Butte

but, the seat of Silverbow County, Montana. It is noted as the largest mining town in the world. There are ores of silver and gold, but the energy of the town is devoted almost exclusively to the mining of copper. The Anaconda Mine and others yield over half the copper produced in the United States. The mines are apparently inexhaustible. Lack of abundant water for washing ores is a great drawback. Otherwise the city would increase still more rapidly in population. There are many fine public buildings and handsome residences. There are few cities in the Union where money is more plentiful, especially when the mines are worked to their full capacity. The sulphur fumes kill off vegetation so that nothing green can grow for some distance around. The present population is about 30,000, depending entirely on the mines and miners. There are no nearby agricultural or grazing interests, but Butte is a commercial center, and does considerable business with the surrounding territory. See Copper; Montana