Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1912-10-24
ACROSS THE PRAIRIE
wEsTsIDE HAPPENINGS OF THE
PAST WEEK
INVESTS IN MONTANA LANDS
j. V. Baker Bids in Montana School
Land-Registered Bulls to be
Imported From the East.

| Will Platt, the well known Salmon
river cattle man, was in town yester-
day from across the river and left this
morning for Texas and other eastern
state to buy up carload of young
bulls for his company and other stock
men across the river. He intends Sc
curing thirty or thirty-five head Of
young animals in all and win purchase
the best strains of Hereford and Dur
ham stock that he can secure. FL PasO,
Texas, will be his first stopping place
and If he cannot get what he wants
there he will gon on into Nebraska,
| Kansas and Missouri, the aim being
to buy the very best quality and moth
ing over eighteen months of age. While
the stockmen have been breeding up
| their herds on the range for, the past
several years and have some good stock
by this time, they have been at great
disadvantage in securing desirable herd
leaders and have been either forced to
get inferior stuff or pay high price
for fancy regulations. This fall they
hit upon plan of sending an exper-
fenced man east to secure their cattle
for them and the result is Mr.. Plat q
departure for the Lone Star state this
morning. He will be absent for several
weeks and hopes to come back with q
car of the finest pedigreed beef cattle
that I've ever been shipped into the
state. rs,
Hon, r J.. Parker, democratic candi-
date for lieutenant governor, returned
Sunday evening from trip into the
southern part of the state and says that
indications for democratic success this
fall are fine all along the line. The
election of Wilson and Hawey are now
practically conceded at Boise, while
the success of the entire state ticket is
confidently expected.
Residents of this country are all
more or less familiar with hog drives,
sheep drives, cattle drives, etc, but
we doubt If many are familiar with q
drive of most peculiar nature that
was made to this place on last Tuesday.
1t was drive of turkeys from the
Charles Baird farm over on Snake
river and the birds made the trip Of
A miles over rough roads and trails to
this place in three and one-half days,
or trifle over twelve miles day.
There were 68 birds in the flock
when it left the river but six of them
naming arrived here in excellent
shape, showing but 40 pounds of
shrinkage for the flock on the trip. The
birds were driven out by Mr. Cooper
for Mr.. Baird and were purchased by
John Baer for the Spokane Thanksgiv-
ing market.
j. V. Baker returned Sunday evening
from his trip to Montana where he re-
Gently purchased GAO acres of school
land near Fort Benton, and is quite
highly impressed with what he saw
there. He said that the sale he attend
ed took two days to complete and in
that time $4,000 acres were sold. Only
few tracts were not bid in and much
of the land brought as high as $50 an
acre at this sale. The tract he pur-
chased went at $15 and others near it
brought $17 and $40 an acre One man
who owns $500 acres there purchased
1000 acres more at this sale and those
who know the country best seem to
be investing in land the deepest. It
is necessary, however, for a man to
know the land he is bidding ON Or he
may get a tract that is almost worth
less. Mr.. Baker said the crops were
looking fine there this year and the
land under cultivation shows up well
but new land breaks hard and the 0p-
orators of steam or gasoline outfits
charge $4 an acre for breaking sod and
will not consider a renting proposition
at ALL There is quite an emigration
into that state at present and it will
not be long until most of the good land
is taken.