The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1904-08-10
FRANK BURLINGTON
Writes of Wonderful Things
i'm Idaho.
Shoshone, Idaho, Aug. /, '04

AAOW AOW l. 11hCO bAC w CSIs GU. 1
have found very little time for cor
respondence so will send you a few
words of general information and
will depend upon your kindness and
facilities for delivering them.
A glance at the map will show
you one of the largest sage brush
plains in the United States stretch
ing from Wyoming along both sides
of the Snake river to far beyond
the western boundary of Idaho.
The Rocky Mountains running
north from Colorado seem to have
lost their wav and can be seen in
broken chains in almost every di-
rection in this vicinity. On the
north about 60 miles distant is the
famous Saw tooth range extending
in an east and west direc tion and
at present almost entirely covered
with snow. In this range are Sol
dier Mountain, Thunder Mountain
and several others noted for their
mineral wealth. On the south and
and west are the Blue mountains
about the same distance away.
Between these ranges courses the
Snake river on it's bed of lava rock
and twenty-five miles south of Sho-
shone are the wonderful Shoshone
Falls. And wonderful they are in
deed! It is generally conceded by
those who have visited both, that
they far surpass Niagara in grand
eur. While Niagara carries a
greater volume of water, the depth
of fall is not so great and the sur
rounding scenery is not so grand.
The perpendicular depth Of the can
yon at Shoshone Falls is 900 feet.
The water falls two b hundred and
ten feet over Jagged rocks in such
a manner that it is reduced to spray
and mist before it reaches the bot
tom of the canyon.
Like Niagara the falls are soon
to be harnessed and will furnish
power for numerous enterprises. A
twelve foot tunnel is being built
which will tap the river just above
the falls and will carry the water to
a perpendicular pipe sufficiently
large to furnish thirty to forty
thousand horse power.
But one not familiar with the
locality would ask, "Of what use is
all this power in the heart of a
great desert?" The company will
furnish power to develop the rich
mines in the ranges to the north
and south, but their greatest
source of income will lie closer at
hand, for this sage brush desert
will soon be transformed into fine
irrigated farms. Two irrigation
projects alone will reclaim upwards
of 400, 1000 acres of as fine land as
can be found anywhere in the
United States.
The largest of these is the
Twin Falls Land and Water
coupany's ditch. It will furnish
water to 270, acres and is the
largest irrigation project in the ..
5. The ditch will be SO miles long,
81 feet wide at the bottom and 12C
feet at the top and will carry 1C
feet of water. The company has
bullt huge rock dam in the Snake
river 25 miles above the falls which
will divert the water into this
ditch. About % miles of the ditch
are already completed and the dam
will be finished this fall when water
will be turned on for the first time.
The completed ditch will furnish
water enough to irrigate 10000
acres of land which the company
has placed on the market and near.
ly all of which has been sold.
This project is being developed
under the Carey Act passed by
Congress in 1894. Under this act
the government ceeded the desert
land to the state and the state con
tracted with the company to fur
nish water under very favorable
terms to the settlers. With every
acre of land purchased the settler
gets one share in the water com
pany, thus when more than half o
the land has been sold the settler
obtain control of the plant and art
required to pay for only the actua
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