The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-05-19
CONDITIONSN THEBIC DESERT
Heroes, Hazard and Hardship Developing the
Slumbering Resources

/ he got to wondering just how short
the cattle of the desert had eaten of
his wheat, and the thought stuck
to him until he took the back track.
In due time he drove over q rocky
ridge and looked out over his little
unfenced field and 10, it was waist
high and headed out. He was so
astonished he has never been any
thing but nerve and courage since.
The last time we saw him he was
grubbing of sage with a mattock
and the wind was so strong 1t was
blowing the bushes away across the
country as fast as he chopped them
off grubber-de-automatic! II you had
heard one remark he made you might
have thought he was nutty but he
wasn't. He said he took the first
claim that was selected in that part
of the country and took rather in
feri0r tract because he wanted to
be close to the lavas. He said his
place joined belt of rocky land Is
miles in extent, and it was such fine
grazing country he wanted to drill
well and then go into the stock
business. Somebody was losing mon
ey every day by not having enough
cattle to Craze off all the rank grass
in the "lavarets. Now what can
you do with a man like that! There
is just one thing any discerning per-
son would do, and that is to admire
his spirit and wish you may live
lone enough to see how he comes
out.
Woman With a jug
But men are not the only advent
urers in dry farming. In our travels
we found young woman and a
little girl in the middle of the des-
ert, thirty miles from the post office
ten miles from a well. happy, hope
full and expecting ultimate success.
In another place we found three new
shacks near the lavabeds, on the
line Of an old emigrant road ten
miles out from natural water AS
we approached one of the shacks a
young woman appeared in the door
and mutual amusement provoked
the following remarks:
so you are holding down a claim!"
"You have it right"
Are you from Kansas"
mo, guess again."
Nebraska"
you have one more guess coming"
"Minesota?"
We'll, / was born in Minnesota.
Walk in This is my mother; and
this is my grandmother. We have
a claim apiece. The carpenters are
just finishing construction. We
made our filings some time ago and
had till the first of this month to
establish residence. We arrived here
on the evening of the first, after
dark, so the claims are ours yet.
No, we have no brother nor father
nor husband to do our farming. We
are here just as you see us. What
do youthink of the country?
The Price of Success
well this country is probably all
right. I am sure a person has to
wait a year or two to get the first
crop from the land 1t has to be
cleared and plowed and left to settle
and store a winters moisture and be
narrowed to keep it so it will hold
the moisture from below as we'll as
from above, and finally it is in con-
dition to raise a crop. One has to
sacrifice considerable to get title to
land. Down in the irrigated belt
along the river, we had to build
canals and that kept us engaged
longer than it will take the dry farm
er to get his land in condition to
yield Back in Nebrasga and Kans-
as they had to subdue the prairie
sod; in Illinois there were the i'm
mense grasses in Ohio there was
walnut timber to clear off and by the /
time it was destroyed and the farm
paying good returns they found the
timber If it had been left on the
ground. would have been worth far
more than the land. These are the
sacrifices men pay for acquiring
ands, and the sacrifices you will pay
here will be those growing out of
he water question. No, there is no
lew here to amount to anything"
t looked just little odd to see the
nree generations of women farming
With jug of water and a check
,ook, but they may win.
Wash and Wipe Together