The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-02-28
Truthful Description Of the
Magnificent Country North
of is.
Flathead Region and its Great
Possibilities. j. Hill and
Staff COmplimented.

to the country through which the
ifc extension of the Great North
railroad passes. have
over all this country and
hugh the great Flathead valley
Is before we dreamed of the iron
EhX$se climbing the backbone of our
" ntry. will attempt to comply with
y<lr request, though language is made
4 Sfste to express lite future p 'ssibilities.
43his line leaves the road at Havre, a
~ miles east of Assinniboine, runs west
t0fhe Flathead, a distance of 273 miles,
Keeping well up IN the rolling highlands
between the Marias and Milk rivers, and
parallel with them. The track is finished
to Out Bank river, a distance of 100 miles
from the junction, and where the first
hIHh trestle will be built.
Both Milk and Marias rivers rise IN the
main range and flows through the finest
RrAxing lands of the northwest, being
o0vered with buffalo, %bluejoint, gramma
md bunch grass, all of which the sun
cures and forms excellent winter feed.
This range is 1875 miles by 300 miles in
extent and only a few years ago was the
home of the buffalo, and great herds of
deer, elk, and antelope also found feed
on The broad plains. Nothing is left of
this noble game but their bones bleach
ing on the prairie. All fell alike to the
avarice of the white nan aud the Indian,
and many only for cruel sport, not even
the hides being taken. There are now
several thousand domestic cattle on this
range and at the present writing are fit
for market. These cattle never had IA
mouthful of hay in their lives. Born on
the prairie they rustic there till gathered
by the cowboys and shipped to Chicago,
where they bring the highest price of
any grass cattle that go to the market.
Some of them are now o fat to enjoy
good health. They walk around when
they meet you on the prairie with an in
dependent air and II broad grin of salts
faction On their bovine faces, as much as
70 say "YOu have not a horse that can
round me up for the butcher" and with
. kick and flourish of tails away they 90,
needless of the direction. for everywhere
10 fine feed, and on the many high ridges
on this plain are abundant and never
falling springs at which they quench
their thirst without travelling any great
distance.
As it is now the best cattle country in
the west with the completion of the rail
road ii will be the best sheep country in
Montana. There are some agricultural
lands along the bottoms of the foothills
! Of the Rockies, and at no distant day, IN
my opinion, the Great Northern rail
road will be extended from Great Falls
west up Sun river and through the Cho-
teau country and joining the through
line with the mountains, which will make
much of this fine country directly tribu-
tary to Great Fails. 1t is nearer the cOast
than any portion of Montana and there.
fore gets the first aud strongest benefit Of
the chinook winds. The Marias pass,
through which the road is building, acts
- a funnel for the chinook Qndian name
for warm Winds and more generally
known MS the Japan current, which Is
still warm when it reaches this cOuntry
and takes the snow off in a few hours.
We From Cut Bank the line is surveyed
across the BlackfoOt reservation to the
summit of the main DIVIDE, and on which
men have been working all winter. AT
Two Medicine Lodge creek there will be
another long, high trestle built.
On this reservation thousands of tons
of hay could be cut. Joe Klpp and the
Indians put up several tons OF hay this
year (after the drought of two years. for
the use of Shepard, Stems " Co. From
the summit the road descends the noun
tains through II canyon whose sides are
covered with pine, and in which runs one
of those jolly, sparkling mountain streams
whose banks are covered with great pine
trees, and whose waters are fall of the
sspeckled mountain trout, than which there
are zone better. The line of road follows
down this stream, which is tributary &c
the Flathead river, thence down BAD
Rock canyon, where the banks almost
close and send the water rushing out tC
the plains below, through which the en-
CINE will sOon go screaming out into the
valley known as Half-Mo prairie.
The Flathead river rises in British
America and flows south a distance of 2Ht
miles, feeding a large and beautiful lake
Of the same name, and flows nj of thu
lake under the name of Pen d'Orille, enc
after vending its way through a tertil,
country a distance of $50 miles, adds it
waters to those of the Columbia. This il
one of the most beautiful rivers in Mon
tana. The mountain sides and valley
from the boundary line south are covered
with pine trees of magnificent growth
smong which are the yellow pine, white
spruce, etc, with birch and other woods
al of which can he put into the stream
and floated down to the mills.
& There is enough timber in this countr,
alone to supply Montana and Dakota TO
|3}gears to come. There is a corporation
\ bow formed for the building of dams ant
FhbOoms in the river and mills for man
~ Featuring lumber and paper from cotton
wood. On this river will be one of tn
h largest manufacturing towns in the wesI
r No place has so many natural advantage