The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-09-12
THE WOLF CREEK VALLEY.
A Garden Spot of Beauty-Great Yields If
Hay and Oats.

tin and Bitter Root valleys have for a
number Of years been considered the
garden spots Of Montana. Taking area
and fertility of soil into consideration
and no can dispute the fact that
those famous valleys are indeed garden
spots. Leave out the question of acre
age and consider only the general pro-
ductiveness Of the soil. Will the palm
then be awarded to the valleys men
toned? 1t will not. There are scores,
yes, a hundred valleys in this state, the
soil of which is as rich as that of the
Gallatin or Bitter Root. Some of the
bottom land along the Missouri adjacent
to Great Falls is as productive; so are the
valleys of the Belt, Box Elder, the Teton,
the Muddy, Sun river, Big and Little
Otter and others dd intnitum. In the
front rank, in the very vanguard of all
these beautiful valleys where dwell the
brains as well as the Drawn of u glori-
Gus state, justice compels the writer to
place the ever fertile and now luxuriant
Wolf creek valley.
This valley is nearly thirty miles in
length, exclusive of Running and Dry
Wolf valleys, and in some places it is
over a mile wide. From the junction of
Running and Dry Wolf creeks, at Mr.. II.
l.. Fishers ranch, until it ls a mile or
more below Dent postoffice, and a few
miles above its mouth, Wolf creek prop
er is a good sized stream. At this time
1 90 -. 49,, - n.-1r g. L .uu.,-1 -
a number of places below here a common
occurrence among mountain stream, but
it always appears again as mysteriously
as it disappears. From Woodhurst's
ranch on Running Wolf to a point sever
al miles below Dubuque, there is al
ways a good flow of water in
Wolf creek, even in a dry year.
There is good trout-fishing from here to
the mountains and disciples of Isaac
Walton can be seen most any day an
Cling for the speckled beauties. Chicken
and duck shooting are reported to be
tirst-class. AS the TRIBUNE representa-
tive is no Nimrod he is unable to verify
the report.
The land along both sides of Wolf
creek is remarkably level from the stream
to the bench lands on either side. 1t
has just slope enough to give an irrigat-
ing ditch the moderate flow required.
Most of the ranches have these bitches,
though there was no need of using them
: this ummer. AS already mentioned the
!, soil in this valley is very rich and large
: crops are always in the majority. This
: year everyone's crop is big Nature
4 seems to have been very impartial
AS in other parts of Montana the crops
Z grew here this year without any arti.
q fetal assistance. The ranchmen had
S TO do only the seeding and keep the
fences around their fields in repair
. Nature did the rest. Great fields OF
golden wheat and oats are 10Y harvested
and await the arrival of the steam
9 thresher. Thomas Morgan, the wei
known storekeeper here, has just hat
y the oats from a twenty-five acre tielC
: threshed. From this field alone, thu
: yield was nearly 1900 bushels, or in thu
neighborhood of 20 bushels to the acre
: As this was the first threshing done il
{ the valley this season it is d pretty gooC
beginning.
The ranchmen in the mountain valleys
= where the yield per acre is usually large
u must look we'll to their colors or tn
Wolf creek ranchmen will get away will
them. Seventy bushels to the acre, ant
the half is not yet told. Some remark
able yields are promised in this valley
D. Keep your eye on Wolf creek.
Next to the plenteous crops of oat
and wheat the visitor to Wolf creek i
impressed with the heavy growth of hay
st On every side the ranchmen are bus
cutting and stacking that important al
:. ticle of forage. After cutting all the ha
on their ranches many of the mos
G. thrifty go out on the public domain-th
in bench lands and put up what hay the
n. can. They all seem imbued with the ide
. that the coming winter will be UNUSUAL
u severe. If such proves the case TN
IN stockmen of Arrow, Surprise and Wo
creeks will be able to stand a long sieg
Il. of snow and cold weather.
What | have written about the spler
~ did crops of grain and the great growt
at of hay applies as well to potatoes an
I'd other vegetables. Every ranchman i
II the valley has enough for his own us
-, and plenty TO spare of most every kind
vegetable. A number had tomatot
td nearly ripencd but the first frost OF tt
ne season, tie evening of September firs
id nipped the tender vines and 1t is doub
h. full whether any of those delacacles
Ir. the table will ripen.
,st A visitor to this valley cannot fail
at. note also the good condition in whlt
X the ranchmen keep their dwellir
ne houses. barns, sheds and fences.
RS. Poor buildings and broken fences al
nd difficult to find. Some have outgro"
is their primitive log houses and built a
he t~ractive and commodious residences tn
DC compare favorably with the best OF cas-
We ern f%armhouses. The wants of the RI
he ing generation have not been neglectc
ng There are some very comfortable scho'
nd houses, well equipped with good scho
IN furniture and presided over by first ra
De- teachers.
it. This valley was first settled by cntt
W. prising and far-seeing people about tn
ply teen years ago and since then each y.e
has added considerable to its populate
on A peaceful, happy, prosperous co
ng munity has in that brief period been
tablished ON the former haunts OF t
up buffalo and the lazy Indian. With
many beautiful farms, its clear, pure i;
Oh mosphere and it's brave men and II
dr. women the valley of Wolf creek is a We