An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 33

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

USA > Montana > An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 33

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" A few miles from Mill creek comes out ' Ram's-Horn gulch,' so called from the large number of mountain sheep horns lying along - it, it having once been a resort for them. This stream, like Mill creek, possesses no placer dig- gings, but it has not been thoroughly pros- pected. It has, however, many rich leads of gold-bearing quartz, among which is the famous ' Monitor,' which is very rich. A little farther np the valley comes out Biven's gulch-named after the man who first 'struck it' -- in this creek, which has paid, and is still, paying re- markably well in 'coarse gold,' pieces having · been taken out of this gulch weighing as high as $320. A short distance further along the base of the mountain, and we come to . Harris gulch,' named after its discoverer, as usual, and which has paid well in places, in beantifn] coarse gold, but this gulch is what is called ' spotted,' in mining parlance; that is, the gold is scattered about in irregular spots. Only a small portion of this guleh has paid well.

"There is another ravine, called California

December, Captain Swiggett, with two officers of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Infantry, made a second attempt to escape, and after traveling twenty-one nights they reached the Codo river, 275 miles from Tyler, and again he and the two officers who were with him were captured, this time being confined trom time to time in different jails and finally landed in the stockade at Shreveport. While the other prisoners, members of his company and regiment, were exchanged, Captain Swiggett, on account of his having tried to make his escape, was sent back on foot again to Tyler, this being the third time he had been marched there as a prisoner. There he was kept until June, 1865, when the war was over, and the last prisoners in the stockade were exchanged; and as a matter of fact he was the last man out of the stockade. He then returned to Duval's Bluff, Arkansas, where he rejoined his regiment, with them being honorably discharged and mustered out in October, at Davenport, Iowa.

Upon his return to Iowa, Captain Swiggett engaged in merchandising. Soon after this he was elected Sheriff of Wapello county. At the end of his first term he was re- elected and served a second term. He continued his mercantile business there until 1887, when he came to

gulch, which comes into Harris gulch on the south, before it enters the valley of the Stinking- Water. This gulch is similar to Harris's, ex- cept that it is still more ' spotted,' and has not paid so well.

" A few miles farther south comes out the famous Alder creek-the derivation of which name I have given elsewhere-on the banks of which, a few miles above the first canon, where it opens ont into a kind of basin, are situated the cities of Virginia, Central and Nevada, which are fast being merged into one, with a population of about ten thousand, and rapidly increasing. Alder creek is incredibly rich, from its head down to near where it enters the valley of the Stinking-Water, a distance of about fifteen miles, Near its head, pieces have been found weighing from $50 to as high as $720, the gold getting coarser as the head of the stream is approached.

" In the hills bordering the stream, a large number of gold-bearing quartz leads have been discovered. Those in Summit district being of

Montana. Upon his arrival here, he purchased an inter- est in a quartz mine, and has since been engaged in min- ing. After being a resident of Jefferson county, Montana, one year, he attended the Republican county convention. There were sixty-two members in the convention, only two of whom he knew; nevertheless, he was nominated by the convention on the Legislative ticket. He was elected to that office and served the last term of the Ter- ritorial Legislature of Montana, after which he resumed his mining operations in Jefferson county. In 1890 he was appointed by President Harrison as Register of the United States Land Office at Helena, Montana. He had not been an applicant for this position and did not know of his appointment until he received a dispatch asking him to accept. He did so, and is now performing the duties of this office.

Captain Swiggett was married in 1856 to Miss Eliza H. Van Cleve, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Cyrus Van Cleve, a native of Kentucky. There are two children living. a son and daughter,-Levin V. and Gertrude, the latter being now the wife of Thomas S. Wilson; and three dead,-Annie, Elfing W. and Lida. Mrs. Wilson is an elocutionist, and she and her husband have a college at Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Swiggett

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almost unexampled richness, while in the moun- tains at the head of the creek, is a coal field of unknown extent, which is now being developed. This is the second place in this basin where coal has been discovered, and, in a country so sparsely timbered as this, coal fields are of in- calculable valne. In fact, nature has placed within the limits of Montana all the requisites to enable her to become the wealthiest part of the United States. Abounding in all the min- erals, precious and otherwise, with coal and water power unlimited to work them, the future of Montana will equal in reality those gorgeous fictions of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

