The West Old

THE J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 Vo l u m e I I I I s s u e I

V o l u m e I I I I s s u e I In this Issue of The West Old & New ___________________________ The Dumas Brothel in Butte, Montana is over due for some renovation and owned by two brothers who are looking for ways to save this iconic building. Pg. 4 _________________ The Victorian West Ignored the Cult of Domesticity creating an atmosphere in which prostitution became a way of life for unfortunate frontier women. Pg. 6 _______________ He is known as the Father of Montana, The West looks at the life of Granville Stuart. Pg. 8 ______________ Tough Trip Through Paradise - Andrew Garcia’s book gives the reader insight into life in Montana between 1878 - 1879 Pg. 10 ____________ Montana drew miners for its metals and in the process gems were discovered. Yogo Sapphires are coveted and hard to find. Pg. 12 The West Old & New Published by Susan Faye Roberts P.O. Box 10 Hot Springs, Montana 59845 [email protected] The West Old & New Online magazine Issuu.com & Joomag.com

The December full moon was called “The moon that parts its hair in the middle,” by the Blackfeet Indians of Montana. Photograph by S.F. Roberts The West Old & New Page 3

The Dumas Brothel The Dumas Brothel The Dumas Brothel he Dumas Brothel T Butte, Montanautte, Montana Butte, MontanaButte, Montana B First came the miners to work in the mine, then came the ladies to live on the line.\" Quote from Copper Camp - Writers Project of Montana The Dumas is an historic American brothel built that served the predominately male population which grew out of Butte's mining boom. It operated illegally for 92 years from 1890 to 1982, making it America's longest running house of \"ill repute\". The Dumas is the last vestige of Butte's Red-Light district, maintaining its authentic- ity as a true 19th century brothel. Ellen Baumier, Ph.D., National Register of Historic Places Sign Program Coordi- nator, noted “It is of national significance for its associations with labor, mining, immigrant groups and social history. Butte prided itself on its reputation as \"the most wide open town in the wide open West.\" Hundreds of saloons, open gambling and a teeming red light district confirmed its renown. Butte's legendary red light district once supported as many as a thousand women who worked in tiny alley cribs, in the streets, in glamorous parlor houses and in scores of brothels. Many have commented on Butte's red light district, among them Charlie Chaplin who, in My Autobiography, describes the women of the district as some of the most beautiful in the world. The Dumas, however, is not only significant as the last standing parlor house in this area of Butte, but also because of its length of operation and as a rare, intact commentary on social history. Indeed, the Dumas is a unique, tangible archive of social history. The building's extremely fragile, in dire need of stabilization and repair. It is an in- trinsic and essential the American West where prostitution was a component of nearly every frontier community.” The exterior of the Dumas on Mercury Street. The Dumas was designed and built as a brothel in 1890 and remained active as such until 1982, making it America's longest running house of prostitution. It was the first two-story brick structure built in Butte's famous Red Light District along Mercury Street. Ironically, the Dumas is also the last intact 'survivor' of an area where vice thrived and women worked hard, lived hard, and sometimes died hard. In the early 1970's, the Dumas Brothel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an \"active bordello.\" It is the last known example of the 'Victorian Brothelese' style architecture remaining in the United States today. The building is very nearly intact from when it was built at the turn of the 20th century. With the exception of some lowered ceilings and paneling from the 1970's, very few architectural changes have occurred at the Dumas. The first owners of the Dumas were the French Canadians Arthur and Joseph Nadeau. Joseph emigrated to the United States in 1868, and in 1878, married Delia, also of French Canadian descent. They arrived at Butte in 1879. Ownership of the Dumas was listed in Delia's name to avoid conflicts with the Nadeau Company's more \"legitimate\" ventures. From 1888 until 1900, Joseph Nadeau was proprietor of the Windsor Hotel and Restaurant at 13 E. Broadway, in the heart of the more respectable business district. Just a few blocks south of this enterprise, lay the Red Light District, which by 1890, had been established along Mercury and Galena Streets, east of Main and West of Arizona streets. The Nadeaus created the Nadeau Investment Company and by 1922 owned several building in the Red Light District, including the Copper Block, a large brick saloon and hotel, which provided living quarters for area prostitutes, gam- blers and others of questionable reputations. The Copper Block, on the corner of Galena and Wyoming streets, just north and east of the Dumas, was demolished in the early 1990's. Upstairs area of the Dumas The West Old & New Page 4

