Gc
979.6
116±
139015
M. IV
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
•^r^^;^!..^^
AN
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY '^
THE STATE OF IDAHO \
CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IDAHO FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD OF ITS
DISCOVERY TO THE PRESENT TIME, TOGETHER WITH GLIMPSES OF ITS AUSPICIOUS
FUTURE; ILLUSTRATIONS, INCLUDING FULL-PAGE PORTRAITS OF SOME
OF ITS EMINENT MEN, AND BIOGRAPHICAL MENTION OF
MANY PIONEERS AND PROMINENT CITIZENS OF TO-DAY.
'A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors zvill never achieve anything
worthy to be rem,etpbered with pride by remote descendants." — MACAULAY.
CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1899
1390190
PREFACE.
PREPARED by a number of writers, and deriving its information from vari-
ous sources, the History of Idaho is now submitted to the reader for his
criticism. The compilation covers a long period of years, extending from
the epoch of glorious statehood and the dawning of a new century back to the
time when the untutored savages roamed at will over the plains and through the
mountain fastnesses of this now opulent and attractive region of the great north-
west, with none to dispute their dominion. In the collation of subject-matter
recourse has been had to divers authorities. These have been numerous, including
various histories and historical collections, and implying an almost endless array
of papers and documents, — public, private, social and ecclesiastical. That so much
matter could be gathered from so many sources and then sifted and assimilated
for the production of one single volume without incurring a modicum of errors
and inaccuracies^ would be too much to expect of any corps of writers, no
matter how able they might be as statisticians or skilled as compilers of such
works. It is, nevertheless, believed that no inaccuracies of a serious nature can
be found to impair the historical value of the book, and it is also further believed
that the results of our work will supply the exigent demand which called forth
the efforts of the publishers and the editorial staiif. Numerous extracts from
other volumes and minor compilations, considered authoritative, have been made,
with an eye ever single to the historical value of the matter used, while acknowl-
edgment must be made to many who have come to our aid by personal contribu-
tions and the offering of data otherwise impossible of securing. To many are we
indebted for such kindly courtesies and assistance, and with so much accredited
authority, even in the face of seemingly insuperable obstacles, the publishers
feel confident that a valuable book has been produced,— one whose intrinsic worth
will be cumulative and be the more appreciated as time advances.
THE PUBLISHERS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER I.
Idaho, the Gem of the Mountains — Origin of the Name i
^ CHAPTER n.
Geological Agencies 7
CHAPTER HI.
Early Explorations lo
CHAPTER IV.
Rival Claims and Pretensions i8
CHAPTER V.
Rival Claims and Pretensions, Continued 25
CHAPTER VI.
Individual Records 28
CHAPTER VII.
Idaho — Historical and Descriptive 51
CHAPTER VIII.
The First Settlements — The March of Progress — Indian Depredations —
Mining Developments 59
CHAPTER IX.
The Growth of Quartz Mining — Discoveries — Mining Towns — Stage Routes
— Indian Troubles — Emigration in the Spring of 1864 — Social Dis-
turbances— Efforts for Better Transportation Facilities — Stamp Mills —
A Reminiscence — Early Rating of Gold and Silver — The United States
Assay Office 63
CHAPTER X.
Individual Records 74
CHAPTER XI.
The Snake River Valley — Reminiscences of the Early Days — Its Present —
Its Future 96
CHAPTER XII.
Political — Secessionism and Crime loi
vi TABLE Of CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER XIII.
Individual Records m
CHAPTER XIV.
Historical Notes on the Work of the Catholic Church in Idalio 122
CHAPTER X\'.
The Indians of Idaho — Nez Perces and Shoshone Uprisings 134
CHAPTER XVI.
Individual Records I47
CHAPTER XVII.
The Mormon Question — The Fifteenth Legislative Assembly — Looking to
Statehood — Changes in Judiciar_v — Constitutional Convention 173
CHAPTER X\ III.
Individual Records 176
CHAPTER XIX.
The Press of Idaho 187
CHAPTER XX.
Individual Records 205
CHAPTER XXI.
Owyhee County — Its History, Towns, Industries 231
CHAPTER XXII.
Individual Records 243
CHAPTER XXIII.
Washington County — Its Towns. Resources, Etc 266
CHAPTER XXIV.
Individual Records 274
CHAPTER XXV.
The Payette Valley — Its Towns — Water — Weather — Soil — Products — Re-
sources— Varied Attractions 298
CHAPTER XXVI.
Individual Records 311
CHAPTER XXVII.
Prominent Cities and Towns of the State 335
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Individual Records 369
CHAPTER XXIX.
Klines and Mining 421
TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii
Page
CHAPTER XXX.
Individual Records 447
CHAPTER XXXI.
Educational Advantages in Idaho 467
CHAPTER XXXII.
Individual Records 473
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Bingham County 494
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Individual Records 499
CHAPTER XXXV.
Political, Resumed 524
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Idaho in 1890 528
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Individual Records 530
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Idaho Since 1890 — Political 554
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Individual Records 558
CHAPTER XL.
Internal Improvements 577
CHAPTER XLI.
Individual Records.
5°^
CHAPTER XLII.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Idaho 624
CHAPTER XLIII.
Individual Records 628
CHAPTER XLIV.
Bear Lake County 670
CHAPTER XLV.
Presbyterianism in Idaho — The Fort Hall Canal — Pertinent Information on
Various Subjects .' 674
CHAPTER XLVI.
Individual Records 680
TOPICAL INDEX.
Page
Origin of Name of the State 3
Indian Hostilities 68
The United States Assay Office 73
Secessionism and Crime 102
Indian Wars 140
The Shoshone Wars i44
Too Lah 146
The Idaho Daily Statesman 187
The Daily and Weekly Patriot (Lewiston) 189
The Owyhee Avalanche 189
The Lewiston Tribune 190
Tlie Times-Democrat (Moscow) 190
The Nugget (De Lamar) 191
The Moscow Mirror 191
The Kendrick Gazette 191
The Pocatello Tribune 192
The Genesee News 193
The Salubria Citizen 193
The Wood River Times (Hailey) 194
Idaho Falls Times 19S
The Shoshone Journal 195
The Elmore Bulletin 196
The Blackfoot News 196
The News-Miner (Hailey) 197
The Pocatello Advance I97
The Kendrick Times 197
The Southern Idaho Mail (Blackfoot) 198
The Elmore Republican 198
The Idaho Mining News (Boise) 198
The Keystone (Ketchum) 198
The Grangeville Standard 199
The Republican (Preston) 199
Juliaetta Newspapers 199
The Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville) 200
The Idaho Falls Register 201
The Standard (Preston) 201
The North Idaho Star (Moscow) 202
The Post (Paris) 202
The Lewiston Teller 203
The Montpelier Examiner 204
The Enterprise (Malad) 204
The Only Legal Hanging in Owyhee County 234
The Marion More Tragedy 234
The Baldwin Aflfair 235
Silver City 236
The Idaho Hotel 237
Page
Trade Dollar Mining and Milling Company 237
Cumberland Gold Mine 237
DeLamar , 238
Dewey 240
Reynolds Creek 241
Guffey 241
Grand View ; . 241
Bruneau Dam 241
Hot Springs 242
The Oreana Valley 242
Castle Creek Valley 242
Salubria Valley 267
The Town of Salubria 267
Middle Valley 268
Council Valley 268
Indian Valley 268
Ruthburg 268
Brownlee 268
Meadows 269
Hornet Creek 269
Long Valley 269
Crane Creek 269
Weiser 269
The Seven Devils 272
Warren 272
Irrigation 273
Vendome Hotel 280
Payette 301
New Plymouth 301
Falk's Store 302
Emmett 302
Water in Payette Valley 302
Weather in Payette Valley ■ 303
Soil in Payette Valley 303
Fruit Culture in Payette Valley 304
General Farming in Payette Valley 306
Dairying in Payette Valley 306
Poultry-Raising in Payette Valley 306
Timber in Payette Valley 306
Cattle in Payette Valley 307
Sheep in Payette Valley 307
Irrigating Canals, Payette Valley 308
Washoe Bottom 308
Whitley Bottom 309
Recreation and Sport 309
The Swinery 310
TOPICAL INDEX.
Page
Apiaries 3 lo
Sugar Beets 310
The Payette Valley Mercantile Company 310
Boise, the Capital City 335
Lewiston 339
The First National Bank of Lewiston 340
The Lewiston National Bank 341
Pocatello 341
Kendrick and the Potlatch Empire 346
The Bank of Kendrick 349
Mountain Home 35°
Grangeville and the Buffalo Hump Mines 350
The Bank of Grangeville 352
The Bank of Camas Prairie 353
Nampa 353
Genesee 353
Ketchum 354
Hailey 354
First National Bank of Hailey 356
Bliss 356
Moscow 358
Resources of Latah County 363
Malad City 364
Juliaetta 364
Soda Springs 365
Franklin 367
Preston 367
Discovery of Gold 421
The Mining Fields of Idaho 427
The Coeur d"Alene Mining District 431
The Lead Belt of the Coeur d'Alenes 435
Labor Troubles in the Coeur d'Alene District 438
The Standard Group of Mineral Claims 439
The Hecla Group of Mines 440
Page
The Philadelphia & Idaho Mining & Smelting
Company 441
The Red Cloud Group of Mines 442
The Poorman Mine 442
The Black Jack Mine 44^
The Ontario Group of Mines 444
The Alturas Senator Mining Company 444
The Silver King Mining Company 444
Pierce City Gold Camp 444
The Tip-Top Mine 446
University of Idaho 467
The Lewiston State Normal School 470
The Albion Normal School 470
The College of Idaho 470
Weiser Academy 471
The Boise Business and Shorthand College 472
Blackfoot 495
Idaho Falls 496
Admission of Idaho to the Union 524
The First State Officers S-25
Assessed Valuation of Property 577
Banks 577
Mineral Production 578
Agriculture, Etc 578
Wild Game 579
Educational 579
Other State Institutions 580
Paris 672
Montpelier 672
Presbyterianism in Idaho 674
The Fort Hall Canal 67S
Pertinent Information on Various Subjects 676
The First National Bank of Caldwell 685
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
Idaho Soldiers' Home i
City Hall, Boise I
Idaho University. Moscow I
State Capitol, Boise i
Twin Falls of Snake River lo
A Snake River Scene 25
Interior View of Office of Johnson & Johnson. ... 28
Great Shoshone, Below the Falls 53
Big Redfish Lake 59
United States Assay Office 73
View on Snake River at Lewiston 96
The Goose Creek House, Where First Territorial
Convention was Held in Idaho loi
St. John's Cathedral, Boise 122
Alpheus Spring, Blue Lakes 134
Top of Shoshone Falls 173
Shoshone Falls, From North Side 187
Scene on Alpheus Creek 231
Page
Residence of C. W. Moore 244
Hotel Weiser 278
Residence of S. B. Kingsbury 295
View of Eighth Street, Boise 335
View of Main Street, Lewiston 339
The Lewiston National Bank 341
View of Kendrick, Latah County 346
The City of Hailey 354
Moscow, Looking Northward from State Uni-
versity 358
Placer Mines, Delta, Idaho 421
View of Wallace, Shoshone County 428
The Standard Mine 439
Residence of Mrs. James H. Bush 474
View in Blackfoot. Bingham County 494
Wood River Valley, Looking South From Hailey. 577
The Natatorium, Boise 677
PORTRAITS.
Alexander, Moses, 594. '
Ballantine, James W., 413.
Barton, E. M., 277.
Baxter, James, 558.
Bigham, Samuel W. and wife, 621.
Borah, William E., 375.
Briggs, Burdice J., 382.
Brown, Newell J., 185.
Budge, William, 602.
Bush, James H., 473.
Campbell, Amasa B., 369.
Coburn, Chester P., 522.
Crane, Thomas, 665.
Crutcher, James I., 92.
Czizek, Jay A., 582
Daniels, John W., 486.
Davis, Francis M., 538.
Dewey, William H., 74.
Dietrich, Frank S., 628.
Ellis, George D., 609.
Ensign, Francis E., 249.
Forney, James H., 209.
Galloway, Thomas C, 114.
Glorieux, Alphonsus J., 132.
Gorton, George W., 64a.
Harris, Frank, 254.
Hawley, James H., 205.
Hays, Charles M., 549.
Heard, William E., 612.
Hill, George B., 322.
Hubbard, Frank M., 542.
Huston, Joseph W., 29.
Jeffreys, Solomon M., 44.
Jeffreys, Thomas M., 229.
Johnson, Ervin W., 704.
Johnson, Richard Z., Frontispiece.
Jones, T. J., 39.
Kelly, Milton, 224.
Kettenbach, William F., iii.
Kettenbach, William F., Jr., 112.
Kingsbury, Selden B., 294.
Krall, John, 657.
Lemp, John, 499.
McConville, Edward, 79.
McCurdy, James D., 160.
Moore, Christopher W., 243.
Morgan, John T., 87.
Neal, Horace E., 447.
Noble, Robert, 530.
Nourse, Robert L., 385.
Numbers, Joseph R., 458.
O'Farrell, John A., 716.
Pinkham, Joseph, 282.
Puckett, W. H., 514.
Ramsey, Frank C, 397.
Rice, Lucius C, 259.
Rich, Charles C, 680.
Rich, Joseph C, 693.
Rich, Samuel J., 638.
Richards, James H., 311.
Rogers, George B., 405.
Schmadeka, George, 567.
Senter, Almon S., 212.
Silcott, John M., 119.
Sinclair, Bartlett, 554.
Stewart, George H., 176.
Stockslager, Charles O., 21
Sullivan, Isaac N., 182.
Thomas, James, 394.
Too Lah, 145.
Waters, Julius S., 153.
Watt, William H., 262.
Watts, James G., 274.
Wernicke, C. W., 168
Wilson, James, 147.
INDEX OF INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
Abernatliy. Henry H.. 708.
Acker. James S.. 551.
Adams, Dave. 168.
Adams, Peter, 456.
Ailshie, James F., 317.
Ainslie, George, 82.
Ake. Franklin P.. 256.
Aldeman. E. E.. 197
Alexander. Joseph. 489.
Alexander. Moses, 594.
Alford. A. H., 190.
Alford, E. L.. 190.
Allison, William B., 412.
Anderson, Andrew B., 88.
Anderson, James H., 332.
Anderson, Robert J., 537.
Anderson, Louis N*. B., 386.
Andrews, DeForest H., 230.
Angel, Texas, 709.
Armstrong, Charles D., 631.
Arnold, Willis, 333.
Averitt, Philetus, 682.
Baird, Ezra, 380.
Baker, William A.. 185.
Ballantine, James W., 413.
Ballard, Ernest L., 227.
Barrett, John S., 591.
Barton, E. M., 277.
Barton, Robert H., 532.
Baugh. William H.. 153
Baughman, Ephraini W.. 392.
Baxter. James. 558.
Bean, James H., 701.
Beck. Peter S., 530.
Beers, W. E., 204.
Benedict. Samuel, 329.
Benedict. Samuel G., 329.
Bennett. Benjamin, 492.
Bennett, Richard H., 292.
Berg, Abel A., 115.
Berry, R. W., 296.
Berryman, Charles W., 662,
Bibby, Samuel E., 328,
Bigham, Samuel W., 621.
Bingman, John J., 599.
Blatchley, Henry D., 560.
Bledsoe, Relf, 35-
Bomberg, Charles, 657.
Borah, William E., 375.
Bowman, Isaac H., 199.
Boyakin, A. J., 187.
Brady, John C, 623.
Brearley, John, 331.
Brearley. Lucinda J., 331.
Briggs. Burdice J., 382.
Brigham. John W., 597-
Britt, Richard H., 250.
Brocke, Nicholas, 649.
Brodbeck, John, 179.
Brooks, Clarence W., 179.
Brown, Charles F., 500.
Brown, Jonas W., 251.
Brown, Newell J., 185.
Brown, William M., 390.
Bruce, George W., 264.
Bruner, Presley M., 84.
Brunzell, Oscar F., 260.
Buchanan, William N., 541.
Buckle, Joseph, 630.
Buckley, Edmund, 684.
Budge, Alfred, 620.
Budge, William, 602.
Buhl, Nelson, 708.
Buller, R. F.. 692.
Burgoyne, Edward, 637.
Burns, Carter W.. 522.
Burns. W. F., 282.
Burr, Charles F., 370.
Bush, James H.. 473.
Cage, Milton G., 177.
Caldwell, William A., 462.
Callahan. John C, 638.
Callaway, Abner E., 703.
Campbell, Amasa B., 369.
Campbell, George D., 606.
Carey, Michael, 91,
Carlton, Lee R., 652.
Carpenter, Carmcl C, 519.
Chamberlain, DeForest, 399.
Chapin, George, 195.
Chapman, John L., 416.
Chase, David C, 208.
Chester, William, 641,
Clark, Joseph A.. 696.
Clark. Nathan H.. 570.
Clark, Walter, 700.
Clark, Wilford W., 644.
Clarke, Jessie K.. 391. '
Clyne, Daniel H., 540.
Coakley. James B., 281.
Coburn, Chester P., 522.
Colson. James. 482.
Conant, Jesse L., 518.
Connors, John C, 171.
Coram, John, 484.
Cordelle. Albert G.. 571.
Cornwall. Mason A,. 477.
Coughanour. William A.. 291.
Cozier. Robert V., 582.
Cozzens, John, 374.
Crane. Thomas, 665.
Crocheron. Asbury B.. 688.
Crooks. John M.. 640.
Crosson. Frank. 255.
Crow, William H. B., 501.
Crutcher, James I.. 92.
Cuddy. John. Z77-
Cunningham. J. W.. y^.
Curtis. Edward J.-, 94.
Curtis. Henry W., 392.
Czizek. Jay A.. 582.
Daggett. George W.. 686.
Daly. Joseph D.. 113.
Damas. Alfred. 400,
Daniels, John W.. 486.
Davis. Francis M.. 538.
Davis. R. H.. 199,
Davis. Thomas. 120.
Deakin. James, 533.
Dee, Sumner W.. 564.
Delano, Nathan C. 178.
Dewey. William H.. 74.
Dietrich. Frank S.. 628.
Dippel. Henry C. 685.
Donnelly. Peter. 699.
Dorman, Jay W., 318.
INDEX.
Dorsey, Henry, 327.
Doyle, Grace E.. 472.
Dubois, Jesse K., 565.
Dufifes, Alexander, 222.
Dunbar, William C, Jr., 719.
Dunn, Henry, 603.
Dye, Job F„ 590.
E.
Eastman, Benjamin M., 148.
Eastman Brothers, 148.
Eastman, Hosea B., 148.
Eastman, L. C, 600.
Edwards, James, 320.
Egleston, Trowbridge C, 278.
Eilert, Louis E., 715.
Elg, Louis, 459.
Eliason, Mrs. C, 366.
Ellis, George D., 609.
Ensign, Francis E., 249.
Eoff, Alfred, 411-
Erb, George E., 409.
Evans, Evan, 333.
Evans, Sanford, 407.
Fanning, Edward, 569.
Feour, Dan, 689.
Flanagan, James, 562.
Foresman, C. A., 203.
Forney, James H., 209.
Fox, John C, 223.
Fredrickson, Peter, 725.
Freidenrich, Aaron, 544.
Friedman, Simon J., 225.
Frost, George A., 487.
Fulton, Robert F., 319.
Galloway, Thomas C., 114.
Gammell, Archibald, 408.
Garber, Jacob C., 543.
Geiger, Joseph, 180.
Gerwick, James A., 449.
Getchell, Meserve M., 210.
Glorieux, Alphonsus J., 132.
Goode, John B., 646.
Gooding, Frank R., 653.
Gooding, Fred W., 217.
Goodwin, Moses H., 89.
Gorton, George W., 640.
Gray, George E., 588.
Gray, James P., 211.
Green, John, 476.
Grete, Charles H., 281.
Grete, Frederick, Sr., 454.
Grete, John, Sr,, 77.
Griffin, Joseph F., 701.
Gritman, Charles L,, 398.
Gross, Joseph C, 564.
Grostein, Robert, 403,
Gumbert, George, 629.
Gunn, James, 157.
Guyon, Edwin F., 632.
Gwinn, Robert M., 706.
H.
Hailey, John, 30.
Haines, John M., 49.
Hall, William A., 316.
Hallenbeck, John, 503.
Handy, George H., 289.
Hanson, James C, 395.
Hanson, John. 474.
Harper, Joel B., 648.
Harris, Charles E., 204.
Harris, Frank,' 254.
Harris, Simon, 559.
Hart, James E., 592.
Harte, James H., 696.
Hartley, Henry K., 650.
Hasbrouck, Solomon, 41.
Hastings, Benjamin F., 381.
Hatch, Lorenzo L., 605.
Hattabaugh, Isaac C, 607.
Hawley, James H., 205.
Hays, Charles M., 549.
Heard, William E., 612.
Heitfeld, Henry, 38.
Heitman, Charles L., 583.
Helfrich, Edward C, 279.
Heron, David, 164.
Herrington, William F., 598.
Hill, Geoige B., 322.
Hinkey, Antone. 276.
Hixon, Columbus M., 288.
Hoff, Charles, 604.
Hoff, Henry H., 593.
Hoge, Walter, 660.
Holbrook, Noyes B., 507.
Holohan, Peter J., 601.
Hoover, Clayton A., 643.
Horning, Louis F., 490.
Howie, William C, 253.
Hubbard, Frank M„ 542.
Hubbell, Norman S., 402.
Huff, Thomas J., 722.
Hulse, Joseph B., 419.
Hunt, Warren P., 378.
Huston, Joseph W., 29.
Hutchinson, James, 661,
Hutchinson, Joseph H., 659.
Ifift, George N., 492.
Irwin, Frederic, 260.
Isay, Julius, 261.
Jacobs, Math., 316.
Jeffreys, Solomon M., 44.
Jefifreys, Thomas M., 229,
Jenne, Benjamin A., 181.
Jewell, Edward S., 463.
Johnson. Ervin W.. 704.
Johnson, Richard H,, 29.
Johnson, Richard Z., 28.
Jolly, Elmer E., 191.
Jolly, James D., 191.
Jolly, Thomas H., 191.
Jones, Homer D., 449.
Jones, Jacob, 619.
Jones, John W.. 196.
Jones. T. J., 39.
Jones, Walter A., 372.
K.
Kane, James F., 572.
Kelly, Milton, 224.
Kelsey, Charles R.. 285.
Kelsey, Stephen, 634.
Kenner, W. H., 201.
Kettenbach, William F., in.
Kettenbach, William F., Jr., 112.
Kilde, William, 663.
King, James, 323.
Kingsbury, Selden B., 294.
Kinkaid. John S.. 545.
Kirkpatrick. William, 667.
Koehler, Franz L., 456.
Kohler, Frederick S., 210.
Krall, John, 657,
Kurtz, W. B., 562.
Lake, C. F., 199.
Lamb, John, 191.
Lamme, David S., 226.
Lane, John, 545.
Langdon, Samuel J., 611.
Larson, John, 723.
Lauder, Wylie A., 389.
Lauer. James A.. 561.
Lauer, William, 118.
Leland, Charles F., 475.
Lemp. John. 499.
Leonard, Robert H., 85.
Lewis, George J., 48.
Little, George, 43.
Little, Tom K., 516.
Lockwood, Robert E., 293.
INDEX.
Lorton, Edward E., 485.
Lowe. Thomas G., 668.
M.
Madden, James. 587.
Manion, William H.. 258.
Martin, Charles G.. 714-
Martin, Frank T., 560.
Maxey, Ed. E., 276,
May, Charles, 289.
Mayhew. .Alexander E., 7i4-
McClellan. John. 417.
McClure, William J., 658.
McConville, Edward, 79.
McCrea, Donald, S., 460.
McCnllom, R. M., i95-
McCurdy, James D., 160.
McDonald, James J., 695.
McFarland. Robert E., 3I5-
McGregor. Malcolm. 281.
McGrew. Mansfield C, 324-
McKinlay, Alexander D., 666.
McLain, S. D., 287.
McLean, John F., 586.
Means. Marcus A., 608.
Miller. David T.. 220.
Miller, Tannes E., 593-
Millick. John C. 53i-
Mills, George W., 610.
Miner, Garner, 166.
Misslin, Leon, 609.
Mitcham. John L, 398.
Moffitt, Edward H., 388.
Molden. Charles F., 502.
Moore, Christopher W., 243.
Moore, Frank L.. 460.
Moore. George F.. 613.
Moore. H. A., 197.
Morgan, John T., 87.
Morris. Benjamin F.. 501.
Moxley, John Q., 463-
N.
Nash, Isaac B., 720.
Neal, Horace E.. 447.
Neal. Lemuel C, 481.
Nelson. Thomas, 193.
Nichols, William N., 247.
Nielson, N. P., 450.
Noble, Robert, 530.
Normoyle, Michael C, 452.
North, George H.. 568.
Nourse. Robert L., 385.
Numbers, Joseph R., 458.
O'Farrell, John A.. 716.
O'Neill, James, 563.
Orchard, Henderson, 384.
Owen, John J.. 454-
Owings, Samuel T., igo.
Parker. A. F.. 200.
Parkinson, George C. 724.
Parkinson. Samuel C. 722.
Parkinson. Samuel R., 697.
Parsons. George M., 152.
Patterson. Homer G.. 75.
Payne, George M.. 196.
Pearcy. Edmond. 536.
Peck, Henry, 690.
Peck, W. H., 199-
Pefley. Peter J.. 573-
Pelot, Carlyle L.. 183.
Pence. Joseph C. 216.
Pence. Peter, 162.
Ferryman, Collins. 541.
Pettengill, George. 274.
Pfost. Isaac W.. 687.
Pickering. R.. 491-
Picotte. T. E.. 194.
Pierce. Walter E., 570.
Pinkham. Joseph, 282.
Pinney. James A., 116.
Plumer. J. J.. 256.
Poe, James W., 396.
Price, Lyttleton, 691.
Prosser, C. A. S.. 461.
Puckett, W. H., 514-
Ramsey. Frank C, 397.
Randall. Jesse W.. 656.
Redsull. Thomas T., 47-
Redway, Auren G., 448.
Redway, William H.. 246.
Reeves. William T., 706.
Regan. Timothy, 408.
Reid, James W., 324.
Reynolds. James S., 187.
Rice. John C, 41-
Rice. Lucius C, 259.
Rich. Charles C. 680.
Rich. Joseph C, 693.
Rich. Samuel J., 638.
Richards. E. R., I97-
Richards. James H.. 311.
Richardson. Alonzo L.. 219.
Ridenbaugh. William H.. 184.
Riley. William T., 228.
Roberts. Frank M., 189.
Robertson, Alexander S.. 214.
Robertson. George M.. 505.
Rogers, George B., 405.
Rogers, James J., 483.
Rounds, Ruel. 488.
Rowton, Joshua G.. 465.
Ruick, Norman M., 207.
Russell, Henry A., 480.
Ryder, William L., 215.
Sampson, George O.. 276.
Samuels, Henry F., 655.
Sander, V. W., 622.
Scales, John, 547.
Scarborough. Joseph B.. 585.
Schmadeka. George. 567.
Schmadeka, William F., 479.
Schnabel. Charles A.. 75.
Scott, Addison V., 417.
Scott, C. M.. 248.
Sebastian, William H.. 549.
Senter, Almon S., 212.
Severn. William, 617.
Shaff, Charles W., 457-
Sharp, Neal J., 37.
Shaver, Henry C, 202.
Shaw. Columbus R., 170.
Shea. Tim, 279.
Shepherd. Joseph R.. 371.
Sherwin. Edwin R., 574.
Shields, Michael J.. 418.
Shoup, George L., a.
Silcott, John M., 119.
Simpson. George E., 198.
Simpson. Lawrence E., 198.
Sinnott. Augustine M.. !I2.
Sinsel. Charles J., 552.
Small, Albert, 601.
Smith. Isaac F.. 246. y^
Smith. Isaac R.. 690. /
Smith, Lindol, 517.
Smith, Theron J., 539.
Smith, Thomas, 720.
Smith, William F.. 165.
Smith, Willis E., 198.
Snyder, Charles. 326.
Sommercamp, William F.. 48(
Spckker. Staas. 512.
Spiegel, George. 286.
Stacy, James N.. 450.
Stalker. Alexander. 614.
Steele. Edgar C, 614.
Steely. Oscar B.. 506.
Steunenberg. Albert K.. 221.
Steunenberg. Frank. 370.
Stevens. Frederick S.. S'S-
Stevens. James M.. 387-
Stevens. M. P.. 200.
Stewart, George H.. 176.
Stockslager, Charles O.. 218.
Stoddard. Alexander K.. 265.
Stone, Caleb S., 618.
Storer, George H., 330.
Stranahan, Clinton T., 616.
Straughan, Joseph C, 565-
Strickler, Samuel, 45.
Strode, John, 415.
Strong, James R., 464.
Strong, Lambert L., 484.
Stufflebeam, William H., 572.
Stucki, John U., 584-
Sullivan, Isaac N., 1S2.
Surridge. James, 508.
Surridge, Thomas, 508.
Tannahill, Samuel O., 521.
Taylor, Knox, 155.
Taylor, Samuel F., 406.
Taylor, William, 414.
Thatcher, Charles A., 473.
Thatcher, Henry M., 376.
Thatcher, John B., 646.
Thews, Alice A., 682.
Thiessen, J. D. C, 184.
Thomas, James, 394.
Thomas, Lorenzo R., 632.
Tiner, Isham L., 263.
Too Lah, 146.
Townsend, William H., 161.
Truscott, Matthew H., 384.
Turner, Frederick H., 636.
Turner, William J., 151.
Underwood, John L., 635.
Upton, Augustus G., 156.
Ustick, Harlan P., 547.
Vendome Hotel, 280.
Vincent, Joseph K., 314.
Vincent, Joseph S., 192.
Vollmer, John P., 312.
W.
Wagener, John, 78.
Walker, Joel M., 509.
Wallantine, Christian, 596.
Wallis, James H., 203.
Waters, Julius S., 153.
Watkins, William W., 534.
Watson, Alexander L, 633.
Watt, William H., 262.
Watts, James G., 274.
Wax, Henry, 513.
Weaver, John L., 245.
Werneth, Sylvester, 503.
Wernicke, C. W., i68.
West, John B., 712.
West, Ossian J., 654.
Weston, Henry G., 642.
Wheeler, William E., 201.
White, Calvin R.. 639.
White, John S., 158.
White, Joseph F., 252.
White, Keith W., 713.
Whitman, Perrin B., 382.
Wilcox, Francis L., 711.
Williams, Barrett, 257.
Williams, Matthew H., 683.
Wilson, James, 147.
Wilson, Jesse, 147.
Wilson, William E., 655.
Winn, Ed. F., 511.
Witt, James, 645.
Wohlenberg, A. F., 548.
Wolters, Albert, 91.
Woods, William W., 629.
Woodward, William, 588.
Wright, C. E., 197.
Wright, Gilbert G., 664.
Wright, Marcus D., 373.
Y.
York, L. A., 295.
Idaho Soldiers' Home.
City Hall, Boise.
Idaho University, Moscow.
State Capitol, Boise.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
CHAPTER 1.
IDAHO, THE GEM OF THE MOUNTAINS.— ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
K'
I i T r NOW'ST thou that fair land?" As the
melody of the ever popular score lilts
forth the foregoing query, no one
who hears the words and has known aught of
Idaho can do other than record at least a mental
reply in the affirmative. Wrought in a giant
mold ; a field upon which Titans might have bat-
tled; stern, lofty barricades, unyielding as the
granite of the Everlasting will; fastnesses from
whose cavernous depths unchanged all time may
echo back to time that was; a crown whose
jewels are the perpetual snows that challenge the
arising sun, — this is Idaho, the "Gem of the
Mountains!" And yet all that is expressed in the
exalted architecture wrought in ages of the past ;
all that the still hidden treasures may reveal; all
that has been suffered and been wrought; all in
the wealth of legendary lore gained from those
whose first was the dominion here, — all these
do not and can not stand exponent for the Idaho
of to-day, nor for the Idaho of the future.
Can . it be in any measure regretted that the
era of progress has been ushered in? Is not that
true human economy which uses all possible
means to advance human welfare and human
happiness? The stealthy red man has heard and
obeyed the voice of manifest destiny. The victory
has been gained in sorrow, untold suffering and
greatest sacrifice; but has not the end justified
the means?
Progress, man's distinctive mark alone;
Not God's, and not the beasts'.
God is; they are.
Man partly is, and partly hopes to be.
— Robert Brownins.
The mountains have ever been the bulwarks of
freedom. Valor is born there; virtue is cher-
ished there, and these are the seeds of song and
story. No land ever yet had a literature to en-
dure that had not these for its theme, — these off-
springs of the pure, sweet atmosphere and sub-
lime splendor of inspiring mountains; and the
more glorious the mountains, the more glorious
the song and story. What then may we not
prophesy for Idaho when her torn and devastated
placer fields all are terraced vineyards, as in
Savoy, and the peace and rest of the old pastoral
days of Greece shall possess her?
Meanwhile it remains for us to dwell rather
upon the vital present; to note the assurances
offered in the fair new state of Idaho as this won-
derful nineteenth century draws rapidly to its
close. Here nature has been lavish to prodigality;
here mountain and valley yield forth their treas-
ures; and here are the homes of a progressive,
enlightened and a loyal people who honor and
receive honor from the whole noble sisterhood of
states. The Gem of the ^Mountains may well
challenge admiration, and it is hoped that the
pages of this work may bear their part in perpet-
uating the dramatic story of the brave men and
virtuous women who gathered about the cradle
of the infant Idaho, and also tell the latter-day
story of peace and prosperity. Of the first men-
tioned duty and its difficulties, we can not, per-
haps, do better than to quote from one to whom
this mountain-land has ever been most dear.
When he essayed a similar work, lie said: "The
task is a serious one, — serious in its responsibili-
ties, serious in the fact tiiat we look back over a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
billowy sea of graves. For so many brave men
died! Some died even on the way here, before
they could yet look down from the mountains
into the thousand vales that promised to them
and their children such happy homes. Some fell
from exposure and over-toil, some from battle
with the savages, some died even as they sat for
the first time by the new-laid hearthstone, wait-
ing for the wife and babe to come with the first
wild flowers of spring. There is nothing in all
the history of civilization more pathetic, more
dramatic, than this untold story of the veteran
of these mountain wilds." But as the endurance
and exile of the Puritans only made them the
more liberty-loving and liberal-minded in the
end; as expatriation only made the valorous and
courtly cavalier the more courtly and valorous:
and as the wild ventures of the romantic and
poetic searchers for the golden fleece only made
the Argonaut the more a romancer and a poet,
— so may we not prophesy that our larger experi-
ence in this larger, freer land of the mountains
will, as time surges forward, show larger results
in all that ennobles man and makes life glorious?
What the present conditions show forth is enough
to justify the most magnificent of futures for the
Gem of the Mountains, to whose opulent attrac-
tiveness this work pays tribute.
Up to 1863 the history of what now constitutes
the great state of Idaho was the common history
of the Pacific northwest, then known as Oregon.
All the facts and incidents that went to make up
the story of the one entered into that of the other.
In some respects, indeed, they were more inti-
mately connected with the territory now em-
braced in Idaho than with that now included in
Oregon. It has been needful, therefore, to the
unity and completeness of the history to give a
somewhat extended account of the events which
pertained to the history of the original Oregon
country, leading up to the divisions which ulti-
mately gave statehood to Idaho, touching upon
the early discoveries and the course of interna-
tional diplomacy involved in the boundary ques-
tion. From first to last, through all the era of
discovery and all the finesse of diplomacy, as well
as through the adventures of immigration and
the tragedies of Indian warfare, every change was
but a part of the germ and seed whose consum-
mate fruit will be the ultimate Idaho. By the
necessity of the case the major portion of the his-
tory of Idaho is of this character. Long, indeed,
were the years of her struggle with the wild ele-
ments of barbaric life, with the ruggedness of a
native condition almost without parallel in the
rugged west; but magnificent has been the out-
come of that struggle.
Many volumes, treating in special detail of dif-
ferent departments of her thrilling and varied
story, would be required to cover all the ground,
or to bring into review all the names and deeds
that are entitled to remembrance, and even to
fame, as builders of this now great common-
wealth. Beyond the compass of the design of
this book this could not be here attempted.
Choice could be made of only what seemed es-
sential to the continuity of narrative and the
interpretation and illustration of the times and
deeds of those who builded so bravely and so
well. Whatever of continuous history may be
found lacking in the narrative will be largely sup-
plied in the rich and ample biographical divisions
of the work. If "history is biography teaching by
example," surely there is abundant history in the
lives recorded in our biographical department.
Those whose names are here enrolled, and the
unnamed thousands like them, were the true
builders of the western world, who, "with high
face held to her ultimate star," lived and wrought
and died for her greatness. We are sure that
those who read their story will feel that these
people fought "braver battles than ever were
fought from Shiloh back to the battles of
Greece."
Whichever way you turn, whatever you may
say of valor or endurance, whatever you may see
in the magnificence of nature, be it river or
mountain, lake of fire or high-heaved chain of
frost, Idaho stands matchless, peerless and alone
as the "Gem of the Mountains." Garbed in silver
and in gold, a diadem of precious stones, a man-
tle of white or green or gold about her stately
figure as the seasons come and go, here she stands
above the world. The air is very clear on every
side, that you may see her well. To her doors
she welcomes all who are worthy, and her bene-
fices are showered forth upon all who seek those
worthy ends which stand for the true values in
the scheme of life.
There is no portion of our national story more
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
thrilling in adventure, more interesting in its
record of heroic endurance and indomitable effort
than that which records the advance of civil life
from the slopes of the Alleghanies to the coast
line of the Pacific. Only the self-reliance, the
high privilege to conceive and execute which is
inspired in the citizen by the spirit of our insti-
tutions, could have accomplished such magnifi-
cent results as now appear in the proud domain
of the state of Idaho. Less than fifty years ago
this was a veritable wilderness, unsurveyed and
practically unexplored. The savage tribes, with
characteristic bravery, disputed all advances of
peaceful or industrial life. Within almost a gen-
eration this broad area has become an empire of
active industry and great commercial prosperity.
There is no record that portrays in greater de-
gree such a courage of manhood, such faith in
power to accomplish, such a wealth of patriotism,
such a development of the national civilization
and social advancement. Such have been the
conquests of peace by the inspiration of our in-
stitutions and our American manhood.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
The word "Idaho" is said to be an Indian term
signifying the dazzling white snow crest upon
the principal mountain range in this region. —
translated most appropriately into English, "the
gem of the mountains." Indian languages, on
account of their poverty, are highly figurative.
There has been much speculation and discus-
sion not only in regard to the exact meaning of
the term Idaho but also in regard to the way in
which it came to be applied to the great state
which now bears the name. It is, therefore, but
consistent that in this compilation due consider-
ation be given to various accounts. The signifi-
cance of the word "Idaho" was possibly different
in different localities of the aboriginal northwest.
In Tourgee's weekly, The Continent, appears the
following interesting account by Joaquin Miller,
the "Poet of the Sierras."
The literal meaning is, "sunrise mountains." Indian
children among all tribes west of the Rocky moun-
tains, so far as I can learn, use the word to signify
the place where the sun comes from. Where these
tawny people live out of doors, go to bed at dusk
and rise with the first break of day, sunrise is much
to them. The place where the sun comes from is a
place of marvel to the children; and indeed it is a sort
of dial-plate to every village or rancheria, and of con-
sequence to all. The Shoshonee Indians, the true
Bedouins of the American desert, hold the moun-
tains where the first burst of dawn is discovered in
peculiar reverence. This roving and treacherous tribe
of savages, stretching from the Rocky mountains al-
most to the Sierras, having no real habitation or any
regard for the habitation of others, but often invading
and overlapping the lands of fellow savages, had some
gentle sentiments about sunrise. I-dah-ho, with them,
was a sacred place, and they clothed the Rocky moun-
tains, where it rose to them, with a mystic or rather
a mythological sanctity.
The Shasta Indians, with whom I spent the best years
of my youth, and whose language and traditions I know
entirely as well as those of their neighbors to the
north of them, the Modocs, always, whether in camp
or in winter quarters, had an I-dah-ho, or place for
the sun to rise. This was a sort of Mecca in the
skies, to which every Indian lifted his face involun-
tarily on rising from his rest. I am not prepared to
say that the act had any special religion in it. I only
assert that it was always done silently, and almost, if
not entirely, reverently. Yet it must be remembered
that this was a very practical aflfair nearly always and
with all Indians. The war-path, the hunt, the journey-
all these pursuits entered almost daily into the In-
dian's life, and of course the first thing to be thought
of in the morning was I-dah-ho. Was the day to open
propitiously? Was it to be fair or stormy weather
for the work in hand?
But I despair of impressing the importance of sun-
rise on those who rarely witness it, although to the
Indian it is everything. And that is why every tribe
in the mountains, wherever it was and whatever its
object in hand, had a "'Mount I-dah-ho." This word,
notwithstanding its beauty and pictorial significance,
found no place in our books till some twenty-one years
ago (during the early '60s), and then only in an ab-
breviated and unmeaning form. Indeed, all Indian
dialects, except, the Chinook, a conglomerate published
by the Hudson's Bay Company for their own pur-
poses and adopted by the missionaries, seem to have
always been entirely ignored and unknown throughout
the north Pacific territory. This Chinook answered
all purposes. It was a sort of universal jargon, was
the only dialect in which the Bible was printed, or that
had a dictionary, and no one seemed to care to dig
beyond it. And so it was that this worthless and un-
meaning Chinook jargon overlaid and buried our beau-
tiful names and traditions. They were left to perish
with the perishing people, so tha* now, instead of soft
and alliterative names, with pretty meanings and tra-
ditions, we have for the most sublime mountains to
be seen on earth, those of the Oregon sierras, mis-
called the Cascade mountains, such outlandish and
senseless and inappropriate appellations as Mount
Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mount Rainier. Changing the name of the Oregon
river, however, to that of the Columbia, is an im-
pertinence that can plead no excuse but the bad taste
of those perpetrating the folly. The mighty Shoshonee
river, with its thousand miles of sand and lava beds, is
being changed by these same map-makers to that of
Lewis and Clarke river.
When we consider the lawless character of the rov-
ing Bedouins who once peopled this region, how
snake-like and treacherous they were as they stole over
the grass and left no sign, surely we would allow this
sinuous, impetuous and savage river to bear the name
which it would almost seem nature gave it, for Sho-
shonee is the Indian name for serpent. How appro-
priate for this river and its once dreaded people! The
dominion of this tribe departed with the discovery of
gold on a tributary of the Shoshonee river in i860.
The thousands who poured over this vast country on
their way to the new gold fields of the north swept
them away almost entirely. Up to this time they had
only the almost helpless and wholly exhausted immi-
grant to encounter, with now and then a brush with
soldiers sent out to avenge some massacre. But this
tribe perished, as I have said, before the Californians.
and to-day it is not. except as one of the broken and
dispirited remnants familiar to the wretched reservations
scattered over the vast far west.
Captain Pierce, the discoverer of gold in the north,
located Pierce City on the site of his discovery, in
the dense wood away up in the wild spurs of the Bitter
Root mountains, about fifty miles from the Shoshonee
river. Then '"Oro Fino City" sprang up; then Elk
City was laid out; but the "cities" did not flourish;
indeed, all these "cities" were laid out only to be
buried! The gold was scarce and the mighty fiood of
miners that had overrun everything to reach the new-
mines began to set back in a refluent tide.
On the site of the earthworks thrown up by Lewis
and Clarke, who wintered on the banks of the Sho-
shonee river in 1804-5. the adventurous miners had
founded a fourth and more imposing city, as they
passed on their way to the mines. This they called
Lewiston. It was at the head of steamboat navigation
on the Shoshonee. and promised well. I remember
it as an array of miles and miles of tents in the spring.
In the fall, as the tide went out. there were left only a
few strips of tattered canvas flapping in the wind.
Here and there stood a few "shake shanties," against
which little pebbles rattled in a perpetual fusillade as
they were driven by the wmds that howled down the
swift and barren Shoshonee.
"It oughter be a gold-bearin' country." said a ragged
miner, as he stood with hands in pockets shivering on
the banks of the desolate river, looking wistfully away
toward California. "It oughter be a gold-bearin'
country, 'cause it's fit fur nuthin' else; wouldn't even
grow grasshoppers."
I had left California before this rush, settled down.
and been admitted to the bar by ex-Attorney General
George H. Williams, then judge, of Oregon, and had
now come, with one law-book and two six-shooters, to
ofTer my services in the capacity of advocate to the
miners. Law not being in demand, I threw away my
book, bought a horse and rode express. But even this
had to be abandoned and I, too, was being borne out
with the receding tide. Suddenly it began to be ru-
mored that farther up the Shoshonee, and beyond a
great black and white mountain, a party of miners who
had attempted to cross this ugly range and got lost
had gold in deposits that even exceeded the palmy
days of '49.
Colonel Craig, an old pioneer, who had married an
Indian woman and raised a family here, proposed to
set out for the new mine. The old man had long
since, through his Indians, heard of gold in this black
mountain, and he was ready to believe this rumor in all
its extravagance. He was rich in horses, a good man,
a great-brained man, in fact, who always had his pock-
ets full of papers, reminding one of Kit Carson in this
respect; and indeed it was his constant thirst for news
that drew him toward the "expressman" and made him
his friend.
I gladly accepted his ofifer of a fresh horse and the
privilege of making one of his party. For reasons suf-
ficient to the old mountaineer we set out at night and
climbed and crossed Craig's mountain, sparsely set with
pines and covered with rich, brown grass, by moon-
light. As we approached the edge of Camas prairie,
then a land almost unknown, but now made famous by
the battlefields of Chief Joseph, we could see through
the open pines a faint, far light on the great black and
white mountain beyond the valley. "I-dah-ho." shouted
our Indian guide in the lead, as he looked back and
pointed to the break of dawn on the mountain before us.
"That shall be the name of the new mines." said Colonel
Craig quietly, as he rode by his side.
The exclamation, its significance, the occasion and
all conspired to excite deep pleasure, for I had al-
ready written something on this name and its poetical
import, and made a sort of glossary embracing eleven
dialects. Looking over this little glossary now. I note
that the root of the exclamation is dah! The Shasta
word is pou-dah-ho. The Klamath is num-dah-ho.
The Modoc is lo-dah. and so on. Strangely like
"Look there!" or "Lo. light!" is this exclamation, and
with precisely that meaning.
I do not know whether this Indian guide was Nez
Perce, Shoshonee. Cayuse or from one of the many
other tribes that had met and melted into this half-
civilized people first named. Neither can I say cer-
tainly at this remote date whether he applied the word
i-dah-ho to the mountain as a permanent and estab-
lished name, or used the word to point the approach
of dawn; but I do know that this mountain, that had
become famous in a night and was now the objective
point of ten thousand pilgrims, became at once known
to the world as I-dah-ho.
Passing by the Indians' cornfields and herds of cat-
tle and horses, we soon crossed the Camas valley.
Here, hugging the ragged base of the mountain, we
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
struck the stormy and craggy Sahnon river, a tributary
of the Shoshonee. and found ourselves in the heart of
the civilized and prosperous Nez Perces' habitations.
Ten miles of this tortuous and ragged stream and our
guide led up the steep and stupendous mountain to-
ward which all the prospectors were now journeying.
At first it was open pines and grass, then stunted fir
and tamarack, then broken lava and manzanita. then
the summit and snow. A slight descent into a broad,
flat basin, dark with a dense growth of spruce, where
here and there was a beautiful little meadow of tall
marsh grass, and we were in the mines — the first really
rich gold mines that had as yet ever been found outside
of California.
"Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for
the gold where they fine it," says the Bible, mean-
ing that the only certain place to look for gold is
where they refine it. Certainly the text never had a
more apt illustration than here: for of all places for gold
in the wide world this seemed the most unlikely. The
old California miners who came pouring in after us,
almost before we had pitched tent, were disgusted.
"Nobody but a parcel of fools would ever have found
gold here," said one, with a sneer at the long-haired
Oregonians who had got lost arid found the new
mines. But the wheat-like grains of gold were there,
and in such heaps as had never been found in Cali-
fornia; and so accessible, only a few inches under the
turf or peat in the little meadows and little blind
gulches here and there in this great black, bleak and
wintry basin that had never yet been peopled since it
came fresh from the Creator's hand.
In less than a week the black basin was white with
tents. Our party located a "city" where we first
pitched our tent, with the express-office for a nucleus.
Look at your map. tracing up from Lewiston over
Craig's mountain and Camas prairie, and you will find
"Millersburg," looking as big on the map as any town
in the west. Yet it did not live long. A man soon
came with a family of daughters. Dr. Furber, an author
of some note at the time, and settled half a mile farther
on. My "city" went with and clustered about the
ladies. The Doctor named the rival "city" after his
eldest daughter, Florence. It flourished in the falling
snow like a bay, and was at one time the capital of
the territory. There is little left of it now, however,
but the populous graveyard.
And, alas for the soft Indian name! The bluff miner,
with his swift speech and love of brevity, soon cut the
name of the new mines down to "Idao!" And so,
when the new gold-fields widened out during a winter
of unexampled endurance into "Warren's Diggins,"
"Boise City." "Bannack City," and so on. and the new
territory took upon itself a name and had a place on
the map of the republic, that name was plain, simple
Idaho. Should any one concerned in the preservation
of our native and beautiful names care to know more
particularly the facts here sketched, let him address
Colonel Craig (since deceased), of Craig's mountain,
a well read and the best informed man on the sub-
ject to be found in the far west; and he is the man who
found and named I-dah-ho.
In another publication, Miller says: "The name
of the great northwest gold fields, comprising
Montana and Idaho, was originally spelled I-
dah-ho, with the accent thrown heavily on the
second syllable. The word is perhaps of Sho-
shone derivation, but it is found in similar form,
and with the same significance, among all the
Indians west of the Rocky mountains. The Xez
Perce Indians, in whose country the great white
and black mountain lies which first induced the
white man to use this name, are responsible for
its application to the region of the far northwest."
The Shoshonees had a legend of a bright object
falling from the skies and resting upon a moun-
tain, forever shining but forever inaccessible.
This they called e-dah-ho, referring undoubtedly
to the glistening white crest of snow upon the
summits of the mountains.
A writer in the New West, apparently well
informed, declares that Idaho is not a Xez Perce
word, adding: "The ir.ountains that Joaquin Mil-
ler speaks of may be named with a somewhat
similar appellation, but most likely the whole
story grows out of the fertile imagination of the
poet. Idaho Springs, in Colorado, were known
long before Idaho territory was organized. The
various territories at their organization should
have been given appropriate local names. Colo-
rado was named after the river of that name,
though it is not within its boundaries. It should
have been called Idaho. It was the name first
placed in the bill organizing it, but was after-
ward changed."
Ex-Senator Nesmith of Oregon gives still
another account: "The bill first passed the house
of representatives designating the present terri-
tory of Idaho as "Montana." When it came up
for consideration in the senate, on the 3d of
March, 1863, Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts,
moved to strike out the word 'Montana' and in-
sert "Idaho.' Mr. Harding of Oregon, said: "I
think the name ""Idaho" is preferable to ""Mon-
tana." ' Idaho in English signifies the "Gem of
the Mountains.' I heard others suggest that it
meant in the Indian tongue "Sliming Mountains,'
all of which are synonymous. I do not know from
which of the Indian tongues the two words "Ida-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ho" come. I think, however, if you will pursue
the inquiry among those familiar with the Xez
Perce, Shoshone and Flathead tribes, that you
will find the origin of the two words as I have
given it above."
As to the application of the name Idaho to the
territory, from which Montana was subsequently
set off, the following account, which originally
appeared in the Owyhee Avalanche, seems to be
altogether reasonable in its claims, and with the
incorporation of the same we will proceed to the
consideration of other matters:
"A great deal of discussion and conjecture has
been published by the press of Idaho as to the
manner in which our young state was christened.
Hon. C. M. Hays this week handed us a per-
sonal letter, which he received some time since
from Hon. George B. Walker, of Seattle, a mem-
ber of the house of representatives of Washing-
ton, who was among the earliest settlers of the
territory now known as Idaho. We believe that
the following is authentic and will put to rest all
the theories advanced in the past, which were at
most but the product of a vivid imagination:
"In the fall of i860 the gold placer-mines were dis-
covered in what is now known as Shoshone county,
Idaho — then a portion of Washington. A man by the
name of Pierce was with the first party, and, I think,
the captain of it. Pierce City was named after him.
J. jMarion Moore, D. H. Fergus. Sargent Smith, David
H. Alderson and many others, whose names I have
forgotten, were among the first in the new El Dorado.
I was among the number and built comfortable quarters
in Pierce City.
"In 1861 three candidates were nominated for con-
gress—W. H. Wallace by the Republicans, Salucius
Garfielde by the Douglas Democrats, and Judge Ed-
ward Lander (brother of the General) by the Breckin-
ridge wing of the party. They traveled over the (then
known) eastern part of the territory in company with
your father, Hon. Gilmore Hays, making speeches
whenever they could get a crowd together. When they
arrived in Pierce City I invited them to camp at my
place (everyone carried his own blankets in those
days), I being personally acquainted with Wallace and
Garfielde. They accepted the invitation. While there
I proposed a division of the territory, as I thought we
were a long distance from Olympia. They agreed that
whoever was elected would favor a division. Then the
question of name came up, and I suggested the name
of Idaho. I had seen the name on a steamer built by
Colonel J. S. Rockwell to run between the Cascades
and the Dalles, in connection with the steamer Moun-
tain Buck, which ran from Portland to the Cascades
before the organization of the Oregon Steam Naviga-
tion Company. The old Idaho is now on Puget Sound
and owned by Captain Brownfield, and still makes a
good appearance. All the above named gentlemen
said that was the name.
"W. H. Wallace was elected. I voted for Garfielde,
and on the 3d of March, 1863. the new territory was
created and named Idaho. Lincoln appointed Wallace
the first governor and he was elected the first delegate
to congress.
"So I believe if there is any credit due for naming
the state I am entitled to it. A controversy came up
about it, I think, in 1875, and I caused an article to be
put in the Owyhee Avalanche, which was corroborated
by your father. I hear that Judge Lander is still liv-
ing, and if I knew where a letter would reach him I
would write, as I think he might remember this affair
on the frontier thirty-two years ago.
"GEORGE B. WALKER.
"West Seattle, King county, Washington."
CHAPTER 11.
GEOLOGICAL AGENCIES.
IN GENERAL it may be said that the moun-
tain ranges of Idaho are volcanic upheavals,
— the mighty bending upward of the crust
of the earth's surface when its inborn fires were
lashed to unwonted fury in some stormy age of
old eternity. The valleys were doubtless formed
by this upheaval of its enclosing ranges, leaving
the floor of the surface here comparatively undis-
turbed. This really rests on a foundation of
aqueous rock of unmeasured thickness, on w'hich
the alluvial matter that forms its soils has been
deposited. With this there are, in many places,
deep deposits of water-worn pebbles and strati-
fied sand, which were made at an era much more
modern than that of the underlying sandstone.
It is useless to endeavor to identify these changes
chronologically, as creation in its being and in its
mutations writes its historic days in millennials
of age, and thus puts our conception of time,
drawn as it is from human experience and human
history, entirely at fault.
Of course, in indicating the forces that formed
the now verdant valleys, glacial action must not
be forgotten. Far extending moraines and wide
glaciated surfaces tell the story of the far-away
eras when these mighty ice-plows furrowed and
planed down the broken face of the earth's crust,
and smoothed it into its now beauteous vales.
Enough has already been said to indicate to
the reader that the mountains of Idaho are of
volcanic formation. The great snow peaks are
all volcanoes. They are called extinct, though
some of them still give distinct evidence of an
internal unrest born of pent-up fires. Buffalo
Hump has been in active eruption within the
memory of the present generation. The great
summit intervals between these peaks are gener-
ally granitic rock, covered with a deep vegetable
soil, intermixed with decayed granite. In fact,
there were many successive overflows, as on the
broken faces of the cliffs clearly defined lines of
stratification are presented more numerous as we
approach the great summits that were their foun-
tain. The molten iron sea rolled onward, over-
lying the whole country, drinking up the rivers,
shearing off the forests, and seizing a nightly
holocaust of animal life in its devouring maw.
For ages, how long no one can know, this great
lava plain, first red and hot and simmering, then
black and cold, and rending itself into deep
chasms in its slow cooling, lay out under the
stars without vegetable or animal life, almost
without springlet or dewdrop, to cool or soften
its black and rugged face. The fires of the vol-
canoes at length burned low. The mountain sum-
mits cooled. A few stray clouds floated over the
tortured earth. A few drops of rain touched its
iron surface with their imprisoned mieht. Show-
ers followed. The springs that fountain rivers
began to bubble from beneath the cloven
lava beds, searching out an open way seaward
through their broken chasms. And thus the
changes of the ages went on. The basalts were
ground to powder in the mills of the streams.
The old surfaces over which the lava had once
spread were cut into valleys, hundreds of feet
deep. Fecund soils were deposited. Vegetation
sprang forth again. Animal life found food and
drink and shelter, and still the changes went on.
Frost and snow and raindrop and stormy winds
and burning suns wrought the miracle of a new
genesis, leaving a field in which nature has writ-
ten the most legible and astonishing records of
her processes and her powers.
The mountain ranges present a wonderful con-
glomeration of basalts, granite, slate, sandstone,
with vast beds of stratified sand and water-worn
gravel. In places one formation predominates,
in other places some other formation, and then
again several of them appear intermixed, or over-
lying one another. It is evident that the heat
attending the volcanic action that lifted the vast
ridges to their present position was great enough
to cause perfect fusion in only a few ])laces ; while
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
yet the forces lielow were mighty enough to cause
the wonderful and weird displacements of the
primitive rocks so often arresting the observant
eye. One hour the traveler among these moun-
tains will be passing over scoriated basalt, or
along cliflfs of basaltic columns, the next among
great granite boulders or over gray granite pin-
nacles, then over miles of aqueous deposits in the
form of stratified sandstone or stratified beds of
sand and gravel intermixed ; or again slate slopes
and hillsides will arrest his eye, until he is lost in
the wilderment of his strange surroundings.
The Blue mountains margin on the west the
great lava plains of Snake river vallev. The vol-
canic conditions, so plainly marked in the Cas-
cade and Blue mountains, and the valley inter-
vening between them, continue and are intensi-
fied as we enter the great upper valley of Snake
river, which lies mostly in the state of Idaho,
which w^as once the mightiest scene of volcanic
action on the American continent, if not in the
w^orld.
We should not dismiss the whole subject of
the geolog}- of this most interesting region, with
these general statements for the lay reader with-
out some more distinctly scientific record for the
benefit of the more technical reader and student.
For him geology would w'rite about the follow-
ing histon.- of the conditions and changes of un-
told ages and marvelous processes through which
this wonderful Idaho world was being formed.
For an immense period before the existence of
the Coast and Cascade ranges of mountains, the
primeval ocean washed the western shores of the
great Rock mountain chain, and throuenout the
palaeozoic era and the whole Triassic and Juras-
sic periods of the Mesozoic era numerous rivers
kept bringing down debris until an enormously
thick mass of ofT-shore deposits had accumulated.
This marginal sea-bottom became the scene of in-
tense aqueous-igneous action in its deeply buried
strata, producing a line of wrackness, which,
yielding to the horizontal thrust produced by the
secular contraction of the interior of the earth,
was crushed together and swollen upward into
the Cascade and Sierra Nevada range at the close
of the Jurassic period. The range thus produced
was not of very great height. It existed for un-
known centuries, — the scene of erosion and plant
growth, roamed over by the now extinct fauna
of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. It was
combed by forests of conifers and oaks. Then
followed the great lava-flow and uplift of the
mountain range of the modern Cascades. Be-
neath the overlying lava, where the Columbia
breaks through the barriers of this great range,
there is found along the water's edsre, and for
nearly twenty feet upward, a coarse conglomerate
of rounded porphyritic pebbles and boulders of
all sizes up to six feet in diameter, held together
by an imperfectly lithified earthy paste. Above
the conglomerate is a very distinct, though ir-
regular ground surface bed, in which are found
silicified stumps with roots extending twenty
feet and penetrating into the boulder material
beneath evidently in situ. Resting directly on
this forest ground-surface, and therefore inclos-
ing the erect stumps, is a layer of stratified sand-
stone, two or three feet thick, filled with beautiful
and perfect impressions of leaves of several kinds
of forest trees, possibly of the very trees about
whose silicified bases they are found. Above this
leaf-bearing stratum rests a coarse conglomer-
ate similar to that beneath at the water level.
Scattered about in the lower part of this upper
conglomerate, and in the stratified sandstone, and
sometimes lying in the dirt beneath it, fragments
of silicified driftwood are found. Above this last
conglomerate, and resting upon it, rise the layers
of lava, mostly columnar basalt, one above an-
other to a height of three thousand feet. From
these facts the following order of events are de-
duced:
The region of the Columbia river was a forest,
probably a valley, overgrown by conifers and
oaks. The subsoil was a coarse boulder drift
produced by erosion of some older rocks. An
excess of water came on, either by floods or
changes of level, and the trees were killed, their
leaves shed and buried in mud, and their trunks
rotted to stumps. Then came on a tumultuous
and rapid deposit of coarse drift, containing drift-
wood, which covered up the ground and the still
remaining stumps to a depth of several hundred
feet. The surface thus formed was eroded into
hills and dales, and then followed the outburst
of lava in successive flows, and the silification of
the wood and fermentation of the drift by the
percolation of the hot alkaline waters containing
silica. Finally followed the process of erosion by
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
which the present streams, channels and valleys,
whether main or tributary, are cut to their enor-
mous depth. The great masses of sediment sent
down to the sea by the erosion of the primary
Cascade range, forming a thick offshore deposit,
gave rise in turn at the end of the ^Miocene to the
upheaval of the Coast range, the Cascade moun-
tains being at the same time rent along the axis
into enormous fissures from which outpoured
the grand lava floods, building the mountains
higher and covering the country for great dis-
tances. This is probably the grandest lava flow
known to geology, covering as it does an area of
not less than two hundred thousand square miles.
It covers the greater portion of northern Califor-
nia and northwestern Nevada, nearly the whole
of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and runs far
into British Columbia on the north. Its average
thickness is two thousand feet, and the greatest
(shown where the Columbia, Des Chutes, Snake
and other rivers cut through it) four thousand
feet. To produce this, many successive flows took
place, and great periods of time elapsed during
which this volcanic action continued. During- the
period of these Cascade eruptions, the Coast
range was being slowly elevated, and became in
turn the scene of local volcanic action, though
not very severe.
At last the great fissure eruptions drew to a
close. The fissures became blocked up. The
\olcanic action became confined to a few locali-
ties. The period of crater eruptions followed.
This continued for a long time — almost to our
own day. These crater eruptions built up the
great snowy peaks.
By the formation of the Cascade a great in-
terior basin was made, the waters of which col-
lected into secondary reservoirs, some of very
large extent, and which were at length carried
ofif by the rivers which have cut their way from
the interior to the sea. The Columbia and its
tributaries drained the northern part of tins im-
mense basin, and at this period doubtless the
great Salt Lake of Utah found its outlet to the
sea by the Snake and Columbia rivers. Thence
came the lava floods, whose great flows have
since been worn away in. places, exposing the
tertiary and cretaceous beds, and revealing the
former conditions of the region by the fossils
found therein. At the end of the Miocene the
lava flows from the Cascade fissures commenced,
but it was long before they reached the entire
extent of the great basins, which continued to
exist and be endowed with life well into the
Pliocene.
CHAPTER II
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
DURING the long period of time in which
the Pacific coast of Xorth America was
being slowly brought to the knowledge
of civilized man, the course of narrative shows
that the Frenchman and Spaniard were the pio-
neers of exploration in this region, both by sea
and land. Spain led the maritime nations in dis-
tant and successful voyages. The voyage of
Columbus, under the auspices of Ferdinand and
his noble queen, Isabella, whose reign over the
united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon gave
Spain so much glory in that adventurous and
chivalrous age, had kindled every maritime Span-
iard into a very knight of the seas, and inspired
the whole nation with a burning zeal for dis-
covery and conquest of distant lands. Her rulers
were among the greatest and most renowned of
all ages of the world. Ferdinand and Isabella
were succeeded by Charles ^■., one of the most
enlightened and powerful monarchs that ever sat
on any throne. He was succeeded by his son
Philip, who, though haughty and imperious, so
carried forward the ideas and purposes of his
great father that his kingdom reached the very
zenith of power and influence in the councils of
the European monarchs. The woe pronounced
upon a "land whose king is a child" could not
fall upon Spain during this period. Weak and
lusterless as may now be the condition of the
Spanish nation, and little as her power is felt or
feared in the world to-day, then soon the Saxon
asked privileges of the Castilian and measured
his own power by the standard of the other's
greatness.
Under the impulse thus pervading the Spanish
nation, her banner was pushed into every sea and
her cavaliers led all armies of distant conquest, —
especiallx- in tlie Xcw World. While the great-
est historical interest attached to these early mari-
time explorations along the Pacific coast of Xorth
America and had a potent influence upon the ulti-
mate opening up of the far western country to civ-
ilization, the association with the specific history
of the great state of Idaho is so remote, and has
been so often and so ably considered, that it is
not necessary to more than refer thus incidentally
to the story of adventure in this connection. The
development of the Oregon country came as the
diametrical result of explorations by land, and
it is not less than fitting that a brief record touch-
ing the same be here entered.
While Spain led maritime discoveries, the facile
and plastic Frenchman led the land explorations
into the interior of the western continent. France
had a strong holding on the eastern shore of
America north of the St. Lawrence, — a point of
great advantage in intro-continental explorations.
In addition to this she had planted her colonies at
the mouth of the Mississippi, and stretched a cor-
don of posts southeastward from Quebec to the
Ohio, thus hemming the English into a compara-
tively narrow belt of country on the Atlantic sea-
board, and leaving free to her adventurous roam-
ers the vast, and as yet unknown regions that
stretched westward and northward, no one coul I
tell how far or how wude. The French pushed
their advantages by land as did Spain hers by
sea. and as early as 1743 their explorations had
reached the heart of the Rocky mountains. F>om
Canada and from Louisiana, up the lakes and up
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the French-
man's pirogue kept movement with the voy-
ageurs' songs as these care-free men of France
pushed their trade and travel into the middle of
the continent. The French and English war of
1756, however, by giving England the opportu-
nity to wrest Canada from the weakened grasp of
France, put a sudden stop to her movements in
the line of explorations from that province, and
opened the same opportunity to England that
France had previously enjoyed. But though the
opportunity was before her Great Britain was so
fully occupied with her European difficulties and
the care of her American colonies, already grow-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
11
ing restive under the grievances of her misrule,
demanded so much of the attention of her parUa-
ment and rulers that she could attempt nothing
further than to hold her "reign of vantage"
securely, for at least a quarter of a century.
During the progress of this quarter of a cen-
tury new conditions and combinations had arisen.
England lost all her colonies on the Atlantic
coast south of the St. Lawrence. France had sold
Louisiana to Spain. Thus England's opportuni-
ties were contracted, those of France were de-
stroyed, and the new republic of America was as
yet unable to enter the field of exploration and
colonization. At this period the continental po-
sition was this: Spain, after her purchase of Lou-
isiana from France, had proprietary claim to all
the country west of the Mississippi river to the
Pacific ocean, with no very clearly defined north-
ern limit to her claims. England held the country
northward of the great lakes and the St. Law-
rence river, extending indefinitely westward,
above the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. The
United States held actually the country east of
the summits of the Alleghany mountains, mclud-
ing the six New England states and New York,
and had ownership of all the country westward
of the Alleghanies which England had conquered
from France in the war of 1756. These were the
powers that, after the American Revolution,
stood lookmg to the yet unknown west as the
place for the future aggrandizement of their re-
spective fortunes, and this was the condition in
which they looked to the future and prepared
for its issues.
The advantages of the condition were with
Great Britain. She had grown to be the leading
power of Europe. Already the swing of conquest
was in the movement of her legislation and her
peoples. While the wars of the past twenty years
had taxed, they had not paupered her. She was
strong, consolidated, ambitious, courageous; and
she was Saxon, — the blood of endurance and
conquest.
Spain held her position in the south and west
by a precarious tenure, and she so felt the feeble-
ness of that tenure that she neither made nor
cared to make any vigorous movements to extend
her possessions or to strengthen her holdings in
America. The L'^nited States, geographically,
held the center of opportunity, but the almost
chaos of the era that followed the close of the
Revolutionary war was over the face of her politi-
cal history, and she needed time in which to gird
herself for the strain of the future. But she had
the strength to wait, for she, too, was Saxon.
And so, with the parties in direct interest in the
movements that were so surely to follow prepar-
ing for the race of empire westward, we come to
the real opening of the era of discovery by land
westward of the great mountains.
These were begun solely by private enterprise
for individual gain. They early reached the Ath-
abasca and Saskatchewan. But the field was too
great for individual resources, and besides the
Hudson's Bay Company entered the field with a
competition which could only be met by combi-
nation. So the Northwest Company, of Montreal,
was formed in 1784 for the express purpose of
meeting and overcoming the competition of the
Hudson's Bay Company, which had proved so
ruinous to the individual traders who had ven-
tured into the country before. In a very few
years this became a most prosperous and power-
ful organization, and its traders and explorers
filled all the country east of the Rocky mountains
as far north as the Arctic and ,as far south as
the Missouri.
The great headquarters of this company was
at "Fort Chippewyan" on Lake Athabasca, and
were under the charge of Alexander Mackenzie,
a very resolute and able man, whose enterprise
in explorations stamped his name on the geog-
raphy of all the west and north. In 1791 he
organized a small party for a western explora-
tion, intending to prosecute his journey until he
reached the Pacific ocean. He had, two years
before, discovered the river that bears his own
name, and followed it from its source in Great
Slave lake to where it discharges its waters into
the Arctic ocean. Having thus ascertained the
character and extent of the country to the north-
west, he was determined to develop the character
of that to the west by the expedition on which
he was now entering. He left Fort Chippewyan
on the loth of October. 1791, and with much
difficulty ascended the Peace river from Lake
Athabasca to the foot of the Rocky mountains,
where the party encamped for the winter. In
June of the following year he resumed his jour-
ney, still following up the same stream, which he
12
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
traced to its source near the fifty-fourth parallel
of latitude and distant about one thousand miles
from its mouth. Only a short distance from the
springs of the Peace river he came upon those of
another stream flowing westward, called by the
natives Tacoutchee Tessee, down which he
floated in canoes about two hundred and fifty
miles. Leaving the river, he then proceeded
westward overland, and on the 22d of July, 1792.
reached the Pacific ocean, at the mouth of an
inlet in latitude 52° 10'. This inlet had, only a
few weeks previously, been surveyed by the fleet
of \'ancouver; and thus Mackenzie had con-
nected the land and water explorations of Great
Britain on the Pacific coast.
Mackenzie reached the coast far north of the
mouth of the river on which he had sailed in his
canoes so far to the southwest. On his return
to Fort Chippewyan, late in August, 1792, he
learned of the discovery of the mouth of the
Columbia by Captain Gray, when he at once con-
cluded that the stream he had followed so far was
the upper part of that river, and it was so consid-
ered by geographers until 181 2, or twenty years
after Alackenzie's journey, when Simon Fraser,
of the same company as Mackenzie, traced it to
its mouth in the gulf of Georgia, a little north of
the 49° of latitude. Since that time it has been
known as Fraser's river. To Alexander Mac-
kenzie doubtless belongs the honor of making the
first journey down the western slope of the great
Rocky mountain chain to the Pacific ocean;
though it was made wholly north of the parallel
that was subsequently fixed as the boundary line
between the British possessions on the American
continent and the United States.
It is a somewhat striking coincidence that the
first important American movement for an ex-
ploration by land of the country lying on the
north Pacific coast was made the same year that
^Mackenzie accomplished his journey to the Pa-
cific and that Captain Gray sailed into the mouth
of the Columbia river. Thomas Jeflferson, at that
time the representative of the United States gov-
ernment at the court of \'ersailles, became deeply
interested as an American in this great western
region. He proposed to the American Philo-
sophical Society that a subscription be raised for
the purpose of defraying the expenses of an ex-
ploration, and a person be employed competent
to conduct it. He wished it to "ascend the
^lissouri river, cross the Stony mountains, and
descend the nearest river to the Pacific." His
suggestion was acted upon by the society, and
Captain Meriwether Lewis, on the recommenda-
tion of Jefferson, was selected to lead the expe-
dition; and Andre Micheaux, a distinguished
French botanist, was chosen to accompany him.
They proceeded as far as Kentucky, when Mr.
Alicheaux was recalled by the French minis-
ter at Washington and the expedition was
given up.
The next movement for the accomplishment
of the same purpose was while the treaty was
pending between Mr. Jefiferson, then president
of the L'nited States, and Xapoleon, then ruler
of France, for the transfer of the claims of France
to the whole northwest to the United States. On
the i8th of January, 1803, the president trans-
mitted a special message to congress in which he
incorporated a recommendation that an official
expedition be dispatched on the same errand con-
templated in the one that had been abandoned.
An ample appropriation was made, and again
Captain Lewis, then private secretary to the pres-
ident, was chosen to conduct it. He solicited
William Clarke as his associate.
The instructions issued to these gentlemen, by
Mr. Jefferson, while specific as to purpose, were
broad as to geographical extent. In them he
says :
"The object of your mission is to explore the
Alissouri river and such principal streams of it
as, by its course and communication with the
waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Colum-
bia. Oregon, Colorado, or any other river, may
offer the most direct and practicable water com-
munication across the continent for the purposes
of commerce."
They were directed to thoroughly inform them-
selves of the extent and number of the Indian
tribes, their customs and degrees of civilization,
and to report fully upon the topography of the
regions through which they passed, together witli
the character of the soil, natural products, animal
life, mineral resources, climate, and to inquire
particularly into the fur trade and the needs of
commerce. When these instructions were given.
Louisiana had not been ceded to the L'nited
States, and hence Mr. Jefferson continued:
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
"Your mission has been communicated to the
ministers here from France, Spain and Great
Britain, and through them to their governments;
and such assurances given them as to its objects
as we trust will satisfy them. The country of
Louisiana having been ceded by Spain to France,
the passport you have from the minister of
France, the representative of the present sover-
eign of that country, will be a protection with all
its subjects; and that from the minister of Eng-
land will entitle you to the friendly aid of any
traders of that allegiance with whom you may
happen to meet."
A few days before the expedition was ready
to start, the joyful intelligence was received that
France had formally ceded Louisiana to the
United States; hence the passport of the repre-
sentative of the French government at Washing-
ton was not needed.
Captain Lewis left Washington on the 5th day
of July. 1803, and on arriving at Louisville, Ken-
tucky, was joined by Clarke. They selected their
party, went as far as St. Louis, near which they
went into camp, and remained until the final start
was made, on the 14th day of May, 1804. The
party now consisted of Captains Lewis and
Clarke, nine young men from Kentucky, four-
teen soldiers, two French Canadian voyageurs,
an interpreter and hunter, and a negro servant of
Captain Clarke. The party ascended the Mis-
souri river as far as the country of the ^Mandan
Indians, with which tribe they remained all
winter.
Their westward journey was resumed in the
spring of 1805. They followed up the Missouri,
of whose course and tributaries and characteris-
tics they had obtained very accurate information
from the Mandans. Passing the mouth of the
Yellowstone, or Roche Jaune of the French Can-
adian trappers and voyageurs who had already
visited it, they continued up the Missouri, pass-
ing its great falls and cascades, and ascending
through its mighty canon, crossed the Rocky
mountain divide and descended its western side
to the stream now known at different points on
its course as "Deer Lodge," "Hellgate," "Bitter
Root," "Clarke's Fork," and "Pend d'Oreille."
Upon this stream they bestowed the name of
"Clarke's river." From this river the advance
party, under Clarke, crossed the Bitter Root
mountains by the Lolo trail. On these rugged
heights they suffered intensely from cold and
hunger. On the 20th day of September they
came to a village of Nez Perces Indians, situated
on a plain about fifteen miles from the south fork
of Clearwater river, where they were received
with great hospitality.
When they reached the Nez Perces village the
party was nearly famished, and they partook of
such quantities of the food so liberally provided
by their Indian hosts that many of them be-
came too ill to proceed until the second day, and
among that number was Clarke himself. As
soon as they were able to proceed they went to
the village of the chief. Twisted Hair, situated
on an island in the stream. To this river Clarke
gave the name "Koos-koos-kee," doubtless slight-
ly misunderstanding the words used by the Nez
Perces in distinguishing it from the Snake river,
into which it enters — "Koots-koots-hee" — which
those acquainted with the Nez Perces tongue sav
is a descriptive term, and means, "This is the
smaller."
Here the two parties were united, and, after
resting a few days, journeyed on down the Clear-
water. The company was now utterly exhausted.
Many found it difficult to sit upon their horses.
Captain Lewis was very ill. The weather was
hot and oppressive. They felt that they could
proceed no farther in their former manner of trav-
eling, and the commanders resolved to prepare
canoes and prosecute the remainder of their jour-
ney in them. With Twisted Hair as guide, Clarke
proceeded about five miles, where suitable timber
was found, and encamped on the low ground
opposite the forks of the river.
When their canoes were constructed, leaving
their horses and equipage with Twisted Hair,
they embarked on the Clearwater on their jour-
ney toward the Pacific. They were not long in
reaching Snake river, which, in honor of Captain
Lewis, they called "Lewis river." Down that
stream to the Columbia was a quick and rapid
passage. Down the Columbia was not less rapid,
and they reached the cascades of that stream on
the 2ist day of October, flaking the portage
of the cascades they embarked again, jjassed the
mouth of the Willamette without observing it,
and on the 15th day of November reached cai)e
Disappointment and looked out on the gre:u
14
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ocean, which had been the goal of their journey-
ing for more than a year.
They remained near the ocean, wintering in a
log dwelhng which they erected on the south
side of the Columbia, which they called "Fort
Clatsop," in honor of the Indians which inhabited
that region. Hoping that some trading vessel
from which they could replenish their stores
would visit the river, they delayed their departure
homeward until the 23d of March, 1806. Before
leaving they gave the chiefs of the Clatsops, and
also of the Chinooks, who resided on the north
side of the river, certificates of hospitable treat-
ment, and posted a w-riting on the wall of their
cabin in these words:
"The object of this last is, that through the me-
dium of some civilized person who may see the
same, it may be made known to the world that the
party, consisting of the persons whose names are
hereunto annexed, and who were sent out by the
government of the United States of America to
explore the interior of the continent of North
America, did penetrate the same by the way of
the Missouri and Columbia rivers to the dis-
charge of the latter into the Pacific ocean, where
they arrived on the 14th day of November, 1805,
and departed the 23d day of March, 1806, on
their return to the United States by the same
route by which they had come out."
To this paper were appended the names of the
members of the expedition. Several copies of
the paper were left among the Indians, and the
following year one of them w^as handed by an
Indian to Captain Hall, an American trader,
whose vessel, the Lydia, had entered the Colum-
bia river. By him it was taken to China and
thence to the United States. Therefore had the
party perished on their return, evidence of the
completion of their purpose would have been left
behind them.
Their journey out had been so long and its
expense so great that, on taking an invoice of
their possessions on starting on the return jour-
ney, they found that they had available for traffic
with the Indians only six blue robes, one scarlet
robe, one United States artillery hat and coat,
five robes made from the national ensign, and
a few old clothes trimmed with ribbons. Upon
this scant store must they depend for purchasing
provisions and horses, and paying tribute to stuli-
born chieftains through whose dominions they
might pass on their long homeward journey.
On their return they proceeded up the south
side of the Columbia, coming unexpectedly upon
a large river flowing into it from the south. On
an island at its mouth was a large Indian village
called "Multnomah," which name they under-
stood to apply to the river they had discovered,
of the course of which they made careful inquiry.
The result of these inquiries was noted in the
map of the expedition, making the river to flow
from California to the north and west, and the
Indian tribes that actually resided on the w-aters
of Snake river to reside upon its banks. Their
journey up stream was far more tedious with
their canoes than had been their passage down,
owing to the numerous rapids and cascades ; and
at the mouth of what they called Lapage river —
now "John Day" — they abandoned their canoes
and packing their baggage on the back of a few
horses that they had purchased from the Indians,
proceeded up the southern bank of the Columbia
on foot. Crossing the Umatilla river, called by
them the You-ma-lo-law, they arrived at the
mouth of the Walla Walla on the 27th day of
April.
The greatest Indian chief of the Pacific coast,
at that time, if not indeed of all tradition, was
then at the head of the Walla nation. His
name wasYellept. The story of his life and death,
as handed down by the traditions of his people,
is of the most thrilling and romantic character,
but belongs rather to such writings as Cooper's
than to the sober chronicles of historj-. This
powerful chieftain received the company with
most generous hospitality, which charmed the
travelers into some lingering before they ven-
tured farther into the wild gorges of the moun-
tains. The journal of the expedition records the
kindness of these Indians with many appreciative
words, and closes its notice of them by saying:
"We may, indeed, justly affirm that of all the
Indians that we have seen since leaving the
United States the Walla Wallas were the most
hospitable, honest and sincere."
Leaving these hospitable people on the 29th
of April, the party passed eastward on the great
"Xez Perces trail." This trail was the great
highway of the \\'alla ^\'allas, Cayuses and Nez
Forces eastward to the hufTalo ranges, to which
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
they annually resorted for game supplies. It
passed up the valley of the Touchet, called by
Lewis and Clarke the "White Stallion" — thence
over the high prairie ridges, and down the Al-
pona to the crossing of Snake river, then up
the north bank of Clearwater to the village of
Twisted Hair, where the exploring party had left
their horses on their way down the previous
autumn. It was worn deep and broad, and in
many stretches on the open plains and over the
smooth hills twenty horsemen could ride abreast
in the parallel paths worn by the constant rush
of the Indian generations from time imme-
morial. But the plow has long since obliterated
it, and where the monotonous song of the In-
dian's march was droningly chanted for so many
barbaric ages, the song of the reaper thrills the
clear air as he comes to his gamer, bringing in
the sheaves.
For the purposes of this narrative it is not
necessary to trace the explorations of these trav-
elers farther, interesting as they would be, for
they scarcely belong directly to Idaho history.
With the usual adventures of explorers in the
unfrequented regions which they traversed they
followed homeward the path of their outward
advance, and reached St. Louis on the 25th of
September, 1806, having been absent nearly two
years and a half.
Their safe return to the United States sent a
thrill of rejoicing through the country. Mr. Jef-
ferson, the great patron and inspirer of the ex-
pedition, says of it:
"Never did a similar event excite more joy
throughout the United States. The humblest of
its citizens had taken a lively interest in the issue
of this journey, and looked forward with impa-
tience to the information it would furnish. Their
anxieties, too, for the safety of the corps had been
kept in a state of excitement by lugubrious ru-
mors, circulated from time to time on uncertain
authorities, and uncontradicted by letters, or
other direct information, from the time they had
left the Mandan towns on their ascent up the
river in April of the preceding year, 1805, until
their actual return to St. Louis.
Captain Lewis, soon after his return, was ap-
pointed governor of Louisiana, and Captain
Clarke was made general of militia of the same
territory and Indian agent for the vast region
he had so successfully explored. Both had per-
formed inestimable services for their country,
and were well worthy of generous reward. For
themselves they had achieved a lasting fame.
Their names will be remembered as long as the
crystal waters of "Clarke's fork" or deep flow of
"Lewis river" roll to the Pacific sea.
These two early expeditions, that by Macken-
zie in 1792, under the auspices of a company
wholly British, and that of Lewis & Clarke in
1805-6, under the direction of the government
of the United States, are, perhaps, the only ex-
peditions across the American continent entitled
to be classed as exploring. Those that followed
these entered more into the fabric of the history
of the regions by them brought to the knowl-
edge of the civilized world. If any exception to
this is allowed it should refer to the expeditions
of Captain Fremont, to which, as they were un-
der the auspices and at the expense of the United
States government, it seems proper that a brief
reference shall be made. They had for their ob-
ject geographical and topographical informa-
tion.
John C. Fremont was a member of the corps
of topographical engineers of the United States,
appointed from civil life, and hence not enter-
ing that service through the door of West Point.
He was restlessly ambitious, in love with adven-
ture and anxious to distinguish himself. For his
fame he fell on auspicious times. He solicited an
appointment to the command of an expedition
to explore and map out the country west of Mis-
souri as far as the South Pass in the Rocky
mountains. In accordance with his request
Colonel J. J. Abut, chief of the corps of topo-
graphical engineers, ordered the expedition and
gave its command to Captain Fremont. As this
expedition of 1842 had little more to do with
Idaho than to prepare the way for the one of the
following year which was continued in force to
the dalles of the Columbia and by Captain Fre-
mont himself to Fort Vancouver we can dismiss
it with this brief reference.
The second expedition, that of 1843, like that
of the preceding year, was organized at Captain
Fremont's own solicitation. He dictated its ob-
ject, marked out its route and selected its per-
sonnel. Its object was to connect his own sur-
vey of the previous year, which reached as far
IG
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
west as the South Pass, with that of Commander
Wilkes on the coast of the Pacific ocean. He
selected a company of thirty-three men, princi-
pally of Creole and Canadian French, witli a
few Americans, and leaving Kansas landing on
the Missouri river on the 29th of May, reached
the termination of his former reconnoissance in
the South Pass, by the way of the Kansas, Ar-
kansas and upper Platte rivers, passing over the
spot where Denver now is, on the 13th of Au-
gust.
From the South Pass Captain Fremont con-
tinued his course along the well beaten emigrant
road to Green river and then to Bear river, mak-
ing careful annotations of the topography and
geology of the country over which he passed.
His exhaustive description of the locality and
character of Soda or Beer springs has been the
authority of all writers on the topography and
mineralogy of that region from that day to this.
It is worth observing that his astronomical ob-
servations here place Soda springs in latitude 42"
39' S7" ' or less than fifty miles north of what
was then Mexico and consequently the same dis-
tance in Oregon. These are the "Soda springs"
now on the line of the Union Pacific Railroad in
eastern Idaho.
The intention of Captain Fremont being to
explore the Great Salt Lake, which up to this
time had been almost a myth so far as science
was concerned, about five miles west of Soda
springs he turned to the left, while the emigrant
road bore away over the hills to the right, and,
after ten days" travel, mainly down the Bear
river valley, on the afternoon of September 3th
encamped on the shore of a great salt marsh,
which he correctly concluded must be the margin
of the lake. He reached the bed of the lake near
the mouth of the Rear river, but skirted along
it to the south until he reached the mouth of
Weber river, near which the party encamped
and made preparations for an exploration of
some portions of the lake in an inflated india-
ruhbcr lioat. Finally on the morning of Sep-
tember g, the party launched out on the then
calm surface of this ocean-like sea, and about
noon reached the shore of an island where they
remained that and the following day.
The account given by Fremont of Salt Lake
and its surroundings is exceedingly particular and
interesting, but of too great length for these
pages. He remained upon the lake until the
1 2th of September, when he resumed his jour-
ney toward the Columbia, returning along the
line of his previous travel. The course of the
company led northward, through the range of
mountains that divide the great basin of Salt
Lake from the waters that flow to the Pacific
through the Snake and Columbia rivers. From
these mountains they emerged into the valley of
what he calls the Pannack river, otherwise known
as the Raft river, down which they followed until
they emerged on the the plains of Snake river in
view of the "Three Buttes," the most prominent
landmarks of these great plains, and reached
Snake river on the evening of September 22, a
few miles above the American Falls.
From this point the reconnoissance of Captain
Fremont was down the valley of Snake river,
along the course afterward so familiar to the
emigrants, sweeping to the south along the foot
of the Goose Creek mountains, several miles dis-
tant from Snake river, for all the distance in
which it runs through the deeply cut basaltic
gorge, in which are situated its greatest curios-
ities, the Twin falls and the great Shoshone falls,
the existence of both of which was unknown to
white men until ten years later than Captain
Fremont's explorations. He crossed the river to
the north side some miles below "Fishing" or
Salmon falls, thence to the Boise river, striking
that stream near the present site of the city of
Boise, and via old Fort Boise, where he re-
crossed the Snake river to the south, and so
westward through Powder river valley and
Grande Ronde valley to the Columbia river,
which he reached at Walla \\^alla, now Wallala,
on the 25th of October. In this entire distance
many careful and frequent astronomical observa-
tions were taken, latitudes and longitudes were
fixed, and the country very accurately described
topographically.
Fremont continued his journey down the
banks of the Columbia, and on the 4th of No-
vember reached The Dalles. Leaving most of his
party at this point. Captain Fremont himself con-
tinued his journey down the river, and in a few
days reached \'ancouver, where his westward
journey terminated.
Completing the outfit for his proposed winter
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
17
journey toward the states. Captain Fremont re-
turned up the Columbia to The Dalles, arriving at
that place on the afternoon of the i8th of Novem-
ber. From this point he proposed to begin his
return expedition. The route selected would lead
him southward, east of the Cascade range, clear
through the territor}' of the United States, and
then, by a south and eastward wheel, through
the Mexican territory, including a continued sur-
vey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, back
again to the frontiers of Missouri. Those ac-
quainted with the region he expected to travel
need not be told that few explorers ever ven-
tured on a more perilous expedition than was
this at the season of the year in which he under-
took it. The country was unknown, except that
it was a vast region of bleak and open deserts, of
vast and rocky ranges of mountains; that its in-
habitants were among the lowest and most sav-
age of human beings, and that there was in it
little that could be used for the support of life.
It was a bold, brave venture these men made. It
was on the 25th day of November before they
were ready to set out from The Dalles, and it is
scarcely necessary to enter into details concern-
ing their return journey, of which full record has
been made in various compilations.
The publication of the journal of these expedi-
tions of Captain Fremont, in 1845, awakened a
much deeper interest in the Oregon country than
ever before existed, and his descriptions of the
route from the Missouri river to Fort Vancouver,
in the very heart of Oregon, was of great value
to the great emigrations that crossed the plains
from 1843 onward. His descriptions were re-
markably accurate, and his maps of the routes
traveled most scientifically correct, and these con-
siderations entitle his explorations to this brief
reference in a history of Idaho.
CHAPTER IV.
RIVAL CLAIMS AND PRETENSIONS.
THE claims of the European nations to
ownership of the lands and resources of
America rested on a somewhat flimsy
basis in right. Its morality was that of might.
There was a quasi yielding to these claims as
against each other on grounds of discovery and
formal occupancy. At the same time not one of
these powers stopped for a moment to consider
what rights of these people that were found there
when they came would be violated by their as-
sumptions. Barbaric nations never had any
rights that nations calling themselves civilized
have felt bound to respect. England, France,
and Spain were, as relates to what were termed
barbaric nations, the freebooters of the world.
America was a field for civilized rapine worthy of
the struggle of these racial giants. Under some
forms of treaty, designed mostly by either party
to limit the pretensions of the other, but as far
as possible leaving itself free to enlarge its own
claims as it might have power to enforce them,
these powers moved forward first in the agreed
division of the area of North America among
themselves, and then in using the allotted areas
as the small change that settled the balances of
peace and war in continental Europe. Plenipo-
tentiaries sat in European capitals, five thousand
miles away from the regions most interested, and
arbitrated American destinies. In this wav
America became the real, though passive, ar-
biter of the world's new era. It was what Provi-
dence had thrown into the balances of history to
poise ultimately its beam for the equities and
liberties of humanity. Let us see how the ques-
tion stood two hundred years after the Spanish
navigator had lifted the veil of the sea from the
fair face of this new land.
When the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697. gave
some definition to the claims of France and Spain
and Russia in the Xew World, Spain claimed as
her share of North .\merica all the Pacific coast
from Panama to Nootka sound, or \'ancouver
island. Her pretensions covered the coasts, bays,
islands, fisheries, and extended inland indefinite-
ly. Part of this claim was alleged on the ground
of discovery by the heroic De Soto and others;
and all of them were based on discovery under
the papal bull of Alexander \T., in 1493. This
bull or decree gave to the discoverer all newly
discovered lands and waters. In 1530 Balboa,
the Spaniard, discovered the Pacific ocean as he
came over the isthmus of Panama, and so. in har-
mony with the pretentious decree of Alexander
\T.. Spain assumed rights of proprietorship over
it. France held advantageous positions in Ameri-
ca for the mastery of the continent; but as they
were outside of the limits of what was afterward
known as "Oregon" they need not be discussed.
Russia at this time held no possessions in North
America. But Peter the Great was her emperor,
and his plans were already matured for entering
the list of contestants for empire in the New
World. Before his plans could be fully consum-
mated Peter the Great had died, and his widow.
Catherine, was on the throne of Muscovy. With
an enterprise not less aggressive than his, she
pushed forward his plans of commercial and ter-
ritorial aggrandizement until northern Asia as
w-ell as northern Europe had been made com-
mercially tributary to the designs of Russia. It
was but a step from the Asiatic shores of the
northern Pacific to those of the American main-
land of Alaska, and Russia was in a position
to take that one step. The fur trade furnished
the occasion. Prominent, if not indeed chief.
among the agents of Russian aggression in this
direction was Behring the Dane, who made three
voyages through the straits that now bear his
name, and on the third gave up his life on a
desolate little granite island that still monuments
his memory. But he, and those associated with
him. had given, by visitation and trade, a color
of title to Russia to this northwestern America.
At this time England made absolutely no pre-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
19
tense to territorial or even commercial rights on
the Pacific coast, and none on the American con-
tinent anywhere except on the Atlantic slope
from Charleston to Penobscot northward, and
inland to the watershed of the Alleghanies.
Thus stood the pretended foreign ownership
of the New World at the conclusion of the treaty
of Ryswick in 1697. The intelligent reader can-
not but have observed how shadowy were these
pretensions, and how vague in territorial limits,
but they were the basis of claims that afterward
became more tangible and real, and in their ulti-
mate settlement cost long continued struggles
of the ablest diplomats of the world, and were
no mean elements in setting nations in array of
arms against each other.
Though it would be deeply interesting to trace
the movements of the struggling forces that
sought for mastery on this "Armageddon" of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, our
limits preclude much more than the merest out-
line, and this confined to what relates to the
Oregon country, of which Idaho was an in-
tegral part. In doing this we must refer
once more to the edict of Pope Alexander
VI., who, on the 4th of May, 1493, i"''-
mediately after the return of Columbus from
his voyage of discovery, published a bull in
which he drew an imaginary line from the north
pole to the south, a hundred leagues west of the
Azores, assigning to the Spanish all that lay west
of that boundary, and confirming to Portugal all
that lay east of it.
While the act of Alexander VI. had little au-
thority, it did have a great influence on those to
whom it was made, and Spain and Portugal, in
the glory of discovery and in the pompous "gift"
of the Pope, ruled the splendid hour. Such was
the superstitious awe with which the pretensions
of the Pope were then regarded in Europe that
this edict did very much to control the actions
of all the powers of that continent in regard to
the New World. Of course very little was known
of the geography of America at this time, and
there could really have been no prescience of the
great part it was to play in the future history
of the world. Something, therefore, of the in-
difTerence with which these pretences were
viewed must be set down to this fact.
Through the maze of boundary lines, fixed on
imaginary maps by the negotiations of contend-
ing parties, rather than run by the compass on
the solid earth, and which involved to a greater
or less extent the ultimate title to the Oregon
country, we shall not attempt to lead our read-
ers. It is sufficient to say that France and
England began to crowd Spain southwardly
and westwardly on the eastern slope of the con-
tinent.
France had established some mythical right to
"the western part of Louisiana," which she se-
cretly conveyed to Spain in 1762. Thirty-eight
years thereafter Spain reconveyed the same to
France. In 1803 France sold the same territory
to the United States, and practically disappeared
from the list of contestants for the possession of
the empire on the western continent. Spain,
however, still held Florida, but when in 1819 the
United States purchased that, she also disap-
peared from the same list, the rights and claims
of both having passed into the hands of the
United States.
It is important that we now restate the fact
that the old Spanish claim, which had been ac-
corded some international authority, extended on
the Pacific coast from Panama to Prince William
sound, and this entirely covered the Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia of to-
day up to 54' 40". Presumptuous as it was, this
claim became one of the most determining ele-
ments in the final settlement of what is historical-
ly known as the "Oregon question."
The claims of France to American territory
were hardly less ambitious and retentions than
those of Spain. They covered more than the size
of all Europe. The treaty of Ryswick conceded
these claims. But the peace of Ryswick was
brief. War soon followed, and the titles to em-
pire were written again by the point of the
sword.
Though the parties to the struggle for the
possession of the country of the Pacific north-
west had changed, yet the struggle w-ent on.
Little of it was in the territory in question. It
was in the plots and counterplots of European
capitals, in Paris and London and St. Petersburg.
It was about the tables of diplomats. Within six-
teen years of Ryswick came LTtrecht, when the
issues of war between France and England,
waged chiefly in North America, brought Anne
20
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of England and Louis XI\'. of France face to
face in the person of their embassadors. The
aged and humbled Louis XR'. gave up to Great
Britain the possessions of France on the Atlantic
slope, and thus yielded the morale of position to
the Saxon. Thus Great Britain became rein-
stated in place of France over the Hudson's Bay
basin, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. But
France still held the Canadas, though they were
sandwiched between the northern and southern
possessions of Great Britain. The grain between
the upper and nether millstones could remain
unbroken when the stones were whirring as eas-
ily as these French provinces could remain in
peace in such a position. In the struggles that
followed the execution of the treaty of Utrecht,
in the old world and in the new, more and more
the tide of battle turned against France, in favor
of England. At last the culmination of events
came. In Montcalm and Wolfe the hopes, and
even a large measure the destinies of France and
England, were impersonated. When they looked
into each other's faces at Quebec, standing at
the head of their armies on that great September
morn in 1759, each felt that was the morn of
duty, — the morn of destiny for themselves and
for their country. The issue of that day on the
plains of Abraham gave each general to immor-
tal fame, but it gave to England all the terri-
torial treasures of France east of the Mississippi,
except three small islands ofif the coast of New-
foundland. Had France not already, by secret
treaty with Spain, executed about one hundred
days before the great transfer to Great Britain,
alienated her Pacific coast possessions, Great
Britain would have taken all, and this would so
have changed the relations of things that the
atlas of the world would have had an entirely dif-
ferent lining. Either the whole must have gone
without controversy to the L^nited States of
America at the close of the Revolution, or the
title of Great Britain would have been conceded
and unquestionable to all the territory between
California and the Russian possessions. In either
event the story of the history of this coast would
have been quite another book.
With the transfer of all the claims of France
and Spain to the territory on the Pacific coast
to the United States, which was concluded in
1803, it w^ould seem that there w^as no rightful
contestant with the United States for any portion
of that territory ; certainly not as far north as the
49th degree of latitude. None had appeared in
the negotiations through which this transfer was
made. The state of the case seems to have been
this: In the treaty of Utrecht in 171 3, between
the English and the French, the boundary be-
tween Louisiana and the British territory north
of it was fixed by commissioners, appointed un-
der it to run from the lake of the Woods west-
ward on latitude forty-nine indefinitely. When
France conveyed the territory of Louisiana,
w-hose line had been thus fixed, to Spain in 1762,
she also conveyed up to and along this same
line westward, indefinitely, on to the Pacific
coast. If she did not convey to the coast, it was
because Spain already had a more ancient claim
along the coast. When Spain, in 1800, recon-
veyed the same to France, it was, in the language
of the third article of the treaty: "The colony or
provinces of Louisiana, with the same extent
which it now has in the hands of Spain and
which it had when France possessed it." As
Spain had not alienated any of the territory she
had received from France, of course she retro-
ceded to that power all that she had received
from her. When, therefore, the L^nited States
made the purchase of Louisiana she purchased
clear through to the Pacific on the line of the
49th parallel if that was a part of the original
cession of France to Spain, or, if not, as Spain
had never ceded it to another power, then to the
Spanish possessions on the Pacific. It was then
either American territory, made such by the pur-
chase of Louisiana in 1803, or it was still Span-
ish territory. From 1800 to 1819 Spain made
no changes of ownership, sovereignty or juris-
diction touching Oregon. In the "Florida
Treaty" of 1819 Spain ceded to the United States
all her possessions north of a line beginning at
the mouth of the Sabine in the Gulf of Mexico
and running variously north and west until it
reached the Pacific latitude forty-two, or the
southern boundary of Oregon. The third article
of the treaty said: "His Catholic Majesty cedes
to the United States all his rights, claims and
pretensions to any territory east and north of
said line, and for himself, his heirs and successors
renounces all claims to the said territory for-
ever." Therefore, by the purchase of 1803 from
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
21
France and by the purchase of 1819 from Spain,
the United States gained all pretended titles to
sovereignty on the Pacific coast between the
forty-second and the forty-ninth parallels of north
latitude, the exact Pacific limits of the earlier
Oregon. England at this time advanced no
claim to sovereignty. As late as 1826 and 1827
her plenipotentiaries formally said: "Great Brit-
ain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any por-
tion of that territory. The present claim, not in
respect to any part but to the whole, is limited
to a right of joint occupancy in common with
the other states, having the right of exclusive do-
minion in abeyance." This, with the history al-
ready recounted, leaves the title of the United
States to the Oregon country beyond any ques-
tion of power. And with this statement our
reader will be willing to follow us through the
story of diplomatic negotiations between the
United States and Great Britain in regard to the
"Oregon Question" as well as the actions of the
national legislature through the quarter of the
century during which Great Britain succeeded in
some way in so beclouding the title of the
United States to the territory in question and in
bewildering our diplomats as to well nigh secure
this vast Pacific empire to the crown. We shall
make this story as brief as we reasonably can,
and be faithful to the facts of history concerning
it. The diplomacy was tedious and intricate, and
the action, tentative or completed, of the Ameri-
can congress, often doubtful and inconsequent;
yet a careful resume of both is a need of Idaho
history.
At the precise moment the United States was
negotiating the treaty with France, in Paris, for
the acquisition of Louisiana, her commissioners
were also negotiating one in London for the
definition of the boundary line between the pos-
sessions of the two countries in the northwest.
The negotiators of the two treaties were ignorant
of the action of the others. When the two
treaties were remitted to the senate of the United
States for ratification, that for the purchase of
Louisiana from France was ratified without re-
striction. That defining the northwest boundary
was ratified with the exception of the fifth article,
which fixed the boundary between the lake of
the Woods to the head of the Mississippi. The
treaty was sent back to London, the article ex-
punged, and then the British government refused
to ratify it.
In the year 1807 another effort was made at
negotiation between the two countries. A treaty
was agreed upon by the commissioners, fixing
the line of the forty-ninth parallel as the bound-
ary between the territory of the two countries as
far as their possessions might extend, but with a
proviso making this provision inapplicable west
of the Rocky mountains. This treaty was never
ratified, Air. Jefferson rejecting it without refer-
ence to the senate.
In the treaty signed at Ghent, in 1814, the
British plenipotentiaries ofTered thfe same articles
in relation to the boundaries in question as were
offered in 1803 and 1807, but nothing could be
agreed upon ; and hence no provision on the sub-
ject was inserted in that treaty.
In 1818 negotiations upon this subject were
renewed in London. The plenipotentiaries of
Great Britain, Mr. Goulborne and Mr. Robinson,
for the first time in all the negotiations, gave
the grounds of the pretensions of Great Britain
to the country in controversy. They asserted
"That former voyages, and principally that of
Captain Cook, gave to Great Britain the rights
derived from discovery;" and they alluded to
purchases from the natives south of the Colum-
bia, which they alleged to have been made prior
to the American Revolution. They made no for-
mal proposition for a boundary, but intimated
that the Columbia river itself was the most con-
venient that could be adopted, and declared that
they would not agree upon any boundary that
did not give England the harbor at the mouth
of that river in common with the United States.
Messrs. Gallatin and Rush, the American pleni-
potentiaries, made a moderate, if not a timid,
reply to the intimations of Great Britain. The
final conclusions reached on this subject were
announced in these words: "That any country
claimed by either on the northwest coast of
America, together with its harbors, bays, and
creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within
the same, be free and open, for the term of ten
years, to the subjects, citizens and vessels of the
two powers, without prejudice to any claim
which either party might have to any part of the
country." This was the celebrated "Joint Occu-
pancy" treaty.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
It must be confessed that the adoption of this
article of "joint occupancy" gave Great Britain
a decided advantage in the Oregon controversy.
First, it conceded that she had some sort of a
claim to the country, a claim that stood for no
less, even if it stood for no more, than that of
the United States. Secondly, she was on the
ground in much greater force in her Hudson's
Bay Company and her Northwest Company,
united into one of the strongest commercial cor-
porations in the world, and having all the ele-
ments in itself of political propagandism. \\'\Kh
her advantages in trade, her strong semi-political
occupation of the country by the Hudson's Bay
Company, Messrs. Gallatin and Rush should
have known that she would be able to drive all
American enterprises from the country before
the ten years were gone. Great Britain knew
this; intended to do so, and did it. One of the
wonders of the historian is that such a treaty
could ever have been approved by an American
president, or ratified by the senate of the United
States.
The session of the congress of the United
States for 1820-21 was made remarkable, espe-
cially in the light of subsequent events, as the
first at which any proposition was made for the
occupation and settlement of the country ac-
quired from France and Spain on the Columbia
river. It was made by John Floyd, a representa-
tive from \'irginia, an ardent and very able man,
and strongly imbued with western feelings. His
attention was specially called to the subject by
some essays of Thomas H. Benton, just then ap-
pearing in the field of national politics, as sena-
tor-elect from Missouri, and he resolved to bring
the matter to the attention of congress. He
moved for the appointment of a committee of
three to consider and report on the subject. The
committee was granted, more out of courtesy to
an influential member of the house than with anv
expectation of favorable results. General Flovd
was made chairman, with Thomas ^letcalf. of
Kentucky, and Thomas V. Swearingen, of \'ir-
ginia, associated with him. In six days a bill
was reported, "To authorize the occupation of
the Columbia river, and to regulate trade and in-
tercourse with the Indian tribes thereon." They
accompanied the bill with an elaborate and able
re])ort in support of the measure. The bill was
treated with parliamentary courtesy, read twice,
but no decisive action was taken. But the sub-
ject was before congress and the nation, and that
was much gained.
In studying the reasons assigned at that time,
by the committee, and by such men as Benton
and Linn, why the proposed action should be
taken, one is impressed with the clear foresight
of their prophetic minds .as to the future history
of this great northwest. To the great part of
their contemporaries their views were wild va-
garies and their propositions extravagant and
chimerical: to us they are a fulfilling and ful-
filled history.
The Oregon question slumbered in congress j
until 1825, when Senator Benton introduced a '
bill into the senate to enable the president, Mr.
Monroe, to possess and retain the country. The
bill proposed an appropriation to enable the
president to act efficiently, with army and navy. j
In the discussion of this bill the whole question
of title to Oregon came up, and, in reply to Mr.
Dickinson, of New York, who opposed the bill,
Mr. Benton made a speech which entirely met
all objections against the proposed action, and
thoroughly answered all the pretensions of Great
Britain in relation to the countr\-. The bill did
not pass, but fourteen senators voted for it. The
action of Senator Benton on the bill showed
very clearly that the sentiment in favor of as-
serting the rights of the United States to Oregon
was rapidly increasing. The ten years of joint
occupancy, provided for in the treaty of 1818,
were drawing toward a close, and a strong and
intelligent part of our national legislators, under
the lead of Senator Benton, was opposed to re-
newing that provision. The reasons on which
these views were based were never invalidated,
but were the final grounds on which the United
States won her case and secured Oregon. They
were these:
The title to Oregon on the part of the United
States rests on an irrefragable basis. First: The
discovery of the Columbia river by Captain Gray
in 1792. Second: The purchase of its territory
of Louisiana, which included Oregon, from
France in 1803. Third: The discover}- of the
Columbia river from its head to its mouth by
Lewis and Clarke in 1806. Fourth: The settle-
ment of Astoria in 181 1. Fifth: The trcatv with
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
33
Spain in 1819. Sixth: Contiguity of settlement
and possession.
The next step in the negotiations between
Great Britain and the United States was the
proposition, in 1828, at the end of the ten years
of joint occupancy, to renew the terms of the
convention for an indefinite period, determinable
on one year's notice from either party to the
other. Mr. Gallatin was the sole negotiator of
this renewed treaty on the part of the United
States, and his work was sustained by the ad-
ministration then in power, — that of John Ouincy
Adams. The treaty met strong opposition in the
senate, led by that steadfast and intelligent friend
of Oregon, Thomas H. Benton, but it was rati-
fied : and thus England was indefinitely continued
in her position of advantage over the United
States in the territory in question.
From 1828 to 1842, "joint occupation" was the
law of the land so far as the United States was
concerned, while"British occupation" was the fact
so far as Oregon was concerned. Every attempt
of the citizens of the United States to establish
commercial enterprises in the valley of the Co-
lumbia had been frustrated and defeated by the
Hudson's Bay Company, the potent representa-
tives of British interests on the Pacific coast.
Astor's great plans, conceived in a broad intel-
ligence prosecuted at enormous expense, and
representing American interests in Oregon, had
failed. Wyeth had sunk a fortune between the
Rocky mountains and the Pacific, and all other
Americans who had adventured kindred enter-
prises had been equally unfortunate, ana after a
quarter of a century of "joint occupancy" Eng-
land had almost exclusive possession of Oregon.
What is known as the "Ashburton-Webster
Treaty" was negotiated at Washington, in 1842,
said Ashburton bemg the sole negotiator on the
part of England, and Mr. Webster, then secretary
of state under President Tyler, on the part of
the United States. Said Ashburton was Mr.
Alexander Baring, head of the great banking
house of Baring & Brothers, and was a very
astute and able man, and a finished diplomat.
His mission was special, and though Mr. Fox
was then the resident British minister at Wash-
ington, so thoroughly did the government trust
Lord Ashburton that even Mr. Fox was not
joined in the mission. Neither did the president
associate any one with Mr. Webster. The Eng-
lish plenipotentiary came, professedly, to settle
all questions between the United States and
England, a chief one of which was the "Oregon
Question." The United States wished it settled.
England wished it adjourned; and the wishes of
England prevailed. What conferences, if any,
were held between Mr. Webster and Lord Ash-
burton about anything further than the adjourn-
ment of this question, does not appear in any
record, and about the only reference to it made of
record is the statement of the president that there
were some "informal conferences" in relation to
it, and in his message communicating the treaty
to the senate, that "there is no probability of com-
ing to any agreement at present."
The treaty was ratified by the senate on the
26th day of August, 1842. After its ratification
by the queen of England, and its proclamation
as the supreme law of the land on the loth day
of November, England was more firmly in-
trenched, so far as law was concerned, in her
claims and pretensions to Oregon than ever be-
fore. But while plenipotentiaries temporized and
compromised, and executives and senates moved
at a laggard pace on such great questions, events
hastened. The people took up the question and
went before the government. What they deter-
mined, the government must soon affirm. So
fully did the question which the late treaty had
postponed occupy the public mind, even during
the pendency of the negotiation of that treaty,
that, had the ear of Mr. Webster been nearer the
heart of the people, he would surely have under-
stood that adjournment of the question by him-
self and Lord Ashburton meant anything rather
than a suppression, or even a postponement, of it
from public debate. The newspapers took it up,
and it was thus brought to the boys and girls,
fathers and mothers on the hearthstones of the
million homes of the country. The sentiments
of the leaders of political action in our national
legislature, as those sentiments appeared in the
debates of the senate on the question of the rati-
fication of the Webster-Ashburton treaty, were
criticised, approved or condemned by the people
in all the land. One sentiment was for the ratifi-
cation, with postponement of the Oregon ques-
tion and its easy forbearance with the crafty and
insidious policy of England; the other was for
24
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the rejection of the treaty, a withdrawal of the
United States from joint occupancy, and an act
of colonization which would assume the full sov-
ereignty of the United States over the territory
in question by granting lands to emigrants, and
otherwise encouraging their settlement in Ore-
gon. Representing the first class, and speaking
for it. as well as for Mr. Webster, the negotiator
of the treaty, was Mr. Rufus Qioate, senator
from Massachusetts, who spoke in his place in
the senate as follows: "Oregon, which a grow-
ing and noiseless current of agricultural immigra-
tion was filling with hands and hearts the fittest
to defend it — the noiseless, innumerous move-
ment of our nation westward. * * We have
spread to the Aueghanies, we have topped them,
we have diffused ourselves over the imperial val-
ley beyond; we have crossed the father of rivers;
the granite and ponderous gates of the Rocky
mountains have opened, and we stand in sight
of the great sea. * * Go on with your negotia-
tions and emigration. Are not the rifles and the
wheat growing together, side by side? Will it
not be easy, when the inevitable hour comes, to
beat back ploughshares and pruning hooks into
their original forms of instruments of death?
Alas, that that trade is so easy to learn and so
hard to forget!"
This was beautifully said, and it had a certain
amiability about it that commended it to the fa-
vorable thought of many. Still it was far from
representing the views of those who, from the
beginning of the diplomatic struggle with Great
Britain, had been the steadfast and radical ad
vocates of the right of the United States to the
possession of Oregon. Their views were better
expressed by Senator Benton, who on the "Ore-
gon Colonization Act" closed a speech of great
vigor and power by saying:
"Time is invoked as the agent that is to help
us. Gentlemen object to the present time, refer
us to future time, and beg us to wait, and rely
upon time and negotiations to accomplish all our
wishes. Alas! Time and negotiations have been
fatal agents against us in all our discussions with
Great Britain. Time has been constantlv work-
ing for her and against us. She now has the ex-
clusive possession of the Columbia, and all she
wants is time to ripen her possession into a title.
For above twenty years * * the present time
for vindicating our rights on the Columbia has
been constantly objected to, and we were bidden
to wait. Well, we have waited, and what have
we got by it? Insult and defiance! — a declaration
from this British ministry that large British in-
terests have grown up on the Columbia during
this time, which they will protect, and a flat re-
fusal from the olive-branch minister (Lord Ash-
burton) to include this question among those
which his peaceful mission was to settle! No, sir;
time and negotiations have been bad agents for
us in our controversies with Great Britain. They
have just lost us the military frontiers of Maine,
which we had held for sixty years, and the trad-
ing frontier of the northwest, which we had held
for the same time. Sixty years' possession and
eight treaties secured these ancient and valuable
boundaries; one negotiation and a few days of
time have taken them from us! And so it may
be again. The Webster treaty of 1842 has ob-
literated the great boundaries of 1783, — placed
the British, their fur company and their Indians
within our ancient limits: and I, for one, want
no more treaties from the hand which is always
seen on the side of the British. I now go for
vindicating our rights on the Columbia, and, as
the first step toward it, passing this bill, and mak-
ing these grants of land, which will soon place
the thirty or forty thousand rifles beyond the
Rocky mountains, which will be our efifective
negotiators."
The bill of Mr. Benton passed the senate by a
vote of twenty-four to twenty-two. It went to
the house, where it remained unacted upon dur-
ing the session. But its moral efifect was to as-
sure the enterprising people of the west that the
period of national procrastination and timidity
was well-nigh over, and that it would be but a
very short time before such decisive action would
be taken as would compel a settlement of the con-
troversy with England.
CHAPTER V.
RIVAL CLAIMS AND PRETENSIONS, CONTINUED.
POLLOWING immediately in the train of
the events just related, came the presiden-
tial election of 1844. The Oregon ques-
tion was too available a question for the uses of a
political campaign to be kept out of the prelim-
inary canvass. "America for Americans," "The
Monroe Doctrine," '•Fifty-four Forty or Fight,"
became the catch-words, if not the watchwords,
of the hour. The politicians of one party took
their cue from the obvious tendencv of this popu-
lar cry. The annexation of Texas and the imme-
diate occupation of Oregon were very skillfully
united together in the platform of tne convention
that nominated James K. Polk for president. On
the Oregon question it declared that our title to
the whole of Oregon up to 54° 40' north lati-
tude was "clear and indisputable," thus denying
and defying the pretensions of Great Britain to
any territory bordering on the Pacific. The nom-
inee of the Democratic party for president, Mr.
James K. Polk, indorsed the platform, and the
canvass for him proceeded on that issue. Mr.
Polk was elected over Henry Clay, who, although
the idol of his party and one of the most popular
of American statesmen, could not overcome the
excited state of the public mind on these ques-
tions. Thus the verdict of the people of the
United States at the election was unquestionably
in favor of Oregon, even up to 54° 40' north
latitude. It was well known, however, that the
leading statesmen of the Democratic party be-
lieved the forty-ninth degree to he the line of
our rightful claim. Mr. Benton had already dem-
onstrated it on the floor of the senate. Mr. Cal-
houn, as Democratic secretary of state for Mr.
Tyler, at the very moment when the Democratic
convention was making its platform and nomi-
nating Mr. Polk upon it, was engaged in a nego-
tiation with the British minister in Washington,
and ofifering to him a settlement of the entire
question on the line of the forty-ninth parallel.
Onlv some item in regard to the right of Great
Britain to navigate the Columbia river prevented
the acceptance of this proposition by the British
minister, and the settlement of the whole ques-
tion at that time.
While, doubtless, Mr. Calhoun himself would
have been glad to have concluded the Oregon
question as secretary of state, and as he evi-
dentlv might have done, politically he did not
dare to do so. The annexation of Texas was a
southern question, and the south could be carried
for ]\Ir. Polk on that issue. Oregon was a north-
ern question, and the north could be carried in
the same way by keeping up the cry of "Fifty-
four Forty or Fight." To settle on 49° would be
to yield the question, and with it the election to
the Whigs, and make Mr. Clay president. So
the Oregon question was not settled, as it might
have been before the election of 1844, and exact-
ly the same line as was adopted two years later,
after it had achieved the political results for
which it was kept in the air during the political
canvass of 1844, namely, electing Mr. Polk presi-
dent, and finally defeating the aspirations of Mr.
Clay for that eminent position.
\\'ith this result achieved, and on this ground,
this question could not slumber. -Mr. Polk
brought it promptly forward in his inaugural ad-
dress, reaffirming the position of the platform on
which he was elected. The position of the in-
augural threw the public mind of Great Britain
into a ferment, and the English nation thun-
dered back the cry of war. For a year the two
nations stood face to face like gladiators, with
uplifted swords waiting for a word that would
send them breast to breast in the fierce grapple
of war. History must record that the United
States must retreat, in her diplomacy and in her
legislation, from the oolitical decision of her
people, or the inevitable war must come. It was
an embarrassing and mortifying position for the
new government, but it had to be endured and
met as best it could be.
2G
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
James Buchanan was now secretary of state.
He waited for some time for a proposition from
the British minister at Washington to renew^ the
negotiations on the Oregon question, but none
came. On the 22d of July, 1845. lie therefore
addressed a note to Mr. Packenham, the British
minister at Washington, resuming negotiations
where Mr. Calhoun had suspended them, and
again proposed the line of forty-nine to the ocean.
This the British minister refused, but invited
a "fairer" proposition. The knowledge of this
proposition on the part of the secretary of state
raised a political storm in his party before which
the administration cowered, and, as IMr. Packen-
ham had not accepted it, it was withdrawn. The
president recommended strong measures to as-
sert and secure our title, and the political storm
was measurably appeased. Meantime, the with-
drawal of the proposition of Mr. Buchanan, cou-
pled with the recommendation of the president,
somewhat alarmed the British people, and it be-
gan to be rumored that England would propose
the line she had before rejected. The position
of the dominant party absolutely required that
it should make a demonstration according to its
iterated and reiterated promises to the people.
Accordingly, a resolution determining the treaty
of joint occupancy, and looking to the m.ainte-
nance of that position, was introduced into the
house of representatives, most ably debated—
John Quincy Adams taking strong grounds in its
favor— and, on the 9th of February, 1846,
adopted, by the decisive vote of 163 to 54.
The resolution thus passed in the house went
to the senate. Here, in the form in which it
passed the house, it encountered violent opposi-
tion, a strong contingent of the Democratic party
taking position against it. Among these, if not
their leader, was Senator Benton. General Cass,
E. A. Hannigan and William Allen led the de-
bate in its favor. Besides, Benton, Webster,
Crittenden and Berrien made exhaustive argu-
ments against it. It was well understood in the
senate that President Polk thought it necessary
to recede from the position of his party — the posi-
tion on which he had fought the campaign in
which he was elected to the presidency — and ac-
cept the line of 49° without a "fight." So the
resolution of the house was defeated in the sen-
ate. But the senate adopted another resolution.
authorizing tlie president "at his discretion" to
give notice to Great Britain for the termination
of the treaty. The senate resolution was con-
ciliatory, its preamble declaring that it was only
to secure "a speedy and amiable adjustment of
the differences and disputes in regard to said ter-
ritory."
When this resolution went to the house that
body receded from its former position, and, with
even a greater unanimity than had characterized
their action on that which the senate had rejected,
adopted it; only forty-six, and they almost en-
tirely northern Democrats, voting against it.
With this action the danger of the war with
Great Britain was dispelled. It was immediately
followed by a treaty between Mr. Buchanan, sec-
retary of state, under the direction of the presi-
dent and British minister at Washington, adopt-
ing the forty-ninth parallel as the boundary be-
tween the two countries, with certain concessions
touching the line westward of where that parallel
strikes the gulf of Georgia, and. for a definite
period, the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company
and the navigation of the Columbia river by the
British. Thus closed a controversy with Great
Britain that came very near involving the two
nations in a conflict of arms. In a war England
could have possessed, and, it may not be too
much to suppose, would have possessed Oregon,
but, perhaps at the cost of the Canadas. Had
the settlement been postponed a few years longer,
it is not improbable that American emigrants
would have so filled the country even up to 54°
40' and all the country would have been one. In
the discussion both sides were partly right and
partly wrong, as history clearly demonstrates.
The "30.000 rifles" theory of Senator Benton, in
the hands of emigrants, was correct. The "time
and patience" theory of Mr. Webster and Mr.
Calhoun was also correct. These acting together
solved the "Oregon question," and on the whole,
as matters stood in 1846, solved it honoralily antl
justly to both the high contracting parties.
Although the Oregon treaty was made, and
had been proclaimed as the law of the land, one
thing remained to be done which became a mat-
ter of infinite disagreement, and came very near
involving the two countries in war before its
final conclusion. The line was agreed upon, but
it was not run. The trouble arose from a long-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
27
continued permission, on the part of Great Brit-
ain, of the application of the description of the
line from where the forty-ninth parallel of lati-
tude strikes the gulf of Georgia. Thence, as it
was worded in the treaty, it was to follow "the
middle of the channel which separates the con-
tinent from Vancouver's island," and follow it
through the straits of Fuca to the ocean. No
map or chart was attached to the treaty on which
the line could be traced; so little was really
known of the geography of the gulf of Georgia
that it would have been difficult for the commis-
sioners to have traced the middle of the channel
had one been present. This left open a ground
for dispute and diplomatic finesse, which contin-
ued to drag the controversy along through many
years, the matter being finally submitted for final
arbitration, without appeal, to Emperor William
of Germany, on the 8th of May, 1871.
For twenty-five years, under the finesse of
British diplomacy, the treaty of June 15, 1846,
had waited for its execution. Its interpretation
was the last question of territorial right between
Great Britain and the United States. For over
ninety-two years, the two great English-speaking
nations of the world had been trying to decide
upon a line that should decide between them
from sea to sea, and at Berlin, and by the Em-
peror William, the last and definite word was
spoken, and the controversy was ended, July 21,
1872.
CHAPTER VI.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
RICHARD Z. JOHNSON.
PERHAPS there is no part of this history
of more general interest than the record of
the bar. It is well known that the peace,
prosperity and well-being of every community de-
pend upon the wise interpretation of the laws, as
well as upon their judicious framing, and there-
fore the records of the various persons who have
at various times made up the bar will form an
important part of this work. A well known
jurist of Illinois said, "In the American state the
great and good lawyer must always be prom-
inent, for he is one of the forces that move and
control society. Public confidence has generally
been reposed in the legal profession. It has ever
been the defender of popular rights, the cham-
pion of freedom regulated by law-, the firm sup-
port of good government. In the times of dan-
ger it has stood like a rock and breasted the mad
passions of the hour and finally resisted tumult
and faction. No political preferment, no mere
place, can add to the power or increase the honor
which belongs to the pure and educated lawyer.
Richard Z. Johnson, of Boise, is one who has
been honored by and is an honor to the legal
fraternity of Idaho. He stands to-day prominent
among the leading members of the bar of the
state, — a position which he has attained through
marked ability.
A native of Akron, Ohio, he was born
May 21, 1837, and is descended from an-'
cestors who were early settlers of New Eng-
land. On both the paternal ana maternal
sides representatives of tlie families were found
among the "minute men" who fought un-
der Generals Putnam and Stark in the war of
the Revolution. Harvey H. Johnson, the father
of our subject, was born in Rutland, \'ermont,
where his people had resided for many years.
He studied law, became a prominent attorney
and subsequently removed to Akron, Ohio, at
once taking an active part in the affairs of that
city. He served as its first postmaster, was for
a number of years its mayor, and represented the
old fourteenth district of Ohio in the national
congress. He married Miss Calista F. Munger,
also a native of Rutland, Vermont, and to them
were born six children. The father departed this
life in 1896, at the advanced age of eighty-eight
years, and the mother died at the age of fifty-five.
'Ihey were Congregationalists in their religious
faith and were very highly esteemed people.
Richard Z. Johnson is the eldest of the family.
He was educated in the schools of Ohio and New-
York, and pursued his professional course in the
law department of Yale College, where he was
graduated in the class of 1859. I" St. Paul, Min-
nesota, he was admitted to the bar and began
practice in Winona, that state, where he remained
for five years, during which time he served for
two terms as city attorney. Subsequently he re-
moved to \'irginia City, Nevada, and thence to
Silver City, Owyhee county, Idaho, where he
practiced for fourteen years with excellent suc-
cess. In December, 1878, he came to Boise,
where he has since made his home. His law
practice is large and remunerative, and has con-
nected him with the most important litigation
heard in the courts of his district through the
past two decades. He has won for himself very
favorable criticism for the careful and systematic
methods which he has followed. He has re-
markable powers of concentration and applica-
tion, and his retentive mind has often excited the
surprise of his professional colleagues. As an
orator he stands high, especially in the discussion
of legal matters before the court, where his com-
prehensive knowledge of the law is manifest and
his application of legal principles demonstrates
the wide range of his professional acquirements.
The utmost care and precision characterize his
preparation of a case and have made him one of
the most successful attorneys in Boise.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
29
Mr. Johnson has aided largely in shaping the
public policy of his city and state, and his keen
discernment and study of the public needs have
made his efforts in this direction very valuable.
He was a member of the territorial council from
1880 until 1882, has been a member of the city
council, was attorney general of Idatio for two
terms, and was one of the commissioners who
compiled the revised statutes of the state, in 1878.
He has ever been deeply concerned in the welfare
and progress of the city, especially along educa-
tional lines, and has done much for the advance-
ment of the schools of Boise. He was the author,
and secured the passage, of the law creating the
independent school district of Boise, which meas-
ure has contributed so largelv to the splendid
school system of the city. For fifteen years he
was a member of the board of education and
actively co-operated in every movement for the
real good and upbuilding of the schools. Heavy
demands are made upon his time by his pro-
fessional duties, but he never neglects an oppor-
tunity to advance the welfare of his fellow men
through public measures. His political support
is given the Democracy.
The material interests of Boise have also been
largely promoted by Mr. Johnson, who soon after
coming to the city made extensive investments
in real estate. He is now the owner of much
valuable property, which he has greatly im-
proved, erecting many pleasant and attractive
residences, which he rents to a good class of ten-
ants. He also built a large brick office building,
where he is located in the practice of his pro-
fession as the senior partner of the firm of John-
son & Johnson. He has the largest private law
library in the state, and has deservedly attained
an eminence at the bar reached bv few. He is
president of the Idaho State Bar Association.
A portrait of Mr. Johnson appears as frontis-
piece of this volume.
RICH.\RD H.\RVEY JOHNSON.
The subject of this sketch, the son and law
partner of Richard Z. Johnson, subject of the pre-
ceding review, was born at Silver City, in Owy-
hee county, Idaho, on the 19th of July, 1870.
He received his education at the Boise high
school, and in mathematics and the modern lan-
guages at the Concordia, in Zurich, Switzerland,
and in Greek and Latin under Professors Lam-
bert and Winneger, at Lindau, in Boden-See,
Bavaria. Returning to America, he entered Yale
University and afterwards graduated from the
law department, with the degree of LL. B., in
1892. just thirty-three years after his father had
taken the same degree at the same institution.
Returning to Idaho, he entered into partnership
with his father, in the nractice of the law at Boise
City, the capital of the state, with whom he is
still associated.
At the general election in 1896, Mr. Johnson
was elected to the house of representatives of the
fourth session of the state legislature, as a Demo-
crat, and served as chairman of the committee on
state affairs.
JOSEPH W. HUSTON.
The historv of a state as well as that of a nation
is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of
those who have conferred honor and dignity
upon society. The world judges the character of
a community by those of its representative citi-
zens, and yields its tributes of admiration and
respect for the genius or learning or virtues of
those whose works and actions constitute the
record of a state's prosperity and pride. Among
the distinguished citizens of Idaho is Judge
Joseph Waldo Huston, of Boise, who holds dis-
tinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and
jurist, as a statesman, as a man of high scientific
and literary attainments, a valiant and patriotic
soldier and as one who occupied a most unique
and trying position in an important epoch in our
judicial history, in which connection he bore
himself with such signal dignity and honor as to
gain the respect of all.
Judge Huston was born in Painesville, Ohio,
April 10, 1833. On the paternal side his ances-
tors were from county Tyrone, Ireland, and were
early settlers in the state of New Hampshire.
The militarv record is one of which the family
has every reason to be proud. The grandfather
of the Judge valiantly aided in the struggle for
independence, and his father, Caleb C. Huston,
defended the new republic in the second war with
England, after which he emigrated to Ohio at an
earlv dav. There he married Pamelia Hall, whose
people were also early settlers of Xew York and
northern Ohio. By this marriage were born seven
30
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
sons and a daughter. Four of the sons loyally
served their country in defense of the Union dur-
ing the Civil war, and one of the number was
killed at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky.
Judge Huston was educated in Kalamazoo,
Michigan, studied law under the direction of ex-
Senator Stuart, was admitted to the bar in 1857,
and soon afterward removed to Paw Paw, ^lichi-
gan, where he engaged in the practice of his
chosen profession until April. 1861. In the
meantime he had been closely studying the
questions arising out of the slavery conditions of
the south, and when war seemed imminent, had
resolved to defend the Union if the call was issued
for volunteers. Accordingly, when Fort Sumter
was fired upon and President Lincoln asked for
the aid of loyal men in crushing out the rebellion
in its infancy. Judge Huston went to the front
as a member of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. He
assisted in the organization of the regiment, was
promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and after-
ward to major. He served with distinction until
1863, when, on account of physical disability, he
was mustered out of the service. His braven,-,
however, was made manifest on southern battle-
fields, and with an honorable military record he
returned home.
As soon as he had sufficiently recovered. Judge
Huston resumed the practice of law, and in 1869
was appointed by President Grant to the posi-
tion of United States attorney for Idaho. He at
once came to this state, and for nine years, until
1878, filled that position in a most satisfactory
and acceptable manner. He then resumed the
private practice of law, which he continued until
1890, when he was elected to tne supreme bench
of the state. In 1894 he was re-elected for a
term of six years. This ofifice he fills with the
utmost fidelity and fairness. Some of his decis-
ions rank among the classics of judicial literature
and are characterized by great clearness of
thought and originality of illustration. His de-
cision in the case of the state versus Reed elicited
much favorable comment. He laid great em-
pnasis upon the fact, frequently overlooked uy
jurists, that the object of criminal courts was to
punish criminals, not to furnish them means of
escaping punishment. The Portland Oregonian
published a large part of the decision, and had
an editorial on the subject under the caption, "A
Decision Long Due," in which the decision was
highly commended, especially because it came
from one of the younger state supreme courts.
Judge Huston has been a lifelong Republican,
but differs from his party on the money question,
having long been an ardent bimetallist. He was
a delegate to the silver convention held in Hel-
ena, r^Iontana, in 1892, was a delegate to the
American Bimetallist League in 1893, and for
several years has been vice president of the latter
organization. In 1896 he supported Mr. Bryan
for the presidency with great ability and zeal.
He is a man of scholarly attainments and broad
literary culture, possesses a very fine library and
is a thorough Shakespearean student.
In 1855 Judge Huston was happily married to
Miss Lucia Wilder, of Kalamazoo, who departed
this life in 1863, leaving a daughter, who is now
Mrs. Carrie Leonard, of Boise. In 1864 he mar-
ried Miss Frances Collister, of Willoughby,Ohio,
and for thirty-four years they have now traveled
life's journey together. They have a son, Collis-
ter P., a graduate of the Hahnemann Medical
College, of San Francisco, and now with the
First Idaho Volunteers, having enlisted for ser-
vice in the Spanish-American war. The Judge
has a very pleasant home in Boise, the center of
a cultured society circle, — and there liospitality
reigns supreme.
He is largely interested in mining in Washing-
ton county, Idaho, but the practice of law has
been his real life-work, and at the bar and on
the bench he has won marked distinction. A
man of unimpeachable character, of unusual in-
tellectual endowments, with a thorough under-
standing of the law, patience, urbanity and in-
dustry, Judge Huston took to the bench the very
highest qualifications for this most responsible
office of the state government; and his record
as a judge was in harmony with his record as a
man and a lawyer, distinguished by unswerving
integrity and a masterful grasp of every problem
that presented itself for solution.
JOHN H.\ILEV.
The well-known pioneer and statesman of
Idaho from whom the town of Hailey takes its
name, is now a resident of Bellevue, this state.
He has been twice elected a delegate to con-
gress from this territory, and is one of the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
31
best informed men in the state on national af-
fairs.
Air. Hailey is a native of Smith county, Ten-
nessee, born August 29, 1835, of Scottish an-
cestry and a descendant of a family long resident
in the Old Dominion, his grandfather, Philip
Hailey, and his father, John Hailey, having
been both natives of Mrginia. His father
married Miss Nancy Baird, a native of Ten-
nessee, the daughter of Captain Josiah Baird,
who had been a captain in the war of
1812.
Mr. Hailev received his education in the pulj-
lic schools. His father, with his family, removed
to Dade county, Missouri, in 1848, and in 1853
young John crossed the plains to Oregon, as a
member of the Tatum company. When near
the Platte a large company of Indians came upon
them and made them give up the greater part of
their provisions, leaving the emigrants short of
everything excepting bread and tea. At Rock
creek the Indians again swooped down upon
them and stampeded their horses, after which
they had to drive the one hundred head of cows
they had on foot.
The company arrived at Salem, Oregon, in
October, 1853, after a long and tedious journey
of six months and a day from the time they had
started. Mr. Hailey, directly after his arrival at
Salem, went over to Coos bay, where he was
employed at work, connected with which event
he relates the following interesting incident. Be-
ing nearly out of money, he applied for work and
was told by the employers that they had all the
help they needed. He offered then to work for
his board only, until he could do better. They
told him that all the axes they had were in use.
The ambitious young immigrant then said he
would buy an ax. With this arrangement he was
allowed to work until Saturday, and the superin-
tendent then offered him four dollars and fifty
cents: but Mr. Hailey declined it, saying, "I
offered to work for you for my board until I
could do better, and mean to keep my bargain."
The boss then told him, "I have put you on my
pay-roll at sixty dollars per month." Mr. Hailey
thereupon said he would accept that, as that was
the first chance he had to do better. After an-
other week's work the boss made him foreman
and allowed him one hundred dollars a month.
and this position Mr. Hailey filled until the job
was completed.
From there he went to the mines and was em-
ployed at placer mining until late in the autumn
of 1854. Not meeting with satisfactory success,
he proceeded to Jackson county, in the south-
ern part of the state, and worked on a farm for
eight months, for J. B. Risley, and then he leased
the farm for a year. At this time the Indian w^ar
of 1855-6 broke out, and Mr. Hailey joined the
volunteers and participated in the first engage-
ment on Rogue river. He, with the others, was
discharged in 1856. He had gone into the ser-
vice as a private, and was promoted as first lieu-
tenant.
Returning to the ranch, he leased it again.
August 7, this year (1856), he married Miss
Louisa Griffin, a daughter of B. B. Griffin, an
Oregon pioneer of 1847. The following year he
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land
adjoining the one he had rented, obtaining sixty
head of cattle with the place, and remained there,
engaged in ranching, until 1862, when the gold
discoveries in what is now Idaho brought him
hither. He came with a number of sheep and
horses. He sold the sheep at Walla Walla, and
went to Lewiston with the pack-horses and mules
and engaged in packing from Lewiston to Flor-
ence. After making two trips in this service he
went to the Yakima, in company with William
K. Ish, and located two hay ranches, and they
made four hundred tons of hay each year. He
built a flat-boat eighty feet long, and on it loaded
the baled hay, which he floated to Wallula and
Umatilla, and for which he received thirty to
forty dollars per ton. To get the boat back home
thev made a tow-path and hauled it back with
mules. When the wind was favorable they hoist-
ed sails. In this enterprise the proprietors made
money.
In 1863 Mr. Hailey started a saddle train from
Walla Walla and Umatilla to Boise, and that was
the commencement of the great stage business
which he inaugurated and in which his name be-
came so noted. While in that business he took
the first pack train to the Boise basin in winter,
and the first over the Blue mountains in winter.
He had thirty mules and as many pack-horses,
using large, strong horses without packs to go
ahead and break the trail. It was a great and
32
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
hazardous undertakincr. but with his energy and
courage he successfully accomplished it. He re-
ceived twenty-six or twenty-seven cents a pound
for freight, making in one trip two thousand and
one hundred dollars. Xo other packer would
undertake the job.
In 1864 he and Mr. Ish placed a stage line
between Umatilla, Placerville and Boise, and the
next year Mr. Hailey bought his partner's inter-
est in the concern. They had rough times in
crossing streams, being obliged occasionally to
convey the passengers over in boats. They had
eleven to fourteen passenger coaches, using
four to six horses with each. The fare in the
summer time was forty dollars and in the winter
sixty dollars, and for baggage over twenty-five
pounds they charged extra.
In 1866 Mr. Hailey received from Ben Halli-
day a sub-contract to carry the mail from Boise
to The Dalles, Oregon, by way of Umatilla, for
which he received eighty thousand dollars per
year, and in connection with this job he also did
a good passenger business. In 1868 C. M. Lock-
wood secured the contract and stocked the road
from Boise to Ogden. Soon afterward IMr.
Hailey bought the stock and contract from Og-
den to The Dalles and ran the business of the
route until July, 1870, then sold out to the North-
western Stage Company, for one hundred and
thirty thousand dollars, at which time it was a
fine line, well stocked, and made very close con-
nections, seldom varying as much as five minutes
from schedule time. After this Mr. Hailey en-
gaged in the live-stock and butchering business
in Boise.
In the year 1872 Mr. Hailey was elected a dele-
gate to represent the territory of Idaho in the
Forty-third congress, and after this he was again
offered the position by both parties, but he de-
clined it and confined himself to his private busi-
ness affairs. Soon afterward he met with some
heavy financial reverses, — having to pay forty
thousand dollars as a bondsman for other parties,
and losing about ten thousand head of his sheep
by death, worth at the time four dollars a head.
He had also invested somewhat heavily in Boise
property, which declined in value.
In 1878 he again purchased an interest in the
stage business, in company with Salisbury and
Gilmore, the line being the same that he had pre-
viously owned, by this time, however, including
some others, as those from Boise city to W'inne-
mucca, Nevada, Boise to Boise Basin, Blackfoot
to Challis, Arco to Ketchum, Goose creek to
Hailey, Mountain Home to Hailey, Mountain
Home to Rocky Bar, Roseburg to Redding. Cal-
ifornia, Redding to Yreka, same state, by way ot
Scott's valley. Redding to Weaverville, and sev-
eral others of smaller distances, making in all
over two thousand miles of stage line. They
built stations and had a grand stock of horses
and coaches, and all these were superintended
by Mr. Hailey himself. The consequence was, he
worked too hard and injured his health: and soon
after this, too, the railroads began to creep
around over the country, rendering the stock of
the company of little value, all having to be dis- -j
posed of at less than a quarter of what tney cost. I
This third and last great misfortune greatly re-
duced the resources of Mr. Hailey.
In 1884 Mr. Hailey was again elected a dele-
gate to congress, and served two years, being
active in many improvements of the political con-
dition of his territory, especially in respect to
mail service and the law for settling the Indians
upon specified lands in severalty, also in having
passed the Idaho "depredation" bill.
It was in 1879 that he located the land on
which the nice town of Hailey now stands. In
company with others, he platted the land for a
town and named it Marshall: but the settlers
would not have it, and insisted on naming the
place Hailey, in honor of the great pioneer and
statesman who had done so much for Idaho.
Mr. Hailey now owns the Susie S. mine, on
which he has done a considerable amount of
work by way of development. It is a gold prop-
erty, fifteen miles south of Bellevue, and has a
large low-grade ledge forty feet wide, which as- J
says an average of eight dollars per ton. In this
mine he has a thousand feet of tunnel and shafts,
and there is in sight a million tons of ore. Mr.
Hailey also has a ranch of two hundred and forty
acres, on which he is raising cattle and horses.
Every good citizen of Idaho hopes that Mr.
Hailey 's last days will be his best days, and that
his gold mine may bring him a fortune again.
Mr. and Mrs. Hailey have had eight children,
six of wliom have grown up. — five sons and a
daughter, as follows: Jesse C, John, Leona mow
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
33
Mrs. Ross Carter), 1 nomas G. (a graduate of the
Washington Lee University, in \^irginia, where
he took the gold-medal prize in his class of 1888,
and is now a practicing lawyer at Pendleton,
Oregon), Burrel B. and George C. There are
now thirteen grandchildren.
Politically, Mr. Hailey has been a life-long
Democrat, and is at present the chairman of the
Democratic state central committee. He is a
man of clear intellect, thoroughly posted in gov-
ernmental affairs, both state and national, and is
sound on financial questions, an able expounder
of bimetallism and a very convincing speaker on
the rostrum, having done his party great service
during the campaigns. "Uncle John Hailey," as
he is familiarly called, is now serving as warden
of the Idaho state penitentiary.
GEORGE L. SHOUP.
It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness
of a state lies not in its machinery of govern-
ment, nor even in its institutions, but in the
sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in
their capacity for high and unselfish effort and
their devotion to the public good. Rising above
the heads of the mass there has always been a
series of individuals, distinguished beyond others,
who by reason of their pronounced ability and
forceful personality have always commanded the
respect of their fellow men and who have re-
vealed to the world those two resplendent virtues
of a lordly race, — perseverance in purpose and a
directing spirit which never fails. Of this class
George L. Shoup stands as an excellent illustra-
tion. The goal toward which he has hastened
during the many years of his toil and endeavor
is that which is attained only by such as have by
patriotism and wise counsel given the world an
impetus toward the good; such have gained the
right and title to have their names enduringly
inscribed on the bright pages of history.
George L. Shoup has been a resident of Idaho
since 1866, has served as chief executive of the
state, and is now representing the commonwealth
in the United States senate. He was born in
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1836. and
traces his descent to German ancestors, who lo-
cated in the colony of Pennsylvania when it was
a British dependency. Representatives of the
name fought for the independence of the nation,
and also participated in the war of 18 12. Henry
Shoup, the father of our subject, was born in
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and married Miss
Anna J. McCain, daughter of George E. McCain,
of the Keystone state, a gentleman of Scotch-
Irish descent. The Shoups were industrious
farming people, and were faithful members of
the Presbyterian church. The Senator's father
lived to be sixty-five years of age, and his mother
departed this life when about the same aee. They
had six sons and three daughters, of whom four
now survive. One brother of our subject, T. S.
Shoup, is now a professor in the Iowa State Nor-
mal School, and the other, J. M., is United States
marshal of Alaska.
Senator Shoup was reared in the county of his
nativity and acquired his education in its public
schools. In 1859 he crossed the plains to Pike's
Peak, being one of the first to discover gold in
western Colorado. He engaged in mining and
merchandismg, with good success, until the great
civil war broke upon the country, when he en-
listed in the Union service as a member of Cao-
tain Baxter's Company of Indepeiident Scouts.
During the fall of that year he was promoted to
the rank of second lieutenant, and in 1862, when
his company was assigned to the Second Colo-
rado \'olunteer Regiment, was made first lieu-
tenant. With his command he was engaged in
scouting in the borders of Texas and the Indian
Territory; in 1863 his company was attached to
the First Colorado Cavalry; and in the following
year he was commissioned colonel of the Third
Colorado Regiment. In the spring of that year
he was elected to the convention chosen to frame
the state constitution of Colorado, and served in
this capacity during the session of the conven-
tion, and then rejoined his regiment, on the 28th
of November. He was in command of his regi-
ment at the battle of Sand creek, in which
Colonel Chivington and a detachment of his men
also participated. This was a hard-fought and
sanguinary battle in which four hundred Indians
were killed. Both coloneis were afterward cen-
sured by the United States senate, whicn had
been misinformed in regard to the hostility of
the red men, the atrocious murders they were
committing and the property they were destroy-
ing. Colonel Shoup was called to appear before
34
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
an investigating committee in Washington the
following February, and after giving his testi-
mony to the committee he was congratulated and
complimented by every one of its members for
the valuable service he performed for his country
in that battle. Thus was he completely exoner-
ated, which was very gratifying to him and to the
men who had jeopardized their lives in an en-
gagement in which they had severely punished
the Indians and freed that section of the country
from the lawless acts of the red men.
In 1865 Colonel Shoup purchased a cattle train
for the purpose of hauling merchandise of his
own into the far west, but was induced to load
his train with government supplies for Fort Lara-
mie, at which place he bought a stock of goods
from a merchant who was en route for Montana.
Mr. Shoup took the goods to Virginia City,
Montana, where he arrived in the spring of 1866.
establishing a store there and one in the Salmon
River Mining District. Idaho, the same year, and
the following year surveyed and laid out the town
of Salmon City. Since then he has made the
latter place his headquarters, and by great in-
dustry and honest endeavor he has become one
of the most successful business men of the state.
He still carries on his mercantile interests and has
erected a large, substantial brick store building,
where he is carrying on an extensive wholesale
and retail business. His reliable and systematic
methods have gained him the confidence of many
patrons, and he derives from his mercantile ven-
tures a good income. At various intervals he has
introduced fine thoroughbred cattle from the
east, in this way improving his own stock and
that of the state. He is likewise interested in
mining in Lemhi county, in the vicinity of the
Salmon river, and along these various lines has
done much to develop the resources of the state.
He also has broad farming lands, on which he
raises hay and grain for his stock and for the
market. He possesses keen discrimination and
great energy in business, and his resolution en-
ables him to carry forward to successful comple-
tion whatever he undertakes.
On the 15th of June. 1868, Senator Shoup was
happily married to Miss Lena Darnutser. of
Iowa, a lady of Swiss descent. Their union has
been blessed with three sons and three daughters,
namely: William Henry, who is bookkeeper for
the firm at Salmon City, where he resides with
his wife and two children; George E., who has
charge of the farm and ranch ; Walter C, who is
a graduate of the law department of Yale Col-
lege, and is now practicing his profession in Salt
Lake City, Utah, also serving as first lieutenant
of Company D, Colonel Terry's regiment, and
acting as judge advocate of the court martial, at
Jacksonville, Florida; and Lena J., Laura M.
and Margaret E., all at home. The two eldest
sons are graduates of the Dubuque (Iowa) Acad-
emy. The family is one of marked prominence in
Boise, and its members occupy enviable positions
in social circles, where intelligence, culture and
refinement are the passports into good society.
They have a nice home in Boise, and its hospi-
tality is enjoyed by their very extensive circle of
friends.
Probably, however, Air. Shoup is better known
in connection with his political service. He has
always been an ardent worker in the ranks of the
Republican party to which he has ever given his
unwavering fealty, influence and support. His
fellow citizens, appreciating his fidelity and worth,
elected him their representative in the lower
house of the territorial legislature in 1874; in
1878 they elected him to the upper house, and
in 1884 he was appointed commissioner to the
World's Cotton Centennial at Xew Orleans. Sen-
ator Shoup at first declined the Cotton Centen-
nial appointment, but later, finding there was no
one in the territory who would take the posi-
tion, he finally accepted the appointment and
gave thirty-five thousand dollars to make and
maintain the territory's exhibit at the Exposi-
tion. The exhibit was the means of giving the
world some idea of what Idaho was at that time,
and did more good than all other efforts to place
the name of Idaho where it properly belonged.
Although Senator Shoup gave freely of his
means and one year's time to the project, he feels
that the time and money were not spent in a lost
cause.
In !\Iarch, 1889, he was appointed governor
of the territory, and upon the admission of the
state in 1890, he was elected governor. In De-
cember of the same year he was chosen to repre-
sent Idaho in the United States senate, where
he is now ably and creditably serving, taking an
active part in the business that is transacted in
1390190
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the council chambers of the nation. His course
has ever been above suspicion. The good of the
nation he places before partisanship, and the wel-
fare of his constituents before personal aggran-
dizement. He commands the respect of the mem-
bers of congress and the senate, but at home, —
in the state of his adoption, — where he is best
known, he inspires personal friendships of un-
usual strength, and all who know him have the
highest admiration for his good qualities of heart
and mind.
RELF BLEDSOE.
The days of chivalry and knighthood in Eu-
rope cannot furnish more interesting or ro-
mantic tales than our own western history.
Into the wild mountain fastnesses of the unex-
plored west went brave men, whose courage
was often called forth in encounters with hostile
savages. The landwas rich in all natural resources,
in gold and silver, in agricultural and commer-
cial possibilities, and awaited the demands of
man to yield up its treasures, but its mountain
heights were hard to climb, its forests difficult to
penetrate, and the magnificent trees, the dense
bushes or the jagged rocks often sheltered the
skulking foe, who resented the encroachment of
the pale faces upon these "hunting grounds." The
establishment of homes in this beautiful region
therefore meant sacrifices, hardships and ofttimes
death, but there were some men, however, brave
enough to meet the red man in his own familiar
haunts and undertake the task of reclaiming the
district for purposes of civilization. The rich
mineral stores of this vast region were thus added
to the wealth of the nation ; its magnificent for-
ests contributed to the lumber industries and its
fertile valleys added to the opportunities of the
farmer and stock-raiser, and to-day the northwest
is one of the most productive sections of the en-
tire country. That this is so is due to such men
as Captain Relf Bledsoe, whose name is insep-
arably interwoven with the history of the region.
No story of fiction contains more exciting
chapters than may be found in his life re-
cord, but space forbids an extended account of
these.
He who was to become such an important fac-
tor in the development of the northwest was born
in Henderson county, Kentucky, on the i6th of
August, 1832. His ancestors, natives of Wales,
came to America at an early period in the colonial
epoch and took an active part in the leading
events that afifected the colonies. Five of the
Bledsoe brothers fought throughout the struggle
for independence. A younger brother, not old
enough to enter the army, was Jesse Bledsoe,
father of our subject. He was born in Canewood,
four miles from FraoKiort, Kentucky, and mar-
ried Miss Jane Baylor, daughter of George Wythe
Baylor, Jr., and a granddaughter of Colonel Bay-
lor, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. He won his title in the war which
brought to America her liberty, and was wound-
ed in that great struggle. With the blood of
Revolutionary heroes thus flowing in his veins,
it is not strange that Captain Bledsoe took so
prominent a part in the Indian wars of the north-
west. His father was a lawyer by profession, and
in politics was first a Whig and later a Democrat.
He held membership in the Christian church. In
his family were twelve children, eight of whom
are living.
The Captain, the second in order of birth,
spent the first seven years of his life in Kentuckv,
and in 1839 went with his parents to Missouri
and thence to Texas, in 1845. In 1850, when
eighteen years of age, he traveled through Mex-
ico to California, reaching Los Angeles when it
contained only a few adobe houses inhabited by
Mexicans, or, as they called themselves. Spanish.
In 1852 he went to San Francisco, and in 1854
he was elected superintendent of a mining com-
pany in southern Oregon. On the failure of the
well-known firm of Adams & Company, the com-
pany with which he was connected was also bank-
rupt, but soon afterward the Indian troubles of
the Rogue river valley, in Oregon, broke out and
Mr. Bledsoe joined a volunteer company to aid
in quelling the insurrection and defending the
settlers. He became a private of Company K,
Second Oregon Infantry, but soon his ability as
a soldier was manifest and he was promoted
sergeant, second lieutenant and first lieutenant,
successively. On the death of the captain, he
succeeded to that rank. He then assembled the
citizens together and built a fort. On the morn-
ing of r^ebruary 24. 1853. he called for twenty-
two men to go with him to hold the Indians in
36
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
check while the fort was being constructed. After
marching some distance they were stationed be-
hind a sharp point and awaited the arrival of the
Indians, who soon came into view, five hundred
strong. Captain Bledsoe had his men remain
quiet until the Indians were within about fifty
feet of them, when they poured a deadly fire into
their ranks. After their guns were emptied, the
white men used their revolvers with dreadful ef-
fect and the Indians were largely checked, many
of the number having been killed. The Captain
then ordered a retreat toward the fort and thus
thev made their way, contesting every foot of the
ground until they reached the fort, at four o'clock
in the afternoon. In the meantime the building
was completed and the women and children were
saved.
On another occasion Captain Bledsoe, with
thirty-two men, was reconnoitering, when they
were almost instantly surrounded by four hun-
dred Indians, who rose up around them out of
the bushes, which were breast-high, and charged
upon the white men from every direction. The
Captain instantly formed his men into a hollow
square, and in this way awaited the charge. They
first fired their guns, then used their revolvers.
The chief in command of the Indians jumped on
a rock to better give the commands, when Cap-
tain Bledsoe ordered John Walker, who stood
near him, to fire, and the chief was killed, which
caused great disorder among his followers, thus
left without a leader. The white men then formed
in skirmish line and retreated. Eight of their
number had been killed and five wounded. Cap-
tain Bledsoe, at another time, with twenty picked
men, went up to the mouth of the river in search
of the Indians. They discovered a party of about
seventy-five and crawled up to the top of a blufif
from where they opened fire. Only three of the
Indians crossed the river alive! After this, three
companies of United States regulars arrived un-
der command of General Buchanan, and thus
Captain Bledsoe was relieved of the responsiliility
of having entire command. Later two other com-
panies of regulars came, and tlie subject of this
review" w"as allow'ed some respite from his ar-
duous duties. One other incident in which he
was concerned, however, is worthy of mention.
Near the fort was a dry reservoir into which the
Indians frequently crawled at night, firing from
that vantage point upon the fort in the day-time.
Their object was to pick off anyone that appeared
outside the walls. One morning the Captain
thought that, w-ith a few men, he would take
possession of the reservoir first, and when the
Indians came give them a warm reception. He
started, gun in hand. It was a doubled-barreled
gun, one side loaded with a ball, the other with
buckshot. He had made his way some distance
in advance of the men, when a little shepherd
dog that had followed him began to snifif and
whine, which warned him that the Indians were
ahead of him. Putting his gun to his shoulder,
he waited until an Indian head appeared on the
edge of the reservoir. He then fired, and the
Indian fell, but all the other Indians rose and
fired at him. Just as he fired, however, he sat
down, and their bullets passed over him. He
then started on a run for the fort, but in that
race for life his clothes were completely riddled,
although not a bullet entered his bodv. He was
in twenty Indian battles, always in the thickest
of the fight. After the war a chief told him that
he had shot at him many times, hoping to kill
him, but had failed, and they thought he bore a
charmed life.
On the 20th of June, 1866, he participated in
the last battle of the war. He and his men were
to take their places on the south side of the river
and await the Indians, w-ho were to be driven
across to them. His men were behind a large
log when the Indians came up to them. The
Captain with his forty-five men had a desperate
encounter with the savages, a hand-to-hand fight,
in which one hundred and seventy-five Indians
were killed. The next day the remainder of the
band surrendered. After the battle. General C.
C. Augur embraced the Captain with the remark:
"You are the best man to fight Indians at close
quarters I ever saw. I could constantly hear your
voice above the din of battle clear across the
river."
Captain Bledsoe aided in moving the Indians
to their reservation, and was for some time the
special Indian agent at the mouth of Ya(|uina
bay. He was also sutler for two years, and then
engaged in buying cattle, which he drove to mar-
ket in Olympia. In 1861 the Oro Fino excite-
ment brought him to Lewiston, where he arrived
in July, 1861. He was the first merchant at Elk
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
37
City and sold the first goods there, after which
he was connected with a large mercantile house
in Florence. In 1862 he was elected joint coun-
cilman from Idaho and Nez Perces counties. In
the fall of that year the Boise Basin was discov-
ered, and he had command of a company of
si.xty-six men, who traveled across the mountains
to that place. When they arrived at Squaw creek.
Lieutenant Standeford and eight men formed an
advance guard ahead of the main body. They
were attacked by Indians, and Captain Bledsoe
then took thirty men, leaving the others with
the pack train, and fought the Indians, driving
them back across Little Squaw creek and over
Big Squaw creek to what is now a part of Calvin
Beard's ranch. Night ended the fight. The pack
train camped on Little Meadows, and captured
five squaws and some children, from which inci-
dent Squaw creek received its name. The party
afterward continued on their way to the point on
the Boise river where the beautiful city of Boise
now stands. At that time there was no house
nearer than Auburn, Oregon. They drove the
Indians from the river and went on to the Boise
Basin, where they found Marion Moore and his
party, who had arrived four days previously.
They located claims and Captain Bledsoe and
Tom Hart washed the first pan of dirt in the
vicinity of Placerville, about a half mile below
the present site of the town. They secured gold
to the value of twenty-five cents out of this first
pan. After looking over the country in this vi-
cinity Captain Bledsoe started for Olympia,
Washington, to attend the meeting of the legis-
lature. He framed the bill that organized Boise
county, and the following year Idaho was sepa-
rated from Washington. He has held various
positions of honor and trust, and was a promi-
nent candidate for governor of Idaho, President
Cleveland being strongly urged to appoint him
chief executive of the territory. For the past
twenty years he has been extensively engaged
in quartz and placer mining, and is a thorough
mining expert. His efforts in the development
of the mineral resources of the state brought him
a handsome competence and at the same time
have contributed to the general welfare.
On the 1st of July, 1858, near Corvallis. Ore-
gon, was celebrated the marriage of Captain Bled-
soe and Miss Helen Kinnev. Thev have six
children, — three sons and three daughters: Sadie,
who became the wife of L. Vineyard, died August
9, 1893, leaving two children, who are residing
with their grandfather; Annie, wife of William
F. Galbraith, a druggist of Boise; R. J., a farmer
of Boise; Eulalie, wife of W. N. Northrop, a
hardware merchant; John M., who is in the en-
gineer corps at Honolulu; and Lloyd, at home.
In politics the Captain has been a life-long
Democrat, and the official positions he has filled
have been accorded him by reason of his merit
and sterling worth. He has been an important
factor in the military, political and industrial in-
terests of the state, an honored pioneer who de-
serves the gratitude of his fellow men for what
he has done for the northwest. When the pres-
ent shall have become the past, his name will be
revered as one of the founders of the state of
Idaho, and as one of the heroes who carried
civilization into the wild districts of this great
region.
NEAL J. SHARP.
Many elements combine to make this brief
biographical sketch an interesting one. It
reaches back into the early history of our coun-
try, and has to do with the development of the
new west.
Neal J. Sharp, register of the United States
land office at Hailey, was born in Fulton county,
Illinois. July 14, 1833, of Scotch ancestry. His
great-grandfather, Joseph L. Sharp, settled in
Virginia and founded the town of Sharpsburg,
which was named in his honor. His grandfather,
James R. Sharp, was born in Tennessee, and
fought gallantly for American independence in
the war of the Revolution. Joseph L. Sharp, son
of the patriot just mentioned, was also born in
Tennessee, and did duty as a soldier in the Black-
hawk war and in the war with iSiexico. He mar-
ried Matilda Singleton, of Irish lineage, whose
ancestors were among the very early settlers in
the south, and some of whom fought the British
in Revolutionary days. By profession he was a
lawyer, and he was a man of much force of char-
acter who was prominent wherever his lot was
cast. He was elected to the legislature of Illinois
and to that of Iowa, and was president of the first
council of the Nebraska legislature. He died in
his eightv-third vear, his wife in her fifty-fifth.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
They had three sons and three daugliters, of
whom four survive.
Xeal J. Sharp, their eldest son. received the
rudiments of an education in the public schools
near his early home in Illinois, but is a fine ex-
ample of the self-educated gentleman, widely
read, alive to every question of the day reminis-
cent as to the histor\- of the past. He was nine-
teen years old when he went to Iowa. He read
law with D. H. Sullivan, a prominent lawyer
there, and was admitted to the bar in Nebraska
in 1857. ,He began the practice of his profession
and was meeting with success when the civil war
broke out. In prompt answer to President Lin-
coln's call for troops, he enlisted. May 2, 1861.
in Company A, First Nebraska Volunteer In-
fantry, and was mustered into the service as sec-
ond lieutenant. He served in the army of Ten-
nessee and took part in the battles of Pilot Knob,
Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, the siege of
Corinth and the battle with the army of Price
at Cape Girardeau. At Fort Donelson he was
promoted for meritorious conduct to a first lieu-
tenancy, and at Corinth he was brevetted cap-
tain. He was mustered out of the service in
1863, and in 1864 took up his residence in \'ir-
ginia City for a time.
Since that time he has been continuously en-
gaged in the practice of the law and in looking
after mining interests. In partnership with three
others, he owns copper mines on Lost river, in
Custer county. They have sixteen claims and
two fractions, and are developing the propertv
with judicious rapidity. They now have one
thousand tons of ore on the dump and fifty thou-
sand tons in sight, and their miner is under
bonds in the sum of one hundred and fifty thou-
sand dollars. Mr. Sharp has other important
mining interests in the Wood river and Salmon
river country, on which his annual assessments
aggregate one thousand eight hundred dollars.
He is the owner of large tracts of land and valu-
able water rights in Custer county, and his in-
vestments in these are regarded as verv promis-
ing.
Mr. Sharp was happily married, in 1855, to
Miss Ellen Trammell, a native of Tennessee, who
died in 1862, after having borne him three chil-
dren, two of whom are living. Ada is the wife
of Horatio L. Wood, editor of the Red Rock
(Texas) Review. Belle became the wife of Joseph
Ferris, a prosperous farmer of Fremont county,
Wyoming. In 1865 Mr. Sharp married Miss
Nancy A. Morgan, a native of Missouri, who
bore him one daughter, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Sharp is a lady of much culture and refine-
ment, prominent in society and a helpful member
of the Congregational church.
There is no more popular man in this part of
the state than Neal J. Sharp, popularly and af-
fectionately known as Colonel Sharp. He is an
influential Republican, and his appointment by
President McKinley as register of the land office
at Hailey met with general approval. He is per-
forming his duties of the office in a manner en-
tirely satisfactory to every one concerned. He
has been a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows since 1866, and has passed all the
chairs in both branches of the order. He was
the organizer of Lincoln Post, No. 15, Grand
Army of the Republic, and is one of its past com-
manders. He has had an ample and successful
experience as a lawyer, and any one who knows
him is certain that any case will be as safe in his
hands as ability and honesty can make it. He
was for seven years district attorney of Custer
county, and has gone into history as a model
guardian of the people's legal rights. He has
fulfilled every obligation of life manfully, and is
in every way worthy of the high esteem in which
he is held by his fellow citizens.
HENRY HEITFELD.
In considering the career of the present United
States senator for Idaho, Hon. Henry Heitfeld,
we are led to the following reflections:
It is a well-attested maxim that the greatness
of a state lies not in its machinery for govern-
ment, nor even in its institutions, but in the ster-
ling qualities of its individual citizens, in their
capacity for high and unselfish ef?ort and their
devotion to the public good. An enumeration of
those men of the present generation who have
won honor and public recognition for themselves
and at the same time have honored the state to
which they belong, would be incomplete were
there failure to make prominent reference to the
one whose name initiates this paragraph. He has
attained distinction in the business world and is
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
39
a recognized leader in political circles in Idaho.
He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs,
and one who has wielded a wide influence. A
strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most
determined individuality have so entered into his
makeup as to render him a natural leader of men
and a director of opinion.
Henry Heitfeld was born in St. Louis, Mis-
souri, June 12, 1859. His parents were natives
of Germany, and on their emigration to America,
in the early '50s, located in St. Louis, where the
father, by his well-directed efforts and indefati-
gable energy, won a handsome competence and
was widely known as a successful merchant.
Both he and his wife were members of the Cath-
olic church and were people of the highest prob-
ity of character. Mr. Heitfeld passed away in
1867, at the age of thirty-eight years, and his
wife died in 1892, at the age of sixty-three
years.
Henry Heitfeld, the elder of their two sons,
was educated in St. Louis, and in his youth
worked at farming for some time. He afterward
learned the mason's trade, and in 1882 went to
the Pacific coast, securing employment in a flour-
ing mill in Pomeroy, Washington, where he re-
mained for several months. He also located
three hundred and sixty acres of land in the big
bend of the Columbia river. Subsequently he
worked in the car-shops of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, and on leaving that employ purchased
a farm in Nez Perces county, Idaho, where he
engaged in stock-raising with excellent success.
Never scorning any honest labor that would yield
him a livelihood, he has steadily advanced in his
business affairs, continually adding to his finan-
cial resources until he is now the possessor of a
valuable property, — the merited reward of his
well-directed labors.
From the time he attained his majority until
1892 Mr. Heitfeld was an advocate of the Demo-
cratic party and supported its men and measures.
Favoring the free and unlimited coinage of silver,
a c|uestion which he deemed vital to the welfare
of his country, he severed his connection with
the old party in the year mentioned and allied his
interests with the Populist party. He has since
been very active and zealous in the promulgation
of his views on the money question, and upon
this issue he won the nomination for stale sen-
ator in 1894. He was elected to tliat office, was
re-elected in 1896 and made such a splendid rec-
ord that he was chosen by the Idaho assembly to
represent the state in the highest legislative body
of the nation, being elected to the United States
senate on the 28th of January, 1897. He has
served through one session, — one of the most
important in the history of the country, and his
record reflects credit upon the state and people
whom he represents. He is a man of firm con-
viction, fearless in defense of his views, and his
opinions are the result of careful study and ma-
ture deliberation.
In 1884 Mr. Heitfeld was united in marriage to
Miss Anna Jacobs, a native of Minnesota and a
lady of German descent. They have five children,
as "follows: Mary T., Stephen P., Louis G.,
Walter B. and Elaine A. The family is one of
prominence in Lewiston, the hospitality of the
best homes being readily accorded them. The
Senator is a representative of our best type of
American manhood and chivalry. By persever-
ance, determination and honorable effort he has
overthrown the obstacles which barred his path
to success and reached the goal of prosperity,
while his genuine worth, broad mind and public
spirit have made him a director of public thought
and action.
T. J. JONES.
On the roll of Idaho's distinguished lawyers is
the name of T. J. Jones, of Boise. Faithfulness
to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in
life will do more to advance a man's interests
than wealth or adventitious circumstances. The
successful men of the day arc they who have
planned their own advancement and have accom-
plished it in spite of many obstacles and with
a certaintv that could have been attained only
through their own efforts. This class of men
has a worthy representative in T. J. Jones, who
began life amid unfavoring circumstances in the
coal mines of Pennsylvania.
Born in Montour county, Pennsylvania, in
1857, he is of Welsh lineage. His father, David
Jones, was born in a little county of Wales,
whence he emigrated to America, locating in the
Kevstone state, where he married Miss Anna
Naughton. He was a Baptist minister, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
served as an officer in the war with Mexico. He
died in 1861, from injuries received in said war,
leaving a wife and five children.
The subject of this review was only four years
old at the time of his father's death. He spent
his childhood and youth in the state of his na-
tivity, and when only eight years of age began
earning his own livelihood by working in the
coal mines. Thus he was employed for seven
years, when he shipped before the mast, sailing
for three years on the great lakes and on the
ocean. He next engaged in railroading for a
time, and subsequently emigrated to Nebraska,
where he took up a claim of government land
and engaged in raising horses and cattle. Dur-
ing these years his education had been sadly
neglected. Being forced to provide for his own
maintenance he had no opportunity of attending
school, and feeling very much the need of men-
tal training he determined to acquire an educa-
tion. Accordingly, at the age of twenty-seven,
having at that time never attended school, he be-
came a student in the Hastings College, at Hast-
ings, Nebraska : later he attended the Free Meth-
odist College, at Orleans, in the same state, and
then took a course in the Bryant Business Col-
lege, of Republican City, Nebraska, and in 1888
was graduated in the Mallalieu University at
Hartley, Nebraska. The latent powers of a nat-
urally bright intellect were thus awakened, and
he developed a strong intellectuality that colors
all of his labors. In the mean time he began read-
ing law, which he completed in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania. A sojourn in Florida was followed by
a brief stay in Alabama, but he was driven from
the latter state by the yellow fever, and returned
to Nebraska, where he was admitted to the bar.
His next place of residence was Burlington, Col-
orado, where he successfully practiced his pro-
fession. He was the first county attorney of Is^it
Carson county, Colorado, and the second mayor
of Burlington. He served as attorney for the
prosecution in the great Hatch case at Colorado
Springs, Colorado, and during his practice in that
state was connected with important litigation, his
practice being very extensive.
In 1890 Mr. Jones came to lloise, Idaho, and
has won an enviable position at the bar of this
state. He has gained a large clientage, and,
handling many intricate problems of law, has dis-
played great ability and a comprehensive imder-
standing of the principles of jurisprudence. He
has also figured prominently in public affairs in
the city and state. While engaged in farming and
stock-raising in Nebraska he became deeply in-
terested in the Grange movement, and for three
years served as deputy state lecturer of that or-
ganization, during which time he was instrumen-
tal in establishing many local granges in the
state. In his political expression, for two years
he voted with the Prohibition party, and later
became an advocate of the principles of the Peo-
ple's party. In 1892 he was the only one of two
state speakers of that party in Idaho, and con-
ducted a powerful and effective campaign, he be-
ing recognized as one of the leading and able
public speakers of the state. In 1893 h*? ^^'^^ a
candidate for city attorney, on the People's party
ticket, and was defeated although he received a
large vote. In 1894 he was a candidate on the
same ticket for district attorney and ran one thou-
sand five hundred votes ahead of his ticket. In
1894-6 he again campaigned the state for his
party. During these campaigns he was especially
noted for the masterly and clear manner in which
he presented the issues before the people, his
eloquence and logic being largely commented on
by the people and press of the state. In 1898
he was a delegate to both meetings of the state
central committee of the People's party, and in
the absence of the regular chairman he was elect-
ed provisional chairman, and presided until the
time of the state convention, which assembled in
August, 1898. At that time he was the unani-
mous choice of the convention as the candidate
for governor, but declined that nomination in
favor of Hon. D. H. Andrews. He was then
unanimously chosen as candidate for justice of
the supreme court.
In addition to his general law practice, Mr.
Jones has extensive mining interests, and is the
attorney for several corporations, he having to a
remarkable degree in his public and private af-
fairs the confidence of both capital and labor.
In 1892. in Boise, Idaho, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Winifred Cullen,
a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Paul Cul-
len, a well-known pioneer of Utah. They have
two children, — Felix and Paul. Theirs is a de-
lightful home, where the evidences of culture in-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
41
dicate the refined taste of the inmates. Beautitnl
grounds surround the house, which is located at
the corner of Fifth and Myrtle streets, and many
friends enjoy the hospitality which there reigns
supreme. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jones hold mem-
bership in the Catholic church, and their support
is given many measures intended for the public
good.
HON. JOHN C. RICE.
John Campbell Rice, president of the Com-
mercial Bank of Caldwell and a prominent mem-
ber of the bar of Canyon county, is numbered
among the native sons of Illinois, his birth hav-
ing occurred in Cass County, that state, January
27, 1864. He is of Welsh descent, tracing his
ancestry back to the Welsh emigrants of the
name who located in the colony of Massachusetts
during the early settlement of America. Later,
members of the family removed to Tennessee.
The grandfather, Ebenezer Rice, removed with
his family from Tennessee to Illinois in 1839.
Elbert Gallatin Rice, the father, was born in
Tennessee in 1823, and was accordingly sixteen
years of age when he accompanied his parents
to the Prairie state, their home being in what
was then Morgan county, but is now Scott coun-
ty. In his younger years he adhered to the faith
of the Baptist church, but afterward united with
the Christian church and entered the work of the
ministry. By occupation he was a farmer and
owned and operated a tract of land, but each Sun-
day he was found in the house of worship pro-
claiming the gospel to those who sought to know
of the better life. His death occurred in the sixty-
ninth year of his age. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of ]\Iary Ann Camp, was a relative
of General Putnam and a great-granddaughter of
General Putnam's brother William. Mrs. Rice
was of English descent, her ancestors being
among the early settlers of Connecticut. She is
still living, in the seventy-third year of her age,
and is a most estimable lady whose many virtues
have endeared her to a large circle of friends.
John C. Rice of this review is the eighth in
order of birth in a family of ten children, all of
whom still survive. He was reared under the
parental roof and completed his literary educa-
tion in the Illinois College, at Jacksonville, where
he was graduated in the class of 1885. Subse-
quently he engaged in teaching mathematics in
his alma mater for a year, and then entered upon
the study of law in the Michigan State Univer-
sity, at Ann Arbor. His professional course was
terminated by his graduation in Cornell College,
in 1890, after which he entered upon the practice
of law in Caldwell, where he has built up a large
clientage. He has a broad and thorougli- under-
standing of the principles of jurisprudence, and
is very careful to conform to a high standard of
professional ethics. He is also connected with
other business interests, having been one of the
organizers of the Commercial Bank, at which
time he was elected president and has since
served in that capacity. By judicious manage-
ment this has become one of the leading banking
institutions in this part of the state, and the re-
liability of the stockholders has secured it a
liberal patronage.
On the 2d of October, 1895, Mr. Rice was
united in marriage to Miss Maude Beshears, of
Caldwell, Idaho, and they have two interesting
little sons, Elbert Gallatin and Homer Beshears.
Mr. and Mrs. Rice are connected with the Chris-
tian church, of which he is one of the charter
members and also one of the elders. He takes
an active interest in its work and is an exemplary
member of Essene Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A.
M., of Caldwell, in which he is past master. His
political support is given the Democracy. He
was elected a member of the fourth state legis-
lature, and during his service was chairman of
the house judiciary committee. Although a
young man he has attained eminence in profes-
sional and political life, and the future will un-
doubtedly hold still higher honors for him, for
a man of marked ability and energy is always in
demand in connection with the important activi-
ties of business and public life.
SOLOMON HASBROUCK.
One of the best known pioneer settlers of the
state of Idaho is Solomon Hasbrouck, who is
now serving as clerk of the supreme court and is
accounted one of the leading and influential citi-
zens of Boise. He is numbered among the sons
of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in
New Paltz, Lister county. New York, on the
30th of May. 1833. He is a descendant of Hoi-
42
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
land Dutch ancestry, and at an early period in
the history of the state the family was founded
within its borders. Solomon P. Hasbrouck, the
grandfather of our subject, was a prominent lum-
ber manufacturer and merchant and carried on
business^n such an extensive scale and employed
so great a force of workmen that he was called
the "king of Centerville." His son, Alexander
Hasbrouck, father of our subject, was born in
Centerville. and there spent his entire life, pass-
ing away in 1894, at the age of eighty-six years.
At the age of twenty-three he married Miss
Rachel Elting, a native of his own county, and
after that conducted a farm about three miles
from Centerville for twenty-five years. He then
moved to New York city, where for five years he
was in business in Washington market. Then
he came to Idaho and lived with his son Solomon
until his decease. He and his wife were valued
members of the Methodist church and were held
in the highest regard by all who knew them.
