The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-02-13
AN HISTORICAL BOILER.
II was First Brought to Montana
Way Back in the
Sixties.
The Only One in the Country
Then-In Great Falls
Now.

There is lying on the ground near the
headquarters of the Hotter Lumber
company in this city an old boiler which
has It history. Many who daily pass it
no doubt give it a passing glace with no
other thought than that it has on tlived
its usefulness and in the natural run of
events has been discarded as any other
old worn nut piece Of machinery would
be treated. Though abandoned for the
present IT has by no means beer entirely
forgotten by its owners, who prize it as a
sort Of an heirloom.
ii would require IA good round uin of
money to purchase that old boiler from
Hotter brothers. if money could buy if,
for they are proud Of it in many respects
and are loath to dispose of what was
once the only boiler in Montana. In a
certain sense it played NJ insignificant
part in laying the foundation upon
which one Of the wealthy families of the
state have built IA fortune. 1t was
brought into this part Of the country at
a time when the state Of Montana was
not dreamed Of and when. in fact. the
few people here did not know in exactly
what part of Uncle Sans domain they
were living. For over Il quarter of Il
century it furnished the power for run
ming a saw mill for Hotter Brothers in
various parts of the territory.
1t never had the honor of beng inspected
by "A legal inspector and for All that
never made any attempts to blow up but
kept right on doing the bidding of man
as faithful and as obcdient as "A trusty
old horse. 1t has been in many different
patches of timber and now "A few towns,
but it was always at work and in It's time
furnished employment for ii great many
people. For all these reasons it is no
more than natural that its owners should
hold it in high esteem and be very loath
to part with it. There are too many
tender r~ccollcctions clustering around
that sclfsame boiler for it ever to become
again anything more than "A relic. II fit
applicant for al honorable position
among the curiOs Of the Montana
Historical society.
When Martin Hotter Of Helena was
here recently he was asked to furnish
for the benefit of the public something
Of the history of this now famous boiler.
Very luckily John Stedman Of Helena,
who for a number Of years was in the
employ of the Hotter Bros. and had
charge of their saw mill, run on steam
furnished by this boiler, was also in town,
and the two gentlemen gave Il TRIBUNE
reporter what they could recall "f its
history. 1t was made in Lawrence.
Mass. in 1852 by the Wood u Mann
Boiler and Engine company and was
first heard Of by Hotter Bros. in 1860,
when it was in use in Black Hawk, Col.
1t was known as Il portable II horse
power boiler. 1t was brought to Ban
mack by bull teams in 1862, and was the
first boiler in the country. In the fall of
the following year it was purchased there
by 4. NJ. Hotter and shipped TO Helena.
Seven miles from the latter place it was
set up at what is called Ten Mile and
ran a saw mill there day and night from
May >. 1860. until 1865. During that
time the saw mill averaged 1000 feet of
lumber a day. Part Of that time il WAS
under the charge of a man named Ben
ton and part of the time John Strdmcn
ran il.
From 1868 until 1883 il was moved
around in the timber in the mountains
in the vicinity of Helena. cutting lum
Der here and there. and part OF the time
running l%iolters planning mill and their
distillcry in Helena. The former was
started in 1870 and was tn" first planning
mill in the territory. The distiIlcry
which it ran at frequent intervals in 90,
20 and ~ was the first concern Of the
kind in the country. In 1859 il was
taken 10 Strdman's foundry and com
plctely ovcrhaulcd. and after that used
in the vicinity Of Helena in different
capacities until 1856 whcn il was brought
to Great Fails. Here it was used in the
first planning mill started in the town for
five wears. when il Was discarded, though
Mr.. Hotter SAYS that with "A little repair
ing it would he tit to use for several
years vet
II will be readily seen 10y reading the
above that this boiler is entitled to more
than passing notice for these reasons: 1t
was the first boiler brought 10 Montana:
it ran the first saw mill. the first distill
cry and the first planning mill in the ter
ritory. And last of all, but not the least
among its many achievements, is the
fact that it ran the first planning mill in
Great Falls. aud here it enjoys Il rest
after many years of hard work,
1t followed the march Of rogress
from Colorado to Bannack, from Ban
mack to Virginia City, from Virginia
City to Helena. and at last from Helena
to Great Falls. Here it stops as though
some mysterious force had declared this
spot the browning achievement Of mans
efforts in Montana. a hit abiding place
for all that is left of a historical piece of
mechanism.