RARE WESTERN BOORS :HM p.v( AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY NORTH IDAHO EMBRACING i IZPERCES,IDAH(),LATAH,KOOTE1I^! COUNTIES STATE OF IDAHO WESTERN HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 1OO3 PREFATORY. DN offering this volume to the public, its publishers can hardly hope that it will in all respects meet the approval of those whose golden opinions are so ardently desired. The accuracy and com- pleteness of such a work depend not alone on the conscientiousness and care of the compilers, but more especially upon the amount and quality of the materials which happen to have been pre- served. For months the editorial force of the company has been searching with zeal and avidity for everything which could possibly throw light upon the past and present of Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties. Their search has not been as successful as they could wish, but they have done the best they could under the circumstances. It is thought that practically all printed matter which directly or indirectly related to the subject has been examined. Where no contemporaneous printed accounts could be found, the editors have been compelled to rely upon the testimony of pioneer settlers who took part in the events which they relate. In such cases they have, when possible, verified the statements of one man by those of another, knowing how treacherous and deceptive the memory frequently proves. But, with all vigilance, we can not feel sure that erroneous statements have not crept into the volume, and we feel constrained to invoke the kind charity of the reader to the faults he may The special histories of Latah and Kootenai counties were prepared by John M. Henderson alone; the general chapters on North Idaho and the special histories of Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone coun- ties by William S. Shiach, assisted by Harry B. Averill. The compilers have almost invariably been received with courtesy by those whom they have had occasion to approach, and to all who have in any way assisted, their sincere gratitude is hereby cordially extended. To make specific acknowledgements to everyone to whom they are due is impossible, but we must in a special way bear testimony to the kindly assistance rendered by the committees who have perused the manuscript histories of the different counties, giving us the benefit of their ripe knowledge and experience. Special acknowledgements are due the Lewiston Teller, the Lewiston Tribune, the Nez Perce News, the Idaho County Free Press, the Grangeville Standard, the Spokesman-Review, of Spokane, the Coeur d'Alene Sun, the Wallace Press, the North Idaho Star, the Moscow Mirror, the Rathdrum Tribune, and to the various other newspapers whose names are to be found in the chapter on the press, for the use of valuable files, without which a work of this character would be impossible. The congressional re- ports have given us valuable assistance, as have also the works of the various geologists who, under the direction of the department of the interior, have made geological and topographical surveys of various portions of north Idaho. Works in the Lewiston, Spokesman-Review and Wallace libraries have been pressed into service, and to the librarians of these libraries the thanks of the publishers is extended. They are also grateful to various state and county officials for courtesies cheerfully accorded in directing the compilers to sources of official information and in some instances making investigations for them. ENDORSEMENTS. We, the undersigned, pioneer citizens of Nez Perces County, Idaho, hereby certify that we have read the manuscript his- tory of said county to be published by the Western Historical Publishing Company with histories of the other counties of north Idaho; that we have called the attention of its author to such errors and oversights as our knowledge of events, gained by personal participation, has enabled us to detect, and that we have found it an accurate, impartial and comprehensive history, evidently the result of careful and extended research. Signed JAMES W. FOE, . JOHN P. VOLLMER, CHARLES G. KRESS. Lewiston, Idaho, June 1, 1903. We, the undersigned, pioneer citizens of Idaho County, hereby certify that we have read the manuscript history of said county to be published by the Western Historical Publishing Company, together with histories of the other counties of north Idaho, and that we have called the attention of its author to such slight errors as our knowledge of events has enabled us to found it an authentic, impartial and comprehensive treatise upon the subject and as such we accord it our unreserved com- mendation. Signed JAMES WITT, CHARLES P. CONE, A. F. PARKER. Grangeville, Idaho, May 4, 1903. The undersigned, pioneer settlers of Shoshone County, Idaho, hereby certify that they have read the history of said county tion of its compilers to such slight errors as they noticed. They cheerfully testify that the work is, to the best of their knowledge Signed EDWARD H. MOFFITT, CHARLES MANLEY, A. D. McKiNLAY, For the Coeur d'Alenes. I. B. COWEN (County Commissioner), For southern Shoshone County. Wallace, Idaho, July 25, 1903. We, the undersigned, pioneer citizens of Kootenai County, Idaho, have read the manuscript history of said county, to be published by the Western Historical Publishing Company. Long residence in the county, deep interest in its progress and active participation in many of the events which constitute the record of its development, enable us to judge fairly the merits of the work. as a standard history of the county we give it our unqualified endorsement. Signed M. D. WRIGHT, J. G. BROPHY, A. W. POST. Rathdrum, Idaho, June 2, 1903. We, the undersigned, citizens of Latah County, Idaho, having been selected as a committee to pass judgment on the merits of the history of said county to be published by the Western Historical Publishing Company do hereby certify as follows: We are pioneer residents of the county, have always taken especial interest in its development, and have been active par- ticipants in all events, the record of which constitutes its history. We have read the manuscript narrative of these events and it liable, and is a standard history of Latah County from the date of its settlement to the present time. Signed J. L. NAYLOR, ROBERT H. BARTON, SAMUEL J. LANGDON. Moscow, Idaho, July 27, 1903. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY. ospective Sixteenth Century Explorations in the Northwest Eighteenth Century Discoveries Early Commercial En- erprises Astoria a British Possession Repossessed by the United States Superlative Absolutism of the Hudson Bay Zompany Advent of Methodist Missionaries in the Northwest The Oregon Controversy Joint Occupancy Treaty Con- inued " Fifty-Four Forty or Fight "Sacrifices of United States for Sake of Peace Imminent Danger of War with }reat Britain Emperor William of Germany Arbitrates the Dispute GENERAL NORTH IDAHO HISTORY. CHAPTER I. PERIOD OF PLACER MINING. overies-Indian Legends Concerning Mysterious Treasure Colonel E. D. Price Finds i Opposition Prevents His Prosecution of Mining Deluge of Humanity into Nez Perces Country- Indians Unwillingly Sign a Treaty Steamboat Explorations in 1861 Opening of Oro Fino and Oro Grande Mining Regions Average Earnings of Placer Miners Description of Salmon River Mines Stampede to Pioneer Gulch-Indians Save Life of G. A. Noble The Dalles Subjected to Mob Rule The Two Mining Camps of Washington and Richmond Social Conditions-Lawlessness Punished by Judge Lynch CHAPTER 11. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND PASSING EVENTS. Portion of Nez Perce Reservation Laid Out as a Townsite in 1861 Rapid Settlement of the Country Brings Miners' Laws to the Front Territorial Government of Washington Organizes Shoshone County Political Agitation for New Territorial Boundaries Lewiston the Fiist Capitol of Idaho Details of an Historic Crime Desperado Lower Demolishes a Camera Prompt and Effectual Action of Courts Disbands Vigilance Committees Unpopularity of Union Sentiment in Southern to the Supreme Court of the United States Stampede from Southern Idaho to the Coeur d'Alenes Early Railroad History Earthquakes CHAPTER 111. NEZ PERCE INDIAN WAR. Savages Fae to Face with Law of the Survival of the Fittest Scare in Indian Valley-Council of August 14, 1872 De- partment of Interior Prohibits White Settlement by Order Dated April 30, 1873 Local Effects of the Order Dilemma of the Interior Department Letter of Governor Grover The Wallowa Reopened to Settlement-General O. O. How- Massacre on Camas Prairie Criticism on Generalship Displayed in the Nez Perce War-Chief Joseph Complimented Cottonwood Trend of the War Decidedly in Favor of the Indians Joseph Finally Driven Toward the Buffalo Country General Gibbon Leaves Helena for the Front Engages the Indians and Is Wounded Discovery ot Treachery on the Part of the Bannocks General Miles Ordered to Pursue Joseph Toward Bear Paw Mountain-Surrender of Chief Joseph CHAPTER IV. Growth and Development of Social Order-Idaho Legislature Memorializes Congress-Efforts to Annex Northern Idaho to Washington Territory Stout Opposition of Residents of the Southern Portion of the Territory Failure of Congress in tution Question Taken to Federal Supreme Court Transportation Problem Construction of Northern Pacific Rail- wayActivity of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company Mysterious Pass in the Bitter Root Range of Mountains PART II. HISTORY OF NEZ PERCES COUNTY. CHAPTER I. CURRENT HISTORY. spires Feeling of Confidence Year of 1879 One of Progress and Prosperity Development of the County Under Trying Conditions Summary of the Year 1881 Murder of Chinamen in 1882 General Miles Expresses Faith in the Nez Perce Indians Efforts to Secure Removal of County Seat from Lewiston to Moscow Establishment of State Normal School at Lewiston^Opening of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation Explosion of the Steamer Annie Faxon Memorable Mur- Palouse Branch to Lewiston Nez Perces County Sends Troops to the Philippines Gold Excitement of 1877 Roster of Pioneer Association New County Destroyed Through a Clerical Error Segregation 83 CHAPTER 11. POLITICAL. Capture All the Offices But One in 1868-Clash Between Parties on Question of Annexation Vote on State Constitution Republicans Memorialize Congress Official Canvass of the Vote in 1888 Advent of Statehood National Policies the Issue in Campaign of 1890-Organization of the People's Party in 1892-Brilliant Campaign in 1896 -State Carried by the Fusionists Official Vote 97 CHAPTER 111. CITIES AND TOWNS. Lewiston Blossoms From a Canvas Town-Once a Portion of the Nez Perce Reservation Incorporators are Hampered in Their Efforts Indian Situation in 1877 High Water Real Estate Rapidly Changes Hands Irrigation Projects Com- municate an Impetus to Growth and Development Sale of Street Improvement Bonds Educational Facilities Nez CHAPTER IV. THE NEZ PERCE INDIANS. Traditional and Shadowy History Indians Secure Horses from New Mexico and California Expedition of Lewis and Clark Story of Wat-ku-ese Advent of Fur Traders into the Northwest Civilizing Force of the American Missionary- Adoption of Laws for Government of Indians in 1842-Schools and Religious Congregations-Moral Character of the People Disregard for the Rights of White Men Commanding Influence of Head Chief Halhaltlossot Nez Perce In- dians Swindled by Representatives of the Government Fort Lapwai Indian Training School A Word Concerning the Later Missions 122 CHAPTER V. DESCRIPTIVE. Topography Picturesque Scenes Which Greet the Eye Nez Perce Uplands Especially Adapted to Agriculture Net Profits from One Acre Exceed $700 Rev. H. H. Spalding Plants the Vine and Fig Tree of Civilization The Lapwai Basin Culdesac Craig's Mountain Nez Perce Prairie Statistics Shipments of Vegetables Amount to Thousands of Pack- agesUndeveloped Resources Considered a Fruit Section-rGrape Culture The Idaho Pear Climate Stock Rais- ing Educational Advantages 130 HISTORY OF IDAHO COUNTY. CHAPTER 1. CURRENT HISTORY, 18611879-. acer Mining Captain Francois, Pioneer of Camas Prairie Exploitations of Seth Jones Early Experiments in Agricul- ture and High Prices Realized for Products Inception of the Cattle Industry-First Location of County Seat at Flor- encePeople Administer Summary Punishment to Shumway Jim Lynching of Peter Walters Decline of Output of Placer Mining Rise of the Patrons of Husbandry Territorial Legislature Awards Camas Prairie to Idaho County- Mount Idaho Chosen as the County Seat Beneficent Influence of Charity Grange Inauguration of the Nez Perce Indian War Roster of Idaho County Volunteers The Sheep-Eaters' Country Murder of Peter Dorsey Lieutenant Catley Proceeds Against the Sheep-EatersIgnominious Retreat Death of Lieutenant Rains End of the Sheep-Eater War.... 3 CHAPTER 11. CURRENT HISTORY, 1879 1903. tion-Legislature Prescribes New County Boundaries First Legal Execution in Idaho County Mining Conditions in 1889-Organization of Company C, First Idaho National Guards-Heavy Snowfall in 1891-Boundaries of the County Again Changed by the Legislature County Seat Contest in 1892 Abundant Harvest Ruined by Heavy Rains Hard Times of 1893 Strike Camas Prairie High, Hot Winds in 1894 Capture, Trial and Sentence of Highwaymen in 1897 -Idaho County Sends Troops to the Spanish War-Discovery of the Buffalo Hump Mines in 1898 General Prosperity in 1901 3 CHAPTER 111. Earlier Records Lost in Scramble for Gold Unconcern of Miners in Upbuilding a Stable-Government-First District Court Opened in Florence in 1862 Earliest Claims for Water Rights Official Vote of 1872 Campaign of 1878-Annexation Question Comes to the Front in 1888 County Seat Contest Enlivens Campaign of 1892 Populists Enter the Field the Same Year Free Silver Platform Adopted by All Three Parties Strenuous Campaign in 1896 Grangeville Chosen as the County Seat Idaho a Doubtful County 4 CHAPTER IV. :rial Development -Elk City Clear CONTENTS. DESCRIPTIVE. Ideal Field for the Geologist The Seven Devils The Bitter Root Forest Reserve Extensive Bodies of Agricultural Land in Idaho County-The Beautiful Camas Prairie Scenery in the Salmon River Canyon-Indian Outbreak of 1877 Explorations in the Black Canyon-The Mining District Lindgren's Geological Report The Goodenough Vein- Marshall Lake District-Perpetual Snow on Summit of Lake Creek Divide-Many Slightly Developed Claims Thunder Mountain Region Description of the Mineralization of This Section The Bars of Salmon River Copper Properties-Quartz Mining in the Elk District Ancient Mining Section of Dixie The Evergreen Group The Buffalo Hump Syndicate Stock Raising, Agriculture and Lumber Industries-Fruit Growing- Idaho County Possibilities for Manufacturing 432 HISTORY OF LATAH COUNTY. CHAPTER I. SETTLEMENT. Formation of Territorial Government in 1863-Pioneer Settlements Difficulties in Crossing the Clearwater Early Remin- iscences of Hon. Willis Sweet Danger from the Coeur d'Alene Indians Bannock Indian War of 1878 Rapid Settle- ment of the Palouse Country Fourth Session of the Territorial Legislature O. R. & N. Railroad Reaches Moscow- tempt to Remove County Seat Question of Annexation Scheme to Elect Two Sets of County Officials 581 CHAPTER 11. ORGANIZATION AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS. Latah County Organized by Congress The Only Instance on Record Text of the Act Appointment of County Officers- Official Report of Initial Election Population in 1890 Political Campaign of That Year Pioneers of Latah County- People's Party Enters the Political Arena Financial Troubles-Changes for the Better-Political Campaign of 1894 Educational Matters Latah County in the National Campaign of 1896 Patriotism of Latah County in the Spanish War Prohibition Party Enters the Field in 1898-Tragedy of August 4, 1901-Prosperous Conditions 587 CHAPTER 111. Moscow The Pioneer of the Valley Energy of Man Overcomes Obstacles Paradise Valley Indian Troubles of 1877 State University Annexation Excitement Responsible for its Location Curriculum Faculty of the Institution Ken- drick Foundation of the Town -Conflagration of 1893 Present Business Development-Genesee-Cdnditions Which Have Brought It From a Small Village to a Thriving Town-TroySerious Fire of 1893 Juliaetta CHAPTER IV. DESCRIPTIVE. Agricultural Industry The "Big Red Apple of the Palouse" Moscow Country Wheat Industry Abundant Yield of Vegetables Tramways of the Potlatch Country The Genesee Valley Productiveness of Soil Cattle Raising "The Great American Hog"-Hay-Cereals 6 CONTENTS. KOOTENAI COUNTY. CHAPTER I. EARLY EVENTS. County Records No Old Settlers' Organization-First Voyageurs Aboriginal Tribes Jesuit Missionaries Father De Smet and Associates Site of First Mission Old Mission The Coeurd'Alene Indians De Smet Mission Expedition of Isaac I. Stevens Survey of International Boundary The Old Mullan Road Old Trails and Ferries Pioneers of the Early 'Sixties Old Mail Routes Fort Coeurd'Alene 753 CHAPTER 11. As A POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE TERRITORY. Early Political Affiliations Creative Act of 1864 Amendment of 1867 County Organization and First Officers Election of 1882 Financial Conditions-Northern Pacific Railroad Discovery of Coeur d'Alene Mines Early Courts Early Steamers-Election 1884 County Seat Contest 1885 Erection of Court House Short Crops Property Valuation U. S. Land Office Annexation Coeur d'Alene Branch N. P. R. R. Election 1886-Winter 1886-7 Population-Schools and Newspapers Accident on Coeur d'Alene River 1887 Election 1888 766 CHAPTER 111. As A POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE STATE. is of County-Great Northern Railroad-O. R. & N. R. R. Lumber Industry Political Campaign lie 1893 High Water 1894 Election 1894 Valuation of Property Populism-Priest River For- est Reserve Spirit of Loyalty Displayed, 1898 Company B, Idaho Volunteers Clash Between Idaho and Washington Authorities Total Assessment Campaign 1898 Kootenai Valley Railroad Collection of Custom Duties at Porthill and Bonners Ferry Salaries of County Officers Discovery of Tyson Mines Bonded Indebtedness Census by Pre- cinctsCampaign 1900 Construction of Bridges-CorporationsAssassination of Judge John C. Brady Political Cam- paign 1902 The Alberta and British Columbia Reclamation Company Property Valuation 1902 Miles of Railroad in County Progress and Prospects The Pioneers "i CHAPTER IV. Rathdrum-Coeur d'Alene Sandpoint-Harrison Bonner's Ferry Priest River Post Falls St. Maries St. Joe Ferrell Hope Clark's Fork Porthill Lakeview Athol Hauser Camas Cove Tyson Santa Fernwood Emida Clarkia Granite Ramsey Cocolalla Algoma Sagle Panhandle Kootenai Oden Pack River Black Tail Thornton- Cabinet Leonia Katka Crossport Moravia Naples Elmira Colburn Urencoe LaClede Albany Falls New- port Coeland Cataldo Mission Dudley Lane Medimont Anderson Lacon Watts Steamboat Landing- Squaw Bay Idlewild Weber Mica Len Landing Bellgrove Williams Seneaquoteen 7 CHAPTER V. EDUCATIONAL. Value of Education Mission School in 1842 Pioneer Schools and Teachers of the County But Few Log School Houses- County at First Contained But Two Districts Sandpoint No. 3 Early Superintendents Offices of Probate Judge and School Superintendent at First Combined, Later Separated First Teachers 1 Association -First Institute Early School Records Statistics 1893 Effects of the Financial Panic Independent Districts, Seven Six Districts in the County Statistics 1902 Districts Benefited by Railroads Institute of 1902 Higher Education Schools a Credit to the County , i CHAPTER VI. DESCRIPTIVE. Area The Boundary Line Elevations Idaho-Montana Boundary International Boundary Geological Facts Kootenai County Once On the Shores of the Sea The Paths of Glaciers Helps and Hindrances to Settlement and Development Agriculture Soil Climate Pipneer Farmers Prices, 1880 Values Live Stock Patented Lands Grain Output, CONTENTS. 1902-Hortic'ulture-Orchards Market Fair at Coeur d'Alene, 1895 Dairying Flour Mills Irrigation of Rathdrum Prairie Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation Indian Population Agriculture and Stock Raising on the Reservation- Government Mills Recommendation of U. S. Agent, Albert M. Anderson Lumber Industry Timbered Areas Saw Mills and Lumber Companies First Discovery of Gold Letter from Captain John Mullan Mining Sections of Koot- enai County Railroad Mileage New Roads Scenic Superiority Water Courses and Lakes The St. Joe River St. Maries Coeur d'Alene Lake Coeur d'Alene Spokane River Rathdrum Prairie Central Lake Region Fish Lake Tsemini or Spirit Lake Heyden Lake-Sullivan Lake Hoodoo Lake Cocalalla Lake Mud Lake-Clark's Fork Pend Oreille Lake and River Kootenai River Priest River Forest Reserve Priest Lake and River Sportsman's Paradise Rare Opportunities for Investors and Home Builders g HISTORY OF SHOSHONE COUNTY. CHAPTER I. CURRENT HISTORY,. 1860 1886. First County in Mineral Wealth Discovery of Gold in Vicinity of Pierce City The Moose Creek Mines People of South- ern Shoshone County Disturbed by Indian Troubles Home of Francis Carle is Fortified Talk of County Disorganiza- tion in 1881 Letter of Lieutenant John Mullan Who Discovered Gold on the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene? Let- ter from John P. Vollmer Spontaneous Growth of Eagle City Stampede to Canyon Creek and Nine Mile Gulches CHAPTER 11. CURRENT HISTORY, 18861892. First Fatal Snowstorm and Avalanche in the Region Railroad Projects Construction of Telephone Lines Increased Mining Activity Tragedy in Government Gulch Large Sums Expended in Construction of Roads Important Sales of Mining Property Phenomenal Growth of Wardner Progress and Prosperity in 1889 Railroad Right of Way Becomes Disputed Territory Agitation for Removal of County Seat from Murray Fatal Disaster at the Custer Mine Boarding House-Jail Delivery at Murray Organization of the Mine Owners' Protective Association-Four Men Killed in the Black Bear Mine Express Messenger Held Up and Robbed Differences Between Miners and Mine Owners Over a CURRENT HISTORY, 18921903. Two Official Statements Concerning Troubles Between Mine Owners and Miners Proposition Rejected by Unions-Armed Detectives Appear on the Scene Mines Closed Down or Run Short-HandedEncounter On June 11, 1892, Between Union Men and Guards of the Frisco Mill Strikers Withdraw Trouble Spreads to the Gem Mine Miners Go to Ward- ner and Attempt to Blow Up a Concentrator Martial Law Declared Those Active in Uprising Compelled to Flee the Country Cases Go to Federal Court Hard Times and Panics of 1893 Industrial Conditions Improve More Fatal Snowshdes Canyon Creek Mines Resume Operations Low Price of Lead and Silver in 1895-Labor Trouoles on the Horizon High Water at Murray Agitation for a Division of the County Masked Men Appropriate Rifles Belonging to the Local Militia Company of Mullan Murder of Foreman Fred D. Whitney Gold Belt Not Behind in the March of Progress The Year 1898 One of Uninterrupted Prosperity Outbreak of Spanish War Awakens Patriotism of Shoshone County People Generous Offer of Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mine Owners Roster of Company F Demand of Miners' Union for Higher Wages Destruction, in 1899, of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Concentrator- Martial Law Declared and General Merriam Appears On the Scene Paul Corcoran Convicted of Murder in the Second Degree Issuing of Per- County Murder of Eugene Klein Highway Robbery on Murray Road-President Roosevelt Visits Wallace 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. POLITICAL. Organization of County Government First Board of County Commissioners Creation of Florence Precinct Many Office Holders Resign and go to the Mines in 1862 Election of 1864 Decrease of County's Voting Strength in 1874-Election of 1880-Discovery of Coeur d'Alene Mines Transfers Political Power to North Shoshone County Creation of Three New Precincts in 1884 Mormon Question the Issue of 1886 County Seat Contest in 1888 Triumph of People's Party in 1894 Republican Party Goes to Pieces in Shoshone County in 1896 Close Vote Between Republicans and Demo- crats in 1900 Republicans Carry Shoshone County 10 CHAPTER V. "Placer Center" the First Name of Wallace-Colonel W. R.Wallace the Founder of the City That Bears His Name Suffers Defeat in the Office of the Department of the Interior His Statement Concerning the Matter Lot Jumping Report of Governor Stevenson Alexander D. McKinlay the Earliest Pioneer of Wallace History of the County Seat De- struction of Wallace by Fire Banking History County Seat Contest Sketch of Wardner Discovery of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mines Rapid Growth of the Town Present Status Story of' Pierce City-Orofino-Mullan Murray Kellogg Burke Gem Kingston Weippe Delta Thiard Greer Ahsahka Lenore 1026 CHAPTER VI. DESCRIPTIVE. Boundaries of Shoshone County General Contour Climatic Conditions Conditions and Possibilities of the Coeur d'Alenes List of Minerals Found in the County "Tailings" or "Concretes" Geological Formation The North Fork Region Beautiful Weippe Prairie-Discovery of the Pierce City Mines Outlook for Lumbering Eastern Canyon of the Clear- water Mines and Mining Testimony of W. H. Ross Output of Coeur d'Alene Silver-Lead Mines Original Discov- ery of Mineral Wonderful Canyon Creek District Nine Mile District Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mine Senator Key- burn Explodes a Myth The Tiger-Poorman Mine Mines of Mullan-Copper Properties The Paragon Group-The Standard Mammoth Mining Company-The Empire State Hecla and Hercules Pierce City Mining District covery of the Mother Lode How They Watched the Golden Slab The Golden Chest All Along Prichard and Beaver Creeks Advent of Gold Dredges Educational Interests of Shoshone County 1048 CHAPTER I. THE PRESS OF' NORTH IDAHO. oneer Journalism The Golden Age Editor Favourite Establishes the Radiator Alonzo B. Leland The Idaho Signal Lewiston Teller Destroyed by Fire Nez Perce News Aaron F. Parker Lewiston Tribune Idaho Free Press The Editor Adam Aulbach, the Veteran Journalist of the Cceur d'Alenes Wallace Free Press The Dunn Brothers The Wallace Democrat Editor J. R. Sovereign and the Idaho State Tribune Cceur d'Alene Mining Record Orofino Papers Pierce City Miner and Wardner News Mullan Tribune Journalism in Kootenai County Latah County Press Moscow Mirror North Idaho Star Times-Democrat Other Papers 12C A North Idaho Indian Massacre-Early Days of Florence Reminiscent 1877 Mooney's Adventure Death of "Stumpy Wicks "A Shoshone County Bear Story Pioneer Baby of Florence Early Days In Idaho A Touching Incident Cceur d'Alene's Pioneer Children Indian Eloquence Pioneer Yuletide " Nigger Prairie "Expensive Terpsichorean Salmon River Idaho-Pioneer Bar of the Cceur d'Alenes Early Days in Moscow 1220 GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS. A Glimpse of the Kootenai near Bonners Ferry A Portion of Lake Pend Oreille A View of Lake Coeur d'Alene Benedict Ranch at the mouth of Whitebird, the scene of Indian atrocities Buildings of the Idaho University at Moscow 610 Catholic church built on Coeur d'Allene river at Old Mission in 1853 by the Indians and Jeusit Missionaries. Wooden pegs were used instead of nails to put it together. . . 64 Chief Joseph 70 East View of Clearwater Battle Ground, where thirteen United States soldiers and twenty- three Indians were killed on July 11, 1877 754 Farm of David R. Davis 720 Foster Monument commemorating a scene in the Nez Pesces war of 1877 64 Hieroglyphics on the shores of lake Pend Oreille. Scientists have not yet deciphered their meaning 754 International Boundary Stone near Porthill. David McLaughlin, one of the first settlers in the valley, and son of Dr. John M. McLaughlin, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company '. 796 Luna House of Lewiston. Taken about 1868 107 Original cabin of Richard Divine, the first victim of the Indians, killed June 13, 1877. ... 48 Residence of Homer A. Thomas 700 Residence of Washington Wolheter 696 .Soldiers' Lookouts overlooking Whitebird canyon in the war of 1877 392 The buildings used as Governor's headquarters and capitol of the territory of Idaho in 1863, still standing in Lewiston 33 The ranch where H. Elfers, Henry Beckroge and R. S. Bland were killed by the Indians, June 13, 1877 52 Too-Lah, the friendly Nez Perces squaw, who rode to Florence from the SaJmon river, miners to the rescue '. 60 View on the Snake near Lewiston 33 1877 ! 427 INDBX. NEZ PERCES COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. Abel William H i?6 Brooks Seneber S PA OK Davison William H 278 Adams, Milo H Adams, Schuyler J ,. :;:::*8 is? Buechle'r, Mathias '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Bunnell Charles C 100 154 282 Day, Joseph H Decker, Frank J Delsol Louis 291 Altmillar Jacob Buoye William 146 De Moude, Martin D Anderson, Edward F 324 Burns, Thomas J % Dennis, James. Deschamps William $ Babcock, Ross S 153 260 Butler, William C Caldwell William A 177 Devlin, Owen Dickinson, Joackiam L Dickinson Oren L 254 194 Baird, Ezra Baker, Andrew Baker Daniel 261 i6 4 Chambers, Ulyssis S Chandler, Frank Chapman Charles E 215 205 Dieterle, Fred Dill, Benjamin Dill George W 347 154 Banks, Absalom B Banks, James W Bashor Benjamin F 302 154 261 Chapman, Clyde D Chapman, David L Chapman E Clay 281 215 Dill, John Dixon. William R Doggett Sidney J 154 195 295 Bashor, George W Beall, Thomas B Bean Esli W 345 382 Chapman, George A Chase. Elgee C Chasteen James M 170 245 Dowd, Charles Dowd, Douglas V Dowd Matthew 221 Beeman, Rufus H Beloit, George W :::::! Chesley, Oscar B Christenson, Andrew O Church David B 270 167 Dunwell, Dennis W. C Durette, Frank 144 217 Berrv, John C Berry, Lowry L Berry Thomas H :::::$3' 258 256 Clark, 'Louis '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Clark Philander H 148 362 Easter, Levi C Eastman, William A 179 231 293 Bielbv, John Billow, Isaac S 251 234 Clayton, William S Cleveland, Ben D 364 349 Edwards, Joseph F Ellis, Pitts 276 342 Billups, John W Black, David Black Henry F 160 348 Cleveland, Presley P Cleveland, Robert M Click Orie W 362 358 Erickson, Andrew J Erickson, Erick Evans James H 320 320 33 8 Black, John H Blackinton, William M 251 Clugston, Warren 375 Evans, Orin 348 272 Blewett, John L :::::| Cole, Benjamin L Cole, Cassius M 278 365 301 Fairley, Earl E 2 47 Bofferding, Renny J... Bellinger, William Book, Peter Bounds, James L Bowlby Wilson 378 2 4 6 i8 7 ...... 142 Cordiner, Arthur S Craig, Joseph L Crawford, Jervis R Crawford, Samuel M Crews, Bryant M Crow William 160 319 155 309 Fairlev, Oliver L Fanning, Sherman W Pansier, Jesse H Faunce' Charles E. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Ferrall Garret H 252 273 316 $ Bowman, James D Boyd, James W .- 151 185 Crumpacker, William E 335 Ferry, Charles E 310 294 Boyer, Alva Boyer, Calvin Brammer,' George ' w'. '. '. '. ! '. '. '. 237 357 216 Currv, Theodore Curtis, Julius E Daggett, Frank S 369 238 163 Fish, David Flaig, Christian Ford, William 355 298 380 241 Brammer, William Brasch, John Briggs Edson D 369 334 Dale, Charles H Dale, George P Daniels Edward ... 166 166 Fritz, James A Frost, Electus M Frye Charles M 171 206 Brocke, Charles H Broncho, Frank 3^ 141 Davis, Granville O Davis, John B 290 190 Gage, William H 305 Garner, William P 237 Johnson, Andrew M 149 McCarty, Alva T P 220 Gaylord, A. C 244 Johnson, Henry 341 McCoy, Mason S !!!!.' 196 Gertje, Henry J ?97 Johnson, Miles S 266 McCutchen, Alexander 3 i6 Gertje, John H 385 143 McFadden, James W Gibbs William R 168 Johnson', Philip!.'!!.''!.".!.'!.' 241 McGee, John M GilTonl. Seth ' 363 Johnson, Silas 225 Mclntyre, Thomas C Gifford, Wilfred L 340 Johnson, Stephen 332 McKenna, John 178 Giles, Charles 335 161 MrUillis, Lonzo 226 Gilland, George 1/4 Johnson, Wylev T. ..'...'...! 259 Meek, Courtney W 322 269 Johnson, Zephaniah A 224 Meek, Joseph L 168 Gilmore,' George w'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 164 231 Meek, Joseph L., Jr 155 Glass, Thomas C 235 Julian," Frank W 196 Menges, Charles A 242 Goffinet, Eugene F 373 Jutte, Peter 3^ Merritt, Dexter D 357 Goldsmith, Martin L 192 Mervvn, William J 161 Graham, John D 324 Kachelmeir, Alois... 225 Miles Charles C 283 Granz, John C 164 286 Miller, Alexander 293 Green, Charles W 185 Keeney, Elijah N ! 184 Miller, Alfred E Green, William J 156 Keith, Hollis W 372 Miller, Christopher C 315 Gregory, Austin D 367 Keller, Frank Miller, Curtis. 329 Srinstead, Charles W 302 Kelly, M. A !!'.!!! 264 Miller, Norton B 33" Kemper, Frank A 298 Miller, Perry E 317 Grostein, Louis '.'.'.'.'. 255 Kern, Willie E Miller, Rufus B 277 Gwin, Jacob N 274 Kil linger, John W 255 Miller. Samuel K 1/9 King, Thomas D 143 Mills. Arthur J 176 Hadford, Gust 376 KniK. William H 349 Minert, Frederick M 37& Hadford' Louis ^ Kirby Philip R !i Moekle'r. Thomas M 2** Haeberle, Jacob ;;;;; &? Kirbv. Thomas 344 Morgan Henry A !!!!'. 167 Hall, George S 198 Knovvlton, Lafayette 197 Morris, Charles E...' 173 Hamilton, Charles L 144 Kouni, Michael 383 Morris, John B 257 'Hanlon, Thomas O 352 Kroutinger, Alfred W 271 Morris. Mason i8r Hardman, Albert C... 370 Morse. Samuel S 303- Hardwick, William D 336 Lacey, Pearl C 359 Moser, Robert E 358 Harr, Joseph 355 LaDow, Thomas H 298 Mote. Charles W . 299 145 Lambert, James 239 Motince, Eben 265 HarriT S Fra nk E". ..'.'.'. '. '. '. '. 170 Larkee, John C 158 Mounce, Jasper N 34& Harris, Edison E 245 Larson, August 223 Mounce, J. Smith 152 Hawthorn, John W 371 295 Mowry, Jacob H 290 Haynes, Loren L 206 Leach, 'Eli A...! 318 Moxley, Thomas C 207 Hcberly, Charles W Hegel, Edward S 205 297 Leachman, John F LeBaron, William 218 337 Mucken, George Mustoe, Albert !!!!! 383 Heitfeld, Anton 151 Lee, Harold L 303 Mustoe, Henry Helt, John W 381 Leeper, Charles A 257 Mustoe, Lewis W Henderson. George M 367 Leeper, Clarence E 354 Mustoe, William '.!!'.! 189 Hendren. Jefferson D 204 Leggett, Oaky W 374 Hendrickson, Erick r 323 Lenz, John G 325 Nell sen, John 150 Henry, Noble 182 Lewis. Tohn H 259 Nellsen, Simon 155 Herres, Louie J 241 Little. Charles W 363 Nelson, Commodore B 267 Hilton. Frank W 226 Livengood, John 169 Nelson, Frank Hobart, James L 146 Lockridge, Samuel 149 Nelson, Horace W '.'.'.!! 265 Hobson, John W ... 188 Lough, Isaac N 343 Nelson, John M 347 Hoffman, Charles 165 Lough, John T 355 Nelson, Oscar 378 189 Lowary, Samuel E 361 Xewhard, Charles C 159 HoHiday, ' George T'. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. 216 Lowry, David H 292 Newhard. Charles C., Jr 162 Hollidav, William P 327 Lucas, Ezekiel 213 Nichols, Elmer D 209 Holt. Samuel 279 Lucas, Lee 236 1/6 Hoslev, Herbert T 302 Lydon, James R .'. 269 Norton, Cyrus Huber, Andrew.' 209 Nosbisdi, Jacob lluckal.ay. Robert E. L 198 Mabbott, Ernest C 300 Nugent. Owen 37& Hunt, Warren P 376 Mabbott. Thomas J. S Nye, Michael N 307 Mael, Amos 351 Inghram, John F 240 Malmoe, Martin B 234 Oderkirk. Albert Inghram. Robert L 240 Manning, Fred M 214 Olsen, Ole 343 Ingle, Charles S 156 Manning, George A 262 Olson, Erlan Ingle, William" A 171 Vfarkwell, Charles A 291 Orbison, J. Telford 213 Isaman, Samuel G 353 \lathison, Chris 159 Marker, James Pahl, George 235 Jacks, Benjamin F .... 264 Markliam, Samuel J 339 Palmer, Benoni .:... 386 Jacks, James S 350 Marshall, Abraham J 331 Parker, Ernest L 218 Jackson, John C -- 315 Marshall, Samuel W 225 Patterson, Samuel 139 Jacques, Stephen 140 Martin, Joel D 191 I'eden. William M .... 278 Tarbo, Godfrey.... -, .... 326 Martin, William B 193 Pelton. Oscar John, David E 151 Maynard, Frank, Jr 342 Pennell, Robert L 247 Johnson, Adams G Johnson. Andrew C .... 287 ... 238 Maynard, Thaddeus T. ..... A [a vs. Lee 177 . . . 2^1 Peterson, J. C Philipi, John T.... 147 ... 252 Phinney, Samuel 332 Simmons, Lewis A 314 Triplett, Jefferson D 284 Pliter, George W 227 Pollock, Alaxander 319 Pomeroy Francis F 325 Skinner, William H 266 Skow, Nels P 282 Tumelson, Jesse E 35I Tumelson, William O 348 Pomeroy, John F 327 Pool, Solomon J 37O Small, Ira 189 Smith, George A 200 Smith Hilbert B 280 Tyler, James S 328 Underwood, George W 249 Unzicker, John S 199 Utt, John H : 254 Porter' SarrTuel 364 Smith, Phillip S 139 Potter! Lattin L.' '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 178 Powell, John H 312 Powers, John F 271 Preisinger, Ferdinand B 235 Fribble, G. E 279 Smith, William A.... . . . 186 Snyder, Mortimer A 263 Southwick, Stephen R 227 Spekker, Staas 379 Soenslev. Victor 281 Spiw Elra L 181 Utt, Rufus W 354 Vadriey, Emanuel ; Ip7 Vaver, Alexander H 260 Vollmer, John P I37 Waide, William C . -> 7l Walker, Charles L 286 Wan"' J C ,mes eS H A T 2 Puntenney, Charles S 322 Rainville Joseph 229 Spivv, Minor 182 Springston, John T 219 Squier, Hazen 368 Ramcv. William J 285 Ratcliffe, I. N 147 Ratcliffe, William E 250 Rawnsley, Joseph 310 Reese, William B 275 Reeves, Enoch S 365 Renshaw, Robert H 326 Reynold Thomas F 386 Stach, Joseph 300 Stacy, Arthur S 243 Staley, Abraham L 328 Stanley, Horace 269 Starcher, Lafayette 331 Starrier, Daniel S 333 Stearns, Clay M 311 Steel, Wesley 308 Steele, Major J 380 Steele, Robert H 360 Stellmon, Charles F 332 Stellmon, George W 191 Stellmon John F . . 237 Warlick, Lawson W.... ... 366 Warren, Felix... ? 5O Waters, Eddy H, 103 Watts, Edward E 350 Wayne, George W 159 Webber, Jerry 181 Weeks, Elmer ;.... 323 Wells. Riclianl 208 Whaley, Albert D '.. ...351 Wheat. Tames M 292 Whitcomb, James W 248 White, George W. S 311 White John W 181 Richardson, Aaron J 222 Richardson, Amos K 158 Richardson, Caleb W 219 Richardson, George L .-.. 223 Riffy, William j ?66 Robbins, Andrew E 169 Roberts George A 367 Stellmon, Melvin S 218 Stephenson, Thomas . 230 Stevens DeWitt 321 White. 'William ...." 353 Whitson, William N 186 Wiggin. Edward L . 202 Wildenthaler, Seraphin 268 Wilks, John V ... 299 Williams Albert 204 Williams, Charles E 314 WiHiams, David S ... 345 Williams, Edward G 277 Williams, Tesse P 173 Willis, Frank B ... 247 Willows, James F 162 Wilson, Benjamin E 145 Robnett, Jennie M 262 Rogers, Alvah T 359 Rogers, Frederic S 179 Rogers, Henry J 306 Stevens, George G 321 Stevens, George W 339 Stevens, John D 341 Stevens,- Lewis D 296 Stevenson William 250 Root, Emerson T 199 Rowe, Lee J 334 Rnchert, Fred 274 Rtiddell, George H 230 Stoddard, William E 174 Stoneburner, Joseph W. 172 Stranahan, Clinton T 142 Strouse, Jay W 344 Sullivan, Thomas 234 Rupe,. Smith 377 Sampson, Charles C 339 Sanders, Lewis 263 Sanford, John L 317 Saunders, Charles C 202 Schaefer, Jacob 244 Schfldrnan, Henry H" '. '.'.'.'.'.'.'. '. '.'.'.'. 141 Schluetcr, Theodore 173 Schnebly, William E 268 Schultz, Joseph A 232 Schwartz, Charles 158 Scott Isaac 215 Swenson, Swen 1 384 Taber, James M 377 Tannahill, George W 246 Tatko, George E 303 Tavis, William 148 Tefft, Bertram W : 273 Tellier Isaac 287 Wilson, Nathaniel ... 323 Wilson, William T 309 Wimpy, Thomas j. . . . : 212 Wing, Daniel M 196 Wisner, Albert G 288 Wissink. John 231 Wolfe, John R 253 Wood, Joseph P 228 Woodin, Frank W 356 Wortman. Charles B 203 Wright, Charles W 273 Wright, Davis S 296 Wright, John G 236 Wright, Nahaniel T 333 Wright, Robert M 284 Wright, William A 166 Tcsterman, William A 248 Thain, John 183 Thatcher William 368 Thomas, Charles D , . . 294 Thompson, Clara J. 346 Thompson, Joseph A 229 Thompson, S. Leslie 152 Thompson, Thomas H 304 Thompson, William L 172 Thornton', Leon M 338 Thornton, Orville G 239 Tiede, Charles R, 366 Tiede, Herman L 372 Timberlake, William E 267 Timmons, William 177 Trimble, Hank 258 Scott, James R 190 Sears Fred B 249 Shaffer, Joseph E ... 313 Sharp, Manley 1 186 Shaw; James 188 Shawley, William F 313 Shelburn, Hardy W 252 Wright, William W.... .'.'.' 175 Wyman, George H 285 Wyman, Philip 194 Yager, Walter E 379 York, Daniel W 295 Young, William H 280 Ziver, Joseph 309 Sheppard, Charles J 329 Shortlidge, Allen J 375 Simmons, Joseph S 300 NEZ PERCES COUNTY PORTRAITS. Beeman, Rufus H.... Benson, Charles D Benson, Mrs. Charles D Bielby, John Billups, John W Billups, Mrs. John W Black- Henry F .... 256 .... 304 ::::S 160 .... 160 Green, Charles W Green, Mrs. Charles W Hanlon, Thomas O Hendrickson, Erick Holliday, George T Hunt Warren P .... 184 .... 184 .... 352 .... 320 216 376 Powell, John H Puntenney, Charles S Ratcliffe, William E Schultz, Joseph A. ... Sears Fred B .... 312 .... 248 -*% Black, Mrs. Henry F Black, John H ::::! .... 240 Squier, Hazen Stellmon George W .:::368 Blewett, John L Blewett, Mrs. Lily M Bowlby, Wilson Boyd, James W Chapman, Charles E Chapman, Mrs. Charles E... Clark Louis :::: 14 " 232 .... i8 4 .... 304 304 Isaman, 's. G Jacks, Benjamin F Johnson, William F Johnson, Mrs. William F Jutte Peter 240 352 .... 264 160 .... 160 224 Stevens, DeWitt Stevens, George G Stevenson, William Tefft, Bertram W.... Tefft, Mrs. Bertram W Testerman, William A.... Thompson Thomas H .... 320 .... 320 .... 248 .... 272 272 ....248 Click, Orie W Dunwell, Dennis W. C Erickson, Andrew J .... 320 144 .... 320 Keenev, Elijah N.... Keeney, Mrs. Elijah N Leeper Charles A .... 184 .... 184 Underwood, George W Vollmer, John P .... 248 .... 137 Erickson. Erick Evans, William M .... 320 .... 272 .... 232 Wann, James H Wells, Richard ::::% Evans, Mrs. William M Fansler, Jesse H Faunce, Chales E .... 272 ::::3 Martin, Joel D Martin, William B Meek, Courtney W Meek, Joseph L Mockler, Thomas M .... 191 191 320 .... 168 Whitcomb, James W Whitcomb, Mrs. James W. . . . White, John W Wisner, Albert G .... 208 .... 2 4 8 .... 2 4 8 ::i;I Gage, William H Gage Mrs William H .... 304 Mounce, J. Smith .... 152 Wright, Charles W 272 Goldsmith, Martin L Goldsmith, Mrs.' Martin L... -191 .... 191 Northcutt, Edward J .... 176 Young, William H .... 280 IDAHO COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. Adkison, John R T Brown William G PAGE Crea John W P AGE Adslry, Elijah 557 Bruner, Lewis A 531 Crosby, Burt L 520 Ailshe, James F 550 517 Curtis, A. Fred 520 Alkire, George S 538 l!u,-u,].,rf. Fred C ."..'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 575 Aram, James H 483 Butcher, Eben W 540 Dallas, Green W.... 462 Arbogast, H. S 539 Davis, Fred A 523 Aschenbretmer, Peter 505 Calder, Henry R 472 Davis, Theodore E 479 Austin, Jesse G 468 Campbell, Charles M 464 Deardorff, Everett G 470 Canfield, Oscar F 486 Deasy, John 535 Bales, Thomas W.... 494 Carlson, Andrew J 525 502 Bartley, A. D 455 Carothers, Thomas H 556 DePartee' Roy. ..'.'".'." /'.!'.! 558 Beede, John E 536 Carver," Amos 552 Dillinger, Samson 550 Bentley, Orren 518 Casady, William H 516 Dixon, Jesse M 488 Bernthal, Frederic 503 Castle, Levi 60 Doss, John C 490 Bernthal, Joh'n M Chadwick Lawrence C 489 Bibb, Robert M HMM>, Alfred H 544 Chamberlain, J. B Chase, Edwin I 542 507 Duncan, George W.... Dunham, Charles W ....'.'. 480 Bowman, William W 529 Clarke, Wellington M ...... 477 Dunn, Joseph W 545 Braekett, Charles D ;;::;:: 466 Clay, Hershel H 554 Durant, Magnus J 497 Brady, Hugh..., Briggs, Phoenix R 501 Cone, Cha.rles P Conklin, George N 549 457 Eckert, Jacob L 552 Brockenour, Peter '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 538 452 Eckland," Telon E 518 Brown; Benjamin P 463 Cooper, Richard P..... '. '. '. '. .546 Elfers, Henry J 451 Brown, Charles F 563 Coram, William 493 Elfers, Henry J., Jr 535 Brown, Charles F .-. 504 Corbett, Paul F 481 Eller, Joseph M 482 Brown Frank Cowgill George A 498 Evans Oscar M 461 Brown, Loyal P 574 Craig, Stonewall J 470 Brown, Rollin C 560 Cramblit, John T 466 Farmer. Jesse 530 Ferree James E 490 Lyon, John 454 Riggins, Richard L Riggle, Allen L -s Fitzgerald, Edmond .... 547 .... 471 Mackie, John 578 Robie, Edward W Robbins Hiram 464 Fodder, Joshua' S .'.'.'.'.' '. '.'.'..'.. Foster, Albert D 527 579 vlahurin, Stephen K Markham, Harry V Vlartin, Morgan L SOD 534 Rogers, Barney R Rossiter, George 465 468 508 Schneider, David 501 Gage, Marcus E Gallaway, Albert Gallaway, George M 555 469 Mattox, William w''..' McConnell, James R McDermid, Hugh M 471 517 Sewell, AddisonD Sharp, Levi Sheer, George 547 543 527 Gallaway, Sherman S Gallaway, Thomas B Garber, Jacob C Gee, Everett 544 '.'.'..'. 509 McFadden, Henry J McGuire, Perry A McKnmey, Joseph A McKin/ie, Caswell T '.'.'.'.'. 452 473 477 Sherwin, Perry E Shissler, Franklin Shissler, John M Short. William H Eg :::::$ Getty. George R 54 1 McMillen, Francis E '.'.;'.; 580 Simpson, Lewis M 538 McNamee, Clay 532 Slayton, George W 541 Mckutt, William C 521 Smith, Edward C 469 Goldstone, Samuel Gregory, Charles's Greving, Henry A Guseman, James S 52 478 516 484 464 Meyer, Henry Miller, James L Mills, David T Moberg, Olof P Moore, Andrew W 492 487 539 :. r :::S Smith, George D Smith, Henry T Smith, Peter Sorrow, Joseph Southard, Harry 499 500 575 535 - 542 ... 560 Morris, Manuel C 459 Springer, Francis D 486 Hale, John T ' 486 Morton, Lucius L '.'.'.'.'. 549 Stewart, Charles W. I.".."..'.! ..... 516 Hall, John C 579 Moughmer, George W 484 ..... 455 Hall, William A 5" 571 Nevin, John 573 Stockton, George S Stokes, Murat W 524 559 Harris" William H.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'. 519 532 Nickel, Thomas W 534 476 Stuart, James 459 480 Hartman, Richard H 576 Nurss, 'Albert F 569 Surridge, Thomas 474 Hattabaugh, Isaac C 525 522 Hawk, Frank M 451 Odle, George R 573 S warts, John A 502 Hawley, George V 483 Oliver, Erastus W 537 Swarts, Theodore D 474 Haydin, Patrick E Henley, Richard B 485 475 Oliver, James N Olson, John ;;; Jji Sweet, Edward S 572 Hickerson, Walter Hiramelspak, Joseph Hoffman, Loran D Hogan, Frank Hogan, William Holbrook, Jacob E Hollenbeak. John T Holt, Charles E Howe, Mark 504 ''" *I 559 553 508 Ott, Lawrence Overman, John I Parker, Aaron F Paul!, William Pearson, Frank R Pearson, William C Pell, Richard E Perkins, James E '.'.".'.'. 513 551 553 562 S36 514 478 577 563 Tautfest, Fred Taylor, Andrew J Taylor, Frank L Taylor, Frank Z Taylor, John Telcher, Didriech II Thompson' Jessy B Truitt, Russell 53 512 575 520 467 507 533 473 5oo 526 Irwin Isaac M 546 Person, Nils 483 456 545 Jarrett, Mark V : 544 Peterson. Swen J Pettibone, Nathaniel B 482 565 Turmes, Lucien Turner, Franklin P Turner, John W 407 46o 496 -496 Pfeufer, Joseph 565 Johnson! Hannibal F Johnson. John T Jones; Robert H Jones, Seth "Keefer, Christopher F Keith. John W Kim-aid, Alvis A 566 548 494 546 Sot 453 577 Phillips, Lincoln L Poe, George C Powers, Frank M Poyneer, Harrv D Price, Edson G Prichard, Philip S Pulse, John J Putnam, George E 565 462 456 554 532 548 557 470 VanBuren, D. C Vandeburgh, Edwin C Vansise, Frank D... Vicory, Joseph H Vincent, Joseph K Vincent, Joseph S Vineyard, Ly^rgus 56i 460 570 492 494 King, Amandus P King. Peter TCnorr, Benjamin D 489 :::;:: B Ready, Peter H Remington. James J Reynolds. Winfield S 564 479 576 von Bargeni John"!* 1 .'.'.'.'."! Von Berge, William 493 566 Rhett, Walter S - 573 Wagner, Martin 550 Lamb, Ellsworth D Lamore, Gilbert N Lanningham, Albert C Large, Sam 537 472 495 Rhoades, Alonzo Z Rhoades, Jay O Rice. Charles L Rice, John B 493 567 476 462 Walker, Robert X Wassem, George F Watson. Alexander I Watson, Robert 499 556 454 524 Leach', Patrick H. '.'. '.'. '.'.'.'.'... Lee Cyrus M 541 Rice, John N Rice, Moses H 528 495 Webber, Albert Weber, Alexander A 495 555 Levander, Edgar W Levander, John O Libbey, Samuel R ILvon, Ivan D '.'.'.'.'.'. s6j '.'.'.'.'.'. 568 Rice, Riley Rice, Russell H Richardson, Foster Rickards, William H. V.... 53.' 577 Weber, Jacob L Weddlc, David Whiting. Silas Wickam, Holsey 521 474 572 498 Williams, Andrew J.... 458 Witt, James 5'3 Yates, David 485 Williams, William S M.. . Wolbert Joseph M 488 465 Wilson, Samuel A Wilson, William 490 Wolfe, George M.... Wood John A 528 Young, John.C 551 Wilson, William J Wiltse Bion C 471 Wooden, John D 555 Zehner, Benjamin F 504 IDAHO COUNTY PORTRAITS. Beede, John E 536 Gould, Mrs. Norman. 478 Pulse, John J 556 Benedict, Samuel Bibb Robert M 464 Hadorn, John 560 Bibb, Mrs. Robert M 544 Remington, James j 564 478 Carothers Thomas H.... 556 Irwin, Isaac M 544 Robie, Edward W Robie, Isabella 464 .Cleary, Mrs. Catherine 11. Elfers.. 451 Jarrett, Mark V.... 544 Jarrett, Mrs. Mark V. 544 Sweet, Edward S 572 Davis, Theodore E 478 Dunn, Joseph W 544 King, Peter Tavlor Andrew J Truscott, Matthew H 544 Eckert, Jacob L 552 Lyon, Ivan D 568 Turner, John W 496 Elfers, Henry J 451 Ott, Lawrence Wassem, George F 556 Galloway, Thomas B 544 Wassem, Mrs. George F 556 Goldstone, Samuel 528 Pettibone, Nathaniel B 564 Witt, James Gould, Norman 478 Pfeufer, Joseph 564 Zehner, Isaac 564 LATAH COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. Aldrich, Benjamin F To: Burr, Homer E. 735 Davis, William W 670 Anderson Almarine A 746 DePartee, Joseph C.' Anderson, George W Anderson! John I.!.'!!.'.'! 699 694 Callison, Samuel P... Cameron, Daniel Dobson, Arthur A I^ougharty, George H Driskel, Daniel W 732 723 737 '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 682 Cameron, Murdock. . . 650 Dygert, Albert 637 Atchison/EdwardP '.'.'.'.'.'. 676 728 Campbell, Frank Canfield, Homer W. . 709 675 Ebel, Charley 740 Carter, William 639 Ely, Wellington L 634 Barton, Robert H 636 Chambers, Samuel T.. Bartroff, William 708 Chandler, Charles 700 Erichson, Henry '. ....'.. :'.;:; III. Bean, Walter W 653 Chancy, Livey J 700 Estes, Archie B 644 Beardsley, O 747 Chapman, David 742 Evits, Michael 724 Beardsley, Orton W.... Beasley, Richard 639 654 Charles, Alexander II Christie, -Thomas H.. 667 665 Flomer, Henry 733 Bechtel,- Martin 662 Clark, James W 654 638 Frazier, William M Freeze John 713 Bell, Robert J 640 Clyde, Peter ;:::::::::;; 695 Freeze, John P. ............. 692 Belvail, William R 600 Cobbs, Hartzell 669 Freeze, Michael C 693 Berry, Franklin M 70S Colburn, Alfred 696 Berry, James D 686 Cole, Ezra L 734 Gale, George W Biddison, Amon K Biram, William L Booth, George M 701 657 744 Collins, James H.... Collins, Joseph R Comer, William -A... 634 648 660 Gamble, Daniel Geiger, Joseph Gilbert, Horace E 742 666 712 Bottjer, John...., Bowks 3 ,' Ru7us ei M~. .'.'.'.'.'.'. 724 715 723 Cone, Benjamin F.,.. Copeland, Lloyd D... Crocker, John S 690 684 730 Gower, Charles H Grant, James Green, Albert J 642 697 643 Bowman, Charles E 672 Crooks, Birt 706 Green, Joseph M 657 Brillhart, George H: Crowley, Thomas.... 744 Griner, George W .". 666- '.'.'.""" 708 Griner, John E 651 Buchanan, William A. . . . 737 Dailey, James E .... 668 Gummere, Currency A ...... 726 Bundy, Harvey J Burdic, Fredric F 633 680 Dale, William P Damrkon, Gustav. . . . 653 687 Hadley, George W 737 Burger, Christ 735 Davidson. Joseph 719 Hafenjohn J 691 Burke, Edward L 746 Davis David R 720 Halliday, Andrew E 643. Halverson. John 703 May, Frank PAGE 79 Scharnhorst, Charley J 712 Hanson, Christian 698 McBane, Gillis J 681 Scharnhorst, Christian 720 Hanson, Henry 691 McCann, Charles W 641 Scharnhorst, Fred 717 Haon, John B 676 McClellan, Joseph L 722 Schuh, Louis P 747 Harreld John H 700 McCown, Louis B 683 Sharp, Jasper P Harrison. Jacob L 658 McCoy, Hamlin 677 Sin,-!, Is, Charles W 642 Hart, Nelson 729 AlcKen/ie, Angus 688 Shields, M. J 652 Hasfurdher, J. Nicholas 657 McKenzie. Donald 749 Su-v.rs. George .... 734 Hawkins, Herbert L 677 Michael, George W 685 Sievert, Goswin 682 Hawley, N. M 728 Michelson, Lewis Silvey, Samuel T 723 Headington, William .1 647 Miller Jacob H 688 Smith Andrew J 212 Heinrich Xa'vicr 659 Miller, James L 647 Smith! Charles F ..... 674 i Mil. Gi-orge W. P 733 Miller. John C 672 Smith, Henry C Hjelm, John 692 Mochel, Benjamin F 662 Smith, Hezekiah M 701 Hobart,' Charles 738 Mochel, George L 659 Smith, Marques L Holbrook, Noyes B Holt Charles B 702 .. 748 Moore, Charles Mnrpv Osrar V 750 698 Smith, Thomas A '.'.'.'.'. 738 Hopkins, Liles A 715 Muncey, Marion F ".. 658 Stanford, Norman A ..... 645. 704 Munson, Charles J 713 Starner, John A ..... 693 Howell, Albert 698 671 Howell. Henrv 649 Naylor, John L 75i Strong"' JamlT S .' .' .' .' .' .' .' .' '.'.'.'. Hunt, Daniel 1 hitcliison, James 725 664 Nelson, August Nelson, Christian 702 702 Sullivan, John Sullivan, John S 7i9 Hutchison, John H 665 Normoyle, Michael C 73i Swenson, Engel C Notman, David, Jr 694 Irvine, Landon C 638 Tharp, William W 689 Oderlin, Charles H 721 Tegland, George 659 Johann, Peter -665 Olson, Nicholas Olson Olof ...... 678 671 Thomas' Martin" v"" 700- Johnson, Casper '.'.'.'.'.'. 682 Otness, Ole 691 Thompson, William N '.'.'.'.'. 667 Johnson! Kli M.: 687 Owen, John J. 74i Tierney, Thomas 727 Tohnston, John D 733 Towne, Charles B 651 Johnston, Joseph C 732 Palmer, Charles W.... Tucker, George W 743 Jones, Benjamin J 649 Palmer, Elmer P Tuckey, Elias 741 Jones, Fred W 674 Pauls, Peter... 705 Tritt, Samuel H 739 646 Tweedt, Hans C. J 663 Kincaid, James M 717 Peterson, Oliver S :.".:: 686 Urquhart, David 749 673 Pickering, Rees 655 Kluss. Theodor 664 Pierce. George W 752 Vandevanter, Moses 736 Knowlcs, Oliver W 686 Platt, Edward T 669 Vande walker, C. V 744 Kresselt. Frederick P 660 Pledger, John W 679 Vassar, Tames R 676 651 Poindexter, Thomas S 635 Visby, Niels J 640 Lackner, Daniel Langdon, George Langdon, Samuel J Larson, Oscar Lander, William C Lazelle, Isaac W Lazelle, Sunnier C 670 637 751 649 746 699 718 Randall. Virgil Randolph, John S Kav. Charles E kavlmni, Frank Ream. John RekdaJil, Benedick B Richardson, Richard F 721 745 730 740 684 Wahl, Christian Walker, George W Weber, Gottfried Webster, Frank W Welch, William M Whetstine, Robert S 673 736 750 :::::: | Leasure. William H Leonard. Frank L Lestoe Hans J 645 646 6^4 Riellv. Joseph Kiel man. Ulrich C...- ..-.. 743 661 697 Williams, Andrew' b! '.'.'.'.'.'.'. Wilson, James T Wolfe, George W Wolfenberger, James A Wolheter, Washington Woodworth, Ray E:?! 696, 745 Lieuallen, Almon A Lynd! Andrew 635 668 678 Roberts, A. Henrv Roberts, John Rogers, Henry M Ross, James W 77 730 655 679 Madison, Canud 739 Rudd, Bryant M ATadsen, Niels 740 Yarbrough, John B '661 Mauuire. William S 726 Sardam, Porter D 70S Yockev. Charles W 641 MalU'rv, Herman W 734 Sawyer, George H 703 Young/George E 729- Manwaring, John 654 Scharbach, Paul 707 Yountr. William W 644- LATAH COUNTY PORTRAITS. Anderson, Martin Cameron, Daniel.. . 680 633 Headington, William 1 Horton, John H kl 656 Miller, Mrs. John C Munson, Charles J . ... 672 712 Collins, Joseph R Davis, David R 648 Hutchison, John H... ** Rekdahl, Benedick B Rekdahl, Martha B .... 680 .... 680 Jones, Benjamin J... 648 Sievert Goswin 680 Freeze, John 712 Kluss, Theodore and family 664 Strong, James R Sullivan, John S .... 648 Ty ' a Larson, Oscar 648 Gilbert, Horace E 712 Visby, Niels J and family... .... 640 Hawley, N. M 728 McBane, Gillis J McKenzie, Angus 680 Wolheter, Washington .... -696 Headington, Mrs. Mattie.... 648 Miller, John C 672 Wolheter, Mrs. Washington. . . . .... 696 KOOTENAI COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. Allbaugh, William F 978 Carr, Carey 936 Dwyer, William P 954 Allen, Albert B 967 ' Carroll, John D 909 855 Carter. Willis 907 East, Hughes 964 Anderson, Joseph 844 Case, Albert R Eaton, Albert D 928 839 Casey, James P 937 Eaton, William ' 879 858 Eckert, James R Antelope, Morris ............ 972 Chambard, Louis 836 Edwards, Henrv R :::.".:'. 841 Arrapa, Stanislaus 973 Chambers, Clarence 965 Egbers, Robert C 946 Baeck Carl Chisholm, Donald H 846 857 Fge, George L Ehlcrt William 903 873 Baldwin, Harry L 932 Christenson, Andrew Eilert, Louis E 868 Baldwin, Mrs. "James T 854 Cisco, William E '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 916 Elderton, William 916 Barnes, Joseph I 849 Cleland, William H 866 Elsasser, John T 861 Barza. Beer 972 Coleman, George E 890 Elsasser, William R 861 Baslington, William 874 Cole, William S 969 Emerson, R. King 958 Batters. George 922 886 . 844 Bauer Joseph A 884 Erlenwein Louis W 845 Beck, Simon ::::: Cook, Willis H Esch, Daniel Bennett, Percy J 865 Cooper, George '.'.'..... 902 Esch, Levi Bentlev, Delbert H 926 Cooper, Jasper Bentley, F.dmond J 927 Corzine, Lorenzo D ::;:::: T 3 o Feely, Charles W 976 Benton, Thomas 834 Crandall, Elisha 4 931 Feely, Clarence H. 977 Bigelow, David E 832 Cmishaw, John 867 Feelv, IrvanE 977 925 Crow, Levi .. 964 Feely, Tames J 893 Blessing, Titus 957 Gulp. Charles W 977 Feely, Thomas N 837 Berth wick, Robert C 870 Curtis, Abner 927 Fenn, Thomas H 965 966 Ferbrache, James G 851 Bo^e n r, a Alfred n . . '. Boyker, Louis E 873 859 Dahlgren, Frank Danner, John H 937 Ferbrache, Peter A Ferguson, James C 850 950 Bradley, James M Bragaw, Robert S 892 862 Darknell, Arthur A Davis, Frank A ....... 854 Fernan, John Ferrell, William W 866 920 Brant, Trven J Brengman, John P Brophv, Joseph G Brophv, Thomas 932 884 881 899 Davis, Walker R Dawson. William Dutrick, Isaac N Denison, Jesse 952 964 930 883 Finney, David F Finnev. Ezekiel M Fisdior, Ernest F Fisher, Fred C 877 878 927 974 Brown, David 952 Fisher, Tames A 895 Brown, William H Bruce, Malcolm Bunting, Arthur E 855 8 Dighton. Edward Dingman, Ross Dittemore, Louis T 968 886 Kislv.M-; Toseph Flemming, George W -. Frederic, John \V 970 947 896 .Hunting, Robert Burke, Richard W E:S Dobson, John H Dolan, James E '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 853 . . 859 Frost, Arthur E Fry, George 955 855 Burnham, H. E 976 Doust,' Edwin 856 Fry, Richard A 860 Draves, Rudolph 843 Cable, William H.... 900 Dugan, Joseph T J... 961 Geek, Henrv 949 Caldwell, John 839 Duncan, John H Gerrard, William 904 Dunlap John Gertum, Charles Campbell, Thomas S .... 939 .".."..".: 847 '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 840 Girard, Peter Gleeson, James Goohy, Robert M Graham. Arthur H'. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Graham, James A Grant, John C Graves, H L Graves, Rufus H Greaves, John W Green, Alphonzo A Green, Charles S Green, James A Green, Wallace P Griffus, Henry R (-.imii. Francis M Culhric. ChnmxyE Guthrie, James H Guthrie, Marion Hager, John Handy, Joseph W Hart, Warren A Hays, George L Henry, Samuel E Hkkey^lichaTl A! '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Hite, Nicholas Hoar, William R Holm, Thomas - Holton, George Hooker, Gabe H -Horn. Charles Howell. George W Howes, Stephen B Hudlow, Alford W Huguenin, Tell Jackson, Charles teS":::::::::: Johnson, Peter G Jones, Andrew J Jones, Mahlon P Jorgensen, Hans L Kamlin, Charles E Kenecly, James H Kent, Andrew J Keyser, Henry King, Clement B Knudsor., Herman Lagers, James T Lancaster, William S Larson, John LaVergne, Louis Leaf, Andrew LeHuquet, John Lemly, William 11 Lemon. Thomas J Ubby, William E Lin.lMrom, Peter ' Lyon, Leveritt V Lyon. William H Lyons, William Macha. Bona . . . Manning. Harlan P Markham, Francis M ivlarkham, Lvman F 973 882 934 .'.'.'::;; 842 950 970 938 948 874 895 926 891 960 963 8 3 8 841 8 4 i 896 ;;;;;;'. 863 8 7 6 pjg 960 906 905 .889 942 894 934 853 908 930 883 833 979 874 952 857 834 857 941 ::::::: | :;;;;;: 894 835 .... 886 880 864 951 ::::::; 1 '.:'.:'.:; %. 935 912 909 972 933 911 947 Martin, Emory B 904 Richmond, Jerry Riggs. Iral Riley, John W 951 972 937 871 962 903 Mashburn, Pink C Masterson, O. B 963 896 McCarthy, Timothy McCune, Tohn McDonald, James McGuire, Annie Mcllhargey, John McKenzie, Duncan S.- McKinnon, Norman McLean, John Mel ellan Robert 953 853 947 892 948 949 917 961 948 Ritchev, Samuel B Robacher. William H Roberts, Josiah Rochat, Henri Ross, Branson M Roth, Victor W Russell, Frank 929 . . . :. 923 897- Russell, Tames E Ryan, William '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Sage, Anthony A Sage, Reuben J 893 973 946 McLennan, Louis Melder, Henry Merritt, Andrew A Merritt, Donald O Merritt, Jay K Miller Adolph ::..E 860 942 941 943 939 919 883 851 971 912 912 931 875 940 832 879 968 Saltese, Chief Sanburn, Jay R Sander, V. W Schroeder, John F Schussman, Frank Scott, Ansel 1 Scott, Thomas H Settle, John W Shafcr, John Sharai, Wellington F Sharplev, Richard 974 902 901 891 929 919' 919 893. 921 888. 956 Miller, Gustav Miller, Sylvester Mills, Thomas W Moc-Til-Ma, Peter Montgomery, Thomas E Montgomery, Zachariah Murray, Robert Nelson, Christ Nelson, James Nelson John Shear, Cyrus B Shear, Edward A Sinclair, Janet R Sisson. William E Skelton, John W Slayter, James W Sloop, Jacob A Sluyter, Westol H Smith, Charles Smith, ColonS Smith, David K.... Smith, Joseph Smith, Samuel L. . . Smith, Ulvssis G .". Snyder, Washington Sorenson, Peter C Stockwell, Benjamin F Stone. James M Stone, William T Stuve, Edward Stuve, Louis Sullivan. Wesley Swofford, Harvey J Tank, Henry .... Tautenhahn, Richard Therleen, John Thompson, Ruth A Thompson, Robert C Thorp, Elbridge W Titus, George S Towle, Walter R.... Travis, Albert E Triplett, William L Tyson Tames 940- 940- 859 830 969- 958 849 873 936 925 856 843. 836 944 954 944 880 95 978 971 971 976 922 852 905. ....... 924 920- 907 872 878^ 956 9OO' 962 870. 876 925. 929 962 :::::: K .... 022- Nelson, Nels Newcomb. George O Nilson, Carl Noble, Albert H Oakland, August O'Brien, John J O'Callaghan, Charles Ohogge, John Olds, Charles O'Neal, William Osier, Gilbert F Owen, Calvin Owen, Frederick M Owen, Payton W Palmer, Aaron W Parent, Joseph C Pearce, Daniel W Pearson, Jonas P Peterson, R. Nels Peterson, Tonas G Peterson, Martin Phifer, David Piatt, Abram M Piatt Martin L 943 908 928 916 858 845 968 915 930 930 852 831 915 875 861 847 923 847 9H 831 830 Plonske, August Plonske, William F Poirier, Joseph Post, Frederick Price. William C. T Provost, Joseph Quarles, Jesse P Quirie, Alexander Quinn, Frank H Ramev, Sylvester Ray Fdward C 912 i::::^ 829 890 923 957 978 955 970 956 Tyson, John Q Ulbright, Amel Ulbright, Ernest P Van Cleve, Ernest Reinhart, Ernest E Reinhart, William E Reimger, Henry Renfro, Silas Rhodes, Samuel F 838 836 924 959 .... 887 VanOrsdal, Amos D Vesscr, Samuel Viebrock, Henry Waggoner. Charles .... Waggoner, Francis M.... Wandel, Henry Ware, James L Warner, Orson 913 842 918 935 Whitney, George B \\-icks. Alexander Wicks, Charles G \V.ke. Floyd V 839 933 934 ., 885 Wood, Charles W.... Woolery, John S Worley, Charles O Wright, Marcus D 869 863 974 862 Warren, Otis F Washburn. Volnev W 975 844 Williams, Harry W'lliamson Charles B 918 Wright, Mary A .' '. '. Watkins, Samuel" H VYhalen,' Patrick J \\hitc-, A. K 945 955 832 Williamson! Thomas F!"; Willis, John W Wilson. Elisha T .".."..".; 840 907 960 Yates, Hirem Yothers. Levi Young, Ira L 917 899 945 Whitney, Eugene L 914 Wilsoni Robert "..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 918 Z.mmerman, Paul L 958 KOOTENAI COUNTY PORTRAITS. Baldwin, Mrs. J. T Barnes Joseph I 854 848 Fry, Richard A 860 Ray, Edward C 956 Bennett, Percy J Bennett, Mrs. Percy J 864 864 Green, Alphonzo A 872 Reinhart, William E ::::: 1$ 8-64 Boyer, Mrs. Alfred Bradley, James M Brcngman. John P Brophy, Thomas Carroll, John D 872 892 884 896 908 Hawthorne. Adam Henry, Samuel E Horn, Charles Kenedy, James H Kenedy, Mrs. James H 876 96o 908 896 896 Russell, James E Sharai, Wellington F Sloop, Jacob A Sluvter, Westol H Smith, Charles 896 ::::: 848 872 936 Chambard, Louis Chambard, Mrs. Louis 836 836 Larson, John Larson, Mrs. John 864 864 848 Smith, Samuel I Smith, Mrs. Samuel L Sorensen, Peter C 836 .... 8 3 6 .... 944 Banner, John H Darknell, Arthur A Eaton, William ... Ehlert, William Khlert. Mrs. William Esch, Levi Feeley, Thomas N Feely, Mrs. Thomas N Ferrell,' WilliamW.' '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Frederic, John vv 836 884 9o 872 872 896 836 836 864 920 896 Lyon, William H Markham, Francis M.... Markham. Lyman F McCarter,' William M Montgomery, Zachariah Oakland, August O'Brien, John J Phifer, David Post, Frederick 908 884 908 868 904 908 9^8 908 829 Thompson, Mrs. Ruth A Towlc, Walter R Tyson, James Vesser, Samuel Washburn, Volney W White, A. K Wike Flovd V \\ illian^on, Charles B Williamson, Thomas F Yothers, Levi .... 848 .... 900 .... 864 .... 844 .... 832 .... 884 840 840 .... 896 SHOSHONE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL. Addle, James M Billberg, Henry 123 Cardoner. Damian *tf Bitner, George F 60 Carlson, August i_>4 Blake, Edwin W Carlson. John Anderson, Ole A. .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.. Bole, Henry H 69 Chandler, William M 119 Auld. John 171. Bond, James 06 Gaget. W.H 066 Aulbach, Adam 133 Bookwalter, Albert E Bovce, Eleanor 09 86 Clark. John W Cleek, Isaac D !,!s Bacon, Richard P 140 Boyden, Chester B 07 Cogswell, Arthur C ofa Balch, Albert S Brady, J. A Cole, Cyrus J 091 Ball, George F Braham, Charles O 57 Coleman, George W 1*1 Barnard, Thomas N Brand, William J 069 Coller, Harry 124 S 7 Coumerilh, William 144 Bauman, Phillip ."!.' !.'!.'!.'!'! ! i ! .' .' Bayne. John L 1 6b 001 Brown, Emn E! '.'.'.'.'.'. '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 77 04 Cowen, Israel B Crawford. Al C 005 069 Beams, Eugene P Bechtel, Louis F 193 62 Davenport, Joel 195 Beck, Joseph E Bellmer, Charles H. rod Bryant, Hiram 91 Davis, Warren N Daxon, Richard Belville, Martin Bennett. Charles E 093 Campbell, Joseph A. R 89 Day, Henry L Dav. Harrv L 080 1 80 PAGE PAGE PAGE I Hckinson, Charles F Donnelly. Thomas H Drew. John T Dulmage, E Howard .".."..."75 Hartmus, Edwin M I lean'.. R. P Heller Eliza 1118 Morgan, Benjamin F Moritx, Jacob . Myers, William H '. 1095 "51 "09 1168 Eieyburn, Wetdon B 1094 Newbury, John H.... "45 Eby, Charles L '..... I 21 11,11. Josiah "90 Xistler, Ludwig 1174 Fbv. lohn W i"9 Holmberg, Axel E 1116 Noble, Horace R.... Eccle's, Joseph G 1162 Hoover, William H 1074 Noonan, Martin Horn Robert T Nordquist John H Edmonson, Frank M II3 Horst, Elias E II20 i-iiMuquiai., juiiii a. Norman, Samuel IO /3 1067 Edwards, Frank J Horton, Abraham P 1202 Northrup, William P 1134 Ehrenberg, Charles '.' 084 Hovev, George E 1069 Noyes, Louis A 1139 Ehrenberg. Gus 081 Uuckeiberry, Charles "49 Nuckols, Anderson W Ehrenber" J Walter. .. Hunt, Robert W 1163 Nuss, Calvin ...... 1 188 Elben, Samuel I4 8 Hunt, Charles D 1166 Flliott, TohnM ...... 164 Hunt, Thomas W "66 Olin, John S 1131 I'll,,. M'arion A 138 Olson, Edward 1079 Erb, George E Fvirs John W 132 Ihrig, Henry C "31 : Veil. Laurence Osburn, Stephen V "39 Jacobs, Jerome F 1075 Otto, Albert '.'. "47 Fairweather, Stanley P Falconer, William M Farrar, William H Farrell, William H Featherstone, Albert H ..''.. 118 072 070 Jameson, Ralph R Jenkins, Benjamin E Johnson, Charles M Johnson Frank F 177 "27 Page, Alfred Pannebaker, Joshua Parker, Clyde S Pascoe, Richard H "31 "04 1187 Feehan, John C Ferguson, Columbus B Finfayson, Donald A 148 154 182 Johns,,,,, John B lones. Charles H./ Jones, Christian D. ......... ;'..".!Y.io89 "05 Paulsen, August Peeples. Drew W Pelkes, John "95 1180 Flaig, B 193 "lone- 1 lenry A Pennev, Norton R 1108 l-link. John W "3 jCnesiOD. . .......IC&2 Perkins, Clinton E "23 Ford. I'.arnet "5 Jones, Walter A Perrin, Charles S "70 Foreman, Frank L 167 Peterson, Gus 1114 Fort, Charles E Fortin. Joseph E 1-oss. lohn H Foster, Milton P Frazer. William F Freeman, Jesse .".."..". i i remain long in company, however, for Cap- tain Gray soon started on a cruise southward. On April 29, 1792, Gray met Vancouver just below Cape Flat- tery and an interesting colloquy took place. Van- couver communicated to the American- skipper the fact that he had not vet made any important discover- eries, and Gray, with equal frankness, gave the emi- nent British explorer an account of his past discover- ies, "including," says Bancroft, "the fact that he had not sailed through Fuca straight in the Lady Washing- ton, as had been supposed from Meares' narrative and map." He also informed Captain. Vancouver that he had been "off the mouth of a river in latitude forty- six degrees, ten minutes, where the outset, or reflux, was so strong as to prevent his entering for nine days." The important information conveyed by Gray seems to have greatly disturbed the equipoise of Vancouver's mind. The enterics in his log show that he did not en- tirely credit the statement of the American, but that he was considerably perturbed is evinced by the fact that he tries to convince himself by argument that Gray's statement could not have been correct. The latitude assigned by the American was that of Cape Disappointment, and the existence of a river mouth there, although affirmed by Heceta, had been denied by Meares ; Captain Cook also had failed to find it ; be- sides, had he not himself passed that point two days be- fore and had he not observed that "if any inlet or river should be found it must be a very intricate one, and inaccessible to vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs and broken water which then appeared in its neighbor- hood." With such reasoning, he dismissed the matter from his mind for the time being. He continued his journey northward, passed through the straight of Fuca, and engaged in a thorough and minute explora- tion of that mighty inland sea, to a portion of which he gave the name Puget Sound. Meanwhile Gray was proceeding southward "in the track of destiny and glory." On May 7th he en- tered the harbor which now bears his name and four days later passed through the breakers over the bar, and his vessel's prow plowed the waters of that fa- mous "River of the West," whose existence had been so long suspected. The storied "Oregon" for the first time heard other sound than "its own dashing." Shortly afterward Vancouver came to Cape Disap- pointment to explore the Columbia, of which he had heard indirectly from Captain Gray. Lieutenant Broughton, of Vancouver's expedition, sailed over the bar, ascended the river a distance of more than one hundred miles to the site of the present Vancouver, and with a modesty truly remarkable, "takes possession of the river and the country in its vicinity in his Britannic Majesty's name, having every reason to believe that the subjects of no other civilized nation or state had ever entered it before." This, too, though he had re- ceived a salute of one gun from an American vessel, the Jennie, on his entrance to the bay. The lieutenant's claim was not to remain forever unchallenged, as will appear presently. With the exploration of Puget sound and the dis- covery of the Columbia, history-making maritime ad- venture practically ceased. But as the fabled straic of Anian had drawn explorers to the Pacific shores in quest of the mythical passage to the treasurers of Ind, so likewise did the fairy tales of La Hontan and others stimulate inland exploration. "Furthermore, the mys- tic charm possessed by a terra incognita was becoming irresistible to adventurous spirits, and the possibilities of discovering untold wealth in the vaults of its "shin- were exceedingly fascinating to the lover of gain. The honor of pioneership in overland exploration belongs to one Verendrye, who, under authority of the governor-general of New France, in 1773 set out on an expedition to the Rocky mountains from Canada. This portant explorations, but as they failed to find a pass through the Rocky mountains by which they could HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. come to the Pacific side, their adventures do not fall within the purview of our volume. They are said to have reached the vicinity of the present city of Helena. If, as seems highly probable, the events chronicled by La Page in his charming "Histoire de la Louisi- ane," published in 1758, should be taken as authentic, the first man to scale the Rocky mountains from the east and to make his way overland to the shores of the Pacific was a Yazoo Indian, Moncacht-ape or Mont- cachabe by name. But "the first traveler to lead a part}- of civilized men through the territory of the Stony mountains to the South sea" was Alexander Mackenzie, who, in 1793, reached the coast at fifty- two degrees, twenty-four minutes, forty-eight sec- onds north, leaving as a memorial of his visit, inscribed on a rock with vermillion and grease the words "Alex- andar Mackenzie, from Canada by land, July 22, 1793." But western exploration by land had elicited the in- terest of one whose energy and force were sufficient to bring to a successful issue almost any undertaking worth the effort. While the other statesmen and leg- islators of his time were fully engaged with the prob- lems of the moment, the great mind of Thomas Jef- ferson, endowed as it was with a wider range of vision and more comprehensive grasp of the true situation was projecting exploring expeditions into the north- west. In 1786, while serving as minister to Paris, he had fallen in with the ardent Ledyard, who was on fire with the idea of opening a large and profitable fur trade in the north Pacific region. To this young man he had suggested the idea of journeying to Kam- tchatka, then in a Russian vessel to Nootka sound, from which, as a starting point, he should make an exploring expedition easterly to the United States. Ledyard acted on the suggestion, but was arrested as a spy in the spring of 1787 by Russian officials and so severely treated as to cause a failure of his health and a consequent failure of his enterprise. The next effort of Jefferson was made in 1792, when he proposed to the American Philosophical Soci- ety that it should engage a competent scientist "to ex- plore northwest America from the eastward by ascend- ing the Missouri, crossing the Rocky mountains and de- scending the nearest river to the Pacific ocean." The idea was favorably received. Captain Meriwether Lewis, who afterward distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark expedition, of- fered his services, but for some reason Andre Mich- aux, a French botanist, was given the preference. Mich- aux proceeded as far as Kentucky, but there received an order from the French minister, to whom, it seems, he also owed obedience, that he should relinquish his appointment and engage upon the duties of another commission. It was not until after the opening of the new cen- turv that another opportunity for furthering his fa- vorite project presented itself to Jefferson. An act of congress, under which trading houses had been es- tablished for facilitating commerce with the Indians, was about to expire by limitation, and President Jef- ferson, in recommending its continuance, seized the opportunity to urge upon congress the advisability of fitting out an expedition, the object of which should be "to explore the Missouri river and such principal streams of it as, by its course of communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river, may offer the most direct and practical water communication across the continent, for the purpose of commerce." Congress voted an appropriation for the purpose, and the expedition was placed in charge of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. President Jef- ferson gave the explorers minute and particular in- structions as to investigations to be made by them. They were to inform themselves, should they reach the Pacific ocean, "of the circumstances which may decide whether the furs of those parts may be col- lected as advantageously at the head of the 'Missouri (convenient as is supposed to the Colorado and Ore- gon or Columbia) as at Nootka sound or any other part of the coast; and the trade be constantly con- ducted through the Missouri and United States more beneficially than by the circumnavigation now prac- ticed." In addition to the instructions already quoted, these explorers were directed to ascertain if possible on arriving at the seaboard if there were any ports within their reach frequented by the sea vessels of any nation, and to send, if practicable, two of their most trusted people back by sea with copies of their notes. They were also, if they deemed a return by the way they had come imminently hazardous, to ship the en- tire party and return via Good Hope or Cape Horn, as they might be able. A few days before the initial steps were taken in discharge of the instructions of President Jefferson, news reached the seat of government of a transaction which added materially to the significance of the en- terprise. Negotiations had been successfully consum- mated for the purchase of Louisiana on April 30, 1803, but the authorities at Washington did not hear of the important transfer until the 1st of July. Of such trans- cendant import to the future of our country was this transaction and of such vital moment to the section with which our volume is primarily concerned, that we must here interrupt the trend of our narrative to give the reader an idea of the extent of territory involved and, if pos- sible, to enable him to appreciate the influence of the purchase. France, by her land explorations and the establishment of trading posts and forts, first acquired title to the territory west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky mountains, though Great Britain claimed the territory in accordance with her doctrine of con- tinuity and contiguity, most of her colonial grants extending in express terms to the Pacific ocean. Spain also claimed the country by grant of Pope Alexander VI. A constant warfare had been waged between France and Great Britain for supremacy in America. The latter was the winner in the contest, and in 1762, France, apparently discouraged, ceded to Spain the province of Louisiana. By the treaty of February 10, 1763, which gave Great Britain the Canadas, it was agreed that the western boundary between English and Spanish possessions in America should be the Missis- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. sippi river, Great Britain renouncing all claim to the territory west of that boundary. In 1800 Spain retro- ceded Louisiana to France "with the same extent it has now in the hands of Spain, and which it had when France possessed it, and such as it should be according to the treaties subsequently made betwen Spain and other states." The order for the formal delivery of the province to France was issued by the Spanish king on October 15, 1802, and, as above stated, the United States suc- ceeded to the title by treaty pf April 30, 1803. Of the long, weary land marches which brought the doughty explorers, 'Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to the pure currents of the Clearwater, space forbids narration. It is pleasant to record that the travel-worn expedition received hospitable treat- ment upon reaching the spot where Lewiston now stands. The Nez Perces were friendly, gave the ex- plorers what information they could about the remain- der of their journey and readily traded them such food supplies as they were able. While details of this his- tory-making expedition to the mouth of the Columbia and back again to the eastern states must be sought elsewhere, we shall here quote a summary of the jour- ney given by Captain Lewis himself, which will convey some idea of the momentous task successfully accom- plished by these giants of the wilderness : "The road by which we went out by the way of the Missouri to its head is 3,096 miles ; thence by land by way of Lewis river over to Clark's river and down that to the entrance of Traverse's Rest creek, where all the roads from different routes meet ; thence across the rugged part of the Rocky mountains to the naviga- ble waters of the Columbia', 398 miles; thence down the river 640 miles to the Pacific ocean making a total distance of 4,134 miles. On our return in .1806 we came from Traveler's Rest directly to the falls of the Missouri river, which shortens the distance about 579 miles and is a much better route, reducing the distance from the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean to 3,555 miles. Of this journey 2,575 mil es is up the Missouri to the falls of that river; thence passing through the plains and across the Rocky mountains to the navigable waters of the Kooskooskia river, a branch of the Columbia, 340 miles, two hundred of which is good road, 140 over a tremendous mountain, steep and broken, 60 miles of which is covered several feet deep with snow, on which we passed on the last of June ; from the navigable' part of the Kooskooskia we descended that rapid river 73 miles to its enterance into Lewis river, and down that river 154 miles to the Columbia, and thence 413 miles to its entrance into the Pacific ocean. About 180 miles of this distance is tide water. We passed several bad rapids and nar- rows and one considerable fall, 268 miles above the entrance of this river, 37 feet, eight inches; the total distance descending the Columbia waters, 640 miles, making a total of 3,555 miles, on the most direct route from the Mississippi at the mouth of the Missouri to the Pacific ocean." The safe return of the explorers to their homes in the United States naturally created a sensation through- out that country and the world. Leaders and men were suitably rewarded, and the fame of the former will live while the rivers to which their names have been given, continue to pour their waters into the sea. President Jefferson, the great patron of the expedition, paying a tribute to Captain Lewis in 1813, said: "Nev- er did a similar event create more joy throughout the United States. The humblest of its citizens have taken a lively interest in the issue of this journey, and looked with impatience for the information it would furnish. Nothing short of the official journals of this extraor- dinary and interesting journey will exhibit the import- ance of the service, the courage, devotion, zeal and per- severance under circumstances calculated to discourage, which animated this little band of heroes, throughout the long, dangerous and tedious travel." The knowledge of the Columbia basin, resulting from the extensive exploration of Lewis and Clark, soon bore fruit in a number of commercial enterprises, the first of which was the Astor expedition. It was so called from John Jacob Astor, a native of Heidelburg, who had come to America poor and had amassed a large fortune in commercial transactions. In 1800 there was conceived in the brain of this great captain of industry a scheme which for magnitude of design and careful arrangement of detail was truly master- ful. It contemplated the prosecution of the fur trade in every unsettled territory of America claimed by the United States, the trade with China and the supp'ly of the Russian settlements with trading stock and pro- visions, the goods to be paid for in peltry. A vessel was to be dispatched at regular intervals from New York, bearing supplies and goods to be traded to the Indians. This was to discharge her cargo at a depot of trade to be established at the mouth of the Columbia river, then trade along the coast with Indians and at the Russian settlements until another cargo had been in part secured, return to the mouth of the river, com- plete her lading there, sail thence to China, receive a return cargo of Canton silks, nankeen and tea, and back to New York. Two years would pass in com- pleting this vast "commercial rounding-up." An im- portant part of this plan was the supply of the Russian posts at New Archangel, the object being two fold, first to secure the profits accruing therefrom, and sec- onflly, to shut off competition in Mr. Astor's own ter- ritory, through the semi-partnership with the Russians in furnishing them supplies. Careful arrangements had been made with the Russian government to pre- vent any possible clash between the vessels of the two companies which should be engaged in the coast trade. "It was," says Brewerton, "a collossal scheme, and deserved to succeed ; had it done so it would have ad- vanced American settlement and actual occupancy on the Northwest coast by at least a quarter of a century, giving employment to thousands, and transferred the enormous profits of the Hudson's Bay and Northwest British fur companies from English to American cof- fers." Notwithstanding the opposition of the Northwest Fur Company, a powerful British corporation. As- tor's sea expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. before the territory had been pre-empted by any other fur traders. His overland company arrived' later, after having suffered terrible hardships, being well nigh overcome by the fatigues of their journey, the rigors of the inhospitable mountain ranges and lack of food. Astoria was founded and named. The little colony of traders set vigorously about the task of carrying into execution Astor's comprehensive plan. There were many difficulties to be overcome and one serious disaster, the massacre of the Tonquin's crew and the subsequent destruction of that vessel, had its decidedly depressing effect. Nevertheless, the Astor expedi- tion would have doubtless proved a success were it not for two unfortunate circumstances. In the choice of his partners in the Pacific Fur Company, Mr. Astor had made a serious mistake. Broad minded and liberal himself, he did not appreciate the danger of entrusting his undertaking to the hands of men whose national prejudices were bitterly anti- American and whose pre- vious connection with a rival company might affect their loyalty to this one. He associated with himself as partners in the enterprise Donald Mackenzie, Alex- ander Mackay, who had accompanied Alexandar Mac- kenzie on his voyage of discovery, hence possessed in- valuable experience, and Duncan Macdougal, all late of the Northwest Company, and though men of great skill and experience, schooled in the prejudices of the association with which they had so long maintained connection, and able to see only through British eyes. To the partners already enumerated were subsequently added Wilson P. Hunt and Robert Maclellan, Ameri- cans, John Clarke, a Canadian, David and Robert Stu- art and Ramsey Crooks, Scotchmen, and others. The second unfortunate circumstance and the one which gave perfidity a chance to perform its perfect work was the outbreak of the war of 1812. The dan- ger that Astoria might be captured by the British (for the United States had neglected to furnish suitable protection to this most remote outpost of its domin- ion) gave the traitorous Macdougal a colorable ex- cuse to betray into the hands of the Northwest Com- pany Mr. Astor's interests on the Pacific coast. The denouement of the plot was in this wise. On the 8th of October, 1813, Macdougal, by way of preparation for his final coupe, read a letter announcing the sailing of two British armed vessels, the Phoebe and the Is- aac Todd, with orders "to take and destroy everything American on the Northwest coast." "This dramatic scene," says Evans, "was followed by a proposition of MacTavish (of the Northwest Fur Company) to purchase the interests, stocks, establish- ments, etc. of the Pacific Fur Company. Macdougal then assumed sole control and agency because of the non-arrival of Hunt, and after repeated conference with MacTavish in which the presence of the other part- ners was ignored, the sale was concluded at certain rates. A few days later J. Stuart arrived with the re- mainder of the Northwest party. He objected to Mac- Tavish's prices and lowered the rates materially. Mr. Stuart's offer was accepted by Macdougal and the agreement of transfer was signed October i6th. By it Duncan Macdougal, for and on behalf of himself, Don- ald Mackenzie, David Stuart and John Clarke, part- ners of the Pacific Fur Company, dissolved July 1st, pretended to sell to his British conferes and co-con- spirators of the Northwest Company 'the whole of the establishments, furs and present stock on hand, of the Columbia and Thompson's rivers.' " It is needless to add that on the arrival of the Brit- ish vessels Astoria became a British possession. The formal change of sovereignty and raising of the Union Jack took place on December I2th, and as if to oblit- erate all trace of Mr. Astor's operations, the name of Astoria was changed to Fort George. The arrival of Isaac Todd the following spring with a cargo of trad- ing goods and supplies enabled the Northwest Com- pany to enter vigorously into the prosecution of their trade in the territory of their wronged and outraged rival. "Thus disgracefully failed," says Evans, "a magnificent enterprise, which merited success for sa- gacity displayed, in its conception, its details, its ob- jects; for the liberality and munificence of its projec- tor in furnishing means adequate for its thorough exe- cution ; for the results it had aimed to produce. It was inaugurated purely for commercial purposes. Had it not been transferred to its enemies, it would have pion- eered the colonization of the northwest coast by citi- zens of the United States ; it would have furnished the natural and peaceful solution of the question of the right to the territory drained by the Columbia and its tributaries. "The scheme was grand in its aim, magnificent in its breadth of purpose and area of operation. Its re- sults were naturally feasible, not over-anticipated. They were but the logical and necessary sequences of the pursuit of the plan. Mr. Astor made no miscal- hope to lead him into any wild or imaginary venture. He was practical, generous, broad. He executed what Sir Alexander Mackenzie urged should be adopted as the policy of British capital and enterprise. That one American citizen should have individually undertaken what two mammoth British companies had not the courage to try was but an additional cause which had intensified national prejudice into embittered jealousy on the part of the British rivals, the Northwest Com- pany." By the first article of the treaty of Ghent entered into between Great Britain and the' United States, De- cember 14, 1814, it was agreed "that all territory, places and possessions whatsoever taken by either party from the other, during or after the war, should be restored." Astoria, therefore, again became the possession of the United States, and in September, 1817, the government sent the sloop-of-war Ontario "to assert the claim of the United States to the sover- eignty of the adjacent country, and especially to re-' occupy Astoria or Fort George." The formal' surren- der of the fort is dated October 6, 1818. Mr. Astor had urged the United States to repos- sess Astoria, and intended fully to resume operations in the basin of the Columbia, but the Pacific Fur Com- pany was never reorganized, and never again did the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. great captain of industry engage in trade on the shores of the Pacific. Brief and general though this introductory sketch must be we cannot omit mention of the two British fur companies who played such a prominent part in the early history of the section to which the five northern counties of Idaho belong. Although organized in 1774, the Northwest Company, successor in interest of the Pacific Fur Company, did not attain to high prestige until the dawn of the nineteenth century. Then, how- ever, it seemed to take on new life, and before the first half decade was passed it had become the successful rival of the Hudson's Bay Company for the fur trade of the interior of North America. The Hudson's Bay Company when originally chartered in 1670 was granted in a general way the right to traffic in Hud- son's Bay and the territory contiguous thereto, and the Northwest Company began to insist that the grant should be more strictly construed. The boundaries of Prince Rupert's land, as the Hudson's Bay territory was named, had never been definitely determined and there had long been contention in those regions which were claimed by that company but denied to it by the other fur traders. Beyond the recognized area of the Hudson's Bay territory, the old Northwest Company (a French company which had fallen, at the time of the fall of Canada into the possession of the British) had been a competitor of the Hudson's Bay Company. When this FTench association went out of existence the con- test was kept up by private merchants, but without lasting success. The new Northwest Company, of Montreal, united and cemented into one organization all these individuals for the better discharge of the common purpose. It is interesting to note the theory of trade of this association as contrasted with that of the Hudson's Bay Company. From established posts as centers of operations, the Montreal association dispatched parties in all di- rections to visit the villages and haunts of the natives and secure furs from every source possible. It went to the natives for their goods, while the rival company so arranged its posts that these were convenient to the whole Indian population, then depended upon the abor- igines to bring in their peltries and exchange the same for such articles as might supply their wants or gratify their fancies. Consequently the one company required many employees, the other comparatively few. The clerks or traders of the Montreal association were re- quired to serve an apprenticeship of seven years at small wages. That term successfully completed, the stipend was doubled. Skill and special aptitude in trad- ing brought speedy promotions, and the chance to be- come a partner in the business was an unfailing incent- ive to strenuous effort. The Hudson's Bay Company, on the other hand, had established fixed grades of com- 'pensation. Promotion was slow, coming periodically rather than as a reward for specially meritorious serv- ice, and though faithfulness to duty was required, no incentive was offered for special endeavor. The Hud- son's Bay Company based its territorial title upon a specific grant from the crown, while the rival associa- tion sought no other title than such as priority of oc- cupancy and pre-emption afforded. It claimed as its. field of operation all unoccupied territory wherever lo- cated. The Northwest Company showed also its animus to confirm and strengthen British title to all territories adversely claimed, and wherever a post was estab- lished the territory contiguous thereto was ceremoni- ously taken possession of "in the name of the king of Great Britain, for the Northwest Company." Its es- tablishments and possessions afterward constituted the substantial basis of Great Britain's claim to the territory. Rivalry between these two companies was carried to such an extent that both were brought to the verge of bankruptcy. British interests were being en- dangered through this trade war and something had to be done. The governor general of Canada appointed a commission to investigate conditions, and that com- mission recommended a union of the two companies. Nothing, however, of material benefit resulted. Event- ually, in the winter of 1819-20, Lord Bathurst, Brit- ish secretary of state for the colonies, took up the matter and through his meditation a union was finally effected. On March 20, 1821, it was mutually agreed that both companies should operate under the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, furnishing equal amounts of capital and sharing equally the profits, the arrangement to continue in force for twenty-one years. By 1824 all the rights and interests of the stock- holders late of the Northwest Company had passed into the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company. . The absorb- tion of the one corporation by the other was com- plete. The treacherous and perfidious treatment of Mr. Astor and the demoralization of his partners availed the greedy Northwesters but little, for they were soon after conquered and subdued and forever deprived of their identity as a company by their powerful rival and enemy. The Hudson's Bay Company now became the sole owner and proprietor of the trade west of the Rocky mountains, and of all the rights accruing under the license of trade issued to it and the Northwest Com- pany by the British parliament. An "iinperhtm in im- ptrio" Evans characterized this company and such it was for it was in possession of well-nigh absolute power over its employes and the native races with whom it traded. It wa's constituted "The true and ab- solute lords and proprietors of the territories, limits and places, save always the faith, allegiance and sov- ereign dominion clue to us (the crown), our heirs and successors, for the same, to hold as tenants in fee and common socage, and not by knight's service, reserving as a yearly rent, two elks and two black beavers." Power was granted, should occasion arise, to "send ships of war, men or ammunition to any fort, post or place for defense thereof; to raise military companies and to appoint their officers ; to make war or conclude peace with any people (not Christian), in any of their territories," also "to seize the goods, estates or people of those countries for damage to the company's inter- est, or for the