The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-22
MOUNT VERNON PURE RYE WH|SKEY Il

site located but have been advised by attor-
news not to hurry i'll this matter until the
survey had been made, these lands having
until last year been unsuryeyed. Now
comes the Thompson Falls bone of con-
%tention. The government survey had hard
ly been completed and before it had been
officially announced, Bradshaw, Lehigh
Larkin and thirteen other Butte land jump
ers located two placer claims of l6O aces
each, taking in the entire TOWNSHIP, contend-
ing that it is land containing valuable fire
| clay and other mineral deposits. These
land jumpers then located GAO acres of fire
clay on the opposite side of the river. and
placed an old condemned engine on Suits
along the river bank, to rel resent $500
worth of improvements. Several of these
good fellows in a hard crowd then began
digging holes with the hope of finding hire
clay or other valuab mineral deposits
and four or five of these, some fifteen to
twenty feet deep. are at present ornaments
to Thompson Falls. The enterprising
Butte outfit then started in to dig a hole on
Pat llarrison's ground. This hole was not
dug very deep, because Pat and his shot
gun happened to be around. Bluffs do not
work with Pat and the prospectors beat a
hasty retreat, not desiring any trouble with
the business end of MIR. Harrison's gun.
Th rock taken from these holes is moth
ing more or less than a common clay sub
soil, containing too much iron and lye to
make it of any value. 1t has been tested by
several of the best chemists in the land and
pronounced such by them. If these Butte
jumpers meant business and wanted fire
clay, they could run out along the railroad
line and every other mile strike a railroad
cut, and all they would be required to do is
to run in a spun and they would dig out
acres of this fire clay, but they do not de-
sire that kind of fire clay-~the kind they
are after is fire clay that has business
houses, residences. churches and school
,rcn o1~u,, with ~. Irt bofDrp fhav ont II
they will have one of the hardest fights on
hand that they ever imagined.
The people of Thompson Falls claims to
be in the right, with a just cause; they To-
Gated in good faith, though their titles may
not be such as they desire, and they are not
going to allow a lot of sharks and schemes
to get one of the prettlest and most ad-
vantageously situated towns in Montana
by digging holes in the ground. If this
outfits purpose was a sincere or honorable
and honest one, it would be folly for
the people OF this place to oppose them and
they, one and all, claim that they would
not, but on the other hand encourage them
i'll either enterprise, providing 1T was half
way an enterprise, but this it is not, it is
merely a base concocted scheme to procure
valuable lane for the digging of a few
prospect holes.
About a year ago it was rumored that
Marcus Daily and the Lafalle Brothers
hcttAA ''-AtN e ktiSS >tt.AA Ii'' AAhAe wv
manufacturing mills here, and this rumor
undoubtedly caused the enterprising Butte
land iumpej $ to begin prospecting for fire
clay and other valuable mineral deposits or
the town of Thompson Falls. At different
times have there been %overtures made to
the people of this city to compromise.
Agents representing the jumpers have
been detailed to settle, informing the
people they would give them the
property upon which they had located
and built their business houses,
schoolhouse, churches and homes. But the
citizens OF Thompson Falls have nothing
to compromise. What they desire, and
what they will get if justice is done them,
is a government toWnSlte. hey do not
want a schemin2. speculative townsite
company. procuring its title by unjust and
dishonorable means, to build up their town,
raise the price of It's realty to such p.ices
as would keep away the settler. On the
other hand. if they procure the government
TOWNSHIP. business and residence lots will
be placed at such figures as to induce the
merchant, professional man, mechanic and
laborer to locate here and to build up one
of natures best planned and best situated
localities IN the great and promising state
heard May >. Hon. e. d. Mats,
OF Missoula, and United States
District Attorney Weed, of Helena. will
repre- ent the people of Thompson Falls.
They are confident of receiving what they
are justly emitted to, and then, after this
matter has been decided, an area of pros
perity for Thompson Falls will have dawned
and in a few years it will be numbered
among Montana's leading commercial
cities, On the othec hand should the
jumpers get away with these lands, and
be allowed to locate this property
under the circumstances, they can, will
the same right, pounce down on evey acre
of bottom land i'll Montana.