April, 1883.
8o
THE WEST SHORE.
Not one of the great territories soon to lie ad
mitted into our sisterhood of slates, come with
larger how of present prosperity and promise of
future greatness than docs Montana. With fertile
valleys trclchin(j hundred of mile along her
river courses with her mountains a an inexhaust
ible store-house of gold, silver, copier, coal,
mirlile, (jronite and tinilier, with vast expanses of
grassy hills and mountain loes for cattle, he
offeri hoinei and a livelihood for a million of
people.
A part of the great Ixuisiann purchase made in
1803, portions of Montana have at different lime
liren embraced in the organized territories of
Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Dakota. The
firt white man known to have viiited this region
wai Chevalier de la Verendr)e, governor of Que
liec, who, at the head of an exploring party, ar
rived at " the gateway of the mountains " on the
first day of January, 1743, and there erected a
monument of stones, under which he deposited a
leaden plate emblazoned with the French coat of
arms. This monument lias never licen found.
Sixty-two yean later the great overland expedi
lion of I,ewis and Clarke trnversed (he territory
and recorded its chief characteristics. For the next
fifty yean Montana was known only to the hunters,
lraper and missionaries, who traversed it in all
directions and the only settlements were the
trading potts of fur companies, a few missionary
establishments, and the habitations of a number
of mountain men who hail married Indian women
ami settled In this vast wilderness. A great
change came suddenly. Cold was discovered in
1H02, and for the next three yean thousands of
minera poured in from the wrsl, south and east,
pimpected it from end to end, and so develop
It that rongrrn .y the art of May jrj, 1804,
created the territory of Montana, whose name
and fame have m ide their way niniind the world.
CKiK.mriiY.
Its greatest length fn.111 rasl lu west is 540
miles, its wi.ltti i,iiiri am j, HsiH-rltial area
MS-77" "I'laie mil.sof which at least one-thin!
is mountainous. , extends from the 104" ( ihr
1 16 of longitude wrsl f,nin Greenwich, ard for the
hkM pail lirliele. n 4Sand 40 of north latitude,
lit southern l-iundaiy being midway between the'
Cu.Hor and the li.iiS-s.hl nmlh p,,lc. The
great waieishisl lmw.cn the Atlantic and the IV
cilic, the mam d.vide of the Rocky mountains,
ltm-c. the western end, having alwut one-fourth
of the tcrritoiy on its western sli.y, and thiee
fourth, on the eastern. Smaller unges, lateral
purs t"d detached gn,, f mountains give it
that diversity of Kly ))anlu mJ
lovely valley, thai foin.s its chief l.cauty in the
ititt'i rye. The westero tion i. exceedingly
mountainous ihough ali.ding in lK-autiful val
ley ahmg the many streams while to the eastward
the cuntry Ivrr.k. into ,R nijin 1tirin. ,n(
north of the M.stouri tuWidc into vast plins,
one the home of counties. trmusanH, 0f buffl)o
but now covered with great herds of cattle grazing
upon the nutritious bunch and buffalo grasses.
Here and in the valleys and mountains, where the
rich grasses grow in luxuriance, great bands of
buffalo, deer and elk still exist, and their tildes
form a staple article of export to the eastern
market.
The great water-courses are Clarke's fork of the
Columbia, and the Missouri and its chief tributaries
the M ilk and Yellowstone. The three hA named
head amid the summit peaks of the Rocky moun
tains and flow in a general easterly course through
the whole length of the territory. The head
waters of Clarke's fork are within a few miles of
those of the Missouri, but the stream pours down
the western slope and across the territory to the
northwest, uniting with the mighty Columbia
near the international line between Washington
and British Columbia. It drains 40,000 square
miles of Montana, while the Missouri and its
tributaries, Milk, Yellowstone, Teton, Marias,
Judith, Musselshell, Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin,
Dig Horn and Powder, carry with them the waters
from more than twice that area. Altogether these
are navigated by steamboats a distance of 1,500
miles within the limits of the territory, and the Mis
souri, which now is, and always will be, one of her
greatest commercial highways, is plowed by steam
ers a distnnce of 4,000 miles, from the interior of
Montana to the Gulf of Mexico.' Along these
great water-courses lie beautiful and fertile valleys,
unsurpassed intheagricultural advantages they have
to offer to settlers. Hot or warm springs are
found in every valley, while the number of lakes
is legion. The largest of these are Flathead lake,
30x10 miles, lying in Missoula county, and Red
Rock lake in Madison county, twenty-five miles
long and 6,500 feet above the sea, distant but five
miles from the renowned Henry's lake, in Idaho.
from which it is separated by a narrow ridge of
tne mountains, ihe great falls of the Missouri,
thirty miles above Fort Benton, have a peroen
dicular plunge of ninety feet, and for grandeur
ami Deauty rank among nature's greatest won
ders. CLIMATE.