interruption of trade ; to erect and build forts, garrisons, towns, villages ; -to establish colonies HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. and to support such establishments by expeditions fit- ted out in Great Britain; to seize all British subjects not connected with the company, or employed by them, or in such territory by their license, and send them to England." Should one of its factors, traders or other employees "contemn or disobey an order, he was liable to be punished by the president or council, who were authorized to prescribe the manner and measure of punishment. The offender had the right to appeal to the company in England, or he might be turned over for trial by the courts. For the better discovery of abuses and injuries by the servants, the governor and company, and their respective president, chief agent or governor in any of the territories, were authorized to examine on oath all factors, masters, pursers, super- cargoes, commanders of castles, forts, fortifications, plantations, or colonies, or other persons, touching or concerning any matter or thing sought to be investi- gated." To further strengthen the hands of the com- pany, the charter concludes with a royal mandate to all '"'admirals, vice-admirals, justices, mayors, sheriffs, constables, bailiffs, and all and singular other our of- ficers, ministers, liegemen, subjects whatsoever, to aid, favor, help and assist the said governor and company to enjoy, as well on land as on the seas, all the prem- ises in said charter contained, whensoever required." Something of the modus operand! of the company must now be given. The chief factors and chief trad- ers were paid no salaries, but in lieu thereof were given forty per cent, of the profits, divided among them on some basis deemed equitable by the company. The hundred pounds per annum. Below these again were the servants, whose term of enlistment (for such in effect it was) was for five years, and whose pay was seventeen pounds per annum without clothing. The servant was bound by indentures to devote his whole time and labor to the company's interests ; to yield obe- dience to sprerior officers ;to defend the company's property; to faithfully obey the laws, orders, -etc; to defend officers and agents of the com- pany to ,the extent of his ability; to serve in the capacity of a soldier whenever called upon so to do ; to attend military drill ; and never to engage or be interested in any trade or occupation except in accordance with the company's orders and for its bene- fit. In addition to the pittance paid him, the servant was entitled, should he desire to remain in the country after the expiration of his term of enlistment, to fifty acres of land, for which he was to render twenty-eight before the expiration of his term, the servant, it was agreed, should be transported to his European home free of charge. Desertion or neglect might be punished by the forfeiture of even the wretched pittance he was to receive. It was, furthermore, the policv of the com- their purpose being to create family ties which should bind the poor slave to the soil. By the time the serv- ant's term of enlistment had expired, there was, there- fore, usually no choice left him but to re-enlist or ac- cept the grant of land. "In times of peace, laborers and operatives were ever on hand at mere nominal wages ; in times of outbreak they were at once trans- formed into soldiers amenable to military usage and discipline." The system was certainly a fine one, viewed from the standpoint of the company, but while it may com- mand admiration for its ingenuity, it is certainly not to be commended for magnanimity. Its design and purpose was to turn the wealth of the country into the coffers of the English noblemen who owned Hudson's Bay stock, even though this should be done at the ex- pense of the manhood, the self-respect and the inde- pendence of the poor sons of toil who foolishly or from necessity bound themselves to its service. The Indian policy of the company was no less politic than its treatment of its employees, but it had much more in it that was truly commendable. Its purpose did not bring its employees into conflict with the Indian, nor require his expulsion, neither was there danger of the lands of the savages being appropriated or the graves of their people disturbed. The sale of intoxi- cants was positively and successfully prohibited. Con- ciliation was the wisest policy for the company, and it governed itself accordingly ; but when punishment was merited, it was administered with promptness and se- verity. When depredations were committed the tribe to which the malefactor belonged was pursued by an armed force and compelled to deliver up the guilty to his fate. A certain amount of civilization was in- troduced, and with it came an increase of wants, which wants could only be supplied at the company's forts. Indians were sent on hunting and trapping expedi- tions in all directions, so that concentration of tribes became difficult, and if attempted, easily perceived in time to circumvent it and prevent trouble. Thus the company secured an influence over the savage and a place in his affections, from which it could not easily be dislodged. In its treatment of missionaries, civil and military officers and others from the United States, the com- pany's factors and agents were uniformly courteous and kind. Their hospitality was in the highest degree commendable, meriting the gratitude of the earliest visitors and settlers. The poor and unfortunate never asked assistance in vain. But woe to the American who attempted to trade with the Indian, to trap, hunt or do anything which brought him into competition with the British corporation. All the resources of a company supplied with an abundance of cheap labor, supported by the friendship and affection of the aboriginal peo- ples, backed by an almost unlimited capital, and forti- fied by the favor of one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the earth, were at once turned to crush him. Counter establishments were formed in his vicinity, and he was hampered in every way possible and pursued with the relentlessness of an evil fate until compelled to retire from the field. Such being the condition, there was not much en- couragement for American enterprise in the basin of the Columbia. It is not, however, in the American character to yield a promising prospect without a strug- gle and many times efforts were made at competition in HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. the Oregon territory. William H. Ashley, Jedediah S. Smith, Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth and others tried their hands but all were compelled to give up in de- spair. More important perhaps than the loss of profits which might accrue to America from the successful prosecution of the fur trade was the weakening of America's title to the country, through the establish- ment of British trading posts, the colonization of re- tired officers and servants as cultivators of the public domain, etc. It is true that the joint occupancy con- ventions of 1818 and 1827, by which British and Ameri- cans alike were allowed to occupy the country, ex- pressly stipulated that no advantage should inure to either of the high contracting parties by virtue of any acts performed subsequent to the date of the first con- vention. However clear and explicit the language of the treaty, no observer could fail to note that the establishment of trading enterprises was giving Great Britain a decided advantage in the struggle for title to the Oregon country. The Hundson's Bay Company had a political mission and was playing a prominent part in inter-national affairs. This it openly avowed in 1837 in its application to the home government for a new license granting enlarged privileges. It pointed boastfully to its efficient services in successfully crush- ing out American enterprise, and in strengthening the British title to the territory, contrary to the spirit and letter of the joint occupancy treaties. In presenting the petition, the company's chief rep- resentative in England, Sir John Henry Pelly, called the attention of the lords to the service rendered in securing to the mother country a branch of trade, wrested from subjects of Russia and the United States of America : to the six permanent establishments it had on the coast, and the sixteen in the interior, besides the migratory and hunting parties ; to its marine of six armed vessels; to its large pasture and grain farms, affording every species of agricultural produce and maintaining large herds of stock. He further averred that it was the intention of the company to still further extend and increase its farms, and to establish an ex- port trade in wool, hides, tallow and other produce of the herd and the cultivated field, also to encourage the settlement of its retired servants and other emigrants under its protection. Referring to the soil, climate and other circumstances of the country, he said they were such as to make it "as much adapted to agricultural pursuits as any other spot in America ; and," said he, "with care and protection the British dominion may not only be preserved in this country, which it has been so much the wish of Russia and America to occupy to the exclusion of British subjects, but British interest and British influence may be maintained as paramount in this interesting part of the coast of the Pacific." Sir George Simpson, who was in charge of the Hud- son's Bay Company's affairs in America, in making his plea for the renewal of the license, referred to the international import of the company's operations in this language: "The possession of that country to Great Britain may be an object of very great importance; and we are strengthening that claim to it (independent of the claims of prior discovery and occupation for the purpose of Indian trade) by forming the nucleus of a colony through the establishment of farms, and the set- tlement of some of our retired officers and servants as agriculturists." One might almost expect that Great Britain would offer some word of reproof to a company which could have the audacity to boast of violating her treaty com- pacts with a friendly power. Not so, however. She was a party to the breach of faith. Instead of admin- istering reproof, she rewards the wrong-doers by the promptly issuing of a new license to extend and be in force for a period of twenty-one years. This renewed license, the date of which is May 31, 1838, granted to the company ''the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians in all such parts of North America, to the northward and westward of the islands and territories belonging to the United States of America, as shall not form part of any of our (British) provinces in North- said United States of America, or to any European- government, state, or power. Without rent for the first five years, and afterward the yearly rent of five shill- ings, payable on the ist of June." The company was again required to furnish a bond conditioned on their executing by their authority over the persons in their employ, "all'civil and criminal process by the officers or persons legally empowered to execute such process within all territories included in the grant, and for the producing or delivering into custody, for the purpose of trial, all persons in their employ or acting under their authority within the said territories, who shall be- charged with any criminal offenses." The license, how- ever, prohibited the company "from claiming or exer- cising any trade with the Indians on the northwest coast of America westward of the Rocky mountains to the prejudice or exclusion of any of the subjects of any foreign state, who, under or by any force of any con- vention for the time being between Great Britain and such foreign states, may be entitled to and shall be en- gaged in such trade." But no provision could be framed, nor was it the wish of the grantors to frame any, which should prevent the Hudson's Bay Company from driving out by harassing tactics and fierce compe- tition, any American who might enter the Oregon ter- ritory as a trader. Though the citizens of the United States failed to compete with the powerful British company for the profits of the fur trade, neither they nor their govern- ment viewed the aggressiveness of the British with any- thing like apathy. The value of the country early be- came appreciated by a determined little band in con- gress. The debates in that body, as well as the numer- ous publications sent out among the people, stimulated a few daring spirits to brave the dangers of Rocky mountain travel and to see for themselves the truth with regard to Oregon. Reports from these reacted upon congress, enabling it to reason and judge from premises more nearly in accordance with fact. Grad- ually interest in Oregon became intensified, and the determination to hold it for the United States deep- ened. While the country never receded from its con- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. viction of the existence of an absolute right of sover- eignty in itself, the people resolved to establish a title which even the British could not question, to win Oregon from Great Britain even in accordonce with the tenets of her own theory. They determined to settle and Americanize the territory. In 1834 an ele- ment of civilization was introduced of a vastly higher nature than any which accompanied the inroad of the Hudson's Bay 'Company's employees and of trappers and traders ; an element more potent also in its politi- cal effect as the event proved. We refer to the en- trance into the country of a party of Methodist mis- sionaries, which accompanied Wyeth's overland expe- dition. The party consisted of Rev. Jason Lee and his nephew, Rev. Daniel Lee, Cyrus Shepherd, Court- ney M, Walker and P. L. Edwards. These settled near the site of the present city of Salem, forming the nucleus of a thrifty American colony, for the party was perforce increased by the marriage of some of its members and by additions to its numbers as the neces- sities of the mission and the progress of its work de- manded. Not only that but the adventurous Rocky mountain men and other whites who became weary of their nomadic habits when they determined to set- tle down naturally sought its vicinity for the sake of its helpful society and influence. Two years later came another missionary party, sent out by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, an organization then supported by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed churches. The members of this party were Dr. Mar- cus Whitman and wife, Rev. H. H. Spalding and wife and W. H. Gray. We must pass over for the present the work of these men and those who later became their associates, but their political influence was not less potent than that of the Methodist mis- sionaries and it is certain that Whitman's famous mid- winter ride overland to the east had for one of its momentous results the stimulating of immigration into Oregon. Undoubtedly a large proportion of the near- ly nine hundred who were piloted over the Rockies by Whitman in 1843, were induced to come through the representations and efforts of that great mission- ary patriot. But besides the missions, several other forces were at work to populate the Northwest with an American people which must be passed over here. The inde- pendent population of the country in 1841 was per- haps 253 ; in 1842 came an immigration of 1 1 1 per- sons ; in 1843 came the immigration of 875 persons referred to above; the next year brought 800 more; 1846 added another thousand according to estimate, and so the population continued to grow by annual accretions. America had determined to Oppose her citizens, as settlers and home builders, against the British fur traders, thus introducing into the Oregon question a feature, the vital force and import of which could not be denied by the adverse claimant. But the transcendant importance of this great con- troversy demands that we trace briefly the history of diplomatic negotiations by which was effected a peace- ful adjustment of international interests so diametri- cally opposed to each other as to twice all but occa- sion actual conflict of arms. We need not attempt to trace all the conflicting claims which were at any time set up by different na- tions to parts or the whole of the old Oregon territory, nor to go into the controversy in all its multiform complications, but will confine 'our inquiry mainly to the negotiations after Great Britain and the United States became the sole claimants. France early estab- lished some right to what denominated "the western part of Louisiana," which, in 1762 she conveyed to Spain. This was retroceded to France some thirty- eight years later, and in 1803 was by that nation con- veyed with the rest of Louisiana to the United States. So France was left out of the contest. In 1819, by the treaty of Florida, Spain ceded to the United States all right and title whatsoever which she might have to the territory on the Pacific, north of the forty-second parallel. What then were the claims of the United States to this vast domain ? Naturally they were of a three-fold character. Our government claimed first in its own right. The Columbia river was discovered by a citi- zen of the United States and named by him. The river had been subsequently explored from its sources to its mouth by a government expedition under Lewis and Clark. This had been followed and its effect strength- ened by American settlements upon the banks of the river. While Astoria, the American settlement, had been captured in the war of 1812-15, it na d been re- stored in accordance with the treaty of Ghent, one pro- vision of which was that "all territory, places and pos- sessions whatsoever, taken by either party from the other during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, shall be restored without de- lay." It was a well established and universally recog- nized principle of international law that the discovery of a river, followed within a reasonable time by acts of occupancy, conveyed the right to the territory drained by the river and its tributary streams. This, it was contended, would make the territory between forty-two degrees and fifty-one degrees north latitude the rightful possession of the United States. The Americans claimed secondly as the successors of France. By the treaty of Utrecht, the date whereof was 1713, the north line of the Louisiana territory was established as a dividing line between the Hudson's Bay territory and the French provinces in Canada. For centuries it had been a well recognized principle of international law that "continuity" was a strong element of territorial claim. All European powers when colonizing the Atlantic seaboard, construed their colonial grants to extend, whether expressly so stated or otherwise, entirely across the continent to the Pa- cific ocean, and most of these grants conveyed in ex- press terms a strip of territory bounded north and south by stated parallels of latitude and east and west by the oceans. Great Britain herself had stoutly main- tained this principle, even going so far as to wage with France for its integrity, the war which was ended by the treaty of 1763. By that England acquired HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Canada and renounced to France all territory west of the Mississippi river. It was therefore contended on the part of the United States that England's claim by continuity passed to France and from France by as- subject to any rights which might prove to belong to Spain. Thirdly, the United States claimed as the succes- sor of Spain, all the rights that nation might have ac- quired by prior discovery or otherwise having accrued to the United States by' the treaty of Florida. In the negotiations between Great Britain and the United States, which terminated in the Joint-Occu- pancy treaty of 1818, the latter nation pressed the former for a final quit claim of all territory west of the Rocky mountains. In so doing it asserted its inten- tion "to be without reference or prejudice to the claims of any other power," but it was contended on the part of the American negotiations, Gallitin and Rush, that the discovery of the Columbia by Gray, its exploration by Lewis "and Clark, and the American settlement at Astoria rendered the claim of the United States "at least good against Great Britain to the country through which such river flowed, though they did not assert that the United States had a perfect right to the country." When, however, the United States succeeded to Spain, it was thought that all clouds upon its title were completely dispelled, and thereafter it was the contention of this government that its right to sole occupancy was perfect and indisputable. Great Brit- ain, however, did not claim that her title amounted to one of sovereign or exclusive possession, but simply that it was at least as good as any other. Her theory was that she had a right to occupancy in conjunction with other claimants, which by settlement and other- wise might be so strengthened in a part or the whole of the territory as to ultimately secure for her the right to be clothed with sovereignty. In the discussion of the issue, the earliest explora- tions had to be largely left out of the case, as they were attended by too much vagueness and uncertainty to bear any great weight. The second epoch of ex- ploration was, therefore, lifted to a position of promin- ence it could not otherwise have enjoyed. Perez and Heceta, for the Spainards, the former in 1774, and the latter a year later, had explored the northwest coast to the fifty-fifth parallel and beyond, Heceta dis- covering the mouth of the Columbia river. To offset whatever rights might accrue from these explorations, England had only the more thorough but less exten- sive survey of Captain James Cook, made in 1778. The advantage in point of prior discovery would, therefore, seem to be with the United States as' assignee of Spain. After the Joint-Occupancy treaty of 1818 had been signed, negotiations on the subject were not re- opened until 1824. In that year, obedient to the mas- terly instructions addressed to him on July 22, 1823, by John Quincy Adams, secretary of state, Richard Rush, minister to England, entered into negotiations with the British ministers Canning and Huskisson for the adjustment of the boundary. Mr. Rush was instructed to offer the forty-ninth parallel to the sea, "should it be earnestly insisted upon by Great Britain." He endeavored with great persistency to fulfill his mis- sion, but his propositions were rejected. The British negotiators offered the forty-ninth parallel to the Co- lumbia, then the middle of that river to the sea, with perpetual rights to both nations of navigating the har- bor at the mouth of the river. This proposal Mr. Rush rejected, so nothing was accomplished. By treaty concluded in February, 1825, an agreement was en- tered into between Great Britain and Russia, whereby the line of fifty-four degrees, forty minutes, was fixed as the boundary between the territorial claims of the two nations, a fact which explains the cry of "Fifty- four, forty or fight" that in later days became the slogan of the Democratic party. In 1826-7 another attempt was made to settle the question at issue between Great Britain and the United States. Albert Gallatin then represented this country, receiving his instructions from Henry Clay, secretary of state, who said : "It is not thought necessary to add much to the argument advanced on this point in the instructions given to Mr. Rush, and that which was employed by him in the course of the negotiations to support our title as derived from prior discovery and settlement at the mouth of the Columbia river, and from the treaty which Spain concluded on the 22d of February, 1819. That argument is believed to have conclusively established our title on both grounds. Nor is it conceived that Great Britain has or can make out even a colorless title to any portion of the north- ern coast." Referring to the offer of the forty-ninth parallel in a dispatch dated February 24, 1827, Mr. Clay said : "It is conceived in a genuine spirit of con- cession and conciliation, and it is our ultimatum and you may so announce it." In order to save the case of his country from being prejudiced in future negotiations by the liberality of offers made and rejected, Mr. Clay instructed Galla- tin to declare: "That the American government does not hold itself bound hereafter, in consequence of any proposal which it has heretofore made, to agree to a line which has been so proposed and rejected, but will consider itself at liberty to contend for the full measure of our just claims; which declaration you must have recorded in the protocol of one of your conferences; and to give it more weight, have it stated that it has been done by the express direction of the president." Mr. Gallatin sustained the claim of the United States in this negotiation so powerfully that the Brit- ish plenipotentiaries, Huskisson, Grant and Adding- ton, were forced to the position that Great Britian did not assert' any title to the country. They contented themselves with the contention that her claim was sufficiently well founded as to give her the right to occupy the country in common with other nations, such concessions having been made to her by the Nootka treaty. The British negotiators complained of the recommendation of President Monroe in his message of December 7, 1824, to establish a military post at the mouth of Columbia river and of the passage HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. of the bill in the House providing for the occupancy of the Oregon river. To this the Americans replied by call- ing attention to the act of the British parliament of 1821, entitled "An act for regulating the fur trade and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction in cer- tain parts of North America." He contended with great ability and force that the recommendation and bill complained of did not interfere with the treaty of 1818, and that neither a territorial government nor a fort at the mouth of the river could rightly be com- plained of by a government which had granted such wide privileges and comprehensive powers to the Hud- son's Bay Company. Before the conclusion of these negotiations, Mr. Gallatin had offered not alone the forty-ninth parallel but that "the navigation of the Columbia river shall be perpetually free to subjects of Great Britain in com- mon with citizens of the United States, provided that the said line should strike the northeastermost or any other branch of that river at a point at which it was navigable for boats." The British, on their part, again offered the Columbia river, together with a large of land between Admiralty Inlet and the coast, protest- ing that this concession was made in the spirit of sacri- fice for conciliation and not as one of right. The proposition was rejected and the negotiations ended in the treaty of August 6, 1827, which continued the Joint-Occupancy treaty of 1818 indefinitely, with the proviso that it might be abrogated by either party on giving the other a year's notice. "There can be no doubt," says Evans, "that, during the continuance of these two treaties, British foothold was strengthened and the difficulty of the adjustment of boundaries materially enhanced. Nor does this re- flect in the slighest degree upon those great publicists who managed the claim of the United States in those negotiations. Matchless ability and earnest patriot- ism, firm defense of the United States' claim, and withal a disposition to compromise to avoid rupture with any other nation, mark these negotiations in every line. The language and intention of these treaties are clear and unmistakable. Neither government was to attempt any act in the derogation of the other's claim ; nor could any advantage inure to either; during their continuance the territory should be free and open to citizens and subjects of both nations. Such is their plain purport; such the only construction which their language will warrant. Yet it cannot be controverted that the United States had thereby precluded itself from the sole enjoyment of the territory which it claimed in sovereignty; nor that Great Britain ac- quired a peaceable, recognized and uninterrupted ten- ancy-in-common in regions where her title was so im- perfect that she herself admitted that she could not successfully maintain, nor did she even assert it. She could well afford to wait. Hers was indeed the policy later in the controversy styled masterly inactivity: 'Leave the title in abeyance, the settlement of the coun- try will ultimately settle the sovereignty.' In no event could her colorless title lose color ; while an immediate adjustment of the boundary would have abridged the area of territory in which, through her subjects, she already exercised exclusive possession, and had se- ed the entire enjoyment of its wealth and resources. The Hudson's Bay Company, by virtue of its license of trade excluding all other British subjects from the territory, was Great Britain's trustee in possession an empire company, omnipotent to supplant enterprises projected by citizens of the United States. Indeed, the territory had been appropriated by a wealthy, all- powerful monopoly, with whom it was runious to at- tempt to compete. Such is a true exhibit of the then condition of Oregon, produced by causes extrinsic to the treaty, which the United States government could neither counteract nor avoid. The United States had saved the right for its citizens to enter the territory, had protested likewise that no act or omission on the part of the government or its citizens, or any act of commission or omission by the British government or her subjects during such joint-occupancy treaties, should affect in any way the United States' claim to the territory. "The treaties of 1818 and 1827 have passed into his- tory as conventions for joint occupancy. Practically they operated as grants of possession to Great Britain, or rather to her representative, the Hudson's Bay Company, who, after the merger with the Northwest Company, had become sole occupant of the territory. The situation may be briefly summed up : The United States claimed title to the territory. Great Britain, through its empire-trading company, occupied it, en- joyed all the wealth and resources derivable from it." But while joint occupancy was in realty non-oc- cupation by any but the British, it must not be sup- posed that the case of the United States was allowed to go entirely by default during the regime of so-called joint occupancy. In congress the advisability of occu- pying Oregon was frequently and vehemently dis- cussed. Ignorance and misconception with regard to the real nature of Oregon, its climate, soil, products, and healthfulness, were being dispelled. The repre- sentations of the Hudson's Bay Company that it was a "miasmatic wilderness, uninhabitable except by wild beasts and more savage men," were found to be false. In 1821 Dr. John Floyd, a representative in congress from Virginia, and Senator Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, had interviews at Washington with Ramsey Crooks and Russel Farnham, who had belonged to Astor's party. From' these gentlemen they learried something of the value of Oregon, its features of in- terest, and its commercial and strategic importance. This information Dr. Floyd made public in 1822, in a speech in support of a bill "to authorize the occupa- tion of the Columbia river, and to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indians thereon." On December 29, 1 8.7.3, a committee was appointed to inquire as to the wisdom of occupying the mouth of the Columbia and the committee's report, submitted on April I5th of the following year, embodied a communication from General Thomas S. Jesup, which asserted that the mili- tary occupancy of the Columbia was a necessity for HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. protecting trade and securing the frontier. It recom- mended "the dispatch of a force of two hundred men across the continent to establish a fort at the mouth of the Columbia river ; that at the same time two vessels, with arms, ordnance and supplies, be sent thither by sea. He further proposed the establishment of a line of posts across the continent to afford protection to our traders; and on the expiration of the privilege granted to British subjects to trade on the waters of the Columbia, to enable us to remove them from our territory, and secure the whole to our citizens. Those posts could also secure the preservation of peace among the Indians in the event of a foreign war and command their neutrality or assistance as we might think most advisable." The letter exposed Great Britian's rea- sons for her policy of masterly inactivity, and urged that some action be taken by the United States to off- set the accretion of British title and for preserving and perfecting its own. "History," says Evans, "will generously award credit to the sagacious Jesup for indicating in 1823 the unerring way to preserve the American title to Oregon territory. Nor will it fail to command the earnest devotion of that little Oregon party in congress for placing on record why the gov- ernment should assert exclusive jurisdiction within its own territory." In the next congress the subject was again discussed with energy and ability. In 1831 for- mal negotiations with Great Britain were resumed. All this discussion had a tendency to dispel the idea, promulgated, as we have seen, by the Hudson's Bay Company, that the territory was worthless and uninhabitable, also to excite interest in the mystic re- gion beyond the mountains. The United States claimed theoretically that it was the possessor of a vested right to absolute sovereignty over the entire Oregon territory, and in all the nego- tiations, after the signing of the treaty of Florida, its ambassadors claimed that the title of their country was clearly established. The fact, however, that joint occu- pancy was agreed to at all after 1828 could hardly be construed in any other light than as a confession of weakness in our title, notwithstanding the unequivocal stipulations that neither party should attempt anything in derogation of the other's claims, and that the con- troversy should be determined on its merits as they existed prior to 1818. If the United States came into possession of an absolute title in 1819, why should it afterward permit occupation by British subjects and the enforcement of British law in its domain ? The United States' title, as before stated, rested upon three foundation stones, its own discoveries and explorations, the discoveries and explorations of the Spaniards, and the purchase of Louisiana. While it was not contended that any one of these conveyed exclusive right, the position of our country was that each supplemented the other ; that, though while vested in different nations they were antagonistic when held by the same nation, they, taken together, amounted to a complete title. The title was, therefore, cumulative in its nature and had in it the weakness which is in- herent under such conditions. It was impossible to determine with definiteness how many partial titles, the value of each being a matter of uncertainty, would cumulatively amount to one complete title. And, how- ever clear the right of the United States might seem to its own statesmen, it is evident that conviction must be produced in the minds of the British also if war was to be avoided. In 1831 when Martin Van Buren was our minister at London he received instructions relative to the con- troversy from Edward Livingston, secretary of state, the tenor of which indicated that the United States was not averse to the presence of the British in the territory. While they asserted confidence in the American title to the entire Oregon territory, they said: "This subject, then, is open for discussion, and until the rights of the parties can be settled by nego- tiations, ours can suffer nothing by delay." Under these rather lukewarm instructions, naturally nothing was accomplished. In 1842 efforts to adjust the boundary west of the Rocky mountains were again resumed, this time on motion of Great Britain. That power requested on October i8th of the year mentioned that the United States minister at London should be furnished with instructions and authority to renew negotiations, giv- ing assurance of its willingness to proceed to the con- sideration of the boundary subject "in a perfect spirit of fairness, and to adjust it on a basis of equitable compromise." On November 25th, Daniel Webster, then secretary of state, replied : "That the president concurred entirely in the expediency of making the question respecting the Oregon territory a subject of immediate attention and negotiation between the two governments. 'He had already formed the purpose of expressing this opinion in his message to congress, and at no distant day, a communication will be made to the minister of the United States in London." Negotiations were not, however, renewed until Oc- tober, 1843, when Secretary Upshur sent instructions to Edward Everett, American minister to London, again offering the forty-ninth parallel, together with the right of navigating the Columbia river upon equit- able terms. In February of the ensuing year, Hon. Richard Packenham, British plenipotentiary, came to the American capital with instructions to negotiate concerning the Oregon territory. No sooner had dis- cussion fairly begun than a melancholy event hap- pened, Secretary Upshur being killed on the United States vessel Princeton by the explosion of a gun. A few months later his successor, John C. Calhoun, con- tinued the negotiations. The arguments were in a large measure a repetition of these already advanced but a greater aggressiveness on the part of the British and persistency in denying the claims of the United States were noticeable. As in former negotiations, the privileges accorded by the Nootka convention were greatly relied upon by Great Britain as proving that no absolute title was retained by Spain after the sign- ing of that treaty, hence none could be assigned. One striking statement in Lord Packenham's correspond- ence was to the effect that "he did not feel authorized to enter into discussion respecting the territory north of the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, which was under- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 15 .stood by the British government to form the basis of negotiations on the side of the United States, as the line of the Columbia formed that of Great Britain." He thus showed all too plainly the animus of his gov- ernment to take advantage of the spirit of compromise which prompted the offer of that line and to construe .such offer as the abandonment of the United States, claim to an absolute title to all the Oregon territory. It is hard to harmonize her action in this matter with the "perfect spirit of fairness" professed in the note of Lord Aberdeen to Mr. Webster asking for a renewal of negotiations. No agreement was reached. During the sessions of congress of 1843-4 memor- ials, resolutions and petitions from all parts of the union came in a perfect flood. The people were thor- oughly aroused. In the presidential election which oc- curred at that time the Oregon question was a leading issue. "Fifty-four Forty or Fight" became the rally- ing cry of the Democratic party. The platform framed in the Democratic national convention de- clared: "Our title to the whole of Oregon is clear and unquestionable. No portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power; and by the reoccupation of Oregon at the earliest practical period is a great American measure." The position of the Whig party was milder and less arrogant, but equally emphatic in its assertion of belief in the valid- ity of the United States" title. The fact that the Demo- crats carried in the election, despite the warlike tone of their platform and campaign, is conclusive evidence that the people were determined to hold their terri- tory on the Pacific regardless of cost. "Never was a government more signally advised by the voice of a .united people. The popular pulse had been felt, and it beat strongly in favor of prompt and decisive meas- uies to secure the immediate reoccupation of Oregon. It equally proclaimed that 'no portion thereof ought to be ceded to Great Britain.' " In January, 1845, Sir .Richard Packenham, the British minister, proposed that the matter in dispute be left to arbitration, which proposal was respectfully declined. So the adminis- tration of President Tyler terminated without adjust- ment of the Oregon difficulty. Notwithstanding the unequivocal voice of the peo- ple in demand of the whole of Oregon, James Buch- anan, secretary of state under President Polk, in a communication to Sir Richard Packenham, dated July 12, 1845, again offered the forty-ninth parallel, explain- ing at the same time that he could not have consented to do so had he not found himself embarassed if not committed by the acts of his predecessors. Packen- ham rejected the offer. Buchanan informed him that he was "instructed by the president to say that he owes it to his country, and a just appreciation of her title to the Oregon territory, to withdraw the proposition to the British government which has been made under his direction ; and it is hereby accordingly withdrawn." This formal withdrawal of previous offers of com- promise on the forty-ninth parallel, justified as it was by Great Britain's repeated rejections, left the Polk administration free and untrammeled. Appearances indicated that it was now ready to give execution to the popular verdict of 1844. The message of the presi- dent recommended that the year's notice, required by the treaty of 1827, be immediately given, that measures be adopted for maintaining the rights of the United States to the whole of Oregon, and that such legisla- tion be enacted as would afford security and protection In harmony with these recommendations, a resolu- tion was adopted April 27, 1846, authorizing the presi- dent "at his discretion to give to the government of Great Britain the notice required by the second article of the said convention of the sixth of August, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, for the abrogation of the same." Acting in accordance with the resolution, Presi- dent Polk the next day sent notice of the determination of the United States "that, at the end of twelve months from and after the delivery of these presents by the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at London, to her Britannic Ma- jesty, or to her majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, the said convention shall be entirely annulled and abrogated." On the 27th of December, 1845, Sir Richard Pack- enham had submitted another proposal to arbitrate the matter at issue between the two governments. The proposal was declined on the ground that to submit the proposition in the form stated would preclude the United States from making a claim to the whole of the territory. On January ijth of the following year, a modified proposal was made to refer "the question of title in either government to the whole territory to be decided ; and if neither were found to possess a com- plete title to the whole, it was to be divided between them according to a just appreciation of the claims of each." The answer of Mr. Buchanan was clear and its language calculated to preclude any more arbitra- tion proposals. He said : "If the governments should consent to an arbitration upon such terms, this would be construed into an intimation, of not a direct invita- tion to the arbitrator to divide the territory between the two parties. Were it possible for this government, under any circumstances, to refer the question to arbi- tration, the title and the title alone, detached from every other consideration, ought to be the only question sub- mitted. The title of the United States, which the president regards clear and unquestionable, can never be placed in jeopardy by referring it to the decision of any individual, whether sovereign, citizen or subject. Nor does he believe the territorial rights of this nation are a proper subject of arbitration." But the British government seems now to have be- come determined that the question should be settled without further delay. The rejected arbitration pro- posal was followed on the 6th of June, 1846, by a draft of the proposed treaty submitted by Sir Richard Pack- enham to Secretary of State Buchanan. The provision of this were to the effect that the boundary should be continued along the forty-ninth parallel "to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver Island: and thence southerly through the middle of said channel and of Fuca's strait to the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Pacific ocean." It stipulated that the navigation of the Columbia river should remain free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company and to all British subjects trading with the same; that the possessory right of that company and of all British subjects south of the forty-ninth parallel should be respected, and that "the farms, lands and other property of every description belonging to the Puget Sound Agricultural Company shall be confirmed to said company. In case, however, the situation of these farms and lands should be con- sidered by the United States to be of public import- ance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said government at a proper valuation, to be agreed between the parties." Upon the receipt of the important communication embodying this draft, the president asked in advance the advice of the senate, a very unusual, though not unprecedented procedure. Though the request of the president was dated June loth and the consideration of the resolution to accept the British proposal was not begun until June I2th, on June I3th it was "resolved wo-thirds of the senators present consenting), that e president of the United States be, and he is hereby, advised to accept the proposal of the British govern- ment, accompanying his message to the senate, dated June 10, 1846, for a convention to settle the boundar- ies, etc., between the United States and Great Britain, west of the Rocky or Stony mountains." The advice was, however, "given under the conviction that, by the true construction of the second article of the project, the right of the Hudson's Bay Company to navigate the Columbia would expire with the termination of their present license of trade with the Indians, etc., on the northwest coast of America, on the 3Oth of May, 1859." The wonderful alacrity with which this advice was given and with which five degrees and forty minutes of territory were surrendered to Great Britain, is ac- counted for by some historians (and no doubt they are correct) by supposing that the "cession" was made in the interests of slavery. The friends of that insti- tution were unwilling to risk a war with Great Brit- ain which would interfere with the war with Mexico and the annexation of Texas. Their plan was to ac- quire as much territory from which slave states could be formed as possible, and they were not over scrupu- lous about sacrificing territory which must ultimately develop into free states. But for unfortunate diplo- macy, "it is quite probable that British Columbia would be to-day, what many would deem desirable in view of its growing importance, a part of the United States." Notwithstanding the great sacrifice made by the United States for the sake of peace, it was not" long ntil clouds were again darkening ou skies. The determining of the line after it reached the Pacific ocean soon became a matter of dispute. Hard- ly had the ratifications been exchanged when Captain Prevost, for the British government, set up the claim that Rosario was the channel intended by the treaty. The claim was, of course, denied by Mr. Campbell,, who was representing the United States in making the survey line. It was contended by him that the Canal de Haro was the channel mentioned in the treaty. Lord Russell, conscious, no doubt, of the weakness of his case, proposed as a compromise President's channel, between Rosario and de Haro straits. The generosity of this proposal is obvious when we remember that San Juan island, the principal bone of contention, would be on the British side of the line. Indeed Lord Lyons, the British diplomatic representative in the United States, was expressly instructed that no line would be accepted which did not give San Juan to the British. The position of the United States was stated by Secre- tary of State Lewis Cass, with equal clearness and de- cisiveness. Efforts to settle the matter geographically proved unavailing and diplomacy again had to undergo a severe test. For a number of years the matter remained in. abeyance. Then the pioneer resolved to try the plan he had before resorted to in the settlement of the main question. He pushed into the country with wife and family. The Hudson's Bay Company's representa- tives were already there and the danger of a clash of arms between the subjects of the queen and the citizens of the United States, resident in the disputed terri- tory, soon became imminent. Such a collision would undoubtedly involve the two countries in war. In the session of the Oregon territorial legislature of 1852-53, the archipelago to which San Juan island belongs was organized into a county. Taxes were in due time imposed on Hudson's Bay Company prop- erty, and when payment was refused, the sheriff promptly sold sheep enough to satisfy the levy. Gen- eral Harney, commander of the Department of the Pa- cific, inaugurated somewhat summary proceedings. He landed over four hundred and fifty troops on the island, and instructed Captain Pickett to protect Amer- ican citizens there at all costs. English naval forces of considerable power gathered about the island. Their commander protested against military occupancy. Pickett replied that he could not, under his orders, per- mit any joint occupancy. General Harney, however, had acted without instructions from the seat of govern- ment, and the president did not approve his measures officially, though it was plainly evident that the admin- istration was not averse to having the matter forced to an issue. At this juncture, the noted General Scott was sent to the scene of the difficulty, under instructions to per- mit joint occupancy until the matter in dispute could be settled. Harney was withdrawn from command en- tirely. Finally an agreement was reached between General Scott and the British governor at Vancouver that each party should police the territory with one hundred armed men. Diplomacy was again tried. Great Britain pro- posed that the question at issue be submitted to arbi- tration and she suggested as arbiter the president of the Swiss council or the King of Sweden and Norway or the King of the Netherlands. The proposition was HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. declined by the United States. For ten years the dis- pute remained unsettled. Eventually on May 8, 1871, it was mutually agreed to submit the question, without appeal, to the arbitrament of Emperor William of Germany. George Bancroft, the well-known historian, was chosen to present the case of the United States, and it is said that "his memorial of one hundred and twenty octavo pages is one of the most finished and un- answerable diplomatic arguments ever produced." The British also presented a memorial. These were inter- changed and replies were prepared by each contestant. The emperor gave the matter careful and deliberate at- tention, calling to his assistance three eminent jurists. His award was as follows : "Most in accordance with the true interpretation of the treaty concluded on the 1 5th of June, 1846, between the governments of her Britanic Majesty and the United States of America, is the claim of the Government of the United States that the boundry line between the territories of her Britannic Majesty and the United States should be drawn through the Haro channel. Authen- ticated by our autograph signature and the impression of the Imperial Great Seal. Given at Berlin, October 21, 1872." This brief and unequivocal decree ended forever the vexatious controversy which for so many years had disturbed friendly feelings and endangered the peace of the two great Anglo-Saxon peoples. No shot was fired; no blood was shed; diplomacy had triumphed. In this cursory review of early Northwest history, the events transpiring between the signing of the treaty of 1846 and the organization of Idaho territory can- not be incorporated in any fulness. Another struggle for possession followed hard upon that with Great Britain, the final struggle in the great race war as a result of which our national domain was wrested from the hands of its aboriginal inhabitants. This struggle could have but on eri . ld have but one termination. The ineror race must yield to the superior. The Cayuse war, growing out of the Whitman massacre at Waiilatpu in 1847, and the Indian wars of the 'fifties resulted favorably to the whites and though the red man was a power in the land for many years, he could not withstand the steady oncoming tide of thrifty gold hunters and homeseekers. The Northwest pioneers being lovers of law and order, governments were instituted as a matter of course, first, the provisional government for the Oregon territory; then territorial government un- der the laws of congress, then separate territorial gov- ernment for the country north of the Columbia river and eventually on March 3, 1863, separate territorial government for Idaho, with the northern counties of which our history must concern itself in future chap- ters. PART I. GENERAL NORTH IDAHO HISTORY CHAPTRR I. PERIOD OF PLACER MINING. Just when the existence of gold in the country north and east of the big bend in the Snake river became known it is impossible to state with any certainty. Bancroft says that in 1854 a man named Robbins. a resident of Portland, had purchased some gold of the Spokane Indians, and that the Catholic missionary, De Smet, had known of its existence in what is now north Idaho even prior to that date. E. D. Pierce is also credited with an early knowledge of the aurifer- ous character of the country, and the reason given for his not having prospected it long before he did is the hostility of the Indian tribes. The reason is indeed a plausible one, for it is difficult to see how any man or set of men could carry on such operations during the era of Indian wars. Many writers have assigned a different reason for Pierce's manifest interest in the prospecting of the Nez Perce country. They state that some time in the early 'fifties an Indian of one of the northern tribes visited the locality in California where Pierce was then mining ; that the Indian told a strange story of an ap- parition seen by himself and two traveling companions in the rugged cliffs of his Idaho home ; that the ap- parition was in the shape of a great, blazing ball of light which the superstitious red men believed to be the eye of the Great Spirit. The Indians were too awe- striken and fearful to venture any explorations until daylight, when diligent search revealed a large, glitter- ing ball that resembled glass, embedded in the country Believing their discovery to be "great medicine," thev lodge and appropriate the treasure but were unable to do so, and the great ball was still in situ. This story, says the writers referred to, so fired the imagination of the visionary Pierce that he at once formed the de- sign of going in search of the wonderful ball, believ- ing it to be a huge diamond. Whether the story is veritable fact or pure myth or partly the former and partly the latter, the writer is unable to state. George W. Pierce who knew E. D. Pierce in Siskiyou county and mined with him there says there is no truth in the legend. It sounds very much as though it might be one of the fictions so cur- rent among mining men and prospectors of the earl days, which, however, generally take the form of los cabins, lost diggings, fabulous wealth discovered b lost miners and hunters, etc. But whatever may ha; fired the enthusiasm of Col. E. D. Pierce, certain is that the Nez Perce country had a great fascinatic for him and that his assiduity and zeal have had marvelous ultimate effect upon the history and de- velopment of the country. In 1858 Pierce made a visit to the land of the Nez Perces, but does not seem to have found any oppor- tunity for prospecting, owing to the unsettled condi- tion of Indian affairs and the opposition to his pro- jects of the conservative red men. Undaunted, how- ever, he renewed his efforts at the first opportunity and his zeal was rewarded in the spring of 1860 by a dis- covery of gold on the Clearwater river. An account of this important find gained currency in Walla Walla during April and some mention is made of it in the Oregon Argus of the 3Oth of that month, but the state- ments of Pierce seem to have been doubted by many and no special excitement was created. Pierce's im- mediate return to his discovery was prevented by In- dian opposition and that of the military authorities, for those whose duty it was to conserve for the Indians HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. their rights under the treaty of 1855 foresaw the trouble which a discovery of gold' and consequent rush would cause them. In August, however, Pierce and ten others, of whom William Bassett was one, made an- other trip into the Clearwater country and examined the region with considerable thoroughness. Returning in November, they freely communicated the result of their investigations. Mr. Bassett sent a letter to the Portland Times, then edited by Alonzo Leland, in which he gave a brief account of the trip and the pros- pects found by members of the party. His representa- tions then and in interviews at a later date had the effect of thoroughly converting Mr. Leland to a belief in the great importance as a field for the prospector of the entire region between the Snake and the Bitter Roots. Throughout the winter of 1860-61, the news- paper man kept on publishing articles in his paper, the Daily Times, his authority being Mr. Bassett's account. So great was his enthusiasm that he did not escape the charge of fanaticism and the graver one of being in the pay of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, doing this writing and publishing for the purpose of building up their business. Immediately upon his return to Walla Walla, Pierce began organizing a party to return with him and spend the winter in the Oro Fino basin. Some diffi- culty was encountered in making up this company, owing to the fear of trouble with the Indians and the efforts of those who dreaded another Indian war, but at last he succeeded in enlisting the interests of thirty- three stout-hearted men. An effort was made to pre- vent by military force this party from carrying out its designs. A detachment of dragoons was sent after the men, and pursued them as far as the Snake river, but failed to overtake them. The men had hardly reached Pierce's old camp before they received a visit from the Nez Perce Indian agent, A. J. Cain, who, however, did not attempt to interfere with their operations but on the contrary expressed his satisfaction with their good behavior. All winter long the party wrought diligently build- ing cabins, whipsawing lumber for sluice boxes, pros- pecting and the like. The result of the prospecting was very satisfactory, though Pierce himself does not seem to have been unduly sanguine, being fully aware of the difficulties. He believed the discovered gold district was on the outskirts of a mining country of great rich- ness and large extent. The first intelligence received by the outside world concerning the welfare and doings of these men came in March, 1861, when four of the miners arrived in Walla Walla. After a tramp on snow shoes to the mouth of Oro Fino creek, they had reached, in a half starved condition, an Indian camp, whence they pro- ceeded with more expedition and better fortunes, bringing to Walla Walla a considerable sum of money in gold dust. The news was sent by special express to the Portland Daily Times. It was especially pleasing to the editor of that paper, whose sentiments and pre- dictions were thereby confirmed, and naturally the news was given due prominence. The effect among the business men, merchants, and in fact all classes was magical. Newspapers sent special reporters into the country and the result was an inception of interest in the wild, weird terra incognita of eastern Washington. It needed now but some confirmation of these accounts to stimulate a stampede into the country, of a magni- tude unprecedented in the northwest. No one foresaw the coming deluge of humanity into the Nez Perce country with greater clearness than the officers of the government, civil and military, whose duty it was to protect the rights of the Indians. Though the Nez Perces had offered no resistence to Pierce and his men, they strenuously objected to fur- ther encroachments upon their reservation privileges. Nothing was more certain than that the whites would violate without scruple these rights when once the passion for gold had fired their imaginations and when the hope of securing it began producing its pleasant in- toxication. What was to be done to prevent trouble? In the hope of finding a satisfactory solution of this problem. Superintendent E. R. Geary held a con- cultation with Colonel Wright arfd the result of their deliberations was that the former repaired forthwith to the Indian country, called a council of the tribe, and succeeded in negotiating a treaty permitting the white men to enter the country for mining purposes on the promise of military protection and the enforcement of United States law's. The consent of the Indians was given wholly against their will, but they saw no way by which they could defend themselves against the in- coming tide, and being of a pacific disposition, thought it better to surrender gracefully than to do so under compulsion. They had abundant proof that the deluge of whites was coming for, for weeks before the treaty could be negotiated, merchants had been taking goods to Pierce City from Walla Walla and the van of the advancing army of miners was already arriving from that city and Portland. Bancroft says that at the time of the signing of the treaty there were three hundred men in the Oro Fino district and that a month later there were one thousand. Fortunately the Oregon Steam Navigation Com- pany was enabled to do something for the accommo- dation of the incoming hordes daily arriving from various points in the northwest, California and else- where during the spring of 1861. Previously that company had sent Ephraim Baughman (who at pres- ent commands the Steamer Lewiston, plying between Lewiston and Riparia, in company with Captain Leo- nard White, to Colville on the upper Columbia with instructions to build a small boat there and explore the river down to The Dalles. Their object was to deter- mine whether or not navigation was practicable. They set out sometime in March, made the exploration, and were back in Portland in the early part of May. Meanwhile the events were happening in the Nez Perce country which have just been narrated. The company was as anxious to get as much patronage out of the rush as possible, so it ordered White, as cap- tain, and Baughman, as mate and pilot, to take the Steamer Colonel Wright up the Columbia to Snake river, thence up that river as far toward the newly dis- covered mines as possible. The Colonel Wright was HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. a vessel of some fifty tons burden, about 125 feet in length, fitted up with good machinery and well supplied with necessary equipments. Her engineer on this first trip on Snake river waters was John Gurty, her purser, Frank Coe, and besides she was manned by two fireman, a steward and assistant, an assistant engineer, a cook and six deck hands. Sev- eral business men came as passengers and one, Seth S. Slater, was so confident of the success of the enter- prise that he brought with him between ten and fifteen tons of freight, expecting to get with it to some point within easy reach of the mines. "We cleared," says Captain Baughman, "about the 10th of May. With all of us it was a voyage of dis- covery after we steamed into the broad mouth of the Snake river as none of us had ever before ridden upon its swift, turbid waters. As pilot, I directed that we travel very slowly and only during the day time, for rocky reefs and shoals were numerous and the waters were not deep. Each stream which we thought had not theretofore been named, we took it upon ourselves to christen ; likewise every other natural feature, and even to-day many of the landmarks and creeks bear the names which we gave them. In due time, we swept around the big bend in the Snake just below where Lewiston now stands and were met by the rush- ing waters of a stream clear as crystal and broad enough to be classed as a river. Before us spread out a beautiful bunchgrass valley, or rather a series of plateaus, reaching away to a high prairie to the south- ward: This Indian paradise was occupied here and there by a tepee. Several Nez Perce Indians loitered about and a few bands of ponies grazed contentedly upon the luxuriant grass. The picture was indeed a pretty one. "The sound of the steam whistle and the pounding of the engines naturally attracted the attention of the Indians, who flocked to the water's edge to gaze on the wonderful fire boat. "I turned the vessel's prow into the water of this new river. Slowly the little steamer propelled itself onward in the direction of the Oro Fino mines. We had to line the vessel over the Lawyer and several other rapids and about thirty miles up the Clearwater we found an obstruction which we could not pass. This ' was what has since come to be named Big Eddy. Throughout our entire journey on the Clearwater thus " far we were accompanied by Indians riding along the shore on horseback. By many little acts and signs did these children of nature manifest their friendliness, no one of their number, so far as I can now remember, giving the slightest evidence of other than kindly sentiments. "At the Big Eddy we were forced to land as the little steamer could not make headway in the rapids. Twice we lined her and moved slowly up stream, but the vessel did not have power enough to keep herself in the channel, so finally we gave it up for the time being, came on shore and began making explorations. The result was not favorable. There was therefore nothing to do but to unload the freight. Slater thought the site a good one as it was the apparent head of navigation so he and a few others remained there establishing Slaterville.'' The Colonel Wright went back to Celilo at once. On the return trip she stopped at the mouth of Lapwai creek and most of her crew went to visit Chief Lawyer, whose home was on a tract of bench land overlooking the Clearwater. "From the river," says Captain Baughman, "we could see his tepee and before it a tall pole from whose top the Stars and Stripes floated in the breeze. This display of patriotism by the brave and friendly old chief touched a responsive chord in our hearts and we never forgot it. Lawyer, who had been educated in the east and could talk good Eng- lish, received us most cordially and we chatted with him a long time. His hospitality was especially praise- worthy when it is remembered that we were invading his territory and opening the way for thousands to follow. The Indians may have protested mildly against the establishment of a settlement at the mouth of the Clearwater, but their remonstrances were never very strong, and finding these unavailing they ac- quiesced with remarkable grace." Having loaded again with a few passengers and some freight, the Colonel Wrisht made a second trip to the mouth of the Clearwatfcr. Here she was met by a messenger from Slater requesting her to proceed up the river and get his outfit as he had decided to es- tablish his store at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater that he might be on the trails leading in- land. The vessel steamed up to the eddy, got Slater and his goods, and brought them safely to the shores of the Snake, where Slater again pitched his tent. Soon he had opened near the confluence of the rivers the first store in what is now Lewiston and perhaps the first in the Clearwater country. Immediately after the second trip of the Colonel Wright, the company placed another new steamer in service, the Okanogan, which was much larger and better equipped than the former. Captain White was placed in command, and the Colonel Wright was en- trusted to the care of Captain Baughman. A month later, the Tenino, still larger than the Okanogan, was placed in service and to the command of this vessel Captain Baughman was transferred. Steamboat ser- vice was discontinued entirely in July, owing to the lowness of the water. In July of the following year, Levi Ankeny, Dor- sey S. Baker, Captain Baughman and several others placed an opposition boat, the Spray, upon the river, between Celilo and Lewiston. The Spray was a small vessel, built especially for shallow water, so it was able to continue its trips uninterruptedly until No- vember. During the following winter it was sold to the O. S. N. Company for nearly double its cost. In the spring of 1863 the People's Trasportation Company was organized in Portland for the purpose of establishing an opposition line of steamers to Lewis- ton. The E. D. Baker was placed on the Columbia between Portland and the Cascades, the Iris between that and the Dalles and the Cayuse Chief, under Cap- tain Leonard White, between Celilo and Lewiston. After a successful career of six or seven years' dura- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. tion, this company sold out to the O. S. N. Company, leaving that corporation again the autocrat of the Columbia and its tributaries. But to return to the history of the mines rapidly the Oro Fino district was populated with gold seekers. Discovered in the fall of 1860, it was occupied that autumn and winter by Pierce's party. In February merchants and miners from Walla Walla began to work their way in, so that by April the population was perhaps 300. A month later it was more than three times that many and when Judge James W. Poe en- tered in July he found the creeks and gulches swarm- ing with people. He estimates their number at 2,000. Some claims were yielding fabulous returns and wages ranged from five to eight dollars a day, the common stipend being a half ounce of dust. Oro Fino gold was very fine, as one familiar with the Spanish language would have surmised from the name of the diggings, which signifies fine gold. Sub- sequently coarse gold was discovered by William F. Bassctt across the divide to the eastward of Oro Fino creek, and from the character of the metal the dig- gings were named Oro Grande. It is related that Mr. Bassett saw the country in which this discovery was made from the top of a tree on the divide be- tween Oro Fino and Rhodes creeks. The general ap- pearance of the country induced him to prospect it with the result above stated. The tree was ever after- wards known as Bassett's tree. The Oro Grande dis- trict never proved especially rich. The richest claims in the Oro Fino district were on Rhodes and Canal gulches, though there were many claims of merit on Barclay, Blacksmith, French and Moore's gulches as well as on Oro Fino creek itself. Early in the history of the camp a miners' meeting had been held and the California mining laws adopted, by which code three kinds of claims were recognized, namely, creek and gulch claims, extending two hundred feet along the creek or gulch and of the width of one hundred and fifty feet ; also hill claims which were last extended from the rim rock to the summit of the hills, with two hundred feet frontage. The miners were in the habit of holding a meeting on Sunday, whenever there was any occasion for such, and at these popular assemblages the laws were amended to suit new con- ditions as they might arise, disputes about claims were settled and plans for the promotion of the general wel- fare of the camp were weighed and discussed. For- tunately there was little lawlessness during the earliest days of the Oro Fino diggings. Two towns sprang up in the district about the same time, namely, Oro Fino and Pierce City. The former was built on placer ground, a fact which fur- nishes the probable reason for its short life. At any rate, its business men moved to its sister town in course of a few years, making permanent the com- munity bearing the name of him who pioneered the way for the mining population, while the old Oro Fino City gradually decayed and eventually became a memory. It is a rather strange fact that, though the two towns were very near together, there never was the bitter rivalry between them which has usually char- acterizecl communities so situated. Pierce City later became the county seat of Shoshone county, retaining the dignity and prestige incident thereto until the dis- covery of the Coeur d'Alene mines. In June a road was built along the Clearwater from the mouth of that river to Pierce City and by July so many merchants had endeavored to better their fortunes by furnishing the new district with goods that the market was over- supplied, notwithstanding the thousands of men who were seeking gold in all the neighboring gulches and on all the surrounding hills. Two saw-mills were in process of erection to supply the miners with lumber for sluice boxes, etc. But "little household furniture was needed as there were only three families in the In an article in the Portland Oregonian of August 31, 1 86 1, G. C. Robbins made the statement that dur- ing that month twenty-five hundred practical miners were at work on Rhodes creek, Oro Fino creek, Canal gulch, and French creek and that four or five thousand men were making a living in other ways. His report on the earnings of the miners was as follows : Jarvis James & Company, 5 men, $10 ; McCarty & Company, 4 men, $10 ; Vesay & Company, 8 men, $7 to $8 ; Hook & Company, 6 men, $10. to $12; Jones & Company, 4 men, $10 to $12: Dunbar & Asar, $10 to $12; Shaffer & Company, 14 men, $60 ; Paine & Company, 20 men, $70 ; Mortimer & Company, 24 men, $70 to $80 ; Hatch & Company, 5 men, $16 to $20; Thomas & Campany, 14 men, $18 to $20; Rillery & Company, 17 men, $16 to $20; Smalley & Company, 10 men, $16; Boone & $16: Newland & Company, 6 men, $16; Hickox & Company, 5 men, $16 to $20; Let 'Er Rip Company, Felton & Company, $16; Sparks & Company, $15; Rossi & Company, $15; Rhodes & Company, II men, 300 ounces per diem to the company. On French creek, Antoine Pillir, T. Lapoint, M. Guinon, John Lesot, and Harkum & Quick were making $10 to $12 a day to the man. It is not in the nature of mining men that they should confine themselves to one mining district, how- ever rich. Pierce himself was of the opinion that his discovery was on the outer edge of an extensive gold- bearing country and there were plenty of others who held like views' and were willing to give time and effort to the testing of their theory. In May, 1861, a com- pany of fifty-two such men set out from Oro Fino to explore and prospect the south fork of the Clear- water and tributary streams. The locality was almost as little known as any on the American" continent or in the heart of darkest Africa. Remote from the or- dinary routes of travel, it was also distant from the trails of the fur hunter so that probably no white foot had ever before pressed its soil. The gold seekers fol- lowed the north side of their stream for several miles, then crossed over to the south side, proceeding thence to the mouth of the south fork, up which branch they traveled until they reached the Indian village of Chief Coolcoolsneenee. Here their progress was stayed for a HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. time by the strenuous opposition of the chieftain, who emphatically informed them that they were violating the treaty in carrying on their operations south of the Clearwater. Persuasion and argument proving of no avail in pacifying the chief, more than half the party turned back. The remainder crossed to the north side of the stream and continued on east by one of the Nez Perce trails to the point where the three branches of the south fork, American and Red rivers and Elk creek, form a junction. Prospecting in this vicinity re- sulted in the discovery of earths yielding from twelve to twenty-five cents to the pan. The first gold is said to have been found at the bottom of Ternan hill at the month of Glass gulch, close to the present bridge over the American river on the road to Dixie. Prominent members of this party of discovery were Captain L. B. Monson, Moses Milner, Charles B. Hand and Charles Painter. The return of a th'ird of the men to Oro Fino for supplies caused the news of the find to become spread abroad, precipitating a rush. We are informed that three days after the first dis- covery Philip S. Pritchard, with'Samuel Warfield and his son, William, Charles Bogart, Horace Myrtle, Will- iam Kay, John Gamboel and Felix G. Berger, reaching the spot, staked out two claims above Buffalo gulch and eight below it on the American river. They be- gan working together forthwith. A mining recorder's office was established at once, with Captain L. B. Monson as the first recorder. The first record was dated June 14, 1861, and described placer ground on the American river to be worked by the following men: Moses Wright, Charles Silver- man, Charles Gwin, John Gordon, George Robertson, Mat. Craft, N. Harris, John McKray, G. N. Stubbs and Frank Presley. Shortly after the discovery two brothers, James and William Galbraith, started an express. Inside of ten days more than three hundred people were en route to or already at the South Fork diggings, but the popu- lation of the new eldorado was kept down considerably by the righteous opposition of the Indians to the presence of white men in their reserved territory. Good reports, however, continued to come in and the passion for gold soon overcame any scruples about trespassing, so that by fall a town became a necessity. Elk City was accordingly laid out, its location being between Elk and American rivers, about a mile from the lower end of a small prairie, perhaps five or six miles long by a mile wide. "On every side of this locality," says Bancroft, rose ledges of pale red or rose quartz. Between the mountains were intervals of beautiful, grassy prairies ; on the mountains heavy forests of pine. Game abounded, the principal being elk, of which there were large bands. The country was, in fact, very different from the California miners' preconceived notion of a gold country; but experience had proved that gold might exist under barren sands, rich alluvium, or the the frozen mosses of a caribou. The objection to the country was that the mining season, so far up in the mountains, must be comparatively short, and in order to make up for the expense of a long idle winter, it was important to secure a considerable sum during the summer. It was also necessary to lay in a stock of provisions to last while the heavy snows suspended travel." Joe! D. Martin tells us that when he came to the town in the early summer of 1862, he found mercan- ing to Clindinning, Magruder & Company, Creighton & & Wickersham, Straven & Company, Creight Company, a man named Claflin and others, besides five saloons and two principal hotels, Ralph's and the Marsten house. The camp's prosperity was at its height during the mining season of 1862, for that fall discoveries in what is now Montana made wholesale drafts upon the population of this and other mining communities in north Idaho. But the years 1864 and 1865 nevertheless witnessed a greater production of gold, as hydraulics were placed in operation during the former twelvemonth, displacing the primeval rocker. The Elk City mining district was distinguished above all others by the extent of its ditch contraction. The largest of these acqueducts was the American river ditch, which took its waters out of the stream of that name at a point about nine miles above the camp. Mr. Martin tells us that it was dug with pick and shovel at a cost of between thirty thousand and forty thousand dollars and that between two hundred thou- sand and three hundred thousand feet of lumber were used in the construction of its flumes. For the pro- duction of this lumber a saw-mill was built, operated by a turbine water wheel. The originators of the scheme were E. W., W. P. and Doctor Bell and Ross- well Hewett. Its construction was commenced in 1863 and during the mining season following it was pouring its water upon the placer grounds of American hill. Next in size was the Elk creek ditch, the waters of which were used in the Buffalo hill mines, valuable placer deposits taken up in 1861-2 by Jake Hoffman, S. S. Shaun, Joseph Nelson, Chatham W. Ewing, John and Abe Champion, Horatio Phinney, -- Mon- tague and others, and first worked by a ditch from Buf- falo creek, three miles from the hill. The Elk creek ditch was ten and a half miles long, three feet wide on the bottom and thirty inches deep. The company or- ganized for its construction was capitalized at eleven thousand dollars, but it soon became so embarrassed by lack of funds that its project was all but abandoned. At this juncture Caleb Witt came to the rescue, fur- nishing enough money to start the ball rolling again and to establish confidence and credit. The company was by this means enabled to push the ditch to com- pletion, and by the spring of 1863 it was available for use. For many years Buffalo hill was very profitably worked and thousands of dollars' worth of dust have been taken out of it. In 1872 the Witts secured con- trol of both ditches and claims, retaining them until 1880, when they were transferred by lease to China- men. Besides these was the Little Elk creek ditch with a capacity of three hundred or four hundred inches, promoted by Dan Waldo and Bart Whittier ; also a short ditch of three hundred inches capacity, the water of which was taken out of Kirk's fork of the American HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. river and carried upon Nez Perce hill, there to be used in operating the Hairland mine. This property had been discovered by the man whose name it bore in 1861 and purchased' in 1862 by Magruder, Martin and Kirkpatrick, by which triumvirate the ditch was constructed. The same causes that impelled the discoverers of the Elk City placer deposits to their successful quest were operative to keep other parties scouring the coun- try in all directions throughout the whole of the sum- mer of 1 86 1. The theory that the Clearwater mines were on the outskirts of some auriferous region, the center of which would be found wonderfully rich, seems to have taken firm hold on the minds of the prospectors and many were the attemps to verify it. One of the parties engaged in this task succeeded in discovering a gold deposit which far surpassed in richness all former finds, and caused a rush the fol- lowing spring of unprecedented magnitude. One story of this discovery was told in the Oregonian, of October 26, 1861, by a correspondent who signed him- self "T. H. M." though the account is discredited in some of its deatils by men having good opportunity to know the truth, it is thought advisable to repro- duce it here: MILLERSBURG, W. T., Oct. 5, 1861. Editor Oregonian: The Salmon River mines, which are now attracting the the attention of miners, traders, and business men generally and gulches, coming out of a western spur of the Bitter Root mountains, and running into the main stream, distant from fifteen to twenty miles. They are about seventy-five miles and twenty-five miles south from Oro Fino, and nearly seventy-five miles from Elk City. pecting party of twenty-three men, who left Oro Fino in the early pyrt of July last, for a tour up Salmon river. They prospected on the bars of this river for a distance of perhaps one hundred miles, with flattering results. When satisfied that good paying mines had been found, they followed the river down, and when opposite this, they were determined taining provisions, which by this time had become a scarce article with them. When they reached this place, the party find an easy route through the almost impassible masses of dead timber, which lay in the way. Two of the company, while lying in camp, made a wager between them that the 'color' could not be 'raised' in the miserable looking country. The wager was won by the prospector obtaining from a pan of dirt, taken from beneath the roots of an upturned tree, the sum of five cents. The party then prospected several creeks and gluches in the immediate vicinity, obtaining five, ten, twenty-five and even seventy-five cents to the pan of dirt. Satisfied even better with this than with the diggings on the main river, they followed the other party out. After re- cruiting a short time, they purchased a supply of tools, pro- visions, etc . necessary for four weeks' stay, and returned closely followed by some six or seven others to this land of golden promise. , After their return, prospecting was resumed in real California. !"ll cTahn tot th'e'center'of the 'vast gold neW has at last been found, and this it is, while the Oro Fino and South Fork diggings are on the outer edge. Only a radius of about four miles has yet been pected, yet all the gulches, ravines and cree! Vthis" will pay well for working. Miller's creek is perhaps the richest. From the first pan of dirt taken out of the first hole sunk in this creek, twenty-five dollars was obtained. Miller washed out with the pan that afternoon $100. Claims were immediately staked off on this creek and the party went to work. Each claim has since averaged with the rocker from seventy-five dollars to one hundred dollars to the hand. dollars washed out in ten hours by one man using the pan alone. Nasan's gulch pays well. Five men have just cleaned up seven hundred dollars, the result of ten hours work with the rocker in this gulch. Hall's gulch, Smith's gulch, Pio- neer gulch and Healey's creek will pay each at least three ounces to the hand. There are at the present time about fifty men here. Pro- not to be had at any price. Parties are how fitting up p ieeded. It will require about three hundred weight of flour for each man this winter. The route here is good over fifty miles of ing made. Pack trains can get in here until the aoth of No- vember We :xpect to ( ; frc To find the truth concerning this famous discovery and be sure one has it is not an easy task. The differ- ent stories are so hopelessly at variance that they can never be harmonized, but one apparently worthy of credence was published in the Free Press of July 5, 1889, on the authority of Nathan Smith, who claimed to have led the party which made the discovery. "Mr. Smith and a partner named Jack Reynolds," says the paper referred to, "Left Oro Fino on a pros- pecting trip towards the little north fork of the Clear- water and found prospects, but as the water was too high for them to continue farther they returned to Pierce City for supplies, intending to return to their prospects later. Arriving at Pierce City they found a company organizing for an extended exploring and prospecting trip toward the Salmon river country, and as they were afraid of the Indians who had driven back several small parties, they were waiting for re- inforcements, and Mr. Smith was considered such an admirable recruit that he was elected to command the expedition. They pulled out of Pierce City, twenty- three in number, crossed the Clearwater at the mouth of the Lolo and went on across Camas prairie to the Sal- mon. They continued up the Salmon to the mouth of Slate cieek, where Mr. Smith found a good prospect of shot gold, but as it was intolerably hot in the can- yon he decided on taking the party into the mountains and prospecting for gold on the headwaters of Slate creek. Here dissensions arose, as the majority of the company wanted to keep to the river and prospect for bar claims. The outfit hung together, however, and continued up the Salmon to the mouth of Meadow creek, and there they climbed the ridge to the summit, pretty much as the Warren trail runs today, and made their first camp on Sand creek, then a marsh. The next morning the majoritv of the party under the lead of a Frenchman had decided to return to the river, de- claring there was no gold in the basin. This was August 20th and they were going to break camp and take the back track at noon. Smith and a few others decided to remain and prospect further. That same HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. morning Toe Richardson got a four-bit prospect on Pioneer gulch and Smith also panned out six bits in another gulch. Upon returning to camp at noon the other party were speedily convinced that there was gold in the basin, and that same afternoon, George Grigsby. the biggest kicker in the outfit, saw some fine looking gravel at the roots of a fallen tree in Bashaw gulch from which he washed four bits to the pan, and on the strength thereof has claimed for him- self the title of the discoverer of Florence, which rightfully belongs to Mr. Smith. Enough was now known to convince them that they had struck it big and after staking claims enough to go around they started for Elk City for supplies." Joshua Fockler, who was one of the earliest set- tlers in Florence, discredits both these accounts. He says he remembers distinctly the story told him by several reliable men shortly after the find and that it was to this effect : Florence was discovered in August, 1 86 1, by a party of five persons, three of whom were John Healey, James Avers and a man named Grigsby. They were a detachment of a party of nineteen which started from Elk City and the Cle'arwater to prospect the Salmon river country, traveling via Camas prairie and White Bird creek. ' When they reached a point six miles above the mouth of Little Salmon river where August Berg now lives they undertook to cut across and reach Elk City again. They found the country too rough, so returned to the Salmon, which they ascended to Kelley's creek, going thence up that stream. On Little Slate creek the party disagreed and divided. The five referred to above continued to prospect the region. When they reached what after- ward became known as Pioneer gulch, John Healey saw a tree that had been uprooted by the wind. He noticed that the gravel exposed showed good indica- tions, so he tried a panful and found it very rich. After testing the ground in numerous places, the party started back to Elk Citv. At what is now known as Buffalo Hump they fell in with the fourteen who had separated from them and told these of their good for- tune. All went to Elk together, agreeing among them- selves to tell nobody of the discovery until spring, when they would return and locate the best ground for themselves. But none of them lived up to this agreement and soon all started back with their friends. In September of the same year Nathan Smith, Miller, Graham and others from Oro Fino made a discovery on Miller's creek, in the Florence country, but they were a month later than the Pioneer gulch dis- coverers. The news is said to have reached Oro Fino in September. Soon that town and Elk City were almost deserted. By the ist of November, the creeks and gulches of the new district were swarming with men. The merchants, in accordance with the usual custom, had begun hurrying in supplies, but the impossibility of getting enough into camp to feed the multitudes before the snowfall had stopped the passage of trains was plainly apparent, and by the middle of November many perceived the necessity of returning to Oro Fino to winter. The snow was even then two feet deep and the cold so severe that travelers were frequently frostbitten seriously. Soon after the inception of the camp a miners' meeting was held at which it was decided to lay out a town on Summit flat at the head of Babboon gulch. Among those present was Dr. Ferber, one of the oldest men and first arrivals in the camp, and he was called upon to suggest a name for the town to be. He sug- gested Florence, the name of his adopted daughter, then in California. The word seemed to have a pleas- ing sound to the ears of the miners. It was adopted forthwith and from the richness of the ground around it soon became a household word in Washington, Oregon, California and many parts of the east. John Creighton, Ralph Bledsoe, and S. S. or Three-Fingered The number coming into camp was far in excess of those departing, far in excess of the number that could be well fed, and the result was great suffering and hardship. The prices prevailing for all kinds of provisions were enormous. Mr. Pierce says the prices of commodities were $75 for a fifty-pound sack of flour; gum boots, $50; camp kettles, $30; bacon, $3 a pound ; ordinary tin cups, $3 each ; frying pans, $10 to"$i2 ; sugar, $3 a pound ; beans, $3 a pound, and all other provisions and supplies in proportion. Vegetables were not to be obtained at any price. Many were with- out other means of support than the gold obtained from their mines, so that notwithstanding ten feet of snow, they must dig down to pay dirt and wash out enough of the precious metal to purchase at enormous prices the means of subsistance. Sometimes boiling water was used to soften the frozen earth, as has been done in Alaska during recent years. The exposure and hardship resulted in rheumatism, throat, bronchial and lung diseases, which caused a high mortality There was a large representation of the ruffian ele- ment in Florence during the winter. Plummer, Stand- ifer, Mat Bledsoe, Cherokee Bob and others of like character were there, demeaning themselves accord- ing to the dictations of their own unrestrained wills. The sufferings were enough to drive even good men to acts of desperation and it was stated that the store- houses of the merchants were more than once in danger of mob violence. By great effort men forced their way into Florence untifFebruary ; then the trails became 'so badly oblit- erated or blocked with snow that the feat of reach- ing the mines was no longer possible and the Florence community was completely isolated from the rest of the world. But long before this the entrance of pack trains was all but an impossibility. It is related that G. A. Noble started late in December on a trip from Oro Fino to Florence with a small pack train. For ten davs he toiled through snow drifts before reaching his destination, being indebted for his life to assistance rendered by the Indians. Even before communication was completely barred, the only article of food that could be purchased was flour at $2 a pound, and as time proved there was no hope of a change in conditions until May. By the first of that month, however, pack trains managed to HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. force their way to within ten miles or so of Florence, and the starving miners were glad to transport the goods the rest of the way on snow shoes for the price offered, forty cents a pound. But no tales of hardship could deter the hosts of eager wealth seekers in all parts of the Northwest and in California and Nevada from nocking by the thousands to this new land of gold. Little they thought of the harships endured already by men in the Flor- ence basin, or of those which they themselves might be called upon to endure in the pursuit of mammon. Their imaginations were fired by the stories of for- tunes made in a day. And indeed the success achieved by miners was such as might well appeal to the avarice of men. A correspondent of the Portland Times stated through the columns of that paper that while