The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1916-02-11
The OBSERVATORY
LOOK AS YOU co

lodging in and out among the regu-
lar trains between that place and
GreenRiver; stout donkey engine on
each train, the cars of which were
connected with the hose and when
they arrived at Rock Springs they
were connected with the great railroad
water tank and the big donkey engine
on each train emptied the water of it's
cars into that tank; from there tank
carts ran through the town filling the
water barrels at SO much each. Since
then a pipeline has been laid from
Green River and the water forced
through it by big stationary pumping
engine on the bank of Green River.
At an earlier time the railroad people
tried to supply the town with water
from a reservoir made in the hills
distance south of the town; and any
one who has been about Rock Springs
knows that the earth formation there
is full of salts; the creek which slug
gishly creeps through the town is
called Bitter Creek" charged with
sulphur to high degree; and in the
old teaming days stock would drink
of it only when dreadfully thirsty; the
whole earth is SO filled with various
salts that next to no plants will grow
in it. Of course such earth is sus-
ceptible to water action. Well, the
railroad engineer, a young fellow fresh
from the East, came, located and SUR
veyed and began labor. The man who
told me this story was New Eng
land Yankee, who had become thor
oughly westernized during the build
ing of the U. P. railroad; he had fol-
lowed the building in an official ca
pacity from Omaha to Ogden and
had now made his home for many
years at Rock Springs; he was a
rather unpretentious looking man,
small. with stoop in his shoulders.
He met the young engineer and tried
to enter conversation with him about
his proposed reservoir, thinking the
official might desire information from
an old timer. He asked some ques-
tons, which the engineer rather curt
ly answered, and my informant asked
him if he thought the earth dam would
hold water, and he was shut off from
further inquiries by the information
that the young man knew his business.
So my acquaintance left him, and said
to me, II concluded his education was
not finished; that he needed post
graduate study; and if he was of that
self-conhdent variety perhaps the on
ly way he could be made to learn
would be in the school of experience"
The reservoir was finished; my inn
preston is no piping was laid, but a
wait for spring MEETINGS and testing
ran into it, but Immediately the banks
salt or sugar. And that was the end
INf hot ht,f he n
paid a good price for the additional
information. It is amazing to me that
school graduate during his course
should not be enough sharpened in
wit to seek information from all
sources before beginning such work
And l believe the absence of such
sound sense is the reason many never
advance.
l have the honor of the acquaint-
ance and friendship of one of the
worlds greatest biologists: at one OF
our interviews when talking about
wonderful Idaho. he said to me in
parting: when your are travelling
over the state and find geologic facts
that puzzle you be sure to write me
find; I will reply; and it will be no
times before if you should stumble on
to some new fact. or the solution oil
some old puzzle" I don't know that
| have ever run on to any new geolo.
gic fact, but the kindly communicated
information from that great man gave
me such a start in that science that
much of my subsequent travel in Ida.
no has made its wild and rugged sur.
face like an open book to me.
i But to go back to what I was say.