|
We took the west exit and drove along the Madison River Canyon, where a landslide had blocked the river and
formed a lake ('Quake Lake'), with dead trees sticking out of the water; a sinister picture.
But Montana was to provide us with some cultural aspects too, a return to the history of The Ol' West !
We drove to Virginia City, Montana's best known and most popular historical site (according to the guidebook).
See the Old West!
Gold was the force which created Virginia City and which controlled its history and made it strategic during the Civil War. But there was a darker side too:
the Vigilantes !
One can learn here about the Vigilantes, who hung the sheriff (absolutely nothing to do with that he was a Democrat and the Vigilantes were Republicans) during the Civil War, and several others who were accused of being his henchmen. Heroes or Villains ...?
They make for exciting history, that is for sure... |
My interest in the Wild West probably originated from the Arendsoog and Karl May books, following Old
Shatterhand and Winnetou. Later I devoured the little known Conny Coll westerns. As a teenager I saw a lot
of films on the telly ('Rawhide', 'High Chapperral') and in the cinema. My formative years!
It was settled in 1863, high in the Rocky Mountains in a bowl along Alder Gulch, where gold was first discovered
(1863), during the Civil War. Within a year the town grew to over 10,000 and became the Territorial Capital in 1865.
We explored the main street, which provided examples of commercial architecture from the late 1800s. We felt like we had travelled back in time, especially since the streets were rather quiet, not crowded with a mob of tourists (people like us...). |
The goldrush and boomtowns
In Nevada City we came across a nice selection of historic trains and cars; some could have used some 'TLC'.
Nevada City.
The train played a major role in opening the West. When the Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin the first Postmaster General in 1775, the United States was a weak confederation of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard. The postal system that the Congress created helped bind the new nation together, railroads went west, following trappers and early settlers, claiming land, forging infrastructure.
The discovery of gold brought many prospectors into this area in the 1860's, and Montana became a territory in 1864. The rapid influx of people led to boomtowns that grew rapidly and declined just as quickly when the gold ran out.
Indians lost access to their traditional hunting grounds and conflicts grew. The Sioux and Cheyenne were victorious in 1876 at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce won a battle in the Big Hole Basin (1877). But we know how that ended.
Miners weren't the only early settlers in Montana. Cattle ranches began flourishing in western valleys during the 1860's as demand for beef in the new mining communities increased. During the 1880's railroads crossed Montana and the territory became a state in 1889. |
Heavy clouds were forming and since there was no traffic before or behind us, I stopped to take some photos.
Both pictures were taken with a Hasselblad 500C/M, I did not have it long for its quality only
became visible on enlarged photographs. The small square sized photos were unimpressive.
Soon after we continued driving, crossing the Continental Divide, we were treated on a massive hailstorm!
Crossing the Continental Divide, crossing the mountains where water would flow to the ocean instead of inland, we suffered through one of the worst hailstorm and lightning I had ever encountered !
A good thing I got my camera out in time and able to get some last light on that field while those threatening black clouds were racing towards us; I knew I had taken advantage of a fleeting moment...
On these lonely roads one feels a certain modesty in the onslaught of extreme weather. |
A hangman's noose
Pete Daly built a log roadhouse at this site in 1863. Unlike most roadhouses of the time, which provided meals, companionship and a place to stay for weary travelers, Daly's was allegedly a hangout for Montana's most notorious criminal gang – the "Innocents.” It was reputedly lead by Henry Plummer, the Sheriff of Bannock and Virginia City.
His deputies were supposedly members of the gang... [¬ www.hmdb.org/]
GARNET, "Montana's best preserve ghost town!"
There was a time, a hundred years ago, that Garnet was a thriving town, filled with gold miners and their families. Working hard to carve out a community in the heart of the Garnet Mountains. In 1898, somewhere around 1.000 people called Garnet their home.
A century after Garnet emerged, remnants of the town stand, hidden high in the Garnet Mountain Range east of Missoula.
Garnet was named for the semi-precious ruby-colored stone found in the area and it was a good place to live.
The surrounding mountains were rich in gold-bearing quartz. There was a school, the crime rate was low, and liquor flowed freely in the town’s many saloons. The bawdy houses did a brisk business and Missoula and Deer Lodge were close enough for necessary supplies. [¬ garnetghosttown.org/history] |
Left: Kelly's Saloon | Right: Davy's Store
Although miners had located gold-bearing quartz veins, the lack of decent roads and refined extracting and smelting techniques, made further development unfeasible at that time.
Silver mines elsewhere started to draw the miners out of the Garnet Mountains, but in 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act set off a panic throughout the region. Silver mines closed, and within weeks thousands of unemployed miners were on to gold mining in the Garnets.
Miners began to trickle back. |
In 1905 Garnet counted a mere 200 residents. But in 1934 the price of gold
rose considerably and Garnet again blossomed! But during WW2 the town died,
people were called up for the war and these days Garnet is kept alive by donations.
To get to Garnet we drove a gravel road; logging trucks
thundered past with little consideration to us.
|
We moved on: after the quick visit to ghost town of Garnet, had a meal with Pizza Hut (they served beer here, bless them!) and a night in Missoula.
, and we 
