Show CENTRAL IDAHO Central Idaho embracing the counties coun-ties of ElmGre Owyhee Ada Canyon Boise and TVashlnglonwhile enjoying a vigorous and substantial development develop-ment has experienced no phenomenal growth during the pact year Speaking generally the conditions have been prosperous and encouraging The increase in-crease of rattle as indicated byOregon Short Line reports amounts to 25 or 30 per cent for the past twelve months By this is meant that the receipts from sill sources at the railway stations within those count s exceeded during the present year the receipts of any previous year by the amount stated The railway company has done a great amount of work in Improvements and betterments In this section during the year Just ended having expended upward up-ward of a million and a half dollars In that direction The Indications are according to the forecasts of railway officials that the next years truffle will exceed trat of the past year by fully 50 pet cent and to meet this Increase It has been determined to make the Oregon Ore-gon Short Line one of the safest and bestequipped systems In the country Mr D E Burley general passenger agent is authority for the statement that within the next year the entire entre line between Boise and Huntlngton will be widened and gravel ballasted He also speaks hopefully of the prospect for a large Immigration Into this section sec-tion bf Idaho The work and Improvements of the last year which is Indicative of the progress and development of the country coun-try comes under four heads mining farming ingIn fruitraising and stockrais In mining Owyhee and Boise counties appear to have shown most activity OWYHEE First of all is the completion the great Swan Falls power plant This great electric plant capable of producing < ing 12000 horsepower was completed last May and a current turned on from It to Dewey and the mines and two mills of the Trade Dollar Consolidated company on Florida mountain Since then with scarcely a full days hitch all told It has supplied the power for two blS mills for the power drills In all the mines and for driving the big tunnel tun-nel being run by the company Besides Be-sides this It has lighted the mines and mills offices and dwellings of the company i com-pany and employees has a plant about completed for supplying power to the Poorman mines on War Eagle and Is I furnishing power for one of the best equipped lighting plants In Silver City to be found anywhere All of this with only a tithe of the developed power pwer utilized The great South Sinker tunnel started start-ed in 1S99 has made steady progress during the year I is now in 56GO feet having been advanced during the year 2900 feet I ta within 300 feet of the objective point for which it Is being runthe point underneath the collar of the old Ida Elmorc shaft This great undertaking is for the purpose of reopening re-opening the famous string of mines on the eastern slope of War Eagle moun Earle tain to which belong the Oro FIno Ida Blmore Golden Chariot South Chariot Minnesota In earlier days the most famous producers In s9uthern Idaho but almost Idle since 1875 because of the cost of unwaterlng them The tunnel tun-nel will cut the great veins at a depth of 2100 feet and supply an egress for the ores at a point much more favorable favor-able than on top This is one of the biggest enterprlsesjlrc TdahotQdayand l the completion expected early next year will mark a new era In the mines on this famous mountain The Poorman mine on the eastern slope o War Eagle one of the famous old producers of earlier days has been steadily rcprospcctcd during the year and now Has on it l shaft 1QOO feet in depth with n most favorable outlook outook I is ficing equipped with an electric plant nearly completed supplied with power from the Swan Foils plant De La Mar has been rejuvenated From a gloomy outlook orn year ago conditions condi-tions have materially changed by the rediscovery or the ore bodies This has not only assured another year of prosperity pros-perity but probably many On the strength of the ore bodies being rediscovered re-discovered pitching into ground outside the De La Mar companys holdings anew a-new company has been organized to work the adjoining property with a fair prospect of making another bonanza The great Trade Dollar Consolidated company has run Its Trade Dollar and Black Jack mills steadily during life year without n hitch turning out bullion bul-lion and concentrates Just as It has for several years past I has also made steady progress with Its big Dewey tunnel tun-nel which when completed will be the longest tunnel In the State cutting under un-der the summit of Florida mountain at a depth of 1 O feet and cutting all the veins owned by tho company BOISE COUNTY