Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-03-20
A QUESTION OF FACT.
The Northern Pacific Railroad
I.A:i i1s-..A Card frOan Col. +. r.
Roberts in Reply to Statements
Of GczscSSl ". E3. IIaZcn.

Roberts in Reply to Statement
Of GczscSSl ". B. IIazcn.
| At the request Of acquaintances ar,
friends, upon my return on diiferen
occasions from the. far North west
from alcDg the route Of the Norther,
Pacific Railroad, / wrote articles dc
scliptive Of those regions, conEnin:
myself mostly to the agricultural re
sources of the country, upon the mer
its of which, perhaps, more than upo1
anything else, depends the success O
the railroad.
During two Years that I was cn
gagged on the surveys Of the road,
travelled East and West through Mon
tana Territory in number of direc
tions, frcin point nearly 200 miles
west Of the Rocky Mountains to tho
Missouri river, end from its southern
border north to Fort Benton, latitude
AZ degrees so minutes north. On the
occasion of my second visit to the Ter
ritcry, l travelled up tie Missouri river
from Sioux City, Iowa, via Fort Bu.
ford to Fort Benton, distance of 2,OOC
miles, taking thirty six days, which
trip enabled me to collect much infor-
nation regarding Dakota in general.
AS late rs last November made a
third Tip, gcing to Minnesota and
Dakota, passing over the Inc OF the
completed read from near Duluth tc
Bisinarl1, opposite Fort Lincoln OH the
Missouri, Which point is about four
hundred miles below Fort Buford, at
the mouth of the Yellowstone.
\ fail statement of facts regarding
the agricultural, grazing and lumber
resources of different parts of the
route Of the Northern Pacific Railroad,
which l made, appeared somewhat
marvellous to sGme, but l brought cvi-
dcnces of the truth in specimens cf
grain, which have no. been cquaied
for quality, SO far as l know, at any
State fair or exhibition anywhere.
Samples Of cereals, several bushels of
each, which l forwarded to New York.
understood, received the premium at
the American Institute Fair, over Min
Eesota, California and all other grain.
and afterwards received the first pre-
ni;',n at the ,ienna Exposition, over
The t:ir-ftnled grain from Russia and
.'y,;..t.
l DO rot desire TO again particular;zc
;;lcsc features Of Montana. That Ter
r;tsly stands like ar oasis in the dcs-
cit, compared with her sisters So;.th.
;irl. sparkling Erooks, Astounding with
fish her ::s;s-coyercd hills and tim
bcrcl mountains, with her abundance
OF game and herds OF cattle, in the
settled parts, speak the language of
t0tts which no fancied theory from
these who have never been there dare
dispute. Winter and Summer the
grazing is alike good; and although it
may not be the "Ranana Hone,n as the
Cincinnati Commercial derisiveiy calls
it, the climate is far superior to, and
more healtllfnl than Ohio or Peilnsyl-
vaEia. The baae of the valleys of the
Little Miami, Wabash and M:.umee-l
fever and ague-is entirely lacking in
Montana. PlOughing is usually done
in the latter part of January or early
part OF February, and in the latter
part of February and first of March |
the grain is planted-before plough
is usually sunk in the Miami valley
north of Cincinnati.
The Missouri river at Fort Benton
breaks up in the Spring at least one
month earlier than it does at Sioux
City, two Thousand miles below. In
he Spring of 1872 it broke up at Fort
Benton the same day that it did at st.
louis, ten and half degrees farther
south. This is not one of "Jay Cookies
ies," but comes direct from the Uni
ed States signal observer at Fort
Benton. About 10000 intelligent
White people reside in Montana, and
hey support telegraph lines and daily
have yet to hear from
me Of her citizens an authoritative
lenial of any of the reports published
~ the officers of the Northern Pacific
Railroad regarding the region in ques-
ion.
Several years have elapsed since the
Dad was begun, and nothing appeared
0 dispute the statements concerning
he lands, productions. climate, ETC.,
ntil recently Gen. w. B. Hazen, the
at Fort Buford, Dakota,
yrites to the New York Tribune a
weeping condemnation of the road,
nd liEens the selling of bonds, with
uch a basis as these lands, to a fraud, !
nd says that all who dispute his state
lelrts are falsifiers. s
Fort Buford, undoubtedly, is a poor
lace to live, but still, think General
[azen has not done it justice. The {
'inds are famous in that part of Da- {
ota, as I experienced myself, and the
'inters, doubtless, very severe at times, !
lOugh the general average Oftemper-
ture, by General Hazen's own state ]
rents, is about the same as that of
Philadelphia. 1t matters not how low I
ne thermometer may 60 in Winter, If
le Summers are sufficiently warm to
rOduce paying crops, agriculturists
ill be content to settle. Gen. Hazenl !
spOrts a failure in the garden at his 9
ost, but adds, further, that "onions, 9
18th wheat aid oats, matured at Fort :
$50 miles below, on the Mis- G
,uri river" Why did he not 60 on
nd state that not only his post, but 9
zen Fort Berthold, was considerably 9
orth of the Northern Pacific Railroad! I
ut he prefers not to mention that fact,