The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1892-01-14
WHEN WILL We AWAKE?
And Do as our Neighbors
are Doing.
Progress of Irrigation up
the Road.

article that instantly fills us with a
long chain of thoughts to which we
find it difficult to give expression. 1t
is given below. Read it and perhaps
you, too, will be struck with the COM
parison we have in our minds eye
between Weiser and Mountain Home
Weiser, with unbounded opportuni-
ties to become wealthy from the i'm
mense body of fertile land immedi-
ately surrounding her, is calmly lying
dormant and making no effort to
secure that one sure medium of pros
perity-sufficient irrigation facilities.
Mountain Home, with, perhaps, much
less eligible surroundings, goes to the
east, whispers gently in. the ear of the
capitalist of her future possibilities
and the sure and profitable means of
investment, and brings back the man
with money to build gigantic canals
and make the desert bloom as the rose
and yield never ending harvest of
golden shekles. Read the tale of
progress at Mountain Home and i'm
agine how it would sound if applied
to Weiser, then wonder why we do
not go and do likewise.
A visit to the Mountain Home Irri-
cation company's works on Sunday
was the pleasure Of the Range and
Valley scribe, and indeed the progress
being made was more than our most
sanguine expectations had antici-
pated. Tho company, through their
contractors, Messrs. Frank p. AXE,
of this city, and G. G. Tautphaus, of
Idaho Falls, are now working force
of so men and 60 teams, and have
thus far done their work as follows:
Running tunnel, within the mouth
of which to establish the head gate,
which will be of iron, eight shifts are
working, two from each end, and by
means of sinking a shaft in the cen
ter, two shifts are working each way
from that The entire length of the
tunnel, it being in solid rock and of a
very hard character at that, is about
300 feet, 200 of which is now COM
pleted, leaving only 100 feet yet to
go. This work will be finished up by
the Goth of the present month.
Then of the right and left wing, all
told of which will be 1000 feet,
nearly one-half is now done, it grad
ing from one foot to Is feet high in
the center, with a width of about forty
feet on the bottom.
An excavation for the dam proper
was made to bedrock, about 10 feet
deep and 200 feet wide, when work
filling in commenced, the dam being
made of clay, an excellent quality,
too, mixed with about $40 gravel.
The bottom of the dam, in the bed OF
the creek, is 210 feet wide, extending
from one bank to the other, and will
narrow to 100 feet at the top. Oi
this dam a breast work of forty feet
in width has now been run up to 9
heighth of Is feet, so as to protect
the remainder of the dam in case OF
an early thaw, also to enable them tc
continue right along even if there
should come freshet before the work
shall have been entirely completed,
which the managers think will bt
accomplished ere the closing days Of
February.
Frost has given some trouble ant
extra work, but by the use of blasting
powder, exploded every few feet at ;
depth from underneath the frost, tn,
ice has been kept broken, permitting
the plow to loosen up the dirt for th,
scrapers. -Four pits are now in work
ing order, underneath of which th
wagons are being loaded with scrapers
Thirteen wagons are kept busy haul
ing forty loads per day to the. wagol
when working on the wings, but whel
dumping on the dam proper nearl
r double that number are being hauled
which at present time is the case, tn
dam being raised about three fee
each day.
The building of the canal is pro
, crossing finely, and can easily
completed by the time the reservoi
; will be ready to receive the water
which are intended to be conveys