Professor Gannett, of the Hayden survey, places
the mean altitude of Montana at 3,000 feet above
sea level, lie estimates Nevada and New Mexico
at 5,600, Wyoming 6,000, and Colorado 7,000,
thus giving it an average elevation of 1,260 feet
h-ss than the general average of (hose other inoun
tarn states and territories. !y profcssor A ; ,
c J,JO ,c 01 allttude to one degree of
. ..., .in i seen that the advantage in
mildness of climate must he with Montana to the
extent of seven degrees of latitude. The iso
thermal line of 50' pJSSCS north through this
lmi.o,y into Hritish Columbia, the deflection
from a westerly cou.se Wing caused by the genial
mfluences of the Wlrm Japan m flJ
lon our western coast. Warm westerly winds
ar more prevalent in winter than .re the cold
northern Wuam. thtt ,hc
of ca,,.?T8 ,0 -"'"--ondi.ion vast bands
"fratde, sheep and horse, live and thrive on the
S'w range, of Monlana lh h
Provided. Snow rarely covers the valleys, never
o K-t depth, bu, i,he mountain, 5J
f now accumulate during the winler
age winter temperature is extremely moderate,
excessively cold dayg occurring but infrequently,
while the summer weather is pleasant, with the
nights never sultry, but rendered comfortable by
cool breezes from the mountains. The clearness
of the atmosphere is remarkable, rendering ob'ecis
visible at a great distance. Severe storms are un
known, save among mountain peaks, which shelter
the valleys and protect them from the withering
blasts that are shattered against their rocky walls.
RESOURCES.
The resources of Montana are varied and val
uable. Millions of acres of fine agricultural land
are awaiting development The soil is friable
and wonderfully productive. Owing to the light
rainfall, irrigation is generally necessary, the
abundance of never-failing streams rendering this
means of vivifying the soil easy and certain. It
is the universal experience of the world that an
irrigated crop never fails, as is too often the case
where water from the clouds alone is depended
upon. Little ditches branching out in all direc
tions from the great water -courses, will, in a few
years, convert Montana's valleys into one contin
uous stretch of never-fading verdure. The sur
veyor general reports that the lands embraced
within the Northern Pacific grant have been found
to be 20,700,000 acres in the territory. An equal
amount of government land adjoins it, and of
this vast area but 5,170,0011 acres have yet been
surveyed. The cash sales of the Helena land of
fice for 1882 were 93,787 acres, which, with i6ty
023 acres filed upon, made a total of 253,810
acres. Allowing the same amount of business
for the other two districts, we have a grand total
of 750,000 acres taken in 1882. This is but a
small fraction of even the 20,700,000 acres within
the railroad limits, without referring to the vast
area on either side. The acres of improved land
reported in 1882 were 516,101, valued for taxa
tion purposes at $4,476,1185 town lots and im
provements, $4,163,618; horses, 67,802, value,
$3.97.20; sheep, 362,776, value, $1,018,124!
cattle, 287,210, value, $4,699,812; swine, 7,101,
value, $45,249. The total assessed valuation of
the territory was $33,212,319, an increase upon
the previous year of $9, 170, 512, or about 38 per
cent. The estimated increase for the current year
is 50 per cent., owing to the great amount of rail
road building and the enormous immigration.
The average rate of tax for 1882 was $1.75 on
$100. The territory has $14,000 cash surplus
in the treasury. No reliable report of the pro
duction of cereals and hay can be given, owing
to the fact that they mature and find a market
between the annual assessments. The peculiar '
adaptability of Montana for the raising of cattle
and sheep on an extensive scale has previously
been noted. A great increase in the already
large number of animals grazing on the vast
ranges is certain, because of the high price of
beef cattle and the known advantages this region
offers to those desirous of embarking in that prof-
Stable business.
Timber sufficient for household and farming
purposes is found along the streams of the east
ern and northern portions, while in the northwest
stand great bodies of timber forests, penetrated
by the Northern Pacific, from which lumber can
be sent to the prairie lands to the eastward.
Mining has alwavs been and probably will con
tinue to be the leadine industry. The value of
the gold, silver, copper and lead output for 188'