The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-02-22

is in the races this year with all tn
, popularity that goes with girl pos
, sessing a pleasing personality and
bright smile. Her lead dog, Doc
. gets a great deal of attention that Il
, really intended for "Lyd," for vol
know how it is with men-if the.
!, can't caress the girl they can SHOW
their affection for the dog.
Western gallantry has funny way
of showing itself, and If "Lyd'
should come off victorious with E
national championship and some O.
the fellows should start subscrip
ton list to buy her some of the best
dogs in America to put into her team
in place of her weakest ones, to &c
up and "clean" Canada, all the gal
liant fellows and all the old tight
wads who begrudge the wife SIC
hat, would chuck their money into
the pruse without inquiring who was
to handle the money or whether II
would ever get farther than the
grafters' clutch or not.
If you don't know just where Ash
| ton Is, look 1t up on your map. 1t
| Is just southwest of the Yellowstone
park, and about twenty miles from
the new entrance that is to be made
next year allowing people to go in
over the scenic route on short cut
to the Old Faithful Inn. Ashton was
named for the chief engineer Of the
Oregon Short Line, who laid out the
road from Idaho Falls into the park
in 1901. Ashton is the town that is
surrounded by dry farms that made
the owners rich ten and fifteen years
ago. Ashton is the town where
railroad men invested heavily in
town lots and carried the investment
until in an evil hour the residents
voted a heavy tax to pay for sewer
and paving and handed the foreign
investors such tax bill for improv-
ing the city and the streets adjacent
to their lots, that they threw up
their hands and let the city have all
their holdings for the tax bill of
single year-that portentfous year,
1920 A. D.
The dry farmers have been pretty
dry in recent years, but the tourist
crop is good and getting better Peo-
pie all over the United States have
been reading the press dispatches
lately about the dog derby at Ashton,
Idaho and the morning papers of
February 23 will tell the people of
Boston, New Orleans and Honlulu
who won the national championship.
AS they read they will cherish the
thought that when they go to the
Yellowstone park next summer they
must go via Ashton and stop while.
In going via Ashton they go via the
Snake river valley and help to wear
out our good roads, 'cuss" us for our
bad roads, camp in our free tourist
parks and mayhaps buy cigar and
a beefsteak while staying in the
town.
Thus does a town get ION the
map" and into the channels of world |
trade or tourist trade or dog trades.
Viva La Ashton and its dogs!
But you don't want your local
editor to furnish you all the infor-
nation about Ashton-you get tired
Of him and what he says anyway.
The Union Pacific railroad sent out
q man, Eyrie Powell, from Omaha
to stay at Ashton during the training
Of the dog teams. to say few things
thru the press Of the country about
what he saw, and last Sundays
papers carried this little bunch Of
remarks printed among other things,
from ocean to ocean:
The steel trail from the south
ends at Ashton, the terminus, during
The winter-time of the Union Pacific's
Yellowstone line. Meeting 1t here
are the snow trails from the north
that lead thru the Targhee forest
from the great Yellowstone park re-
gion, from the Big Springs country,
Henry's lake, the mountains, snow
covered valleys and woods of the ter
ritory whose only winter transporta-
ion is dog sledge, ski and snowshoe.
And meeting here already are the
advance guard of the thousands who
ire coming from the south, over the
steel, and from the north, over the
snow, to witness the classic trail
,attle of the American dog derby on
birthday.
Trappers from the woods, mushing
n to Ashton with their seasons
atch, there to sell it-and probably
Jack a favorite-are rubbing should
rs with the Getty fellers' from down
he railroad as both clock the re-
narkably fast time being made in 9
ractice runs by the rival drivers. II
And 1t might be mentioned, too,
hat the veterans of trail and snow
hoe in their worn shoepacs and
are not infrequently
in appearance by
be city chaps aided by metropolitan
porting goods establishments, who I
how up in shiny new boots and trail T
arb untouched by hardship which I
ometimes dazzle the eye. At s
ound-ups they call the type Sears 8
.oebuck cowboys"-here they don't Il
all 'em; they just look in silent '
'onder at shirts with two-inch d
hecks and mackinaws of weird and
'onderful hue and try to imagine p
hat the effect would be on the wild c
nimals back In the woods. d