׉?4ׁB!בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://XCJk4n8SgDdOZFVi8hS8Lfhz0cGo7-ccPdC_nWCzMfEq`׉ 7cassandra://TsPrqhiiUhU-F3AwdlgCI81VhZNeZofwpLhWWl8-8RQ͂`s׉ 7cassandra://254mbJMGHaPL9cfvMe46xvHBN3SxMpGrxrYiuEb0Nog'E`׉ 7cassandra://VYkeLwvk9op1aMGX80BZOAKYg7wS2s8bZSK-2zPqR9MU͠]aZppXJט(u׈frJנaZppXJρR 9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׈EaZppXJ׉EFEBRUARY 2021 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter M o n t a n a ’ s F i r s t T e a c h e r Remember that one teacher that really made a difference in your life? The one that genuinely cared, went above and beyond the call of duty and, because of those qualities, is fondly thought upon in many children’s minds, far into adulthood? Lucia Darling was one of those teachers. A tall woman, with fair skin and her auburn hair tucked neatly up into a bun helped her Uncle Sidney and some cousins finish packing their belongings for the upcoming trip to the territory of Idaho. Sidney Edgerton was to assume his position as Chief of Justice there. Lucia had been sent to live with the Edgertons in Tallmadge, Ohio at just ten years old after her mother passed away. Now in her mid-twenties, she was eager for a new adventure. She had done well teaching in both Ohio and Kentucky, where she taught at the first integrated college in that state. Indeed, she was an enigma in a time where it was unusual for women to be educated or work outside the home. Lucia had visions of opening a frontier school in the west as she had heard that educators were woefully lacking there. This could be her opportunity to help those children in need. The Madisonian– Jan. 26, 1895 www.montananewspapers.org The journey would prove to be treacherous and would test their endurance daily. Despite the hardships, Lucia’s spirit was captured in the journal entries she kept along the way. The family would start their trip by railroad, then catch a riverboat to Omaha. From Omaha, they would travel by covered wagon. Over the three-and-a-half-month trip, Lucia expressed gratitude for the joy she found in discovering new creatures, experiencing glorious sunsets and picking beautifully fragrant flowers. She also reported on ׉ 7cassandra://254mbJMGHaPL9cfvMe46xvHBN3SxMpGrxrYiuEb0Nog'E`aZppXJaZppXJ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://4C-NHvFsDqHZAJ2cgHuyhDXbNSz1aDQcO_pdZyeFjOI|`׉ 7cassandra://XnI4ThNc_ILOw2BjNIfPB_Je321VxLSzgOIZn2JmA7Y͏A`s׉ 7cassandra://fr-Iemu-MJnbApDy9CMixNeLj8JNGXzJa8mAxUnbv88%`׉ 7cassandra://RwOc5dQwRaWumH1IzSYNC5AJUvAwBpzaVruFiCbTU14͠]aZppXJט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://9JbySHbz9BMyvXWcYeXxj3fMx_68j7NIPVFoB6P-Rns7`׉ 7cassandra://sEISsUZ36gnGyAMZjEpAvWc_47GK4tT7mEmSpT4-kl8͓`s׉ 7cassandra://hIUZFnyILROOCUqVEG0c34vDfr7wf7KUgqhfe1H-xZA*`׉ 7cassandra://qTI4a_cNcAFN2JawX6HAX1KEJ-QzyaN9Fp-Tj62OGMg<͠]aZppXJђנaZppXJ΁9׉H http://www.montananewspapers.orgGׁ ׁ rנaZppXJՁ9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉E qP a g e 2 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r chores, encounters with Indians, historical landmarks, weather conditions and camp life: “Our camp life has commenced and I am lying here on my back in a covered wagon with a lantern standing on the mess box at the back end of it. Have pinned back the curtain so as to let the light in but it is so situated that I have to hold my book above my head to see. Will write ‘till the light goes out. We left the Herndon tonight after tea our wagons having gone on some hours before. Most of the oxen are young- never having been driven before and they were determined to go every way but the right way. The driversGridley, Chipman, Booth, and Harry Tilden were completely tired out trying to drive them. They scurried perfectly wild and ran from one side to another of the road, smashed through fences and finally broke one yoke in pieces.”-June 16, 1863. Finally, on September 17, 1863, the Edgerton party arrived at Salt Lake Hill and surveyed the settlement of Bannack. Although they had intended on continuing to Lewiston, Idaho, the weather conditions would keep them here at least until spring. They moved into the only home available, it had five rooms and had once served as a store. Lucia recorded her thoughts on Bannack: “Bannack was tumultuous and rough. It was the headquarters of a band of highwaymen. Lawlessness and misrule seemed to be the prevailing spirit of the place.” Lucia and her family could see they were needed here. Residents with children were eager for them to go to school and Lucia took on the task of educating them. She would open the first school in her home with about 20 students. Makeshift desks and chairs were gathered but the biggest challenge was obtaining books. They used whatever they could find including some books brought by covered wagon from the east and those donated by friends and parents. Lucia remembers those early days in her journal: “The school was opened in a room in our own house, on the banks of the Grasshopper Creek near where the ford and foot bridge were located, and in hearing of the murmur of its waters as they swept down from this mountain country through unknown streams and lands in the distant sea.” Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz In 1864 a new school would be built with Lucia serving as teacher. That was the same year that the Montana Territory was established with Bannack serving as the capital and Lucia’s Uncle Sidney serving as first Territorial Governor. Lucia strived to give the Bannack children the best education possible. She reflected in a later entry: “I cannot remember the name of all the scholars in that school, I very much regret to say that, and I know where only a few of them are living, at the opening of the twentieth century… A few pupils of mine are scattered in other lands. I trust that all of them are living, and remember ׉ 7cassandra://fr-Iemu-MJnbApDy9CMixNeLj8JNGXzJa8mAxUnbv88%`aZppXJ׉E !P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r affectionately our Bannack University of humble pretensions, but which sought to fulfill its mission and which, so far as I know, was the first school taught within what is now the state of Montana.” Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Lucia Darling returned to Ohio after the close of the Civil War but her dedication to her students continued through her work with the Freedman’s Bureau, an organization founded by the US government in 1865 to provide educational opportunities for newly freed African Americans. She always looked back fondly on her time in Montana and we thank her for paving the way to educating our children. CUPID’S COURT Answers to entangled and bewildered correspondents. TWO LOVERS I have two admirers, one a cattle man and the other a wool grower. My friends will not allow me to have anything to do with the former. They are all in favor of the wool grower. Others tell me to be aware of the sheep man. BAH! The profession doesn’t make the man, and it is plain to see that the cowboy has no show with you. Wool-growers are usually industrious and energetic men, but rather sheepish in love affairs and are lambs in married life. Don’t be in a hurry. The Choteau Calumet. Jan. 29, 1886 Accessed via: www.montananewspapers.org Washington Gulch, Montana Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Gold was discovered here in 1866 by Washington Stapleton when he found a nugget glittering in the creek while he was out hunting game. Known first as Stapleton Bar, the name was changed to Washington Gulch in 1869. The post office would later be moved downstream and the town would be known as Finn. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz French Gulch, Montana- A letter from The Montana Post Newspaper, Sept. 16, 1865 describes the gulch: The length of the gulch is 2 1/2 miles. About 20 claims have been located and are paying well. Some yielded as much as $300 in a ten-hour's run. The gulch is shallow, not being more than 7-8 feet to the bedrock in the best paying claims, which said claims are located above discovery. The nearer the head of the gulch the further it is to bedrock. The streak is narrow which increases the difficulty of finding it. Some anticipate a big thing in the upper part of the gulch but “gold is where you find it”. ׉ 7cassandra://hIUZFnyILROOCUqVEG0c34vDfr7wf7KUgqhfe1H-xZA*`aZppXJaZppXJ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://zB1amX8A4Yp06QUALi9uHhBRUvfqeSQ7sK_aBt9o2IE`׉ 7cassandra://sm1_gdMM_z0Hg96B6KRXpHvgDRag7PfQh2LTYxMtbz8͢`s׉ 7cassandra://ohm3R4lYm9K_sip3fOFQlezGVVyfcameBSDHW-Oawco(`׉ 7cassandra://fYbGKtTDxZWdbQAHvNFhokLgthBn9zeesYHZOML-dB4͟͠]aZppXJט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://xKyaLbbJRvixKX3tLCzD6jiSvpYH2nV59QJcI-R3tJw_`׉ 7cassandra://D7ZSFmjkZ9wiAgPcWOpO4WU88N-TpT-2LgEcK8dxXpE̓`s׉ 7cassandra://EJ0js1vJKWPzQrXsJtgMnLrmTDiGQV-p8TWiJuRH2rA'`׉ 7cassandra://iUy9s8JiOwCLGzJvE5p0L2uhS4HKJAyieph6QqW1Nz0͠]aZppXJגנaZppXJԁ]w9׉H http://www.montananewspapers.orgGׁ ׁ rנaZppXJ݁]z 9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉E WP a g e 4 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Marysville Stage Robbery Was “Staged” by Tom Carter By Elno for The Choteau Acantha Newspaper, Sept. 12, 1940 Thomas