"This basin contains eight valleys of con- siderable size, to wit: The valley of the upper part of the Jefferson and Beaverhead, of Big- Hole river, of Big-Hole prairie, of Rattlesnake, of Horse prairie, of Red Rock, of Black-Tailed Deer, of Stinking-Water. This ends the de-

passed away on April 13, 1893, dying from the effects of a malignant tumor, which caused her great suffering for eight months. She died as she had lived -- a full believer in the saving blood of Christ, and would often say to her husband and friends, in the most cheerful manner, that she had more friends in heaven than on earth, and was anxious to go. Her remains were interred in the family lot in the cemetery in Ottumwa, Iowa, by the side of her children.

Captain Swiggett has been a member of the Baptist Church since 1856. He cast his first vote for General Fremont that year, and has been a consistent Republican ever since. The Captain is in the full vigor of manhood, is most genial and sociable in his intercourse with his fellow men, and wherever he has resided he has hosts of warm friends.

WINTHROP RAYMOND landed in Montana in 1865 and has since been identified with its interests. As one of the representative stockmen of the Ruby valley and as the founder of the town of Sheridan, he is entitled to more than a passing notice in this work. Following is a sketch of his life:

Winthrop Raymond was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 22, 1848. Of his ancestors be it recorded that some of them came from England to America in 1632 and settled in Connecticut on a grant of land they had received from the Crown. They were prominent in the early history of that part of the country, among them being successful farmers and eminent lawyers and doc-

scription of the Western Central basin, which contains in itself all the essentials necessary for the prosperity of a mighty nation.

" Next comes the Eastern Central basin, which is drained by the Missouri river, below the Three Forks, and above them by the Jeffer- son fork, into which empty the North Boulder creek, South Boulder creek and Willow creek, on the first and last of which are some placer diggings of limited extent and richness, and many quartz leads that prospect rich. This basin is further drained by the Madison and Gallatin forks, which form a junction with the Jefferson in a fertile plain of considerable ex -. tent.

" The basin contains a large amount of arable lands, with a climate fully as good as Utah. It is about 150 miles long north and south, by about eighty east and west. It contains five principal valleys, to wit: The valley of the

tors. Grandfather Christopher Raymond married Miss Rachel Hillhouse, she, too, being a descendant of an old Connecticut family. She died in the sixty-sixth year of her age and he lived to be seventy three. In their family were thirteen children. Their son, Daniel Fitch Raymond, was horn September 12, 1786. By his first wife, nee Sara Amos, he had two children, and by his second wife, whose maiden name was Delilah Mattock. he had six children. Four of the latter are still living, and three of them are prominent citizens of Montana. Daniel Fitch Raymond died in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 13, 1849, leaving a widow, who at this writing is in her eighty-first year. For many years she has been a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Mr. Raymond was a Presbyterian. Professionally, he was a lawyer ,and gained eminence at the bar.

Winthrop Raymond is the youngest in the above family. His early life was spent in Missouri, and in 1865, when in his sixteenth year, he crossed the plains, his mother, brother William H. and sister, making the journey at the same time. They had two yoke of oxen, a yoke of cows and a span of horses. The oxen hauled the wagon on which they brought their provisions and goods, and the horses were attached to a light wagon in which the mother and sister rode. They were over six months in making the journey. Some of the time travel- ing in this way was very enjoyable, while at other times it was attended with great danger, as the Indians were often troublesome. Our party were pretty well protected,

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Three Forks, of North Boulder, of the lower part of the Jefferson, of the Madison, of the Gallatin. It contains a greater amount of farin- ing lands than the basin of the Beaverhead and tributaries.

"Next and last comes the basin of the Yellow- stone and its branches. It drains toward the east, and is abont 400 miles long, by abont 150 wide. But little is known abont the mineral resources of this great valley, the hostility of the Crow Indians rendering it very dangerous prospecting within its limits. They have already killed several men who were exploring the country, and robbed and set on foot many others.

however, as they journeyed with a train in which were one hundred able-bodied men, and which was officered with captain and guards. On part of the journey they traveled ninety miles without water, and during this time some members of the train as well as some of their cattle died.

