In 1910 the county had 1,503 farms, as against 769 in 1900. The value of all farm property was $10,957,609, an increase of 188.6 per cent over the total valuation in 1900. The value of all crops in 1910 was $1,339,642, the most valuable being cereals, which totaled $653,768. Hay and forage came next at $610,585. The remaining crops were made up of grains and seeds, vegetables, fruits and nuts, and a few other products. The total irrigated area is about 110,000 acres. The altitude in the valleys varies from 4,250 feet to 5,780, while among the mountains it is, of course, much higher. There is a large acreage of fine, well-watered pasture land in the county, on which grows an abundance of nutritious bunch grass. McCammon, Downey, Oxford, and Soda Springs are all surrounded with rich agricultural lands, and at the latter place are a number of hot mineral springs, whose waters are bottled and widely sold. Lava Hot Springs will in time be a health resort of more than state-wide fame, the beauty of its surroundings as well as its health-giving springs making it an ideal spot for rest and recreation. There was a time when deer, bear and other game were plentiful in this county, and it is only about ten years since a settler was sitting quietly in his cabin one summer evening, reading a magazine, when he was disturbed by a slight noise. He paid no attention to this, but was suddenly startled a second time by an ear-splitting scream from his cat, who made a dash for the door, and in her exit, jumped over a bear, who was calmly walking in. The settler was not in the habit of entertaining stray bears in his cabin, and was at a loss to know how to greet the visitor. In his perplexity he emitted a yell that startled all the bears for many miles around and caused the one lone bear in the cabin to make a hasty dive for cover under the bed. The rancher’s gun hung over the bed, but he did not turn that way. He headed toward the door. As he neared it, the bear, for reasons known only to himself, made a dash in the same direction and man and beast were jammed in the narrow entry. The man pushed in and the bear pushed out, but in his excitement the animal turned clean about in the open and presently rushed back into the cabin to his own surprise no less than that of the inmate. The latter, however, was now safe on his bed, and reaching for the gun, he probably added considerably to Mr. Bruin’s perplexity by sending him unexpectedly into kingdom come. Parts of three national forests are situated in Bannock county; the Caribou in the east, the Cache in the southeast, and the Pocatello in the western part. The Pocatello division of the Pocatello forest was created September 15, 1903, from an examination by Edward T. Allen.