82 FOEEST EESEEVES IX IDAHO. 



SI. 000. and then the board of county commissioners of Shoshone County voted 

 another $1,000. making .$2,000 expended on road and trail : this trail and- wagon 

 road tapped the claims of some 15 or 20 settlers from Wallace : the wagon road 

 is built for a distance of 4 miles and the trail is built for 12 miles on a wagon- 

 road grade ; these settlements are what are known as the Slate Creek settle- 

 ments. 



My first cabin was on section 2.5. and. it being railroad. I relocated on section 

 .32 ; my cabin is about 12 by 14 ; most of our cabins were built by William 

 Fisher, an old miner and prospector here in the Coeur d'Alenes. and his con- 

 tract price was about .$25 or .$30 per cabin. Either on the survey or the wagon 

 road we settlers put in $5 extra, making $65 each, as I now remember ; 



That in addition to the main trail there are now branch trails to a great many 

 of the claims : 



That in the summer of 1904 we organized the Slate Creek Settlers' Associa- 

 tion, composed of 30 men having claims there ; this association was organized 

 for the purpose of protecting our claims from forest fires, and to make improve- 

 ments wherever necessary and also to prevent claim jumping on Slate Creek ; 

 the association was and is composed of .30 settlers, and during June. .July. 

 August. September, and November each (with a few exceptions) contributed $4 

 per month for the hire of four men to patrol Slate Creek and prevent forest 

 fires, also to fix up any cabins where the roofs had broken down or other damage 

 had been done, and also to keep an outlook for claim jumpers ; the four men so 

 employed were William Fisher. Fred Uhlman. Charles Amstutz, and one Ditt- 

 man — Uhlman remaining on duty until November. 1904 : 



That there is a narrow valley along most of Slate Creek in township 47 north, 

 range 4 east, and in places it is about one-half mile wide and maybe a little 

 more. There are also nice bottom lands in section 32. and all these lauds have 

 a nice black loam and deep soil ; 



That snow generally comes in there in November or December and usually 

 disappears in May and June, and the fall of snow is all the way from 5 to 12 

 feet. The snow usually comes in there before the ground freezes, and so the 

 ground is seldom frozen : 



That I have seen potatoes and small patches of vegetables grown in there, and 

 they matured, and I know that they will grow there fine. It is my opinion that 

 the land in there is better adapted for hay than anything else, and there are 

 fine native growths of wild hay. wild oats, and wild peas in there ; 



That of my own claim, if the tiiul)er was removed. I could plow and farm about 

 15 acres. I have not seen all the claims in there, but there are many better for 

 farming than mine. If the timber was off. nearly all my claim would grow 

 timothy. I could get water on nearly half of my claim for irrigating purposes. 

 It gets pretty dry there in the summer and water would help. 



The settlers on Slate Creek have no agreement or understanding to sell our 

 timber or lands to anyone, and we are independent of each other. In an infor- 

 mal sort of way we have discussed the plan that when we got title we might 

 put in a mill and saw the timber ourselves and make all there is in it. but we 

 have no contract about it — just talk. We are banded together just to protect 

 our separate interests, as before stated. 



P. F. McGovERX. 



Subscribed and sworn to before me at Wallace. Idaho, this June 8. 1905. 



H. H. Schwartz. 

 Special Agent. General. Land Office. 



Exhibit A. 



Statement showing settlement claimants -for lands in toicnship 41 north, range 

 6 cast. Idaho: their occupation and residence-'^. 



1. J. P. O'Brien, claiming land in section 19, is the general manager of the 

 Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and resides and has his headquarters 

 at Portland, Oreg. Has never lived on the laud. 



2. J. W. Graham, claiming land in section 20. is the general superintendent 

 of motive power for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company : resides at 

 Portland. Oreg.. and has never lived on the land. 



3. D. McDonald, claiming land in section 19, is an engineer for the Oregon 



