32 SNAKE RIVER PLAINS OF IDAHO. [bull. 199. 
are over 1,000,000 sheep, nearly 200,000 cattle, and about 34,000 
horses. a But little of this stock is fed in barns during the winter and 
by far the greater part is fed ha}^ only during severe storms. The 
winter pastures are on the broad sagebrush-covered plains. 
MINING. 
The Snake River Plains themselves are destitute of metal and ores 
of economic importance, but the bordering mountains contain rich 
mines. Along Snake River fine placer gold occurs in considerable 
quantity, but is difficult to procure. Placer mining has been carried 
on, in a small way, continuously for many years, however, and the 
annual production of gold is a considerable addition to the wealth of 
the State. A large portion of the mining that has been done is a loss 
to the State, however, as rich agricultural lands which could be made 
to yield harvests for an indefinite time are ruined by the operation. 
The single crop of gold obtained is far less in value than the many 
crops of hay, grain, fruit, etc., which could be secured if the land 
were tilled. 
TOWNS. 
The wants of the people, engaged in stock raising, ranching, and 
agriculture on the Snake River Plains or amid the bordering moun- 
tains has led to the springing up of several small towns. These towns 
were first established at localities where water could be easily ob- 
tained for irrigation, and later received a new impetus when railroads 
were built, which increased their importance as shipping centers. In 
addition to the needs of agriculture and stock raising, the mining 
interests have also exerted an influence on the growth of certain towns 
and villages of the plains. 
The population, in 1900, of principal towns situated in the por- 
tion of Idaho to which attention is here invited is as follows:'' Boise, 
5,557; Pocatello, 4,046; Idaho Falls, 1,262; Mountain Home, 529; St. 
Anthony, 111. 
Boise is the capital of the State, and the center of a large stock- 
raising, agricultural, and mining region. Pocatello, the second city 
of the State in number of population, owes its growth principally to 
the fact that it is an important railroad center. Besides the cities and 
towns named there are many boroughs or villages, numbering from a 
very few to perhaps a score of houses. The largest of these unincor- 
porated villages is Blackfoot, which has about 1,500 inhabitants. On 
maps of Idaho many names of post-offices appear which a person not 
familiar with the State might assume to be settlements of some impor- 
tance, but which in a large number of instances are simply post-offices 
housed in some isolated farm-house or cross-roads store. 
o First Ann. Rept. State Bureau of Immigration, Labor, and Statistics. Boise, 1900. 
^Twelfth Census of the United States, Bull. No. 8. 
