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MONTANA , a See also:north-western See also:state of the See also:United States, situated between latitudes 440 26' and 49° N., and between longitudes 27° and 390 W. from See also:Washington. It is bounded N. by the See also:Canadian provinces of See also:British See also:Columbia, See also:Alberta and See also:Assiniboia; E. by North Dakota and See also:South Dakota; S. by See also:Wyoming and See also:Idaho; W. by Idaho. Montana has an See also:area of 146,572 sq. m., 796 sq. m. of which are See also:water See also:surface. (For See also:map, see IDAHO.) See also:Physical Features.—The Rocky Mountains See also:cross the state' from north-See also:west to south-See also:east, and with their spurs and outlying ranges occupy nearly one-third of its area in the west and south-west; the remaining portion is occupied chiefly by the See also:Great Plains. The See also:main range of the Rockies follows the boundary See also:line between Montana and Idaho west and north-west from Yellowstone See also:Park in Wyoming to Ravalli See also:county, then turns east-north-east to See also:Lewis and See also:Clark county, and from there extends north-north-west into See also:Canada. From where the main range turns east from the Idaho boundary line the See also:crest of the See also:Bitter See also:Root Mountains continues on that line with a downward slope to within one degree of See also:latitude from the Canadian border. This range of mountains, which was formed by a great See also:fault, has a maximum See also:elevation at its See also:southern end of about g000 ft. above the See also:sea. On its slope, which rises abruptly from the Bitter Root See also:Basin, glaciers have cut canons between high and often precipitous walls, and between these canons are steep and rocky ridges having peaked or saw-toothed crest lines. To the east and north-east of the Bitter Root Mountains is a consider-able basin or peneplain dissected by See also:short ranges having a north-west and south-west trend. To the south-east of this basin are the greatest See also:mountain masses of the state; lofty and rugged ranges radiate in all directions, and in many instances rise to heights of 1o,000-Ii,000 ft., the highest See also:peak in the state being See also:Granite Peak (12,834 ft.) in See also:Carbon county. Deep and narrowcations are See also:common, and, at higher levels, glaciers, carved out amphitheatres, or " cirques " and " U "-shaped troughs. In the north the Rocky Mountains consist principally of two parallel ranges, the Lewis and Clark Range to the east, and the See also:Livingston Range to the west, which were formed by a great over-thrust; between them is the See also:Waterton-McDonald valley, 8-15 m. wide. The east slope of the Lewis and Clark range is marked by See also:long high spurs, and the valleys between them end in radiating canons that are crowned with bold cliffs. On the higher summits the range rises to 8500-10,400 ft. above the sea, but in the See also:wind-gaps only to 5500-6500 ft. The Livingston range is less rugged and more massive. Like the Lewis and Clark range, its crest is broken by numerous U-shaped wind-gaps and its west slope is cut by glacial troughs containing long narrow See also:lake basins. Extending far to the eastward, especially in the south of the state, are isolated mountain See also:groups. Among these are the See also:Bear Paw Mountains, in the north central See also:part, which occupy a See also:tract 40 M. long and 20 M. wide that on the western See also:side rises abruptly from the plains and reaches an elevation in Bear Paw Peak of 7040 ft. above the sea. The Great Plains in Montana slope from about 4000 ft. (above the sea), at the See also:foot-hills of the mountains, to 2000 ft. in the north-east of the state. The valleys of the See also:principal streams are deeply eroded; bluffs are common along their See also:borders, and buttes elsewhere on the plains. The main range of the Rocky Mountains separates that part which is drained west into the Columbia See also:river and the Pacific Ocean from that which is drained east into the See also:Missouri and See also:Mississippi See also:rivers and the Gulf of See also:Mexico, and from a very small part which is drained north-east into See also:Hudson See also:Bay; the water-parting which in Montana separates the drainage into Hudson Bay from the drainage into the Gulf of Mexico crosses only the north-west of Teton county. The principal rivers east of the Rockies are the Missouri and three of its tributaries; the Yellowstone in the south-east, the Musselshell in the See also:middle, and the See also:Milk in the north. The Missouri is formed