Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-09-13

lrsday, September I
Gulch trestle in the Coriacan Defle, which
has height of 226 feet
TERMINAL CITIES AND PORTS.
The principal eastern terminus of the
Northern Pacific system is at the twin-cities
the company has large, handsome build
ing for it's general Offices and there it has
three trunk line connections with Chicago
The road has two terminal lake ports at the
head Of Lake Superior, Duluth and Superior
each of which has IN excellent harbor. The
construction of the Wisconsin Division, east
ward from Superior, now in progress, will
soon afford third lake harbor, at Ashland.
At its western end the road reaches the tide
water of the Pacific at Portland, Oregon. and
also at Puget Sound. Ocean steamers and
sailing ships of the largest size 60 up the
Columbia and the Willamette to the wharves
of Portland, while Puget Sound is all an
immense harbor, being a deep land-locked
sea, $50 miles long, with width of from five
to twenty-five miles.
The mileage of the main line and branches
of the Northern Pacific system, now in
operation, is as follows:
MAIN LINE DIVISIONS.
Minnesota Division-Duluth to Fargo......... 1921
Wisconsin INSTRUMENTATION Pacific juno
tion to Superior Observation-Disclosures. 2312
St. Paul Divsion-St Paul to Brainerd w 1876
Dakota Dvision-Fargo to Mandan. 1891
Missouri Divsion-Mandan to Glendive..... 216
| Yellowstone Division-Glendive to Billings 225
Montana Division-Billings to Helena....... 239
Rocky Montana Division - Helena to
Heron. IA
Pend d'Oreille Divison-Heron to Wallula 269h
Pacific Divislon-Portland to Tacoma......... l45
Total mileage, Main Line Divisons1 9SOA
Little Falls and Dakota Branch-Lttle Falls
Mimi, to Morris, Minn............... So
Northern Pacific Fergus and Black Hills
Branch-Wadena, Mimi, to the pres
ent end of the track in Dakota l16
Fargo and Southwestern Branch-Fargo,
Dakota, to Lamoure, Dakota............. SO
jamestown and Northern Branch-James-
town. Dakota, to Devil Lake Dakota l04
sykeston Branch-C Darlington, Dakota to >.
Sykeston, Dakota. IA
National Park Branch-Lvingston, Mon
tana, to the boundary of the National
Palouse Branch-Paiouse Junction, wash
ngton Territory, to Moscow, Idaho
(nearly completed )................ $50
Cascade Branch-Facoma, Washington, Ter
ritory, to WilkesOn, Washington Ter
ritory, (under construction across the
Cascade Mountains and down the Va
kima Valley to Ainsworth, 2lo miles 80
Seattle Extension Puyallup to Seattle,
Washington Terrltory...................... ~
Total mileage of Branches ................ GA
mil
Branches. 6o44
The branch lines of the Northern Pacific
system are built by the Oregon and Trans
continental Company, which hold control
ing interest in the stock of the Northern Pa
cifc and Of the Oregon Railway and Navi-
cation Company and constructs branches
under an arrangement by which the stock
ownership is to be acquired by the Northern
Pacific Company after the bonded debt of
the branches shall have been extinguished
by the operation of sinking funds.
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC COUNTRY.
Commencing at the head of Lake Supe-
rior, and going westward, the following brief
survey will give general ide of the main
features of the country traversed by the
Northern Pacific Railroad.
For the first $50 miles the country is al |
most an unbroken forest, furnishing, however, |
valuable lumber traffic. Then the lake
and park region of western Minnesota, |
beautiful agricultural country is traversed,
and afterwards the Valley of the Red River
of the North which is level and exceeding
ly rich prairie, about forty miles wide.
Farther west, the country is a rolling, tree
less prairie as far as the Bad Lands, which |
lie On the extreme western boundary of OAK
ota, distance of about $50 miles Almost
the entire area ofDakota is valuable for agri-
culture, it's great staple being wheat. The
Bad Lands are a singular, broken
and upheaved country of hills, precipitous
buttes and narrow valleys. Three quarters
of the area is covered with an excellent
growth of bunch grass, and the region, in
spite of its forbidding name, is an excellent
pasture land Eastern Montana is, for the
most part, high table land, covered with
bunch grass, and was formerly the great buff
falo range of the continent, but the region is
being rapidly occupied by herds of cattle
and bands of sheep, and of its entire surface
there is very little area that has not an evil
dent value for grazing purposes. Agricul
ture is carried along the bottoms of the
streams, irrigation being required except in
the low lands Immediately adjoining the
river courses. Central Montana, through
which extends the Rocky Mountain system,
is region of lofty mountain ridges and {
lower spurs and ranges, interpersed with
beautiful and fertile valleys, where agricul-
ture is found very profitable with the aid of
irrigation. This is also the great silver 3
and copper mining region of Montana t
its product of the precious metals c
since the first discoveries were made ;
N 1862 has only been excelled by
hat of California Norther Idaho is ira g
7ersed for about sixty miles by the Northern '
Pacific. 1t is country of forests and prairies. :