An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 159

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1216

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connected with the "underground railroad," and aided many a poor fellow on his way to liberty. His wife sur- vived him only three months; and it can be said that she died of a broken heart because of her husband's death. They left ten children, of whom six are now living. One of the sous served in the Union army, was captured and confined in Andersonville prison, and soon afterward died from the effects of the hardships which he had to endure there.

Dr. Whitford, the fifth in the above family, was edu- cated in the common schools of Indiana and received his medical education in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, gradnating in 1856. November 26, 1855, lie married Miss Mary Jane Tanner, a native of Ohio, and in 1856 he started with her and their infant son and his father (A. H. Whitford) and family for Nebraska. After their arrival they took lands, and the Doctor owned an interest in the land on which half of the city of Omaha is now located. In 1859 he crossed the plains to Pike's Peak, and mined and practiced medicine there until 1864,

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On Quartz creek the placers are profitable, worked by the improved hydraulic appliances. With the adoption of these methods for cheaply handling the large deposits of auriferous gravel in this section, a largely increased yield may be looked for in the future. Several promising gold-quartz ledges have also been discovered; of these the L. B. on Quartz creek, the Landowner on Windfall and the Mand S. on Trout have had considerable work done on them. On Cedar creek ore running high in both gold and silver has been found. A peculiar feature is that much of the galena found carries large quanti- ties of gold. In working the bed of the creek, which was one of the richest gulches of the State,

when he came to Virginia City, Montana, arriving July 12, 1864, having been 112 days on the journey from Fort Laramie.

He and a friend purchased a claim for $800, which they divided, giving the Doctor the upper half. His friend realized about $50,000 out of the lower half, and he spent $800 more on his half, without success.

In 1869 he went to Cedar creek, and he had been there but twenty days when he received a message that his wife was very sick at Rochester. He made the trip, 330 miles, in three days with one horse, and he afterward sold the horse for $200. His wife never fully recovered: she died in Deer Lodge, July 4, 1870. The Doctor had made prodigious efforts to prolong her life. He contin- ued to reside in Deer Lodge, and on December 3, 1872, married his present wife, whose maiden name was S. L. Sweeny and who is a native of Potosi, Wisconsin, and the daughter of John L. Sweeny, a Montana pioneer, now of Missoula.

Three years later they removed to Butte, taking up their residence in one of the first ten good houses in the place, and here they have since resided. The Doctor has had a large and remunerative practice in Butte, has re- tained his interest in mines aud mining, putting many thousands of dollars in them, and now has various gold claims which are believed to be very valuable. In his practice the Doctor's specialty is diseases of women, but he has also a general practice, and he is held in high esteem by all the families who have called for his sery- ices.

By his first marriage he had three children, viz .: Charles, a graduate of Bennett Medical College, of Chicago, and now practicing at Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the editor of a newspaper there; Rosamond, who is now the wife of II. II. Cullum, residing at 707, North Montana street, Butte, and ITenrietta, who married T. II. McCrimmon, who also resides in Butte. By the present

the early placer miners found much galena in the wash, sometimes finding large boulders of this mineral weighing 200 or 300 pounds.

The Pioneer is the oldest quartz location in the camp. The ledge is five feet between walls and crosses the gulch under some of the richest of the old placer workings. Assays are obtained from this, running from $60 to $350 in gold and silver. There is considerable galena in the ore. The Red Jacket is four and one- half feet between walls. The development con- sists of a 30-foot shaft and a 300-foot tunnel. The ore assayed from $25 to $100. The Mary Ann has a 14-foot ledge and carries consider- able copper carbonates, which runs from $50 to

marriage there was one son, O'Dillon B. Whitford, Jr., who died in his seventeenth year, from a sequel to the measles he had iu his sixteenth year. He had a truly phenomenal intellect and was an exceedingly interesting lad, and his loss is a great affliction to his parents.

In his political principles the Doctor is the stanchest kind of a Republican. In 1882 he was elected Mayor of the city; has been several times a member of the City Board of Health, and when in Deer Lodge he was surgeon in the prison there for three years. He was Master of the Masonic lodge in Butte in 1886, and after serving eight months in that capacity the gavel was taken from him on a charge of "infidelity." He was tried by the Grand Lodge, defended himself, was acquitted and is still a Mason in good standing. He is a thinker and a man of liberal ideas and of great originality of character.