by a See also:union of the See also:Jefferson, the See also:Madison and the See also:Gallatin. It flows first east-north-east and then nearly east until it passes into North Dakota. Its channel is generally erratic and constantly shifting; its See also:bed is sandy and its water muddy. In contrast, the Yellow-See also: In the Bitter Root Valley is a large See also:deposit of See also:Quaternary. Fossil remains of mammals, See also:fish and See also:reptiles found in the Tertiary deposits of south-western Montana are preserved in the See also:Carnegie Museum at See also:Pittsburg, See also:Pennsylvania, and in the museum of the university of Montana. They include the mandible of a See also:mastodon and a portion of a vertebra of a large fish, both found in the See also:Lower Madison Valley; the See also:skull and other parts of a See also:dog (Mesocyon drummondanus), found near See also:Drummond, Granite county; the skull of a Poatrephes paludicola, found near New See also:Chicago, Granite county; a portion of the skull of a Mesohippus latidens, found near the confluence of the three forks which See also:form the Missouri river; and a portion of the skull of a Hyrachyus See also:priscus, found near See also:Lima, Beaverhead county. In the region east of the Crazy Mountains, in Sweetgrass county, are marine beds of upper Cretaceous or lower Tertiary formation containing fossils of Dinosaurs and
Mosasaurs, and in the museum of the university of Montana is the greater part of the See also:skeleton of a Dinosaur which was found here. Interesting fossil remains have also been found in Carboniferous formations in the south-west of the state.
See also:Fauna.—The native fauna is not sharply distinguished from that of the surrounding states. The bison, which once ranged the plains in large herds, have been exterminated; the See also:moose and the See also:elk are found only occasionally in the wilder regions; mountain See also:sheep, antelopes, See also:black and grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes and See also:lynx (" See also:wild See also:cats ") are also becoming rare. Black-tailed and See also:mule See also:deer are still favourite See also:game for sportsmen. Geese, ducks and See also:grouse are numerous about the lakes and rivers. Several kinds of fish, among which are See also:trout, See also:salmon, See also:grayling and See also: Most of the bluffs along the principal river valleys, especially those in the south-east, are entirely See also:bare of vegetation, but on the bottom lands along the rivers and streams considerable patches of cottonwood and willows are common. The mountain valleys are covered with little except See also:grasses; on the higher parts of the mountains there are barren rocks or only a scant growth of See also:timber; but many of the lower mountain slopes, especially those along the western border, are clothed with heavy timber, yellow See also:pine, red See also:fir and tamarack being the principal See also:species. See also:Climate.—The climate is generally dry, although less so on the mountains and in the Flathead river basin than on the Great Plains, and is subject to sudden changes and to great extremes of temperature; but the temperature varies more than the amount of precipitation. In the west the climate is generally delightful, it being there greatly affected by the warm, dry " See also:Chinook " wind which blows from the Pacific Ocean; to some extent the wind modifies the temperature nearly to the eastern border. It is the prevailing wind of See also:winter in the mountains and in consequence the periods of See also:cold, though often severe, are short. In the east the winters are often long and very cold, and the summers dry and hot. The mean See also:annual temperature ranges from 37° F. in the north-east to 47° in the sheltered valleys among the mountains. On the Great Plains a range of extremes within a See also:year from -4o° F. to 10o° is not unusual, but in the mountain valleys the range is rarely greater than from, -2o° to 90°. The records from 1880 to 1907 show a maximum range from 117° at Glendive, near the eastern border, in See also:July 1893, to -63° at See also:Poplar, about 8o m. north by west of Glendive, in See also:January 1885. The amount of precipitation is greater in the north-west and on the mountains, because in the one See also:case the mountains of lower elevation are a less obstruction to the moisture-bearing winds from the west, and in the other the mountains See also:con-dense the moisture; the mountains which stand in isolated groups upon the plains are frequently in summer the See also:focus of See also:local See also:thunder showers. The average annual precipitation ranges from to to 15 in. on the Great Plains to 20 in. or more in the north-west, and over limited areas in the higher mountain region. Nearly one-See also:half of the See also:rain falls during the four months from May to See also:August inclusive. Storms endangering See also:life and See also:property occur only in the east, caused by a high north wind with See also:snow or rain and a See also:low temperature. See also:Soil.