March, 1883.
THE WEST SHORE.
45
MONTANA.
The Settlement, Resource! and Prospects of 8um
. mit Valley and Silver Bow County.
Butte City, the Great Mining Center
of the Northwest.
Although Silver How is the smallest of Montana
counties, having an area of less than 800 square
miles, it has long occupied the position of first in
population, in wealth and in the energy and
enterprise of its citizens.
1 The earliest settlement of the county was at
Silver Bow. now a small town situated seven
' miles southwest of Butte City, upon the banks of
the limpid stream from which it takes its name,
i The village is built upon a bend of the stream,
i which forms a perfect figure of a gracefully curved
Indian bow, and from the mountain peaks which
( surround the beautiful valley, the glistening waters
I i of the "Silver bow" etched in shimmerine sheen
' I upon a dark ground of furzy grass, forms a strik
ing feature of the landscape.
In 1864 gold was discovered in the gravelly
soil of Summit valley, on the borders of which the
settlement had been established, and Silver Bow
became a flourishing placer mining camp. The
section in which Silver Bow county and Summit
vallev are situated can claim relationship with the
forest lowlands and fertile plains of Oregon, as it
was a part of that extensive territory as first
organized. Subsequently it was successively
attached to Washington and Idaho territories,
and was at onetime a portion of (Walla Walla
county.
Summit valley nestles among the mountains
5,700 feet above'the sea level; and the waters
which start from the surrounding peaks on their
devious courses to the sea, descend over a mile
before they pass the mouth of the Willamette
below Portland. One of the most interesting
features in the topography of Silver Bow county,
is the extreme apex of the eastern and western
water sheds (see illustration), which is formed in a
prospect in the hills for the deposits of mineral
which have since been developed in the vicinity
of Butte City; and the rich gold, silver and copr
ledges which are now contiibuting their annual
millions to the wealth of the nation, were knnwn
and uuuy of liicin slaked off in claims, as early as
1864-65. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining
machinery freight rates as high as twenty-five
cents per pound being paid in early days the pro
gress of development was very slow; and not until
the near approach of the Utah and Northern rail
road in 1874-75, did the mining interests of Sum
mit valley receive the inictus which has resulted
in building up at Butte City the greatest mining
center of the Northwest.
UUTTR CITY.
At that time Butte City was a straggling mining
camp of less than 500 inhabitants, situated on a
low spur of the Kocky mountains at the northern
Butte City justly boasts of having the most
handsomely fitted post office on the 1'acific Coast,
not excepting San Francisco or Portland. Both
of these places have larger offices and liner build
ings, but neithrr one uf ttiwiu liu as handsome or
conveniently airanged interior. For this distinc
tion the citizens of Butte are indebted to their
enterprising and efficient Pot Master, W, Fghcrt
Smith, F.sq., whose lavish expenditure of money
has made It so elrgnnt. Some idea of the limine
transacted here may lie formed from the fai t that
lock boxes, which are of Ihj lalesl Improved Yalo
pattern, number tip to looo, and every box la
rented, Two very excellent dallies, the fobr-
MohhI.uh and flail Miner, are published here.
Thry lake the Associated Press dispatches, and
are in every respect equal to other melroHilitan
Journals. The lnttr-MiHHttim also publishes
weekly and the Mint a scml-weekly, for country
extremity of Summit valley. With the advent of circulation. Besides the liberal patronage be-
the railioad and sujierior tranHrlalion facilities,
every energy of the camp was quickened Into new
life, and an influx of population and capital was
witnessed, rarely equaled even in this land of
"boom" towns. Quarts mills and copiier smellers
have been erected, and new mines oiened In every
direction, until the city of Butte has emerged
almost at a single stride Irom the uncertainties of
an undeveloped mining camp, with an unsettled
and turbulent population and possessed of but few
of the modern appliances of civilization, Into the
dignity of a city populated by nearly 7,000 citi
zens, who have there built their homes and in
vested their capital; a city built of solid masonry
upon foundations of enduring stone; the mines,
counting houses and places of business in instan
taneous communication through the medium of
the telephone; the salesrooms, banking houses
and immense reduction works lighted byelectrlclty,
and the private resiliences served with pure moun
tain water by extensive water works. As an evi
dence of the increase of material wealth it may I
cited, that for the year 1881 the total assessment
stowed iiwm their home papers, the clllens of
Butte receive a vast number of outside publica
tions, ami the two trading bookstores, Mrssrsi C.
