Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1911-02-03
"REMINISCENCES
OF PIONEERS
STORIES OF HaGERMAN VALLEY
ALFALFA SEED THE BIG
CROP

It so happened that the writer
dropped into the office Of Probate
Judge Fuller last Friday at an op-
perfume time for hearing stories Of
the early days III the Hagerman val
ley. There were present besides
the Judge, Capt. c. G. Haynes and
J. o. Mcknight.
BY the way, the conversation
drifted from olden days to he pres
ent outlook for the valley, and Mr.
Mcknight was Induced TO give a
little of his experience with alfalfa
seed raising for the benefit of oti1er
portions of Lincoln county.
To begin with he stated that no
where in his experience could mon
ey be made so easily as IN the Ha-
german valley. Himself ana wife
had both experienced a good deal
OF sickness and when they landed
IL Hagernan six years ago hun
dled dollars was all the money he
could muster with no reserNe - to
draw from. 1t would take seven
thousand dollars to pull him out Of
the valley now. The season Of 1909
he cleared about seventeen nun
dred dollars mostly on alfalfa seed.
This last season was not SO good
but Mr.. Mcknight seemed very
much inclined to be contented with
what he GOT out of the crop. 1t is
needless to say that he holds
boundless optimism for the future
OF The valley and has no desire to
sell out and move away.
1t was for the entertainment OF
Dir. Mcknight whose six wears ex-
perienee- 5n ellie taileN entities MIN
to be ranked with the new comers
and also for The writer who is still
more of tenderfoot that the con-
versation drifted back to the early
days.
Judge Fuller was miner and
pi-ospector whose interests led him
in the early 70's to spend much
time on the Snake river with the
Hagerman valley as a part of his
beat. Capt. Haynes was division
superintendent for the overland
stage between Salt Lake and Boise,
his division extending from Boise
to point across the Utah line
some 25O miles. He purchased hay
i'm fire valley for at least two of his
Stage stations. and he was on this
line as early as 1874.
There were only three residents
in the valley in those early days,
Messrs. Bell. Lewis and Billingsley.
They occupied small ranches where
they raised some crops. cut wild
hay and kept horses. They con-
sidered themselves the owners of
the entire valley and they were in
clined to resent any settlement in
their preserves.
There was much gold rocked out
of he sands Of the Snake river bot-l
tom in those early days and the
traveller will see where a large area
was ieri in very tumbled condi-
lion as ne passes down the grade
from Bliss and strikes the bottom /
on the way to Hagernan. Another
favoritc mining place was near the I
lower salmon falls where big for
frne was pamed out! Judge Full
Ter ran across young man on
Rock sreek in what is now Twin
Fails county who had concealed IN
his tent sack containing $1,000.
OF dust every particle of which he
had obtained in the neighborhood.
The stage line road ran through
the Rock creek country and Capt.
HAYNES we'll remembers a murder
that was committed there which
was unearthed by Judge Fuller who
happened to be riding past that
way i'm she nick of time. The crime
happened at a small cabin occupied
rv an Irishman who was having
fN,o Young men construct box to
BIZ used as a coffin at the time the
Irdge was riding by. Things look :
,d "a suspicious that the old SOL
iier-miner concluded to stop ana
investigate With the result that he
round the body Of tue murdered
man in the cabin and the lrishman
acknowledged that he did the kill /.
NO although he Justified the deed
Mr.. Fuller took the heavy shot :
mi. earried BY the lriShman ana
,anded it to one Of the young men
resent with orders 10 hold him a
prisoner uu crowd of teamslers
n freighters came along about aus
nd They would form coroner