• ••^■« ■•^■i •■ c.—.ii^—.. III ai^ia— 1> HI m ■■ ui— uii nn nil m im ua m ag ai gg gg— iig ua»«« 



: THE TREASURE STATE 161 • 



roll that contributes much to the volume of business done. Missoula is connected 

 with the famous Coeur d'Alene mining district of Idaho by a branch of the 

 Northern Pacific that passes through the county before leaving the state. 



The estimated population of the county is 32,460 and the assessed valuation is 

 $16,123,572. 



LAND AREA — Missoula county, which is in the Missoula land district, em- 

 braces an area of 3,022 square miles, including 105,595 acres of unreserved and 

 unappropriated public land available for entry under the homestead law, 79,412 

 acres of state land, and 940,000 acres of national forests. Of the total area of the 

 county, 903,571 acres are privately owned. 



CROP PRODUCTION— The following gives the estimated crop production for 

 1915; wheat, 300,000 bushels; oats, 750,000 bushels; barley, 45,000 bushels; potatoes, 

 185,000 bushels; hay, 20,000 tons; apples, 80,000 bushels; strawberries, 50,000 

 quarts; raspberries, 20,000 quarts; currants, 10,000 quarts. 



In 1915, the assessor's rolls showed the following livestock: horses, 5,757 head; 

 milch cows, 2,614 head; other cattle, 9,701 head; sheep, 6,058 head; swine, 3,400 

 head. 



MUSSELSHELL COUNTY. 



Musselshell county was created March 1, 1911, from parts of Fergus, Yellow- 

 stone and Meagher counties. It embraces a large part of the valley of the Mussel- 

 shell river and is named for that stream. 



The industries are coal mining, stock growing and farming. Very extensive beds 

 of coal of good grade have long been known to exist in the Bull mountains, but 

 they were not developed until the Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound railway 

 was built through the Musselshell valley a few years ago. Now the mines at and 

 near Roundup have been developed so that they have the capacity to produce 

 5,000 tons of coal a day; at other places are smaller mines; prospects that may soon 

 become producing mines are numerous; and a very extensive area of known coal land 

 has not been developed at all. 



For a generation before the arrival of a railroad the Musselshell was a splendid 

 stock raising country. The water was good, the grass abundant and nutritious, and 

 the winters mild. Stock growing is still a leading industry and many carloads 

 of wool and beef cattle are shipped annually. Farming did not become an in- 

 dustry of importance until the railroad was built, since which time it has experienced 

 a remarkable growth. 



A considerable acreage in the Musselshell valley and a smaller amount in 

 tributary valleys are irrigated. The recent development, however, has been chiefly 

 in farming bench lands without irrigation; and wherever proper systems of cul- 

 tivation have been followed, profitable and in some cases surprisingly large 

 crops have been raised of wheat, oats, flax and alfalfa. 



The Musselshell river runs through the center of the county, the railroad 

 runs along its banks, and the developed farm lands are found both on the north 

 and south sides; and new farms on homestead lands or on lands bought from the 

 Northern Pacific railroad or on some of the old stock ranches extend back for 

 miles. There is still good homestead land to be had and cheap lands to be 

 bought. 



Roundup, the county seat, has been called "the Miracle of the Musselshell," 

 and its growth in a few years from a small village in a cattle country to one 

 of the best built, busiest and most progressive towns of the northwest has been 

 little short of marvelous. The population is estimated at 3,150 and the city has 

 water works, improved streets, many miles of cement sidewalks, is lighted by 



