The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1909-08-11

way to Kalispell, where he expected
to register in connection with a
business trip to a Great Northern
town east Of there. The morning ride
in train containing less than a score
of passengers in the single car at
tached to it, took us up a steep
grade through canon Astounding in
beautiful and novel glimpses along
the mountain stream which has
helped make a path for the loco
motive. After going through sew
eral tunnels and passing a number
of mining towns where a fair quail
ity of coal is turned out, we entered
the somewhat famous Gallatin val
ley. Here real farming is carried
on upon an extensive scale. both I'M
der irrigation and the dry farming
system. A tourist who came on the
train at Bozeman, the metropolis of
this valley, told US that he had
learned at one of the Bozeman
banks that the dry farmers were
carrying larger bank deposits than
the owners of irrigated tracts. How
ever that may be, the Gallatin val
ley was the first large area we had
seen since leaving Dakota, where
large fields of grain as we'll as alfal-
ia were ripening for the harvest. 1t
is not impossible. after seeing these
crops, to accept some of the state
ments shown on signboards at the
stations along the way, of big crops
in this valley-always with a liberal
discount for real estate prevaricat-
ing. The towns were generally cleo
trio lighted and prosperous looking,
the big school houses and numerous
churches indicating a high state of
cultivation.
The crossing of the Rockies with
the N. P. iron highway runs into
two big continental water systems.
A little west of Bozeman is the sta
ton of Three Forks, where the Gal
latin fork unites with two other
mountain streams to form the Mis-
souri, river, and the result of this
union is followed for quite dis
lance in the ride to Helena. Beyond
Missoula, OH the Pacific side of the
big continental divide, the Northern
Pacific follows for many miles the
general course of Clark's fork Of tbs
Columbia river, which later develops
into the largest river on this coast.
At Helena, no longer the wild and
woody mining camp of forty years
ago, but the handsome capital
city of Montana and now largely de-
pendent upon agriculture for its
business, we were again up against
the procession Of pilgrims westward
bound, all trains being late, and we
counted ourselves lucky in being
able to buy a ticket for an upper
berth in one of a long train of Pull
mans, for our 12-hour journey to
Spokane. We learned to our great
satisfaction that the train stopped
ten minutes at Missoula-long
enough for the crowd of homestead
seekers on board to register, with
out stopping over for another train.
Everywhere were seen the signs,
Authorized Notary Public" and
at one of these a young lady filled
out blank the size of common
envelop with the formula of our age,
height and weight, which we signed,
passed up to the man designated as
the notary, who quickly dispatched
his part of the business, another
girl handing back the blank and en-
velope with printed address, and the
business is done. August 9Th and
9th the tons of entries will be
shuff1ed and the ninety and nine will
cease to dream of a cabin in the
woods while the lucky one will be-
come the prey of locaters and land
sharks. The only snaps are those
which have made sundry railroad
companies and hotel-keepers the
possessors of wads of easy money.
REGISTERING AT COUER D'ALENE.
A trip to Occur d'Alene last Fri