Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1883-11-02
WOOD RIVER.
HER ADVANTAGES GRAPHICALLY
DESCRIBED.
Her Mineral Wealth, Agricultural Fa.
ctlities, Social Features, ETC., as Told
by the Receiver Of the HALEY Land
Office.

cilities, Social Features, Etc., as Told
by the Receiver OF the HALEY Land
Office.
Correspondence Oswego tl<as.) independently
Haley is on Wood River, about rs
miles from where its waters flow into
the Snake river. 1t is small stream.
no larger than the Labette at or near
Chetopa. But, O! the clear, cool
water that rushes down this small
stream, which has descent of 20 feet
to the mile, is 80 grand, that to one
who is accustomed to the sluggish
streams OF Southern Kansas, whose
waters are green with filth and skum,
cannot help but admire the country
for even the pure, cold water; and
when we stand and gaze upon this
pure, sparkling water as it rushcs
down over the hundreds of cataracts.
we feel as though we could drink al
ways and never have enough. The
fish that arc found in all these streams
are very nlue; they are the mountain
TROUT. 1t is pleasure to catch these
,;Npry little fellows, and is no less a
f@pl Asure to eat them when they are
properly served on the table. But |
be eve | was speaking of Haley.
We ], Haley is a little wooden town,
only two years old, regularly laid out,
but built up of log houses, box houses,
a few neat frame buildings, and some
brick aud stone structures. \ new
and magnificent courthouse is now un-
der construction at cost of $4,000.
A three-story hotel, about the size of
Abbott House, of Parsons, is nearly
enclosed, and many small dwellings,
are in course of erection.
Now let me give you few prices
OF both nccessares as well as luxu.
rles. If you start out with your mar
ket basket to provide for dinner you
will be required to pay for Irish pota-
toes } cents per pound, sweet potatoes
10 cents per pound, beef % cents per
pound, and although the market is full
of fruit, yet the prices run as follows:
Pears - cents per pound, green APP
pies 20 cents per pound, grapes rs
cents per pound, tomatoes rs cents
per pound, peaches rs cents per
poulid. There is no nickel change
here, and rarely ten-cent piece is
seen or used. Punched coins 90 all
right, and Mexican as we'll as trade
dollars as good as any. am told that
whisky at the bar is Is cents drink.
Il merely throw in this last bit of in
formation for the benefit of some of
onr Owego friends who have been talk
ing about coming up here.)
There is an immense amount of
business done here, as hundreds of
mining camps procure their supplies
ut HALEY, this being the end of the
Wood River Branch of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad. Hundreds of
carloads of bullion and ore arc
shipped from here to Omaha for smelt
ing and refining. 1t is no unusual
thing to see at the freight depot 1000
bars OF silver stacked up awaiting
sh'"ment; nor to See ten or fifteen T.
mule cams hauling bar silver from the
smelters to the depot. There are
plenty of lawyers here, plenty Of doc
tors, and a superabundancc of loaf
crs. l.aboring men a'c in demand at
So per day. Mechanics have been
quite busy and in demand, but work
is now little slack. Carpenters get
s. per day, stone and bricklavers S,
per day. painters So per day, and
brc!lmakers from 81 to IS per dav.
Now ! will speak of the surround
ing country that is tributary to Hal
ley, and which will contribut.. to the
building up of a small city here ia
the near future First, the mineral
country is one vast succession of
mountain ranges with here and there
small fertile valley, through. whic',
wag'n-road runs, orr w':lci Supplies
are hauled to the mines and mineral
brought from tho mines. And then
from these small fertile vailcys dozens
OF narrow galches reach up IN various
directions where often wagon road
cannot be constructed, hence the
pack mule aud the train are brought
into use. 1t is somewhat amusing TO
a fresh kansan to see them load up
these trains of pack nudes. Eoxes
OF canned goods, kegs of nails,
kegs OF whisky and every conceivable
thing is tied on the backs of these
ANIMALS and one after another they
string out forming line IA mile in
length, and they thus freight goods
Tor hund els OF miles up narrow j
gaIches and over mc untan passes to t
the various interior mines, and on re-
turn bring bags of ore to the smelters.
There Is no end to the mineral IN s
TINS country. | have visited several v
OF ihs popullr mines near HALEY and $
have seen a million dollars worth of .
orc at one sight. There arr. hundreds
OF these wei! developed mines and
there are thosands of prospects that