24 INJURY BY SMELTER WASTES. 



taiice of about G miles), the few trees and crops that existed appeared 

 to be considerably damaged. It is possible, however, that this was 

 due parth^ to lack of attention on the part of the ranchers. No at- 

 tempt was made to examine the mountains on the east side of the Deer 

 Lodge Valle^^ as it would have been impossible to tell whether any 

 injury that was found was due to the smelter at Anaconda, or to those 

 in the vicinity of Butte. 



SOUTH OF THE SMELTER. 



Going south from Anaconda, a trip was made along the road which 

 first runs to the east and then turns southwest until it crosses the 

 divide. The j^oint reached was 9 or 10 miles southwest of the smelter 

 and about 2 miles beyond the divide. Samples of soils and foliage and 

 dump and slime samples from the smelter Avere collected, and observa- 

 tions made on the general appearance of the A^egetation. Three miles 

 south of the smelter the trembling asjDcns AA^ere badly injured, spots 

 appearing all OA^er the leaA^es. Four miles south some of the lodgepole 

 pines Avere dead, Avhile the remainder Avere badly injured; practically 

 all red firs Avere dead. FiA^e miles southAvest of the smelter the lodge- 

 pole pines Avere damaged less, but still shoAved injury to a considerable 

 extent; again, the red firs Avere practically all dead. For from to 8 

 miles soutliAvest of the smelter, to the divide, the lodgepole j^ines Avere 

 living, but most of them shoAved more or less injury to the ends of 

 needles; again the red firs Avere nearly all dead, or seriously injured. 

 Tavo miles beyond the divide the forest did not appear to be damaged. 



AVEST OF THE SMELTER. 



A trip was made in a Avesterly direction from Anaconda up Warm 

 Springs Creek to Sih^er Lake and back. Samples of cattle-food ma- 

 terials, soils, and foliage were gathered and observations on the gen- 

 eral appearance of the vegetation Avere made. Xone of the junipers 

 obserAxd on the western trip Avere injured in the slightest degree. 

 The lodgepole pines Avere all killed in the vicinity of the smelter, but 

 the injury to this species gradually grcAv less, until, at about 10 miles 

 Avest of the smelter or slightly beyond this, it ceased entirely, and 

 beyond this point they Avere apparently uninjured. The damage to 

 red firs Avas exceedingly great for a distance of 13 miles Avest, grad- 

 ually groAving less beyond this point, until on the shore of Sih^er 

 Lake, 15 miles west of the smelter, it apparently nearly ceased. (See 

 Pis. VII and YIII.) 



On the Avhole it may be said that the injury to red firs around the 

 Washoe smelter extends for a distance of about 15 to 19 miles north, 

 an indefinite distance east, 8 miles south, and 15 miles west. The 

 injury to lodgepole pines, howcATr, onh^ extends for a distance of 

 9 to 10 miles north, an indefinite distance east, 8 miles south, and 

 about 10 miles west. 