H. Carter, Helena attorney for the Wells-Fargo Express Co., and destined in a few years to become United States senator from Montana, sat with a companion on a timbered slope above the Marysville-Helena road. Through field glasses he watched the road below. The Marysville stage, Carter knew, was to be held up at the spot just below him. He had a keen personal interest in that holdup. The bandits crouching in ambush beside the road expected to rob Wells-Fargo of $50,000 in bullion from the Drum Lummon mine. While Carter watched, the stage came down the mountain and two men with rifles stepped into the road. One was a fellow of average build, the other a huge, gorilla-like individual. The stage stopped with the wheel horses rearing to check the push of the load behind them as the smaller bandit grabbed the leaders’ bridles. The gorilla bandit climbed up and kicked the safe off the boot and forced the driver down. The passengers were lined up on the road under the smaller man’s rifle. The gorilla bandit attacked the safe with an ax… Several days earlier, Carter had sat at his desk, looking down on Helena’s main street. His attention was held by two men on the opposite sidewalk. “Are you the attorney for Wells-Fargo?” the man asked. “I am,” replied 'Carter. “What can I do for you?” The fellow turned and locked the door. Carter wondered what grievance against the company this fellow wanted to take out on him. “I want to see you privately,” announced the visitor, visibly shaking with fear. In the inner office he blurted: “The Marysville stagecoach is to be held up next Tuesday!” Carter started. He knew the Drum Lummon mine was to send out its bullion that day. “How do you know this?” “Because I am one of the men that is going to hold it up.” The visitor paused, fighting for self-control. “I don’t want to do it,” he wailed, “but I am afraid if I don’t my partner will kill me.” Under Carter’s questioning he calmed sufficiently to tell his story. He and his companion of the street had been employed on a ranch. The gorilla man had planned for months to rob the Marysville stage when it carried the Drum Lummon shipment. He had carefully investigated schedules of mine shipments and knew just when to strike. He had worked on Carter’s visitor until he had consented to participate in the robbery; if he refused, said the visitor, the big fellow would kill him. ׉ 7cassandra://ohm3R4lYm9K_sip3fOFQlezGVVyfcameBSDHW-Oawco(`aZppXJ׉EP a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r He wasn’t a criminal, and he had come to Carter seeking a way out. Carter, with the information he had received, began suggesting plans for circumventing the robbery. The visitor vetoed them all as being personally dangerous to him; he would be killed before officers could intervene. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Carter finally outlined a plan which met the visitor’s approval as offering him a chance to live. The stagecoach left Marysville with four passengers- officially guards. They were unarmed, at Carter’s insistence, for he wanted to avoid bloodshed. While Carter watched from the hillside the gorilla bandit attacked the safe with an ax, and at the third blow the smaller man dealt him a stunning blow with his chubbed rifle. He went down. Immediately the guards piled on, and in a few moments the big fellow was securely trussed. The smaller bandit also was tied up, and both were taken to the Helena Jail. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The big fellow believed he had been knocked out by one of the passengers. He didn’t know that the safe that day was filled with lead instead of gold. During the several months they were in jail the gorilla passed notes to his partner warning him to keep silent. The case came to trial. Said Carter afterward: “The confederate was the first witness. Many times I have seen him angry, but I hope never again to see such a look as swept the face of the big man when his partner turned against him.” The gorilla bandit was convicted and sentenced to life in the penitentiary. The night he was taken to Deer Lodge, his partner was given his liberty. Carter paid over to him the standing reward of the Wells-Fargo company for the apprehension of stage robbers. “Where will you go now?” Carter asked him. “To South America as quickly as I can get there,” was the reply. “If that fellow ever escapes, he won’t be satisfied until he kills me.” -Accessed Jan. 30, 2021, www.montananewspapers.org ׉ 7cassandra://EJ0js1vJKWPzQrXsJtgMnLrmTDiGQV-p8TWiJuRH2rA'`aZppXJaZppXJ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://EGxVWbfN65ytZA4BybmPYeAJ9kOu6UL0H8nlV8y1P94;`׉ 