CITY HALL
Among other things that Mackay has to be proud of is a City
Hall. A large front room that is used for different purposes, while in the rear
of the building the city council have a room elegantly furnished, where that
body meets to lay down the municipal laws that govern our fair town. The town
is very fortunate in having for its council men that are determined that
nothing shall be laid aside that is for the welfare of our town, and insist
that everything that is within their power to have done, must be done that will
tend to beautify the town. This, we say again, is a reason why Mackay must
still go forward until it becomes one of the largest cities of the West.
On the first page is shown the picture of the present
councilmen. The town is incorporated and every two years the people elect a set
of officers. The present officers are all business and professional men of the
city, who have made a success of their own business and are making a success of
conducting the affairs of the city.
AN UNEQUALLED GAM COUNTRY
To what man, be he Wall street banker, Hindoo priest or
Kaffir warrior, does not the excitement of the chase appeal? White or red,
black or yellow, it is in the blood to pursue and slay the fleet-footed deer,
or elk, or antelope; to shoot the ferocious bear or cougar, and to snare the
wily trout from the swirling pool. Nature endowed man with the instinct and
then supplied the incentive. It is here in Central Idaho in such quantities as
to delight the small or big game hunter of international experience.
Long before other western states where game abounded in the
days of ox team emigrants had taken precautionary measures, the legislature of
the state of Idaho passed laws protecting the birds, animals and fish and at
the present time, the state contains as good hunting as can be found in any
part of North America. Nearly every species of deer and bear are found in the
mountains of Central Idaho, while the valleys are thickly populated with sage
hen, prairie chickens, grouse, etc., and the streams offer the best fishing in
the world. The laws are so framed as to make hunting desirable only for
residents of the state and these always have a vacation awaiting them that is
filled with the keenest pleasures.
Antelope are frequently seen in bands within gun shot of the
town of Mackay. They are now protected for a term of years but when the open
season commences the hunting will be all the better. Deer are plentiful and elk
are frequently brought down. Brown and black bears, silver-tipped bears,
grizzlies and mountain lions or cougars live in the upper ranges, and bounties
are offered by the state for the pelts of some of these animals. In the valleys
and along the rivers, all kinds of ducks and geese and other water fowl are
plentiful, besides the toothsome prairie chickens.
The Big Lost river, as well as all the tributary streams are
well stocked with native trout and other kinds brought form the state fish
hatchery. The speckled, rainbow, bull, brook and various other kinds offer the
best kind of sport. It is not a country that has been “fished out” or in which
the big game has been wantonly destroyed, but a section that will always offer
the wonderful attractions of the fast-disappearing “boundless west.”
THE AGRICULTURAL FEATURES
A dusty prospector, tired from his long jaunt across sage
and sand, cam to the cooling banks of the Big Lost river and paused momentarily
to watch the swift swirling of the water before him. The shadow of the old
willows was soothing; it prompted reminiscence and reverie. To the seeker of
ore, gold as losing its romance, the chase becoming less exciting. The toiling
and moiling after yellow metal made this rest doubly pleasant, so by the stream
he camped for the night.
Next morning, the miner had found a tree upon which to hang
his hat. Eating deer, birds and trout – the food prepared by the Almighty for
the pioneer – the while, the prospector built his cabin, cleared a space of
land, dug his ditches and having obtained grain from travelers, sowed his
little space and farming was commenced in Lost River
History records that Rome was founded no less
unpretentiously. Next year there were neighbors and more of the precious and
unfailing water was diverted to cool the parched bosom of the desert valley.
Another season and the handful of grain had grown into sacksful and the magic
wand of irrigation commenced in earnest to bring into its own the vast expance
of rich, though arid, earth.
The quarter century just passed has demonstrated the wisdom
of the lone prospector who blazed by way for those who have followed his
course. Big Lost river, branching out as it does today in scores of ditches and
canals to spread over the valley like a mystic network, was the key forged when
the mountains were new, - the key to unlock and bring to the farmer and
homeseeker the treasures that lay in the desert valley.
The millions that have been taken from the mines have been
made possible by this steadier industry. Grain and hay from this valley,
augmented by every kid of garden vegetable, keep man and beast alive.
Agriculture has made Central Idaho what it is and the unknown prospector should
be eulogized and revered. The section will double its available farm land in
another three years and by that time will more than support the ranchers,
miners and stockmen, leaving much produce to be shipped to the outside world.
Experiments in cultivation have proven the soil to be of the
best and actual results from all the ranches in the valley prompt only the most
sanguine statements. From thirty yields as high as forty and forty-five bushels
to the acre and oats are also prolific in their growth. Of hay, the alfalfa
yields two crops annually and then leaves a fine pasturage with which to fatten
winter stock. Barley and rye also grow well. Fall wheat is the banner crop to
put in, as the winter is not too severe for it and when early spring comes, the
grain has a good start and needs very little water.
Of vegetables and garden truck, including berries and small
fruits, practically every variety than can be grown in any other section of the
country can be produced in the Lost River valley. Potatoes are raised as a
staple product to be sold to the frequently mining camps. Lettuce, onions,
tomatoes, Peas, beets, carrots, turnips , cabbage, strawberries, etc., are abundant
and cheap during the summer months. Gardening requires very little care and especially
the growing of potatoes is profitable in the extreme.
Below Mackay thirty-five miles is Arco, a town situated just at the southern boundary of the irrigated district. It is in the center of a community of over
three hundred inhabitants . A few miles north is Moore, or Lost River, where several hundred ranchers
come for their mail and to market their goods. Darlington and Leslie are located along the
railroad line between Moore and Mackay and are both communities with flattering prospects
from an agricultural point of view. Above Mackay, Barton, Chilly and Dickey
are the the central points of a rich farming region.
Such is Lost River farming today. It is proving more than
profitable; it is bringing a comfortable living to hundreds of families. The residents in the
valley are of the best class of people. Many easterners, attracted by the exceptional
opportunities offered, have settled here and their enterprise and achievements are marked steps toward success. George H. Clark, owner and proprietor of the Hoosier ranch, twelve
miles south of Mackay is a good example of this type. Mr. Clark, who is a college
bred man, being a graduate of Cornell University came to Idaho from Indiana a half dozen
years ago and purchased about nine hundred acres of the best land in the section. His
ranch is a model from every standpoint, good buildings, modern farm machinery, blooded horses and imported seed being some of the factors that have made it a success. It is
a country that requires energy, but is is an energy that can always see and realize its
profits.
The “tomorrow” of the Big Lost River valley as a farming
section is painted in roseate hues on the canvas of fact. Within another three years,
an enormous reservoir will be completed that will store water sufficient to reclaim
125,000 acres of valuable, fertile land and the farming population of the valley is
expected to more than double. Work has already commenced on the mammoth dam that
is to back up the spring floods in Lost river and seventy-five men are at work on the
excavations three miles above Mackay. What this means can be told in a few figures.
The site of the proposed dam is between two giant walls of
rock, the
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