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.
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