—In the river bottoms the soil is for the most part a black clayey See also:loam lacking in natural drainage, but on the " See also:bench lands " higher up there is a deep layer of sandy loam beneath which is a bed of See also:gravel. Some of the best soil is in the mountain valleys, for these valleys were once lakes and See also:rich deposits of See also:alluvium were made in them. The mountain slopes are often bare or covered only with a thin layer of See also:mould. See also:Agriculture.—The rainfall is sufficient for See also:good grazing, but except in the Flathead valley cultivation was long considered to be dependent on See also:irrigation; and consequently farming was only incidental to stock raising and See also:mining until after 1870, and as See also:late as 1900 the ratio of improved See also:farm See also:land to the See also:total land area was less than in any other state or territory except New Mexico, Wyoming, See also:Arizona and See also:Hawaii. In 1906 the farm area was almost equally divided between " dry " farming and farming under irrigation, three-fourths of the See also:wheat produced was grown without irrigation, and the dry farming was very successful with the comparatively new and valuable crops of durum, or See also:macaroni wheat, and See also:Russian See also:barley, which is used in See also:straw for winter feed to sheep and neat See also:cattle. The counties where dry farming had been carried on on the largest See also:scale were See also:Missoula, Ravalli, Flathead, Cascade, Fergus and Gallatin, where cereal yields, though not nearly so large as from irrigated lands, were high compared with the average for the See also:country. But even where dry farming was successful, the increase of crops made possible by cheap irrigation seemed to be inducing farmers to abandon it. Among the larger privately irrigated tracts are: 16,00o to 18,000 acres in Yellowstone county, fed by a See also:canal built by the Billings Land & Irrigation See also:Company; about 35,000 acres of See also:orchard land in the Bitter Root Valley, in Ravalli county, irrigated by canals from Lake See also:Como, a natural See also:reservoir; and 100,000 acres in Missoula county, to be watered from a 28 ft. See also:dam across the Clark Fork (or Missoula River) at See also:Bonner. Private irrigation by pumping was first successfully introduced about 1901, and in 1906 a state See also:report estimated that 125 pumping irrigation See also:plants were in use in the state. See also:Boring for underground water supply to be used in irrigation was tried on a small scale. An area of 16,000 acres in Missoula county is watered by a ditch to m. long built in 1902—1905 by the co-operative Grass Valley-Frenchtown Irrigation Company, and the Teton Co-operative Canal Company in 1906 began See also:work on a diversion canal from the Teton River, whose waters are to be stored by a dam 62 ft. high and 2100 ft. long. But more important than private and co-operative undertakings are the Federal irrigation projects. In 1894 See also:Congress passed the See also:Carey See also:Act, under which Montana received See also:title to 1,000,000 acres of arid land on See also:condition that the state would reclaim it by providing an adequate supply of water; the state accepted the offer, created an irrigation See also:commission, and provided means for securing the necessary funds. Further-more, Congress in 1902 appropriated the receipts from the sales of public lands in the state to the construction of irrigation work. In 1899 there were 6812 m. of irrigation canals and large ditches in the state; the irrigated acreage had increased from 350,582 acres in 1889 to 951,154 acres in 1899, when about 84% of the irrigated area was in the south-west. The great Federal projects were not begun until after 1900. Among them are: the Huntley project in Yellowstone county, begun in 1904 and practically completed in 1908, covering land formerly in the See also:Crow See also:Indian See also:reservation, the irrigable area being 28,921 acres; the Lower Milk river project (and the subsidiary St See also:Mary project), in Chouteau, Valley and Teton counties, by which the water of St Mary river 1 is stored and diverted to the headquarters of the Milk river to irrigate an area of 