Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-07-14
A TRIP IN THE FAR WEST.
Miles city, MOntRna-Dcscripti OF tn
city and Its viclnity-Wi1d Animals
In the Surrounding Country.

In the surrounding Country.
BY looking at the atlas you will see that
we are today at the junction of the Tongue
aud Yellowstone rivers, you will also see
that In order to reach here we had to cross the
Missouri and the Little Missouri and Pow
der rivers, besides other streams of consider
able magnitude. The names of these rivers
are familiar to you, having been scenes of
such atrocious barbarties committed by the
Sioux, the Cheyenne and Crow Indians upon
the whites, and by these tribes among them
selves. There are but few localities west of
the Mississippi river of greater historical in
est connected with the march of civilization
from east to west on this continent,
than this vast region over which
the Indian and buffalo roamed I'M
disturbed by outside entertainments for
centuries. 1t was not until railroads became
the pioneers of civilization that much was
known of this territory in this section of it,
comparatively nothing-until within the past
six years. dating from the period of poor
| Clusters massacre.
Our party consists OF Col. Merriam, Mr..
Wilder, Mr.. Bass and myself. We left st.
Paul on Monday, and arrived here Tuesday,
making the trip of 1888 miles, in drawing
romm and sleeping coaches, with as much
comfort as we should in travelling between
Burlington and Boston. l travelled few
years ago. over three hundred miles of the
country east Of the Missouri river on foot,
on horseback and in lumber wagons tarrying
over night near to some place where water
and forage for our horses could be procured,
and at that time over two hundred miles of
the route, we saw no indications of an in
tentlon to settle the country; not shanty or
a tent upon what appeared to us to be al.
most worthless land-a vast territory, bound
ed only by the horizon in the distance, all
around lis. 1t now presents cities, towns
and boundless wheat fields of which l will
give you some statistics, when / write of the
marvellous growth Of the northwest" in the
last decade.
Custer county, in which this city is
located, comprises tract of land equal in
extent to that of the State of Pennsylvania.
Miles City,the largest town in Custer county,
and where territorial courts are held, is stu
ated upon peninsula formed by the two
forks of the Tongue river and the Yellow
stone. 1t is north of the 4Gth degree of
north latitude 1900 feet above the sea. 1t
is city of five years growth from hand
full OF adventurous hunters and trappers to a
population of upwards OF two thousand A
few 10y houses have been replaced by sub
stantial buildings, occupied by merchants
and tradesmen IN every department of bust
ness. There are hotels commodious in size,
well furnished and well kept; banking
houses and mechanic shops of as many kinds
as we see in New England villages of
the same size. The streets are broad
and laid at right angles, kept scrupulously
clean and bordered by many attractive resi-
| upprpg
ed lawyers and physicians as many as will
be required when the city is qnadruplcd ln-
surance agents in every department of assur-
ance 1t has drinking houses and saloons on
every corner and gambling dens not Il few
Perhaps the term den should not be applied
to the places for fortune playing here as it is
to the marble palaces, swell fronts and costly
furnished establishments in Eastern cities
The enterprsing fortune-seekers In the Far
West are to be seen on the sidewalks and the
open squares and upon the city park, un-
protect them from the sun, plying their vo-
cation. There is saw-mll here, working
millions of lumber from logs floating down
the Tongue river. The population of the
city is not materially different from what we
see in all the newly developed towns in the
Northwest. 1t is a mixed people of every
nationality and color, --emigrants from the
British Isles, from Germany, France, Italy,
and Holland. The negro, Chinaman and
Malay are represented IN hotels barber shops
and laundrlcs. The Scandinavian and ma
tive American have the majority.
The Northern Pacific railroad has reached
Miles City. penetrating the country far into
the West, and will soon connect the waters
of the Atlantic with the Pacific along the
46th degree of north latitude, or near that
line, opening to the world sources of wealth
: beyond calculation, and Offering homes to
the homeless of all nations, under the pro-
lection of the best government in the world
Those who projected this enterprise, and all
! who have been engaged in carrying it for
: ward, are entitled to great praise. Those
who have its construction in charge are
/ pushing the work rapidly forward, and We
t have good reason to believe that by the close
o of 1888 the road will be completed to Port,
land, Oregon, a distance of 1865 miles from
st. Paul, MINI.
or the farming land in the vicinity OF
Miles City we will say that there has not beer
y long enough time since the opening of this
G country for the few farmers who have taken
c land in this immediate vicinity to develop it,
resources to any considerable extent.
Mr. Leighton took us to drive after a.
fine pair OF horses, and in as good two
= seated open carriage, as we have often met OF
lNculial ain, ~. i. We uToVe ABOUT tWt
miles from the city, to visit his farm o
500 acres. 1t is entirely enclosed by a wir,
fence. 1t was put under the pillow la,
season for the first time. We see field o
forty acres of oats, twenty of corn, thirty o
potatoes, all farther advanced than the sam,
crops were in Minnesota three days ago
There are still remaining upon the farm
half dozen buttes of the size of hogshead
which will disappear entirely in year o
two by the action of the elements In tn
unbrokcn field, we drove through buncl
grass, which is the favorite food of the buf
falo, and large patches of the sweet sage bush
which is of silver grey white in color, ant
gives forth abundantly an agreeable perfume
1t furnishes subsistence for the buffalo AM
for domestic cattle, after frosts We wer
shown fine specimens OF corn which wer
fully developed in ninety days after planting
and wheat oats and potatoes of the bes
quality raised last season. The broad an,
luxuriant valleys of the Yellowstone an,
Tongue rivers for hundreds of miles vii
open to the settler farming lands Of inestima
BILE value. AS yet there has been but
small portion of it surveyed. Along the val
eys of the rivers, and beyond their borderin
bluffs, are immense tracts of grazing lands
upon which are herds of cattle and sheep i
numbers quite incomprehensible to us, VIII
are familiar with herd Of a hundred or tw
hundred cattle only, and four or five hunre
sheep. Upon the grazing lands Of Montan
there are many herds of cattle nunlberin
Il 10000 head and of sheep almost upat
IN countable numbers. Although the winter
are cold, there is SO little snow and sue
quantities OF bunch grass and sweet sag
ID bush, that sheep aud cattle thrive well b
lie foragng for themselves We visited sma
81 ranch and were interested in seeing the COW
"a grazing with their calves near by PARTIAL
u concealed in sage brush. The young one
he grow W with little expense to their owner!
III and when three years old are sold for froi
IN $50 to $40 each. The sheep annually yiel