Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 156

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126

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The surroundings of this grove are such as are calculated to drive away the cares of men, women and children. Testimony of men in Butte is to the effect that to spend frequent afternoons in it, is to enhance one's desire to live and to forget the rush of business life.

The people of Butte take pride in the gardens, and feel that the management of the resort and the street car line is a part of their own business, in that every- thing that pertains to them goes to make up a por- tion of their daily routine of pleasure. A more courteous and capable set of men, headed as they are by Mr. Siegel, cannot be found elsewhere in the United. States.

Each year there is a special ceremony in which Senator Clark participates, and that is the one on Arbor Day, when all of the school children of the county assemble in the groves to observe the simple, yet very impressive ceremony of planting the trees. Appropriate exercises are held in connection with this ceremony, and as many as 12,000 children have attended.

As one enters the gardens he hears the merry laughter of children from the playgrounds and, fol- lowing the sounds of joy, beckoning him, as it were, he is amazed to see beyond the great pavilion the spacious playground where thousands of children are being entertained. Swinging, see-saws, shooting the chutes, wading and swimming are to be found among the numerous sources of pleasure for the children as well as for those of more mature years.

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Trained men and women playground experts are employed to organize the different games and sports for the girls and boys, teach them folk dances and other innocent and pretty forms of amusement. No restraint is placed upon the children to get them to take part in systematized play, but those who like to join in with their little companions in such or- ganized pastimes do so of their own free will, and the grownup instructors make themselves one with their pupils and are dearly loved by them.

This pretty feature is a fitting introduction to the visitors who make their first trip into the shady grove beyond. Passing on, the paths diverge, one leading across to the hillside flower-beds, and the other over a rustic bridge to a large enclosure where are found many of the wild animals.

The great dance pavilion is where the gay revel in the delights of youth. The measures of the dance are here charmingly stepped to the tune of the best orchestral music obtainable. The floor space is 130 feet by 180 feet, the floor being of the finest grained hard-wood. There is a spring to the floor which is an added charm. The spacious balcony affords an excellent view of the dancers, and on the east end is a refreshment hall, where ice cream, sodas' and numerous soft drinks are served. The orchestra platform is on the west side of the hall, raised to the desired elevation. There are three large en- trances. The hall is on the ground floor of the grand pavilion, and is occasionally chartered by so- cial parties, but every night in the summer it is open to the respectable public.

Leaving the gardens with the multiplied attrac- tions, and forgetting all else save the opportunity to continue the journey after stepping off the car, one is led by inclination to climb the mountain's magnificent heights. "Mountain-climbing" parties make the journey to the summit of the Continental Divide of the Rockies, a distance of only one mile from the gardens.

One has but to look back to see sights which well repay him for the trip. Magnificent views open out to the west, south and north. Away across the valley are the white-crowned domes of the Highlands, whose gorges are filled with snow, glittering like

powdered crystal. To the west are the ridges of , cocks, swans, other varieties of eagles, owls, fan-

blue mountains that dim into the perspective to a minute yet clearly traceable outline of white. To the northwest lies Butte with all of its mines, works and spires seen distinctly through the clear crystal- line atmosphere of the high altitude. Along the route are miniature dells, or benches, moss-covered and shaded by shrubs and overhanging rocks, and at the top are springs of cold, pure water to delight the weary traveler. To climb the mountains back of the gardens is a delightful excursion and one that is enjoyed every day in the summer. Indeed some of these excursions are made during the winter, and then the scenes laid out before the eye are still more beautiful in their cold and forbidding presence.

To return to the gardens, it is only just to give special attention to the immense and magnificent floral display which in its beauty, splendid arrange- ment and costly proportions, is the overshadowing feature. Columbia Gardens is famed from Labrador to the Rio Grande as the home of the finest collec- tion of flowers in the Northwest. This feature is indeed, a revelation, especially to thousands of people who have hitherto known but little of Butte. The hot-houses at the gardens are just a few notches ahead of anything of the kind in the West. Far- famed is the beautiful collection of begonias, which experts declare to be unsurpassed in brilliant and varied coloring that is positively dazzling to the eye. The original stock of these wonderously tinted plants was obtained years ago in Holland. Most of

the species of this botanical order were originally discovered In their wild state growing at high alti- tudes and, as the elevation at the gardens is nearly 6,000 feet above sea level, these plants are well suited there. This, with the long days and almost perpetual sunshine of the Montana summer, has brought these handsome flowers to their greatest perfection.