300,000 acres; the See also:Sun river project (Teton, Lewis and Clark, Chouteau and Cascade counties), by which, as the See also:ordinary flow of that river is already utilized for irrigation, the See also:flood waters are stored and carried to the higher bench lands of the See also:district; in Montana (See also:Dawson county) and North Dakota (See also:McKenzie county), the Lower Yellowstone project; and the Blackfeet project, to irrigate the Blackfeet reservation in Teton county. In 1900, 11,844,454 acres, or 12.7% of the area, was included in farms; of this, 1,736,701 acres, or 14.7%, was improved; 54.7 of the improved farm land was irrigated; 79.4% of the irrigated land was used for growing crops and 20.6% for pasturage; the total acreage of all crops was 1,151,674, and of this 755,865, or 65.6%, was irrigated. In the same year there were 13,370 farms exclusive of those on Indian reservations; of these, 6665 contained less than 175 acres each; 1289 contained more than moo acres each; 8043 contained some irrigated land, the average amount being 118 acres; 11,592 were worked by owners or part owners, 624 by See also:cash tenants, and 606 by See also:share tenants. Of the total acreage of all crops in 1899, 875,712 acres, or 76%, were See also:hay and See also:forage, and 254,231 acres, or 22'1%, were cereals; of the cereal acreage 52.7% was oats, 36'2% was wheat, 9 % was barley, and 1.3 % was Indian See also:corn. In 1909 the See also:oat See also:crop was 15,390,000 bushels from 300,000 acres; the acreage of wheat in 1909 was 350,000 and the See also:production 10,764,000 bushels; the acreage of barley in 1909 was 50,000 acres, and 1,900,000 bushels were raised; the acreage of Indian corn in 1909 was 5oeo acres, and 175,000 bushels were grown. See also:Sugar See also:beets were first Frown in Montana at See also:Evans, Cascade county, in 1893 without irrigation. In 1906 a refinery (with a daily slicing capacity of 1200 tons) was built at Billings, Yellowstone county. Russians, with experience in See also:beet-growing, and See also:Japanese are furnished by the sugar company to the growers for the bunching, thinning, hoeing and topping of the' beets. In 1906 sugar refineries were projected at See also: The most important copper mines are in Silverbow, Broadwater, Jefferson and Beaverhead counties. Gold was discovered in Deerlodge county as See also:early as 1852 but very little mining was done until ten years later. In 1863 the famous See also:Alder Gulch in Madison county was discovered and in the next year, Last See also:Chance Gulch in the south of Lewis and Clark county. In 1865 the product reached its maximum, as the value of gold and See also:silver combined (the value of the silver being relatively small) was $18,000,000; the production then decreased and in 1903 the value of the gold was only $1,800,000. Then copper mining rapidly See also:developed and consider-able gold was obtained from copper ores. Until the development of copper mining, silver was produced only in small quantities along with gold, but as much more silver than gold was obtained from the copper ores the value of the silver product increased from $2,630,000 in 1881 to $24,615,822 in 1892. The product then See also:fell off, but in 1907, when it amounted to 9,317,605 See also:fine ounces, valued at $6,149,619, more than nine-tenths of it was derived from the copper ores in Silverbow county. It was in 1882 while See also:Marcus See also:Daly was sinking a See also:shaft at See also:Anaconda in preparation for milling gold and silver ores that he discovered the first rich copper ledge. Other discoveries about See also:Butte followed, and the output of copper increased from II,oI1 long tons in 1883 to 129,805 long tons in 1906, more than 99.6% from Silverbow county. The See also:industrial and See also:political life of Montana have been strongly influenced by the copper industry and by the tremendous See also:wealth controlled by the copper interests; in the industry three men were long dominant—Marcus Daly, See also: Coal was discovered in Montana before 188o, when 224 tons were mined. In 1907 the output was 2,016,857 tons, and in 1908 1,920,190 tons. The coal underlying the east half of the state, the " Great Plains," is lignitic and of inferior quality, but that in the mountain districts is bituminous and generally suitable for coking. The principal See also:fields are: the isolated See also:Bull Mountain deposit, 45 m. north-east of Billings, in Yellowstone county; the large Clark Fork See also: Many of the sapphires are shipped to See also:Switzerland for See also:watch jewels and for See also:bearings. In 1907 the total value of See also:precious stones was $229,800.
