Montana Medicine Show: Marcus Daly

Welcome to the Montana Medicine Show. I'm Derrick strong. He was a Horatio Alger hero who fought his way from dire poverty to fabulous riches a true empire builder. That's historian Mike Malone on copper king Marcus Daly. Backed by California investors Daley came to Butte bought the Anaconda mine and discovered the planet's largest supply of copper. He told a friend the world doesn't know it yet but I have its richest mine. It was the dawn of the age of electricity. Butte was poised to become the city that wired America daily imported shiploads of fellow Irish immigrants to work Butte Anaconda Hill in 1885 the west shore magazine called Daly City the largest busiest and richest mining camp in the world. The anaconda copper mining company made millions daily diversified. He developed railroads coal beds newspapers hotels and retail stores. He found a town's own vast timber holdings and created the world's greatest smelting complex.

Author Michael punky wrote taken together a remarkable three quarters of Montana's wage earners drew their checks from Daly's Anaconda enterprises in 1899 and what the New York Times called the biggest financial deal of the age. Daley sold out to the Standard Oil Company One year later. Daley was dead. The Butte inner mountain offered this eulogy. The mighty oak has fallen. The architect of Montana's greatness is gone. From Kid GLT studios. I'm Derek strong. Montana medicine show is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A private corporation funded by the American people.