Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT
Newspaper Page Text
from distances ranging between twenty and seventy miles. The1 mill is twenty-four horse power. and will saw nine thoueand feet of lumber per day. The mill has proved very convenient to Sup River, Forts Shaw and Benton, as lumber for building purposes was formerly brought from Helena, the1 freight adding greatly to the cost. Since the beginning of the present season Benton-alone has purchased fifty thousand feet of boards, scant ling, and shingles, and if a new, military post should be erected orders to that effect are daily ex pected-Messrs Largent & Adams will have all they can do to supply the demand for building material. In this part of Montana, the smal lest enterprise requiring a cash capital for its establishiment and management is attended with diffi culties unknown in more populous communities. Few Eastern towns or villages having the advantages of railroad communication, prox imity to forests, and .cheap labor would consider the erection of a saw mill as a matter of great importance or worthy of special commendation, because such enterprises are com mon and attended with little labor and comparatively small expense, It is not so with us. Money com mands high rates of interest, skilled labor cannot always be obtained even for wages exceeding the in comes of some of the small business firms of the East, suitable timber is not easily procured, and there are so many profitable pursuits which require little or no capital to con duct them, that few of our people care to invest their means in local impro\ ments. Messrs Largent & Co.'s saw millis therefore an insti ation of considerable importance to this section, and the proprietors are hardly less worthy of credit for their enterprise than many of our Eastem businsss firms who have millions invested in costly works. Messrs ftealy & Bro.'s grist mill is another enterprise well worthy of mention as one one of the most important improvements yet made at Sun River. The mill cost its owners the round sum of $12,000, and is said to equal if not surpass anything of the kind in the Terri tory. It is run by water, is thirty seven horse power, and has two sets of burrs. The farmers of the valley have not been able, as yet, to keep the mill running more than a fewV weeks during the year, but it .is thought that next season's produce will give it employment for several months. The flour produced by this mill, called the "Anchor Mills" brand, is certainly unsurpassed in Montana, and is probably not in 'ferior to the finest States brands. Some time in the future, when we have our railroads, our irrigating canals, our steam mills and manutac tories of every description, and all other improvements that naturally follow in the path of advancing civi lization, the building ofwater-power mills and wooden bridges will no doubt appear to us as very insignift cant affairs; but however humble ia tnhed sem, they are great ises now, and their origina t+r r `ethe thanks of a grate fl pubi The exiample f Sun 1iver is wxort y of imiation an we sincerelj hpe that Benton will s&npr i by it. W have evmy lty t aiTdn mills iyd miak S other iprovement we hve avs much, need .j neighbor. Bentol # in thr lIacst improved' L - ---- 1--1 - ~cc town of the Territory; the same en terpFise that has done so much for Sun River would have made Be ton the metropolis of Montana. maiI m i m -e I @ I i ii CORRESPONDENCE. EDITOR RECORD:- As many of the readers Qf the RECORD are familiar with the route to and country bordering our northwestern frontier, a description brief though it may be, of the route to the centre of the fur trade in that region would be tiresome to them, as it may perhaps prove uninter esting to the numbers whose atten tion has of late been invited to that quarter, through the newspa per reports concerning the actions of the British Mounted Police. At, the time of these reports, a great many were impressed with the idea that they could perceive the action of an under current in the drifting of these huge breaches of law and custom, infringement of the vaunted privileges of Magna Charta. Others would not believe that the administrators of British-Canadian justice were acting too harshly in their measures for the suppression of illicit traffic, or that they were taking any steps in advance of the statute under which they are au thorized to act. Others, still, would intimate that in all their actions the Mounted Police have merely conformed to the designs and intentions of the Provincial authorities. With such wide differences of opinion existing, it has been almost impossible to arrive at a just con clusion. After a thorough search through all the facts that could have led to such assumptions, we may safely advance a conclusion that may be considered both proper and just, to wit: That a power behind the throne does exist; that this power has pressed the Cana dian Government into action, and through the movements of the po lice force established the fact of their present existence; that this force is not governed by the rules or ordinances of the Northwest Territories, save and except such portions of the same that clothe with arbitrary powers unequalled in the decade of England's colonial Might-Rule. This may appear to be a bold assertion, it is neverthe less undeniable. We might even add the words of one who is much respected and esteemed-not alone by the white citizens of the North west. but by the Mounted Police themselves-and revered by the Indians: "The country is at pres ent under martial law as severe and stringent in its application, on ac count of the extensive latitude given to those in command, as ever it has been in the darkest of the penal days in the Old World." In 1873 an act was passed by the Canadian Parliament, and approv ed by Her "Most Excellent" Majes ty, respecting the administratio n of justice and for the establishment of3.a police force in the North West Territories. An amendatory act was passed in 1874, having the same title and containing similar enactments, the amendments being confined to the organization, duties, and powrs of the force. It is - a well kn.own t thata cOrtain cor poration bro.. t all it, availabl inflance to bear on the oanadiai Parliamentto aid in the passage of this act, regardless of an: immense expense w:emust con equently infer that through the suncessful wire pulling of this