Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1883)
November, 1883 7a THE WEST SHORE. lil'rtjr. The valley immediately north of I he lake it thirty five mile long and in plan.- full)' fifteen wide. Through ii tun many streams of pure water, while small lake and si-rings abound Ilrtidet thi there are numcrou valley and A lorn along the triltutarie of bah the north and south fork of L')x-r Hothead river, tuch a, Smith tal e valley, Ashley creek, Half moon prairie, Spring creek, Tolaceo plaint, Whilcfish CJClt c'C. !!fc zt'C htr!r3 for Vii'S'vN f people on free government land. At present hay it the chief crop and slock raising lh leading in dustry among the few settlers who have located there but giain and vegetable! thrive when cut tivtied. Until the Nrthein Pacific wat fin Ithed ihit region wat Gomplctly iMilated, but it ii now made ety of access anl i receiving a limited immigration which will be largely increased the coming opting. l-unil-r i very icanc and very enie, being hauled from Missoula and other distant points, though the mountain are covered with dcne foirt and the demand for luinUr it umcient to cmtume the product of a good null. A little schooner hat leen conducted to do freighting on the lake and river, saving many mile in the transportation of goodt. Sclish i the pot! olice of thi rrgion. Prof. G. E. Wolfe, at the hed of one of the geological (trllr which the Northern Pacific hat maintained in the field for teveral yean, recently tcturned from an exploration of the Cray moun lam in Gallatin county. Gary cak i . t S4 feet above the level of the tea, and from it tummit, which it ppntchable within a few hundred feet by saddle hone, a magnificent view of both the upper Vellowitone and Gallatin vatiey delight the brholder. la placet are immense bodic of fine fir and pine, while nutritiout gratset eUcnd high up on the mountain tides. Numcrou streams pour down (he mountain aod through the foot hill to (he valleys along which U fertile alluvia toil that mil produce grain abundantly. Elk, deet ami antc'o abound, and the ttcam and little lake ate tilled with fine trout and grayling, A tiagnilneiit waterfall a discovcicd al the headwater of llig Timber. After a perpendicular plunge of feet the water ruthea down teveral hundred fret mote in a acric of beautiful cascade. In lit Hgreu down the tnounta.n the stream srt fiom one level plalctu lo another upon each of which it gaihett in a deep pool, forming a chain of mountain larnt whc delicately tinted depths mirror the bold totkt and giant pinet that L.lri them, the thadowy cloudt and the outspread wing of the mountain eagle hovering over them In h flight from tk lo ik. la July, IS79, the k-gidatuit ptool an act guaianiering a Unut of $l,ouo lo any person, company o corporal t-m who thuld within one year contract a fliiwing arletian well five inchet in diameter. Thit wa an cffoit to cncviirsg aoine one lo make a practical leti of the artesian well la the variout ottiont of (he territory where the fcrantttieM of the rainfall render artificial watering of cro ttrccMary. No one claimed the tew aid and the act lapsed ty limitation. Later the Umng of a well vat commenced at Hilling, Mlowvd xk after by of at Milct City. The ItMiucf hat been tunV more than 00 fret and U Mill fning down. The later recently lapped a large veto of water at depth of jjj fret, and hat dcatoatlraled the lad thai large aitewafi well art mlcatle in the Yellow wooc valley al least. This mcan more lo the future welfare ol Montana than apear Uon the surface. In the territory are milliont of acre of fine arable land requiring irrigation lo render il productive, and which ex jierience hat thown will yield asonishing crop when moisture it thus artificially supplied. Much of thi land it to tituated a to be practical'y be yond ihe reach of irrigating ditche running from natural rctervoira, and ha in consequence been rliMw-d lorthlr. With artrtian wellt thete limit can 1 redeemed and rendered extremely productive. The value of an irrigated farm cicccds that of one lying in the rain belt for two very evident reatont. In the first place by it ex emption from drouth and certainty of crop it produce far more in a teriet of year ; and in the aecond place it i generally tituated in a region where farming landt are to a degree limited and itt product consequently bring a higher price in the market. e hope to tee arteian well increase in number all over the territory. From the government turveyort who have been at work on Lot river during the tummcr and fall, long valuable information 1 gained alxjut a much neglected region. The valley of Lott river it tome lifty mile in length and from two to twelve wide, containing a large area of arable and grazing land. The natural grasses afford an abundance