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When farmers came to Montana in the late 1860's they supplied the towns of the territory with potatoes and vegetables. At first, however, fresh produce prices were astoundingly high, and the supply of such goods was limited and very unpredictable. Fruit and eggs were brought in from great distances; such luxury items were quite rare and were very costly when available. Breadstuffs, too, were very expensive. When flour supplies ran out, or became low, the populations of whole towns went on straight meat diets. After the rough winter of 1863/64 when supply trains were snowed-in, the founding fathers of the town purchased six camels to transport goods and produce overland from the Missouri River to Virginia City. The camels were a complete failure - horses hated them and would stampede when they spotted the hump-backed creatures. People as well were generally suspicious of camels. When folks didn't know what to do with them, they penned the camels outside of town until one escaped and got shot by a miner, mistaken for an elk.
With the population of Virginia City swelling as fast as it was, the winter was sure to be a another tough one. Local wages ranged three-to-five times higher than in other parts of the nation, and commodities were only twice as expensive, but all too frequently, everyday items such as bread were simply not available. Private schools cost $2.00 per student per week, and a dance at a "hurdy-gurdy" house was $2.50. The rate of crime was extremely high. Yet, here, at Virginia City, Montana Territory, the Hunter family settled in for the winter.
The Hunter home at Virginia City was a tent, with animal hides tacked to the sides and to the ground for warmth, and with a stove in the corner for cooking and heating. Dr. Hunter (and his brother-in-law, C. P. Murray) mined gold in the area. On November 25, 1864, Thomas Stonewall Jackson Hunter was born to A. J. Hunter and wife Susannah. A sampling of current events at the time include a January 3, 1865 prize fight in Virginia City that drew thousands of spectators and which lasted 193 rounds. The winter of 1864/65 saw flour shortages and bread riots. In October of 1864 a bag of flour cost twenty dollars for a hundred pounds. By mid-October it was twenty-six dollars. In late November the price was "upped" to twenty-eight dollars. Five months later (in April, 1865) the same 100-lb bag of flour was priced at ninety dollars, almost five times more expensive than the trading price of the previous autumn. In March of 1865 the Hunter family, along with a new baby named Stonewall, set out for Helena after hearing reports of a new gold strike there.
In the spring of 1865, the town of Helena consisted of six or eight houses. The richest mining claims were already taken by the time the Hunters arrived. Here, Dr. Hunter became a member of the vigilance committee. In the fall of 1865 the Hunters moved to Confederate Gulch, drawn by reports of rich placer mines. Dr. Hunter and C. P. Murray again turned their energies to mining.
The winter of 1865/66 was the worst one the Hunters had endured. The freight train from Corine, Utah was snowed-in and all the oxen died. The snow was 25 to 30 feet deep. Flour was transferred hand to hand. Once again: straight meat diets. Potatoes were 65 cents a pound; bacon - $1.00 lb; sugar .85 per pound; tea - $3.00; butter - $1.75; candles 90 cents a pound; beans .40 per lb; soap .50; hominy .75 beef .15 per lb. Susannah Hunter's children were crying for bread, but there was no flour to make bread, so Susannah boiled wheat and they ate it three times a day.
In the spring of 1866 the face of Montana begin to change. The telegraph line was completed from Salt Lake City, Utah linking Montana to the rest of the world by Morse Code. Stagecoach travel from Corine, Utah to Helena (or to Virginia City) cost $145. The service ran day and night, a distance of 550 miles, and the trip took four days or more. The teams were changed every 14 to 16 miles. Drivers were changed every 40 miles.
Nelson Story (see RICH family history ) drove 600 head of cattle from Dallas, Texas to Gallatin County, Montana for delivery to the mining camps. Gold was discovered at the Musselshell River about this time. After the Civil War, the steamboat trade on the Missouri River became heavy. Between mid-May and July or August (higher water level ) St. Louis to Ft. Benton took 1-2 months. The first public schools were started in Montana Territory. School age was from 4 to 21 years, but most students had usually quit by age 16. School terms were usually spring and fall, as long as 82 days or as little as 30 days. Teachers were paid $68 a month. Acting Governor Meagher called a constitutional convention in Helena in April. He appointed Dr. A. J. Hunter as a delegate from Meagher County to that convention. Dr. Hunter was a Democrat. A. J. Hunter registered at the International Hotel in Helena on the 7th of April, 1866 as a visitor from Diamond City, Confederate Gulch. Also in April, Dr. Hunter was working with the vigilantes and miners courts in Confederate Gulch/Diamond City. In May, Dr. Hunter took a deed of trust to cover a loan made to the Sutton and Marshall sawmill of New York Gulch. By July of '66, the Hunter family had took over operation of THE ASTOR HOUSE (a modest guest house for travelers, tradesmen and miners) in New York Gulch.
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