Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-12
INTEREST IN
] THE MIDLAND
Butte & Boise Railroad Attracts
Attention.
FEASIBILITY OF ROUTES
Must Tap The Timber Country By
Way of Moose Lake-Big Hole
Basin Impossible.
FEASIBILITY OF ROUTES

The proposed construction of the Mid
land railroad through the heavily miner
| allied mountain district between Butte
and Boise, is attracting much interest
! on the outside.
Interest in the project was revived by
the Shenon interview published in the
! Inter Mountain several weeks ago. Mr..
| Shenon is a Salmon City banker and in
his interview he gave out the informa-
ton that a corps of engineers was at
work in the Salmon river country on the
preliminary survey of the route.
The Boise Statesman recently publish
| ed an interview with w. +. CObban of
this city, in which Mr.. Cobban discussed
tonnage, and feasibility of route from
G~ibbonsville to Butte, via Crowsfoot
pass. The Cobban interview was as fol-
lows:
wv. F. Cobban, of the Cobban, Casey.
Day company, real estate men of Butte.
is in the city. He says there is much
interest in Butte in the proposed Idaho
! Midland railroad connecting that place
with the capital of Idaho, and the hope
is general there that the project will
be carried through. Butte people are
much interested in Idaho, and there are
many who would make their perma-
nent homes in Boise If this line were
constructed, giving them a short route
to and from h place where their in
vestments are.
.Mr. Cobban calls attention to one
point in connection with this project
that has not been brought out. 1t Is
hat the section of road from the Mon
tana line to Butte is needed by the lat
| ter place is destined to be built in
any event. If the Midland is construct
ed, this will be a portion of the line.
The timber for Butte comes from the
Bitter Root valley. A branch road runs
| up that valley from Missoula. 1t is now
being extended southwark to reach new
timber belts and will reach nearly to
the Crows Foot pass, above Gibbons
Vile, over which the Midland must cross
into Montana.
But the haul for lumber from that
| section by way OF Missoula to Butte Is
very long and a shorter road Is needed.
This will be built by way of Moose lake.
1t will pass through a heavily ~timbered
section and will have a large traffic
from the mines of the Moose Lake dis
trict. Butte is using 5000, 600 feet or
lumber monthly, nearly all OF which Will
pass over this section of the Midland.
| and the road will have a very large
traffic of other kinds.
Another Montana gentleman. talking
| yesterday of the advantages of the pro-
| posed road, said it would open a mar
ket in Montana for all the products
| that 20, 900 people could grow in this
valley. Butte and other places in that
vicinity are absolutely dependent on
| other localities for everything they con-
sumo, and they would use all that
! could he produced in this section If
they had direct railroad communica-
tion."
Mr.. Shenon, in his interview lie not
| discuss the course the road would take
| from Gibbonsville to this city. He mere
ly generalized by saying, over the
mountains to Butte" There has been
| some talk of routing The road through
| the Big Hole basin, and the ranchmen
are building castles in the air that will
meet the usual fate of such structures.
The routing Of the road through the Big
Hole basin from Gibbonsville is practl-
cally an im~possibility on account OF the
mountainous country east of Gibbons
Vile. OF course it could be done as
modern engineers can overcome anything
but it is hardly probable that it would
be attempted with a natural outlet like
Crowfoot pass within easy reach. The
road could be built through Crowsfoot
pass on a 2 per cent grade, and a coun-
try of immense tonnage possibilities: II
would tap the upper Bitter Root, Ross
hole. the Moose Lake country, and go
east to Anaconda. The resources of this
almost unknown section of Montana are
sale to be almost incalculable. The best
timber in the state grows there, and the
supply is almost inexhaustible. Copper
ore rich enough to justify wagon trans
p~ortation to Anaconda Is being mined
there. The soil is very similar to the
lower Bitter Root, but little farming is
being done there on account of lack OF
transportation facilities.
It is quite evident that the Anaconda
people believe the proposed road will
take this route. and representatives OF
the big company have been locating tim
Der rights and acquiring mining property
in that section for the past 80 days.
Il