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[EER Commercial Club Literal ture for Free Distribution«. LOCATION AND EXTENT.ONTANA j _ ■I The Mission Valley lies alongside the 1114th meridian of longitude with its | southern extremity within fifteen miles the u. s. I of the city of Mieaiula and extends north fifty miles, to the southern end of Flat-ONTANALEASING INDIAN LANDSThe greater part or the grain raised in the' valley halt;* teen produced upon lands leased from the Indians. These lands are under the supervision of the government Indian agent whose—«p-'hcad Lake. Tho Mission range const!-1 prove] to lease is necessary. The resttutes the eastern boundary and the we. tern limit* extend to the Pini d’Oreiiie or Flathead river, an average , i j width of about fifteen miles,;,n ute- 11 comprieea 750 square miles. I more than one-half the siae of Rhode Is- — :and, and more ttiun one third the sire| of Delaware. One-fourth ol the area I a too rough and mountiinous to be of : sgricuitural value, but much of the cases. I rou8h land is covered with timber. An-! other fourth of the area was aildted' to ltilnil the Indians in severalty before thv reservation was opened to tettlement. The rem aining ont-h-.lf, Comprizing about three huusand eighty-acre farms, con-itibites the lands that were thrown open to Settlement May 1, 1810. Since that time abcutone thousand homestead entries have been made and the balance ht the land is op.n to entry and available to nlt; w settieis,fiinat!CASAdent agent, F. C. Morgan, estimates there are 1200 allotments to ye lea e , of which probably two-thirds are faim lands. ■ - . -Farm land leases-run from onetofiv* years and coat from $1. oil to *3.6u per act* per year. ■ to three year leasee it is required that substantial improvements be made on each allotment and in five year leases it is required that a substantial dwelling be built upon each allotment.FRUIT LANDS.ireler ISOIL.ntaaaIn the caste in portion of the valley t.ie soil is a deep black loam with clay, sand and gravel sub-soil. In the western part of the valley the top soil is not so deep, as the lands lie on higher iev-. e;s . ml in some localities the surface is | a brown ahot soil with day, sand and | gravel sub-soil. Moat of th, Indian at-mei'S I lotments are ioea'.ed on the low, flat valley lands wheie natural conditiona favor the easy growth of grains ami grasses, and the new settlers, for the most part, are going on the bench lands jying to the South and west of Ronan.me 6m«deADVANTAGES OF BENCH LANDS.The bench lands referred to comprise twice as many acres as the valley lands and afford room for two thousand eighty -acre farms. Until the government r-tig.ition systems are completed moderate success may at,end dry farming metho-s, which are recomm. nded until the water is ready. The watei question j„ the one great vital living ques-ti n that coni rents the west today, ana in that re-pect the Mission valley offers advantages th..t can ha.diy be equalled in any ,th;r com muni y, What an in-tiividuai or a whole commuoi y may not ; be able to do, a government Can do, and the present comprehensive systems ot irrigation are bring constructed and paid fur by tbs United States government, wiih the expectation that the c. st will be refun ed in time by the owners ol the land. The government would not have engaged In this great wo- k unless the iand were here to make the inv.stm nt safe. More than half a million doll ra has already been ex-P'.nded and the congre.-slopal appropriation tor this year's woilt amounts to *4(Jb, WO.The general plan of reclamation con ten.p.ates that irrigating ditches will cove that portion of the reservaton •ying east ol he Fend d’O.eille river and nvluUng the whole of the Mission valiey and water will be made to flow wherever it can be carried. It is estimated thstl5o.0U0ac.es will be brought untfer the ditches and that tho cost to thesettle.sw.il be about thirty dollars per acre, which will become p lyable in fifteen annual installments, lhera no private investment or speculation to pay for; the settlers deal direct with the U. S. gove.nment for both land and water. Jt may be safely assumed that the government authorities know th.re is plenty of land and plenty of water, otherwise the great work wuuld never have bean undertaken.It would be misleading t., state that fruit may lit grown ail over th Mis-lon valley. Good ju ges think not, but they do agree that if the higher bench lands are tHken along the base of the Mission Range,' apple lands re admittedly the most