She departed this life when our subject was but
five years of age.
Our subject is now the only survivor of the
family, his only sister having also departed this
life. He was reared on a farm at the place of his
birth, and during the summer months assisted in
the labors of field and meadow, while in the win-
ter season he attended the public schools. At the
age of sixteen he secured a clerkship in a store,
serving in that capacity for four years. In 1854
he sailed from New York to San Francisco, by
way of the isthmus, and engaged in mining at
Nevada City until i860. He made considerable
money for a time, but afterward sunk it in other
mining ventures. He next went to Santa Bar-
bara, California, where he secured a claim of one
hundred and sixty acres, but finding this mostly
worthless he never perfected a title and it re-
turned to the government. In 1861 he went to
Portland, Oregon, where he met an old friend,
R. E. Halleck, with whom, in the spring, he trav-
eled from Eugene City, Oregon, to Granite creek,
the journey being made with pack animals.
Mr. Hasbrouck engaged in mining on Granite
creek until June, 1862, when he removed to Owy-
hee county, Idaho, and mined on Jordan creek
for a \ear. In the winter of 1863-4 he was ap-
pointed one of the county conimi.ssioners of that
count\-, which was at that time created, and in
the fall of 1864 he was elected a member of the
territorial legislature, which convened at Lewis-
ton, and was the second session ever held. Dur-
ing that time the act was passed whereby the
capital was removed from Lewiston to Boise.
On the close of his legislative service, :Mr. Has-
brouck returned to Portland, and the following
May again went to Owynee county, coming
thence to Boise. In the capital city he was em-
ployed in the internal revenue service under John
Cummings, the first internal revenue collector in
the territory. In 1866 Mr. Cummings was ap-
pointed one of the judges of the territory and
he appointed Mr. Hasbrouck clerk of the court.
In 1867, thirteen years after he had left New
York, Mr. Hasbrouck visited his native state, and
there married Miss Ann Eliza \'an Wagenen, a
friend of his childhood and a schoolmate of his
youth. Theirs has been a happy married life, in
1868 they left the east for their new home in
Idaho, and were soon comfortably located in
Boise. Four children have been born to them:
Edward Hallock, the eldest, has followed mining
principally: Raymond DeLancy, the second son,
is now acting chief engineer on the United States
steamer Puritan; Elizabeth ]\I. is the wife of
Charles D. Shrady; and \'an Wagenen is deputy
clerk of the supreme court, and makes his home
at Lewiston. He is a lawyer, and has been ad-
mitted to practice in all of the courts of the state.
Upon his return to Idaho, Mr. Hasbrouck was
reappointed clerk of the district court, and also
of the supreme court. At the same time he was
ganger in the internal revenue service and clerk
in the office of the superintendent of Indian af-
fairs.
In the meantime he studied law, was admitted
to practice in the district courts, antl in 1871 was
admitted to practice in the supreme court of the
territory. He formed a law partnership with
Henry E. Prickett, under the firm name of Prick-
ett & Hasbrouck, a connection that was con-
tinued until Mr. Prickett was appointed district
judge, when Mr. Hasbrouck turned his atten-
tion to merchandising, which piu'suit he followed
for twelve years in Boise and Weiser. \\' hile in
the latter place a disastrous fire occurred, which
almost wi]X'd out the town, and he thereby lost
everything he liad. Soon after this Judge J. H.
Beatty, now district judge of the federal court, ,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
43
appointed him clerk of the district court. A year
later Idaho was admitted to the Union and an
independent supreme court was created, of which
he was appointed clerk, a position which he has
since acceptably filled. During his long term in
this office he has discharged his duties in a most
prompt and capable manner, winning the com-
mendation of the bench and bar and the regard
of the public. He is a very agreeable and oblig-
ing official and has thereby won a host of friends
throughout the whole state. In politics he is a
"silver" Republican, and in religious belief he
and his family are Episcopalians. Perhaps no
one in the state has been more continuously
identified with its public service through a longer
period than Solomon Hasbrouck, who has borne
no unimportant part in shaping the policy of
Idaho and advancing its interests. He may well
be numbered among its honored pioneers, and
his life history deserves a prominent place in its
annals.
GEORGE LITTLE.
The list of the leading citizens of Caldwell
contains the name of Judge George Little, one
of the representative and honored citizens of
Canyon county. His record as a soldier, as an
official and as a business man has been so hon-
orable that he has gained the confidence and
good will of all with whom he has been brought
in contact, and as probate judge and superin-
tendent of public instruction he won still higher
encomiums from his fellow men by reason of the
fidelity and ability which he manifested in the
discharge of his duties. He retired from office
in January, 1899.
A native of Kentucky, Judge Little was born
in Daviess county, July 15, 1839, and is of Scotch
and English descent. The original American an-
cestors of the family located in Massachusetts,
and the branch to which our subject belongs was
afterward planted in Charleston, South Carolina.
Later generations of the family removed to Ken-
tucky, where Weslev Morgan Little, the father
of the Judge, was born, in 1814. In early life he
learned the wheelwright's trade, but afterward
engaged in farming. His wife bore the maiden
name of Henrietta Waltrip, and belonged to one
of the old families of Culpeper county, Virginia.
Her father was one of the prominent residents
of that county and held various positions of honor
and trust. In politics the father of Judge Little
was a Democrat and served as presidential elec-
tor in 1856, casting his vote for James Buchanan.
In a political altercation with a Know-nothing he
was shot and killed, leaving a family of three
children. The mother of our subject had died in
the twenty-ninth year of her age, and he, had
later married again, having three children by the
second union.
Judge Lihle was educated in the public schools
of his native town, and when the great civil war
was inaugurated gave his support to the Lfnion.
Careful consideration led him to believe that
any attempt to destroy the power of the national
government was absolutely wrong, and with a
patriotic impulse he joined Company M, Seven-
teenth Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry, serving in
Mississippi and Tennessee. He participated in
a number of engagements and was wounded in
the thigh by a guerrilla. On the expiration of
his term of service he engaged in merchandising
on Green river, Kentucky, and joined a regiment
which was organized for home protection, of
which command he was made major. This
aroused the special ire of the guerrilla bands,
who destroyed his store by fire and took him
prisoner, but he was afterward rescued by a com-
pany of Kentucky cavalry. Judge Little then
went to Louisville and enlisted in the regular
army, serving on the regimental staff of General
John Gibbon for three years.
On the close of the war he resumed merchan-
dising, choosing as the scene of his labors the
town of Laramie, Wyoming, where he remained
for sixteen years, enjoying a liberal patronage.
During that time he served as postmaster of
Laramie by appointment of President Grant, and
also held important county offices. In 1884 he
came to Caldwell, where he established a drug
store, continuing in that line of trade for five
years, when his health failed and he sold out.
Hoping that a change of climate would prove
beneficial, he sought the higher altitude of the
Jordan valley, in Oregon, where for a time he
conducted a general mercantile store. His un-
dertakings there, however, were not attended
with success and he returned to Caldwell. Since
that time he has been almost continuously con-
nected with the public service. He was district
44
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
clerk and deputy auditor and recorder for two
years, and since that time has been twice elected
probate judge, which position he is filling at the
present time, together with that of superintend-
ent of public instruction in Canyon county. His
extreme fairness makes him especially capable
in the former office, while his liberal mental cul-
ture, and deep interest in the cause of education
render his service in the latter position extremely
effective.
In 1875 Judge Little was married, In Laramie,
Wyoming, to Miss Flora Cameron, a native of
Canada and of Scotch descent. They now have
two children: Edna, who has attained a high
reputation as a successful teacher and is now
occupying a position in the Moscow high school ;
and Wesley, who is attending college in Caldwell.
The Judge has been a lifelong Republican and
now supports the free-silver wing of the party.
He was made a Mason in Laramie Lodge, No. 2,
A. F. & A. M., of Laramie, Wyoming, and is a
charter member and past master of Essene
Lodge, No. 22, of Caldwell. Both he and his
wife are consistent and active members of the
Presbyterian church, with which he has been
connected since the age of sixteen years. He is
now superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday
school in Caldwell, and is very earnest and zeal-
ous in the work, and generously co-operates with
all movements or measures intended for the bet-
terment of humanity. He is a man of strong
mentality, of broad humanitarian principles and
kindly motives. No trust reposed in him has
ever been betrayed, and whether on the field of
battle protecting the stars and stripes or in local
political ofifice, he is true to his country and its
best interests, — a loyal and patriotic citizen.
SOLOMON M. JEFFREYS.
In the front rank of the columns which have
advanced the civilization of the northwest, Solo-
mon M. Jeffreys has led the way to the substan-
tial development, progress and upbuilding of
Idaho, being particularly active in the growth
of Weiser, where he still makes his home. He
is numbered among the pioneers of Idaho, Cali-
fornia and Oregon, his memory going back to
the time when the entire Pacific coast was but
very sparsely settled, when the Indians were
more numerous than the white men, and the land
had not been reclaimed for purposes of cultiva-
tion, but remained in the primitive condition in
which it came from the hand of nature.
Mr. Jeffreys was born in Jackson county, ]Mis-
souri, February 11, 1835, and is of English line-
age. His father, Thomas Jeffreys, was born in
Kentucky and was married there to Miss Mary
Dickerson. In 1845, with his wife and five chil-
dren, he started for Oregon with a train of si.xty
wagons, drawn by oxen and mules, there being
about two hundred persons in the company.
They were nine months in making the long and
tedious journey across the plains and endured
many hardships and privations. Their route lay
along the south and west banks of the Snake
river, but they little dreamed that in the course
of a few years members of their party would lo-
cate in that beautiful district of what is now the
state of Idaho. They pressed onward to the fer-
tile Willamette valley, and the father located a
"donation" claim of six hundred and forty acres
of land in what became the rich county of Yam-
hill, Oregon. In 1849, attracted by the discovery
of gold in California, he went to that state, ac-
companied by two of his sons, and engaged in
mining for some time. When they had taken out
considerable gold they started to return to Ore-
gon, but the father died and was buried at sea,
when forty-eight years of age. He was an hon-
est, industrious and brave pioneer. His estimable
wife, who shared with him in the dangers and
privations of frontier life, survived him for a long
period, and died at the age of seventy-three years.
Of their five children who crossed the plains only
two are living, Solomon and James.
The former acquired his education in Polk
county, Oregon, and at the Alethodist Mission
College, at Salem. In 1849 he went with his
father and brother John to California and en-
gaged in mining on the north fork of the .-Ameri-
can river. When they had saved twenty-five
thousand dollars they started to return to Ore-
gon. After the death and burial of their father
at sea, the brothers continued on their way alone
to Yamhill county, where Mr. Jeffreys of this re-
view engaged in farming for a number of years.
He then followed stock-raising in eastern Ore-
gon, and became one of the largest cattlemen of
that time. In 1862 he drove one thousand head
^/ ^"J^-^^iy
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
45
of cattle from The Dalles to the Carriboo country,
where he butchered them, selling the beef to the
miners for fifty and seventy-five cents per pound,
making on that venture about half a million
dollars. On the trip to that place, the Indian
chief Moses and his band accompanied Mr.
Jeffreys and his party, and they feasted the In-
dians on the best they had. His brother John
was a lieutenant in the Wasco Company, and
with his command participated in the Indian war
of 1856.
In the year 1865 Jilr. Jeffreys of this review ar-
rived in Idaho, and settled in what is now Wash •
ington county, and he engaged in the raising of
cattle and horses. Later he was actively identi-
fied with many of the industrial and commercial
interests of Weiser. He built the first fiouring-
niill and was also one of the early merchants of
the town. He became one of the builders of the
city water ditches and a member of the Weiser
City Ditch and Irrigation Company, which has
been of great value to the town and surrounding
country. Since its organization he has been
president of the company, and in all his business
interests he has met with gratifying success, ow-
ing to his careful management, his reliable judg-
ment and his unabating energy.
In 1868 Air. Jeffreys married Miss Alary
Boyles, a native of Polk county, Oregon, and a
daughter of Dr. Boyles, who was a very promi-
nent physician. By that marriage there were
three children. The mother died soon after the
birth of her twins, and they did not long sur-
vive her. The first born, Laura, is now the wife
of W. W. Curtis, of Salem, Oregon. On the 23d
of April, 1878, Mr. Jeffreys wedded Mrs. Sarah
E. Ripper, and they have two sons, — Oliver, in
school, and Woodson, who is a volunteer in the
American army at Manila.
Mrs. Sarah E. Jeffreys, nee Anderson, w-as
born in Fleming county, Kentucky, December
29, 1845. Her parents, Samuel Anderson and
Cynthia Ann, nee Penland, were born, raised
and married in Fleming county, Kentucky. Her
father is seventy-five years of age and makes his
home with his children. Her mother died Jan-
uary 13, 1884, when sixty-one years of age. Her
■great-grandparents, of Scotch-Irish descent, came
from Virginia and took part in the war of 1812.
Mrs. Jeffreys moved with her parents to Bu-
chanan county, Alissouri, m 1847, and crossed
the plains to Willamette valley in 185 1. She
was married to C. W. Ripper, March 19, 1863,
and with her husband moved to eastern Oregon
in 1864, and to Weiser, Idaho, in 1869. They
had five children, — three sons and two daugh-
ters : one son and daughter were twins. Only one
of the five is living, — Isaac N. Ripper, of Day-
ville, Oregon. Mrs. Jeffreys is a charter member
of the Baptist church and one of its most active
workers. Mr. Jeffreys was made a Master Mason
in Amity Lodge, No. 20, at Amity, in Yamhill
county, Oregon. In his earlier years he gave his
political support to the Democratic party, but is
now a Populist. He was a member of the terri-
torial legislature in the seventh session and aided
in procuring the erection of Washington county,
being one of the commissioners appointed to ef-
fect its organization. He is now a member of
the town council and his popularity in Weiser is
indicated by the fact that he was made the nom-
inee of three parties for the office of county treas-
urer. He has ever discharged his duties with
marked ability and fairness, for he is a most
loyal, public-spirited citizen. As a business man
he has been conspicuous among his associates,
not only for his success, but for his probity, fair-
ness and honorable methods. In everything he
has been eminently practical, and this has been
manifest not only in his business undertakings
but also in private and social life.
SAMUEL STRICKLER.
The story of pioneer life in Idaho is well known
to such men as Samuel Strickler, for through
thirty-six years he has been a witness of tiie de-
velopment of the northwest and has faithfully
borne his part in the work of upbuilding and
advancement; he now resides in Bellevue. He
claims Pennsylvania as the state of his nativity,
his birth occurring in Chambersburg, Franklin
county, November 21, 1832. He is of German
descent and his ancestors were among the early
settlers of the Keystone state. His father, Sam-
uel Strickler, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylva-
nia, and married Susanna Hollinger, also a na-
tive of Pennsylvania. Twelve children, six sons
and six daughters, were born of this union, and
ten grew to maturity, while six are yet living.
46
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
The fatlier died in 1875, at the age of eighty-one
years, and the mother passed away a httle later
at about the same age.
!ilr. Strickler, of this review, was educated in
Pennsylvania and in 1846 accompanied his fam-
ily on their removal to Mount Carroll, Illinois,
where he also attended school. In 1859 he
crossed the plains to Colorado with an ox team
and through the summer successfully engaged in
mining. In the fall of the same year he returned
to his home in Illinois, and in i860 he again
went west, locating in Denver, where he engaged
in farming, selling his produce in that city. He
was verv successful in that venture, but in 1863,
learning of the gold excitement in Idaho, he pur-
chased a stock of miners' supplies and took them
to the territory, opening a store in Idaho City,
July 3, 1863. On the 15th of December of the
same year he removed to Boise, buih a store and
there engaged in business. He had a pack train
with which he hauled his own goods, and also
engaged in packing for others. In 1866 he sold
out and engaged in gold-mining in Oregon, but
after a time returned to Boise and purchased
three hundred and twenty acres of land in the
valley, below the capital. There he cultivated
hay and grain and obtained good prices for his
products, selling oats sometimes as high as five
cents per pound. At length an excellent oppor-
tunity came for him to dispose of his property,
and selling out he returned to Boise. Later he
also sold his town property and purchased a
freighting outfit, freighting from Boise to Kelton
and other places. But gold and silver were dis-
covered in large quantities in the Wood river val-
ley, and, selling his stock, he came to Bellevue,
where he once more resumed mining. He is the
owner of considerable property in the town and
also of Kentucky Ledge, a fine property located
thirty-five miles northwest of the town. He is
now engaged in its development, and has made
a tunnel one hundred feet long. The ore yields
eighty ounces of silver and sixty per cent lead.
Mr. Strickler also has a number of teams which
he uses in hauling ore and in freighting, and
thus his life is one of activity and usefulness, in
which his labors are being crowned with a good
financial reward.
Throughout the ]5assing years Mr. Strickler
has experienced many of the hardships incident
to pioneer life. In 1869 there were about five
hundred Indians hunting in the Wood river val-
ley, when he and his partner, Senor Hicks, pur-
chased a load of goods which they took to the
valley to trade with the Indians for furs. They
camped on the present site of Bellevue, and on
the second day passed there Mr. Hicks started up
the valley to see how far they could go with the
wagon, leaving Mr. Strickler alone with the
wagon and the goods. For two days there w-as
not another white man within miles. During
that time he went over to the Indians and a big
"brave," grabbing hold of him, threw him on
the ground, planted his knee upon him and then
put a big knife at his breast! Mr. Strickler ex-
pected instant death, but the Indian finally re-
leased him, and, getting up, he made his way back
to the wagon where he had two ginis. Soon
afterward he saw the Indian coming toward him,
but he did not think it best to shoot. The In-
dian then offered to smoke a pipe of peace with
him, but Mr. Strickler did not smoke, and so
the red man gave him a mink skin as a peace
offering.
Mr. Hicks soon afterward returned and the
partners remained in the valley until they had
sold their goods, clearing two thousand dollars
of? the transaction. They then returned to Boise,
and in 1870 Mr. Strickler again engaged in
freighting on the Kelton road. In 1877, with
two companions and two wagons, he was cor-
raled by the Indians on Clover creek. The sav-
ages were on the war path and Mr. Strickler and
his party, not being able to pass them, were
forced to remain for five weeks. Durinp^ this
time, on a certain night, one of the men came
and awakened him, saying that the Indians were
coming. Our subject then asked, "Where?" and
in response to the man's reply, "From all
around:" he said, "\\'ell, I will remain where I
am." Such was the coolness with which the
pioneers met danger. On reaching Kelton the
party found the United States soldiers there and
learned that five teamsters had been killed and
their wagons burned. The Indians had also
gone down the Snake river, and, meeting a man
with a pack horse and saddle, had grabbed the
horse by the bit and held him until the chief-
came up, when he gave word to release the man,
who returned to Kelton, sold his horse and went
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
by rail to the states. Such experiences were very
common among tlie hardy pioneers, who left be-
hind them the comforts of the east to subdue the
western wilderness for purposes of civilization.
In politics Mr. Strickler was for many years a
stalwart Republican, and is now identified with
the "silver" Republican party. He is rated as
one of the leading and influential citizens of
Bellevue, where he has a pleasant home, and acts
as his own housekeeper, having never married.
He has many friends among the pioneers and
later arrivals in Idaho, and well deserves men-
tion among the early settlers of this splendid
commonwealth.
THOMAS T. REDSULL.
Great, indeed, have been the changes that time
and man have wrought since Thomas T. Red-
sull landed on the Pacific coast. California yet
belonged to Alexico, and much of the land, espe-
cially in the southern part of the state, was di-
vided into large estates, owned and occupied by
Spanish families. ]\Ir. Redsull was then but
eleven years of age, yet had started out to make
his own way in the world. He was born in the
county of Kent. England, on the 15th of Novem-
ber, 1827, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Goy-
mer) Redsull, both of whom were natives of
England and representatives of ancient families
of that country. They were both members of
the Episcopal church, and the father was a col-
lector of excise for the government. He departed
this life in 1858, at the age of fifty years, and his
widow is now living at the age of one hundred
and three years. They had seven children, but
only three are now living.
Mr. Redsull of this review acquired his early
education in England, and when only eleven
years of age was bound out as an apprentice to
the Hudson's Bay Company, and in their service
came to the United States in 1838, landing in
California. He is consequently one of the oldest
pioneers of that state. The same year he also
went to Oregon, and therefore can claim the
honor of being a pioneer of that state, too. He
made his home at Vancouver and was for twent_\-
years a pilot on the Columbia river at Mult-
nomah.
On Multnomah island. May 4. 1854, Mr. Red-
sull was united in marriage to Miss Amelia
Spence, a native of Canada, and their union has
been blessed with six children, five of whom are
living, namely: James Spence, a resident of
Owyhee county, Idaho; Elizabeth, wife of George
B. Pinkham; Emma, widow of Charles H. Te-
gaskis; Caroline, wife of W. H. Bailey, of Hailey;
and Sarah, who is at home w'ith her parents.
During the mining excitement in this state
j\lr. Redsull removed to Idaho City, where he
engaged in placer mining, taking out consider-
able gold. He was a soldier in the Cayuse war,
and was on the field at the massacre of Dr. Whit-
man and his family. In 1863 he was one of the
organizers of a company formed for the purpose
of checking the Indian depredations. This com-
pany was commanded by Captain Jefif Stanford,
and they came upon the Indians at the crossing
of Snake river on the Weiser. They were
sent there to protect the emigrants and had sev-
eral little encounters with the red men. continu-
ing the organization for two and a half years,
during which time some eight or ten of the vol-
unteers were killed, and also several Indians; but
the habit of the Indians in carrying oR their dead
made it impossible to determine with accuracy
just how many of the red men were slain. In
1878 Mr. Redsull volunteered to aid General
Howard and continued with him until the close
of hostilities, when the Indians surrendered. He
then located in Boise and was engaged in freight-
ing for four or five years. On the expiration
of that period he went to South Mountain, and
on to Tuscarora, Nevada, where he conducted the
Grand Prize Hotel, at the Grand Prize mine.
There he remained until 1881, when he came to
Bellevue, being one of the first settlers of the
town. Since that time he has been prominently
associated with its development and upbuilding,
and for seventeen years was honored with the
office of justice of the peace. In 1898 he was
elected judge of the probate court of Blaine
county and is now acceptably serving in that ca-
pacity. What higher testimonial of his ability,
trustworthiness and fidelity to duty could be
given than the statement that he served in one
office for seventeen consecutive years? His of-
ficial record is above question and is indeed cred-
itable to himself and his constituents. He be-
came a Republican on attaining his majority, and
4S
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
now votes the "silver" Republican ticket. He
has passed all the chairs in the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and is probably the oldest repre-
sentative of the order in the state, having been
identified therewith for forty-eight years. He
joined Pioneer Lodge, Xo. i, of Idaho City, and
his name is now on the roll of Bellevue Lodge,
No. 9. He is also a .member of the Sailors' Be-
nevolent Society, and his wife belongs to the
Episcopal church. They have a beautiful home
in Bellevue, which he erected in 1892. During
the sixty-one years of his residence on the Pa-
cific coast he has seen the formation of terri-
tories, their development into states, the estab-
lishment of villages which have become thriving
cities, and the introduction of all the lines of busi-
ness known to civilization. The rapid and won-
derful development of the northwest is a matter
of marvel, and it is a glorious thing to have been
a part of it as Mr. Redsull has been. He has
through more than six decades watched the
march of progress and well deserves mention
among the honored pioneers.
GEORGE J. LEWIS.
The life history of him whose name heads this
sketch is closely identified with the annals of
the northwest, and he is ex-secretary of the state
of Idaho. An important department of the gov-
ernmental service of the commonwealth has thus
been entrusted to him, and in the discharge of
his duties he manifested a loyalty to the public
good that was above cjiiestion and reflected credit
upon the party that called him to office.
He is a western man and possesses the progres-
sive spirit so characteristic of the region this side
of the Mississippi. His birth occurred in Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, on the 28th of March, 1861.
He is a representative of an old New England
family that was established in Connecticut in
early colonial days, and when the war of the
Revolution was inaugurated bearers of the name
joined the forces of General Washington and
fought for the independence of the nation. The
father of our subject, Isaac I. Lewis, was born in
Meriden, Connecticut, in 1825, and is still living,
in the seventy-fourth year of his age. He mar-
ried Georgiana Christmas, a native of Wooster,
Ohio, and removed to Illinois at an early period
in the history of that state. He was also a pioneer
of ^Minnesota, and in connection with his father
aided in founding the city of Minneapolis. He
was a druggist, surveyor and metallurgist, and
is now engaged in mining on Wood river, Idaho,
his residence being in Ketchum. He removed to
Montana, in 1872, locating in Helena, and be-
came the owner of very valuable mining interests
in that state. From the Elkhorn mine, on Wood
river, in which he is now interested, gold has
been taken to the value of one million one hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars. In public life
Isaac I. Lewis has also been an important factor,
and while in Minnesota served as a member of
the state legislature and in Montana was a mem-
ber of the territorial council.
George J. Lewis is the fourth in order of birth
in the family of seven children. His preliminary
education was supplemented by a four-years
course in the Alinnesota University, which he
completed in 1882. He then went to the Wood
river district of Idaho just as the great boom
struck that region, and engaged in the publica-
tion of the Ketchum Keystone, of which he was
practically the founder, making it one of the best
weekly papers in the state. In 1884 he also pub-
lished a daily edition, which was imbued with the
energetic and enterprising spirit of the owner
and the northwest. In 1886 he sold the paper
and engaged in the drug business in Butte, Mon-
tana; also was for a time city editor of the Daily
Inter Mountain, published in Butte. He resigned
that position to become assistant cashier of the
First National Bank, of Ketchum, and later he
was promoted to the position of cashier, in
which capacity he served until the bank closed
out its business, in 1890. He then established a
private banking business under the firm name of
George J. Lewis & Company, of which he was
principal and manager. In 1896 he paid ofT all
the depositors and closed his bank, be-
cause of the many failures of the country caused
by the great depreciation in silver. His ten years'
career as banker, however, served to demonstrate
his marked business ability and evidenced his
careful, conservative methods. He won the con-
fidence of the public in the highest degree, a
confidence that was never betrayed to the slight-
est extent. No run was ever made on his bank
even during the most severe perioil of the panic.
¥
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
49
and he well deserved the regard thus manifest.
He is still interested in mining, and in the Sal-
mon river mining district, at Elko, Nevada, owns
very valuable copper mines.
On the 20th of January, 1887, Mr. Lewis was
united in marriage to Miss Leta May Crawford,
of Anamosa, Iowa. She is a graduate of Iowa
College, of Grinnell, Iowa, and is a most cultured
and accomplished lady, who presides with grace
over her pleasant home in Boise. Four sons
have been born of this union.
In his political connections Mr. Lewis is a
Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for
Hancock and English. He supported the men
and measures of the Democracy until the organi-
zation of the Populist party of Idaho, with which
party he was identified until the Democratic
party again took up the cause of bimetallism. He
has always been one of its active workers in the
convention halls and through the campaigns, and
has done all in his power to promote its inter-
ests. In 1892 he was elected to the state legisla-
ture from Alturas county, and was honored by
the solid vote of his party for speaker of the
house. He was the author of the famous "anti-
test-oath bill," which was defeated through party
influence and was afterward passed at the third
session, when the honors were unmistakably Re-
publican. The passage of the public-printing act
was also mainly due to his efforts, and through
all tne sessions he proved himself an active and
capable worker, most deeply interested in the
advancement of such measures as he believed
would prove of public benefit. In 1894 lie was
the unanimous choice of the Populist party in
convention for state senator from Alturas coun-
ty, but owing to a local fusion between Demo-
crats and Republicans he was defeated by a
small majority. He has frequently been a dele-
gate to the county and state conventions of his
party and has always been a liberal contributor
to the campaign fund. In 1896 he received the
nomination for secretary of the state at the hands
of the People's Democratic party, and was elected
to the office. His record in that position is now
a matter of history and reflects credit upon the
state. He neglected no duty, however trivial,
and at all times manifested a patriotic spirit,
showing his deep interest in the real welfare of
the commonwealth. At the fourth session of the
legislature of Idaho he was a candidate of the
Democratic party for United States senator, re-
ceiving seventeen votes for that position.
Mr. Lewis is a member of the Idaho Press As-
sociation, and in 1895, largely through his influ-
ence, its annual meeting was held in Ketchum.
He is now owner and manager of the Capital
Printing Company, of Boise. He is one of the
popular citizens of Idaho, widely and favorably
known throughout the state, and young and old,
rich and poor are his friends.
JOHN M. HAINES.
The wise system of industrial economics which
has been brought to bear in the development
of Boise has challenged uniform admiration, for
while there has been a great advancement in all
material lines, there has been an entire absence
of that inflation of values and that erratic "boom-
ing" which have in the past proved the eventual
death knell to many of the localities of
the west, where "mushroom" towns have
one day smiled forth with "all modern im-
provements" and practically on the next
day have been shorn of their glories and
of their possibilities of stable prosperity, so
to remain until the existing order of things shall
have been radically changed. In Boise progress
has been made continuous and in safe lines, and
this is due in no small degree to i\Ir. Haines and
those with whom he is associated in the real-
estate business under the firm name of W. E.
Pierce & Company. To real-estate men, prob-
ably more than to any one else, is due the health-
ful development of the town, and Boise is cer-
tainly indebted to this firm for much of its sub-
stantial growth and improvement. It is there-
fore meet that its members be represented in the
history of the capital city, and therefore with
pleasure we take up the task of preparing the life
record of J. M. Haines.
This gentleman was born in Jasper county,
Iowa, January i, 1863. and is of German and
English extraction. Early ancestors of the fam-
ily located in Pennsylvania at the time when
William Penn planted his colony there, and were
members of the Society of Friends, to which
religious faith many of their descendants have
since adhered. From Philadelphia representa-
tives of the name removed to Maryland, where
50
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Isaac L. Haines, fatlier of our subject, was born
and reared. He married Eliza Busliong, a na-
tive of Ohio and a member of the Christian
church, while he beloneed to the Quaker churcn.
He has devoted liis life to agricultural pursuits,
and is now living in Iowa, at an advanced age.
His wife was called to her final home in 1893, at
the age of sixty-three years.
John M. Haines was reared under the parental
roof and acquired his education in Penn College,
of Oskaloosa, Iowa. In his twentieth year he
secured a position as clerk in the Merchants &
Farmers' Bank, of Friend, Nebraska, where he
remained until 1885, when he removed to south-
western Kansas and engaged in the real-estate
business. He prospered in his undertakings
there and did a large business in locating emi-
grants on government land. He also took an
active part in the political afifairs of that new and
rapidly developing section of the state and was
a member of the Republican state central com-
mittee. He was also deputy clerk of the court of
Morton county, and in 1889 was elected register
of deeds. For some time he was very successful
in his undertakings, and accumulated consider-
able capital, but a season of "dry winds" came,
the country produced nothing, and in the finan-
cial panic which followed he lost nearly all he
had accumulated.
In the meantime the firm of Pierce & Com-
pany, of Boise, had been formed, the partners be-
ing W. E. Pierce, J. M. Haines and L. H. Cox.
They arrived in the city soon after the admission
of the state to the Union, when Boise was a
town of aljout three thousand. They at once
took rank as the leading real-estate men of Idalm,
a position which they have since retained. Thrii
realty transactions amount to almost a million
and a half of dollars. During the first three years
they handled property to the value of seven hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars, and since that
time their sales have amounted to five hundred
thousand dollars. They now own much desirable
city property and have made many excellent im-
provements thereon, in which way they have
added to the attractive appearance of Boise, as
well as by planting beautiful shade trees. The\
have sold much property on the installment plan,
thus enabling many to gain good homes of their
own, and have been important factors in the
growth and development of Boise.
In 1883 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Haines and Miss Mary Symons, a native of Jas-
per county, Iowa. They have a pretty home,
surrounded by well-kept grounds, and in their
residence are seen many evidences of the refined
and cultured taste of our subject and his accom-
plished wife. In the affairs of the city Mr. Haines
has ever taken a deep interest, and is now a mem-
ber of the city council. He does all in his power
for the advancement of the city in material, moral,
educational and social lines, and is a most popu-
lar and highly esteemed resident.
CHAPTER VII.
IDAHO— HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.
J\ S TO the exact time and period in which
r Y the United States acciuired possession of
'•• ■*- what is now the state of Idaho there seems
to have been somewhat of confusion in the minds
of historical writers, and while it is scarcely de-
manded that we enter into a consideration of the
various theories and conjectures that have been
advanced, it is proper that the matter receive due
attention and that the most authentic evidence
be recognized. The majority of writers and text-
books have assigned the region as a part of the
vast area included in the Louisiana purchase, to
which due reference is made on other pages of
this work. This view, however, can not be held
as essentially correct in its premises. What was
generally known as the "Oregon Country" was
not an integral portion of that purchase, and no
better or more concise evidence to this effect may
be found than that given in the following excerpt
from James G. Blaine's valuable work, "Twenty
Years of Congress:"
Tlie Louisiana purchase did not extend beyond the
main range of the Rocky mountains, and our title to
that large area which is included in the state of Oregon
and in the territories of Washington and IdahQ rests
upon a different foundation, or rather upon a series of
claims, each of which was strong under the law of
nations. We claimed it, first, by right of original dis-
covery of the Columbia river by an American nav-
igator, in 1792; second, by an original exploration in
1805; third, by original settlement, in 1810, by the
enterprising company of which John Jacob Astor was
the head; and, lastly and principally, by the transfer
of the Spanish title in 1819, many years after the
Louisiana purchase was accomplished. It is not, how-
ever, probable that we should have been able to main-
t.'iin our title to Oregon if we had not secured the in-
tervening country. It was certainly our purchase of
Louisiana that enabled us to secure the Spanish title
to the shores of the Pacific, and without that title we
could hardly have maintained our claim. As against
England, our title seemed to us to be perfect: but as
against Spain, our case was not so strong. The pur-
chase of Louisiana may, therefore, be fairly said to
have carried with it and secured to us our possession
of Oregon.
When the territory of Idaho was set ofif by act
of congress, March 3, 1863, it contained 326,373
square miles, extending from the 104th meridian
to the 117th, and from the forty-second to the
forty-ninth parallels of latitude. Thus it ex-
tended to a meridian within fifty miles of the
great bend of the Missouri below the mouth of
the Yellowstone river, and included the JMilk,
White Earth, Big Horn and Powder rivers, and
also a vast extent on the North Fork and Sweet-
water rivers, tributary to the Platte. It then con-
tained the Black Hills, Fort Laramie, Long's
Peak, the South Pass, Green river, Fort Hall,
Fort Boise and that tedious strip of territory ren-
dered notorious by the routes of the emigrants
to the Pacific coast along Snake river. As orig-
inally constituted it included all the present state
of Montana and a large portion of Wyoming.
The territorial boundary line, according to the
act of March 3, 1863, organizing the territory,
was as follows: Beginning at a point in the mid-
dle of the channel of the Snake river where the
northern boundary of Oregon intersects the
same, thence following down said channel of the
Snake river to a point opposite the mouth of the
Kooskooskia or Clearwater river, thence due
north to the forty-ninth parallel of lati-
tude, thence east along said parallel to
the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west
of Washington, thence south along said de-
gree of longitude to the northern boun-
dary of Colorado territory, thence west along
said boundary to the thirty-third degree of longi-
tude west of Washington, thence north along
said degree of longitude to the forty-second par-
allel of latitude, thence west along said parallel
53
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
to the eastern boundary of the state of Oregon,
thence north alonjr said boundary to the place of
beginning.
In 1868 Idaho was reduced to its present di-
mensions, extending from the British possessions
on the north to Utah and Nevada on the south;
from Montana and Wyoming on the east to Ore-
gon and Washington on the west, having a
length from north to south of four hundred and
ten miles, and a width from east to west var\ ing
from fifty to two hundred and fifty-seven miles.
In size the state is larger than all New England,
or about equal in area to New York and Penn-
sylvania combined. The straight western fron-
tier is four hundred miles long; the southern
three hundred miles; and the northern only fifty;
while the eastern runs due north for one hundred
and thirty miles, and then follows the crest of
the Rocky mountains northwesterly to tlie na-
tional boundary line.
The United States government prior to 1863
opened a road across the Bear river chain of
mountains, at the expense of several millions of
dollars, under the direction of Colonel Lander.
Hence this shortening of the overland route to
the Pacific was known as "Lander's cut-off."
Antecedent to the year mentioned, concerning all
the country now embraced in Idaho, the public
knew scarcely anything beyond the narrow limits
of the old trail. The principal thing known to
the early travelers was the wonderful Snake river,
which stream, by the way, derives its name from
the principal tribe of Indians found in the vicin-
ity, though it has also been called Shoshone,
Lewis and Les Serpents (the French term for
snake). This river in sections consists of great
pools, both in the plains and in the mountains,
and falls and rapids of great extent. In a dis-
tance of one hundred and fifty miles it has a
fall of over two thousand one hundred feet.
Therefore it is not navigable, but renders a vast
amount of water power and also water for irri-
gation purposes. The first large cataract to be
noticed is the American falls, so named on ac-
count of the fact that a party of Americans lost
their lives here in their effort to cross the river in
canoes. It is twenty-five miles southwest of Fort
Hall, and the descent of the water is sixty feet.
Thence the river flows between banks of trap
rock for about seventy miles, when it enters a
deeper canyon, several miles in length and from
eight hundred to a thousand miles in width. Soon
after this there is a fall of one hundred and eighty
feet in one perpendicular descent, of the main
portion of the water, while a smaller portion
makes its way down the descent gradually to a
certain point, where it completes the downward
journey to the great pool by a perpendicular de-
scent. These descents are called the Twin falls,
and sometimes the Little falls, to distinguish
them from the great Shoshone falls four miles be-
low, where the entire body of water plunges
down two hundred and twenty-five feet in a per-
pendicular descent, after a preliminary descent of
thirty feet down an incline. Forty miles still
farther west, at the Salmon or Fishing falls, the
river makes its last great downward plunge of
forty feet. a:fter which it flows, with frequent
rapids and canyons, on to the Columbia. Much
of the way from the head to the mouth is marked
by remarkable scenery, — awful, grand, weird or
mysterious.
The American falls are forty feet high, the
water plunging over a lava stairway; and the
Oregon Short Line Railroad crosses the river
amid their roar and spray. Below Goose creek
the river enters a deep canyon, within whose
gloomy abyss it flows for seventy miles, and in
this course the river sweeps through a group of
five islands of volcanic origin, amid which occur
several cascades, and then forms the magnificent
Shoshone falls, descending in full volume nine
hundred and fifty feet wide, over a semi-circular
cliff two hundred and twenty-five feet high, torn
by projecting rocks of lava into cataracts of white
foam and prismatic spray. At times the volume
nearly equals that of Niagara, while the descent
is a third greater. Richardson calls it "a cataract
of snow with an avalanche of jewels, amid solemn
portals of lava, unrivaled in the world save by
Niagara." This remarkable locality is twenty-
five miles from the railway, and of course there is
a hotel here for the accommodation of tourists.
A more detailed description of this magnificent
cataract appears on other pages of this volume.
The Snake is navigable from a point a few miles
above the Boise river to Powder river, a hundred
miles below.
The following beautiful word-picture is from
the pen of C. C. Goodwin, who, after a descrip-
Great Shoshone, Below the Falls.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
53
tion of the Columbia river and its beauties, con-
tinues in these words:
The Columbia is grand, but you must follow it up to
its chief tributary if you would find perfect glory— fol-
low it into the very desert. You have heard of the
lava beds of Idaho. They were once a river of molten
fire from three to nine hundred feet in depth, which
burned its way through the desert for hundreds of
miles! To the east of the source of this lava, the
Snake river bursts out of the hills, becoming almost
at once a sovereign river, and, flowing at first south-
westerly and then, bending westerly, cuts its way,
with many bends, finally, far to the north, merging
with the Columbia.
On this river are several falls. First are the Amer-
ican falls, which are very beautiful. Sixty miles below
are the Twin falls, where the river divides into two
nearly equal parts and falls one hundred and eighty
feet. They are magnificent. Three miles below are
the Shoshone falls, and a few miles lower down are
Salmon falls.
It was of Shoshone falls that I began to speak.
They are real rivals of Niagara. Never anywhere else
was there such a scene; never anywhere else was so
beautiful a picture hung in so rude a frame; never any-
w'here else on a background so forbidding and weird
were so many glories clustered. Around and beyond
there is nothing but the desert, sere, silent, lifeless,
as though Desolation had builded these everlasting
thrones to Sorrow and Despair.
Away back in remote ages over the withered breast
of the desert, a river of fire one hundred miles wide
and four hundred miles long was turned. As the fiery
mass cooled, its red waves became transfixed and
turned back, giving to the double desert an indescrib-
ably blasted and forbidding face. But while this river
of fire was in flow, a river of water was fighting its
way across it. or has since made the war and forged
out for itself a channel through the mass. This chan-
nel looks like the grave of a volcano that has been
robbed of its dead!
But right betw^een its crumbling and repellent walls
a transfiguration appears; and such a picture! A river
as lordly as the Hudson or the Ohio springing from
the distant snow-crested Tetons. with waters transpar-
ent as glass but green as emerald, with majestic flow
and ever-increasing volume, sweeps on until it reaches
this point where the august display begins. Suddenly,
in different places in the river bed, jagged, rocky reefs
are upraised, dividing the current into four rivers, and
these, in a mighty plunge of eighty feet downward,
dash on their way. Of course the waters are churned
into a foam and roll over the precipice white as are
the garments of morning when no cloud obscures the
sun. The loveliest of these falls is called the Bridal
Veil, because it is made of the lace which is woven
with a warp of falling waters and a woof of sunlight.
Above this and near the right bank is a long trail of
foam, and this is called the Bridal Train. The other
channels are not so fair as the one called Bridal Veil,
but they are more fierce and wild and carry in their
furious sweep more power.
One of the reefs which divides the river in mid-
channel runs up to a peak, and on this a family of
eagles have through the years, maybe through the
centuries, made their home and reared their young,
on the very verge of the abyss and amid the full
echoes of the resounding boom of the falls. Surely the
eagle is a fitting symbol of perfect fearlessness and of
that exultation which comes with battle clamors.
But these first falls are but a beginning. The greater
splendor succeeds. With swifter flow the startled
waters dash on and within a few feet take their second
plunge in a solid crescent over a sheer precipice two
hundred and ten feet to the abyss below. On the
brink there is a roofing crest of white, dotted here and_
there, in sharp contrast, with shining eddies of green,
as might a necklace of emerald shimmer on a throat of
snow, and then the leap and fall.
Here more than foam is made. Here the waters are
shivered into fleecy spray whiter and finer than any
miracle that ever fell from India loom, while from
the depths below an everlasting vapor rises.— the in-
cense of the waters to the waters' God."- Finally,
through the long, unclouded days the sun sends down
his beams, and to give the startling scene its crowning
splendor, wreathes the terror and the glory in a rain-
bow halo. On either sullen bank the extremities of
its arc are anchored, and there in its many-colored
robes of light it stands outstretched above the abyss
like wreaths of flowers above a sepulcher. Up through
the glory and the terror an everlasting roar ascends,
deep-toned as is the voice of fate, a diapason like that
the rooling ocean chants when his eager surges come
rushing in to greet and fiercely w^oo an irresponsive
promontory.
But to feel all the awe and to inark all the splendor
and power that come of the mighty display, one must
climb down the steep descent to the river's brink below,
and, pressing up as nearly as possible to the falls,
contemplate the tremendous picture. There some-
thing of the energy that creates that endless panorama
is comprehended; all the magnificence is seen. In the
reverberations that come of the war of waters one
hears something like God's voice; something like the
splendor of God is before his eyes; something akin
to God's power is manifesting itself before him. and
his soul shrinks within itself, conscious as never be-
fore of its own littleness and helplessness in the pres-
ence of the working of Nature's immeasurable forces,
^not quite so massive is the picture as Niagara, but it
has more lights and shades and loveliness, as though
a hand more divinely skilled had mixed the tints and
v.-ith more delicate art had transfixed them upon that
picture suspended there in its rugged and somber
frame.
As one watches, it is not difticult to fancy that
away back in the immemorial and unrecorded past the
angel of love bewailed the fact that mortals were to
54
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
be given existence in a spot so forbidding: a spot tliat
apparently was never to be warmed with God's smile,
which was never to make a sign through which God's
mercy was to be discerned. — that then Omnipotence
was touched, that with His hand He smote the hills
and started the great river in its flow, that with His
finger He traced out the channel across the corpse of
that other river that had been fire, mingled the sun-
beams with the raging waters and made it possible in
that fire-blasted frame of scoria to swing a picture
which should be shown first to the red man and later
to the pale races, a certain sign of the existence, the
power and unapproachable splendor of the Great First
Cause; and, as the red man through the centuries
watched the spectacle, comprehending nothing except
that an infinite voice was smiting his ears and insuffer-
able glories were blazing below his eyes; so through
the centuries to come the pale races will stand upon
the shuddering shore and watch, experiencing a mighty
impulse to put of¥ the sandles from the feet, under an
overmastering consciousness that the spot on which
they are standing is holy ground. There is nothing
elsewhere like it. nothing half so weird, so wild, so
beautiful, so clothed in majesty, so draped in terror;
nothing else that awakens impressions at once so start-
ling, so winsome, so profound. While journeying
through the desert, to come suddenly upon it, the
spectacle gives one something of the emotions that
would be experienced to behold a resurrection from
the dead. In the midst of what seems like a dead
world, suddenly there springs into irrepressible life
something so marvelous, so grand, so caparisoned
with loveliness and irresistible might, that the head is
bowed, the strained heart throbs tumultuously and the
awed soul sinks to its knees.
J. P. McMeekin, a photographer of Hagerman,
Idaho, thus describes these wonderful springs:
"Of all the wonderful and beautiful scenes of
earth there are none, in all probability, more
worthy the attention of the lover of the grand and
beautiful than Thousand springs. This sublime
spectacle is situated in the heart of the great
Snake river desert, Idaho, some twenly-four
miles from Shoshone, a town on the Oregon
Short Line, and owing to its isolated position is
known but to few; yet it is doubtful whether it
has a parallel on the globe. Imagine a cliff or
clififs from two to four hundred feet high, from
which for a distance of two miles, at a height
varying from ninety to two hundred and eighty
feet, rush crystal streams of water forming water-
falls of almost every conceivable form, and you
have but a faint idea of this iovely scene. It must
be seen to be appreciated, and the senses become
even bewildered bv its extent and beautv.
"X'iewed from the green, placid bosom of
Snake river, but a few hundred feet distant at
this ])oint, the scene is sublime, the foaming tor-
rents contrasting well with their dark back-
ground of lava, or where they trail their beautiful
lace-work over carpetings of velvet moss of the
most gorgeous hues — green, scarlet, orange and
crimson. Below, on the banks of the numerous
streams formed by these springs, grow the birch,
cedar and willow, their varied foliage dripping
with the never-ceasing spray. Wild flowers are
scattered here in profusion and coloring not
known to other localities near l:)y.
"A boat may be taken the whole distance
around the base of these falls, when the river is
high, say in June or July. It is then that their
variety, extent and beauty may be seen to full
advantage. Then, too, you can look down into
the clear, cool water below, where trout and
other fish may be seen darting through their
beautiful, blue depths or over shallows of golden
sand and bright-hued pebbles. And then, as we
look upward to the dizzy heights, what a trans-
formation we behold! Rainbows are everywhere
visible in the spray as it rises in masses or de-
tached fragments, coloring the snowy jets into
flame and colors for which there are no names:
and the most gorgeous colorings of the palette
become lifeless compared with them. Set in its
frame of adamant and surrounded by a barren
waste, its beauty is greatly enhanced, and forms
a wonderful and lovely picture, — one on which
the eye loves to linger until wearied of trying to
trace the endless torrents as they plunge madly
onward to rest in the placid river below."
The eastern gateway to the Snake river valley
and also to Idaho, is the famous South Pass,
where the lowest point on the summit of the di-
vide is nearly seven thousand and five hundred
feet above sea level, while the peaks in the vicinitv
rise to an elevation of ten to over thirteen thou-
sand feet, Fremont peak being thirteen thousand
five hundred and seventy feet. The pass to the
north to the Blackfoot country is six thousand
feet above the sea level, which is the general
level of that region. Various peaks in the Bitter
Root range rise to elevations between seven and
ten tliousand feet. Fort Boise is in the lowest
]iart of the Snake river valley in Idaho, being
onl\- two thousand feet above the sea. Tlie
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
55
Florence mines are about eight thousand feet
above the level of the sea. The largest body of
level land affording grass instead of the almost
omnipresent sage brush is the Big Camas prairie,
on the headwaters of Wood river. Camas prairie
comprises five hundred square miles of rolling
farm lands. Much of the southern part is a dry,
black lava desert four hundred miles long and
fifty miles wide, cut deep down a thousand feet
or more by the sheer canyons of the Snake river
and other streams and by many great crevasses.
The northern part of the plain has a wonderfully
weird appearance, as of a black sea suddenly
turned to stone. The soil elsewhere in the val-
ley is sandy and unstable, and the chief vegeta-
tion consists of enormous sage-brush and bunch-
grass: but irrigation is redeeming it for farming.
Within the bend of the Snake river is an immense
basaltic plain, out of which rise the granite crests
of the Three Buttes, — famous landmarks for
overland emigrants. South of the Snake the
valleys and foot-hills contain bunch-grass and
arable bottom land, alternating with abrupt
ranges of mountains, which are dotted with a
few evergreens and aspens. The beautiful Ma-
lade, Cache, Gentile, Bear river and other valleys
open the way into the Utah basin and are oc-
cupied by Mormon hamlets, around which ex-
tend broad farms, with efficient irrigation sys-
tems. Southwestern Idaho contains a dreary,
alkaline desert, out of which rise the Owyhee
mountains. A small portion of the wonderful
Yellowstone National Park is included within the
state.
Almost everything grand or mysterious in na-
ture, in her land exhibits, is represented here in
the state now beautifully characterized as the
"Gem of the Mountains." Even a magnificent
volcano exists within its limits. Buffalo Hump,
an isolated butte between Clearwater and Salmon
rivers, has had three or four eruptions within the
period of white settlement, flames shooting high
into the sky and lava flowing down the sides of
the mountain. In 1881 an outburst of lava oc-
curred in the mountains east of Camas prairie,
while at the same time an earthquake occurred.
In 1864 the Salmon river rose and fell several
feet, rising a second time higher than before, and
was warm and muddy.
But volcanic action has never been so exten-
sive as to destroy the fine paleontological char-
acter of most of the country. The country be-
tween Reynolds creek, in Owyhee county, and
Bruneau river is one vast bed of organic remains
of extinct species of animals. Even parts of the
human skeleton have been found which were so
situated as to indicate that a race of men once ex-
isted here before the present Indians. Many lo-
calities are rich in organic remains, whence the
paleontologist will find interesting material for
his museum for ages to come. In Scribner's
Magazine for February, 1890, there is a scientific
account of a miniature but finely wrought image.
a few inches long, of a human skull, apparently
representing the skull of an extinct race of men,
found at the bottom of an artesian well over two
hundred and sixty feet deep at Nampa, in sand-
stone, below vegetable soil. S. F. Emmons, of
the geological survey, considered that the strat-
um in which this relic was found was far older
than any others in which human remains had
ever been found, excepting perhaps those under
Table mountain, in California. It raises a ques-
tion of the stability of geological developments, —
upheavals and subsidences that are impossible to
calculate.
On the hills and mountain spurs almost the
only vegetation consists of Artemisia tridentata,
or "absinthe," as the early Canadian voyageurs
used to call it, and sage-brush, another species of
artemisia, and cactus, the whole giving a uni-
formly dull gray tint of inconceivable melancholy
to the landscape. The hills themselves consist of
black lava, and this is slightly covered in spots
with vegetable soil, almost always dry.
There was primarily no particular reason for
calling the Rocky mountains by that name. This
appellation was probably given it by some trav-
elers who first saw the range where it was ex-
clusively rocky, or possibly by Indians who lived
in its vicinity, who, never having seen any other
mountains in the world, considered these great
elevations peculiarly rocky. At any rate, along
the eastern boundary of Idaho, on both the west-
ern and eastern slopes the mountains are in gen-
eral beautifully rolling masses like the waves of
the sea, covered to a certain height by rich forage
grasses, shrubbery and trees. The "Poet of the
Sierras" thus describes the general scene in his
peculiar style:
56
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
"The only thing that strikes the stranger with
awe and admiration on first looking at these
great mountain slopes, is their massiveness. As
you climb up the rounded, grassy steeps, either
from the west or from the east, you first notice
a tremendous hill before you, and massive,
grass-set tumuli to your right, to your left, behind
and before, as you proceed. You pass huge hills
dotted with herds, ribbons of rills threading
down and around and running together, here
and there forming wooded streams. Then
you see before you more massive, grassy
hills, more herds, more massive hills now,
more herds, more herds, then more massive and
mighty hills.
"Such was the sublime aspect of this land when
my eyes first looked upon it more than a genera-
tion ago, and such it must remain until 'the
wreck of matter and the crash of worlds.' Man
may break this sublmie monotony of nature a
little, as time sweeps on, by a harvest field where
the ever-fertile hilltops tempt him to sow and
reap: he may set his little city and center of trade
by the meadow brook at the base; he may grid-
iron the great, rounded domes of grass that
stretch in billowy succession east and west and
north and south; but he will never be able to
drive from the mind of the stranger the convic-
tion, as he first beholds Idaho, that it was at the
first cast in a tremendous mold."
All the streams emptying into Snake river at
a distance below the great falls sink before
reaching it and flow beneath the lava, shooting
out of the sides of the canyon with beautiful ef-
fect and forming a variety of cascades. The
lava presents phenomena like breathing-holes,
where strong currents of air find continual vent.
Chasms extending seemingly to immense depths,
"devil's" corrals of lava walls, extinct craters, a
pile of basalt resembling a magnificent city in
ruins, and numerous other basaltic masses pre-
senting a weird and suggestive appearance and
having correspondingly significant names, many
of them having the word "devil" as an essentially
descriptive element.
Salmon river, in the descriptive language of a
miner, almost cuts the earth in two, the banks
having a perpendicular height of about four thou-
sand feet for miles and backed by rugged moun-
tains that seem to have been rent by the most
violent convulsions. Godin or Lost river is a con-
siderable stream from the Wood River moun-
tains, which disappears near Three Buttcs — hence
the name Lost — and reappears at a distance. Op-
posite the Big Camas prairie is a range of moun-
tains whose tops glisten with perpetual snow.
Stretching southward is a sea of cinder, wavy,
scaly, and sometimes cracked and abysmal. All
the rivers of Idaho run into the Columbia ex-
cepting the Bear river, which flows into the Great
Salt Lake.
Curious mineral springs have been discovered
in various parts of the state, the most famous of
which are the soda springs in the Bear river re-
gion. Around these springs are circular embank-
ments of pure white soda several feet in height
and twenty to thirty feet wnde. In the Bear river
valley there is an area equal to a square mile in
which there are masses of pure soda, and others
of soda mixed with sulphur, others with iron,
etc.; and some are w-arm, some cold, some bub-
bling, others quiet, etc.
The climate of the valleys of Idaho is found to
be far milder than had been expected from their
great elevation, while the mountains, of course,
present their usual variety. In the mountainous
regions are some picturesque lakes, many of them
navigable. Lakes Coeur d'Alene and Pend
d'Oreille are navigable, being thirty to thirty-
five miles in length, and they abound in choice
varieties of fish. Kaniksu is a clear body of
water twenty miles long and ten wide. Hindoo
lakes are a group of small bodies of alkaline wa-
ter of medicinal qualities.
Bear lake is a magnificent oval, twenty by
twenty-eight miles in dimensions, whose deep
and mountain-fed waters abound in trout and
mullet, and ripple up sandy shores below Paris,
Montpelier and other peaceful Mormon villages.
The valley is five thousand and nine hundred feet
above the sea. Bear lake remains ice-bound
from January to April.
Lake Pend Oreilles is thirty miles long and
from three to fifteen miles wide, studded with
islands and surrounded by Granite mountain, the
snowy Pack-saddle range, the purple Coeur
d'.Alene mountains and other peaks, nearly ten
thousand feet high. This lake has two hundred
and fifty miles of shore line and is navigated by
seyeral small steamboats. The Northern Pacific
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
57
Railroad follows the north shore for twenty-five
miles.
Coeiir d'Alene lake fills a w-ide gorge in the
spurs of the Coeur d'Alene mountains, and bears
the form of the letter E, with the branches point-
ing southeast. Its irregular and lonely shores are
clad with forests of pine and tamarack. The ex-
panse is twenty miles long and one to four miles
wide, with a depth reaching one hundred and
eighty feet, a wild Windermere of clear, cold,
light-green water, abounding in trout and other
fish, and stocked with millions of white-fish. St.
Joseph river, flowing into this lake, is navigable
for twenty-five miles. The lake is said to be
agitated in the evening by mysterious swells, like
those on lake Geneva in Switzerland. Out of the
northern end of this lake flows the Spokane river,
which runs a hundred miles west to the Columbia.
At the head of this lake, ten miles from Rath-
drum station, is an eight-company post. Fort
Sherman, established by General Sherman.
Farther north, under the lonely Cabinet moun-
tains, in a land inhabited mainly by caribou, deer
and bears, lake Kaniksu covers two hundred
square miles. This remote locality, forty miles
from the railway, is visited only by hunters.
In the southeastern part of Idaho are Henry
and Cliff lakes, surrounded by high peaks and
basaltic clififs of the Rocky mountains. Each of
these is three to four miles long. The clear, cold,
deep Payette lakes, one of which is two by ten
miles in magnitude, lie at the head of the beau-
tiful Long valley.
The Bear lake country has a mountain of sul-
phur and deposits of lead and coal. The latter
is also mined on Irwin creek and at Lewiston.
Near Bear river is the soda springs health resort,
with its alterative and tonic iron, sulphur and
magnesia waters, sparkling, efifervescent and
pleasant, and highly charged with carbonic-acid
gas. One of these fountains Fremont named the
Steamboat spring, on account of its measured
pufifs of steam. In this vicinity are sulphur lakes,
a deep ice cave and the beautiful Swan lake. The
most famous springs are the Mammoth and
Ninety Percent; and there are also mud, hot,
ammonia and gas springs. These waters are
5,779 feet above the sea, among the Wasatch
mountains, in a pure and dry air, which is of
great benefit to consumptives. They were the
favorite resort of Brigham Young, and many
Salt Lake Mormons frequent them still. Also
other well-to-do persons have built summer cot-
tages here. Large quantities of this water are
bottled and shipped to the markets.
Besides the abundance of fish in the waters,
there is yet a great number of game animals, even
of the large class, as bear, deer, antelope, elk and
mountain sheep, among the quadrupeds; besides
large quantities of partridge, quail, grouse, swan
and wild duck. Formerly there was also an
abundance of the fur-bearing animals, including
the beaver, martens and muskrats, etc., and also
wolves, red and silver-gray foxes and some speci-
mens of the mountain lion.
In the vegetable world there are grapes,
cherries, blackberries, gooseberries, huckleberries,
strawberries, salmon-berries, several useful spe-
cies of pine and fir, white cedar, hemlock, yew,
white oak, live oak, cottonwood, poplar, moun-
tain mahogany and madrono. Among the curi-
osities were the camas root, which was formerly
eaten by the Indians, and the quallah, an inferior
root, also consumed as an article of diet by the
natives.
Professor F. V. Hayden, in his "Geological
Survey of the Territories," in referring to the sur-
face of a large portion of Idaho, describes it as
literally crumpled or rolled up in one continuous
series of mountain ranges, fold after fold. Per-
haps even better examples of these remarkable
folds may be found in the country drained by
Salmon river and its branches, where lofty ranges
of mountains, for the most part covered with
limestones and quartzites of the carboniferous
age, wall in all the little streams. None of our
published maps convey any idea of the almost
innumerable ranges. We might say that from
longitude 110° to 118°, a distance of over five
hundred miles, there is a range of mountains, on
an average, every ten to twenty miles. Some-
times the distance across the range in a straight
line, from the bed of a stream in one valley to
the bed of the stream in the valley beyond the
range, is not more than five to eight miles, while
it is seldom more than twenty miles. "From
these statements," says the Professor, "which we
believe to be correct, the reader may form some
conception of the vast amount of labor yet to be
performed to explore, analyze, and locate on a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
suitable scale these hundreds of ranges of moun-
tains, each one of which is worthy of a name."
Though the foregoing may be somewhat exag-
gerated, Idaho is in reality a mountain territory.
It is from the interior of her mountains that the
chief source of her wealth is derived. It is her
mountain sides that afTord the nutritious grasses
that sustain hundreds of thousands of her cattle,
and it is her intermountain vales that furnish the
soil of her farms and ranches.
In the north are the Coeur d'Alene and Bitter
Root mountains, a portion of the latter range,
together with the crest of the Rocky mountains,
forming the dividing line between Idaho and
^lontana. Spurs from the main range of the
Rockies ramify into all sections of the state. The
Sawtooth, Salmon river, Wood river, Boise, and
other ranges are the scenes of active mining
operations in central Idaho: while the Wahsatch
and Owyhee mountains are among the more im-
portant in the southeastern and southwestern
portions, respectively.
The average elevation of the state is about
4,700 feet, being from 2,000 to 3,000 feet less
than that of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, or Colo-
rado. The highest peaks range from 9,000 to
13,000 feet in height. The lowest altitude is at
Lewiston, where the Clearwater joins the Snake
at an elevation of 680 feet.
A bird's-eye view of the state would represent
a vast, wedge-shaped plateau, rising from an
elevation less than 700 feet in the extreme west
to over 10,000 feet in the extreme east. Over this
rugged surface countless streams are flowing as
tributaries to the three principal streams. In its
long serpentine course through the state, the
Snake absorbs the waters of such streams as the
Clearwater, Salmon, Payette, Boise, Owyhee,
Bruneau, Wood and others. Of these the largest
is the Salmon, which, rising in the Sawtooth
range, after a long circuitous course, receiving
numberless tributaries, and forcing the very
mountains asunder, finally empties into the
Snake not many miles above Lewiston. The
immense water power of Idaho is one of its great
resources, affording as it does ample facilities for
irrigating, mining, and manufacturing purposes.
This "northern" region, as Colonel McClure
justly remarks, is not in all respects "northern."
It is, indeed, the "cold blue north" in this respect,
where the stars glitter in the clear, sparkling air
of the majestic winter; but the cold is not un-
comfortable. The air is so dry. pure and bracing
that even zero does not make the resident flinch :
he rather enjoys it. Men wear fewer clothes than
in the same latitude in the east, and at the same
time suffer less. Overcoats are seldom worn, ex-
cepting by travelers in conveyances. Rheuma-
tism and consumption are unknown here except
in the cases of those immigrants who had such
ailments before locating here. Catarrh, or "cold
in the head," is seldom experienced. And even
those who come here with these troubles, if in
the incipient stage, are almost always cured. The
same remarks are practically applicable to asth-
ma and all other throat and lung diseases. Moun-
tain fever, however, is sometimes contracted, but
the people are learning to avoid this, and to treat
it successfully when contracted.
Xo community can be continuously prosperous
with but a sole dependence. This has been shown
repeatedly in the history of our own country.
Fortunately for Idaho, she is not so situated. She
is not a land of mineral veins and gold placers
only. The wealth of these mineral veins and
deposits, and the fact that their discovery and
development came in advance of the natural
movement by which her other resources are now
being developed, have served somewhat to give
the impression that Idaho is only a mining state.
As a matter of fact, this is only one of her re-
sources, and one that is destined gradually to be
overshadowed by those giving a more stable
basis of permanent and unbroken prosperity.
Five great industries occupy the attention of her
people, — mining, agriculture, stock-raising, fruit-
growing and lumbering. The last four are in-
creasing year by year and have such capabilities
of expansion that it may be safely predicted that
in a few years they will absorb the attention and
contribute to the support of a large m.ajority of
the population, in connection with the manufac-
turing that will be based upon them and grow
out of them and he provided by them, with the
home market supplied by the largely increased
population.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS— THE MARCH OF PROGRESS— INDIAN DEPREDATIONS— MINING DEVELOPMENTS.
THE first settlements made by whites with-
in the present boundaries of Idaho were
effected by Jesuit missionaries, as is true
throughout the Pacific coast region; and pre-
viously to 1863, the beginning of a new era in
this region, there were but two or three settle-
ments made by others. In the primeval stage
the country was not at all inviting to civilized
people. The almost omnipresence of red savages
precluded all thoughts of prospecting in the
mountains for valuable minerals, while the val-
leys seemed to be only arid deserts absolutely
irreclaimable for agricultural purposes. In the
outside world ideas as to the climate were de-
rived only from hunters and trappers, who spent
only the winters here, in the mountains, where
the cold was intense and snow abundant, and
from emigrants, who passed through here only
during hot weather, when the valleys they trav-
ersed seemed to deserve connection with what
was known as "the Great American desert."
One authority states that the first permanent
settlement in Idaho was made at Mount Idaho,
the present county-seat of Idaho county. Prob-
ablv the first permanent settlement, however, was
made in 1834. in which year Nathaniel J. Wyeth,
with a party of sixty men, started across the con-
tinent and established Fort Hall as a trading
post near Snake river. This fort was the most
important point between the Missouri river and
Salt Lake to most of the early trans-continental
emigrants. It was at the crossing of the Mis-
souri-Oregon and Utah-Canada trails.
On the I ith of June, 1834, Wyeth and his party
encamped on a branch of the Blackfoot, near
Port Xeuf ; the 12th on Ross' Fork, and the 14th
on Snake river. The fort was permanently lo-
cated on the east bank of the Snake river, a little
north of the Port Neuf. The post became famous
and performed good service during the several
great overland emigrations. The emigrant trail
was made to pass by it: it was near to the Great
Salt Lake; was central and valuable in scores of
ways. From this point in time radiated roads in
every direction, — to Missouri, to California, to
Utah, to Oregon, and to British Columbia. In
1865 Angus McDonald valued the fort and lands
belonging to it at one million dollars. It was
near the old war ground of the Blackfeet, Snake,
and Crows, and prevented many a massacre. It
was several times attacked and nearly burned,
but stood to its duty nobly. Wyeth and his party
crossed the Snake on the 6th of August and ex-
plored the region for miles around. Crossing the
mountains, they encamped on iMalade river. On
the 13th Camas prairie was reached. Two days
later they reached Boise river, "crammed with
salmon." On the 23d they crossed Snake
river, leaving Idaho behind them, camping on the
rich plains of Malheur.
In 1836 Wyeth was forced to sell Fort Hall to
the Hudson's Bay Company. The latter company
had already erected, probably in 1835, what is
known as old Fort Boise, near the mouth of the
Boise river. The original structure fell down
about 1847, but was rebuilt a short distance north.
The new building continued to be occupied by
the Hudson's Bay Company until the L^nited
States acquired undisputed title to the land.
According ,to the published account by Mr.
W. H. Gray, the first mission in Idaho was es-
tablished in 1836 at Lapwai, twelve miles from
the present town of Lcwiston. A printing press
with type was presented, in 1839, by the mission-
aries of the Sandwich Islands to the Presbyterian
missionaries of Oregon, and it reached Lapwai
that year, where E. O. Hall put it in operation to
print books in the Nez Perce language. Messrs.
Rogers and Spalding soon learned to set type,
and they printed small books in the Nez Perce
language that were used in their school. That
old press and type are now stored in the state
capitol of Oregon, and the building used for that
primitive printing ofSce is yet standing, though
somewhat modernized, near the Lapwai Jvlission
in Idaho. This was the first printing office on
60
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the Pacific coast of America north of Mexico.
Thus Idaho has the honor of having the first
printing press on the coast.
The Roman Cathohc missionaries seem to have
been in the main more successful with tlie In-
dians than the Protestants, and in some instances
have sustained their missions to the present day.
Father De Smet in his Letters, pubHshed at Phil-
adelphia in 1843, is responsible for the following
statement: "The Jesuits De Smet, Mengarini.
Point, and others had since 1840 made several
missionary tours through the Columbia coun-
tries, in the course of which they baptized some
thousands of Indians; they also erected a church
at a place near the Kallerspelm lake (Pend
d'Oreille), on Clarke's river, where the Blessed
Virgin appeared in person to a little Indian boy,
whose youth, piety, and sincerity, say the good
fathers, joined to the nature of the fact which he
related, forbade us to doubt the truth of his state-
ment."
Early in 1854 a small colonyof men of the Mor-
mon church was sent here to form the nucleus of a
settlement on Salmon river, among the buffalo-
hunting Nez Perces. They erected a fort, which
they named Lemhi, after an illustrious name in
their sacred scriptures commonly known as the
"Mormon Bible." The next year others joined
them, with their families, horses, cattle, seeds
and farming implements. In 1857 Brigham
Young visited this colony, attended by a great
retinue, and found the people prosperous, their
crops abundant and the country giving promise
of considerable wealth. As this colony continued
to grow, the Nez Perces Indians became sus-
picious and jealous, knowing that our govern-
ment had not given them permission thus to
squat upon these lands, and, making an attack
upon them, drove them out, killing three of their
men and destroying their crops. The other set-
tlements at this time were a few French Cana-
dians cultivating farms in the Coeur d'Alene
country, the Jesuit missions, and. east of the Bit-
ter Root mountains. Fort Owen, in the valley
of the St. Clary's branch of Bitter Root river.
The county of Shoshone was set off from
Walla Walla county by the legislature of Wash-
ington as early as January 29, 1858, comprising
all the country north of Snake river lying east of
the Columbia and west of the Rockv mountains.
with the county-seat "on the land claim of Angus
McDonald," and this was subdivided by legisla-
tive acts in 1860-1 and 1861-2, according to the
requirements of the shifting mining population.
This population first overran the Clearwater re-
gion, discovering and opening, between the au-
tumn of i860 and the spring of 1863. the placers
on Oro Fino creek, North Fork and South Fork
of the Clearwater, Salmon river and its tribu-
taries, and finally the Boise basin.
^^'e might say that the first distinctive settle-
ment of Idaho began in August, 1862, when the
Boise mines were discovered by George Grimes,
of Oregon City, John Reynolds. Joseph Branstet-
ter, D. H. Fogus. Jacob Westenfelten. Moses
Splane. Wilson. Miller, two Portuguese called
Antoine and Phillipi, and a man whose name is
unknown. Previously to this time the movement
proposed for the organization of Idaho territory
met with but little favor. By the spring of 1863
there were four county organizations and ten
mining towns, and the total population in this
section was probably about twenty thousand.
There had been a large immigration the preced-
ing year, owing to the civil war and the fame of
the Salmon river mines. Some of the immigra-
tions of that year halted on the eastern flank of
the Rocky range, in what is now Montana, and
others went to eastern Oregon; but none suc-
ceeded in reaching Salmon river that year ex-
cepting those who took the Missouri river route.
Four steamers from St. Louis, Missouri, ascend-
ed to Fort Benton, whence three hundred and
fifty emigrants came by the Mullan road to the
mines on Salmon river. Those who attempted
to get through the mountains between Fort Hall
and Salmon river failed, some losing their lives
and the rest, returning to some distance, went on
to Powder river.
Grimes creek was named in commemoration of
George Grimes, the leader of the Boise expedi-
tion already mentioned, who was killed by the
Indians while prospecting for gold on that
stream, .After that event his party retreated to
Walla ^^'alla, where a company of fifty-four men
was raised to return and hold the ground. They
arrived at Grimes creek October 7th and founded
Pioneer City. Others quickly followed, and in
November Centerville was started a few miles
south on the same stream. Placerville, at the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
head of Granite creek, contained three hundred
houses. Buena \'ista, on Elk creek, and Ban-
nack City, on Moore creek, also sprang up this
season, in December, and before the first of Jan-
uary between two and three thousand persons
were on the ground ready for the opening of
spring. Up to this time the weather had been
mild, allowing wagons to cross the Blue motm-
tains, usually impassable in winter.
Companies of fifty and over, well armed to
protect themselves against the Indians, who were
at this time actively engaged in hostilities, were
frequent along the route mostly traveled, and
supplies for these people poured rapidly into their
settlements. During the first ten days of Novem-
ber twenty thousand dollars' worth of goods went
out of the little frontier trading post at Walla
Walla for the Boise country. Utah also contrib-
uted a pack-train loaded with provisions, which
the miners foimd cheaper than those from the
Willamette valley, as the latter had to be trans-
ported a long distance up swift-running rivers
and pass through the hands of numerous middle-
men. The latter, in order to ascertain the navi-
gability of Snake river and the practicability of
delivering their goods at less cost, dispatched a
party to old Fort Boise to examine the character
of Snake river in this regard. After waiting till
the river had arrived at its lowest stage for the
season, this party descended to Lewiston on a
raft constructed by them for the purpose; but
subsequent surveys and attempts evolved the fact
that Lewiston was hopelessly cut ofT from Salt
Lake City so far as navigation was concerned.
The people of Boise were equally interested in
means of travel and transportation, and there was
great cause for disappointment when they found
that only wagons and pack trams could be relied
on to convey their freight from LTmatilla landing
on the Columbia river, three hundred miles dis-
tant. By this time Umatilla had supplanted Walla
Walla in this trade.
It will be interesting, in this connection, to
quote the language of a prospector, Sherlock
Bristol: "In December, 1862, I prospected the
country and finally settled down for the balance
of the winter and spring on Moore creek (the
origin of Idaho City). There we built twenty
log houses, — mine, William Richie's and I.
Henry's being among the twenty. We made
snow-shoes and traversed the valleys and gulches
prospecting. As the snow was deep and it was
some distance to the creek, some one proposed
that we should dig a well, centrally located, to
accommodate all our settlement. One day, when
I was absent prospecting, the well-digger struck
bed rock down about eighteen feet, but found no
water; but in the dirt he detected particles of
gold. A bucketful panned out two dollars and
seventy-five cents. When I returned at night I
could not have bought the claim on which my
house was built for ten thousand dollars: it
proved to be worth three hundred thousand dol-
lars. The whole bench was rich in like manner.
My next-door neighbors — the three brothers
named White— for nearly a year cleaned up fif-
teen hundred dollars daily, their expenses not
exceeding three hundred dollars. Bushels of gold
were taken out from the gravel beds where Idaho
City now stands."
During the winter of 1862-3 and the following
^spring the miners were busy developing and
working in preparation for further developing.
Eighteen dollars a day was ordinary wages, and
eighty dollars to the pan was the average taken
out on Grimes creek. Water and timber were
abundant, which made life much easier here than
at many other points. On Granite creek, the
headwaters of Placer and Grimes creeks, from
ten to fifty dollars, and often two and even three
hundred dollars a day were panned out. In the
dry gulches from ten to fifty dollars a day were
obtained to the man.
During the winter B. L. Warriner erected, on
Grimes creek, a sawmill, which was ready to run
as soon as the melting snows of spring should
furnish the water power, and early in the spring
a second mill was erected, near Centerville, by
Daily and Robbins, and in May a third was
erected. The first steam sawmill was nmning in
July, being built in Idaho City by two men, eacn
known as Major Taylor! This mill cut from ten
to fifteen thousand feet in ten hours.
The killing of Grimes and other white immi-
grants, with depredations of various sorts, by the
Shoshones, led to the organization of a volunteer
company of the Placerville miners in March, this
year (1863), whose captain was James Standifer,
a man noted for his energy and daring. He was
six feet in height, with broad, square shoulders,
C3
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
fine features, black hair and eyes and mouslaclie,
and as brave as any Xorseman. Standiter and
his men pursued the Indians as far as Sahnon
falls, killed fifteen of the savages and wounded
about as many more. Returning from this ex-
pedition about the last of the month, Standifer
raised another company, of two hundred men,
who made a reconnoissance until they came upon
the Indians, fortified at Alalheur, where, by arti-
fice, they gained entrance to their camp and killed
all the adult Indians and even the children, ex-
cepting three boys. One of these, four years old,
was afterward adopted by John Kelly, a violinist
of Idaho City, who taught him to play the violin
and to perform feats of tumbling. He was after-
ward taken to London, where he drew great
houses, and then to Australia, where he con-
tinued on exhibition.
In order to protect themselves against the hos-
tile Indians in Idaho, Fort Boise was established,
July I. 1863, by P. Lugenbeel, with two com-
panies of Washington infantry in the regular
service. It was situated on the Boise river about
forty miles above the old fort of the Hudson's
Bay Company, near the site of the present Boise
City. The structure was erected out of brown
sandstone and was a good building. The reser-
vation was one mile wide and two miles long.
At this period mine discoveries and develop-
ments in Idaho began to attract more of the
public attention. Claims in the Beaverhead
country, on the headwaters of the Jefferson fork
of the Missouri river, were held as high as ten
to fifteen thousand dollars. Also claims wonder-
fully rich were reported on Stinking Water creek,
and in many other parts. Bannack City, on the
Beaverhead, and Mrginia City, on a tributary of
Jefferson fork, sprang into existence, simulta-
neously with settlements and towns in the Boise
basin. In the spring of 1863 a bateau-load of
miners left the northern part of the territory with
a hundred and fifty pounds of gold dust.
In the northern part of the territory, however,
there was an almost insurmountable obstacle to
immigration, namely, the hostility of the Black-
foot Indians, wdio, despite their treaty, robbed or
murdered wherever they could find white men.
Sometimes whole parties were killed and whole
pack-trains were seized. The immigration of
1863 was not so large as that of the preceding
year. The three principal streams of humanit\
westward were one for southern Idaho and east-
ern Oregon, one for California and one for the
Beaverhead mines. The latter party, however,
had headed for the Salmon river country, fur-
nished by the government with a separate escort
under Fisk, and changed their intention before
reaching their destination and stopped in the
Beaverhead country. Four steamers left St.
Louis for Idaho and vicinity, but w-ere unable to
reach Fort Benton, disembarking their passen-
gers and freight two to eight hundred miles be-
low. The emigrants had to make their way to
various points as well as they could on horse-
back and on foot through a wild and inhospitable
country; and, returning east, many miners had
gathered at Fort Benton, expecting to take
steamers down to St. Louis, but were disappoint-
ed, by reason of the failure of the boats above
mentioned to arrive at the fort, and the miners,
with their gold and provisions, etc., had to go all
the way to Salt Lake City and take stages. In
anticipation of these steamers, too, one hundred
and fifty wagons had gone to Fort Benton, to be
ready to convey passengers and freight to their
respective destinations.
Although these drawbacks were so numerous
and heavy, as many as twenty-five or thirty thou-
sand people, of whom nearly two thousand were
women and children, succeeded in settling in
the Boise region. Improvements were rapid and
prices high. One importer saici. "I sold shovels
at twelve dollars apiece as fast as I could count
them out, on one occasion." A wagon-load of
cats and chickens arrived in August, which sold
readily, the cats at ten dollars apiece and the
chickens at five dollars! But in the line of woolen
socks, in the following winter, the market was
for once overstocked, some of the stock being
used for cleaning guns and some even left to de-
cay in the cellars of the merchants. In July and
August ten or more pack-trains arrived daily in
the Boise country. Horses proved better than
cattle for use on the roads, as their noses were
higher above the ground and they were not so
much affected bv the alkaline dust.
I
CHAPTER IX.
THE GROWTH OF QUARTZ MINING— DISCOVERIES— MINING TOWNS— STAGE ROUTES— INDIAN TROUBLES-
EMIGRATION IN THE SPRING OF 1864— SOCIAL DISTURBANCES-EFFORTS FOR BETTER
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES— STAMP MILLS— A REMINISCENCE-
EARLY RATING OF GOLD AND SILVER— THE
UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE.
PROSPECTIXG early indicated that the
future mineral wealth of Idaho would de-
pend upon quartz-mining, and accord-
ingly efforts were early made to develop that
feature of Idaho's principal industry. In the
autumn of 1863 it was found that thirty-three
claims of gold and silver quartz-mines had been
made on the south Boise alone, ail of which
promised well. The Ida Elmore, near the head
of Bear creek, the first and most famous of the
south Boise quartz mines in that year, was dis-
covered in June. In an arastra it yielded two
hundred and seventy dollars to the ton of rock;
but at length it fell into the hands of speculators.
The next several mines of this class were the
Barker, East Barker, Ophir, Idaho, Independ-
ence. Southern Confederacy, Esmeralda, General
Lane, Western Star, Golden Star, Mendocino,
Abe Lincoln, Emmett and Hibernia. The Idaho
assayed, thirty feet below the surface, one thou-
sand seven hundred and forty-four dollars in gold
and ninety-four dollars and eighty-six cents in
silver; Golden Eagle, two thousand two hundred
and forty dollars in gold and twenty-seven dollars
in silver, from the croppings. At the Ida Elmore
a town was laid out called Fredericksburg, and
other towns were also laid out elsewhere, many
of which remained towns only in the imagination.
Rocky Bar, however, laid out in 1864, beautifully
materialized, while Boise City, founded at the
junction of Moore creek with the Boise river, has
long been the capital of this commonwealth.
The first discovery on Granite creek, in the
line of quartz-mining, was at first named the
Pioneer and afterward Gold Hill, when consoli-
dated with the Landon: and it was at length ])ur-
chased by the "Great Consolidated Boise River
Gold and Silver Mining Company," which had
control also of other mines. Even the poorest
rock in the Pioneer assayed over sixty-two dol-
lars to the ton, while the better class went from
six to twenty thousand dollars! These assavs be-
came the occasion of an organization in San
Francisco of the Boise River Mining and Explor-
ing Company, which contracted for a ten-stamp
mill to be used in the Boise country.
One of the rich lodes discovered in 1863 was
the Gambrinus, owned by an incorporated com-
pau)' of Portland ; but, Hkc manv other openings
of mines, it lasted but a short time. It was so
rich that pieces of rock which had rolled down
into the creek and become water-worn could be
seen to glisten with gold at a distance of fifty
feet. On Granite creek a town was started, called
Ouartzburg, two miles west of Placerville; but
soon after mills were brought into the vicinitv
at a little distance, the initial town became ex-
tinct and forgotten.
The greatest discovery of this year, however,
and the most sensational, was the result of a
search made by a party of twenty-nine from Pla-
cerville to rediscover the famous "lost diggings"
of 1845. Crossing Snake river near the mouth
of the Boise, they proceeded, not in the direction
supposed to have been taken by the partv of
1845, but went along Snake river, on the south
side, to a considerable stream, which they named
Reynolds creek, after a member of their own
party. While encamped here two of the men,
*Wade and Miner, ascended a divide on the west
and observed that the formation of the countrv
indicated a large river in that direction. Con-
tinuing their course up the Reynolds creek, in
the direction of the supposed river, and crossing
some very rough mountains, they fell upon tlie
headwaters of another creek, flowing toward the
unknown river, where they commenced prospect •
ing, late in the afternoon of the 18th of Mav,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and found a hundred "colors" to the pan. Tliis
place, called Discovery Bar, was six miles below
the site of Boonville, on Jordan creek. The
"unknown" river proved subsequently to be the
Owyhee, whose course had previously been but
partially known. After prospecting ten day.s
longer, locating as much mining ground as they
could hold, and naming the district Carson, they
prospected two other creeks, Bowlder and Sink-
er, without making any further discoveries, and
then returned to Placerville.
The story of Discovery Bar naturally set every-
body "crazy" to fly to that point as soon as pos-
sible, and within two days as many as two thou-
sand iive hundred men are said to have left Boise
Citv for the new "diggings," with the usual re-
sult of disappointment to a large majority. The
original discoverers had "hogged" everything.
Onlv about one in ten of the men rushing there
remained.
Next was the discovery of silver-bearing ledges
of wonderful richness on tributaries to Jordan
creek, which caused a second rush of prospectors
to the Owyhee region, late in the autumn of 1863.
The two first discoveries here were named Oro
Fino and Morning Star. As often happens, the
first discoveries proved ultimately to be the rich-
est. Men made fifty dollars a day pounding up
the Oro Fine rock in common hand mortars. It
assayed seven thousand dollars in silver and eight
hundred dollars in gold to the ton. A year after-
ward, when a larger cjuantity of ore had beeii
tested by actual working, ten tons of rock yielded
one ton of amalgam. In one small place a pound
and a quarter of rock gave nine ounces of silver
and gold, and one pound yielded thirteen dollars
and fifty cents, half in silver and half in gold. It
was indeed claimed that this discovery was the
second in importance, in regard to silver, within
the United States.
The first town laid out on Jordan creek was
Boonville, at the mouth of a canyon between
high and rugged hills, and its streets were nar-
row and crooked. In a short time another town,
called Ruby City, was started, in a better loca-
tion in most respects, the principal nuisance there
being the fact that the locality was subject to
high winds. During the ensuing winter, 1863-4,
each of these places contained about two hundred
and fifty men, while about five hundred were
scattered over the Carson district. In December
a third town was laid out, about a mile above
Ruby City, and called Silver City. Timber was
scarce in this region. Lumber, which had to be
manufactured with the whipsaw, brought forty
dollars per hundred feet.
Throughout Idaho the general condition of the
miners in the autumn of 1863 was that of pros-
perity. Bannack City, which the next year was
changed to Idaho City, had in the spring of that
year about six thousand inhabitants, with two
hundred and fifty places of business, Protestant
and Catholic churches, a theater, a fire depart-
ment, three newspapers, etc. At the same time
Centerville, a very pretty place, grew and thrived,
having about three thousand people. From this
point a stage road was in process of improvement
each way. — one to Placerville and one to Idaho
City. Of this enterprise Henry Greathouse. the
pioneer in this species of work, was the proprie-
tor. At this time Placerville had a population of
five thousand, and that of Pioneer City was two
thousand, chiefly Irish, on account of which fact
it was sometimes called New Dublin. In Boise
society was chaotic, and included numerous
rough characters, especially lawless men from the
south. As this was during the progress of the
civil war. many of the most intractable characters
of the rebellious states slipped ofif to the wilds
of the west. Misdemeanor and crime advanced
to such a degree as to become reactionary and
suicidal, and therefore the criminal period was
short-lived. The citizens, however, had a hos-
pital, where the sick were kindly cared for; but
many a sturdy miner died and was buried far
away from his kindred, who have never known
what became of their "friend that went out west."
From November, 1864, to November, 1865, one
year, there were received at this hospital one hun-
dred and twenty-five men who had been injured
in mining. To avoid the winter, many went east,
some into Colorado, Utah., Oregon and else-
where, and others would have gone did not the
law of the camps require each man to work his
claim at least one day in seven in order to hold
it. One of the laws here declared that "any
citizen may hold one creek claim, one gulch, one
hill and one bar claim, by location."
It will be interesting to notice in this connec-
tion a characteristic of the Californian which is
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
65
conspicuous in the Golden state even to this day,
and that is a freedom from the Puritanic re-
straints of the east and a kind of easy and social
manner more characteristic of the Kentuckian
and Tennesseean than of any other people in the
world. During this period of which we are writ-
ing, 1863-5, there were many Californians in
southern Idaho, — two hundred and thirty from
Siskiyou county alone in the Boise basin. Some
of these free and easy-go-lucky but honest and
social men were also from Oregon. Generally
they were enterprising men, also patronizing
charities and pleasures liberally. The sport which
offered the most novel attractions, while morally
unobjectionable also, was that furnished by the
"sliding" clubs, of which there were several in
the different towns. The stakes for a grand race,
according to the rules of the clubs, should not be
less than one hundred dollars nor more than two
thousand five hundred dollars, for which they
ran their cutters down certain hills covered with
snow and made smooth for the purpose. Some
of the larger occasions were accompanied by un-
usual festivities. One sled was so large as to
carry twenty persons, and the position of the
pilot was a peculiarly responsible one, and many
were in fact injured in this exciting and danger-
ous sport. Many found entertainment by patron-
izing a circulating library and a literary club, —
evidences of a high degree of civilization.
The winter of 1863-4 proved to be somewhat
treacherous in one important respect. It was so
mild and yielded so little snow that pack-trains
and wagons kept under way between Walla Walla
and the mines until February, and stage com-
panies made great preparations to start up with
their great trips about the 20th of that month;
but about that time a heavy snow came, accom-
panied by a fall of the temperature to a point
about twenty-five degrees below zero, which de-
layed stage traffic till the ist of March, but
caught many travelers en route to their destin-
ations. The snow was so deep that even six
horses could not pull an empty sleigh through.
For the same reason the express from Salt Lake
City, which was due early in February, did not
arrive until in March.
Here is an appropriate place to give some of
the most important particulars concerning stage
enterprises, as it was here and during this period
that some of the most exciting experiences in
connection with them were undergone.
The line from Walla Walla to Boise, the route
most used in those days, was owned by George
F. Thomas and J. S. Ruckle, who announced
that they would, on commencing business, use
only the best horses out of a band of a hundred
and fifty, to be driven by a man named Ward,
a famous coach-driver from California, where
coach-drivers had attained the highest reputa-
tion for skill in the world. Thomas himself had
been stage-driver in Georgia. Goi^ to Califor-
nia in the early times of gold-mining in that
state, he engaged in a lucrative business and be-
came a large stockholder in the California Stage
Company, which at one time had coaches on
fourteen hundred miles of road. As vice-presi-
dent of the company he established a line from
Sacramento to Portland, where he went to reside.
On the discovery of gold in the Nez Perce
country he went to Walla Walla and ran stages
as the ever-changing stream of travel demanded.
In partnership with Ruckle he constructed a
stage road over the Blue mountains, at a great
expense, and opened it in April, 1865.
Henry Greathouse was another stage proprie-
tor on the route from the Columbia to Boise, and
was an enterprising pioneer who identified him-
self with the interests of this new region. Al-
though a southern man he had the prudence to
remain neutral in regard to the great and excit-
ing issues between the north and south during
the great war. While he was making arrange-
ments to put on a line of stages to connect with
boats at Wallula, he succeeded, on the T6th of
March, in bringing through to Placerville the
first saddle train for a month, with a party of
twelve, one of whom was a woman. They were
eleven days on the road.
On the 1st of April the pioneer coach, belong-
ing to the Oregon & Idaho Stage Company,
which was to run its stages from Umatilla land-
ing to Boise, arrived at Placerville, with a full
load of passengers, at one hundred dollars each.
But this coach had come from Shasta, California,
and had taken the California and Oregon stage
road to Portland, going thence to The Dalles by
steamer and there taking the road again. It had
been fifty-nine days on this trip. Four other
conches of this line, starting from Shasta March
G6
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
2, acconiplislied the journey in twenty-three days.
Ish & Hailey, of Oregon, owned this Hne. To
Mr. Hailey is due the honor of first taking a com-
pany through the Blue mountains from the Col-
umbia into Idaho in the dead of a snowy winter.
On the 1st of May, coaches began to run from
Idaho City and Placerville to Boise City and
Owyhee. Ward, the driver previously men-
tioned, and John J. McCommons, owned this line
at first.
Road and ferry franchises were much sought
after. A new road up the John Day river and
through Canyon City to Boise was opened on
the 20th of June. A franchise was granted to a
company to build a road from the Camas prairie
north of Salmon river to Boise, but it was after-
ward found impracticable to open that route.
The Owyhee Ferry Company also obtained a
franchise at the first session of the Idaho legis-
lature. Bristol established a ferry across Boise
river at Boise City, and another across Snake
river on Jordan's road to Owyhee. Michael Jor-
dan, Silas Skinner and W. H. Dewey built a toll
road from Owyhee to Boise in the summer of
1864.
Naturally the matter of cheaper freights en-
gaged the attention of many enterprising men,
who made sundry attempts to find better routes,
or routes from new points, from Los Angeles to
Fort Benton and Portland, and several large
companies were incorporated for the purpose of
establishing extensive routes, most of which
found that they were undertaking enterprises too
expensive. In May, 1864, two express lines were
established between Boonville and Sacramento.
They left Boonville on the 2d and 4th respec-
tively, and returned successfully. The first men-
tioned arrived at Boonville on the 22d, bringing
the Sacramento Union of the i6th, to the great
delight of the Californians here. These lines w-ere
successful until interrupted by Indian hostilities.
Westerfield and Cutter ran an express from
Star City, Humboldt valley, to Jordan creek, fur-
nishing news only nine days old. In June, John
J. McCommons and C. T. Blake bought out
Hillhouse & Company, who owned the express
line between Idaho City and the Owyhee mines,
which they operated until the death of McCom-
mons, by the hands of the Malheur Snake In-
dians, in I-'ebruary, 1865.
In the spring of 1864 a contract to carry the
tri-weekly mail from Salt Lake to Walla \\'alla
by way of Fort Hall and Boise City was awarded
to Ben Holladay & Company, carriers of the Cal-
ifornia mail, the service to begin July ist; and
an Indian agent was sent over the route witi;
men, teams, hay-cutting apparatus and other
means and appliances. The agent arrived in
Boise in June. The main line from that place
passed directly to Payetteville, a station on the
north side of the Payette river, crossing the
Snake river a short distance above the mouth of
the Payette and running through Burnt Powder
and Grande Ronde valleys to Walla Walla. The
first overland mail reached Boise on the 1st of
August.
In the early mining period of Idaho the preju-
dice against Chinese labor was as great as it was
in California, and the immigrants, indeed, went
so far as to adopt regulations against their em-
ploy; but at times and places white labor could
not be secured to do the work, and despite the
regulations a few Chinese were employed, who
were obliged to pay a tax of six dollars a month
for the privilege, one-half of this to go into the
territorial fund and one-half into that of the coun ■
ty. The places where Mongolian labor was em-
ployed were those where the richest pockets of
gold and silver had been abstracted and the gath-
erings were more tedious and not so remunera-
tive; for a white man, naturally, had too little
patience to work at any given spot when he heard
rumors of greater discoveries elsewhere. The
most of these white miners were almost constant-
ly running around from one field to another.
Silver was discovered at various points in the
Kootenai region as early as 1859, especially over
in British territory, but little was done to open
the mines. Gold was discovered in the Pend
d'Oreille and Coeur d'Alene country as early as
1853, but the hostility of the Indians and the dis-
coveries of gold elsewhere diverted attention
from this region. Good prospects were found on
the Kootenai river in the autumn of 1863.
In the spring of 1864, although much snow
was remaining upon the ground, many prospec-
tors from eastern Oregon and northern Idaho
located claims fifty miles north of the United
States line and started a town which they named
Fisherville. During the winter earlv in 1864 a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
67
fleet of thirty bateaux was built at Colville, on
the Columbia, in what was then northeastern Ore-
gon, now Washington, and the building of a
steamer was commenced, to run on that river
above Colville, and was completed within the
next two years, by the Oregon Steam Navigation
Company.
• The favorite country, however, for the immi-
grant miners of this period was still southern
Idaho and the newly created territory of Mon-
tana, which for a year was a part of Idaho.
Among the more important discoveries made in
1864 were those on the North Boise, where the
mining towns of Beaver City and Summit City
were founded in the latter part of the winter; on
the Malade river in Volcano district, forty miles
south of the Little Camas prairie, by a company
led by J. Z. Miller; in the Silver Hill district, in
July, by a party headed by James Carr and Jesse
Bradford, and here two towns, Banner and Eu-
reka, were begun, with a hundred miners each;
and minor discoveries in many other places.
Naturally many discoveries were made where
quartz-mining was indicated, but nearly all these
were remote from the few mills in the territory
at that time, and capitalists did not feel justified
in rushing up a mill immediately upon the dis-
covery of a ledge, on account of the uncertainty
attending the durability of the yield. The first
quartz mill erected in the Boise basin was built
by W. W. Raymond on Granite creek, about two
miles from Placerville. The apparatus arrived
in July and the mill was started in September.
It consisted of ten stamps, each weighing nearly
six hundred pounds and crushing one and a half
tons daily, with a reserved power amounting to
half a ton more each. This mill crushed ore
from the Pioneer, Lawyer and Golden Gate
ledges, and from its first week's work fifty pounds
of amalgam. A novel device for crushing ore, on
a small scale, was profitably practiced at the
Landon lode, three miles northeast of Idaho City,
on the divide between Moore and Elk creeks.
Ordinary sledge hammers were fastened upon the
ends of spring poles, and by this process one
man in three days would crush two hundred
pounds of ore, yielding about forty-six dollars.
But soon a mill was placed here, by the Great
Consolidated Boise River Gold and Silver Min-
ing Company, which, with five stamps, com-
menced operation in December; and during the
year other mills were erected in the district. A
ten-stamp mill was started in December on the
Garrison Gambrinus; two others, one on Sum-
mit Flat, owned by Bibb & Jackson ; another, a
mile from Idaho City, owned by F. Britten &
Company; another, on Bear Run, at Idaho Citv,
attached to the steam power of Robie & Bush's
sawmill, to do custom work. This sawmill, which
was first erected at Lewiston, was removed to
Boise in July, and was burned in September; it
was rebuilt in October, with the quartz-mill at-
tached. At South Boise between thirty and forty
arastras were run by water power, with flattering
results, and the number was soon increased to
eighty-four, each crushing about a ton a day. In
the arastra the Ophir yielded one hundred dollars
to the ton.
In order to attract the attention of capitalists
in the east and in San Francisco, several mining
companies of Idaho shipped to New York and
San Francisco from one to ten thousand tons of
ore, but this was an expensive task, as the ore
had to be hauled to great distances by the em-
ployment of horses or mules.
The Confederate Star mine yielded one hun-
dred and fifty dollars per ton, and the Ada El-
more one hundred dollars, by the use of the
quartz-mill in South Boise, owned by Carter,
Gates & Company. As a specimen of modern
wickedness, we may relate here the instance of
the operation of the Ada Elmore mine by specu-
lators, a company who employed an agency to
run a tunnel in the ledge, at an enormous ex-
pense, in such a way as purposely to let the roof
fall in, so that by additional expense they could
freeze out the small share-holders.
An eight-stamp mill at this time was built in
Portland for South Boise, intended for the Idaho
lode, and at the same time Andrews and Tudor,
who left South Boise for the east in November,
1863, purchased a twelve-stamp mill in Chicago,
for the Idaho, which was hauled by ox teams
from the Missouri river in Nebraska, at a cost of
thirty cents a pound. It reached its destination
in October and was ready for work in December.
In the autumn a five-stamp mill, built at Port-
land, was placed on the Comstock ledge. R. B.
Farnham took a ton of rock to New York and
on its merits succeeded in forming a company.
6S
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
called the New York & Idaho Gold & Silver
]\lining Company, who purchased and shipped
to South Boise a thirty-stamp mill, which, how-
ever, arrived too late for work that year.
South Boise had at this time four towns, — Es-
meralda, Clifden, Rocky Bar and Happy Camp,
and about two thousand persons were scattered
over the district. A good wagon-road was com-
pleted to Boise City in August, by Julius Xew-
berg & Company.
In 1864 a new mining district was discovered
on the headwaters of the middle Boise river,
which was named Yuba. The ledges found on
the south and middle Boise were solid quartz,
larger than those of Owyhee but not so rich.
They were in granite.
Among the many companies who organized
and flourished more or less this year, 1864, we
would mention the Oro Fino Gold & Silver Tun-
nel Company, which was incorporated in May,
in the Carson district, in the Owyhee country,
for the purpose of running a tunnel through Oro
Fino mountain. Thirty locations had already
been made upon this mountain, one of which,
named the War Eagle, subsequently gave its
name to the mountain itself. This wonderful
mass of mineral constituted the dividing ridge
between Jordan and Sinker creeks; and it was
on the northeastern side of this ridge that the
first quartz-mill of the Owyhee region was placed.
The great discovery of 1865 was what has since
been generally known as the Poorman mine, so
named, it is said, because the discoverers were
without capital to work it. The ore was the rich-
est known, and so easily worked that it could be
cut like lead, which indeed it resembled, but with
a tint of red in it, which gave it the name of ruby
silver. It was a chloride of silver, richly impreg-
nated with gold, and brought four dollars an
ounce as it came from the mine. The discoverers
were O'Brien, Holt, Zerr, Ebner, Stevens and
Ray, according to one authority, but according
to others D. C. O'Byrne or Charles S. Peck.
The initial point of discovery was about a
thousand feet from what is now called the dis-
covery shaft, the ore being good but not particu-
larly rich, and the vein small. Before operations
had proceeded very far, Mr. Peck found the rich
"chimney," or discovery shaft, concealing the
place until he learned from Hays and Ray, the
first locators, the boundaries of their claim, and
that it included his discovery. Peck then cau-
tiously endeavored to buy the mine: but, finding
that it was held too high, absented himself in the
hope that the owners would diminish their price.
In the meantime another of the prospectors came
upon the rich chimney and located it, calling it
the Poorman. A contest now arose for the pos-
session of the mine, the Hays and Ray owners
taking Peck into their company for finding and
tracing the vein from their opening into the Poor-
man. The Poorman company erected a fort at
the mouth of their mine, which they called Fort
Baker, and mounted some ordnance. They took
out some of the richest of the ore and sent it to
Portland, where it aroused a great sensation ; but
the prospect of endless litigation over the pro-
prietorship induced both companies to sell, one
to Put. Bradford and the other to G. C. Robbins,
both of Portland, who worked the mine jointly,
taking out nearly two million dollars, after which
they sold to a Xew York company.
In the spring of 1864 was discovered the Mam-
moth district, south of the Carson district, con-
taining veins of enormous size. Flint district,
separated from the latter only by an extension
of the War Eagle mountains, was also prospected
with good results. Of this the Rising .Star ledge
was the principal mine.
INDI.\N HOSTILITIES.
Indian hostilities seemed to increase with a
prospect of permanence. On the 3d of May,
1864, a party of whites was attacked about sixty
miles from Paradise valley, and J. W. Dodge,
J. W. Burton and others were killed. Between
Warner and Harney lakes. Porter Langdon and
Thomas Renny were killed, and the ranch of
Michael Jordan was attacked in July, the owner
soon afterward losing his life. A force of one
hundred and thirty-four men was raised, which
overtook the Indians in a fortified canyon and
killed thirty-six, losing two of their own number,
besides two being wounded. Colonel Maury then
took the field, with one hundred men and four
howitzers, encamped on Jordan creek and en-
gaged in scouting during the remainder of the
sunnner. About this time the people of Idaho
petitioned to have General Conner sent to them
from Utah: but most of the fighting was done in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Oregon, by the First Oregon Cavalry, who ex-
tended their operations to Alvord valley and
thence into Nevada as far as Mud lake.
The spring of 1865 opened with renewed hos-
tilities, and a detachment of Washington infantry,
under Sergeant Storm, and a small company,
came upon Indians on Catherine creek and killed
eight of them. The Shoshones becoming power-
ful by their many depredations upon the property
of the whites, began to give unusual trouble, and
the people throughout the Pacific slope petitioned
the general government for better defensive
measures, and Charles McDermitt, of the Second
California Volunteer Cavalry, established Camp
Bidwell, near Goose lake, on the California road,
which had been closed by hostilities, and from
this point operated with good effect. After the
close of the great civil war the general govern-
ment spared several detachments for the far west,
which in a year or two reduced the hostilities of
the Snake Indians and kindred tribes.
The winter of 1864-5 set in during the month
of November with a violent snow-storm, which
inflicted heavy damages by destroying miles of
flumes in eastern Oregon, letting the water into
the ditches and carrying dirt into the claim open-
ings and breaking down many of the fences of
the newly improved farms. Heavy rains followed,
which made the season unusually severe. But
the spring opened early, and there was a heavy
immigration, which arrived before the freight
trains could get through. The new-comers, many
of whom were the "left wing of Price's army,"
created first a bread famine, and then a riot.
There was food enough for all, however, but flour
was a dollar a pound, and bread an "extra" dish
at the eating-houses. Street meetings began to
be held by the idle consumers to compel the mer-
chants, who had a little flour left, to reduce the
price. A mob of sixty men marched to the store
of Crafts & \'antine in Idaho City, where they
found about two hundred pounds of flour and
seized it. Proceeding to the store of Hefifron &
Pitts, the command was given by their leader to
seize whatever flour thev found. At this point
Jack Gorman, deputy sheriff, with great courage
arrested and disarmed the leader, a blustering
Missourian six feet tall, and this action soon re-
sulted in the restoration of order. The merchants
reduced the price of their flour to fifty cents a
pound, and not long after that the coveted com-
modity was as low as six cents a pound;
Restrained wickedness, however, soon found
opportunity to vent itself, for the mob element
set fire to the city, May 18, and burned the most
valuable portion of it. leaving only three build-
ings,— the Catholic church, the Jenny Lind the-
ater and the office of the Idaho World. Besides
these nothing remained but the scattered houses
on the hillside, and Buena Vista bar, a suburb.
Into these the homeless were gathered, while the
Catholic church was converted into a hospital,
the county hospital being among the structures
consumed by fire. Much looting, of course, was
done by thieves during the fire; but the mer-
chants fortunately had a large portion of their
goods stored in underground excavations, saved
from both the fire and the thieves. Their aggre-
gate losses were estimated at nine hundred thou-
sand dollars. The town was immediately rebuilt,
with many improvements, and by the middle of
June it had almost its former proportions, and
more than its former dignity of appearance.
Idaho City was burned twice afterwards, — in
1867 and 1868, the loss in the former year being
estimated at a milhon dollars!
In 1865 the emigration from the Pacific slope
was so great as to lead to increased means of
transportation. Hill Beachy. an enterprising citi-
zen of the Boise basin, formerly of Lewiston, es-
tablished direct overland communication with
Star City, Nevada, and with California, supplying
the road with vehicles and animal power for a
distance of two hundred and sixty miles. In
April he passed over this route with five coaches,
filled with passengers; but the Indians burned
one of the stations, within forty miles of Owyhee,
killing the keeper, and the route was abandoned.
John Mullan, who published a miners' and
travelers' guide to the west and was an engineer
of the military road from Walla Walla to Fort
Benton on the Missouri, undertook to establish
a stage line from Umatilla to Boise City, and
another from the latter place to Chico, California,
organizing the Idaho & California Stage Com-
pany. Early in September they advertised to sell
tickets from Boise City to San Francisco, Mr-
ginia City, Nevada, and several other points,
promising through connections and rapid transit ;
but the predatory Indians interfered and before
70
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the close of October their property was mostly
stolen and the running of stages entirely ceased.
In addition to all the obstacles mentioned, the
citizens of Idaho had even the newspapers of Ore-
gon to fight, which by this time began to defend
the trade of their territory at the expense of what
rightfully belonged to this territory. In favor of
Oregon there were already in operation two great
regular lines, — the steamship line from San Fran-
cisco to Portland and the Oregon Steam Naviga-
tion Company on the Columbia river. The trav-
eling time from San Francisco to Idaho by the
steamer route was nine days, and the fare, with
meals, was one hundred and forty-two dollars.
The Idaho Stage Company ofifered tickets to the
Golden Gate city for ninety dollars, and promised
to take passengers to Sacramento in six days.
Freight from San Francisco by steamer cost
from twenty-two to twenty-nine cents a pound;
overland, about twelve cents. The Oregonians
also seized upon all the mountain passes and river
crossings with toll roads and ferries, thus wring-
ing tribute from all the traveling public. The
Oregon Road, Bridge & Ferry Company was in-
corporated in April, 1865, and their object was
to connect all the stage roads from Umatilla and
Walla Walla at one point. Express Rancho, and
thence down Burnt river to Farewell Bend, or
Olds ferry, and so on down Snake river to the
mouth of the Owyhee, with the control of all
the ferries between these two points.
Alany attempts, large and small, were made in
vain to establish new routes of transportation.
Among the larger was that of the Oregon Steam
Navigation Company, which at this time built a
boat called the Shoshone, above toe crossing of
Snake river, at great cost, to test the navigability
of the stream. She made her trial trip May 16,
1866. It was expected that she would carry a
large amount of freight from Olds ferry to the
crossing of the Boise City and Owyhee road,
and also government freight to Fort Boise: and
also that in case she could run up to Salmon falls
a road would be opened to South Boise, and an-
other to the mines of the Volcano district. But
this experiment failed, for the boat could not pass
the mouth of the Bruneau river, little more than
half way between the Boise landing and Salmon
falls, and there was not wood enough along the
route for fuel. In connection with this and sim-
ilar schemes the newspapers of the respective lo-
calities carried on a lively contest.
In 1865, the year of which we are now writing,
the overland immigration was large. Eighteen
hundred and forty wagons passed Fort Kearney
in ^lay, the most of which made their way to
Idaho and Montana. The emigrants coming
with these trains generally possessed consider-
able means and comfortable outfits: probably
nine-tenths of them were fully equipped for mak-
ing a successful and permanent settlement in the
new territory. The nuclei of towns and "cities"
were made noisy by the hammer and saw of the
carpenter. The stages also brought many full
loads of passengers who had money. But the
immigrants who brought merchantable goods
with them were the most welcome.
During the next year, 1866, notwithstanding
the continued depredations of the Indians and
other obstacles, the Humboldt and Chico routes
were again opened, to establish communication
with the coast. For this purpose the money,
men and horses were raised by citizens of Owy-
hee and Boise City, to fight the Indians, and
money, coaches and horses were raised also by
I\Ir. Mullan, in New York and California. Thirty
wagons were advertised to start from Chico, with
a number of the company's coaches, early in
April: and, indeed, trains did arrive over the
Chico route by the middle of the month. This
was the occasion of renewed rejoicing, for the
prospects of success were so bright that the Ore-
gon Steam Navigation Company ofifered to re-
duce their freight charges. To aid the Idahoans
by way of competition with that great company,
the California Navigation Company and the Cen-
tral Pacific Railroad Company offered to carry
freight free to Chico landing. Thus freight was
carried by wagon to Ruby City and Boise for
eleven and twelve cents a pound. Ox teams came
through in one month, and Muuan's Stage Com-
pany put men and teams upon the road to im-
prove it, build stations and cut hay. The coaches
began running in August, making the distance
from Chico to Silver City in four days, and
treasure and government freight were also car-
ried over the route.
About this time also a man named Conncss,
of California, introduced a bill in the senate to
provide for the opening of a wagon road from
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
71
Boise City to Susanville, in that state, with a
branch from Surprise \'alley to Puebla, with an
appropriation of ten thousand dollars for surveys.
This was called the Red Bluff route and was
favored by the Northern Teamsters' Association,
which advertised to take freig-ht for eleven to thir-
teen cents, and obtained many consignments.
Also, Sacramento merchants subscribed five
thousand dollars as a bonus to the first train
which should carry one hundred tons of mer-
chandise through to Owyhee by the Truckee
pass, to be applied to the extra expenses of the
trip. Jesse D. Carr secured a contract for carry-
ing a daily mail between A'irginia City, Nevada,
and Boise City, by the last mentioned route,
which ran east of the Humboldt mountains. A
large amount of money was expended in these
enterprises, but success was attained.
From a valuable work written by Joaquin
Miller and issued by the publishers of this His-
tory of Idaho we make the following extracts,
the same being peculiarly pertinent and interest-
ing in connection with the account of the early
mining enterprises in Idaho:
There is a sort of Freemasonry among miners and
all sorts of honest men of the gold mines. The men
of the placer gold mines are and have been from the
modern Argonauts a sort of civilized advance army.
They are men who have stepped to the front from out
of the millions. It is their courage, enterprise and
audacity of faith that has set them to the front; besides,
they are generally men of good sense, good physique,
good education. Travel — for they all had to travel
much and have much intercourse with traveled men to
reach the gold mines — gave to even the rudest of them
a sort of polish not found so general in any other large
body of men on the globe. You can always find more
sincere manhood and real politeness in a mining camp
with its sprinkle of cattle men. grangers and the like
than in the average crowds of London and Paris.
Being among the first in the new mines of Oro Fino
in the spring of 1861, I found myself at once among
friends, and friends of the best; for these miners of
Pierce City and Oro Fino were not only gentlemen
of the class described, but they were, many of them,
also old personal friends from northern California. It
was the glorious old Yuba and Shasta days over again,
and they were very happy and hopeful.
Pierce City at this date was a brisk town, neatly laid
out. built of hewn logs, brooks through the streets, pine
trees here and there on the gently sloping hillside to
the sun. with white tents all around and up and down
the mountain of dark woods to the east, red-shirted
men, mules, long lines of laden, braying mules, half-
tame Indians with pack panniers, a few soldiers off duty,
crowds of eager people coming and going, — action,
motion everywhere. The old days had come again, we
all believed, and miners who had missed fortune in
other lands and laid the blame upon themselves resolved
not to miss her favors now, if work could win them.
Oro Fino lay a brief half-hour's walk to the south at
the foot of a steep, wooded mountain and in the forks
of a creek of the same name and Rhodes creek. This
Rhodes creek had been discovered by William Rhodes,
of Siskiyou county, California. He was a manly mu-
latto of great good sense and very honest. Oro Fino
was a hastily built place, having tumbled together in
great disorder with one narrow street, and made up out
of round logs and mud and brush. Compared with
Pierce City, it was a wild-looking place; but it was
very orderly, very much in earnest, and preaching and
Sunday-school here, as well as at Pierce City, came as
regularly as the Sunday. There were a good many
saloons in these towns, as well as up and down the
creeks, but I recall no drunkenness nor depravity of
any sort. Women were scarce as yet. and of children
there was the merest sprinkle. But many of these first
men here were expecting their families on from Califor-
nia and Oregon, and were not slow in their support of
church and school.
As for myself, I had studied law. and had been ad-
mitted to the bar a few years before, and came here
to practice my profession. But the place was so or-
derly, so far from any sort of disturbance or contention,
that there was absolutely no business whatever in this
line. I found plenty of lawyers, but no law, or rather
no need of any law.
Having two brothers with me and finding several
cousins here, and none of us getting any foothold, we
pushed out over the mountains to the east.
Do you know the music of the pick and shovel as
they clang and ring on the bed-rock, the rattle and the
ring of the sluice-fork in the hands of the happy, tall,
slim man who stands astride the sluice and slings the
gravel behind him in high heaps of polished pebbles?
He has a keen eye. There may be a big nugget on the
tines of his broad sluice-fork at any moment. He is
a supple man, of not too much flesh, and keeps his
footing finely on either side of the sluice-box which he
bestrides. To fall will be not only to break his own
knees, but to endanger the backs of his dripping and
bespattered partners in the pit beneath him.
And now he sees something glitter in the swift water
that washes the gravel down across the ripples. Down
goes a long, dripping arm at the risk of his neck; but
somehow the rugged, slim man never falls! Up goes
the long right arm in the air. A shout! The men in
the pit look up altogether, and then there is a shout
that shakes the very pine tops above them. The gold
nugget, half quartz, is nearly as big as a hen's egg.
The slim man on the high sluice-box who holds the
nugget high in the air laughs and shouts with the rest.
We have struck it! The friendly Freemasonry sort of
good will and well-wishing among miners spread in a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
day or two to Pierce City and Ore Fino. and the
place was soon packed with prospectors.
The stampede that always was created by the
news of a new discovery of gold is thus described :
Although there were in this then distant land of
Idaho no telegraph wires or other means of rapid com-
munication, the discovery of new gold fields or a rich
strike made within the boundaries of the territory trav-
eled with the rapidity of a carrier pigeon. Apparently
one caught the news from the breezes. No one could
give the source of the whisperings that a new find was
reported. It was sufficient to the toilers and pros-
pectors that such were the reports without investigating
whence they came. These reports grew as they trav-
eled. They were passed from cabin to cabin along
down the gulches and across the flats and bars. Tom
would tell Bill that near the bed-rock they were getting
five cents to the pan. Bill would inform Sam that in
the new "diggin's" they were getting ten cents right in
the grass roots: and thus it kept on increasing as it
traveled until it would reach a dollar or two to the
pan!
In the fall of 1861 reports began to be noised about
Oro Fino that new places had been discovered on the
head-waters of the Salmon river, which were said to be
fabulously rich. The matter was discussed by the
miners during the day while shoveling gravel and sand
in their sluice-boxes. At night they would gather in
their cabins and discuss the probabilities by the snap-
ping of log fires. Then it was noised about that the
Smith boys from Pierce's bar had left their claims and
disappeared in the direction of the new El Dorado, and
again parties from Ore Grande and Rhodes creek were
making preparations to start. Later, information was
circulated about the camp that two men had just arrived
for the purpose of laying in a stock of supplies, and
who confirmed the previous reports as to the richness
and extent of the new find. The old miners who had
had many visions and dreams of wealth to be obtained
just over the ridge were soon worked up to fever heat.
Horses and mules to pack supplies were in great de-
mand. Any kind of an animal would bring four times
the price it would have brought a few months before.
Like other contagions, this mining fever is catching,
and when it strikes you the only remedy is to go. You
do not stop to consider the hardships, but only have
the wish to reach the promised land and acquire the
glittering metal that would serve to make the folks at
home happy. How many of such hopes have been
blasted! Yet those hopes and expectations were the
incentives w'hich caused the pioneers to push out into
the snow-covered mountains and broad valleys and lay
the foundations for civilization.
During the early mining period of Idalio the
quality and amount of the precious metals were
rated as follows: The standard of goU bars was
1,000, and anything below half that amount was
denominated silver. A bar 49.S fine was 500 fine
of silver, worth ten dollars and twenty-three and
one-fourth cents per ounce. A bar oqo fine was
45 fine of silver and was stamped nineteen dollars
and sixty-three cents per ounce, as tne Kootenai
gold for example. Santiam (Oregon) gold was
679 fine: Oro Fino gold-dust assayed sixteen dol-
lars to the ounce; Elk City, from fifteen dollars
and seventy-five cents to sixteen dollars and for-
ty-five cents; Warren's diggings, ten dollars and
eight cents to fourteen dollars and fifty-four
cents; Florence, from eleven dollars and eighty
cents to thirteen dollars and seventy-five cents;
Beaver Head, eighteen dollars and thirty-seven
cents to eighteen dollars and fifty cents; and
Boise, fourteen dollars and twenty-eight cents to
seventeen dollars and forty cents, little of it as-
saying less than fifteen dollars, at which price the
merchants of Idaho City agreed to take it, while
paying only ten dollars for Owyhee and twelve
dollars for Florence.
The actual amount of gold produced in any
particular district of either of the territories for
a given time would be difficult of computation. A
Portland paper estimated that during the summer
and a,utumn of 1862 about three million dollars
was brought to that city: but some of this was
not Idaho gold, A government officer reported
that between seven and ten million dollars was
probably a fair estimate of the gold taken from
the Xez Perce mines in two years. In six months,
from June to November, 1863, the express com-
pany shipped tw^o million and ninety-five thou-
sand dollars, which certainly was not more than
one-third of the product of Idaho and Montana
for 1865 and 1866 at a million and a half dollars
monthly. For 1866, J. Ross Browne, in his
pamphlet Mineral Resources, etc.. states that
Montana yielded twelve million dollars, Idaho
six millions, Oregon two millions and Washing-
ton one million; but the San Francisco Chronicle
makes the product of Idaho for that year eight
tnillion dollars, and for 1867 six and a half mil-
lions, 1868 seven millions, 1869 the same, 1870
six millions, 1871 five millions, and 1872 only
two millions and five hundred and fourteen
thousand. Of course only guess work can be
made of the quantities niineil tluring that exciting
and chaotic period.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
73
In 1864 an attempt was made to obtain a mint
for the Boise basin, and two years later it was
proposed to bring the North Carolina mint to
Boise, neither of which movements was success-
ful. In the first year congress appropriated one
hundred thousand dollars for a branch mint at
The Dalles, a measure which Portland vigorously
opposed because of more local interest: and be-
fore the mint was erected at The Dalles it be-
came apparent that on the construction of the
Union Pacific Railroad bullion could be shipped
to Philadelphia as easily as to The Dalles, and
the act was revoked, which was a definite defeat
of any proposition for a mint in either Oregon or
Idaho. An assay office, however, was erected by
the United States government in 1870, at Boise,
at a cost of eighty-one thousand dollars. It was
built of sandstone, sixty feet square, two stories
high above the busement and well finished. It
was built under the direct supervision of J. R.
McBride, once United States district judge of
Idaho.
THE UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE.
The assay office was founded here by the
United States government in 1871. Minerals are
purchased from miners, assayed here and for-
warded to the mint in Philadelphia, free of trans-
portation charges. An idea of the importance
of this institution to this section may be gained
from the fact that in 1897 there were about five
thousand depositors, whose bullion amounted to
a million and a half dollars in valuation,
— an increase of about fifty per cent in
the past six years. The building occupied
is a substantial one of cut stone, is fifty
by sixty feet in dimensions and two stories
and basement in height. The structure was
completed the same year that the office was
established here, and was erected and has' been
maintained by the government. The ground on
which it stands is bounded by Main, Idaho, Sec-
ond and Third streets. This block was donated
to the United States by the city, which, in turn,
has been incalculably benefited by the location
of the assay office here. The building is in the
center of a beautifully kept lawn, tastefully em-
bellished with flowers and fine shade trees, the
spot being considered one of the restful and
picturesque places of interest in Boise.
J. W. Cunningham, who for many years has
been the government custodian of the assay
office, is eminently qualified for the responsible
position, as he thoroughly understands every de-
tail of the business and is entirely trustworthy
and reliable. It was in 1889 that he was ap-
pointed to the office of superintendent, by Presi-
dent Harrison, and at the end of four years of
service he was superseded, during President
Cleveland's administration, only to receive a re-
appointment at the hands of President iSIcKinley.
CHAPTER X.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
COLONEL \VILLL\M H. DEWEY.
J\ AIONG the prominent influential citizens
t Y of Idaho, Colonel Dewey, of Dewey, en-
-■■ ■*- joys a unique position and reputation. He
is a pioneer Idahoan in the true sense of that
word, and the marvelous development of the in-
terests and industries of his adopted state is large-
ly attributable to his enterprise and sagacity. He
is a man of remarkable resources, and has never
failed to measure fully up to all the requirements
and emergencies of life. Although over seventy
years old, he is well preserved and exhibits un-
abated vigor of mind and body. Colonel Dewey
is a native of the state of New York, and his
first American ancestors were early settlers in
Massachusetts.
In the autumn of 1863 he came to Idaho and
located where the town of Dewey now is, but
subsequently removed to where the town of Ruby
City was located, and with others, March 21,
1864, laid out the town of Silver City.
The gentleman whose name introduces this
review is a born miner, and from his first ar-
rival in Idaho the Colonel became prominentlv
connected with the mining interests of the north-
west, in which connection it is perfectly fair to
say that he has been one of the leading and prin-
cipal factors in the development of the mineral
resources of this state. He owned nearly half of
the South Mountain camp during the period of
its greatest activity and was one of three men
to discover and locate this magnificent property.
He purchased the Trade Dollar mine in 1889,
and after making numerous and expensive im-
provements upon it, sold to the present owners
one hundred and thirty-four thousand of the five
hundred thousand shares.
He also owns over one-half of the Florida
Mountain group of mines and has just succeeded
in forming a combination of these mining prop-
erties, in which he holds the strategic position.
The accomplishment of this consolidation re-
quired rare tact and finesse.
At the village of Dewey, a town named in his
honor, the Colonel has erected one of the best
twenty-stamp mills in Idaho, or even in the west.
He has also erected the fine Dewey Hotel, which
is considered one of the best in the state, and
he has built a beautiful residence for himself,
and in addition constructed numerous valuable
residences and business houses in the town of
Dewey. He is also the projector and owner of
the Boise, Nampa & Owyhee Railway, on which
line is a splendid steel bridge, crossing the Snake
river at GufTey, which is the pride of the whole
state. Colonel Dewey built this bridge at his
own expense, and also the railroad from Nampa
to Gufifey, which he is now extending to Murphy.
He is also preparing to extend his road nortli
from Nampa, the survevs now having been com-
pleted for a distance of fiftv miles. When all
these extensions are completed, the road will
connect with the Central Pacific and furnish a
continuous line from San Francisco to Butte,
Montana, and thereby shorten tne distance be-
tween these two points Ijy about three hundred
miles.
Colonel Dewey is distinctly a man of great
practical turn of mind. He is simple in his habits
and unassuming in his manners, being all energy,
push and enterprise. He was cast in a large
mold and would liave been conspicuous and
successful in any department of human activity
that he might have entered. He has been fre-
quently urged to accept nominations for import-
ant official positions, but has invariably declined.
His name is now mentioned in connection with
the nomination for United States senator from
Idaho. This is against the Colonel's wishes, but
his manv friends are verv urgent in their re-
n
'//
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
75
quests that he shall openly enter the field for that
distinguished office.
HOMER G. PATTERSON.
Homer G. Patterson is a leading member of
the Idaho legislature, representing Blaine county,
and is a prominent practitioner of dentistry in
Hailey. Dentistry may be said to be almost
unique among other occupations, as it is at once
a profession, a trade and a business. Such being
the case, it follows that in order to attain the
highest success in it one must be thoroughly con-
versant with the theory of the art, must be ex-
pert with the many tools and appliances inci-
dental to the practice of modern dentistry, and
must possess business qualifications adequate to
dealing with the financial side of the profession.
In all of these particulars Dr. Homer George
Patterson is well qualified, and therefore has at-
tained prestige among the able representatives of
dentistry in southern Idaho.
He was born in Ontario, St. Joseph county,
Indiana, October 4, 1862. The family is of
Scotch origin and the original American ances-
tors were colonial settlers of New York and par-
ticipants in the events which formed the early
history of that state. Among those of the name
were also members of the American army who
fought for the independence of the nation. James
H. Patterson, the father of our subject, was born
in the Empire state and married Miss Wealthy
J. Foster, a native of Michigan. When a young
man he removed to Indiana and there followed
the trade of carriage and wagon maker. Later
he went with his family to Iowa, and subsequent-
ly removed to Montgomery county, the same
state.
The Doctor is the eldest in a family of five
children, four sons and a daughter. The family
circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of
death, and the parents are now residents of Port-
land, Oregon. Our subject was a child of seven
years when they went to Iowa, and a youth of
nine when they located in JMontgomery county,
Iowa. He was educated in the public schools
and read medicine in the office and under the
direction of Dr. J. B. Hatton. He afterward
went to Oregon, where he studied dentistry in
the office of Dr. Wise, of Portland, and in 1882
he went to California, where he continued his
preparation for the profession. In i88g he
opened a dental office in Bellevue, where he re-
mained until 1896, when he came to Hailey,
where he has since made his home. He has a
well appointed office and from the beginning has
met with gratifying success, his .patronage con-
stantly increasing.
In 1882 occurred the marriage of Dr. Patter-
son and Miss Nettie J. Orr, a native of Illinois,
and their union has been blessed with four
daughters and a son, namely: Bessie, Lena,
Roy, Lora and Irma. The parents are members
of the Christian church, but as there is no con-
gregation of that denomination m Hailey they
attend the services of the Alethodist church.
Their pleasant home is characterized by a charm-
ing hospitality and is the center of a cultured so-
ciety circle.
The Doctor belongs to the ^lodern Woodmen
of America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. In addition to his professional in-
terests he has several placer-mining claims, and
in partnership with F. M. McDowell leased the
Niagara silver mine on Boyle mountain. They
have uncovered a vein of excellent ore a foot
thick, which will undoubtedly make the mine a
paying one. In his political views Dr. Patterson
is a "silver" Republican, and on the fusion ticket
he received a flattering majority for the office of
state representative. He served in the fifth ses-
sion of the Idaho legislature and his course indi-
cated his loyalty to the best interests of the county
and the commonwealth. He was appointed by
the governor a member of the state dental board,
and by said board was elected its president.
Through the work and influence of Dr. Patter-
son the state dental law was adopted.
CHARLES A. SCHNABEL.
Thirty-seven years have passed since Charles
Augusta Schnabel came to Idaho. This state, so
aptly termed "the gem of the mountains," was
then a wild district, its lands unclaimed, its re-
sources undeveloped. A few courageous fron-
tiersmen had dared to locate within its borders,
but the work of progress and improvement re-
mained to the future, and there was little prom-
ise of early development. In the years which
have since passed Air. Schnabel has not only wit-
nessed a most wonderful transformation, but has
76
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
largely aided in the labors which have trans-
formed the wild tract into a splendid common-
wealth. Now in his declining years he is living
retired, enjoying the well earned rest which is
the merited reward of a long and honorable busi-
ness career.
A native of Prussia, r^Ir. Schnabel was born in
Elberfield, October i8, 1828. and for generation.-^
his ancestors had resided in the fatherland. He
acquired his education in the public schools, and
in Germany learned the trade of fringe and lace
weaving. When a young man of twenty years
he determined to try his fortune in America,
landing in New York on the day that Zachariah
Taylor was elected president of the United States.
He then made his way to Baltimore, :\Iarvland,
where he had a brother living, and in that city
worked at his trade for a year, when, hearing of
the rich gold discoveries in California, he deter-
mined to make his way to the Pacific coast.
Twice he attempted to work his way across the
country, but each time, after getting as far as
western Missouri, lack of means forced him to
turn back. A third time, however, he made the
attempt, and this time succeeded in reaching the
goal of his hopes. He traveled by way of New
Orleans and by the Panama route to California,
where he arrived in 1853, and in Sierra county
successfully engaged in mining. He was thus
enabled to send money home to his mother and
sisters, but in the winter of 1862 mis-
fortune again overtook him, a flood carry-
ing away his flumes and other mining ma-
chinery. It .was at this lime that he
learned of the discovery of gold in Florence,
Idaho, and so, traveling by way of Portland,
Oregon, and up the Columbia river, he ultimately
arrived in Florence, in May, 1862. His mining
operations in that locality, however, did not prove
profitable, and in the spring of 1863 he went to
Idaho City, where he engaged in merchandising,
his sales in one year amounting to one hundred
thousand dollars. In a single day he sold and
ivrapped goods to the vakie of twenty-six hun-
dred dollars.
Mr. Schnabel was thus closely connected with
the development of the business interests of the
northwest, and has taken an active part in pro-
moting all enterprises which tend to advance the
welfare of his state. In 1859, while engaged in
mining, he visited Virginia City, w'hen there was
one store in the town. He became the owner of
the Monte Christo claim, which in the following
spring he sold to Senator Stewart for twelve hun-
dred dollars. He purchased a fourth interest in
the Hale & Norcross claim for one hundred dol-
lars, and sold it the following spring for fifteen
hundred dollars. That claim afterward proved
to be very valuable, yielding rich deposits of ore.
While at that point Mr. Schnabel saw the first
pony express that ever crossed the country. In
his mercantile ventures his success was assured
from the beginning. He had a reputation for in-
flexible integrity that extended far and wide, and
his word was ever considered as good as his
bond. He received a very extensive patronage
from the Indians, and never had any trouble with
them, for they said that "he has but one tongue,"
meaning that they always found him truthful.
What higher compliment could be paid a busi-
ness man?
After engaging in merchandising for a year,
Mr. Schnabel found it possible, as the result of
his success, to visit the fatherland and the friends
of his childhood. Five times has he crossed the
Atlantic to Germany, thus continuing the ties
of comradeship and regard with many in the old
country. In 1867 he returned to Idaho, and en-
gaged in merchandising with Peter Sonna until
1870, when he sold his interest to his partner
and again made the voyage across the Atlantic
to the hom.e of his childhood and youth. There
he was married to Miss Eva Elizabeth Shafer,
his old sweetheart, and with his bride came to
his far western home. Here he again opened a
store, and was successfully engaged in merchan-
dising until 1890, when, having accjuired a hand-
some competence, he retired to private life. In
1867 he attended the World's Fair in Paris, and
after selling his store, in 1890, he took his family
abroad. His seven daughters are all talented
musicians and vocalists and in the art centers
of the world they were given opportunity to study
music under some of the most famous musicians
of the age. Mr. and Mrs. Schnabel may well be
proud of their family. Their eldest daughter,
Elizabeth Idaho, is now the wife of Sherman
King, of P>oise. The others are ^linnehaha, .\nna
Columbia, \'ictoria America, Rosa May, Augusta
Octavia and Flora Centennia, which latter died
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
at the age of thirteen years and five months. The
youngest daughter was given her father's middle
name, Augusta, and also the name of Octavia,
by reason of her being the eighth.
During the civil war Mr. Schnabel was a
stanch advocate of the Union cause, and since the
organization of the Republican party has been
one of its earnest and zealous supporters. The
cause of education in Boise has found in him a
warm friend, and while serving as school trustee
for a number of years he did effective service in
the interest of the city schools. He was at one
time the nominee for county commissioner.
Reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, he
has always had great respect for religion and
now attends the Methodist services, but is not a
member of any church. He is now enjoying a
well earned rest and the esteem of his fellow
men, who, having long been witnesses of his
upright career, entertain for him the highest re-
gard.
JOHN CRETE, SR.
The Fatherland has furnished to America
many of her valued citizens, — men who have
crossed the Atlantic to ally their interests with
those of "the land of the free." Adapting them-
selves to entirely new surroundings, customs and
manners, they have achieved success and won a
place among the representative men of the com-
munities in which their lots have been cast. Such
is true of John Crete, the genial, well known
and popular proprietor of the War Eagle Hotel,
at Silver City. Born in Hasbrouck, Hanover,
Germany, April 25, 1832, he was a son of a Ger-
man soldier who afterward became a police offi-
cer, and while making an arrest, was beaten by
a criminal. His injuries brought on blood-pois-
oning, from which he died when fifty-two years
of age. His wife long survived him, and passed
away at the advanced age of ninety years. They
had six children, five sons and one daughter, all
now deceased but two.
John Crete, the fourth in order of birth, was
educated in the schools of his native land, and
in 1849, when seventeen years of age, crossed
the Atlantic to the New World, hoping to better
his financial condition in this country, where
broader and better opportunities are afiforded
young men. He landed in New York and there
accepted a position as salesman in a cofTee and
tea house, where he remained until i860, when
he sailed for California, going by the isthmus
route. At the old town of Shasta in the northern
part of California He first engaged in mining. On
the 1st of May, 1862, with seven others, he
started on a prospecting tour to the upper coun-
try, expecting to go to Florence, Oregon, but
at Canyon City, that state, they discovered gold,
and Mr. Crete engaged in prospecting and mm-
ing there until fall, when, attracted by the dis-
coveries in the Boise basin, he came to Idaho.
Here he engaged in mining and in conducting a
pack train between the basin and Auburn, Ore-
gon. He received twenty-five cents per pound
for all goods which he handled, but his expenses
in other lines were proportionately high.
In the fall of 1863, allured by the rich gold dis-
coveries at Silver City, he came to this place
and began quartz-mining, but the evident de-
mand for a good bakery determined him to with-
draw from mining ventures and establish a bak-
ery and saloon. This he did on the 14th of June,
1864, and from the beginning he prospered in the
new undertaking. He added an eating house
and constantly enlarged his facilities to meet the
growing demand of the trade until 1878, when
he purchased the War Eagle Hotel, the nucleus
of which was a log structure that had been built
by a Mr. Carrol, who was killed by the Indians
in June, 1864. In 1867 it was enlarged, and after
Mr. Crete became the owner it was enlarged to
its present proportions and greatly improved. It
now contains thirty-five rooms well furnished,
and everything possible is done for the accommo-
dation and comfort of the guests. Joseph Gross,
who is acting as clerk, is a well known California
and Idaho pioneer and prominent Freemason,
and, like the proprietor, is highly esteemed by
the traveling public, owing to his obliging ser-
vice and evident desire to make the guests of the
War Eagle at home. The hotel was named for
the War Eagle mountain, which stands near by
and which rises seven thousand and five hundred
feet above the sea level and towers one thousand
feet above Silver City and the surrounding moun-
tains. It is full of valuable ore. both gold and
silver, and is one of the historic places of inter-
est in the state.
In New York, in 1856. Mr. Crete was unit^'d
in marriage to Miss Mary Kornniann. who was
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of German lineage, and was born in Xew York
city, in 1841. In 1861 she accompanied her
husband to CaHfornia, where she remained two
years, while he was prospecting in Oregon and
Idaho, and then joined him at Silver City in the
fall of 1864. She has been to him a faithful com-
panion and helpmeet, and has thus contributed
to his success. Three sons and three daughters
have been born to them: Louisa, now the wife
of Anthony Brooks, of Butte. Montana; August,
who is engaged in business in Silver City ; Emma,
who is the widow of Alfred Hicks and resides
with her parents; Minnie, now the wife of Dr.
Weston, a prominent physician of Silver City;
Frederick, who is his father's partner in several
mining enterprises: and John, who is operating
his father's electric-light plant.
Mr. Crete has been prominently and actively
connected with various interests of this locality,
and has done much to promote the public welfare
and general prosperity. He has built a system
of water-works, by which a supply of pure spring
water is brought from the mountain side to the
hotel and also supplies many of the homes of
Silver City. At his own expense he erected an
electric -light plant of twelve hundred candle-
power, and thus illuminates the hotel and busi-
ness houses. These two enterprises have proven
of great practical benefit to the town, and indi-
cated the progressive spirit of the owner. In ad-
dition to his hotel proDerty, Mr. Crete also has a
number of buildings in Silver City, and in con-
nection with his brother Fred owns the San Tuan
group ; and the Banner group of mines is owned
by John Crete, Sr., Fred Crete, Jr., and Robert
Leonard, Sr.
In his political views Mr. Crete is a Democrat,
and though well informed on the issues of the
day and interested in the success of his party has
never sought office. He has taken the Royal
Arch degrees of Masonry, is past master of the
blue lodge and has held nearly all the offices in
the chapter. He also belongs to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He came to America
with the hope of bettering his financial condi-
tion,— a hope that has been more than realized:
and by taking advantage of opportunities and by
unabating energy and good management he has
won a handsome competence and is now num-
bered among the substantial citizens of Owyhee
county. As the genial proprietor of War Eagle
Hotel he has a wide acquaintance and is popular
in all classes.
JOHN WAGENER.
John Wagener is one of the owners of the
Trook and Jennings mine and five-stamp mill,
one mile southeast of Silver City. He is also
proprietor of several stock ranches and since
pioneer days has been active in the development
of the business resources of this state. A native
of Cermany, he came to America hoping to bet-
ter his financial condition, and whatever success
he has achieved is due entirely to his own la-
bors.
J\Ir. Wagener was born June 30, 1833. and in
his native land acquired his education. When a
young man of nineteen years he bade adieu to
home and friends and in 1852 sailed for America,
coming to this country in limited circumstances
and without any knowledge of the language,
manners or customs of the people. It is aston-
ishing how rapidly our foreign-born citizens
adapt themselves to new surroundings and be-
come an integral part in our public life. Mr.
Wagener took up his residence in New York
city and began learning the wagonmaker's trade,
at which he worked for a number of years. He
then left the x^tlantic for the Pacific coast, and
in 1858 visited Idaho, when it was still a part
of Washington Territory. He crossed the plains
to Vancouver's, thence came to Florence in 1862,
and after engaging in placer-mining at the latter
place for a year, went to Idaho City in the Boise
basin, where he worked at placer-mining, receiv-
ing three dollars per day and his board in com-
pensation for his services.
In January, 1864, he arrived in Boonville, now
called Dewey, and engaged in sawing lumber
for the different stamp mills then being erected
in that locality. In 1865 he aided in the erection
of the mills. As the years passed, his diligence,
energy, enterprise and capable management
brought him success, and from time to time he
made judicious investments in mining and ranch
property. He has been the owner of several
mining claims and for a number of years past
has been principally engaged in milling ore. In
connection with John Scales, he is now the owner
of the Trook and Jennings mine and the five-
$d%f^crT>v^i/6^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
stamp mill, situated on the War Eagle mountain.
The mill was built in 1864 by a Mr. Shonebar
and was an arastra mill, but afterward five
stamps were added to it, since which time an ex-
tensive custom business has been carried on and
mine averages five dollars per ounce and the ore
has yielded as high as two hundred dollars per
considerable money made. The bullion from the
ton. Both the mill and the mine are now on the
market, for though a very desirable property, the
owners are not so situated as to give it the needed
development. Air. Wagener is now the owner
of several ranches, and is becoming quite exten-
sively interested in stock-raising.
In 1884 was celebrated his marriage to Miss
Christina Nelson, a native of Sweden, and to
them has been born a daughter, Alice. Their
pleasant home is located near the mill. In his
political affiliations Mr. Wagener is a Democrat,
but has never been an aspirant for office, pre-
ferring to devote his energies to his business in-
terest. His activity in business has not only con-
tributed to his individual success but has also
been an active factor in the development of the
state, and he is now accounted one of the honored
pioneer settlers of Idaho.
GENERAL EDWARD McCONVILLE.
In the recent trial of arms in which America
won recognition and admiration never before ac-
corded her by the older "powers" of Europe,
there was no more distinguished or valiant sol-
dier than General McConville, of Idaho, who
went forth as one of the commanders of the
Idaho troops and laid down his life on the altar
of his country. His was a noble life and a glori-
ous death, and his name is enduringly inscribed
on the roll of America's heroes. Though his loss
is deeply mourned by his many friends, his mem-
ory will ever be cherished by all who knew him,
and the cause of liberty will acknowledge its ad-
vancement to him and his compatriots who have
fallen in defense of the honor of the flag and the
noble principles of republicanism and justice
which it represents.
General McConville was a native of New York,
his birth having occurred at Cape Vincent, Jef-
ferson county, Jime 25, 1846. The history of
the family furnishes many examples of valor, for
since the days when William the Conqueror
fought the battle of Hastings its representatives
have won honor and fame in the military and
naval service of France, England, Ireland and
America. The family had its origin in France,
it's branches being found in Brittany, Gascony
and Normandy. Two representatives of the name
fought with William, the Norman prince, at the
battle of Hastings, and their descendants went
to Ireland with Sir John de Coursey's forces in
1 166 A. D., and were of the Normans of whom
it was afterward said by the English that "they
became more Irish than the Irish themselves."
The original name was Conville, but after taking
up their residence on the Emerald Isle the Celtic
"Mc," signifying "the son of," was prefixed to
the original name of the Norman settlers in Ire-
land. The family resided in the northern section
of that country and a number of its members
served in the army of King James II. After the
defeat of that monarch several of them' accom-
panied him to France and entered the service of
Louis IV., both in the army and navy of France.
The greater number of the McConvilles resided
near Carlingford Lough, in county Down, Ire-
land, not far from the city of Newry. A number
of the name came to the United States, but the
family has not been very numerous here-, and
there are also comparatively few of the name in
France, England and Ireland. For centuries,
however, the McConvilles have sent forth their
sons to the army and navy service and from the
time of the battle of Hastings down to the pres-
ent, deeds of valor have illuminated the pages of
the family history in connection with the wars
of France, England, Ireland and this great re-
public. Several representatives of the name were
killed in our great civil war, while fighting for
the perpetuation of the LTnion. The General's
brother, Hugh McConville, gave his life for his
country at the battle of Malvern Hill, and his
cousin, John McConville, was killed at Santiago,
July 3, 1898, in the glorious assault on San Juan
hill
General McConville was reared on his father's
farm, and received an academic education in the
University of Syracuse. He was but a youth of fif-
teen years when the war of the Rebellion was in-
augurated, but the spirit of patriotism, so dom-
inant an element in his family, soon manifested
itself, and he ofl'ered his services to the govern-
80
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ment, enlisting as a private of Company I,
Twelfth New York \'olunteer Infantry. He was
enrolled April 30, 1861, at Syracuse, New York,
and was mustered into service on the 13th of
Aiav, for two years. He was appointed corporal
of his company, October 27, 1862, and continued
at the front until honorably discharged, ]\Iay 17,
1863. Just eight days later, on the 25th of May,
he re-enlisted, at New York city, and was mus-
tered in July 18, 1863, as a private of Company
C, Thirteenth New York Cavalry, to serve three
years. He was appointed corporal September 11,
1863, and sergeant February 4. 1864, and on the
7th of October of the latter year he was assigned
to duty with the pioneer corps. On August 17,
1864, upon the consolidation of his regiment, he
was transferred to Company H, Third New York
Provisional Cavalry, with which command he
remained until honorably discharged, September
21, 1865. He participated in a number of hard-
fought battles, including the engagements at
Blackburn Ford, A'irginia, July 18, 1861: Bull
Run, July 21, 1861 : Yorktown, April 5 to May 4,
1862; Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862; IMalvern Hill,
July I, 1862; Bull Run, August 30, 1862, and
Antietam, September 17, 1862. During his four-
years service he was never on the sick list a sin-
gle day. He was twice slightly wounded, but
stopped only long enough to have the bullet ex-
tracted and the wound dressed and then contin-
ued on the march.
In 1866 General McConville enlisted again in
Company G, Twenty-first United States Infantry,
and served seven years in the regular army. In
the year 1870 he was sent with an expedition
against the Apache Indians in Arizona, and in
the battle of Chifeto he was distinguished for his
gallant conduct. He served in New Mexico,
Arizona and on the coast until he was mustered
out and honorably discharged, at Fort Lapwai,
in 1873.
In June, 1877, when Joseph's band of Nez
Perces Indians began their cruel depredations
and massacres of the unprotected settlers on Sal-
mon river and Camas prairie, General IMcCon-
ville was the first to respond to the call to arms,
and raised Company A, of the First Regiment
of Idaho \'olunteers, at Lewiston. His zeal, ac-
tivity and bravery in protecting the defenceless
and scattered population won for him the grati-
tude of the state and resulted in his election to
the office of colonel of the regiment. In the war
he was ever found in the front of the battle, and
proved a very valuable ally to General O. O.
Howard. On July 10, 1877, the Indians made a
night attack on Fort Misery, in which General
]\IcConville again won distinction by his valor.
The volunteers, eighty-five strong, were en-
camped on the brow of the hill and General How-
ard was on the opposite side of Clearwater river,
when General McConville suddenly discovered
the hostile Indians. He sent Lieutenant Lou
Wilmot to General Howard with the informa-
tion and a request to send the cavalry to his as- 1
sistance, and at the same time was asked to at- i
tack the Indians on the side next to the river.
General McConville ordered his entire force to
begin throwing up rifle pits, their knives and
their tin cups being their only implements with
which to accomplish this work, but a circle of
pits was dug on the brow of the hill and soon
after dark the war whoop of the savages was
heard all around, together with the rapid firing of
guns, the neighing of horses and the snapping of
picket ropes. The Indians fought desperately
and succeeded in capturing forty-five of the
horses belonging to the volunteers, and when
dawn broke hundreds of cartridge shells were
found within fifteen feet of the rifle pits, but only
one man was wounded, he having received a
slight scratch from a bullet which struck his gun,
glanced and made a slight wound in his arm.
When the bullets were flying thickest it seemed .
as though General McConville was almost omni- |
present, his form outlined against the sky offer- ' y
ing a prominent mark for the Indian rifles, but
he passed through the deadly fire without injury.
During the progress of the battle it became nee-
essary to transfer two men from one side of the j
hill to the rifle pit on the opposite side, in order •■
to strengthen the fire on that side. The General
gave the command for the men to go. but al-
though one of the men receiving the order had
fought for four years in the civil war, they all
hesitated for a moment before entering into what
seemed to promise certain death. The General
saw their hesitancy, and instantly jumped into
the opening and commanded the men to follow.
This display of valor at Once inspired them to
go where he led, and the brave leader walked
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
81
across the hill in the face of that leaden hail as
unconcernedly as though he were treading the
streets of Lewiston. Some fifteen or twenty
horses had been saved from the Indians, and the
next morning when the volunteers started for
Mount Idaho the saddles were put on these
horses and General McConville was offered one
to ride, but he declined, saying, "Let some of
the older men ride," and he took his place at
the head of the column and marched to the town.
This sharing with the men in all the hardships
of war, and taking his place at points of greatest
danger, won their unbounded admiration and
love, and probably no soldier has ever had the
respect of his men to a greater degree than
General McConville.
When it was necessary to use force of arms to
bring the savages to a state of subordination, so
that they would not abuse the white settlers, he
was always ready to engage in warfare, but when
arms could be laid aside, no man was more will-
ing or active in laboring for the best interests of
the red men than the General. When the Indian
school was removed from Forest Grove, Oregon,
to Salem, that state, he was sent there in charge
of sixty boys and forty girls to perfect arrange-
ments to accommodate the entire school of over
three hundred pupils. The land was heavily tim-
bered and General McConville, with the aid of
the Indian boys, felled the trees, cleared the land
and erected rough houses, to be utilized until the
government buildings could be erected. They
carried on the work unremittingly' and since his
death the family have received many letters from
his Indian pupils, expressing their profound grief
over the loss of their kind benefactor. After
completing his labors in connection with the
school, he was appointed superintendent of the
Lapwai school, a position which he very ably
filled through several administrations o* the gov-
ernment, and that school, with its magnificent
buildings, stand as a monument to the great-
ness of the man. He endeavored not only to
train the children along intellectual and indus-
trial lines, but also to develop character and in-
stil into their minds high and lofty principles.
Soon after taking charge of the school he pro-
cured an American flag, and called out the entire
school, — pupils, teachers and employes to the
number of two hundred. Then, with the Indian
band at their head, they formed a hollow square,
and a large flag-pole, which had been brought
from Craig's mountain, was planted in the center
and a young Indian boy and girl, selected from
their number, raised the starry banner for the
first time over the industrial school at Lapwai.
With uncovered heads the entire school, to the
accompaniment of the band, sang our national
anthem, "America," and as the music was borne
aloft Old Glory floated out upon the breezes. An-
other instance of General McConville's intense
loyalty was his inauguration of a service con-
sisting in saluting the flag each morning in the
chapel. The pupils were permitted to vote on
the adoption or rejection of the custom, and
every vote was cast in its favor. The salute con-
sists of touching the head with the right hand,
then placing it on the heart, then pointing to
the flag as they repeat the words, "We give our
heads, our hearts to our country, — one country,
one language, one flag."
Many other incidents might be mentioned
showing General McConville's intensely patriot-
ic spirit and his great love for his country. He
taught the children of the forest to observe every
national holiday, all religious services and or-
ganized a number of Christian Endeavor, tem-
perance and literary societies, and also societies
simply for social intercourse. He came in close
touch with his pupils in their moral, intellectual
and social life, and left the impress of his in-
dividuality upon all.
The home life of General McConville was most
happy and interesting. On the ist of October,
1878, in Lewiston, he had married Miss \'iola C.
Arant, a native of Kansas, and a daughter of
Samuel W. Arant, a representative of an old
American family. They had four children, Harry,
Alta, Ermeth and Hugh. The family have a
nice home in Lewiston and are held in the high-
est regard throughout the community. Mrs. Mc-
Conville is a lady of culture and refinement, and
is meeting her great loss with the courage and
resignation befitting the wife of such a brave pa-
triot. She is a member of the Eastern Star, the
Order of Rebekah and the Rathbone Sisters, and
is busily engaged with other Lewiston ladies in
providing for the wants of the Idaho volunteers
at the front. The General's name was enrolled
among the valued members of the Grand Army
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of the Republic, and he had taken the degrees of
the York and Scottish rites in Masonry. He was
also a prominent member of the Knights of
Pythias fraternity, a charter member of the Uni-
formed Rank of that order and its first captain.
Later he was elected major of the Lewiston regi-
ment, subsequently was chosen its colonel, and
at the time of his death was aid de camp on the
staff of Major General James R. Cranahan, with
the rank of colonel. Thus in the successful con-
duct of his school, and in the enjoyment of home,
family and friends. General McConville spent the
last years of his life, having the warm regard
and sincere respect of all who knew him.
On the 22d of August, 1898, President Mc-
Kinley, by proclamation, called for one hundred
and twenty-five thousand volunteers, and the
governor of Idaho also issued a similar proclama-
tion. Every company of the Idaho National
Guard responded to the call, and from May 7 to
May 14, 1898, the companies were mustered into
the service of the United States as Companies A,
B, C, D, E, F, G and H, First Idaho Volunteers.
General McConville was appointed by the gov-
ernor to the rank of major of the second battalion,
and the troops left Boise IMay i8th, sailing from
San Francisco for the Philippine islands, June
27, 1898. He was accompanied by his son Harry,
a youth of seventeen years, who enlisted in Com-
pany B, and with his father went to Manila as
color-bearer of the regiment. The deeds of valor
and heroism of the Idaho volunteers from that
July day in 1898, when the Morgan City reached
Manila bay, is a matter of history. In every case
they have covered themselves with glory and
have reflected credit upon the state and country
which they represent.
It was on the 5th of February, 1899, that Gen-
eral McConville fell, while leading his battalion
in a charge. No braver man ever lived. When
he was shot he was standing on a little knoll in
front of his battalion and had just fired a rifle
that had dropped from the hands of a fatally
wounded soldier. At the same time a Mauser
bullet entered his body under his right arm,
passed entirely through his body and came out
under the left arm, while another ball struck his
shoulder. He fell, and Adjutant Roos and Lieu-
tenant Martinson, commanding Lewiston's com-
pany, ran to him and carried him off the field.
As he was being borne along he said with a
smile: "It was glorious! the Idaho boys are
covering themselves with glory!" He was taken
to the field hospital, where his son Harry was
by his side and closed the eyes of the noble
father. He was brevetted brigadier general be-
fore he died, in recognition of his great bravery
and gallant service. His last words were ad-
dressed to his son: "Go home and take care
of your mother. Tell my wife and the children
I died for my country." His remains were
brought home, attended by the son, who was dis-
charged in order that he might return to his
mother with the father's body, and such a burial
was given him as had never before been accorded
any citizen of Idaho. Every possible tribute of
respect and love was paid him, and with military
honors he was laid to rest. The governor of
Idaho in acknowledgment of Harry McCon-
ville's fidelity to his father and to his country,
commissioned him a colonel of the National
Guard of the state, an honor never before con-
ferred upon one so young. It was a token of
Idaho's high appreciation of the noble father and
of the son's devotion to the father and the starry
flag. Hon. James W. Reid, of Lewiston, pre-
sented the commission at the funeral of the Gen-
eral, and pronounced the eulogy upon the dead
hero who four times entered his country's service
and valiantly battled for its interests. "His life
was noble, and the elements so mixed in him that
Nature might stand up and say to all the world,
'This was a man." "
GEORGE AINSLIE.
Hon. George Ainslie is a western man by birth,
training and choice, and possesses the true west-
ern spirit of progress and enterprise. He belongs
to the little group of distinctively representative
business men who have been the pioneers in in-
augurating and building up the chief industries
of this section of the country. He early had the
sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence
which the future had in store for this great and
growing country, and, acting in accordance with
the dictates of his faith and judgment, he has
garnered, in the fullness of time, the generous
harvest which is the just recompense of indomit-
able industry, spotless integrity and marvelous
enterprise. He is now connected with many ex-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
83
tensive and important business interests, is one
of the leading lawyers of Boise, and is a recog-
nized leader in Democratic circles in Idaho.
A native of Boonville, Missouri, he was born
October 30, 1838, and is of Scotch descent. Sev-
eral of his paternal ancestors served in the Brit-
ish army as members of Scotch regiments, and
the grandfather and an uncle of our subject both
held the rank of colonel. His father was also an
officer in the army and was a graduate of Edin-
burg University, where he won a gold medal on
the completion of his course. He was admitted
to the bar in his native land and licensed as an
advocate. In 1836 he came to America, but
after the birth of our subject returned to the
land of his nativity, remaining in Scotland until
1844, when he again came, with his family, to
this country, once more taking up his residence
in Boonville, Missouri, where he was the owner
of large landed interests. He engaged in the
manufacture of salt at Boone's Lick, and man-
aged his business interests with such ability that
his efforts were crowned with substantial success.
He married Miss Mary S. Borron, a native of
Lancashire, England. They were members of the
Episcopal church and people of the highest re-
spectability. The father was drowned in the
Missouri river in June, 1844, and the mother,
long surviving him, departed this life in Cincin-
nati, Ohio, in 1886, at the age of seventy years.
Hon. George Ainslie, the only survivor of the
family, began his education in the schools of
Scotland, and after the return of his parents to
America, pursued a high-school course. Later
he spent one year in the St. Louis L^niversity,
and in 1856 was offered an appointment as cadet
at West Point, by Hon. Henry S. Geyer, United
States senator from Missouri, but owing to the
opposition of his mother, who believed all gradu-
ates of the military school and its officers were
more or less dissipated, he did not accept the
offer.
Desiring to enter the legal profession, Mr.
Ainslie began reading law under the direction of
Judge Ben Thompkins, and later continued his
studies in the law office of Douglass & Hayden.
In April, i860, he was admitted to the bar and
the same year started for Pike's Peak, where he
engaged in mining and in the practice of his
chosen profession. He was one of the pioneers
of that locality, where he remained until 1862,
when he went to Salmon river, attracted by the
discovery of gold at that place. There he con-
tinued until the snow fell, when he went to
Clackamas county, Oregon, spending the winter
in school-teaching. In the spring of 1863 he
came to the Boise basin, where he practiced law
and also engaged in mining, owning an interest
in the General Custer mine, which paid several
million dollars in dividends. His first knowl-
edge of the administration of the law in this then
wild district came to him in rather a peculiar but
also typical manner. In the winter in which he
came to Idaho, on the arrival of himself and
party at Lewiston, he was waited upon by some
gentlemen who desired to secure his services in a
professional capacity. Some days before, three
men, Dave English, Frank Scott and William
Peoples, were accused of having robbed a man
by the name of Berry on the Florence trail. They
were to be tried by a "citizens' court," and de-
sired the services of an attorney. Mr. Ainslie con-
sented to act in their defense and started down
town to see his clients, who, he learned, were
confined in a temporary jail under guard. Upon
asking the guard if he might be permitted to see
his clients, he was told that he could not see them
that day, but if he would call next morning they
would grant him an interview. Accordingly he
called at a seasonable hour the next day and
was favorably received by the guards, who
ushered him through several rooms and finally
led him to a rude shed at the back of the build-
ing, where he beheld all three of his whilom
clients hanging side by side. This was Mr. Ains-
lie's first experience with Idaho justice. Realiz-
ing the importance of demurrer and the irrele-
vancy of an appeal, he retired in good order. He
has witnessed great changes in the workings of
the courts since that time, and through all the
vears has enjoyed a liberal patronage. Of recent
years, however, lie has largely confined his at-
tention to the branches of law which treat of min-
ing and of water irrigation. He is careful and
painstaking in the preparation of his cases, is
logical and convincing in argument, forcible in
his appeals to court or jury and holds high rank
as one of the ablest representatives of the pro-
fession in the state.
Since his arrival in Idaho Mr. Ainslie has taken
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
a deep and active interest in political questions,
and aided in formulating the first Democratic
platform of the territory. In 1865 and 1866 he
was elected to the legislature, and from 1869 un-
til 1873 he edited the Idaho World, then the
only Democratic paper in the territory. He was
elected and served as district attorney for the
second judicial district from January, 1875, to
January, 1879; in 1878 he was elected a delegate
to congress and re-elected in 1880. In 1889 he
was chosen a member of the constitutional con-
vention, and was chairman of the committee of
the executive department. In 1890 he removed
to Boise, where he has since made his home.
Here again he has been called to lead the Dem-
ocratic forces to victory, and his influence in
political circles is most marked. He has perhaps
more than any other man shaped the policy of
the party in Idaho, is one of its most trusted
and respected leaders, and is the Idaho member
of the Democratic national committee.
In the promotion of many business interests
Mr. AinsHe had also been an important factor,
and belongs to that class of representative Amer-
icans who advance the general prosperity while
laboring for individual success. He was one of
the organizers of the Rapid Transit Company,
of Boise, and from the beginning has served as
its president. Through his instrumentality the
electric street railway was built in Boise, before
an electric line was laid in San Francisco. He
was one of the organizers and stockholders of
the Artesian Hot and Cold Water Company. In
1 89 1 he organized a company and built the elec-
tric-light works at Baker City. Oregon, and is
now at the head of that enterprise as its presi-
dent. He is a man of resourceful business ability,
keen discrimination, sound judgment and well
defined purposes, and carries forward to success-
ful completion whatever he undertakes. He is
also interested in various mines, and from these
varied concerns is deriving a good income.
In 1866 Mr. Ainslie was united in marriage to
Miss Sarah Owens, a native of Clay county, Mis-
souri, and to them have been born two daugh-
ters: Lucy Lee, who is now the wife of Dr.
Edward Perrault, of San Francisco; and Adelma,
wife of John F. Nugent, of Silver City, Idaho.
The parents were members of the Episcopalian
church. Theirs is one of the beautiful homes of
Boise, its characteristic culture and intellectualitv
making it a favorite resort with the best people
of the city.
Mr. Ainslie has ever taken a deep interest in
those movements or measures calculated to prove
of public benefit, and withholds his support from
no enterprise that tends toward the general good.
Boise owes much of her advancement to his en-
terprising and carefully directed efforts, for its
commercial interests have been the important
element in building up the city. He is a member
of the Pioneer Association of the state, of which
he formerly served as president, and during
more than a third of a century he has engraved
his name deeply on the pages of Idaho's history.
PRESLEY M. BRUNER.
A prominent practitioner at the bar of Hailey,
and e.\-district attorney of Alturas (now Blaine)
county, Idaho, Presley Morris Bruner, was born
in Chillicothe, Ohio. September 15. 1850. C)n
the paternal side is of German lineage, and on
the maternal of Scotch descent. His father, J.
A. Bruner, was born in \'irginia, a representative
of one of the old and prominent families of that
state, living in the Blue mountain region. He
married Aliss Alargaret Morris, a daughter of
Judge Presley Morris, of Chillicothe, Ohio.
Her father was a descendant of the McDonald
clan of the highlands of Scotland, and traced his
ancestry back to Mary, Queen of Scots. IMr.
Bruner's father was a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and devoted fifty-six years of
his life to spreading the gospel of peace on earth,
good will to men. He removed to California in
1856, going by way of the isthmus, and spent
the remainder of his days as a member of the
California conference. He was a man of schol-
arly attainments, of marked ability in his chosen
calling, a persuasive speaker and a power for
good among men. He departed this life in 1892,
at the age of seventy years, and his wife passed
away three years previously, at the age of sixty-
nine. She was to him a most faithful helpmeet,
ably assisting nim in his work, and by her influ-
ence, example and kindly spirit largely augment-
ing the efforts of her husband This worthy
couple were the parents of seven children, si.x
of whom are living. Three of the sons and one
of the daughters completed classical courses of
I
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
study and four of the sons are prominent prac-
titioners of law, three being located in Sacra-
mento, California, while the fourth, our subject,
has gained prestige at the bar of Haile)'.
Presley M. Bruner, the eldest of the family,
was educated at the University of the Pacific, at
Santa Clara, California, and graduated at that
institution in the class of June, 1871. He after-
ward studied law under the direction of Thomas
H. Laine and S. F. Lee, the latter now one of the
prominent attorneys of southern California, and
was admitted to practice in the courts of Califor-
nia in 1877. Establishing an of^ce in San Jose,
he there secured a good clientage, and continued
his professional labors until 1881. The following
year he came to Hailey and has been prominently
identified with the growth, upbuilding and prog-
ress of the city since that time. The town was
then in its infancy, so that Mr. Bruner has wit-
nessed its entire advancement. He is actively
connected with a profession which has important
bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity
of any section or community, and one which has
long been considered as conserving the public
welfare by furthering the ends of justice and
maintaining individual rights. His reputation
as a lawyer has been won through earnest, hon-
est labor, and his standing at the bar is a mer-
ited tribute to his ability. He now has a very
large practice, and his careful preparation of
cases is supplemented by a power of argument
and a forceful presentation of his points in the
court room, so that he never fails to impress
court or jury, and seldom fails to gain the verdict
desired. Mr. Bruner has also been active in de-
veloping the mining interests of this vicinity,
laid out the town of Huston, and put ten thou-
sand dollars in the development of the copper
mines, and has been an active factor in further-
ing many enterprises which have contributed to
the welfare of Hailey, as well as his individual
prosperity.
r)n the 8th of June, 1871, Mr. Bruner was
united in marriage to Miss JMartha M. Wilson,
daughter of James Wilson, a respected California
pioneer. Mrs. Bruner was attending college
when her husbrnd was a student there, they were
graduated in the same class and almost imme-
diately afterward they united their destinies for
life. Their union has been blessed with two chil-
«lren, who are living: Morris Elwood, who is
his father's law partner, but is now in Manila,
having volunteered for service at the beginning
of the war with Spain; and Bertha J., a graduate
of the Hailey high school, and now acting as a
typewriter and clerk in her father's office.
On attaining his majority j\lr. Bruner became
an advocate of the principles of the Republican
party, and on that ticket was elected to the Ne-
vada legislature in 1873. While serving in that
body he made the speech nominating John P.
Jones for the United States senate. In 1896,
however, he differed with his party on the finan-
cial question, and has since given his allegiance
to the Populist party, becoming one of its stal-
wart advocates. He served as chairman of the
Populist state convention of 1898, and is an ef-
fective worker in promoting the cause which he
now espouses. Socially Mr. Bruner is a Mason,
having taken the degrees of the blue lodge in
Bellevue in 1883. He also belongs to the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, having been
past grand master thereof, and exemplifies in his
life the beneficent principles of the societies.
ROBERT H. LEONARD.
Into the bosom of the earth the hand of nature
placed many rich mineral deposits, and the great
value of these, together with the magnificent for-
ests and rolling lands of Idaho, have gained for
the state the well deserved title of the "Gem of
the Mountains." Its mines are now yielding a
large output of gold and silver, wliich adds to
the wealth and prosperity of the country as well
as of the individual mine owners. Among the
enterprising and prominent business men who
are now engaged in the development of the rich
mineral resources of the state is Robert H. Leon-
ard, of this review.
The home of his childhood was the far-off state
of Maine. He was born near the Kennebec
river, in the Pine Tree state, June 7, 1832, and
his ancestors, native* of England, w-ere early set-
tlers of that northeastern section of our land
which was named for the mother country. The
grandfather, Isaac Leonard, was a ship-ow-ner of
Maine, and served his country in the war of 1812.
His son Isaac, the father of our subject, was also
born in :\Iaine, and became a sea captain. He
married ^liss Levina Snow, a native of his own
86
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
state, and to them were born five children. The
mother died and the father afterward married her
sister, Priscilla Snow, by whom he had ten chil-
dren. The sisters were both members of the
Methodist church, but Air. Leonard was a Ilni-
versalist in religious faith. He died at the age
of seventy-three years.
Robert H. Leonard, whose name introduces
this review, attended the common schools near
his boyhood's home, and remained in Xew Eng-
land until 1852, when, attracted by the discovery
of gold on the Pacific coast, he went by way of
the Nicaragua route to San Francisco, where he
arrived on the 17th of November. He spent a
month in the mines at Hangtown. now Placer-
ville, and then made his way to Sacramento, and
there remained a short time. Then he went to
Marin county, California, where he was engaged
in lumbering until March 4, 1861. He then
loaded a sawmill outfit upon twelve wagons and
started for Moro county, Nevada, where he en-
gaged in sawing lumber for some time. In 1862
he took up his abode in Florence and engaged
in mining on Salmon river. There he was asso-
ciated with eight other men, and putting all their
earnings together they divided equally, thus mak-
ing from seven to twenty dollars per day.
On leaving that place Mr. Leonard returned to
Nevada to dispose of his property, and in May,
1865, came to Silver City. Here he accepted the
position of superintendent of the Ainsworth ]\Iill
and ]\Iining Company, and for a number of years
was very actively engaged in mining and milling.
He had charge of the New York twenty-stamp
mill and the ten-stamp Cosmith mill. In 1871
he began the same business on his own account
by erecting a mill where the Poorman mill now
stands, and worked the first one hundred tons
of ore taken out, yielding ninety thousand dol-
lars or nine hundred dollars per ton. In 1866
he took by steamer to New York eighteen tons
of this ore, which was smelted in New Jersey,
yielding five thousand dollars to the ton. The
Poorman mine was discovered in August, 1865,
by six men, all of difTerent nationalities, who sold
their interests for from two to five thousand dol-
lars, the purchaser being P. F. Bradford, who
took out a great deal of money, but eventually
sold the mine, after which there was much liti-
gation concerning it. It finally became the prop-
erty of C. W. Moore, of Boise, who sold it to an
English syndicate, the present owners. Mr.
Leonard has operated the Dewey mill and the
mill of the Florida Mountain Mining and Mill-
ing Company, and now has a third interest in
four claims, — the Banner, Harmon, Coffee and
Star Spangled, — a rich group in the Florida
mountains. In the Cofifee mine they have taken
out two hundred and sixty ounces of silver and
five ounces of gold to the ton. Thev have an
eight-foot ledge, of which three feet yielded twen-
ty-two dollars in free gold, and parts of tne Ban-
ner mine produce pure silver. Mr. Leonard also
owns a claim on the south side, only partly pros-
pected. He has made judicious investments of
his capital in these various mining interests, and
is accounted one of the leading mine-owners in
this section of the state.
In Alarch, 1867, was celebrated the marriage
of Mr. Leonard and Mrs. Adelaide Victoria
Chase, nee Durgin. They had been neighbors
in childhood in their far-ofT Maine home, and
for thirty-two years they have traveled life's jour-
ney together. They have had three children.
The two sons, Lewis F. and Robert H., were
both born in 1868, the former January i, the
latter November 26. The elder was accidentally
killed, but the younger is now a representative
young business man of Silver City. He was the
first district court clerk of the district and ex-
officio auditor and recorder after the admission
of Idaho as a state, being elected to that office
when only twenty-two years of age. He is now
engaged in mining. The daughter, Adelaide E.,
is now the widow of James S. Ryan, and is cjuite
celebrated as a musician and vocalist, having re-
ceived superior advantages in her art as a stu-
dent in the New England Conservatory of Music,
in Boston.
In 1857, in the old town of Shasta, California,
Mr. Leonard, of this review, was made an Odd
Fellow, and he has also passed all the chairs in
the encampment. In 1867 he was raised a ]Mas-
ter Alason in the old lodge in which his father
and his brother had been initiated into the mys-
te ies of the craft, and has served as master of
the blue lodge and is past high priest of Cyrus
Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M. Since the organization
of the party he has been a Republican, unfalter-
ing in support of its principles. His life has
^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
87
been one of continuous activity, in which has
been accorded due recognition of labor; and to-
day he is numbered among the substantial citi-
zens of his county. His interests are thoroughly
identified with those of the northwest, and at all
times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation
to any movement calculated to benefit this sec-
tion of the country or advance its wonderful de-
velopment.
JUDGE JOHN T. MORGAN.
The gentleman whose name heads this review
has been a conspicuous figure in the legislative
and judicial history of two states. Probably the
public life of no other illustrious citizen of Idaho
has extended over as long a period as his, and
certainly the life of none has been more varied
in service, more constant in honor, more fearless
in conduct and more stainless in reputation. His
career has been one of activity, full of incidents
and results. In every sphere of life in which he
has been called upon to move he has made an
indelible impression, and by his excellent public
service and upright life he has honored the state,
which has honored him with high ofiiicial prefer-
ment.
Judge Morgan was born in Hamburg, Erie
county. New York. His ancestors, leaving the
little rock-ribbed country of Wales, became early
settlers of New England, and through many gen-
erations members of the family were residents of
Connecticut and active participants in the afifairs
which go to form' the colonial history of the na-
tion. In the war of the Revolution they fought
for the independence of the country, and at all
times have been loyal to American interests.
James Clark Morgan, the father of the Judge,
was born in Connecticut in 1798, and married
Penelope Green, a native of Herkimer county,
New York. He was an industrious farmer and
served as justice of the peace for many years,
discharging his duties most faithfully. In his
religious views he was a Universalist. He died
in February, 1872, at the age of seventy-four
years, and his wife departed this life in her forty-
sixth year. They had six children, of whom
three are living.
Judge Morgan, their third son, in 1843 accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Illinois,
which was then a largely undeveloped state, while
Chicago was little more than a village on a wet
prairie. He was reared on a farm, attended the
public schools of Monmouth, and afterward en-
gaged in teaching school in order to continue
his own education.
In 1852 he entered Lombard University, at
Galesburg, Illinois, where he was graduated in
1855. He then took up the study of law in the
office of General E. A. Paine, afterward a promi-
nent brigadier general in the Union Army, and
remained in that office for three years. He then
entered the law department of Albany Univer-
sity, New York, and later continued his studies
in the State Law School at Poughkeepsie, New
York, where he w-as graduated in 1856, with the
degree of Bachelor of Law.
In 1856 he began the practice of his profession
at Monmouth, Illinois, and soon secured a large
and distinctively representative clientele, but the
civil war was inaugurated, and as time passed
and the conflict became more bitter he felt that
the country needed his services, and on the nth
of August, 1862, enlisted in Company F, Eighty-
third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. On the 6th
of that month Governor Yates, the famous war
governor of the Prairie state, had commissioned
him to raise a company, and it was in that com-
pany he enlisted, being elected its captain, in
which capacity he served until the close of the
war, when he received an honorable discharge
on the 26th of June, 1865. While in the service
he was for two years provost marshal, and sta-
tioned at Clarkville, Tennessee, where he had
charge of all the abandoned and contraband
goods, houses and lands of all persons who had
joined the rebel army in that vicinity.
After returning to the north Judge Morgan re-
sumed the practice of law in ]\Ionmouth. His
fidelity to his cHents' interests was proverbial,
and his comprehensive knowledge of the princi-
ples of jurisprudence won him marked success
in his chosen calling. In 1870 he w'as elected a
member of the Illinois house of representatives,
in which he served for two years. In 1874 he
was elected a member of the state senate, serving
in that capacity until 1878, and most earnestly
laboring to promote the interests of his constit-
uents and of the commonwealth. In 1867 he was
appointed registrar in bankruptcy, filling the
office until 1S79. On the 26th of June, of that
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
year, he was appointed by President Hayes chief
justice of the supreme court of Idaho, and in ad-
dition to presiding over that court of last resort
he also served as ex-ofificio judge of the district
court, which included all the southeastern part
of the state, including the counties of Oneida,
Cassia, Custer and Lemhi. He presided over the
first term of court held in Cassia and Custer coun-
ties. Oneida county at that time comprised the
territory in the eastern part of the state from
Utah to the Montana line, a section of country
about one hundred and fifty miles wide by three
hundred miles long, with the exception of a small
tract known as the Bear Lake country. Judge
Morgan was reappointed chief justice of the su-
preme court of Idaho by President Arthur, and
satisfactorily filled that position until 1885, when
he was removed by President Cleveland.
After filling the office of chief justice for six
years, in which he won the highest commenda-
tion of the bench and bar of the northwest, he
resumed the private practice of law in Boise, and
soon secured a large clientage throughout the
eastern part of the state, connecting him with
most of the important litigation carried on in
the courts. When the subject of Idaho's admis-
sion to the Union was agitated he gave his earn-
est efforts to the creation of sentiment favorable
to the project, and when it became necessary to
frame a state constitution he was elected a mem-
ber of the convention which met for that purpose,
and served as chairman of the committee on the
legislative department. In October, 1890, he
was elected one of the justices of the supreme
court of Idaho, and again ably served on the
bench for six years, until March 4, 1897, when
he again resumed his law practice. Few men on
the Pacific coast have been as long in public ser-
vice as Judge Morgan, who has filled positions
of great importance and responsibility for thirty-
six years, throughout which his course has ever
been above reproach and his fidelity to duty most
marked. Since his arrival in Idaho he has justly
been regarded as one of the most worthy and
prominent men of the state, and has attained a
high reputation as one of the ablest jurists who
ever occupied the bench of the supreme court.
The Judge was happily married, in November,
1858, to Miss Maria Horroun, of Pennsylvania,
and they have three children living, besides one
deceased, namely: Nellie L., now the wife of
George M. Snow, of Boise; Coral, who married
Charles P. Durst and resided in Salt Lake City,
Utah, until her death, in 1890; Ralph Tod. a
practicing attorney at Moscow, Idaho: and
Grace, wife of James M. Stevens, of Blackfoot.
The Judge and his wife have a delightful home
in Boise and are held in the highest esteem
throughout the community.
ANDREW B. ANDERSON.
