Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-10-04
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
Our Editor Gives His Impression of Things
in Southern Idaho, &C.
DEAR READERS OF THE FREE PRESS

DEAR READERS OF THE FREE Press
Time works wonders. We used t.
hear much about the difficulty Of com
munication between the northern an,
southern counties of Idaho, but on thi
trip was fortunate enough to max,
the trip from Grangeville to this plac,
in 36 hours, II distance of 556 miles, o
which SO miles was old-fashioned stag
ing. This Unprecedented recorl wa,
made by two of us hiring one of Fell,
Warren's spanking teams immediatel,
upon the arrival Of the Mt. Idaho stage
at Lewiston and making hurried ride
to Pomeroy, where we caught the west
bound midnight train and from thence
all was plain sailing. 1t is luxury to
travel nowadays in the elegant Pull
man cars and the new dining cars on
the 0. r. q N. aud Union Pacific sys-
TENS are vast improvement over the
eating houses on the road. and elegant
meals are served for seventy-iive cents.
The drouth appears to have been uni
versal all over the northwest, and from
all could hear there are very many To-
calities that are much worse of than
Camas prairie.
1t is singular, too, that everybody ey-
erywhere have the same presentiment
that a hard winter is ahead of us. and
each one has different reason upon
which he bases his prediction. In one
of the Indian wars I served with a scout
who said he had an infallibe method OF
foreteling the temperature of coming
winters by observing the growth of moss
on the southwest corner of a mules tail
but he was more frequently wrong than
right in his predictions, and didn't
know any more about the weather than
Indian Dick, who answered my oues-
tion as to whether the coming winter
would be ahard or open one, "mebbe
come heap much snow, mebbe heap
cold; no can tell" From which l in
fer that the noble red man knows as lit
tie about forecasting the weather as
"old probabilities" who runs the wealth.
er bureau at Washington.
This Weser country, when knew it
in former years. was the finest stock
range in America, but latterly sheen in
countless thousands have been driven
in and now the hills which formerly
had growth of bunch grass knee high,
are as bare of vegetation as the paper
on which | write, and SO far as cattle
growing is concerned, "Ichabod" may
as we'll be inscribed upon its banners.
for its glory has departed forever. The
town of Weiser is taking on new life
and the outlook is more hopeful than in
the past. The mining interests north
have been partly the cause of the new
vigor, since the town will reap good
trade from both Mineral and the Seven
Devils districts. A fine brick school,
house to cost about $1,000 is being
built and will be completed at an early
date. The Odd Fellows have let con-
tract for hall to cost about 81, 600, to be
of brick. 30x70 feet, two stories. O. NJ.
Harvey is building nice residence
costing $1,000.
Around Payette. where all was sage
brush five years ago, there was raised
this year some three hundred thousand
pounds of wheat, which is being ship.
ped to Boise for manufacture into -four;
over four thousand tons of hay and
medium crop of oats. Frank Mass has
10000 pounds Of alfalfa seed, raised on
his farm this season. One of the most
attractive places to visit in Idaho ia the
nursery farm belonging to Whitney
Brothers. Just five years ago they be-
gan clearing off the sagebrush, and now
q quarter section of land is covered with
long rows of fruit and ornamental trees.
various kinds of berry vines
and bushes, and all that go to make up
large nursery. This is an excellent
object lesson, showing how the desert !
may be made to grow, bloom and bear
fruit and flash out in beauty by the ap-
plication of labor and water. The en-
tire valley around Payette, Weiser and
other towns along the Oregon Short
Line is being improved by cultivation.
A. F. P.