Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-07-25
AMONG THE ROCKIES.
Helena, Mont. JnlY 6. 198e

Editor of Grant County Herald, NV
Dear Sir: Possibly few of your many
readers may have remembrance of the
fiaxen haired youth from Rock county,
who went about ''old Grant last fall
seeking whom he might persBadc to
stand by the It. q. z. whose banners
We're trumphantly born alofl by our good
men two and true, Benjamin and Levi.
Presenting upon the pleasant (pleas-
ant to me at leasD acquaintance, ven
ture to write you briefly concerning this
wonderful land Of the west. Mighty is
Montana Mighty was Montana ages
before civilized man made This vast
domain his haDiiati0n. Magnificent
then rs now were her far reaching dis
tances; broad then as now her ocean of
prairie plains; rugged and jagged her
mountains. deep and devious her oanon,
then as now SD then, too, did mountain
side and yawniug gulch hold within their
Keeping the measureless mineral wealth
that man now finds then as now did
the monarch mountain, old Grand
Teton, and his noble brothers, resting
in the same sublime repose. rear their
lofty heads amid the eternal SHOWS.
The hardy pioneer prospector, with his
pick and shovel and trusty seven shoot
erss made known TO the world the won
dfous possibilities of Montana as a
mineral producing region. Then came
the capitalist and thousands of miners.
with dynamite and giant powder. with
the immense shelters and stamp mills,
and we have the Mantana of today, con-
tributlng TO the worlds wealth, from
her rich.depths of gold, silver, copper
and lead, millions of dollars every
week. And then, too, no re sumo of
Montana's great resources would be
complete without mention of the festive
cowboy and his work The eastern
part OF the territory is our vast plain of
upland prairie, over which are herded
many thousands of sheep, cattle and
horses. The stock feed on the rich
prairie grasses the year round, never
being taken up for winter. The win
tiers III Montana are much milder than
in Dakota aud MinnesOts, the climate
being moderated by the influence of the
Chinook winds, which makes their way
up through the valleys and mountain
passes from the mild waters of the
Pacific ocean. The cattle on the plains
never soc corn or grain of any kind,
yet when shipped to tho eastern market,
they rival the best beef that can be
produced by the best care and feeding
by the best farmers of Illinois and Wis
consin. Considering the slight cost of
caring for these great herds of cattle.
one can readily see how the big ranch
man of the west can sell his prod let at
a low figure and yet make handsome
profit. The same is also true as to the
production of horses and sheep.
The next day after arriving at Helena,
it was my good fortune Ia meet at the
MERCHANTS Hotel my Legislative friend,
Capt, j. b. Mccoy. who Is now u. S.
Revenue Agent and Is evidently acquit-
inG himself 10 the entire satisfaction of
the department, as Is shown from the
fact that he came TO Helena on the i'm
pOrtant mission of transferring the u.
). Internal Revenue office at this place
After remaining at Helena about four
days, on the morning of July 2nd we
took the Montana Central train for
Butte City, the greatest mining camp
in The world. After having lunch at
the Mcpermott, we started out on the
war path 10 lind some one we had seen
before. | was doomed 10 disappoint.
ment, bat the Captain had better luck
and soon brought up at the store Of
o. X Lewis x Co. where be founC
two old Grant county boys in the per
sons Of siessrs. Will and Walter Lewis
sTho gave the two wandering Badger
most cordial welcome. Shortly aftel
making ourselves known, a beautiful
span of bays drew up before the stor,
4 turn out that wOnld do credit t.
the city Of Milwaukee, all of which wa!
placed st our disposal for the afternoon
With Mr.. Walter Lewis as our guide W,
took 10 the sights Of this wonderful Cit
Of mines The city is scattered hithe
and yon among the hills beneath who's,
dry aud rocky sides are found the ricl
drposiies 81 silver and copper ore tina
have made Butte City famous ant
wealty. We first visited the Lexintor
mine and stamp mills. Our thanks ar,
due Mr.. Ed. Wright for courtesies ex
tended in showing us through the mil l
and explaining the system of reducin.
The ores. The Lexington is one of th,
most valuable mines at Butte; employ
800 men and has monthly pay roll 0
$4,000. LesVipg the Lexington W,