Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1882-02-24
John BROWN IN THE WEST,
BANNER, Feb. Is, 1882.

ing in the Elmira Free Press of Janu-
airy 26th lecture delivered by John
Brown, headed "John Brown in the
West" describing it to the Chemung
Valley Tobacco Club. AS items in
this country are all frozen up, l shall
turn my attention to this subject. In
the commencement Mr.. Brown dwells
at considerable length on the word
West, which he says is very indef-
mite, being like the rainbow-retreat-
ing as you advance. Finally he
strikes out across the vast level plains
OF Ohio and Indiana, sails across the
great Mississippi and Missouri rivers,
and on till he finally lights bang in
Denver City, Colorado, at which place
ne fixes the center Of the continent, or
hub, as he calls it. From here he
starts on his journey through the far
west, dwelling at considerable length
upon the general appearance and
grandeur of the great Rockies, which
no doubt was very interesting to his
audience. We next find him in Og-
den, Utah, the extreme limit west of
the Union Pacific Railroad. Now we
find him comfortably seated on the
Central Pacific, still journeying West,
giving very intelligent descriptions of
the country from thence on to Boise
City. Here he seems to have lost his
ideas, for certainly the description of
the country lying between the latter
place and "our camp" as he calls it,
meaning Banner, is very imperfect,
for which l think he deserves little
spanking. He says within a radius
of thirty or forty miles about our camp
nothing whatever can be grown from
the soil, and it is vast waste Of bro
ken. land, and lava beds, which have
evidently been produced by force of
heat, are scattered around. Now, Mr.
Editor, while we don't claim this as
an agricultural country, we do con-
tend that within the bounds above
mentioned is included a great deal of
fine land on which there is considera-
BILE Of produce raised every year, and
there is no reason why there should
not be enough raised within ten miles
of Banner to supply half score
of such camps, and Mr.. Brown couldn't
pick out a quarter section of land
within the limits above mentioned, on
which the timber alone, if he could
place it within reasonable distance of
his city, wouldn't be veritable bo-
nanza. AS for the lava beds, | can
say that / have resided the last fifteen
years within these bounds, and think
| am perfectly familiar with the coun-
try. In all my ramblings | have new
err vet seen one lava bed within forty
miles of Banner nor anything resen-
bling one Mr.. Brown says, in speak
ling of the mining interests of the
west: II would say that there are
various kinds of metals found, princi-
pally gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc
and lead. The precious metal mines
consist of two kinds, viz, surface min
ing and quartz or hydraulic mining
lit is in the latter mines, he says, that
silver is principally found. Now,
when we take in view these grand old
mountains, pine-clad and picturesque,
i with their roaring rivers and crystal
brooks, teeming as they are with the
choicest of the finny tribe, which the
} weary traveller and pleasure seeker
!, haul out with delight, and which to
them are a perfect feast, and behold a
imam who has spent the greater part
of three years in their midst, pronoun-
, cling them a barren waste, can we
wonder at him lecturing the people
back East on extracting silver from
quartz by the hydraulic process. Come