productive i amis in me world. In the ieina.kabie friiil regions of the Pacific .Northwest, uo iand has ever deteriorated ir value buthaBdoubled and quadrupled and is ..tili rapidiy advancing. These valueB ore based oil sound, economic principles. The total production of apples in the United States in 1S96 v/as 08 million barrels: for the past five years the average production has been 27 million barrels. The markets of the world are under plied and no fears of over production need be entertained.The Bitter Root valley in Montana is justly famous for its fruit and thatval-*y is our neighbor on the south, only fifteen miles away, ani the conditions as to soil, climite and cultivation are dentica! except that the Mission valiey ia3 the advantage of being 500 feet ower than the other valley. The Knll-speli country, a famons prize winning section, adjoins us on the north, being the northern portion of the original reservation and lying in the same great Fleathead valley. The Mission valley is the connecting geographical link between these two svctione rnd th re not n single corotrereia? orchard in this valley, That is just what creates the present opportunity. Land values are what they were in the other valleys twenty years ago; six or eight years hence viiues will be what they now lt;in the older valleys. The difference yours, or will he if you pet the l™d soon. The Mission valley has all the natural advantages of the two older adjoining valleys, with a lower altitude than either and it's certainty safe and reasonable to expe-t the same or better results to be se'ured here.i joining North and South Dakota,frequently draw the unwarrantei erroneous 'conclusion that the t state of Montana has tha same I climate as these neighboring st This is net so; that portion of state lying east of the Rockies I climate somewhat resembling th; the Daketas, though considerably i remper-te, but that portion of Mot i lying weet of the R.ckics has acii | of its own. This is especially the , wi.h the .Yisskn valley. Tha mi j mountain walls to the , art protec ! valiey against .the’ cold winter v j and the hut waves of summer he: common throughout the pra n- s' j cast of the Rockies: the lower ra and mountain pusses to the west t.;e Mission VJHl-y co-the ev.n, g, atmospheric cuirenls from the P. | ocean. Th-S the Mi.si n valiey I fie sed with a climate forming a In | imd.um betw.cn the inland p.-jciimate with its great and sui I o.i uiges an J the coaat etim ite w.tfc ,g and rair. and chill. Th. blizzar not hero; the to. nado is ever abs the everlasting prairie wind has ce. from tr. ubling. Here the siemeob at res;, there is peace on ear Tna valley has the calm and bain the f, rest ,.nd yet the frerhnese of mountain range, it is (rue that it some duil and cloudy days and occa* ally a few col! days in winter; but d oi'jre .'.dde d.:ys .ire few in comp sue with the pit asant ones; it is i ti ay that there are few regioni t ie globe that have a climite not tne id-al than the Mission valley, the following figures spook, they s| »v, rage monthly tempera ure and ] c'pitaticn at near by Missoula for last 32 years:Math Av«aje M .nthl, Averwr Mon .Tunpeniture PrecjpiUUJanuaryFebruaryMatchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSept. mberOctoberNovemberDecember20.32-1.934.544,753.959.91.40 0.00 1.10 0.89 2.141.110.801.211.111.181.4816.74SCENERY,HOW TO GET THESE LANDS.The land has an appraised value of from. 81.26 to *7.00 per acre, the price of e»ch 40-acre tract being governed by the natural fertility of the soil and its distance from local markets.Any person qualified to enter lands to that extent under the general homestead laws may acquire not to exceed 160 acres by entry and occupation and by residing thereon for five years. Gath payment of one-third of the appraised value is required at the time . entiy is made, the balance being pay. 