The morning call., 1892-01-11
IpAHo.s PROSPECTS.

The slow and unsteady growth of mining
communities is well illustrated by the cen
sus returns from the State Of Idaho, which
was admitted to tie Union on July 3, 1890,
and now has two Senators and one Repre-
sentative in Congress.
The first settlers IN Idaho who were nu-
meTouS enough to constitute community
pitched their tents in the Valley of the
Snake and the Sbosbone soon after the war,
aud were shortly afterward REINFORCED By
fugitive miners from Nevada, who had been
let cut when the bouaHZas on the COmstock
were exhausted. By 1870 the Census Com
missioner found 1900 Of them altogether.
During the decade Of 1S70-S0 placer mining
continued with considerable success until
the placers were exhausted, and some
punches Of cattle were planted in the river
valleys BY the end Of the decade the Ter
ritory contained 32Gl0 people. In the fol
lowing decade quartz mines were opened.
railroads ran through the Territory, the
Occur d AleDe country was made known to
the world, SOM agriculture was attempted,
and the cattle-raising industry made prog
ress. At the end Of that decade, IN 1890,
the census-takers found a, $50 people in the
new State.
The argument on which the advocates Of
the Omission of Idaho relied was that it
was contiluOus to one Of the most pr0mls-
inc States in the Union. Oregon, and that
It's northwestern boundary line was the
northeastern portion Of Washington. as to
whose growth and future prosperity no
doubt can be entertained. No facts were
shown 10 justify the belief that the future
growth Of Idaho would be commensurate.
Its destiny appeared to be to remain, at any
rate for some years 10 come, a land OF
pastuTaEe and mining; and the population
OF such lands IS always thin and 1lUctuating.
In the valleys Of the Snake, the SboshOne,
the Salmon. the Clearwater and the SpO-
kane agricultural settlements may gradually
be founded and may thrive; but the slopes
Of the Bitter Root range, the vicinity OF the
mountains lying east Of Boise City, and the
country bordering on Wyoming-that IS to
say, f0ur-tfths Of the State-appear to have
very poor resources, except their mines,
and these are not uniformly prosperous.
Their are countries whose mines appear
to be inexhaustibIe. The tin mines Of Corn
wall, which are the source Of much Of
England's wealth to-day, were worked in
the time when Carthage was at the height OF
her prosp erity; the argendferOus lead mines
Of Spain were in full blast at the siege Of
Saguutum, and supply the London market
with lead to-day; some of the silver mines
Of Mexico and Peru would yield to-day,
under skillfuI management as much metal
as they did in the DAYS of the Toll
tees and the Incas. But the great
mines OF thisE e0untTy, such as these
Of Nevada, Colorado and North Carolina,
appear to be Of short-lived produCtiyeness,
rf~ fer 1Flr11
paratively brief periods of time. il may be
that tile exhaustion IN Nevada IS more ap-
parent than real, ana that peyseverlng
search viii lead TO the discovery Of new ore
bodies and to a pTolougatiOn Of productive
life for the mines. But for the nome :
apparent exhaustion is as fatal 10 the
growth Of n ming community IS the real
article. Tie mines from Which Sci mon
got the gold for his temple have been howl
ing wlderHesses for couple OF thousand
years.
The intelligent settler viii pitch his tent
in regions where the farmer is taking the
place Of the cowboy, as in California. or
where men earn their daily bread from the
fruits of the forest rather than the fruits Of
the nine. a glorious future IS opening I'D
for that grand young State-WaShington-
whose soil VIII furnish timber fer building
purposes for centuries to come, and every
part Of vii .ch is accessible from tie sea by
wide and deep estuares and no human
folly can permanently prevent the accom-
pl;sLmeut Of CsliflTnia's destiny 10 become
the orchard of the world As to States less
b.est by nature their future viii always be
more CT ass uncertain and more or less de-
pendeut On accident y discovery Of large
deposits of $50 ere would attract multi
tude Of people to Idaho; but when the de-
posts we're dug out and earted away they
would probably depart in search Of pastures
/ retv