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Boom days in Maiden Mining camp
Newspaper 8-21-1930
Maiden as it appeared in 1886 when the mining boom was still going strong. Very little remains of the old town of Maiden for it has experienced
several disastrous fires. It is located in the Judith Mountains 20 miles northeast of Lewistown.
Maiden! To those who delight in a study of terminology the name itself has certain significance.
What hard-shelled old pioneer with a streak of sentimentalism a yard wide first thought of
Maiden as a name for a booming mining town. The thought of some maiden, piquant, dainty,
bewitching, demure, left behind in a somnolent Middle Western village, is in all probability
responsible. Still, after all, there should be a certain reserve present in even terminological
research work. There's a strong possibility that this same hard-shelled miner was by no means
sentimental and that uppermost there was a certain Rabelaisian humor.
For Maiden is about to live again. Like all "ghost" mining towns, the memories of yesterday, the
intangible urge that tomorrow will bring wealth is ever present and on Grassy they have found
a new prospect that is undoubtedly the real thing. Probably it is true and tomorrow the roar of
stamp mills will revive the thunderous enthusiasm of the early eighties.
It would be impossible in even a volume to trace with any exactness the ups and downs of the
various mining locations that could have brought fame to Maiden. Assuredly when Joe Anderson
and David Jones first found gold in one of the canyons near Maiden, it was but another
prospect, and even though they envisioned wealth they must have had a feeling it was but
another prospector's mirage. "Skookum Joe" Anderson! What a lot of dreams he was
responsible for before he finally went on his last prospecting trip over the Great Divide. Down
in the Stillwater country above Absarokee, in the interminable canyons of the Bear-tooth range
they are still looking for "Skookum's" lost mine. Joe used to pay his bills whenever he came to
town, so the story goes, with small nuggets and fine gold. He had found a pocket somewhere in
the mountains recesses and he probably did not exhaust it.
First Discovery in 1880
Sufficient to say, the first discovery of metals in Alpine gulch was made Jones and Anderson in
May, 1880. A month afterwards they were joined by C. C. Snow and F. T. McPartlan, "Pony"
McPartlan, who several years later got into difficulties over in the Sweet Grass placer mines.
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Boom days in Maiden Mining Camp |
| Description | A newspaper article about the ghost town of Maiden. Describes the discovery of gold, and some of the businesses and the towns disagreement with the government over the boundary line of Fort Maginnis. |
| Creator | Lewistown Democrat News, Lewistown, Montana. |
| Genre | newspapers |
| Type | Text |
| Language | eng |
| Date Original | 1930-08-21 |
| Subject (keyword) | Maiden, Montana; Fort Maginnis; Gold Mines; Rustle, Montana; Alpine, Montana; Skookum Joe Anderson; Chinese-Americans; |
| Subject (AAT) | Breweries; |
| Rights Management | No copyright restrictions |
| Contributing Institution | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Publisher (Original) | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Geographic Coverage | Maiden, Montana. Judith Mountains, Montana. |
| Coverage-date | 1880's |
| Digital collection | Central Montana Historical Documents |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Physical format | Typed manuscript |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Full text of this item | Boom days in Maiden Mining camp Newspaper 8-21-1930 Maiden as it appeared in 1886 when the mining boom was still going strong. Very little remains of the old town of Maiden for it has experienced several disastrous fires. It is located in the Judith Mountains 20 miles northeast of Lewistown. Maiden! To those who delight in a study of terminology the name itself has certain significance. What hard-shelled old pioneer with a streak of sentimentalism a yard wide first thought of Maiden as a name for a booming mining town. The thought of some maiden, piquant, dainty, bewitching, demure, left behind in a somnolent Middle Western village, is in all probability responsible. Still, after all, there should be a certain reserve present in even terminological research work. There's a strong possibility that this same hard-shelled miner was by no means sentimental and that uppermost there was a certain Rabelaisian humor. For Maiden is about to live again. Like all "ghost" mining towns, the memories of yesterday, the intangible urge that tomorrow will bring wealth is ever present and on Grassy they have found a new prospect that is undoubtedly the real thing. Probably it is true and tomorrow the roar of stamp mills will revive the thunderous enthusiasm of the early eighties. It would be impossible in even a volume to trace with any exactness the ups and downs of the various mining locations that could have brought fame to Maiden. Assuredly when Joe Ander-son and David Jones first found gold in one of the canyons near Maiden, it was but another prospect, and even though they envisioned wealth they must have had a feeling it was but another prospector's mirage. "Skookum Joe" Anderson! What a lot of dreams he was responsible for before he finally went on his last prospecting trip over the Great Divide. Down in the Stillwater country above Absarokee, in the interminable canyons of the Bear-tooth