Visitors have marveled at the tropical buds to be seen on all sides. But the culture of the tender plants has demonstrated the possibility of floricul- ture in the mountain resort near Butte. While to behold them in their splendor is to inspire the thought that the flower-beds are at the zenith of their importance and glory, still Mr. Siegel and his corps of able assistants feel that they have but com- menced their work and plan many further develop- ments. They have in the gardens and hothouses more than 150,000 growing plants of over 200 va- rieties, including the most delicate products of the countries of the tropics, housed in the large glass nurseries.

The hot-houses are on the list of attractions shown and enjoyed by the visitors, for here are to be found plants of the rarest character. In them are seeded the thousands of pansies that ultimately adorn the flower-plots throughout the gardens. The climate is congenial to pansies, which in the gardens grow to an enormous size, some measuring as large as three inches in diameter. As many as 25,000 pansy plants are transplanted every season, which yield millions of vari-colored blooms.

Another remarkable feature of this wonderful re- sort is the great zoo, in which are to be found a variety of animals and birds which belong to Mon- tana's fastnesses and plains in addition to those gathered from the far corners of the world. These specimens of the fauna of Montana are especially valuable, inasmuch as some of them are becoming extinct outside of collections such as these. Among other animals here may be mentioned bears, wild cats, lynx, coyotes, rabbits, deer, Rocky Mountain goats, buffalo, catalo, black and gray wolves, beavers, badgers, chipmunks, pine squirrels, porcupines. guinea pigs, ferrets and a young mountain lion.

Among the birds are the bald-headed eagle, pea- tailed and other pigeons, and "Mike," the pet parrot, is well known to the visitors of the hot-houses.

Over $250,000 have been spent in improving these gardens, although they would be delightful with- out them, for no more beautiful natural spot could be imagined, but they would not be as comfortable. There is a practical side to the gardens as well, for in addition to the successful experiments in horti- culture are those made in the fish hatcheries, which alone afford a great study, interesting thousands upon thousands of visitors. Here are hatched mil- lions of fish, which are used to fill the streams of Montana with a bountiful supply of the best ob- tainable fish. The magnificent herbarium contains specimens of every flower and plant growing in Mon- tana. This collection has been a source of much pleasure and interest to those students who desire to familiarize themselves with the wonders in the plant kingdom of the state.

A summary of the attractions of the gardens in- cludes the shooting-gallery, the moving pictures, the play-grounds, the lake, over a score of sanitary spring fountains, the walks leading through bowers of beauty both natural and artificial, the wonderful rocks, the exquisite flower-beds, the apple, plum and pear trees and the pavilion.

The people of Butte are highly favored in having within a few minutes' ride of the center of their city such a desirable lounging place, where the urban comforts are admirably combined with the beauties

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of the mountain wilds. and where they can associate with their fellows amid such remarkable surround- ings. Few indeed of the people of Butte, or those who are but transients in the city, miss coming to Columbia Gardens, and once they have enjoyed these delights they never forget them, or fail to repeat their visit at the first opportunity.

From the start there has been no intention of con- ducting the gardens as a money-making project, but rather as a public-spirited enterprise by a philan- thropist of rare character, who has imbued his as- sistants with his own spirit. No wonder that Mr. Siegel is entirely wrapped up in his work, and feels proud of the fact that he has been connected with this enterprise almost from the beginning. An artist to the fingertips, he finds expression for his beauty of thought and soul in his flowers, and through them raises humanity above the ordinary ruck and places them on a plane not always reached in this hnm- drum, workaday age. The millions of almost human- faced pansies which look up into the eyes of the hordes who throng these gardens deliver messages of wholesome living, kindly thoughts and duty well performed, as perhaps nothing else could do, and in bringing them and the other wonderful features of Columbia Gardens to perfection Mr. Siegel is as great an artist as one whose masterpieces are hung on the walls of national galleries.

