THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWEST.
The Importance of Some of our Newest State--Romantic History of
Montana--The Bad Lands and their Exact Opposite--Civilization Away Up in
the Mountains--Indians who have Never Quarreled with White
Men--Traditions Concerning Mount Tacoma--Wonderful Towns of the Extreme
Northwest--A State Shaped like a Large Chair--The Falls of Shoshone.
Within the last few years new States have been admitted into the Union
which, in themselves, form a magnificent empire. We allude to the great
Northwestern Territories which have become States within the last
decade, and which have added so much luster to the escutcheon of our
native land. The utmost ignorance prevails as to these States, and as to
the northwestern corner of the United States proper, a term generally
applied to this great Republic, with the exception of Alaska.
Every now and again the report comes of a great forest fire in the
Northwest, and occasionally the world is horrified by reports of a
terrible calamity of this character, involving great loss of life and
property. Owing to this fact there is a tendency to look on the
northwestern tier of States as one huge forest, ever offering a
temptation to that terrible destructive agency--fire. People who profess
to have made tours through the country, add to the complication by
enlarging on this one characteristic, and omitting all reference to the
other features, in which the great Northwest towers head and shoulders
above competitors, and teaches the entire world a lesson in
productiveness, fertility, and, we may add, industry.
The World's Fair served to very largely disabuse the public mind
concerning what is destined to become one of the wealthiest sections of
the United States. The elegant State buildings that were erected on the
shores of Lake Michigan, and the gorgeous displays of fruits, grain,
ore, and different products, must have convinced the average visitor
that there was a great deal more in the far West and Northwest than he
had dreamt of. Many were induced in consequence of the information they
received, to blend their fortunes with the young States, and although
the financial condition of the country has not been calculated to
expedite the fulfillment of their Aladdin-like hopes, most of them have
done well enough to be able to congratulate themselves on the change in
the location and occupation.
We can only speak of some of the most remarkable features of this great
section, greater, indeed, than several Old World nations combined.
Helena is the capital of one of these new States, to which is given the
euphonic name of Montana. The name is very appropriate, as it signifies
"belonging to the mountains." The Indians had a very similar name for
the territory now included in the State, and Judge Eddy called it the
"Bonanza State" because of its mining sensations, a name which has clung
to it with much fidelity ever since. The arms of the State are
significant and almost allegorical. The present is linked with the past
by means of a retreating buffalo, significant of the extermination of
this interesting and valuable species. The great mining resources of
Montana are shown by a miner's pick and shovel, and in the rearground
the sun is setting behind eminences of the Rocky Mountains. Montana was
first discovered by Canadians, some two hundred years ago. The first
permanent settlement was early in the present century, and, until within
the last fifty years, all goods and utensils used in it were dragged up
the Missouri River from St. Louis, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles.
When the war broke out, the Territory was occupied almost entirely by
Indians, with a few daring fur traders and a number of missionaries,
who, in exercise of their duty, had no fear at all. The discovery of
gold which took place almost simultaneously with the firing of the first
shot in the conflict between the North and the South, brought thousands
of adventurers from all parts of the Union and introduced millions of
capital. Some of the mines turned out phenomenally successful, and
although there were the usual heart-burnings on account of failures, the
average of success was very great. The State's gold mines have yielded
fabulous sums, and more recently steps have been taken to extract from
the quartz and rock a full measure of wealth that is to be found there.
Montana is a Northwestern State in fact as well as name. It is situated
on the high plateau between the Continental Divide and the Bitter Root
Range. Fully one-fifth of its area lies beyond the Rocky Mountains, and
its northern boundary is the snow-covered region of Canada and British
Columbia. The eastern portion of the State, bordering upon the Dakotas,
is for the most part prairie land, rising rapidly in the direction of
the west, and forming the approach to the mighty Rockies. The western
portion, bordering upon Idaho, is much more mountainous in character.
Some 50,000 square miles of hilly country are to be seen here, many of
the peaks rising to heights exceeding 10,000 feet. The State alone is
larger in area than the entire British Islands, and it is infinitely
larger than the whole of New England. That it is a country of
magnificent distances, is shown from the fact that the northern frontier
equals in length the distance between the great seat of learning and
culture in Massachusetts and the capital city of the short-lived
Confederacy.