'u, able .n live annual installments without interest.INDIAN LANDS FOR SALEIn the act of congresa opening the reservation to settlement, each Indian is given the privilege of selling sixty acres out of his eighty acre allotment, under regulations to be proscribed by i the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. M .ny o. tho Indians will take the opportunity to sell in order to obtain funds for the improvement of the rent ning tr.icts, consequently much additional lanl will be avail able for sat-tkecat sad cttljjvattqp. ,w • ■M, The first to attract the attention of the traveler through the Mission valiey is the mkigled beauty and gr ndeur of the scenery. View the valley from the north or south or any other point and there lies spread out before the dazzled eye a broad, majestic forest fringed and mountain bordered volley. )Icountry fresh from the hand of theOeoto-Look for a moment at the details of this grand scene, Stretching across the broad valley are seen winding belts of deepest green; these are bands of forest trees, ever green, marking the course of some meandering mountain stream; here and there a steep hill or butte rises abruptly above the sutround-ing plains; along the western border of the valley-on the west side of the Flathead rfver-lies a range of gently sloping Huffs or hills grass covered along the slopes, foreet-clothi d alonr the ridge and backed by mighty mountains in tie distance. To the south art seen giant groups of towering mountain peaks. Great, grand and glorious, all of this; but turn to the east and behold the mighty Mission range-the finest mountain range in all Montane. A wide belt of priMev d forest caver-its broad and solid base; its steeply rising sides are rent with yawning canyons, but above the primeval forest rnd the time worn canyons is flung out by the stroiis h»nd of the mighty Creator a rugged range of sharp, jagged mountain combs and peaks rising in mute majesty two miles toward the heav- ne and capped by snows eternal. Like their mighty Maker, this mountain range has been and always will be the same from generation unto generation and yet there is an Incessant change in the scene is sun and shade shift from place to place and ever vary tha tint and tinge of soft, subdued and somber hues or bright nnd brilliant colors. Beautiful, grand, majesti?, awe inspiring is the sight. But words are powerless to describe the scene. Tongue can not tell and pen cannot portray the charming beauty, the Inspiring grandeur, the awful majesty of the mighty Mission range. Come an 1 see.Average annual 48.8 Please note that these figure , i sent the averages for 32 years; an length of time they cover should them reliable. Owing to tlie fact the Mission Valley is better prot against the cold waves trim the and has a considerably lower alt than Missv.uls, the average ten a ure is no doubt somewhat highe: the Mi..eoula figures are used fo reason that the U. S. weather re have not teen kept on the reserv until recent years. The mildness freshness of the climate, the bs an 1 gr .n I ur of the scenery ant fertility of the soil combine to mak Mission valley an ideal place foi home of man.P. O. BUSINESS.The bueinesi done at the postc affords a good index to a town's af and no better information can be offthan the figures relating to the sah st .mps and the issuance of money dors:Si! mpa sold during 1909.......* 41Stamps sold during 1911)......... 1,41Number of money orde-s issued during 19U9, 723. Ain’t 6,71 Number oi mercy orde, e issuedcuring 1810, 1,739. Am’t 18,42It must be iemembered that ti were no banks in Ronan in 1909. addition to the great increase in po ft^u es for 1816, the two Ronan bi issued drafis amounting to *410,000 remittance to outside points, usaga nothing far the year 1809.SHORT, SNAPPY FACCLIMATE.When people from the east look at tit* map and KM Um «t«h of- UotUwThe richest lands in the valley sr jacent to Ronan.The laigeet wheat crlt; psare mark in Kenan.No. 1. hard spring wheat sold in at 80 cents per bushel.Hay sells for *18 per ton at the st Three year-old beef cattle are w *55 to *60 each on the range.The local tutcheis pay nlns cents pound ,or hogs, live w.ighti . Butter is worth 35 to 40 cents pound and the merchants of Ronan year shipped in twice as much as i bought from the farmers.Eggs are woith from 80 to 40 c p-r dozen and are always in deman House rent in Ronan (if you can a house) is about *15 p.r month fc three to four room house.Grocery and meatb.Ua for an ordir family amount to about $30 per mo;Room and board at Ronan he (American plan) can be had for t p«r-day; single meals 36 cents.Rough lumber costa *18 per thi and.Flooring and finishing lumber a *28 pei thousand.Shingles cost SO cents per bunch, Nails COot $4 per keg.Building pap t costs from 90 cent *2 per roll.If you have your own wheat the [ e;nnent mid at Ronan will conver into flour and feed.Flour co.;ta *1,75 for 50-lb sack. Sugar costs *7 for 100-lb sack. Other articles for use in and aro (CoBUsueU on page 8)
Newspaper Details
The Ronan Pioneer
Ronan, Montana, US
Fri, Apr 07, 1911
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Jamie L.
NA, 10 Mar 2025
Other Publications Near Ronan, Montana
The Ronan Pioneer