Work on the Lucky Boy mine has been pushed vigorously during the year Considerable new machinery has been put on the ground and henceforth rapid development may bo expected Two large dredges have been In opera ton during most of the year near Placervllle but are now temporarily Idle and another dredge has been partially par-tially built near Cenlervllle by the company com-pany which owns those at Placervllle The same company has also erected an electric power plant about ten miles bplow Centervine at a cost of 300000 to furnish power for operating the dredges The Boston and Idaho Dredg InS company has been operating during the post summer Tiear Idaho City and according to the beat information obtainable ob-tainable the work has been highly1 successful suc-cessful OnQ of this companys dredges operating on Moore creek has < a capacity ca-pacity o ISOO cubic yards a day of twentyfour Hours I the ground yielding from 12 to 10 cents per yard The company com-pany will construct another lurge dredge during the present year to work ground six miles below Idaho City The Washington mine ten miles northeast of Idaho City has yielded inarvelously during lid past tar and promises to continue doing so Indefinitely A shaft was sunk fifty feet below the 100foot level and Jn sinking that depth 100 tons of very rich ore was taken out An elghtfoOt lodge of fine ore was recently opened on the Rock Creek group and a twjslamp sampling mill has boon put on the ground This yearn I year-n ten tnmp mill will be erected The Gold Hill mine nt Quartzburg which haH bfren a bJg producer In the past has been the scene of extensive development work during the year now ended > Actual mining operations have been Interfered with on account of water l but this difficulty f 1 overcome by the Installation In-stallation of a large pumping plant TIH Gold Hill will be heard Crypt before another year goes by Speaking generally gen-erally the old mining propositions In Boise county have inelnta4ntrl their standard of productivity and many valuable discoveries have been made One of the newest and most promising district Is I the West View of which Pearl Ip I the capital so to spealt This Is 1 new old proposition as placer mining mi-ning tits conducted theie thirty or tort tor-t years tigo But notwithstanding the fact that mining Is I going on Ihorou band b-and In tho piiwt year considerable good ore was taken out West View does not f out seen to attract much outride attention In view of the fart that there are uev crul yielding propprtet in the district and Mme JKly claims Ifo process of development de-velopment It is surprising that it isso little ttJke about I Urn told by experienced I expe-rienced mining men that If lha West View district were situated in Colorado It would be as famous a Cripple Creek To enumerate the developments and Improvements of the past year would consume more space that is allotted to this article Roughly speaking proba bly h > 0000 has been expended prba de velopment work and < about the same amount of money taken out Since the flrst discovery of gold in the Basin In 1862 upward of 5210000000 have been taken out of the mines of Boise county and in I the next forty ycais unless cunt all present indications are false five times as much more will he tlkeirouU d THUNDER MOUNTAIN While this famous mining district is not strictly speaking within the terri tory this article thinly covers yet it la on the boundary and a few words roOt spectlng it may ro-Ot b ° rt roprtatey Inserted ilere The locljty known M Thunder Moun tain Is situated near the center of the SOuthern half of Idaho county In acm hIgh a-cm ° llVtalnouis reel ° n where1 the raters of the Western tributaries the Salmon and the streams Iloivinig south ward i into thc northern tributaries of the Payette river take their rise rue localty Is approximately ISO mIles In tt r hcasterly direction from the city of Boise and about equal dls tEe from the northern mining dis nets in the Wood HIrer country The mountain Itself Is one of the tnnCSV If not the Iowet of the eleva ions In the mountain district where It is located The peculiar formation and time Cilaracter ° f tli < S Deposits found logical there i are among the wonders of gee discoveries For a distance of several lnines in length and between limits of from three hundred to four hundred feet In width a body of highly mineralized matter is found every por ion of which so far as has been ex amined and tested gives vaiuesaora avorag Ing fmom 6 to 5 par ton This does not Include the value of the rich pay streaks tllLt have been encountered WhIcil go away up Into thc thousands of dollars per ton These rich pay streaks are found scattered through the mass of mineralized matter at irregu mr Intervals As yet the