Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-07-29
IDAHO'S SEVEN DEVILS.
An Extended Trip Through a Wild
Section of the Great Northwest.
Curious Natural Phenomena Hunt
er's and Fisherman's Paradise.
Some Of the Resources Of Idaho
Ranges Of the Cattle Kings.

Special Correspondence DEMOCRAT
WEIsER CRY, Idaho, July 22d.-The
name Idaho is derived from the Indian
word "e-dah-o, (which means, "Gem
OF the Mountains" Nomore appropriate
name could have been found to represent
this vast Territory; for it can truly be said
to be a gem of the mountains, relieved by
an occasional valley or sage-brush prairie,
and interspersed with lava-beds. The
valleys are quite numerous in the south
ern half OF the Territory, being mostly
fertile, though to a great extent sparsely
settled and affording good grazing grounds
| for the thousands of cattle and horses that
roam them at will. The sage-brush
praires are destitute of water, and cannot
| become productive without the aid of arti-
! fetal irrigation; or, in other words, inn
/ mense canals must be cut along their
| highest borders and parts of those rivers,
now confined to one stream, turned into
them. Several such canals are now in
! course of construction, and upon compile
ton will augment the tide of immigration
/ to this Territory, to an extent unprece-
denied in its annals Canals would not
/ be necessary if the rainfall were equal to
that of northwestern Oregon, or Wash
ington Territory, both OF these being
favored with the mists from the ocean;
but this not being the case, the rainfall
is inadequate, which necessitates the aid
of artificial irrigation, even in those
valleys where the small streams are num-
erous.
! THE LAVA BEDS ARE BARREN WASTE OF
IGNEOUS ROCKS,
Resembling the "clinkers, :" or residue of
the coal and iron taken from the black
smiths forge, and, outside of patches Of
sage-brush and bunch-grass- mostly con-
fined to the deep hollows in which lava
beds are prolifc-would not afford living
to iack-rabbits or sand-hill cranes. From
the action of water or air, the lava-beds
have become SO contorted and filled with
cellular openings, that in some places it
is impossible to cross them without the
aid of planks and ropes. Another curl
GUS feature is that nearly all the noun
tain streams upon entering them find
these underground assures and disappear
entirely from the surface. Big Lost River,
for instance, sinks no less than twenty
times in distance of 80 miles of its
course, and finally disappears altogether.
Those places where the streams disap-
pear are called "sinks," and are distin-
guished by the uneven and Doggy state of
the ground and dense growth of reeds
and rank grasses. The ponds and small
lakes enclosed by these rank meadows
are favorite resorts for swans, geese,
ducks and numerous species of snipe and
plover; but the hunter needs Il "spy
boat to hunt them successfully The
lava-beds extend from near the "Three
Tetons," in Western Wyoming, through
Idaho, northern Nevada, Oregon, Wash
ington Territory and California, and
nothing short OF the melting down of a
large range of mountains could have
formed such an extensive deposit.
SNAKE RIVER, THE LARGEST AND LONGEST
RIVER IN IDAHO.
Cuts through the lava, from near its
source TO its confluence with the Column
bia, and within its length presents some
grand scenery, notably, the American
Falls, Twin and Shoshone Falls, and the
Grand Canyon.
| have spent the summer in the vicinity
of Grand Canyon, prospecting for quartz
mines, that section being known as the
"Seven Devils" cOunty-named from a
group of badly contorted porphrytic peaks,
seven in number. Our party explored a
portion of country never before visited by
white men, having in one place spent
twenty-three days travelling nine miles
cutting our way through labyrinth of
fallen timber; digging trails around huge
granite cliffs, and building bridges across
mountain torrents, upon which to cross
our pack-mules. Our manner of building
, a bridge consisted in telling large tree
across the streams, trimming the limbs
off the upper side, and laying smaller
trees along each side for the full length of
the bridge, letting them rest upon the
untrimmed branches. The smaller trees
prevent the animals from slipping off
while walking on the round top of the
log None but trained animals can be
induced to cross one OF those narrow,
shaky bridges, as one mis-step would hurl
them to destruction. They seem to real
ize the danger and walk very carefully.
THE "sEvEN DEVILS" ARE so ROUGH AND
PRECIPIToUs
That we were unable to climb to the top
of some of them. AT their base, on the
east side, are six lakes, clear as crystal
and of great depth; while on the west,
Snake river winds through Grand canyon
with its perpendicular walls, thousands
OF feet in height, and looks like a with
ing black serpent as it rolls over immense
rapids. From the top of Devil No. 4"
| gazed with silent admiration upon the
strange handiwork of nature displayed on
every side. To the west, and over forty
miles away, were the perpetually snow
clad peaks of the Eagle mountains of
eastern Oregon, with their white tops
glistening in the sunshine, and a green
border OF vegetation encircling them
lower down, forming what is known as
the climber line" Behind me were the
lakes, nestled among broken peaks and
within timbered basins, with blocks of
ice floating upon their surface and great
banks OF snow piled up around them;
while just in front Snake river could only
be seen by stretching full length upon the
rocks and looking over. Those who
never experienced it cannot imagine the
thrill of underlined dread that seems to
pervade the form and paralyze the
muscles while looking over a precipice
more than mile in height 1t is hard
to realize that your body is still on terra
tirma, as your head seems as large as
barrel and your body and the rock upon
which you are clinging feel mere atom
Facing the north
WE SEE THE GREAT CGUR D'ALENE RANGE
In the dim distance, while mountains of
lesser height fill the intervening space,
broken by huge canyons, from which
pour the many tributaries of Salmon river
soon to be in confluence with Snake
river, sixty miles north of our position.
To the south are rolling hills, sheltering
many valleys. Nearly all of these valleys
have been settled up for number of
years and are dotted here and there with
fine farms and orchards. Some of the
unsettled portions, though meagre in size.
! snnr,al o tLn,,..i, .l,.,x.