Manufactures.—With the exception of the smelting and refining of copper, manufacturing is in Montana a decidedly See also:minor industry. In 1905 the total value of the " factory " product was $66,415,452, and the value of the copper (by state reports) was $48,165,277. Lumber and timber products, which ranked second, increased in value from $2,846,268 in 1900, to $3,024,674 in 1905. See also:Flour and grist See also: River transport has been of relatively little importance since the See also:advent of railways. See also:Population.—The population of the state increased from 39,159 in 188o to 243,329 in 1900, and to 376,053 in 1910. In 1900, 67,067 were See also:foreign-See also:born, 11,343 were See also:Indians, 2441 Japanese, 1739 See also:Chinese and 1523 negroes; most numerous among the foreign-born were 13,826 Canadians, 9436 Irish, 8077 See also:English, 7162 Germans and 5346 Swedes. The Indians are mostly members of the following tribes: the Piegan, the Crow, the Salish (or Flathead), the Sioux, the See also:Assiniboin, the See also:Arapaho Atsina (miscalled Grosventres) and the Northern See also:Cheyenne. ThePiegans, with small remnants of a few other tribes, numbering (1900) about 2060, occupy the Blackfeet reservation in the north-west of Teton county, the Crows, numbering 1857, occupy the Crow reservation in the south central part of the state; the Salish, with small remnants of the Pend Oreille, the See also:Spokan, the Lower Kalispell and the See also:Kutenai, numbering 1837, occupy the Flathead reservation in the north of Missoula and the south of Flathead county; Assiniboins and others of Sioux stock, numbering about 1793, occupy Fort See also:Peck reservation in the south-east of Valley county: Atsina and Assiniboins, numbering about 1429, occupy Fort See also:Belknap reservation in the east of Chouteau county; and the Northern Cheyennes, numbering about 1357, occupy Northern Cheyenne reservation in the south-east of Rosebud county. Many of the Indians are engaged in stock-raising; the Crows have an irrigation system and are extensively engaged in farming. See also:Roman Catholics are more numerous in Montana than Protestants, having 72,359 communicants out of a total of 98,984 of all denominations in 1906, when there were 7022 Methodists, 4096 Presbyterians, 3290 See also:Protestant Episcopalians and 2029 See also:Baptists. In 1900 the See also:urban population (i.e. population of places having 4000 inhabitants or more) was 69,989; the semi-urban (i.e. population of incorporated places having less than 4000 inhabitants) was 30,270; and the rural (i.e. population outside of incorporated places) was 143,070. The rural population was therefore in that year 58.8% of the total, and the urban was only 28.7 % of the total, but from 1890 to ',goo the urban increased 185% while the rural increased only 55'6%. The principal cities are: Butte, whose population increased from 10,723 in 1890 to 30,470 in 1900 and to 39,165 in 191o; Great Falls (1910) 13,948; Helena, the See also:capital, (191o) 12,515; and Anaconda (1910) 10,134. See also:Administration.—The state is governed under a constitution adopted in 1889, a See also:month before Montana's See also:admission into the Union. The requirements for amending this constitution are: an affirmative See also:vote in each See also:house of the legislature of two-thirds of its members, followed, not less than three months later, by an affirmative vote of a See also:majority of the See also:electors voting thereon at a See also:general See also:election; or, by a like vote of each house of the legislature and of the electorate, a See also:convention may be called to revise or amend it, a revision or See also:amendment in this manner requiring the ratification of the electorate not less than two months nor more than six months after the See also:adjournment of the convention. General See also:suffrage is conferred on every male See also:citizen of the United States who is twenty-one years of See also:age and who has lived in the state one year, and in the county See also:thirty days immediately preceding an election., the only exceptions being idiots or insane persons; a woman who has the qualifications for suffrage that are required of a See also:man, may vote at any school district election and if a tax-payer she may vote on all questions submitted to the tax-payers of the . state or of any political division thereof. The See also:officers of the executive See also:department are the See also:governor, See also:lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, See also:attorney-general, treasurer, auditor and See also:superintendent of public instruction, each of whom is elected for a See also:term of four years. No See also:person is eligible to any of these offices who shall not have lived within the state for two years next preceding the election; no person is eligible to the See also:office of governor, lieutenant-governor, attorney-general or superintendent of public instruction who is not thirty years of age; no person is eligible to the office of secretary of state, treasurer or auditor who is not twenty-five years of age; no person is eligible to the office of attorney-general who has not been admitted to practice in the supreme See also:court of the state; and the treasurer is ineligible to his office for the immediately succeeding term. The governor's See also:powers are limited. As in other states he is See also:commander-in-See also:chief of the See also:militia. With the See also:advice and consent of the See also:senate he appoints various administrative officers. With the approval of the majority of a See also:board of pardons (composed of the secretary of state, attorney-general and auditor), he may See also:pardon offences or commute See also:punishment, and remit fines and