Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1893-11-17

iithh tiidt AittS httu Ilol ne 81 Dlg
in diameter or stand so very close
together to scale eight or ten mil
lion feet to the quarter section
Here among the finest. smooth
est and most accessible of this tim
Der, following fresh upon the blaze
of the |. ;. surveyors, the Mar
quette party selected their claims
to the number of eleven, making a
solid block of white pine of over
100 million feet. On these claims
all but three of the party are now
building houses and there they will
live for the next fourteen months
at least.
1t may seem strange that this
timber should stand there on the
river bank unmolested until now,
but the problem is easily solved.
1t has been, until now, unsurveyed.
The surrounding country has been
settled by farmers and stock rails
ers, who wanted prairie land for
grazing and tilling. and do their
best they always had more trees
on their meadow claims than they
wanted. 1t is not uncommon to
see big pine trees girdled to die
and be burned down. absolutely
destroying what, if preserved,
would make them rich quicker
than raising wheat at 30 cents a
bushel, even at 80 bushels to the
acre, or horses at 81 a head.
The balance of the population
being miners had no use for timber
beyond what they needed in their
mines, that they could cut any
where and they did. Big lumber
men from the east all went to the
coast as Idaho was off the road,
and so the great primeval forests of
the Clearwater with its 5000, 600
600 feet of timber has been left to
the deer, elk and bear and no
woodsman's axe has ever shocked
its virgin solitude. The Clearwater
is the north boundry of the great
Nez Perez reservation, which is
soon to be opened to settlement,
the allotments having already been
made to the Indians. AS the lands
are far richer and more valuable
the rush will be greater than that
recently at the opening of the
Cherokee strip. On this reservat-
ion and throughout the state this
great belt of timber will find an
active market. Mills heretofore
could not be run because the Cover
ment owned the timber. but now
the time is not far away when
some one will be reaping the rich
harvest which pine barons know so
well how to gather.
The only way to obtain these
lands is by homesteading. They
cannot be taken as timber claims
for the soil upon which the timber
grows is the richest fruit and grain
lands, every foot of which may be
cultivated.
The cost of living in Idaho may
be judged from the prices of var
ious articles as follows: Beef four
cents. finest stake to 8 cents per
pound; beer Is cents per glass, two
for 20 cents or 1.-TWO bits" as the
twenty-five cent piece is known.
Best flour S2,75 per barrel, kero-
sene 40 cents per gallon; pork Is
cents; calico 10 cents; butter 30
cents and other things in proport-
ion. Meals, except in the very best
hotels, are uniformly % cents
throughout the west. A haircut is
% cents and n shave or shine %
cents. Gold dust is the same as
money, good saddle is worth SIS
and is n standard article of COM
merce and worth as u rule three
good horses.
The town of Kendrick, which is
headquarters for Michigan people,
has about 1000 population. 1t is
IN the deep canyon of the Potlatch
river and is nearly a mile in length.
Its citizens determined, enterpris-
ing and energetic. The town was
swept by. fire about a year ago and
has been rebuilt more solidlv than
before. 1t now has many substan-
tial brick buildings, among which
is the St. Elmo hotel, most COM
Portable house kept by Mr.. NJ. c.
Normoyle, who is also prominent
i'll various local enterprises and
president of the board of trade.
Every possible courtesy was shown
our party by Mr.. Normoyle and
other citizens. On the high ridges
around kendrick are fruit ranches
that even California might be proud
OF and not drop of irrigation is
needed. With James A. Grimes.
veteran prospector and business
man of kendrick, for guide we
were given free access to prunes.
peaches, pears. apples, etc. to eat
to our hearts content One fine
orchard we visited, belonging to
Mr.. Lee r. Carlton, contains 81
acres and will clear a profit of
So, 900 this season. Mr.. Carlton
Is a model farmer and fruit grower
There are excellent liveries in
kendrick. We patronized Mr..
Hunter who has plenty of good
l.. 4 4