Morris tribune., 1913-05-09
PIONEERING IN MONTANA
The New Country Described by
Leah N. Hudspeth.
Saco, Mont. Apr. 20, 191;

in Stevens county to send in a write
up on Northern Montana Homestead
Life, = will do so to the best of my
ability.
Our homestead is located in Valley
county, about twenty -one miles from
the Canada line. Our main trading
point being Saco, which is nice little
town for its size. There are a num-
ber of inland stores with postoffices in
cluded, short ways from our ranch
one by the name of Barr is four miles;
another, Valleytown, miles; etc.
Valley county is a very pretty
country with its winding rivers and
rolling surface although in some
places the hills are so high and steep
that they are called the "Little
Rockies. We are only about twenty
or twenty-iv miles from the Missouri
River. In driving across the coun-
try one would think it is uninhabited
in some places as you can drive al
most up to a house before seeing it as
there are so many low places as
coolies as they are termed. Some of
the very rough homesteads have a
large amount of stones on them rang
ing from small pebbles to large rocks
and oozing from around many of these
rocks are natural springs of pure min.
eral water.
Those having wells have dug down
to various depths from fifteen to sixty
FIVE feet, thereby securing good water.
One day last week father drove over
to the coal mountains about four miles
east of here, and got some Ignite
coal.
There are several different kinds of
soil in the various localities; in and
around Saco they have the gumbo,
which during the rainy seasons causes
the road to get so soft and gluey as to
make the roads almost impossible. In
the more elevated land the soil is very
sandy but on the average the land is
rich caromei loan which is very
fertile.
The farmers raise the same small
grain as in Minnesota. This is
great state for the raising Of sugar
beets, some having been grown that
weighed fifteen pounds, with other
| root vegetables in proportion. They
plow up furrow Of sod, drop in pota.
toes. then turn sod over on seed
Quite an easy method of planting pot
atoes.
Large quantities Of berries grow
along the river banks such as goose
berries. buffalo berries, currants,
choke cherries, etc. On the hills are
seen number of prickly pear cactuses
and patches of moss while on the
prairie land grows the sage brush.
Cattle, sheep and horse herding is
carried on extensively as the native
land is covered with a neavy grass
that is valuable to ranchers. We are
neighbors to horse rancher and as
this is round up time it isn't anything
wild bronehos around the country.
Each rancher has his individual brand
and in the spring of the year the
horses are driven in from the hills
where they have stayed during the
winter, are corraled and separated in.
to the different herds. the ones thai
are to be used are lassoed and ''bron.
che busters" are hired to break them.
Rancher Lewis, our neighbor. ha;
over hundred horses. He has beer
running his ranch for number O.
years on government land but as the
country has became more and NOR,
settled, the people have taken thr
country away from him until he nov
is going to Canada to start "ranchins
it" there on government land.
An old trail crosses one corner 0
our claim and we quite frequently Sc
yoke of oxen passing over it which
reminds one of Lewis and Clark s day
in the pioneer West.
There are number of steam pillow
working in this locality. We drov
over and watched one plow Sunda
and it certainly turns over the so
fast enough. They charge four dollar
per acre for breaking new sod.
Last week couple of COYOTES cam
almost to the door of Mr.. Keifer' S
out next door neighbor. but wer
frightened away by the dogs. Durin
| severe cold weather in Canada larg
herds of antelope cross over the lin
| and come down around this country
other wild animals such as wolves
| bobcots, lynxs, porcupines and prairi
| dog towns galore scattered thruout th
| country with focks of sagehens, phes
SAINT and other game to interest th
u / i1,,E