The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-08-10
CAssIA COUNTY.
idaho People Who Are Fairly Pros
VarouS

porous.
Despite the fact that Cassia county,
Idaho. has not one mile of railroad
from which To draw her tax revenues,
the people are fairly prosperous. But
the inch system of distributing water
together with the uncOmmonly dry sea-
son is diScOuraging many OF the late
settlers. The stream known as Raft
river is lower than it has been for
three or four years, as also are -tfmo
ana CasSia creeks.
Now, for the first season of settle
ment On Raft river all the farmers
have been entirely denied water for il
Tigation.
Two cattle firms by reason Of prior
right, monOpoliZe the entire stream.
These -rancherS never raised one spear
OF tame hay or pound Of grain until
the late settlers started to do so; pre-
viously the beaver dams backed the
waters over their wild meadows, where
a few tons of hay were secured for
saddle horses, and the fields left for
winter grazing.
Many would-be thrifty farms how
line the banks of the stream from
source to outlet into Snake river.
Since 1888 the farmers have never
failed to raise crops until the present
season, and during these years the or
lginal water claimants have done all
their real agricultural improvements;
but being better to-do than the small
farmers, they have brought under cul-
tiVation more land than their poorer
neigh bors: now the full capacity of the
How OF the creek is not sufficient to
satisfy them.
Judge Berry decreed each settler
water in accordance with the land he
had under cultivation, but his success
scr. Judge Stockslager, reversed this
decree and gave full preference to the
prior rights. which grants to the
Keoghs and Jim Pierce several hum
dred more inches OF water than ever
flows in the creek bed in ordinary sea-
sons.
If this later decision holds good in
the future, as il has this season, Raft
river will be depopulated from source
10 mouth; in fact. the mischief viii not
end here, the tributaries viii next be
seized, as this land league continues to
bring under cultivation their thous-
ands of acres of lands, and their wild
and reckless cowboys will be holding
''round ups" where now fields of al
falfa and ripening grain wave back the
trespassers.
Frank Langford. a hitherto law-abid-
ing citizen, has been arrested and pros
ecuted for allowing the waters Of the
river 10 flow over a section OF his lu-
Germ. of which he has some 200 acres
perishing for the water which has here
tOfore never been denied him.
If we could only call UP the ashes OF
the fathers of irrigation the wise lead
ers Of early Titan, who divided the water
into days and hours, where each farm
er was allotted time instead Of inches
for irrigational purposes, and place
these sages in our judgment seats, our
lands would prosper. And where now
is a lone ranch there would be a town.
The people Of Albion are much elated
over the location of The state normal
school building in that place. The eX-
cavauon is well under way, rock haul
ing has commenced and brick making
will rapidly follow.
The intention is to complete the
building ready to be opened for this
fail term of school.
number of other substantial build
ings, including d hive for the Busy
Bee" will go up this fall. Albion with
her Two papers, churches and state
normal school, will soon rank as
town eff no mean order
\. 4. HOVEY.