Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/791

MONTANA 773 of Stinking Water river ; Ten Mile creek, near Helena ; and on -Rattlesnake creek, a tribu- tary of Beaver Head river. Copper predom- inates on Beaver creek, near Jeiferson City, Jefferson co. ; on a branch of Silver Bow creek, near Butte City, Deer Lodge co. ; and at the source of Musselshell river. Gold was first discovered, on Gold creek, a branch of the Hell Gate, in 1852, but no mining took place until the autumn of 1861. The first quartz mill was erected in the beginning of 1863. According to the returns of the United States census of 1870, which are. admitted to be im- perfect, the. number of gold mines was 683; hands employed, 3,534; capital invested, $2,- 518,613; wages paid, $1,381,699; value of ma- terials used, $735,901; of product, $4,030,435; 67, product $737,458, were hydraulic mines; 607, product $3,058,373, placer ; and 12, pro- duct $234,604, quartz. The bullion product of Montana, following J. Ross Browne's "Re- sources of the Pacific Slope," for the period prior to and including 1867, and the estimate of R. W. Raymond, United States commis- sioner of mining statistics, for the subsequent years, has been as follows : - YEAR. Product. YEAR. Product. YEAR. Product. 1862.. $500,000 1867. . $12,000,000 1872.. $6,078,889 1868.. 1864.. 1865' 8,000,000 18,000,000 14 500 000 1868.. 1869.. 1870 15,000,000 9,000,000 9 100 000 1873.. 1874.. 5,178,047 4,000,000 1866.. 1^500^000 1871.. 8,050,000 Total. $120,901,386 Of the product in 1872, $351,944, and in 1873 $176,500, was silver. The deposits of gold from the territory at the United States mints and assay offices, to June 30, 1874, amounted to $36,640,618 66; of silver, to $304,361 51. The climate is healthy. Little rain falls, and in most parts of the territory irrigation is ne- cessary. Much snow falls on the mountains, particularly in the N". W. basin. The average temperature is higher than in the same latitude further east. In the valleys, especially in the south, little snow falls, and cattle winter with- out shelter, while from the dryness of the at- mosphere the cold of greater altitudes is less severely felt. The average temperature at Fort Benton (lat. 47 52', Ion. 110 40', eleva- tion 2,674 ft.) of the year ending Sept. 30, 1873, was 41-97 ; total rainfall, 12-17 inches. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) was 69-8 ; of the coldest (December), 11-3. The average temperature during 1872 at Virginia City in the S. basin (lat. 45 19', levation 5,826 ft.) was 39-25 ; warmest month (August), 61 -3 ; coldest month (De- imber), 18*8; total rainfall, 9*72 inches. At Deer Lodge City in the N. W. basin (lat. 26', elevation 4,768 ft.) the average 'tem- iture for two years was found to be 42 ; warmest month, 69'7; coldest month, 1-5. The total precipitation of rain and melted low in 1870 was 16'5 inches. Fort Owen (elevation 3,284 ft.), 65 m. W. by K of Deer Lodge City, has an average annual tempera- ture of 47. The variations are great, the thermometer in winter, except 'in the 'lower and more sheltered valleys, sometimes fall- ing to 30 below zero, and rising in summer above 90. The plains E. of the mountains are generally treeless, and (particularly in the eastern part) possess indifferent facilities for irrigation. Along the streams there is gen- erally a growth of cottonwood, willow, alder, aspen, and similar trees, while the moun- tain slopes are wooded with pine, fir, spruce, cedar, and hemlock. Timber is more abun- dant in the N. W. basin than elsewhere, and particularly about the Kootenay river and the upper course of the Flathead. The valleys and terraces afford excellent grazing. The soil of the valleys is fertile, and they are for the most part easily irrigated. Some of the prin- cipal agricultural localities are the Deer Lodge, Bitter Root, Blackfoot, Flathead, and Hell Gate valleys, the upper valleys of the Jeffer- son, Madison, and Gallatin rivers, the valley of the Missouri from the junction of the three forks to the mouth of Sun river, and a tract about 30 m. wide along the E. base of the Rocky mountains, stretching from Sun river to the international boundary, which is watered by numerous small tributaries of the Marias, Teton, and Sun. Currants, strawberries, rasp- berries, and gooseberries grow wild. The principal cultivated crops are wheat, rye, bar- ley, oats, and potatoes. Some varieties of In- dian corn may be grown in portions of the ter- ritory, but the climate is generally too cold. Beans, peas, turnips, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, squashes, melons, tomatoes, cucum- bers, and the hardier fruits thrive. Grain yields abundantly. Among wild animals are the buffalo, on the plains in the east, the gris- ly bear, and the antelope. According to the census of 1870, the number of farms was 851, containing 84,674 acres of improved land; cash value of farms, $729,193; of farming implements and machinery, $145,438; wages paid during the year, including the value of board, $325,213 ; estimated value of all farm productions, including betterments and addi- tions to stock, $1,676,660; value of produce of market gardens, $35,130; of forest prod- ucts, $918; of home manufactures, $155,357; of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $169,092 ; of live stock, $1,818,693. The pro- ductions were 177,535 bushels of spring wheat, 3,649 of winter wheat, 1,141 of rye, 320 of Indian corn, 149,367 of oats, 85,756 of barley, 988 of buckwheat, 2,414 of peas and beans, 91,477 of Irish potatoes, 31 of grass seed, 600 Ibs. of tobacco, 100 of wool, 408,080 of but- ter, 25,603 of cheese, 105,186 gallons of milk sold, and 18,727 tons of hay. The live stock consisted of 5,289 horses, 475 mules and asses, 12,432 milch cows, 1,761 working oxen, 22,- 545 other cattle, 2,024 sheep, and 2,599 swine. There were besides 1,444 horses and 45,642 cattle not on farms. The number of horses