forfeitures. He may See also:veto any See also:bill passed by the See also:assembly, or in the case of a bill making appropriations of See also:money he may veto any See also:item of it, and no bill or item of an See also:appropriation bill which he vetoes within five days (See also:Sunday excepted) after it has been presented to him, can become a See also:law or part of a law unless passed over his veto in each house by a two-thirds vote of the members present. Under an amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1906 his veto See also:power does not extend to See also:measures referred to the See also:people by the legislative assembly or by initiative and See also:referendum petitions. Without his approval, also, no See also:order or See also:resolution of either House, other than to adjourn or See also:relating solely to the business of the assembly, can take effect until passed again by a two-thirds vote as in case of a bill. The legislature consists of a senate and a house of representatives. Except when called in See also:special session by the governor it meets (at Helena) on the first See also:Monday of January in See also:odd numbered years only, and the length of its session is limited by the constitution to sixty days. Senators are elected, one from each county, for a term of four years; representatives are elected, one or more from each county according to population, for a term of two years. The qualifications for a senator are that he be at least twenty-four years of age and have resided in his county or district at least one year next preceding his election; for a representative there are no qualifications other than those required for suffrage. The action of the legislature is much restricted by the constitution: a long See also:list of cases is named in which that See also:body is prohibited from passing any local or special See also:laws; it is prohibited from delegating to any special commission power to perform any municipal functions whatever; from making any appropriations for charitable, industrial, educational or benevolent purposes to any person, See also:corporation or community not under the See also:absolute control of the state; and from authorizing the state to See also:contract any See also:debt or See also:obligation in the construction of any railway, or to lend its See also:credit in aid of such railway construction. In 1906 an amendment to See also:art. 5, sec. i of the state constitution, authorized the initiative and referendum, but two-fifths of the entire number of counties must each furnish for initiative petitions signatures amounting in number to 8% of the whole number of votes See also:cast for governor at the election last preceding the filing of the See also:petition; for referendum petitions two-fifths of the counties must each furnish as signers 5% of the legal voters; and any measure referred to the people shall be in full force unless the petition for the referendum be signed by 15 % of the legal voters (whose number is that of the total votes cast for governor, &c., as above) of a majority of the whole number of counties, but that in such case the law to be referred shall be inoperative until it is passed at the popular election. The administration of See also:justice is intrusted to a supreme court, an increasing number of district courts, and at least two justices'courts in each organized township, besides See also:police and municipal courts. The supreme court is composed of a chief justice and two See also:associate justices elected for a term of six years. It holds four sessions a year at Helena and has both See also:original and appellate See also:jurisdiction. For most district courts there is only one See also:judge, but for the more populous there are two; they are all elected for four years. These courts have original jurisdiction in cases at law and in See also:equity in which the value in controversy exceeds $50, in criminal cases amounting to See also:felony, in all matters of See also:probate, in actions for See also:divorce, &c., and appellate jurisdiction in cases arising in the inferior courts. Justices of the See also:peace are elected for two years and have See also:civil jurisdiction in several classes of actions in which the amount demanded does not exceed $3oo, and in such cases as See also:petit See also:larceny, See also:assault in the third degree and See also:breach of the peace. For purposes of local government the state is divided into counties; each county into townships, school districts and road districts; and there are incorporated cities and towns. The county officers are a board of three commissioners, a treasurer, a See also:sheriff, a county clerk, a clerk of the district court, an attorney, a surveyor, a See also:coroner, a public See also:administrator, an See also:assessor, a superintendent of See also:schools, and in some instances, an auditor. The commissioners are elected for six years, the other officers, for two years. Among the commissioners' powers and duties are: the management of county property; the levying of taxes; the equalizing of assessments; the division of the county into townships, school districts and road districts; the laying out and management of public highways and ferries, and the care of the poor. The township is of minor importance, its principal officers being two justices of peace and two constables. Municipal corporations are classified according to population; those having ro,000 inhabitants or more are cities of the first class; those having less than r0,0o0 but more than 5000 inhabitants, cities of the second class; those having less than 5000 but more than moo inhabitants, cities of the third class, and those having less than r000 but more than 300 inhabitants towns. In a See also:city of the first class, a See