Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 21

FAJLLS BAI3LT TRIBUNE GMEAT EDITORIAL SOCIETY AUTOMOBILES WOMEN'S PART TWO GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, SUNDAY: MORNING, OCTOBER 26, 1919 uiiiiiiiiiinjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim 17 9 71 ST TTVi jTI 7T TTO mm mm mm mm mm mm Cascade Most County scenic weaumui laign way Winds It's Way for Through Lofty Mountains IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIUHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Winding its way through the moun- tains in the valley of Belt creek. Bome- White Sulphur Springs, seat of Meagher county of which the Neihart and Bar-I SOME BEAUTY SPOTS ALOMG THE BELT CEEEHCROAD AMD times close to the edge of the rushing stream which cascades its way down from the higher altitudes toward the broader and more slowly moving river below, sometimes clinging perilously to the sheer side of the mountain and at other times traversing bench lands high tip from the valley, is today a delightful scenic automobile highway just complet ed at a very large expenditure and which, from now on, will provide for the tourist and pleasure seeking automobilist a route over which he may speed his car with safety and gratification through one of the most beautiful mountain countries in the state. For mile after mile this road extends itself in a constant and gradual ascent toward the divide hieu up in the sum mits of the Little Belt mountains, from where, after reaching that objective, it drops down the opposite side tnrougn a country of eoual beauty toward the set tlements in the county of Meagher, from which this range of mountains consti tutes a natural barrier or dividing line for Cascade county where the highway originated. A Marvel of Scenic Beauty. The road passes through a rough and rugged mountainous district, well tim bered, its route at places forming an aisle through beautiful groves of pine and fir, at others it seems little more than a self cut out of the rocky moun tain side, always, however, maintaining i 13f) Jr' 1i 1 d.rji WL 0 JviK It II (f iu Tfl 11 ker districts were then parts, employed M.

I. Sohmers to rut a trail through the timber from the head of Sheep creek down Sawmill and Belt creeks to the new" camp. This trail afterwards became the route of the mail and stage line between Neihart and White, Sulphnr Springs and, after many years, developed into the present joint county and government road. Later on the same -White Sulphur Springs men contributed toward the building of a wagon road from Smjtn river to the head of O'Brien creekt whipb, empties into Belt creek near Neihart, the men of Neihart constructing thi road up O'Brien creek to join them. That the trail or road was not very) well defined was demonstrated early in the 6pring of 1883 when Philip F.

Burns came over the range on snowsboes, be-j ing lost in the woods for three days and! three nights without food. i It was not nntii in August. 1SS3, that this road was used by a freight this being a bull outfit which came overt from White Sulphur Springs supplies for the Massachusetts minej now the Gait. The First Mail Route, While mails were brought in over thug trail, they came in only whenever mmi volunteer carrier chose to bring Sometimes they would be dropped th trail for the next traveler to pick up en-i deliver, maybe spending weeks on the) road. A certain bag of mail left Neihart in November, 18S3, bound for White Sulphur Springs, 43 miles distant, and did not reach the latter point until in June.

1884. having spent the entire! winter in the hills. It was in 1884. that the firsrt contract for carrying the mail over this route was let. William Woolsey taking1 up the task, and from that time on, regardless of weather, Neihart got its mail three times a week.

The road over the) range was greatly improved, boggy places were bridged with poles and made into; the old type of corduroy and fairly good! time was made by means -of the stage! line operated between the camp and the! county seat. This continued until the Great era, in November. 1891, completed iCflj branch line np Belt creek from the townJ of Belt to Neihart. after which common- ication with White Sulphur Springs gradually died out, stage service was; abandoned and for many years the old! road served only an occasional traveler and fell Lrto deeay and disrepair. Costs Eighth of Million.

The advent of the automobile, the. dawning of the day of the tourist, the need of trunk highways to connect varH ous parts of the state to serve hot hi pleasure and commercial activities and the part which the federal has assumed in the improvement extension of roads led to the transform -4 ing of this old stage line over the rooun-i tains and the lower road which followed it and which now connects the town of Neihart with other parts of Cascade connty. i That the new road is one of the fin-: est in the state can be readily nnder-j stood when it is shown that the cost ofi this 19 miles of construction, excmsivei of engineering expenses, has been 000. The BaiWiag Contractors. The road was built by the Great -Fan contracting concern White, Brown Leahy, consisting of Holland J.

