| Show CASTLE VALLEY the home of the prairie dog int immense Depol aits of coal improvements prove ments in a naturally Natural lV forbidding region phenomenal increase of rees bees huntington emery county july 2 1888 editor deseret news the first account the writer ever remembers concerning castle valley was given by some of his comrades in an indian expedition in who had followed a party of marauding ma red men into this region in the hope of recovering from them some of the cattle they had stolen from arom sanpete settlements and ana they like the abe majority of the ancient israelites sent to spy out the abe promised laud land lid did not view it with the eye of faith they gave it a very hard character toey found it so dry and parched that s scare arcay ly any vegetation except prickly pears peara were to be seen and probably not one of the whole command imagined the valley would ever be inhabited by white men the Ther country generally has A MOST forbidding FOB BIDDING appearance consisting of uneven plains broken occasionally by deep gullies or washes furrowed far rowed out by the streams which course down from the mountains on the west or by cloudbursts cloud bursts or f freshens freshets fresh ets to which the reg region non bay doubtless been subjected subjects ifor for ages the name of castle valley has been derived Je rived from the liar mountains which surround it or rather hem it i in a on the west and which have a castellated appearance litif their mesa tops and many colored bare aud and precipitous sides as they tower up for hundreds of feet showing the be effects of the erosion which as maced reduced them from what they doubtless once were an elevated level plain to what they are today TUB THE SOIL in the valley is light colored and more or less impregnated with mineral and the early settlers must certainly have had a good deal of faith to ever attempt to raise a crop on it but bat it is a great deal better than it looks The min eral though similar in appearance must be unlike in a nature to that with which the soil in the lower portions port ioas of many ot other er valle valleys a throughout the territory abounds it it does not interfere materially ial r with the growth of drops crops watch wh when e n plentie plentifully ally supplied with water an element with which fortunately the country is bountifully provided grow rapidly and luxuriantly though the surface of the soil may be almost white with the salts with which it is everywhere more or less impregnated lucern yields three good crops during daring the s season eason and many other crops do as well here as in the lower valleys generally while trees and vines grow unusually rank the country is not however so well al adapted apted for the raising of small grain as many other othar valleys are although much of it is grown here brother orange seeley who is now one obe of the counse counselors lori to president 0 G larsen of this the abe emery stake but bat who was then a resident of mount pleasant Pleasa xit sanpete San pete was wag the first to attempt a settlement of this region he ventured into the south end of the valley with a heard of cattle in a 1875 and continued to occupy it as a herd ground and aAd experimented a little at raising a crop until 1878 when li a number ot of others from sanpete were called to join him in establishing settlements in the valley and contending with the numerous numerous PRAIRIE DOGS inhabiting it for a subsistence it is retty pretty sa safe e to say that no people but latter att day saints would have been I 1 likely ea to succeed in the undertaking butt but they ey have persevered in the midst of all manner of discouragements discourage ments and will doubtless continue to do so until castle valley becomes a fruitful al region and a desirable place fora for a jame the first illge village arrived at an entering inythe abe val valley ey by train and the only one located on the line of railway is the townsite contains in addition to the railway station and a couple of well patronized and thriving stores perhaps s not more anait twenty elvei dwellings and a saloon or br two abe invariable variable adjunct to A vail railroad road town but the ward includes a great many persons living on ranches up and down price river and about twenty families who are establishing a settlement seven miles distant to the southeast south east called wellington the last mentioned is likely soon to become a ward of itself and an n extensive one too as it has ample room on the brnad brad and comparatively comparative lv level plain which it occupies to spread out and plenty of 0 water to irrigate irrig att with price proper is likely to develop hereafter faster than pan it has d ne as after a long ayad and laborious struggle the residents have at last succeeded in completing their canal and bringing water to their gardens twenty three miles south of price after traversing a rolling prairie which contains scarcely a green thing to break the monotony of its sterility huntington the largest settlement of t te le county is reached the town contains perhaps families but the wilid ward includes about fifty more located farther down the stream eastward in what are known as the LAWRENCE AND CLEVELAND D branches the latter is is destined to become one of the largest wards of the stake it is about seven miles distant from Hanti noton and much of the soil it is as good as can be found in the valley it has a canal fifteen miles long just completed this year at a cost of 30 which is expected to irrigate acres but should the water prove sufficient which is very doubtful as the whole of the stream is already utilized at least acres more could be cultivated and irrigated by it many of those who have located farms far us in cleveland and helped tu to construct the canal are miners who are employed during a large portion of the year at schofield tae canal at huntington does doe snot noc exceed three miles in length and yet it cost it passes through a tunnel feet long and was was quite difficult to construct in other places owing to the unevenness of the ground I 1 CASTLE DALE the county seat located ten miles south of huntington is a pleasantly pleaman situated village coD containing taini 1 g a grist mill at and mi mill 1 l and s some ole very well built residences r I 1 e es this settlement is well supplied with water as is also ORANG orangeville EVILLE situated on the same stream about three miles westward the latter place is well supplied with shade trees chiefly the native round leafed cottonwood very similar in appearance to the tha canadian poplar and a very thrifty variety of box elder which has a fresh looking green green bark and a differently slipped shaped leaf eat to the box elder trees found in other portions of the territory fruit trees and vines also appear to do well here as indeed they do in nearly all the settlements of the valley the writer had the pleasure of attending a stake conference of the Y M M L IA la in Oran gevilla and also meetings held under the auspices of the young mens menn associations in ia castle dale bale and huntington for lack of time he be was unable to visit tile villages of perron ferrod fifteen afif teen miles south of castle dale molen three miles east cast and muddy fifteen miles south of perron ferron but learned that those settlements were in a prosperous condition the last mentioned being especially noted for the energy and perseverance ot of its inhabitants in the matter of canal makin making the feats they have accomplished in that line are simply marvelous no country cotry in the world is better supplied with COAL MINES MIKES than is castle valley which however are as yet undeveloped immense veins crop out in numerous places around the mountain sides andin some instances can be traced for miles in the tae valley many veins ha have ve been consumed by tire fire and at least 0 on is said to be still imming burning as tradition says it has been lor for the last thirty years the attention of eastern capi has already been attracted to the coal deposits of this region which experts declare to be the most extensive they have ever seen and it is not at all unlikely that the next decade will witness the construction of branch lines of railway into this valley tor for the development of the mines and a great influx of population in the meantime the present inhabitants are laying the foundation for permanent prosperity by the development of the agricultural resources of the country anT and rendering all the more easy to extract the mineral wealth with which it abounds when the time comes to do so the climate of castle valley which is extremely dry seems especially adopted f for or THE cultivation OF BEES which seem to do better here aban in any other part of the territory indeed it is doubtful if any place in the world excels it inthis in this line numerous 0 us cases are cited ot of swarms I 1 increasing acres in three or fourfold four told already during t the e present season with a prospect or of their still continuing to multiply and yield honey for some months befort before the season is over thus has this region originally so uninviting boap bearance pe arance its compensating advantages and through the badu industry stry of its inhabitants and under the blessing blessin of the almighty is it being made a pleasant abode GC G C L |