It was on the 7th of September, 1865, that they landed safe in Virginia City. There, the brothers opened a wholesale grocery honse and conducted it successfully for a number of years. Later they engaged in banking under the firm name of Raymond, Harrington & Com- pany, and they had the honor of being the first bankers of Ibe town. The banking business they sold to Mr. Hall and it is now known as the Hall-Bennett Bank. They also owned Bellm m1 Park, were engaged in importing and breeding blooded horses, and were thus prominent factors in this line, and to them is due the credit of hav- ing been the importers and owners of several of the fastest trotters in Montana. After being engaged in this business for a number of years, the subject of our sketch sold bis interest in it to his brother, who still carries it on successfully.

In 1889 Mr. Raymond came to his present place in the Ruby valley. Here he became the owner of 1,080 acres of choice land. The party who had formerly owned it had in 1885 platted a part of the town of Sheridan, and since then Mr. Raymond has platted, improved and sold lots He still owns a large portion of the town and rents a number of buildings which he has erected. On his ranch he raises hay and stock-horses and cattle. He also loans considerable money in a private way.

February 28, 1876, Mr. Raymond married Miss Hannah E. Bateman, who was born near Detroit, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond bave three children, all natives of Virginia City, their names being Carrie Bell, Daniel Walcott and Delilah Ellen. Mrs. Raymond is a member of the Episcopal Church.

" The indefatigable miners have, however, succeeded in finding a creek at the western edge of the basin, where it approaches nearest the valley of the Gallatin, which they have called Emigrant gulch, because it was mostly taken up by the emigrants who arrived by the Bridger and Jacobs road. There is a small village on this creek, which prospects very well in places, and will probably prove very rich, but it is very hard to work, because of the vast quantity of granite boulders scattered along its bed and banks.

" There is every reason to believe, however, that the basin of the Yellowstone will prove fully as rich in precious minerals as the others,

In politics, Mr. Raymond has always affiliated with the Democratic party, but he has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his whole time and attention to own private affairs, in the management of which he has met with signal success.

HON. JOHN L. SLOANE, attorney, is now chief clerk in the Land Office at Missoula, Montana. He is a native of New York city, born March 28, 1847. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish. Robert and Jeanne (Sloane) Sloane, his parents, were cousins. They started on the voy- age to America early in 1847, with their family of twelve children, and before they reached their destina- tion Mr. Sloane died and was buried at sea. Mrs. Sloane landed at New York city with her children, and there, soon after their arrival she gave birth to the subject of this sketch. She died in 1854, in her fiftieth year, and only two of the family now survive.

Johu L. Sloane was reared in New York, and when he was fifteen years of age entered the employ of Vyse & Sons, wholesale dealers in straw goods, and with them he remained from 1862 until 1864. In March of the latter year, when only seventeen years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Fifth New York Veteran Volunteers, Dur- yea's Zouaves, and with his eommand immediately went to the front. He served in the Army of the Potomac, First Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Army Corps, and was in all the hard-fought battles of the spring campaign of 1864, and continued iu the service until the surrender of General Lee. He then took part in the grand review of the victorious army in Washington. During his one year and one-half of service he had many thrilling ex- periences. He had entered the service as a private, was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant, Second Cali- fornia Volunteer Cavalry, and in that capacity served until January, 1866, at which time his regiment was mus- tered out. At the battle of Weldon Railroad, Angust 18,

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and it is known to contain large fields of coal, which are very accessible and among which are numbers of petroleum or oil springs. In climate and fertility this valley is a mediom between the valleys of the mountains and the prairies of the Western States. Corn, beans, pumpkins, etc., grow finely in it.

"This basin contains eight principal valleys, as follows: The main valley of the Yellow- stone, of Shield's river, of the Rosebud, of Clark's Fork, of Pryor's Fork, of the Big-Horn river, of Tongue river, and of Powder river, and many smaller ones. * *

"Thus ends this slight description of 'the conntry of the mountains,' which, it will be seen, contains five large basins, which inclose within their limits thirty valleys, each of which is as large as three or four German principali- ties, besides many smaller ones not much larger than Rhode Island or Delaware. "

1864, he was slightly wounded, being hit four times in one day.