7cassandra://vJqYVcGvOASPG53Gkwu7BDZdlEqX3MRkWzxTeQfu2lcͣ`s׉ 7cassandra://lt3VQGhU2j4z09MO70HHmG9n8xqR86fVSlbF78ZVDcw/`׉ 7cassandra://o0D3PNCDfoTygJmJRTBLOrFKrvr8a2d-A-JaqilVcwU((͠]aZppXJט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://kwauyLjeb8x1rcZv-x9YB9YggpGR6JaMN8Yk-_ydf5Ql`׉ 7cassandra://rZeQQ99SLmSWFa9xyIu4KXnR4EL4khbph4M7gnU0OZk͒`s׉ 7cassandra://FY8MqLBGJl9j5dk884Pzbi68CfL1ZIbHlEJB4kD-pLA)`׉ 7cassandra://USFPHEWJ9FKHeLbzWoBEspMcPW1V45G_f970_1lEtpci͠]aZppXJߕנaZppXJف,9׉H http://www.montananewspapers.orgGׁ ׁ rנaZppXJځl49׉H#https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/Gׁ ׁ rנaZppXJہ9׉H#https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/Gׁ ׁ rנaZppXJ̻9ׁH"http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ׁ ׁ ЈנaZppXJ2̽ 9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉E P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r HER GLORY DAYS Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz She may not look like much today but in her time, The Miner’s Union Hall in Granite, Montana was a real beauty. Looks weren’t all she had. She had a mission; To retain the standard of wages and the standard of comfort to the workingman and his family. It was the fall of 1888 when the local miners of the Flint Creek district took the first steps toward forming a union and on the evening of September 28th of that same year, it became a reality. The first set of officers was elected and by 1890 the union would erect one of the finest buildings in Granite- The Miner’s Union Hall. It would cost a bit- $23,000 to be exact but that price came with many amenities. The main hall measured 44 by 53 feet and could seat 6000 people with ceilings reaching up 15 feet high. The upper hall clocked in at 30 by 44 feet and was to be used for business meetings. There were several rooms for offices on the second floor including an office for the president, secretary, a library room, reception rooms, a council room and several apartments. The stage dimensions were 16 by 44 feet and it was said to be arranged “in every way advantageous to the presentation of any kind of entertainments”. The ground floor was to be occupied by merchants. The first floor was constructed of native Granite, the upper stories were brick. Furnishings in the hall represented an additional $20,000. Like most unions, the Granite Miner’s Union would have its ups and downs. When first starting out, it had about 200 members and just two years later, had over 1200 miners enrolled in the books. From 1894-1895, members were scattered all over making it hard to scrounge up enough faces to even hold a meeting. Sometimes the treasury barely had a dollar to its name and other times, the cash balance would be over $5,000. A branch of the union was even established at Garnet under the Granite Chapter. But alas, as mining operations ceased, the town became abandoned and by 1921 the building was being sold by the Western Federation of Miners for $150. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz The Madisonian, (Virginia City, MT), Feb. 12, 1886, Accessed via: www.montananewspapers.org The Semi-weekly Miner, (Butte, MT), Feb. 4, 1882, Accessed via: https:// chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ SUET PUDDINGOne cup chopped suet, one cup brown sugar, one cup molasses, one cup sweet milk, one cup each of raisins and English currants, one teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves, soda, and salt; one small nutmeg, five cups of flour; steam hard three hours. Serve with foam sauce, flavored with anything you wish. One-half this recipe is enough for five persons. Warming over, by steaming, improves it as it also does the bread. ׉ 7cassandra://lt3VQGhU2j4z09MO70HHmG9n8xqR86fVSlbF78ZVDcw/`aZppXJ׉E P a g e 7 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r THE PAY STREAK THAT WENT OFF INTO THE WALL The Sundown Limited Far beyond the glamor Of the city and its strife, There was once a little quartz mine rich and free, Where an honest-hearted miner Used to lead a happy life, Contented at his work as he could be, He walked the Earth quite proudly, A bonanza king forsooth, For he thought no disappointment could befall, But he left his work one evening, And his sad heart knew the truth, For the pay streak had gone off into the wall. There’s a name that’s never spoken, There’s a miner’s heart that’s broken, For he thought he’d be invited to the Bradley-Martin Ball. There is still a memory living, Of how prospects are deceiving, When the pay streak wanders off into the wall. Now he sits within his cabin, Thinking