Seventy Years on the Frontier Part 20

Dating the first settlement of our State at twenty eight years ago, it may be said, without contradiction, that no Eastern State from its foundation to the twenty-eighth year of its age was half so marked or half so prosperous as Montana, with her hundred towns and cities at no greater age. If the State of Illinois has produced a Chicago at fifty years of growth, and Wisconsin a Milwaukee at a less number of years, and Minnesota the dual cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis in a much shorter time, what may not be expected of Montana, whose boundaries embrace probably the richest country in the world, and whose area equals that of the New England States and New York combined?

We see with open eyes what a half-century of American genius and Western enterprise has wrought; may we not see by a prophetic vision a grander half-century's work as the future of Montana? As certain as history repeats itself, the prospector's wickie-up will become the mining camp, the corral of the round-ups will furnish the location for rustic villages, the villages will become towns, and scores of towns will become cities, each one of which must be larger than the other, and one of which must be the great metropolis of the Northwest.

Following is a list of the towns and cities of the State, arranged in counties, together with the a.s.sessed valuation of those counties:

BEAVERHEAD COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation for 1890, $3,175,949. County seat, Dillon; Bannack, Glendale, Redrock, Spring Hill, Barratts.

CASCADE COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $12,383,864. County seat, Great Falls; Sun River, Cascade, Sand Coulee.

CHOTEAU COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $5,364,264. County seat, Fort Benton; Chinook, Choteau, Harlem, Shonkin.

CUSTER COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $6,350,915. County seat, Miles City; Rosebud, Forsyth.

DAWSON COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $3,025,332. County seat, Glendive; Glasgow.

DEER LODGE COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $7,359,589. County seat, Deer Lodge; Anaconda, Beartown, Blackfoot, Drummond, Phillipsburg, Elliston, Granite, Helmville, New Chicago, Pioneer, Warm Springs, Stuart.

FERGUS COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $4,186,555. County seat, Lewiston; Cottonwood, Utica, Maiden, Neihart.

GALLATIN COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $6,170,381. County seat, Bozeman; Three Forks, Gallatin, Galesville, Madison.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $4,917,382. County seat, Boulder; Jefferson City, Radersburg, Basin, Placer, Elkhorn, Whitehall, Alhambra, Clancy.

LEWIS AND CLARKE COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $31,081,030. County seat, Helena; Marysville, Unionville, Rimini, Cartersville, Augusta, Dearborn, Harlow.

MADISON COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $2,948,046. County seat, Virginia City; Fullers Springs, Sheridan, Twin Bridges, Laurin, Silver Star, Pony, Red Bluff, Meadow Creek.

MEAGHER COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $5,239,882. County seat, White Sulphur Springs; Neihart, Castle, Martinsdale, Townsend, Clendennin, York.

MISSOULA COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation $8,815,854. County seat, Missoula; Demersville, Kalispel, Stevensville, Columbia Falls, Ashley, Grantsdale, Corvallis, Horse Plains, Thompson Falls, Camas Prairie.

PARK COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $4,936,451. County seat, Livingston; Red Lodge, Cook City, c.o.kedale, Big Timber, Melville.

SILVER BOW COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $32,426,794. County seat, b.u.t.te City; Melrose, Silver Bow, Divide.

YELLOWSTONE COUNTY.--a.s.sessed valuation, $3,823,140. County seat, Billings; Park City, Stillwater.

WEALTH OF MONTANA.--Nothing speaks louder for the future of Montana than the figures that tell of her wealth and of the rapid increases which the last few years, as they rolled along one by one, have shown.

The increase during the last year has been no exception to this rule.

From a total a.s.sessable valuation of $116,767,204 in 1890, her wealth has increased to a total of $142,205,428 for 1891, a gain of over twenty-five millions. The valuation of the State, given by counties, is as follows:

County of Beaverhead $ 3,175,949 " " Cascade 12,383,864 " " Choteau 5,364,264 " " Custer 6,350,915 " " Dawson 3,025,332 " " Deer Lodge 7,359,589 " " Fergus 4,186,555 " " Gallatin 6,170,381 " " Jefferson 4,917,382 " " Lewis and Clarke 31,081,030 " " Madison 2,948,046 " " Meagher 5,239,882 " " Missoula 8,815,854 " " Park 4,936,451 " " Silver Bow 32,426,794 " " Yellowstone 3,823,140 ------------ Total $142,205,428

But even this vast sum does not tell the whole story, for Montana's additional real wealth is not included in the a.s.sessable property of the State, as the vast millions of the intrinsic value of the silver, gold, copper, coal, and lead mines, and their precious output, are not a.s.sessable for taxation--only the improvements. So if the value of all of Montana's mines were put in the calculation of her wealth, what a vast amount of money-value would be placed to her credit. Of the hundreds of her gold and silver mines, two are valued at $25,000,000 each.

