The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-19

d. lene excitement-from the stand
| point of an outsider, not of a miner.
| opened up the hack business in Butte
| in 1881, paying Johnny Curtis S. day
| for the hack. / got along first rate un-
| til the beginning of 1882, when the Cour
d. Alene stampede broke out That kind
of spoiled the hack business in Butte.
We had about 1000 population here
| then, and fully 500 of them went to the
| Cour d'Alenes on this stampede. The
| people that went We're the best people
| in the town-at least they were the
| folks that always ride in hacks when
| they have the price. The hack graft
kind of dropped off.
| 1T was early in February that I
was driving my hack up Main street
when the bus came down the street. On
the top was Jerry Cumbo, an old friend.
Come on, Jacki' he cried, Let's go
to the Cour d'AIenes!
I'll just go your said I.
And / tied my team to a hitching
| post in front of the Arcade saloon,
jumped on the bus and was off for
the 'Cour d'Alenes suppose Johnny
Curtis found his hack there all right,
but L never asked him about it. I did
MT have much money, but / never could
| resist a stampede. Sometimes you
strike 1t right. | never went much on
! mining, but there are other things.
THE bus took us to Garrison and
peders. I had been one of the first
men into Deadwood, and 7 knew them
all. Jack McAleer headed the party.
We took the Northern Pacific for Trout
creek, the nearest point to the Cour
d'Alenes. I jumped off the train at
Trout creek and landed up to my
neck in snow. .Nixey!' said /; none of
this for mel There never was no
snow in Butte. This camp never saw a
snowstorm. You ought to have seen
the SNOW there, AS soon as / could
get out of the snow / climbed back on
the train and went on to Thompson'S
Falls. 1t showed three feet that night,
but / was bound to reach the Cour
d Alenes and j landed there We out
fitted at Thompson Falls-A1 Dell. jim
Carton and myself. We got toboggans
and so pounds of grub apiece, put the
grub on the toboggans and each man
handled his own load. Our 50-pound
outfit consisted of ham, beans and a
little coffee and sugar and blankets.
The snow was five feet deep and we
had to pull the toboggans 20 miles up
to the Mountain house. We got there
in a day. At the Mountain house they
had big fire, in the center of the room,
and they furnished boughs for beds.
They put four men in a bunk and each
man had to pay 81 for his share of the
bunk for the night, and he had to fur
nish his own blankets. But outside!
Great silveri There were so to 100 men
sleeping standing around great big
fire. Yes, sir! sleeping standing! You
might not believe that, but it is true,
so help me Billy Bryan! They We're
toboggan pullers. and they got 30 cents
pound for pulling loads up to this
Mountain house And they slept
standing all night with their backs to
the fret
THE snow on the range from the
Mountain house to Eagle City was Is
to % feet deep. We started on the
trip, and every four or five miles there
was a tent for station where they sold
coffee at rs cents cup and you had
to drink out of a tin cup at that. The
first station was run by Bill Osborne,
who also sold beans at 81 a plate. Eagle
City is on Pritchard creek, and it was
day and q half, or 20 miles, to get
there. At Eagle City l slept in Dune
Cannon's saloon. He is the man that
owns Mary w. now. He and Jim No
bles had a large tent saloon at Eagle
City ! slept in the saloon and in the
morning Cannon says to me:
Come and have breakfast with
mel!
I'll go YOU says I.
1--WE both ate the same thing-trout,
fried eggs. a plate of beans and two
cups OF coffee apiece. The bill was
$3.50. The snow in Eagle was 20 feet
deep. There was a tunnel under the
snow from Cannon's saloon over to the
restaurant The restaurant was run
by Briggs & Baker, both Butte men. It
is J. c. Baker, the civil engineer, and
Briggs. the real estate man. They ran
d lodging house also, and had 80 beds
there But the place had been over
done there were too many lodging
houses. and they didn't catch much
custom ] was their only lodger, and
| had to pay 81 for a bed, furnishing my
own blankets, or g night If they fur
nished the blankets.
Il STAYED there six months. I was
getting down to cases and only had $40
left when i bet the $40 against horse.
/ won the horse and opened up a pack
ing train between Eagle and Murray,
distance of four miles. l. charged :
cents a pound, and carried 100 to $50
pounds on an animal. ] made money
fast for there was a terrible stampede
into the country. 1 soon had IS ami
mails packing for me-. packed there
until the snow went on.
The Mccoy fight in Butte broke up
the Cour d'Aiene stampede The eX-
element died out, the stampeders had
lost their money and only few We're
doing anything at mining Jack DowG
was running dice game on the top o.
% feet of snow with open limit at Eagle
and ran it until the Mccoy fight took
out the gang and made money scarce.
| got $50 for each valise that packed
between Eagle and Murray from those
who wanted to get back to Butte 10
see the Mccoy fight. There We're "a
600 people who rushed in there, and
most of them went out at this time.
/ stayed there. thinking there might
be more money coming up, and When
packing was slack | played faro. l
kept on PLAYING faro until l left all my
wealth and my pack train with the
faro dealers. l left the Cour dAlenes
with two sandwiches and pair IL
blankets.
II walked back. I came back on foot
with Deacon Childs and we reached