Mr. Anderson, who is president of the Weiser
Bank, at Weiser, and chairman of the board of
commissioners of Washington county, dates his
residence in Idaho from 1869. He is a native of
Kentucky, his birth having occurred in Louis-
ville, February 21, 1846. He is of Scotch-Irish
ancestry, the family having been founded in
America by Thomas Anderson, the grandfather,
who crossed the Atlantic in early manhood, tak-
ing up his residence in Kentucky. He aided his
adopted country in the war of 1812, and also par-
ticipated in the battles with the Indians during
the early settlement of the "dark and bloody
ground." He married a Miss Henry, a native of
that state, and their son Joseph, father of our
subject, was born and reared in Kentucky. He
married ]Miss Rachel Henry, a distant relative of
his mother, and in 1848 removed with his family
to Missouri. They continued their westward
journey in i860, when the father, accompanied by
his wife and four children, started across the
plains to California. He took up his abode in
Butte county, and there resided until his death,
which occurred in the sixty-fifth year of his age,
while his wife lived to be fifty-five years of age.
Three of their children still survive, two being
residents of the Golden state.
Andrew Bradley Anderson was only two years
of age when the family went to Missouri, and a
youth of fourteen at the time of the emigration
to California. He continued his education in
Butte county, and there made his home until
1864, when he removed to Canyon City. Oregon,
where he engaged in placer mining, making as
high as one hundred dollars per day. He thus
took out gold in considerable quantities, but
afterwards lost much of it in other mining invest-
ments. On the 13th of June, 1869, he arrived
in the Boise basin, where he engaged in mining
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
until i88i, meeting with satisfactory success. He
took quite a large amount of gold from one of his
claims and then sold it for ten thousand dollars.
In the year mentioned he removed to the Payette
river, near Falk's Store, and engaged in stock-
raising, an enterprise which he has since fol-
lowed. He has owned large herds of cattle and
horses, and his efforts have been crowned with
prosperity. In 1888 he came to Washington
county and purchased two hundred acres of land
six miles from Weiser. He has since improved
the property, has a good residence and farm
buildings upon it, and in the management of his
property displays the most progressive methods.
Everything about his place indicates the careful
supervision of the owner, whose business ability
is also shown in other lines of endeavor. He is
one of the leading stockholders in the Weiser
Bank, of which he is now acceptably serving as
president, is a member of the Telephone Com-
pany and of the Payette Irrigating Ditch Com-
pany. His wise counsel and sound judgment
have been important factors in the successful con-
duct of these enterprises, which have yielded ex-
cellent financial returns to the stockholders. Mr.
Anderson is a most progressive business man,
ready to adopt new methods and measures which
are an improvement on those already in vogue.
In 1876 was celebrated the marriage of our
subject and Miss Rebecca Elizabeth Stewart, a
native of Missouri, and two children blessed their
union: W. A. B., now in the Weiser Bank, and
Emma Belle, who is attending school in Boise.
Mrs. Anderson departed this life in 1883. She
was a consistent member of the Episcopal church,
and was greatly beloved by her family and
friends, so that her death was deeply deplored
throughout the community.
In his political views Mr. Anderson has been
a life-long Democrat, and in 1872 he was elected
to the territorial legislature, where he served
most acceptably to his constituents and credit-
ably to himself. He is now chairman of the
county board of commissioners, and uses his offi-
cial prerogative for the advancement of the gen-
eral welfare and the promotion of the county's
best interests. All measures for the public good
receive his support and co-operation and his in-
fluence in behalf of such interests is most effect-
ive. He was made a Mason in 1866, in Canyon
City, Oregon, and became one of the charter
members of the lodge at Weiser, of which he is
now past master. He also received the royal-
arch degree in Canyon City, has held various
offices in the chapter, and is also a valued mem-
ber of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. In his
business affairs he has met with splendid success,
and by reason of his energy, ambition and care-
ful discrimination he has been very successful,
and is now regarded as one of the wealthiest men
of the community in which he makes his home.
A man of unswerving integrity and honor, one
who has a perfect appreciation of the higher eth-
ics of life, he has gained and retained the confi-
dence and respect of his fellow men, and is dis-
tinctively one of the leading citizens of Weiser
and Washington county, with whose interests he
has been identified for twelve years.
MOSES H. GOODWIN.
The history of mankind is replete with illustra-
tions of the fact that it is only under the pressure
of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that
the best and strongest in men are brought out
and developed. Perhaps the history of no people
so forcibly impresses one with this truth as the
annals of our own republic: and certainly in our
own land the palm must be awarded to New Eng-
land's sturdy sons. If anything can inspire the
youth of our country to persistent, honorable and
laudable endeavor it should be the life record of
such men as he of whom we write. The example
of the illustrious few of our countrymen who have
risen from obscurity to the highest positions in
the gift of the nation serves often to awe our
young men rather than to inspire them to emula-
tion, because they reason that only a few can ever
attain such eminence; but the history of such
men as M. H. Goodwin proves conclusively that
with a reasonable amount of mental and physical
power success is bound, eventually, to crown the
endeavors of those who have the ambition to put
forth their best efforts, and the will and manliness
to persevere therein.
The history of the Goodwin family shows that
four brothers of the name, natives of England,
crossed the Atlantic and located in New Hamp-
shire. Aaron Goodwin, the grandfather of our
subject, sailed with Paul Jones, the renowned
naval hero who won fame in the American ser-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
vice during the war of the Revolution. Aaron
Goodwin was twice taken prisoner by the British
during the war, but when released loyally re-
turned to his duty as a defender of the colonies.
His son, Moses Goodwin, was born in New
Hampshire and married Hannah Ricker, whose
father was also in the naval service, on the ship
commanded by Paul Jones. The parents of our
subject were industrious farming people and
were members of the Baptist church . The father
resided upon his farm in the old Granite state
until twenty-one years of age, when he removed
to Maine, where his death occurred, in the sev-
enty-seventh year of his age. His wife lived to
be more than eighty years of age. In his early
life he was a Whig, and on the dissolution of that
party, being a lover of liberty and opposed to
every form of oppression, he joined the newly
organized Republican party.
Moses Hubbard Goodwin was the sixth in
order of birth in a family of seven children who
reached mature years, five of the number yet liv-
ing. He was born in Waldo county, Maine,
December 29, 1834, and was reared on his fath-
er's farm, assisting in the labors of the fields
through the summer months, while in the winter
season he pursued his education in the schools
of the neighborhood. When seventeen years of
age he learned the carpenter's trade, and after
working for a year in Boston went to Minnesota,
where he was employed for two years. He next
went to Mississippi, where he remained until the
breaking out of the war. An attempt was made
to force him into the rebel army, and this being
contrary to his wishes he left for the north. Hav-
ing, however, contracted a severe cold which set-
tled on his lungs, he decided to go to California,
hoping thereby to benefit his health. He sailed
from New York on the 20th of October, 1861,
and reached San Francisco after a voyage of
twenty-two days. He was soon able to resume
work at his trade, and was thus engaged through
the winter. In the spring the news of the dis-
covery of gold at Auburn, Oregon, led him to
start for that place, but on reaching Portland he
learned that the reports of rich finds were largely
exaggerated, and accordingly he remained in
Portland, where he was employed from Decem-
ber until June by the Oregon Navigation Com-
pany in building steamboats. The Boise basin
gold excitement then brought him to Idaho,
where he arrived in July, 1863, before the terri-
tory was organized.
To some extent Mr. Goodwin engaged in min-
ing, but there was a great demand for carpenter-
ing, and he resumed work at his trade, receiving
eight dollars per day for his serv'ices. He aided
in the erection of the Mammoth Quartz !Mill, the
second mill of the kind in the state, and built,
in 1864, the first water wheel of any size in Idaho,
— thirty feet in diameter. The following year he
assisted in building the Elkhorn Mill, and in the
fall of 1865 was engaged to superintend the Mam-
moth Mill and the interests of the company, oc-
cupying that position for two years. On the ex-
piration of that period he became a part owner
in the mill and continued in charge until 1870,
meeting with excellent success in his undertak-
ings ; but his health failed him in that high alti-
tude and he removed to Payette, where he pur-
chased an interest in a band of cattle and a farm.
There, in addition to looking after the stock, he
also followed carpentering until his return to the
east.
On the 4th of July, 1876. l\Ir. Goodwin was
united in marriage to Miss Emma Frances
Burdge. Their wedding journey consisted of a
visit to the Centennial Exposition, in Philadel-
phia, and a trip to his old home in Maine to see
his aged mother and to visit the scenes and
friends of his youth. The following spring they
returned to Idaho, locating in Boise, and to them
has been born a daughter, Mabel C, who is now
the wife of R. \". Stone. Mr. Stone is now en-
gaged as Mr. Goodwin's city manager for the
lumber business.
In 1877, after his return from the east, Mr.
Goodwin purchased and put in operation a plan-
ing-machine, which he later incorporated in the
sawmill which he now owns. In 1883 he pur-
chased the water power and the mill site, the
latter consisting of four acres. Since that time
he has carried on an extensive lumber business.
For some time he had the only planer and im-
proved machinery in that line in the city and was
the only manufacturer of doors, sash and blinds.
He cuts his pine lumber in the mountains, sup-
plies his home demands, and carries on two lum-
ber yards and offices in Boise. He is a very en-
terprising and progressive business man, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
91
these qualities have gained him a well merited
prosperity.
Mr. Goodwin is not only a leader in industrial
circles, but is also a man of much prominence in
political affairs, and has been potent in molding
public thought and feeling. He is a stanch Re-
publican, unwavering in support of the principles
of his party. He was twice a member of the ter-
ritorial legislature, and has twice been elected
and served as a member of the county board of
commissioners, of which he has been chairman.
In political thought and action he has always
been independent, carrying out his honest views
without fear or favor. In business he has achieved
success through honorable effort, untiring indus-
try and capable management, and in private life
he has gained that warm personal regard which
arises from true nobility of character, deference
for the opinions of others, kindliness and genial-
itv.
HON. MICHAEL CAREY.
Hon. Michael Carey, a member of the Idaho
state senate (session of 1899), and one of the lead-
ing mine-owners of the commonwealth, now re-
siding at Ketchum, Blaine county, is a native of
the Emerald Isle. He was born December 12,
1844, a son of Michael and Mary (Tracy) Carey,
both of whom were natives of Ireland, whence
they crossed the Atlantic to the United States in
1850, bringing with them their family of seven
children. They settled in Keweenaw county,
Michigan, where the parents spent their remain-
ing days. The father was a man of intelligence
and a surveyor by profession. Both he and his
wife were members of the Catholic church. Mr.
Carey departed his life in the sixty-fourth year of
his age, and his wife passed away in her fifty-
sixth year, both being buried in northern Mich-
igan.
Senator Carey is their youngest child, and was
only six years of age when the family arrived in
the United States. He acquired his education in
the public schools of northern Michigan, and at
the age of sixteen years began to earn his own
livelihood by working as a miner in Houghton
county, Michigan, where he remained until 1864,
when he went to California by way of the Isth-
mus route and mined in Mariposa county for six
years. On the expiration of that period he went
to Silver City, Idaho, and accepted the position
of manager of the mines there, serving in that
capacity for eight years. In 1878 he accepted the
management of the Virtue mine, at Baker City,
Oregon, where he remained for two years, and
in 1881 came on a prospecting tour to Hailey.
Here he leased the Elkhorn mine, at Ketchum,
and in six months took out thirty-one thousand
dollars. After the term of his lease had expired
the owners took out ore to the value of a million
dollars. Mr. Carey subsequently leased the Er-
win mine from the Philadelphia Company, oper-
ating it for two years, during which time he made
a shipment of fiVe hundred tons of ore to Denver,
which yielded one hundred dollars to the ton and
netted Mr. Carey thirty dollars per ton after pay-
ing the company's royalties. Later he took
charge of the Ontario- group of mines, of which
he has since become the sole owner, and which
he is now successfully operating. A sketch of
these mines is given on another page of this vol-
ume. He has long been identified with the min-
ing interests of the northwest, and his labors
have been effective in developing the rich min-
eral resources of this state and thus adding to the
general prosperity.
Senator Carey gave his political support to the
Democracy from the time he attained his major-
ity until the organization of the Populist party,
since which time he has affiliated with the latter,
and in 1898 he was elected on its ticket to repre-
sent Blaine county in the state senate. In the
discharge of his duties he has been most prompt
and loyal, laboring earnestly for the general
good. He considers carefully every problem that
comes up for solution, and after determining
upon a course which he believes to be right noth-
ing can turn him aside from following it. In
business he has depended upon his own efforts
from youth, and all that he has acquired is the de-
served reward of his own labors.
April 3, 1899, Mr. Carey was united in mar-
riage to Mrs. Mary Lowery, a native of King-
ston, Canada, who came to Hailey in 1887.
ALBERT WOLTERS.
Among the prominent residents of Hailey is
Albert Wolters, who was born in Germany, May
19, 1841, his parents being Carl and Augusta
(Petri) Wolters, who also were natives of the
same country, where the father served as a min-
92
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing official. Our subject acquired his education
in Germany, and was graduated in the Alining
Academy at Clausthal, in the class of 1862. He
then studied chemistry at the University at Got-
tingen, and in 1866 came to the United States,
landing in New York.
He remained in the eastern metropolis only a
short time, and then went to Colorado, and after
building the first Gerstenhofer roasting furnace
for James E. Lyon & Company established an
assay office in Central City. He moved to George-
town January 20, 1868, where, in partnership
with L. Hupiden, he ran the first silver mill ever
constructed at Georgetown, Colorado, and thus
occupied his time until 1869, when he assumed
charge of the Baker Silver ^Mining Company's
mill and mine until the works were destroyed by
fire. He next received from President Grant the
appointment of superintendent of the United
States assay office in Boise, and he acceptably
filled that position until July i, 1883, when he
came to Wood river and purchased an interest
in the Star mine, which he operated from 1880
until 1884, within which time the mine produced
one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in sil-
ver, the silver selling at from one dollar and
twelve to one dollar and fifteen cents an ounce.
He sold his interest in 1884, and in 1889, in con-
nection with two others, leased the Star mine for
three years. Two years of that time were spent
in development work, and in the last ten months
before the expiration of the lease they took out
seventy thousand dollars. Mr. Wolters now has
extensive and valuable mining interests, including
the Washington, a group of mines at the head of
West Boulder ; the Senate mine, east of Bellevue ;
and the Big Iron mine on the East fork, the iron
ore being used for fluxing. He is now half owner
of the Fair Play mine and of the Hey, adjoining
the Star mine, and is now engaged in developing
and operating the former. He is also conducting
an assay office.
In 1867 Air. Wolters married Miss Amelia
Otto, a native of Germany, and they have three
daughters: Marie, now the wife cf John Cramer,
a resident of Hailey; Lucv, wife of Richard M.
Angel, county attorney for Blaine county; and
Ella, who is now studying music in Valparaiso.
Indiana. Socially Mr. Wolters is connected with
Boise Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M., and is also a
member of Boise Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M. In
the former he has served as master, and in the
latter as king. He gave his political support to
the Republican party until 1892, when he with-
drew on account of the different views which he
held concerning the money question. He then
joined the ranks of the Populist party, and on
that ticket was elected to the state legislature in
1894. He was an active and influential member
of that body and was prominent in the introduc-
tion' and passage of the Blaine county bill which
created the county of Blaine. This was a meas-
ure of vital importance to the people of this local-
ity, and though it met with much opposition, after
a six weeks' contest it was passed. From 186S
until 1879 Mr. Wolters held the office of deputy
L^nited States commissioner of mining statistics,
and during that time made extensive annual re-
ports on the mining resources of Colorado and
Idaho.
In Hailey Mr. Wolters and his family own a
nice home, and the members of the household
occupy enviable positions in social circles. Our
subject has led an active and useful life, and his
well directed efforts have brought to him a hand-
some competence. He enjoys the high esteem
of all who have the honor of his acquaintance,
and he is widely known throughout Idaho.
J.-\MES I. CRUTCHER.
One to whom has been entrusted important
public service and over whose record there falls
no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, is James
I. Crutcher, of Boise. President Cleveland rec-
ognized his eminent qualifications for responsible
duties when he appointed him United States
marshal for Idaho, in which position he served
for four years and two months, in a manner above
suspicion. His unbending integrity of charac-
ter, his fearlessness in the discharge of duty and
his appreciation of the responsibilities that rested
upon him were such as to make him a most ac-
ceptable incumbent of that office, and his worth
then, as now, was widely acknowledged.
A native of Kentucky, Mr. Crutcher was born
in Shelby county, on the 31st of December, 1835.
His ancestors were early settlers of Mrginia and
North Carolina, and members of the family be-
came pioneers in the development of Kentucky.
It was in that state that Thomas M. Crutcher,
'VC^f .
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
93
father of our subject, was born, his natal clay
being in 1810. He wedded Miss Mary Ann Ed-
wards, a native of Woodford county, Kentucky,
who also belonged to a family of equally early
settlement in the south. Her father was James
Edwards, a pioneer widely and favorably known
in Kentucky. Thomas M. Crutcher was an en-
terprising farmer, and through the capable man-
agement of his agricultural interests won a com-
fortable competence. He held membership in
the Christian church, and died in the seventy-
third year of his age. The mother of our subject
died when he was only four years of age, after
which he was reared by his stepmother, who is
still living, and now, at the advanced age of
eighty-two years, is spending the evening of her
life upon the old homestead in Shelby county,
Kentucky.
James I. Crutcher accjuired his education in
the schools of Frankfort, Kentucky, and in i860
left his native state, crossing the plains to Colo-
rado with a party. After two years spent in the
Golden state he came to Idaho, in 1862, locating
in Elk City, where he engaged in mining for a
few months. He then made a short trip to Ore-
gon, and on returning to Idaho took up his resi-
dence in Boise county. In 1865 he was elected
sheriff of the county. At that time the ofifice was
no sinecure, owing to the rough and lawless ele-
ment that had come to the new district, hoping
to gain a living in ways that would not bear legal
inspection. However, he discharged all the du-
ties that fell to his lot most fearlessly, never
wavering in the fulfillment of any task assigned
him, and his course at once inspired confidence
in the law-abiding citizens and terror in the
hearts of the evil-doers. After his four years"
term of office expired he resumed his mining
operations, and since then he has been largely
interested in various mines which have yielded
him good returns. He entered upon his duties
as United States marshal in 1894, and even the
most malevolent can say naught against his faith-
fulness and ability in office. Politically JMr.
Crutcher has always been an ardent Democrat,
stanchly supporting the principles of the party
and doing all in his power to promote its growth
and insure its success in a legitimate way.
In 1865, in Idaho City, Mr. Crutcher was
united in marriage to Miss Adelma C. Belknap.
Her father. Dr. David H. Belknap, was one of
the pioneer physicians of Oregon. Her mother,
who bore the maiden name of Rachel E. Stub-
bins, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1814,
and died in Silver City, Idaho, in 1875. To Mr.
and Mrs. Crutcher have been born four children,
three sons and a daughter, but all are now de-
ceased, the only daughter, Rachel Harriet, hav-
ing passed away January i, 1899, at the age of
twelve years, four months and fifteen days. The
Daily Capital of January 3, 1899, expressed the
sentiment of the entire community when it said:
"In any form and at any time the angel of death
is most unwelcome: but when he enters the home
and strikes down the young, the talented, the
lovable, when he bears away the choicest and
only jewel of the hearthstone, then, indeed, he
seems most cruel. Rachel was the only child left
to Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher. One by one the oth-
ers passed into the empyrean of the immortals,
and now Rachel has joined them, leaving the par-
ents in the dark shadow of a bitter bereavement.
The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher
extend to them their most sincere sympathies."
Since 1894 Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher have resided
in Boise, the capital of the state. They have in
their possession a relic in the shape of a melodeon
that was purchased in San Francisco in 1856 by
Dr. Belknap and taken to Portland, Oregon;
and in 1863 the old instrument was transported
across the country from Umatilla, Oregon, to
Idaho City by pack animals, a distance of three
hundred and fifty miles. This instrument was the
first used in all southern Idaho, and was used at
funerals for many years and at parties, etc.
Mrs. Crutcher is a consistent member of the
Episcopal church and one of the leading ladies
of Boise, presiding with gracious hospitality over
her pleasant home, which is a favorite resort with
her many friends. Mr. Crutcher was made a Mas-
ter Mason in Arrow Rock, Missouri, and has also
taken the Royal Arch degrees. He has been a
prominent factor in the public life of the state,
and belongs to that class of men of public spirit
and patriotism who place the good of the com-
monwealth above partisanship and the welfare
of the many above personal aggrandizement. He
was a member of the convention which framed
the present constitution of the state of Idaho, and
throughout the long years of his residence here
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he has ever labored for the advancement and up-
building of the commonwealth. Mr. Crutcher is
an excellent type of the southern gentleman,
courteous, genial and kindly, and he and his wife
are popular throughout Idaho, where their
friends are legion.
EDWARD J. CURTIS. »
Among the eminent men of the northwest
whose life records form an integral part of the
history of Idaho was numbered Hon. Edward J.
Curtis. In his death the state lost one of its most
distinguished lawyers, gifted statesmen and loyal
citizens. As the day, with its morning of hope
and promise, its noontide of activity, its evening
of completed and successful efforts, ending in the
grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the
life of this honored man. His career was a long,
busy and useful one, marked by the utmost fidel-
ity to the duties of public and private life, and
crowned with honors conferred upon him in rec-
ognition of superior merit. His name is insep-
arably interwoven with the annals of the Pacific
coast, with its best development and its stable
progress, and his memory is cherished as that
of one who made the world better for his having
lived.
Edward J. Curtis was born in Worcester, Mas-
sachusetts, in 1827 and acquired his preliminary
education in public schools and under the instruc-
tion of private tutors in his native town. He
was thus prepared for college and entered Prince-
ton, where he was graduated with high honors.
On the completion of his collegiate course he re-
turned to Worcester, but soon after went to Bos-
ton, where he began the study of law in the office
of the renowned jurist, Rufus Choate, but after
a short time the news of the discovery of gold
reached the east, and in company with a number
of young men he started for California, crossing
the plains to San Francisco, where he arrived
early in 1849. Soon, however, he went to San
Jose, where he entered the law office of Judge
Chipman, and later removed to Sacramento,
where he continued his studies under the direc-
tion of Judge Murry. In 185 1 he removed to
Yreka, where he became editor of a paper, and
was elected to the legislature from Siskiyou
county, serving for two terms. In Sacramento,
in April, 1856, he was admitted to the bar, be-
ginning practice in Weaverville, Trinity county,
California, where soon afterward he was elected
judge of the court of sessions of northern Cali-
fornia. He also owned and published the Trinity
County Journal.
At the outbreak of the civil war Judge Curtis
was commissioned a second lieutenant by Gov-
ernor John L. Downey, in a company of the Sec-
ond Brigade of California Volunteers, but his
command was never ordered to the front. When
his property in Weaverville was destroyed by a
flood he removed to Virginia City, Nevada,
where he formed a law partnership with Hon.
Thomas Fitch, the famous orator. In 1864 he
went to Silver City, Idaho, with Hon. Richard
Miller and the noted Hill Beachy, of stage-line
fame. In that new and prosperous mining camp
Jud^e Curtis and Mr. Miller opened a law office.
In 1866 the latter was appointed by the president
judge of the second judicial district of the terri-
tory, and the former was elected district attorney,
after which he became a resident of Boise. From
that time forward he was prominently connected
with the events which form the history of the
commonwealth, with its business interests and
political life, and at all times was a leader in pub-
lic thought and action. In 1869, while in Wash-
ington city, he was appointed by President Grant
to the position of secretary of the territory of
Idaho, and in 1872 he was elected a delegate to
the Republican national convention at Philadel-
phia, where he cast his vote for the renomination
of the hero of Appomattox. Later he was reap-
pointed territorial secretary, which position he
held for eight consecutive years, and during four
years of that time was acting governor of Idaho.
At the breaking out of the Indian war of 1877-8
he was adjutant-general of the territory, and as
such made treaties of peace with several hostile
chiefs in southern Idaho. Such was the excellent
record which he made in these various positions,
and so high was his standing in Washington cir-
cles that President Arthur appointed hmi, entirely
without solicitation on the part of Judge Curtis,
and even without his previous knowledge, to the
office of territorial secretary, and by President
Harrison he was reappointed in 1889, holding
that position until Idaho was admitted to the
Union and passed under control of the new offi-
cials, in November, 1890.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
95
His efforts in behalf of Idaho were by no means
confined to his political services. He was the
advocate of all measures which tended to advance
her social, moral, material and intellectual wel-
fare, and it was through his instrumentality that
the Territorial Library was established. He went
to Washington, D. C, to get an appropriation
for that purpose, and through the co-operation
of Senators Edwards and Sumner he secured the
sum of five thousand dollars, the full amount
asked for. This library grew and prospered un-
der his fostering care and would now do credit to
any state in the Union. After his retirement
from office Judge Curtis resumed the private
practice of law, in which he continued until his
last illness. He was one of the most distinguished
members of the bar of this state, and on account
of his wonderful command of language and his
persuasive eloquence was irresistible before a
jury. His arguments, too, were based upon the
facts in the case and the law applicable to them,
and displayed a profound knowledge of the prin-
ciples of jurisprudence.
In 1856, while in Sacramento, California, Judge
Curtis married Miss Susan L. Frost, of New
Haven, Connecticut, who at that time was one
of the popular school-teachers in Sacramento.
The marriage was a most happy one, and their
union was blessed with five children. E. L. Cur-
tis, the eldest, served as territorial secretary, act-
ing governor and register of the land office, tak-
ing a leading part in public affairs, but his brill-
iant career was terminated by death in 1890.
Anna, the only daughter, is the wife of Dr. J. K.
DuBois, a physician of Boise; and the younger
sons are William R., John J. and Henry C. Mrs.
Curtis and her children, with the exception of the
eldest son, survive the husband and father and
are yet residents of the capital city, where the
Judge made his home for thirty years. He was
a life-long Republican in his political affiliations,
was a member of Ada Lodge, No. 3, I. O. O. F.,
and of the Pioneers of the Pacific Coast. His
death occurred December 29, 1895. Faultless in
honor, fearless in conduct, stainless in reputation,
— such was his life record. His scholarly attain-
ments, his statesmanship, his reliable judgment
and his charming powers of conversation would
have enabled him to ably fill and grace any posi-
tion, however exalted, and he was no less hon-
ored in public than loved in private life.
CHAPTER XI.
*THE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY— REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY DAYS— ITS PRESENT— ITS FUTURE.
IN 1833 Captain Bonneville, an officer in the
army, secured leave of absence and spent
about two years here, mostly in the Snake
river valley. He left his horses for the winter
with some Indians at a camp near where St. An-
thony is now located. He and his men mads
their way down Snake river in boats till they
reached Black Rock canyon, where now is Idaho
Falls, the thriftiest town in southeast Idaho: but
they dared not venture in their boats through the
canyon.
Captain Bonneville found a desolate sage-cov-
ered valley, holding out no promise of ever being
more than a i;ange where Indian cayuses might
pick a precarious living on bunch grass. Not a
tree as far as the eye could reach, except an
occasional wind-twisted and gnarled juniper
growing out of the seams in the lava rock along
the banks of Snake river.
In 1849, when the California stampede was on,
many of the gold-seekers passed over the same
Snake river valley, and, in after years, relating
their experience, described it as one of the most
hopeless spots encountered in their ox-train jour-
nev across the continent.
In 1864 the stampede for Alder Gulch, ^Ion-
tana, was fairly under way. Whether from easi
or west, the Snake river valley was on the route.
A ferry was put in by John Gibson just below
where Blackfoot now is, and soon afterward one
by a man named Kutch, some miles furthe.r up
the river. The same year Harry Rickets started a
ferry, known as the Eagle Rock ferry, to catch
the travel that came over what was known as
Lander's cut-ofif, or the Soda Springs trail. It
was in this year also that Ben Holiday started
his ever memorable stage line and put up stage
stations at intervals of fifteen to twenty miles.
♦This very interesting reminiscent and descriptive
chapteT- is contributed by that well known pioneer and
representative citizen of Idaho Falls. Mr. Robert An-
derson.
This year may be said to have been the starting
point in opening southeast Idaho to the knowl-
edge of even western people.
Early in the century Fort Hall had been estab-
lished for a trading post with the Indians, but it
was no more than an isolated post, such as the
Hudson's Bay Company now have scattered over
the northwest territory. The camp where Cap-
tain Bonneville left his horses was not a fort at
all, and he, by the way, never saw his horses
again. In short, prior to 1864-5 the few white
people in the country were hunters and trappers.
— often "squaw men," who were little more civil-
ized than the Indians, their only associates.
The ferries were the important points in the
country. After General Conner's battle with the
Bannocks, on Bear river, in 1864, in which he
killed more than half the "bucks" of the tribe,
travelers and the ferry-owners still felt insecure,
and some of Conner's troops were stationed at
Eagle Rock ferry, about nine miles above the
present Idaho Falls. That ferr\- in 1864 took in
tolls over thirty thousand dollars in greenbacks
from wagons l\Iontana bound; but it must not
be forgotten that thirty thousand dollars in green-
backs at that time was only equal to fifteen thou-
sand dollars in the current money of the coun-
try,— gold dust,— and, by the way, Anderson
Brothers' Bank, at Idaho Falls, still uses on occa-
sions the identical gold-scales used h} Harry
Rickets in 1864 for weighing gold dust.
James M. Taylor, an energetic man well known
in Colorado and Montana, and Robert Anderson
bought out the Eagle Rock ferry in 1865 In the
winter of 1865-6, at an expense of twenty thou-
sand dollars, under a territorial charter signed
by "Caleb Lyon, of Lyonsdale," first governor of
Idaho, they built a toll wagon-bridge across that
identical Black Rock canyon where Captain
Bonneville had to let his boats down by ropes
held on to by men on shore. The bridge tim-
bers were cut and hewn out at Beaver canyon and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
97
in six feet of snow, then hauled eighty miles in
wagons over the road which Ben Holiday's stage
mules could not keep open with their semi-occa-
sional winter trips. As an instance of the diffi-
culties encountered, and the high cost of every-
thing, it is interesting to recall tnat to get a little
strap-iron for stirrups on the bridge one broken-
down wagon was bought for the sake of the tires,
at a cost of two hundred and fifty dollars. All
prices were high. In mining camps it was not
uncommon to balance gold and tobacco against
each other in the scales, ounce for ounce. In
the fall of 1865 the ferry people laid in their
winter's supply of potatoes at twenty-five cents
per pound, and were glad to get them at that.
The common price for bacon, lard, sugar, coffee
and many other articles of food was one dollar per
pound. Flour, and a poor article at that, was
twenty-five dollars for a fifty-pound sack.
In those "good old days," besides the Indians
squatted round the store, filling the air with the
smell of their sage-brush-smoked buckskins and
breath nauseating with the smell of wild garlic,
were a very few trappers: Beaver Dick, Johnny
Poe, and then, in the next two or three years,
came Captain Heald, Doc. Yandell, Shep. Med-
aira, Charley Conant, for whom Conant valley
was called, "Tex." (whose name was Parker), and
old Joe Crabtree (uncle to Lotta, the celebrated
actress, and much ashamed that his niece had
descended to the stage).
Paul Coburn was superintendent of the stage
line and Paul, justly or unjustly, was not held
above suspicion. In July, 1865, the stage was
robbed at Robbers' Roost, in Portneuf canyon,
and thirty thousand dollars in dust was carried
ofif by the robbers, or road agents. The stage
was crowded with passengers and every one of
them was killed except a small boy, who escaped
in the brush on the Portneuf river, and a man
named Carpenter, who got ofT with the loss of
a leg. Suspicion pointed to Paul as a silent
partner in the job, but it was never established,
though a vigilance committee came down from
Montana to investigate.
In the spring of 1866 the wagon bridge was
opened and the ferry people moved down from
the ferry and brought the name of Eagle Rock
with them. A small dwelling house was built
of driftwood. A little storeroom and a black-
smith shop were made of some boards and old
ferry-boat timbers, and the station of Eagle Rock
had been started.
Wells, Fargo & Company, soon after this,
bought out the Ben. Holiday stage line and
started a first-class daily service. Local charges
for passengers was twenty-five cents per mile.
William H. Taylor was superintendent, Dan.
Robbins and John Burnett being his assistants.
A few of the old drivers were Jack Clark, James
Boyle, Bilvon, Tom Lauder and Black Jack.
Boyle now lives at Oxford, Lauder at Market
Lake. The others have probably all gone over
the "great divide."
Good hay in abundance was harvested when
it grew on land overflowed by the melting snow
in the spring and was hauled to the various sta-
tions. The stage company paid for cutting, haul-
ing and stacking at the stations from twenty
to forty dollars per ton, the price being gov-
erned by the distance to be hauled.
John Creighton, now of Omaha, built the tele-
graph line from Utah to Montana. Stations were
located at Malad, Ross Fork, Eagle Rock, and
the next one north at Pleasant Valley, Montana.
Freighting was the great interest through
southeastern Idaho. On it depended nearly all
business. Long trains of ox-wagons were con-
stantly, during the season, on the road. Two,
sometimes three, wagons were trailed together,
and ten or twelve yoke of oxen in each team. The
stage took the gold dust from Montana in treas-
ure-boxes, and the passengers paid two dollars
each for their breakfast, dinner or supper. For
beds they wrapped themselves in their blankets
and slept on the floor at the stations. At Eagle
Rock, one night a little later on, old man Com-
stock, the discoverer of the Comstock lode,
poured out his plaints nearly all the night into
the unwilling ears of the tired travelers in the
house, of how he had been cheated out of his in-
terest in his great discovery. He was then on his
way to Cheyenne to join a party about to start
across the Black Hill country. But the old man
never found another "Comstock" and, heartsore
and bitter, after the trip was made and they
reached Bozeman, he put a pistol to his head and
ended all.
Such was the history of the Snake river valley
for the next four or five years. A few people
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
came in to stay. The Morrisites had seceded
from the ^lormon church and a few of them set-
tled around Soda Springs, the "Beer Springs" of
Bonneville. Stock-raising was beginning to at-
tract attention. John Adams started a little store,
and fought mosquitoes, at Market Lake. "Rush
Reuben," whose name was then hardly known
as Henry Dunn, settled on Blackfoot river.
Presto Burrell came soon afterward, and these
two still remain prosperous and respected citi-
zens. Charles Higham, with his family, settled
in Lincoln valley, now on the Reservation, and
his sons are now thrifty stockmen. N. H. Just,
one of the best commissioners our county ever
had, was also in Lincoln valley, but was quite
young. S. F. Taylor and C. G. Martin were al-
ways enterprising in the stock business. "Ryland
T.," one of the most noted geldings on the track,
was bred by Mr. Taylor and sold from his range.
Still no agriculture was thought of. The
windy, sage-covered plains remained unchanged
from what Lewis and Clarke saw them in 1802-3
and Bonneville in 1833. On wintry nights the
sharp bark of the coyote and the weird cry of the
mountain lion alone were heard to break through
the winter's storm. Otherwise there was no
sound. In the house, the operator sits at the
table and reads the associated-press dispatches
being transmitted to Montana. It was a lonely,
uneventful life. There was time and food for re-
flection. A dispatch from Rome: Victor Eman-
uel; Garabaldi; the Pope. From London: some
great commercial house failed; prospective war;
an ocean steamer sunk, with all on board. Paris:
Napoleon: William; Bismarck; will there be war?
Then the marriages, deaths, fires, intrigues, elec-
tions, defalcations, assassinations. One might
look at the world, imagining himself on high, as
though riding with the spirit on Shelley's cloud,
he watched the machinations of the creatures
called men on the earth below, — their petty
strivings to undo their fellow men, and for their
own selfish advancement; their hopes and fears;
their eager quest for wealth, fame and position.
* * * And, after all, what does it amount to:
"Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
might stop a hole to keep the wind away." Why
should a bubble in midocean concern itself as to
whether it is larger or smaller, as to whether its
prismatic colors are brighter or duller than those
of other bubbles floating round it? The ripple
of a wave; a drop of rain; a breath of air and it
is gone forever, — taken back again into the
bosom of the great ocean from which it sprang
into being for a moment.
In the spring of 1869 Professor Hayden came
with his geological party. He spoke favorably
of the Snake river valley as a possible agricul-
tural country. He reported the valley as "com-
posed of a rich, sandy loam, that needs but the
addition of water to render it most excellent
farming land." But how was the water to be got
from the river bed? There was one creek. Wil-
low creek, which might be utilized; but still
farming was not experimented with.
On Willow creek and the river near was the
historical gathering ground for the Indians.
Spring and fall, as far back as tradition carried
them, Shoshones and Bannocks had congregated
in hundreds to fish and to gamble — the one tribe
against the other. It was not uncommon for a
"buck" to gamble away the last thing he had on
earth and to walk away at last as naked as he
came into the world. But at this time they were
peaceful. Often only a single man was at Eagle
Rock where there were hundreds of Indians
camped around. Mr. J. M. Taylor and his family
had sold out and left Idaho; the remaining part-
ner had no family and at times was left entirely
alone, acting as stage agent, operator, post-
master, storekeeper. Stage passengers no longer
got their meals at the bridge. The Corbett sta-
tion had been started south. Mrs. Corbett,
weighing four hundred pounds, is still hale and
hearty and living in the county.
In 1869 B. F. \Miite. afterward governor of
Montana, began operating salt works at the head
of Salt river, northeast of Soda Springs. For
some years most of the salt used in Montana
smelters was furnished from these works. From
time to time a little placer mining was done on
the banks of Snake river, and the same is the
case to this day. but it has never been a profitable
branch of industry.
Fort Hall Indian reservation was laid out
about this time, and Captain Putnam, for whom
Mount Putnam was named, was in command of
troops there for a number of years. The country
by this time was showing some change — more
people had settled. A few who are still in Idaho
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
are O. H. Harkness, founder of McCammon;
John Watson, still living near Blackfoot; Will-
iam Adams, living now, as then, at Market
Lake; John Hill, now in Idaho Falls. John
Kelly was prospecting for gold in 1865 and is
prospecting still — a type of hundreds from the
days of '49 ; now almost all dead and, let us hope,
at last finding what they vainly sought on earth
in the golden streets of the New Jerusalem.
Oneida county was organized, with Malad as
the county-seat, one hundred and twenty miles
south of Eagle Rock, the northern boundary of
the county being the Montana line.
In September, 1871, J. C. Anderson came out
and settled at Eagle Rock. From that time on
till 1880 he was in charge of all business at Eagle
Rock, and is now president of Anderson Broth-
ers' bank. The Chief Joseph's war hardly dis-
turbed the few people who made Eagle Rock
their headquarters; though a number of freight-
ers or travelers were killed by the Indians a little
farther north. About 1871 Orville Buck, with
his family, located on Willow creek, about fif-
teen miles from Eagle Rock, where he still lives.
Peter Kelly tried the experiment of raising a few
potatoes and cabbages. He was successful, and
this was the beginning of farming in what is now
recognized as the most fruitful region in the
Rocky mountains. Poor old Pete! He was
one man who knew he could not resist whisky,
if whisky could be had, and he voluntarily iso-
lated himself and lived many years entirely alone
in a remote locality in the mountains, not seeing
a human face sometimes for months together.
May St. Peter take it into count when old Peter
apphes at the gates of Paradise!
In 1879 Dr. Amos Woodward, of Ohio, B.
F. White, now of Dillon, and the Anderson
brothers, commenced the construction of the first
irrigating canal in southeast Idaho. When fin-
ished the work had cost seventy thousand dol-
lars, and, with laterals, was about fifty miles long.
At the present time the irrigating canals in Bing-
ham county may be measured by the hundreds of
miles.
The Utah & Northern Railroad reached
Eagle Rock in June, 1879, and spanned Snake
river with its bridge on the 12th day of the
month. The town was laid ofif, shops located,
new houses began to spring up, and the remote
wayside station was transformed into a busy
town. Farmers began to locate and to fence and
improve; other canals were constructed, one af-
ter another, and the valley began at last to prove
itself what Professor Hayden had so many years
before said it was capable of becoming. Soon
afterward came a division of Oneida county.
Three counties were organized, Bingham, Ban-
nock and Oneida, and any of the three is now
larger than some of the eastern states. Black-
foot was chosen the county-seat of Bingham.
In due time Eagle Rock organized its village
government. Dr. F. Chamberlain, S. F. Taylor,
Edward Fanning, Robert Anderson and W. H.
B. Crow were the first trustees, in 1889.
A convention to form a state constitution was
assembled in Boise City in July, 1889, and the
delegates from southeast Idaho were Judge John
T. ilorgan, Sam. F. Taylor, D. W. Standrod,
H. B. Kinport, F. W. Beam, H. O. Harkness,
Robert Anderson, W. H. Savidge and Homer
Stull. Idaho was admitted as a state into the
Union, July 3, 1890.
In 1892 a "boomers' " company was organized
at Eagle Rock by some easterners. One of their
first moves was to change the name of Eagle
Rock to Idaho Falls, because, forsooth, people
would be led by the new name to imagine great
water power at the "Falls." The boom, like
nearly all booms, was a calamity. Fictitious
prices were asked and paid, town lots were sold
by the promoters to servant girls or any other
victims, all over the northwestern states; and
then came the reaction, from which the town has
scarcely yet recovered. But you can't keep the
sun at daybreak from rising by beating it back
with a hoe-handle. Still the country improves
and the town grows.
"Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur." No
longer the "Great American Desert!" In the
last year or two there have been world develop-
ments. A trade is only now in its infancy that
is going to revolutionize relative values of land
on the American continent and the commerce of
the world. Asia is calling to America; America
is eager to answer to the cry. Huge cargoes of
wheat leave some Pacific port almost daily. We
do not yet realize what this all means. It means
the west is coming to the forefront. It means
that probably the greatest city on the American
100
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
continent is to be on the western coast. It may
be San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma; or it may
be the foundation stones are not yet laid of what
is yet to be the busiest metropolis of all Ameri-
ca. Every acre of land on the Pacific slope, cap-
able of producing, has a greater intrinsic value,
acre for acre, than land in Illinois, Ohio or Mis-
souri. It is nearer the market that is now just
opening.
If we hark back to remote antiquity there is a
lesson to be leaned. We see that the earliest de-
velopments of civilization have been in irrigated
countries. Culture follows wealth. They have
been the most civilized because the richest.
Egypt, with the great system of irrigation from
the Xile. is first to attract our attention.
Many other instances will present themselves,
but we will only note that, while the abundantly
rain-watered belt of country along the eastern
coast of North America was a scene of Indian
strife and savagery, irrigated Peru was wealthy
and civilized. Cortez enriched Spain by robbing
the temples of the Incas of their gathered wealth.
Crops never fail in an irrigated country: wealth
is as sure to follow as light and life follow the
rising of the sun.
Now we make the assertion, and we challenge
contradiction, that the Snake river valley is the
most favored locality in the great west. Nowhere
else can be found so vast a body of fertile land
and, at the same time, an ample supply of water.
When the Nile fails to water Egypt, we may be-
gin to fear Snake river may also fail. Not till
then.
It is true beyond controversy that the one
hundred and fifty mile stretch from Marysville
at the north, above St. Anthony, to old Fort
Hall, south of Blackfoot, can, and in due time
will, produce more wheat, oats, potatoes, apples,
etc., than a like number of acres anywhere else
on the continent, and the apples are said to have
a more delicious flavor. Not many years are to
pass before Bonneville's desert is to become the
Egypt of the west and a small farm to the moder-
ate man will be an ample inheritance.
t. o 2
tj so
o
^•3
CHAPTER XII.
POLITICAL— SECESSIONISM AND CRIME.
BEFORE the mining period, commencing
in 1862, Idaho was a comparatively un-
known region belonging nominally to
Oregon and afterward to Washington. During
the years 1862-3 such was the rush of immigra-
tion to this section that Idaho was erected into
a territory of the United States governm.ent. The
enabling act to organize as such was passed by
congress in the spring of the latter year, and on
the 22d of September William H. Wallace, late
delegate to congress from Washington, who had,
on July loth preceding, been appointed gover-
nor of Idaho by President Lincoln, issued his
proclamation for organizing the territory, with
the capital at Lewiston; but the fact of this proc-
lamation was scarcely known to the miners in
the wilderness, far removed from mail facilities,
until the following spring. Meanwhile the laws
of Washington were in force. The first occur-
rence of the name Idaho territory in the public
records seems to have been under date of-August
7, 1863, in Boise. James Judge was on that day
made assessor.
Previously to his election as delegate Wallace
had districted the territory, for judicial purposes,
as follows: First district, Xez Perces and Sho-
shone counties, A. C. Smith judge; second, Boise
county, Samuel C. Parks judge; third, Missoula
county and the country east of the Rocky moun-
tains, Sidney Edgerton judge. Florence, Ban-
nack City and Hellgate were appointed as the
seats of federal courts. Edgerton was named as
the chief justice of the territory, and probably
should have been given the more populous
region of the Boise basin ; but Wallace was prej-
udiced against "imported" judges. Alexander
C. Smith, being from Olympia, was given the
region containing the capital. Parks, on
assuming his duties at Boise City, expressed
a hesitation in taking the place due to Edger-
ton.
The act organizing the territory fixed the num-
ber of representatives for the first session of the
legislature at twenty — thirteen in the lower
house and seven in the upper. Of the seven
councilmen Boise county was entitled to two,
Idaho and Nez Perces one each, Missoula and
Shoshone one jointly, Bannack east of the
Rocky mountains one, and all the remainder of
the country east of said range, one. The men
elected to the "senate" were: First district, E.
B. Waterbury, Stanford Capps and Lyman Stan-
ford; second district, Joseph Miller and Ephraim
Smith; and third district, William C. Rheem.
Miller was elected president of the council and
J. McLaughlin secretary. The assemblymen
were: L. Bacon, of Nez Perces county; C. B.
Bodfish, M. C. Brown, R. B. Campbell, W. R.
Keithly and Milton Kelly, of Boise county; Al-
onzo Leland and John Wood, of Idaho county;
L. C. Miller, of East Bannack; J. A. Orr, of Sho-
shone county; and James Tufts, of the Fort Ben-
ton district. Tufts was chosen speaker, S. S.
Slater chief clerk, Benjamin Need assistant clerk,
A. Mann enrolling clerk, P. H. Lynch sergeant-
at-arms, and W. H. Richardson doorkeeper. The
oath to the members was administered by Judge
Parks. Rheem, of the council, and Parks, with a
member of the assembly, were appointed a com-
mittee to prepare a code. The legislature met
December 10, 1863.
By the election, which had been held October
31, Wallace, Republican, was chosen as a dele-
gate, and, being thus taken from the executive
chair, W. B. Daniels, of Yamhill county, Wash-
ington, became the acting governor.
The general laws passed at the first session of
the legislature were not remarkable. Among
the special laws was that which organized
Owyhee county out of the territory south of
Snake river and west of the Rocky mountains.
The name "Owyhee" is from the Hawaiian lan-
guage, and was applied to the river of that name
bv two Kanakas while trading with the Sho-
102
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
shones in tlie service of a mercantile company.
The county of Oneida was erected, with the
county-seat at Soda Springs. Alturas county
was defined as bounded by Snake river on the
south, Idaho county on the north, Boise countv
on the west, and the one hundred and twelfth
meridian on the east, with the county-seat at
Esmeralda. Several counties now in Montana,
east of the Bitter Root mountains, were outlined,
with the designation of their county-seats, as fol-
lows: ]\Iissoula, Wordensville; Deer Lodge,
Deer Lodge; Beaver Head, Bannack; Madison,
\'irginia City; Jefferson, Gallatin; Choteau, Fort
Benton; and three other counties, their respect-
ive seats of government being left to the commis-
sioners of the respective counties. This act of
the Idaho legislature was a public testimonial of
the comparative importance of those towns.
The legislature also incorporated Idaho City,
changing its name from Bannack; but the char-
ter was rejected by the election held there sub-
sequently, while the people at the same time
elected a full set of city officers. Bannack City
was incorporated in Beaver Head county, and
Placerville in Boise county.
Among the laws intended for the moral im-
provement of society was one "for the better ob-
servance of the Lord's day," which prohibited
theatrical representations, horse racing, gamb-
ling, cock fighting, or any noisy amusements on
Sunday. Another act prohibited the sale of ar-
dent spirits, firearms or ammunition to the In-
dians, but the law allowed Indian evidence to be
taken in cases of its alleged infraction. A law
exempting homesteads from forced sales was
passed in order to encourage permanent settle-
ment. Congress was memorialized to appropri-
ate fifty thousand dollars for the construction of
a military wagon-road to connect the navigable
waters of the Columbia with those of the Mis-
souri namely, from the forks of the Missouri on
the east to the junction of the Snake and Clear-
water rivers on the west; also to establish a mail
route from Salt Lake City to Lewiston, and to
treat with the hostile Indians of the Yellowstone
country. The mail route mentioned was estab-
lished.'
In the spring of 1864 the territorial officers
were; W. H. Wallace, governor; W. B. Daniels,
acting governor and secretary; B. F. Lambkin,
auditor; D. S. Payne, marshal; and D. S. Ken-
yon, treasurer.
As might be expected, the greater increase of
population in the southern part of the territory
aroused a desire among the people here to have
the capital removed from Lewiston to some point
southerly and more central, the movement for a
separate territory comprising the counties east of
the Bitter Root mountains having been already
under way, and naturally the contest grew more
and more heated until a change was made.
In the meantime acting Governor Daniels ren-
dered himself very unpopular by his opposition
to the legislature and other injudicious acts,
among which was his threat to give the public
printing to a San Francisco firm, after the legis-
lature had appointed Frank Kenyon, publisher of
the Golden Age, for the work. In consequence
of the evidences of his unpopularity he resigned
his office in May, leaving the secretaryship in' the
hands of Silas Cochrane until another appoint-
ment should be made.
In regard to Kenyon and the Golden Age, it
will be interesting to notice further that this
paper was started by A. S. Gould, August 2,
1862, at Lewiston. Being a Republican, he had
hot times with the secession immigrants from the
south. On raising the United States flag over
his office — the first ever raised in that town —
twenty-one shots were fired into it by disunion
Democrats. Gould was succeeded by John H.
Scranton for a short time, and in August, 1863,
Frank Kenyon took charge of the journal and
was soon afterward appointed territorial printer.
With the decline of Lewiston and the close of the
second volume, Kenyon started with his paper
for Boise City, but was turned back by influ-
ences brought to bear upon him. In January-,
1865, the paper was suspended, and its plant was
ultimately removed to Boise. Kenyon started
the Mining News, at Leesburg, in 1867. and its
publication continued eight months, when the
enterprise was abandoned for want of support.
The press was then removed back to Montana,
whence it had been brought, and Kenyon after-
ward went to LUah and finally to South America,
where he died.
SECESSIONIS]M .\XD CRIME.
Idaho was opened to the world during our
civil war, and a large proportion of the immi-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
103
grants were secessionists fresh from the southern
Confederacy, while there were also not a few
sympathizers with the southern cause from the
northern states. During those, exciting times it
was easy to stir up hot blood. Boise county
gave in 1863 four to five hundred majority for
the Republican ticket; but such was the rush
there of emigrants from the south that the very
next year there was a majority of nine to ten
hundred for the Democratic candidates, who
were known to be in sympathy with the great
rebellion. Both these and the criminal element
generally had the cause of law-breaking in com-
mon, and therefore the early government of Ida-
ho territory was more or less influenced by these
elements.
In Boise county alone there were more than
twenty murders in 1864, with other crimes in
proportion. The sheriff of the county was Sum-
ner Pinkham, a native of Maine, who proved a
faithful and fearless ofificer. At the district court
held in February, 1864, the grand jury found in-
dictments for forty-seven cases of crime.
Correspondingly, on the eve of the presidential
election of 1864, the two great parties evidenced
the diiiferences in their platform. While the ad-
ministration party, consisting of Republicans and
Union Democrats, declared it to be their highest
dutv to aid the government in suppressing the
great insurrection by force of arms, the opposi-
tion party advocated putting an end to the con-
flict by peaceable means, among these means a
possible convention of the states; declared that
the interference of military authority with the
elections in certain border states was a "shameful
violation of the constitution, and that the repe-
tition of such acts in the approaching election
will be held as revolutionary and resisted with all
the power and means under our control." This
language was specially aimed at the military or-
ders of Colonel Wright, a government officer
of Oregon, including this district. The adminis-
tration was also charged with abusing prisoners
of war. All this had the effect to encourage a
disregard of all the laws in force in Idaho, as
such were considered products of northern tyran-
ny. Hence disunionism and lawlessness generallv
worked together. The result of the election was
almost entirely Democratic, but one Union man
being sent to the legislature; and the only Union
officers in the territory were those appointed by
the general government.
Union editors throughout Idaho had to be
"careful." The Boise News, ostensibly an inde-
pendent paper, made excuses for the Democratic
majority in 1864 by saying tliat the miners were
driven to desert the administration by the policy
of the government in proposmg to tax the mines,
and the very next issue announced the sale of the
office to a Democratic publisner. J. S. Butler
acknowledged that he sold "the best newspaper
in Idaho" rather than encounter the opposition
of the disunionists. Said he, "It was all a man's
life was worth, almost, to be seen showing his
head in the early days of Idaho." Knapp and
McConnell gave the same account. During the
hot campaign of 1864 the leading Democratic
sheet was The Crisis, edited by ri. C. Street,
formerly of the Democrat, of Idaho, and of the
Shasta Herald and Colusa Sun, of California.
To protect themselves and their property
against the impetuous element described, the Re-
publicans of the territory felt obliged to adopt
the methods of secret societies, by organizing
"vigilance committees." These methods seemed
justifiable, as in the days of 1854 in San Fran-
cisco, when the rapid spread of population out-
stripped the cumbersome machinery of legisla-
tion and court procedure. Criminals of all sorts
flocked to Idaho, in part because here they were
beyond the reach of law and refined customs. A
local defense committee had been organized by
miners on Salmon river as early as the autumn
of 1862, which drove the worst element from
their locality, only to make them more numerous
in other parts of the territory. Histories of these
crimes are abundant before us, but we must resist
the temptation to repeat them, for there is no
more reason for the recital of one than of thou-
sands of others.
Lewiston was the second community to organ-
ize for self-defense, and the occasion was one of
the most atrocious crimes on record, the murder
of Lloyd Magruder, a prominent citizen of that
place, and four others. Magruder had taken a
lot of goods and a band of mules to the Beaver
Head mines, realizing about thirty thousand dol-
lars, with which he started to return in October.
Needing assistance in the care of many pack ani-
mals and desiring company on the long and
104
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
dreary route, he engaged four men, — James Ro-
maine, Christopher Lowery, Daniel Howard and
WilHam Page, — all of whom he had seen in Lew^-
iston and who were well appearing, to return
with him to that place. Indeed, the three first
named had gone to Beaver Head with no other
purpose than to rob and murder Magruder on
his way home. Howard was a good-looking,
brave young man, of a kindly temper, but reck-
less in morals, and on account of his accomplish-
ments, including some knowledge of medicine, he
\vas called "Doctor" or "Doc." Romaine was a
gambler. Lowery was a blacksmith, who had
been with ^lullan in his wagon-road expeditions.
Page was a trapper, of none too good reputation.
The particulars of the return trip of Magruder
and his murder, etc., we quote from H. H. Ban-
croft's history:
When ]\Iagruder was about to start he was joined by
the persons named, Allen and PhilHps, having about
twenty thousand dollars in gold-dust, and the unknown
men with some money. They traveled without acci-
dent to a camp six miles from the crossing of the
Clearwater, where a guard was stationed as usual.
INIagruder and Lowery being on the first watch, and
the snow falling fast. When the travelers were asleep,
the mules becoming restless, both guards started out
to examine into the cause of their uneasiness, Lowery
taking along an ax, as he said, to make a fence to
prevent the animals wandering in a certain direction.
]\Iagruder was killed with this ax in Lowery's hands.
Howard and Romaine murdered the two brothers
about midnight in the same manner, and soon after
killed Allen and Phillips, Allen being shot. So well
executed was the awful plot that only Phillips cried
out, when a second blow silenced him. Page appears
to have been frightened and to have taken no part in
the killing. The bodies were wrapt up in a tent cloth
and rolled over a precipice; all the animals except
eight horses were taken into a cafion off the trail and
shot; the camp equipage was burned, and the scraps
of iron left from the burning were gathered up, placed
in a sack and thrown after the bodies down the moun-
tain. During all this time the murderers wore moc-
casins, so that the damning deed, if discovered, might
be imputed to the Indians.
The guilty men now agreed to go to Puget sound
and attempted to cross the Clearwater forty miles
above Lewiston; but the weather prevented them and
they kept on to Lewiston: here, partially disguised,
they took tickets by stage to Walla Walla, and thence
to Portland and San Francisco. Something in the
manner of the men. the "mark of Cain." which seldom
fails to be visible, aroused the suspicion of Hill Beachy.
owner of the stage line. who. on examining the horses
and saddles left in Lewiston. became convinced of the
robbery and death of ^Magruder, whose personal friend
he was, and whose return was looked for with anxiety,
owing to the prevalence of crime upon all the mining
trails. Accordingly, with A. P. Ankeny and others, he
started in pursuit, but before they reached Portland
the murderers had taken steamer for San Francisco,
where they were arrested on a telegraphic requisition,
and after some delay brought back to Lewiston. De-
cember 7. to be tried. The only witness was Page,
who had turned state's evidence, revealed minutely all
the circumstances of the crime, and guided Magruder's
friends to the spot where it was committed and where
the truth of his statement was verified.
Meanwhile a vigilance committee had been formed
at Lewiston. which met the prisoners and their guard
on their arrival and demanded the surrender of the
murderers: but Beachy. who had promised them an
impartial trial, succeeded in persuading them to await
the action of the law. On hearing the evidence the
jury, without leaving their seats, rendered a verdict of
guilty, January 26, 1864. and Judge Parks sentenced
Howard. Romaine and Lowery to be hanged on the
4th of March, which sentence was carried into effect.
Page was himself murdered afterward, in the summer of
1867. by a desperado named Albert Igo.
This was the first case in the courts of Idaho,
and was tried at a special term, the term of court
at Idaho City being postponed on account of it.
The legislature of Idaho authorized the payment
of Beachy's expenses, which were over six thou-
sand dollars. He died in San Francisco, Mav 24,
1875.
The murders just described, in connection
with the apparent increase of crime, caused a
-nore rapid formation of vigilance committees
elsewhere, but inasmuch as the courts proved
themselves comparatively prompt in the convic-
tion and sentence of criminals, the Lewiston
committee was disbanded in April. By this time
the place had become as quiet and orderly as any
village in the east.
Owyhee had a few crimes and a number of
quarrels among the miners, but on the whole, as
jNIaize, a local historian there, said, "society was
exemplary, except some high gambling. If a
man was caught doing anything wrong we just
killed him; that's all!" South Boise and the
Lemhi mines were cursed with the presence of
desperadoes from Montana, where a very active
cotiiinittee of safety was in operation. Warren,
for no apparent reason, was never a resort for
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
105
villainous characters. But the Boise basin was
the most afflicted with crime of all the districts
of the territory. For some unassigned reason the
work of the courts in this region was not effec-
tual in improving the general state of society,
while politics dominated the division of the com-
munity into classes to such an extent that when
a crime was committed the perpetrator was
shielded, at least to some extent, behind the im-
munity of political sectarianism. In 1864 the
Union men of Idaho City organized themselves
to meet the coming crisis, precipitated bv the
"Democratic" victory of that year.
Horse-stealing and the theft of all other do-
mestic animals, especially those at grazing on the
ranches, were rife, and the settlers suffered in-
tensely. W. J. McConnell, for example, a gar-
dener on the Payette, was left without a horse,
either to cultivate his crops or to draw anything
to market: and this was the exciting cause, the
last in a series, which led to the formation of the
first vigilance committee in the Boise basin.
Salient features of this occasion were these, as
related in Bancroft's history.
"Having discovered one of his horses in a
stable in Boise City, in recovering it by process
of law, he (McConnell) found the costs in a jus-
tice's court to exceed the value of the animal.
This he paid amid the jeers of a crowd composed
of idlers and disreputable characters, who re-
joiced in the discomfiture of the 'vegetable man.'
Thereupon he addressed them in a short speech,
which contained the following pertinent words:
'I can catch any damned thief who ever stalked
these prairies; and the next one who steals a
horse from me is my Injun ; there will be no law-
suit about it.' A few days later two thousand
dollars' worth of horses and mules were taken
from his ranch and those adjoining. McConnell
and two others immediately pursued, overtak-
ing the robbers near La Grande, killing three and
mortally wounding a fourth, in a short and sharp
conflict. Finding the leader of the gang had
gone to La Grande for supplies, McConnell fol-
lowed. By a series of well devised maneuvers,
the man was captured and taken to camp. A
confession was exacted of all the names of the
organizations of thieves with which these men
were connected, and the prisoner was shot."
The bravery and skill of the gardener soon
made him leader in the organization of the Pay-
ette Mgilance Committee, whose career after-
ward was characterized bv many strange and ex-
citing incidents. An effort was made in the win-
ter of 1864-5 to disband this committee, as being
a body of men organized to violate the law, but
the citizens stood by them and secured their re-
lease. The farmers had no further trouble with
horse thieves, and the results of the work of the
committee seemed to prove as good as those of
the efforts of the great vigilance committee of
San Francisco in 1854. However, crime was not
fullv ended in Idaho. The carelessness of some
of the citizens in many districts and the wicked-
ness of others constituted a major element in the
election and appointment of officers, so that
crime and misdemeanor were still rife for an in-
definite period, especially along the routes of
travel. Besides the many crimes committed by
common outlaws, almost every public official also
who had the handling of the pub.ic money was
tempted to take advantage of his position and
embezzle some of the funds that came into his
possession. During the first two years after the
organization of the territory the murderers of
Magruder were the only ones hanged by the le-
gally constituted authorities. It is estimated that
at least two hundred outlaws were executed by
vigilance committees in Idano and [Montana be-
tween 1 86 1 and 1866.
Succeeding Daniels. Caleb Lyon, of New
York, was governor of Idaho. In 1865 he left
the care of the territory in the hands of C. De
Witt Smith, a native of New York, a young man
of promise, educated for the bar, and for some
time an employe of the government in Washing-
ton, D. C. But he yielded to the temptations
peculiar to society here, indulged in peculation
and dissipation, from the effects of the last of
which he died, at Rocky Bar, August 19, 1865,
six months after his arrival.
Horace C. Gilson, of Ohio, who had been act-
ing as secretary of the territory under Smith, was
commissioned secretary in September, and thus
became acting governor: but during the follow-
ing summer, he too became a defaulter, in the
sum of thirty thousand dollars, and absconded to
China. Meanwhile Governor Lyon made such
unwise use of the public funds as practically to
result in robbing the territory. The territorial
106
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
prisons, which were the jails of Xez Perces and
Boise counties, being under the care of the terri-
torial treasurer, were made the channel of most of
the official peculation.
The first capital of the territory, as already
stated, was at Lewiston, as appointed by the gov-
ernor of Washington, and the first legislative as-
sembly, which was held there, adjourned without
making any change in the location of the seat of
government; but the legislature of 1864 removed
it to Boise City, where it has ever since remained.
The people of Lewiston and vicinity were natur-
ally so much opposed to this removal of the capi-
tal that the county commissioners there refused
to acknowledge the legality of the proceeding,
claiming some technical irregularities, and they
went so far as to enjoin the removal of the arch-
ives and thus bring the matter into the courts.
A. C. Smith, the associate justice, before whom
the issue was first brought, decided in favor of
the Lewiston people, against the "law-and-order"
party. Governor Lyon had escaped all respon-
sibility by leaving the territory, and the new sec-
retary sided with the legislature and the Boise
people. Appeal was made to the supreme court,
which, according to law, was obliged to hold its
sessions at the "capital" in August of each year.
The judges, however, avoided their responsibility
in this regard by holding a session in neither
place, and for ten months there was anarchy.
In the midst of the controversy Secretary Smith
died, and for a while there seemed to be neither
capital, governor nor secretary. Finally L^nited
States Marshal Alvord received orders from
Washington to take the archives to Boise City,
and no local authoritv dared resist the orders of
the general government. Thus the matter was
settled.
The legislature of 1864 created the county of
Ada out of the southwestern part of Boise
county, with the county-seat at Boise City. La-
tah county was created from territory north of the
Clearwater and west of Shoshone county, with
the seat of its government at Coeur d'Alene; and
the remainder of the narrow strip reaching to the
British Columbia line was organized into the
county of Kootenai, with the seat at Seneaguo-
teen. But the county boundaries of Idaho in
many places gave much trouble on account of the
mountains, and several lines had to be altered.
Lemhi county (name taken from the "^lormon
Bible") was organized in 1869, with the county-
seat at Salmon City; Cassia, in 1879, with the
county-seat at Albion: Washington, also in 1879;
Custer, in 1881 ; and Bear Lake, in January, 1875,
with Paris for the county-seat. Xez Perces
county was organized in 1867, Idaho county in
1875, Bingham in 1885, Logan and Elmore in
1889, Canyon and Lincoln in 1891, Bannock and
Fremont in 1893, Blaine in 1895, in which year
Lincoln county was reorganized and Logan and
Alturas counties abolished.
The legislature of 1864 was characterized by
the passage of many acts granting charters for
roads, ferries and bridges, thus showing the
growth of the permanent population, but, as a
rarity in territorial history, did not ask anything
of congress. The council at this session com-
prised the following members: J. ^Miller and E.
Smith, Boise county; E. B. Waterbury, Xez
Perces: S. Capps, Shoshone; S. S. Fenn, Idaho;
S. B. Dilly, Alturas: J. Cummins, Owyhee, presi-
dent. Members of the house: H. C. Riggs, W.
H. Parkinson, J. B. Pierce and J. Mcintosh,
Boise county; E. C. Latta and Alexander Blake-
ly, Idaho; George Zeigle and T. M. Reed, Xez
Perces; E. C. Sterling and Solomon Hasbrouck,
Owyhee; W. A. Goulder, Shoshone; W. H.
Howard, Alturas and Oneida. Blakely was
elected the speaker.
But the next legislature passed a large num-
ber of memorials asking appropriations for pub-
lic buildings and other enterprises, also for such a
change in the act organizing the territory as to
allow a popular election of the territorial auditor,
treasurer and superintendent of public instruc-
tion, and the probate courts to have jurisdiction
in all civil cases where the amount in dispute did
not exceed a thousand dollars, and also to allow
the legislature to give justices of the peace jur-
isdiction up to two hundred and fifty dollars.
The act passed by the first legislature increasing
the salaries of the territorial officers was so
amended as to exclude the governor from its
benefit.
Lyon was reappointed governor in the autumn
of 1865, and he returned to Idaho. J. S. Butler,
a local historian of the time, said of Lyon: "He
was a conceited, peculiar man. and made many
enemies and misappropriated much public
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lor
funds." Lyon, indeed, Bancroft adds, accepted
his reappointment in the hope of gain. While in
New York, pending his confirmation, he was ap-
proached by one Davis, who had in his posses-
sion a number of small stones which he declared
to be Idaho diamonds, found in Owyhee county.
The secret was to be kept until they met in
Idaho. Lyon arrived first, and after waiting for
some time, having become convinced that Davis
was drowned on the Brother Jonathan, went to
Owyhee and imparted his secret to D. H. Fogus,
to whom he presented one of his diamonds, re-
ceiving in return a silver bar worth five hundred
dollars. One evening the governor and the miner
stole away over the hills toward the diamond
fields, as described by Davis, in order to make a
prospect. But the sharp eyes of other miners de-
tected the movement and they were followed by a
large number of treasure-seekers who aided in the
search. "The result," says ^laize, "of two days'
hunting was several barrels full of bright quartz
and shiny pebbles. Lyon was greatly disappoint-
ed and showed us the specimens, on one of which
the carbon was not completely crystallized."
Along the beach line of the ancient sea, border-
ing the Snake river valley, there are a number of
stones described in mineralogical works as allied
to the diamond.
Lyon, who was once described by a newspaper
correspondent as "a revolving light on the coast
of scampdom," found himself in such disgrace
that at the end of six months he abandoned his
post, leaving the administration of public affairs
in the hands of the territorial secretary, S. R.
Howlett, who acted until June, 1866, when
David W. Ballard, of Yamhill county, Oregon,
was appointed governor. The latter reappointed
Howlett secretary.
The federal act organizing the territory pro-
vided that each member of the legislature should
receive as a salary four dollars a day and four
dollars for every twenty miles of travel; but, as
in keeping .with the times, these figures were too
low, the legislature gave six dollars more per
diem. Also the salary of thegovernorwas doubled
from twenty-five hundred to five thousand dol-
lars, and the secretary's from fifteen hundred to
three thousand, and the clerks and other officers
had their salaries proportionately increased.
This legislature, it seems, were on the whole a
rather undignified body, quarreling with both the
governor and the secretary. Bancroft's History
of Idaho speaks as follows:
"With a virtuous air, the legislature demanded
information concerning the amount of federal
appropriations, the money received and the cor-
respondence with the treasury department. How-
lett replied that the statement given in the gov-
ernor's annual message was correct; that he
found Secretary Smith to have expended nine
thotisand nine hundred and thirty-eight dollars
for the territory, but that he had no knowledge
of any other money having been received by
previous secretaries, nor had he received any, al-
though he had applied for twenty-seven thousand
dollars on the approval of his bond for fifty
thousand dollars. The legislature chose to ig-
nore Howlett's answer and telegraphed to Mc-
Cullough, secretary of the LTnited States treas-
ury, alleging that Howlett had refused to give the
information sought. This brought the state-
ment from the department that fifty-three thou-
sand dollars had been placed at the disposal of
former secretaries, and that twenty thousand dol-
lars had that day been placed to Howlett's
credit. This was the knowledge that they had
been thirsting for, as it was a promise of the
speedy payment of their per diem."
The governor seemed to be as conscientious as
any man could be in vetoing whatever acts of the
legislature he considered disconsonant with the
organic act of the territory, which was its consti-
tion. At the same time many of the members
had evaded taking any oath of office which re-
quired allegiance to the general government, and
proceeded to pass laws over the governor's veto.
They passed an act abolishing the extra pay of
the governor and secretary; an act depriving the
governor of the appointing power, regardless of
the organic act, and reserving it to themselves or
the county commissioners, and an act appropri-
ating thirty thousand dollars for sectarian
schools; but these laws were disapproved by con-
gress. The great majority of this legislattire
had the opposition to a Republican government
"on the brain," and thus,, in a kind of mania,
could scarcely think of anything else to do but
pass acts militating against everybody and every-
thing imported from the east.
During the proceedings above recited, How-
108
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lett was necessarily in correspondence with the
treasury department at Washington, and had
given information concerning the refusal of the
majority of the members to take the oath of
office. Accordingly the department instructed
Howlett to withhold the pay of the rebelling
members until they had taken the prescribed
oath. Of course this raised a storm. The leg-
islature passed resolutions charging the secre-
tary with incompetency, malfeasance in office,
etc., and demanding his removal from office.
Personal violence seemed to be imminent. The
secretary then called on the United States mar-
shal for protection: the latter in turn called upon
the military force at Fort Boise, and a squad of
soldiers was accordingly stationed in front of the
legislative hall, which naturally .rritated the dis-
loyal members still more, raising their temper up
to white heat. In order to prevent bloodshed.
Judges McBride and Cummings recom-
mended that Howlett pay all that would
then take the oath of allegiance, and the next
day a majority did this and received their pay.
This plan was successful in calming the troubled
waters.
The governor, David W. Ballard, who was a
native of Indiana, had emigrated to Oregon in
1852, and had served in the Oregon legislature,
from Linn county. He was a physician by pro-
fession, a gentleman of mild manners and firm
principle, and fearless in the public discharge of
duty. His policy as the executive of the terri-
tory of Idaho was such as to excite the opposi-
tion of his political opponents, among whom
were the impetuous element from the southern
states, who were generally too hasty in precipi-
tatmg anything like a fight. This opposition was
led by a man named Holbrook, the delegate of
the territory in congress. Although a man of in-
tellectual force, having been a student at Oberlin
College, in Ohio, he became a victim of dissipa-
tion after his emigration to the Pacific coast in
1859. He was a young man, not yet thirty
years of age at the time of his service as delegate
in congress, when he was endeavoring to secure
for the territory an assay office and an appro-
priation for a penitentiary. He was finally shot
and killed by Charles Douglass while sitting in
front of his law office, in June, 1S70. But his
principal work at congress was to have Ballard
ousted from his office as governor of Idaho. .\c-
cording to his request, in the summer of 1867,
President Johnson suspended Governor Ballard
and nominated for his place Isaac L. Gibbs : but
before the commission was made out the presi-
dent changed his mind. The letter containing
the notice of suspension, which had been sent to
Ballard, was forgotten, and the suspension was
not revoked until November, when Ballard was
restored to office.
For some time after the above episode the
elective officers of Idaho were those nominated
by the Democratic party, but violent characters
among them became gradually more and more
diminished in their numbers and the turbulent
element from the old south fell to such a small
minority that they dared not undertake many
"high-handed" measures.
In 1868 J. K. Shafer was elected a delegate
to congress over T. J. Butler, the founder of the
Boise News, which was the pioneer journal of
southern Idaho. Mr. Shafer was an able lawyer
who, a native of Lexington, \'irginia, had emi-
grated to California in 1849, in which state he
was the first district attorney of San Joaquin
county, and for ten years the judge of the dis-
trict court of that county. Having been a gradu-
ate of a college at Lexington, he possessed fine
literary attainments, and he was known to be of
irreproachable character. He was a pioneer here
in Idaho, and he finally died at Eureka, Nevada,
November 22, 1876.
Ballard's administration of the affairs of the
territory as an executive was popular, and a ma-
jority of the citizens of Idaho petitioned for his
reappointment ; but by the time this petition was
presented another man had been appointed gov-
ernor, namely, Gilman jMarston, of New Hamp-
shire. At the same time a new secretary \^■as also
appointed, E. J. Curtis, who, in the absence of
the governor, administered public affairs for a
year and a half. A native of ^Massachusetts, he
adopted the profession of the law, emigrating to
California in 1849, resided in Siskiyou county,
which he twice represented in the legislature, was
judge of the court of sessions of Trinity county
two years, came to Owyhee in 1865, and finally
settled in Boise City, and continued in the prac-
tice of law. As secretary of Idaho he brought
onler out of confusion and by protracted hard
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
109
labor succeeded in having established a working
state library.
While Mr. Curtis was secretary and acting
governor, Alarston resigned his office as govern-
or, and Thomas A. Bowen, a southern Repub-
lican who had been district judge in Arkansas,
was appointed in his place; but he soon resigned
and Thomas W. Bennett was appointed. He was
a native of Indiana who had graduated at As-
bury University in that state and became a law-
yer; was a captain of a Union company in the
civil war, major, colonel, and finally brevet briga-
dier-general, and in 1869 was mayor of Rich-
mond, that state.
Eastern men who were C|ualified to administer
public affairs and demanded large salaries did not
desire office in the wild west, and hence it was
difficult to engage them to come to Idaho and
reside. Therefore the party in power at Wash-
ington was obliged to be almost continually seek-
ing for men to accept office for Idaho, and the
men selected generally desired to have the office
only on condition that they remain east and draw
the salary.
In 1870 the Democrats again succeeded in
electing their candidate as delegate to congress,
S. A. Merritt, and in 1872 John Hailey, whose
sketch is given elsewhere in this volume, received
as a Democrat an overwhelming majority. In
1869 McBride resigned his office as chief justice
of the territory and David Noggle was ap-
pointed. The latter had been a lawyer in Wis-
consin, a circuit judge and a leading cam-
paign speaker; but softening of the brain had be-
gun before it was recognized, and his appoint-
ment to the office here in Idaho was made after
that disease had begun to influence his conduct.
He became pliant in the hands of the forw'ard
politicians. J. R. Lewis, who was his associate
in the third district, was an upright judge, and on
that account made himself obnoxious to schem-
ing politicians, one of whom, in order to have the
judge removed, forged a letter of resignation and
forwarded it to Washington. The same means
had been tried to get rid of him in Washington
Territory, by the whisky dealers of Seattle. Be-
fore the trick of ousting him in Idaho was dis-
covered at the seat of the federal government,
i\I. E. Hollister, of Ottawa, Illinois, was ap-
pointed in his place. Hollister succeeded Noggle
as chief justice in 1875, while John Clark suc-
ceeded Hollister in the third district. William
C. Whitson, who had been justice in the first dis-
trict, and died in December, was from Oregon,
where he had been clerk of Polk county. He as ■
sumed the office at the early age of twenty-one
years, and was elected county judge at the age
■ of twenty-eight. He was a man of liberal educa-
tion and a successful attorney. He died in De-
cember, 1875, and Henry E. Prickett, who had
been a member of the legislative council, was
appointed judge of the first district. He held
the position to the year 1884, which fact is an
evidence of his capability.
As governor of the territory Bennett was suc-
ceeded, in 1875, by D. P. Thompson, a rising
man of Oregon, appointed by President Grant.
Thompson was born in Ohio, in 1834; emigrated
to Oregon overland in 1853; engaged in public
surveys until 1872, among other transactions
running the base line of Oregon across the Cas-
cade mountains; was state senator from 1868 to
1872, from Clackamas county; from 1872 to 1878
was extensively interested in mail contracts; ap-
pointed governor of Idaho in 1875, but resigned
the next year for business reasons, returning to
Oregon; in 1878 was elected representative to
the legislature from Multnomah county; in 1879,
chosen mayor of Portland; organized banks, of
one of which he was president; built a railroad
around the falls of the Willamette, and was en-
gaged in many other business enterprises, in
most of which he was successful.
His successor in the gubernatorial office here
was M. Brayman, then J. B. Neil. S. S. Fenn
became the territorial delegate, after a successful
contest in a doubtful election. Curtis, as secre-
tary, was succeeded in 1878 by R. A. Side-
botham, and he by Theodore F. Singiser. In
1878 George Ainslie was elected to succeed Fenn
as delegate.
About this time the people of the panhandle of
Idaho began to make a move to be either an-
nexed to Washington, or, with a slice from Mon-
tana, to be organized into an independent terri-
torv, to be named Columbia. After the seat of
government had been taken away from Lewiston
and established at Boise, in the southern part of
the territory, they felt as if they were "left out in
the cold." To advance their claims thev estab-
no
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lislied.at Lewiston, a newspaper organ named the
Radiator. Several propositions were made, the
most important of which was the memorial of the
Idaho legislature in 1865-6 to congress praying
for an elision of the panhandle and an indemnity
in the form of a slice from the territory of Utah ;
but all efforts in the direction of readjustment of
boundary lines proved to be in vain. However,
there were a number of settlements that were
supposed to be in northern Utah which proved
on survey in 1871 to belong to Idaho. These
were Franklin, Weston, Malad, Fish Haven.
Ovid, Bloomington, Paris and St. Charles, ag-
gregating about twenty-five hundred people, who
had been paying taxes to Utah ; and the addition
of this strip to Idaho also brought in a consid-
erable amount of natural wealth.
;PU6(,lSHl>l6EI!CHli:»Cllll.b.
IY<,CR Ert'CkEI Itl.
I
CHAPTER XIII.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
WILLIAM F. KETTENBACH.
WILLIAM F. KETTENBACH. now de-
ceased, was one of Lewiston's most en-
terprising and successful business men,
and for many years was president of the Lewiston
National Bank. He left the impress of his indi-
viduality upon the commercial life and prosperity
of the city, and his history forms an important
chapter in the annals of the growth and develop-
ment of this section of the state. He was born
in New York city. May 15, 1849, j^-^st two days
after the arrival of his parents, Henry and Eliza-
beth Kettenbach, from Germany. They were na-
tives of that land. The father was descended
from one of the noble families of Germany, and
held the office of colonel of cavalry at Wurtzburg.
On coming to America he took his family to In-
dianapolis, Indiana, and there the subject of this
review was educated. When sixteen years of age
he left school and proceeded to the frontier,
where he was in the government service, acting
as a scout with Kit Carson and BufTalo Bill.
After the civil war he for some years acted as
guide to emigrant trains across the plains, and
then returned to Indianapolis, where he was en-
gaged in the wholesale and retail grocery busi-
ness for three years. He then devoted his ener-
gies to conducting a hardware store, and in the
meantime invested largely in real estate, but in
the financial panic of 1877 all his accumulations
were swept away, owing to the great depreciation
in values.
in 1878 he came to Lewiston, a poor man, and
accepted a position as bookkeeper. He after-
ward served for a time as agent for the Oregon
Railway & Navigation Company, and estab-
lished the first general insurance business in
Lewiston. In 1883, success having come to him
through his well directed efforts, he founded the
Lewiston National Bank, of which John Brearlev
was elected president. Mr. Brearley died soon
afterward, however, and Mr. Kettenbach was
chosen his successor and continued to fill the
position most creditably and satisfactorily until
September 9, 1891, when his death occurred.
He had been an assiduous worker and was a man
of great energy and splendid business talent. He
not only organized one of the best banking insti-
tutions of the state, but also established many
other enterprises and placed them on a paying
basis. He accumulated wealth rapidly, and as
time passed he became the principal owner of
the bank. His life was one of great activity and
usefulness, and he did much to promote the in-
terests of the town and state. He was a man of
the highest business integrity, and his unassail-
able reputation enabled him to succeed in enlist-
ing the investment of large capital in Lewiston
and securing to the town an impetus such as it
had never enjoyed. Notable among the enter-
prises which he promoted was the first water and
lighting system of the city, which proved of in-
calculable benefit. He gave his support and co-
operation to many other business concerns which
have been important factors in upbuilding the
town and advancing its prosperity, and it was
through his instrumentality that Charles Francis
Adams became largely interested in real estate
here. Mr. Kettenbach built the Lewiston
National Bank Block, which is the best bank
building in the state, the rental from its offices
bringing the bank four hundred dollars per
month.
Of the Knights of Pythias fraternity Mr. Ket-
tenbach was a valued member, taking an active
part in the work of the order. He was a charter
member of Star Lodge, No. 27. of Indianapolis,
and was one of the organizers of Excelsior
Lodge, No. 2, at Lewiston. His home life, in
the midst of his family, offered him most pleasant
hours of recreation. In 1872 he was happily
married to Miss Sallie Benton, a native of Mon-
rovia, and a daugliter of Rev. Morris W. Benton,
a talented and devoted Alethodist minister, who
113
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
was a cousin of the United States senator,
Thomas Benton. Mrs. Kettenbach was a lady
of refinement and worth, held in high regard by
her many friends. She survived her husband
several years, and departed this life ]\Iarch 4,
1896.
Their union was blessed with four children,
but only two are now living, William F. and
Grace B. The latter is now^ the wife of Dr.
Charles Pfaiflin, of Cincinnati. She is possessed
of much musical talent and is a graduate of the
Cincinnati School of Music.
The son, William F. Kettenbach, is now the
president of the bank founded and built up by
his father, and has the honor of being the young-
est national-bank president in the United States.
He was born November i, 1874, and is therefore
twenty-five years of age. He was educated in
Butler University, in Indiana, and was in college
when his father's death occurred. He learned
the banking business under his father's instruc-
tions, having filled all the positions from that of
assistant bookkeeper up, until he is now the head
of the institution, and is displaying an ability in
the administration of its affairs that would do
credit to a man of twice his years.
In October, 1895, Mr. Kettenbach was united
in marriage to Miss Mary White, a daughter of
D. M. White, a noted Idaho pioneer, who was a
man of wealth and influence, and succeeded Air.
Kettenbach's father as president of the bank, in
which capacity he served until his death, Decem-
ber II, 1898, when our subject became president.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kettenbach has been born a
little daughter, Elizabeth. They reside in the
beautiful home which was built by his father,
and enjoy the highest esteem of the leading cit-
izens of Lewiston, among whom they have been
reared. Mr. Kettenbach affiliates with the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Order of
Red Men, and his wife is a valued member of
the Episcopal church.
HON. AUGUSTINE M. SINNOTT.
The gentleman whose name appears above
was born on Staten Island, New York, July 17,
1858, the eldest son of Philip Sinnott. deceased,
and Katharine E., nee Breen, both of whom
were born in historic Wexford, Ireland, and emi-
grated from their native home to the Empire
state of America, New York, when very }oung,
where the father followed the trade of carpenter
and builder.
Young Augustine attended the public schools
of his home district, where he achieved particular
distinction as a scholar, and subsequently grad-
uated at the New York high school and pursued
a course of study in the College of the City of
New York. His portrait and biography ap-
peared in Frank Leslie's Boys' and Girls' Week-
ly, in his fifteenth year, as the distinguished
scholar of the Staten Island public schools, after
a prize contest. The island, now known as Rich-
mond borough, Greater New York, at that time
had a population of forty thousand. After teach-
ing in district schools in Illinois for two years he
came to Colorado, in 1881, and entered the ser-
vice of the South Park Railway, where he held
a clerkship, and later was in the train service,
until the summer of 1883, when he returned to
his native island, in New York bay, and in the
ensuing September led Miss Ella O'Brien, a na-
tive daughter of Staten Island, to the hymeneal
altar. Deciding to make Idaho their future
home, the young couple arrived in the territory
a few weeks after their wedding, and shortly
afterward located at Glenn's Fern,-, an old estab-
lished post on the "overland trail," then a small
flag-station on the Oregon Short Line Railway,
consisting of a ferry, blacksmith shop and a few
railroad buildings, but which afterward became
a division terminal, in which event shops, round-
house and other buildings were erected by the
company, wherein a large force of labor is now-
employed.
Coming here in 1883, Air. Sinnott entered the
railway service and continued in the track and
machinery departments as a locomotive fireman
and clerk until 1890, when he was elected probate
judge and ex-officio county school superintend-
ent of Elmore county, which had been organized
by statute in February, 1889, with Rocky Bar
for the county seat. This was not Judge Sin-
nott's first political achievement, however, for in
1884 he had been elected justice of the peace for
Glenn's Ferry, and re-elected in 1886 and 1888.
In June, 1889, upon the call of Governor Steven-
son for the Idaho state constitutional convention,
held at Boise City in July and August following,
he was elected on the Republican and Labor
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ticket as a representative to that body from El-
more county, where he received the credit of the
masses of his county for extraordinarily efficient
service. Being the secretary of the committee
on labor in that body, all articles in the labor
section of the Idaho state constitution were pre-
pared by him. The Elmore Bulletin, the leading
Democratic newspaper of his county, spoke of
him as "one who feared not the party lash, was
unswayed by railroad influence and did his dut\'
well." '
As county judge, in every suit tried before him,
including some important labor suits, when ap-
peal was taken to the higher court his decision
was sustained. He was the presiding magistrate
in the examination in the Kensler-Freel murder
trial, one of the greatest sensations in the crimi-
nal history of Idaho.
In 1891 he was admitted to the bar, after study-
ing three years, under adverse circumstances.
Taking charge of the county school superintend-
ent's office, he found the records of the office and
the school system of the county to be a disorgan-
ized mass, and out of the chaos laid the founda-
tion of a system that has since made the schools
of Elmore county second to none in the state.
In the fall of 1898 he was elected to the office of
county attorney of his county, on the silver
ticket, which position he now holds.
In Ireland, for many generations, the Sinnott
family were conspicuously active in Irish affairs,
both in peace and in war, taking part with the
Irish insurgents. In the year 1644 Sir David
Sinnott, with his Celtic and Norman forces, held
the beleaguered city of Wexford against Crom-
well and his Covenanter soldiery. In the re-
bellion of 1798 they were among the local leaders
in Wexford against the British government, and
lost all they had in the struggle for freedom.
Judge Sinnott"s father "wore the blue" in the
dark days of 1863, and physical incapacity alone
prevented the son from being accepted and doing
likewise in this last war. He has been a member
of the Idaho state assembly of the Knights of
Labor, and is still an active worker in labor's
cause.
Five children, of whom four are living, bless
his marriage union: two daughters, Alice and
Katharine, aged thirteen and twelve years re-
spectively, and two sons, Philip and Thomas,
nine and six years of age. The family resides at
Mountain Home.
JOSEPH D. DALY.
Among the officers of Ada county, Idaho, is
Joseph DeWitt Daly, who is now acceptably fill-
ing the position of tax collector and assessor.
He possesses that spirit of enterprise which has
produced the rapid and wonderful development
of the vast region west of the Mississippi, and
in the discharge of his duties manifests a loyalty
and faithfulness that has made his service most
efficient, winning him the commendation of the
best citizens of the community.
A native of Missouri, he was born in Putnam
county, on the 13th of January, 1850, his parents
being WilHam and Permelia (Holland) Daly. His
father was a native of Kentucky, born in 1801,
and by occupation was a farmer. He continued
his residence in Missouri until 1852, when he
removed to Oregon, his death occurring at his
home near Jacksonville, that state, in September,
1892. His wife, who was born in Tennessee, in
181 1, died in Missouri, in 1866. This worthy
couple were the parents of twelve children, ten
of whom are living. Six of the sons were sol-
diers in the Union army during the civil war,
and two of them served throughout the entire
conflict. Few families can show such a record
for military valor or have so effectively labored
for the welfare of the nation. Six brothers loyally
following the old flag and defending the cause
it represented, is a history of which any familv
might well be proud, and the name of Daly is
deeply engraven on the military annals of the
country.
Joseph D. Daly acquired his education in the
public schools of northern Missouri, and was
reared to manhood on his father's farm, early
becoming familiar with all the duties and obliga-
tions which fall to the lot of the agriculturist.
After attaining his majority he continued the
pursuit to which he had been reared, being num-
bered among the energetic farmers of Missouri
until 1887, when he removed to Idaho, locating
in Ada county, ten miles west of Boise, where
he still owns a farm, of which twelve acres has
been planted to fruit-trees. In the cultivation
and improvement of his land he displaved great
energy, industry and sound judgment, and his ef-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
115
vantageously, and then returned to Oregon. Id
1863 he came to Idaho with a pack train, bring-
ing the first sawmill to the Boise basin.
Since that time Mr. Galloway has been promi-
nently connected with the development and prog-
ress of this section of the state. For some time
he engaged in mining in the Boise basin, and also
transported goods for others by pack trains, and
in the month of September came to the present
site of the now thriving and beautiful little city
of Weiser. He erected the first building — a
structure of willow logs, plastered with mud and
covered with a dirt roof, but having neither floor
nor door. He kept the pony-express station and
furnished food to the traveler. This was the first
hotel in the town, but though he supplied the
meals the visitors slept in their own blankets. In
1865 he built the first frame house in the town,
pa}-ing forty dollars per thousand feet for the
lumber, and hauhng it ninety miles. From 1864
until 1868 he was an express agent, 'and for many
years served as postmaster of Weiser. He be-
came extensively engaged in stock-raising, and
still has large numbers of cattle and horses. He
was instrumental in inaugurating the movement
which resulted in the construction of the splendid
irrigation ditch which takes water from the Wei-
ser river, eight miles above the town, and carries
it nine miles beyond the town. It now irrigates
six thousand acres of land and has a much great-
er capacity. This enterprise was started by the
farmers in 1881 and was not a success until Air.
Galloway took charge of the same in 1885. He
finally sold an interest in the property, in order
to get money to complete the ditch. There is
neither bond nor mortgage on it, water is sup-
plied to the farmers at the rate of a dollar and
a quarter per acre and the enterprise has proven
of incalculable benefit to this section of the state.
Some of the finest crops of grains and fruits are
raised on the lands thus irrigated, and it is the
only irrigation company in Idaho that is not in
debt or has its system mortgaged. Mr. Galloway
is one of the most extensive land-owners of the
state, having thirteen hundred and sixty acres in
the vicinity of Weiser, and eighty acres within
the city limits. In 1890 a disastrous fire swept
over the city, destroying a large part of the old
town, twenty-two houses being reduced to ashes,
but these have been replaced by better buildings.
and Mr. Galloway has lived to see the town
which he founded becoming an enterprising cen-
ter of trade, enjoying a stable growth and con-
tinued prosperity.
On the 27th of February, 1868, Mr. Galloway
married Miss Mary Flournoy, who was born in
Alissouri, but was of Virginian ancestry. Her
father was A. W. Flournoy, one of the pioneers
of Idaho. Unto j\Ir. and Mrs. Galloway have
been born nine children, all of whom are living.
The entire expenses incurred by the family for
ph\-sician's services is thirty-seven dollars and a
half, and the lawyers' fees have only amounted to
ten dollars — a remarkable record indicating the
healthfulness of Idaho and the good sense and
sound judgment of Mr. and Airs. Galloway. Their
eldest daughter, Anna, is now the wife of Lewis
Dickerson, who resides in Weiser; Francis H.
and Mary F. are graduates of the State Normal
School and are popular teachers in Idaho -
Charles is now a volunteer soldier in Manila, hav-
ing enlisted with the cadets of the university, at
Moscow; Flournoy, Guy, Kate, James and
Thomas C. are all at home with their parents.
In his political belief Mr. Galloway is a silver-
Republican. He has been twice elected and
served for two terms in the territorial senate, has
also been trustee and justice of the peace of Wei-
ser, and has ever discharged his official duties
with promptness and ability. He and his wife
have a large and commodious residence, in which
they are spending the evening of their lives in
peace and comfort. Their home is surrounded
by fruit trees of their own planting, and their
labors of former years now supply them with all
the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
Mr. Galloway takes a deep and abiding interest
in everything pertaining to the well-being of
Idaho, and is justly accorded a place among her
honored pioneers.
ABEL A. BERG.
For twenty-five years Abel A. Berg has been
a resident of Silver City, has devoted his energies
to prospect mining, and is the principal owner
of the Lone Tree group of mines, located near the
Trade Dollar mines. He is a native of Sweden,,
his birth having occurred near Arvika, on the
igth of December, 1846. His parents, Anderson
and Mary (Danilson) Berg, were also natives of
11(3
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
that country, and were members of the Lutheran
church. The son acquired his education in his
native land and there remained until twenty-five
years of age, when he resolved to seek a home
and fortune in America, believing that the su-
perior advantages of this country would sooner
enable him to acquire a competency. It was in
1871 that he sailed westward across the Atlantic.
landing at New York city, whence he journeyed
across the country to California. In that state he
worked at farming, and in a sugar factory in
Sacramento, but came from the latter place to
Silver City and secured employment in the ^lin-
nesota mine on War Eagle mountain. That
mine was then a large producer and its stock ad-
vanced from fifty cents to fifty dollars a share.
As his capital has increased Mr. Berg has
made judicious investments in mining property,
and is now associated in business with Mr. Ouin-
lan, Tim Regan and Charles i\I. Hays. In addi-
tion to the Lone Tree mines he is now the owner
of other valuable property on the Florida moun-
tains, none of which is far from Silver City. He
has made a three-hundred-foot tunnel in the Lone
Tree mine, joining the Trade Dollar mine, and
the ore from the former assays from ten to one
hundred and fifty dollars per ton. Mr. Berg
also has another claim below the Lone Tree,
known as the Idaho mine, which has several
tunnels in it, while its ore assays as high as the
other. The Crown Point mine, just east of the
Idaho, is also his property, and its ore has as-
sayed as high as two thousand dollars per ton.
He owns the American Eagle mine, immediately
east of the others, and also has a tunnel there,
which is designed for a cross cut. He sold his
Hammerson mine, near the Black Jack, for sev-
enty-five hundred dollars. Mr. Berg has gained a
broad and practical knowledge, and is considered
a mining expert. His close study and applica-
tion, and his energj' and indomitable purpose,
have made him successful.
Mr. Berg is a "silver" Republican in politics
and served as a delegate to the "silver" Repub-
lican county convention. He is a member of the
Odd Fellows society, has filled all the chairs in
both branches of the order, and has twice been a
representative to the grand lodge. The hope that
led him to leave his native land and seek a home
in America has been more than realized. He
found the opportunities he sought, — which, bv
the way, are always open to the ambitious, en-
ergetic man, — and making the best of these he
has steadily worked his way upward. He pos-
sesses the resolution, perseverance and reliability
so characteristic of people of his nation, and his
name is now enrolled among the best citizens of
Owyhee county.
JAMES A. PINNEY.
The enterprise of our American citizens has
given the nation a position among the powers of
the world that it has taken other countries many
centuries to gain. The progressive spirit of the
times is manifest throughout the length and
breadth of the land, yet even to our own people
the growth and development of the west seems
almost incredible. Less than half a century ago
Idaho, California, Montana, Oregon and other
western states were wild and almost unpeopled
regions, without the railroad or other transporta-
tion facilities, without the telegraph or the varied
commercial and industrial industries of the east.
The hostile Indians made it a hazardous under-
taking to establish homes in the district, but
some fearless and sturdy spirits pushed their way
into the wild region, reclaimed it from desolation
and Indian rule, and to-day beautiful towns and
enterprising villages dot the landscape, and in
no particular are the improvements or the com-
forts or the advantages of the east lacking in this
district.
Among those who have made Boise one of the
most attractive and progressive centers of popu-
lation in the northwest is James Alonzo Pinney,
who has left the impress of his individuality upon
many of the business interests of the city and
thereby become an essential factor in the history
of its upbuilding. He is a native of Ohio, born
in Franklin county, on the 29th of September,
1835, descended from New England ancestry,
the family having been established in ^'ermont
at a very early day in the colonial epoch. Four
brothers emigrated westward to Franklin coun-
ty, Ohio, one of whom was Azariah Pinney, tlu-
grandfather of our subject. His father, Charle-
Pinney, was born in Ohio, and married Miss
Sarah Gardiner Fuller, who is still living, at the
a.ge of eighty-two years. ]\Ir. Pinney departed
this life in his eightieth vear. Thev were valued
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
117
members of the Methodist church. They had
nine children, but only three are now living.
During his early boyhood Mr. Pinney accom-
panied his parents on their removal to Iowa,
where he acquired his education. When only
fourteen years of age, in company with his father,
he crossed the plains to California with a party
of seventy-three men and two boys. They left
the present site of Omaha, on the 7th of May,
1850, and drove their horses to Salt Lake, where
they exchanged them for oxen, and then contin-
ued their journey, arrivine safely at Weberville,
on the loth of August. He spent eight years in
Shasta, Yreka and Crescent City. He engaged
in clerking for a time and then followed the pack-
ing business until 1857, when he returned to his
relatives in Iowa, making the journey by way of
the isthmus. He remained with his parents for
a year and then again crossed the plains, going
to Pike"s peak and later to Rogue river valley,
Oregon. Once more he engaged in the packing
business, and in 1862 went to the Salmon river
at the time of the excitement there. In the fall
of that year he came to the Boise basin and spent
the winter at Auburn, Oregon, where he engaged
in selling goods. In February he left that place
for 'Idaho City, where he arrived on the ist of
March, 1863. There he engaged in general mer-
chandising, but in 1864 a destructive fire swept
over the town and he lost everything he had. He
was then appointed postmaster, in which position
he served until 1872. In 1870 he opened a book
and stationery store at Boise, where he has since
resided, and has carried on an honorable and
profitable business. Study of the taste of the
public has led him to buy advantageously, and
his straightforward business methods and court-
eous treatment have secured to him a liberal
patronage. He has also been largely instru-
mental in the improvement of the town by the
erection of a number of important buildings.
He built an attractive residence and modern store
building, and at a cost of thirty-five thousand
dollars erected the Columbia theater, which has
a seating capacity of one thousand, and is one
of the best theater buildings in the west.
In an official capacity Mr. Pinney has probably
done more for the advancement of Boise than
any other one man. He was elected mavor of
the city in 1881 and served continuously until
1885. Again he was elected in 1888 and served
through the four succeeding years, so that he
had control of the reins of city government
for almost a decade. His administration was
most progressive, and during his service Boise
developed from a new and somewhat wild west-
ern town to a city whose beauties at once charm
and attract the visitor and have gained wide re-
nown. At the time of his first election no one
could cross the river to get in or out of the town
without paying toll; but that was soon done
away with. A fine cemetery ground was pur-
chased and improved; a sewerage system was
established and a fine city hall was erected, at a
cost of fifty thousand dollars, — a building which
would grace a city of much greater population
than Boise. Some opposed this work of improve-
ment, others found fault therewith, but Mr. Pin-
ney wisely kept on in the work he had planned,
and to-day the city certainly owes to him a deep
debt of gratitude.
In the social life of the city he has also been
an important factor. He was made a master
Mason in 1859, in Iowa City Lodge, No. 4, A. F.
& A. M., and after his removal to this state be-
came a charter member of Idaho City Lodge,
No. I, — the first lodge organized in the state.
He was a very active and zealous worker therein,
and filled nearly all of its offices. He demitted
therefrom in order to join Boise Lodge, No. 2,
of which he has since been a valued member
and of which he is a past master. He has also
taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar de-
grees, is a member of the Mystic Shrine, and for
six years he filled the office of high priest oi the
chapter. He has held various offices in the
grand lodge of Idaho, and in 1893 was grand
master. He has a thorough knowledge of the
ritual and governs his life by the beneficent and
humanitarian principles of the order.
Mr. Pinney was married December 17, 1873,
to W\ss Mary Rodger, a native of Oregon and
a lady of Scotch descent. They have had four
children, namely: Ida Belle, wife of C. F. Bas-
sett; James Rodger, who died of spinal menin-
gitis in his eighteenth year, while attending
school; Paralee and Annise Fuller. The family
are members of the Episcopal church and enjoy
the high esteem of the citizens of Boise.
Air. Pinney is a man of the most genuine
118
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
worth, whose courtesy is unfaihng, whose integ-
rity is above question. Without ostentation or
any desire for praise he has labored most earn-
estly for the welfare of Boise, and his efforts
haye redounded to the credit and benefit of
Idaho's capital city.
WILLI.\M LAUER.
Since the establishment of Payette William
Lauer has been identified with its development
and upbuilding, and his labors have been most
effective in promoting its welfare. He is the pio-
neer hardware merchant of the town, and still
continues in that line of business, his well di-
rected efforts bringing him success. He is
among the worthy citizens that the Fatherland
has furnished to the New World, his birth having
occurred in Germany on the nth of November,
1833. In his youth he crossed the Atlantic t©
New York with his father, Isaac Lauer, who
made his home in the eastern metropolis until
called to his final rest. His death occurred in
his eightieth year.
William Lauer had attended the public schools,
of his native land, and was fifteen years of age
when he came to America. He learned the tin-
ner's trade in New York city, and there remained
for seven years, when he resolved to leave the
Atlantic coast and seek a home on the Pacific
coast. In 1854 he sailed from New York to San
Francisco, and engaged in merchandising in
Siskiyou county, California, where he remained
until 1861, when he came to Idaho, attracted by
the Oro Fino excitement. He engaged in clerk-
ing and also in placer mining, but his efforts in
the latter direction did not prove successful. For
his services as a salesman, however, he received
one hundred dollars per month. Later he visited
the various mining camps in Idaho, was in Elk
City and in Florence, finally returned to Lewis-
ton, and subsequently went to Warren, where he
met with success, both as a merchant and in the
mines, for the mineral deposits were very rich in
that locality. In 1863 the excitement over the
discoveries in the Boise basin was at its height,
and with others he went to that section of the
state. For two years he engaged in clerking
and then opened a store of his own, but had
been in business only nine days when almost the
entire town was wijjed out by fire, and his savings
of many vears were totally swept away. His
losses amounted to fifteen thousand dollars, but,
not discouraged, he resumed business almost im-
mediately, the new store rising phoeni.x-like from
the ashes. He continued merchandising there
until 1878. after which he engaged in mining and
in the sawmill business until 1885, when he sold
out and came to Payette.
This town had just been established, and the
depot was not yet built. Mr. Lauer purchased
two lots, erected a store building and became the
pioneer hardware mercnant in the town. He has
since continued in this line of business, and en-
joys a large trade, which has grown with the
increasing population. By close attention to
business, enterprise and untiring industry, he has
attained a fair degree of prosperity, and notwith-
standing his heavy losses by fire is now ac-
counted one of the well-to-do citizens of Payette.
On the 27th of February, 1867, in Portland,
Oregon, Mr. Lauer wedded Miss Bertha Ober-
dorfer, a native of Germany, and their union has
been blessed with four sons and a daughter.
Isaac H. was born in Portland, but the others
are natives of Idaho. Milton, who was born in
Idaho City, is now a successful liveryman of
Payette; James A., born in Idaho City, is en-
gaged in general merchandising in Payette;
Edwin is clerking for his brother; and Lillie is
at home with her parents. The parents and chil-
dren are all working together in the greatest har-
mony, and all are respected members of society
in Payette.
Mr. Lauer has been a life-long representative
of the Democracy, and does all in his power to
promote its growth and insure its success. He
has been a useful member of the school board
and was serving in that capacity when the com-
modious brick school building was erected. Since
1858 he has been an exemplary and leading
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, belonging to both lodge and encampment,
in the former of which he has filled all the chairs
and is now serving his third term as noble grand.
Since 1861 he has been a resident of Idaho, and
through the thirty-eight yearg which have since
passed he has practically witnessed the entire de-
velopment and growth of the state. He resided
within her liorders when her towns were little
more than mining camps, and has been an im-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
119
portant factor in the work of progress and im-
provement, so that he well deserves mention
among the honored pioneers.
JOHN M. SILCOTT.
Almost forty years have passed since John M.
Silcott took up his residence in Idaho, and he
is therefore one of the oldest and most widely
known pioneers of the state. He came in the
spring of i860 to establish the government In-
dian agency at Lapwai, and has since been iden-
tified with the growth and development of this
section. He is a Virginian, his birth having oc-
curred in Loudoun county, of the Old Dominion,
January 14, 1824. His French and Scotch an-
cestors were early settlers there, and during the
Revolution and the war of 18 12 representatives
of the family loyally served their country on the
field of battle. William Silcott, the father of our
subject, married Sarah Violet, a lady of Scotch
ancestry, and about 1828 they removed with the
family to Zanesville, Ohio, where the father en-
gaged in business as a contractor and builder.
He was liberal in his religious views, and his wife
held the faith of the Presbyterian church. His
political support was given the Whig party and
the principles advocated by Henry Clay. Only
two children of the family of five are now living,
the sister being Sarah T., who married Captain
Abrams, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Mrs.
Abrams now makes her home in Baltimore,
Maryland. In 1845 the family removed to St.
Louis, where both the parents died.
Mr. Silcott received a common-school educa-
tion in Zanesville, Ohio, and one of his school-
mates was "Sunset" Cox, afterward distinguished
in the United States congress. In his early life
our subject learned the carpenter's and boat-
builder's trades, which knowledge afterward
proved of great practical benefit to him in his
pioneer life in the west. He began to earn his
own living when only thirteen years of age, by
rtorking on a flatboat and as cabin boy on a
steamboat plying the Ohio and Mississippi riv-
ers. In 1847 he entered the employ of the gov-
ernment and was sent to Brazos, Santiago, which
• was then occupied by General Taylor as a base
of supplies for the American army, then engaged
in war with Mexico. The news of the great gold
discoveries in California in 1849 decided him to
make the voyage around Cape Horn to San
Francisco, where he found immediate employ-
ment at his trade, wages being very high and
mechanics in great demand. He also worked at
his trade in Sacramento, both cities being then
in the first stages of their great growth, which
was to make them the metropolitan centers of the
Pacific coast. Later, with three others, Mr. Sil-
cott went to Yreka, where they acquired placer
claims and took out on an average of one hun-
dred dollars per day. They bought a wagon, made
a cart of it and hauled the dirt to the creek, where
they washed it and secured the gold. They very
successfully continued their labors until the sum-
mer, when the creek dried up and they were
obliged to abandon work.
Mr. Silcott then engaged in prospecting on
Scott river, and assisted in building Fort Simqua.
In 1850 the Rogue river excitement caused him
to make the voyage to Portland, Oregon, on the
steamship named for that state, this being her
first trip from San Francisco to Astoria, at which
time she carried the news of the admission of
California to the Union. After prospecting in
Oregon for some time without success Mr. Sil-
cott returned to Sacramento and worked at his
crade. In 1858 he made his way to the Fraser
river, in British Columbia, attracted by the gold
discoveries in that region, and underwent many
hardships there, having to fight Indians much
of the time. There again he was unsuccessful in
his mining ventures, and he sold his outfit in or-
der to get money to take him back to California.
His bacon sold for one dollar per pound, but on
reaching Portland he again found himself with-
out money and was obliged to borrow eighty dol-
lars from a friend. He then made his way to
Fort Walla Walla, arriving there about the time
General Harney proclaimed the country open for
settlement. Mr. Silcott engaged in building and
selling shacks and remained there until i860,
making money rapidly. It was in that year that
he came to Lapwai and established the Indian
agency, having charge of the same for a year.
In the fall of 1861 he went to the Snake river
six miles below Lewiston, and out of whip-sawed
lumber built one of the first ferries across the
Snake river. The gold discoveries in this vicin-
ity brought many hundreds to the neighborhood,
and Mr. Silcott accordingly did a large business,
120
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
taking in as high as four hundred dollars per day.
The rate for ferrying a horse and wagon was
five dollars, and for each additional team fifty
cents; a man tmmoimted paid fifty cents; for
animals with packs a dollar and a half was paid ;
for horses and cattle fifty cents each; hogs and
sheep twenty-five cents each. Large flocks and
droves were frequently taken over, and in ronse-
cjuence the ferryman made money rapidly. In
1862 he established the ferry across Clearwater
river at Lewiston, and has since conducted the
business. As time has passed the ferry fare has
been gradually reduced until the rate is now very
moderate, a farmer with a team, crossing to Lew-
iston to trade, being ferried across and back for
twenty-five cents.
In 1862 Mr. Silcott aided in platting Lewiston
and became the possessor of a large amount of
property there. Many of his lots were "jumped"
by the new comers, but he raised no objection, as
he did not consider the land of much value, but
with the passing years and the increase of popu-
lation it has become very valuable and desirable.
There is probably no resident of this part of the
state more widely known than Mr. Silcott. As
ferryman he formed the acquaintance of all who
came to the region, and his identification with the
growth and progress of the city has also made
him widely known.
In those early days there were few white wom-
en in the country, and Mr. Silcott selected for
his wife a beautiful Indian girl, the daughter of
Timothy, the Christian Nez- Perces chief, a life-
long friend of the Rev. Mr. Spalding and the
white settlers. Mr. Silcott's wife was baptized by
iMr. Spalding with the Christian name of Jane.
She was a true, good wife and faithful compan-
ion, and together they traveled life's journey un-
til 1895, when they were separated by death. Mrs.
Silcott was called to the home beyond and her
last resting place, on the Silcott homestead, is
marked by a marble monument.
In his political afifiliations Mr. Silcott was orig-
inally a Whig, but later became a Democrat and
was a delegate to both of the national conven-
tions which nominated Grover Cleveland for the
presidency. He was also a member of the com-
mittee of notification, but aside from this he has
always declined office, nor has he identified him-
self with anv societv. He is a genial, cordial
man, kind-hearted and charitable, and a citizen
of the utmost worth and integrity. In 1874 he
erected a pleasant home on the banks of the beau-
tiful Clearwater, near the boat landing, and there
resides, the good genius of the ferrv. which he
has now operated for thirty-eight years. He is
one of Idaho's honored pioneers, and the history ■
of the state would be incomplete without the I
record of his life.
THOM.'VS D.WIS.
The founders of a state are not merely the men
who handle the reins of government and control
the public policy, but are also those who carry
civilization into hitherto wild regions and develop
the natural resources of the state: Such an one
is Mr. Davis, who came to Idaho in pioneer days
and was the first to establish the fact that this is
an excellent fruit-producing region. Thus he in-
troduced a new industry and thereby largely pro-
moted the material welfare of the region. His
business interests have ever been energetically
and successfully managed and his reputation in
commercial circles is above reproach.
Mr. Davis is a native of Ohio, his birth having
occurred in Cincinnati, on the 2d of January,
1838. His father died during the early childhood
of the son, who was then bound out until he had
attained his majority. He was sent to the district
school during the winter season, while during the
summer months he labored early and late in the
cultivation of the fields. When a young man of
twenty-three years he joined a company of sev-
enty-five men en route for the west. He drove
his own team of mules and was accompanied by
his brother Francis, who has since died. They
were persuaded by some Mormons to travel by
way of the Sublette cut-ofif. Fort Lemhi was then
occupied by Mormons. At that place they found
they could go no farther with the wagons and
that it had been the plan of the ^lormons to force
the emigrants to sell their wagons and provisions
very cheap. They offered to buy the new wag-
ons for five dollars each and for the provisions
offered prices equally low, but Mr. Davis' party
w-ere not to be cheated in this way and resented
the conduct of the followers of Joseph Smith ; so,
loading all the goods they could upon theii
horses, they made huge piles of the remainder,
together with the wagons, and set fire to all. The
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
121
horses, however, were not accustomed to carry-
ing packs, and when they started they became
frightened and stampeded. The utensils and pro-
visions were thus badly shaken up; but after
considerable excitement the animals were quieted
and the journey was resumed. The road was
mostly an Indian trail, leading over high peaks,
which they had considerable difficulty in climb-
ing. On the 3d of July they were in a hard snow -
storm. On one occasion they found a white
man pierced by Indian arrows, but they did not
suffer at the hands of the hostile savages, and on
the 4th of July reached Elk City in safety, but
without provisions. They then went to Walla
Walla and later came to Boise.
Air. Davis first engaged in mining at Idaho
City, and in 1863 took up three hundred and
sixty acres of government land, — the property on
which his beautiful home now stands and on
which the depot is located. It is now very val-
uable and has brought to the owner substantial
financial returns. Owing to the scarcity of vege-
tables and fruits, Mr. Davis resolved to engage
in horticultural pursuits, and has since followed
that calling with excellent success. He purchased
his first seed crop for twenty-five cents per pound
— onions, cabbages and potatoes, — and at the end
of the season the products were sold for fifty
thousand dollars. In the spring of 1864 he
planted the first orchard in this section of the
country, setting out seven thousand apple-trees,
which had been shipped to him at a cost of a
dollar and a quarter each. This orchard, now
thirty-five years old, is still standing on the prop-
erty, and has paid for itself many times over, but
is soon to be cut down, for the ground is needed
for city lots. In 1872 the apples sold at twelve
and a half cents per pound and the profits were
between ten and fifteen thousand dollars. The
earlier fruit from the orchard brought as high as
twenty-five cents per pounu. Other citizens
platted orchards, but for one or two seasons the
grasshoppers were very bad and destroyed many
of them. Mr. Davis resolved to save his, if pos-
sible, and employed a large force of men for sev-
eral weeks to shake the trees from four o'clock
until late in the afternoon. The grasshoppers
were thus shaken to the ground and ate the vege-
tation under the trees, and in this way the or-
chard was saved. Mr. Davis now has seventy
acres planted to pears, prunes and apples. He
is also the owner of large tracts of land in differ ■
ent sections of the northwest: and is extensively
engaged in the raising of horses and cattle. He
is equally successful in this line ot business, for
his energy, sound judgment and thorough relia-
bility enable him to carry forward to successful
completion whatever he undertakes. Other busi-
ness enterprise in which he is interested have
contributed largely to the improvement and de-
velopment of the city, as well as added to his
individual prosperity.
In 1871 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Davis and Miss Julia McCrumb, a native of Can-
ada, who came to Boise in 1869. They now have
three sons and two daughters: Thomas, who is in
charge of the cattle owned by his father in Long
Valley ; Harry, who is managing the horse ranch ;
Ella, Edwin and Hazel, at home. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis are Episcopalians in their religious faith,
and throughout the community in which they re-
side they have many warm friends. In politics
the subject of this review has been a lifelong Re-
publican, and is an honored member of the Pio-
neer and Historical Societies of Idaho. His
adopted state owes its advancement and present
proud position to such men, — men possessed of
an enterprising, progressive spirit, who are re-
liable in business, loyal in citizenship and faithful
in friendship.
CHAPTER XIV.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE WORK OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN IDAHO.
IT S THE Catholic church has ever been the
I y pioneer in civiHzation, so that we find her
-*■ •*- name Hnked with the early history of all
lands, so, too, is it true of Idaho. Long before
the coming of the first settlers to our present
"Gem of the Mountains," we find the faithful
Catholic priest, laboring not for earth's golden
treasures nor ambition's honored guerdons, but
for the upbuilding of that grand edifice whose
comer-stone is Cluist, for the elevating and sav-
ing of souls who, without the ministration of the
"Anointed of the Lord," would never have been
drawn from the darkness of semi-barbarism into
the bright light of Christian faith. It is fitting,
then, that in a history of the state of Idaho the
work of the Catholic church be not omitted : so
with no apology to the reader of the present vol-
ume the author presents the following data care-
fully gathered from rnany sources, in the hope
that by his feeble pen the work of so many of
earth's noble men may be preserved to future
generations as an incentive to devoted labor on
the part of their followers, not less than as a
-'.leans of spreading a knowledge of the Catholic
Aurch. the mother of Christian churches and
the fountain-head of so much that is good and
true in history, art. science, and civilization.
The Catholic missionary to whom belongs the
honor of having held the first ecclesiastical juris-
diction over the territory now comprising the
state of Idaho was the Islost Rev. F. N. Blanchet,
archbishop of Oregon, who, in 1838, in company
of Rev. Modest Demers, was sent out to the Pa-
cific coast by Archbishop Signay, of Quebec, to
minister to the Catholics, chiefly French Cana-
dians, in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, and to establish missions among the In-
dian tribes. When, in 1846, the Pope erected the
see of Walla Walla, what is now Idaho became
part of the jurisdiction of that new see's incum-
bent, the Rt. Rev. Alagloire A. Blanchet, the
Archbishop's brother.
However, the first missionary work of the
Catholic church in Idaho was not done by these
men, but by the famous Indian missionary, Fatii-
er De Smet, who,' w-hilst on his way from St.
Mary's mission, in Montana, to Vancouver, in
the spring of 1842, met the Coeur d'Alene In-
dians on the spot now occupied by Fort Sher-
man. These Indians had heard of the arrival of
the "Black Robes" among the Flatheads; and
wishing to be equally privileged they asked the
Father to remain with them, to teach them all
about "Our Maker," as they called God in their
language, and all about the future rewards and
punishments of which they had heard. Not being
able to comply with their request for a longer
time than three days, he improved the oppor-
tunity by teaching the principal prayers and dog-
mas of the church in a manner of his own con-
ception that was very ingenious. With the aid
of an interpreter he translated into the Indian
language spoken by the Coeur d'.\lenes the sign
of the cross, the "Our Father" and "Hail Mary,"
the Apostles" Creed, the Ten Commandments, and
the Acts of Faith, Hope, Charity and Contrition.
The translation being completed, he made all the
younger members of the tribe stand in a circle
around him, demanding that they should always
take the same places when meeting for prayer
and instruction: then he entrusted to the mem-
ory of each but one sentence of the prayers, so
that the knowledge he desired to impart would
be divided among them all. Frequent repetition
by each in turn of what he had memorized se-
cured to all in a few days the knowledge of the
pravers in their entirety. In fact, on his return
trip the zealous missionary had the pleasure of
ascertaining that a large portion of the members
of the tribe knew the prayers by heart. This in-
duced him to send missionaries, and in tlie fall
of the same year Father Nicholas Point and
Brother Charles Huet left the Flathead mission
in Montana under the escort of a deputation of
St. John's Cathedral, Boise, Idaho.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
123
Coeur d'Alenes who had gone there for the pur-
pose of bringing the promised "Black Robes" to
their territory. Father Point and Brother Huet
selected for their first establishment a site on the
south fork of the Coeur d'Alene river and placed
it under the patronage of St. Joseph. St. Joe
river owes its name to that first Catholic mission.
Two years later the venerable Father Joset, who,
after ministerial labors covering more than half a
century, still lives among the Indians, joined
himself to the first missionary. About this time,
the fall of 1844, Father De Smet converted and
baptized a number of Kootenai Indians, and in
the spring of 1845 about a dozen of the Nez
Perces tribe, mostly chiefs, begged .to be in-
structed in the Catholic faith. As the Nez Perces
language differed from that of the Coeur d'Alenes,
which the Fathers had already succeeded in
learning, they had to have recourse to a Coeur
d'Alene Indian, who himself spoke the Nez
Perces but indifferently, to act as interpreter.
With his aid and that of signs they succeeded in
converting a few of the Indians who had come to
the mission. They came again in 1846, and one
of their number, an old chief, was baptized at a
time that his life was despaired of on account of
a serious illness. He recovered, however, and
lived to save the life of Mr. Spaulding's family by
giving them shelter in his own house during the
turbulent times which followed upon the murder
of Dr. Whitman.
The same year the mission on the banks of the
St. Joe river was abandoned, because the site, al-
though an ideal one in the fall, was every year
flooded by the spring freshets and consequently
rendered unsuitable for the agricultural pursuits
upon which the Fathers depended so much to
civilize their Indian neophytes.
The location of the second Catholic mission in
Idaho was on the banks of the Coeur d'Alene
river, at a point now known as Old Mission or
Cataldo. It was there that in 1853 was begun
by Fathers Gazzoli and Ravalli, who had as-
sumed charge of the mission two years pre-
viously, the building of the first Catholic church
erected in Idaho. That structure still stands, a
silent witness to the zeal and energy of the Jesuit
Fathers, about sixteen miles from the Coeur
d'Alene lake, where the steamboats make their
upper landing. Father Ravalli drew the plans
for the imposing structure which the Indians, un-
der his direction and that of Brother ^lagri, exe-
cuted. The magnitude of the task undertaken
by the Fathers and the untutored savages may
partly be realized when one reflects that they had
at their disposal none of the tools and conven-
iences for building which are considered indis-
pensable in civilized communities. They manu-
factured trucks, harnessed themselves to them,
and brought down the timbers, rocks, etc., to the
spot selected. They had no nails, so they turned
out wooden substitutes which to this day hold the
different parts of the building together. The red
men of the forest received no pay and asked none ;
but worked solely for the honor and glory of God.
Not to be allowed to work on the building was
considered severe punishment, which was some-
times inflicted for disobedience to orders, to the
great humiliation of the culprit.
That the Jesuits did not always have smooth
sailing with their Indian converts is evidenced
by the war made upon the government troops in
1858, in which the Coeur d'Alenes, in spite of the
efforts made by Father Joset to dissuade them,
took an active part. In consequence of this re-
bellion the Fathers resolved to abandon the mis-
sion; but General Clarke, commander of the De-
partment of the Columbia, and Colonel Wright,
who had led the expedition against the Coeur
d'Alenes and other tribes and had defeated them,
urged the missionaries to stay at their post, say-
ing: "These Coeur d'Alene Indians will yet be-
come good." Their present condition fully veri-
fies that prophecy.
Because of a decision of the department of the
interior which left the mission ground outside of
the Indian reservation, and because the rush of
miners into the Coeur d'Alene mining district
brought the Indians in too close a contact with
the whites, whose association has always been a
source of evil to them, the Coeur d'Alene mission
was removed in 1878 to the spot now known as
De Smet mission. De Smet mission is situated
in the midst of a rich agricultural district about
ten miles from Tekoa, Washington. Any one de-
sirous of convincing himself of the success of the
Jesuits in civilizing and Christianizing the Coeur
d'Alenes has but to pay a visit to that mission
and to the reservation of which it is the center.
The neat farm houses, the well tilled fields, the
124
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
general appearance of prosperity visible every-
where, show that the savages whose excessive
cruelty distinguished them among the neighbor-
ing tribes and won for them the title indicative
of tneir character, that of Coeur d'Alenes —
' Hearts of Awls" — are now peaceable and thrifty
farmers, a credit to their teachers and pastors.
The first Catholic priests appointed to minister
lO the spiritual wants of the white settlers whon;
the discovery of gold was daily leading to the
placer diggings of southern Idaho were the Rev-
erend Fathers T. Mespiie and A. Z. Poulin, who
were sent from Portland to Boise basin, by Arch-
bishop F. N. Blanchet, in the summer of 1863, —
less than a year after the arrival of the first min-
ers. Fathers Mespiie and Poulin were well quali-
fied for work amidst the mountain wilds and in
the rather chaotic state of society in which a
rough and depraved element abounded. Both
were gentlemen of culture, well educated and very
anxious to build up the church in the district
assigned to them ; they were also of good phy-
sique, strong, hardy, and capable of bearing un-
flinchingly— in their travels from place to place,
to attend sick calls or afford the scattered Cath-
olic miners an opportunity of performing their
religious duties — the many sufferings consequent
upon the severe Idaho climate. Broad and liberal
in their views, they were not long in gaining the
good will of the sturdy miners who had come
from all points of the compass, bringing with
them the virtues and vices of their respective
nationalities, all having but one common aim —
the amassing of gold; all courageous and adven-
turous, incapable of quailing before discourage-
ment, and prepared to encounter any disaster;
many of them rough and uncouth, perhaps, but
invariably generous and without religious preju-
dice, ready to patronize charity at all times, and
doing it without stint. Thanks to the unbounded
charity of the people among whom they had
come to labor. Fathers Mespiie and Poulin
were able within the short period of six months
to erect four churches, — St. Joseph's, at Idaho
City (then called Bannock) ; St. Thomas', at Pla-
cerville; St. Dominic's, at Centerville, and St.
Francis', at Pioneer City. They were all small
frame buildings, it is true, yet, with lumber at one
hundred dollars per thousand feet and carpenter's
wages six dollars a day, the task to raise the
money for these structures could not have been
altogether a sinecure, even considering the min-
ers' promptness in answering to the priests' call
for assistance. The Idaho City church, built on
East Hill, above Bannock Bar, was the largest
of the four and the first to be completed ; it cost
between three and four thousand dollars. "Every
man, woman and child almost, in and around
Idaho City," says Elliot's History of Idaho, "con-
tributed, more than willingly, more or less to-
wards this sacred object." The other churches
were of smaller dimensions, but large enough to
accommodate the congregations of the respective
communities wherein they had been built. Ser-
vices were.held in all of them on Christmas, 1863.
Father Mespiie celebrated midnight mass at St.
Thomas', Placerville, whence he proceeded to
Pioneer to ofifer up the second mass, and thence
to Centerville, where he Celebrated the third;
Father Poulin offered up the customary Christ-
mas masses, including midnight mass, at St. Jo-
seph's, Idaho City. As the Catholic churches
were at that time the only ones in the Boise basin
we need not be surprised to read in the news-
paper accounts of that first Christmas in Idaho,
that they were filled to overflowing; for it was
but natural that the services should be attended
not only by Catholics, but also by many non-
Catholics, desirous of paying on that day of all
days their worshipful homages to the God made
man for their salvation. The Catholic miners
of those early days and their fellow citizens gen-
erally throughout the Basin were proud of the
Catholic church edifices that had been reared in
their midst, as they visibly attested, when in May,
1865, Idaho City was almost totally wiped out
by fire ; for, through the efforts of hundreds of
willing hands, St. Joseph's church was saved
from the fury of the flames, although all the other
buildings around it were destroyed. Immediately
after the conflagration Father Poulin, mindful of
the great law of charity, opened the structure to
the inmates of the county hospital, which the
flames had not spared. This action of the Cath-
olic priest won for him the gratitude of the entire
community, which, after that, showed itself more
generous than ever in responding to the appeals
he made for carrying on his work among them.
The second great fire of Idaho City, on the
17th of Mav, 1867, did not spare St. Jo.seph's as
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
125
the first had done, ahhough on this occasion,
also, great exertions were made by bands of in-
trepid and devoted men to save the edifice. The
church and structures connected with it were
vahied at ten thousand dollars and only one thou-
sand five hundred dollars' worth of property was
saved. Nothing daunted by their ill fortune,
Fathers Mesplie and Poulin went resolutely to
work on the building of a new house of worship ;
for not more than two months later the Idaho
World had the following paragraph: "Prominent
among the frame edifices in Idaho City is the
new Catholic chapel, upon the site of the church
destroyed by the May fire, on East Hill. It is not
quite completed, but it already presents the finest
appearance of any building in the city, and is a
credit to the place, to its architects and builders
altogether."
In the territorial legislature of 1867 some
members of the church, with more zeal than dis-
cretion, had a bill passed appropriating thirty
thousand dollars of territorial money for the erec-
tion of Catholic schools. The bill provided for
the issue of territorial bonds to the amount of
thirty thousand dollars, drawn in favor of F. N.
Blanchet, archbishop of Oregon, bearing interest
at the rate of ten per cent, per annum, and re-
deemable out of funds accruing out of the sale
of the thirty-sixth section of school lands. Gov-
ernor Ballard vetoed it and his veto was sus-
tained by the council and house. The ostensible
object of the framers of the bill was to assist the
Sisters of the Holy Name, who were conducting
successful educational institutions in Oregon, in
establishing schools in the Boise basin, whence
the support for the measure principally came.
The governor in vetoing it rendered a real service
to the church: for its real object was a political
one, namely, to secure for the party that fathered
it the support of the Catholic voters. For the
small benefit the Sisters would have derived' from
it, the church would have had to bear for years
the odium of having been supported from the
public funds. I hardly think that the Sisters
were disappointed because the bill failed of be-
coming a law; for in August of the same year
two of them came overland from Portland to
Idaho, accompanied by Father I. T. Malo. to se-
lect a suitable place for the establishment of an
academy. The citizens of Idaho City offering
the greatest inducements, it was decided to locate
the school there. It was opened January 2, 1868,
under the most favorable circumstances ; but the
encouraging prospects of the first year did not
last; for in 1869 there was a great exodus of
miners from the Basin and the school failing to
receive the necessary support, the Sisters gave it
up in June of that year. Bishop Lootens, who
nad been in charge of the ecclesiastical affairs of
the then territory of Idaho since February, 1869,
attempted to keep the Sisters in his vicariate and
to locate them at Boise; but as he could not give
them much assistance at the time and hoped but
little for the future, he allowed them to return to
Portland, which they did on the 27th of June.
The Rt. Rev. L. Lootens was the first vicar
apostolic of Idaho, having been appointed to that
office by Pope Pius the IX, in March, 1868, at
which time Idaho was cut oiT from the archdio-
cese of Oregon City. He received the episcopal
consecration, with the title of bishop of Casta-
balla, at the hands of Archbishop Alemany, in
the cathedral of San Francisco, August 9, 1868.
He had not been in Idaho more than six months
when he left it to be present at the ecumenical
council of the Vatican, whence he did not return
until 1 87 1. During his absence a new church
was built at Granite Creek, to replace one de-
stroyed by fire; and another was erected at
Boise, which was dedicated on the 25th of De-
cember, 1870, and reduced to cinders by a fire
less than three weeks after its dedication. These
two new churches were only partly paid for when
the flames consumed one of them, so that Bishop
Lootens found on his return from Rome the
financial burdens, which were already large when
he left his infant vicariate apostolic, increased in-
stead of diminished. These financial difficulties,
coupled with failing health, prompted him to
send in his resignation to Rome. This he did
in March, 1874; but, as it was not accepted until
the next year, he did not leave Idaho until Octo-
ber, 1875. After his departure the vicariate apos-
tolic of Idaho reverted once more to the jurisdic-
tion of the archbishop of Oregon, who was
named its administrator. The two priests left in
charge of southern Idaho at this time were Fath-
ers Mesplie and Archambault. The former, who,
before coming to the Boise basin, had worked
as an Indian missionary in Oregon, spent what-
126
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ever free time his arduous duties in the Basin
and surrounding country allowed him. in work-
ingr for the conversion and civilization of the In-
dians of southern Idaho. During the first years
of his stay in the Basin he paid, alternately with
Father Poulin, his colleague, semi-annual visits
to the Bannocks, Shoshones and Snakes. In a
letter to General Parker, commissioner of Indian
afifairs, dated February 13, 1871, ne says that
there are four hundred and fifty Catholic Indians
at the Fort Hall reservation, which had just then
been established, and he asks that the agent at
the reservation be instructed to allow him and
Father Poulin full liberty to evangelize these In-
dians, all well disposed towards the "Black
Robes." On the return of Bishop Lootens from
the \'atican council, Father Mesplie, who had
gone east on business connected with his Indian
proteges of southern Idaho, met his superior at
Leavenworth, Kansas, accompanied him to Idaho
City, where they arrived May 20th, made two
tours of the white settlements of his mission and
then went on horseback to the Fort Hall Indian
reservation, reaching it on the 8th of August,
after twelve days' travel. From there he writes
to i^ather De Smet, at St. Louis, that he intends
to make that reservation his headquarters for fu-
ture labors, because he thinks that as Captain 'M.
P. Berry, the newly appointed agent, is favorably
disposed towards the work of the Catholic church
for the Indians, the difficulty of converting them
will be materially lessened. He did not stay long
with them, however; for in August, 1872, he was
apjDointed a United States Army chaplain, and
having been assigned to duty at Fort Boise, he
resided there permanently from that time, al-
though he visited the Boise basin occasionally,
and also Owyhee county, where, in 1872, a
church had been built at Silver City through his
and Father Archambault's instrumentality.
Father A. J. A. Archambault came to the vic-
ariate of Idaho with Bishop Lootens in 1869, and
left it in 1880. He was a zealous worker, spend-
ing all the spare time his onerous pastoral duties
allowed him in educating the young. He had a
private school at Idaho City whilst he made that
town his place of residence, and one at Boise
when residing there. During his stay in Idaho
City the convent and school built there in 1867,
at a cost of seven thousand dollars, met the fate
of several other Catholic church structures in
Idaho, — it was consumed by fire. This sad event
took place on the 27th of April. 1877. But for
the heroic efforts of the people the present Idaho
City church would have been gutted by the
flames at the same time, for the burning building
was in dangerous proximity to the church.
In July, 1879, Archbishop Seghers, who had
just then been appointed coadjutor to Arch-
bishop Blanchet, started from Portland on a pas-
toral tour through the vicariate of Idaho, which
at that time included also portions of Montana.
He went by way of The Dalles to Lew-iston, visit-
ing the Lapwai Indian mission, the De Smet mis-
sion, and the St. Ignatius mission, among the
Flatheads in Mpntana, and came back into Idaho
through the Salmon river country. Fie arrived
at Salmon City, October 3d, and on October 4th
held the first Catholic services ever held in that
place: he had the same privilege at Challis and
at Bonanza. When he arrived at the latter place
the Yankee Fork Herald, in a very complimen-
tary article on the archbishop, stated that he was
the first minister of any denomination to visit
that city. He left Bonanza on horseback on the
1 2th of October, in the company of a merchant
and three miners, and after a very perilous jour-
ney through an unknown country he arrived at
Banner, October 26th. From Banner he went
to Idaho City, visiting all the towns of the Basin,
also Boise City and Silver City, being everywhere
warmly received by Protestants as well as Cath-
olics, who flocked to the churches and halls
where he announced the good tidings of salva-
tion. He made a second visit through Idaho in
1882. It is due to Archbishop Seghers that the
church in Idaho was again given, in 1885, after
ten rears of tutelage under an administrator, a
shepherd of its own in the person of our present
worthy bishop, the Rt. Rev. A. J. Glorieux.
Shortly after Archbishop Seghers' first visit to
Idaho Father Archambault was called to Port-
land and replaced here by Father L. \'erhaag,
now the efficient pastor of Baker City. Oregon.
During his three years' stay in Idaho he liqui-
dated the debt on the Boise City church and in-
augurated the building of a new house of wor-
ship at Granite Creek, Boise county. He was
the first Catholic clergyman to hold divine ser-
vices in the Wood river country, which he visited
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
127
in July, 1880, two months after his arrival in
Boise. When Father Xattini was sent to assist
him, in December, 1880, Father Verhaag re-
moved his headquarters from Boise City to the
Boise basin and left Father Nattini in charge of
the former town and of the Owyhee county mis-
sions. During the latter's incumbency of these
missions St. Andrew's church, at Silver City, was
torn down, because of its considerable distance
from the residential portion of the town and its
inaccessibility during the winter months ; a large
building known as the Graham building was
purchased from the Regan Brothers, for seven
hundred and fifty dollars, and was converted into
a church, which was dedicated on the 5th of No-
vember, 1882, by Archbishop Seghers, as the
Church of Our Lady of Tears. Father Nattini
also purchased the bell that to this day calls the
members of St. John's church, Boise, to worship,
as well as the bell pealing forth from the little
steeple of the Church of Our Lady of Tears.
When the latter bell was first heard in Silver
City the following paragraph appeared in the
Avalanche: "We uns of Silver City feel quite
civilized when we hear the church bell, which,
thanks to the energy of Father Nattini, now peals
forth in clear, ringing tones, calling the people to
worship. Just wait now till the new fire engine
arrives, and we guess Boise City won't put on
so many frills, and call us 'that little one-horse
mining camp over in the snow drifts.' Ain't it?"
On the arrival of Father Hartleib, in 1882,
Father Nattini began to give a great deal of his
time to the Wood river country, where he took
up his permanent abode in June, 1883, and where
he built St. Charles' church at Hailey. He was
also instrumental in erecting St. Peter's church
at Shoshone. Father Hartleib took his place and
that of Father Verhaag as missionary rector of
the counties of Ada, Boise, Owyhee and Wash-
ington. One of the latter's first duties was to fin-
ish St. Patrick's church at Granite Creek, which
Father \'erhaag had begun. During the seven
years of his pastorate Father Hartleib attended
most zealously the numerous but scattered settle-
ments of his vast parish. There was not a Cath-
olic home that the Reverend Father did not visit
at least twice a year, to ofifer up the holy sacrifice
of the mass and dispense the sacraments of the
church. It was his good fortune to welcome the
Rt. Rev. A. J. Glorieux when he came, in 1885,
to assume charge of the church in Idaho, as its
second vicar apostolic. With the advent of Bish-
op Glorieux the steady upbuilding of the church
in our state began in real earnest; and under him
it is still faithfully continuing. During the twen-
ty-two years that had elapsed since the arrival
of the first priests in southern Idaho to work for
the spiritual welfare of the whites there had been
a manifest lack of confidence in the permanency
of the towns which sprang up wherever any pre-
cious metals were discovered; the churches that
were built during that period denoted that the
main idea which presided at their construction
was, "They will be needed only for a short time."
The clergymen who succeeded one another in the
missions worked faithfully for the welfare of the
flocks committed to their charges; but they built
not for the children of their parishioners, as they
did not expect that these children would take
their parents' places before the altars erected in
the Idaho wilds. They were right in some in-
stances: for of the churches they reared, there
are those that have since been either torn down
or turned into profane uses for want of worship-
ers. So little were the priests of early days im-
pressed with Idaho's future that not one of them
sta}'ed with the vicariate beyond a few years,
after which other fields of labor were sought.
Not one lies buried in our midst. Whsn Bishop
Glorieux took charge church affairs at once as-
sumed a different aspect. Fired by the enthu-
siasm with which their bishop set to work under
the most adverse circumstances, the Catholic
priests and people became inspired with faith in
the future of the church of Idaho and thoroughlv
penetrated with the idea that they must build
for the coming generations as well as for the
present.
Bishop Glorieux arrived at Kuna on the 12th
of June, 1885; he was met there by Father F.
Hartleib. who escorted his lordship from that
place to Boise, then fifteen miles away from the
railroad. The Father's three years' sojourn in
Idaho had not contributed to make him fall in
love with it and, during the course of the lonely
stage trip from the railroad to the capital city,
he rather discouraged than encouraged his newly
appointed superior by the gloomy picture he
drew of the condition of the bishop's new field of
128
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
labor. The situation at Boise bore out the Fath-
er's uninviting description ; for all that the Bish-
op found there in the line of church structures
was a little shanty of a church and four small
rooms back of it, used as sacristy and living
apartments by the priest when in Boise. Hardly
any one was aware of the Bishop's coming and
the apathy of the citizens. Catholics as well as
Protestants, was such that no attention was paid
to it. Mr. James Flannagan. one of earth's no-
blemen, with that generosity characteristic of
Erin's sons, tendered the Bishop the hospitality
of his home. This was gratefully accepted and
partaken of till a suitable residence was built near
the church, which was to be the future cathedral.
With that determination of which Father Glor-
ieux had given so many proofs as president of
St. Michael's College, Portland, where it attracted
Archbishop Seghers' attention. Bishop Glorieux,
after a few days' stay in Boise, started on a sys-
tematic survey of the eighty-four thousand square
miles of territory assigned to his pastoral care.
In it he found less than three thousand Catholics,
of whom eight hundred were Coeur d'Alene and
Lapwai Indians. Two secular priests and four
regulars constituted his clergy; eight frame
churches, two schools for Indian children and
one school for white girls formed the sum total
of the religious institutions. Having satisfied
himself, after a visit to every inhabited spot of
the territory, and after traveling over every mile
of railroad and every stage line in it, that the
city offering the greatest advantages for the es-
tablishment of his headquarters was Boise, he
made it the seat of his ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
However, it was not sufficient to call Boise the
episcopal city; it must also be made so by the
character of its religious institutions. It had a
church, which, though small, was large enough
for the Catholics who attended it; so that the
Bishop's first care was to build a residence where
he and his priests might come to rest and study
at intervals between their missionary tours
throughout the country. This residence was
built in 1886. at a cost of two thousand five hun-
dred dollars. The Catholics of Boise were so
few and so little blessed with this world's goods
that all but two hundred dollars of this sum came
out of the allowance which the Association for
the Propagation of the Faith, whose headquar-
ters are at Paris, France, made for the Bishop's
sustenance. To it the Bishop moved his small
belongings over a year after taking up his resi-
dence in Boise, from IMr. Flannagan's, although
he still continued to be a guest at the latter's hos-
pitable board. The next thing in the line of im-
provements was the enlargement of the little
church and its appropriate decoration. This was
done in 1887, at a cost of one thousand seven
hundred dollars, of which the congregation con-
tributed about one hundred. In 1889 the Bishop
built, at a cost of six hundred dollars. St. Pat-
rick's Hall, to provide a suitable meeting place
for the societies of the parish. The same year he
brought the Sisters of the Holy Cross from
Notre Dame, Indiana, who, on the gth of Sep-
tember of that year, opened a day-school in St.
Patrick's Hall, adjacent to the church, and, on
the 20th, a boarding school and academy, with
one boarder, Miss Mamie Harrington, in the
house now the property and home of Senator
Shoup. As the school was a success from the
very beginning, it was not a difficult matter for
Bishop Glorieux to induce the superiors of the
Community of the Holy Cross to purchase, for
the sum of six thousand dollars, the . block of
ground on which St. Teresa's Academy now
stands. To the dwelling which stood on that
block and which had been Father Mesplie's
home, as U. S. chaplain for Fort Boise, the Sis-
ters removed their boarding and day school on
the 1st of April, 1890. During the winter of the
same year about one thousand five hundred dol-
lars was spent on an addition to the episcopal res-
idence.
In February, 1891. the Bishop received the
news of the serious illness of his mother at Dot-
tignies, Belgium. She had not seen him since he
left his native land to come to the missions of
Oregon, in 1867. and when she realized that her
end was near at hand the poor mother expressed
a longing to see once more her only son. who.
after leaving her to become a poor missionary
priest in a far western land, had, step by step,
been raised to one of the highest dignities in the
gift of the church. Anxious to comply with her
request, and at the same time to fulfill the obli-
gation which calls all the bishops of the Amer-
ican church to make a visit to the supreme Ro-
man pontiff, whose spiritual authority the Amer-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
129
ican Catholics recognize in common with the
Catholics throughout the world, once every ten
years, he left Boise on the 21st of February and
went directly to Belgium by way of New York
and Havre. Alas! When he reached the home
of his childhood he found it desolate; for his old
mother had died several days previously, offering
as a last sacrifice to her Maker the trial caused
by the absence of the Bishop, her son. After
traveling seven thousand miles, it was a hard
blow to be disappointed in the attainment of the
main object of his journey. For two weeks every
throb of his filial heart had been one of mingled
fear and hope; now that he saw his fears and
not his hopes realized, he said with Christian
fortitude: "God's will be done." Leaving Dot-
tignies and his ancestral home after a few days'
stay, he proceeded to Rome, where he was re-
ceived in private audience by the Holy Father
and where he assisted, in St. Peter's church, at
the ceremonies of Holy Week of that year. Hav-
ing spent several weeks in the capital of Chris-
tendom, he left it to visit the principal cities of
Italv. Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France,
Belgium, Holland, England and Ireland, and re-
turned to his vicariate in the month of October.
On his return the Catholic citizens of Boise gave
him a public reception of welcome and presented
him with a purse, which, though small, was large
for the congregation whose generosity had made
it. The warmth of the reception and the heartiness
with \thich the good Catholic people made their
gift, satisfied his lordship that they had learned
to appreciate the work he had done for them
since his coming, and that they were ready to
stand by him in the future in any undertaking
that his zeal for the honor and glory of God or
for the material welfare of the community would
suggest. Through the time of the Bishop's ab-
sence his progressive soirit had abided, as he was
pleased to ascertain on his return; for he found
at St. Teresa's Academy the building of a ten-
thousand-dollar school structure well under way
to completion; it was completed on the ist of
January, 1892. In 1893, in spite of the financial
crisis of that fated year. Bishop Glorieux laid the
foundation for St. Alphonsus' Hospital, which
institution was not, however, made ready for oc-
cupancy until the 27th of December, 1894. \\'hen
the Sisters of the Holy Cross moved into it fifteen
thousand dollars had been spent on the grounds
and structure and five thousand dollars more
were spent afterward in finishing and furnishing
the house. The same year in which the hospital
was completed six hundred dollars were paid out
for additions to St. John's church; these addi-
tions furnished seating capacity for a hundred
and fifty more people. In 1895 the same church
secured a four-hundred-dollar organ and beau-
tiful statues of the Sacred Heart and of St. John
the Evangelist, its patron.
Ten years had now elapsed since Bishop Glor-
ieux' appointment to the vicariate apostolic of
Idaho, and since his selection of Boise City for
the place of his residence, and each year some
notable improvement was either inaugurated or
carried out under his inspiration and leadership.
The advance made by the church in Idaho during
the first eight years of his administration, shining
out the more conspicuously by the side of the
stagnation of church affairs through the ten
years that followed upon Bishop Lootens's resig-
nation, moved the authorities at Rome to ad-
vance Idaho and its vicar apostolic a step in the
hierarchical ranks. Consequently, His Holiness
Leo XIII erected Idaho into a diocese and trans-
ferred Dr. Glorieux from the titular see of Apol-
lonia to the newly erected see of Boise City. The
promotion was a graceful acknowledgment of
the Bishop's services to the church, and it was
also an honor conferred upon the young state of
Idaho, for it meant that the ecclesiastical author-
ities regarded the church work there as estab-
lished upon a basis sufficiently solid to permit
it to stand on its own merits and resources. In-
deed, not only the Catholics of Boise had been
benefited by the Bishop's zeal and earnestness,
not only had they increased in numbers and been
spiritually advanced under his administration, but
the Catholics of the whole state had shared to a
like degree in the pastoral solicitude of their pre-
late and had seen their churches and the worship-
ers in them more than trebled between the years
1885 and 1895. Their Bishop was not in Boise
alone, he was everywhere in the state; for, year
after year, he visited all the towns of any conse-
quence within its confines, baptizing, preaching,
administering the sacrament of confirmation,
building or dedicating churches, schools and hos-
pitals. What is more, between the intervals of
130
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
rest, which he usually spent in Boise, he occupied
himself in co-operating with its most progressive
citizens in building up the town. Thus he was
instrumental in the organization of the first
board of trade, in 1891, and as long as that board
continued in existence he remained one of its
eleven directors, being elected each succeeding
term by the almost unanimous vote of its mem-
bers. When the board of trade gave place to the
mining exchange, Bishop Glorieux was again in
the van as one of its leading spirits, and, lately,
the chamber of commerce has placed him at the
head of some of its most important committees.
No appeal in which the general welfare of the
city is at stake is ever overlooked bv Bishop Glor-
ieux, who gives to it unreservedly all the time
and attention his episcopal duties permit. An
idea of the work the zealous prelate accomplished
outside of the city may be gathered from the fol-
lowing facts and data :
In October, 1885, the year of his arrival in
Idaho, he dedicated St. Peter's church at Shos-
hone, built under Father Nattini's supervision, at
a cost of three thousand dollars; in 1886, the
Church of the Sacred Heart, erected at Keuter-
ville, through the zeal of Father Diomedi, S. J.,
at a cost of one thousand five hundred dollars,
and also St. Mary's church at Ketchum, built
during Father Cesari's incumbency of the Wood
river missions: in 1887 he built and dedicated St.
Joseph's church at Pocatello, the first Catholic
church of that city, reared at an expense of six
hundred dollars: in 1890 he dedicated the
Church of the Holy Trinity, erected at Moscow,
under the pastorate of Father Diomedi, S. J., at
a cost of two thousand dollars; in 1889, the
church of Genesee built by the Catholics of that
town at a cost of five thousand dollars, shortly
before Father Hartleib assumed the rectorate of
the Latah county missions, where he had been
transferred from the missions of southern Idaho
on his return from a trip he made to Europe in
1888-9, and the same year he also dedicated St.
Francis Xavier's church at Bellevue, w^hich was
built under his personal supervision, at a cost of
one thousand eight hundred dollars.
The churches of Emmett, Mullan, Coeur
d'Alene Citv and Rathdrum were built in 1890
and had cost, the two former eight hundred dol-
lars each and the two latter one thousand two
hundred dollars and five hundred dollars respect-
ively.
In 1892 Father Hendrickx completed a church
at Garden \'alley, at a cost of four hundred dol-
lars; Father Hartleib the church at Juliaetta,
costing three hundred dollars; Father \"an der
Donckt the church at Glenn's Ferry, costing sev-
en hundred dollars, also the school at Pocatello,
erected at a cost of seven thousand dollars; and
the Sisters of Providence finished their forty
thousand dollar hospital at Wallace, — all of
which structures Bishop Glorieux dedicated that
same year.
The year 1894 saw new churches erected at
Wallace and Bonner's Ferry, the Bishop person-
ally supervising the building of the Bonner's Fer-
ry church, which cost one thousand two hundred
dollars, and Father Keyzer being the prime mov-
er in the erection of St. Alphonsus' church at
Wallace, on which two thousand dollars were
spent ; these the Bishop dedicated the same year.
The year 1895 brought with it the building of
churches at Grangeville and Wardner. Father
William Kroeger's labors made the Grangeville
church a reality and Father Keyzer's zeal se-
cured the Wardner church. Each had cost one
thousand two hundred dollars when the Bishop
dedicated it.
In 1896 only one church was dedicated, name-
ly, the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, at
Montpelier, at that time within the limits of the
mission of Father Van der Donckt, who ccfllected
and expended one thousand eight hundred dol-
lars on the structure. In 1897 Father Kroeger
finished at Keuterville, at a cost of five thousand
dollars. Holy Cross church, which took the place
of a small house of worship erected years ago bv
Father Diomedi. Holy Cross church was dedi-
cated the same year. In 1898 two new churches
were built in the missionary district presided over
by Father Van der Donckt and were dedicated by
the Bishop, — one at Pocatello, which cost seven
thousand dollars and replaces the one built in
1887, and another at Idaho Falls. In Wallace,
Father Becker built a pastoral residence at a cost
of three thousand dollars, and the Sisters of the
\'isitation reared at Lewiston a school building
on which they spent ten thousand dollars.
The year 1899 has already witnessed the erec-
tion of churches at Dempsey and Payette Citv
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
131
and is destined to witness the construction of at
least one other, at Weiser City, for which the
money has been collected and the contract let.
The above enumeration, as the reader will have
noticed, includes only the new churches, schools
and hospitals constructed during the Rt. Rev. A.
J. Glorieux' episcopacy. It must be added that,
with the exception of three, the churches which
he found when he took charge of the diocese
have been almost entirely renovated since, at dif-
ferent intervals. The three exceptions are the
Old Mission church in Kootenai county and the
churches of St. Thomas, at Centerville, and of St.
Francis, at Pioneer. The last two are no more ;
for the people that built them having deserted
their homes and non-Catholics having come to
take their abodes there, the churches have fallen
into decay. Considering that the Catholic popu-
lation of the vicariate apostolic of Idaho did not
reach the total of three thousand souls in 1885
and that to-day the diocese has not above ten
thousand, it is certainly remarkable that so many
churches and religious institutions were built in
it in so 'short a time. What is most creditable of
all is the fact that if the entire church debt of the
diocese were divided among its thirty-five
churches, the amount debited to each would not
exceed one hundred dollars. We venture to say
there is not one other diocese of the eighty-four
in the United States that can say as much for its
financial condition. This must be credited to the
Bishop's watchfulness and safe financial manage-
ment, his motto in matters of business being,
"Pay as you go along." That motto has always
stood him in good stead ; for he has none of the
worry following in the wake of debts to be paid
and obligations to be met when the treasurv is
empty. The Bishop's spirit has been imbibed by
his priests, and thev are proud to point to their
churches free of all debts and encumbrances.
As a diocese without priests is like an army
without other officers than a general, it behooves
us to add a few words, before concluding this
chapter, on the Bishop's co-labOrers in this por-
tion of the Lord's vineyard.
When Bishop Glorieux came to Idaho he
found in the field two secular priests doing duty
among the whites in southern Idaho and four
devoting their lives to the Indians in the northern
portion of the territory. Now there are six secu-
lar priests under him in southern Idaho and three
in northern Idaho, besides seven regulars of the
order of Jesuits and that of the Divine Saviour.
To assist the Bishop in Boise are the Rev. Fath-
ers J. Beusmans and J. Van der Heyden. The
Rev. T. J. Purcell has charge of Kootenai county,
where he attends five churches and four missions
without churches. Very Reverend J. M. Caruana
is the superior of the Coeur d'Alene Indian mis-
sion, at De Smet, and is assisted by three fathers
of the Society of Jesus. Latah county comprises
the missionary field of Father R. Keyzer, who
attends the churches of Moscow, Genesee and
Juliaetta and a dozen missions without churches,
some of which are in the counties of Nez Perces
and Shoshone. Rev. Father J. J. Burri, whose
field occupies the largest territory in the diocese,
has churches at Hailey, Bellevue, Ketchum,
Shoshone, Glenn's Ferry, and Silver City, all of
which he attends at least once a month. He has
besides about fourteen missions without churches
in the counties of Custer, Blaine, Lincoln, El-
more, and Owyhee, to which he pays from two to
four visits a year. Rev. J. Thomas is the spiritual
director of the Catholics who attend the churches
of Idaho City, Granite Creek, Garden Valley,
Emmett and Payette, and of a dozen stations
without churches scattered through the counties
of Boise, Canyon and Washington. Rev. Father
L. Mueller, S. D. S., has charge of Idaho county,
a county as large as the kingdom of Belgium.
The Catholic churches in that county are at Keu-
terville, Cottonwood and Grangeville.
In Nez Perces county Father M. Meyer. S. J.,
whose residence is at Lewiston, attends to the
whites, whilst Fathers H. Post, S. J., and Al.
Soer, S. J., have charge of the Lapwai Indians.
In Bear Lake and Bannock counties Catholics
are ably ministered unto by Father W. A. J. Hen-
drickx, whose manifest destiny is to become the
apostle of the Mormons. He recently erected a
little Catholic church at Dempsey, in the heart of
Morniondom The old Coeur d'Alene Mission,
where some Indians congregate occasionally and
where there are also a few whites living, is under
the spiritual supervision of Father F. Punghorst,
S. J. Father C. \'an der Donckt is Pocatello's
pastor; he also occasionally visits Idaho Falls,
where there is a church, and a few other places
in the counties of Len»hi Bingham, Fremont and
132
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Cassia. Father Van der Donckt enjoys the dis-
tinction of being the first priest ordained for the
vicariate of Idaho under Bishop Glorieux, and
also of being the oldest in point of years of ser-
vice of the present diocesan clergy, although he
has yet to see the thirty-fifth year of age. He
was ordained and received his theological train-
ing at the American College of Louvain, Bel-
gium, and came to Idaho in the fall of 1887; he
has been in the harness ever since, as the Bishop's-
right hand. Twice since he was appointed to the
missions of southeastern Idaho have they been
divided, and even now does the Father call for
another division and the appointment of a col-
league for part of the district to whose spiritual
wants he attends. Fathers Hendrickx and Burri
have for a few years past held the rectorship of
missions which Father Van der Donckt used to
look after single-handed, together with the dis-
trict over which he now presides. Wallace and
the whole Coeur d'Alene country is ably rectored
by Father F. A. Becker, formerly president of St.
James' College, at ^'a^couver.
The work of the Catholic church nobly carried
on in the state of Idaho by Bishop Glorieux and
his devoted little band of priests is supplemented
by the labors of four religious communities of
Sisters, numbering fifty-six subjects, engaged
some in nursing the sick at the hospitals of Wal-
lace and Boise, others in teaching the young in
the church schools of Boise. Pocatello, Genesee,
Lewiston and De Smet.
Idaho is on the eve of an era of prosperity and
progress. The railways that are projected and
in course of construction at various points of its
magnificent commonwealth testify that its re-
sources are beginning to be appreciated. People
are bound to flock to its borders within a short
time, to develop its mines, to cultivate its millions
of acres of virgin soil, and to appropriate for the
use of mankind the magnificent timber of its
wide-stretching forests. Among the new comers
there will undoubtedly be a fair percentage of
members of the Catholic church. The writer
would say to them that not only will they be
made welcome, but that their spiritual wants will
be attended to; for the devoted prelate who
guides the destinies of the church in this state is
ever on the alert to procure to all the children
of his flock the means to satisfy the spiritual as-
pirations of their nature. In many places they
will find churches as beautiful and pastors as de-
voted and able as any they have known in the
homes they left behind. Where there are no
churches as yet they will soon be built ; for there
is not now a community with at least twenty
Catholic families that does not have its own Cath-
olic church, and whilst Bishop Glorieux remains
at the helm there never will be.
RT. REV. ALPHONSUS J. GLORIEUX.
The bishop of the diocese of Boise is a native
of Belgium, his birth having taken place at Dot-
tignies, in the province of West Flanders. His
parents were Auguste and Lucy (Vanderghinste 1
Glorieux, both of whom were devout Catholics.
The father was a man of influence and a member
of the council of his township. He departed this
life in 1848, aged forty-nine years, and was sur-
vived by his wife until 1891, when she passed
away, at the age of eighty years. They were the
parents of four children, our subject being the
only son.
Alphonsus Joseph Glorieux attended the pub-
lic schools and later took a collegiate course of
six years at Courtrai, where he was graduated
in 1863, and then entered the American College
at Louvain, where he prepared for the priesthood
and was graduated in theology in 1867. He was
ordained by His Eminence Cardinal Engelbert
Sterckx, in August, 1867, and then came to
America, locating in Oregon, where he entered
upon his missionary work, being appointed to
Roseburg, from which charge he was transferred
to Oregon City and thence to St. Paul, or French
Prairie, the cradle of the Catholic church in Ore-
gon. In 1871 he was made president of St. Mich-
ael's College in Portland, Oregon, where he ac-
cjuitted himself with such ability that in 1884 he
was appointed \'icar Apostolic of Idaho, the
Catholic interests of that state having been, after
the retirement of Bishop Lootens. under the care
of the Archbishop of Oregon. Bishop Glorieux
was consecrated in the city of Baltimore, in April,
1885, the officiating prelate being His Eminence
Cardinal Gibbons, assisted by Archbishop Gross,
of Oregon, and Bishop Maes, of Covington, Ken-
tucky. He came immediately to Idaho, which
has been the scene of his labors ever since, and
here he has been an incessant toiler in the vine-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
133
yard of his JMaster. When he took charge of
the Idaho field, in 1885, the membership of the
Catholic church numbered two thousand and five
hundred: the number now exceeds ten thousand.
There were ten church edifices in the state: there
are now thirty-eight. He found but one school:
now there are four flourishing institutes of learn- "
ing. At that time there were no Catholic hos-
pitals: now there are three and all are doing well.
The number of clergymen has increased during
his term from six to twenty, the number of sisters
from fourteen to forty-five, and not only has the
Catholic church of Idaho in general felt the pious
impulse of Bishop Glorieux' consecrated life,
but Boise has been especially favored by his wise
ministry. Twice has the church building been
enlarged to accommodate the ever increasing
congregation, the large episcopal residence has
been erected, and St. Teresa's Academy and St.
Alphonsus Hospital have been built largely
through his labors.
Bishop Glorieux travels throughout the state
each year, preaching in all the churches and mis-
sions. He is one of the best church organizers
in the Catholic denomination in America, his re-
ligious zeal and piety being equaled only by the
purity of his life and the catholicity of his re-
ligious faith. Not only as a devout churchman,
but as a patriotic citizen, devoted to his country
and its flag, is his life lifted far above the com-
monplace. There has not been an enterprise af-
fecting Boise or the state in which he has not
taken a deep interest and of which he has not in
some sense been a promoter. He has been a
member and one of the directors of the board
of trade since its organization, and has been act-
ive on some of its committees. It is his mtention
to give Idaho his best efiforts for her advance-
ment and improvement, both morally and finan-
cially, and he enjoys the very high esteem of all
who meet him and who know him to be the un-
assuming Christian gentleman that he is.
CHAPTER XV.
THE INDIANS OF IDAHO— NEZ PERCES AND SHOSHONE UPRISINGS.
SOME notice of the original inhabitants of
Idaho is due the reader of this book,
even though that notice rhust necessarily
be short and its data largely traditional. With-
out a written language of any kind, unless it
was the use of the rudest and most barbarous
symbols, they have passed away and left no re-
corded history; without architecture, except
that which exhausts its genius in the construc-
tion of a skin wigwam or a bark lodge, they
have died and left no monuments. Traditions
concerning them are too confused, contradictory
and uncertain to satisfy any w'ho desire reliable
history. Any real information at all reliable con-
cerning them began with the publication of the
journal of the exploring expedition of Lewis and
Clarke in 1804 and 1805. Incidental notices of
various tribes have been given to the world by
other explorers and travelers, but very much
that has been written concerning them was not
the ascertainings of patient and continued per-
sonal investigation, nor yet the impressions of
any extended personal contact, but the chance
and hasty gatherings of unreliable traditions, or,
what was even less to be depended on than this,
the exaggerated recitals of some wild, camp-fire
stories. All these, of course, have a value as liter-
ature, and occupy an interesting place in roman-
tic story, but their ratus as history is not great.
When these people were first brought under the
study of civilized men two facts distinctly marked
them: One was that the tribes east of the Cas-
cade mountains had very different mental and
physical qualities from those residing west of that
range. The other was, that there was no form
or semblance of civilization of any character
among them; they were as entirely savage and
barbarous as the tribes of "darkest Africa." For
this first fact the marked difference in the cli-
mate, productions and consequent modes of liv-
ing necessary for them, furnishes a reason, if not
the reason.
West of the Cascade mountains the climate
was soft, moist; and its indigenous productions
were those that a rich soil would send forth in
such a climate. It was a region of large, deep
rivers; of numerous bays and inlets from the
ocean extending far inland, all filled with fish of
the finest and richest quality, easily taken, and
hence inviting to a life of effortless indolence and
ease.
Hence these aborigines were short of stature;
heavy and broad and fat of body; indolent and
sluggish in movement ; without alertness or per-
ception of mind; indolent and inactive in all their
habits; sleeping away nearly all but the little
time that was requisite for them to throw their
barbed harpoon into the shining side of the sal-
mon that swam on the shoals and sands of the
rivers and bays along which they thus droned
away their meaningless life, and the few ad-
ditional moments required to boil or roast it
sufficient to gratify their uncultured appetite.
East of the Cascade mountains the country
was a high, rolling, mountain prairie, averaging
from one to six thousand feet above the tides
of the ocean. The streams are rapid, boiling
torrents. The climate was dry and the natural
vegetable productions were minimized; it was
almost a desert. It furnished abundance of grass
for grazing, and its vast distances of hill and
plain required their use for locomotion. Hence
these tribes were equestrian, rather than semi-
aquatic like the tribes of the lower rivers and
sea inlets. The mountains were covered with
open and scattering forests of pine, with occa-
sional groves of fir and tamarack, almost w'ith-
out undergrowth, through and over which tho
horseman could ride almost unhindered in any
direction. The game, such as elk, deer, ante-
lope, bear, buffalo, mountain sheep and goats,
ranged both plain and mountain; furnishing
the chief food of the tribes that inhabited this
region. To take it. however, required activity.
i
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
135
cunning, courag-e, and hence developed a tall,
stalwart, erect, active race of men; lithe and
springy as a panther; which animal, indeed,
many of the Cayuse and Nez Perces would re-
mind the jbservant traveler of Ijy the quick
stealthiness of their movement, the restless, pene-
trating glance of their eye that caught every
quivering motion of leaf or feature; the sensi-
tiveness of their ear, that missed no snap of twig,
or tread of foot ; and their ever-tensioned sinews
ready for the spring of attack or the speed of the
flight.
Of all the Indians in Idaho the Nez Perces
had the highest degree of intelligence, and prob-
ably of social morality also. The men were tall,
large, upright in bearing, generally of open
countenance and intelligent expression. The
women were rather fairer in color, and much fair-
er in form or feature, with easier and more grace-
ful carriage than the women of other tribes.
They were also much neater in person. Though
they were brave in war, yet it was long before a
Nez Perces took up arms against the white man ;
but when he did he proved himself the equal in
generalship and in valor to his white-faced
brother. The Nez Perces have withstood contact
with civilization better than any other tribe of the
northwest, and they have taken on not a little of
the spirit of its progress. They have many farms,
with improved implements of husbandry ; many
homes with organs, sewing machines, carpets and
other comforts of civilized life. What Lewis and
Clarke found them when they reached their
country in the autumn oi 1805, and what Bonne-
ville described them as he found them twenty-
five years later, they have been found up to the
present time.
The Xez Perces have had some chieftains
worthy in all respects to take rank with Brandt,
Tecumseh, Keokuk, or any of the chieftains of
the eastern states. Ishholhoatshoats, or Lawyer,
as he was named by the whites, was both a states ■
man and a warrior. Bold, yet cautious, he knew
when and how to strike the most effective blows.
Timothy, the first man admitted to membership
in the church under Air. H. H. Spaulding, for so
many years the tencher of this people, had a com -
manding manhood, and was the brave and stead-
fast friend of the whites. Joseph the younger,
who never forgot that he was an Indian, and as
such cleaved to his people to the last, was a
consummate soldier; and, though his forces were
much smaller than those of General Howard in
the great Nez Perces war he proved that on the
battlefield or in the march he was as brave and
resourceful as that able and indefatigable general,
and that he could hold his warriors to the rifle's
front as steadily and long as he could his trained
soldiers.
The Cayuses were nearly related to the Xez
Perces. Their country lying contiguous, and
being of much the same character, with no diffi-
cult natural barrier between them, the tribes had
intermarried to a considerable extent. Still the
character of the Cayuses was not as noble and
truthful as was that of their relatives. They
were more treacherous and warlike, and less sus-
ceptible to improvement. It was among these
people, on the northern margin of their terri-
tory, that Dr. Marcus Whitman established his
missionary station in 1836, and, after he had
given them eleven years of the most devoted
instructions in the arts of peace and in the prin-
ciples of Christianity, it was they who barbar-
ously murdered him and his devoted and culti-
vated wife in a moment of savage frenzy. In' all
the wars with the whites occurring in eastern
Oregon the Cayuses were deeply and criminally
involved. Lacking in intelligence and nobleness
of the Nez Perces, they also lacked their real
bravery. Still they were cunning, crafty, full of
alertness and energy, and by no means a foe
to be despised.
The Skizoomish Indians were named by the
early French voyageurs Coeur d'Alenes (awl-
hearts), indicating that their spirits were small
and hard, as shown by their shrewdness in trade.
In 1820 there were two thousand of these In-
dians, but by the year 1890 there were only two
hundred and fifty, although they have ever been
subject to hostilities on the part of the United
States.
The native wild tribes of Idaho are now of
chiefly historic interest. The existing remnants
are confined to reservations, and are rapidly
learning the arts of peace and civilization.
The Indians inhabiting the most northern por-
tions of Idaho were the Kootenais, who dwelt in
British Columbia and the extreme northern por-
tion of Idaho: the Pend d'Oreilles, who dwelt
136
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
about the lake of the same name_, and for from
fift}' to seventy-five miles above and below the
lake on Clarke's Fork; and the Coeur d'Alenes,
who dwelt on Coeur d'Alene lake and its tribu-
taries. The Pend d'Oreilles and Coeur d'Alenes
belonged to the Salish family, which dwelt south
of the Shushwaps, between the forty-ninth and
forty-seventh parallels, and on the Columbia and
its tributaries. The remnants of these last-named
Indians now in Idaho are on the Coeur d'Alene
reservation. They number at present less than
three hundred, all converted to the Roman Cath-
olic religion. j\Iost of them have farms in sever-
alty, own houses, cattle, sheep, wagons, mowers,
reapers, and all necessary and improved agricul-
tural implements, raise large crops of wheat, oats,
potatoes, hay, etc.; they own droves of hogs,
and are to-day probably as prosperous and peace-
ful a tribe as can be found west of the Rocky
mountains. This tribe are self-supporting and
have never been at war with the white men.
They have schools under the direction of the
Roman Catholic nuns, and many of their young
people are acquiring a fair knowledge of the Eng-
lish language.
The Sahaptin family, like the Salish just de-
scribed, belongs to the inland tribes of the Co-
lumbia group. They inhabited the region be-
tween the Cascade and Bitter Root mountains,
and the forty-fifth and forty-seventh parallels. Of
its nations, the Nez Perces or Sahaptins ]5roper
dwelt on the Clearwater and its branches, and on
the Snake about the forks. Ross, in his work
entitled "Fur Hunters," says they derive their
name from the custom of boring their noses to
receive a white shell, like the fiuke of an anchor.
Most writers follow Ross in taking for granted
that these Indians were so named from some
habit of piercing their noses, though there is no
tradition of anything of the sort. According to
others it is a word tortured from nez pres, mean-
ing flat nose, which was given them by the old
French Canadian trappers in early days.
Mr. H. H. Bancroft, to whose work on the
Native Races of the Pacific Coast we are in-
debted for many of the items in the following
pages, states that in bodily strength the Sahaptin
Indians are inferior to the whites, but superior,
as might be expected from their habits, to the
more indolent fish-eaters on the Pacific. The
Nez Perces and Cayuses are considered the best
specimens, while in the north the Kootenais seem
to be superior to the other Shushwap nations.
The Salish are assigned by Wilkes and Hale an
intermediate place in" physical attributes between
the coast and mountain tribes, being in stature
and proportion superior to the Chinooks, but in-
ferior to the Nez Perces. Inland a higher order
of face is observed than on the coast. The cheek-
bones are still high, the forehead is rather low,
the face long, the eyes black, rarely oblique, the
nose prominent, and frequently aquiline, the lips
thin, the teeth white and regular, but generally
much vi'orn. The general expression of the fea-
tures is stern, often melancholy, but not as a rule
harsh or repulsive. Dignified, fine-looking men,
and handsome young women, have been re-
marked in nearly all the tribes, but here again
the Sahaptins bear ofT the palm. The complexion
is of decidedly coppery hue. The hair is gen-
erally coarse and worn long. The beard is very
thin, and its growth is carefully prevented by
plucking. Methods adopted by other tribes to
create deformities of the head are comparatively
unknown among the Nez Perces, who are gener-
ally better clad than some of their neighboring
tribes. They build houses of straw and mats in
the form of the roof of a house. Lewis and
Clarke's narrative refers to one of these as one
hundred and fifty feet long and about fifteen
wide, closed at the ends and having a number of
doors on each side.
War and hunting were their chief occupation,
but they were and are not infrequently compelled
to resort to roots, and berries, and mosses. The
favorite roots are the camas, couse, and bitter
root, and the natives to obtain these make regu-
lar migrations as for game or fish. The women
are generally much more kindly treated among
the Nez Perces and Pend d'Oreilles than among
the generality of aboriginal tribes.
In their personal habits, as well as the care of
their lodges, the Nez Perces and Kootenais are
mentioned as neat and cleanly. De Smet, how-
ever, represents the Pend d'Oreille women as
untidy, even for savages. "The inland families,"
says Bancroft, "cannot be called a warlike race."
They seldom resort to arms, yet when fighting
becomes necessary, the Cayuses, Nez Perces,
Flatheads, and Kootenais are notablv brave war-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
137
riors for defense or vengeance against a foreign
foe. The two former waged both defensive and
aggressive warfare against the Snakes of the
south, wliile the latter joined their arms against
their common foes, the Blackfeet. Departure on
a warlike expedition is preceded by ceremonies,
including councils of the wise, great, and old,
smoking the pipe, harangues by the chiefs,
dances, and a general review or display of eques-
trian feats and maneuvers of battle. After battle
they smoke the customary pipe of peace with
the enemy, and renew their protestations of
eternal friendship. In the matter of marriage,
the standard of a wife's qualifications is her ca-
pacity for work.
The Nez Perces have more and better stock
than other nations. Individuals often own large
bands of horses. The Kootenais are the most
northern tribe who are accustomed to the horse.
It is supposed that these animals were introduced
among the northern tribes by Shoshones from
the south, the last named being connected with
the Comanches, who obtained horses from the
Spaniards during the sixteenth century. The
rights of property are duly respected, but it is
said that among the Salish nations on the death
of the father his relatives would not scruple in the
least to seize the most valuable property, regard-
less of the rights of the children who are too
young to take care of themselves. With the
Pend d'Oreilles, when reduced to severe straits,
it was not uncommon to bury the very old and
very young alive, because, they said, "these can-
not take care of themselves, and they had better
die." On approaching his majority, the young
Pend d'Oreille would be sent to a high mountain
where he would have to remain until he dreamed
of some animal, bird, or fish, which was to be
thereafter his medicine. A claw, tooth, or feather
of such animal was thereafter to be worn as his
charm. The howling of certain beasts, especially
of the medicine wolf, was supposed to forebode
evil. Among the Nez Perces it was the custom
to overcome the spirit of fatigue, or mawish as it
was called, by a certain ceremony which was sup-
posed to confer great powers of endurance. This
ceremony was repeated yearly from the age of
eighteen to forty, and the performance would
last three to seven days. It consisted of thrust-
ing willow sticks down the throat into the
stomach, a succession of hot and cold baths, and
fasting.
Medicine-men are supposed to acquire won-
derful powers by retiring to the mountains and
conferring with the medicine-wolf, after which
they become invulnerable, and bullets fired at
them flatten on their breast. They have a super-
stitious fear of having their portraits taken.
Steam baths or sweat-houses are used for the
purpose of purification in their religions rites.
These sweat-houses usually consist of a hole in
the ground from three to eight feet deep, and
about fifteen feet in diameter^ with a small hole
for entrance, which is closed up after the bather
enters. A fire is built in this retreat by means
of which stones are heated. In this oven-like
receptacle, heated to a suffocating temperature,
the naked native wallows in the steam and mud,
singing, yelling, and praying, and at last rushes
out dripping with perspiration, and plunges into
the nearest stream.
The good qualities of the Kootenais and Nez
Perces have been commended by all having ac-
quaintance" with them. "Honest, just, and often
charitable; ordinarily cold and reserved, but on
occasions social and almost gay: quick-tempered
and almost revengeful under what they consider
injustice, but readily appeased by kind treatment;
cruel only to captive enemies, stoical in the en-
durance of torture; devotedly attached to home
and family — these natives probably come as near
as it is permitted to flesh and blood savages to
the noble red man of the forest sometimes met
in romance."
The Nez Perces now on the reservation in Nez
Perces county at Fort Lapwai belong to the
treaty Indians as opposed to the non-treaty Nez
Perces who, under Joseph, were banished to In-
dian territory. The Nez Perces now in Idaho
have ever been stanch friends of the whites; they
are brave, but industrious and peaceable. With
the exception of the agricultural implements is-
sued to them by the government, they can be
justly termed self-supporting. Their means of
support are agriculture and stock-raising. Each
year witnesses decided advancements. The
children are said to be advancing nearly as rapid-
Iv in their school-room studies as average white
children, and show a remarkable aptitude in all
kinds of farm and garden work.
138
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
The Lemhi Indians are composed of Sho-
shones. Bannocks, and Sheep-eaters. The Sho-
shone or Snake Indians are fairly honest, peace-
able and intelligent. The Bannocks possess more
of the sly cunning and innate restlessness of dis-
position than would appear to be good for them
or agreeable to their nearest neighbors. The
Sheep-eaters are naturally quieter and less de-
monstrative than either, and therefore seem more
inclined to take life easy. The Shoshone ele-
ment largely predominates.
