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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1887)
752 THE WEST SHORE. rate buildings, three churches-Cath- viting field than Fort Benton; more es. olic, Episcopal and Methodist-a fine pecially now, since we have railroad fa. hospital condncted by the sisters of cilities and are assured low freight rates, charity, a splendid court house and jail, There are many special lines of business and one of the be.t public school build- that would prove remunerative. There ings in Montana. The city was incor- is an urgent need for a flouring mill, porated in 1&83, and is conceded to be and any one contemplating engaging in the most orderly in the territory. In no that business can find no better opeincg other city of its situation is life and than here. There is also a grand open, property more safe. There has not ing for a woolen mill, to be operated by been a murder trial in its courts for a either water or steam power; and speak. )criod of more than ten years. ing of water power, while almost every Two new enterprises have recently town in the territories of Washington, been inaugurated, viz. water works and Idaho and Montana seeks to boom itself a bridge. A Holly system of water on its water power facilities, right here works, to cost about $75,000.00, for which in Fort Benton is the best available wa. the city council has recently granted a ter power for manufacturing purposes franchise to Geo. T. Woolston, of New to be found in any of them, available York, is now being put in. This includes for the reason that it can be more easily twenty-five double-nozzle fire hydrants, and cheaply applied than at any of the which are to have a pressure of seventy- water power towns that advertise as five pounds to the square inch, for fire such. I allude to the Teton river, which purposes, which will dispense with en- is some seventy feet above the level of gincs and will bo a complete protection the bottom upon which Fort Benton is against fire. An iron truss bridge across situated, and which can be brought into the MiHsouri, for which negotiations are it at a comparatively trifling expense, now pending between the city and the In fact, there is a company organized San Francisco Bridgo Co. and others, now with that as its object If steam will cost about $10,000 00. power is preferred, we are in the midst Fort Denton is well supplied with ho- of the greatest coal fields in all Mon tcls, and is a most delightful summer tana. Choteau county is more abun resort, its climate being a great deal dantly supplied with coal than any other more salubrious than a person would section of the same dimensions in any naturally supine in so high a latitude, of the territories of the United States. It lies from eighty.five to one hundred Surrounding Fort Benton, at every point and forty.fivo miles north of towns on of the compass, fine veins of bituminous tho lino of the Northern Pacific, but as coal are founiL Owing to the lack of its altitude is from five hundred to two railroad facilities in the past no effort thousand feet lower, it has, in reality, a has been made to develop tho mines to climatic advantago over them to tho ex- any great extent The only market was tent of from four to twenty degrees of Fort Benton, which has heretofore been latitude. In other words, for agricul- supplied by one or two veins situated on tural poroses, tho difference in altitude Belt creek, thirty miles distant In the practically puts this section south of Milk river valley, in the vicinity of Fort those points the number of degrees stat- Assinniboine and the Belknap Indian t agency, northeast of Fort Benton seven- To parties contemplating a change, ty.five miles, coal of a superior quality there is no place that offers a more in- is found in every coulee and along every