range they are still looking for "Skookum's" lost mine. Joe used to pay his bills whenever he came to town, so the story goes, with small nuggets and fine gold. He had found a pocket somewhere in the mountains recesses and he probably did not exhaust it. First Discovery in 1880 Sufficient to say, the first discovery of metals in Alpine gulch was made Jones and Anderson in May, 1880. A month afterwards they were joined by C. C. Snow and F. T. McPartlan, "Pony" McPartlan, who several years later got into difficulties over in the Sweet Grass placer mines. Though the influx of miners into Maiden never approached that of a "rush" there was quite a little village in the Judith Mountains before winter came that first year. Gold in paying quantities was first found in Alpine gulch and several claims were located there in June, 1880. Colors were next found in Warm Springs gulch and a few days afterwards the gulch of Maiden was located by McPartlan. J. R. Kemper made the next location, finding ground that paid $115 to each sluice box of 2 feet. Someone with a desire for exactness should attempt to trace the origin of the names of mines. Every name has a history of its own, for every location had latent possibilities. Going down the list of the names of the various mines in the Maiden territory in the '80's, the romance of those free and easy days becomes peculiarly apparent. The Nanza Chief, Black Bull, War Eagle, Tom Thumb, Baby Mine, Golconda, Sun Dance, Gem, Yankee Blade, Little Rhoda, Snowshoe, Excelsior, Jessie Trim, Collar, Kentucky, Favorite Montana, Maggie. C. Weeden, North Star, Florence, Pilgrim, Hailstorm, Lone Star, Sucker State, and the inevitable Last Chance. Later came the Spotted Horse, probably the most famous of all of them, and the Bamboo Chief, Mother Green, Great Eastern, Golden Terry, Monte Christo, Silver Cloud, Bullion, Yellowstone, Crow Girl, Tennie, Silver Tip, Niagara, St. Paul, Dolly Varden, the Cameron lode, Treasure Box, Northern Pacific, Mountain Lion, Wolverine, and a host of others. Town of Rustle By 1883 there were a number of new citizens in the territory in and around Maiden. Midway between the old Collar mine and Maiden was the town of Rustle and here eight or 10 substantial buildings were erected. Perhaps the inhabitants of these substantial buildings had hopes that Rustle was destined to be a metropolis. Smith & Caldwell had a good saloon at the, old town of Rustle and McDonald & Williams were the proprietors of an eating house and sample room. Rustle citizens were particularly proud of the fact that Prof. W. M. Wyman, known throughout the United States and Canada (according to his own card) as one of the best ventriloquists and legerdemain experts extant, had decided to make their city the permanent home. Professor Wyman later went into the poultry business on an extensive scale. Alpine, a mile or so west of Maiden, had several buildings but they were vacant with the exception of a wayside inn that Charles Holmes conducted. Unfortunately, in January, 1884, with the thermometer at 20 below zero, this wayside inn burned and Holmes and three companions had a narrow escape, the proprietor himself jumping through a window without the formality of opening it. It is recalled that a considerable quantity of wet goods were destroyed by this fire. Many people have forgotten Andersonville, still further west of Maiden, founded and located Feb. 22, 1883, by Thompson, Pendleton, Arnold and others and called Georgetown. "Skookum Joe" Honored This was later changed to Andersonville, honoring "Skookum Joe" who by that time had decided to move again and was prospecting on Clarks fork of the Yellowstone. There were 50 log buildings in Andersonville and several good business houses, a livery barn and a mill. B. Dexter owned a sawmill plant that had a capacity of 10,000 feet every 10 hours and a shingle department capable of turning out 20,000 shingles in the same period. P. W. McAdow of Coulson had a store in Andersonville, managed by A. M. Thompson, who was also the postmaster. R. R. Mills ran the Andersonville store and J. D. Thornton dispensed joy at the Grove saloon. But in 1883 Maiden was the queen of them all. In the fall of 1883 there were 134 buildings; 70 residences, 16 business houses and 48 log buildings, used for various purposes. C. L. Eaton had a general merchandise store, the first business establishment to be seen as one came into Maiden from Cambric gulch. Hamilton, Wetherall, Bailey, O'Brien, Landusky & Hamilton, and C. L. Stammer all had saloons, but the Landusky & Hamilton house was the most popular because of Charley Bell and his violin. Louis Landt was the owner of an establishment in which he ran a retail and wholesale liquor business that was said to be profitable. Landt later built another thriving enterprise on the hillside above the Belanger store houses that proved to be exceedingly popular, the Maiden brewery. Praise for Brewery The praise of an enterprising reporter that visited this industry one fall afternoon in 1885 is- well worth recording: "After four months of hard and continuous work, the proprietors of the Maiden brewery, Messrs. Landt & Co., placed the beer on the market last Saturday to be tested and its merits passed upon by the public. The popular verdict was that for the time elapsing since brewing commenced, it was a superior article. It was generally supposed that the first drawing from the fermenting tanks would taste, at least slightly of the pine wood of which the containers are made, but not a trace of other than a good supply