Joseph's imaginative descriptions of himself reflect the changing times: in 1885 he listed his occupation as \"landlord,\" until 1905 his self-proclaimed title was \"capitalist,\" and in 1905 he listed his business as \"real es- tate.\" The Dumas is a three level brothel. The lower level (basement) contains smaller rooms or cribs. Originally, a stairway led downstairs from the front side walk. The main level has larger rooms and parlors connected by massive pocket doors, which could be opened to create large parlors for parties, but closed up again to regain the individual rooms. the upstairs (top level) contains several large rooms and suites and a large open balcony with skylights. In 1913, one story addition was built on the rear of the Dumas containing eight cribs, four of which open to \"Venus Alley,\" which once was lined with tiny rooms opening directly into the alley. Prostitutes stood in the door- ways of each crib, enticing customers. All that's left of the infamous alley, directly behind the Dumas, is the red brick paving. Basement crib at the Dumas. In its first half-century, 1890-1942, the Dumas used all 43 of its rooms and during busy times, weekends and paydays, ran three shifts of girls. After all, the miners worked 'round the clock' meaning there were three shifts of miners, offering 24-hours worth of \"customers.\" The \"ladies\" would sit in the windows while the \"gentlemen\" walked the hallways and window shopped. The prices charged by the girls were negotiable depending on the services requested. For the standard \"quickie\" charges were .50 to $1 in the early years and by the 1940's the rate had climbed all the way up to $2. In the 1950's a fellow could \"get lucky\" for a mere $5 bill and when the Dumas closed in 1982 the base price was still relatively cheap at $20. The \"working girls\" were only allowed to keep about 40% of the fees but some of them did quite well on tips. They would re- ceive tips in many forms such as cash, jewelry, clothes, groceries, furs and sometimes automobiles. Butte women who clerked in the business districts' many dress shops and millinery (hat) stores recall that some of the women of the district often dressed in fine clothes and appeared to be perfect ladies. In January 1943, as part of the war efforts, the federal government ordered all brothels in the US to be closed. It was at this time that the alley and basement cribs were closed, but the Dumas and the other brothels in the Red Light District continued to operate using the wait- ing room system. The customer would ring the door bell and be es- corted to a waiting room where he would be introduced to several of the girls from which to make his choice. To the disappointment of its many customers, Butte's Red Light District, also known as the Twi- light Zone, no longer allowed \"window shopping.\" But, many people who grew up in Butte still remember women sit- ting in front rooms of the houses which face on Mercury Street and tapping on the windows with chopsticks as people passed by. One Butte professional now in his 50's remembers selling the Montana Post, the afternoon paper, which was in the building on the corner of Main and Galena. \"We'd pick up our papers in the alley and then race to the houses to sell them because the women there gave us good tips.\" He recalls the women as \"very nice,\" sometimes offering a cup of hot chocolate on a bitterly cold winter day. Ruby Garret was the Dumas' last madam, or, as she prefers, \"landlady,\" from 1971 to 1982. After the setbacks of the 80's she was resigned to let the building \"go to taxes,\" almost hoping to see the Dumas join its neighbors in demolition rather than have remodeling erase the evidence of its former glory. In 1990, she met antique dealer Rudy Giecek and ultimately sold him the building with the stipulation that he restore it as closely as Break room for the working girls at the Dumas. The West Old & New Page 5

