After this, however, the roads gradually improved, and as darkness came on, they again essayed to sleep.  On they went, and the night was passed in uncomfortable slumber, broken and disturbed by the lurching and uneasy jolting of the coach over the rough mountain roads, and the curses of the driver, administered without stint to the struggling and jaded horses.  The night, however, brought neither danger nor mishap, and at four o’clock in the morning they arrived at Helena, very much demoralized and worn out, but with whole bodies and ravenous appetites.  Manning went to bed immediately on his arrival, and did not awake until the sun was high in the heavens, when he arose, feeling considerably refreshed and strengthened by his repose.

Helena, the capital of Montana, he found to be a pushing and energetic city of about ten thousand inhabitants.  Here were mills and factories, a handsome court-house, graded schools, several newspapers, charitable institutions and public hospitals, in fact, all the progressive elements of a thriving and well-settled city of modern times.  All this had been accomplished in less than twenty years, and without the assistance of the railroad or the energizing influence of river navigation.  The railroad had not yet penetrated into this mountainous region, and the Missouri river was fourteen miles distant.  To the adventurous spirit of gold-hunting Americans had Helena owed its origin and growth, and its resources were unknown until 1864, when a party of prospecting miners discovered unmistakable evidences of rich yielding gold and silver mines in the immediate vicinity of what is now the thriving city of Helena.  Following this discovery, thousands of gold-hunters sought this new “Eldorado,” and in a few months a populous community had taken possession of the ground.  Within a year after this the territory of Montana was formed, and from its central location and large population, Helena was chosen as the capital.  From this time the success of the city was assured, emigration continued, the mines showed no signs of diminution, and the town soon aspired to the dignity of a city, despite its remoteness from the river, the railroad and the telegraph.  Exceeding even California in the richness of its gold mines, Montana shows a wonderful yield of silver, which is obtained with an ease which makes mining a pleasurable and sure source of incalculable profit.  In addition to the precious metals, copper is also found in abundance, and forms an important feature of the mineral wealth of this territory.

Montana is easily reached during the season of navigation by steamboats on the Missouri river from St. Louis, from which point, without obstruction or transshipment, the river is navigable to Fort Benton, situated almost in the center of the territory, a distance of more than twenty-five hundred miles.  Here, too, there is a large and constant supply of water, a matter of great difficulty and scarcity in other mining districts.