White.) George Brown and Joe Leahy, men wh for years have been engaged principally in the grading of railroad roadbeds anI who. with the stoppage of all railroad! construction, have turned their attention! to highway work. 1 The contract for the building of tbiaj highway was signed and accepted April 25, 1910. the contract providing that its be completed within 350 working day-j The contractors were advised that ac-l cording to conditions as they have ex- (Continued on Pm Two) an aspect of dignity as a boulevard created for the purposes of that monarch of transportation, the automobile. For a distance of 23 miles within the confines of Cascade county this magnifi- cent scenic highway winds through the hills, but this does not constitute its whole, as.

after breaking over the divide of the Little Belt mountains, it continues down the valley of Sheep creek for some miles toward the old town of White Sulphur Springs, making, when work now under way shall have been completed, over 36 miles of standard, govern ment supervised highway. The road can better be described by its official title of the Belt Creek project by which it is known to the government which has contributed towards its construction to the extent of one-half the total cost. The past week has seen the completion of the newest stretch of 19 miles of this magnificent highway along Belt creek, and with a possible finishing touch here and there, the highway has been accepted by the government engineers who have supervised the of "the-contractors. By Government and County. The road, built jointly by the county of Cascade and the federal department of agriculture, acting through the bureau of public roads and the forestry service, at the edge of the town of Mon- and extends from there miles up Belt creek through and past the city of Neihart to the south fork of Belt creek, or Sawmill creek, as it is commonly known, which it follows to where it joins on to the King's hill road, which was built a couple of years ago jointly by the county and the forestry service and which extends to the top of King's hill the divide between Cascade and Meagher counties.

This old road, one of the best in Mon- tana, lies four miles within Cascade county, and three and one-half miles in Meagher county, which joined with the forestry service in construction of that part. Meagher county is now participating with the government in the construction of an additional 10-mile stretch down Sheep creek which will be completed next summer and which will connect up with a fairly good road Srun-tiing the remainder of the way into "White Sulphur Springs. The completion of these two stretches of highway will provide a well surveyed, well graded highway between Great Falls and the southern part of the state and gives to automobilists of this section I Roadway dug out of hillside In thick timber near junction with King's hill road. 2 Where road makes sharp turn through Castle rocks above Neihart. 3 Crossing ef stream over wooden bridge above Castle rocks.

4 Where road winds to reduce grade and avoid hill, with Contractor White and Engineer Marshall facing camera. 5 New grade Just above Neihart showing old roadway through timber. some of whom are still delving away at I from the older camp of Barker or from the silver deposits which vein Old Baldy, Belt park. reached the scene there was no road or I About the only outside communication trail into the site of the rresent camp at that time was through Barker until, save what they made in coming over in the spring of 1882, business men of one of the most Tuagniticent pleasure drives in the conntr. Tlie existing road between Great Fall Monarch is, in ordinary seasons, fairly j.ssabte, so that the drive from this to the summit way through -hills and besides streams which, in the early days of Neihart.

were not, even marked by a trail through the hills. When the first Neihart prospectors. of King's hill, a distance of about S5 miles, can readily be made in three and a half hours without breaking any speed limits: This magnificent highway winds its iiiimimiiiimmiiiimiHiimiiHimiimiiimimiiimiimiiminnimm enewal of Operatiomfm tt OUTSIDE Capital Invested in Properties Long; Dormant Results in the Employment of Large, Forces of Miners and the Recovery of Ores Long Awaiting Reclamation. TOWN established Shortly After First Discovery of Silver in 1881, Now Being Rehabilitated After Having Verged Upon Absolute Desertion for Nearly Quarter Century. rings Old Camp niiiiiiiiiiiiiiimfiiiiimiiiiuiiiiitiiiuiiiiiiimm silver dropped, eventually going down as low as 47 cents, although it was not until along in 1901 that mining practically en Pag alone.

Neihart then had a population of probably 2,000 or more. Her palmy years were those of 1891, 1892 and the first half of 1893. when silver was bringing about 85 -'per ounce and mining costs were much lower than now. Then the panic hit the silver industry along with other- enterprises and the price of of these left the camp before the middle of October. Tewa Organized la 1882.

By the following April most of th locator were back in camp and a meet-t I i i i-- -JL iitiu, mi wnicn uie town wis organised and given the name Neihart; During the apring Frank Marion, A. JJ Hamilton. J. C. Well.

S5 FHtmrH-kl wO w.v....-.-.-,. Neihart, queen of the hills, once the brightest star in the Montana constellation of mining camps, a camp containing workings from which over has been taken out in silver, gold and lead, but which for nearly a quarter of a century has been merely existing, virtually hanging by its teeth to the seemingly forlorn hope of a revival in the mining game and which, in that period, had. with frequency narrowly escaped that u.ter abandonment which befell many other of Montana's old gold and silver camps, has "come back" and is gradually taking upon herself that degree of activity and evidence of prosperity which marked her path in the days of her ascendency. Old Mines Being Reopened. Silver, that precious metal npon which depends the life of the camp, is again bringing a high market price, a price far in excess of that which maintained when silver mining at its best 27 and 28 years ago.

