USA > Montana > Silver Bow County > Butte > A brief history of Butte, Montana, the world's greatest mining camp; including a story of the extraction and treatment of ores from its gigantic copper properties > Part 2
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HALLOWED DAYS.
nis Leary, T. C. Porter and others was formed. A small arastra smelter was subsequently built by Charles E. Savage to handle the silver ore from this mine, but, owing to the insurmountable obstacles encountered, it was abandoned and all traces of the smelter almost immediately disap- peared. Some ore from this mine was also taken
wholly effaced, though cause therefor has long years since disappeared.
This element, immune from the rapid methods of apprehension common to well-settled communi- ties, driven from one section, found perfect safety for short sojourns within the confines of others, and it was of this class that the population of
By C. M. Russell, " The Cowboy Artist."
FOR SUPREMACY.
Printed by kind permission of Schatzlein Paint Co.
to Swansea, but the enterprise presented too many drawbacks and active work was soon abandoned.
In the meantime the placer operations along the creek and up a portion of Missoula Gulch to the west of the city were booming, as was also the camp of Rocker, situated midway between Butte and Silver Bow.
In 1865 and 1866 the moral character of the town was probably the most deplorable of its placer days. It is said that at this time no man was safe without a brace of revolvers in his belt and a bowie-knife tucked in his bootleg. No small percentage of the numbers who had flocked to the district were of that daring, lawless type whose greatest pleasure was found in pastimes similar to " shooting up the town," which type has given to the entire West a name of " wild and woolly," and which name to this day has not been
Butte at this time was in no small measure com- posed. The conditions thus erected were, no doubt, in a measure responsible for the establish- ment of the Mountain Code, which obtained throughout the territory about this time, and for the issuance in the year 1865 of an edict from the highest tribunal of this peculiar court - the ter- ritorial Vigilance Committee - serving notice upon wrong-doers of swift punishment wherever apprehended. That this notice was something other than a mere formality all old-timers will gladly testify, and early-day history abounds with accounts of many a hard-fought battle between outlaws and vigilantes.
The year 1866 was, all things considered, the most prosperous experienced by the camp as a placer-producer, and marked the advent of several settlers who afterward acquired a wide reputa-
12
BUTTE, MONTANA.
tion, some of whom today are among the most substantial citizens of Butte, possessed of large holdings of real and mining property. Prominent among these settlers were A. W. Barnard, John Noyes, William Owsley, W. L. Farlin, W. J. Parks, A. J. Davis, David N. Upton and others. Mr. Upton, writing of Butte at this time, says : " There were no buildings where the town site is
esses known to the camp, there had not been one instance up to this time of a quartz strike which promised even a meager reward to its persever- ing owners and the hopelessness of failing confi- dence well nigh completed the desolation felt at the placer outlook.
Notwithstanding this overcasting prospect and subsequent events, the demand for schooling
SALO
.* HOP DE
By C. M. Russell, " The Cowboy Artist." "SHOOTING UP THE TOWN."
Printed by kind permission of Schatzlein Paint Co.
now located, but in Buffalo Gulch, near the pres- ent site of Centerville, there were about forty men and five women engaged in placer-mining with rockers who were doing pretty well."
During this year, however, and the succeeding one appeared signs only too visible to all, which cast a most forlorn horoscope for the future of the camp. Placer claims had about reached the cli- max of their productiveness and new fields were less frequently found and of inferior richness, and the spirit of uneasiness stalked unfeelingly about the camp. On the other hand, though there were many who had never faltered in their confi- dence in rich quartz deposits and who religiously picked away for unfound leads or who uncovered ores impossible of treatment by the limited proc-
pressed itself upon the attention of the more seri- ous minded of the camp, and in the winter of 1866-'67 the first school of Butte was established and was taught by Colonel Wood. Its life was short, but in the following winter a second one was opened, and since that time there has been at least one term of school.each year.
The decadence of Butte as a placer camp, which began in 1866, became most pronounced the suc- ceeding year, and before the close of this year the placers had given out completely. It was a blow that almost without exception has tolled the doom of every camp, which, prior or subsequent thereto, has owed its existence to placer-mining. Nearly every one left the district, disposing of their belongings to the stalwart few remaining, and
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HALLOWED DAYS.
each succeeding year for eight long years painted a more gloomy picture.