massIhan been Jefletrated only to a depth of 130 feet with the result that the values increase regularly with the depth attallllcd These values though apparently low so far exceed the cost of reduction that the estimated profits are almost Incal culable This taken into account with the practically inexhaustible quantity of milling material so easily mined and so easily brought to the places of crush ng and reduction places the re sults beyond the power of computation One striking peculiarity of thc for mation on Thunder mountain Is that nothing resembling what can be prop erly called a welldefined ledge has yet been found The whole is a conglome rate mass with an average width of 300 feet and without welldefined limits of any kind There Is no evidence that the mass composing the mountain Is thc result of an original unlieaval of any kind on the contrary everything Indicates that the entire mountain Is the result of the violent action of wa ters of a primeval interior sea or lake Specimens of all the rimway rocks as well ns of all the sedimentary formations for-mations of the earths crust arc here found mixed In indiscriminate confusion confu-sion All the gold thus far found has the character of placer gold that Is of gold that has washed and worn by attrition with the rocks Speculations are cheap but it is safely within the possibilities to predict that when the greatest possible depth shall have been attained there will be found Immense deposits of virgin placer gold but slightly Intermixed with sand and gravel In the mean time we have to accept and operate upon the overlying mass wliichwithl what Is known and from present Indications Indi-cations will keep our miners busy for the next fifty years at least x Within a radius of twentyfive miles from this central mineralized belt at Thunder mountain and in every direction direc-tion from It discoveries are daily being made and new mining operations are being inaugurated The field Is so vast and the results already secured are so new and startling start-ling that It Is difficult to write soberly on the sjibjcct Everybody who goes and takes a look at the scene comes back saying It is the biggest thing on earth Comparatively little Is known about Thunder mountain as yet The marvelous mar-velous revelations will come next sea son with the advent of the Iron horse Into that region and with the cleanups clean-ups of thc mills that are going in ADA COUNTY There are 75S01fi acres In the county of which 51012C have been surveyed wl th a population of about 25000 10000 of which are within the city of Boise and Its several additions The total assessed valuation of property within thc county Is 5750000 of which sum 3263000 are within thc city of Boise Of patented land the county has 92000 acres of an assessed as-sessed valuation of 004000 From the taxation of property within the county the State derives a revenue of 218000 There Is but little of what can be properly prop-erly culled waste land within thc county coun-ty nearly thc cptlre area being sun ceptlhlo of cultivation and under the several Irrigating ditches which provide pro-vide abundant water for all the needs of the Inhabitants These lands of the county enjoy the very decided advantage advan-tage of being situated at and near thc head of thc Boise valley with first right of access to the water of the river by virtue of possessing thc oldest and first established water right Inexhaustible Inexhausti-ble sources of artesian water both cold and hot have been found at every point along the foothills skirting the northern side of the valley wherever persistent efforts have been made to strike it This artesian hot water Is already being extensively utilized for heating public buildings and private residences In this city the supply being found adequate to any present or future fu-ture need It Is at present so abundant that It furnishes the most economical means of sprinkling the thoroughfares of the city The advantages of tile use of tM olorient are simply Incalculable and the simple existence of the fact can scarcely be credited by those who have not had the testimony of their senses Of the salubrity of the cllnialo and the general healthfulness of this section of the Boise valley it is needless to iltc at length as the topography and local conditions are such as lo make of the entire county a natural sanitarium As a locality It ia peculiarly pecu-liarly exempt from thc rude winter stornii which Hoiiiotlincs visit the other sections of highlyfavored Idaho If Ada county cannot boast of the number and the richness of the mines situated within her borders she can justly urge H claim which is better She can justly claim a very large share In all the mines of southern Idaho aa Indirectly trl they arc all directly