June 25, A. D. 1894, the Doctor was elected president of the Old-timers' Association of Silver Bow county, and on being conducted to the chair delivered the following address to his old comrades:

"Comrades and sojourners with me for thirty years or more in Montana: I remember well when first we met in youthful, vigorous manhond, clasped each other's hands as true friends and shoulder to shoulder, side by side, climbed these rugged mountains in search of gold, blazed the trails for the 'nickel pinchers,' who have ac- quired wealth thereby, and while we were considering them like ourselves, unsuspicious of each other, they were robbing us. Why, before they found their way here by following our trail, we could leave our picks, shovels and pans by our sluice boxes day after day un- molested. How is it now? Why, I have even had my sheive stolen from my gallus frame while I was at din- ner by these thieving uickel pinchers, who have grown rich thereby. Yet we are poor in purse, but not in manly principles. Friends, when I die I would rather fill a

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$2,000 in gold and silver. The Amador is a copper property on which a 100-foot tunnel has been driven that has exposed a large body of ore. The Garfield and Dundas are promising inines. The Emma and Enterprise are good prospects, showing high-grade ore. At present this district is reached only by trail and the construction of extensive wagon roads must pre- cede the shipment of ore.

On the west of the O. R. & N. is the Key- stone. A shaft has been sunk on this to a depth of 125 feet. Abont 50 tons of good ore are on the dump. Half a mile to the southwest is the King Mine. A shaft on this has reached the

pauper's grave, with an old-timer's honor interred with my bones, than to fill a millionaire's casket covered with ill-gotten gold.

"As I call to mind the palmy days of Silver Bow county, especially the summer of 1865, when I mined in German gulch, the tears often moisten my eyes as I think of the congeniality of such once generous-hearted pioneers as the late lamented Dr. Anson Ford, Henry Porter and many more honest old-timers who now rest in yonder cemetery, sleeping the sleep that knows no waking, where the remainder of us, whose tottering steps and silvered hairs indicate that our days of usefulness are almost numbered, must also soon sleep beside them. And as one by one our number diminishes, I trust the last lingering philanthropic pioneer (when his days are ended) will die as he lived, without a stain upon his character, and that some one in the busy throng of these 'nickle pinchers ' will halt by the grave and imbibe of the living virtues of the honored dead, whose life, if he will emulate, will be worth the living and teaching of the same to his kind.

"My friends, to relieve ourselves of the monotony of this talk and the sorrow it engenders, and for the sake of a few moments of real pleasure, let us imagine we are all living now and enjoying the good old times of '64 and '65, when 'Allemande left,' 'Ladies change' and 'All promenade to seats' put life and vigor in our heels, for on the morrow we could be seen with grub and blankets on our backs, picks, shovels and pans by our sides, scal- ing the mountain passes in search of prospects new.

"Thus have we grown old in the pursuit of wealth. While but a very few of us have realized a competence to tide us over our declining years, nearly all who are now living can with pleasure look back over the numer- ous trails we have blazed and truthfully say we have never wronged a fellow man out of the value of any- thing. We have divided our bacon and our beans with our comrades, which makes our honors even.

depth of 300 feet. A mile to the southwest of this is the Little Pittsburg mine. Ten tous of ore shipped from this property yielded $175 to the ton. On the Robert Elsmere a great deal of very rich float has been found. On the head of Deep creek to the east of Spring gulch is the Little Anaconda. Some high-grade ore has been shipped. The ore of Spring gulch is remarkable for its high grade. Nearly all the mineral found in the belt, as a prospector would say, looks well and runs high in silver. The completion of the Cœur d'Alene branch of the Northern Pacific will assist materially in this direction. That this section, when silver is re-

"Although the majority of us have been poorly com- pensated for the thirty years hard delving in these mountains for gold, we have, nevertheless, socially, hand in hand and heart to heart, witnessed many a dawning day and setting sun, jeweled o'er with golden visions of happy times as we journied on from camp to camp, al- though weary in body from the fatigue of the day. When we were wrapped in our blankets for the night's rest our minds sparkled with the fire of genius, wit and humor until sleep closed our eyes. Thus day after day and year after year have our joys been mingled with our sor- rows and our tears.

