The Lodge of the White Tail Deer
When the French hunters and trappers
came they adopted the designation, calling it
la loge ds cheUreuil,' and the more practical
and tersely speaking whites who followed
them, boiled it down to Deer Lodge Thus
was derived the name of the county, the
river and the village"
Every appropriate, indeed; and in the
East it is one of the best known of Montana
names. Have the springs any medicinal
properties"
Yes! Although not advertised as medici-
mas springs, the waters have been very bene-
clad AZ baths for rheumatic and kindred dis
eases. Analysis of the water show 1t is
strongly impregnated with iron, potash and
soda, with traces of iodine, SILICA and arse
mic"
"who are the owners"
"Drs. Mitchell and Mussigbrod, who pur-
chased the area of land including them from
e. Girard in 1875. L. Belanger had procured
title to them some years before and built a
two-story frame hotel of ten rooms, with a
large annex and bath houses, and had 1t fit
ted up into the most comfortable country
hostelry in Montana. But the country was
sparsely settled then, access was somewhat
difficult, and 1t il doubtful If it was q paying
investment. In 1876 Mitchell & Mussigbrod
took the contract for keeping the Territorial
insane, and the adaptation of the place for
the purpose induced them to purchase 1t.
Since then they have erected many addi-
tional buildings, have nearly 800 acres Of
land under fence, acquired by purchase from
settlers and others, and it il now the most
valuable country property in Montana.
Aside from the old hotel they built in 1870 a
new two-story hotel, 25x6O feet, containing
two large parors and twelve rooms, all ele-
gantly furnished. 1t is frame, filed with ,
brick, plastered throughout, and next year
will be yeneered with brick This gives
them ample accommodations for 80 or 90 ,
guests The Utah s. Northern road now runs
near by, with its Warm Springs depot within :
n thousand feet of the hotel, and during the :
past season the hotel has been constantly
filed almost to its full capacity with tran
sient and invalid guests. Water is conveyed
from the mound TO the hotel, LOCO feet,
through iron pipes, and supplies the baths,
pool and reservoir with water OF q tempera-
ture of 1862. 1t is but just to say there is no
hotel In Montana better managed and main
tained, the rooms being kept with exquisite
neatness, the tables supplied with the best Of
the markets and served with culinary skill
TO tempt the dantlest and satisfy the most yo-
racious appetite. The new hotel is remote
from the asylum, and Is connected with the
mound, baths and other buildings by sub
stantiai raised walks.
"Since the asylum was located there the
proprietors have isolated IL from the old
hotel In 1875 one of the old buildings was
transformed into ten strong rooms, with two ]
dormitories. In 1880 e building containing
four wards for female patients was construc-
ted. 1t now contains six patients, viz: Mrs.
Cade, of Deer Lodge; Mrs. O'Ncill, of Sill
yer Bow; Mrs. Wilkins and Miss Pfaendter,
Of Choteau; Mrs. Stevenson, of Lewis and
Clarke, and Miss Hamilton, of Gallatin
county.
A laundry, two stories, 5Ox6O; store house,
20x20, and meat house, 2Ox20, were also erect
ID the same season. In the yard was built 9
house, 2Ox2s, one story, for the violent pa
tents, and aconvalescent ward, 2Ox30, where
The mildsr cases are kept. These are either
Of hewed log or frame with brick lining and
weather boarded.
The present year what Is known as the
house two stories, 25x50 feet,
has been built about 200 feet east of the main
notel It Is of frame, brick lined, plastered
and will be br lex veneered next
sason. In addition to this are the cellars,
,ranaries, ice, milk, wood, and gardner's :
houses, etc, and some 300 yards away the :,
laughter house, pens, etc. The store houses :
.re full, and although Mitchell & Mussigbrod :
ire constant purchasers in the market, an :.
OF the premises suggests that there :.
s everything in stock to maintain the insti-
ution fer weeks without applying to the out .
ide world. A visitor would estimate that
he improvements and furniture Of fireplace
must have cost $50 ,Oo0 to $4,000. The own
rs carry $4,000 insurance. The buildings =