The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1903-08-13
AN EASTERN TRADUcER OF
NEVADA LANDS.
Amusing Collection of Mis-state-
ments by an Eastern News
paper Correspondent.

are fool in the world, just so lorg wi
there appear IN the great papers o
the East and elsewhere, just such ar
ticles as that n the magazine section
OF the Lewiston, Me, Journal OF Jul.
ls %. 1908.
1t Is but one of a series of papers will
ten by a travelling correspondent, un
der the heading of From the Atlantis
TO the Pacific" by one L. c. Bateman
and relates 10 Nevada almtst exclusive
ly. Whatever else Mr.. Bateman ma,
be, he certainly is untitled for the tai
he has assumed. Any man so gfossl,
ignorant of any portion of the countr,
> over which foates the Stars and Stripe
{ 10 untitled for citizenship. But her,
are some sample sentences. Were th,
Lewiston Journal OF lesser standing
they would probably strike the aver
age Nevadan only as humorous:
During the early night we passed
Truckee, another of the famous Calf
ornia Gold Camps OF early days, ant
the last town before crossing the line
into Nevada"
Thus Mr.. Bateman crowds no les.
than four mistatements into his intro
ductory sentence.
I'VE next Pass Bonner Lake" No.
ECO. A paragraph OF eight lines about
Bonner Lake contains four mistate.
ments. Then comes tho following gem
I'VE awoke this morning amidst thr
sage brush of Nrvaoa. Great noun.
tains, white with snow, lay but a shori
distance on either side VIII 10 the tabl,.
lands between them was to appearance,
but a desert. Irrigation might do muci
for this country, aud it would seen
that this might be accomplished. a.
there are numerous creeks, while III,
Humboldt river winds It's swift way
close BY the line of our track. Blu
here comes the same old difficulty thai
was spoken Of in New Mexico and Arr.
Iona. Wherever there is irrigation.
there the plains become more whit,
with the alkali. The seepage of tho
water does this, and it is the creates;
problem that our government as GO
to confront In the reclamation OF vast,
lands. Already s.. 600, 600 has been 40
propriated to be used In experimenting
on these arid Western lands, aud gov
eminent experts are busily eng ,ged IL
the work. just what the end will b,
the future alone can tell. II the oni,
result Of irrigation is TO turn these
lands into alkali, then they might a.
well remain as they are, The seepage
question is an important one, and thus
far wherever We have found water
there we have found alkali The mosi
abundant"
OF course there Is no such scenery in
Nevada rs he describes, and equally oil
course the Truckee river IS never
known az the Humboldt" The ref.
erence to the ''alkali'' being Increased
by irrigation and the ''sespage' theor,
so far as Nevada is concerned, is Of
course an absolute falsehood. In tLi-
case Mr.. Btteman's usa OF IL Is mere.
ly based upon a profound ignorance OF
the subject. Also an i~nexcusable ig.
nora &c. Any man competent TO trav.
el for a big newspaper. writing descrip
tive articles OF the country through
which he passes, should be possessed
OF common sense. There arc just
twelve misststements in that para.
graph.
Then the following:
"When l pulled the curtain of m,
berth, this morning, the first oil set
seen WAS q little cross erected in tht
ssgebrush. 1t told u pAthstic tale.
Some weary Traveller here lay down l..
rest, and In the far Of East some ach-
ing heart may still be waiting for his
return. The ear may be strained tn
hear the familiar foOtstep. but all l.
silent. Alone Al d In quiet he sleeps IL
this desert land where paught save tn. |
last great trumpet can break bis long
repose. 1t is but the oil, old tale, |
and va wonder II some higher c~lyiliza- |
ton will not some day break the magic
spell and power of gold, aud teach man
xind that some higher destiny than
searching for the golden fleece Is
theirs"
This paragraph, absolutely untrue.
may be dismissed merely with the re.
mark that 1t Is a very weak attempt to
Introduce u BIT OF desert poetry into an
article by an Incompetent s%riter, II IL
plagerism of Mark Twain's matchless
descriptions in ''Roughlng It," Mr..
Bateman saw no cross and the strained
and "achirg heart" business Is
what We Westerners call ''rot'' pure
and simple.
After telling his supposed to. be.cred-
.,lo,,o raads that the Diutas maka a
speciality of drinking ''irewater'', this
says:
How they subslst no n seems TO
know, but snakes and horned toads ar,
believed to be their princi.
pal articles Of diet"
Think OF that. Nevadans. coming
rom Q locality where there are public
,chools and from q section OF the coun-
,ry but Q few hours ride from the
Smithsonian Institute and the great
National Museum.
The squaws are hideous looking
and even more scan'iiy
iiessed than the bucks They know
,othing Of modesty.'
The News will venture to make the
,ssertion that Mr.. Bateman saw less
n either end of any Piute squaw ex-
,osed. than he will see exposed hy fash
ladies' at an eastern ball. or
their way over a street cross
ng.
Mr.. Batenan enjoyed another priv
=. .ftr II nuAa he.