Although most of Montana is rich in either agriculture or mineral, a
considerable area is occupied by the notorious Bad Lands. General Sully
described these lands very accurately, or at least aptly, when he said
that they reminded him of "the other place with the fires out." So many
descriptions of the Bad Lands have been given, that we need scarcely
refer to them at great length. The clay, rock and peculiar dust which
lies all around this territory becomes, on the slightest provocation,
the nastiest kind of quicksand. Nothing can thrive or prosper in the Bad
Lands which, however, are full of evidences of prehistoric life and
which, perhaps, at one time were the scenes of activity and even
prosperity.
In exact contrast to the Bad Lands is the Gallatin Valley, about four
hundred square miles in extent. It is stated to be one of the most
fertile spots in the world, and by common consent it has been called the
Egypt of Montana. A portion of it has been cultivated, and its yield per
acre has been found to be prodigious. At no great distance from this
fertile spot, two of America's most remarkable rivers have their rise.
The greatest of these is the Missouri, which, measured from its source
to final entrance into the Gulf of Mexico along the bed of the
Mississippi River, is really the longest river in the world. Away up
here in the mountains, the Missouri, which subsequently becomes one of
the most treacherous and destructive rivers in the universe, runs
through picturesque cañons and over great gorges of rock, finally
leaving the State a great river, though still insignificant in
comparison with the volume it is to assume, and the drainage work it is
to accomplish farther away from the mighty hills among which it had its
source.
The Northern Pacific Railroad runs through this wonderful State, with so
great a future before it. Helena, the capital city of Montana, was
originally a mining camp, and early prophecies were that it would not
outlive the mining enthusiasm. These prophecies, however, have proved
entirely mistaken. It is no longer a mere mining town, with rough, busy,
uncultured men rushing hither and thither in the eager pursuit of their
daily avocation. It is now not only the judicial capital of Montana, but
it is also the great center of educational advance. It has a number of
very handsome public buildings, and is the home of many men, who, having
made their fortunes in the mines of the new Northwest, have been so
impressed with the beauties of scenery and climate, that they have
decided to abide where at first they merely intended to sojourn. Helena
is more than 4,000 feet above the sea level, and its 20,000 inhabitants
are reputed to be worth more than $100,000,000. The apostle of socialism
or communism who suggested an equal division among the 60,000,000 of our
people of all the wealth of the nation, would find little encouragement
in this great mountain city, where poverty, if not unknown, is very
scarce.
Much more typical as a mining city is Butte. This is situated upon a
hill quite peculiarly located, and is reached by a ride along the Silver
Bow Valley. Close here is the wonderful Anaconda mine. The mines in the
neighborhood have a reputation for immense yield, the annual extracts of
gold, silver and copper being valued at more than $33,000,000. The
Anaconda smelter, built some twelve years ago, is said to be the largest
in the world, and the town itself seems to literally talk mining by its
streets, its houses, its business, its habits and its people.
Missoula is the third largest city of Montana. Its site is a splendid
one for a city. The Hell Gate Cañon and River merge into a magnificent
plain, the foot of the noted Bitter Root Valley. The Hell Gate River
breaks out from the cañon and mountains into the wide plain and sweeps
majestically across the extreme northern limit of it, hugging closely
the Mission Range to the north. At the western side of the valley the
Bitter Root River combines with the Hell Gate, and together, and now
under the name of the Missoula River, they flow westward between high
mountains. The northern end of the valley is perhaps six miles or more
wide. The great opening in the mountain is rather triangular in shape,
with the apex of the triangle many miles up the valley to the south.
Here is a city laid out and built up in perfect harmony with its
location, as is evidenced by the tasteful manner in which the place is
planned and the character of its business blocks and residences.
Telephones, electric lights, and water supply are found even in the
remote suburbs of Missoula.
The mountains literally hem them in. Immediately to the northeast is a
bare hill that is startling in its resemblance to an animal. It is like
a huge, recumbent elephant, the hind quarters of which form the northern
end of Hell Gate Cañon, around which the railroad curves as it issues
from the cañon. The "Mammoth Jumbo," as it is appropriately known,
reclines with head to the north and trunk stretched out behind him. One
eye is plainly seen, and one huge shoulder is visible. Down in the
south, sharp, decisive, with a steep, rocky escarpment facing us, and a
long ridge descending from it, is Lolo Peak, of the Bitter Root Range, a
noted landmark. This overhangs Lolo Pass, through which Chief Joseph
came in his famous retreat from General Howard in 1877, which terminated
in the battle of the Bear Paw Mountains, October 5th, where the brave
and able chieftain was captured with the rest-of his tribe, when almost
within reach of freedom just across the Canadian border.
