New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-16
TIE NEW STATES.
XVIII.
MONTANA.
,saosa THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ROCKY
- MOUNTAINS
NILES mrY, THE THRIVING CENTRE OF
GREAT STOCK RAISING COUNTRY.

NILES urY, THE THRIVING CENTRE OF
GREAT srooR RAISING COUNTRY.
tvsos A 9, Az CORRESPONDENT or ThE rRiBuSH]
Cs,,rtoht, 1883: By ne Nse york Trfovne
Miles City, Montana, June g.
wbs,, IN. westward traveller enters the had
Lands of the Little Missouri, he bios good-oy 70
the black sol, and the level prairies that make the
{,ro 'Dakots. lie comes upon another soil, an
other climate, anUther people ana many announcer
wsv AZ living lie enters the domain OF the miner
80 a.. ,,o.,,.,oiser lie finds himself in a
wonderland, where strange things never quit
hsnn,nina whore both accident and industry
80. ,n.n ,;,b almost before they know il, and
49,. nad-can Iuck tosses favors about with q
,apd As prodigal ~ II is incQnsiderate. Montana
!. A, infant ciant. which rs yet knows nothing OF
H. s,,enutb, and lees than nothing about how to
rss :, Jlate and there are old towns where
cu.,om has made grade and laid grooved rails
,,or q. but for It's length and breadth, IL Is as
strange even TO its own people.s were the new
Indies TO the European adventures OF the SIX
,ecnth CENTURY Vast expanses Of country are still
0bsufveyed Fertile valleys, capable Of produc-
ing millions in crops, ore as yet known only TO
wolves and che Indians. Mountains where the
clearest indications Of mineral wealth have been
observed are as yet unscratohed. The country is
unsettled in all directions, and no one can look
around him as he travels along lonely miles
of untenauted prairie or over mountains, whe1
no trails are to he found except those OF mountain
lions, bears and elk. without feeling that how
tver great the work Of these Montana people has
been in digging treasures and in growing grain,
hey have not yet recorded so much as the pref
ace TO the book Of their achievement.
- Ia ALL INN
and the Upper Missouri, is almost wholly an agri-
cultural and stook.rsising country. It's lands are
+bottoms,r bcnches,' "hoss' backs . divides
ana mountains The mountains have not been
Investigated To understand the character Of the
country IL Is necessary 10 know that IL emerged
slowly from former watcry confines. 1t was oil
Under water not 90 very long ago, but long enough
TO require the use Of cycles in the measurement
Of time, and o. the waters were drained of they
brst left mountain heights. Then they were parted
BY long ridges Of high hills traversing miles Of
country The land lies comparatively low on
either side Of these ridges, and they called d.
vides' Still falling away and seeking escape into
the ocean, the waters left many Big round mounds,
nicknamed hogs bacis.' many buttes. either in
berries or solitary. Then. for ages, the waters de-
ciined but slowly. Their beds lay between these
bills and buttes, where they formed q succession
of neat lakes What uRd to be lake bottoms ore
now the valleys Of pernanent rivers and creeks,
sternally fed by mountain snow. These valleys
constitute the stable lands Of Montana and Wy
oming and their SOIL being for a solid foot in
depth o pure alluvisl de post, Is necessarily rich
ind fertile. The lake waters as they fell formed
succession Of prairie kvcls each lower tban the
other Zach thousands OF acres In extent called
bsnches,' and the last bench, the one nearest
the rivers or creeks, is bottom"
Now. then, you understand how this II at once
wonderful mineral country, wonderful stoSk
country and a wonder agricultural country
The gold, silver, tn iron and coal are in the
mountains and $40, 00o, 900 is dug out every
yesr The Cattle have an iiliinitable grazing field
sfori she hills and prairfes with q thousand noun
trin streams, little and big, to afford them water,
conees (oY ravires) Immune rabie In which 90 seek
shelter from storms and hay two feet high u
iced on The prairie benches will grow anything
that can be grown In a temperate climate what
eosn, oats barley, rye, garden vegetables and
fruits You can come and all these things
growing the people are hospitable and will cheer
fully show what they possess. Production Is de-
pendent upon irrigation, which In many valleys Is
reduced to Q perfect system. shall presently de-
scribe che practical operation OF The system, but
10 IL enough to say ut this time that Its success Is
beyond all question or dispute. Those who do
dispute IL, don't understand It, In Custer County,
Of which Miles City is the capitol town, there are
about 10000 acres in crop today upon land
which without irrigation would be as dry as dust.
Thirty bitches supplied from the Yellowstone
mainly. furnish the necessary water and the farmer
who understands his business knows just when,
where and in what amount to distribute his moist
IRE. In the matter Of irrigation Custer County ID
not q model. It's people are given over 70 stock
raising and comparatively little rsnching tor
farming) is done What the country needs most
fsr iso miles around Miles City are ranchmen.
Not even tho home market for farm products Is
fully supplied.
Miles City was an outcome Of the Custer massa-
ere. The Indians, Ia 1876, held the whole country
from tho Bad LAndA in Dakota, TO the Big Horn
River, in Montana. Their fun strength was
amazed along the Yellowstone They escaped
from General Terry and scampered into the Big
Horn country where Custer and his brave 800
were moved down. That event decided the Gov
eminent to take vigorous measures and to con-
fine the Sioux within the limits Of their prese mt
reservation, east Of the Missouri Two forts were
established, one, named for Custer, within sight
Of the bluff on which ne was killed, and one here
at Miles City, which took its name from that Of
the pluekiest, and surely the lucest Indian fighter
in the land. North Of the Yellowstone the country
was thrown open and catuemen soon possessed
Il. Enormous bands Of Texan steers were driven
north from the breeding lands. with Texan cow
boys attending them. The Texan cowboy Of that
dry was usually o man with record lie was
I. bad and badness" was his pride and glory.
No material inducement could have made him
virtuous. He settled the Indian question in short
IL A.r a, - = A.
"a targets and learned 10 shoot by practising Q
Crow buck. They were q rufIianly lot Of knsves,
but they quickly subjected the red rufhans and
prepared the land for peaceful settlement Az the
rsilroad drew onward toward the coast they dis
sppe sred The herds they tended were owned by
hasixe,s men in the East who wanted to make
raancv and who saw only financial disaster ahead