Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-03-20
ARABLE BENCHES OF MONTANA.
The Country Surrounding Great Falls
1.-The Garden 9pot Of Montana"
As Others See Us.

The Country Surrounding Great Falls
1.-THE Garden Spot Of Montana"
| As Others See Us.
The West Shore, published at Portland,
Oregon, has the following regarding the
arabic lands surrounding this place. The
| article in a more elaborate form appear
ed originally in the TRIBUNE, but it will
bear a repetition
The region lying around the Great
Falls Of the Missouri, and to q large ex-
tent naturally tributary to the town of
Great Falls, is the garden spot Of Mon-
tana." On the west side Of the Missouri,
emptying into it just opposite the town,
is Sun river, with its beautiful valley al
ready dotted with farming residences
that will compare fayorably with any in
the States, rising in the Rocky Mountains
and having . valley one hundred miles in
length and from two to ten miles in width
land to give two hundred and fifty fam
lilies o fine farm each. Parallel to this
valley, near the mouth, is another valley,
or sas, still richer, evidently an ancient
bed Of the river, which BY actual measure
ment contains II hundred farms of one
hundred and sixty acres each Of fine land.
On the northwest is the Missouri Valley
which, in thirty miles distance, gives over
one hundred farms. On the southeast lie
the fertile valleys Of Box Elder, Bslt and
iIighwood rivers, at the average distance
of nine, eighteen and twenty-five miles,
respectively, already well settled by pros
porous farmers, and land enough more to
carve out one hundred aud fifty farms.
Just south of Great Falls is the mouth
of the famous Sand Coulee.n This broad
green valley is about twenty-five miles in
length and cannot be surpassed as q farm
ing region. Without a single house five
years ago, it ia now dotted with the homes
of well-to-do farmers. Twenty miles
further south is the valley Of Smith Riv-
yer, which is a hundred miles in length
and contains scores Of irst-class farms,
Within a radius Of q few miles are six
or seven valleys, containing the finest and
best lands in Montana or in the whole
country. But these are not all. The
farmers OF that region long since
sonvinced that the best agricultural lands
are those on the bench and not in the val
lsys, and many are now cultivating them.
Until lately the scarcity Of water has pre-
veated q more universal cultivation Of
these bench lands; but since flowing wells
at q moderate depth can be obtained in
that vicinity, the problsm Of water sup
ply can be easily solved With the fav-
orabls situation of these lands, surround
ed by three ranges of mountains, with
their natural reservoirs of water, it is safe
to conclude that wells Of pure water can
be obtained at moderate cost.
Within a radius of thirty OF forty miles
there Il hundred townships, or three
thousand six hundred square miles, equal
TO fourteen thousand four hundred farms,
of one hundred and sixty acres each,
nearly all capable of producing the largest
crops. This is an area equal to o1le-third
the State Of Vermont, which supports a
population OF three hundred and forty
thousand people, and has n o ane-half as
large & per cantage OF arabic land.
Nowhere does land yield more pro-
ILLEGALLY, and nowhere is it SO abundant
and cheap. One hundred and sixty acres
of land can be had under the Homestead
law by living OBJ, and cultivating it for
five years, and paying q few dollars
as fees. One hundred and sixty
acres more can be taken under the Pre-
emption act, by paying $1.25 per acre,
and one hundred and sixty acres can be
had by planting ten acres with timber.
Six hundred and forty acres more can be
taken by man and wife each, under the
Desert Land act, BY irrigating and cult
waiting the land, and paying $1,225 per
acre, thus giving from eleven hundred to
eighteen hundred acres Of land to every
farmer for much less than the cost Of a
small farm in the States.