Distinctly Montana Magazine

Orbs—bubbles of light that some believe are evidence of supernatural activity—appear on the back door at the Daems House. A second round of photos several days later, like this one of the Daems parlor, included no orbs. Locals claim to have seen Sister Irene in a pew in Idaho Street's Episcopal Church. in Virginia City. I took more photographs, but none included orbs. I often marvel at the traffic this historic street has seen. How many souls have walked in its dust and left their energy behind? Idaho Street indeed has its secrets. Humble ruins and high style homes sit amicably side-by-side on the unpaved street. Here locals tell their stories, and I have told a few as well. Six-year-old Martha Mildred Gohn, for example, who died in 1911, is Idaho Street's winsome spirit. Or Mary Elling, whose stone mansion perches up the hill, lets the current owner know when she disapproves of change. And I now added my own story about the Daems House to the list. But among Idaho Street's several haunted places, the Bonanza Inn has the most intriguing, and chilling, energy. Built in the mid-1860s as the Madison County courthouse, it served up justice until 1875. In 1876, three Catholic Sis- ters of Charity arrived from Leavenworth, Kansas, to con- vert it to St. Mary's Hospital for miners. The sisters battled cholera, typhoid, consumption, gunshots wounds, saloon fights, and mining accidents. Then patients dwindled as mining waned and the sisters moved on in 1879. They, and some of their patients, left an unusual legacy. From the 1950s to the present, overnight guests have re- ported ghostly visits. A female spirit sits by the bed, sooth- ing the sick, comforting the depressed. Some claim to have seen the shadowy nun along Idaho Street or sitting in a pew in the Episcopal Church. I set out to discover her identity. I HEARD THAT KIND OF SOUND THAT A GHOST MAKES WHEN IT WANTS TO TELL ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S ON ITS MIND AND CAN'T MAKE ITSELF UNDERSTOOD, AND SO CAN'T REST EASY IN ITS GRAVE, AND HAS TO GO ABOUT THAT WAY EVERY NIGHT GRIEVING. MARK TWAIN One of the three Sisters of Charity was an 18-year-old novice who endeared herself to Virginia City. Community women, concerned about Sister Irene's safety among the rough miners, promised each other that whenever pretty Sister Irene left the hospital, one of the women would secretly follow close behind, making sure she was safe. Years later as Mother Superior at St. James Hospital in Butte, Mother Irene McGrath cared for a patient who had known her at Virginia City. She told Mother Irene of the women's service. The seasoned mother superior was over- whelmed to discover this kindness. Does she come back to repay the debt? 70 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • AUTUMN 2011

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