Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-27

1 ONkEA V.ONV NkubAuGAU "a Nv
cos4 less than 40 cents per hushel to raise.
| and sold for 95 cents. The atock and N
Elements used consisted Of 1853 mules, y
WAGONS, 80 gang-plowe, 55 harvestera, 81
operators, 10 seederr, and 104 harrows.
These facts I have from Col, James b.
Power, land commissioner of the Northern
Pacific railway. who has thousands of acres
of equally good land left. He adds that the
counties of Csss, Trail. Richland. Barnes,
Stussnan, Kidder aud Burleigh, extending
from the Red to the Missouri river in Da-
kota territory, show as follows:
Population in 1879. 31,5OO
Number of farms in 1S79..."".... 1915
Titled area in 1879, res......."..17 ,O2O
New breaking in 1879. acres.......l17,On0
Area in wheat in 1879, acres.......142,O 900
Increase of 1870 over 1878: Population,
10000; number Of farms, a9l8; titled area,
1880 acres; area in wheat. N29O acres,
OF the titled area only 1850 acres are on
what are known as the "big farms
The government survey reports that Da-
kota territory contains 157, 600 square miles,
from which nearly four large states might
readily be carved out. 1t all lies in
the great wheat belt which extends from
Iowa to the Peace river valley in British
America, some 5000 miles. For the Guilt |
walton of this moet valuable cereal a large
majority of the land in the territory is most
admirably adapted, and the balance Of it af-
fords the finest of pasturage. Even the
Couteau du Missouri, the long. high divid-
ing ridge between the Dakota and the Mis-
souri, rivers, an extensive district, till about
ten years ago was supposed to be fit only
tor the residence Of wild beasts and more
savage meH. 1t is now certain that it can all
DO made valuable for farming urposes.
The eastern quarter of the territory is
drained by the Red. the Cheyenne, and the
Dakota or James rivers; the Missouri runs
through the center, and the Little Missouri,
the Knife. the Heart, the Cannon Ball, the
Grand, the Moreau. the Cheyenne, aud the
White rivers drain the western half of the
territory into the Missouri. The soil of al!
these valleys is exceedingly fertile, and the
whole of the Dakota and Red rlver valleys
are rapidly filling up with an energetic and
industrious people. The same Is true Of
the southeastern section of the territory. 1t
is found that there is, with the exception Of
some strips of the bad lands, comparatively
very little waste land in 1t.
At least three-fourths of the territory Of
MONTANA
lie east of the Rocky mountaine. The
ridges gradually rise higher as you approach
them, and the river valleys are deeper, but
the general descriptions Of Dakota will APP
ply to more than half oft. There are here
also some sections Of the Bad Lands; but
they occupy comparatively but a email part
of the territory. Where l saw them they
are composed Of black. frisble shale, prob.
ably the debris of vast coal beds burning
up in the early history Of the planet on top
of them. 1t is difficult to form a just esti-
mate of the extent of these two territories,
1t takes all day to ride from the Red to the
Missouri river at Bismarck BY the Northern
Pacific railway, and then you are but half
way across Dakota. About two-thirds of it
lie south Of the railway. Starting from
Bismarck on the morning of June 6, it took
US till about 10 o'clock of the 11th-more
than five days-to reach Fort Buford, atthe
mouth ofthe Yellowstone, and it required
eleven days more of almost constant steam
ing to reach Fort Benton, The June rise
gave US a fine stage of water, and our delays
were very few. These eleven days were all
in Montana, as the north and south bound
ary runs only a mile or two west of the
mouth Of the Yellowstone. And yet in all
the 800 miles above Bismarck, till near
Fort Benton, there is not a single town or
hamlet along the entire river; forts and
wood yards are all the marks of civilization
one sees, and the latter certainly do not
furnish very encouraging specimens OF
Western civilization but they are probably
quite as good as could be expected. A
few miles-eleven by land-below
Fort Benton. on the Goth of June, the
steamer stopped at the rancho of Mr.. Chas.
Rowe. His fields of wheat, potatoes, and
other vegetables were in splendid condi-
ton. A week before he had new potatoes
and gooseberrv and %pie-plant pies for din
ner. On our return trip We took on board
40 Montana cattle, whose large size and
fine condition would have ct once stirred
up active competition at our stock yards,
and which government contractors took
down below Bismarck to feed splendidly
the worthless vagabond Indians 10 that
fertile and beautiful section Of Dakota.
to winter them, and, in fact, did not know
whst it is, for they would not cat it till
after having been starved to it for two or
three days on board the steamer. These
facts are commended to the special atten-
ton of those who think this a barrep, in
hospitable country. Montana is also spleu.
didly watered east of the mountains by the
Powder, the Tongue, and the Big Horn
running north into the Yellowstone, by
that river and the Missouri, and from the
north BY the White Earth, the MIX, and
the Marias.
I have been thus particular in describ-
ing the Typographical and the agricultural
character Of Dakota and Montana in order,
as far as may be, to dissipate the false i'm
preston that they are too far north for sue
cessful development. With the swelling
tide of emigration TO- beginning to roll
over them. the next decade will show the.
most marve'ous results.