Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-04-16
A QUEER WESTERN TOWN.
The Way ReIknap was First Built
by Mistake on a Crust of snow.

I
New York Sun. Rumors of the great
wealth to be had for the seeking in the
Cear d'Alene country had reached
the outer world IN the fall ct 1888,
and, being very Persistently kept
atloat, gave plain Indications that a
boom would set in early the following
spring. Two enterprising men, who
were entirely familiar with the art of
creating cities, started from Denver in
January, and riding along the snow
bound line of the Northern Pacific
until they came to point which look
ed Us If II might be somewhere near
opposite TO the promised land of gold
on the other side of the mountain.
jumped Oil INTO the snow and claimed
the town of Belknap. Their reason
for stopping at this particular point
was that the engine had halted there
to take in water from a tank, the only
structure within hundred miles of
the place. 1t was not au over promis-
ing site for town. On the left of the
track the steep hill, heavily timbered
with immense pine trees, extending
skyward at an angle of As degrees.
and on the right of the track sloped
downward at about the same iacline.
The pine trees were so closely together
in some places that 1t was almost i'm
possible for these pioneers, wadrng
through the snow, TO run the lines for
the survey of their proposed metropol
lis Having, however, chopped down
a tree or two, and claimed and named
their town, they set out IN search of
inhabitants, feeling tolerably sure
that nobody would steal the property
during their absence.
By promises of corner lots they ia
dhced sufficient number of laboring
men to accompany them to the chosen
spot from Butte City Helena, and
other Montana towns, and having at
last clea;ed away an Opening in a pine
forest sufficiently large to accommo-
date fe " big tents, they imported
big gang of Cinnamon from the Pa
cifc slope and began in earnest the
laying out of streets. Shovehng out
anywhere from six 10 ten feet of snow
FROM around the trees, they sawed the
giant trunks as close to the ground as
possible, and in the course of few
weeks had constructed Broadway,
which was about 800 yards long and
40 feet wide, running at right angles
t.. the railroad track, and First, Sec
ond, and Third streets, narrow
thoroughfares of varying length,
which crossed Broadway at regular
intervals.
all was now in readiness for the
sale of real estate. The Northern
Pacific advertised Belknap through
out the east as the entrepot to the Cnur
d'Alene country, and maps of this
new city, showing all the desirable
building corners, were hung in all
real estate offices of d enver, Cheyen.
ne, Salt Lake, and other important
western centers. A gentleman who
had large and profitable hotel here
in Denver sold out all his property
and bought two lots at the corner of
Broadway and Second streets, | think,
for which he paid 81, 600 apiece. He
shipped sawed lumber to Belknap by
the carload, and took out enough
furniture to equip two ordinary
hotels Arrived at Belknap he found
his corner occupied by trees of cen
tury's grow tn. Nothing daunted, he
sawed the monster trunks off at the
street level, using the stumps as a
convenient and readY-madc founda-
ton for his new hotel. Other new
corners did the same, and by the LIST Of
March there was such a sound of saw
ing and hammering as had never
been dreamed of in this primeval
forest. New streets were laid out, and
shanties began to go up in every di-
rection.
But now a most astonishing and
EN- barrassing thing occurred. The
forest having been cleared for large
space, the rays of the mid day sun be-
gan to play havoc with the street
pavements. What had before appear
ed to be firm foun lation began to
prove uncertain. The surface of the
streets, and of such building lots as
kad been cleared of timber, began to
drop out ia spots, and it was then
found that the town had been laid out
six or eight feet above terra firma. In
shoveliug away the snow ia order to
get at the foot Of the trees, the build
ers of the tewn had come upon what
bHeY supposed 10 DC bu6 SFOuuu, JUL
which now proved to be mere crust
of leaves and twigs and fallen boughs
and branches resting upon founda'
ton of snow which, as has been said,
was from six to eight feet deep. The
result can easily be ina gined. Houses
which had appeared to be on solid
ground were suddenly found insecure
ly balanced IN the air on massive
stills, and Broadway was no longer
passable, being thjckly studded
throughout its length with uugainly
tree trunks. The founders OF the
town, however, and the owners, hav-
ing made certain that they had at last
reached a genuine soil, sawed the
trees a second time, and repaired their
falling buildings. In ten weeks after
its inception the town of Belknap con-
tanned four thousand inhabitants, not
including the Indians, who came in
troops from all directions, supplying
the new market with abundance Of
game There were seventeen corner
liouor stores on the first of April on