New-York tribune., 1876-04-22

THE BARIsEN LANDS DEE fN'i>b'
A coUXrER-BLAsr 10 GEN. HAzES-ThE ALLEGED
DIsERI SUITED FOR sroC1-+AlsiNG - CAUSES
OF OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES AS 10 IRE EE,'IoN-
GROWTH AND PRosPECIs OF MONTANA aAD COZ
oRADo.
To the Edftor Of The Tribune.
SIR: A letter from Gen. llaIen appeared in
THE TRIBUNE aS Winter what he calls Tie Barren
Lands" which, while containing many iaeis' yet con
ycys such fa!-e impression that 1t deserves reply
Tue General says that the region OF country ht"ccn le
lOOth merCian AMI tie Sierra Nevada Mountains Is riic
tjcay vauelcss for culiura purposes; that none of
this region can support tan very moagrr p0ran-
tiou uuti there shall changes ia natural pirnonoha
not reasonable 10 hope for; that new ana p"rhons
states such as Iowa, Wisconsin. and Missouri VIII not
be ercn created, and emigration thithcr nusi result IA
failure In other parts OF his letter ne SHOWS tat per
hans not lnose tian in thirty can DC cnt'sn
FOR want OF water to ri,;e the LAID; an hi The so u
not fertile In proving tni, he quotes test mony OF
prbcr Of military officers who have been stat Oucd Tor
wears in various rarts oi this great Interior
Military men are not wen qualified t. ludao of the ~
r,c1it,r,l resources of country During the last 20
years there have been many military posts on The Ar
toDsas the Moth and South Platte and TIE Missouri
Rivers have never yet heard Of any attempts bc'ns
made at these points ascertain what the soil was cara
nle of ,roIncDg Along tie South Pate know there
uerc three or four forts west Ci the lOoh meridian
where not Il idrrOw ever turned ~ fofi NoieSh'
400 miles wat of the Missouri large force was Sta
toned several years, and every pound 81 sr"!I
and provisions WAS hauled nom The States nj
q cost Of perhaps 20 cents pound, while II
tbcre had been any ore capable Of Judging OF
the capabity Of the SOIL all the supply needed could
have be raised under the protection q their guns al
cost not exceeding two cents pound Ecitlcr ud The
command OF tue old trading post fIs esiabishod
and so years ago. ever raise any kind OF grain or even
garden vegetables, but to-day sight Of most " the
ffcrfs .f.V fhtf. t1d. Of
acres of wheat OATS and cOIn and gardens yielding In
such abundance astonsh only acquainted with
agriculture IL 10 Fart Therefore, the evidence OF tns
class OF men rural matters is 70 be taken with caution
To Eastern men first crossing the 100th degree Of
LONGITUDE and going beyond the center Of Kansas aud
Nebraska the aspect Of the country is fobddng owing
to the brown ard appearance OF the grass and MS
is "A true in summer as in Winter They cannot readily
conceive that the country is not desert Even Mr.
Greeley when he last visited this country asked IN aston
ishment DO yOu pretend to SAY that cattle can I've
well and grow fat this stuff yOu call graS-i" The
truth is there are millions OF cattle sheep and horses
now plains thai have passed through the dead OF
Winter with ut uthavng had lock hay Tney arei IN better
flesh than the OF stock In the East stabbed ana
fed with great labor and expense. The whole country
Is covered with grass capable OF koopng si"eh tne
wear round There springs az which cattle can drink
wells can be dag and water raised by winlns a. Il
10 Gone III several place, WIN c"mIee suco1; % n; rs
probably tru that the sn0w-lh ol hnnttla ara NrsIb
pakota greater tnan IN Colorado BAT Lr eHNatph IS
"a 5000 icet, thit t1e dHtfrncc IN eli
mate cannot be great There already vast herds Of
stock and other Territory IL 81 wen provided with
streams by wnich irrigation N be established.
Gen II zen seems 10 convey The idea In ls letter That
although a small amount OF land be iTttaied, SIN
the a. stem irrigation unnatural AID d1eu!t as u
maze 10 almost yaluclcss; this - the general idea la
fact however it may doubted whether farming 10y
irrigation j. not profitable than the use oi an 0rd
nary rainfall. The largo crops and tile maintenance al
fertility by tae water tnan balance the cost
constructing diices The mosi D. objective country ia
Eilro.e s IN the valley the PG where ir2atus works
have within few years cost several millions of dollars;
aud Egypt from the rcmOLest ages has been noted ff t'
abundance.
Denver Las 25 900 Inhabitants against 3 900 IN 1870.
SLssnEcrs ask, What supports the place { How
the y upc live in this dessfl Surely, business and
bu ding OveidOne" And yet the pact goes grow
ing Even during tie past Winter months masaGs have
been laying the brick OF large aud costly budng eaDy
other towns, both Eastern Rocky Mountain slope,
and In the valleys and guches OF the mountains,
are similarly prosperous. The misunderstanding
arises from the comparison that people
make between an aiid and moist country.
The question with as is whether raee grain
To help support the manufacturing people Of New and OF
Old England, but whether can support large IGEnu-
featuring population al hOue which for the most part
engaged Ia producing necessary articles ami III MN
jng Tor ron coal silver, and gold One fact b,Arng
this may bsre staoG all these Territories to-day
have grain and vegetables tEn Tue prescnt pOpu
lion eau consume and tc farmers anxiosy waiting
for the advent of profit bile estimate That
after our irrigation laws shall be definitely AMI wisely
settled Colorado easily support OJODO Of people
HewMexc0 ArzOna and Utah each Tie SAME, aud Moh
tana 30U0,0O0. N. Z. MEEkkk.
greeley. COL, March 20, 1876.