"But to-day, my old friends, not in the future to fear, We have issued a roll-call to see how many are here; And as time rolls on from year to year

Let us continue counting the number still here. When the last one is counted by himself alone, May he do so unmindful of those who are gone. For what is life but a ripple at sea,

Compared to the thousands that are yet to be,

To the millions unborn, who in time will appear And travel the blazed trails of the old pioneer,

Why, think of it, friends, a million years hence

What an atom we'll be in the measureless expanse! What thought, what reason and what sense can there be In predicting a future that no one can see?

As well teach that the mind of man

Was in existence before it was born. Let us be content with the past, present and future, As worshiping a phantom can make us no better.

"In conclusion, my friends, I am going to ask a ques- tion, and like Teddy Regan when he asked for his bride, answer it in the affirmative to suit myself. What, think you, would follow if all the people in Montana were in sentiment and conduct old-timers? Just listen for a half moment while I tell you. Sunbeams would illumi- nate joyful hearts o'er the pleasing transformation and thereby imprint upon our brows reflective impressions of

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stored, will ultimately be one of the great silver and lead producing districts of the United States, there can be no doubt.

PARK COUNTY.

The mining interests of Park county have steadily progressed during the past year. Many prospectors have successfully explored the min- ing regions of the county, and recorded new discoveries. Old claims have been developed into mines, and not a few have passed into the hands of owners with courage and money to carry on the good work. Two new mills have been erected to crush the ores proved so abun- dant and rich.

The placers of Emigrant Gulch were among the early discoveries and made many a pioneer gold-seeker glad with a "pocket full" to make the loved ones at home comfortable and happy. The placers of this gulch are still furnishing pay, and millions will repay those who shall

unite the claims and furnish the water to wash out all its golden sands accumulated by the ages, by a bed-roek flume or some similiar ap- pliance. The miners of the New World Dis- triet have the courage and perseverance so nec- essary to make mining profitable. Though the expected railroad is needlessly delayed by the tardy action of Congress, and the unreasonable opposition of a few interested parties, they have done much work in their mines and taken out large quantities of ore in anticipation of the expected trains.

More than 15,000 feet of shafts, tunnels and levels have been run in exploring the 300 min- ing claims in the seven mineral mountains around Cook City. Imperial Rome sat on her seven hills of common dirt on the Yellow Ti- ber, but Cook City reposes on seven mountains filled with gold, silver, lead and iron. It took a thousand years for the palaces of imperial

blended happiness. The fragrance of love wonld ameli- orate our declining years and feed our contented minds, and as we are all touched by the frosts of time, our aged feet could tread the shining shores of a virtuous land; hence peace and quietness would reign in every home.

"My friends, as we have done thus far through life, I trust we will continue to the end,-employ all our facul- ties to augment the happiness of those who merit it, labor with perseverance and courage to extirpate evil from amongst us, assist as much as we can the worthy and friendless, in alleviating their distress and their sor- row. Thus will we merit their affections and fulfill the inherent mission of the old-timers, upon whose tomb- stone should be written in letters of gold, " Here lies one of Silver Bow county's old-timers, whose friendship, if appreciated by the living, will be as durable as the race of man.'

"My friends, conld we be so fortnnate as to awaken in the morn, after a refreshing night's sleep, and find the people in as harmonious a condition as the old-timers would place them (if in their power), it would be like finding in the desert an oasis on the banks of a murmur- ing rivulet meandering its course through the burning sands in search of parched tongues and weary feet. Then, my aged friends, 'Unborn ages and visions of glory would crowd upon our minds, in the realization of all which, in the presence of harmony and love, we, in our declining years, would be willing to rest content to the end.""

WILLIAM PORTER is one of the brave men who crossed the plains to Montana, in 1865.

He was born in the city of London, in 1826. His father, Richard Porter, was also born in England, married there and had five sons and three daughters, and with this family emigrated to the United States, during the presi- ency of Andrew Jackson. By trade Mr. Porter was a glovemaker, and he settled at Gloversville, New York, where he engaged in his trade for a number of years. In 1854 he removed to Illinois and settled on a farm, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1862, after he had attained the age of ninety years. He had been married twice, his second wife being the mother of William Porter, whose name heads this sketch. She lived to be eighty-eight years old.