At the southern extremity of the valley on the banks of the Bitter Root
River, and with the range serving as an effective background, is Fort
Missoula, a pleasantly located military post. Several interpretations of
the meaning of the word "Missoula" are given. Father Guidi, a priest of
long residence in the country, gave me what he considers the true one,
which also indicates the manner in which the Hell Gate Cañon and River
were christened. The spot where Missoula is located was once the scene
of conflict between the various tribes of Indians. The "Flatheads" and
"Blackfeet" were deadly enemies, and, presumably, may have fought over
this lovely spot. At any rate, the ground just at the mouth of the Hell
Gate Cañon was covered long ago with skulls and human bones.
These Flathead Indians are noted for the fact that they have never
adopted a hostile attitude towards white people. They are advanced in
civilization, as readers of Chapter IX and its accompanying illustration
will have noted. Tradition states that their religion demands that the
head of every infant must be flattened by means of a board before the
bones harden sufficiently to assume a shape. However this may be, none
of the surviving members of the tribe have particularly flat heads, and
all deny emphatically the statement that nature is ever interfered with
in the manner stated. These Indians call themselves "Selish," a name
apparently without reason or derivation. The Flathead Reservation was
formed about forty years ago. On three sides it is walled in by high
mountains, and it consists of about 2,240 square miles of territory. The
railway station, Arlee, is so named after the last war chief of the
Flatheads. Passengers are often amused by the gaudily decked Indians who
are seen at this station, which is quite near the reservation.
An interesting story attaches to the Jocko River and Reservation. It is
stated that an Irishman named Jacob Finley established a ranch on the
river early in the present century. The French Canadians who settled in
the neighborhood and intermarried with the Indians, called Finley by his
Christian name with a peculiar French pronunciation, which made it sound
very like much Jaco or Jocko--the latter name gradually becoming
generally adopted. It was quite natural to call the river and the valley
after the ranch owner, and the name finally became generally accepted as
correct. This man Finley left behind him a family of seventeen, and
before he had been dead many years his direct descendants numbered
within three or four of an even century.
The Indians called the stream the Nlka, an unpronounceable combination
of letters, resulting from a most interesting though variously described
event.
Mrs. Ronan, the well-known writer, tells an interesting story of how
names are given by Indians. Thus, her own daughter's name was Isabel,
but the Indians called her "Sunshine." In February, 1887, the little
girl was born. For some days prior to her birth the weather had been
gloomy in the extreme. Almost simultaneously with the child's birth the
sun, so long hidden under the clouds, burst forth to gladden the heart
of man. With one accord, the Indians declared that the little one had
brought sunshine with her, and hence the name, which, as subsequent
events have proved, was exceptionally appropriate.
Accompanying this chapter is an illustration of Mount Tacoma. This
mountain is one of the most attractive, as well as lofty, in the
Northwest. As can easily be supposed, traditions without number are
connected with it. No greater mistake can be made than to imagine that
the Indians who are found in this region are naturally atheistic, as
well as ignorant. To the student of religion there is rather an inherent
belief in the Supreme Being among these people, with very strong proofs
of the truth of the divine revelation. One of the traditions, told with
much fervor and earnestness about Tacoma, involves in it a Savior of
mankind. With great reverence and awe the good listener among the band
of tourists is told that at one period--legends are seldom very specific
in the matter of time or space--a Savior arrived in a copper canoe, his
mission being to save the Siwash Indians, who were spoken of as the
chosen people of the Great Unseen. That some prophet or missionary
certainly came to this region and preached appears to be evident from
the very definite survival of the doctrines taught by him. His creed
seems to have been a very apt blending of all that is best in the
teachings of Buddha, with many of the precepts of the "Sermon on the
Mount" added.
Love to mankind, the evil of revenge, and the glories of forgiveness
form the principal features of the doctrine. The legend, or tradition,
goes on to say that so violent was the opposition to this crusader, who
attacked local institutions so bitterly, that finally he was seized and
nailed to a tree. This act of crucifixion resulted from a final sermon,
in which the wanton destruction of human beings was denounced in terms
of great vehemence. As nine, instead of seven or three, is the general
number talked of in this section, it is not surprising that the story
should go on to state that after nine days the "Mysterious One" was
reanimated, and once more commenced his work of reformation and tuition.
Nothing in connection with the story can be objected to. By some it is
supposed to be the result of casual immigration from the regions of
Palestine, to which also is attributed the story of the flood.
