THE CONQUEST OF ARID AMERICA 



paratively small though fertile valleys. The principal 

 streams are the Flathead, Clarke's Fork of the Columbia, 

 and the Kootenai. The ultimate extent of irrigable land 

 within the boundaries of Montana is purely speculative, 

 estimates ranging from ten to thirty million acres. In 

 the matter of water supply the State is among the most 

 fortunate in the West, though its full utilization will 

 require vast expenditure for the construction of storage- 

 works and of long canals. Some of the largest rivers, 

 like the Missouri and the Yellowstone, are enclosed by 

 high bluffs, and water can be taken to the elevated 

 plains, comprising the larger areas of valuable land, 

 only by means of diversions made high up upon the 

 streams. 



The opportunities which Montana offers to settlers 

 have not been appreciated as they deserve. This is 

 doubtless due to the severity of the climate, which is 

 generally misunderstood. The State is in a high lati- 

 tude, and does, indeed, experience cold winters. But its 

 valleys are comparatively low, averaging much lower 

 than those of Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, 

 and its climate decidedly healthful. The thermometer 

 goes twenty or thirty degrees below zero in the winter, 

 but this degree of cold in the dry air of Montana is 

 much less disagreeable than ten degrees above zero in 

 any of the cities on the borders of the Great Lakes. On 

 the other hand, the State enjoys a remarkably even pros- 

 perity, and no other localities offer better certainty of 

 home markets, where the products of the farm can be 

 disposed of at good prices. 



There are many large and growing towns, and two or 

 three cities of considerable size. The mining popula- 