or butiiry to her since she occupies the commercial and business center where mining and other business enterprises originate and from whence operations jadlate in every direction and to every quarter Q Ada county numbers within her borders bor-ders C218 children of school age most attend of whom are registered ants In the public schools of the coun The county is well dotted ovr iv with schoolhouses In which wellgov erned and efficient schools are kept for the greater part of each year The city educational center has ofjBolHe us an no superior In all this ntermountaln regIon The principal development in Ada county during the past year consist of the construction and enlargement oC lr rigatlon canals the Increased aroa of lands tilled for fruits and agricultural products and other Improvements in Boise City Itself Probably the most nolnble development will bo found JOLublc along the latter line Some magnificent structures havo been completed within the past year and others arc now on the way Altogether Boise hu enjoyed Alogther a year of great growth and prosperity WASHINGTON COUNTY The population of this county avery a-very materially Increased during the past year thousands ot acres of land have been turned into flourishing farms tho mines have been largely developed de-veloped and Eastern capitalists have availed themselves of the magnificent Lulc timber I lands In the northern part of he county Tho Pacific Idaho Northern North-ern railway has been extended from Cambridge to Council which Is now a flourishing little town of 500 Inhabitants Inhabi-tants Council Is fifty miles nearer to The Thunder Mountain mining district than any other point on n railroad Welser the county seat of Washington county has enjoyed some very sub scandal Improvements In addition to a large number of beautiful residences and good brlpk business blocks u large smelter has just been completed EMORE This county though rich In natural resources mining agriculture and grazing has not made the progress dUng < dU-ng the past year that other counties 1n this section of Idaho have made Mountninhome the county seat has I shown some growth but not as much as It should One reason no doubt of I the stagnation In Elmoir Is that It has become grazing ground for large herds I nul Hocks Instead of homos for large II numbers of small fai inert Lack of water Is however the great bane of Elmor county There are no larger or more fertile tracts of land under un-der the sun and no better climate I has abundant wuterstorage facilities The best natural reservoir sites in rhe world One of these Is the Long Tom canyon but It Isnt developed and consequently con-sequently has no place In this article There have been some developments in the Rocky Bar mining district but nothing of consequence The flocks and herds have Increased largely CANYON COUNTY I Thls Is a county of farms and orchards or-chards pumpkins and Ilowcrs alfalfa and irrigation canals Within the last year the growth of this county in material ma-terial progress and population is equal to that of any county In the State At least SOOO people have come In during the year 26000 acres of new lands have been broken and 2000 xicr s have been put to orchards The Payette valley val-ley which 1 intho northern cxtiemlty of the county and noted for Its productivity produc-tivity and fine fruit has piobably shown the greatest growth in population popula-tion I has also Improved wonderfully In the way o fine buHdhigs and orchards or-chards yRoswoll vhlch Is near the confluence of the Boise find Snake rivers riv-ers has in the last year more than maintained Us usual growth 7t Is one of the most delightful spots In ftc West A number of fine residences havo been built also a fine church and schoolhouse school-house within the year Acros the river the little town of Parma has grown jlOWn wonderfully Caldwcll the county seat has net enjoyed her usual growth but last August voted 20000 for a waterworks water-works system Bonds were sold and work has been begun Probably twenty twen-ty ncW residences have been erected and a 1COM addition mae to the schoolhrmse including a cmiplcle steamheating plant The College of Idaho added to fcts equipment = 3000 dormitory Nahipa has enjoyed 0 most vigorous growth and has wJthln Its hIm Its the largest hotel In the State This Is f an enterprise of Col Deweys In ad dition probably some fifty finn rest dences have been erected and all along the line substantial and anc al alons provemerts are to be seen Mr 1 Dewey has withIn the year pushed his railroad nearly to Emmett a distance of airoad ty miles and as the road approaches Emmett Is taking on 3 new and vigor ous life Four large business houses are now in cource of construction and others projected REES H DAVIS I |