The Shoshone family is generally included in
the California group of native tribes. Their ter-
ritory formerly spread over southeastern Oregon
and southern Idaho, extending into Utah, Ari-
zona, and eastern Idaho. They are divided into
several tribes, of which the Bannocks were orig-
inally one. The word "Shoshone" means "Snake
Indian," though Ross is authority for the asser-
tion that it means "inland."
The Snakes are better dressed than the tribes
farther south, and make some pretensions to
ornamentation. Their clothing is generally made
of the skins of larger game, ornamented with
beads, shells, fringes, feathers, and pieces of bril-
liant-colored cloth. Their dwellings are also
superior to those of the Utahs, though consist-
ing chiefly of skins thrown over long poles lean-
ing against each other in the form of a circle.
A hole is left in the top for a chimney. Another
one in the bottom, about three feet high, is used
as a door, and closed by placing a skin against it.
The poorer Shoshones live on pine-nuts, roots,
berries, insects, rats, mice, and rabbits. Those liv-
ing in Idaho, however, generally are supplied with
plenty of fish and game. In their native wild
condition they can hardly be called a cleanly race.
Their characteristic weapon is the poggamog-
gon. "It consists of a heavy stone, sometimes
wrapped in leather, attached by a sinew thong
about two inches in length to the end of a stout,
leather-covered handle measuring nearly two
feet. A loop fastened to the end held in the hand
prevents the warrior from losing the weapon in
the fight, and allows him to hold the club in read-
iness while he uses the bow and arrow."
The Snakes had a limited knowledge of pot-
tery, and made very good vessels from baked
clay. Some of these were in the form of jars,
with narrow necks and stoppers. They pos-
sessed little knowledge of the use of boats beyond
crude and clumsy logs made of branches and
rushes, generally preferring to swim the streams.
Dried fish, horses, skins, and furs were their cur-
rency. No trade was indulged in unless preceded
by a solemn smoke. Among the Idaho Snakes
four and five beaver-skins were sold for a knife
or an awl. Horses were held at the value of an
ax. "A ship of seventy-four guns might have
been loaded with provision, such as dried buffalo,
bought with buttons and rings." The standard
of values was absurdly confused. The utility of
an article was a matter of no consideration. A
beaver-skin could be bought with a brass ring,
but a necklace of bears" claws could not be
bought for a dozen such rings. Axes, knives,
ammunition, beads, buttons, and rings were most
in demand. For clothing they had little or no
use; a blanket was worth no more than a knife,
and a yard of fine cloth was worth less than a pot
of vermilion. They had no established laws. Like
all other Indians, they are natural gamblers, and
take to "poker" with an aptitude that is aston-
ishing. They are skillful riders, and possess good
horses. "The Snakes have been considered,"
says Ross, "as rather a dull and degraded people,
weak in intellect and wanting in courage. And
this opinion is very probable to a casual observer
at first sight, or when seen in small numbers, for
their apparent timidity, grave and reserved hab-
its, give them an air of stupidity. An intimate
knowledge of the Snake character will, however,
place them on an equal footing with that of other
kindred nations, both in respect to their mental
faculties and moral attributes." "The Shoshones
of Idaho," says a writer in the California Farmer,
"are highly intelligent and lively, the most virtu-
ous and unsophisticated of all the Indians of the
United States."
The Bannocks are naturally a brave and war-
like race. They inhabited the country between
Fort Boise and Fort Hall. As the name implies,
it was given to those Indians who dug and lived
on roots. At least, so says Johnston, in School-
craft's Archives.
The Sheep-eaters, like the Bannocks, are
doubtless an offshoot of the Snake or Shoshone
Indians. The Tookarikkas, or Sheep-eaters, oc-
cupied the Salmon river country, the upper part
of Snake river vallev, and the mountains near
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
139
Boise Basin. They belong to the genuine Snakes.
Other inferior bands were the Hokandikas, or
Salt Lake Diggers, who lived in the neighbor-
hood of Salt Lake, and Aggitikkas. or Salmon-
eaters, who occupied the region around Salmon
Falls, on Snake river. The Bannocks are far
inferior to the Shoshones or Snakes proper.
Though the Lemhi Reservation is situated at
an altitude of 5,500 feet, agriculture has been
pursued with fair success. These Lemhi Indians
are greatly improved in habits of industry. Be-
sides cultivating their little garden patches, many
of them have been engaged in cutting rails, fenc-
ing, and ditching. "The possession of wagons,"
says Mr. Harries, "by some Indians, is materially
helping to lift what is literally a heavy burden ofif
the backs of the squaws in the matter of the
hauling of the firewood." Some difficulty has
been encountered in educating the children, as
there is a superstition among them that "if the
Indian children learn to read and write they will
die." This feeling has such a strong hold upon
the mothers particularly, that it has been some-
what difficult to overcome the prejudice against
education. With the improvidence characteristic
of the race, moreover, the rations issued to the
lodges on Saturday seldom last beyond Monday
or Tuesday, so that unless the children are fed at
the school, they are not likely to have much to
eat the biggest part of the week. Indians are not
superior to the generality of human nature, and
naturally encounter some difficulty in studying
on an empty stomach.
The Indians stationed at the Fort Hall agency
are both Bannocks and Shoshones. The latter
are industrious, good-natured, and quiet. The
Bannocks are more restless and roving. These
Indians, according to Dr. Cook, are making
steady advancement in agricultural and civilized
pursuits. This is noticeable to all who come in
contact with them, and they are manifesting an
increased desire to conform to the customs of
civilized life.
The use of sign-language exists to a greater
or less degree among Idaho Indians, as among
most tribes. Thus the tribal sign of the Pend
d'Oreilles is made by holding both fists as if
grasping a paddle, vertically downward and
working a canoe. Two strokes are made on each
side of the bodv from the side backward. The
tribal sign of the Xez Perces is made by closing
the right hand, leaving the index finger straight,
but flexed at right angles with the palm, then
passing it horizontally to the left, by and under
the nose. That of the Shoshone or Snake In-
dians is the right hand horizontal, flat, palm
downward, advanced to the front by a motion to
represent the crawling of a snake. For that of
the Bannocks, make a whistling sound "phew"
(beginning at a high note and ending aboiU an
octave lower) ; tlien draw the extended index
finger across the throat from left to right, and
out to nearly arm's length. They used to cut the
throats of their prisoners.
Major Haworth states that the Bannocks made
the following sign for themselves: Brush the flat
right hand backward over the forehead as if forc-
ing back the hair. This represents the manner of
wearing the tuft of hair backward from the fore-
head. He also states that the Shoshones make
the same Sign for the Bannocks as for them-
selves.
It is not difficult to understand how readily
ideas may be conveyed b_v signs and gestures.
Thus the Shoshone sign for rain is made by
holding the hand or hands at the height of and
before the shoulder, fingers pendent, palm down,
then pushing it downward a short distance. That
for to weep is made by holding the hand as in
rain, and the gesture made from the eye down-
ward over the cheek, back of the fingers nearly
touching the face.
Brave or strong-hearted is made by the Sho-
shone and Bannock Indians by merely placing
the clenched fist to the breast, the latter having
allusion to the heart, the clenching of the hand
to strength, vigor, or force.
As a good example illustrative of the univer-
sality of sign-language, may be mentioned the
conversation which took place at Washington in
1880 between Tendoy, chief of the Shoshone; and
Bannock Indians of Lemhi reservation, Idaho,
and Huerito, one of the Apache chiefs from New
Mexico, in the presence of Dr. W. J. Hoffman.
Neither of these Indians spoke any language
known to the other, had lived over a thousand
miles apart, and had never met or heard of one
another before.
Huerito — Who are you?
Tendov — Shoshone Chief.
140
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Huerito — How old are you?
Tendoy — Fifty-six.
Huerito — Very well. Are there any buffalo in your
country?
Tendoy — Yes; many black buffalo. Did you hear
anything from the Secretary? If so tell me.
Huerito— He told me that in four days I would go
to my country.
Tendoy— In two days I go to my country just as
you go to yours. I go to mine where there is a great
deal of snow and we shall see each other no more.
Here was an intelligent dialogue carried on by
two savages, strangers to each other, without a
word spoken on either side. Thus to make the
last answer as Tendoy did, place the flat hands
horizontally, about two feet apart, move them
quickly in an upward curve toward one another
until the right lies across the left, meaning night,
repeat this sign, two nights, literally, two sleeps
hence; point toward the individual addressed
with the right hand, you; and in a continuous
movement pass the hand to the right, i. e., toward
the south, nearly to arm's length, go; then throw
the fist edgewise toward the ground at that dis-
tance, your country; then touch the breast with
the tips of the left fingers, I ; move the hand slow-
ly toward the left, i. e., toward the north to arm's
length, go to; and throw the clenched hand to-
ward the ground, my country. Make the sign of
rain as already described, then place the flat
hands to the left of the body about two feet from
the ground, deep; literally, deep rain, snow.
Raise the hands about a foot, verv deep, much ;
place the hands before the body, about twelve
inches apart, palms down, with forefinger only
extended and pointing toward one another; push
toward and from one another several times, see
each other; then hold the flat right hand in front
of the breast pointing forward, palm to the left,
and throw it once on its back toward the right,
not, no more.
INDIAN WARS.
Idaho, ethnologically, was divided by the
Snake river into two grand divisions, the Nez
Perces occupying the territory north of the river,
and the Shoshones the southern portion. The
Nez Perces were of a higher grade, and took no
part in the five years' war, from 1863 to 1868.
They had their grievances, however, such as
would have incited inferior tribes to rise in war;
and among themselves there were naturallv two
parties, — a peace party and a war party. The
latter, although persuaded to sign a treaty with
the whites, violated their agreement and rose in
war, but were soon suppressed, and the country
was opened for settlement by the whites. The
discovery of gold and other valuable minerals in
the Nez Perces region caused many white ad-
venturers to overrun their country contrary to
the provisions of the treaty and thus irritate the
Indians, and this was the cause of the formation
of the "war party" among them. Actual war was
averted by the combined efforts of Superintend-
ent Hale, of Washington, and Lawyer, the head
of the Nez Perces. The establishment of a mili-
tary post at Lapwai was a permanent "peace-
maker."
The troubles really began in 1855, when there
was a strong party of Indians who were opposed
to the formation of any treaty whatever. Look-
ing-glass, the war chief, becoming too old to
lead in battle, Eagle-from-the-Light became am-
bitious to succeed to his honors and gave his
voice for war at a council held at Lapwai in
August, 1 861. Some of the subordinate chiefs
supported him, but Lawyer was against his pro-
ject; and a company of dragoons under Captain
Smith at Lapwai, ostensibly stationed there to
protect the Indians against the miners, was a
standing menace to those Nez Perce Indians who
might be disposed to break the treaty. The
council of 1 86 1 adjourned without agreeing to
anything important.
Congress was asked to appropriate fifty thou-
sand dollars for the purpose of purchasing a part
of their reservation and establishing a satisfac-
tory treaty; and forty thousand dollars was
granted ; but if this money ever arrived we have
no account of it.
As white men rushed in and made valuable
discoveries in minerals, even the soldiers at the
fort were withdrawn, lest they might desert in
the craze and likewise sally out for prospecting
and mining. The irritability of the Indians be-
coming more evident, however. General Alvord
determined to have a permanent fort established
at Lapwai, on the return of Maury's command
from an expedition to Fort Hall, in the autumn
of 1862. Fort Lapwai was built under the su-
perintendence of D. W. Porter, of the First Ore-
gon Cavalry. It was situated upon the right
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
141
bank of Lapwai creek, three miles from its con-
fluence with the Clearwater, and the reservation
was a square mile.
As the Indians began to gather at the council
promised in November, 1862, the white com-
missioners were obliged to announce to them
that no money had yet arrived from the govern-
ment, and requested them to postpone the con-
ference to the next May. This naturally irri-
tated even the most peaceably disposed Nez
Perces; and William Craig and Robert Newell
exerted themselves to the utmost to hold them in
check.
May 15, 1863, the time fixed for the confer-
ence, arrived; and the whites, preparing for the
occasion, stationed four companies of the First
Oregon Cavalry at Fort Lapwai and made as
great a display as possible, while they at the same
time erected a beautiful little tent city about a
mile from the fort and entertained the Indian
leaders as magnificently as possible, in order to
keep their good will. Eagle-from-the-Light, Big
Thunder and Joseph — all chiefs opposed to
another treat} — were present with twelve hun-
dred followers, and also Lawyer and his people,
numbering about two thousand. On the part of
the United States there were Superintendent
Hale, and the agents Hutchins and Howe, and
Robert Newell, with the military force already
mentioned. When all was ready, a delay of two
weeks occurred because the Indians would have
no interpreter excepting Perrin B. Whitman,
who was in the Willamette valley and had to be
sent for. The Palouses, taking advantage of this
period of idleness, invaded the Nez Perces camp,
bent upon mischief, one of them going so far as
to strike Commissioner Howe with a riding-whip,
when they were ordered ofif the reservation by
Colonel Steinberger, and Drake's company of
cavalry was assigned to the duty of keeping them
away.
The long looked for council began its sessions
about the last of May. The lands in considera-
tion aggregated about ten thousand square miles.
The chiefs put in their claims to certain parts of
the former reservation ; and Big Thunder claimed
the spot on which the white agency was located
and which had also been claimed in part by other
white parties. Eagle-from-the-Light laid claim
to the country on White Bird creek, a small
branch of the Salmon river, and adjacent to the
Florence mines, while Chief Joseph declared his
title to the valley of Wallowa creek, a tributary
to the Grand Rond river. Each of these chiefs,
representing his band, declined to sell. The first
proposition of the commissioners was that the
Nez Perces should sell all their lands except five
or six hundred square miles on the south side of
the south fork of the Clearwater, emoracing the
Kamiah prairie, to be surveyed into allotments,
with the understanding that a patent was to issue
to each individual holding land in severalty, with
payment for improvements abandoned. But to
this the nation would not agree. The whites next
proposed to enlarge this boundary to double the
size, and the provisions of the treaty of 1855 to
be continued to them ; and seventy-five thousand
dollars, in material utilities, school-houses, etc.,
was offered to be expended among the Indians
by way of indemnity. Lawyer made a shrewd
speech, in order to get ahead of all the other
chiefs as well as of the United States. Then for
several days various propositions were made al-
ternately by each party and rejected, and fears
were entertained that the council would end with-
out an agreement and war would result. But the
absence of most of the chiefs and the presence of.
a detachment of white cavalry caused Lawyer to
make propositions that were acceptable to the
commissioners, and a treaty was signed by him.
"From the subsequent action of one of the
chiefs," says Bancroft's history, "it is presumable
that they believed that by refusing to sign the
treaty made with the majority of the nation they
would be able to hold their several favorite
haunts."
This treaty reserved about a million and a half
acres, that is, about five hundred acres to every
individual in the nation, and to Lawyer and Big
Thunder, the two principal men in the nation,
their old homes, at Kamiah and Lapwai respect-
ively. The consideration to be paid for the re-
linquished lands, in addition to the annuities due
under the former treaty, and the goods and pro-
visions distributed at the signing of the treaty,
was two hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
But the general government of the United States
had its attention too intently fixed upon tlie great
civil war and its subsequent issues to look after
the Indians of the northwest. Characters like
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the "carpet-baggers" of the south were left to ad-
minister affairs here and general looseness pre-
vailed. The only natural consequence was dis-
satisfaction everywhere, with a constant danger
of an Indian uprising.
In 1867 an attempt was made by the general
government to have the Indians obtain a clear
understanding of the provisions of all the treaty
clauses that were still in force. A special agent
was appointed, in conjunction with Governor
Ballard and others, to induce the Nez Perces to
accept the new provisions. This failing, the
treaty was ratified in its first form by six hun-
dred of the nation. The next year a number of
chiefs and whites went to Washington to talk
with the president, which conference resulted
profitably, and Lawyer and Jason, chiefs, re-
turned to instruct their people.
In 1869 the government made a radical change
by assigning to each Indian agency a military
officer as agent. Lieutenant J. W. Wham was
appointed to the Lapwai agency. But in 1870
congress passed an act whereby it became neces-
sary to reUeve officers of the army from this ser-
vice and to substitute the missionaries of the
various feligious organizations of the country.
Accordingly a Presbyterian was sent to the Nez
Perces, some of whom had been made Catholics,
and friction naturally resulted. None of these
church missionaries were as satisfactory to the
Indians as their former agents had been, and
meanwhile white invasions continued, by estab-
lishing routes of travel, building bridges, etc., —
all of which tended to arouse and confirm Indian
suspicions as to the fidelity of the white man's
government.
The limitation of the Indian to narrower quar-
ters was in the direction of compelling him to
labor for his livelihood more than he had been
accustomed to, with the result that any one would
naturally expect. Besides, the policy of our gov-
ernment in giving annuities and payment for
lands encouraged idleness among them.
Thus for years sundry propositions and decrees
were made and either rejected or disregarded by
both parties, leaving many things in chaos as be-
tween the whites and reds. After the close of the
Modoc war, in 1 874, General Davis ordered a march
of seven hundred miles by the cavalry through the
country threatened bv the dissatisfied tribes, in
order to impress upon their minds the magnitude
or power of the military force of the United
States. The Indians continued to roam at will,
regardless of reservations, while the white set-
tlers on the so-called reservation or disputed ter-
ritory ended their uneasiness by having the gov-
ernment annul the reservation clause of the
treaty, June 10, 1875, when the president released
fourteen hundred and twenty-five miles from all
Indian title.
At this juncture the department at Washington
appointed a commission to repair to Idaho and
hold a consultation with Joseph and others, in
order to learn more thoroughly the exact status
of affairs. The commission learned from the
shrewd chief that he cared for no reservation or
anything else made by the white man, and he
seemed too independent to parley with white
men about the matter. The commissioners, how-
ever, recommended that the teachers of the In-
dian religion, which consisted mainly in hatred
to the white man and to all division of land,
should not be permitted to visit other tribes and
influence the non-treaty Indians; that a military
station should be established at once in the Wal-
lowa valley, while the agent of the Nez Perces
should still strive to settle all that would listen
to him upon the reservation; that unless in a
reasonable time Joseph should consent to remove
he should be forcibly taken with his people and
given lands on the reservation; and that if they
persisted in overrunning the lands of the settlers
and disturbing the public peace by threats or
otherwise, sufficient force would be used to com-
pel them to take the reservation and keep the
peace. A similar policy was recommended to-
ward all the roaming bands, whether they had
signed any treaty or not. The government
adopted these suggestions, stationing two com-
panies of cavalry in the Wallowa valley and
using all diligence in persuading the Indians to
go upon the reservation; and, at length, in May,
1877, they consented, — Joseph and White Bird,
for their own and smaller bands, agreeing to re-
move at a given time and select their lands,
within thirty days. On the twenty-ninth day the
war-whoop was sounded and the tragedy of Lost
river valley in Oregon was re-enacted along the
Salmon river in Idaho!
For this purpose the Indians had been gath-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
143
ering on Cottonwood creek at the north end of
Camas prairie, at the foot-hills of the Florence
mountains, about sixty-five miles from Lewiston,
with the ostensible purpose of removing to the
reservation. General O. O. Howard was at Fort
Lapwai, and, seeing that the Indians were con-
gregating in large numbers near the reservation,
instead of going directly upon it, sent out Cap-
tain Perry on the afternoon of the last day of
grace, to have ready a small detachment which
should start early on the morning of the 15th to
obtain news of the actions and purposes of the red
men. The same evening he received a letter
from a prominent citizen of Mount Idaho, who
expressed fears that the Indians did not intend to
keep faith with him; but the General took no
measures to prevent the disaster feared.
In the morning the detachment under Perry
started out toward Cottonwood creek, meeting
two reservation Indians who excitedly bore the
news that four white men had been killed on
John Day creek, and that White Bird was riding
about declaring that the non-treaty Indians
would not go on the reservation. Howard has-
tened to the agency to consult with J. B. Alon-
teith. the Presbyterian missionary there, taking
with him the Indian witnesses, who stated that
the white men were killed in a private quarrel.
This report necessitated the sending of other
messengers to prove the truth of what they had
heard before the General would feel justified in
displaying any military force. Late that after-
noon they returned, and with them another mes-
senger from Mount Idaho, with letters giving a
detailed statement of a general massacre on Sal-
mon river and the destruction of all the property
of the settlers.
At Fort Lapwai were two companies of cav-
alry, numbering together ninety-nine men. On
the night of the 15th, above mentioned. Perry set
out with his command. Troop F, and came upon
the Indians in White Bird canyon, early on the
morning of the 17th. He immediately attacked
them, but with the most disastrous results. In
about an hour thirty-four of his men were killed
and two wounded! He retreated to Grangeville,
sixteen miles distant, leaving his dead upon the
field !
Of course the whites were obliged to rise sud-
denly with all the force tliev could command.
General Howard and the governors of Oregon,
Washington and Idaho issued orders for the rais-
ing and equipment of volunteer companies with
all haste. By the 22d of the month troops enough
had gathered to enable General Howard to take
the field, having two hundred and twenty-five
men, with artillery, ready to march. The war
thus inaugurated on the 23d of June continued
to the 4th of October, "with interesting incidents
enough," says Bancroft, "to fill a volume." Jos-
eph continued to run from one point to another,
marvelously escaping capture until his surrender
to Colonel Nelson A. Miles, near the north end
of Bear Paw mountains, on the 5th of October.
Miles lost two officers — Captain Hale and
Lieutenant Biddle — and twenty-one killed and
forty-four wounded. The number of persons
killed by Joseph's people outside of battle was
about fifty; volunteers killed in war, thirteen:
officers and men of the regular army, one hun-
dred and five, and the wounded were not less
than a hundred and twenty. Thus, to capture
three hundred warriors, encumbered with their
families and stock, required at various times the
services of between thirty and forty companies of
United States troops, aided by volunteers and
Indian scouts! The distance marched by How-
ard's army from Kamiah to Bear Paw moun-
tains was over fifteen hundred miles, one of the
most famous marches on record. The fame of
Joseph became widespread by this enormous out-
lay of money and effort in his capture and from
the military skill he displayed in avoiding it for
so long a time.
When the Nez Perces surrendered, they were
prom.ised permission to return to Idaho, and
were given in charge of Colonel Miles, now a
general, to be kept until spring, it then being too
late to make the journey. But General Phil.
Sheridan, in whose department they were, or-
dered them to Fort Leavenworth and afterward
to the Indian Territory, near the Ponca agency,
where they continued to reside in peace and
prosperity.
In 1878 the number of Nez Perces, exclusive of
Joseph's followers, still of? the reservation, was
five hundred. The progress of the Nez Perces
on the reservation was rather assisted than re-
tarded by their separation from the non-treaty
Indians. Four of the voung men from Kamiah
I
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
were examined by the Presbytery of Oregon in
1877, and licensed to preach and teach among
their tribe. The membership of the Kamiah and
Lapwai churches in 1879 was over three hundred.
They were presided over by the white minister,
and one Nez Perce minister, named Robert Wil-
liams. In 1880 there were nearly four thousand
acres of land in the reservation under cultivation
by one hundred and forty Nez Perce farmers.
Of the twelve hundred who lived on the reserve.
nearly nine hundred wore the dress common to
the whites. In education they were slow. Not-
withstanding the government grant of six thou-
sand dollars annually for school purposes for
thirteen years, and notwithstanding all the mis-
sionary work, the number who could read in 1880
was only one hundred and ten! The number of
children of school age was two hundred and fifty,
only about one-fifth of whom attended school.
July I, 1880, the Stevens treaty expired by limi-
tation, and with it chieftainships and annuities
were abolished. In most cases chieftainship had
been a source of jealousy to the Indians and
danger to the white people, as in the cases of
Joseph, White Bird and others; but the influence
of Lawyer and his successor was probably worth
much more than the salary he received, in pre-
serving the peace. When the war was forever
ended, it was no longer needed for that purpose.
THE SHOSHONE WARS.
Soon after the termination of the war with the
Nez Perce Indians in the north, the. Shoshoncs
of the southern part of the territory of Idaho be-
gan to make trouble. During the Shoshone war
of 1867 Governor Ballard made an informal
treaty with the Bannock branch of this nation in
the eastern part of the territory, by which they
agreed to go upon the Fort Hall reservation be-
fore June I, 1868, provided the land should be set
apart for them, and that they should be taught
husbandry and mechanics and given schools for
their children. The Boise and Bruneau branches
were gathered under an Indian agent and fed
through the winter. In 1868 all these Indians
were located upon the reservation about Fort
Hall, although a few afterward strayed back to
their former homes.
This year, 1868, a formal treaty was made with
the Bannocks by which over a million and a half
acres were set apart for their use and also for the
use of kindred tribes. But these Indians, al-
though patient in many respects, had never before
had the occasion to learn patience in the new
phase brought on by the circumstances inaugu-
rated by white civilization. They commenced
farming, but the grasshoppers destroyed a large
portion of their crops, and at the same time the
United States government was, as usual, behind
with its annuities. By the terms of the treaty the
Indians were permitted to go to the buffalo
grounds and to dig camas on Big Camas prairie,
a part of which, it was agreed, was to be set aside
for their use whenever they should desire it.
I\Iatters generally progressed favorably until
the death of the principal chief, Tygee, in 1871,
and then the Indians began to evince signs of
restlessness, suspicion and even hostility. In
1872 an Indian from the Fort Hall reservation
attempted to shoot a farmer at work making hay
on the South Boise river. He was captured, but
finally liberated by the white man who arrested
him, for fear of arousing a general conflict with
the tribe. But during the summer several mur-
ders were committed by the Indians and other
misdemeanors practiced.
In 1873 the government ordered a special com-
mission to investigate causes of trouble in the
district of Idaho; and they modified the treaty
in force with the Bannocks and Shoshones, by
which the latter relinquished their right to hunt
on the unoccupied lands of the United States
without a written permit from the agent ; but by
an oversight no reference was made to the privi-
leges the Indians were enjoying on Camas prai-
rie. They soon gathered to that prairie in large
numbers, especially in the Weiser valley, where
there were many white settlers; and here they
were met by Umatillas from Oregon, held a
grand fair, horse-races, etc., and made exchanges
of property in their old style. When the number
here had reached about two thousand, the white
settlers in the vicinity began to feel uneasy. The
superintendency of Indian affairs here having
been taken away from the governor, the only
appeal of the whites was to the Fort Hall agent,
who justified the giving of passes to the Indians
on account of the meagerness of the commissary
department at the agency.
Suspicion and discontent were further aggra-
vated in 1874 by an order from the Indian de-
partment for the removal of about a thousand
Too-Lah.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
145
Indians from the Lemhi valley to the Fort Hall
reservation, who refused to be thus removed.
Among these were a band of "Sheep-eaters," who
had been settled in the Lemhi valley under an
agent. The next year, however, the order was
withdrawn and a reservation of a hundred square
miles set apart for them; and during this year
also an addition was made to the Malheur reser-
vation in Oregon,, which was still further enlarged
in 1876.
Meantime the Modoc war and Joseph's ob-
streperousness occasioned a great deal of dis-
turbance in the minds of the Indians of southern
Idaho and vicinity. The annihilation of the Mo-
doc nation was followed by an ominous lull for
three or four years. Then the Nez Perce out-
break occurred and great fears were entertained
by the whites that all the Indians of Idaho and
vicmity would join in the great revolt. Even the
Piutes were in sympathy with their red neigh-
bors. Winnemucca, their chief, appeared on the
Owyhee with all his warriors; but, finding the
people watchful and the military active, he had
the prudence to remain quiet and let the Nez
Perces do their own fighting. The presence of
the Piutes, in connection with the revival and
spread of the "Smohallah" or "dreamers' " doc-
trine that the red man was ultimately to repossess
all the land, tended to augment the alarm of the
white settlers.
Numbers, among men as well as among boys,
intensify the central focus of excitement and mis-
chief. By the summer of 1877 the Bannocks be-
came so e.xcited and even turbulent as to require
a considerable military force at the agency.
The ensuing spring there was not enough food
to keep them all on the reservation. The scarcity
was caused partly by the Nez Perce war, which
Bannocks understood plainly, and partly by the
fact there was a greater number on the reserva-
tion than usual. In May they commenced shoot-
ing white people on Camas prairie, which terri-
tory they claimed, under the treaty, equally with
the United States. Another source of irritation
was the fact that the white settlers imported and
kept swine, which destroyed the camas root in
large quantities.
War was opened by the Indians, who first fired
upon two herders, wounding them severely. They
next seized King Hill stage station, destroying
property and driving off the horses, the men in
charge barely escaping. About the same time
they appeared on Jordan creek, demanding arms
and ammunition, seized two freight wagons near
Glenn's ferry on Snake river, driving ofif a hun-
dred horses, cutting loose the ferry-boat and de-
stroying several farm-houses from which the fam-
ilies had fled. Throughout the territory again,
as during the preceding summer, business was
prostrated, farms were deserted and the citizens
under arms.
To concentrate troops and ascertain the locali-
ty of the hostile Indians required time. Their
movement seemed to be along Snake river from
Fort Hall to the Owyhee, but the Piutes under
the chiefs Winnemucca and Natchez, still main-
tained at least an apparent friendship, while those
under Eagan and Otis, along with some Mal-
heurs and L'matillas, engaged in their murderous
raids. The Bannocks were led by Bufifalo Horn,
who had been employed as a scout by General
Howard in the Nez Perce war but deserted that
general at Henry lake on account of a difference
of opinion concerning the practicability of cap-
turing Joseph at a certain camp.
It was not until the 8th of June that the whites
could assume the aggressive, on which day J. B.
Harper, of Silver City, with a squad encountered
sixty Bannocks seven miles east of South moun-
tain in Owyhee county, and was repulsed. On
the nth a mail stage was attacked, the driver
killed, the mail destroyed and some arms and
ammunition seized. Malheur Indians from Ore-
gon were on the way toward Boise. On the 15th
Howard discovered six Hundred armed Indians,
the main body of the enemy, gathered in the val-
ley between Cedar and Steen mountains, and sent
four companies of cavalry upon them, and dur-
ing the first engagement Buffalo Horn was killed.
But before General Howard, who had in the dis-
trict altogether sixteen companies of cavalry,
came to the scene the Indians, as usual, had dis-
appeared. Going northward they committed as
many outrages as they could, in the destruction
of property, while Howard's forces were far too
limited to make a successful pursuit.
On the 2d of July the loyal Umatillas, under
their agent, Connoyer, met the enemy four hun-
dred strong, fighting them all day and killing
thirty, with a loss of only two. Although this
U6
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
prevented a raid the general alarm of the settlers
was scarcely allayed. A thousand or more wo-
men and children were gathered at Pendleton.
General Wheaton at Walla Walla, with an avail-
able force, was appealed to for help, and as soon
as he got under way he found the wilds almost
alive with Indians on the war path. In a few
days Captain Sperry with nearly all his com-
mand was killed at Willow Springs, Oregon,
and white families were rushed to places of safe-
ty as rapidly as possible, while the governors
and generals were massing their meager forces
with all haste. Skirmishes and small battles
were hurriedly entered into, generally with vic-
tory to the whites, until, little by little, the great
uprising was totally suppressed, — this requiring
several weeks.
The loss of property was immense. To the
marauding parties were added, about the ist of
August, a portion of White Bird's band of Nez
Perces, who had returned from the British pos-
sessions, where they had not met with satisfac-
tory treatment from Sitting Bull, the exiled
Sioux chief. The close of hostilities soon after
their arrival rendered them powerless to carry
on war, and they became reabsorbed in the Nez
Perce nation. Directly after the suppression of
these raids Camp Howard was established near
Mount Idaho, and also Camp Coeur d'Alene,
afterward Fort Coeur d'Alene, and after this
there was no more trouble with the Indians.
Such is a brief synopsis of the Indian troubles
which so long retarded the development of Idaho.
All danger from that source has now been re-
moved forever. The feeble remnants of once
powerful tribes have settled down to the prosaic
arts of peace. The great increase of white popu-
lation, the construction of railroad and telegraph
lines, the rapid diminution of their own num-
bers, all preclude the possibility of Indian out-
breaks in the future. Yet we should be grossly
lacking in appreciation if we should overlook the
struggles and hardships endured bv the early set-
tlers in combating these treacherous foes, and
rendering the land safe as it now is beyond the
shadow of peril. Surely, when the true history of
heroism is written, the story of our northwestern
pioneers should receive proper recognition.
TOO LAH.
One of the most interesting Indian characters
connected with the history of Idaho was Too
Lah, the friendly Kez Perces squaw who rode
her pony twenty-five miles in the night to give
warning to the miners at Florence that the In-
dians were massacring the white settlers. She
started from Slate creek and rode to Florence in
order to save the white settlers, and covered the
distance in such a short time that her pony died
from the effects of the hard ride. Her noble work
■accomplished, she then returned on foot to her
home on AIcKenzie creek. Naturally the white
settlers had the highest appreciation for her he-
roic action and always held her in grateful re-
membrance. She made a living by raising and
drying fruit, by taking in washing, by nursing,
and at one time was engaged in driving a pack
train of six Indian ponies from Grangeville to
Freedom. She died in 1898 and was buried at
Meadow Creek.
tl
/■
a^v-xyL£yf /4aAJ cn-^
CHAPTER XVI.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAMES WILSON.
JAMES WILSON, deceased, was for many
3-ears one of the leading farmers and stock-
men of Idaho, and during his residence in
this state did as much as any other man in the
commonwealth in the interests of agricuhure
and stock-raising. He is properly classed among
the pioneers of Idaho, for his residence dated
from 1864, and from that time until his death he
took an active part in the conduct of business
interests that resulted to the benefit of the state,
as well as to his individual prosperity.
A native of Washington county, Indiana, he
was born May 15. 1826, his parents being Jesse
and Sarah (McCoy) Wilson. The father was born
near Morgantown, Virginia, May 17, 1800, and
removed to Washington county, Indiana, during
the pioneer period in the history of that state.
His death occurred in Grande Ronde valley, Ore-
gon, in the fall of 1863, but his wife, who was
likewise a native of the Old Dominion, died in
Washington county, Indiana, in 1828. When
seven years of age James Wilson removed from
his native county to Vigo county, Indiana, where
he resided until 1854, when he took up his abode
in Wayne county, Iowa, making his home there
until the spring of 1862. At that date he crossed
the great plains and located in Oregon, whence
he came to Idaho in March, 1864, locating in
the section that was then in Boise county but is
now in Ada county. In 1887 he took up his resi-
dence about twelve miles west of Boise city, on
the farm where his death occurred March 20,
1899. At the time of his demise he owned in
Ada and Elmore counties ten hundred and
twenty-six acres of land. He was one of the
leading and progressive stockmen of the state,
his ventures in that respect, however, being con-
fined almost exclusively to the cattle industry.
He introduced into Idaho many thoroughbred
shorthorn cattle, thereby greatly improving the
grade of cattle raised and thus adding to their
value on the market.
]\Ir. Wilson was married May 2j, 1849, i" I""
diana, to Miss Nancy Perkins, who was born in
Indiana, October 15, 1832, and died in Ada
county, Idaho, July 30, 1888. To Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson were born six children, namely: Jesse,
who was born in Vigo county, Indiana, July 5,
1850; Charlotte, born in the same county, Sep-
tember 19, 1852, and now the wife of D. C. Cal-
houn; Emily J., born in Wayne county, Iowa,
October 7, 1855; Elizabeth M., wdio was born in
Wayne county, Iowa, February 15, 1858, and is
now the wife of Phelps Everett; James Lloyd,
who was born in Wayne county, Iowa, August
4, i860, and was drowned in the Boise river, in
May, 1865; and William E., who was born in
Oregon, December 29, 1862.
In politics James Wilson was for many years a
supporter of the principles of the Democracy,
but in the latter part of his life he voted for the
men who, in his judgment, were the best quali-
fied for the positions to which they aspired, re-
gardless of their political affiliations. As early
as 1869 he was made a Mason in Boise Lodge
and ever afterward continued a worthy exemplar
of the lofty teachings and purpose of that fra-
ternity. His labors in behalf of the farming and
stock-raising interests of the state were most
effective and beneficial and therefore his death
proved a loss to the entire commonweaUh.
Something of the success which crowned his ef-
forts may be inferred from the fact that when he
came to the Boise valley he brought with him
only five yoke of cattle and had a cash capital
of only two dollars and sixty-five cents, and at
the time of his death left an estate valued at more
than sixty thousand dollars, which is a very con-
servative estimate. This he divided by will
among his relatives. At all times loyal to truth
and right, fair and just in his dealings, and faith-
ful to the duties of friendship and of citizenship,
he won and retained the confidence and respect
of all with whom he was brought in contact.
Jesse Wilson, the eldest child of James
]48
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and Nancy (Perkins) Wilson, is a native of In-
diana, and is now residing upon the family home-
stead near Boise. His education was acquired in
the early schools of Ada county, and, like his
father, he has devoted the greater part of his life
to agricultural pursuits and the raising of fine
cattle. He is regarded as one of the best au-
thorities on stock in the entire state. He has
made a close study of the best methods of raising
cattle of the best breeds, and of their qualities
and fitness for domestic market purposes, and
his opinions carry weight in all agricultural and
stock-raising communities. He has never mar-
ried, but makes his home on the farm which
was left him by his father, which comprises one
hundred and sixty acres of' land, and in addition
he inherited a valuable tract of one hundred and
twenty acres in Kendall county. He has some
of this under a very high state of cultivation, and
everything about his farm bespeaks the thrifty,
enterprising and progressive owner. Socially
Mr. Wilson is connected with Boise Lodge, No.
2, F. & A. M., and in politics he is independent.
THE EASTMAN BROTHERS.
Tales of heroism have been the theme of song
and story throughout all ages. He who has gone
forth to battle for his country, his home or his
principles, has figured in history, in literature
and in music, and his bravery has stirred the
souls of men through all times. All honor to
such an one, and yet his heroism is no greater
or his daring more pronounced than that ot the
honored pioneers of the west. Men reared in
comfortable homes, accustomed to all the con-
veniences and privileges of life in the east, have
come into the wild western districts and braved
danger and hardships untold. Cut ofif from all
comforts and luxuries, they have also had to face
death at the hand of the treacherous Indian, and
in little bands and ofttimes singly they have had
to fight for liberty and life. Volumes have been
written, yet the story of the pioneers has never
been adequately told. They deserve all praise
and honor and the mighty states of the west with
their splendid improvements, enterprises and to-
kens of civilization are monuments to their
memory.
The Eastman Brothers, Benjamin Manson and
Hosea Bradford, are among those who have
founded the state of Idaho and brought about her
present prosperity and greatness. They are now-
numbered among the leading business men of
Boise, where many important business interests
are found as the result of their diligence and
executive ability. They are natives of White-
field, New Hampshire, born December 30, 1830,
and November 21, 1835, respectively. They are
descended from good old Revolutionary stock,
their grandfather, Ebenezer Eastman, having
aided the colonies in their great struggle for in-
dependence. He and his wife, Susan Eastman,
were members of the Baptist church and w-ere
industrious farming people, noted for their in-
tegrity and sterling worth. The grandfather died
in his seventy-fifth year, and the grandmother in
the ninetieth year of her age. The father, Caleb
Eastman, was born on the farm at Lisbon, and
having arrived at years of maturity married
Tabitha Aldrich, who was born at Sugar Hill,
New Hampshire, and was descended from one of
the old New England families. They became
the parents of fourteen children, of whom eight
sons and four daughters grew to mature years,
and one of the sons laid down his life on the altar
of his country in the civil war.
Benjamin M. and Hosea B. Eastman received
but limited educational privileges, but in the
school of experience have learned many valuable
lessons. While in the old Granite state, they
engaged for a short time in the sawmill and
lumber business. Attracted by the varied re-
sources of the west they resolved to make their
way to the Pacific slope, and on the 21st of
October, 1861, sailed from New York, making
the voyage by way of the Isthmus of Panama, to
California. There were nearly one thousand pas-
sengers on board, and on one occasion they had
a very narrow escape from shipwreck at the
"ninety-mile boulder." The long voyage ended,
the brothers landed at San Francisco, and at
Vallejo followed the plow for a time. In the
spring of 1862 they went to Mendocino county,
where they joined a party planning to go to the
mines of Idaho. Not having money enough for
both of them to make the trip, they drew "cuts"
and it was thus decided that Benjamin should
accompany the party. He located a claim at
Canyon City, Oregon, and soon Hosea B. fol-
lowed with a pack train, working his passage
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
149
by driving mules. During the journey they had
considerable trouble with the Indians, and night
after night a guard had to be placed around their
camp as they slept.
The mining camp at Canyon City did not prove
a paying one, and thus obliged to seek another
location they started for Owyhee county, Idaho.
At night they slept on their arms for fear of
Indian attacks, but at length reached their desti-
nation in safety and secured good claims at Silver
City, on Jordan creek.
At other times, however, they were engaged in
serious encounters with the red men, and their
deeds of valor form part of the early history of the
state. Throughout Idaho and other sections of
the west were wild districts not yet explored by
the white men. The Indians regarded the ad-
vance of civilization as an encroachment on their
rights and rose in hostility, making raids against
the pioneers, carrying ofif their stock and goods
and often killing the men. In 1864 they made a
raid on Silver City and drove ofif fifty mules and
horses. Twenty-one men^ including H. B. East-
man, started in pursuit. They rode all one day
and part of the next, and then came up with the
Indians in a rocky canyon. Jordan, Henderson,
and Mr. Eastman were in the advance. The In-
dians challenged them to come into the canyon.
They rode, however, to a blufif on the left, and saw
that the other side would be best for the attack.
While crossing over they shot at the Indians and
killed some of them. At the top of the bluff
was a large juniper tree, from which point Mr.
Eastman saw an Indian, two hundred yards
away, trying to drive a horse. He ran his own
horse toward the savage, who left the horse he
was driving, but himself dodged behind trees and
rocks so dextrously that Mr. Eastman could not
get a shot at him. He captured the horse, how-
ever. The white men tied their horses to the
tree; Henderson, Edgerton and Berry took their
station behind rocks, while Mr. Jordan and Mr.
Eastman got into a little thicket of bushes, from
which vantage point they fired on the red men.
Mr. Jordan had a breech-loading rifle, and just
after Mr. Eastman had shot at the Indians skulk-
ing behind the rocks he raised his gun to shoot,
with the remark, "See the d — d Indian jump in
tlie air." The Indian did jump, but Mr. Jordan
also fell dead, shot through the heart. Air. East-
man then took his papers and his gun, drew the
body into the bushes out of sight, and returned
to the other men and the horses. There were
more than three hundred Indians, who were grad-
ually closing in around the white men. Mr. East-
man was shot just below the hip, but never men-
tioned it until the fight was over. Without water,
their mouths became so dry that they could not
wet the patches to load their guns, and they were
finally ordered to retreat. By this time the In-
dians had come very near. The pack-horse had
strayed off some distance, but Mr. Eastman man-
aged to capture him and was rushing him along
a rocky path when he fell, and our subject's horse
got his foot in a loop of the rope and was strug-
gling. Henderson saw the trouble, drew his
knife from his boot and cut the rope. Mr. East-
man had fallen from his horse and in the tumble
had lost his hat. He started to get it when Mr.
Henderson with an oath bade him to let the hat
go for the Indians were in hot pursuit. Soon
they came to some water and Mr. Eastman said
he would drink if the Indians were on top of him,
so he and his horse took a few swallows of water
from the same pool. That night the party
camped thirty miles from Silver City. The next
day Mr. Eastman was in much pain from his
wound and was forced to ride standing in his
stirrups. On their return the surgeon, a man of
very little ability, said that the ball was so near
an artery that he was afraid to cut it out. Three
weeks passed in which he constantly grew worse,
and at last he said the bullet must be gotten out.
The surgeon, therefore, after much probing and
cutting secured the ball. The operation was a
most painful and difficult one, but Mr. Eastman
took no anesthetic nor uttered a word, although
he afterward said it required more nerve than
to fight the Indians! A piece of his trousers,
which had also been carried in with the ball,
was taken out, and after that the wound rapidly
healed.
On another occasion Mr. Jennings, who was a
renowned Indian fighter, with a party of twenty
men, were surrounded by Indians in the South
mountain country, where they were prospecting.
They built a fort and fought the Indians ofT as
best they could. At length two of the party made
their escape in the night and brought the news
to Silver City, arriving at two o'clock in the
150
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
night. The next morning at sunrise one hun-
dred and fifty men started to the rescue, and
when they arrived the Indians at once fled. Both
the Eastman brothers were with that party.
In 1868 H. B. Eastman returned to \'allejo.
California, and on the return trip, with a six-horse
team, the wagon was put on runners in order
to cross the snow of the Sierra Nevada moun-
tains, on the loth of May. They had reached
Jordan valley, fifty miles from Silver City, when
Mr. Eastman, with his three companions in the
wagon, was attacked in passing through' a nar-
row track between rocks. One of the men
shouted "Indians!" and jumped from the wagon
without taking a gun or other weapon of defense.
The man who sat beside Mr. Eastman was shot
in the breast, the other man had a ball across the
back of his neck, while a third ball crossed I\Ir.
Eastman's arm and the ofif wheel-horse was
slightly wounded. Mr. Eastman started the team
on the run. Looking back he saw the man who
had jumped running after them, and giving the
reins to the wounded men he started to the
defense of the other. As he advanced he fired,
and the nearest Indian fell into the bushes. On
the run he reloaded and then shot the other In-
dian dead. With the rescued man he then got
into the wagon and drove as fast as possible four
miles to a little station wdiere there were a few
soldiers, hoping that the stage would be through
a little later; but on reaching the station they
were told the stage had arrived, the driver had
been shot dead by the Indians and a ball had
struck the blinder of the leading horse, which in
fright had left the road and broke one of the
wheels of the stage. There were eleven passen-
gers in the stage, one of them a woman. Mr.
Eastman afterward drove his team back and as-
sisted the soldiers in taking vip the dead driver.
The man who had been shot in the breast after-
ward recovered, and Mr. Eastman learned that
the Indian he had first shot had his leg broken.
Those days of peril are now over, and a debt of
gratitude which cannot be paid is due to the
sturdy pioneers who braved the dangers of the
west and steadily advanced in the work -of re-
claiming this wild but rich region from the sav-
ages.
The Eastman brothers continued their mining-
operations for a number of years. From their
claims on Jordan creek and at Silver City they
took out on an average an ounce of gold apiece
each day, and soon had some seven thousand
dollars. Later they purchased an interest in the
Adorning Star mine, the first quartz mine in the
county. It proved very rich, yielding eight hun-
dred tons which assayed five hundred dollars to
the ton. Most of the bullion taken out at the
time was sent down Snake and down Columbia
rivers to Portland. In 1867-8 they abandoned
mining and purchased a half interest in the Idaho
hotel, of Silver City, which proved a profitable
investment, and was successfully conducted by
them until 1877, when they sold and purchased
the Overland hotel, at Boise, a property which
they conducted until 1891. They carried on one
of the best hotels in the west, supplied with all
modern conveniences and accessories, and its
splendid equipment secured it a very large pat-
ronage. They found the water supply of Boise
very poor and immediately set to work to secure
better water. .\t a cost of ten thousand dollars
they established a small plant, which became the
nucleus of the present fine water system of the
city, and which supplies both hot and cold water
to many of the best homes and business houses
of the city. The hot water is obtained from ar-
tesian wells on the mountain side, — a novel fea-
ture in the water supplies of cities. In connection
they also conduct one of the finest natatoriums in
the country. The Eastman brothers are heavy
stockholders, both in this enterprise and. in the
electric light and power company of Boise. The
Artesian Hot and Cold Water Company have
done more for the advancement and prosperity
of Boise than any other one agency, and
this has resulted largely from the progres-
siveness and industry of the gentlemen whose
names begin this review. They were also
instrumental in the organization 'of the Boise
City National Bank, in 1886, the officers
of which are Henry ^^'adsworth, of San
Francisco, president: H. B. Eastman, vice
president: Alfred EofT, cashier: and W. P..
Bruce, assistant cashier. The board of directors
comprise Alfred Eofif, W. S. Bruce, B. M. East-
man, H. B. Eastman, Henry Wadsworth. The
bank is capitalized for one hundred thousand dol-
lars. In 1891 the bank was built, of fine sand-
stone quarried near the city. It is a large and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
151
substantial bank building, fifty by seventy feet,
three stories in height with a basement.
The Eastman residence is a beautiful home,
supplied with all modern conveniences and sur-
rounded by most attractive grounds. In 1872
H. B. Eastman was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Blackinger, who was born in Bufifalo, New
York, in 1850. They now have two sons, Frank
M. and Ben S., who are being provided with lib-
eral educational privileges. In politics the broth-
ers have ever been stalwart Republicans. Their
attention, however, is not given to political mat-
ters, but to their extensive business interests,
which have brought to them merited prosperity
and have also advanced the welfare of Boise, and
in the history of Idaho their names are found
among those who have conferred honor upon the
state.
WILLIA:\I J. TURNER.
The first resident of Mountain Home was Wil-
liam J. Turner, and since the time of his arrival
here his history has been inseparably interwoven
with that of the town. He is now its postmaster
and proprietor of its leading hotel, and from the
beginning he has been most active and earnest
in promoting and aiding its upbuilding and im-
provement. A native of the Buckeye state, Mr.
Turner was born March 17, 1854, and is of Eng-
lish and Irish descent, his ancestors having been
early settlers of Maryland and Virginia, where
they located in colonial days. They were promi-
nently associated with many events which go to
form the history of that epoch and members of
the family also aided in the glorious and effectual
struggle for independence. The grandfather,
Thomas Turner, served his country in the war of
1812. Thomas P. Turner, the father of our sub-
ject, was a native of Maryland, married Miss Ra-
chel Linton, and with his family removed to
Noble county, Ohio, in 1831. There he secured a
homestead, erected buildings and otherwise im-
proved the property, making it his place of
abode until called to his final rest, in the sixty-
third year of his age. His wife passed away in
her fifty-fourth year. They were the parents of
eight children, but only three are now living. Mr.
Turner and two sisters.
The subject of this review was reared on the
old home farm in Ohio, and pursued his educa-
tion in a little log schoolhouse, wherein he
studied his lessons through the winter seasons,
while in the summer months he assisted in the
labors of the field. He was married in Ohio, in
1876, to Miss Maria Waller, a native of Ohio,
and their union has been blessed with four child-
ren: Fred A., who is now serving as deputy
postmaster at Mountain Home; Bertha B.; Nel-
lie and Everett.
William J. Turner dates his residence in ]Moun-
tain Home from August 22, 1881. At the time
of his arrival on the present site of the now
flourishing town there were no houses within six
miles of the place. Plans had been made for the
building of the railroad, however, and with ex-
cellent foresight he believed that the possibilities
of establishing a thriving commercial center were
very good. The town was platted by Robert E.
Strahorn and from him Mr. Turner purchased
five lots, which he still owns and which are now
situated in the business section of the place. He
is also the owner of other realty interests here,
and has been a most important factor in pro-
moting commerce and various industries. Mr.
Turner erected the first building in Mountain
Home, — the structure that is now being used as
the post-office. He also erected the first hotel
and is recently completing a fine hotel property,
sixty by one hundred feet, three stories in height
with basement, and containing sixty-eight rooms.
It will be a credit to the town and to the owner.
No enterprise calculated to advance the gen-
eral good has ever failed to receive his support
and co-operation, and educational, moral, social
and material interests have found in him a
friend.
In the early development of the town the resi-
dents of Mountain Home were J. M. Hager. R.
H. Tragiskis, James Justin, William Gibson, Gus
Rikewyne and J. A. Tutwiler; but of this number
Mr. Hager and ]\Ir. Turner are the only ones still
living in the town. The latter is now serving as
postmaster. July i, 1899, the post-office was
made a presidential office. He has been a life-
long Republican, and was appointed to his pres-
ent position by President McKinley. since which
time he has acceptably discharged his duties, his
administration being most efficient. The growth
and prosperity of Mountain Home bears the im-
press of his individuality, and the beautiful and
progressive little village largely stands as a mon-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
iiment to his enterprise and ability in tlie active
affairs of life.
GEORGE M. PARSONS.
Professional advancement in the law is pro-
verbially slow. The first element of success is,
perhaps, a persistency of purpose and effort as
enduring as the force of gravity. But, as in
every other calling, aptitude, character and indi-
viduality are the qualities which differentiate the
usual from the unusual; the vocation from the
career of the lawyer. Less than fifteen years ago
George Matthias Parsons was admitted to the
bar, and within that time has gained an eminence
for which older practitioners have striven a life
time.
He was born in Cambridge City, Indiana, on
the 15th of January, 1850, and is of English de-
scent. His ancestors located in Massachusetts
in colonial days, later removed to New York and
were prominent factors in the early history of the
country. One of the number. Commodore Deca-
tur, became eminent in connection with the navy
of his native land, and William Parsons, the
grandfather of the general, participated in the
war of the Revolution and the war of 18 12. He
lived to be eighty-three years of age. His son,
George L. Parsons, father of our subject, was
born in Syracuse, New York, and after arriving
at years of maturity wedded iMiss Mary Elizabeth
Matthias, of Ohio, who was descended from an
old Virginia family that was early established in
the south. Her father, Jacob Matthias, was born
in the Old Dominion and removed to Ohio, be-
coming one of the founders of the town of Ham-
ilton, in which he long made his home, being
numbered among its most influential and valued
citizens. . George L. Parsons died at the age of
sixty-four years, and his wife passed away when
forty-four years of age.
In the pubHc schools of Cincinnati, Ohio. Gen-
eral Parsons of this review began his education,
which was completed in the high school of Ham-
ilton, Ohio. He was very large for his age, when,
as a youth of fifteen years, he offered his services
to his country and joined the "boys in blue" of
Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-ninth
Ohio Infantry. This was in the last year of the
war. Thousands of brave men had fallen and
thousands of homes had been made desolate by
the loss of loved ones. The people realized now
all that war meant with its sufferings, its horrors,
and its sacrifices, and it required no small amount
of courage for men to leave their homes and fam-
ilies for the battle-field. With a patriotism which
would have been creditable to a man of twice
his years, General Parsons responded to the call
for more volunteers, and with his company was
engaged in scouting duty in the mountains of
Alabama until after the cessation of hostilities,
when he was honorably discharged, in October,
1865.
Returning to his home, he completed his edu-
cation and then followed various enterprises un-
til 1871, when he came to Idaho. Since that
time he has been an active factor in the public
life and the development of the state, ever put-
ting forth his best efforts for the advancement
of its welfare and the promotion of its best inter-
ests. He was a member of the seventh and
tenth general assemblies. In 1883-4 he served
as judge of the probate court of Alturas county,
and in 1885 was admitted to the bar, since which
time he has engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession.
In 1892 he was elected attorney general of
Idaho, and in 1894 was re-elected, serving in that
important oiifice for two terms most creditably.
For many years he was a stalwart Republican,
an active worker in the ranks of the party and an
able exponent and advocate of its principles, but
when, at the national convention in St. Louis, the
party declared for the gold standard, with much
regret he abandoned its ranks and gave his sup-
port to the cause of bimetallism, of which he is a
firm believer. Soon afterward he identified him-
self with the free-silver party of Idaho, by which
he was once more nominated for attorney gen-
eral, but on account of the division in the silver
forces was defeated.
On his retirement from office he resumed the
private practice of law. He is now a member of
the firm of Kingsbury & Parsons, which holds
rank among the leading and successful law part-
nerships of Idaho. Their fine suite of rooms in
the Sonna Block, in Boise, is unsurpassed in any
of the western states, and is supplied with a most
extensive and valuable law library. Since com-
ing to the west General Parsons has also success-
fullv engaged in mining to a considerable ex-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
153
tent. While he has won distinction at the bar
and honors in public hfe, he has at no time failed
in the performance of the least duty devolving-
upon him, and at the time of the Indian outbreak
in 1878 he raised a company and served as its
captain, aiding in the suppression of the troubles.
In 1875 General Parsons was united in mar-
riage to Miss Mary E. Welply, of Brooklyn,
New York, and a lady of superior culture and
natural refinement, who holds membership in
the Episcopal church. In 1875 the General was
made a Master Mason, in Alturas Lodge, No.
12, A. F. & A. M., has served as past master, and
has been a most active worker. He is also a
valued member of Phil. Sheridan Post, G. A. R.,
of Boise, is past commander of E. D. Baker
Post, at Hailey, and was junior vice commander
of the Department of Utah, Idaho and Montana.
He is a man of fine physique, large and well pro-
portioned. His entire freedom from ostentation
or self-laudation has made him one of the most
popular citizens of Idaho, with whose history he
has now been so long and prominently identified.
WILLIAM H. BAUGH. M. D.
Dr. Baugh is the well known physician and
druggist of Shoshone, and has a wide acquaint-
ance throughout southern Idaho. A native of
^Missouri, he was born in Boonville, July 28,
1864, and is of German lineage. His paternal
grandfather removed from one of the eastern
states to Indiana, and there the Doctor's father,
Henry Clay Baugh, was born and reared. In
i860 he removed to Missouri and married Eliza-
beth Steger, of that state. He had previously
crossed the plains to California, where he had en-
gaged in mining with fair success. After his
return to Missouri he engaged in stock-raising
until 1874, when his life's labors were ended in
death. He died of pneumonia when forty-eight
years of age, and his wife passed away in 1880.
They were both members of the Methodist
church and people of much worth. They left
six children.
Dr. Baugh, the eldest of the family, spent his
youth in the state of his nativity, and acquired
his medical education in the Missouri Medical
College, at St. Louis, where he was graduated in
the class of 1891. For two years he practiced in
that state and then came to Idaho, forming a
partnership with Dr. Smith, at Mountain Home.
On leaving that place he took up his abode
at Shoshone, and from the beginning has enjoyed
a large and lucrative practice, extending over a
radius of forty miles. After two years he estab-
lished the only drug store in the town, having
a good store, twenty by ninety feet, which is sup- '
plied with a well selected stock of drugs, paints,
oils, jewelry, stationery, cigars and tobacco. He
is also the local physician and surgeon for the
Short Line Railroad Company, and is a member
of the State Medical Association. In addition to
his other business interests he is engaged in
sheep-raising, which is now a very important in-
dustry in Idaho, and like the other branches of
his business it is yielding to him a good income.
On the 31st of July, 1896, was celebrated the
marriage of Dr. Baugh and Miss Rose Burke, a
native of Watertown, New York, and a daughter
of Morris Burke, now of Shoshone. The Doctor
is a very prominent Mason, belonging to the
blue lodge, chapter, commandery and the mystic
shrine. He is an energetic business man of
marked ability, a progressive citizen and justly
popular in his wide circle of acquaintances.
JULIUS S. WATERS.
A distinguished jurist has said: "In the
American state the great and good lawyer must
always be prominent, for he is one of the forces
that move and control society. Public confidence
has generally been reposed in the legal profes-
sion. It has ever been the defender of popular
rights, the champion of freedom regulated by
law, the firm support of good government. In
tfie times of danger it has stood like a rock and
breasted the mad passions of the hour and finally
resisted tumult and faction." A review of the
history of Julius Spencer Waters shows that his
life is largely an exemplification of this state-
ment; that as an individual he has shared in the
work thus attributed to the class, and through
many years has labored for the good of the na-
tion, advocating every measure intended to ad-
vance the welfare, prosperity and happiness of
his people. His ancestors were among those who
fought for American independence, his grand-
father, Walter Waters, and his brothers all serv-
ing in the colonial army. His father. William
Waters, was born in Monroe county, New York,
15-1-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in 1795, and was a soldier in the war of 18 12,
participating in tire battle of Lundy's Lane under
(jeneral Scott. He was one of the pioneers of the
western reserve of Ohio, locating in Ashtabula
county. In 1837 he removed with his family
from Ohio to Boonville, Warwick county, In-
diana, and when his son Julius was eight years
of age went to Iowa, taking up his abode near
what is now Mount Pleasant, Henry county.
About this time the family was bereft by death
of the wife and mother. Julius S. Waters was
born in Warwick county, Indiana, March 25,
1838, and although now in his ninth year had had
no opportunity to secure an education, having
always lived in a wild frontier district, having no
knowledge of what was going on in the great
busy world outside. Soon after the death of the
mother the family became scattered and the sub-
ject of this sketch, although a mere lad, was
thrown entirely upon his ow-n resources. He has
thus indeed been the architect of his own for-
tunes and has builded wisely and well. He early
gave evidence of the elemental strength of his
character in the self-reliance, energy and true
pluck which he has displayed, — qualities which
have marked his entire career and have brought
to him a well merited success. Under many and
diversified circumstances they have enabled him
to conquer obstacles and advance to a position
of prominence in the professional and political
world. Left alone, he began seeking a way
whereby he might earn his own living, and soon
secured work at driving o.xen in breaking prairie
sod. his wages being four dollars per month and
board. He eagerly accepted this opportunity of
earning his livelihood, and after four months of
constant hard work he was able to boast of being
the possessor of sixteen dollars cash, which he
expended for such warm but cheap clothing as
would protect him from the cold during the com-
ing winter. It was in that winter of 1850 that he
first attended school, pursuing his studies for
three months, during which time he lived with an
old friend of his parents, working nights, morn-
ings and Saturdays in order to pay for his board.
The following summer was spent as the former
one, save that he received five dollars for his ser-
vices, and again in the winter he attended school
for three months, his wages being expended for
books and clothing. At this time he could only
spell and read a little, even the simpler mathe-
matics being to his mind as enigmatical as the
characters on a tea chest.
In the fall of 1852 he began to have aspira-
tions for something a little higher in the scale of
manual labor than driving oxen and decided to
learn a trade. A young acquaintance gave him
such glowing accounts of the rising . town of
Galesburg, Illinois, that he decided to remove
thither, and with his little bundle of clothing
swung on a stick over his shoulder, and only
three dollars in his pocket, he started on foot for
Burlington, Iowa. After a tedious and laborious
journey through the then wild country he ar-
rived at Burlington in the evening and at once
boarded a steamboat and paid fifty cents for his
fare to Oquawka. Much of the remainder of his
small capital went for food, — crackers and cheese.
He walked from Oquawka to Galesburg in a day
and a half, and as he made his way through the
streets of the town he passed a harness and sad-
dle shop. Thinking he would like to learn that
trade he entered and making his wishes known
to the proprietor. D. M. Chapin, he entered upon
an apprenticeship, during which time he not only
received instructions in the business but also
was given much valuable advice which he has
profitably followed in late years, his employer
proving to him a good friend.
On completing his apprenticeship, Mr. Waters
began business in Burlington, Iowa, and later
returned to Mount Pleasant, where he carried
on operations in that line. In 1857 he returned
to Indiana to visit the old family homestead and
renew the acquaintances of former years, and
among the hallowed scenes of his childhood he
decided to remain and devote as much time as
possible to such studies as would fit him for the
practical duties of life. His new home, too, was
situated on the banks of the Ohio, the division
line between the free and slave districts, and there
developed the strong anti-slavery views and ten-
dencies which were so manifest in later years.
The Abolition party, then well organized, found in
him an ardent and energetic advocate, and in the
fall of 1858, although not yet twenty-one, he was
nominated as the Abolition candidate for the
legislature. Such was his popularity in the coun-
ty that he received four hundred votes, when
onlv thirtv-seven votes had been cast for John C.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Fremont two years Jjefore. The county was
strongly Democratic, and during tlie canvass
made by the youthful candidate, which was very
thorough and vigorous, he was frequently bru-
tally treated and almost constantly threatened
with violence by the opposition. After the fall
election of 1858 he at once began to organize his
county for the coming contest in i860, and so
well did he succeed that the Republicans had a
small majority. During that campaign JMr.
\\'aters was a delegate to the state convention
which nominated Henry S. Lane for governor
and O. P. Morton for lieutenant governor, while
the name of Benjamin Harrison appeared at the
foot of the ticket in connection with the office of
reporter of the supreme court. Thirty-two years
later, in 1892, he was one of the Harrison presi-
dential electors for Idaho.
During all these years of great political strife
]\lr. Waters applied himself closely to the study
of law and was admitted to the bar, since which
time he has successfully engaged in practice. At
the breaking out of the great civil w-ar he devoted
himself assiduously to promoting the cause of'the
Union and of human freedom, and never during
the darkest hours did he doubt the final triumph
of the northern arms. In 1865 he removed to
Labette county, Kansas, becoming one of its
pioneer settlers. He was one of the organizers
of the Republican party there, and by his efficient
labors contributed materially to its great success,
attending most of J:he state conventions and pre-
siding as chairman at many of the county and
district conventions. He was admitted to the bar
in 1867, was elected to- the office of county attor-
ney in 1869, and was re-elected in 1870, 1876,
1878 and 1880. In 1882 he was chosen to repre-
sent his district in the state legislature, and in
1883 was appointed by President Arthur re-
ceiver of public moneys in the United States land
office, at Hailey, Idaho, at which time he removed
with his family to that place, filling the position
for four years, at the expiration of which period
he was elected on the Republican ticket to the
office of district attorney of Alturas county for a
term of two years. In 1892 he was a delegate
to the Idaho Republican state convention, and
was there nominated as one of the Idaho presi-
dential electors. He came to Shoshone in 1896,
and in 1898 was elected county attorney for Lin-
coln county, in which office he is now acceptably
serving. At the bar he has attained prestige by
reason of ability, comprehensive understanding
of the principles of jurisprudence and his accu-
racy in applying these to the points in litigation.
He prepares his cases very carefully, looking up
the authorities and precedents and fencing his
argument about with logical reasoning that is
generally incontrovertible.
In i860 Mr. Waters was united in marriage to
Miss Glenn, of Indiana, but she was spared to
him only a short time, her death occurring dur-
ing the war. In 1870, in Labette county, Kansas,
he wedded Mrs. Amy Myers, a native of Spencer
county, Indiana. They have one daughter,
Maude, an accomplished young lady, who is
skilled both in instrumental and vocal music.
The family occupy a very prominent position in
social circles and their pleasant home is cele-
brated for its hospitality. In 1869 Mr. Waters
became a Master Mason, and the following year
took the Royal Arch degrees. He has been mas-
ter of the blue lodge, high priest of the chapter
and eminent commander of the commandery.
During a large portion of his residence in Kansas
he was a member of the Press Association, being
editor of the Oswego Independent, one of the
leading newspapers of Kansas. Mr. Waters now
occupies a position of distinction in connection
with the bar and the political interests of Idaho.
Starting out in life for himself ere he had attended
school for a day, working at the breaking plow
for several seasons, and then becoming imbued
with a laudable ambition to attain something bet-
ter, he has steadily advanced in those walks of
life demanding intellectuality, business ability
and fidelity, and to-day commands the respect
and esteem not only of his community but
throughout the state. Over the record of his
public career and his private life there falls no
shadow of wrong, for he has ever been most loyal
to the ties of friendship and citizenship, and his
history well deserves a place in the annals of
his adopted state.
KNOX T.WLOR.
This gentleman, who has furnished for this
work the history of the mines with which he has
been connected, is a native of New Jersey, born
at Highbridge, on the 19th of October, 1873.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
His father and grandfather are the principal own-
ers of the large Taylor Iron and Steel Works at
his native place, the grandfather being the presi-
dent of the company. Knox Taylor was edu-
cated in the noted College of New Jersey at
Princeton, graduating in the class of 1895, and
he has made metallurgy and mining engineering
a specialty. After graduating he went to New
Mexico to engage in mining, as his chosen voca-
tion.
In October, 1896, he came to Ketchum, Idaho,
to take charge of the large mining interests which
he now represents. He is a thorough expert in
his calling, is a social and courteous gentleman,
and withal an enthusiastic sportsman. Just pre-
vious to his interview with the writer of this
sketch he had killed five out of eight black-tailed
deer in the mountains but a short distance from
Ketchum; and May 23, 1899, he killed a black
bear near the town. Wood river, directly at the
door of the residence of the Philadelphia com-
pany, where he resides, affords an abundance of
fine trout.
AUGUSTUS G. UPTON, A. M., D. D.
Although Dr. Upton has been a resident of
Weiser for little more than three years he has
been so closely and prominently connected with
the educational and moral interests of the town
during that time that no history of the communi-
ty would be complete without the record of his
career. It is a widely acknowledged fact that the
most important work to which man can direct his
energies is that of teaching, whether it be from
the pulpit, from the lecture platform or from the
schoolroom. Its primary object is ever the same,
— the development of one's latent powers that
the duties of life may be bravely met and well
performed. The intellectual and the moral na-
ture are so closely allied that it is difficult to in-
struct one without in a measure influencing the
other, and certainly the best results are accom-
plished when the work goes hand in hand.
Christian instruction is having an influence over
the world that few can estimate, for it is in
youth that the life of the man is marked out, his
future course decided and his choice as to the
good or evil made.
It is to this work of thus instructing the young
that Dr. Upton devotes his time, energies and
thought, and as the president of the Weiser Col-
lege and Academy his influence in this direction
is most widely felt. He was born at Heath, Mas-
sachusetts, on the 7th of December, 185 1, and is
of English and Scotch lineage, his ancestors hav-
ing located in New England at an early period
in the colonial history of the country. His fath-
er, Benjamin Flint Upton, was also a native of
the Old Bay state, and by trade was a wagon and
carriage manufacturer. In his religious views he
was a Congregationalist, and thus amid the re-
fined influence of a Christian home Dr. Upton of
this review was reared. He was educated in
Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, and on the
completion of the classical course was gradu-
ated in 1873. He then pursued a course in the-
ology and was graduated in that department in
1876. For a time he was a member of the faculty
of Oberlin College, holding the position of tutor
of Latin.
On leaving that excellent institution he was
ordained to the ministry of the Congregational
church, after which he efficiently engaged in his
chosen work as pastor of prominent churches in
Ohio, Michigan and New York. In the last
named state he was for some time secretary of the
Congregational Home Missionary Society, but
in 1888, on account of impaired health, he re-
signed his position and moved to Colorado. His
residence in Weiser dates from 1895, at which
time he accepted the presidency of the Weiser
College and Academy. Under his wise direction
the school has been making rapid advances and
stands among the first educational institutions of
the state. He is a careful and capable financier,
giving the whole energy of a thoroughly trained
mind to the work of placing the school on a
stable financial and educational foundation. He
is also justly regarded as a talented and eminent
minister of the church, and the spiritual as well
as the intellectual man is given every opportunity
for growth.
In 1876 President Upton was united in mar-
riage to Miss Lucy H. Metcalf, of Elyria, Ohio,
daughter of E. W. Metcalf, of that state. She is
a Christian lady of superior education and refine-
ment, and is now teaching in Weiser College and
Academy, her marked ability ably fitting her for
the work. Both the Doctor and his wife enjoy
the esteem of their students and a large circle of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
157
friends, and are valued additions to the social and
church circles of the place, being- particularly
active in the work of the Congregational church.
They have one daughter, who is with them in
their delightful home, which was erected by Dr.
Upton and stands on an eminence overlooking
the beautiful valley, forming a delightful scene.
In his political views he is an independent Re-
publican, but takes no active part in political
work, his time being fully occupied by his school
and church duties. At this point it would be al-
most tautological to enter into any series of
statements concerning his high intellectuality,
broad human sympathies and tolerance or to the
efifect that he is imbued with fine sensibilities
and clearly defined principles, for all this has been
indicated in the account of his work. Honor and
integrity are synonymous with his name, and he
enjoys the respect, confidence and high regard of
the community.
HON. JAMES GUNN.
To the energetic natures and strong mentality
of such men as James Gunn, member of congress
from Idaho, is due the success and ever increas-
ing prosperity of the Populist party in this state,
and in the hands of this class of citizens there is
ever assurance that the best interests and wel-
fare of the party will be attended to. resulting in
a successful culmination of the highest ambitions
and expectations entertained by its adherents.
Given to the prosecution of active measures in
political affairs, and possessing the earnest pur-
pose of placing their party beyond the pale of
possible diminution of power, the Populist lead-
ers in Idaho are ever advancing, carrying every-
thing before them in their irresistible onward
march. Certainly one of the most potent ele-
ments in the success of the Populistic movement
in Idaho is James Gunn, who throughout his life
has been a loyal citzen, imbued with patriotism
and fearless in defense of his honest convictions.
Through the long years of the civil war he fol-
lowed the Union banners on southern battle-
fields, and to-day, just as fearlessly and just as
loyally, he is advocating in the halls of congress
and before the people the principles which he
believes will best advance the welfare of the na-
tion. Such is the man whose life history forms
the theme of this article.
Mr. Gunn was born on the 6th of March, 1843.
His parents were John Gunn and Mary (Kerns)
Gunn, the former of whom died before the war
of the Rebellion. The mother survived him for
many years and was almost a centenarian at the
time of her death. James Gunn is the eldest of
their four children. He attended the public
schools, also acquiring an academic education,
and began to earn his own living by working as
a farm hand, at eight dollars per month. He
saved all of his money and used it in the acquire-
ment of an education. In this way he fitted him-
self for school-teaching, and after pursuing that
profession for a time he became imbued with a
desire to study law. With him to will has ever
been to do, and accordingly he entered the office
of Judge Mills, of Grant county, Wisconsin,
under whose direction he read law until 1862,
when, feeling that his country needed his ser-
vices, he put aside all personal considerations
and responded to the president's call for troops.
In August of that year he joined Company G,
Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry. He parti-
cipated in the siege of Vicksburg and in the
operations that drove Price out of Little Rock,
Arkansas. He was afterward transferred to the
Department of the Gulf, and was connected with
the expedition against Mobile, participating in
the siege of that city. He was on duty the
night the Confederates evacuated the fortifica-
tions, and after the close of operations in south-
ern Alabama, he joined the army that was massed
on the banks of the Rio Grande river for the pur-
pose of overawing the French in Mexico. In
October, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of
first lieutenant, and at Fish river, Alabama, in
March, 1865. was made captain. He served
until October of that year, when he was hon-
orably discharged. He made for himself a most
honorable military record. Always found at his
post of duty, fearlessly discharging every task
assigned to him, he battled earnestly for the cause
of the Union, and to-day deserves the thanks of
a grateful people for what he and his comrades
in arms did for the nation.
After the war Mr. Gunn removed to Colorado,
where he resided during the early days of its
territorial existence, becoming an important factor
in its development and improvement, and where
he was associated with some of the most import-
158
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ant enterprises connected with the opening up
of that country to settlement. He assisted in
building some of the first wagon roads across
the crest of the RQCi-;y mountains — by this means
establishing communication betw-een the eastern
and western sections of the state. He served as
mayor of Georgetown, Colorado, for four years
and was one of the committee that drew up the
charter for that city. In 1875 he removed to Vir-
ginia City, Nevada, visited various places in Cal-
ifornia and was finally attracted to Idaho by the
Wood river silver excitement in 1881-82. He
thus became one of the pioneers of the Wood
river valley, and in many ways aided in advanc-
ing civilization and progress in that part of the
state.
In 1890 Mr. Gunn was elected a member of
the Idaho senate from Alturas county and served
on several important committees. He was an
active adherent of the Republican party and its
principles until 1892, when, on account of the
position taken by the party on the money ques-
tion, at the Minneapolis national convention, he
severed his connection therewith and became one
of the organizers of the Populist party in Idaho.
He was nominated for congress at the first state
convention held by the party. At that conven-
tion but six counties were represented, but
though the contest was known to be a hopeless
one from the beginning Mr. Gunn made a strong
canvass, speaking in nearly every precinct in the
state, with much power and earnestness. In 1894
he was again nominated by the Populists for con-
gress, and materially increased his vote over that
of the previous election, but was again defeated.
In 1896 a union was effected between the Popu-
lists and Democrats, at which time he was once
more nominated for congress and was elected,
carrying the state by a plurality of forty-
five hundred votes, there being but twen-
ty-nine thousand votes cast in the state.
He has recently completed his first term
and the people of his state have no reason
to regret that they chose him as their representa-
tive. When the Populist party was organized it
was clearly seen that in order to win success it
should have an organ to voice its sentiments and
advocate its principles; accordingly the "Senti-
nel" was launched upon the journalistic sea. This
was a mere venture. Work was begun on a
small scale, for there was no stronglv organized
party back of it and no capital save that contrib-
uted by the people, many of whom were poor in
purse, but rich in principles and in the sublime
faith that these would finally triumph. Captain
Gunn early became associated with the Sentinel
as its editor, and continued his connection there-
with until his election to congress, in 1896. Owing
to his untiring efforts and his signal ability as an
editorial writer the paper was carried through
the critical period and became a recognized
force in the politics of the state, its influence on
the political mind being immeasurable. The Cap-
tain is thoroughly honest in his convictions and
is an earnest and fearless champion of what he
believes to be right. He is eloquent and convinc-
ing in argument and has made an excellent rec-
ord in congress, while his true manhood and
many admirable qualities have made him pop-
ular in Washington, as well as in Boise and the
state of his adoption.
JOHN S. WHITE.
The subject of this review has been long and
conspicuously identified with the history of the
great west, and in varied official positions has
proved a wise and discriminating factor in the
public life. He is at the present time the incum-
bent of the important office of judge of probate
of Elmore county, retaining his resiaence at
Mountain Home, the flourishing and attractive
little city which is the capital of said county.
Judge White is a native son of the old Empire
state, and may look with satisfaction upon a line-
age which traces back to the stanchest of old
New England stock. He was born in Cortland
county. New York, on the loth of August, 1830,
the son" of John K. and Sally (Griffin) White,
both of whom were born in Connecticut. The
ancestry is traced back to Puritan representatives
who founded the family in America, having come
to the rugged but hospitable shores of JMassachu-
setts on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth
Rock, famed in history and story. The original
American ancestors are supposed to have been
of Irish and Welsh extraction.
The parents of Judge White removed from
their native state to Cortland county. New York,
where for many years the father was engaged in
contracting and building, having previously
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
159
learned the trade of a mason. He was a man of
vigorous intellectuality and sterling rectitude of
character, and left the record of a long and useful
life. He lived to attain the age of seventy years,
and his wife was of about the same age at the
time of her death, which occurred in Minnesota,
at the home of her son, the subject of this review.
Both were worthy and devoted members of the
jMethodist Episcopal church, exemplifying in
their daily walk the faith which they professed
and in that faith going forward to the eternal life
which they felt was assured them. They became
the parents of three sons and one daughter, of
whom Judge White is the only survivor.
John S. White was reared to maturity in his
native state, and there received an excellent ed-
ucational discipline in the public schools. In
1855, at the age of twenty-five years, he deter-
mined to try his fortunes in the west, and accord-
ingly removed to Minnesota, where he contin-
ued to reside for nearly a quarter of a century.
He was there honored with official position, hav-
ing served as deputy sheriff and deputy United
States marshal. In 1879 he again turned his face
westward, casting in his fortune with what was
then the comparatively undeveloped territory of
Idaho. The Judge ma}' be consistently classed
among the pioneers of the commonwealth which
is so appropriately christened the "Gem of the
Mountains," and that he has been a valuable citi-
zen is evident from his tenure of offices of dis-
tinctive trust and responsibility, as accorded
through the suffrage of the people. He first lo-
cated in Boise, where he entered the employ of
the United States marshal, E. S. Chase, and was
given the position of warden of the territorial
penitentiary. In 1884 he removed from the cap-
ital city of the territory to Shoshone, where he
entered the employ of the railroad and stage com-
pany, also becoming a justice of the peace, in
which office he served with signal ability, his rul-
ings being so well taken as to gain to him the
confidence and respect of the people. Here he
entered claim to a tract of one hundred and sixty
acres of excellent land, which he improved, erect-
ing substantial buildings and making the place
a valuable one. This property he still owns.
In 1898 he received the appointment of judge
of probate of Elmore county, whither he came in
the spring of 1897, and where he has since re-
sided. His administration of the affairs of the
office is careful and discriminating and gained
to him the commendation of the public. Thus it
was but natural that he should become a candir
date for that office in November, 1898, his name
having been placed on the silver-Republican fu-
sion ticket. The votes were a tie and by lot he
won, the drawing being done by the county com-
missioner.
The marriage of Judge White was solemnized
in Cortland county, New- York, on the 7th of
April, 1857, when he was united to Miss Laura
E. Wheeler, who, like himself, is a native of that
county. She is the daughter of Johnson Wheeler
and is the only survivor of the family. Judge and
Mrs. White have one daughter, Katie E., who
became the wife of Harry C. Mollison. She was
honored with the office of president of the Ladies'
Silver Club, of Mountain Home, and proved a
most capable presiding officer, taking a deep
interest in the work of the club.
In the concluding paragraphs of this sketch
we must revert to another important and hon-
orable chapter in the life history of Judge White.
His patriotism and loyalty have ever been above
question, and the heroic manifestation of these at-
tributes came at the time when the integrity of
the nation was threatened by armed rebellion.
In March, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the
Second Minnesota Battery of Light Artillery,
with which he served until the expiration of his
term, covering a period of two years. The san-
guinary struggle was not yet ended, and the ster-
ling characteristics of the man prompted him to
veteranize and to again enlist. Thereafter his
military record of active service continued until
victory crowned the Union arms and the great-
est internecine war of history was terminated.
The government which he had served so faith-
fully in her hour of need granted him a discharge
in September, 1865, and he returned to his home,
once more to take up the pursuits of peace in a
country whose integrity he had helped to pre-
serve.
From the time of attaining his majority Judge
White was a stalwart supporter of the Republican
party and its policies, but in 1896. believing that
the party platform did not represent the best in-
terests of the nation and that certain of its planks
were calculated to work injury to that great sec-
160
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tion of the west with whose interests he is identi-
fied, he joined the silver wing of the party, with
motives as purely in the interest of the country
as those which animated him when he went forth
to face her enemies on the field of battle. He
has not wavered in his belief in the elemental
principles of the Republican party, but believes
that the platform of 1896 stands as a blot on the
'scutcheon of an organization whose record has
theretofore been one of the brightest and wisest.
Judge White keeps green the memory of the days
passed on the tented battle-field and manifests his
abiding interest in his old comrades in arms by
retaining membership in the Grand Army of the
Republic, whose ranks are rapidly being deci-
mated by the ravages of time, the great and final
promotion having come to the greater portion
of the brave boys in blue. He holds member-
ship in U. S. Grant Post, No. 8, at Shoshone,
and has filled all of its ofifices, having served sev-
eral terms as its commander. Judge White is
uniformly honored and esteemed, and his record
is one which reflects credit upon himself and
does honor to the vital young commonwealth in
whose progress and welfare he is so deeply con-
cerned.
JAMES D. McCURDY. M. D.
In an analyzation of the character and life work
of Dr. James Darwin AlcCurdy we note many of
the characteristics which have marked the Scotch
nation for many centuries, the perseverance, re-
liability, energy and unconquerable determina-
tion to pursue a course that has been marked
out. It is these sterling qualities which have
gained to Dr. JMcCurdy success in life and made
him one of the substantial and valued citizens of
Idaho. He now resides in Bellevue, Blaine coun-
ty, and while he has retired from the practice of
medicine he is still actively interested in mining,
being the owner of a valuable group of mines in
the Wood river valley.
Mr. McCurdy was born in Kentucky, Alarch
22, 1820. The family originated in Scotland, al-
though the grandfather of our subject came to
America from the north of Ireland and took up
his residence in Virginia. He loyally served the
colonies in their struggle for independence, and
afterward emigrated to Kentucky, becoming one
of the pioneers of that state. He was a Pres-
byterian in his religious belief, and lived to an
advanced age. The Doctor's father, James Dar-
win McCurdy, Sr., was an only son and was born
in Virginia. He married Miss Livenia Sharp, a
native of Virginia, and a daughter of Thomas
Sharp, who also removed from the Old Dominion
to Kentucky during the early history of the lat-
ter state. Unto James D. and Livenia McCurdy
were born eleven children, two of whom reached
years of maturity. The father died at the age of
sixty-three years, and the mother, long surviving
him, passed away at the age of eighty-seven.
The Doctor is now the only surviving mem-
ber of the family. He acquired his literary edu-
cation in his native state and was graduated in
Russellville, Kentucky, and in 1848 the degree of
M. D. was conferred upon him by the University
of New York. Returning to Kentucky he there
began the practice of medicine, but after a short
time removed to Missouri, and in 1852 crossed
the plains to Oregon. Many were the emigrants
who in that year made their way over the hot
sands and through the mountain passes to the
Pacific slope, but many also fell by the wayside,
stricken down with the dread disease, cholera.
The services of Dr. McCurdy were in great de-
mand by the sufferers, and keeping two horses
ready for use he treated the emigrants in trains
both ten miles in advance and ten miles in the rear
of his own train. It was an arduous service, but
one which was very gratefully received by those
who were attacked by that strange and generally
fatal illness.
In the year 1853 Dr. McCurdy was commis-
sioned surgeon-general of the Oregon forces
raised to suppress an outbreak of the Rogue river
Indians, in southern Oregon. When these In-
dians began to exhibit hostilities the white set-
tlers made a requisition on the governor, George
L. Curry, who promptly responded with a pro-
clamation for volunteers, who with equal prompt-
ness came forward, as Americans always do
when duty and patriotism call. The governor
appointed as commander in chief of these forces
General Joseph Lane, who afterward was elect-
ed one of the two first United States senators
from Oregon when this commonwealth became a
state, and was also candidate in i860 on the
Breckinridge ticket for the office of vice-president
of the United States. The company raised in
Salem elected James \Y. Xesmith as their cap-
/-e^-V.^, ^, ^%U^^ . ^. ^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
161
tain, who succeeded Lane in the United States
senate; and also elected Lafayette F. Grover as
their lieutenant, who was afterward governor of
the state of Oregon two terms, and was United
States senator one term. Dr. McCurdy served as
surgeon-general of the army until peace was
restored, when he returned to Salem and re-
sumed the practice of his profession.
After five and a half months spent upon the
journey, Dr. McCurdy arrived in Salem, Oregon,
where he opened an office and engaged in prac-
tice until 1857, when he returned to his old Ken-
tucky home to visit his aged mother. He then
went to Weston, Platte county, Missouri, where,
on the 2d of September, 1858, he was happily
married to Mrs. James H. Baldwin, nee Susan
B. Thornton, daughter of Colonel John Thorn-
ton, a pioneer of Missouri and a descendant of
a prominent southern family. Mr. Baldwin in
life was of the firm of Doniphon & Baldwin,
leading attorneys of Missouri. The Doctor and
his young wife went to St. Joseph, Missouri,
where he opened a drug store, w^hich he success-
fully conducted for seven years, when he sold out
and removed to Denver. He conducted a drug
store and also engaged in the practice of medi-
cine in Virginia City for a year, and then again
went to Salem, Oregon, where he resumed his
professional duties. His wife joined him there,
and they continued their residence at that place
until December, 1876, when they removed to
Walla Walla, hoping that a change of climate
would benefit Mrs. McCurdy 's health, which had
become impaired. This desirable result was at-
tained, and in addition the Doctor acquired a
large practice there and also became interested in
ranch property and in the raising of sheep. His
wife also assisted him in the latter enterprise and
prosperity attended their efiforts. They still own
the real estate at Walla Walla; but in 1882, hear-
ing of the great mining excitement in the Wood
river valley, the Doctor made a trip to this part
of the state, found the mines rich and productive,
and the country becoming the place of residence
of an enterprising and progressive population.
He therefore invested in mines, purchased land
and built a good home in Bellevue and is now
pleasantly located here. He continued to prac-
tice his profession to some extent until 1896,
when he retired altogether from professional life
in order to devote his time and energies to the
care of his mining and other property interests at
Walla Walla. He is part ow-ner of seven silver
and lead mines and of two gold mines. The
group is located in the Camas District, No. 2, of
the gold belt, and the mines are at present bond-
ed by a syndicate of St. Louis men.
The Doctor has long been identified with the
Masonic fraternity, having been made a Mason
in 1850. He is also a strong advocate of tem-
perance and belongs to the Good Templars' So-
ciety. His wife is an active member of the Chris-
tian church. They occupy a leading position in
social circles where true worth and intelligence
are received as the passports into good society.
In his business ventures the Doctor has been
very successful, his enterprise and energy over-
coming all obstacles and enabling him to reach
the plane of affluence.
WILLI.^M H. TOWNSEND.
Since the earliest pioneer development of Owy-
hee county, William H. Townsend has resided
within its borders. Silver City had as yet no
beginning when he arrived on its present site,
in 1863, and De Lamar, Dewey and other towns
were not heard of for many years afterward. The
rich mineral deposits of this region, how-ever,
have attracted a large population, and with mar-
velous rapidity villages have been builded and all
the enterprises and business industries of older
communities have been introduced. All honor is
due to the brave band of pioneers who first
opened up this region to civilization, among
which number is William H. Townsend.
He is a native of New England and a represent-
ative of one of the oldest American families, his
English ancestors having come to the shores of
the New World in 1630, only ten years after the
planting of the colony at Salem. Among the
heroes of the Revolution were some who bore the
name of Townsend, the number including the
great-giandfather of our subject. The grand-
father, William W. Townsend, was born in Mas-
sachusetts, and built the first block house in
Shoreham, \'ermont. In the Green Mountain
state occurred the birth of our subject's father,
^ ernon Townsend, who on attaining his ma-
jority married Eunice Haskins. In his early
life he was a mechanic, but in 1844 he removed to
162
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Wisconsin, where he industriously followed farm-
ing throughout his remaining days. His death
occurred when he had reached the age of eighty-
six years, and most of his family were long-lived
people, few passing away before arriving at the
eightieth milestone on life's journey. In reli-
gious belief the Townsends were Congregation-
alists. The mother of our subject was about
sixty years of age at the time of her demise.
Vernon and Eunice (Haskins) Townsend had
five children, of whom three are now living.
William H. Townsend was born in Vermont,
April 12, 1832, and when a youth of twelve sum-
mers went with his parents to Wisconsin, where
he remained until 1853, when he crossed the
plains to California. On the long journey across
the sands and through the mountain passes the
party with which he traveled was attacked by
Indians, and Air. Tow-nsend received a flesh
wound in the thigh, but they succeeded in driving
off tlie red men. On arriving in the Gold-
en state our subject engaged in mining
in Siskiyou, Trinity and Calaveras counties, and
his placer-mining operations in Trinity county
yielded him one hundred dollars per day on an
average. Three of them took out three thou-
sand dollars in one week. For nine years Mr.
Townsend followed mining in California, and in
1862 went to Powder river, Oregon, near where
Baker City is now located. Subsequently he
came to Owyhee county with a party of thirty
miners, who arrived on the present site of Sil-
ver City in September of that year. This rich
mineral district had been discovered the previous
vear by the celebrated Jordan, which fact, how-
ever, was unknown to Mr. Townsend and his
party. Our subject secured his claim in the
Gulch, one mile below where the town of Dewey
now stands, and during the first six w-eeks, in
connection with H. B. Eastman and A. C. Hud-
son, he took out three thousand dollars. When
the quartz mines were discovered he and Mr.
Eastman engaged in packing supplies to the
miners and later became interested in the Morn-
ing Star mine, in conjunction with Marion
Moore and D. H. Fogtis. They took considera-
ble gold from that claim, the first ore yielding
nine hundred dollars to the ton.
Since that time Mr. Townsend has followed
prospecting and locating mines. He now has a
mill and good outfit on Jordan creek, three miles
from De Lamar, where he has impounded a
large quantity of tailings from the De Lamar
mines. He has about thirty thousand tons of ore,
and his mill has a capacity of twenty-five tons
daily. A flume, a mile in length, conducts water
to his mill for power, and he will furnish em-
ployment to several men when his plant is in
operation. His practical mining experience can-
not but render his new enterprise a profitable one,
and all of his friends wish him the greatest suc-
cess.
Mr. Townsend was united in marriage to Miss
Nellie Scales, a sister of John Scales, of Owyhee
county. They have five children: Lottie, wife of
Fred Crete, Jr.; Albert, who is his father's assist-
ant in business, and Jennie, Harry and Alice, all
under the parental roof. The family have until
recently resided in Silver City, where Mr. Town-
send owns a good residence, but are now occupy-
ing a new home near the mill. Mrs. Townsend
is a member of the Methodist church, and the
subject of this review belongs to the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows. He has passed all of
the chairs three times and is one of the most val-
ued representatives of his lodge, which he has
represented in the grand lodge. In politics he
has always been a Republican, but differs with
the main branch of the party on the money ques-
tion. The success he has achieved in business
is due entirely to his own efTorts. He is a natural
mechanic, being able to do any kind of w-ork in
wood or iron, and this is of great benefit to him
in his new enterprise. He is industrious and
energetic, and his capable management has re-
sulted in securing to him a comfortable prop-
erty, which will undoubtedly bring him better
financial returns in the future.
PETER PENCE.
The life record of this honored pioneer, and
his connection with many of the leading events
in the history of Idaho, form no unimportant
chapter in the annals of the state. He has been
identified with its early development through the
period when existence in the northwest w-as at-
tended by many difficulties and dangers, and with
its latter-day progress and advancement which
have placed Idaho on a par with many of the older
states of the east. His early years were spent tar
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
163
from this "Gem of the Mountains." He was
born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, in
October, 1837, and is of German ancestry, the
founders of the family in America having been
early settlers of the Keystone state. The grand-
father of our subject, George Washington Pence,
served as a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war
and lived to be one hundred years of age, while
his wife reached the remarkable age of one hun-
dred and seven years.
Their son, who also bore the name of George
W. Pence and is the father of our subject, was
born in Pennsylvania, November 10, 18 10, and is
still living on the old family homestead where he
first opened his eyes to the light of day. He
married Deborah McKee, who was of Irish line-
age. They were industrious farming people and
were members of the Presbyterian church. Mr.
Pence has survived his fourth wife. By his mar-
riage to the mother of our subject he had ten
children, eight of whom are living, including
Sarah Pence, who resides in the east and is presi-
dent of the National League. Other members of
the family are prominent in various w-alks of life
and the Pence history is most creditable and
commendable.
Peter Pence was reared upon his father's farm,
assisting in the labors of field and meadow
through the summer months, while in the winter
season he attended the public schools of the
neighborhood. In 1857 he went to Kansas,
where he was living all through the troublous
times concerning the adoption or rejection of
slavery in that state. He had many thrilling ex-
periences and narrow escapes, which if written in
detail would form an interesting volume. He
almost met death at the hands of border ruffians
on several occasions, and at one time was way-
laid by the "jayhawkers," who stole his team
from him, but with dauntless courage he followed
them and finally succeeded in recovering pos-
session of his horses. With his team he hauled to
Atchison the "Jim Lane cannon," with which
they defended the town. In 1861 Mr. Pence
made three trips to Denver. Colorado, freight-
ing with oxen and hauling the goods that stocked
some of the first stores built in that city. In 1862
he again started with an ox team on the long and
perilous journey across the arid plains, leaving
the Missouri river on the 9th of June. They were
harassed by Indians, lost some of their stock and
saw the remains of many emigrants who had been
killed by the savages. They arrived at the ford-
ing place of the Malheur river, September 26,
1862, but were there delayed for a day by the
death of one of the party. At that point they
met the men who had just discovered gold in the
Boise basin, but Mr. Pence was prevailed upon
to go with the company to BaKer City, Oregon,
w^hich was then a town of two unfinished houses.
After two weeks passed there, he went to Auburn
and thence came to the Boise basin, where he ar-
rived on the 1st of November. He formed a part-
nership with Samuel Kenney and they whip-
sawed lumber, for which in the spring of 1863
they were paid three hundred dollars per thou-
sand feet, the winter's work thus bringing them
thirty dollars per day. Expenses, however, were
very high, flour sometimes selling for a dollar
a pound, and other things in proportion. In 1863
Mr. Pence began mining, but did not meet with
success in that venture, and so followed freight-
ing from Umatilla and Walla Walla to the Boise
basin until 1866, when he operated a horse-power
threshing machine in Boise valley, receiving fif-
teen cents a bushel for threshing grain. He saw
a man called Beaver Dick stake out the first
ranch located in the Boise valley, the land being
about five miles above Boise City. In 1867 he
too became a ranch owner, in the famous Payette
valley, ten miles above the present town of Pay-
ette, turning his attention to the raising of stock,
in which he has since been successfully engaged.
He has had as many as two thousand head of
cattle at one time, and his sales of stock, in 1887,
amounted to forty-two thousand and five hun-
dred dollars. For many years he has made his
headquarters in Payette, and at various times has
successfully conducted a meat market in coiinec-
tion with the management of his large ranch,
both in Boise City and other places.
His business interests have been conducted
with marked ability, and he is widely recognized
as one of the leading stock dealers of the state.
His realty holdings are very extensive, including
about three thousand acres of rich farming lands,
together with an entire block in the city of
Payette, on which his residence is situated. He
also owns a half interest in the Garie addition to
Payette, is largely interested in the irrigation
164
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ditch known as the Lower Payette ditch, which
supplies water in the lower Payette and Snake
river valleys to the Weiser river, a distance of
twenty-two miles, and is at present president
of three ditch incorporations. He is also vice-
president of the Payette \'alley Bank. The var-
ied nature of his business interests indicates his
resourceful business ability. He is quick to note
a favorable opportunity, is energetic and enter-
prising, and in matters of business management
his judgment is rarely at fault. His property has
been worthily acquired and is a fitting reward
to one who has experienced all the hardships of
pioneer life in the northwest.
On the 6th of October, 1873, Mr. Pence mar-
ried .Miss Anna Bixby, who was born in IMis-
souri. but was reared in Nebraska. Her father,
Seth Bixby, was a prominent California pioneer.
Mr. and Mrs. Pence have six children, four sons
and two daughters: Emma Belle, wife of F. M.
Satoris: Edward, Lloyd, Harry, Walter and
Grace. The three eldest children are all college
graduates, and it is the intention that the young-
er ones shall receive equally good educational
privileges, that they may thus be well fitted for
the practical and responsible duties of life.
Mr. and Mrs. Pence are charter members of
the Methodist church of Payette, and have ever
taken a most active interest in its work. They
contributed liberally toward the erection of the
house of worship in Payette, and also the Meth-
odist church in Weiser. The cause of education
has likewise found in them trustworthy friends,
and no worthy movement seeks their aid in vain.
He is at present a member of the school board in
Payette.
In his political views Mr. Pence is a stalwart
Republican. He served as the first mayor of
Payette, proving a competent and faithful offi-
cial, and is now a member of the town council.'
He is a charier member of the Masonic lodge of
the town and has taken the Royal Arch degrees
of the order. Thus has he been prominently con-
nected with the business, social, educational and
moral interests of his adopted state, and that, too,
from the earliest period of its development. He
came to Idaho at a time when perils and hard-
ships were on every hand, when the pioneers
built for their protection at diiiferent points along
the river stockades to which they escaped from
the savages. JNIany a night Mr. Pence has slept
with his family in the bushes for fear the Indians
would attack them in their home and murder
them all. On other occasions he has hastily
placed wife and children into the wagon and
driven with all speed to the stockade. Atrocities
committed by Indians, and often by the lawless
element usually found in a new community, are
too terrible to relate ; but that period in the his-
tory of the state has long since passed; law,
order and peace hold dominion over this beauti-
ful region, rich with the bountiful gifts of nature,
and Mr. Pence, with many others of the brave
pioneers, is now enjoying the fruits of his former
toil.
DAVID HERON.
In a pleasant, attractive brick residence in a de-
sirable section of Boise City, are living to-day
David Heron and wife, esteemed citizens and
pioneers of Ada county. Mr. Heron has fre-
quently served his neighbors and friends in offi-
cial positions of much responsibility and trust,
and has won their highest praise for the able
and conscientious manner in which he discharged
the duties resting upon him. For a period of two
years he was the recorder and auditor of this
county, for a similar length of time was the
county assessor and during some six years was
one of the commissioners of Ada county. He
has just reason to be proud of his record as a
public official, and no breath of criticism or doubt
of his strict integrity and impartiality has ever
diminished his fair fame.
The parents of David Heron were David and
Jennie (McGee) Heron, both natives of Scotland.
They emigrated to the hospitable shores of
America in 1820 and settled in Pottsville, Penn-
sylvania, where for many years Mr. Heron was
engaged in the coal business. In 1857 he re-
moved to JefTerson county, Iowa, where he
turned his attention to milling and was thus em-
ployed until the time of his death, in the sev-
enty-second year of his age. His good wife sur-
vived him, her demise taking place when she was
in her eighty-third year. In religious faith they
were Presbyterians, but for some time they were
members of the Baptist church. Of their seven
children four are living.
David Heron was born in Blossburg, Pennsyl-
vania. February 11, 1833, and received his educa-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
165
tion in his native state. For several years after he
embarked in business he was engaged in the
manufacture of lumber, in the state of Iowa, and
in i860 he removed to Colorado, of whose mining
industries he had heard glowing accounts. He
mined in Gilpin county for some time and car-
ried on a stamp mill, but, not meeting with the
prosperity which he desired and had anticipated,
he came to try his fortunes in the mines of the
Boise basin, this being in 1863. Mining opera-
tions, however, did not seem to be his special
field, and he ultimately became a farmer and
stock-raiser, in which line he was eminently suc-
cessful. He selected fertile, productive land, on
which he raised as high as eighty bushels of oats
to the acre, and one season he sold his crop of
oats at fifteen cents a pound. The prices of other
things were in proportion, and it cost a dollar to
get a letter here from Salt Lake City. As the
years rolled away Mr. Heron wrought out suc-
cess and is now the owner of several farms, ag-
gregating about five hundred acres. From time
to time he has branched out into other lines of
business or investment, and is at present a stock-
holder in the Artesian Hot and Cold Water Com-
pany of Boise City, an enterprise which has been
of great benefit to this community.
Mr. Heron is a man of deep convictions of
right and duty, makes up his mind on all mat-
ters of moment independently, and then acts in
strict accordance with what he believes is best.
He has been a lifelong Republican, and it was
with keen regret that he felt impelled to step out
of its ranks in 1896, when the party took the at-
titude which it did on the money issue. He is
frank and outspoken in favor of bi-metallism, and
believes that this principle will eventually tri-
umph, and that the people of this democratic
country will be greatly profited thereby. In
the meantime he is content to wait, as hopefully
as may be, having the courage to remain with
the minority.
In 1861 Air. Heron married Miss Fidelia A.
Canfield, who was the first school-teacher in Cen-
tral City, Colorado, and a pioneer in that state, as
well as in Idaho. The only son of our subject
and wife, Frank E., is now managing one of their
farms, he being a practical, progressive young
agriculturist. Mary T., the elder daughter, is
now the wife of William F. Yarvan. Alice I. is
a graduate of the Boise high school, subsequently
graduating in the Michigan State Normal
school: was for three years principal of the
schools of St. Louis, Gratiot county, Michigan,
and is now occupying a similar position in the
Whittier school of Boise City. She has had ex-
cellent advantages and seems specially qualified,
both by nature and training, for her chosen work.
WILLIAM F. SMITH, M. D.
The state of Idaho, with its pulsing industrial
activities and rapid development, has attracted
within its confines men of marked ability and
high character in the various professional lines,
and in this way progress has been conserved and
social stability fostered. He whose name initi-
ates this review has gained recognition as one
of the able and successful physicians of the state,
and by his labors, his high professional attain-
ments and his sterling characteristics has justified
the respect and confidence in which he is held by
the medical fraternity and the local public.
A representative physician and surgeon of
Mountain Home, the county seat of Elmore
county, Idaho, Dr. William F. Smith has main-
tained his residence here since the year 1889,
having acquired an enviable professional pres-
tige and built up a successful practice. Dr. Smith
is a native of the Old Dominion state, having
been born in the beautiful old southern city of
Richmond, on the nth of August, 1863, being a
representative of one of the old and honored
families of Virginia. — a family which was prom-
inently identified with the early annals of that
patrician old commonwealth. The Doctor's
grandfather, Hiram M. Smith, and his father,
Isaac T. Smith, were prominent manufacturers
of Richmond, and during the late civil war were
extensively engaged in the manufacturing of
arms and munitions for the Confederate service,
their sympathies being naturally with the cause
of the south and the institutions which time and
custom had amply sanctioned in that section of
the L^nion. The grandfather is still living, hav-
ing attained the venerable age of ninety-one
years.
The Doctor's father, Isaac T. Smith, was like-
wise a native of the old capital city on the James
river, and there he was reared and educated. He
married ]\Iiss Philoniena Clew, a native of New
166
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
York, and of French ancestry. They became
the parents of seven children, all of whom are liv-
ing but one. The father departed this life in 1884,
at the age of forty-four years, and the mother
and all the children, with the exception of the
subject of this review, still have their home in
Richmond. William F. Smith was the eldest
son in the family, and he grew to maturity in his
native city, in whose schools he received his edu-
cational discipline, completing his more purely
literary training in the Richmond College, after
which he pursued his medical studies in the Rich-
mond Medical College and in the local hospitals,
where he secured excellent clinical work.
In the year 1887 Dr. Smith left his southern
home and journeyed to the far distant northwest-
ern coast of the United States. For a time he
was located at Pendleton, Oregon, where he be-
gan the practice of his profession, but after a
short interval he came to Mountain Home, where
he has since continued in active and successful
practice. At the time of his arrival here there
was no physician in the town, and as the pioneer
of his profession in the locality he received the
heartiest of receptions and welcomes. That this
cordial welcome was merited has been shown in
the work he has accomplished and in the popu-
larity which he has retained, his devotion to his
profession and his kindly nature having gained
him the friendship and support which have so
conserved his success and reputation. Enthusi-
astic in the technical study of his profession, and
desiring to keep fully abreast of the advances
made in the science of medicine, the Doctor took
a post-graduate course at the New York Poly-
clinic in 1895, being essentially a student and
maintaining a lively interest in the progress of
the profession to which he is devoting himself.
Dr. Smith is a member of the Idaho State Med-
ical Society, the American Medical Association,
and is the local physician and surgeon of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad, having also the
railway practice at Glenn's Ferry. He served as
coroner of Elmore county for several years, has
also been physician to the county poor and has
in every way endeavored to make his professional
work a power for good in the community. He is
animated by a broad sympathy and charity, and in
his care and solicitude for the afflicted has had
recognition of neither poverty nor riches, his ser-
vices being accorded with equal promptitude and
devotion in either case. His kindness and sym-
pathy have endeared him to all classes of citizens,
and as a man he justifies the reputation borne by
the people of Virginia for never-failing courtesy
and intrinsic refinement.
In his political adherency the Doctor has been
stanchly allied with the Democratic party, in-
heriting the loyalty to the Jefifersonian principles
and policies from his ancestors. He has taken
an active part in the work of his party in the
state, and he was one of the electors of Idaho
during Mr. Bryan's campaign, in which connec-
tion his was the distinction of bearing to the na-
tional capital the results of the election in his
state. He is conspicuously identified with a num-
ber of the principal fraternal and social orders.
He is past chancellor commander of the Knights
of Pythias: has passed the chairs in the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has
represented his lodge in the grand lodge of the
state; is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and is a prominent and valued
member of the Masonic fraternity, being past
master of his lodge, and having passed the capitu-
lar and chivalric degrees, thus securing member-
ship in chapter and commandery, while his iden-
tification with that popular adjunct of Freema-
sonry, the IVIystic Shrine, indicates that he has
crossed the burning sands of the desert and
gained distinction as a noble of the temple of that
ancient Arabic order.
Doctor Smith has a conveniently located and
well equipped office in Mountain Home, and also
owns other property in the thriving little city
where he makes his home, and in whose progress
and material prosperity he is deeply interested.
He is well known throughout the county, and
his personal popularity is unmistakable.
GARNER MINER.
For thirty-eight years Garner Miner has been
a resident of Idaho, having come to the territory
in 1 86 1, when the development of this great
northwest was in its incipiency and the fron-
tiersmen had to meet many privations and dan-
gers. The Indians were frequently on the war
path, carrying death and devastation wherever
they went; and separated from the base of sup-
plies, from the comforts and luxuries of the east.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
167
the pioneers endured hardships undreamed of by
the present generation. In those days brave
hearts were necessary, indeed, but the same spirit
of Anglo-Saxon daring, fortitude and stability,
which, has characterized the people of this fair
land from its earliest colonization, and has car-
ried the English language and English suprema-
cy to all parts of the globe, found renewed mani-
festations among the mountains and valleys of
Idaho, and thus were laid the foundations of the
state, which now occupies a prominent place in
the great galaxy of states west of the Mississippi.
In all the work of progress and development,
in the task of subduing the wild land to the pur-
poses of civilization. Garner Miner bore his part,
and now in the evening of life is living retired at
his pleasant home in Caldwell, enjoying a well
earned rest.
;\Ir. Miner was born in New Haven, Connecti-
cut, on the 5th of November, 1822, his parents
being John and Mary (Marshall) Miner, also na-
tives of the Nutmeg state. In their family were
five children. Garner Miner attended school in
New Haven and in New York and subsequently
removed to Ohio, where he worked at the car-
penter's and millwright's trades. He was mar-
ried in that state, in 1847, to Miss Ann Eliza
Willson, whose birth occurred in Wood county,
Ohio, in 1827, her father being Almon Willson,
of that state. The young couple removed to
Michigan, locating in Branch county, where they
resided until 1852, when Mr. Miner started on
the long and perilous journey across the plains
to California, the usual dangers of which were
augmented by the cholera, which struck down
many a company of the emigrants, the new-made
graves of its victims being seen all along the way.
Arriving in the west, Mr. Miner engaged in min-
ing enterprises in Sierra and at Dry Creek, after
which he turned his attention to agricultural pur-
suits. He purchased a farm in the fertile valley
of the Sacramento river and, meeting with suc-
cess in his ventures, sent for his wife, who, mak-
ing her way to New York, sailed thence to
Nicaragua, October 2, 1854. On reaching San
Francisco she was met by her husband, and to-
gether they proceeded to their new home, where
they continued to dwell for some years. In 1861,
attracted by the gold discoveries at Florence,
Idaho, they came to this state, and later made
their way to the Boise basin. Mr. Aliner became
the owner of two-sevenths of seven claims in
Illinois Gulch, the company of wdiich he was a
member employing twenty-one men, at si.x dol-
lars each per day, and seven dollars each night,
to operate the mines. Excellent returns were
gathered from their labors, Mr. Miner's net divi-
dend being one thousand dollars per week. After
some time he disposed of his mining interests,
and purchased three hundred acres of land on the
Payette, where he successfully engaged in farm-
ing. He had ten acres planted to vegetables,
which at that time brought very high prices,
onions selling for ten dollars per hundred pounds
and other things in proportion. Mrs. Miner and
her three little daughters made the journey to
Idaho, by way of steamer to Portland, where
they were met by Mr. Miner, who with ox teams
brought them to the farm. Their place bordered
an old Indian trail, along which bands of red
men frequently passed. During periods wdien
the savages were on the war path, Mrs. Miner
and her little girls spent many a night in the
wheat field, while the husband and father like-
wise slept out under the stars, where he could
see both up and down the trail, his rifle within
reach in order that he might protect himself in
case of attack. He carried on his farming opera-
tions until 1892, when he removed with his fam-
ily to Caldwell, where he now resides.
The eldest of the three daughters of the fam-
ily is Mary Francelia, who was born in Ohio, and
during her early girlhood came with her mother
to the Pacific coast. She grew to be a beautiful
young lady and then became the wife of William
Lynch. He died in 1877, and she is now the wife
of a Mr. Fisher. The second daughter, Ada
Caroline, also an accomplished and cultured
woman, was born in California, married Will-
iam H. Isaacs, and died in 1895, at the age of
thirty-eight years. Her death was deeply de-
plored by all wdio knew her, for her excellencies
of character had endeared her to many friends
as well as to her husband and parents. Her
daughter, Ada Norine, is now living with IMr.
and Mrs. Miner. The third daughter, Martha
Ellen, who was also born in California, died at
the age of twenty-eight years, and thus only
one of the children is left to the parents in their
declining years.
168
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
For more tlian forty years Mr. and Mrs. Miner
have been faithful and consistent members of
the Methodist church. They have passed the
fiftieth anniversary of their wedding day, on
which occasion they were visited by many friends
in Caldwell, who, unknown to them, arranged
to celebrate the occasion and to express their
esteem for the worthy couple by presenting Mr.
Miner with a gold-headed cane, and his wife with
a gold badge and chain, — gifts which are greatly
prized by Mr. and Mrs. Miner as evidences of
the spirit which prompted their bestowal. With
the consciousness of lives well spent, and with
pleasant memories of good deeds performed for
their fellow men, they are nearing the end of the
journey of life, but their influence on their gen-
eration cannot be measured, nor can their value
as pioneers in the great state of Idaho be over-
estimated. They well deserve mention in this his-
tory, and with pleasure we present to our readers
this brief record of their lives.
C. W. WERNICKE.
The county treasurer of Lincoln county, Idaho,
C. W. Wernicke, is also the pioneer hardware
merchant of Shoshone, and throughout the eight-
een years of his residence here has been prom-
inently connected with the various interests
which have contributed to the growth, prosper-
ity and advancement of town and county. He
belongs to that class of progressive German citi-
zens who have severed the ties binding them to
the old world in order to seek homes in the land
of the free. He was born in Goldburg, Ger-
many, on the 13th of January, 1847, and in the
land of his nativity acquired his literary education
and learned the tinsmith's trade. He was a young
man of nineteen years when he decided to come
to America. Hearing of the advantages afforded
by the United States to young men of energy,
diligence and ambition, he crossed the Atlantic
resolved to try his fortune among new scenes.
He had only money enough to pay his passage,
and landed m New York city almost penniless,
ignorant of the language and customs of the peo-
ple among whom his lot was to be cast. With
resolute heart, however, he started out to seek
work and secured employment at his trade
in Lyons, New York. Later he worked as a
tinsmith in Jackson and in Paw Paw, Michigan,
and after a time began business on his own ac-
count on a small scale. As the days passed his
industry and economy added to his capital, his
business was proportionately increased, and for
twelve years he successfully carried on opera-
tions in that line. The excitement over the gold
discoveries at Leadville, Colorado, drew him to
that state, and in 1881 he came to Idaho, first
locating in Blackfoot, where he carried on the
hardware business for two years.
On the expiration of that period .Mr. Wernicke
came to Shoshone, and as there was not a build-
ing in the town he slept in a tent until he could
erect the frame structure in which he has since
conducted his store. The rough lumber with
which he constructed the building cost eighty
dollars per thousand feet. As soon as it was com-
pleted he put in a stock of shelf and heavy hard-
ware and has since enjoyed an extensive trade
throughout Shoshone and the surrounding coun-
try, his patronage steadily increasing and bring-
ing to him a well merited success. In addition to
his mercantile labors he is also discharging the
duties of county treasurer of Lincoln county, to
which position he was first appointed, entirely
without his solicitation, by Governor McConnell.
Since that time he has twice been re-elected by
popular vote, and is now acceptably and credita-
bly serving for the third term.
Mr. Wernicke is a valued and prominent mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
has passed the chairs in both branches of the
order and is past grand master of the state and
past grand representative to the sovereign grand
lodge. In politics he has been a life-long Re-
publican, and keeps well informed on the issues
and questions of the day, both political and other-
wise. His honorable business methods, his trust-
worthiness in public life, and his cordial, genial
manner have gained him a host of warm friends,
who will, we feel assured, gladly read this review
of his career.
DAVE ADAMS.
^^'hiIe "the race is not always to the swift nor
the battle to the strong," the invariable law of
destiny accords to tireless energy, industry and
ability, a successful career. The truth of this as-
sertion is abundantly verified in the life of Mr.
Adams, who, though he has met many difficulties
and obstacles, has overcome these bv determined
^\9i^V^^«*X0^<
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
purpose and laudable endeavor, working his way
steadily upward to success. He is now account-
ed one of the leading business men of Silver City,
and has been prominently identified with the de-
velopment of many of the leading business in-
terests of Idaho since his arrival in the territory
in 1868.
J\lr. Adams was born in Clark county, Illinois,
on the nth of April, 1843, and his ancestors,
who were of Scotch and German birth, were
early settlers of Kentucky and Ohio. His father,
Abner Adams, was born in Ohio, and in 1831
crossed the plains to California, engaging in
mining at different camps in that state until i860,
when he returned to his old home for his family.
He had gone to the Golden state by way of the
northern route, but took his family by the south-
ern route, traveling through Texas, New Mexico
and Arizona to Watsonville, Santa Cruz county,
California, -tthere he made a location. There his
death occurred in 1882, at the age of seventy-one
years, but his wife is still living and is now in
her seventy-ninth year. Their children are Re-
becca, deceased; Dave; Green, who resides in
Silver City, Idaho; Amanda, Isabella, George
and Albert, all residents of California.
Dave Adams received but limited educational
advantages in his youth. He pursued his studies
in a little log schoolhouse, but the instruction was
of a primitive character, and in the school of ex-
perience most of the valuable lessons of his life
have been learned. In 1857 he emigrated with
his uncle to Pocahontas, Arkansas, and a year
later went to Fort Smith, that state, where he
was employed for a year or two as "devil" in a
printing ofSce. Subsequently he spent a short
time in the Indian Territory and then located in
Sherman, Texas, where he worked in a printing
office until the 4th of March, 1861. On the day
on which the lamented Lincoln took the oath of
ofifice as president of the United States, he started
to join his father and family, who were then en
route for California. They were frequently at-
tacked by Indians while in Arizona, and Mr.
Adams accordingly learned something of the
inhuman methods of warfare as practiced by the
savages. Late in the fall, however, they reached
their destination in safety, and the subject of this
review soon secured a position in a printing
office. Such establishments have often been
termed "poor men's colleges," and sucV. they
were to ^Ir. Adams. \Miile working at his trade
he gained a broad, miscellaneous knowledge that
has made him a well informed man, and he has
ever maintained a deep interest in the living ques-
tions of the day and kept well informed thereon.
In 1864, however, j\Ir. Adams gave up his posi-
tion in the printing office in order to enter his
country's service as a member of Company A,
Eighth Regiment of California Volunteers.' It
was expected that the command would be or-
dered to the front, but instead they were engaged
in defending the coast until the close of hostili-
ties. In the fall of 1865, at the Presidio, in San
Francisco, Mr. Adams received an honorable dis-
charge. He remained in California until the
spring of 1866, and then, with a horse team, took
a load of flour to Humboldt county, Nevada,
where he engaged in various occupations, among
which were operating pack trains and burning
charcoal for smelting companies. In the spring
of 1868, in company with seven or eight others,
he walked from Humboldt county, Nevada,
through a portion of Oregon to Silver City,
Idaho, a distance of three hundred miles. That
summer he was employed on the Ike Jennings
ranch in Snake river valley, — the place now
known as Oreana, and in the autumn joined
a government surveying party engaged in draw-
ing township lines and subdividing the land on
both sides of Snake river, between Walters' Ferry
and the mouth of the Bruneau river. Soon after
his return to Silver City he accepted a position
on the Tidal Wave, a newspaper then published
by the Butler brothers, but in July, 1869, he left
that office to go on a prospecting tour in the
Salmon river mountains, in company with Henry
Knapp, a printer and assayer. That fall the fam-
ous Loon Creek Placer Camp was discovered,
and Mr. Adams and Mr. Knapp were the first
men on the ground with the exception of the dis-
coverers. They located several claims, and as a
flourishing town soon sprang into existence, they
admitted M. A. Wentworth to a partnership,
built some houses, and on pack animals brought
in a stock of general merchandise from Boise
Basin and started in business. They also estab-
lished an express line between Loon Creek and
Idaho City, a distance of one hundred and forty
miles, carrying mail and express, making the
170
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
journey in summer on horseback, but in winter
going on snow shoes. Flour sold as high as
fifty cents per pound. The charge for carrying a
letter either way was fifty cents ; newspapers from
fifty to seventy-five cents; magazines one dollar
and small packages in proportion. The camp,
however, proved to some extent a failure, the
mineral deposit not turning out to be what was
expected. The firm of Adams, Knapp and Went-
worth had done much of their business on the
credit system, and when the miners could not pay
they in consequence suffered heavy losses.
' In the fall of 1870 Mr. Adams went to Boise,
where he again worked in a printing office. In
187 1 he returned to Silver City and engaged in
mining on War Eagle mountain for a few
months, when he secured a situation on the Ava-
lanche, then published by W. J. Hill, continuing
in that position until July, 1874. His health fail-
ing him, he then made a tour of the coast towns
of California, and at San Francisco speculated
unsuccessfully in mining stock. He returned to
Silver City in July, 1876, and a few days later
went to Boise, where he secured the position of
foreman on the Statesman, which was then pub-
lished by Judge Milton Kelly. In 1877 '''^ again
returned to Silver City and worked for a year on
the Avalanche for Major Hay, but the following
winter he engaged in mining on War Eagle
mountain and met with losses in the venture. In
1879, however, he conducted a number of suc-
cessful speculations at Silver City and surround-
ing places, and in October, 1880, in partnership
with Guy Xewcomb, purchased the Avalanche
plant, conducting the paper until 1882, when he
sold his interest to Charles AI. Hays. ^Ir. Adams
then purchased the Silver City Iron Foundry,
and in addition to its operation dealt in wood,
conducted a number of speculations, and bought
and sold real estate. In 1889 in connection with
a partner he opened a furniture store, and three
years later, closing out their furniture business,
they put in a full line of general merchandise.
The same year the partner absconded, but ^Ir.
Adams continued the business, and such was
the confidence of the people in him that he soon
won a very large patronage, and carried on the
store with excellent success, eventually having
the largest trade in his line in the county. On
the 1st of Alay, 1898, he sold out in order to give
more of his time and attention to the conduct of
a private banking business which he had pre-
viously established and which had grown to con-
siderable proportions. In the year 1897 his oper-
ations in that line amounted to nearly two hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars, for the bank is
considered a great convenience by the miners
and business men of this section of the state. He
still conducts a profitable banking business, and
is regarded as one of the most reliable and trust-
worthy men of the county. His success is cer-
tainly well merited, as it has been won entirely
through his own well directed and honorable
efforts.
In his political views ]\Ir. Adams was long a
Republican, voting for the men and measures of
that party until 1896, when not favoring its
stand on the money question he gave his support
to W. J. Bryan, the Democratic candidate for
president. He was elected to the territorial legis-
lature in 1884, and therein labored with patriotic
and untiring zeal for the adoption of many meas-
ures which he believed would advance Idaho's
best good. He is still the owner of extensive
mining interests, and his business career is one
of which he has every reason to be proud. Start-
ing out in life in the humble capacity of errand
boy in a printing office, he has been connected
with many business interests and has ultimately
not only won prosperity, but through all has
maintained a reputation for honesty and integrity
of character that is unassailable. His connection
with the journalistic, mercantile, mining and
banking interests of the state has gained him a
wide acquaintance and all who know him speak
of him in terms of the highest respect.
COLUMBUS R. SHAW.
One of the most enterprising, energetic and
successful business men of Caldwell, is the gen-
tleman whose name appears above. He is a na-
tive of the state of JNIissouri, his birth having oc-
curred in Ray county, in 1859. His father, Will-
iam P. Shaw, was a native of Tennessee, whence
he removed to Missouri, in 1833, becoming one
of the pioneers of the latter state. He married
Miss Julia A. Waterman, a native of X'ew York,
whose people were also numbered among the
early settlers of Missouri. The Shaw family is of
Irish origin, and leaving the Emerald Isle crossed
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
171
the Atlantic to North Carolina during the colon-
ial epoch in the history of this country. In re-
ligious faith they were Methodists, and were peo-
ple of the highest respectability and worth. The
father of our subject died in his sixty-ninth year,
and the mother passed away in the forty-eighth
year of her age. They had six children, three
sons and three daughters.
Columbus R. Shaw, the youngest of the family,
acquired his education in the schools of Missouri,
and in 1883 came to Idaho as terminal agent
for the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company.
Subsequently, locating at Mountain Home, he
engaged in cattle-raising and in conducting a
stage line, meeting with fair success in his under-
takings. His next venture was in the lumber
trade, to which he has since devoted his energies,
building up a large and profitable business. He
makes his home and headquarters at Caldwell,
but his operations are not confined to the one
city. He carries on the lumber and milling busi-
ness in Boise and Gufifey also, and the volume of
his trade has constantly increased until it has as-
sumed extensive proportions. He is president of
the board of trade of Caldwell, was one of the
organizers of the Caldwell Creamery Company
and is its president, and in this as in his other
enterprises displays marked ability in his man-
agement and control of affairs. In matters of
judgment he is rarely at fault, and his keen
discrimination, resolute purpose and untiring en-
ergy have brought him most gratifying pros-
perity.
As a citizen, j\Ir. Shaw is public-spirited and
loyal, manifesting a deep interest in all that per-
tains to the welfare of his city and state along
educational, moral, social and material lines. He
is now serving as a member of the city council
and exercises his official prerogatives to upbuild
and benefit the town. He is now chairman of the
board of county commissioners, and though he
takes a deep interest in political affairs, and keeps
well informed on the issues of the day, he cannot
be called a politician in the sense of office-seeker,
as he prefers to devote his time and energies to
his extensive and varied business interests.
In 1891 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Shaw and Miss jMabel Stucker, of Silver City,
Idaho. They now have four children: Clarence
Rupert, Inez, Francis and Delia Elizabeth. Mrs.
Shaw is a valued member of the Episcopalian
church and presides with gracious hospitality
over her pleasant home in Caldwell, which is the
center of a cultured society circle. Mr. Shaw be-
longs to the Masonic order, the Odd Fellows
society and the Knights of Pythias fraternity.
He is justly accorded a place among the prom-
inent and representative citizens of Idaho, for he
belongs to that class of men whose enterprising
spirit is used not alone for their own benefit; he
also advances the general good and promotes
public prosperity by his ably managed individual
interests, thus placing this section of the country
on a par with the older east. He has excellent
ability as an organizer, forms his plans readily
and is determined in their execution. This en-
ables him to conquer obstacles which deter many
a man, and it has been one of the salient features
in his success.
JOHN C. CONNORS.
Entrusted with an important public service, the
care of the funds of Owyhee county. John C.
Connors is proving himself an efficient officer as
well as a leading business man of Silver City.
The greater part of his life has been passed at
the place which is now his home, and for many
years he has been actively connected with its
mercantile interests. A native of California, he
was born in Placer county, on the 10th of Feb-
ruary, 1859, a son of Peter Connors, who was
born in county Galway, Ireland, in July, 1822,
and came to the United States in 1846, when a
young man of twenty-four years. In 1852 he
went to California by way of the Isthmus route
and at times made considerable money in his
mining ventures, but lost much of it in other
mining speculations. In 1866 he came to Silver
City and for about thirty years was successfully
engaged in mining and stock-raising in Owyhee
county. In 1875 he devoted his energies to
mining and milling and also conducted a dairy
at South Mountain. In 1882 he located a ranch
on Trout creek, where he resided until 1896,
when he came to Silver City and retired from
active business life. He now makes his home
with his son John. He was married in New Or-
leans, Louisiana, April 10, 1849, to Miss Mary
Dimond, also a native of county Galway, Ireland.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
who departed this life on the ist of February,
1880, leaving a husband and family to mourn her
loss. They had seven children, five of whom are
yet living.
John C. Connors was the fifth in order of birth.
He spent the first seven- years of his life in his
native state, and then came with his parents to
Silver City, where he acquired his education in
the public schools. After putting aside his text-
books he began to earn his own livelihood, and
has for some years been numbered among the
leading and influential business men of the com-
munity. For some years he was successfully
engaged in the stock-raising business, but in
1888, in partnership with Timothy Shea, he
opened a meat market at Silver City, and the
Owyhee Meat Company, which was then organ-
ized, conducted shops at this place and also at
De Lamar, George W. Bruce being the other
member of the firm at the latter place. Mr. Con-
nors has conducted his business in a most hon-
orable and upright manner and in consequence
has now a very liberal patronage, enjoying the
leading business of the kind in this part of the
county. His efforts, however, have not been lim-
ited to one line of endeavor. He is an enterpris-
ing and resourceful business man, who having
made judicious investments in real estate is now
the owner of several houses in Silver City. He
also has eight hundred acres of land in Pleasant
^'allev, where he raises two hundred and fiftv
head of cattle, while his fields are largely planted
to hay for the use of his stock.
Mr. Connors was married on the 30th of April,
1 89 1, Miss Alice McMahon becoming his wife.
She is a native of Owyhee county and was a
daughter of Patrick McAIahon of Silver City,
now deceased. One son has been born of this
union, Daniel P., who is the joy of his parents'
home. In his political associations Mr. Connors
is a Democrat, having supported that party since
obtaining the right of franchise. The first public
office he held was that of county commissioner,
to which he was elected to fill the unexpired term
of T. Shea. In 1896 he was elected county treas-
urer and so acceptably filled the office that he
was made the nominee of the three parties at
the succeeding election. This fact is certainly a
High testimonial of his efficiency and also indi-
cates in an unmistakable manner his personal
popularity. He is an active member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity and the Odd Fellows lodge, has
filled most of the offices in both organizations
and is past master of the blue lodge, past high
priest of the chapter and a member in good
standing of Idaho Commandery. No. i, K. T.
His life exemplifies the noble principles of the
craft, and his brethren of the order hold him in
the highest esteem. In his business dealings
his course has ever been marked by probity and
fairness, while in public life patriotism and loyai-
tv to dutv are his chief characteristics.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MORMON QUESTION— THE FIFTEENTH LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY— LOOKING TO STATEHOOD-
IN JUDICIARY— CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
THE fifteenth legislative assembly of Idaho
convened December lo, 1878, when the
people were excited over Mormonism
more than in regard to all other things together.
In all contested elections the Mormon candidates
were excluded, and even an undue prejudice was
bitterly exhibited against them. Congress was
memorialized to refuse Utah admission into the
Union, and also to require of homestead and pre-
emption settlers an oath giving a statement of
their polygamous practices. Already the local
law required superintendents of schools to sub-
scribe to an affidavit that they were neither biga-
mists nor polygamists, but at this session it was
so altered that in case the person challenged
were a woman the objectionable terms should
not be included in the oath!
At this session, also, was created the county of
Elmore from the western portion of Alturas
county, and Logan and Custer counties were
formed. In the case of Elmore county,
after much display of parliamentary tac-
tics, the bill was passed, although the speaker
became so excited that he bolted and left the
chair abruptly during the reading of the jour-
nal on the last day of the session. The president
of the council also left his chair on the last day
of the session, in order to obstruct the passage of
a measure obnoxious to him. In neither case was
the action successful, as the house immediately
elected George P. Wheeler, of Bingham, chair-
man, and the council chose S. F. Taylor, of the
same county, president.
To encourage the settlement of the territory a
board of immigration was established. This mea-
sure was recommended by the committee on ter-
ritorial ai?airs, whose report set forth that the
natural wealth of Idaho was less known to the
world than that of any other part of the Union.
This legislature appropriated fifty thousand dol-
lars for the construction of a road, long needed,
between Mount Idaho and Little Salmon Mead-
ows, more closely connecting the Panhandle with
the main body of the commonw-ealth. Congress
was also memorialized for an amendment to the
alien act, so as to except mines from its provis-
ions and encourage the immigration of miners,
and the establishment of the "University of Ida-
ho" was provided for.
Preparatory to the admission of Idaho into the
federal L'nion, a bill was introduced in the house
by Bruner, of Boise, providing for a constitu-
tional convention; and Perkins, of Alturas, gave
notice in the council that a joint memorial to
congress would be presented for adoption in due
time for an act enabling the people of Idaho to
form a state government. The citizens of Lewis-
ton held a mass meeting and adopted resolutions,
which they forwarded to the legislature, demand-
ing of congress admission into the Union, and
indorsed Delegate Dubois and others who were
laboring to secure this end. Accordingly, on
the 29th of January the council approved a house
joint memorial for the admission of Idaho, with-
out a dissenting voice; and on the 4th of Feb-
ruary a special committee, appointed to examine
a house bill providing for the calling of a con-
stitutional convention, made a favorable report.
Statehood was unanimously regarded as a great
help to the investment of capital in Idaho. The
year 1889 found the people in a much improved
condition. Both mining and agriculture were
making rapid advances, aided by the opening of
routes of travel and transportation, and also by
plants for irrigation. Prosperity was in the air.
Nearly all the old political acrimony had died
out. Even the scheme for annexing the Panhan-
dle to Washington was not heard of, except to
be denounced. Such an expression of sentiment
was indeed made emphatic by resolutions of the
legislature and of both the main political plat-
forms. The little opposition to statehood was tx-
174
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
hibited principally among the farmers, who
feared increased expenses without a full com-
pensation.
In the judiciary of Idaho the changes during its
territorial career were frequent. James B. Hays
was appointed chief justice in 1886, in place of
John I. jMorgan; Norman Buck and Case Bro-
derick, appointed in 1884, were his associates,
while James S. Hawley was the United States at-
torney. In 1888 Hugh W. Weir was chief jus-
tice, and John Lee Logan and Charles H. Berry
associates, with Hawley still the federal attorney.
In 1889 Weir was superseded by James H. Beat-
ty, of Hailey ; and Logan, who was removed on
account of ill health, was succeeded by Willis
Sweet, of Moscow, who had a few months pre-
viously been appointed United States attorney.
Judge Logan came to Idaho when the bench
and society were shaken to their foundations and
mob law openly advocated, but he exhibited a
remarkable degree of moral courage and re-
formed matters as if by magic. The people rec-
ognized in him a splendid lawyer and a man of
firmness and clear intellect. He conducted and
ruled the court, instead of permitting the court
to rule him. He was just and fearless. The very
first criminal cases tried before him showed that
he was a judge for the people and that he would
apply the law as it should be applied.
With a change of administration, and the elec-
tion of 1888 in Idaho, came a general change of
federal and territorial officials. Frederick T.
Dubois, however, was again chosen delegate to
congress. George L. Shoup was appointed gov-
ernor, E. J. Curtis remained secretary, Joseph
C. Straughan was appointed surveyor general
Richard Z. Johnson was elected attorney general
of the territory, James H. Wickersham comp-
troller, Charles Himrod treasurer, and Charles C.
Stevenson superintendent of public instruc-
tion. Regents of the university, capitol and pri-
son commissioners, etc., were appointed by the
legislature. Thus it may be seen that as the
country grew older a greater and greater propor-
tion of the territorial officers were taken from the
resident population.
April 2, 1889, Governor Stevenson issued a
proclamation that the people elect delegates to
a constitutional convention, to meet at Boise City
July 4 of that year, although as yet no enabling
act had been passed by congress. Shoup, suc-
ceeding Stevenson as governor April 30, issued
another proclamation, indorsing the one which
Governor Stevenson had published; and accord-
ingly seventy-two delegates were elected, who
met and continued in session for thirty-four days,
framing a constitution for the coming state,
which instrument had no pecuHar features, ex-
cepting perhaps the one which emphasized the
prohibition of polygamy. It provided for the
election of the state justices, three in number, by
the people. Six months' residence was required
as a condition of voting. Taxes for state pur- 1
poses should never exceed ten mills on the dollar; ■
when the assessed valuation should reach fifty
millions of dollars, five mills, and when it should
reach a hundred millions, three mills, etc., as
the state advanced in wealth. The capital was
located at Boise for twenty years.
According to Governor Shoup, the population
of Idaho in 1889 was 113,777, of whom he
thought about twenty-five thousand were of the
Mormon faith. Although public sentiment to a
considerable extent suppressed the visible fact of
polygamy, it was really known that plural mar-
riages were occasionally contracted, and that the
doctrine of polygamy was taught by some of the ,
IVlormon leaders. It was not so much, the Gov-
ernor said, that examples of plural marriages
were known that the Gentile majority made war
upon Mormonism, but because the leaders of that
faith taught that all laws enacted for the suppres-
sion of polygamy were unconstitutional, on the
ground that they were an interference with re-
ligious liberty. This was a point, he claimed,
most dangerous to the safety of society; for, ac-
cording to that heresy, any association of per-
sons could, under the cover of religion, commit
any crimes with impunity. The legislature of
1884-5 passed a registry law requiring voters
to take an extremely rigid oath to the effect that
thev were opposed to polygamy both practically
and theoretically.
The popular vote on the constitution as pro-
posed took place on the 5th of November, 1889,
when 12,398 votes were given for the document
and 1,773 against it. At this time the territory
was about evenly balanced between the two main
political parties.
In order to settle the question raised by the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
175
INIormons as to the constitutionality of the reg-
istry oath, a Mormon voter was arrested, charged
with conspiracy and imprisoned. A writ of
habeas corpus was denied and the case was taken
to the United States supreme court. Pending
this case Delegate Dubois was taking the opin-
ion of congress on the admission of Idaho, and
was met by the assertion of the Mormon leaders
that the effort to disfranchise twenty-five thou-
sand people would prove a stumbling block in the
wav of statehood. He rejoined that rather than
have the territory come in without the anti-Mor-
mon clause in its constitution he would prefer
that it should remain out of the Union.
Furthermore, with reference to loyalty in gen-
eral,— for he remembered the secession days, —
'"Our constitution," said he, "forbids the carrying
of any flag in public processions except the
American flag. We want a state for those whose
highest allegiance is to the United States, or else
we want no state at all."
There were several other complications besides
the "Mormon test oath" in the way of a smooth
admission of Idaho into the relation of a state.
One was the objection raised by the Democrats
as a partisan measure, that Idaho should not be
admitted without Wyoming and New Mexico at
the same time. Another was that should there
be by this means or other any delay in the ad-
mission of Idaho, the near approach of a new
federal census would occasion a new basis of
representative apportionment and thus postpone
Idaho's admission for a number of years. Thus
fears and hopes alternated.
It is well to glance at the material advance-
ment now being made here. The thirty-eight
newspapers of the territory truthfully asserted
that never had there been so many new enter-
prises inaugurated in Idaho as in this year of
1889, — irrigation schemes that would cost mil-
lions; new mining camps as fast as they could
be built and machinery could be transported to
the mines; homestead filings for the year, 861;
homestead proofs, 463; desert filings, 294; des-
ert proofs, 841 ; pre-emption filings, 841 ; pre-
emption proofs, 441 ; timber-culture filings, 293;
timber-culture proofs, 5; mineral filings, 72;
proofs, 62. All these meant so many times one
hundred and sixty acres improved, or about to
be. The total amount of land surveyed in Idaho
was 8,500,000 acres ; amount of land patented or
filed oUj 4,500,000 acres; land in cultivation, sur-
veyed and unsurveyed, 600,000 acres. Altogether
Idaho contained about 55,000,000 acres, 12,000,-
000 of which were suitable for agriculture, while
nearly as much more could be made so by irri-
gation. There were 5,000,000 acres of grazing
land, 10,000,000 acres of timber and 8,000,000
acres of timber land. Idaho had indeed advan-
tages unsurpassed in the world.
CHAPTER XVIII.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
GEORGE H. STEWART.
PROBABLY every state in the Union has
contributed to the quota of prominent
men in Idaho. Among the number
furnished by Indiana is Judge George Har-
lan Stewart, who is now presiding over
the third judicial district of the state. He
was born in Connersville, Indiana, on the
26th of February, 1858, and is of Scotch and
English lineage, his ancestors having located in
Pennsylvania at a pioneer epoch in the history
of the Keystone state. Representatives of the
family were also early settlers of Ohio, where, in
1 82 1, occurred the birth of Mathew Stewart,
father of the Judge. Having arrived at the years
of maturity he married Miss Nancy Harlan,
whose father was a Baptist minister and an early
settler of the state of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs.
Stewart took up their residence near Conners-
ville, Indiana, where he industriously carried on
farming. He was an ardent Republican, a lover
of civil liberty and a hater of every form of op-
pression. He died in 1887, at the age of sixty-six
years, and his wife departed this life in the fifty-
eighth year of her age. They were the parents
of eight children, of whom four are living.
Judge Stewart is the second eldest survivor of
the family. In the common schools he acquired
a sufificient education to enable him to engage in
teaching, and in that way he won the means
which enabled him to continue his studies in
higher institutions of learning. He attended the
Northern Indiana Normal school, located at Val-
paraiso, Indiana, where he graduated in 1879,
on the completion of the scientific course, after
which he took up the study of law in the same
institution and was graduated in the law depart-
ment in 1881, and the same year he was admitted
to practice before the supreme court of his native
state.
In 1882 Judge .Stewart opened a law ofifice in
Fowler, Indiana, and soon won a fair clientage.
and his business steadily increased as he gave
evidence of superior ability in the handling of
intricate law problems. In 1886, on account of
failing health, he removed to Stockville, Nebras-
ka, where he practiced law until 1890, during
which time he was elected and served as county
attorney of Frontier county. He was retained
as counsel either for the defense or prosecution
in nearly every case of importance tried in south-
western Nebraska, and gained prestige among
the members of the bar in that section of the
state. In 1890 he came to Idaho and for a time
was associated in the practice with Hon. John
S. Gray, and later he formed a partnership with
Hon. W. E. Borah. He rapidly gained a com-
manding position at the bar of the state, and his
clientage constantly increased in volume and im-
portance. In 1893 he was elected to represent
Ada county in the state senate and served in that
position with marked credit to himself and sat-
isfaction to his constituents. In 1896 he was ap-
pointed judge of the third judicial district upon
the resignation of Judge Richards, and in 1898
was elected to the same position.
His campaign and election constitute one of
the brightest pages in the political history of the
state. He was nominated upon the straight Re-
publican ticket in a district where the silver vote
was in the majority by several thousand. In
addition to this, there was a fusion of silver Re-
publicans and Democrats, while the Populist can^
didate withdrew and permitted the fusion candi-
date's name to go upon the Populist ticket. So
far as the party was concerned, the three silver
parties were combined and practically united on
one candidate, this apparently uniting the entire
silver force in an overwhelming silver district.
Notwithstanding this. Judge Stewart was elected
by a large majority, the vote of his home county
being one of the rarest compliments ever paid to
the personal worth of a candidate. Men of all
parties voted for him simply because they had
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
discovered in the two years he had sat upon the
bench that he not only possessed exceptional ex-
ecutive ability and invincible moral courage in
the discharge of his duties, but also what was and
is perhaps more difficult to find, that peculiar
turn of mind without which a man may be strong
in the pit but can never be a great judge. He
had won and held so firmly the people's confi-
dence that the party lash was used in vain.
From the beginning of his career as a legal
practitioner, his efforts have been attended with
success. He has mastered the science of juris-
prudence, and his research and thorough prep-
aration of every case committed to his care en-
abled him to meet at once any contingency that
might arise. His cause was fenced about with
unanswerable logic, and his arguments were
strong, clear, decided and followed in natural
sequence, forming a chain of reasoning that his
opponent found very difficult to overthrow. His
record on the bench has been most creditable, his
rulings ever being those of a just and impartial
judge, while his charges to the jury are clear and
concise, and his decisions plain and incapable of
being misconstrued.
In addition to his law business. Judge Stewart
has other business interests. He is the owner of
some valuable realty, including a forty-acre or-
chard of winter apples near the city of Boise.
He has other property interests in different parts
of the state, having made judicious investments
of his earnings at the bar.
In 1 88 1 the Judge married Miss Elizabeth
School, of Connersville, Indiana, and to them
were born two children, — Charles L. and Ethel
C. In 1885 Mrs. Stewart departed this life, and
in 1888 the Judge married Miss Agnes L. Sheets,
a native of Fowler, Indiana. They have a de-
lightful home in Boise and their circle of friends
is only limited by their circle of acquaintances.
In his political connections the Judge has al-
ways been a Republican and warmly advocates
the principles of that party. He is president of
the Bar Association of his judicial district, and is
a valued member of the Masonic fraternity. He
was made a Master Mason in Fowler, Indiana,
in 1883, and has filled most of the offices in the
blue lodge, and is now an acceptable member of
Boise Lodge, No. 2, A. F. & A. M., and Boise
Chapter, R. A. M. He is also a charter member
of the Elks and is past exalted ruler of Capital
City Lodge, No. 310.
His life record commends him to the confi-
dence and regard of all and no man occupies a
higher position in the public esteem than Judge
Stewart.
MILTON G. CAGE.
Among the practitioners at the Boise bar hold-
ing marked prestige among the members of the
legal fraternity is Milton G. Cage. A native of
Tennessee, he was born in Tipton county, near
Covington, that state, January 26, 1862, and is
descended on both sides from prominent old
families of the south. His paternal ancestors
came originally from Wales and established a
home in America at an early period in our coun-
try's history. His father, Gustavus Adolphus
Cage, was born in Middleton, Tennessee, and
married Miss Charlotte A. Green, a native of
North Carolina. His father was formerly a
planter and during the greater part of his life
has been identified with the ministry of the Meth-
odist church. He is now living in Colorado, at
the age of eighty years. His mental faculties
remain unimpaired, and he is still occasionally
seen preaching in different pulpits, as opportunitv
calls.
Milton G. Cage was only ten years of age when
he accompanied his parents on their removal to
Colorado. He was graduated in the high school
of Greeley, that state, in the class of 1882, and
then, determining to make the practice of law his
life work, he became a student in the office of
his brother-in-law, Hon. Samuel P. Rose, a
prominent attorney of Denver. Lender his pre-
ceptorage he continued his reading until the
fall of 1883, when he was matriculated in the
Michigan State University, where he was gradu-
ated, on the completion of the law course, m
1885. He then began the practice of his chosen
profession in Denver, and in 1886 was appointed
assistant L^nited States attorney under Henry
W. Hobson, serving in that capacity until July,
1889.
The following year Mr. Cage came to Boise,
and at the bar of this city has won distinction as
a most able lawyer, well versed in the principles
of jurisprudence, and is especially skilled in the
handling of the points in evidence and the force-
ful presentation of his cause before judge or jury.
178
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In March, 1894, he was appointed receiver of the
United States land office. He proved an efficient
and capable officer, giving good satisfaction. He
is in politics an active Democrat, and in 1898
was acting secretary of the Democratic state cen-
tral committee and president of the Jefferson
Democratic club. He was a very active worker
in the campaign of 1896, and his labors were
most effective.
On the 5th of May, 1894, IMr. Cage married
Miss Caroline C. Sweet, a native of Iowa, and
thev have two sons, — Richard M. and John P.
The fam.ily occupies a prominent position in so-
cial circles and Mr. and ^Irs. Cage have a circle
of friends almost coextensive with their circle of
acquaintances.
NATHAN C. DELANO.
Nathan C. Delano is the oldest merchant of
Bellevue, when years of active and con-
secutive connection with business interests
are considered, and is a most reliable rep-
resentative of the commercial welfare of the
town. He is now enjoying a large and con-
stantly increasing trade and his prosperity is
the reward of his well directed efforts and untir-
ing diligence. A native of New York, he was
born in Allegany county, October 31, 1852, and
on the paternal side is of French-Huguenot an-
cestry, while on the maternal side he is of English
lineage. Both families were founded in America
at an early period in the history of the country,
and the great-grandfather Richardson participat-
ed in the Revolutionary war, while the grand-
father, William Richardson, fought in the war
of 1812. Nathan C. Delano, Sr., the father of
our subject, married Maria Richardson, daugh-
ter of William Richardson. She, too, was a na-
tive of the Empire state. Nathan C. Delano, the
father of our subject, died in New York state, and
five years later his widow married Thomas H.
Young. This couple, with their family, crossed
the plains in 1849, ^"d for a time resided in Den-
ver, Colorado. They afterward returned to Lea-
venworth, Kansas, where the father engaged in
business for fourteen years, then removed to
Texas, and in 1874 came to Idaho, locating near
Glenn's Ferry.
Nathan C. Delano, whose name heads this re-
view, was educated in Leavenworth, Kansas,
and is a graduate of Bush's Commercial College.
He afterward engaged in clerking in Leaven-
worth and then removed to Texas, where he was
engaged in farming. From the Lone Star state
he removed to Idaho, taking up lands from the
government on Cold Spring creek, eight miles
west of Glenn's Ferry. That property he im-
proved and sold, after which he came to Bellevue,
where he engaged in the lumber business for a
year. He then opened his general mercantile es-
tablishment, and with the exception of one brief
interval has carried on business in that line con-
tinuously since. In 1883 he formed a partner-
ship with H. H. Clay and they were thus asso-
ciated for fourteen years, the relation proving
mutually pleasant and profitable. In 1893 Mr.
Delano was elected treasurer of Logan county,
and served two years, and was also elected as-
sessor and collector of taxes : but soon after this
the county was consolidated with Alturas, and
the act which created the new county of Blaine
made him collector and assessor of Blaine coun-
ty. While in office the second year he sold out
to his partner, Mr. Clay, and was not connected
with the store through 1896. He has also served
as treasurer of the city of Bellevue. In 1897 he re-
purchased his interest in the store, and has since
successfully conducted the mercantile enterprise
which he established in 1882. He has a large
and well equipped store, and carries a well as-
sorted stock of goods in order to meet the varied
tastes of the public. His methods are honorable,
his manner courteous and obliging and his prices
reasonable, and he has thus secured a liberal and
lucrative patronage. He also has valuable mining
interests in Nevada.
In 1883 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Delano and Miss Jessie Fisher, and their union
was blessed with a daughter, Delia. In 1891 the
wife and mother was called to her final rest, and
in 1894 Mr. Delano was again married, his sec-
ond union being with Miss E. Church. They
also have an interesting little daughter, Helen.
Theirs is one of the pleasant and hospitable res-
idences of the town.
In his political views he was formerly a Re-
publican, and gave to the party a stanch support
until its policy as a "gold" party was announced.
He then withdrew his allegiance, and has since
jilHed himself with the Populist movement, be-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
179
lieving that its position on the great financial
question best embodies the general good. He is
a charter member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and is now financier of that lodge. He
is also a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and has filled all the chairs in that
order. He ranks very high as a good citizen and
reliable merchant, and his sterling worth com-
mends him to the confidence and good will of all.
JOHN BRODBECK.
CJne of the representative business men of
Boise, Mr. Brodbeck, is a pioneer of Idaho, hav-
ing come to this state in 1865. He is a native of
Switzerland, where he was born April 4, 1833,
and was reared and educated in his native land
and there learned the brewing business. His
parents were Nicholas and Elizabeth (Hagler)
Brodbeck, the former of whom was a miller by
trade, and he and his wife were members of the
Lutheran church and were people of high re-
spectability in the old country. He died in his
fifty-third year and his wife survived him until
attaining the advanced age of eighty-five years.
They had five sons and two daughters, one of the
latter and our subject being the only ones now
living.
After leaving school Mr. Brodbeck entered a
commercial house, remaining there four years
and then became connected with a brewing
house. Subsequently he came to America, land-
ing at New York, whence he journeyed to Cali-
fornia in 1857 and settled at Scott Valley, where
he had a brother living near Fort Jones. General
Crook was then a second lieutenant at the fort
and Mr. Brodbeck became intimately acquainted
with him. Our subject was engaged in farming
for a few years, but hearing of the silver discov-
eries in Nevada he sold out and went to that
state, where he remained a year and then decided
to come to the gold fields of Idaho. He pur-
chased an ox-team outfit, and with the pioneer
Sommercamp he set out for the "Gem of the
Mountains," walking all the way and driving one
of the teams, while his young wife came also at
this time. When they left Nevada the Indians
were on the war path and emigrants were killed
both in front and behind them, but they were not
molested and arrived at Boise late in May, 1865,
and in Idaho City on the first of June, residing in
the latter place for thirteen years. Finding noth-
ing better to do. Air. Brodbeck bought a dray
and engaged in draying for two years, and then
purchased a brewery, which he conducted suc-
cessfully from 1867 to 1872. In 1871 he was
elected county treasurer of Boise county and
served with efficiency in that capacity for two
terms of two years each, and he was also engaged
in mining. In 1878 he came to Boise and pur-
chased from Mrs. Missed what is now the city
brewery of Boise, which he has since most syc-
cessfully carried on. It is one of the oldest brew-
eries in the state and under Air. Brodbeck's able
management has attained an enviable reputation
for its high quality of home-made beer. Mr.
Brodbeck also owns the City Brewery saloon.
He built his present brick brewery in 1890 and
during the twenty-one years he has been in busi-
ness in Boise he has interested himself in many
of the improvements of the town, with other busi-
ness men, and has rendered valuable aid to many
public enterprises. He is thoroughly reliable in
all his transactions and possesses the esteem and
respect of his fellow citizens.
On February 29, i860, Mr. Brodbeck was mar-
ried to Miss Sarah Grattiger, and of this union
one daughter has been born. She is now Mrs.
T. P. Woodcock. In 1865 Mr. Brodbeck was
made a member of Pioneer Lodge, No. i, I. O.
O. F., at Idaho City, and since then has passed all
the chairs in that order.
CLARENCE W. BROOKS.
A little thoughtful consideration of the career
of Clarence W. Brooks, proprietor of the Brooks
House, Idaho Falls, brings one to the conclusion
that he has in most of his business operations
been impelled by the spirit of the pioneer. He
has sought out new plans and new conditions
likely to favor his projects, and after he has made
them available and profitable, he has sought out
still others, and after those others. The wisdom
of his selection has been proven by the success
which has crowned his efiforts. Not only is he
one of the boldest, most venturesome and most
successful hotel men in the west, but he is one
of the best all-round hotel men "to the manner
born" and experienced in the best houses in the
country, with a comprehensive grasp on the
hotel business, as such, and an intimate knowl-
180
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
edge of all the details of .good hotel-keeping.
Clarence W. Brooks was born in Royalton.
\'ermont, June 22, 1848. His ancestors came
from England and settled early in New Hamp-
shire. His paternal grandfather was a Revolu-
tionary soldier, and lived for some years after
American independence, for which he had fought,
was an established fact. Austin Brooks, his son
and the father of Clarence W. Brooks, was born
in \'ermont, and there married Miss Susan
Sr^ith, and they lived and were farmers at Roy-
alton for fifty years, until his death, in July, 1880,
at the age of eighty-one years. His widow lives
at their old home and is now (1899) seventy-
eight years old, still active in her interest in the
Congregational church, of which her husband also
was a lifelong member. They had seven children,
three of whom are living. Clarence W. Brooks
was educated in the public schools of his native
town, and at the age of eighteen took a position
in a grocery house in Boston. After three years
there he went to New York city, where he se-
cured his first experience in hotel life, and for five
years was employed in leading houses. In 1874
he went to Denver, Colorado, and was connected
with the Sargent House for six months. After
that, for six years, he managed the hotel at Ante-
lope Park, Colorado. For a time he was at Butte,
Montana, then, in 1884, he bought the Eagle
House at Idaho Falls and renamed it the Brooks
House. In August, 1886, he sold it and went to
Kansas, where he remained three years, during
that time building two hotels, in two different
towns, and at the end of that time took control
of the St. James Hotel, Ogden, Utah. In 1892
we find him in Chicago, making extensive prep-
arations for a hotel enterprise during the World's
Fair. After the close of the Columbian Exposi-
tion of 1893 li^ went to San Francisco, Califor-
nia, and, after taking in the Mid-winter Exposi-
tion there, returned to Idaho Falls. In 1895-6
he was the lessee and manager of the hotel there,
and later, during the Omaha exposition, and until
J\Iay, 1899, he was proprietor of the Brooks
House in that city. At the date last mentioned
he bought the Brooks Hotel at Idaho Falls and
closed it and remodeled and largely rebuilt it, and
re-opened it as a first-class house with modern
accessories and conveniences. In all these hotel
enterprises Mr. Brooks has been successful, and
he has never given up a house except to improve
his fortunes elsewhere and has never disposed of
one which he had not placed on a paying basis.
He is the owner of four hundred acres of choice |
farming land, on which he raises hay and grain
and vegetables in great variety, and which has
proven a valuable auxiliary to his hotel at Idaho
Falls. )
Throughout the entire west Mr. Brooks is I
known as a genial and successful man, and Mrs. I
Brooks' reputation as a model "landlady" is co- I
extensive with his. She was Miss Mary Wallace, '
of Butler, Pennsylvania, and she is a woman of
education and refinement, having taken such a
hearty, sensible and helpful interest in many of
his enterprises that he has attributed their success
to her in no small degree. Mr. Brooks is known
as a voting Republican who does not work at
politics.
JOSEPH GEIGER.
The career of this successful business man has
been crowned with results which must be taken
as another evidence of the progressive quality
of the German-American character. Joseph Gei-
ger was born in Baden, Germany, July 28, 1853,
was educated in the Fatherland and came to the
United States at the age of seventeen years, poor
in purse and ignorant of the English language.
After spending six months in New York city, he
went to Texas, where he remained two years.
Then he lived two years in Iowa. By that time
he was pretty thoroughly Americanized, for he
was a studious and observant young man, with
everything to accomplish and with an indomita-
ble determination to make his way in spite of any
and all obstacles.
From Iowa he came to Genesee valley, in
Idaho, and took up a government ranch of three
hundred and twenty acres. There were not, at
that time, more than half a dozen settlers in the
valley, and Lewiston and Walla Walla were the
nearest towns. Mr. Geiger built upon and im-
proved this holding, sold it at a profit and bought
other lands, and he still owns one hundred acres
of rich clover land, about a mile from the center
of the city of Genesee. He is the owner also of
considerable town property, including one of the
most cosy and comfortable homes in Genesee.
In 1888 the firm of Geiger & Kambitch built
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
181
and established the Genesee brewery, one of the
pioneer concerns of the town. The plant has
been enlarged from time to time to meet the re-
quirements of the increasing trade of the growing
town, and it has been kept always adequate to
the demands upon it. The beer made by Messrs.
Geiger & Kambitch is of superior quality, and
finds ready sale in Genesee and throughout the
surrounding country.
In 1889 Mr. Geiger married Miss Meta Smith,
and their union was blessed by the advent of one
child, a daughter, whom they named Ann. His
young wife died when they had had but two years
of happy married life. In 1893 Mr. Geiger mar-
ried Miss Charlotte Brager, and to them have
been born two children, Tillie- and Fred. Mrs.
Geiger is an admirable woman, an affectionate
wife and mother and helpful in the woman's work
of the city. The family are members of the Cath-
olic church.
A stanch Democrat, Mr. Geiger is influential in
the public affairs of Genesee. He has been for
two terms president of the city council and in
other ways has done the conmiunity good service.
In every sense of the term, he is a public-spirited
citizen, and his generosity has been manifested
not only in the building of his own church, but
in the establishment and material advancement
of the other churches of Genesee. He is always
ready to aid to the extent of his ability any move-
ment which has for its object the promotion of
tlie public good. He is unostentatious in his pri-
vate helpfulness, but it is known that inore than
one man has found him "a friend in need."
BENJAMIN A. JENNE.
Character and ability will come to the front
anywhere. As boy and man, many a man has
been bufifeted by fortune and had almost insur-
nountable obstacles thrust in his path, but per-
severance has cleared them away and he has gone
on to success. Such has been the experience of
the subject of this sketch, one of the rising and
popular citizens and public men of Bingham
County, Idaho, a man with a heart for any ven-
ture, and a smile for friend and foe.
Benjamin .\. Jenne, deputy sheriff and jailer
of Bingham coimty, Idaho, was born at Poor
Man's Gulch, California, October 22, 1855, and is
descended from English and French ancestry.
His grandfather, Benjamin P. Jenne, was born
in France, whence he emigrated to the United
States and settled in St. Lawrence county, New
York. There his son Benjamin P. Jenne, 2d,
was born and reared. He went, while yet a young
man, to California, and there married Miss Annie
Ann Richardson, who died in giving birth to her
only child, the subject of this sketch. Benjamin
P. Jenne, 2d, died, aged eighty-seven, in 1894.
When he was four years old, Benjamin A.
Jenne was taken to Ohio to live with his uncle,
Ansel Jenne, and remained there, attending
school after he was old enough, until he was
twelve. He then went back to St. Lawrence
county, New York, where he had a home with
relatives, and at fifteen began to earn his own
living. For two years he was a sailor on the
great lakes between Ogdensburg, New York,
and Chicago, Illinois. Then he went into the
Michigan lumber country and worked in the
woods in the winter months and in a sawmill at
Muskegon during the balance of the year. After
that he was a farmer in DeKalb county, Illinois,
until 1878, when he came to Idaho and found
employment as a stage-driver between Echo and
Park City, Utah. After two years of such ex-
perience he took up the hotel and restaurant
business, in which he has since been continuously
successful. His first venture of this kind was at
Soda Springs, Idaho, and he was encouraged by
its success to go to Idaho Falls. There for a
time he kept the Burgess House. Then he built
the Grahel House and still later finished and ran
the Berry House. As a hotel man he is known
widely and favorably.
Politicallv iMr. Jenne has been a Democrat
ever since he began to take an intelligent in-
terest in public affairs. In 1896, at Idaho Falls,
he was elected justice of the peace, in which
office he served until January 15, 1899, when he
was appointed deputy sheriff of Bingham county,
bv Sheriff Clyne, who has long been his warm
personal friend, in recognition of his influence
in furthering Mr. Clyne's election.
In 1880 Mr. Jenne married ;\Iiss Kittie E.
Sutor, a Pennsylvanian by birth, who was
brought very young to Michigan, and there
grew to womanhood. They have four children:
Ada Blanche. Earl C. Fred and Cora Belle. Mrs.
Jenne is conducting a successful millinery busi-
182
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ness at Idaho Falls. She is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Jenne is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows and has passed all the chairs in both branch-
es of that order and has also been twice chosen to
represent his lodge in the grand lodge of the
state.
IS.WC N. SULLIVAN.
As long as the history of jurisprudence in
Idaho shall be a matter of record, the name of
Judge Isaac Newton Sullivan will figure conspic-
uously therein, by reason of the fact that his has
been the distinguished honor of serving as the
first chief justice of the state as well as from
the fact that he is recognized as the peer of the
ablest representatives of the legal profession in
the entire northwest. For the third term he is oc-
cupying a position on the bench of the supreme
court, and his career has been an honor to the
state which has so highly honored him.
Judge Sullivan is a native of Iowa, his birth
having occurred on his father's farm in Coffin
Grove township, Delaware county, November 3,
1848. He is of Scotch, Irish and German extrac-
tion, and in his life exhibits some of the most
commendable characteristics of those nationali-
ties. His paternal grandfather, Aaron Sullivan,
was born in the north of Ireland and when a
young man emigrated to New Jersey. He was
married in New Jersey and at an early day in
its history removed to Ohio, locating in Logan
county, near DegrafT. He had seven children,
born in New Jersey and Ohio, and reared and
educated in Ohio. The third of this family was
Aaron Sullivan, father of the Judge. He mar-
ried Miss Jane Lippincott, and in 1844 removed
to Iowa, becoming one of the pioneers and prom-
inent citizens of Delaware county. He held the
of^ce of justice of the peace and also that of
county commissioner, and was one of the or-
ganizers of the Republican party in that locality,
being a great lover of liberty and an inflexible
opponent of slavery and oppression in every form.
He became an extensive farmer and stock-raiser
and largely promoted the agricultural interests
of his county. He died in 1892, in the eighty-sec-
ond year of his age, and the community mourned
the loss of one of its most upright and honorable
citizens. His wife had departed this life in 1886.
at the age of sixty-seven years. They were mem-
bers of the \\'esleyan Methodist church, — that
offshoot from the ^^lethodist Episcopal denom-
ination which took a firm stand in its opposition
to slavery.
Judge Sullivan is the fifth in order of birth in
their famil}' of nine children, eight of whom are
vet living. His elementary education, acquired
in the public schools, was supplemented by a
course in Adrian College, of [Michigan, and sub-
sequently he pursued the study of law under the
direction of Judge J. AI. Brayton, of Delhi, Iowa.
In 1879 he was admitted to practice by the su-
preme court of that state, and continued a mem-
ber of the Iowa bar until 1881, at which time he
came to Idaho, locating in Hailey, Blaine county,
where he practiced with success until his eleva-
tion to the supreme bench. Nature bountifully
endowed him with the peculiar qualifications that
combine to make a successful lawyer. Patiently
persevering, possessed of an analytical mind, and
one that is readily receptive and retentive of the
fundamental principles and intricacies of the law;
gifted with a spirit of devotion to wearisome de-
tails: quick to comprehend the most subtle prob-
lems and logical in his conclusions: fearless in
the advocacy of any cause he may espouse, and
the soul of honor and integrity, few men have
been more richly gifted for the achievement of
success in the arduous, dif^cult profession of the
law.
.\X the first election held after the adoption of
the Idaho state constitution, in 1890, Judge Sul-
livan was chosen a justice of the supreme court.
The judges then cast lots for the length of terms
they should serve, and by reason of securing the
shortest term Judge Sullivan became the first
chief justice of the state. In 1892 he was re-
elected for a full term of six years, and during the
years 1897 and 1898 he was again chief justice,
and in November, 1898, was once more chosen
for the high ofifice which he is now so creditably
filling. His decisions form an important part
of the judicial history of the state, and have in
many instances excited the highest admiration of
the bar of the state. He has been a lifelong Re-
publican, but disagrees with his party on the
money question and was elected for his third
term on the silver Republican ticket.
He has interests in both farming and mining
lands, owning a number of patented mining
QMaaeJ.Jr. (SuiLtn
Wt'V^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
183
claims which yield silver and lead ores. At
Hailey, where he has so long resided, he has
a very conmiodious home, containing a large and
valuable law library, as well as an extensive libra-
ry of general literature, which indicates the cul-
tured and Intellectual taste of the inmates of the
home. The Judge was happily married in 1870,
to Miss Chastine Josephine Moore, a daughter
of S. W. Moore, a pioneer settler of the West-
ern Reserve of Ohio. They have two sons, both
lawyers. The elder, Willis E., is a graduate of
the Columbian University, of Washington, D. C,
and is now engaged in the practice of law in
Scranton, Pennsylvania. The younger son, La
\'erne L., is a graduate of the same university,
and is now with his parents in Hailey. Mrs.
Sullivan is a valued member of the Methodist
church, and, like her husband, is highly esteemed
by many friends throughout the state. In man-
ner the Judge is quiet and unassuming, and this
entire lack of self-laudation is one of the char-
acteristics that have endeared him to the people.
A man of unimpeachable character, of unusual
intellectual endowments, with a thorough under-
standing of the law, patience, urbanity and indus-
try, he took to the bench the very highest quali-
fications for this most responsible office in the
system of the state government, and his record
as a judge has been in harmony with his record
as a man and a lawyer, distinguished by unswerv-
ing integrity and a masterful grasp of every prob-
lem that has presented itself for solution.
CARLYLE L. PELOT.
It is worthy of note that a majority of the
pioneers of Idaho Falls were young, or compara-
tively young, men. They did not come to mold
a new community in accordance with antiquated
precedents which had been worn out elsewhere.
They came open-eyed, susceptible to conviction,
ready to take conditions as they existed and
shape them according to the logic of the time and
the place. How they succeeded, every one knows
who knows anything of the history of the town.
C)ne of the most far-sighted of these pioneers
\\as the man whose name appears above; and it
is the purpose of the writer to give a brief ac-
count of his antecedents, his life and his suc-
cesses to the present time.
Carlvle L. Pelot descended from French an-
cestry. His grandparents in the paternal line
came to America at an early day and located at
Savannah, Georgia. There Frank L. Pelot, fath-
er of Carlyle, our subject, was born. He mar-
ried Miss Bettie Carlyle, a native of Kentucky.
In 1856 they removed to Missouri and settled
near Blackburn, in Salem county, where Mr. Pelot
became a successful farmer. He is yet living,
aged seventy. His wife died in her sixtieth year.
Their son, Carlyle L., was born in Woodford
county, Kentucky, May 18, 1854. He was two
years old when his parents located in Missouri,
and there he was educated in the public schools
and brought up to the life of a farmer and stock-
breeder, and also was taught all the arts of horse-
taming, etc. Twenty years ago a change of cli-
mate was prescribed for him, and he sought a
broader field of enterprise than the one in which
he had been working. He got together a good
"bunch" of horses and drove them to Omaha and
shipped them to Laramie, Wyoming, and from
there drove them to Idaho Falls, where he ar-
rived July 3, 1879. There were fifteen men in his
party, and a large portion of them became per-
manent citizens of Idaho. Mr. Pelot engaged in
the livery business, opening the first livery stable
in the tow-n. In three years he sold it to Mr.
Taylor, and during the succeeding three years
followed farming on Mr. Taylor's ranch. Re-
turning to Idaho Falls, he resumed the manage-
ment of the livery business, under an arrange-
ment with Mr. Taylor, which was in force four
years, when he bought the business which, in
the spring of 1899, he sold to S. F. Taylor. He
is now dealing in coal, and in his new venture is
meeting with success.
Mr. Pelot's experience in the Snake river val-
ley has been a comprehensive one. When he
arrived, there were only seven ranches in the val-
ley. Gradually he has seen it dotted with bustling
towns and villages and everywhere with homes
and ranches; he has seen a band of brave and in-
dustrious pioneers, of w'hom he was one. make
a wilderness literally bloom like a rose; he has
seen the old order of things pass away, and wit-
nessed the dawn and advancement of civilization
in a land, strange, rich and beautiful.
In 1884 Mr. Pelot married Miss Alice Buck,
a native of Maine, and they have five children, —
two sons and three daughters, — all born in Idaho
1S4
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Falls: Bettie C, Carlyle L., Jr., Helen H.. Ellis
S. and Alice J.
Mr. Pelot is a member of the ^^'oodmen of the
World, and is identified with other secret and
social organizations. The upbuilding of the in-
terests of Idaho Falls has always had his helpful
support, for he is as public-spirited as he is en-
terprising and progressive. Politically he is a
Democrat, and, while he is not an active poli-
tician as the term is usually applied, he exerts a
recognized influence upon the affairs of his party.
WILLIAM H. RIDENBOUGH.
A business man of Boise engaged in the man-,
ufacture of lumber and flour, Mr. Ridenbough,
is a native of St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was
born April 17, 1853. He has built a most palatial
residence in Boise, and his home, with its beauti-
fully arranged grounds, fittingly represents the
good taste of its builder. In Boise Mr. and Mrs.
Ridenbough possess a large number of friends,
who are often the recipients of their cordial hos-
pitalitv.
J. D. C. THIESSEN.
One of the best known and most successful
sheep-raisers and wool-growers of Idaho is J. D.
C. Thiessen, of Lewiston. A native of Holstein,
Germany, he was born February 16, 1843, and
is of Danish ancestry, although his parents, John
D. and Alary (Hanchild) Thiessen, were both
natives of Germany. The father was a farmer
and trader. In religious faith both he and his
wife were Lutherans, and the former lived to be
fifty-four years of age, while the mother departed
this life in her fifty-sixth year. Air. Thiessen of
this review is the fourth in their family of seven
children. He was educated in his native land,
and when twenty-three years of age emigrated
to the United States, reaching New York in
1866. Two years later he came to San Francisco,
where he pursued a course in a commercial
school and was thus fitted for life's practical
duties. He did not come to this country entirely
empty-handed, as so many have done, having
had five hundred dollars on his arrival. He was.
however, ignorant of the English language, and
had to meet other difficulties. After having spent
several years in America, he received three thou-
sand dollars from his father's estate, but lost it
in mining enterprises in California and Nevada,
and when he arrived in Lewiston, November 10,
1876, he had just eighteen and one-half dollars
remaining.
Here he entered the employ of John Brearley,
but soon afterward the Indian war broke out, and
he engaged in packing army supplies for the gov-
ernment, receiving eighty-five dollars per month
and his rations. In the spring of 1878 he estab-
lished a saloon in Lewiston, which he conducted
for a year. He then went to San Francisco, but
after about a year returned to Lewiston. In 1885
he received the appointment of deputy sheriff of
Nez Perces county, and in 1886 he became con-
nected with the stock business, "raising cattle and
horses. In 1889, however, he sold his cattle,
numbering about two hundred head, and turned
his attention to the sheep industry, in which he
has since been eminently successful. His first
purchase consisted of nineteen hundred and
sixty-four head, and he now has twelve thousand
old sheep and five thousand lambs. He raises
Alerino sheep, slightly mixed with Delaine, and
for raising in large flocks he has found this breed
well adapted to Idaho. The bucks average twen-
ty-eight pounds of wool and the ewes nine
pounds each. He says that the tariff on wool has
doubled its price and he now has two years' clip
on hand, which will bring him handsome returns.
He has also acquired one thousand acres of land,
on which he raises hay and grain, employing
from fifteen to forty men, according to the sea-
son. He has one of the most desirable business
locations in Lewiston, known as "The Old Cor-
ner." He has also erected a fine residence in the
city.
In 1879 Mr. Thiessen was united in marriage
to Aliss Lillie Meister, who was born in Chicago,
Alarch 10, 1862. They became the parents of six
children, four of whom are living; Clarence C.
and Sylvester S. are attending school in Port-
land; George Garfield and \'andaline \'. are at
home.
In politics Air. Thiessen is a stalwart Repub-
lican. On coming to this country he studied
closely the political questions, the platforms of
the parties and the measures advocated by each,
and has always been identified with the Republi-
can party. In the campaign of 1896 so active
was he in support of the Republican presidential
nominee that his friends laughinglv termed him
^n.^T^,^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
185
"Mr. McKinley." He is an intelligent, enterpris-
ing, progressive man. and his well directed ef-
forts have brought to him a success that numbers
him among the substantial citizens of his adopted
state.
WILLIAM A. BAKER.
The commercial interests of IMoscow are well
represented by William Alexander Baker, a lead-
ing and enterprising merchant, whose well direct-
ed efforts, sound judgment and reliable dealing
are bringing to him a creditable and satisfactory
success. For twelve years he has carried on
operations in Moscow, where he deals in both
new and second-hand goods. He is a native of
Virginia, born in Augusta county, July 13, 1855,
of Scotch-Irish descent. His grandfather, Guinn
Baker, was the founder of the family in the Old
Dominion, and was an industrious and respected
farmer and a valued member of the Methodist
church. He devoted his entire life to agricultural
pursuits in Virginia, and died at the age of
eighty-two years. His son, Frank Baker, father
of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania and
married Miss Martha Guinn, a native of Vir-
ginia. They removed to Tippecanoe county,
Indiana, and he began farming on a tract of land
of forty acres, but as time passed he extended the
boundaries of his place until it comprised one
hundred and forty acres. His wife died in her
forty-second year, but he lived to be seventy-one
years of age. Both enjoyed the high regard of
their fellow men, and their lives were well spent.
They had a family of three daughters and two
sons, of whom four are living.
William A. Baker, their eldest child, spent his
childhood days on his father's farm and was early
inured to the arduous labors of the fields. He
assisted in the planting and harvesting of crops
through the summer months and attended the
public schools through the winter season. He
began to make his own way in the world by buy-
ing and raising stock, and followed that business
for five years, after which he removed to Dallas,
Texas, where he served on the police force of the
city for a year. The yellow fever then broke out,
and in order to escape the dread disease he re-
moved to Polk county, Oregon.
In 1878, in Monmouth, Oregon, Mr. Baker
was united in marriage to Miss Alice Hooper, a
native of Indiana, and their union has been
blessed with three children, two of whom are de-
ceased,— Etta and Earl G. Leta, a talented
young lady, who has graduated in music, is now
at home with her parents.
Mr. Baker remained in Oregon only two years,
and then came to Idaho, where he secured a claim
of one hundred and sixty acres of government
land. This he cultivated for a time, but later sold
and took up a homestead six and a half miles
east of Moscow. This he also improved, but at
length disposed of that property and invested his
money in city realty in Moscow, where he now
owns his store building and several good resi-
dences. He also has real estate in Portland, Ore-
gon, and other property in Moscow. His store
is twenty-five by fifty feet, with an addition in
the real', forty by sixty feet. He carries a large
stock of new and second-hand furniture, and by
close attention to his business, straightforward
dealing and courteous treatment of his patrons,
he has secured a large trade, which returns to
him a good income.
Mr. Baker joined the Masonic fraternity in
Romney Lodge, No. 441, F. & A. M., in Rom-
ney, Indiana, in 1874, and is now treasurer of the
lodge in Moscow, wherein he has also filled other
offices. He and his wife and daughter are all
members of the Eastern Star, and he also be-
longs to the Knights of the I\Iaccabees. His wife
holds membership in the Christian church, while
he gives his preference to the Methodist belief.
