The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1871-06-10
"BssncA GrasS.0
From the Christian Union, Nay s9th.

kenson during reconnaissance Of the proposed route
of inc Northern Pacific Railroad In 1852
But now take that country as have can.
didly described it; take il with its seeming
and ito real defects, not ore of which I have
covered with my pen. That soil, ground
up basalt, 90 light in some localities as to bc
easily moved by atmospheric currents, sup.
ports q heavy growth of bunch grass,'
and produces the ccreaa abundantly, wher-
ever 1t Is deep enough ~ retain moisture for
the period of growth. Here is an ocean of
"Bunch grass" four hundred miles long
north and south, and ono hundred ard fifty
miles wide east and west. And what Is
Bunch grass? 1t ID combined oats and tim
othy on the ground when growing. In
August. when yellowish white, and seem>
lngly as dry as powder>horn, it 10 combin.
ca oaIs and timothy. In December, Janu>
ary, February and March, on the ground
under the sncw Or above the snow, 1t is
cured timothy and oats. The fattening and
STRENGTHENING properties of this grass in
m!dwinter arc precisely what they are in
at the end of . severe season of packing
through the Rocky Mountains q smoothe
and round ~ seals. They had been fed cx-
clusivcly on this grass. have seen ''Cay-
use" ponies avert from oats to Bunch grass.
I have seen Wells, Fargo & Co.'S stage.
horses kept In perfect condition on the
range with the added allowance to some of
the animals, of two quarts of oats q day.
and no more. The ''Bunch" grass il un.
questionably the sweetest and most nutri.
tious in the world. And here is . rolling
ocean Of II. And ell throughout the north,
west It II called the ''Gnxier's Paradise. !"
So It is-although there 10 not cascade or
. trout stream every hundred rods through
It. The grass . called Bunch" because It
gro~s gro 49,. y s.neAs. Ss .sfss, beswess Which
square, 10 naked and somewhat depressed.
The height OF this grass on the Great PLAN
Of the Columbia averages twelve inches.
In the Deer Lodge Pass Of the Rocky
Mountains I measured It twenty inches
Our horses when unsadiled and turned
loose went at It ravenously, though 10 the
hand it was - dry . 4 powder horn and to
the eye was dead. That cattle fed exclu.
sively upon it become fatter than Eastern
cattle fed in the stall upon mixed grain and
hay, is known throughout the mountains.
saw herds of steers, numbering from fifty
to two hundred, pasturing through the
broad and vallcy.like Pass of the Deer
Lodge, and they werc fatter and glossier
than any cattle ever saw In Kansas. The
two-ycar old and three year old steers Of
Illinois, and Of tho different state drovcs
slaughtered in Chicago, sverage fivc hun.
dred poundA The yeallings Of the Deer
Lodge and other Bunch" grass valleys nv.
erage four hundred and fifty pounds.
When wanted for meat they are driven in
from the range straight to tho butchers,
and are invariably fat, juicy and tender,
even In February and March. Therefore
the most universal Characteristic Ut the
Great Columbia Plain. and of all the favor.
ed region west Of one hu1drcd and ten and
north OF forty three i perpetual pasturage.
It 10 ~ true that grass il perennial and pe
rcnnially the sufficient f0Od for cattle all
over this area - that oranges grow In Flor
ida There have been winters which killed
the oranges In 1862 thesnow fell on the
Great PlaiL 20 tleep. and lay 20 long, that
cattle unable to get 1t the grass died in num-
bers that were . warning. But that winter
was unprecedented. The ranchmon Of the
Yakima and Tuchct put up hay the next
summer with the most plogidens zeal. To
this day the stacks stand untouched. prob
ably tho Oldest hay in tie world. PTacti.
cally then It ID true that on the Great Plain
Of the Columbia pastur1ge il perpetual.
Now, what d that worth, calculated In dol
larsf The elements fr computing THU
problem In national and isdividual economy
can Be found In the cen4s returns Of TIL
hay crop @
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