The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-12-29
that of Webster, Cicero. and Demos

Mr.. Booth is one of the leading cit
liens OF Butte, occupying the position
OF city attorney. He showed me the
city and took me to all points of in
terest in the town. don't think there
Is any town on earth that has such
peculiar look to it as Butte has. Com
ing down the mountain side and look
Ing, at 1t from short distance it is
the most Godforsaken town on earth.
There are no trees, no grass or vege-
tation of any kind and it looks like a
barren desert. There is a continual /
cloud hanging over it all the time, and
1t seems that it is trying to clear off (
all the time but never can Here are (
located the great amalgamated cope.
mines, the largest OF their kind in the /
world. Ex-senator Clark has some /
mines and smelter here and there /
are also other mines and shelters. The |
authorities few years ago closed up |
the Amalgamated smelters and they
moved to Anaconda, about 90 miles |
from Butte. There is great roar and
excitment at Butte and in fact all
over the state for fear that President
Roosevelt will close up these smelters
and 1t may be all the smelters in the
state of Montana 1t is claimed they
Kill the forests and all kinds of vege-
, tation. The fumes that come from
these shelters is poisonous and any
thing that grows cannot stand them
A mass meeting was held in Butte. res
olutions passed and wired to the Pres
ident. | see the other day that Senator
! Carter made long statement that
covered all the points in controversy.
i had occasion to visit the city OF
I Great Fails and there visited the
amalgamated works at that point That
company has damned the Missouri
river and has a large smelter there.
/ They are building new chimney to
! carry away the poisonous fumes and
it is SOC feet high and SO feet in dim
eter at the base. While viewing the
plant and the da1, there. could see in
my minds eye what the water power
at Keokuk would be only larger
scale.
From the tons and tons of water that
came down the Missouri at that point
(and it is not quite as large as the Des
Moines river) and the wonderful pow.
er developed there it occurred to me
what will be the power developed at
Keokuk
Irrigation and water power is on
every mans tongue in this country
What seems so peculiar to one born
and raised in Iowa is the absence of
trees and to an Iowan there are none.
A few are scattered along the creeks
and rivers and that is all.
The country has a strange, peculiar
aspect and the topography of it is so
strange. In fact it might be said the
topography changes after you cross the
Missouri The strange geographical
formations attract the eye. and of all
the strange wierd ghost-like places on
top of the eartl the Bad Lands in
North Dakota take the cake.
When you look at them you want o
hide your head in shame. bu if you are
are not watching yourself you will
soon have one eye out taking another
peep, and then you will again hide
your head in shame for indulging in
another look. Tie Creator seems to
have taken a keen delight in making
full places in the world And the noun
tains; well thousands have written
about them. No pen can write NO
tongue can tell and do them justice.
Those great big. massive towering
, rocks that runs thousa-sd of feet in
. tains many times since | nave been
out here. and on what is known as the
Great Continental Divide there is one
huge rock, many times bigger than any
house, thousands of feet IT. the air
!, that sets upon the mountain side, thai
:, looks as though man could take his
: hand and push it over, or any slight
. wind could tilt 1t over. But it has
, been standing there for hundreds and
thousands of years and o wind has
> succeeded in moving it.
: On the Great Continental Divide or
the y. p railroad. there is station
called Homestake and it is said ii {
drop of rain would strike one of tn,
a peaks on the mountain at that place
: and cut it in two, one half of il would
go to the Pacific and the othe nal
to the Atlantic
Back of the city of Livingstone there
u is mountain peak 1000 or 1900 fee
n high and it is 20 miles to the top of IT
II Very near to the top and on one o
e the ridges there is the profile of tn
r face OF an Indian. The face is turne
y up and it has the appearance of al
e Indian lying down on ais back.
e To the west of the tov there ar
e the outlines of q rabbit On the side d