Mr. Porter, of this sketch, the second-born by the mar- riage jnst referred to, was bronght up in Gloversville, attending the public schools and learning the glovers' trade and also the trade of farrier. In 1853 he removed to Illinois and purchased a farm, and the following year brought his father and mother to the Western home. In 1859 Mr. Porter crossed the plains with oxen to Pike's Peak. He with others started with an outfit from Kan- sas City, and, notwithstanding that the Indians were very hostile that year, they escaped them. They saw on their journey millions of buffalo.

A short time after arriving in Colorado Mr. Porter dis- covered a great demand for gloves and mittens, and he engaged in the manufacture of these articles at Denver,

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Rome to take the place of the dug-outs where Romulus and Remus were nursed by a vulpine mother; but palaces will replace the log cabins of Cook City in a hundredth part of that time.

The mines of Boulder District have attracted the attention of capitalists, and many of the claims are in process of rapid development. The Hidden Treasure is having its rich deposits rapidly exposed; the Mamie is feeding a small mill with a strong diet of hard ores; the Poor- man, Sadie, Yellow Jacket, Volunteer and Flor- ence have induced new capital and fresh hands to undertake their development. The Bear Creek mines now have a new and improved inill to work out their precious metals. The enterprise should be a prosperous one. Quartz mining in Emigrant Gulch was in an active condition. The bismuth ore of the St. Julian has attracted much attention, and parties have been at work to prove up the values of the ores of bismuth in the St. Julian and other mines of Emigrant.

and while there he supplied the first regiment, and also made gloves for Governor Gilpin, the first Governor of Colorado. He received good prices, and therefore pros- pered in the business.

In 1865 he decided to come on to the center of the gold excitement in Montana, and, with oxen, again made the journey, stopping first at Virginia City. Then he came on to Steward, in the Deer Lodge valley, where he took a farm of 160 acres, followed agriculture there two years, and then went to Helena and engaged in the man- ufacture of gloves ten years. He also sold produce for the farmers, and in 1876 he came to Butte and purchased two town lots on the corner of Galena and Montana streets. After residing on the farm for sixteen years he sold one tract for $7,000 and still retained the other. For a number of years past he has been janitor for the schools, at a salary of $750 a year. He now owns a valu- able ranch in Rowell's City, near the city of Hamilton, with 240 acres upon it improved; and he intends soon to move there with his family.

In Illinois, in 1858, he married Miss Elizabeth Rice, a native of Ohio, and they have had six children, of whom five are living, namely: Janet, who is now Mrs. Jacob Freeman; Richard Wellington, who died from the effects of an accident when he was twenty-nine years of age:

A company is opening the Vinnie M., on Mill Creek; and new discoveries have been made on the headwaters of Rock creek. Some work has been done on the mines near Nye City. Two or three hundred quartz claims are recorded every year in Park county.

Park county has several important mining districts, as the New World Mining District, including Cook City, Crevice Mountnin Dis- trict, Bear Creek placers, Crevice Gulch, Emi- grant Gulch, Mill Creek, Boulder District, Copper District and Rocky Fork mines. There are also several coal mines, Cinnabar coal mines and Horr coal mines. Emigrant Gulch was one of the earliest discoveries in the county and the Rocky Fork mines are among the latest.

There are four smelting furnaces in the New World District,-one at Nye City, two at Cook City and one on Miller mountain. The first at Cook City was erected in 1877. It ran sixty tons of bullion from the ores of the Republic, the Shoo Fly and the Elk Horn. This bullion remained in the furnace till the raid of the Nez

Thomas L., now on their ranch; Grace M., a teacher; George P., who has been clerk for Case & Lovell for a number of years; and Henry, at school.

In his young manhood Mr. Porter was a Whig, casting his first presidential vote for Zachary Taylor; but ever since the formation of the Republican party he has acted with it, intelligently advocating its principles. He was made a Mason in New York in 1852, and in the fall of 1860 aided in the organization of the first lodge of Masons in Colorado, being elected its Master. He also helped to organize the second chapter in Montana and was its High Priest; and he also helped to organize the first chapter in Butte. Ile united with the I. O. O. F. in Gloversville, New York, as early as 1847, so that he has a long history in both of these honorable societies. In their religion both he and his wife are Episcopalians. He is a good and useful pioneer of Montana.

WILLIAM HAMMOND, a respectable pioneer citizen of Phillipsburg, now living retired from active business, has been a resident of Montana since 1865.