also:mayor, two aldermen from each See also: Recognized causes for divorce are See also:adultery, extreme See also:cruelty, wilful See also:desertion, wilful neglect, habitual intemperance or conviction for felony. The See also:homestead of a head of a See also:family consisting either of a farm not exceeding 16o acres or $2500 in value, or of a house and See also:lot—the lot not exceeding a See also:acre, and the house and lot not exceeding $25oo in value—is secured against debtors except in case of judgments obtained before the homestead was recorded as such, in case of labourers', See also:mechanics' or vendors' liens, and in case of a debt secured by See also:mortgage; if the owner is a married person the homestead cannot be mortgaged without the consent of both husband and wife. For the See also:settlement of dispute§ between labourers and employers there is a state board, appointed by the governor and consisting of an employer of labour, a labourer and a disinterested citizen. Upon application of either or both of the parties, provided the employees be not less than twenty, this board is required to inquire into the cause of the dispute, with the aid of two See also:expert assistants, who shall be nominated by the parties, and to render a decision, which is binding for at least six months upon the parties to the application. Charitable and Penal Institutions.—These are a state See also:prison at Deer Lodge, managed by contract; a reform school at See also:Miles City, an industrial school at Butte, an orphans' See also:home at Twin See also:Bridges, the soldiers' home at Columbia Falls, a school for See also:deaf and See also:blind at See also:Boulder, and an insane See also:asylum at Warm Springs, managed by contract. They are all under the supervision of a state board of charities and reform. The state also has a See also:bureau of See also:child and See also:animal See also:protection. See also:Education.—The public school system is administered by state, county and district officers. The common school of each district is under the immediate supervision of a board of trustees; but a state See also:text-See also:book commission determines what text-books shall be used in these schools; the state superintendent of public instruction prepares the questions that are used in examining applicants to See also:teach, passes See also:judgment on publications for use in school See also:libraries, and advises with the county superintendent of schools. A county board of education examines applicants for teachers' positions and pupils applying to enter high schools. The county superintendent advises the teachers, and holds teachers' institutes. Each school district is required by law to keep its school open at least three months a year and all See also:children between the ages of eight and fourteen are required to attend for the full term; if unemployed they are required to continue in school until they have attained the age of sixteen. In 1908 fifteen of the counties had a county high school, and there were also lo accredited city high schools in 1908. The state educational institutions are the university of Montana (1895), at Missoula, the normal See also:college at Dillon, the college of agriculture and mechanic arts (1893) at Bozeman; and the school of mines (1900) at Butte. They are all under the supervision and control of the state board of education, which consists of the governor, the state super§ intendent, the attorney-general and eight other members appointed by the governor for a term of four years, two retiring annually. The entire educational system is maintained very largely out of funds derived from lands appropriated by Congress for that purpose. See also:Finance.—About one-half of the See also:revenue for state and county purposes is derived from a general property tax. All taxable property in each county except that of railways in more than one county is assessed at its full value by the county assessor. The See also:franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails and See also:rolling stock of railways in more than one county are assessed at their full value by the state board of equalization. The See also:assessment rolls of the county assessor are subject to alteration by the board of county commissioners sitting as a county board of equalization and the assessments as between counties are subject to alteration by the state board of equalization. The state legislature biennially fixes the See also:rate of taxes for state purposes; the amount of this See also:levy is now limited by the Constitution to 21 See also:mills on the See also:dollar. The board of county commissioners fixes the rate of county taxes and levies those taxes; and the county treasurer collects the taxes of the state and those of the county. Among the other See also:sources of revenue are a See also:poll-tax of two dollars on each man between the ages of twenty-one and sixty, licences, an See also:inheritance tax, See also:rent of state lands and the income from invested funds received from the See also:sale of state lands. The state had a bonded debt in 1909 of $384,000, authorized by popular vote in See also:November 1908 ; by the constitution the aggregate indebtedness of the state was limited to $See also:ioo,000 except in case of See also:war, invasion or insurrection, or in case a measure authorizing a greater indebtedness should be submitted by the legislature to the electorate and should receive a majority of the votes cast. The constitution limits the indebtedness of a county to 5% of the value of its taxable property and that of a city, See also:town or school district to 3%, except that the question may be submitted to a vote of the tax-payers affected when it is deemed necessary to construct a See also:sewerage system or procure a water supply.
