The Oskaloosa herald., 1905-06-15
OSEALOOSA BOY
ENJOYS NEVADA
csclL N. CARPENTER ~ NOW
TRAVELLING rHERE,
THE BIG GOVERNMENT CANAL.
Some Thrilling incidents of t,'s nDiid
lnp--Mllllonalre Stokes HoUse
How Men spend Lives chss.
lnu Gold.


Des Molnes, Iowa, June 10 Cecil
N. Carpenter. late OF Oskai1asa Ia
TOW located In Nevada, nlllng good
position as travelling salesman ln
a letter which he has just written to
bis parents here, he gives some idea
Of the natural domain OF the state OF
Nevada AZ the time the letter was
written he was at Golconda, New,
and had been at Fallon, one OF the
yoar.oId towns situated in the center
cf the district 10 be irrigated by the
groat government canal, the Carson
and Truckee project, and will sure.
y become a fine town. II Is the
county seat of one OF these counties
which are as large as some OF the
states, and already has substantial
brick business houses. Money Is
plentiful, and especially now, while
the canal Is in construction. Every.
ono is prosperous" says Mr.. Carpen.
ter. Away out in the middle Of this
now desert land you can sec Oti the
line OF the ditch the smoke STACKS
Of a power plant which VIII furnish
tho necessary power for the opera.
tIon Of the canal when completed, and
will light the canal from end to end
with incandescent lamps. The scum
Of humanity is employed on the ditch
and not for a million dollars would
drive alone through the district.
They told me that twenty.one lifeiess
bodies mad 80 far been dragged frJII
the ditch near the main camp.
"OnIy six OF these bodies have been
Identified. All had been murdered
in some foul way--usually by blow
from q rock on the back Of the head.
All of the victims were workmen
who had been killed when they were
known TO have little money, from
gambling or after pay day.
THE government was appealed to,
TO check such a state Of horror, and,
incredible az It appears TO me, was
unable, or without Jurisdiction, to
stamp 1t out As consequence the
people Of HaZen strung up a man
about six weeks ago for simple at
tempt at hold.up. Since then there
has been some Improvement"
At Austin Mr.. Carpenter thinks
that IN q weeks time, and by the ju'
diclolis expenditure Of little money
for drinks, newspaper man could
uncover a bonanza ledge Of tale and
fable from the graybeards who still
stand around there. You would zee
one old feIlow--but walt minute.
had some time to kill and walked
up the canon about half a mile. In
the side OF the mountain I noticed a
good sized hole, surrounded by fresh
waste and after getting back re-
marked 10 my customer and said ]
supposed some one had made a
strike. He laughed and told me that
the hole had been worked by one
man continuously for twenty years,
In the belief that always just ahead
Of him was the ledge, on which,
higher up, an earlier strike had been
made. He had now gone a thousand
feet into the side OF the mountain,
and that It had not been two weeks
since the old man, now 10 years old,
had told him, the customer, that he
was 10 strike the ledge with a few
feet more OF work.
Austin lies in the bed and on the
sides OF an elevated canon, six thou
sand feet high, and consists OF a dis
Arrangement Of frame and adobe
houses, half Of which are In ruins.
You ascend for half a mile up the
canon, and from the road you look
across opposite and see another road
leading up 10 n solitary square stone
building, which more than anything
resembles a watch tower This tow
or stands near the summit OF lower
mountain and oyerlooks a desert val
ley from ten 10 fifteen miles In
width, and extending irregularly to
Battle mountain, ninety miles away.
"The house which looks like q
tower is owned by stokes, the New
York millionaire, and was built by
him to be used for a residence while
on visits TO his property, which In.
cIudes the railroad, as well as most
Of tho mining property OF the town.
He goes there infreqL entity now, and
I believe, does not occupy the
house"