possible to its appearance of 100 years ago. Ruby was a living testimony to the Dumas’ colorful past. She knows the story of the bullet holes in the front door, and the history behind the stories of Elinor's ghost, alleged to walk the Dumas after Madam Elinor Knott committed suicide in February 1955. Her ghostly form, suitcase in hand, has been seen throughout the Dumas' 43 rooms. Ruby knew all the hidey-holes, the secret crawlspaces, and the refrigerator specially adapted to serve as a hiding place for Sandra, a particularly \"nervous\" but much sought after employee who worked at the Dumas until she was 61 years old. In 2012 Ruby Garrett, also known as Alee Arrigoni died in Missoula, Montana at the age of 94. Garrett owned the brothel until 1982 when her federal tax evasion conviction forced the brothel to close. She did a six month prison sentence for tax evasion, having missed the bullet earlier after being acquitted on charges she shot and killed her husband in June 1959 while he was playing cards. The story goes she walked into the card game and shot him five times, it was noted that no one present recognized, she had been so badly beaten by her husband. The building became a museum and for several years it was affiliated with the International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education (ISWFACE). In 2005 the Dumas Brothel Museum was closed due to financial considerations surrounding much-needed structural repairs and other conservation costs. In 2008 the Dumas Brothel reopened after a fund-raising effort. On June 20, 2012, an announcement was added to the Dumas Brothel Web site in reference to a change of ownership: \"Mr. Michael Piche and Mr. Travis Eskelsen, both Butte residents, have purchased the Dumas Brothel from Mr. Rudy Giecek with the foremost goal being the restoration of the building, which we have found to be in critical condition\" For information about the Dumas and how you can help preserve this remarkable piece of American History, contact Michael Piche and Travis Eskelsen, at the Historic Dumas Brothel N0. 45 East Mercury Street, Butte, Montana 59701 (406) 299-2702, You can contribute by mailing a donation of any amount to the address above. The brothers are in the process of forming a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit which will allow for larger contribution's to be tax deductable! Contact them at 406-299-2702 or via email at [email protected] The website for the brothel is at : http://www.thedumasbrothel.com/ The Cult of Domesticity & True Womanhood The Cult of Domesticity or Cult of True Womanhood was a prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes dur- ing the nineteenth century. This system emphasized femininity, with the woman's role within the home and family. \"True women\" were supposed to possess four cardinal virtues: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. The women and men who most actively promoted these standards were generally white, Protestant, and lived in New England and the Northeastern United States. Although all women were supposed to emulate this ideal of femininity, black, working class, and immigrant women did not fit the definition of \"true women\" because of social prejudice Physically, \"true women\" were delicate, soft and weak The characteristics of \"true womanhood\" were described in sermons and religious texts as well as women's magazines. In the United States, Peterson's Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book were the most widely circulated women's magazine and were popular among both women and men. True Women were supposed to devote themselves to unpaid domestic labor and refrain from paid, market-oriented work. Consequently, in 1890, 4.5% of all married women were \"gainfully employed,\" compared with 40.5% of single women. Women's complete financial dependence upon their hus- bands proved disastrous when wives lost their husbands through death or desertion and were forced to fend for themselves and their children. The division between the domestic and public spheres had an impact on women's power and status. In society as a whole, particularly in political and economic arenas, women's power declined. Of course, the oldest profession in the world prospered in this system of idealization. Some of the women in the American Revolution who followed the Continental Army served the soldiers and officers as sexual partners. Prostitutes were a worrisome presence to army leadership, particularly be- cause of the possible spread of venereal diseases. Some, however, encour- aged the presence of prostitutes to keep troop morale high. In the 19th century, parlor house brothels catered to upper class clientele, while bawdy houses catered to the lower class. The West Old & New Page 6

At concert saloons, men could eat, listen to music, watch a fight, or pay women for sex. Over 200 brothels existed in lower Man- hattan. Prostitution was illegal under the vagrancy laws, but was not well-enforced by police and city officials, who were bribed by brothel owners and madams. The gold rush in the west attracted gambling, crime, saloons, and prostitution to the mining towns of the wild west. Wide- spread media coverage of prostitution occurred in 1836, when famous courtesan Helen Jewett was murdered, allegedly by one of her customers. The Lorette ordinance of 1857 prohibited prostitution on the first floor of buildings in New Orleans. Nevertheless, prostitution continued to grow rapidly in the US, becoming a 6.3 million-dollar business in 1858, more than the shipping and brewing industries combined. By the US Civil War, Pennsylvania Avenue had become a disreputable slum known as Murder Bay, home to an extensive criminal underclass and numerous brothels. So many prostitutes took up residence there to serve the needs of General Joseph Hooker's Army of the Potomac that the area became known as \"Hooker's Division.\" Two blocks between Pennsylvania and Mis- souri Avenues became home to such expensive brothels that it was known as \"Marble Alley.\" In 1881, the Bird Cage Theatre opened in Tombstone, Arizona. It included a brothel in the basement and 14 cribs suspended from the ceiling, called cages. In the late 19th century, newspapers reported that 65,000 white slaves existed. Around 1890, the term \"red-light district\" was first recorded in the United States. From 1890 to 1982, the Dumas Brothel in Montana was America's longest-running house of prostitution. New Orleans city alderman Sidney Story wrote an ordinance in 1897 to regulate and limit prostitution to one small area of the city, \"The District\", where all prostitutes in New Orleans must live and work. The District, or Storyville, became the most famous area for prostitution in the nation. Storyville at its peak had some 1500 prostitutes and 200 brothels. In the West, the harsh Puritan sanctions were not as \"practical” as in America’s more conservative eastern counterpart. Women who plied the trade in the west were labeled by miners as \"ladies of the line” and \"sporting women\", while the cowboys dubbed them \"soiled doves.” Common terms in- cluded \"daughters of sin”, \"fallen frails,” \"doves of the roost,” and \"nymphs du prairie.” Other nick- names for these women were \"scarlet ladies,” fallen angels,” \"frail sisters,” \"fair belles,” and \"painted cats.” Historians have estimated that prostitutes made up 25% of the population in the west, often outnum- bering the \"decent” women 25 to 1. Usually, painted ladies were between the ages of 14 and 30 with the average age of 23. Visit this time line for a historic per- spective on prostitution in the world. http://prostitution.procon.org/ view.timeline.php?timelineID=000028 The book on the right by Annie Sea- graves is an excellent source of stories about the early women of the west who worked as prostitutes. http://www.amazon.com/Soiled- Doves-Prostitution-Early-Women/ dp/096190884X The West Old & New Page 7