of the coming years, And wondering what the future has in store, And the demon of despondency Is wailing in his ears, And the hungry wolf is howling at the door. Still his heart is in the mountain, There among the rocky seams, And he sometimes thinks ‘tis gone beyond recall, Where bright with golden spangles, In the rosy realms of dreams, Lies the pay streak that went off into the wall. There’s a name that’s never spoken, There’s a miner’s heart that’s broken, Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz When the pay streak wanders off into the wall. -Author Unknown There’s just another missing from the BradleyMartin Ball. There is still a memory living, Of how prospects are deceiving, Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz A few tidbits remain to remind us of the once popular train. The Georgetown extension of the B.A.&P. railway was constructed in 1912 as a means of bringing the ore from the Southern Cross mines and the timber cut by the Mines Timber company to Anaconda and Butte. The right of way was built under exceptionally hard handicaps, the contour of the country traversed being such that an ordinary grade was impossible. In many places the road follows a grade of two and one-half degrees and there are any number of 16degree curves. Charles A. Lemmon was the chief engineer in charge of construction and what he accomplished was regarded at the time as an engineering feat. While the average fisherman or hunter who traveled over the road regarded the "Sundown Limited" as a means of taking him to his favorite fishing or hunting district, there are any number of strangers who regarded the course of the west valley train as a sight-seeing route. Any number are familiar with that part of the road which parallels the Anaconda-Philipsburg highway, but they know nothing about the grandeur of that portion that curves its way about the wooded pot-hole in the vicinity of old Georgetown station and the Pyrenees mine. - The Butte Miner, July 29, 1925 ׉ 7cassandra://FY8MqLBGJl9j5dk884Pzbi68CfL1ZIbHlEJB4kD-pLA)`aZppXJƁaZppXJŁ(בCט(u׉׉ 7cassandra://sS1TGxTNgFzjGhHO1NNB4Kf4oCYEMBmNfBEfwemC_1s`׉ 7cassandra://eJTCnSHHmDWQW4RLc4CDQ5nkjbU8yoO-XKt3x37rbbs͋b`s׉ 7cassandra://bBRPKPu1MbWadjUmMNtmRb2TKZqEmGVfY9zBrlpqUPU(`׉ 7cassandra://sO1XoYATRAITjb4FhV9gIwnl0Fwf3vEL3eOlz5iM44U2͠]aZppXJנaZppXJS>,9׉Hfhttp://www.montananewspapers.org/?fbclid=IwAR0YqKryj9do1KKoSpdRcqfWFHGrGXcOrEi8ERwtO0a6bq5dkd3DTKyikQQGׁ ׁ rנaZppXJ*̝9׉H]http://www.mtmemory.org/?fbclid=IwAR2Kl3kzzoR49CoVbp33dhXSx8I_-8r_WxWgmYnlcu6iZMTK3M6oDdRyKosGׁ ׁ rנaZppXJ-̔9ׁHhttp://www.mtmemory.orgׁ ׁ ЈנaZppXJSE%9ׁH http://www.montananewspapers.orgׁ ׁ Ј׉EP a g e 8 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r HARLOWTON MAN RECALLS CALAMITY JANE IN CASTLE At the time of Calamity Jane’s residence at Castle, ghost mining town in Meagher county, Thomas H. Hanzlik of Harlowton operated a barber shop there. He remembers that she did own men’s buckskin clothes, but she only wore them on special occasions. Most always she wore women’s clothes. According to Hanzlik, Calamity Jane had an original method of soliciting financial aid for the town’s needy. She would borrow a dollar from each of a number of people and present the collection to the Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz fellow in hard luck. She would always promise to pay the dollars back but never did. Nor was she ever turned down by anyone she asked for a dollar for a worthy cause. At Castle she operated a restaurant, remaining there about a year. She was not the rough western character some historians would have her to be, Hanzlik says. -The Fallon County Times (Baker, MT), December 15, 1938, Accessed via www.montananewspapers.org My/Donor Information: SUBSCRIBE TO THE GHOST TOWNS AND HISTORY OF MONTANA NEWSLETTER! Renewal? Y/N Send a Gift to: NAME____________________________________ NAME___________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________ CITY______________________________________ CITY_____________________________________ STATE__________________ZIP________________STATE_________________ ZIP________________ Yearly subscriptions are $19.95 (published monthly). Please make checks payable to Ghost Towns & History of MT, LLC and send with this clipping to P.O. Box 126, Warm Springs, MT 59756 Calamity Jane in fringed buckskin circa 1895, unidentified photographer, Courtesy of www.mtmemory.org ׉ 7cassandra://bBRPKPu1MbWadjUmMNtmRb2TKZqEmGVfY9zBrlpqUPU(`aZppXJ׈EaZppXJʁaZppXJɁ(,%Ghost Towns & History of MT- Feb 2021OGreat stories and photos about the history, ghost towns and people of Montana! aZpfrJ£W