The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1910-02-08
The PROMOTER.
BY G. B. Dunham.


THE SCHEME 0. the California Con-
solidhted Ditch company com
prised dam across mountain stream,
a storage reservoir, q canal several
miles in length curving around the base
of granite butte, and farmers galore
upon the subjacent plain. The com
pany was capitalized ut 81 900, 600, and
its sole assets consisted of articles of in
corporation, office furniture, and pro-
moter. This may seem high inventory
value for promoter, but a good one is
worth it, and this man certainly had his
work cut out for him.
With an empty treasury, it became
necessary to reverse the rule obtaining
IN similar engineering operations of be-
ginning at the head of the works, and to
secure first the land, secondly the set
tiers, and lastly the water. The lands
included in this proposition were in
use as grain fields and sheep ranges, and
rs such were valued at but few dol
lars per acre. With water for irrigation,
they could be subdivided into ten-acre
fruit farms and sold for 20-fold their
present value. The problem before the
promoter was to buy these lands With
out money. to sci, them without water.
and to ret rich from q. commission of Is
ner cent. The comnanU's nrob,em was
to build the irrigation works out of the
proceeds Of land gales and to nav for
the land later from money received for
winter tolls. The nromoter's instruc
4ions we're Bihlical: "Whnt thou has
to do. do ouicklv." Rut on long time.
sell for cash or rood paner. The opera-
ton was to be equivalent to kitinp
checka on n GRAND scale IF thnv suc-
ceoded thew were f3nanciers. II thev
fniled scnmns
"Fai,?" onoth the nromoter "Itisn't
on the cards within two wears we shall
have every ten~acre trnct sold and i'm
nroved. in Ave wears we shall he shin
7,,nr fruit hv tho train load II 10 tho
chance NJ a lifetime tn secure at nom;-
- cont. a bom<. in the citms belt"
In one NJ the hot interior valleys ~
Col;fornio an a st;,, lime morning n
vast field Of ripe harley snrend ont On
rolling plain. at the base of the butte.
like a rreat copper-colored blanket. It
was as though The towering mountain
Ind risen suddenly from sleen and flung
aside his covering. A harvesting ma
chime. itself well nronortioned to the
larreuess of the tnsk. moved slowly
ulonr the marrin OF the grain field. nm.
rayelinr the blanket in str;ns % feet
wide. This modern evolution of the
sickle and the fail cut the grain, threshed
II. mt IL into sacks. and scattered the
straw. Forty mules. eight abreast.
tueQcd and sweated at their task as they
dragged the machine upon the long
slope A cloud of protesting locusts in
front. dust ard chafF cloud following,
these with the four men of the crew
were all the life and all. the movement
within the prospect.
This is a fine morning. don't
think" said the man at the water-butt,
putting his head into bucketful. "Is
that breeze never a-cominro I've seen
the sand-augers down the valley for an
hour"
"Hand me up can of that stuff and
don't get impatient" replied the driver
1T is only about ten o'clock. You'll
have chance to sizz,e for an hour yet
The machine groaned and numbered
along to the next corner, where Il halt
gave the kicker chance to resume:
"Say, is this place actually hotter than
every other place?"
"Oh, l don't know" was the re-
ioinder; "but | know YOU will think SC
wherever you happen to be, in this