Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1883)
June, 1883. I4 THE WEST SHORE. Men nf imnd horse sense, active and dwcent, can get rich in the sheep business in Montana." The same gentleman estimates tne numDer 01 sheep in the territory at 600,000, probably 250,. 000 of them being in Meagher and Cboteau coun- . !. 1. 1 1 : ties, and ot tnese a majority are niRn uieu men noes. The yield of wool last year was 3,000,000 pounds, but as it is only ten years since the first sheep were driven into Montana, ne predicts mat will be 50,000,000 pounds per annum in ten years from now. you can side track your meat train, and no stacking this hay can be kept four or five years, ftiwial harm is ilonr. nut a hliriard means an so that the exnense of guarding against severe enormous outlay in the case of a live stock ex- winters is not heavy. Last year the loss of sheep press, as any one can see. Another important was not over two per cent, in the territory, which point! When live stock readiest matket, be is almost as well as tne eastern groweis, wuu the price good, bad or indifferent, the stockman house and feed them. Montana mutton has a mutt sell. His steers would eat their heads off fine reoutation. and we have a pood market for it. in a nhnrt time in a city yard. Hut the dressed beef can be packed in a refrigerator warehouse and held until the market rises. Last year the Northern Pacific shipped 1,392 cars of slock from the region in question, which, at- an aver age of 20 head to the car, would give a total of 27,840 licevei. This supply will increase yearly, of course, and the establishments need not run all the lime." This applies as well to any other town on the railroad, which can be mad; the shipping point for an extensive stock region. In regard lo sheep raising in Northern Mon tana, an exetienced owner recently made Ihe following statement s "The winter was the best ever known for sheep, and the Ions will not exceed two per cent. The weak sheep were, during the severer weather, picked out and fed, and they generally came through In excellent shape. The cattle did not fair so well, though they generally came through In good ihotie. ll is wonderful how much thev sland s.imelimes with absolutely no care during the entire year and left lo shift for themselves, The sheep, you know, have more attention, and are herded. Our own business is largely Ihe miking of investments in sheep for eastern parlies. We procure Ihe stock and place it on a ranch under herdsmen, who, if found capable, are generally eventually given a herd on shares, We have found experienced farmers from Ihe east ern slates, and Englishmen and Scotchmen the mosl reliable. A good many Englishmen are coming Into Ihe country lo embark in this busi nets. " Large thecp men, like Ihe Ldpert and W.l laces, who have four or five thousand wethers, art preparing to ship them to the Chicago market xn. 1 nert It an exceedingly good demand, and prices are high lo what thry have Iwen. lkller sloik is Wing brought in, and the industry it in an exceedingly ro)erous condition. There has Iwtn a safe and steady profit. We have an in stance of a case where an Investment of $1,000 reamed $4,700 In four years. Of course, thai TOiei man me average, but it shows Ihe drift of affairs. We regaid sheep raiting generally safer more satisfactory than handling cattle. A man knows where he stands, and can sell out and Boulder having been chosen as the county seat of Jeflerron county, a two-story stone court house will soon be erected. Judith valley, long known as one of the best slock regions in Montana, is now receiving quite an immigration of settlers. Utica is the name of ihe little town that holds the trade of the valley, The new railroad town of Townsend, between Helena and Boseman is growing rapidly. Around it is one of the best farming valleys in Montana. Many business buildings and residences are betas erected. Much build inc is being done in Dillon unit c eral substantial brick structures are in process of erection. Dillon is the center of tranV fnr irr,, section of southwestern Montana, and as a per manent business point should be built im in substantial manner. Missoula has donated to the railroad comnanv 500 lots within the limits of the cilv. the consider. ation being the promise of Ihe company to build ircigni ana passenger depots within the city and not outside, as was at first proposed. This action materially increases the value of real estate in Missoula. realise when h. w.,. , u,:.v. . S " . lne nime 01 th tenninui of the over ,h. territory, heYd " "? . N. over