Old mines, which have been closed down or worked in a desultory fashion for years, are being reopened, new equipment is being installed, ore is being concentrated or shipped to smelters at other points, and every train which rolls into the camp is bringing men, merchandise and machinery. The rejuvenation of Neihart has not been of the boom sort, it has been gradual and, from that fact if from no other, gives promise of being permanent. Prospectors and mine owners who have clung to the old camp with that faith which only a miner possesses, are beginning to reap the harvests of their long struggle against adversity, and are either getting out ore upon which they can realize profits or are selling their interests to mining companies or promoters who will be able to finance the claims and to bring them into ine with the heavier Due to Rise In Silver. Increase in the price of silver following the demand incidental to world war conditions. an increase which had brought silver from its low record price of 4 4 cents per ounce up to $1.20.

caused mining men to devote some attention to the Neihart mines and resulted in the renewal of operations in workings which had lain dormant for years or which had been merely picked at here and there by leasers. Dwelling and business houses which ha ve been unoccupied for many years, some of which have fallen into ruin, have been rebuilt and are now being utilized. Hotels which had not furnished accommodation for guests for a decade or two. have been remodeled, refurnished and now fillpd to canacity. some of the old store buildings in which not a trade has taken place in long periods, have been re-roofed, re-floored, and re-glazed and are now housing some sort of institution which hopes to participate in the.

general prosperity of the camp. Two Hundred Miners at Work. Where, for the past quarter century, an average of 40 miners has found employment in the various workings of the camp, the force has now reached about 200- and is gradually being enlarged. The public schools of the town, which for years have found it hard to maintain an enrollment of 90 pupils, are now accommodating about 250 pupils and it is estimated that no less than 35 families have moved into the camp within the last 18 months, not taking into consideration the many men without families who are making their homes in hotels, boarding houses or with private families. Neihart's Palmy Days.

At one time, just prior to the panic of 1S93, between 500 and 600 miners were employed in Neihart and there were about 120 working in the Moulton mine Neihart lies in the heart the little Belt mountains, near the headwaters of Belt creek and about nine miles below the divide, which marks the boundary between Cascade and Meagher counties. It is 05 miles southeast of Great Falls and is reached by a branch of the Great Northern railway built to serve the mine of that district. To the northeast and towering over the little town is Neihart Baldy. tbe summit of which is S.S0O feet above sea level and 3,000 feet above the town nestling at its base. From its lofty summit can be seen the city of Great Falls, the Bearpaw, ilighwood.

Little Rockx Hjnowy, Castle, Crazy, Moccasin, Juditb-Bridger, Great Belt and the Rocky ranges of mountains and even the three butte A the Sweet Grass hills, 150 miles to the north. was Located la 1881. Neihart is reallj a product of the mining camp of Barker, 16 miles distant and which was a thriving camp before Neihart was born, but is now numbered among the deserted districts of the state. It acquired its name from James 1e-roy Neihart, who, with John C. O'Brien and Richard Ilarley, came into the gulch from Belt park about July 1, 1881, and located the, first discovery, the Queen of the Hills.

They were soon joined by other pros- Sectors, among whom were Paul Marcure, ames Keegan, S. H. Sutton, J. M. Ca-rothers.

William Kane, Tack Lambert. B. Mann, D. Ladd, Stephen Fierse, Charles O. Mortson.

Peter E. D. Tin gal, F. B. Raf-ferty, Silaa Beaehley, John Iamb, Michael Powers, A.

J. Briggs, John McLeod and D. B. Mackintosh. Later in the year.

William Crandall, James Chamberlain, Wallace Ball, Dan Buchanan and others arrived and located claims. All )3 3 Louis Bergeron. Peter Sylvester. Thomas Angers, Phil Walsh, H. J.

Sanborn anJ others came in. The first shipment of re from the camp was made ny B. SJ Fitzpatrick from the mine which bore his name, the ore being packed on horses the smelter at Barker. i The Benton group mines was lo- rated in May, 1S82. by Daniel Dntroj soon after which a meeting of mineral was held, the district was organised and) papers were recorded at Washington D.

C- but as they were never placed on, record at the county seat. the districo still remains unorganised. Bro. Van Early oa th Job. It 5jas in August, 1S82, that the tlrsv religious service was conducted in the) camp, the service being held by Revj W.

W. Van Orsdel, the pioneer Metho-j dist missionary, who is now a patient ini the Deaconess hospital in Great Fall as the result of a stroke of paralysis about two weeks ago. The meeting wa held in a log cabin belonging to Joseph Hannah. Suppliea were brought on pack horse over the trail from Barker and iaj October tf that year the first team ani wagon was brought over the range fromi White Sulphur Springs by James Cham-j berlain. It was not until August, ISSSJ that the first freight train, a bnll-teamj belonging to J.

O. Hussey, came oven from White Sulphur Springs, The first store was opened by D. BJ Madntosh October 27. 18SS, in tod Ctlaae4l est Pace aUevea fa' -1 jf- --vUie I'i ft 0 Phot by Heyn. Old Diamond -Cenoentrator- Where Low.

Grade Ores of the. Cascade Silver Mlw eV-HlUs Aral Now. Balng Treat ed..