New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-21
THE NEW STATES.
XxvII
A MOUNTAIN CAPITAL.
,,r,rxA IT'S SOLID GROWTH IN WEALTH
AND POPULATION.

--rr,,r-rrxc CENTRE FOR THE WHILE
,r,~opv-rAcrs AND FIGURES WHICH
SHOW MoNTANA's ASTONISHING
RESOURCES.
rrsoy ,sr,rrcoRREsroSpESr OF rHk rRiuaNSl
cop,rirht. 1889; By The Ne". "N '''1""''
Helena Mont, July a.
IT, ,rot, % uclenn leads everywhere else. NO
o,her reason can possibly he susseSuo" why
Mace that began as a mining camp i'll ioneN
MAINTAIN obasm endures as The most coiil'""hu'.e
NJ the cities of Montana. mere are o,ue' o'''''
'. '' - greater but the engine that draws
Won thither stops and turns "ro"""
IT., history Helena has been distributing
e"i"''' r.~.,nc directly in front OF Fort Benton,
-. Missouri navigation ceases, II received from
Wiz al thu supplies that came from ST.
- d.stincnd TO points east and west and south
-, pocl,v range It's earliest years were
~ Drosnerous So soon it became known
,lo, cold had been discovered in the Last Chance
o,1ch n settlement sprang up, and everybody
,oro5os ,yere bent upon washing fortune from
,hs sand and gravel that formed the bed of the
rre,tv little rivulet romping through the guich
II was the same old-fashioned mining camp, buiit
~ nine logs and mud, where men grew rich ne
,vreen dawn and dark. where the gold fever rageu
md wasted all day and the fires oil dissipation
,urned all night Everybody was his own DesV
tr,ond and occupied himself administering TO MS
own happiness ,..os
R,, IN n few years the gold was gone. 1T hau
created several large fortunes. Spectators an"
Gamblers had contrived to capture the greater
mart of it, and when duh times came they pore
heaviest upon those whose industry had createu
the city. For ten years after sos, the lerri,orS
stood still, and Helena stood with t-oec,ineu
n
Law stranded on the Missouri at Bismarck, ana
.roat walls of rocl, stood between Montana ana
tbe railway lines below 1t was almost lmposSloe
N oct a road into the Territory, and without
freiqbting facilities the country's resources were
,nlv stone and dirt. Still, there were piuckS
neonle who hung on There were Others VINO huhs
m becouse they couldn't let go. ana between
hem they contrved at last TO get what went ior
.ailroad II was a little narrOw-gauge hne lroi'
OGDEN and the Mormon country INTO Moh'""",
connecting with the Union Pacihc ana centrum"
nv il This little road did great thihgs loI N''
miners IL was put into Butte ana business
started with a rush. Shortly afterward III COL
Tho No,thern Pacific. revived by Mr. BiliilGs'
.ome "a the eastern frontier Of the Territory anu
two wears later Mr. Willard ran IL INTO heleh"
From that moment Montana moved Sr"huN
forward Helena had been twenty years se',"7
h 600 Inhabitants In five years more IL III"
On ooo From n log camp it has become city
NJ granite and marble Right there on 'he ioo'-
hills of the Rocky Mountains, where but h''le
iii onn door and bear were hunted, stand
snlepdid houses that would look well in upper
riftb.ave II is IA modern town. with all the
mode,n virtues and all the modern vices Inc
salvation Army and the Theatre COmiqu"' CON
duo, their hostile services side by side, ana Gun
.,rl,inv attention TO the ctcr1.l warfare between
tho hosts of Gabriel and the hosts OF Belal Inc
aat-chested Salvation sirens stand IN 'front.' OIL
their buildinc and howl, We are the children oil
the Iar-nr-ard7 while directly across the street
a brass band shrie<s and snorts III dred"iul
horn,cn.. snmmoning the gay and the giddy TO
the lc..e Ang performances oil Lieh'-'oo'eu
Lily and the divine artist. Meggy Muiuooh
II is n mistake TO suppose that Helena depends
nm mining exclusively or her support. lHere are
no mines of any great account WITHIN twenty-five
miles of the city In some measure greater Vi
less. every mine in the Territory pays tribute 10
a.. oonital CITY. Tie rch men OF
Helena have interests everywhere ana li'el or"w
DC they can To the town where their principal
og.irs arc placcd Each OF the heavy mIliionalres
controls some big financial institution to which
s.r,. thar entcrprisc he owns is made TO con-
tribnte This policy is uniform with them all.
hpsr have their jcalousies and rivalrieS, but
+hov null true and together for Helena, ana nave
.noooodeI in giving il an enviahe reputation for
,,aa,.h H. * said TO be the richest city oil lts
.;,e in The world, and statistics are quoted by
tho ward TO support this claim. Its largest Dank'
for Instance holds an average OF TOUR millions
~ denosits If the money lying idle IN the vaults
# Helena were appOrtioned per capita To ule
neope of the city, each man, woman ana chiiu
would own 81 $50.
IT, il accented in Helena and out that the
city will stay. Its people have 1orced t'i'S I'M
preston by their audacty. They nave invested
many millions in houses of the most suos'an''"i
kind Many of the finest business Establishments
IN the city were erected at time when IT required
either a remarkable nerve or vast degree OF
penetration to make such investments. But one
such building led TO the construction OF announcer
until an enduring city has been made The city
was not built however, until the country de-
manded it, Much of it has gone up since the
Manitoba railway system, starting from 81 faul
ON It's way TO the Pacific Coast, came along TO
receive abundant cargoes of Northern-grown gram
The products of the Territory, swelling enor-
mously every year, have rendered a town ike
Helena necessary The first coal mine in Montana
began 10 do business two years ago. In 1855 lIle
product of the mines reached $500 tons 1t
will reach $4,000 before 1889 is ended. The
assessed value of property liable TO taxation IS
s67A3O.533 The actual value of all property
cannot he less than 200, 100000. From 26,l13
acres sown in wheat 170,200 bushels were
harvested production of 70,072 bushels OF
corn came from 2,425 acres planted, and corn
il not considered more than a possibility in TINS
climate. The yield of oats and potatoes was of
itself a fortune to the Territory. From S4,07s |
acres sown in oats came 3,O26,572 bushels of
harvested grain nearly forty bushels to the acre.
while 1858 acres Of potatoes supplied s42 Gas |
bushels in the yield. From 725, SOS sheep sheared
land l don't believe half the number of sheep |
and cattle in Montana are reported 10 the
assessors 4,422,O3O pounds Of wool were taken |
These arc a few OF the figures and onl,. II fo,,