of hay easy to be cut and gathered. The range i very extensive and the winter o mild that ttock require but. little care. The lower end of the valley hat for years been a favorite place for drover taking ttock from Ore gon and Southern Idaho lo shipping points on the railroad, to halt a few days and recruit their cattle upon the luxBriant grata. "The daily stage fiom Challis to lllackfoyt pataet through the val ley and the road it lined w ith wagon yet there are comparatively few settlers to be found there, though emigrants are conttanlly pa-iking through in teaah of locations by no mrant so favorable. At the head of the valley is the Iiy Horse mining district and across the divide on Salmon river arc Challit and Ihe rich mines surrounding it. Lott river derive its title from ihe fact that it suddenly disappear from view in the lava plain towards Snake rivet. Though a large stream flowing I- I w een rmaucnt banks, it diop out of tight at the edge of live lava field and flow for twenty mile through a cleft in the ruck some distance below the surface, ditappraring finally in an open sage biuih plain near the foot hills, little IxMt river, about twenty-five mile east, alto sinks from view in the plain. On thi stream a farm of l.ooo acre was cultivated lo grain this season with good results. Anotoer year will find the valley of Lot! liver sprinkled with settlers' cabins. and putkihly those of the miner, as Ihe hills that border the valley contain indications of mineral dej Kadis and number 0 good claims have been loud. Malad valley is twenty-three milct long . an average width of ten miles. It conuia population of 4,000, a large portion of it in agricultural pursuits. On the east tidecf a, valley is Malad City, the county seat and durf business center of Oneida county coauiaii, 1,500 people; while seven miles ditUaiTan the opposite side, is Samaria with a popU of 40a A large number of cattle and then praze in the valley and nn th? '!rrj-'- ' At Malad is a flouring mill with a daily capsciiT of sixty barrels. The city is divided nutnerictLy and geographically between Mormon and Ce. tiles. An artesian well company hat beea orju ized with a capital stock of $125,000. The Potlatch country, lying to the northeast of Le wist on has been visited by the editor of tin Ket Perce A'u-r, from whose report the folk, ing facts are gleaned : The Potlatch coui7 a basin sixty-five miles in extent, through whid runs Potlatch creek in a southerly courw, recti, ing several tributaries from the wett. Tat surface is quite broken, and the gulches in nhici the streams run divide the country into dbtiact series of upland prairies. That portioa lyiitj east of the main stream is called " Iiig 1'otlitch," and is a broad, fertile prairie extending tweair miles towards the north fork of Clearwater. This region will soon rank with the best in Idilxx The toil holds moisture well and crops mattrt without much rain during the growing scuta. The average yield the present season was twenty two bushels to the acre without any rain what ever. Fruit trees planted a year ago stood the hard winter in good condition and give prooitt of bearing well another season. Wett of the main creek the country is drained by Utile rot latch, Middle Potlatch, Ilear and Pine creeks and the prairies lying along these ttresmt it known as "Little Potlatch," ' Fix H or " Middk Potlatch ridge," "American ridge," "Hear cms ridge " and " Pine creek ridge." Th: slope the rolling hills are covered with a deep layer a fertile, alluvial soil. The gulches are fcfiea with pine, fir and tamarack. The prairie are only from 1,200 to 1,800 feet aliove the level of the sea and Ihe climate is mild and geaiil Little rivulet run down the hillsides fed bylif springs, one or more of which can be fouad " nearly every quarter section. Among the guests invited by Mr. Villard fi Germany to attend the celebration of tlie opetua of the Northern Pacific railroad, and to U pr ent at the driving of the last spike, wat M.. C rad DicliU of Iierlin. This gentleman is tht mott celebrated painter in Germany, aoJ recently finished a portrait of the emperor uf Ger many and another of ihe crown prince, beak st which are regarded as perfection in porTtil p ing. Mr. Vtllard had a purpose in i"'it fc DicliU to be present upon this intercttmf sion, and that purpose was to secure a r1 torical painting of the scene presented al the ing of the last spike. Il " a great evrol it is fit that it should be cmcmorsled n.iiir. 1.. it.. n.ini artui of Europe. this purpose Mr. ViUanJ commits:'4! bti lo produce a picture that should be eq the occasion, for which he Is lo receive It will be one of the large! ptftum crrt fJ and will measure twenty by 77., represent sixty persons, prominent " assembled midway tctweeo SL r-U