The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1928-06-07


= crew was busily engaged in gettin
the boiler in readiness. Operation
| should be starting at this camp yer
t shortly and the progress of the fiel
will attract frequent visits fror
Powell people, who need to becom
better acquainted with the operation
and the people who are behind them
Arriving at the Clarks Fork vale,
a little beyond, we never saw tina
river so high. Several times we ha(
to cross the turbulent stream, run
ming bank full and red flags were
placed on both sides of the bridge al
Chance store as a warning to travel
ers to use care in crossing. This ex-
traordinarily high water at this sea-
son of the year is caused by the early
summer weather, and will perhaps
bring the high water peak much earli-
er than the Fourth of July period
when it can usually be expected.
1t was but for little way that we
turned our backs to the majestic
Beartooth mountains and the pic
turesque Clarks Fork canyon that
seemed to beckon us on west. 1t was
past mid afternoon, and we must
speed on to Red Lodge, taking short
drive down the valley and then ascend
ing the grass-covered slope of the
divide that forms the barrier between
the upper Clarks Fork valley and
Bearcreek canyon.
It's all of sudden that Bearcreek
looms before the eyes Of the westward
bound motorists, but it's bewildering
to ascertain where it ends. We would
call Bearcreek series Of typical coal
mining camps lodged on the steep
slopes of the narrow canyon. The
first camp is Bearcreek, and another
is called Washoe and as you wind your
way some three or four miles up the
roadway with miners
cabins above you and below, you pass
a half dozen of these communities.
With the coal business at a low ebb,
many of these cottages stand vacant
now, but there are yet living in this
four-mile stretch Of coal-bearing
country hundreds of coal mining folks
who seem to have an excellent high
school and they are all driving good
cars, even though the cottages they
live in are far from fastidious.
A Bearcreek garage man who re-
paired tire that went flat just in the
heart of the business section of the
city told us that business was not now
SO brisk; that traffic was not going
through as much as might be wished
for, but he hoped conditions would
take turn for the better just as soon
as the road was put through from
Red Lodge to Cooke City. This is the
piece of summer highway
that must traverse good many miles
Of Wyoming's forest country to reach
Cooke City over the Beartooth noun
tains from Red Lodge, but is not cal
culated to be of any benefit to Wyo-
ming, even though it does consume
The Wyoming forest road funds.
But the afternoon is growing late
and we must hasten on to Red Lodge,
if we expect to get there ahead of
rainstorm that threatens in the great
wall to the west. All this
country seems in the mountains as
we climb a two-mile hill into Red
Lodge that compells every motorist to
put his car into second gear and keep
it there. AS we wind slowly up this
steep ascent, we notice the mountain
flowers in full bloom on the hillsides
about, carpeting the landscape with
,olorings of white, blue and yellow,
and here and there generous ad-
mixture of scarlet from Wyoming's
indian Paint Brush.
Red Lodge is such a pretty city as
you view it from the high eminence at
is eastward approach. Unlike Big
Horn basin towns of Wyoming, Red
lodge is mountain city, actually in
he mountains, with Rock creek,
stream, rushing through its
corporate limits. How we envied them
his rushing torrent Of wholesome
thinking water; the people there
doubtless do not fully appreciate the
,old mine of value there is in that
rystal stream. We drank to the full,
nd then we drank again. We filled
ail with the water and brought it
ome
The words of Woodwork, in "The