Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1885-09-19
HOLLYWOOD AND sHoNhIN..
The Beautiful and Fertile Valleys OF
HighWood and Shonkin and the
People who Reside There.

1t has never been my pleasure to visit
& more fertile section of country than
that OF the ~IIighNood and Shonkin val
leys. The bench-lands Of this country
are especially productive and should for
ever set at nought the cry OF stock men,
that Montana is fit for nothing but stock
raising and that agriculture can not be
carried on here without a very expensive
system Of irrigation. 4 gentleman on
Highwood, who is a practical farmer and
has two hundred acres on the bench, told
ne that he expected to realize 40 to 90
bushels per acre, without irrigation, and
will probably do so, for | have never seen
wheat shocks SO thick on any field in any
country.
While this country is pre-eminently 4
are second to none as a cereal -producing
country; and to the farmer who N
here and carries on general farming there
is bound to be a bright future before him.
1t is 4 noticeable fact that the farmer
who starts With some stock on his farm
and looks after them and saves the in
crease, are the ones who make o success
of the business. There is no better
try in the world for this class of farming.
There are a number of families settled
on Highwood and Shonkin creeks, all of
whom have placed very substantial i'm
p~rovements on their ranches, and in fact
their places look as if their owners had
come to stay and were operating them
on the eastern plan as though they had
thoroughly learned their business.
On the way up to Highwood l passed
in succession the ranches of Shepherd,
Peck & Lacey and james Arnoux, on all
of which the crops have yielded album
dainty.
| then came to the ranch of R W.
auckland, who found very busy stack
ing his wheat, which he assured me would
Weld him at least 40 bushels to the acre.
Mr.. Buckland has a very fine ranch and
has built himself a large barn, on the
New England plan, and it certainly does
him great credit.
Above Mr.. Buckland ranches alternate
on either side Of the creek and the ranch
ers are mostly engaged in stacking their
grain. They all have mere or less wheat
which they say is going to be brought to
Great Falls to be ground into -four by the
new mill there.
About eight miles up the creek is the
ranch of Mr.. c. II. Boyle, who has one of
the finest ranches in this section, and all
of his Improvements are Of a good and
substantial kind.
Above Mr. Boyle's place the bottom land
broadens and the ranches are pretty well
taken up. II is a most beautiful sight up
the valley from this point, fer the scenery
of the mountains present 4 very pretty
place to build a home. Particularly no.
ticeable among the ranches are those OF
J.. C. McCord, Jos, STREET, T. \. McCor
mick, C. G. Fish, E. j. Price, and Allen
Woods.
Mr.. Price has demonstrated the fact
grown in this part of Montana. lie has
for tbs past three years been experiment
ing in the nursery business and is now
able to show some very fine specimens
of small fruit.
Leaving IIighwood by the way Of the
gap" | came to the place of Harris &
Rowe, who have a very fine horse ranch
on the bench. They also do a little farm,
ing, and Mr.. Rove informed ne that he
had found irrigation entirely unneces-
sary to the successful raising CT lis crops.
They unfortunately lost IN OF their
grain this year BY a severe hail storm,
On the bench Land in the neiehhorhocd
of Messrs. Harris S Rowe quite a num-
Der of farmers have taken up their
ranches and have from the start raised
very large crops.
1t is a fact worthy of mention that here
so near the mountains they &C not have
frosts as early as in the country Iear the
Missouri river.
Mr.. Parrolt has a fine ranch on the foot
hills Of the Highwood mountains and
has an abundant harvest this year. He
has made quite a start in growing trees
and small fruit.
Leaving the bench at Mr.. Parsons
went Into what is called the Big Sag.
This is apparently the former bed of a
river that at sometime flowed down to-
ward the Missouri. Shonkin creek runs
through a portion of this sag. The Sag
is also we'll supplied with springs, and a
good many ranchers have taken up their
homes here.
The first place / came to on leaving
the bench was that of Richard Smith, who
has raised a very fine crop this year.
After leaving Mr.. Smiths place found
the Shonkin to be we'll settled, and no
ticed particularly the ranches OF Joe
Cobell, D. 0. Reilly and the Messrs. Con
leys, all Of whose places well paid their
owners for the labor they have expended
on them in the amount of produce they
have raised.
The ranchers of the Miner Live Stock
company and George Patterson are wor