he was at the Salmon river mines in October, 1861, he had known of his own knowledge that some claims yielded thirty to eighty dollars to the pan. It was stated that a man named Weiser, after whom the town of Weiser in Washington county was named, took out one thousand eighteen hundred dollars from his claim in three hours, with a rocker, two men operating it ; also that a single panful of dirt from Babboon gulch was found to contain one hundred and fifty-one dollars and fifty cents. George W. Pierce told the writer that Three- Fingered Smith, who owned about the richest claim in the camp, kept three rockers at work all winter and that each of the rockers averaged a thousand dollars a day. "It was no uncommon thing," says Bancroft, "to see, on entering a miner's cabin, a gold washing pan measuring eight quarts, full to the brim or half filled with gold dust washed out in one or two weeks. All manner of vessels, such as oyster cans and yeast powder boxes or pickle bottles, were in demand in which to store the precious dust. A claim was held in small esteem that yielded only twelve dollars per day, as some claims did, while hundreds of others yielded from one to four ounces for a day's labor." Many of the stories which gained currency at the time seemed like veritable fairy tales, but men who were in Flor- ence during the fall and winter seem to have no hesi- tancy in fully crediting them. The gold deposits were so very rich that the would-be boomer, if any such there was, was outdone by the simple truth itself. With such stories on the lips of miners returned to spend the winter in Walla Walla or Portland and such accounts in the columns of the newspaper, what wonder that the fortune hunting public could not brook a wait until spring, before starting to the land of gold ! In vain did the newspapers endeavor to per- suade the people into a reasonable state of mind; in vain did they protest that roads in the upper country were impassable; in vain did the Portland Advertiser call attention to the fact that snow at The Dalles was still (on March I4th) two feet deep and from one to four between that and Lewiston, with proportionately greater depths in the mountains ; that provisions along the whole distance were exhausted ; that riding or pack animals fit for service could not be obtained as all such were either dead or so reduced in strength and flesh by the severe winter as to be useless ; and that a supply of fuel could not be obtained along the road except at long intervals. Men crowded into 'the in- terior as far as they could get notwithstanding these warnings, and it is said that so many men unable to pay the high prices of living crowded into The Dalles that that town was at one time temporarily subjected to the rule of a mob, the members of which proceeded to help themselves to such things as they needed. In- deed the severity of the winter in one way augmented the rush, as it made many Oregon farmers who had suffered severe losses by the floods of December es- pecially anxious to retrieve their fortunes. Merchants were in haste to be first in with their goods. Miners, who had left their claims in the fall, were anxious to return to them, lest they should be taken possession of by others. Regular communication between The Dalles and Walla Walla had ceased in Tanuary after a disastrous trip of the stage, in which Johnson Mulkey, father-in- law of Senator Dolph, and a prominent Lewiston mer- chant named Taggers had lost their lives. But about the middle of' March a saddle train, with passengers, arrived from Walla Walla and that was the signal for a forward movement on the part of many who had crowded into The Dalles. A sudden thaw 'on the 22d made the roads almost impassable and swelled the streams so that fording was out of the question, but at this juncture the steamboat Colonel Wright suc- ceeded in making a trip from Celilo to Wallula, en- abling those who had not already started to secure easy transportation that far on their journey. But more than a month must yet elapse before the anxious fortune hunters could force their way to the land of promise. As before related, the first pack trains to arrive failed to get nearer Florence than ten or twelve miles and the goods were packed the rest of the way on the backs of starving men. Though the richness of the discoveries already made was quite widely known, the extent of the au- riferous sands was a matter of uncertainty. The late- ness in the season of the discovery and the opposition of Indians had prevented thorough prospecting that fall, the severity of the cold and depth of snow made it impossible during the winter and early spring, so it was not until June that much could be done. The general appearance of the country for many miles around was similar to that in which the gold was being obtained, an encouraging, but, as it afterwards proved, delusive circumstance. The Florence country con- sists of an extensive basin surrounded by lofty moun- tains. Extended around its outer edge and snug up against the base of its rugged natural wall is a deep canyon, while in the center are numerous pine and tamarack-clad elevations. Evidences of fire were visible in many places and there were other extensive areas in which the trees were dead, but did not bear any marks of fire. Judge Poe thinks that the most probably theory to account for these dead forests is that at some time a season of unusual severity had killed the tree roots. It was in the gulches between these elevations that the gold was found. On the surface was a turf of six HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 27 inches to a foot in thickness, beneath which was a loam varying in depth from one to six feet. Beneath this again was a bed of gravel, then .another layer of earth and then a red gravel, said to be peculiar to the Florence and Warren regions, bearing gold. The sand possessed no magnetic qualities and resembled gold dust so closely that it might easily be mistaken therefor. Humorous stories are told of its being passed upon un- suspecting tenderfeet for the much-prized, much- sought yellow metal. The sand was, however, of a f really lower specific gravity, hence could be separated rom the gold by blowing. The bedrock is granite. Some of the gulches were dry, but water could generally be secured by digging and the method em- ployed by those not so fortunate as to possess streams or ditches was to make an excavation, allow it to fill with water, use this over and over again in the rockers until it became too thick, then dip the well dry and wait for it to fill again from the water-soaked gravels around. Such was the country to be prospected during the summer of 1862 by the motley crowds that had flocked to it. Thousands explored it in all directions, testing every creek and guich. This thorough exploration proved that outside of an area perhaps five miles square no pay dirt could be found, and the number of disap- pointments may be imagined. A relatively small number found the wealth they had come so far to seek, but the vast majority learned that the sacrifices of their toil- some journey in the spring of 1862 would remain for- ever unrewarded. The hunger and fatigue, the cold and exposure, the dreary journeyings over muddy roads, through flood-swollen streams and by snow- filled, mountain trails were to win no smile from fickle Fortuna, who bestows her favors with an arbitrary, whimsical hand. Some cursed their ill luck ; some gave away to despondency ; some with apparent jollity and abandon laughed the laugh which told too plainly de- spite its apparent meriment, that penury had always been their lot ; that nothing better was expected in the future and that they had determined to defy evil fate by seeming indifference to its persistent lashings. Prospecting parties did not confine their operations, during 1862, to the Florence basin, although that was the principal scene of operations. Many small com- panies scoured the hills and mountains in all directions and one of these made a discovery, which, had not its importance been magnified many diameters by false reports, would have long since been forgotten. The discovery in question was made in the vicinity of Buf- falo Hump, a mountain some twenty miles "northeast of Florence. It was not of sufficient importance to hold people enough to found a new camp, but a rush was occasioned of no small magnitude. Rumor said that the miners there were taking out dust by the teacupful and that even gum boots were being called into requi- sition as receptacles in which to store the dust. Ex- citement ran high. Rich claims in Florence were tem- porarily abandoned by men anxious to join the stam- pede. The falsity of the report was, however, soon discovered, though not until some of the merchants had pofited by it, as the circulators of the false re- ports doubtless intended they should. But one new discovery of real merit was made dur- ing the year. In July, 1862, James Warren, Matt Bledsoe and a few others set out on an exploring and prospecting tour of the Salmon river country. War- ren, the leader, was a college man, generally liked, but like most men of the region, he had drifted into bad habits and bad company. After prospecting all along Salmon river, the party at length decided to try the high mountain country to the southward. Crossing Salmon river at a point nearly due south of Florence thev continued their journey to a small stream, which coursed seven or eight miles through a beautiful meadow, perhaps a mile wide in places. Near the head of this little mountain torrent the party camped and, according to the usual custom, some of their number busied themselves with the gold pan. Better prospects were discovered than had before rewarded their efforts on the trip and a number of claims were staked out. The credit of this find was given to Warren, after whom the entire camp was subsequently named. The gold was fine and did not exist in such large quanti- ties as in the other camps, though Judge Poe tells us that as high as sixty ounces per diem to the rocker were taken out. The rich find at the head of the creek led to the settlement of the district, but it was subsequent discoveries that gave the camp permanence. Of course the usual rush followed as soon as the facts became known. The news reached Florence first, causing a commotion in that camp. Judge J. W. Poe, who at the time was engaged in the mercantile business in Florence with Joseph Haines and S. S. Smith, under the firm name of Smith & Company, told the writer the story of the early days of Warren as follows : "The news reached me early. Smith was in Oregon. Haines was then at Lewiston and just preparing to start for Fleronce with a pack train of forty animals. I immediately sent a mesenger to him, telling him of the new discovery across the Salmon and asking him to come at once as I was unable to leave the store. Meanwhile the rush to the new district began and thou- sands deserted Florence in search of a fortune in the new mines. The trail led from Florence down the Salmon river, across this stream and several miles up a mountain, past Marshall lake and over a divide onto Warren creek. The Indian trails usually followed the summits of mountain ranges, that the red men might be the better able to keep their bearings, and it was on this account that mineral deposits happened to be dis- covered in such elevated places. "Among the first who went to Warren was my partner, Joseph Haines, who had returned in haste from Lewiston on receipt of my message. He and a man named White met the returning crowds at Salmon river, and heard their discouraging reports, but never- theless, determined to push on. They camped near the mouth of a little stream afterward called Slaughter creek because the cattle brought into camp were killed reek, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. two or three miles above the canyon. In this locality they noticed a deep washout, left by the flood of spring- time, and repairing thither, they quickly washed from a pan of the dirt about one dollar and seventy-five cents in gold. The party staked out claims for them- selves and one each for Smith and myself and one dis- covery claim, thus inaugurating the real Warren camp. Others took claims along the creek bed and soon sev- eral hundred men were at work. Returning to Flor- ence for his packtrain, Haines took it through to the to enter with a mercantile train. The date of his sec- ond arrival was September 8, 1862. The miners as- sisted in building a rude house and before night the first store in the new district was standing at the mouth of Slaughter creek. The settlement which sprang up around it was named Richmond, after the confederate capital, a circumstance which soon gave it a rival, for the Unionists, not to be outdone, established another settlement a mile below, to which they gave the name Washington. Richmond did not long survive the con- federate cause, for by 1866 it was abandoned by nearly all its inhabitants. The reason of its decay was not political, however, but rather that it had the misfor- tune to be built on rich placer ground, which in time had TO be surrendered to claim owners. Washington's site was just off the pay streak, and its growth was augmented by the decline of its rival. It became the county seat of Idaho county in 1869, succeeding Flor- ence in the enjoyment of that distinction. "Early in the fall of 1862 a miners' meting was held at Richmond at which I was elected by acclamation to the office of district recorder. For recording a claim I received a fee of one dollar and fifty cents, and some- times I recorded as many as one hundred a day. When the law reduced this fee to one dollar, I resigned, not caring to bother with such work, and believing that I could make more in the mines." The rush to the Warren mines never seems to have gained the magnitude of that incited by the Florence discovery, probably because the former deposits were not anything like as rich as the latter; that is, they never yielded such enormous per diem returns, though they proved of much greater permanence. The num- ber who joined the stampede to the new diggings is perhaps impossible to estimate, but the population of the camp simmered down to about a thousand during the fall, including those at Summit, Richmond and Washington. By 1863 the population had increased to fully fifteen hundred and the population four years later was not less than twelve hundred. The discovery of quartz in 1868 brought in a few more men, though no great influx resulted from this cause owing to the fact that gold bearing quartz so far inland cannot be profitably worked. As the placers began to show signs of exhaustion they were turned over to Chinamen, several hundred of whom found employment in the abandoned placers for many years. In 1872 the white population of the camp had declined to between three and four hundred. As before stated, the original trail to Warren led over an exceeding high mountain, necessitating a climb of some twelve miles. The difficulties and rigors of this road led to efforts for another and better one, and ten miles below the original crossing. This road as- cended Elk crek four miles, then turned southeasterly across the summit of the divide and proceeded to Lake creek, which it pursued for twelve miles or until the Warm Springs were reached. From this point it fol- lowed Secesh creek ten miles, then crossed the divide to Steamboat creek, then down that to Warren creek and up the last named stream to the camp. It was ten miles longer than the former route of travel, but on account of its easier grade it nevertheless soon became the principal thoroughfare to the mines. 5 that though the man credited with its discovery was of loose morals, showing a decided predilection for the com- pany of the rougher classes of society, and though at least one of the men with him at the time of the dis- covery was an out and out desperado, yet the camp never became the prey of ruffians, never was placed under the necessity of organizing a vigilance committee for its own defense and never witnessed a popular execution. "The most serious difficulty which I remember," says Judge Poe, "grew out of a robbery which took place during the winter following the opening of the mines. While Mike Reynolds, one of the miners, was at work near the creek, someone went into his cabin and carried off $400 or $500 worth of gold dust. Two men whose names I cannot now recall, were suspected and arrested. I was appointed to defend one and Charles McKay the other. The trial was set for the next day. "That evening while I was sleeping Three- Fingered Smith, my partner, came to the room and aroused me, telling me that the miners' meeting, in which I should be interested, was in progress across the street in a saloon. I hurriedly dressed and hastened to the place indicated. I found it crowded with men, eagerly discussing the question of hanging my client. Strangely enough, McKay was one of the ardent sup- porters of this extreme measure. His client was not present, nor was there any talk of punishing him, but when I arrived preparations had already begun for the summary execution of my man. I straightway mounted a counter and began an impassioned plea for the poor fellow's life, the result of which was that either on my own personal account or through com- passion for the accused, incited by my words, the rope was laid aside and the man held for civil trial. He was afterwards convicted and sentenced to a short term in the penitentiary." In this manner was averted an unfortunate event which came near staining the fair name of the War- ren mining district. That a resort to extreme meas- ures was never here necessary is due to the fact that the discovery of mines in what is now Montana had drawn away the rough element before the importance of the Warren district had been established. Having now outlined in a general way the events culminating in the discovery and first development of HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. the early mining camps, we must essay to give some insight into the social conditions of the times. The task is a difficult one and adaquately to discharge it is impossible under the limitations imposed by the plan of this volume, but from the testimony of those who were in north Idaho during the earliest days, we may. perhaps, be able to draw an outline picture. The summer months are utilized by the miner to the best possible advantage in separating, by the different processes known to practical mineralogy, the precious yellow metal from the sand and gravel in which it lies. There is enough of excitement about the search to keep every man doing his utmost during the long hours of labor, and by the time the miner has repaired in the evening to his rude cabin, cooked and eaten his supper of bread, pork and beans and coffee, and enjoyed his evening smoke, he is ready to retire, for he must be at his task again at an early hour. When Sunday comes it does not always bring repose or even a change of task, but generally the pick and shovel are laid aside and the miner busies himself in washing his soiled shirts, darning his socks, mending clothes, chopping firewood for the week, baking bread and the like. There is little time for drinking, gambling or dissipation, though the miner may occasionally in- dulge in the pleasures of the appetite, even during this busy season. His main pleasure is, however, the gratification of his master passion, the pursuit of wealth. The reputation of the mining town for immorality and vice must be kept up during the summer months, if it is maintained at all, by the gambling and carousing class, the enemy of all morality, canker worms on the body politic. But when winter's snows and surly blasts put an end to the pursuit of gold, then it is that the man- hood of the miner is severely tested. Nothing but gold can induce htm to overcome the gregarious in- stincts of his nature. When that pursuit is no longer possible he must repair to the town, there to run the gauntlet of ten thousand dangers; to avoid the traps hood, or falling into them, to part with both. The conflict which rages within his breast is nine times out of ten an unequal one. The kindly influences of home and church and pure, enobling society are all wanting. External restraints upon him there are none. Pure amusements, refined society he cannot have. Fortunate indeed is he, if his morality and his prin- ciples are so firmly set in the unyielding granite of his nature, that he can pass the several months of enforced idleness without a lapse or a plunge into impurity, licentiousness and debauchery. If it were possible for the miner to' keep busy dur- ing the winter, he could easily withstand the blandish- ments of vice. But the ennui of protracted idleness, who can indure? To pass the time pleasantly, all the books and papers of the camp are read and re- read. The social card game is restored to. It is kept up until all interest in it cloys. The passion for novelty and excitement becomes well nigh uncontroll- able. It drives its poor victim at first to the more nearly respectable places of resort. Ah, now he is treading on the dangerous ground ! The convivial in- stincts of his own nature, the examples of men still held in high esteem in this frontier community, with its lowered social standards, the allurements of abandoned Delilahs, the persuasions of some fallen men, the ridicule of others, all tend to lead or to drive him deeper into the mirey slough of dissipation. The punishment swift, and condign which in an older community would be visited upon the man who openly takes his first plunge into license is not here meted out and the poor victim does not always realize that nature has provided her own punishment for the violation of her moral and physical laws; a punish- ment which though slower in .its visitations is sure never to miscarry as that of society often does. Without uplifting influences, without the usual re- straints, without danger of social ostracism, without even civil law, with the higher cravings of nature unsatisfied, in the midst of all the temptations which a society composed largely of gamblers, vagabonds, fallen women and even thieves, desperadoes and murderers can furnish, is it to be wondered that so many well meaning men fell by the wayside? Yet out of this heterogeneous society have come unseared many of the noblest and brightest of the leaders and builders of our western institutions. When the miners first invaded north Idaho there was practically no law for their government. The region was a part of the territory of Washington, but from the nature of the case it could not be efficiently governed from Olympia. There were no county organizations; no local officers of the law; no courts. In fact the country was a veritable haven for escaped convicts, desperadoes, thugs and thieves and abandoned characters of every variety. Let the reader picture in his imagination a society so con- stituted, made up so largely of a desperate criminal class, without restraint of any kind, and he will have a picture of north Idaho as it was in 1861 and 1862. In forming this mental picture he should give due weight also to the fact that the Civil war was then in progress, that it drove to the west many from both north and south who were unwilling to bear the re- sponsibilities it imposed upon them ; that these brought with them all the bitterness and prejudice engendered by that strife, and that the violent expression of this prejudice was the occasion of many a personal en- counter. Truly the conditions obtaining were such as can never again exist upon the American conti- As might be expected the catalogue of crime was a long one. The insecurity of life and property upon the highways may easily be imagined. The well dis- posed citizens were so greatly in the minority that they dared not offer resistance to the reign of crime, and red handed, blazen eyed murder stalked unmasked at mid- day through the streets of the towns. A full history of this carnival of crime cannot here be attempted; would not add to the value of the work if presented in detail, but as affording some idea of this modern reign of terror we quote the following from Ban- croft's summary, gleaned from the journals of the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. times: "Robert Upcreek, shot at Oro Fino by a Frenchman in September, 1861 ; Hypolite, owner of a large packtrain and $500 in gold, murdered on the road in October, 1861 ; Ned Meany, killed in a quarrel at Jackson's ferry, near Lewiston, November, 1861 ; two masked men entered a house in Lewiston in December and in spite of resistance carried off $500, shooting fatally one of the inmates; Matt. Bledsoe killed James H. Harmon at Slate creek, Salmon river, in a quarrel over cards. December, 1861.; four murders were committed in two weeks at Lewiston in the fall of 1861 :-three in March, 1862, at Florence; William Kirby killed John Maples in July, 1863; William H. Tower, while threatening others, was shot and killed at Florence, February 23, 1863; Morrissy, a desperado, was killed at Elk City about the same time; George Reed was shot by Isaac Warwick in a quarrel about a claim in April, 1863 ; Frank Gallag- her was murdered by one Berryman, with whom he was traveling; at a ball at Florence on New Year's eve, a cyprian was ejected from the dancing room, whereupon Henry J. Talbotte (better known as Chero- kee Bob) and 'William Willoughby armed them- selves and prepared for vengance ; later they were both killed in an attempt to get it: one Bull, living near Elk City, kindly entertained over night two men who asked for shelter, in the morning the men and five horses were missing. Bull followed them for twenty days, coming up with them at a camp on Gold creek, 265 miles from home, on seeing him one of the men sprang on a horse and fled, the other, William Arnett, was shot; a party pursuing the flee- ing robber brought him back and hanged him. Enoch Fruit was a chief of road agents ; James Robinson, a mere boy, was one of his assistants ; in the autumn of 1862 they were prominent among the knights of the road between Florence and Lewiston; both met violent deaths ; James Crow, Michael Mulkie and Jack McCoy robbed three travelers between Oro Fino and Lewiston; William Rowland and George Law were a couple of horse thieves operating on Camas Prairie ; George A. Noble of Oregon City, was robbed of 100 pounds of gold dust between Florence and Oro Fino in December, 1862 ; two horsethieves, for stealing from a government train, were shot dead." Besides the homocides and robberies above noted and scores of others which came to the knowledge of the people at the time, there were perhaps hundreds of which nothing was ever known; at least it was judged so from the number of inquiries which kept coming in for vears afterward from persons in the east, whose relatives were lost track of. Early in the history of the north Idaho mining region, there seems to have been formed organizations of thugs for the systematic prosecution of their nefarious vocation. The most notorious of these, it is said, had two strongholds or points of rendezvous, known in the vernacular of the times as "shebangs." The leadership of this band is accredited by some to Henry Plummer, though there are many in Lewiston who. having known this man in no other capacity than that of a gambler, are doubtful of his having had anything to do with greater crimes while here. But if the pictures of Plummer's character, furnished by those who professed to know his record quite intimately, are not colored to his disadvantage, he was hypocritical enough to keep the baser side of his nature in the background when it suited him, by his urbanity, polish and personal magnetism, winning the confidence of such as he wished to impress favor- ably. From the previous redord accorded to Plummer in California and his subsequent career in Montana it is not hard to believe him guilty of having acted a double part in Lewiston. However this may be the robbers of the country became organized during his stay there and by means of intelligent co-operation were enabled to defy law, moral and civil, commit the coldest blooded murders with impunity, and appropriate to themselves the valuables of travelers, packers, miners returning from a successful summer's work, anybody who might be caught unprotected with gold on his person. Patiently for many months the good people bore these multiplied wrongs. If any inquiry was made into the question of who was responsible for a given crime, such inquiry was turned into a farce, for the friends of law and order were in the minority and dared not assert themselves. The few who defied the roughs and openly opposed them were marked for early slaughter. The customary method of disposal of all such was to embroil them in a quarrel and under color of self-defense to inflict a death wound with the ever ready pistol or bowie knife. But this rule of the roughs could not last always. Justice may be outraged for a time, but like Truth, when crushed to earth it will rise again. Villainy soon over-reached itself and brought destruction up- on its own head. The first determined resistance to crime on the part of a united people, of which we have any knowledge, was made at Elk City in the summer of 1862. An account of it was kindly furnished us by Joel D. Martin and James Witt, both of whom were eye witnesses. From their statements, it ap- pears that early in the spring James Maguire and one Finnigan became entangled in a quarrel which led to blows. After fighting several rounds they finally agreed to settle their difficulties amicably and let by- gones be bygones. As was customary in those days, the bargain was sealed over the bar. Between drinks protestations of friendship were made again and again, but one party to the compact of amity was a traitor. In keeping with the unenviable reputation for treach- ery he sustained in California, the detestable Maguire broke in upon the expressions of good will, by stealthily seizing the handle of Finnigan's knife and unsheathing the weapon with intent to bury its blade in its owner's bosom. But the bystanders saw the movement, threw themselves upon the aggressor and prevented the consummation of the atrocious deed. Later the two men again met. Finnigan fired five shots, wounding Maguire in the leg and in the neck. Friends carried the injured man to a room over Maltby's saloon and there left him, expecting to re- turn in the morning. During the night Finnigan re- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. turned and slipping up stairs, killed his foe in a most atrocious manner, leaving the cruel bowie knife in Maguire's throat. Had Finnigan occasioned Ma- guire's death in a fair fight, the spirit of the times would have condoned him ; but cowardice and treach- ery were unpardonable. Finnigan was arrested and put on trial before a popular tribunal. He admitted the crime but claimed in extenuation, what was no doubt true, that he had to kill Maguire in order to save his own life. A newly elected justice of the peace presided as judge, and one Colonel Johnson, a lawyer recently from California but originally from the Middle West, acted as defendant's council. The testimony elicited some expressions of sympathy for the prisoner, but the jury nevertheless rendered a ver- dict of guilty. The following afternoon, a man named Powers, who was acting as sheriff, led Finnigan to the gallows. Brackett, a shoemaker, tied the hang- man's knot and when all was ready the Irishman was launched into space. Then occurred one of those incidents which are said to have taken place not in- frequently in the hasty popular executions of early days and to have resulted occasionally in the saving of a life. The knot, having probably been tampered with by the sympathetic sheriff, failed to hold, and Finnigan fell to terra firma. He soon recovered from the shock, gained his feet and, accompanied by Moses Hart and Joseph Ritchie, two of his friends, started to run away from the scene. The crowd was so dumbfounded that for a short time not a man moved. Then Josh. Phipps started in pursuit and soon over- taking the fugitives, instantly covered them with his rule and demanded that they halt. Phipps expected that others would come to "his assistance but none came, so he lowered his gun and told Finnigan to go, a command which- the latter was quick to obey. It is said that he was later seen in San Francisco by one who knew him in Idatio and that the tell tale mark of the rope was still on his neck. The next assumption of judicial functions on the part of the populace was in Lewiston in the fall of 1862. The occasion was the robbery of the Berry brothers, while on their way from Florence to Lewis- Ma with a pack train. When near what is known as Rocky canyon, each of the men was confronted by a masked highwayman armed with a shot gun and ordered to throw up his hands. Compliance under such circumstances was a matter of necessity and the men were relieved of between $1,100 and $1,400 in gold dust. They were then commanded to camp at Rocky canyon under pain of death, but when the dangerous looking shot gun was no longer pointed their way, they did not choose to render further obedience to the commands of the robbers. No sooner had the highwaymen passed out of sight than William Berry mounted the best mule in the train and started in pursuit. The robbers were riding the best running horses, and in the race easily outstripped the big man on the mule. When Berry arrived in Lewiston he found that the robbers had gone on to Walla Walla. Then commenced the pursuit. The Berrys had one ad- vantage in that they recognized the voices of the two men, Bill Peoples and Dave English, who held them up (for both were well known to them personally.) They later ascertained that one Charley Scott was also in the infamous plot. In company with Gus Meamber, a Frenchman, and others who joined him at Lewiston, the outraged merchant proceeded post haste to Walla Walla, travel- ing with a four horse team and breaking the record for fast time. They arrived just behind the highway- men. Berry met Peoples in a saloon, disarmed him, and took him into custody. Meamber found and arrested Scott. Dave English had not stopped in Walla Walla but had gone on to Wallula. His arrest was effected by Sheriff James Buckley, his deputy and a saloon keeper named Vancise. It is said that an at- tempt was made to secure for the prisoner a civil trial in the Walla Walla courts, which failed ; also that the roughs of that city attempted the rescue of their captured confreres. ' But the capturers escaped with their prisoners to Lewiston. Here the outlaws were confined in a little log building. Had they known of the doom awaiting them, they would doubtless have made a more determined effort to escape, but they trusted to the rough element for their rescue, and were not greatly alarmed. The people of Lewiston were more thoroughly aroused over this crime than they had been over any other. The victims of the robbery were well known and well liked ; furthermore there was a general feel- ing that the time had arrived when the rule of the roughs must be brought to its termination, and accord- ingly efficient means were provided for the safe guard- ing of the prisoners. The men were confined in a little building situated on the point formed by the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers. ' Two men, thoroughly armed, guarded them day and night and these were to bring to their assistance the entire populace in case of an attempted rescue, by ringing a large triangle near at hand. It is said that the roughs from other parts did begin gathering with intent to rally to the support of their doomed comrades. One plot for their release was led by an uncle of Peoples named Marshall, but the raid was defeated by Jonas Whaley. of the guard, a shot from whose Kentucky squirrel rifle served the double purpose of temporarily disabling Marshall and alarming the populace. Eventually a trial was given the accused men in George H. Sandy's store, at the corner of D and Second streets, which trial ended in their conviction. That night the guards were notified that their services were no longer needed. The next morning those who went over to the jail to see about the prisoners found the earthly remains of the three men hanging by their necks from the rafters, and their cold rigid bodies, drawn, bloodless faces and glassy eyes told that life had been extinct for several hours. The date of this summary execution, according to a notation in the old Luna hotel register, now in the possession of Charles F. Leland, was November 9, 1862. It marked the decline of lawlessness in the vicinity of Clearwater, for the villainous element departed one by one and HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. in small squads to points in the interior and in Mon- tana, where most of them ended their careers as such men usually do, either at the hands of their kind dur- ing quarrels or by the merciless ropes of vigilance committees. Among those to depart this life by the latter route was Henry Plummer himself, the reputed leader of the largest band, and the known author of Lewiston first, then Oro Fino and finally Florence had been centers of operation for these bands of criminals. In the last mentioned town a species of vigilance committee had been formed. Its members met after the death of Cherokee Bob and Willoughby and instructed their executive committee to warn all suspicious characters to leave the town forthwith. The most notorious characters had, however, taken refuge in flight, fearing lest a more condign punish- meni should be meted out to them at the hands of the thoroughly aroused people, and the committee had no other task to perform than the expulsion of a But the most terrible deed in the history of north Idaho was committed after the reign of the desperadoes in the towns was practically over, though there was yet a considerable element of these villains in this mining region and their supremacy in what is now Montana was still maintained. We refer to the murder of Lloyd Magruder and companions in the Bitter Root mountains, an account of which will be presented in its proper chronological place. CHAPTER II. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND PASSING EVENTS. Naturally the influx of miners and fortune-hunters into north Idaho had many results incidental to the great purpose. The country was settled and developed during the first two or three years in a way that it could hardly have been in as many' decades had its sands been without gold or had their wealth remained hidden. While there was some complaint on the part of the nar- rower-visioned Willamette valley papers that the Idaho mines had caused a costly drain upon the resources of that section, others saw that in their ultimate and even in many of their promixate results they were a blessing. In speaking of the effect upon the metropolis of Ore- gon, Judge Deady in his manuscript history said : "The Colville and Oro Fino mines helped Portland greatly, and in 1861 built up the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. Loaded drays used to stand in lines half a ing that involved a fortune." The more liberal newspa- pers also stated that, contrary to preconceived opinions of what was possible, persons who had engaged in ag- riculture on the route between The Dalles and Lewis- ton were raising excellent crops, a statement going to show that the agricultural possibilities of the east side were even then beginning to be surmised. The discov- ery of the Idaho mines was certainly a boon to Walla Walla. It was the direct cause of the unearthing of vast mineral wealth in the John Day country and in the Boise basin, which discoveries, with that of the Auburn mines in Baker county, encouraged the agri- cultural development of eastern Oregon. From this source Portland has drawn millions of dollars and con- tinues to draw millions, yet its citizens for many years seemed to fail to realize that its chief hope of greatness lay in the development of its whole tributary country. They used every means to encourage immigration from the east to continue on through to the Willamette val- ley, and not a few efforts were made to decry the inland empire in the columns of the public press. Such a pol- icy seems indeep a narrow one when viewed in retro- spect. Mention has been previously made of the settlement of Seth S. Slater and others "at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers in May, 1861. The land upon which these men pitched their tents was then a part of the Nez Perce reservation, but necessity knew no law, and in June the merchants and miners deter- mined that a town must be laid out, notwithstanding the opposition of the Indians and United States author- ities. Nevertheless the town builders were notified by the latter that they must not erect any permanent build- ings. Partly as a result of this prohibition, but more especially from the haste with which the town was called into existence, it was at first a very frail little city. Almost all its buildings, business places and resi- dences alike consisted of a light framework of wood, covered with canvas, roof and sides. From the dis- tant hill tops the town in the day time had the appear- ance of having been built of marble, and at night, when lights were burning within the canvas walls, it had a decidedly holiday look. From its very inception it was an important business point. Being most favorably sit- uated at the head of navigation on the Snake river, it The Buildings used as Governor's Headquai of Idaho in 1863, still stanc VIEW ON THE SNAKE, NEAR LEWISTON. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. was the natural outfitting place for parties going into the mines of the interior, and long, heavily loaded trains left it daily. The causes which necessitated the building of the temparary town, despite the fact that it was a violation of treaty rights, were seen to be permanent in their nature. Remonstrances from Indians or military men impelling the steamboat company and the miners to oppose their wishes, and in October, 1861, the town- site of Lewiston was laid off. To pacify Lawyer and other head men of his tribe some compensation was given them for the privilege. The Nez Perces were not very determined in their opposition to white occu- pancy, and danger of a general war was never a deter- rent force in the settlement and development of the country. The erection of permanent buildings was not ac- complished in time to prevent great suffering from cold in Lewiston. During the severe winter of 1861-2 its inhabitants were almost solely dependent for shelter upon the canvas walls and roofs put up during the first rush, and the suffering was further augmented by the scarcity of fuel. To add to the people's multiplied dis- comfitures the rivers rose during the spring of 1862 to an unwonted height, inundating their town, as well as The Dalles and part of Portland. But all these drawbacks were as impotent to stay the progress of Lewiston as to quiet the mining excitement which called it into being. Its growth was exceedingly rapid the first few years, and only after the removal of the superfluous mining population tributray to it and the consequent loss of its political honors did it cease to march forward at a double quick. The rapid settlement of the country was not with- out its political effects, though, as before related, it out ran the forms of government and made it necces- sary that the miners should become a law unto them- selves, not alone in civil matters, but in criminal pro- cedure as well. That it was possible for communities of frontiersmen, brought together and animated by a thirst for gold, to calmly frame and adopt laws for these laws among their own number and in general to discharge all necessary functions, legislative, judicial and executive, is a favorable nortent for the future of the civil institutions of America. The pioneers of north Idaho were also surprisingly temperate and self- contained in their popular criminal proceedings. No such thing as a vigilance committee was organized un- til patience had ceased to be a virtue, and then due care was taken that none but the guilty should suffer. But a regularly constituted government is always welcomed by order-loving and law-abiding Americans, and the establishment of such in what is now north Idaho was eagerly sought for from the first. The territorial government of Washington had or- ganized Shoshone county in January. 1858. comprising all of the country north of the Snake river and be- tween the Columbia river and the Rocky mountains, with the county seat on the land claim of Angus Mc- Donald. In 1861 it established the official boundaries of this political entity as follows : legim louth of the South Fork of the Clearwater; thence south with said river to the Lolo Fork of the same; thence east with said Lolo stream in an easterly direction to the summit of the Bitter Root mountains ; thence north to the main divide be- tween the Palouse river and the North Fork of the Clear- water; thence in a westerly direction with said main divide to a point from which running due south would strike the mouth of the South Fork of the Clearwater to the place of beginning. Passed December 21, 1861. of Repre tath The day previous another act had been passed creating and organizing the county of Nez Perce, the language of which was as follows: "Section I. Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Washington, That all that part of Washing- ton Territory lying within the following boundaries, be or- ganized into a county called Nez Perce, to-wit : Beginning at the mouth of the Clearwater ; thence up same to the South Fork of the Clearwater; thence with the South Fork to the Lolo creek; thence with the southern boundary of Shoshone south' to the main divide between the waters of the 'Salmon River and the South Fork of the Clearwater to the Snake River ; thence with the Snake River west to the mouth of the Clearwater TO the place of beginning. "Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That J. M. Van Valsah be appointed county auditor; A Creacv, Whitfield Kirtly and sheriff ;%nd P ^ Jlfstiw of'TheTeaee ^Or safe" county Tintil the next general election. "Passed December 20, 1861. JAMES LEO FURGUSON, Speaker, House of Representatives. A. R. BURBANK, President of the Council." On this day, too, an act was passed c Folio* itted, i Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the Territory of Washington, That all that part of Wash- ington Territory south of Nez Perce county and east of Snake river, be organized into a county called Idaho. "Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That L. Lindsey be and is hereby, appointed county auditor; Robert Gray, Robert Burns, and Sanburn be appointed county commission- ers ; Joseph Standifer, sheriff; Parker, Justice of the Peace for said county until the next general election. "Passed December 20, 1861 JAMES LEO FUKUSON, Speaker, House of Representatives. A. R. BURBANK, President of the Council." t," The formation of these political divisions gave the people some kind of a home government other than a strictly popular one without sanction of law, but the judicial function, except in probate and minor matters, was with the three federal judges. The hands of these had been full enough when they had no duties outside of the coast counties, and now that the population east of the Cascades was sufficiently large to more than double their work, a problem was presented not easy to solve. Certainly a country into which vagabonds, desperadoes and abandoned characters had flocked from HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. all parts of the west was very badly in need of courts, if the peace and dignity of the territory was to be main- tained there at all. The solution finally adopted was the passage of acts authorizing the holding of district courts at different county seats having concurrent jurisdiction with the regular federal district courts, except in cases where the United States was a party, with right of appeal to the supreme court of federal judges. The expenses of each special district court were to be paid by the county in which it was held. No more eloquent commentary upon the rapid rate at which the country now constituting north Idaho developed during 1861-2 need be sought than the notice it demanded from the Washington Legislature, by which, as compiled from the statute books by Bancroft, the right to keep ferries was granted as follows : "To D. W. Lichtenthaler and John C. Smith, across Snake river opposite Powder river ; to Green White and C. R. Driggs, across Snake river at mouth of Grande Ronde river ; to John Messenger and Walter H. Manly, across Salmon river on the Nez Perce trail to Fort Boise; to Gilmore Hays, across Snake river within one mile from the junction of the Clearwater; to E. H. Lewis and Egbert French, across the Columbia, near The Dalles; to J. T. Hicklin, across the Yakima between the mouths of the Ahtanaham and Nachess ; to W. D. Bigelow, across Snake river on the territorial road from Walla Walla to Colville : to Lyman Shaffer and W. F. Bassett, across the south branch of the Clearwater on the main wagon road from Lewiston to Oro Fino; to Orrington Cashman on the same stream at or near the camp of Lawyer ; to W. W. DeLacy and Jared S. Kurd, on Snake river at some point between Grande Ronde ' and Powder rivers, to be selected by them ; W. W. De- Lacy and associates on Salmon river; to George A. Tykel, to grade a bluff of Snake river in constructing a wagon road and establishing a ferry over the same near the mouth of Powder river ; to Richard Holmes and fames Clinton, across Salmon river on the Indian trail from Lapwai to Grande Ronde valley; to John Drumhaller, on the main Clearwater, two miles above Lewiston : to W. Greenville, at or near the mouth of Slate creek on Salmon river; to Sanford Owens, to build a bridge across the south branch of the Clear- water on the road from Lewiston to Elk City. The rates for foot passengers on these ferries were gener- ally 50 cents ; loose cattle, 50 cents ; two-horse wagon, $2.50; four-horse wagon, $4.50; horse and buggy, $2.25 ; pack animal, 75 cents." The men who had wrought this development, being ambitions to become the founders and builders of a new state, early began to point out the inconvenience to themselves of Olympia as a capital, the diversity of interest between them and the Puget Sound people and the adaptability of their region to autonomv. They in- structed their representatives in the territorial legis- lature to advocate the sending of a memorial to Con- gress asking that the eastern portion of the territory be set off and organized into a new territory. However, the legislators in general thought that the interior had need of the sound as a seaboard, and that no benefit could result to it from political segregation ; on the other hand such would prove a decided detriment to the sound. The memorial, therefore, was not sanctioned by the majority, and the movement failed. Neverthe- less discontent still continued, and on March 3, 1863, the territory of Idaho was organized by act of Congress. The origin of the euphonious name anplied to the new political entity is a matter of dispute, but it is generally supposed to be a corruption of an Indian word signify- ing gem or diadem of the niountains, referring to the lustrous rim of the crests of the north Idaho uplands at sunrise on a fair day. The name was applied to one of the counties organized by the Washington legisla- ture in 1861, which county formed part of the new territory. But whatever the origin of the word or its exact English signification, the people of this rich and prosperous state have reason to be highly pleased with the poetic name chosen for it by the United States Congress. The creating act was exceedingly liberal in the extent of territory it bestowed upon the new political entity, the official boundaries of which were described as follows: "All that part of the territory of the United States included within the following limits, to-wit : Begin- ning at a point in the middle channel of the Snake river, where the north boundary of Oregon intersects the same ; then following down the said channel of Snake river to a point opposite the mouth of the Kooskoospier (Kooskooskie) or Clearwater river, thence due north to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, thence east along said parallel to the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west of Washington ; thence south along said degree of longitude to the northern boundary of Colorado terri- tory ; thence west along said boundary to the thirty- third degree of longitude west of Washington, thence north along said degree to the forty-second parallel of latitude: thence west along said parallel to the eastern boundary of the state of Oregon." From this it will ' be seen that the original original Idaho extended over thirteen degrees of longi- tude and seven of latitude. Its area was given as 326,373 square miles, which was greater than that pos- sessed by any other state or territory in the Union. "It was not," says Bancroft, "regarded with favor by any class of men, not even the most earth-hungry. Over its arid plains and among its fantastic unheavals of volcanic rocks roamed savage tribes. Of the climate little was known, and that little was unfavorable, from the circumstance that the fur companies, who spent the winters in certain localities in the mountains, re- garded all others as inhospitable, and the immigrants judged of it by the heat and drought of midsummer." The initial winter spent by miners in the northern part was one of great severity, the temperature being un- comfortably low, the snows deep and the floods de- structive. Even the scenery was so wild, weird and rugged as to seem unattractive to persons habituated to more delicate environs, and the conditions on the whole were such as to create an unpleasant impression in the public mind. Of this vast country, imperial in its extent, gigantic in its mold and possessed of a wealth of undeveloped HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 35 resources but dimly surmised at the time, Lewiston was made the capital. To this infant town of two years, a town of canvas walls and rude primitive structures, of dens of unbridled vice and iniquity, a town which just before had had to resort to a vigilance committee in order to cow the rough element, to such a town was given the honor of posing as the seat of government of a region more than twice as large as California and seven times the size of the Empire state, and, "taken altogether, the most grand, wonderful, romantic and mysterious part of the domain enclosed within the Federal Union." More than six months elapsed between the passage of the organic act and the issuance of the proclamation 22, 1863, William H. Wallace, who had been appointed governor of the territory by President Lincoln, formally organized the new government by proclamation. Pre- viously, however, political conventions had been called, resulting in the nomination of Governor Wallace for delegate to Congress on the Republican ticket, and J. M. Cannady on the Democratic. Wallace received in the election ensuing a majority of about 500 votes, a result which caused the promotion of Secretary of State W. B. Daniels, of Yamhill county, Oregon, to the post of acting governor. The first session of the Idaho territorial legislature was not distinguished for brilliance. The laws enacted by it were of the regular routine kind, not specially original in character, but such as any newly organized territory must adopt to set the machinery of govern- ment in motion. A movement for the sequestration of the territory east of the mountains into a separate or- ganization was begun, likewise one to move the capital to some point more nearly central to the west side resi- dents. The new territory was created in 1864, and an act was passed late that same year removing the capital to Boise. But of this latter, more anon. According to the usual custom the territory was, granted three federal judges, each presiding over a dis- trict. Idaho, Nez Perces and Shoshone counties con- stituted district No. i, of which Justice A. C. Smith was in charge. One of the first acts the court was called upon to perform was to try for their lives three men ac- cused of a foul and desperately wicked crime, which on account of its historic interest' must now be described in some detail. From the mystery and heroism of the discovery of the crime and the pursuit and capture of its perpe- trators and from the fiendish atrocity which character- ized the enactment of the tragedy, this Magruder mur- der forms at once the strangest and darkest chapter in north Idaho's criminal annals. On these accounts, doubtless, and from the fact that the principal victim of the awful outrage was a man of such prominence in northwest history, the affair is well remembered by all old pioneers, its details having impressed themselves so deeply upon their minds that the lapse of nearly four decades has not sufficed to erase them. The horri- ble deed and its sequel bring into bold relief the dark depths into which abandoned humanity sometimes falls, and the courage, tenacity and ingenuity of the best de- veloped representatives of the pioneer, when, animated by pure motives, he sets out to accomplish a desperate object. All the leading characters in this tragedy were men of unusual prominence in their way. Lloyd Ma- gruder, the victim, was credited by practically all the early miners with the honor of having been the first trail-maker into Canyon creek and the leader of the party which discovered the immensely rich John Day mines. Coming to north Idaho in the spring of 1862, he became a merchant of prominence and a packer of intrepedity. To the perpetrators of the crime, the devils of the tragedy, no one will deny the right to a bad eminence among those of their character. Hill Beachy, the avenger of the terrible deed, proved himself not only a man endowed with all the noblest qualities of manhood, but one with a mysterious development of the intuitive faculties and a rare genius for detective work. The ingenuity and courage displayed in bring- ing the Magruder murderers to justice shows that had circumstances led him into the secret service he might have performed feats rivaling those attributed to the heroes of romance. In the summer of 1863 Magruder set out for the Bannock mines with a pack train of fifty animals laden with miner's supplies. A long, hard journey brought him safely to his destination, but disappointment met him there. True to their nomadic habits, the miners had gone to the latest center of interest, the Alder gulch placers at Virginia Citv, almost completely de- serting Bannock. Thither Magruder followed them. He found a prosperous camp of several thousand in- habitants, ready to purchase his wares as soon as these were exposed for sale. Soon he found himself in pos- session of several thousand dollars in gold dust and about seventy-five mules. When ready to start upon the home journey he was joined by Charles Allen, William Phillips and two young men,' who were after- ward referred to in the indictment as unknown, but who proved to be Horace and Robert Chalmers, recent arrivals from Booneville, Missouri. Besides those men- tioned there were in the company Daniel Howard, familiarly known as "Doc," whose real name was Renton, Christopher Lower (or Lowry), James Ro- maine and William Page. Page had met Magruder at Bannock about the middle of September, and five or six days later at Virginia City, where he had assisted the merchant in stocking his store. His testimony is the only account we have of the awful tragedy en- acted in the Bitter Root mountains and the events lead- ing up to it. The story told by him was complete and circumstantial, bearing the stamp of truthfulness upon its face, and proving its narrator a man of remarkable memory. The transcrint of it, taken in court, is. how- ever, very brief and not at all clear on some points. Page states that Renton, Lower and Romaine were in Virginia City during the latter part of the summer, and that they stayed around Magruder's store at least a portion of "the time. There is "reason to believe that they left Lewiston with no other intent than to murder Magruder and take his money. Their presence about his store was probably due to their desire to ingratiate themselves into his confidence that they might the bet- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ter accomplish their designs. If this was their object they certainly succeeded well, for Magruder seems to have never suspected them in the slightest, though it is said that he was warned by a man named Baker against traveling with them, as they were tough men. Magruder heard that Page was going to Lewiston, and employed him to assist in driving through the horses and mules. There was nothing untoward in their start for home and friends nor hint of approaching tragedy in the face of laughing nature as they set out from Virginia City on that bright autumn morning. No intuitive sense of danger, no dark forebodings of any kind disturbed the equipoise of Magruder's mind. The exhilaration of the crisp air and bright sunshine was no doubt felt by him and his companions, though there were those among the latter into the blackness of whose dark souls no beams of light could ever penetrate. Those who started with Magruder on October 3d were Page, Renton, Romaine, William Phillips and the two brothers. At Beaverhead, where they camped the first night, they were joined by Charles Allen, and the next dav at Rattlesnake they met Christopher Lower. The party proceeded that day to the vicinity of Bannock, where they remained two or three days while Magruder was buying mules and attending to other business. About the 8th they resumed their jour- ney. "There were nine of us," said Page, "Lower, Renton, Romaine, Phillips, Allen, Magruder, the two brothers and myself." For three days they traveled without casualty, meeting travelers and conversing with them occasionally. During the fourth Lower asked Page to drop behind, as Renton and Romaine wished to speak to him. Page did so, and was greatly ton stated that Magruder had a great deal of money, that they purposed to have it, and that he wished Page to sleep with Phillips. He admonished his auditor not to be frightened, as he. Lower and Ro- maine would do all the "dirty work," told him that he must take no notice of any noise he might hear in the night, but if it became necessary he was to shoot Phillips in the abdomen. Several times during the day the conspirators told Page not to be frightened. That night, however, nothing unusual transpired. Next day the conspirators again declared their . determina- tion to have Magruder's money and renewed their ad- monitions to Page against being frightened. After a journey of about thirty miles they camped in a lonely spot in the Bitter Root mountains within a short dis- tance of the point where a view of the north Idaho country first greets the eye of the traveler. This spot has been rendered memorable by the commission upon it of a deed seldom equaled or surpassed for cold- blooded atrocity. The transcript of Page's testimony is so incoherent, indefinite and confused that it is impossible to gain from it a clear and detailed idea of what transpired during that dreadful night. It appears, however, that it was the turn of Magruder and Lower to guard the animals throughout the first watch. Page said he saw the two start up the hill, Lower ahead with an axe. The latter had given as an excuse for taking the weapon along that he wished to fence the trail so as to prevent the escape of the mules and to build a fire. The other travelers went to bed as usual. About mid- night, as he thought, Page heard somebody coming down the hill, and on investigation found that it was Renton and Lower. Renton lay down upon the blan- kets with Romaine, but soon both got up and passed by Page with axes in their hands. They went in the direction of the two brothers, and forthwith Page heard blows and mournful groans. After a few mo- ments they returned and lav down upon Page's bed. They arose again shortly. Renton shot Allen and Ro- maine struck Phillips with an axe. Allen seems to have been killed instantly. Phillips, however, made an outcry of murder after being hit, but the repeated blows of the heartless assassin speedily silenced him. Page says that as Romaine struck the first blow he said to his victim: "You fool, I told you at Virginia City not to come. You had no business to come. I wish that Jim Rhodes had come, for I have wanted to kill him a long time." The assassins then directed Page, who had arisen and dressed, to get ready such things as they wished to take along with them. When this was done he was next sent up the hill to look after the animals. Lower told him that if he would go a long way up he would see a fire to the right hand of the trail, but that this marked the spot where Magruder was killed. On his return they asked him if he had seen the fire. He replied: "Yes; it had got to running about among the leaves and dry logs, and I put it out." "That's where the job was done for Magruder," said Lower. "I kicked it about to burn the blood up." The assas- sins told Page they had searched the bodies during his absence and had failed to find as much money as they expected. They had tied Phillips and Allen up in a tent cloth with picket ropes. "I helped," said Page, "to tie the two brothers up helped Lower and Ro- maine. They carried them on a stick I had hold of the stick to a large, flat rock, whence they were to be rolled down the hill." Throughout a great part of the night the four men busied themselves in destroying evidences of their crime. All the equipage not needed was burned and the ashes searched for rings and buckles, which, with the excess tinware and other incombustibles, were put into a sack, taken down the hill and hidden behind a log. Renton and Lower disposed of Magruder's body, while Romaine and Page rolled the other bodies down the canyon. "I rolled Phillips and Allen down," said Page, "Romaine, the two brothers." As we were going to roll them down he gave me a pair of moccasins to put on, so that if anybody saw traces they would think it the work of Indians." At last these grewsome tasks were all successfully accomplished. Lower and Renton returned from dis- posing of Magruder's remains, bringing some of the mules. About twelve or fourteen were missing, one in particular that thev wanted, and they spent some time in an unsuccessful search for him. Soon after they started they began shooting the mules, which HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 37 were following- the big sorrel lead horse that Page was riding. Several were killed before they got up the Clearwater hill and the remainder were led onto a little prairie to one side of the trail, where all were despatched except eight and one horse. The things were overhauled thoroughly on this prairie and the money estimated. It amounted to eleven or twelve thousand dollars, Page understood. Here also the handle was burned out of Lower's axe and a new one put in. The miscreants went straight to Lewiston, travel- ing with about average speed and consuming several days in making the trip from the scene of the murder. It was nine o'clock when they came into town. Renton. and Romaine looked for a boat in which to go down the Snake river but failed to find any. Page busied himself in hunting for a farmer named Goodman (or Goodrich), wishing to leave the animals with him. He eventually found the ranchman and bargained for the keep of the mules and horse until spring. Everything was left in Goodman's care, saddles and blankets, bridles, shot gun, leggings, spurs, etc. All four slept at the Hotel de France that night, and the following morning took the stage for Walla Walla. One of their number had secured the seats the evening previous, having himself and his companions waybilled under assumed names. The escape from the dangerous town of Lewiston, where they were well known and their presence was likely to excite suspicion, was successfully effected. They were now to enjoy in peace, as they supposed, the fruits of their dastardly deed. How sadly were these miscreants to be undeceived. Their presence in Lewiston had become known, and the avenger was already on their track. Hill Beachy was in the stage office when the murderer stalked in with an assumed swagger, walked up to the clerk's desk, threw down three twenties and asked that he and his companions be waybilled to Walla Walla. Beachy scrutinized him carefully from behind the stove and recognized him. He examined the waybill as soon as the man had departed. He then proceeded to the Luna house stables, which were in charge of Chester P. Coburn, from whom we obtained this part of our. story. "Coburn," said Beachv, "you must persuade your friends (for he had some intending to take the stage) not to go on the stage in the morning." "Why?" asked the man addressed with eager inter- est. "Because there is danger in the air." Beachy then communicated his discoveries and suspicions. The two men together visited the other stables of the town, but no trace of the animals the men had ridden could be found. Neither had the ferryman brought them s the r ver. "Well," said Beachv finallv, "trv to keen your friends here until the next stage. Have they any money?" "Yes, one of them has $2,500 I know of and the other may have some ; but they won't stay, because the boat leaves Portland for 'Frisco only every two weeks, and if they miss this stage they will have 'to lay over." "Well, then, tell them our suspicions and warn them to be sure to take the back seat and keep their guns handy; also let the others get in the coach first. Tell them to keep a close watch all the time." So, when Mr. Coburn awoke his friends the next morning a little after one o'clock, he communicated to them his fears. They got into the stage at the stables, taking the back seat. Beachv and Coburn rode the brake blocks to the hotel. There the four strangers, closely muffled, took their places, the horses were given the reins and the sextette and driver were speedily borne out into the night. As the coach rolled away Beachy remarked to his companion that he thought there was no danger of a robbery, as the men seemed to have considerable gold with them. But Beachy felt instinctively that something was wrong, and very soon a suspicion took hold of him that either Magruder or Ankeny was murdered and that these men were the murderers. All night he and Mr. Coburn continued their investigations. At daybreak Mose Druilard was despatched over the trail to seek tidings of Captain Ankeny, an Oro Fino merchant, and another messen- ger, named Schull, was sent toward Elk City in search of news about Magruder. Later in the day in which the suspicious characters left by stage the continued investigation of Beachy and Coburn resulted in the discovery that the men had left their horses in charge of Mr. Goodman and that Goodman had just moved the animals and trappings out to his place in Tammany hollow, a short distance south of Lewiston. The horses and accoutrements were soon brought into town, where one of the animals was identied as having been Magruder's property. A saddle also was thought to be his. This, was enough for Beachy. He swore out warrants for the four men, obtained requisition papers from Governor Wallace at the Capitol and set out in pursuit, determined to fol- low the quartette until he had effected their arrest. He was accompanied as far as Portland by Thomas Pike. By every possible means he accelerated his speed. At The Dalles he arrived just in time to miss the steamer, though he learned that his men had passed that way and knew that he was on the right track. When he reached Portland he found on inquiry that the miscreants had left on the steamer, which had de- parted for San Francisco just two hours before his arrival. Meanwhile he had been joined bv Captain A. P. Ankenv. who had reached Lewiston in safety the day of Beachy's departure, and together they con- sulted hastily and decided upon a plan of action. It was determined that Captain Ankeny should attempt in a tug boat to intercept the ocean steamer at the bar in case adverse winds had detained her, while Beachy made preparations for the overland trip to San Fran- cisco in case of Ankeny's failure. Ankeny's tug arrived too late, as the steamer had gone out to sea without de- lay. Accordingly Beachy started. There was no tele- graph nearer than Yreka, California, and consequently no rest for the grim pursuer until that point was reached. Arrived at last, he wired descriptions of the men to the San Francisco police. The telegrams did not arrive until after the boat had landed, but the de- scriptions were such as to enable the police to identify HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. their men with ease, and soon the culprits were behind prison bars. Beachy got custody of the men after some delay and started back to Lewiston with them. At Walla Walla an escort of soldiers was furnished him. The party reached Lewiston during the early days of December and was met by the vigilantes of that town, but Beachy stoutly defended his prisoners, telling the people he had promised the men a regular trial. The vigilantes eventually decided to withdraw and trust the courts to administer justice. The prisoners were confined in upstairs rooms of the Luna house, Page by himself. The last mentioned turned state's evidence, and it was essential that no opportunity be allowed his partners in guilt to intimidate him, as he was the main reliance of the prosecution. Renton, Lower and Ro- maine maintained an attitude of sullen indifference throughout their incarceration, declining to affirm or deny the grave charges against them. Romaine was a schoolmate of Mrs. Beachy and hoped for some clem- ency on this account. The following incident is related as throwing light on the character of Lower. The officers had one day conceived the idea of securing photographs of the pris- oners. The subject was broached to the men, who listened intently and then announced that they would* not consent to give the photographer a sitting. Several efforts were made to secure their acquiescense, but each failed, until finally one day Lower said he would sit, so word was sent to the photographer at Walla Walla, who arrived in a short time with his outfit. Lower was sent to a tent near the Luna house. The photographer set up his machine and prepared to take the picture. Lower posed willingly. When all was in readiness the artist stepped into the dark room to fill the plate-holder. Suddenly Lower jumped from his chair, rushed over to the camera, and, picking it up, dashed it to pieces. The sheriff and the photographer rushed over to the man, and the former inquired : "Why did you do that, Lower?" With a demoniacal grin Lower replied: "I thought it was loaded." No further attempts were made to photograph the murderer or his comrades. In due course the case against the three accused men came on for adjudication. The grand jury had no difficulty in returning an indictment, as the evidence cf Page was direct and satisfactory. In the trial fol- lowing Samuel C. Parks, the judge of the Second judicial district, presided in place of A. C. Smith, of the First district, who was absent. J. W. Anderson and W. W. Thayer appeared as attorneys. for the de- fendants Renton, alias Howard, Lower and Romaine. Prosecutor Gray was assisted by Attorneys Rheems and Kelly. The jury finally selected to try the case was composed of George H. Sandy, foreman; Henry Hershell. Francis Gabe, Joseph ' Wagner, Michael Leitch, Samuel Ramsey, Nathan W. Earl, J. P. Shock- ly, John Mooney, Ezekiel Beam, Henry Myers and W. B. Holbrook. On the evening of January 23d the case was given to the jury, which, after a short absence from the trial room, returned a verdict of "guilty of murder in the first degree, as charged in the indictment, and that the punishment therefor shall be death." Three days later the convicted men were sentenced to be hanged on the 4th of the following March, on which date they were led to a scaffold erected near the spot on which Judge Poe's residence now stands, on ground now owned by John P. Vollmer. Several hundred citi- zens had gathered to witness the vindication of justice and a company of soldiers from Fort Laowai was pres- ent, also a number of Indians from the reservation. Before the trap was sprung the condemned men were asked if they had anything to say. Lower with charac- teristic bravado replied: "Launch your old boat; it's nothing but an old mud scow anyhow." This mis- creant also left a letter to be opened after his death, which was found to be extremely obscene and insult- ing in its language. Page, who escaped the scaffold by betraying his companions in guilt, was foully mur- dered' by a man named Albert Igo, with whom he had quarreled previously, and such was the prejudice against the murdered man that no very energetic ef- forts were made to apprehend his slayer, notwithstand- ing the cowardly manner in which the crime had been, committed. The vigilance committee, seeing by the ' result of the trial of Magruder's murderers that the courts were disposed to mete out justice, disbanded soon after the execution, and though there have been lynchings since, the days of popular tribunals in north Idaho were over. The following May Sheriff James H. Fisk and Hill Beachy took Page to the scene of the tragedy. The remains of the victims were found in the places indi- cated by the testimony. The entire locality tallied with Page's descriptions ; the sack of rings, buckles and tin- ware was discovered under the log as he had said ; in fact the story was corroborated in every detail by mute but truthful witnesses. It was by a notebook found on the person of one of the Chalmers brothers that the identity of these unfortunate young men was estab- lished. It is pleasing to add that the efficient services of the brave Beachy did not go unrewarded. Five weeks of unremitting effort had been expended bv him. as well as considerable sums of money, in the capture of the murderous quartette. For his reimbursement and com- pensation there was appropriated out of the territorial treasury, by an act approved February 2, 1864, $6,244. The population of southern Idaho, induced thither in flocks by the discovery and development of the mines of Boise basin and other districts, was greatly swelled during the early part of 1864 bv immense im- migrations from the southern states. The results of this infusion of secession sentiment may be easily im- agined. The political complexion of the entire 'state was changed and a disturbing element introduced into society in general, making good government for the time an impossibility. It is stated that in southern Idaho it was all a man's life was worth to express Union sentiments in a demonstrative wav, and the number of homicides in Boise countv alone during 1864 is said by Bancroft to have exceeded twenty, "with assaults and robberies a long list." To combat this dis- loyal sentiment as much as lay in its power the district court held in that county exacted of persons applying HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. to practice in it as attorneys that they subscribe to the following oath : "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the constitution and govern- ment of the United States against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign; that I will bear true faith, alle- giance and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolu- tion or law of any state or convention or legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further that I do this with a full determination, pledge and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatever; and further, that I will well and truly perform all du- ties which may be required of me by law, so help me God." But no oath could be required which would deprive the citizens, however disloyal or. unworthy, of political rights. Just one Union man was elected to the legis- lative assembly in the election of 1864. Soon the gov- erning body of Idaho, being composed largely of men at variance with the general government, and careless of the responsibilities of their positions, entered upon a career of infamy comparable only to the carpet-bag governments which shortly afterward came into power in the south. "The third' session," a writer is quoted as having said, "was by all good men, irrespective of party, pronounced infamous, but this one (the fourth) is satanic." The governors, acting under federal ap- pointment, were, of course, loyal men, thoueh some of them had nothing else to their credit. They could and did veto bills at open variance with the constitu- tion, the organic act or the plain interests of the people. These were in general passed without the governor's signature, but fortunately ran up against an insur- mountable barrier in the United States Congress, which had the power to nullify such acts of territorial legisla- tures as failed to meet its approval. Happily north Idaho was not distracted and torn in any such manner by the inroads of an army of dis- loyal people. That part of the territory had had its era of bloodshed and anarchy. Now, however, the ruffian elements had gone to the Boise basin, Montana and elsewhere, stable local governments were being es- tablished, the miners were busily engaged in garnering the wealth of their claims and the entire community was settling down to an era of quiet progress and the evolution of a law-abiding, social esprit de corps. But north Idaho was far from pleased with the doings of its legislature. The act which most deeply incensed the people of this section was that depriving Lewiston of its proud prestige as the seat of government, which act, approved December 7, 1864, title omitted, was indited thus: Be it enacted by the legislative assembly of the territory of Idaho, as follows : That the capitol of the territory of Idaho be and the same is hereby permanently located at Boise City, in the county o'f Boise and said territory of Idaho. "Section 2. The capitol buildings are hereby lo- cated on the grounds known in and described on the plot of said Boise City, as the Capitol Square, and the Honorables Caleb Lyon, C. B. White and J. M. Ken- edy are hereby appointed as commissioners to receive a deed to said Capitol Square, and such other grounds as may be deemed necessary to hold in trust for the Territory, for the purpose of erecting the capitol build- ings aforesaid. "Section 3. The Secretary of said Territory is hereby authorized to immediately draw a warrant upon the treasurer of the territory for" such sum, not exceed- ing the sum of two thousand dollars, as shall be neces- sary to remove the papers, books, documents and other property belonging to his office to said Boise City. "Section 4. This Act shall take effect from and after the twenty-fourth day of December, A. D., 1864." Naturally the measure" above quoted was received with great disfavor by the citizens of north Idaho in general and those of Lewiston in particular. As is customary in such cases the parties aggrieved by the act of the legislature resorted to the courts, hoping thereby to win their point. Referring to this litiga- tion some years later, Alonzo Leland, through the col- umns of his paper, The Teller, reviewed the case as follows : "The last part of the nth section of the organic act of Idaho reads thus: 'And no expenditure shall be made by said legislative assembly for objects not specially authorized by the acts of congress making the appropriations nor beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects'. The whole of said section makes provision for the expenses of our territorial govern- ment, including the governor, secretary, judges, leg- islative members, clerks and other officers, and all con- tingent expenses including rents of buildings for the meeting of the legislature and offices for other officers of the United States, and these appropriations are made upon estimates made by the secretary of the treasury annually, and the legislative assembly cannot, in the language of the act, expend money 'for objects not specially authorized by acts of congress nor can that body aro beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects.' "The organic act says that 'the legislative assembly of the territory shall hold its first session at such time and place in said territory as the governor shall ap- point and direct.' Governor Wallace, by proclamation, duly ordered that the first legislature convene at Lew- iston, on the 7th day of December, 1863. They so con- vened and held their session 60 days, and passed an act providing that their next legislature should convene on the second Monday in November, 1864. The or- ganic act further savs 'and at said first session or as soon thereafter as they deem expedient, the governor and legislative assembly shall proceed to locate and es- tablish the seat of government for said territory at such place as they may deem eligible; provided, that the seat of government fixed by the governor and leg- islative assembly shall not be at any time changed ex- cept by an act of the said assembly duly passed, and which shall be approved after clue notice, at the first general election thereafter, by a majority of the legal votes cast on that question.' "At the first session an attempt was made to pass an act to remove the seat of government, but the at- tempt failed and the second legislature met at Lewis- ton in November, 1864. During that session they es- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. saved to pass an act permanently locating the capi- tol of Idaho Territory at Boise City, and the governor signed the bill, without making any provision for submitting the question to the people for ratification, and attempted to move the seal and archives, where- upon a suit to enjoin the removal was brought on the part of the people of the United States to restrain them, and was heard in the district court, at the April term of the court in 1865. "Following is the bill of complaint filed in the court : Idaho, pe M.omeroydator paintiff, vs Caleb Lyon, of Lycmsdale, governor of Idaho Territory, and S. D. Coch- ran, acting secretary of Idaho Territory, or any person acting "' S In the P Distnct Courtof the First Judicial District, Terri- tory of Idaho, county of Nez Perce, A. C. Smith, presiding. torney 8 for the^irat Judidd Dfstrict, of the Territory of Idaho, having been duly sworn, in behalf of the people of said territory, would respectfully show to the court : gress of the United States passed an act creating the terri- tory of Idaho; subsequent to which creation said territory was duly organized by the appointment of a governor, secre- tary and other officers and on or about the loth day of July, A. D., 1863, said governor and secretary arrived at Lewis- ton in said territory and there temporarily located the seat of government cl said territory, from which place the said governor issued his proclamation for an election of members of the Council and House of Representatives to convene at said Lewiston on the 7th day of December, A. D., 1863, and qualify and organize as the Legislative Assembly of said territory. and said legislators convened at Lewiston on the 7th day of December aforesaid, and qualified as members of said as- sembly and proceeded to the business of legislation for the ing said territory of Idaho, 'the term of service of each mem- ber of the legislative council was to continue two years, and the term of service of each member of the House of Repre- The said legislative assembly at said first session passed an act in conformity with said organic act, creating sundry offices for said territory among which were the offices of council-men and members of the House of Representatives and limiting their term of service respectively to two and one years. Said assembly further passed an act relative to elec- of the House or Representatives on the first Monday in Sep- tember annually, which act provides as follows: "The term of office of all officers elected shall begin on the first Monday in January next ensuing, unless some other " , sembly of the territory shall of November ot each year, at the territorial capital, at the hour of twelve o'clock M." Congress during its session in 1863-64, passed an act amendatorv to the organic act creating Idaho territory, which deferred the time of the annual election for the year 1864, from the first Monday in September to the second Monday in Octobei, without changing the time at which the officers elected should begin their term of office. On said second Monday in November, the time fixed for the meeting of the legislative assembly., sundry persons claiming to have been elected as members of the House of Representatives at the October election aforesaid, assembled as a House of Representatives for the territory of Idaho, and also the rights of the contrary to law and the st people of said territory. laws to be in force and to govern the people of said terri- locate and establish the seat of government at Boise City and to appoint Caleb Lyon, a federal officer, a commissioner for receiving and holding of deeds to grounds upon which the capitol buildings are to be erected ; authorizing the secretary of the territory to draw a warrant upon the territorial treas- urer for moneys to defray the expenses of the removal of the City. Ail of which provisions are contrary to law and against the rights and interests of the people of said territory. This affiant is informed that the bill for said act of re- ved the signat Lyonsdale, has ever filed his official by law, and further believes that no such oath has legally filed or recorded, so as to dulv qualify him I the governor lid Caleb Lyon, of in manner provided been appro mi i led and v v belie ....... ...... that Sila Lyonsdale, acting as governor, are about to remove the seal, place for their deposit, to said Boise City, contrary to , , affiant further believes that said governor and secretary will proceed to cause a great expenditure of the removal and location at Boise City, and the erection of capitol buildings, greatly to the damage of said people, if not re- strained by the interference of the courts. This affiant is apprised of no other relief for the people iss C ue eu^writ forthwitfaafid Ts in doty bound will CTW< pray. THOMAS M. POMEROY, District Attorney 1st Judicial District, I. T. