Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1885-05-14
MONTANAS ARABLE LANDS.
An Agricultural as Well as a Stock
Producing Country.
The Bench Lands the Coming Wheat
Fields Of the West.

50 little has hitherto been known of
its best agricultural lands, that it is
! generally understood in the East to
possess no worth mention
ing as a farming country. The val
lays of the upper Missouri, the Gadla-
tin, the Madison, the Jefferson, and
also the Deer Lodge, have been known
for a number of years as fertile agri-
cultural sections, but it is only within
a short time hat the immense agri-
cultural capacity of Northern Mon
lana has begun to be appreciated. In
fact it has just ceased to be an Indian
and buffalo country. -Four years ago,
five or six different tribes of Indians
ere chasing buffalo in the Judith
Basin whore to-day are the homes of
hundreds of prosperous farmers and
stockmen.
That part of Montana bounded on
the west by the Rocky and Belt
mountains, and extending as far east
as the 109o of longitude, and lying
between the Missoari and Marias riv-
ers on the north, and the Musselshell
river on the south, possesses more
and better agricultural lands than
can be found elsewhere in Montana.
This area embraces about $4,000
square miles Of territory, and is but
little traversed or broken by mount
ain ranges. It is divided into valleys
and bench lands. The valleys though
rich and fertile, like the other val
leys of Montana, cannot generally be
successfully cultivated without irri-
CATION. This territory, however, more
than any other, is favored with large
streams and an abundant supply of
water.
The important feature Of this part
of Montana, is its extensive table
lands, which have been found within
the past two or three years to be ex-
cellent wheat land without the aid OF
irrigating canals and bitches, and
when cultivated the same as the wheat
lands of Dakota and Minnesota. The
old timers Of this section. like the old
settlers Of California and Washington
territory, have been slow to believe
that any land in Montana can be cul-
tiyated successfully without irrigation.
It is now, however, a settled fact that
vast stretches of bench or table land
in this part of Montana, will, one
year with another, produce wheat
averaging from twenty-five to fifty
bushels to fho aero
The Highwood farmers on the
benches twenty miles from this place,
have grown large crops of wheat dur
ing the past two or three years. Last
year, which was not particularly ia
vorable, gave them a yield of about
forty bushels to the acre. A farmer
of large experience from that section
told me last fall that he considered
the benches of this part Of Montana
the best wheat lands he had ever
Ger in any country, and that his ex-
perience had demonstrated that they
would produce large yields of wheat
and oats with only the natural supply
of moisture. Let any man driving
from Great Fall to Fort Benton, on
either side Of the Missouri river, note
everywhere the rich soil and abund-
ant grasses. He will see no sage
brush and no alkali land. II he ex-
amines the soil be will find it mellow
and well mixed with silica, the "grist
of the mountains,"-so essential to
the rapid growth Of grain and to the
retention of moisture. These are
some of the fine wheat lande of North
ern Montana. Because you see no
cultivated farms or fields Of grain, do
not condemn these lands the same as
We condemned the rich prairses of
Northern Minnesota and Dakota, a
few years ago. Remember that the
way of immigration is still moving
westward, end will soon cover this
country, and that these unoccupied
lands will become the homes Of thous-
ands of industrious people. / am
aware that my statements are contrary
to the traditions of this country at the
base of the Rockies, and at variance
with the numerous accounts given by
correspondents, but those who have
written Of Montana's know
little or nothing of hat part of Moa-
tana whose boundaries I have given.
The bench lands that stretch from
Sand Coulee to Belt creek and to
HighWood creek, and also from the
Highwood to Fort Benton, cannot fail
to become great grain-producing sec
lions. For immediate settlement,
those lands lying within a convenient
distance Of the Sand Coulee and Belt
creek coal districts are especially de
sirabla, cheap and abundant fuel be-
ing always an important factor in sue
cessful agriculture. Farmers who