In politics he has always been a Republican,
and he was the efficient marshal of Moscow for
three years, manifesting marked fidelity to duty
during his term of service. The success he has
achieved is the merited reward of his own labors,
and he has justly won the proud American title
of a "self-made man."
NEWELL JONATHAN BROWN, M. D.
The well established family physician obtains
an influence in any community which is more far-
reaching than that of any man sustaining other
relations to the public. The reasons for this are
too obvious to require mention here. Dr. N. J.
Brown is to the people of Hailey the ideal family
doctor, and he is the oldest physician and sur-
geon in the place. He cast his lot with the citi-
zens of Hailey in 1883. when the town was but
two years old, and from that time he has prac-
186
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ticed his profession in Hailey and its tribvitary
territory, and shown a helpful interest in every
movement tending to the greatest good of his
townspeople.
Dr. Brown comes of a good old English family,
and was born in Stanstead, Canada, March lO,
1854. Generations before that time his progeni-
tors had come over in the JNIayflower and located
in New England, whence his particular branch
of the family had, in the exigencies of life, found
its way to the Dominion. The "pilgrim" of the
Brown family who landed at Plymouth Rock was
James. Ozias Gilbert Brown, the father of Dr.
N. J. Brown, was born at Epsom, New Hamp-
shire, ^larch 27, 1806, and, now in his ninety-
fourth }'ear, is living in Stanstead county, prov-
ince of Quebec, rounding out a life as a useful
citizen and a successful farmer. He married Miss
Margaret Foss, a native of Canada but of New
Hampshire lineage, who could trace her ancestry
back to a "pilgrim" refugee. She died at the age
of forty-eight years, leaving five children. Her
eldest son is now seventy-one years old. The
subject of this sketch is her youngest son. Two
of her sons served the Union cause in the war of
the rebellion and died from disease contracted in
the army.
Dr. Brown, whose name heads this sketch, was
educated at AIcGill University, at Montreal, and
at Dartmouth College. His degree of M. D. was
conferred upon him November 3, 1875, and he
began the practice of his profession at Montreal.
Three months later he moved to Red Oak, Iowa,
where he was in successful practice for some time.
While on a visit to some friends at Grundy Cen-
ter, Iowa, in 1877, 'le was induced to locate with
them, which he did for a time.
October 19, 1878, Dr. Brown married, at El-
dora, Iowa, Miss Celia Frances Eastman, the
daughter of ex-Lieutenant Governor E. W. East-
man, a prominent attorney and one of the pio-
neers of that state. A few weeks afterward he con-
tracted pneumonia, and when he had partially re-
covered he was advised by brother physicians to
spend some time in the climate of Colorado as
the onlv means which held out anv certaintv of
his complete restoration to health. He went to
Colorado December 28 following and remained
there until his removal to Hailey, in April, 1883.
This place possessed dual advantages for him,
being both prosperous and of the right altitude
for him. Health awaited him here, and almost
at once he entered upon a prosperous and grow-
ing practice, which extends for many miles
throughout the country. He has established a
commodious, well appointed and altogether de-
lightful home, in which a generous hospitality is
dispensed.
In general. Dr. Brown is first and beyond all
a physician. His profession commands him be-
fore any other interest. But at the same time he
has not been blind to his opportunities, and has
secured several valuable gold and silver mining
interests, to the development of which he devotes
intelligent attention, with good prospect that
they will prove profitable. He is a member of the
American Medical Association and of the Idaho
State Medical Association, and has been local
surgeon of the Union Pacific and the Oregon
Short Line Railroad Companies ever since 1883.
Fraternally he is one of the highest Masons in
the state, belonging to the blue lodge, chapter
and commandery, and has taken all the Scottish
rite degrees up to and including the thirty-second.
He is also a Mystic Shriner and a Knight Com-
mander of the Court of Honor, which makes him
eligible to the thirty-third degree, the last and
highest in Freemasonry. He has membership
also in the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and in the Modern Woodmen of America.
Dr. and Mrs. Brow-n have four sons, — Newell
J., Jr., Newbern N., Austin F. and Gilman.
The Doctor has identified himself with every
worthy interest of Hailey and is considered one
of its most enterprising, progressive and public-
spirited citizens. He is popular beyond most of
his fellow townsmen and has an influence second
to that of no other. He possesses a frank and
genial manner, which makes him friends wher-
ever he goes, and such is his strong, helpful
character that he is enabled to retain all of thesc
friends.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE PRESS OF IDAHO.
IX THE promotion and conservation of ad-
vancement in all the normal lines of human
progress and civilization there is no fac-
tor which has exercised a more potent in-
fluence than the press, which is both the
director and the mirror of public opinion.
Idaho, both as a territory and a state,
has been signally favored in the character
of its newspapers, which have been vital, enthu-
siastic and progressive, ever aiming to advance
the interests of this favored section of the Union,
to aid in laying fast and sure the foundations of
an enlightened commonwealth, to further the
ends of justice and to uphold the banner of the
"Gem of the Mountains." In a compilation of
this nature, then, it is clearly incumbent that due
recognition be accorded the newspaper press of
the state, and in view of this fact this chapter is
thus devoted, in appreciation of the earnest la-
bors of those who have represented Idaho jour-
nalism in the past and who represent it in these
latter days of the century.
THE IDAHO DAILY STATESMAN.
The press has not only recorded the history of
advancement, but has also ever been the leader
in the work of progress and improvement, — the
vanguard of civilization. The philosopher of
some centuries ago proclaimed the truth that
"the pen is mightier than the sword," and the
statement is continually being verified in the af-
fairs of life. In molding public opinion the power
of the newspaper cannot be estimated, but at all
events its influence is greater than any other
single agency. In the history of Idaho, therefore,
an account of the paper whose name heads this
article should form an important factor. The old-
est newspaper in the state, for thirty-five years it
has sent forth accounts of the "Gem of the Moun-
tains," its splendid resources, its rich mineral de-
posits, its arable lands, its valuable forests, its
splendid climate and beautiful scenery, and has
thus attracted to the state hundreds and thou-
sands of her best people.
But this is not all the work accomplished Dy
the Statesman during the thirty-five years that
have come and gone since there drove into the
little mining town of Boise three men, who
halted their two bull teams in the sand and gravel
of Main street. These men all bore the name of
Reynolds. The eldest, how^ever, was from Maine,
— James S. Reynolds. He was about forty years
of age, angular, over six feet in height and hav-
ing the hardihood that came through labor in
the lumber camps of the Pine Tree state. He,
however, possessed intelligence and great force
of character, and for a number of years remained
at the head of the Statesman, meeting with ex-
cellent success in its conduct. His two com-
panions were much younger, brothers of twenty
and eighteen years. The elder was a merry-faced,
brown-eyed young man with long, dark curly
hair: the younger was of shorter stature, light
complexion, blue eyes and in manner more quiet
and reserved. They were from Alissouri, and the
date of their arrival was July 15, 1864. In talk-
ing with some of the men of the town it was
learned that the Messrs. Reynolds had a print-
ing outfit in their two wagons, which they were
transporting from The Dalles, Oregon, to Idaho
City, then called Bannack. where they expected
to establish a printing-office. Riggs & Agnew,
at whose place of business the conversation oc-
curred, and who v»'ere members of the town-site
company, knew the value of a newspaper in build-
ing up a town, and in connection with other lead-
ing citizens of Boise induced the owners of the
printing outfit to remain in the capital citv, —
then a mere hamlet.
The only buiUling that could be procured by
the Messrs. Reynolds as a place in which to l)cgin
business was a small structure of cottonwood
logs, containing two rooms, the rear one with a
back entrance like the open end of a sawmill.
188
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
On the 26th of July the first copy of the paper
was issued. It was a small, four-column paper,
christened the Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman. The
senior member of the firm was a stanch aboli-
tionist and Union man; the brothers were from
Alissouri, and their sympathies were strongly
with the south; but though their views were so
diametrically opposite they managed to avoid all
disturbances in their business, and the little paper
flourished. The subscription price was one dollar
a week by carrier or twenty dollars a year
by m?il, and three dollars a square for each in-
sertion for advertisements and twenty-five dollars
a thousand for bill-heads, with other work in pro-
portion.
Tlie Statesman Company not only prospered
but made money very rapidly. In its first issue
the following paragraph appeared in the saluta-
tory: "We shall in the first place try to make
the Statesman a newspaper that everybody in
the territory can afiford to buy, and if possible one
that few can afford to be without. * * * We
shall undertake to so conduct the Statesman as
shall best advance the interests of this community
and this territory, knowing that in so do-
ing we shall best secure our own." Thus
was outlined a policy that has been car-
ried out to the letter through all these
years. While of marked Republican sym-
pathies, it has always endeavored to give all
the news and to deal justly and fairly by all, and
it has been in the best sense of the term a news-
paper. In the interests of the Republican party,
however, it has labored most earnestly. In its
first issue the name of Abraham Lincoln stood
at the head of its editorial columns, and every
four years since, the name of the standard-bearer
of the Republican party has occupied that place.
The paper was published as a tri-weekly for
some years. Almost continually A. J. Boyakin
has been connected with the paper, and on the
occasion of the thirty-fourth anniversarv of its
establishment he wrote an account of the States-
man, in which appeared the following: "In get-
ting out the paper on time we worked nearly all
night, and frequently the Boise Basin stage would
pull out ahead of us and we would have to send
Dick Reynolds to overtake it on a horse with the
mail packages for the dififerent mining camps.
The war news made a big demand for the States-
man, and we ran off an edition of a thousand
copies each issue. When the details of a great
battle came we would get out an extra, print sev-
eral hundred, and send a man on a fleet horse
with them to the Boise Basin, where thev sold
for from fifty cents to a dollar."
In the summer of 1866 T. B. and R. W. Rey-
nolds sold their interest in the Statesman to the
senior member of the firm and returned to Mis-
souri. In 1867 James S. Reynolds sold out to
H. C. Street, Claude Goodrich and A. J. Boyakin,
but after a month they resold to Mr. Reynolds,
who continued as owner and editor until 1872,
when it was purchased by Tudge Milton Kelly,
one of the supreme justices of Idaho, who con-
ducted it as a tri-weekly until 1888, when it was
changed to a daily. The following year it passed
into the hands of the present management. The
Statesman Printing Company.
The Statesman is the oldest paper in the state,
and from the beginning has never missed a pub-
lication. Prosperity has attended it from the
start, and it has been the mirror sending the re-
flection of Idaho's beauty, development, history
and opportunities throughout the world. It has
also been characterized by a broad national sym-
pathy, and perhaps we cannot better indicate its
patriotic spirit than by quoting from the editorial
in the issue of July 26, 1898, — the thirty-fourth
anniversary of its founding: "The Statesman
was born while the country was in the throes of
the civil war. The people of this country were
divided, apparently hopelessly so; black clouds
overshadowed the nation and the people were
shaken by storms of dissension. Although far
removed from the actual scenes of warfare, the
infant paper uttered its first cry in the midst of a
community the majority of whose people were
moved to bitterness against their country's flag;
but that cry was nevertheless for Old Glory. Sur-
rounded on all sides by bitter enemies, the sturdy
little journal raised its voice for the Union cause
and prophesied ultimate victory for the forces of
freedom. To-day it is a most gratifying reflec-
tion that the Statesman celebrates its thirty-
fourth birthday with a united people engaged in
a warfare against the enemies of liberty in a for-
eign land. It has witnessed the healing of the
old wounds ; it has seen the gradual reuniting of
the people, and, on this anniversary of its natal
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
day, it beholds the north and the south hand in
hand and shoulder to shoulder, fighting a com-
mon enemy that the tree of liberty may be
planted in a foreign land, the shade of which will
protect foreign brothers from the blighting sun
of tyranny. It looks to the west and it sees the
stars and stripes kissed by the breezes that wave
the tropical foliage of Hawaii, and it rejoices with
the people in the extension of American power
and in the knowledge of the possession of na-
tional forces that guarantee maintenance of
American prestige gained and to be gained."
THE DAILY AND WEEKLY PATRIOT.
The Eatriot is published at Lewiston by Frank
M. Roberts, having made its first appearance be-
fore the public on the ist of September, 1897. as
an independent paper, with strong Republican
proclivities, but devoted to the upbuilding of
Lewiston and Nez Perces county. From the be-
ginning it has met with very flattering and satis-
factory success, and is a bright and entertaining
journal, ably edited ' by its owner, Frank M.
Roberts.
This gentleman was born in Lancaster, Schuy-
ler county, Missouri, on the 28th of August, 1846,
was educated in the state of his nativity, and ac-
quired a knowledge of the "art preservative of
all arts" in the office of the old Jacksonville Jour-
nal, of Jacksonville, Illinois. When only eigh-
teen years and four months old he responded to
his country's call for troops, and enlisted as a
defender of the stars and stripes, in December,
1864, as a member of Company K, One Hundred
and Fifty-fourth Volunteer Infantry. Some of
his relatives were in the Confederate army, but
he valiantly served the Union cause until honor-
ably discharged, at Nashville, in September,
1865, after the close of hostilities.
Since that time Mr. Roberts has devoted his
energies entirely to journalistic work, in Illinois,
Indiana,. Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon and Idaho,
and for some time was in the government print-
ing office in Washington. He has established
many successful papers in the states mentioned,
and is familiar with the printing business and
with newspaper work in every department and
detail. Perhaps had he been less conscientious
he would have been more successful as the world
judges success, but he has preferred to write as
he believes, to support the measures which tend
to promote the public good, and to oppose all
which are detrimental to the best interests of
society, of the government and the welfare of
mankind, regardless of the financial results that
may follow his course.
In 1872 Mr. Roberts was united in marriage
to Miss Lydia A. Boyce, who died in 1882, leav-
ing one child, a son. Coral F. In August, 1897,
he was again married, Mrs. Anna Myers, of
Lewiston, becoming his wife. He is a well known
citizen of northern Idaho and has been a resident
of the northwest since 1893. In that year he lost
much of the property he had acquired, through
the failure of a bank in Kansas City, and for
some time thereafter he devoted his attention to
prospecting in the mountains of Washington and
Idaho. He also was engaged in making explora-
tions of the clifT dwellings of New [Mexico and
made many valuable discoveries of great benefit
to the scientific and historic world. Since com-
ing to Lewiston he has been accorded a place
among her foremost citizens, and The Patriot
ranks among the best journals of this section of
the state.
THE OWYHEE AVALANCHE.
^ This very influential paper was established as
early as August, 1865, bv the Wasson brothers
and J. C. Hardin. The last named withdrew from
the firm a year later and the Wassons continued
the publication a year longer. On the 17th of
August, 1867, they sold out to W. J. Hill and
H. W. Millard, and these men subsequently sold
the concern to John McConp-le, November 7,
1868, and he managed it until October 19. 1870,
when Messrs. Hill and Millard repurchased the
property, and at the same time purchased the
Tidal Wave, a paper which had been in existence
a year or more, under the ownership and man-
agement of the Butler brothers. The two paperi
were on this occasion consolidated, under the
name of the Idaho Avalanche. A few weeks
afterward Mr. Hill bouHit out his partner and
became the sole proprietor.
In October, 1874, during the flush times of
Owyhee, Air. Hill established a daily paper,
which he continued for about a year and a half.
In April, 1876, he leased the concern to Major
J. S. Hay, who a year later purchased it and con-
100
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tinned to manage it until October i6, 1880, when
he disposed of it to Guy Xewcomb and Dave
Adams, who formed a partnership, under the
style of Newcomb & Adams. These gentlemen
ran the paper until May 20, 1882, when Mr.
Adams disposed of his interest to C. M. Hays,
who also bought out Mr. Newcomb, on the 9th
of December, 1882. Mr. Hays published the
paper until November 8, 1890, when he leased the
office to John Lamb and L. A. York, who con-
trolled the publication until the spring of 1892.
Mr. Lamb then retired and Mr. York again
leased the plant, and on June i, 1894, purchased
it.
August 20, 1897, the beginning of the thirty-
third volume, the name of the paper was changed
from the Idaho Avalanche to the Owyhee Ava-
lanche, the name, indeed, under which it first ap-
peared, August 15. 1865. The Owyhee
Avalanche was never better than to-day, and
never had so bright a future. In politics Air.
York is a "silver" Republican, and in local af-
fairs independent. The paper is issued every Fri-
day, at Silver City, at the subscription price of
three dollars a year, and is noted for its reliability
in giving the news.
THE LEWISTON TRIBUNE.
A daily and weekly paper published at Lewis-
ton, Idaho, the Tribune is the principal organ
of the Democratic party in the state. It was es-
tablished by A. H. and E. L. Alford, in August,
1892, and entered upon a prosperous existence.
The Alford brothers were reared in Dallas,
Texas. A. H. Alford acquired his newspaper
knowledge in the office of the Dallas Morning
News, with which paper he was connected for
two years, after which he was employed on the
Tacoma Morning Globe, of Tacoma, Washing-
ton. On severing his connection therewith he
came to Lewiston, and in partnership with his
brother established the Tribune, the paper and
its proprietors at once becoming prominent fac-
tors and taking a leading position in the afifairs
of Idaho. The efforts of the brothers have met
with very gratifying success. They have also
been interested in various mining enterprises and
in Lewiston real estate, which is rapidly rising in
value.
In 1896 A. H. Alford was elected to the state
legislature and had the honor of being chosen
speaker of the house, filling that important po-
sition with marked ability and fairness. He is
now one of the regents of the Idaho State Uni-
versity and is president of the State Editorial
Association. Both he and his brother are active
members of the Masonic fraternity, E. L. Alford
having attained the thirtieth degree in the Scot-
tish rite, while A. H. Alford is a Knight Templar
Mason. Through the columns of the Tribune
they wield a power in political circles that is im-
measurable, and the cause of Democracy owes
much to their efforts in its behalf. A. H. Alford
is a most progressive citizen, giving a loyal sup-
port to all measures which he believes will prove
of public benefit, especially to all that tend to
advance the educational status of the state.
THE TIMES-DEMOCRAT.
An effective exponent of the general interests
of Latah county, the Times-Democrat was es-
tablished in the city of Moscovv^ on the ist of
March, 1891, as the organ of the Democratic
party in northern Idaho. William Taylor, who
was its founder, continued its publication for a
period of four months, when he sold the property
to Samuel T. Owings, who presided over the
destinies of the paper for three months, when it
passed into the hands of J. L. Brown, who ef-
fected its purchase on the ist of October, 1891.
On the 1st of April, 1892, Mr. Owings again be-
came the editor and publisher, aiid so continued
until the ist of June, 1899, when another change
was made in the management of the journal, the
property being then leased to the present editor
and publisher, Hon. Samuel C. Herren.
Samuel T. Owings, who is the owner of the
plant and for the longest period identified with
the publication of the paper, and who will take
charge again, January i, 1900, is a native of Balti-
more, Maryland, where he was born on the ist
of September, 1868. He has been active in vari-
ous business enterprises and has ever maintained
a public-spirited interest in all that has conserved
the development and material progress of Mos-
cow and Latah county, as well as the state at
large. He received his educational discipline in
his native state, and became a resident of Mos-
cow in September, 1888. Here he is at the pres-
ent time engaged in the grocery business, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
191
lie has large mining interests in British Cokimbia.
He has erected several residences in Moscow and
has otherwise contributed in many ways to the
progress and substantial upbuilding of the city,
being recognized as one of its successful and
representative business men. The plant of the
Times-Democrat is valued at thirty-five hundred
dollars, and this is but one of his property in-
terests in the city. The paper is issued on Thurs-
day of each week, being a five-column quarto,
and in its letter-press and general mechanical ap-
pearance is a model country paper.
THE NUGGET.
The iSugget is the appropriate name of a four-
page, five-column weekly paper edited and pub-
lished at DeLamar. Owyhee county, by John
• Lamb. It was established in May, 189 1, by the
present proprietor and L. A. York, and since
1893 has been run solely by the present owner.
It is independent in politics and devoted to local
and mining interests.
The publisher is a native of Pennsylvania, born
in 1838, of north Irish stock, both of his parents
having been born in the Keystone state, of Irish
parentage. The subject of this sketch received
his education in the public schools and Waterford
Academy, in his native state, and after leaving
home resided for a few years in Alabama, whence
he went to St. Louis and engaged in journalism,
and was for four years connected with the state
board of immigration of that state. After a dozen
years spent in Missouri, he came to Idaho, in
1888.
In politics Mr. Lamb is a "silver" Republican.
In respect to local responsibility he has been a
justice of the peace in his county almost con-
tinuously since his residence there, giving gen-
eral satisfaction, he never having had a case ap-
pealed from his court. He is an accomplished
descriptive writer, and is recognized as a prom-
inent factor in the upbuilding of the interests of
the state through the use of his pen.
THE MOSCOW MIRROR.
This vital and ably conducted weekly has the
distinction of being the pioneer paper of Latah
county, its first issue having been run from the
press in July, 1882. The Mirror is issued on Fri-
day of each week and is devoted to the interests
of Moscow and contiguous districts and to pro-
moting the development of the great state of
Idaho. It is worthy of note that the paper has
never missed an issue. Ex-Congressman Willis
Sweet was its editor for a time, and in 1883 C. B.
Reynolds purchased the plant and business and
continued the publication of the paper until 1889,
in which year it was purchased by the Jolly
brothers, who have since been the proprietors
and publishers. The three brothers have given
the enterprise their personal attention and have
made the venture a genuine success, Elmer E.
Jolly being the editor and manager. The original
publisher of the Mirror was C. B. Hopkins.
Elmer E. Jolly was born in the state of Alinne-
sota on the 23d of May, 1861, representing sturdy
Pennsylvania ancestry. In the town of Dunlap,
Iowa, he learned the printer's trade, becoming
familiar with the varied details which go to make
up the "art preservative of all arts," and acquiring
a knowledge of the mechanical processes which
are employed in the makeup and issuing of a
modern country newspaper. For a number of
years he "held cases" on the Logan Observer, at
Logan, Iowa, after which he came to Moscow
and became foreman of the Mirror office, in the
employ of Mr. Reynolds. His brother, Thomas
H. Jolly, learned the trade in the office of the
Mirror, and another brother, James D., also
worked in the office. The brothers eventually
purchased the property, and by discrimination,
careful business methods and by supplying to
subscribers a paper which stands as an exponent
of local interests, ofifering the news in acceptable
form, they have made the enterprise a success.
Thomas H. Jolly is now a practicing lawyer in
Aioscow. The Mirror is edited with ability, and
its mechanicalwork is so carefully handled that
it is attractive and neat in appearance, being
creditable alike to the publishers am. to the town
with which it had practically a simultaneous
birth, and to whose advancement it has contrib-
uted in every possible way. The political policy
of the Mirror is Republican.
THE KENDRICK GAZETTE.
The Gazette is a weekly newspaper devoted to
the interests of the Potlatch country, and is the
organ of the Democratic party of Latah county.
It was founded on the 14th of Januar_\-. i8i)2. b\
19-<
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Joseph S. Vincent, who has since been its editor
and proprietor. The paper is issued on Friday
of each week and the subscription price is one
dollar and a half annually. In his efforts Mr.
Vincent has met with very gratifying success,
and the paper has never missed an issue. The
office was burned out August i6, 1892, the fire
occurring on Thursday night, but he saved the
forms and issued his paper on time the next day.
Again the Gazette went through a fiery baptism,
March 16, 1894. That also occurred the night
before the time of publication, but he got every-
thing out of the building and the paper was is-
sued as usual, a fact which indicates the indomit-
able enterprise of the owner.
Mr. Vincent is a native of Idaho and one of
the first white children born in the state, his
birth occurring in Lewiston, April 24, 1866. He
is the son of Judge Vincent, now of Mount Idaho,
who was one of the pioneers of California and
Oregon, as well as of Idaho, the "Gem of the
Mountains." Our subject acquired his education
in his native city and learned the printer's trade in
the office of the Lewiston Teller, under the di-
rection of his grandfather and his uncle, Alonzo
and C. F. Leland, who were the founders of that
paper. He remained with them for five years and
then came to the infant town of Kendrick, in
January, 1891, where he leased the Advocate, the
pioneer journal of the place. He continued its
publication until the fall of 1892, when it ceased
to be issued, but in the meantime he had founded
the Gazette and conducted bctu papers for six
weeks.
On the 23d of January, 1893, Mr. Vincent was
united in marriage to Mrs. Alice York, a native
of Corvallis, Oregon. She was the widow of
A. F. York and the daughter of J. B. Springer,
a respected Oregon pioneer. They have a bright
little daughter, whom they have named Kather-
ine M. Mr. Vincent is an Episcopalian, and his
wife is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Vincent's name is on the membership roll
of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and he was
the first chancellor commander of the lodge in
Kendrick. In 1897 he was representative to the
grand lodge of the state, and was re-elected repre-
sentative to the session of 1899, a fact which indi-
cates his popularity among the Knights and his
fidelity to the principles of Pythianism. He was
chairman of the Democratic convention of Lataii
county in 1896 and was also made chair-
man of the fusion convention. He has
served three times as city clerk of Ken-
drick, is now the trustworthy and capa-
ble city treasurer and was appointed by
Governor Steunenberp^ one of the commissioners
to the Trans-Mississippi and International Expo-
sition. As a journalist he ranks high and has not
only been successful in the publication of the Ga-
zette, but through its columns has also ma-
terially promoted the interests of Kendrick.
THE POCATELLO TRIBUNE.
This news organ, the leading paper in south-
eastern Idaho, is owned and conducted by Ifft &
Wallin, who own and operate the most complete
printing and publishing house in the state outside •
of Boise City.
The paper was founded, as a weekly, on the
14th of August, 1889, by a stock company, and
began its career as a distinctly Republican organ.
For the first several years it passed through the
hands of half a dozen difTerent managements, un-
til January i, 1893, when it was purchased by
George N. Ifft and William Wallin, who have
conducted the enterprise ever since. Messrs. Ift't
and Wallin are both experienced newspaper
men. On taking possession of this property they
at once set to work to make the Tribune a first-
class newspaper in every respect. While remain-
ing always a Republican organ, tlie journal
stands as an exponent for that class of Republi-
cans who believe firmly in silver, and it has be-
come recognized as the leading exponent of the
issues of the '"silver" Republicans of the state.
In keeping with the competition characteristic
of the times, the Tribune, in March, 1897, joined
the Associated Press and began the publication of
a daily edition ; but, after an experience of about
two months in this enterprise, the undertaking
was ascertained to be unprofitable and was ac-
cordingly discontinued. The proprietors then be- j
gan the publication of a semi-weekly edition,
which is still continued.
In May, 1897, the company purchased the
plant and good will of the Idaho Herald, a week-
ly newspaper which had been published in Poca-
tello since 1885, and incorporated it with its own
journal, and thus the Herald was merged into
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
193
the Tribune. On January i, iSqg, the Tribune,
in connection with its semi-weekly edition, began
the pubhcation of a weekly.
THE GENESEE NEWS.
The value of the local newspaper in the up-
building of the best interests of any community
is universally conceded. The rule is that good
papers are found in good towns, inferior journals
in towns of stunted growth and uncertain future.
It is not so much a matter of size as of excellence
and of adaptability to the needs of its locality.
These conditions given, in an appreciative and
progressive community, the size of the paper will
take care of itself in a way mutually satisfactory
to publishers and patrons. This has been proven
in Genesee. The Genesee News was first issued
in 1889. In 1892, when it came into the hands of
^lessrs. Hopp & Power, its present enterprising
owners, publishers and editors, it was a five-col-
umn folio. They improved it in every wav to-
ward perfection as a local newspaper and have
enlarged it to a six-column quarto, and their pro-
gressiveness has been appreciated and rewarded
by an increase of patronage, in both the subscrip-
tion and advertising departments, which more
than recompenses them for their increased outlay
in its publication.
Messrs. Hopp & Power are newspaper men
of experience, taste and discrimination. They be-
lieve that first of all a local journal should be dis-
tinctively local and should command all worthy
home interests. They believe that a home paper
to be successful must be adapted to the needs
of the whole family. They believe that a family
paper should be a pure paper, so clean in every
line that it will not ofifend the nicest taste, and
that its publisher should so respect his con-
stituency as to assume that such is the kind of
paper it would place in the hands of its boys and
girls fifty-two times in the year, — fifty-two incen-
tives to higher ideals, never one suggestion that
can debase or contaminate. So believing, they
have made the News a strong local paper, they
have made it a family paper and they have made
it a clean paper. Beyond this they have given it
an attractive guise, print it nicely and manage its
affairs in a business-like manner that make the
publishers as well liked in the community as is
the paper.
The News is an independent paper politically
and is published in the interests of the people of
Genesee and its tributary territory, without re-
gard to political or religious affiliations. It is the
aim of the publishers to help every worthy home
enterprise, to advocate every proposition, with-
out regard to source, which seems to them to
offer anything for the benefit of the place. It is
their aim to so set forth the advantages of Gene-
see as a place of residence and for business in-
vestment as to bring to it men and women who
are likely to advance the interests of the citv by
working intelligently to advance their own.
The News establishment is one of the best
equipped printing houses in this part of the state,
and the job printing of all classes done by Messrs.
Hopp & Power is artistic in design and well
done in every way, and their facilities are such
that they are able to compete in prices with any
printing concern in the state.
The Genesee News is published every Friday,
at two dollars a year. Its issue for February 25,
1899, was a special illustrated number, devoted
to home projects and enterprises and of a char-
acter, in a literary way and mechanically, to re-
flect the greatest credit on its publishers.
THE S.A.LUBRI.\ CITIZEN.
This journal was founded in the year 1887, by
Dr. S. M. C. Reynolds, under the name of the
Idaho Citizen. It was a five-column folio paper
and issued weekly, and during its early history
the proprietorship was changed several times. In
April, 1891, and while owned by a stock com-
pany, the plant was consumed by fire in a con-
flagration that did considerable damage to the
town. After this Eugene Lorton purchased a
complete new outfit and continued the publica-
tion of the journal, changing its name to the
Salubria Citizen, its present title. On the 1st of
November, 1896, Thomas Nelson, an experienced
newspaper publisher and editor, purchased tlie
paper and has ever since owned and conducted it.
It is now a five-column, eight-page weekly, de-
voted to the interests of the Salubria valley, while
it is independent in politics. Being ably man-
aged and well supported, it has become an im-
portant factor in the development of the locality
and in the increase 01 general intelligence. It is
really a good newspaper.
ISU
HISTORY or IDAHO.
Mr. Nelson is a native of the state of Illinois,
bom April 16, 1869, and has been a printer and
newspaper man continuously ever since the four-
teenth year of his age. He learned the printer's
trade in the office of the Rocky Mountain News,
at Denver, Colorado, and was employed on that
paper for a period of four years. He then re-
moved to southern Colorado, where he founded
the Lajara Tribune and continued its publication
for nearly a year. Next he worked as a journey-
man job printer until 1891, for two and a half
years of the time being the foreman of the job
department of the Heppner Gazette, in Oregon,
f or some time he also ran a job prmtine office at
Pendleton, Oregon, since which time he has been
connected with his present enterprise, as already
stated.
He is a gentleman thoroughly posted in news-
paper work and is enthusiastic in his support of
the interests of Washington countv. He is one
of the organizers of the Washington Fair
Association, and has published a neat pamphlet
setting forth the resources of the county in an at-
tractive manner. He has also published an ex-
haustive article on the same subject in the issue
of his paper dated May 18, 1898.
In his political principles Mr. Nelson is inde-
pendent. He is a member of the Woodmen of
the World, the Knights of the Maccabees and of
the Typographical Union. January i, 1894, he
was united in marriage to Belle Oswald, of Free-
port, Illinois, the daughter of James Oswald, of
that city. They have two interesting little girls, —
Ruth and Myrtle. Mrs. Nelson is a prepossess-
ing and amiable little lady. The family deserve
and enjoy the highest esteem of the community.
THE WOOD RIVER TIMES.
This enterprising daily and weekly is published
at Hailey, Blaine county, by T. E. Picotte, who
founded it June 15, 1881, the very year in which
the city itself was started, as a small village of
tents. The principles emphasized by the founder
were announced to be independence, impartiality
and fearlessness, but not sensationalism, and fair
wages, fair prices and fair living.
The weekly is a four-page sheet, twenty-four
by thirty-six inches and seven columns to the
page, and placed at three dollars a year; while
the daily is twentv-two bv thirty-three inches in
dimensions, with six columns to the page, and 'S
sold at ten dollars per annum. Politics, "silver"
Republican.
Mr. Picotte has been a newspaper man from
boyhood. He was iDorn in Alontreal, Canada,
October 26, 1848, began his apprenticeship at the
printer's trade at the age of fourteen years, in
New York city, and when the civil war broke out
enlisted, but was rejected on account of his youth.
A little later, however, he succeeded in entering
the New York City National Guards, in Com-
pany K, One Hundred and Second Regiment:
and he was in active service for four months.
After this he was telegraphic editor on the Cour-
rier des Etats Unis, of New York, the leading
French paper in the United States; next he was
proof-reader on the Chicago Republican, now
the Inter Ocean; and from Chicago he went
south and was assistant foreman of the New Or-
leans Daily Republican, Thence he went to Aus-
tin, Texas, as superintendent of the state print-
ing. Returning to Montreal, he formed a part-
nership with his brother as a contractor for ma-
sonry and cut stone, and after a time he came
west and published, in Denver, Colorado, the
Daily Programme and a weekly, the Colorado
Real Estate and Mining Review. Next he was
mining reporter on the Virginia Chronicle, at
Virginia, Nevada, two years, and for a year was
local editor of the Daily Independent, at the
same place. He was the founder of the Sutro
Independent, at the mouth of the Sutro tunnel,
and was also editor and proprietor of the Lyon
County (Nevada) Times two years. In 1882-3 h^"
brought to Hailey the telegraphic dispatches
from Blackfoot, the nearest point on the railroad.
a hundred and seventy-five miles distant, and
published the contents, for six months, during
which time the price of his daily was at the rate
of twenty-six dollars a year.
In 1881 he came to Hailey. then a village of a
few tents, where he founded the Wood River
Times. His varied experience ift life, the high
responsibilities he has so often carried, and the
shrewd insight he naturally nas in the affairs of
men, have combined to qualify him for the best
management of a public journal. He is also in-
terested in various mines, has built a good dwell-
ing in Hailey, and is esteemed as one of the most
valuable citizens.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
195
In October, 1863, he was united in marriage
with JMrs. E. J. Taylor, who by a former mar-
riage had a son and a daughter. Mrs. Picotte
departed this life in 1891, and Mr. Picotte has
since remained single. He is giving his step-son
and daughter a liberal education. As to the fra-
ternities, he is an active member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, of which he was adjutant
general in 1891-2 for the department of Idaho;
and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen
he was the first deputy grand master workman
and the first past master of the oldest lodge of
the order in the state.
IDAHO FALLS TIMES.
The Idaho Falls Times, Hon. George Chapin,
publisher, is a six-column quarto weekly. Demo-
crat in politics, devoted to the local interests of
Idaho Falls and Bingham county. It was first is-
sued in 1890, by the Times Publishmg Companv.
A year later it was purchased by James Lamer-
aux, from whom, after he had published it six
months, Mr. Chapin bought it. It was first is-
sued by Mr. Chapin in January, 1892, and since
then has appeared regularly and on time, every
Thursday, and has taken a leading place among
the county papers of the west. Its plant is first-
class in every respect, fitted up with modern ma-
chinery and with type of new and attractive faces,
and its facilities for turning out good job work,
large or small, in any quantity, are in all ways
adequate to any probable demand. Hon. George
Chapin was born in Rochester, New York, April
3, 1839. He was educated in New York and
Brooklyn and began his literary career as a cor-
respondent for several eastern papers. During
the civil war he was in the transport service, mov-
ing materials of war for the United States gov-
ernment. After the war he was connected with
important steamboat enterprises in the east until
1870. His health declined and he was advised to
subject himself to the influence of a mountain
climate. He came west, and in the mining
camps found the physical improvement he
sought. He mined on Snake river, in Boise basin
and at Rocky Bar, but met with only partial suc-
cess. He was one of the historic six men who
took the copper plates into the big canyon and
were the first to use that method to secure the
fine gold.
After mining for five years, Mr. Chapin en-
gaged in the stock business, running as many as
fifteen hundred head of cattle on the ranges, and
was fairly successful until the feed became poor
and the mortality among the cattle in the winter
became ruinous, from the ordinary loss of three
to five per cent. Mr. Chapin sold out his cattle
interests, bought the Idaho Falls Times and has
since devoted himself to the building up of the
paper and of the town, fostering all local inter-
ests by every means at his command and making
his paper of the greatest interest to the agricul-
tural class in all the country round about.
Mr. Chapin was married, in 1861, to Miss
Delphine Henion, daughter of Captain Henion,
of New York. Their daughter Cornelia is the
wife of A. R. Hutten, of Brooklyn, New York;
Charles D. Chapin, one of their sons, is a civil
engineer; Clarence, the other, is a printer and is
employed in his father's establishment.
A lifelong Democrat, Mr. Chapin has been
called to places of trust and responsibility. In
1878 he represented his county in the legislature.
He is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias,
and he and his family attend the services of the
Episcopal church.
THE SHOSHONE JOURNAL.
The Shoshone Journal was found..d in 1882,
by W. C. B. Allen. At first this paper was only
a two-page weekly; but its career from the be-
ginning to 1894 we are not able to give. In the
latter year it was purchased by a stock company
of Republican gentlemen and since then it has
been the organ of their party for Lincoln coun-
ty. It is now leased by R. M. McCullom, and
the same policy of the paper is continued. Its
greatest specialty, however, consists in faithfully
giving the local news and in aiding^ the develop-
ment of the material resources of its section of
the country. For these purposes it is indeed a
vigorous sheet.
Mr. McCullom is a newspaper man of lifelong
experience, having learned the printer's trade
when a boy, and having adhered to his favorite
vocation to the present time, including editing
and publishing. He is practically identified with
the best interests of the town, is married and has
his home here. After an absence of twenty-nine
vears from his old homo at Ypsilanti, Michigan,
19G
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he recently made a visit there, whicli was particu-
larly interesting, in view of the many changes in
the country in that time.
THE ELMORE BULLETIN.
This able journal, owned, edited and published
by George M. Payne and his daughter, Mabel, is
a four-page, seven-column weekly newspaper, the
Democratic organ of Elmore county, devoted to
the interests of the town of Mountain Home and
Elmore county. Mr. Payne established this pa-
per in 1888 and has ever since controlled its pub-
lication, meeting with success in the enter-
prise. In 1894 he associated with him his
daughter, Mabel, who is now its business man-
ager, while her father is the editor and the pub-
lisher.
Mr. Payne is a native of Virginia, born in Cul-
peper county, November 27, 1834, of English
ancestry whose first American representatives
were early settlers in that state. His parents,
Richard and Susan (Asbury) Payne, were natives
also of the Old Dominion and were Methodists
in their religion. His father, a planter, died in
the thirty-eighth year of his age, and his mother
survived until her fifty-sixth year. Of their five
children only two are now living. The fourth
of these, the subject of this outline, was educated
in the public schools in Alabama, and at the age
of twelve years began to learn the printer's trade,
and ever since then, excepting a few years' min-
ing in California, he has been connected with
newspaper work. In California he founded and
for a number of years published the Amador Dis-
patch, until he was elected a member of the legis-
lature of that state. In i86q he removed to Ne-
vada, where he was a compositor on the Virginia
City Enterprise ; next he was the foreman of the
office of the Elko Chronicle.
In 1869, after a visit to his relatives and friends
in Alabama, he went to Louisville, Kentucky,
where, April 16, 1872, he married Miss Ada Cole,
a native of that city. After this he spent eight
years in Nevada, where he was foreman of the
Eureka Sentinel, and in 1882 came to Hailey,
Idaho, where he had the position of foreman of
the News-Miner office. In 1887 he came to
Mountain Home and purchased the Range and
\' alley, a small publication owned by Frank Ma-
son. From this nucleus he developed his present
enterprise, the Elmore Bulletin, which is an in-
fluential organ of local interests.
]\Ir. and Mrs. Payne have but the one child, al-
ready mentioned. She was born in Louisville
and reared here in the west. The family have a
nice home and are highly esteemed by the citi-
zens of Mountain Home and vicinity, in the in-
terests of which they are so enthusiastically en-
gaged.
THE BLACKFOOT NEWS.
The Blackfoot News was established by
Colonel John W. Jones in June, 1887. It is a
Democratic local paper, edited witn much dis-
crimination and dressed and printed with taste
and care. Its subscription price is two dollars
a year. For twelve vears it has been preaching
Democracy and helping to Duild no Blackfoot
and the surrounding country. It has never
missed one issue, and only one issue has been
delayed. A delay of two days occurred in Janu-
ary, 1894, occasioned by the death of Mrs. Jones.
Colonel John W. Jones was born in \'irginia,
September 12, 1839, and is descended from Eng-
lish ancestors. His grandfather, Worthington
Jones, fought for America in the Revolution and
again in the war of 181 2. Worthington Jones's
son, W. B. Jones, father of Colonel John W.
Jones, was born in Virginia and became prom-
inent there as a physician. He died in 1842.
Colonel Jones was educated in the Old Dominion
and passed his youth and young manhood in that
state. He enlisted in the Confederate service, in
the Fift}-sixth Virginia \'olunteer Infantry, and
was elected captain of his company. He fought
at Fort Donelson, in the seven-days fight in the
Wilderness, at Gettysburg, and in many less im-
portant engagements, and was wounded four
times and promoted for his good soldierly qual-
ities to be colonel of his regiment. His regiment
was attached to Pickett's division of Long-
street's corps, in command of General Rob-
ert E. Lee, and laid down arms at the
historic surrender at Appomattox. After the
war Colonel Jones was president of a fe-
male college in Arkansas and was elected
to the legislature of that state. He came
to Idaho in 1885, and two years later es-
tablished the Blackfoot News. In 1893 he was
appointed by President Cleveland receiver of the
United States land office at Blackfoot. In 1898
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
197
he was commissioned, by the governor, as lieu-
tenant-colonel of Idaho troops, and went with his
command to Manila and was there at the time of
Admiral Dewey's great victory. But his health
failed soon afterward, and he was permitted to re-
sign his commission and return to the more fa-
vorable climate of Idaho.
In i860, Colonel Jones married Miss Anna
Gregory, a native of Virginia and daughter of
one of the most distinguished physicians of the
south. Mrs. Jones was a woman of many graces
and rare accomplishments, and her death was
a blow not only to her husband and children but
to the entire community, in which she had striven
loyally to help in such works as commended
themselves to her excellent judgment. The fam-
ily consisted of five sons and two daughters.
Norman, the eldest son, is in the cattle business
in Wyoming. Percy is now the active publisher
of the Blackfoot News. Gregory is clerk and
stenographer in the United States land office at
Blackfoot. John W., Jr., is a recent graduate
from the law department of the Washington and
Lee University in \'irginia. Blanche is her fath-
er's housekeeper.
THE NEWS-MINER.
This is a daily and weekly paper publisned at
Hailey, Blaine county. The daily is issued every
morning except Monday, and the weeklv every
Friday. In dimensions the latter is twenty-two
inches by thirty-two in size, a folio of six columns
to the page, while the daily is twenty mches by
twenty-six, with five columns to the page.
As the name implies, this periodical is devoted
to mining and local news. In politics, since 1892,
the publishers have advocated the cause of the
People's party. It was first published in Belle-
vue. by Frank A. Harding, under the simple
name, The Miner. The News was started in
Hailey, by C. H. Clay, and in 1883 tnese papers
were combined and passed under the control of
the present owners, Richards & Richards, who
changed the name to the News-Miner. '1 he price
of the weekly is two dollars a year, while that
of the daily is ten dollars: and they both have a
good circulation.
E. R. Richards has had charge of the journal
for the past four years. He has been a news-
paper man all his life, in the east and in the west.
He learned the printer's trade when a young man,
in the state of JNIaine, of which state he is a na-
tive. As newspaper men here they have done all
in their power to advance the material interests of
Hailey and Blame county.
THE POCATELLO ADVANCE.
This periodical was founded in Pocatello in
February, 1894, a weekly seven-column folio, and
is the organ of the Democracy of Bannock coun-
ty and the state of Idaho. It was established by
Frank Walton, who conducted it for the Advance
Publishing Company. In March, 1898, it was
purchased by Messrs. Moore & Wright, who
now manage the journal.
H. A. Moore was formerly the publisher of the
Herald here. He learned the printer's trade in
Kansas and Nebraska, and is a very active and
able newspaper man.
C. E. Wright, the junior member of the firm,
has long been in the newspaper business, in Iowa
and Nebraska. He came to Idaho in 1894, and
published the Elmore County Republican, at
Mountain Home, lor three years.
Both of these gentlemen are exerting their best
energies for the material interests of their com-
munity, and are accordingly held in high esteem
by the citizens.
THE KENDRICK TIMES.
A weekly newspaper published at Kendrick,
Idaho, is the Times, which was established in
1893 by the Treisch brothers. It was issued on
Friday and was an independent journal, devoted
to local news and to the upbuilding of Kendrick
and the surrounding country. Its founders con-
ducted it for two years, and it was then published
by E. H. Thompson for a year. On the ist of
June, 1897, E. E. Aldeman became the editor
and proprietor and has since remained in charge.
In 1898 he also began the publication of the
Canvon Echo, which is issued on Tuesday, while
the Times comes out, as usual, on Friday. Mr.
Aldeman is a stanch Republican in his political
views, and edits his paper in the interests of that
party.
He is a native of Ohio, was educated in the
public schools of that state and in Hiram Col-
lege, and during the greater part of his life has
been engaged in the manufacture of lumber, his
198
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
present .enterprise being his first venture in the
field of journalism, but he is meeting with very
satisfactory success and has a large patronage
from the business public. He was prominently
connected with educational affairs while residing
at Hart's Grove, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and
served as school director for a number of years.
In 1874 he became connected with the Masonic
fraternity and took an active part in the work
of the order, serving as junior warden of his
lodge. He is now a member of the city council
of Kendrick and is a valued citizen.
THE SOUTHERN IDAHO MAIL.
The Southern Idaho Mail is an eight-page
weekly paper, Republican in politics, which was
first issued at Blackfoot, Bingham county, Idaho,
by the Mail Publishing Company (Willis Earl
Smith, editor and publisher). May 24. 189Q. It is
published on Wednesday of each week in the in-
terest of Republicanism, the city of Blackfoot
and Bingham county. It is ably edited and well
printed and is a high-toned home journal, giving
all the home news and advocating all measures
calculated to advance the interests of Blackfoot
and its tributary territory, its reception by the
people of Blackfoot has been cordial and encour-
aging and its future seems bright with promise.
Willis Earl Smith is a native of Shellsburg,
Iowa, and was born February 26, 1869. He re-
ceived his primary education in the Waco, Ne-
braska, high school and was graduated from the
college at York, Nebraska, in the class of 1888.
He learned the printer's trade in his native town
and has been a newspaper man since he left
school. Before establishing the Southern Idaho
Mail he published the Herald at Wallace, Ne-
braska, and the Worjd, at American Fork, Utah.
Mrs. Smith has established a prosperous mil-
linery business at Blackfoot. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
are popular in society and leaders in many good
works.
THE ELMORE REPUBLICAN.
This lively journal was established in 1889, by
a man named Abbott. At first it was an eight-
page five-column weekly, devoted to the interests
of Elmore county and the Republican party in
general. Later it was purchased by a conipanv.
In 1894 the office was destroyed by fire and the
files of the paper were lost. This misfortune has
.deprived the historian of many desirable items
in connection with the career of the paper, as
well as of the community generally. It is now
owned and published by the Simpson brothers, —
George E. and Lawrence E. Simpson.
The Simpson brothers are natives of the state
of Indiana and are both practical newspaper men
of years of experience, both at the printing trade
and as publishers. George E. Simpson was em-
ployed on the Idaho Statesman eight years, and
had been a part owner of the Marion County
(Iowa) Reporter; and Lawrence E. was for a
time proprietor of the Pleasantville (Iowa) Tele-
graph. George E. has a wife and two children,
while Lawrence E. is single. The latter is a
member of the order of Knights of Pythias and
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
also of the Order of Daughters of Rebekah. Both
these gentlemen are capable, agreeable and
obliging young men and are giving their best
energies to the upbuilding of the town and
county.
THE IDAHO MINING NEWS.
The News is published monthly, at Boise, by
the Idaho Mining Exchange. The first issue, in
March, 1896, was devoted to the Boise eold belt.
In that instance, through absence of snow at the
time, the Exchange was able to employ a writer
to visit each individual property and describe it,
and this plan has been followed as far as practi-
cable throughout the various other mining dis-
tricts of the state. In the edition of the News for
May, 1896, its aims and purposes are thus briefly
defined: "The News has for its goal a complete
description of the mines and mining of the whole
state of Idaho. Its contributors will be the min-
ing men, its editors 'the committee on develop-
ment, information and advertising' of the Idaho
Mining Exchange. The magazine does not rep-
resent any clique or locality other than all the
inhabitants and the whole of our state. Its circu-
lation includes the mining men, engineers,
brokers, companies, bankers, prospectors, hotels
and exchanges of America."
THE KEYSTONE.
The Keystone is the appropriate name of a
sprightly newspaper published weekly at Ketch-
um. Blaine county, this state. It was founded
in ]88i, by George J. Lewis, later the honorable
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
199
secretary of state of Idaho, and was ably man-
aged and edited by him, in the interest of Blaine
county and the then very prominent mining en-
terprises of the Wood River valley. At length
the establishment was burned down, and Mr.
Lewis rebuilt and set up again a printing office,
wherein he continued the publication of the jour-
nal.
In 1886 Isaac H. Bowman, the present pro-
prietor, purchased the concern, since which time
he has been the successful editor and manager of
the paper. This organ was for a time independ-
ent in politics, but it is now a Democratic advo-
cate, still devoting, however, most of the space to
local news.
Mr. Bowman is a native of the state of \'ir-
ginia, born February 6, 1S40, was educated in
the Old Dominion and learned the printer's trade
there, and came to Idaho in 1862, and thus be-
came one of the pioneers of the Boise Basin.
In 1864 he purchased the Boise News and made
it the Idaho World, and controlled its publication
successfully during all the formative period of the
territory and during the height of the mining ex-
citements. In 1874 he sold out and removed to
Oakland, California, where he conducted a job-
printing ofifice and was the founder of The Mail,
an independent paper. After running this paper
for two }-ears he sold it and returned to Idaho,
locating in Ketchum, where he has been engaged
as already outlined.
He is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and a popular man in social
and business circles, but he devotes his time prin-
cipally to the favorite Keystone.
THE GRANGEVILLE STANDARD.
The Standard, a weekly paper, published at
Grangeville, is issued on Friday of each week,
Iiaving been established March 2C. 1899. It is
published in the interests of the town and of
Idaho county by the Standard Publishing Com-
pany, which is composed of G. W. Goode and
C. F. Lake. The subscription price is two dol-
lars per annum, and the journal has already be-
come a welcome visitor at many homes in this
locality.
Mr. Lake, who is the managing editor, is a
newspaper man of experience. He was born in
Wisconsin, July 21, 1859, was educated in south-
eastern Minnesota and entered a printing office
when fourteen years of age. He then thoroughly
ma.stered the trade and since that time has been
continuously engaged in journalistic work. He
has been connected with various papers in the
east, and published the Spokane Opinion for a
time, after which he became one of tue founders
of the Spokane Daily Times. From that place
he went to Moscow, in 1895, and from there
came to Grangeville and founded the Standard,
becoming its managing editor. The paper is a
clean, bright, newsy and well printed sheet, and
from the beginning has received a good advertis-
ing patronage.
THE REPUBLICAN.
The Republican, a weekly newspaper pub-
lished at Preston, is issued every Wednesday and
is an eight-page, four-column quarto, devoted to
local interests and to the advancement and pro-
mulgation of Republican principles. The pub-
lishers are R. H. Davis and W. H. Peck. The
former is a newspaper man of marked ability and
wide experience. He is owner of the Caldwell
Tribune and the Malad Enterprise, in addition to
his partnership interest in the Republican. Mr.
Peck, the junior partner, learned the printer's
trade in the office of the Enterprise at Malad
City, where he was employed for vears. He then
worked on the Caldwell Tribune for two years,
after which he took charge of the Republican,
in January, 1899. Messrs. Davis & Peck are
now building a good office at Preston and are
enlarging their plant. Theirs is the pioneer pa-
per of the town, and it was first published in
1893, by B. N. Davis, a brother of R. H. Davis,
who called it the Standard, under which name it
appeared for two years. It was then leased to
L. R. Whitney, who changed the name to the
Republican. Mr. Peck, the present manager, is a
bright young newspaper man, an able and intel-
ligent worker and has made his paper a paying
investment.
JULIAETTA NEWSPAPERS.
The first paper published in Juliaetta was the
Juliaetta Gem, whose initial number was issued
May 18, 1889, with W. L. Taylor as editor. Mr.
Taylor was a young man of talent, and was a
step-son of Judge Piper. He continued his iden-
200
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tification with the Gem only eighteen months,
when the enterprise was temporarily abandoned,
being practically resurrected in the issuing of the
Potlatch, which made its first appearance in June,
1891, with Collins Ferryman as business man-
ager and J. M. Bledsoe as editor. Mr. Perry-
man managed the paper with much energy and
ability, securing to it a good patronage and mak-
ing a success of the venture. After the lapse of
somewhat more than one year the newspaper was
sold to William R. AlcCracken, who rechristened
it the Juliaetta Advance. He continued the pub-
lication of the Advance for two years, when it
was discontinued by reason of the general de-
pression in financial affairs. Somewhat later the
Potlatch Press was started here by the Alford
Brothers, now publishers of the Lewiston Tri-
bune. They conducted the business with marked
ability, making the Press a live, newsy journal.
At the e.xpiration of one year F. J. Bratton be-
came proprietor and published the paper two
years, after which he sent the press to Spaulding.
The Juliaetta Register made its first appear-
ance on May i, 1899, M. P. Stevens presiding
over its destinies. He is a lawyer by profession,
and is the incumbent of the important offices of
justice of the peace, city clerk and city attorney.
Mr. Stevens is making the Register an excellent
paper, devoted to the interests of the town and
surroundmg country, and it merits the support of
all residents of the community.
THE IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS.
The Free Press is a weekly publication, and
was founded by A. F. Parker, its present editor
and proprietor, in June, 1886, as an independent
journal devoted to the interests of the town of
Grangeville and of Idaho county. Mr. Parker
is a gentleman of considerable literary talent anrl
ability, and has met with such eminent success
in the conduct of his journal that in January,
1899, he was encouraged to produce the first
issue of the Daily Press, which is a wide-awake
and popular paper, full of general and raining
news. He is an energetic, progressive and cap-
able journalist and has done much for the welfare
of the state in setting forth its advantages and re-
sources in the columns of his papers.
A native of England, he was born in Wells,
Somersetshire, March 16, 1836, and when only
twelve years of age shipped before the mast, fol-
lowing a seafaring life until 1873. ^^ 1S76 he
made a voyage around Cape Horn to the Pacific
coast, and came directly to Idaho, engaging in
quartz mining in the Brownlee country, in Big
Snake river canyon. He followed that pursuit
until advised to quit on account of the Nez
Perces Indian outbreak in 1877, when he entered
the service of the government as scout, courier
and guide. He also served in the same capacity
at the time of the Bannock Indian outbreak, in
1878, and in the Sheep-eater Indian campaign of
1879.
The following year Mr. Parker located in Lew-
iston, and published the Xez Perces News from
January, 1880, until September, 1883, when he
sold out and joined the throng making its way
to the Coeur d'Alene district. He established
the Coeur d'Alene Daily and Weekly Eagle, at
Eagle City, in February, 1884, and served as
postmaster and deputy recorder there through-
out the excitement, making sometimes as high as
one hundred and fifty dollars per day through
his labors in the recorder's office. Since that
time he has engaged in the publication of The
Idaho County Free Press, and in the manage-
ment of his investments. He has various mining
interests in Idaho, Xez Perces and Washington
counties and owns a large amount of stock in the
Cleveland group of mines, eight miles south of
Elk City, where considerable development work
has shown up a very valuable property. He also
has realty interests in Grangeville and has erected
a number of buildings in the town, thereby ad-
vancing the work of public improvement.
On the 4th of February, 1890, Air. Parker was
united in marriage to Miss Mary S. Newman,
the youngest daughter of Horace S. Newman,
formerly general claim agent of the Union Pa-
cific Railroad Company. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Parker have been born four children, but they
lost their eldest in her fourth year. The living
are Foster C, and Lydia and Sylvia, twins. They
have a delightful residence in Grangeville and
are numbered among the most highly esteemed
citizens there.
In politics ;\Ir. Parker has always been a stal-
wart Democrat, but his publications are strictly
neutral, and are conducted on strictly business
principles. He was, however, a Democratic
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
201
member of the convention which prepared the
state constitution, which was adopted in conven-
tion in Boise, August 6, 1889, and which is now
the organic law of Idaho. He is one of the two
oldest representatives of the Knights of Pythias
fraternity in Idaho, and is also a member of the
Woodmen of the World and the Masonic fra-
ternities.
THE ID-\HO FALLS REGISTER.
The Idaho Falls Register, a news}', eight-page,
si.\-column paper, published by William E.
^^'heeler, is devoted to the interests of the city
of Idaho Falls and the county of Bingham. It
is Republican in politics, gives all the local new^
and pays much attention to the county's agri-
cultural interests. It is ably edited and well
printed and has had a powerful influence upon
the development of the county. Mr. Wheeler
issued the paper first at Blackfoot, July i, 1880.
He removed it to Idaho Falls in 1884, and it at
once became a potent factor in the progress and
prosperity of the field in which it circulates.
William E. Wheeler was born at Peacham,
Caledonia county, Vermont, August 29, 1844,
and is descended from a family which settled
early in Maine, where his father, Samuel Dexter
\\'heeler, was born. His grandfather. Colonel
\\'illiam Wheeler, fought in the war with Mexico.
Samuel Dexter Wheeler married Sarah Jane Bai-
ly, a native of Peacham, \'ermont, and they had
live children, of whom only three survive. Mr.
Wheeler was a shoemaker and farmer and he and
his wife were Seventh-day Adventists. Mr.
\Mieeler died in his fifty-eighth year. His widow
has now reached the advanced age of seventy-
eight.
When William E. Wheeler, the eldest of the
children of Samuel Dexter and Sarah Jane (Bai-
ly) Wheeler, was fifteen years old, the family re-
moved to Illinois, where the boy finished his edu-
cation. He was not yet seventeen when the civil
war began, but he tried to enlist in the Ellsworth
Zouaves and was rejected because he was not of
legal military age. In 1864, when he was twenty-
one, he tried again to enter the army, and was
accepted as a member of Company B, One Hun-
dred and Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
and did provost and guard duty in southern Illi-
nois and Kentucky. He was at Springfield,
Illinois, at the time of the funeral of President
Lincoln, and helped to guard the state house
while the remains of the martyred president were
lying in state in that building. He was honor-
ably discharged and mustered out of the service
at Springfield.
Mr. Wheeler began his journalistic career at
Evanston, Wyoming, where he published the
Evanston Age until 1880. He then removed to
Blackfoot, Idaho, where he established the Reg-
ister, which he later brought to Idaho Falls and
made an influential journal. He has made the
Register a success from every point of view and
has never been stintful of time or means in pro-
claiming to the world the advantages of this part
of Idaho for residence and investment. His pub-
lic spirit has been recognized by his fellow citi-
zens and he has received a liberal patronage. He
has built up a fine printing and publishing plant,
and it is as well equipped for development and
success as any newspaper in the state.
Mr. Wheeler was married, in 1883, to Miss
Elizabeth W. Dougherty, a native of Elgin,
Illinois, and a daughter of Michael Dougherty
who came to the United States from Ireland.
Mr. Wheeler was made an Odd Fellow in 1865.
THE STAND.ARD.
The Standard, an interesting journal issued
each Friday, in Preston, Oneida county, is a four-
page, six-column cjuarto, ptiblished by W. H.
Kenner. It is devoted to local interests and is
the organ of the Oneida stake of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was first
published in 1895 as the New Era, and in 1896
was sold to Sponburg & Barnes, who changed
the name to Oneida Herald and made it the
organ of the Democratic party. In 1898 it was
repurchased by the original company and as-
sumed the name of the Standard, under which
title it is still published.
Air. Kenner, its editor, was born in St. Francis-
ville, Clark county, Missouri, January 19, i860,
and went to Salt Lake as an emigrant. He was
employed by Mr. Ford in a job-printing office in
Salt Lake City, later worked on the Herald and
subsequently on the Tribune, and has done much
newspaper work in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
He has had wide experience in the field of jour-
nalism and is a man of marked ability in the
newspaper field. He is now serving as a mem-
202
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ber of Governor Steunenberg's staff, and is a
notary public. He was married in 1883 to Miss
Ida V. Conover, daughter of Peter Conover, who
emigrated to Salt Lake in 1848 and was a mem-
ber of Joseph Smith's body guard. He was the
founder of Provo City and built the first house
there. In the Indian war he served as a colonel
of the Utah militia, and lived to the ripe old age
of eighty-five years. Mrs. Kenner has learned
the printer's trade with her husband, and is his
able assistant in the office. They now have two
daut. liters, Katie and Ada.
THE NORTH IDAHO STAR.
This is a weekly paper published each Friday
in Moscow, and is the property of Henry C.
Shaver, who is both editor and proprietor. The
paper is published in the interests of the Repub-
lican party and of northern Idaho, and was es-
tablished October i, 1887, by J. L. Brown, who
continued its publication for three years. He
then sold to the Star Publishing Company, who
continued in control until October 9, 1893. at
which time the journal was purchased by its
present owner.
Mr. Shaver is a newspaper man of experience
and ability. He was born in Kendall county, Illi-
nois, August 8, 1858, and when a child removed
with his parents to Iowa. He was educated in the
public schools of that state and first began to
learn the printer's trade in the office of the Re-
publican, at Waverly, Iowa. After completing
his apprenticeship and acting as compositor and
performing other duties in connection with print-
ing for some years, he purchased the Cedar Falls
Recorder, at Cedar Falls, Iowa, which was his
first business venture of importance. He con-
tinued the publication of that journal for four
years and then removed to Des Moines, Iowa,
where he became identified w'itli the Des iMoines
Daily Leader, first as manager of the job de-
partment and later as manager of the subscrip-
tion department. He was then promoted to the
reportorial staff, subsequently became city editor
and finally editor in chief, holding the last named
responsible position for six years, when he re-
signed in order to devote his entire time to the
Iowa interests of the Chicago Herald, with head-
quarters at Des Moines. That position he held
until June, 1893. when he resigned to accept a
business offer from the Des Aloines Leader, mak-
ing him its correspondent in Washington, D. C.
At the same time he acted as correspondent for
the Omaha World-Herald and the Indianapolis
Sentinel. That work he continued until the fol-
lowing autumn, when he decided to come west
and cast in his lot with the residents of Latah
county, Idaho. Since becoming the owner and
editor of the Star the paper has materially ad-
vanced in business prosperity and journalistic
standing and has become a very potent factor in
promoting the interests of Moscow and the
county.
Mr. Shaver is thoroughly identified with the
interests of his adopted town and county, and.
with a full appreciation of their excellent ad-
vantages and resources, he has put these before
the public through the columns of nis paper and
has been particularly active in calling attention to
the wonderful w^hite-pine belt in the eastern sec-
tion of the state, which is a source of great
wealth, as yet undeveloped. One result of his
labors in this direction has been the organization
of a company which now has its plans consum-
mated to build a railroad to the center of the
pine belt, that it may be advantageously worked.
In the near future the work of construction will
be instituted, and when the road is completed the
future of Moscow as a large manufacturmg town
is assured.
Mr. Shaver was married, June i, 1893. to Miss
Emilie Cozier, a daughter of Rev. B. F.
Cozier, a prominent minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and a sister of United States
Attorney Cozier. They have one child,
Seymour. Mrs. Shaver is a valued member of the
Methodist church. In politics ]Mr. Shaver is an
inflexible adherent of the Republican partv and
does all in his power to promote its growth and
insure its success. He belongs to the Modern
Woodmen of the World, and is a popular and
representative citizen of northern Idaho.
THE POST.
An excellent weekly newspaper published at
Paris, the county-seat of Bear Lake county, is
the Post, which is a five-column quarto. Repub-
lican in its political proclivities, and the official
organ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints in Idaho. The paper was established
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in 1880 by the officers of the Bear Lake stake, a
division of the church as to territorial jurisdic-
tion, and it has been continued under the same
management up to the present time. During the
years of its publication two judges have "gradu-
ated" from the office of the Post, — Judge Charles
H. Hunt, who was employed in the office in
1881; and Judge Rolapp, of Ogden, Utah, who
was connected with the enterprise in 1885.
In the years 1881 and 1882 James H. Wallis
figured as editor and publisher of the Post, again
becoming the manager of its destinies in 1885-6,
and after an interim again assuming its manage-
ment in 1892, since which time he has been at the
helm. In the meantime he had been employed
on the Salt Lake Herald. During the entire
period of its existence the Post has been a potent
factor in promoting the interests of Paris and
Bear Lake county, as well as of the Republi-
can party and the church, and its afifairs have
been ably handled. James H. Wallis, who has
so long been the editor and publisher of the pa-
per, is a native of London, England, having been
born in the famous Tower of London. His
father, James Wallis, was camp artificer for the
English government, and resided in the historical
tower, of which the latter's father was turnkey,
so that it was long occupied by the family. James
H. Wallis was born on the 13th of April, 1861,
and received his education in his native city, after
which he served the full bound-apprenticeship of
seven years at the printing trade, in which he be-
came as thorough and skillful a workman as only
the old system can insure. He eventually em-
braced the faith of the Church of Christ of Lat-
ter Day Saints, and sailed for the United States
in April, 1881, making this change of residence
by reason of his religious convictions, the doc-
trines of the church being to gather its adherents
together. At first he was employed by George
O. Cannon, in Salt Lake City, whence, in Octo-
ber of the same year, 1881, he came to Paris,
where he became interested in political affairs.
His management of the Post has been such as to
make it a strong defender of the rights of the
people. He was a Democrat until Cleveland's
second administration, when he became identified
with the Republican party, of whose principles
he has ever since been a stanch advocate.
Mr. Wallis graduated in the law department of
the Nebraska State University, and in 1890 was
elected prosecuting attorney of Juab county,
Utah. He is now United States commissioner
for the state of Idaho, receiving the appointment
from the federal judge, and in the sessions of the
state senate of 1898-9 he held the office of general
committee clerk. He is also a member of the
national executive committee of the Reoublican
party.
In 1881 Mr. Wallis was married to ]Miss Eliza-
beth Todd, of London. They crossed the At-
lantic together and were married in Salt Lake
City. They became the parents of eleven child-
ren, and all save one of the number are still
living.
Mr. Wallis is a man of marked intellectuality,
is a bright journalist and able statistician, and is
well and favorably known throughout the state.
THE LEWISTON TELLER.
The Teller is an independent weekly newspa-
per which was founded in 1876 by A. Leland and
his son, C. F. Leland, the terms being five dollars
per annum. Those gentlemen published the pa-
per successfully until 1890, at which time it was
purchased by C. A. Foresman, who has since
conducted it as a Republican journal, and since
1898 has issued it bi-weekly. It has a wide cir-
culation in Latah, Nez Perces and Idaho coun-
ties, and is one of the strongest and most in-
fluential Republican papers in the state, having
been a potent factor in the growth and upbuild-
ing of this section of Idaho.
Mr. Foresman, the editor and proprietor, was
born in Indiana, May 29, 1859, was educated in
the State Normal School and came to Idaho in
1889. Here he was principal of the Lewiston
schools for six years, and in 1894 he was elected
state superintendent of schools. He is a man
of scholarly attainments and broad general cul-
ture, and has given to the school system of the
state an impetus whose effect will long be felt.
His strong mentality is shown through the col-
umns of the Teller, which is a most interesting
journal, faithfully mirroring forth the events of
the locality, state and nation. Air. Foresman has
built a nice home in Lewiston, is married and
has two children. His wife is a member of the
Methodist church, and he is past grand chan-
cellor of the Knights of Pythias fraternity of
204
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Idaho. He and his family are held in high es-
teem in Lewiston and he is justly regarded as
one of the prominent and representative citizens
of his adopted state.
THE MONTPELIER EXAMINER.
The ancestors of Charles E. Harris, editor and
proprietor of the Montpelier Examiner, settled
at Jamestown, A'irginia, in the seventeenth cen-
tury and he was born in West Virginia in 1866.
He has been thirty years in the west and fifteen
years a newspaper man in Oregon, Montana,
Wyoming and Idaho, and during that time has
established four papers.
The Montpelier Examiner was first issued in
March, 1895. It is an eight-page, six-column
sheet, Independent-Democratic in politics, and is
the official paper of the city of Montpelier, which
has a population of nearly two thousand, and of
Bear Lake county, which has a population of ten
thousand, and it covers the whole field. Its sub-
scription price is two dollars a year and it circu-
lates in three states, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.
It has the most complete plant in southern Idaho,
and the ofifice turns out fine job printing in all
branches.
Mr. Harris was married, in 1895, to Mary Rob-
inson, of Park City, Utah. He is a citizen of
much public and personal popularity, and is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows
and Woodmen of the World. He is a member
of the board of regents of the University of the
State of Idaho and was nominee on the Demo-
cratic ticket, in 1898, for the ofifice of state sena-
tor, being defeated by a majority of only seventy-
three. He is regarded as one of the rising men
of this part of the state, and those who have been
watching events closely in Idaho predict that
he will come to the front in an unmistakable way
as soon as local conditions are favorable.
THE ENTERPRISE.
This is a weekly, five-column quarto news-
paper, published every Saturday at ^lalad, Onei-
da county, in the interests especially of its city
and county, and in general politics it is a Re-
publican organ, wielding a great influence in the
advancement of Republican principles. The
paper was founded by J. A. Streight, in Sep-
tember, 1886. After he had conducted it a year
he sold it to R. H. Davis, a gentleman of con-
siderable ability, who has since been its pub-
lisher; and since 1896 W. E. Beers has been its
successful manager.
Mr. Beers is a native of Kentucky, born at the
capital of that state. He acquired a practical
knowledge of the printer's trade while a boy:
and his business life since then has been such
as to make him an accomplished newspaper man-
ager. After coming west he was a reporter for
the Oregonian and other Oregon papers in the
Idaho legislature during the session of 1896-7.
coming to this state for that purpose. He has
since been located at iMalad, where he has a home
and family : and he has located here with the in-
tention of making this his permanent abode. He
is considered by the citizens a valuable acquisi-
tion to the community.
9/.
CHAPTER XX.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAMES H. HAWLEY.
NO COMPENDIUM such as the province
of this work defines in its essential Hmita-
tions will serve to offer fit memorial to
the life and accomplishments of the hon-
ored subject of this sketch — a man remarkable
in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable
perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet
one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase,
being an open scroll, inviting the closest scru-
tiny. True, his have been "massive deeds and
great" in one sense, and yet his entire life ac-
complishment but represents the result of the
fit utilization of the innate talent which is his,
and the directing of his efforts in those lines
where mature judgment and rare discrimina-
tion lead the way. There is in Mr. Hawley a
weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-
seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that
commands the respect of all. A man of inde-
fatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he
has carved his name deeply on the record of the
political, commercial and professional history of
the state, which owes much of its advancement
to his efforts.
James H. Hawley was born in Dubuque, Iowa,
on the 17th of January, 1847, and in his veins
mingles the blood of English, Dutch and Irish
ancestors. The Hawley family was founded in
America in 1760. William Carr, the maternal
great-grandfather of our subject, was a major
in the Revolutionary army; and the grandfather,
Henry Carr, commanded a company in the war
of 1812, with the rank of captain. Thomas
Hawley, his father, was born in Brooklyn, New
York, and became a civil engineer by profes-
sion. He married Miss Annie Carr, who died
during the infancy of her son James. In 1849
the father went to California, and in 1856 took up
his residence in Texas. When the civil war was
inaugurated he joined the Confederate army, and
served throughout that great struggle as major
of a regiment of engineers. He is still living in
the Lone Star state. He was married a second
time, and by that union had five children, but
our subject is the only son by the first marriage.
In his native city Mr. Hawley of this review-
acquired his early education. In 1861 he ac-
companied an uncle to California, and was pre-
paring to enter college there when he heard of
the wonderful discoveries of gold in the Salmon
river country, in Idaho. Hoping to gain wealth
in that district he left California April 8, 1862,
arriving at Florence the latter part of the month
while the mining excitement was at its height.
Since that time he has been identified with min-
ing interests, though his efforts have been con-
fined by no means to one line of endeavor. In
December, 1862. he went to Dallas, Oregon,
and in May, 1863, came to Boise county, locat-
ing at Placerville, working for several months
on Gold Hill mountain. He then purchased
placer claims near Ophir creek, and in 1863-4
prospected in various sections of Idaho, his part-
ners being James Carr and James Bradford.
They were the discoverers of the Banner mining
district, and Mr. Hawley was interested in many
of the first locations there. He also made many
of the first locations at what is now Ouartzburg.
In December, 1864, however, he returned to
San Francisco, California, where he attended
school and studied law, remaining there until the
fall of 1868, when he returned to Idaho and re-
sumed mining operations at Banner. In the
spring of 1869 he worked placer claims on Cali-
fornia Hill, and through the summer was at
Gold Hill mountain. He also prospected in the
Loon creek country, returning in the fall to
what is now Ouartzburg, where he prospected
for quartz. That autumn he discovered what is
known as the Iowa mine, a very valuable prop-
erty. While working one day he found a very
rich deposit, and. gathering some of the rocks
into a flour sack, he took it to the creek, where
20G
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he washed out the gold to the vakie of one thou-
sand dollars! He was interested in most of the
best placers in the basin, notably the Ebenezer
and Yellow Jacket, and still has large mining in-
terests in various parts of the state. When the
mining exchange was established in Boise, in
1895, he was chosen its first president, and has
since held that position.
Throughout his entire life Mr. Hawley has
been an advocate of Democratic principles, and
has been a most active worker in the interests of
his party in Idaho. In 1870 he was elected a
member of the lower house of the territorial
legislature, receiving the largest majority given
any one on the ticket. During that session he
served as chairman of the judiciary committee.
He was chief clerk of the house at the seventh
session, was a member of the council of the
eighth session and was chief clerk at the ninth
session of the territorial legislature. In 1878 he
served as county commissioner of Boise county.
In the meantime he had studied law and was at-
taining considerable prominence at the bar. He
began his legal studies in San Francisco and con-
tinued them at every available opportunity until
February 14, 1871, when he was admitted to
practice in the supreme court of the territory.
He acted as deputy district attorney under Hon.
George Ainslie for several years. In 1878 he
removed to Idaho City and was nominated and
elected on the Democratic ticket to the position
of district attorney for the second district, em-
bracing Boise, Alturas, Lemhi and Custer coun-
ties. It was during his term that there occurred
the great mining excitement in the Wood river
country and in Custer county, bringing with it
a great increase in the population and a great
accumulation of criminal work in the courts, but
Mr. Hawley discharged his duties with marked
fidelity and ability, and in 1880 was renominated
for the same position. So great was his popu-
larity that the Republicans would make no nom-
ination, and he was therefore practically elected
by acclamation. In 1883 he removed to Hailey,
Alturas county, where he remained until 1886,
when he came to Boise, where he has since made
his home. In 1885 he was appointed, by Presi-
dent Cleveland to the position of United States
district attorney, in which capacity he served
most acceptably for four years. It was during
that time that the Mormon troubles arose in the
territory and he became prominent as the prose-
cutor of many of that sect under the Edmund
Tucker law, though he vigorously opposed the
test-oath law, being persuaded that it was wrong
in principle. He was a conspicuous figure in the
settlement of the Idaho land matters under the
Sparks administration, and in 1884-5. while as-
sistant prosecuting attorney of Alturas county.
with Hon. N. M. Ruick as principal, he had
charge of and settled amicably the strikes on
Wood river. In 1888 he received the Democratic
nomination for congress and was defeated after a
vigorous campaign by ex-Senator Fred T. Du-
bois. He was elected chairman of the Boise
county Democratic committee, in which capacity
he served for six years, doing excellent service
for the party by his capable and wise manage-
ment of its forces. He has been a member of
every Democratic state convention since his ar-
rival in Idaho with the exception of that of 1896
and has been one of the leading figures in Idaho
politics for a third of a century. In 1896 he took
the stump for Bryan, and his voice was heard in
every precinct in Idaho, ably expounding the
doctrines in which he believes.
But it is as a learned, experienced aind eminent
lawyer that ]Mr. Hawley is most widely known.
He is one of the most celebrated criminal lawyers
of the northwest, and it is a notable fact that he
has tried more criminal cases than any lawyer on
the Pacific coast. He was associated with Hon.
Pat Reddy, of San Francisco, in the Coeur
d'Alene mine trials, of 1892, and out of between
seven and eight hundred indictments by federal
and state courts they cleared every one of the
defendants, carrying some of the cases into the
United States supreme court, where they were
likewise victorious. Mr. Hawley enjoys a very
extensive and remunerative practice, mostly in
the departments of criminal, mining and irriga-
tion law.
The home relations of our subject are mos
pleasant. He was married on the 4th of January,
1875, to Miss Mary E. Bullock, of New York
city, and to them have been born nine children,
six of whom are living. Edgar T., the eldest
son, is now lieutenant in the Idaho regiment, and
is serving his country in the Philippines; Jesse
B. is a student in the high school: Emma and
: I
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Bessie are attending the Sisters" school; and
James H. and Harry R. are at home. The family
is one of prominence in the community, and the
members of the household occupy high positions
in social circles. Mr. Hawley belongs to the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is
past noble grand, and he is a member of the
Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. He was also at one time
president of the Bar Association of Idaho. The
future of such a man can be forecast at least to
this extent: it will be characterized by great ac-
tivity in the important things that concern the
interests of society and government. The world
is always in need of men of his character and
ability, men who are high-minded, public-spirited,
energetic and enterprising, who believe that the
citizen owes a solemn duty to the community;
and while the demands on such men are in-
creased by their willingness to sacrifice for the
public good, fortunately they are possessed of the
patriotism, humanity and public spirit which
prompt them to respond whenever the public will
imposes a burden upon their time and patience;
and while their successes are regarded as per-
sonal achievements, they are also credited as vic-
tories for society and civilization.
NORMAN M. RUICK.
This distinguished practitioner at the bar of
Idaho- has been connected with the leading inter-
ests of the state for some years, and in all the re-
lations of life he has commanded the respect and
confidence of his fellow men by his fidelity to
duty and his devotion to the interests entrusted
to his care. He comes from the far east, being a
native of Connecticut. His birth occurred in
Granby, that state, on the 4th of October, 1854,
and his ancestry includes both Irish and Puritan
stock. His paternal great-grandfather, a native
of the Emerald Isle, emigrated to the New World
and took up his residence in Hartford county,
Connecticut, where he resided for many years.
When the colonies attempted to throw ofif the
yoke of British tyranny, he joined the army and
valiantly fought in the war which gave to the
nation her independence. The grandfather of our
subject, William Ruick, Sr., and the father, who
also bore the name of William, were botli born in
Granby, Connecticut, the latter on the loth of
July, 1822. He was a carriage-maker by trade
and followed that pursuit in order to gain a liveli-
hood for his family. He married Miss Temper-
ance C. Hutchinson, a native of Mansfield, Con-
necticut, and a representative of one of the old
Puritan families of New England. The Ruick
family for several generations had been connected
with the Methodist church, of which denomina-
tion the parents of our subject were also mem-
bers. The mother departed this life in 1884, at
the age of sixty-two years, and the father was
called to his final rest in 1888, in the sixty-sixth
year of his age. They had five sons and a daugh-
ter, and the sons are all yet living.
Norman Melville Ruick, whose name intro-
duces this review, remained on the home farm
with his father, assisting in the labors of field and
meadow until seventeen years of age. Then, as
so many other country boys have done, he went
to the city to try his fortune. The ranks of prom-
inent business men in our industrial and commer-
cial centers are constantly being recruited from
the farm, where the outdoor life and exercise
have developed sturdy youths well fitted to cope
with the ofttimes difficult problem of securing a
start in the financial world. Making his way to
Troy, New York, Mr. Ruick first served an' ap-
prenticeship at the machinist's trade in the
Schenectady Locomotive Works, but he did not
find this entirely congenial. He seemed to pos-
sess a natural predilection for the law, and de-
voted all his leisure hours to reading the text-
books containing the fundamental principles of
the science of jurisprudence. When his term of
apprenticeship was ended he entered the law of-
fice of King & Rhodes, of Troy, New York, and
after a thorough course of study was admitted to
the bar by the supreme court of Indiana, in In-
dianapolis, in 1877.
For three years Mr. Ruick engaged in practice
in that city, and then went to Tucson, Arizona,
with a view of locating there, but changing his
mind he came to Idaho, by way of San Francisco,
locating in the Wood river country, where he re-
mained for a number of years. He practiced
law in Bellevue and Hailey and served as assist-
ant district attorney for Alturas county for two
years. He was three times the nominee of his
party for the position of district attorney, and
filled that position in 1885 and 1886. In 1892
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he was elected to the state senate and served
with distinction as chairman of the judiciary com-
mittee. He was the author of the "Ruick law,"
making all obligations to be paid in money pay-
able in any lawful money— gold, silver or green-
backs— notwithstanding anything in the contract
to the contrary. Since his arrival in the state Mr.
Ruick has been an important factor in political
circles. In 1894 he was elected chairman of the
Populist state central committee, and with signal
ability conducted the memorable campaign of
that year. As an organizer he has few equals
and no superiors in Idaho. He marshals his
forces with the skill and precision of a general
on the field of battle, and at the same time does
it with such tact that the most harmonious work-
ing is secured within the ranks of the party. It
was he who conceived the plan and was largely
instrumental in carrying to a successful issue the
combination between the Populists and Demo-
crats in 1896, which resulted in the election of the
Democratic-Populist state ticket, giving a ma-
jority in the legislature and thus sending a Popu-
list to the United States senate.
Upon becoming chairman of the state central
committee, Mr. Ruick removed to Boise, where
he has since made his home, successfully engag-
ing in the practice of law. He is one of the most
celebrated criminal lawyers in the state, his ser-
vice as prosecuting attorney causing him to give
special attention to this department of jurisprud-
ence. His ability in this direction has caused him
in many instances to be employed by various
counties as assistant prosecutor, and he has al-
most invariably succeeded in winning the suits
with which he has thus been connected. Pos-
sessed of a keen and penetrating intelligence, a
thorough knowledge of the law and an indomit-
able will, he has attained an eminent position in
his profession, and in legal circles is known
throughout the entire northwest.
On the 17th of August, 1888, Mr. Ruick was
married to Mrs. Manda D. Reiff, and their union
has been blessed with two sons and a daughter,
- — Xorman M.. Eleanor and Melville. In his
religious belief Mr. Ruick is a Christian scientist,
and socially is connected with the Modern Wood-
men of America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. In the latter he has served as past
master in the local lodge and has been representa-
tive to the supreme lodge. He is of a genial na-
ture and gentlemanly bearing, which character-
istics are evidences of a commendable character,
and he is one of the popular and esteemed citizens
of Boise.
DAVID C. CHASE.
David C. Chase, the secretary and treasurer of
the great Payette Valley Mercantile Company,
Limited, doing business in Payette, Idaho, is a
native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in John-
sonville, Trumbull county, on the 26th of April,
1853. He traces his descent from English ances-
tors who were early settlers of Connecticut, and
participated in many of the leading events which
go to make up the history of that state. His
father, David Chase, was a Xew England farmer,
and died when his son and namesake was only a
small boy. The latter was educated in the public
schools of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and began
life as a newsboy, selling papers on the streets
and afterward on the train. As the years passed
and he became fitted for more responsible duties,
he resolved to learn telegraphy. This he did, and
was employed in the railroad service for twenty
years, being with the Union Pacific Railroad
from 1873 ""til iSQI. — one of its most competent,
faithful and trusted employes.
His industry and economy in that time had en-
abled him to save some capital, and in the latter
year he became one of the organizers of the Pay-
ette Valley Mercantile Company, Limited. He
was elected its secretary and treasurer, a position
which he has since filled with great acceptability,
for in no small degree the success of the house is
attributable to his efforts. The company do a
large wholesale and retail business, dealing in
general merchandise, and enjoy an extensive
and constantly growing trade. They have one
of the best department stores of the northwest,
stocked with everything found in their line, and
have gained a reputation for reliability, fair deal-
ing, moderate prices and courteous treatment,
and this insures them a liberal share of the public
patronage.
In 1879 Mr. Chase was happily married to
Miss Alary A. Piatt, of Lynn, Indiana, and they
have a son and daughter, Eva Fredericka and
Danna Carl. The former is a graduate of St.
Margaret's School of Boise, and also of the Ken-
wood Institute, of Chicago. The family is one
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
209
of prominence in the community, and the hospit-
able doors of the Chase household are ever open
for the reception of their many friends. Mrs.
Chase is a valued and active member of
the Episcopal church. Mr. Chase is a lead-
ing representative of Washoe Lodge, No.
28, A. F. & A. M., has the honor of be-
ing the first man on whom was ever conferred
the degrees in his lodge, and is now serving his
second term as master. He also belongs to Pay-
ette Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. In politics he is
a Silver Republican, and keeps well informed on
the issues of the day, but has never been an ofhce-
seeker, preferring to devote his time and attention
to his business interests. His home in Payette
is a fine brick residence, situated in the midst
of carefully kept grounds. He also owns other
buildings and several valuable city lots, together
with a forty-acre farm, of which twenty acres
have been planted to winter apples. He ranks
very high in business circles, and his advance has
been most marked. A third of a century ago he
was a little newsboy. To-day he is active in the
management of one of the important business
enterprises of the state, and is the owner of much
valuable realty. He has certainly won the proud
American title of a self-made man, and his suc-
cess is most creditable.
JAMES HARVEY FORNEY.
A visit to the library of the gentleman whose
name is above and a chat with him in his pleas-
ant home at Moscow, are sufficient to dispel any
idea that the new west is without culture or men
of ability interested in its educational progress
and development. Mr. Forney has given some
of the best years of an active and useful life to
the cause of education in Idaho, and has attained
more than local distinction otherwise.
James Harvey Forney, a prominent citizen of
Moscow, Idaho, and ex-United States district at-
torney for the district of Idaho, was born in
Rutherford county. North Carolina, forty-seven
years ago, a son of James H. and Emilv (Logan)
Forney. The old homestead in North Carolina,
where Mr. Forney was born, has been in the pos-
session of his family for four generations. The
Forneys are of French-Huguenot descent and
Mr. Forney's great-great-grandfather, who was
born in 1640, fled from his native land in 1685,
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and
settled in Alsace, on the Rhine. His son, Mr.
Forney's great-grandfather, was born in 1721.
In 1754 he married a Miss Maria Bergner, of
Canton Berne, Switzerland, and thereafter settled
in Lincoln county. North Carolina.
The fact that they and their sons, Jacob, Peter
and Abraham, were uncompromising Whigs, and
that the family sustained the cause of American
liberty by the expenditure of their means and by
force of arms, did not tend to make their relations
with Cornwallis' men any more pleasant, and
they were deprived of about everything they pos-
sessed, even to their gold, silver and jewelry,
much of which was brought from Europe. The
head of this loyal family died in 1806, near the
place where he had first settled. The eldest son,
Jacob, was born November 6, 1754, and married
Mary Corpening of Rutherford county. North
Carolina. Not long after the close of the Revo-
lution he bought a valuable tract of land near
Morgantown, North Carolina, where he lived a
long, useful and quiet life, and there died No-
vember 7, 1840, aged eighty-six years. James H.
Forney, the second son, married Emily Logan, of
Rutherford county. North Carolina, and his sec-
ond son, named in his father's honor, is the sub-
ject of this sketch.
At the age of eighteen. James Harvey Forney
entered Wofiford University, South Carolina, and
after four years' study was graduated with sec-
ond honor in a large class, and delivered the
salutatory address. In 1875 he went to Califor-
nia and there taught school and read law, as
occasion ofifered. In 1878, at the organization of
Hastings Law College, he was among the first
pupils enrolled, and he was admitted to the bar
in 1879. Immediately thereafter he came to
Idaho, settling in Idaho county, and in January,
1880, was appointed deputy district attorney. At
the ensuing election he was elected district at-
torney, and under the territorial and state gov-
ernments was re-elected five consecutive times.
In 1894 he resigned the position of district at-
torney for the second judicial district of the state,
and was appointed L'nited States attorney for the
district of Idaho. Under the territory and state
of Idaho and L'nited States, he held the position
of district attorney for seventeen consecutive
years. He has been engaged in a large number
210
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of criminal prosecutions and was appointed spe-
cial prosecutor for the state in all cases arising
out of the riots in the Coeur d'Alene district in
1899. He is a man of broad culture, and, in ad-
dition to a fine law library, he has a well selected
miscellaneous library of twelve hundred volumes.
He has lived at Moscow since 1890.
In 1881 he married Mary E. Belknap, of Santa
Barbara. California. She is the daughter of Hon.
C. G. Belknap and a graduate of the University of
the Pacific. They have two daughters, Rosa
Alletha and Cora May Forney.
Mr. Forney has held the position of grand
master of the Odd Fellows of the jurisdiction of
Idaho; was the first acting president of the fac-
ulty of the University of Idaho and has served as
regent and president of the board of regents of
the university.
FREDERICK S. KOHLER, M. D.
The wise system of industrial economics which
has been brought to bear in the development of
Xampa has challenged uniform admiration, for
while there has been steady advancement in ma-
terial lines there has been an entire absence of
that inflation of values and that erratic "boom-
ing" which have in the past proved the eventual
death knell to many of the localities in the west,
where "mushroom towns" have one day smiled
forth with "all modern improvements" and prac-
tically on the next have been shorn of their glories
and of their possibilities of stable prosperity until
the existing order of things shall have been radi-
cally changed. In Nampa, progress has been
made continuously and in safe lines, and in the
healthful growth and advancement of the city
Dr. Kohler has taken an active part. Hardly
had the town a beginning when he located here,
becoming its pioneer druggist and physician.
Here he has since carried on business, and while
in professional lines he has achieved individual
success, he has also labored for the growth and
development of the place in which he resides.
The Doctor is a native of Pennsylvania, his
birth having occurred in Lewistown, December
18, 1838. He is of German lineage, and three
generations of the family had previously resided
in the city of his nativity. His parents were
Henry and Mary (Livermore) Kohler, the former
for many vears a successful merchant of Pennsyl-
vania, where he remained until called to the home
beyond, at the age of eighty years. His wife was
a representative of an old Virginian family, and
lived to be seventy-five years of age. They had
eight children, of whom the Doctor was the
youngest. He was educated at Dartmouth and
Swarthmore Colleges, was graduated in i860,
and on the breaking out of the civil war became
surgeon of the Twenty-first Pennsylvania Cav-
alry, under General Sheridan. He remained at
the front, alleviating the suffering of the wound-
ed, throughout the war, and was present at the
surrender of General Lee, which was the climax
of the great tragedy which had engaged the at-
tention of the nation through four long years.
When hostilities had ceased the Doctor return-
ed to Lewistown, Pennsylvania, where he prac-
ticed his profession for five years, when he re-
moved to Vevay, Indiana, making his home there
for ten years. In 1882 he went to Denver, but
during his year's residence there he found that
the altitude was too high for him, and he removed
to Morgan, Utah, where he remained until 1887,
when he came to the new town of Nampa. Here
he has resided continuously since, and in his drug
store and in the practice of medicine he has re-
ceived a liberal patronage. He has always been
a close student of his profession, and his skill and
ability have made him very successful.
Soon after the war, Dr. Kohler w-as united in
marriage to Miss Sallie Carson, who died four
years later, leaving two sons, William Henry and
B. Rush, both practicing physicians. The Doctor
has never married again. He is a Democrat of
the old school, and keeps well informed on the
issues of the day, although he does not aspire to
official preferment. He is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, and among those who
wore the blue, as well as his associates in busi-
ness and social life, is held in high esteem.
MESERVE M. GETCHELL.
The popular postmaster of Silver City and one
of the proprietors of the Idaho Hotel of that
place is Mr. Getchell, who was. born at Baring,
Maine, January 5, 1868. His ancestors were na-
tives of Wales, who emigrated to this country
at an early day. His great-great-grandfather,
Benjamin Getchell, w-as born February 4, 1753,
married Mehitable Meserve and moved to St.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
311
Stephens, New Brunswick. He assisted in the
capture of the English schooner Diligence and
her armed cutter Tatmagouch July 14, 1775, be-
ing a volunteer in Captain John Preble's com-
pany, the colonel of the company being John
Allen. The great-grandfather, Joseph Getchell,
and his son of the same name, fought in the
Revolutionary war and were members of the vol-
unteer crew on the sloop Unity, which, under
the command of Captain Jeremiah O'Brien, cap-
tured the English armed schooner ]\Iargaretta,
June 12, 1775.
The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Get-
chell, was born in St. Stephens, New Brunswick,
January 24, 1785, and married Miss Elizabeth
Grimmer, who was born May 6, 1806. He died
January 10, 1876. Their son, Asher B. Getchell,
the father of our subject, was born at St. James
Mills, New Brunswick, September 3, 1829. When
he was ten years old he removed to Baring,
Maine, where he grew to manhood and married
Miss Julia F. Smith, a daughter of Dr. S. M.
and Mary Ellen (Nickerson) Smith and a de-
scendant of one of the Pilgrims who came over
in the Mayflower. Mr. and Mrs. Getchell are still
living, as are five of their six children.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the
public schools of his native town and spent his
boyhood days upon a farm. For several years
he followed various lines of business, being em-
ployed in a sawrnill, then as a clerk in a store and
also in a shoe factory at Northwood, New Hamp-
shire. In July, 1889, he took up his residence
in Silver City, being engaged as a clerk in the
drug store and also in the post-office under his
uncle, S. T. N. Smith. When the latter pur-
chased the Idaho Hotel, December i, 1889, Mr.
Getchell became clerk in the hotel, holding that
position until assuming the duties of postmaster.
Although always a stanch Republican, Mr. Get-
chell's popularity with all parties was shown by
his appointment as postmaster under President
Cleveland and his continuance in office under
President McKinley.
Under the efficient management of Mr. Get-
chell the post-office at Silver City now holds rank
as a third-class office, and he has made various
improvements and changes which add greatly to
the convenience and comfort of the public. The
assistant postmaster, Asher A. Getchell, is a
brother of our subject, and by his accommodating
and genial manners has made himself very popu-
lar. Both gendemen have a large circle of friends
and are among the most useful and progressive
citizens of Silver City.
Mr. Getchell was united in marriage Decem-
ber 27, 1891, to Miss Ida Maud Hays, born in
Silver City July 16, 1870, a daughter of Hon. C.
M. Hays, district attorney and one of Idaho's
most prominent citizens, whose sketch will be
found on another page. They had one child, who
died September 3, 1893. Mrs. Getchell passed
away August 7, 1897, deeply mourned by all who
knew her. She was a woman of amiable disposi-
tion and kind heart, devoted to her husband and
her home and beloved by every one. December
28, 1898, Mr. Getchell was united in marriage to
Miss Mary Elizabeth Hutchinson, daughter of
James Hutchinson, of Silver City.
Mr. Getchell is past noble grand of Lodge No.
5, I. O. O. F., at Silver City. He is chairman of
the Republican central committee of Owyhee
county, and is a leader in his party.
JAMES P. GRAY.
Thirty-five years have passed since James P.
Gray came to Idaho to cast in his lot with its
pioneers. People of the present end-of-the-cen-
tury period can scarcely realize the struggles and
dangers which attended the early settlers, the
heroism and self-sacrifice of lives passed upon the
borders of civilization, the hardships endured,
the difficulties overcome. These tales of the early
days read almost like a romance to those who
have known only the modern prosperity and con-
veniences. To the pioneer of the early days, far
removed from the privileges and conveniences of
city or town, the struggle for existence was a
stern and hard one, and these men and women
must have possessed indomitable energies and
sterling worth of character, as well as marked
physical courage, when they thus voluntarily
selected such a life and successfully fought its
battles under such circumstances as prevailed in
the northwest.
James P. Gray was a young man of eighteen
years when he took up his residence in the min-
ing camp at Idaho City. His early life was spent
in Illinois, his birth having occurred in Peoria
count}-, that state, December 10, 1846. He is of
■^i-;
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and his grandfather, \Vill-
iam Gray, emigrated from the north of Ireland
with his wife, taking up his residence in Indiana,
where occurred the birth of Thomas Gray, the
father of our subject. In the Hoosier state
Thomas was reared, and having attained years
of maturity was married there to Rebecca Coch-
ran, by whom he liad seven children, five of
whom are yet living. In 1S64 the father, accom-
panied by three of his sons, including James,
crossed the plains to the Pacific slope. They left
Atchison, Kansas, on the 6th of May, with twen-
ty-two wagons in their train, loaded with freight
and drawn by oxen. Near Fort Laramie they
were attacked by Indians, and William Gray, who
was with another part of the train from the other
members of his family, was killed.
At length the father and his other two sons
arrived in Idaho City, and engaged in mining
and teaming there, but not meeting with very
great success in placer mining, they came to what
is now Washington county and turned their at-
tention to stock-raising. The father took up three
hundred and twenty acres of government land
near the city of Weiser, and devoted his attention
to the management of his ranch until 1881, when
he one day went out in search of a bear that he
had seen prowling around the place. He w-as
accidentally shot by a man who, catching sight
of a moving object, thought it was the bear and
fired. Mr. Gray was taken to Boise for medical
treatment, but after lingering for some months
he passed away, and his remains were interred in
the cemetery at the capital city. The stream
which bordered his ranch is known as Gray's
creek, for he was the first settler in that locality.
He was one of the prominent and influential citi-
zens of the community, and served for two terms
in the territorial legislature, thus taking an active
part in shaping the early policy of the state. The
sons inherited the farm, but afterward sold it, and
George D. Gray now resides in the old town of
Weiser.
James P. Gray of this review aided his father
for some time after coming to Idaho, but event-
ually entered upon an independent business
career, purchasing three hundred and twenty
acres of land on Weiser river, where he carried
on farming and stock-raising for some years,
meeting with excellent success in his undertak-
ings. In 1898, however, he sold that property
and purchased eighty acres a sht)rt distance north
of the city. Erecting thereon a good residence
he devoted his energies to the cultivation of his
fields and the care of his stock, and is regarded
as one of the most progressive, practical and en-
terprising farmers in southwestern Idaho. He is
one of the best known stock-raisers of Washing-
ton county, and for the past twenty-seven years
has threshed most of the grain in this section of
the country. He displays great diligence and
sound judgment in the management of his busi-
ness interests, and has thereby become the pos-
sessor of a competence.
On the 31st of October. 1871. Mr. Gray mar-
ried jNIiss Clarissa E. Brassfield, a native of Mis-
souri, and to them have been born eleven chil-
dren, ten of whom are. living, namely: Laura,
wife of David Jones ; Elizabeth, who died at the
age of two years: Sarah, wife of Nathan Kimble;
and Lucetta, Thomas, Josie, Ethel, James, Alba,
Emma and Edward, who are still under the pa-
rental roof. The daughters are valued members
of the Baptist church, and the family enjoy the
friendship of many of the best people of this lo-
cality. In his political views Mr. Gray is a Dem-
ocrat, and on that ticket was elected sheriff of
Washington county, in which office he served
most acceptably for four years. He is well and
favorably known by the citizens of the county and
the pioneers of the state, and merits honorable
mention among the representative men of Idaho.
ALMON S. SENTER.
An eventful career was that of Colonel Almon
S. Senter, who for some years figured conspicu-
ously in connection with the mercantile and of-
ficial interests of Lincoln county. At the time
of his death, March 6, 1899, he was serving as
district-court clerk and ex-ofScio auditor and re-
corder of Lincoln county, and he was also an _
enterprising and prominent merchant of Sho- I
shone. A native of the old Granite state, he was
born February 18, 1845, and is a representative
of one of the old and honored families of New
Hampshire, of English descent. His ancestors
were early settlers of Londonderry, that state, and
one of his great-granduncles served in the Col-
onial army during the Revolutionary war. The
grandfather and father of our subject, both of
>
*
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
213
whom bore the name of Thomas Senter, were
natives of New Hampshire, the latter born in
Petersboro. He wedded Miss Mary C. Gid-
dings, a native of Temple, New Hampshire, and
also a descendant of one of the prominent col-
onial families. Mr. Senter was an industrious
farmer, who followed agricultural pursuits
throughout his entire life. Both he and his wife
were Methodists in religious belief, and the father
lived to be sixty-four years of age, while the
mother departed this life in her forty-seventh
year, leaving a family of eleven children, the eld-
est but seventeen years of age, the youngest only
three months old.
Colonel Senter was at that time a little lad of
five summers. He was reared to manhood in
Hudson, New Hampshire, was educated in the
public schools, and when thirteen years of age
began to earn his own living by working on a
farm at six dollars per month. He was but six-
teen years of age when the country was plunged
into civil war, and in the following year he re-
sponded to the call for aid, enlisting August 29,
1862, as a member of Company G, Second
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He served in
Virginia and North Carolina, participated in the
battles of Plymouth, Little Washington, Golds-
boro. Fort Fisher, Smithfield and various other
engagements, and received an honorable dis-
charge, September 5, 1865. He was always found
at his post of duty, faithfully defending the cause
represented by the starry banner, but was never
wounded or taken prisoner, and returned to his
home a veteran and a victor.
Taking up the pursuits of civil life, Mr. Senter
engaged in car-building and had charge of the
car shops at Reno. Pennsylvania, in the employ
of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway Com-
pany. On the 4th of August, 1886, he removed
to Omaha, Nebraska, where he was employed in
the car shops until May 7, 1887, when he was sent
to take charge of the car shops at North Platte,
Nebraska. He continued in that position for six
and a half years, during which time, in August,
1868, the Indians, under command of Chief
Turkey Leg, the Cheyenne chief, derailed a train
of freight cars at Plum Creek and plundered and
burned them. Mr. Senter then organized a com-
pany of thirty-eight men to go in pursuit and save
the goods, if possible. The Indians had loaded
their ponies with all the goods they could carry
and then fired the train, and as our subject and
his men came nearer the smoke was carried by
the wind far over the prairies, and the red men
were seen galloping away in the distance, with
pieces of high colored goods tied to the ponies'
tails and streaming behind in the breeze for many
yards as the bolts unrolled. About the time Mr.
Senter reached the scene Captain Pollock, with
a company of United States regulars, came up
and took charge of the pursuit of the Indians.
In 1874 Mr. Senter received the government
contract to transport supplies to the Red Cloud
and Spotted Tail Indian agencies, and had two
hundred and twenty-five oxen to convey the
goods. He handled during that year over three
million pounds of supplies, and lost on the con-
tract about twenty thousand dollars.
In 1874 Mr. Senter also resigned his position
in the railroad shops and established a general
mercantile store in North Platte, where he car-
ried on a successful business until June i, 1882.
He then sold out and began dealing in stock, to
which enterprise he devoted his energies until
March 7, 1883, when he came to Idaho, arriving
in Shoshone, on the 15th of the same month.
Here he engaged in merchandising, and erected
a large store building, which he filled with cloth-
ing, dry goods, boots and shoes. He had a lib-
eral patronage and his honorable methods com-
mended him to the confidence and good will of
all. He also engaged in the fire-insurance, real-
estate and undertaking businesses, and was the
manager of the Shoshone Falls Stage Company,
having been a prominent factor in the establish-
ment of the route to the fine falls twenty-five
miles distant. These falls, with the surrounding
territory, form one of the most beautiful and
magnificent scenes in all Idaho, — a state noted
for the splendid scenic pictures it affords.
In public life Mr. Senter was long a prominent
factor. He always supported the Republican
party and on that ticket was elected clerk of the
district court and ex-officio auditor and collector
of Lincoln county, discharging his duties in a
most capable and satisfactory manner. Flis life
was a very busy one, yet no public or private duty
was neglected by him, and his fidelity in all rela-
tions won him uniform confidence and regard.
He was appointed by Governor AlcConnelJ one of
214
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the trustees of the Idaho Soldiers' Home and was
commissary general of subsistence on the staff
of Governor Shoup, with the rank of colonel of
cavalry. He had a remarkable memory for dates,
and could recall with accuracy the time of many
incidents in his past life. Socially he was con-
nected with the Masonic fraternity and served as
master of the lodge. He also belonged to the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Grand
Army of the Republic, in which he was past
department commander of Idaho.
On the 14th of October, 1875, was celebrated
the marriage of Colonel Senter and Miss Emma
Honn, a native of Ohio. They were married in
Council Bluffs, Iowa, and by their union were
born two children, — Kate Irene and Clyde A.
The daughter is now the wife of Henry A. Brown,
who assisted her father in the store. The son
followed his father's example of patriotism, and
with loyal spirit volunteered in his seventeenth
year for service in the war with Spain, and after
his discharge at Manila, March 17, 1899, he re-
turned home, arriving May 5,1899, having fought
to establish the right of the United States to rule
over the Philippines. Clyde A. Senter was mus-
tered into the United States service May 12, 1898,
went to Manila by way of San Francisco, and
took an honorable part in seven battles in the
Philippines.
Such in brief is the life history of Colonel
Senter. The character of the man has been
shadowed forth between the lines of this review,
and in a summary of his career we note only a
few of the salient points, — his activity and sound
judgment in business affairs and his conformity
to the ethics of commercial life, his loyalty to the
old flag in times of war and likewise in days of
peace, his faithfulness to public office, and his
genuine friendship and regard for true worth of
character. These are the qualities which made
Colonel Senter a valued citizen in whatever com-
munity he has made his home.
ALEXANDER S, ROBERTSON.
In the field of political life and commercial ac-
tivity Alexander S. Robertson has won distinc-
tion, and to-day is numbered among the leading,
influential and honored citizens of Nampa. A
young man, he possesses the enterprising spirit
of the west, which has been the dominant factor
in producing the wonderful development of this
section of the country. Brooking no obstacles
that honest effort can overcome, he has steadily
worked his way upward until, having long since
left the ranks of the many, he to-day stands
among the successful few.
A native of Ontario, he was born in Elgin
county, June 22, 1863, and when a child of two
years w^as taken to Whiteside county, Illinois, by
his parents, J. A. and Christina (McFarlane)
Robertson. They made their home in Morrison
and the father was accounted one of the indus-
trious and leading farmers of that community.
In 1878 the father removed with his family to
Exeter, Fillmore county, Nebraska, where he car-
ried on agricultural pursuits until 1883, when he
went to Custer county, Nebraska, and engaged
in the banking business, being president of the
State Bank at Arnold for several years. In 1890
he took up his residence in Boise, where he still
makes his home. He has put aside all business
cares, and now in his sixty-fifth year is enjoying
the rest which he has so truly earned and richly
deserves. His wife is sixty-two years of age, and
they have seven children, all of whom are yet
living.
Alexander S. Robertson was educated in the
public schools of Fulton, Illinois, and Exeter,
Nebraska, and received his business training un-
der the direction of his father, in whose bank at
Arnold he served as cashier for six years. In
1890 he came to Nampa, where he established a
drug store, which he still conducts. He has built
up an excellent trade, for his establishment is
well equipped with everything found in a first-
class drug store, and his straightfonvard dealing
and courtesy to his patrons have won him their
confidence and regard. He is by all accorded
the position of the leading druggist of Nampa,
and the success which he is now enjoying is well
merited.
In political affairs Mr. Robertson has ever
taken a deep and commendable interest, studying
closely the questions which affect the public wel-
fare and influence the policy of the nation. He
voted with the Republican party until 1896, in
which year he was sent as a delegate to the na-
tional convention at St. Louis. There the atti-
tude of the party on the money question caused
him, together with many other delegates from
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
215
the northwest, to withdraw, and since that time
he has been an active "silver" RepubUcan.
His, influence in poHtical Hfe has been
marked and has ever been exerted in be-
half of the principles which he believes contain
the best elements of good government. In 1893
he was elected a member of the state legislature,
and later was chosen to represent his district in
the state senate in the assembly of 1895-6. In
every position of honor and trust which he has
fillfed he has made a creditable record for himself
and his constituents, and at all times he views
broadly and patriotically the questions which
come up for settlement.
On the 13th of March, 1885, occurred the mar-
riage of Mr. Robertson and Miss Lelia D. Gor-
don, of Whiteside county, Illinois, and they now
have four children, — two daughters and two
sons: James D., Mary, Ada and Stewart. The
mother is a valued member of the Presbyterian
church and her many excellencies of character
have gained her a large circle of friends. Socially
Mr. Robertson is connected with the Knights of
Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Home Forum. He has a wide acquaintance
throughout the state and is highly respected as
a successful business man of integrity and ability.
WILLIAM L. RYDER.
Prominent among the business men of Payette
is William Louis Ryder, who for eight years has
been closely identified with the history of the city
as a representative of one of its most important
business interests. He is a man of keen dis-
crimination and sound judgment, and his execu-
tive ability and excellent management have
brought to the concern with which he is con-
nected a large degree of success. The safe, con-
servative policy which he inaugurated commends
itself to the judgment of all, and has secured to
the company a patronage which makes the vol-
ume of trade transacted over its counters of great
importance and magnitude. The prosperity of
the Payette Valley Mercantile Company, Limited,
is certainly due in a large measure to its president
and manager, — tlie gentleman whose name in-
itiates this review.
Mr. Ryder claims Kentucky as the state of his
nativity, and was born in Louisa, Lawrence coun-
ty, February 5, 1847. His ancestors were early
settlers of the east and south. His grandfather.
John Ryder, removed from Pennsylvania to \"ir-
ginia, and Levi Ryder, father of our subject, from
Virginia to Kentucky. He married Miss Martha
Burns, and was engaged in the manufacture and
sale of harness, saddlery and other goods in that
line. He died of pneumonia, in the thirty-fifth
year of his age. His wife survived him for some
time, and reached the age of seventy-six years.
Her people were all representatives of profes-
sional life.
William L. Ryder was one of two sons, but is
now the only survivor of the family. He was
only five years of age when his father died, and
for a time lived with his grandfather and after-
ward with an uncle, but when only twelve years
of age began to provide for his own maintenance,
following any pursuit, however humble, that
would yield him an honest living. One of the
first positions which he secured was that of driver
of a cart used in hauling dirt for a railroad grade.
Later he secured a situation in a drug store,
working nights and mornings for hi.s board and
the privilege of attending school. In 1861, when
the civil war was inaugurated, he was a slender
youth of fourteen, but he made four different at-
tempts to enlist in the Confederate army, and at
length served without being mustered in, joining
his regiment in 1863.
After the war Mr. Ryder went to Pikeville,
Kentucky, where he opened a drug store, which
he conducted until 1868, when he sold out and
returned to Virginia. There he engaged in rail-
roading for a year, and in 1869 entered the ser-
vice of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, as
brakesman. He was with that company for twen-
ty-two years and steadily worked his way upwai-d,
gaining promotion from time to time until he was
made superintendent. No higher testimonial of
his efficient service could be given than the state-
ment of his long connection with a corporation
which demands fidelity and ability on the part of
its employes. In 1891, however, he resigned and
came to Payette, where he aided in the organiza-
tion of the Payette Valley Mercantile Company,
Limited, of which he was made president and
manager, a position which he has filled continu-
ously since. He devotes his energy almost ex-
clusively to the conduct of the store, but has made
investments in property, and is the owner of a
216
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres
near Parma.
In his political affiliations Air. Ryder is a Sil-
ver-Republican, and is deeply interested in the
growth and success of that party. He has twice
served as chairman of the board of trustees of
Payette. He is also an exemplary Mason, thor-
oughly informed on the teachings and practices
of that benevolent fraternity. He has taken the
York and Scottish degrees, has attained the
thirty-second degree in the consistory, and also
belongs to the Mystic Shrine. He was made a
Mason in Bethany Lodge, No. 21, A. F. & A.
M., in Shoshone, and while residing in Pocatello
passed all the chairs and was master for two
terms. He is a charter member of Washoe
Lodge, Xo. 28, in Payette, and has been its mas-
ter for three years. He received the Royal Arch
degrees in Ogden, was high priest at Pocatello
for two years, and is now holding the same office
in the chapter, in Payette. He is familiar with
the ritual, and is also active in the work of the
order which prompts the relief of suffering. He
is a man of broad sympathies, and the poor and
needy have found in him a friend. The difficul-
ties which he had to encounter in his own busi-
ness career have made him very ready to extend
a helping hand to those who try to aid them-
selves, and in his business he ever rewards faith-
ful service on the part of his employes when
opportunity ofTers.
JOSEPH CARMAN PENCE.
For thirty years Joseph Carman Pence has
been a resident of Idaho, and has been exten-
sively interested in one of the leading industries
of the state — stock-raising. He was born in Des
Moiftes county, Iowa, on the 28th of May, 1844,
and is a representative of an old Pennsylvania-
Dutch family that was founded in America in
colonial days. Some of its members participated
in the Revolutionary war, valiantly aiding in the
struggle for independence. William Pence, the
father of our subject, was born in the Keystone
state, and in early manhood married Miss IMary
Thurston, who was a native of the same county
in which her husband's birth occurred. During
the pioneer epoch in the history of Iowa, they
emigrated to Burlington, that state, and there
spent their remaining days, the father dying in
his fifty-fourth year, while the mother passed
away in the fifty-sixth year of her age. They
were the parents of six sons and four daughters,
of whom six are yet living.
Mr. Pence of this review is the ninth of the
children in order of birth. He was reared and
educated in his native state, and when eighteen
years of age responded to his country's call for
aid in crushing out the rebellion in the south.
Joining the Union army in 1862, he became a
member of Company A, Xineteenth Iowa Volun-
teer Infantry, and participated in the battle of
Prairie Grove, the siege and capture of Vicks-
burg and the capture of Brownsville, Texas.
Later his command was sent to Pensacola, Flor-
ida, where it spent the winter of 1864-5, ^nd in
the spring went to Mobile and was engaged in
the siege of Spanish Fort, which was at the close
of the war. Mr. Pence received an honorable
discharge, having for three years faithfully de-
fended the stars and stripes. Then he returned
to Iowa, where he remained until the following
spring, when he started westward with a com-
pany who crossed the plains with mule and horse
teams.
They traveled by way of the Bozeman route,
this being the second year that route was ever
followed. On arriving in the northwest, Mr.
Pence engaged in freighting from Fort Benton
to Helena, and in 1869 went to White Pine, Xe-
vada. He engaged in the cattle business in that
state and in Idaho, owning as high as six hun-
dred head of cattle at a time. They sold their
stock directly from the ranches and were able
to command a good price, the enterprise thus
proving a profitable one. In 188 1 Mr. Pence
came to Boise and began dealing in sheep. For
eight years he owned an extensive sheep ranch,
having thereon as many as seven thousand head
of sheep at one time. His capable management
and business ability made this undertaking suc-
cessful, and largely added to his capital. On the
expiration of eight years he purchased a tract
of land at Boise, which he planted with prunes,
and his orchards have borne plentifully. In all
that he has undertaken through a long business
career he has met with success, owing to his
careful direction, his perseverance and his enter-
prise, and to-day a handsome bank account indi-
cates the result of his labors. He was one of the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
2V,
organizers of the Capital State Bank, of Boise,
and from the beginning has been one of its stock-
holders and directors.
On the 22d of August, 1877, Mr. Pence was
united in marriage to Miss Susan M. Keene, a
native of Dallas, Texas, and to them were born
five children, four of whom are living, namely:
Ruth, Laura, Myrtle and Homer. The mother
departed this life June 5, 1896, and her death was
deeply mourned by her many friends. The two
older daughters have since cared for the home,
and Mr. Pence is justly proud of his family.
Their residence is a commodious brick dwelling,
which was erected by our subject in 1882. In
politics he has always been Republican, taking
due interest in supporting the principles of that
party and in promoting the public welfare gen-
erally. Socially he is connected with the Knights
of Pythias fraternity, and is a valued member of
Phil. Sheridan Post, No. 4, G. A. R. In all the
relations of life and to all the duties of citizenship
he is as true and faithful as when he followed the
nation's starry banner upon southern battle-
fields.
FRED W. GOODING.
Fred W. Gooding, ex-assessor and tax col-
lector of Lincoln county and one of the most
prominent and extensive sheep-raisers of this
section of the state, was born in England, May 8,
1856, his parents, John and Elizabeth (Wyatte)
Gooding being likewise natives of that country.
Emigrating to the LTnited States, they took up
their residence in Paw Paw, Van Buren county,
Michigan, where they still make their home, the
father being a retired farmer of that locality.
Both he and his wife are members of the Epis-
copal church. They had six sons and a daugh-
ter, and three of the sons are now successful
sheep-raisers of Lincoln county, Idaho.
Fred W. Gooding was eleven years of age
when he arrived in Michigan with his parents.
He accjuired the greater part of his education in
that state, and in 1878 went to California, where
he engaged in farming in Tehama and Colusa
counties. Subsequently he returned to Michigan
and a little later pursued a business course in the
Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso.
In the spring of 1882 he came to Idaho and en-
gaged in the wholesale and retail butchering busi-
ness in Ketchum until the spring of 1888, when
he turned his attention to the sheep-raising in-
dustry. He then purchased sixteen hundred head
of sheep. In the fall of that year he purchased
two thousand more. The winter of 1889-90 was
an unusually severe one, many of the sheep died
and many sheep-raisers lost everything they had.
Mr. Gooding not only suffered heavy losses, but
was in debt. However, he sustained a most cred-
itable reputation for honesty in business afifairs,
and was thus enabled to secure credit and make
a new start. He had purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land at a place now called Good-
ing,— named in honor of the Gooding brothers,
— and in the fall of 1890 he again purchased more
sheep. Since that time he has prospered, and
has had as many as thirty thousand sheep on his
ranch at one time. His farm is excellently
equipped for the purpose used, and he and his
brothers are regarded as among the most intelli-
gent, progressive and prominent sheep-raisers of
the county. Mr. Gooding now has eleven hundred
and sixty' acres of land, on which he raises large
quantities of alfalfa hay for his sheep. He man-
ages his business interests carefully and system-
atically, and his diligence, enterprise and honor-
able dealing have brought him a most desirable
prosperity.
Mr. Gooding also owns a pleasant residence m
Shoshone, where he and his family reside. He
was married in 1884 to Miss I^Iary L. Griffin, a
native of Oregon and a daughter of Joseph Grif-
fin, one of the pioneers of that state. They have
two children,— Edward and Alta. Mrs. Gooding
and her daughter are valued members of the
Episcopal church, and tlie family is highly es-
teemed in the community. In the fall of 1894 Mr.
Gooding was elected county commissioner
of
Logan county, and that winter Blaine county was
created out of portions of Logan and Alturas
counties, and Mr. Gooding was appointed com-
missioner of the new county of Blaine ; but be-
fore the expiration of his term Lincoln county
was created and he was appointed assessor and
tax collector, to which position he was elected
by popular vote in the fall of 1896. He was the
nominee of the Republican party and received
an overwhelming majority, which indicated the
faithfulness and ability with which he has dis-
charged his duties during the first term, and
also stood in evidence of his popularity as a citi-
218
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
zen. He has been an active member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights
of Pythias fraternity, has filled all the highest
offices therein, is a member of the grand lodge
of the latter organization and is favorably known
in its circles throughout the state.
CHARLES O. STOCKSLAGER.
One of the leading representatives of the bench
of Idaho is Judge Charles O. Stockslager, now
presiding over the courts of the fourth judicial
district. He maintains his residence in Hailey,
and in that city and throughout this section of
the state is widely known as a jurist of marked
ability, whose "even-handed justice" has won him
"golden opinions'" from the bar and from the
general public.
A native of Indiana, he was born in Harrison
county, February 8, 1847, and is a son of Captain
Jacob Stockslager, whose birth occurred in Vir-
ginia and who won his title in gallant service in
the American army during the hostilities with
Mexico. He was married in the Old Dominion
to Miss Jane W. Newell, also a native of Virginia,
and later they remoyed to Indiana, becoming
owners of a farm near the homestead of William
Henry Harrison. When a young man Captain
Stockslager engaged in boating on the Ohio
river for several years, then devoted his energies
to agricultural pursuits, and subsequently car-
ried on merchandising. He also served his coun-
ty as sheriff for several terms and was a loyal and
progressive citizen, who lived an honorable and
upright life and won the regard of all with whom
he came in contact. He was called to his final
reward at the age of eighty-four years, and his
wife died at the age of seventy-six years. They
were parents of four children, three of whom are
living. Two of the sons loyally served their
country in the civil war. The eldest, S. M.
Stockslager, was a captain in the Thirteenth In-
diana Cavalry, has since been a member of con-
gress and is now engaged in the practice of law
in Washington, D. C. Thomas, the second mem-
ber of the family, enlisted when only sixteen years
of age, in the company of which his brother was
captain and served as a private until the close of
the war.
Judge Stockslager spent his boyhood days un-
der the parental roof, devoting his energies to the
work of the fields, the duties of the school-room
and the enjoyment of those pleasures which usu-
ally occupy the attention of the American youth.
Having acquired his preliminary education in
the common schools, he entered the normal
school at Lebanon, Ohio, and later, having deter-
mined to enter the legal profession, read law in
the office of Ritter & Anderson, prominent attor-
neys of Columbus, Kansas. In 1874 he was ad-
mitted to the bar and at once began practice, con-
tinuing an active member of the profession in
that state until 1887. During that time he was
elected and served as clerk of the district court,
as county attorney and as mayor of the city of
Galena, Kansas, and in all those positions proved
a capable and faithful officer.
In 1887 he was appointed by President Cleve-
land receiver of the United States land office, at
Hailey, Idaho, and came to the territory to fill
that position of trust. Since that time he has
been a resident of the city which is now his home,
and in 1890, at the first state election, he was, by
popular ballot, chosen judge of the fourth judicial
district. Four years he sat upon the bench, and
so ably did he discharge his duties that in 1894
he was re-elected, and in 1898 he was again
selected for that position. He has a broad and
comprehensive understanding of the principles of
jurisprudence, a mind free from judicial bias.
While in active practice he was regarded as one
of the most prominent representatives of the pro-
fession. Thoroughly versed in the science of
jurisprudence and equally at home in every
branch of the law, his defenses were able, logical
and convincing. His arguments showed thor-
ough preparation, and he lost sight of no fact that
might advance his clients' interests, and passed
by no available point of attack in an opponent's
argument. On the bench his rulings are ever
just, incisive and incapable of misinterpretation.
With a full appreciation of the majesty of the law
he exemplifies that justice which is the inherent
right of every individual, and fearlessly discharges
his duties with a loyalty to principle that knows
no wavering, and has the sincere respect of the
entire Idaho bar.
Judge Stockslager was married in 1876 to Miss
Ingobo Chrisman, and to them were born a son
and daughter, Rosco N. and Ingobo. After five
years of happy married life the wife and mother
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
219
was called to her final rest, and her death was
deeply mourned by many friends as well as her
immediate family. The Judge remained single
until 1883, when he married Miss Carrie F.
Bryce. of St. Louis, and to them have been born
two sons, Leslie B. and William M. Mrs. Stocks-
lager is a leading member of the Baptist church
of Hailey, while Judge Stockslager is a member
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and
for many years was an active member of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. Their genial
qualities render them popular in social circles,
and the best homes of the locality are open to
them.
ALONZO L. RICHARDSON.
Thirty-eight years have passed since Alonzo L.
Richardson came to Idaho, — then a sparsely pop-
ulated territory of the extreme northwest, its
splendid resources undeveloped, its advancement
a development of the future. For many years
he has been closely identified with the work of
progress, and is now filling the position of clerk
of the United States court in Boise.
A native of Missouri, Mr. Richardson was born
in Franklin county, that state, on the 19th of
December, 1841, and is a representative of one
of the old families of Virginia. His ancestors
located there in 1750, and there occurred the
birth of Daniel Richardson, the great-grand-
father of our subject. He removed from the Old
Dominion to Kentucky and subsequently to ]\Iis-
souri, being a pioneer of those states. The father
of our subject also bore the name of Daniel Rich-
ardson and was a native of Kentucky. He mar-
ried Dorcas Caldwell, a native of Missouri, and
in 1843 started with his family to cross the plains
to Oregon, being in the second emigration to that
far distant territory. Gold had not then been dis-
covered in California, and the tide of emigration
had not set toward the Pacific coast. The hard-
ships and dangers of such an undertaking were
many, and to. add to the difficulties the father was
taken ill and died at Fort Hall, Idaho, then a
Hudson Bay station, when only thirty years of
age. Mrs. Richardson continued on her way to
her destination, and some time after her arrival
in Oregon City she married Sidney W'. Moss,
now one of the oldest living pioneers of that
place.
Alonzo L. Richardson was .onlv two years of
age at the time of the removal to the Pacific
coast. He was reared and educated in Oregon
City, and in 1861 removed to Pierce, Idaho. The
following year he went to Florence, this state,
during the mining excitement there, and in 1863
went to Idaho City. For a number of years he
was engaged in placer mining and owned a num-
ber of good claims, but the money easily won is
soon spent and he did not save much from those
investments. In 1863 he went to Montana on a
prospecting tour, but returned the same winter,
traveling through the snow by way of Fort Lem-
lin to Boise, where he arrived at the Christmas
season. Continuing his journey to Idaho City,
he was there employed in a lumber yard for three
years, and in 1866 was made manager of a saw-
mill. The following year he located in Boise and
entered the employ of a lumber company, acting
as bookkeeper during a part of the time he was
connected with that firm. In 1872 he was ap-
pointed clerk of the supreme court of the terri-
tory, and the same year received the appointment
of clerk of the district court, holding both posi-
tions for fifteen years, or until the state was ad-
mitted to the Union, in 1890. He was then ap-
pointed clerk of the United States circuit court
by Judge Sawyer and clerk of the district court
by Judge Beatty, and has since ably and effici-
ently filled both these offices: His long connec-
tion with such position has given him a thorough
knowledge of the requirements thereof, and his
faithfulness and thoroughness have won him the
fullest confidence and good will of the bench and
bar of the state of Idaho. He is also interested
in various inines.
In 1872 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Richardson and Mrs. Caroline A. Yarington, a
native of Pennsylvania. They have two children,
May and Harvey L.. and 1)y her former marriage
Mrs. Richardson had one daughter, Estella B.
Yarington.
The family hold a membership in the Episco-
pal church, of which Mr. Richardson has served
as vestryman for a number of years. In poli-
tics he is a stalwart Republican and gives an un-
wavering support to the men and measures of
that party. Widely known in Masonic circles
throughout the state, he has taken the degrees of
the blue lodge, chapter and commandery of
Boise, has held a number of offices in these or-
220
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ganizations, was secretary of the commandery
for a number of years, and is past junior warden
of the grand lodge of the state. He has a wide
acquaintance among the prominent men of
Idaho, and his genuine worth has made him pop-
ular in all circles. He has watched the entire de-
velopment of the state since the days when its
mountainous regions and beautiful valleys were
the haunts of red men, and has borne no unim-
portant part in the development of the rich re-
sources of the state — a work that has placed
Idaho among the foremost of the common-
wealths of this great western district.
DAVID T. MILLER.
In both the military and political service of his
country David Truxton Miller has won dis-
tinction by his loyalty to the public good, his
fidelity to the trust reposed in him. On southern
battle-fields he has followed the stars and stripes
to victory, and in the civic department of the na-
tion's service he has labored to promote the prin-
ciples which underlie good government and
form the foundation upon which all stable pros-
perity must rest. He has inscribed his name
high on the roll of Boise's distinguished citizens,
and is now serving as deputy collector of internal
revenue there.
Born in Ohio, on the 2d of May, 1843, Mr.
Miller is of English and Irish lineage, his ances-
tors having come to America in 1728. Repre-
sentatives of the family participated in the war
for independence, and in one of the battles of the
Revolution the paternal great-grandfather of
our subjest sustained a gunshot wound in his
thigh. Although he carried the ball to the day of
his death, he attained the ripe old age of eighty
years. His son, David Miller, the grandfather
of our subject, was born in Alexander, Virginia,
and became the father of John Wesley Miller,
who was born in Pennsylvania, and on arriving
at years of maturity married ]\Iatilda Ford, a na-
tive of Washington county, Ohio. They became
the parents of eight children, five of whom are
living. Throughout his entire life the father en-
gaged in the manufacture of iron, thus providing
for his family. He lived to the advanced age of
ninety years, and his wife was eighty-nine years
of age at the time of her death.
David T. Miller, whose name introduces this
sketch, spent the first ten years of his Hfe in New-
ark, Ohio, and then accompanied his parents on
their removal to Iowa, a location being made at
Sigourney, where he pursued his education in the
public schools. Later he became a student in the
Iowa State University, but left that institutioji in
December, 1863, in order to enter his country's
service as a member of Company G, Fifteenth
Iowa \'olunteer Infantry. The civil war was
then at its height and thousands of brave men on
both sides had sacrificed their lives for the cause
which they were following. It required great
courage for volunteers to go to the front and
take the place of those who had been shot down
in battle, for the country now realized that the
war was no holiday affair, but an awful actuality
that carried death, destruction and sorrow with
it. Prompted by an unfaltering patriotism, how-
ever, Mr. Miller donned the blue. He was with
Sherman throughout his brilliant campaign and
on the celebrated march through Georgia to the
sea, and thence through the Carolinas, and with
the victorious army participated in the grand re-
view in Washington, "where wave after wave of
bayonet crested blue" swept through the streets
of the city. Through all his service Mr. ]Miller
was never of? duty for a single day, and though
often in the thickest of the fight was never
wounded or disabled. In July, 1865, he received
an honorable discharge and with a military rec-
ord of which he may justly be proud he returned
to his home.
He then resumed his interrupted education by
pursuing a two years' course in the State Normal
School of Iowa, after which he engaged in teach-
ing and also read law in the office of Judge Cory,
of Ottumwa, Iowa, being admitted to the bar in
1870. He then began practice in Ottumwa, con-
tinuing a member of the bar of that place until
1 89 1, when he came to Boise and opened a law
office in April. He soon won a liberal clientage,
and also became active in the movements calcu-
lated to advance the interests of the city. He was
very prominent in an effort to build a railroad
from Boise to Butte, Montana, but on account
of the financial panic which occurred this project
had to be abandoned.
In his political views ~Mr. Miller has always
been a stalwart Republican and is widely recog-
nized as one of the influential and capable work-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
221
ers in the ranks of the party in Idaho. In 1892
lie received the nomination of his party for repre-
sentative to the state legislature, made an excel-
lent canvass and was elected. Further honors
awaited him, for after the assembling of the ses-
sion he was chosen speaker of the house, in
which capacity he served in a most creditable
manner. His knowledge of parliamentary law,
his absolute fairness and freedom from all par-
tisan or personal bias, his uniform courtesy and
urbanity, all combined to make him one of the
most able speakers that has ever occupied the
chair in the lower house. In the fall of 1896 he
made a vigorous canvass in behalf of President
JMcKinley. and his logical, instructive and enter-
taining addresses did not a little in turning the
tide of favor for the Republican candidates.
Recognition of his services came through his ap-
pointment to the position of deputy United States
collector of internal revenue, and on the ist of
December, 1897, he entered upon the discharge
of the duties of the office. The business of the
office has been largely increased during his in-
cumbency, and he is now taking in many thou-
sands of dollars annually for the government.
On the 2nd of October, 1872, Mr. Miller was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Griswold, and
with their two children, Maud and Sidney, they
occupy a very pleasant home in Boise, where they
enjoy the warm regard of many friends. Mr.
^filler is widely and favorably known throughout
the state, his abilities well fitting him for a posi-
tion of leadership in political, professional and
social life. The terms progress and patriotism
might be considered the keynote of his character,
for throughout his career he has labored for the
improvement of every line of business or public
interest with which he has been associated, and
at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his
country and her welfare.
ALBERT K. STEUNENBERG.
Numbered among the successful and rep-
resentative citizens of Caldwell. Canyon
county, is Albert K. Steunenberg, brother
of the present governor of Idaho. He is
cashier of the Commercial Bank of Caldwell,
which institution was established in January.
1894. During the five years of its existence the
bank has flourished, largely owing to the fine
executive ability and genius as a financier which
are marked qualities of j\Ir. Steunenberg. The
capital stock of the bank is twenty-five thousand
dollars, and an annual dividend of ten per cent is
paid to stockholders. The volume of business
transacted has materially increased from year to
year, and entire satisfaction has been expressed
by every patron of the bank with the manner in
which their afifairs have been handled. The bank
transacts a regular banking business, and sells
exchange throughout the United States and
Europe. The organizers of the Commercial
Bank were John C. Rice, W. S. Badley, S. S.
Foote, Robert Aikman, Jacob Plowhead, S. F.
Chancy and A. K. Steunenberg. The officials of
the bank then elected and still serving in their
respective capacities were J. C. Rice, president;
Jacob Plowhead, vice-president, and A. K.
Steunenberg, cashier.
The subject of this article is a native of the
state of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Knox-
ville, September 11, 1863. His parents, B. and
Corinne (Keppel) Steunenberg, were both na-
tives of Holland, and were married in that land
of dykes and windmills. The father was a shoe-
maker by trade and worked at thai calling for
several years. He enlisted in the United States
service during her war with Mexico, and has
always been a loyal citizen of the land of his
adoption. For some years he lived in Holland,
Michigan, and later he made his home in Keo-
kuk, Iowa, and Knoxville, Iowa. He is still a
resident of Knoxville, and has attained the sev-
enty-fifth year of his age. His wife died many
years ago, in June, 1876, when she was forty-
six years old. Their ten children all survive and
are occupying respected positions in the several
communities in which they dwell.
After he had completed his public school edu-
cation in Knoxville, his native town, Albert K.
Steunenberg began learning the printer's trade,
as did also his brother Frank. At the end of four
years of persistent labor, during which period he
had occupied the various positions in the office
and had become fairly familiar with every detail
of the business, he started out as a journeyman,
and in May, 1886, came to Caldwell. Here he pur-
chased the Tribune press, type and equipments,
and, aided by his brother, Frank, whom he sent
for, he resuscitated the newspaper and made a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
successful and representative journal of the same.
The brothers are both practical printers and men
of sound judgment and business ability, and dur-
ing their partnership they were instrumental in
bringing Caldwell to the front as one of the live
towns of the state in the estimation of the public.
Though they were affiliated with the Democratic
party, personally, they edited the paper as an in-
dependent journal. For the past five years, as
previously stated, our subject has given his chief
attention to the duties which devolve upon him
as cashier of the Commercial Bank of Caldwell.
He has never craved public office, and has served
as a member of the city council and as a school
trustee merely because strongly urged to do so
for the benefit of the town.
For the past twelve years jNIr. Steunenberg has
held the honored position of secretary of the
grand lodge of the state of Idaho in the Odd
Fellows society. He is an active member of the
local lodges of Odd Fellows and Knights of
Pythias.
In 1890 the marriage of Mr. Steunenberg and
Miss Carrie Coulter, a native of his own state,
was solemnized at Des Moines, Iowa. A little
son and daughter brighten the home of our sub-
ject and wife, they being named, respectively,
Bess and Ancil K. Mrs. Steunenberg is a mem-
ber of the Christian church.
ALEXANDER DUFFES.
The pretty, flourishing town of Xampa,
Canvon county, was founded about thir-
teen vears ago by Alexander DufTes, who
has made his home here continuously since
the nth of November, 1885, and has given his
most earnest efforts toward the development and
improvement of the town. At that time the rail-
road had been constructed through this section
and a small station had been built at Nampa.
Mr. Dufifes, passing through, on his way to his
old home in Canada, saw the possibilities of the
place as a location for a town, and decided to cast
his lot here. He obtained a quarter section of
land of the government and laid part of it oiT
into town lots,' investing considerable money in
improvements. He donated building sites to
various denominations for churches, set aside a
block for a school-house, and in many ways pro-
vided for the advancement of the citizens. His
wisdom and foresight have been abundantly
proven: the town has steadily grown, and it is
now one of the most promising locations in the
county. Many of the substantial business blocks
and residences here were built by Mr. DufTes,
and are monuments to his good taste and skill.
A native of the state of New York, Alexander
Duf¥es was born on the 26th of March, 1839, in
the town of Utica. His parents, John and Eliza-
beth (Ferrier) Dufifes, were both natives of Scot-
land and in 1835 sailed across the sea to America,
where they desired to found a new home. For a
number of years they dwelt in the vicinity of
Flamilton, Canada, the father w'orking at his
trade, that of carpenter and builder. He lived to
a good old age, dying when in his seventy-ninth
year. His faithful wife, who, like himself, was a
devoted Presbyterian, died when in the prime of
life, aged about forty-eight years. They were the
parents of six children, two sons and four daugh-
ters. Two of the number have passed to the bet-
ter land, two reside in Canada and two live in
Nampa.
In his early manhood our subject learned the
builder's business with his father, and for a period
of eleven years was engaged in merchandising in
the town of Burlington, Ontario. He prospered
in his financial undertakings, and finally sold his
stock of goods, while retaining his real estate in-
terests, which were not inconsiderable. For
various reasons he decided to travel more or less
extensively in the west and to see something of
his native land, particularly of the great north-
west. He went to Portland, Oregon, where he
remained for about a year, and among other
places which he visited were points in British Co-
lumbia, Montana, Oregon and Washington. It
was when he was pursuing his eastward journey
that he conceived the idea of building a town on
the present site of Nampa, and with characteristic
energy and directness of purpose he at once set
about realizing his dream.
In his political views Mr. Dufifes adheres to
the principles of the Republican party, and has
never had aspirations to public distinction. So-
cially he is identified with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.
Thirty years ago. in 1869, the marriage of
Alexander Duffes and Miss Hannah Lucinda
Cummings was solemnized. Mrs. Duffes was
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
223
born and reared in the town of Cuniminsville.
Canada, which place had been named in honor of
her father, who was an influential citizen and
early settler there. The only child of Mr. and
Mrs. DufTes is Picton Warren, of Nampa. JMrs.
Duffes was called to her reward eight years ago,
in 1 89 1, loved and mourned by all who enjoyed
her friendship.
JOHN C. FOX.
Eighteen years have come and gone since
John C. Fox arrived in Hailey. The town
was then in its infancy, and throughout
the intervening period he has been a
prominent factor in the advancement of the com-
mercial interests upon which the growth and
prosperity of a village always depend. Widely
known, his life history cannot fail to prove of in-
terest to his many friends, and it is therefore with
pleasure that we present this record of his career
to our readers.
Mr. Fox was born July 2, 1847, ™ Pennsyl-
vania, a son of Daniel Fox, who was of German
descent. The father married Tvlrs. Jane Titman,
a daughter of Issachar and Elizabeth (Morris)
Corson. The maternal grandfather of our sub-
ject was of French-Huguenot ancestry, de-
scended from Cornelius Corson, who belonged
to the religious sect so bitterly persecuted in
France. The edict of Louis XIV., which resuhed
in the expulsion of all the Huguenots from the
country, was dated October 18, 1685, and it must
have been soon after that when Cornelius Corson
fled from the land of his birth. He took up his
residence on Staten Island, for his will was pro-
bated there in 1693. His son, Benjamin Corson,
emigrated to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where
several generations of the family have resided.
Among those who have borne the name have
been several prominent physicians and scholars
of note, and the family history is one of which the
descendants may well be proud. At an early day
the Corsons became members of the Society of
Friends, and in harmony with the teachings of
that sect were opposed to warfare, so that there
is no account of members of the family taking
part in the Revolutionary war. In the war of
1 81 2, however, there were loyal representatives
of the name, and thirty-one of the family partici-
pated in the civil war, some as privates, others as
colonels or in high offices, and still others as
surgeons. One of the name participated in fifty-
seven battles and skirmishes. The history of this
distinguished family has been compiled by Dr.
Hiram Corson, Isl. D., of Plymouth Meeting,
Pennsylvania, and this information has been
taken from a volume of that work now in pos-
session of John C. Fox, who is a representative
of the family of the seventh generation from the
original American progenitor. His father lived
and died in Pennsylvania, passing away at the
age of forty-seven years, while the mother died at
the age of seventy-three years. They were the
parents of six children, three of whom are living.
To the public-school system of his native state
John C. Fox is indebted for his early educational
privileges, which were supplemented by a course
in the ]\Iillville Seminary and in the Dickinson
Seminary, at Williamsport. Thus well fitted by
a Hberal education to take up the practical duties
of life, he entered upon his business career as a
clerk in a mercantile establishment. In 1872 he
came to the west, locating in Salt Lake City,
where he accepted a position in the mercantile
house of Walker Brothers, with whom he re-
mained for nine years, a most trusted and faith-
ful employe. During that time he gained a most
thorough knowledge of the business, and in 1881
he came to Hailey, where he began merchandis-
ing on his own account. The town had but just
been established and he opened his store in a
tent. His trade rapidly increased, for he soon
won the confidence and good will of the people,
and in a short time he was enabled to erect a
board store. This was later replaced by a brick
structure, but in 1890 a conflagration swept over
Hailey and his store was destroyed, his loss in a
single hour amounting to sixteen thousand dol-
lars. With characteristic energy, however, he
erected a new and even better brick building,
thirty by seventy feet, and his establishment
would do credit even to many a city of much
larger size than Hailey. He first carried a stock
of general merchandise, but gradually he limited
this to ladies' dress goods, notions and such
things as are usually found in a dry-goods estab-
lishment. His stock is large and carefully se-
lected, and meets with the favor of the public.
In the center of the store is a novel feature, a
pretty little fountain, furnishing pure water at all
times to the patrons.
224
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mr. Fox was married in 1874, the lady of his
choice being JMiss Fanny E. Lovell. a native of
Dubuque, Iowa, and a representative of an old
Virginia family. They now have five children,
four sons and a daughter: James Otis, Earl W.,
John Russell, Janette Rachel and Howard
Creasy. Mr. Fox and his family attend the Epis-
copal church. He was made a Master Mason in
Orangeville, Pennsylvania, April 24, 1874, and
also belongs to the chapter and commandery. In
politics he has always given his support to the
Republican party, but now affiliates with the sil-
ver wing of the organization. He takes a deep
interest in the welfare of his town, county and
state, withholding his support and co-operation
from no movement or measure which he believes
will prove of public benefit. Every educational,
social and moral interest receives his aid, and his
labors have been most effective in the advance-
ment of the town. In his business his keen dis-
crimination, his courteous treatment of his cus-
tomers and his strict conformity to the ethics of
commercial life have gained him a large patron-
age and brought him a good income, and his rep-
utation in commercial circles is unassailable.
MILTON KELLY.
Judge Milton Kelly, now deceased, who at-
tained considerable prominence as one of
Idaho's most loyal citizens and public-spirited
men, was born in Onondaga county, Xew York,
September 9, 1818, and descended from Irish an-
cestors who were early settlers in New England.
He was reared on his father's farm, obtaining his
early education in Bloomfield, Xew York, and
when still young taught school. He went to
Ohio, subsequently removing to Wisconsin,
where for some time he was engaged in the mer-
cantile business, and then studied law and was
admitted to the bar about 1845. He then took
up the practice of his profession, for which he
was peculiarly fitted by his natural abilities,
and during his thirteen years of active profes-
sional life in Wisconsin he became intimately ac-
quainted with the leading men and was promi-
nently identified with shaping the destiny of the
then new state.
In 1861 Judge Kelly went to California and the
following year removed to the new mining town
of Auburn, Oregon, where he engaged in the ex-
press and transportation business, between that
town and Placerville, Boise county, Idaho, later
making his home in Placerville. In the autumn
of 1863, following the act of organization of the
territory of Idaho, he was, at an election held in
Boise county, elected a member of the first ses-
sion of the Idaho territorial legislature, which
was held in Lewiston, Nez Perces county, then
the capital. In framing the laws of government
for the new territory Judge Kelly's knowledge
and wide experience made his services of the
greatest value, the result being the adoption of
general laws and the passage of such special acts
as were needed, which proved entirely satisfac-
tory to the people and served as a basis for future
legislation, with but few material changes, for a
number of years. Judge Kelly continued the
practice of law and was also engaged in mining
until April, 1865, when he was appointed one of
the associate judges of the supreme court of the
territory and was assigned to the first judicial dis-
trict, embracing the counties of Nez Perces, Sho-
shone and Idaho, which then covered the entire
area now known as northern Idaho. This office
Judge Kelly received from President Lincoln
just before the latter's death, it being the last
appointment that the martyred president made.
While in office the Judge resided at Lewiston,
but at the close of his term he came to Boise to
live, and on January 2, 1871, he purchased the
Idaho Statesman of James Reynolds and became
its owner, editor and publisher. During his man-
agement the paper grew in the esteem of the
people and was a very potent factor in advancing
the best interests of Idaho, its circulation grow-
ing until it found a place in the homes of nearly
all the families of the territory. He brought to
his work as an editor keen judgment, discrimina-
tion and the impulses of a genuine patriot, while
as a writer he was clear, direct and terse. He
seldom made a mistake in estimating the char-
acter of his fellow men. His opinions were his
own and were given with such candor and cour-
age that they commanded the respect of the peo-
ple. During the seventeen years that he was at
the helm of the Statesman, Idaho passed through
its most interesting and eventful days, and Judge
Kelly's influence was always used on the side of
right, and to him in a great measure is due much
of the development and good government of the
^^J^ /L^.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Gem State of the Mountains. In the spring of
1889 the veteran pioneer journalist and patriot
found himself advanced in years and enfeebled in
health, and, an opportunity offering, he sold his
' paper to the Statesman Publishing Company,
I which has since conducted it in an able and effi-
i cient manner.
, Retiring from active life to his home on the
warm-springs tract of land lying five miles from
the city, Judge Kelly devoted his time to making
improvements at the springs. He had not been
in retirement long before he suffered from a se-
vere attack of paralysis, from the effects of which
he passed away on April 9, 1892. He was a man
of the kindest impulses, a loving husband and
father, and a warm-hearted and sympathetic
friend. His record as a judge and journalist dur-
ing his prominent career in Idaho was a pure and
spotless one and gained for him the highest
esteem of his fellow men in the territory, where
he had been such a worthy and useful citizen.
In 1843 Judge Kelly was married to Miss Lois
Eliza Humphrey, a native of Connecticut and a
descendant of one of the old New England fami-
lies, and of this union four children were born,
namely: Ellen, who became the wife of Hon.
James H. Bush, whose biography also appears in
this work; Kate Amanda, who married Hon.
Joseph Perrault, United States surveyor general
of Idaho; Homer H., who resides at Payette;
and Anna D., the wife of Edgar J. Sencerbox.
Judge Kelly was in his political affiliations a
Republican and one of the organizers of that
party. He was a great lover of liberty and an
ardent opponent of oppression in any form, and
he made good use of his great ability and natural
talents in assisting in the removal of the stain of
human slavery from the honor of his country.
I SIMON J. FRIEDMAN.
One of the pioneer merchants and enter-
prising, progressive business men of Hailey,
Simon J. Friedman, was born in Germany,
April 5, 1846, a son of Itzig and Ber-
tha ( Usher) Friedman, also natives of that coun-
try. The father is still living, at the age of ninety
years. Our subject was educated in Germany,
gained his mercantile experience in his father's
store, and in 1869, when twenty-three years of
age, came to the United States, for he had lieard
of the superior advantages and facilities afforded
young men in the new world, and resolved to
win success here if possible. He first took up his
residence in Salt Lake City, Utah, and accepted
a position as salesman in the store of Fred Auer-
bach & Brothers, with whom he remained for
eleven and a half years, gaining a thorough
knowledge of merchandising and of the methods
of business as practiced in America. He was a
most trusted and faithful employe and had the
entire confidence of the house with which he was
connected.
From Salt Lake City Mr. Friedman went to
southern L'tah, where he opened a store on his
own account. In the spring of 1881, learning of
the great silver and gold discoveries in the Wood
river country of Idaho, he was among the first to
reach this section. The town of Hailey had just
been laid out and a few tents raised. Mr. Fried-
man put up a tent twenty by forty feet and there-
in began the sale of dry goods, clothing and
boots and shoes. This was the small beginning
of what has become one of the leading mercantile
establishments of the city. In the fall of 1881 he
erected his fire-proof building, twenty-eight by
fifty feet. He was the architect of the structure
and superintended its erection. Over the build-
ing he put a foot of dirt, covering the whole with
a roof to turn snow and water. His store has since
been enlarged until it is now thirty by ninety
feet, with a forty foot basement filled with a well
selected stock of dry goods, clothing, boots and
shoes, and such have been the liberal and honor-
able methods that have marked the conduct of his
business that he now has a large patronage and
enjoys the confidence and regard of his custom-
ers. His was the first fire-proof building of the
town, and when the great conflagration of July
2, 1889, swept over the city his store stood un-
harmed, he remaining in the building during the
progress of the fire and caring for his property.
In recognition of his efficient and able labors
during that time of great excitement the L-nion
Insurance Company sent him a letter of thanks
and presented him with a silver pitcher and tray.
In addition to his mercantile interests Mr.
Friedman has extensive and important mining
interests. He is one of the stockholders in the
\'enus group of mines on the East Fork, includ-
ing eight mines in all, some of them very rich
226
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and promising large returns. Some have been
large producers, others are leased and others are
not being worked because of the low price of
silver. Bv great diligence, keen discrimination
in business, careful management and judicious
investments, he has acquired a large amount of
property and has erected one of the good resi-
dences that adorn the town, yet he is conservative
and takes but little money out of his mercantile
business, using only the profits in outside invest-
ment.
On the nth of April. 1886. Air. Friedman was
united in marriage to Miss Lucia Meyer, a native
of Germany, and their union has been blessed
with four children. Beatrice. Myrtle, Jerome and
Frederick. He and his family are liberal mem-
bers of the Israelite faith, and he is a valued rep-
resentative of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He belongs to Utah Lodge, No. i, in
Salt Lake City. and. having been connected with
the fraternity for a quarter of a century, is num-
bered among its veterans, and has been presented
with the \'eteran Odd Fellow medal. His pleas-
ant, genial manner has made him popular in
■social circles, and his sterling worth commends
liim to the confidence and good \vill of all with
whom he has been brought in contact.
DAVID S. LAMME.
The history of the pioneer settlement of
Payette would be incomplete without the
record of this gentleman, who from the
earliest founding of the town has been a prom-
inent factor in its substantial growth and im-
provement. When Idaho was cut of? from the
advantages and comforts of the east by the long,
hot stretches of sand and the high mountains, he
made his way across the plains, braving all the
trials and hardships of pioneer life in order to
make a home in the northwest — rich in its re-
sources, vet unclaimed from the dominion of the
red men.
Mr. Lamme is a native of Hancock county, Il-
linois, born February 11, 1842, and is of French
and Irish descent. The Lammes were of French
origin, and at an early period in the history of the
east crossed the Atlantic. Representatives of the
name participated in many of the leading events
mentioned in the annals of the country, and in the
Revolutionary war they aided in the struggle for
independence. Jonathan Lamme, father of our
subject, was born in Sangamon county, Illinois,
and married Lydia Hamilton. One of her ances-
tors also was a Revolutionary hero, and her fam-
ily is of Irish lineage. L'nto T^Ir. and Mrs.
Lamme were born six children, of whom four
sons and a daughter are living. Both parents
died wdien about forty-tive years of age, and the
children were left to make their own way in the
world.
David S. Lamme spent the days of his boy-
hood and youth in the county of his nativity,
and provided for his own livelihood by working
as a farm hand and following other occupations
that would supply him with the necessaries of
life. He was married in 1861 to IMiss C. C.
Beary. a native of Summit county, Ohio, and in
1864, with his wife and child, started across the
plains with oxen, their destination being Idaho.
They traveled with a large party, forming the
"Big Missouri Train." there being one hundred
w^agons and one hundred armed men. The In-
dians were very troublesome that year and they
had several skirmishes with them, four or five
of the company being killed, while several others
were wounded. Their stock stampeded and the
long journey of five months was a very hard and
trying one, but on the 5th of September they
reached the Payette valley.
For nine years Mr. Lamme engaged in min-
ing in the Boise Basin and made thirty thousand
dollars, but lost it again in quartz-mining specu-
lations. He still has rich specimens of gold
quartz taken from Mountain Chief, the mine in
which he sunk his money. He was at one time
ofTered ten thousand dollars for his interest in
the mine, but refused it. This mine is still be-
lieved to be very rich, but as yet has been only
partially developed. After failing in his mining
ventures Air. Lamme purchased three hundred
and twenty acres of land, the purchase price
being twenty-two hundred dollars, going in debt
for the greater part of it. At the end of two
years, however, he was enabled to pay the entire
amount, and successfully continued his farming
operations until 1883, when he sold his land, and
on the 15th of May came to the present site of
Payette. The railroad was then in course of con-
struction, but the town was not surveyed. He
purchased a small lot and called the hamlet
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Boomerang, by which name it was known for
some time, but was finally changed to Payette —
taken from the Payette river, which was named
in honor of a Frenchman in the employ of the
Hudson's Bay Company. Mr. Lamme built a
cheap house on the site of his present fine resi-
dence and conducted a boarding house for four
months. He then secured a small stock of goods
from Chicago and opened a general mercantile
store, which he has since conducted with gratify-
ing success. After selling goods at his residence
for five years, he built his present brick business
block, twenty-six by eighty feet, and in this he
has since conducted a large and constantly in-
creasing business. In addition to his mercantile
interests and city property, he owns five hundred
acres of valuable land and is a stockholder in the
Lower Payette Ditch Company, which provides
an ample water supply for irrigation purposes.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Lamme is a com-
modious and pleasant residence, built of brick,
and there, in the midst of many friends, they are
now enjoying the fruits of former toil. All the
hardships and trials of pioneer life have passed,
and with advancing civilization the comforts and
many of the luxuries that go to make life worth
the living have come to them. Mrs. Lamme is
a valued member of the Methodist church, and
with her husband enjoys the high regard of Pay-
ette's best citizens. In politics Mr. Lamme is a
Democrat, and has taken an active part in the
affairs of the city. For years he has been a mem-
ber of the city board of trustees, was one of the
incorporators of the town, and at all times has
given his support to those measures which he
believes are for the public good. In 1884 he was
elected a member of the Idaho legislature and
therein served with the same loyalty to his con-
stituents and regard for the best interests of the
state that have ever characterized his career in
the walks of both public and private life.
ERNEST L. BALLARD.
The clerk of the district court and ex-ofificio
auditor and recorder of Owyhee county, Idaho,
residing in Silver City, is a native of the state of
\'irginia, his birth having occurred in Lynchburg
on the 1st of February, 1862. His ancestors, leav-
ing theirhome in England, crossed the briny deep
to the New World and became residents of Penn-
sylvania at the time William Penn founded the
colony. They participated in the events which
go to make up the early history of the Keystone
state, and representatives of the name also fought
for America in the war of 1812. Removing from
Pennsylvania to Virginia, the family became
identified with the interests of the south. Henry
Clay Ballard, the father of our subject, was born,
reared and educated in the Old Dominion and
became a railroad contractor. He married Miss
Sally Pollard, and during the civil war he served
as a captain in General Munford's cavalry in the
Confederate army. He continued to reside in
Virginia until 1880, when he removed to Colo-
rado. He is now engaged in railroad contracting
in British Columbia, and has reached the age of
fifty-seven years. For many years he has been
a member of the Masonic fraternity and in his
life exemplifies the beneficent teachings of that
order. His wife died in 1880, in her fortieth
year, leaving the husband and two children to
mourn her loss. The daughter is now- Mrs.
Carr, of Liberty, Missouri.
The son, Ernest L. Ballard, is indebted to the
schools of the Old Dominion for the educational
privileges he received. He remained a resident
of Virginia until 1880, when he went with his
father to Leadville, Colorado, where he engaged
in mining for about a year. He then went to
Georgetown in the same state, and there devoted
his energies to railroading and mining until June,
1886, at which time he came to Owyhee county,
Idaho. He followed mining at Flint for three
years, and on the expiration of that period made
a tour of the prominent mining localities on the
Pacific slope, returning to Silver City after an
absence of a year and a half. He has since re-
mained in Owyhee county, aiid in 1893 was
elected county sheriflf. He acceptably filled that
position and in the fall of 1894 was elected dis-
trict clerk for a term of four years. His fidelity
to duty and his promptness in the discharge of
the tasks that devolved upon him led to his re-
nomination in the fall of 1898. Over his public
record there falls no shadow of reproach, and he
belongs to that class of representative American
citizens who hold public office as a sacred trust.
Mr. Ballard was married April 30, 1893, to
Miss Nellie L. Stevens, of Flint, a daughter of
W. S. Stevens, a respected pioneer of Owyhee
228
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
county. They have one child, William Henry,
and throughout the community they are held in
high regard.
WILLIAM T. RILEY.
William T. Riley was one of the founders of
the town of Hailey, and throughout the period
of its existence he has been identified with its
development, and his name is therefore insep-
arablv interwoven with its history. The won-
derful upbuilding of the northwest is due to such
men. — men of enterprise, sagacity, sound judg-
ment and rare discrimination, whose methods are
practical and whose plans are comprehensive and
far-reaching.
Mr. Riley was born in Allegany county. New
York. ^larch 31. 1843. His father. John Riley,
was born on the Emerald Isle, came to America
when a young man and was married in Mon-
mouth. Xew Jersey, to IMiss Mary Bowles. They
became pioneers of western Xew York, where
the father carried on agricultural pursuits until
his death. He was a member of the Catholic
church and his wife belonged to the Episcopal
church. His death occurred in the forty-fourth
year of his age, and his wife passed away at the
age of seventy years. Of their family of three
sons and four daughters, only four are now
living.
The youngest son of the family, William T.
Riley, was reared and educated in Allegany
county and had attained the age of eighteen years
when President Lincoln issued his first call for
volunteers to aid in suppressing the rebellion.
When the need for soldiers became more press-
ing, he offered his services, and in September,
1861, was assigned to Company D, Eighty-sixth
Xew York \'olunteer Infantry, serving for three
years in the Army of the Potomac. When that
period had elapsed the south was still uncon-
quered, and Mr. Riley determined to stand by
the Union until the supremacy of the national
government should be permanently established.
He re-enlisted in General Hancock's army, and
participated in all of the many battles of the
Army of the Potomac, in wliich that vast body
of brave men won honor and glory. At the
battle of Locust Grove, following the battle of
Gettysburg, he sustained a gunshot wound in
his right arm, which has resulted in resection
of the elbow joint, thereby shortening the mem-
ber five inches and rendering it almost useless;
but. notwithstanding it is a great hardship, it
is nevertheless a badge of the greatest honor,
ever indicating his faithful service. He partici-
pated in the grand review in Washington, the
most brilliant military pageant ever witnessed in
the New World, "wave after wave of bayonet-
crested blue" sweeping by the President's stand,
amid the applause of a grateful nation anxious
to yield its tributes of praise and love to the
heroes who through four years had followed the
starry banner.
When hostilities had ceased and the country
no longer needed his services. Mr. Riley returned
to his home. He came to the west at the time of
the building of the L'nion Pacific Railroad and
conducted stores all along the line, finally locat-
ing at Kelton. where he engaged in merchan-
dising and also served as postmaster, stage agent
and express agent. In 1881 the great Wood
river excitement was at its height, and he came
to Blaine county, where in connection with John
Hailey. A. H. Boomer and two others he laid
out and platted the town of Hailey. He has since ■
been closely identified with its interests and has
been one of its most successful and useful citi-
zens. After platting the town he had charge of
the sale of its lots, and much of its property has
passed through his hands, while he still has con-
siderable realty here. For some years he con-
ducted a drug store, under the firm name of
Riley & Tracy, and enjoyed a good trade. In
1890 he was appointed register of the land office,
where he remained for four years and was also
county treasurer and agent for the Wells-Fargo
Express Company. He withholds his support
from no movement or enterprise for the public
good, and his work in behalf of the town has
rendered him one of the most valued citizens.
He became active in the organization of the
water company, which has brought pure water
from the mountains under pressure, thus secur-
ing to Hailey a good water supply for both fire
and domestic purposes. He has been superin-
tendent of the company since its organization
and to him is due much of the credit for securing
this most necessary adjunct to the prosperity of
the town.
In 1 87 1 Mr. Riley was united in marriage to
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
229
Miss Frances Heckman, of Angelica, New York,
and their union has been blessed with four sons
and six daughters. The eldest daughter, Jessie
AL, is now principal of the Ketchum school, and
was recently the prominent candidate of the fu-
sion party for superintendent of schools. The
younger children are Bertha B., Mary and Esther
(twins), and Harriet, John H., Russell T. and
Weston T. Six of the ten children are now
living.
The family are members of the Episcopal
church, and are greatly esteemed in the town
in which they reside. Mr. Riley is a member
of the lodge and chapter of the Masonic frater-
nity, has filled various ofifices in the former and
is past master workman in the local lodge of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a
very prominent and influential member of the
Grand Army of the Republic and is past com-
mander of the department of the state of Idaho.
He is therefore widely known among those who
wore the blue and has the warm regard of his old
associates in arms. His life has been one of
activity and usefulness, and he is to-day as true
to his duties of citizenship as when he followed
the old flag upon southern battle-fields.
THOMAS M. JEFFREYS.
Thomas M. Jeffreys, probate judge and super-
intendent of public instruction in Washington
county, Idaho, is a native of Oregon, his birth
having occurred in Yamhill county, on the 7th
of April, 1852. His father, Woodson Jeffreys,
was born in Jackson county, Missouri, in 1825,
and in early manhood, in Oregon, married Jane
Forrest, also a native of Missouri. They crossed
the plains to Oregon in 1845, being nine months
in accomplishing the long and weary journey
across the plains, their way being beset by many
obstacles, difficulties and dangers. They located
on government land in Yamhill county, and dur-
ing the first winter suffered many hardships
and privations. Their stock of provisions was
almost exhausted and they subsisted on boiled
wheat and what game they could kill. Mr. Jeff-
reys also participated in the wars with the In-
dians in those early years of his residence in the
northwest, and was a brave pioneer and a man
of sterling character. In 1865 he came to Idaho,
accompanied by his wife and five children, and
purchased three hundred and twenty acres of
land at Weiser, where he built a residence and
began the development of the farm upon which
his widow yet resides. In connection with his
brother he was extensively engaged in stock-
raising, both in Oregon and Idaho. They were
enterprising, ambitious and fearless, and recog-
nizing an excellent business opportunity, they
drove large herds of cattle to the Carriboo coun-
try, where by furnishing the miners with beef,
they made large sums of money. Mr. Jeffreys
departed this life in 1881, at Weiser, at the age of
fifty-six years, respected by all who knew him.
His wife, who still survives him, is now sixty-
five years of age, and like her husband is a
consistent member of the Christian church. In
the early days he served as county commissioner
when the county comprised Ada, Canyon and
Washington counties, and discharged the duties
of that important position with promptness and
fidelity. He was an important factor in the de-
velopment of the state, and his labors proved
very effective in opening up this region to the
advance of civilization.
Judge Jeffreys, whose name introduces this
review, was the eldest child of Woodson and Jane
Jeffreys. He spent his youth in his parents'
home and was well fitted for the practical and
responsible duties of life by liberal educational
privileges. His early advantages in that direc-
tion were supplemented by a course in Kentucky
University, at Lexington, Kentucky, where he
was graduated in the law and commercial de-
partments in the class of 1876. He then returned
to his home in Idaho, where for some years he
was successfully engaged in school-teaching, be-
ing numbered among the most efficient educators
of the state. For five years he was also engaged
in general merchandising at Weiser, but is now
devoting his energies to the public service, faith-
fully performing the duties entrusted to his care.
Since attaining his majority he has exercised
his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the Democracy, and is a recognized
leader in the party ranks in this section of the
state. In 1881 he was elected a member of the
territorial legislature and has also served for two
terms as treasurer of Washington county. On
his retirement from that office he was elected
probate judge and superintendent of schools, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
is now serving- his second term in those offices,
discharging his duties in a manner highly satis-
factory to the people and creditable to himself.
In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Jefifreys and Mrs. M. G. Jewell, who by her
former marriage had one son, C. W. Jewell. Mr.
and Mrs. Jefifreys have a daughter, Ethel F.
They have a nice home and fruit farm at Weiser,
and occupy a leading position in social circles
where true worth and intelligence are received
as the passports into good society. They are
valued members of the Baptist church, and give
their support to all measures tending toward the
moral and educational advancement of the com-
munity.
HON. DE FOREST H. ANDREWS.
It is the enterprise and character of the citizens
that enrich and ennoble the commonwealth.
From individual enterprise have sprung all the
splendor and importance of this great west. The
greatest business men have developed from the
humblest origins, and from clerkships have
emerged men who have built up great business
enterprises. Among those who have achieved
prominence as men of marked ability and sub-
stantial worth in Boise is the subject of this
sketch. De Forest H. Andrews, one of the most
successful real-estate dealers of Idaho.
A native of Auburn, New York, he was born
on the 23d of May. 1841, and is a representative
of one of the old famihes of that state. His grand-
father, Salmon Andrews, was a resident of Syra-
cuse, New York. His father. Salmon S. An-
drews, was born in the Empire state, and there
married Miss Sarah Stolp, a lady of German
descent. In 1843 they removed to Aurora, Illi-
nois, where for a time Mr. Andrews was engaged
in farming. Later he removed to Valparaiso,
Indiana, where he died at the age of seventy
years. Mrs. -Andrews then made her home with
her son in Leadville, Colorado, where she died
in the sixty-eighth year of her age. This worthy
couple were the parents of eleven children, but
only three are now living.
De Forest H. Andrews acquired his education
in the public schools of Indiana and Illinois.
Throughout his business career his energies have
been devoted principally to stock-raising, to min-
ing and to real-estate dealing. In i860 he emi-
grated to Colorado, where he engaged in mining.
at Leadville and Aspen, and in Gilpin and Boul-
der counties. He was successful in his ventures
there and ultimately sold his mining interests for
eighty-five thousand dollars. In 1890 he came to
Boise and purchased property, since which time
he has engaged in the real-estate business, both
on his own account and for others. He has been
a very prominent factor in the growth and up-
building of the city, for through his instrumen-
tality many substantial improvements have been
made. He has large realty holdings in the
Thatcher, Broadway, Park, South Boise and
Londoner additions, and the amount of his sales
would reach a large figure.
In 1872 Mr. Andrews married j\Irs. Isabella
L. Rice, a native of Steubenville, Ohio, and to
them were born five children, but all are now
deceased. By her former marriage Mrs. Andrews
had three children, — George W., Nellie N. and
William C, all of whom have reached mature
years. She is a valued member of the Congre-
gational church and a lady whose many estim-
able qualities have gained her many friends.
On attaining his majority Mr. Andrews gave
his political support to the Democratic party.
Later he became one of the organizers of the
Greenback party, and is now a Populist. He
was one of the founders of the enterprising little
city of Nevadaville, Colorado, and for some time
was its progressive and efficient mayor. When
there was a fusion between the Populist and
Democratic forces he was nominated for election
as a member of the state legislature, but was de-
feated at the ensuing election, in Gilpin county,
Colorado. In 1896 he was nominated on the
Democratic-People's party ticket in Ada county,
Idaho, and elected by a safe majority. As a
member of the legislature he was instrumental
in introducing and securing the passage of the
irrigation bill, a very important measure, result-
ing greatly to the benefit and improvement of
the state. In 1898 he received his party's nom-
ination for governor, a high tribute to his worth
and an unmistakable indication of his popularity
in Populistic circles. His business career is one
most commendable. He follows most systematic
methods, is thoroughly reliable, has strict regard
for the ethics of commercial life, and, by enter-
prise and careful management, has secured a
most gratifying success.
Scene on Alpheus Creek.
CHAPTER XXI.
OWYHEE COUNTY— ITS HISTORY, TOWNS, INDUSTRIES.
IN 1862 the present county of Owyhee was a
part of Boise county, which comprised all
of the western portion of Washington Ter-
ritory lying south of what was then called Idaho
county, its area being nearly equal to that of Penn-
sylvania. When Idaho was created a territory by
act of congress, March 3, 1863, Boise county be-
came part and parcel of the territory of Idaho,
and at the first session of the territorial legisla-
ture, held at Lewiston, Idaho, Owyhee county
was created, December 31, 1863, out of all terri-
tory south of Snake river and west of the Rocky
mountains.
In 1864 Oneida county, and in 1879 Cassia
county, were cut off of Owyhee county, reducing
it to its present limits. Its northern boundary
line is the Snake river. Cassia county on the
east, state of Oregon on the west, and the state
of Nevada forms its southern boundary. Its area
is 8,130 square miles, being somewhat larger than
the state of Massachusetts. Its name, "Owyhee,"
is believed to have been borrowed from the Ha-
waiian language, and to have been given to the
Owyhee river by two Kanakas in the employ of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
Prior to the spring of 1863, Owyhee county
was an unexplored cotmtry, inhabited only by
bands of hostile Indians, while at that time the
diggings of Boise basin and Oro Fino boasted
of a population of over ten thousand miners. A
legend of the early immigrants to Oregon of the
"Blue Bucket diggings," in the vicinity of the
Owyhee mountains, wherein they used sinkers
of gold for fishing purposes, led several adven-
turous spirits to organize a party of discovery at
Placerville, in May, 1863. The party consisted
of the following: Michael Jordan, A. J. Miner,
J. C. Boone, P. H. Gordan, L. C. Gehr, G. W.
Chadwick, Cy Iba, William Phipps, Joseph Dor-
sey, Jerome Francisco, John Moore, J. R. Cain,
W. Churchill, H. R. Wade, A. J. Reynolds,
James Carroll, William Duncan. Dr. A. F. Rudd,
F. Height, W. L. Wade, John Cannon, M. Con-
ner, C. Ward, R. W. Prindall, D. P. Barnes, W.
T. Carson, J. Johnson, A. Eddington and O. H.
Purdy, in all numbering twenty-nine.
We take the following from the narration of
O. H. Purdy, a member of the party, a well-
known citizen of Silver City, who was killed in
the skirmish with the Bannack Indians at South
mountain, in June, 1878:
We crossed Snake river at the mouth of Boise river,
traveling in a southwesterly direction, until we came to,
at that time, quite a large stream, which we named, in
honor of the laziest man in the company, "Reynolds
creek," We camped here one day. During the day,
two of the party. Wade and Miner, ascended the divide
westerly from camp, on a tour of observation, and dis-
covered still farther south and west what appeared to
be a large stream, judging from the topographical for-
mation of the mountains, which were well timbered.
This was reported to the balance in camp.
The next morning (May 18, 1863). our party of twen-
ty-nine men and about sixty horses and mules was
headed in the direction of the supposed water-course,
which we reached about four o'clock p. m., at a point
we named "Discovery Bar," about six miles below
where Booneville now is. The locality presenting a
favorable place for camping., it was so agreed. Dr.
Rudd, a verdant emigrant, not waiting to unpack his
mule, took his shovel, and, scooping up some of the
loose gravel on the bank of the creek, "panned it out"
and obtained about a hundred "colors." The excite-
ment and amazement which followed this "discovery"
can better be imagined than described. In ten minutes,
every man, with pan and shovel (except the lazy man),
w^as busy digging and panning, and upon their return
about an hour after, each man had favorable prospects
to exhibit.
The prospecting continued up the creek for ten or
twelve days, when, at "Happy Camp," the laws of the
district were made and adopted, the creek and district
named, and claims located— the creek and district tak-
ing the names of two of our company, Michael Jordan
and W. T. Carson.
It may be interesting to know the future of this
party of twenty-nine, but a great many of them
have unfortunately passed into obscurity. Michael
232
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Jordan and James Carroll fell victims to Indians
in 1S64. H. R. Wade was the first county treas-
urer-elect, and he and W. T. Carson died at Silver
City in 1865. William Duncan died in 1873, in
Nevada. J. R. Cain moved to Boise valley.
Height and Iba emigrated to southeastern Idaho.
and Height recently sold the Hailey hot springs,
of which he was the proprietor. Purdv. as stated
before, met his fate bv Indians in 1878. The
return of the party to Boise basin with the news
of the discovery at once created a "stampede"
for Owyhee, and the mining towns of Boone-
ville and Ruby City were speedily in course of
erection, and gold hunters busily engaged in
changing the formation of Florida and War
Eagle mountains. In July, 1863, the first quartz
ledge was discovered and located, in Whiskey
gulch, by R. H. Wade & Company. A few days
after, the Oro Fino quartz ledge was discovered
and located by A. J. Sands and Svale Neilson,
who a month later also located the "Morning
Star." The first quartz mill, called the "Morning
Star," with an equipment, of eight stamps, was
erected by Moore, Fogus & Company. In May,
1864, the Oro Fino Gold & Silver Tunnel Com-
pany was incorporated in Carson district, to run
a tunnel through Oro Fino mountain, on which
were at that time thirty locations, one of which
was the "War Eagle," which gave its name sub-
sequently to the mountain. The tunnel com-
pany, however, never materialized, though the
project has again been agitated in the later davs.
The great discovery of 1865 was the celebrated
Poorman mine. According to Professor Gilbert
Butler, it was discovered by O'Brien, Holt, Zerr,
Ebner, Stevens and Ray, and was first called the
"Hays & Ray." Some say it was discovered by
D. C. O'Byrne, and others mention Charles S.
Peck. It is said that it was first discovered by
Peck, about one thousand feet from the present
discovery shaft, in which he (Peck) uncovered a
rich chimney, but concealed his discovery, and,
finding that it lay within the boundaries of the
Hays & Ray claim, endeavored to purchase the
mine from the owners, but was unsuccessful.
The chimney, however, was uncovered by an-
other company of prospectors, and the mine was
then named the "Poorman," on account of the
discoverers being without capital to work it.
Peck was subsequently given an interest in the
mine by the owners, but in the meantime a fight
for possession was imminent, the owners barri-
cading the entrance of the mine and mounting a
couple of pieces of ordnance, naming the forti-
fications "Fort Baker." The ore taken from the
Poorman was a silver chloride, richly impreg-
nated with gold, e&ily worked, and soft as lead,
which it resembled, tinted crimson, which gave it
its name of ruby silver. As it came from the
mine it readily sold for four dollars an ounce,
which was said to be much below its real value.
At a depth of one hundred feet a body of na-
tive ore was uncovered weighing about five hun-
dred pounds, which was one solid mass of ruby
silver crystals, specimens of which were exhibited
at the Paris exposition of 1866 and were awarded
a gold medal. Two thousand tons of second and
third-class rock yielded $546,691.59, and tailmgs
went over $70.00 to the ton, first-class rock rang-
ing from four thousand dollars to five thousand
dollars per ton. Other mines of note were dis-
covered in Carson, Mammoth and Flint districts,
and between 1863 and 1865 two hundred and
fifty mining locations were recorded, the
principal ones, aside from those previously men-
tioned, being the Golden Chariot, War Eagle.
Ida Elmore, Whiskey Gulch, Minnesota, Silver
Bullion. Hidden Treasure, Noonday, Centurion,
Golden Eagl6, Allison, Blazing Star, Montana,
Home Ticket, Floreta, Silver Legion, Eureka,
Calaveras, Caledonian, Empire, Dashaway, Red
Jacket, Mahogany, Stormy Hill, South Chariot,
Illinois Central, Belle Peck, North Extension
Poorman, South Poorman, Lucky Poorman, Big
Fish, Boycott, Glenbrook, Clearbrook. Idlewild.
