Chapter 20

Rush Creek enters the Weiser at the easterly line of the village of Cambridge. It's source is in a basin on Cuddy Mountain. It furnishes irrigation water for a number of farms along its course and a part of the power that supplies electricity for Council, Cambridge and Midvale. It was on this creek that John Cuddy built the first sawmill and flour mill erected in either Washington or Adams County and the waters of the creek supplied the power for the mills. It derives its name from a jointed grass, called rush grass, which grows along the creek bottom and is particularly plentiful in the river bottom where the stream enters the Weiser.

Pine Creek, a tributary of the Weiser River and entering that stream a little way below Cambridge, has its source principally on Cuddy Mountain, and gets its name from the pine forests that clothe the hills about its upper reaches. This stream has a large run-off of water the spring months, a part of which it as been the intention of land owners above Cambridge to conserve by means a reservoir on Horse Flat, and steps to that end have been taken, but owing to the immense expenditures necessary to national defense, it now looks like that if this reservoir is ever constructed, it must be done without the assistance of the federal government.

Keithley Creek, a considerable stream entering the Weiser a short distance above Midvale has its source on the easterly side of Hitt Mountain. It gets its name from Levi and John keithley, first settlers in the valley through which the creek flows. It furnishes water for a large number of farms, but only the first locaters may have water for irrigation throughout the season, as the flow runs down after June. If there were a storage basin along this creek, the excess runoff in the spring might be conserved sufficiently to irrigate a large area of productive land, now only partially supplied.

Crane Creek. entering the Weiser at the lower end of the canyon, has its source on a divide between the waters of the Weiser and Payette Rivers. It has a great run-off of water in early spring, which is impounded and put to later use by a reservoir at the lower end of the valley through which it flows. This reservoir is of incalculable value to the lands of the lower Weiser valley as the natural flow of the Weiser River is insufficient to furnish water for late irrigation. The building of this reservoir was the thought of E.D. Ford, an enterprising citizen, still living here, who put in years of time and labor to bring the enterprise to a successful end so far as the reservoir is concerned, and never profited a cent by his labors. He was instrumental in having irrigation districts created, the bonds of which were used for the building of the dam and ditches to convey the water to the places of intended use, but the debt created by these bonds was too heavy a burden for the land owners to bear and neither principal or interest payments were made. The bonds becoming practially worthess, their holders made a settlement with the districts interested and took over the reservoir and water rights in settlement of the bonded indebtedness.

Mann Creek, generally used in the prossessive case, Manns, was named for an early settler by the name of Jack Mann, who lived in a "Dugout", a mile or two above where the creek enters the Weiser. This streams has its source on Hitt Mountain and flows through a narrow valley for a distance of about 15 miles. The soil of this valley is very productive, and its products of hay, grains, fruit and livestock are of greater value than that of any like area in the county. As said before there is not sufficient water to properly irrigate the lands lying along this stream. but if the spring run-off were stored by the reservoir their products could be doubled. With the threatened war and preparations being made for defense, it is doubtful if the general government will now come to their aid in the construction of a storage dam, which a short time ago was thought certain to come at an early day.

Monroe Creek, the small stream that enters the Weiser River in the Morehead addition to Weiser, derives its name from an early pioneer by the name of John Monroe Phillips, who for some reason dropped the latter part of his name and was generally known as Jack Monroe.

His wife was a Jeffreys. a sister of the pioneer, Woodson, Solomon and James Jeffreys, and came to Weiser soon after their arrival here. He never located any land, but used the range for his horses, of which he had a considerable number, some of them being race stock.

He was known as a sport, ready to take a chance at any game, either on the race track or at the gambling table. He had four children,  two sons and two daughters, all of whom are probably dead by this time.

Jenkins Creek got its name from a man bearing the name of Jenkins who had a small dairy near where the wagon road crosses the stream, and sold its products to travelers.

Scot Creek is so named because of the fact that Scot Shaw, when a boy looked after his fathers hogs which ranged about Indian grove, where the stream has its source, during the summers season. This creek has quite a run.off in the early spring which might be stored for irrigation at a reasonable cost, and bring into production a considerable tract of land now lying idle.

There are a number of other streams flowing into the Snake River of such minor importance that they will not be mentioned.

Brownlee Creek bears the name of the first white man to make a settlement along its course. It has its source on the westerly side of Cuddy Mountain and the north side of Hitt Mountain, and flows South through the Heath mining district. It furnishes irrigation water for a number of ranches where alfalfa hay is the chief crop.

Now, I have traversed the principal sections of the two counties and have briefly related their histories, as well as some of the activities of the early pioneers of the sections I have mentioned. I realize that this history could have been much better written by a trained journalist or a learned historian. but I do claim for its fair accuracy for the happenings I have witnessed and as for those imparted to me by others, I fully believe them. I hope I have offended none by what I have said and that I have interested few more who have read it.

This effort has entaled a lot more work on me than I thought of when I began and now it can find a resting place in the files of the paper in which the recitals were published. Some of my adverse critics will doubtless say that flames would be a more fitting place the stuff, and they may not be far wrong. Now that I have reached the 86th  mile post on the journey of life, it is not likely that I will ever again inflict anything more in the way of writing on my readers, so as a writer I bid them all farewell.