Mr. Hammond was born in Maryland, November 26, 1822, son of Ilenry G. and Jensia (Avery) Hammond, the former a native of Rhode Island. Ilis maternal grand- sire was a soldier in the Revolution. Henry G. Ham- mond and his wife had four children, and her untimely

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Perces, who carried away some of it for bullets and cached some for future use. They also cut up the belting and bellows for the leather. The other smelter at Cook City was erected in 1883. It has smelted the ores of the Republic and Shoo Fly and New World and 422 tons of bullion was produced. Another furnace, the " Hartfeldt Portable Furnace," was put up on Miller mountain, but it was not a success. A good furnace was also erected in the north part of the county.

East of Bear creek a mountain spur begins at the Yellowstone and rises northward up into the Snowy range, which extends south and cast up the east and north sides of the Yellowstone. This spur, called Crevice mountain, is made up of slaty sandstones and granites, which are in- tersected by some of the best defined veins of quartz ever discovered in this State. They are large and regular in size, but very variable iu richness.

death occurred when she was in her twenty-ninth year. They resided for some years in Pennsylvania and from there removed to Wisconsin. The father was a worthy citizen and a man of influence in the community in which he resided. He died of cholera and at the time of his death was fifty-four years old.

William Hammond was the second born in his father's family. IIe was reared in Pennsylvania, was educated in the public schools of that State, and there learned the trade of carpenter. In 1849 he went to Wisconsin, where for sixteen years he worked at his trade. He was mar- ried a few years before leaving Pennsylvania and when he went to Wisconsin was accompanied by his family. In 1865 he drove an ox team across the plains to Montana, himself walking more than the whole of the distance. The train with which he traveled consisted of about 300 persons and they were four months in making the trip. His first location in Montana was at Deer Lodge. There he worked at his trade and later he was for a year en- gaged in mining at Pioneer. In 1870 he returned to Wis- consin for Mrs. Hammond and the children, and came back to Montana by way of Ogden, traveling by rail to that point and from there to Deer Lodge with ox teams. Soon after this they located on a farm near Warm Springs, below Gold creek, where he was engaged in stock-raising five years. In the meantime he also mined at Pioneer and took out considerable gold. Since 1875 they have

The Crevice mine is a regular vein of good quartz, running through the Highland Chief, Mizpah and Summit claims. Another vein, parallel with the last, cuts the Summit and Granite claims forming the Gillis mine. There are large bodies of variable ore in these mines. Farther up to the north are the Legal Tender, Graham, Mountain Chief and Tiptop, which are deemed very valuable mines. The Jo. Brown arastra was erected on Bear creek to work the ores of these mines. It was propelled by water. This arastra worked some thirty tons of the Graham mine and obtained $40 per ton, and about 125 tons of the Legal Tender ore. An- other arastra was built on the Highland Chief and worked the ores of the Crevice mines with marked snecess; but exact figures could not be obtained. A quartz mill called the Pomeroy Pulverizer was erected on Bear creek to work the ores of this district. This mill was run for some time on the Legal Tender ore and on the.

made their home in Phillipsburg. Here for several years Mr. Hammond was engaged in contracting and building and erected a number of houses in the town. In 1876 he embarked in the livery business, which he continued suc- cessfully until 1891 when he retired. During his career as a liveryman he was the owner of a number of fine horses, among which were "Turner," one of the most noted horses in the State, and "Mary Phily," a famous racer that was seldom beaten. Mr. Hammond now resides in one of the pretty cottage homes of the town, which he built, and lives on his rents and the interest of his money.

He was married, December 14, 1844, to Miss Jane House, daughter of Jacob House, of German descent; and all these years she has been a sharer of his joys and sor- rows and is still by his side, the comfort of his declining years. Two children were born to them in Pennsylvania and five in Wisconsin, their family record being as fol- lows: Elizabeth, wife of Charles McDonald; Teucer, en- gaged in farming in Wisconsin; George, who died at the age of forty years, leaving a widow and one child; Henry; Mary, wife of J. A. Hyde; Lucy, wife of William Cole- man, Mr. Coleman and Mr. Hyde both being prominent citizens of Montana; and Estella, wife of William Math- ews. Mr. Hammond has been a Democrat all his life, but has never sought nor held public office. Few of the early settlers in this part of Montana are better known or more highly respected than he.

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 159

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1216