Year: 1864

Messrs. Thomas & Co.'s line of Stages
running between this city and the Boise
mines are making their regular trips and
always come to time Packers and teamsters
complain that the old ethigrant road is in
an, almost impassable condition, but we
hear no grumbling from the stage men.
The Stages go and come loaded down with
passengers, making remarkably quick time,
and although the roads may be ia a bad con-
dition for some, we feel assured that the
Stage Company find no serious impediment
to travel, for nothing stops them Too
much praise cannot be awarded to the pro-
prietors of the line for the promptness and
energy they have displayed in putting this
line in successful operation. Many persons
thought the enterprise would result in a fail
ure, because it was asserted that the roads
were impracticable and that stock could not
stand travelling over such rough country;
but these predictions are now proved to
have been entirely groundless. The line
was put in operation at season of the year
when the roads were in the worst condition,
yet the trips were made with great regular
ity and with comparatively little impediment
to travel The road across the Blue noun
tains too, was new and consequently heavy
and rough in places, but considerable work
has been done on that section of the route
recently. Bridges have been built and the
steep banks and rough places graded down,
so that the whole line is now in very
good travelling condition. In short time
the roads will be dry the whole length of
the route and in splendid order, and passen-
gers will find the journey much pleasanter
than in early spring. So far, we have heard
of no accidents, so common on mountain
roads, such as 'upsets,' smashed stages, bro
ken arms, bruised heads, etc, and we hope
the road is too good to admit of such occur
rences.


All honor to the Walla Walla & Boise
Stage Line and its enterprising projectors.


AN ERRONEOUS IDEA.-We frequently
hear persons, in speaking of our county af-
fairs, charging the cause of the Indebtedness
of the county mainly to defaulting officers.
This is an erroneous idea. The whole sum
that the county has lost by defaults will not
reach three thousand dollars, and the debt is
seventeen thousand. 1t has principally ac-
crued within the past two years, and the
main item is the seven thousand dollars paid
for the county Jail, which the former board
of Commissioners seemed to think them
selves compelled to take off the hands of
the contractors at that figure, or leave the
county without Jail. This large sum was
paid on account of the depreciation of the
county scrip, which was at that time worth
fifty cents on the dollar About eleven
thousand dollars Of the debt has been con-
tracted in public Improvements, including
the Jail and two or three bridges. A consid-
erable sum has been paid for the keeping of
prisoners, which owing to the low price of
scrip has also been very expensive, as high
as Sl8 per week having been at times
charged for boarding them. In fact, the
records will show that the most of the debt
has been created in procuring the actual ne
cessaries for carrying on the machinery of
the county government, for which more than
double prices have been charged, simply be-
cause people who have worked for or fur
nished for the county could rot afford to do
it for less sums at the low rates of scrip.