Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-28
Against Extending Forest Re-
serve Limits.
THE LAND IS VALUABLE
For the Raising of Small Fruits and
Should Not be Placed Under Con-
troll Of the Rangers.
Hamilton, Aug. 25.

Hamilton, Aug. IS.
The following petition is being circu-
lated and signed by every person to whom
it is presented in the vicinity of Hamil-
ton:
PETITION.
To the Hon. Secretary of the Interior,
Washington, D. c.
Strive the undersigned, your petit
TONERS, would respectfully state that we
are citizens of the United States and
residents of Ravalli county Montana;
that our Industries are farming, mining
and numbering; that a large portion of
our foothills and mountains are covered
with pine and fir lumber; that numbering
is one of our principal sources of revenue;
that at this time about all of the avail
able land in the Bitter Root valley proper,
is entered; that the only land left for
the settlers to take up under the land
laws of the United States are the before
mentioned foothills; that a large per-
centage Of these foothill lands make ex-
cellent orchard small fruit and garden
lands. when cleared and watered: that
we cannot improve this land without
first clearing it and divesting it of tim
Der to a great extent; that the sale of
the timber from one of these claims
usually enables a settler to improve his
land and make a home of it; that without
lumber We cannot improve our farms or
work our mines: that the u. S. govern
ment sends divers special agents into our
midst, clothed with authority to estop us
from cutting or removing any timber
from the public domain: that a vast terri
tory has been set aside as a forest re-
serve in the Bitter Root valley including
some of the very best timber and %agricul-
tural land that our valley and country
afford; tina in order to be permitted to
1p11nva lpyy tiuohnp fvr,oo f1ic +;,,, ho. ~.
serve ever for use on our placer mining
claims, or for building houses on our
claims, we are required to enter into a
series of "red tape" operations, and be
indefinitely delayed before receiving the
said permission: that there is a strip of
u~nsurveyed land lying between the said
forest reserve n the line of the survey
of all townships along the west side of
the Bitter Root river in Ravalli county,
Montana, which strip Of u~nsurveyed land
the government has withdrawn from
settlement by a commissioners letter
Up" of July 14th, 1899, pending it's attach
msnt to said forest reserve, and that these
forest reserve officers are already assum-
ing undue authority. it seems to us in
ordering settlers therefrom and threaten
ing them with prosecution if they fail to
remove
The sixth annual report of the bureau
of agriculture, labor and industry, of the
state of Montana. says of the foothills
in the Bitter Root valley: Back of the
bench lands are the foothills, quite as
fertile as any lands in the valley, and
especially adapted to fruit raising. They
are cultivated way up into the NOUN
tains, and many homes on the mountain
sides are surrounded by fruitful orchards
and productive fields" And this is the
character of the land which someone has
recommended be Withdrawn from settle
$50. u s~ {lo 1nNt n r 1nnI a
poor man can get on which to make a
home in this country, and we protest
against it's final withdrawal and attach
ment to the Bitter Root forest reserve,
believing that civilization is better than
rattlesnake and timber wolf, and happy
homes better than range riders tents.
Finally We do most earnestly request
tina you allow no further steps to be
taken in the proposed withdrawal of the
above mentioned lands but that you allow
it to be surveyed and plated as are other
government lands, and in a few years it
will be settled and cleared, planted to
orchards and sown to hay and grain.
And for your earnest consideration and
investigation of the matters set forth
in his petition we would ever pray.
A force of 20 men has been put to work
on the Curlew mine near Victor. Within
the next two or three weeks this force
will be greatly increased, the new stone
warehouse will be completed and other
general improvements entered upon, to
the great delight of the people of Victor
and vicinity.
Mr.. Lindgren Of the geological survey
has examined the mine and states that
the mineral is bound to increase in
abundance and richness as further depth
is reached.
Last June the property which had for
some time been the subject of litigation
was sold by decree of the court to satisfy
it's creditors. and was purchased by w.
E. Hotter of Helena. Under the new a
agement, with H. P. Kennel as superin-
tendent, the former activity of the old
camp will be renewed.
A large acreage of winter wheat was
sown on the bench lands and in other
sections of the county where there is a
scarcity of water, and it is proving a
great success from every standpoint. In
many instances it has been raised with
little or no irrigation, and as soon as far
mers learn it's requirements in seeding,
it is predicted that it will entirely SUPER
sede spring wheat in the valley. The
winter wheat soWn last fall is ready for
harvest fully four weeks earlier than the
common spring wheat, and some pieces
without irrigation will yield from 20 to 40
bushels per acre. The berry is very hard
and will make Il very superior grade of
flour, almost equal to hard wheat.
An unconfirmed report of a very rich
strike of gold-bearing quartz in the Over
which district by some Butte parties is
current here. o George Ward, presi-
dent of the Wood Placer Mining COM
any was seen in reference to the report,
n stated that a rich quartz ledge is
known tn exist nm Hughes (,rnok. TIM