Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1879-05-08
STRUGGLES AND SACRIFICES OF
EASTERN MONTANA.
Urgent Need OF an Increase OF Mail
Service.

ir- c,lstOmed to saHiiic.s and hardships TIL
the negligent. not to say hard treatme
ut Of the General Government. that we Ia
become excessively modest in all our
:, quests and demands for favOrs whirh. 4.
j. dinaiily. we should feel justly entitled |
In the early days and first settlement
the Territory after the resolute enigran
ana hardy mOuntaineers had opened I
" aEdestabli>lieda short and direct thorOuy
fare from the flourishing settlements of d
II Mississippi and Missouri Valleys to Il
u heart Of Montana. and at IA time when
~ steady stream Of: emigration was pourir
into tie rich mining camps and agricl
Y tural valleys of the Rocky Mountains. II
e General Government. At the request or d
q mand of II few thousand hostile savage
closed the front door" to the Territol
i and surrendered, the entire country frOl
: the Platte river to the Yellowstone to II
j. undlsputed possession Of hostile Indians.
The abandonment of Forts Phil kearne
: {. +. Smith and consequently the Powdt
g river route. was Il severe blow 10 Montan
: one from which she has not fully rccON
cred. From that day to this. we have bi-.
comparatively isolated from the world
For many long years after we were thu
shut in. and rendered almost Inaccessible
from wiiheut-thus etlectually prcventin:
8 our growth and prosperity-we were still
more unfortunate by being almost sur
rounded and menaced by savage and unre
lenting foes. More especially was this tin
case with the small settlements of Eastern
Montana. so that they haddO stand guar.
almost night and day from month tC
month and from year to year in order 1,
maintain an existence. The country eas
of us was literally swarming with s:,vagcs
ready to resist every effort to torn new
settlements or to penetrate iEtO the fertile
valleys of the hi. Horn. Powder river OF
Yellowstone. This condition of things
continued for ten years or until 1876 when
the Government finally decided. very re-
luctantly. TO make war upon and subjugate
the horles of hostile Sioux and establish a
line OF military posts in the Yellowstone
valley.
Long years of liarlships and patient
waiting has taught lis to be thankful tor
small tlvorS and we are reasonably CRATE
FIJI to think that the Government has meas
urably undone the grea; wrong that it i'm
posed upon lis thirteen years ago. III e
front door" has been again thrown open
and the direct route to Montana. although
not perhaps as free from small raidin% par
ties of Indians as we should wish. is never
thcless reasonably well protected by mill
tary posts and United States troops. The
Northern Pacific railroad. too. where sur
ycying parties. six years ago, We're by
ope': h,stilties prevented from running
the line or locating The road. is now pro-
crossing towards the Yellowstone. " bile
the country between Bismarck and Boze-
man is rapidly settling up with permanent
and entcrprising farmers. stock-raisers and
traders. Eastern Montana is now rapidly
growing in population and in business i'm
portance. and it has certainly already as
summed such importance that we have Il
right to ask and expect daily United States
mail service from Bismarck or the termn-
us VI liic toi tiG'fH hlllC ~ Dt/t-
maa.
True. we have already daily mail into
the Territory. but it is only by that iadi-
rect and circlitOlis route tina, was rendered
necessity when the Powder river route
was abandoned to the Indians. A route
that runs directly west nearly 1900 miles.
thence north $40 miles. thence east 100
miles in order 10 reach BoZeman.-a route
extending 1000 miles from the Missouri
river. Willie the Tongue river route is little
more than onc-fou,ll that distance TO Boze-
man. from where the present terminus Of
the Northern Pacific intersects the same
river. \ daily mail from Bismarck is not
only a necessity tor Bozeman. but it is
equally SO for posts between Bismarck and
Boze,nan and it appears to us that if the
POstmasierlienerals attention was but
called TO the importance of this increase of
service in connection with the facts to
which we have alluded in this article he
would not hesitate to order its establish
ment without delay.
In asking for the establishment Of daily
mail service. via the Tongue river route. if I
may be urged that il is not only by far the |
shortest. most direct. and natural one from /
the flourishing settlements on the Missouri /
river. having direct railroad and telegraph
with the East. but Montana has t
become SO intimately connected commerce
ally and socially with Minnesota and D;l-
kota that her interests are largely identical
with theirs. st. Paul is MOntana's COM
nercial emporium. The Northern Pacific
g cmphatically our railroad, and notwith-
the fact that tor years its terminus
las been. through combination OF I'M
fortunate circumstances, kept at Il point
several hundred miles from the commercial
centres OF our Territory, the bulk of our
'reights have been shipped by this road TO
Bismarck and thence STA the Missouri and
ellowstone rivers.
II is due to the entire Territory. but es-
,ccially to the eastern portion whose set
dement's now extend to the eastern bound
ary and with cOmmendable energy and en-
erprise are pushing out into our sister
ieIIHoiA Oil tHc ciiSt. us II 10 encourage
md welcome the Northern Pacific extern
ion to the Yellowstone. that we should
rave a daily mil. 1t is due-yes. a neces-
;ity for the military garrisons at Forts
stephenson. Bnford. Keo.h. Custer and
ellis that the present tri-weekly service
should be increased TO daily. 1t is due to
he commercial interests Of Montana as
veil as TO Minnesota with whom we are so
connected and closely identified
n all Our commercial relations. that daily
nail service should be established: and.
ast. Ii is due to that great enterprise Of
rational importance--tlie Northern Pacific
failroad-for the General Government TO
,estow a reasonable share of patronage
lpon that road. especially when it would
Prove advantageous both TO the Govern
nent and the people to do 80. by all
mems let us have this necessary Increase
II service by the Yellowstone route.
Murder OF u Chicago Merchant.
Chicago May Last December. Mrs.
Ada Roberts filed Il hill against Theodore
}. Weber. member Of a prominent whole