North Empire, South Empire, San Juan. Du-
buque, Silver Cloud, Louisiana, Ruby Jackson,
Silver City, Ruth, Sinker, By Chance, Potosi,
Rattling Jack, St. James, Northern Light, Crook
& Jennings, Brannan, Home Resort, Savage,
Piute. Miami, Lone Tree. Home Stake, Little
Fish. Silver Cord, Golden Cord, Standard, Phi-
lox, Webfoot, Wilson, Idaho, Gentle Emma,
Stoddard, Ohio, Henrietta, Tremont, Crown
Point, Redemption, Booneville, Empire State,
Florida Hill. Seventy-Nine, Paymaster. Cumber-
land, Black Jack, Leviathan, Sierra Nevada,
Yreka. Owyhee Treasury. Avenue, Rose, Hud-
son, Phoenix, and Carson Chief, all in Carson
district, besides the \\'ebfoot and Garfield in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
^^'ag■onto\vl•l district, and Rising Star, Astor and
Twiliglit in Flint district.
The Owyhee mines, up to 1881, were worked
to a depth which varied from one himdred and
fifty to one thousand five hundred feet. The
Owyhee Treasury, at a depth of one hundred
feet down, yielded ore worth seventy-five cents
per pound. A "stringer" in the mine, worked in
a common mortar, yielded forty-six dollars to a
pound of ore.
The mining camps for several years flourished
and enjoyed a continuous run of unparalleled
prosperity until the year of 1875, when the sus-
pension of the Bank of California and other
causes for a while paralyzed the mining indus-
tries of the county, and resulted in the withdrawal
from the field of a number of large companies
who had been in active operation here.
While it was considered somewhat hazardous
in the early history of this county to follow the
pursuit of what might be termed "experimental
farming" in a country which was generally re-
garded as the home of the miner, and a locality
where the sage brush blossomed as the rose, nev-
ertheless a few hardy pioneers of agricultural pro-
clivities, like their worthy congeners, the honest
miners, prospected the soil with good results:
others followed in their footsteps, and to-day,
where formerly the hardy sage brush flourished
and the wary coyote trod, we find thousands of
acres covered with thriftv farms and orchards,
yielding annually almost fabulous quantities of
cereals and esculents. The valleys of the Bru-
neau, Reynolds creek, Castle creek, Catherine
creek and Sinker creek are unsurpassed for fer-
tility and productiveness of soil, and the moun-
tain slopes in season are luxuriant with the most
nutritious grasses, affording the best of ranges
for stock raising. With irrigation scientifically
applied, Owyhee farmers have succeeded in trans-
forming what was termed in immigration days
the "God-forsaken country" to an earthly para-
dise. Wheat is always a sure crop, and great
success has been met with with barley and oats.
Hay of all descriptions, mostly alfalfa, is pro-
duced in large quantities; and potatoes, cab-
bages and all the smaller garden vegetables
grown in great profusion. Fruits, vines and
shrubs, wherever planted, have turned out thrifty
and produced largely.
To the weary traveler crossing the dreary,
monotonous and arid plains of Owyhee, the
emerald and picturesque ranches, sequestered in
the deep canyons of the creeks, are a source of
joy and beauty.
It was early discovered that cattle that were fed
on the nutritious bunch grass and white sage
that abounded on the plains and mountain slopes
of Owyhee county attained a perfection of bone,
muscle and flesh not equaled by any other lo-
cality, and this led to a rapid settling of the
ranges of Bruneau, Reynolds, Castle, Catherine,
Sinker, Cow and Sucker creeks, which were
speedily covered with immense herds of hardy
cattle. In 1882 the number of cattle assessed in
the county was 24,559, which was believed to be
6,000 short of the actual figure. In 1885 it was
estimated that there were over 60,000 head of
cattle within the confines of Owyhee county. In
1888-9 the cattle interests in the county reached
their maximum, and, as we are reliably informed,
there was at that date over 100,000 head of cattle
in the county. At that date the principal cattle
owners were: Murphy & Horn, 12,000 head;
Scott & Company, 18,000 head; Grayson & Com-
pany, 16,000 head; Hardiman Bros., 5,000 head;
Sommercamp, 5,000 head; Jack Sands, 3,500
head: Con Shea, 5,000 head; Sparks & Harrell,
5,000 head; Bruce Brothers, 2,500 head; total,
72,000 head. Add to this several stock raisers
with herds numbering 500 to 1,000, a very low
estimate would be 18,000 head, making a grand
total of 100,000 head. These were the flush cattle
times of Owyhee, when the cattle kings viewed
with swelling pride their increasing herds and
pocketbooks; but a couple of severe winters, the
inability to find sufficient suitable food for such
large herds, and several other causes, created a
great loss of cattle, and the cattle trade gradu-
ally shrank to its- present condition, there not be-
ing, it is believed, at present date, over 15,000
head of cattle within the county.
But the loss of one industry has been the gain
of another, viz., the sheep industry, which from
small beginnings has gradually risen to its pres-
ent proportions, and it is generally estimated
that at this date there are over one hundred
and fifty thousand head of sheep in Owyhee
county.
The first settlement in the countv was made at
234
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Booneville, now Dewey, which took its name
after Boone, one of the discovery party of twenty-
nine. A Httle later tlie town of Ruby City sprang
into existence, and by the summer of 1864
boasted of a population of eight to nine hundred,
and was made the county seat upon the organi-
zation of the county on December 31, 1863. Its
location being an unfavorable one, a rival town
sprang up, which was named Silver City, which
not only gradually absorbed Ruby City, but be-
cj:n-e the county-seat in 1866. Fairview, located
on the apex of War Eagle mountain, was also a
thriving little burg, and would have been made
the county seat were it not for its inaccessibility-
It was destroyed by fire October 16, 1875, loss
being about one hundred thousand dollars, and
never recuperated from the disaster.
De Lamar, another flourishing town, with a
population nearly equal to that of Silver City,
was first settled in 1888, and has since shown con-
siderable improvement. Guffey, the baby town
of the county, and the terminal point of the B.
X. & O. Railroad, is rapidly increasing in popula-
tion, making extensive improvements, and giving
great promise for the future.
The United States census of 1890 gave the
population of Owyhee county as 2,021. At the
last presidential election, in the fall of 1896, there
were 1,240 votes cast, and the estimated popula-
tion of the county at present date is about 5,000.
The total value of taxable property in Owyhee
county, as per assessment roll of July, 1896,
amounted to $795,549.00, which embraced 10,-
769 head of cattle, 122,777 sheep, 8,299 horses,
170 jacks and mules, and 188 hogs. The total
value of taxable property in Owyhee county, as
per assessment roll of July, 1897, amounted to
$894,786.00, which embraced 11,636 head of cat-
tle. 118,705 sheep, 8,687 horses, 238 jacks and
mules, and 231 hogs.
THE ONLY LEG.\L H.\NGING IN THE
COUNTY.
The morning of Friday, October 15, 1881, the
day appointed for the execution of Henry Mc-
Donald, dawned dark and disagreeable, a heavy
snow storm prevailing, as if nature was angry
that man, created- in the image of God, should
fall so low as to make capital punishment a neces-
sity. .Ml preparations for the execution had been
completed by SherifT Springer, and at one o'clock,
p. m., the prisoner was taken from his cell, and in
company with the sheriff and deputy, walked
down to Jordan street, where a wagon was in
waiting to carry him to the gallows and the
grave. He showed no signs of emotion; walked
very erect, and got in the wagon, in company
with the sheriff, deputy and Father Xattini, and
was driven to the place of execution, at the old
Ruby City cemetery, which has been unused for
many years. About three hundred people gath-
ered about the scaffold, many having come in
from the adjacent valleys. At seventeen minutes
past one o'clock the prisoner firmly ascended the
scaffold, and until i 45 remained in consultation
with Father Nattini, at which time Sheriff
Springer read the death warrant. McDonald
shook hands with those who had guarded him
while in jail here and the priest, bidding them
good-bye, but had nothing else to say. James T.
Griffin pinioned his hands and feet, and Father
Xattini adjusted the black cap. At six minutes
before two o'clock the sheriff sprung the trap,
and thus without a sign of emotion or word of
complaint the bloodstained soul of Flenry Mc-
Donald was ushered into eternity. In fourteen
minutes life was pronoimced extinct by Dr. Belk-
nap, and the remains were buried within a few
yards of the scaffold.
The evidence in this case is well known and
the law has been vindicated. Xot only should
the youths of this place remember, but those men
who are ready to draw the deadly knife and re-
volver, that "He who sheds man's blood, by man
shall his blood be shed." This is the first execu-
tion by law in this county: may we hope that
another will never be required.
THE M.\RION MORE TR.\GEDY.
As there are several versions afloat of this la-
mentable affair, we present to our readers such
facts as we have been able to glean from the
sources at our command, which will probably be
new to the rising generation and will refresh the
memories of the old timers.
During the winter of 1867-8 a dispute arose
between the celebrated 'Tda Elmore" and "Gold-
en Chariot" Mining Companies as to the respec-
tive boundaries of their mining lines, which at
first it was thought would be settled by com-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
235
promise or litigation. To the surprise of all,
however, force was resorted to, and each parts-
secured the services of well known fighters,
heavily armed, to protect their interests. March,
1868, found both parties strongly fortified and
closely watching each other, and on the morning
of Alarch 25 hostilities were commenced by the
Golden Chariot party storming the works of their
opponents. Desperate fighting ensued and dur-
ing the charge John C. Holgate, an owner in the
Golden Chariot, was shot in the head and died
instantaneously. Shooting was kept up at inter-
vals during the night, and the next morning
Meyer Frank, one of the Ida Elmore contingent,
was fatally wounded and died a few hours subse-
quently. At noon another Ida Elmore man
named James Howard was seriously wounded
and several others on both sides received slight
wounds.
On the 28th Governor Ballard issued a proc-
lamation commanding both parties to disperse
peaceably and submit to the proper authorities,
and a squad of United States cavalry was sent
from Fort Boise to the seat of war. On the
morning of the 29th, however, the principal par-
ties on both sides effected a compromise and hos-
tilities ceased and the armed men were with-
drawn.
On the evening of April 1,1868, Sam Lock-
hart was seated in front of the stage office at the
Idaho hotel, when Marion More, accompanied
by one Jack Fisher and two or three others, came
up, and an altercation ensued between Lockhart
and the More party, and shooting commenced on
both sides. Several shots were exchanged and
Lockhart was wounded in the left arm. Fisher
received an ugly wound in the left thigh. More
was shot in the center of the left breast and ran
about fifty yards, falling in front of the then
called Oriental restaurant, into which he was
taken and promptly attended to, but he was pro-
nounced in a dying condition, and death ended
his sufferings the following afternoon.
]\Iore was well known in Idaho as a member
of the firm of More & Fogus, and his death was
universally regretted. His remains were con-
veyed by the Masonic fraternity, of which he was
a member, to Idaho City, where they were in-
terred. Subsequent to the affray several arrests
were made, but proceedings were afterwards
quashed and peace and quietness again reigned
in the town of Silver City. Lockhart's arm was
amputated, but blood poisoning ensued, and he
died on the 13th of July following.
THE BALDWIN AFFAIR.
The failure of the Bank of California in Au-
gust, 1875, led to the closing of several of the
prominent mines on War Eagle mountain for
lack of funds, causing considerable distress and
destitution among the miners and their families,
a good many of the miners being forced to quit
work upon seeing no prospect of securing their
pay.
For a while the "Golden Chariot," which since
November 15, 1875, had been under the superin-
■ tendency of M. A. Baldwin, met its engagements
in due season, but eventually allowed two months
to elapse without a pay day, though making
many promises which did not materialize. Cer-
tain actions on the part of the officers, such as
removing the valuable property of the company
and the peremptory closing of the mine, were
looked upon as rather suspicious by the miners,
who were smarting under their grievances and
roused to action by the destitution of their fam-
ilies, which they justly attributed to the conduct
of the company, and after a cool and deliberate
consultation they concluded to take action them-
selves, and not wait for the uncertain and tor-
tuous windings of the law. About midnight
Friday, June 30, 1876, about one hundred rnen
comprised of the "Golden Chariot" employes,
and miners from other mines, assembled and pro-
ceeded to the office of the company, located near
the mill, and conducted the superintendent, M.
A. Baldwin, to a house at Fairview and placed
him under guard, at the same time informing
him that he would not be released unless assur-
ance was given that the employes of the com-
pany would receive their just dues. Everything
was conducted in a very peaceable manner, and
Mr. Baldwin's wants fully provided for. On the
assurance of the San Francisco officials of the
company that the pay of the miners would be
forthcoming, Mr. Baldwin was released from
durance vile on July 21, 1876. and allowed to pro-
ceed to San Francisco. He returned from there
a month later, and the miners were paid off as
promised, and operations for a short period re-
236
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
sumed, but eventually the mine was closed down
and has, with the exception of an occasional
spurt, remained in sta*"u quo ever since.
SILVER CITY.
Silver City is a flourishing mining camp in
southwestern Idaho, containing a population of
nearly two thousand people. It was laid out in
1864 and through its mining interests is known
in nearly every quarter of the globe. The town
lies in a canyon, on the headwaters of Jordan
creek, and at an altitude of about 6,300 feet. War
Eagle mountain on the east, and Florida moun-
tain on the west, rise to heights of about eight
thousand feet, the former being the higher and
the most prominent peak in southern Idaho.
From the summit of War Eagle mountain, on a
clear summer's morning, with the aid of a tele-
scope one can see the Teton range in Wyoming,
the southwestern corner of Montana, the Was-
atch range in Utah, a butte in Washington, four
hundred and twenty-five miles northwesterly,
and glimpses within the state lines of Nevada,
California and Oregon.
The climate during the summer months is
nearly perfect, the days never getting very warm,
and the nights so cool that quite a weight of
clothing is necessary for comfort. Mosquitoes,
gnats or fleas are unknown. In the winter the
snow sometimes falls to considerable depth, but
the cold is not severe, and teaming of an\' char-
acter can be done at all seasons.
The social life of Silver City is free from the
petty jealousies and heart-burnings that are so
common in small places, where the "upper ten"
and "codfish aristocracy" swell over their infe-
riors. Here there is a pleasant, natural commin-
gling between all classes, and a cordial hospitality
rules society. Church services are conducted at
odd intervals, there being no resident ministers.
The ^lasonic order has two lodges in Silver City,
— chapter and blue lodge, — and Odd Fellows
three,— encampment, subordinate and Rebekah.
The Knights of Pythias are also represented with
a strong lodge. Silver City Union, No. 66, of
the W. F. of M., was organized August 8, 1896,
the first officers installed being: O. D. Brum-
baugh, president; Simon Harris, vice president;
W. H. Hutchins, financial secretary; D. C. Wil-
son, recording secretary: Thomas James, treas-
urer; T. W. Drew, conductor pro tem.; and J.
IMcLeavey, warden pro tem.
Since its organization the union has paid out
in benefits to members and their families about
six thousand dollars, and also expended fourteen
hundred and fifty dollars on the Miners' hospital,
of Silver City, which was openea during the latter
part of October, 1897.
Besides the social position which this associa-
tion holds in the community, it has ever been
ready to preserve the harmony which exists be-
tween the large mining companies and their em-
ployes. Its membership in 1898 was five hun-
dred and twenty-five, all m good standing, and
financially the union has ever kept itself in a
flourishing condition.
Silver City has six general merchandise stores,
two hardware stores, a tin shop, two meat mar-
kets, two hotels, four restaurants, eight saloons,
bakery, one shoe shop^ a photograph gallery,
brewery, soda-bottling works, two livery stables,
a feed store, three drug stores, a jeweler, three
blacksmith shops, a furniture store, two lum-
ber yards, a tailor shop, three barber shops,
a newspaper, four law-yers, two doctors, etc.,
etc.
This is essentially a mining town and is wholly
dependent upon this industry for its support and
prosperity. The whistle of hoisting and mill en-
gines, and the sullen roar of giant-powder blasts,
are music to her people. She has four stamp
mills carrying an aggregate of fifty stamps, and
two arastras. The mines are about equally di-
vided between War Eagle and Florida moun-
tains, each being covered with a network of veins
carrying precious metals.
War Eagle mountain is of granite formation.
The veins lie generally north and south and the
mountain is traversed east and west by numerous
porphyry dykes. Generally speaking, the bonan-
za ore bodies found in that locality have been
where the veins came in contact with these dykes.
The ores of this mountain are free milling and
carry a nice percentage of gold, the bullion run-
ning from $3.50 to $13.00 per ounce. War Eagle
has a credited production record of about thirty
millions of dollars, taken out during the first ten
years of the camp's history.
Florida mountain, until very lately, was con-
sidered to be of porphyry formation with some
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
237
granite upheavals, but the deep mining now done
by the companies operating tnereon has exploded
this idea, and demonstrated that the rock masses
are of granite, capped with porphyry. The veins
of this mountain also maintain a north and south
course, but dykes are not as common as on War
Eagle. The ores, too, generally carry more iron,
requiring concentration before amalgamation.
Some of the largest and most exclusive gold
veins in the camp are found on Florida moun-
tain, which furnished the rich auriferous deposits
that attracted the attention of the early prospect-
ors to this camp. Florida mountain is covered to
considerable depth by gravel and loam, making it
extremely difficult to prospect, but when access
to her treasure vaults is once obtained, powder,
steel and muscle are sure to win.
The country surrounding Silver City abounds
in game of all kinds, and the mountain streams
are plentifully supplied with speckled trout, mak-
ing it a grand locality for camping parties in the
heated term. Grouse, sage hens and prairie
chickens are numerous. In the higher mountains
deer are found in large numbers, and antelope
are frequently seen in isolated valleys near South
mountain, and on the lava beds which skirt the
southern boundarv of the countv.
THE IDAHO HOTEL.
The Idaho Hotel, of Silver City,
first
erected at Ruby City, Owyhee county, as early
as 1863, by J. K. Eastman; and the following
year, when Silver City was started, the building
was taken down and moved to the latter place.
Mr. Eastman conducted the hotel for a time and
then sold it to Tim Regan and M. McGregor,
who were the proprietors and managers until
December, 1889, when S. T. N. Smith purchased
the establishment. He conducted the hostelry
until April, 1898, when it was bought bv Shea,
iMcLain & Getchel, who are now running it as a
first-class hotel.
It has sixty well furnished rooms, a large and
commodious sample room, a stage office and an
express office. The present proprietors, ener-
getic, ambitious and polite, take great delight in
preserving the fine prestige of the institution and
even of making all the improvements that may be
demanded by varying circumstances. They have
a large patronage of the first class.
TRADE DOLLAR ^^NING AND .MILLING
COMPANY.
The Trade Dollar Mining and Milling Com-
pany was incorporated under the laws of the
state of Kentucky, in July, 1891. The head-
quarters of the company are at Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania, and the present officers are: President,
Hon. J. M. Guffey: vice president, A. W. Mellon:
secretary and treasurer, T. B. McKaig; superin-
tendent, James Hutchinson; foreman, Joe H.
Hutchinson; accountant, L. J. Weldon. The
company owns the following mines located on
the southern slope of the Florida mountain, all of
which are patented: Colorado, Sierra Nevada,
Jumbo, South Pluto, Black Bart, J. G. Blaine,
Pluto, Pluto millsite. Trade Dollar, Fraction,
Blaine Extension, Caroline: and the following
claims unpatented: Alpine, Harrison, Alleghany,
Standard and Little Chief.
The company did not have a patented claim
when Mr. Hutchinson assumed charge, and
three-fourths of the producing territory at the
present time is from claims acquired since he as-
sumed charge. The property to-day ranks with
the best paying properties on the Pacific coast.
At the present time there is over three miles of
track laid, railed and tied; and over five miles of
tunnels, drifts, adits, etc. The main tunnel is
3,854 feet in length, and connects with the Black
Jack tunnel at its northern boundary. The com-
pany plant is very complete, consisting of a ten-
stamp combination mill, office buildings, depart-
ment shops, bunk and boarding houses, Inger-
soll-Sergeant air compressor, compound Corliss
engine, drill press, lathe — in fact, a full and com-
plete mining and milling outfit.
The officers at the eastern end have been
liberal and progressive, and the management at
this end conservative and intelligent. While it
mav seem preposterous, the facts are that the
Trade Dollar in 1897 paid larger dividends than
anv one mine in Cripple Creek, according to pub-
lished records of dividends.
CUJIBERLAND GOLD MINE.
This mine, which is located on the eastern side
of War Eagle mountain, is owned by James
Shaw, and has been operated under bond by
Sonneman & Branscomhe, of Spokane, since
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
September, 1897, since which time the property
has been equipped with hoist, shaft house, ore
house, and other improvements made necessary
for extensive work.
The situation is on the mineral zone which
contains all the famous properties of War Eagle
mountain, and on the system of veins on which
are located the Oro Fino, Elmore, Golden
Chariot, Minnesota, Mahogany, the aggregate
production of which, amounting to thirty-six mil-
lion dollars, did much towards producing the
enormous amount of gold bullion produced by
Owvhee county in the past. The Cumberland is
the southerly extension of the Oro Fino, a cele-
brated producer, and a parallel location to the
Golden Chariot, which carried pay ore to a depth
of one thousand five hundred feet, and has a rec-
ord of shipments through Wells-Fargo express of
fourteen million dollars. The Cumberland is
virgin ground, and is proving on development to
be as rich as any of the adjacent properties. It
is the second quartz property to have been
opened in Owyhee county, the Oro Fino, on the
same vein, being an earlier location. In the early
sixties, a no-foot shaft was sunk on the Cum-
berland vein, and some stoping done on the
richest ore ; but, on account of the large amount
of trouble from the placer miners, and the depth
demanding a poyver hoisting plant, work was
stopped, and the shaft quickly filled to the collar
with the debris washed down the canyon. The
property eventually passed into the hands of
Shaw, who has run upwards of 200 feet of tunnel
on the vein above the collar of the old sliaft.
Most of the ground above this tunnel he has
stoped, and, in spite of large expense attached to
hauling, arastra milling, and large loss in tail-
ings, the greater percentage of the silver value
escaping, has averaged a clean-up of over one
hundred dollars per ton.
The ore is quartz, occasionally stained by
small percentage of copper, and carrying nothing
else but silver and gold, in proportion of one
ounce of gold to ten of silver, or, at present quo-
tations, eighty per cent, gold and twenty per
cent, silver. Very, often the gold percentage
will exceed ninety, but never less than eighty.
The gold values are entirely free-milling, the sil-
ver occurring as silver glance (argentite), and
occasionallv as native silver.
On securing the property, Sonneman & Brans-
combe immediately commenced to secure depth,
by sinking a winse in the Shaw tunnel, and by
cleaning out and sinking to greater depth the
old shaft, unentered for thirty years. Besides the
increased value and size of ledge in the winse, the
showings uncovered in the old shaft are most
pleasing. Considerable stoping had been done
to within forty feet of the bottom, but, in the faces
of these old stopes, a vein is left which pays well
to extract, and below these stopes, to the bottom
of the shaft, and in the bottom, is a good vein
ready for stoping and of high-grade ore. During
the winter the work will be continued by sinking
shaft, which has a present depth of one hundred
and seventy-five feet, by three shifts, and pushing
both the one hundred foot level and the Shaw
tunnel ahead. These developments are made jus-
tifiable by the presence of ore in the faces of both
tunnels, the vein in the shaft being nearly two
feet in width, and running over two and one-half
ounces in gold and thirty ounces in silver.
While all development indicates that the ore
bodies in the Cumberland will equal in richness
and tonnage those of the adjacent properties, the
fact is already proven that in this mine is a
strong, perfectly continuous ledge, the ore chute
being three hundred feet long and of an average
width of twelve inches, which will, yield to ordi-
nary mill methods a return sufficient to reward
the investors heavily and encourage others to in-
vestigate, develop and reopen the long neglected
veins of War Eagle mountain.
DE LAMAR.
The town of De Lamar is prettily nestled in a
cluster of hills, prominent among which is the
De Lamar mountain, distant sixty miles from the
capital, Boise City, and nine miles from the coun-
ty seat, Silver City. It is lighted electrically, and
supplied with telegraphic and telephonic com-
munications with the outer world. The town is
located on the banks of Jordan creek, famous in
the early history of Owyhee county, the ap-
proaches of the town being lined with well built
residences. In the center of the town is located
the plant of the De Lamar Mining Company,
Limited, consisting of mill buildings, department
shops, offices, hotel and bunk houses, and sur-
rounded by the principal mercantile houses. A
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
little farther on, still within the hearing of the
hum of industry, is another branch of the town,
called by the residents "Tough Town," which in
mercantile activity fully equals that of the town
proper. From there the road to Oregon is
skirted by the residences of ranchers, teamsters,
milk dealers and woodmen, with here and there
an occasional evidence of mining industry, such
as the Henrietta mill, Jones' mill, and John
Scales' mill, at Wagontown.
The earliest settlement was at old Wagon-
town, located about two miles below the center of
the town of De Lamar, which was a road station
on the stage line running from Silver City to
Winnemucca, Nevada. The first mine was lo-
cated by J. W. Stoddard, which was afterwards
patented, and is now a portion of the De Lamar
group. John A. Wilson was the discoverer of the
Wilson mine, which forms the nucleus of the
De Lamar group. He disposed of his properties
in September, 1888, to Captain De Lamar, who
subsequently purchased the Sommercamp and
Lepley claims. Captain De Lamar vigorously
developed his properties, erecting mill, hotel, and
other necessary buildings. Peter Adams opened
a boarding house, and Tom Jones, John Arvid-
son, Lewis Walker and others erected buildings,
and 1890 found the town in a booming condition,
and with a good-sized future. Montie B. Gwinn,
of Caldwell, and others, opened a general mer-
chandise store, under the name of the De Lamar
Mercantile Company, which is now being carried
on by Isay & Gombrig.
In the early part of 1891, Captain De Lamar
disposed of his entire interests to the De Lamar
Mining Company, Limited, an incorporated com-
pany of London, England, who have since their
inception made many substantial improvements,
besides erecting a substantial hotel, with first-
class appointments, taking the place of the one
erected by Captain De Lamar, which was de-
stroyed by fire; and it is largely due to the un-
ceasing application of the resident managers that
the company possesses a plant whose standard of
excellence is unexcelled by that of any mining
company in this portion of the west. The
claims of the De Lamar Company number-
ing about forty, are located on De Lamar moun-
tain, and in the vicinity are located the Big T,
Silver \'ault, Garfield, Lepley, and many other
promising mining properties, which are being ex-
ploited with excellent results. The De Lamar
hotel, owned by the mining company, is ably
managed.
The public schools are in a flourishing condi-
tion, under excellent supervision, with a member-
ship of about one hundred and fifty pupils.
A flourishing miners' union, a lodge of Odd
Fellows, with a Rebekah lodge, comprise the se-
cret organizations, and the welfare of the town
is generally looked after by the De Lamar Nug-
get, a spicy and entertaining newspaper men-
tioned in the chapter concerning the press of the
state.
The De Lamar Mining Company, Limited,
was incorporated in March, 1891, under the laws
of Great Britain, with a nominal capital of 400,-
000 shares of one pound sterling each. The prin-
cipal officers of the company in 1898 were:
Francis Muir, Esq., of London, chairman board
of directors; Charles Pakeman, Esq., of London,
secretary board of directors; D. B. Huntley, resi-
dent manager; E. V. Orford, accountant and resi-
dent assistant manager; and Thomas Davey,mine
foreman. The company are the owners of about
forty mining claims and mill-sites, mostlv pat-
ented, and situated at the town of De Lamar.
These several groups of mines were located in
the eighties, and in 1887 were purchased of the
original owners by Captain J. R. De Lamar, who
in the early part of 1891 disposed of them to the
De Lamar Mining Company, Limited, the pur-
chase price, it is said, being about two millions of
dollars.
The working openings of the mines embrace
about six miles, and the main workings of the
property extend seven hundred feet in vertical
depth; and beyond this an incline shaft is now
being sunk for prospecting purposes. A three-
rail gravity tramway, about two thousand and
three hundred feet in length, connects the mines
with the mill, which is a pan-amalgamation
plant, equipped with forty stamps, twenty-eight
pans, etc., and has a capacity of treating one hun-
dred and fifty tons of ore daily. Connected with
this mill is a fifty-ton plant of the Pelaton-Clerici
cyanide process. These mills are run by a Corliss
engine of two hundrefl and fiftv horse power,
and for about three months in the spring of the
year the water power is utilized by means of a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
six-foot Pelton water wheel. The plant owned by
the company is the most complete one in this sec-
tion of the country, consisting of hotel and office
buildings, store houses, department shops, mill,
assay buildings, bunk and boarding houses, tram-
ways, etc., and is covered by an insurance of fully
one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.
The company also carries a large stock of wood
and other material, and duplicates of machinery,
in which there is a large amount invested. The
mills and mines give employment to about two
hundred men, there being no interruption to the
work, except on prominent holidays.
The energy and perseverance of the local man-
agers, together with the liberal support of the
home management, has placed this company in
the foremost rank of the best mining properties
of the west, and the gross output since the or-
ganization of the company to date amounts to
over five million dollars.
The Miners' Union of De Lamar is the oldest
existing branch of the W. F. of M. in Owvhee
countv, and was organized on April i8. 1896, the
first officers installed being: President, J. J.
Bennett; vice-president, Thomas Duncalf: re-
cording secretary, Samuel Honey ; financial secre-
tary, Ed. Wood; treasurer, William Cayzer; con-
ductor, Charles Morris ; warden, William Brash-
er; trustees, James H. Rodda, Fred Tyack?, John
Pascoe. Richard Temby and Henry Warren.
Since its organization the Miners' Union of De
Lamar has paid out in benefits to members and
their families some four thousand dollars, and,
aside from its social features, has been ever the
means of maintaining the harmonious feeling
which exists between the De Lamar company and
its employes. Its present membership amounts
to one hundred and fifty, all in good standing.
Its financial affairs are in a flourishing condition,
and the great good it has accomplished in De
Lamar is acknowledged by all.
DEWEY.
The town of Booneville was first settled in the
summer of 1863, the first inhabitant being Cap-
tain Boone, from whom the town was named.
For a time the town enjoyed a large population,
and was in a very prosperous condition ; but sub-
sequently fell into decay, and for a good many
years was simply a stopping place for wayfarers.
stages and teamsters, the only building of prom-
inence being the old Booneville hotel. In the
spring of i8g6, the hotel and surrounding prop-
erty was purchased by Colonel W. H. Dewey,
and operations were at once set on foot for the
improvement of the town. During the summer
of 1896, the Florida M. & M. Company erected
a twenty-stamp mill, which is by far one of the
largest and best equipped in the west. The Hotel
Dewey was also erected, a large and commodious
building, whose appointments and architectural
structure are unequaled bv any hotel in the state.
The building is of the southern hotel order, three
stories in height, surmounted by a large cupola,
and fronted with a double portico. The building
is thirty by sixty feet, with an L of thirty by sev-
enty-eight feet. To the left of the hall are the
bar-rooms, card-rooms and the store-rooms, the
bar fittings being very elaborate, and unexcelled
in this section of the country. To the right of the
hall are the offices, reading-room, billiard-room
and wash-room. The hall terminates with the
dining-room and kitchen, and the upper stories
are devoted to parlors and rooms, single and en
suite, elegantly furnished with modern-style fur-
niture, equal to that of any caravansary on the
coast. In the third story is a large hall, com-
pletely fitted up for theatricals, dances and other
amusements. The hotel is heated by steam-heat-
ing apparatus of the latest pattern, and lighted
by an electrical plant supplied by the mill, and
the sanitary and sewerage conditions are as per-
fect as can be made by labor and science.
Adjoining the hotel are the offices of the Flori-
da M. & M. Company, and the residence of the
superintendent, both of which are of modern de-
sign, artistic structure and substantial erection.
Facing the hotel, several substantial buildings
have been erected, viz., general store, butcher
shop, steam laundry, barber shop, variety store,
postoffice, livery stable and barn, etc., and in
the upper part of the store building is a large hall,
fitted up for lodge rooms, assemblages, etc.
The water facilities and fire system of the town
are the best to be found in any mining camp this
side of the Rocky mountains, the water being
piped from natural springs located nearly two
miles from the town, and conveyed to lanks hav-
ing a capacity of 1,500 barrels, situated at an ele-
vation of about three hundred and fifty feet on
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
241
the hill east of the hotel, giving a pressure of
about two hundred and forty pounds to the
square inch through a four-inch main, to twelve
fire-plugs located in diiTerent parts of the town;
and thereby securing for the town an almost com-
plete immunity from fire. There has also been
constructed an ice house and slaughter house,
and, in fact, nothing has been neglected in the
way of making the town complete as to conven-
iences for its inhabitants, as well as an illustration
of what can be done by applied energy and in-
dustry.
In the spring of 1897, through the efTorts of
Colonel Dewey, a postofifice was established, and
th.e name of the town changed to Dewey, in com-
pliment to its founder: and James Gartland, the
genial accountant of the F. M. & M. Company,
and affable manager of the Hotel Dewey, re-
ceived the appointment of postmaster.
The town of Dewey is located at the base of
Florida mountain, and in easy distance of all the
principal mining properties located on that
mountain, and is also the terminal point of the
B. N. & O. R. R. Company, now in course of
construction.
REYNOLDS CREEK.
Reynolds Creek valley is sixteen miles from
Silver City and fifteen from Snake river. The
earliest settlers here were Thomas Carson, Joseph
Babbington and James C. Bernard, who came in
the spring of 1864. Since then the valley has
been settled rapidly, the population now number-
ing over two hundred. The chief productions of
the valley are hay, grain and fruit, which find a
ready market at the mining camps, and consid-
erable attention is given also to the rearing of
live stock.
The village itself is characterized principally
by J. M. Brunzeirs hotel and Share's stage-house.
The latter well known resort, familiar to the pa-
trons of the California, Oregon & Idaho Stage
Company, as well as to the wayfaring public in
general, was opened in April, 1877, by Charles E.
Share, as a stage station and teamsters" headquar-
ters, and has been continued by him ever since
without interruption.
GUFFEY.
This village is the present terminal point of
the Boise, Nampa & Owyhee Railroad, located
at the Snake river, thirty miles from Silver City
and one mile below the railroad bridge of the
B., N. & O. Railroad. The first building was
erected May 27, 1897, by Fred Brunzell, and the
town now comprises a general store, express and
post offices, hotel, blacksmith shop, livery stables,
stage barns, boarding-houses, etc., and enjoys a
population of over a hundred, with indications
of a steady increase.
The railroad bridge at Gufifev was completed
by the Boise, Nampa & Owyhee Railroad Com-
pany during the summer of 1897. The height
from low water to the track is fifty feet. The
bridge consists of two spans, each two hundred
and fifty feet in length.
GRAND VIEW.
This post office is located on the south side of
the Snake river, forty-five miles from Silver City
and twenty-two miles from Mountain Home. It
is an outlet for a large scope of agricultural coun-
try, there being several fine ranches in the back
country and vicinity. It is also the headquar-
ters of the Owyhee Land & Irrigation Company,
who are the owners of a fine, substantial hotel
and store, besides the ferry.
The chief productions of the valleys and
ranches bordering on the canal are hay, grain
and fruits, which are raised in large quantities,
and considerable attention is given to placer-min-
ing along the banks of the Snake river.
The earliest settlers here v\ere Captain White,
John McVann, Wenzel Turmes and Henry
Dorsey.
BRUNEAU DAM.
This dam, located on Bruneau river, a mile and
a half above its mouth, was constructed by the
Owyhee I,and & Irrigation Company, is twenty -
five feet high and one hundred and ninety feet
wide at the bottom, and a hundred and eighty
feet long at the top. Upon this foundation is a
crib dam, made of iron and timber, one hundred
and seventy-six feet long on the crest, terminat-
ing at each end in vertical masonry abutments.
At the south side are the headgates of the
canal, having an opening of forty feet in width,
and from this point the canal follows the contours
about ten miles in a westerly direction and at a
distance of one to two miles south of Snake
river.
243
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Bruneau valley is situated in the northeastern
part of Owyhee county, is fourteen miles in
length and one to two miles wide. The Bruneau
river flows through the center of the valley and
empties into the Snake river.
The earliest settlers in this valley were John
Turner, " Jncle Abe" Roberson, James H. Whit-
son and B. F. Hawes, who located here in the
sixties.
Fruit, grain and hay, especially the latter, are
the chief products of the soil. Some live stock,
including sheep, is raised. The horses bred and
reared here are as good as the average in the
best' of localities. The temperature rarely falls
to zero.
The town of Bruneau has a general store, hotel,
postofifice, blacksmith shop, etc.
HOT SPRINGS.
Hot Springs district comprises the upper half
of the beautiful valley of the Bruneau, and takes
its name from the innumerable hot springs which
are located mainly on the ranches of the Rober-
sons, Arthur Pence and Lewis & Olsen. The
soil is extremely fertile and abundantly watered
by the Bruneau river, and the ranches are noted
not alone for their picturesque beauty but also
for their large productions of hay, cereals, fruit,
etc.
THE OREANA VALLEY
embraces Picket, Hart's and Catherine creeks,
and is about fifteen miles long, one to three miles
wide and has many creeks. Grain, hay and fruit
are the principal productions.
The town of Oreana has a general store, black-
smith shop and school, besides the postoffice,
which was established here in 1884.
The earliest settlers here were James and John
Driscoll and Tim Shea, who located here early in
the sixties.
CASTLE CREEK VALLEY
is about fifteen miles long and one to two miles
wide, through which flows the beautiful creek.
Farming and stock-raising are the chief indus-
tries, the valley being good for hay.
The earliest settlers in this valley were Captain
G. W. Paul, M. H. Presbv, P. S. Cooper and
W. H. Barnes.
^
CHAPTER XXII.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
CHRISTOPHER W. MOORE.
ONE of the honored pioneers and distin-
guished citizen of Boise is the well
known president of the First National
Bank of Idaho, Christopher Wilkinson Moore.
To him there has come the attainment of a dis-
tinguished position in connection with the great
material industries of the state, and his efforts
have been so discerningly directed along well
defined lines that he seems to have realized at
any one point of progress the full measure of his
possibilities for accomplishment at that point. A
man of distinct and forceful individuality, of
broad mentality and most mature judgment, he
has left and is leaving his impress upon the in-
dustrial world. For years he has been an im-
portant factor in the development of the natural
resources of the state, in the upbuilding of the
capital city and in the promotion of the enter-
prises which add not alone to his individual pros-
perity, but also advance the general welfare and
prosperity of the city in which he makes his
home.
Mr. Moore was born in Toronto, Canada, No-
vember 30, 1835, and is of Scotch-Irish descent.
His parents, Christopher and Eliza (Crawford)
Moore, spent the greater part of their lives in
and near Toronto, Canada, where the father en-
gaged in farming and merchandising. They
were both members of the Methodist church, and
their well spent lives won them the deserved es-
teem of their fellow men. The father departed
this life in his seventieth year, and the mother
in the sixty-sixth year of her age. They were
the parents of six children, four of whom are now
living.
Mr. Moore of this review acquired his educa-
tion in the schools of Toronto, Canada, and of
Wisconsin, and on the 5th of May, 1852, started
with his parents and family, in company with a
party, for the Pacific coast. He was then onlv
in his seventeenth vear. The journev was made
across the plains to Oregon with teams, and they
experienced many hardships and trials before
their destination was reached. They had in their
train about three hundred head of cattle and
horses, and Mr. Moore was one of the drivers.
The stock of advance emigrants had eaten all
the grass near the trail at watering places, and
taking a buffalo robe with him, he frequently,
with one other person, would drive the stock sev-
eral miles from the trail to a point where they
could find feed. There, wrapping themselves in
the robes, they would lie down and sleep, while
the stock grazed. At daybreak they would peer
cautiously from their hiding places, and if there
were no Indians in sight, would catch their horses
and drive the stock back to camp.
On one occasion they made a drive of forty
miles, during which time they had no feed or
water, to Snake river, where they found no feed
could be secured on that side of the stream, and
consequently it became necessary to swim acros.s
to where they could see an abundance of good
grass. Mr. Moore and another boy undertook
this, and after getting the stock in the river they
followed on their horses. After a time it became
evident that they were making but little head-
way. His companion and his horse sank in a
whirlpool. After a few seconds they came up
at different points, and Mr. Moore called to the
young man to catch the horse by the tail and
let him troll him out. He answered that he could
swim out alone, but as he was hampered by his.
boots and clothing, made little progress and after-
ward was engulfed in another whirlpool. Several
days later the body was seen on the rocks in
Salmon Falls, some distance down the river. A
number of years later, when Mr. ]^Ioore was one-
evening in the company of a number of travelers,^
at a wayside inn between the Columbia river and
Puget Sound, one of them told how his son was
drowned in the Snake river while he and another
boy were driving stock across Mr. Moore at
241
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
once said: "1 was the other boy!" The old
gentleman was greatly affected and asked many
questions about his lost son.
On another occasion, only a few days later,
Mr. Moore was connected with a typical experi-
ence of the pioneer emigrant. A white man was
found shot, not far from camp, — the deed of an
Indian, it was thought. The murderer was
tracked in the sand until finally the footprints
led to the river where the sand was wet. There
the impressions were those of a man's boots, with
heels on ; so it was known that the murderer was
a white man and not an Indian. The track was
followed until they succeeded in arresting the
criminal, who, it seems, in company with the
murdered man, had found a stray cow on the
Sweetwater river, which the other -man insisted
on retaining. Several weeks later the murderer,
finding this man lying on the sand one day,
guarding the stock while grazing, came up to
him with the remark, "Now I will get even on
you!" He then drew a revolver and shot him in
the head. After the arrest of the criminal a jurv
•of six men was chosen from a neutral train, and,
the verdict of guilty being rendered, the mur-
derer was blindfolded and shot, and both buried
in the same grave!
Such are some of the experiences which at-
tended the early crossing of the great plains. The
men who came to found homes in the west had
to endure many hardships. There was constant
danger of Indian attacks. The efforts of such
men as Mr. Moore, however, have wrought a
great transformation, and the law-abiding settle-
ments, the flourishing towns and enterprising
cities of Idalio form a state which occupies a
creditable place in the Union. Rich in natural
resources, its future history will be still more
creditable than its past, and on its annals will be
found the name of Christopher W. ]\Ioore as one
who aided in its splendid development.
On coming to the west he first engaged in
raising, buying and selling live stock, and ship-
ping to Puget Sound and Victoria, British Co-
lumbia. His efforts in that direction were at-
tended w-ith success, and thus he gained a good
start in business life. In 1862 he went to north-
ern Idaho, and the following year came to where
Boise now is, with the expectation of remaining
onlv a few months: Inn the citv has since been
his home, and through the intervening years he
has been prominently connected with the growth
and development of its business interests. He-
was first actively engaged in merchandising, sell-
ing goods in Booneville. Ruby City and Silver
City. He was the first merchant of Owyhee
county. He continued his mercantile operations,
with excellent success, until 1867, when, in con-
nection with ]\lessrs. B. M. DuRell, William
Roberts and D. W. Ballard, the last named the
governor of Idaho, they organized the First Na-
tional Bank of Idaho, at Boise. Mr. DuRell was
the first president and Mr. Moore the first cash-
ier. He is now the only survivor among the gen-
tlemen who organized the institution. He con-
tinued to serve as cashier for nine years, or until
1876, after which he was a member of the direc-
torate until 1890, and in that year was elected
president, in which capacity he has since served
with marked fidelity and ability. Not a little
of the success of the bank is due to his progres-
sive efforts, wise policy and sound judgment. The
bank is capitalized for one hundred thousand dol-
lars and has rendered dividends to the amount
of eight hundred thousand dollars. It was the
second national bank organized west of the
Rocky mountains, its predecessor being the First
National Bank of Portland, Oregon. It has been
a credit to the city and its history has been one
of eminent success.
Mr. Moore is a man of resourceful business
ability, whose efforts have been by no means con-
fined to one line of endeavor. In various other
ways he has promoted the material w-elfare of
Boise. He is president of the Artesian Hot and
Cold Water Company, which furnishes hot and
cold water to most of the best residences and
buildings of the city, obtaining its supplies of hot
water from artesian wells two and one-half miles
distant. He first introduced hot-water heating
into his own home and the system was gradually
extended until the business has become an im-
portant enterprise of the city. In connection,
they also conduct a splendid natatorium, with
one exception the largest and finest bathing es-
tablishment in the west. He is also one of the
directors of the Capital Electric Light & Power
Company, who furnish an ample supply of light
and power for the needs of the city. Mr. Moore
is interested in several other lines of business, and
6 3
3 I
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
245
has been largely concerned in farming and stocK-
raising, but has now turned over that line of busi-
ness to his sons. He carries forward to success-
ful completion whatever ne undertakes and his
labors have been crowned with success.
On the 3d of July, 1865, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Moore and Miss Catharine
Minear, of West Virginia, one of the pioneer
members of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Boise, and a lady most highly esteemed for her
many graces of character. Their union has been
blessed with six children, — three sons and three
daughters, — namely: Alice, wife of Dr. H. L.
Bettis; Laura B., wife of J. W. Cunningham;
Crawford, Anna L., Marion P. and Raymond H.
The sons, Crawford and Marion, are now en-
gaged in stock-raising. The family residence is
one of the most commodious and beautiful homes
in the county, surrounded with large and well
kept grounds which furnish a fitting setting to the
palatial dwelling.
Smce attaining his majority, ]\Ir. }iIoore has
exercised his right of franchise in support of the
men and measures of the Republican party and
is a stalwart advocate of its principles. He be-
longs to no secret or social organizations save the
Pioneer Society of Idaho, of which he is now
president. He has been very successful in his
business life and as a citizen is regarded as of
the highest worth.
JOHN L. WEAVER.
Among the distinguished citizens of Boise is
Hon. John L. Weaver, who is now serving as
adjutant-general of the state. For many years a
prominent representative of the Christian minis-
try, honored and respected in every class of so-
ciety, he has for some time been a leader in
thought and action in the public life of the state
and his name is inscribed high on the roll of
fame, his honorable and brilliant career adding
luster to the history of Idaho.
General Weaver was born in Switzerland
county. Indiana, May 26, 1856, and is descended
from Swiss, French and Scotch ancestors, who
early became residents of America. ^lany years
ago the Weaver family resided in Pennsylvania,
hut the grandfather of our subject removed to
Indiana during the pioneer epoch of that com-
monwealth, and Robert F. Weaver, father of
the General, was born in Switzerland county.
Having arrived at years of maturity, he married
Miss Jane Banta, who was also a native of that
county. Industrious and enterprising, he became
one of the substantial farmers of the Hoosier
state, where he made his home until his death,
which occurred when he had attained the age of
seventy-seven years. His wife has also departed
this life. They were Universalists in religious
faith, and their sterling worth won them the re-
gard of all. Of their family of ten children, seven
are yet living.
General Weaver, who is the youngest, acquired
his literary education in colleges of Indiana, and
later began reading law. Having largely mastered
the principles of jurisprudence, he was admitted
to the Indiana bar and practiced in that state
until his removal to Des Moines, Iowa, where
he was ordained as a minister of the Christian
church, in January, 1890. He filled the pulpit of
the Christian church in Perry, Iowa, for a time,
then accepted a call from the church in East Des
Moines, and in the years 1892-3-4 was engaged
in evangelistic work. On the expiration of that
period he came to Boise and accented the pas-
torate of the Christian church in this city. He
is a forceful, earnest and convincing speaker.
His addresses are always logical and instructive,
showing careful thought and deep research, and
whether in the pulpit or on the political platform
his words have that strength and eloquence which
arise from the speaker's belief in the thoughts he
is presenting.
With a just appreciation of the duties of citi-
zenship. General Weaver has studied closely the
political problems which afifect the welfare of the
nation, and for many years gave an unwavering
support to the men and measures of tne Repub-
lican party: but, when he could no longer agree
with that organization on account of the atti-
tude which is assumed on the money question, he
withdrew from its ranks and in 1896 became an
advocate of W. J. Bryan in his candidacy for the
presidency. He has since affiliated with the
Democratic party, and in 1898 was appointed by
Governor Stuenenberg to the position of adju-
tant-general of Idaho to fill the vacancy caused
by the resignation ot General B. W. Fisrgins. who
went with the Idaho volunteers to Alanila and
is now engaged in service in th: Philippines.
246
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
General Weaver entered upon his duties May i6.
1898. and has entire supervision of the miHtary
forces of the state. His conscientious purpose
and fidelity insure a faithful performance of duty,
which his strong mentality will also render ca-
pable.
(Jn the igth of February. 1880. General
Weaver married Miss Ida M. Jayne, a native of
Indiana, and a daughter of Celey Jayne, of that
state, who was killed while serving as an officer
in the Union army during the civil war. Mr. and
Mrs. Weaver have three daughters: Lucile, Lot-
tie J. and Rachel Mary. Mrs. Weaver has for
ten years been supreme chief of the Rathbone
Sisters of the World, the ladies' department of
the Knights of Pythias fraternity. She was a
delegate from Iowa to the World's Columbian
Exposition, in Chicago, being also a delegate to
the National Congress of Women. General
Weaver belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge
and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
is past grand high priest of the encampment and
past brigadier-general of the patriarchs militant.
He is a gentleman of marked ability, of scholar-
ly attainments and superior mental culture, and,
while commanding the respect of those with
whom he has come in contact in public life, in
private he has won the love and warm regard of
many friends by his many admirable traits of
character and good qualities of heart and mind.
WILLI.\M H. REDWAY.
Business enterprise and success at Caldwell,
Idaho, have an able representative in the subject
of this sketch, William H. Redway, dealer in
hardware and groceries.
He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, De-
cember IT, 1858, son of A. G. Redway, an hon-
ored pioneer of Idaho, whose history is referred
to at length on another page of this work. Wil-
liam H. was very small at the time the family
came west and settled on the Idaho frontier, and
here he was reared, his education being received
in St. Michael's school at Boise and St. Mark's
school at Salt Lake City, both institutions under
the supervision of the Episcopalian church. After
completing his studies at Salt Lake City he re-
turned to Boise and accepted the agency of the
L'tah, Idaho & Oresron stap-e line, which business
occupied his time and attention for three vears.
During that period he was in what was known
as the Wood river excitement, engaged in mer-
cantile business for eight years. Selling out his
business on \\'ood river, he moved to Salt Lake
City, where he became bookkeeper for a large
dry-goods house. In 1892 he came to Caldwell
and bought out tne mercantile firm of the M. B.
Gwinn Mercantile Company, and has since been
in business at this place, keeping a large and
carefully selected stock of goods and controlling
a large trade, his success being gained through
honorable and upright methods. Mr. Redway
ranks to-day as one of the most prosperous and
popular merchants of the town and stands high
also in the business circles of the state.
October 25, 1891. he married Miss Edith Ja-
cobs, daughter of an honored pioneer of Idaho,
who came here in 1863 and who was one of the
prominent merchants of Boise. Mr. and Mrs.
Redway have three little daughters, Man- E.,
Annie L. and Helen E.
Both he and his wife are members of the Epis-
copal church of Caldwell, and he maintains fra-
ternal relations with the I. O. O. F. and K. of P.
ISA.\C F. SMITH.
Isaac F. Smith, of Weiser, who is serving as
clerk of the district court and ex-ofificio auditor
and recorder of Washington county, was born
in Butte county, California, on the 28th of July,
1854. His father was born in Ohio. Julv 27, 1823,
and married ^liss Josephine C. Whitaker. In
1849 they crossed the plains with ox teams to
California, bringing with them their firstborn.
Walter W. Smith, who is now a resident of
^^'ashington county, Idaho. The father engaged
in mining on Feather river for a time, and in
1854 removed to Nevada and thence to Utah, re-
maining in the latter territorv for nine years. In
1880 he took up his abode in Weiser, Idaho,
where he spent his remaining days, his death
occurring in the home of our suDJect. in 1896,
when he had reached the age of seventy-three.
He was an honorable and worthy citizen, re-
spected by all who knew him. His wife had
died in Silver City, Nevada, at the age of forty-
one years.
Isaac F. Smith, the younger of their two chil-
dren, was educated in the public schools of \'ir-
ginia City, Nevada, and in Oakland. California.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
247
and has been prominently identified with the de-
velopment of the mineral, mercantile and agri-
cultural resources of this section of the country.
He engaged in mining in Utah for six years, was
a clerk in a general mercantile establishment at
Rush Lake, and in 1880 came to Weiser, since
which time he has been one of the leading pro-
moters of many of the best interests of Wash-
ington county. He first entered from the govern-
ment one hundred and sixty acres of land four
miles northwest of the town, built a residence
and made other substantial improvements, and
still owns the property. From 1885 until i8go
he was employed as a salesman in the store of
Mr. Haas, and in the latter year was called to
public office, being nominated by the Republican
party for the office of clerk of the district court
and ex-officio auditor and recorder of Washing-
ton county. He discharged his duties so accept-
ably during his first term that he was renomi-
nated and again elected, and for the third time
has been elected to that position, — a fact which
indicates in an unmistakable manner his fidelity
to duty, his promptness and ability, as well as his
personal popularity.
In 1877 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to
Miss Harriet Hunt, a native of Ogden, Utah,
and a daughter of Marshall Hunt, then residing
in that city. They now have six children: Isaac
F., Harriet H., Walter F., Isadore, Bert and
Hazel. Mr. Smith's name is enrolled among the
members of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
the Masonic fraternity, and he also holds mem-
bership in the Episcopal church. He is now a
silver Republican, dififering from the main branch
of his party on the money question. He keeps
well informed on all the issues of the day and is
therefore able to give an intelligent and earnest
support to the principles in which he so firmly
believes. In Weiser he has a nice home, and he
and his family enjoy the high esteem of all who
know them.
WILLIAM N. NICHOLS.
Among the earnest men whose depths of char-
acter and strict adherence to principle excite the
admiration of his contemporaries, Mr. Nichols
is prominent. He is now the esteemed and ca-
pable chairman of the Owyhee county board of
commissioners and resides at Silver Cit}-. At
present he is connected with various mining and
business interests and is the possessor of an am ■
pie fortune; but the time was when his means
were very limited, and to his own well directed
efforts his success is attributable.
Mr. -N ichols was born in Shelby county, Ohio,
on the 9th of May, 1853, and is of German line-
age. His father, L. H. Nichols, was a native of
Buffalo, New York, and married Miss Anna Bell
Newell, of Pennsylvania. They removed to Wis-
consin, where they made their home for many
years. In 1853, however, the husband and father
crossed the plains to California, where he en-
gaged in mining for some time and then returned
to the Badger state. In 1858 he again crossed
the plains, his destination being Pike's peak. He
was a regular physician and served his country
as a surgeon during the civil war. After the
close of hostilities he returned to his Wisconsin
home, where he resumed the practice of his pro-
fession. He died in 1887, at the age of seventy-
seven years, and his wife passed away at the age
of seventy-eight years. They had a family of six
children, three sons and three daughters, of whom
three are now living.
William N. Nichols, the fourth in order of
birth, was educated in the public schools and in
the State University of Wisconsin. He came to
Silver City, Idaho, on the i8th of June, 1873, ^"d
here engaged in bookkeeping and mining for a
number of years. He was at South mountain
during the "boom" times at that camp, after
which he opened an assay office in Silver City
and acquired a successful business and won an
enviable and wide reputation for the accuracy
and reliability of his work. He was also agent
for the California, Oregon & Idaho Stage Com-
pany at Silver City for a number of years, and
has held many positions of trust and responsibil-
ity during his residence in Owyhee county. In
1878 he was elected a member of the territorial
legislature, and in 1894 was elected county com-
missioner. So ably did he discharge his duties
that he was re-elected in 1896 and is now ser\-ing
as chairman of the board. He is a most progres-
sive and enterprising officer, and has exercised
his official prerogatives to advance many inter-
ests and make many needed reforms. In 1897 he
sold his interest in the Alpine group of mines to
248
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the Trade Dollar Mining Company, but still re-
tains large mining and other business interests,
from which he derives a handsome income. His
capable management of his business affairs and
his enterprise and sound judgment have been
crowned with success, and he is now accounted
one of the substantial citizens of the community.
On the 1st of July, 1880, 'Mr. Nichols was
united in marriage to Miss Ora B. Justice, and
the hospitality of their pleasant home is enjoyed
by many friends. Mr. Nichols has been a life-
long Republican, and now belongs to the silver
wing of that party. He is a most reliable and
capable public officer, who takes a deep interest
in promoting the welfare of county and state. No
trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed, and
he is greatly respected by all who have been at all
familiar with his honorable and useful career.
C. M. SCOTT, M. D.
In viewing the mass of mankind in the varied
occupations of life, the conclusion is forced upon
the observer that in the vast majority of cases
men have sought employment not in the line of
their peculiar fitness but in those fields where
caprice or circumstances have placed them, thus
explaining the reason of the failure of ninety-five
per cent, of those who enter commercial and pro-
fessional circles. In a few cases it seems that
men with a peculiar fitness for a certain line have
taken it up, and marked success has followed.
Such is the fact in the case of the subject of this
biography. Dr. Scott is one of the most capable
physicians in his section of the state, and as pro-
prietor of the Payette Valley Pharmacy, he has
shown that he is endowed with that commercial
instinct and foresight which enable one to enter
into competitive business relations, and bv the
pursuit of honorable business methods gain
prosperity.
A native of Kentucky, he was born in P>ran-
denburg. May 6, 1854. His fatner. Captain Will-
iam Scott, was born in the same state, and mar-
ried Indiana Roberts. He was a steamboat pilot
and was engaged as pilot on General Grant's boat
during the siege of Vicksburg. Although born
and reared in the south, he strongly opposed the
institution of slavery and advocated the cause of
freedom. When the troubles between the two
sections of the country precipitated the nation
into civil war. he took his stand as a stanch
Cnion man and was an ardent admirer and sup-
porter of President Lincoln. Captain Scott died
in the forty-seventh year of his age, and his
wife died at the age of forty-five. They left three
sons, — one a fruit-grower in Anaheim. Califor-
nia, the second a successful lawyer of Seattle,
Washington, and the third the Doctor.
Dr. Scott acquired his early education in Ken-
tucky and afterward attended scnool in Indiana,
for the family, on account of their anti-slavery
views, were obliged to leave Kentucky, and went
to the Hoosier state. Determining to devote his
energies to the practice of medicine, he fitted
himself for the profession by a course in Rush
Medical College, in Chicago, and was graduated
in the class of 1883. He then practiced for a
year in Nebraska, and from 1884 until 1890 en-
gaged in practice in Los Angeles, California,
whence he came to Idaho in the latter year, ar-
riving just the day before the state was admitted
to the Union. He opened an office in Payette,
and at once began practice, meeting with excel-
lent success from the beginning. As he has dem-
onstrated his power to cope with disease and
shown marked skill in the application of the
principles of medical science to the needs of suf-
fering humanity, he has gained a liberal patron-
age and has won rank among the leading physi-
cians in this part of the state. In 1895 he opened
the Payette Valley Pharmacy, which he con-
ducted until the spring of 1899, when he sold the
business.
In 1884 was celebrated the marriage of Dr.
Scott and Miss F. M. Elwood, a native of New
York. Socially he is connected with the Masonic
fraternity, having been made a Master Mason in
York Lodge, No. 56, A. F. & A. M., of York.
Nebraska, in 1884. In the line of his profession
he is associated with the American Academy of
Railway Surgeons and with the Idaho State Med-
ical Society. In politics he is a Republican, is an
active worker in the local ranks of his party and
has served as city trustee. His time, however, is
principally given to his business affairs. De-
voted to the noble and humane work which his
profession implies. Dr. Scott has proved faithful,
and has not only earned the due reward of his
efforts in a temporal way, but has proved himself
worthy to exercise the important functions of his
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
249
calling, through his abihty, his abiding sym-
pathy and his earnest zeal in behalf of his fellow
men. In manner he is most genial, courteous
and friendly, and he is popular with all classes.
FRANCIS E. ENSIGN.
Holding marked prestige among the promi-
nent members of the Idaho bar is Francis Ed-
ward Ensign, who is now engaged in the practice
of the legal profession in Hailey. There are few-
men whose lives are crowned with the honor and
respect which is uniformly accorded him; but
through forty-five years" connection with the
west his has been an unblemished career. With
him success in life has been reached by sterling
qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly
principle. In his varied business interests his
reputation has been unassailable and in offices
of public trust he has displayed a loyalty that
classed him among the valued citizens of the
commonwealth. He has nearly reached the sev-
entieth milestone that marks earth's pilgrimage,
but is still concerned with the active affairs of life,
and in the courts of his district displays a strong
mentality undimmed by time and a power of ar-
gument that wins him many notable forensic vic-
tories.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Ensign was born in
Painesville, March 4, 1829, and is descended from
English ancestors who came from the "merrie
isle" to the New World, locating in Cambridge,
]\Iassachusetts, in 1630, only two years after the
landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. A
little later the Ensigns became pioneer settlers of
Hartford, Connecticut. The paternal grandfather
of our subject was one of the first settlers of Pitts-
field and one of the incorporators of the town.
When Benedict Arnold, then in command of
American forces in the Revolutionary war, at-
tempted the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, he vol-
unteered and aided in taking that British strong-
hold, bringing away with him a number of mus-
kets which were greatly needed by the colonial
troops. He also participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill. He spent the latter part of his
life in Ohio and reached an advanced age. In
religious belief he was a Congregationalist.
Orrin Ensign, the father of our subject, was
born in Dalton, Massachusetts, and when a
young man removed to the Buckeye state, locat-
ing on a farm on the Grand river, near Paines-
ville. There he married Jiliss Nancy Peppoon,
who was descended from French Huguenot an-
cestry. Her grandfather, having been expelled
from France on account of his religious views,
joined the English army and was commissioned
captain. Later he came to America and took up
his abode in Connecticut. The father of our sulv
ject was an industrious farmer and he and his
wife spent their married life on the old Ohio
homestead, where they died when about seventy
years of age. They, too, belonged to the Congre-
gational church, and in politics Mr. Ensign was
a stanch Whig. He always declined to fill po-
litical offices, but was president of the temperance
society of the county. In the family were six
children, but only two are now living. The eld-
est son, William O. Ensign, was the war com-
missioner for northwestern Ohio during the civil
war.
Francis E. Ensign, whose name introduces
this review, was only six years of age when he
accompanied his parents on their removal to Will-
iams county, Ohio, which was then an almost
unbroken wilderness, the little log cabins of the
white settlers being widely scattered, while In-
dians were still there in considerable numbers.
He received his elementary education in a log
school-house, which stood in the midst of the
timber, and afterward studied in the Western Re-
serve Collegiate Institute, at Austinburg, Ashta-
bula county, Ohio, also spent one year in Ober-
lin College. Failing health forced him to aban-
don his hopes of completing a collegiate course,
and he went to sea, spending a year before the
mast. This proved very beneficial and with re-
stored health he landed at San Francisco, Febru-
arv I. 1854. He worked for two months on a
dairy farm, milking cows and digging ditches.
The farm w-as then situated several miles from
the city, but the corporation limits now extend
far bevond it. In the ensuing month of May Mr.
Ensign went to the French Gulch placer mines
in Shasta county and thence to Siskiyou county,
engaging in mining on McAdams and Indian
creeks, also in Scott valley, for about four years.
During the first three years thr.s passed he was
satisfactorily successful, but lost all through high
floods in the winter of 1857-8.
In the meantime Mr. Ensign had studied law
250
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and ill 1858 was admitted to the bar, beginning
practice at Yreka, where he followed his pro-
fession for eight years. During six years of the
time he was district attorney of Siskiyou county
and was a most efficient and acceptable officer.
He also acquired a wide reputation as a moun-
tain climber, having several times made his way
to the top of Mount Shasta. He was the first
to discover its volcanic nature, of which he was
assured by little jets of smoke issuing from
crevasses, and later this was confirmed by a
prominent scientist, who also saw the smoke.
In 1866 Mr. Ensign left California and came
to Idaho, practicing law for twelve years in Sil-
ver City. In 1868 he was elected a member of
the territorial council and was chairman of the
judiciary committee at the fifth session of the leg-
islature. In 1872 he failed by one vote of being
nominated for delegate to congress bv the Demo-
cratic territorial convention. He was three times
elected district attorney of the third judicial dis-
trict of Idaho, including all the southern por-
tion of the state south and east of Boise and
Alturas counties, holding the office for six years,
from 1872 until 1878. In the latter year he re-
moved to Boise, where he practiced law for three
years, and in 1881 he came to Hailey, then in
Alturas county, to accept the position of attorney
for the then new town, also hoping that the
change of climate would prove beneficial to his
family. Since that time he has been actively en-
gaged in the practice of law in Hailey and has
been connected with all of the most important
litigated interests tried in the courts of his dis-
trict. He has also figured prominently in con-
nection with political affairs. In 1889-90 he was
chairman of the Democratic territorial commit-
tee, and after the adoption of the new state con-
stitution in 1890 he was nominated by the Democ-
racy as one of its candidates for justice of the
supreme court, receiving the largest vote of all
the candidates of his party for that office. In
1892 he was again nominated for that position,
but shared the fate of the rest of the ticket. In
addition to his law practice he also has extensive
mining interests, which contribute not a little to
his income.
When in Silver City, in 1876, Mr. Ensign was
united in marriage to Miss Margaret Reid, and
they now have three children. Henry F., the eld-
est, is a bright young man, now studying law in
his father's office. The two younger children,
Edith and Arthur, are at home. The mother is a
valued member of the Methodist church and a
most estimable lady. Mr. Ensign was made a
Mason in Fort Wayne, Indiana, many years ago,
belongs to the lodge, chapter and commandery
and at one time was grand master of the grand
lodge of Idaho. He has erected a commodious
and very pleasant residence in Hailey, and he and
his family enjoy the highest respect of all who
know them. He is a man whose life experiences
have been broad and varied, and as the years
passed he has learned the lessons of life and be-
come imbued with humanitarian principles. His
strong intellectuality, his generous sympathy and
marked individuality have rendered him one of
the honored pioneers and valued citizens of his
adopted state, and his record now forms an im-
portant chapter in its history.
RICHARD H. BRITT.
This gentleman is the present capable manager
of the Poorman mines, near Silver City, and for
a number of years has been connected with the
development of the rich mineral resources of the
northwest. He was born in the state of Mis-
souri in 1861, and is of English descent. His
father, J. W. Britt, was born in Kentucky, and
in 1855 removed to Missouri, locating on a farm
in that state. There he married Aliss Margaret
Horn, also a native of Kentucky. At the time
of the civil war he entered the Confederate ser-
vice un'der General Price, and since the close
of hostilities has successfully engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits. In religious belief he is a Bap-
tist, while his wife is of the Methodist faith. They
have five sons and a daughter, and the family
circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death.
Richard H. Britt, of this review, their third
child, was reared to manhood in the state of his
nativity and studied civil engineering in the
Missouri State University, in which institution he
was graduated in the class of 1888. Thus well
qualified for an active business life, he entered
the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company, as an examiner of land, and later was
engaged in inspecting the lands of tlie Willa-
mette Valley and Cascade Mountain ^\'agon
Road Company, inspecting the lands from Al-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
251
bany, Oregon, to the Snake river. In the winter
of 1 890- 1 he was engaged in railroad work on
the lower Columbia river, and in 1892 came to
Boise, where for a number of years he was em-
ployed as a civil and mining engineer. On
abandoning that work he became identified with
the mining interests of Silver City, and for several
years has served as manager for the Poorman
Gold Mines, limited. He is particularly well
qualified by collegiate training and practical ex-
perience for this position and has given the great-
est satisfaction by the prompt and able manner
in which he has discharged his duties.
In politics Mr. Britt is a Democrat and is a
member of the Idaho state board of arbitration,
to which he was appointed by Governor Steunen-
berg. He keeps well informed on the issues of
the day. yet has never been a politician in the
sense of office-seeking, preferring to devote his
energies to his business interests. His life has
been one of activity and usefulness and he is
highly respected and accounted one of the valued
citizens of the community.
JONAS W. BROWN.
Jonas W. Brown, of Boise, is an honored pio-
neer both of California and of Idaho. He crossed
the plains with ox teams to Shasta county, Cali-
fornia, in 1853, and since that time his life record
has been inseparably interwoven with the history
of this section of the country. At all times he has
been the advocate of those measures tending to-
ward the advancement and development of the
region, and his influence is that of an honorable,
upright man, whose force of character stamps
itself indelibly for good upon the public life.
This work would be incomplete without men-
tion of Jonas W. Brown, and it is therefore with
pleasure that we present his sketch to our read-
ers. A native of Ohio, he was born in Roscoe,
Coshocton county, on the 27th of June, 1825, and
is descended from New England ancestry. His
father, Samuel Brown, was a resident of North
Danvers, Massachusetts. His mother, Mrs. Lydia
(^^'arren) Brown, was a relative of General War-
ren, who won fame at the battle of Bunker Hill.
They were members of the Methodist church and
were people of much worth. The father was a
farmer and also engaged in the manufacture of
brick. He departed this life in 1871, at the age
of eighty-four years, and his wife was called to
her final rest in her fifty-sixth year. They had
a family of ten children, of whom two are now
living.
Upon the homestead farm, in Ohio, Jonas W.
Brown spent his boyhood days and early became
familiar with the various duties and labors which
fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He obtained his
education in the common schools of Ohio, and
when seventeen years of age started westward.
He first located in Iowa, where he found employ-
ment in a flouring mill, there remaining until
1853, when he joined a party en route for the
gold fields of California. He drove an ox team
in order to pay his passage, and also gave the
leader of the party fifty dollars in money. The
journey across the wild, unpeopled plains was a
long, tedious and often perilous one. On arriv-
ing at Honey Lake valley, one of the oxen was
stolen by the Indians, and when James Macklay,
the owner, started in pursuit ne was hit by an
arrow, the wound causing his death. The com-
pany carried his remains for ten days and buried
him at their destination in what is now the old
town of Shasta.
After arriving in California Mr. Brown worked
at the carpenter's trade and also engaged in min-
ing at Deadwood, that state. In 1855 he was
elected county clerk of Siskiyou county, Califor-
nia, served in that position for two years, and
afterward was deputy clerk for two years. He
was then deputy sherifif under Dr. F. C. Horsley,
and in 1862 he removed to Florence, Washing-
ton, where he held the positions of clerk of the
district court, clerk of the probate court, deputy
county auditor, recorder, deputy sheriff and dep-
uty treasurer of Idaho, all at the same time. In
August, 1863, he took up his residence in Idaho
City, Idaho, where he successfully practiced law
for nineteen years. He is still engaged in active
practice in partnership with Hon. Thomas Caha-
lan, also one of the pioneers and a very able law-
yer. They have a large clientage and their busi-
ness is of an important character. During the
greater part of the time since coming to Idaho,
Mr. Brown has been a notary public and United
States commissioner for the district of Idaho.
In 1882 he came to Boise, and has since been
numbered as one of its leading and influential
citizens.
252
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
For half a century Mr. Brown has been an
exemplar}' member of the ^lasonic fraternity and
is a leading representative of the society in Idaho.
He was made a Master Mason in Eagle Lodge.
No. 12, F. & A. ]\I., of Keokuk. Iowa, in 1840,
under dispensation, receiving all three of the
blue-lodge degrees on the same day and night.
He has also taken the Royal Arch and Knight
Templar degrees, is past worshipful master, past
high priest and past grand master of the grand
lodge of this state, having served in the last
named exalted position in 1869 and again in
1871. He has served the grand lodge as grand
secretary, and in his home lodge at Boise has
been secretary for twelve years. He is true and
faithful to the benevolent and fraternal teacii-
ings of the order and is held in the highest
esteem by his Masonic brethren throughout the
state.
He has likewise been prominent in church
work through a long period. When only thir-
teen years of age he was converted and joined the
Methodist church, and at eighteen years of age
was made an ofScer in the church. Since that
time he has been most active and zealous in re-
ligious work and by his faithfulness and labor
has done much to advance the cause of Christ-
ianity. He has twice served the church as a lay
delegate to the general conference. In politics
he has been a lifelong Republican, but now
strongly favors bimetallism. He has studied the
question closely and thoroughly and is now firm-
ly fixed in his opinion. He belongs to the
Pioneer Society of the state, has served as its
president and is one of Idaho's best known and
highly esteemed citizens.
Thus many honors have come to him in life
and prosperity has attended his efforts in a con-
siderable degree, yet his career has also been
checkered by adversity and sorrow. He has
been twice married and has lost by death both
wives, and now has only one surviving son,
James Edgar, who is a farmer residing near
Prather, Indiana. Mr. Brown has now passed
the seventy-third milestone on the journey of
life, and for forty-five years has been identified
with the interests of the far west. At all times he
has endeavored to promote the best interests of
this section of the country, has seen the greater
part of its growth and devtlonment. and high on
the roll of the honored men of Idaho is found the
name of this worthy pioneer.
JOSEPH F. WHITE.
Among the public officials of Lincoln county
is Joseph F. White, who is now serving as
sheriff. A native of Iowa, he was born in .-Vlla-
makee county, July 4, 1854, and traces his an-
cestry back to the Emerald Isle, whence his
grandfather, Andrew White, emigrated with his
family to New Orleans. For many years he was
engaged in merchandising in the Crescent City,
and at an early day in the history of Ohio re-
moved to that state, where Joseph P. White, the
father of our subject, was born and reared. He
married Sarah Hefifron, a native of Ireland, and
later they removed to Allamakee county, Iowa,
where the father engaged in farming and mer-
chandising. He died in 1879, at the age of seven-
ty-two years, and his wife departed this life in the
forty-second year of her age. Ihey were the
parents of three children, all yet living.
Joseph F. White, whose name introduces this
review, was educated in the public schools of his
native county and reared to manhood on the
home farm, in the development and cultivation of
which he assisted from the time he was old
enough to handle the plow. In 1875 he went to
Colorado, where he engaged in mining and pros-
pecting. In 1880 he became a resident of Mon-
tana and engaged in the meat business in Dillon.
He also spent some time in Deer Lodge and
Silver Bow, and in 1883 came to Shoshone,
where he again established a meat market and
soon secured a liberal patronage in that line.
He has also been identified with many other lead-
ing business interests of the town and county.
He has erected several residences in Shoshone
and is the owner of an excellent ranch of four
hundred acres near the town, upon which he
raises hay for his extensive herd of cattle. These
varied business interests are bringing him ex-
cellent financial returns as the result of dili-
gence, a careful management and honorable
methods.
On the 3d of December, 1883, Mr. White was
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Keefer,
daughter of Joseph Keefer. of Nebraska, and
they now have two sons, — Gilbert and Walter. —
the former now attending college in Salt Lake
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Cit_v, while the other is a student in the high
school in Shoshone. The famil_v are held in high
regard in the community and the members of
the household occupy enviable positions in social
circles.
In his political views Mr. White has always
been a stalwart Republican, and when Lincoln
county was created he was appointed sheriff,
since which time he has twice been elected
sheriff, serving six years in all. He has been a
brave and efficient officer, discharging his duties
in a most fearless manner and thus proving a
bulwark to the community, his efforts resulting
in the replacement of lawlessness by peace and
tranquillity. He was instrumental in breaking
up one of the worst gangs of horse and cattle
thieves that ever infested the state. They had
their headquarters at Shoshone and he arrested
them and later took a number of their leaders
to the state penitentiary. Socially Mr. White is
connected with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, has filled all the offices in the lodge and
has been representative to the grand lodge. He
has also passed all the chairs in the Ancient Or-
der of United Workmen. He is an upright and
reliable citizen, true to all the duties of business,
official and private life, and his sterling worth has
gained him high regard.
WILLIAM CLARENCE HOWIE,
Out of the depths of his mature wisdom Car-
lyle wrote, "History is the essence of innumerable
biographies," and Macaulay has said, "The his-
tory of a nation is best told in the lives of its
people." It is therefore fitting that the sketches
of Idaho's eminent and distinguished men should
find a place in this volume, and to the number
belongs William Clarence Howie, a prominent
lawyer of Mountain Home. A native of Iowa,
he was born in Davis county, near the Missouri
state line, November 27, i860. The Howie fam-
ily originated in France. Two brothers, who
were French Huguenots, were driven out of that
country on account of their religious views and
fled to Scotland, one locating in the highlands,
the other in the lowlands. From the latter our
subject is descended. He founded a family in
Scotland that became renowned in the history of
that country, many representatives of the name
occupying prominent positions in public life.
John Howie, the father of our subject, was
born on Prince Edwards island. His parents had
started for America, and in a storm the vessel on
which they sailed sought refuge in the harbor
of the island, whereon occurred the birth of the
son. On reaching the New World the grand-
parents located in Bradford county, Pennsyl-
vania, and later the grandfather removed to Illi-
nois, where he died in the eighty-ninth year of
his age. John Howie was reared and educated in
Pennsylvania, and there married Miss Hannah
Evans, who was of English and Holland ances-
try. Mr. Howie was a farmer, and with his fami-
ly removed to Michigan. Later he returned to
Pennsylvania and thence went to Iowa, where he
died in 1898, at the age of seventy-six years. His
good wife still survives him and is now sixtv-two
years of age. They were Presbyterian in religious
faith and their upright lives exemplified their
Christian belief. Of their four children three are
living.
William Clarence Howie, the second in order of
birth, accompanied his parents on their removal
to the west and was educated in Bloomfield,
Iowa. He took up the study of law in the office
of Good & Good, in Wahoo, NebrasKa, as a prep-
aration for a life work, and later continued his
reading in the office and under the direction of
Reese & Gilkeson. of Lincoln, Nebraska, very
prominent attorneys of that city. The senior
partner is an ex-supreme judge and is now dean
of the Nebraska State Law School. He was ad-
mitted to the bar and then practiced for some
time under the guidance of his last preceptors,
gaining a practical knowledge of their methods.
On the 8th of October, 1890, Mr. Howie ar-
rived in Idaho and opened a law office in Moun-
tain Home, where he has since enjoyed a large
business. He has won for himself very favorable
criticism for the careful and systematic methods
he has followed. To an understanding of uncom-
mon acuteness and vigor he has added a thor-
ough and accurate preparatory training, and ex-
emplifies in his practice all the higher elements
of the truly great lawyer. He invariably seeks
to present his argument in the strong, clear light
of common reason and sound logical principles,
and his fidelity to his clients' interests is a matter
of uniform acceptance. Everything pertaining to
the welfare and upbuilding of the town also re-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ceives his approval, and co-operation and his la-
bors for the public good have been most effective.
Since coming to Mountain Home, he has sened
as a member of the school board for a number of
years, was a prominent factor in the building of
the splendid public-school building, which is an
ornament to the town, and he is an active and
helpful friend of education.
In political circles Mr. Howie is also promi-
nent. He has always been a stalwart Republican.
and is now the state Republican central com-
mitteeman for his county, and the candidate oi
his partv for the office of district attorney.
On the 9th of June. 1891, Mr. Howie married
Miss Ada Eunice Harris, a native of New York.
Her father died when she was a child and she was
reared bv her uncle. Hon. L. C. Blanchard. a
district judge and state senator. They have one
of the most beautiful residences in Mountain
Home. It was erected under the direction of
Mr. Howie and stands in the midst of an acre of
ground, which is planted with fruit and ornamen-
tal trees. Socially Mr. Howie is connected with
Ehnore Lodge, Xo. 30, A. F. & A. M.. of which
he is past master, also belongs to the Modern
Woodmen Camp, the Home Forum, and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen. His pleas-
ant, genial manner renders him a favorite with
all classes, while his sterhng worth commands
uniform esteem.
FRANK HARRIS.
Hon. Frank Harris, the leading lawyer of the
bar of Weiser, and a member of the state senate
of Idaho, is a native of California, his birth hav-
ing occurred at Placerville, on the 20th of June.
1854. He is the second in order of birth in a
family of seven children, whose parents were
William and T. E. (Saltzman) Harris. The Har-
ris family is of EngHsh descent and was founded
in \'irginia in colonial days. William Harris, the
grandfather of our subject, was born in the Old
Dominion, and when the Revolutionan,- war was
inaugurated aided in the struggle for independ-
ence. His son, William Harris, was bom in Vir-
ginia, in November. 1809, and after attaining the
age of forty years he married Miss T. E. Saltz-
man, a lady of German lineage. In 1849 William
Harris removed to California, where he engaged
in mining for a number of years, but later devoted
his energies to farming in Humboldt county,
where his death occurred in 1886, in the seventy-
seventh year of his age. His estimable wife
still sur\-ives him, and is now seventy years of
age. All of their seven children are also living.
Frank Harris acquired his literary education in
the public schools of California, and on determin-
ing to make the practice of law his life work
entered the office of Buck & Stafford, well known
attorneys of Eureka. He completed his studies
under the preceptorage of the firm of Chamber-
lain & De Haven of that place, and in 1880 he
came to Weiser and was admitted to the bar.
Here he has since made his home, and in the prac
tice of his profession has met with gratifying
success, to-day holding rank as the leading mem-
ber of the legal fratemitj- in his county.
In 1884 Mr. Harris was united in marriage
to Miss Xettie Oakes. a native of Wisconsin, and
they now have three children. William. James
and Emma. They have a delightful home in
Weiser, erected under the direction of Mr. Har-
ris, and they enjoy the high esteem of a large
circle of friends. Socially our subject is con-
nected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and
is now the efficient chancellor commander of the
lodge. His political views are in accord with the
principles of the Democratic party, and to that
organization he has rendered valuable service
during the campaigns, being a most effective,
entertaining and instructive campaign speaker.
His utterances are logical and convincing, and
at the same time are never tiresome or pedantic.
In 1889 he was elected a member of the conven-
tion which framed the present constitution of
Idaho, and his knowledge of constitutional law
made him a valuable factor in framing the most
important document in the state government. In
1896 he was elected a member of the state senate,
where he ser\-ed most acceptably to his con-
stituents and with credit to himself. Thus in
various departments of the public life he has
rendered important service to his state, yet his
greatest work is in the line of his profession. His
preparation of cases is most thorough and ex-
haustive: he seems almost intuitively to grasp
the strong points of law and fact, while in his
briefs and arguments the authorities are cited so
extensively and the facts and reasoning thereon
are presented so cogently and unanswerably as to
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
255
leave no doubt .as to the correctness of his views
or of his conchisions. No detail seems to escape
him: every point is given its due prominence
and the case is argued with such skill, ability and
power that he rarely fails to gain the verdict
desired. He is a member of the Idaho State Bar
Association, of which he is vice-president for
Washington county.
Mr. Harris is also personally interested in min-
ing in the Seven Devils district, and has a large
clientage among the mine owners and miners
of the now famous mining country just men-
tioned. In March, 1899, he formed a partnership
with R. A. Stuart, late of the Washington bar,
and formerly a member of the law firm of Thomp-
son & Stuart, of Iowa.
FRANK CROSSON.
Frank Crosson is now engaged in general mer-
chandising in De Lamar and is one of the most
successful and enterprising business men here.
His life stands in evidence of the fact that am-
bition, enterprise and diligence can cope with an
adverse fate and ultimately reach the goal of
prosperity. He came to Owyhee county on foot,
reaching Silver City in June, 1889, and secured
employment in driving a freight team. Since
that time he has advanced steadily toward suc-
cess and competence and is to-day accounted one
of the most progressive, respected and well-to-do
merchants of the county.
Mr. Crosson was born at Red Blufif, California,
on the 24th of April, 1862, and is of Scotch-
Irish lineage. His father, Samuel Crosson, was
born in the state of New York, and in 1852 took
up his abode in California. He was married in
Sacramento to Miss Mary Burk, a native of Ire-
land. For six years he lived the life of a sailor,
making trips on the Sacramento river between
San Francisco and Red Bluff. He died in 1893,
at the age of sixty-four years, but his wife is still
living and makes her home in San Francisco.
Frank Crosson of this review started out in
life on his own account when but ten years of age
and is truly a self made man, — a title of which
he has every reason to be proud. . He has trav-
eled in Oregon, Nevada and in Mexico, and
came to Idaho on .foot, without money, having
resolved to settle down and win success if it could
be secured through energy and mdustrv. He
was first employed as driver of a freight team be-
tween Nampa and Silver City, after which he
went to Wood river and engaged in mining for
six months. Then, in connection with five others,
he leased the Potosi mine, which he continued to
operate until March, 1890, when he came to De
Lamar and was employed for a time in the De
Lamar mine. Subsequently he purchased a half
interest in the De Lamar and Silver City stage
line, which he conducted until April i, 1892, after
which he spent a month in California. Upon
returning to De Lamar he succeeded George W.
Bruce in the meat-market business in Silver
City, as a partner of J. C. Conners, and later be-
came a partner in the De Lamar & Silver City
Meat Company, with which he was connected un-
til April, 1893, when he sold his interest in the
business. Through the succeeding thirty days
he engaged in mining and then established a
confectionery store in De Lamar, but on the 8th
of September, 1897, entered a new field of opera-
tions by purchasing the general mercantile store
of Shea & McLain in De Lamar. Here he is now
carrying on business, having a large and well
selected stock and enjoying an extensive and con-
stantly increasing patronage. He is also a part-
ner of John Crete, Sr., in several mines in the
Florida mountains.
On the 15th of October, 1892, Mr. Crosson was
united in marriage to Mrs. Sarah Bennett, nee
Lane. She is a native of Iowa and a lady of
culture and intelligence, who enjoys the esteem
of a large circle of friends. She was appointed
postmistress of De Lamar by President Cleve-
land in 1893, entering upon the duties of the of-
fice on the 13th of November of that vear. She
appointed Mr. Crosson her deputv, and for four
years and three months she discharged her duties
in a most promising and creditable manner, and
succeeded in raising the office to one of the
third class. She now assists her husband in the
store and he attributes not a little of his success
to her efficient aid and business ability.
Mr. Crosson is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and his wife belongs to
the order of Daughters of Rebekah. He is also a
member of the Masonic fraternity and has served
as master of his lodge. From the early age of ten
years his life has been one of ceaseless activity,
and all that he has acquired is the reward of his
256
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
own labors. He is a man of strong purpose and
resolution, who brooks no obstacles that can be
overcome by determined and honorable efforts,
and it is this laudable quality that has led to his
success. He justly merits the high regard in
which he is held, and his example should serve as
a source of inspiration and encouragement to
others.
J. J. PLUMER, ]M. D.
Dr. J. J. Plumer, the physician and surgeon of
the De Lamar Mining Company, also engaged
in general practice in De Lamar, is a native of
Missouri, his birth having occurred in Edina,
April 8, i860. He traces his ancestry back to
England, whence in the year 1832 members of
the family who belonged to the sect of Puritans
crossed the Atlantic to America. They braved
the dangers so common to ocean voyages in
those days in order to have liberty of conscience
in the New World, and they and their descend-
ants were connected with the early history of the
colonies. They were mainly farming people,
whose upright lives commended them to the con -
fidence and respect of all. The Doctor's father,
William F. Plumer, was born in Marietta, Ohio,
and married Miss Sarah F. Beswick, also a na-
tive of that place. In religious faith they are
Presbyterians and by profession Mr. Plumer is a
civil engineer. He now resides in Hillsboro,
Iowa, at the age of sixty-seven years, and all of
the family, including three sons and three
daughters, are also yet living.
The Doctor, the second in order of birth, spent
his boyhood at his parental home, acquiring his
literary education in Birmingham Academy, in
Iowa. Determining to make the practice of med-
icine his life work he prepared for his chosen
calling in the StarHng Medical College, in Co-
lumbus, Ohio, where he was graduated with the
class of 1882. He then opened an office in Bona-
parte, Iowa, where he remained for two years,
after which he practiced for six years in Kansas
and one year in Baker City, Oregon. In 1890
he came to De Lamar to accept the position of
physician and surgeon for the De Lamar Min-
ing Company, and in addition to his labors in
that capacity he carries on a general practice,
having many patrons in this vicinity. He is a
skilled and efficient representative of his chosen
calling, and faithfully performs each dutv as it
comes to him. He is also proprietor of the only
drug store in the town, a well appointed estab-
lishment.
On the 2gth of June. 1897, the Doctor was
married, the lady of his choice being Miss Mar-
garet C. DeQuette, whose father was one of the
pioneers of the Boise basin. She is a valued
member of the Episcopal church and a most esti-
mable lady. The Doctor belongs to the Masonic
fraternity and has taken the degrees of the blue
lodge, chapter and commandery, being now a
worthy Knight Templar and follower of the
beauseant. He is a man of scholarly tastes and
studious habits, and by his perusal of the leading
medical journals and text-books he keeps thor-
oughly abreast with the latest discoveries and
theories advanced in connection with the science
of medicine, and is very successful in applying
these to the needs of his professional work in
Owyhee county.
FRANKLIN P. AKE.
The historian Bancroft has said. "Taken alto-
gether Idaho is the most grand, wonderful, ro-
mantic and mysterious part of the domain en-
closed within the federal Union;" and no one who
has ever looked upon its beautiful and ofttimes
sublime scenery will doubt that it rightly de-
serves to be called "The Gem of the Mountains."
Its natural resources are probably more diversi-
fied than any other state can show, for in the
midst of its high hills, rich in their mineral de-
posits, are fertile valleys afTording ample oppor-
tunity to the agriculturist, horticulturist and
stock farmer. The owner of one of the finest
ranches and most beautiful homes in Elmore
county is Franklin P. Ake, a man of excellent
business ability, who has been prominently con-
nected with many interests of this region, and
now in addition to the capable management of
his own affairs is acceptably serving as the cus-
todian of the county exchequer in the capacity of
county treasurer.
Mr. Ake, whose residence is pleasantly situ-
ated about four miles from Mountain Home, was
born in Muscatine, Iowa, July 6, 1857. During
the colonial epoch in our country's history his
ancestors left their homes in Holland and be-
came residents of Pennsylvania, taking part in
manv of the events which form the annals of that
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
857
state, and also participating in the war of the
Revolution. John H. Ake. the father of our sub-
ject, was born in the Keystone state and mar-
ried Margaret Tediker, a native of Ohio. He
removed with his bride to Iowa and became an
extensive land-owner and dealer in real estate.
His wife died soon after the birth of her son
Franklin, when only twenty years of age, but
Mr. Ake reached the age of seventy-five years.
The subject of this review, an only child, was
reared and educated in Iowa and Nebraska, and
in 1877 went to Colorado, where he was engaged
in freighting. He made money rapidly, invested
in real estate in Leadville, Colorado, and when
prices declined lost nearly all that he had saved.
In 1882 he came to Idaho, and making his head-
quarters at American Falls again engaged in
freighting and contracting from Kelton to Boise.
Rocky Bar and Hailey. He also took contracts
for supplying and delivering wood and charcoal
to the mines at Rocky Bar and later contracted
to haul mining timbers. He also built the tele-
graph line from Mountain Home to Rocky
Bar, and subsequently became the promoter and
builder of the reservoir and canal of the Moun-
tain Home Reservoir & Land Company. They
have thus supplied water to three thousand acres
of land, and have a reservoir with an irrigating
capacity for five thousand acres, and fifteen
miles of ditches. Air. Ake, in connection with
others, now owns the system, which is one of the
most valuable enterprises ever inaugurated in this
section of the state. It is not only a profitable
investment for the stockholders, but has proven
of incalculable benefit to the farmers, making
cultivable many thousand acres of rich land. Mr.
Ake is now the owner of a splendid ranch of six
hundred and forty acres. He has greatly im-
proved this property, making it one of the most
attractive and desirable country seats in Elmore
county. There is now a fine orchard, containing
two thousand bearing fruit trees, mostly prunes.
The home is a most tasteful and commodious
dwelling, creditable alike to the owner and the
county. In addition to the cultivation of his
orchard, Mr. Ake is extensively engaged in rais-
ing stock and is proprietor of an excellent meat
market in ^fountain Home, where he supplies the
citizens with choice beef and other meats.
In 1886 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Ake and Miss Laura Ford, of Salem, Oregon, a
daughter of Colonel Ford of that city. They
now have two daughters, — Mary Frances and
Clara Lail.
Air. Ake has been a lifelong Democrat. In
1896 he was appointed treasurer of Elmore coun-
ty, and in 1898 was the nominee of his party for
the same position. He belongs to the Masonic
fraternity, having been raised in Elmore Lodge,
Xo. 30, of Mountain Home, in which he served
as master in 1898. He has also taken the Royal
Arch and commandery degrees and is a Xoble
of the Mystic Shrine. A man of marked busi-
ness and executive ability, he forms his plans
readily, is determined in his execution and carries
forward to successful completion whatever he
undertakes. His methods command uniform con ■
tidence and respect and the most envious could
not grudge him his prosperity, so worthily has it
been won.
BARRETT WILLIAMS.
This venerable citizen of Boise City is be-
lieved to be the oldest man in the state of Idaho,
as on the 7th of March, 1899. he celebrated the
ninety-sixth anniversary of his birth. He was
sixty years of age when he came to this place
for the first time, in 1862, and during the years
which have intervened he has maintained his.
earnest interest in the development of the town
and the resources of the surrounding country.
He has always been strictly temperate in his
habits, has led an active, industrious life, and is
reaping his reward in the evening of his career,
for he enjoys very good health, being sound in
mind and body, possesses his senses of sight and
hearing almost unimpaired, and still takes long
walks about the town with perfect ease.
The birth of this W'Orthy old pioneer occurred
in Wales, March 7, 1803, and in his native land
he learned the saddler's trade, in his youth. He
never attended school a day, with the exception
of Sunday-school, where he learned to read, and
when he grew to inanhood he wished to be able
to sign legal documents and so learned to write
his name. In 1840 he came to the United States
and for about a year worked at his trade as a
harness-maker in Utica, New York. He then
removed to Ohio and purcliased a farm in Lick-
ing county, not far from Granville. .After four
\ears of farming operations there he removed to
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Iowa county. Wisconsin, and during the next
twelve years successfully carried on a farm.
The praises of the great and growing west had
been so long heard that at last Mr. Williams con-
cluded that he would see something of it for
himself. In 1861. in company with two of his
sons. Thomas and Richard, he crossed the plains
to Oregon. They spent the winter in the town
of Auburn, and in the spring returned to Idaho,
arriving in Boise City May 22. He was one of
the first white men here, though the Bannack
Indians were numerous. However, the red men
treated him well and he has often camped with
them and shared their hospitality. With his sons
he went to the Boise basin and discovered gold
on Willow creek. He mined there for several
years and later was located on Dry creek, where
he and his companions each took out about an
ounce of gold a ^day. The rheumatism finally
made him seek other employment and for eight
years he engaged in farming on Dry creek.
Later, he purchased a block and a quarter on Jef-
ferson street, Boise City, and built ten houses on
the property. For eight years he was in the
lumber business in the mountains, and built two
:sawmills. which he afterward gave to his sons.
In 1886 he deeded his real estate in Boise to his
children, retaining a life lease on it. He has
always affiliated with the Democratic party since
he became a voter but has never been an aspirant
to public office. Without exception, all who have
known him or been associated with him in busi-
ness relations speak in the highest terms of his
honor and integrity, his kindliness and helpful-
ness toward those less fortunate than himself.
In his early manhood Mr. Williams married
Miss Elizabeth Griffith, a native of Wales, and
before they left that country their son John was
born. Two children w^ere born in Ohio to this
worthy couple and five were born in Wisconsin.
All but one of the number are living. Mrs.
Williams, who was a devoted wife and mother,
an earnest member of the Presbyterian church
and loved by all who knew her well, departed
this life in 1885. .\t present only two of the
children are residents of Boise City, namely:
Rachel Williams and Elizabeth Ann. the latter
being the wife of Charles May, whose history is
printed upon another page of this volume. Mr.
Williams is being tenderly cared for in his declin-
ing years by his daughter, Mrs. May. with whom
he IS making his home.
WILLI.\M H. M.\NION.
Elmore county figures as one of the most at-
tractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of
the state of Idaho, justly claiming a high order of
citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is cer-
tain to conserve consecutive development and
marked advancement in the material upbuilding
of the section. The county has been and is sig-
nally favored in the class of men who have con-
trolled its affairs in official capacity, and in this
connection the subject of this review demands
representation as one who has served the county
faithfully and well in positions of distinct trust
and responsibility. He was the incumbent of the
office of clerk of the district court, and was ex-
officio auditor and recorder of Elmore county for
the years 1897 and 1898.
A native of the state of Missouri. 2\Ir. Manion
was bom on the 28th of January. 1844. the son of
James and ]\Iary Ann (\\'ood) !Manion. both of
whom were born in A'irginia, the famous Old
Dominion of our national annals. The ancestry
on either side traces to stanch old Irish stock.
The parents removed from their native state to
^lissouri. where the father engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits, and where both resided until
death. They were people of sterling integrity,
industrious and God-fearing, and were held in
the highest respect in the community. Roth were
members of the Missionary Baptist church, in
whose cause they were zealous workers. They
became the parents of two children, both of
whom are living. — William H., the immediate
subject of this review: and Charles G., of Kan-
sas City, Missouri. Death claimed the devoted
wife and mother, and the father subsequently
consummated a second marriage, of the fruits of
which union three of the children still survive.
The father died in 1S54, at the age of tifty-four
years.
William H. Manion received an excellent edu-
cational training in his native state of Missouri,
and that he made good use of tlie opportunities
thus afiforded him is evident from the fact that he
put his acquirements to the practical test in mak-
ing his initial personal eflort. He engaged in
teaching school for a year in ^Missouri, after
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
259
which he went to Nevada, where he became con-
cerned in quartz mining, meeting with a fair
measure of success in this hne of endeavor. Re-
moving later to Utah, he there continued mining
operations for a number of years, having been the
original locator of the Rebel mine, in the Star
district of that recently admitted state. From this
mine he secured quite an appreciable product of
gold. He eventually sold the mine and in i88q
came to Camas Prairie, Idaho, where he entered
claim to a homestead of government land, prov-
ing up on the same in due course of time. This
place he still owns, having erected buildings
thereon and made other substantial improve-
ments.
'In 1897 Mr. Manion was appointed clerk of the
district court by the board of county commis-
sioners, and he discharged the manifold duties
of this office, with its adjuncts noted, with such
care, fidelity and discrimination that in the fall
of 1898 he was again nominated by his party for
the same office, but was defeated by six votes.
His official position practically demanded that
^Ir. Manion should take up his residence at the
county-seat, and thus he has maintained his
home in Mountain Home since 1896, when he
assumed his official duties.
In his political proclivities Mr. Manion is a
stanch and enthusiastic adherent of the Demo-
cratic party, while fraternally he is identified with
the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias,
of the lodge of which latter he has rendered ef-
ficient service as vice chancellor.
As a public officer our subject has been cour-
teous, obliging and thoroughly capable, and these
facts have not lacked for recognition on the part
of the people, who have accorded due commen-
dation. His popularity in the community is un-
mistakable, and he is clearly entitled to consider-
ation in this work as one of the representative
citizens of his county.
LUCIUS COZZENS RICE.
Lucius Cozzens Rice, state treasurer of Idaho
and one of the leading business men of the com-
monwealth, is a native of Riceville, Fulton coun-
ty, New York, where he was born June 30, 1867.
being the only son now living that ivas born to
the marriage of Harvey P. and Sarah C. Rice.
The Rice family is one of the oldest in Cen-
tral New York; and in the old dwelling, which is
still standing, and in which Mr. Rice was born,
five generations have lived. This residence was
built prior to the war for American independ-
ence, by Colonel Oliver Rice, who was a soldier
under Washington.
Mr. Rice prepared for college at the Clinton
Seminary, at Clinton, New York, and subse-
quently entered Union College at Schenectady,
same state, where he took the classical course,
was president of his class and a member of the
college society, Alpha Delta Phi. Completing his
college course, Mr. Rice came west and first lo-
cated at Gunnison, Colorado, and later was en-
gaged in merchandising at Sapinero, Colorado,
for nine months, and then for some time at Delta,
the same state; and in 1891 he came to Idaho,
on horseback, looking for a location, and settled
at St. Anthony, where, under the firm name of
Rice & Findley, he opened a general merchan-
dise store. This business venture has been a suc-
cess from its inception and has been continually
extended, so that to-day it is the most extensive
general merchandise establishment in southeast-
ern Idaho. In 1898 the firm of Rice, Findley &
Company was incorporated, and to-day the name
of this reliable firm has become a household word
in the southeastern portion of "The Gem of the
Mountains."
Mr. Rice, during his career in Idaho, has dem-
onstrated that he is both an enterprising and a
public-spirited man, and St. Anthony and Fre-
mont county have particularly been benefited
by his business ability and public spirit. He
organized the First Bank of Fremont County and
has been its president since its organization in
1893. Through his influence the Snake River
\'alley Telephone Company was organized and
the Hne built. Of this company he is one of the
directors and officers. He was the leader of the
great reform movement and investigation in Fre-
mont county which was the means of turning
back many thousands of dollars to the county
treasury. This was a long fight, some of the
cases being carried through the district and su-
preme courts of the state.
In August, 1898. he was nominated bv the
Democratic party for state treasurer of Idaho,
and later was indorsed for the same office by the
silver Republicans and the Populists, and at
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the Xoveniber election of 1898 he was elected by
the largest vote ever cast for any candidate for
public office in the state. He has always been an
ardent suporter of the principles of the Demo-
cratic party, and in 1896 was a delegate to the
Democratic national convention that nominated
Hon. W. J. Bryan for president. As state treas-
urer Mr. Rice is prudent, careful and painstaking,
and it is already conceded that he is the best state
treasurer the state has ever had and that in his
hands the public funds have been safe.
In 1896 he was united in marriage to ^liss
Alice L. Tarr, of Gloversville, New York, and
he and his wife are prominent in the select circles
of Idaho.
FREDERIC IRWIN.
Frederic Irwin is the superintendent of the
Idaho & Pittsburg Mining & Milling Company's
Black Jack mines on Florida mountain, near Sil-
ver City, Owyhee county. A native of Pennsyl-
vania, he was born in Sewickley, A.llegheny
county, November 15, 1859. On the paternal
side he is of Scotch lineage and on the maternal
is of Scotch descent. His ancestors were among
the early settlers on the Atlantic coast and repre-
sentatives of the Irwin family aided the colonies
in their struggle to throw off the yoke of British
tyranny. The paternal great-grandfather of our
subject served as adjutant general on the stafif
of General Wayne, and gallantly bore his part
in the war which resulted in the establishment of
the American republic. His son, John Irwin,
was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania,
and became a large real-estate owner there.
John Irwin, Jr., father of our subject, was born
in Sewickley, that county, and married Martha
M. Xevin. He became largely interested in the
oil business and was one of the early operators on
Oil creek, Pennsylvania. He later became con-
nected with the firm of T. H. Nevin & Com-
pany in the manufacture of white lead in Pitts-
burg. He was also president of the Alleghany
Insurance Company, treasurer of the Pittsburg
Steel Casting Company and president of the Ida-
ho & Pittsburg Mining & Milling Company.
He has now reached the age of seventy-six years
and has largely retired from the active cares of
life, but for many years was a most important
factor in the business circles of Pittsburg, on
account of his extensive and varied interests. His
wife departed this life at the age of sixty-three
years. They were the parents of six children,
three of whom are yet living. In religious faith
the family has long been identified with the
Presbyterian church.
Frederic Irwin is a graduate of the Western
University of Pennsylvania, and on completing
the scientific course in that institution the de-
gree of Ph. B. was conferred upon him. He
then entered upon his business career and was
engaged in mercantile and journalistic pursuits
until 1891, when he was appointed to his present
position as superintendent of the Idaho & Pitts-
burg ^Mining & Milling Company, taking
charge of the Black Jack mine in April, 1891.
With characteristic energy and enterprise he en-
tered his new field of labor, and that the fame of
the mine is so widespread is due to his efforts.
He is also consulting engineer of the Poorman
gold mines, owned by a London (England) syn-
dicate, and is very popular in mining circles. He
possesses marked business and executive ability,
keen discrimination and correct foresight, and
is exceptionally well qualified for the superin-
tendency of the extensive mining interests now
in his charge.
In his political affiliation ]\Ir. Irwin is a "silver"
Republican, and socially is connected with Capi-
tal Cky Lodge, No. 310, B. P. O. E., of Boise.
He is a gentleman of marked courtesy, genial
disposition and agreeable manner, and in conse-
quence makes friends wherever he goes.
OSCAR F. BRUNZELL.
Since seven years of age Oscar F. Brunzell
has been a resident of Owyhee county and is now
residing in Silver City, where he is faithfully dis-
charging the duties of assessor and tax collector.
A native of Sweden, he w-as born January 5.
1864. and is a son of J. M. Brunzell. who is now-
serving as postmaster of Reynolds, Owyhee
county. In 1868 the father came to Idaho, and in
1871 sent for his family, who joined him, since
w-hich time they have resided continuously in
Owyhee county. He is a stock-raiser and pro-
prietor of a hotel and successfully conducts a
good business. The family circle yet remains
unbroken by the hand of death, and the three
sons, — Carl, Oscar F. and John A., — are all resi-
dents of Idaho.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
261
The subject of this sketch attended the pubHc
schools of this locality and later continued his
education in the Lincoln school in San Fran-
cisco. He has since been engaged in general
stock-raising and mining until called to public
office. In politics he is a "silver" Republican,
and at the election of 1892 was chosen by popu-
lar ballot for the office of assessor and tax col-
lector of Owyhee county, serving in that capacity
until i8g6, when he was again elected to that
office. In 1898 he received the nomination of his
party for county sheriff, and was elected by a
majority of fifty-four.
Mr. Brunzell was married October 30, 1895.
to Miss Laura E. Winchester, of Owyhee county,
and they have two children, — Bryan William and
Albert. Mr. Brunzell is a member of both
branches of the Odd Fellows society, and is past
noble grand and past chief patriarch, while he and
his wife are members of the Rebekah lodge of the
fraternity. He is also a member of the Woodmen
of the World. Both our subject and his wife
were reared in the Lutheran church and are peo-
ple of the highest respectability.
JULIUS ISAY.
Julius Isay is one of the most prominent busi-
ness men of Owyhee county, being the senior
member of the firm of Isay & Gombrig, dealers
in general merchandise, both at De Lamar and
Silver City. A country has but one chief ruler,
be he king, emperor or president. Comparative-
ly few men can attain to the highest offices in
civil or military life, but commerce ofifers a broad
and almost limitless field in which one may exer-
cise his powers unrestrained and gain a leader-
ship as the head of a chosen calling. Drawing
the lessons which we do from the life of Mr.
Isay, we learn that the qualifications necessary for
success are a high ambition and a resolute, hon-
orable purpose to reach the exalted standard that
has been set up. From an early age he has de-
pended upon his own resources and has won the
proud American title of self-made man.
'\It. Isay was born near Treves, Germany, Sep-
tember 22, 1862, his father, Mark Isay, being a
prominent cattle dealer in that country. He ob-
tained a good education in the excellent schools
of his native land, and when eighteen years of age
determined to cross the ocean and see what fate
had in store for him in the land of freedom of
which he had heard such favorable reports. He
was well acquainted with the German and French
languages, but knew no English; and although
he had energy and ambition he had no capital.
On the completion of the ocean voyage he made
his way to Indiana, where he had an uncle living,
to whom he stated his desire to become inde-
pendent in life. This relative very kindly fitted
him out with a peddler's pack of notions, and
with these on his back he started out of the town,
his uncle accompanying him as far as the cross
roads and bidding him good-bye with the part-
ing remark, "Take which road you like and don't
come back until the end of the week." Thus be-
gan the mercantile career of a most successful
and enterprising business man. A stranger to
the language and the customs of the country, his
natural intelligence was brought into play and he
soon learned enough to enable him to carry on
a brisk trade. After three months spent in going
from house to house selling his goods, he turned
his attention to the butcher's trade, which he
learned in Churubusco, Indiana; and in Sep-
tember, 1882, he went to Chicago, where he
worked in meat-packing houses until the latter
part of March, 1884.
That date marked Mr. Isay's arrival in Silver
City, where he conducted a meat market until
the fall of 1890. In January, 1891, he purchased
a small stock of general merchandise and opened
a store in De Lamar, carrying on operations on
a small scale. Gradually, however, his trade in-
creased in volume and importance, and in 1895
the firm of Isay & Gombrig was formed, the lat-
ter being a brother-in-law of the former. They
bought out a large business at De Lamar, and
since that time, owing to their liberal and hon-
orable business methods, their success has been
almost phenomenal, and they now command at
their two large stores in De Lamar and Silver
City the most extensive retail trade in the county
of Owyhee.
Mr. Isav was married, in 1891, to Miss Sophia
Gombrig, who was born in the same town in
Germany in which her husband's birth occurred.
Thev have one child, a daughter, Hattie. Theirs
is a most pleasant home and their hospitality is
enjoyed by many friends. Mr. Isay is a Royal
Arch I\Iason and is now serving as senior warden
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of the lodge and high priest of the chapter. He
also belongs to the order of the Knights of Py-
thias. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, un-
swerving in his allegiance to the principles of
that party, and in 1898 he received its nomina-
tion for the office of county commissioner. His
dreams of securing a home and fortune in Ameri-
ca have been realized, and his life demonstrates
the opportunities that are here afforded young
men of energy and perseverance.
WILLIAM H. WATT.
William H. Watt, the president of the Delia
]\Iountain Mining Company, has been largely in-
strumental in developing the natural resources
of Idaho thus far, and his labors have not alone
contributed to his individual prosperity but have
also largely promoted the material interests of
the state. By nativity a Canadian, he was born
near Ottawa City, in the Dominion, December
23, 1851, and is of EngHsh descent. His grand-
father, James Watt, was a native of England, and
as an officer in the British army fought through
the Crimean war. When his term of military ser-
vice expired he crossed the Atlantic to Canada,
where he lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two
years. His son, John Watt, father of our sub-
ject, was born in Canada and married Miss Ann
Alalcomson, also a native of Ottawa. They were
industrious and well-to-do farming people, and
were Episcopalians in religious belief. Mr. Watt
departed this life in the seventieth year of his age,
but his wife is now living, at the age of three-
score years and ten, on the old Canadian home-
stead. They had eleven children, ten of whom
are yet living, the greater part of the number
being residents of the old home neighborhood
in Canada, though one is now living in West
Bay City, Michigan, and one in Butte, Montana.
William H. Watt, the fourth in order of birth,
was reared under the parental roof and acquired
his preliminary education in the public ^hools
of Canada, after which he pursued a course in a
business college of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He
entered upon his business career as a farmer and
also engaged in lumbering. In 1876 he went
to the Black Hills and since that time has de-
voted his energies to mining in the northwest.
On leaving the Black Hills he went on a North-
ern Pacific surveying expedition from Fort Rice
on the Missouri river to Powder river, the coun-
try being then a comparatively unexplored re-
gion. In 1 88 1 he came to Hailey on a prospect-
ing and mining tour, at which time the place was
just being opened up for mining interests. Its
fame was great because of the richness of the dis-
coveries made, and Mr. Watt, with characteristic
energy, turned his attention to the development
of the mineral resources of the region.
He has since continuously engaged in mining
and in promoting mining interests, and in con-
nection with Thomas Brenan he organized the
Delia Mountain Alining Company, of which they
are the principal stockholders. This is one of the
best paying properties in the district. It con-
sists of a group of mines located six miles north-
west of the town of Hailey, which are called
Idaho Democrat, Idaho Republican, Marquis.
\'ermont and Belmont. They yield silver and
lead ore (the latter called galena), and the output
is very rich and valuable. Mr. Watt is president
and manager of the company, which is incorpor-
ated under the laws of the state of Idaho, and
is a member of the board of directors in connec-
tion with Thomas Brenan, E. Daft, Leo Cramer
and Samuel Allen. The capital stock of the com-
pany is one hundred thousand shares, the par
value of which is ten dollars per share. These
mines were discovered in 1880 by W. S. A'an
Dusen and worked by him, in connection with
other parties until November 18, 1895, ^t which
time the Delia Mountain Mining Company was
organized and purchased the property. The or-
iginal owners took out one hundred thousand
dollars and the present owners have taken out
seventy-five thousand dollars. Their work thus
far has been largely development work, and the
property is being well opened by tunnels. There
is considerable ore now in sight, which yields
from seventy to seventy-six percent lead and from
one hundred and five to one hundred and sixty-
six ounces of silver per ton. The}- have an ex-
cellent plant, consisting of well constructed build-
ings, comfortably furnished with iron bedsteads
and spring mattresses, and the houses lined with
compo-board, which render them very habitable.
Sixteen men are now employed in working the
mines. Mr. Watt is interested in various other
mines, and is also engaged in the banking busi-
ness. He is also interested in sampling all the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ore taken out of the mines and buys and ships
large quantities of ore to Denver, Pueblo and
Salt Lake for reduction.
He is a heavy stockholder and a member of
the directorate of the Parker Mining Company,
which owns eight claims, patented as follows:
Parker, St. Louis, Montgomery, Western Re-
serve, Calibre, Transit, Denver, and the Three
K's. They also have nine claims not yet pat-
ented. This group of mines is located three miles
east of Ketchum in the Warm Springs creek
mining district. The company under whose di-
rection they are operated was organized in Octo-
ber, 1887, with one hundred and fifty thousand
shares, the par value of which is ten dollars per
share. Ore to the value of three hundred and
forty thousand dollars has been taken from these
mines, and a, dividend of one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars has been paid. The ores from
these mines are the richest ever found in the
Wood river country, carrying at times as high
as forty-five per cent lead and six hundred and
sixty ounces of silver to the ton. In 1890 Mr.
Watt erected a fine brick building in Hailey, in
which he has one of the finest and best equipped
offices in the state.
Mr. Watt has been a life-long Democrat, w-as
elected and served as treasurer of Alturas county,
and was chosen to represent his district in the
state senate in 1894. He was the only Democrat
in either house of the legislature, and, knowing
that it was useless to attempt to elect a man of
his own party, he espoused the cause of Gov-
ernor Shoup and was an active and prominent
factor in securing his election to the LTnited
States senate. Mr. Watt was also largely instru-
mental in abolishing the counties of Alturas and
Logan, and creating the county of Blaine. He
was one of the most active and prominent mem-
bers of the senate, studying carefully the issues
which concerned the public welfare and giving
his support loyally to all measures which he be-
lieved would promote the general good. Prom-
inent in the ranks of the Masonic fraternity, he
Ijelongs to the blue lodge, chapter and command-
ery, and has attained the thirty-second degree of
the Scottish rite. He is also a noble of the
Mystic Shrine, is past master of the lodge and
has taken a deep interest and justifiable pride in
the working of this ancient and benevolent fra-
ternity. In business circles he sustains a high
reputation. He is a mining expert, is a man of
keen discrimination and sound judgment, of un-
faltering perseverance and unflagging enterprise,
and through the possession of these qualities has
gained rank among the foremost business men of
his state.
ISHAM L. TIXER.
This well known citizen and successful fruit-
grower of Boise was born in Williamson county,
Illinois, July 14, 1827, and is of Welsh descent,
his forefathers being among the early settlers of
Georgia and South Carolina. His ancestry, both
paternal and maternal, w-as represented in the
Revolutionary war. Richard Tiner, his great-
grandfather, was a loyal soldier in the war for
independence, and while he was absent in the
army his family suffered an attack by Indians.
His wife was shot through the right breast, their
youngest child was ruthlessly beaten against a
tree until its little life was ended, and a boy of
five years and a girl of seven were carried away
as captives. Another son, Isham Tiner, our sub-
ject's grandfather, then a youth of sixteen, es-
caped the massacre, joined his father in the army
and remained in the ranks until the close of the
war. The wife and mother eventually recovered
from her wound and some time afterward the
captive children were returned to their parents.
Isham Tiner, the grandfather, removed from
Georgia to Illinois, becoming a frontier settler of
the latter state. At the time of his removal to
the prairie state his son Isham, father of our sub-
ject, was a small boy. When grown to manhood
he married Miss Nancy Piett, who died at an
early age and left three children, the youngest,
Isham L., being an infant, and he alone survives.
The eldest son, William, lost his' life at the battle
of \'icksburg, fighting in behalf of the L'nion.
The father was a farmer by occupation and a man
active in local affairs, for some years filling the
office of county commissioner. He lived to attain
the ripe age of seventy-five years.
Isham L. Tiner was reared to manhood on his
father's farm in Illinois, working hard in sum-
mer and in winter attending the common school.
At the age of eighteen he enlisted in Company
B, Second Illinois \'oluntecr Infantry, for the
Mexican war, and went at once to the front. He
participated in the battle of Buena \'ista and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
other engagements, through which he passed nn-
wounded. He remained in the arm\ until the
war was over. In 1851 he went to California,
stopping at the mines on Pitt river. Later he
engaged in the management of a ranch and in
teaming from Red Blufif to Shasta and Yreka.
In 1862 he sold his interests and with a capital
of fifteen hundred dollars came to Idaho. At
Placerville, where he was one of the first to lo-
cate, he secured a mining claim, from which, in
company with five others, he took out about two
hundred dollars of gold a day. He paid his men
eight dollars a day and after he had taken out
most of the gold, as he supposed, he sold his
claim for five hundred dollars; but for some time
thereafter it continued to yield the precious
metal. Following his minmg experience. Mr.
Tiner was for a time successfully engaged in the
bakery business at Placerville.
In 1880 he purchased six acres of land at
Boise, now within the corporate limits of the city,
and here he raises many varieties of peaches,
pears, apples and plums, and in large quantities.
In 1865 Mr. Tiner married Miss Jane Baker,
who was spared to him only eight brief years.
Their only child died in infancy and thus he has
been left alone, for he has never married again.
He is a member of the Masonic order, and
politically he has always given his support to the
Democratic party. He has been honored with
official positions, in each instance acquitting him-
self most creditably. In 1865 he was elected a
member of the territorial legislature of Idaho,
and thus becoming connected with Boise he has
since resided in the capital city. He has also
filled the offices of county sheriff and warden of
the penitentiary. In all the varied relations of life
he has striven to do his whole dut}- toward his
own commimity. state and country, and to put
into daily practice the noble, helpful teachings of
Masonry and brotherhood.
GEORGE \V. BRUCE.
George W. Bruce is one of the successful
business men of De Lamar, where he is conduct-
ing an extensive and well appointed meat mar-
ket. He is also the owner of a well cultivated
fruit and stock farm on Castle creek, Owyhee
county, and is one of the citizens of foreign birth
of whom the communitv has everv reason to be
proud, for he has taken an active part in develop-
ing the resources and augmenting the wealth and
prosperity of this section of the state.
A native of the Emerald Isle, Mr. Bruce was
born in county Wicklow, Ireland, in the town of
Bray, September 28, 185 1, and is of Scotch
ancestry. His parents, John and Margaret
(Thompson) Bruce, were farming people and
worthy members of the Methodist church. Mr.
Bruce was educated in his native country and
emigrated to the L'nited States when twenty
years of age. The following year he took up his
residence in Silver City. Idaho, and has spent
twenty-six years in this part of the state, so that
he is numbered among the pioneer settlers. He
first engaged in quartz-mining, but after three
months devoted to that pursuit he became pro-
prietor of a dairy farm at Flint, and, in addition
to supplying the citizens of Silver City and vicin-
ity with milk and butter, he engaged quite ex-
tensively in raising stock, continuing in that en-
terprise until 1890 and having as many as twenty-
five hundred head of cattle on his ranch at one
time. His eft'orts in that direction were crowned
with success, prosperity attending his labors as
the years passed. In 1890, in partnership with
J. C. Connors, now treasurer of the county, he
opened a meat market in Silver City, and after
establishing that enterprise on a paying basis
they opened a branch house in De Lamar. This
partnership continued until 1898, at which time
the Owyhee Meat Company was organized, the
members of the firm being W. P. Beers, ^I. Col-
born and George W. Bruce. They have built a
large cold-storage warehouse and a good shop,
and are doing an extensive and lucrative business.
They supply meat to the De Lamar ]\Iining &
Milling Company and to almost all the citizens
of the town and surrounding country. They put
up a great deal of their own beef, pride them-
selves on carrying the best grades of mutton and
pork, and as the result of the excellence of their
products, combined with their trustworthy busi-
ness methods, they have secured a large and
desirable patronage.
In his political affiliations Mr. Bruce is a Re-
publican, and socially is connected with the Odd
Fellows fraternity. He is a man of strict in-
tegrity, well and favorably known in Owyhee
countv, and his life illustrates what can be ac-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
complished through determined efforts, perse-
verance and capable management. Such men
form the bulwark of our nation.
ALEXANDER K. STODDARD.
The subject of this review is a self-made man
who, without any extraordinary family or pecu-
niary advantages at the commencement of life,
has battled earnestly and energetically, and by
indomitable courage and integrity has achieved
both character and fortune. By sheer force of
will and untiring efifort he has worked his way
upward and is numbered among the leading busi-
ness men of Xampa, Idaho.
A native of Utah, he was born in Wellsville,
Novemjjer 3, i860, and is of Scotch ancestry.
His father, John Stoddard, was born in Scotland
and during his boyhood emigrated to the United
States, in company with his father and the other
members of the family, a location being made in
Utah. During his business career he followed
farming and engaged in the sawmill business.
He married Miss Emily Kershaw, a native of
England, who departed this life in the twenty-
eighth year of her age, leaving four children, all
yet living. The father passed away when fifty-
five years of age.
Alexander Stoddard, their second son, was
educated in Utah, and when eleven years of age
began to learn the trade of manufacturing lum-
ber in his father's sawmill, since which time he
has continued in that line of business. He is
now a part owner of a sawmill at Baker City,
Oregon, and in 1886 he located at Nampa, where
he opened a yard for the sale of his lumber. Not
long afterward he purchased a hardware store,
and in 189S erected a large brick store in the
center of the business district, in which he con-
ducts his hardware trade. He has won a good
patronage, enjoying the public confidence, be-
cause of his honorable business methods and his
courteous treatment of his patrons. Other en-
terprises have also claimed his time and atten-
tion. He was instrumental in organizing the
Xampa Fruit Evaporating Company, which has
a large and well arranged building and uses the
^Nlonteith patent, with a capacity of fifteen thou-
sand pounds of green fruit per day. The country
surrounding Nampa is a fine fruit district and
the evaporator will therefore furnish an excellent
market for the products of the orchard. In con-
nection with a partner Mr. Stoddard owns six
thousand eight hundred and eighty acres of land,
in Uinta county, Wyoming, on which they are
extensively engaged in stock-raising.
On the 19th of January, 1892, was celebrated
the marriage of our subject and Miss Mary Ann
Parkinson, a native of Grantsville, Utah. They
have six children: Laura, Edna, Cora, Charles,
Hortense and \'eda. Socially Mr. Stoddard is
connected with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and in politics is a "silver" Republican,
but has neither time nor inclination to seek pub-
lic office, preferring to devote his energies to his
business interests, which are varied and exten-
sive. He is a man of resourceful business ability
and along many lines has successfully conducted
his operations, steadily advancing to a place
among the substantial citizens of the state of
Idaho. He has met obstacles and difficulties,
but has overcome them by determined purpose,
and by energy and careful management has won
prosperity.
CHAPTER XXIII
WASHINGTON COUNTY— ITS TOWNS, RESOURCES, ETC.
WASHINGTON COUNTY lies on the
western border of the state of Idaho, and
about five hundred miles from the Pacific
co?st. It contains a large area of land suited to
various purposes. It has a population of over
five thousand people. Its inhabitants are, gener-
ally speaking, enterprising and thrifty people,
many of them having settled here in the early
6o"s and have remained ever since. The early
settler devoted himself to stock-raising and
placer-mining, and he thought that was all the
county was fit for. But as the county began
settling up it was soon found that anything which
grew in a temperate climate would grow here.
Washington county is now considered to be a
kingdom within itself, as it produces everything
necessary for comfort and happiness. Its re-
sources are so varied that it would be impossible
to mention all of them in this connection.
Agriculture and kindred industries are pursued
more at present than anything else. This in the
past has been confined largely to the raising of
wheat and hay. But of late years our farmers
have been planting large orchards and diversify-
ing their products generally.
Anywhere in the valleys all kind of grain, fruits
and cereals can be successfully grown. Wherever
Washington county fruit is exhibited it always
carries away a premium. At a recent state fair
held in Boise, Washington county carried off
more premiums than any other county in the
state.
But agriculture is not the only industry of the
county, by any means. The northern portion of
the county, which is mostly mountainous, is thick-
ly studded with pine timber, the supply of which
is practically inexhaustible. In the past it has
been used largely for fuel and in mining, but it
is a shame to burn up such fine saw- timber when
there is an abundance of other fuel right at the
doors. With the advent of better transportation
facilities lumber will form an important factor in
our commerce.
There are good coal indications all over the
county, only awaiting the advent of capital to
develop them. In Crane creek canyon, a large
bed of good coal has been unearthed and some
development work done. The coal is of a good
quality, making excellent furnace coal, and can
be used in the forge with fairly good results. This
coal will coke. It has been estimated by some
that there is coal enough here to supply all of
the state of Idaho. Up on Middle fork is an-
other coal deposit which has been used for black-
smithing for several years. One blacksmith has
used this coal ever since its discovery, and says
he has used coal all the way from Pittsburg to
the coast and has never seen any superior to this.
On the hill just above the vein where he gets his
coal was found a chunk weighing over a ton,
which gives evidence that there is an immense
deposit further back that has not yet been un-
covered.
Dow'n in Middle valley, which adjoins the
Salubria valley on the south, are strong indica-
tions of petroleum. In fact it is almost impossi-
ble to get good water in some locations on ac-
count of the strong coal-oil taste.
The raising of range stock is still carried on to
a large extent. The abundance of fine range on
the hills which surround the numerous valleys
make this the stock-raisers' paradise and make
it possible to conduct the business on a large
scale at a very small cost. Animals keep fat on
the range nine or ten months in a year. As a
general thing they are gathered into the feed
yard in December and turned out again in March.
Sheep are summered back in the mountains and
driven down to the lower land in the fall, where
they are kept until after lambing and shearing
are over. The tendency of late years has been
to get rid of the scrub stock and breed up to a
higher standard, and as a result Washington
county cattle, hogs and mutton sheep are sought
for by buyers from all over the country.
At present Washington county only lias a few
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
267
miles of railroad. The Oregon Short Line taps
the county at the extreme southern end, running
through Weiser and crossing the Snake river
into Oregon a short distance from that place.
There will, however, soon be a railroad running
the entire length of the county from north to
south. Starting from some point on the Oregon
Short Line (the exact location of which has not
been decided upon), a survey has been run up
the Weiser river through Middle valley, Salubria,
Alpine, Council, and following up Hornet creek
terminates at the famous Seven Devils. It is also
proposed to run a branch road from Salubria in
a northwesterly direction to Ruthburg.
SALUBRI.\ VALLEY.
This is in the geographical center of Washing-
ton county, Idaho. It is about sixty-five miles
southeast of the famous Seven Devils mining dis-
trict and seventy-five miles east of north of Boise,
the state capital. It has a population (including
families on the small streams which run into the
valley, and which are practically a part of this
valley) of about twelve hundred people, and con-
tains about forty-five square miles of rich agri-
cultural land, very level, with a gradual slope to-
ward the rivers which course through it. The
Big Weiser river flows the entire length of the
valley, while the Little Weiser flows only a short
distance and forms a partnership with its bigger
brother just below the town of Salubria. The
two streams furnish an ample supply of water
for all the needs of the valley. Alills, factories,
smelters, etc., have no use for steam engines, as
there is sufficient water power in the Big Weiser
to run all the machinery that will ever be needed
here.
Salubria valley contains about twelve thousand
six hundred acres of land under cultivation. This
land produces almost anything that is put in the
ground. Many farmers here own from one hun-
dred and sixty to one thousand acres of land, and
having more than they can handle profitably are
willing to dispose of it to settlers. The average
price of lands is thirty dollars to thirty-five dol-
lars per acre. If these farms were cut up into
forty or eighty acre tracts, the present amount
of cultivated land is capable of sustaining at least
three times the population it now has. There are
seven thousand five hundred and sixtv acres of
uncultivated deeded land, most of which could be
converted into good farms, and about half that
amount of government land. This includes the
valley lands only. All of the best land in the
valley has been taken up, but there remains ten
thousand acres of hill land which can be taken
up as homesteads and which produces better fall
grain than the low land of the valley. It being
rolling, the ground does not flood when the snow
melts in the spring, and fall-sown grain gets a
sufficiently good start by the spring rains so that
it is past the danger point before the dry season
sets in. Much of the hill land can be irrigated
from springs.
Prices of uncuUivated deeded land range from
four dollars per acre up. So it will be seen that
there is an abundance of good farm land here.
The only drawback in the past has been trans-
portation facilities, but this problem is about to
be solved by the building of railroads.
THE TOWN OF SALUBRLA.
As Salubria valley is in the geographical cen-
ter of Washington county, so also is Salubria
in the Salubria valley. It is advantageously situ-
ated in the very heart of one of the greatest min-
ing, agricultural and stock-raising sections of
Idaho. -Its inhabitants are enterprising and in-
dustrious people, who are always awake to the
best interests of their town and themselves.
Situated, as it is, at the confluence of the Big
and Little Weiser rivers, it possesses irrigating
and manufacturing advantages not excelled by
any other town in the west.
East, west, north and south of Salubria, as
far as the eye can reach, may be seen immense
fields of luxuriant grain and beautiful meadows,
dotted with farm houses and fine orchards ; while
thousands of cattle, horses and sheep roam the
adjacent hills and plateaux, and grow fat upon
their nutritious wild grass.
Salubria is a business center for all this vast
agricultural, mining and stock-raising country
which surrounds it. In fact it only needs a glance
at the map to convince one that it is the "hub"
of the county.
The warm springs, about two miles north of
Salubria, are destined to become a famous sum-
mer resort. They contain medicinal properties
conunon to mineral springs, the exact analysis
268
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of which we have never learned. If the water
from here were piped down to Salubria, and a
bathing place built and water used for heating
purposes in business houses and residences, the
pron.oters would realize handsomely on the in-
vestment.
MIDDLE VALLEY.
Aliddle valley is about five miles west of south
from Salubria. It is very similar to Salubria val-
ley in climate, products, etc. All that has been
said of Salubria valley can truthfully be said of
Middle valley. It contains an area of about forty
square miles, and is well supplied with water for
irrigating purposes, having a canal from the
Weiser river on the east side and Keithley creek
on the west.
This valley has about fifteen thousand acres
under cultivation, and about seven thousand
acres of uncultivated land; eighty per cent of
the uncultivated land is government land and
open to settlement. It is estimated that between
fifty and seventy-five per cent of the government
land would make good farm land if taken up
and cultivated. This would leave over four thou-
sand acres of, good tillable land that may be had
for taking. By building reservoirs for storing
water for irrigating purposes, a much laTger area
could be brought under cultivation with very
small expense. The principal products of this
valley are wheat, oats, barley, rye, apples, prunes,
pears, peaches and small fruits. Lumber and
stock-raising are also important factors in tribu-
tary resources.
COUNCIL VALLEY.
The town of Council is the metropolis of this
valley. The town has a population of about
one hundred people, and supports three general
merchandise stores, and a hotel, saloon, black-
smithshop, etc., in proportion. The town has an
enterprising and progressive class of citizens, and
is pushing ahead with a future that its people
would not exchange with any town in the county.
The principal industries of the valley are farming,
stock-raising, mining and lumbering. Its prod-
ucts are wheat, oats, cane, barley and ha\-, as
well as all kinds of hardy fruits. The valley con-
tains about sixteen thousand acres of cultivated
land and one hundred thousand acres of unculti-
vated land. About fifty per cent of the latter is
government land. It is estimated that about
twenty per cent of the government land could be
cultivated. The town of Council is twenty-two
miles from Salubria.
INDIAN VALLEY.
Alpine is the chief town of Indian \'alley. It
is ten miles from Salubria. It is a small town,
but is growing and has bright future prospects.
The valley contains sixteen thousand acres of
deeded land; four thousand under cultivation,
and one hundred and fifty thousand acres of gov-
ernment land. Its principal industries are farm-
ing and stock-raising. The principal products
are wheat, oats, barley, hay. fruit, vegetables,
pork and wool. It is very similar in every re-
spect to the valleys above mentioned.
The town of Indian Valley is about five miles
beyond Alpine and is the terminus of the Weiser-
Indian Valley stage line. It is in the center of a
rich agricultural and stock-raising country.
RUTHBURG.
Ruthburg precinct has a population of about
one hundred people. The post-office is located
twenty-three miles northwest from Salubria. The
altitude is lower than that of Salubria valley, it
being almost on a level with Snake river. Its
products are all and more than can be raised in
the higher valleys. Owing to its mild climate,
some of the more tropical fruits which cannot
be raised here do well in that valley. The Ruth-
burg country prides itself on the excellent quality
of its fruits. Mining is an important industry
and quite an item at Ruthburg. There are many
good mines here, producing gold, silver, copper
and iron. The mountains around Ruthburg are
a continuation of the Seven Devils range, and it
is considered by experts that just as good copper
mines as the Peacock in the Seven Devils will be
found here.
BROWNLEE.
Brownlee is at the ferry across the Snake river.
Continuing on from P.rownlee the wagon road
passes through Pine valley and reaches Cornu-
copia. Pine valley is a large agricultural and
grazing country and Cornucopia is a mining
camp of about one thousand people.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
MEADOWS.
Continuing on up the road from Council we
come to the Meadows. This neighborhood has
a population of about thr^e hundred. The town
contains two stores, a blacksmith shop, hotel,
etc. It is the place where prospectors purchase
the last of their supplies before .going back into
the mountains. The principal industries are
farming, stock-raising, mining and lumbering.
There are endless forests containing fine lumber
material.
HORNET CREEK.
Continuing on up Hornet creek to Dale and
Bear, one passes through a rich agricultural,
stock and fruit-raising country. The conditions
here are about the same as in the lower valleys,
except that nearer the mountains the valleys
gradually narrow, and the altitude being higher,
the growing season is necessarily a little shorter.
LONG VALLEY.
Situated a little south of east from Salubria
and just outside of the county line is Long val-
ley. The valley has a population of fourteen
hundred people. As its name indicates it is a
very long valley, containing seven townships of
surveyed land ; twenty thousand acres under cul-
tivation and one hundred thousand uncultivated.
About sixty per cent of the uncultivated could
be made good producing land. About three
thousand head of cattle and six hundred head of
horses roam its hills. The principal industries
are stock-raising and dairying. Hay, grain and
vegetables do well in this valley and the people
are just learning that the hardier fruits can be
raised as well there as anywhere else.
CRANE CREEK.
The Crane creek and Paddock valley country
comprises the bigger part of the southwestern
portion of the county, and it is a vast agricultural
and stock country. It contains three post-offices,
namely, Brannan, Crane and Wilburs.
WEISER.
Weiser. the county-seat of Washington county,
is located in the extreme southern portion of the
county on Snake river and on the west bank
of Weiser river, which joins the Snake at this
point, and is the central point for an immense
tract of the most fertile and productive land in
Idaho. Weiser is the base for supplies for all the
country north as far as Salmon river, the new
iron bridge for that river having been freighted
from here, this being the onlv possible route
practicable for wagon traffic. Countv and state
roads lead to all important points in central and
northern Idaho and a portion of eastern Ore-on
embracing a territory at least one hundred and
fi ty miles square and giving Weiser exceptional
advantages in the matter of location. Weiser
IS also the distributing point for twentv-three
post-offices.
A direct natural roadway up the Weiser river
connects \Veiser with Middle, Salubria, Indian
and Council valleys; and a telephone line thirtv-
hve miles m length now connects Weiser with
those valleys. This is the onlv route to the great
Seven Devils copper camps.
The exports consist of cattle, horses, hogs,
sheep, wool, hides, fruit and other farm products!
and silver, gold and copper ores. All branches
of business are well represented.
The court-house is a new brick, and is in every
way creditable, of pleasing style, and the ap-
pointments for all the officials being ample and
convenient. The edifice for the new graded
school is of brick, two stories, divided into four
rooms, with ample halls and cloak rooms, and
fully furnished and equipped with all required
appliances, and is ably and carefully conducted.
The business blocks are of brick and erected in
pleasing style. The hotels are adapted to all
classes, and the little city can point with pride
to the best one in the state, — a handsome brick,
with all modern conveniences, and conducted in
a manner that leaves no occasion for reasonable
complaint.
Religious denominations are well represented.
The Baptists have a very neat church building
and a large and growing membership. The Epis-
copalians have completed an elegant church, in
which divine service is regularly held and largely
attended. The Congregational society have dedi-
cated a convenient and commodious church
building, and have a strong and steadily increas-
ing congregation. The Catholics (Roman) have
a desirable church property, and it is with satis-
faction that we can note a social advancement .
ill proportion to our material progress, and those
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
who come from the adult communities of the
older states will here find ample educational facil-
ities and religious homes in place of those left
behind, and day by day the clouds roll back, lift-
ing in the full sunshine of new prosperity and
enlightenment.
Another and a very attractive feature is the
climate, which for salubrity is unequaled, the per-
centage of deaths by disease being less than any
of the United States. Starting from New York,
traveling by way of any of the great routes across
the continent, as soon as the Boise river is crossed
the temperature moderates, and from there to the
crossing of Snake river, twenty miles west of
Weiser. the difference is very marked. This is
due. no doubt, to the fact that the north line of
the valley is environed by high hills that protect
us from the northern storms. Again, by reason
of its nearness to the Pacific (the actual distance
being only three hundred and fifty miles) and the
elevation of Weiser being only two thousand one
hundred feet above sea level, the climate is re-
markably mild, the summers are long and during
the day very warm, but evening never fails to
bring cool breezes, and a sultry night is a rare
exception even in Snake river valley, and when
these hot days come, as come they must to ripen
grain and fruit, then only a short day's drive and
we have the snow-fed streams and pine-covered
mountains. At any month of the year from the
heat of the valley one can look away and see
some giant peak snow-capped and suggesting
cooling shades and healthful retreats. The win-
ters are short as compared with those of the east-
ern states. During one season there was none
at all, and the average time that sheep are fed
will not exceed sixty days, often less. Cyclones
have never presumed to put in an appearance.
But many of the residents from Kansas and Ne-
braska are becoming reconciled to their absence,
showing that cyclones are not, after all, abso-
lutely necessary to perfect happiness! Thunder
storms occur, but are not frequent, and are not
by anv means of that demonstrative kind that
happen in by way of the stovepipe and take the
whole house with them when they leave, — none
of that sort. In brief, the climate here is one
that for all seasons cannot be excelled by any
country, and. truly said, equaled by very few.
^lalarial diseases are verv uncommon and can be
traced to local causes in every instance, and the
general health of the community is a serious
drawback to gentlemen of the medical profession.
As the days of gold digging began to lose their
attraction by reason of smaller production some
of the old pioneers remembered that away back
■ in the land of the rising sun there used to be a
fashion among men of tilling the soil, and as a
result crops of different kinds were produced,
good for man and beast to eat. The valleys were
pleasant to look at and the experiment was tried.
Ground was broken and the seed put in. Water
was brought from the abundant streams, and the
results were astounding. As by magic the desert
blossomed and the memories of old home farms
were eclipsed by results in the new land. These
experiments, and they cannot be classed much
higher, demonstrated that here was a soil and
all the climatic conditions necessary to successful
and highly varied agriculture, and moreover its
proximity to the mining and lumber districts
would in the near future furnish a home demand
that would insure remunerative prices. The soil
of all the valleys is eminently productive and con-
tains all the elements — vegetable and mineral — •
required to impart the highest degree of fertility
and producing phenomenal yields of grain, fruit,
vegetables and hops. Weiser is situated in the
center of a vast garden. From one of the hill
tops north of town one .sweep of the vision can
take in a territory of more than fifty thousand
acres, and every ten acres under cultivation could
afford a home and support to ten people. It is
a land for small holdings to be well cared for
and for the production of a class of commodities
that pay to raise and are always in demand, but
their production requires patience, industry and
attention, and any ten acres of sage-brush land,
with proper water in two years from the start
will be subjugated and become the owner's taith-
ful supporter if the above requirements are com-
plied with. There is no such word as "fail," and
there is no fear of over-production, for at all
times fruit, vegetables and other products can be
profitably shipped in car and train load lots to
various market points. Land is cheaper here
than in any other part of the continent, produc-
tiveness and favorable climatic conditions con-
sidered. Nearly every product required for can-
ning purposes, grows luxuriantly here, such as
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
271
berries, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, nectar-
ines, peaches, plums, prunes, etc., and such veg-
etables as sweet corn, beans, cucumbers, peas,
tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, melons and can-
taloupes are on par with other products, and
every year carloads are shipped to adjacent and
less productive localities. Any ordinary garden
in Weiser or vicinity will demonstrate all these
claims. The culture of hops promises to be a
great resource of this county, but fruit culture is
fast becoming the leading industry here, and the
record of Idaho at the Columbian Exposition is
of world-wide notoriety: the fruits receiving the
highest awards all came from this (Washington)
county and were grown within ten miles of
Weiser. And Mann creek valley is fast assum-
ing the appearance of a vast orchard, and coming
years will see this beautiful section wholly de-
voted to fruit-raising. Any number of other
localities afiford equal facilities.
The prune industrv promises to become a
leading feature, and to this we will devote a
special mention. The cultivation of this staple
product is an industry that has been fully dem-
onstrated a success. Nowhere in the known
world are found all the conditions as here for the
production of this almost indispensable fruit, and
no other locality has yet produced it to such a
degree of perfection, and it is confidently regard-
ed as a source of future wealth for this county.
The prune-producing countries are not numer-
ous, but are confined to a very limited number
of localities, and over-production is a practical
impossibility. Encouraged by the success of the
past few years the industry has steadily assumed
greater proportion, and fruit-growers are now
satisfied beyond question of the ultimate results,
and reduced to figures the profits seem fabulous.
As a natural sequence hundreds of acres are now
set out with prunes : and why not, since a careful
examination of the facts as to the profits derived
from a small prune orchard are sufficient to con-
vince the most conservative? We regret that our
space is too limited to give this all important
subject the explanation it so justly deserves. We
have, however, prepared the following statement,
based on correct figures and actual results, which
we trust will convey to the mind of the interested
reader something of an idea of the profits accru-
ing from the prune industry: Placing the value
of unimproved land under irrigation at twenty
dollars, and expense of fencing and breaking
ground eight dollars per acre, makes actual cost
of land, ready for planting the trees, twenty-eight
dollars per acre. Ordinarily, one hundred and
thirty trees are planted to the acre. Two year old
trees are worth ten cents each, or one hundred
and thirty trees thirteen dollars. Expense of
planting is three dollars and fifty cents per acre.
Taxes and interest on investment and culture of
the orchard until the trees are in bearing condi-
tion, fifteen dollars — making- the total cost of one
acre of orchard in bearing condition, fifty-nine
dollars and fifty cents. .The whotesale price of
evaporated prunes averages nine and one-half
cents per pound. The loss in weight by evapor-
ation is fifty per cent. Hence, allowing one-half
cent per pound for expense of picking, evapor-
ation and boxing, the value of the product in the
boxes would be four and one-half cents per
pound. Counting two hundred pounds per tree,
makes a grand total of one thousand and one
hundred dollars per acre!
Touching the other resources, so vast a field
opens as to make it impossible to fully cover it
in the space we have here. So far, most of the
resources are only sufficiently developed to dem-
onstrate what future well directed efforts can
accomplish.
It is of course generally known that Idaho has
always been classed as a mineral state and all
other industries have been considered secondary
in importance, and very justl}-: for only a few
years back are the old days when Boise basin
was adding its millions in gold to the national
wealth; and still further in the north old Flor-
ence was producing fabulous amounts, and in
fact all over the territory placer diggings were in
operation and thousands of hardy miners were
taking the yellow metal from the sands and scat-
tering it with careless hands broadcast. In those
days of old, less than ten dollars a day to the
man was not worth making, and so on and on
this gold-hunting army would travel, making
only a superficial survey of the land. Lead claims
that to-day are worth millions were passed by as
not worth taking. Silver was then, as now. of no
account. Copper, lead, iron, gypsum, and such
base substances, were only impediments to be
cursed for their frequency. But those days are
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
past — the record made up. But yet in the ever-
lasting mountains this hidden weaUh remains —
a treasure left for this and future generations,
and of this Washington county has her full pro-
portion, and within its limits are found all of the
valuable materials just named and coal in addi-
tion. Among the mining camps of the county,
the most prominent was Mineral. Several mines
were in active operation, producing silver, and
giving employment to hundreds of men. The
recent action of our glorious government did
not hurt Mineral — it simply killed it. It is still
there with myriads of others waiting for a resur-
rection. Its two idle smelters are monuments
of former greatness.
The county abounds in streams that are
capable of furnishing unlimited power for min-
ing and milling and are now running to wanton
waste, that only require to be harnessed to wheels
to furnish motive power and light.
THE SEVEN DEVILS.
Eighty miles north from Weiser, as the road
runs, the district with the above suggestive name
is situated. Whence the name no man knows.
By reason of a clerical error in defining the
boundary line between this and Idaho county
part of the district was placed in the latter. The
immense deposits of copper in this district are
matters of astonishment to all investigators —
either experts or ordinary visitors — exceeding as
it does, beyond question, anything of the kind
elsewhere on the continent. It is not intended
in this to give the names of properties. Sufficient
it is to say that thousands of tons of ore are in
sight from the surface that will pay well now to
mine and transport to Weiser for shipment by
rail to Salt Lake for reduction. In and very
near this district are the Hilderbrand mines.
Bear Creek, Plaza Basin, Rapid River and other
promising points, all of which are sure to develop
into prominent producing camps.
The greatest elevation of this county is less
than eight thousand feet, and the mountain.-;
are thickly covered with magnificent forests of
pine, fir and tamarack, and the general appearance
of the country very beautiful and abundantly
Vi^atered by swift mountain streams and abound-
ing in springs. On the Snake river slope the
scenery is of the wildest description. The river
here, for several miles, runs through a box can-
non, and quite narrow, and may be said to liter-
ally turn up on its edge. The country breaks
very abruptly and the difference in elevation
between the river and the mines is nearly five
thousand feet in a distance of less than four
miles. All the intersecting canyons are heavily
timbered with pine and spruce and some day will
be of immense value for wood-pulp manufac-
tories. The east side is a far different country,
not nearly so rough, and the giant timber and
grass-covered slopes, entirely devoid of under-
brush, give it a park -like appearance that is pleas-
ing beyond description. Altogether, it is a fair
land to look upon and will soon be a profitable
one to be in. Nearly equidistant from the North-
ern Pacific and the Union Pacific, there will
some day be a strife for possession, and the only
possible route into this country is by way of
Weiser and up the Weiser river, the distance
being about ninety miles, and most of the way
on grades of less than one per cent to within five
miles of the principal mines.
The timber resource is most valuable, and the
demand now exists and is increasing for home
consumption, and for no other reason but lack of
local enterprise and capital the present supply of
lumber comes largely from Oregon or some
other point by rail, and besides is not of the best
quality. There is also a large local demand for
fuel, that would all be supplied from these forests.
All of this will directly benefit Weiser.
Besides the precious metals and immense de-
posits of copper, iron and lead abound, and other
minerals, such as coal, asbestos, gypsum and mi-
ca, are abundant: and the immense quantities of
garnets found in the copper mines would suggest
that they be utilized as an abrasive material, and
no doubt superior to many now extensively
used. This should eventually become a prom-
inent industry, as the use for such material is
constantly increasing, and the value of a peoika-
nent supply will be appreciated by practical men.
WARREN.
This great gold-producing camp is directly
tributary to Weiser and the developments of the
past indicate that, if situated in any other county,
it would attract the attention of the world. As
the most wonderful placer camp of the old days.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
273
the stories of its richness are fabulous: but as
time passed the diggings available to the primi-
tive methods became too tame for wild ideas, and
gradually the population removed. But the few
who remained turned their attention to quartz,
and now have developed properties that are un-
surpassed for richness. This camp is destined to
become a permanent and wealthy locality.
IRRIGATION.
This is an arid country. That means that for
the growing of all products of the soil irrigation
is required, and in this respect we are fully and
perfectly prepared to meet all requirements. Our
never failing supply is the Weiser, a beautiful,
swift-flowing stream that heads one hundred
miles north, and is fed on its way to the Snake
\iver by numerous mountain streams, and at the
mouth of the canyon where it enters the valley it
shows, at the lowest stage ever known, a depth
of three feet and a width of one hundred and
twenty feet, and a flow of eight miles per hour.
This record was made in August, after the maxi-
mum drain for irrigation was over. During the
earlier months the amount of water is far beyond
any possible requirement. The present irrigation
facilities are: The Weiser Water Company's
canal, seventeen miles in length, which supplies
twelve thousand acres, this being ample for the
present, and can be easily increased to double its
size : and the Weiser Irrigation Company's canal,
six miles in length, which supplies over three
thousand acres and also furnishes power for mill-
ing, the fall being twenty-seven feet, offering un-
surpassed facilities for factories of any kind, and
the capacity and usefulness of this property can
be doubled at small outlay. Mann creek, Mon-
roe and Jenkins' creek valleys are all supplied by
local streams. Snake river at this point is a mag-
nificent river one thousand feet wide and only
divides the fertile valleys of Idaho from thou-
sands of acres of equally productive lands in Ore-
gon. The water is clear and pure, and when the
demand comes for city water works no place in
the world could excel Weiser for permanence and
purity of its water supply. Water is also taken
out for irrigation by means of wheels.
CHAPTER XXIV.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
HON. JAMES G. WATTS.
ft]\IOXG the practitioners of the bar of
Silver City, Idaho, is James G. \\'atts,
who is also a distinguished member of
the state senate. Pennsylvania is the state
of his nativity, his birth having occurred
in the town of Wellsboro, July 23, 1858.
His father, Daniel Watts, was a native of Eng-
land, and on crossing the Atlantic to America
took up his residence in New York, whence he
afterward removed to the Keystone state. There
he was married to Miss Harriet Goodrich, a na-
tive of Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and a repre-
sentative of an old Puritan family. During the
civil war the father entered the service of his
country as a member of the Union army, and
participated in the celebrated march to the sea.
He died in a New York hospital of disease con-
tracted in the service, leaving a widow and five
children. The mother of these children died in
1890, when she had attained the age of sixty
years.
James G. Watts acquired his literary education
in the Mansfield (Ohio) Normal School, where
he was graduated in the class of 1880. For a
number of years he successfully engaged in teach-
ing school, and then began preparation for the
legal profession as a student in the law office of
Hon. T. W. McNealy, of Pittsburg, Illinois.
Later he attencj^d the Union College of Law-, of
Chicago, and was admitted to practice April i,
1886, in North Platte, Nebraska. He com-
menced practice at Ogallala, Nebraska, and con-
tinued there two years; then was in Omaha two
years. In 1890 he removed to Idaho City, con-
tinuing a member of the bar of that place for
three years, since which time he has made his
home in Silver City. Here he has enjoyed a
satisfactory clientage, and has been connected
with most of the important litigation tried in the
courts of his district. He has a keenly analytical
mind and determines with accuracy the strong
points in a suit without losing sight of the de-
tails. He is exacting in the research and care
with which he prepares his cases, and in argu-
ment he is strong. His ability has drawn to him
a large practice, and his success indicates his
mastery of the principles of jurisprudence.
In 1889 ^Ir. Watts was united in marriage to
Miss Pearl Stoner, a daughter of S. A. Stoner,
who was engaged in merchandising in Ogallala,^
Nebraska. They have two children — James G.
and Nancy E. Mr. Watts is a member of the
Episcopal church and of the Masonic lodge of
.Silver City, in which he is now serving as junior
warden. His political support is given the men
and measures of the Democratic party, and while
in Idaho City he was elected to the second ses-
sion of the state senate. In 1898 he was again
elected to that position from Owyhee county,
and is now serving most creditably in the upper
house of the state legislature, his close study of
the issues of the day and the needs of the com-
monwealth enabling him effectively to advocate
those measures which he believes are best calcu-
lated to promote the general welfare. At the
close of the fifth session of the legislature he was
appointed by Governor Stuenenberg chairman of
the code commission — a commission created by
the legislature to codify and annotate the laws
of the state. He is accounted one of the leading
lawyers of the state, one of its most competent
officials, and is highh- esteemed for those social
gifts and manly qualities which render him popu-
lar with all classes of society.
GEORGE PETTENGILL.
The subject of this review is one whose his-
tory touches the pioneer epoch in the annals of
the state of Idaho, and whose days form an inte-
gral part of that indissoluble chain which linked
the early formative period with that of latter day
progress and prosperity. Not alone is there par-
ticular interest attaching to his career as one of
1b/
J%/f^^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the pioneers of Idaho, but in reviewing his
genealogical record we find his lineage tracing
back to the colonial history of the nation and to
that period which marked the inception of the
grandest republic the world has ever known.
Through such sources have we attained the true
American type, and along this line must our in-
vestigations proceed if we would learn of the
steadfast and unyielding elements which consti-
tute the basis upon which has been reared the
lofty and magnificent superstructure of an en-
lightened and favored commonwealth.
In 1620 Richard Pettengill was born in Staf-
fordshire, England, and in 1641 he landed on the
shores of New England, there to found a family
that has sent its branches out into various sec-
tions of the country. He married Johanna
Ingersol, and their son, Samuel, was married
February 3, 1674, to Sarah Poor. On the i8th of
December. 1692, was born to them a son, to
whom they gave the name of Benjamin. He was
the father of Andrew P. Pettengill, the grand-
father of the subject of this sketch. He was
born in 1742 and removed to Salisbury, New
Hampshire, where he married Miss Sarah Abi-
gail Greely, who was born in 1749. Their son,
David Pettengill, father of our subject, was born
December 4, 1791, and married Hannah Ouinby.
She died, and he later married her sister, Sarah
Abigail Ouinby, who became the mother of our
subject. In 1838 they removed to Alton, Illinois,
and the father established one of the first saw-
mill industries in that section of the state, but he
was not long permitted to enjoy his new home,
his death occurring soon after his arrival in the
Mississippi valley. His wife did not long sur-
vive him, and thus three little children were left
orphans in that then new country.
George Pettengill was born in Salisbury, New
Hampshire, on the i8th of Alay, 1832, and w^as
only ten years old at the time of his mother's
death. Thus early he was thrown upon his own
resources, and whatever success he has since
achieved is due entirely to his own efforts. He
worked on a farm and obtained his education in
tlie hard school of experience. At the age of
seventeen he secured a clerkship in a country
store, and was thus employed until the building
of the railroad from Alton, Illinois, to Terre
Haute, Indiana, when he was made superintend-
ent of a number of men engaged on the con-
struction of that road. In 1852. with a party of
fifteen, he crossed the plains with oxen, taking
three hundred head of cattle. At Fort Laramie,
in company with five companions, he left the re-
mainder of the party and continued the journey
to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he remained for
a month. On the expiration of that period Mr.
Pettengill resumed his trip, by way of the Honey
Lake Valley route, to California, and, after a
short time passed at Shasta, went to Weaverville.
He engaged in mining along the Trinity river
until 1858, when, attracted by the excitement at
the Eraser river, he made his way thither in
search of gold.
The following year, however, Mr. Pettengill
returned to California and for some years was en-
gaged in hauling freight from Red Blufif, then the
head of steamboat navigation on the Sacramento
river, to various points in the northern section of
the state. In 1862 he came with a pack train
across the mountains to Lewiston, Idaho, and
engaged in the raising of cattle and horses on
Squaw creek, in which undertaking he met with
excellent success, having on hand as many as
three hundred and fifty head of cattle at one time
and half that number of horses. In 1883 he came
to Boise and for some time conducted the Central
Hotel, but for some years past has been engaged
in the public service.
In politics Mr. Pettengill has been a lifelong
Republican, and in 1876 was a member of the
territorial council for Boise county. He repre-
sented Ada county in the state legislature in 1884,
and from 1887 until 1890 he was the assessor of
Ada county, a position which he has since filled
for six years. His long service plainly indicates
his fidelity to duty and his ability in the discharge
of the tasks that fall to his lot. He is thoroughly
posted on the value of every piece of property in
the county, and neither fear nor favor can swerve
him from the path of duty and rectitude.
In 1876 Mr. Pettengill was united in marriage
to Mrs. Anna Harris, and they have three sons.
The eldest, George T., is now in the naval service
of his country, as a member of the crew of the
Puritan. He was at Matanzas and had the honor
of firing the first shot in the Spanish-American
war. The other sons, Benjamin and Hugh, are
twins, and are grac'uates of the high school of
276
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Boise. The family is one of prominence in the
community and the members of the household
occupy a prominent position in social circles.
His political career has been marked by fidelity,
and in social circles his genuine worth commands
the respect of all. He is numbered among Ida-
ho's honored pioneers, and his name should be
placed high on the roll of her leading citizens.
ED E MAXEY, M. D.
Illinois has furnished to Idaho a number of
her leading citizens, including Dr. E. E. Maxey.
of Caldwell. He was born in Irvington, Wash-
ington county. Illinois, on the 21st of August,
1867. , His ancestors resided in Maryland, Vir-
ginia and Tennessee. His father, Dr. W. C.
Maxey, was a practicing physician of Illinois for
many years. He was graduated in the Univer-
sity of Tennessee, and, determining to devote his
energies to the medical profession, has gained
marked prestige therein. During the civil war
he joined the First Illinois Cavalry and afterward
re-enlisted in the Eightieth Illinois Infantry,
being promoted to the rank of lieutenant before
the close of hostilities, in recognition of his meri-
torious service on the field of battle. For the
■past twelve years he has resided in Caldwell,
Avhere he has secured a large and lucrative prac-
tice. In politics he is a Republican and was
elected a member of the convention which framed
the present state constitution of Idaho. He was
also at one time commandant of the Soldiers'
Home in Boise and is now United States exam-
ining surgeon.
Dr. Ed E. Maxey is one of a family of seven
children. He prepared for his professional career
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of
Chicago, graduating in the spring of 189 1, imme-
diately after which he began the practice of medi-
cine in Caldwell, where he has succeeded in
building up a good business. He is now the resi-
dent surgeon of the Oregon Short Line Railroad,
wdiich passes through the town. He is a member
of the State Medical Association of Idaho, and
his prominence therein is indicated by the fact
that he is now serving his second term as secre-
tary of the organization. He is also a member
of the American Medical Association. In the af-
fairs of Caldwell he has taken an active part, and
is a public-si)irited. progressive citizen. He has
filled the office of coroner, has been a member of
the city council, and was the first coroner of
Canyon county, having been appointed to that
position by Governor Willey when the county
was formed, and on the expiration of his first
term was re-elected. Socially he is connected
with the Masonic fraternity and is past master of
Essene Lodge, No. 22, of Caldwell. Devoted to
the noble and humane work which his profession
implies. Dr. Maxey has proved faithful, and has
not only earned the due reward of his efforts in
a temporal way but has also proved himself
worthy to exercise the important functions of his
calling.
ANTOXE HIXKEY.
The popular proprietor of the Commercial
Hotel at Xampa is a native of Ottawa, Illinois,
where he was born April 2, 1857, his ancestors
having come from Germany. His early educa-
tion was obtained in the public schools of Ottawa,
where he remained until reaching his eighteenth
year, when he went to Nevada and engaged in
farming and stock-raising until 1888. and then he
came to Nampa and built the Commercial House,
which has done the greater part of the hotel busi-
ness of the town. The building is fifty by sixty
feet, two stories in height, and contains thirty
nicely furnished rooms. ^Ir. Hinkey is a most
accommodating host, sparing no pains to make
the traveling public feel at home and comfortable
in his house. The hotel is centrally located, con-
venient to the trains and the town and has the
majority of the transient trade.
Politically Mr. Hinkey is a stanch member of
the Democratic party and has served his home
city as trustee, and is numbered among her en-
terprising and liberal citizens.
GEORGE O. SAISIPSON.
George O. Sampson, of Silver City, was born
in Siskiyou, California, on the nth of Decem-
ber, 1853, and is of English lineage, the original
.American ancestors of the family having settled
in Maine on their emigration from the Old
World. Jonathan Sampson, the father of our
subject, was born in the Pine Tree state and en-
gaged in the lumber business there. In 1850,
however, he came to the Pacific coast and en-
gaged in mining in California, also in lumbering
in Siskivou count\'. In 18^^ he removed to Ash-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
277
land, Oregon, and later took up his abode in
Portland. He lived to a good old age and spent
his last days at Garden City. His life was up-
right and honorable, in harmony with his profes-
sions as a member of the Methodist church. His
wife lived to be sixty-three years of age. They
were the parents of six children, five of whom
reached years of maturity, while foiu" are still liv-
ing.
George O. Sampson acquired the greater part
of his education in Portland, Oregon, and on
putting aside his text-books became a mechan-
ical engineer. His residence in Idaho dates from
1864. He worked on newspapers for some years
and in 1871 came to Silver City, where he was
employed as an engineer for about fifteen years,
running some of the largest hoists in the camp.
In 1893 he purchased the Silver City and De
Lamar stage line, and in January, 1894, in part-
nership with J. C. Brown, bought out the De
Lamar Livery Company. In 1895 they also pur-
chased the Owyhee livery stable at Silver City,
and in October, 1896, they sold the other stable
and the stage line to Messrs. Scott, McCain and
Forney, retaining the Silver City business. In
1896 they purchased the big Palmer ranch in
Pleasant valley, where they have eight hundred
acres of land under fence, and cut about three
hundred tons of hay annually, while extensive
pastures supply the needs for their surplus live
stock. This is one of the best conducted ranches
in southern Idaho, and the proprietors also have
the leading livery business in Silver City. Their
barns are well supplied with good horses and
vehicles of various kinds, and their honorable
business methods and earnest desire to please
their patrons have brought them a large and con-
stantly increasing business.
In public affairs Mr. Sampson has borne an
important part, and in 1888 was called to repre-
sent Owyhee county in the territorial legislature,
where, giving careful consideration to every sub-
ject or question to be acted upon, he supported
such measures as he believed for the public good
and was a valued member of the house. He is
now chairman of the "silver" Republican county
central committee, and was a delegate to the
"silver" Republican state convention lield in
P)oise in 1898. He is also a member of the state
central committee, and his opinions carry consid-
erable weight in the councils of his party.
Socially he is connected with the Knights of
Pythias, and has been master of the exchequer
in the home lodge. He is also a member of the
IVIasonic lodge and has served therein as master.
He is a broad-minded man, who, in his support
of measures affecting the general welfare, looks
beyond the exigencies of the moment to the fu-
ture needs, and his devotion to the public good,
his irreproachable business record and his social
qualities have won him the high esteem of all
whom he has met.
E, M. BARTON.
There is probably no better criterion of the
growing and prosperous condition of a town or
city than its hotel interests. The town which is
self-centered, having no connection with the out-
side world, is unprogressive, its business stag-
nates, and its residents become lacking in enter-
prise, but if connected with outside affairs, travel
and commerce add new life and energy, and there
is a demand for entertainment on the part of the
visitors, which makes good hotels a necessity.
One of the most popular hostelries in this section
of the state is known as the Weiser Hotel, owned
by the Barton Brothers, and under the personal
management of the gentleman whose name in-
troduces this review. He has gained for his
house a reputation that is far-reaching, and its
excellence in every particular has secured it a very
liberal patronage. The hotel building was com-
pleted in February, 1897, and is built of brick,
the main building being one hundred and ten by
thirty-two feet, two stories in height with base-
ment, while the wing is thirty by seventy teet and
of the same height. The hotel contains thirty-
nine rooms furnished and fitted up in modern
style and supplied with the latest improvements
and conveniences. E. M. Barton, its manager, is
a very genial, courteous gentleman, and as he
does all in his power to make his guests com-
fortable he has become a very popular landlord
and has many friends among those whose lives
are largely devoted to travel.
He was born in Miller county. Missouri, De-
cember 16, 1856, and is descended from Welsh
ancestors, who located in the south at an early
period in the history of this country and were for
many vcars residents of Tennessee and Ken-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tucky. John H. Barton, father of our subject,
was a native of BowHng Green, Tennessee, and
in Kentucky married ]\Iiss Olive Johnson. In
1854 he removed v.ith his family to Missouri,
where he owned lands and engaged in farming
until 1873. He then resumed his westward
journey, accompanied by his wife and five chil-
dren. He remained for a year in Kansas and two
years in Colorado, then came to Idaho, locating
in Weiser in September, 1877. He departed this
life in June, 1897, and his estimable wife survived
him only six weeks. They were seventy-nine
and eighty years of age, respectively, at the time
of death. Of their children three are still living.
E. !M. Barton, the youngest child, acquired the
greater part of' his education in the schools of
]\Iissouri. He accompanied his parents on their
various removals, and since coming to Weiser
has been engaged in business with his brother
James. They have given their attention to min-
ing and stock-raising and are still extensively
engaged in those enterprises. They have ten
thousand sheep and own two sections of land, on
which they raise one thousand tons of hay per
annum. They own several valuable quartz mines
in the Seven Devils mining district, and have
sold a mine at Mineral City for nine thousand
dollars, another for twenty thousand dollars and
a third for thirty-two thousand dollars. They
also have valuable property interests in Weiser,
in addition to the hotel, and in connection with
managing the last named enterprise E. AI. Bar-
ton is also serving as a director of the Weiser
Bank. He and his brother are accounted two
of the most enterprising, successful and reliable
business men of Washington county, and enjoy
the regard of all with whom they have been asso-
ciated.
In 1888 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Barton and Miss Carrie Grab, a native of Alis-
souri. and a daughter of Conrad Grab, a farmer
of the Salubria valley. They have three children:
Edward Conrad, a student in Baker City. Ore-
gon : Katie E.. and Inez. Mr. Barton is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias
fraternity. He has given his support in many
generous ways to the perpetuation of those forces
which conserve the best interests of any com-
munity, and it has been no insignificant part he
has taken in the substantial upbuilding of his
adopted city and state. He is a man of unim-
peachable integrity and sound judgment. His
mental acumen gives him a thorough compre-
hension of large issues and at the same time an
appreciation of all essential details. Such quali-
ties have brought him marked success and made
him one of the leading business men of his sec-
tion of the state.
TROWBRIDGE C. EGLESTON,
Occupying a prominent position among the
leading business men of Caldwell. Idaho, we find
the subject of this biography, Trowbridge C.
Egleston. wholesale and retail dealer in hard-
ware, stoves, tinware, groceries, provisions,
wagons and farm machinery. The business of
which ]\Ir. Egleston is the head was established
in 1884 by Frank R. Coffin & Brother. In 1892
Mr. Egleston purchased the store and has since
been at the head of its management, doing a
prosperous business. He occupies a brick build-
ing, forty by one hundred and twenty-five feet
in dimensions, with basement, and also has two
large storehouses, in which his supply stock is
kept.
Mr. Egleston is a native of Ohio. He was
born in Madison, that state, June 19. 1857. and
traces his ancestry to England. The progenitor
of the Egleston family in this country was Eben
Egleston, who settled in Massachusetts at an
early date. He was by trade a tanner, and was
a most influential and worthy citizen. His family
comprised three sons. Russell S. Egleston. the
father of Trowbridge C. was born in Westfield,
Massachusetts, and in early life had excellent
educational advantages. He graduated at both
.\uburn Theological Seminary and Williams
College, and was for many years in the active
work of the ministry of the Presbyterian church.
He preached in Madison, Ohio, Westfield, Con-
necticut, and Gaines, New York, his pastoral
work covering half a century. He is now eighty-
three years of age, vigorous in both mind and
bofly, and is still a resident of Gaines, New York.
His good wife, who is now seventy-two vears of
age, was formerly Miss Elizabeth Trowbridge,
she being a native of Dutchess county. New
York. To them were ]:)orn t^vo sons and a
daughter.
L
OF IDAHO.
279
Trowbridge C. Egleston was educated at Cor-
nell University, Ithaca, New York, and learned
the hardware business in Albion, that state, and
in the hardware establishment of Pratt & Com-
pany, of Bufifalo, was employed for some time.
He then became traveling salesman for the Cam-
bia Iron Company, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania,
with which he was connected four years, and the
following four rears he traveled for the Simmons
Hardware Company, of St. Louis. While thus
occupied he learned the manufacturers' prices
and gained a wide range of information, which
has been of great value to him since he estab-
lished himself in a business of his own. On pur-
chasing the store above referred to at Caldwell,
he centered his interests here and from the first
has met with merited success, and he now con-
trols a trade that extends into the surrounding
country for miles.
Mr. Egleston was married in 1878 to Miss
Sarah P>. Mann, of Pittsfield, Ohio, daughter of
Philo H. Mann, an Ohio stockman. Mr. and
Mrs. Egleston have two daughters, Florence I.
and Ethel E. Mrs. Egleston is a member of the
Baptist church.
Fraternally, Mr. Egleston is a Mason, having
received the degrees of the blue lodge and chap-
ter. He has served Caldwell as mayor, and is a
Republican, taking a commendable interest al-
wavs in public affairs and looking ever to the
welfare of his city and country.
TIM SHEA.
Perhaps no one business enterprise or indus-
trv indicates more clearly the commercial and
social status of a town than its hotels. The wide-
awake, enterprising villages and cities must have
pleasant accommodations for visitors and travel-
ing men, and the foreign public judges of a com-
munity by the entertainment afforded to the
strangers. In this regard the Idaho Hotel, of
which Mr. Shea is proprietor, is an index of the
character and advantages of Silver City, for the
hostelry will rank favorably with those of many a
larger place, and its genial proprietor neglects
nothing that can add to the comfort of his guests.
He is a native of Canada, born January 7, 1852,
and is of Irish lineage. His parents, Jeremiah
and Teresa (Regan) Shea, were both born on the
Emerald Isle, and in earlv life crossed the Atlan-
tic to Canada, where the father died when quite a
young man. His wife reached the advanced age
of eighty-one years, and departed this life in
Boise. Idaho. Our subject was only seventeen
years of age when he first came to Idaho. In
company with his brother. Con Shea, he brought
a drove of cattle from Texas to this state, and
here sold them. For three successive years
they made similar trips and, although the long
journey was often a trying one, they were unmo-
lested by Indians and met with no loss. For a
number of years they continued in the stock busi-
ness, making Silver City their headquarters. Con
Shea now makes his home in Santa Rosa, Cali-
fornia, being one of the wealthy residents of that
beautiful city. He of whom we write, however,
has continued his residence in Silver City and has
become an important factor in the business life of
Owyhee county. In addition to his proprietor-
ship of the Idaho Hotel, he is also the senior
partner in the mercantile firm of Shea, McLain
& Crete, proprietors of an extensive store, and
has an interest in the Monmouth mine, which is
located twelve miles from Silver City.
In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Shea and Miss Lizzy Conners. They reside in
the hotel and in this community they are widely
and favorably known. Mr. Shea has a wide ac-
quaintance throughout the state, and is very
popular with the traveling public. In politics he
is a "silver" Republican, but has neither time nor
inclination to seek office. His energies are
largely devoted to his business interests, and he
is a man of excellent business and executive abil-
ity, who carries forward to successful completion
whatever he undertakes. He forms his plans
readily, is determined in his execution, and his
regard for the ethics of commercial life, combined
with his enterprise, has won him success and the
unc|ualified confidence of the connnunity.
EDWARD C. HELFRICH.
The superior business ability of Mr. Helfrich
has been an integral factor in the commercial ac-
tivity whereon has rested much of the prosperity
of southern Idaho. The world judges the char-
acter of a community by those of its representa-
tive citizens, and yields its tributes of admiration
and respect for the ability and accomplishments
of those whose works and actions constitute the
280 HISTORY
record of the state's prosperity and pride. There-
fore it is proper that a just celebrity should be
given to those men who are prominent in their
day and generation, that the living may enjoy
the approbation of their contemporaries as well
as that of a grateful posterity.
Edward G. Helfrich is one of the leading and
pioneer merchants of southern Idaho, and is
now successfully and extensively carrying on
operations at Mountain Home. He has, how-
ever, been the originator of many other enter-
prises which have contributed not alone to his
individual prosperity but have also promoted the
general welfare. He was born in North San
Juan. Nevada county, California, March ii, 1858.
His father. Conrad D. Helfrich, was a native of
Germany, and when a young man emigrated to
the United States, becoming a resident of Cali-
fornia in 1850. Two years later he returned to
^Maryland and was married to Miss Elizabeth
Gaynor, bringing his bride with him to his Cali-
fornia home. For many years he was engaged in
the manufacture and sale of soda water. He died
in 1876. at the age of fifty-four years, and his
wife, who still survives him, is now sixty-two
vears of age. Both were members of the Cath-
olic church and by their marriage they became
the parents of nine children, of whom seven are
yet living.
:\Ir. Helfrich of this review, the second in order
of birth, was educated in the public schools of
California, and when fifteen years of age went to
Utah, where he engaged in clerking in the store
of his uncle. J. W. Guthrie, a prominent mer-
chant of that territory. He continued in that
service for seven years, acquiring a thorough and
comprehensive understanding of the business,
both in principle and detail. Later he began
merchandising on his own account, conducting
stores in both Corinne and Ogden. In the fall
of 1882 he came to Shoshone, Idaho. The rail-
road was then being constructed through this
section of the state, but the now promising and
progressive towns found along its line had not
then been founded. j\Ir. Helfrich formed a part-
nership with Sam Holt and Howard Sebree in
the ownership of stores at Shoshone. Mountain
Home. Caldwell, Weiser and at Ogden and Salt
Lake, Utah. This connection was continued
until the spring of 1886, when the property was
divided. ^Mr. Helfrich becoming owner of the
stores in Weiser and Mountain Home. In 1887
he consolidated the two stores and has since re-
mained at ^Mountain Home, where he has a large
and well appointed store and is regarded as one
of the most reliable and successful merchants of
the town. He has built a double store, fifty by
sixty feet, in which he carries a large line of gen-
eral merchandise, and in addition he has a large
warehouse adjacent to the railroad track, in
which he stores his surplus stock, also utilizing
it for the storage of wool, Mountain Home being
an extensive wool market.
Mr. Helfrich was happily married, in February,
1888, to ]Miss Nellie G. Mallison, a native of
Pennsylvania and a daughter of Samuel Mal-
lison, now of Kansas. She is a lady of refine-
ment, possessing many estimable characteristics.
Theirs is one of the delightful homes in their lo-
cality and they are justly entitled to the high
esteem in which they are held by the citizens of
the town. In his political views Mr. Helfrich has
always been a Democrat, and has taken a prom-
inent part in promoting the interests of that or-
ganization. He represented Alturas county in
the territorial legislature in 1886-7. ^"t is not an
office-seeker, preferring to give his entire time
and attention to his business, whereby he has ac-
quired a good property. His mercantile career
is above reproach. He has met every obligation
most fully and honorably, is courteous and fair
with his patrons, and his reliability conmiends
him to their confidence and good will.
THE VENDOME HOTEL.
Among the enterprises of Weiser which are
alike creditable to the city and to their proprie-
tors is the \'endome Hotel, which was built by
its present owners and managers, Messrs. Mc-
Gregor and Coakley, and by them opened for
business in February. 1891. Since that time the
hotel has gained a very favorable reputation with
the traveling public and enjoys a large patron-
age. It is a brick structure, two stories high, and
contains twenty-eight rooms, well finished, well
furnished, well ventilated and nicely kept. Great
care is given to the perfection of all arrange-
ments which will contribute to the comfort of
the guests, and from the daintily spread tables,
supplied with all the delicacies of the season, to
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
281
the tastefully appointed parlors, all is harmonious
and attractive.
Alalcolm McGregor, the senior member of the
firm of McGregor & Coakley, was born in Pic-
ton. Nova Scotia, on the 14th of January, 1845,
and in his youth learned the machinist's trade.
He afterward operated a stationary engine and
worked at his trade both in San Francisco. Cali-
fornia, and \'irginia City, Nevada. In 1871 he
removed to Silver City, Idaho, where he accepted
the position of chief engineer of the Ida Elmore
mine and mill. He also conducted the Idaho
Hotel there for some time, but came to Weiser
in 1885. Here he engaged in raising sheep, also
conducted a hotel, but abandoned both of those
interests on joining Mr. Coakley in the erection
of and conduct of the Vendome Hotel. He is an
obliging and courteous landlord, well fitted by
nature for the duties which rest upon him, hav-
ing a social, genial disposition. He is also num-
bered among the enterprising and public-spirited
citizens of the county and withholds his support
from no movement intended to advance the gen-
eral welfare. He is a stockholder in the Tele-
phone Company and the Creamery Company,
and his sound business judgment has contributed
in no small degree to his success. As a hotel
man he is widely known and has many friends all
over the country.
