The river press., 1884-10-01
ON THE ROAD.
STANFORD, September 10, 1884.

koIANfO OhD, tOepttulUeI I0, 1oOf.
Editors of the River Press:
The little town Of Lewistown, on Big
Spring creek, boasts of store, hotel
school house, blacksmith shop, three
saloons and Touring mill in course Of
erection. The store, a branch house Of
Il. G. Power & Bro, in the hands of the
energetic manager, Mr.. Erickson, is the
supply point for the large ranching COM
munity in the surrounding country.
Mr.. Erickson says that the cash sales
this season are considerably larger than
for the corresponding months OF last
year. The hotel, recently erected and
run by Mr.. Hartop, is deserving of its
present comparatively large patronage,
as the management nSqf cry endeayor
to please, and judginN i I'M the satisfied
expressions OF the boarders, they are
successful. The saloon in connection
with the hotel, conducted by l.. t. Mar
shall (no stranger in Fort Benton), is
very popular.
The school house is new frame build
ing, neat and attractive, supplied with
the latest approved school furniture,
and numbers an attendance of twenty
four scholars. Miss Shipman, the pres
ent incumbent, has been very successful
as teacher, and is cordially appreciat-
ed, as the recent generous increase in
salary will testify.
Mr.. Shufelt is pushing his Touring
mill to completion as rapidly as circum-
stances will allow, and will have the
machinery on the way from the states
by the first Of next month. He intends
having the mill ready for business in
two months, if possible.
At Reedsfort, short distance above
Lewistown, on Big Spring creek, is the
fine, new twostory hotel known as
Days house. Under the management
Of the present agreeable landlady, Mrs.
Frank Day, venture to say the house
will not loose its we'll earned popularity
for days to come. The arrangement Of
the hotel displays both care and judg-
ment, and expense has not been spared
to render it pleasant and comfortable.
Cottonwood, six miles west of Lewis
town, is a small place of about equal
size and contains the usual representa-
tive class Of business places. The store
at this place is branch of the firm of
Lehman & Co., of Helena. 1t is heav
lily stocked and controls an extensive
trade.
Although somewhat surprising, it is
undoubtedly the case that all of the To-
cations at all fitted for either ranches or
stock along the numerous streams Of the
Judith Basin are taken up. Therefore
person at all acquainted with that por-
ton of Montana will have some idea Of
the number of inhabitants. A great
many of these being interested in stock,
also other enterprises of considerable
Importance, the amount of capital rep
resented is not insignificant. Naturally
the amount of supplies required for the
maintenance of this population, if pur-
chased in any particular town, would
furnish large trade in itself.
Without much inquiry it can be ascer-
tanned that the trade which Fort Benton
ought to control is now principally di-
rected towards Billings. The leading
merchants of that burg have had enter
prising representatives travelling through
this section of the country, drumming
up business and offering special induce
ments to customers, which eventually
had the effect Of creating a feeling detri-
mental to Fort Benton. Besides the
competition in the price and quality of
goods, they have inaugurated system
of delivery by which any person can
forward them an order, no matter how
small, and have the same delivered on
short notice at a reasonable rate. Fur
thermore, the difficulty experienced by
some of the sheep men this season in
the shipment of their wool has tended
to embitter them in a great measure to-
wards the river metropolis. If the Ben
tonites desire to hold this trade, which
is daily slipping away from them, the
sooner they make a determined move in
that direction the better. D.