Notwithstanding the crushing experience thus sustained, there were a few whose confidence required a still further shock before their faith in Butte could be destroyed, for in this year the town site was laid out.
Now follows a dreary repetition of heroic efforts and almost invariable failure, the only sur- viving works being a mill erected by Harvey Bay, Jr., and Charles Hendrie, in 1868, and later known as the Davis mill. An important failure the same year was that of a furnace erected by Dennis Leary and Porter Brothers for the pur- pose of smelting ores from the Parrot lode. A bellows was used for a blast, but, ignorant of
ing with incidents that illustrate the tenacity with which the remaining little band of heroes clung to the latent possibilities of the camp as a quartz-pro- ducer. Pathetic experiences, culminating invari- ably in blasted hopes, were both the woof and the warp of the whole fabric of life during each suc- ceeding day for these many long years. And yet the little handful that now composed the camp hung grimly on.
The labors of William J. Parks through these dark days are characteristic of the unyielding per- severance of these few. This tireless man, almost single-handed and alone, commenced work on his claim on the Parrot lode, alternately working for a short time for wages with which to secure a " grub-stake " and then returning to the mine and
By C. M. Russell, " The Cowboy Artist." SURRENDER OF THE OUTLAWS.
Printed by kind permission of Schatziein Paint Co.
proper methods by which to flux the ores, they were compelled to abandon the effort.
The succeeding years of 1869 to 1874, inclusive, were uneventful ones, each one emphasizing a lit- tle more the downward progress of the camp, although representation work was unwaveringly performed upon the Parrot, Original, Gray Eagle and Mountain Brilliant claims and many others.
Of this period chapters might be written deal-
continuing his labors until his resources were exhausted. By this persistent policy, when at a depth of 155 feet, his labors and sacrifices were rewarded by the striking of pay ore. While thus toiling single-handed, it is related that a few well-to-do owners of claims on the same lode stood idly by and left it to this one man to develop the wealth of the whole lode. Thomas C. Porter, Dennis Leary and Henry H. Porter also ventured
14
BUTTE, MONTANA.
their all in developing the camp, coming from dis- tant points yearly to represent their claims.
A particularly affecting story is told of James Gilchrist, one of nature's noblemen, beloved and honored by his contemporaries, who, after sinking shafts on the Original, Gambetta and Colusa lodes, was about to realize his dreams of wealth when his health completely failed him and he was forced to return to the East, where he soon died.
And thus might be written in different keys the experiences of nearly every individual who went to make up the little band of toilers. A few others who stand out conspicuously as having possessed
tion of insufficient fluxes rendered all their labors alike unprofitable.
There is a strange coincidence between this par- ticular portion of the history of Butte, however, and that of many other camps and even of many individual mines of whatsoever section. While hopes had reached the lowest ebb and the future seemed most barren, there was hidden away in the uncovered levels of events, toward which Father Time was daily hastening, an epoch which was to revolutionize the whole future of the camp and proclaim it the greatest of its kind the world over. Some time previous to the date reached by this
Copyrighted. Printed by kind permission of Mrs. Simon Hauswirth. BUTTE IN 1875.
an unshaken faith in the future of the camp were Capt. Nick Wall, William Berkins, Joseph Town- send, Capt. J. H. Rodgers and A. J. Davis, these members of the small roll of honor, year by year, performing their necessary representation work despite all sacrifices and all hardships. The efforts of all these early prospectors were directed toward the quest of quartz ores, but the old ques-
sketch, William Farlin, one of the early arrivals during the prosperous placer period of the camp, had left the district for other parts, taking with him specimens of the ores removed from several of the quartz leads about the camp. Journeying to Owyhee, Idaho, he had these specimens sub- jected to assay analysis and found that they were rich in the precious metals and carried some cop-
15
HALLOWED DAYS.
per. He also acquired some beneficial informa- tion concerning the treatment of these ores.
