The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1902-05-30
TO WASHINGTON.
A Marvin Lady Tells Of Her
Journey TO the Coast
Country.

|
Palmer, late of Marvin, will be
pleased to read the following
description of her journey to
Washington, where the family
have recently located:
| l will not attempt to describe the
country in Minnesota that we came
through, as all know it's characteris-
tics and that it closely resembles
! South Dakota except that the fields
are larger and the pastures smaller.
l thought the eastern part of North
Dakota a dreary looking country:
from Breckenridge to Davenport the
country was flooded, from Davenport
to Blanchard it was slush and from
| Blanchard to within about 20 miles of
Larimore they had just had a blizzard
as hard as the one we had March 1st.
1 saw many seeders and sacks of
grain in the fields almost covered by
the snow drifts. The houses in North
! Dakota are small as rule. | saw
a cooking car in one instance beside
a house of it's own size and many
other houses are no larger. The
country through which we passed in
North Dakota is level as floor, as
we say, but is not well drained, the
western part is much more thinly
settled, and is only adapted for
grazing land, as it is quite rough,
something like the hills in Grant
county. Minot is built on the banks
of river that had overflowed its
banks, and when we were there many
of the houses could be reached only
crossed the so called bluffs that looked
| like mountains to my prairie accus-
toned eyes. Great snow banks were
often to be seen along the railroad
here. West of the bluffs the country
| again resembled the hills. From
Berwick to Grandville the country
was diversified by groups of mountain
shaped hills. Montana must be
named for the mountains. | saw very
| little in Montana that was interesting.
/ There were few garden patches
along the road, but they are irrigated.
Everywhere else sage brush and
prickly pear are the standard product.
After we leave Williston we passed
through much rugged country, A
few words will suffice to tell about the
highlands near the mountains. There
were few rugged hills and few nice
streams but the majority of the
country is rolling prairie where 1T
is SO dry that even sage brush refuses
to grow. In many places in Montana
one does not see a habitation for
miles but the country is even more
| bleak in the highlands near the
mountains. We ascend the mountains
| SO gradually that we can scarcely
| notice the ascent as one barren snow
| covered hill after another comes in
| view, but we saw some majestic peaks
at the summit. The descent was
grand, as the slope is more abrupt
and covered with much more forests.
The railroad followed the course
of the Blackfoot river down the
first ridge, and the beautiful effect of
the dark green forest, extending from
as high as we could see to the side of
the pale green stream below can better
| be imagined than described. Down
next ridge OF mountains we followed
the course of the Kootinoo as it
wound here and there between rugged
rock ribbed mountains, sometimes
| forcing itself through rocky gorges
dividing and passing around a
rocky island. The railroads in many
places are blasted out of solid rock.
After we left Newport, Wash, I saw
great mountains of large and small
rock where in many places even
a tree could not gain a foothold.
The country around Spokane is
prairie and timber lands with beauti-
full scenery. West of there till we
reach the Columbia is rolling prairie.
The immediate valley of the Columbia
is very sandy and the mountains Or
bluffs that rest on both sides are
almost perpendicular. Fine orchards
are grown in the valleys of these
mountains, although the river beds
look bare and bleak. Five miles of
ascent from the ferry at Grant we
reached the summit of the mountains,
along the river and from there to
|Goldendale is rolling prairie.
lGoldendale is situated in the valley
of the Little Klickitat river, on one
side prairie, on the other side is timber
and prairie. Near this place one can
see many snow covered mountains in
the distance. Now I will add brief
description OF this country and close
my narrative. The timber is pine, the
pastures scanty, except where they are
seeded down, the climate cool in
summer and moderate in winter, the
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