Coming from the constant hum, heat, dust and increasing activity of the greatest mining center of the world, jaded and pessimistic, the visitor to Co- lumbia Gardens passes into an earthly paradise of pure air, green grass, wonderful flowers and the un- flecked, placid, serene realm of genuine rest that cannot help but have its lasting influence upon his character. It is unnatural for anyone accustomed to make frequent visits to these gardens to continue to indulge in evil habits of thought or action, while it is safe to predict that the children brought up within the influence of such wholesome and delightful pleasures will be saved from active participation in those of a doubtful nature. Therefore, in every way, the founder of these gardens and those who have aided him in making them possible, are public bene- factors and factors for great moral good in the world.

MONTANA MERCANTILE COMPANY. Many of the old business houses of Montana trace their his- tory back to the days of the pioneers and the gold seekers. Through successive stages of devel- opment the Montana Mercantile Company has grown to its present importance from most humble be- ginnings.

While Montana was still united with Idaho the territorial legislature at Boise City granted a char- ter to Jim Ryan and others to permit them to build and operate a toll road across the mountains. As an outcome of the authority granted by this charter Ryan's Toll Road down the Red Rock and Beaver- head rivers was later constructed. Where this road entered Beaverhead Valley proper, at the Beaverhead Rock, was the Sim Estes stage station on the stage line between Corinne, Utah, and Helena. At this point at the head of the valley a pioneer store was established by Jim Barrett. In the old placer mining days this picturesque spot, now called Barrett's Sta- tion, was on the direct line of travel between Ban- nack and Virginia City. Henry Plummer, Slade and other worthies of those days often tarried there while passing back and forth between the two popu- lous mining centers.

Soon a new era began. In 1880 the railroad was built down the canyon, following Jim Ryan's Toll Road. The Town of Dillon was started ten miles below, in the heart of Beaverhead Valley. L. C.

Fyhrie, who was conducting the Barrett store, moved his stock to Dillon and in partnership with Burfeind Brothers carried on the business under the firm name of L. C. Fyhrie & Company. Later Burfeind Brothers succeeded this partnership and in 1893 the Montana Mercantile Company was incorporated.

This brief survey indicates how intimately this mercantile establishment has been connected with the growth of the community which it serves. Not only has the Montana Mercantile Company pros- pered with the growing prosperity of Beaverhead County-it has fostered the development of the com- munity, it has shared in the hopes, success and dis- appointments of the people of Beaverhead.

The present directors of this firm are as follows : Leonard Eliel, president; Adolph Eliel, vice presi- dent; Frank Eliel, secretary and treasurer; Alfred I. Cashmore, sales manager ; and S. F. Erwin, mana- ger of the grain department.

ALFRED CAVE was a Montana pioneer of the '60s, and his activities especially identify him with Mis- soula, where he lived for over thirty years. He was frequently honored by offices of responsibility and trust, and his name is closely associated with the pioneers who laid the foundation of Montana's greatness.

He was born near Columbia, Missouri, October 5, 1829, son of Richard and Colma B. (Williams) Cave. His parents were natives of Kentucky and of Virginia ancestry. Richard Cave had a farm and flour mill in Kentucky and in 1820 moved to Boone County, Missouri. In 1850 Alfred Cave, part of whose early life had been spent at Florida, Missouri, where he was a playmate of Mark Twain, set out for California in company with his father and others. They made the trip overland and spent their first winter near Nevada City, California. Richard Cave lost his life at the hands of highwaymen in Northern California in 1859.

In California Alfred Cave followed placer mining. but was especially interested in pioneer forms of transportation, packing supplies over 'the rough mountain trails to the isolated mining camps. In 1865 he came to Montana, bringing provisions by pack train to Helena, and supplying several of the well known mining camps of that day. In 1869 the Cedar Creek stampede started, and he packed in general supplies and opened a store at Forest City. Later he also had a similar business on Nine Mile Creek, having moved his family to Missoula in 1873. For many years he kept in operation a pack train. This train was captured by Nez Perce Indians at Henry's Lake during General Howard's campaign of 1877. While a resident of Missoula he acquired some landed interests and engaged in ranching. He also handled contracts to supply wood and telegraph poles to the government. At one time he was man- ager of the waterworks of Missoula. In 1876 he was elected from Missoula County to the Territorial Legislature. In 1894 he was elected county treas- urer, and re-elected in 1896. He was also a valued member of the Building Committee of the Montana State University. Alfred Cave was one of the first men in Montana to engage in the raising of fruit, and his efforts did much to prove Montana's special facilities in horticulture.