After the war Mr. Sloane went to Sedgwick, Kansas, opened the first store in that town, and remained in busi- ness there until 1873. From 1873 until 1877 he was in New Orleans. In 1877 he came direct to Missoula, Mon- tana, and accepted the position of express agent for the Northern Pacific Express Company, and ever since he first located here he has been prominently identified with the best interests of the town. He served six years as Police Magistrate of the city, five years as Chief Clerk of the District Court, and is now serving as chief clerk of the Land Office. He is a fine penman and an obliging and otherwise efficient business man.

Mr. Sloane was married at Wichita, Kansas, February 4, 1871, to Miss Lizzie A. Mansfield, a native of Sidney, Illinois, and a daughter of John M. Mansfield of that State. Mr. and Mrs. Sloane have six children, Jessie E., Mary E., Gertrude F., Robert Hugh, Ona M. and Frank Harold; all at home except Jessie E., who is the wife of Tylar B. Thompson, a Missoula business man. They also lost one child, Ama Hazel, twin of Frank Harold, who died at the age of ten months.

Mr. Sloane has been a member of the Democratic party all his life, and was in 1892 the nominee of his party for Clerk of the Supreme Court of his State (Montana). With fraternal circles he is prominently identified. He is Past Master of Missoula Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M .; is Past Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of

As observed a few pages back, civilization first started on Gold creek, on the arrival of the Stnarts. True, there was Fort Benton, 400 miles distant, on the far eastern frontier, while here and there were other military posts of more or less importance, and around these gathered, as gather they will more or less, for good or ill, all sorts of civilians. But the idea of agricnl- ture, gold-mining or any other sort of toil never in any way pervades the atmosphere of an agency or post.

From Stnart's journal it appears that he and his party coquetted with Fortune for months, even years, before taking her seriously on trial by appealing, with pick and shovel, to the heart of Mother Earth. James Stuart and his brother Granville had left northern California nearly five years before opening their mines in Montana and had traveled, traded, ranched, prospected, done all sorts of legitimate things in stock-raising and

Montana; is Past Department Commander of the G. A. R. of Montana; and is Past Master Workman of Union Lodge, No. 3, A. O. U. W. Beside his comfortable and attractive home at No. 522 East Front street, Missoula, he owns other property in the city and also has 400 acres of land within a mile and a half of Missoula.

C. D. ELIOT, County Assessor of Cascade county, Mon- tana, was born in Auburn, Maine, July 2, 1855.

Andrew Eliot, the progenitor of the Eliots of New England, emigrated from England to this country in 1679, and settled at Beverly, Massachusetts, where he was a prominent citizen and where he died at the ripe old age of eighty years. He left a large family. The Eliots of New Hampshire, Maine and New York all sprang from him. C D. Eliot's great-grandfather, John Eliot, was a soldier in the Revolution, fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, and rendered the cause of independence his faithful service until the close of the war. He lived to be ninety-one years of age. He had a family of twelve children, of whom John Eliot, our subject's father, was the second. John Eliot was born in Nottingham, Massa- chusetts, October 5, 1801; was educated at Westbrook, and at the Troy Theological Seminary, New York; and married Arabella Berry, a native of Lisbon, Maine, by whom he had five children, three of whom are living. His father being a member of the Congregational Church, he was reared in that faith and educated for the minis- try. During the early part of his life he was a mission- ary in western New York and the last twenty years of

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trading during the interval. It was not till the winter of 1860 that they permanently pitched tent in Deer Lodge valley, at the mouth of Gold creek. As all along through the previous years, they now had all sorts of trouble from Indians, and it was not till the date given before that they could gather together supplies, tools and the required equipments to make earnest trial of fortune.

Meantime, they had, along with some new arrivals by way of the Mullen road over the Rocky mountains, as well as some of the no- madic laborers of Mullen's road, petitioned the legislature of Washington Territory for the rights of local civil government.

his life were spent as pastor of the Rumford Point Con- gregational Church in Maine. He died in 1879, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. His wife died in 1889, at the age of sixty-six.