Returning to Butte in the year 1874 he wisely retained his secret, plying his efforts ostensibly in the quest of copper ore, and patiently awaited the arrival of January I of the succeeding year, at which time became operative the new Congres- sional act relative to the forfeiture to the United States of unrepresented claims. At twelve o'clock
" Waiting for the Stage Coach," which buildings at that time were probably the most pretentious of the city. The postoffice is shown at the left of the three structures in the larger picture; Simon Hauswirth's hotel - the only one at the time - occupies the center, and a saloon the one to the right. It was located on the corner now occupied by Clark Brothers' bank - Main and Broadway. Main street runs directly across the center of the
7
Copyrighted. Printed by kind permission of Mrs. Simon Hauswirth.
WAITING FOR THE STAGE COACH.
on the night of the last day of 1874 Farlin placed notices of relocation on the Trevona and other lodes since made famous, these lodes falling under the conditions of the new act. By this action Far- lin may be numbered as one of the first, if not the original, pioneer in a practice which has since become a universal one in mining sections, namely, the jumping of claims, the law going into effect at that time being practically the same as the one in existence at present.
The illustration herewith shown of " Butte in 1875" gives a most satisfactory idea of its gen- eral character at that period. In it will be seen the buildings shown in another illustration entitled
picture from right to left. Those acquainted with present Butte will be able to trace out the sites of many present landmarks. A short distance to the right from the structures mentioned, along Main street, will be found where Granite street now crosses Main and upon respective corners of which are at present located the mammoth stores of the D. J. Hennessy Mercantile Company and the M. J. Connell Company. Tracing this imag- inary street toward the bottom of the picture, run- ning to the left, may be found the present site of the Noyes homestead. Continuing up Main street to the right, at its extreme end, toward the outer edge of the picture, will be found the Chastine Humphrey home - a white structure - showing
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BUTTE, MONTANA.
the only tree which existed within the town site at that time. It is by the kindness of Mrs. Simon Hauswirth that we are permitted to present these two rare pictures, copyrighted copies of which are in her possession.
Now followed an exposure of the true facts concerning the value of the ores of the camp and the news spread like wildfire far and near, and newcomers flocked in in great number. Old loca- tions were renewed and new ones made in rapid succession. The discovery of the Alice, La Plata, Burlington, Late Acquisition, Great Republic and other less famous mines followed quickly, and the movement toward Butte resolved itself into a stampede.
The town had become metamorphosed. From the hopeless, abandoned camp of a year before. it
unknown. Smelters for the proper handling of the various ores of the camp were begun in this year, the Centennial and Dexter being especially notable among them.
Following this period is a story of a steady growth and development in all directions. In 1878 the erection of smelters was being prose- cuted vigorously. In this year a postoffice was created. By 1880 the population of the camp had reached 3,000. In the following year, under authority of a legislative act, the southern town- ships of Deer Lodge County were detached and organized under the name of Silver Bow.
On December 21 of this year was witnessed an event quite as pregnant with promise of a greater future for the camp as was the discovery of quartz. At II o'clock P. M. of that day the Utah & Northern connected Butte with Ogden,
Printed by kind permission of A. W. Barnard.
MISSOULA GULCH IN 1885.
was now the Mecca of all who could possibly reach it and its growth was magic-like. The char- acter of the new arrivals was a marked improve- ment upon a large portion of those attracted to the camp during placer days. The permanency guaranteed the camp by quartz-mining encour- aged many to bring their families with them, and the town took on an air of stability theretofore
Utah, by a narrow-gauge railroad, which since has been widened into a standard gauge and has been a most potent element in the development of the city.
Mining was now being conducted over a large range of territory. In the Travona district, to the southwest, numerous mines were producing good returns and the Centennial and Dexter
17
HALLOWED DAYS.
mills in the same district were being worked to their full capacity. The presence of water near the surface, however, made efforts in this local- ity difficult.
Running in a general way from north to south- east of the camp, with jagged spurs and erratic dips, was a foothill of commanding proportions, which common consent had dubbed "the hill." A mile or more to the north of the town proper, on the western slope of the " hill," the little town of Walkerville had sprung into existence upon the discovery of promising silver properties at this point, and at this time the Alice and Lexing- ton had developed into enormous proportions, exceeding the wildest hopes of their owners. These easily were the most promising mines at this period.
