The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-10-28
Montana's industries.

some very important suggestions and
statements of the affairs and conditions
of Montana. The report is an exhaus-
tive one, the best that has ever been for.
warded to the department. 1t is fiatter.
! ING to the Governor and TO the Territory
alike We append synopsis of the re-
port from the biennial reports of the
Auditor and Treasurer of the Territory.
From these it appears that tFe total
assessment of property In the Territory
for the year 1884 amounted to $49O7o,-
007Sl, the same being an increase of
$5,O00,000, in round numbers, over the
previous year. 1t sfould be remember
ed that the assessment does not give the
full value of our property, and does not
! include our mines, which are worth a
great many millions.
No census ofthe population of the Ter
/ ritorx has been -aken sincs 1880, at
/ winch time it was 80 1857. Atpresent it
can be only estimated by the total vote
clst at the general election in Novem-
Der; 1884, which, as appears from the re-
port of the Auditor and Treasurer, was
26,909 From the same official source it
appears that at the preceding general
election the total vote cast in 1882, was
23,316. The increase has beer greater
during the past two years than at any
other period, and our population may
be fairly estimated at 100000 to no.
0GO.
The numerous valleys of the Territory
are remarkably fertile, with proper faci-
Iitles for irrigation. yielding large re-
tlrns in wheat, oats, barley, and all
kinds Of vegetables, unsurpassed in quail
ity. Owing to the high price of labor
here, as in all mining countries, and the
great distance from the markets of the
world, our farmers have been unable to
crmpete successfully in foreign markets
wi h those of Dakota on the east, and
Washington and Oregon on the west;
consequently nothing more is attempted
than the supply of the home demand,
which is large, owing to the great num-
Der of men employed in the mines.
am advised from reliable sources that
during the past season numerous depre-
dations have been committed upon the
rights Of stockmen by rowing bands of
Indians, who have been suffered to leave
their reservations and to roam promiscu-
ously through a region of country where
there is absolutely no game and where,
to sustain life, these Indians have killed |
cattle running upon the ranges, and, in
several instances, have run off the hors |
belonging to the cattle men. This has
been carried on to such an extent that |
the stock men have become greatly and |
Justly exasperated. can but renew the |
request, so frequently made by my pre-
decessors, that some such action be |
taken by your Department as will result |
in restraining and copfning these Indi-
ans upon their reservations, which en-
braces an empire of the fairest and |
best portions of the Territory, and
from which the whites are rigidly ex-
cluded.
From statistics furnished by the Unit
ed States Surveyor Gen rails Office for |
Montana, in this Territory embrace an |
area of 5000 square miles, including |
nearly thirty million acres of the finest |
agricultural and grazing lands to be
found on the continent. / would earn
estly urge upon your Department the
necessity of cutting down these reseFva-
tions to size commensurate with the |
needs of the Indians. The greater por-
ton Of these lands, SO necessary for the |
use Of actual settlers, is Of no use what
ever TO the Indians. Since the extinc-
ton of the buffalo, there is little or no
game, and but small portion, ifany, of
these lands is cultivated. Why not
throw the reservations open for settle
ment and sale. reserving a portion fos
the Indians to be held by them in sew
crafty, break up their tribal relations,
and reserve portion of the proceeds of
the sale of the ian0s for the use and
benefit of the Indians dufing the period
and process of education and civilization.
Without troubling You with details
which will suggest themselves to you,
such policy would be charity to the
Indians and result in furnishing homes
to hundreds OF thousands of our own
race, besides furnishing the world with
over a million cattle which could and |
wo;ild be grazed and sustained on these
lands. That they (IndiansJ can be edu,
-ated and civilized, has been demonstra-
I'd by the Fathers of st. Ignatius Mis-
sion, in their boarding schools and
workshops on the Jocko reservation in
this Territory, and doubtless at other
places.
Next to mining, stock raising IS the
largest and leading industry in the Ter
ritory. According to the official report
OF the Auditor and Treasurer for the
fiscal year ending December 81, 1884, the
whole number Of horses assessed was
99.843; mules and asses, 2,544; sheep,
$685. ,S96; cattle, 509,76S. Since the assess
ment there has been large number of
cattle driven into the Territory. Allow
ny for these and under assessment and
the increase, would estimate that we
now have in the Territory
Cattle. 100000 head
Horses. 10000 do
Sheep ......................... ], 100000 do