The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1897-10-20
TRIP THROUGH CHURCHILL
COUNTY.
Observations Of a Courier
Reporter.

hcp0ftefr
Ii one starts south from WadsWorth'
on the road to Saltwater, he soon be
gins to wonder how Churchill county
manages to keep in existence, Tor ali
around seems to be a barren waste.
1t is sixteen miles from Wads~orth
to the first house, a watering station
called The Well. From there it Is about
eighty miles to Ragtown, the scene o,
many u camping out party in the
days of 40. IL was at Ragtown that
the emigrant rested their teams and
prepared for, the last climb over the
Sierras.
On the site OF the old settlement there
is "A farm house, and some out buildings
Many of tho "emigrants died at thF
place during the plague caused by drink
ing s~tagnated5 water in one OF the early
years OF over land travel, but not one
grave now retains distinguishing mark.
A few miles beyond Ragtown II
comes to a more cultivated section and
many prosperous farms dispel the I'M
promising view he first gains OF the
country. Assemblyman Lem Allen has y
large farm, and at his home he has a
store and postoffice, st. Clair. Lem Is
postmaster and his daughter, Miss Daisy.
is the obliging assistant. St. Clair post
office supplies the rich farming district
along New river, a section that would be
more prosperous but for its distance
from the railroad.
Last year Lem Allen tried an expert
ment with sugar cam and raised enough
to make sixty gallons OF molasses. The
result WAS so pleasing that he planted
three acres this year, which has matur-
ed, and from which Lem hopes to make
800 gallons of molasses. If the molasses
turns out we'll it will be worth a dollar a
gallon.
Saltwater, the county seat, is forty
five miles from Wadsworth, on the line
OF the old overland stage road. Until
two or three years ago there was a tele-
graph office there, but it was then closed
BY the Western Union and the County
Commissioners bought tile wire and con
vertad it into a telephone line between
Saltwater and Wadsworth. There are
about ten stations on the line and the
service is free for all.
Saltwater is u small bunch OF tamble-
down shanties, the occupants of which
are county officers. either actual or
w~ould-be, a Court House, a store and
postoflce, a saloon and II hotel, where
they serve fried bacon three times a day.
The people OF Churchill county are
satisfied with their condition. They pay
a tax rate of $3.50 or much less than
the true valuation OF their property. 1t
would be impossible for them to main
tain a county government were it not
for the fact that there is a short piece of
the G. =. railroad track (about 26 miles,,
assessed at about 1895 900, which is
nearly CWO-IniTu5 Vi Lille tOUdi dSSeSSIltnb
roll Of the county. Most OF the property
there consits of cattle and sheep, and
the cattlemen have the same trouble
that they are having in other parts OF
the State to keep the ranges free of wild
horses. There is q movement on foot to
kill them off, regardless OF brands and
marks, notwithstanding the law passed
at the last session OF the legislature
which pretends TO correct this evil.
There is an abundance OF game along
Carson Sink. Ducks, geese and quail
furnish plenty OF sport for Wadsworth
and Virginia specimens, who go in there
every fall.
The roads in that section are in splen-
did condition. In places for miles at a
stretch they are smooth and hard as a
floor, but near Saltwater they are very
sandy.-Genoa Courier.