James B. Coakley, the junior member of the
firm, is a western man by birth and possesses
the true western spirit of progress. He is a
native of San Francisco, California, his birth hav-
ing occurred on the loth of October, 1856. His
parents, John J. and Maria (Hanley) Coakley,
were both natives of Ireland, and in early man-
hood the father came to the United States. He
was married in San Francisco, where he now re-
sides, at the advanced age of eighty-two years.
He was custom-house inspector at New Orleans
for a number of years, and for a considerable
period engaged in merchandising in California.
His wife died in her fifty-ninth year. Thev were
the parents of five children, two of whom are liv-
ing.
James B. Coakley acquired his preliminary
education in the public schools of New Orleans,
and afterward attended the Soule Commercial
College. He dates his residence in Idaho from
1875. at whicli time he took up his abode in Sil-
ver City and entered upon the duties of book-
keeper for William Hardiman, in whose employ
he remained for six years. Later he engaged in
merchandising on his own account in connection
with William Sommercamp, of Silver City, and
while there was twice elected probate judge and
ex-officio county auditor and recorder, accept-
ably filling the position for six years, when he re-
signed to come to Weiser, in 1890. Here joining
Mr. McGregor they inaugurated their new enter-
prise, and the Vendome Hotel now stands as a
monument of their progressive spirit and busi-
ness ability.
In 1882 Mr. Coakley was happily married to
Miss Myrtle Stacey, of Pennsylvania, and they
have three children: Raynor J., Verna S. and
Donna D. Mr. Coakley is connected socially
with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, in which
he has filled all the chairs of the local lodge, and
also belongs to both lodge and encampment of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In both
branches he has taken a prominent part and has
been representative in the grand lodge. His ex-
tended circle of acquaintances includes many
warm friends, and, like Mr. McGregor, he is
popular with the traveling public. Both are men
whose success is attributable to their own efforts,
capable management, perseverance and consecu-
tive effort, and it is to such citizens that the
northwest owes her rapid and substantial devel-
opment.
CH.-\RLES H. CRETE.
A member of the firm of Shea, McLain &
Crete, prominent dealers in general merchandise
at Silver City, our subject is a native of that
place, born April 7, 1866. and is the son of Fred-
erick and Wilhelmina (Kornmann) Crete, a
sketch of whom will be found on another page of
this work.
Charles Crete attended the public schools of
Silver City during his boyhood and began his
business life in a store of William Hardman. with
whom he remained five years, during this time
becoming thoroughly acquainted with the details
of the business and acquiring an enviable reputa-
tion as a faithful clerk and good salesman. He
afterward spent five years with the firm of Baxter
& Company, in Jordan Valley, after which he re-
turned to Silver City and was for nine years in
the employ of Dave Adams in the store of which
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lie is now one of the proprietors. His ability and
diligence in the discharge of his duties, his wide
experience and his unfailing courtesy have se-
cured him the esteem not only of the citizens of
Silver City but also of the surrounding country.
Mr. Crete was married September 6, 1893, to
JMiss Helen Thompson, who was born in Lin-
wood. Nebraska, May 19, 1875, ^"d is a daugh-
ter of R. C. and Elizabeth Thompson. They
have three children — Bessie, Cladys and Mirriam
Rebecca. ~Slr. and Mrs. Crete are active and
valued members of the Odd Fellows fraternity,
in which he has passed all the chairs, and Mrs.
Crete has the honor of being past noble grand of
the Daughters of Rebekah. They have a pleas-
ant home, in which they delightfully entertain
their many friends.
W. F. BURNS.
W. F. Burns, who has engaged in general mer-
chandising in Nampa since 1893, and is one of
the successful merchants of the town, was born
in McDonald county, Missouri, on the 25th of
February, 1859, and is of Scotch and Irish line-
age. His parents, E. F. and M. E. (Kennedy)
Burns, were natives of Ceorgia and Tennessee,
respectively, and several generations of the fam-
ily lived in the south. The paternal great-grand-
father of our subject was one of the heroes who
fought for the independence of the nation. E. F.
Burns was a prominent farmer, and successfully
carried on agricultural pursuits for many years.
He belonged to the Methodist church and took
an active part in public affairs, being called to
many positions of honor and trust. He served as
United States marshal for a number of years and
discharged his duties with marked promptness
and fidelity. At the commencement of hostilities
in the civil war he espoused the cause of the
south, joining the Confederate army, but early
in the struggle he was made a prisoner of war
and incarcerated in Indiana until the war was al-
most ended. He departed this life in the sev-
enty-fourth year of his age: and his wife, who
had died some years previously, was sixty-six
years old at the time of her demise. They were
the parents of eight children.
W. F. Burns, a member of their family and the
subject of this sketch, was reared on his father's
farm in Missouri and received such educational
privileges as were afforded by the public schools
of the neighborhood. In 1881 he determined to
try his fortune in Idaho, and after his arrival
drove a mule team and performed other labor
that would yield him an honest living. Oppor-
tunity for advancement, however, is not wanting
to one of ambition and determination. He was
industrious, saved his money, and in 18S9 went
to Boise, where he engaged in business on his
own account as proprietor of a hotel, which he
conducted for four years, meeting with satisfac-
tory success. In 1893 '^^ came to Nampa and
opened a general mercantile establishment. He
carries a large and carefully selected stock of
goods, and by close attention to business and
honorable methods he has acquired a good busi-
ness and won the good will and confidence of the
citizens of Nampa and the surrounding country.
He erected a good store and residence, the for-
mer twenty by ninety feet, and is now enjoying a
large patronage.
In 1892 Mr. Burns married IMiss Fannie W.
^Morrison, a native of McDonald county, Mis-
souri, and they have three sons and a daughter —
Lloyd, Clarence, Thomas T. and Laura D. Mr.
and Mrs. Burns are members of the Methodist
church. In politics he is independent, voting for
the men whom he regards as best qualified for of-
fice. He is now serving as one of the trustees of
Nampa and is an enterprising, progressive citi-
zen. A self-made man, he deserves great credit
for his advancement in life, for fate did not favol-
him in his youth. He has been the architect of
his own fortunes and has builded wisely and well,
placing his confidence in those reliable qualities
of energy, industry and honesty which in the end
never fail to bring the merited reward.
JOSEPH PINKHAM.
Canada has furnished to the United States
many bright, enterprising young men who have
left the Dominion to enter the business circles of
this country with its more progressive methods,
livelier competition and advancement more
quickly secured. Among this number is Mr.
Pinkhani. He has somewhat of the strong,
rugged and persevering characteristics developed
by his earlier environments, which, coupled with
the livelier impulses of the New England blood
of his ancestors, made him at an early day seek
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
wider fields in which to give full scope to his
ambition and industry — his dominant qualities.
He found the opportunity he sought in the free-
dom and appreciation of the growing western
portion of the country. Though born across the
border, he is thoroughly American in thought
and feeling, and is patriotic and sincere in his
love for the stars and stripes. His career is iden-
tified with the history of Idaho, where he has ac-
quired a competence and where he is an honored
and respected citizen. Thrice has he served as
United States marshal of Idaho, and is accounted
one of her bravest pioneers.
j\Ir. Pinkham was born in Canada, on the 15th
of December. 1833. and is a representative of an
old New England family who were early settlers
of ;Maine. The first of the name to come to
America was Thomas Pinkham, a native of
^^'ales, who established his home in the Pine
Tree state. Henson Pinkham, father of our sub-
ject, was born, reared and married in Maine, and
a short time prior to the birth of his son, Joseph,
removed to Canada. The latter was reared upon
a farm near Xew London, and acquired his edu-
cation in the public schools of the neighborhood.
In 1850, when seventeen years of age, he sailed
from New York around Cape Horn for San
Francisco, and was eight months making the
trip, and after a short period spent in the latter
city went to Shasta City, California, where he
secured a situation as clerk in a store. Soon
afterward, however, he went to Pitt river, where
he engaged in placer mining, and next went on
horseback to Jacksonville, Oregon, where he en-
gaged in mining and farming, meeting with fair
success.
On the 3d of August, 1854, he went to the
Rogue river valley. The same day the Rogue
river Indian war broke out, being precipitated by
the killing of a white man near Table Rock. The
war continued for a year and peace was procured
by General Joseph Lane. In the fall of 1855,
however, trouble broke out anew, and ^Ir. Pink-
liam aided in its suppression. He was in the
quartermaster's department and participated in
the battle of Hungry Hill. He remained in Ore-
gon until 1862, devoting his energies to mining
and farming, and then removed to Umatilla, on
the Columbia river, where he engaged in clerk-
ing in the store of Z. F. Moodv, who was after-
ward governor of Oregon. In 1864, in connec-
tion with Ish and Hailey, he conducted a saddle
train between the Columbia river and Boise. He
was engaged in purchasing supplies and forward-
ing the trains until 1866, when he assisted in the
purchase of stage stock for the Mecham route to
the Boise country, and also had charge of the
road from Umatilla across the Blue mountains
until 1868. In that year he removed to Idaho
City, Idaho, and purchased the stage route across
Boise Basin to Placerville, Pioneer and Quartz-
burg; and in 1870 he bought the stage line from
Idaho City to Boise, conducting the two lines
until 1872, when he sold to the Greathouse
brothers.
In 1870 Mr. Pinkham was appointed United
States marshal for the territory of Idaho by Pres-
ident Grant, and on the completion of his first
term was again appointed by the same execu-
tive. He filled the office in a manner indeed cred-
itable to himself and satisfactory to the govern-
ment. He entered upon the duties of his position
at a time when the region was largely infested
with a lawless element and when crime held sway
in many districts. He was ever fearless in the
discharge of his duty, and to his efforts is largely
due the rapid transformation of the state to its
present condition of advanced civilization. A
brave officer, carrying out the laws of the land,
is a bulwark of defense to the better class of citi-
zens and a continual menace to the worst ele-
ment. In 1890 President Harrison appointed
l\Ir. Pinkham for a third term in the office of
United States marshal, and he therefore carried
forward the work which he had so splendidly be-
gun, the work of ridding the state of all criminal
characters, so that it might become the abiding
place of a prosperous and happy people. He had
several narrow escapes while discharging his
duties, but his bravery was ever above question,
and his reputation for fearlessness and loyalty to
duty soon spread among those who were amen-
able to law.
On one occasion he started in pursuit of a crim-
inal. He was riding on the front seat of the stage
with the driver, when, as they were passing
through a narow defile in the mountains, they
were waylaid by two men. From the brush at
his side a rifle was pointed at Mr. Pinkham, so
near that he could almost reach it as he sat lean-
28i
HISTORV OF IDAHO.
ing back with his arm across the seat. The ball
from the gun passed just in front of him and
lodged in the driver. At the same instant a man
fired from the other side, using a gun loaded with
nine buckshot. Every shot struck the beam of
the coach just behind the driver, passed through
the coach over the heads of the passengers and
lodged on the beam in the opposite side. The
driver, Charles Phelps, exclaimed: "I am shot."
Mr. Pinkham then attempted to take the lines
and whip, br.t could not wrench them from the
grasp of the dying man: so, sitting in his lap,
he swung the whip and urged the horses into a
run toward Pocatello, a distance of two or three
miles. There the driver was taken down and a
doctor who was in the coach examined him, but
said that the wound would prove fatal. So they
put him in the coach, while Mr. Pinkham sup-
ported his head and another man drove to the
Black Rock stage station, where, soon after their
arrival, the driver died. At this place the Mon-
tana stage came down, loaded with bullion and
accompanied by four well armed Wells-Fargo
messengers. J\Ir. Pinkham proceeded on his way
and arrested the man he was after and returned
safely with him to the seat of justice.
On another occasion, in 1878, a man was killed
at Ross' Fork by an Indian, whom the military
followed up Snake river and arrested. Mr. Pink-
ham then went after the offender and took him
to Malad City, where he was tried, the sentence
being that he should be hung at Boise. Mr.
Pinkham then started with him in an open rig,
putting him beside the driver, while he and his
deputy sat behind. They learned that a large
number of Indians were going to attempt his
rescue, and accordingly they took another route.
Mr. Pinkham instructed the deputy that if they
were attacked to kill their prisoner and then fight
for their own lives: but the new route selected
prevented them from having an encounter with
the red men. At length they arrived safely in
Boise, where the Indian was hung.
In 1892, the time of the miners' strike and riots
at Coeur d'Alene, the members of the I\Iiners'
Union were enjoined from interrupting the
peaceable working of other miners. It was Mr.
Pinkham "s duty to serve the papers in these
cases, which he served on about five hundred
men in Shoshone county, where he and his depu-
ties arrested two hundred and fifty-seven of them
for violating the injunction, holding them in
Wallace under military guard. It was a time of
great excitement and the miners were very des-
perate. Those arrested had a hearing before the
United States commissioner, and all were dis-
charged except about thirty of the leaders, one of
whom was the notorious Ed Boice. At a special
term of court held by Judge Beatty they were
sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the
Boise jail. During the strike there were fifteen
non-union men working in a mine near Burke.
They were surrounded by union men, who threat-
ened to capture the mine and kill the miners.
Mr. Pinkham was ordered to take the men away
from the mine. He knew it to be a very difficult
and dangerous duty, owing to the desperate char-
acter of the union men, and for a time he hardly
knew how to accomplish the task, for the head-
quarters of the union men were at that place and
serious trouble was expected. Studying over the
matter during the night, in the morning he had
reached the determination to go unarmed, and,
instructing his deputy to go likewise, they took
a coach and engine to bring the men away. At
Wallace, about three miles from Burke, they tel-
ephoned for the guards to bring the men from
the mine to the foot of the hill, about one hun-
dred feet from where the cars would stop. From
his station on the train he could see the men
come down the hill. The yard was packed with
union men. Air. Pinkham and his deputy got
out and walked through the crowd of desperate
and angry men, all armed, reached the miners,
and then our subject, starting toward the train,
ordered the men to follow, the deputy bringing
up in the rear. In this way they marched to the
car. boarded it and pulled out in the midst of
the most horrible abuse ever heaped upon any in-
dividuals, but the daring feat was safely accom-
plished and the lives of the miners were saved
through the skill and courage of Mr. Pinkham.
It was also during his service as United States
marshal that the American Railway Union strike
occurred, and he also handled the Coxey move-
ment successfully without the loss of life or the
destruction of property.
It was said of him by the United States at-
torney general that he had been more successful
than anv other marshal in the entire service of the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
United States. \\"\i\\ a keen appreciation of the
great responsibility that rested upon him, with a
full understanding of his duty, and without fear,
he met every call without shrinking and made for
himself a most creditable record. His name has
thus become inseparably associated with the
early history of the state, and Idaho owes not a
little to him for the advancement which she has
been enabled to make.
In politics Mr. Pinkham has always been a
stalwart Republican, has taken an active interest
in the work of the party, and has been chairman
of the Republican state central committee. He
served in that capacity for three years, and by his
capable organization and wise management
brought success to the party. His business inter-
ests connect him with a number of good mines in
the state. He buys and sells mining property on
an extensive scale and is a mining expert, being
rarely if ever mistaken as to the value of ores.
In 1857 Mr. Pinkham was united in marriage
to Miss Mary E. Gray, a native of Missouri. She
is the daughter of the Rev. Mr. Gray, a Meth-
odist minister, and in that church she is a valued
member. Socially Mr. Pinkham is a Mason, hav-
ing taken the three preliminary degrees in Uma-
tilla lodge, of Oregon, in 1864. He is now a
Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, is
past master of the. blue lodge, past grand secre-
tary and treasurer and past deputy grand master
of the grand lodge of Idaho. He is also a mem-
ber of the Order of Elks.
Such in brief is the life history of Joseph Pink-
ham. In whatever relation of life we find him —
in the government service, in political circles, in
business or in social relations — he is always the
same honorable and honored gentleman, whose
worth well merits the high regard which is uni-
formly given him.
CH.\RLES R. KELSEY.
Among the more recent accessions to the town
of Mountain Home is Charles R. Kelse", a gen-
tleman of large business experience, who, as a
wholesale dealer in groceries and hardware and
general merchandise, has already proved himself
a potent factor in the business circles of his
adopted county. i\Ir. Kelsey is a native of Xew
York state, born in Delaware county, at Can-
nonsville. Xovember 2, 1837, and in his veins
flows the blood of French and German ancestors,
who were among the early settlers of Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania. His father, Michael B. Kel-
sey, was born in that city and counted among his
relatives the distinguished family of Buchanans
which furnished to the nation one of its presi-
dents. Michael B. Kelsey was a prominent and
successful farmer and stock dealer. He married
Miss Phebe Galusha, who was also a representa-
tive of a distinguished eastern family. Both he
and his wife were members of the Methodist
church, and in county affairs he was active and
influential, holding a number of official positions,
including those of county commissioner and
county sherifif. His wife died at the age of forty-
five years and his death occurred when he had
reached the advanced age of seventy-four. Their
three children are all living at this writing.
Charles R. Kelsey acquired his education in
Poughkeepsie, New York. At an early age he
was taught to depend upon his o\yn resources
and when only a small lad entered upon his busi-
ness career, as a newsboy, employing other boys
to work for him and furnishing their outfits.
Thus early he became self-reliant and also mani-
fested a strong commercial instinct, which in
later years has made him a leader in mercantile
circles. After discontinuing the sale of papers,
he was for some time a member of the Engineers'
Corps on the Xew York & Oswego ]\Iidland
Railway. In 1875 he started for the Black Hills,
but on reaching Cheyenne. Wyoming, he was in-
duced to accept a position in the large business
house of Max Meyer & Company in that city.
For two years he was in Cheyenne, after which
he was transferred to Omaha, X^ebraska, where
he served in the capacity of bookkeeper and cash-
ier for a number of years, or until 1881, when he
returned to Xew York city on a vacation. How-
ever, while there he became interested in a brok-
erage business, which he conducted with suc-
cess for some time ; but not desiring to remain in
the east he again went to Omaha, w^here he once
more entered the employ of the old firm, being at
that time made manager of the extensive busi-
ness.
Subsequently Mr. Kelsey opened a store of his
own on the corner of Sixteenth and Cass streets,
Omaha, and did a good ijusincss, but as compe-
tition was very strong and he had an excellent
286
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
opportunity to sell out at a good profit, he dis-
posed of his stock. In 1883 he went to Camp
Clark, Nebraska, where he opened up a stock of
general merchandise and from the start met with
good success, his partner in the enterprise being
Dennis Sheedy, vice-president of the Colorado
National Bank and head of the Globe Smelting
Company and the Denver Dry Goods Company.
After two years spent there Mr. Kelsey removed
to Miles City, . Montana, and engaged in the
manufacture of harness and saddlery, securing a
large patronage and conducting a profitable
business until 1887, when a severe winter caused
the death of ninety per cent of the cattle of that
state and changed the fortunes of many a man.
This consequently brought on hard times, and
Mr. Kelsey accordingly closed out his business,
returned to Omaha, and again entered the em-
ploy of Max Meyer & Company as manager.
Later he became a resident of Wyoming, where
he engaged, in the coal business at Rock
Springs until his removal to Mountain Home in
i8g6. Here, in September, 1897, he established
his present business, and as a wholesale dealer in
hardware, groceries and general merchandise, he
has built up an excellent business which enables
him to furnish employment to ten men. He also
has a branch store at Rocky Bar ^nd at that
place is engaged in gold-mining, being superin-
tendent of the Commonwealth Gold Mining and
Milling Company, which has a large and valuable
plant. They employ fifty men and secure a high-
grade gold ore from their mines.
In Omaha, Nebraska, January i, 1881, Air.
Kelsey was united in marriage to Miss Althea
Houck, a native of Pennsylvania and a relative
of the Harrison family, to which two of our
presidents have belonged. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey
have two children, — a son and daughter, — Her-
bert and Mary, the former, although still in his
minority, having charge of the store at Rocky
Bar and displaying excellent business ability in
its management. Mr. Kelsey and his family are
identified with the Episcopal church. They
have a delightful home, celebrated for its hospi-
tality and good cheer, and with their many
friends it is a favorite and popular resort.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Kelsey is a Ma-
son and has taken all the degrees of the York
rite and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish
rite. He is deeply interested in the political
questions of the day, closely studies the issues
which concern the statv. and nation, and gives a
loyal support to the Republican party. He was
the chairman of the first Republican state con-
vention of Wyoming, held at Laramie, and was
for seven years county commissioner of Sweet-
water county, Wyoming. He is also distin-
guished as a parliamentarian, and has written
and published a volume on parliamentary usage.
He is in the best sense of the term a self-made
man. Starting out to earn his own living when
a mere boy he has steadily worked his way up-
ward, overcoming all difficulties and obstacles
and taking advantage of all favorable opportuni-
ties for acquiring an honorable fortune. Tire-
less purpose, keen perception, honesty of pur-
pose, genius for devising and executing the
right thing at the right time, joined to every-
day common sense, guided by great will power,
— these are the chief characteristics of the man.
GEORGE SPIEGEL.
Among the enterprising young business men
of Boise is the subject of this review, who is now
at the head of an extensive wholesale and retail
grocery house. His marked ability has done
much to promote the commercial activity upon
which the welfare of every community depends,
and in trade circles he enjoys an Unassailable
reputation.
Almost his entire life has been passed in Idaho,
and he is numbered among the native sons of
California, his birth having occurred in San
Francisco, on the 6th of April, 1861. His father,
David Spiegel, is numbered among the pioneers
of California, Oregon and the Gem of the Moun-
tains. He was born in Poland, Russia, in 1831,
and when a young man came to the United
States, locating in San Francisco when it was
only a small town, where he began merchandis-
ing. In 1863 he came on foot to the Boise
Basin, and in the manner of the old-time peddlers
sold his goods throughout the new territory,
traveling through the wilcf region when it was
infested with savage Indians and white men
ready to commit any crime for the sake of booty.
Alany times Mr. Spiegel walked from Umatilla
to Boise Basin in all kinds of weather, sleeping
in his l)lankets on the ground and enduring
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
287
mail}' discomforts: but he persevered in his
labors, and when civilization had founded enter-
prising towns he was ready to take his place
among the progressive merchants in these new
centers of commerce.
In 1867 he came to Boise and opened a fruit
and cigar store. Prices were very high in those
days; he often paid ten dollars a box for apples.
By close attention to business he secured an ex-
cellent patronage, constantly extending the field
of his labors until he became one of the enterpris-
ing general merchants of Boise. After some
years he was joined by his son George, and to-
gether they carried on the general store until
there seemed to be a demand for a wholesale and
retail grocery, and the present enterprise was
accordingly inaugurated. For many years Da-
vid Spiegel was prominently associated with the
commercial interests of the capital city and did
nuich to promote the business activity. The
well deserved success which ultimately crowned
his labors enabled him to put aside business cares
in 1898, and since that time he has traveled ex-
tensively along the Pacific coast, visiting the
scenes of his early ventures.
He was married in San Francisco, during the
days of his early residence there, to Miss Rosa
Dux. a native of Bohemia, Austria, and of their
children we may state that Leo is also engaged
in the grocery business in this city. The sons
are active business men, and Joseph is now in
the employ of Franklin MacVeagh & Company,
of Chicago. The daughters are Fannie, now the
wife of Charles Stoltz ; Julia, wife of Lee Hirch-
land; and Rebecca, wife of Leo P. Greenbaum.
The mother departed this life in 1895, at the age
of fifty-seven years.
George Spiegel_ was reared and educated in
Boise, and in 1890 became associated with his
father in the ownership of a general mercantile
establishment. It was at his suggestion that the
business was merged into the wholesale and re-
tail grocery, of which he is now sole proprietor.
He is a business man of great energy and execu-
tive ability, following the most systematic meth-
ods, and conducting his store along the line of
the strictest commercial ethics. His trade ex-
tends throughout Idaho and into Oregon and
Nevada. His earnest desire to please his pat-
rons, as well as his known reliabilitv, has been
an important feature in his success and made
him one of the leading merchants of Boise.
Socially Mr. Spiegel is a Mason, having taken
the three preliminary degrees in Boise Lodge,
No. 2, A. F. & A. M., in 1882, since which time
he has been exalted to the degree of a Royal
Arch Mason. He is a member of the Beth Is-
rael congregation, and in politics is a Republi-
can. During the years of his residence in Boise
he has steadily worked his way upward to a
position among her most prominent merchants.
S. D. McLAIN.
The prosperity of any community, town or
city depends upon its commercial activitv. its in-
dustrial interests and its trade relations, and
therefore the real upbuilders of a town are those
who stand at the head of the leading enterprises.
Among the prominent representatives of com-
mercial life in Silver City is S. D. McLain, who
as a partner in the firm of Shea, McLain &
Crete is at the head of the most extensive mer-
cantile establishment of the town. This well ap-
pointed store, with its large and carefullv se-
lected stock, is a credit to the proprietors as well
as to the city, and in its management Mr. Mc-
Lain displays that executive force and able man-
agement that rank him among the leading busi-
ness men of the community.
Mr. McLain was born at Chariton, Iowa, Jan-
uary 3, 1869, and is of Scotch descent. His
father, Clinton J. McLain, is a native of Ohio,
and now resides in La Grande, Oregon, where he
is engaged in the sale of farm implements. He
married Miss Eva Hollingsworth, a daughter of
M. Hollingsworth, a farmer living in Iowa. Six
children were born to them, of whom five are
living, the subject of this sketch being the eldest.
In the public schools our subject acquired his
education, and as soon as old enough to engage
iii business on his own account went to Kamela,
Oregon, where he was engaged in general mer-
chandising for two years. He then removed to
La Grande and organized the firm of Coy & Mc-
Lain, remaining there for two and a half years.
In 1896 he removed from that place to De La-
mar, Idaho, where he was in business with T.
Shea until ^lay i, 1898. when he came to Silver
City, and the present firm of Shea, ?ilcLain &
Crete was established. The\- purchased the
•288
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
large general mercantile business of Dave Ad-
ams, and now carry an extensive stock of salable
goods to meet all the tastes and requirements of
the public. Their able management and honest
dealing, combined with their courteous and ac-
commodating manner to all, have secured to
them a liberal patronage, which is constantly
increasing.
Mr. McLain was married August 30, 1895, to
Miss Lizzie Ormand, who was born in Braid-
wood, Illinois. In politics he is a Republican,
and favors the free coinage of silver, but has
never been active in political work, his time be-
ing occupied entirely with his business and social
duties.
COLUMBUS M. HIXON.
^lany articles have appeared in the press of
our land on the "corruption in politics." but,
while this may be found to some extent in the
largest cities, the majority of our American citi-
zens are too practical and public-spirited to wish
to entrust their afifairs in unscrupulous hands,
and especially in the selection of one to manage
the financial interests do they show great dis-
crimination in choosing a man of known mteg-
rity and unimpeachable honor. It was these
qualities which secured to Mr. Hixon election to
the responsible position of county treasurer of
Washington county. His record in the walks of
public and private life had been as an open book,
and his honesty, combined with excellent busi-
ness ability, led to his selection for the of^fice
which he is now so acceptably filling.
Mr. Hixon was born in Ashland county, Ohio,
Tune 3, 1854, and is the third in order of birth
"of the five children of Jacob and Casandre
(Stonebreaker) Hixon, who were natives of
Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. Subse-
quently they became residents of Indiana, and
thence went to Holton, Kansas. The father is
accounted one of the leading and influential citi-
zens of the community and has been honored
with a number of county offices. He is a man
of the highest integrity, fully meriting the confi-
dence reposed in him. Holton is still his home.
He has been a successful farmer, following pro-
gressive methods in the management of his agri-
cultural interests. In the Presbyterian church
he holds membership and takes a very active part
in its work, having served as elder for many
years. His estimable wife lived to the age of
sixty-eight years, and three of their children yet
survive, the brother and sister of our subject be- •
ing still residents of Kansas.
Columbus M. Hixon of this review acquired
his education in the Holton graded schools, and
for a number of years engaged in teaching both
in Kansas and Idaho. His marked ability in
that direction made his services very acceptable,
and his labors were very effective in advancing
the intellectual standard of the state. He ar-
rived in Idaho in 1877 and conducted schools for
about ten years, since which time he has been
extensively engaged in stock-raising. This is
one of the most important industries in the state,
the rich and fertile valleys offering abundant pas-
turage, and enabling Idaho to furnish large
quantities of cattle to the markets of the coun-
try. Mr. Hixon is also a stockholder and di-
rector in the Weiser Bank, of which he is now
assistant cashier, and in business affairs he mani-
fests a persistence in the pursuit of his purpose,
and an energy and sound judgment which read-
ily account for the fair measure of prosperity
which is attending his efforts.
Mr. Hixon came to Weiser to reside in 1878,
and on the 13th of June, 1879, was united in
marriage to Miss Adrietta Applegate, a native of
Oregon and a daughter of John Applegate, an
honored pioneer of that state. The marriage of
our subject and his wife was the first celebrated
in Washington county after its organization, and
was solemnized at Mann Creek. Their union
has been blessed with two children. Clyde and
Clarence B. The parents are valued members
of the Congregational church, of Weiser, in
which Mr. Hixon is serving as deacon and trus-
tee. Socially he is a Mason, having received the
degrees of the blue lodge in Holton, Kansas, in
1877. He there served as senior deacon, but his
membership is now in the lodge in Weiser. In
politics he is a Republican, and served as a mem-
ber of the first state legislature of Idaho after its
admission to the Union. That was a very im-
l)ortant session, and he took an active part in its
proceedings, manifesting marked patriotism in
his efforts to advance the best interests of the
commonwealth. He was postmaster of Weiser
during President Harrison's administration and
was elected treasurer of \\'ashington count\- in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
289
1894 and re-elected in 1896, a fact which indi-
cates his personal popularity and the confidence
and trust reposed in him. He is a man of broad
general information, well informed on the issues
of the day and a reliable, public-spirited and loyal
citizen who withholds his support from no move-
ment calculated to advance the moral, material,
educational or social welfare of his city, state or
nation.
GEORGE H. HANDY.
George H. Handy, probate judge and ex-
ofificio superintendent of schools for Owyhee
county, Idaho, resides at Silver City. He was born
at Grand Island. Hall county, Nebraska, on the
20th of February, 1871, and is of Scotch and
English ancestry. His paternal grandfather,
Parker Handy, was a native of New York city,
and for many years was prominently connected
with the banking business, his death occurring at
the advanced age of ninety years. H. P. Handy,
father of the Judge, was also born in New York
city, and throughout his active business career
has followed civil engineering. He came to
Idaho in 1894 and now resides in Nampa, where
he is living retired. He married Miss Elizabeth
Cassidy, who was born on the Emerald Isle but
was of Scotch and English lineage. In their
family were eleven children, six of whom are yet
living.
Judge Handy, the fifth in order of birth, ac-
quired his education under the direction of his
parents, both of whom are people of high mental
culture. He also attended the public schools of
Fort Collins, Colorado, and was graduated with
the class of 1888. He then matriculated in the
Colorado Agricultural College, but left that in-
stitution when in his senior year in order to ac-
cept an insurance agency. He continued in
that position for three years, and later occupied
a number of clerical positions in the service of
Larimer county officials. In 1892 he took up his
residence in Nampa, Idaho, and in October of
1892 he removed to De Lamar, where he ac-
cepted the situation of cashier for the De Lamar
Mercantile & Banking Company, of De Lamar,
serving in that capacity until the following June,
when he resigned in order to accept the appoint-
ment as deputy district clerk of Owyhee county.
He filled that place most acceptably for two
years, under R. H. Leonard. Jr., and two years
under E. L. Ballard, but resigned to qualify for
the office of probate judge and ex-officio county
school superintendent, to which he was elected
in November, 1896. In 1898 he was made the
nominee of all the parties in the county for re-
election, so faithfully and ably had be discharged
his duties, giving satisfaction to all concerned.
The Judge was happily married on the 24th
of February, 1897, to Miss Sarah Brooks, a na-
tive of Silver City and a daughter of Anthony
Brooks, now of Butte, Montana. Judge and
Mrs. Handy are valued members of the Episco-
pal church at Silver City, and contributed liber-
ally to the erection of the new church edifice,
which is a credit to the town. The subject of
our sketch is also a member of the Order of
Maccabees and Modern W'oodnien of America,
and is the venerable counsel of the local camp of
the latter. In politics he is a "silver" Repub-
lican, well informed on the issues and questions
of the day. In manner pleasant and agreeable,
in business reliable and in office trustworthy, he
has won many warm friends in this locality, and
undoubtedly still higher political honors await
him in the future.
CHARLES MAY.
\Mien the roll of the pioneers of Boise, Idaho,
is called the name which heads this sketch will
lie found well to the top.
Charles May was born in Berkshire, England,
May 17, 1833, and was reared in his native coun-
ty, learning in his boyhood the business of brick
manufacturing and brick-laying, his father,
Cha'rles May, having been engaged in that busi-
ness. Indeed, the family for centuries, or as far
back as their history can be traced, were brick-
makers in England. The younger Charles May
remained in England until 1856, when he came to
America, locating first in New York, and he put'
in the first gas retorts in the Harlem Gas Works.
He remained in New York and Brooklyn until
the spring of 1857, when he went to Chicago,
where he was for a time engaged in contracting,
and then he went to St. Louis and New Orleans.
He was in Missouri at the time the civil war
broke out. and about that time he went to Kan-
sas, where he was a resident during the exciting
times which marked the liistorv of that state.
;90
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
He built the first brick house in Junction City,
Kansas.
In May, 1862, he started across the plains for
the far west, traveling with the regulation wag-
ons, which were drawn by horses or mules.
When his party arrived at Fort Laramie they
learned that the Indians had attacked the pony
stage and had massacred the passengers. Some
of the trains which reached the fort about that
time were poorly ecjuipped with armed men. so
they tarried for three days until a train from
Denver came up, and thus re-enforced they all
started on together. The company now con-
tained eighty young men well armed, beside wo-
men and children. At Green river their horses
were stampeded by the Indians. Mr. May and
another man ran after the horses and succeeded
in recovering them, escaping the shots which
were fired at them by the red men. They came
by the way of Lander's cut-ofif, and at Blackfoot
creek stopped on account of the sickness of a
woman in their party. The following day they
saw a cloud of dust at a distance and supposed
they were to be attacked by the Indians. Soon,
however, as the dust cloud approached, they dis-
covered a white flag, and it proved to be a signal
from twelve California miners who were making
their way back to the states to join the L^nion
army. Continuing on, the next day Mr. May
and his party saw behind them what this time
proved to be Indians. They halted and got
ready for a fight. The Indians stopped on a hill
back of where the white men were, and a moun-
taineer, who knew the country, said, "Boys, let
us go to one of these hills quickly." No sooner
had they reached the hill than the Indians gave
the w-ar-whoop and attacked them. The com-
pany fell back, fighting bravely and working to-
ward the camp. When they reached the camp
they found the packs and pack animals were all
gone. The women were badly frightened and
objected strongly to the men going out to re-
cover the property. Notwithstanding their ob-
jections, however, the men went in search of the
animals and when they got within a mile of
where the fight had been they saw- large quan-
tities of feathers scattered over the ground and
discovered that another depredation had been
committed. Two w^agons had been attacked and
five men were killed and scalped and left on the
spot. The sight was indeed a ghastly one! They
buried four men that day and the next day bur-
ied the fifth. They followed the Indians thirty
miles and found them in camp early the next
morning, where they gave them a hard whipping.
At Burned river they fell in with the Grimes
party, with whom they found a ^Ir. Johnson and
the wife of one of the dead men above referred
to. These two were all that were left of the
party in the two wagons attacked by the Indians.
]\Ir. May went to Walla Walla and there built
the first tw^o brick stores of the town, these being
his first contracts in the w-est. Afterw^ard he
traveled about considerably, and was variously
employed at different places. In the Boise Basin
he made adobe brick and built ovens. He also
burned brick at the Buena \'ista Bar. From
there he came to Boise and took charge of the
building of the fort, where he remained a month,
after w-hich he took a claim of one hundred and
sixty acres of government land near Ij^-, and on
it cut and cured hay, which he sold for one hun-
dred dollars per ton. Selling his claim shortly
afterward, he returned to Boise and began the
manufacture of brick where Mr. Redway's house
now stands. Here he built a small dwelling,
which is still standing, and soon afterward he
erected a store building, twenty by fifty feet, of
adobe brick, for Mr. Jacobs, its location being
on the ground now occupied by the McCarty
block at the corner of Seventh and Maine streets.
Since then he has done a large amount of build-
ing, both for himself and for other parties, and
many of the handsome buildings of Boise, in-
cluding his own brick residence, are monuments
to his skill as a builder. Also he laid the stone
of the custom-house at Portland, worked on the
Market street front of the Palace hotel in San
P^ancisco, and aided in the erection of the capitol
building in Salem, Oregon.
In 1871 Mr. May was married to ^liss Eliza-
beth Williams, the daughter of IMr. Barret \\'ill-
iams, a pioneer of Idaho who is now ninety-six
years of age and in the enjoyment of all his facul-
ties. Air. and ]\Irs. ^^lay have two daughters, —
Rosa and Edith A'irginia. The former is the
widow of Professor ^^'ebber and since his death
she has resided with her parents. The whole
family arc identified with the Episcopal church
and he has servetl as vestryman of the same.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
291
Mr. May was made a Mason in Boise Lodge, F.
& A. AL, No. 2.
In 1875 Mr. May went to Australia to visit his
parents, and on this trip visited Honokilu, New
Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney, his people liv-
ing in the last named city. While there he su-
perintended the building of the first dry pressed-
brick works in Sydney, and had charge of the
building of the aqueduct that carries the water to
that city. He remained in Sydney until after
the death of his parents, when he returned to
Boise, Idaho, which has since been his home.
WILLL\M A. COUGHANOUR.
For almost fourteen years Payette has num-
bered William A. Coughanour among its most
prominent and progressive citizens. He may
well be termed one of the founders of the city,
for he has been the promoter of many of its lead-
ing business enterprises, and the growth and de-
velopment of a city depend upon its commercial
and industrial activity. His connection with any
undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of the
same, for it is in his nature to carry forward to
successful completion whatever he is associated
with. He has earned for himself an enviable
reputation as a careful man of business, and in
his dealings is known for his prompt and honor-
able methods, which have won him the deserved
and unbounded confidence of his fellow men.
Mr. Coughanour was born in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, on the 12th of March, 1850, and is
of Tennsylvania Dutch lineage. His father, H.
S. Coughanour, is still residing in that county,
at the age of eighty-four years. He followed
ship-building as an occupation through the
period of his active business career. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Caroline Conkle, was
likewise a native of his neighborhood, and be-
longed to one of the old Dutch families. They
became the parents of four daughters and a son,
and all are yet living.
The subject of this review was reared in the
place of his nativity and acquired his education
in the public schools. The year 1870 witnessed
his arrival in Idaho, where he has since made his
home, becoming prominently identified with the
development and advancement of the state. The
last two hundred and eighty-five miles of his
journey hither were made by stage, and upon
his arrival he assumed the management of the
Gold Hill mine, at Ouartzburg, acting as secre-
tary and treasurer of the mining company for
fifteen years, and being also superintendent of the
same for an equal period of time. This is one
of the richest and most celebrated mines in Ida-
ho. Under Mr. Coughanour's management ore
to the value of three million dollars was taken
out, yet the mine is only partially developed. He
is still one of the stockholders, and his income
is materially increased thereby. In 1885 he
came to Payette and has been associated with
many business enterprises, which have not only
proved profitable to himself but have also ad-
vanced the general welfare. He has large landed
interests in Oregon and Idaho and is conduct-
ing an extensive lumber business in Payette,
where he has large yards that supply anything in
his line that the public may demand. He is a
director in the Payette \^alley Bank and a stock-
holder and the secretary of the Lower Payette
Ditch Company, which has been an important
factor in irrigating the lands in this section of
the state. His realty holdings, aggregating
twenty-seven hundred acres, are about equally
divided between Oregon and Idaho. He has a
fine orchard of thirty-three acres near this city
and is also interested in stock-raising, having as
high as five hundred head of cattle at one time.
It demands superior executive abihty, keen dis-
crimination and sound judgment to manage such
extensive and varied business interests, but Air.
Coughanour controls all with a steady hand, and
gains therefrom very gratifying financial returns.
In politics he is a Democrat, and before com-
ing to Payette was elected and served as county
commissioner of Boise county. In 1896 he was
elected a member of the state senate, from Can-
yon county, and introduced the horticultural in-
spection bill, securing its passage, together with
an appropriation of ten thousand dollars, in order
that the horticultural board, established through
the measures of this bill, might be able to carry
on its work of protecting the fruit interests of the
state from destructive fruit pests. Our subject
is now president of the state board of horticul-
ture, and is interesting himself in effective meas-
ures for the protection of Idaho's fruit industry.
He is now serving his third term as mayor of
Payette, and his administration of the affairs of
292
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the city is most progressive, as he exercises his
official powers to promote all interests and
measures which will prove of public benefit. He
was also postmaster under President Cleveland,
and at all times has been most true and faithful
to the trust reposed in him, discharging his du-
ties with marked promptness and fidelity.
Mr. Coughanour was married in 1874 to Miss
Galena Bunting, a native of Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, and they now have a daughter and
son, Emma L. and William M. The former was
the efficient enrolling clerk in the state senate
at the session of 1896-7. The family occupy an
enviable position in social circles and enjoy the
hospitality of the best homes of Payette. Mr.
Coughanour has one of the finest museums in
the state, including many specimens of quartz
and gold nuggets, one of which is valued at one
hundred and eighty-five dollars. Socially he is
connected with the Order of Elks and he is
also a very prominent representative of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he
has the honor of being grand marshal of the
grand lodge of Idaho. He is widely and favor-
ably known throughout the entire state, his po-
litical, fraternal and business prominence gain-
ing him a wide acquaintance. He is a man of
integrity and splendid business ability, through
the medium of which he has acquired consider-
able wealth. He is a gentleman of exceedingly
fine address, possessing that natural geniality of
temperament and afifability of deportment that,
united to a heart full of sympathy, make him an
easy winner of friends, and he is ever welcome in
the best social circles.
RICHARD H. BENNETT.
The proprietor of one of the fine sheep ranches
of southern Idaho, Richard H. Bennett main-
tains his residence in Mountain Home and from
that point superintends his extensive business in-
terests, in which he is meeting with good suc-
cess. He is truly a self-made man, for he came
to .\merica empty-handed and through his own
labors has worked his way steadily upward. He
was born in England, March 19, 1850, a son of
James and Jane (Sanders) Bennett, also natives
of that country. In 1868, at the age of eighteen
years, he severed the ties which bound him to his
native country, and crossed the .\tlantic to begin
life in the Xew World as an employe in the coal
mines of Pennsylvania. He received for his
services two dollars and a half per day, and thus
he gained a start in life. He continued his resi-
dence in the east until 1871, when he came to
Idaho, and has since been identified with the in-
terests of this state.
In 1878 Mr. Bennett married Miss Flora Anna
Benney, a native of England, who had come to
the United States in 1859. Her father is John
Benney, now a resident of Alissouri, Mr. and
Mrs. Bennett took up their abode in Silver City,
Idaho, where our subject engaged in mining for
several years. He located the Stormy Hill mine,
afterward sold it, and his last connection with the
mining interests of that locality was in the Gold-
en Chariot mine. On leaving Silver City he
went to Castle Creek, Owyhee county, where he
secured a farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
and for a short time was engaged in the cattle
business, after which he sold his stock. He is
now the owner of an excellent ranch of two hun-
dred acres near ^lountain Home, on which he
raises hay for his sheep, feeding as high as one
hundred and fifty tons of hay annually. For his
first flock of sheep he paid three thousand dol-
lars. For eighteen years he has been engaged
in the business, and at times has owned as high
as six thousand head. His income from the
sheep industry in one single season was nine
thousand dollars, receiving nineteen and a half
cents per pound for the wool. He raises prin-
cipally Merino sheep, wdiich he finds are well
adapted for the climatic and forage conditions of
southern Idaho. He is accounted one of the
leading and most successful sheep-raisers of this
part of the state, and his opinions on such mat-
ters are received as authority.
Air. Bennett is also the owner of a ten-acre
block of ground in Mountain Home, and has
thereon erected a very pleasant dwelling, in
which he and his family reside. They have sev-
en children, namely: Joseph S., Richard H., Lil-
lie E., Frederick W., Flora E., Elmer J. and
James Gordon. The parents were reared in the
Methodist faith, but now attend the Episcopal
church. In politics Mr. Bennett is a Republican,
and in the Odd Fellows lodge he has passed all
the chairs. He is a worthy, reliable citizen, a
[progressive and enterprising business man, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
293
having been the architect of his own fortunes is
deserving of great credit for his success.
ROBERT E. LOCKWOOD.
The editor and proprietor of the Weiser Sig-
nal was born in Kirbyville, Josephine county,
Oregon, February 15, 1858, and is of EngHsh de-
scent. His grandparents were William and
Lucy (Lord) Lockwood, and his father was Rob-
ert Lockwood, Sr., a native of Australia, in which
country he married Miss Clara Sophia Belknap.
They became residents of Oregon in 1853, ^^^^
the father engaged in mining on Rogue river.
In 1871 he removed to Albany and later located
in Canyon City, in the John Day valley of Ore-
gon, where he continued his mining operations
and also acted as deputy sherifT of the county,
which position he ably filled for twelve years,
under both Republican and Democratic admin-
istrations. In 1887 he declined to longer fill that
office, but consented to remain three days under
the newly-elected sheriff. On the night of the
third day there was a fire in the town. After it
was extinguished Mr. Lockwood remarked that
he would lock the prisoners in the cells and de-
liver the keys to the sheriff in the morning, but
while performing that duty he was murdered by
one of the prisoners. He was then in the forty-
fourth year of his age, — a brave man and a highly
esteemed citizen who never faltered in the per-
formance of any duty, no matter how hazardous.
He left a widow and ten children, and Mrs. Lock-
wood is still living, while six of the children also
survive.
Robert E. Lockwood, whose name introduces
this review, acquired his education in Canyon
City, Oregon, and at an early age began to learn
the printer's trade and to make his own way in
the world. On learning of his father's death he
returned to the funeral and remained at home
until after the execution of the murderer. In
1878 he came to Idaho, where he was employed
at tamping ties on the railroad, and afterward
worked in the office of the Weiser Leader. He
was for three months at Caldwell, in the employ
of Steunenberg Brothers, and then began the
publication of the Weiser Signal, with which he
has since been connected. On the 31st of Au-
gust, 1882, a neutral paper, called the Weiser
Leader, had been established, with Alessrs. Stine
& Mitchell in charge. The county had been
created only three years previously. There had
been only six issues of the paper when J. W.
Haworth purchased Mr. Mitchell's interest, and
the firm of Haworth & Company was formed,
while S. M. C. Reynolds was made editor. For
a time the paper was published as an independent
political journal, but later was changed to a Re-
publican sheet. On the 25th of August, 1883,
Judge Henry C. Street became its manager;
March 22, 1884, William P. Glenn became pro-
prietor and editor, and in 1890 H. S. King, C. D.
King and Frank Harris became its owners. Mr.
Harris and H. S. King had editorial charge,
while C. D. King was business manager. On
the 1st of September, 1890, Mr. Harris discon-
tinued his connection with the paper, but the
King Brothers continued its publication until
September i, 1891, when Robert E. Lockwood
became its owner, editor and publisher. He had
worked on the paper for some months prior to
the fall of 1890, at which time he had severed his
relations therewith, and on the i8th of Decem-
ber, 1890, issued the first number of the Weiser
Signal. Both papers were then published until
September i, 1891, when Mr. Lockwood pur-
chased the Leader and merged it into the Signal,
since which time he has made his paper a large
and valuable weekly, independent paper, devoted
to the advancement of the interests of Weiser
and Washington county. Its editorials are apt,
concise, readable and instructive, and the Signal
is now enjoying a large circulation and an ex-
tended advertising patronage. Mr. Lockwood is
a man of strong mentality and broad general in-
formation, and has made his journal one of the
best in southwestern Idaho.
In politics he has taken a deep and active in-
terest and was a member of the state convention
which nominated Frank Steunenberg for gov-
ernor.
In the fall of 1898 Mr. Lockwood was the
nominee of the Democratic, Populist and Silver-
Republican parties for the office of state senator,
a fact which indicated his personal popularity and
the confidence reposed in him by people of dif-
ferent political faith throughout the district.
:Mr. Lockwood was married March 17, 1891,
to Leah Xorah Wilson, a native of Illinois. She
is a cultured ladv and a valued member of the
294
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Congregational church. By their marriage
there is one son. George Edwin. Socially Mr.
Lockwood is a representative of the Masonic
fraternity, and he is recognized as a most promi-
nent and influential citizen.
SELDEN B. KINGSBURY,
The profession of the law, when clothed with
its true dignity and purity and strength, must
rank first among the callings of men, for law
rules the universe. The work of the legal pro-
fession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regu-
late, to adjust, to administer those rules and
principles that underlie and permeate all gov-
ernment and society and control the varied rela-
tions of men. As thus viewed there attaches to
the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but
be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who,
rising to the responsibilities of his profession,
and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, em-
braces the richness of learning, the profound-
ness of wisdom, the firmness of integrity and the
purity of morals, together with the graces of
modesty, courtesy and the general amenities of
life. Of such a type Selden Bingham Kings-
bury is a representative. For eighteen years he
has practiced law in Idaho, and for five years has
been a resident of Boise.
Mr. Kingsbury was born in Camden, Lorain
county, Ohio, on the 29th of October, 1842, and
is descended from New England ancestry. Mem-
bers of the family became early settlers of Brock-
port, New York, and also of Lorain county,
Ohio. Lemuel Kingsbury, the grandfather of
our subject, valiantly aided the colonies in their
struggle for independence, and lost a limb in
battle. He attained the age of ninety-six years,
and thus long enjoyed the advantages of the re-
public for which he made so great a sacrifice.
Charles B. Kingsbury, the father of Boise's well
known lawyer, was born May 5, 1812, and be-
tween the ages of eleven and thirty-five years
sailed on whaling vessels. Later in life he be-
came a prosperous farmer. In his early political
affiliations he was a Democrat, but being a great
lover of liberty he aided in organizing the Re-
publican party, formed to prevent the further ex-
tension of slavery, and voted for Fremont in
1856. He held various county offices and was
an influential citizen in the comnnmitv in which
he lived. He married Betsey Tenant, who be-
longed to a family of western New York, and
to them were born seven children, of whom six
are still living.
Selden B. Kingsbury acquired his early educa-
tion in the public schools, later attended the
academy in Oberlin. Ohio, and in 1859 entered
Oberlin College, where he continued until the
great civil war fell upon the country. At the
first call of President Lincoln for volunteers, he,
in company with many of the students and one
member of the faculty of the college, entered
the country's service, in April. 1861. He was
assigned to Company C. Seventh Ohio Volun-
teer Infantry, which had an enrollment of one
hundred and twelve — all students of said college
and officered by members of its faculty, and on
the 20th of April w-as mustered in at Camp Tay-
lor, Cleveland, Ohio. Three days later they
were ordered to Camp Chase, thence to Camp
Dennison. Mr. Kingsbury aided in surveying
that camp, which afterward became one of the
finest and largest camps in the L^nited States.
In July. 1861, under the call for three years'
troops, he re-enlisted and almost immediately
was sent to West Virginia, his regiment being
on the advance under General Cox, in charge of
the brigade, and General McClellan, in command
of the corps. After a forced march of fifty-two
miles and a light skirmish, his regiment captured
the city of Weston, took a number of prisoners,
deposed the rebel forces and captured state funds
of Virginia amounting to fifty-seven thousand
clollars in specie. This was afterward turned
over to Governor Pierpont and was the money
with which he was first supplied to carry on the
business of the new state of West \^irginia, which
at that time was organized as a state of the
Union. Mr. Kingsbury later participated in the
battles of Summerville and Cross Lanes, where
his regiment fell into an ambuscade of the Con-
federate forces under Generals Floyd and Wise.
The L^nion forces were driven from the field and
his company, covering the retreat, was badly cut
to pieces, most of the men being either killed,
wounded or taken prisoners. Mr. Kingsbury
was captured and so was every officer of his com-
pany who was not killed, and after being incar-
cerated in Libby prison for a month was sent to
Parish prison. New Orleans, where he remained
"Z^ 91
L-. C^^-^^«^^U/t^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
until that city was captured by General Butler, in
the spring of 1862, when with some five hundred
other prisoners, he was then taken to Salisbury,
North Carolina, in which prison he was held un-
til the following July, when he was paroled. Re-
turning north, he was sent to Camp Chase, near
Columbus, Ohio, and there discharged on ac-
count of disability, a year and a half before his
complete exchange was effected.
On leaving the army Air. Kingsbury returned
to college and on the completion of the classical
course, in 1864, was graduated with the degree
of Bachelor of Arts. Later the degree of Master
of Arts was conferred upon him by his alma
mater. Previous to his graduation he had charge
of the Union school of Mentor, Ohio, and after
graduation was for two years principal of the
city school of Flint, Michigan. He was then
elected principal of the Union school of Con-
stantine, that state, a position which he filled
with general satisfaction for eight years. Dur-
ing that time he read law. was admitted to the
bar, and began the practice of law in Constan-
tine, Michigan, where he remained until 1881.
In that year he came to Idaho, locating in Hailey,
whence he removed to Boise, where he now re-
sides.
Mr. Kingsbury has always been a tireless stu-
dent, and after choosing the law as his profes-
sion he read almost nothing else for three years,
giving his entire attention to the mastery of the
principles of jurisprudence. While engaged in
teaching he attained considerable distinction as
a lecturer on scientific subjects, and had the hon-
or of securing and sending to the University of
Michigan the skeleton of a large mastodon now
on exhibition in the museum of that institution.
It is considered the finest specimen of its kind in
the United States, and hence was a very valuable
acquisition to the museum.- Mr. Kingsbury has
one of the finest law offices and largest law libra-
ries in the west. He has attained prestige
among the legal practitioners of Idaho, his abili-
ties securing him high rank. As a lawver he is
sound, clear-minded and well trained. The lim-
itations which are imposed by the constitution
on federal powers are well understood by him.
With the long line of decisions from Marshal!
down. Iiy which the constitution has been ex-
pounded, he is familiar, as are all thoroughly
skilled lawyers. He is at home in all depart-
ments of law from the minutiae in practice to the
greater topics wherein is involved the considera-
tion of the ethics and philosophy of jurispru-
dence and the higher concerns of public policy.
His fidelity to his clients' interests is proverbial,
and therefore his clientage is very extensive.
While in charge of the schools in Mentor,
Ohio, Air. Kingsbury became acquainted with
Aliss Hulda C. Corning, a native of that town,
and in 1865 they were happily married and began
residing at Flint, Michigan, where Mr. Kings-
bury was engaged in teaching. They have had
five children, — three sons and two daughters:
Nathan C, who is engaged in business in Co-
lumbus, Ohio; Lizzie Alice, who died at Con-
stantine, Michigan: Fred and Helen, who are
attending Oberlin College; and Ross Selden, a
pupil at the public school of Boise. Culture, re-
finement and intellectual activity characterize
this family, and in social circles they occupy a
very prominent position. They have a com-
modious and elegant home, which was erected
by Mr. Kingsbury. Socially he is a Knight
Templar Mason, a member of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, and also of the Grand
Army of the Republic. As a citizen and lawyer
he stands among the first of the residents of
Boise, and his name should occupy a prominent
place on the pages of the history of his adopted
state.
L. .\. YORK.
The present popular editor and proprietor of
the Owyhee Avalanche, at Silver City, Mr. L. A.
York, is a native of Lewiston, Alaine, born
March 13, 1866. His parents were Jerome W.
and Martha (Read) York, both natives of that
city, and his father of Scotch ancestry. The
first representatives of the family in America
settled in Alaine very early in its history. On
the maternal side this ancestry is English, trace-
able back to Sir John Read, an English noble-
man born in the year 1600. Mr. York's father
died in North Dakota, in 1894, at the age of
sixty-five years; and his mother is living, being
now in her fifty-eighth year. In religious faith
they were Universalists.
Mr. York, the subject proper of this brief bio-
gra])hical outline, was the second of a familv of
three children. He was educated in the public
296
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
schools, was taken by his parents to New Hamp-
shire, in their cliange of residence to that state
in 1871, and to Evart, Michigan, in 1879. In
1881 Mr. York entered the Weekly Review office,
at Evart, to work in the capacity of printer's
"devil," and in the spring of 1883 left for Tel-
luride. Colorado, where he was employed at the
printer's trade. From the fall of 1884 to the
spring of 1889 he was in North Dakota. Next
he returned to Colorado and then proceeded to
Salt Lake City, arriving there in the fall, and
there he engaged in work on the Salt Lake Trib-
ime, as "Slug 14," until March, 1890, at which
time he severed his connection with that estab-
lishment to accept the foremanship of the Ava-
lanche ofifice, of which he became the proprietor
in 1894.
As a newspaper man and editor Air. York has
considerable ability and enterprise. In January,
1894, he published, in book form, a Historical
Descriptive and Commercial Directory of Owy-
hee County, finely illustrated, which reflects
great credit on his ability and enterprising spirit.
The work has been favorably received.
Mr. York was happily married, at Weiser, Ida-
ho, September, 1893, to Miss Catharine Brady,
and they have three children. Mr. York is an
active, member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and in his political principles he is a
"silver" Republican.
R. W. BERRY.
A leading representative of the commercial in-
terests of Hailey is R. W. Berry, the well known
proprietor of a hardware store. He is an enter-
prising and progressive business man, whose
well directed efforts, sound judgment and capa-
ble management insure him success, and to-day
he is numbered among the substantial and valued
citizens of Blaine county. A native of Maine, he
was born in Augusta, on the 25th of March,
1842. and is of Scotch lineage. His father,
Arthur W. Berry, was born in Maine and married
Miss Lucretia Jane Marble, also a native of the
Pine Tree state. The father was for many years
engaged in journalistic work as the publisher of
the Gospel Banner. He died at the age of thirty-
two years, leaving a widow and one son, the sub-
ject of this review. The mother lived to be fifty-
seven vcars of age. and died in Boise. After the
death of ]Mr. Berry she married again and with
her second husband removed to California, locat-
ing in Yuba county in 1857.
In the public schools of his native state, R. W.
Berry acquired his education, and when fifteen
years of age began to earn his own living. He
accompanied his mother to California. At-
tracted by the discovery of gold, he w^ent to
Washoe, Nevada, where he engaged in prospect-
ing and mining. He also entered land from the
government and followed farming for a time,
but subsequently abandoned that occupation and
returned to San Francisco, where he accepted a
clerkship in the Washington market, where he
was employed for four years. In the fall of 1864
he -went to Portland, Oregon, and the following
spring made his way to the Oro Fino mines, fol-
lowing placer mining there and meeting with
satisfactory success in his undertakings. In the
fall of 1865 he sold his claim for one thousand
dollars and with a party crossed on the Lolo
trail to Helena, Montana, and thence to Fort
Benton, where he took a Mackinaw and pro-
ceeded down the Missouri river to St, Joseph.
From that point he retraced his steps to his
old Maine home, and spent four years in his
native state. In 1869 Mr. Berry became a resi-
dent of Boise, Idaho, where for several years he
acceptably filled the office of assistant assessor of
internal revenue. He was also engaged in cattle
raising and owned as high as one thousand head
at a time. In the spring of 1881 he received the
appointment of collector of internal revenue
from President Garfield, and was also engaged in
the drug business at Boise for si.x years, as a
member of the firm of W, PI. Nye & Company.
In 1886 Mr. Berry came to Hailey. The town
was then at the height of its prosperity, silver
bringing a high price, and the mines producing
largely. He purchased an interest in the hard- 4
ware firm of Coffin & Company, and the follow- I
ing year the business was incorporated, the prin-
cipal incorporators being E. C. Coffin and R, W.
Berry. Two years later a destructive fire swept
over the town and with many others the com-
pany lost heavily. They carried insurance to the
amount of thirty thousand and five hundred dol-
lars...but their losses above that were estinif^ted
at sixty thousand dollars. Four blocks of the
enterprising little city were swept away by the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
397
fiery element, and many merchants were thus
badly crippled financially. Almost immediately,
however, a new business center rose phoenix-like
from the ashes. Hardly had the smoke cleared
away when Coffin & Company, on the site of
their old store, began the erection of a good
building, thirty-five by one hundred and twenty
feet, refitted it with a well selected stock of hard-
ware, and in the fall of the same year Mr. Berry
bought out the other members of the corpora-
tion and became the sole owner of the business,
which he has since successfully conducted. He
keeps a large general stock of hardware and min-
ing supplies, and now enjoys a liberal patronage
which comes to him not only from Hailey, but
also throughout the surrounding country. His
pleasant manner, his courteous treatment of his
patrons, and his honorable dealing have secured
to him a large trade, and he justly merits his
prosperity.
In 1875 Mr. Berry was married and has two
daughters. The elder, i\Iary, is a stenographer
for the civil-service commission at Washington,
U. C. ; and Louise, a graduate of the State Nor-
mal School at New Paltz, New York, is now a
successful teacher in Ulster county, that state.
In 1863 Mr. Berry was made a Mason in San
Francisco Lodge, No. i, F. & A. M., in Califor-
nia; has held various offices in the order, and
is now affiliated with Boise Lodge, No. 2. In
politics he has always been a Republican, but
since 1896 has supported the silver wing of the
party. He ranks very high as an honorable and
successful business man, and well deserves men-
tion among the representative citizens of his
adopted state.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE PAYETTE VALLEY— ITS TOWNS, WATER, WEATHER, SOIL, PRODUCTS, RESOURCES AND
VARIED ATTRACTIONS.
POR the following graphic and ably written
article in regard to the attractions of the
Payette valley we are indebted to a sou-
venir edition of the Payette Independent issued
in March, i8(;8:
The Pa}ette valley lies in the southwestern
part of Idaho, with its upper and narrow
end extending far back into pine-clad moun-
tains and its lower flaring into broad, fer-
tile fields, terminating at the banks of the Snake
river, just across whose waters rise the mountain
peaks of Oregon. Its length is upward of forty
miles, its width varying from two miles at the
upper point to eight where it merges into the
larger delta of the Snake. On its northern side
rise foothills which succeed each other with in-
creasing height until they are lost in the great
chain of the Seven Devils mountains: on the
south a long, low line of hills divides it from its
sister valley, the Boise; and through it from end
to end the Payette river, broad, deep, perennial,
threads its way around innumerable islands. At
its mouth, its gateway and outlet, within half a
mile of the confluence of the Snake and Payette
rivers, is the flourishing town of Payette: midwav
in its length, on its mesa or bench lands, is New
Plymouth, a new community established on the
co-operative principle: still farther up the valley
is Falk's Store, which in an early day was one
of the most widely known stage stations in the
state and an outfitting point for cattlemen of a
large adjacent territory: and at its upper end,
where the waters of the Payette, cold and clear,
come tumbling out of a deep canyon. Emmett, a
thrifty village, stands sentinel.
Such is a brief outline of the district to which
we have come to pay tribute. Its area is not
large, but the stuff it is made of is "pay dirt."
Up to the time of the building of the Oregon
Short Line Railway, a link in the Union Pacific
system, the Payette valley lay, as did the greater
part of the arid northwest, a desert which was
covered with sage brush, and over which the
coyote chased the jack rabbit for his daily meat.
A few men. more hardy and more enterprising
than their fellows, had located homes along the
water courses, but they had done so with no other
expectation than spending their lives in the piclcct
line of pioneers. Irrigation was then in its swad-
dling clothes in the northwest. The general
opinion of it then, as it is now to a less extent,
was that it was a fad, a game to play at, but as <i
utilitarian proposition — nil. But the railroad
drew people in its wake, who found a climate so
genial that they cast about them for some occu-
pation that would yield a livelihood, so that they
might stay. JMany embarked in the live-stock
industry, some sought the great forests of pine,
fir and tamarack toward the headwaters of the
Payette, rafting logs to its mouth, and some, set-
tling on the lower lands, easy to water, com-
menced tilling the soil. To these latter and to
the few who preceded them in the same work is
due the growth of the tree of knowledge.
Through them the possibilities of production of
the valley's seventy-five thousand acres has been
made known, and from that time the certainty of
future prosperity was made as sure as the coming
of the seasons is sure. It was these men who
first planted fruit trees. They were set out for
home orchards and home consumption, with little
thought or expectation of their being utilized for
anything else. But when they reached maturity
their enormous yields and the excellence of the
quality of the fruit opened a new field for en-
deavor. Commercial orchards were planted.
They came to fruitfulness and the future great
industry of the valley was established. From
this small beginning, although it was less than a
decade ago, there are now in the valley upward
of twenty-five hundred acres in tree fruits, five
hundred acres in berries, and an annual acreage
in melons in excess of two hundred and fifty.
The climatic, soil and moisture conditions
which make it possible for the Payette valley to
outrival even some of the famed lotus lands of
California and to raise fruit that is second to
none in any market, are unusually felicitous. The
summer season is long and warm, with an aver-
age of twenty-nine days of sunshine each month.
Practically no rain falls from ^lay to October,
making the harvesting of all crops a matter of
comparative ease. The winters are short and
mild, yet with that indispensable touch of frost
which gii.'es the crispness and flavor to fruits of
the temperate zone which those of California
lack. The soil is of the same nature as abounds
throughout the inter-mountain region, — a deep
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
299
alluvial, rich in all mineral constituents and of a
durabilit}- widely known. In an irrigation dis-
trict "water is king." On it depends the success
of all crops: without it land is not worth annual
taxes. The Payette valley claims, and is pre-
pared to make good this statement to all comers,
that it has the best water supply in the irrigated
northwest. To-day four-fifths of all the land in
it that is susceptible of irrigation is under ditch,
yet at the time when the Payette river is at
its lowest stage there runs to waste fifty thou-
sand miner's inches. That is an amount suffi-
cient to irrigate twice the number of acres in
the entire valley. Should this present natural
flow ever diminish there are on the north fork of
the Payette two lak.is whose storage capacity can
hardly be estimated in figures. They lie in deep
canyons, walled on all sides with mountains that
reach the line of perpetual snow, and their out-
lets are through deep cuts where they may be
dammed at comparatively small cost. The canals
now constructed and in operation are of a sub-
stantial and permanent character and supplying
water with every facility for the best and most
economical use of it. Second only to getting
water on land is getting it ofif. At no place in
the valley is there a lack of ample drainage chan-
nels which carry all waste to one of the two riv-
ers. The slope on the bench lands is an even
one to the north, — the ideal exposure for fruit, —
and on the lower lands to the north and west.
These lands are universally level, but susceptible
of easy irrigation.
While horticulture will be a leading industry
it will not be the only one. The first settlers to
accumulate means, and some of them wealth,
were the stock men, and they form to-day a large
proportion of the population. The foot hills ad-
jacent to the valley form good ranges, on which
large bands of cattle and sheep roam. The ma-
jority of these are rounded up and fed during
the three winter months, but many get no other
forage than they can "rustle for themselves"
throughout the year. The quantity of hay
that can be raised to the acre makes the question
of winter feeding an easy one to meet. The
average is five tons. Here as elsewhere the cat-
tle business is being divided into small holdings,
and with the exceptional advantages for feeding
it has already become a most important factor
in the support of many homes-. The many large
valleys lying to the north of the Payette afford
summer ranges for sheep that are wintered in
the Payette. It is estimated that eighty-five
thousand sheep were fed between Emmett and
Payette last winter, making a market the value
of which the growers of hay acknowledge. Dairy
ing is, up to the present, almost neglected, and
it affords a field for enterprise second to none.
Where by actual test one-eighth of an acre of
alfalfa pasturage has kept one cow from May to
September, where five tons of hay can be grown
to the acre, where other forage- is plenty and
cheap, and where in the neighboring cities cream-
ery butter is quoted at from eighteen to twenty-
two cents a pound, there must be some ground
for the belief that dairying will at least keep the
wolf from the door.
To those who are looking for a location for
general farming the Payette valley offers induce-
ments. Thirty bushels of wheat, fifty of corn,
forty of oats, twelve thousand pounds of pota-
toes, eighteen thousand of onions are some of
the yields that are certified to by the state's
engineer. A guarantv of plenty of water leaves
nothing lacking to good crops but muscular en-
ergy and that intelligence that makes the Ameri-
can people the foremost in the world.
Reference has alreadv been made to the tim-
ber belts that surround the Payette valley. Their
acreage runs into the millions, — pine, tamarack,
fir, spruce and mountain poplar. There is but
one natural outlet for this vast amount of lum-
ber. It is the Payette river. Already a company
has prospected the ground and made estimates on
what is needful to be done to effect rafting of
logs down the river to Payette, where it con-
templates the establishment of a mill that will
employ two hundred men. Taking into consid-
eration that each year sees the visible supply of
lumber in the world decrease, the practically un-
touched forests of Idaho will be a source of
boundless wealth.
In and contiguous to the Payette valley are a
number of mining propositions that are on a
well paying basis, and many others that promise
much for \he future. At' Pearl a half dozen
prospects have developed paying quartz: in the
Seven Devils, copper that assays forty-five per
cent pure is being mined on the surface: in Lit-
tle Willow creek, a vein of coal has been un-
covered that is getting better and better in qual-
ity as the shaft is sunk : and in the sands of the
two rivers any one may pan out gold practically
the year round in quantities that will yield a
revenue of two dollars per day. In these same
sands lie untold riches, when some inventive
genius perfects a way to separate the precious
metal from them. Rlany have tried and failed,
others have tried with a fair measure of success,
and at the present time a large capital has been
invested in a still newer process which pronnses
greater results than have yet been attained.
Although the money invested in the mining in-
dustry in Idaho is small compared with such
states as Colorado or California, her yield of
precious metals ranks with the first. Yet there
is two-thirds of her territorv that has never been
300
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
prospected, except in the most desultory manner,
and much of this virgin ground properly belongs
in a section to which the Payette valley hears
the relation of a base of supplies.
The average prospective settler, when he be-
gins to think of moving to the far west, hesitates
because he dreads that he will be compelled to
undergo himself or subject his family to hard-
ships and privations incident to pioneering. In
his mind's eye he sees his home surrounded by
a wilderness, — neighbors, schools, churches and
the doctor far distant : no conditions whereby his
children may be brought up with proper social
training: or whce he and his wife can secure re-
laxation from the labor of overcoming the virgin
soil, and possibly himself engaged in some hand-
to-hand encounter with wild beasts, or wilder
men. Generally he who hesitates is lost; and by
reason of failure to investigate he goes to some
perhaps less genial clime. The Payette valley
ofifers nearly all the advantages and many of the
luxuries of any well regulated rural community,
whether it be m efifete New England or the mid-
dle-aged central west. Payette has a graded
school, housed in a handsome brick building; in
all the country districts schools are opened and
taught for six to nine months; and in Xew Ply-
mouth, Falk's Store and Emmett there are good
schools with ample facilities for all scliolars.
The state has a compulsory-education law, buys
and furnishes all books. There are two denom-
inational colleges, — a Congregational and a
Presbyterian — within a day's drive of any part
of the valley. Each community has its churches,
which represent nearly every denomination with
the exception of the Alormon. They have their
regular pastors and services, their church so-
cieties and entertainments and their work for
the relief of the sick. Social organizations, such
as literary and debating societies; fraternal or-
ganizations, such as the Masons, Odd Fellows,
G. A. R. and others; business organizations, vil-
lage-improvement societies; outing clubs, gun
clubs and riding clubs form nuclei around which
revolves a social life that older communities
would not blush to father. The business and
banking facilities are on a par with what are
called modern methods. The services of physi-
cians in good standing can always be secured,
and medicines are easy of access.
As for the struggle with the virgin soil, there
are but few places in this wide land where the
settler may first stick plow in the ground in the
spring, with no previous preparation, and raise
that same year a good crop of almost anything
he is minded to plant; and the Payette valley is
one of those places. And wild animals! "The
fiercest animal that roams the sage brush is the
timorous covote, and next is the reserved and
distant jack rabbit. So that here is no pioneer-
ing. It is of course not the excellence of living
in some large center of population, but hardship
there is none; and here is refuted the maxim that
"the poor ye have with ye alway." There are no
poor as it is understood to be poor in any older
settled country. There is no man in the Payette
valley so poor but that he has a roof to cover
his head, a fire at which to keep warm, and food
for himself and family when meal-time comes.
Nor is there any man who, if he is willing and
able to work, but can lay up that little store that
is so needful on the "rainy day."
The lands of the Payette valley are cheap.
Practically all that can be entered under the
desert or homestead acts are taken up, but the
best lands under ditch can be had for from fifteen
to fifty dollars per acre. Those prices are a con-
trast to what is asked for fruit lands in California,
Colorado or any other recognized fruit locality;
and those or any other states are challenged to
show a greater yield or a better quality of fruit
than that from the fertile fields of the Payette.
The people of this section make no claim to a
super-excellence or to an absence of disadvan-
tages. It is not set forth that this is a Garden of
Eden, a bower of the Fountain of Youth, or a
land flowing with milk and honey, where the peo-
ple, like the lilies of the field, toil not nor spin.
There are those drawbacks always incident to the
infant days of making a commonwealth. There
are bad, muddy roads in winter and bad dusty
ones in summer, transportation charges are high,
and neither DeWolfe Hopper or Miss S. Bern-
hardt play at Payette's opera house, but there is
no disadvantage that will not yield to time, and
a short time at that. This is a place where ener-
getic and intelligent men and women can secure,
at a nominal cost, homes that will support them
in their old age in ease if not in lu.xury; it is
where a young man, if he will exercise the same
industry as he does to keep his head above water
in crowded avenues of trade, can acquire a com-
petence if not wealth; and where no man, if he
will work, will become a patron of a public soup
house.
Each year sees a large number of the .-Vmeri-
can people seek to escape the heated term by
fliglit to the mountains or sea side. Near to the
Payette valley lies a country of mountains and
forests and lakes, of perpetual snows, of magnifi-
cent panoramas, of little sequestered valleys of
indescribable charm, and of grand, deep canyons
and precipitous mountains of granite, that offer
such delights for the lover of nature and such
possibilities to the adventurous traveler as no
land excels. There, too, the hunter may find some
of the remaining few of those vanishing species
— the moose, the elk, the mountain sheep, the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
301
caribou and the fierce grizzly. The seeker of
health may there locate himself at any altitude
in an atmosphere redolent of the pines and fairly
crackling with vigor, and on every side he wni
find living examples of the beneficence of nature
to man.
Of the family of states that forms the empire
of the northwest, Idaho is the Cinderella, — the
least known and the most fair, — and her fore-
most foot is slippered by the Payette valley and
its surroundings. Even now the tread of the
fairy prince who is to lead her to wealth and
prosperity is heard. Now is the time to enroll
in her train of courtiers.
PAYETTE.
Since the time, in 1836, when ^Marcus Whit-
man demonstrated that it was possible to travel
from the Missouri river to Puget sound on
wheels, the Payette valley has lain in the direct
route of travel to the northwest. But it was
not until the building of the railroad, in 1884,
that it was looked upon as a place for permanent
settlement. In the previous year the engineers
of the Union Pacific surveyin? the line through,
located a bridge over the Snake at the mouth of
the Payette valley, and at that time A. B. and
F. C. Moss and others, under contract to de-
liver a quarter million of ties, camped near the
junction of the Payette and Snake on the site of
the present town of Payette. That marked its
birth. In July of that year the Moss brothers
erected the first store building, and settlers be-
gan coming in. The vear 1884 saw the com-
pletion of the railroad as far as Huntington; the
building of the first school-house in the infant
town on the site of the present Baptist church ;
the construction of the lower Payette ditch by the
farmers along its route, an irrigating canal, with
extensions, twenty miles in length and carrying
a volume of water of seven thousand miner's
inches: and the establishment of a sawmill by
W. A. Coughanour. In this year and those im-
mediately following there located in Payette the
greater number of those men who now form the
"old guard." This ancient and honorable pha-
lanx has on its rolls such names as Peter Pence,
Henry Irvin, William Ireton, S. W. King, J. T.
Clement, Alex. Rossi, John Ashbauph, James
Welch, W. C. Johnson, Samuel and John Apple -
gate. John, Ben and William Bivens, August and
Adolph Jacobsen, John Henshaw, Jacob Stroup,
D. S. Lamme, A. B. and F. C. Moss and others.
The growth of the town was not particularly
rapid from that time on to 1890, but the popula-
tion steadily increased and from a supply station
for railway-construction gangs it had become a
center of trade and base of supplies for a coun-
trv an hundred miles in extent.
The "brick age" was inaugurated in 1890. It
received its main impetus from the decision of
a German syndicate, which had sent representa-
tives to investigate the resources of the valley,
to make extensive purchases in real estate and
place money in various enterprises. The syndi-
cate invested about two hundred thousand' dol-
lars. Its faith in the future was pinned to the
valley's horticultural, timber and live-stock re-
sources. A two-story brick school-house had
already been erected and following on the upward
trend of affairs given by the location of the syndi-
cate named there went up a two-story hotel,
three-story bank building, two-story Odd Fellow
building, the large establishments of the Moss,
Payette \'alley and Lamme mercantile companies
and several large residences, all of brick, as well
as a number of large frame buildings.
Payette was incorporated as a village in 1891.
In 1891 the first car load of fruit was shipped.
To-day Payette has a population of one thousand.
In speaking of its future, A. B. Moss, one of
the original pioneers, says: "I traveled in Col-
orado in 1866, when it was less advanced than
Idaho is to-day. Colorado is now a rich and
populous state, yet it has never had any more ad-
vantages to offer than has Idaho and particularly
the Payette valley. Therefore I look to see this
valley support a population of fifty thousand
people; I look to see a town within its borders of
ten thousand people inside of fifteen years; I
look to see a railroad running the length of it
inside of ten years; and I look to see its people
prosperous and happy. This may happen much
sooner than the time I state, but I do not think
my time will be overnm."
NEW PLYMOUTH.
Xew Plymouth is the youngest of the com-
munities in the Payette valley, and is the result
of the first organized effort to secure immigra-
tion. In the year 1893 the Payette \'alley Irri-
gation & Water Power Company completed the
construction of an irrigation canal forty miles
in length on the bench lands of the valley, and
at once set about to induce settlement under it.
B. P. Shawhan. in charge of this plant, in 1894
associated himself with William E. Smythe. then
chairman of the executive committee of the Na-
tional Irrigation Congress, for the establishment
in the Pavette valley of a community under the
general plan of colonization, but also to inclmle
a number of novel and advantageous features.
The plan formulated was based on the principle
of co-operative business interests, government
bv the people, the prohibition of the sale of in-
toxicating liquors in any manner, and social and
civic ec|uality.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
The city of Chicago was selected as the most
available point at which to introduce the project,
and during the summer of 1895 a committee of
seven was sent to Payette to investigate the
country. Its report was so favorable that in the
fall of that year some thirty-five families sub-
scribed to the plan offered and settled where
Xew Plymouth now stands. During that winter
— 1895-6 — a town site of three hundred and
twenty-five acres was laid out, upward of ten
miles of streets graded, thirty-six hundred shade
trees planted, and a village hall and two houses
for general occupancy erected. From that time
to the present the growth of Xew Plymouth has
gone steadily forward. People from all sections
of the United States have become its citizens.
To-day, although it is less than three years ago
when its being was certainly decided upon, it
has handsome residences on its streets, commodi-
ous public buildings, business buildings, a con-
siderable population of intelligent and industri-
ous people and has passed the stage where its
successful future was in doubt.
When the irrigation ditch was completed, the
vear before the establishment of Xew Plymouth,
the lands which it now waters and of whicli Xew
Plymouth is the logical and geographical center,
were as innocent of the taming hand of man as
in the days when fierce mountain torrents swept
it from divide to divide. Xow there are upward
of three thousand acres of land under fence and
annually yielding crops; there are one thousand
acres of orchard, some of which will this year
bear fruit; and from a desert it has become a
garden.
FALK'S STORE.
Falk"s Store is the oldest settlement in south-
ern Idaho between the Boise basin and the Snake
river. A station on the Utah, Idaho & Oregon
stage line was first located there, and around it
sprang up an outfitting and trading post which
had all those lively characteristics incident to
the frontier. The first store was established about
1867, by James Toombs, on what is now called
the Scott Stuart place, about a mile and a halt
below Falk's Store proper. A few years later
he was bought out by A. J. McFarland, who
successfully conducted a large business for about
ten years. Xathan Falk, now a prominent mer-
chant in Boise city, then established a store at the
station, and from it the name was taken. In
those days the place boasted a hotel, store, sa-
loon, blacksmith shop and numerous smaller en-
terprises, and in proof of the assertion that times
were good in the seventies it is said that Falk's
store alone did a business of sixty thousand dol-
lars in one year. The building of the railroad,
however, put an end to staging and Falk's Store
has since declined.
EMMETT.
James W'ardwell built a sawmill on the Payette
river close at the head of the valley in the early
seventies, to which logs were rafted from the
great timber belts lying to the north. Around
this mill lumbermen and merchants congregated,
with the result that the town of Emmett was es-
tablished. Emmett now has a population of five
hundred, large mercantile establishments, fine
residences and is surrounded by bearing orchards
of many acres in extent. The sawing of lumber
has been moved further back into the mountains,
but Emmett is the distributing point for the in-
dustrv.
WATER.
The Payette valley has that most necessary ad •
junct to an irrigated section, — water. It has the
best water supply in the irrigated northwest. Xot
only has it a supply greatly in excess of all de-
mands that are being made on it at present, but
it has a supply that is more than twice sufficient
to irrigate every acre of land that the valley con-
tains, and should its present annual flow ever be
diminished by some unforeseen disturbance of
nature there are at its source two natural reser-
voirs of an extended surface area and of a depth
that has heretofore baffled measurement, and a
mountain chain on which there are snows and
ice an hundred centuries old. This fact in itself
makes the Payette valley pre-eminent among the
many of this section of the country. There may
be others where the soil is as fertile, the climate
as salubrious and the people as intelligent and
industrious, but there are few whose familv skele ■
ton is not labeled, "Fear for future water supply."
Therefore the Payette valley says to any and all
home-seekers that to leave it out of consideration
in the making of permanent homes is to be blind
to self-interest.
During the year 1896 the state engineer of
Idaho, F. J. Mills, made measurements of the
flow of water in all the rivers in the state from
which water was diverted for irrigating purposes.
The tables of figures he has compiled are too
cumbersome for reproduction here, although they
may be obtained from him on request ; but his
general statement as to the Payette's water sup-
ply is the best of evidence. He says:
"The gauging station on this stream is at the
wagon bridge near the town of Payette not far
from the mouth of the stream and below all di-
verting canals. As the flow of this river is so
much greater at all times than any possible de-
mands upon it by any existing or projected ca-
nals, this station answers all purposes as well
as one located above the canals. The quantity
of water carried at all seasons of the year by the
Payette is more than sufficient for the irrigation
of all the agricultural land in the valley, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
303
therefore there need be little fear of any scarcity
of water. The Payette lakes offer natural reser-
voir sites, but it is doubtful if it will be necessary
to make use of them, certainly not for many
years, and never unless a larger part of the flow
of the Payette be taken out of its own drainage
area for use elsewhere."
The Payette lakes, to which the engineer re-
fers, lie on the north fork of the Payette, distant
about one hundred and forty miles. Their com-
bined surface area is about fifty square miles.
The deepest sounding ever made in the lower
lake was two thousand and five hundred feet,
which failed to reach bottom, so that it is im-
possible to compute the number of gallons of
water it contains. They lie in deep, steep-sided
ravines and their outlets dash over rocky bot-
toms through walled canyons. The cost of dam-
ming them so as to raise their surfaces many
feet will be, if it should ever become necessary,
light compared with the enormous expenditures
of time and money to conserve almost an in-
finitesimal amount of these waters in the states
of California. Colorada and New Mexico. The
middle fork of the Payette rises in eternal glaciers
in the Sawtooth mountains. Here is another
fruitful source of water supply. Just at the time
when other accumulations of water begin to ebb
the snow and ice here are melting most rapidly.
The south fork of the river drains a large area
and contributes no little to the general fund of
moisture. If you want to irrigate, the Payette
valley can furnish you with water.
Water for drinking is found at depths varying
from twenty to sixty feet and is universally free
from impurities and any trace of alkali.
WEATHER.
The state of Idaho has as many varieties of
climate as there are styles in feminine headgear.
On the e.xposed mountain peaks and in high alti-
tudes old Boreas holds frozen court the greater
part of the year, while on the lower levels and
in the sheltered valleys winter is little more thaii
a name. One of these latter is the Payette.
Its altitude is two thousand and two hundred
feet, and it stands open-mouthed to the warm
winds from the Japan current that come sweeping
up the deltas of the Columbia and Snake. Its
latitude is the same as that of southern France
and Italy, and it is protected from the fierce colds
that originate in the region of Montana by the
continental divide. The winter season usually
lasts about three months, with varying degrees
of cold. Taking one winter with another the
mean average teinperature is but little below the
freezing point. The thermometer generallv sinks
to zero for not to exceed three or four nights
during the season. The lowest point it has ever
reached since the establishment of a voluntary
observer's station in Payette, seven years ago,
is twelve degrees below zero. The ground sel-
dom freezes to a depth greater than six inches.
The summer season approaches the tropical as
far as the thermometer's record is concerned. It
is no unusual thing for the one hundred degree
mark to be hovered around for weeks" at
a time, but there the resemblance to the tropics
ends. There is no depressing humidity, nor
hot, sultry nights. The average difference
of thermometer readings between day and
night is, for the summer months, thirty-
five degrees, and the rarity and dryness
of the air so tempers the rays of the
sun that no bad effects are ever experienced.
At the same time, when in Chicago and other
eastern cities, with the thermometer standing at
about ninety degrees, people and horses have
been dying of sun-stroke by the dozens, the ther-
mometers in the Payette valley have registered
as high as one hundred and fifteen, with men and
animals working under its mid-day rays practical-
ly oblivious of their heat. .\ case of hydrophobia
has never been known in the state of Idaho.
The dry season lasts from about the first of
May until the first of October, During this time
the atmosphere is practically devoid of humidity
and days of uninterrupted sunshine succeed each
other, furnishing, in connection with the abun-
dant water supply of the valley, the most favor-
able conditions for plant life and growth. The
periods of rain are in the fall and spring, when a
considerable volume falls. Snow sometimes suc-
ceeds during the winter months, but sleighing of
more than two weeks' duration seldom occurs.
What makes the coldest of weather the easier to
endure is the fact that the colder it gets, the less
the wind blows, and if the thermometer hovers
at the zero point the faintest breath of a breeze
cannot be detected. Such conditions produce a
climate that is beneficial, and in many cases cura-
tive to pulmonary complaints, catarrhal troubles,
malarial diseases and many other ills that flesh
is heir to. In other words the climate is he;ilth-
ful and stimulating, and there are many persons
living in the Payette valley to-day, vigorous and
robust, who left former homes with n doctor's
prophecy hanging over them that life for them
was short.
SOIL.
The soil of the Payette valley is an alluvial de-
posit of a volcanic nature, varying in weight and
depth in different places. Surrounding the town
of Payette, including those lands adjacent to the
mouth of the Payette river, the bottom lands of
the Snake, and an area containing aljout one
thousand and five hundred acres, which is known
304
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
as the Washoe flat, the soil borders on a sandy
loam. It assimilates irrigation waters with great
ease, and is deep and friable.
On the bench lands about New Plymouth there
is more of a clay consistency. It makes a soil
less friable when first cultivated than the more
sandy, but competent judges are of the belief
that it will be longer lived. In the upper end
of the valley there is a mixture of sand, clay and
bottom lands.
The statement is made here without fear of
successful contradiction that there is no hard
pan or gumbo land in the Payette valley; and
no alkali except along the river bottoms, which
form a most insignificant part of the total acre-
age. The soils are all rich in the ingredients
needful for plant life, and their longevity is in-
creased in that the running of irrigating water on
their surface continually refertihzes them.
FRUIT CULTURE.
An advancement in fruit-growing has already
been made in the Payette valley fhat places it
among the foremost in the state and surrounding-
country. It is past the experimental stage. X. A.
Jacobs'en shipped the first solid car of fruit —
prunes — from Payette in 1891, since which time
shipments have increased, until last season they
amounted to twenty-five car loads of green fruit,
twenty-three car loads of melons; and by express.
3,537' crates of berries and 1,689 crates of
cantaloupes. In addition there have been
from time to time shipped dried fruits.
There are about six hundred acres of tree
fruits now in bearing, an acreage that will
be doubled withm the next two years, and
should not even another tree be planted there
will within the next five years two thousand and
five hundred acres come to bearing. There is
little danger, however, of planting ceasing. An
average yield of such fruits as prunes and apples
is a car load to an acre, and the average number
of hands ordinarily required to care for it during
the harvesting season is five per acre.
The above figures give an idea as to the point
whither the industry is tending. The acreage of
berries is large and in many instances the grow-
ing of them" has been more profitable than of
tree fruits. The production of melons is assum-
ing some magnitude, and the acreage of them the
coming season will reach two hundred and fifty.
The following is a list of the fruits that are
grown in the valley with profit: Apples, prunes.
pears, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines,
quinces, cherries, grapes, strawberries, raspber-
ries, dewberries, blackberries, currants, goose-
berries and ground-cherries. Plantings of wal-
nuts, chestnuts, pecans, almonds and English
walnuts are also being made, and the few nut
trees in bearing have shown big and profitable
yields.
The right of the apple to the title of the "king
of fruits" was established early in the history of
man. It has successfully defended that title
against all challengers ever since; and while
the apple is the "king of fruits" the "king of ap-
ples" grows in the Payette valley. It is of large
size, fancy flavor, colored so highly that gen-
erally the same apple grown by irrigation and
perpetual sunshine here is unrecognizable beside
the one grown in the east, and is of a weight and
keeping-quality not excelled. Its early produc-
tiveness is a feature of its value. One-year-old
nursery stock will bear fruit the fourth year from
planting, will yield a partial crop the fifth, a
large crop the sixth and seventh, and from the
eighth to tenth come to maturity. The number
of apples that a tree will put forth is an increasing
marvel as one year succeeds another. From two
to three boxes — forty pounds to the box — of
marketal)le fruit off a five-year-old tree to twenty
boxes ofif one from seven to ten years old are
ordinary figures, although the standard estimate
of first-class fruit from trees aged seven and up-
ward is ten boxes. Taking the latter as a basis,
there being generally planted fifty trees to the
acre, the average yield year in and year out may
be safely placed at five hundred boxes per acre —
an even car load. Last season these apples sold
in the Chicago and Xew York markets for from
two to four dollars per box. if they were Jona-
thans, and from one to three dollars u less fancy
varieties.
"Incredible as it may seem, Idaho has the best
show of prunes in the general exhibit" (at the
World's Fair) — San Francisco Examiner. May
10, 1893.
Coming as this does from the heart of Califor-
nia it is generous praise from a worsted com-
petitor. The prunes in this exhibit were from
southwestern Idaho, some of them from the Pay-
ette valley. If the apple is the "king of fruits,"
the prune is the "royal consort." The state en-
gineer of the state of Idaho places the average
yield of prunes in Canyon county, of which the
Payette valley forms a considerable part, at twen •
ty-five thousand pounds to the acre. Although
there are a number of prune-growers in the Pay-
ette who annually exceed these figures, and there
are some whose trees are yet in the first years
of bearing, who equal them, they are sufficient
for the purpose of illustration and are an official
statement capable of proof. The average num-
ber of trees to an acre is about one hundred,
making the yield of each tree two hundred and
fifty pounds. Alany of the Payette valley grow-
ers sold their product in the green state, some
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
for three-quarters of a cent per pound on the
trees, and others for one cent delivered at the
station in Payette. Gross proceeds of two hun-
dred and fifty dollars per acre leave a wide mar-
gin for the expense of care and picking. Others
have shipped to eastern markets with large
profits, and some have made long shipments at
a loss. As yet the only practical way of handling
this crop, by evaporation, has not been adopted
to any extent. The need of it is felt, however,
and there are at least two projects on foot look-
ing to the establishment of evaporating plants.
The particular excellence of the Idaho prune is
in its size, flavor and large percentage of sugar.
In the Payette valley there is no fear of wet
weather to give it an excess of water, making it
dry, light or poor, or to develop the fungus dis-
eases tliat sometimes cause disaster in Oregon.
The prune has become a staple in the market and
where the properly cured and packed Idaho
product has been offered it has commanded a
price often above that of California. Prune trees
begin bearing the third year from planting and
yield largely the fourth and fifth.
There are many residents of the Payette valley
who contend that the pear is the fruit to grow
for profit. Certain it is that it reaches a size,
luscionsness and carrying quality which make it
as marketable as it is in any country. An aver-
age acre's yield according to the state engineer's
estimate, is eighteen thousand pounds. On mar-
ket pears are generally quoted at from two to
four cents, with even higher figures for the fancy
article attractively packed. So far none of the
pear orchards in the valley have suffered seriou,=-
ly from blight, — that universal enemy of the pear
tree, the cause of which is yet a matter of specu-
lation among pomologists and bacteriologists.
Like other fruits the pear bears early, the third
year generally furnishing a crop.
The quality and productiveness of these fruits
is such that many orchardists are planting them
extensively. Some question their ability to stand
the climate, but the Payette valley furnishes
peaches when they are a failure in every section
about here, and none of the bearing apricot or-
chards have gone a season uncroppea. Peaches
yield from eighteen to twenty thousand pounds
to the acre and always command a good price.
The yield of apricots is about the same. r>oth
begin bearing the second year. They, too, await
the advent of the evaporator that their entire
value may be utilized.
Cherries, plums, quinces, nectarines and other
tree fruits all bear in like proportion to those
stated above and at the same early date, but have
not been so extensively planted. Their acreage
will, doubtless, be much less than of the staple
fruits, but they will be grown at a profit and
form a considerable part of the total volume of
business.
The staple small fruits grown commercially
are the strawberry and black raspberry. Both
yield profusely and have that same carrying qual-
ity that makes Idaho's tree fruits famous. Al-
ready large shipments of strawberries are being
made, some of them goine to points east of Chi-
cago, and the profits secured in some instances
seem almost fabulous. A prominent nurseryman
of Payette sells his berries on the vme for two
hundred and fifty dollars per acre, the buyer
picking and packing. The black-cap is grown
chiefly for drying, yielding at a conservative esti-
mate from one thousand to one thousand and five
hundred pounds of the dried fruit to the acre.
In the season of 1897 the market prices were
from ten to fifteen cents. While every fruit-grow-
er and rancher has nearly all the other small
fruits and grapes on his place in quantities suffi-
cient for home consumption, no extensive eiifort
to utilize them commercially has yet been made,
although there is no reason why there should
not be.
The most popular of fruits in its season is the
melon, particularly the cantaloupe. It is the ne
plus ultra of the breakfast table and the facile
princeps of all desserts. It is said of the canta-
loupe that it is the one fruit of which enough
cannot be had; and the smiling watermelon is
synonymous with a tickled palate. Both these
melons grow to a state of high perfection here.
The sandy soil on the lower lands is just what
they require for an early and rapid growth. Last
year twenty-three car loads and thousands of
crates were shipped. The standard for melons in
recent years has been, by common consent, the
melon grown at Kockv Ford. Colorado. Pay-
ette vallev melons shipped to Denver have elic-
ited the following comment from the G. G. Lieb-
hardt Commission Company, under date of
January 5, 1898: "We know of no other place,
outside of Rocky Ford, where as good melons are
raised as we have seen from your point. The
trouble with all cantaloupes raised in the east
is that they are just like a turnip: there is no
taste to them. The only way they can eat them
is to put sugar on them; but the beauty of the
Rocky Ford melons, and also the melons at vour
place, is that .thev are .sweet. They do not re-
quire any artificial sweetening."
One incalculable advantage that the Payette
valley melons have is that thev are from two to
three' weeks ahead of the Rocky Ford. The first
shipments here in 1897 were on July 26.
Some idea of yields and profits may be gained
from the experience of R. L. Jimerson, who cer-
tifies to the fact that in 1897 from two acres of
ground, he delivered at the Payette station eight
306
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
hundred and twenty-seven crates of cantaloupes
that netted him $627.32. It does not neces-
sarily follow that all can come and do likewise,
but what man has done man may do. For the
purpose of advancing this industry there has re-
cently been incorporated a company styled the
Payette Valley Melon Growers' Association,
with a capital stock of three thousand dollars.
GENERAL FARMING.
General farming is most successfully carried
on throughout this entire section, but as the
growing of fruit and handling of cattle and sheep
hold out inducements for larger profit, only a
comparatively small acreage is devoted to it.
All cereals and grains and all vegetables yield
well, and farmers have in instances made unusual
profits from potatoes, onions and other special
crops. A strict adherence to the truth, however,
makes necessary the observation that the Pay-
ette valley is not as well adapted to the growth
of general farm crops as it is to fruits, and that
there are better grain sections in the state.
In the state engineer's report before alluded
to the following yields for this county are given:
\Mieat, 30 bushels per acre; oats, 42; corn, 35;
rye, 18: barley, 34; potatoes, 10,480 pounds: car-
rots, 19,900; beets, 19.900; and onions, 18,666.
Many orchardists successfully plant and grow
root crops and corn between tree rows, assisting
materially in meeting the expenses of caring for
the trees until they come to bearing. The growth
of early vegetables has, up to the present time,
been wholly in the hands of the Chinese, who
have made it extremely profitable to themselves
and demonstrated that it may be made profitable
to others. So much so has it 'been to them that
one of them, a man of means and education, has
made the ofifer that if a cannery could be estab-
lished in the valley he would agree to take five
hundred acres of land at an annual rental of
twenty-five dollars per acre, pay water rental and
taxes on it, and put it out to vegetables.
One thing the farmer in this valley may be ab-
solutely certain of, and that is that he will get a
crop every year. There are no "ofif years," no
droughts, no floods, no tornadoes. A story is
told of a tourist through Kansas who met a
native and asked him what sort of a country
Kansas was to settle in. The native replied by
asking this question: "If you had known a man
for twenty-two years and he had been a horse
thief, a blackleg, and a regular out and out
child of sin and the devil for twenty years,
and then had reformed and been just a
tolerably decent sort of fellow for two years,
would you tie to him?" The tourist said that he
didn't think that he would. The native dug spurs
into his tired broncho, leaving the tourist to
cipher out the moral. No such allegory can be
drawn of the Payette valley. It is the same one
year with another. If it is bad, there is no hope
of reform: if it is good, there is no fear of its
fall. It courts investigation.
DAIRYING.
In the valley of the Payette the farmer cuts
from two to four crops of hay each season. The
average tonnage per acre each season is five.
There have been as high as eight and nine tons
of alfalfa taken off a single acre from four cut-
tings a season. With all the grasses — alfaWa,
clover, timothy, orchard-grass, blue-grass and
others — yielding such weights of forage, the
question of feeding stock is reduced to a mini-
mum, taking into consideration also that all
other forage produces in like measure. It is no
unusual thing for four to eight head of stock to
be pastured to the acre. Compare this feeding
capacity with that of eastern acres. There is
but one creamery in the state of Idaho, and even
dairies are few. There is but one in the Payette
valley. The price of butter in the Payette val-
ley has never been less than twenty cents per
pound. The price of creamery butter is from
that figure to twenty-five cents anywhere in the
state. Idaho annually ships in thousands of
pounds of butter from California, Utah, Oregon
and other states.
POULTRY.
Nobody in this section of the country has as
yet taken special interest in the development of
the poultry industry. During the winter months
it is oftentimes impossible to buy an egg in the
Payette valley, and if any are offered for sale
the price asked for them is from twenty-five to
thirty cents a dozen. There is no reason why
the hen should not be worked to her full ca-
pacity here. The weather is never severe enough
to necessitate the erection of expensive buildings,
and feed is plenty. The rearing of chickens will,
in fact, become a part and parcel of fruit-growing.
A few dozen industrious birds in an orchard will
do more than almost any other agency, unless it
be hogs, to destroy the various insect enemies
of fruit. The chicken has come to stay and it
will produce a considerable part of the valley'^
wealth. There are several residents both at Pay-
ette and New Plymouth who have introduced
thoroughbred birds, such as Cochins. Wyan-
dottes, Langshans, Plymouth Rocks and Leg-
horns. Eggs and individual fowls from these
fanciers are being distributed over the country,
to the efifect that nearly all flocks are being im-
proved.
TIMRER.
Scrutiny of and reflection on the following fig-
ures are invited. They do not misrepresent in
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
any essential. There are one million acres of
timber land of which the Payette river is the
natural and only outlet. It is certain that this
timber will cut twenty thousand feet to the acre,
and in all probability it will cut more. That
means that there are twenty billion feet of it. It
is worth fifteen dollars a thousand at Payette.
Therefore it represents a value of three hundred
dollars per acre, or three hundred million dollars.
Of this timber five per cent is tamarack, ten per
cent is fir and eighty-five per cent is pine. The
percentage of rot in this timber will not exceed
one-half of one per cent; that of Michigan ex-
ceeds twenty-five per cent. These are surpris-
ing figures and such as may sound exaggerated
to those who live in less extensive areas than
the people of Idaho; but, taking into considera-
tion that there are fifty-five million acres in the
state, of which twenty millions are estimated as
timber lands, there is nothing unreasonable in
them.
This timber, often rising to a height of over
one hundred feet, stands in most instances so
thick as to exclude the light of the sun, and is
straight and flawless, generally speaking. It is
not claimed for it that its quality is superior to
other timber belts of this section, but it is as-
serted for it that it is of more value than the
same kinds either in Oregon or Washington be-
cause there is a greater percentage of "uppers'"
or clear lumber. As previously stated the Pay-
ette river is the natural and only outlet for these
billions of feet. Not only does it furnish a high-
way on which logs may be driven to mill every
month in the year but two, but it will also furnish
the power to drive the mills. It is possible, also,
to get the logs out of the timber to the river at
all seasons of the year, the snow never getting so
deep as to prevent work. Another feature that
adds to the value of the lumber is that all refuse
can be sold for wood, and even the sawdust com-
mands ready sale. It is a well known fact that
the demand for lumber exceeds the supply. There
is now going eastward over the Oregon Short
Line Railway daily often as much as a train load
of lumber from Oregon. The forests of that
state have been subjected to a steady drain for
many years, and those in the western part, in the
Blue mountain region, are becoming badly
thinned. As a matter of fact the only untouched
pineries of the United States are in this state,
and the Payette taps one of them that is not the
least. The market for the lumber stretches east
for a distance of fifteen hundred miles, a country
a large part of which is timberless There are
now two mills sawing lumber in this belt, one
at Payette and one in what is called the Dry Ruck
country. Emmett is the distributing point for the
latter and it is a Payette valley enterprise.
These mills have never been able to supply the
local demand, quantities of lumber being shipped
here from Oregon.
CATTLE.
Time was, ten years ago, when the cattle of
the Payette valley were counted by the lens of
thousands; and ihe "hi, hi!" of the cowboy made
the land merry during the spring and fall round-
ups. There has been a change since then, and
although there are many still in the country, the
days of individual ownership of large bands is
past. If you ask a cattle man to tell you why
it will pay you well to embark in his business,
he will say to you, "Because there are spring,
summer and fall ranges off which you can send
your stock to market in first-class condition, and
you can winter them at a cost of one dollar and
fifty cents a head." The cheapness of winter
feeding is the main article of faith. More cattle
are fed only two months of the year than are fed
three, and the cost of hay is seldom over three
dollars a ton.
The quality of the cattle of this section of
Idaho ranks among the best of grass-fed stock of
the northwest, taking precedence of that of Mon-
tana, Wyoming- and Oregon. This is due not so
much to any superiority of feed as to the fact
that there have been imported a number of bulls
of high grade. One owner in the Payette se-
cured two Herefords from Adams Earl, of Earl
Park, Indiana, at a cost of one thousand dollars
at five months old, and there is some shorthorn
and Durham stock of the best.
It is estimated that there were about ten thou-
sand head of cattle wintered in the Payette val-
lev this year. Of these the largest single owner-
ship was fifteen hundred, at Emmett, and the
next about one thousand, at Payette. The rest
were divided up into holdings of from fifty to
three hundred head.
Tributary to the Payette, in the Weiser, In-
dian, Crane creek. Squaw creek. Paddock and
Long valleys, there are many thousands of stock
which are driven in for shipment at this and ad-
jacent points. Present prices range 'at fifteen
and sixteen dollars for yearlings and twenty to
twenty-four dollars for two-year-olds. The future
of the cattle industry will see a continually in-
creasing number in the country, but they will be
in bands of tens and twenties owned by each
rancher whose few acres of hay land will furnish
them abundant feed.
SHEEP.
Wool is not the least of the items that swell
the commerce of the Payette vallev. The wool
clip from it and the surrounding sections
anioiuits to about a half million pounds annually.
With the advance in jirice guaranteed by a pro-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tective tariff the business iias oroved most profit-
able under the conditions existing here.
This valley offers a winter range which is un-
excelled. Hay can be bought on an average for
three dollars per ton, and the weather is never
so severe as to necessitate artificial shelter. The
time of feeding the past winter did not exceed
two months. Several bands fed in the Payette
broke winter camp in the middle of February
and headed for the upper ranges. Others com-
menced as early as the first of that month to turn
out in the sage brush. The summer ranges for
the sheep fed in the Payette valley lie in the
numerous smaller valleys contiguous, and even
high up on the mountain ranges. Feed is plenty
and the ranges are not overrun.
The number of sheep in the country is increas-
ing each year. From an insignificant number a
half dozen years ago the industry has grown until
the present. The supply of hay is increasing each
year, making it a certainty that those engaging
in the business will find an abundance of feed in
a sheltered cotmtry.
IRRIG.\TING CANALS.
One of the largest irrigation enterprises in the
state is that of the Payette Valley Irrigation &
Water Power Company. Diverting water from
the Payette about two miles above Emmett, its
canal, running close under the foot-hills that di-
vide the Payette and Boise valleys, carries water
for a distance of about forty miles to all the bench
lands of the valley, an acreage in excess of thirty
thousand. The cost of construction was about
three hundred thousand dollars, an expenditure
resulting in the most substantial work, both at the
headgates and along the route, and giving every
facility for quick and economic deliverance of
water. Its capacity will at all times be greater
than any probable demand that will be made on
it, the intake at the headgates being 556.5
cubic feet per second, or 27,825 miners'
inches. There always being plenty of water
in the river, those locating under this ca-
nal will never lack moisture. This com-
pany has sold perpetual water-rights to the land.^
under it, and charges an annual maintenance fee
of one dollar and fifty cents an acre.
The canal was constructed by New York cap-
ital, and was completed in the fall of 1893. Water
was first turned out to users in the spring of 1894.
Settlement under it from that time on has been
rapid, seeing established the town of New Ply-
mouth, the planting of many hundreds of acres
of orchard and the cultivation of thousands of
acres of land. At the present rate of progress it
will be but a few years at the most until all lands
under it will be occupied by permanent settlers.
P.. P. Shawhan. at that time treasurer and
member of the board of directors of the Equit-
able Securities Company of Xew York city, was
sent to the Payette valley in charge of the con-
struction of this canal, and has since remained
as president of the company and manager of it.
The company has been most active in advancing
the interests of the country, advertising widely
and promoting permanent improvements.
The lower Payette ditch, which waters those
lands of the valley that lie on the north side of
the river from a point opposite Xew Plymouth to
one about seven miles below Payette, is a "farm-
ers' ditch," having been built and still being
operated by the users of water from it. Agitation
for its construction was begun in 1881 and the
next year a company was incorporated bv David
and Xprval Gorrie. C. T. Williams and S. L.
Sparks, with a capital stock of eisrht thousand
dollars, divided into eighty shares. Work was
commenced at once and the canal was completed
in 1883. Since that time both the size of ditch
and the capital stock of the company have been
increased until the latter has reached three hun-
dred and twenty shares of one hundred dollars
each, and the former a carrying capacity that
makes it an irrigation enterprise of first magni-
tude. Its affairs are managed by a board of
directors, and consumers are charged for water
at the rate of actual operating expenses assessed
pro rata to each share. It is estimated that the
average annual cost of water under it for the past
five years has been thirty-seven cents an acre.
This ditch is of ample size to carry all the water
needed under it for many years to come. It also
supplies much land above it, the water being
raised by means of under-shot wheels. The oper-
ation of these wheels is one of the novel and
interesting sights of irrigation.
A number of smaller community ditches water
the upper end of the valley, and some of its lower
stretches mid-way between Emmett and Payette.
While no one of them irrigates any considerable
amount of land, their aggregate makes a good
showing in the total acreage of lands cultivated.
Water under them is chareed for on the basis of
operating expenses.
WASHOE BOTTOM.
West and south of Payette, just across the
beautiful river from which that village derives its
name, lies Washoe bottom. It is a fine body of
land, alluvium and loam, almost entirely bounded
by the left bank of the Payette and the right
bank of the Snake rivers. It contains about two
thousand six hundred acres, four-fifths of which
was converted into an island when A. Rossi built
a head-gate at the Payette river and constructed
a ditch out of a certain "sloo" for the purpose of
running logs down to his saw-iuill on the Oregon
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
309
Short Line Railroad at Washoe. Through this
ditch a large part of the bottom receives its water
for irrigation. The Washoe Irrigation and
Water Power Company also owns a fine ditch
from the Payette, which waters the remaining
and larger portion of the land. These ditches
will sufficiently irrigate all the land on the bottom
at an expense not to exceed twenty cents per
acre.
All of the cereals, vegetables, forage plants and
fruits of the temperate zone can be produced here
in abundance and of special fine quality. Five
tons of alfalfa to the acre have been harvested at
two cuttings. Thus far, since the settlement of
these lands, hay has been the principal crop,
much of which is still produced from the native
grasses. Orchards, what few we have here, are
young and bear in from two to three years from
setting. Apples and pears give fair yields at four
years from setting of one and two year old trees.
Be it known that the crop of vegetables, grain
and hay was less in the season of 1897 (with one
exception) than any during the past 13 years, yet
it amounted to the following: Hay. 526 tons:
wheat, 2,goo bushels; oats, 4,458 bushels: alfalfa
seed, 5,000 pounds; potatoes, 36,000; winter
squashes. 252,000; tomatoes, 4,500; grapes, 5,-
000; apples, 15,500; peaches, 4,750; prunes, 5,-
000: pears, 1,380; apricots, 800; cherries. 400;
and other crops in like proportion. There are
also a large number of cattle owned on the bot-
tom. In the gravel and sand underlying its fields
there is untold wealth. Experts in mining state
that gold abounds all through them to a deptli
of thirty feet to bed-rock. There is an under-
flow of water beneath everv acre which will facil-
itate mining by means of the use of centrifugal
pumps, and it is believed that the Snake river
valley will in the near future rival the famous
Yukon.
WHITLEY BOTTOM.
What is known as Whitley bottom is an area
of about three thousand acres lying along the
east bank of the Snake river and between it and
the bench lands of Payette valley. Its entire
• extent is almost as level as a floor and its surface
is but little above that of the river. When the
river is running high in the spring, water sets
back into a number of channels, forming minia-
ture lakes and ponds which afford facilities for
irrigation later on. For this reason it was se-
lected by the earlier settlers for the location of
cattle and hay ranches. Many thousand head of
stock have been wintered there in times gone
by, and some are yet, but the falling ofif of the
cattle business and the improvement of the high-
er lands have enlarged the feeding area once con-
fined to the river lands. W'hitley bottom is now
under the ditch of the Payette Valley Irrigation
and Water Power Company and is a fine tract
for general farming.
RECREATION .\ND SPORT.
Sportsmen who have been used to long jour-
neys in search of feathered, furred or scaled
game, with indifferent luck at their end, will find
hunting and fishing in and about the Payette
valley an easy and successful matter. In the
ponds and bayous formed by the irrigation
ditches, and in the many stretches of still water
along the rivers countless thousands of ducks,
geese, brant, crane and other game fowls find
feeding grounds, winter quarters and breeding
places. During the fall of the year the air may
be said to be literally filled with them, and they
do not entirely disappear until late in the spring.
Quail, sage-hen and a species of snipe are also
abundant in their season. In the neighljoring
foothills and in the smaller valleys there are
grouse, curlew and various kinds of chicken in
numbers at times confusing to the gunner and
heating to his gun-barrels.
The divide between the Payette and Boise val-
leys is a runway for deer passing to and from
winter feeding grounds in the southern valleys of
Oregon and summer ones in the high mountains
north of the Payette. Many of them are shot
during these pilgrimages by men who are less
than a half day's ride on horseback from home,
and occasionally a band of timid doe, led by an
adventurous buck, stray down among the
ranches of the lower valley to fall prey to some
marksman.
But it is in the timbered and mountainous
country northward for an hundred miles and
more that the royal sport lies. There may be
found deer, elk, antelope, mountain sheep, nu-
merous bears of the smaller species, and occasion-
ally a fierce grizzly and a timid moose. Big game
is becoming more and more scarce, and in the
mountains and forests of Idaho are found many
of those animals that are e.xtinct in almost every
other portion of the continent. The hunting of
them in summer and fall gives an invigorating
outing that is an experience in itself.
No more charming resort than the Payette
lakes, lying as they do sunk deep into snow-cov-
ered moimtains, their waters as clear and cold
as the mountain springs from which they have
their source, and their shores and clean, sandy
beaches, lined with gigantic pines that stretch far
up onto the mountain's sides, can be found any-
where; and many spots that are storied in poetry
and song are as much less beautiful than they as
a cheap print is less beautiful than nature. The
arduous toil of the chase can be intermitted there
by repose and recreation, and in a thousand other
places the tourist may set himself down to an
enjoyment of fine vistas, seductive odors, stimu-
310
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
lating waters and an appetite that fears no disii
and knows no limit.
All the mountain lakes and streams are more
or less filled with that finny delicacy. — the
speckled moimtain trout — and at certain seasons
of the year they are caug^ht in large numbers. In
the lakes and rivers, salmon, salmon trout, bull
trout and red fish are plenty, to say nothing of
less toothsome species that may be caught by the
thousands. In the lower rivers salmon are
caught, and in the Snake huge sturgeon — some
weighing as high as three hundred pounds — are
victims of the angler.
A summer spent in the mountains and forests
and on the lakes of the country adjacent to the
Payette valley will give to the hunter months
of such sport as Cooper writes of; will furnish
the tourist a series of novelties that will delight
the most blase : will afford the searcher for rest
and recreation rest that will have permaneni:
value and recreation that will recreate with all
the variations of the word's meaning: and will
be of more benefit to an invalid than all the nos-
trums known.
THE SWINERY.
To review the resources and industries of this
valley without making a few remarks about the
author of the ham would be to leave the review
incomplete. It is believed and frequently as-
serted that more hogs can be grown and fattened
to a given area of land in the irrigated valleys
of this section than at any other place in the
world. The magic lies in that greatest of forage
plants — alfalfa. It is a fact too common to excite
comment that from fifteen to twenty head of
hogs can be summered on an acre of it, taken up
in the fall and fed corn from twenty to thirty
days, and be sent to market in as prime condition
for slaughter as any buyer demands. The rais-
ing of hogs is also a powerful auxiliary to the
growing of fruit. Turned in an orchard they
eat all decaying, stunted or infested fruit as it
falls, and by continual agitation of the surface
of the soil and rubbing against the trunks of the
trees destroy innumerable hiding places for pests
of all sorts.
AP1.\RIES.
The busy bee is another important and profit-
able prop to the fruit business. Many berries and
tree fruits have need to be fertilized from some
other of the same family, and the bee is a most
potent agent in this work. Every orchard should
have its apiary. The country affords every pos-
sible inducement for the bee to make honey.
Three and four times a season the alfalfa and clo-
ver blossom give a harvest that yields a superior
product. .Alfalfa honey is a special brand in the
west. The countless fruit blossoms are enough
to almost set the drones at work, and even the
sage-brush puts forth blossoms in the spring
that the bee seeks. The country, since the intro-
duction of bees, has become filled with wild
swarms that have escaped from the home hives
through the carelessness of keepers. They seek
lodgment in buildings, groves and out of the way
places, and as much as fifty to one hundred
pounds of honey has frequently been taken from
these nomads at the end of the season.
SUGAR BEETS.
Xo systematic effort has been made to cultivate
the sugar beet. Last year, and the one before
the experiment station at the state university, at
Moscow, sent out a large amount of seed to
farmers in various sections of the state for the
purpose of testing the adaptability of the soil and
climate to it. A number of reports were re-
ceived and they were for the most part flattering.
The beets grew well, and upon being analyzed
showed a percentage of sugar above the profit-
able mark. Those grown in the Payette valley
averaged with the best, and growing them in
large quantities would not be an experiment, but
certain to prove as profitable as the beet is at
any place.
The sugar beet propaganda is spreading so
rapidly that it is not unlikely that a plant will be
established in this section in the near future.
PAYETTE VALLEY MERCANTILE CO.
The Payette \'alley Mercantile Company, lim-
ited, doing business at Payette, Idaho, was
organized with twenty thousand dollars cash capi-
tal on the loth of April. 1891, comprising the
following named gentlemen: A. A. Miller, Alex-
ander B. Allen, A? E. Gipson. W. G. Whitnev. D.
C. Chase. H. B. Piatt. A. Rossi and S. S. Morris.
For their place of business they erected a brick
store, thirty by one hundred feet in dimensions
and two stories high, all devoted to both the
wholesale and retail branches of general mer-
chandise. At the organization of the company
the officers were: W. G. XMiitney, president: A.
Rossi, vice-president: D. C. Chase, secretary and
treasurer: and A. A. Miller, manager. The pres-
ent officers are: W. L. Rider, president and gen-
eral manager, and D. C. Chase, secretary and
treasurer.
The officers are men of the highest integrity
and responsibility, are business men of experi-
ence, and their establishment is patronized by a
large portion of the community. The citizens
feel proud of having such an enterprising com-
pany at the head of the princi]ial mercantile inter-
est of the town.
^ ^-^^Cc^z^^^^^
CHAPTER XXVI.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAMES H. RICHARDS.
IT MONG the prominent lawj'crs of Boise is
ly Judge James Heber Richards, who has
-*■ ■*- practiced at the bar of this state for nine
years, winning an enviable reputation by his eru-
dition, his ability to give to each point of a case
its due prominence, his force in argument and his
mastery of the intricate problems of jurisprud-
ence. In a witty after-dinner speech Chauncey
M. Depew once said, "Some men achieve great-
ness, some men are born great, and some men
are born in Ohio." The first and last clauses are
both applicable to Judge Richards, who is a na-
tive of the Buckeye state, his birth having
occurred in the town of Mount Vernon, on the
5th of May, 1852. He is of EngHsh and Scotch
descent, his ancestors being among the early set-
tlers of New York and Ohio. They were enter-
prising, progressive business men, and thrifty
farmers. The father of the Judge, Daniel Rich-
ards, was born in Syracuse, New York, and mar-
ried Miss Clarissa Allen, a representative of one
of the distinguished families of America. Among
its members was Colonel Ethan Allen, who in
connection with his "Green Mountain Boys"
won fame in the Revolutionary war. Her uncle,
I. J. Allen, was an intimate friend of John Sher-
man, a journalist of considerable prominence,
later was consul to China, and is now writing on
the legal department of the new Standard diction-
ary. Another uncle, William Allen, "stumped"
the state of Illinois in company with Abraham
Lincoln, and was one of the warmest friends and
supporters of the martyred president. Daniel
Richards engaged in the manufacture of linseed
oil in Ohio, and was also the agent of the Ohio
state penitentiary for the sale of its manufactures.
He died in 1884, at the age of seventy-eight
years, after which his widow came to Idaho with
her son, the Judge, and died in Boise, in i8g6,
at the age of seventy-eight years. They were
members of the Congregational church and their
upright lives won them the confidence and es-
teem of all with whom they came in contact.
Judge Richards was the fifth in order of birth
in their family of eight children. He attended
the schools of his native town, and after the re-
moval of the family to a farm continued his
studies in the country schools until fourteen years
of age, when he started out to make his own way
in the world, working on a dairy farm for seven
dollars per month. He was employed in that
way for two years, during which time he saved
the most of his small earnings, whereby he was
enabled to continue his education in Belleville,
Ohio, where he studied for two years. On the
expiration of that period he rented a farm of one
hundred and forty acres in Huron county, Ohio,
for two years, and dealt quite extensively in
stock. Later he was elected a teacher of the
First grammar school of Mount Vernon, Ohio,
and subsequently served as its principal for four
years. Desiring to further perfect himself along
educational lines he next entered the Ohio Wes-
leyan University, at Delaware, Ohio. On the
completion of his collegiate work there he re-
turned to Mount Vernon and took up the study
of law under the direction of the firm of Mc-
Intyre & Kirk. In 1879 he removed to Denver
and continued his preparation for the bar in the
ofSce of Markhan & Patterson, prominent attor-
neys of that city, who aided him in his reading
for two years, when in 1881 he was admitted to
the bar.
Judge Richards entered upon his professional
career in Breckenridge, Colorado, where he con-
tinued in practice for six years, and in 1889 he
removed to Boise, for the benefit of his wife's
health. Here he has since continued actively in
the work of his profession. He throws himself
easily and naturally into the argument with
marked self-possession and deliberation, There
is no straining after effect, but a precision and
clearness in his statement, and acuteness and
31-3
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
strength in his argument, which exhibit a mind
trained in the severest school of investigation
and to wiiich the closest reasoning has become
habitual. In addition to his law practice he has
also been an active factor in promoting some of
the most permanent and valuable public im-
provements in southern Idaho. He undertook
the construction of the Payette ditch, which en-
terprise he pushed to a successful termination.
He organized the Payette Valley Bank, and the
Payette Land and Improvement Company, and
of the latter was made president and still holds
that position. He has been instrumental in
bringing half a million dollars of capital into this
part of Idaho since his arrival, — a sum that has
gone a long way toward the substantial develop-
ment and improvement of the state.
The Judge has also held a number of import-
ant offices and through his faithful service in se-
curing an able administration of public affairs
has also promoted the welfare of the communi-
ties with which he has been connected. He was
attorney at Breckenridge. Colorado, and county
commissioner of Canyon county, Idaho, which
county he aided in organizing and in placing it
on a good working foundation. He early became
identified with the Republican party, and was
chosen chairman of the Republican state conven-
tion, which met in Boise in i8q4. He attended
the judicial convention of the same year, was
nominated for judge of the third district and was
elected by a large popular majority. He was the
choice of a very large percentage of the bar, and
his service on the bench reflected credit upon
himself and the profession which he represents.
He found the calendar far behind, but by his
splendid executive and administrative ability he
brought the court business up and cleared the
calendar in all of the counties of his district. Dur-
ing his two years upon the bench he tried four
hundred and forty cases, among which were
nine murder cases, and in one of these the pris-
oner was sentenced to be hanged. After two
years' service on the bench Judge Richards re-
signed and resumed the private practice of law.
He has a distinctively representative clientage,
and is retained as counsel or advocate on nearly
every important case tried in the courts of south-
ern Idaho.
On the i8th of November, 1881, Judge Rich-
ards was united in marriage to Miss Fannie
Howe, a native of Fredericktown, Ohio. They
have a pleasant home in Boise, and enjoy the
warm regard of many friends.
The life of the Judge has been one of unusual
activity and has not been without its desirable
results. Blessed with good health, from the age
of fourteen years he has not only provided for his
own support but also for others dependent upon
him. By capable business management, inde-
fatigable energy and perseverance he has won a
handsome competence, and now enjoys a most
enviable reputation in industrial circles, at the
bar and in the field of politics.
JOHX P. VOLLMER.
One of the ablest and best known business men
of Idaho is John P. Vollmer, of Lewiston. In
past ages the history of a country was the record
of wars and conquests; to-day it is the record of
commercial activity, and those whose names are
foremost in its annals are the leaders in business
circles. The conquests now made are those of
mind over matter, not of man over man, and the
victor is he who can successfully establish, con-
trol and operate extensive commercial interests.
John P. Vollmer is one of the strong and influ-
ential men whose lives have become an essential
part in the history of Lewiston and the state.
Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of pur-
pose, genius for devising and executing the
right thing at the right time, joined to every-day
common sense, and guided by great will power,
are the chief characteristics of the man. Con-
nected with various trade interests, the place that
he occupies in business circles is in the front
rank.
Mr \'ollmer was born in Germany. January
25, 1847, liis parents being Otto P. and Elizabeth
(Fix) \'ollmer, also natives of the same country.
The father was a chemist, and he came to the
United States in 1840. He became a naturalized
citizen of this country, and in January, 1843, re-
turned to Germany and was married. In 1S31 he
brought his family to the Xew World, locating in
Louisville, Kentucky, where he engaged in the
distilling business, meeting with excellent suc-
cess. He did a large business, having two dis-
tilleries in that state and two in Indiana. Mr.
and Mrs. \"ollmer spent their last years in the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
313
Hoosier state, becoming residents of Indianapolis
in 1855. Tliere the fatlier died in the fifty-eighth
year of his age, and the mother passed away in
1863. They were Lutherans in their religious
faith, and they reared a family of five children,
three of whom are yet living.
John P. Vollmer. the eldest of the family, was
educated in the Northwestern Christian Univer-
sity, after which he acquired a practical knowl-
edge of business as chief clerk in Merrill & Com-
pany's large book concern, with which he was
connected for several years. In 1868 he came
vvest under engagement, and, locating at Walla
Walla, had charge of a refinery. His enterprise,
perseverance and untiring labor brought him suc-
cess as the years passed. In 1870 he came to
Lewiston and embarked in the wholesale liquor
and grocery business, which he conducted with
marked success for three years, but becoming
convinced that temperance principles were cor-
rect, he abandoned the liquor business, and
opened a general mercantile establishment in
connection with W. Scott. He has since pros-
pered greatly in his undertakings, and his honor-
able business methods and enterprise have made
the firm of J. P. Vollmer & Company one of the
most prominent in the northwest. They now
have five large stores, located at Lewiston, Gen-
esee, Grangeville, L^niontown, and Asotin. The
annual business transacted in these stores is now
figured by the millions.
In 1883 Mr. Vollmer became the organizer of
the First National Bank of Lewiston, — the first
national bank established in the northern part of
the state. He was elected its president and still
retains that connection with the institution,
which is now enjoying an almost phenomenal
success and is regarded as the most reliable
financial concern in the state. Business was be-
gun on a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and
now there is a surplus of that amount, with nine-
ty-two thousand dollars undivided profits and a
reserve fund of forty-five thousand dollars. In
its dividends it has returned the capital to the
stockholders and thirty per cent additional, and
it stands thirty-fourth on the roll of honor of
the thirty-three hundred national banks of the
United States, — a splendid showing, and one
which reflects credit upon the managers of the
bank! Air. A'ollmer was also one of the organ-
izers and is half-owner of the bank at Grangeville,
which has a rating of one million dollars. He has
also been largely interested in farming, and has
one hundred and ninety farms, with two hundred
and forty-eight miles of fencing. He was also
prominent in the organization of the Sweetwater
Irrigating & Power Company, which was organ-
ized in 1890, and now has seven miles of ditching
and will add ten miles of steel pipe line. This
ditch has a large amount of power besides afiford-
ing irrigation for several thousand acres of rich
land, and is of immense value to the section
which it traverses. From 1877 to 1885 he was
agent for the Oregon Steam Navigation Com-
pany and its successor, the Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company, while later he was made
state agent for the Northern Pacific Railway
Company and its allied lines, for the state of
Idaho, which position he still holds. Mr. Voll-
mer also takes a just pride in the thought that
he was the first to introduce the use of the tele-
phone on the Pacific coast, also the first tele-
graph line in northern Idaho.
Such in brief is the history of a remarkably
prosperous business career. The multiplicity of
Mr. Vollmer's business ventures and their uni-
form success well indicate his superior business
and executive ability, which has enabled him to
rise to an eminent position in commercial circles.
In his early life Mr. Vollmer affiliated with the
Democracy, but, Deing a believer in a protective
tariff, he is now a Republican. He has never con-
sented to accept ofiice, his tmie being fully oc-
cupied with his business interests, which have
also prevented him from being an active worker
in the Masonic order, although he belongs to
this ancient and benevolent fraternity and has
attained the fourteenth degree in the Scottish
Rite.
On the 27th of September, 1870, was cele-
brated the marriage of Mr. \"ollnicr and Miss
Sallie E. Barber, a native of Kentucky, and a
daughter of M. A. Barber and granddaughter of
Judge Duval, of that state. Their union has
been blessed with seven children, five of whom
are living, namely: Ralston, who has charge
of the bank and store at Genesee; Bessie, who
had the honor of being selected "Queen of
Idaho" at the state fair held m 1897, at Boise:
Genevieve, who is attending school: and Norman
314
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and Xorma. twins, at home. They are a family
of much refinement, and their delightful home
in Lewiston is the center of a cultured society cir-
cle, while the members of the household are held
in the highest esteem by tneir many friends.
JOSEPH K. VINCENT.
More than thirty-seven years have passed since
Judge \'incent arrived in Idaho, and he is justly
numbered among her honored pioneers and lead-
ing citizens. He has been prominentlv identified
with her business life, being connected with min-
ing, agricultural and commercial interests, and
although he has rounded the psalmist's span of
three-score years and ten, and although the snows
of many winters have whitened his hair, he has
the vigor of a much younger man, and in spirit
and interest seems yet in his prime. Old age is
not necessarily a synonym of weakness or inac-
tivity. It needs not suggest, as a matter of
course, want of occupation or helplessness. There
is an old age that is a benediction to all- that
comes in contact with it, that gives out of its
rich stores of learning and experience, and which,
in its active connection with the afifairs of life,
puts to shame many a younger man, who grows
weary of the cares and struggles and would fain
shift to other shoulders the burdens which he
should carry.
Of such an honored type Judge \ incent, now
in the evening of life, is a representative. A na-
tive of New England, he was born in Salem,
Essex county, Massachusetts, June 26, 1822, and
is of Welsh and English ancestors, who were
early settlers of Salem. His grandmother, his
father and he himself were all born in the same
house, — one of the oldest residences of Salem,
and long occupied by his ancestors. His paternal
grandfather was one of the heroes of the Revolu-
tion. Joseph \^incent, the father of the Judge,
married Letitia Pease, a native of Salem. He
was a sea captain and was murdered in the West
Indies by some of the negroes of the islands, his
death occurring just before the birth of our sub-
ject. The bereaved mother, however, tenderly
cared for her two little children, and lived to the
advanced age of ninety-two years, her death oc-
curring in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1879.
The Judge is now the only survivor of the
family. He may justly claim the proud Ameri-
can title of a self-made man, for since his ninth
year he has earned his own living, and whatever
success he has achieved is due entirely to his
own well directed efforts. In his youth he learned
both the printer's and the carpenter's trade, fol-
lowing the former for some time before going to
California. In 1849, attracted by the discovery
of gold on the Pacific slope, he made his way
to the west, going around Cape Horn, being then
twenty-seven years of age. He landed at San
Francisco and engaged in mining at Coloma,
where Marshall first discovered the precious
metal: but he did not meet with the success he
anticipated in his mining ventures there, and
accordingly made his way to Oregon, in 1855.
He then mined at Gold Beach with fair success
for a time, but the Rogue river war broke out
and resulted in his losing what he had made.
He volunteered in the war and was at the Rogue
river massacre, in 1856. From there he went
to Althouse creek, became a resident of Washing-
ton in 1859, and in 1862 enlisted in the First
Volunteer Cavalry of Oregon, as a member of
Company F, expecting to be sent south. The
regiment, however, was sent to Fort Lapwai,
Idaho, and he remained in the service of his
country for three years and three months, being
honorably discharged at Vancouver, in 1865. He
had served as post commissary sergeant for three
years.
After the war Judge \'incent took up his abode
at Lewiston and has since resided there and at
Camas prairie. He is interested in a number of
quartz-mining claims, on the Clearwater, includ-
ing the Admiral Dewey, St. Patrick, Ida Alay
and the Pride of Clearwater, and has assays of
the ore — gold and copper — yielding from sixteen
to three hundred dollars per ton. He has also
engaged in stock-raising for a number of years
and has been general auctioneer, conducting
many of the leading sales in this part of the
state. His business interests have been well
managed, and as the result of his honorable deal-
ing and enterprise he has acquired a comfortable
competence.
For many years Judge \'incent has been a
very prominent factor in political circles and is a
stanch advocate of Republican principles. He
has been deputy license collector, was justice
of the peace for thirty years and filled out an
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
315
unexpired term as deputy sheriff of Xez Perces
countv. He was provost marshal during the In-
dian war in 1877-8 and was poHce judge of Lewis-
ton for a number of years. In 1898 he was
elected probate judge of Idaho county, and is
now acceptably filling that position. His duties
in all these offices have ever been performed
most faithfully, and no trust reposed in him has
ever been betrayed.
In 1864 Mr. Vincent married Miss Elizabeth
M. Leland, daughter of Judge Alonzo Leland, of
Lewiston, now deceased. Of their union nine
children have been born, namely: Joseph, the
publisher of the Kendrick Gazette; Alonzo P.,
who resides at Cottonwood; Lettie R., wife of
Frank Scott, a resident of California; Edward S..
who makes his home with his parents, in Mount
Idaho; Charles, who is engaged in business at
Kendrick: Harry G.; Alida; Tamanay and Wil-
liam,— the last four named being at home. The
family is one of prominence in the community,
and their pleasant home in Mount Idaho is the
center of a cultured society circle. The Judge
is a valued member and past commander of
Arthur Guernsey Post, G. A. R., of Lewiston.
He has not only traveled much in this country,
but has also visited the Sandwich and the Philip-
pine islands, — our two recent acquisitions, — and
has that culture and experience which only travel
can bring. He is highly esteemed for that genu-
ine worth which, in every land and every clime,
commands respect and confidence.
ROBERT E. McFARLAND.
Robert E. McFarland, late incumbent of the
responsible position of attorney general of Idaho,
by his faithful and capable discharge of duty
won the highest commendation. Thoroughly
versed in the principles of jurisprudence, he was
well fitted to handle the intricate problems which
presented themselves for solution, and his suc-
cess affords the best evidence of his capabilities.
He is a native of Missouri, born in Independence,
November 21, 1857. The family is of Scotch
lineage, the first American ancestors having
crossed the Atlantic in colonial days and actively
participated in the events which form the history
of that epoch. They also battled for the freedom
of the nation in the war of the Revolution. The
father of our subject. Rev. W. B. McFarland.
was born in Pennsylvania, whence he removed
to Mrginia, and later to Missouri. He married
Miss Elvira Early, a sister of General Jubal
Early, and at the age of sixt}-five she departed
this life. Rev. W. B. McFarland now resides in
Iowa and has attained the advanced age of seven-
ty-nine. He has led a long and useful life in the
Methodist ministry, and is now practically re-
tired, although he still preaches occasionally.
One of a family of nine children, Robert Early
McFarland was reared in a cultured home and
acquired his education in Central College, at Fay-
ette, Howard county, Missouri. He began read-
ing law in Pettis county, that state, under the
instruction of Hon. George G. Vest, now Cnited
States senator, and later continued his study in
the office and under the direction of George L.
Hayes, of Sweet Springs, and Judge John L.
Strother, of Marshall, Missouri. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1880, and to practice in the
supreme court of the state in 1891. He entered
the practice of his profession in Socorro, New
Mexico, and his career at the bar has been uni-
formly successful, his patronage steadily increas-
ing as the years have gone by. In the fall of
1883 he was elected a member of the New Mexi-
co legislature, and at the close of the session in
March, 1894, he left the south for the far north-
west.
Locating in Shoshone county, Idaho, he has
since been numbered among the prominent mem-
bers of the legal fraternity in this state. In the
fall of 1884 he was elected probate judge, which
position he filled until May, 1885, when President
Cleveland appointed him register of the land
office at Coeur d'Alene, in which capacity he
served for five years. He then resumed the
private practice of law, and on the 9th of April,
1894, was admitted to practice before the supreme
court of the United States. In 1896 he was
nominated for the position of attorney general of
Idaho on the People's Democratic ticket, and
was elected to the office, which he acceptably
filled until the expiration of his term, in January,
1899. He came to Boise in December, 1896, and
made his home in the capital city until the expira-
tion of his term of office, when he removed to
Lewiston, where he entered into a professional
partnership with his brother, S. L. McFarland,
and is now actively engaged in the practice of
316
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
law in that city. While practicing in Kootenai
county he made a specialty of criminal law and
for eleven years was retained on the defense in
e\-ery importaiijt criminal case tried in that coun-
ty. He lost only three out of all the number, and
his reputation extended far throughout the state.
As a lawyer he is sound, clear-minded and well
trained. The limitations which are imposed by
the constitution on federal powers are well un-
derstood by him. With the long line of decisions
from Marshall down he is familiar, as are all
thoroughly skilled lawyers. He is at home in
all departments of law, from the minutse in
practice to the greater topics wherein is involved
the consideration of the ethics and philosophy of
jurisprudence and the higher concerns of public
policy. He has always been a Democrat in his
political affiliations and on account of his bril-
liant oratory and readiness in debate has done
much effective campaign work.
On the 2Sth of November, 1885, Mr. McFar-
land was united in marriage to Miss Marie
Pendy, a native of Virginia City, Nevada. They
now have three children, two sons and a daugh-
ter: W. B., Cathleen R. and Robert Early, Jr.
The General is a genial, agreeable companion
and friend, possessed of talent of a superior order,
Ijack of which is a will that commands success.
MATH. J.\COBS.
Alath. Jacobs, the well known and popular
president of the Kendrick State Bank, is a native
of Minnesota, and for several years has been
prominently connected with the business interests
of this section of Idaho. He was born in St.
Cloud, May i, 1865, and is of German descent,
his parents, Theodore and Elizabeth Jacobs, hav-
ing both been natives of the Fatherland. When
young people they crossed the Atlantic to
America, locating in Minnesota, where they were
married in 1856. Theodore Jacobs became a suc-
cessful farmer and carried on agricultural pur-
suits until 1898, when his death occurred, at the
age of sixty-two years. He left a widow and
nine children. Mrs. Jacobs now resides in Gene-
see, Idaho, at the age of sixty-one years. ,
^lath. Jacobs was reared and educated in the
state of his nativity, and in 1884 came to Idaho,
where he entered the employ of J. P. \'ollnier.
one of the most extensive merchants of the north-
ern section of the state. He remained in Mr.
\"ollmer"s store in Uniontown for five years and
was then made manager of his store in Kendrick.
conducting the large mercantile business here for
two years. Since that time he has been actively
connected with the banking business, and is now
at the head of the State Bank, one of the most
reliable financial institutions in this locality. Its
business policy is most trustworthy and its offi-
cers are men of reliability, so that its success
is assured. Mr. Jacobs possesses excellent execu-
tive ability, keen discrimination and sagacity, —
qualities which are very successful in the conduct
of a prosperous banking business.
In 1891 was celebrated the marriage of ]\Ir.
Jacobs and Miss Cora Addison, a native of Illi-
nois an'd a daughter of John G. Addison, now
of Kendrick. They have a nice residence in the
town and many friends enjoy its hospitality. They
are valued members of the Catholic church, and
]\Ir. Jacobs is prominently connected with the
Knights of Pythias lodge here. He is past chan-
cellor of the order and a representative to the
grand lodge, and is also a member of the Modern
^^'oodmen of the World. In politics he is a
stalwart Democrat, and attends the conventions
of his party, but never seeks or desires office for
himself, preferring to devote his energies to his
business interests.
\VILLI.\M A. HALL.
Honored and respected by all, there is no man
in northern Idaho who occupies a more enviable
position in professional circles than William A.
Hall, who for many years has devoted his ener-
gies to the practice of law and to the spread of
the gospel among his fellow men. Born in
England, February 15, 1847, he was five years of
age when brought to America by his parents,
William and Lucy (Atkinson) Hall, who crossed
the Atlantic with their six children and became
residents of Walworth county, Wisconsin. There
the father engaged in farming up to the time of
his death, which occurred in the fortieth year of
his age. His widow afterward married William
Ambler, and by that union had four children.
Mr. .\nibler enlisted in the Union army in 1862,
as a member of the Twenty-seventh Wisconsin
Infantry, and after a year's active service was
taken ill and died, at Helena, Arkansas, in 1863.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
3r
The mother reared her family of children, and
died at Traverse City, Michigan, in the seventy-
seventh year of her age. Four of the children
of her first marriage and four of the last survive
her.
William A. Hall is indebted to the public-
school s}-stem of the Badger state for the educa-
tional privileges accorded him. He was reared
upon the home farm, and when his stepfather
entered the army, the management and care o^
the place devolved upon him. In 1866 he crossed
the plains and located in Helena, Montana, where
he engaged in teaching. While there he was
also licensed as a minister of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, after which he devoted much of
his time to preaching the gospel, meeting with
excellent success in his labors to build up tlie
churches of his denomination in the then territory
of Montana. In 1879 the presiding elder of the
Walla Walla district of the Columbia river con-
ference sent for him to come to Grangeville and
take charge of the Columbia River Conference
Academy. Mr. Hall entered upon that work with
zeal, and ably conducted the school for eight
years, preaching at times, as occasion required.
In the meantime he had given some attention
to the study of law, which he later pursued under
the direction of Judge Norman Buck, and in
1887 he was admitted to the bar. He then
opened his law office in Grangeville, where he
has since remained, and has enjoyed a good prac-
tice. He is a man of strong mentality, keen dis-
cernment and possessed of an analytical mind, —
elements that insure success in the legal profes-
sion. Thus as preacher and lawyer he has been
prominently connected with the interests of the
town and has come into close touch with its
people, many of whom have acquired their edu-
cation under his instructions, while for others he
has performed marriage ceremonies, and, as
necessity has demanded, has preached funeral
sermons, or delivered public addresses. In con-
nection with his other labors he serves as notary
public, makes conveyances and does all kmds of
work in connection with his real estate business.
Believing in a prosperous future for Grangeville,
he purchased two hundred acres of land adjacent
to the town and has since made three additions
to Grangeville, known as Hall's addition,
Moxev"s addition and the Prairie \'iew addition.
Alany of his lots have been sold and improved
and now form one of the best sections of the
town. Mr. Hall has also erected a number of
good buildings, which have largelv advanced
material interests here. He has likewise ac-
quired mining property at Florence, Buffalo
Hump, Salmon river and the Clearwater countrv
In public office he has rendered effective anrl
faithful service to his fellow citizens and at all
times has been a competent officer. He has been
justice of the peace, has been probate judge and
ex-officio county superintendent of schools for
Idaho county, and while in Montana held similar
offices. He is now referee of bankruptcv for
Idaho countv, and was for several vears 'com-
missioner of the circuit court of the district of
Idaho. In politics he has always been a stalwart
Republican, unswerving in support of the partv
principles.
On the i8th of July, 1876, Mr. Hall was united
m marriage to ^liss Susan M. Havnes, a native of
Maine. Having no children of their own. they
have adopted a. daughter, Winifred G. Hall. All
three are members of the Methodist church, in
which Mr. Hall is serving as trustee and steward.
He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Woodmeu of the World and is
an earnest advocate of the cause of temperance.
He is a man of even temperament, calm and self-
poised, of refined character,— one in whom na-
ture and culture have vied in making an honored
and interesting gentleman.
JAMES F. AILSHIE.
James F. Ailshie is one of the most distin-
guished criminal lawyers of Idaho, his marked
success in that department of jurisprudence win-
ning him enviable prestige. He is also public-
spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever
tends to promote the moral, intellectual and ma-
terial welfare of his town, ranking among her
progressive and popular citizens. A native of
Greene county. Tennessee, he was born June ig,
186S, and is of Scotch ancestry, the family having
been established in the south at an early period
in its settlement. His great-grandfather,
Stephen Ailshie, fought for independence in the
war of the Revolution, and after American lib-
erty was secured he took up his residence in
Kentucky, where George Washington Ailshie,
318
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
his grandson and the father of our suljject, was
born. George W. Ailshie removed to Tennessee
while yet young and afterward married ^liss
Martha A. Knight of that state, where they
still reside, — respected members of the commun-
ity. They belong to the Baptist church and their
well spent lives are in harmony with their relig-
ious professions. To them were born ten chil-
dren, nine of whom are yet living.
James F. Ailshie, the eldest of the family, was
educated in the state of his nativity and in the
Willamette University, at Salem. Oregon, win-
ning the degrees of Bachelor of Philosophy and
Bachelor of Law, both in 1891. The same year
he was admitted to practice in the supreme court
of Oregon, and after seeking for a favorable loca-
tion in which to begin business decided to
establish a home in Grangeville, where he opened
an office in August, 1891. He has never had
occasion to regret his choice, for success has
here attended his efforts and he has gained a
reputation as one of the leading lawyers of north-
ern Idaho. He has built up an excellent practice
and now has a distinctively representative clien-
tage. His high order of talent, his comprehen-
sive and accurate knowledge of the principles of
jurisprudence and his keen power of argument
enable him to handle criminal cases in a way
that has won him some remarkable victories. He
never loses sight of any point bearing on his
case, and gives to each fact and point of law-
its due prominence, at the same time always keep-
ing before court and jury the important element
upon which the decision of the case finally turns.
His reasoning is sound and convincing, his argu-
ments logical and his eloquence seldom, if ever,
fails to produce the desired effect.
■ While Mr. Ailshie devotes his time and atten-
tion principally to his profession, he has other
business interests. Believing firmly in the future
growth and prosperity of the town of Grangeville,
he has invested cjuite extensively in real estate
in this locality and is now the owner of several
hundred acres adjacent to the city. He also owns
some of the best business sites and business
blocks in Grangeville.
On the 19th of June, 1894, ^Mr. Ailshie was
united in marriage to Miss Bundren, a daughter
of Rev. J. B. Bundren, a Baptist minister of
Tennessee. Their union has been blessed with
a beautiful little daughter, whom they have
named Lucile. Mr. and Mrs. Ailshie are mem-
bers of the Baptist church, and are very widely
and favorably known throughout the state. Mrs.
Ailshie, a true southerner, entertains a great
deal, and their beautiful home on College street
is the scene of many pleasant social events.
In politics Mr. Ailshie is a stalwart Republican,
and did most effective service for his party by
his campaign addresses in support of the can-
didacy of McKinley in 1896. At the Republican
state convention of 1898 he had the honor of
being chosen its president, and conducted its
meetmgs and business with marked fairness and
ability, showing him to be a thorough parlia-
mentarian. He has for two terms served as
regent of the State University of Idaho, being ap-
pointed to that office by Governor ^IcConnell.
He was also a delegate from Idaho to the bi-
metallic congress held in Chicago during the
World's Columbian Exposition. Socially he is
connected with the Independent Order of Odd
F'ellows, has filled all the chairs in both branches
of the order and has been a member of the grand
lodge. He is also a member of the Maccabees
and the Woodmen of the World. His fitness for
leadership and his devotion to the public good
have gained him prominence in public life, and
his ability in the law has won him a distinguished
position at the Idaho bar. He is a man of reso-
lute purpose, of strong mentalitv and of genuine
worth, and his high standing in the community
is a merited tribute to his superiority. In man-
ner, however, he is most unpretentious, genial
and cordial, and in the community he has many
warm personal friends.
JAY M. DORMAX.
No man has been a more prominent factor in
the growth and improvement of Mount Idaho
than this gentleman, who for many years has been
identified with its building interests, nor have
his efforts contributed alone to his individual
prosperity, for he belongs to that class of repre-
sentative Americans who promote the public
good while securing their own success.
A native of Delaware county. New York, he
was born August 27, 1837, and is descended from
an old American family, early settlers of the Em-
pire state. His father, Anthony Dorman, was
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
319
likewise born in Delaware county and married
Miss Charlotte Bursack, a lady of German de-
scent. Their only child, Jay M. Dorman, was
left an orphan at a tender age and was reared
by his aunt until fourteen years of age. With
her he removed to Louisiana, where he learned
the carpenter and joiner trade. In 1861 he went
to California by way of the isthmus route, sailing
on the steamer North Star, which arrived in San
Francisco in July. He worked in a sawmill on
the coast range for a time, and by the water
route went to The Dalles and then by mule train
to the place of the gold discoveries in Idaho. He
traveled with a company of eight, who ultimately
reached Lewiston, which was then a town of
tents, with only two log houses. Mr. Dorman
proceeded to Elk City, and engaged in mining
at dififerent claims for nine years, but met with
only a moderate degree of success. He had at
times as high as three thousand dollars, but like
many other miners sunk his capital in a bed-
rock tunnel. He, however, never lost anything
through gambling or in the saloon, as so many
men did in those early days.
In 1871 he came to Mount Idaho, at which
time there was but one log house in the town.
Here he began work at the carpenter's trade,
and since that time has been actively interested
in the erection of most of the buildings of the
place, so that Alount Idaho now largely stands
as a monument to his skill, thrift and enterprise.
In 1877 he built his own commodious residence,
one of the most attractive homes of the place. In
connection with contracting and building, Mr.
Dorman has also superintended the operation of
his ranch, comprising three hundred and twenty
acres of good land, on which he raises hay and
grain. The county-seat of Idaho county was es-
tablished at Mount Idaho in 1875, and our sub-
ject erected the court-house and jail there. He
served the county for two years in the position
of treasurer and for one term as county conunis-
sioner, discharging his duties in a most prompt
and commendable manner. In politics he has
been a lifelong Republican, and in addition to
the other offices mentioned he has served as
school trustee, the cause of education finding in
him a warm friend and one zealous in advancing
its interests. Thus in many ways he has been
prominently identified with the advancement of
his county along material, political and educa-
tional lines, and at all times is a progressive,
public-spirited citizen. He was a volunteer in the
Nez Perces Indian war, in 1877, and assisted in
building a rock fort in Mount Idaho, which
formed such a protection that the Indians made
no attempt to attack the inhabitants of the town,
and many settlers from the surrounding country
also found shelter there.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Dorman and Mrs. Arabella J. Randall, widow of
Captain D. B. Randall, who served his country
as a lieutenant in the great civil war and as a
captain of volunteers in the Indian war. She
was the daughter of Captain .a. P. Ankenv, of
Virginia, and crossed the plains to California in
1849, going to Oregon in 1850. Mrs. Dorman
was only four years of age when she went with
her father's family to the Sunset state. By her
first marriage she had live children, namely:
Oronoka L., wife of S. D. Ingram, of Lewiston;
Henry A.; Bell J.; Maude E.; and Ada L., wife
of Lewis D. Stevens. Mr. and Mrs. Dorman have
one daughter, to whom was given the full name
of her father,— Jay M. Mrs. Dorman is a mem-
ber of the Episcopal church and is one of the
honored pioneer women of Oregon and Idaho.
Our subject holds membership in Mount Idaho
Lodge, No. 89, F. & A. M., has held various
offices in the lodge and served as its treasurer
for ten years. He is one of Idaho's worthy and
reliable citizens, and since early pioneer days he
has labored for the welfare of the state, proving
especially active in the upbuilding of the northern
section. He is highly esteemed for his integrity
in all the walks of life, and well deserves repre-
sentation in this volume.
ROBERT F. FULTON.
A worthy representative of the legal fraternity,
and the first city attorney of Grangeville, Robert
F. Fulton is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth
having occurred in Westmoreland county, De-
cember 8, 1864. He is of Scotch-Irish lineage,
his great-grandfather, John I'ulton, having been
a resident of the north of Ireland, whence he
emigrated to Pennsylvania at an early epoch in
the history of this country. The grandfather,
George Pulton, was born in the Kevstone state
and the father, James P. Fulton, is a native of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Washington county. Pennsylvania. He married
IMiss Frances Shouse, also a native of the same
county, and descended from good old Revolu-
tionary stock, her great-grandfather having
served as a colonel in the Continental army. In
religious faith the family has always been con-
nected with the Presbyterian church. Rev.
Cooper, the great-grandfather of our subject, was
the first minister of that denomination west of the
Alleghany mountains. James P. Fulton also be-
came a Presbyterian minister, and in 1875 went
to Harper county, Kansas, becoming a most ef-
ficient laborer in that field, where many Presby-
terian churches stand in evidence of his untiring
zeal and efforts in behalf of the cause of Chris-
tianity. He organized the first church in the
county, and since that time has been actively
identified with Christian work there. He and
his estimable wife are still residing in Harper,
and if their lives are spared until May, 1900,
they will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their
marriage. Rev. James P. Fulton is now seventy-
five years of age. Eight sons and two daughters
have been born to them, and the family is one
of the highest respectability, the circle yet re-
maining unbroken by the hand of death. Most
of the sons are now in professional life, as law-
yers, doctors or educators.
Robert F. Fulton, whose name introduces this
review, acquired his early education in the schools
of his native state, and read law in the office of
the firm of Finch & Finch, of Kansas, being
admitted to the bar in i888. He then removed
to Bent county, Colorado, where he engaged in
the practice of law for a year and a half and then
came to Grangeville. Here he opened his law
ofifice, being one of the oldest practitioners in
years of continuous connection with the bar of
Idaho county. He has met with very gratifying
success in his efforts, and his ability in present-
ing a case to judge or jury is widely recognized.
His close study has given him a comprehensive
knowledge of the science of jurisprudence and
he has secured a large and constantly increasing
clientage. For five years he was also associated
with Aaron F. Parkes in the publication of the
Idaho County Free Press, and has made some
judicious investments in real estate, owning con-
siderable valuable property in Grangeville.
On the 1 8th of July, 1895, ^^'^s celebrated the
marriage of Air. Fulton and Miss Lillian Robin-
son, a daughter of J. H. Robinson, of Grange-
ville. They now have an interesting little son,
Edwin Dale. Mrs. Fulton is a valued member of
the Methodist church, while he adheres to the
faith of his fathers and is an earnest Presbyterian.
Socially he is connected with the Independent
Order of Red Men, and in politics he was an
active Republican until 1896. since which time he
has been identified with the silver branch of the
party and is now chairman of the Silver Republi-
can county central committee. He was elected
a member of the fourth session of the state legis-
lature and served as the first city attorney of
Grangeville. He keeps well informed on the
issues of the day, and was an active and valued
member of the body w^hich formed the laws for
the commonwealth. His public and private life
are alike above reproach, and he is accounted one
of Grangeville's representative citizens.
JAMES EDWARDS.
After a long period of active connection with
the industrial interests of northern Ida. 10, James
Edwards is now living a retired life in Grange-
ville. He was born in Richmond, Chittenden
county, Vermont, on the 20th of June, 1838,
his parents being George and Martha Sophia
(Burr) Edwards, both of whom were natives of
Massachusetts. Tne father was a farmer and a
dealer in cattle and grain. He attained the age
of only fifty years, but his wife lived to the ripe
old age of eighty-four years. Tney were Univer-
salists in religious faith, and Mr. Edwards was
a man of ability, takine a leading part in public
affairs and serving his district in the state legis-
lature. In the family were twelve children, but
one died at the age of five years, another at the
age of fifteen, a daughter recently massed away,
and later a brother died, leaving eig-ht of the
family yet living.
In the common schools James Edwards ac-
quired a fair English education, which has been
supplemented by knowledge gained through ob-
servation and business experience. He entered
upon his business career as clerk in a store in
Acton. Massachusetts, spent some time in Penn-
sylvania, and on the 1st of March, 1856, sailed
from New York city for California, on the steam-
er Illinois. Reaching the western shore of the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
istlinius, he took passage on the John L. Stevens,
and arrived in San Francisco, in April, 1856.
He remained for a month in Sacramento and then
removed to Xevada connty, wliere he purchased
cows and engaged in the dairy business. He
was paid one dollar per gallon for milk, which
he sold to the miners, and in the winter time he
received two dollars per gallon. He had forty
cows and conducted a profitable business for
four years, on the expiration of which period he
carried on the butchering business. When gold
was discovered in the Boise basin, stock had
greatly depreciated in value, and he resolved to
go to the new mining district, so as one
of a company of four, he started with a
spring wagon, traveling north through the
old town of Shasta, then on through Ore-
gon to Walla Walla and to Boise, whicli
was then a small place, containing a few
adobe houses and a few log cabins, built of Cot-
tonwood trees. The party, however, continued
on their way to the Cortney diggings, in British
Columbia, but failed to find the gold for wdiich
they had traveled so far and for which they had
braved many dangers and hardships.
Mr. Edwards then returned to Lewiston,
Idaho, where he engaged in packing miners" sup-
phes from that point to Warrens, Elk City, Oro
Fino and Montana. On his first trip to Warrens
he carried twenty packs, receiving twenty-five
cents per pound, and thus making eighty-seven
dollars for each animal pack on the trip. There
was a great demand for services along that line,
and the packers received good pay, but the busi-
ness was often accompanied by danger and diffi-
culty, so that the men who engaged therein were
necessarily possessed of the highest courage. He
continued in the business until 1871 and made
considerable money, but contracted rheumatism,
from which he suffered for eighteen months, and
was forced to pay out twenty-five hundred dol-
lars of his hard-earned savings for medical treat-
ment and to meet other expenses occasioned bv
liis illness. Later he again entered tne business,
but, finding that he was not physically ecjual to
the task, he went to Warrens, where he was en-
gaged in both placer and quartz mining. A part
of the time he also conducted a hotel at Warrens,
where he made forty-five hundred dollars, and in
1889 he came to Grangeville. where he purchased
the Jersey House, of William Hawley. It was
the first hotel built in the town and Mr. Edwards
was its popular and successful proprietor until
1893, when he arranged to sell the property for
eight thousand dollars. A payment of fifteen
hundred dollars was made, but the purchasers
allowed it to lapse, and later he sold it to the
present owners for seven thousand dollars. It
has always been recognized as the best hotel of
the town and has enjoyed a liberal patronage.
It stands on a large and pretty plot of ground
and is very desirably located. Mr. Edwards,
since selling the hotel, has occupied a good resi-
dence in Grangeville, and is now living a re-
tired life. He is also the owner of a nundjer of
good farms on which he raises hay and grain.
For many years he has witnessed the develop-
ment and growth of Idaho and has been an active
participant in many of the events which go to
form the earlier history of the state as well as
the annals of its later progress. He participated
in the Sheep-eater Indian war, which occurred in
1879, wdien, on the south fork of the Sal-
mon river savages murdered two men, whose
horses they took, after which they went on
the war-path, and the white settlers were
obliged to leave that part of the country and
take refuge in Warrens. Among the number was
^Ir. Rains, who was obliged to leave his hay in
the fields. He was dependent upon this crop for
a livelihood and accordingly wanted help to go
with him to his farm and finish taking care of the
hay. Mr. Edwards and a Mr. Serren volunteered
to go, and for some days as they worked in the
fields they carried their guns with them. When
nearly through the work, however, thinking all
danger past, they one day went to the field with-
out their arms. It was a hot day and they worked
very hard until almost dark, when they were
attacked by the Indians, who fired first at the
house and then at the men, but missed them.
There was a little creek close by and the men
dropped into the ravine made by it and tried to
run to the house. They got only half way when
Mr. Rains was shot dead. Mr. Edwards and
Mr. Serren then turned back to seek again the
shelter of the creek. The Indians then fired the
house, and Mr. Edwards and his companion
made their way up the stream to its source. On
reaching that point they saw signal fires at dif-
532
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ferent places, but succeeded in making their way
back to Warrens. The man who had been in
the house also escaped up a gulch in the dark-
ness, but it was almost miraculous that they all
got away.
In 1880 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to
Mrs. Mary Rains, widow of the man who had
been killed by the Indians. She had two sons
by her former husband, Jesse and Henry. The
latter died in his eleventh year, but Jesse grew to
manhood and is now serving his country as a
soldier in the Philippine islands, filling the posi-
tion of clerk for General Lipencott. In his polit-
ical views Mr. Edwards is a Republican, and
while at Warrens acceptably served as justice of
the peace for the long term of twelve years. He
is a valued member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and is a citizen of the highest re-
spectability, his identification with the interests
of his adopted state having been of material bene-
fit thereto.
GEORGE B. HILL.
George B. Hill, of the extensive mercantile
firm of Hill & Ballentine, of Bellevue, Idaho, is
one of Idaho's prominent business men and states-
men. He came, through New England ancestrv,
of honorable English and German descent, and
was born at Cherry Valley, New York, August
28, 1843. He is of fighting stock, too, his great-
grandfather Hill having fought for independence
in the Revolution, his grandfather Hill having
risked his life for his country in the war of
18 1 2- 14, and his father and himself having done
battle for the Union in the civil war of 1861-65,
the latter yielding up his life on the field in de-
fense of the starry fiag, while his maternal grand-
father Busch fought in the war of 1812-14.
Charles Hill, father of George B. Hill, was a
native of Barrington, Massachusetts. He became
a lawyer of ability and while yet a young man re-
moved to Cherry Valley, New York, where he
married Margaret Busch, of German descent and
a daughter of an old and honored resident of
that town. He was a member of the One Hun-
dred and Twenty-first New York Volunteer In-
fantry and was killed while upon a reconnois-
sance in 1864. His good wife, a devout member
of the Christian church, survived until 1884, and
died in her seventy-ninth year.
George B. Hill was the youngest but one of
the eight children of Charles and Margaret
(Busch) Hill. He was being educated in the
Cherry \'alley Academy for boys, when, in 1861,
at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the Seventy-
sixth New York \'olunteer Infantrv, with which
he served in the Army of the Potomac, partici-
pating in twenty-two hard-fought battles. In the
battle in "the Wilderness," the boy soldier re-
ceived a wound in the right thigh, and at Gettys-
burg he got a gunshot wound in his foot. After
the Wilderness fight he was promoted as second
lieutenant. Three months later he was made
first lieutenant, and he was in command of his
company at the close of the war. He was present
at the surrender of General Lee and had the
honor of commanding the color company of his
regiment at the historic grand review of the vic-
torious army at Washington, D. C. He was
honorablv discharged at Albanv, N. Y., Julv 4,
1865.
He returned to his home at Cherry \'alley, and
in the spring of 1866 went by steamer by way of
Graytown to California. After spending a few
months in that state, he went to Virginia City,
Nevada, where he was employed as a clerk and
became deputy recorder of the city. Later he
built the Reno water works, and in 1875 organ-
ized what was known as the Carson City Savings
Bank, of which for seven years he was cashier
and general manager. He subsequently returned
to California, where he remained until the spring
of 1887, when he came to Bellevue, Idaho, and,
in partnership with Colonel Ballentine, opened
the extensive general store of which he has since
been at the head. Originally a stalwart Repub-
lican, he came at last to embrace the principles of
the Populist party as being most favorable to his
ideas of Abraham Lincoln Republicanism; and
since 1892 he has been one of the ablest advocates
of them in Idaho. He has six times been elected
mayor of Bellevue, and was, in 1898, chosen by
his party as its candidate for governor of Idaho;
but for business reasons he declined the nomina-
tion. He has done much effective campaign
work, and when he addresses his fellow citizens
on political subjects he speaks from deep con-
viction and with great energy and power. He has
frequently been invited by his comrades of the
Grand Army of the Republic to the honored post
of orator of the dav on Decoration dav. He is a
^^,^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
323
Son of the Revolution and fought through the
long civil war and shed his blood in defense of
the Union; and his father gave up his life for the
same cause, and, on such occasions, he is moved
by the presence of survivors of the great struggle
in which he participated and by memories of
comrades who sleep in soldiers' graves, and his
oratorical spirit is aroused and he speaks with a
dramatic intensity that swells into a flood of
eloquence carrying all before it. It is doubtful
whether in all the country any one can surpass
him as a Decoration day orator, for it has been
said of him that '"his efforts reach the heights of
inspired sublimity."
Mr. Hill was married December 17, 1874, to
Miss Elizabeth Wheeler, a daughter of M. W.
Wheeler, a Mexican war veteran and a California
miner of '49, and she is a native of San Jose.
California. Their only child, Miss Grace Hill,
was educated at the Michigan State Normal
School at Ypsilanti and is an enthusiastic young
teacher who is destined to make her mark in her
profession. Mr. and Mrs. Hill have a beautiful
home at Bellevue, where they dispense a gener-
ous and far-reaching hospitality.
JAMES KING.
A leadmg representative of the building inter-
ests, of Boise, and the present register of the
land office of this city, James King is a native of
Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Pitts-
burg, on the 15th of August, 1832. He is of both
German and English descent, his ancestors of
those nationalities having settled in New York
in 1664. They came with General Braddock and
always remained in this land. In the war of the
Revolution the family was represented by loyal
Americans, who fought for liberty, and through-
out many years they were prominently identified
with the Presbyterian church. The grandfather
of our subject was the first of the name to locate
in Pennsylvania. He was an industrious farmer
and reached the commonly allotted age of three-
score years and ten. His son, Jacob King, the
father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania,
July 25, 1799, and married Miss Mary Co\ert,
who represented an English family equally an-
cient and honorable. Among her ancestors were
likewise found those who aided in throwing off
the yoke of British tyranny. Jacob King de-
parted this life in 1883, at the age of eighty-four
years, and his wife, who was born in 1804, died
in 1878, at the age of seventy-four years.
James King is the second in their fam.ily of
six children. He was educated in his native city
of Pittsburg and is indebted to its public school
system for the educational privileges he received.
After putting aside his text-books he studied
architecture and then went to Missouri, where he
was located when Fort Sumter was fired upon
and the civil war thus inaugurated. He had
anxiously watched the progress of events in the
south, and resolved that if an attempt was made
at secession he would strike a blow for the
preservation of the Union. Therefore at Presi-
dent Lincoln's first call for volunteers, he en-
listed, in April, 1861, as a member of Company
A, First Ohio Infantry, and when his three-
months term had expired re-enlisted, remaining
at the front until the cessation of hostilities. He
served in the quartermaster's department in West
Virginia, and was commissioned second lieuten-
ant by Governor Dennison, of Ohio.
When the war was over and the country no
longer needed his services. Mr. King returned to
the north and his family. He was married in
1862 to Miss Sarah B. Gorham, a native of Ohio,
descended from early New England ancestrv who
located in Providence, Rhode Island. Three
children were born to them, but at the age of ten,
eleven and twenty years respectively they de-
parted this life.
On resuming civil pursuits at the close of the
war, Mr. King continued in business as an archi-
tect, following that vocation in West Mrginia
until 1888, when he came to Boise. Most of the
best buildings of the city have been erected after
designs which originated in the brain of Mr.
King, and to-day they stand as monuments to his
skill in his chosen profession. Since the civil war
he has given his political support to the Republi-
can party, and in 1898 was appointed by Presi-
dent McKinley to the position of register of the
United States land office, at Boise. He is now
serving in that capacity, and is most' conscien-
tious, faithful and efficient in the discharge of his
duties. Since i860 he has been a member of the
Odd Fellows society, and also belongs to the
\'eterans' League. He is as true to his duties
of citizenship to-day as when he followed the
324
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
old starry banner on southern battle-fields, and
his record in business, social and political life
has left his fair name untarnished.
MANSFIELD C. McGREW.
One of the prominent merchants of Kendrick,
and the senior member of the large general mer-
cantile firm of McGrew & Carmean, is the gen-
tleman whose name heads this sketch, — an enter-
prising, energetic nian whose keen discrimina-
tion in business efforts and indefatigable industry
have brought him a success which he well mer-
its. A native of Illinois, he was born in Clay
county, July ii, 1862, and is of Scotch-Irish lin-
eage. His great-grandfather, James McGrew,
having emigrated from the Emerald Isle to the
New World, settled in Pennsylvania and became
the progenitor of the family in the United States.
He later became a pioneer of Ohio, where the
grandfather, Joseph McGrew, was born in 1804.
The latter became a successful farmer and was
also a devout Methodist. In 1854 he removed
with his family to Clay county, Illinois, where his
death occurred, in 1898, at the advanced age of
ninety-four years.
James McGrew, the father of our subject, was
a native of Clay county, and there married Miss
Sarah Adeline Moore, a native of Indiana. Her
father died when she was a small child, and she
was reared in Illinois. Both of Mr. McGrew's
grandmothers died in 1898, — the one on the pa-
ternal side at the age of ninety years, the one on
the maternal at the age of eighty. On both sides
the families were people of the highest respecta-
bility. The McGrews were active, energetic and
successful in accumulating money, but the
Moores were less ambitious, satisfied with enjoy-
ing the good things of life as time passed. In
the McGrew family of which our subject is a
member, are eight children, the eldest being a
son, then six daughters, and the youngest a son.
AH are yet living and are in the enjoyment of
good health.
Mansfield C. McGrew, the eldest of the family,
was educated in the public schools of his native
state, and in the Heyward College, after which
he successfully engaged in teaching for four
years. In 1889 he came to Idaho, locating first
in Moscow, where he engaged in teaching until
he took charge of the public schools in Genesee.
Subsequently he was employed as a salesman by
J. P. \'ollmer, for two years, and his experience
in that line determined him to engage in mer-
chandising on his own account. Accordingly he
organized the Genesee Alercantile Company,
with which he was connected for five years, after
which he came to Kendrick and opened his pres-
ent store, which he has successfully conducted
continuously since. In 1899 Mr. Carmean was
admitted to a partnership. They do an extensive
genera! mercantile business, occupying a large
double store and two warerooms. Their cour-
teous treatment of patrons, reasonable prices and
correct business policy insure them a large busi-
ness, and they are also extensive buyers and ship-
pers of grain.
Mr. McGrew was married March 12, 1885, to
Miss Aldorah S. Yockey, a native of Iowa, and
of German ancestry. They have, six children:
Elba, Joy, Beulah, Veva, Portia and Merton C.
The parents are leading members of the Metho-
dist church, and Mr. McGrew is serving as a
member of the board of trustees. He also be-
longs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the
Modern Woodmen of the World, and in his po-
litical views is a Democrat. The cause of educa-
tion finds him a wise supporter, and he lends his
aid and co-operation to all movements intended
to advance the material, social, intellectual and
moral welfare of the community.
JAMES W. REID.
Idaho has won distinction for the high rank
of her bench and bar. Perhaps none of the new-
er states can justly boast of abler jurists or attor-
neys. Some of them have been men of national
fame, and among those who.<:e lives have been
passed on a quieter plane there is scarcely a town
or city in the state but can boast of one or more
lawyers capable of crossing swords in forensic
combat with any of the distinguished legal lights
of the United States. Idaho certainly has reason
to be proud of her legal fraternity. In James \\'.
Reid we find united many of the rare qualities
which go to make up the successful lawyer, and
he is to-day regarded as one of the most promi-
nent representatives of the bar of the state. He
possesses perhaps few of those dazzling, meteoric
qualities which have sometimes flashed along the
legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
335
vision for the moment, then disappearing, leav-
ing little or no trace behind: but he has, rather,
those solid and more substantial qualities which
shine with a constant luster, shedding light in the
dark places with steadiness and continuity. He
has in an eminent degree that rare ability of say-
ing in a convincing way the right thing at the
right time. His mind is analytical, logical and
inductive, and with a thorough and comprehen-
sive knowledge of the fundamental principles of
law, he combines a familiarity with statutory law
and a sober, clear judgment, which makes him a
formidable adversary in legal combat.
Mr. Reid is a native of North Carolina, his
birth having occurred in Wentworth, Rocking-
ham county, June ii, 1849. He is of Scotch-
Irish descent, but his ancestors have for many
generations resided in the south and were par-
ticipants in the early history of the country and
in the Revolutionary war. Blueford Reid, the
great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of
Virginia, but became the owner of a farm in
Guilford county. North Carolina. He was one
of the early followers of the Methodist church in
this country, and was a man of sterling worth.
He lived to be nearly one hundred years of age.
His son, James Reid, the grandfather of our sub-
ject, was born in North Carolina and spent his
entire life in that 'state. He was a faithful and
devoted minister of the Methodist church, and
lived to be seventy-six years of age. His son,
Numa F. Reid, was born in North Carolina, was
educated in the Emory and Henry College of
Virginia, and became an eminent Methodist di-
vine. He was a man of superior literary and ora-
torical ability, and was a power for good in his
holy calling. A large collection of his sermons
has been published, and these indicate his su-
perior ability. He died in 1873, at the age of
forty-nine years, and his death proved a great
loss to his family, the church and the world. His
wife bore the maiden name of Ann E. Wright.
She, too, was a native of North Carolina and of
Scotch lineage, but belonged to an equally old
American family. Eight children, four sons and
four daughters, were born of their union, six of
whom are yet living. The mother passed away
in 1869, at the age of forty-five years. She was
a woman of great amiability and worth of char-
acter, and proved to her husband an able assist-
ant in his Christian work, while by all who knew
her she was greatly beloved. For many genera-
tions her family have been active and devout
Presbyterians, and in professional life many of
the name have achieved distinction.
James W. Reid was the second in order of
birth in the family of eight children. He com-
pleted his literary education by his graduation in
Emory and Henry College, Virginia, in the class
of 1869, and afterward pursued the study of law
under private instruction, being licensed to prac-
tice in 1873, by the supreme court of North
Carolina. He has since been an active member
of the profession and has attained considerable
prominence in his chosen field of labor. He
was not only an able lawyer of North Carolina,
but was called to positions of public trust, being
elected treasurer of Rockingham county, in 1874,
and continuing in that position by re-election for
ten years, proving a most capable, efficient and
trustworthy officer. He resigned the position in
1884, on his election to congress, being chosen
to fill out the unexpired term of General A. M.
Scales, who resigned his seat in the forty-eighth
congress. At the general election in November,
1884, he was elected a member of the forty-ninth
congress, on the Democratic ticket, his opponent
being Colonel L. C. Edwards of Granville county.
On both occasions he won his victories in a Re-
publican district, but in 1886 he was defeated by
J. M. Bower, who succeeded in winning the col-
ored vote.
In 1887 Mr. Reid came to Idaho, locating in
Lewiston, where he has since engaged in the
practice of law, having an extensive clientage
from all sections of Idaho and even from adjoin-
ing states. In his practice he has been eminently
successful and has won a foremost place at the
Idaho bar. He is well versed in all departments
of the law and has been connected with much of
the important litigation heard in the courts of
this section of the state since his arrival. He is
also a recognized leader in political circles. .He
was a member of the state constitutional conven-
tion in 1889, served as its vice-president and as
chairman of the Democratic caucus of that body.
He was president of the first Democratic state
convention held after the admission of Idaho to
the Union, and, at the request of the central ex-
ecutive committee, canvassed the entire state
32(5
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
witli the candidate for governor, Hon. Ben. Wil-
son. On the establishment of the state univer-
sity he was appointed by Governor Stevenson as
one of its regents and subsequently reappointed
by Governor Willey, serving four years in that
capacity. Through his efforts in the constitu-
tional convention a term of the state supreme
court was located at Lewiston. In January,
1893, he conceived the idea of securing the loca-
tion of one of the state normal schools at Lewis-
ton and drafted the bill instituting the same and
secured its passage in the legislature. He has
since been president of its board of trustees, and
has been active in promoting its interests and up-
building. It stands as a monument to his ef-
forts and to his zeal in behalf of education and of
the city of his abode. His address delivered be-
fore the literary societies of the normal school
on the "Glory of Manhood" was one of the finest
ever heard in the state, — a most scholarly effort,
indicating superior literary talent, deep research
and a just conception of the possibilities of our
race. In 1894 Mr. Reid was elected a delegate
to the Democratic national convention in Chi-
cago, and in 1896 presided over both the Demo-
cratic state convention and the People's Demo-
cratic convention that nominated the state of-
ficers who were elected that year.
In 1872 Mr. Reid was united in marriage to
Miss Mary F. Ellington, a native of Rocking-
ham county. North Carolina, and a daughter of
William Ellington, clerk of the superior court of
Rockingham county, and a leading merchant
there, also a representative of an old American
family. Mr. and Mrs. Reid have two daughters:
Annie D., a graduate of the old Moravian Col-
lege, at Salem, North Carolina; and Lucile, wife
of Reuben D. Reid, a son of ex-Governor Reid
of North Carolina. The ladies of the family are
members of the Presbyterian church and are
most highly esteemed in social circles. Mr.