Scattered on either side along the hill in its southeasterly course from Walkerville, until hill and valley merge into one, some two miles dis- tant, were numerous mines of good promise. The Original, Parrot, Clark's Colusa, Ramsdell's Parrot, Mountain Consolidated and numerous other less noted mines were obtaining most satis- factory results. Smelters had been erected at convenient places over this large area to handle the ores from these many mines. Silver at this time was the metal exclusively sought, due to the presence of such large quantities of this character of ore in the Walkerville properties and the over- whelming proportion of silver found in the ores being mined in the other properties. Copper was encountered in no great quantity except in one instance. This exception was Clark's Colusa. In the early 70's W. A. Clark shipped a carload of ore from this mine carrying over thirty-five per cent of copper, to Baltimore, Md., by means of wagon trains to Corinne, Utah, and from thence by rail, but the excessive expense entailed prevented further shipments and work on the mine was discontinued.
Montana people generally will be pleased to find the accompanying very excellent likeness of Charles T. Meader, who did so much at this period to further mining in this section. By some he is yet known as the true father of cop- per-mining in the whole West, and is a fine type of the early settler. He was one of the original " forty-niners " to go to California by way of Cape Horn, and as early as 1865 erected a copper blast furnace in Calaveras County of 2
that State, shipping the matte to Swansea, Wales, for final treatment. Mr. Meader came to Butte in 1876, purchasing the then undeveloped East and West Colusa claims. In 1881 he erected the Bell smelter. It was for Mr. Meader that the present suburb of Meaderville was
CHARLES T. MEADER.
named. Mr. Meader is at present eighty-two years of age and is located at Chewelah, Wash- ington, where he is engaged in the pursuit of his old love, that of mining.
The following year, or 1882, will ever stand as one of the great landmarks in the record of events. In that year occurred the discovery of the great copper body of the Anaconda mine. Its effect was revolutionary and it was this event which finally and completely established the perma- nency of the camp. The peculiarities of the ores of the Butte section had utterly failed to prepare the most visionary mind for such a wonderful deposit of the red metal and the discovery came as a tremendous surprise to all alike.
The advent of the railroad the year previous had removed all obstacles theretofore presented, and with the revelation that underlying all the
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BUTTE, MONTANA.
mines operating along the " hill," outside of the Walkerville district, was an enormous deposit of copper, came Butte's second transition to a camp of a new character, which doubled and trebled the importance of the previous one, and old scenes were reënacted upon a larger scale.
Other properties which had been working on a reduced scale or had closed down, lying adja- cent to the Anaconda, renewed their efforts with great vigor and, with each succeeding success- ful strike, there gradually dawned the truth that " the hill " was a veritable mountain of copper. Both the western and eastern slopes of the hill were now subjected to more careful scrutiny, and many mines sprang into existence. At the east- ern extremity of the hill, as it descends into the valley and disappears, had sprung up the town of Meaderville. Almost without exception it was discovered that in the mines of "the hill " proper, or that portion lying south of Walker- ville, the surface ores were richer in silver, but, as depth was gained and the water level passed, their character was changed overwhelmingly to copper.
In 1883 was emphasized the great importance to Butte of the copper discoveries in the Ana- conda. While in 1882 the entire camp produced 12,093,750 fine ounces of gold, 2,699,296.38 fine ounces of silver and 9,058,284 fine pounds of cop- per, in the succeeding year gold gained but about twenty-five per cent, silver a trifle less than that percentage, and copper gained over 250 per cent.
The year 1884 was marked by no great inci- dent save the increasing mining activity. The
payroll of the mines and smelters for that year aggregated $620,000, with the Anaconda contrib- uting $150,000, the Montana $65,000, the Lex- ington $50,000, and the Alice $50,000.
The following year was equally uneventful, unless that it more thoroughly established the preëminence of copper. The assessed valuation of the city at this time was about $7,500,000 as against $4,106,767 in 1881, and the gains in all directions of public growth over the latter year had been tremendous. From a turbulent, un- settled population, Butte had developed into a well-established city of 14,000, possessed of all manner of civilizing influences. The character of the buildings had increased with the growth of the town, and at this time many substantial structures of brick and stone had been erected, and many more were in course of construction. All lines of business had been introduced and from this time forward the garb of a typical min- ing town was gradually laid aside.
