Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1884-07-28

THE CENTRAL TOWN OF THE GAR.
DEN OF IDAHO.

the Rancl,crs--All the Crops Doing
Splendidly-Even the Volunteer Crops
will Yield IS to As Bushels to the
Acre-Etc.
"A TINES reporter paid the new town
of Soldier, on Camas Prairie, visit
yesterday. Soldier is situated on
sandy bar formed by the successive
deposits from Soldier creek, and near
the very center Of the "Garden Of
Idaho" There are dozen new build.
ings, and more are going up AS lum-
Der can be obtained. There is a
butcher shop, kept by Charles Smith;
a saloon by Pitt Smith and Frank
Peck (the two Smiths being we'll
known in HALEY as the sons Of J. l..
G. Smith, of the Hot Springs); two
hotels the one kept by Uncle Peck,
who is also Postmaster, the other by
- White, 4 brother of + A. White,
Of HALEY; stool: Of general mer-
chandise is moving in from Silver
City; Alex Sifers has lumber yard,
but no lumber as yet, as his mill can.
not keep up with the orders on hand !;
a schoolhouse is about to be erected !;
also town hall, ETC., and it is fondly
hoped that the firm Of Sebree, Ferris
& Holt will open a branch there in
time for the fall trade. Altogether
Soldier is looming up, and as it is the
nearest available point to Little and
Big Smoky mining districts, it's future
is undoubtedly assured.
Politically, Soldier and the adjacent
country is Den ocratic but the TIMES
man was assured that, outside of ma.
tional affairs, the people of that region
are not "bigoted" in politics, and that
the 100 or 200 votes on the prairie
would be cast for the best men, ire.
spective Of party. For Sheriff, Don
Mckay stands in the lead, as he went
on Squire Abbott's bond as Justice of
the Peace, and rendered other services
to some Of the settlers, which they APP
preciate. 1t is therefore likely that,
in the convention, Camas Prairie Tor
Soldier, at least) will shout for Don.
Mckay.
Some of the settlers in the vicinity
OF Soldier have been greatly damaged
by the depredations of the thousands
upon thousands of heads Of cattle that
roam at will over the prairie, and
ranchers who have yet been unable to
erect fences are kept on the alert
fighting off cattle, day and night. The
herds are usually in charge of cow
boys who want to do the fair thing,
but the cattle will wander off, at
night, in search of tender grain shoots,
and do much damage. Nor is an i'm
perfect fence any protection. Mr..
White, for instance, who had put in
70 acres of oats. apple trees, walnuts,
ETC., had fenced this in with substan-
tial posts, to which two lines of barbed
wire had been solidly aft xed by sta
Fles. Some of the posts were even
protected against cattle by barbed
wire twisted about it, SO the cattle
could not rub against them. Well,
that did not protect his crop. y week
ago last Thursday night about 800
head Of cattle broke IN, and eat or
tramped to death the whole field.
When Mr. White visited it, the fol-
lowing Sunday, he saw that the entire
crop was destroyed. He may save
some OF the apple trees, but nothing
else. He thus suffered loss of about
$1,000. The seattle" had PULLED
OUT the staples from several posts,
raised the upper wire to the top Of
the posts, aud CUT the lower wire es if
with shears, and thus gained an en-
trance. Intelligent cattle, that.
Another, but poorer family which
moved in last fall, wist,red in hut
hard by, and put in a fine plo, Of veg
ctables, were broken in upon about
the same time, and half their garden
sass" destroyed before the cattle were
driven of. Loss, about $500. These
are but samples.
The fact is that there is a conflict
between tho cattle and ranchmen, ON
Camas Prairie, that nothing but the
strong arm Of the law will put u stop
to. And as the ranchers have come
to "stay," the cattle men will have to