Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1889-08-02
CoLFAx, w. T., July is, 1880.
EDIroRCoU1ER:


EDITOR CoU1ER:
In my last gave you brief &C.
count Of my trip from Bismarck to
Helena. Daylight found us at Missoula,
beautifully situated at the western
gateway of the Rocky Mountains, on
broad plateau on the north side of
the Misseula river, near its junction
with the Bitter Root and He'll Gate,
and commanding lovely view of The
valley and the surrounding mountain
ranges, that stretch away as far as the
eye can see. This isolated and remote
frontier, is now busy, thriving town,
containing many substantial business
blocks and residences, also many
''licensed gambling" houses. Fourteen
miles beyond Missoula the road enters
Corican Defilc, and crosses the Mount
Mazent Gulch by means of an iron
bridge 500 feet i'll length and 2ee feet
in height. For 10 miles here the grade
is 118 feet to the mile ascending and
descending. The tract follows no val
Icy, but proceeds along the faces of fir,
pine and t:lmerack covered hills, until
it decends into the valley Of the Joco
river, where the agency Of tho Flatlcad
Indians is established. This agency
extends Il distance of GO miles along the
Joco and Pend d'Orcillc river, aud
contains 1900, 900 acres, or $1,000 acres
for each family of four persons.
Surely the Great Father ut Washington
is liberal in his allowance of land to the
Red Man. The road passes through
fertile but narrow valleys. Evidences
of drouth are seen on every hand. We
pass on now into the valley Of the
Pend d'Orcille, or the Clark's Fork of
the Columbia. The waters of this
beautiful river are Of y deep sea green.
The scenery is simply magnificent.
Cottonwood grows close to the river,
and fir and pines clothes the benches;
and mountain sides except where the
latter arc SO nearly vcrticlc that forests
cannot grow. Lake Pend dOreillc
northern Idaho is like broad and
winding valley among the mountains,
filled to the brim with gathered waters.
The shores are mountainous. The
view of the lake from the Cur windows
with its beautiful islands, is superb.
Surprise greets one at every point Us the
circuit of the lake is made. 1--WE intend
to- surprise some of thetrout on the home
ward trip.) Passing beyond Pend
TOreille the road enters the Spokane
valley-thc best farming land this side
of Dakota-and soon reaches the
famous city, Spokane Falls-thc great
and, 1 confidently bclicye, to be great
inland city of Washington. Its four
years growth is simply marvellous.
Here one finds grouped the enterprise
of the west and the stability and COM
fort of the east. Many Of the business
blocks would do honor to St. Paul
Spokane Falls has an assured future
A travelling acquaintance of mine, who
in '79 refused to purchase u certain
piece of property for $500, was made
weary last Friday when he discovered
that that same property could
not today be bought for two hundred
times the sum originally asked.
George Ellis, who has a position in
one of Spokane's leading drygoods
houses is both looking and doing we'll.
Leaving Spokane and the main line of
the N. p. we enter the famed Palause
valley, scarrunted to produce so bushels
of wheat per acre, and never known to
have q poor crop. But the far famed
Palause is, today, the most barren
looking valley my eyes ever rested up
on. What little wheat there is, is
being cut for fodder; oats are a fail
ure and barley-why Il. G.. Coopers
barley-this unfavorable season-is 25
bushels to the acre better than that Of
the Palause country. This may be an
unusually dry year here, though 1
think not, and the crop mag nerer have
failed before. But this much is certain,
there Is no more hardship among
Dakota farmers today than there is
among the farmers of the Palause coun.
try-conccded to be the cream Of
Washington's farming lands. While
there is limited supply of fruit and
diversified farming is practiced, on