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of De- cember, A. D., 1864. JOHN G. BERRY. Probate Judge. "Upon the above complaint the court issued a tem- porary injunction which was served upon Lyon and Cochran, December 29, 1864. The defendants filed what they claimed to be an answer, denying merely the legal conclusions of the complaint without denying any of the facts, except that which charged that the governor assumed to exercise the functions of the governor in singing the capital bill without having taken and filed his oath as required by law. Mean- time the governor fled from this part of the territory in a small boat down the Snake river, under the pre- tense of going duck hunting, and never since then has he made his appearance in northern Idaho. Soon af- terwards a new secretary was appointed from Wash- ington and came to Lewiston, named C. DeWitt Smith, upon whom the order of injunction was duly served. He remained here some days and after a while it be- came known that he contemplated a violation of the injunction, and upon affidavit showing these facts, the court issued an order direct to the officer, command- ing him to summon such force of citizens as he deemed HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. necessary to assist him in enforcing the order. Mean- time, Smith, unbeknown to the officer, had proceeded to the military garrison at Lapwai, and procured a de- tachment of U. S. troops, armed under command of Lieutenant S. R. Hammer, and with them approached the town stealthily, via a dry slough of the river, and not via the public road to the ferry, and when the civil officer and his men approached to prevent Smith from removing the seal, this military force with arms rushed forward and prevented the civil officer from executing the order and Smith, with the seal, laws and archives, went upon the ferry boat, under the escort of this mil- itary force, who continued their escort until they had preceded into Washington Territory beyond the juris- diction of the civil officer and thus Smith escaped. The civil officer's return on the order was in the fol- lowing language : "Not served on account of defendants being es- corted by an armed body of soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant S. R. Hammer, who resisted the service. J. K. VINCENT. Special Deputy U. S. Marshall.' "It was afterwards learned that Smith made his appearance at Boise City with the seal, laws and arc- hives of the territory, and there the territorial property has remained ever since. At the April term of the court, 1865, the case was heard at Lewiston, able coun- sel appearing on both sides, and on the iyth of April the temporary order of injunction was made perpetual. "Judgment was entered as follows : Lewiston, Monday, April 17, 1865. "Court convened at 10 A. M., pursuant to adjourn- ment. Present, Hon. A. C. Smith, presiding and E. C. Mayhew, clerk ; proceedings of the previous day read and approved. "People of the United States of Territory of Idaho. T. M. Pomeroy, relator, plaintiff, vs. Caleb Lyon and S. D. Cochran, defendants. An action to restrain the defendants from removing the seal and archives of the Territory. "T. M. Pomeroy, assisted by Anderson, Trayer and Leland of counsel for the plaintiff, and T. M. Reed, assisted by Samuel E. Darnes of counsel for defend- ants. "It is the decision of the court that the act perma- nently locating the capitol of Idaho Territory at Boise City is invalid, having been passed by an illegal and unauthorized body. Therefore let judgment be entered in accordance with the prayer of the complaint. ALLECK C. SMITH, Judge ist Judicial District, Idaho Territory.' "A similar judgment was entered against the ter- ritorial treasurer from moving his office to Boise City, and there both of these judgments stand on the rec- ords to this day, unreversed by the supreme court of the territory nor any other court having jurisdiction. In defiance of' this they moved the seal and archives by a military force away from this part of the territory, beyond the reach of the people of Lewiston and north Idaho. "From this dec i the defendants filed a notice of appeal on the 2oth day of April to the supreme court of the territory. That appeal was never heard and determined in the supreme court, and we do not know that the appeal was ever perfected, although we were an attorney for the plaintiff in the case. We find no report of the case in the supreme court reports. Where is the capital by law ? Surely not at Boise City." But whether the territorial capital was legally re- moved to Boise City or not, the case has now been put at rest forever by provision of the Enabling Act by which the territory became a state. However, the breach caused by this act of the legislature was many years in healing, if, indeed, it has ever been fully healed. It and the fact that natural barriers cut the territory into two distinct divisions having little of common inter- est to bind them together have resulted in the north Idaho people's having striven for a full quarter of a century with singular unanimity for political segrega- tion from Idaho and union to Washington. The strug- gle toward that end, taken up shortly after the removal of the capital from Lewiston, was not given up until Washington Territory's admission to statehood made success hopeless and further effort useless. The establishment of routes of travel incident to the discovery of the mines continued almost without abatement, judging by the number of licenses granted during the legislative session of 1864. Charles W. Frush and associates were licensed to establish a ferry across the Pend Oreille or Clark's fork of the Co- lumbia river at or near the point where the military commission road crosses said river, but as far as we know nothing was done under this franchise. John Silcott was granted the right to establish a ferry across the St. Joseph river, at or near the point where the direct or main trail leading to the Coeur d'Alene mis- sion crosses said river. S. A. Woodward and L. P. Brown were licensed to construct and maintain a toll road from Brown's Mountain House (where Mt. Idaho now stands) in Nez Perces county, along the most di- rect and practicable route to Florence, in Idaho county, for a period of ten years. Charles Addis was granted a ferry right across the Coeur d'Alene river at or near the point where the trail to Coeur d'Alene mission crossed said river. Thomas Kirkpatrick, George Sears, A. P. Ankney, Alonzo Leland, James Tufts, S. S. Slater, John Creighton, and George Zeigle were granted the exclusive right and privilege of establish- ing and maintaining a toll road from Elk City, Nez Perces countv. along the most practicable route east- ward to the western line of Montana Territory, the grant to extend twenty years on certain fixed condi- tions. This road never was anything but a trail. J. B. Roberts, A. E. Ridles and J. T. Galbraith were li- censed to operate a ferry on Kootenai river at a point fifteen miles below Linklighter's station. Charles H. Canfield was granted the right to operate a ferry across the Pend Oreille or Clarke's Fork of the Columbia, at a point about twelve miles above where military or boundary commission road crossed said river. John W. Hillin was licensed to operate a ferry across the Spokane river at or near Indian crossing, and both former and subsequent ligislatures were many times HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. called upon for similar franchises and privileges, show- ing the rapidity with which the country was becoming networked with routes of commerce and general trans- portation. Much of this, however, was stimulated by the dis- covery in 1863 and 1864 of mines in the Kootenai country of British Columbia, which drew away from the mining districts of north Idaho a considerable por- tion of this population. Indeed the miners were in great readiness for some new excitment, for even then some of the richest placer fields, especially in the Flor- ence district, were giving premonitions of coming ex- haustion. The mining rules prohibiting persons of the Mongolian race from operating in the different districts were beginninsr to be but laxly enforced and gradually the less valuable claims passed into the hands of Chinamen. These conservative, patient op- eratives were eventually, by an act of the legislature approved January n, 1866, permitted to work the mines on payment of a license of five dollars per month for the entire time they remained in the territory. Later still other licenses were exacted. The interest and excitment of the earliest mining days were temporarily reviewed late in the summer of 1865 by the circulation in Lewiston and Walla Walla of a rather strange report. It was stated that a man named Wilson had discovered a new gold district in northern Idaho, which promised to rival the cele- brated Florence and Boise discoveries. While on a wandering prospecting tour, so Dame Rumor stated, he had stumbled into three auriferous basins in the Coeur d'Alene region, each one equaling the Boise district in extent. A stampede ensued forthwith. Thousands hurried to the scene. Charles G. Kress, of Lewiston, estimates that the number from Boise that passed through that town must have aggregated be- tween three and four thousand and that perhaps as many more went into the region by other routes. The gold seeking hordes made the Coeur d'Alene mission their objective point, expecting to be led with- out delay to the discovery. Wilson was hunted up. He proved reticent at first and finally claimed that he had forgotten the location of the diggings and was un- able to find them. The disappointment and consterna- tion of the expectant miners may well be imagined. Chagrin soon gave place to anger, and Wilson's life was threatened. He was eventually compelled to appeal to the priest at the mission for protection and it was through the intercession of the clergyman that he es- caped lynching. Meanwhile prospecting parties threaded the valleys and canyons and climbed the impending hills, hoping to find some return for their outlay and trouble. They spread out widely over northern Idaho and into west- ern Montana, in the latter of which regions rich dig- gings were eventually struck. This induced much travel through Lewiston, causing a decided improve- ment in financial conditions for a time. The boom lasted all that fall. Mr. Kress tells us incidentally of a train of six camels which passed through town during the excitement, enroute for Montana, certainly a. novel trading outfit in this part of terra firma. During all these early years no attempt was made- at agriculture in the mining sections and no domestic animals disputed with the elk and the deer for the pasturage upon a thousand hills, except the herds of Indian ponies on the reservation, the pack mules of the trader and the few head of horses and mules need- ful to the miner, the prospector and the primitive saw- mill man. Occasionally, too. a herd of mutton sheep or a band of beef cattle might be driven into the mines on foot, designed for immediate slaughter upon arrival, and these of course found sustenance while enroute on the gratutious bounties of generous nature. In 1865 however, the Rice Brothers brought in a band of stock sheep, and about the same time C. P. Coburn imported one hundred and fifty head of cattle into northern Nez Perces county. These he took out southeast of Lewis- ton to what is known as the Junction House ranch. A little later Captain Ankeny and his sons brought in 500 neat cattle from Oregon. About this time, also, Thomas Moore took up what is now known as the Dowd ranch in Tammany hol- low, but for years he used it to pasture horses, with- out any attempt at cultivation. Another horse ranch was taken possession of probably as early as 1865 by Schissler & Siers, from whose brand the place came to be named the "21" ranch. At the numerous sta- tions along the route to the Kootenai mines there were small settlements and portions of the land adjacent were cultivated to furnish garden supplies. There were doubtless other small attempts at agriculture in different parts of north Idaho, but the industry was slow in becoming established and when it was at last found that farm products could be successfully raised, progress was still slow for a time owing to the lack of transportation, the danger of trouble with Indians and other causes. Mr. Coburn thinks that Caldwell & Hall, who took a farm at the top of the high Clear- water bluff above Lewiston about the year 1869, were probably the earliest wheat farmers in the Idaho part of tliat great stretch of country now so famous for its production of cereals. But throughout the first decade at least the main industry of the country was mining. After the richest product of the placers had been exhausted with rocker and sluice box, the hydraulic was brought into opera- tion wherever possible, thus keeping up the annual out- put to nearly its old proportions, though with a smaller population a'nd less excitement. No statistics of output are vailable for the counties of northern Idaho, but the estimates' for the entire territory show an annual in- crease until 1865, when the mines yielded nearly $13,- 000,000, then a decrease till 1869, which year is credited with a production of $1.600,000. Thereafter the mineral output increased slowly, reaching $3,600,- ooo in 1873. It dropped to about two millions in 1875, then increased and decreased alternately until 1881, when it jumped to nearly $5,000.000. The existence of gold-bearing quartz in north Idaho was known to the earliest miners and prospectors, but they paid no attention to it, being without means to purchase ma- chinery for its reduction or ways of transporting it to the mines if they had it. In "1868, however, Rescue HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ledge on Warren creek and another just above it on Slaughter creek were discovered. Judge Poe, Alonzo. Leland and others became interested in the former property. They built a small mill on it, while an east- ern mining expert named Isenbeck, in company with Godfrey Gamble, erected one on the Slaughter creek ledge. Litigation soon took the Rescue property tem- porarily out of the hands of its owners, and while thus alienated it yielded considerable gold. Upon its re- covery by Poe, Leland and their partners, these men succeeded in interesting eastern capital by which means they were enabled to take the initial steps to- ward installing a large stamp mill. Some of the ma- chinery reached Mount Idaho, where it still remains as a relic of an abandoned enterprise and a monument to the inaccessibility of the Warren region. The Isenbeck-Gamble Company eventually removed its stamp mill to what was known as tke W. B. Knott mine, on Steamboat creek, but the mine failing to yield as expected, the company was forced into bank- ruptcy. Leland and Starr also had a small mill on a branch of Steamboat creek, at the Hie Jacket mine, which, however, never proved a property of any great merit. The mill was afterward operated on the Res- cue ledge. Another unsuccessful quartz mill was erected on the Charity mine, four miles south of the W. B. Knott ledge. But the richest quartz mine in the Warren district was the Little Giant, on Smith's gulch, about a mile from the town of Washington. It be- longed to a man named George Riebold, who erected a ten stamp mill on it, the product of which is supposed to have aggregated fully $500,000. Quartz ledges were known to exist also in almost all the old placer camps, but their development was never undertaken with energy until comparatively recent years. Comparison between a census of Idaho Territory taken in 1864 and the United States census of 1870 shows that the population of north Idaho counties neither increased nor diminished materially during the six years. The population of north Idaho accord- ing to the former census was 2,634, but the enumera- tion was no doubt very carelessly made. "In 1870," says C. P. Coburn, who took the census of Nez Perces county that year, "there were at Pal- ouse bridge, about three miles east of the state line, Frank and William Points, John Buchanan, and one or two others. They had in a small crop when I passed through. At the California ranch, east of Spokane, and at the Spokane bridge, on the state line, I found a few settlers farming in a small way. There were probably a dozen men at the bridge settlement. On Camas prairie were perhaps twenty-five or thirty set- tlers besides those in Mount Idaho, which then con- sisted of the hotel of Loyal P. Brown, Rudolph's gen- eral store, a blacksmith shop and a few houses. It had been founded by one Moses Milner, who in 1862, when the Florence rush was at its height, conceived the idea of establishing a station at the foot of the moun- tain. Accordingly he cut a trail through from this point to Florence, built a cabin and began advertis- ing the route." The year 1871 may be considered as the date of the first decided advance in the agricultural development of north Idaho. During the fall of that year the coun- try around Moscow, the Paradise valley region, re- ceived its first influx of settlers, and the remarkable success which attended their efforts in all forms of ag- riculture was a stimulus to further settlement. Almost incredible are the stories told of the enormous size of vegetable products and the yields per acre. Another stimulus in the same direction was the rapid decline of the placer output and still another the hope of rail- road transportation for products in the near future, as the Northern Pacific was known to be pushing west- ward to the coast and was supposed to be about ready to build across Idaho The northern counties in com- mon with other parts of the great inland empire were passing through a transition period, the middle ages of the country, during which mining as the main pur- suit was giving place to agriculture. The period was not without its manifold discouragements. Agricul- tural products could not be packed out on the backs of mules, as was the gold dust of the 'sixties, and ade- quate means of transportation were not at hand, neither were they to arrive as soon as expected, for the slow- ness of the Northern Pacific became proverbial. At this time it was fully believed by the residents of north Idaho that the Northern Pacific Company, would build through the Lolo pass and down the Clear- water to Lewiston, thence into the territory of Wash- ington and beyond. It was pointed out by the news- papers that the route was many miles shorter than that via Pend Oreille lake and in the absence of surveys, the pass was supposed to be lower than the alternative pass, the Coeur d'Alene. Doubtless many people set- tled in Nez Perces and Idaho counties in full confi- dence that they would soon have a railroad, but in this they were doomed to disappointment, for the road, when at last it did come, chose the Pend Oreille route. An incident of the year 1872, well remembered by old settlers throughout the entire inland empire, was the earthquake shock of December I4th. The seismic disturbance was very general, being felt at least over all of eastern Oregon and Washington as well as in north Idaho. The story of the shock as experienced in Lewiston and vicinity was described by the Signal as follows : "On Saturday evening last, at twenty minutes past ten o'clock, this region of country was visited by a series of earthquake shocks. The first oscillation ap- peared to be from west to east and was of about eight seconds' duration. The first shock was followed by a second, ten minutes later, but of much less force. The violence of the first shock created considerable alarm among those who had never experienced such a thing before. Persons who were up at the time ran into the streets, while those who had retired supposed that a fierce and sudden gust of wind caused their buildings to sway and rock. Clocks were stopped and crockery and glassware caused to jingle. Frightened chickens flew about as though possessed of the devil. Dogs howled, cattle lowed, and all nature, animate and inanimate, was much disturbed. From all we can 44 HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. learn the greatest force of the shock followed the streams, as those residing on the uplands felt it but slightly. To the westward from here the vibration seems to have been more severe than east of Camas prairie. To the east of here, as far as Elk City, it was felt very plainly at Camas prairie more particularly than elsewhere except at Reed's ferry, northeast of the latter place, where the shock lasted two minutes and was followed by two others of less duration and violence. North of here, in the vicinity of Paradise valley, the shock was so severe as to make everything fairly dance. In this place and the immediate vicinity the force of the shock was greater along the margins of the streams than elsewhere. Along the water front of the town on the Clearwater it was more severe than back near the bluff." Among the improvements of the year 1872 were several in the mail service which had developed by this time so as to be fairly adequate to the country's needs. A daily mail was established between Lewiston and Walla Walla and a contract was let to C. C. Huntly to carry mail from the former town to Spokane Bridge. Mail was also carried by the O. S. N. steamers be- tween Lewiston and Snake river points. The Baird Brothers were operating between Lewiston and Elk City and the Capps Brothers ran a stage, express and mail line from the former point to Pierce. The post- offices established in Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties at this time, with postmasters so far as known were: In Nez Perces county Lewiston, C. A. Thatcher: Fort Lapwai, D. C. Kelly; Mount Idaho, L. P. Brown ; Elk City, C. Collins ; in Idaho county- White, Bird, ; Slate Creek (Freedom post of- fice), Barman; John Day creek,; Florence, W. H. Rhett ; Washington, C. A. Sears ; in Shoshone county ; Pierce City, I. B. Cowen. The year 1873 was a rather unpropitious one in north Idaho as elsewhere in the northwest. This, it will be remembered, was a year of panic and distress the United States over and besides the general causes of stringency there were special causes in this portion of Idaho Territory. The decline of the mines had de- prived the country not alone of its abundant supply of money but of its excellent local market for farm pro- ducts; the means of transportation at hand were in- adequate and unbearably expensive, and the excellent crops harvested in the fall of 1872, the normal increase of cattle, sheep and horses and the many other favor- able conditions were unavailing when a market for produce was not to be had. Nevertheless the acreage cultivated during this year was estimated as being six times as great as that of the preceding twelvemonth. The number of bushels garnered from each acre was prodigious, and the singular anomaly was presented of the occurrence together of abundant harvests and hard times. The year 1874 brought no amelioration of condi- tions, but rather an augmentation of the distress, and during the following twelvemonth affairs in north Idaho reached a very low ebb. In 1876, notwithstand- ing the fact that the Northern Pacific railroad was still many miles away and the transportation problem was in statu quo, there was some improvement in the outlook. Three small mining camps came into exis- tence during the year, all of which were very prosper- ous and thriving when winter came. Two of these were on the north fork of the Clearwater and the third at Marshall lake. Crops still continued abundant, and the enormous yield of wheat and other grains proved what the country might become if it were only sup- plied with means of transportating its products to the markets of the world. The winter of 1874-5 was so severe that thousands of head of cattle perished, bankrupting several stockmen. Hardly had the sky begun to clear of financial clouds than it was suddenly overcast with the shad- ows of approaching conflict, and before north Idaho was to emerge from the darkness of its medieval days, it was fated to be baptized with a baptism of fire. III. THE NEZ PERCE INDIAN WAR. When the indomitable Anglo-Saxon race began following the course of destiny to the westward the doom of the thriftless aboriginal peoples was sealed. The time had arrived in the progress of the world when the dusky, nomadic savage had become a cum- berer of the soil. The day of a grander development for this vast, prodigious west, teeming with the crude elements of wealth production, had at last dawned. The night of savagery was over. The red man must himself become a factor in pushing forward the car of progress or be crushed beneath its wheels. Poor child of the darkness and the night! Without know- ing it he was face to face with the harshest, most in- excrable law of life, the law of the survival of the fif- test. No longer could he worship the Great Spirit in his own blind way; no longer could he roam at will HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 45 over the bosom of his much loved mother earth; he must lay aside at once his ancestral habits and adopt those of another and superior race or he must perish and perish miserably. Had the Indians tried the plan of adopting the white man's customs hardly would it have been pos- sible for them to effect with sufficient alacrity a change so radical, to measure up to the required standard in time to save themselves from .destruction in accord- ance with the mandates of natural law, but they did not try. They chose rather to set themselves in oppo- sition to manifest destiny and the result is that their race is hopelessly doomed. This contest with fate furnishes many of the saddest chapters in the history of our country. It could have but one issue. Even the Indian could hardly fail to foresee its outcome, but it is not in human nature to yield the field with- out a struggle. The red men fought valiantly and long. They fought with a bitterness almost amounting to frenzy, and with the courage of despair, but they fought in a hopeless conflict and the heel of the con- queror is upon their necks. It is the purpose of this chapter to chronicle one of the last, fierce struggles in that long continued race war by which the soil of the new world was wrested from the hands of its aboriginal possessors. The ani- mosities growing out of former contests furnished the venom with which to poison the shaft of both whites and reds, but the causes of the war of 1877 have their roots deep in the incapacity of our government officials to understand Indian character and to deal with it in a sensible business like manner. When in 1855 Gov- ernor I. I. Stevens for Washington and Joel Palmer for Oregon negotiated their treaty with the Indians by which the latter disposed of a vast area of land to the United States, making certain reservations as homes for themselves, old Chief Joseph insisted that Wallowa valley should form a part of the reservation for the Nez Perces tribe. This beautiful valley had been used by him and his followers for -years as a species of summer resort. On account of its beauty, grass, fish, game, various roots, camas, etc., or for some other causes, it occupied a warm place in the savage heart . of this old veteran brave and had not the white nego- tiators agreed that it should form a part of the reserve their efforts to treat with the Indians would undoubt- edly have ended in failure and the great benefits ac- cruing to the whites from the treaty would have been lost, at least for the time being. As a matter of fact, Joseph, Three-Feathers, White Bird, Big Thunder, Looking Glass and others of the Nez Perces chiefs signed the treaty without being fully aware just what lands they were resigning their claim to, so the Indians aver, and' when it was found that the Wallowa country was included in these lands an outbreak was imminent forthwith. However, the Indians were pacified by Stevens and Palmer, who promised that the Wallowa country should be reserved and the matter was set- tled for the time being. While the Wallowa valley was, therefore, through the importunity of Joseph, made a part of the Nez Perces reservation and consequently the property of the whole tribe, it was understood both by the Indians and the white representatives of the government to belong especially to Joseph and his band. Legally the Wal- lowa was undoubtedly the property of the Nez Perces ; equitably it was Joseph's. Herein lay the cause of the whole difficulty. In 1863 an amendatory treaty was negotiated with the Nez Perces by which the Wallowa valley, with other territory, was surrendered to the United States government. Joseph was present at the council in which this action was taken, but he positively refused to sign the treaty and never acknowledged its valid- ity. He continued his annual visits to the W'allowa until his death, impressing upon the mind of his sons and his followers that the valley was theirs and that they should hold it at all costs as a home for themselves and their children. The grave of old Joseph is in this val- ley, a circumstance which renders the spot hallowed in the minds of those allied to him by kinship or other ties. Meanwhile the United States government con- firmed the treaty negotiated by its commissioners and naturally assumed that the valley was a part of the public domain. The seeds of trouble were sown but they did not bear fruit until some years later. In due time the Wallowa valley was thrown open to settlement. In 1871 James Tulley entered it in search of range for stock. The next year he and his brother drove in a herd of three hundred head. James A. Masterson came also, and these three pioneers formed the entering wedge of white occupancy of the Wallowa. They saw Indians occasionally during the summer, but beyond making signs of displeasure at the presence of the whites, the Indians offered no resist- ance to their operations. Early that fall, however, the red men unequivocally expressed their displeasure at the encroachment of the whites in a council between themselves, numbering forty or fifty, and as many settlers. The council convened August i4th pursuant to a written call emanating from Indian sources. It seems to have been conducted in a friendly spirit, nevertheless the Indians were imperative in their as- sertions of right to the Wallowa valley and the whites were equally positive in refusing to withdraw from lands on which they had settled by permission of their government. The council broke up with nothing defi- nite accomplished save that the whites sent two men to consult the Indian agent at Lapwai regarding the matter, who were to report at a future council. In the spring of. 1875 th e residents, not alone of the Wallowa country but of the Grande Ronde valley and of eastern Oregon generally, were greatly incensed by an order of the department of the interior looking toward the removal of the whites from the disputed territory and the establishment of the Indians therein. The substance of this obnoxious order is contained in a letter to superintendent Odeneal, which we reproduce as follows: Sir:-Your conjunction of the 7 th in port dated the 4th inst. of yourself and Agen HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. lative to the band of Indians in the Wallowa valley, Oregon, were submitted to the Honorable Secretary of the Interior on the 25th inst. Under date of the 28th inst, the Honorable Secretary returned the same and adopted without modification the sug- "That the band of Indians referred to' be permitted to autum r for n quiet s upon long as they r The Hon. Secretary therefore directs that a proper des- scription 01 the said valley be obtained for the purpose of an executive order setting apart this valley for the use of the said Indians and that white settlers be advised that they are prohibited from entering or sett'.ing in said valley. value of the improvements of said settlers in the Wallowa valley in ordci that Congress may be asked at its session for their appraised value in order that the claims of the settlers may be extinguished. of theHon! Secrete^ of ^Interior as above indicated, 'and for this purpose you will cause an appraisement of the im- provements referred to to be made by two or more disinter- ested and competent persons, whose report shall be prepared in tabular form and submitted to you through this office. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, To T. B. Odeneal, Sup't Indian Affairs, Salem, Oregon. To further enforce the order, letters were sent out to the surveyor general and to the register and receiver of the United States land office at La Grande. Some of the comments upon this action of the inte- rior department were revolutionary in the extreme, and go to prove that the sentiment of patriotism is not so deeply seated in most men's minds but that it may be quickly crushed out when the power of the government seems to have been turned against their individual inter- est. There was much excuse for chagrin and disap- pointment among the pioneer settlers of the Wallowa valley. Many of them had made considerable sacrifices in locating within its borders, not supposing that there would be any danger incurred in so doing, as they were under the protection of a wise and just government. They felt that to be compelled to sell their homes for a sum fixed by appraisers, relinquish their prospects of future gain, 'pull up stakes and set out again -in search of the natural means of winning a livelihood, all for the sake of a few shiftless, nomadic Indians, was an almost unendurable wrong. Some of them boldly declared that they would defend their rights in the Wallowa valley "against the savages or any other corrupt power." The interior department was clearly in a dilemma. It could not deny the justice of Joseph's contention, for his right to the Wallowa certainly had never been ex- tinguished in fairness and equity, though it had legally passed to the United States. On the other hand the de- partment could not return the land to the Indians with- out doing a palpable injustice to white settlers who had invaded the valley and built homes there, planting the seed of civilization and progress, and all by invitation of the government. The horn which it chose at first is indicated by the department instructions in the letter above quoted. The immediate settlers in the Wallowa valley and even their neighbors in other parts of eastern Oregon were not the only ones who took an interest in the Wal- lowa matter. The people of western Oregon watched its development with interest, and the governor of the state went so far as to address a letter to the secretary of the interior, which is so clear an exposition of the whole subject from the settlers' standpoint that we feel constrained to quote it. It reads : ''"^'Salem^JuTy 21^73. HON. COLUMBUS DELANO, Secretary of the Interior. Sir: I beg leave to call your attention to a very grave and important question now pending before your department touching the subject of vacating the Wallowa valley in Union county, Oregon, for the purpose of securing the same to Joseph's band of Nez Perces Indians and to submit the follow- ing views thereon for your consideration : On and prior to the nth day of June 1855, the Nez Perces partly in Washington territory between the Cascade and Bit- ter Root mountains. On said nth day of June, 1855, the said tribe by their chief, head men and delegates, numbering fifty- eight officials, made and concluded a treaty of peace and boundaries with the United States, Isaac I. Stevens acting on behalf of the United States for Washington territory and Joel Palmer for Oregon. By said treaty the Nez Perces ceded and relinquished to the United States all their rights, title and interest in and to all territory before that time claimed and occupied by them except a certain tract de- scribed therein, specifically reserved from the ceded lands, tribe, and for friendly tribes and bands of Indians in Wash- lying in part in Oregon, including Wallowa (Woll-low-how) valley. On the Qth day of June, 1863. a supplementary and amendatory treaty was concluded between the said Nez Perces tribe and the United States, the former being repre- sented by fifty-one chiefs, head men and delegates, and the latter by Calvin H. Hale, Charles Hutchins and S. D. Howe as commissioners specifically delegated. By the latter treaty the Nez Perces tribe agreed to re- linquish and did relinquish to the United States all the lands reserved by the treaty of 1855 excepting a certain specified* tract designated as a "home and for the sole use and occu- Perces tribe relinquished to the United States all the territory embraced in the reservation created by the treaty of 1855, which Jay within the boundaries of the state of Oregon, in- cluding the said Wallowa valley; so that on and after said 9th of June, 1863, the Nez Perces'tribe did not lawfully hold or occupy any land within the state of Oregon. Joseph's band of Nez Perces Indians were in the treaty council of 1855 and Joseph signed the treaty. Their action recognized the tribal acknowledged these conclusions also by accepting the benefits of the treaty of 185^. But Joseph refused to acknowledge the treaty of 186^ while a large majority of the chiefs and head men of the Nez Perces tribe signed the same Joseph died in 1871 and his sons claim the land which was relinquished to the United States in [863, including Wallowa valley. This claim is based on the idea that the band which they represent were not bound by the treaty of 1863. The United States had established the policy of treating with the Indians as tribes and nations. This policy was HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. or nation binds the whole bodv and all of its members. The treaty of 1863 is the organized action of the Nez Perce tribe, the connines of the new states in order' to give them the signatuor absenting J himself defeat' thT'ope^atorTof the treaty, the policy of making treaties would be valueless and but few treaties' would be binding. For there exists hardly soil withheld from being occupied by an industrial population The region of country in eastern Oregon not now settled, and to which the Wallowa vallev is the key, is greater in area than the state of Massachusetts! If this section of our state, lying within the state of Oregon. Acting upon this conclusion by order of the general land office, bearing date May 28, 1867, the public lands in Wallowa make it fruitful of civilized life. There is abundant room for Joseph's band on the present Nez Perces reservation and the tribe desires to have this band for settlement. The survevs mad.- Miidi-r this order amounted not object to going on the. reservation at. this time, but that informed, that eighty-seven farms have been located and pre- Uniled States land office at La Grande. Upon this statement of facts, I urge that the Indian title missionaries among the Indian, while they maintain their aboriginal habits. JOSHl'll'S |;AX1) DO" NOT DESIRE WALLOWA VALLEY FOR A RESERVATION AND occupancy, either by purchase, conquest, or by legal enact- ment, it would follow that if the treaty of 1863 did not corn- poss n esSn N o e f Z th^l^S^'of Oregon limpr? for'room opening the same for settlement and the consequent occu- pancy of the same by settlers under the provisions of the white settlers in the Wallowa country number eighty-seven. There are also in the Wallowa valley two incorporated com- tion of these claims by the local land office of the United Prairie Creek Ditch Company. The improvements of these cerned. ment. to amount to sixty-seven thousand, eight hundred and who did not sign the treaty of 18(13 and who have refused Considering that the demand of Joseph's band was made as far as they are concerned, a score of like demands from tribes, under treaties negotiated in a similar way,, will be much more consistent with its general Indian policy, to in- duce Joseph's band by peaceful means to make their homes on the Nez Perces reservation, than to purchase the right of I am thoroughly persuaded that if the proposed surrender of the Wallowa vallev and the adjacent region to these In- dians be now consummated as now demanded, the measure, state have uniformly recognized the boundaries of legally denned Indian reservations, and have abstained from attempt- ing *o establish settlements thereon. In all instances of and this character of work will have to be entered upon and The 'declaration as made by congress March 3, 1871, that This waTthe case with th^akiiMS ^855,^0^^ three the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power, with whom the United their perfidy. This was the case last autumn with tin- Moi'locs past treaties, as such, and to leave the Indian office unembar- government and bv the people of Oregon. to the caprices of unttitored savages. been as well disposed toward the Indians, and as moderate growing out of this particular case, I would respectfully press the circumstances. Urgently pressing upon your careful consideration the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. peculiar features of this subject and on behalf of the interests of this state and of the settlers in the Wallowa valley and the vicinity asking that the preliminary steps taken for the vation for Indians may be rescinded, I have the honor to be Your obedient servant, L. F. GROVER, Governor of Oregon. The reasoning of Governor Grover in the above communication is certainly sound in everything ex- cept that it seems to overlook what we believe to be a fact of history that, in the treaty of 1855 the Wallowa- valley was understood by both Indians and whites to be reserved especially for the use of old Joseph and his band. Joseph's assent to the treaty was certainly given with that understanding, and while technically and as a matter of strict legal construction, the Wal- lowa was, under the treaty of 1855, the property of the whole Nez Perces tribe, the other chiefs of the Nez Perces seem to have taken no real interest in it. When the opportunity presented itself to sell to che United States what had never really been claimed by them why should they not embrace it? They would have given it up without protest in 1855 anyway. Why not sell Joseph's property when they had a chance to do so and receive a full portion of the price to themselves? Even white men are not always above taking advantage of their legal rights and privileges, though the letter of the law may chance to give them Joseph's point of view the chiefs sold to the United States what was his and not theirs, and we can hardly blame him if his untutored mind failed to grasp all the legal aspects of the case, and he saw only through the eye of his innate sense of right. It should be emphasized, however, that the pioneer settlers of the Wallowa were in no wise to blame in this matter. Attempts on the part of United States officers to make them responsible in any measure for the troubles which arose are utterly indefensible, as were also those made at a later date to throw the blame for the outbreak of the Nez Perces war upon certain citizens of north Idaho. When lands were surveyed and offered for homestead and preemption location, the would-be settler is not supposed to go back to history in order to determine whether the government has a right to do as it has done. He should and does trust to the integrity and honor of his country for that. The first settlers of the Wallowa de- serve the same credit which is usually accorded to those who in spite of danger and hardships carry the seeds of civilization into the heart of the wilderness, there to plant and nurture them until they grow to full maturity. Influenced no doubt by some such consideration as those we have been alluding to, the department of the interior made an abortive attempt to secure the vacation of the Wallowa on the part of the whites and the re- instating of Joseph. It was a serious blunder. If a wrong was done to Joseph in the negotiations of 1863 it could not be remedied without an equally great, per- haps a greater, wrong to the white settlers, in 1873. The attempt to do so was fortunately not carried to completion. In the spring of 1874 the Indian bureau determined to abandon its plan of attempting to establish an Indian reservation in northeastern Oregon. The letter which conveyed definite information of this change of policy to the people of the west was indited as follows: U. S. SENATE CHAMBER, Washington, May 18, 1874. HON. JAMES H. SLATER. Dear Sir: I have recently received letters from our cit- izens of Union county inquiring what the Indian department was going to do in regard to the reservation of the Wallowa valley for Joseph's band of Nez Perces Indians ; and whether the sums of money awarded to settlers in that valley for their improvements there would be paid. I have answered these letters, but as the subject is one of general interest to the whole people of eastern Oregon, I deem it proper to write you, so that you may give publicity to the views of the In- dian department on the subject. Some time ago I had a conversation with Hon. E. P. Smith, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on this matter and urged upon him the propriety of rescinding his order setting apart Wsllowa valley as an Indian reservation for Joseph's band of Nez Perces. He then said that probably this would be done, and the matter might remain there until further notice. On Saturday last I again had an interview and explained how important it was for those in the valley and others who intended going there that it be determined at once either to rescind the order establishing this reserva- that the settlers might govern their movements accordingly. The commissioner then assured me that nothing more would be done toward establishing a reservation there, and that the settlers in the Wallowa valley would not be molested in any way by the Indian department. Of course the whole valley is now open to settlement by the whole people. In the come to the conclusion to amend the order establishing the priation to pay the sums of money awarded to the settlers some two years ago for their improvements made on lands within the boundaries of the intended reservation. I congratulate the people of Union county on the settle- ment of this perplexing controversy and hope no disturbance will hereafter take place with the roving bands of Indians who caused all the trouble and annoyance which have taken place in regard to that valley. Very truly yours, JAMES K. KELLY. Important as this determination of the matter was to the whites, it wrought no radical change in the attitude of the Indians. Indeed, as General Howard unequivocally states, the real contention of Joseph and other malcontents, the prime cause of all the difficulty, was rebellion against submission to the United States government or any of its officers. It was summed up laconically in Toohulhulsote's insolent query, "Who gave Washington rule over me?" Denying as they did the jurisdiction of the United States, the Indians were not likely to pay any great heed to the order opening again to settlement the Wallawo valley. They con- tinued their summer wanderings over its broad acres nd exercised freely the prerogative claimed by them if going when and where they pleased. But aside from bickerings and threat and pow wows, creating it Victim of the Indians, Killed June 13, 1877. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. uncertainty and dread in the minds of all white resi- dents in and contiguous to Wallowa valley, no hostile movements were made by the Indians until the sum- mer of 1876. The immediate cause of this disturbance was a personal conflict between two white men, A. B. Findley and Wells McNall, on the one side, and non-treaty Indians on the other. The white men were hunting some lost horses which they believed the Indians had stolen. Locating an Indian camp they proceeded to search the vicinity for the horses. The Indians became angered ; an altercation arose, and one Indian engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter with Mc- Nall, attempting to take his gun from him. McNall called to Findley to shoot the Indian, which was done, the redskin being killed instantly. Both white men submitted to trial at Union and were acquitted, but the Indians were not satisfied and demanded their sur- render that they might be tried by Indian law. This was denied of course and Joseph ordered the whites to leave the valley within a specified time, upon pain of being driven out in case they failed to go peacefully. The whites appealed to their neighbors for help. Citizens of Union and other towns responded promptly and arrived at the McNall ranch in middle Wallowa valley at three o'clock in the afternoon of the day preceding that upon which Joseph was to begin operations in case the valley should not be vacated by the whites. Inasmuch .as the volunteers numbered only about forty it was determined to make no attack upon the Indians, but simply to prepare for defense. Lieu- tenant Henry Rinehart was, however, ordered to march with fifteen men to the upper valley for the purpose of assisting the settlers there in case of attack. Rinehart and his command, escorting a number of set- tlers and their families returned about twelve o'clock that night and about two o'clock next morning, Lieu- tenant Forse from Walla Walla arrived with forty- eight regulars, having made a forced march to reach the scene in time to avert or participate in the expected hostilities. Next day the soldiers and volunteers were marched to the upper valley. Forse found the Indians on the summit of a hill near the Wallowa lake, all of them divested of superfluous clothing, decked in war paint, well armed and mounted, drawn up in battle array and prepared generally for warfare. Forse made certain demands upon them, chiefly to the effect that they should remain on the opposite side of Hurri- cane creek from the whites and abstain from depre- dations. Joseph yielded a ready compliance; his fol- lowers washed off their paint and sweet peace con- tinued to reign in the beautiful Wallowa valley. In November, 1876. in accordance with the recom- to Lapwai for the purpose of endeavoring to adjust matters with Joseph, his brother Ollicut, and all other disaffected non-treaty Indians. The arguments of the commissioners in their endeavor to induce the Indians to settle permanently upon some reservation were met by the old superstitious doctrines of the Dreamers, who taught "that the earth being created by God complete, should not be disturbed by man, and that any culti- vation of the soil, or other improvements, to interfere with its natural production, any improvements in the way of schools, churches, etc. are crimes from which they shrink." "This fanaticism," continued Howard, "is kept up by the superstition of these 'dreamers', who industri- ously teach that if they continue steadfast in their present belief a leader will be raised up in the east who will restore all the dead Indians to life, who will unite with them in expelling the whites from their country, when they will again enter upon and repossess the lands of their ancestors. "Influenced by such a belief, Joseph and his band firmly declined to enter into any negotiations, or make any arrangements that looked to a final settlement of the questions pending between them and the govern- ment. While the commission gave all due respect to the precedents and authorities in the government deal- ings with the Indians, and to the decisions of the supreme court of the United States, which recognizes an undefined right of occupancy by Indians to large sections of the country, yet in view of the fact that these Indians do not claim simply this, but set up an absolute title to the land, an absolute and independent sover- eignty, and refuse even to be limited in their claim and control, necessity, humanity and good sense con- strain the government to set metes and bounds, and give regulations to these non-treaty Indians. * * * And if the principle usually applied by the govern- ment, of holding that the Indians with whom they have treaties are bound by the majority, is here applied, Joseph should be required to live within the limits of the present reservation. * * * "If these Indians overrun lands belonging to the whites, and commit depredations on their property, disturb the peace by threats or otherwise, or commit any other overt acts of hostility, we recommend the employment of sufficient force to bring them into sub- jection, and to place them upon the Nez Perces reser- vation. The Indian agent at Lapwai should be fully instructed to carry into execution these suggestions, relying at all times upon the department commander for aid when necessary." With unusual promptness the government early in January, 1877, issued orders to Indian Agent J. B. Monteith to carry out the recommendations of the commission. Howard was directed to occupy the Wallowa valley and co-operate with the agent. ' That officer was sending friendly Nez Perces to Joseph, striving vainly to induce him to do what he had plainly told the commission he would not do, come upon the Nez Perce reservation. Joseph was interpreting all his friendly overtures as signs of weakness, and seemingly was becoming more and more established . in his determination to yield no whit of his freedom but strengthening his own hands by effecting under- standings with other disaffected Indians. In a conference with General Howard at Walla Walla, April 20, 1877, Ollicut arranged a council to meet at Lapwai in twelve days, in which the demands of the government and the position of the Indians were to be fully set forth. Howard was there per appoint- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ment. On the 3d of May the first talk was held at Fort Lapvvai, Agent Monteith, P. B. Whitman, official interpreter, Joseph, Ollicut and about fifty of Joseph's band being present. Two days of council, during which the demand of the government that the Indians go upon some reservation was unequivocally and em- phatically made, then a recess until May 7th. Mean- while there are many accessions to the numbers 'of the red men from all directions. On the 7th a somewhat stormy council is held in which Toohulhulsote be- comes insolent, refuses to go upon the reservation and is arrested by Howard. "My conduct," says the gen- eral, "was summary, it is true, but I knew it was hopeless to get the Indians to agree to anything so long as they could keep this old dreamer on the lead and defy the agents of the government, and I believe that the Modoc massacre would very soon be repeated if I gave time for concert of action.' In fact, in deal- ing with Indians, my conviction is strong that the true policy is to demand obedience to the requirements of the government of the United States. The crisis had come, when either this demand must be made, or these wild Indians be allowed all the latitude and leisure that their hearts desired." When Toohulhulsote's evil influence was gone the Indians readily agreed to go next day to examine the Lapwai valley, and later the Clearwater country to see how they would like them for homes. They did so, giving all the time evidences of benevolent intentions. Soon word came that they had determined to go upon the reserve, they even designating what parts each band desired. On May I4th all came together again at Lap- wai for a final conference. At this it was agreed that the Indians should be upon the reservation in one month, or by June Uth. except Hushhushcute, who was given thirty-five clays : the object of the council seemed to have been satisfactorily accomplished and there was rejoicing in consequence. All the traditions and history of the Nez Perces tribe favored the assumption that the non-treaties would do just as they agreed and that there would be no more trouble. The agents of the government occupied the intervening thirty days in gathering in other bands to the Yakima reservation, so as to weaken the power of Joseph in case he should meditate treachery, though this was considered a very remote possibility'. To one looking backward it would seem that the wiser course would have been to put in practice the European max- im, "In time of peace prepare for war." Had a suffi- cient force been concentrated in the storm center, it it probable that the malcontent Indians would have gone on the reserve without resistance, but in endeavoring to win the Indians by smiles, rather than subdue them by a show of force, the agents of the government were acting in consistency with the general peace policy of the government, the policy which has resulted in much unnecessary bloodshed. That policy has been fostered by many eastern would-be philanthropists, whose knowledge of Indian character comes from the imaginings of the romance writer, and to whose super- fine sensibilities a vigorous demand of the government that the Indians obcv its laws as white men have to, a determined purpose to compel them to do so at what- ever cost, is an unthinkable cruelty. But the conduct of the various malcontent bands during the thirty days of grace certainly looked much like peace ; the gather- ing of Indians on the borders of the Nez Perces reserva- tion was naturally interpreted as a step in compliance with their agreement of May 14, and the burst of war came, therefore, as a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Even the settlers in the immediate vicinity of the reserve were deceived, though there were some signs of the ap- proaching storm had they been interpreted aright. There were four distinct bands of non-treaty In- dians : Joseph's, who made their home in the Wa'llowa and Imnaha valleys : White Bird's, or the Salmon river Indians; Looking Glass's, whose home was on Clear creek, a branch of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater ; and a small band under Toohulhulsote, the "Dreamer," who remained on the Snake river most of the year. Of the friendly chiefs who were in close proximity to Camas prairie we may mention Kooskoos-Xela, Cap- tain John, Eagle-of-the'-Light and Blacktail. Of course there was more or less intercourse continually among these Indians and between the Indians and the settlers around them. For years the whites on Camas prairie and their dark skinned neighbors had lived at peace with each other, save that now and then some alter- cation of minor importance might occur. They had traded together, herded stock together and been very neighborly. No serious animosities existed between them. Down on the Salmon, however, the feeling between the two races was not as fraternal as it should have been. There, many serious quarrels had arisen over the possession of land and over other important mat- ters. Many of the whites had settled upon choice tracts of land, which, although not included in the reservation, the Indians considered as still theirs by reason of the fact that they had never relinquished their title to it to the United States. The case was parallel to that existing in the Wallowa valley. The whites considered that the land was public domain and acted accordingly without consulting the desires of the In- dians. .Then, too, two or three traders on the Salmon frequently supplied the redskins with liquor and in one instance this practice led to an open fight between the . proprietor of the establishment and the Indians, in the course of which one of the Indians was seriously wounded. This white, too, was remembered by the revengeful hostiles and when war broke out he lost his life among the very first. Some of the settlers here considered these and all other Indians as wholly bad and treated them accordingly, all of which fostered the enmity slowly rising. The remainder of the settlers, those who were on friendly terms with the Indians, were generally well treated by the latter until hostili- ties had commenced when the universal Indian trait of indiscrimination asserted itself. This was the status of affairs when, a short time before the council, a petition was circulated among the residents of Idaho county praying the government to remove the non-treaty Indians onto the reservation. Some signed the petition ; some refused, in the belief HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. that these Indians could be more easily handled by not confining them too closely. This latter class were also wise enough to see that the enforcement of this order would lead to immediate trouble, which they wished to avoid as long as possible. The crisis came as soon as the government attempted to carry out the wish of these petitioners and it is worth noting that the blow fell most heavily on those whom the Indians found had signed the 'document. Sometime in April, 1877, friendly Salmon River Indians came to the house of Charles Cone on the Sal- mon and told him that the Indians were surely going to fight; that they would never go on the reservation; and that the Indians expected to settle some old scores, naming their intended victims. They warned the set- tlers of what was coming, but few believed that the Indians were really in earnest. The Cones, Woods, and Joshua Fockler, however, organized for protection, preparing their weapons and replenishing their supply of ammunition and for one night, stood guard. On Camas prairie the Indians were slowly gather- ing all through the month of May and preparing for the conflict. From time to time" they warned their white friends that trouble was coming and to them they reiterated their intention of refusing to go upon the reservation. The redskins visited Grangeville and Mount Idaho in large numbers and purchased all the ammunition and weapons they could secure, conceal- ing their hostile motives of course. They gathered their hundreds of ponies, bought cattle or obtained them by trade, purchased and by other means secured al! the provisions and supplies possible, and in differ- ent ways prepared for the coming conflict. From out- side appearances they might have been preparing to go on the reservation and in fact this was the inter- pretation placed upon their actions by a majority of the settlers on the prairie. The Indians' rendezvous was at the head of Rocky canyon, one' of the eastern arms of the Salmon river canyon, lying eight miles west of Grangeville. The smaller canyon derives its name from its rocky appear- ance. It cuts a furrow hundreds of feet deep and four miles in length through basalt, forming a region un- excelled for the Indians' purposes. Here they herded their stock, killed beef cattle and "jerked"' the meat, stored their supplies in a wonderful cave, and pre- pared to sell their lives as dearly as possible in defense of their libertv. At the head of the south fork of this came from the timbered mountain a few miles south- ward and finally found their way through the narrow canyon to the rushing river hundreds of feet below. Around these lakes the Indians erected their tepees. During the early days of June the non-treaties, with the exception of Looking-glass's band, assembled in larger numbers than ever at this delightful camping ground, holding councils and drills during the day time and dances at night. Regular picket lines were established which apprised the plotting redskins of the approach of whites and in some cases warned them off the grounds. Here they argued for and against illv e about evenly divided on the question of submit- ting peaceably to the inevitable or going to war. Hon. Frank A. Fenn says that word was sent to the commander at Fort Lapwai by L. P. Brown nearly ten days previous to the outbreak, notifying that officer of the alarming condition of affairs on the prairie and suggesting that it would be well to- watch them closely. On the I3th, Mr. Fenn says Tucallacasena, a brother if Looking-glass, notified Ad. Chapman and M. H. Rice that the Indians were practically on the war path and warned the whites that they must be on their General Howard says that the first slight inkling of something wrong came to Fort Lapwai in the shape of a letter, bearing date of Tune I4th. from L. P. Brown, of Mount Idaho, stating that Mr. Overman from the head of Rocky canyon had come in with his friends, very much alarmed at the actions of the In- dians, who, they said, were insolent, taciturn in their communications with the whites, and hostile in their general demeanor. "Yesterday," continues the letter, "they had a grand parade. About a hundred were mounted, and well armed and went through the man- euvers of a fight were thus engaged for about two hours. They say, openly, that they are going to fight the soldiers when they come to put them on the reser- vation, and I understand that they expect them up on Friday next. A good many were in town today, and were trying to obtain powder and other ammunition. * * * I do not feel any alarm, but thought it well to inform you of what was going on among them. * * * I believe it would be well for you to send up, as soon as you can. a sufficient force to handle them without gloves, should they be disposed to resist. Sharp and prompt action will bring them to understand that they must comply with the orders of the government. We trust such action will be taken by you, so as to remove them from the neighborhood and quiet the feelings of the people." This was followed up next day by two communi- cations of a much more startling nature which follow : MOUNT IDAHO, ?A. M., Friday. June 15, '77- COM MAN-DING OFFICER FORT LAPWAI. Last night we started a messenger to you. who reached Cottonwood House, where he was wounded and driven back by the Indians. The people of Cottonwood undertook to or killed. Partie this morning found some of them on the prairie. The wounded will be here shortly, when we will get full particulars. The whites are engaged, about forty of them, in getting in the wounded. One thing is certain; we are in the midst of an Indian war. Every family is here, and we have taken all the precautions we can. but are poorly armed. We want arms and ammunition and help at once. were killed yesterday on the Salmon "river. Xo~ later word from them; fear that the people are all killed, as a party of Indians were seen going that way last night. Send to Lewis- ton, and hasten up. You cannot imagine the people in a wor:,e condition than they are here. Mr. West has volun- ruly. L. P. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. MOUNT IDAHO, 8 A. M., June 15/77- COMMANDING OFFICER FORT LAPWAI. I have just sent a dispatch by Mr. West, half-breed. Since that was written the wounded have come in Mr. Day, mor- tally; Mrs. Norton with both legs broken; Moore sho' ough the hip; Norton killed and left in the road, si> nilea aandoned. The Indians have possession of the prairie, and threaten Mount Idaho. All the people are here, and we will do the best we can. Lose no time in getting up with a force. Stop the stage and all "through travelers." Give us relief, through 1 feat the people on Salmon have" all been killed, as a party was seen going that way last night. We had a report last night that seven whites had been killed on Sal- long toe; he is with* u** " "L*?. Buoww. * P. S. Send a despatch to town for the express not to start up unless heavily escorted. Give the bearer a fresh horse, and send him back. CHAPMAN. Howard sent a brief reply to Mr. Brown, announc- ing the despatch of two companies of cavalry and en- joining upon him to ''cheer the people." Meanwhile all was bustle at Fort Lapwai. Colonel Perry was despatched forthwith to the scene of the trouble with ninety men, all that could be spared from the fort. Captain Wilkinson and Lieutenant Bomus were sent post haste to Walla Walla with messages for more troops from Wallowa, Walla Walla and Portland, with a request for supplies from the last named point, also for twenty-five scouts from General McDowell at San Francisco. But before proceeding further in the account of the military operations, we must turn back to the evening of Tune 1 3th in order to find out more definitely the cause of all this bustle and excitement. During the day several Indians came down from the prairie to the Mamie! ranch on White Bird creek, where they utilized Mr. Manuel's grindstone in sharpening their knives and other edged weapons. They acted very friendly and aroused no suspicions in the minds of the doomed family who watched the operations. Farther up the Salmon at early dusk three young Indians drew up their ponies at the Cone ranch and dismounting, en- tered the house. None of them was over twenty-one years old and two of them, Tipulahna-Caps-Caps (Strong Eagle) and Sopsis-Ilp-Ilp (Red Leggins), Salmon Rivers, were old friends of the Cone family. The other Indian was a member of Joseph's band. They asked for bread for themselves and bullets for their weapon, a 44-calibre Colt's cap and ball revolver. The Indians were given the bread, and Charles, one of the sons, would have supplied the ammunition asked for as he and the Indians were good friends and had often hunted together, but for the fact that the amount he had on hand was very limited. The Indians ex- plained that they were on a hunting expedition and after exchanging a few more words again mounted their animals and pushed on up the river. That night they camped as is supposed in the brush near Richard Divine's place. Richard Divine was an old, retired English sailor living alone on his ranch on the Salmon six miles above John Day creek. So far as known he had never wronged the Indians nor had he ever had any trouble with them. But he did possess a new, improved rifle, fitted with hair sights, and reputed to be one of the finest in this section. The possession of this weapon proved the cause of his death. As the old man came out of the house some time that night or the next morning, a pistol shot rang out and he fell. Whether his wound was instantly, fatal or not is unknown, but he was dead when found, though his body was still Securing the coveted rifle the three young murder- ers took the trail down the river. Arriving at the Elfers ranch at the mouth of John Day creek, they be- came the chief actors in another tragedy. Mrs. Elfers, now Mrs. C. M. Cleary, is our authority for the story of this terrible event. She says she saw the Indians pass her home on their way up to Divine's place on the evening of June I3th, and that they stopped at the stock corral to talk with Mr. Elfers and the other men. On the morning of the i-4th, (she is positive as to the date) her husband, Robert Bland and "Harry" Beck- roge were killed by them. The real name of the last mentioned individual was Burn Beckroge, but he was universally named Harry after a brother of his who had been a resident of the Salmon river and had died previous to Burn's coming. On the morning of the fatal day Beckroge and Bland went up to the bench land south of and above the house to get the horses. The men were engaged in hay making at the time. Mr. Elfers remained at the house, attending to the cows. He had just gone into a room of the house and was putting on a pair of moccasins, when two of the In- dians came up and entered the office, apparently look- ing for him. Mrs. Elfers came out of the milk house just in time to see them and one of them spoke to her. She passed around the further end of the house to enter the kitchen by the back door. The Indian was standing at the entrance of the office when he spoke. Soon the Indians disappeared and Mrs. Elfers believed they had left the place entirely. When Mr. Elfers finished putting on his moccasins, he started up the hill to the field, and his wife followed him with her eyes some distance. That was the last time she saw him alive. The Indians shot him immediately after he reached the edge of the plateau above. It appears that they had already killed Bland and Beckroge and that one of their number had been left on guard in the field while the two others came to the house to look for Elfers. Mrs. Elfers did not hear the shots, the noise of the guns having been drowned by that of the stream, but Victor, a Frenchman living further down John Day creek, saw the smoke of the guns and became sus- picious that something was wrong. He communicated investigate. An invalid named Whitfield, who had been out hunting mountain sheep, had returned and discovered the remains of Elfers, Bland and Beckroge. He notified Norman Gould and his hired man at the saw mill and the two accompanied him to the scene of the murder, bringing their guns. Mrs. Elfers saw the Indians return to the house after they had killed the The Ranch where H. Elfers. Henry Beckroge and R. S. Bland were Killed by the Indians, June 13, 1877. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 53 three men. They entered the office, but soon came out again passed by her at the milk house, mounted the horses and rode away. Mrs. Elfers did not notice that they were riding her husband's animals, though it was later ascertained that they had exchanged their ponies for three of their victim's horses. They also secured Mr. Elfers' rifle without her knowing of it. The' horse being a trained race horse. The Indians did not tarry long at the Elfers place, fearing the return of Whit- field, who they knew was armed and out hunting mountain sheep. Having departed from the Elfers ranch, the three Indians passed on down the river avoiding the Cone house by leaving the trail. A mile and a half below the Cone ranch, Charles Cone, Sr., was at his placer mine. When the redskins came in sight of him they demanded if he knew their horses. Cone had of course immediately recognized the horses and detected that something was wrong, but with admirable presence of mind he answered in the negative. The Indians told him to go home and stay there ; that they were very mad and would fight. Glad of the change to escape so easily, Mr. Cone obeyed their command. Not far below the mine, on the opposite side of the river, Joe Amera, a friendly California Indian lived. Opposite his place the three hostiles stopped and sought to entice him across the river. Whether they wished to kill him or simply wanted him to join their crowd is not known, but at all events Joe simply par- leyed with them without yielding to their wishes and at last they retired. Probably being well aware that Harry Mason and William Osborne were well armed and the former was an experienced Indian fighter, the Indians avoided an encounter at the Mason place. Near the mouth of White Bird they met Samuel Benedict, who was out looking after stock, and wounded him, the bullet taking effect in his legs. Although seriously injured he man- aged to make his way home, where he gave his wife his valuable papers and some gold dust and urged her to flee to the woods. This the brave woman refused to do. preferring to remain with and care for her wounded husband. A number of Indians had a quarrel with Benedict shortly before the outbreak of the war, dur- ing which one named Nosenocope had received a charge of fine shot, and the shooting of Benedict is thought by some to have been in revenge for this in- jury ': After the attack on Benedict the young warriors turned their horses up White Bird cre'ek and during the afternoon rejoined their fellows at the head of Rocky canyon. On arriving here they announced, "Now you have to fight," and appeared to be in high glee over the part they had taken. It was true that the Rubicon had been crossed : the war party was so strong that it would never permit the murderers to be arrested and now that the breach had been opened, the In- dians voted to commence general hostilities. Here the three secured about fifteen recruits and under the leadership of Mox Mox (Yellow Bull) immediately returned to the Salmon river. Meanwhile, James Baker, a man seventy-four years old living on White Bird creek, and Patrick Price (or Brice) had become aware of the attack on Benedict and had warned the Manuels of their danger. They decided to seek a place of greater safety at once. Mrs. Manuel and her baby were placed on one horse. Mr. Manuel and his seven year old daughter Maggie mounted another and Mr. Baker rode a third. Mrs. Manuel's father, George Popham, and Pat Price re- mained in the brush near the house to await develop- ments. The Manuels and Baker started for the latter's stone cellar, where they purposed to defend themselves. Hardly had they started, however, before Mox Mox and his band were upon them. Manuel and his daugh- ter were wounded and fell from the horse they were riding, Mrs. Manuel and her baby were thrown from their horse, and Baker fell to the' ground, pierced by arrows. Manuel, wounded, ultimately escaped to the settlements after wandering in the brush and woods for thirteen days, while Maggie was carried to the fort at Mount Idaho by Pat Price. The Indians carried Mrs. Manuel and her baby back to the house and forced her to give up the ammunition left there. After securing this they again took the trail down the creek, passing the Masons and Osbornes and William George, but this party kept in the brush and the In- dians appear to have been afraid to go in after them. In the exchange of shots which followed the meeting George was wounded in the thumb. That night he left the rest of the party and proceeded to Mount Idaho, where he gave the first authentic news of the Salmon river murders. At the mouth of White Bird creek the Indians found Benedict in his store and saloon and killed him. A Frenchman named August Bacon who was with Benedict was also killed here. Indians state that they offered Bacon his life of he would come out, leaving Benedict, but he refused to desert his wounded com- panion. From the mouth of the creek the Indians went down the river a mile to H. C. Brown's store. Brown saw them coming and together with his wife and brother- in-law, Andrew Bensching, escaped across the Sal- mon in a boat, though Brown was slightly wounded. All took refuge in the woods. Several days later Bensching came to Mount Idaho and subsequently Brown and his wife were rescued near Cottonwood by a party under Henry C. Johnson. The night of the I4th the Indians spent in debauchery at Brown's store, which they looted, helping themselves freely to the goods and liquors on the shelves. They remained un- til morning, when they started for the Mason ranch. During the previous night the Masons and Os- bornes had decided to return to their homes. They proceeded to the Mason ranch, where they concealed themselves in a nearby gluch. Here they remained for some time, but eventually, as the story "is told, the children became hungry and the party was forced to do something for them. They accordingly went to HISTORY "OF NORTH IDAHO. the house of Osborne to procure something edible, and while they were there the Indians attacked them. As afterwards told the Cone brothers by Yellow Bull, the redskins offered to allow the rest of the party to go unmolested if thev would deliver Mason. It seems that Mason had had difficulty with an Indian early in the spring and moreover he was a thorough Indian hater. Of course the whites refused to deliver him and the redskins attacked the little party. Osborne, Francois Chodozo and Mason were killed, after which the women, Mrs. Mason, Mrs. Osborne and Mrs. Walsh, a sister of Mason, fell into the hands of the savages and were shamefully treated. Subsequently the Indians allowed them to proceed to Slate creek where the first news of this last of the Salmon river outrages was reported. A Frenchman known as "Shoemake." who had escaped the Indians, joined the women a short distance from the scene of the attack and accompanied them to the fort. After the battle of White Bird the Indians returned to Mason's store and spent a night in carousing and general debauchery, ending their merry making by burning the buildings. In fact nearly all of the buildings destroyed along the Salmon were burned after this Indian victory. But we must return to the home of John j. Manuel whose wife and baby were left unharmed by Mox Mox's band after these Indians had secured the cov- eted ammunition. There has been much discussion relative to the murder of Mrs. Manuel and her little son and some difference of opinion exists as to whether or not Chief Joseph was a participant in it. It is generally believed by Salmon river residents that the famous 'chief tain was guilty of participation in the dastardly affair, and that he killed Mrs. Manuel with his own hand. The following is the story of Mrs. Maggie Bowman, nee Manuel, the only white eye- witness, who was but seven years old at the time: "Our family consisted of my father and mother, sister Julia (now Mrs. W. K. Knox, of Grangeville), a baby brother eleven months old, grandfather and myself. With the exception of my sister Julia, who was in school at Mount Idaho, we were all at home when James Baker and Patrick Price came to the house and told us that the Indians had wounded Mr. Benedict and that we had better flee for our lives. They suggested that we go to Air. Baker's stone cellar, about a mile down the creek, and there leave the women while the men defended the place. "We started immediately. I mounted father's horse behind him, while mother and the baby took an- other animal. Grandfather (George Popham), and Patrick Price remained at the house. We had pro- ceeded about half a mile on our journey when, looking to a hill we had descended, I saw several Indians com- ing toward us on a run, yelling and whooping at the top of their voices. The' Indians are coming,' I said to father. Just as the Indians appeared, the horses we rode became frightened at the noise and stam- peded, separating father from mother. The Indians opened fire on us with arrows, the first arrow striking my left arm near the shoulder. An arrow struck me in the back of the head and glanced and pierced my father's neck. An Indian, who had only two cart- ridges as we afterward learned, fired at father at the same time and shot him through the hips. A second bullet burned one of his ears. Father was also wounded between the shoulders by an arrow. The wound through the hips caused him to fall from the horse, 'dragging me with him. Our horse had taken us to the top of the hill before we fell from the saddle. "Father saw that our only chance was to roll down the hillside into the brush and this we did, meanwhile undergoing the rock throwing of the Indians. One rock broke father's little finger and another struck me on the forehead. The redskins were afraid to follow us, doubtless thinking that father still had his pistols. Very foolishly we had left all weapons and ammuni- tion at the house with the idea of showing any In- dians we might meet that we were peaceable. "Meanwhile, Mr. Baker had fallen from his horse at the first flight of arrows. The redskins surrounded him and one of them pointed an arrow into the old man's face. He courageously thrust it away, >ut was unable to maintain the unequal contest and trie next instant fell lifeless, being riddled with arrows. "Mother's horse threw her and the baby and in the fall one of her knee caps was broken* and the baby injured. Afterwards she said that two or three of the Indians took her to the house and promised not to in- jure her if she would give up the ammunition and a fine rifle that father had. She did this and was un- injured by her captors. "As soon as the Indians left the place, grand- father and Mr. Price came into the house. Mother told them where we had crawled and grandfather came to us. He brought me to the house about dark and left blankets, food and water for father. "That night mother, the baby, myself, Mrs. Bene- dict and children (who had come over to the house after Mr. Benedict's death) and the men stayed in the brush. The next morning Mrs. Benedict tried to persuade us to go up the creek and escape to the prairie, but mother and grandfather decided to return' to the house, thinking that the danger was oast. Then, too, mother refused to leave father alone in the brush, wounded and without aid. So we returned to the house, except Mrs. Benedict who took her children and started up the creek where she was subsequently rescued. "Mother and I went to bed while Mr. Popham and Mr. Price stood guard. Along in the forenoon, Mox Mox and a band of White Bird Indians, nearly all of whom we knew very well as their camping ground was on a part of our place, came to the house. They ransacked it, but did not offer to molest us. They finally told us that Chief Joseph's Indians were fol- lowing them, advising Mr. Popham and Mr. Price to go to the brush and promised to protect us. *Mrs. Robie (formerly Mrs. Benedict) told the writer that the. Indians made two knife cuts over each of Mrs. Manuel's knees, one lengthwise and the other crosswise, their object being to prevent her getting away. Mrs. Robie HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 55 "Early in the afternoon Joseph and his band came up. Joseph was dressed as a chief and told us that he was Chief Joseph. The Indians called him Joseph and I am positive that it was he. Mox Mox and White Bird were also there. Mox Mox had promised to keep the hostile Indians out of the house but had failed to keep his word. "Joseph had not been in the house over an hour before he took a seat on a trunk in the room where mother, .baby and I were. Mother sat on a trundle bed and was nursing the baby when Joseph addressed her with some remark. They were only a few feet apart. Joseph reached over and without any prelimi- naries, plunged a knife into her heart. Mother fell back on the bed and the only words she iaid were: 'Don't kill my children.' She repeated these words three times. The redskins dragged her to the floor and stripped off her clothing. All this I saw from my bed in the same room and just across from mother's. "After this the Indians took me to an adjoining room affd shut me in. Of course I cried and I remem- ber that one of the White Bird Indians slapped me. Being sick and exhausted, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until nearly dark. Then I went into the other room where mother had been killed. I was barefooted and even now I can recall the horrible feel- ing that came over me as the blood oozed between my toes. The body was naked and lying in a pool of her life's blood' At her head lay baby Johnnie, also dead. "My first impulse was to find grandfather and I started in search of him. Instead of him, however, I found Pat Price with whom I stayed in the brush that night. In the morning the Indians attacked Mr. Price and me in the brush. He determined to go straight to them and try a ruse, so he went up to Chief White Bird. To him Mr. Price showed the cross tattooed on his breast with India ink. He proposed to the Indians that if they, would allow him to take me to Mount Idaho he would return and surrender himself to them. This the chief agreed to and after we had gone into the house and seen mother's and baby's bodies, we left for the prairie. I was barefooted and in my night clothes. We traveled all day, Mr. Price carrying me a portion of the way, and stayed that night at Harris's place near the head of Rocky canyon. There, Mr. Price fixed me a chair, fashioning it out of a dry goods box. With a rope he fastened it on his back. At this place he found an old white shirt and put it on me. During all this time and until I reached Mount Idaho, my left arm, which had been broken in the fall from the horse, hung limp by my side, the older people in the excitement not even fixing me a sling. In this box chair I rode into Mount Idaho, reaching there about noon. Mr. Price risked his life to carry me through to the settlement and of course I never forgot this kindness and devotion. "The same day we left the house the Indians burned it, together with the bodies of mother and baby. Subsequently their charred bones and mother's ear rings were found in the ruins. One ear ring was par- tially melted, the other was in its natural state, except for being blackened by the fire. The house was built of logs and lined with lumber and must have made a very hot fire. From his place of concealment in the brush, grandfather witnessed the destruction of the buildings. "Father remained in the brush and small outbuild- ings on the ranch for thirteen days, living upon berries and vegetables that he was able to secure from the lit- tle garden. After suffering for five days from the arrow in his neck, he cut it out with his knife and dressed the wound, using horseradish leaves and cold water from the creek. His hip wounds had crippled him so seriously that he was unable to travel. The soldiers found him and brought him to Mount Idaho, where he eventually recovered. "Grandfather came into Mount Idaho several days after Mr. Price and I arrived. "This is the story as 1 now remember it and the recollection of it all comes to me very vividly despite the long years that have rolled by. "The above facts are given from personal knowl- edge and not from hearsay. SIGNED : MAGGIE BOWMAN. "Grangevillc, Idaho, April i, 1903." Meanwhile events of considerable importance were transpiring on the prairie. As early as June Qth the situation had become alarming and some of the set- tlers felt that the Indians were about to carry out their threat of commencing war although the settlers generally seemed disposed to discredit these rumors. Previous to the I4th Cyrus Overman and M. Y. Jar- rett, who lived near the lakes, brought their families in nearer to Grangeville and Mount Idaho and left them with friends, in order to assure their safety in case of trouble. Considerable activity was manifested by the In- dians on the I3th. Sometime during the day Seth Jones and Charles Horton passed two bands attired in full war dress. The white men were unmolested, however. Along in the afternoon of the I4th (Mr. Tohnson says i3th) Henry C. Johnson and Cyrus Overman noticed, from the Johnson place which overlooked the Indian camp, that the Indians were acting very rest- lessly. They saw several of them leave in small bands of from two to four each toward the Salmon. About three o'clock, Mr. Overman told Mr. John- son that he had concluded to go over to his farm, sack up a little wheat and proceed to town. Upon reaching home, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Watson driving rapidly across the prairie toward Mount Idaho. He Watson's place. Quickly saddling and mounting his horse, he set out to overtake the Watsons, which he succeeded in doing after a ride of three miles. From them he learned that Crooks had been driven out of an Indian camp that afternoon and that the settlers had been warned by messenger to come into Mount Idaho. The courier had turned back before reaching the Johnson place. Mr. Overman continued his journey HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. to Mount Idaho, arriving about eleven o'clock that night. Later in the day, Mr. Johnson, whom Mr. Overman had been assisting until three o'clock, saw the In- dians tearing down their tepees and concentrating their vast herd of horses, of which they had, accord- .ing to his estimate, fully ten thousand. He says it was fascinating to watch the agile Indians slowly moving the seething bands across the prairie toward Craig's Mountain. Mr. Johnson decided to remain at his ranch that night, though he took the precaution to sleep out of doors in one of his fields. The last he saw of the In- dians before darkness cut off his view, they were still engaged in moving their ponies toward Craig's moun- tain and only five or six tepees were still standing at their old camping ground. He believed that at last the red men were moving upon the reservation and his apprehension of danger, if any he had, were at least partially removed. Next morning he was unable to see any sign of Indians so he decided to drive over to the settlement the saw-mill on Three Mile creek, he there learned that the Norton party had been attacked the night be- fore, so of course gave up all thought of returning to his home. On the afternoon of the I4th (or according to some the i.3th) John M. Crooks, the cattle king of the county at that time and a friend of the Indians, volun- teered to ride out to their camp from Grange vi lie and learn what he could regarding their intentions. He did not believe that the Indians meant to go on the war- path, but undertook the journey for the purpose of reassuring himself and his neighbors. Mr. Crooks reached the Indian camp in safety. There, however, he was greeted with hostile demonstrations and warn- ings to leave immediately, so he wheeled his horse and started on his return to Grangeville. One Indian pur-. and flourishing';.! revolver in his face. Upon arriving at Grangeville, Mr. Crooks turned in a general alarm. Mounted men were at once sent to all residing outside of Mount Idaho and Grange- ville and families came rushing in from every direc- tion. By nightfall nearly all of the inhabitants of Camas prairie had gathered at Mount Idaho. There they prepared for defense as best they could. They were unusually poorly armed for a pioneer people and had the Indians attacked them a general massacre would surely have followed. But, as stated elsewhere, the Indians were well disposed toward the settlers of the prairie and treated them far more generously than is usually the case in an Indian war. In fact they told the settlers to leave them alone and not take sides in the trouble and they would not injure them. Early in the morning L. P. Brown had sent a mes- sage, the "Overman" letter, to Fort Lapwai apprising prairie. Late in the afternoon Arthur Chapman, who lived several miles northwest of Grangeville, received definite information from an Indian boy of the up- rising on the Salmon. In a short time he was in the saddle and speeding toward Mount Idaho, where he announced what he had heard. The citizens decided to send information to Lapwai at once with a request for troops. Lew Day volunteered to carry this mes- sage and set out quite late in the afternoon. Day had proceeded about twenty-five miles on his journey when he was joined by two Indians. They inquired where he was going. He replied that he was on his way to Lewiston for a doctor. The red men dropped behind the messenger and fired at him, wounding him in the shoulder. After returning the fire, Day proceeded on his way, but his wound re- sulted in a great loss of blood and he was finally obliged to turn back. He returned via Cottonwood house, of which B. B. Norton was the proprietor. There he found Mr. Norton, his wife and son, Hill, Miss Linn Bowers, John Chamberlain, wife and two children, and Joseph Moore. All immediately began preparations for the journey to Mount Idaho. About ten o'clock p. m., they started, Norton and Moore mounted on saddle horses, the others in a wagon. For ten miles they traveled without casualty; then com- menced the most horrible performance of the war. The Indians rode upon them in the rear and com- menced firing and yelling like mad men. Soon the horses of Norton and Moore had been shot. The men got into the wagon and the race for life was continued but before long the team was shot down and men, women and children were left apparently to the mercy of the savage demons. Miss Bowers and little Hill Norton, however, stole away in the darkness and es- caped unharmed to Mount Idaho. Mr. Chamberlain, his wife and two children attempted to do likewise, but were discovered. Chamberlain and the boy were killed, the latter, so his mother said, by having his head crushed beneath the knees of a powerful Indian. The other child was snatched from the arms of its wounded with a knife, so many testify, in its neck and in this pitiable plight it was left alone on the prairie. The poor heartsick and sorrow crazed mother, after being subjected to outrages more horrible than death, had her flesh torn and lacerated by the nails and fingers . of the incarnate fiends. Norton, Day, Moore and Mrs. Norton had remained near the wagon. Norton was shot just after he sprang from the wagon and Mrs. Norton as she stood on the wheel, but she crawled out and sought refuge behind the dead horses. The bullet which struck Norton severed an artery and re- sulted in his death fifteen minutes later. Moore was shot through both hips; Day received two bullets in the shoulders and one through the leg; and Mrs. Norton was wounded in both lower limbs. At day- light, for some unaccountable reason, the Indians with- drew. Meanwhile Miss Bowers and little Hill Norton had become separated in their flight for life, but both managed to keep on the right course. Hill was picked up about daylight four miles northwest of Mount Idaho by F. A. Fenn, who was scouting. Mr. Fenn HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. took the boy on his horse to Crooks's general alarm was given. Miss low nch, where a . was found about nine o'clock by J. A. Swarts, about two miles north of Mount Idaho, and was taken to that town. At the Crooks's ranch or Grangeville, a party con- sisting of Frank A. Fenn, C. L. Rice and James At- kison set out for the scene of the encounter. About three miles northwest of Grangeville they found the wagon and to it Rice and Fenn hitched their saddle horses, taking harness from the slain animals. Mrs. Norton was placed in the wagon and one of the sad- dles had been thrown into the box when the redskins suddenly appeared on a nearby hill. At once Fenn and Rice mounted the horses, not having any reins, for these had been used to splice the tugs, and the party commenced another race for life.. Fortunately, a sec- ond and larger party came out to their relief and the Indians drew off. Peter Ready, Lew Wilmot, E. W. Robie, Mac Williams and others went out later the same day and picked up Mrs. Chamberlain and others, living and dead. Mr. Chamberlain's body was found about a quarter of a mile from the wagon. His two children, one of whom was also dead, were lying in his arms. Half a mile farther away Mrs. Chamberlain was picked up. All were placed in the wagon and brought to Mount Idaho where every attention was given them. Day died the following afternoon from the effects of his terrible wounds and six weeks later Moore succumbed, but Mrs. Norton, Mrs. Chamber- lain and the child eventually recovered. Dr. J. B. Mor- ris, the prairie's physician, was in Lewiston when news of the outbreak reached him. He immediately set out to return, courageously riding through the lines of the hostiles to Mount Idaho, where he remained throughout the conflict. On the night of the Norton masacre, Peter H. Ready and Lew Wilmot had camped on Shebang creek (near the present site of Denver) with their freighting outfits. Each had a four horse load con- sisting of dry goods, clothing, groceries, hardware and salt, and an empty hack trailed behind Wilmot's wagon. Just before nightfall Lew Day pased them on his way to Fort Lapwai and informed them of their peril, but they decided to remain in camp until morning. About eleven o'clock they were awakened by the Cottonwood party passing them. Day told them the cause of the abandoment of his trip to Lapwai and again advised them to move forward to Mount Idaho. This time they heeded the warning to the extent of harnessing their horses and otherwise preparing to move at an instant's notice. The Cottonwood party had been gone but a short time before Ready and Wilmot heard firing in the direction of Grangeville. They did not pay any serious attention to it, but remained at their camping- place until daybreak when they commenced their jour- ney toward Mount Idaho. Soon they saw Indians ap- proaching them. Cutting loose their lead horses, each mounted one and began an exciting race. Fortunate- ly they outran the Indians and escaped to their homes. They then got their guns and joined the party going out to bring in the Chamberlains, for these had been missed by Fenn, Rice and Atkison when they brought in Mrs. Norton. The Indians who had been pursuing Ready and Wilmot returned to the wagons and looted them, packing some of their spoils on the wheel horses which had remained near the wagons. Before they had finished their work the band of redskins that was pur- suing the first rescuing party turned from their chase and joined the pillaging crowd at the wagon, evidently fearing they would lose their portion if they did not go after it immediately. Mr. Ready thinks that the hostiles attacked the Cottonwood party in the belief that they were attack- ing the freighting outfit. Indeed he was so informed by Indians after the war. The blood-thirsty set soon discovered their mistake of course but when the ex- citement of the slaughter had taken possession of them they cared little who their victims might be, or whether or not their dastardly deeds would be re- warded by material gain. Just what band of redmen were the chief actors in this murderous assault has never been determined. There has been much discussion over the date of the attack upon the Nortons and Chamberlains, many who had good means of knowing contending that it took place some time during the night of the I3th of June, while others are just as positive that it took place twenty-four hours later. The preponderance of evidence seems to us to be that the attack was made upon the night of the I4th. Some who thought that the 1 3th was the correct date were also certain that the day of the week was Thursday, and Thursday is shown in the almanac to have fallen on the I4th, in the year 1877. The letters from L. P. Brown to the com- mandant at Fort Lapwai, quoted on former pages, bear the date of June 15th. The one dated 7 a. m. speaks of the attack on the