The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1883-09-22
ROAMING ROBERTS.
He Takes i'm the FiOurishing Cify of
Billings and Relates What ne
Saw and Heard.
,ial Correspondence of the Record

1
BILLINGS, Mont, Sept. 12.-For the fir
time in five years | am amidst the nois
and bustle of railroad town. Night an
day the shrek Of the iron horse and til
clang of the bell awakens the echoes an
the would-be sleeper. The copper CEN
heretofore curiosity in Montana, is i
active circulation; the fye-cent nickel
are power in the land, and our old an
much beloved Canada dollar hard to ge
hold of. Where butsa little over yea
ago the prairie dog was monarch of all tn
adobe land he surveyed now exists thu
thriving town of Billings, with its mile
OF side tracks, its street railway, blocks O
substantial buildings, railroad shops ant
round houses. On approaching the towr
| the first thing that strikes the eye is the
tall spire of the handsome brick church
donatcs by the Hon. Frederic Billings, af:
ter whom The town il naEaea.s On nearer
approach mammoth buildings that almost
throw Benton III the shade make their ap-
pearance. To stranger, after two
months soiourn in the wilds, it is
VERITABLE NEW YORK.
Billings was dressed in holiday attire
when arrived, the railway nlagnates and
their guests having but just passed through
on their way to the grand wedding cere-
monies Of the Northern Pacific. The hills
had been robbed of their growth of pine
and Billings made 10 appear sort of per-
petuaI Christmas tree. Flags of all ma
tions bedecked every house and a hand
some pavilion built of wheat and oats from
the fertile valley above, contained every
thing in the vegetable line Montana pro-
duces, to enable Willard and party to form
some idea of what Montana can do. Oat
straw seven feet in length, cabbage forty
SIX inches in circumference, potatoes. two
Of which would fill the ordinary pinch
Oottomed peddler's bushcl and melons and
squash OF huge proportions. Outside was
displayed Il block of coal from the Bull |
mountain coal fields four feet square, piles
If Barker bullion and ores from Barker,
Montana, and Clark's Fork districts,
Thirty carriages We're in waiting
o convey the incredulous easterners
the valley above to show them the crops
# which they saw samples at the depot.
nd many availed themselves of the op-
to see one Of
MONTANA, s FERTILE VALLEYS.
full .tiedged brass band diseoursed {
weet music and the residents turned out
masst to welcome their distinguished
uests, and pride themselves on having
lade the most attractive display west Of
t. Paul. In return, they were treated TO /
from WIN. M. Evarts, Willard.
llilngs, General Grant and other nota- J
les, all OF them expressing great pleasure |
the display provided for them, and their t
lthusiastic reception by the people of Bill t
ngs. a
THE TOWN A
enjoying season of prosperity. The u
'om has passed. Business, for a time y
nll and stagnant, has now settled into a
gular channel on a solid basis, and from
g present outlook Billings will be an inn ?
'rtant point Oh the Northern Pacific. II
THE BENTON BRANCH
no more thing of the future, but work :. =
Ill commence at once and the road built :
the coal fields, forty miles, this fall. M. .
Grant, engineer-in chief, and G. A. De- =
ar, engineer in charge, are here now g.
tn their party to cross section, and =
aiding outfit from the Clark Fork livi-
N are on their way here to start work.
lat Billings will be the supply point for 9, .,
u for the road is an undisputed fact. as :
Bull mountains seem to contain an in
haustable supply. The people of Bill =. -
gs seem to be far ahead of the average :.
'ntana towns for enterprise. A ditch. - -
rather canal, of mammoth proportions. no
been dug some thirty miles above. and Or
water is at present within few miles ha
town. 1t will be distributed in bitches th
ough the town, something similar to
arrangement at Salt Lake, and will be oi
'g Improvement, as the present hot and qu
'ty streets are any thing but enjoyable. 60 60
AN ARTEsIAN WELL or
npany with capital Of $4,000 are %
king az the upper end of town and are -. -.
present down $50 feet and have 14O feet no
yater. lfthey succeed in striking flow in
water, of which they feel extremely err
hdent, Billings will be well supplied se'
pure water and the present expensive
OF hauling in barrels three miles
n the river, will be done away with.
was surprised at the number of busi-l
houses and the large amount of goods of
led in ther respective lines. wi
H. CLARK s. CO., cld
well known railroad contractors. who IN
e done wholesale and resail business MI
'long the line Of the Northern Pacific. he
established a permanent house here at iro
ings and are doing an extensive bnsi- the
!. Their building is the largest in OF
n and the mammoth signs of Fl. CLARK spe
o., can be seen from long distance in on
direction. Their business is not con- reu
d to Montana alone, but they do an ex- wa
i've trade in Wyoming, also. They tina
their own teams and deliver goods mo
hundreds Of miles in every direction. is
Hanlan superintends all the details of lon
Billings house, and their success gives ira