EAST CENTRAL :M0NTANA 83 



While small ixraiiis such as wheat, oats, liarlcy and rye aii<l early acclimated 

 varieties of corn do well, the loiiir hauls to rail points make this type of farmin;: 

 iinprofitaMe. The most successful farmers are devoting their 

 Marketing attention to products that can he marketed on foot or in a 

 A Problem concentrated form. For in.«!tance. on the hottom lands of the 

 ^lissouri Kiver and in a few jdaces on the uplands, alfalfa 

 seed production has lu-eii undertaken and liecause of favoral)le soil and cli- 

 matic conditions combined with small l)ulk. comparatively high value and ease 

 of transportation has become an important cash crop. A start in swine raising 

 has been made by some farmers who are growing corn. The hogs are fat- 

 tened on corn, dressed, hauled to the railroad and expres.<ed to Montana cities. 

 There are a consideralde iminlier of range herds of cattle and sheep in the county, 

 the areas of broken and had lands in the western and northern j)art affording 

 good grazing. 



Coal abounds in all parts of the county. Some oil has been discover(>d in the 

 west end of the county, east of the Mussel.shell river, in the Cat Creek district. It 

 is reported that Smoky Butte, a dome-shaped eminence nine miles southwest of 

 Jordan, about a mile square and rising about 500 feet above the surrounding 

 plain, is a solid mass of iron ore. Much meteoric iron has been picked up in the 

 vicinity. The existence of beds of clay, chalk and of potash in the county are 

 also reported, but so far as known, no geological examination of the county's 

 mineral resources has been made. 



The only industrial plant is a small flour mill at Jordan. 



The Great Northern has surveys running through the middle of the county 



for the so-called Mondak cut-off. It has l)een iiuilt west from Mondak as far 



as Richey and the grade and necessary tunnels have been com- 



Railroad pleted from Lewistowu east nearly to the western lioundary 



Is Projected of Garfield county. It is believed that the gap of about 150 



miles will be cojupleted as soou as financial conditions permit. 



At present th(> .southeastern quarter of the county finds an outlet through a 



stage from Jordan to Miles City ; the trade of the northeastern part of the county 



goes to Glasgow; of the northwestern part to Malta, and of the western part to 



Wiunett. Fergus county. 



Jordan, the county seat, is the lai'gest community and the principal trading 

 center. Many small trading centers are scattered throughout the region. 



The Suow Creek Game Preserve, along the Missouri River, in the northern 

 part of the count.v, created through the efforts of W. T. Hornaday of the New 

 Yoi'k Zofdogical Society, is as remarkable for its weird .scenery as for its wild 

 game, which includes species that are almost extinct. The scenery in Ilell Creek 

 Canyon is pronounced as romantically attractive as some of the best found in the 

 national parks. The old west of cowboys and cattle still flourishes in parts of 

 Garfield county. 



GARFIELD COUNTY — Ranks thirty-sixth in population (5,368); eighth in area 

 (3,095,680 aore.s): twenty-fourth in combined 1922 crop and livestock vaUie; fiftieth in 

 bank depo.sits, 1922: fortieth in assessed valuation, 1922. Acres public land, 580,833; 

 acres state land, 157.373. 



WEALTH PRODUCTION — Estimated 1922 crop value, $1,023,900; estimated live- 

 stock vahie, .laniiarv. V.H':!. .$2,216,(100; total bank deposits, September 15, 1922, $195,118. 



TAXATION 1922 — Total assessed valuation. $16,293,093; total taxable value, 

 $4,908,630. Total oiitstunding county bond indebtedness, $234,500; total outstanding 

 countv warrant indebtedness. $34.9,39; total outstanding school bond indebtedness, 

 $31,096; otlier school debts. $15,233. Total general and special county taxes, $171,547; 

 total genei-al and district school taxes, .$115,831; total municipal taxes, $864; total state 

 taxes, $24,092: total tax (inclusive municipal), per capita, $58.18. 



EDUCATIONAL — Number graded schools, 86; enrollment, 1,052. Number high 

 si-hools. 2: ctirohment, 62. 



BUSINESS STATISTICS — Numlier of manufactures. 5; nverage number wage earn- 

 eis, 3; value of piudut ts. .^33,770. Number of banks, 2. Number general stores, 14: 



