Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1883-11-05
WOOD RIVER.
HER ADVANTAGES GRAPHICALLY
DESCRIBED.

Her Mineral Wealth, Agricultural Fa'
cilities, Social Features, ETC., as Told
by the Receiver Of the HALEY Land
ONCE.
Correspondence Oswego tKas) 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 rushes
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 ni.e; they are the mountain
trout. 1t is pleasure to catch these
spry little fellows, and is no less a
pl assure to eat them when they are
properly served on the table. But |
be eve I was speaking of Haley.
We ], Haley is little wooden town,
only two years old, regularly laid out,
but built up oflog houses; box houses,
b few neat frame buildings, and some
brick and stone structures. a new
and magnificent courthouse is now un-
der construction ut cost Of $4,000
A three.story hotel, about the size of
Abbott House, of Parsons, is nearly
Enclosed; and many small dwellings,
IRE in course of erection.
Now let me give you a few prices
ut both necessares as we'll as luxu-
ries. If you start out with your mar
ket basket to provide for dinner you
will be required to pay for Irish pota-
toes 3 cents per pound, sweet potatoes
Is cents per pound, beef rs cents per
pound, and although the market is full
Of fruit, yet the prices run as follows
Pears rs cents per ponnd, green APP
plies 20 cents per pound, grapes %
cents per pound, tomatoes 70 cents
per pound, peaches rs cents per
pound. There is no nickel change
here, and rarely a ten-ccnt piece is
seen or used. Punched coins 90 al
right, and Me xican as we'll as trade
dollars as good as any. l am told that
whisky at the bar is rs cents drink
II merely throw in this last bit Of in
formation for the benefit of some o.
our Owego friends who have been talk
ing about coming up herc.)
There is all immense amount O.
business done here, as hundreds o
mining camps procure their supplies
At Haley, this being the end of the
Wood River Branch of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad. Hundreds o
carloads of bullion and orc ar,
shipped from here to Omaha for srnelt
ing and refining. 1t is no unusua
thing to see at the freight depot 1000
bars OF silver stacked up awaiting
ehinment; nor to See ten or fifteen II
mule teams hauling bar silver from tn
sn,elters to the depot. There ar
plenty OF lawyers here, plenty Of doc
tors, and supcrabundancc of loaf
ers. l.aboring men alo in demand a
% per day. Mechanics have beer
quite busy aud in demand, but worl
is now little slack. Carpenters ce
IS per day, stone and brickIayers $
per day, painters s. per day, an'
brickmakers from 81 to IS per day.
Now | will speak of the surround
ing country that is tributary to Hal
lev, and which will contribute to tn
building up OF small city here i
the near future. First, the minera
country is one vast succession O
mountain ranges with here and Their
a small fertile valley, through which
wagon-road runs, over which supple
are hauled to the mines and miners
brought from the mines. And the
from these small fertile valleys dozen
Of narrow gulches reach up IN varieu
directions where often n wagon-roa
cannot be constructed, hence tn
pack mule and the train are broueh
into use. 1t is somewhat amusing t
u fresh kansan to see them load u
these trains of pack mules. Boxs
of canned goods, keg. of nail'
kegs of whisky and every conceiyabl
thing is tied on the backs of thcs
animals and one after another the
string nut forming line Il mile i
length, aud they thus freight good
for hundreds OF miles up mario,
gulches and over m untain passes t
the various interior mines, and on re
turn bring bags of ore to the smeltor:
There is no end to the mineral i
this country. have visited severa
of the popular mines near Haley an
have seen a million dollars worth {
orc at one sight. There are hundred
I'LL