Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1914-03-21
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.
Interesting Letter From w. r. Woods,
Who is Lecturing at Farmers
Institutes in Montana.
Editor Chronicle:

montana Is large state. The clubs
have map showing the state cut out
and placed over various parts of the map
of the United States on the same scale,
with the east edge at New York the
west line comes into Indiana. The first
thing did when Igot into the state was
to pay $500 for an interchangeable
mileage book good for 5000 miles, and
they tell me it will all be used up by the
last of this month.
The first date had in the state was
at Custer, Yellowstone county. Its
town Of three hundred people, three
room school, no church, no newspaper,
but four saloons. The town is practic.
ally owned by one man, which is seldom
good thing for the town. From the
Yellowstone we went to the Clarkes
Fork, south of Billings. where alfalfa is
king. 1t is largely an irrigated country
and I'd hardly like to repeat the yields
they assured US were common everyday
crops of that hay. One man at Fromberg
had just bought twenty acres of level
land at $l75 per acre. 1t was planted to
apples twenty-five feet apart, a perfect
stand of Wealthy, Gano. and Hybernal,
all hardy shipping varieties, and he was
asking advise as to how he could get
those trees, just coming into bearing, off
the land so he could plant alfalfa on it.
When john Robertson of Argyle hears
about it he will make trip clear out
here to dssuade him. But Mr.. Bluett
has 1000 lambs on feed and with sweet
clover and alfalfa hay and Nebraska corn
he has made so much profit that the
apple proposition does not appeal to
him. The need of the country is more
corn, not only for the grain but as pre-.
paration for other crops to follow. The
dry land farmer is gradually growing
into rotation Of rye, squaw corn and
barley or speltz, and getting live stock
of some kind. The man who thought
he could make success of grain after
grain has been weeded out by the mercy
less hand of nature, and is working on
the section or back in Iowa living with
his wifes folks this winter. From Bill
ings across the Rockies is an all night
run on No. Al, and there was six horse
stage at Ravilla to take US to the Flat
head Lake. l knew the County Supt.
however, and he came down with his
machine and four of us, the smallest of
the lot, crowded in and We started out
through the mud for Roman. The first
thing we saw that was of peculiar inter-
est to Black Hills man was an eight
foot woven wire fence, and big sign
american Bison Range" Now, in
common with most South Dakotans, 1
had thought that Dupree-Phillips herd
of l25 at Ft Pierre, and the IA at Wind
Cave gave US about our share, but here
was 80 looking over the fence for hay,
and there are as many more in the Val
ley in private hands. When we got to the
mission of st. lgnatius We stopped to
visit the shrine and view the wonderful
paintings in the chapel, and there heard
the history of the bison and how they
came west of the mountains. A mission
airy brought two calves across the range
and in time this original stock amount
ed to 60O The Canadian Government
paid $500 apiece for 400 and they are
now at Bauff By the way negotiations
are now under way for the purchase of
the old Dupree herd owned by the Scotty
Phillips heirs in South Dakota. We got
to Roman at noon and were in mud half
way to the hubs all the time, and all
the way to the hubs some of the time.
OF course it was Ford, nothing else
would haye made it in half the time it
took the stage, but don't tell Tom Gar
lock.
At Roman We found Prof. Thomas
of the Great Northern Railway, the man
who has written more books ON agri-
culture than any one in America. He
is about to 90 to England after load of
breeding stock for his famous double
decker, or so called dual purpose" cow.
Hon. Grin q. Gregg, who was for twenty
two years the Supt. of Institutes in
Minnesota, and Prof. M. L. Dean, the
State Horticulturalist, and DR.. M. j.
Hartman, State Veterinarian.
l followed these men for week
through the beautiful Flathead Valley.
1t is place had heard much about, a
natural fruit country where cattle range
all winter, and where on the third day
of March the hillsides were green with
grass. We have been going about the
lake in steamers all week, and it is SO
deep and waves are 80 regular that it
seldom freezes over. In this valley the
Mcintosh red apples that took grand
sweep stakes at the national apple show
were grown by John Wood of Rocky
Bar near Kalispell. They were on the
table of the President when his daughter
was married. And heard Mr.. Wood
tell how he grew them.
At many places in Montana l meet
friends from back home, and many more
l pass by, simply because we never meet
or hear of each other. The Principal of
the city schools of KalispelI, Prof Cum
mings, was raised on Harney Peak.
Harry Gay hart, the one time Hot Springs
shotgun enthusiast has now laid it aside
for the 35 Remington and the three bears
that he killed in five seconds-when he
was not looking for bear at all-make a
fine decoration for his pleasant home.
The Wooster family, formerly of Hot
Springs, came down to the dock at Day
ton to see that got out of town, and A..
q. Duke and Ewald Heubner are pros
pering nicely and enjoying life. The
record breaking rainbow trout, IA Id
OF was caught by Mr. Heubner. The
deer are larger than Black Hills deer,
and even the pine needles are twice as
long, but just the same have not found
a place that seems as much like home as
the Sunny Southern Slope Of the Beauti.
full Black Hills.
W. R. Woods.