Show THE MILITARY Sheridan Wants More Soldiers for the West Pope Speaks of the Great jXortUvrcst Chicago 9General Sheridans ar nual report to the general of tho army sets forth that there are in the Department Depart-ment Dakota 4850 officers and men in the Department of the Platte 284 in te eparmen o Missouri 420 and in the Department of rex is 3040 Ho wishes again to put himself on record as considering this force entirely inadequate to tho great territory and numerous demands de-mands upon the army from the northern and soutbern borders Toe ratio is about ono man to every Berontjfive square miles ana In TXIIS ono man to every 125 square miles Tho result is i troops bra frequently I overworked and often compelled to take the field against greatly superior numbers num-bers The officers and men are equal in intelligence activity and devotion of duty to any army in the world and no army of its size accomplishes onethird as much hard work from one years end to another He refers to the rapidiy with which emigrants are taking up lnd in the f west lie says our frontier ii to extensive that for the preient wo are compelled to adhere J to tho system of small posts tnougn it is wIll inconvenient incon-venient and costly Central Pope in his annual report calls attention to this fact and urges a change but until tho railways now being built throughout our western find south we tern country are completed it wi I not bo wisq to nlir the ex niiig cndi lion s1 affairs When tlle rests have made their connecions with tbo aniSe Slope and CtUbluhel their terminus in i the mountain it will be lime en > ugh to more in the matter Still thit lime is i not very far distant and it is well to discus dis-cus Ibo situation of prm nont post and regimental garrisons in advance and I therefore call pirticular attention to Gen Popes arguments in favor of t change in our eliding frontier system Among our ftrongest allies in tbe north civilization on the frontier are tbe various railway companies who arc now constructing their new lines with great rapidity In thu department of Dakota the Northern Pacific Ratway has crossed the Missouri at Bismarck and is now about 150 miles west of hit place and it is confidently expected to reach Ih banks of the Yellowttone River by next summer The Chicago and Northwestern Northwest-ern Railroad has completed a branch road to Fort Pierre on the Missouri River and h9S already finished i jurveyf to JUeadwood uarotn vnicn r is expected ex-pected to reach next September The Chicago Milwaukee snd St PAul Ri1 way has a branch road within a few miles of tho mouth of American Creek on the Missouri Hirer and expects to reAch the Black Hills Dakota by nrxt September The railways above mentioned men-tioned lead to the extensive basin of Upper Missouri lying between tbe Big Horn Mountains and the Black Hills of Dakota on the coutb the boundary line of Bntih and United Jetates of North America on the north and theRocky Mountains on the west This vast basin includes a portion of the territory of Vyorainf nearly all of Montana atd the territory of Dskoe It is a section of great value en account of its extensive and rich grazing land The very light fall of rain in the latter part of summer aud fall does not rot tbe grass but it slowly dries on the ground and becomes goca and nutritious hay without the usual trouble ol cutting acd cuing and experience proves the annual snow fall in the basin named is not deep enough to prevent cattle from getting good feed during the ent re year and although al-though the winters ate cdd they are invariably dry and clear not subjected to condition of alternate freezing and thawing and cons quenty they can keep in better condition than where they ar liable to undergo greater climatic changes Settlements are beinjj made in every direction throughout this extensive grazing and agricultural sections |