River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1897-08-19
LETTER FROM THE WEST.
A. L. Lien Discusses a Corner of
Idaho. its People and Prospects.

| UPPER SNAKE RIVER VALLEY,
IDAHO, August /, 1897.
EDITOR JOURNAL,
Dear sir.-When | went away last
April l promised my friends to offer a
letter to the JOURNAL telling what
thought Of the Snake River Valley.
/ should have fulfilled my promise be-
fore but that desired to do the coun-
try justice, and give my readers as full
and correct a statement OF conditions
here as l could put together.
This upper valley is on an average
about 10 miles wide, from the lava
bed to the foot hills of the mountains.
The soil is very fertile and if properly
prepared and irrigated produces large
| crops. The surface of the land is
generally sloping, with swales running
| through il in places, and rising at
| other places into hillocks like broken
waves. These make the work of level
ing for irrigation very expensive.
The crops raised here are wheat,
oats, potatoes, timothy, garden truck
and alfalfa. OF these the most i'm
portant crop is alfalfa hay, which is
raised to feed cattle through the win
ter and will produce two large crops
during single season. The same
root, am told, will produce a crop
for twenty successive years without
re-sceding. We commenced having
here June 18th, took off heavy crop
of alfalfa at that time, and begin to-
morrow, Aug. 2nd to NOW the second
crop. Should the weather continue
favorable, with no frost, still another
crop may be cut before Oct. 1st.
We can still see a little winter snow
among the mountains, but it is fast
melting away.
1t appears to me that the people
here hang between two periods of
PROSPERITY, the good old times when
the boom was on, and the still better
time at hand, when men with money
will come from the East to purchase
the lands now held by corporations or
poor settlers The hope of this valley
rests upon the immigration of such |
bona rfide settlers as will improve
and till the land and go into the bust
ness of stock raising. This, it seems
to me, is the only industry that will
pay here; and with the sheep and cat
tie driven to the mountains in sum-
mo. al tod on no ralan fifpI yinlA of
alfalfa, should prove highly profitable.
All other farm products are too far
from any market to pay; and the val
ley as fruit region is not promising.
The farmers are very industrious,and
all-men, women and children-work
early and late, but the land will pro-
duce nothing without water, which is
controlled, almost exclusively, by the
corporations.
The corporations yearly sell more
water than they can furnish, and
when the hot summer sun comes
down on the crops the patrons don't
get the water; 50 farewell to crop, work
and all
Nearly all the land has been taken
up under the Desert Act. This gives
person the right to 800 acres Of land
by paying % cents an acre down, i'm
proving the land at the rate of 81 90 an
acIc for three successive years, proyid-
ing irrigation and finally paying cash at
the rate Sl.00 an acre when final proof
is made. Water is Of course the main
improvement, and being very ex-
pensive is often borrowed of a neigh
Dor. Under the Desert Act process
many lave obtained land, and after
getting the patent hold it at a high
price, though the Improvements are
not permanent and worth nothing to
the purchaser who has, BESIDES no
water-r ght to accompany the land.
From seven TO thirty dollars an acre
is charged for the land. Some of the
owners have managed TO mortgage
their land to the corporations, and
having abandoned it have no income
from it to pay either principle, inter
est or taxes. a quarter section is
generally assessed at 81, 900 and taxes
are per cent of the valuation.
The majority of the people are of
the Mormon faith; the rest are called
Gentiles, and are divided among all
religious denominations. The Nor
mons have their dances as well as
their religious services in the house
they call their church, and the Bishop
opens the dance with divine prayer.
Public schools here are managed on
the sameprinciple as in Wisconsin,
three commissioners having control
of all the precinct schools-with the
exception that the schoolhouses, as
well as the churches, are used for
neighborhood dances.
To sum up briefly: the people l have
met are generous, hard working and
honest: the climate is good, the air
light and dry. The sun is hot in the
day time but the nights are generally
cool. We have little high wind, but
plenty of dust. There is no mining
done here just now. / am told, how
ever. that as soon as the Snake River
is low enough lit has been booming
since May 1st, but is now subsiding)
some placer mining will be done along
its banks. This valley is all right,
perhaps, but advise no one with a
home TO come here at present. Its
best claim TO prosperity sits resources
for stock raising.
Wishing all we'll remain
Respectfully Yours,
A. L. LIEN.
For RENT.-The store room in the