Granville Stuart Pioneer, Gold Prospector, Businessman, Civic Leader, Vigilante, Author, Cattleman and Diplomat. The man on the left made major contributions to the state of Montana in its early history. Granville Stuart born August 27, 1834 played a promi- nent role in the early history of Montana Territory and the state of Mon- tana. Widely known as \"Mr. Montana\", Granville's life spanned the for- mative years of Montana from territorial times through the first 30 years of statehood. His journals and writings have provided Montana and west- ern historians unique insights into life in the Northern Rockies during the second half the 19th Century. Granville and James, along with nine other travelers, were heading east when Granville fell seriously ill in southern Idaho. Granville was too ill to travel so James stayed with him while the others went east. By the time Granville recovered, it was too late in the year to continue east over the Rocky Mountains. The brothers could not winter over in southern Idaho nor could they seek refuge in Salt Lake City because of the ongoing con- flict between the United States and the Mormons called the Mormon War. Instead they befriended a former fur trapper Jake Meek who wintered a small cattle herd in the Beaverhead Valley. On October 10, 1857, Gran- ville and James Stuart and Jake Meek crossed Monida Pass 200 miles north into the Beaverhead Valley and what was to become Montana Ter- ritory in 1864. They established a camp along the Beaverhead River near present day Dillon, Montana. Others were already in the valley. Many former fur traders had adopted the practice trading one good cow or oxen for two trail weary animals on the Oregon Trail during the summer. They over wintered the animals in the Beaverhead to get them healthy for the next summer. One of these traders was French-Canadian Richard Grant, father of Johnny Grant who established the Grant Ranch in Deer Lodge in 1862. For three years, the Stuart brothers traded cattle, horses and other goods between the Big Hole valley, the Beaverhead Deer Lodge Valley and Fort Bridger in Southern Wyoming. In the Fall of 1860, along with their friend Reece Andersen, the Stuarts de- cided to move north into the Deer Lodge Valley. They established a camp on Gold Creek (Benetsee Creek), where in 1852 a French prospector, Francois Finley (Benetsee) had discovered gold. In the Spring of 1858, while doing a bit of prospecting along Gold Creek, the Stuarts along with Reece Anderson found enough gold to make them want to return. In 1861 the Stuarts decided to settle permanently in the Deer Lodge Valley along the Clark Fork River and Mullan Road. The road gave the Stuarts good access to supplies at Fort Benton 187 miles (301 km) to the east and from Walla Walla 433 miles (697 km) to the west. They built a small cabin along Gold Creek. Many other prospectors joined in the rush to the Deer Lodge Valley in search of gold in the early 1860–1862. Johnny Grant in 1859 built a cabin at Little Blackfoot Creek and later in 1862 a ranch at Cottonwood Creek. Those prospectors that congregated along Gold Creek called their community \"American Fork\", while at the other end of the valley, Grant called his growing community Cottonwood. With the discovery of gold in Alder Gulch in the Sum- mer of 1863, most of the inhabitants of the valley moved south to Virginia City including the Stuarts. However, the Stuarts wanted to sustain a presence in the Deer Lodge area. In 1864, James Stuart organized a company and employed Colonel Walter W. deL- acy to survey and plat a proper town on Cottonwood Creek. The town was christened Deer Lodge, Montana. Granville Stuart, from a young age kept copious notes, diaries, and journals. He routinely kept copies of most all his corre- spondence, much of which is preserved today by the Montana Historical Society, a society he helped found in 1864. He wrote sev- eral books on Montana and its pioneer history. His writings are considered to be seminal works on the history of the western United States. Over the course of his life, Granville Stuart served in a variety of public offices. At one time or the other he was the President of the Deer Lodge Town Committee, Chairman of the Deer Lodge County Commission, a trustee in numerous school districts, the College of Montana Montana's first, and the Montana Territorial Prison. He served five terms on the Montana Territorial Legisla- tive Assembly. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the territorial militia. In the 1890s, he was a State Land Agent. He was the head librarian in the Butte Public Library between 1905–1914. He was a founding member of the Society of Montana Pioneers formed in 1884 and served as its president in 1886. The West Old & New Page 8