Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1883-11-07
WOOD RIVER.
AER ADVANTAGES GRAPHICALLY
DESCRIBED.

Her Mineral Wealth, Agricultural Fa.
cilities, Social Features, ETC., Is Told
by the Receiver Of the HALEY Land
ONCE.
Correspondence Oswego (Eas) independently
HALEY is on Wood River, about rs
miles from where its waters flow mo
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 ~ 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 rus!,cs
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 nl.e; they are the mountain
trout. 1t is Il pleasure to catch these
spry little fellows, and is no less
pl 'dsure to eat them when they are
properly served on the table. But |
be eve | was speaking Of Haley.
We Haley is little wooden iowa,
only two years old, regularly laid out,
but built up flog houses, box houses.
a few neat frame buildings, and sope
brick and stone structures. A new
and magnificent courthouse is now I'M
der construction at a cost of $4,000.
A three-story hotel, about the size OF
Abbot House, of Parsons, is nearly
enclosed, and many small dwellings,
ere III course of erection.
Now let me give you few prices
OF both necessarics as we'll as luxu-
.ieS. 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
l5 cents per pound, beef 23 cents per
pound, and although the market is full
Of fruit, yet the prices run as follows:
Pears 70 cents per ponnd, green APP
pies 20 cents per pound, grapes rs
cents per pound, tomatoes p cents
per pound, peaches rs cents per
pound. There is no nickel change
here, aad rarely ten-cent piece is
seen or used. Punched coins 90 all
night, and Me xican as we'll as trade
dollars as good as any. am told that
viii &y 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
Wood River Branch of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad. Hundreds Of
carloads of bullion and orc are
shipped from here to Omaha for smelt-
ing and refining. 1t is no unusual
thing to see at the freight depot 1000
bare of silver stacked up awaiting
s;i'nment; nor to see ten or fifteen u
mule teams hauling bar silver from the
s"lelte's to tie depot. There are
plenty of lawyers here, plenty of doc
tor, and superabundance CT loaf
ers. l.aboring men ale in demand at
y } per day. Mechanics have been
cutie busy and in demand, but work
is now t little slack. Carpenters get
s. per day, stone and Liicl.las crs s..
per day, painters IS per day, and
bric!>makerS from 81 to SIS per day.
Now | will speak Of the surround
ing country that is tributary &c Hal
ley, aud which will contribute to the
building Up Of a snail city here in
the near future. First, TIE mi,eral
country is one vast succession CT
mornt.lin ranges with here and there
n small fertile valley, through which
wayon-road runs, over which supplies
are hauled to the mines and mineral
brought from the mines. Aud then
from these small fertile valleys dozens
OF narrow gulches reach up Iii various
directions where often C. wagon-roAd
cannot be constructed, hence the
pack mule and the train are brought
into use. 1t is somewhat amusing to
a fresh kansan to sec them load up
these trains of pack mules. Boxes
Of canned goods, kegs of nails,
kegs of whisky and every conceivable
Thing is tied on the backs of these
animals and ono after another they
string out forming line mile in
length, and they thus fret ght goods
for hundreds OF miles up narrow
CLUTCHES and over III, untan passes to
the various interior mines, and on re-
turn bring bags of ore to the smclters
There is no end to the mineral il,
This country. have visited several
Of the popular mes near Haley and
have seen million dollars worth of
'rc al one sight. There are hundreds