The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1915-04-22
THE UPPER PAYETTE
VALLEY
CONTINUED from Page y

you walk in your sleep.
"This is deliberate conspiracy to
induce you to visit the Upper Payette
valley, Gem county, in the Gem state
of Idaho. 1t is a deep laid grammat-
ical plot to kidnap you and take you
out to where you can smell the prunes
to plant the seeds of discomfort in
your soul and make you victim OF
insomnia until you buy ticket to
some point in the vicinity Of Squaw
butte. If that ambition can be accom-
plished am glad that Pm alive-oth-
erwise it is doubtful.
There is no question though but
that if you obey that impulse and get
your ticket straight through to Gem
county you will be glad that you are
alive. Everybody else out there is,
even Ed Hayes, pardon me, should
have said Senator Hayes" He has
been glad that he is alive ever since
he and Indian Jake built Squaw butte
and then had wrestling match on
top of it, during which the senator
playfully poked his finger into Jake's
eye. There never was place where
people are so glad they are alive
as around in the Gem county country.
They just naturally hate to die out
there. They put it off as long as they
can. Every winter they want to live
till spring so they can see the peach
trees on the Slope in bloom again ana
then when the peach trees get through
blooming everybody is ambitious to
live till fall and help pick the prune
crop on the Hartley and Richards ana
Hayes and all the other prune farms,
including the Frozen Dog up at the
foot Of the hill. Then when the
prunes are all picked and packed they
get anxious to see the peach trees and
sweet cherries and almonds blossom
once more and so decide to live thro
another winter and then when spring
comes they get to wondering about
the prunes again--so that's the way
it goes. They just keep living and
living and never die till they are al
most compelled to and Hayes is so
COMPOUNDED contrary he swears he
don't intend to die at all-at least not
till Indian Jake does and Jake swears
he won't till Ed does and so the
chances are they both will just stay
and stay as long as old Squaw butte
sticks his, or her, whichever it is,
head up toward the silvery harvest
moon and frowns across at Freezeout
hill. SO that's the way you will be
when you get out to the Gem county
country in Western Idaho.
Assuming, now, that you are in a
suitable mental condition to be easily I
and conventionally hypnotized | shall !.
proceed to the more delicate task :
Of making the Upper Payette valley
IS attractive dramatically as posi-
ole without lying to an unreasonable y
extent On second thought | don't >
believe shall lie about it at ALL Come u
% think of it don't believe it's neces- II
'ary so | have decided to make this u
tory unusual by making it rigidly E
truthful. (I'll bet calico cayuse you p
hink that's lie No. ~ u
Seriously speaking and wanting ~
My to give you the facts so far as it o.
, in my power to do so, the Upper "
'ayette valley is one Of the most at q
ractive sections within the state Of
daho. er
81 have travelled Idaho thoroughly M
nd studied conscientiously every dis SC
net that is irrigated within the south an
IN half of the state and l repeat that mi
ne Upper Payette valley-the Gem wi
1unty country-is in my judgment tn
ne of the very richest and choicest gr
sctions of the entire state That is st;
aging a great deal. A great deaf hil
ore than one who has not studied
lie state can realize, for Idaho in her wi
itirety is a wonderful wonderful shi
nd vast commonwealth Eighty-five gr'
iousand square miles of mountains he;
nd valleys and rolling, sloping foot see
Ills, and level plains that stretch en-
way to merge with the distant hori- of
m or across which dim blue spires pu
sentinel hills gleam--that is Idaho. be
nd when you single out any one Of
e hundreds of beautiful valleys, any VIII
lie Of the great irrigated projects in Sn,
e Snake river basin, any one of the anC
lendid subdivisions of Inherent wit
salth and resource and say that that the
e district is the best, or among the wei
st, of all those rich and fertile nat foil
al gardens you are paying the dis the
let which is so singled out a COM Ed,
lment that is a tribute entirely hay
nth while. have not single foot lur
land in the Upper Payette valley. the
have no interest in any real estate VIII
other transaction in that district wit
d yet, as one who has studied Ida mo-
honestly and with sincere desire ten