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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Dracon" data-source="post: 1605284" data-attributes="member: 14799">Allan - "Far from prosperous" is a good discription of current White Suffering Springs. In fact the U.S. Chamber of Commerce several years ago found Meagher County (WSS country seat) to have the lowest per capita income of any county in the entire United States. WSS and Butte have much in common - located at 5,000 feet and surrounded by mountains, Butte had the colorful copper kings - Marcus Daly and William Clark - Clark managed to bribe his way into being elected to a Congressional Senate seat, and our U.S. Senate in a spasm of self-righteousness refused to seat him. (later they did) Meagher County was named after one Thomas Francis Meagher, who packed in his forty four years several lifetimes of adventures. Born in Ireland to affluent parents, he became such a noisy promoter of Irish independence that the English exiled him to Tasmania, but he managed to escape and get to America where he distinguished himself fighting for the North in the Civil War. He eventually was named Montana's first territorial governor in 1865, but he, like Amelia Earhart, disappeared never to be found.He was last seen aboard a paddle wheeler (steamship) on the shores of the upper Missouri at Fort Benton, the end of the steamboat run. He was presumed to have fallen overboard, either drunk or knocked in the head and toss into 12 feet of the roily Missouri River. No body was found, and no one stepped forward as an eye witness. He was known to enjoy his spirits - this may be the origin of the countless Irish jokes about booze. But since he had many political enemies (things really haven't changed), that explanation can't be ruled out, either. No death bed confessions have ever emerged, leaving it an unsolved mystery for all times. He disappeared on July 1, 1867. Now since this is a birding web site, allow me to point out that the citizens of White Sulphur Springs and the whole of Meagher County are avid bird watchers. We patronize the nearest Walmarts, and in spite of our niggardly incomes, manage to buy much bird seed to help our feathered companions survive our frigid winters and hurricane force winds. We have a rich diversity of birds from mountain blue birds to sandhill cranes. Our raptors are of many species, and most stay year round including the golden and bald eagles. Our osprey do move south in the winter but have many nests in the summer. Canada geese and mallards are found all year long. Upland species include pheasants, several varieties of mountain grouse, sage hens, sharp tail grouse, chukars, and Hungarian partridges. While we in WSS may lack monetary resources, we make up for it in wild life and birds galore. We could easily make a documentary and call it "Birds Gone Wild." People who live in Butte love that place, and I'll wager you enjoyed living there. Take care.  P.S  When you left Butte in 1982, were you riding a Harley?  John</blockquote>

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