The above a.s.sessment value of $142,205,428 is made up of real estate, acre property, town lots, railroad rolling stock, road-bed and improvements, and personal property.

Montana's present ratio of population is not quite one person to the square mile, so with an a.s.sessment of over $142,000,000 with a population (according to the census of 1892) at 140,000, what will be the value of the State when its population shall have increased to ten persons to the square mile? The calculation is easily made--so within the next decade Montana's population may reach 1,440,000, and if the a.s.sessed value then is equal to the present wealth per capita of her citizens, the a.s.sessed value will reach the prodigious volume of $1,203,000,000--a calculation not unreasonable, since Montana's population in the last ten years increased 235 per cent.

CHAPTER x.x.xVII.

CALIFORNIA'S GREAT TREES.

Not only is California the land of gold, the garden of fruit, and the home of the vine, but its rich soil is the footing for the greatest trees in the world. The redwoods of California are known all over the earth, and their fame is deserved, for they are the loftiest, the grandest trees that ever raised their crests to heaven, swayed in the breeze, and defied the storm. Though usually spoken of as the redwoods, these big trees are of two varieties. The redwood proper is the _Sequoia sempervirens_ of the botanist, and the sister tree is the great Washington _Sequoia_, Wellington _Sequoia_, or _Sequoia gigantea_, being known by all three names, the last being the most correct. Another forest giant of a different nature to either, and yet commanding attention, on account of its giant size and age, is the _Pinus lambertiana_, the great sugar-pine of California. These three are the greatest trees on earth.

To single out the largest individual tree, it is probable that the _Sequoia sempervirens_ would have to be awarded the palm; while to the greatest number of very large trees, the palm would have to be awarded to the _Sequoia gigantea_. Redwood trees (_Sequoia sempervirens_) are found only on the Coast Range, and _Sequoia giganteas_ only in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are no redwoods south of Monterey County or north of Trinity County. The trees are different in foliage, and in their cones the _Sequoia gigantea_ has a larger, more compact, firm cone than the _Sequoia sempervirens_, the cone of which is small and split open, though the similarity in form of the cones is noticeable. It is not generally known that "_sequoia_" is the name of the _genus_, just like oak, cypress, maple, and hence that the _gigantea_ and _sempervirens_ are species of the same _genus_. The name _sequoia_ comes from _Sequoyah_, a Cherokee Indian chief of mixed blood, whose wisdom raised him as much above his fellows as the redwoods tower above other trees.

As to the age of the trees, it is conceded by botanists that the concentric rings interpret their annual growth. Objection has been taken to this on the ground that the distance between the rings varies very much in different trees of the same species. This fact has, however, no weight. The closer the rings the thriftier the tree, and their distance apart has no more to do with their age than a man's height or weight have to do with his age. Differences in soil and location account for the closeness of the rings, but, unquestionably, every added ring represents an added year of growth. In some cases there are but six or eight rings to the inch, in others thirty to forty. The ages of the big trees in the Calaveras and Mariposa groves range from 1,000 to 4,320 years of age. One can scarcely conceive what this means; and the historic incidents of the days when these trees were already old may help to convey an idea of their age. When Carthage was founded some of these trees were centuries old; before Solomon built his temple, or David founded Judea, some of these forest giants fell crashing to earth, and have lain p.r.o.ne there ever since. All through the ages of Christianity the changing winds have shaken their tapering tops, and have swayed their crests in the gentle zephyrs, or rocked them to and fro in the gale, and now man, the pigmy, with his piece of jagged steel, his span of life three score years and ten, comes along, cuts through the forest giant, and the growth of thousands of years, that has defied storm and tempest, falls a victim to the pigmy.

