Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-06-26
OUR NEW LANDS.
The Tributaries and Extent o
the Great Yellowstone
Valley.
New York Herald, June Is.


ward to by the people of the west
is about to be realized. This valley
of itself is not only the largest in the
United States, but the tributaries are
enormous. The Yellowstone proper
is 400 miles in length; extending from
the National park to the Missouri
river al Buford. OF this immense
distance 800 miles of the valley at
least is capable of cultivation. The
valley next to the park has no set
tiers, and is very mountainous, but
sixty miles down the ranches begin
and extend at intervals Of five, ten
and twenty miles for $50 miles. Most
of the ranchmen are farmers and
stock raisers. They grow wheat,
oats, rye, corn and all kinks of veget-
ables. The cattle run out all winter,
without hay or shelter, and are al
ways fat and sleek. There are fully
$4,000 head of cattle grazing on the
Upper Yellowstone and 1000 head
of horses and mules. The soil of the
Upper Yellowstone is rich black
loan and well watered by the numer-
Gus streams that flow down from the
mountains on either side. The valley
has an average width of FIVE miles in
the first 200 miles, when it suddenly
widens to ten miles. The first large
tributary Of the Yellowstone on the
south bank is the Boulder, rough,
rocky stream, with little agricultural
land along its banks. Nearly oppos-
ite the Boulder, on the north bank, is
the Big Timber, stream on which
can be made some fine farms. Below
the Big Timber a few miles is Sweet
grass, a fine stream, and Fifty or sixty
ranches can be located on it. The
first river that empties into the
Yellowstone is Saltwater, about $50
miles long, with a good valley cap
able OF accommodating two or three
hundred farmers and stock raisers
with homes. 1t is on this stream
that the Crow Indians have their
agency, but they will no doubt soon
be removed on the north-on the
Musselshell river, to make room for
the immigrants, who are now pouring
into the Yellowstone from Montana,
Dakota and the Black Hills.
Below Saltwater forty miles the
Clark's Fork river comes in from the
north. 1t is deep enough in high
water to permit steamer passing up
its channel, and so, no doubt can be
navigated for a good many miles
above its mouth. Clark's Fork is
over 200 miles long, and has a broad
rich valley. 1t is on the head of
Clark river that the great silver mines
of Montana are located. Oflate years
they could not be worked on account
of danger frors Indians, but now min
ers are going in, and one company in
Montana is moving up smelters. 1t
is believed these mines, when develop
ed, will surpass in richness and yield
even the famous Comstock | have
seen great deal of ore, some of it
nearly pure silver, and ! am told by
old miners, who have prospected
them thoroughly, there are hundreds
of thousands feet Of such ore. At
the mouth of Clark's Fork the Yellow
stone valley reaches the enormous
width of twenty miles from bluff
to bluff. The Clark S Fork bottom on
the Yellowstone is forty miles long,
and will hold 5000 farmers and stock
raisers.
At the foot of the great bottom is
Bakers Battlefield, made memorable
by contest with the savages in 1873.
1t is one of the few Indian battles
eyer fought at night. The Sioux
attacked four companies of cavalry
and two of infantry under Colonel
Baker at 10 o'clock p. m, and the
fight lasted two hours, resulting in
the complete rout OF the Indians.
Bakers Battlefield is supposed to
be the head of navigation for steam
boats on the Yellowstone river. Here
town has been laid out and settle
ment founded. There is already a
fur and dry goods store, and one or
two families have taken up farms.
ClAlP IHiiCS DClOW )dbliJ-
field the Big Horn river empties into
the Yellowstone. This famous stream
is almost as large as the Yellowstone,
and it is fully $50 to 800 miles long.
Near its mouth it flows through rocky
canyons, but ten or fifteen miles up a
broad, green and beautiful valley
opens out ten miles wide and forty
long. Fifty miles from its mouth the
Big Horn receives the Little Horn
river, There Custer fought and met
his death, with sixteen officers and
240 enlisted men. 1t is at the mouth
of Little Horn that the new twelve
company post is located. The Big
Horn valley at the post reaches
width of eighteen miles, and is of
unsurpassed beauty and richness. The
whole of the Big Horn valley abounds
with wild fruits, currants, raspberries,
strawberries, bufaloberries, plums,
grapes and gooseberries grow along