Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-15

magic growth.
Bozeman, the city in which I have
located is called the prettiest town in
Montana. Without prejudice I can
safely say it is most beautifully located
[ have no adjectives to adequately
describe the grandeur of the landscape
around US. Bozeman is surroundnd
on three sides by gracefully folded
mountains, rising majesticly above
each other, crowned with snow and
ornamented with evergreen trees on
the sides, with here and there bold
crags and beautiful peaks ; all making
the location Of the town eminently ro-
mantle and to the lover Of senic, es-
pecially charming. Avalle y of thirty
miles wide and fifty miles long extends
toward the west, and by irrigation is
made an excellent farming tract.
Our city has three thousand inhabi-
tants. 1t is not new town. Within
the past eight months the population
has increased twelve hundred. Its
growth will not be rapid, as some
western towns, but it will have q
substantial increase and be a large
city in few years. 1t has a rich
valley around it good coal mines near
by, fair groupings of gold and silver
mines (altogether not yet well
developed) and an excellent grazing
country.
It is now a we'll established fact
Montana is the best grazing country
in the United States. It's climate and
grasses afford the maximum advant-
ages in raising cattle and horses.
Herds from Texas, Utah, Wyoming
and Oregon are daily coming in to
find better grazing grounds than those
states and territories afford.
A new industry is lately practiced
in the cattle trade. 1t is the ship
ment of young cattle from the East to
Montana. By the first of last Aug.
fifty thousand had been shipped from
Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and
Minnesota.
The raising of cattle is very
lucrative business. 1t is especially
attractive to young men. Thousands
of eastern young men are coming out,
buying small herds and becoming cow
boys. The wild and barbaric life
seems to have great facinations for the
youths.
Miles City, Billings and Bozoman
are great cattle centers, like Cheyenne,
on the Union Pacific. The ranges, on
Tongue river, Rosebud and the bank
of the Yellowstone all the way to the
Missouri will accommodate over
million head of CATTLE The oppor-
tunities are buondless and Montana
beef is always at premium. There
is, however, another movement which
even eXcels the ranch business and
that is ditch building to irrigate the
lands. A ditch that costs 500, 900
will irrigate 100000 acres of agricul-
tural lands and the water can be
readily sold at SO cents an acre per
annum. This is so per cent on the
investment. Everything is favor
able. The bitches cannot freeze to
death like cattle they will not burn
up like houses they can be willed or
decided from father to son for genera
tons, and the territorial laws are very
favorable. The man or men who
construct them are considered public
benefactors by the law and the work
is encouraged.
Money is worth one and a half and
two per cent month in Montana,
and often hard to get it at that.
[ find here a great many highly
cultured people from the East and
consequently some excellent society.
AS in all western towns we have a
good deal of intemperance, gambling
and icentious indulgencies. The
young have little to initiate that is
refining or inspiring. Money is the
God People are very extravagant
and live high, board costs from IS to
So per week, everybody can make
money but it takes the wisdom of
Solomon to devise some plan to hold
it.
In my professional work (strange to
say) l find it easy and pleasant
[ expected cowboys sons. [ describe