The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-06-28
| homestead in the Woods
Short History Of modern dry farming Girl
Homesteader among the Wolves and Pines Max
ing a resort for tired city dwellers See-saw of
the elements.

= editors Note After reading this
article, mail the paper to some friend
of yours in a city or prOsey old COM
munity in fiat country, and ask
the friend to write you his or her
impressions of life on the range or
among the pines and wild life. Then
send the friends letted to the editor
| with permission to publish. We
folks are missing a lot of fun by
not knowing how the others live and
work and what they are thinking
about)
One of our Bingham county girls
has a homestead on Sellers creek,
which is a >stream draining some
mountain area on the eastern side of
the range in what is generally called
the Willow creek country about
thirty miles east of the county seat.
Down in the valley on the lower
areas, the homesteads are known as
dry farms, but we don't know how
they classify a homestead up in the
woods and canyons where the pines
and quaking aspens flourish and the
buck brush and service berries and
hawthornes fill up the spaces be-
tween the groves.
The girl we have in mind has been
holding down her claim for several
SHOWS, and, like the rest of them,
goes out to the settlements for the
winter. We have heretofore published
some stories of how they get back
in the spring time, travelling on the
crusted snow in the mornings or
wading thru slush in the afternoon,
while down in the settlements on
Snake river, people are well along
with spring work and the making
of gardens. The time limit of five
months allowed by the government
for temporary absence" from the
claim makes the homesteaders re-
turn to the cabins earlier than there
is any use in their being there ex-
cepting to fulfill the requirements of
the law and keep the claim jumpers
from making case against them, for
there has been strife over the pos
session of the lands and, thru the
land titles, holding the power to
govern business in the country.
The history of the valleys in ques-
ton, briefly told is this: First and
last it was the heritage of the In
dams. Then came the explorers, the
trappers, traders, gold hunters, Ore
gOn-Or-busters, bull-whackers, cattle
kings, sheepmen, and then the dry
farmers. 1t is still the heritage of
the Red man but heredity is not
hundred per cent. eff
cient, and whereas, the white man in
general satisfies his conscience by
saying he is putting to use, while
the Red man merely rambled over
1t at intervals when hunting or fish,
ing was good, we are reminded of
the old adage, when thieves fall
out, etc." for In recent years the
dry farmers went into the rich range
and took up enlarged
hOmesteads" and persuaded them
selves it would soon be an empire
Of waving wheat. We say "per-
suaded," for it is plain now that they ,
persuaded or "kidded" themselves ,
about that waving grain, for it fails
to wave. |
The falling out came about in this
way: When the dry farmers stuck
the plow into the ground it loosened
up fine for year or two and bore
fruit, and In the meantime the cat ]
tlemen and the sheepmen predicted
failure in the effort to farm. Nature
seemed to favor the dry farmer at 1
he beginning of the argument, and {
alter, switched the cards and enabled
he ranger to say, II told you So"
The average dry farmer home
'teaded the springs and creeks and {
enced his dominiens. That left the I
anger and his fiocks high and dry
90 dry to get drink. That helped l
he boOtlegger's business insofar as l
he rider was concerned, but bottle {
8 no good to that which is rode" /
The saddle horse and the focks and {
herds had to have fluids, and the l
over strata of the fraternity of dry Z
armers offered to cut their fence or |
axe down the bars for consider-