MONTANA. 



547 



26th of June, and remained in session until the 

 28th. Its resolutions included the following: 

 That we hereby pledge our individual and organ- 

 ized efforts for the defeat of any candidate for the next 

 General Assembly of the State, whether the nominee 

 of a party or not, who shall refuse to declare publicly 

 in writing that if elected he will vote and industri- 

 ously labor for the submission of a constitutional 

 amendment prohibiting the manufacture, for sale, and 

 the sale of intoxicants, as a beverage, within this State. 



MONTANA. Territorial Government. The terri- 

 torial officers during the year were : Govern- 

 or, John Schuyler Crosby ; Secretary, Isaac J. 

 McCutcheon. 



Railroads. Three years ago the Northern Pa- 

 cific Railroad reached the eastern border of 

 Montana, and in August of this year the two 

 ends met, 50 miles west of Helena. There are 

 787 miles of its trunk line within the Territo- 

 ry, and two branch lines have been completed, 

 one from Livingston to the borders of the Na- 

 tional Park, 50 miles, and another to the min- 

 ing center at Wickes, 20 miles. There are al- 

 so in the Territory about 200 miles of narrow- 

 gauge road, a part of the Union Pacific branch 

 extending from Ogden, Utah, to a connection 

 . with the Northern Pacific at Garrison, Mon- 

 tana, with a branch at Butte. 



Banks. Montana has twenty-five banking in- 

 stitutions, nine of which are national banks. 

 Four of these latter are in Helena, and have a 

 combined capital of $875,000, with deposits to 

 the amount of $4,300,000. 



Finances. In 1882 there was a total assess- 

 ment of $33,211,319, an increase of $9,170,511 

 over 1881. The assessment for 1883 is about 

 $46,560,300. Even this fails to do the Terri- 

 tory justice, for it does not include a dollar 

 for the mines, whose net income alone is taxed. 



The Territory does not owe a dollar, and the 

 aggregate indebtedness of the thirteen counties 

 is under $1,000,000, mostly incurred for public 

 buildings, and for roads and bridges. 



The expenditures for 1882 by warrants drawn 

 on the treasury amounted to $61,067.52. The 

 estimated expenditures for 1883 were $70,500. 



Amount of revenue proper collected during 1882.. $90,863 47 

 Amount of revenue proper collected during 18S1 . . 75,286 64 



Increase of revenue proper for 1882 $15,576 83 



Schools. The only mears of support for the 

 schools is a property-tax, divided among the 

 districts of each county in proportion to the 

 number of children of school age. By terri- 

 torial law this county school-tax can not _be 

 less than three mills nor more than five mills 

 on the dollar. It averages about four mills. 

 In addition to this, many districts vote an ad- 

 ditional specialtax to extend the school term. 

 All of the larger places have provided them- 

 selves with convenient school-houses. Besides 

 thoseof former years, seven large graded school- 

 buildings of the first class are in process of con- 

 struction, and the value of school-buildings in 

 the Territory is fully $200,000. 



General Condition. On this subject the Gov- 

 ernor in his report, dated Oct. 31, 1883, says: 



At the time of the census of 1880, Montana had few- 

 er than 40,000 inhabitants. That same year witnessed 

 the entry of the first railroad within her borders. 

 During the ten preceding years the population had 

 barely doubled, but within the past three years it has 

 advanced from 40,000 to upward of 80,000. While it 

 is true that much of Montana's surface seems adapted 

 to a scanty population engaged in pastoral pursuits, 

 other sections, covering probably a fourth of its area, 

 creviced and underlaid with mineral wealth, are cer- 

 tainly destined to give homes and employment to a 

 dense population at no distant day. 



The last Territorial Legislature authorized a call for 

 a Constitutional Convention with a view to submit 

 the Constitution framed to the vote of the people in 

 November, 1884. The convention will assemble in 

 January, and the members have already been elected. 



The following was the vote for delegates in 

 Congress in 1882 : Martin Maginnis, Democrat, 

 12,398; A. 0. Botkin, Republican, 10,914. 



Some experiments are now in progress to 

 test the feasibility of artesian wells. One at 

 Miles City has struck a strong flowing stream 

 at the depth of 352 feet. 



Timber-Lands. The timber-lands of Montana 

 are almost exclusively confined to the mount- 

 ains estimated to cover two fifths of the 

 Territory where the lands would be of very 

 little or no value when once stripped. Every 

 year witnesses a greater waste by fires, that 

 care might prevent, than would suffice to sup- 

 ply the wants of settlers. 



Mining Products. The rich placer -mines of 

 early days have probably yielded up their 

 most bountiful harvests, yet the oldest ones 

 continue to be worked with good results. A 

 great deal of what is properly mineral land is 

 still more valuable for -agriculture, in which 

 it produces year after year, instead of being 

 worked out for a single harvest, though a rich 

 one. But the more permanent and productive 

 mines are the quartz-lodes of gold, silver, and 

 copper, of which the entire range of the Rocky 

 mountains and its various spurs seem to be full, 

 focusing at certain points in surpassing rich- 

 ness. In every county of the Territory, with 

 the possible exception of Dawson, the east- 

 ernmost, these mineral veins a re known to exist. 

 They are best developed and most productive 

 in Silver Bow county, of which Butte City is 

 the center. The grosa yield of the mines of 

 that single county for 1883 was upward of $4,- 

 000,000. "The most careful recent estimate," 

 says the Governor, " is to the effect that the 

 yield of $10,000,000 of the present year will be 

 increased for 1884 to $30,000,000 in gold, silver, 

 copper, and lead." 



It is estimated that over 20,000,000 pounds 

 of copper will be shipped in 1884 from the 

 mines at Butte, Silver Bow county. 



Live-Stock. The following shows the most 

 .recent returns of live-stock : . 



