The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-12-27
PICTURESQUE DAKOTA.
Turtle Kountalns-Bott,ns County

ln0S0 WOuuG8lHS nave O6eu auSScFl00O u
simply atvast sYsp i'm the great prairie regior
81 the great Northwest and average 800 Zee
above the plain&nd 2,80O' Net sbovf thu
level Of the sea. They cover m area o.
about 1900 square miles, 81 which abou,
$4,000 acres are within the limits Of Botti.
nsan county. They rise sometimes abruptly
but generally with . gentle slope from thu
surrounding praifts.
The interior il = region Of broken hills
lofty buttss, deep valleys, lakes and streams
and the whole mountain region il we'll tim
bsred. IL 10 drained BY branches Of Ii,
Mouse river on the west and southwest, and
BY the head waters Of the Pembina river OF
the northeast. Many Of the lakes abound il
fne 6sh-chiefy piokerel, weighing ter
pounds and over.sfFish lake near the ives,
end ofthe mountains 10 about three and /
half miles in length.
Plenty OF game 10 also 10 be found there
from the gorgeous elk to the innocent jack.
rabbit. Various Kinds Of small fruit grow
in luxuriant abundance. Vegetation !,
earlier here and the frost 10 later than on
the prairie.
For cattle and sneep raising and the -cul.
tivation Of fruits Ind vegetables in markets.
BE quantities, these mountains cannot bs
surpassed.
THE BANNER TowKsHrP.
We are indebted to q. 8 Surveyor H. G
Greene for : copy Of the description fur.
nishsd BY him to the land department, Of
township 1853, range Is, which Of all the
towns surveyed by him in the past two
years. he charactsaises % the best for gen.
eral agricultural purposes-it it's chief value
however, consisting in its a~daptability for
the raising of stock. In this report he says:
The soil ia this townshlpis OF . very good
quality, nearly all clsssed irst-rate and
capable Of producing magnificent crops.
TIE surface for the most part is not so hilly
% other parts Of the Turtle Mountains; the
highest and toughest part being in the north
eastern part, which has q general slope
toward the center, which contains the val
ley Of Fish Lake, Duck Lake and Oak Creek.
The township is all the mountains and has
been covered with fne timber--poplar, oak,
birch and elm, nearly all Of which has been
killed 5y FIRE, though still quite useful for
building and..fuel.l
This township & we'll adapted to stock
raising as there are large meadows covered
with rich and nutritious grasses; the timber
affording good shelter; and there is no
scarcity of water as there ore numerous
streams, ponds and lakes. The lakes con-
tain clear, fresh water, a. rell as any of
the larger ponds. Fish Lake, the largest.
extends from near the south side Of section
10, n%orthward into the British possessions !;
it varies in width from few chains TO
about II miles andis from 10 feet to 20 feet
deep and abounds- with 6ne pickerel and
suckers. Coed water is also found in wells
without digging very deep. The township
10 being rapidly scaled by u industrious
class of people, some Of whom have already
quite extensive improvements-at present
there are about fifty settlers in this town.
ship whose homes are located in groves of
timber.
THE SOIL
> Of an exceedingly rich, black, sandy loan,
average two feet, with q suhsoil Of clay,
averaging fifteen fest in depth. II is in this
country where, Ia 1854, was raised the
wheat which took the FIRST premium at the
Worlds ExpositiSR q Nav Orleans in 1886,
and the very farm ID which ii wss s e;
OWE .sia,'.n 8 fbbfs the principal feeder in
NJ nasosa !. tthe st. Paul, Minneapolis
Y Manitoba raa.ray The Northwest Land
'Compsny have plated q town at that point
which cannot fail 10 bssoule the most impor-
tant Of any ON the fine of that road west Of
the Red RiverVallSsr.[ and to those seeking
permanent business locations, the advantages
here presented should be secured while yet
the opportunities ere afforded. Some idea
Of the settlement Of Bottineau county may
be had from the following
The county was organised in July, 1884.
In November following, the vote cast ut the
general elestion WAS only "a. In June,
1856, when the census wal taken there were
S1S inhabitants. The vote Of the county
was in November lat, 740-which Is IN I'M
crease in four years ef over seven hundred
and eighty per csnt.--the population being,
according TO the rats prevalent IN the ter
ritory, over $500.
THE ctIMATE
Of Dakota Is to manIA great bug-bear, but
as health is the true criterion and the pos
SCISSOR Of it has the gisatsst wealth, the fol-
lowing comparative statistics on that ub-
iect as shownaby the censusof the Us. in
1880, and that OF Dakota In 1880 serve 70
dispsl any illusion er m~isconception and
erroneous notions prsvalsnt in the public
mind, and residents III thu states who con-
template immigration viii do well to make
note Of these incontestable facts.
wHEHE HEALTn Is TO BE FOUND.
By the United StatSs census Of 1880 the
raie Of mortality in
NrA~ Hamnahira wa1-i6.l to the thousand.