Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1875-04-09
The Kaxen Desert.

L
The New York Evening Post Of aTecen
date prints the following letter, which W
reproduce . Of interest to our Territoria
readers:
lam desirous of obtaining all possibl'
Information in regard 70 the Hazen desert
and therefore read with much interest tht
letter Of Mr.. George A. Shuts in you
Issue Of the 5.h instant His observations
lextended more particularly to the region
between the Madison. jefferson and Gala
lin rivers and the Missouri, and g such
Ioutlooks ~ he could get from Q fatbosl
GOING down the Yellowstone and Missouri
rivera These opportunities were moi
great. but they seem to be . good deal bet
tier than General Hazen's ever were. and
Therefore we should be very glad to get the
details of his information.
It is very important for the people 70
know II . tract Of their country 1000 miles
wide, and stretching from the Rio Grande
TO the British Possessions, is worth only
|cent an acre; and I trust that you will
snare room to Mr.. Shultz in your columns
10 tell Us more particularly what he knows.
Meanwhile, one word upon the tract
between the rivers that he traversed in his
ox-ca1t, and that lies entirely in Montana
The official reports of the United States
government show that the real and person
al property In Montana at its taxable val
uation, as long ago As 1871, was sixteen
millions of dollars in round numbers.
giving an average of $1,06s 10 each white
person. Il there State in the Union
that can make . much better showing ?
One.third Of tho land in Montana is OF
fcially described as land that can be readily
made tillable Can more than third Of
the land in Pennsylvania be readily made
tillables The annual yield of gold In the
Territory is officially stated at upwards Of
twelve millions, and the population Is only
about q, 900. A pretty fair crop this gold
crop, and capable of indefinite increase
1t is q crop, too. not affected BY the grass
hoppers.
With regard to the dat-boat observations,
they must have been confined TO the val
leys Of the Yellowstone and the Missouri,
and even General Hazen does not deny
that the valley lands, as far a. they can be
seen from flatboat, are not bad.
The trouble with me 10, that can't for
the life of me imagine why the Architect
of the universe should have taken the
pains to create such an enormous tract of
land, of such uncomfortable value, when
it would have been just IS easy to make III
worth more. A cent for an acre of land isl
really worth nothing. cannot but think!
that Mr.. Shultz and General Haven under
estimate 1t. One cannot help hoping that
after all it may be worth two cents; par
ticularly when, with only slight scratch
ing of the surface on very small acreage,
Montana alone turns out twelve millions
# gold year.
There is good deal of bad farming land
,p here in Berkshire. The surface of the
marble quarries down at Lee, for instance
why General Hazen could not afford to
NY cent an acre for it to grow potatoes
'n-and yet this very land is . mine of
wealth. and is making al the rest of the
and about worth hundreds Of dollars
vhcrc it was worth tens. AL! the value of
and docs not depend upon its capacity for
aising wheat.
As q citizen I have felt Individually /
oorer ever since General Hazen apprais-
d my interest in the public domain at
uch q low figure. Poor In pocket. l have
ways regarded myself Is rich in beng a
lint owner with the rest of my contem
oraries in this great landed estate of thel
suUn, snd now to have II 90 whitfield
own to nothing! I don't feel a. if could
pare q penny for the poor-box. Why. i:'s
n acre of land.
Yours in distress. but still of an inQuir-
,g mind. ROGER SHAGREEN.
LEoNx. Mass. March 9Th. 1875