Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1914-10-23
ROADS HELP
MOVIE VALLEY
New Road and Bridge Work to Open
Up Vast Undeveloped Resources
in This County
AGRICULTURE AND MINING
Charles Redpath Tells What Roads
Will Accomplish

The following letter from Charles
Redpath, wellknown merchant of
PASSPORT, written in appreciation
of the good road work which has
been done in Moyie valley this
year, speaks volumes for the work
of the county commissioners:
We, up here on the extreme
edge of the jumping off place of
the panhandle of Idaho, have been
isolated so long from the rest of
Bonner county as regards wagon
roads and bridges that we feel a
word of commentator is due our
present board of county commits
sioners and especially d. c. Nc
Coll, commissioner from this dis
trict, for the permanent work that
has been accomplished in this ter
ritory and for the two splendid
steel bridges that have been built
across the Moyie river here at
PASSPORT. Considering the difficult
ties encountered in the work done
SO far, it certainly has been done
very inexpensively and will do
more to bring out the resources of
this end of Bonner county and the
Moyie valley than anything else.
This valley is rapidly settling up,
over rs homestead locations hav-
ing been made in the last twelve
months on the forest reserve
lands between the Kootenai river
and Eastport. There are also a
number of prospects, both placer
and quartz, along the Moyie river
which, from lack of facilities for
conveniently getting to them, have
not been worked but which now
will have new line of develop
ment and our claim made good,
that we are in a direct line between
the great mineral belts of the
Occur Alenes and British Column
bia, and that now, having good
roads and bridges, it will be posi-
BILE to bring in capital to develop
these prospects into mines as good
as any in those places.
The agricultural possibilities of
this valley will also be brought to
the front now, as settlers will be
encouraged to put in crops that
through these roads can be mar
keted. The hunting and fishing
of the Moyie river has so far been
little known, but now that sports
men can drive, either by team or
automobile, right to the foot of the
mountains along the river, where
big game and grouse and pheasants
abound, there is no boubt that in
the future an ever increasing mum
Der of these sportsmen will come to
this valley for this class of hunt
ing, as also for the fine trout fish
ing to be found along the rifles of
the Moyie river.
Through these fine roads and
fine bridges there is no doubt that
this will become a great through
route for automobiles and wagons
between all East British Columbia,
Alberta, and the great Canadian
prairie country and Spokane and
southern coast points. AS also for
settlers going to Canada as it is
now the most direct route.
All of these things, while of
great and lasting benefit to us. will
no doubt also be of benefit to other
parts of Bonner county, as they
will bring in people who will get
acquainted with the country and
advertise the fact that we have un-
developed resources that when de-
veloped will equal the rest of the
great state of Idaho.
1t is for this reason that we feel
grateful to the county commission
ers and as l said, especially D. c.
McColl, who, in connection with
the local officers of the forest ser
vice, has brought these things to
pass by building the roads and
these two fine steel bridges.
Yours truly,
4 @fEuxDf -