Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1879-09-11
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC.
As Seen by MOmtanian At Bismarck
and Northumberland Statis.
ties. and Information Con.
eerning the Road and
Country.
BISMARCK. DAKOTA. Aug. 20. 1879.

i BISMARCK. DAKOTA. Aug. 20. 1879.
p Editor Arant Courier:
= While spending few days in Bismarcl
NJ attending to tie shipment of freight ,
Helena and Bozeman. have taken ii
. trouble to secure a few items that will
:, OF interest TO MOntanians. with refrrpnc
to Northern Pacific railroad matters her.
\ very important addition TO the railroa
:, interests is the arrival of the y. p. Il. R
sidewheel transfer boat. which was hull
at Mound City. Ills. by Hamilton Bros
f. the building being superintendent bv Cant
H. +. Voolfolk IA rlati,e OF Col A. NJ
Voolfolk. OF Helena). and who is now he
commander.
The boat is 100 feet in length. 36 fee
beam. and >! feet depth Of hold. The en-
tire bottom of hull is covered with four
inch oak plank. double bolted in ever,
timber. and is one of the sto4ltest and hes,
boats of the kind in use. She carries two
powerful. independent. high pressure en-
gines. OF twcnty-inch cylinder. siX-foot
stroke; has capacity OF COO tons: draws
"a inches light. and 80 inches when loaded.
The track. which extends from bow to
stern accommodates six ears. which. will,
their loadS. average over twenty tons each,
The first plank wa. cnt on the l4tl day of
April last. and the boat completed and
turned over to the company on the lst day
OF July. the builders being under S5O. 900
bonds TO have it completed by that time.
The cost Of the boat. completed. was S26.-
600. She made the trip from St. Louis to
Bismarck in % days. with $50 tons of
freight. arriving at Bismarck on II e 5th of
August. and was never aground or had
any trouble during the trip. The first
cars were crossed on the evening of the
18th OF August. and she now crosses from
40 TO 30 cars daily each way TIE loaded |
ears averaging 10 to II tons Of material
each.
On the ice bridge formed last winter the !
company crossed to the llth of March $50
car loads of material. etc. as follows:
Ties. 1874 car loads; piles. 81; rails. 1871:
lumber and timber. AZ; spikes AMI spices.
10: pile drivers. 2: tank stuff. I: feel and
6; coal, ID; lumber tor private
parties. %.
Since the ice bridge was removed the
''ea'h Terry. Denver. las been engaged in
,arrying material for the railroad co,npl-
~. but since the arrival of the transfer
'oat. the Denver has been withdrawn.
There is now piled up on the Bismarck
exec four thousand tons Of iron rails. or
nough for more than fifty miles of track.
esldes large numbers of ties. bridge tim |
ers. spiing. and other railroad material
On the 18th inst. crossed over to MAN. i
an. and went ont on a construction train +
nth Gen. ROssrr. the Division Engineer. 1
ne road runs up the valley OF Heart riv- f
r. and generally without much filling or
httlng. the grade not exceeding fifty feet
tie mile. Several large wooden bridges
,sn the river. Piers and abutnlents have
zen built. and they will soon be replaced a
iron bridges. and that without interfrr- G.
< with the regular running OF trains. .
ne track is now laid twenty-tllr-e piles n
est OF Mandan. and the grading is al II
"st completed for ninety miles. pr. Ill
lhston. tile contractor. is pushing the D.
DIRK ahead and it is question of only Il u
ort time until trains will he running over .
e first 100 miles. and perhaps to the yell p'
wStone river by next spring. find Mr.. u'
nm Davis on, the agent here. and all his IL
slstants TO be active business men. ready III
q willing to advance the interests CT
0ntana shippers.
slr. Wilbur F. Storey. Of the Chicago
mes. has been in Bismarck and is enth,,-
site over the future of the great North y
st. Read what he says: pc
az
BISMARCK. Aug. l6. 1870. if.
The Times excursion party arrived in Il I
place at 10 a. ~. to-day. and Jointly az
reed that they had traversed from th. Ole
mt to Fargo, and from Fargo to Bis me
rex. through the least known. most un- pri
AZ III and most valuable wheat lands in me
herican Union. There is very little st.
Dr. Land along the Northern Pacific from or
trolt. in Minnesota. to Bismarck. in Da- Co
a. IFS terminus on the Missouri river. ca
tile largest portion Of il is superior for pc,
$. rye. barley and wheat. The illusion wit
years-an Illusion arising from the jaw ally
'ke failure-tiat the major portion of
>ota Territory is sterile and incapable,
illage and fertility. has been dispeIled.
ing is believing. and now. since the "e'
les has i'inerated. inspected. traversed.
tested Dakota with an experienced n
Ds OF candid and disinicrpsted obsery ca,
1t halls Dakota. the Yellowstone VAL fro,
Montana. Idaho. and the whole coun- ron,
ps '"e Nor'hern Pacific road eigi
its western terminus is touched, is Fri,
great direct contributor in future to .,s
colossal commerce Of Chicago. Neither w.r
southern Pacific. nor the Union Pat. so,,
nor both combined. can ever hav. cir,
! the agriculture al my cir lines the sIan
."' why" 'ne Nor''ern f'acihc can clos
in the wheat fields Of MINES ota and al !,
Ota alone; and Montana will vie with fro,
! in the near future for wheat product. an .
sur1ass them in the expectation of fat aid
e. in the last product having no equal f,un
the Northwest. I'raversing such a ,r,la
Hy' WIN WIN s"ch MIRACULOUS posi- Ons
rs. and now directed. as to its policy ing
frederick Billings. Of Vermont: Benz.
lleenny. OF Boston Geo. ". Cass. of
York; Hugh McTulloch. of Indiana;
. b. Wright. Of Philadelphia. AMI
,h Dillworh. OF Pennsylvania. and
!. =. railroad. in the immediate charge e"p'
economical supervision OF M;uager '""'
J. Sargent, ceases 10 I've speculative al"
'ecouies real enterprise. 1t lives In
hrlves on the rapidly developing ayri. Haye
re Which skirIs its lines. 1t has be- VIM.
the p"pulo,is as we'll as the popular yield!
to the Pacific coast. and. refusing Tn
IN long contracts to MI express parit
ahies. doing its own express business the IL
airing Out all parasitic tist-freight pnnci
the Northern Pacific will soon out- crawl
us TWO rivals in all that pe.tains 10 blank
thrift nuH sroo r...,.