As a historical fact, it should be recorded that at this period placer mining was revived by the hydraulic process along Missoula Gulch. The gulch parallels Main street about one-third of a mile to the west, and from the accompanying illustration it will be seen how little the city had progressed in this direction at that time.
The principal mines of this period were the Anaconda, Original, Parrot, Colusa Parrot, Ramsdell Parrot, Bell, Mountain Consolidated, St. Lawrence, Mountain View and Colusa - all copper mines - and the Alice, Lexington and Moulton - exclusively silver.
GREATER BUTTE.
*
S TEPPING forward to the dawn of the twentieth century, one stands amazed at Butte's wonder- ful development. Where, in 1885, rested a thriving mining camp of 14,000 souls - though even then recognized as the greatest of all mining camps on earth - there now stands a metropolis. Like an engulfing wave, progress and growth have placed their mark upon every nook of the city and entered into every cranny of its environ- ments.
A population of about 65,000 people at present, or a 50,000 increase in fifteen years, tells its own
ties of former days. In their place commodious streets, flanked on either side by business blocks and residences of the most modern types, disre- garding in most instances the cowpath irregu- larity of hallowed days, cross each other at uni- form intervals and run far into the valley on the south, to the hills on the west or the mining suburbs to the north and east.
From Walkerville south to Centerville, and from thence to Butte proper, one now passes as through one city. Meaderville, on the east, is rapidly being absorbed by the greater city. To the west, past Missoula Gulch and to the very base of "Big Butte," the city has pushed itself, and a mile south of the old town South Butte has been added to the city's suburbs and is as of the city itself.
Beautiful residences are the rule in new con- struction. Handsome church edifices and school
AN OCCASIONAL GRIM RUIN.
story of growth in point of number. This means a logical growth in the city's limits. Where were once the humble shacks of the early settlers, there now remains but an occasional grim ruin, like a mocking skull, to conjure up the humani-
structures are seen in every portion of the city and their influence is percolating the whole pub- lic mind.
Main street, once the sole thoroughfare, is the main street still, but what a change. Starting
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BUTTE, MONTANA.
REJUVENATED EARLY-DAY ARCHITECTURE.
from the southern limits of Centerville, it runs well nigh to South Butte, the greater portion of it rebuilt with modern blocks. Paralleling Main street on the east and west for varying distances
thoroughfares of much older and more preten- tious cities of the East.
It is excessively mild to say that no city in the whole West can boast of such scenes of bustling, crowding humanity as congest the main channels of trade from early morning until far into the night as may be seen in Butte on any day of the week. It is the marvel of every stranger and the result of Butte's wonderful growth - a growth which has received added significance in the past year by an increase of over 6,000 in population. A happy commentary, by way of an aside, is that the city has absorbed this tremendous influx with no apparent effort, and there is probably a smaller number of unem- ployed per capita among those who would work than any city in the country.
With the growth of the city has increased the morale of the people. Elevating influences everywhere have deeply implanted themselves and are rapidly becoming a powerful agency for
WALKERVILLE. Moulton and Alice Mines and Smelters in background.
are a half dozen less important business thor- oughfares, while these, in turn, are crossed from east to west by as many more, equally as impor- tant as and vieing with Main for supremacy, far exceeding in architectural appearance the main
good. The time has long passed when the li- cense of the saloon and the variety playhouse found approbation in the best public mind. Though still in evidence, the latter has found its level in the lower portions of the city, frequented
GREATER BUTTE.
21
only by a degenerate class common to all like communities, while the saloon boasts of as high a character as that traffic can boast wheresoever. When it is considered that the personnel of
ment a city whose earlier antecedents were the manifold licenses of every new border town, the wonder is that there is any public morality. Yet, under such strenuous conditions, a public moral-
CENTERVILLE.
Butte's population is in part made up of a floating element, gathered from all the nations of the earth, some of whom find employment in the mines and are colonized in cheap boarding- houses, unrestrained by elevating influences, and many never having known such influences in their whole lifetime, and having for their environ-
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