of malt and other ingredients that are essential to a wholesome beer could be detected by the most skeptical of samplers. "In short, the beer was better than was anticipated; judging from popular expressions, equal to either Milwaukee or St. Louis bottled beer. If kept up to its present standard—and we can see no good reason why it should not be, and, if anything, improved, as the tanks and vats get the proper condition by use—Landt & Co. should experience no trouble in disposing of all they can brew, in the Judith and Musselshell countries. "They are now bottling and will soon be ready to supply the demand in any quantity desired. Such as desire beer as a beverage should give it an impartial trial and, on its merits, purchase it in preference to any other. By patronizing home industries that require the investing of considerable capital, we can reasonably expect parties in other vocations to invest here, otherwise not. Had Drug Store But to return to the Maiden of 1883. Maiden had a drug store in addition to other enterprises, carried on under the direction of Dr. J. W. Rawn, Willard Dunton was the owner of the Monarch Billiard hall and later, when roller skating became somewhat the fad, the Dunton brothers built a roller skating rink. W .H. Bailey, who, because of his 17 years residence in Montana, was considered a pioneer, was the, city's jeweler, and across the street from the jewelers, Billy Jenkins had a barber shop—"Good bathrooms in the connection." He had a competitor in the person of S. G. Sharpless, who kept a news stand in connection with his barber shop. Next to this barber shop, J. Washburn & Co. operated a sample room with a club room in the rear, and across the street another amusement emporium was operated by J. Mason & Co. Vincent Gies owned the, City bakery, A. G. McGuire was the village blacksmith, Charles Drosch, the village cobbler; F. M. Munn, painter; James E. Milliken and T. B. Martin, busy contractors and builders, and J. E. Wasson and T. M. Trudell, lawyers. Other establishments included Dan Kuhnhenn's Pacific house, with J. H. Snell as clerk; B. Trainor's meat market, Louis Belanger's store, Brainderd, Gardner & Co., dealers in hardware, stoves and tinware, and later the Bullion saloon was constructed, which added much to the joy of the town because of its $800 grand piano. J. H. Wolfe's International hotel was also constructed in later years to give competition to the Pacific house and C. F. Schaffer's lodging house. It wasn't all roses in Maiden, however, for one morning a cavalryman from Fort Maginnis, across the mountain, galloped up to the post office building and posted a notice that caused considerable commotion in the bustling mining camp. Order No. 134 This was the famous order No. 134: In obedience to general order No. 26, from headquarters of the army, dated Washington, D. C., April 13, 1883, the subsequent instruction from headquarters, department of Dakota, all persons now residing on the military reservation of Fort Maginnis, M. T., or working in the mines or prospecting for mines, or carrying on any other kind of business, or who may hereafter come on said reservation without proper authority. I hereby warn that they must leave the reservation, and remove therefrom all property that they may have brought with them or acquired since coming on the reservation. "Sixty days from this date will be granted for the completion of the removal, herein ordered, at the end of which time those remaining without proper authority will be forcibly ejected. "By order of CAPT. CASS DURHAM, F. W. KINGSBURY, Second Cay. Post Adjt." This was a serious blow, indeed. An unthinking autocratic group of army officials thought that by one blow they could wipe out of existence the coming mining camp of Montana! Hardly! J. Beck, town recorder, immediately posted a notice of his own calling for a citizens' mass meeting. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Pott and with Mr. Beck as chairman and C. S. Fall as secretary, this serious matter was discussed. A committee was appointed, consisting of T. B. Stillman, Mr. Fell, William Dunton, C. E. Gardner and A. M. Esler. This committee made out a petition that was to be presented to the post commander, pointing out that more than 500 people were living in Maiden alone, that scores of others were prospecting in the mountains, and that though this territory was included in the military reservation it was worthless for military purposes. Committee Gets Action The committee in due season presented the petition to Captain Durham and he sympathetically indorsed their proposal to cut Maiden and the surrounding territory from the military reservation and suggested that they place the matter before the authorities at Washington through a representative. Funds were necessary to send this representative, C. E. Gardner, east, and C. C. Snow, C. H. Williams, W. W. Shakley, John Dunton and Mr. Beck were appointed to solicit such funds. Within seven hours they had received donations amounting to $491.50 and thus financed Gardner made the trip. After several weeks of suspense a telegram came from Custer station that afforded temporary relief: "We have secured stay of military ejectment until next July. Congressional action necessary.” Beyond the ruins of the Belanger store, at the end of Montana Avenue stands an old tumble-down frame shack that resembles the famous mansion of Mrs. Wiggs of cabbage patch memories. This was the abode of certain Celestials in 1883, for wherever there were miners there must be Chinamen to do the