What was the Hellgate Canyon like when the Betters settled there in the early 1880s?
One of the many things I was curious about was what the Hellgate Canyon was like when the Betters moved there around 1880. I got my first glimpse by reading Miners and Travelers' Guide to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado , by John Mullan (and digitized by Google). John Mullan, in case you don't know, is the man who built the military road from Fort Benton to Fort Walla Walla that became known as the Mullan Road. The road, which was never used by the military, was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. Mullan's book was published in 1865, and based on his experiences as he built the road from 1859 to 1860. I figured that 20 years difference wasn't too bad... ...until I found Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage by Carrie Adell Strahorn (and digitized by Google). One of the chapters in Strahorn's book tells of a stagecoach trip from Helena to Missoula that took place in the late 1870s. I have e...