The Far West

Tlie hor.-cs of tbe Yellowstone have a hard life of it rturing the season, tbr it is so dry the dust gets into their lungs and with the hard driving the majority of tliem go undcr ground in three or four year.-. In winter time they are hcrded on the Montana pialas. The stage drWers are an intelligent lot, iml every oue wants to rlde ug in front to lisien to their oracular utterances. Our Joh 11 told us of his last load buing school teachers, who came into the park with a clean shirt and a five dollar bill. They stflyed a week and left without changing eitlier oae. "They make him sick.1' Continuing westward the editorial excursión foiind its way to Helena, the prosperous capital of Montana. Krom tliere it was only six hours run by special train to Butte, "the greatest mining camp on earth." The great Anaconda silver and copper mines are not far away and have their smelting done at Butte. Thpy make a specialty of silver, getting the copper almost without C09t. If it was as high a grade of ore as our Michigan copper it woulJ drive even the Calumet and Ilecla out of existence. Somo 4,000 tons of ore are treated daily at Butte, wliile buil a million dollars a montli is paiil out to minera. Three men own the Anaconda mino, whosc prolits are believed to be over live million dollars yearly. Hut it has taken good nerve to get t la its present condition, for the comp;iny has expended $20,000,000 in the purchase and developmentofits mines in the past ten yearr. It is lighted by eleetrlcity, wlilch gives a safe and steady light through its vast h il's. The roofs, supported by timber?, require 25,000 feet a day. This and inaiiv other mines are riglit In the town, of Midi richness that the barren hill sides are worth $100,000 an acre. The recent advances in the price of silver and copper wlll add inilliiini to the values of the mines. Butte has cable and eleetric cars, good hotels, eifotiic lichting in the streets and stores. Everythlng Is booming there. Buildings are going up everywhere by electrie light at night. Stores like Goodyear's rent for $500 a month. A thousand Chinese live in quarters by themselves, wlilch we passed through In the evenïng under the escort of the Chief of Pólice. The housi-8 which were not laundi ies or stores were for gambling where a crowd of the heathens surround a long table. They have a singular game, consisting siniply of a pile of round copper pleces nearly as lurge as a cent. The man at the end taken a handful and puts thein under a cover. Then the bystanders about the tiible bet whether it comes out odd or even by putting the coin on one side or t!ie other of the table. We visited a Joís house up stairs. Within was the heavy close odor of incensé burniug. On a stage was the idol surrounded by gauily lanterns, illuininated banners and artificial iloweis. The .-iuner comes up and pays the prlest, who takes a roll of paper, writes the sin on it, then wlth an incautación burns the paper. The hospitablo people of Butte took us through the mines, gave us an elegant banqutt and spared no pains lo make us long remember "the greatest minlngcaiup on earth." Kesuming our cars westarted on a long ride 600 miles to Boise City. the capita] of the new state, Idaho, passing thr ugh a desolate country without tree or vegctation save the hardy sage bush. "We liail not Inteuded going tlicrc, hut tho Citizcoa sent us such a warm invitation that we co nel mled (o iccept, and glad we were tlmt we had done so when we arrived to find sucli a warm welcome. Tlie conimittee wblch came out to meet us was the wuole-souled Govornor Slioup the secretary of state, the judge of the state court, the mayor andothers. As we approached the capital we begsn to notice green grass nud wheat. Irrigating ditches showed running water( and w herever the streatns touclied the dry, paiched ground vegetation in richness sprang forth. The soil is rich, only needing water. Withln the psist two years 40,000 aerea of tuis desert have been taken up to be made to blossom like the garden, being cow worth $10 per acre. For lliis amount one can purchase a perpetual water right from the ditch companie?. One can Uke up 160 acres at f 1.25 an acre, after living on it six montlis; or as a homesteiid free, after residing there and cultivatinjr for five years; or by planting ten acres of trees, cultivating eight years; or C-10 acres by Irrtgatlng each 40 acres for three years. The city of Boise is a paradise of fruit, flnvers and simde trees. Ditches f uil of water run through tlie strects, having water wluels as quaiut as the wind milis of Holland. Tuey serve to raisu tlie water to give it a tull to a further distance, and in tliis way it passes ïtseif all over the city. It is n great valley f. r finita, pluins, ïectarines, peaches, grapes, and all otbec kinds growing lurge and in abundance. The trees growing with thelr heavily allen branches. They take a just pi ide in their spleudid chools. Thelr central school is capable of hulJing over a thousand pupiU, and hey expend annually $4 for every man, vomau and child within the limita ot' the listrict, the saine iroportion that is ui)prtriated in this school district. Our parly wu9 (Jriven about the city, shown the orchards and public buildings hen banqueti'd in regal style. Tliey now well how to entertain out west, and it does not take long tn become ac[aaloted with them. Having just come into the Union the eople of Idalio, and especially of iu capital, are experiuncins an awakening In nisintss. GreattT confidence in its growth will bring outside capital to develoj) its mines, manufactures and aííricultural intertsta. We predict it will be a far greater state than the demócrata, vlio opposed its admission into the Jnion, ever dreamed it could be. Next week we shall devote sonie spnee o Utah and Colorado. Here is a conversation tliat actually occurred on our streets Monday: "Say, John, do you know that In this contest tor the democratie DOmination for connty clerk that Beakes will be done up Brown?" "Oh! Bach! llcl.achlan will get there in a Wagner!" was the tart rely, and each one went his way, amlllnfc a smile of satisfactlon as it he had said eometblng smart.