N. Moore and Klchanls fc Clilx, report Inrge sales
of the better class of literature. The last men
tioned gentlemen also do an extensive business In
musical Instruments,
The Utah and Northern railroad, forming
direct railway communication with the Fast, now
drliveri Its dally train loads of passengers ami
freight at the rity portals t the Northern Pacific la
reaching out Its arms of Iron In the direction of
the "Little (;lsnt"of the Northwest; the tide of
Immigration and rapltal hascomnirnred Its Inward
flow, anil the future of Unite Is fully assured.
SUMMIT VAt.l.rv MINrS.
Tlie country rock In Summit vallry mining dls
trirt is micaceous granite. The ore are priori,
pally argrnllfrrous and cupriferous, a rule
rarrylng more or ls "pold. The mines and
reduction works, besides those nude the stihlert
of Illustration In this Issue of Tlir. WrT RllOM
are numbered by the hundreds! and although many
of them are of sufficient Importance to entitle
them to exlendrd notice, it would lie Impossible
to do so within the scope of this article. Among
spur of the Rocky mountains, at a point six miles .t fot Sjjvef rjow eounty, four-fifths of which
east of Butte City, and which literally divides the I miV ))e cteilci Utitte City, amounted to $4,.
water of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, rrom yot lmj year liun were levied
this point flow the clear mountain waters 01 ()on pt0pcrty valued at $5,767,0)0, showing an the princlpoj mine r the Alice, wouunn,
Boulder creek eastward into Jetlerson river no jncrtMe(i valuation during the lirst year ol the
thence through the broad channels of the Missouri couniy, existence of $l,J4J.Jo0l nJ ' el0
and Mississippi, to the- Gulf of Mexico; and on
the western side the head of Silver Bow creek
forms the extreme and principal source of Clarke s
fork of the Columbia; which in it meanderings
bear variou names, commencing at the mouth
of Silver Bow creek with Deer Lodge river, then
Uxlngton an Anaconda, which are subjects of
Illustration. The most extensive reduction work
are the Dexter, Silver Bow, Cllwr, Mmillnn,
Alice and Islington quarts mills and the Mon
tana Copper Company, Colorado and Montana
Copper Company, Parrotl, and Imgmald Con
centrator, smelting works.
The Alice Gold and Silver Mining Company
of 1882 the county was out of debt, with a balance
of $60,000 in its treasury. During the past year
brick buildings have been ereclrd In the city
valued at $125,000, and frame structures valued
at $175,000. The merchants report an Increased
business, averafflnir fifty per cent, over
... v.u.iu Mi..1.. Flathead. Pei.d d'Oreille. .u. u. f iftfti 1 'and transactions over the has been one of the most conspicuous figure on
Clarke' fork and Semiacouitaine river. The counlerl 0f ,ne three banking house Donnell, the New York mining stock and e.ch.ng. hoard
good old historical name, Clarke', fork, should be c)(rk k Uri)ie, Ige, Brownlee Co,; and during the past year. The company. eor.,K.
retained from it source to the Columbia. Klrrt National, amounted to $87,600,000. .gainst of New York and S.tl Uto capitalists, and
ihr meviou. vear. The most under the management of Walker BiXhrrs of the
works in the world, have been liuilt by the min- " " " , " " i i
works in me won ., A,k . Msgna t han and Valdemere-all of whUh
.1 .liiflnir tli lst twelve I
tng conqmnm n. -...-, , -
the discovery of richMacer diggings in the north
em part, caused an exodus of population in that
direction, and resulted in the removal of the
county seat to Deer Lodge. What now consti
tute Silver Bow county remained a portion ol
Deer Lodge county until the pring of 1881, when
it was created a separate municipal organization,
with Butte City a the county seat. The placers
of Silver Bow creek, discovered in 1864, were
exceedingly rich, and being found in the wash
from the butte and mountain spur wrrounding
Summit valley, led the hardy pioneer miner to
months.
The schools and churches will compel favora
bly with those or any city on ine coast claiming
but 7.000 inhabitants. St. John's F.picol church
contains memorial window, winch lor otauiy w
design and execution has no equal in the North
west. It was made in Kngland and wilh freight
and duty cost $1,000. It Is the gift of W. A.
Clark, Esq., in memory of Jessie, hi Ihreeyear.
old daughter, who died in 1878.
are yielding an output salislaciory lo the manage,
mrnt. It I th deepest mine in I he ramp, sink
ing being now In pmgres for the Hon font level.
Their slsty-slsmp mill (see llluslraiknti) la the
largest dry crusher in the world, and with their
smaller mill the compsny Is able to keep eighty
stamps constantly dropping. The first Ur of
Alice bullion was shipped NowriUf 7. '77.
silver Ur No. t.tot shipped Fermwry 14,
188 j, representing total value of $4,404,000.