The Benton weekly record., 1880-07-02

/ tested bg the daily aeferiaafaes Df SNQIrIs7b Q
i 1eeo scholar. turing seem the
1eIes the Missouri rsser, eonsiiaar The
Islaolsfoot "A gsalcy to llflIn slEs from rank,
1sa |srds eosas sttractiof off dlings and
snsfai iishlEl a ratIEEsia IT
20 miles VT the Agency are found the
streams which form the Marias, viz: Du-
puis, Birch, Badger, Two Medicine and
| Gnt Bank creeks i these creeks will at
some future day be thickly settled; large
| flats exist OH all of them, the mountains
!. furnish an abundance Of lumber, alldaoIa
| the north side Of Dnpuis exists bed Of
coal. almost feet thick, Of excellent quail
ty and easily available. am Of the opin-
lion that most OF the foot hills, in this yiein-
ity and especially in the neighborhood Of
Birch will prove exceptionally rich in coal
and iron.
! Crossing Birch creek about miles be-
low the mouth Of Cut Bank, | found the
residence Of Tie genial Sol Abbott pleas
antly situated OF large fiat Of the Marias
river called Willow Rounds. 1 also found
| Ed Tinglc here rllsticating. The crops
here i found to. be in advance of all had
yet seen, owing, ! think, to the richness Of
| the soil and the shelter afforded by the
| hills. Here stood formerly, Mr.. Weather
wax's trading post, but the last vestige of
which was washed away by the encroach-
ment of the river few days prior to my
arrival Ed. Iingle has built such a large
house as to induce tile belief that Mrs. Tin
gle is expected. .f.#
1t is apity that this section Of the cotln-
try is not more generally known among
immigrants; for miles along the river below
there are large farms awaiting owners,
we'll watered, warm soil, and heavily tim
| bered. saw numerous cottonwood trees
over four feet in diameter.
From this neighborllood to the mouth of
| Dry Fork, found no houses till arrived
at Fort Conrad, owned by Joe Riggs. Here
! is farm, store, and ferry, which during
Joe's absence, is ably superintended by
Mr.. Upham. Itis here that the Whoop-
up travel crosses the Marias, and the ferry
is fitted with all modern appliances, inclu-
ding steel wire rope, etc. The river here
is about 300 feet wide and an average depth
Of six feet. A large area is planted in oats
4 new concrete store is in process of erec-
ton, the materials being locally manufac-
tured. Other improvements are also con-
templated.
Leaving the Dry Fork, assembled to the
table-lands, and leaving Bakers Battle
Ground 4 miles to my left, began to strug-
gle with the bad lands. For 26 miles it is
constant lodging eoulees, whose sides are
almost perpendicular, and Il hot day, mos
quitoes, and no water, made me believe
was Job rerigrs. Arriving at the Pen
D'Oreille coulee, which heads in the Knees
found stock country which beat all I
had seen yet. The grass was fully foot
high, and pools Of clear water were plenti-
full. The same may be said of the Big
coulee, or Pizah creek, a few miles fur
thcr. Two miles below Pizah creek j
came to the cattle ranch Of Mr.. Charles
Price, pleasantly situated on a large fiat of
the Marias, and fitted with large corrals,
fences, etc., required for that business.
His cattle looked in finer condition than
any | had yet seen, and their shape showed
a large admiXture Of thorough bred blood.
There is no question but that Indians kill
cattle i'll this vicinity, and the great proba-
bility is, that tue scattered tepes along the
Marias of Boods and Piegans are doing the
mischief.
On the 18th of this month, severe hail
storm prevailed here, some hail-stones be-
ing as large as a hens egg.
From here | went to the Goose Bill, and
lost sight of the Sweet-grass Hills, which
had been prominent feature in the land-
scape for nearly 240 miles. A few settle
ments are scattered along the lower river,
prominent in which is that Of Judge San
born, who contemplates putting in ferry,
and who has already improved the ap-
proaches. The new road takes the north
bank of the Teton after leaving the Gov
ernnent coolee, and will avoid all steep
grades and bad crossings. The lower Te-
ton found thickly settled, with the pros |
pect of more coming.
From the foregoing notes it will be seen
sUCuItItleIIU,
and a still larger one for stockmen. A |
prominent stockman of the neighborhood /
of Helena was lately viewing the country
above the Upper Teton. He. says: ssEhe
country is splendid, the grass rich and
plenty OF water, but it is too big for me-
It may be too big for one, but already over
10000 head of cattle range north of the Te-
ton, and the stockmen from other counties
will undoubtedly come in when they are
aware OF the superior advantages offered
oy Choteau. That the days of the hostile
indian are passed BY, may be considered
Is certain, may be noted, that after leaving
he Old Agency, | neither carried gun Or
.evolVer, and though meeting Indians ev-
sry few miles, never suffered any molesta-
ion whatever. | consider that the llalcyon
lays Of the Teton-Marias are just opening,
md that the only want visible ia settlers to /
i'll the ground and make it produce grain,
where hitherto has been barrenness.
3 o. G. NJ
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