Among nearly all the Indians of the Northwest there is a flood story, or
legend, and there must be hundreds of Noahs in the minds of the
story-tellers. We are told, for example, that when the Great Spirit
flooded the entire earth, there was not quite enough water to cover the
summit of Mount Tacoma. The man chosen to prevent the human race from
being entirely obliterated was warned in a dream, or by some other
means, to climb to the summit of this great mountain, where he remained
until the wicked ones below him were annihilated, without a man, woman
or child escaping. After the flood was over and the waters began to
recede, the Great Spirit hypnotized or mesmerized this solitary human
being, and created for him a wife of exceptional beauty. Together these
two recommenced the battle of life, and, as the legend runs, every human
being in existence can trace his lineage to them.
The mountain is surely worth all that has been said about it. Its great
height has already been commented upon. Standing, as it does, with its
summit 14,444 feet above the sea level, it is actually a sentinel for
almost the entire State. Hazard Stevens, the first man to climb Tacoma,
reported that it was so called by the Indians because the word means, in
their vocabulary, "mountain," and was given to Tacoma because it was a
veritable prince among hills. It was at one time called Rainier, after a
British lord, but the Indian name has generally prevailed.
Tacoma has been described by many tourists as a rival to the most
vaunted peaks of the Swiss Alps. As will be seen from the illustrations,
which are remarkably good ones, there is a dim mistiness about the
mountain. When the light is poor, there is a peculiar, almost unnatural,
look about the cloud-topped peak. When the clouds are very white, the
line of demarcation becomes faint in the extreme, and it is very hard to
distinguish one from the other. Sometimes, for days together, the
mountain is literally cloud-capped, and its peak hidden from view. Those
who are fortunate enough to be able to appreciate the awful and unique
in history, never tire of gazing upon Tacoma. They are glad to inspect
it from every side. Some call it a whited sepulchre. There was a time
when it was anything but the calm, peaceful eminence of to-day. Every
indication points to the fact that it was once among the most active
volcanoes in existence.
There is a town, or rather city, of the same name as the mountain. This
is situated on Commencement Bay. It is under the very shadow of the
great mountain of which we have spoken, and which seems to guard it
against foes from inland. Fifteen years ago it was a mere village, of
scarcely any importance. It has rapidly grown into a town of great
importance. In 1873 the Northern Pacific Railroad Company decided to
make it the western terminus of their important system. This resulted in
renewed life, or rather in a genuine birth to the place, which now has a
population of 40,000 people, and is an exceedingly wealthy and
prosperous city. The Tacoma Land Company, ably seconded by the railroad,
has fostered enterprise in this place in the most hearty manner, and now
some of the large buildings of the town, of the very existence of which
many Eastern people affected ignorance, are more than magnificent--they
are majestic.
Seattle is another and even more brilliant diamond in Washington's
crown. It is a great city, with a magnificent harbor, its name being
that of a powerful Indian chief who, when the town was founded forty
years ago, had things practically his own way. It grew in importance
very rapidly, but in 1889 one of the largest fires of modern times
destroyed $10,000,000 worth of property, including the best blocks and
commercial structures of the city. People who had never seen Seattle at
once assumed that the city was dead, and speculation was rife as to what
place would secure its magnificent trade. Those who thus talked were
entirely ignorant as to the nature of the men who had made Seattle what
it was. Within a very few days the work of reconstruction commenced. The
fire hampered the city somewhat, and checked its progress. But Seattle
is better for the disaster, and stands to-day a monument to the "nil
desperandum" policy of its leaders.
Spokane Falls is another wonderful instance of Northwestern push and
energy. It is a very young city, the earliest records of its founding
not going back farther than 1878. When the census of 1880 was taken, the
place was of no importance, and received very little attention at the
hands of the enumerators. In 1890 it had a population of some 20,000,
and attracted the admiration of the entire country by the progress it
had made in the matter of electricity. Its water power is tremendous,
and taking full advantage of this, electricity is produced at low cost
and used for every available and possible purpose.
The State of Washington, in which these three cities are situated,
borders upon the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the greatest of our new
States. The first modern explorer of the territory was a Spaniard,
followed a few years later by English sailors. Just at the end of the
last century, some Boston capitalists, for there were capitalists even
in those days, although they reckoned their wealth by thousands rather
than millions, sent two ships to this section to trade with the Indians
for furs. One of these ships was the "Columbia," which gave the name to
the region, part of which still retains it, although the section we are
now discussing now owns and boasts of the name of the "Father" of his
and our country.
