The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-12-13
PICTURESQUE DAKOTA.
Turtis Mountains -Bott,neau County

Il = : r.
Turtle Observation-Disclosures County.
Situated in the extreme northwestern por.
tion Of the Devils Lake land district. skirtsd
on the north by the mountains and fringed
on the south bY the meadows of the Souris
or Mouse river, lies the far-famed prize
wheat county Of Dakota.
i These mountains have been described Al
simply alvast swell in the great prairie region
Of the great Northwest and average 500 feet
above the plain and $500 feet above the
level Of the sea. They cover An area oi
about 1.500 square miles, Of which about
950, 600 acres are within the limits of Botti-
neau county. They rise sometimes abruptly
but generally with . gentle slope from the
surrounding prairie.
The interior il . region Of broken hills,
lofty buttes, deep valleys, lakes and streams
and the whole mountain region 10 well tim
bered. It 10 drained by branches Of the
Mouse river on the west and southwest, and
by the head waters Of the pembina river on
the northeast. Many Of the lakes abound in
fine fsh-chiehy pickerel, weighing ten
pounds and over. Fish lake near the west
end Of the mountains is about three and q
half miles in length.
| Plenty Of game is also to be found there,
from the gorgeous elk to the innocent jack
rabbit. Various kinds Of small fruit grow
! in luxuriant abundance. Vegetation is
earlier here and the frost is later than on
the prairie. .5
| For cattle and sheep raising and the cul-
tivation Of fruits and vegetables in marketa-
BILE quantities, these mountains cannot be
| surpassed.
.s.
THE BANNER TOWNSHIP.
We are indebted to q. 8 Surveyor H. c..
Greene for copy Of the description fur
nishsd by him to the land department, of
township 1863, range rs, which of all the
towns surveyed by him in the past two
years, he characterises as the best for gen.
eral agricultural purposss-its chief value
however, consisting in its adaptability for
the raising Of stock. In this report he says:
The soil in this townsh,pis is Of a very good
quality, nearly all classed frst-rate and
capable of producing magnificent crops
The surface for the most part is not 30 billy
| ~ other parts Of the Turtle Mountains; the
highest and roughsst 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 10 all the mountains and has
been covered with fine timber-poplar, oak
birch. and elm, nearly all Of which has been
killed 5y fire, though still quite use.al for
building and fuel.
This township is we'll adapted to stock
raising as there are large meadows covered
with rich and nutritious grasses; the timber
affording good shelter and there II no
1 ~
streams, ponds and lake.. The lakes con-
tain clear, fresh water, as veil as many Of
] the larger ponds. Fish Lake, the largest,
extends from near the south side Of section
10, northward into the British possessions ;
il varies in width from few chains to
about II miles and is from 10 feet to 70 feet
deep and abounds with fine pickerel and
suckers. Good water is also found in wells
without digging very deep. The township
is being rapidly settled BY an industrious
class of people, some Of whom have already
quite extensive irnprovements--st present
there are about fifty settlers in this town.
ship whose homes are located in groves Of
timber.
| -,. THE SOIL
is Of an exceedingly rich, black, sandy loand
average two feet, with subsoil Of clay,
averaging fifteen feet in depth. It is in this
country where, in 1884, was raised the
wheat which took the first premium at the
Worlds Exposition at New Orleans in 1886,
and the very farm on which it was grown is
nowtlie terminus of the principal feeder in
North Dakota of the St. Paul, Minneapolis
& Man;soba railway. The Northwest Land
Company have plated town at that point
which cannot fail to become the most impor-
tant Of any on the line of that road west Of
the Red Rivervallsy, and to those seeking
permanent business locations, the advantages
here presented should be secured whilo yet
the opportunities are afforded. Some idea
Of the settlement of Bottincau county may
be had from the following
The county was organized in July, 1884.
In November following, the vote cast at the
general election was only 81. In June,
1885, when the census was taken there were
8l8 inhabitants. The vote Of the county
was in November last, 74O--which is an in
crease in four years Of over seven hundred
and eighty per cent.--th population being,
according to the ratio prevalent in the ter
ritory, oyer-3, 800.
THE CLIMATE "
OF Dakota is to many great bug-bear, but
as health ID the true criterion and the pos
SCISSOR Of it has the greatest wealth, the fol-
lowing comparative statistics on that sub
ject as shown by the census Of the y. s. in
1880, and that Of Dakota in 1856, serve to
dispel any. illusion or misconception and
erroneous notions prevalent in the public
mind, and residents Of the states who con-
template immigation will do we'll to make
note Of these incontestable facts.
. WHERE HEALTH rs TO BIZ rouHD.
By the United States census Of 1880 the
rate Of mortality in
New Hampshirs was 1871 to the Thousand.
New Jersey 8 le.3 = B 2 sss777 a. q IA I
Kansas g" l62 = - asff sss sssss
Wisconsin l2l - !" -
Ohio l8.3 N ~ n
NevRdB 4 HI y % ssss
Oregon 4 # iO.7 Tss a
Florida - SO "a IA
While in Dakota BY the census 81 1885,