Butte semi-weekly miner., 1889-10-23
carr. G. r. HIGeIss.
A Brief Biography OF One Of Aront.na,s
Gs1eBrasea Pfoneers.

| brlGf, bl0gfaphy OF One OF M0ntana's
GeiebraseA Pioneers.
A typical western pioneer has folded his
tent and departed for the land OF silence.
Other explorers are missing for years, like
Stanley. Melville, Burke and Grant: and
whether they are rescued and brought back
alive or not, they are still heard nom and
the world OF science gets the benefit OF their
discoveries, which, in due time, are utilis d
by the demands OF the worlds ever-prowinr
commerce.
But from the shadowy shore for which
cur courageous and sturdy old neighbor has
set out no word comes back to cheer those
who bade him farewell at the outset OF his
long and mysterious voyage. The marine
columns OF our great commercial news
papers have headings OF spoken, )" in which
We read where vessels meet on the hich seas
and, dipping their ensigns to each other in
the established courtesies OF an ever gallant
profession, pass to the opposite shore and
report each other as flying along before a
seven.knot breeze and all well on board.
But no such word comes back from the
sturdy voyager whose bark sails out on the
midnight sea, the sea without a shore. No
vessel has ever spoken the mysterious
death-ship whose compass needle il the
forefnger OF Gods hand and whose on!y
chronometer msrks not the lap,e Of time
but the dawn OF eternity.
The gentleman was type OF the nom
professional Irishman. He was A. T.
Stewart without Stewards vaster oppor.
tunities. To us the O'Donovan Rossa
type Of Irishman ia repellant, while the
class TO Which Capt. G. 2. Higgins belonged
is particularly attractive. Tail, straight
and sinewy, he was, until within u lew
hours of his death, u picture ,f manly
vigor and boundlcss energy. He found
Missoula pasturage meadow aud he left
1T city OF brick and granit'.
He was q man OF the strictest business
methods and had very naturally acquired,
in rude state OF civilization like tLi-, the
reputation al stinginess and lack OF enter
prise, whereas, nothing wRs further from
the truth. He simply wsnied what fairly
belongt d to him and always stood ready
to vi id what WAS due to his fellow-lr,an.
As for his lack "f enterprise, it. rhnold be |
that he was q siIewd 81 an |
and wanted to zee his way cly rly heiore
ne made ANY move in business ffalrs. The |
splendid granite building, now nrarIy com
olete, adjoining his residence, il iiie best /
han any thing OF tie kind in PoItland, Ia
,oma Or Seattle aud fully equal to. any
hing in Los Angeles or San Francisco. No
nan who erects 40 rich and tasteful an
'difice for the mere uses OF trade, can be
'alled unprOgrt s5ive. Good a business
,oint as Missouls is. the Higgins block is
nearly ten years in advance OF our growing
ity.
Christopher P. Higgins coull not haveI
'een far from sky years OF age when he
,aid the debt OF nature. OF these years
learly thirty had been spent in the North
rest. For the last five years he has been
q acute suffer, but kept it all to himself.
lis willpower was all that kept him up
through his former illness which left HIM
cry much enfeebled for long time. His
hrewdness and good Judgment taught him
o leave nothing unsettled, and when the
eaper came he found the sturdy old pioneer
sady to 60 and his house all in order. He
ad resided on the present site Of Missoula
'r more than twenty-five years. His first
ctive business here was the old store Oh
be corner OF Main street and Higgins av-
nue, established by himself and the late
:. L. Worden. The firm is now the Murphy
1orden Mercantile company, and has be.
ecome power in the land.
On parting with his interests in that con-
,ru W MT. w. u. murphy, ne e6GaDll6neQ
[iggins' Western Bank and made it q
reat success. His second son, John r.
[iggins, was caehier OF the bank, while the
dsst son, Frank. had been admitted to q | :
lnior partnership in the law firm of
tephens & Bickford. Everything began to
'ok favorable as he began the construc.
on OF the most graceful and substantial
uilding between the Rocky mountains and
le Pacific ocean. Four days illness pros
'ated him completely and just as the
over on the edifice was complete he sank
eyond recovery. At short time before
idnight on Monday the clear old gray
'es closed forever and he left world that
I'd been better one for his presence.
Captain Higgins leaves a wife and seven
lildren, three OF whom are of age. His
orldly belongings are already computed
over half million, and as his property
as largely in local zeal estate,
8 value must necessarily increase very
Ipidly. His children are all we'll educated
i'd capable Of making their own way in
Ie world to good advantage. In word,
lristopher P. Higgins was a man that no
could afford to lose. He has
me beyond recall, but his sterling honesty
I'd strict business integrity are left as an
cellent example to the young men of
ontana, to enable them to rise as he did,
light, wealth and power.-[ Missoula