Alexander Milton Walker History of Montana,by Joaquin Miller, 1894 May be copied for non-profit purposes. USGENWEB Montana Archives Alexander Milton Walker, who now owns and occupies a ranch in the vicinity of Anaconda, has long been identified with various interests in Montana. He is a son of David Walker and a brother of D.D. Walker, mention of whom together with the family ancestry and traditional pioneer characteristics appears elsewhere in this work.Alexander M. Walker was born in Lee County Iowa, January 14, 1839. He left his native state in the spring of 1863 in company with his older brother, Joseph C. Walker and Dr. Allen Hardinbrook, their intention being to go to California. When they arrived at Denver, however, the news had spread there of the rich gold discovery at Bannack, Montana and instead of going on to California they directed their course toward Bannack, where they arrived in June, without having encountered any serious difficulty on the way. Their journey from Denver here was made with mule teams and in company with forty other men. Upon their arrival in Bannack rumors were coming in with fabulous stories of a rich discovery of gold yet further on at Alder Gulch. One of their number Captain Brookey, advised them to wait until he made a trip on horseback and reported, which they did, and a few days later they received word from him to come on. After their arrival at the gulch, however, there was no lumber with which to work and after a fruitless delay of three weeks they returned to Bannack. At Bannack they purchased a claim, worked it for a few days and as they only took out$1 they called it a bad investment and gave it up. Again they tried Alder gulch, where they prospected for a time,and where they purchased another claim, paying for it $600. The first six hours they worked in this claim they took out $125 and during the next two months it netted them $1200. Feeling, however, that mining was an uncertain business and having an opportunity to sell out, they disposed of their claim for $1200. With the money thus made they purchased an interest in a sawmill, deeming this the best investment they could make as lumber was in great demand. This mill was propelled by horses, twelve on a shift, the other twelve being turned out to grass, which was their only food. The capacity of the mill by this process was about 1200 feet of lumber per day. The following spring they changed towater power and soon thereafter sold out. That fall they purchased an interest in a mill and machinery for which they agreed to pay $2000 with interest at ten per cent per month until the debt was paid. The amount was paid in full within two months, and soon afterward they sold out at a good profit.In December of the same year in which they sold their mill, the Walker brothers and Dr. Hardinbrook returned East, going by stage from Virginia City to Atchison, Kansas, their stage fare being $600 a piece. And while on this return trip they paid $2 for each of their meals. In the spring of 1865 they outfitted with wagons and teams, and taking such commodities as were in demand in the mining regions, they again started West. After four months of travel they reached the present site of Deer Lodge where they remained during the winter. In the spring they packed their goodson horses to Elk Creek, a new mining camp just opened, where they disposed of their provisions at the following prices: bacon, 90 cents a pound; nails, 75 cents a pound, beans 75 cents a pound; coffee, $1.40 a pound; sugar $1.25a pound; flour, 35 cents a pound. After disposing of their goods they went to Helena then a lively placer camp where they again invested in a portablesteam mill, and proceeded to cut lumber to fill the growing demand. They sold their product for from $40 to $50 perthousand feet and notwithstanding they sold immense quantities of it the lumber accumulated from year to year in their yard until in 1869 they had nearly 500,000 feet of lumber. Then came a fire which swept away nearly all the new town and created a market for all the lumber they had, and for their daily output which was then about 8,000 feet. This increased demand caused an advance in prices and they sold their product for from $50 to $60 per thousand feet. In the fall of 1872 they disposed of this mill and all their lumber interests. Dr. Hardinbrook hadnot been in the firm after the Deer Lodge transaction, the milling business being conducted by the brothers, J.C.and A.M. Walker. While engaged in lumbering they also carried on a freighting business with teams which they continued until 1873. A Mr. Brown was connected with this branch of the business. Their train consisted of sixteen teams, with a capacity of 100,000 pounds. The Walker brothers also ran a train of eighty mules and twenty wagonsfreighting in Nevada. In 1872 after a year and a half in Nevada, they disposed of their freighting outfit and A.M. Walker returned to Montana and for one year was again engaged in lumbering in Helena. His next venture was in the sheep business. He purchased 2,500 sheep and gave his attention to this enterprise for three years, at the end of which time his flock numbered 4,500 besides having sold a large number for mutton in the meantime. The wool he sold during these three years brought him a fair income, the last clip alone netting no less than $4,600. He disposed of his sheep interests at a good profit and in 1881 we find him again dealing in lumber, this time at Butte, where he was associated with William Thompson for a few months. Afterward he was with Thomas Newton, with whom he continued until 1884. Then he sold out his interests there and invested in a mill at Empire. In September 1888, he leased a new hotel at Carroll, the lower smelting works of the Anaconda Mining Company, the lease torun for five years. In this hotel, known as the Walker House, he did a successful business but before his lease expired he sold it, together with the furnishings of the house.Mr. Walker now resides on his ranch of 600 acres, which is located a mile and a half east of Anaconda. He was married in April 1871 to Abbie B. Creel, daughter of Robert and Many Creel. Their only child, David Creel Walker was born February 22, 1872. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format forprofit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express writtenpermission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.