Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-04-06

promising clildren-a little girl and boy,
leaving a lone little sister to make the
household glad.
ri The valley in this vicinity is rather mar
row and the best land is occupied. The
range here is more limited than in other
portions of the valley and is taxed far too
much. The people must, sooner or later,
learn that q range which is pastured closely
in summer will not do for winter. Here
they feel this truth keenly. They are also
beginning to learn that large herds must be
removed beyond the settlements, and that
those that are kept upon the farm should be
of the best quality. MI. Langdon showed
lis a fine pair of Partridge Cochins which
were purchased of T. III. Kleinschmidt, of
Helena.
Monday we went over to Mr.. E. H.
Combs place, a few miles down the valley,
passing some good farms on the way. Mr..
G. has a large farm, mostly meadow land,
all under substantial fence, with good sta
bles, ~corralls, stock-sheds, and a neat resi-
dence, Among his farming appliances we
noticed a pair Of platform-scales, Mr.. c..
has a flock of $50 sheep. His ewes have
commenced to drop their lambs and have
about $50 at present. The flock is not look
ing as well as other fiocks we have seen.
They are quite ragged and have lost consid-
cradle wool, yet they are doing remarkably
well when we consider that they have had
no attention to speak of. Scab has pre-
vailed among them for several months and
no attempt has been made to arrest it. But
it is remarkable fact that the only two
sheep lost from CHS flock during the winter
met their death by accident.
Next to Mr.. Combs ranch comes Mr..
Perkins farm, which is finely improved
with granaries, stables, sheds, ~corralls, hay
scales, etc. Mr.. P. is in Colorado on a visit,
but the gentleman in charge of the premises
showed us around. Saw a tWo-year-old
colt worthy of mention, but as to how he
will behave as a roadster remains to be
proven. We also saw a likely looking stall
lion Of Messenger and Bellfounder blood,
with a record Of 2 40, that promises to be
the idol of the Montana turf the coming fall.
From here we went to Lauraine's, where
we took dinner. Mr.. Lauraine has just
erected a magnificent dwelling, the finest
and largest in the county. ''i@ts
Continuing our course down the valley,
we arrived at sunset at the home Of G.. Il.
Lewis, Worthy Master of Sheridan Grange.
We can say but little of the soil along the
valley. It contains a large amount of alkali,
yet seems to yield we'll. We had a long
talk with MI. Lewis upon grange subjects.
Mr.. l.. is anxious to see a full attendance at
the Territorial Grange, which is to convene
at Sheridan, on June 18th. Sheridan Grange
has increased a great deal in numbers since
we last came this way, and is working in
perfect harmony.
Tuesday we spent in Sheridan and vicini-
ty. Sheridan is situated on the bencl-land
where the valley opens wide, commanding
an extensive view of the junction of the
StinkingWater, Beaverhead and Bighole
rivers. 1t is surrounded by a good farming
district-that is, we concluded it was good,
judging from what we saw in the various
granaries. Sheridan contains two stores,
TWO Observation-Disclosures, one saloon, one hotel,
a meat market, a gristlnill and a number of
private residences. The place has made
considerable progress since we last saw it,
and has brighter hopes in the future. There
are four quartz mills in the n~eighboring
gulches, three of which are running upon
ore that yields a good return.
We paid a visit to the ancient city of
Brandon, one of the oldest cities of Montana.
Here corner-lots were laid out by the first
g~old-hunters in the Territory. Though