TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



669 



Territory is copiously watered, the Clear- 

 water, Salmon, Snake, and Boise Rivers, and 

 their numerous tributaries, furnishing an abun- 

 dant supply of pure water, from their sources 

 in the perpetual snows of the Bitter-Root and 

 Rocky Mountain summits. Yet, except on its 

 northeast and east border, where the rain and 

 snow fall, on the western slope of the Rocky 

 Mountains, is considerable, Idaho belongs to 

 the dry regions, the annual rainfall not being 

 more than one-fourth that of the Atlantic 

 States. Yet, such is the depth of the soil in 

 the valleys, and such its facilities for success- 

 ful irrigation, that the crops can be depended 

 upon with as much certainty as in countries 

 of greater rainfall. The cereals, fruits, and 

 root crops, do well in the valleys, and the re- 

 mainder of the Territory is well adapted to 

 grazing, and wool-growing is likely to be 

 largely profitable. It is estimated that there 

 are not less than 3,000,000 acres of land so 

 situated that irrigation is practicable, a con- 

 siderable district where it is not generally 

 necessary, and at least 30,000,000 acres of good 

 grazing-lands. In mineral wealth it is proba- 

 bly not inferior to any of the Territories, with 

 the possible exception of Arizona. Its yield 

 of gold in 1869 exceeded $8,000,000, mostly 

 from quartz lodes, the placers which first 

 attracted attention having, in many cases, be- 

 come exhausted. The Northern Pacific Rail- 

 road, now in course of construction, will prove 

 of immense benefit to Northern Idaho, while 

 the branch railroad from Ogden, on the Union 

 Pacific, which is to connect with the Northern 

 Pacific in Oregon, will pass through the Boise 

 Basin, the rich mining-district of Southern 

 Idaho. Iron-ore of superior quality, and ex- 

 cellent coal, are found in close proximity, and 

 Idaho will probably eventually furnish much 

 of the iron for rails, machinery, and building, 

 which will be required in the States on the 

 Pacific slope. As yet the lands of the Territory, 

 over 55,000,000 acres, have not been brought 

 into market, the surveys not having been com- 

 pleted. The settlers have generally preempt- 

 ed their claims. 



Montana. Area, 143, 776 square miles. Pop- 

 ulation in 1869, 50,000. Capital, Yirginia City. 

 Governor, James M. Ashley. The territory is 

 bounded on the north by the British Posses- 

 sion, on the east by Dakota, on the south 

 mainly by Wyoming, on the west by Idaho. 

 The Rocky Mountains, with their numerous 

 spurs and ranges, occupy a tract in the west- 

 ern part of Montana 200 miles in width and 

 320 miles in length from north to south, with 

 summits rising from 2,000 to 14,000 feet in 

 height, many of them covered with perpetual 

 snow. The eastern part of the Territory con- 

 sists chiefly of rolling and elevated table-lands, 

 while the western has, nestling among its moun- 

 tains, many beautiful and fertile valleys. The 

 Missouri and Yellowstone, with their numerous 

 affluents, drain the portion east of the water- 

 shed of the Rocky Mountains, and discharge 



their waters into the Gulf of Mexico, while 

 the highlands west of the water-shed are 

 drained by the Clarke's Fork and Kootenay 

 Rivers and their tributaries into the Columbia 

 River and the Pacific Ocean. The Territory is 

 therefore well watered, and has a much greater 

 rainfall than Idaho. Its climate is diversified. 

 In the more protected valleys, and in the basin 

 of Clarke's Fork, as well as in the southern 

 portion generally, it is pleasant and salubrious, 

 snow seldom falling, and cattle grazing through- 

 out the year. On the more elevated lands it is 

 colder, and the climate approximates to that of 

 Northern New England. The mineral wealth 

 of the Territory is very great. From 1862 to 

 1867, both inclusive, the aggregate product of 

 gold and silver from its mines and placers was 

 $72,100,000. In 1868 there was $8,640,000 

 of gold and silver refined and run into bars in 

 the Territory, besides the ores and crude gold 

 and* dust sent out. The product in 1869 is 

 estimated at over $9,000,000. The principal 

 gold-bearing regions are four or five in num- 

 ber, at considerable distances from each other, 

 on the Hell-Gate River, the Big-Hole Creek, 

 and other tributaries of the Madison and Jef- 

 ferson rivers, on the Missouri, from the junc- 

 tion of the Three Forks to the mouth of Smith's 

 or Deep River, and on the branches of the 

 Yellowstone east of Helena. Silver is found 

 in most of these localities, and also in four 

 or five others, where it is not combined, 

 with either gold or copper. There are also 

 extensive deposits of copper and lead. Bitu- 

 minous coal is abundant, and lignite exists in 

 great quantities on the Yellowstone and Mis- 

 souri, and the northern tributaries of the lat- 

 ter. Iron, gypsum, plumbago, arsenic, anti- 

 mony, tellurium, tin, and cinnabar, have been 

 met with. There are hot springs and geysers 

 in numerous localities, but principally about 

 the head-waters of the Madison. 



The Survey or- General estimates that more 

 than 30,000,000 acres, or one-third of the area 

 of the Territory, is susceptible of profitable 

 cultivation, with the aid of occasional irriga- 

 tion. The assessed value of real and personal 

 property in 1868 was $9,400,000. The Indians 

 are troublesome in the eastern section, but 

 have done little mischief in the southern and 

 western part of the Territory. At the election 

 in 1869, James M. Cavanagh, Democrat, was 

 elected delegate to Congress, receiving 1,860 

 majority in a total vote of 9,350. The Coun- 

 cil was entirely Democratic; the House had 

 twenty-one Democrats to three Republicans. 

 There are eleven organized counties in the 

 Territory. 



New Mexico. Area, 121,201 square miles. 

 Population in 1869, about 100,000, of which 

 about 25,000 are Indians. Capital, Santa Fe. 

 Governor, William A.. Pile. There are 13 

 counties, viz. : Bernalillo, Colfax, Dona Ana, 

 Grant, Lincoln, Mora, Rio Arriba, Santa Ana, 

 Santa F6, San Miguel, Socorro, Taos, and Va- 

 lencia. At the election in 1869, J. Francisco 



