Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-06-28
EDITORIAL LETTER.
Miles City, Montana, June 30, l9'

marck to Miles City along the Northern
Pacific, is to the stranger, full of sur
prises and of interest. West of Mandai
for long way the ground is billy ant
poor. Then it gradually rises to 1
gently undulating upland which il
beautiful to look upon. 1t would bt
as pretty farming district as ths
world knows if the clouds were only Z
little kinder and would yield the
country the needed rains. As it 10 the
region is only suited to grazing. A
little wheat raising is attempted but
the results are so poor that it is dis
couraging. But cattle, sheep and
horses are raised extensively and
profitably.
When We were within about fifty
miles of the western line of North Da-
kota we entered the Bad Lands country
The pen of the writer and the brush of
the artist fail TO reveal the reality of
the utter badness of these bad lands.
The trouble seems to have been that
the land washed all to pieces. The
soil is the best soil to crumble and
wash away that is known and it is just
washed to death. The ruts have be-
come rayines and the ravines have
yawned into gaping canyons while the
hills become mountains, unshapely and
ill colored. The canyons are tortuous
in their windings, and it looks like one
could become lost in their intricacies
without an effort. These were the hills
where the Indians used TO retreat to
as last resort when chased by Custer
and Miles and our other Indian fighters.
Knowing those retreats and Businesses
it took rare tactician to drive them or
draw them out.
Leaving these almost worthless
regions we dash down into Glendive in
the Yellowstone river valley in eastern
Montana. For long distance we run
along the noted river bank. The sink
ing sun glances its rays aslant across
the green and pretty valley and the
shadows from the irregular and barren
hills gather around.
At Miles City found an aunt and
her two sons, one of whom is superin-
tendent of the city electric light and
water works and / spent day with
them. Miles City is a typical western
town. 1t has 2y000 people and a mum,
Der of pretty good business houses.
The town is dependent on the trade
from the stockmen who are in the sur
rounding country. Provisions are
freighted out to the cattle and sheep
ranches TO distance of $50 miles from
here. OF course the country is very
thinly populated. 1t is hardly
populated at all. A man buys little
land and then pastures all the land
adjoining it. There seems to be plenty
of land yet for all who want it, but
there will surely be more trouble some
time. Sometimes the sheep and cattle
men collide and make trouble. Some
times a greedy man undertakes to
fence in the water privileges and then
he is liable to find trouble. am told
they do not wait for the slow processes
the courts in difficulties they have
among themselves. The other stock
men join together, throw down the
fences and if necessary warn the in
truder to move elsewhere, and he
moves. There are murders here some
times. Custer county, which is one of
the biggist counties in the United
States, has lots of murder trials, but
few convictions 1t is said they have
never hung a man here by process of
law. Sometimes murderer goes to
the pen awhile but often, tried by a
jury of his peers, he is found innocent.
But these stockmen are most Of them
fair, honorable, educated and gentle
menly men. This is to some extent
the frontier yet. Many of the customs
Of civilization have not yet obtained
sway here, and they are simply doing
the next best thing, adopting and en-
forcing code of their own. However
great advancement has been made in
that respect during the past few years.
| / visited a sheep ranch yesterday
where 1900 sheep were being sheared.
Eight or ten men were clipping wool
at lively rate. Some of them can
chear 100 to $50 sheep day and tie up
the feeces. They are onto their jobs.
They get eight cents head which
makes them good money, but of course
it only lasts few weeks. The sheep
industy is growing greatly here and is
very profitable just now.
A prolonged drought is extending
over this country and the cattlemen
say they will have to ship out many
thousand head. The grass hasn't been
growing for a few weeks and there is
not enough on the ranges to keep near
all the cattle now there over winter.
ID. @. M.