Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1879.djvu/67

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The governor of Idaho reports the year as one of thrift and prosperity. Agriculture and mining have been remunerative, schools have been encouraged, and good health has prevailed. With the advent of railroads and improvements in highways a large immigration may reasonably be expected.

The numerous streams of Idaho afford facilities for irrigation in those sections where rain is infrequent, while the lands of Northern Idaho can be cultivated without resort to artificial means. The governor describes the methods employed for irrigation and the encouraging results which ensue therefrom. He favors government aid in the effort to reclaim lands for cultivation, and the adoption of some system by which large tracts may be secured by individuals willing to expend their capital in building the necessary works for irrigating purposes. The reasons given for the inauguration of a more liberal public policy in the disposal of lands that can be profitably worked only by an expensive system of irrigation are worthy of special consideration.

The timber supply of the Territory is abundant, but a reckless disregard for the public interests has marked its destruction for years past. In addition to the waste of timber by man, the fires which constantly sweep the mountains destroy a greater amount than is taken for consumption by the entire population.

He recommends taking prompt steps to prevent wanton destruction, and thinks this can best be done by transferring the ownership of timbered lands from the government to the people most interested in their use and preservation, under a system which will provide for inspection and valuation, for their sale at entry or auction, at or above minimum prices carefully adjusted.

Since 1863 the gold and silver product of Idaho has amounted to about $67,000,000. As there is no law requiring miners or public officers to make returns, only approximate estimates can be given. The improved methods employed in reducing the ores and the increasing facilities for transportation will in the future largely augment the annual yield of the precious metals.

The condition of the Indians of Idaho remains substantially as at the date of last year's report. Few depredations have been committed, and these by detached parties not under the control of agencies. The people, consequent upon the disturbances of 1877 and 1878, cherish a bitter feeling against all Indians, and this oftentimes leads to great injustice. In this connection the governor says: “It is not well to disguise the fact that there is among our population a chronic feeling of distrust and hostility towards all Indians, so active in possible results that, in a recent interview with a body of Shoshone and Bannock Indians at the Fort Hall Agency, I made it my duty to warn them to remain upon their reservation and refrain from visiting white settlements unprotected.”

The remedy suggested by the governor for existing evils and growing
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