The death of this honored old timer occurred at Missoula in February, 1909. He had married in 1871 Mrs. Carrie (Nicol) Hackleman. She was the mother of one son by her former marriage, who now bears the family name of his stepfather, and has long been a permanent resident of Missoula.

Will Cave is at present filling the office of state deputy humane officer. He was first to hold the office of county auditor of Missoula County, in

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1891 ; served as deputy county treasurer and during the late 'gos made two trips to Alaska. In 1898 he volunteered in the Spanish-American war, organ- izing a local company which was tendered to Gov- ernor Smith as a Montana organization, but which was accepted by the United States Government and which became a troop in the Third United States Volunteer Cavalry. He was in service, chiefly in camp at Chickamauga, Georgia, four months. After his return he was deputy county clerk four years, was county assessor two years and then deputy coun- ty clerk again some four years.

WALTER COOPER. The name of Walter Cooper. is certainly entitled to special mention in a compendium of the nature of the one at hand, for he has long been one of the influential citizens of Montana. Through his personal efforts, this section of the west has reaped lasting benefits, which will continue to accrue to the people long after he has passed from the scenes of his former activities, for his excep- tional capacities have been directed along lines calcu- lated to be for the general good. A man of forceful individuality and marked initiative power, he has been well equipped for the duties of citizenship, while his probity of character and his genial person- ality have gained for him universal esteem and friendship in the locality where he has spent the major portion of his active and useful life.

Walter Cooper was born in Sterling, Cayuga County, New York, on July 4, 1843. He is descended. from rugged old English stock, his emigrant ancestors having come to America in the days of the colonies. Their descendants are later found in New York State, where the subject's grandfather, George Cooper, was born in Washington County. He spent his entire life in that state, following the vocation of a farmer, and he died in Cayuga County, that state. He was a soldier of the War of 1812, holding a commission as captain. He was compelled to surrender at Fort Oswego to Com- modore Yeo, whose fleet was afterwards destroyed by Commodore Perry. Among the children of George Cooper was the subject's father, Andrew H. Cooper, who was born in Washington County, New York, in 1812. He remained in his native state until 1849, having followed the occupations of farm- ing and stockraising. In the year last mentioned Mr. Cooper went to the State of Michigan, locat- ing in Shiawassee County, where his death occurred in 1857. He was a Presbyterian in his religious belief. He married Sarah E. McGilvary, a native of New York State, and whose death occurred in Tuscola County, Michigan. To them were born the following children: Alexander H., a retired lum- berman, lives at Whatcomb, Washington; George H., a retired dentist, lives in Spokane, Washing- ton; Walter, the subject of this sketch, is the next in order of birth; David is in the insurance busi- ness in Syracuse, New York; William, who was in the implement business in Tuscola County, Mich- igan, died at the age of forty-five years; Ransom is an attorney in Great Falls, Montana.

Walter Cooper remained at home and attended school until he was fifteen years of age, when he began work on his own account, applying himself to anything he could find to do. Mrs. Cooper, the mother, had in the meantime returned to New York, taking her second and three younger sons.

