WYOMING
725
WYOMING
feet. Numerous rivers including the Yellowstone,
Big Horn, Snake, Green, Cheyenne, Belle Fourche,
and Powder have their head-waters within the state.
The Nortli Platte and Big Laramie enter the state
from Colorado. None of these streams is navigable
in a commercial sense, but their flow is utilized for
irrigation and in some instances for the transporta-
tion of timber. There are several important lakes,
including Yellowstone, Jackson, Shoshoni, Lewis,
Madison, and Fremont. The state abounds in
beautiful scenery. Great natural parks encircled
by wooded slopes and majestic peaks, with numerous
mountain streams, lakes, and waterfalls, form at-
tractive features. The Yellowstone National Park,
set apart by Act of Congress as a public pleasure
ground, has an area of 3575 square miles, and is
mainly in Wyoming, extending slightly into Idaho
and Montana. It represents a wonderland of geo-
logical phenomena, mineral springs, spurting gey-
sers, lakes, and woodlands. The streams of the
state are well stocked with game fish; game animals,
particularh' elk, deer, and antelope, are plentiful
in the unsettled mountain districts. The climate
is dry, healthful, and invigorating with a maximum
of sunshine, and while the temperature and annual
rainfall vary in different localities according to the
elevation and the influence of mountain chains, the
summers are cool and the winters are not severe.
The average mean temperature for the year is 44
degrees. Winds prevail during portions of the winter
and spring seasons, but cyclones and tornadoes are
unknown. Owing to the dryness of the atmosphere,
degrees of temperature do not ex-press the extremes
of lieat and cold peculiar to lower and more humid
localities.
II. PoprLATiox. — The census of 1910 shows a total population of 145,965, an increase of 57.7 per cent since the last census report in 1900. The immigration during the past decade has been princi- paUj- from the middle west, generally following the parallels, but prior to that time the cattle industry had attracted a large percentage from the south- west. Only a small per cent of the population 11 of foreign birth, and but two per cent illiterate. Wyoming, according to population, contributed a larger percentage of volunteer soldiers to the ser\'ice of the Government during the Spanish-.\inericpn War than any other state, and was the first state to report troops mustered in and ready for service. Cheyenne, the state capital, is the largest city, and Sheridan, Laramie, Rock Springs, Rawlins, Evans- ton, Basin, Cody, Casper, Lander, and Douglas are among the larger towns.
III. REsomcE.s. — Mining and live stock, with a rai)idly increasing agricultural development as an incident to the latter, are the leading industries.
Mining. — The mineral resources consist of coal, oil, gas, iron, asbestos, gold, silver, and copper, the development of which has been greatly hindered by lack of sufficient transportation. Extensive coal deposits are known to underlie a large area. Rock Springs, Hanna, Kemmerer, Diamondville, Sheridan, Newcastle, Hudson, and Kirby are coal mining centres. The coal output for 1910 was 7,385,764 tons, with a valuation of $11,573,479; the product being lignite and sub-bituminous. Iron ore is mined extensivelv at Sunrise; the output for 1910 being 735,423 tons. Oil fields of wide extent are being developed in the northern, central, and extreme western portions of the state, and exten.sive pipe lines for the transportation of the product are now in process of construction. Natural gas has been discovered in the vicinity of Ba.sin and Grej'buU and is used there for heating and lighting. Gold, copper, and asbestos mines have been opened, but reliable statistics as to the amount and value of their product have not been compiled.
Agricuhure and Live Stock. — The soil of the pla-
teaux and bench lands is a light sandy loam, that of
the valleys is of a black alluvial character, both
showing remarkable fertiUty under irrigation in the
production of wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes,
field peas, sugar beets, forage crops, apples, pears,
and the different varieties of small fruits and vege-
tables known to the temperate zones, the yield and
quahty being in some instances remarkable. A
yield of 974 bushels of potatoes per acre in John.son
County, a yield of 132 bushels of oats produced on
one acre in Sheridan County, and a yield of 8}^
tons of alfalfa per acre for three successive years in
Laramie County being well-authenticated examples.
It is estimated that 10,000,000 acres within the state
may be cultivated successfully by irrigation. Irri-
gation development has made rapid strides in recent
years, and millions of dollars are expended by the
United States Government and by private investors
under the supervision of the state in the construction
of canals and great storage reservoirs. In 1910, 76
irrigation projects were under construction within
the state. Another 10,000,000 acres may be made
productive by methods of soil mulch or "dry farm-
ing", a modern system of soil treatment that has
produced good crop results in the semi-arid regions.
The non-irrigated lands are being rapidly settled.
The timbered area occupies about 10,000,000 acres
in the mountain regions, most of which is included
in Government forest reserves, and the manufactures
of lumber, railroad, and mine timbers is carried on
in these reserves under concessions from the United
States Government. The reserves are also used by
stock men under lease for summer grazing. Most
of the remaining territory of the state is admirably
adapted to the grazing of live stock. In their natural
condition the plains and foot hills are generally
covered with a short succulent grass, furnishing
excellent pasture for live stock. This grazing area
comprises from 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 acres, and
as it is used in connexion with agricultural lands
guarantees the stabihtj' of the live-stock industry,
which according to statistics for 1910 shows: cattle
546,447 head, valuation $13,024,349; sheep 4,211,441
head, valuation $19,895,643.50; horses 119,576 head,
valuation $5,450,795; swine 15,253 head, valuation
873,476; mules and asses 1862 head, valuation
$114,.500. The wool product of 1910 had an appro.xi-
mate valuation of $8,000,000.
Transportation and Communication. — There are thir- teen separate lines of railroad, with a mileage of 2200, in operation by the Union Pacific, Burlington, Northwestern, Colorado and Southern, Oregon, Short Line, Saratoga and Encampment, Hahn's Peak, Colo- rado and Wyoming, and allied companies; twenty-nine telephone companies, chief among them being the Mountain St atesTelegraphandTelephone system, with lines aggregating 3900 miles; three telegraph compa- nies with lines covering 2391 miles. Numerous stage lines are in operation between points in the interior, and nearly every rural communitj- is served with a free delivery of mail matter. Manufacturcf:. — The manufacturing interests include lumber, and timber products, saddles and harness, tobacco, boots and shoes, flour and grist, lime, cement, brick, malt, dairj' products, and railroad supplies, some one or more lines of which are carried on in all of the towns, but reliable statistics as to output, capital, and persons emploved are not available.
IV. Education. — Public education is provided by a system of graded public schools, supported by a tax levied upon property within each district, and a per capita distribution made according to an annual enumeration of pupils, of the annual mterest income from the permanent school funds and rentals from school lands. High schools are established by the districts in all of the larger towns; under a