See also:History.—The first exploration within the borders of Montana was made in 1743 by Sieur de la Verendrye, who in that year led an expedition up the Missouri river to the Great Falls and near where Helena now stands; the first exploration in that part of the state which lies west of the main range of the Rocky Mountains was made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 18o5. That part which lies east of the mountains was included in the See also:Louisiana See also:Purchase of 1803 and became successively a part of Missouri Territory in 1812, of See also:Nebraska Territory in 1854, of Dakota Territory in 1861 and of Idaho Territory in 1863; that which lies west of the mountains became successively a part of Oregon Territory in 1848, of Washington Territory in 1853 and of Idaho Territory in 1863. In 1864 Montana Territory was created, and in 1889 this Territory was admitted to statehood. The report .of Lewis and Clark attracted many traders and trappers, and within a few years the Missouri See also:Fur Company, the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, the Hudson Bay Company and the See also:American Fur Company had established fortified trading posts on the Missouri, the Yellowstone, the Marias, the Milk and other rivers; the most prominent among these was Fort Benton, which was established in 1846 at the head of See also:navigation on the Missouri, and was made the head-quarters of the American Fur Company. In 1841 See also:Father
See also:Peter See also: On the 17th of June General Crook with See also:I000 men defeated a large force of the Indians near the Rosebud river. On the 22nd of June General George A. Custer was sent up the Rosebud, and on the See also:morning of the 25th passed over the divide of the Little Big See also:Horn, where the Sioux were soon discovered. Custer divided his See also:regiment into four commands, his own comprising 262 men. Continuing a few miles down stream, he came upon what was supposed to be a single Sioux See also:village; the Indians, however, proved to number from 8000 to 10,000, including 2500 to 3000 warriors. Custer was soon completely surrounded and the entire command, See also:save a single Crow See also:scout, was slaughtered. This was, however, the beginning of the end of the Indian troubles. On the 29th of See also:September a See also:band under American Horse was defeated and their See also:leader killed; in See also:October some 5000 Indians surrendered; and on the 22nd of See also:April 1877, 2000 more under Crazy Horse laid down their arms. General Crook and See also:Colonel See also:Nelson A. Miles especially distinguished themselves. In October 1877 the Nez Perces under Chief See also:Joseph after a masterly See also:retreat from Idaho of over I000 m., probably unequalled in Indian warfare, were hemmed in by greatly See also:superior forces and captured in the Bear Paw Mountains in Chouteau county. In most of the territorial or state elections the Democrats, or the Democrats and Populists united, have been triumphant, a Republican governor having been elected only in 1892; but the contests have often been ardent and bitter. In 1889 the Democrats were charged with See also:fraud in the 34th election See also:precinct of Silverbow county, and, the dispute remaining unsettled, two legislatures were seated. Each legislature elected two senators to the United States Senate, which, having a Republican majority, seated the Republicans. More notable, however, was the See also:feud between W. A. Clark and Marcus Daly, both Democrats. William See also:Andrews Clark (b. 1839) removed in 1856 from Pennsylvania to See also:Iowa, in 1862 to See also:Colorado and in 1863 to Montana, where he became the wealthiest mine-owner. Marcus Daly (1842-1900) went from See also:Ireland about 1857 to New See also:York City, and thence to See also:California and See also:Nevada, and in 1876 reached Butte, Montana. In 1882 he discovered one of the richest copper deposits in the world. Clark aspired to be a United States senator, but by ridiculing Daly, provoked a powerful opposition. Clark was one of the two Democratic claimants who had been denied a seat in the senate in 189o. Three years later he was again nominated, but Daly prevented his election. Clark secured his election to the senate in 1899, but Daly furnished to the Committee on Elections and Privileges such See also:evidence of See also:bribery and fraud that it decided against seating him. Daly died on the 12th of November 1900, and in 1901 Clark was elected senator for the full term, which expired in 1907, when he was succeeded by Joseph See also:Moore See also:Dixon (b. 1867), a Republican.
The See also:governors of Montana have been as follows: Territorial.
See also:Sidney Edgerton 1864-1865
See also: . Democrat 1901-1909 See also:Edwin L. See also:Norris . . . Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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