Bisbee daily review., 1906-06-10
A RARE DAY IN JUNE FOR
 IDAHO
Uncle Sam Will Put Up to the Highest Bidder a Rich Farm- ing Country,
2,000 Acres Containing Three Townsites Will Be Disposed of at Auction This Month.

will be a rare day in June in Idaho this year-an unique day-one with out precedent Uncle Sam expects to invite members of his numerous fam fly from all parts of the country to an unusual event in the southern part of the state.
 He will offer for sale about 200o acres of land, contained in three town sites, situated in the heart of great tract of 130.0 acres of rich and fer tile agricultural land, which will be watered by the Minidona pro.ect, a great national irrigation work, costing s2.600. 900.
 The townsites are all plated, with wide streets and bouleyards, with parks, and extensive areas reserved for public buildings. The lots are to be disposed of to the highest bidders for cash. They look sufficiently deso- late and forlorn now, but with the opening of the canal headgates they will bloom forth luxuriantly.
 Under the wise provisions of the reclamation act all of the agricultural lands have been cut into farms of for ty and eighty acres, so that the in stant the lands are brought under cul- tivation this tract. now covered with sage brush, will become one of the most densely populated farming com munities in the country. Its pres perity is assured by the splendid wa- ter supply furnished by the big gov ernment canals and ditches, and this prosperity is guarSnvee Of the future success and substantial growth of the towns which Uncle Sam proposes to foster there. The proceeds rom the auction sales will be returned to the irrigation fund"
 It requires a visit to this section to appreciate the wonderful transforma- ton which follows the construction of one of these great irrigauon pro iects of the government Two years ago the Minidoka country was an un- inhabited sage brush plain. The rail- road was miles away from it. and it seemed destined forever to serve only as haunt of the jack iaDo;c and the Sbulking coyote.
 River Difficult to Harness.
 Far below the plain the Snake river cut its way through a canyon, the rug ged 4escarpment rising above the swift flowing river and offering no oppor- tunity for the pioneer with his simple ditch to lead the water out upon the lElTatN SUI. ouly SkiiiSu backed by vast capital. could cope with such a proposition as this. Many engineers without tae necessary wherewithal had looked at it, but it's great cost had forced them to give it up. With the passage of the recla- nation act on June IT. 1902, one of these engineers who had joined the government force, rushed a field party to this point, and in a single season prepared and presented a set of plans for a comprehensive system of irriga- ton. They were accepted. and bids were asked and contracts awarded for construction.
 To irrigate this broad expanse of plain the Snake river must be lifted from it's bed. dam was laid across the stream at Minidoka rapids, a great rock fill structure fifty feet in height and $50 feet long on top. which raised the water surface forty-seven feet at flood level and backed it up for thir- ty-fiye miles. The dam completed will cost nearly half million dollars. When the immense gates in the di- version channel are lifted, the water will pass into the high canals on both sides of the river. and be led from them through hundreds of miles of lat erals to every farm in the valley.
 Swift Influx Of Settlers.
 The initiation of this great work was followed by an influx of settlers from all over the country. and soon every farm division had been filed upon. While the government pro ceeded with it's construction of the dam and it's canal system. the settlers were busily engaged upon their own buildings. The coming Of large num- bers of sattlers created market, and storekeepers. doctors and mechanics of all classes fiocked in. Today a population awaits the completion of the canals and ditches.
 Already a Business Center Scattered here anc taere fn and around the towusites are 12z mercan- tile institutions waiting for the town lot sale 80 that they can move over upon their own property and no longer remain tenants by sufIerance oi the government.
 The irrigable lands of the Minidoka project are at an elevation of 4200 feet above sea level. The maximum temperature of this section is 9e de. g-eos. minimum, f2 degrees below and mean 45 degreeS. humidity 5S per ccnt. The rainfall varies from | 3 tn iS inches per aunu7si.@.s -Tne soil and climate are adapted to wide variety cf crops. Owing 10 the Importance oi the live stock industry in this section alfalfa and other forage crops wifi always find a profitable market. Al the vegetables and fruits of the north temperate zone may be grown here.
 With ail these manifold advantages and resources it requires no partlcu lar gift of prophecy to predict for this section. and particularly for the new towns. prosperous future and rapid growth. They will have tremendous advantage over other new towns in the matter of cheap power. The great dam will develop ample power, which can be transmitted economically tc these towns and utilized for munich
 psi and other purposes