The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-02-03

Mexico and British Columbia, Csee
exhibit IL
In 1911, under authority Of chapter |
6 Of the 1911 session laws, an appro-
priation of $4,000 was made for the
purpose of constructing a steel bridge
across the Salmon river about two
miles below higgins.
The road from Round valley Is built
on the east side Of the Little Salmon
river to a point below the falls,
where 1t crosses to the west side and
continues to the state bridge, where
the river is crossed, and thence con-
tinues on the east side Of the main
Salmon river on to whitebird.
Valuation Of Property.
The assessed valuation of the tax
able property in Idaho county, real
and personal, in the region directly
tributary to the proposed road is ST.
0e7 ,693. In this region there are 20
school districts, with a school census
of 637.
The officials of the Nez Perez Ma
tional Forest service give the follow
ing estimates of merchantable stand
ing timber within the jurisdiction of
its forests, in the region tributary to
the proposed road:
Yellow pine 500 million feet
Lodgepole pine - 800 million feet
Red fir -------- go million feet
White fir ---------- 1885 million feet
Tamarack - 100 million feet
The livestock industry, under exist
ing conditions, is the most important
! feature attending the present devel-
opmeHt of the Salmon river country.
The acreage owned by the state on
the east side of the Salmon river
drainage BASIN directly tributary to
the proposed road, is 26.040 acres.
The land on the west side of the river
is 1880 acres. The commercial val
ues Of these lands will be largely in
creased by the construction of the pro-
posed road.
While the bars and benches along
| the river are generally narrow, they
are very fertile and in a high state
Of cultivation, and these places COM
prise the bulk of the land in cultiva-
ton along the river. On the table
lands, however, is a very large acre
! age Of land, the soil of which is as fer
! tile and productive as the best of the
prairie lands in northern Idaho. We
estimate that about 2 per cent only of
the land available for cultivation con-
! tieuous to the Salmon river, is in cHl-
/ tivation.
An important feature to be taken
into consideration in connection with
the construction of the proposed rail
read bed is the Nez Perez Indian res
ervation. which comprises approx
mately 1000 square miles of territory.
This land lies in Idaho, Lewis, Nez
Perce and Clearwater counties. The
total area of the Indian allotments is
135, 1872 acres. OF these Indian allot-
ments, about 10000 acres are agri-
cultural. OF the agricultural land,
about 10000 acres are leased, and
about 5000 acres are cultivated by In
dams. The trust period extending
over the majority of the Indian allot-
ments expires in 1920. At the expira-
ton OF the treaty, unless the same is
renewed for another period of % years
it is certainty that the greater pro-
portion of these lands will pass into
the hands Of actual resident white
citizens thus materially increasing the
population and taxable property of the
several counties Increased popula-
ton will necessarily increase the num-
Der OF school districts, place more
property on the tax rolls, give more
people to work on the highways and
provide more funds for highway dis
J tricts. These Indian lands are now
generally leased in large tracts, and
the soil is being rapidly exhausted by
the tenants. These Indian lands are
exempt from taxation, and the leased
lands have no permanent improve
!, ments.
Two Connections i'm North.
; In addition to the Camas Prairie
|. Railroad company. traversing the won.
derfully productive country between
Lewiston and Grangeville, a new line
is projected, with one link thereof
now operating, to cover the same re-
| gion, which will afford two connec
tons in the north. Similarly, the ex.
I tension of the proposed railroad bed
/ from New Meadows to Mccall, (eleva
, ton 5000 feet terminus of the Pay
I cite Lake branch of the Oregon Short
Line Railroad will also make two
J southern connections.
t We have ignored all reference to the
: Salmon river route above higgins anC
) below Whitebird, believing that oul
efforts should be devoted exclusivel,
t to the missing link" between norti
! and south Idaho. There is no ques
: ton but that the route via the Salmon
( and Snake rivers is the most econ
? omic from the standpoint of operation
t nor that it will eventually be built
e presumably by the Gilmore and Pitts
:. burg, which is now understood to b.
$ the Northern Pacific railway. But !
l will doubtless be long time befor
this line is built--certainly not unit.
+ the competition Of other transconti
' mental lines becomes such as to neces
q state the investment Of the vast SUI