Ihe territory, he's a lucky man if he can get .n inrce years, uut situation gives us advan lages over almott any other graiing country, even if we did not possess (he advsntaget of climate and pa.iu.age. We gel belter rales, ihanks to nw condition. The outlook wat never more flattering than at present, and Ihe stockmen are feeling welt after the lucky winter. We do not, as a rule, feed our theep in the winter, at Ihe range it free f.orn tnow. bul (he winter of 1SS0-81 was an exception, ,r,d ,he heavy os, of ,hfe averaging 20 per cent, throughout the territory w.med grower, that they must be prepared. Hence they have put up an ample supply of hay inc then, but bsve not fed a pound. By careful uonai rark 01 the Ye lnwstnn. A 1. L. mijc uuinucr of farmers are taking up land in the upper Yel- ..ey, wno win depend upon Gardiner for their supplie,. I advantage, as a terminus and . supply point fr the Clarke', Fork mines up her? 10 m4leP-0W own spring That - -"vnaiiuii ccaea to the government more than a year ago, ha, been .-.rj. ana was recently declared open for set rcmeni. it contains Coonorm . .1 . SdI irlte?.?1!1'?' r-Poses. and whose richn. ur.r,. a Ke. . mine. The hotel now being erected near the mammv hot springs 6f Gardiner river by the Nation,! improvement, o., will be 400 feet W supplemented at each end by a wing 200 feet in length. It will be built of wood, be three and one-half stories high, and contain 200 moms,- piaiia promenade win extend around the whole building. The main portion of the structure will be ready to accommodate guests this summer. The principal improvements being made in Fort Benton this year are, a brick court house to cost $40,000, an additional school building of brick costing $30,000, a hospital $10,000, 1 three-story brick hotel costing $15,000. Many other business houses and residences are also be. ing erected. Benton is built almost exclusively of brick and is one of the most substantial towns in the northwest. Real estate sales are large it good prices, many investments being made by non-residents. Cultivation of the soil in Montana seems to have produced a change in the climate similar to what has been observed in other dry regions More rain falls and better crops are the result Land that formerly has been despised because of its dryness is now becoming valuable under the converting power of rain. Prolific wheat fields are being cultivated and astonishing crops raised on land that a few years ago was considered 1 desert. Land brought under cultivation by meant of irrigating ditches, now produces well without their aid. The "Meeting of the Waters," where the Jef ferson, Gallatin and Madison unite to form the m 1 1! Tir-,--i,-i te nn nf iK. Mcl Tl 1 1 1 1 rl 1 mm. !1IIMIJT miasuuii) la VMS Ul .111. muoi iihiuiw w,.- mercial centeis in the territory. In 1862 a city was founded there by the early miners, but was deserted because no mines were discovered in the vicinity. Later on the valley lands were here and there settled upon, Gallatin City sprang up in the valley and became the county seat, but alter losing this honor to Bozeman, languished and de clined. The Northern Pacific has just laid out 1 new town site almost at the point of junction, which has been christened "Gallatin." Avast area of pasture and agricultural land is in (he im mediate vicinity, and this with the coal and silver recently discovered in the adjacent mountains, will build up a city of considerable importance. The Blackfoot reservation, occupied by a few hundred Blackfeet, Bloods, Piegans and Assina- boines, stretches from the Dakota line on the east to the Rocky mountains on the west, lying north of the Missouri and Marias rivers, and embraces tract larger than the New England states. Within its limits are some of the finest agricultural lands and the best stock ranges of the territory. The opening of this immense region of country irom Fort Bufordtothe Rocky Mountains, would bring in a vast tide of immigration, and villages and cities would spring up along the Missouri. The Milk river flows through this tract from west east for a distance of about 300 miles, with a wide and fertile valley nearly the whole distance. I" Bear's Paw and Little Rocky mountains, known to be rich in the precious metals, are securely locked up in this reservation, and will remain w until the Indian title is extinguished. The Henry Villard Hydraulic Mining Co. b been incorporated in Montana, to work the mines of Emigrant gulch. These mines are situated that portion of the Crow reservation recently thrown open to occupation. - (