Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-29

On the old Oregon Trnn.

fore Starrhs Ferry was the crowded me-
tropolis 1t grew to be; long before the date
at which other historians begin their an
mails, Mr.. Miller had passed through
Granger with his covered wagon; had come
upon the banks OF the Snake river at Soda
Springs. Thence he followed the river
! through Idaho Falls and thence to Goose
creek. And here, In this spot Of exquisite
beauty: Of rolling plain; snow-peaked NIL
and blue river he made his camp HIS
oldest boy was with him. And with that
| help he spent the first year here. The fol-
lowing year his wife came and together
they made their home. The man who LEFT
Lincoln thirty-fom years ago, broken In
health and purse; today is as hale and
hearty as years ago; his cheeks are pink
with the flush Of health; and his bank ac-
count and his real estate make his checks
| good for q quarter OF a million Of money.
| He is one of the owners of the townsite;
was for three years the president of the
Burey State bank; has great deal Of
farming land and was one of the first
to welcome the Carey act segregations
| Modern, progressive, and full Of vigor; his
mind yet turns to beauty and when 1
found him he was setting out Lombardy
poplars on both sides of the road in front
of his home; a fragment of the oregon
trail, made, grown famous and abandoned,
all within sight of his cabin window In the
third of a century and more than he has
made his home on a rolling plain Of this
old lake bottom; hidden away here in the
hollow Of the Idaho hills
Farming Beats Mining.
THE first year that came TO the coun-
try 1 placer mined on Snake river. But II
was slow work; never could make more
than about IS a day, so 1 gave it up and
went to farming. 1 built the first irriga-
ton canals In this country, after Bill
Robbins. He was from Montana and knew
all about irrigation though 1 had never
heard Of It till 1 came here. was used
to grain and 1 raised barley, wheat, oats
and all kinds of vegetables. About thai
time the Oregon Trail was beginning to be
the big road between the east and the wes
and / have seen the teams lined up a
Starrh's ferry waiting to get across for &
week at a time. To the settlers anC
freighters 1 found 1 could sell all that
n could raise and there was a good marke
. for me. I took up a desert claim of &c
e acres; my wife took UP $50 and Dough
e 100 and we farmcd all OF 1t. 1t was a prett.
e sight out hero in the midst of the desert
r as you came to the top of the hill Their
y where the old Oregon Trail comes over tn
e mountains There was only thirteen fami
@ lies OF us here then and the Indians wer
}, troublesome, so we organized a compan
!; of men and had tho state issue arms an
d ammunition to us. There were OILY fiftee
Il men In the whole valley, but we had ther
q all in our company. In 1873 was appointe
v a deputy sheriff because the cattle rustler
n we're getting bad There were some Of U
# who wanted to go into the stock and shee
. hut tha tbiaxyao CT a
man blind. There was killer anon
them, too, and that's where got the bull,
through my chest. 1 was a soldier a
through the civil war and was wounde
seven times; four times at Fair Oaks {
Spottsylvanla, at Gettysburg and again
Charlottesville. But this killer got ma
at me because / had arrested one Of h
gang, and he came to my house one Nigh
with seven men, called me to the doc
and shot me through. the breast. He wa
after me. but he didn't get me. He
some scattered now. though. His body
buried at Jackson's Hole. Wyoming, ar
his head is at Idaho Falls You see, the
brought his head to Idaho Falls to ho
the inquest. and in those days they dldn
tpack any more around the country tho
1 they had to-.
1 End of the bad Man.
n | rae was a Httler grim Wtlen ne Sdlu .
i He seemed almost glad. But the we
j breeds strong emotions and the hate of tn
cowardly act has endured through all Il
years.
l I'VE put him in jail before he got ava
but his gang came along and dug him o
and he escaped to Wyoming. There tn,
got him. and with him his gang left til
II part of the country. His name here W
II George Longstreet; in Wyoming 1t W
II George Cooper, but when he was wi
III QuantreIls men in Missouri, he was know
III as George Thurston. He had a name T
III every country he was ever in. Bad m
ii always have a starting place and fins
III ing place and he was one of the ives
III bad men,
u I'm 49, 1 was elected to the legislatu
and 1 was one OF the first to go to Bol
over the new railroad when the Union P
400 ciflc built its oregon Short line from Nil
~ doka to Nampa. 1t was then that 6
zee the bill through the legislature for t
IT, State Normal school. At that time Abb
ma was just freighter camp on the Boil
- Kelton part of the. Oregon trail, and
90 county seat OF Casa county. The state
ma no money, but 1 got the bill passed givi
ma us the location. At that time Albion "
cas forty miles away from the nearest wat
noe tank on the railroad, and we built the IL
ace building there by subscription among I
ing settlers. We donated that building to
TOO state and at the next term OF the legis
ave ture we got $4,000 to go on with the dev
the opment. Today there are five buildir
his there. and more than $4,000 has been
18th vested In the school They have 70 enlaI
his 1t almost every year and they are maxi
TIL as good teachers up there as they do
ong any school in the United States"
her Proud of the Normal school.
set He is proud OF that normal school.
have seen It; remarkable collection
buildings located in the hollow of the h
din and when one comes upon it, after
a. slow journey TO the top of the trail he
, AZ astounded to find such a group of bui
AN ings of brick and lava rock; for all
oak world like some OF those Swiss chalets;
and German castles one comes upon so un
ned. pectedly while touring the untrodden W;
,eht OF the continent.
the Mr.. Miller was one OF the founders of
q is town of Burley, named after d. z. Burl
lger general passenger agent of the Orei
liv- Short Line division OF the Union Pac