laundry. This was an unavoidable rule and Maiden was no exception. One evening Sam Lee, Chinaman, had gone up to the Collar mine for washing and on his way back had stopped at one of the saloons in Rustle to pick up another bag of laundry. That was the last ever seen of Sam Lee until alarmed miners searching for him found him in an abandoned mine shaft—shot through the ear and badly hacked with a lath hatchet. Henry Lee and Oc Ton, suspects were immediately jailed, 'but the coroner's jury, despite evidence, released them. W. G. Hunter, being annoyed by this bit of justice, swore out a complaint charging Henry Lee and Oc Ton with murder and T. Toombs, justice of the court, committed them to answer for the crime and they were taken to White Sulphur Springs to await the coming term of court. Mai-den's two lawyers were given an opportunity to display their legal acumen at the preliminary hearing before Justice Toombs for J. E. Wasson represented the territory of Montana and T. M. Trudell the defendants. Henry Lee was later convicted of murder at White Sulphur Springs, but what happened to Oc Ton is shrouded in the clouds of antiquity. Henry Lee did not wait for sentence to be meted out but broke jail one evening, much to the discomfiture of the citizens of Maiden who were unanimously and emphatically of the opinion that Henry was a particularly heathenish Chinese. In fact through the editorial columns of The Mineral Argus it was expressed that: "The worthlessness of the jail and an incompetent turnkey is the only way the escape can be accounted for. We have heard it remarked that one strong man in this jail could lift up one side while his comrades made their escape. The county had better substitute a crockery crate. The jailer could then watch the movements of the prisoners, and their friends could pass in bouquets and yellow-covered literature without the formality of a pass. Nothing like a well-ventilated jail. Henry Lee cost the county $1,500. He could have been 'sent over the range' at this point and the total expenditure would not have exceeded 15 cents. This amount might have been invested in court plaster. The rope would have been contributed." New Lead Found It must not be forgotten that the Warm Springs mining district produced during its heyday a great deal of ore and that it has been es¬timated that the value of this ore exceeded some $10,000,000. It's no will-o-the-wisp that George H. Wieglanda and Howard McLean are following on Grassy at the present time, but rather a well-founded belief that there are still possibilities. Central Montana has a great deal of admiration for the old prospectors of Maiden gulch, who have never lost faith in what was in the '80's and '90's the coming mining camp of the state, and doff their hats to Peter Rosso, "Limerock" Wilson, Charles Young and a number of others. |
| Local Identifier | SC 1.9 |
Description
| Title | Boom days in Maiden Mining Camp 1 |
| Type | Text |
| Contributing Institution | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Full text of this item | Boom days in Maiden Mining camp Newspaper 8-21-1930 Maiden as it appeared in 1886 when the mining boom was still going strong. Very little remains of the old town of Maiden for it has experienced several disastrous fires. It is located in the Judith Mountains 20 miles northeast of Lewistown. Maiden! To those who delight in a study of terminology the name itself has certain significance. What hard-shelled old pioneer with a streak of sentimentalism a yard wide first thought of Maiden as a name for a booming mining town. The thought of some maiden, piquant, dainty, bewitching, demure, left behind in a somnolent Middle Western village, is in all probability responsible. Still, after all, there should be a certain reserve present in even terminological research work. There's a strong possibility that this same hard-shelled miner was by no means sentimental and that uppermost there was a certain Rabelaisian humor. For Maiden is about to live again. Like all "ghost" mining towns, the memories of yesterday, the intangible urge that tomorrow will bring wealth is ever present and on Grassy they have found a new prospect that is undoubtedly the real thing. Probably it is true and tomorrow the roar of stamp mills will revive the thunderous enthusiasm of the early eighties. It would be impossible in even a volume to trace with any exactness the ups and downs of the various mining locations that could have brought fame to Maiden. Assuredly when Joe Anderson and David Jones first found gold in one of the canyons near Maiden, it was but another prospect, and even though they envisioned wealth they must have had a feeling it was but another prospector's mirage. "Skookum Joe" Anderson! What a lot of dreams he was responsible for before he finally went on his last prospecting trip over the Great Divide. Down in the Stillwater country above Absarokee, in the interminable canyons of the Bear-tooth range they are still looking for "Skookum's" lost mine. Joe used to pay his bills whenever he came to town, so the story goes, with small nuggets and fine gold. He had found a pocket somewhere in the mountains recesses and he probably did not exhaust it. First Discovery in 1880 Sufficient to say, the first discovery of metals in Alpine gulch was made Jones and Anderson in May, 1880. A month afterwards they were joined by C. C. Snow and F. T. McPartlan, "Pony" McPartlan, who several years later got into difficulties over in the Sweet Grass placer mines. |
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