Historical Note - Week of February 14th

The Livingston Enterprise, February 15, 1890

Cooke City Letter.

EDITOR ENTERPRISE:

DEAR SIR: I will begin by saying that the lagrippe has disappeared from amongst us, and Joe Wells laughs all over his face. While it lasted the boys went for hot whiskey, and Joe is libera[l] and never charges for medicine. They had a good thing. Joe told them his wood pile was getting low heating water, but the boys pleaded zealously at the bar for more, and I verily believe they coughed and strangled a long time after the disease had left them. Luckily there were no deaths. If there had been there were not sober men enough to bury the dead. Think of going a mile and a half on snow shoes and hauling a stiff on a hand sleigh, and snow four feet deep, when we had a good warm fire to sit by and hot whiskey brought us.

Speaking of snow, we have about four feet, and it keeps coming by littles every day.

Yesterday was election day on that $35,000 bond business. We had no election, as neither the poll books nor ballots got here, and the judges could not find any law to open the polls and write tickets. That is one of the beauties of the Australian system of voting – disfranchises a precinct. Had there been a thousand voters here the result would have been the same. As it was, there would have been about fifty votes polled, which would have been about equally divided, with perhaps a small majority for bonding. Some of the boys went so far as to say that it was a put up job on the part of the Livingston people to delay the ballot box and tickets, thinking that Cooke would vote against the scheme, but I think differently. The people of Livingston are as honest and conscientious as any people, if the wind does blow there.

What mines are being worked are showing up well. Ez. Bowen is working a force on the Alice E. and Col. May, Kersey and Vandike have struck and are working a claim on Woody Mountain that shows a fine ledge. It is a mile and a half east of the Republic mine.

TRUTH

Cooke, Mont., Feb. 5, 1890.