The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-11-04

1ne OREGON short Line and IL
Propoosd Branchee.
me Idaho Ana 0z0goo La0d In
provement Company.
bailey. .lts eurrouDding lllooo
and Rich Productive
Lands.
0tc.. H., ITO.
SPECIAL Cosssspon6ooee At ~ AluR1.
HALEY. Idaho, OF. ., 1soR.
In my last letter I promised b tell
your readers something further q
the Oregon Short Line Railssad, asd
the Wood River country. That IT.
ter was written at The tesDinuD o(
the road, 80 miles west of HoeaAelDe,
where our panty Was n eaaaD aWoit-
ing the arrival u teams 10 e9svey .
across the Great Amsslean Dsssst.
We left llsn camp o. The DosDing
Of October 18Th, taking ~ lsvsl
grade Of the track to9 our road, which
We followed, EXCEPT where not oom-
pletej, to Shosho0e Junetioo, . d..
tanee Of q miles. Thess Ut rsmaias
to be graded of this portion a H.
road not more than Ave miles, Pc.
haps not % many, bst I pat ths d.
tance at The furthest limit. These =
one gap of two miles On which
ground has not been broken. II
other plaees there are spaces q from
= quarter Of . mile to mile . b
closed up. The whole work y us6es
contract, including The bsIdging, aod
should the weather coaatinue EeaDe0-
ably fair until January I, lseA the
,ssGa :.@tlk b. 81 1etsd 70 ths Jsse-
lion BY that t.lke. The track lAying
f'rce previously encaged east q Po-
catello, has been tSsnsSesTed to that
portion Of the road west q the ter.
minus, and track laying b now pro.
gressipg 1t the rate Of ono and .
quarter miles per day.
From American Falls TO 6hoshone
Junction the road b almost IN air
line. 1t seems TO have been the OBJ
ject of the company to have straight
line. thus making tho ruad ~ short
as possible. Much timc and money
might have been saved In c0nstruc.
ton by winding about to avoid some
Of the great hetis Of lava through
which the road passes. This, how
ever, has Not been done, aud the line
js succession of heavy cuts and ilIs
for miles AT y stretch. A. have said
before, this portion Of the road has
Leen very .ssely In constructing, and
the same may be said Sor the greater
part Of the whole line. From Sho-
sl.one west on the main line the
character Of tine country u about the
same ~ that east of these-S eontin-
uation Of the American Desert, until
the Boise Valley il reached. The
branch fiOm Shoshone Junoajo0 to
HALEY il s. miles In length, two
thirds of which passes over lava beds.
The remaining distance runs over
the valley lands Of Little and Biz
Wood Rivers, and is len expensive to
grade. The work h being we'll done,
however, and the road will b hrsa-
class when finished.
In my former communicati"ns l
spoke of the scarcity Of wate: along
the line from Snake River west, and
cited the story Of the man and tho
sick mule. After the experience our
party had In making the trip. I DO
not in the least doubt the story. At
one Of the g,aders' campo water be-
to be hauled . distance Of . miles.
and, after careful figuring, Il has
been found to cost exactly nine cents
per gallon. there are employed st
this camp upwards Of 100 men besSdss
half - many animals. The water y
conveyed in tanks, set Upon ordinary
wagons, and two days b cosssmed
in making the trip. Other camps ase
eight, ten and fifteen miles from
water, and have to resort to the same
means to obtain II, at . cosrespond-
Ing cost. Freighten engaged IN
transporting supplies to The oont'ao'
tor, have attached to each wagon one
or mora ~ gallon casks, which are
filed with water before startling
across this arid waste. II they have
luck, and get through % time, veil
and good, but II not. they have to d.
pend entirely upon the muddy pools
II water formed BY rainlA)ls OF melt
Ing SHOWS, and ~ It seldom Ea'ns u
this locality. thst source Of supply y
MT hy any n,eans sure. Some o. the
member, Of our party being railroaA'
oflIci:.ls. we were very we'll treated
and gratuitously furnished WIN
what water we needed BY the ra,'-
mad eOntr,ctors, whenever tt VA
nossioDe 10 make one of their camps
for y stopping place.
Sl,oshA.e Junction b - naasso
from the fact of its being the janeeSos
of the Wood river, Of Haley branch
with the main line and IT. psox'mi'1
.to sltoshops Falls on Snake rive''
.ome IS or - miles. distant. A town
containing perhaps 10 OF sm peoPse
has already sprung into existence
here. Little Wood river - encoun'
,.r,., here coming down from 'ne
north, up which the HALEY oFa"e''
,,rt,,e rcad runs, seldom leaving 'nt
,,rea ;. to any great distance. Wooo
n:.,... y,.,l..v at the lDOine OF 1u0ctOu