The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1936-02-14

SSASSA
Ramshackle, indeed, it has appeared
to casual visitors who have viewed
only its implanted buildings, its faded
and sagging roofs and detected look
ing streets. One eastern gentleman upon
visiting the camp last summer, said 1t
looked worse than purgatory visualized,
but we liked better, the remark Of a
ing his wife to come out, upon being
asked by her what there was in Marys-
vile wrote. my dear, there is the
scenery and me-"
M%arysville lies 81 miles in a north
westerly direction from Helena, about
two and one-half miles from the sum-
nit ridge of the Rocky mountains.
It stands in a bowl shaped basin
formed by the sources of Silver creek.
Below the town the waters of the basin
unite and flow eastward through a
gorge creating the north branch Of the
Prickly Pear. The Continental divide
lies two miles by the shortest route
over the mountains.
All along the trails and roaGs we
see evidence of those early days, where
rough shod miners struggled for for
tunes and livelihood.
Within it's portals n finds scat
tered buildings, the old 60-stamp mill,
the assay office and company mouse,
SGlIl SUdllulI1S, UllC ~ dAlOl1lu n : AAS
basis Of stories told by the few remain
ing pioneers of the camp. The eyes OF
these old -timers light up, and courage
and determination shine forth as they
recount these old, old stories, over n
over again. Their spirit has died.
My story is not from books, It Is a
conglomerate narrative of the stories,
time again by these old-timers, as they
have sat beside our stove. awaiting the
arrival of the stage from Helena with
supplies or the mail from Silver City.
"Once in the early eighties" or II
seq, SEE land we are launched IN
scenes which take us back to those
adventurous early. days.
The first settlers who came went to
Penobscot, the next group to Belmont,
and Marysville proper came into being
with Thomas Cruse'S fortunate discov-
cry Of the Drum Lummon mine.
Everyone in these parts knows the
interesting story of the ~uneducated,
~20-year-old Irishman, who worked up
wards toward a fortune.
Whether he secured the claim by
jumping George Detweiler's right and
title while MIR. Detweiler was attending
the Centennial in Philadelphia. or
whether he started the tunnel on
Marysville mountain, as it was later
called, after sinking a discovery shaft,
III oU1 1Ai4l6 1ldl lOSh SdNC u up l.
continued to work on the tunnel which
he expected would tap the main vein,
at any rate he had a mine from which
he took out $144.539 in bullion, and
sold again for 81 500, 900 to an English
syndicate retaining 1-6 interest.
He established his own bank, mar
ried a cultured girl who died a year
He resided at Helena with her. His
niece, Miss Mary Cruise. presided. oyer
his home with grace and dignity, hold
ing a prominent place in social circles
of the city. It was said of Cruise, that
among the honored pioneers of Mon
tana there perhaps is not another in
stance in the state. where the muta-
lions of human affairs, were shown in
higher relief or where insistency of
purpose and effort has gained a great
er monetary reward"
Nate Nnstal is another of the old
timers colorful figures, whose success
in the Penobscot is told and retold.
of his mine, he realized more than
$500 coo. He gambled his fortune away
and returned to work at miners wages
in the mill which he had sold Mr..
Cruise.
He was an e%asy-going, generous
his home at Oakland, Calf.
4klC A41oSA CoGAA1S pau VI O1d NAe1 yo-
vile, was that it contained people from
every profession who were placer min
ing and prospecting in those early days.
Adventure and excitement brought
them out.
Nate Vestal's mine had the reputa-
ton of having produced the largest
gold bar in the world. It weighed over
240 pounds and was valued at $4,000.
The Mayors played an interesting
part in the development of Marysville.
William Mayer came to Montana from
st. Louis in 1864. His first mining VEN
ture was in Silver creek. He. with sew
eral others, located the first placer
ground in the gulch, organizing the
district and named. the gulch Ottawa
after the home OF MI. Rhodes, a part
ner from Ottawa. Ill. In 1866 Mr.. May
ger and his associates put in a bedrock
flume n continued to placer mine
until 1876, making as high as $40 a day.
He was the first to discover the float
of the Drum Lummon mine, the mine
lin, Ireland. by Thomas Cruise. MIR.
Mayer and Mr.. Cruise built a 10-stamp
mill. Later Mayer became convinced
that the Drum LulnlnOn lode was not
properly staked. He instructed his
brother Charles to move the stakes of
his Ivanhoe lode higher up the noun
tain; He did not calculate the steepness
w. Nv 12louA4IC1ll SliIu I'LL SllOlt Ill lis
measurement. 1t raised a litigation
with the Montana company, over di-
vided apex and they were involved in
litigation for 81 years.
Charles Mayer had named the claim
the st. Louis lode after the city of his
birth. Mayer built the first silver
amalgamation mill in Lewis and Clark
county. The machinery for this was
shipped to Fort Benton from st. Louis,
Mo-. by boat and hauled by teams to
its destination.
When the English company bought
the Drum Lunlmon Marysville grew
and prospered. 1t boosted $500 inhabi-
tants and 5000 men employed in and
around adjacent properties. It was
never incorporated as a city. In 1895 it
palian and Methodist; a grade school
with nine teachers. an opera house,
three dry goods and clothing stores,
four groceries, two drug stores, six ho-