The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-10-11
OVER THE N. P. r. r.

OIL, we would say that that portion of
northern Dakota lying west of the Mis-
souri,, is hardly desirable location to
settle in. The further you recede from
that river the worse it gets. The soil is
not very good. there are large alkali de-
posits and rains are few and far between.
As you approach the eastern confines of
Montana in the vicinity of the Bad Lands
the country is barren waste, plentiful
in nothing but stunted sage brush and
hills that rise perpendicularly to height
of two or three hundred feet on an other
wise perfectly level plateau.
From the Dakota line to Helena the
ride is as monotonous as it well could be.
few little towns are scattered along the
way and some farming is carried on by
means OF the expensive process of irri
cation east of Helena. Otherwise the
only signs of civilization to be seen along
the route, is the railroad itself, the tele-
graph poles and bountiful profusion
of whiskey bottles that are strewn along
the line of the road. We can't explain
about the latter but as mere coincidence
would state that President Arthur's and
President Wizards respective parties
had just passed over the road.
We expected to find a fertile country
in the valley of the Yellowstone. But
we didn't. The tourist can't find six
feet from the water in that stream, any
thing that is near as verdant as he is apt
to be. The Yellowstone itself Is mag
nifcent stream with waters as clear as
crystal, pure and tasteless. You follow
it for three hundred miles along the
road and it is the only redeeming fea-
ture of this desert without sand and
without an oasis The soil of some Ct
this region is said to be good, but rain
Is unknown, and the facilities for irriga-
ton are poor. The little of it that is IT.
rigated produces pretty fair crop of
wheat which does not ripen until about
the last of September.
The main indurtries of this territG.y
are mining and stock raising, principally
the former. [ saw very little stock, and
those l did see looked decidedly ''scrub-
by" In spring when the rivers over
flow the adjacent lands, grass springs up
and fourishes for while and then there
is good grazing; after time it becomes
parched. Still in the mountain districts
cattle can get pretty fair ''picking" while
the snow is off the ground. The winters
here are long and severe, and a great
many cattle die from hardships during
that season.
Wages here for laboring men, espec-
tally tradesmen, are good. Common
laborers get about three dollars per day,
and mechanics and the like get from
four to seven dollars per day, while cow-
boys command from $40 to $50 per
month and board. The great trouble is
that most tradesmen can not get employ
ment for more than half the year, and
board and everything else is SO high that
at the end of the year they are apt to
have very little left.
Nothing is more deceptive out here
than distances on clear day. You see
mountain which is apparently one or
two miles away. Yet you often have to
travel two or three hours at the rate of
thirty miles an hour to get there. A
professional base ball player might read
lily imagine that he could throw stone
from the depot at Helena to the town,
yet the distance is mile and half
The main chain of the Rockies appear to
be but few minutes walk from Helena,
yet it is fifteen miles. Travellers out here
are almost afraid to attempt to make any
journey, where the train stops for Is or
20 minutes, for fear the objective point
might turn out to be half day journey.
The ride from Helena to the top of the
mountains is exhilarating. The grade
from there to the foot of the main chain
is over 100 feet to the mile, but it is only
when you arrive there you begin to go
up hill. lt is some two or three miles
by the road from the foot of the noun
tain to its summit, and the grade here is
264 feet to the mile. Two engines are
attached to passenger train, and half
the train is left at the foot of the hill
After series of interminable windings,
sometimes climbing around mountains,
sometimes passing through tunnels,
sometimes going over curved wooden
tressel works over 100 feet high, the SUM-
NIT is reached at a point 5, 773 feet above
the sea level. Near the extreme top on
protesting rock the name of Mani
tcwoc boy was printed in large white let
tiers. Seventy two ton engines with
eight large drive wheels, the heaviest
that are built, are used to pull trains
over the hill, and yet all one of these
monsters can handle is three or four
moderately loaded freight cars. There
is one wooden tressel work west of the
mountains 226 feet high, being the
highest wooden tressel work in the world.
West of the mountains there is more
vegetation. Deer Lodge valley, situated
"1o' VI lbO lille, 10 sdiU W US The rlcn6St
portion of the territory, but even here
farming can only be carried on by means
of irrigation. 1t was out here that the
golden spike was driven and the tie into
which it was driven was pretty well
hacked up by relic hunters. We were
offered a piece of it but as it was only
bit of ordinary pine wood taken from
piece of square timber, we declined 1t
with thanks. In all probability three or
four ties have been used up by this time.
Western Montana aud Idaho ere for
the most part densely timbered with
pine, spruce, fir and cedar. The timber
is magnificent aud in time will undoubt
eddy find market in the east. Specu-
lating in pine lands here, however, is at
present unsafe unless the speculator wants
to wait for long time to realize profit
on his investment. The land grant to
the N. P. r. r. Co. was Immense and
included all the best timber lands in