company, and under the provisions of the: act 37 Victoria (1874), and supplemen~al proclamation, the Nor 1.West °British Mounted Police were& mus tered into service. After a weary marcly the command arrived at its present station in October, 1874, where, notwithstanding the inclem ent season, they struggled to con struct a lb0 shelter. which, after receiving a d ishare of chinking and daubing, was dubbed ."Fort McLeod," in honor of th'e present commandant, J. F. McLeod, Asst. Commissioner of Police. The pres ent force at the post numbers about one hundred and forty mnen,' beside the requisite complement of officers. A detachment of ten men command ed by an inspector are stationed at the trading post of T. C. Power & Bro., distant about fifteen miles. The officers and men will compare favorably with a like number in the same standing, no matter of what nation. The officers are communi cative, hospitable, and to all ap pearance, gentlemen. The enlisted men have nearly all seen service; some in the English army, through the Crimean and other wars, and others during the days of our own late unpleasantness. But our at tention is not directed to the po lice force in their social characters or in regard to their intellectual standing or military prowess, but rather in relation to their position as executors of the commands of their Sovereign, " by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada;" the same being controlled in the interest and by the agents of the Hudson Bay Fur Company, in their attempt to monopolize the trade of the Northwest. It is asserted that American traders can not compete with the Hudson Bay Company. The steps that have been taken tQ drive away the American traders would seem to contradict this assertion. But if the same rule were applied gen erally, and without regard to posi tion or influence, with one exception all the American and Canadian traders would appear in the same light and stand on the same level. As it seems, however, that the ap plication of any rule with a due regard for justice was not enter tained, our conviction that we have concluded aright is strengthened. Every possible advantage has been considered and absorbed, every seeming point of advancement has been counted in this attempted monopoly. To better understand how far this company have gone in their endeavor, our readers should have perused a pamphlet, written at the instance and according to the desires and wishes of this Fur Company, by a Methodist Mission ary. In this pamphlet every Amer icjan in the Northwest is set down as' , murderer, cut throat and whis ky irader, and the country repre sented as being in the most alarm ing condition. No doubt the coun try was not in a condition to justi fy favorable comment. Many of the Americans were following the ex ample of Canadians and HalfBreeds, by trading whisky, and in -their own words " would take the advan tage of an Indian lest he might get the drop on them for some fancied. inisult." But it did not come with in a respectable degree of being honestly illustrated or described by the reverend writer. t This pamphlethad aT wide cimru lation in Oanadaiaa ~ was the -'im ns of kindling a; feling of Pijrd'ice in the ninds of rC adians towardB the Americans .vo, as traey be lieved, :ererrifling with and pre venting tFhe trade in thNorthwest. More especially did it ieive at tentive readers whten: it became known that the author was a minister of the gospel. But truth will out. Even the dense reveren tial atmosphere whic.h surrounded this worthy representativy. of the divine profession could not conceal theo itrue; character within. Th.s saintly missionary was himself the most riotorious. whisky trader in the Territories. It seemed almost impossible that such could be the case, that any person could be so depraved as to mock the sanctity of the ministry of any church, degrade his position for a pecuniary benefit, to a standing far below that of a broker of a bogus dollar store. But as the information is derived from a reliable source, your correspor dent is forced to acknowledge that a more skillful or adept whisk trader than this sanctimonious spy and informer never set foot in British or any other territory. One instance may better enile you to understand the charac t of this man. There are two brot ers of the family in -the Northbest. One conducts a trading store 4hile the other (the preacher) acts as whipper in, capper for the c ncern. On one occasion a party of Indians attended their place of business for the purpose of receiving religious instruction. We cull the following precious extract from the reverend gentleman's eloquent harangue: "My brothers, whenever you get tired of listening to me, just pass into the trading room, where mny brother will attend to your wants. ** * If you do not trade here to day, you will have bad medicine. Just step in, and when you have had enough (meaning whisky), come again to me and hear the words of the Great Spirit." He then whis pered to the brother: "Let it run ten cups for a head and tail robe." This is the man who undertook to explain the effect of whisky trading and lAmerican intercourse on the trade of the. Hudson Bay Company, and on the future wel fare of the Indian. Certainly no one better acquainted with the subject could be found willing to perform the task of misrepresenting the situation, or, more properly, representing it in the colors suit able to'those who tendered the emra ployment. The design was evident. It gave the Canadians some ground to work on as well as to create a bad impression on the minds of those who were to become members of the force then about to be organized. The reading of the statute shows this clearly, and the actions of the Police prove that the intention in establishing the force was in accordance with the inter ests of the Hudson Bay Company. Presuming that the interest of the readers of the RECORD is al ways alive to anything that may interfere or in any way touch on the fur trade, and fearing to crowd your valuable space, further re marks 'will be presented ;n next issut,by } JACK BLUNT. : i l~ll L/L[I:I[I li i Ii i:: : -[:. ..:I l l , DSOLg TION. . The partnership hetetofore ex i tig: between :the undersigned, know~ by the nme ,f J. F. Porter & O~, is hereby disolved by mu tual `nsent, to d~ite from April 1, 1875. All outstanding business will be settled: by either of the under T. BPORTERUL 0, A. BULL.