Cottonwood party; says they were all wounded or killed and that "the wounded will be here shortly, when we will get more particulars." The letter dated '8 a. m. says: "I have just sent a dispatch by Mr. West, half breed. Since that was written the wounded have come in," etc., showing that unless Mr. Brown made a mistake in dating his letter, the unfortunate event transpired on the night of the I4th. Gen. Howard tells us in his book that Brown's messenger arrived toward evening and he wrote his reply at once. His reply is dated June 15*. If Mr. Brown was mistaken in his dates either the messenger must have consumed from 7 o'clock in the morning of one day to evening of the day following in going from Mount Idaho to Fort Lapwai or General Howard must have made a mistake in dating his note exactly corresponding to that made by Mr. Brown. Both these contingencies are certainly very unlikely. Those on the Salmon river whom it was the writer's privilege to interview are practically a unit in their statement that the Salmon river murders, except that of Divine, were committed on the 14*. It has been generally understood that the Indians camped near Rocky canyon on Camas prairie did not commence their depredations until incited to them by the exciting recitals of the Salmon river horrors. Those who take HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. the ground that the massacre of the Nortons and Chamberlains occurred on the I3th must assume that the Salmon river people are mistaken about the date of the murders there or that the outbreak on Camas prairie antedated the Salmon river outrages. The first assumption can hardly be true. Mrs. Cleary certainly is not mistaken as to the date of her husband's. death, neither can other persons be mistaken as to when the most terrible events in their experience transpired. The other assumption has probably never been entertained by anyone. The author is convinced that Elfers, Bland and Beckroge were killed on the morning of the I4th, that their murderers proceeded to the Indian camp at Rocky canyon the same day, wounding Benedict en route ; that they related their experiences to the other Indians, who forthwith decided to commence hostili- ties ; that seventeen or eighteen Indians went that night back to the Salmon river country to engage in further depredations, while the others, or some of them, began hostile movements on Camas prairie, one of which movements was the attack on the Cottonwood party. He is constrained to believe that this is the correct date and this the correct sequence of events. He admits that many who hold a contrary opinion are able to pro- duce convincing arguments in favor of their views, but is inclined to agree with the many others who are equal- ly insistent that the event in question happened between eleven o'clock on the night of June I4th and daybreak the following morning. The foregoing statements concerning the outrages during the earliest days of the Nez Perces Indian war have been verified by exhaustive investigation into all printed accounts that could be secured, and by inter- views with very many of those living in the storm center at the time. Unusual pains were taken by citi- zens during and after the war to ascertain exact facts, owing to the attempts of some to throw the blame for the outbreak of the war upon the settlers. The re- sults of this investigation have been perused in the preparation of this work. It is therefore believed that these statements are as near the truth as it is possible for historic records to approach. The assertion of Indian Inspector Watkins that up to June 22d no houses had been burned or other depredations committed by Joseph's band, drew forth an indignant protest from the citizens. A positive counter statement was made that on the evening of June i8th, ten dwellings, three stores, seven barns and one shop had been burned, besides a large number of miners' buildings ; that be- fore the l6th, large numbers of abandoned dwellings had been plundered and some thousands of cattle and horses stolen and driven off by the Indians. "Besides this," said a citizens' letter to the Boston Sunday Herald, after referring to some of the murders here- tofore spoken of. "five worthy women and mothers suffered, from the brutal fiends, outrages worse than death, part of them being stripped of their clothing and dragged about naked by the heels, others wounded, and all of them, after defending themselves to the last extremity, made the victims of the lust of the hell hounds." The statements of the letter were vouched for by George M. Shearer, major of volunteers, B. F. Morris, county recorder of Idaho county, and C. W. Case, sheriff of Idaho county. But what of the movements by which these terrible outrages were to be checked and avenged? Colonel Perry, as we have said, set out from Lapwai on the night of the I5th. All night long his column toiled on over Craig's mountain and across Lawyer's can- yon ; all next day they continued their march, reaching Grangeville toward evening. Here they paused to listen to the reports of citizens and take in the situa- tion as best they could. They were joined by eleven volunteers, who guided them over the sixteen miles to White Bird creek still to be traversed by the weary marchers and their jaded animals. Reaching the top of the canyon about an hour before dawn, they halted to await the daylight and take much needed rest. Day- light came soon enough, revealing a deep short canyon with precipitous sides and a smooth looking bottom, which was in reality a rolling prairie sloping toward the creek. From the head of this canyon to the creek the distance is probably five miles. Just before reach- ing the creek the trail turned abruptly to the west, passed through a small canyon or ravine between two low hills and then gradually approached the creek, reaching its banks about a mile and a quarter farther along, just above the Manuel place. At this point the brush and trees which fringe the creek were unusually dense and the trail was bounded on the north by a low bluff. A rail fence stood just south of the highway and altogether the location was an ideal one for an Indian ambuscade. Behind this fence and in the bushes lining the trail, the main body of Indians was posted, while a small force was deployed a mile and a quarter farther up the trail to lure the soldiers onward. Where the trail ran through the ravine heretofore mentioned the ragged basaltic rocks along the summits of the hills afforded an excellent barricade, while to the left of the trail the heavy spring floods had washed out a deep gulch which ran through the bottom of the ravine and then south and emptied into the creek. Be- hind these rocks but principally down in the bottom of this deep, dark gulch the Indians concealed them- selves in large numbers. As soon as the skirmishers had drawn the troops through this canyon these Indians were to leap from their hiding places and open the attack. Should Perry go onward toward the Salmon he would rush into the main ambuscade and his case would be without hope. The olan was skillfully laid out and illustrative of the military genius of Joseph and White Bird. How nearly successful it was we shall see. Perry led his command, now numbering a little over a hundred men, over the crest of the first slope of the canyon and down the narrow pass. With him and in advance were several Indian scouts, recruited from the friendly Nez Perces. When the troops had advanced about 'five miles from the top of the bluff and had practically reached the foot of the mountain, not over a quarter of a mile from White Bird creek, and about where the trail turns to the west, the scouts HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 59 reported hostiles some distance ahead. It is said that they refused to go through the narrow and ugly look- ing ravine which now confronted the command, fear- ing that the hostiles were lying in wait. Perry halted and dismounted his command at this point, one man out of every four being left with the horses as is customary. The remainder of the troops were then ordered forward, a portion of them deploy- ing along the crest of one of the ridges. Suddenly the Indians appeared stretched out in a long irregular line ahead of the troops. Before these had advanced very far down the ravine an excited Indian lying in the deep gulch fired off his gun and in an instant the battle was on. Perry was not trapped, neither was he absolutely surprised as has often been intimated, and had his men been seasoned troops instead of recruits who had as yet scarcely smelled gunpowder, he might have held his own creditably or have withdrawn with honors. Upon the opening of the engagement the redskins fired from several directions and it required all the skill at the officer? command to hold the troops in good order. Soon occurred an event, says Major Fenn, which decided to whom should belong the victory. How it happened or just why it happened can only be surmised, as the terrible calamity which followed swept awav many who could have told and those who survived have left it indefinitely recorded. Certain it is that the partially demoralized troops 'On the line de- tected a retreating movement in their rear. They saw the men, who had been left with the horses, falling back up the hillside and probably thought this move- ment was incited by a flank movement on part of the Indians. This suspected retreat may have been only the efforts of those in charge of the horses to get on to higher ground, but being cavalrymen it was quite natural that those on the line should rely almost entire- ly upon their horses and that when they saw these moving farther and farther away, thev should become disconcerted. The lines wavered and broke, and soon became thoroughly demoralized. The wily redskins were quick to follow up the advantage and attacked the troops more fiercely than ever. These became panic stricken and, throw'ing away guns, ammunition, cloth- ing and accoutrements, fled indiscriminately. Contrary to all military usage, the saddle girths on the horses had been left loose while the men went into action and as a result some of the excited troopers slipped off the backs of their steeds. These stampeded, leaving the footmen at the mercy of their savage foes. Upon going into action the ten volunteers under Major Shearer were assigned to the extreme left and accordingly took a position between what is known as the old Indian burying ground and the creek. Here they found some shelter in the rough surface of the ground. Hardly had thev taken their position be- fore the Indians under White Bird began a flanking movement through the brush on the opposite side of the creek ; two of the volunteers, H. A. Faxon and T. D. Swarts, had been wounded, and all became aware that the troops were retreating. Under these circumstances the volunteers deemed it best to retreat also. By this time the whole force was in headlong flight and the number of hostiles was constantly in- creasing by arrivals from the lower camp mounted on fresh horses. In vain Perry and his officers tried to rally their men. The bugler', who would have sounded the 'calls, had been killed at the first fire, so Perry and his officers were obliged to personally appeal to the troops. But the cavalrymen would not halt: they were completely demoralized and no power could pre- vail upon them to stand and face their tormentors who poured an incessant, withering fire upon them. Just below the steep canyon leading to the prairie above, and at the mouth of a blind canyon, the gallant Thel- ler gathered a small body of men behind some natural breastworks and attempted to stem the tide. For a short time it seemed as if he might succeed, but the Indians finally concentrated their fire and overwhelmed the little band of brave men. The stalwart, lion- hearted, young lieutenant became the target for a score of rifles, and he soon fell, pierced through the head. This was the last stand made by the troops in White Bird canyon. The men who were still uninjured rushed up the long, steep trail, fully exposed at every step to the withering fire from above them, to the can- yon's rim, where they were arranged by Perry and Par- nell into a better order of retreat. Before this narrow canyon was entered, however, the volunteers had left the troops and reached the prairie by means of an old cow trail up Chapman creek. Thence they escaped un- harmed to Mount Idaho, where they organized a party of citizens to go out and meet the troops. Together the troops and volunteers fought their way across the prairie and finally, exhausted, dispirited and with gap- ing ranks, the little command entered Grangeville. "The Indians fought us," wrote Perry that evening, "to within four miles of Mount Idaho, and only gave it up on seeing that we would not be driven any farther, except at our own gait." This was a disastrous defeat. Nearly forty per cent, of Perry's command were left dead on the' field. The chagrin of failure was the por- tion of the trained United States troops, while the exhil- aration of victory sent its pleasing thrills through the pulses of the savage warriors. This victory supplied arms to the Indians. They secured at least fifty car- bines and much ammunition, thrown away by the sol- diers Colonel Perry collected his discomfited troops at Grangeville, reorganized them there and put them in as good condition for future operations as possible. Howard had remained at Fort Lapwai to await the arrival of reinforcements. Wilkinson, as we have said, had gone to Walla Walla, where he started the tele- graph into activity with messages for aid. A courier is sent to summon Colonel Whipple from Indian valley with his two companies of cavalry, and immediately upon receipt of the message that officer is ready for the march. The soldiers at Fort Walla Walla, those near Wallula, all that can be spared from Forts Vancouver, Harney, Klamath, Stevens. Canbv and Townsend are in. motion as soon after despatches reach them as they can be mobilized, and most of them are headed toward Lapwai. The artillerymen, coming down from Alaska, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. are also directed to the front, and the call for help in time reaches to troops in California, Arizona and even to Georgia. Citizens also are doing what they can to place the threatened country and the storm centers on a war foot- ing, but there is great dearth of arms and ammunition, there being only seven repeating rifles on Camas prairie at this time. At Mount Idaho, as we have seen, the citi- zens gather for defensive purposes on the evening of the I4th. Many decide to return to their homes the following morning, believing that the scare is ill-found- ed, when news of the attack on the Norton and Cham- berlain party reaches the town. This, of course, dispels diately taken to form a military company, erect a fort and otherwise place the little community on a war foot- ing. Every able-bodied man and boy is enlisted in the volunteer company of which Arthur Chapman is chosen- captain. A retired English naval officer, H. E. Croas- dale, who had recently engaged in the stock business on the prairie, is placed in charge of the defenses. On this same day, June I5th, work is commenced on the stone fort which three days later is finished. At Grangeville another military company is organized by Captain Bloomer, and Grange hall is soon fortified. Slate creek, in the very heart of the savage-scourged country, soon has its fort, consisting of a high stockade built around Wood's hotel, in which the settlers of that section gather. Here are Mrs. Walsh and her two children, Mrs. Osborne and her four children, Mr. and Mrs. Tittman and two children, William Rhett and family, Mr. and Mrs. David Baldwin and girl, Mrs. Henry Elfers and her three children, E. R. Sherwin arid 'family, the Woods, the Cones, John Gibbons, Joshua Fockler and others. Realizing their desperate straits, those in the fort decide to send to Florence for assistance. The mission is a dangerous one, and none can be spared from the garrison to undertake it, but finally Tolo, a friendly Ncz Perce squaw, is prevailed upon to carry the message for aid. Faithfully does she serve her white friends, making the hard trip of twenty- five miles in safety and bringing back twelve men. With the addition of these the force numbers about six- ty-eight capable of bearing arms, but there are few arms to bear and little ammunition. Warren is fortified so as to defy a force of 500 In- dians ; Elk City has plenty of men,' but only a few old- fashioned guns and a limited supply of ammunition. Lewiston has caught the alarm at the first outbreak, and its call for aid takes the form of such dispatches as the following: LEWISTON, I. T., JUNE i;th. To THE MAYOR OF PORTLAND: and Camas prairie. They have massacred 30 or 40 men, women and children, and the work is still going on. We city is concerned. The city assumes responsibility for their safe return. The arms, etc., guaranteed by the merchants. Subscribed, D. J. Warner, city recorder, by the order of the Common Council of the city of Lewiston, and N. B. Hoi- brook mayor; John P. Vollmer, merchant; Loewenberg merchant. P. S.-June ,8th. leys, and from all the here for protection. F stock and everything. ein & Binnard, merchants; A. Damas, country north of us, are fleeing in .rmers are all abandoning their farms, (Signed) J. P. VOLLMER. LEWISTON, I. T., June 17, 1877. To THE PRESIDENT O. S. & N. COMPANY : We have appealed to the, Mayor of Portland, and aid us in this without delay. We are sadly in need of arms. ness, farmers must flee from their crops, and this country will become depopulated. You will see our interests are identical. We want arms., soldiers and volunteers to pre- vent the slaughter of whites. Down with the peace policy. By order of the city council. (Signed) N. B. HOLBROOK, Mayor. D. J. WARNER, City Auditor. A subscription paper is circulated also among the leading merchants and business men of Portland by H. D. Sanborn, of Lewiston, and the sum of $2,365 is quickly subscribed for the purpose 6f furnishing the citizens of Lewiston, Idaho Territory, with arms and ammunition for their defense. By this means a volun- teer company of sixty men under Ed McConville, which had been speedily raised for the defense of the town, is fully equipped for action, rendering this important base of supplies comparatively safe. The excitement prevailing all over the country is intense. No one knows how many of the Coeur d'Al- enes, Umatillas, Spokanes, apparently friendly Nez Perces and other northern Indians can be relied on; no one can certainly predict ho-y many will be encouraged to join Joseph by Perry's defeat, and every one is be- coming painfully cognizant of the utter unpreparedness of the military' for the crisis now presented. "Al- though it has been held out to settlers," complains the Teller, "that ample military force should be on the ground to enforce the orders to remove Joseph upon the reservation, six months have elapsed since the issu- ance of the order from Washington, and today there are not soldiers enough here to hold in check the single force of Joseph's 200 warriors, and, with the advantage of position Joseph has, he will continue to make his sallies upon the unprotected settlers and small detach- ments of troops and cut off scores of men from the . living and continue that state of things for months to come. Every success he wins strengthens his cause among the other Indians who are professedly friendly, and may involve us in a long and bloody war which may lead to the extermination of the tribes in this whole northern country. Had the force been here at the time appointed for Joseph to come upon the reserve and properly stationed Perry would not have been defeated and Joseph's power would easily have been subdued. But it was planned that the Bible, and not the sword, should subdue him, and that this missionary peace pol- icy should have the credit of his subjection. The plan has failed." Howard in his history of the war frankly admits the utter inadequacy of his force for the work in hand, but does not vouchsafe any explanation of the fact that the military was caught napping when it knew that TOO-LAH, The Friendly Nez Preoe Squaw who rode to Florence from the Salmon River, warne Whites of the Hostile Outbreak of the Indians, and brought Twenty-six Miners to the Res HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. force might become necessary to comply with the in- structions of the Indian bureau, neither does he attempt to fix responsibility for the unfortunate condition of af- fairs. So sure were the Indian agents and military men that Joseph would comply with his agreement to go peacably upon the reservation that they trusted al- most implicitly to that promise, though they knew that treachery on his part meant death and outrage to inno- cent and unarmed citizens.. General Howard gives some graphic accounts of life and activities at Fort Lapwai during the few days succeeding the outbreak. "Mule trains," says he, "were hired, supplies of all kinds put in motion, couriers were coming and going ; Indian messengers and escaping sol- diers with their mouths full of exciting rumors and bad tidings were arriving from the field seventy miles away. By the 2ist of June eight new companies 'of reg- ular troops little companies they were, for the whole made up but a few over 200 souls were on the green plat near the Lapwai post. A small organization of volunteers under Captain Paige joined themselves to Whipple, who was in command of the cavalry, and were on hand for Indian fighting. "The time from the first news of the terrible disaster at Whitebird canyon till the morning of the 22d of June seemed long indeed. It appears long even in retrospect. Still it was only four days. Our effective men for the front now at Lapwai numbered but few more than two hundred. "Captains Whipple and Winters had arrived from their circuitous and tedious march from Wallowa. Cap- tains Miller and Miles had reached Lewiston by steam- boat and marched to Lapwai with several companies of the Fourth Artillery and the Twenty-first Infantry under their charge. The volunteers before mentioned, a little more than twenty strong, under Paige, of Walla Walla, had also joined us. Lieutenant Bomus, the quartermaster of the post, had improvised a supply train. The numerous miners, employed in different directions about Lewiston, had been thrown out of em- ployment by the Indian outbreak, so that their means of transportation, 'the mule pack train,' and their pack- ers became available for our use." By the 22d of June Howard was ready to move. His force was.still smaller than that opposed to him, but with such as he had to set out from Lapwai at 12 o'clock noon. Camped next day at Norton's ranch, his descrip- tion of which, as affording a glimpse of the "abomina- tion of desolation," we quote at length : "Mr. Norton, the late owner," says Howard, "was the man who was trying to get to Mount Idaho with his family when he and others were killed and his wife sadly wounded. We came to his house about half past one o'clock, having marched nineteen miles. Mr. Nor- ton had kept a sort of hotel. His house was now de- serted. The Indians had rummaged everything; what the family had left here was found in complete disorder. Who can realize what it is to have savage warfare break upon a family with little or no warning to kill, wound and scatter like this ? It was worse than the desolation spoken of in the scriptures, where one shall be taken and another left. None were left! There were the clothes, cut and torn and strewn about, the broken chairs, the open drawers, a mixture of flour, sugar, salt and rubbish, the evidences indeed of riot run mad. Do we wonder that those who have passed through such experiences have been slow to forget and forgive 'mad Indians' ?" At this desolated ranch the force was ordered to encamp, and there they remained over Sunday. Critics of the generalship of the Nez Perces campaign have complained much of this delay, some of them asserting that Howard stopped for the purpose of giving religious instruction to his command and distributing Bibles among the soldiers. Howard says he paused because he wished to ascertain certainly the whereabouts of the Indians, because he wished to give Captain Trimble time to get beyond the hostiles to Slate creek, so that the Indians might not be pressed back upon the little band of citizens "forted up" there, and thirdly, because he hoped that additional forces might join him from On Monday the troops moved forward, the infantry going to Johnson's ranch, the cavalry, with Howard, to Grangeville, where Perry's command was. After visiting Grangeville and Mount Idaho the cavalry re- joined the remainder of the command at Johnson's ranch, whence, at 6 :3O next morning, the column pro- ceeded to the scene of Perry's defeat at White Bird canyon, for the double purpose of reconnoitering the enemy and hurrying the soldiers who had fallen there more than a week previous. Approaching with ex- treme caution, not to be caught a second time in the same way, they reverently buried the dead. Mean- while Paige of Walla Walla with his gallant volun- teer company, guided by Arthur Chapman, had been searching for signs of the enemy, whom they eventually succeeded in locating on the safe side of the Salmon river. The general also learned from a wounded citi- zen that it was Joseph's intention to draw the whites into the vicinity of the Seven Devils, to get them the farther from a base of supplies. To the military genius of the wild, savage chief, who had never seen the inside of a military college, had had no military training, had never read a work on tactics, in short was without other guidance than his own innate military judgment, the trained and ex- perienced general pays the following compliment : "The leadership of Joseph was indeed remarkable. No general could have chosen a safer position or one that would be more likely to puzzle and obstruct a pur- suing foe. If we present a weak force he can turn upon us. If we make direct pursuit he can go southward toward Boise for at least thirty miles, and then turn our left. He can go straight to his rear and cross the Snake at Pittsburg landing. He can go clown the Sal- mon and cross at one of several places, and then turn either to the left to his old haunts in the Wallowa val- ley or to the right and pass our flank, threatening our line of supplies, while he has at the same time a won- derful natural barrier between him and us in the Sal- mon, a river that delights itself in its furious flow." HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Such was the problem presented to General Howard for solution. He had not with him a sufficient force so that he could send a part of it across the Salmon river to bring on an action with Joseph, while a por- tion remained to meet the enemy and protect the citi- zens, should the wily chieftain recross onto Camas prairie. He could not well retain his whole command on the east side of the river, for Joseph might remain in his position of safety indefinitely, and the entire country was clamoring for aggressive action. It was over the correct procedure at this time that Howard and the volunteers had their first little tilt. "While Howard was concentrating," says F. A. Fenn, "the Idaho volunteers appointed a committee consisting of Joseph Peaseley, John McPherson and myself to go to the general and explain to him a means of escape which was open to the Indians, viz: via the Billy, or Craig, crossing, down the Salmon several miles. This cross- ing was the only one this side of the mouth of the Sal- mon, and should Joseph attempt to escape northward he would be compelled to cross here. At that time the Indians numbered not over one hundred and fifty war- riors, and these were encumbered with their squaws, children and camp equipage and about 1,500 head of horses. We called upon General Howard and suggest- ed our plan to him, viz: to send a small detachment north by the prairie to the Billy crossing, where a ber at bay in the rocky defile leading north from the river, while he himself should cross at White Bird and attack Joseph's rear. By so doing he would have Joseph entrapped. General Howard politely listened to our suggestions and then bowed us out with the remark that he believed himself fully competent to manage his own campaign. After events proved con- clusively that we understood the country and the In- dians far better than the general, for Joseph crossed his entire force at the Billy crossing and, coming up on the prairie, attacked and massacred Lieutenant Rains and party." Howard decided to cross the Salmon with all his force, leaving only Captain Whipple's cavalry, which were sent back to arrest Looking-glass and his entire following and turn them over to the keeping of the volunteers at Mount Idaho. He had some skirmishing, but sustained no loss and probably inflicted no injuries upon the red skins, who soon disappeared. "I pressed this column," says Howard, "after the Indians to Craig's Ferry (ford). Lost our raft in attempting to cross. Too much of a torrent to cross troops and sup- plies without it. James Reuben, the scout, had brought clear accounts that Joseph had not turned south toward his old haunts in the Wallowa, but northward and east- ward, to gather up Looking-glass and reinforcements, catch small parties like Rains's detachment and do what mischief he could.* Therefore, by turning straight R of Joseph, for the first definite information Howard had that the hostiles had escaped him via the Craig or Billy crossing him by "Perry with news of the destructio ains and his party. F. A. Fenn. of Lieut back, recrossing the Salmon at Rocky canyon, or White Bird, where there were boats, and going via Grange- ville, where I could bring the Cottonwood force to me, I had a short line and hoped to get a decisive battle from our doughty chief." The Teller, a severe critic of Howard, says of this short campaign: "Nature made a trap between Salmon and Snake rivers ; Joseph baited it by shaking a red blanket at Howard defiantly across the river. Howard -followed the bait and con- sumed three days in crossing his five hundred men over the stream. When over Joseph runs back on this side and returns to Camas prairie. Howard stays in his trap two weeks before he finds he is in a trap." While the supreme in command was engaged in this bootless expedition between the Salmon and the Snake, events of considerably moment were transpiring on Camas prairie. Captain Whipple had gone to fulfill as best he could his instructions to arrest Looking- glass, who, the friendly Indians said, was awaiting a favorable opportunity to join Joseph. Thus far Lookingglass had maintained, as some of the whites aver, a perfectly neutral attitude, if any- thing leaning toward the cause of the whites, although there were doubtless many would-be hostiles among the younger element. He was camped on Clear creek, a few miles east of the present town of Kooskia, which was considered his home. Captain Whipple was joined at Mount Idaho by about twenty volunteers under Cap- tain D. B. Randall and a night ride was made to Clear creek. The utmost caution was taken by Captain Whipple to prevent the Indians from hearing of the ap- proach of the troops. Great was the astonishment of the former when, just as the soldiers reached Clear creek, the shrill notes of the bugle rang out across the canyon and were caught and echoed back by the sur- rounding hills and bluffs. In an instant the camp was astir, and by the hazy light of approaching dawn the Indians could be seen running back and forth. The red skins knew what a bugle call meant. Immediately a parley was arranged, and Captain Whipple and his escort went forth to meet Looking- glass. While this parley was progressing Washington Holmes, who had a half-breed wife, took it upon him- camp. This statement is made upon the positive asser- tions of two reputable men who were present F. A. Fenn and C. M. Day and upon the admission of Mr. Holmes himself. Of course this act of hostility caused the immediate breaking off of negotiations between Whipple and Lookingglass, and a general engagement opened. The Indians soon fled eastward into the moun- tains, leaving their tepees, nearly all their camp equip- age and over seven hundred ponies. Some of the horses were captured by the troops and the tepees and equipage were burned. One Indian child was killed in the exchange of shots, but the whites escaped un- scathed. Lookingglass soon joined Joseph and ren- dered that chieftain invaluable assistance in planning and executing the campaign. He appeared as spokes- man in negotiations and parleys with the whites, won renown by his diplomacy and shrewdness and impressed many with the belief that to him of right belonged HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. much of the credit for military skill which has been given to Joseph. Whipple marched next day to the Norton ranch (Cottonwood) in obedience to Howard's command that he should form a junction with Perry there. Upon his arrival he sent two scouts, William Foster and Charles Blewett, towards Howard's position at Craig's crossing to learn the whereabouts of the Indians. Hav- ing proceeded to Lawyer's canyon thev were ascending it when they saw an Indian with a band of horses, also three other Indians in another direction. They put their horses to full speed in retreat, Foster leading. When Foster found time to cast a backward glance he saw that his companion was unhorsed and separated from him. "Take to the brush," was his advice as he made an effort to capture the frightened animal. But the horse could not be caught, and Foster was com- pelled to leave Blewett to his own resources and con- tinue his retreat. He reached Whipple's command in safety and reported what he had learned as to the whereabouts of the Indians. Whipple immediately prepared to take up the line of march, sending Second Lieutenant Rains with ten picked men and the 'scout Foster to reconnoiter in ad- vance of the main command, and aid Blewett if he could. "I particularly cautioned Rains," says Whip- pie's report, "not to precede the command too far, to .keep on high ground and report the first sign of In- dians." Rains and his men rode over the first rise from Cottonwood and down into the shallow ravine to the left of the present road leading to Craig's moun- tain from the prairie. Here they were attacked by what proved to be a large force of Indians. Whipple, who heard the firing, came up as fast as possible, but he saw that the Indians were in such numbers and so well intrenched that he could do nothing to help except at a loss of a greater number of men, so he was com- pelled to watch the doomed detachment as one by one its members fell. Some sought such shelter as they could find, some attempted to retreat back to Whipple's- command, but not one escaped the bullets of the In- dian sharpshooters. Whipple's command formed in line on one side of the ravine while the Indians did like- wise on the other, but they were too far apart for ef- fective action, and neither combatant cared to give the other advantage by descending to lower ground. They stood menacing each other until nightfall, when Whip- pie returned to Cottonwood and the Indians retired toward Craig's crossing. During the night couriers arrived from Perry, who was en route to Cottonwood with a pack train from Fort Lapwai. This was sup- posed to be in imminent danger of attack by hostiles, therefore Whipple set out next morning, July 4th, to reinforce the escorting detachment. He met the pack train eight miles out and brought it to its destination in safety. "About midday," says Whipple, "Indians began to gather, and but a short time elapsed before the camp (Cottonwood) was surrounded by them, and for hours they made the most frantic efforts to dislodge us. Every man of the command was kept on the lines this afternoon (rifle pits having been dug at a little distance from the Cottonwood house) until about sundown, when the enemy withdrew for the night." Perry was now chief in command at Cottonwood. On the morning of July 51)1 an event transpired which drew down upon him a storm of criticism, while it earned for Lieutenant D. B. Randall, before mentioned, and sixteen volunteers under his command a place among the world's heroes. The famous seventeen were seen approaching from the direction of Mount Idaho and were recognized to be volunteers. The Indians at the time were moving their stock toward Clear- water. As soon as they saw the volunteers about one hundred and fifty of them returned to intercept the doughty little squad and prevent their reaching Whip- pie. The Indians succeeded in getting between the volunteers and the regulars, taking a position on an elevation of ground near the intersection of the Elk City trail with the stage road. Perry was now urged to go with troops to the rescue, but he refused, saying that the volunteers were already beyond hope. No doubt the captain honestly thought that an effort to save the volunteers would be bootless, yet the sang froid of a refusal to try is hard to understand.* Had Randall ordered a retreat it is probable that the Indians, on their fleet ponies, would have run down his men and killed most if not all of them, but Randall was not a retreating man. He continued on his course and the Indians soon had him surrounded. He ordered a fierce charge ahead, broke through their lines, se- cured a favorable position between the Indians and Cot- tonwood, ordered his men to dismount and shoot down horses, and he and they again faced the Indians, intending to hold their position until help should arrive from Cottonwood. In this charge, which differs from that of the Light Brigade in that the men did not "ride back," Randall was mortally wounded, B. F. Evans was killed and three others received injuries more or less serious. Randall was paralyzed by his wound, which was in the backbone, and died a few minutes after dismounting. Mr. F. A. Fenn tells us that on the eminence just back of the old Cottonwood hotel, where Perry's force was stationed, a small body of troopers and citizens was engaged in throwing up breastworks when the In- dians attacked the seventeen. They saw the charge of the volunteers, watched them take a more sheltered position a little over a mile from the fort at Cottonwood and waited in vain for the order to mount and go to the rescue. They saw F. D. Vansise ride in for rein- forcements. They also saw the appeal pass unheeded by Colonel Perry. Then they ceased watching and acted. Sergeant Simpson sprang to the front and cried : "If your officers won't lead you I will." He was joined by twenty-five others, all of whom made ""'Especially so," says F. A. Fenn, "as the seventeen went there at the urgent request of Perry for reinforcements, which request he sent by a courier named Crooks the night before to Mount Idaho." F. D. Vansise is, however, of the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. their way toward the horses. Perry, seeing that his men were determined to go anyway, directed Captain Whipple to take charge of the company, and under him reinforcements went to the seventeen and brought them safely in. Sergeant Simpson was arrested on the charge of insubordination, but afterwards participated in the Clearwater fight, where he was seriously wound- ed. Subsequently the charge against him was with- When the reinforcements arrived they found the men still holding their ground, having withstood nearly ten times their number for about an hour. Many are of the opinion that had the soldiers come speedily to the fray and followed up the advantage with vigor a severe whipping might have been administered to the red skins. The regular officers, however, were exon- erated by a court of inquiry. Fortunately the names of the celebrated seventeen have been preserved for us. They are as follows : D. B. Randall and B. F. Evans, killed ; A. B. Leland, D. H. Howser and Charles John- son, wounded, Mr. Howser mortally; L. P. Wilmot, J. L. Cearley, James Buchanan, William B. Beemer, Charles W. Case, E. J. Bunker, Frank D. Vansise, C. M. Day, George Riggins, A. D. Bartly, H. C. Johnson and F. A. Fenn. The war thus far had been decidedly in the Indians' favor. They had administered a disastrous defeat to Perry at White Bird; they had successfully eluded Howard at the Salmon river, causing his entire force to consume much valuable time in accomplishing noth- ing; they had massacreed Rains and party; they had escaped from Whipple and Perry at Cottonwood ; they had effected a junction of the forces under Looking- glass with those of Joseph, despite the efforts of Whip- pie's cavalry and Randall's volunteers, sent to effect the arrest of the former chieftain, and the only check they had as yet received, that administered by Ran- dall's seventeen, had inflicted slight damage.* These successes, however, had inspired Joseph with the pride which precedes a fall. Whether he thought it was im- possible for the whites to concentrate, or that he dare risk a battle with Howard's entire command, is not definitely known, but at any rate he allowed himself to be brought to a decisive engagement, as a result of which he was forced to yield the struggle on Idaho soil and begin his famous retreat over the Bitter Roots and the tortuous trail beyond. Failing to effect a crossing at Craig's ford, Howard took the backward track, recrossing the Salmon, and July 9th found him again at Grangeville. His force was weakened by the withdrawal of Hunter's Dayton volunteers, McConville's Lewiston volunteers and Cap- tain Cearley's company, who, Howard says, "had be- come a little disgusted with the slowness of regulars and angry at their own fearful discomfiture near Cot- : found where the India acknowledged that he \ after the fight with wnded that he died tonwood ;" hence started on an independent movement.* They began reconnoitering for the enemy, soon struck their trail, following which they succeeded in locating the Indians near the junction of the south and middle forks of the Clearwater. Captain Cearley and L. P. Wilmot were sent out to discover their exact position, and did so. Though they saw no warriors, they judged from the number of lodges and horses that the Indians were in too great force to be successfully attacked by the small force of volunteers, and so reported. Ac- cordingly no aggressive movement was made, but the volunteers busied themselves in throwing up fortifica- tions and strengthening their position against a possi- ble assault. They had a race with the Indians about two o'clock that day, when the approach of Major Shearer with fourteen men was the signal for an In- dian attempt to head him off. They succeeded in bringing Shearer in safely. Upon his arrival it was determined to send a massage to Howard, twelve miles distant, apprising him of the whereabouts of the In- dians and asking that he march next day to co-operate with them in an attack upon the hostiles. Howard was waiting for reinforcements, and did not do so. Mean- while the Indians made a night attack upon the vol- unteers, killing and driving away forty-three of their horses. The volunteers waited for another day and night, but their messenger failed to return, on account of sickness, and, not seeing any sign of Howard and being short of provisions and horses, they withdrew toward Mount Idaho. McConville was criticised for yielding this position, which Howard wished him to hold as a part of the enveloping force, "but," says Ban- croft, who seems to get his information largely from Sutherland's history of Howard's campaign, "being separated from Howard by the river, and having lost a large number of the horses, it was prudent and good tactics to retire and let the Indians fall into the trap Howard had set for them near their own camp and to place himself between the settlements and the Indians." The "trap" consisted in Howard's attacking Joseph on the opposite side from the volunteers' abandoned posi- tion, in which direction the Indians had thrown up i libel ; ver published"' The 5 action of The heid"almost~ten"times"their number at bay in pitched battle for an hour and a half and finally drove them off out of range. Casualties to the Indians were nine killed, as evi- denced by the graves thev left; the whites had two killed and three wounded. This was the first real reverse inflicted upon the hostiles and Howard's statement passes understand- ing. When informed of the fight of the seventeen, Mc- Conville, who was at the time with Howard, at once set out with the citizen soldiers, including Hunter's men under his command, numbering about one hundred men, to reinforce their fellows and Perry, who was so anxiously calling for help. McConville made a forced march from White Bird and reached Cottonwood the evening of the 5th. The next morning all of the volunteers made a forced march to Mount Idaho, in the direction of which the Indians had moved. It has always been understood that Howard de- Perry."" Catholic Church built on Coeur d' Alene River at Old Mission in 1 853 by the Indians and Jesuit Missionaries. Wooden Pegs were used instead of Nails to put it together. Foster Monument Commemorating a Scene in the Nez Perces War oi 1ST, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. breastworks. Joseph's camp lay not far from the mouth of Cottonwood creek, in a deep defile among the high hills. On the i ith of July Howard approached it with his entire force. Captain Trimble from Slate creek, Perry, Whipple and all. About noon Lieutenant Fletcher discovered the Indians, and by one o'clock a howitzer and two gatling guns were throwing leaden missiles at the Indians below. These were getting their horses out of range as rapidly as possible. The contour of the country favored them, and soon they were safe. Howard ordered a change of position to a bluff toward the left, which could only be reached by a trip of more than a mile around the head of a ravine. Upon reach- ing this position with the howitzer and gatlings they found Joseph already in line of battle and saw a number of mounted Indians attempting their flanking move- ment to the left. Winters with his cavalry met these flankers and foiled them in their purpose. Soon the battle began in good earnest. "My line," says Howard, "1 extended to the left by the cavalry and to the right by the infantry and artillery battalions, gradually re- fusing my flanks, until the whole bluff was enveloped. Four hundred men, necessarily much spread out, held a line two and a half miles in extent. Our main pack train had passed by this position. Another small train with a few supplies was on the road near us. The In- dian flankers by their rapid movement struck the rear of the small train, killed two of the packers and dis- abled a couple of mules, loaded with howitzer ammu- nition. The prompt fire from Perry's and Whipple's cavalry saved the attendant ammunition from capture, luckily. The main supply train was saved only by the quick work of a messenger, guiding it within the Charges and counter charges were made during the day, in one of which, led by Captain Miles, Cap- tain Bancroft and Lieutenant Williams were seriously injured and a number of the enemy were killed and wounded. A charge near the center by Miller gave the whites a disputed ravine, but the repeated charges of the enemy were successfully repelled. The whites, however, were not in the best position at nightfall, as their water supply, a spring, was commanded by the Indian sharpshooters, so that it was only by running the gauntlet of a dangerous fire that the officers ob- tained during the night sufficient water to slake the thirst of their men. Throughout most of the hours of darkness the combatants on both sides worked hard constructing stone barricades and rifle pits. "At daylight on the I2th," says Howard, "every available man was on the line. I directed that food should be cooked and coffee made at the center and carried to the front. This was not easy to do, for we had first to get complete possession of the spring, as sufficient water was not secured in the night. This feat was executed with great spirit by Miller and Perry, using Otis's battery and Rodney's company on foot. As soon as the battery had made a rapid firing it ceased and a prompt charge at a run with shouting was undertaken by the men in support. The Indian sharpshooters were thus driven from their hiding places and the spring secured by our riflemen against recapture. "As soon as every man had been provided with food I directed that the artillery battalion be withdrawn from the lines, thin though they were already, and that the whole stretch be held by the infantry and cavalry. This gave a reserve force to employ in an offensive movement. It should be remembered that the number of our men on the line and the number of Indian war- riors that Joseph marshaled were about equal. Miller withdrew his battalion and at 2 130 p. m., the time I had selected, was preparing to execute a peculiar move- ment, viz: to push out by the west flank, pierce the enemy's line just west of the center, cross his barri- caded ravine, then face suddenly to the right and charge so as to strike the Indian position in reverse, as- sisting himself meanwhile by a howitzer. "Miller was fully ready and about to move when beyond the Indian position toward the south a dust ap- peared in the distance. Our glasses, quickly catching every new appearance, revealed it as the expected sup- ply train, escorted by Jackson's cavalry. Immediately the artillery battalion, which was waiting for the other work, was sent out to meet the newcomers. This oc- casioned considerable skirmishing and a delay of an hour, when the train was brought in in safety. To our joy Major Keeler of General McDowell's staff ac- companied the escort and brought us cheering words from his general at San Francisco as well as welcome reinforcements. At the time of these arrivals I had ridden out a few yards to secure a fair view of the field. Upon my invitation Major Keeler came for- ward to see the battle and took a place by my side. "Captain Miller, instead of returning with the train, was marching slowly in column by the right flank to- ward us, when, as he crossed the enemy's line, just at the right point, he faced to the left, moved quickly in line for nearly a mile across our front and repeatedly charged the enemy's positions. This manner of strik- ing at an angle and following up the break is called 'rolling up the enemy's line.' This Miller accomplished most effectually. The usual attempt to double his left was made by the Indians, when a reserved company, Rodney's, in Miller's rear deployed, flanked the flank- ers and drove them back. "For a few minutes there was a stubborn resistance at Joseph's barricades ; then his whole line gave way. Immediately the pursuit was taken up by the whole force, infantry and artillery. Winter's troops, dismount- ed, and the remaining cavalry, as soon as they could saddle and mount. This movement was decisive. The Indians are completely routed and flying over the rugged banks, through the ravines, swimming and wading the river and our forces are in close pursuit." Jackson's cavalry had failed to reach the scene in time to participate in the battle, but it was on hand for the pursuit. It, with the force in charge of the gatling gun, quickly moved to a point overlooking the Clearwater. The howitzers also were brought to this position and a fusillade was poured into the retreating Indians and their ponies. Meanwhile other troops HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. pressed down the ravines and steep hillsides to the river's edge, but further they could not go, owing to the depth of the water. Soon Perry's cavalry came to the canyon's bottom and across the river, but for some reason Perry did not press the pursuit up the opposite bank, contenting himself rather with taking a position near the deserted Indian lodges. Howard, scanning the field with his glass, noticed a movement of Indians which indicated to him a possible intention on their part to return to the conflict. He warned Perry of the danger to his cavalry and ordered him to ferry the infantry across so as to present a sufficient force in opposition should the red men evince a taste for further battle. The whites could not effect a crossing of the stream as expeditiously as did their dusky foe ; the time consumed gave the Indians oppor- tunity of escape to a point so far remote as to make their overhauling before dark an impossibility; the troops, therefore, concluded to camp for the night, and the battle of the Clearwater was over. The Indian loss was twenty-three killed, perhaps forty wounded and as many more captured, besides the stores of blankets, buffalo robes, provisions and promiscuous equipage they were compelled to abandon at their camp. Howard reports his loss as thirteen killed and twenty-two wounded. The most severe criticism made against Howard in the Clearwater battle is that he failed to follow up the advantage which Miller's successful charge gave him. McConville's volunteers had returned during the last day of the fight and were stationed on the west bank of the Clearwater several miles from the battle- field. They were holding themselves in readiness to at- tack the Indians in front whenever the troops gave evi- dence that they would support the attack from the rear. Had the troops crossed behind the Indians and hung on Joseph's 'flanks and the volunteers under Major Mc- Conville attacked them in front the war, so many crit- ics aver, might have been ended then and there. In- stead, however, the Indians were allowed to proceed leisurely to Kamiah, where they crossed the river and commenced their retreat. Next morning Howard reached Kamiah in time to see the last of Joseph's band crossing the Clearwater. When the river was reached the last Indian was across, and, though the gatling guns were put into operation, they inflicted little damage. Joseph took a position at the beginning of the Lolo trail, where, by sending scouts in all directions, he could keep close watch upon the movements of the soldiers and learn the outlines of Howard's plans. That general had it in mind to reach, if he could, a position some fifteen or twenty miles beyond Joseph, where there was a junction of trails, thus cutting off his escape, but Joseph's scouts were too vigilant; the plan was surmised and the Indians hastily set out to anticipate him. In pursuit of this plan Howard. started on the I5th of July, ostensibly for Lapwai, but intending to go down the river to Dumvell's ferry, thence to a position in Joseph's rear. When he discovered that his inten- tions were surmised he went back to Kamiah, leaving Jackson and some volunteers who had just rejoined the regulars to guard against a possible return by the In- dians across the river at Dunwell's. He was met by a messenger from Joseph asking upon what terms the chief might surrender. While the conference was in progress a shot, fired by the Indians, struck near the consulting party, a circumstance which certainly looked like bad faith on the part of the Indians, though Suth- erland, author of "Howard's Nez Perces Campaign," thinks Joseph really intended to surrender and was only deterred by Howard's reply that he and his men would be tried before a court-martial of regular officers. How- ard considered the proposal a ruse to delay his move- ments. At any rate Joseph did not surrender, though the messenger, his family and some other Indians afterward did. Meanwhile the cavalry, scouts and volunteers had been ferried across the river, and these Howard sent under Colonel Mason to pursue the enemy, to learn his intentions and engage him in battle if such could be done with fair prospect of success. The scouts ran into Joseph's rear guard near Oro Fino creek and had a brush with it, in which one scout was killed and one wounded. One of the enemy was also killed. Believ- ing it unsafe to attempt to use cavalry in a country so favorable for ambuscades, Mason returned and the campaign in Idaho was ended. Howard summarizes the war thus far in this language : "The Indians had been well led and well fought. They had defeated two companies in a pitched battle. They had eluded pursuit and crossed the Salmon. They had turned back and crossed our communications, had kept our cavalry on the defensive and defeated a company of volunteers* They had finally been forced to concentrate, it is true, and had been brought to bat- tle. But, in battle with regular troops, they had held out for nearly two days before they were beaten, and after that were still able to keep together, cross a river to deep to be forded and then check our pursuing cav- alry and make off to other parts beyond Idaho. The result would necessitate a long and tedious chase. "Still, on our side, the Indians had been stopped in their murders, had been resolutely met everywhere and driven into position and beaten ; and by subsequent pur- suit the vast country was freed from their terrible presence." It is practically impossible at this late date to so come into possession of the details of the war as to enable one to express a definite opinion about the merits of the dispute between the regulars and volun- teers, even if a historian were justified in usurping the function of a judge or jury and dealing in generaliza- tions and deductions from facts rather than in the facts themselves. Many severe criticisms have been made upon Howard's slowness of movement, and it is the general opinion of volunteers and others that, while he proved himself a gentleman of many virtues, he failed to adapted himself to the condition presented *The volui ant charge a defeat. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. by the known methods of Indian warfare ; that he was not aggressive and vigorous enough to be called a "good Indian fighter." Howard, in his valuable work enti- tled "Nez Perces Joseph," has attempted an answer to these objections, mainly by pointing out the difficulties which surrounded him and contending that greater expedition was impossible under the circumstances. Severe strictures were made by citizens upon some of the inferior officers, particularly Captain Perry, whose military movements were made the occasion for the sessions of two courts of inquiry. Charges of lack of discipline and incompetence were brought by some officers of the regular army against the volun- teers also, the most bitter being by Major Keeler, of General McDowell's staff, who had the least oppor- tunity to know whereof he spoke. Howard, be it said to his credit, frankly commended the volunteers, more than once publicly, thanking them for valuable assist- ance rendered him. After the return of Mason with the report that Joseph' had certainly gone toward the buffalo coun- try, Howard naturally began revolving in his mind plans for future operations. He thought at first of soula at once, trusting Colonel Green, who was bring- ing a force from Fort Boise, and General Wheaton, coming to Lewiston from Georgia as fast as steam could carry him, with the task of protecting Camas prairie and the rest of north Idaho. This plan had to be abandoned on account of the alarm lest Joseph should suddenly return and swoop down again upon the temporarily unprotected settlements. So Howard himself awaited the arrival of Green's advance guard, thus giving the hostiles a splendid lead in the race and occasioning a loud clamor from the impatient journ- alists and people. The plan evolved during the per- iod of waiting was to form two columns and a reserve, the right column to be led by Howard in person, the left by Wheaton, and the reserve to stay with Green at Camas prairie. Howard's force was to take the Lolo trail; Wheaton's the Mullan road and the re- serve to "watch all trails, keep inter-communication, be ready for hostile Indians, should they double back, and give heart to all neighboring farmers, miners, prospectors, and friendly Indians by the show of pro- tection at hand." Howard with his right column took the trail on the 26th of July, 1877. His journeyings from that time until the capture of Joseph are replete with adventures and incidents, but all this is extra-territorial to the his- torian of north Idaho and though completeness de- mands a brief narration of the long chase, yet it must be brief. Day after day the column toiled on, slipping, sliding, up the steep acclivities, down the precipitous mountain sides, following the windings of the inter- minable "hogs-backs," as connecting ridges between two mountain uplifts are called, vigilant always to keep out of traps the wily red skins may set, the com- manding general not alone burdened with the respon- sibility of a campaign, presenting at times grave dan- ger of ambush and surprise, but smarting under the lash that is being applied by numerous newspapers the whole country over. The Indians, familiar with the country by frequent former trips to the buffalo grounds, possessing an ability to get work out of a horse such as no white man can, and led by one whom Miles has characterized the greatest military genius of the Indian race, are making one of the most brilliant retreats in the annals of Indian warfare. Once they might have been stopped and held for Howard. " A small force of regulars under Cap- tain Rawn and a considerable number of citizen soldiers had built a fort at the enterance of the Lolo trail into the Lolo valley. The pass was narrow, the walls high and precipitous. 'The fort, though a hastily constructed affair, was so favorably situated that it commanded the situation completely. When the Indians arrived they quickly saw their dis- advantage. Being diplomats as well as warriors, they determined to try the effect of a parley where bullets would be plainly' ineffective. They promised to do no damage to the citizens of the valley if only they should be allowed to proceed. Why should they not make such a promise ? They not only hoped to gain a pres- ent advantage but to placate the people and perhaps get them in the notion of trade, for they were sorely in need of fresh horses, and fresh supplies of ammuni- umphed. "The soldiers and citizens withdrew, allow- ing the red men to pass without opposition through a trail they had been busily preparing during the four days of parley to the left of the fort. An unpatriotic act, certainly, but Howard did not blame them and surely we can afford to be no less charitable. Hardly, however, can we imagine Randall or McConville or Paige or Cearley doing such a thing. Space forbids narration of the day and night rid- ing of messengers between Howard's advance col- umn and the United States forces to the eastward who were now becoming interested in the campaign. Even a war of small magnitude develops numerous heroes, for the world is full of heroism, so full that it cannot pay its meed of hero-worship to each. If it could the despatch-bearers who rode furiously and without rest day or night over the danger-beset, roadless, rough and rugged country between Howard and the Indian rear guard, would come in for a full share. One of these messengers reached Howard on the 6th of August, announced his name as Pardee and brought the news that General Gibbon had left his headquarters at Helena ; had hastened to Missoula, ar- riving just after the Indians had passed Rawn's fort, was pushing forward on Joseph's trail with less than two hundred men and wanted reinforcements. An- other, named Sutherland, left the same evening with Howard's reply which was that "General Howard is coming on, as fast as possible, by forced marches with two hundred cavalrymen, to give the needed reinforce- In compliance with this promise, Howard quick- ened his pace, but the horses were weary with long marches, weakened by insufficient nutrition and un- able to satisfy with their speed the eagerness of the commander. 'On the loth of August, therefore, How- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ard determined to take twenty-five picked horses and men and seventeen scouts, with whom to ride as fast and as far as possible in quest of Gibbon, leaving the remaining cavalry to pursue as quickly as they could. At dusk this advance guard encountered seven citi- zens, from whom they learned that Gibbon had had a fight the day before. The citizens gave a gloomy ac- count and, though little credit was accorded it as it seemed like the semi-imaginative report of men who run as soon as a battle commences, a messenger is sent forward that night to apprise Gibbon of the help coming. Gibbon's messenger missed Howard's small force but delivered the message to Mason, in the rear, with whom were the much needed medical officers. By 10 A. M. on the morning of August nth, How- ard came up to Gibbon's fortified camp, where the train and a small guard of soldiers and volunteers had been left. Hastening onward he soon reached Gib- bon's position, and found him, as his message would have told had it been received, near the mouth of Big Hole pass in rather sorry plight. The camp looked very much like a hospital from the number lying help- less and the profusion of bandages. Gibbon had arrived at a point within six miles of the Indians' camp on the 7th of August. On the 8th a party under Lieutenant Bradley managed to steal up close enough to observe the Indians, and in the mid- dle of the night Gibbon's main force secured a posi- tion within a mile or so of their camp. Reconnoisance proved the central Indian position to be across a bend on the north fork of the Big Hole river and that the lodges numbered eighty nine. Before daylight Gib- bon's forces were very close to the enemy and still unobserved. Dawn brought the attack. Bradley was killed at the willows which lined the stream. Before the Indians could get out of their lodges, the whites were across the stream and upon them. A stubborn hand to hand fight ensued, Indian boys and squaws taking part and fighting with desperation. Eventu- ally the Indians fell back to the brush and high points commanding their camp, whence they poured a melt- ing fire upon the troops, busily engaged in destroying the camp. As the Indians outnumbered the whites two to one the latter were at a disadvantage as soon as their antagonists recovered from their surprise. The soldiers were therefore compelled to withdraw from the open to a wooded point near the canyon by which the troops had effected their approach. In so doing they had a fierce fight with the Indians. Gibbon ex- pected his howitzer to be brought to this position, but it was captured, one of its six defenders being killed and one wounded. White Bird was heard and seen endeavoring to inspire the Indians with courage to attack Gibbon's position. In this, however, he failed. One attempt was made to capture Gibbon's supply train, but it was so valiantly defended by Kirkendall's little squad, that the small force of Indians sent against it dared 'not attack it and a larger force could not be spared from the main engagement. This surprise would have been fraught with grave consequences to the Indians had they been led with less consummate ability, but thanks to the generalship of their com- mander, they were effectually rallied and inflicted up- on the attacking column a loss of twenty-nine killed and thirty or more wounded. During the night the Indians moved away. Gibbon was in no condition to follow, himself having been wounded in the engage- ment and many of his small command disabled. Look- ing-glass, the Indian diplomat, was killed at the last battle on Milk river. Howard remained near, Gibbon's battlefield during the 1 2th of August awaiting for the rest of his force to come up, and on the i.3th again took the pursuit. At his encampment that night, he learned from two excited messengers that eight citizens had been mur- dered by Joseph on Horse prairie, and that two hun- dred and fifty fine horses had been secured by the hos- tiles. On the evening of the I5th, word was sent that the Indians had turned back into Idaho and surrounded temporary fortifications at a junction of two cross- roads in Lemhi valley. "Push straight for Fort Lemhi and you will have the Indians" was the message of Colonel Shoup, in command of sixty Idaho volunteers. Howard did decide to turn to his right into Lemhi valley and was making preparations for doing so when after midnight, another messenger arrived, reporting that the Indians had broken camp, rushed past the temporary fort doing it no harm and gone eastward, so Howard pushed on as at first intended. August 1 7th found him at Junction station. Here he was met by stage men, who persuaded him to aban- don his purpose of proceeding straight to what was known as Tacher's Pass, going rather by the road via Dry creek. Lieutenant Bacon, with forty picked men, and Robbins, with the Indian scouts, were, however, sent direct to the coveted pass and Henry Lake. On the 1 8th the camp of the Indians was discovered by Buffalo Horn about eighteen miles from Dry creek station in Camas meadows, and Howard was appraised of the whereabouts of his wily foe. "How confident I then felt"!" says the General. "Ba- con and Robbins ahead of Joseph and my cavalry only eighteen miles behind on the direct trail! If it were possible, I would reinforce Bacon; but he is seventy miles off! 'He can annoy and stop them, if he can- not do more.' I exclaim." vorable however. The cavalry horses were so jaded and slow that eighteen miles was a considerable trip for them ; the Montana volunteers were still farther be- hind and the infantry at least a day's march behind them. But on the night of August igth, Howard with the cavalry, Galloway's volunteers and fifty infantry were in camp together in Camas meadows, where Buf- falo Horn had seen Joseph's band the day before. The trail of the hostiles was distinctly visible. They were supposed to be in a camp some fifteen miles beyond. Suddenly in the middle of the night, the multitudinous noises of battle and the wild Indian war whoop burst upon the ears of the sleepers. Joseph has determined to double back and, with a few of his men, distract the attention of the soldiers, while some of his skilled horse thieves are cutting the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. hobbles on the mules and making away with these ani- mals. Howard saw the herd in full stampede. He sent Major Sanford after them with the cavalry and soon that officer sent word that he had recovered between fifty and seventy-five head of the lost stock. A second messenger brought less pleasing tidings. He informed Howard that the Indians were returning in force and turning Sanford's left. The remainder of the force was quickly ordered to the rescue. It met Sanford re- turning and inquired for Norwood, but no one knew definitely where that officer was. The advance was continued and eventually the missing cavalry officer and his force were discovered. He had had quite a skirmish, one which cost him the loss of one man killed and six wounded. This surprise of Howard and the capture of some of his mules was the theme of much fun-making among eastern journalists. The march was not resumed until the 2ist. On the 22d some scouts joined the pursuing party from Fort Hall, also Captain Bainbridge with more scouts and a small guard of soldiers. The night of the 23d there must have been little sleeping, for the Bannock scouts had a dance and council; then some of their number came to Howard with a request for permission to kill three professedly friendly Indians, claiming they were traitors, which request was denied ; then to make mat- ters worse at two o'clock reveille was sounded. Day- light revealed Tacher's gap and the Indian camp near it. A rapid advance was made and the gap soon reached but the birds had again flown. How discour- aged and disgusted the soldiers must have been! Ba- con and his party not seeing any Indians had left Henry lake, in plain sight of the pass, turning back and by this unfortunate move coming out far in the rear of the main column. Howard's messengers to him had failed in duty and as a consequence this splendid chance of cutting off the retreat of the foe and terminating the war was lost. For many weary miles the soldiers had striven to overtake the Indians and now that they were on the heels of the redskins, they must again allow the latter to get a lead of several days. Howard's order to fol- low Fisher's scouts on through the pass was met by the protest of the physician, the quarter-master, the inspector and other officers. "We cannot, we cannot, general!," said they. "Come look at your soldiers; look at their clothing, ragged already and tied with strings; look at their feet, some barefooted and the most with shoes so badly worn that in one or two days they will bs gone. The" ice froze an inch in our basins last night, and we have no overcoats, nothing but thin blankets, now falling to pieces. You can go no far- ther." The was no gainsaying this reasoning. The com- mand was allowed to rest four days on the banks of Henry lake while the commander, "the quarter-master, and Lieutenant Howard set out by wagon to Virginia City for supplies. Gushing and Norwood were di- rected to proceed to Fort Ellis for supplies, joining the main body two hundred miles farther on. Blankets, provisions, fresh horses, everything needful were pro- cured ; the general and those accompanying him re- turned and on the 27th of August, the march was re- sumed under more favorable conditions. The famed National Park was soon entered, and some members of the ill-starred Geyser party encountered, which, while on a pleasure trip had the" misfortune to fall into the hands of the hostile Indians. The first man re- ported his comrades all dead, but two others, wounded, were afterward met. The women were spared by Jos- eph and eventually rescued. In the park Howard received news of Joseph's whereabouts from a man who had been captured by the Indians and recaptured by Fisher's scouts, which information saved the command nearly one hundred miles of marching. About the same time evidences were discovered of Bannack treachery. Ten of these Indians were arrested, dis- armed and held as prisoners until their comrades, by bringing in the horses which the Bannocks were ac- cused of having stolen, earned the liberty of all ex- cept one, the leader, who was sent under guard to Fort Ellis. Under the guidance of the rescued prisoner the soldiers proceeded to the Yellowstone river at Baron- et's bridge and across it, the scouts finding "too abund- ant evidence of their (the Indian's) usual murder and rapine for twenty miles down the river to the Mam- moth Falls, where a raiding party from Chief Joseph had met and robbed some wagons and burned a store." The scouts found evidences that Gilbert's calvary had been there, but through want of knowledge as to How- ard's whereabouts their commander had swung off. coming upon the trail of the pursuing party one hun- dred miles in the rear. He tried to overtake Howard, but failed and finally returned to Fort Ellis. Unfor- tunately the cavalry of Gushing, who left the main column, as we have said, at Henry lake, had been taken to reinforce Gilbert, but with the remnant Gushing made a race for the valley of Clark's Fork to head off Joseph, when he should come down from the moun- tains. He failed to anticipate the swift-footed chief- tain, but effected a junction with Howard, turning over to that general the supplies he had been sent for. Arriving at the Soda Butte silver mine, the command came upon about twenty armed miners, all of whom were employed as guides. These led the main column by a short route, while the scouts on fresh horses fol- lowed the trail of the hostiles, and learned of the out- rages committed by Joseph in his march. Three min- ers were robbed of everything, then killed in spite of earnest begging for mercy. A fourth, robbed and dreadfully wounded, made his escape to the soldiers. On thie march from Soda Butte mountains, Howard was met by three messengers, who brought the news that General Sturgis, with several cavalry companies, was within fifty miles and was moving to Hat offfrc :able route to the mouth of Clark's fork. Had he only done so the war might have been speedily terminated, but he allowed himself to be deceived, probably by treach- erous Crow Indians, and sent nn a wild goose chase n apparently npen 1 through HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. a narrow canyon opening into Clark's valley again saved the fortunate Indians. Sturgis discovered his mistake, returned, was re- inforced by Howard with a few picked horses and men and sent ahead in the chase. He' overtook the enemy and had a battle with them on the heights be- yond the Yellowstone, capturing hundreds of ponies. A running fight was kept up with the retreating red- skins all the wav to the Musselshell river. Howard, however, despairing of Sturgis' or his own ability to overtake the Indians, who were going night and day, sent a message by boat down the Yellowstone, also by a horseman, to General Miles at Tongue river, ask- ing that officer to strike northwestward to the Missouri, intercepting the hostiles if possible. Meanwhile the forces with Howard concentrated on the Yellowstone below Clark's fork, pushed down the river to Baker's battlefield and turned thence north- ward with intent to rejoin Sturgis at the Musselshell. By September 2oth they were on that river, and there they received a message from General Miles, who promised to move at once. The march of the pur- suers was continued with somewhat less haste than theretofore, the generals, Sturgis and Howard, not wishing to press the hostiles too hard, lest they should not give Miles time to come up before them. This continued until a messenger arrived stating that Miles had crossed the Missouri and was in pursuit, then the command quickened its march until it reached Car- roll, where Howard, leaving his main command with Sturgis, took passage with an artillery battalion, two aides and a few scouts, on a steamer for Cow Island. Disembarking there, he pushed on northward with an escort of seventeen armed men, to the Bear Paw moun- tains. On the 4th of October, after dark, the party came to a point whence numerous small fires could be seen and the firing of musketry heard. It was the Indian warriors doing what damage they could to the forces around them. Soon Howard joined Miles and learned of the situation from him. General Miles had made a rapid march to the Mis- souri, crossed that river, gone to Bear Paw mountain, making the long journey without any knowledge of his movements reaching the hostiles, had come upon Joseph in a ravine, had surprised him completely and by a bold charge had defeated him badly, capturing his herd of ponies. The Indians were forced to take refuge in the deep ravines, where they fortified and held out as long as they could. On the 5th of October, the day after Howard's arrival, firing was kept up by the troops, with an occasional reply from the enemy, until ii o'clock, when two of Howard's Indian scouts were sent into the camp of the chief with a flag of truce. After some lively negotiating Joseph finally, at 2 P. M., agreed to surrender. He handed his rifle to General Howard, who directed that it should be given to Col- onel Miles, and the remainder of the day was spent by the Indians in coming into camp with their arms. White Bird slipped out through the lines and escaped with a considerable following, Indians say about forty, to the British possessions. Ollicut, Joseph's brother, was killed in the four days' battle with Miles. The Nez Perces were promised that they should be returned to the reservation in Idaho, but General Sheridan, in whose department they were, directed that they should be sent to the Indian territory. Years afterward they were brought back to the west and settled partly on the Nez Perces and partly on the Colville reservation. The fame of Joseph became widespread on account of his military prowess, and no doubt the glory ac- corded him was a potent factor in inciting the Bannock and Piute war of the following year. Buffalo Horn, who had seen the entire campaign, became ambitious to emulate Joseph's career, but fortunately for the whites did not possess the generalship with which to do so. Joseph was indeed a military leader of extraordinary ability. With less than four hundred fighting men and encumbered with large numbers of women and children, he had succeeded in leading Howard a chase that exhausted his mules and horses and wore out his men, reducing them to a condition in which they were truly objects of commiseration. How he could, with weak women and helpless children, keep ahead of sol- diers not thus encumbered, and having the support of the government, is a mystery. It shows how marvel- ous is the energy that lies latent within the Indian race, inspiring the wish that by some means this force might be called into activity in a nobler cause than contend- ing against manifest destiny in warfare fraught with horrors indescribable. Those who, admiring Joseph's admitted abilities, claim that he carried on his campaign in accordance with the laws of civilized warfare, are evidently not cognizant of the facts, for the number of persons killed by his forces outside of battle must have been nearly fifty. In the several engagements thirteen volunteers were killed, according to Bancroft's account, and 105 officers and men of the regular army. Not less than 120 were wounded. CHIEF JOSEPH. ANNEXATION STATEHOOD RAILROAD PROJECTS. The progress of our narative has brought us through the era of Indian difficulties and at the same time by the romantic early epoch of north Idaho history and quite well past that secondary or transition period, during which the more stable industries were slowly supplanting the semi-nomadic mining of the earlier days. Hereafter the germ of social order, always ex- isting in the country, though at times obscured under a superficial overflow of sin and folly, is to have full opportunity to grow and develop, bringing not alone the comforts and luxuries of physical life, but the re- finements of education, religion and the fine arts. Soon must we address ourselves to the individual counties, with whose history our volume purposes to deal, but before doing so we must give attention to two or three other matters of general concern. Mention has already been made of a certain lack of community of interest between the residents of north- ern and those of southern Idaho. The territory was cut into two by the Salmon river range of mountains. making it impossible for the Panhandle residents to reach their capital without a long trip through Oregon and Washington. The folly of this arrangement soon attracted attention after the removal of the capital from Lewiston, and the press and the people of north Idaho as well as those of Washington territory, began advo- cating the re-annexation of Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties to the latter commonwealth, or as an alternative measure, the establishment of a new terri- tory out of northern Idaho, western Montana and east- ern Washington. During its session of 1865-6, the legislature of Idaho passed the following memorial to congress : To THE HONORABLE, THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- Your memorialists, the Legislative Assembly of the terri- tory of Idaho, would most respectfully represent that, Where- divided by a high mountain range, known as the Blue moun- tain, or Salmon river range, rendering communication al- most impossible for one-half the year, unless by a circuitous route, of five or six hundred miles, passing through the state of Oregon and Washington territory ; and that unless mineral discoveries are hereafter made, a tract of country one hundred miles in width, between the two, will forever the northern portion being identitied with those of the upper Columbia and Missouri rivers, and the territory of Montana; while the interests of the southern portion of our territory are identified with those of the states of Nevada and Cali- whereas the material interests of both sections would be advanced by dissolving the present territorial relations be- tween them, and by having territorial governments so estab- lished as to unite all the people within their limits by com- munity of interest, thereby increasing our present rapidly growing population, and developing the immense mineral and agricultural resources of both portions of the territory, and which your memorialists believe to be unsurpassed west of the Rocky mountains ; Your memorialists would therefore most respectfully request of your honorable body .the passage of an act by which all that portioji of the territory of Utah lying north of forty-one degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude be annexed to the territory of Idaho, and a new territory be established out of the northern portion of the territory of Idaho, the western portion of the territory of Montana and the eastern portion of the territory of Wash- ington, to be called the territory of Columbia, with the fol- lowing boundaries : Commencing in the middle of the chan- nel of Snake river, where the parallel of forty-four de- thence east on said parallel to the western line of the terri- tory of Montana; thence westerly on the summit of the Wind River mountains, to a point where the meridian of thirty-five degrees and thirty minutes longitude west from Washington crosses said summit ; thence north, on said meridian of longitude until the same reaches the summit of the Rocky mountains ; thence northerly following the summit of the Rocky mountains to the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude; thence west along said parallel to the forty-second meridian oi longitude west from Washington; thence south to the fortv-sixth parallel of north latitude; thence east on said parallel of latitude to the middle of the channel of Snake river; thence up the middle of the channel of said Snake river to the place of beginning. And yoi The movement for this territory of Columbia be- came strong during 1866 and 1867, meetings being held and memorials adopted not alone in Lewiston, but in 'Walla Walla also, for the latter town was likewise dissatisfied with the existing condition of things. But Montana wished to retain the Bitter Root valley and southern Idaho was fearful lest its burden of taxation might become unbearably heavy if it lost any more pop- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. of the exhaustion of the placer mines. It was found impossible to carry the measure. In 1869 Nevada came forth with a proposition to annex to itself all of Idaho's territory south of the Snake river and between the Oregon boundary line and an extension of the eastern boundary of Nevada, an important mining section known as the Owyhee country. To this neither Idaho nor congress would agree. The Idaho legislature memorialized congr again in 1870 for a change in territorial metes a bounds, "but none that would leave the territory 1 able to maintain the burden of government, interfi with the congressional ratio of representation, or de- crease the prospect of arriving at the dignity of state- hood." These were obviously rather hard conditions with which to comply. Meanwhile the newspapers were still advocating the formation of the territory of Columbia, with boundaries as described in the memo- rial to congress above quoted. Prior to the convening of congress in December, 1873, the old project of annexing northern Idaho to Washington was revived with great earnestness. Meet- ings were held in the territory directly affected ; resolu- tions were adopted and committees were appointed to press the matter. On November I3th, the house of representatives of Washington territory passed a memorial praying congress for the annexation of Nez Perces, Shoshone and Idaho counties to their common- wealth. Southern Idaho supported the measure in part and the sentiment of the Panhandle was practic- ally unanimous in its favor. Rarely indeed is there such ananimity in any'political matter of major im- port. The Panhandle counties undertook to do a little memorializing on their own account, sending to ccn- gress the following self-explanatory document: Idaho, of Idaho territory, at a mass meeting held at Lewis- ton, October, 30, 1873, to properly represent the views of the people of said counties on the question of annextion to Washington territory, would respectfully represent to your honorable body : First, That the counties of Ncz Perces, Shoshone and Ida- ho, in Idaho territory, embrace that part of the present ter- ritory of Idaho north of the great chain of the Salmon river range of mountains, which extend nearly on a line with the 45th parallel north latitude, easterly from Snake river, through the entire territory; th:it this range is covered with snow to a great depth annually from the" first of December to the first (lay of June, thus rendering communication between the two sections known as north and south Idaho almost impos- sible during said period, save by a circuitous route of five or one hundred milvs .if tin- rim;itons route lies in the terri- tory of Washington, and about two hundred of it lies in the state of Oregon. Second, That along in the vicinity of this high range of hundred miles' in width, so elevated and so destitute of in- Third, That the entire white population of our territory is about twenty thousand souls. Fourth, That said counties of Nez Perces. Shoshone and of the territory, which is organized into well regulated, in- dustrious, thriving and established communities, engaged in Fifth, That the interests of the people of the two sec- tions, north and south Idaho, are diverse in almost every particular, those of the former being allied to those of Wash- ington territory and the valley of the main Columbia river, while those of the latter are in identity with those of the states of Nevada and California and the territory of Utah. Seventh, That the boundary between north Idaho and Washington territory is for the most part wholly imaginary and artificial Eighth, That there exists now no social or commercial bond between the people of north Idaho and those of south Idaho, nor can there become such with the existing im- passable natural barrier between them Ninth That both commercially and socially the bond of n betw n the p f Walla Walla, Whit aster and :vens counties, is as complete as identity of social and 'Tenth Th^'the 5 ^ef ^"idal f * P6 ple ' convenienced by their present territorial government rela- tions with south Idaho; that their want of interest in com- mon with the body politic of which they now form a part tends greatly to retard the development of their natural re- sources, as well as retard their increase of population and general prosperity. Eleventh, That to maintain their political relations with south Idaho imposes upon the people of north Idaho a serious burden of annual expenditure, such that a large class of the people are compelled to forego the attempt to secure their proper legal political rights, obtainable only at the capi- tal of the territory. Twelfth, That the commercial and social intercourse of the people of the said Nez Perces, Shoshone and Idaho coun- ties is now mainly with Walla Walla county, Washington territory, and the counties west of Walla Walla along the Columbia river, and the roads and other channels of corn- access, all the business of north Idaho is done by and through these channels, no one of which leads to or near south Idaho. Thirteenth. That the union of north Idaho and Wash- ington territory will hasten the period when said Washing- ton territory will possess the requisites for admission into the Union, clothed in the habiliments of one of the sovereign- ties of the Republic. Fourteenth, That the commercial men of the country, who have inaugurated and have now in process of construc- tion the great northern trans-continental railway, have sig- nificantly pointed to the proper union of north Idaho and ot said Washington territory, and that no par way or its western branch. Wherefore, your memorialists pray that, at the coming session of your honorable body, all that part of Idaho ter- ritory lying north of the forty-fifth parallel be annexed to Washington territory as organized with her present bound- ies, and your memorialists will ever pray. Done at Lewiston. Idaho territory, this 22d day of No- mber, A. D. 1873. M. A. KELLY, ALONZO LELAND, TOH.V CLARK JASPER RAND L. P. BROWN, B. F. MORRIS, J. H. EVANS, R. L. YANTIS. Committee. south HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 73 The question was up before congress again in 1875 and yet again in 1877. The petitions in the latter year were" filed by Delegate Fenn. They differed from for- mer documents in describing the territory to be trans- ferred as Nez Perces county and all the teritory at- tached to it for judicial purposes, rather than desig- nating the southern boundary by a fixed parallel. Or- ange Jacobs, delegate from Washington territory, was pledged to the support of the measure. The sentiment of southern Idaho was probably correctly expressed by the following language in the Boise Statesman : "Any proposition, coming from whatever quarter, which looks to the dismemberment of the territory, will always be opposed by the people of Idaho taken as a whole, even if what might be considered as compen- sating advantages are offered in return." In 1878 the governor of Washington territory is- sued a proclamation for a convention of delegates at Walla Walla on June i ith for the purpose of framing a constitution, preparatory to statehood. The plan was Perces county, 485 votes for and 13 against; Idaho county, 221 votes for and 14 against ; Shoshone county, 36 for and i against. From this time forth the memorials to congress took a different tone. Instead of asking for immediate segregation from Idaho and annexation to the territory of Washington, they asked that they should be ad- mitted as a part of the state, when that commonwealth was clothed in the habiliments of statehood. The vote on the question in 1880 was more nearly unanimous than ever before, but two ballots being cast against the proposition in Nez Perces county, and not one in Shoshone. So determined were the people of the Pan- handle in this matter that they freely cast aside for the time being their political affiliations, when these were in conflict with their great project, and supported an- nexationists regardless of party. It was thought that congress could not turn a deaf ear to the plain voice of the people, expressed so unequivocally in their memo- rials, conventions and elections, but the ways of poli- ' 5 for their expected the constitution would some day be in force, the then territory of Washington and the Panhandle of Idaho. Accordingly an invitation was extended to Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties to send a delegate to the convention, who, however, was to be denied the privilege of a vote, though he might freely participate in all debates. For the purpose of electing this delegate a general convention was called at Lew- iston, April Qth, on which date sixty delegates and proxies were present at the court house. They adopted certain resolutions, framed by J. W. Poe, Ezra Baird and M. Storm, the purport of which was that the conven- tion concurred gladly in the aims and purposes of the Walla Walla convention ; that they would send a dele- gate in whose intelligence, honesty, energy and ability to fairly and truly represent them they had unbounded confidence, and that the delegate would be fully justi- fied in representing to the convention that more than nineteen-twentieths of all the people of Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties were earnestly in favor of uniting their political fortunes with the people of Washington territory. The choice of the Lewistpn convention was Alonzo Leland. He experienced some difficulty in gaining a seat in the Walla Walla convention as the delegates from western Washington were opposed to him, and not much in favor of the annexation movement, for they feared annexation would transfer the balance of political power from the western to the eastern side of the Cascade range. But Mr. Leland secured his right to a voice. He not only represented north Idaho with great ability, but by the wisdom of his counsels, added much to the excellence of the constitution of 1878, which is admittedly an able state papier. In the November election, northern Idaho voted on the question of adopting the Washington constitution. The vote was lighter than that for candidates, chiefly on account of misunderstandings, but those who ex- pressed themselves were almost unanimous in its sup- port. The official figures were as follows: Nez sometimes hard to discover. Petition after petition was slighted, and now that north Idaho had united its for- tunes with Washington in its efforts for admission to the Union, there was an additional cause for procras- tination in the settlement of the annexation question. Then there was besides the open opposition of southern Idaho, whose representatives claimed that the proposed change would despoil, disintegrate and tend to Mor- monize Idaho; occasion a readjustment of territorial districts, disarrange the courts, legislature and other internal machinery; make unequal division of terri- tory ; be unjust to the citizens of south Idaho and un- safe at present and finally that Washington would be too large and unstately. The bill for the admission of Washington with north Idaho was, however, reported favorably by the house committee in 1882, but though it elicited a vigorous debate, no definite and final action was taken. In the teritorial legislative session of 1884-5, an annexation memorial to congress passed the Idaho council by a vote of nine to three and the house by a vote of twenty to four. In January, 1886, the move- ment was again brought up in congress and pushed with vigor. The bill as presented by Delegate Hailey provided that the northern counties should not be re- leased from their just share of Idaho's bonded indebt- edness and that the southern boundary of the trans- ferred territory should ''commence at a point in the mid- dle of the main channel of Snake river due west of the head waters of Rabbit creek; thence due east to the head waters of Rabbit creek ; thence down the middle of said Rabbit creek to its junction with the Salmon river: thence up the middle of said Salmon river to the junction of Horse creek; thence up the middle of said Horse creek to the junction of the east fork of said creek; thence up the middle of said east fork of Horse creek to the crest of the Bitter Root range of The committee on territories recommended the pass- age of the bill and the house passed it February 24th. