The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-12-15
THE GREAT SNAKE RIVER VALLEY.
Wonderful Soil, Balmy Climate and
the Coming Country.

Boise City Il. IT, Cor. Portland Oregonion.
To most of the readers of the
Oregonian the country of which l
speak in the following notes is either
a new world or an old world, which
they saw, like myself until recently,
| under circumstances that gave them
a very distorted and untrue impress
sion of it. 1t is now rising in i'm
portance politically, enthusiastically
and commercially and it is well to
give it a more careful and intelli-
gent study than it has before re-
cieved. tits, in general, the south
ern and eastern portion of the Terri
tory-some time to be State-of
Idaho; tie "gem of the mountains"
[ write here mainly of a country ly-
ing along Snake river commencing
400 miles east of portland and about
400 in length and 100 miles in
breadth, or 10000 square miles in
superficial area. Only some general
characteristics can now be given.
The soil of the great interior re-
gion is so unlike that of the East
ern or Middle Western States that
men, even intelligent men, from
those regions passing over this are
inclined to pronounce the soil here
worthless. The best portion of the
soil of the Atlantic and great prairie
States is vegetable mould. 1t was
thoroughly leached and washed
years ago, and the minerals that en-
tered into it's composition have been
borne into the gulf on into the sea
by the drift and flow of the waters
that once covered it. Comparative
ly speaking such soil was exhausted
before many began to till it. Alittle
use exhausted what remained of it's
mineral constituents. In a moro
limited sense, too, this is true of the
valleys west of the Cascade noun
tains; the Willamette, Sacramento,
San Joaquin and the other valleys
where soils are sedimentary or
mould. But this is not true of the
vast region eastward of the Cascade
and westward of the Rocky noun
tains, and especially including the
Territories of Idaho and Utah and
the State of Nevada in and contig-
uous to the Snake river valley. The
soil of all this region is mainly the
result of the decomposition of vol
canic rock. The mineral salts re-
quired for the growth of all kinds of
vegetation are lying unleached in it.
in the true sense it is virgin soil"
and will prove the most lasting and
productive on the continent under
conditions necessary for its use and
which are sure to come. Still there
are some facts that we have long
observed that need to be noted.
The soil of the immediate valley
of the stream is good; rather, re-
markedly good; but the best of the
soil is that on the hills and noun
tain slopes. This is decayed gran
lite, gneiss, porphyry, basalt and all
kinds of lava and vocanic ashes.
So dry is the atmosphere and so lit
tie the rainfall that it's washing is
reduced to the lowest possible min
imum. When cultivated nothing
comparatively is lost from the soil
except what is taken into the growth
of the plant, and this will be hardly
appreciable after scores of years of
cultivation. The reason of this is
not far to find. The decomposition
of the elements of this soil is far
from perfect and constantly going
forward, and will supply all the
salts absorbed and consumed by the
vegetation for ages to come. Beside
the great overlapping mountain
ridges and ranges of volcanic rocks
are wearing and melting down, and
in one way or another sending their
recuperative power over the face of
the hills and valleys.
On the western slope of the con-
tinent the prevailing winds are from
the west. These winds define and
fix climatic conditions. They are
freighted with moisture as they
leave the surface ofthe Pacific ocean,
and are wrung nearly dry by the
rough grip of the Cascade SUBMITS.
By the time the Blue mountains
have wrung them there is very lit
tie of moisture left to fall on the
great valley of Snake river. Hence
the moisture precipitated between
the Blue and Rocky mountains is
remarkably little. There are no
great bodies of water east of the
Cascades to supply by evaporation
what the winds have lost on the
westward SUBMITS. Hence, SO far
as cloudless days and months are