In the fall of 1858 Walter started West, reaching Leavenworth, Kansas, in the month of November, where he passed the winter doing such work as he could find to do, until February, 1859, when he crossed the plains to Pikes Peak. In the spring of 1860, he joined a prospecting expedition to the San Juan Mountains. The party left Denver, Colo-

rado, early in May, and visited Old Mexico. Re- turning to Colorado in the winter of 1861, our subject spent the summer and fall of 1862 near Colorado Springs, acting at times as scout for the First Colorado Regiment. In November, 1863, he started for Montana (then Idaho), arriving at Vir- ginia - City in February, 1864, and engaging in min- ing in Alder Gulch. In May he became interested in a freight train, with which he started for Fort Benton to meet the steamboats, expecting to return to Virginia City with freight. During 1864 the water was so low in the Missouri River that little freight reached Fort Benton, and he was forced to return with his teams empty. Arriving at Vir- ginia City in August, he disposed of his train, fitted out a team with supplies for the winter, and passed the winter of 1864-5 in the Missouri River Valley. spending his time hunting. In the spring of 1865 he engaged in mining and continued with varying success until the fall of 1869, when he settled in Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana.

On the 19th of April, 1870, Mr. Cooper married Miss Mariam D. Skeels, only daughter of Nelson Skeels, of Boulder Valley, Jefferson County, Mon- tana. Nelson Skeels, father of Mrs. Cooper, was born at Columbus, Ohio, in 1822. His father, Reuben Skeels, was born in the State of New York. Truman Skeels, father of Reuben Skeels, a Revolu- tionary soldier, was born in the State of New York in 1753, and died near Columbus, Ohio, in 1804. The family has since resided at Bozeman Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have had one son and two daughters born to them, the son and one daughter having died in infancy. They have one daughter, Mariam Coop- er Bunker, wife of E. F. Bunker, an attorney at Bozeman, and they have two little daughters, Vir- ginia Mariam and Elizabeth Frances, with their parents.

In the year 1876 Mr. and Mrs. Cooper took what they called their wedding trip, to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, Mr. Cooper having loaned P. A. Largey and J. P. Woolmoan, com- missioners for the Territory of Montana, a very large collection of minerals, National Park petri- fications, Indian weapons, ornamental work to- gether with a fine collection of Indian wearing apparel, all of which were exhibited in the Gov- ernment Building, the use of which our territory had. Mr. Cooper had to return to Philadelphia to repack the collection, which he did, and it was later presented to the Syracuse University and was known as the "Cooper Collection."

In 1870 Mr. Cooper engaged' in mercantile pur- suits at Bozeman. He also engaged extensively in the fur business in 1872, giving this branch of business such energy and attention that, as a result of his efforts, Bozeman in three years became sec- ond in importance in Montana as a shipping point for fur robes, furs and skins. While thus engaged Mr. Cooper made use of many steamboats for the transportation of his large collections of furs, robes and skins on the Yellowstone River, and was among the first to use them on this great highway ot na- ture for strictly commercial purposes. Referring to the importance of future navigation of this great water highway, his forceful letter, dated March I, 19II, protesting against the action of the board for refusing to recommend the construction of a lock in the concrete dam at Glendive, Montana, was sent to the board of engineers for "Rivers and Harbors." This letter was republished by the Secretary of War in his report of June 30, 19II, on the Yellowstone River, Montana.

This letter was written while Mr. Cooper was president of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce in 1911, and shows a perfect knowledge of this

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great water highway with a clear insight into the danger which the State of Montana was facing in having the only safeguard swept away against fu- ture exorbitant freight charges demanded by power- ful and selfish railroad organizations, pointing out the fact that he loaded the Steamer Helena, in 1881, at Huntley, 213 miles west of Glendive, the point where it was proposed to close navigation.

Mr. Cooper invented and patented many improve- ments in firearms, and at one time manufactured the most famous long-range hunting rifle ever used in the West.

He was selected as one of the incorporators of the City of Bozeman in 1883, and was a member of the first city council. He was nominated for mayor of the City of Bozeman in 1888, but declined for business reasons. On the organization of the Board of Trade of Bozeman in 1883, Mr. Cooper became its first president, serving two years. In 1884 he was elected to the constitutional convention as dele- gate at large, and was made chairman of the com- mittee on privileges and elections. He was again elected to the constitutional convention in 1889, on the admission of Montana into the Union, and was made chairman of the committee on appointment and representation. As chairman of this commit- tee Mr. Cooper reported and advocated the adop- tion of an article giving one senator to each county. This article was ratified by the convention, and became a part of the constitution. and is appre- ciated, being considered a safeguard against reck- less legislation.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 156

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 1126

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126