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. The senate, however, refused to consider the measure until that creating the state of Washoington had been put upon its passage. Meanwhile southern Idaho was all activity in its opposition to the movement. So long had agitation proved of no avail that the people south of the Salmon river had become somewhat apathetic, but now that they seemed in actual danger of losing their territory, they awoke to a realization of the momentous conse- quences to them which must result from its loss. Mass meetings were held ; protests were framed and sent to congress, and all the leading newspapers took up the fight with vehemence. Some opposition was expressed by residents south of the Salmon river, and two of the commissioners of Idaho county protested against the spoliation of the county's territory and petitioned that if annexation carried, the county should go as a whole. Opposition was also brought forward by Montana's delegate in congress, who claimed that all of Idaho north of the forty-seventh parallel, including the Couer d'Alene mining district, of right ought to be given to Montana. A petition signed by citizens in and con- tiguous to the town of Murray urged that the Pan- handle be annexed to Montana, for the reason that that commonwealth, being a mining territory, could better take care of the district's interests than could Wash- ington, which was not a mining region. On the other hand, the annexationists were not idle. March igth, the citizens of Kootenai county met at Rathdrum and passed resolutions strongly favoring the union with Washington and urging the senate to pass the bill. Resolutions of similar import were like- wise adopted by mass meetings at Mount Idaho, Grangeville and elsewhere, and indeed friends and foes of the measure were intensely in earnest, both par- ties deeming success of vital importance. On April loth, the United States senate passed a bill by a vote of thirty to thirteen admitting to state- hood Washington territory with north Idaho attached. Both houses of congress had now expressed them- selves in favor of annexation, and it needed but their formal consent to the same bill and the signature of the president to enact the eagerly sought and bitterly fought law. But the desired concurrence was not ob- tained at the 1886 session, and delay in this instance proved fatal. As the reader has no doubt already perceived unanimity on the annexation question no longer pre- vailed in north Idaho. The discovery of the Coeur d'Alene mines had caused an influx of Montana miners into the country, who brought with them a bias in favor of their own commonwealth. These began to advo- cate annexation of the Panhandle to Montana. Fur- thermore the desire to be identified with Washington had been fostered by the fact that that territory was striding forward at a rapid rate, owing to the impetus given it by the building of the Northern Pacific. Now, however, Idaho was itself enjoying a period of pros- perity, and its development was encouraging the hope that it might soon, if it could escape dismemberment, gain the dignity and prestige of statehood. But the sentiment was still strong as shown by the fact that in November, 1886, Kootenai county gave one hundred and sixty-five votes for union with Washington as against twenty-six for annexation to Montana and fourteen for the maintenance of the existing order of things. Murray and Delta favored remaining with Idaho, and though Wardner gave Montana over two hundred votes, the rest of the county more than coun- teracted them. Nez Perces and Idaho counties were still strong in their advocacy of union with Washing- ton, but the case in 1887 certainly seemed less hopeful than it had previously. Nevertheless, on March 2d, the senate took up and passed the annexation bill which we have referred to as having been passed by the house of representatives at its previous session, and all that was now needful was the signature of the president. The people of north Idaho felt sure that this would not be withheld, as Cleveland was thought to be favorably disposed toward the measure, so the friends of an- nexation, those who had labored so zealously for it during so many years, gave themselves up to unstinted rejoicing. But the jubilation was premature, for, though Delegate Hailey, Oregon's representation, Ne- vado's delegate, Washington's delegate, and others im- portuned Cleveland for his signature, Governor Stev- enson, of Idaho, seemed to have more weight with him than their united importunities, and the bill was "pocket vetoed." The annexation movement was now on the wane,, though its friends were still legion and much enthusi- asm in its favor was later manifested. Petitions and counter petitions were signed and forwarded to con- gress. Southern Idaho feared that if the northern counties were cut off the southern portion would be unable to support a government of any kind and would be attached to Nevada. Delegate Dubois therefore fought with vehemence against the measure, as if the life of his territory depended on its defeat. Delegate Voorhees, of Washington, aided by his illustrious fa- ther, also Oregon's and Nevada's senators, were in the fight in behalf of the project. In north Idaho senti- ment was divided, the mining region opposing annexa- tion. Both the political conventions in Nez Perces county passed resolutions favoring the union of the northern counties with Washington, and repudiating the acts of Delegate Dubois, the Republicans criticising him in scathing language. On October 15th the an- nexationists of north Idaho held at Cove, Latah coun- ty, what was said to be one of the largest mass meet- ings that ever convened in this entire section. H. E. Hall presided. Letters were read from persons in the southern portion of the state recognizing the justice of the north's position. Judge Norman Buck accepted the invitation of this mass meeting to become an in- dependent annexation candidate for delegate to con- gress, and though his candidacy was announced but a f days before the election, he received a very coi ' ' Ve Salmc iderable vote in the counties north of the ; rivr, now increased to five in number by the organiza- tion of Latah county. But the annexation movement was somewhat em- barrassed in December, 1888, by the introduction into the house of representatives of a very popular bill, that HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. for the admission of Idaho, including the northern section, to statehood. This placed the people of north Idaho in the dilemma of giving up their annexation scheme or opposing what under ordinary circumstances they would very much desire, the admission of. their territory to the "Union. There were also other forces in the northwest generally which were militating against the annexation movement. The Republican victories of November assured the admission of Mon- tana, Washington and the Dakotas at the next session of congress, and it was believed that Idaho, if united, would be admitted also. The political power which Idaho's two senators and congressman would give to the northwest was very much to be desired. If north Idaho should be segregated the southern portion could not maintain a state government and the whole north- west would be so much the loser. Furthermore, the Mormon question and Nevada's ambition for more territory would probably result in the swallowing up of southern Idaho and the permanent loss of a western state. These considerations induced Senator Mitchell of Oregon, hitherto an ardent annexationist, to publicly renounce his former position and to remove his stand- ards to the opposition camp. The Idaho legislature did much also to mollify the people of the north by granting them many liberal con- cessions, principal among which were the state uni- versity and a large appropriation for a wagon road from Camas prairie to Warm Springs, via Florence, uniting more closely the two sections of the territory. These concessions seem to have had the desired effect, for on the 22d of January, 1889, a significant event transpired. This was four days after the passage in the federal house of representatives of the Omnibus bill, providing for the admission to the Union of North and South Dakota, Montana and Washington, the last without the counties of north Idaho. The date re- ferred to witnessed a meeting in Grostein & Binnard's hall, Lewiston, for the purpose of exchanging views upon the subject of ways and means of securing state- hood for Idaho. Hon. James W. Poe was made chair- man of the meeting, and a committee on resolutions was appointed which in due time reported the follow- ing for adoption as the sense of the assembly: "Whereas the territory of Idaho is possessed of sufficient area, resources, intelligence and population to maintain a state government and to authorize and require its admission into the Union, therefore be it "Resolved, That we insist upon and respectfully demand of congress admission as a state into the fed- eral Union. "Resolved, That we endorse the efforts of our dele- gate in congress, Hon. Fred T. Dubois, Senator J. H. Mitchell and Hon. William H. Springer to secure state- hood for Idaho, and to this end we earnestly petition that congress pass an enabling act at its present "Resolved, That we call upon our territorial legis- lature, and our sister towns and counties in Idaho, to unite with us, by resolution and memorial, in urging upon congress immediate action in the premises." The debate on the resolutions waxed warm and finally ended in a division of the assembly, those op- posing statehood on account of their wish for annexa- tion adjourning to Grostein & Binnard's new hall. The number in attendance before the split was perhaps 125, and of these all but fifty withdrew. By those remaining the resolutions were adopted as a matter of The opposition meeting likewise expressed itself most emphatically by resolutions, but no language it might use could be strong enough to counteract the effect of the original meeting. An anti-annexation assembly had convened in the city that had always nexation movement. The announcement of this fact was hailed with delight by the people of south Idaho as indicating that the north had receded far from the position it had held with such singular unanimity for so many years. 1'his action meant not only that the danger "of a loss of territory was past, but that the commonwealth could hope for assistance from its every quarter in the effort to secure entrance into the federal sisterhood. The Omnibus bill passed the senate as it had passed the house, without making provision for the annexa- tion of north Idaho to Washington. Cleveland signed it during the closing days of his administration. Wash- ington complied with its conditions and achieved the boon of statehood and the annexation question was settled at last. There was now but one thing within the territory militating against a united campaign for admission, and that was the Mormon question. Of a population of 113,777, according to Governor Shoup's estimate, twenty-five thousand were Mormons. To the crushing out of the objectionable features in their religion the territory had set its face like flint from the earliest times. The legislature of 1884-5 passed a registry law requiring voters to take the following rigid oath : "I do solemnly swear, (or affirm) that I am a male citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one (21) years, (or will be the day of , 18 , (naming date of next succeeding election), that I have (or will have) actually resided in this territory for four (4) months, and in this county for thirty (30) days next preceding the day of the next ensuing elec- tion ; ( in case of any election requiring a different time of residence, so make it) that I have never been con- victed of treason, felony or bribery; that I am not now registered, or entitled to vote, at any other place in this territory ; and I do further swear that I am not a bigamist or polygamist ; that I am not a member of any order, organization or association which teaches, advises, counsels or encourages its members, devotees or any other person to commit the crime of bigamy or polygamy, or any other crime defined by lavir, as a duty arising or resulting from membership in such order, organization or association, or which practices bigamy or polygamy, or plural or celestial marriage, as a doc- trinal rite of such organization ; that I do not, and will not. publicly or privately, or in any manner whatever, teach, advise, counsel or encourage any person to com- mit the crime of bigamy or polygamy, or any other 7 6 HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. crime defined by law, either as a religious duty or otherwise; that I do regard the constitution of the United States, and the laws thereof, and of this terri- tory, as interpreted by the courts, as the supreme law of the land, the teachings of any order, organization or association to the contrary notwithstanding; (when made before a judge of election, add 'and I have not previously voted at this election') so help me God." Much" depended upon whether this "test oath'' or one similar to it could be maintained in the courts. Pursuant to a proclamation issued April 2, 1889, by Governor E. A. Stevenson and supplemented May nth by his successor, Governor George L. Shoup, a convention of seventy-two delegates met in session at Boise on July 4th for the purpose of framing a state constitution. Upon the instrument framed by them it is needless to comment here, further than to state that one of its clauses forever prohibited bigamy and po- lygamy. The Mormons claimed that this provision and the test oath were both in violation of the United States constitution which, by its first amendment, pro- hibits the passage of any law "respecting the establish- ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there- of." As it was a matter of great importance to determ- ine whether the distinctive provision of the constitution of Idaho would be maintained in the courts or not, a Mormon voter was arrested on a charge of conspiracy. The case was taken to the supreme court of the United States, which held : "that the term 'religion' has refer- ence to one's views of his relations to his Creator and to the obligations they impose and reverence for His being and character, and of obedience to His will. It is often confounded with the cultus or form of worship of a particular sect, but is distinguished from the latter. The first amendment to the constitution, in declaring that 'congress shall make no law respect- ing the establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof,' was intended to allow everyone un- der the jurisdiction of the United States to entertain such notions respecting his relations to his Maker and the duties they impose as may be approved by his judgment and conscience, and to exhibit his sentiments in such form of worship as he may think proper not injurious to the equal rights of others, and to prohibit legislation for the support of any religious tenets or the modes of worship of any religious sect. It was never intended or supposed that the amendment could be invoked as a protection against legislation for the punishment of acts inimical to the peace, good order and morals of society. However free the exercise of religion may be, it must be subordinate to the criminal laws of the country passed with reference to actions re- garded by general consent as properly the subjects of punitive legislation. Probably never before in the history of this country has it been seriously contended that the whole punitive power of the government, for acts recognized by the general consent of the Christian world in modern times as proper matters for prohibi- tory legislation, must be suspended in order that the tenets of a religious sect encouraging crime may be car- ried out without hindrance." This decision removed- the last internal stumbling block in the way of Idaho's admission to the Union. However, there were difficulties to be overcome in congress. Delegate Dubois's bill was vigorously op- posed by the Democrats, who refused to support meas- ures for the admission of Idaho or Wyoming unless Arizona and New Mexico were also admitted so as to keep political powers more nearly balanced. When the admission bill came before the house of representa- tives April 3, 1890, the Democrats abstained from voting or answering to the roll call and raised the point of no quorum. Speaker Reed refused to sustain them ; the vote was taken and resulted in the passage of the bill with but one dissenting voice. The act passed the senate on July ist, was signed by the president July 3d and Idaho, her people having adopted at the November election the constitution signed at Boise August 7th, was ready to enter forthwith upon her 1 career as a sovereign state. Though it is not expedient or consistent with the plan of this work that a detailed account of all railway projects to be incorporated, yet a faithful portraiture of the life and commercial activity of north Idaho's popu- lation is not possible without reference to a few of the efforts which 'have been made to solve the transporta- tion problem. While the Pacific Northwest was in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was con- tended by the members and employees of that corpora- tion that even a wagon road over the Rocky mountains was an impossibility. It fell to the lot of an American missionary. Dr. Marcus Whitman, to disprove this assertion. That was in 1843. Less than a decade later men of prominence in the west and railroad build- ers in the east began asking themselves whether the construction of a Pacific railroad might not prove feasi- ble. Soon after the title to Oregon territory was set- tled between the United States and the British crown, in 1846, all exploring parties under the direction of the government were charged with the task of taking in- cidental observations and securing data which might help settle this question of feasibility. In time the conviction that a road was possible became fixed; in- deed the question became rather which of several routes was the most practicable. Before the end of the 'fifties Governor Isaac I. Stevens, of Washington territory, advanced the theory that at least three transcontinental railways would ultimately prove necessary, in the same report advocat- ing that the northern route was the one which should first be utilized. During the 'sixties active work in the construction of the Northern Pacific railroad was be- gun, and by the dawn of the 'seventies it was so far along that the west generally was feeling the benign effects of the anticipated railway connections. The question most intimately affecting north Idaho was "where will the line cross the territory ?" There appeared to be three routes open to the company, each of which had its special advantages, one through the Coeur d'Alene pass, thence via Lake Pend Oreille; one through the Bitter Roots, by the Lolo pass, down the Clearwater and Snake rivers and by the Columbia to the sea : and one down Salmon river. A survey of this last was completed by Colonel DeLacy in the fall HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 77 of 1872. Several advantages were presented by it, among them that it was one hundred and fifty miles shorter than via Pend Oreille lake ; that it ' would always be below the snow line; that it would render possible a dry and permanent road bed ; that its grade would be less and more uniform than any other ; that it would be more nearly in the latitude of Bozeman pass ; that it would draw some support from sources that would otherwise send their trade to the Union and Central Pacific or The Dalles and Salt Lake road,; that it would open a promising mineral country. On the other hand a road following this course would take longer to construct than one on the more northerly route ; its cost per mile would be much greater and for two hundred miles of the distance it woul pass through land of slight agricultural value. The Pend Oreille route was objectionable, or supposed to be, on account of the low marshy ground over which the road must of necessity pass and on ac- count of its length. The Lolo and Clearwater route was admittedly the best, provided the pass was prac- ticable, a question which nothing but a survey could definitely answer. Several engineer corps were kept busy during the year 1872 endeavoring to solve the route problem, but before the company had made a decision the panic of 1873 came, effectually putting an end to all railway construction for the time being. Northern Pacific stock fell until it was regarded as next to worthless, and the road went into the hands of a receiver. Gradually, however, the company recov- ered itself, and by 1878 it was able to resume the work of constructing a road to the coast. The failure of the Northern Pacific to build west in the early 'seventies had a very depressing effect upon the Northwest generally, and various were the reasons advanced for this failure by the discouraged and dis- heartened settlers. All sorts of evil motives were ascribed to the corporation, but the more intelligent, those who studied the financial situation and compre- hended the magnitude of the work to be accomplished, were disposed to view the matter in a kindlier light and to consider the company not responsible for the incon- veniences incident to the delay. Congress dealt patient- ly and generously with the corporation throughout its trials, passing in 1878 a bill renewing the land grants, which had expired by limitation. By the provisions of this act the company was to commence the con- struction of the road at or near the mouth of Snake river within nine months from the passage of the act and twenty-five miles were to be constructed eastward- ly within one year thereafter and forty miles each succeeding year, and, including the extension west- ward, one hundred miles per annum were to be con- structed somewhere on the line, after the first year; a line was to be built around the dalles of the Columbia within two and one half years and around the Cas- cades within two years ; and the company was to take all freights from above or below without discrimi- nation in rates, giving an equal chance to all freighters. In case it failed to construct a road around these barriers within the time limit, the company was" to forfeit its grant down the Columbia from Umatilla. Subsequently the law was changed so as to allow the Northern Pacific to build north to the sound. With the rejuvenation of the Northern Pacific in 1878 the people of north Idaho again became hopeful, believing that at last the darkness surrounding them was about to be disseminated and that the sun which would pierce the gloom and again brighten the land was the Northern Pacific. They also had hopes that the line would cross the Bitter Root range and come down the Clearwater, through Lewiston, thence along the Snake river to its mouth. The Lewiston Teller was the exponent of the opinion that this was a feasible route and through its columns its public-spirited and indefatigable editor, Alonzo Leland, renewed the agi- tation of the railway question. Mr. Leland was not alone in favoring a proposition to extend to the Northern Pacific an earnest petition to again explore the Bitter Roots with a view to utilizing if possible the Clearwater route. This request was formerly presented in 1879 by the people of Lewiston and vicinity, and despite the fact that the company had made several unsuccessful explorations in search of a feasible route, the wishes of the people were complied with, the company detailing H. M. McCartney to make the sur- veys from the western slope. The expenses of this expedition were paid by several prominent citizens of Lewiston, chief among whom was John P. Vollmer, who furnished three-fourths of the sum necessary. The exploring party, accompanied by guides, spent several weeks in the mountains making observations. The perseverance and public spirit of the men who placed the expedition in the field were partially re- warded for McCartney found that the construction of a line through the Lolo pass was not an impractic- ability, though it would require much more time than was possible to give it under the time limit placed upon the company by congress for the completion of the line. This was the substance of his report and very naturally the company announced that under these cir- cumstances it would have to abandon the Clearwater route. It therefore immediately commenced the final survey of the route from the mouth of Snake river northward through the Pend Oreille pass, J. P. Voll- mer, of Lewiston, receiving the contract for furnish- ing the survey stakes. But the people of Lewiston and many other points in north Idaho had not been convinced of the imprac- ticability of building a railroad across the Bitter Root mountains, holding that McCartney had not found the lowest pass in that range, and the activity displayed by the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company only urged them the more in their efforts to secure a rail- road. The outcome of this feeling was the organi- zation, at Lewiston, of the Idaho, Clearwater & Mon- tana Transportation Company, composed of Alonzo Leland, Jasper Rand, I. N. Maxwell, C. A. Thatcher, C. C. Bunnell, John Brearley, A. McGregor, L. P. Brown, B. F. Morris, J. M. Crooks, W. C. Pearson, Charles E. Monteith, Joseph Alexander, Hazen Squier, William F. Kettenbach, Jerry Dorman and S. C. Hale, all residents of Nez Perces and Idaho counties. The organizers of this company freely admitted that HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. they did not possess the capital to carry out their pro- jects, the main one of which was the construction of a railroad across the Bitter Roots. They announced that their purpose was to make several surveys and if they found a feasible route to attempt to interest capital in the enterprise. And now we come to the most interesting feature of the whole Clearwater railway question. There seems to have been a widespread impression among the inhabitants of north Idaho that a very low pass, whose existence was known only to the Indians and a few fortunate trappers, existed in the Bitter Root range. This was called the Skakaho pass and ac- cording to the meagre information passessed regarding it, was south of the Lolo. Its entrance from the Mon- tana side was impossible to distinguish and its entrance on the western slope was so hidden from man's view that only a minute examination could result in its dis- covery. As the story went, the location of this pass was a secret possessed by few but through those it had been learned that the pass was easily approached from both east and west and was perfectly feasible for railroad purposes. The Indians were said to have used it as a winter route through the mountains. All agreed that nature had succeeded well in her efforts to thoroughly hide it from the curious world. To discover and explore this mysterious pass was the task the Idaho, Clearwater & Mantana Transpor- tation Company proposed to itself. Accordingly late in the summer or 1881, the company sent an exploring party under Alfred J. Beall in search of the hidden pass and a feasible route to and through it. On September 22d, after an absence of six weeks, Beall returned with the information that he had found the Skakaho pass, that it was only 4,550 feet above the sea and that the gradients to it from the west were very easy, the maxi- mum being only 48 feet and the minimum 13 feet to the mile. Mr. Beal! describes this route as "up the Clearwater to the Selway fork; up the Selway fork to Fast creek ; up Fast creek to Loyal creek, and thence through the canyon." The pass was taken possession of in the name of the Idaho, Clearwater & Montana Transportation Company. He reported an excellent route through the pass and into Montana. It is needless to say that this report created no little excitement for if the purported discovery proved genuine it would probably result in the Northern Pacific's changing its route. That it did receive the serious notice of that company is evidenced by the fact that Major Truax, an O. R. & N. engineer but really in the employ of the Northern Pacific also, as at that time these two corporations were under the same control, was sent to the Bitter Root mountains to make an exploration. The Beall report was placed in his hands and he was urged to make an examination of the Skakaho pass. Major Truax reported a total failure to find the Beall pass, as it now came to be named, after a careful examination of the mountain range. He also reported that the Lolo pass was less than 5,000 feet high, in opposition to the statements of McCartney that it was 7,500 feet. Traux said that there was a practicable railroad grade through the pass. He found that the maximum grade was less than 100 feet to the mile and that the maximum grade from the mouth of the middle fork of the Clearwater to where the road would leave Lolo creek was less than fifty feet. To construct a road over such a route would require an enormous amount of work, however, and much time, so that he believed it would be im- practicable for the Northern Pacific to utilize the route then, as congress was insisting upon the company's living up to its contract to push the road to a rapid completion. The richest and most fertile part of north Idaho was, therefore, left as much isolated as ever and not until recent years did the northern part of the state really receive any great direct benefit from the building of the Northern Pacific railroad. The con- troversy over the Beall pass continued for many years after Truax made his report and not a few refused to believe in its non-exi stance. John P. Vollmer, an official of the Northern Pacific Railway Company since 1879, to whom we are indebted for access to many papers and considerable correspondence in the prepar- ation of this chapter, gives it as his belief that the Skakaho pass does not exist and that the report of Beall was not based on work actually and honestly performed. Many attempts have been made to re- discover the famous pass, one by Mr. Beall himself, but so far all have ended in failure. From personal letters writted to Mr. Vollmer by the president of the Northern Pacific in the early 'eighties, the author is convinced that the Northern Pacific was desirous of adopting the Clearwater route to the Columbia and that if it had been practicable to build through the Lolo or any other pass within the time limit this route would have been chosen in preference to the northern. It is a noteworthy fact that in recent years the company has built a line up the Clearwater to Stites, encouraging the hope that some day, when money may be obtained at a much lower rate of interest than it now commands, it will extend this Clearwater Short Line over the Bitter Roots to a connection with its main line and down the Snake to the Columbia, giving Nez Perces and Idaho counties the benefit of direct trans-continental communication. Hardly had hope of relief from the Northern Pacific failed before the residents of north Idaho were encouraged to look in another direction for aid. The Oregon Short Line was building westward through the southern part of the territory at this time. It de- sired very much to reach the ocean, while the O. R. & N., building through eastern Oregon and over the Blue mountains, was very desirous of getting into southern Idaho. The Burnt river canyon was the only practicable route for the O. R. & N. It was likewise the only route for the Oregon Short Line to reach the sea, except by Snake river canyon to the mouth of that stream, thence down the Columbia. The Burnt river pass was of such contour that both rail- ways could not well occupy it ; and it was not definitely known that the Snake river route was not preferable anyway. Early in 1883 a survey was undertaken to determine the feasibility of the latter course. Engineer Moscript was entrusted to make the survey in a HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. southerly direction, while Chief Engineer Clark, start- ing at the mouth of Burnt river, should survey north- ward to meet him. After completing their task the Iwo parties came to Lewiston, where they reported that the distance between that town and Burnt river was 187 miles, that the maximum grade of any one mile in the survey was less than twenty feet, the average being not more than six of seven, but there were no curves to exceed six degrees, and that the surveying parties saw no sign of snow slides. Mr. Clark was highly pleased with the route. He said a road could be built, he estimated for one-third less than the cost of construction through Burnt river canyon and over the Blue mountains. An approximate location sur- vey was completed in September of that year confirm- ing Clark's report and the residents of Nez Perces and Idaho counties entertained not unreasonable hopes that they might have a railroad in the near future. But they were doomed to disappointment. Arrange- ments were effected between the O. R. & N. Company and the Oregon Short Line, by which both roads were to build to Huntington and join each other, dividing the profits on an agreed basis. The fact that north Idaho need not hope for any immediate relief from the (Jregon Short Line was officially communicated in July, 1884, by a letter from' a Union Pacific officer to Alonzo Leland, from which some extracts are here given as follows : Dear Sir: Yours of the 2ist ult. was found here on my return from a two weeks' absence in the east. I can well understand the interest your people feel re- garding the extension of the Oregon Short Line down Snake river and I wish I could speak more encourag- ingly to you on the subject; but the fact is that the present demoralized market for railroad securities makes it impossible to raise money for any extended new constructions, and the attempt to do so would be simply suicidal. Our company will not engage in any new work at this time but merely complete works already begun to redeem its obligations in that be- half so far as it is committed. The Oregon Short Line track is at the mouth of Burnt river. As soon as the Snake river falls sufficiently we will complete the bridge at that place and lay the rails the remaining three and a half miles to Huntington, completing our part of the work, which we expect to accomplish about the last of September." The joint traffic agreement and the depressed con- dition of railway stocks obtaining at the time were responsible for this disappointment, as the Union Pacific undoubtedly intended to build down the Snake and Columbia rivers to tidewater. In 1886 the Union Pacific R. R. Company was again in the field with surveyors, this time to determine the distance and grades to be overcome by a railroad from Lewiston to some point on the Utah Northern, also the character of the country tributary to such road. The next spring a corps of engineers from Omaha started at the Lewiston end of the old Clark Snake river survey and proceeded to run a line down the north side of the Snake to the Columbia. Another party in the employ of the O. R. & X. took the field Little .the surveys from Clearwater. There is little doubt but that the Union Pacific really intended undertaking some operations by which north Idaho would greatly profit, but its energies were again paralyzed in the fall of 1887 by an agreement entered into in New York city between its directors and those of the North- ern Pacific Company, whereby the northwest was di- vided between the two corporations, all north of an east and west line passing through the mouth of Snake river, being given to the Northern Pacific. This arrangement effectually shut off during its continuance Lewiston and vicinity from hope centering in the Union Pacific, dashing to the ground the expectations en- gendered by the numerous surveys. Still the Spokane and Palouse branch was being built at this time and but little doubt was entertained that .it would be extended to Lewiston and beyond. The O. R. & N. also gave evidence, by its activity in surveying routes, of an intent to build into the Clearwater and Camas prairie countries ; so the hopes of our citizenship were continually receiving iresh inspiration. But the Spokane and Palouse branch stopped at Genesee; the O. R. & N. came no nearer than Moscow; and the people of Nez Perces and Idaho counties were left to their isolation for more than a decade longer. The discovery of mineral wealth in northern Shoshone county had led to the building of railways into that section, however. Another railway enterprise which promised partial relief to the southern portion of the Panhandle, but which failed to bring it was the Idaho Transit Company, organized in 1887 by J. P. Vollmer and others in Lewiston and Asotin." This company sur- veyed a line from Lewiston to Camas prairie, via' Tam- many hollow and Lake Waha, intending to connect that rich section by rail with the boat lines on the Snake river. Financial arrangements were made whereby the company might build the first twenty miles immediately and in fact, $50,000 were spent in grading the roadbed in Tammany hollow and in con- struction work. Mr. Vollmer tells" us that the Northern Pacific Company was behind this movement from the first. He was the leader and main stockholder in the Transit company and he undertook the work with the understanding that the road, when completed, was to be sold to the Northern Pacific. The other stock- holders were not aware of this, and of course the people generally were not. The Northern Pacific's idea in these negotiations was to get the road con- of the O. R. & N. For some reason the Northern Pacific changed its plan, bought the Tammany hollow road before much work had been done on it, and abandoned the enterprise entirely. During the latter 'eighties and the early 'nineties no little interest centered in the projects of the Midland Pacific Railway Company. The organizers of this corporation were Hon. R. F. Pettigrew, president; HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. William N. Coler, vice-president; S. L. Tate, second vice-president; J. A. Gargiulo, treasurer; and H. M. McDonald, secretary; and its capital stock was $15,- 000,000 preferred and $65,000,000 common. Its pur- pose was to build a road from Sioux Falls to the coast, which road was to find an outlet through the Illinois Central, Chicago & Northwestern and other lines to the east. The route outlined by the company for its own road was through northern Wyoming, skirting Yellowstone park on the south ; down the Salmon river to White Bird; thence across through Camas prairie and on to Lewiston, thence to an easy grade into the Palouse country, which it was to cross in a north- westerly direction going to Seattle. Mr. Vollmer tells us that though the fact is not generally known a sur- vey of this route was made and plans were matured for financing the enterprise. The crisis of 1893 and subsequent depression caused operations for the time being to be suspended, but it is possible that the scheme may yet materialize and shortly. Another survey which excited little comment at the time and of which few people have any knowledge, Mr. Vollmer tells us, was made by the Illinois Central Railway Company, also ambitious to reach the coast. This survey likewise passed through parts of Idaho and Nez Perces counties. It is surely significant that so the s and the reservation line precipitated hostilities betwei the rival corporations. It is difficult to write of such matters with histoi cal accuracy, for men who are able to speak with authority are generally believers in the adage that "Speech is silver but silence gold," and the outside world has to do considerable guessing and reasoning from appearances in attempting to arrive at conclusic as to what transpires in the conferences of railway magnates. However, President Mellen of the Northern Pacific, in an interview, gave his side of the case w considerable freedom. Among other things, he said that : "There are contracts which have been in ex- istence since 1880, signed by the presidents of the two companies and ratified by both boards of directors, spe- cifically assigning the Clearwater and much other ter- ritory in that region to the Northern Pacific." Upon these he relied as a basis upon which an agreement was to be affected, amicably settling the differences be- tween the two roads. Portland, of course, favored the O. R. & N. In commenting on the situation the Ore- gonian said : "Perhaps the most important territory in the Co- lumbia basin, still unoccupied by railways* is the Clear- water valley. Here is a territory in extent equal < ly equal to the Palouse country, the subject here- till t board, have looked toward the Snake river and its tributaries as most likely to furnish the route desired, and there certainly is much foundation for the hope that this rich portion of north Idaho may yet be traversed by a trans-continental line. The chief sensation in Nez Perces county during 1898, aside from the war, was the building of the ex- tension of the Spokane & Palouse branch of the North- ern Pacific Railroad to Lewiston and the railroad war which grew out of this activity. Strange it seems to those on the outside that railway companies so often neglect the numerous calls to them for aid from com- munities suffering for lack of transportation and con- tinue to turn a deaf ear to all proposals for years, then suddenly become so anxious for the advantages they have before seemed to spurn that they struggle and contend with each other to secure them. For thirty years the Clearwater country had been agonizing for a railroad. Its cry was unanswered. Then, when at last the Northern Pacific determined to do something for it, the jealousy of the Oregon Railway and Navi- gation Company is aroused, and a war is the result. In this case, however, it is evident that both corpora- tions had been fully .aware of the prize that lay un- grasped before them, but for one reason or another neither was before able to make the effort necessary to appropriate it. Prior to 1895 tne reservation exerted a deterrent influence and when that was no more the financial stringency was in the way. But the return of good times brought a renewal of activity in railway circles; the Northern Pacific's operations directed at- tention again to the rich field yet unentered in north Idaho, and the commencement of condemnation pro- ceedings against all the Indian land owners on the north bank of the Clearwater between Potlatch creek tention. It is a territory of enormous agricultural capabilities and may easily ship ten million bushels of wheat a year. It is also a great stock country, for the grazing lands in and about it are to prodigious extent, and it lies in the vicinity of great timber and great min- ing regions. The traffic of that country it would not be easy to overestimate, and, like that of other locali- ties in the great basin of the Columbia, it will coi down to Portland by the gradients on which the wa flows. "It is of the highest importance to that country, to the O. R. & N. as a property, to the city of Portland as the commercial entrepot and shipping port of the Co- lumbia basin, that this territory be furnished with rail- way transportation through the O. R. & N. system. This will require the construction of perhaps one hun- dred miles of road east of Lewiston, and with it an extension of the Snake river line from Riparia to Lew- iston, about seventy miles. It is all practicable, all To succinctly convey an idea of the controversy be- tween the two railroads we cannot do better than to quote an interview given in July, 1899, by a high official of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company to the New York correspondent of the Spokesman-Re- view. It reads as follows: "It is difficult to appreciate the merits of the Clear- water controversy without studying the map of the Clearwater country. There is a great deal of misap- prehension regarding the points of contention between the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company and the Wallula to Riparia through the Palouse country. This line is not satisfactory, and so the company has pro- jected a line between the points mentioned following HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. the Snake river. The water course gives easy grades and a better route. At Alto on the present line, there is a three per cent, grade, so that practically all trains from Spokane and the north have to be broken up there. This will be avoided by the new line. The old line will then become merely a feeder for the Palouse country. Now there is no dispute, as generally sup- posed, over this new line along the Snake river, the Northern Pacific rather favoring its construction. This line the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company has about completed. What the Northern Pacific objects to is a continuation of this line, as projected, along the Snake river from Riparia to Lewiston, where the Ore- gon Navigation now operates a line of steamers. . "The Northern Pacific has a line from Moscow to Lewiston, to which the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company has no objection, but is building lines east of Lewiston in the Nez Perces and Camas prairie dis- tricts, to which the O. R. & N. seriously objects, be- cause the Northern Pacific has made no arrangements with it for hauling traffic from this rich country. "The O. R. & N. will not only build the surveyed line, from Riparia to Lewiston, but will also build east of Lewiston and fight the Northern Pacific in the Nez Perces and Camas prairie districts. It believes that the Northern Pacific has not been fortunate in the se- lection of its routes and discounts its threats to subse- quently parallel the Riparia-Lewiston line. One who knows the value of the Nez Perces and Camas prairie territory can easily understand how the two companies have got into such a dispute over it, for it promises to rank with the Walla Walla and Palouse sections in the richness and abundance of its wheat fields and other agricultural resources. "For the present there can be no open collision be- cause the Northern Pacific has its lines east of Lewis- ton to complete and the O. R. & N. has its Riparia- Lewiston line to bui!d. When these are constructed, unless by that time a traffic arrangement has been agreed upon, the fight between the two companies will begin in earnest, and a fight of no mean proportions it will be. "The O. R. & N. is so situated geographically that it cannot abandon the rich opportunities offered by the Clearwater country. Its line for the most part runs south of the Columbia river," and it cannot get a very valuable traffic from the country north of it. Its ter- minus is Portland, where it has large interests, and Portland's prosperity depends considerably upon its keeping open the channel from the richest wheat fields of the Pacific northwest. "It has offered the Northern Pacific a short route via Connel, but the Northern Pacific wants more liberal considerations than the O. R. & N. deems reasonable or than are usually recognized. The Northern Pacific now has to take its freight to near Spokane and down again, and of course if it built right through west of Lewiston to its coast line it would have as short a route, or even shorter, than the O. R. & N. could offer it." The controversy occasioned much activity on the part of both corporations in surveying for routes and negotiating for rights of way. The Northern Pacific sought to bring its adversary to terms by threatening not only to parallel its proposed line up Snake river to Lewiston, but if necessary to do likewise with the road down the Columbia to Portland. The O. R. & N. by purchasing as much of the right of way up the north side of Clearwater as it could and instituting condem- nation proceedings for yard and depot grounds on the Silcott farm, opposite Lewiston, gave evidence of its intention to push into the Clearwater country. Both companies were active in surveying east of Lewiston, and both were searching for passes through the Bitter Roots and examining tnose already found. The Northern Pacific was pushing with great energy its construction work on the Cleawater Shirt Line exten- sion, and it was reported that in April, 1899, the road practically completed as far as the Big Eddy, where a a cut had to be made. Work was also being pushed vigorously on the Lapwai spur, which it was at first intended to extend into Camas prairie, a scheme after- ward abandoned on account of the high divide to the northward from Cottonwood. In Portland, early in August, 1899, a conference took place between President C. S. Mellen, of the Northern Pacific, and E. H. Harriman, chairman of the Union Pacific board of directors, President A. L. Mohler of the O. R. & N. being also present. It was understood that the main question up for consideration was the Northern Pacific's ultimatum to the O. R. & N. that it should promise to keep out of the Nez Perces country and give the Northern Pacific full trackage rights down the Columbia from Lewiston to Portland, or have its line paralleled down the Columbia. What transpired at the conference was a secret; we do not know that its results have ever become fully known to the public, but it is certain that some kind of a truce was arranged whereby the O. R. & N. suspended oper- ations in the Nez Perces country. In the efforts of the press and people to gain as much information as possible about the railway situa- tion, not a little weight was given to the utterances of the Orgonian, which was known to be in close touch with the O. R. & N. That journal in an issue appearing shortly after the conference used this language : "There is at present a truce, for a given or termin- able period, between the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific, as to territory in the Columbia basin, and con- struction on both sides is for the present suspended. But it will be resumed within a short time, either through rivalry or through agreement. The road along Snake river from Riparia to Lewiston will be built next year, either by the O. R. & N. alone, or by combination between the O. R. & N. and the Northern Pacific. The railroad problems of the Northwest are simply in abey- ance for the present, but the inaction will not last long. Agreement is possible, in order to avoid the duplication of lines ; and yet the nature of the rivalry is such that no basis on which agreement may be reached is ap- parent." But subsequent events have gone to show that if not at this conference, then at some later one an adjust- ment of differences much more favorable to the North- ern Pacific than the above would indicate was agreed HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. averring th about for so upon. There was doubtless not a little truth in the Minneapolis Journal's statement based on the best in- formation then obtainable and published early in 1900, that "when President Mellen was looking e feature that would encourage an arbi- tration of the difficulty he sought E. H. Harriman, chairman of the Union Pacific board of directors. Mr. Harriman never approved of the policy of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company that sought to invade the Clearwater country and obtain territory by con- quest. In Mr. Harriman'^ opinion the Oregon road was going out of its way 'to continue a quarrel. But the man with the hoe was James J. Hill, and both Mel- len and Harriman knew this fact only too well. As soon as Hill was left out of the calculation a settlement was speedily brought about. It was Harriman who proposed that the Oregon road abandon the Clearwater country. But he also decided cific should pay its competitor curred in making surveys and hat the Northerr or all the expenses in- uying a ight of rifling sum of $50,000, Pacific succeeds to the igh the very This bill of exper and by its payment the Northern complete title to a right of way of Camas prairie, which will become more valuable every day. Thus did President Mellen make a conces- sion that redounds to the everlasting benefit of the Northern Pacific." It has been stated also that an important factor in effecting this truce between the rival companies was their common transportation enemy, the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy. That road was seeking a Pacific coast connection through the Lewiston valley and was so well fortified in its demands as to be able to force from the Northern Pacific very valuable concessions in the Northwest. The C. B. & Q. had surveying parties in north Idaho during the summer and fall of 1900, giving color to the belief that it would build through to the coast, most likely by the Salmon river route. It is understood, however, that this road is now under the control of the Northern Pacific, so that that company is apparently absolute master of the situation in the Clearwater country at present. Further activity in railway construction in that section has been confidently looked for ever since the completion of the road to Stites and is still expected. There can be little doubt but that the Northern Pacific Company will push its lines farther into that section in the near future. But the first railway construction to effect the sec- tion of which we are treating will be the Lewiston- Riparia road. A dispatch from Portland bearing date of August 2, 1902, announced that the contract for the building of this road had been that day awarded by the O. R. & N. to Wren & Greenough, contractors, the agreement being that work should begin at once and be completed by April 15, 1903, including a steel bridge across the Clearwater at Lewiston to cost $350,000. The truth of the dispatch was vouched for a few days later by President Mohler of the O. R. & N., also by President Mellen of the Northern Pacific Company, who also gave the information that the road would be operated jointly by the corporations they represent. Construction work was, however, delayed by a con- troversy between the two interests over the right of way, also, it is said, by the fear that legislation might be enacted seriously affecting the capitalization of the venture, but it is now claimed that all these difficulties are out of the way and that work will be resumed in the near future. PART II. HISTORY OF NEZ PERCES COUNTY CHAPTER I. CURRENT HISTORY. In previous chapters have been detailed the causes which led to the settlement of Nez Perces county, the inception of that settlement, the founding of Lewiston and much of the earliest history of this important political entity. Its creation by legislative enactment has also been referred to and its earliest boundary lines described. It remains now to take up the thread of its history and as far as possible to trace the various events which have transpired among its people, the growth of its wealth and industries and the divers forces which have contributed to its social and in- dustrial evolution. The original boundaries of the county as given it by act of the Washington legislature in December, 1861, were modified by the Idaho legislature in 1867, which enacted that they should be as follows : "Begin- ning at the middle channel of Snake river, opposite the mouth of Clearwater river; and thence due north along the west line of Idaho Territory to the main di- vide between the waters of the Palouse river and Lahtoh or Hangeman's creek ; thence easterly to the westerly line of Shoshone county; thence southerly along said line to the Clearwater river ; thence up the south fork of Clearwater river to Lolo creek; thence with Lolo creek in an easterly direction to the sum- mit of the Bitter Root mountains ; thence southerly along the summit of said mountains to the junction of Salmon river and Bitter Root mountains ; thence in a westerly direction along the summit of Salmon river and Clearwater mountains to a prominent landmark known as 'Buffalo Hump' ; thence westerly along said divide between the waters of White Bird creek and Camas prairie, to a point where the road leading from Lewiston to Slate creek crosses said divide : thence in a direct line to the foot of Ponto bar on Salmon river ; thence in a direct line to a point on Snake river known as Pittsburg landing ; thence down the channel of Snake river to the place of beginning." This ex- tensive area in 1870 contained a white population of 1,588, which, however, increased during the next de- cade to 4,583. During the late 'sixties and early 'seventies . Nez Perces county was sharing in that transition from mining to agriculture and stockraising which we have before mentioned in connection with north Idaho in general and this portion of the inland empire. It shared also in the relative depression which visited the country when the golden days were over, yet consider- ing its youth it had a goodly number of wealthy and well-to-do men within its limits as shown by the Signal's list of persons paying taxes on property valued at one thousand dollars or over in- 1872, which list, for the sake of preserving as far as possible the names of those who at the time occupied positions of promi- nence in industrial circles, and were thechief wealth holders of the county, we reproduce as follows : Levi Ankeny, $23,200; L. B. Boise, $1,500; John Brearley, $4,100; Bunker & Squier, $2,850; J. J. Bon- ner, $1,600; C. C. Bunnell, $5.000: A. Benson, $4,510; Crites & Curry, $1,650; C. P. Coburn, $5,585; Curry & Holbrook, $1.375 ', Cook & Shultz, $1,240; H. Crites, $1,200; C. Cooper, $2,635: Cummings & Company, $2,000; Grostein Binnard, $20,000; A. Oilman, $1,500; James Gage, $3,160; Hung Wan Chung, $2,500; Hexter & Brother, $9,000; Harris & Story, $1,550: McGregor, $1,677; George Mitchell. $1.140; M. A. Kelly, $8,310; J. Karney, $1.590 ; Leland & Rowley, $1,400; C. Le Francois, $9.565; Loewenberg Brothers. $17,400- Wesley Mulkey. $6.555: R. J.Mon- roe, $4.800: McElwee, $1,000; John Proctor, $2,720; HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. J. Perrault, $3,640; Rowley & Leach, $1,550; H. W. Stainton, $1,450; P. Sholl, $4,300; S. S. Slater, $1,666; T. Schenck, $1,188; John Silcott, $1,490; A. W. Shum- way, $1,080; Tremble & Company, $1,600; C. A. Thatcher, $9,165; S. C. Thompson, $4,300; J. P. Vollmer, $2,542; S. W. Whitfield, $1,100; E. Weis- gerber, $2,150; C. Walker, $1,125 ; C. Wintsch, $3,000 ; T. H. Worden, $3,645; P. B. Whitman, $1,800. In January, 1873, a bill was introduced into the Idaho legislature cutting off a portion of Nez Perces and adding it to Idaho county. Already Idaho county had seven thousand square miles of territory or ap- proximately that, and it was proposed to give it over four thousand more, leaving to Nez Perces county only fifteen hundred square miles, exclusive of the Indian reservation. As the territory proposed to be trans- ferred contained several old farming settlements, four prominent mining camps, 450 inhabitants and about $185,000 worth of taxable property, it was but natural that the citizens of the county from which the terri- tory was to be taken should offer vigorous opposition. But the friends of Idaho county colluded with the representatives from Lemhi, Boise and Ada counties, giving them each a small slice from the eastern and southern portion of its original domain. It was a shrewd move and so adroitly managed that Idaho county succeeded in securing the passage in both branches of the legislature of a bill by which it ex- changed twelve hundred square miles of territory of no special value to itself for about 4,500 square miles from Nez Perces county. Fortunately, however, for the taxpayers of the latter political division, the bill was vetoed by Governor Bennett. among the people of Nez Perces county during the year 1873. Hard times and lack of a market for products were exerting their baneful influence upon the farming communities, where, however, abundant crops were being garnered. To add to the general discomfiture, the Indians, who afterward took the war path under Joseph, were showing signs of hostility, going so far, it was said, as to debate among themselves, when in- toxicated, the chances of success in committing depre- dations upon the whites. To their boldness not a little was contributed by the removal of the mounted troops from the garrison at Lapwai. The newspapers called attention to the danger and the men of Lewiston re- sponded by organizing on the evening of March 29th a military company of 107 members, with Hazen Squier as captain, John M. Dormer, first lieutenant, Isaac Kipp, second lieutenant, George Young, orderly sergeant, and a full quota of minor officers. The ensuing two or three years brought little amelioration in conditions. The financial stringency continued and the uncertainty and apprehension incident to the Indian difficulties were still exerting their de- pressing influence, nevertheless throughout this seem- ingly unprogressive period, the foundations of future development were being laid, and the country was get- ting ready for the dawn of a brighter day, when the incubus of doubt and dread should be removed. Notwithstanding the various discouragements and the danger of an Indian outbreak, which, strange to say, did not lead to adequate preparation for defense on the part of either the citizens or the military, while it had its injurious effect upon industry, the country made rapid strides forward in 1876, especially that part north of the Snake river, or what is now embraced in Latah county. A correspondent of the Oregonian, writing in the spring of 1877, stated that after an ex- tensive tour of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and north Idaho, he had found the prospects in Nez Perces county, and in Whitman county, Wyoming Territory, contiguous to it, especially bright. Their population was rapidly increasing, and they were being encouraged to engage in wheat raising by the fact that the soil was especially suited to that industry, and that the Ore- gon Steam Navigation Company had made a liberal reduction in the charges for transporting the product. The same writer also refers to the rapid growth of the sheep industry and states that the amount of flax seed shipped from Nez Perces and Whitman counties indi- cates that that product will become one of the sources of wealth of that section. "It is observable also," he continues, "that among the people settling there the regard for schools, churches and all facilities for gen- eral intelligence and improvement is as high as that which characterizes the American people everywhere." Of course the Indian war paralyzed industry in this and Idaho counties during its continuance, greatly retarding all industrial operations, also in contiguous counties of the territory and of Washington. Farmers were obliged to take their families to places of security in the towns, and those on the frontier, miners and tirely, remaining away during what would otherwise have been the busiest season. Even where there was no real danger, rumors and false reports kept the set- tlers continually on the qui vive, and an occasional panic would send them pell mell to the nearest port of safety, leaving their places to take care of themselves. Unfenced grain fields were destroyed and all growing products which required cultivation after seeding were neglected. The presence of the troops, however, set- tled the market problem for the time being. The presence of the troops had another good effect also in that it gave the people a feeling of confidence during the Bannock and Piute war of 1878, in eastern Oregon. The baptism of fire the citizens of north Idaho had just passed through resulted in their being quite well supplied with arms and ammunition; the companies of volunteers formed during the Nez Perces outbreak were another safeguard, and these, together with the martial spirit of the people, were suffi- cient to check any turbulent spirit among the reserva- tion Indians. The effect of the war is plainly shown in the as- sessor's census for 1878, which shows that out of a population of 2,793, tne number of voters was 859, making the ratio between total population and voters entirely too small. The women and children had moved to other communities and others who would have settled in the county were deterred from so doing,. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. making the number of adult males disproportionately large. Thorn creek precinct had 413 inhabitants and 141 voters; Paradise, 691 and 203; Palouse Bridge, 419 and 142; Pine creek, 117 and 37; Camas creek, 61 and 26 ; Lake, 98 and 45 ; Lewiston, 994 and 265. The number of horses was shown to be 3,672; of cattle, 3,925 ; of mules, 276 ; of hogs, 2,785 ; of sheep, 14,960. The valuation of real estate was $180,138; of personal property, $327,504; the total valuation $507,642, and the number of taxpayers, 577. The increase in the property valuation over that of the preceding year was nearly $200,000. During the winter of 1879 a slight misfortune be- fell the county, which was described by The Teller in the following language : "On Saturday last (February 23d) a regular chinook visited us at this place. One had visited the foothills south and west of us a day or two previously and caused much of the snow to melt and run off into the gulches and valleys. On Monday the Clear- water was full from bank to bank with floating ice, and this continued, except at intervals, until late on Tuesday, and even on Wednesday much ice went down the river. The Lapwai, Sweetwater, Hatwai and Potlach creeks were much swollen, also the Asotin and Alpowa creeks on the Washington side. Small gulches and ravines discharged vast quantities of water and some of them much debris and small rocks. Roads were in many places rendered entirely impassable by reason of the road beds being washed out in many places. Small bridges were washed away. The mails on the different routes leading to Lewiston failed of reaching here on time, save the Mount Idaho, and the northern mail did not depart until Wednesday noon owing to ice in the Clearwater. "At 3 o'clock P. M. on Monday the saw and grist mill at the Lapwai agency with a considerable quan- tity of wheat were undermined and swept away into and down the Clearwater. Two men, Nicholson and Toombs, being in the mill at the time it was swept away, were carried out into the river and down it about a mile and a half before they could be rescued, and their ultimate escape from death was almost miracu- lous. Much other damage was done along the Lapwai creek. The Soldier canyon road was badly washed for about two miles and it will require the labor of forty before. The flume of the Lewiston ditch above Linds- ley's orchard was washed away and the ditch in many places filled with debris from" the side gulches. The boom at the saw mill was broken and about 100,000 feet of logs were carried away; also the wood boom above the mill, and about 125 cords of wood were lost. The stage which left here for Walla Walla on Mon- day with mails, express and one passenger was upset at the third crossing of the Alpowa. The driver and passenger were swept down the stream about 150 yards before they could get out. The two lead horses became detached and got out of the stream while the wheel horses, stage, mails and express were carried six hundred yards and were rescued by the Indians. The express box with about $2,000 in it drifted to within twenty feet of the Snake river, where it be- came lodged against some willows and was found on Tuesday. The whole section Vvas damaged consider- ably and the loss will amount to many thousands of dollars." Yet it is certain that the year 1879 was on the whole one of progress and prosperity. Considerable government money was expended in improving the Clearwater and Snake rivers, congesting temporarily in some measure the local circulating medium. The Sheepeater disturbances in Idaho county had been quieted by the defeat and capture of the hostiles, per- mitting the vanguard of the homeseeking army to ad- vance farther inland. The Lewiston land office, re- cently established, reported in June that since March ist preceding, there had been filed in the district em- bracing all Idaho north of the Salmon River range 854 pre-emptions, 437 homesteads and 306 timber claim entries, an aggregate of 1,597 filings, each em- bracing a quarter section. Those already established in the business of agriculture and cattle raising were meeting with splendid success, and the numbers of those seeking to obtain homesteads and join their ranks continued undiminished were increasing rather. But the opening of the year 1880 was a somewhat unpropitious one. The spring was cold, rainy and disagreeable in the valleys, while in the hills and mountains the snow lay deep until far into the summer, being over four feet in depth on the Warren trail as late as the isth of June. Neither did the middle life of the year bring any special encouragement to the agriculturist but rather the opposite, for the kindly warmth of the summer sun proved congenial not alone to man and his domestic friends but likewise to his loathsome and detested enemy, the grasshopper. Thousands of these voracious winged pests visited the country, harvesting the grain crops at an untimely season and desolating flower gardens, orchards, etc. Fortunately the omnivorous insects were not as thor- ough in tlieir work of destruction as they sometimes are and only certain localities were visited by them. But the agricultural development of the country had begun in earnest and not the presence of a temporary plague nor the absence of speedy transportation nor the scarcity of money nor any other obstacle which la- bor and patience could surmount was potent to stay the on rd movement. No ob ug the signs of progress on every hand. In 1879 tne Waha prairie was almost unoccupied, the only indi- cation of its being the dwelling place of man being a cabin here and there contiguous to or surrounded by a small patch of enclosed land. Before 1880 had passed into history the old trails and roads were rendered no longer passable on account of the fences of the ranch- men and the traveler must perforce traverse the long lanes leading across the valley. It must be remembered that all this development was wrought in spite of many trying conditions. While the mining wealth of the country was by no means exhausted, that which could be garnered by the poor man had long since found its way into the pocket HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. of the miner and thence into the world's marts of trade. Capital is never. a pioneer. However heroic a man may be he needs the spur of necessity to force him into the loneliness and uncertainty and danger and privation to be met in the van of civilization's march. Without the capital to develop them, the deep lying wealth materials must remain unutilized; without cheap transportation the markets of the world are closed to the isolated community. Speaking of the conditions obtaining during the winter of 1881 the Teller says: "Probably at no time for ten years past has the first of January found the great mass of the farmers so destitute of money as during the present month at least such is the burden of their song, and there are reasons for this. They strained every nerve the past season to raise a good surplus of wheat and flax in the confident hope that they could get it shipped to a paying market and get good returns before January arrived. But with few exceptions, the people of this section have not been able to get their wheat and flax off to a market, and while a few have sold to the agents of buyers who were sent out into the country and received a small payment to bind the sales, yet the great bulk of the value of their products has not yet been realized. They have grain in abundance but no money. This scarcity is seriously felt by the mer- chants, mechanics and laborers whom they owe. Pa- tience and forbearance becomes necessary in such a crisis. These producers will work themselves out of the dilemma as soon as they have a fair show. The Walla Walla and Touchet' valleys had a much better show, and money is reported to be plentiful among the farmers of those valleys. Our turn will come after a while, if we can hold fast and not be too exacting upon each other." From the foregoing it will be seen that the fields of Clearwater country did their best for the farmer during the year 1881, even if the opportunity to turn their products into cash was tardy in coming and the ready liquidation of debts was for that reason rendered impossible. The only climatic drawback to agricul- ture this year of which we have found record was a very heavy hail storm, the severest ever experienced in this part of the country up to that time. It oc- curred on the 3d of June and though its duration was not greater than ten minutes, it lasted long enough to cut down fields of grain in places, to destroy gar- dens and to kill scores of domestic animals. Paradise valley, the Potlach creek country and other farming communities suffered damage aggregating hundreds of dollars, while at Elk City a Chinaman lost his life, being struck by a limb blown from a tree under which he was seeking shelter. Comparatively insignificant though the industrial activities of the'Nez Perces Indians were yet in our summary of the year 1881 we must give them credit for having added at least slightly to the wealth pro- duction of the county. The number of the tribe at this time seems to have been 2,036, of whom 257 were farmers. The Indian dwelling places consisted of forty-eight frame houses, one hundred and twenty- eight log houses, seventy-two cloth, eighteen skin and twelve bark lodges. Four thousand, seven hundred and thirteen acres of their reserve were in cultivation. The red men were the possessors of 12,696 horses, 870 cows, ten oxen, 1,500 other cattle, 675 swine and 1,200 domestic fowls. The sole product of their man- ufacturing skill consisted of about three hundred yards of matting. Up to this time the legislative and judicial business of Nez Perces county had been transacted in a one- story frame building, back of the site which Alexan- der's general store now occupies, but the building had long been felt to be inadequate for the purpose and in January, 1882, the county commissioners purchased the old Luna property from Conrad Wintsch, design- ing to repair the building and fit it up to conserve the purpose of a county court house. The annals of 1882 were darkened by the com- mission on Camas creek of a crime which for atrocity deserves rank with the murder of Magruder in 1863. The victims of this dastardly act were three Chinese miners who were delving for the precious metal on the creek at a point about seventeen miles above Palouse bridge. The perpetrator or perpetrators of the terrible crime burned the Chinese cabin and with it two of the bodies. The remains of the third vic- tim, who is said to have been a highly educated, intel- ligent representative of his race, were found buried in the snow. They were in a state of perfect preser- vation, owing to the cold, which was sufficient to freeze them. A bullet hole in the back, another in the left side of the head and a gash across the throat showed at once the manner of the Mongolian's taking off and the extreme atrocity of his murderer. The only incentive to the enactment of this terrible tragedy seems to have been robbery, for the Chinamen were supposed to have several hundred dollars in gold dust at the time of their demise, no trace of which was dis- coverable around their burned and despoiled place of abode. Abe Galloway, who discovered the charred re- mains of the burned cabin, was given an examination which resulted in his being completely exonerated from any complicity in the crime. Although Governor Neil on' behalf of the territory offered a reward of $500 each for the arrest and conviction of the guilty parties and although a determined effort was made to solve the mystery, the murderer or murderers have never been brought to justice. During the fall of 1882 and the winter following a determined effort was made by the people north of the Clearwater to effect segregation from Nez Perces county and the formation of a new political division. As is" usual in such movements the leading agitators were men who hoped to gain some financial benefit by the establishment of a new county seat. The ambi- tious town in this instance was Moscow, in the rich and prosperous Paradise valley. Petitions were cir- culated and numerously signed, praying for the erec- tion of the proposed new county and these called forth counter petitions among the south side residents, who admitted that county division at some time was in- evitable, but considered this movement premature. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Then, too, it was urged that as soon as northern Idaho should be attached to Washington a readjustment of county lines would become necessary, therefore the people desiring to be clothed with the authority to organize a separate local government ought to await incorporation into the territory of Washington before pressing forward their schemes. So numerous were the remonstrators and so strong their opposition that the bill for the new county could not be carried in the legislature. Disappointed in this project the friends of the movement, through Councilman Taylor, introduced a bill providing for a special election to be held on the first Monday in June in Nez Perces county at which the advisability of relocating the county seat should be submitted to a vote of the people. The bill was, of course, introduced in the interest of Moscow. One of its provisions was that if the electors decided to re- move the county seat from Lewiston, the place selected should deposit with the treasurer a sum sufficient to erect new county buildings and pay all the expenses of removing the records, etc., to the new seat of gov- ernment. The bill passed both houses. A lively cam- paign followed, both parties to the contest making a thorough canvass and arguing the question in all its phases with spirit. The result on election day was in favor of Lewiston, that town receiving 922 votes whereas its rival, Moscow, received only 642 votes. Lewiston had a majority in ten out of the thirteen princincts of the county. The year 1884 seems to have been a rather quiet one in Nez Perces county, the Coeur d'Alene country being the chief center of attraction in north Idaho at that time. Autumn, however, brought an abundant yield of wheat not alone in Idaho but in the cereal belt of the neighboring territory of Washington also. The crop was sufficiently large to have enabled the farmers to liquidate practically all their debts had the prices been good. The great bane of pioneer communities, lack of adequate transportation facilities, was militat- ing against these, however, and many ranchmen began discussing the advisability of turning their farms into stock ranches. During this year General Miles testified his faith in the good intentions of the Nez Perces Indians by or- dering that thereafter Fort Lapwai be treated as an outpost of Walla Walla and garrisoned by a lieutenant and only twelve men of the second cavalry. The re- mainder of that company he sent to Fort Boise, mak- ing that a four company post. The faith of General Miles was not shared by the settlers in the vicinity of of the reservation, who remonstrated earnestly, point- ing out that the Nez Perces were still a strong tribe and that there were many among them who could be easily incited to acts of hostility. But the subsequent good conduct of the Nez Perces has justified the faith of Miles. As illustrating the rapidity with which Nez Perces county was growing at this period of its history we have taken a few figures from the tax roll summaries, according to which the total taxable property, real and personal, in the year 1882 was $1,327,516"; in 1883, The year 1885 was one of uninterrupted tranquil- ity but 1886 brought a movement for the formation of a new county with, no doubt, some of the intense in- terest and bitterness usually attending such efforts. The proposition was to take for the new political division the southern portion of Shoshone county and that part of the Nez Perces lying between the Lolo and the south middle forks of the Clearwater. As an alternative in case this movement did not meet with favor it was suggested that the settlers in southern Shoshone might seek annexation to either Nez Perces or Idaho counties. The reason of their discontent with their existing political affinities was the distance to Murray, their county seat. The proposal seems not to have been carried into a definite effort before the legis- lature, but agitation for redress of grievances has never solely died out and at this writing the erection of a new county to embrace the inhabitants of southern Shoshone is a living issue. The next few years in Nez Perces county were years of quiet and steady advancement along all lines, very little transpiring which' has a sensational flavor when reduced to narrative. The two questions most deeply agitating the public mind during this period, the problem of securing railroad communication with neighboring states and the world and the annexation movement, have been ' discussed at some length in pre- vious chapters. It is needless to state that crtizens of Nez Perces county were equally with other citizens of the territory of Idaho solicitous for the early admis- sion of their commonwealth to statehood, taking their full part in the initiatory steps in that direction. This also has been treated in its proper place. In the general prosperity obtaining throughout Idaho during the few years preceding its admission to statehood Nez Perces county had its full share. Crops were good, the out- look in the spring of 1888 being especially faorable. As the Teller informs us reports of great promise of good and large yields of grain came in from every section of the Clearwater country, from Lapwai, Sweetwater, Tammanv, Asotin, Cainas Prairie, Weipe, etc. Aside from the larger questions above mentioned the one political movement to agitate the general pub- lic was a renewed effort to secure the removal of the county seat from Lewiston to Moscow. The course pursued by the friends of Paradise prairie's ambitious namely the circulation of petitions, agitation through the local press, etc. The friends of Lewiston again took up the gauntlet and so effective was their oppo- sition that a change of tactics by the Moscow people became necessary. Through Delegate Dubois and Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, they secured the intro- duction into both houses of congress of a bill creating Latah county out of the northern portion of Nez Perces The r and efforts of its opponents in the southern part, becoming a law May 14, 1888. