The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-07-25
.AILROADING in the days Of
. Montana's infancy formed no

J tx Montanas infancy formed ne
~ part in the industrial drama
whose scenes were laid in the north
west. Railroads and railroading
were suggested to the mind of the
Montana pioneer only on the oc:
casions of air-castle construction
and then it required but puff OF
smoke to dissipate the thought.
Primitive Montana wheeled itself
into the area of commercial stabil-
lily and mining prominence upon
the "dead-axe" of freight wagon,
and once firmly installed into the
envious exalted position of the bux-
ON big sister, the polished, snort
ing, fast travelling iron monster
opened up a filtration with Sister
Montana, and in the course of ev-
ents and due time entered into her
good graces and here it is today
with its cobweb of steel stretching
from east to west and from north to
southland the "dead-axe" freight
wagon with its white canopy of
canvas bearing the emblem of the
pioneer lords of commerce, "Dia-
mond R." is tucked away among
the things that were.
The celebrated Diamond r."
Transportation company was to
primitive Montana what the great
trunk lines of railway now are. 1t
was the whole push" with the
bull dog under the wagon. The
equipment of the company when its
existence approached the day of
railroading in Montana consisted of
$50 mules, 500 yoke of oxen and
800 wagons; and the assets includ-
ed, besides these, many buildings
and great quantities of harness, re-
presenting a total cash value of
about $250,OOO.
The foundation of the giant
Diamond R." structure that play
ed such an important part in the
history of Montana's territorial
days, was laid in Virginia City in
the fall of 1868. On November l
of that year Ed. G. Maclay, youth
of 10, arrived from St. Louis in 4,
company with Captain Nick Wall,
a member of the Missouri contract
ing and mercantile firm of John ]. !
Roe & Co. Maclay was bookkeep-
er and general all-around account
ant for Mr.. Wall, who began his
Montana career in log shack II
City with a stock of gen
eral merchaodise, whose prices
soon doomed the captain into af-
fluence and prominence. He en-
joyed no part of the blessings of
good times and capable manage
ment that his trusted bookkeeper
did not enjoy. Therefore both
grew up rapidly with the country.
What the captain did not see in the
line of good things his wideawake
clerk did, SO nothing was over
looked in the way of profitable I'm
dertakings, The business prosper
ed and occasionally team of mules
or wagon or all OK were taken IL
exchange for an overdue bill of
goods, until one day young Mac
lay remarked:
captain, we've got lot of
stock and wagons and what do you'll
to do with them? If you
.hink idle mules and horses and OK
N are a profitable asset in the win
er time, you're mistaken. Guess
we'd better put a line of freight
cams on the road" /
The captain looked at the propo-
ition in favorable light and in
April, 1864, young Maclay loaded a
OF of goddos, including hides, and
ent them to Helena. The hides
we're shipped with others down the
liver and the other freight, consist
ng of stock of goods belonging
o Major Boyce and Colonel Vaw- ,
err, was deposited in Helena. That
vas the first load of freight hauled
" the Diamond R" company.
The company, however, did not S
axe on formidable proportions I'M {
il year later, when the business c
cached out from Fort Benton to {
1issoula, Virginia City, Helena, t
}ozeman, Deer Lodge (then Cot
or wheat and cattle Wheat a few