Charles Dwight Eliot, the third born in his father's family, was reared in his native State and was educated at Kent's Hill Wesleyan Seminary. In 1874, after leav- ing college, he went to Boston and from that time until 1884 he was bookkeeper for the Barstow Stove Company. In 1884 he came to Belt, Montana, and engaged in the sheep business, which he has since successfully carried on. Since coming to this State he has from time to time made investments in real estate and sheep.

In 1892 Mr. Eliot was elected by the Republicans to the office of County Assessor, in which position he is serving most efficiently. He is thoroughly informed on the property values of the county, and in his office he introduced an improved system of land and town-lot books. This system greatly simplifies the work of the assessor.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Mr. Eliot is a member of the Congregational Church, which he joined at Rumford Point and where his membership still remains. Recently he has become identified with the Sons of the Revolution in Cascade county.

HOWARD CROSBY, County Clerk and ex officio Record- er of Cascade county, Montana, is a native of the State of New York, born in New York city, July 1, 1853.

He belongs to the eighth generation of Crosbys in America and is a direct descendant of Simon and Ant Crosby, who sailed from London, England, April 18, 1635, on the ship Susan Ellyn and landed at Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts. They became large land-holders and promi- nent among the early settlers of Cambridge. They had three sons: Thomas, born in 1635: Simon, 1637; and Joseph, 1639. Simon Crosby, Sr., died in 1640, From his

The result was that in the winter of 1860-1, the legislature in session at Olympia, nearly 1,000 miles distant as the passable roads ran at that time, authorized the existence of two counties on her border to the east, Shoshonce and Missoula. Of this latter county, James Stuart was chosen Sheriff at the first election, held July 14, 1862, the first sheriff in all Mon- tana, as the other county fell to Idaho in the final division.

The work of a border sheriff is neither onerous nor profitable. There is a prevailing opinion to the contrary all over the world, an opinion which might as well be disposed of here as else- where. Nor does crime prevail in as great a

oldest son, Thomas, is our subject descended. Thomas Crosby graduated at Harvard College in 1653; became a Congregational minister and preached for many years at Eastham, Massachusetts; died in Boston, June 13, 1702. He and his wife, nee Sarah Bracket, had a son John who was born December 4, 1670, and died May 25, 1714. John Crosby's son David was born April 13, 1709, and was mar- ried June 19, 1735, to Rebecca Hopkins. He removed from Eastham, Massachusetts, to South-East, New York in 1750, and died there February 25, 1788. His son David was born September 6, 1737, and died November 16, 1816. His wife, whose maiden name was Bethia Hopkins, died July 2, 1776, at the age of forty-one years. Their son, Peter Crosby, our subject's grandfather, was born in South-East, New York, September 4, 1763, and, January 25, 1783, married Ruth Waring. He was Sheriff of Putnam county, New York, during the years 1813-14-15. His death occurred November 9, 1831, and his wife died July 31, 1830. They had eleven children. Their youngest child, Peter Crosby, was born in South-East, Putnam county, New York, November 26, 1807, and on the 4th of March, 1850, married Elizabeth Petty, a native of Southampton, Long Island. When he was sixteen years of age he went to New York city, where, from that time until he was twenty-one, he served an apprenticeship to the jewelry business. Afterward he turned his attention to real-estate business. He died in Brooklyn, New York, November, 1878. ITis wife died August 10, 1861, in that State, at the age of thirty-one. She left two children: Iloward, the subject of this sketch: and George, born March 20, 1855.

Howard Crosby was educated at Union Hall Academy, Long Island, New York. In 1870 he was employed as clerk in a dry-goods store, and continued thus occupied eleven years. At the expiration of that time he went to Bogota, South America, as Vice Consul, and occupied that

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degree as is generally taught in paper covers, or histories of a sensational class that are made merely to sell. In the first place, cowards never court the border to any great extent, and it is only the coward who comes in contact with the law, as a rule. True, bad men have been hung while making a great show of bravery; but it is merely show, and is no more bravery than brass is gold, however much it may look like it, for fine brass may be made to appear even brighter than gold.

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 33

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