WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 729 



this fact find are disposed to encourage and to actively aid in the devel- 

 opment of any new industry of the State. The farmers have demon- 

 strated to their own satisfaction that general prosperity can not be 

 secured by exclusive wheat-raising, hence are favorably disposed to 

 pay more attention to live-stock husbandry as an important factor in 

 general farming. 



In regard to the topography of North Dakota, with its area of 70,195 

 square miles, the country may be described as a prairie, nearly level 

 in the eastern part of the State, gradually rising in the central part 

 toward the west, and in the western part much diversified by ranges 

 or hills and picturesque buttes. The Missouri Eiver traverses the 

 State for a distance of about 350 miles. Its principal tributary is the 

 Cheyenne, which has a course of about 300 miles within the State. 

 The Red Eiver of the North forms the boundary between North Dakota 

 and Minnesota for 200 miles. The James Eiver heads in North Dakota 

 and flows south into South Dakota. Its course in North Dakota is 

 about 225 miles. There are numerous smaller streams and a large 

 number of lakes and ponds. The largest body of water is Devil's Lake, 

 in the central part of the State, which has a length of about 50 miles 

 by a width of from 2 to 6 miles, with a very irregular outline. Its 

 waters are strongly impregnated with mineral salts, and it has no out- 

 let. As a general rule the eastern part of the State is best adapted to 

 the raising of wheat and other small grains, the central part to mixed 

 farming, and the western part to stock-raising. There are, of course 

 exceptions to this general rule. Many fine stock farms are found in 

 the Eed Eiver Valley, and many excellent grain farms in the central 

 and western parts of the State; but the person who makes stock-raising 

 a special industry, and is in search of cheap lands, will naturally prefer 

 the regions less densely settled than the comparatively populous eastern 

 portion of the State. While there is considerable variety in the char- 

 acter of the soil in regard to its depth and its producing qualities, it 

 may be truthfully said that there are no waste lands in any part of the 

 State. Wherever any considerable areas are found, which by reason 

 of the broken and hilly character of the surface are unfit for agriculture, 

 they will be found excellent for pasturage. In fact the whole surface 

 of North Dakota was formerly covered with highly nutritious grasses, 

 which supported vast h erds of buffalo. The prairie grasses predominate 

 in the eastern, and yield gradually to the buffalo and bunch grasses in 

 the western part of the State. Ample experience with cattle, sheep, 

 and horses has proven that climate and natural pasturage combine in 

 North Dakota to give the best results in stock-raising. The success of 

 the older wheat farms has given to North Dakota its reputation through- 

 out the East. It is still one of the greatest wheat-producing States in 

 the Union, and has the soil and climate to maintain its reputation as 

 such. In recent years, however, stock-raising has become an important 

 and constantly-growing industry. At the rate at which the sheep in- 



