, 1866-02-09
ITRMs FROM THE UpPER COUNTRY.


ITEMS FROM THE UPPER COUNTRY.
Mr.. Howard BledsOe, Wells, Fargo & Cos.
Messenger, gives US the following interesting
items from the upper country and the Boise
Road
s The rains had ceased and the weStber had
turned off freezing cold. The waters Of Boise
Payette, Snake and weiser rivers, were at their
highest on the 25th uit. The Snake river was
in many places gorgsd with ice, and as a couse-
quence the water in the river, at some points,
rose at the rate of ten feet per bour. For ls
hours the ice ran so thick and close together,
that man could have stepped from one. piece
to another of the floating mass, and this while
the bottom lands of all the smaller rivers were
inundated with ice to such an extent that all the
roads were blocked with it,
At the Snake river slough House, FIVE miles
above the Weiser river the water from Snake
river rushed in the doors at such a fearful rate
as to barely give the inmates time to get out,
leaving their stores and beds to take care of
themselves. Two men, herding stock for Mr..
Miller in the bottom between MaIheur and Snake
River, were caught in the night and had barely
time to caulk up wagon bed to float out of the
way of the running ice. They tied sHp their
wagon bed to a willow tree nearly all night, and
were fortunately relieved from further danger
By the breaking loose of gorge of Ice below
there. " Deaf John" one of John Haley's
Stage drivers, attempted to cross the Weiser
river with sleigh at the moment of the break
ing up of that stream, (havng on board the mail
agent and the U. S. mail, and Wells, Fargo
Cos. Express mail) when the ice gave way in all
parts, breaking into thousand pieces. The
driver cracked his whip and. remarked to the
mail agent, 81 can swim, can you?'' The sleigh
struck piece of ice on bar in the river, and
turned on the side, when the driver and the
agent held on and rode in that position-the
horses in the meantime swimming out to the
landing, all safe, with the exception of a thor
ough wetting The mail agent said ''if John
did not get the mails through in time no one
else could After the general break up there
was no possibility of crossing the Weser River
for four days; the boats5Aaving been lost or left
where the ice knocked them to pieces. One Fer
ry boat was lost at Olds Ferry on Snake river,
and another at Weiser. The best boat was
saved with some little damage, at OlGs Ferry.
One or two others at the ferries above were also
saved. The ice had about quit running in
Snake river on the evening of the 2Sth ult.
The hills around Boise City and the valies of
Payette, Weiser aud Snake rivers were nearly
bare of snow. Burnt River was very little af-
fected by the rains; not enough to break up the
ice; Powder river the same. The snow is so
light on the roads that from Straw Ranch to
Boise City it was necessary to run wagons, but
there was sufficient snow from Straw Ranch as
far as Proctor'S Kentucky House, six miles
above Union Town, and sleghing good. Nosno
of consequence in the upper end of Grand
Ronde valley, and the grass was uncovered on
the foot hills Of the mountains east of the val
ley. The sleighing was good from Summer
willie over to Warm Springs on Thomas Ruck.
les road, and the road in good travelling order
through to this place. The snow fell to the
depth of one inch at Warm Springs Hotel on the
night of Feb. lSt.
The Roads between Boise City and Owyhee,
and also Idaho City. were open again for sleighs
aud travellers after the high waters of the 25th.