The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1891-08-15
Grand Electric Storms Mid
Montana Mountains.
From Peak to Peak The Rafting
Crags Among Leaps the Live
Thunder"
Montana's Material Wealth
Iron, Gold and Precious
Stones.
Gold and Silver the Currency Of the
Pe0ple-The Man Who Didn't
Know What Twenty Dollar
Bill Was.
SOME POLITICAL GOSSIP.
A Relative of Blaine Says The Maine
Statesman Wont be Candidate.
The Editor Of Son Russelrs Paper in Jail

The Editor Of Son Russell's Paper in Jail
University Boy whose Erring Feet
Lead Him Into Ways Not Creditable
to His Alma Mater.
Special corr. of the New DOMINION:
HELENA, Montana, August L.
There's "a good deal Of laundering
weather here. An electric storm
seems going on in some part of the
mountains nearly every day and the
deep roll of the thunder is frequent
ly heard when the sun is shining at
its brightest. One seems to live here
right in the very work shop of the
Storm King, so near the clouds, we
are. Two splendid electric and rain
storms have swept down from Mount
Helena and rolled across the valley
during the past week. Storms which
iCoCuiulc tuVnC ucoCIlDcu Wv hlutT
Haggard in the Witchs' Head.
A dense black curtain of inky
cloud, fringed by a greenish, glare
will gather above the mountains brow
then the lightning's red tongue will
begin to lick out it's rivulets of liquid
fire nearer and nearer till the valley
seems trimmed around with sea of
flame, and the whole Heavens are
laced over with the binding arrows
that dart athwart the sky and leap
to the feet of the smitten mountains.
The thunder resembles the deep
steady roll of the heaviest artillery
which echoes and re-echoes in grand
diapason that moves the soul like the
voice of God and rocks the Earth till
it trembles on it's foundations.
These storms are very terrifying to
some persons but fatalities seldom
follow; the mountains from their
height and the amount OF metal they
contain probably act as conductors
and draw the electric fluid from the
clouds to their own rocky bosoms in
harmless manner.
When we proposed going to church
our host compromised on a visit to
the East Helena Smelter. The roast
ing and toasting of the ore, the hiss
ing red hot streams of molten metal
the heat, the sulphur and arsenic,
the fire and birthstone, give one a
vivid representation of Dantes In
ferno
There were 200 men with grimy
clothes and lurid faces, who with a
slight stretch Of the Imagination
might have been gnomes and fiends
employed in making it warmer for
poor souls in Purgatory
There are five blast furnaces, each
with capacity of so tons per day.
The place where the thou. ands of
tons of ore and concentrates are un-
loaded from the cars resemble a vast
stock yard each pen being about 25x
20 feet square and the same in depth.
Dozens and scores of them were full
to the brim of quartz, galena, carbon
ates and all the various kinds of ore
found in Idaho and Montana. The
lowest assaying So per ton, the high
est 5000. 1t costs great deal of
money to make gold or silver dol
lar. The plants for mining, smelt.
ing, assaying and minting represent
the expenditure of millions. The
largest smelter in the world is at
Anaconda 90 miles from here. A
force of 1000 men is employed when
running full time. Copper capital
lists forced sshut down. few weeks
ago to put up the price of copper by
lessening the output for time. In
the meantime the income of those
1000 men is not only lessened but
entirely cut off.
A sapphire company is now in
operation at Canon Ferry on the
Missouri river in this State. A per
feet sapphire is very rare gem and
as valuable as diamond. The gravel
at that point carries a large deposit
of those beautiful stones but as they
lie from 200 to 900 feet above the
river lack of water prevented any
systematic working of the field. The
new company has erected powerful
steam pump by which water is forced
$50 feet over the bluffs and then car
ried 1900 to reservoir from which
it is conducted by sluices to the
points needed and used as in places
mining for gold. E. V. Smalley says:
Montana has the richest gold mine
in the world, Drum Leemon the
richest silver mine in the world,
Granite mountain, the greatest cop
per plant in the world, Anaconda
and also the greatest deposit of pre-
cious stones in the world"
Fabulous fortunes have been made
here in mines, but where many have
gained money others have lost.
There are scores of mines all round
those mountains in which the only
smelling ever done will be when .sthe
Heavens shall be rolled together like
a mighty scroll and the Earth mel
ted with fervent heat" and then alas
it will be too late to declare dtvi
dends. Gold and silver is much more
largely in circulation here than pa
per money. A gentleman of my &C
quaintance saw an unusual looking
piece of paper lying on the street
but passed it by after calling the at
tention of his companion to it. The
other party picked it up but was 50
dubious about it that he gave
small boy ST. to carry it to a bank
and make some inquiries. The small
boy soon came back with four five
dollar gold pieces in lieu of the bit
of paper which proved to be $40
gold certificate. The party of the
first part went off and hunted quiet
place to conduct devotions in.
Helena has three daily papers, one
Democratic, the Independent, and
two Republican. The Herald is
owned and run by Fiske, nephew
by marriage of JAS G. Blaine. The
Journal is supposed to be owned by
Russell Harrison, the son of the
President, | was thinking what