Aside from the fascination of the gold and silver mines, which draws the prospector thitherward, the natural scenery of the territory attracts the tourist who seeks a new sen sation. The Utah Northern railroad is creeping slowly but surely from the Union Pacific into the heart of the mining district, to Dillon and beyond, and millions of dol lars' worth of freight lies at the terminus awaiting transportation, while in the season steamboats, some owned by the government and carrying the U. S. mail, others owned by private parties (some of them realizing a profit of 000.000 in 10 years), crowded with freight and passengers, steam up the Missouri from Bismarck, D. 'F., to Fort Benton, stopping at tire Indian agencies of Poplar Creek, the inhabited point nearest tire British Possessions, Wolf Point., Fort Berthold, and Fort Buford, in their sinuous course pa•t ing company with steamboats which go up the Yellowstone, the point where the rivers divide resembling the separation of the Monoarrabelu and Alleghany rivers at Pittsburg. In ascending the river numerous abandoned forts are passed, and trading-posts and Indian encampments. Under the banks, which rise from 300 to 800 ft. above the'level of tl:e river, the boat may tie up for the night. The scenery is extraordinary; it is grand rather than charming. may silences, hushes, commands admiration; it is after awhile monotonous, but never trivial. These towering heights, these frowning parapets and stern dividing walls, are scarcely more enduring than the drifting sandbars in the riv er's bed. They crumble and form again by the action of the atmosphere, slowly van ishing monuments of distant ages. Above the Yellowstone the river is narrow but the scenery is more varied, forming itself into castles and m•dirreval architecture. At Fort Benton coaches take the passengers into the mining region. The months of April, May, June, and July are the best to ascend the river; later the water is so low that much of the latter part of the journey must be by coaches. At any point on the river herds of buttaldes may be seen winding around tire buttes or crossing the stream in the steamer's path. In June, 1880, between Fort Peck and Paradise valley, it was estimated that 20,000 were seen in one day; on another day 500.000. Deer and antelope seek the river in tire morning. The national park, at the head of the Yellowstone, which is partly in this territory, contains geysers, thermal and mineral springs; hot springs are also found s. of the Main Divide. Flathead lake; 30 m. long and 14 in. wide, lies in the n.w. por tion, in the region of the Flathead and Bannack Indians. The Flathead river is its out let. It has dense forests of heavy timber, pine, tamarack, and fir growing to the edge of the lake, except on the extreme n., which is open grassy prairie, with much tillable land.
Wolves are often met on tire prairie; grizzly bears, badgers, mink, otter, and marten are found in the forests, and beavers build their cabins on the river hanks. The Indians start on the annual hunt, with all their tribe and appurtenances, about the middle of October, and may be seen traveling for long distances over the plains, fording streams and climbina. mountains. They tan the skins of buffaloes and trade them for whisky, Hour, tea, and canned vegetables, and strip up the flesh into jerked meat, or chop it into pemmican for winter subsistence. Whitefish, salmon, and trout are plenty in the streams; bulberries, which resemble red currants, grow by the rivers, and wild straw berries grow near Helena, ripening as late as November.
In the larger towns tire manufacturing productions are rapidly increasing; the cost of transporting machinery, making the price of manufactured articles higher than that of the same articles imported from the states, has retarded the growth of industries, but flour, meal, lumber, jewelry, tinware, and bricks are largely manufactured, and malt liquors are matte. The steam quartz mills, used principally for gold, and steam saw mills, are a good investment. Bricks and logs are used for building. Freight transpor
tation, trade with the Indians, and that which comes over the Canadian line, are the channels of commercial prosperity. - .Hardship and peril have accompanied the pioneer in mining, agriettliu•al ptirsnits, gambling, Cr trade, and the transition from the lawlessness which compelled the organization of the "Vigilantes," who adminis tered justice without fear or favor, into a respect for individual rights, uninfluenced by sectional feeling, is slow and painful, hut within a few years the most noted resorts of the border ruffian have become peaceful places of abode, and boards of trade have taken the place of gambling-houses.
There are several national banks, 2 having beeri established at Fort Benton in 1880, and a large number of private banking-houses. South of the Yellowstone is the reser vation of the Crow Indians and the new Crow agency; in the w. are the Flatheads and Bannacks; in the n. and e. arc the Blackfeet, Pend °reifies, Gros Ventres, Assiniladus. Piegans, and Sioux, all of whom are friendly under certain conditions. Education, religious and secular, has as yet made only a beginning, but almost every settlement has a religions society, almost every village a newspaper, and nearly every town 2 or more churches. Missionaries are making great efforts to establish schools at the Indian agen cies; they have 2 boarding schools and 4 day schools, and 1 will be opened by the Con gregational denomination the present season at Poplar Creek. It is said that there are 142 professional scouts among the Montana Indians, but one of the most widely known and constantly employed, Wild Elk, is a Portuguese. Ministers of the it1lethodist. Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Congregational order suffer great depravation and fatigue in order to establish opportunities for religious instruction, and their efforts see m likely to he well rewarded. The Roman Catholics meet with great encouragement among the Indians, with whose language they make themselves acquainted. The professions are well represented, and find ample field.
The territory has over 90 secular schools. It is organized into districts, and Deer Lodge, Virginia, and Helena have graded schools. Helena has a Roman Catholic con vent of high reputation as a seminary for young ladies; there are also a number of pri vate schools in the territory, and many libraries annually receiving large additions. The town of Helena was burned on Jan. 9, 1874, loss *850,000, but it. has outgrown all ill effects of the calamity. Newspapers are publighed in 9 out of the 12 counties, in 7 county-seats, and in 11 cities, towns, and villages; aggregate circulation over 14,000.
The territorial government meets at Helena biennially, and consists of a governor, secretary of state, district attorney, surveyor general, superintendent of Indian affairs, and U. S. commissioner and treasurer, all appointed by the U. S. govrrnment. The delegate to congress is elected by the people, has a voice in the deliberations of that body but no vote; the county officers are elected by the people. The legislature consists of 2 branches, a council of 12 members, and a house of representatives of 20 members, al elected by the popular vote. The district judge of the U. S. district court and 2 associ ate justices are appointed by the president of the United States. Its chief town is Hel ena; other important towns are Virginia City, Deer Lodge City, Fort llentou (commonly called Benton in recent years), Bozeman, Banna•k City, Missoula, Diamond City, and Radershurg. The penitentiary is at Deer Lodge. Its counties are Beaver Head. Cho teau, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clarke, Madb on, Meagher, Missoula, and a new county, name unknown. It has 12 postal money-order offices, and 23 signal service stations. Capital, Virginia City.