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. In June, 1889, Miss Alice C. Fletcher arrived at the Lapwai agency to take charge of the work of allotment of lands to the Indians in accordance with the provisions of the Severalty act of February 8, 1887, which provided that each head of a family on the reservation should receive a quarter section of land; each single person over eighteen, one-eighth section : each single person under eighteen then living or who might be born before the president's order directing the allotment, one-sixteenth of a section. Her arrival and the inception of this work was a favora- ble sign as it proved the animus of the government to open the reserve as soon as possible. The people of the surrounding country looked upon the movement with much favor, hoping that the incubus upon prog- ress arising out of the ownership of large tracts of valuable agricultural land by an unprogressive and comparatively degenerate people would soon be re- moved, but it was full half a decade before the work of opening the reserve was accomplished. With the opening of the prosperous year 1890 began a determined effort to secure transportation facilities for the Clearwater country. In February the citizens of Lewiston held a mass meeting in the Vollmer block at which the railroad question was thor- oughly discussed and a committee appointed to formu- late a plan of action. A meeting was also held at Nelson's schoolhouse, at which the citizens manifested their willingness to raise a bonus of $25,000 in their neighborhood to help bring a railroad to the country. By April a bonus of $50,000 had been subscribed, which, with the right of way from Lewiston to the reservation line, a distance of seven miles, was offered the Northern Pacific Company to extend their Spokane and Palouse branch to Lewiston. Later the subsidy was increased to $65,000 and still later to over $100,- ooo. The railroad officials promised to build the ex- tension during 1890, and gave earnest of their bona fide intentions by investing quite heavily in Lewiston real estate, but for some reason the road was not built as agreed, so the company lost this magnificent sub- sidy and the people the benefit of the road for several years more. The good year 1892 was darkened in Nez Perces county during its final month by the enactment of a tragedy which led to another, leaving a still darker stain upon the county's annals. The facts as we have been able to glean them from the rather meager rec- ords at hand are as follows: Albert B. Roberts, the author of the first homicide and the victim of the sec- ond, had been working for several months in the employ of one John Sutherland and his brother, residence in the vicinity of Leland. When the Sutherlands discharged Roberts they held back five dollars of his pay, alleging that he had stolen twenty dollars from them. A quarrel ensued, of course. Roberts went to Leland and w'hen John Sutherland visited that town a few days later the trouble was renewed. Roberts demanded the five dollars he claimed was due him ; his late employer refused; angry words followed which soon led to blows. During the melee Roberts threw his right arm about Sutherland's neck and while he had his adversary thus held in a comparatively helpless position, drew a revolver and discharged it three times into Sutherland's abdomen, killing him almost in- stantly. Roberts was arrested and brought to Lewis- ton. The sequel proves that the Clearwater country had not yet progressed so far in its development of civil institutions and orderly society but that there was dan- ger of a temporary lapse, when the occasion seemed to warrant it, into the well known practices of the vigilantes of its early history. On the 2d of January, 1893, a masked mob visited the jail in which Roberts was confined and compelled Deputy Sheriff W. W. Wright to open the doors. Proceeding to the cell of their intended victim, they gagged him so that he could make no outcry, then took him into the office and bound him securely hands and feet, meanwhile keeping strict guard over the deputy sheriff and one Timothy Ryan, who happened to be his bedfellow on this particular night. After giving their companions time to get a safe distance away, the guard thrust Wright and Ryan into a room, closed the door and hastily retreated into the open. The deputy and his and fired several shots in succession to alarm the sheriff. That officer, together with Sheriff-elect Mounce soon joined in the chase. The mob, however, made good their escape and the identity of none of them was ever discovered. In due time the body of their victim was found in Mulkey's mill, still warm but lifeless. The year 1893 was an important one in the history of Nez Perces county, and notwithstanding the fact that the sun of financial prosperity throughout the United States began to be eclipsed during the twelve- month, several events transpired looking toward the general progress of this section. Not the least among these was the passage in the Idaho legislature of a bill establishing a state normal school at Lewiston and appropriating for its use fifty thousand acres of the one hundred thousand given to the state by the United States government for the purpose of aiding in the establishment of such institutions. A matter of even greater moment to the industrial development of the county was the successful negotia- tion of a treaty with the Nez Perces Indians whereby their reservation was to be opened for settlement. In December, 1892, a commission appointed by the presi- dent, which commission consisted of Robert Schleich- er of Lewiston. chairman, Cyrus Beede, of Iowa, and James Allen, of Washington, D. C., convened at Lewiston with authority to offer to the Indians for their lands as liberal prices as ever were offered to any tribe by the United States. For more than two months the commission labored strenuously to secure the open- ing of the reserve, but they were opposed in their efforts by certain outsiders who hoped to gain per- sonal benefits through maintaining the existing con- ditions of things and by wealthy Indians who wished the ranges for the pasturing of their herds of ponies. On February igth, the commission adjourned sine HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 89 die. They had succeeded in securing the signatures to the treaty of only 118 adult males, out of a total of 407. Negotiations were resumed shortly, however, and in April the commission authorized the statement that enough signatures had been secured to confirm the treaty. But the work of the commissioners was of no prac- tical avail until the treaty negotiated by them should be ratified by congress. A bill for that purpose was introduced into the house by Representative Sweet in June, 1894. The measure was referred to the. com- mittee on Indian affairs and though it was reported back favorably by the majority, a minority report was also submitted by Representative Holman, the "Great Objector," making it uncertain whether the bill could be reached that session. Senator Shoup saved the clay by a shrewd parliamentary move. He succeeded in tacking onto the general Indian appropriation measure an amendment providing for the ratification of the treaty and the appropriation of the necessary funds. Objector Holman waged aggressive warfare against the amendment but was unsuccessful in defeating it, and it was enacted: "That the said agreement (referring to the treaty) be and the same is accepted, ratified and confirmed. "That for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into effect there is hereby appropriated the sum of $1,668,622, of which amount the sum of $1,000,000 shall be placed to the credit of the Nez Perces Indians of Idaho in the territory of the United States and shall bear interest at the rate of five per centum per annum. Said sum of $1,668,622, to- gether with the interest on said sum of one million dollars shall be paid to the Indians or expended for their benefit, as provided in articles two, three, four and eight of said agreement, out of which sum the secretary of the interior shall pay to the heirs, ad- ministrators or legal representatives of William C. Langford, deceased, the sum of $20,000, upon a re- lease and relinquishment to the United States by said heirs, administrators or legal representatives of all right, titles and interest in or claim either legal or equitable, in and to the tract of land described in arti- cle two of said agreement as therein provided. Pro- vided that none of the money paid said Indians, nor any of the interest thereon, shall be or become liable to the payment of any judgment or claim for depre- before the date of said agreement. "That immediately after the issuance and receipt by the Indians of trust patents for the allotted lands, as provided for in said agreement, the lands so ceded, sold, relinquished and conveyed to the United States shall be opened to settlement by proclamation of the president and shall be subject to disposal only under the homestead, townsite, stone and timber and min- ing laws of the United States, excepting the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in each congressional town- ship, which shall be reserved for common school pur- poses and be subject to the laws of Idaho: Pro- vided, That each settler on said lands, shall before making proof and receiving a certificate of entry, pay to the United States for the lands so taken by him, in addition to the fees provided by law, the sum of $3.75 per acre for agriculture lands, half of which shall be paid within three years from the date of the original entry ; and the sum of $5.00 per acre for stone, tim- ber and mineral lands, subject to the regulations pre- scribed by existing laws; but the rights of honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors, as defined and described in sections 2304 and 2305 of the revised statutes of the United States, shall not be abridged except as to 1 the sum to be paid as aforesaid. "That the commissioner of Indian affairs be, and is hereby, authorized to employ a competent surveyor for a period not exceeding two years, at a compensa- tion not exceeding $1,200 per 'annum for" the pur- poses stipulated in article four of said agreement, and he is also authorized to purchase two portable saw mills, as provided in article four. "That the secretary of the interior is hereby authorized to examine the claim of those Indians who served the United States under General O. O. Howard in the late war with Joseph's band of said tribe, as scouts, couriers and messengers, referred to in article ten of said agreement, and also as to the claim of Abraham Brooks, mentioned in said article, and re- in 1900 an act was passed amendatory to the bill just quoted repealing the proviso that homesteaders should be required to pay for their lands the sum of $3-75 P er acre and allowing all bona fide entrymen under the homestead laws to obtain title upon pay- ment of only such fees as were required of all home- steaders. It is needless to state that the opening of the reservation was hailed with delight and enthusiasm gthe citizens of Lewiston and Nez Perces county. >ming, as it did, at a time when financial darkness overshadowed the land, the distribution of over six hundred thousand dollars in cash among the Indians, much of which speedily made its way into the hands of the merchants, was an important factor in keep- ing the wheels of industry oiled. But of vastly great- er moment to the present and prospective develop- ment of the county was the fact that the power of a lethargic, nonproducing and conservative people to hinder progressive movements was broken forever, and in the room of the shiftless, nomadic red man must soon come the thrifty homebuilder to garner the rich treasurers of the fertile reservation soil. The land passed rapidly into hands of men whose interests led them to favor instead of retard the construction of railroads and the inauguration of commercial enter- prises. The wealth of agriculture, of pasturage, of timber and of minerals, in which the reservation acres were known to abound, would be developed to the full- est and brought forth to assist in the upbuilding of commerce, educational establishments, the arts and refinements of civilization and in the working out of the Clearwater country's highest destiny. The effect of the opening upon the Indians probably received little attention from settlers in their vicinity. The price paid them for the lands was sufficient to HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. keep them all in luxury for the rest of their days, and if carefully conserved and bequeathed to their pos- terity to provide against want during at least the next generation of time. That the money will be so hus- banded is doubtful and the destiny of the tribe when their resources are gone and they are no longer the wards of the government is for the anthropologist to foresee if he can and for the philanthropist to help determine as far as he may be able. Certain it is that the red man cannot always live on the bounty of the government or the funds arising from the sale of his possessory rights in the soil of his forefathers. The day must come when he must live by his own unaided efforts or perish and perhaps the present is as good a time as any in which to throw him upon his own resources, teaching him by bitter experiences, if need be, what he will not learn in any other way,, that if he would enjoy the fruits of industry he must endure its pains and sacrifices. But we must return to our current review of events in Nez Perces county taking up the thread where we left it in 1893. The county did not fail to provide for its proper representation at the Columbian exposition in Chicago, but while enroute the car containing the soil, grass and grain exhibits of this and several other counties of Idaho was burned and its contents destroyed. The fruits, however, arrived safely. One event causing a great shock to the residents of the county transpired during the fall of this year, namely, the explosion in the steamer Annie Faxon, of which Harry Baughman was captain, causing the death of eight persons and the wounding of nearly every member of the crew. The vessel at the time of the accident was making a landing at a point below Almota and fifty miles down the river from Lewiston. So violent was the explosion that the vessel was practically blown to pieces, nothing being left above the hull" but splinters. The cause of the accident probably was that the boiler was allowed to become dry. In 1895 occurred what was perhaps the most ter- rible tragedy that has shadowed the fair name of Nez Perces county since the days of Plummer's gang. Waha lake was the scene and Sunday, May igth, the date. One of the central figures in the tragedy was John Siers, a pioneer of that section and a successful stockman. In the early sixties he had entered into partnership with Joseph Shissler ; fortune had smiled benignly on the partners and by industry and econo- my they became the owners of a large tract of land, one of the finest farms in the Clearwater country, also of extensive herds of cattle. As time passed other settlers were attracted to the favored region, among them Mrs. Mary E. Goddard, who settled on land ad- joining Siers and Shissler's place, in 1884. Naturally the large stock interests of these pioneer cattlemen in- volved them in numerous neighborhood disputes, among them one of great bitterness with Mrs. God- dard. ' The accidental death of Mr. Shissler in 1886 neces- sitated division of the estate, and Mr. Siers took the stock interests of the firm, leaving the realty to the Shissler heirs. He then leased the land, associating with him in this venture his former foreman, Frank Ward, who later became a son-in-law of Mrs. God- dard. Siers went east and remained until 1894, on which date he returned, dispossessed Ward and took possession of the property himself. He took up his abode in the old house, allowing Mrs. Goddard, who had resided with her daughter and son-in-law in a new house erected by the latter, to remain in posses- sion of the same. About the middle of April Ward brougtft suit against Siers to recover $1,000 claimed to be due him, and the Shissler heirs also went into court to compel Siers to comply with the terms of the lease. While the suit was pending the property was placed in the hands of a receiver, who leased the place to Mrs. Goddard. Siers acquiesced, only asking for sufficient time to collect his personal effects, but when he attempted to do this he found that many of them were held by Mrs. Goddard as part of the estate. He appealed to the receiver, who sent Mrs. Goddard an order to turn over the property, which order was dis- obeyed by her. Siers again went to the receiver, and it was agreed that the difficulty should be adjusted the following Sunday in the presence of that officer, at the residence of Mrs. Goddard. On that Sunday the fatal affray took place. The tragedy and events leading up to it are described by one of the Lewiston news- papers of the time : "Sunday morning about six o'clock, Siers, in com- pany with his employes. Elmer Shorthill, Frank Kin- caid, J. Manee and William Fay, departed from their temporary quarters at the Monroe farm for Lambert's place, about four miles distant, to secure some horses which were pastured there. Upon reaching the Shissler ranch the party stopped in front of the old house and Siers entered, returning shortly. At the barn yard the party again stopped to allow Mr. Siers to visit a man named Mott, who was sick and quartered in the granary. Siers said he wished to see about removing Mott to the Monroe place, and as he would probably need their assistance he asked his men to wait. Mott was a brother of Mrs. Goddard. He then passed through the gateway opening into the barn yard, leav- ing a rifle leaning against the fence, and proceeded onward. Siers had nearly reached the door when he was confronted by Ward, who held a pistol. A few words passed between them, and almost immediately Mrs. Goddard appeared, and, after engaging in a heat- ed conversation with Siers, passed on toward the gate where the men were. She stopped about forty feet from Siers, who was between her and Ward, and ad- dressed Siers. The latter turned toward her, and as he did so Ward fired two shots at him. Siers reached for his revolver and succeeded in returning the fire. Mrs. Goddard now rushed up, and, taking a revolver from her waist, placed the muzzle near Siers' back and fired several times in rapid succession. Siers fell for- ward, and as he did so Ward struck him over the head with his revolver. Siers expired instantly. "At the commencement of the fight Fred Goddard, the thirteen-year-old son, appeared in the doorway and ordered the men at the gate to remain where they were, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. emphasizing this command with a rifle shot over their heads. Sliorthill picked up Siers' rifle and, with the intention of assisting his fallen comrade, snapped the hammer at the combatants in the barnyard. The cap refused to explode, however. He then loaded the gun and again pulled the trigger, this time with more suc- cess, though the testimony exonerated him from any blame attaching to the death of the murderer, as it was proved that the bullet flew wide of the mark. "Ward sank upon the floor upon reaching the house, and in falling discharged his pistol, the bullet from which grazed the limbs of Mrs. Boyer, who was standing in the doorway. Forty-eight hours later he died in excruiating agony. Mrs. Goddard was. wound- ed, a pistol ball lacerating her right arm. "Hundreds of neighbors and Lewiston people con- gregated at the scene of the terrible tragedy during the day, and excitement over the affair overshadowed all other interests. Coroner Strong impaneled a jury and on Monday a verdict was rendered, holding Ward, Mrs. Goddard and Fred Goddard responsible for Siers' I death. Later Shorthill was arrested for murder and then for assault with, intent to kill. At a fair trial he was completely exonerated and acquitted." When the 'Goddard case came on for trial in the superior court there was begun one of the most mem- orable legal contests in the history of the county. At- torneys McNamee and Clagget conducted'the case for the state, while Reid and Griffits appeared for the tdefense. Forty days were consumed in the taking of testimony and the making of arguments, etc., entail- ing upon the taxpayers an expense of many thousands of dollars. The defendants were acquitted, to the in- dignant surprise of hundreds who followed the testi- mony carefully. On Monday, August 26, 1895, the first payment to Indians of moneys due them in accordance with the treaty began at the agency. The Lewiston banks es- tablished temporary quarters on the reservation for the purpose of cashing the checks, and it is stated that the Indians deposited with these institutions about one- Ithird of their newly-acquired wealth, also that they acted honestly in liquidating their outstanding debts. Speaking editorially of the events on this mem- orable time, the Teller in its issue of August 2Qth said: "The past week has been one of active life in a com- mercial sense. Every channel of trade has been swelled to its flood tide. The impulse derived from the disbursement of Indian money has not yet subsided. Coming, as the revival did, at the beginnig of a sea- >'son of general prosperity, Lewiston may reason- ably expect a rapid development of neglected resources. One thing noticeable is the fact that the Indians use good judgment in making their purchases. Indian goods have always been shoddy goods in trade circles, but the Nez Perces have been selecting the best of everything this week. They have purchased largely of spring wagons, but they have avoided the cheaper goods, preferring to pay good prices for substantial family carriages. .The payment of the Indian money proceeded very quietly all week at the agency. The red men were more indifferent than white men would have been had such a prize been ready for the latter for the simple asking. The sum of two hundred thou- sand dollars awaited the Kamiahs for a week while they deliberated over the preliminaries. At first they seemed nonplused by the final awakening to the fact that they would soon be surrounded by the whites and have to shoulder the responsibilities of the white men, and sent word that they had deeded no land and would therefore receipt for no money. They finally took a philosophic view of the matter, however, and decided to acquiesce. "The Indians as a class have contemplated, secured and utilized this money with better judgment and more in accordance with true business principles than a . chance selection of an equal number of white men would have done. This speaks well for their future. The foundation of civilization is true business thrift of the individuals of anv community, and commercial prosperity is a natural trait of first importance in political economy." When the news of the opening of the reservation spread abroad scores of prospective homesteaders flocked into the country, camping where they might and doing what they could to earn a subsistence. Only the better class came, as the fact that the land was ex- pected to cost $3.75 per acre deterred the rougher and less thrifty element. On November i8th, at 12 o'clock noon, the firing of a cannon at the local land office gave warning of the official opening of the reserve. As usual in such cases there was a great rush for choice locations, but the ruffianism so generally characteristic of these races for homes was conspicuous for its absence. The first claims were filed by Stephen Haaser for Colonel Ham- mel, Captin Tamblin and W. O. Human, old soldiers. A noteworthy event of the first day was the race for the quartz ledges on Eckert's butte, which for many years was supposed to be a veritable bonanza. J. L. Eckert and C. E. Holt were the winners, the latter se- curing first choice. Nezperce City, the new govern- ment townsite, was likewise the center of considerable interest. Great confusion obtained there for a while in the matter of selecting lots, but the friends of order finally effected an organization, and, on the suggestion of Dr. Morris, adopted a species of lot drawing to de- termine the distribution of prizes. The settlement of the reservation enabled Nez Perces county to advance by a single leap to a place among the wealthiest and most populous counties of the state. Of the reservation lands, 533,500 acres were in Nez Perces, much of this domain being exceedingly rich agricultural land, and its settlement by a thrifty, homebuilding population was fraught with momentous consequences for the future greatness of the county. No new movements characterized the year 1896, but it was nevertheless a busy one. It witnessed an in- crease of over 4,000 in the population of Nez Perces county and the settlement of practically all the reserva- tion not taken in the first grand rush. Thousands of ' acres of virgin soil were broken, hundreds of homes were built, several towns were started and signs of HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. healthy development were apparent on every hand. During the year the Clearwater was opened to naviga- tion as far as Kamiah by the utilization of twenty-five thousand dollars provided for the purpose by appro- priation, and thus the final year of the financial strin- gency, the year in which so little was accomplished in many other parts of the west, was made fruitful of much progress in Nez Perces county. In February, 1897, Representative Fuller, of Sho- shone county, introduced into the legislature a bill to create Clearwater county out of the southern portion of Shoshone, the northern portion of Idaho and the east- ern portion of Nez Perces county, the seat of govern- ment of the new political division to be Pierce City. Some of the boundaries were unnatural, and most of the section embraced was unpatented homestead land, not taxable. The number of votes cast at the previous election by residents in the section seeking segregation numbered barely three hundred. Opponents of the measure within and without the proposed new subdi- vision of the state called attention to these facts ; 'the hopelessness of the task they had undertaken soon be- came apparent to its friends and the bill was allowed to drop. It will be remembered that in 1897 there was a re- vival of business throughout the entire northwest. Naturally Nez Perces county, which had not suffered by the hard times as did other parts of the country, was prepared to keep step in this renewed forward march, and the year was fruitful of many improve- ments and some departures in industrial circles. Thousands of dollars were invested in reviving some stamp mills, opening roads, etc. The reorganization of the Northern Pacific Company after its lines had been in the receiver's hands for five years was an event of no little promise to a region which must look to that corporation for the transportation facilities it so much needed and so ardently desired. Lastly, and in time to give the hqmebuilders on the newly-opened Nez Perces reservation the encouragement so necessary and so helpful under those circumstances, came the abun- dant harvests and excellent prices which have made 1897 a memorable year in the history of the inland empire generally. Prosperity among the farmers meant prosperity among the merchants, laborers me- chanics and all other classes, and every one felt that the night of financial distress had given place to a more glorious day than had ever before broken upon the hills and valleys of the Clearwater country. It was no doubt their perception of this golden future that impelled the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to commence in December, 1897, the exten- sion of their Spokane and Palouse branch to Lewis- ton, taking up in good earnest a project which it had long been contemplating but for various reasons had never carried into effect. At any rate, the company notified the people, through its agent, J. P. Vollmer, that it would commence work immediately provided the right of way and depot grounds in Lewiston were donated. The proposal drew forth an immediate re- sponse ; the bonus asked for was speedily granted, also the necessary franchise. The company proved true to its promise. Work was pushed speedily and steadily and on September 8, 1898, the first passenger train entered Lewiston. That it received a hearty welcome need not be stated when it is remembered that the town had begun agitation for a railroad as early as 1872 perhaps earlier and had wrought assiduously during all the intervening years to the end that its in- dustrial development might receive the impetus which nothing but speedy transportation could give, at times offering enormous bonuses and ever standing ready to offer the company which should build to them all the encouragement in their power. The activity of the Northern Pacific seemed to stimulate other transpartation companies, and in March, 1898, articles of incorporation of the Snake River Valley Railroad Company were filed in the county clerk's office. The object of this company was to build a line from Umatilla, Oregon, to a point in the state of Washington contiguous to the mouth of Snake river, thence along the valley of that stream via Riparia, Washington, and Lewiston. Idaho, to the vicinity of Huntington. The proposed road would be of great benefit to the Clearwater section, and the people thereof are ever alert for the good of their part of the state, so considerable attention was paid to this new project. However, the people were too well used to the ways of railway projectors to be greatly disappointed when the road did not materialize. The winter of 1897-8 was a mild one, and, as is usual under those circumstances, the fall of snow was correspondingly heavy. The precipitation during Jan- uary was very great, and conditions were right for an era of floods as soon as a warm wind should begin blowing. On the I4th of February the balmy "Chi- nook" came with its furnace breath, the snow was speedily converted into torrents of water, the streams were swelled to their utmost, the former high-water records of the Potlatch, especially, being badly broken. Much damage resulted to the railroad bed; the new construction work was injured and its progress de- layed; travel was rendered impossible for three days and the entire Potlatch country was cut off from mail communication with the outside world. The Clear- water at Lewiston rese six feet in one day and the cur- rent in it became so swift as to stop the ferries ; but tion. As the year advanced it brought with it blessings and a substantial increase of wealth to the citizens of Nez Perces county and vicinity. Copious rains in June insured excellent crops. Much of the land of the region was new, so that the enormous crop of 1897 did not render another large crop in 1898 a practical impossibility, and it is stated that the wheat yield of that year was the greatest known up to the time. The acreage devoted to the different cereal products during the year, as compiled by Assessor Cantril, were as follows: Wheat, 44,507 acres; barley, 4,131 acres; flax, 2,924 acres: oats, 1,572 acres; corn, 275 acres. The number of acres devoted to hay was 2,344- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. The outbreak of the Spanish-American war was in Nez Perces county, as in other parts of Idaho and the west, the occasion of a great outburst of patriotic ferver. This ebullition of the martial spirit found ex- pression at a public meeting held at the court house Saturday, April 23d, 1898, at which the militia, mem- bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, several Confederate veterans, many students and a representa- tion of the citizenship of Lewiston far beyond the capacity of the audience room to accommodate were present. Judge J. W. Poe presided. Speeches were made by Supreme judges Sullivan and Quarks, Colonels Lane and Danford, J. N. Stacy and James W. Reid, and these, with the martial music, stirred all hearts to their profoundest depths. Shortly after the issuance of the call of President McKinley for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers, Company B received orders to hold itself in readiness to furnish thirty-five of its best men to fill up the state quota, and the boys had been drilling as- siduously in anticipation of the opportunity to partici- pate for the first time in active warfare. On Monday, May 2d, they received the anticipated marching or- ders, commanding them to repair at once to the ren- dezvous at Boise, but on account of some difficulty about transportation they were delayed in their com- pliance until Thursday. At noon on Monday Com- pany C, of Grangeville, Captain Murphy commanding, arrived in Lewiston. They and the home boys were tendered a reception by the ladies of the Women's Relief Corps on Tuesday evening, at which they en- joyed not only the usual bounties of good things, but heart- felt words of welcome and farewell expressed in glowing language by eloquent speakers. A flag was presented to the soldiers by C. P. Coburn, accom- '_ panied by words well-calculated to inspire in the breasts of its recipients a determination to carry it on to victory and to never disgrace it by any act of cowardice or dishonor. The interest of the residents of Lewiston in their chosen sons was further manifested on the morning of their departure, when a concourse of between 2,500 and 3,000 people assembled at the boat landing to give them a parting hand-shake. The public schools were . closed, also the Normal ; stores and public offices were deserted, and men, women and children gathered to see the start for war. More speeches were indulged in; another flag was given the company by the Grand '.Army of the Republic, much hand-shaking, some caressing, no doubt, a little of that overflow of feeling which the soldier dreads worse than the battle's front, and the boys were off to meet the uncertainties which beset the soldier in fighting the battles of the repub- lic. Two weeks were spent in camp at Boise ; then the Idaho volunteers were ordered to join General Mer- ritt at the Presidio, San Francisco. From the records of Company B, First Regiment, Idaho Volunteer Infantry, the same being the Nez Perces county company, we learn that the officers were Lieutenant Colonel Daniel M. Figgins, commanding; Captain Edward O. Martinson, First Lieutenant Rob- ert D. Stainton, Second Lieutenant Chipear Wilcut; and that the privates were Charles W. Alkire, Robert L. Baldwin, Herbert M. Caswell, James Cleary, David D. Crites, John O. Derr, Frank C. Duncan, Fred Fol- som, Harry B. Ford, William H. Frederick, Frank B. Gorman,. George H. Hammersly, Herbert Hennes, Isaac Hutcheson, Hyrum Jenson, James Jenson, Oli- ver B. Jones, Richard B. Jones (wounded February 5, 1899), Adam Kobel, Stanley C. Lebrook, John Lucey, Dennis Likens, John H. Little, Donald O. Merritt, Joseph Oswald, Richard D. Pelkey, Louis Peterson, William M. Pipkin, Walter W. Rhoades, Alfred E. Riter, William N. Robinson, Robert Ross, Guy Simpson, Frank Stark, Bert Weeks, James Wes- ton and William C. Woodside. Privates discharged from the company before the register was made were : John W. Frederick, James C. Henderson, Theodore Link, William A. Bicknell, Darius P. Gray, William Hall, Caleb P. Hahn, Charles F. Krise, John N. Luit- jens (wounded February 5, 1899), Harry McConville, J. C. McFadden, Frederick B. McKee, Charles C. Miles, G. E. Overstreet, Lewis A. Powless, William B. Rea, Joseph Rustmeyer, Frederick W. Soule, Martin Starling, William B. Strong, Horace D. Van Alstine. Officers resigned: Captain L. D. Schattner, April 25, 1899; Second Lieu- tenant John O. Barbour, March 17, 1899. Discharged to accept commisions: First Sergeant, Robert D. Stainton, Private Frank A, McCall (wounded Feb- ruary 5, 1899), Chipear Wilcut. Those who served as sergeants were: Joseph Strobel, Ernest Scott (wounded February 5, 1899), John Wiggins, William M. Keller (wounded February 5, 1899), Charles Gor- don, Fred S. Beckwith. As corporals: Samuel W. Blue, Alois Kalous, Charles W. Byers, Frank Cer- veny, Frank B. Flora, Len Koen, Thomas Martin. As musicians: William H. Ritzheimer and William E. Merriam. As artificer, Thomas Nance. As wag- oner, Herman Wilde. Those transferred were : Mack K. Cunningham, Fred Farr, Joseph A. Gill, Elmore A. McKenna and Amos A. Smith, all privates. Those killed in action were: Corporal Frank R. Caldwell, Privates James R. Fraser and George W. Hall. The company's record of events reads as follows: "Left Boise, May 19, 1898; arrived at San Francisco, California, May 22d and went into Camp Merritt. Embarked on Steamship 'Morgan City' June 26th; left San Francisco bay en route for Manila June 2;th. Arrived at Honolulu July 6th, leaving July gth; ar- rived at Manila bay July 31. Landed August 6th at Paranaque and went into camp at Camp Dewey. In trenches August 8th and gth. In barracks at Malate August 1 3th to October nth. In barracks, Exposi- tion building, Manila, to January 2d. In barracks at Aco, Manila, to February 4th. On guard and outpost duty until February 4, 1899. In trenches and on fir- ing' line from February 4th to July I2th. Embarked on United States Army Transport Grant, en route for San Francisco via Magaski, Island Sea and Yoko- hama July 3 ist ; arrived August 29th. Went into camp at Presidio August 3ist." The company took part in one engagement with Spanish forces the assault and capture of Manila, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. August I3th, 1898, and battled against Philippino in- surgents at Santa Ana on February 4th and 5th at Calcoocan, February loth and nth, 1899. Detach- ments of the company were in the Laguna bay expedi- tion, April 7th to I7th; at Santa Cruz, April gth and roth; at Pagsanjan, April nth; at Lumban, April nth, and at Paete, April I3th. Besides the volunteers above mentioned, Harry Matheson, Ed Sutherland, James Jacks, Ed Sears, John Neal, Harry Lee, Bob Winger and Moxie Alex- ander, all Lewiston boys, took part in the war, having enlisted in Company C, First Battalion, Second Regi- ment, Washington Volunteers. The Second Battalion, Idaho Volunteers, including all the north Idaho companies, was commanded by Major Ed McConville (the Colonel McConville of Nez Perces Indian war fame), a man of splendid military ability. Brave, determined, heroic, possessing the gift of inspiring others with the enthusiasm and ardor which fired his own patriotic heart, he kept adding laurels to his wreath of fame until he met at last a soldier's fate. Brigadier General Charles King, who was in command of the brigade in the battle of Santa Ana, in which the Idaho regiment covered itself with glory, refers to the Idaho volunteers and to Major McConville in this language : "Just as the center of the Idahos reached a little clump of trees and shrubbery half way across the plain they were greeted by a sudden and furious vol- ley, which staggered them. In an instant McConville leaped to the front, shouting to his men : 'Come on ! Come on, Idaho!' and then, as he turned and led the rush into the shrubbery a shot struck him square in the breast and down he went. Even then, they told me, he strove to crawl forward, but the wound was mortal, and presently the brave old fellow realized that he had but an hour or two to live. I never saw him again. The order he received from my lips on the Santa Ana road was his last, and to the letter had he striven to obey it. "Five insurgents lay dead about the Krupps in the middle of the redoubt," where, side by side, California and Idaho leaped in to the capture, and a dozen lay strewn over the field in front of where the honored old major fell. The big redoubt on the mound to his left was littered with the bodies of insurgents. Hemmed in between McConville, Fortson and the river and un- able to beat back the dashing charge of the 'Ameri- canos,' they raised the white flag and th'en shot dead the first soldier to reach the work. The roar of mus- ketry was resumed for three minutes and was followed by scattering shots as the fugitives ran for the stream, but there was a smile on McConville's grizzled face as they bore him off the field." The remains of the heroic McConville were brought home lor interment. On April i2th the steamer Spokane, with its flag at half-mast, steamed into port , bearing the body, and during the afternoon of the next day all that was mortal of the courageous patriot was laid to rest. The funeral was attended by hun- dreds of people, among them the state officials, led by Governor Steunberg, the University of Idaho Cadets and members of the faculty and delegations from other cities of Idaho and Washington. The members of Company B arrived at Lewiston on the afternoon of October 2, 1899, and were greeted in a manner which proved that the people fully appre- ciated their gallant services and the honor they reflect- ed upon the city and county that sent them forth. The boat was met by members of fraternal orders, by fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and sweethearts, by young and old and middle aged, all in gala attire and striving to outdo one another in the warmth of their welcome and the heartiness of their tributes of honor. But we must take up again the current of events in Nez Perces county. The year 1899 was a very lively one. The railroad activity of which we have spoken in a previous chapter contributed not a little to this prosperity and there were other causes also operative in the same direction. True the winter had been a severe one occasioning heavy losses of cattle and horses, the heaviest, however, being outside of Nez Perces county, but the effect was scarcely felt, being so completely neutralized by the operation of other forces. By May, according to the Teller's state- ment, the entire country was on the boom. New towns and new additions to old towns were coming to the front and the price of real estate was leaping forward. "Every house of every description," says the paper referred to, "is occupied to its fullest ca- pacity and large numbers of new ones are under con- struction, while many vacant lots serve as tenting ground for people who cannot otherwise get housed. The transient traveler who gets a room to himself is fortunate and still more so is he if he is not compelled to sleep at some barracks of a lodging house utilized in connection with the hotel where he may have reg- istered." The Buffalo Hump excitement, caused by the discovery of rich gold deposits in the vicinity of that old landmark, was responsible for much of the: travel through the country and the general boom con- ditions, but there was also a mining excitement in Nez Perces county itself. A number of locations were made near Greer's ferry on the Clearwater river, a region blest with traditions of a lost mine. "During the Nez Perces war," so the story goes, "a party oi prospectors were run to cover in the canyon of the Lo- lo and while in hiding they found a very rich ledge.; The prospectors were badly scared, did not expect to save even their scalps, but they chipped off chunks \ of gold bearing quartz and carried them to their I homes. The confused state of their minds at thj| time left them with only vague recollections of thai location of the ledge which they concealed with brush ' and dirt. Years later members of that party secretly returned to the vicinity of Greer's ferry and tramped j all summer up and down the country in search of ' this rich ledge, which they have never found. All ', of these old prospectors have died. The last to visit | the scene of this exciting experience came in 1896." Whether the gold find of 1877, if such was in truth i made, would, if discovered, prove as rich as the old | prospectors believed is of course unknown but Greer's i HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ferry is known to be in a promising mineral belt and it is possible that a ledge of great richness may have . been discovered and lost again as alleged. At any rate it is not unlikely that some of the prospects in the vicinity will develop into paying properties. During the year the value of property in the county according to the assessor's appraisement nearly doub- led, giving it fifth place among the political divisions of the state. As the valuation of railroad property in the county was only one-sixteenth of the whole, leav- ing such property out of the calculation, Nez Per- ces would rank third. The opening of the year 1900 was a very propiti- ous one in the county. The mild winter left the cat- tlemen's stacks of hay scarcely touched while the cat- tle, feeding along the breaks of the rivers, were fatter than if they had been compelled by severe weather to consume all the fodder provided for their use in case of emergency. The year throughout was one of sub- stantial progress and universal prosperity, though it was not characterized by the excitement and rush which distinguished its predecessor. When fall came it brought the largest harvests ever known in Nez Perces county with a consequent stimulus to business of all kinds. The only disaster of the year was for- tunately not serious. It consisted of the wreck on the Clearwater Short Line, on June 27*, of a mixed train consisting of four carloads of hogs, two box cars, three fiat cars, a steam shovel, one passenger coach and the express car. The train had just rounded a curve about two miles east of Contact and was com- ing onto straight road again when one of the trucks under the steam shovel left the track. The engineer saw the shovel flying up in the air and immediately applied the brakes, but the king bolt under the shovel had been broken ; the trucks were pulled out from un- der it; the flat car behind struck it throwing it into the river and the car itself was thrown crosswise of the track. The other freight cars were badly wrecked, but fortunately the passenger coach, in which were fifteen or twenty people, was not injured, and besides being badly shaken up no one was hurt. An event of the year 1900 which must not be over- looked was the organization on February ipth of the Nez Perces County Pioneer Association, of which all persons might become members who settled in the county prior to or during 1877. The first officers were C. G. Kress, president : C. P. Coburn, vice-pres- ident ; Wallace B. Stainton, secretary; John N. Lind- say, treasurer; Edmund Pearcy, Robert Grostein, Joel Martin and M. A. Kelly, trustees. For the purpose of preserving as many as possible of the names of those who have toiled so long in the development of the county and done so much for its material and so- cial upbuilding, we give the membership roll of the society as follows: W. P. Bell, 1859; John M. Silcott, Thomas B. Beall, 1860; G. W. Underwood, A. R. Trimble, Thom- as F. Reynolds, 1861 ; C. C. Bunnell, Edmund Pear- cy, Chester P. Coburn, Augustus C. Sweet, Ezra Baird, W. S. Dyer, G. A. Frost, M. A. Kelly, Joel D. Martin, S. Wildenthaler, R. Grostein, C. E. Faunce, T. C. Moxley, August Meilk, W. P. Hunt, William LeBaron, N. B. Holbrook, E. Tixier, L. G. Maguire, John Denny, J. O. Maxon, Sarah G. Thompson D. VV. C. Dunwell, 1862; Eva K. Mounce, Mrs. C. P. Grostein, Elizabeth Barnett, Eliza W. Thatcher, Em- ma J. Chapman, J Alexander, John W. Denney, W. W. Leeper, Sophia Whitman, Mallery, Mrs. Martha Coburn, P. B. Whitman, Samuel W. Childs, 1863; Mrs. Rosa Grostein, M. H. Sprague, Olive C. Hunt, C. A. McCabe, John O. Barbour, S. E. Vollmer, Ben- jamin F. Morris, 1864; Alma Havenick, Lucinda J. Breanley, Charles G. Kress, 1865 ! William Stevenson, T. S. Billings, William Baird, C. E. Bradish, Anna M. Clark, 1866; Rachael Binnard, A. C. Coburn, Mrs. Mary W. Smith, Nellie W. Leeper, Joseph Dubuc, Harry Dowd, James Conley, L. Grostein, 1867; C. A. Elmer, Mrs. W. E. Erb, Mrs. F. Roos, John P. Vollmer, Mrs. Alida G. Faunce, 1868; Mrs. Annie Krautmger, Frank B. Willis, Mrs. Josephine Boise, Christ Weirgerder, 1869; H. R. Grostein, Fred M. Manning, Eerdinand Roos, Amy D. Kettenbach, Charles Dowd, John L. Chapman, James Hayes, Perry Thomas, G. A. Manning, Mrs. Laura B. Morris, Su- san E. Manning, H. Penault, 1870; H. A. Trimble, G. M. Smith, P. M. Davis, H. K. Barnett, 1871; Harry Lydon, Mrs. Clifford Riggs, J. R. Lydon, Robert Schleicher, Matt Dowd, Mrs. J. E. Akins, Wallace B. Stainton, 1872; Mrs. Sarah A. Roxley, L. Rowley, J. Q. Moxley, E. A. Rowley, 1873; Loui s N. Roos, S. E. Arant, William L. Boise, E. H. Wig- gin, Mrs. Ella Rowley, Mrs. Mary R. Denny, Anna Binnard, 1874: A. G. Wisner, Curtis Thatcher, K. Oliver, Edna M. Baird, Mrs. Mary C. Moxley, J. B. Morris, John M. Fix, W. R. Dixon, 1875; J. N. Lindsay, L. Stannus, Mrs. Mollie Armstrong, Mrs. W. B. Cooper, Miss Bessie Vollmer, Elizabeth M. Beeson, Mary A. Butler, Ferdinand Roos, Jr., George C. Leland, George H. Storer, J. D. C. Thiessen, Re- becca Lindsay, C. A. Leeper, Rosa Ponting, Mrs. Lillie Wisner, W. H. Leland, J. H. Frost, Mrs. L. K. Stirling, Mrs. Hattie Wildenthaler, Louis D. Schattner, 1876; John Weiss, Thomas Kittsmiller, Wilbur Wardwell, J. C. Kincaid, John Ponting, John Speck, W. A. Smith, Catherine Metcalf, Margaret A. Goldsmith, Frances M. Moxley, Mrs. Viola C. McConville, Martin L. Goldsmith, Newton Hibbs, J. E. Kincaid, John H. McCalli, William Wright, J. R. Wolfe, A. W. Krautinger, Fred S. Kling, F. J. Edwards, Maud Wildenthaler, Clara P. Phillips, Mrs. Mary White Kettenback, W. F. Kettenbach, Mrs. Emma M. Edwards, Henry Harsell, W. Haver- nick, 1877. On January 22, 1901, Representative Oxley, of Shoshone county, introduced into the legislature a bill providing for the creation of Clearwater county out of territory belonging to Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties. It was later amended to take in the Potlatch country, its first draft having taken no part of Xez Perces county except that east of the Boise meridian. The result of the change was a vigorous protest from the residents of the section affected. The bill was de- feated by a vote of 22 to 21 in the house, but in the 9 6 HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. evening that body reconvened and determined by a vote of 31 to II to reconsider the measure. This was on March 6th. Later in the same month a substitute bill was passed, the boundaries being so denned as to take from 'Nez Perces county about three townships in the Potlatch and three in the reservation. The bill was promptly signed by the governor, who appointed for the new county of Clearwater the following officers: Commissioners, P. H. Blake, William LeBaron and John T. Mallory ; sheriff, Frank Gaffney ; assessor, J. L. Harris ; treasurer, A. E. Holmberg ; superintendent of schools, Mrs. Fannie Roberts; probate judge, J. S. Hogue; county attorney, J. A. Brown; surveyor, D. H. Guilland, coroner, Henry Merchant. But the new county was not organized as speedily as at first intended, owing to several difficulties, and when at last it was ready to take its place among the legal subdivisions of the state, the state auditor refused to furnish blank licenses such as the law required him to furnish to the treasurers of the different counties, alleging that Clearwater county had not been legally created. The case was taken into court by the county treasurer of the new political division, who applied for a writ of mandate compelling the state auditor to com- ply with the law in this respect. The defendant, in his answer, filed in response to an order by the court' to appear and show cause why the writ should not issue, set up that the county did not contain taxable prop- erty to the value of one million dollars as required by section 4, article 18 of the constitution, and further that the act creating or purporting to create it was fatally defective in its language, therefore the county of Cleawater has no legal existence. Attorneys for the county of Cleawater thought the second objection would not be seriously considered by the court and contended that the amendment upon which the first was based was unconstitutional for the reason that it was not passed by a two-thirds vote of the house. The su- preme court did not pass upon the constitutionality of the amendment, but held the creating act void for the reason that it did not state specifically that the territory within the defined boundaries "shall constitute the coun- ty of Clearwater." The section at fault read : "That a'll portions of the state of Idaho included within the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning at the south- east corner of Kootenai county on the water shed separating the waters of the St. Mary and Clearwater rivers ; thence in an easterly direction to the place of beginning." The sentence contained no verb and was obviously meaningless. Thus through a clerical mistake or literary error the hopes of the friends of Clearwater county were dashed to the ground. This year witnessed in Whitman county and other parts of Washington a very considerable excitement over the discovery of indications of oil and natural gas, an excitement which extended to Nez Perces county also. It is stated that after two days of careful Prof. Aughey, an expert, concluded that Lewiston was in the gas belt and that the Lewiston valley was underlaid, at a depth of between six hundred and a thousand feet, with formations containing oil and gas. Those who were with . Professor Aughey stated that from holes made in the soil at various points a gas flow was obtained. The exudations burned with yellow flame, leading to the conclusion that they were petrolium gas. Many claims were taken in the vicin- ity and considerable excitement was engendered by the find and by Aughey's very conservative report. The spring of 1902 brought another rush of gold seekers through the county, Thunder mountain being the mecca of the wealth hunting hordes this time. Some few of the travelers stopped at Lewiston to sect their outfits, but for the most part that city was left out of their calculations after the Northern Pacific time schedule was changed so as to permit passenger to proceed direct to Stites, the Clearwater terminal of the road. From that point two routes were open to the pilgrims, one via Dixie, the other via Gran^ ville and Warrens. The rush had a stimulating effect upon business all along the route, as all such mi One of the principal progressive movements of the year was that which resulted in the construction of tramway at a site between Kamiah and Greer for the purpose" of facilitating the marketing of wheat and other cereals raised on the heights far above the rail- road track. The farmers of Nez Perces prairie banded themselves together for the purpose of con- structing this much needed improvement, formed a stock company, looked up a suitable site, let the con- tract for furnishing a cable, buckets and other ap- paratus to a San Francisco firm and set vigorous' about the work of installing the somewhat expensi plant. They had, in their efforts, the encourageme of both the" grain handling firms of Lewiston, which took large blocks of the stock, while the railway com- pany put in a side track for their accommodation. The" cable used is an endless coil of steel wires 13,200 feet long, suspended on rollers and carrying a thou- sand steel cages or buckets. The power" is furnished by a large stationary engine upon the heights above. During the closing month of the year agitation for the formation of Clearwater county was revived. Orofino gave inception to the struggle" by circulating a petition for the formation of a new county with such boundaries that it would be the logical county seat. Nez Perces at once took up the gauntlet by cir- culating a petition praying for a new county to include all of southern Shoshone county, part of the Potlatch and a strip off Nez Perces prairie. This action was taken not so much that the people desired a change of county affiliations as that they desired above all things to defeat the Orofino measure. Representative-elect C. D. Thomas, of Nezperce, stated the position of ,| his home town in the following language : "The people of Nezperce are perfectly satisfied with their present county affiliations but if a division is inevitable, they believe in dividing the county in the right way. The petition we have prepared and which is being circulated, has now been signed by every man save one in Nezperce city, and by every- one in the adjacent country to whom it has been pre- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 97 sented. We have no intention of establishing a new county on the lines mentioned in the petition, but the people of Nezperce have discovered that Lewis- ton had concluded to permit the organization of Clearwater county without opposition so long as only a small strip of Nez Perces county was taken, and we have concluded to give them the alternative of either fighting against the taking of any of the old county to create Clearwater county or to submit to the dismemberment of the county on rational lines. In preparing our petition we endeavored to arrange fer a county with boundaries drawn on geographical lines, following the water courses wherever possi- ble, and in our petition we make no attempt to decide the matter of the location of a county seat." The matter was brought up in the legislature by the introduction, by Representative Greer, of Sho- shone county, of a bill creating Clearwater county out of Shoshone and Nez Perces counties with Orofino as county seat until the general election of 1904, when the voters were to select the permanent county seat. The technical description of the boundaries of the new political division was as follows: "Beginning at the intersection of the northern boundary line of township 41, range I east, of the Boise meridian, with the western boundary line of Shoshone county ; thence due east along the northern boundary line of said township 41 and continuing due east to the boundary line between the states of Idaho and Montana; thence in a southeasterly direc- tion along the boundary line between the states of Idaho and Montana to its intersection with the pres- ent southern boundary line of Shoshone county; thence in a westerly direction along the present south- ern boundary line of Shoshone county to where the same intersects with the center of the channel of the Clearwater river; thence up the center of the main channel of the Clearwater river to the mouth of Law- yer's creek, being the present boundary line between the counties of Nez Perces and Idaho; thence in a westerly direction up the center of the main channel of Lawyer's creek, being the present northern bound- ary line of Idaho county, to its intersection with the Boise meridian; thence north along the Boise merid- ian to its intersection with the southern boundary line of township 35, range i west, of Boise meridian ; thence west along the southern boundary line of said township to the southwest corner thereof; thence north along the western boundary line of townships 35> 36, 37. 38 to the present southern boundary line of Latah county ; thence east along the present south- ern boundary line of Latah county to the southeast corner of said county; thence north along the present boundary line between the counties of Shoshone and Latah and Shoshone and Kootenai to the place of beginning." February gth of the current year, while this bill was yet in the hands of the committee, its author, Greer of Shoshone, asked the unanimous consent of the house to withdraw it, stating that he desired to press the measure in the future. The consent asked for was given, but a storm was raised later when an- other bill was introduced providing that the people residing within the proposed new county should have the right to vote on the question as to whether or not they desired political segregation, in the election of 1904. The boundaries prescribed by this measure included a portion of Idaho county also. The new act, known as house bill No. 115, was referred to the appropriate committee, which returned a majority report against the measure and a minority report favoring it. February i/th, on motion of Moore of Idaho county, action on the bill was indefinitely post- poned by a vote of 30 to 16, effectually putting at rest all danger of loss of territory by any of the existing counties at this session of the legislature. CHAPTER II. Section 2 of th county, passed by ington territory December 20, 18 J. M. Van Valsah be appointed C Creacy, Whitfield Kirtly and pointed County Commissioners; Sheriff ; and - Justice of the P county, until the next general election." known, however, the year 1862 witnessed a st POLITICAL. the organic act creating Nez y the legislative assembly of of tens of thousands to north Idaho, and it Perces Wash- 1, enacted "That unty Auditor; A. be ap- Sanford Owens, for said is well pede s quite natural that there should be among this vast horde of gold seekers hundreds of desperadoes and lawless men men who cared not whether there was a court- house within a thousand miles of their camps and against whom it would have been a very dangerous proceeding to enforce the laws. In the mad struggle for the possession of gold the slow machinery of the law was seldom, if ever, invoked. Civil govern- ment occupied no place in these miners' thoughts. The reign of gold was supreme. Under such condi- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. the contrary were shunned and if, perchance, the of- fices were filled by appointment, the appointees eluded duty by failing to qualify. For these reasons it is highly improbable that the above named officers ever served and we are strength- ened in the belief that they did not by failing to find, by inquiries among those who were here at the time, any account of such service. Then during the win- ter of 1862-3 the agitation in favor of creating out of this region a new territory resulted favorably, a territorial government was organized, and this change naturally disturbed local affairs. Thus it is not until the summer of 1863 that we find a local system of government in actual operation. Immediately after Governor Wallace arrived here, in July, 1863, he proceeded to appoint the following of- ficers to serve in Nez Perces county : Sheriff, John Cassidy; county clerk, E. C. Mayhew; assistant clerk, S. Alexander; treasurer, Cris. Taylor; commission- ers, B. C. Stevens, A. B. Brower, of Lewiston, and David Reese, of Elk City: prosecuting attorney, E. F. Gray; surveyor, J. B." Buker; probate judge, D. J. Warner; justices of the peace, E. S. Sprague and Silas B. Cochran, Lewiston, Thomas M. Pomeroy, Elk City. The offices of probate judge and surveyor were purely honorary for some time. Who the first county assessor was cannot be learned. A majority of these men were Republicans. In response to the proclamation of Governor Wallace calling for an elec- tion to be held October jist, at which representatives to the first legislature should be elected, Nez Perces county elected E. B. Waterbury to the council and L. Bacon as its representative in the house. The rec- ords show that at this election Nez Perces county cast 208 votes for William H. Wallace for delegate to congress and 159 votes for his Democratic op- ponent, John M. Cannady. The story is told that when the early returns of this election came in Gov- ernor Wallace's friends saw that he was sure to be defeated by a large majority, and in order to save the territory to Republicanism, United States Marshal Payne was sent to bring in the books from the out- lying precincts. Wyoming and Montana were then a portion of Idaho. Payne crossed the Clearwater river at Lewiston and started on his mission. He was gone several days and when he returned he brought back votes enough for Wallace to elect him. The boundaries of Idaho were not very clearly defined in those days, and whether the election returns brought in by Payne were bona fide or not is ques- tionable. At the time this was regarded as a shrewd maneuver and the story treated as a huge joke, but now the legality of Wallace's election is questioned by not a few. When Governor Wallace deputized Hill Beachey to pursue the murderers of Lloyd Magruder and party, late in the fall of 1863, it "is said that Sheriff Cassidy resigned because he considered the act as a slight upon his official prestige. At any rate, he re- signed and Governor Wallace appointed James H. Fisk in his stead. Pursuant to a notice of a special meeting, the board of county commissioners assembled at Lewis- ton, the county seat of Nez Perces county, on the 5th day of October, 1863. Commissioners B. C. Stevens and A. B. Brower were present, as also Clerk May- hew. The first business to come before the board was the appointment of a county treasurer to fill the va- cancy then existing. F. H. Simmons was appointed and gave bonds in the sum of 85,000. At the meeting of the board on the 7th a petition signed by thirty- four citizens, asking for the erection of a county jail, was received. The board decided to submit, at the election to be held on October 3ist, a proposition to the voters calling for the levy of a special $3,000 tax for the purpose of building a courthouse and jail. At this meeting the assessment roll was presented and showed that there were $248,303.75 worth of taxable property in the county. On this basis a tax of one mill was levied for territorial purposes, two mills for school purposes and four mills for county purposes. The ex-county treasurer presented his report also at this meeting. The receipts up to October 5th amount- ed to $1,466, $1,200 of which was from 600 polls, and the county's indebtedness was nearly $1,700. The vote on the question of erecting county build- ings having been in the affirmative, on November i8th the board ordered that a suitable house be procured for use as a temporary jail until the new building could be erected. A prize of ten dollars was offered to the person suggesting the best plan of construction. The new courthouse was never built, however, differ- ent buildings being rented from time to time until the purchase of the old Jaggers cabin on Front street. The board held its first regular meeting April 4, 1864, in compliance with the laws enacted by the first legislative assembly, the same officers as formerly be- ing present. It appearing that all of the county of- ficers, with the exception of the county commission- ers, had been illegally appointed, the offices were de- clared vacant and the following appointments made: Probate judge, John G. Berry; clerk, E. C. Mayhew; sheriff, James H. Fisk: assessor, S. R. Howlett ; re- corder, E. C. Mayhew; surveyor, E. F. Gray; super- intendent of schools, L. C. Fitch; justices of the peace. Lewiston precinct, S. E. Darnes, Elk City pre- cinct, Thomas M. Pomeroy; constables, Lewiston precinct, Thomas J. Patterson, Elk City precinct, Robert Hunt. As is usually the case in communities which derive their support almost entirely from the mining indus- try, Nez Perces's population was constantly shifting from one place to another and was very unstable. From time to time county officers resigned, and changes were going on constantly. Thus we see that in June the commissioners were A. B. Brower, W. Leonard and A. B. Downer, the last two being recent appointees ; that C. C. Chamberlain has become sheriff; that Warren A. Belcher has tendered his resignation as treasurer and that W. W. Thompson is appointed in his place. Later, in July, S. R. How- lett resigned as assessor and at this same session Dr. Robert Newell was appointed school superintendent. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Mr. Newell declined the position and S. M. Wait was appointed to serve until the newly elected corps of officers took their places the first of the year. Preparatory to the county's first election, at the July term, the board established the following pre- cincts : Lewiston, Elk City, Clearwater Station, Newsome Creek, Taylor's Bridge, Long Bar, Was- shilla Creek and Wixson's. At this term also B. F. Lamkin was authorized to construct, at a cost not to exceed $600, two cells for jail purposes in the old vegetable market on First street. The first action taken toward the establishment of county roads was taken at this term also, when the road between Her- sey's mountain house and Elk City was declared a public highway and Samuel Gilman was appointed road supervisor. At the same time S. M. Wait was appointed road supervisor of the Lewiston district. From time to time the board granted ferry, and toll road licenses, but as the establishment of these differ- ent enterprises has been fully dealt with in another chapter we will not stop to enumerate them here. From the court records we see that at the election held in the fall of 1864 the following were the first reg- ularly elected officers of Nez Perces county: A. B. Brower, Loyal P. Brown and P. W. Bell, commis- sioners; E. S. Sprague, probate judge; W. W. Thompson, treasurer; S. S. Stiles, clerk and record- er; James Fisk, sheriff; L. W. Bacon, assessor; rep- resentative to the legislative assembly, George Zeigle, Republican, and T. M. Reed, Democrat ; mem- ber of the legislative council, E. B. Waterbury, Dem- ocrat. The report of the teritorial canvassing board shows that Nez Perces county cast ^37 votes for Samuel E. Parks, Republican, and 237 votes for E. D. Holbrook, Democrat, candidates for the honor of representing Idaho in congress. The honors were divided about equally between Democrats and Re- publicans. Subsequently J. K. Vincent succeeded Fisk as sheriff, the latter failing to file his bond, I. C. Purcell became probate judge, and Phillip Streeter was appointed assessor. Pursuant to law the district court for the first district of Idaho territory convened at Lewiston on January 4, 1864. Alleck'C. Smith, the regularly ap- pointed judge of this district, was unable to be 'pres- ent, and at the request of Acting Governor Daniels, Samuel C. Parks, of the second district, presided dur- ing the term. The Magruder murder case was the first and only case of importance to come before the first session of court in north Idaho, and as this case has been fully dealt with elsewhere we will pass im- mediately to the election of 1866. The election of 1866 was a spirited one and re- sulted in a slight Democratic victory. During the 'sixties the tendency of the people was to spend the easily acquired gold lavishly, and this tendency ob- tained even among office holders. Consequently the party in power was usually open to the charge of ex- travagance, and anti-extravagance became the slogan of both parties. For this reason the Republicans and Democrats for many years held power alternately. J. W. Eastman, Republican, James" Hays, Democrat, and Aurora Shumway, Democrat, were elected com- missioners in 1866; John G. Berry, Democrat, de- feated James H. Fisk for the shrievalty, this contest being the leading one of the campaign; S. S. Stiles, Republican, was elected clerk and recorder for a sec- ond term ; H. O. Adams, Republican, was elected pro- bate judge; W. W. Thayer, Democrat (later gov- ernor of Oregon), was the choice of the majority for prosecuting attorney; James Henderson, Democrat, received a majority of the votes cast for the office of treasurer; and P. Streeter, Republican, was chosen county assessor. Henderson served only a short time and was succeeded by M. A. Kelly. The following June, John Clark took up the duties of assessor, vice P. Streeter. In 1865 the law relative to the election of members of the legislative assembly was changed and an election was held. In Nez Perces county the election resulted in the choice of L. P. Brown, Repub- lican, as a member of the council, and Joseph Mor- ris and James Hays, Democrats, as members of the house. The election of 1866 returned Councilman Brown and resulted in the choice of J. S. Taylor, Democrat, as Nez Perces' member of the house. For delegate to congress J. M. Kirkpatrick, Repub- lican, received 230 votes and E. D. Holbrook, Demo- crat, 155 votes in Nez Perces county. The Democrats succeeded in capturing every office but one in 1868, James Crooks, county commissioner, being the only Republican elected. The officers elected were: Councilman, J. S. Taylor; members house of representatives, E. W. Bell and J. G. Zeigle ; sheriff, John G. Berry; probate judge, Alonzo Gil- man; clerk, James Witt; recorder, Robert McPher- son, succeeded shortly afterwards by C. G. Kress; treasurer, M. A. Kelly; commissioners, James Crooks, Aurora Shumway. j. T. Schissler; prosecuting at- torney, S. S. Fenn; assessor, D. H. Howser. The vote for delegate was: James K. Shafer, Democrat, 106, Thomas J. Butler, Republican, 161. In 1870 T. J. Bunktr, Republican, was elected sheriff; T. H. Worden, Republican, treasurer; John Brearley, Republican, recorder and auditor; F. B. King, Republican, assessor; C. A. Thatcher, Republi- can, clerk ; H. O. Adams, probate judge ; J. M. Crooks, J. T. Silverwood, Republican, Joseph Schissler, Dem- ocrat, commissioners ;" John Clark, Republican, district attorney ; C. C. Call, Democrat, councilman, and J. P. Silverwood, and H. H. Wheeler, Republicans, mem- bers of the house. In this county S. A. Merritt, Dem- ocrat, received 166 votes and T. J. Butler, Republican, [50 votes for delegate to congress. The following campaign witnessed the first clash between those who favored the annexation of north Idaho to Washington and those who were opposed. For some time past the segregation sentiment had bec-n gaining strength in this portion of the territory, and in 1872 it became, for the first time, a strong factor in the politics of this region. The spark formerly kindled spread so rapidly that ere many years the whole of north Idaho \vas abla/c with the idea and all opposition was completely consumed. The HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Democratic count)- convention met in March and the Republicans the 'month following and placed their respective tickets in the field. The Republicans were victorious except where offices directly affecting the annexation proposition were concerned, and here the opposition, the Democrats, won the victory. The official result of this election is given below : For delegate to congress, John Hailey, Democrat, 241 votes, J. W. Huston, Republican, 234 votes: for councilman, R. E. Miller, Anti-Division Democrat, 301, Colby Collins, Division Republican, 154; for rep- resentatives, G. W. Tomer, Anti-Division Democrat, 357, S. S. Fenn, Division Democrat, 230, J. F. Bush, Division Republican, 67, Hazen Squier, Anti-Divis- ion Republican, 152, George A. Manning, Independ- ent, 70: for district attorney, John Clark, Republi- can, 352, James W. Poe, Democrat, 121 ; for probate judge, H. O. Adams, Republican, 243, Alexander Damas, Democrat, 216; for sheriff, D. B. Baldwin, Republican, 292, D. H. Howser, Democrat, 171 ; for auditor, Warren P. Hunt, Republican, 284, Frank Points, Democrat, 179; for treasurer, T. H. Worden, Republican, 294, J. W. Denny, Democrat, 156; for as- sessor, F. B. King, Republican, 293, L. E. Harris, Democrat, 168 : for superintendent of schools, T. S. Billings, Republican, 352, J. P. Vollmer, Democrat, 195; for commissioner, W. A. Vandervort, Demo- crat, 44; J. T. Silverwood, Republican, 16, W. O. Pearson, Republican, 67, T. Anderson, Democrat, 10; for coroner, W. S. Dyer," Republican, 250, R. J. De- vine, Democrat, 205 ; for surveyor, Charles Le Fran- cois, Democrat, 218. The official vote at the election of 1874 is missing, so that we are unable to present anything except a roll of the officers elected, which follows: Commis- sioners, D. H. Howser, George Dempster, M. M. Will- iams, Democrats; sheriff, Ezra Baird, Democrat; clerk, Warren P. Hunt, Republican; assessor, W. C. Pearson, Republican; treasurer, H. W. Stainton, Democrat; probate judge, John G. Berry, Democrat; superintendent of schools, T. S. Billings, Republi- can; surveyor, Edward Hannegan, Democrat; coun- cilman, L. P. Brown, Republican; representatives, William Groat and J. C. Waldrip, Republicans. John Clark, Republican, was elected district attorney. For delegate to congress, S. S. Fenn, Democrat, received 423 votes and his opponent, T. W. Bennett, Repub- lican, 87. The year 1876 witnessed another Democratic vic- tory, only one Republican being elected, D. J. Warner as probate judge. W. G. Langford was elected as Nez Perces' representative to the legislative council and Fred Points and S. B. Edwards as this county's representatives in the house. Ezra Baird was re- elected sheriff, Thomas Hudson became the county's auditor and recorder, A. Binnard was elected treas- urer, J. W. Northrup was victorious in the contest for assessor and William Ewing, J. M. Curry and N. B. Holbrook were chosen county commissioners. Nez Perces county cast 176 votes for S. S. Fenn, who was again the Democratic party's nominee for dele- and 115 votes for the Republican r :, John An interesting feature of the campaign of 1878 was the vote taken in northern Idaho on the state constitution adopted by the territory of Washington in anticipation of early statehood. North Idaho, which had now become so thoroughly imbued with the idea of being annexed to Washington as to almost consider itself a part of that territory, sent a delegate to this constitutional convention in the person of Alonzo Leland, the acknowledged head of the annex- mittecl to the voters of the northern counties at the election in the fall of 1878, and in Nez Perces county only 13 votes were cast against it, 485 voting for it. Political honors were about equally shared by the Democrats and Republicans, as will be seen from the following official canvass of the vote : For delegate, George Ainslee, Democrat, 312, Jonas W. Brown, Republican, 306; district attorney, James W. Poe, Democrat, 309; councilman, Frank Points, Democrat, 283, G. A. Manning, Republican, 327; representatives, J. J. Bonner and A. A. Lieual- len, Democrats, 358 and 204 votes, respectively, Will- iam King and H. McGregor, Republicans, 306 and 232 votes, respectively; probate judge, D. J. Warner, Republican, 364, Thomas Hudson, Democrat, 262; commissioners, William Ewing, N. B. Holbrook, O. H. P. Beagle, Democrats, 365, 368 and 266 votes, re- spectively, S. C. Hale, J. M. Greenstreet, E. Fix, Re- publicans, 335, 267 and 276 votes, respectively; sheriff, Ezra Baird, Democrat, 381, L. B. Boise, Republican, 249 ; auditor and recorder, D. W. C. Dunwell, Demo- crat, 191, J. H. Evans, Republican, 417, J. K. Vin- cent, Independent, 19; treasurer, Abraham Binnard, Democrat, 274, Hazen Spuier, Republican, 352; as- sessor, J. H. Irvine, Democrat, 317, H. W. Howard, Republican, 315 ; surveyor, Bart. Nymeyer, Democrat, 361, Alfred Colburn, Republican, 266 ;' coroner, Rob- ert Grostein, Democrat, 13, C. P. Howell, Independ- ent, 7, J. Sullivan, Republican. 3. Southern Idaho controlled the territorial conven- tion held in 1880, and as that section was decidedly opposed to the segregation of the north, anti-annexa- tion planks were inserted in both the Democratic and" Republican platforms. The north was so heartily in favor of annexation that it disregarded party affilia- tions and joined the extreme southeastern part of the territory in nominating Ex-Governor Brayman for delegate. Brayman had openly announced his en- dorsement of the scheme to annex northern Idaho to Washington, and it was on this platform that he was nominated. He received the almost solid vote of the north, the vote in Nez Perces county being. Brayman, 568, Ainslie, Democrat, 129, and Smith, Republican, 5. The complete official vote for the other officers in this county was as follows : For district attorney, Quakenbush, Republican, 390, Maxwell, Democrat, 301 ; councilman, James W. Poe, Democrat, 682 ; joint councilman, I. B. Cowen, of Shoshone, Republican, 698; assemblymen, William HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. King, I. N. Hibbs, J. M. Hedrick, Republicans, 212, 358 and 410 votes respectively, S. J. Langdon, J. H. Irvine, W. C. Cooper, Democrats, 398, 354 and 326 votes, respectively; probate judge, P. Grigsby, Dem- ocrat, 354, D. J. Warner, Republican, 347; sheriff, N. B. Holbrook, Democrat, 365, L. B. Boise, Repub- lican, 334: treasurer, N. Hale, Democrat, 352, C. E. Monteith, Republican, 351; auditor and recorder, J. H. Evans, Republican, 420, H. Payne, Democrat, 286 ; assessor, H. W. Howard, Republican, 409, J. W. Northrup, Democrat, 290; commissioners, S. C. Hale, William Evans, Frank McCarrick, Republicans, 429, 354 and 281 votes, respectively, D. Spurbeck, G. B. Christie. J. N. Lindsay, Democrats, 312, 308 and 406 votes, respectively; surveyor, William Bell, Republi- can, 314, B. Nymeyer,' Democrat, 385. Ainslie was elected delegate. The defeat of Brayman, though not unexpected, greatly chagrined the north. Neverthe- less, it showed the annexationists their true strength. Late in the summer of 1882 a call was issued for an independent north Idaho convention to be held at Lewiston October nth for the purpose of nominating an independent candidate for congress as against either of the regular party nominees, Ainslie, Demo- crat, and Theodore F. Singiser, Republican, both of whom were supposed to be inimical to annexation. However, before the convention assembled, Singiser announced that he would support annexation and made a campaign in northern Idaho on that platform. This course, a shrewd political move, resulted in the independents giving him their endorsement. When the votes were counted it was found that Singiser had received 1,060 of the 1,100 votes cast in Nez Perces county, an overwhelming expression of the people's desire for annexation. Singiser was victorious in the contest. The vote for county officers follows: For councilman, W. S. Taylor, Republican, 541, D. W. C. Dunwell, Democrat, 517; joint councilman, I. B. Cowen, Republican, 621, B. D. Donaldson, Dem- ocrat. 493; assemblymen, A. Buchanan, Wallis Fee and K. Larson, Republicans, 620, 424 and 664 votes, respectively, J. H. Irvine, Phillip Grigsby and G. W. Tomer, Democrats, 484, 540 and 602 votes, respect- ively ; sheriff, W. D. Robbins, Republican, 499, Ezra Baird, Democrat, 627 : auditor and recorder, J. H. Evans, Republican, 599, B. A. Nymeyer, Democrat, 531 ; assessor, L. F. Herbert, Republican, 618, W. A. Calbreath, Democrat, 516 treasurer, George Glass, Republican. 610, P. M. Davis, Democrat, 520; pro- bate judge. William Wing, Republican, 560, I. N. Maxwell, Democrat, 553; county attorney, A. Quack- enbush, Republican, 604, J. C. Elder, Democrat, 502 ; commissioners, E. W. Cameron, David Nottman and J. A. Lathrop. Republicans, 665, 734 and 466 votes, respectively: J. B. Menomy, Virgil Randall and D. Spurbeck, Democrats, 378, 510 and 586, respectively; surveyor, A. Colburn, Republican, 569, A. T. Beall, Democrat, 562. Thus it will be seen that the Repub- licans won an overwhelming victory in 1882. So rapidly had the country north of the Clear- water settled' since the first influx of settlers to that region in 1872 that in 1883 the northern portion of Nez Perces county demanded the county seat. An enabling act was passed and in June, 1883, a special election was held to decide the permanent location of Nez Perces' county seat. There were only two can- didates, Lewiston and Moscow, and the former won by a majority of 280, the vote in favor of retaining the county seat at Lewiston being 922, that favoring its removal to Moscow, 642. The all-absorbing issue of the campaign of 1884 was, like that of 1882, the annexation problem. John Hailey was nominated as delegate by the Democrats and T. F. Singiser received renomination at the hands of the Republicans. Hailey was understood to represent the anti-annexation faction and Singiser the annexation party. Both territorial conventions adopted resolutions favoring the segregation of north Idaho, but it was generally understood that south Idaho opposed it so that the fact that Hailey was an anti-annexationist and the further fact that the policy of the Democratic party in southern Idaho had always been opposed to annexation, led to the belief that the party was not sincere in its promises. The result was that Singiser again swept the north by over 700 majority, notwithstanding the great popularity of Hailey. He was, however, defeated in the territory at large. The detailed vote in Nez Perces county as gleaned from the official records we give below : For delegate, Theodore F. Singiser, Republican, 799, John Hailey, Democrat, 471, William S. Taylor, 27 ; assemblymen, S. A. Moon, J. P. Quarles, L. P. Wilmot, Republicans, 675, 802 and 684 votes, respect- ively, W. T. McKern, N. Brocke and G. W. Tomer, Democrats, 690, 485 and 540 votes, respectively; councilman, S. G. Isaman, Republican, 800, R. L. Yantis, Democrat, 478; joint councilman, S. W. Aloody, Republican, 840, D. W. C. Dunwell, Demo- crat, 445 ; district attorney, J. W. Parker, Democrat, 771, E. O'Neil, Republican, 526; probate judge, Will- iam Wing, Republican, 775,' H. B. Blake, Democrat, 487: sheriff, E. W. Cameron, Republican, 597, Ezra Baird, Democrat, 550, R. H. Beeman, Independent, 131 ; auditor and recorder, Isaac C. Hattabaugh, Dem- ocrat, 767, George M. Wilson, Republican, 529; treas- urer,' George Glass, Republican, 624, P. M. Davis, Democrat, 675 ; assessor, Albert Fansler, Republican, 631, S. J. Langdon, Democrat, 668: commissioners, D. Nottman, Jr., J. M. McGregor, H. L. Coates, Re- publicans. 797. 720 and 550 votes, respectively, Will- iam Ewing, J. B. Menomy, D. Spurbeck, Democrats, 570, 489 and 687 votes, respectively; surveyor, A. Colburn, Republican, 6n. Alfred Beall, Democrat, 68 1 ; coroner, E. A. Sanders, Republican, 733, W. B. Cooper, Democrat, 547. The annexation question was again the main issue in 1886, and both county conventions passed resolu- tions designating it such. The Mormon question first came into prominence during this campaign, the Re- publicans taking an aggressive stand for the clisfran- chisement of all polygamists. Fred T. Dubois was nominated by the Republicans for delegate and was opposed on 'the Democratic ticket by John Hailey. Hailey's failure to make clearly known his position HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. on these two leading questions is thought by many to have been mainly responsible for his defeat. Nez Perces county's political character seems to have un- dergone a radical change between the campaigns of 1884 and 1886, as the Democrats secured a majority of the offices at this election and returned a majority for Hailey- with the understanding that he repre- sented the annexationists. The question of annexa- tion itself was submitted to the people of north Idaho and in Nez Perces county received 1,675 affirmative and only 28 negative votes. The official vote: Delegate, John Hailey, Democrat, 985, Fred T. Dubois. Republican, 68 1 ; prosecuting attorney, W. T. McKern, Democrat, 810, A. Quackenbush, Republi- can, 884; councilman, Charles Watson, Democrat, 954, J. M. Howe, Republican, 740; assemblymen, A. S. Chancy, D. F. Mahana, James Dellaven, Demo- crats, 922, 820 and 908 votes, respectively, W. A. Elyea, C. L. Kinman, J. I. Mitcham, Republicans, 897, 734 and 753 votes, respectively; probate judge, W. M. Rice, Democrat, 893, William Wing, Republi- can, 803; sheriff, S. J. Latigdon, Democrat, 855; L. Stannus, Republican, 839; auditor and recorder, I. C. Hattabaugh, Democrat, 1,157, Robert Bruce, Re- publican, 543 ; treasurer, P. M. Davis, Democrat, 920, Richard J. Monroe, Republican, 785 ; assessor, James Keane, Democrat, 798, F. E. Mix, Republican, goo ; superintendent of schools, J. W. ' Lieuallen, Re- publican. 743, T. N. Creekmur, Democrat, 577; sur- veyor, S. L. Campbell, Republican, 1,008, A. T. Beall, Democrat, 687; commissioners, C. A. Leeper, Demo- crat, 271, Robert Ingraham, Republican, 146, H. J. Bundy, Democrat, 338, H. H. Bangs, Republican, 269, William Ewing, Democrat, 276, J. L. Naylor, Repub- lican, 367; coroner, W. A. Simpson, Democrat, 851, H. V. Grubbe, Republican, 829. In 1888, for the last time, annexation was the principal issue before the people of this territory, for in 1890 Idaho, including the panhandle, became a state. In the north Dubois was denounced in no uncertain terms, for his bitter opposition in congress to the annexation movement. In Nez Perces county both the Republican and Democratic conventions passed strong resolutions reiterating their belief in an- nexation. The Republicans drew up a memorial to ment and its advantages and characterizing Dubois's course as "unworthy of a statesman and an honora- ble man." The Democrats, however, in the resolu- tion next following one favoring annexation endorsed James H. Hawley, the Democratic nominee and an avowed anti-annexationist. Just why they did this is not apparent. Perhaps Hawley had made promises of remaining neutral on the annexation question should he be elected. At all events the people of the north were dissatisfied with both candidates and at a general convention held at Moscow Judge Norman Buck, of Lewiston. was nominated as the annexationists' can- didate for delegate. Judge Buck accepted the nomi- nation a few days before the election took place and in Latah and Nez Perces counties received more votes than did Dubois and Hawley together. Kootenai, Idaho and Shoshone gave him a small vote. Dubois cap- tured the southern vote, however, and was re-elected to congress. The names of the victorious candidates in Nez Perces county may be gleaned from the official can- vass below : For delegate, Norman Buck, Annexationist, 431, James H. Hawley, Democrat, 155, Fred T. Dubois, Republican 49, councilman. C. A. Leeper, Democrat, 522, J. W .Brigham, Rep. 81 ; assemblymen, J. I. Mitch- am, Rep., 588, James DeHaven, Rep., 595, W. L. Thompson, Democrat, 591, J. H. Irvine, 23 ; district attorney, I. N. Maxwell',' Democrat, 325, J. M. Howe, Republican, 294; probate judge, W. M. Rice, Demo- crat. 334, William Wing, Republican, 291 : auditor and recorder, R. P. Mudge, Republican, 353, A. W. Kroutinger, Jr., Democrat, 253; treasurer, George Glass, Republican, 382, P. M. Davis, Democrat, 241 ; sheriff, L. Stannus, Republican, 313, John Bymaster, Democrat, 304; assessor, J. Englis, Republican, 361, William Sigler, Democrat, 266; superintendent of schools, S. G. Isaman, Republican, 316, J. Q. Mox- ley, Democrat, 310; commissioners, jasper Rand, Democrat, 159, D. M. White, Republican, 154, W. J. Eakin, Democrat, 53. J. L. Goodnight, Republican, 49, M. S. Freeman, Republican, 142, M. L. Ward, Democrat, 57; surveyor, W. P. Bell, Republican. 381, S. R. Southwick, Democrat 2; coroner, G. H. Lake, Republican, 332, C. H. Payne, Democrat, 284. The act creating Latali county provided that that county was to remain in the same district as Nez Per- ces county for judicial and legislative purposes until the legislature should direct otherwise. As the elec- tion took place before the next meeting of the legis- lative assembly, the citizens of Latah and Nez Perces counties were left in a quandary as to how to pro- ceed. They could not agree and so four legislative tickets were placed in the field, two by each county. After the election took place the question of who were and who were not entitled to seats arose. The Latah nominees received a majority of the .votes cast; a few votes were cast in Latah county for Nez Perces nomi- nees and vice versa. The auditor of Latah county de- manded that the recorder of Nez Perces county issue a certificate of election to the successful candidate for councilman in Latah county. This request was refused, whereupon the applicant applied to the courts for a writ of mandamus. The court granted an alternative writ for the defendant to appear and show cause why a writ should not be issued. After several brief discussions a compromise was agreed upon on December 1st and accepted by both parties. By the terms of this compromise J. W. Brigham, of Latah county, was given a certificate of election as councilman and certificates were issued to A. S. Chancy, of Latah, and to James DeHaven and J. I. Mitcham, of Nez Perces, as representatives. With the advent of statehood in 1890 the long- and bitter contest between the north and south over the annexation question came to an end and with it the issue which had for more than two decades rent each political party asunder and caused no end of fac- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 10.3 tional fights. With statehood came a closer bond be- tween the two sections. The first state election was simply a contest for supremacy between the two great parties and national policies were the issue. The Re- publicans were victorious, the state majority being between 2,000 and 2,500. A feature of the campaign in Nez Perces county was the deadlock which occurred in the Democratic district convention, composed of delegates from Lat- ah, Idaho and Nez Perces counties. The delegates were unable to agree upon the nominations for dis- trict attorney and the district judgeship.. Finally, af- ter sixty-eight ballots had been taken without a nom- ination, a compromise was effected and J. H. For- ney, of Idaho county, was awarded the nomination for district attorney, J. W. Poe, of Nez Perces, the nom- ination for district judge and the legislative offices were diveded between the three counties. The elec- tion in this county was a closely contested on as will be seen from the appended official vote : For congressman, Willis Sweet, Republican, 367, Alexander E. Mayhew, Democrat, 330 ; governor, George L. Shoup, Republican, 370, Benjamin Wilson, Democrat, 327; lieutenant governor, Norman B. Willey, Republican, 378, Samuel F. Taylor, Demo- crat, 322; secretary of state, A. J. Pinkham, Repub- lican, 378, A. E. Sherwin, Democrat, 331 ; auditor, Silas Moody, Republican, 367, James H. Wickersham, Democrat, 331 ; treasurer, Frank R. Coffin, Republi- can, 372, Timothy Regan, Democrat, 326; attorney general, George H. Roberts, Republican, 362, Rich- ard Z. Johnson, Democrat, 335 ; superintendent of public instruction, J. E. Harroun, Republican, 343, Madison A. Kelly, Democrat, 349; justices supreme court, J. W. Huston, John T. Morgan, J. M. Sullivan, Republicans, 373, 367 and 339 votes respectively, Henry W. Weir, Frank E. Ensign, Isaac N. Max- well, Democrats, 324, 329 and 347 votes respectively; judge, second district, W. G. Piper, Republican, 286, James W. Poe, Democrat, 409; district attorney, E. O'Neill, Republican, 350, J. H. Forney, Democrat, 343; senator, third district, I. S. Weiler, Republi- can, 381, C. W. Case, Democrat, 310; senator, fourth district, William Wing, Republican, 374, Barney Ro- hen Kohl, Democrat, 320; representative, I. S. Sperry, Republican, 351, J. B. Morris, Democrat, 335; joint representative with Idaho county, J. L. Good- night, Republican. 369, Ezra Baird. Democrat, 321 ; county clerk, H. K. Barnett, Republican, 376, W. M. Rice, Democrat, 314; sheriff, M. S. Freeman, Re- publican, 317, Joseph Eakin, Democrat, 363; treas- urer, George Glass, Republican, 313, D. S. Dent, Dem- ocrat, 377; probate judge, S. G. Isman, Republican, 348, M. E. Shepler, Democrat, 339; assessor, Josiah Inglis, Republican, 374, W. G. Anthony, Democrat, 316; commissioners, George Walker, Republican, 140, Andrew Schultheiss, Democrat, 138, J. A. Lathrop, Republican, 62, T. A. Wilkinson, Democrat, 79, D. M. White, Republican, 166, W. W. Brown, Demo- crat, 97; surveyor, W. P. Bell, Republican, elected; coroner, George H. Lake, Republican, 365, W. A. Simpson, Democrat, 336. The year 1892 is distinguished in political history as marking the date of the entrance of the People's party upon the stage of politics. This party had been in process of organization for years past, but not un- til 1892 did the different societies and organizations having Populistic principles associate themselves and form one national party for the purpose of taking an active part in national affairs. Throughout the northwest the People's party organized, nominated state, district and county tickets and otherwise made its influence felt. Idaho and the county of which we are writing were no exceptions. The silver question also came into prominence for the first time this year and it is interesting to note that, as in Montana, Colo- rado and other western mining states, Idaho Repub- licans at first announced themselves in favor of the free coinage of this metal. The silver question tore the Republican party in this state into two factions. The Democratic party was also divided on this issue. While the People's party showed considerable strength in 1892, they did not succeed in capturing any offices in Nez Perces county, the Democrats win- ning a great victory. The official vote is given below : For president, Benjamin Harrison, Republican, 345, Grover Cleveland, Democrat, 428; congressman, Willis Sweet, Republican, 357, E. B. True, Democrat, 328, James Gunn, Populist, 101 ; governor, W. J. Mc- Connell, Republican, 337, John M. Burke, Democrat, 358, A. J. Crook, Populist, 98; lieutenant governor, Frank B. Willis, Republican, 331, George V. Bryan, Democrat, 347, J. B. Wright, Populist, 88; supreme judge, J. N. Sullivan, Republican, 368, F. E. Ensign, Democrat, 366; secretary of state, James F. Curtis, Republican, 337, J. H. ' Wickersham, Democrat, 353, Benjamin F. Cheney, Populist, 91 ; attorney general, George M. Parsons, Republican, 342, W. f . Reaves, Democrat, 349, J. R. Webster, Populist, 87 ; treasurer, W. C. Hill, Republican, 344, Phillip Regan, Demo- crat, 351, H. J. Sutton, Populist, 82; superintendent of schools, B. B. Lower, Republican, 344, J. W. Far- ris, Democrat, 348, L. L. Shearer, Populist, 78; auditor, Frank Ramsey, Republican, 340, J. W. Mc- Clure, Democrat, 350, J. H. Andrews, Populist, 84, joint senator, third district, J. F. Ailshie, Republican, 329, J. B. Morris, Democrat, 387, James H. Robinson, Populist, 75 ; joint senator, fourth district, J. M. Howe, Republican, 347, Thomas F. Nelson, Demo- crat, 351, John Chenoweth, Populist, 90; joint repre- sentative with Idaho county, W. L. Thompson, Re- publican, 350, David C. Stephens, Democrat, 346, William Craig, Populist, 74; representative, Ira S. Sperry, Republican, 350, D. F. Mahana, Democrat, 379, 6. D. Lovelace, Populist, 52 ; sheriff, J. B. Coop- er, Republican, 346, Eben Mounce, Democrat, 375, W. S. Rice, Populist, 78; treasurer, Josiah Englis, Republican, 300, David S. Dent, Democrat, 453; as- sessor, George A. Smith, Republican, 290, S. O. Tan- ahill, Democrat, 377, D. Kemp, Populist, 127; pro- bate judge, Prince E. Stookey, Republican, 348, George Erb, Democrat, 416 ; surveyor, J. O. Maxson, Republican, 353, H. M. Stalnake'r, Democrat, 327; coroner, J. H. Howe, Republican, 335, K. L. Thomp- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. son. Democrat, 397; commissioners, D. M. White, Republican, 395, M. A. Kelly, Democrat, 344. W. A. Nixon, Republican, 332, C. A. Leeper, Democrat, 373, James A. Ray, Populist, 50; John W. Brown, Repub- lican, 331 ; O. L. Phillips, Democrat, 330, Felix Mc- Minime, Populist, 57. The state went Republican. In the following campaign, that of 1894, the Popu- lists displayed considerable strength- At the Popu- list convention held in Lewiston July 2Oth, the follow- ing platform was adopted, which, because it is typical of most Populist platforms, we reproduce here : "First We endorse the Omaha platform. "Second We demand that the laws known as the initiative and referendum be enacted and made part of the state constitution. "Third We demand that all property be assessed at its cash value and that all indebtedness shall be exempt from taxation. All mortgages to be assessed at their face value in the county where the indebted- ness exists. "Fourth We demand the enactment of a law for- bidding the sale of property on execution unless the amount of the sale equals eighty per cent, of the ap- "Rftb We demand that all laborers, shall have a first lien on the property. "Sixth We demand that there shall be a reduc- tion in the salaries of the state and county officers, till the amount paid shall be a fair compensation only for the work done, and further that salaries be paid and all fees go to the county treasury. "Seventh We demand that taxes be made delin- quent in March instead of the second Monday in De- cember. "Eighth We demand a revision of the school law so that the state furnish text books to the pupils at actual cost. "Ninth We demand a county attorney instead of The election resulted favorably to the Republicans, though the Democrats secured a few offices. The Pop- ulists did not develop enough strength to secure any offices in this county. From the official vote the names of the victorious candidates in this county will be seen: For congressman, Edgar Wilson, Republican, 505, James M. Ballentine, Democrat, 336, James Gunn, Populist, 222; governor. William J. McConnell, Re- publican, 487, Edward A. Stevenson, Democrat, 371, James W. Ballentine, Populist, 228; lieutenant gov- ernor, Frederick J. Mills, Republican, 510, James B. Thatcher, Democrat, 342, John J. Chambers, Populist, 21 1 ; secretary of state, Isaac W. Garrett, Republican, 509, James R. Hall, Democrat, 344, Frank M. Tibbals, Populist, 216; attorney general, George M. Parsons, Republican, 513, William T. Reeves, Democrat, 341, Robert S. Spence, Populist, 220; state auditor, Frank C. Ramsey, Republican, 507, James Stoddard, Demo- crat, 338. Frank Walton, Populist, 221 ; treasurer, Charles Bunting, Republican, 509, James H. Bush, Democrat, 341. Callistus W. Cooper, Populist, 212; superintendent of public instruction, Charles A. Fores- Lewiston Teller], Republican, 533, John crat, 331, Major J. Steele, Populist, 212; supreme judge, Joseph W. Huston, Republicai man [editoi W. Paris, Democr; 513, John C. Elder, Democrat, 361, Texas Angel, Populist, 216; joint senator with Latah, Daniel C. Mitchell, Republican, 515, Henry Heitfeld, Fusionist, 561 ; joint senator with Idaho county, Cassius M. Day, Republican, 519, Aaron F. Parker, Democrat, 342, George W. Hinkle, Fusionist, 210; joint representative with Idaho county, William L. Thompson, Republican, 543, Keith W. White, Democrat, 377, Silas D. Strong, Populist, 136; representative, Richard J. Monroe, Re- publican, 513, James W. Poe, Democrat, 342, J. H. Morrison, Populist, 237; district judge, William G. Piper, Republican, 545, Stewart S. Denning, Fusionist, 440; district attorney, James E. Babb, Republican, 529, Clay McNamee, Fusionist, 546; clerk, Robert Schleicher, Republican, 449, Samuel O. Tanahill, Dem- ocrat, 465, R. P. Mudge, Populist, 186; sheriff, Will- iam H. Denny, Republican, 450, Hary Lydon, Dem- ocrat, 474, C. W. McFadden, Populist, 177 ; treasurer, Francis J. Edwards. Republican, 398, John B. Morris, Democrat, 486, J. N. Lindsay, Populist, 190; probate judge, Prince E. Stookey, Republican, 478, George E. Erb, Democrat, 429, S. G. Hayes, Populist, 176; assessor, Nelson J. Wing, Republican, 465, George H. Ruddell, Democrat, 408, W. T. Wright, Populist, 208 ; commissioners, D. M. White, Republican, 450, N. B. Holbrook, Democrat, 404, A. Shiebe, Populist, 192, Albert G. Wisner, Republican, 475, Ferdinand B. Lang. Democrat, 355, William J. Eakin, Populist, 205, George A. Welker, Republican, 460, William Le Baron, Democrat, 385, Chambers Muston, Populist, 193 ; sur- veyor, Jordan O. Maxon, Republican, 506, Stephen So'uthwick, Fusionist. 251; coroner, Leroy L. Strong, Republican, 508, Madison A. Kelley, Democrat, 348, L. C. Neal, Populist, 202. A small Prohibition vote was cast. The campaign of 1896, the most brilliant and re- markable political contest in the latter annals of our country's history, witnessed the dissolution and division of two' national parties in Idaho. The rock upon which they split was was the silver issue. The Silver Repub- licans organized under Senator Dubois, who walked out of the national convention at St. Louis, while the Dem- ocrats either fused with the Populists or joined the gold standard forces. Some Democrats joined Dubois's new party. In Nez Perces county the Democrats and the Populists fused. The Silver Republicans and Dem- ocrats who did not care to fuse with the Populists also placed a ticket in the field for a few offices. The Fusionists carried the state and every office in Nez Perces county except one. that of probate judge. Du- bois's Silver party elected twenty-five representatives to the legislature. The vote in Nez Perces county follows : For President of the United' States, William Mc- Kinley, Republican, 675, William Jennings Bryan, Democrat, 1089, Weaver, Populist, 22; congressman, James Gunn, Fusionist, 918. John T. Morrison, Re- publican, 678, W. E. Borah, Silver Republican, 122; governor. Frank Steunenberg, Fusionist, 1064, D. H. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 105 Hudlong, Republican, 674 ; lieutenant governor, G. F. Moore, Fusionist, 948, Vincent Bierbower, Republican, 662, E. B. True, Silver Republican, 106; secretary of state, G. J. Lewis, Fusionist, 934, I. W. Garrett, Re- publican, 670, Charles Durrand, Silver Republican, 103; state auditor, T- H. Anderson, Fusionist, 921, E. A. McKenna. Republican, 679, Bartlett Sinclair, Silver Republican, 98: treasurer, G. H. Storer, Democrat, 934. F. C. Ramsey, Republican, 668, Timothy Regan, Silver Republican', 100; attorney general, R. E. Mc- Farland, Fusionist, 911, J. A. Bagley, Republican, 658, G. M. Parsons, Silver Republican, 125; superin- tendent public instruction, L. N. B. Anderson, Fusion- ist, 925, C. A. Foresman, Republican, 690, M. F. Cowley, Silver Republican, 89: mine inspector, B. F. Hastings, Fusionist, 1,038, Theodore Brown, Republi- can, 658 ; justice supreme court, R. P. Quarles, Fusion- ist, 925, D. W. Standroad, Republican, 663, Edgar Wilson, Silver Republican, in: senator, Henry Heit- feld, Fusionist, 665. Charles E. Monteith, Republican, 413, George W. Morrison, Silver Republican, 109; representatives, A. H. Alford, Fusionist, 673, I. S. Sperry. Fusionist, 627, N. J. Wing, Republican, 450, W. A". Nixon, Republican, 439, J. D. Graham, Silver Republican. 66: sheriff, G. Barton, Fusionist, 941, W. S. Dyer, Republican, 768; assessor, D. Cantrill, Fusionist, 930, J. M. Williams, Republican, 758; treasurer, J. 'B. Morris, Fusionist, 946, Hazen Squier, Republican, 775 ; probate judge, Prince E. Stookey, Republican, 933, S. G. Hayes. Fusionist, 766; com- missioners, T. L. Armstrong, Fusionist, 959, A. G. Wis- ner. Republican, 670, J. P. Parker, Fusionist, 966, W. R. Dixon. Republican, 651, Z. McCall, Fusionist, 919, J. C. Larkee, Republican, 664 : surveyor. G. Moragne, Fusionist. 860, J- O. Maxon, Republican, 816; coroner, L. L. Strong. Fusionist, 962, S. Leslie Thompson, Re- publican. 