interested himself in practical ways of ditching and tiling. Were
farmers hampered in hauling their goods to his trains by bad roads? In
that case, he urged upon the states the improvement of highways. Did the
traffic slacken because the food shipped was not of the best quality?
Then live stock must be improved and scientific farming promoted. Did
the farmers need credit? Banks must be established close at hand to
advance it. In all conferences on scientific farm management,
conservation of natural resources, banking and credit in relation to
agriculture and industry, Hill was an active participant. His was the
long vision, seeing in conservation and permanent improvements the
foundation of prosperity for the railways and the people.

Indeed, he neglected no opportunity to increase the traffic on the
lines. He wanted no empty cars running in either direction and no wheat
stored in warehouses for the lack of markets. So he looked to the Orient
as well as to Europe as an outlet for the surplus of the farms. He sent
agents to China and Japan to discover what American goods and produce
those countries would consume and what manufactures they had to offer to
Americans in exchange. To open the Pacific trade he bought two ocean
monsters, the _Minnesota_ and the _Dakota_, thus preparing for
emergencies West as well as East. When some Japanese came to the United
States on their way to Europe to buy steel rails, Hill showed them how
easy it was for them to make their purchase in this country and ship by
way of American railways and American vessels. So the railway builder
and promoter, who helped to break the virgin soil of the prairies, lived
through the pioneer epoch and into the age of great finance. Before he
died he saw the wheat fields of North Dakota linked with the spinning
jennies of Manchester and the docks of Yokohama.

THE EVOLUTION OF GRAZING AND AGRICULTURE

=The Removal of the Indians.=--Unlike the frontier of New England in
colonial days or that of Kentucky later, the advancing lines of home
builders in the Far West had little difficulty with warlike natives.
Indian attacks were made on the railway construction gangs; General
Custer had his fatal battle with the Sioux in 1876 and there were minor
brushes; but they were all of relatively slight consequence. The former
practice of treating with the Indians as independent nations was
abandoned in 1871 and most of them were concentrated in reservations
where they