The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-09-05
GLIMPSES OF
The FLATHEAD
Concluded From Page %

such as the O'Brien mill at the head
Co., and several others, while every
few miles throughout the valley are
smaller mills, converting the neigh
borhood logs into merchantable pro-
duct. Butte offers a great market for
lumber and mining timbers, while
Great Falls, all of northern Montana
and North Dakota buy the Flathead
lumber. Some one gave an estimate
of Flatheads annual lumber product
as one hundred million feet, but it
was too low. Numerous mills saw
$4,000 feet daily, while there are two
or three with capacity of 100000
feet The big mill at Somers, a new
town at the head of Flathead lake
named in honor of Geo. O. Somers.
general freight agent of the Great
timbers, ETC. for the railway. 1t is
run by Mr. O'Brien, who is generally
supposed to manage J. J. Hills lum-
Der interests A tie-picking plant is
also operated there, and the three
cornered tie is submitted to a chemi-
cal bath that is supposed to double
it's time of service. At any rate these
odd-shaped picked ties are being dis
tributed by thousands along the Great
Northern, which is just now carrying
on the work of betterment on a large
scale. An army of men are working
in the mountains between Columbia
Falls and Midvale, changing, grading
or ballasting the road In the great
plan of railway building which Mr..
Hill has outlined, there seems to be
no limit of expenditure when it
comes to improving. Miles and miles
of new railroad have been built east
of the mountains and the old lines
abandoned for the sole purpose of re
ducing the grades and increasing the
handling power of a locomotive. One
engine now pulls the load that two
nauled over the road, and it is not
uncommon to see trains of SO cars
handled through the mountains by
one engine and one crew. This has
been accomplished bg the building of
miles and miles of new road at an
expenditure of hundred of thousands
of dollars.
This policy of grade reduction has
presented a problem to citizens of
Kalispell, which they are trying vain
ly to solve. The Great Northern, after
it leaves Bad Rock canyon, dips down
into the valley something over loo
feet to reach Kalispell, deviating sew
eral miles southwark from its course
and again going north and climbing
out of the valley. Recently line
has been surveyed which cuts square
ly across the valley on straight line
westerly from Columbia Falls, past
the foot of Whitef1sh lake, and leav
ing Kalispell nine or TO miles to the
south. The maximum grade on the
proposed line is 10 feet to the mile
with all curves on the level. A Iot
of land has been purchased at the
foot of Whitefish lake, which the pub
lie has been informed is for TOWNSHIP
purposes. All manner of conJectures
have been printed and discussed, bur
as yet the road has not been graded;
nor has a townsite been thrown open
Kalispell has grown to a moderr
city of 5000, with large business es
tablisnments and natural commercial
advantages as the county seat. Ira
ding citizens, while expressing tht
opinion that Kalispell is too big t.
be hurt, confess their bewildermen
over the course of events. Columbi;
Falls, Is miles north, appears to bt
equally puzzled by the railway move
ments OF the future.
One thing seems probable, viz: thu
early building of a railway from thu
Great Northern in F1athead count.
to the Northern Pacific at Jocko. I
truly wonderful change would b
made by such a road, giving direc
line to Butte for the lumber, Goa
grain and fruit products of the va
ley That road is surely to be built
Where it starts or. where it ends i
of secondary Importance. 1T is no
unlikely that the coal, copper and OF
territory of the North Fork will b
tapped when such line is built
That is a logical conclusion.
With matchless farms, vast area
OF timber, hundreds of orchards, an
coal, silver and gold mines, one woul
naturally conclude that the distribr
ton of resources had amply supple
Flathead county but one cannot NEE
a citizen there who will not expires
sincere confidence that great oil r.
gion will be opened up. A cursor
glance at the records of the count
will convince the vision that there ar
fully 1000 men who believe in tn
oil theory. More than 1000 oil claim
have been recorded and locatio
notices reach the county seat ever
hour. Owing to the habit of locatin
~ o13fv,oc hninor nrQU1Ilnf las