Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1912-09-26
DESCR|P TIVE LETTER
FROM MONTANA
Baker, Montana, Sept. 10.

/ have just returned from
trip through southern Idaho
I thought L would write little for
the News, as [ know a number around
Baraboo will rememb Der Earl johnson.
We left Spokane July 22nd, where we
had been for six months and arrived
at Gooding, Idaho, July 23rd, where
Mr.. Johnson met us and took us out
to his homestead about forty miles
from there on what they call Camas
prairie. This prairie is 40 miles east
and west by 10 miles north and south.
The soil is rich loan Is 10 80 inches
deep. The land on this prairie lies
nearly level sloping a little to the
southeast. The raw prairie affords
abundant pasture and in many places
a good crop of hay when not pas
tured.
Springs are very abundant in tn
part of the country which makes
very easy to irrigate. Ny nephew,
Mr.. Johnson, has three springs on his
homestead; with one spring he irri-
gates his garden and in time he ex-
pectsIto put in reservoir and then
he can irrigate nearly all his plow
land. He had all kinds of garden
stuff while we were there. They have
great deal of snow there in the Win
ter which makes it rather hard on the
berries but he thinks as soon as his
trees which he has planted for a wind
break are large enough, that he will
be able to raise all kinds of fruit. They
raise fairly good crops there without
any irrigation. They call the soil
sub-irrigated and last year it rained
just before he planted his oats and
they had no more rain until after he
cut them and his oats went twenty
bushel to the acre. The mountains
to the north and adjacent to Camas
prairie supply timber for lumber and
fuel.
While we were there Mr.. Johnson
was in the mountains getting out logs
to be sawed into lumber so we camped
in the mountains for two weeks. It
seldom rains at that time of the year
but it rained while we were cam ping
out. Grouse are very plentiful in the
mountains and they are about the
same as quails in Wisconsin only a
little larger. The prairie is we'll
filled with sage hens. Earl went
about mile farther up in the noun
tains from the saw mill to get his logs
ADD he snaked them down on VIII at
they call izard. One of the largest
logs that they cut was fortyfour in
ches in diamater and about 80 feet was
sawed into lumber and fifteen feet of
the top he used for fuel.
Soldier is about fourteen miles from
his place and it is the largest town
in that part of the country. August
18th is the day set apart for the cele-
bration of the opening of Camas prai-
rae. They have floats, airships and
ogner amusemenJs. They have an
artesian we'll there that is two hundi
feet deep and it throws a stream of
waller seventeen feet high. While we
were there they were laying the rails
for road from HALEY to Hill City
which will orilg the railroad four
miles and half from MS homestead
where he can get his mail and grocer
les.
They expect to have an elevator
built this fall and also a stockyard.
At present it will be only branch
road but they think in time they will
continue the road to Boise and then
it will be used as the main line as it
will shorten the road quite little
from Spokane to Boise. We had a
very uice trip and saw quite little of
the western country. We are both
back in Baker now and Miss Johnson
thinks she likes Montana better than
arther west but think 1 like Idaho
as well as Montana.
Yours respectfully,
MISS LIZZIE SCOTT
Baker, Custer Co., Mont.