Page:1862 Territory of Dakota Session Laws.pdf/5

vi source. Its course through the very centre of the territory, from the north-west to the south-east corner, together with its sinuosities, furnish over two thousand miles of navigable river for the largest sized river steamers. Its head of navigation is in convenient proximity to the Salmon river and Bitter Root gold mines of Washington and Oregon, and nearer than any other water communication to the recently discovered gold fields of the Saskatchawan and Cariboo, in Her Majesty's possessions. For many years steamers have made annual trips to Fort Benton, and the trade has increased from year to year. It is now estimated that fifty steamers will be inadequate to supply the trade for 1863. The mineral wealth of the Rocky mountains will, in a few years, make the Missouri one of the most important business arteries on the continent. No state or territory can be better supplied with water and water privileges than Dakota. Its streams are countless, and its waters are pure and healthful. Its large rivers are numerous, among the more important of which are the Big Sioux, Dakota, Niobrara, Yellow Stone, Milk, and Red river of the North. The latter suggests an interesting physiological feature in the fact that its waters flow into Hudson bay. The Red river of the North is navigable, and regular steamers are engaged in the trade between the American settlements on its head waters, and the forts of the Hudson Bay Company along Lake Winnepeg. The Yellow Stone is the largest tributary of the Missouri. Little is known of its valley. The fountains, brooks, and creeks which supply its waters, ooze from the rocks of the mountains only a few leagues from the sources of the already gold famous Salmon river and Bitter Root. The valley of the Yellow Stone is the sacred hunting-ground of the Indians, but the