The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-10
More Than One Million Acres Of
Montana Lands, Now Possessed
by the Indians, TO Be Thrown
Open 20 Settlement. "a
ALREADY THE GREAT RUSH
OF HoME;sEEKERS IS ON
Country Is Adapted Especially to
Farming and Stock Raising, and
the Government Supplies Water
for Irrigation-Boom for Bill
ings. 49,. =

It hngs. ...- =,
HERBERT vANDERHoOF.
Promptly at &c O'clock s on I'll, Thu ssaey
! Of the government land office at Billings
j and Miles. Mont, will be opened for the
! the registering OF the names Of men and
| homesteads in the great Crow reserva-
ton that is about to be opened for col
! onization. This registration will close.
as promptly as It Will be opened, on
Saturday, June 80, at 6 p. m.
The Crow reservation lies about twelve
miles seast of Billings stretching down
the bank Of the Yellowstone river for
sixty miles, and on its , east lies the
Gently segregated from the reservation
, of the Crow Indians by the government,
comprising 100000 acres Of land. This
open to citizens Of the United States
under the homestead act. "A little more
than 10000 acres Of these lands are
classed as agricultural and the remainder
gress dated April, 1904. q bill was pre-
scented and. passed in both houses pro,
viding for irrigation OF these lands, and
today that work Is about completed.
If you wish to acquire a homestead
in this beautiful. country, within easy
reach Of the healthy, prosperous young
city OF Billings, it is necessary to follow
purpose: To obtain registration q man
must sign the application in person at
Billings 2r Miles and give the h. res5str1; +
necessary to properly, identify, him. He
will be given a nontransferable ticket
which entities him to examine the lands.
The drawings will begin at Billings at
pleted. Notice of drawings will be posted
i at Billings and mailed to applicants.
To obtain allowance Of entry each s ap-
together with certificate OF registration
and necessary proofs, together also with
such fees as are. required for the pur-
pose. Persons who make entry for any
of the coded HON estead lands will be
required to pay 81 per acre, payment
to be made as follows: One dollar per
acre at the time Of entry; remainder TO
be paid in four annual installments. the
first installment to be paid at the close
Of the second year.
Rush of Home Seekers On.
Already there are thousands Of home
seekers located at Billings and camped
upon the fields within the districts OF the
city. The throwing open of the reserva va
tons means thousands of dollars in the
pockets Of the residents and business
houses of Billings, for there are many who
will be on hand during those days who
will fail to secure what they seek. and
as a consequence the population or Bill
ings will be largely increased, because
many Of these people VII settle at Blil,
who, seeing the magnificent resources. O
this great part of the Union, will pur
chase lands within a short distance o.
their presence, for it is the man who Il
seeking to enrich himself, and indlrect!!
the community, who will camp at Bill
ings and take part in the rush to register
pass Billings, let alone equal it, In prog
ress. To prove the truthfulness OF thes
assertions, I made a most careful exam
inaton Of the finances Of the the ety. 1T It
First National Bank Of Billings mas
capital of s15o,o00; surplus and PROFIT pr r.
amounting to $50, 600, and the average ,e, oe
81, 900, 900. In fact the banks Of Billing
have a larger business than those 9
any town, city or settlement IN the east It
well for the little but rapidly CROWN
city.
While I was at Billings I also locke
into its future. At present there ar
der way Am ans f fRese IS
valued at over 100000; 200 residences
which will average $4,000 each; ,n pushes nnd!
improvements to cost aoout S $1VosyVv
bal church; school houses and farm an
ranch improvements. and all Of tn ass
improvements will be started and con
pleted within. the next twelve m! month II,
~ 70 RiIlings are in keeping with thos
Of private property. The roads IN q !: ar r
around Billings are superb, Deneh III
waved the city is we'll watered ar
lighted, schoolhouses are abundant, an
in word all that at n man Ri Wlsaes LOT ca
Montana's Great Cattle Industry.
) Let me say a word regarding what
saw within a radius Of twelve miles :.
alfalfa district in this section of tt
United States is situated right mere
this county, and continues to grow
importance. What does this mean'
du stTp' Of MOI Montana must increase in ir
,nortance. and today Billings and Its su
roundings are looked upon as the grea
est wool growing omd {bs eea abipments Of we
f noands s ThinS of It, 1000 pounds
wool, an enormous ame ehinned 6a also ~
car loads Of cattle, 1000 car loads
sheep, $50 car loads OF horses, ana "a
car loads Of grain: sner re- IS h any Il Il
record let it be shown.
And inthe process Of evolution there
one more thing to be considered. 4
enormous shipments above record
amount Of livestock and wool the reven
must be great and that property
Billings must be valued at a good hgu
The bank statement to which ma
alluded, showing deposits aVeragl
81, 900, 900, tells one part Of the story,
which there are two parts, hnanclai
The other is this: The hg CUR Ir, OF
ments at Billings last year represen,
g total value in lots, land and 1mpro'
ments covering $3,7S4,054, an incres
fof s2375, 900 over that Of the precedl
wear Such being the case, what
be the actual cost Of improvements
the year 1906? I leave that to the rec
ers good sense to figure out.
Opportunities for Ambitious Men.
In and around the city of Billil
there are splendid opportunities for ey'
man Of ambition Great opportunlt
exist for. men who wish to run sn
farms for the growing Of market garC
stuff to supply the hotels and other me-
of Billings, for there are several as g
hotels in the city as can be found in {
city Of the country. The -opportunit
for farmers are really astonishing, W
the government experimenting the II
CATION Of the Grow reservation and
other alkaH lands In Montana. That
farmers have splendid opportunities
here again manifested when I saw
$4,000 barrel brewery, a Touring
and elevator, broom factory, packi
house., cold storage plant and plenty
Iereameries, with room for plenty me-
Because Billings is away out w
many In the Eastern section of the Un
believe that it Is very cold, and that
during the year can be found more
less cold weather. Such ts not the CT
however, for Billings and this sect
OF Montana have most beautiful