The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-04-20
The donita Daily Eagle Sunday gHor,o April 20, 1890.
PROM w1cH1TA no HELENA.
HELENA, Mont, April II, 1890.


Ny last ended at Pocateila Junction.
This town is built upon an ancient lava
bed which extends west, am told, one
hundred and fifty miles, and Is fifty or
sixty miles wide. 1t is covered with a
thin soil and Age brush, good antelope
range. and far 10 the west two snowy
peaks rise from the level plain, the only
objects in sight in that direction. To the
northwest Is a range of mountains, the
home of big born sheep, beyond them is
a plain where the antelope winters. To
the northeast are the mountains enclos-
ing the National park, all white with
the winter snow, and from that direction
| flowed this vast field of lava, forever
burying nine thousand square miles of
plain beneath sea of molten rock.
! Across this plain Snake River has cut a
channel flowing TO the northwest on its
way to the Columbia; other streams sink
| into the lava field and are lost. From
| Pocatella we had the company of party
| Of Bannock Indians; they pay no fare
and ride when they please, 1suppose in
! consideration of right of way through
| their country, for all this land was theirs
| from time beyond the memory of man.
With them was chief major JIM" or
| in their language. Sut-steen-etC. a
man of intelligence and ability: he
speaks American and also uses the same
| sign language as the Indians formerly
! on the plains of Kansas. | carried on
quite a conversation with him before
either spoke a word. Major jim was
! dressed in genteel suit of blue with
brass buttons, and in appearance and
department would compare very favor
ably with some of his pale face brethren
on the train. Polygamy was one of the
| institutions of their country long before
| the MormOns came, and Major Jim adj
heres to the custom of his forefathers.
Across the lava field the train enters
| Beaver canon, which was blocked with
snow half the time the past winter.
| Here we encountered a fierce blizzard of
snow and sleet; quite a contrast to the
snony valley we had just left. Darkness
came on and we saw no more of the
country. About midnight we arrived
at the city of Butte, so named by the
early placer miners from a conical hill
near the town, and boarding a motor
car were soon at a comfortable hotel
Morning found the streets frozen hard
as rock, with some snow. Butte Is
the greatest mining camp IN America;
north or south. Twenty thousand peO-
pie and twenty-four millions of money
produced by her mines last year. A
semi-circle of low hills surround the
town ON the north and west, which are
hOney-combed with mines, and over
each mine are steam hosting and pump
ing works, whose many tall chimneys,
with the smelling works close by in the
u !, abr
healthy fumes. No trees will grow on
the town site. and the high surrounding
mountains, which on the east shut off
the morning sun, are being stripped of
their timber to supply the enormous de
mandS of the mines, one NINE using
so 900 feet of timbers each day. Wood
is contracted for by the millions of cords.
The town is on hill side, overlooking
pretty valley to the south, and the
main streets are built up with
substantial brick buildings, cable
cars run up the principal street,
and a steam motor line to the railroad
The mines of Butte eXpend monthly for
labor and material three-fourth of n
million of dollars. 1t Is rather cool at
Butte in winter. ] have Major Wheeler
for authority that he once experienced
sixty-five degrees below zero at that
place; such extreme cold lasts but a
short time.
Butte has the largest population of any /
CITY in Montana and Is candidate for /
the capital when the location comes be- /
fore the people in 1892. Helena. how
ever will remain the capital city of Mon /
tana. Butte is dependent entirely upon
her mines: there Is no other object IN /
living there, and twenty years from now
her mines may be exhausted and nine
tenths of her people will leave for other
fields of industry, as did the people who
fOcked around the COmstOck mines of
Nevada.
Helena is the business, financial and I.
political center of Montana, as well as lis .
capital city, and is said TO be the wealth
lest city per capita in the United States. .
Its location Is unexCelled-atth the east end I
of a spur of the main range of the Rocky /.
mountains overlooking beautiful val .
lev, well watered and fertile; twenty .
miles across, with the Missouri flowing .
along the further side, beyond which .
rises lofty mountains forming a beautiful .
background to the landscape. To the f.
north IS the BeartOoth mountain standing
sentinel at the gateway of the mountains, /
rising almost perpendicular from the .
great river which flows at It's foot.
Helena started on It's career as a min
ing camp at the mouth Of Last Chance 4
gulch. from which many millions Of gold /
was taken in the early placer mining
DAYS, and was then known as Last
Chance" When the guich was worked .
out the town remained, a collection Of
one-stOry log houses without roofs,
a hard. wicked, old-time mining town.
The resort of murderers, thieves, gam
blers. courtesans and their pals, until the
vigilanteS, whose CabaiisiIC work was
- 7 H." caused the horizontal limb on
the lone pine on Dry Gu!ch to bear fruit
on some twenty-five occasions. From
that time life aud property were safe and
Helena grew and spread out into the val
lev and over the slopes to the right and
left and enterpTisIng citizens accuma-
lated wealth from mines and herds and
trade and built solid blocks Of brick and
granite and brought in railroads and
srnelters and eStablihed banks which
now have on deposit s., 4G2. 7e4. 81. and
built costly and beautiful residences. all /
these things making ground on her nam
street without any boom worth 81 600
per front foot and none for sale.
There are no mines II importance now
worked IN the immediate vicinity If
Helena. but her citIZEns own mines and
ranches and carry on business enterprises
in every part Of the surrounding tern
tory.
The legislative and senatorial contest.
which has become of national interest.
l have not heard mentioned since came
here. ASIDE from the politicians the