Helena weekly herald., 1884-03-13
THE NEW TOWNS.
The Latest from the Ceur d'Alene

| The Latest from the CGur d'AIenes.
By the arrival last night of Charles
Woodman, of Helena, from the mining
country of the Ceur d'Alenes, and in an an
interview with that gentleman this morn
ing, we are enabled to give the latest and
most reliable news from the several rail-
road towns that are springing up like
magic and growing lively as outfitting
points to the gold placers The follow ing
are answers to numerous questions piled
by HERALD reporter to Mr.. WOOdman,
who has just paid visit to Thompson
Falls City, Belknap, and Trout Creek. At
the latter place he found an embrio city of
three or four hundred people, who were
mostly engaged in building houses, putting
up tents and lining them so as to be habit
able, making business locations, and stock
ing their stores and dwellings. Several
large stocks of supplies have arrived there
and goods are plenty and about as cheap
as elsewhere in Montana with freight
added. At Belknap there are about 300
people occupied in about the same manner
as their fellow pioneers at Trout Creek,
only they are constructing houses under
greater difficulties, owing to the density
of heavy timber growing upon the town
site. Here at this point there is an unrest,
or rather an unsettled proposition as to
whether the people there have struck the
right place, and whether they had not
better wait little till they see further.
This is evidenced by car loads of goods
waiting on the track under orders to not
unload until further notice. This was the
case of a Mr.. Lockwood, resident mer-
chant and real estate dealer of Minneapolis
who shipped four cars of general mer-
chandise and portable houses to Belknap,
and then not liking the prospects there
moved his whole outfit east six miles to
Thompson Falls City. The same un-
certainty of things at Belknap delays the
unloading of two car loads of goods belong
ing to Caplice & Smith, which are there on
the track awaiting further orders.
Following the railroad Mr.. WOodman
reached Allen, the station where Levi
Allen has saw mills and makes vast guam
titles of lumber, which he sells at $14 per
thousand. From this point he walked
one mile to Thompson Falls City, on the
railroad, an embrio town of from 200 to 300
people who have as yet no railroad station,
| thus compelling stampeders and others
who wish to go into the mines by
Thompson Falls from the east. to pass
the city and 60 on to Allen and then walk
back one mile. 1t is the case with all
goods and freight for Thompson Falls
| whether from the east or the west, which
must be dumped off at Allen and freighted
by wagon to their destination.
Thompson Falls City he considers the
livliest of any of the railroad towns that
bid for the trade and travel to the gold
mines. Here is enterprise and energy at
every point, with a certainty of success
beaming in every eye and animating every
move, that helps to make city or de-
velopes fortune. The city of Thompson
Falls is eligibly located on the Clark s
Fork river, where ferry boat is built and
launched and waiting for wire cable that
will complete a frst-class ferry at the
beginning of the trail that leads to the
mines. The route from Thompson via.
Raven City is travelled every day by
stampeders who tramp over to the mines,
and freighters or packers carrying goods
on sleds. These are neither coasting sleds
nor tobOggans, but are made very low, rest
ing on the fiat of two wagon bows which
have the curve in front. These are loaded
with 100 to $50 pounds of freight and
hauled to the mines by hand, charging
from 20 to 80 cents per pound carriage.
The novelty of seeing collection of these
sleds all loaded and corralled the night be-
fore for an early start, was something pro-
| badly never witnessed before in any of the
many previous stampedes that have oc-
Cured in Montana. One of the outfits
was of large dimensions for hauling big
load and was owned by a kingly freighter.
1t took on two 1O-gallon kegs OF whisky
and as many other packages with himself on
top as would make two or three hundred
pounds more, and who would employ four
men to pull the load at tandem on a rope
In this way he would deliver his freight
into the mines in eleven hours, and back
again next day for return trip. 1t is all
mistake about fabulous prices in the
mines and at railroad points. The ruling
price of the staple in the mines was two
bits drink, and at railroad stations two
for quarter, and cigars the same. Butter