The largest stump extant is in Mill Valley, Marin County, half an hour's ride north of San Francisco. This remnant of a great tree belongs to the redwood family; is, in fact, a genuine _Sequoia sempervirens_. How high it may have been it is impossible to say. Its circ.u.mference now is 135 feet, and measures across, on an average, 43 feet 6 inches. The saplings which stand round the ruin measure from 3 to 10 feet in diameter. The largest standing tree is the "Mother of the Forest," in the Calaveras grove. It now measures, without the bark, at the base 84 feet, and the full circ.u.mference, with the bark, which was stripped off in 1854 for exhibition purposes, was 90 feet. Its height is 321 feet, and the tree is estimated to contain 537,000 feet of inch lumber, allowing for saw cuts. Close to it, p.r.o.ne upon mother earth, lies the "Father of the Forest." When standing, it is accredited with having been 400 feet high, with a circ.u.mference at the base of 110 feet, and he unquestionably was once king of the grove. "The living and representative trees of the Calaveras groves," says J. M. Hutchings, in "The Heart of the Sierras,"

"consist of ten that are each 30 feet in diameter, and over seventy that measure from 15 to 30 feet at the ground." About six miles to the southeast of the Calaveras grove (in Calaveras County, Cal.) is the South grove. It contains 1,380 _Sequoias_, ranging from 1 foot to 34 feet in diameter.

In the Mariposa grove, in Mariposa County, Cal., there are many large trees, among them the "Grizzly Giant," measuring 91 feet at the ground, and 74 feet 6 inches three feet six inches above the ground, and is 275 feet high. Many very large trees and many interesting facts might be mentioned relative to them.

The _Sequoia gigantea_ in the Sierras, in addition to the differences in cone and flower from the _Sequoia sempervirens_, has this one that, while the former grows only from seeds, the latter grows from both seeds and suckers, though mainly from the latter. The _Sequoias_ of the Sierras rise to a height of 275 or even 350 feet, and are from 20 to 30, or even in rare cases 40 feet in diameter.

CHAPTER x.x.xVIII.

THE FLOWERS OF THE FAR WEST.

For centuries the rose--the queen of flowers--has been a never ceasing inspiration to poets and writers. Every bard has sung his lay to the majesty of this peerless flower.

Every ancient country has its rose traditions. Fashions do not a.s.sail the rose, only in specialty and variety.

The unanimity characterizing its nomenclature is but another feature in the unvarying and universal popularity of the rose.

All research fails to reveal the white rose as known to the ancients; the Greek word "rodon," ruddy, being used synonymously by all countries.

It was the flower dedicated to love--to Cupid and Venus. Cupid bestowed it as an emblem upon Harpocrates, the G.o.d of silence, to bind him not to betray the evil of his mother, Venus. In consequence the rose became symbolical of silence, and was gracefully distributed on the guest-table as a delicate reminder that all confidences should be respected. Comus, deity of the table, Hebe and Ganymede, nectar-bearers to the G.o.ds, were crowned with roses. The rose is typical of youth as well as beauty.

During the greatest opulency of the ancient empires its purity was often sullied by effeminacy and sensuality.

Who has not heard of the roses of the valley of Cashmere? Who has not longed to behold their exquisite perfection? Who, in contemplating the forms and colors, the lights and shadows of Flora's choicest blooms, has not found language failing in fineness to express the delicate eloquence of the rose? Who, in cultivating it, has not felt solicitude and affection for these creatures of the garden? Who has not had his anger excited in beholding a bud ruthlessly torn by sacrilegious hands and has not looked upon the broken stem as he would upon a bleeding artery? Who, in cultivating roses, has not spiritually felt the better for it? The subtlety of its fragrance, the grace of its form, the perfect harmony of its tones appeal to the imagination like music to the soul. In the whole range of nature's variety and completeness nothing so satisfies the idea of perfection as the rose. 'Tis grace idealized and the quintessence of beauty in its flowing lines and curves.

The relative position of the rose to its stem suggests majesty; its color in contrast to its leaves, completeness; the unfolding of its petals, grace; its tintings fulfill that esthetic delight, harmony; its fragrance, the sublimated breath of a fairer existence. In all candor, does it not more than satisfy the degree superlative?

Nature has richly endowed the earth with roses. Every country can offer its wild-rose tributes on Flora's shrine, with but one single exception, and that Australia. There are over eighty varieties of the wild rose known, the greater number being indigenous to Asia.