The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1895-09-12
WILL 1T COME AT LAST7
Pleasing Prospect that a Long, Long
Needed Water Supply Will, be Had
A Letter.

We spoke last week or there being
hattering prospects of at last getting
a sufficient water supply for the i'm
mense tract of fertile valley land
south of Weiser, and which, if OBJ
tanned, would be worth thousands to
this place.
The old proposition of construct
ing the "Payette & Weiser Canal
was apparently abandoned some time
ago, it being too magnitudinous to
handle. Mr.. Pence now makes an
offer to the farmers at this end of the
"bottom' which appears to be very
fair one and about the best that can
at present be contrived If they will
buy shares in his ditch and enlarge it
TO twelve feet on the bottom as far
as Al Jacksons place they may run
water through it and from there take
it anywhere they like at their own
expense and without charge, except
perhaps proper share of the annual
maintenance of the upper end.
In connection with this matter, the
following letter received by Ed Bar
ton is of interest:
CAMPBELL, CAL, Aug. 90, 1895.
Ed. Barton, Esq. Weiser, Idaho.
DEAR SIR:-I see by the Payette paper
Mr.. Pence has proposed to you lower set
tiers to extend the lower Payette ditch the
same as lot of us did year or two
since. except he wants you to pay HIM for
his right of way or ditch. If Pence asks
too much you can force a right of way,
the same as Coughanhour did Il few years
since up by Falk's Store.
have been in this state since the 9th
of May last. studying irrigation, fruit
culture and the California simplifying
process for curing fruits, and find we can
practically apply all three TO our section
fnd no great change here since | left
the last time QS77), and think | know
enough of that neighborhood extending
from the Hunt ferry to the Weiser river
to intellgently compare it with different
sections of this state, and | am perfectly
satisfied we have there one Of the best
French prime belts north of SanFrancisco
and we will not be far behind any other
neighborhood in pears, peaches and april
cots and all our small berries will be
equal to our French prunes. If | am
right our neghborhood, if rightly man
aged and pushed, should, in eight years
from now, be the richest neighborhood in
Idaho and near the equal of any in the
Union. Outside of city limits every
twenty acres of about 80 per cent OF that
land will make an orchard home FOR a
family and ten acres will be plenty in
most cases. A family can do just as well
there on five or ten acres of our best land
as they can here, and can show you al
most any number of families here thai
live independent off of the gross produc-
lions of their five and ten acre homes.
Now what has been accomplished here IL
the past Is years can be brought about
there by united effort, if we will profit
by the experience of these people here
who have been so successful in making
the most of country it admitted of anC
getting the most out of it there was in i
for them
Now | am drawing the subject milo
when | tell you these people would CONF
up there and plant all that land that l.
suitable to fruit, from forty feet above thu
ditch to the river banks then scientific
ally irrigate it from the Payette ditch, anC
have enough water left to irrigate as mucl
more land. have seen them do equal.
that much here and know they can do
there. | therefore say, as nelghborhoo
we have no more use for two bitches thai
wagon has for two tongues. The none
and labor required TO construct anothe
ditch had far better be expended plantn
and cultivating orchards. or course
was once very DESTROYS of our bulldin
the new ditch, but it was when had lo'
all hopes of ever getting the old ditc
company to do anything. | am satisiie
you can buy enough shares of the oil
company TO get enough water de livered
end of their ditch at cost of not ov
80 80 per acre, and it looks to me as
$3.50 per acre more would extend u
ditch to the Weiser river. You woul
then get water for your land at % p
acre and have company to keep u
ditch in repair for you. Now, where
there any settlement outside OF that tn
has got wafer for less than $40 per acr
Besides, our system, with all our blu
ders, is the cheapest maintenance syste
/ know of, and when we adopt scienti
irrigation (Which is nothing more th
applying the water on the land IN I
manner long experience has taught o
leading irrgateos to be the right way,
will not be 20 cents per acre, one we
with another. that is after all the land
cultivated. You will be surprised he