Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1908-08-06
WORD FROM
FALL0N. NfV.
I.R. Stevenson Writes From That
Place and Tells Some lnlereSt-
ing things

four thousand feet above sea level.
All the land covered by the Car
SON Trucker Irrigation project was
a de sert in the full sense ct that
term. Rag-town, nov called Sect
willie. is on the Carson River sew
en- m lies West of Fallon In the
old guide-books used by the ox-tesm
imm igrants so or more years ago
Rag town assumed the Importance
Of haven of safety and rest.
Foot sore and furnishing pioneers
and their worn-out cattle found
there pure water to duench their
raging thirst at the eud OF the last
forty-five miles Of slow creeping
over barren wastes and desert
sands.
All roads that led from civiliza-
ton crossed this dreaded desert
somew here, for the desert reaches
f. ON Harvey Lake ia Oregon to the
Gulf of California IN Mexico.
From the last water of Humbolt
Sink to Rag-town, was the shortest
route between watering places
known in 1857, wheu my father
with his large family crossed the
desert at this place. We lost but
fe " cattle, nor did We leave any OF
our loved ones dead on the desert
as so many wete obliged to do be-
fore and after Us. Several
streams empty their waters into
this vast waste. The term
sink" applied to the shallow
lakes and lagoons formed on the
Desert by the rivers, is mis-
leading. The waters do not sink,
but just spread out and evaporate
under the almost boiting heat of
the summer sun. No trees, nor
even willows, except very small
and scrubby kiuu, grew any
where along the streams after
they reached the plains. 1t is just
a dead stretch of level sand and
parched, baked flats so to 100
miles wide and thousand miles
Iong In spite OF the iorbidding
aspect of this whole region, the
soil is really GOOD anu easily put
in shape for abundsut crops pro-
vided only that sufficient water
is available for irrigation. Alfal-
ia, beens and potatoes seem 10
succeed we'll ana are at present
extensively cultivated. have seen
several fields OF really good bar
ley and some wheat. The market
for farm products Is good at pres
ent owing to the proximity of
the new miners. imagine 'he
potatoe business is likely to be
overdone this seasor. as all the
settlers seem to hsvs gone in for
potatoes and the markets Of Me-
vada are mifed
AS to ths fulIcs p-os2s3ts an
hopes of the settles here, | am
not very well prepatei 10 speak.
The climate seems TO be healthfll
The summers are warmer than
one would expect, though they are
not very long. WUus not eX-
cessively cold in winter, irosts
often occur up 10 June, and come
again about October ist Good
drinking alter is found most every
we within ten 10 twenty feet OF
The surface OF the ground. Nc,
there is very little alE1li below the
surface. Fruits such as apples,
plums, peaches sn5 small fruits
do we'll. Most OF tie settlers are
very poor Evidently very few Of
them had any conception of the
amount of work, time and expense
necessary to get one OF these new
farms opened on s-il-supporting
basis. The government charges
s22. so and $50 per a-re Tor water
rights. Besides thece is a main
tanaincs oharse o 40 per acre
each season.
The first ins,alluert of the pur
chase price OF water S2.50 an
acre falls due this Fall Very few
can pay this installment and the
settlers are uneasy lest the pow ers
that rule may insist on the Jaw
aud the contract Surely no one
at all acquainted with the tre-
msnduous difficulties confronting
the poor settlers. the privstion,
toll and hardShfnS they endure
trying to build up home and
shelter for their loved ones,
would wish to see the Govern
ment crush their hopes by de-
manding the impossible payment
of this pound OF flesh. Most
of these settlers are men with
wives and tie children. They
we're nearly all driven to this des-