The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-12-29
Brsg for Montana.

|
narrow gauge railroad, whether twas
true that Montana was so droughty that
the fishes raised the dust with their tails
when they moved about? The Montanian
withcred me with response something
like Daniel Webster's reply to Hayne:
Stranger You've got just five hundred
and thirty-six miles to ride in these cars
before you get to Melrose, the present
Northern terminus of this railroad. The
| line il, therefore, all too short for me to
reply to your insinuation as extensively
as it demands. But can tell you this:
portions of Montana have been borrowed
to make up Oregon, Washington, Ne
| braska, Dakota and Idaho Territories, but
we've got enough left to more than cover
the area of the six New England States
and the big State of New York.
Minnesota and Iowa could be
turned over on Montana and still enough
of our soil be left for Connecticut to rest
upon. England, Ireland, Wales, Scot
land, and Utica, with all their popula-
! ton combined, 60 not near equal Mon
tana in size. The ratio of water to land
on the earth's surface is precisely bal
a the sam ny tn the th p,0pO sa%e in in
Montana and where irrigation Is neces-
sary, the yield of the arabic lands, the
prices obtained for produce, the percent
age of interest returned for capital in
volved Justify the labor. The Territory
has SO 900, 900 acres Of grazing land,
| covered with nutritious bunch, buffalo,
and other grasses, whose fattening quail
ties are secopd only to grain, and curing
as they grow, i'll an atmosphere which
don't admit Of decay, are better food In
December than in May Our herds of
cattle and horses and sheep are rarely
fed, never wattered; but roam in their
fairness the year round upon the carpets
of bunch grass upon the bench lands
and the broad flag grass OF the river
bottoms beside which the clover
and the far famed mesquite, and even
the Kentucky grasses sink into in
significance. 1t imparts u flavor to beef
and mutton, in summer and winter, that
the best forage in the States cannot pro-
duce. Now, stranger, agriculturists
can't make money; cattle, ETC., won't
thrive, nor grass grow without water,
and YOU can draw your own differences.
| The humidity IN the air is constant and
general. Moreover, the western coast of
this continent is warmer than the eastern.
If you think that the further north you
go the colder it grows, you are mistaken /;
but of this more by-and-by. I'm talking
water now. We are mainly temperance
men, because of the excellence of our
waters. The old topper who didn't take
water in his because, ever since the
deluge, the fluid had tasted to him Of
drowned sinners, would reform in Mon
tany. We don't need umbrellas during
eleven months Of the year, because we
have little rain, and, In consequence,
our atmosphere is very dry, as we'll as
very light; and during the other month
you might as we'll try to confine pesti-
ferrous odor within the meshes of fish.
ing net, or bore hole through the Rocky
Mountains with o boiled carrot, as to
keep the rain off with any umbrella.
"A carcass, instead of decomposing,
aided by additional moisture absorbed
from the atmosphere, gives up its own
moisture rapidly and literally dries up
without tainting the air at all. Thus We
avoided diseases due to decaying veget-
able and purifying animal matter. Turk
ish baths cost money East. We are so
lavishly provided by nature with natures
cures that we are almost tempted to
court sickness that We may revel in the
cures. We have immense springs on all
sides, cold mineral springs, hot sulphur
springs, hot soda springs, all in their in
tensest powers. The only streams that
we have not now alive with trout are
those polluted by mining operations.
We plead guilty to being the very
last Territory to admit railroad
The bicycle hasn't yet reached us. We
chink our Lighthouses with mortar, put
dirt on our roofs, spread manure in.
stead of osiers, over our corduroy bridges,
put up fences without any holes in the
ground, shoe our cows to make EN-
climb like goats; but the illumination of
free public schools and daily newspapers
is becoming evident throughout the Ter
ritory Excursion trips via the Northern
Pacific and Utah and Northern railroads
will soon he the thing, and we can re-
deem the obtuseness of your statesmen
who want to convert the tails Of our
beautiful speckled trout into dust
brnshes!" My friend paused from lack
of breath rather than want of material to
talk about. l wound up my watch
Cor. Troy Times.