(•• .. •> » mi «. n. u» .. » u> III >• III uu uu nil u« nil uu uu nil 1.« nil ». un mi ■• •»••• 



: THETREASURESTATE 137; 



• • 



••• — >■ — " — " — "• — "• — '• — »" — "" — "■ — " — " — "" — "■ — "■ — "■ — "■ — "" — "" — " — "" — "» — "" — "" — ■•'^ — "" — " — " — ■••••• 



all directions. The stock industry later became the dominant one. Old Fort Benton 

 has been preserved; and many of the most interesting incidents of Montana his- 

 tory are associated with the town of Fort Benton. 



Fort Benton is the largest town in the county. It is a place of much business 

 importance and is surrounded by a good agricultural district. It has three churches, 

 a hospital, two banks, with deposits of $1,500,000, hotels, general stores, a daily 

 and two weekly newspapers, a court house and good public schools. There are 

 many handsome private residences. The city is amply supplied with water and has 

 a complete sewerage system. 



Geraldine, in the southern part of the county, although less than three years old, 

 is an important and thriving center and is growing rapidly. 



The population of Chouteau county is estimated at 17,055, and the assessed 

 valuation is $9,105,442. 



LAND AREA — Chouteau county, which is in the Havre and Great Falls land 

 districts, embraces an area of 4,594 square miles, including 408,760 acres of 

 unreserved and unappropriated public land available for entry under the home- 

 stead law, 312,785 acres of state land, and 6,303 acres of national forests. Of the 

 total area of the county, 1,311,218 acres are privately owned. 



CROP PRODUCTION — The following gives the estimated crop production for 

 1915: Wheat, 2,250,000 bushels; oats, 750,000 bushels; barley, 125,000 bushels; corn, 

 35,000 bushels; flax, 75,000 bushels; potatoes, 80,000 bushels; hay, 40,000 tons. 



In 1915, the assessor's rolls showed the following livestock: Horses, 13,917 

 head; milch cows, 2,879 head; other cattle, 14,529 head; sheep, 17,566 head; 

 swine, 3,697 head. 



For further information about Chouteau county, address B. H. Kreis, secretary, 

 Fort Benton commercial club. 



CUSTER COUNTY. 



Despite the fact that all of one large county and parts of two others have been 

 taken from Custer County during the past three years, reducing its area from 12,915 

 square miles to 7,111, the wealth of the county is now almost as great as it was 

 before it lost almost half of its territory, and its population is even greater. All of 

 which is but another way of saying that Custer County is one of the fastest growing 

 counties in the state. This county is strikingly typical of the change from a grazing 

 to an agricultural region which has come over the greater part of eastern Montana. 



The Yellowstone river flows through the northwestern part of this county, and the 

 Powder and Tongue rivers, two large streams which rise in Wyoming, drain the 

 southern part. Mizpah river is an important affluent of Powder river and Pumpkin 

 creek of Tongue river. All of these streams have valleys of varying width back from 

 which are extensive stretches of bench lands. 



Custer has long been the leading stock county of Montana, and from it have 

 probably been shipped more horses, cattle, sheep and pounds of wool than from any 

 other county in the United States. Miles City is the greatest primary horse market 

 in the northwest. The stockyards embrace 50 acres and monthly auctions are held 

 during the season. Last year more than 29,000 of the strong, hardy full sized horses 

 for which Montana is noted were sold here to buyers from foreign lands and many 

 parts of the country. Adjacent to Miles City is Fort Keogh, an army remount station, 

 where many horses are yearly bought and trained for the cavalry service. 



The mean temperature is 44, the same as Wisconsin; the altitude is about 2,300 

 feet; severe storms are rare; the air is dry, and heat and cold are noc felt as In 

 humid regions; in an average year 175 days are clear, 125 partly cloudy, 65 cloudy 