Washington became a State five years ago. It is a great mining country,
but is still more noted for its wonderful lumber resources. The trade
from Puget Sound is tremendous. One company alone employs 1,250 men in
saw mills and logging, and it is responsible for having introduced
improved machinery of every type into the section. The early history of
the great lumber business is full of interest, and this is one point
alone in which the advance has been tremendous. Another great company
cut up 63,000,000 feet of lumber in one year, and shipped more than half
of it out of the country. White cedar of the most costly grade is very
common in Washington, and it is used for the manufacture of shingles,
which sell for very high prices, and are regarded as unusually and,
indeed, abnormally good. White pine of immense quantity and size is also
found. Some of the logs are so large that they are only excelled by the
phenomenal big trees of abnormal growth which are found some hundreds of
miles farther south on the great Pacific Slope.
Idaho is another of the great States of the great Northwest. It lies
largely between the two States just described so briefly, and its shape
is so peculiar that it has been spoken of as resembling a chair, with
the Rocky Mountains and the Bitter Root Range as its front seat and
back. Another simile likens it to a right-angled triangle, with the
Bitter Root Range as its base. It is a vast tableland, wedge shape in
character, and may be said to consist of a mass of mountain ranges
packed up fold upon fold, one on top of the other.
Three names were submitted to Congress when the Territory was first
named. They were Shoshone, Montana and Idaho. The last name was chosen,
finally, because it is supposed to mean "The sight on the mountain." The
more exact derivation of the name seems to be an old Shoshone legend,
involving the fall of some mysterious object from the heavens upon one
of the mountains. The scenery in this State is varied in everything save
in beauty, which is almost monotonous. Bear Lake, one of its great
attractions, is a fisherman's paradise. Its waters extend twenty miles
in one direction and eight or nine miles in the other. This vast expanse
of water is one of the best trout fishing resorts in the world. Although
in a valley, Bear Lake is so high up in the mountains that its waters
are frozen up for many months in the year, the ice seldom breaking up
until well into April. At all times the water is cold, and hence
especially favorable for trout culture. Lake Pen d'Oreilles is about
thirty miles long and varies in width from an insignificant three miles
to more than fifteen. It is studded with islands of great beauty and
much verdure. Close by it is the Granite Mountain, with other hills and
peaks averaging, perhaps, 10,000 feet in height. The lake has an immense
shore line, extending as much as 250 miles. For fully a tenth of this
distance the Northern Pacific tracks are close to the lake, affording
passengers a very delightful view of this inland scene, which has been
likened to the world-renowned Bavarian lake, Königs See.
The State is also well known on account of the reputation for weird
grandeur won by the Snake River, also known as the Shoshone. This is a
very rapid stream of water. By means of its winding course it measures
fully a thousand miles in Idaho alone, and drains about two-thirds of
the State. Near the headwaters of the Snake River, in the proximity of
Yellowstone Park, there are very fertile bottoms, with long stretches of
valley lands. The American Falls plunge over a mass of lava about forty
feet high, with a railroad bridge so close that the roar of the water
drowns the noise of the locomotive. For seventy miles the Shoshone River
runs through a deep, gloomy cañon, with a mass of cascades and many
volcanic islands intervening. Then comes the great Shoshone Falls
themselves, rivaling in many respects Niagara, and having at times even
a greater volume of water. The falls are nearly a thousand feet in
width, and the descent exceeds two hundred feet. Many writers have
claimed that these falls have features of beauty not equaled in any part
of the world. According to one description, they resemble a cataract of
snow, with an avalanche of jewels amidst solid portals of lava.
Bancroft, in summing up the great features of this State, says very
concisely that: "It was the common judgment of the first explorers that
there was more of the strange and awful in the scenery and topography of
Idaho than of the pleasing and attractive. A more intimate acquaintance
with the less conspicuous features of the country revealed many
beauties. The climate of the valleys was found to be far milder than,
from their elevation, could have been expected. Picturesque lakes were
discovered among the mountains, furnishing in some instances navigable
waters. Fish and game abound. Fine forests of pine and firs cover the
mountain slopes, except in the lava region; and nature, even in this
phenomenal part of her domain, has not forgotten to prepare the earth
for the occupation of man, nor neglected to give him a wondrously warm
and fertile soil to compensate for the labor of subduing the savagery of
her apparently waste places."