706. The next campaign was one of bitter factional strife amongst all the parties. Late in August the Democrats, the Populists and the Silver Republicans met at Boise. An energetic attempt was made to con- centrate the silver forces into one party, but most of the Populists resisted the offer of fusion, believeing they were now strong enough to stand alone. Finally the Democrats and Silver Republicans nominated a fusion ticket and the Populist party broke up into two factions, the Blake and the Taylor factions, both of which claimed to be the regular party organization. Subsequently, however, the courts decided favorably to the Blake faction, whereupon those of the Populit party who had not cast their lot with the Democrats, came together and nominated another Populist ticket a-middle-of-the-road ticket The Democrats and Popu- lists again fused in this countv and the Silver Repub- licans joined with the regular Republican party. From the official vote given below, the result of the contest in this countv may easilv be seen : For congressman. W. B. Heyburn. Republican, 1,238. Edgar Wilson, Fusionist, 969, James Gunn, Populist, 385: governor. A. B. Moss, Republican, 1,324, Frank Steuenberg, Fusionist, 942, James H. An- derson, Populist, 297; lieutenant governor. J. F. Hunt, Republican 1.279, J- H. Hutchinson, Fusionist, 929, T. E. Miller, Populist, 310; secretary of state, R. S. Bragaw. Republican. 1,268, Martin Patrie, Fusion- ist, 912, J. S. Bonham, Populist, 30; attorney gen- eral, F. J. Wyman. Republican, 1,267, S. H. Hayes, Fusionist, 932, T. L. Glenn. Populist, 311 ; justice 'su- preme court', D. W. Standrod, Republican, 1,308, J. N. Sullivan. Fusionist, 1,072; district judge, E. C. Steele, Republican. 1.253, Moore, Fusionist, 869, Willis Sweet, Silver Republican, 341 ; auditor, J. H. Van- camp, Republican, 1,260, Bartlett Sinclair, Fusionist, 917, A. G. Whittier, Populist, 308; state treasurer, G. W. Fletcher, Republican, 1,265, L- C. Rice, Fusionist, 1226: inspector of mines, J. W. Stoddard, Republican, 1,253. J- A- Czizek, Fusionist, 910, David Farmer, Populist, 448: superintendent of public instruction. Miss Dean, Republican, 1,300, Miss French, Fusionist, 1,229; state senator, J. N. Stacy, Republican, 1,299, L. C. Clark, Fusionist, 1,071, G. A. Manning, Silver Republican, 115; representatives, O. T. Hanlon, Re- publican, 1,256' W. D. Hardwick, Republican, 1,179, Wallace B. Stainton, Fusionist, 1,181, S. Ogden, Fu- sionist, 946. D. H. Haner, Silver Republican, 188: auditor, P. E. Stookey, Republican, 1,496, R. R. Steen, Fusionist. 1.199; sheriff, J. W. Rozen, Republican, 1.475, E.'L. Parker, Fusionist, 1,116; assessor, Stass Spekker, Republican, 1,388, George Ruddell, Fusionist, 1.224; treasurer. C. A. Hastings, Republican, 1,357, T. S. Cantril, Fusionist, 1,158; county attorney, F. Danford, Silver Republican, 1,375, John Green, Fu- sionist, 1,226: probate judge, R. A. Langford, Repub- lican, 1,372, William Kauffman, Fusionist, 1,118; su- perintendent of schools, Jennie Harrington, Republican, 1,488, Mary Kroh. Fusionist, 1,018; surveyor, Edson Briggs, Republican, 1,412, J. H. Day, Fusionist, 1,073; coroner. S. L. Thompson, Silver Republican, 1,279, L. C. Neal. Fusionist, 1,010, S. S. Strong, Independent, 171 ; commissioners. S. G. Isaman, Silver Republican, 1,319. John Wilkinson, Fusionist, 1,122, A. G. John- son. "Republican, 1,333. W. B. Martin. Fusionist, 1,089, William Black, Republican, 1,388, Ed. Vandyke, Fu- sionist, 1.078. The state was carried by the Fusionists. their ma- jorities ranging from 3.000 to 6,000. Nez Perces county gave the Republicans majorities averaging 300. From' the fact that the Silver Republicans were al- lowed to affiliate with the regular Republican party it will be seen that the gold standard advocates in Idaho at this time were not very strong and probably for this reason not very aggresive. Fusion again prevailed in 1900, both in state and county, the Populists, Democrats and Silver Republi- cans associating. There was also, however, a middle- of- the-road Populist ticket. The Fusionists carried the state, while in this county, honors were about equally divided between the Republicans and the Fusionists. It is worth noticing that the Prohibition party polled a considerable number of votes this vear. The official For President of the United States, William Mc- Kinlev, Republican, 2.152. William J. Bryan. Fusion- ist. 2,134, Populist. 22, Probititionist, 169: justice su- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. preme court Edgar C. Steele, Rep., 2,158, Charles D. Stockslayer, Fusionist, 2,067, William Perkins, Populist 40; congressman, John T. Morrison, Republican, 2,137, Thomas L. Glenn, Fusionist, 2,092, John F. Stark, Populist. 25. Amanda M. Way, Prohibitionist, 165; governor, D. W. Standrod, Republican, 2,136, Frank W. Hunt, Fusionist, 2,117, John S. Randall, Populist, 27, William J. Boone, Prohibitionist, 171 ; lieutenant governor, Addison A. Crane, Republican, 2,100, Thomas F. Terrell, Fusionist, 2,081, Johannes Henson, Populist, 172; secretary of state, Martin Patrie, Re- publican, 2,105, Charles J. Bussett, Fusionist, 2,066, Melancthon F. Ely, Populist, 47, Mrs. Neal B. Inman, Prohibitionist, 183 ; state auditor, Henry J. Syms, Re- publican, 2,096, Egbert W. Jones, Fusionist, 2,094, William W. Tharp, Populist, 29; treasurer, George H. Kester, Republican, 2,138, John J. Plumber, Fusion- ist, 2,033, Augustus M. Slater, Populist, 61, James Bal- lentine, Prohibitionist, 170; attorney general, George E. Gray, Republican, 2,105, Frank Martin, Fusionist, 2,083, Clay McNamee, Populist, 36, William A. Hall, Prohibitionist, 166; superintendent of public instruc- tion, Jessie Riley, Republican, 2,099, Parmeal French, Fusionist, 2,095^ James T. Smith, Prohibitionist, 160 ; inspector of mines, Robert D. Bell, Republican, 2,084, Martin H. Jacobs, Fusionist, 2,071, Edward Kimber- ley, Populist, 30, George Black, Prohibitionist, 159; senator, Frank D. Hasbrouck, Republican, 2,053, Louis Clark, Fusionist, 2,135, Michael C. Pearsons, Prohi- bitionist, 160; representatives, Caleb W. Richardson, Republican, 2,045, Albert W. Lee, Republican, 2,048, Peter Triesch, Fusionist, 2,122, Eben Mounce, Fusion- ist, 2,107, Joseph A. Pine, Prohibitionist, 165, Will- iam E. Schuehly, Prohibitionist, 157; sheriff, John T. Leachman, Republican, 1,946, Alfred Kroutinger, Fu- sionist, 2,311, William C. Bird, Prohibitionist, 155; treasurer, Viola C. McConville, Republican, 1,981, James R. Lydon, Fusionist, 2, 270; assessor, Benjamin F. Bashor, ' Republican, 2,160, William E. Stoddard, Fusionist, 2,050, Edward Darby, Prohibitionist, 128; judge of probate, Robert A. Langford, Republican, 2,004, William B. Reese, Fusionist, 2,250, William Scott, Prohibitionist, 120; superintendent of schools, Jennie M. Harrington, Republican, 2,161, Eula Ward, Fusionist, 2,118, Ollie R. Ellis, Prohibitionist, 119; county attorney, Miles S. Johnson, Republican, 2,173, Carl A. Davis, Fusionist, 2,139; commissioners, Samuel G. Isaman, Republican, 1,991, Charles A. Leeper, Fu- sionist, 2,194, J. Smith Mounce, Prohibitionist, 155, S. S. Brooks; Republican, 1,935, Perr y E . Miller, Fusion- ist, 2,258, N. C. Busby, Prohibitionist, 126, William A. Black, Republican, 2,079, George W. Brammet, Fusionist, 2,094, Charles A. Parrott, Prohibitionist, 124 ; surveyor, Edson Briggs, Republican, 2,264, Ben- jamin F. Chaney, Fusionist, 1,959, George Hogue, Pro- hibitionist. 146 ; coroner, Lemuel C. Neal, Republican, 2,079, Jesse Watson, Fusionist, 2,092, John Black, Pro- hibitionist, 125. The last campaign is too recent to require a dis- cussion of the policies of the different parties. Suffice it to say that the' Populist party as a party is now a memory, though many of its principles have been ab- sorbed by the two historic parties, and that the silver question is not what might be termed a living issue. Those who were former adherents of the Populist faith are now numbered among either the Democrats, the ties. With the removal of the silver question as a factor in Idaho politics and the substitution therefor, as the main issue, of the administration's foreign policy and the well known Republican doctrines of a pro- tective tariff and conservatism in all financial and economic matters in general, the Republicans have once Perces county went overwhelmingly Republican at the last election, only two Democrats being elected. The official vote : For congressman, Burton L. French, Republican, 2,451, Joseph H. Hutchinson, Democrat, 1,807, John A. Davis, Socialist, 234, Herbert A. Lee, Prohibition- ist, 115 : governor, John T. Morison, Republican, 2,495, Frank W. Hunt,' Democrat, 1,758, Augustus M. Slatery. Socialist, 220, Albert E. G'ipson, Prohibition- ist, 121 ; lieutenant governor, James M. Stevens, Re- publican, 2,397, William E. Adams, Democrat, 1,801, Louis N. B. Anderson, Socialist, 230, Simon E. Hunt, Prohibitionist, 125 ; secretary of state, Wilmot H. Gib- son, Republican, 2,372, C. J. Bassett, Democrat, 1,809, W. H. Candee, Socialist, 220, W. E. Schuebley, Pro- hibitionist, 119; state auditor, Theodore Turner, Re- publican, 2,359, J- C. Callahan, Democrat, 1,810, George W. Harrington, Socialist, 228, Thomas D. Hodgson, Prohibitionist, 129; state treasurer, Henry N. Coffin, Republican, 2,366, E. P. Coltman, Democrat, 1,786, James E. Miller, Socialist, 218, Mrs. Jennie G. Headlev, Prohibitionist, 146; attorney general, John A. Bagley, Republican, 2,334, Frederick D. Culver, Democrat, 1,879, David W. Smith, Socialist, 227; su- perintendent of public instruction, May L. Scott, Re- publican, 2,339, Permeal French, Democrat, 1,903, Mrs. Ollie E. Ellis, Prohibitionist, 130; inspector of mines, Robert Bell, Republican, 2,339, J onn H. Nord- quest, Democrat, 1,796, O. Chalmns Smith, Socialist, 229, George Klock, Prohibitionist, 123; justice of the supreme court, James F. Ailshire, Republican, 2,361, Frank E. Fogg. Democrat, 1,792, John C. Elder, So- cialist, 227, William A. Hall, Prohibitionist, 125; sen- ' ator, Seventeenth district, George E. Crum, Republi- can, 2,286, Louis Clark, Democrat, 1,841, William H. Thompson, Socialist, 230, James E. Pearson, Prohibi- tionist, 121 ; state representatives, Charles D. Thomas, William A. Black, Garrett H. Parrel, Republicans, 2,287, 2,191, and 2,174 votes respectively, John W. Graham, Eben Mounce, Charles Hutchins. Democrats, 1,968, 1,924 and 1,8^2 votes respectively, Erick S. Lee, William Fenderson, Henry Wilson, "Socialists, 202, 197 and 103 votes respectively, G. W. Beloit, G. B. Banta, J. R. Hobkins, Prohibitionists, 109, 107 and 115 votes respectively ; district judge, Edgar C. Steele. Re- publican, 2,356, 'Wallace N. Scales, Democrat, 1,882; county auditor and recorder, John T. Orbison, Repub- lican, 2,007, James R. Lydon, Democrat, 2,226, Duncan Gaven, Socialist, 190, W. E. Curtis, Prohibitionist, 113: county commissioners, First district, George A. LUNA HOUSE OF LEWISTON. TAKEN ABOUT 1868. Benedict Ranch, at the Mouth of Whitebird, the Scene of Indian Atrocities in 1 877. ; HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Smith, Republican, 2,184, C. A. Leeper, Democrat, 1,990, John A. Miller, Socialist, 198, J. Smith Mounce, Prohibitionist, 118; Second district, Samuel Hollen- beck, Republican, 2,201, Nathaniel Wilson, Democrat, 1,884, Renny J. Bofferding, Socialist, 199, Elmer Rob- ertson, Prohibitionist, 122; Third district, George W. Welker, Republican, 2,217, George W. Brammer, Dem- ocrat. 1,907, Thomas F. Jacobs, Socialist, 203, J. H. Lewis, Prohibitionist, 123; sheriff, William Schuldt, Republican, 2,396, William R. Gibbs, Democrat, 1,892, William Bozarth, Socialist, 199, U. E. Reeves, Prohi- bitionist, 97: prosecuting attorney, Miles S. Johnson, Republican, 2,349, Charles L. McDonald, Democrat, 1,961 ; treasurer, Charles A. Hastings, Republican, 2,205, Alfred W. Kroutinger, Democrat, 1,970, John N. Lindsay, Socialist, 223, William S. Clayton, Prohi- bitionist, in ; probate judge, Oscar B. Chesley, Repub- lican, 2,072, William B. Reese, Democrat, 2,i"i6, Stan- ton T. McGrath, Socialist, 189, A. J. Pine, Prohibi- tionist, in; superintendent of public schools, Bernice McCoy, Republican, 2,272, Eula C. Ward, Democrat, 1,994, Mrs. Laura Boyd, Prohibitionist, 117; assessor, Wilfred L. Gifford, Republican, 2,312, Major J. Steele, Democrat, 1,851, Adolph E. Fieser, Socialist, 198, Henry Rickle, Prohibitionist, 109 ; surveyor, Edson D. Briggs, Republican, 2,348, Frank Doughty, Democrat, i. .803, Charles Simmons, Socialist, 197, Gilbert Hogue, Prohibitionist, n<^; Clyde J. Vassar, Republican, 2,218, William B. Cooper, Democrat, 1,870, Dr. W. F. Shaw- ley, Socialist, 229, S. A. Roe, Prohibitionist, 114. A very small Populist vote was also cast. CHAPTKR III. CITIES AND TOWNS. LEWISTON. From the nature of things the early history of north Idaho could not well be traced without, in part at least, presenting also the early annals of the pioneer city of the region. We have already referred to the fact that the first attempt to establish a trading point was made at the Big Eddy of the Clearwater, but abandoned at once on account of the impracticability of navigating that stream. We have likewise spoken of the difficulty in the way of building a town at the confluence of the Clearwater and the Snake rivers, on territory then a part of the Nez Perces Indian reservation, and of how circumstances compelled the whites to assume the aggressive in trenching upon the rights of the Indians and the latter race to yield an unwilling compliance. The town of Canvas has been adverted to; the unfortunate social conditions obtaining therein; and the sufferings occasioned by the frailty of protecting walls and the severity of the winter of 1861-2. Mention has been made also of the platting of the townsite in October, 1861 ; of the town's early political status and its career as the capital of the territory. The circumstances of its loss of political prestige and the seat of government have likewise engaged our attention and many inci- dental references to the town of later days have necessarily found place in former chapters. It is now our task to trace the development of Lewiston some- what more comprehensively and to gather up the fragments of its still unrelated history. The circumstances which caused the founding of Lewiston were favorable to its rapid early growth. The steamers which brought to the country hundreds of miners brought also laige cargoes of goods to the merchants which were speedily retailed at enormous profits. Money was plentiful among all classes and prosperity abounded on every hand. But these con- ditions were of short duration. The discovery of the Boise mines in August, 1862, turned the current of trade in that direction, and it became apparent to the leading business men of Lewiston that if their town was to continue its rapid development, it must secure a share of the trade. They were also ambitious to establish commercial relations with Salt Lake City. In furtherance of these two objects, or rather to de- termine in a measure whether or not they were prac- ticable, A. P. Ankeny sent a party consisting of Charles Clifford, Washington Murray and Joseph Denver to the site of old Fort Boise to report upon the navi- gability of the Snake river between that point and Lewiston. The party waited for lowest water, then descended the river to Lewiston, making part of the trip, it is thought, in a raft. They gave it as their opinion that the Snake river could be navigated by steamboats and that same fall, the Spray, of which mention has been heretofore made, ascended the river to a point fifteen miles above Lewiston, where it had to turn back. This was unfortunate, for it went to prove the impracticability of a far reaching scheme. l: Lewiston's business men," says Bancroft, ''contem- plated placing a line of boats on Snake river to be run as far as navigable. The first important land- ing was to be at the mouth of Salmon river, forty HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. miles above Lewiston. The design was to make a road direct to the mines, whereas the travel had there- tofore been by the trails through the Nez Perces country. The distance from the mouth of Salmon river by water to Fort Boise was 95 miles, thence to Fishing -Falls on Salmon river, 90 miles: thence to Salt Lake City, 250 miles, total 475 miles, nearly half of which, it was hoped, could be traveled by boats. Such a line would have been of great service to the military department, about to establish a post on Boise river, and to immigration, saving a long stretch of road. But the Salmon river mountains proved impassible, and the snake river unnavigable, al- though in the autumn of 1863 a second party of five men, with Molthrop at the lead, descended the stream in a boat built at Buena Vista bar, and a company was formed in Portland for constructing a portage through a canyon of that river, considered impractic- able for steamers. It was soon made apparent, how- ever, that Lewiston was hopelessly cut off from Salt Lake, and even from Boise basin, by craggy mountains, The failure of this Salt Lake project made it impossible for Lewiston to maintain the rate of de- velopment established during its earliest years, but its monopoly on the distributing business of the Salmon river mining country continued, giving it ample means for substantial growth. It must be remembered that at this time the land upon which the town was built was still a part of the Nez Perces Indian reservation, and that no title to property could be secured, a fact which must have exerted a deterrent influence upon those who would otherwise be inclined to erect substantial and perma- nent buildings. But in due time negotiations were entered into between the United States government and the Indians looking toward the cession on the part of the latter of one mile square of their territory to be used for townsite purposes. Before these negotiations were fully concluded the town was in- corporated by an act of the territorial legislature ap- proved December 27, 1866. The first section of the incorporation bill read as follows: "Section i. The town of Lewiston, including the following territory, to-wit : Bounded north and west by the waters of the Clearwater and Snake rivers at their confluence, and extending sufficiently far southerly and easterly there- from to constitute in a square form, as near as prac- ticable, according to government survey, one square mile, intended to include the square mile of land stipulated for in favor of said town in the treaty between the United States and the Nez Perces tribe of Indians now pending, is hereby organized into a municipal corporation under the name of The City of Lewiston.' Providing that the jurisdiction of said city hereby conferred shall extend to the middle channel of said rivers at the points oposite the terri- One provison of the bill was that the first election of city officers should be held on the second Monday in March of the year 1867 at the court house in Lewis- ton. The election was held at the appointed time and resulted as follows: mayor, W. W. Wright; treas- urer, H. W. Stainton; marshal, Daniel McElwee ; councilmen, Godfrey Gamble, George Scranton and Julius Loewenberg. The charter had been secured despite some opposition in the town itself to the move- ment for incorporation, and the opposition did not cease when officers were chosen. Indeed the forces adverse to the city government, led by Richard Hur- ley, were so nearly equal in numbers and influence to those of a contrary mind that little could be ac- complished in the way of progress during the first few year.s, and nothing was attempted beyond such im- provements as were deemed absolutely necessary. It was during the year 1867, according to the statement of Charles G. Kress, one of the pioneer business men of Lewiston, that the first experiments were made in tree planting in the streets of the town and inception was given to a movement which later gained for it the soubriquet of "the City of Poplars." "One hot May afternoon," says Mr! Kress, "dur- ing a lull in business, Seth Slater, John Clark, Dick Monroe and myself were sitting in front of Monroe's drug store on Main street at the head of what is now known as First street. The conversation turned to the extreme heat which was prevailing and Monroe I suggested that shade trees should be planted. At that time our streets were entirely barren of trees and there I was no vegetation at all in the business section. The I suggestion appealed strongly to us and we held an informal meeting to discuss ways and means of secur- I ing and caring for the trees. We were not at all I sure whether trees would grow here and the water :l problem was a serious one. "Finally we decided to try the experiment any- | how. Our plan contemplated the digging of a well j in front of Monroe's store, a favorite lounging place I then, and the planting there of one poplar and two I locust trees. The hat was passed around among the I citizens and in a short time $210 were subscribed. I The well was sunk at a point very nearly in the mid- M die of the street, and cost $210, the amount of the subscription. Over the well a neat frame covering H was placed and around it seats were constructed to accommodate those who cared to while away an hour I or so near its cooling waters and beneath the luxuriant 8 shade of the trees that were to be. The walls of the : well were boarded up. The chain and bucket system * delivered the water. Wesley Mulkey, whose place v was near the city, donated to the enterprise the de- If sired trees, which were planted as soon as the well was finished. "The trees seemed inspired with a due sense of 9 the importance of their mission, for they throve wonder- jj fully from the first. The enterprise was a popular It one and elicited the interest of everybody. The follow- m ing year C. C. Bunnell, Dr. Stainton and others set 9 out trees, and in 1870 a still larger number were .jj planted, until in a comparatively short time the town m was fairly embowered in luxuriant foliage. Main street was lined on both sides with poplars, but few i of which now remain." An issue of the Lewiston Signal bearing date fl HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 109 September 12, 1867, has fallen into our hands and from it we learn that the following market prices prevailed at that tirrie : apples, peaches, pears, 25 cents a pound ; flour, $5.50 a barrel ; butter, fresh, 75 cents, Isthmus, 50 cents f eggs, 75 cents ; cheese, 50 cents ; bacon, 22 cents; sugar, brown, 25 cents, crushed, 28 cents; coffee, 38 cents; tea, $1.25. From its advertising patronage we have compiled the following business directory : Luna Feed and Livery stable, Jack Curry ; Pioneer' stables, J. B. Rowley ; general stores, Grostein & Binnard, Baldwin Brothers, James Flanagan & Company, J. Loewenberg, Ankeny & Sons, Bacon & Thompson ; general commission merchants, J. Vilott & Company ; drug stores, H. W. Stainton, M. A. Kelly ; the Luna hotel, L. H. Thompson; Hotel De France, Madame Le Francois; Globe hotel, August Bittner; wood, timber and shingles, Charles Carleton & Company ; hardware, Burmell Brothers ; California bakery, C. Baker, proprietor ; flour and liquor store, Vilott & Company : Challenge saloon, Norton & Bun- ker ; J. Denny's saloon ; James Hays's saloon, also the saloons of Vincent & Dyer and A. Gilman ; the Asotin Mill Company ; harness store, Gill & Warden ; jeweler, Charles G. Kress: brewery, Gamble & Weisgerber; assay office, Richard Hurley; gunsmith, M. H. Sprague; the Oro Fino & Pierce City express, M. Fettis; the Warren's Diggings express, just estab- lished, W. P. Hunt and F. G. Hart ; H. W. Stainton, physician; W. W. Thayer and Alonzo Leland, at- torneys; H. O. Adams, justice of the peace. The progressive forces, as those who had favored incorporation were styled, continued to be hampered in their efforts by a practically equally opposing force until November 6, 1871, when Levi Ankeny, a pioneer merchant, was elected mayor on a ticket pledged to progress. The first matter to elicit the attention of the new government was the securing of a title to the townsite. Under the act of congress approved in the spring of 1867, the government had granted the city a tract of land one square mile in extent at the junction of the Clearwater and Snake rivers, but the land office had as yet failed to act in granting a patent and the matter was held in abeyance. Mayor Ankeny was authorized to cause entry to be made in his name as trustee in behalf of the city and to take such further action as was necessary to secure title to the land. As a result a United States patent was in due course of time secured, though not without litigation. It appears that one Alonzo Gilman had filed a few months before Mr. Ankeny on several lots of land included in the townsite of Lewiston. Under permission of the agent to occupy a part of these tracts for trade purposes, Gilman had, in 1862, settled upon a small portion of the land claimed by him, but the department held that no acts of his either previous or subsequent to the ratification of the treaty could secure for him a valid claim to the land or any part of it and his claim was therefore rejected. In 1871 was begun a project favoring the further extension of the tree planting and beautifying of Lewiston, referred to above. Wesley Mulkey was the moving spirit in the enterprise. He organized a joint stock company with a capital stock of $10,000 for the purpose of digging an irrigating ditch through the town. The plan was scouted by many, who offered to wager that all the water which would pass through the ditch could be caught in a hat, but the more enterpris- ing citizens subscribed the stock at $25 per share and the project was carried to a successful issue. An ordinance granting the Lewiston Water Ditch and Mill Company, as the corporation styled itself, the right of way through the city was passed February 2, 1874, and the ditch was completed some time that year. It was intended at first for irrigation purposes only, but later S. C. Hale and John Brearley planned and built a flouring mill at its terminus, which re- sulted not alone in the inauguration of a valuable new enterprise but the deepening and widening of the ditch. After passing through the hands of several different owners, the part of this property running through the city was amicably transferred in 1900 to the city of Lewiston, which abandoned it as an aqueduct, thus removing one of the ancient landmarks of the town and an improvement which had done its part in build- ing the picturesque Lewiston of the past and establish- ing the "olden, golden glory of the days gone by." The half decade following the financial crash of 1873 was a period of quiet times in Lewiston, though commercial stagnation was never experienced and the town never ceased to grow slowly. The first thing- to thoroughly arouse the people was the outbreak of the Nez Perces war, which occasioned a meeting of the citizens and the organization of the Home Guards, of which company, Ed. McConville, who later won so much fame in the Nez Perces and Spanish-American wars, was elected captain. Hazen Squier was first lieu- tenant, George Young, second lieutenant, and Charles G. Kress, orderly sergeant. The muster roll of the privates was a follows: Alexander - , Anderson William, Billings - , Brearley John, Baird Ezra, Baird William, Binnard A., Boise L. B., Boise William, Benson A., Berry J- G., Boise F., Bunnell C. C., Cox William, Clark John, Coburn C. P., Collins, M., Con- nelv James, Dennv William, Damas A., Dunwell L., Davis P. M., Denny J. W., Frost G., Faunce C. E., Forster William. Forster Alexander, Fix John, Gros- tein R., Gale H., Gilman A., Glass George, Griffith Hale N., Hale L. C., Holbrook N. B., Hud- , ., . ., . ., son Thomas, Hunt W. P.. Igo William, Jain Jo Johnson Dave, Krep C. G., Knaggs : - , Kelly M. A., Kearny J., Knifong J., Loewenberg B., Leland A., Leland Charles, Minnomy I- B., McGrave James, Mc- Conville E., Monroe R. 'j.', Mulkey W., Manning G. A.. Manning Fred, McCormick J., Monroe Dave, Moxley J. Q., Noah George, Nollan M., Penny George, Rowley L., Rowley E. A., Rand J., Roberts John, Stainton' H., Squier'H., Schleicher R., Shank Theodore, Saux Raymond, Underwood George, Voll- mer J. P., Wiggin L., Weisgerber J.. Weisgerber C., Williams M. M., Warner J. D., Wardwell Dan., Wiklenthaler S., Worden Thomas, Young George, Yane Joe, bugler. Shortly after the organization of the Home Guards, Governor Bravman authorized the formation of the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. First Regiment , Idaho National Guards, commission- ing Captain Ed. McConville colonel of the same. Company A was immediately organized in Lewiston, with officers and membership as follows: Colonel Ed McConville, Randolph Kean, Henry Archer, John Bruce, Elmer Colwell, W. S. Stafford, William Ritchey, John Woosherd, Charles Warnstoff, George Pitt, Henry Pohlson, Albert Wisner, Thomas Norman, George Gaunt, Charles Adams, James Salie, J. S. Pintter. June 17, 1877, the city council held a special meet- ing to consider the Indian situation. The mayor was authorized to send a telegram to Portland asking for arms and ammunition from the citizens of that city and to the O. S. N. Company, which brought a quick response in the form of forty York rifles and a sup- ply of ammunition. The council also authorized the construction of rifle pits and other means of defense, and accordingly, eight or ten outposts were established on the high plateau south of the city. One was near the top of the present grade from Snake river avenue, another stood between that and what is now Fifth street, another to the east of the present Fifth street grade,- one in front of the site of H. K. Barnett's residence and the remainder between that and the old road leading from Lewiston to Mount Idaho. At each of these outposts a semi-circular trench two or three feet deep and thirty-five or forty feet long was dug. Behind the embankment thus formed four or five men were stationed each night. Camp fires were forbidden and strict military discipline was enforced. This nightly guard was maintained until Joseph's band had been driven into Montana, though the danger of an attack was considered slight on account of the fact that it is not in accordance with Indian methods of warfare to attack large towns or cities. But it was thought that many of the reservation Indians were really in sympathy with their red brethren among the hostile?, and as a revolt among them would be indeed serious, it was best to be vigilant. Grostein & Binnard's stone store was the strongest structure in the city and the best adapted for use as a fortress should the necessity for such arise. It was therefore arranged that in case of attack the women and children should gather in this building while the men manned the entrenchments above town. Fortunately no attack was ever made, though there were, the usual number of panics among the people caused by the unfounded stories of highly imaginative persons or the fabrications of Madam Rumor. While the war damaged Lewiston in a number of ways, as it damaged the whole of the north Idaho country, it brought a measure of compensation for the harm it did by turning the attention of the world in this direction. Then, too, Lewiston naturally be- came the headquarters for a number of army officers and one of the principal bases of supplies. At one time, it is said, every vacant business house in the city, at all suited to the purpose, was rented and used 'as a department office. The various corps of clerks and helpers, the camp followers and the strangers attracted to the place gave Lewiston a lively appearance. Some of the army men suggested that the town was a capital place for the establishment of a permanent military post, and the citizens, ever ready to push any movement for the good of their town, sent numerously signed petitions to Washington ask- ing that a post be stationed here, but the department did not see its way clear to grant the request. The year after the war, Lewiston began planning for a more substantial growth, and not a few of its leading business men commenced making arrange- ments for the erection of fire proof, brick and stone buildings. The merchants, who had theretofore catered almost entirely to the miners' trade, were asking them- selves if it would not be better to seek to build up a trade with the farming districts to the north, and the press was calling attention to the fact that if more effort had been made to satisfy the fanners' necessi- ties, the occasion for several rival towns in Washing- ton territory would not have arisen. In short, Lewis- ton was casting about for something to take the place, in furnishing support, of the declining placer mines, and its people clearly saw that their hope for the future lay in the development of quartz mining and the agricultural resources of the tributary country. As the transition from one industry to another is necessarily slow in any community, so must be the growth of towns depending upon regions in which one source of revenue becomes exhausted before others can be built up to take its place. During the summer of 1879, the first long distance telegraph line, that precursor of the railroad, was constructed into Nez Perces county and north Idaho. It was a branch of the main military line, built to con- nect Dayton with Fort Lapwai, and the citizens of Lewiston subsidized the enterprise with a free office in the town and several hundred poles, with the under- standing that they might use the line when not in the rvice of the military. The following is the first telegram sent from Lewiston over the wire : Lewiston, I. T., June 17, 1879, 5 p - M - To the Mayor and Citizens of Dayton, W. T., Greet- ings, The people of Lewiston are happy to announce to you by way of first telegram over the first U. S. Government line yet established north of San Diego, California, that they hold sacred in this manner this the anniversary of "the struggle of our forefathers on Bunker Hill. A. Leland, H. Squier, J. P. Vollmer, D. J. Warner, C. C. Bunnell, N. W. Brearley, W. F. Kettenbach, C. G. Kress, A. Gilman, E. A. McAllister, Ed. Pearcy, Loewenberg Bros., C. B. Reynolds, G. A. Manning, C. F. Leland, T. Alexander, E. J. Bonhore, Eph. Bunker. Grostein & Binnard, I. C. Baldwin, M. M. Williams, J. M. Silcott, and others. Lewiston claims the honor of having had the first local telephone system in the northwest. It was put in by John P. Vollmer in 1878 and consisted of an exchange of three phones. The decade between 1880 and 1890 does not seem to have brought any great good fortune or any serious disaster to Lewiston, and while the period was an ) HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. important one and witnessed a slow, substantial growth, it is not crowded with events such as would be read about with interest if presented in full detail. The former year brought a great reduction in ferry rates across the Snake and Clearwater rivers, an important concesion from a commercial point of view as it encouraged trade to come this way. During the fall of 1 88 1, the city paid its tribute of respect to the memory of the martyred President Garfield. An event of unusual importance in 1883 was the 4th of July celebration, attended by large crowds from Union- town, Genessee, Asotin, Pomeroy, Pataha, Alpowai, Waha, Lapwai and many other points in Idaho and Washington; two hundred Indians from the reser- vation, and last but not least Governor J. B. Neil, said to be the first chief executive of the territory to visit north Idaho since 1864. In 1883 the town ex- perienced a fire of considerable magnitude, though fortunately very little damage was inflicted upon the white population. About half past four o'clock on the morning of November igth, the flames burst forth in the Chinese section, and before their progress could be stayed, the entire block was in ashes. Thirteen buildings were destroyed, all of them occupied by Chinamen except a wagon shop in which Lot Wiggin's tools and equipment were, and the dwelling of J. E. Sheppard. Both the white men succeeded in saving most of their valuables, and the fire was not greatly deplored as it removed a block which had been an eye- sore in the city for a long time. On May 31, 1887, the water in the rivers rose to a height unprecedented in the experience of white men. Pioneers of 1862, who had marked the highest water of that flood year, stated that their marks were fully eighteen inches below the surface of the highest water of 1887. The greater portion of the town north of B street became seriously inundated. Fences were washed away, cellars and houses were flooded, build- ings were moved from their foundations and carried down Main street in spite of the exertions of their owners and such others as could lend a hand. Dykes built for the protection of property proved inadequate and many of those who relied upon them were flooded so suddenly that they could not even save their furni- ture and household goods. The steamboat wharf and warehouse were washed away and much other dam- age done, the principal sufferers being poor people who could ill afford what they lost. No high water disaster previously experienced by the town could compare with this one in magnitude. Lewiston's first fire of any consequence occurred in the fall of 1890, when a conflagration thought to have been of incendiary origin, took place in the shingle yard of W. S. Wyncoop. Eighteen thousand dollars' worth of bolting timber, cedar posts, shingles and other property was destroyed, also S. L. Thompson's resi- dence. The mill and all other surrounding buildings were, however, fortunately saved, not through the efforts of the fire department, which was in a state of disintegration at the time, but by the populace with buckets of all descriptions. "Many held the opinion," -says the Teller, "that the fire in the upper town was only a decoy to lure the citizens there while another fire would be started in the business portion. An additional force was, therefore, added to the night patrol, but nothing transpired to justify the suspicions held. The property loss was covered by $12,000 i jred. The fire demonstra'ted very forcibly the need of a thoroughly organized fire department." But the year 1890 was not one of disaster through- out, the contrary rather, for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company had promised to build a railway extension into the city and the hope of an immediate solution of the transportation problem was stimulat- ing activity in many lines. It is stated that during the first week in May $50,000 worth of Lewiston real estate changed hands. During this year, also, the first determined effort was made to supply the town with water and electric lights. The Lewiston Water & Light Company, in which several Portland capitalists were interested, was organized with a capital stock of $100,000 and by July enough of this had been sub- scribed and paid up to justify the commencement of the construction work. Engineer Bloomfield, who had charge of the enterprise, is quoted as having referred to it in the following language: "After a careful 'examination, the Cleaj water river at a point about two and a half miles above the town, lias been selected as the source of supply. That this stream is not misnamed can be seen at its confluence with the Snake river. The latter river is charged with sedimentary matter and is highly alkaline, while Clear- water is soft, clear and free from impurities, and as they meet, the two waters are as distinct as a blue and a brown ribbon, side by side. "The works will be a pumping system having a capacity of two million gallons, raised to an elevation of 225 feet, giving a pressure of 97 pounds per square inch in the lower and business portion of the town, and will give the beautiful plateau above the bluff ample pressure for all purposes. "The plant will consist of a brick engine and boiler house, forty by forty feet, on a concrete foundation fourteen feet high along the river front, into which is built the heavy wrought iron inlet pipe and pump well, with their attached gate and foot valve. The inlet pipe will be five feet below extreme low water. The engine will be of the modern type of double compound condensing engines. The boiler will be of steel, 85 horse power, with a steam pressure of ]2O pounds. The reservoir will be cement lined and of a capacity of 1,500,000 gallons. The mains will be 8 66-100 miles long, consisting of 12, 10, 8, 5 and 4 inch pipe." Another enterprise projected this year, which would have proved of immeasurable benefit had it been car- ried to a successful consummation, was that of the Sweetwater Irrigation Company, organized to con- struct a ditch seventeen miles in length to convey the waters of Sweetwater creek to Lewiston. It was in- tended to store the water in reservoirs on the flat above town, to be distributed whenever and wherever needed. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. During the spring of 1891, the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce was organized with T. B. Cooper as president, and W. S. Buck, corresponding secretary. Committees were appointed to perfect the organi- zation and attend to its detail work. The old Board of Trade had lost its vitality and a new organization was necessary that the best interests of the city should be conserved. Company I, of the Idaho National Guards, was likewise organized in Lewiston, on March 1 3th, Fred Kroutinger being chosen captain, C. A. Forseman and J. H. Robinson lieutenants. The water system, begun during the previous twelvemonth, was completed this year giving the city one of the finest plants of its kind in the northwest, outside the large cities. The engine was said to have a capacity of 700,000 gallons per day of ten hours, and the reservoir, situated half a mile south of the pump house, a capacity of one million gallons. Residents of Portland and The Dalles will re- member that the year 1894 was one of grave disasters by the flood of those cities and other Columbia river towns. Naturally the same conditions obtained in Lewiston. We have spoken of the record breaking high water of 1887, but the flood of this year left the highest mark of that fully thirty inches under water. For two weeks during the last of May and first of June, citizens held back the raging torrent by means of dykes constructed of sacks of sand and loose dirt, but on the third of the latter month the force of the waters could no longer be resisted and about 2 130 o'clock the bell gave warning that the flood had gained the victory. Persons living in the lower portion of the city had moved out in anticipation of this, there- by reducing the damage to a minumum. The Main street business men had moved everything out of their basements. They were not looking for water six inches over their floors, however, but that is just what came, catching them unprepared and greatly damaging their goods. The people on the low ground in the vicinity of the courthouse were also taken by surprise, their dyke having betrayed the trust they had reposed in it. Sidewalks, fences and other movable objects were carried away and deposited around some obstruction and the irrepressible small boy found much sport in navigating the center of the street on a piece of drift. Fortunately these conditions were of short duration and in a few days the city had a force of men at work removing the debris and replacing the sidewalks. It is said that $700 was expended by the council in this manner. It might be supposed that the flood and the financial depression would have a very deleterious effect upon the prosperity and development of the town, but we are assured that there were no hard times in Lewiston such as were experienced in other points in the north- west and that a steady forward movemjent was main- tained, though of course the pace of the progressive march was of necessity reduced somewhat. In 1895 came the opening of the reservation, causing an influx of home seekers and the distribution of hundreds, nay Lewiston merchants. These causes were efficient to overcome the depressing influence of outside conditions and to produce a period of prosperity which lasted until the clouds had cleared from the country's financial sky. When good times came Lewiston had no despondency to rally from and it was ready to enter upon a career of rapid advancement which has con- tinued to this day. The spring of 1896 saw the commencement of work, by the Lewiston Water & Power Company, on an irrigation ditch from Asotin creek to Lewiston flats, just across Snake river in the state of Washing- ton. In January, 1897, the work was completed. It gave a wonderful impetus to settlement and develop- ment in that section of the country and to the up- building of Clarkston, Lewiston's sister city, which is so closely connected with the Idaho town by the bridge across Snake river as to make the two practic- ally one city. In 1897, the year of railway construction into Lewiston, and the year of unprecedented advancement in the history of the town, was marred by a rather serious fire which occurred on the evening of the 8th of August. The cause of the conflagration was the explosion of a lantern in the hay mow of Collins's livery barn, which was consumed with the outbuildings belonging thereto. The entire block was wiped out of existence, the buildings destroyed being J. B. Mun- shaw's house, the residence of" N. B. Holbrook, that occupied by J. O. Barbour and a log building owned by Martin Collins. Mr. Munshaw, who was operating the stables under lease at the time, lost but $600, most of his property being covered by insurance, but Col- lins' loss was in the neighborhood of four thousand dollars and Holbrook's two thousand. Only the fortunate presence of plenty of water and the efficie work of firemen and citizens saved the lower end of the town from destruction. No general disaster of any kind detracted from the blessings of the prosperous year 1898 in Lewiston. Five substantial brick blocks added to the solidity of the town, while numerous residences of a good class improved its appearance and added to its size. The Lewiston Commercial Club was organized this year, former institutions of the kind having apparently fallen into "innocuous desuetude." Its officers elected Sep- tember ^th, were: President, B. F. Morris; vice- presidents, J. P. Vollmer and Robert Schleicher : treas- urer, George H. Kester; trustees, J. Alexander, W. A. Austin, A. H. Alford, E. H. Libby, J. B. Morris, C. Weisgerber, J. E, Babb, C. C. Bunnell, J. W. Reid and O. A. Kjos. The advent of the railroad and the general prosperity were celebrated by a harvest car val, attended by hundreds from the surrounding coun- try and hundreds more who came in from points be- tween Spokane and Lewiston on two special railw trains. The causes which produced the good times of 1898., viz.: the interest in the section of transconti- nental railway companies, the presence of transpor- tation facilities, the increased knowledge of tributary resources, and the development of various Salmon river mining districts, continued operative during the HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. ensuing twelvemonth and the year 1900 opened with bright prospects for a continuous growth and develop- ment of the town. One question of importance which arose during this year was the securing of a better and more satisfactory water supply. Those residing upon the hill complained that the provision for their necessities was insufficient and as scores of new- houses were being erected and scores more were in contemplation, the need of solving the water problem was rapidly becoming more urgent. Accordingly the city council made overtures to the Lewiston Water & Light Company for the purchase of their plant, and the company expressing a willingness to sell, T. B. Cooper, an expert, was employed to estimate the value of the system. He reported its worth $54,- 934.36. The company asked a much larger sum. Though the council expressed its willingness to accept the terms of the owners of the system, the transaction hung fire until the fall of 1901, when a newly elected council brought matters to a crisis by reducing the water rates more than twenty-five per cent. The company refused to accept the reduction and took the case into court where a decision was rendered against them. Meanwhile a special election was decided upon, to vote upon the issuance of $80,000 in bonds for the purpose of enabling the city to own its water and light plant. The election was held November I9th. The bonding proposition carried by a large majority, over 90 per cent of the votes being in its favor. The Lewiston Water & Light Company again went | into court asking that the city' be restrained from opening bids submitted for the purchase of the bonds, alleging that the election was irregular and that the Company's franchise was exclusive. The court re- fused the injunction. The bids were opened and that of Teasongood & Mayer, bankers of Cincinnati, ac- cepted. These gentlemen offered a premium of $68.80 per thousand, bonds to bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent. The city went ahead with its plans to construct a new water system and the Lewis- ton Water & Light Company proceeded with its suit in the courts of the state. Meanwhile, however, nego- tiations were continued for the purchase of the sys- tem already constructed and after several conferences between committees representing the two interests, . it was finally agreed that the city should take the company's plant for a cash price of $70,000, all suits by the latter to be held in abeyance until the contract for purchase should be signed, then dismissed without prejudice, each party paying its own costs. The terms of agreement were accepted by the council on the evening of March 10, 1902, and confirmed by the voters at an election held April 24th of the same year. August 28, 1902, the city voted to authorize the sale of ten thousand dollars street improvement bonds, the proceeds to be used in grading Main street between Fifth street and the courthouse, the gravel to be taken from the Fifth street cut. Work upon this much needed improvement is still in progress at this writing, and the great good accruing from it in giving the city a clean and solid business street and the people of Normal hill the benefit of an easy grade to their elevated homes is abundantly justifying the vote of 1 08 to 53 by which the bond issue was authorized. Perhaps the developments that have taken place between the time when Lewiston was a town of tents encroaching upon an Indian reservation and the pres- ent cannot be better summarized than by enumerating the various business enterprises which are being sus- tained within its limits to-day and the men at their heads. It is difficult to be sure that some of these have not been omitted, but practically all are in- cluded in the following: The dry goods and furnish- ing stores of John P. Vollmer & Company, O. A. Kjos and John M. Fix, also the Grand Leader and the Bee Hive; the grocery stores of E. L. Russell, Reed & Brashears, W. R. Wyatt, Merriam Brothers, C. A. Phelps, the Lewiston Grocery & Bakery Company, the Golden Rule and the Normal Hill Grocery Company; the art store of Fair & Thompson; White Brothers and A. S. Burnett, wholesale dealers in fruits and vegetables; the music store and supply house of W. H. Young; Charles Hahn, Naylor & Norlind, plumbing; Lewiston Trading Company, dealers in agricultural implements, carriages, etc. ; the drug stores of J. Q. Moxley, Ray & Osmer, Dent & Butler, the Lewiston Drug Company; the shoe store of C. A. Hastings; the hardware stores of G. W. Fletcher, Myers & Neyland, and the Cash Hardware Company ; the clothing stores of Meuli & Lomax and H. A. Nixon; D. J. McGilvery, L. C. Neal and the Lewiston Furniture & Undertaking Company, deal- ers in furniture and house furnishings; the harness and saddle store of R. M. Coburn ; the J. S. Cox and R. L. Pennewell Outfitting Companies ; the jewelry stores of Charles G. Kress, George H. Lake, J. H. Bethel and H. Haines; L. Diebek, manufacturing jeweler; the Idaho National Bank, W. P. Hurlburt, president, C. D. Thomas, cashier; the Lewiston National, W. F. Kettenbach, president, G. H. Kester, cashier; the First National, J. P. Vollmer, president, E. W. Eaves, cashier; (this last is the strongest bank in the state and among the national banks of the American Union, it was officially ranked in 1901 the fifty-seventh) ; the stationery and news depot of Thatcher & Kling; the Idaho Tea Company; the galleries of E. G. Cummings, J. W. Gomon'd, and E. Fortin, photographers ; the Boss Meat Market, also the meat markets of Ehrman & Company, Dill Brothers, A. M. Cherier, F. M. Long & Sons; the Mark Means Company, distributors and manufac- turers' agents ; Pring Candy Company, manufacturers of confectionery; the Arcade, the Boss, Shafer & Heller, Mallory & Lydon, the White Front, Idaho and Farmers' livery and feed stables; the fruit, cigar and confectionery stores of M. N. Farmer, S. A. Coppinger, and George F. Loeb; E. L. Wig-gin, H. R. Miller and Louis "Grostein, dealers in cigars and tobacco ; W. T. Carpenter, dealer in curios ; A. J. Kraudelt, confectionery; Theodore Hartman, John C. Manson, F. Hacker & Company, Aurelio Farren .HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. and J. J. Philippi, tailors; Ora L. Kennedy, Mrs. Elaine Ritchie, milliners; M. H. Sprague, bicycles; H. T. Madgwick, dealer in shingles, lime and brick; A. Sempert, store and office fixtures; A. C. Coburn, sign painter ; the Lewiston ' Junk Shop, Shank & Calvert, proprietors; Idaho Steam Laundry Comp- any; H. K. Barnett and the Nez Perces County Ab- stract Company, abstracters ; K. Wong Yick & Com- pany, general merchandise; Trader & Bartlett, manu- facturers of H. & K. cigars ; the Nez Perces Machine Works ; C. F. Grimm, C. B. Nelson, William Wright, R. W. Carter, blacksmiths: the White Labor, the Woman's Exchange and the Boston lunch counters; Imperial, John Long and O. K. barber shops; the Lewiston Bottling Works; the brewery of Christ Weisgerber; the planing mill of E. A. Rowley; H. T. Best, machinist; William Agnew, gunsmith; J. Schwert, shoemaker; Huber & Frazier, F. R. Seidel, builders and contractors; the Vollmer Clearwater Company and Kettenbach Grain Company, exporters of grain and flax;'F. W. Kettenbach, insurance agent; Collins' feed store; the Standard and Idaho dairy companies; T. S. Williams, upholstering; the Lewis- ton Business and Shorthand College, Margaret Slat- tery, proprietor; Skinner & Mounce, Potvin & Howe, Kroutinger & Cox, Wade R. Parks, J. W. Willison & Company ; F. W. Godard & Company, S. S. Rogers & Company and J. M. Edwards & Company, real es- tate agents ; the Raymond House, the Grand, the Bel- linger. Hotel De France, the Scully, the White House, the Grand Central, the Thatcher, the Spokane and the Columbia, hotels; the Lewiston Mercantile Company, a wholesale house; the Lewiston Milling Company, capacity 200 barrels of flour per day ; Ernest McCul- lough, Frank Doughty and I. L. Galbraith, civil engi- neers and architects'; M. E. Adams, mining engineer; Charles W. Shaft. J. B. Morris, John F. Hurlbut, F. L. Hinkley, F. S. Stirling, J. Marion Smith, C. C. Phillips, S. A. Roe, I. S. Collins. S. Salzburg, physi- cians and surgeons; R. Victor Kuhn, J. J. Randall, J. F. Atkinson, dentist ; Hattie Lorton and J. H. Watson, osteopaths; E. O'Neil. James W. Poe, McFarland & McFarland, J. N. Smith, Johnson & Halsey, Price E. Stookey, G. W. Tannahill, Tohn B. Anderson, R. S. Anderson, James E. Babb,. Crow & Williams, John E. Nickerson, Ray Walker, Thomas Mullen, Wade R. Parks, Bender & Alley, D. W. Bailey, Frederick D. Culver, lawyers ; Adrain D. Sweet, A. G. Glidden and M. L. Stowe, stenographers. While Lewiston has suffered greatly in times past for lack of transportation facilities and is still look- nig forward to the advantages which an open rivei to the sea and one or more transcontinental railways will give, the town has no great reason for complaint on this score at the present time. The Northern Pa- cific Railroad maintains a daily passenger service be- tween the city and Spokane ; the Clearwater passen- ger leaves Lewiston each afternoon for interior points, returning the following morning; while accommoda- tion trains are run over the Lapwai branch to Culde- sac three times weekly and oftener during the shipping season. The Oregon Railway & Navigation Company- operates a fine line of passenger and freight boats be- tween Lewiston and Riparia. At present the Spok- ane, the Lewiston and the Norma, each of 250 tons burden, are in use, the first two alternating with each other so as to give a daily service, the last running only when business demands. Captain E. W. Baugh- man, the pioneer navigator and one of the first crew to bring a steamer up the Snake river to its conflu- ence with the Clearwater, is in charge of the Spokane, Captain E. H. Works, of the Lewiston and Captain Ralph Baughman of the Norma. A fifty ton boat, the Imnaha, is being built by local capitalists to run on the upper Snake river. During the wheat shipping sea- son, the Northern Pacific operates the steamer J. M. Hannaford between Lewiston and points on the Co- lumbia. The Pacific States Telephone Company and the Western Union Telegraph Company furnish to Lewis- ton wire connection with all the important towns and cities of the northwest, while the Lookout Telephone Company, a local corporation, has erected a network of lines connecting various towns and stations in the country surrounding Lewiston. Stage lines radiate in several directions giving communication and close connection with numerous towns and villages not reached by the railroads. One of the finest steel bridges in the northwest, erected in 1898-9 by the promoters of Vineland, in Asotin county, Washington, spans the Snake river between Lewiston and Clarks- ton, making the relationship between the two towns very intimate. The fraternal spirit is strong in Lewiston, as in most 'other towns of the west and many fraternities are represented. The Masons have recently sub- scribed $50,000 for the erection of a Masonic temple, a fact which shows the strength of that society among our people. The different Masonic bodies maintained in the city are the Knights of Rose Croix, No. I,, the Knights of Kadosh, No. I, Lewiston Consistory No. i, the Scottish Rite, Lewiston Chapter No. 4, Royal Arch, York Rite, Lewiston Commandery No. 2. Knights Templar, Nez Perces Lodge No. 10, A. F. & A. M., and Lewiston Lodge of Perfection, No. i. The Odd Fellows, who own a handsome brick hall in Lewiston, are represented by Clearwater Encamp- ment No. 7, and Lewiston Lodge No. 8. Among the other fraternal orders of the town are: Excelsior Lodge No. 2, Knights of Pythias, Poplar Camp No. 205. Woodmen of the World, Tsceminicum Tribe No. 8. Improved Order of Red Men, Clearwater Lodge No. 11, A. O. U. W., Lewiston Council of the Royal Arcanum and a camp of Modern Woodmen, many of ] which have their various ladies' auxiliaries. Two important literary clubs are maintained in the town, both women's societies. The older, organized in the fall of .1899, is known as the Tsceminicum club, deriving its 'name from the Nez Perces words I signifying "at the forks of the river." It meets fort- j nightly at the homes of its members for the render- ing of literary programs. This club is to be credited almost entirely with the founding, in September, 10,00, of what is now the city library. The conditions HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. upon which the ladies donated their collection of books to the city was that it should be furnished at public expense with a library home and that its use should be free to all residents of Lewiston. From time to time since, the Tsceminicum club has, by giving library benefits in the form of public entertain- ments, sales, lectures, etc., secured the money with which to purchase additional books. The library has also been the beneficiary of the benevolence of Charles F. Adams, the Boston philanthropist, and is indebted to Senator Heitfelt for securing it hundreds of docu- ments and government reports. The collection con- sists now of 2,837 volumes, to which, according to the card issue, 1,479 persons have had access. Mar- garet G. Guyer has been librarian since the inception of the enterprise and to her is due the credit for the library's skillful management and its careful classi- The other library society, known as the Twentieth Century Club, is very similar to the Tsceminicum in its objects and organization, but it is a somewhat younger society. Besides these, there is what is known as the Cecilian society, maintained, as its name implies, for the purpose of cultivating the musical faculties of its members. Six church societies have been organized in Le'wis- ton, the Catholic, the Presbyterian, the Methodist, the Episcopal, the Christian and the Baptist, of which the presiding pastors are respectively, Revs. Hubert A. Post, S. J., E. P. Giboney, John R. Gregory, Ever- tt Smith, J. A. Pine and R. T. Guernsey. ' All of these denominations are comfortably and satisfactorily i housed except the Baptist, which intends building a [ new church edifice in the near future. These church societies are all vital and active, contributing im- measurably to the moral and spiritual life of the com- munity. The Catholics are projecting a new hospital, to be under the charge of the sisters of St. Joseph, and to be known as St. Joseph's hospital. It will cost , $25,000. A historical review of the county's public school [ system is a practical impossibility owing to the com- plete lack of statistical or other records in the county superintendent's office, but some reminiscences of Lewiston's schools may be of interest and not inap- propriate in this chapter. C. P. Coburn says that he f, lias a very distinct recollection of the first teacher to pursue his profession in Nez Perces county. Late in the fall of 1863, according to Mr. Coburn, a middle aged man of professional appearance and quiet de- meanor appeared in Lewiston and proceeded to or- ganize a small school. He wore a tall silk hat, a suit of the blackest broadcloth and a white tie, all bearing unmistakeable signs of long usage and giving the im- pression that their proprietor was a broken down sport. They did not belie him, as later events proved, but for the time being the teaching ability of the man was all that was inquired into. After diligent can- vassing he secured a few pupils and opened his school. Everything progressed satisfactorily until the teacher drew his first month's pay, whereupon the sporting proclivities of the pedagogue manifested themselves. He set out to double his money at the gambling table, but unfortunately for him, the fickle dame played him false at this most critical juncture and his wages passed into other hands. Not desiring to remain longer in Lewiston in the face of his ignominious downfall, he quietly departed whence he came and the school was left teacherless. Lewiston continued without educational facilities for nearly a year thereafter, or until the fall of 1864, when one P. H. Howe arrived and opened a subscrip- tion school in a small frame building on Fourth street. It is said that Schoolmaster Howe, who taught three months, was a very ardent Unionist, so ardent indeed that he was subject to frequent fits of patriotism, when he would have his little band of scholars sing "John Brown's Body Lies A-mouldering in the Grave," when they should be engaged in more arduous mental exercises.' To him, however, is due considerable credit for placing the school in Lewiston in some kind of a working condition and awakening a slight educa- tional spirit in the town, which, for the first few years was populated by a migratory, gold-seeking class who paid but little attention to the refinements of life. With the organization of the territory county af- fairs became better adjusted and the little school held at Lewiston was given support by the levying of a small tax. For some time this was the only district to derive benefit from the tax, as no other had been organized. Mount Idaho district was the next to gain an existence. During the winter of 1865-6 the Lewiston school was taught by William Ferrell, and under his tutelage fifteen or twenty pupils were instructed in the rudi- ments of education. The school prospered. Next year it was placed in charge of Professor Eckels, a very popular and erudite Irishman, and the first teacher to really give the Lewiston school his serious attention. At this 'time Lewiston was incorporated and granted the privilege of maintaining an inde- pendent school district, such as only Boise had en- joyed theretofore. In accordance with the provisions of this law, the Lewiston independent school district was organized and a special tax levied. The school of what are now Third and C streets, just south of the old territorial capitol and across the street from the Florence saloon. This building, erected in 1862, nad been occupied for some time by Dr. Macinteney as a drug store, and later the first territorial council had met within its walls. Under Professor Eckels' super- vision seats and blackboards were placed in the room and books and many other necessities procured for the children. This energetic teacher remained only one term, however. He was succeeded by Miss Ellen Kelly, a daughter of Milton Kelly, the first judge of the first judicial district of Idaho and later the founder of the Boise Statesman. Miss Kelly taught two terms and was succeeded by W. A. Goulder. By 1871 the increased demands made upon the school showed the urgent necessity for additional room, and an agitation was commenced in favor of erecting a new school house instead of renting a HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. larger building. The times, however, were stringenl and the problem of securing the money wherewith tc buy land and put up this new building was not an easy one to solve ; nevertheless, at a meeting called tc consider the matter it was definitely decided to proceec with the work. Some time previously a game poker had been played in Lewiston, the outcome which, as it happened, had an important bearing on the school question. A certain man had squatted 01 a large tract of land on Main street and as the town site still belonged to the government, his right to thi property when the land became patented was as gen- erally acknowledged as would have been a deed on record. Unfortunately for this property holder, however, cards possessed a fatal fascination for h and on the night in question he was reduced to the tremity of placing his title to the lot against its v in money, wagered by his opponents. Fortune failed him and' the result was that right to the land became vested in three persons, James W. Hays, Albert Rip- son and L. W. Bacon. Later C. P. Coburn, as presi- dent of the school board, approached these men for the purpose of securing the land for a school sit< Mr. Coburn's efforts were not in vain. Albert Rip- son, who claimed the major share of the land, finally agreed to donate his interest to the city, which he did, quit-claiming, also, by consent, the interests of his partners. Subsequently title was perfected through the courts. On this property the trustees decided to erect a small frame schoolhouse and a special tax was levied to raise part of the funds. To further aid the enter- prise the trustees of the school, Charles G. Kress, R. J. Monroe and J. B. Rowley, also certain ladies of the city, especially prominent among whom were Mrs. John P. Vollmer, Miss Olive Martin (now Mrs. W. P. Hunt), Mrs. Robert Grostein and Mrs. T. S. Billings, gave a ball in the old Florence saloon build- ing, which had been converted into a public hall. The ball was a most gratifying success, financially as well as socially, adding several hundred dollars to the school fund. By such means the friends of education secured a considerable portion of the money required for the construction of the new school. As soon as title to the land above mentioned had been secured, the board of trustees let the contract for building the school to a builder named Mann, the amount agreed upon being $1,450. Mann's bid was very low. The building erected really cost in the vicinity of $2,000, the bondsmen furnishing the re- mainder of the money. The building was completed for occupancy in the fall of 1872 and to Miss Nancy Simons belongs the distinction of first teaching within its walls. She taught two terms. So rapidly did the attendance increase that two years later the town was compelled to add an annex to the building. Thus enlarged, it sufficed for several years. December 30, 1880, in response to the request of the people of Lewiston, the territorial legislature passed an act providing for the establishment and maintenance of a system of graded schools in the Lewiston independent district, a bill rendered neces- sary by the rapid growth of the city after the Nez. Pefces war. A special election was called soon after this act went into effect, at which the tax payers of the district voted to issue $10,000 bonds for the construction of a new and much larger building than was then in use. Under this authority the school board entered into a contract with Hale & Cooper, July 6, 1882, for the construction of the present frame school bouse on the site of the old building. Subsequently the bond issue was increased to $11,000, bearing eight per cent, interest. The building was erected and at the time was considered one of the finest schoolhouses in this section of the west. But the steady increase of population eventually made even this too small and again the district had to provide larger quarters and a larger corps of teachers. The last building was erected in 1897-8 at a cost of approximately $16,000,. to raise which $15,000 worth of bonds had to be is- sued. The building is a handsome two-story, brick and stone structure, provided with all the usual con- veniences and school equipment, the pride of the city. In anticipation of the removal of the frame building at no distant day, the brick school house was erected just back of the wooden one. The rapid growth of the town during the past few years has rendered the school facilities again inade- quate, and to meet the exigencies of the situation the board of trustees has decided to begin, this spring, the construction of a twelve-room school house on Nor- mal hill, it being the intention to have the building idy for occupancy by the opening of the fall term in September. It will be two stories high and will cost ibout $25,000. But Lewiston is not dependent upon its public school alone for the maintenance of an educational esprit de corps among its people and the education of ":s juvenile inhabitants. By dint of much effort on. the part of its citizens and friends it secured in 1898 the establishment of a state normal school within its limits. The school occupies a beautiful brick build- the business part of Lewiston and the scenic poem, ented by the two rivers just beyond and their _jed farther banks. The school has enjoyed a ca^ reer of uninterrupted harmony since its inception, its ily drawback being insufficient funds to procure all j needed equipment and enable it to rapidly expand. It offers a flexible course of study, giving the student j vide latitude for selection, but requiring all to do a stated amount of professional study and to take part . n the work of the literary societies. Diplomas are I granted to those only who complete a four years' I :ourse, and the holders of these have all the rights and * irivileges attaching to state certificates for life. Another important institution having for its ob- I ect the educational advancement of the youth of j wiston and vicinity is St. Joseph's Academy, erect- f in 1898 and 'conducted by the Sisters of fj he Visitation, a cloistered order. The school is ex- lusively for girls, but is open to all who are respect- i! : obedient and docile, without reference to religious HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 117 belief. All the common and many of the higher branches of learning are taught, including music, languages and the arts. The present enrollment numbers sixty. Thirty pupils board at the school and those whose names are enrolled in the musical de- partment number thirty. The academy building oc- cupies a pleasant site on Normal hill. There is also a Catholic school for boys under the immediate di- rection of Father Post, the head of the church in Nez Perces county. It occupies the quarters of the old Sisters' academy, abandoned upon the establishment of the school of the Sisters of Visitation in 1898. At present twenty-four boys are receiving instruction there from Father Post and his two associate in- structors. Such is, in a brief and no doubt incomplete out- line, the past and present of the city of Lewiston. One acquainted with the many advantages of cli- be inclined to wonder why its growth has not been more rapid. The reasons are not far to seek. Until a very few years ago it was on the edge of an Indian reservation, the immense wealth of which was lying almost wholly undeveloped on account of the shiftless character of the aboriginal population. Until a still more recent date it was without railroad facilities, while its rival towns in Washington and Idaho had been enjoying these for years. Its tributary country was also without railroads and is still insufficiently supplied, but notwithstanding the immense amount of work yet to be accomplished before the great wealth tributary to Lewiston shall have been fully appropriated, the town has been forging ahead with wonderful rapidity in the past half decade, and no doubt it will continue indefinitely its rapid advance. Recently the legislature has passed an act appropriat- ing eighteen thousand dollars of the state's money to construct a supreme court library building in the i town. A great effort is being made to secure the pass- age by the same assembly of a bill having for its direct object the upbuilding of a large lumber manufactur- ing industry in Lewiston. It may be unsafe to at- tempt to forecast, but the conviction is almost forced upon one that a city situated at the point where it will be most benefited when the agitation in congress for an open river to the sea shall have crystalized into accom- plished results, at a point that must be touched by any railroad from the east seeking to reach the ocean by a water grade and at the very gateway to incalcula- ble riches of agriculture, of timber and of minerals, the county scat of a great and rapidly developing county, the center of a wonderful fruit growing re- gion, must some day take rank with the largest and wealthiest cities of the Inland Empire. NEZPERCE. The government townsite of Nezperce, on the reservation, was thrown open to settlement Novem- ber 18. 1895. George W. Tamblin was the surveyor in charge, and he selected the townsite. Probate Judge P. E. Stookey filed on the quarter section of land in behalf of the people, and the lots were dis- tributed by lot, each applicant being allowed two tick- ets. Tamblin's office, a box building, was the first edifice in Nezperce. Ex-County Commissioner E. L. Parker erected a building for use for general store purposes, which he subsequently disposed of to Mr. Orbison. The first goods sold on the ground of the new town were those of Paul Johnson, and he built the second business house in the place, now owned by Steven Badger. Originally the postoffice was in the Wayland hotel, Mrs. L. A. Wayland, postmistress. The firs't house on the reservation was erected by Col. W. W. Hammell, and the first restaurant was started by E. C. Cassens. Mr. Orbison possessed the first home residence on the townsite, although a few years previous to this there had been a shack erected. As with all new western locations, the people who first came to the town of Nezperce lived mainly in tents. Col. Hammell was the first one to prove up' under the free homestead law, and his ranch adjoins the town of Nezperce. He was closely followed by W. B. Ramsey. Along about this time A. Coles started a store in a tent, a racket store, and the first church, Presbyterian, held its initial services under canvas, M. G. Mann officiating. S. Markwell opened a store in a new building, and the first drug store was erected by A. Eitzeri and a man named Towell, in the summer of 1896. This building and business passed into the hands of Wilson and Bert Bowlby, and Wilson Bowlby was the first dentist, and Drs. Howard, father and son, the first practicing physicians. Judge J. R. Crawford was elected justice of the peace, al- though T. O. Hanlon had been appointed to try a case previous to that time. During the summer of 1898 a man named Orr opened a bank, and the first hotel of any consequence was built and conducted by A. McLeod, and the sec- ond by J. D. Graham. The same year a butcher shop was built by R. C. Bywaters. The town of Nezperce has never suffered from a general fire, but in 1902 a $3,500 residence owned by Z. A. Johnson was burned. The original printing establishment, the Nezperce News, was established in 1896. by Harper & Ander- son. The second newspaper was the Record, by G. S. Martin. Among the pioneers of Nezperce may be mentioned Col. W. W. Hammell, G. W. Wilshire, J. T. Orbison, E. L. Parker, John D. Graham, Paul Johnson, E. G. Cassens, George W. Tamblin, A. Mc- Leod, L. A. Wayland, Captain Human, W. D. Hard- wick. An addition of twenty acres was made to Nezperce by Jacob Mowry. The present business houses of Nezperce com- prise" General merchandise, J. A. Schultz & Co.; Felt Mercantile Co.; Bargain store, Graman & Schultz, proprietors; Nezperce Cash Store, J. R. Crawford, manager ; Old Store, J. T. Orbison ; Badg- er Store, Steven Badger, proprietor ; Idaho Store, Coffin Bros. Hotels Nezperce Hotel, Charles Holm, Hotel Scofield. Williams Bros. Restaurants Home, Kimery & Mead: Mrs. Bob Warnacufs : and L. P. Jacobson's. Livery stablesBoss. J. W. Gains ; Nez- perce, Miller & 'Miller. Grain dealers Vollmer- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. Clearwater Company, D. W. Eaves, manager; Farm- ers' Grain Company: Kerr, Giftord & Company; Ka- miah Trading Company. Drug stores Bowlby's City Drug Store; DeMonde's; The Kimball Drug Company, Taylor & Moraseck, proprietors. Black- smith shops S. J. Doggett ; E. B. Wilson and Thom- as Earth. Soft drinks and Confectionery The Der- by, Black & Allison : R. W. Adams and Thomas Mar- tin. Gents' Furnishing Goods T. J. Hardwick & Company. Furniture Mockler, Miller & Mockler; S. N. Berry. Hardware Mockler, Miller & Mock- ler; Kamiah Trading Company (Spiker & Salladay). Millinery Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. St. Helms and Mrs. Button and Mrs. Hunt ; Mrs. S. Badger. Banks First National, T. M. Mockler, president, J. A. Schultz, cashier; Farmers and Merchants Bank, T. J. Dyer, of Spokane, president : Kettenbach & Company, limited, C. W. Nelson, cashier. Newspapers Nez- perce Herald, W. C. Foresman, editor and proprietor. Nezperce Roller Mill, Z. A. Johnson: Chop Mill, Lauby Bros., proprietors. Jewelry B. F. Richard- son. Harness shops M. R. Bowman, J. F. Strick- fadess. Meat markets Warrell Bros., John M. Medved. Nezperce Brick & Lime Company, W. R. Crim. president; Heitzen & Mitchell. Draying City Dray, C. J. Hancock, proprietor; Nezperce De- livery, A. Fuller, proprietor. Barber A. A. Bard- well. United States Commissioner and Notary Pub- lic W. W. Hammell. Contractor P. Fairweather. Real Estate B. J. McRae; Stearns & Thomas; W. E. Larson. Attorneys Stearns & Thomas; R. H. Wallace. Physicians John Coburn ; E. Taylor; A. J. Cooper; E. L. Powell. Dentists Dr. J. W. Lewis. Photography Fink Bros. Contractor and Builder E. L. Tupper & Company ; Thomas Devine, Roach & Johnson. The churches of Nezperce comprise the Presby- terians, Methodist, Christian, German Baptist, Cath- olic and Baptist. The graded public schools are two, the former steam heated. The fraternal soci- eties are the I. O. O. F., M. W. A., A. F. & A. M., Yeomen, Maccabees. L. O. T. M., Royal Neighbors, Women of Woodcraft, Rebekahs. Nezperce is incorporated. The councilmen are W. C. Foresman, C. W. Felt, C. H. Thomas, Dr. J. H. Lewis and W. J. Ramsey. The town was bonded April 21, 1903, for $6,750," to furnish water for fire protection. There are two wells and a gasoline en- gine for this purpose. The water right of Lolo Creek belongs to Z. A. Johnson, who is now putting in a plant to cost $35,000 which will provide electricity for his mill and lights, water, etc., for the town. The present population of Nezperce is between 400 and 500. MORROW. This town is situated just on the west side of the boundary line between Nez Perces and Idaho coun- ties. The township was laid out in 1896, a pre-emp- tion claim of M. B. Morrow, a sheep raiser. The town was first exploited by W. L. Thompson, trustee for Mr. Morrow. In 1896 he opened a general store, the first one in the village, and this was followed by the Hotel Morrow, by D. I. Slavens. About the same period W. S. Green established a feed barn, and Harry Steel started a blacksmith shop. During the winter of 1896-7, Gibbs & Lemmons put up a butcher shop. A saw mill was built in 1896 by J. G. Downs. The post- office is on Willow Creek, at'the home of W. R. Dixon, established about 1888. The elevation of Morrow is 3,250 feet. The present business enterprises are rep- resented by the general store of Mons Hansen, black- smith shop and chop mill, T. M. Davis, postoffice, confectionery, etc., W. R. Dixon; hotel and saloon, Babcock & Horseman; feed stable, owned by George Wayne, leased by Ed. Ausburg. There is a four months' term of school taught by M. M. Belknap. The attendance is an average of fifty-four. The Methodist and Christian denominations hold services occasionally, presided over by visiting clergymen, in the Union building. There is a lodge of 1. O. O. F. I, LENORE. Sixteen miles below Orofino and the first impor- tant station after leaving Potlatch junction is Lenore, still another small trading and shipping center along the Clearwater Short Line railway. There is already one tramway terminus here and another tramway is about to be constructed. The Lenore Trading Com- pany has here a general store, J. B. McGuire conducts the only hotel and Charles Green is the postmaster. The Kettenbach Grain Company has a warehouse at this point. Basalt and Agatha are two other unim- portant stations along the railroad, established princi- pally to accommodate grain shipping. The townsite of Fletcher was surveyed by the government in May, 1896, and opened for filing so soon as the survey was completed. The ground was donated by Simon L. Finney, who had homesteaded the same on the opening of the reservation. The first house, a store building, was opened for business in November, and this was followed by a blacksmith shop and saw mill. The following spring a hotel was erected by John Bielby, and that summer Naffziger & Honeyman opened a general merchandise store (1897). A grist mill was started by Wright & Ellis in 1898, and Robinson & Haynes established a drug store in 1899. The grist mill business was incorpor- ated as a stock company March 4, 1899, and subse- quently the property was destroyed by fire. Wright removed to Dublin and Ellis to Summit. The present business houses comprise the drug store of Robinson & Eckersley, general merchandise by L. E. Marchand, hardware, by Peter Klaus, and hotel by the same. The present population of. the town is 200. Dublin, situ- ated three and a quarter miles south of Fletcher, dates from the summer of 1901. The pioneer spirit in the enterprise was David Lowry. There are a few resi- dences, a blacksmith shop and other business houses. HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. 119 Eight miles northwest of Nez Perces, in the south- eastern part of the county, is the town of Mohler. The land on which it stands was homesteaded by T. O. Hanlon and J. B. Davis at the opening of the reserva- tion. The town is platted but not yet incorporated. The first edifice, a store building, was erected by T. 0. Hanlon in 1889. The postoffice, first known as Howard, was established four years ago at the old Howard townsite, one and a half miles southeast of Mohler. Three years ago it was removed from How- ard to Mohler. 'The next building, a hardware store, was put up by JBoozer & Giles, and this was succeeded by a creamery built in 1900. During the spring of the same year a butcher shop, erected by H. D. Haines, was established, and the succeeding building, owned by P. E. Dean, was built two years since. This was followed by a hotel by J. B. Davis. The spring of 1902 witnessed the erection of a building occupied by the Mohler Implement Company, the school house and the Methodist Church. Three years ago a black- smith shop was built by John Howard and another in the spring of 1903 by John Collins and John John- son. The present business houses are: Drug store, O. DeMonde and John McGee; real estate, James So- renson and J. H. Wann; hotel, John Biggart, proprie- tor; blacksmith shops, Emery and Collins & Johnson; general stores, P. E. Dean and G. S. Martin; hard- ware, F. A. Boozer and Charles Giles; A. G. Gross and N. F. Wright ; furniture, T. O. Hanlon ; barn, in connection with hotel, John Biggart ; butcher shop in summer time, J. B. Davis and T. S. Belts; barber shop, Charles and A. J. Johnson. The business of Mohler is supported by the general farming in the surrounding country. A number of new buildings are projected, including a barber shop, two livery barns, three dwellings, etc. Church services are conducted every two weeks; Sunday school each Sabbath. The officiating minister is Rev. John Taylor. Fraternal societies include the 1. O. O. F., Rebekahs, Encampment, VV. of VV., and Women of Woodcraft. The medical practitioner is Dr. J. T. Price. This little town is named in honor of llo Leggett, who has, also, contributed a portion of his name to the llo Hardware & Implement Company, of this place. The first store was erected in the spring of 1898, but was closed out the same fall. W. F. Stinson was the succeeding merchant, who, however, continued in business but six months, and in the spring of 1899 (June), O. W. Leggett opened a general merchandise store. This was, at that period, the only business house in the place. During the succeeding fall or win- ter a blacksmith shop was started by James Breeding, and in the winter of 1900-1 there was opposition in the shape of another blacksmith, Andrew Anderson. In the spring of 1901 Charles Larson opened a wagon repair shop. The same spring a small hotel was built by W. D. Simmons, and during the succeeding sum- mer a general merchandise store was erected by O. VV. Leggett. The drug store of Mrs. Cynthia A. Tat- ko was built in the spring of 1902, and Dr. J. G. Lenz dispensed the drugs. He had^ begun practice in llo in the spring of 1901. A harness shop was opened by E. C. Kness in the spring of 1902, the Kamiah Trading Company having commenced business the previous fall. This enterprise was recently sold to the llo Hardware and implement Company. The Idaho Supply Company, comprising local capitalists, began business in the spring of 1902, and the Smith hotel building was erected the same period. The Bank of llo is a recent financial enterprise, of which J. J. Woods is cashier. During the winter of 1901-2 William Blair opened a livery barn, and recently another was started by Simmons & Nichols. Mrs. J. C. Pearsall conducts a millinery store ; A. Gardner a butcher shop, and there are two confectionery and "soft drink" stores. An ungraded school is conducted six months of the year with an attendance of fifty pupils. The Presby- terians and Christians have church organizations and buildings, erected during the summer of 1902, Revs. McLain and John McDonald pastors, respectively. The Modern Woodmen of America and the I. O. O. F. represent the fraternal societies of llo. At the terminus of the Lapwai spur of the North- ern Pacific railroad and snugly nestled against the base of Craig's mountain, lies Culdesac, a prosperous, thriving town of probably four hundred people. This terminal town is one of the newest and one of the most prosperous on the reservation. None has a brighter future and none can boast of a more rapid and at the same time substantial growth. Situated at the geo- graphical center of the county, in the very heart of the grain producing section, Culdesac is fortunate in being the shipping and receiving point for a scope of coun- try fifteen miles square and including a portion of Nez Perces prairie. It has been conservatively estimated that over one-half a million bushels of wheat, flax, barley and oats were shipped from this place .last year and during the shipping season in the fall it is not uncommon for 150 four-horse teams to unload at the warehouses in a single day. The town lies only about four hundred feet above the Clearwater valley and consequently possesses a warm climate tempered by cool breezes from the mountain and encircling hills. The valley at this point is not over half a mile wide and the town lies on a narrow flat and several slightly higher plateaus. The creek rushes angrily along the northern boundary of the place. At one time it undoubtedly occupied the whole canyon as the gravelly formation of the ground and the plentitude of rocks "testify. The citizens take the greatest pride in their abundant and pure water supply. The water is obtained from a large spring on Leonard Henry's ranch, half a mile up the creek, HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. where it is stored in a reservoir holding 11,000 cubic feet. From here it is brought to the town through a four-inch main and conveyed to the different consum- ers by two-inch pipes. The water has a fall of nine- ty feet, enough to secure an excellent fire pressure. This water system, which has been recently com- pleted, is owned by Wilbur A. Cochran, T. W. Shref- fler and W. H. Shields. It is said that President Mellen personally be- stowed the name Cul-de-sac upon the settlement at the terminus of this branch line. He was driving along the proposed route with a companion at the time and when they reached the end of the practicable route, the president remarked "This is indeed a cul- de-sac." When the railroad was built, in the summer of 1899, John McKenzie was induced to relinquish his homestead right to a forty-acre tract which made an "L." of his farm and included the present townsite. Then J. G. and C. A. Wright purchased thirty acres of this tract with government script and subsequently W. S. Adron filed a timber and stone claim upon the remaining ten acres. Meanwhile, however, Sogart & Green, E. T. Brandon & Frank Edwards, McGraf Brothers (James, William and Thomas), T. W. Shref- fler, E. J. Northcutt and several others had settled on the ten-acre tract and decided to contest the Adron claim on the ground that the land was more valuable for townsite purposes. To that end a public meeting was held of which Mr. Northcutt was chosen chair- man, and a committee, consisting of James McGraf, Frank O'Mallory, Jesse Beans and Link Meadows, was appointed to take charge of the matter. Ninety- two location claims were sold at one dollar each to provide funds with which to carry on the contest and in September, 1899, the papers were filed. This con- test was carried up to the secretary of the interior, who, in 1902, decided in favor of the citizens, grant- ing their application for a townsite. A trust patent was issued to Probate Judge Stookey, who issued title to the land to those possessing squatter's rights. This tract now constitutes the main portion of the town. The thirty-acre tract was platted in the fall of 1899, but, owing to the fact that it was individual property, was not occupied as rapidly as the government town- site. The first house was built on it by Albert Wat- kins, a Northern Pacific employee, in December, 1899. Mr. Watkins was followed the next year by a man named Martin who erected a lodging house, by S. E. Bemis, who built a hall, and by C. B. Wright, who op- ened a store. King & Wright erected a store and ho- tel, the Triangle House, and warehouses were con- structed along the railroad track. Both towns grew rapidly and prospered. The owners of this townsite originally christened the place Mellen. The citizens of both towns early applied for a postoffice and suggested to the depart- ment the name given the station by the railroad com- pany, viz : Cul-de-sac, spelling it as a compound word. The postoffice was granted but the depart stowed the name he name suggested and instead be- Magnolia. Thus matters stood until last July (1902) when a citizens' petition that the postoffice be named Culdesac, writing it as one word, was granted. The two towns were consolidated in January, 1903, when the board of county commissioners gave them the boon of corporate existence. C. B. Uptograf, Thomas Culnan, W. A. Cochran, F. M. Remington and Albert Sogard were named trustees and will soon organize and elect officers. The citizens have from the first taken an active in- terest in their educational matters and three years ago, they built a handsome school house in the town, cost- ing $1,000, to take the place of the old district school. A portion of this amount was raised by private sub- scriptions. In these quarters and an additional rented room, 150 pupils properly graded, are cared for by Professor Case, Miss Lillian Schoot and Mrs. Charles J. Miller. A fine church is also being erected by the Chris- tian society, under the pastorate of Rev. L. F. Steph- ens. The Presbyterians have a society and have re- cently secured a pastor, Rev. John Wooliver. Among the most important enterprises in Culdesac is a new flouring mill now being built by Alt & Cross- man. The mill will have a capacity of 50 barrels a day. Power is furnished by a ditch taken out of Lap- wai creek at a distance above town. To secure this mill Culdesac subscribed a bonus of $1,300, E. J. Northcutt alone raising three-fourths of the amount. Culdesac also possesses a local telephone system, owned by Keller & Bell, and is connected with the out- side world by the Pacific States and Lookout systems. The Register, a weekly newspaper established in 1899 by W. L. Stephens, is another important factor in the town's welfare and under the ownership of John J. Schick is a neatly printed journal well filled with local news. Culdesac's other business houses may be grouped as follows: General stores, F. M. Remington, Ed- ward P. Brandon, Albert Sogard, J. G. Wright & Company, Thomas Purhum; hardware, Wilbur A. Cochran, Farr, Lewis & Fair ; groceries, Chris Norbo ; furniture, George Henderson, Frank Zenzengher ; drugs, W. D. Keller; hotels, Walla Walla, T. W. Shrerfler, proprietor ; Commercial, Henry Zyrbell, proprietor, Clear, J. H. Clear, proprietor ; 'livery sta- bles, Walla Walla, T. W. ShrefHer, proprietor, Star, Clyde Chapman, proprietor, Midway, Frank Gasa- way, proprietor, West End, John Whalen, proprietor; meat markets, Joseph Ziver (J. H. McDevitt, man- ager). McGrath Brothers; banks, Vollmer-Clearwater Company, Bank of Culdesac ; feed mill, J . G. Wright ; blacksmith shops, W. J. Departee, J. S. Mack, Charles Benson; jewelry, R. J. Watkins; confectionery and notions, Thomas Culnan, Brown & Stuart; Dr. E. L. Burke is the town's physician, Dr. B. L. Cole is its dentist, while G. K. Tiffany and John Green look after the legal business of its inhabitants. Real estate in Culdesac commands a high price at present and values are steadily increasing, a sure sign of prosperity. The business men contemplate improv- ing the streets, the installation of a system of fire pro- HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO. tection, police protection and many other improve- ments rendered necessary by the growing importance of the town. Although not yet four years old, Cul-