Montana

the most northerly of the Rocky Mountain States. The name was suggested to Stephen A. Douglas by General Denver. It is a Spanish term, meaning mountainous. The state motto, Oro y Plata, is also Spanish, meaning gold and silver. Montana was organized as a territory in 1864, and was admitted to the Union in 1889. Its area, including lakes, is 146,080 square miles, equal to that of New York and the six New England states or of the British Isles. It is exceeded by Texas and by California. The average east and west extent of the state is 525 miles. The ordinary transcontinental passenger trains of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways require a day and a night to traverse the state.

TOPOGRAPHY. The average altitude of Montana is a trifle under 3,900 feet; that of Colorado, it may be remembered, is about 7,000 feet. About one-half of the state is mountainous; the remainder is range and agricultural land. The waters of the state are gathered chiefly by the tributaries of the Missouri and the Columbia rivers. A loop of the Kootenai River drains the northwestern corner. A vast amount of snow and ice accumulates in the steep, shady canons of the Rocky Mountains and melts during the summer season, maintaining a constant flow of cool, wholesome water. The largest lake is the Flathead, about twenty-seven miles in length.

MINERALS. The wealth of Montana is, first of all, mineral. Gold was the first metal to attract attention. The sands of the various streams were found to be full of gold. Helena, the present capital city, is the outgrowth of a placer mining camp. It is built at the mouth of a canon on a vast deposit of gold-bearing sand and gravel, much of which has been overhauled by placer miners. By paying damages, a miner may yet dig up anyone's dooryard, searching for pockets of gold. The first quartz mill, or mill for crushing quartz, that the grains of gold may be extracted, was built at Bannock in 1863. The discovery of silver came next. In 1876 the output of this metal was over $1,000,000. In 1892 the output of silver rose to $22,000,000. Side by side with silver mining came the discovery and operation of the great copper mines. Butte is the greatest copper-producing city in the world. Other mineral productions of the state are lead, zinc, iron, salt, mineral paints, petroleum, asphaltum, and building stone. There are also large areas of coal. Montana is noted as a sapphire-producing state. The center of the sapphire-cutting industry is at Helena.

STOCK RAISING. The stock raising interests of the state are large. The ranges are covered with wild grasses that dry up in the fall before frost comes, and cure on the stalk, making excellent green hay of quite as good a quality as that which is secured by the usual methods of cutting with the mower and drying in the sun. Stock of all sorts gather this hay all winter long. The only danger to be apprehended is a fall of deep snow which may cover up the feed temporarily. For the removal of snow, see article on CHINOOK. To guard against deep snowfall, some ranchers endeavor to cut a few tons of hay, though, if a ranch has a few exposed bluffs from which the snow blows away, there is little danger of cattle failing to find food. Great herds of horses, sheep, and beef cattle are reared in this way. Montana is the leading state in the production of wool. It surpasses even Ohio and Texas in this respect. The annual clip of wool is about 35,000,000 pounds. In 1905 18,000,000 pounds were marketed at Billings alone.

AGRICULTURE. The agricultural possibilities of the state are immense. Limited areas have sufficient rainfall and a soil adapted to Eastern methods of farming, but the chief dependence of the state must be irrigation. Enormous areas of rich soil are waiting for the construction of irrigating ditches. The wide valleys that border the principal streams are likely to be brought under tillage. Already heavy crops of corn, wheat, oats, alfalfa, also peas, potatoes, and other vegetables are produced in limited localities. The state is celebrated for the quality of its fruit. The valleys on the western side of the Rockies, the regions about Flathead Lake, several bends of the Yellowstone Valley, and other localities are already noted for orchard fruits. Apples, pears, prunes, apricots, peaches, gooseberries, strawberries, currants, and blackberries do well. The fruit is large, beautiful, and of excellent flavor. The sugar beet industry centers at Billings. Large areas are to be benefited by new irrigation systems under way.

CLIMATE. The extreme eastern part of the state has a climate like that of northern Dakota. As the stock-raiser approaches the Rocky Mountains, however, he comes within the influence of the Chinook winds that prevent deep snows from lying long. They modify the winter climate. The valleys of the Rockies seldom experience a temperature lower than zero. The average rainfall for the state is from thirteen to fifteen inches. The summer nights are always cool and refreshing.

INDUSTRIES. Aside from smelting, the manufactures of the state are, of course, in their infancy. The falls of the Missouri River, the Great Falls, afford one of the greatest waterpowers of the world. Large flouring mills and other manufactures have been established here. The citizens of Big Timber hope for much from the establishment of woolen factories. A large part of the mountain section is covered with valuable timber. There are numerous large sawmills. One of the most noticeable, perhaps the most widely distributed industry, is that of brewing.

NOMENCLATURE. To one interested in geographical names, the atlas of Montana is captivating. Bitter Root, Big Snowy, Kootenai, Little Snowy, Big Belt, Tobacco Root, Ruby, Snow Crest, Elk, Crazies, and Bear Paw are the suggestive names of ranges. The names of a number of counties, as Deer Lodge, Beaverhead, Silver Bow, Cascade, Teton, Flathead, Broadwater, Granite, Rosebud, Sweet Grass, and Yellowstone, are in themselves descriptive of the surface and productions of the state. The history of Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Anaconda, and Missoula is full of romance, awaiting the pen of a Bret Harte.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Sheep; Copper; Big Horn; Silver; Butte