Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1883-10-18
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.) Independent Mt. !
HALEY is on Wood River, about rs
miles from where its waters flow into
the Snake river. 1t is a 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 80 feet
to the mile, is so 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 PUSHES
down over the hundreds of cataracts.
we feel as though We could drink al
ways and never have enough. The
fish that are found in all these streams
are very nice; they are tho mountain
trout. 1t is a pleasure to catch these
spry little fellows, and is no less
pl assure to eat them when they are
properly served on the table. but |
be eve ! was speaking of HALEY.
We ], Haley is little wooden town,
only two years old, regularly laid out,
but built up of log houses, box houses,
few neat frame buildings, and some
brick and stone structures. A 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 necessaries as we'll as luxu.
r'es. Ii 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 IS cents per
pound. and although the market is full
OF fruit, yet the prices run as follows:
f,ears 20 cents per pound, green APP
pies ~ cents per pound, grapes rs
cents per pound, tomatoes q cents
per pound, peaches rs cents per
pound. There is no nickel change
here, and rarely ten-cent piece is
seen or used. Punched coins 60 all
right, and Me ican as well as trade
dollars as good as any. am told that
whisky at the bar is rs cents drink.
merely throw in this last bit of in.
formation for the benefit of some of
our 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 /,
at HALEY, this being the end Of the I
Wood River Branch of the Oregon 5
Short Line Railroad. Hundreds of t,
carloads of bullion and ore are |
shipped from here to Omaha for smelt- {
ing and refining. 1t is no unusual
thing to see at the freight depot | 900 r
bars OF silver stacked up awaiting :
shipment; nor to see ten or fifteen II.
mule teams hauling bar silver from the I
smelters to the depot. There are
plenty of lawyers here, plenty of doc
tors, and a superabundancc of loaf !
crs. l'aboring men are in demand at {
% per day. Mechanics have been v
quite busy and in demand, but work v
is now little slack. Carpenters get
- per day, stone and bricklayers ~ f.
per day, painters Is per day, and 4,
brickmakers from 81 to IS per dav. 4
Now will speak of the surround.
ing country that is tributary to Hal =
ley. and which will contribute to the
building up of small city here in
the near future. First, the mineral
country is one vast succession of
mountain ranges with here and there p,
small fertile valley, through which a (, 70
~agon-road runs, over which supplies II
are hauled to the mines and mineral to to
brought from the mines. And then IN
rom these small fertile valleys dozens Is
IT narrow gulches reach up IN various "
directions where often wagon-road y
cannot be. constructed, hence the
pack mule and the train are brought
nto use. 1t is somewhat amusing to
fresh kansan to see them load up lis
hese trains of pack mules. Boxes
II canned goods, kegs of nails, -
,egs OF whisky and every conceivable
hing is tied on the backs of these
'nimals and one after another they 9
trng out forming line mile in in,
ength, aud they thus freight goods OF OF
or hundreds OF miles up narrow M:
:ulches and over mountain passes to
he various interior mines, and on re-
urn bring bags of ore to the smelters.
There is no end to the mineral in
his country. have visited several
the popular mines near Haley and
have seen a million dollars worth of "
70 at one sight. There are hundreds Jos
4