Reid is a valued and active member of the Ma-
sonic order, has taken the Scottish rite degrees
up to and including the thirty-second degree, S.
P. R. S. He is now at the head of the Rose
Croix and Lodge of Perfection in Lewiston, and
is also past deputy grand master of the grand
lodge of North Carolina. He also belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the
Knights of Pythias fraternitv. He is a man of
high scholarly attainments, and his promineace
at the bar is the merited tribute to his ability.
Socially he is deservedly popular, as he is affa-
ble and courteous in manner and possesses that
essential qualification to success in public life, —
that of making friends readily and of strengthen-
ing the ties of friendship as time advances.
CHARLES SNYDER.
Charles Snyder is the proprietor of the Julia-
etta Hotel, and is practically one of the founders
of the town, having secured the establishment of
the post-ofifice, and also promoted many of the
leading enterprises of the place. His labors have
been most effective in its upbuilding, and his
name is therefore inseparably connected with its
.history.
Mr. Snyder is of German birth. He first
opened his eyes to the light of day on the 8th
of November, 1827, and is of honorable German
ancestry. He was educated in his native land,
learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and in 1850
bade adieu to friends and fatherland, preparatory
to trying his fortune in the L^nited States. When
he came to this country he was entirely ignorant
of the language of the people, but possessed na-
tive intelligence, a good knowledge of his trade
and was energetic and ambitious, and through
the combination of these qualities he has secured
a handsome and creditable competence. Land-
ing at New York he thence made his way to
Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked two years.
He then w-ent to Detroit, Michigan, and accepted
a position in the car shops, where he remained
three years, and in 1855 he went to Kansas. That
state was just opening up to civilization. He
located at Wyandotte, just across the river from
the present site of Kansas City, helped plat the
town and had a tenth interest in it. After two
years spent there he believed that the town
would not amount to anything, and consequently
abandoned interests which, had he retained them,
would make him to-day an independently
wealthy man. In 1857 he opened a carpenter
shop in Kansas City, then a small town.
In 1859 Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to
Miss Augusta Keck, a native of Poland. She
came with her parents to America when ten years
of age and was married at the age of twenty, her
husband being then thirty-four years of age.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
327
They liave reared a family of ten children, six
sons and four daughters. It is now forty years
since the wedding took place, and the parents
and children are all yet living, and constitute a
well informed, and highly respected family, ot
which fact Mr. Snyder has every reason to be
proud. In 1861 he went to New York, where he
took passage for San Francisco, California, going
by way of the isthmus route, and arriving safely
at his destination some weeks later. He located
with his family in Sacramento, where he estab-
lished a cabinet shop, working at his trade for
two years. With the hope of making money
more rapidly, he decided to join in the search for
gold and went to the mines at Aurora, Nevada
county, where he followed mining for seven
years. He was the owner of the Garibaldi quartz
mine, which was a good producer, but he had no
mill, and the expense of hiring the ore crushed
was so great that he only managed to make good
wages and not to secure wealth at a rapid rate.
From that point he went to Reno, being one of
the first settlers. He aided in platting the town,
established a store and conducted it for a year,
after which he removed to Wadsworth and built
a hotel. After continuing in that business for a
year he sold out and removed to Folsom, Sacra-
mento county, California, where he engaged in
placer mining for six years, meeting with good
success. He took out nuggets that were worth
three dollars and a half, but thinking he had
mostly exhausted the claim he sold to a China-
man, who afterward took out cjuite a large
amount of gold.
In 1877 Mr. Snyder came to Idaho and secured
a claim of government land in Latah county, on
the American ridge. This he improved and oper-
ated for five years and then sold it for four thou-
sand dollars, after which he removed to what is
now the town site of Juliaetta. He established
the postoffice here and named it in honor of his
two bright daughters, Julia and Etta. He was
instrumental in forming a school district and
opening the first school, and also opened a gen-
eral mercantile store, selling goods to the In-
dians. When Mr. Schupfer platted his home-
stead for a town, Mr. Snyder moved his store and
post-oflSce upon the site, and the town began to
grow. He continued actively in merchandising
until 1893, when he traded his stock of goods for
the hotel building which he now occupies. He
has enlarged and improved the place, and now
has a very excellent hotel for a town the size of
Juliaetta. A pleasant, genial host, he is assisted
by his family in keeping a creditable hotel at rea-
sonable rates, and all who enjoy his hospitality
hold him in high regard. In 1894 Mr. Snyder
went to Santa Barbara, California, and bought a
fine twenty-acre fruit orchard, for which he paid
eis^ht thousand dollars. It is his intention to
spend the evening of a useful and honorable life
in that beautiful district, to which he will remove
in October of the present year — probablv before
this work is issued from the press.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are
Julia, wife of Albert Patten, Robert, Nettie,
Frank, Charles, William, Daisy, George, Gus and
Clara. In his political views Mr. Snyder is a
Democrat, and he has held the office of notary
public for fourteen years. He has made a val-
uable citizen in the land of his adoption and is
held in the highest regard.
HENRY DORSEY.
Henry Dorsey, deceased, formerly the propri-
etor of the Dorsey Cottage Hotel, at Mountain
Home, was born in Hancock county, Ohio, in
February, 1853, and traced his ancestors back to
German and Scotch people who located in Penn-
sylvania at an early epoch in the history of the
Keystone state. His father, David Dorsey, was
born in Pennsylvania, and married Miss Rosana
Wyant, also a native of that locality. In 1821,
soon after their marriage, they started westward
and located in the midst of the unbroken forests
of Ohio. Mr. Dorsey was a farmer by occupa-
tion, and in order to prepare land for cultivation
at his new home he felled the first tree that had
ever been cut upon what is now the site
of the city of Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio.
He was one of the honored pioneers of
that locality, bearing a very important
part in the work of development and im-
provement, and at an early day he served
as justice of the peace and county conmiissioner.
He was a man of ability and worth, and exerted
marked influence in his township and county.
His death occurred when he had reached the ripe
old age of eighty years, and his wife dejiartcd this
life at the age of fiftv-thrce vears. In the family
528
IIISTORV OF IDAHO.
were eight children, Henry, who was the young-
est, being but three years of age at the time of the
mother's death.
Reared on the liome farm, he began work in
the fields as soon as old enough to manage the
plow, and was thus employed through the sum-
mer months, while in the winter season he at-
tended the public schools. In 1872, when nine-
teen years of age, he came to the territory of
Idaho, locating in Silver City, where he worked
for his brother, David Dorsey, who at that time
owned a meat market in the town. Later our
subject engaged in packing, mining and con-
tracting, and for several years owned and oper-
ated the ferry across Snake river, at the place
then called Dorsey's Ferry, but now known as
Grand Mew. After continuing in that line of
business for six years he sold out to the Owyhee
Land & Irrigating Company, and in 1888 came
to Mountain Home, after which time he was
numbered among its leading and influential citi-
zens. For a few years he engaged in freighting,
carrying supplies to the mining camps at Rocky
Bar.
In 1889 Wr. Dorsey was united in marriage to
Mrs. S. J. Pattee. By her former marriage she
had a daughter named Ethel, who is now at-
tending school in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Dor-
sey purchased six lots and erected thereon the
building now known as the Cottage Hotel, plant-
ing shade and fruit trees and making this a very
valuable and attractive place. In 1895 Mr. Dor-
sev and his wife, realizing the need of a well kept
and comfortable hotel, determined to engage in
that line of business, arranged their house for the
purpose, and thenceforward there was no more
popular host and hostess than this worthy couple,
who spared no pains to enhance the convenience
and pleasure of their guests. They had well kept
rooms, a good table and received a liberal share
of the public patronage. The Traveling JMen's
Union selected the Cottage Hotel as headquar-
ters when in Mountain Home. They were
obliged to rent rooms in the locality in order to
entertain some of their guests, and, as indicated,
enjoyed a large and profitable business.
Mr. Dorsey became a member of the Home
Forum and the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and he, with his wife, belonged to the Re-
bckah lodge. He was a most highlv esteemed
citizen, having the warm regard of many friends.
He advocated the principles of the silver Repub-
lican party, and had long taken an active interest
in educational matters.- He served as school
trustee for a number of years, at length becoming
chairman of the board. Mountain Home now
has an excellent eight-department school, which
has a good reference library, and most competent
teachers are employed, so that the school system
reflects credit upon the progressive town and es-
pecially upon the board of trustees. Mr. Dorsey
at all times gave his support to the measures and
movements calculated to advance the general
welfare, and was accounted one of the most val-
ued citizens of Mountain Home. He died Feb-
ruary 23, 1899, lamented by a very large com-
munity of enthusiastic friends. Airs. Dorsey
continued the hotel business until May i, 1899.
SAMUEL E. BIBBY. M. D,
In the subject of this review we have one who
has attained distinction in the line of his profes-
sion, who has been an earnest and discriminating
student and who holds a position of due relative
precedence among the medical practitioners of
northern Idaho. He is the leading physician and
surgeon of Grangeville and has a very large and-
lucrative practice. A native of New York city,
he was born May 24, 1847, is of Scotch descent
and is a representative of a family of physicians.
His grandfather, Samuel Bibby, and his father,
George Bibby, were both eminent medical prac-
titioners of the American metropolis. The latter
married Miss Ann Lavery, a lady of Scotch-Irish
ancestry, and they became the parents of eight
children. They are faithful members of the Pres-
byterian church, and Dr. George Bibby has been
a lifelong Republican in his political affiliations.
He is now seventy-eight years of age, and his
wife has reached the Psalmist's span of three
score years and ten.
Samuel Edward Bibby, their third child, ac-
quired his literary education in the schools of his
native city. He is a graduate of the L^niversity of
New York and of the Columbia L^niversity of
Washington, and his education was further per-
fected by a course in the Edinburg University of
Scotland. Thus afforded the highest educational
advantages to be secured by the practitioners of
medicine, he entered upon the work of his profes-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
sion peculiarly well qualified for its arduous
duties. He began practicing in New York city,
and was afterward retained in a professional ca-
pacity in the service of the United States govern-
ment, after the civil war. He went to Fort Lap-
wai, Idaho, in 1884. and after three years passed
there came to Grangeville, where he has since re-
mained, enjoying an extensive practice that
comes from miles in every direction. He had had
the honor of being surgeon on the staff of Gov-
ernor Willey, and in 1896 he received the ap-
pointment to represent Idaho in the Pan-Amer-
ican Medical Congress, held in Washington, D.
C. The success which attends his efforts is but
in natural sequence, for his position soon became
assured as an able physician, a man of sterling
integrity and one devoted to his profession and
to the interests and welfare of those to whom he
ministered. He possesses marked judgment
and discernment in the diagnosing of disease,
and is peculiarly successful in anticipating the
issue of complications, seldom making mistakes
and never exaggerating or minifying the disease
in rendering his decisions in regard thereto. He
is a physician of great fraternal delicacy, and no
man ever observed more closely the ethics of the
unwritten professional code or showed more
careful courtesy to his fellow practitioners than
does Dr. Bibby.
During his residence in Grangeville the Doc-
tor has become fully identified with the town and
its interests, and has invested a considerable sum
in business property in the heart of the town. He
has erected a number of good buildings and is
also largely interested in mining and has a large
stock ranch at White Bird, on Salmon river,
where he breeds Hereford and Durham cattle
and Hambletonian horses; these business inter-
ests, however, are not allowed to interfere in the
slightest degree with his ministrations to the sick
and suffering.
On the 25th of December, 1889, Dr. Bibby
was married to Miss Addie Pearson, a native of
Grangeville, and a daughter of William Pearson,
a prominent pioneer of Idaho. The Doctor is past
chancellor of the Knights of Pythias fraternity,
a valued member of the Masonic order, of the
Eastern Star and of the Woodmen of the World.
In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and has
served Idaho countv as county coroner for six
years. He was assistant World's P~"air commis-
sioner for Idaho, and undoubtedly had he aspira-
tions in that direction could win high official hon-
ors, for he is a man of strong mentalitv and
recognized ability, commanding the respect, con-
fidence and esteem of his fellow men.
SAMUEL G. BENEDICT.
Samuel Benedict, a brave Idaho pioneer, who
was killed by the Nez Perces Indians June 14.
1877, was born in Kingston, Canada, and was of
English lineage. In his early manhood he mar-
ried Miss Sarah Kelley, a native of New Brigh-
ton, New York, and in 1862 they came to Idaho.
They were among the earliest settlers in the
northern section of the state and Mr. Benedict
established a general mercantile store at the
mouth of White Bird river, where he was carry-
ing on business at the time of his death. When
the Nez Perces Indians went upon the warpath
they visited that locality, and he lost his life at the
hands of the treacherous savages. In the early
morning he was shot through both of his legs,
but managed to escape to the house. At six
o'clock in the evening of the same day eighteen
Indians called him out of the house and shot him
eighteen times. The hired man then shot one of
the Indians, but was himself shot, the ball enter-
ing his right eye and causing his death. Mrs.
Benedict and her little daughter, then eight years
old. were taken prisoners by the savages, who
burned their house, but the squaws took pity on
the white woman and secured the release of her-
self and daughter, so that she was only held as a
prisoner one night. She escaped on foot to
Mount Idaho, where she was cared for by Cap-
tain E. W. Robie, whom she afterward married.
She still survives, and her daughter is now the
wife of G. W. Brown. By her marriage to the
Captain she had two children, Emily and Edward
A'ictor, who are still at home. Captain Robie
had served throughout the civil war and was a
captain of volunteers in the Nez Perces Indian
war.
Samuel G. Benedict, the elder child of Samuel
and Sarah (Kelley) Benedict, to whom we are in-
debted for this account of the family, was born
at Freedom, Idaho, October 9, 1864, and now re-
sides at Grangeville. He owns a valuable farm
of one hundred and sixtv acres near the town and
330
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
is the proprietor of the Idaho Steam Laundry.
An enterprising and energetic business man, he
is meeting with a well deserved success in his un-
dertakings and occupies a foremost place in busi-
ness circles in Grangeville.
j\Ir. Benedict married Miss Cora Perkins, and
they had one son, Lloyd, who died in his second
year. They have a pleasant home in Grange-
ville and a large circle of friends. The name of
our subject is on the membership rolls of the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Ord^r of
Red Men, and in social and business circles he
ranks deservedly high.
GEORGE H. STORER.
The roster of state officials of Idaho for 1898
embraced the name of George H. Storer as filling
the responsible position of treasurer. He is a
practical, progressive business man, of sound
judgment and keen executive ability, and upon
the basis of a practical business experience he
conducted the financial affairs of the state. His
history is in many respects remarkable. From an
humble position he has risen to one of promi-
nence, and the success which has attended his ef-
forts is the outcome of his own unaided labors.
A native of England, he was born on the 17th
of February, i860, his parents being Dennis and
Sarah (Carlisle) Storer. His father died during
the early boyhood of the son, who, with his
mother and three younger brothers, came to
America in 1871. He was then only eleven years
of age. The family made a location in Echo
canyon, on the W'eber river, in Utah, where they
resided for eight years, during which time
George Storer did what he could to support his
mother and the younger children. This period
was not without many hardships and trials, but
he did his best to overcome these, and thus early
the elemental strength of his character was shad-
owed forth by actions and words.
In 1879 tlie future state treasurer arrived in
Idaho. He arrived at Black Foot with just fifty
cents in his pocket, and then entered seriously
upon the task of securing a livelihood, willing
and anxious to follow any pursuit that was hon-
orable. He had great energy and industry and
such qualities never fail. As the years passed his
labors brought him a small capital, which, as
judiciously invested, has brought him excellent
financial returns. He established for himself a
home, by his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Payne,
on the 6th of March, 1881, when he was twenty-
one years of age. Her father was George Payne,
for many years roadmaster of the Utah North-
ern Railroad. In 1884 Mr. Storer removed with
his wife to Idaho Falls, where he, through a
period of fifteen years, has sustained a reputation
of being one of the most prominent and success-
ful business men of the place. In December,
1898, he removed to Lewiston, Idaho. In a com-
paratively short time he has accumulated a com-
fortable fortune, and his name is everywhere the
synonym of honorable business dealing and suc-
cess. He carries forward to a prosperous con-
clusion whatever he undertakes and manifests
rare good judgment in his investments. He has
one of the best stock ranches in the state, com-
prising one thousand acres of land, near Idaho
Falls. He also has a number of other valuable
ranches in Bingham county and large realty hold-
ings in Idaho Falls and Ogden.
He is a recognized leader in the ranks of the
Democratic party, is especially skillful in the
planning of campaigns, and in 1891 was a mem-
ber of the Democratic state central committee.
He worked faithfully and with much ability in the
campaign of that and succeeding years, and took
a prominent part in the anti-Mormon fight,
standing firm against the fierce attacks of
the Republicans, and ever contending for
what he believed to be right and just.
Though he met defeat he never became dis-
couraged, and with fresh vigor re-entered
the conflict in each campaign. He has often
been honored with positions of public trust, and
to every duty has been most loyal. When a young
man he served for two terms as justice of the
peace, has been mayor of Idaho Falls, and at the
same time served as its assessor and treasurer.
Such was his fidelity to all trusts and such his
service to his party that in i8g6 he was nom-
inated and elected on the People's Democratic
ticket to the office of state treasurer. A better
choice could not have been made, and his elec-
tion was hailed as a blessing by many people of
the state. He administered the affairs of the of-
fice in a manner that won him commendation and
reflected credit upon the party that installed him
in office.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
331
Air. Storer is one of the most prominent
jMasons in the state. He was initiated in Corner
Lodge, No. 6, A. F. & A. M., of Utah, was a
charter member of Eagle Rock Lodge, No. 19,
and has three times served as worshipful master.
He belongs to Pocatello Chapter, R. A. M., and
to the grand lodge of the state, in which he has
filled the office of junior and senior deacon, and
in 1898 he was grand master of the state. He is
a worthy exponent of the beneficent principles of
the fraternity and in his life exemplifies the hu-
manitarian truths upon which the order rests.
His friends in social life are many, and both Mr.
and Mrs. Storer are held in the highest esteem.
They have an interesting family of three children,
James Arthur, Ada Elizabeth and Earl Maurice,
who reside with their parents in a most delight-
ful home in Lewiston. Emerson has said that
"the way to win a friend is to be one," and in this
way Mr. Storer has surrounded himself with a
circle of true friends, who were drawn to him by
his genuine worth, his unselfish interest in his
fellow men, and his marked social qualities.
MRS. LUCINDA J. BREARLEY.
In a history of the settlement of a state there
is usually but slight reference made to the part
which the women have taken in its development.
This is, of course, due to the more active connec-
tion of the pioneer men with public life, while the
wives, mothers and daughters are concerned in
the duties of home-making. Great credit, how-
ever, is due the brave pioneer women, who stand
courageously by the side of husbands and fathers,
sharing with them in the hardships and dangers
which accompany the development of a new sec-
tion; nor is their influence a minor factor in the
social, educational and moral life of the commun-
ity, and therefore the names of such esteemed
pioneer ladies as Mrs. Brearley well deserve a
place by the side of those of the men who have
laid the foundations for the growth and prosper-
ity of a newly developed region.
Her husband, John Brearley, was the pioneer
banker of Lewiston, and for many years was con-
nected with its business interests. He was born
in Hudson, Michigan, in 1839. his parents being
early settlers of that state. In 1855 he crossed the
plains with an ox team and spent several years
in Sacramento. In 1862 he removed to Elk Citv,
where he engaged in mining, making consider-
able money, after which he purchased the express
business between that place and Lewiston, carry-
ing the express on horseback through the sum-
mer months, while in the winter he made the
journey on snowshoes. He also learned assaying
at Lewiston, and bought out the assay business
of John Proctor. In this way he became ac-
quainted with the miners, from them purchased
gold, and at the urgent solicitation of his good
wife he opened the first bank in the town, known
as John Brearley's Bank. This he successfully
conducted up to the time of his death. He was
very liberal in his methods, thoroughly reliable in
his dealings and progressive in his management
of the affairs of the bank, and thus he prospered.
at the same time giving to the people of the com-
munity a safe place of deposit for their surplus
earnings. He also successfully engaged in stock-
raising and in the meat business, and in fact car-
ried forward to successful consummation what-
ever he undertook, his industry and capable man-
agement being most marked. He died in 1883,
at the age of forty-four years, and after his death
his brother, N. W. Brearley, and W. F. Ketten-
bach, who had been employed in the bank, or-
ganized as its successor the Lewiston National
Bank, which has been a paying investment and
is now doing a good business.
Mrs. Brearley was in her maidenhood Miss
Lucinda Jane Hatton, and she was born in In-
diana, August 14, 1835. Her father, John Hat-
ton, was of English descent, and with his family
he started across the plains in 1852, but unfortu-
nately died on the way, at Burned river. Mrs.
Brearley was thus in a measure thrown upon her
own resources. She went to the home of a rela-
tive in Vancouver, and in 1865 went with a lady
friend to Florence and thence to Lewiston. Here
she worked for Mrs. Grostein and later gave her
hand in marriage to Mr. Brearley, proving to him
a most faithful companion and helpmeet. They
became the parents of three children, but their
only son, John, died at the age of ten years.
Frankie became the wife of Isaac B. Gray, who
for some years was mate on the steamer Lewis-
ton. Phoebe is the wife of Captain John Akin,
a pilot on the Clearwater river. After the death
of her husband Mrs. Brearley had to obtain pos-
session of and manage her share of the estate.
332
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
which slie has done with considerable ability, but
not without meeting with serious difficulties.
Most of these, however, she has overcome and is
now the owner of some valuable property. She
is greatly esteemed for her sterling worth, and
has many friends in the community where she
has so long resided.
JAMES H. ANDERSON.
James H. Anderson, whose term as state
auditor of Idaho expired at the beginning of the
present year (1899), was born in Platte county,
^Missouri, on the 4th of October, 1845. His an-
cestors were early settlers of \"irginia and were
participants in that struggle which ended in the
overthrow of British rule in the colonies and the
establishment of the United States of America.
In the year 18 18 his grandfather emigrated to
Kentucky, at Avhich time George W. Anderson,
father of our subject, was only about six years of
age. His birth had occurred in the Old Domin-
ion in 181 2, and he remained in Kentucky until
1837, when he removed to Platte county, Mis-
souri, where he industriously and successfully
carried on agricultural pursuits. In Kentucky
he married Miss Mary Roberts, and to them were
born six children, five of whom are yet living.
The father attained the age of eighty-six years,
and the mother passed away at the age of sev-
enty-three. Both were consistent members of
the Methodist church, and had the high regard
of many friends.
James Harvey Anderson, their second child,
was educated in the public schools and at Pleas-
ant Ridge College and in Spaulding's Commer-
cial College, at Kansas City, pursued a business
course and a course in commercial law, holding
diplomas as a graduate of both departments. On
laying aside his text-books he returned to the old
homestead, where he was engaged in farming
and stock-raising, buying, selling and breeding
shorthorn cattle and French draft horses. He
also bought and shipped fat cattle to the eastern
markets and continued in that line of business
until 1884, meeting with excellent success in his
efiforts.
In that year he came to Idaho, locating in
Washington county, where he has since contin-
ued stock-farming. A good income has rewarded
his labors, although at one time he narrowlv
escaped financial disaster, owing to his indorse-
ment of notes for friends. Notwithstanding this
he has not lost confidence in the honesty of his
fellow men, and is ever ready to lend a helping
hand to those who need and deserve aid. He has
managed his business interests carefully and sys-
tematically, and his integrity in trade transactions
is above question. His prosperity is well merited,
being the just rew-ard of his own efforts.
In politics Mr. Anderson has always taken a
deep interest, and gave to the Democratic party
a loyal support until President Cleveland's sec-
ond campaign, when, believing that the Populist
platform contained the best ideas of American
government and was calculated to advance the
best interests of the people, he joined its ranks
and has since followed its banner. He became
one of the organizers of the party in Idaho and
was chosen a delegate to the first Populist na-
tional convention, which met in Omaha, Ne-
braska, July 4, 1892. He was also a delegate to
the St. Louis convention wdiich nominated Wil-
liam J. Bryan for the presidency in 1896, and has
been a member of the Populist national commit-
tee for Idaho since its organization. He also rep-
resented Idaho on the conference committee at
the St. Louis convention of 1896, a committee
composed of representative Populists and "silver
men." He was chosen secretary of the tri-state
convention of the Populist party and also of the
joint convention of the Populists and Democrats
in 1896, after which he was nominated for the
position of state auditor and elected in the fall of
that year. He filled that responsible position in
a most creditable manner. Although thus
exalted to a high place, he is a man of the people,
plain and unassuming, but possessing that genu-
ine worth of character which in every land and
every clime commands respect. In the discharge
of his official duties he was prompt, careful and
methodical, and no more capable official could
have been chosen for the position of auditor.
On the 8th of December, 1884, Mr. Anderson
was happily married to Miss Mary Jeffreys, a
native of Oregon and a daughter of Woodson
Jeffreys, a pioneer of that state, now deceased.
They have two children — Georgie and James
Woodson. Their comfortable and pleasant home
in Weiser is the abode of hospitality, and as their
circle of acquaintances is extended, their circle of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
friends is correspondingly enlarged. Socially
;\Ir. Anderson is connected with the Knights of
Pythias fraternity. He is a man possessed of that
too often rare quality of common sense, which
enables him to view matters in their true and
practical light. He is loyal and patriotic, placing
country before party and the public good before
self-aggrandizement, and though he has been
honored with high ofifice he is exceptionally
quick to recognize real worth in others, no matter
how humble their station in life.
WILLIS ARNOLD.
Willis Arnold, proprietor of a saw mill at Ken-
drick, is a native of Ohio, his birth having oc-
curred in Kenton, that state, April 29, 1862. His
father, Samuel Arnold, was born in Trumbull
county, Ohio, and after the inauguration of the
civil war entered the service of the Union. He
was wounded and held as a prisoner in Anderson-
ville, and after great suffering he died from the
effects of his wounds in 1866.
Our subject was born when his father was at
the front and was thus deprived of his care at a
very early age. He was educated at Big Rapids,
Michigan, and began to earn his own living when
fifteen years of age. From that time he has been
dependent upon his own exertions, and is there-
fore deserving of great credit for the success
which he has achieved in life. He learned the
carpenter's trade, which he followed in northern
Michigan for some time, and in 1880 he removed
to Dakota. His sojourn in the latter state was
followed by a period of residence in Montana,
where he was engaged in the manufacture of
lumber and in contract work. About the time of
the establishment of Kendrick he came here, and
in 1897 erected the saw mill which he has since
operated. The yellow pine logs for the mill are
procured six miles above the town and floated
down the river to the mill, where they are con-
verted into lumber, cut in sizes to meet the wishes
of his patrons. The home demand consumes the
entire output of the mill, and the business is re-
garded as one of the leading industrial concerns
of this section of the county.
In 1896 Mr. Arnold was united in marriage to
INIrs. Mary Potter, widow of G. E. Potter and a
daughter of Judge John Fulkerson, of Minne-
sota. They have three children: Ralph. John
and Ruth. IMr. Arnold has erected a good resi-
dence in Kendrick, and he and his family enjoy
the esteem of all who know them. In politics he
is a Republican, and he has made a good record
as a business man and citizen, being at all times
reliable and upright.
EVAN EVANS.
Evan Evans, a successful business man of
Grangeville, came to this town in 1880 and for
almost twenty years has been one of her enter-
prising and highly valued citizens, taking a deep
interest in and giving aid to every measure and
movement intended to proriiote the general wel-
fare. He was born in Norway, February 5, 1855,
and is of Norwegian ancestry. His parents were
Andrew and Mary (Olson) Evans, successful
farming people and respected members of the
Lutheran church. The subject of this review ac-
quired his education in his native country, and at
the age of seventeen went to England, where he
took passage on an English steamer and sailed to
the Mediterranean sea. While he was in Italy,
May 6, 1872, he entered the United States naval
service on board the Shenandoah, a man of war,
and sailed under the American flag for two vears
or until the Shenandoah went out of commission,
April 23, 1874. She was commanded by Captain
Wells, Lieutenant Higginson and Robley D.
Evans. They were at Key West, Florida, for
some months, engaged in drill work, and Mr.
Evans speaks of his service in the navy as one of
the most valuable in his life. He was paid off at
New York city and then, leaving the sea, he went
to New Hampshire, where he visited his sister,
after which he made his way to California.
Locating at Truckee, in the Golden state, he
there engaged in furnishing wood to a railroad
company, under contract, and made considerable
money in that venture. He remained in Cali-
fornia until 1880, when he came to Grangeville.
where he has since made his home. Here he was
first employed in carrying the mail, under con-
tract, between Mount Idaho and Pierce Cit\-,
making the journey on horseback. He received
a fair remuneration for his services, and contin-
ued that labor until the route was discontinued.
He next accepted a position in the butchering
business at \\'arrens, with the firm of Chamber-
lin & r.entz. and subsequently returned to
034
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Grangeville, where he engaged in stock-raising,
beginning in that enterprise with twenty head of
cattle. He carried on that industry until 1890,
raising, buying and selling cattle, having at times
as many as three hundred head. He met with
fair success, and retired from the business when
stock was bringing high prices. In 1891 he
opened a butcher shop at Grangeville, in partner-
ship with his former employer, Mr. Bentz, the
connection being continued with mutual pleasure
and profit until 1896, wdien Mr. Evans sold out.
In the winter of 1897 he purchased the hardware
business of Davy & Bonnell, built up a good ■
trade and enjoyed a large and remunerative
patronage until 1899, when he was forced to re-
tire, the close confinement of the store undermin-
ing his health. He is now living partially retired,
although he personally superintends his invest-
ments. During his residence in the thriving town
of Grangeville he has made several judicious pur-
chases of realty, which have increased in value
with the growth of the town. In 1893 he became
the owner of a beautiful plat of six acres within
the corporation limits and has erected thereon a
delightful residence. Another purchase which he
made, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres,
he sold to a Lewiston stock company, and half of
it has been platted and is called the Lewiston ad-
dition to Grangeville. He has also made a forty-
acre addition to the town, called the Grand View
addition, and well is it named, for it is high and
splendidly situated and conmiands a fine view of
the great Camas prairie and the surrounding
mountains. He also has fortv acres in reserve.
and his realty holdings class him among the sub-
stantial citizens of Idaho county. He also has
various valuable quartz-mining interests, and is a
successful, energetic and enterprising business
man, his reputation in business circles being
above reproach.
In 1885 Mr. Evans married Miss Ella Jones, a
native of Oregon, and a daughter of Seth Jones,
who is numbered among the pioneers of Oregon
and Idaho. Their union has been blessed with
two bright daughters, Irena and Mary. They
have a pleasant home, which is a favorite resort
w^ith their many friends. Mrs. Evans is an
esteemed member of the Episcopal church. Mr.
Evans is an active member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, having been identified with Mount Idaho
Lodge, No. 9, for fifteen years. He has accep-
tably filled many of its offices and has the honor
of being one of its past masters. He is also a'
Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the chapter at
Lewiston, and his name is on the membership
roll of the Woodmen of the World. In politics he
is a Republican, and is a most loyal citizen of his
adopted land, unswerving in support of its insti-
tutions. The cause of education finds in him a
warm friend, and he was serving as one of the
school trustees of Grangeville when the present
fine school building was erected. Leaving the
"land of the midnight sun," Mr. Evans came to
America to try his fortune, and here his well di-
rected labors have been crowned with success.
He is truly a self-made man, and as the architect
of his prosperity he has builded wisely and well.
CHAPTER XXVII.
PROMINENT CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE STATE.
T
BOISE, THE CAPITAL CITY.
HE following descriptive article is an ex-
cerpt from the souvenir edition of the
Boise Sentinel, issued in June, 1897:
So much has been said and written and sung of
"Boise, the Beautiful," that the task of saying any-
thing new seems utterly hopeless; and of this there
is little need. While those who have made their homes
here from the beginning, and those who from year
to year have come to stay, might naturally be ex-
pected to be most fervent in their praises, they have
not always been the happiest in laying appropriate
tributes before the shrine of the object of their love
and admiration. Strangers and transient visitors have
often been more fortunate in their offerings.
Perhaps the first question that arises in the mind
of a stranger in regard to this locality is why was it
so named. After more than a third of a century has
passed since the first human habitation was erected
on the present site of the town, and after the story
has been so often repeated in print, the inquiry con-
tinues to be daily made. Why Boise? Briefly, this
is what the ancient chroniclers tell of the origin of
the name: In the summer of 1834 a party of French
Canadian voyagers, belonging to the expedition of
Captain Bonneville (whose explorations and adven-
tures were afterward immortalized by the pen of Wash-
ington Irving), in traveling across the treeless and
arid Snake river plains, reached the edge of a pla-
teau overlooking a beautiful valley, which, extend-
ing westward beyond the limits of their vision, seemed
to present a continuous forest belt of trees in full foli-
age. Of trees, these travelers had seen but very little
for several days while journeying among the vast
fields of sage-brush, the essential elements of whose
growth is the entire absence of water and shade; when
their eyes at length fell upon the valley, and they
caught glimpses of the crystal stream that wended
its serpentine way westward among the groves of cot-'
tonwood trees that kept it company, they exclaimed,
"Les bois! les bois! voyez les bois!" (The woods! the
woods! see the woods!) Here for them were woods,
real forests. With the facility with which a French-
man brings his language into practical use, these Can-
adian explorers soon affixed a name to their latest
discovery, and called the river, whose presence was
so welcome to them. La riviere Boise (pronounced
bwoizay), that is, "the wooded." To reach this spot
they had followed an old Indian trail, which was sub-
sequently followed by explorers down to the advent
of the first immigrants with their wagons, the immi-
grants having adopted the marks which their prede-
cessors had made as their guide across the otherwise
trackless desert.
During the month of August, 1843, nearly ten years
after the valley had been named, Fremont reached it
at the same point, opposite the present site of the city
of Boise, and the cool, crystal waters of the stream
and the grateful shade of the groves that adorned its
banks drew from him a description of the scene, which
has often been quoted and admired by many who have
not yet even seen Idaho. Such are the circumstances
that attended the naming of the river, the valley and
of the spot now occupied by the fair city of Boise.
Situated in the upper section of the valley of the
Boise river, on the right and northern bank of the
stream and within ten miles of the point where the
mountains close in upon the stream, Boise presents a
picture of quiet beauty and a scene inspiring a sense
of peaceful repose and activity that has never failed
to charm and delight every one who has seen it.
Idaho is adorned with many lovely valleys and charm-
ing localities, possessing many natural advantages and
presenting many natural attractions; but nowhere else
within her borders is there a spot so securely shelt-
ered from the rude blasts of winter, nowhere else
are the winters so mild, the clime the year round so
health-giving, and the fierce cold of winter so sweetly
tempered and adapted to the health and comfort of its
inhabitants; nowhere else are there sources of cold and
hot water close at hand and easily available for all
the purposes to which hot and cold water can be ap-
plied, even to the heating of public buildings and
private dwellings; nowhere else have the elements of
progress and growth shown themselves so healthful and
so persistently active.
In 1863 the outposts of civilization, as they extended
themselves eastward from the Pacific coast settlements,
reached the valley of the Boise. The discovery of gold
in the section of the mountain known as the Boise
basin, and the presence of discontented savages led to
the establishment of the present Fort Boise, or as it
is now called, Boise Barracks, which is situated on a
beautiful and elevated site, commanding a fine view
of the town and surrounding country. Among other
good reasons, doubtless this site for the military post
was selected largely because of the marvelous beauty
of the landscape here presented to view. Looking south-
ward from the narrow plateau upon which the oflScers'
quarters at the barracks are situated, the eye wanders
336
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
over the great Snake river sage plains to the magnifi-
cent range known as the Owyhee mountains, which
close the view in that direction. To the right from
the point of observation, the view embraces the west-
em course of the Boise river and of the valley, with its
bright and verdant stretches of meadows, farms, or-
chards and forests of shade trees, while to the left
and eastward the view is more abruptly closed by
the neighboring mountain masses of the Boise river
range. The military post, then called Fort Boise, was
located and established on the Sth day of July, 1863,
by Major P. Lugenbeel, and was the immediate cause
of the location of the town, which event took place
on the 7th. The area surveyed and staked out was
covered with a dense growth of sage-brush. Then
commenced the era of town building. The buildings
first erected were of the crudest and most primitive
construction, being in some cases mere brush shanties.
The number of inhabitants living with promise of
becoming permanent residents was very small indeed.
The greater number whose presence graced the scene
were transient visitors on their way to and from the
gold fields. Many are the claimants, some of them yet
living here, to the honor of having been first on
the spot.
As time went on the number of houses and inhabi-
tants increased and the incipient city soon began to
feel the vivifying influence of the golden stream which
began to trickle down from the rich placer fields in
the "basin." The first parcel of gold-dust from the
new mines was bought by Cyrus Jacobs, who is still
here. Mr. Jacobs had brought a stock of goods here,
which were opened and offered for sale by H. C. Rigg.5
and James Mullaney, acting for C. Jacobs & Company.
About a week afterwards H. C. Riggs and James
Agnew commenced building on the northeast corner
of Main and Seventh streets, the location then and
many years afterward known as Riggs' corner. This
pioneer adobe building was destroyed by fire in 1879
and was replaced by the brick building now occupied
by the clothing store of M. Alexander. The first jus-
tice of the peace was a Dr. Holton, who had his office
in a log cabin on the site now occupied by the Over-
land Hotel. The first school was taught by F. B.
Smith, in the winter of 1863-4, at the corner of Idaho
and Seventh streets, opposite the site of the old Cen-
tral Hotel. The first paper published was the Idaho
Statesman, first issue being Tuesday morning, July
26, 1864; office in a log cabin one door west of the
present location. The Statesman is with us yet, and
has never missed an issue since that first bright July
morning. The first hotel was kept by Burns & Nor-
dicke, on the northwest corner oi Main and Seventh
streets, the building now occupied by Joe Kinney.
Two or three weeks after the opening of the first
store by C. Jacobs, a second stock was opened by
Dafelle & Moore. The first contractors were May
& Brown. Thompson & McClelland established a
ferry here across the Boise river, a short distance
below the present Ninth street bridge, in the spring of
1864. The removal of the capital of the young terri-
tory from Lewiston to Boise, December 10, 1864. gave
a fresh impetus to the growth of the town. The
columns of the local papers, during the earlier years
of the town's existence, were filled with thrilling stories
of the dangers bravely met and of the hardships
patiently endured by the first settlers, who had deter-
mined to build here a city, which has been justly and
aptly called the "Damascus of the Plains." For a long
series of years prior to the advent of railroads, the
piincipal and best means of communication across the
country between the Missouri river and the shores
of the Pacific, as well as that connecting important
points in the interior, was furnished by stage coaches,
the main line of this means of travel passing through
Boise, from which point as a center radiated the shorter
lines, reaching the outlying towns and mining camps.
Apart from the loss of time and the hardships inci-
dent to this mode of transit and travel, there was the
frequent danger to life from the lurking and blood-
thirsty savages. Even as late as 1866 we have veri-
fied accounts of all communication being cut off from
the outside world by interruptions suffered at the hands
of the Indians, while all around and near their homes
the pioneers were battling with the treacherous foe.
who threatened them with destruction. These greater
dangers and obstacles to business, to travel and to
tranquil, happy home life being at length overcome
and removed, there came another long series of years
of "hope deferred," during which one promised scheme
after another failed to bring what was so much desired
and needed, a better means of communication, until
a partial fulfillment and realization was reached by
the advent of railroads into what was yet the terri-
tory of Idaho. During all these pioneer years, Boise
was the center of trade, of travel, and of every impor-
tant interest in the territory. Here were held, as now,
the sessions of the legislature and of the supreme
court, and here was gathered the great library of
almost universal legal scope, accessible at all times
to the members of the bar, and also to all the people
having occasion to visit and consult it. Here the
medical profession, augmented by the military sur-
geons, has had its largest representation of educated
and skilled men. Here popular education has had its
inspiration and impulse in the public schools, which
have always been in the advance line. In the estab-
lishment of the United States assay office, Boise was
made largely the center of intelligent mining, as its
banks were and are still the center of financial
exchanges. The fraternal, patriotic and religious bodies
have ever made their headquarters here, because the
hospitality and generosity of Boise have been equal to
every opportunity and demand. It will be easily under-
stood why for so many years of her existence Boise
was comparatively unknown. Shi was only the capi-
tal and chief city of an isolated northwestern terri-
tory; only one of the many similar objects found in
this vast intcrmountain territory. True, the locality
always had its power to charm the minds and senses
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
337
of visitors by its many attractive natural features and
commended itself to the judgment of all by its many
superior natural advantages. With the progress of
settlement, irrigation brought the "magic touch of
water" to the apparently sterile but really fertile and
productive soil, and soon transformed what was always
a scene of natural beauty into a veritable "garden of
the gods."
The growth of the city has been a steady, healthy
growth from the beginning, with no boom spurts to
accelerate it, because none were needed. The city
grew by its own inherent advantages of location, cli-
mate and soil, and by the energy and enterprise of
its inhabitants.
After a long period of isolation and obscurity, Boise
has emerged into the light of day and has worked
out a place for herself where her many attractions and
advantages are seen and recognized. By the provis-
ions of the state constitution, adopted in 1890, the
capital of the state was permanently fixed here for
the period of twenty years. At the close of this period
we shall have reached the end of the first decade in
the twentieth century. Then the beautiful capital city
of Idaho will be in full possession and enjoyment of
all her native and acquired resources and advantages,
ready to work out her glorious destiny under her
own sunny skies and with the natural means with
which she is so highly favored.
In the meantime, Boise will be busy getting ready
for the dawn of the more glorious era. She will be
developing and bringing into full use all her many
natural powers of progress and prosperity. She has
an intelligent and enterprising people who will make
the most of all the means and advantages which nature
has placed in their hands. Very soon every dwelling
may be lighted and heated from the great urns and
reservoirs which nature has provided. As the city
grows, the supply of natural hot water can be indefi-
nitely increased, until coal and wood will be rarely
used for fuel. Those who wish for perfect security
and exemption from fierce winds and rude winter
storms will find in the upper Boise valley the most
completely sheltered locality on the continent.
But, conceding all that the ardent lovers of Boise
claim for her, and all that she is so justly entitled
to claim for herself, in point of geographical position,
political importance, climate, soil, tree and flower
growth and picturesque beauty of surroundings, still
there is the important and vital question ever con-
fronting us: What is there here to justify a population,
already numbering eight thousand and daily increas-
ing, in hoping to find the means of a happy and pros-"
perous existence? The past is secure and quite cred-
itable to us. The present is what we see it to be.
What of the future? One of the bright day-dreams of
the inhabitants of Boise has been that the time would
soon come when we should have local manufactures.
Here, as elsewhere, by far the larger percentage of
the population are wage-earners. We can see no
reason why our dreams and our wishes in this par-
ticular should not be soon realized. All the fruits
grown in the temperate zone grow here in the rich-
est profusion. The valley of the Boise is the true
home of all the fruits, large and small, and especially
so of the prune, one of the most popular fruits known,
and one for which the demand is constantly increas-
ing. We cannot believe that the day is far distant
when we shall have canning establishments here, where
the great abundance of our surplus fruits can be pre-
pared for a market that can never be over-supplied.
The area of mining discovery and development is con-
tinually broadening and extending itself northwardly
toward the Arctic zone, and as the area becomes larger,
the means of transportation are extended to meet and
supply the. wants of the delvers for the precious metals.
Very soon every product of this beautiful and fertile
valley that can be prepared for market here, where
every facility for manufacturing exists, will meet with
ready transit and quick and profitable sale. An era
of manufacturing once set in, there are no limits to
the possibilities in this direction. The soil and cli-
mate here are admirably adapted to the cultivation of
the sugar beet, which is destined soon to "beat" the
sugar trust to death with its saccharine club. Boise
cannot hope to have a monopoly of the market for
home-made sugar; nor will she need it; but she can
supply her own market, and the surplus will always
find a ready demand.
Other points, far less favored every way, have woolen
manufactories, which have succeeded beyond the most
sanguine hopes and expectations of the enterprising
men who inaugurated them under trying and unprom-
ising beginnings. It requires no gift of prophecy to
see that we must soon have woolen manufactories.
We have long had the very stupid habit of export-
ing hides, to be transported to distant establishments
to be there manufactured into leather, shoes and har-
ness, to be then returned to us, we paying every cost
and charge, even to the rent, taxes, cost of living and
the profits of our local merchants, who kindly give
us back our hides transformed into the various articles
which we might have made ourselves. It is time that
this folly should cease. The local tannery and local
shoe and harness factory must soon be made to add
their forces to the many possibilities soon to be rea-
lized.
In spite of past mistakes, Boise is destined to be
a railroad center, just as it was the center of travel
and transportation by stages and freight wagons in
the early days. It is the natural center and radi-
ating point for Idaho, and natural causes must
produce their natural results in due time. Of Boise
as a mining center and of the mining districts imme-
diately tributary to her, it is impossible now to write
so as to do them justice. The theme is too prolific.
These resources are known and appreciated, and the
possibilities to grow out of them are already being
enjoyed. Boise has all the elements and all the natural
resources and attractive features requisite to make her
the queen of this intcrmountain region. Her people
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
have faith, hope and courage and they have fully proved
that they know how to labor and wait for the good
time that is surely coming.
The early history of the Boise schools is difficult
to obtain, as no records can be found. The oldest
settlers say that about the first free school was taught
in the small brick building now standing on the cor-
ner of Eighth and Washington streets. It was here,
in l88s, that John W. Daniels was called from the
far east to collect the educational forces of the com-
munity, then consisting of four ungraded schools, into
a graded system. One at this age cannot understand
how the crude material and possibly the cruder public
opinion were molded into a unity of thought and action
that in 1881 erected the Central school building and
established the strong system of schools that ever
since has given education to our children and great
satisfaction to our citizens. The legislature at this
time gave Boise the independent school district under
whose control the people still work.
The ground, consisting of a whole block, upon
which the Central building stands was donated for
public buildings. The building of such a structure was
a heroic deed. When we remember that the nearest
railroad station was Kelton, Utah, and that nearly
all the manufactured goods had to be freighted the
two hundred and fifty miles, at a cost of from five
to ten dollars per hundred, the enormity of the enter-
prise is apparent. When completed, the building and
furniture cost fifty thousand dollars. There are, in
it, sixteen school rooms and an office, and the whole
number of pupils accommodated is about eight hun-
dred, ninety-three of them being in the high school
(1897). The heat is furnished from the natural hot
water. Many thought it folly to erect such an immense
structure when only a small portion of it was util-
ized, but the increase in population was so great
that the Whittier school, corner of Fort and Twelfth
streets, was built in 1894. This consists of four large
rooms, airy and well furnished. The cost of the build-
ings and grounds was eight thousand six hundred dol-
lars. The unprecedented growth of the city soon
filled these buildings to overflowing. In the summer
of 1896 the Lincoln school, on Idaho and Fourth
streets, was erected, at a cost of fourteen thousand
five hundred dollars. The large halls, the six ele-
gant rooms . and the basement are models of archi-
tectural skill. No pains were spared to make this the
most attractive and the best arranged school-house
in the city.
The Wesleyan Hospital and Deaconess Home,
though comparatively new in Boise and Idaho,
having been established in 1896, has mounted
rapidly into popularity and influence by dint of
merit and substantial worth until it is recognized
as one of the best in the state. It is located on
Ninth and Eastman streets, in Hyde Park addi-
tion to Boise, where patients can have a quiet
place, fresh air and plenty of sunlight. The
rooms are tastefully furnished, well ventilated
and kept scrupulously clean and tidy. The med-
ical staff is composed of only competent and thor-
oughly qualified physicians who have had years
of experience in all kinds of medical and surgical
cases. Surgical operations of every character are
performed at this institution, wliere the most suc-
cessful and approved means are employed for the
correction of deformities and the restoration of
health to all those who are afflicted. Patients are.
left absolutely free to select any physician they
may desire.
S. M. Coffin, secretary of the Boise Chamber
of Commerce, in the Idaho Statesman of May 27,
1899, thus describes in a "nutshell" the present
prosperous and stable condition of the capital
city of the Gem of the Mountains state:
This city may well be proud of its citizens and com-
mercial solidity of its banks and business houses.
The First National Bank of Idaho was the second
national bank organized on the Pacific coast and has
since 1867 opened its doors to its depositors with
unwavering integrity. There are three thousand six
hundred and sixty-five national banks in the United
States; the number of this bank is 1668. The Boise
City National bank obtained its charter in 1886 and
is a United States depository. The deposits of both
banks aggregate over one million dollars. There are
stockholders in both banks who are worth, in cold
cash, more than the banks. The Capital State Bank'
was born in 1891 and is a solid, reliable institution.
The bankers of Boise are high-class, honorable gen-
tlemen and bankers in the truest interpretation of the
word, which is of vital importance to the public, whose
commercial blood flows through the arteries of these
institutions. And the business men of Boise are pros-
perous, shrewd and solvent, always ready to protect
their customers and maintain the high standard of
business ethics that insures commercial stability.
Boise is justified in a feeling of security in its educa-
tional institutions, which are second to none on the
coast, especially in the public schools, which are a
high standard of perfection. The Episcopal and Catho-
lic schools, are high-class and of a good standard of
discipline and management.
The churches of all denominations are ably pastored
and have large and intelligent congregations, and all
of the secret orders have cozy homes and good mem-
berships.
Boise has the finest natatorium in the United States,
being supplied with natural hot w-ater. Boise is the
only city in the United States whose dwellings and
business blocks are heated by nature in the shape of
hot water from artesian wells.
Boise has a United States assay office, military post,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
339
signal service, electric lights, telephones, electric rail-
roads and paved streets.
The sanitary conditions of the city are good. The
municipal government from Mayor Alexander to Chief
of Police Francis are the right men in the right places.
Boise has a population of ten thousand, is a city of
commercial solidity, beautiful homes, and refined, cul-
tured, Christian people who believe in their city, their
state, and their flag.
Boise has for its environments a vast and rapidly
developing mining country whose minerals consist of
gold, silver, copper, iron and lead, an agricultural and
horticultural country of such magnitude that it must
be seen to be understood; it is the home of the prune,
pear and apple; sweet flowers and sturdy people grow
on these broad acres. Irrigation companies are reclaim-
ing thousands of acres from their native aridity and
irrigation is king. Boise is the natural and actual rail-
road, mining, agricultural and commercial center in
southern Idaho.
LEWISTON.
The early history of this point is nearly all
given in the general history of Idaho on other
pages of this volume, under the various heads of
discovery, early mining, the history of the In-
dians, including the various wars with them, and
the political government of the territory, as this
town was for a time the capital of the common-
wealth.
Levviston is situated in the fork made by the
Snake and Clearwater rivers, at an average ele-
vation of only six hundred and twenty-five feet
above the sea level, and hence has the best cli-
mate of all localities in this part of the United
States. During the severe winters in the moun-
tains the earl\- miners came out to this place and
enjoyed the climate as well as they would that of
California in the winter time, — indeed much bet-
ter than they would that of the Sacramento valley
and many other highly praised localities in the
Golden state. It has been estimated that as
many as twenty thousand persons were in the
mines in this vicinity during the early '605, the
winter population of Lewiston running from ten
to twelve thousand people. These men would
touch nothing for less than ten dollars a day,
some "earnings" running up to thousands of dol-
lars a day!
The cause of the delightful character of the
climate here during the colder portion of the year
is seen in the fact that a river of warm air flows
through this valley from the heated table-lands
of Arizona, the Colorado valle>- and the dry val-
leys of northern Mexico; and possibly also the
warmth of the earth itself, as indicated by the
numerous hot springs of this and adjoining
states, has a perceptible efifect upon the super-
incumbent atmosphere. Another fact is, the air
here is dry, enabling any one to endure a far
greater degree of heat or cold than in moist air.
The average rainfall here per annum is about one
foot.
It was during the early mining period, namely
1863, that the territory of Idaho was organized,
with the capital at Lewiston. Aecordingly the
first legislature met here on the loth of Decem-
ber, that year, attended by representatives from
very distant points, now in Montana, Wyoming,
etc. About this time the gold which was easily
picked up began rapidly to disappear and the
miners naturally ran to other points from which
they chanced to hear extraordinary reports, the
transient population drifting southward to the
Owyhee country and the Boise Basin. This
stampede proved to be sufficiently permanent to
force the capital away from Lewiston to Boise
City the very next year, 1864. As related in an-
other place, when the order was given to remove
the territorial records to Boise City, the county
conmiissioners of Nez Perces county, of which
Lewiston is the county seat, enjoined the removal
of the capital, on the ground that the legislature
ordering the removal did not assemble at the re-
quired time and the members had not all taken
the oath prescribed by law. The supreme-court
justice, A. C. Smith, decided in favor of Lewis-
ton, and for ten months confusion reigned, the
territory being without an acknowledged capital,
while the governor returned to New York to
escape the controversy; nor was there even a ter-
ritorial secretary to take temporary charge of the
executive business. Finally United States Mar-
shal x\lvord received instructions to convey the
records to Boise; but the transfer had to be made
stealthily in order to avoid a riot.
The boom of early bonanza mining and the
capital both gone, nothing remained for the
building up of Lewiston excepting permanent
features, which, however, have proved to be far
greater than had been before imagined. The
location is at the head of navigation on the Snake
river, and at the mouth of the Clearwater, which
is navigable for a considerable distance. This
340
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
fact, besides the delightful climate already men-
tioned, together with the development of good
agricultural, horticultural and grazing lands in
the vicinity, has constituted a permanent founda-
tion for Lewiston's prosperity. The bench lands,
of varying heights as one approaches the moun-
tains, have proved to be first-class grain-produc-
ing grounds, the farmers often reaping thirty to
forty bushels of wheat to the acre, grain of first-
class quality, and this, too, without irrigation.
At first the Indians in the vicinity were turbu-
lent and were a great obstacle in the way of the
settlement of the country ; but at the present time
they are peaceable citizens, following agricultural
pursuits, and give to Lewiston a considerable
trade. Thus Lewiston has kept ahead of all the
northern towns of Idaho.
Very soon after the pacifying of the Indians,
the city secured the passage of an act by the legis-
lature creating it an independent school district,
and a handsome, commodious school building of
three stories was erected, at a cost of eleven
thousand dollars. The graded system was intro-
duced and has been continued with great success
ever since. In 1881 the Columbia River confer-
ence of the Methodist Episcopal church estab-
lished the Lewis Collegiate Institute here; and
subsequently the Catholics erected a large and
important structure, where their St. Aloysius
Academy was conducted. Rev. A. D. McCon-
key's school and other private educational insti-
tutions added to the city's growing importance as
a home center. At that early date it was con-
ceded that Lewiston was destined to be known
as the Athens of the northwest.
A government land office was established here
in 1875, which had jurisdiction over Nez Perces,
Idaho and Shoshone counties, which included
Latah county, segregated from Nez Perces in
1887. This office necessarily had a great amount
of business. The lands to the east are chiefly oc-
cupied as a reservation by the Nez Perces. In
1896 these lands were first sown for crops, pro-
ducing half a million bushels of wheat and pro-
portionate quantities of other grain, hay and
vegetables; and the next year the acreage was
doubled, and so on. The products of this section
are now mostly marketed at Lewiston, either by
wagon or by navigation of the Clearwater. Also
considerable l-)usincss comes to Lewiston from
across the Snake river, as far out as the Seven
Devils mining region, in Oregon and Washing-
ton. On both the east and the south the rich
rolling prairies gradually ascend until, sixty to
eighty miles distant, they fade into mountain
ranges that hold the mineral treasures that rnade
Idaho famous in the early '60s. Nearly all these
mining camps are tributary to Lewiston and form
a large part of its trade.
Not, however, until within a few years has a
railroad reached this distant point from the great
centers of civilization, the Northern Pacific hav-
ing recently completed a branch to this place,
putting it in communication with the east and
west. Other lines of railway are in contempla-
tion.
Lewiston at present has a population of about
five thousand, with two national banks, numerous
large mercantile houses, two daily newspapers
and one semi-weekly, the State Normal School,
five church edifices and flourishing congrega-
tions and the usual benevolent and fraternal or-
ganizations, which are largely supported. The
Masonic and Odd Fellows orders have handsome
structures of their own.
It is a unique and noteworthy feature of the
commercial stability of Lewiston that instead of
paying interest and dividend charges to outside
financial institutions, the town receives this
tribute from its neighbors; and consequently dur-
ing the severest periods of stagnation it continues
healthy and able while other points are depleted.
The Nez Perces Indians are indeed among the
wealthiest people of the country, and their trade
alone brings a hundred thousand dollars a year
into the city. The general government expends
annually fifty thousand dollars upon the Indian
industrial school and in the maintenance of the
agency, both situated but a few miles out of town,
and this money is largely poured into the coffers
of the citizens of Lewiston.
The government is at work on the dalles of
the Oregon river constructing a canal around the
falls, in order to render navigation uninterrupted
between Lewiston and the high seas.
RST NATIONAL BANK
This solid and ably conducted financial institu-
tion of Lewiston was founded in 1883 by J. P.
\'o!lnier; ex-Governor M. C. Moore, of ^^'ash-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
341
ington: William 0"Donnell, of Walla Walla,
Washington; Wallace Scott, of Grangeville; and
R. Schlicher, of Lewiston, and was capitalized
for fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Vollmer was
elected its president and has since remained in
charge of the affairs of the bank in that capacity,
his administration proving most acceptable and
satisfactory. The history of the bank is a record
of remarkable success, there being now a surplus
of fifty thousand dollars, ninety-two thousand
dollars of undivided profits and a reserve fund of
forty-five thousand dollars, and the bank has re-
turned to the stockholders the original stock and
thirty per cent additional. On the roll of honor
of the thirty-three hundred national banks of the
United States the First National of Lewiston
holds the thirty-fourth place — surely a most cred-
itable record. The present officers are J. P. Voll-
mer, president; Ralston Vollmer, vice-president;
and E. W. Eaves, cashier. The directors are J.
P. Vollmer, W. Scott, A. W. Krontinger, C. V.
Shearer and Ralston Vollmer. A general com-
mercial banking business is carried on, and the
First National is regarded as the strongest and
safest financial institution of the state.
THE LEWISTON NATIONAL BANK
This is one of the strongest banking institu-
tions in the state. It was founded August 9,
1883, by William F. Kettenbach, John Brearley
and others. Mr. Brearley was elected its presi-
dent, but lived only a short time after its organi-
zation, when Mr. Kettenbach was chosen his suc-
cessor and served in that capacity, with remark-
able ability and fidelity, until his life's labors were
ended in death, September 9, 1891. fiis brother,
F. W. Kettenbach, was then elected to the presi-
dency, and held that office until January i, 1897,
when he was succeeded by Daniel M. White,
whose death occurred December 11, 1898. The
vacancy thus occasioned was supplied by the
election of W. F. Kettenbach, the son of the
founder of the bank, to the presidency. Al-
though only twenty-four years of age at the time,
he had previously filled, in a most capable man-
ner, almost all the lesser positions in the bank,
and he now has the honor of being the youngest
hank president in the United States.
The capital stock of the bank at its organiza-
tion was fifty thousand dollars, and there is now
a surplus of fifty thousand and undivided profits
amounting to si.x thousand dollars. The bank
has had a most prosperous and honorable
career and has been enabled to pay to
its stockholders ever since its organization
a semi-annual dividend of five per cent. It
does a general commercial banking busi-
ness, sells exchange on all parts of the world,
and owns its magnificent bank building, which is
constructed of magnesia stone, being three stories
in height. It was built by Mr. W. F. Kettenbach
during his presidency of the bank, at a cost of
forty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, and is
considered the finest bank block in Idaho. The
main floor is splendidly equipped for banking
purposes, and the other floors are divided into
office suites, the rental of which is four hundred
dollars monthly.
POCATELLO.
This, the "Gate City of Idaho," was named in
memory of the doughty old chief of the Bannack
Indians, a band of surly savages who formerly
roved over the Snake river plains and kept the
pioneers of civilization uneasy. The city is sit-
uated at the intersection of the Oregon Short
Line and the Utah & Northern Railroads, and
has a commanding location at the natural gate-
way to the great northwest of the region west of
the Rocky mountains. By its railroad facilities
— lines from the east, the west, the north and the
south meeting within its limits — it controls the
freight traffic from the east and the great Missis-
sippi valley and the trans-Mississippi centers of
commerce to the northwest coast and growing
commonwealths of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
\\'ashington.
Sixteen years ago this site was a sage-brush
covered plain; to-day there is a city here with a
population of five thousand, with handsome brick
business blocks, fine private residences, the finest
school edifices in the state and prosperous busi-
ness enterprises. Its growth and prosperity have
been phenomenal. Only nine years ago the place
was without a substantial building of any descrip-
tion ; to-day it numbers its brick and stone blocks
and residences by the score.
Topographically, the city is located at the head
of the Port Neuf valley and on the banks of the
river of that name, a tributary to the magnificent
old Snake river. .\t the foot of the citv lie the
342
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
broad level plains of the Port Xeuf valley, com-
prising as rich and fertile land as any in the west.
They stretch out in level distances as far as the
eye can carry the vision and until they meet the
still broader and equally fertile plains of the
Snake river valley. Behind the city the broken
spurs of the Wasatch range rear their rugged
sides and rocky peaks, rich in all the minerals
that have made the golden west great.
In 1882 the Oregon Short Line Railway was
completed, connecting the Oregon Railway &
Navigation line in the west with the main line of
the Union Pacific in the east. In the same year
the Pacific Hotel was built and the division
headquarters of the railroad established here,
which have remained here ever since. Pocatello
then consisted of the hotel and store of the Fort
Hall Indian trader, it being almost in the geo-
graphical center of the Fort Hall Indian reserva-
tion. The railroad company had a grant of some
two hundred acres of land here, and it was a con-
venient point for an overland eating-house. This
state of things called the hotel into existence, but
at the same time the wildest flights of imagination
saw no prospects of a great city in the future.
The railroad company, however, early began
to see the advantages of the situation. With the
completion of the Utah & Northern line, north
and south, Pocatello became the natural location
for the great shops of the united lines, and ac-
cordingly, in 1886, the shops, which had been lo-
cated at Eagle Rock, were removed to Pocatello
and very much enlarged. This enterprise at once
brought four or five hundred men, many of them
with families, to Pocatello, and for their accom-
modation the railroad company began the erec-
tion of the neat dwellings which constitute what
is known as Company Row, and these were the
first residences built in Pocatello. The first to
occupy any of these were J. M. Bennett and wife;
he was superintendent of bridges and buildings
on this division. The depot, which had been
completed the previous year, was dedicated with
a grand ball in October.
Pocatello was a booming town in those days,
a tvpical frontier town, and almost the last that
the United States has seen. Money was plenti-
ful and flowing freely, and the restraints of law
and the effete features of eastern civilization were
scarcely noticeable. Immigrants rushed in, with
money and enterprise, even faster than room
could be found for them, for the railroad com-
pany owned the only available land, the rest of
the land belonging to the Indians. Squatters
were ordered of¥ the reservation and their
"shacks" pulled down.
Something had to be done. In 1886 there were
six hundred people in Pocatello and more crowd-
ing in every day. At this juncture the railroad
company began to permit people to build on their
right of way. and, as if by magic, a city of
"shacks" and shanties, devoted to all kinds of
business, sprang up on what has since been called
the plaza — the broad, open space around the
hotel and office buildings — and where the parks
are located. The town did not present a very
commanding appearance, but was accomplishing
an immense amount of business. Directly after
the town site was thrown open to market the
"shacks" were torn down and better structures
were under way.
One of the first buildings erected in the town
was a school-house, in which school was opened
in 1887, with Miss Brooks as teacher. The citi-
zens, however, were often in sore straits for
money to keep the schools going: but private
subscriptions and benefit entertainments were al-
ways found in time, and since its founding the
city of Pocatello has always maintained a high
reputation for its schools. To-day it has two
public-school edifices and also a handsome pri-
vate academy, unexcelled in the state.
The crowding of a pushing and enterprising
population into the narrow limits of the railroad
right of way at once resulted in agitation for
more room. Delegate Dubois was appealed to
for relief. Barbecues and "big talks" were held
with the red men of the tribes of the Bannacks
and Shoshones at Fort Hall. The braves were
fed and petted and finally agreed to a treaty sell-
ing two thousand acres of land to the United
States for a town site, and Mr. Dubois promptly
had a bill passed by congress ratifying this
treaty.
In June. 1889, the town site was surveyed, and
the next sunmier the lots were sold at public auc-
tion. Pocatello had in the meantime grown to a
city of between thirty and thirty-five hundred
population. Long previously the people had
overflowed the extreme limits of the railroad
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
343
lands and were squatted all over the town site.
Many of them, indeed, had erected buildings of
considerable pretensions, and it was feared that
there might be some trouble when the sale took
place: but fortunately everything passed off
quietly. A committee of citizens was organized,
and when a lot with improvements on it was of-
fered for sale a member of this committee an-
nounced that Mr. had improvements on
it and asked outsiders not to bid; and this request
was honored excepting in one instance, and then
the bidder was soon persuaded to withdraw his
bid. Thus most of the people who had gone
ahead and built houses secured their property by
the payment of ten to fifty dollars per lot, the
appraised value. A large number of speculators
were present, who bought many outside lots,
which were held for a time, some of them for a
number of years.
With the sale of the city lots, building started
with a rush. Substantial business blocks and
handsome residences sprang up everywhere as
by magic. The old "shacks" came down by the
hundreds and parks were laid out on their sites.
The city now has many fine business blocks and
residences, and every modern improvement that
might be expected in a thriving western town
occupied by the most intelligent people from the
east.
The municipal history of Pocatello is compar-
atively simple and brief. The community was
organized as a village in the spring of 1889, prev-
ious to which time there was no definite govern-
ment, being situated on an Indian reservation
and no one knowing who was in authority. Dep-
uty marshals and deputy sherififs were constantly
present, but the people did about as they pleased.
The village organization in 1889 was too late for
the spring election that year, and the board of
county commissioners of old Bingham county
appointed the first board of trustees, for this pur-
pose naming H. L. Becraft as chairman, and D.
K. Williams, A. F. Caldwell, L. A. West and Dr.
Davis as trustees. Sam Gundaker was appointed
the first town marshal, but soon resigned, and W.
S. Hopson was appointed in his place. At the
city election in the spring of 1890, C. S. Smith
was elected chairman of the board of trustees and
J. H. Shuffleberger, John G. Brown, A. F. Cald-
well and D. K. Williams trustees. James Scan-
Ion was elected town marshal, and J. F. :Myers
treasurer.
In 1891 D. Swinehart was elected chairman
and A. F. Caldwell, D. W. Church, John S.
Baker and George Green trustees; E. G. Gallett,
clerk; J. I. Frantz, treasurer; and W. S. Hop-
son, marshal. In 1892 J. M. Bennett was elected
chairman and Al. Davis, W. B. Eldredge, James
Connors and Jack Gorman trustees; E. G. Gal-
lett, re-elected clerk; M. C. Senter, treasurer;
and W. S. Hopson, marshal.
By special enactment of the legislature of 1892-
1893 Pocatello was erected into a city of the first
class. It was divided into four wards, and in the
spring of 1893 elected a mayor, eight councilmen
and a full city ticket. Edward Stein was chosen
mayor by a plurality of six. Ed. Sadler was
elected city clerk, J. J. Curl city treasurer, and
J. F. Connor police magistrate. The council-
men were George Griffith, A. M. Bagley, M.
Condon, Al. Miller, F. H. Murphy, J. H. Shuf-
fleberger, W. J. Harvey and E. P. Blickensderfer.
The mayor, clerk and treasurer are elected for
one year, and the police magistrate for two years.
The aldermanic term also is two years, but at the
first election one-half the number were elected
for one-year terms, so that, according to custom,
one-half the council can be chosen each spring
while the other half hold over.
In the election of 1894 Ben Bean was elected
mayor, Ed. Sadler clerk and J. F. Kane treas-
urer. The councilmen elected were J. G. Sand-
ers, John Fusz, T. B. Smith and Tim Farrell, —
Griffith, Condon, Murphy and Harvey holding-
over. In 1895 W. F. Kasiska was elected mayor,
W. D. Johnston clerk, A. W. Criswell treasurer,
T. A. Johnston police magistrate, and M. M.
O'Malley, J. Bistline, Felix Van Reuth and Eph.
Miller councilmen.
Politically, honors have been about even. On
the state ticket the Republicans usually carry
Pocatello by fair majorities, but in municipal
contests the honors have been almost evenly di-
vided between the Republicans and Democrats,
the Populists scarcely ever electing a man.
Financially, Pocatello keeps itself in good con-
dition. It spends over two thousand dollars a
year for electric light, and about the same amount
for water, and also about the same or a little
more for the fire department. For salaries of of-
344
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ficers, about fifteen hundred dollars represents
the disbursement, while the annual income has
been about eighteen hundred to two thousand
dollars. The city started out with an indebted-
ness of about twenty thousand dollars, which has
since been reduced.
By an act of the legislature of 1892-3 the lower
end of Bingham county was cut ofif and the
county of Bannock created, with Pocatello as
the county-seat, thus making this city the capital
of one of the best counties of Idaho. The coun-
ty contains scores of the very finest agricultural
valleys in the state, besides high lands that are
unsurpassed as cattle and sheep ranges. Soon
after its organization, the county sold its six per
cent, bonds at a very handsome profit. It is
therefore on a cash basis, with first-class credit.
Abundant building material is to be had at
the very doors of the city. Two miles west of
the place a quarry is worked which is practically
inexhaustible, from which the stone was taken to
build some of the finest structures in the city, and
even used for trimming when other stone is used
for the body. Although soft when first taken
from the quarry, and easily worked, it hardens on
exposure to the weather. It is a light gray in
color and is pronounced by experts to be as fine
a building material as any in the country. An-
other quarry, of much harder rock, is worked at
a short distance south of the city. The stone
is a very close-grained and hard sandstone, and
has been used for the construction of the great
storage basin of the Pocatello water-works. Its
supply also is without limit.
Some buildings here have been constructed of
semi-lava boulders, which are abundant on the
southern section of the town site, but they are
hard to work and not handsome in a wall. The
clay in the vicinity of the city is good for brick,
and hence all the brick used here is home-made,
and is excellent both in quality and appearance.
At times the brickmakers here have been rushed
with work.
The Pocatello opera-house is one of the pret-
tiest in the west. It was completed in 1893, at
a cost of thirty thousand dollars, is a,three-storv
brick structure, trimmed with "reservation"
stone. The seating capacity is five hundred on
the main floor and two hundred and fifty in
the gallery. The stage is fifty by twentv-seven
feet and is furnished with nine full sets of
scenery.
The Pavilion, a large amusement hall, is the
scene of most of the balls that are so popular
here. It is a large frame building with' an ample
and excellent dancing floor, well lighted and
admirably adapted for orchestral and exhibition
purposes.
The Pacific Hotel was practically the first
house built in Pocatello. It is a large, barn-like
two-story frame, with Mansard roof, and has
over fifty rooms. It was originally built for the
accommodation of overland travel and the rail-
road employees at this point. The fare at this
hostelry is very good. The Pocatello House is
a handsome three-story brick building, com-
pleted in 1893, at a cost of about fifteen thousand
dollars. It has forty rooms, but is strictly a
lodging house rather than a hotel for the tran-
sient public. It is well kept. The Hanks Hotel
is a three-story brick structure, furnished with
steam heat and electric light, like the other
houses just mentioned, and is equipped with the
modern conveniences. This hostelry is con-
ducted by Mrs. Hanks, a model landlady.
Pocatello has a magnificent water-works sys-
tem, ample for a city of thirty thousand inhabi-
tants. There are two immense reservoirs, with
a combined capacity of over four million gallons.
The upper reservoir is five hundred and sixty-
two feet above the highest point in the city, and
therefore gives force enough to the hydrants
throughout the city to serve any emergency.
The water supply, indeed, is an ideal one.
The system was conceived by J. J. Cusic, who
in 1890 appropriated the water for its supply
from Gibson Jack and Mink creeks, two tribu-
taries of the Port Neuf that flow from the moun-
tains south of the city. In 189T he and Dr. F. D.
Toms began the work of constructing the reser-
voirs and flumes and also a large dam in Gibson
Jack creek. The next year the Pocatello Water
Company was incorporated, with J. J. Cusic, F.
D. Toms, A. F. Caldwell. T. F. Terrell and E. J.
Adams as members, and the capital stock was
placed at one hundred thousand dollars. In Oc-
tober of that year the system was completed and
in operation. Early in 1893 James A. Murdock,
a Butte capitalist, purchased the entire plant and
proceeded to make extensive improvements.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
345
The water is as pure as crystal, coming from
a natural reservoir of granite, shale and slate
high up in the mountains, four miles above the
reservoirs, and through a covered flume which
has a capacity of four million gallons every
twenty-four hours. The lower reservoir, used as
the service basin, has a capacity of four hun-
dred thousand gallons, is three hundred feet
lower than the other, but is two hundred and
sixty-two feet above the highest point in the city,
as already mentioned. The water rate, for all
purposes, is fixed by a commission appointed by
the common council.
Pocatello has an electric-light plant second to
none in cities even of twice its size. The Port
Neuf river has been harnessed and furnishes the
power that lights the streets, business houses and
homes of the city. In round figures, the plant
cost forty-five thousand dollars, and has a ca-
pacity sufficient to furnish light for a city twice
the size of Pocatello and a water power ample
for a plant many times the size of the present
one.
For the construction and maintenance of this
enterprise, as well as for purposes of irrigation,
The Pocatello Power & Irrigation Company was
organized in 1895. But long before that date a
citizen named Dan Swinehart, who came here
in 1888 as a butcher, conceived the feasibility of
the enterprise here described, and despite much
ridicule and discouragement from many friends
proceeded to inaugurate the improvements neces-
sary to the undertaking. He was elected the
first mayor of the city, and such^was his faith in
its future growth and prosperity that he erected
the first brick block in Pocatello, the "Pioneer"
block, a handsome structure.
In July, 1892, on the very next day after the
town site was thrown open to the market, Mr.
Swinehart took up the water right that is to-day
the life of the Pocatello electric-light plant, and
posted his notices appropriating six thousand
inches of water from the Port Neuf river for
electric-light, power and irrigating purposes.
He had his surveys made and plans for the plant
made up, which plans called for an expenditure
of thirty thousand dollars. He found most of
the people incredulous and many of them even
ridiculing his project, and even claiming that he
could not develop as much as a six-horse power
and that Pocatello was not going to be much of
a city anyway! But he persevered, and in the
autumn of 1892 built a dam across the Port Neuf
between C and D streets northwest, and cut the
ditch and finished the canal to the power-house
site. •
The power-house was erected in June, 1893,
and furnished with the finest machinery that
could be purchased at the time, comprising two
Thomson-Houston one-thousand-candle-power
incandescent-light dynamos and one Thomson-
Houston fifty-light arc dynamo. February 22d
the machinery started and the light began to
blaze in the city. Previously a small concern
known as the Pocatello Electric Light & Tele-
phone Company supplied a number of electric
lights, with power from the railroad shops. Mr.
Swinehart bought its franchises and property
and incorporated them with his own. But soon
after he commenced operation he was met by a
new difficulty which at first seemed insurmount-
able, namely, his dam caused the Port Neuf to
overflow the land adjoining the pond and many
damage suits were brought against him ; but this
was overcome by his purchase of the land in
question, in part, and condemnation of the rest.
Afterward he raised a levee along the bank of
the river on the east side, which prevents all over-
flow, and now he enjoys the enhanced value of
the land.
By the beginning of the year 1894 all difficul-
ties were cleared away, but by this time the en-
terprise had cost him forty-five thousand dollars.
In 1895 Mr. Swinehart sold his institution to a
company consisting of himself and C. W. Spauld-
ing, F. W. Smith and A. D. Averill, of Chicago,
and it was incorporated under the laws of Illi-
nois, under the name of the Pocatello Power &
Irrigation Company. The capital stock, one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, is all paid up.
Mr. Swinehart, who holds one-third of the stock,
is the president and general manager.
The prospects for valuable minerals in the
mountains adjacent to Pocatello began to attract
attention in the early '60s; but the hostility of
the Indians, added to the excitement caused by
the fabulously rich strikes in the Boise country,
prevented any active work in this region, and
indeed any thorough prospecting.
In 1868 the Fort Hall reservation was set
346
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
apart for tlie benefit of the Shoshones and Ban-
nacks ; and as white men were forbidden to tres-
pass upon the reservation and the Indians were
troublesome, the rich minerals hidden in the
mountains here were lost sight of until after the
town of Pocatello had sprung into existence.
Then people began to speculate on what might
be in the hills. Occasionally a rich piece of float
was picked up on the reservation, and at length
this set men to looking for what they could find.
In the course of a few years men by the hundred
came to Pocatello, many of whom waited for
months, and even years, for an opportunity to
get at the hills.
The mountains south of Pocatello are known
to contain vast deposits of copper, silver and
gold, as demonstrated by many outcroppings
that give promise of the most fabulous richness.
]\Iany assays from the rock have been made, and
they run up into the thousands. The agent in
charge of the reservation, however, has been
strict in enforcing the treaty laws. In the sum-
mer of 1893 a company of Pocatello men dis-
covered a copper ledge of marvelous promise on
Belle Marsh creek on the reservation, and made
a determined effort to work it. They put a force
of men to work there and uncovered a ledge for
a distance of a hundred feet and found a well
defined ledge six feet wide of wonderfully rich
copper ore. They worked it until twice warned
of? by the Indian agent, and quit only when they
were finally threatened with arrest. Experts
who have examined this property pronounce it
as promising as any in the west.
Also, during the same summer, a strong com-
pany of capitalists of Pocatello, Butte and Salt
Lake City, organized and made an effort to se-
cure a lease of the mineral lands on the reserva-
tion; but other men in Pocatello, who had been
watching prospects and opportunity for years,
entered a protest and the interior department at
Washington refused to grant the lease. The
same year still another attempt was made to ob-
tain permission to develop mines on this reserva-
tion, by a Pocatello organization, but it also
failed. In 1891 some very rich galena was dis-
covered about two miles east of Pocatello, — so
rich, in fact, that it almost created a stampede
here to the point, and miners from other parts
of Idaho and from Utah and from Nevada
rushed to the scene and began digging vigorous-
ly. The signs were most encouraging, but the In-
dian agent again came down upon them and drove
them all off the reservation. During the sum-
mer of 1895 there was found ore assaying thirty-
three .dollars to the ton in a quartz cropping in
the mountains just south of the city. Accord-
ing to the testimony of all the old-timers in this
region there are many rich deposits of the re-
spective valuable minerals in nearly all the moun-
tains in Bannock county, but the particulars can-
not be given to a great extent, on account of the
severely executed prohibitory laws made in
treaty with the Indians. Even coal, apparently
in paying quantities, has been discovered at vari-
ous points. Also, some very fine specimens of
asbestos have, been exhibited, obtained in the
hills near Pocatello. Apparently there is enough
of this material here to make a whole community
rich. Of the fine building stone here we have
spoken in our sketch of the city of Pocatello.
KENDRICK AND THE POTLATCH EMPIRE.
Perhaps no more adequate description of the
"Metropolis of the Potlatch Empire" can be giv-
en than that which is afforded by the following
extracts from a special edition of the Kendrick
Gazette:
Kendrick is located at the junction of the Bear creek
and Potlatch river, on the southern boundary line of
Latah county, and on account of her location in respect
to the geographical lay of the Potlatch country, has
been appropriately named the Metropolis of the Pot-
latch Empire. The Palouse branch of the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company furnishes its transportation
facilities.
Nestled between hills, nature has made her the
natural and logical location for a town, by breaking
the walls that protect her with gulches through which
lead the roads to the various ridges, the scenes of her
resources. These ridges, divided by gulches through
which flow beautiful streams, form what are known as
the Potlatch, American, Big and Little Bear. Texas,
Fix and Cedar Creek Ridges, which, with their prolific
soil, are among Kendrick's resources. It might well
be said that Kendrick was born of necessity, from the
fact that the resources of the Potlatch naturally sought
an outlet at her doors, through easy and accessible
routes, generously supplied by nature.
With her strongest competitors — Moscow, about
thirty miles north, and Lewiston, thirty miles south-
west,— Kendrick must remain for an indefinite period
of time the metropolis of some of the finest agricultural,
timber and mineral country in the northwest.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ZVi
Draw a circle with a radius of seven mijes from
Kendrick and you include the territory known as the
Potlatch Empire, being about evenly divided between
the counties of Latah and Nez Perces. Nowhere are a
people more favored than those of the Potlatch, with
their rolling fields of rich black soil and invigorating
climate. The gentle zephyrs that steal across the hills
to kiss the waving fields of grain, are purified and
scented with occasional belts of tapering pines, that
stand as barricades to moderate the hot winds, and
allow him who toils to reap.
Scarcely fifteen years ago, the hardy pioneer drove
his team across these hills in search of better land,
rather than take these rolling prairies, that annually
blossom with the luxuriant crops that have made her
famous. The Potlatch knows no crop failure, and her
people appreciate the fertility of its soil. Scarcely eight
years have passed away since the whistle of the iron-
horse broke the somber stillness of these hills and
prairies, to furnish the transportation facilities for the
shipment of her produce to the markets of the world.
The thrift and energy of the people soon asserted itself,
and the fields that once fed bands of cattle were trans-
formed into waving fields of grain. In the spring-time
the scene on the various ridges is one of unusual
splendor, with the fields robed in green stretching out
to the foot-hills in the distance. In no section can a
more enterprising class of people be found than those
of the Potlatch. Between the citizens of the town and
those of the country the best of feelings exists, which
harmonizes all the phases that enter into the progress
and welfare of the Potlatch Empire in general.
Scarcely had the outlines of the town that was des-
tined to become the keystone of the Potlatch assumed
shape ere the energy and enterprise that have character-
ized its existence were asserted by the building of roads
to the various ridges. To-day Kendrick's location,
with roads leading in from all sides, might well be com-
pared with the hub of a wheel, that holds its position
through the spokes. Each serves as an avenue of re-
source, which year by year strengthens with the devel-
opment of the country and contributes towards the
healthy progress of the town.
With such a scope of fine agricultural land, superbly
adapted to the raising of fruits, at her doors, which is
the basis of all manufactures, the questions of power,
space and shipping facilities naturally come up, which
find answer in the force of her position. Just above the
town empties Bear creek into the Potlatch river, a
beautiful stream of clear, running water, which takes
its source from mountain springs. With numerous trib-
utaries it taps valuable forests of timber. Fir. cedar,
yellow and white-pine timber tracts line the banks of
both streams.
The current of the river is strong; the waters have
about thirty feet fall in every one thousand yards.
Along the banks of the stream are many beautiful sites
for mills. In the corporate limits of the town the river
has a fall of thirty-eight feet in one thousand yards,
which, with the body of water that runs continually the
year around, would furnish power to operate a number
of mills. With the expenditure of but little money the
stream could be cleared sufficiently to drive logs down
to mills, where shipping facilities can be had on the
Palouse branch of the Northern Pacific railway. With
such a water-power and mill sites in abundance, Ken-
drick offers advantages to manufacturers superior to
any town in the country. A tiouring mill and a tannery
are numbered among the successful industrial enter-
prises established here.
Another important and attractive feature of Ken-
drick's location is in respect to her superior advantages
for maintaining a system of water works. With a
gradual slope towards the west, the lay of the ground
furnishes a perfect system of drainage and sewerage.
The climate is exceptional. High hills protect the
town from winds, making a difference in the climate of
the top of the hills and Kendrick of from ten to twenty
degrees. The summers are delightful. The days from
twilight to sunset lengthen to about sixteen hours.
With the going down of the sun a refreshing breeze
blows across the country to fan the brow of the weary
toiler. The winters are free from severe blizzards, so
common to other parts of the country, and last from
eight to ten weeks. Mountain ranges protect it from
the chilling blasts from the north, while the warm
southwest winds sweep across the country melting the
snow, which soaks into the soil for the summer's moist-
ure. Here is where the man who toils may sleep with
comfort, for the nights are cool and refreshing.
Kendrick has reason to feel proud of her public
schools and houses of worship. The public schools are
chief among the hopes and aspirations of the people,
and to-day her schools stand in the highest ranks of the
educational institutions of the public-school system.
The high standard that the public school has attained
has been one of the potent factors in making Kendrick
a town of homes. Four religious denominations, in-
cluding the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and United
Brethren, look after the religious welfare of the com-
munity.
On October 15. 1890, on petition of H. L. Frost, the
pioneer editor of Kendrick, and others, the town of
Kendrick was incorporated. The first board of trustees
were: Thomas Kirby, the founder of Kendrick, Cap-
tain J. M. Walker, president of the Lincoln Hardware
& Implement Company, and one of our most progres-
sive citizens: M. C. Normoyle, the genial proprietor
of the St. Elmo Hotel; E. V. Nichols, until recently
proprietor of the Pioneer City dray, and now of Nez
Perces; E. Kaufman, of the well known firm of Dern-
ham & Kaufman, at present manager of their large
main store at Moscow. These practical business men
held the reins of the city government and wisely guided
its infant steps, so that it has kept free from debt in
assuming premature improvements.
The advantages of Kendrick's location for a town
were due to the foresight of Thomas Kirby, who saw
at a glance its superior advantages. Mr. Kirby also
showed equally good judgment in selecting men to asso-
348
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
ciate with him in the building of the "Hub of the Pot-
latch." Aside from the officials of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company, he associated with him such prac-
tical business men as G. E. Potter, deceased, of Colfax;
G. Holbrook, Colfax; Hon. J. C. Lawrence. Water-
ville; W. White, of Colfax. Washington; J. P. Voll-
mer, of Lewiston; and R. D. McConnell and James
Grimes, of Moscow.
The streets of the growing burg had hardly assumed
their definite outlines when the handful of business men
organized themselves into a board of trade to com-
mence aggressive work for the upbuilding of the new
town. All was activity. New businesses were opening
up. the extension of the Palouse branch of the North-
ern Pacific Railway was built into Kendrick in the
winter of l8go, the first train arriving on February 4,
1891. From that day on new life entered the people,
and progress was made the watchword. On July 4.
1890, the day on which Idaho's star was placed on Old
Glory, as one of the states of the Union, with no cover-
ing but the blue-arching canopy of heaven, the first
issue of the Advocate, the forerunner of the Gazette,
was issued.
With all lines of business represented, the march of
progress began under favorable circumstances, build-
ings were looming up on all sides, enterprises were
being launched, the future looked hopeful and bright,
until the i6th day of August, 1892, when a disastrous
fire swept over the town, completely destroying six
blocks of business and entailing a loss approximating
about one hundred thousand dollars. The town had
hardly been in existence two years, yet. with the same
energy and enterprise that characterized its former
progress, the citizens, undaunted and undismayed, im-
mediately began the work of rebuilding, and in three
months afterward nine substantial brick buildings had
risen out of the ruins.
The spirit of progress did not cease, and in January
of 1893 electric lights illuminated the streets and build-
ings. In the spring of 1894 two fires occurred within
a week of each other, destroying one and one-half
blocks with a heavy loss. The panic of 1893, with its
depressing influence, naturally served as a check on
enterprises that demanded capital to push them, and
the people, ever wide-awake and alert, inaugurated
the immigration movement, for the purpose of showing
the advantages and resources of the Potlatch Empire.
The work has been carried on through the efforts of the
Potlatch Immigration Association, which is distributing
descriptive literature throughout the east. The fruit-
growers, ever alert to their interests, have organized
the Potlatch Horticultural Association.
With such unlimited resources of agriculture, timber
and mineral, Kendrick's future must be one of progress.
Her citizens, ever mindful of the needs of the Potlatch.
stand ready to put their shoulders to the wheel of prog-
ress. No discordant element or factions characterize
their movements; a perfect unanimity of sentiment pre-
vails. No legitimate enterprise has ever gone begging
for support.
The financial condition of the city commends itself
to the investor. The city is practically out of debt, as
the present tax money, about due, will have wiped out
the last vestige of indebtedness, there being no bonded,
only a warrant, indebtedness. The assessed valuation
of the property of the city is $98,960. and the tax levy
is eight mills.
Kendrick is one of the nearest railroad points to the
Nez Perce reservation, which was thrown open to set-
tlement on the i8th day of November, 1895. This ter-
ritory embraces about seven hundred and fifty thousand
acres of some of the finest timber and agricultural land
in the Northwest, and in many respects shares the
advantages of the Potlatch.
If there is any one attractive feature of the Potlatch.
it is the adaptability of her soil and climate for the
raising of fruits. With an elevation much lower than
that of the Palouse country, and protected from the
north winds by mountain ranges, the country receives
the benefit of the soft, exhilarating winds that sweep up
the Columbia and Clearwater valleys from the Pacific
ocean, which makes it warmer. The success that has
been attained in raising fruit might be considered phe-
nomenal. The fruit is especially free from defects and
blemishes so common to fruit, and to-day the fame of
the Potlatch fruit has spread to such an extent that a
ready market has been found in the east at remuner-
ative prices to the grower. It is but a question of a
few years until these slopes and benches will have
become dotted with blossoming orchards, and a new
source of revenue added to the farmer's income.
During the season of 1894 about twenty-seven thou-
sand dollars were expended by the farmers for fruit
trees, with proportionate amounts since, and to-day
within a radius of, seven miles from Kendrick there are
three thousand acres of land given up to orchards. The
short time in which these orchards thrive and bear
relieves fruit-growing of much of the monotony that
is experienced in some sections of the country, in wait-
ing from eight to ten years for the trees to come into
bearing. An attractive feature of growing fruit in the
Potlatch is, that the trouble and expense of irrigation
is unnecessary, as the tree draws its moisture from the
soil, which gives the fruit a soundness and luscious
flavor. In this, nature has favored the Potlatch w-ith a
lavish hand.
A peculiar characteristic of the climate of the Pot-
latch is that the occasional frosts seldom aflfect the fruits.
While this assertion may appear as preposterous to
the fruit-grower in the east, who frequently sees his
crop fail because of frost, yet this fact will be substan-
tiated by any of the fruit-growers here. The reason
of this is attributed to the fact that there are draughts
of air continually passing through the canyon which
naturally draws the frosty air down. In one or two
particular years, where the springs ha\e been unusually
late, and especially of the spring of 1896, instances are
cited where the blossoms on the trees have frozen solid,
yet causing no material damage to the fruit crops.
.^side from the prizes that have been awarded to the
HISTORY OF IDAHO
349
Potlatch fruit-growers at the annual fruit fairs at
Spokane, Washington, one of a national character that
bears testimony to the superior quality of the fruit was
awarded by the World's Fair commission, in the shape
of a medal and diploma to John Hepler, of the Pot-
latch, for the best exhibit of poraaceous fruit. The
exhibit was of eight varieties of apples and the medal
and diploma were awarded on the decision of the com-
mittee that the apples were free from blemishes and
defects, and recommended the fruit as an excellent
marketable fruit.
The experience of the last few years has demonstrated
that the climate and soil are especially adapted to the
raising of apples, prunes, cherries and berries, while
other fruits do remarkably well. In view of the increase
in the orchard acreage, and the interest that is being
centered around this infant industry, it is only a matter
of a few years when the chief occupation of the people
will be raising fruit. This industry is yet but in its in-
fancy, and still the records show that one hundred and
twenty-seven carloads of fruit were shipped in 1898.
Another industry that is connected with fruit-raising
is the drying of fruit. The progress and success of dry-
ing fruit has kept pace with the other improvements,
and to-day the Potlatch dried prunes are finding ready
sales in outside markets. Numerous individual dryers
are in operation, and the product is of an excellent
flavor. Dried prunes, pears and apples are the
product.
While a good climate is an absolute necessity to the
raising of fruits, cereals and vegetation, a rich soil is a
necessity as well. The soil of the Potlatch is of a rich
black loam, and might appropriately be called "vegeta-
tion rot," and lies at various depths, from eighteen
inches to four feet. Underlying the soil, a strata of clay
is found which helps retain the moisture in the soil by
refusing to let it seep away. This is what contributes
so much toward her luxuriant crops of fruit, cereals
and vegetation. The country is remarkably free from
pestilence, very few squirrels have been found, and only
in the land in close proximity to the rimrock do the
crops suffer from heat. The experiments of the last few
seasons have proven beyond doubt that corn, which it
was thought could not be grown on account of the cool
nights, will do exceedingly well here. The corn of the
past seasons, while growing to a remarkable height,
has produced well. Sorghum cane grows well. All
kinds of vegetables, such as potatoes, beans, turnips,
produce enormously. Wheat yields on an average of
thirty-five and forty bushels per acre, while there are
instances where eighty-acre tracts have yielded si.xty
bushels through and through, — such are common.
Oats, barley, rye and flax and other varieties do equally
as well. The production of cereals has grown from
fifty thousand bushels in 1890 to about eight hundred
thousand bushels in 1898, and with the constant en-
croachment of the new settlers upon the timbered foot-
hills, and the farming of the section lying idle, this will
be greatly increased in the next few years. Two hun-
dred and seventy-five thousand bushels of wheat were
shipped in i8g8.
There is no industry that asserts a more potent in-
fluence in the progress of a town than that of mining.
As capital is necessary to develop mining property,
pay-rolls are made, and that is the backbone of a town.
It creates a substantial form of improvement, that rep-
resents capital and gives confidence and activity. Ken-
drick receives much of her trade from several large
quartz and placer mines which are tributary to her.
Another resource which already gives promise of
great benefit to the future prosperity of Kendrick is
the vast body of timber which stretches eastward from
Kendrick. Fine bodies of cedar, yellow and white pine
are to be found in the region of country at the source
of the Potlatch river. The state has selected a large
portion of this timber and will soon place it upon the
market for sale. The diminishing of the white-pine
forests in the east is naturally causing them to turn
their attention towards the west for their future supply.
Several syndicates have been here during the last few
years, investigating this body of timber, and surveys
made by lumbering men show that the most feasible
and available route for putting it on the market is
down the Potlatch river to Kendrick. The Potlatch,
with but a comparatively small expense, can be driven
with logs, which will not necessitate the building of a
railroad to the timber, which, owing to the roughness
of the country in that direction, would be very expen-
sive. It is reasonable to conclude under the circum-
stances, with so much in Kendrick's favor, that she
will in the near future feel the magnetic touch from this
great resource. The white-pine tract of timber begins
about twenty miles east of Kendrick and comprises
about one hundred and fifty thousand acres in all. The
timber is of an excellent quality.
KENDRICK.
This institution was opened for business in the
fall of 1890 by Captain J. M. Walker and his son,
R. M. Walker, and was managed by them until
July, 1892, at which time the First National Bank
of Kendrick was organized and absorbed the
Bank of Kendrick. The capital of the bank was
fifty thousand dollars. F. N. Gilbert was elected
president and Math Jacobs, cashier. It contin-
ued to do business under the national banking
system until May i, 1899, when it surrendered its
charter, preferring to do business as a state bank.
Its present officers are Math Jacobs, president;
F. N. Gilbert, vice-president; A. W. Gordon,
cashier; and P. R. Jacobs, assistant cashier. It
does a general banking business, and as its meth-
ods are liberal it enjoys a prosperous business,
having among its patrons all of the best people
of Kendrick and the surrounding country.
350
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
.MOUNTAIN HOME.
This, the county-seat of Ehiiore county, is a
nice town on the Oregon Short Line Railroad,
in the midst of a rich and productive valley along
the Snake river. The village comprises about a
thousand industrious and intelligent inhabitants,
has a large brick school-house, with eight depart-
ments, and a fine little library. The school fa-
cilities are indeed fully up with the most im-
proved methods of the age. The Episcopalians,
Congregationalists and Baptists all have church
organizations, while the first two mentioned have
also commodious houses of worship. A new
brick bank building and a fine large brick hotel
are in process of construction at the time of this
writing. There are four general stores in the
place, three blacksmith shops, two livery stables,
two millinery stores, two weekly newspapers, —
the Elmore Bulletin and the Elmore Republi-
can.— two hotels, two physicians, two lawyers,
one dentist, one real-estate office, one drug store,
one restaurant. • two meat markets, and other
facilities in proportion.
The town is one of the best situated and best
platted in the state, second to none of its size in
Idaho, and is the natural shipping point for a
great interior country which is rapidly coming to
the notice of the general public. Over a million
and a quarter pounds of wool are shipped an-
nually from the railroad station here, besides
many head of live stock. Indeed, this is one of
the largest shipping points in the state. It is
also the outlet for a number of rich mining
camps. The state legislature has already appro-
priated half a million dollars' worth of school
lands as an endowment for a state industrial
school at Mountain Home, and it is expected that
ere long the state will erect a fine school edifice
here. An abundance of cool water is found at a
depth of only fifteen feet below the surface of the
ground. Three miles distant is a large reservoir
for irrigation purposes, while the lands in the
vicinity of Mountain Home are unexcelled in
their adaptation to fruit culture. Twenty miles
distant in the mountains is a large canyon where
water, at a comparatively light expense, can be
collected sufficient for the irrigation of two hun-
dred and fifty thousand acres of land.
The history of the town dates back only seven-
teen years, — to 1881, — when \\". J. Turney. now
the postmaster here, began improvements at this
point by the erection of a building. There is no
doubt that Mountain Home has a very bright
future before it, because of its location, good
climate, vast tract of rich fruit and farming land
in every direction, as well as the rich mines tribu-
tary to the prosperity of this locality, while irri-
gation is feasible almost anywhere. Such is the
permanent foundation for a lasting prosperity in
store for Mountain Home.
GR.\NGEVILLE AND THE BUFFALO HUMP
MINES.
The following interesting account is repro-
duced from the San Francisco Wave of May 13.
1899, the article being from the pen of Alan
Owen. Xot only does it depict a glowing future
for Grangeville. but tells briefly but carefully the
history of the famous Buffalo Hump mining dis-
trict, opened with almost the enthusiastic "rush"
of the old-time mining days :
The first white man to test the temper of the Nez
Perce Indians by hving among them was a pioneer
missionary named Spaulding. This visitation dated
from 1836. and the subsequent rude behavior of the
dark-skinned brethren has nothing to do with the mat-
ter now in hand. A son of the pioneer. H. Spaulding.
early in the year 1874, came to the Camas prairie for the
purpose of organizing a grange. The population of that
portion of central Idaho scarcely numbered three hun-
dred white men. and the settlers were widely scattered:
the prairie was a place of magnificent distances. In
July a representative gathering was obtained, which
met one day in a school-house near Mount Idaho. Six-
teen persons signified their willingness to unite with
an order to be known as Charity Grange. Initiations
followed; William C. Pearson was chosen worthy mas-
ter, and J. H. Robinson, secretary. The foundations of
the city of Grangeville. the coming commercial center
of the Clearwater country, were thus laid.
At that time the land upon which Grangeville subse-
quently grew was a pasture belonging to the farm of
J. M: Crooks. Two stores were in existence in Mount
Idaho, which made that place an outfitting place for
miners, the only town between Florence and Lewiston.
a gap of one hundred and twenty miles. Three miles
below the foothills that serve as a site for the hamlet
Mount Idaho, the members of Charity Grange com-
menced building a hall in 1876. All work on the struc-
ture was done by hand, planing mills being a dream of
the future, only to be realized, so far as the prairie is
concerned, in 1899. During the winter of 1875-6. a joint
stock company was formed in the grange and incor-
porated to build a flour mill, with a capital stock of
twcntv-five thousand dollars, in shares of twenty-five
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
351
dollars each. The company built the mill now owned
by Vollmer & Scott, the machinery being hauled on
wagons from Walla Walla. The mill was grinding
wheat in the fall of 1876. During the Nez Perce war
of 1877-8. the grange hall was made a safe refuge by a
heavy stockade of logs, sixteen feet long, set upright
around the building, and the upper floor banked all
around to the height of the windows with flour in sacks
from the grange mill. This floor was used as & hospital
for sick and wounded soldiers during the Indian war.
A large proportion of the prairie pioneers were south-
erners, forced to seek a new country by loss of property
consequent upon the war of the Rebellion. They made,
therefore, a good and steady nucleus for the foundation
of a community, and to a broad western spirit many
southern graces will be found grafted in the habits and
manners of the early settlers. The country twenty years
ago was absolutely without transportation facilities, and
walled in by mountains exceedingly difficult of access.
Even to-day it is not the easiest locality in the world
to reach in the winter time. The Camas prairie farmers
paid seven cents a pound for seed wheat, but, on the
other hand, could command their own price for their
produce. Meanwhile Grangeville was growing. In
1878 a small merchandise store was opened by a settler
named William Hill, and next came a miners' outfit-
ting store. By 1886 substantial progress had been
made. About this time Hon. A. F. Parker founded the
Idaho County Free Press. The publisher, one of the
best authorities on the mineralogy of the northwest that
the state affords, made his annual trip in August to the
great gold belt of central Idaho, leaving his paper in
the hands of a substitute. That worthy, in a burst
of enthusiasm over the town's advancement, wrote
"Grangeville already possesses the attributes of a place
ten times as populous, viz., a high school, a resident
minister of the Methodist persuasion, a brass band and
other indications of culture and refinement." As a mat-
ter of fact, the growth of the town at this time was
steady, if not very rapid. In 1892 the Bank of Grange-
ville was founded, with the wealth of the firm of Voll-
mer & Scott, estimated at over a million dollars, behind
it. About this date Grangeville was organized into an
independent school district. A new school-house was
built in 1893, to accommodate some two hundred and
fifty pupils, costing seven thousand dollars. In 1892
the Bank of Camas Prairie was incorporated by a num-
ber of the citizens of Grangeville and capitalized at
fifty thousand dollars. In October of 1898 the town of
Grangeville was incorporated, the first board of trustees
consisting of Henry Wax, chairman; W. F. Schmadeka,
E. C. Sherwin, W. W. Brown and A. F. Freidenrich.
Subsequently a num^ber of stores and residences of a
substantial character were erected, and Grangeville was
in a fair way of advancement when the discoveries at
Buffalo Hump attracted the eyes of the mining world
to central Idaho.
The fame of the discoveries, in three short months,
was instrumental in changing ijie face of the town. It
brought fresh blood and capital, and gave an impetus
to enterprise that at one bound has succeeded in con-
verting a country village into an up-to-date American
city. Now Grangeville boasts the best w^ater supply of
any city in the state. A volunteer fire department has
been organized and equipped. Other improvements
and enterprises directly attributable to the new order
of things include lime kilns, brick yards, building-stone
quarries, an eighteen thousand dollar hotel, a brewery
and distillery.
The conditions under which the great discovery at Buf-
falo Hunt was made are interesting to rehearse. A couple
of prospectors, named B. R. Rigley and C. H. Rob-
bins, camped on the main trail between Florence and
Elk City in August, 1898. The trail crossed the Buflalo
Hump mountain, and their camp lay on this mountain,
some eight feet from a solid wall of quartz, three thou-
sand feet in length and six hundred feet wide, that had
been ridden and climbed over for years by veteran pros-
pectors on their way to the Boise basin. In an idle
moment the prospectors clipped ofT a chunk from the
ledge, burned it, crushed it on the flat of a shovel, and
from this rough method of assay got big values in gold.
They at once took samples back to Florence and, hand-
ing them to an assayer, got the following results:
Sample No. i, an average of 24 feet of the ledge,
$38.81 in gold and silver.
Sample No. 2, an average of nine feet of the ledge,
$458.17 in gold and silver.
Sample No. 3, an average of three feet of the ledge,
$712.17 in gold and silver.
About one-eighth of the foregoing values w-ere in
silver, and the balance gold.
The formation of the rock is gneiss, and the general
character of the ore of the district is identical with that
of the Mother Lode in California. A California or
Colorado gold mill will save from fifty to sixty per cent
on the plates, and the remaining values can be saved in
the form of concentrates that will run from four hun-
dred to five hundred dollars per ton. Soon after the
discovery by Robbins and Rigley. three tons of the ore
were packed on horses to a Huntington mill, a distance
of fifty-five miles. The ore assayed six ounces gold and
seven silver, and the yield was four ounces fine gold
and three hundred and sixty pounds of concentrates.
These latter were shipped to Tacoma and gave returns
from the smelter of one hundred and forty ounces of
gold and sixty-three ounces of silver, — a gross value
of two thousand eight hundred dollars per ton. The
saving was fully ninety per cent of the values.
The vein is cross-cut in two places. The first claim
located was the far-famed Big Buffalo. The vein is
e.xposed for over a hundred feet northerly from the first
cut on the Big Buffalo, and one hundred feet southerly
from the second cut on the Merrimac, showing a con-
tinuous ore body three hundred feet in length by an
average width of thirty-five feet. It may be safely pre-
sumed that in this ore body, .should the vein hold to a
depth of one hundred feet of the same character of ore.
352
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
there will be in sight seventy-five thousand tons, having
a gross value of one million five hundred thousand dol-
lars. Captain De Lamar offered five hundred thousand
dollars for the Big Buffalo group after having the prop-
erty thoroughly experted. The offer was refused.
Spokane capitalists finally purchased the group for five
hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, making a
cash payment of twenty-five thousand dollars. This is
the largest sum ever paid for an undeveloped prospect.
In pursuance of the terms of the bond, the syndicate
controlling these claims are expending fifteen thousand
dollars per month in actual development work.
Over three hundred mining locations have already
been made within a radius of ten square miles of the
original discovery on the Hump since August, 1898. In
the opinion of one of the most competent experts in
the state, no one, however skeptical, can doubt the
permanency of these ledges. There are thousands of
tons of pay rock lying above the surface, and, according
to the authority quoted, of better grade gold ore than
is now being milled in any of the gold districts of South
Africa, Nova Scotia, California, Utah, Dakota or Colo-
rado.
I cannot do better, in closing this brief glance at the
history of Grangeville and the great mineral belt tribu-
tary to the city, than to quote a portion of the recent
speech made by the Hon. A. F. Parker before the
Portland Chamber of Commerce:
"The Clearwater and Salmon river country," said that
authority, "may very properly be considered as the
mother of gold in the northwest. On tributaries of these
rivers were discovered in i860 the rich placer camps of
Pierce City, Elk City. Florence, Warrens, and the rich
bars bordering on these streams, from which probably
five hundred million dollars of gold have been produced
from that date on in a more or less desultory way.
owing to our isolation and distance from railroads, for
the past twenty years and aUvavs with profit. There is
no more promising field for prospecting and investment
than the Clearwater and Salmon river country. It has
gold mines, fine farm lands and unlimited stock ranges,
and will eventually develop into the richest and most
thickly populated part of the northwest interior."
The head of dry-land navigation to the Bitter Root
and Salmon river mining camps is Grangeville. The
city almost owes its origin and certainly its growth to
the fact that in the past it has been the most convenient
point of access for investors and mine owners to meet
on the common basis of Central Idaho's mineral wealth.
Recent revelations concerning the richness of this belt
explain the happy choice of site for founding the
metropolis of Camas prairie.
Within ten miles gold-bearing quartz has been found
on the Clearwater. This discovery, made less than a
month ago, is assuming an importance that will de-
mand notice from the mining world in the near future.
Soarce twenty miles from the city of Grangeville winds
the Salmon river, from the banks of which reports of
gold discoveries arrive with increasing frequency, as
more men pour into that temperate region. Many of
these prospectors, while testing the river's bed and
banks as a method of putting in their time until Buffalo
Hump has shed its fifteen-foot mantle of snow, have
at time of writing made discoveries that bid fair to
throw the Big Buffalo find into the shade. A placer
proposition always possesses superior popularity to
quartz, however rich returns the latter may yield under
assay, and in like degree free-milling quartz with gold
glistening beneath the naked eye will outrank refrac-
tory ore of possibly better final values. Free gold is
the Salmon river slogan.
Forty-five, miles separate the Robbins mining dis-
trict from Grangeville. They are not easy miles to
brave in winter. Prospectors with experience in
Alaska prefer the Chilkoot. The novel theory advanced
by trading points more than a hundred miles dis-
tant, that the trip is simplified the farther away from
the Hump a start is made, is more amusing than
attractive.
In the first place, Grangeville is a mining center.
The wealth of the district is concentrated here, and
the people are possessed of extensive knowledge not
only of the country but the needs of prospective set-
tlers. The prospector will obtain reliable information,
based upon actual experience, concerning seasons, dis-
tances, and the time required to make the trip. A
stranger can learn more of trails, roads, and the topog-
raphy of the country by talking with Grangeville men,
in one day, than he could learn in a month of aim-
less exploration.
Grangeville, so long lacking railroad and transpor-
tation facilities, will soon be the terminus of two
systems. The Oregon Railway & Navigation Com-
pany has already made its survey, obtained right of
way and secured deeds for depot grounds. Large forces
of men are at work along the Snake river section
of the line, and as soon as spring opens they will
push on up the Clearwater and onto the great Camas
prairie, which is an agricultural belt about twenty-five
by thirty-five miles in extent. A country as fertile
and magnificent as the broad fields of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin valleys.
The Northern Pacific has made surveys and is grad-
ing within less than fifty miles of Grangeville and
is operating within twenty-six miles of the town. It
is claimed by the best informed on the subject that
this system will have trains running into Grangeville
by November of the present year (1899). With rail-
roads to transport farm products, mining machinery
and supplies, lumber and live stock from the boundless '
ranges of this territory, Grangeville ought to be, within
a brief space, the metropolis of Idaho.
THE B.\NK OF GRANGEVILLE.
This is a private banking institution which
opened its doors for business in 1891. It is
owned by the well known banking and mercan-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
353
tile firm composed of John P. \'ollmer, of Lew-
iston, and Wallace Scott, of Grangeville. It is
the agency of the First National Bank of Lewis-
ton, and for its capital has the backing of the
entire wealth of the firm, easily estimated at one
million dollars, thus making it one of the strong-
est institutions in the northwest. Wallace Scott
is its manager and Martin Wagner its cashier,
and it does a general banking business.
THE BANK OF CAMAS PRAIRIE.
This institution, which is located at Grange-
ville, was incorporated in August, 1892, with a
capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. Since its
organization it has paid a dividend of ten per
cent per annum and has now (1899) a surplus of
five thousand dollars. The bank building is a
brick structure, twenty-five by fifty feet, which
was erected for the special purpose in 1898. The
interior is furnished with what are known as the
Andrews fixtures, in polished oak, and has fire-
proof vaults and a Diebold patent safe of solid
steel, weighing sixty-five hundred pounds, with
triple time-locks. The officers ,of the bank,
elected on its organization, were F. W. Ketten-
bach, president; A. Friedenrich, vice-president,
and W. W. Brown, cashier. They have since
continued to occupy their respective positions,
and in 1898 John Norwood was elected assistant
cashier. A general banking business is carried
on and the institution is in a flourishing condi-
tion. ,
NAMPA.
This village of about eight hundred inhabitants
is situated in the southwestern part of the state on
the Oregon Short Line Railroad, at the junction
of the railway to Boise and also of the railway to
Silver City. The first residence at this point was
built in 1885, by Alexander Dufifes, who indeed
was the founder of the village, platting the town
upon his land, ever since which time he has been
one of the most prominent factors in its upbuild-
ing. Among the most prominent early business
men here were John E. Stearns, Benjamin Wall-
ing and B. Grumbling, and since their advent, in
the order mentioned, the town has enjoyed a
steady growth. There are ten or twelve good
b'rick business blocks here at the present time,
two hotels, three church edifices, — Episcopalian,
Presbyterian and Baptist, — a large brick school-
house and many fine residences. All branches
of trade are creditably represented. A capacious
steam fruit-evaporator has been constructed,
which goes far toward enhancing the market
value of fruits raised in the vicinity.
Nampa is surrounded by an extensive tract of
rich land, on which fruit, grass and grain grow
profusely. It is particularly well adapted to
fruit culture. The Boise & Nampa Irrigation
Company have constructed a large canal to the
city, from which a district twenty-seven miles
long and six miles wide is amply supplied with
water. Besides the operation of the railroads
already mentioned, the building of others is con-
templated, and it is believed that Nampa is des-
tined to become a large railroad center and a
city of considerable importance.
GENESEE,
The following interesting account of the city
of Genesee and its attractions is an extract from
a most attractive souvenir and finely illustrated
edition of the Genesee News, issued in February,
Genesee is situated at the terminus of the Spokane
& Palouse branch of the Northern Pacific Railway,
and its history dates from the advent of the iron horse
in May. 1888. It is therefore but little more than a
decade since the "first house" was erected, by J. S.
Larabee. The growth of the town has been truly
remarkable during this brief period of time. Its rapid
growth was due to the 'richness of the country tributary.
A town cannot advance in substantial growth ahead of
the life sources which nourish it. It is the design of
this edition to substantiate our claim that Genesee is
not a mushroom growth but a substantial town re-
flecting in its schools, churches, handsome residences
and latge business blocks, the wealth of the country
tributary thereto. The same appearance of thrift and
prosperity which characterizes the town is apparent in
a marked degree in the country. Nice farm houses
and good outbuildings are the rule rather than the
exception.
With eastern people contemplating a change of resi-
dence, other things being equal, good school and church
privileges are prime factors in deciding their choice of
a location. In these matters Genesee meets the require-
ments. Our public schools are graded and thoroughly
systematized and efficient teachers are employed. A
private school is also conducted by the Sisters of the
Catholic church. Of churches there are five. School,
church and social privileges, both in city and country,
are good, although, of course, the country being new
the rural districts have their limitations. For the pur-
suit of knowledge, our young people who desire a
higher education are highly favored, having almost at
354
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
their very door the University of Idaho, at Moscow,
and State Normal School at Lewiston. Thus those
who bring their sons and daughters among us are not
depriving them of any educational privileges and may
even be bringing them in closer touch with educational
work. Our teachers are required to have a high stand-
ard of attainments and show their qualifications for the
work by rigid examinations.
Genesee is essentially a social and fraternal town,
having lodges of the Masonic order. Odd Fellows, with
camp, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World.
Young Men's Institute, Ancient Order of Pyramids,
G. A. R. and W. R. C, Rathbone Sisters, Rebekah,
besides an athletic association and a company of militia.
In population the city numbers about 1,200. It is
beautifully situated. The residence portion is largely
built on several large hills, at the foot of which lies
the main street and business part of the town. The
location is not only sightly but hygienic, having a good
natural drainage, which, while it does not remove,
reduces the liability of sickness.
The city's finances are in excellent shape, its only
obligation being in the form of bonds for one thousand
dollars for the purchase and improvement of a public
park. This indebtedness could be obliterated and add
but little to the rate of taxation. No town in the west
can make a better showing in financial affairs, and few
are as free from debt. Not only is the city free from
debt but there is plenty of money in the several funds
for all the re.quirements of city government. The gov-
ernment of the city is in the hands of capable men of
aflfairs.
KETCHUM.
The town of Ketchum is located upon a beau-
tiful site at the terminus of the branch of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad, twelve miles north
of Hailey. The nucleus of the town was started
in 1880, and for several years it was a flourishing
mining town ; but the great decline in silver has
worked adversely and the place now comprises
only about two hundred and fifty inhabitants,
who, however, are as intelligent and hospitable as
any community in the United States.
There are in the town a fine large brick school-
house, several good brick stores and the large
plant of the Philadelphia Minmg & Smelting
Company, which cost nearly one million dollars.
To this point is a daily train service from the
Oregon Short Line Railroad; Wood river flows
majestically by, a delightful mountain stream
containing an abundance of trout; and there are
in the vicinity many rich silver and lead mines.
Being surrounded by high mountains, the scen-
ery in every direction is decidedly picturesque.
Deer and other large game abound in the wilds.
At Ketchum is a good hotel, owned and con-
ducted by Paul P. Baxter, and after him is called
the Baxter Hotel. This host and his good wife
spare no pains in their efforts to give a cozy and
comfortable home to all their guests.
This ambitious and prosperous town is the
county-seat of Blaine county. It is located in
the W^ood river valley, sixty miles north of Sho-
shone, five thousand, two hundred and fifty feet
above the level of the sea, and on a branch of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad. The site is on a
plain almost level, a mile and a half wide and
thirty miles long, beautifully nestling among the
mountains. Only a mile from Hailey are the
celebrated Hailey hot springs, the resort of in-
valids afflicted with mineral poisons or rheumatic
troubles.
The 'Hailey land district of the L^nited States
originally comprised about nineteen million
acres, of which less than half had been surveyed
in 1888, seven years after the founding of the
town. Nearly all this land is in Blaine and Cas-
sia counties, and is specially rich in qualities re-
quired by horticulture, agriculture and live stock.
Sixty bushels of wheat to the acre have been
raised without irrigation, and other cereals,
fruits and vegetables in the same proportion. The
greater part of the land, however, requires irri-
gation; but the creeks are plentiful, and a large
river present, so that irrigation and the watering
of the live stock are very practicable. When
sufficiently watered, the soil produces crops
threefold larger than those of the eastern states.
To farmers seeking homes in the west, no por-
tion of Idaho presents more natural advantages
or promises more substantial benefits than this
part of the state. In recent years the sheep in-
dustry has wonderfully developed in this vicin-
ity. Hailey is therefore a great wool-shipping
point, and from seven hundred and fifty to one
thousand cars of lambs and sheep are shipped
annually.
But the "backbone" of industrial prosperity
here is the mining interest, which seems literally
infinite, the operation of the mines varying, how- ;
ever, with the varying prices of the respective j
minerals, .\mong the principal mines in this lo- ,
cality we may mention the Tiptop. Croesus. JNIin- j
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
355
nie Moore, Camas No. 2, Queen of the Hills,
Idahoan, Mayflower, Bullion, Parker, Triumph,
Jay Gould, Eureka, Red Cloud, Bay State, Pass,
Red Elephant, Idaho Democrat, War Dance,
Elkhorn, Carrie Leonard, Stormy Galore, North
Star, Silver Star, Ophir, Relief, Climax, Nay
Aug, Pride of Idaho, Dollarhide,' Jumbo, King
of the West, Montana, Vienna, Silver King, Ty-
rannis, etc. These and other productive proper-
ties of the valley and hills around are capable of
sustaining a population of hundreds of thou-
sands.
The forests are "alive" with game, both large
and small, from the ferocious grizzly bear and
majestic mountain lion down to the ground squir-
rel and innumerable grouse, quail and other
birds, while the streams abound in the delicious
speckled beauties which the eastern disciples of
Izaak Walton are compelled at the present day to
travel hundreds of miles to see in their native
element. Trout weighing eleven and a half
pounds have been caught here.
Wood river afTords about two millions min-
ers' inches of water, yielding an immense power
for factory purposes, a large portion of which is
utilized.
The climate of this valley is notoriously de-
lightful. Jay Gould, the great capitalist and
traveler, who was in a position to select the best
climate in the world for his own comfort, spent
his last summers on earth at this point; Horace
K. Thurber's home is here; and other wealthy
men, with their families, from the east, have en-
joyed their sojourns here. It is really a favorite
summer resort.
The town was founded by Hon. John Hailey,
J. H. Boomer, now of Oakland, California; W.
T. Riley, and then United States Marshal Chase.
These gentlemen began improvements in 1880,
and settlers began to locate here during the en-
suing spring, first occupying tents; even the
merchants had their stores in tents; and the place
has ever since had a steady growth, varying but
little with the times. The population has grown
to fifteen hundred. The city has a complete sys-
tem of water-works, which furnish an ample sup-
ply of pure mountain water, under a pressure of
one hundred and twenty feet; electric light for
the whole city, of the Brush-Swan system; a
telephone system, radiating from Hailey to all
the mines, smelters and mills within a radius of
twenty miles, and furnished by the Rocky Moun-
tain Bell Telephone Company; several fine ho-
tels, of which the Alturas is the principal one,
costing sixty-iive thousand dollars and supplied
with every modern improvement; several sub-
stantial brick stores; beautiful drives and bicycle
roads, mostly natural, leading in every direction
to the very ridges of the mountain chains and
through scenery which for picturesqueness, rug-
gedness and grandeur cannot be excelled; sam-
pling works, having a daily capacity of two hun-
dred tons, where cash is paid for the ore; two
newspapers, the Wood River Times and the
News-Miner, both daily and weekly, live papers
which are effecting much good for the commu-
nity; a court-house, costing sixty thousand dol-
lars, which is a three-story fire-proof brick and
stone structure and very commodious in all re-
spects; one of the best appointed school-houses
in the state, where thg teachers, also, are the best
paid of all in the west; three church organiza-
tions,— Catholic, Methodist and Protestant Epis-
copal,— each of which has a fine house of wor-
ship; and the most popular fraternal organiza-
tions are represented here by the Freemasons,
Odd Fellows, United ^^"orknlen, Modern Wood-
men of America, Good Templars and the Grand
Army of the Republic. The Masons have a
chapter here, the Odd Fellows an encampment
and a lodge of the Rebekah degree, and the
Workmen a lodge of the Degree of Honor.
The intelligence and moral character of the
people at Hailey and in the vicinity are conspicu-
ously above the average, as many of the immi-
grants here are wealthy and cultured people from
the east.
In conclusion we quote a paragraph from a
local historian: "Who has not felt the surprise
akin to wonder at the almost marvelous growth
of whole regions in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and
Colorado? The lesson taught by the past will
help the prudent man or woman to build for the
future, and a moment's thought will teach that
there is no magic at work in the growth and de-
velopment referred to, only the relentless march
of empire into the west. The leviathans of old
ocean deposit upon our eastern shores a larger
number of immigrants each year, a great major-
ity of whom seek the western states, and, as the
356
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
advantages offered them in the newer sections
are known, overflow into them. Far out, al-
most beyond civiHzation, in. 1881, the present
site of the prosperous city of Hailey was dotted
here and there with a few tents, and the writer
was hailed on his arrival as from 'God's coun-
try,' that is, the United States. To-day it enjoys
the reputation of being itself the best part of
God's country!"
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF HAILEY.
This bank was founded in July, 1888, with a
capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars,
by W. B. Farr, of St. Louis, Missouri, and he
was made its first president. A private bank
had been previously established, in 1883, by T.
R. Jones & Company, who the next year sold
to McCormick & Company, of Salt Lake City,
and they sold to Mr. Farr, who organized the
National Bank, as already stated. Mr. Farr con-
tinued to act as the president until October 15,
1890. when R. F. BuUer purchased his interest,
and M. B. Loy was elected president. He served
until January, 1892, at which time Mr. Buller
was elected to the office, he being the largest
stockholder. Since he has had the management
of the concern it has paid good dividends and it
now has a surplus of twelve thousand dollars.
F. H. Parsons is its present cashier, and the di-
rectors are J. C. Fox, F. H. Parsons, M.-^Ic-
Cormick and R. H. Plughoff. They do a gen-
eral commercial banking business.
BLISS.
Application has recently been made by the
Mullins Canal & Reservoir Company for segre-
gation, under the Carey law, of several thousand
acres of choice land near the new town of Bliss,
on the main line of the Oregon Short Line Rail-
w-ay. Under the wise provisions of this modern
land law it is possible for everyone to secure one
hundred and sixty acres of land, including a per-
petual water right and a proportional interest in
the canal system by which it is watered, at the
price fixed by the state for the same. This law
also protects the settler in all his water rights and
relieves him from the perpetual payment of
water rent except what is actually necessary for
the keeping up of repairs and improvements on
the canal system.
The deeded lands belonging to this company,
and such lands as are held under the Carey act,
are all near the town of Bliss, about one hundred
miles east of the state capital, at an altitude of
three thousand feet, and having the great ad-
vantage of being the most eastern lands in the
state within the fruit belt, having an abundance
of water for irrigation, with a climate less op-
pressive and hot in summer than that farther west
in lower altitudes, and of more even temperature
and less extreme cold in winter than is found
farther east and north.
Land and perpetual water rights, including
proportional interest in the canal, may now be
obtained under contracts with the Mullins Canal
& Reservoir Company and the state of Idaho, at
not to exceed twenty dollars per acre, the price
varying according to distance from railroad sta-
tion, improvements, etc. The terms of payment
are easy and on long time, at six per cent inter-
est.
There is little diiTerence in the fertility of the
soil, which is very rich and susceptible of a high
state of cultivation during the first season; the
sage-brush, which has little root, being easily re-
moved, after which the land is as easily plowed
as old land under cultivation.
A large number of ten-acre fruit tracts adjoin-
ing the town plat of Bliss are being planted,
while the purchaser takes his choice of several
varieties of fruit selected by the company, or
chooses his own land and varieties. L^nless oth-
erwise directed they plant about one-half in ap-
ples and balance in prunes, peaches, pears, apri-
cots and cherries. Five acres of each tract are
set out with not less than one hundred thrifty
trees to the acre. The company levels the
ground, sets out, cultivates and irrigates the
trees , sprays and replaces all that die, and
pays taxes, charges and expenses of all kinds
from the time of planting until delivered to the
purchaser. The company requires a payment of
one hundred dollars at the time the contract is
made, and fifteen dollars per month for seventy-
two months, with interest at six per cent per an-
num.
Idaho not only received the World's Fair gold-
en medal for apples, but at the Trans-Mississippi
Exposition in 1898 was awarded more gold, sil-
ver and bronze medals than any other state, for
fruit displa\-.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
357
The great Snake river, which is only one and
one-half miles from the new town of Bliss,
abounds with fish, including the sturgeon, which
usually weigh from one to five hundred pounds,
and the salmon, from one to ten pounds each,
while the smaller streams and rivers are full of
all kinds of mountain trout. It is considerably
lower than the table-land on either side, and
wherever it has been possible to irrigate the nar-
row fields along its banks there are now thrifty
orchards and farms which have been tilled for
many years.
The land which lies on both sides of the Ore-
gon Short Line Railway at Bliss station, gradu-
ally rises to the north in a gentle, undulating
slope for a distance of twenty miles to the low
foothills which form the border line of the cele-
brated Camas prairies, a veritable paradise for
the stock-raiser. These prairies vary in width
from five to twenty-five miles, and extend along
the foothills of the Sawtooth mountain range
for a distance of sixty miles, the average width
being about fifteen miles.
A luxuriant growth of nutritious native grass
is found upon these prairies, the blue-joint and
red-top in many places producing an excellent
crop of wild hay without irrigation, while the
large and small bunch grass which grows upon
the adjoining foothills cannot be excelled for
sheep pasture.
Responsible parties are now herding the small
bunches of cattle belonging to farmers in this
vicinity at one dollar per head for the season,
taking them in April and returning them in De-
cember, the feeding months in this locality being
January, February and March. This is an ex-
ceptional opportunity for the man who wishes to
build up a large stock business with little trouble
and at the same time use his farm for winter feed-
ing. Lucern from ten acres will produce suf-
ficient hay for the wintering of forty head of cat-
tle ; and this plan will not interfere with the rais-
ing of all kinds of fruit in their season.
Because corn is not considered a profitable
crop in this state, it has been generally sup-
posed until recently that hogs could not be raised
here at a profit; but this is now conceded to
have been an error; and those who are experi-
menting in this direction find that alfalfa or lu-
cern pastures for summer, and field peas with
steamed potatoes and barley for winter feed and
fattening, will give most excellent results.
For the purpose of irrigating the large body of
choice land in the vicinity of Bliss, the Mullins
Canal & Reservoir Company has already com-
pleted a canal nearly fifteen miles in length from
the Malad river, about five miles from where it
empties into the Snake river above the town of
Bliss. This canal is connected with a system of
reservoirs of sufficient size and capacity to irri-
gate fully ten thousand acres of land. With
such a reservoir system the main canal is always
readily supplied with an even flow of clear water
which is not subject to the rise and fall of a tur-
bulent stream, and by keeping the reservoirs well
filled the farmers will always be sure of a full
supply.
Within a distance of twenty miles from Bliss
station, up and down the Snake river, the banks
on either side are rich in gold. Scores of loca-
tions having recently been made, many of which
are now being profitably worked where water
can be obtained from springs and streams which
empty into the river, and other rich placer ground
is still open for entry. A few miners are now
using pumping plants or current motors to raise
water from the river to wash gold out of the
gravelly banks, many feet above the river's chan-
nel.
All the water from the Mullins canal and reser-
voir system can be used (when not needed for
irrigation) for mining purposes on the placer
claims down the river below Bliss for a distance
of ten or more miles, by an extension of the
main canal.
Sufficient electricity can easily be manufactured
from the immense water power on the Snake
river near Bliss for all kinds of manufacturing
industries.
Within six miles of this new town are the great
Salmon Falls, where the entire Snake river drops
about twenty-five feet, while nearer by are
springs of enormous size, with at least four thou-
sand second-feet flow, which by being piped one
thousand feet will give a fall of over fifty feet, and
one large spring within two miles of Bliss will
furnish electricity for two hundred horse power.
Within ten miles of Bliss on the north are the
famous Idaho Hot Springs, similar to those at
Hailey and Boise. These springs are still in
358
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
their natural state, without improvement, but as
they are nearer the main hne of the Oregon
Short Line Railway than any other similar
springs in the state, and can easily be connected
therewith by an electric line, it is reasonable to
suppose that they will soon be improved. The
temperature of the water from these springs as
it comes to the surface is sufficiently hot to boil
an egg, and its curative properties are manifold,
being especially beneficial for rheumatism and
all diseases of the skin.
To those familiar with the local conditions sur-
rounding Bliss, it is apparent that it has all the
requisites for the making of a prosperous town
of no mean proportions. Situated twenty-nine
miles west of Shoshone, the county seat of Lin-
coln county, and twenty-three miles east of
Glenn's Ferry, the nearest towns of any import-
ance on either side; on the main line of the Ore-
gon Short Line Railway; surrounded by a large
and extremely fertile agricultural district, with
the finest stock range in the state; silver and
copper mines, and thermal springs, on the north,
and the Snake river, with its placer gold mines,
great water power and fish industry, on the
south; the nearest railroad station to the great
Shoshone Falls; the center of supplies for a
large number of settlements of? the railway, —
with all these and many minor advantages, it
offers unmistakable inducements to home-seek-
ers. Already the railroad station, with express
and telegraph office, has been opened, and stock-
yards are built; a postoffice, one general mer-
chandise store, and a good school, add much to
the convenience and comfort of the incoming set-
tlers.
MOSCOW.
The following history of Moscow was written
by \V. G. Emery in the year 1897, and was orig-
inally published in the Moscow Mirror. It is
reproduced, but with slight change, as a worthy
supplement to the history of the state:
Standing on the steps of Idaho's university and
looking eastward across the beautiful town-site of Mos-
cow, with its substantial business bricks and neat
brown and white cottages and elegant residences
thickly clustered along the western slope of a low,
rolling hill, a spectator can hardly realize how it ap-
peared to the early settlers as tliey first saw it over
twenty-six years ago.
It was as attractive probably then as now but its
beauty was wild and untrammeled and the undulating
hills were covered with luxuriant grasses. No roads
traversed the rolling prairies, save an occasional Indian
trail and lying serene, and undisturbed beneath the
shadow of Moscow mountain, no wonder it secured its
first name. Paradise Valley. One evening early in
March. 1871. one of our oldest settlers, Asbury Lieu-
alien, "struck camp" at a spot not far from where
the Imbler house now stands. He found here an
abandoned shanty which had been put up by a couple
of immigrants named Haskins and Trimbell, and im-
pressed alike by the picturesqueness of the scenery
and the richness of the soil, as evidenced by the abun-
dance of forage, he determined to locate here a claim
and build for himself a home that would insure him
a prosperous old age. The nearest house was at Lew-
iston. in those days a little settlement, about thirty
miles southward. Eastward from Moscow mountain
lay a wild and unbroken timber country where virgin
forests extended to and beyond the grim and tower-
ing crests of the unexplored Bitter Root range. To
the north was an almost equally unsettled country,
there being but two houses between Paradise Valley
and Spokane Falls. To the west, one hundred miles
away, was Walla Walla, at that time the principal
supply post of this sparsely settled inland empire and
the site of the only flouring mill between Portland
and St. Paul.
The homestead located by Mr. Lieuallen is situated
about three miles east of Moscow and here he farmed
till the early part of the year 1875. In the mean time
a number of other settlers had located claims in his
vicinity whose names as taken from the records of
the Pioneer .Association of Latah County were William
Ewing. John Russell. James Deakin, George W. Tomer,
Henry McGregor, Thomas Tierney. William Taylor,
William Calbreath. John and Bart Niemj'er. John
NeiT. James and .\\ Howard, Reuben Cox, O. H. P.
Beagle, James Montgomery and probably a few oth-
ers, whose names have been lost in the lapse of years.
In 1872 the first mail route was established in this
section and the post-office was situated about one
mile east of Moscow and called Paradise post-office.
The mail was then carried from Lewiston on horse-
back by Major Winpey. In May, 1875. Mr. Lieuallen,
at the urgent request of his neighbors, decided to
establish a little store at some convenient point and
having purchased from John Nefl that tract of land
extending westward from the present Main street for
one-half mile, he erected a little one-story building on
the vacant lot just north of Kelley's jewelry store,
laid in a small stock of merchandise and christened
the embryo village, and thus Moscow was started
on the road to future prosperity. He hauled his goods
from Walla Walla, then the nearest railroad point, and
that was reached only by Dr. Baker's "rawhide road."
Two ordinary wagon-boxes would have held his entire
stock in the store, but the prevailing prices made up-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
359
in size for the smallness of the stock. Five pounds of
flour sold for one dollar, brown sugar was fifty cents
per pound, common butts and screws were fifty cents
per pair and everything else in proportion. But at
Lewiston prices were infinitely worse. Some of our
older settlers will remember paying C. C. Bunnell
one dollar for one-half a joint of stovepipe, although
a whole joint could be bought for fifty cents. He
charged fifty cents for cutting it and had half left.
In 1877 the post-office was moved to Moscow and
located in a little shed in the rear of Lieuallen's store,
he becoming Moscow's first postmaster. The office
I furniture consisted of a boot-box, about the size of a
j half-bushel, which Postmaster Lieuallen used as a
I receptacle for the mail. This box is still preserved
I as one of the relics of the early history of Moscow.
About this time John Benjamin, now at Kendrick,
\ Idaho, put up a little "shack" and opened a black-
smith shop, and a little box house was torn down
, and moved over from the former Paradise post-office
, and put up on a little knoll which was just back of
I Zumhqflf & Collins' present blacksmith shop. This
I was afterward remodeled and moved on to William
Hunter's lot adjoining I, C. Hattabaugh's. The only
other building the village contained was an old log
barn, which may yet be seen standing, just south of
the fair grounds, on the John Niemeyer place. In
\ June, 1877, came the Joseph Indian war. At the first
alarm the settlers with their families sought safety
in temporary forts and stockades that were hastily
constructed as a protection against the raids of the
j treacherous redskins. Moscow's first stockade was
I built near the residence formerly occupied by J. S.
I Howard, who died in the early '80s. The permanent
stockade was built where part of Moscow now stands,
back of the residence of John Russell and now the
residence of Mrs. Julia A. Moore. The stockade was
built out of logs from six to ten inches in diameter^
set on end in the ground close together. They were
I hauled from the mountains six miles distant and at
' a time when it was taking a man's life in his hands
to make a trip. These old posts may yet be seen
along the road to the south of the Moore residence.
Here about thirty settlers and their families spent
many anxious days and nights. The greatest danger
was from the Coeur d'Alene Indians of the north
joining their forces with those of the wily leader of
the Nez Perces and making a raid on the settlers,
who were very poorly supplied with arms and more
poorly supplied with ammunition. But through
the efforts of their chief, who was always peace-
ably disposed toward the whites, and the timely
assistance of the good Father Cataldo, the mission
priest, they were held in check. In the meantime the
United States troops and volunteers pressed the hos-
tile Joseph and his warriors so hard that they re-
treated across the old Lo-Lo trail to Montana, where
they were finally captured. The very scarcity of set-
tlers in this section caused the savages to turn their
attention southward toward Grangeville and Mount
Idaho, where there were more scalps and plunder to
be obtained. By way of digression one little incident
of .this war may be mentioned, as it concerns one of
the most estimable ladies of Moscow who was also
one of our earliest pioneers. Herself, husband and
little child, a boy about ten years of age, and another
settler and family were fleeing from near the south-
ern portion of the county to Mount Idaho for a place
of safety. En route they were surrounded by a band of
the bloodthirsty cut-throats and at the first fire her hus-
band fell, mortally wounded. Calling his little son to
his side he told him to slip away if possible and
go for assistance. The little fellow succeeded in elud-
ing the savages and made his way to Mount Idaho,
thirty miles distant. Early next morning a score of
avenging settlers arrived at the scene of the fight, but
too late except to succor his mother, who had been
shot through both limbs and left for dead; the others
had all been killed. Tenderly she was conveyed to
the settlement and in time recovered from her wounds.
She has since married and Mrs. Eph. Bunker is known
and respected by all. Her little boy is now a man,
and who is better known to the boys who call him
friend than Hill Norton?
The first sawmill in the Paradise valley was about
six miles northeast of Moscow, owned by Stewart &
Beach, but it was soon moved away. Just at the
close of the Nez Perce war, R. H. Barton, our pres-
ent efficient postmaster, arrived in the Palouse coun-
try, bringing with him a portable sawmill, which he
hauled all the way from Corine, Utah, with an ox
team. He settled in the foot-hills- six miles east of
Moscow and here, together with S. J, Langdon and
Jack Kump, succeeded, after many difficulties, in man-
ufacturing lumber late in the fall of 1878.
In the meantime Hi. Epperly bought out the inter-
est of Kump who returned to Utah, and these three
men continued in the business over two years, saw-
ing all the lumber used in Moscow at that time,
including the lumber used in building our first hotel,
erected by Mr. Barton. On the same ground where
stood the Barton House, afterward burned down, there
now stands that magnificent structure known as "The
Moscow."
By this time several had pitched their tents in Mos-
cow, among them Curtis and Maguire, who had wan-
dered here distributing eyeglasses among the mem-
bers of our little community, collecting thereon their
usual commission. Attracted by the many natural
advantages of the locality, they built a little box house
where the Moscow National Bank building now stands,
and were ready for business, St. George Richards
had also built on the lot just south of Miss Farris'
millinery store, and kept a stock of drugs in the
front room. The stock consisted principally of a
barrel of old Bourbon and a few bottles of Hostet-
ter's stomach bitters.
Early in the spring of the following year W. J.
360
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
McConnell. our ex-govcrnor, visited Moscow and. im-
pressed with tlie richness of tlie country and its
future possibilities, bought out Mr. Curtis and went
into partnership with Mr. Maguire, under the firm
name of McConnell, Maguire & Company. This new
firm at once proceeded to erect a large and commo-
dious store on the corner of Second and Main streets,
where now stands the Moscow National Bank. The
store was one hundred and twenty feet deep, with a
thirty-foot frontage, and was stocked with fifty thou-
sand dollars' worth of goods. The people in the sur-
rounding country were greatly encouraged at the sight
of this, at that time, mammoth store, and from that
time on the town began to grow rapidly. When this
store was cotnplete, Moscow had the immense popu-
lation of twenty-five. The news of the great store
at Moscow spread everywhere and people from all
parts of the Potlatch and Palouse country fiocked to
Moscow to do their trading, and it is no exaggera-
tion to say that to no other men living in Moscow
is the town so much indebted for its present size and
flourishing condition as to ex-Governor McConnell
and J. H. Maguire. Dr. H. B. Blake. Moscow's first
physician, and the Rev. Dr. Taylor arrived during
the year 1878, and James Shields and John Kanaley
came in the fall. John Henry Warmouth had started
a hotel on the present site of the U. S. Store, and
also kept whisky for "medical purposes." Shields
and Kanaley boarded with him; Splawn and How-
ard had built a saloon where the Commercial Bank
building now stands, and A. A. J. Frye had a small
house on the present site of the Commercial Hotel,
and "Hog" Clark kept a butcher shop on the lot
now occupied by the drug store of Hodgins & Rees.
They often amused themselves by shooting holes
through the ceiling of Howard's saloon or taking a
shot at the whisky bottles on the rude shelves, and
by way of variation Scott Clark would proceed to
paint the town red until someone would yell "Indians"
when Clark would at once subside. The next sum-
mer, that of 1879, there were but three families living
in Moscow. R. H. Barton had moved to the north
Palouse and engaged in the sawmill business with
Jerry I5iddison, leaving Dr. Reeder, Asbury Lieuallen
and A. A. J. Frye to hold the fort. While Barton
was living in Moscow, and before he went to the
Palouse, he had been keeping boarders; Johnson's
family had in the meantime come out from the east
and were working with Biddison on the Palouse, and
so when Barton went to Palouse to go into the
sawmill he sent the Johnsons to Moscow to attend
to the boarding house, which they did till the spring
of 1880, when one morning Barton got up and found
the dam had washed out and all his logs floated down
the river to Palouse City. Being disgusted with the
turn afifairs had taken, he came back to Moscow and
built the old Barton House and also a livery stable,
where the handsome Skatteboe brick now stands.
The old wooden building was moved back and became
a part of the Red Front stables. Moscow did not
grow much during the summer of 1879. James Shields
had gone into the implement business in a building
later occupied by Kelly & Allen, and this was after-
wa-d torn down to make room for the handsome
brick in which the James Shields Company now have
their quarters. When he opened business he had
in- stock two wagons, half a dozen plows and a sec-
ond-hand standing plow-coulter. Barton bought the
coulter for what he would have to pay for a first-
class breaking-plow nowadays and traded for one
wagon which he in turn traded to Splawn for the
house and lot adjoining his.- being a portion of the
ground now occupied by the Hotel Moscow. About
this time C. & M. C. Moore built the Peerless, after-
ward the Moscow, roller mill, which was located just
west of the ball park and was destroyed by fire about
four years ago. This, together with the noted McCon-
nell & Alaguire's store, gave the town a start, and it
has been growing ever since, except in 1884, when
Moscow became almost bankrupt, owing to the col-
lapse of Villard and the failure to complete the rail-
road into the growing city. Before this the residents
of Moscow and vicinity had to go to Palouse City
for flour, and of course that diverted from this place
a great deal of trade that rightly belonged here.
People who come to our city to-day have but little
conception of the hardships and difiiculties which fell
to the lot of the early settlers. All the grain had to
be hauled to Wawawai and shipped by boat down the
Snake river, and all other products had to be sent
the same way. Freight rates were exorbitant and
prices for grain were low, while everything brought in
was almost worth its weight in money. Had this not
been one of the richest and most productive coun-
tries in the world, every one would have been bank-
rupt. But Moscow continued to steadily increase in
population and wealth till 1890. when her position
-as one of the leading cities of the state was assured.
From that date to the summer of 1893 was witnessed
a prosperous and growing city and a happy and con-
tented people, and these three years will long be
remembered as the time during which Moscow reached
the high-water mark of prosperity. Everybody made
money and everyone had money, and the volume of
business transacted here during that period was enor-
mous. Among the great business enterprises vvhich
were rapidly building up fortunes for their owners
at that time may be inentioned the elegantly furnished
and palatial store of the McConnell-Maguire Company,
who had built up a business which any Chicago or
New York house might justly have been proud of;
the magnificent establishment of Dernham & Kauf-
mann. on the southeast corner of Main and Third,
they carrying at that time a one hundred thousand
dollar stock, the largest amount of goods in any store
in the Palouse or Potlatch country; the mammoth
business of the M. J. Shields Company, which taxed
to its utmost capacity their three-story brick, with
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
its one hundred and sixty foot frontage; tliis com-
pany was also owner of the electric-Hght plant which
lighted the city, the Moscow planing mill, which gave
employment to fifty skilled mechanics, and was, besides,
interested in five large grain warehouses outside of
Moscow; and the Chicago Bargain House, an exclus-
ive dry-goods store owned by Messrs. Creighton &
Coinpany who had just moved into their new and
commodious quarters in the Skatteboe block. Many
other lesser business houses and corporations, too
numerous to mention at this point, were flourishing
and all combined to make Moscow one of the wealthy
cities of the northwest, and the wealthiest in Idaho.
With individuals and with cities prosperity is no test
of stability, and it was destined that Moscow should
pass through the refining and crucial test of adver-
sity, crop failures, and business depression before we
could prove to the world and to ourselves that the
superstructure we had reared was as solid and per-
manent as the foundations laid by the pioneers of
the '70s. In the fall of 1893 a long continued wet
season caused almost the entire loss of our staple
product, the wheat crop, and to make matters worse
there was a complete demoralization in prices on all
products. Wheat dropped from eighty-five cents per
bushel to fifty cents, then down lower and lower till
it seemed that it would be a drug on the market.
Debtors were absolutely unable to meet their obliga-
tions, the farmer had no money to pay his bills, the
smaller concerns could not settle their accounts with
the wholesale houses and money could not be bor-
rowed, even though gilt-edge security was oiTered.
The panic spread to large cities, and business houses
of long standing and established credit toppled and
fell into ruins, carrying with them many smaller firms.
Banks everywhere were coinpelled to close their doors.
In Portland there were seven bank failures recorded
in one day. A number of our business houses were
driven to the wall, but the most far reaching failure
of all was that of one of our largest and most import-
ant establishments, the McConnell-Maguire Company.
In 1894 and 1895 wheat was quoted in Moscow as
low as twenty-three cents per bushel, and it seemed
as though universal bankruptcy was inevitable, but
the pendulum of adversity had reached the lowest
point of its arc and slowly but steadily it swung
onward and upward to better prices and better times,
and we had time to draw a long breath and find out
"where we were at." One fact patent to all was that,
though some of our strongest props had crumbled
and fallen, yet Moscow was still here, and, though
tried in the crucible xif hard times, had maintained
her title as the Queen City of northern Idaho. In
1896 an abundant crop, with prices of our staple prod-
uct touching seventy cents per bushel, brushed away
the last traces of depression. Along all lines was seen
unusual activity, — old debts were cancelled, old scores
straightened up and new business houses opened and
old ones enlarged their quarters. Moscow has truly
proven that, unspoiled by prosperity, she can, un-
scathed, withstand the "slings and arrow^s" of adver-
sity.
The county-seat of Latah, and with a population
of five thousand, Moscow stands to-day the gem city
of the northwest and is an educational center of unsur-
passed facilities with her public schools and the Uni-
versity of Idaho (described elsewhere in this volume).
Nowhere in the northwest can be found a more thriv-
ing town. Its location is favorable to its rapid growth
and development, its site being both healthful and
accessible to the surrounding country. The principal
business center is on Main street. To stand at the
north end of this principal street and look south with-
out having a knowledge of the population of the city,
one would think, judging from the palatial business
brick buildings to be seen, that it might be a city
of ten or fifteen thousand people.
Socially speaking, Moscow has no equal in the
northwest, for it is a city of cultured ladies and beau-
tiful, rosy-cheeked maidens. During the long winter
months there is no dearth of amusements, — musicals,
social dancing parties, theater parties, etc., follow each
other in rapid succession, and the stranger within
our walls is always sure of a pleasant time and a
hearty welcome. There are to be seen here neither
"finicky" cliques that make life a misery in many of
the smaller cities nor the chilly exclusiveness to be
found in a metropolis. Thus it may be seen that
Moscow is a very desirable place to live. We have
two railroads, the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com-
pany's line and the Northern Pacific. (The Moscow
& Eastern Railroad Company has been organized
(1899) and will soon build its line, which will tap the
vast white-pine timber belt of Idaho, in which it is esti-
mated there is 1,293,000.000 feet of lumber. This road
will be an immense accession to Moscow's prosperity.)
The city is well supplied with the purest water, free from
all organic and deleterious matter and derived from
artesian wells situated within the city limits. The cli-
mate is delightful and healthful, and within a short
drive of mountain or forest is situated our beautiful
city. These are environments especially appreciated by
invalids and convalescents, and the benefits derived
from a residence amid this diversity of scenes is incal-
culable. No epidemic has ever visited us, and no pre-
vailing disease makes its home here. It is a matter
of fact that the longevity attained by many of our citi-
zens is greater in proportion to our population than
in other places. We are fanned by airs untainted
by malaria and we have sunshine and shadow in suffi-
cient quantity to suit the most fastidious. Between
the months of March and October the rainfall is
much less than during the remaining months, when
w-e have an abundance of rain and snow, often enjoy-
ing the finest of sleighing, and the tinkle, tinkle of
the merry bells may be heard night and day for sev-
eral weeks at a time. Our average temperature is
about fifty degrees, the thermometer seldom register-
363
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing ten degrees below zero in the winter or higher
than ninety degrees in the summer. The "Chinooks."
or warm winds, during the spring rapidly melt the
snow, which carries in its bosom a fruitful and refresh-
ing fullness to the soil. Finally. Moscow is a natural
distributing point and has a class of business men
who always work in harmony and concert for the
upbuilding of all her interests, and she is destined to
become a great manufacturing center, which w-ill in-
crease her population, her wealth, her prestige and
make her a power and producer among the great cities
of the northwest.
The newspapers of Moscow are duly considered in
the chapter devoted to the press of the state.
Moscow's first school-house was built in 1878, just
beyond the south Palouse. It was known as the Ma-
guire school-house. In the fall of that year R. H.
Barton was engaged to teach, and district No. 5
was supplied with its first educational facilities. But
this location was not satisfactory to the inhabitants
of Moscow, it being nearly a mile from the one store
the village contained, so a petition was circulated to
move it in closer. It was finally decided to settle
the matter by a vote to be held at the school-house,
as the country people did not wish to change its
location, on the ground that it was easier to move
the town to the school-house. It seemed as though
their wishes would prevail, as there were many more
votes from the country than from the town. But
Asbury Lieuallen threw off his coat and rustled around
among the floating population and by running a free
'bus all day between his store and the polls, carried
the election. John Russell donated a piece of ground,
and a new building was put up on the present loca-
tion of the Russell school. It was not long before
the young and growing city found that this building
was entirely too small, and those interested in the
welfare of Moscow early gave consideration to the
erection of a public-school building capable of afford-
ing accommodation to the school children then resi-
dents of the village, making some allowance for any
increase that might take place. Silas Imbler, one of
Moscow's beneficent citizens, donated a splendid piece
of land on which to place the proposed building. The
site is most centrally located in the northeastern por-
tion of the city. At the time of which we are writ-
ing it was admirably suited to the convenience of
the residents, being equidistant from all. The new
building, finished in 1883, was capable of accommo-
dating one hundred and twenty pupils, and was thought
to be of sufficient size to meet all the requirements
for the next decade. In the meantime reports as to
the richness of the country and the productiveness
of the soil began to go abroad, with the result that
the country began rapidly to settle, and Moscow, with
the neighboring district, began to take the leading
place in northern Idaho, so that in 1889 the trustees
of the public-school found it necessary to procure
additional school accommodations. They immediately
set to work, had plans prepared, and soon the con-
tract was let for the erection of the present Russell
school. The cost of this structure was sixteen thou-
sand dollars, making in all twenty-two thousand dol-
lars for school buildings. No pains were spared to
make this school second to none in the state. In
this endeavor the trustees received the hearty endorse-
ment of the citizens of Moscow. The school furni-
ture is all of the most modern and improved manu-
facture. The interior of the building is so arranged
that each department can be reached with the least
possible confusion. The different rooms are so located
that each grade can depart from the building with-
out intruding on the province of, or coming in con-
tact with, members of other departments, thus avoid-
ing the slightest confusion. This is borne out by
the fact that the entire school, numbering over four
hundred pupils, has vacated the building in less than
thirty seconds. On the 3d day of July, 1890, Idaho
was admitted into the Union.^ and since that time the
state has experienced a steady increase in population.
Moscow continued to keep the lead, so much so that
during the seven months of the last school term of
1892, in spite of her new school building, she was
compelled to rent a place of worship and to utilize
it for a school in which to place over fifty of her
children. Many thought this state of affairs would
not continue longer than the end of the term but
on the reassembling of the school in the fall it was
found that the same state of affairs existed, thus mak-
ing it necessary for the trustees to secure another
temporary building. This was found to be impos-
sible, so a new room was fitted up on the present
site and the building, on south Main street now
occupied by Emery's photograph gallery, was rented
and as many children placed therein as could be
accommodated. In spite, however, of the most stren-
uous efforts the school began again to be overcrowded.
It was clearly seen that one of two things had to
be done — either to overcrowd the building they had,
thus making it impossible for the teachers to do jus-
tice to the children, or to purchase property and erect
another building to serve the purpose of a high school,
thus taking from the Russell school those pupils who had
passed the curriculum prescribed by the board and were
prepared to enter a higher grade and more advanced
course of study. They chose the latter course, and
purchased a tract on Third street for which they
paid about four thousand dollars. The plans had
already been prepared and the contract was let for
over twenty thousand dollars, exclusive of school
furniture and heating apparatus. This building, as
finished, is of hard brick, with a stone foundation.
It is fitted up with the most modern improvements
and is constructed according to the most approved
principles, both for sanitary arrangements and venti-
lation. Although the capacity of this school is four
hundred and twenty-five pupils, the same old trouble
has been worrying the trustees for the last two years.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
363
The two large school buildings have been crowded
to their utmost, as well as a smaller building occu-
pied exclusively by primary pupils.
The schools are divided into eleven grades, each
in charge of an experienced and competent teacher.
The greatest care is exercised by our trustees in select-
ing teachers, and none but those who show a mas-
tery of the subjects essential to a sound education,
and also an adaptation to teach, find a place in our
public schools.
The University of Idaho is located in Moscow and
is an institution which is a credit to the state. It
is fully described on other pages of this work.
The Presbyterian church of Moscow was organized
January 25, 1880, by the Rev. Daniel Gamble, who
served the church only about a year. The society
is in most excellent working condition and has taken
a place as one of the leading churches of Moscow.
The First Baptist church of Moscow was organized
August 6, 1876, at Paradise Valley school-house by
Rev. S. E. Stearns, who supplied the church once a
month as the pastor for about two years. The old
church, built in 1878, was for some years the only
house of worship in the town. In 1897, feeling the
need of more rooin, the old building was torn down
and a handsome edifice erected in its place.
The Christian church was organized in the old
Maguire school-house 'by Elder D. B. Matheny and
in this vicinity he was the first to preach the gospel
as taught by the people known as the Disciples of
Christ. Fifteen years ago Elder C. J. Wright reor- .
ganized the work in Moscow and built up a member-
ship of over two hundred. After his departure the
work ceased and the church practically disbanded till
the winter of 1888, when Elder William McDonald
again reorganized, and continued to preach till the
following June. In the spring of 1890 Elder William
F. Caroden took charge and perfected the organiza-
tion. In 1891 a church edifice was erected and serv-
ices were first held in it on February 14 of that year
by Elder L. Rogers assisted by James Sargent, since
which time there has been a constant growth in mem-
bership.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Moscow was
organized August 8, 1881, by Rev. Calvin M. Bryan,
with a membership of about twenty. After a two-years
pastorship he was succeeded by Rev. Theodore Hoag-
land, by whom their first church was built, in 1883-4,
on a tract of land donated by Henry McGregor.
The society has an excellent edifice and also a par-
sonage.
The Episcopal church was established by the Rev.
Mr, Gill in 1888. Previous to this time, however.
Rev. J. D. McConkey, who was located at Lewiston,
made a number of visits to Moscow and preached here
in the interest of this church. The present church
was built about the year 1892.
The Swedish Lutheran church was organized about
1886 by Rev., P. J. Carlson, who had charge of this
work till 1891. During this time the present church
was erected.
The Norwegian Methodist church was established in
1886 by the Rev. Carl Erickson, and the present place
of worship was built about 1888.
The Catholic church of Moscow was organized in
1882 by Father Teomitie. Their present building was
erected in 1886 by Father Hartleib.
The Dunkards have an organization here and a
house of worship, but we have been unable to secure
the data in regard to its early history.
The Seventh Day Adventist's church was organized
in 1890 and a building erected by Rev. Scoles.
RESOURCES OF LATAH COUNTY,
In writing a history of the thriving city of Moscow,
it is necessary to speak of the varied resources of the
surrounding country, of which it is the principal re-
ceiving and distributing center. Latah county con-
tains w-ithin its limits the most favored section of what
is known as the famous Palouse country, widely known
for its genial climate, picturesque scenery and wonder-
ful productiveness of soil. The western and southern
portions of the county are a rolling prairie under thor-
ough cultivation. The products are wheat, flax, bar-
ley, oats, beans, hay, fruit and vegetables. At the
present time the cereals are the principal crops,
although the other products are encroaching each
year upon the grain acreage and gradually reducing
it. The fruit industry is yet in its infancy, but is
growing with great rapidity. In the southern portion
of the county, where the altitude is the lowest, the
orchards are more advanced, having been planted
earlier, but in the remote northern part peaches have
been raised very successfully and the yield of apples,
pears, prunes, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries and the
smaller fruits is certain and simply enormous. The
trees, unless securely propped, break down almost
every year with the weight of their yield. All this
part of Latah county, contiguous to Moscow is an
empire within itself and constitutes one of the rich-
est agricultural countries in the world. Wheat aver-
ages thirty-five bushels per acre, barley and oats forty
to fifty, and flax fifteen to twenty bushels. By care-
ful cultivation there are many who produce greater
yields than the average. In this section no irrigation
whatever is required, the natural rainfall being always
sufficient to insure bounteous crops without the ex-
pense of establishing an artificial water system.
Within the confines of Latah county is the greater
part of the largest body of white pine now standing
in the United States. So far as the examinations
have gone it is estimated that this body of timber
contains the enormous amount of tw'o billion feet of
white pine and five billion feet of other timber con-
sisting of yellow pine, tamarack, red and white fir,
and cedar. The title of the greater portion of these
timber lands is vested in the state for the benefit of
educational and charitable institutions. On some of
3(J4
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
it claims have been located and the rest is subject to
homestead and timber entry. If this body of timber
stood jn any state east of the Mis_sissippi river there
would not be a quarter-section left vacant, but here
all is diflferent. Well worn trails traverse this dense
forest in every direction but their only travelers are
the restless prospectors with their outfits seeking a
phantom Klondyke and passing carelessly by the sure
fortune that capital will in the near future glean from
this valuable tract. The importance and necessity of
opening up this vast timber region to the manufac-
turer, and the great advantages and benefits that
would necessarily accrue to this city have of late be-
come so apparent to the business men of Moscow and
vicinity that steps have been taken for the early con-
struction of a railroad to and through this forest of
untold value, upon no tree of which the lumberman's
ax has yet fallen. A company has been incorporated
under the name of the Moscow & Eastern Railway
Company and a survey made from our city to the
timber belt. This proposed road when completed will
traverse the forest for a distance of thirty miles, thus
aiifording good mill-sites along any portion of this
distance. Ten sawmills can be located along this line,
with an annual output of lumber that could be safely
reckoned at fifty million feet. In addition to this there
would be a large amount of wood, ties, shingles, etc.,
prepared for market.
Long before this county was considered adapted to
the pursuit of agriculture, successful mining was car-
ried on within its confines. As far back as the '60s
we have record of placer claims having been worked
along our different water courses. Besides rich de-
posits of gold and silver, there are also valuable mica
and opal mines within its limits. It may not be known
to all that the Idaho exhibit of opals, that attracted
such widespread attention at the World's Fair, came
from Latah county.
In 1881 a mine of mica was discovered about thirty
miles from Moscow by J. T. Woody, and in a short
time a number of other locations were made in the
same vicinity. The principal placer mines in the county
are situated in the Hoodoo district, which has been
worked for the last thirty-five years. Other mines be-
ing worked successfully are on Jerome creek. Swamp
creek. Gold creek and many others and in Howard
gulch. Garden gulch, Crumrine gulch and others on
Moscow mountain. The first quartz mill in the county
was operated on a ledge on Moscow mountain and
owned by Dr. Worthington and D. C. Mitchell. In
i8g6 a mill was started in the Daisy mine on Jerome
creek, which is now on a paying basis. On Ruby creek
is a most valuable gold and silver mine called the
Silver King. For years gold has been taken from
the ledges of Moscow mountain by the arastra pro-
cess, and if this mountain of wealth was situated in
some remote locality, difficult of access it would be
considered a veritable Klondyke. The Gold Bug, Gol-
den Gate and the Big Ledge are the principal mines
now being worked there.
MALAD CITY.
Oneida county was organized August 2, 1865,
and then embraced all of southeastern Idaho
from Utah to Montana, and contained, in whole
or in part, the counties of Cassia, Bear Lake,
Bingham, Bannock and Fremont. In 1884 the
present county of Oneida was organized, and it
contains thirty-two hundred and seventy-six
square miles, two-fifths of it being adapted to
farming purpose, while the remainder is used for
grazing or is mountainous land. Malad City,
now the county-seat, was incorporated in 1896
and now has an excellent mayor and board of
trustees. It was settled in 1864 by Henry Peck,
Louis Gaulter, William H. Thomas and Benja-
min Thomas, who came here with their families,
but all have now passed away. There are now
about eighteen hundred people in Malad, two-
thirds of the population being representatives of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
They have a large and costly tabernacle, and the
Presbyterians also have a church and school.
The Josephites, or reorganized church of Latter
Day Saints, likewise have a chapel. An inde-
pendent school district has been formed in the
city and a large and commodious school-house
is now in course of erection. There are six gen-
eral mercantile stores, two drug stores, two meat
markets, a bank, two blacksmith shops and a
large roller-process, water-power flouring mill,
with a daily capacity of fifty barrels. There is
also a large new creamery for the manufacture of
butter and cheese, and a rag-carpet weaving fac-
tory completes the list of the business industries.
The court-house is a frame building, well adapted
to the purposes for which it is intended, and the
city also supports a good weekly newspaper, the
Enterprise. Collingsworth, the nearest railway
station, is thirty-five miles distant, and Malad
City is situated in a beautiful valley which is
about ten by fifteen miles in extent, containing
one hundred thousand acres of rich farming land,
well watered. Grain and hay are raised in
abundance, and cattle and sheep raising are lead-
ing industries among the inhabitants.
JULIAETTA.
The attractive village of Juliaetta is located in
Latah county, on the Potlatch river, and its rail-
road facilities are those afforded l)y the Moscow-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
365
Lewiston branch of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road. The town .was founded and platted by
Robert Schupfer, who had entered from the gov-
ernment, in 1878. the quarter-section of land
upon which the village is located. He had im-
proved his farm, having built thereon a house,
located within one-fourth of a mile from the pres-
ent business section of the town. The first house
in Juliaetta was built by Perry Thomas, and the
place now has a population of five hundred. It
has a fine large public-school building, while the
Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches have
attractive edifices. The German Lutherans also
hold services in the village. Industrially the
place has four well stocked general merchandise
stores, a furniture store, a bank, a brewery, a
bakery, two livery stables and a good roller-
process flouring mill. This mill is operated by
water power, which is supplied by the Potlatch
river, which here flow-s swiftly in a narrow chan-
nel, affording a fine power, adequate for all de-
mands which may be placed upon it by future
industrial enterprises. The town has a well
managed hotel, owned and conducted by Charles
Snyder, who had the honor of naming the village.
He had a ranch near by, and there he succeeded
in having a post-office established, naming the
same after his two pretty daughters, Julia and
Etta, — hence the name of the town, Juliaetta,
since he eventually removed the post-
ofifice to the town, where he opened a store, and
the little village naturally assumed the cogno-
men of the post-office. The place is beautifully
situated on the banks of the river, amid the hills,
which add to its healthfulness and picturesque
appearance. It receives its support from a wide
range of excellent agricultural lands, on which
large crops of wheat, oats, flax, hay and fine
fruits are raised each year. The town was in-
corporated in 1892, its first board of trustees hav-
ing the following personnel: Robert Shupfer, J.
E.'^ Halleck, F. P. Seigler, T. H. Carither and
Charles Snyder. The present board is com-
posed of Messrs. J. R. Collins, F. Earnest, J. L.
Whettid, D. H. Sutherland and M. P. Stevens,
the last mentioned being the clerk of the board
as well as editor of the Juliaetta Register, to
which due reference is made in the chapter on
the press of the state. Of the fraternal organi-
zations the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
is represented here by a lodge and an adjunct of
Daughters of Rebekah, while there are also
lodges of Knights of Pythias and Star of Bethle-
hem.
SODA SPRINGS.
The town in Idaho known by this name is
situated on the Oregon Short Line Railroad, in
Bannock county, deriving its name from a large
number of mineral springs in the place and in
the vicinity, in most of which soda is present in a
large proportion. The medicinal properties of
these springs have been found of great value in
the treatment of many of the diseases from which
humanity suffers.
The first settlement of the place, in 1863, was
made by a small colony of dissenters from the
Brigham Young Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter Day Saints. The devout people who were
the first settlers of Soda Springs were followers
of young Joseph Smith and differed materially
in their religious ideas from the main body of
the church, and because of their alleged disbelief
were driven out of L^tah. They appealed to
General Conners, at Fort Doup-las, for assistance,
and he with a military guard conveyed them to
"Old Town" Soda Springs, supplied them with
rations, and left Captain Black with a small de-
tachment of soldiers to protect them. A treaty
was effected with the Indians, who agreed not
to molest them. They were very destitute and
undoubtedly would have perished had it not been
for the rations given them by the soldiers. Gen-
eral Conners had the land surveyed and allotted
to about fifty families who had located here at
this time, but later most of the families went
away, one by one, and became scattered, and of
that band of pioneef settlers there now remain
in the town only Nels Anderson and his wife.
William Bowman and Mrs. C. Eliason.
The town has now about six hundred and fifty
inhabitants. It is surrounded by a wide extent
of farming and grazing lands, and is a point
where extensive shipping of sheep and cattle is
done. It has a mineral-water bottling works,
the water shipped from this place being consid-
ered ec|ual in medicinal effectiveness to any min-
eral water in the world. There are two church
edifices in the town, one owned by the Latter
Day Saints and the other by the Presbyterians, —
the latter a verv cosv stone edifice, surrounded
36C
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
by shade trees. There are six general merchan-
dise stores in the town, all doing a good busi-
ness, and those that have been there the longest
have met with excellent success. There is a
water-power saw and planjng mill there, as one
of the leading industries. The town has four
hotels, — one of which is large and pretentious,
— two drug stores and two physicians.
Mrs. C. Eliason, one of the few remaining first
settlers of Idaho Springs, gives this account of
the manner in which the town came to be settled:
A number of Latter Day Saints at Salt Lake City
refused to obey the mandates of President Brig-
ham Young, and formed what is called the Re-
organized Church of the Latter Day Saints.
They planned and founded the church after the
teaching of the junior Joseph Smith, the son of
the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints. The leader of the new or-
ganization was Joseph Morris, and its councilor
was a Mr. Banks. They, with about three hun-
dred men, women and children, left Salt Lake
City, determined to worship God after their own
hearts. Going into camp at South Weberg, a
short distance from Ogden, they were attacked
by seven to eight hundred men from Salt Lake
City. They defended themselves until six of
their number were killed and many wounded,
and their ammunition expended. They sent out
a flag of truce, and the attacking party came to
the camp, led by Mr. Burton, who asked Mr.
Morris whether he would give up his opposition
to the authority of Young. Mr. Morris an-
swered, "Never!" "Then," Mr. Burton replied,
"we will try your God." Mr. Morris asked to be
allowed to speak, and, the permission granted,
he said: "I have taught only the truth, whether
you will receive it or not." Without further
words Burton shot him! A lady who stood by
Mr. Morris and who tried to take his part was
also shot: and they also shot Mr. Banks, the
councilor. Mrs. Bowman had said, "Wiiy did
you kill that man? you bloodthirsty hound!"
Burton replied, "No woman can call me that and
live," and he shot and killed her also. They then
took the rest of the men prisoners to Salt Lake
City, kept them a day and then released them,
and they returned to their camp. "They were
ordered off from there," continues Mrs. Eliason,
"and they were a poor, outcast people."
After the fight everything they had was taken
and confiscated, and they could not maintain
their organization against such disadvantages:
and the men scattered and sought work wherever
they could get anything to do. The following
spring General Conners came to Fort Douglas,
and to him they went for help: and he furnished
teams and moved them to what is now called Old
Town Soda Springs. There he had a survey
made and gave small allotments of land, and
they dug holes in the ground and covered them
with brush, and lived in them, in great destitu-
tion. A small detachment of soldiers under Cap-
tain Black was left to protect them, and their
captain made a treaty with the Bannack Indians
to let them live there in peace. Had it not been
for rations supplied by the soldiers many of them
must have starved.
This little company of soldiers staid with the
colony for about two years. After a time the
colony broke up, some members going to Car-
son valley, some to Washington territory, or
Montana, and some back to Salt Lake City.
Those who remained built log houses and began
to live in comparative comfort. Mrs. Eliason's
husband. Arick Eliason, raised a few cattle. With
a scythe he cut a quantity of wild hay and sold it
for four hundred dollars, and that gave them
their first little start. From emigrants who
passed that way to Montana or to Boise basin,
they bought a pair of oxen, for one hundred and
sixty dollars, and a wagon, for one hundred dol-
lars. After this Mr. Eliason cut tar-wood in the
mountains and made tar, which he took to Cache
valley and exchanged for provisions and other
necessaries; and from this time his fortunes im-
proved, and by hard work and indefatigable in-
dustry he became comparatively well off. He
died in 1893, aged seventy-six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Eliason were natives of Sweden
and were converted there to the faith of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
They arrived at Salt Lake on the 5th of October,
i860. Mr. Eliason took up a ground ranch near
Soda Springs and bought land in Montana, and
in 1898 his widow built a nice little cottage in
Soda Springs, where she now resides in peace
and comfort. She has had six children, namely:
Caroline, who became the wife of Ed. Culvert;
Annie, now Mrs. Henry Smith: Joseph, John,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
367
Isaac ami Jacob. Most of tliese sons are now-
well-to-do farmers. jNIrs. Eliason is seventy
years of aa;e.
FRANKLIN.
Franklin is the oldest town in Idaho. It is
located in Oneida county in the beautiful Cache
valley, about one mile north of the Utah state
line, and on a branch of the Oregon Short Line
Railroad about one hundred miles north of Salt
Lake City. When this great state was unpeo-
pled save by the wild sons of the forest a com-
pany of brave and faithful members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
made their way to the "Gem of the Mountains,"
arriving at the present site of Franklin, April 14,
i860. Around them spread the lovely valley,
and nature seemed to have provided all that man
deems necessary to livelihood. The honored
patriarchs, Samuel Rose Parkinson and Thomas
Smart, both still residing in the town, together
with a ]\Ir. Anderson, were appointed to survey
the town, and having no compasses they took
God's sure guide, the north star, whereby they
laid out the lines of the village. About fifty
families took up their residence here in i860, and
the distribution of land was by lot, five acres of
meadow, ten acres of upland and an acre and a
quarter in the village were given to each man,
whose ground was assigned to him by lot, and
the greatest harmony prevailed throughout the
distribution. The band of pioneers built modest
little log houses in the form of a hollow square,
the backs forming part of the walls of the fort.
For some time a guard was kept, for fear of In-
dian attack. The days brought privations and
hardships, but the little colony had the most im-
plicit faith in God, and with great energy they
began the task of earning a living and making
homes in the wild region. They made ditches
to convey the water to their lands, and not for-
getful of the intellectual needs, in the fall of i860,
they built a little log school-house, — the first in-
stitution of learning in this great commonwealth.
There they also held their religious services, and
prayers and songs of praise arose to the God
they worshiped. Those pioneer days, however,
liave long since passed, and the Latter Day
Saints have erected a large and well furnished
tabernacle, which is surrounded by a grove of
beautiful trees, and the Presbvterians have also
built a nice little church. The school district is
now erecting a larg-e brick school-house; a beauv
tiful square has been set aside to serve as a park,
and progress and beauty are seen on every hand.
Fine shade trees abound, and almost every home
is surrounded by some beautiful specimens of
these monarchs of the forest.
In 1874 the railroad was built, the church urg-
ing the settlers along the line to aid in making
the grade, so that they contributed materially to
the success of the enterprise which has thus
brought Franklin into close connection with the
outside world. A large shipping business is
now carried on, sheep, cattle and produce being
exported in large quantities. Most of the citi-
zens are farmers, having their homes in the vil-
lage, with farms near the corporation. The town
has a fine large stone roller-process mill, with a
capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels :
an excellent butter and cheese factory; an exten-
sive union store and several smaller ones, and is
enjoying a prosperous existence. The people
have remained true to the faith of their fathers,
almost ninety per cent of the six or seven hun-
dred inhabitants being members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
PRESTON.
Preston is an enterprising business center,
with a population of fifteen hundred, and is lo-
cated at the upper end of the beautiful and fer-
tile Cache valley, one hundred and ten miles north
of Salt Lake City. Railroad communication is
obtained through a branch of the Oregon Short
Line Railroad. The town was platted in 1885
b>- William Parkinson, John Larson and Augus-
tus Canfield, and the post-office was established
about the same time. The growth of the place
has been continuous and healthy, and Preston is
now the best business center of Oneida county,
having many excellent enterprises and commer-
cial establishments. There is a large wagon,
carriage and farm implement store, three exten-
sive and prosperous general mercantile stores, a
clothing store, a harness shop and store, two
hotels and other places of business usually found
in a progressive town of the west. There are
also two good newspapers. The town is sur-
rounded by a broad and rich farming country,
peopled by a thrifty, intelligent and successful
368
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
class of agriculturists, who do business in Pres-
ton, both as purchasers and shippers. The at-
tractive residences of the town are surrounded by
lovely shade trees and Preston is justly celebrated
for its beauty.
About ninety per cent of the inhabitants are
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, and they have erected a large church
and a splendid stake academy, the latter buiJt at
a cost of nearly fifty thousand dollars. Preston
also supports a well equipped and uniformed
company of the Idaho State Militia, known as
Company B, and composed of forty-five of the
representative young men of the place. There
is also a good district school in Preston, and the
people are an intelligent, enterprising and pro-
gressive class, readily supporting all measures
and movements for the public good.
yyi^u^^^ /^
CHAPTER XXVIII.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
AM AS A B. CAMPBELL,
THE rapid development of all material re-
sources during the closing years of the
nineteenth century has brought business
enterprises up from the day of small things to
gigantic proportions, where millions of dollars
take the place of hundreds and where men are
required to handle millions as coolly, as carefully
and as successfully as their grandfathers handled
hundreds. All the history of the world shows
that to grapple with all new conditions, to fill
breaches in all great crises men have been de-
veloped and have stood ready to assume new
and great responsibilities and have discharged
them well and profitably. Many youths now tak-
ing their first lessons in practical busmess will
work up gradually from one responsibility to one
higher, and then to still higher ones, as did
Amasa B. Campbell, Idaho's great mining mag-
nate, and will be, as he was, the right man for
the place, when, in the march of advancement,
the place is ready and they are needed in it.
Amasa B. Campbell is a son of John and Re-
becca (Snodgrass) Campbell, and was born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, April 6, 1845. His
father, a native of Pennsylvania, died in Illinois
in 1845, aged forty-five years, and his mother,
whose life began and ended in Ohio, died in 1892,
at the age of eighty-six. Mr. Campbell's boy-
hood was passed in his native county, where he
attended public school until he was seventeen
years old. Then he went to Alliance. Ohio,
where he entered the employ of the firm of Pettit
& Ni.xon, commission merchants, as a clerk.
There he remained five years, gaining a thorough
and practical knowledge of business and the
methods best calculated to insure its success.
He went west in 1867, where he was employed by
the Union Pacific Railway Company until 1870.
His work here gave him broader ideas of busi-
ness and fitted him to consider larger and more
important conmiercial and financial propositions
than had been represented to him hitherto. He
was drawn away from the employment, how-
ever, by the mining excitement which was then
beginning to make Utah the Mecca of venture-
some men who sought to achieve fortune by a
short cut, and he went to the country in 1871 and
was engaged in prospecting in Utah, Colorado
and Idaho until 1882. At that time he returned
to Ohio and located at Youngstown, but, as
events have proven, not with the intention of
giving up mining. He remained there five years
and, meantime, in association with John A. Finch
organized at Youngstown a syndicate of capital-
ists to purchase and operate mining property in
the Coeur d'Alene country, Idaho. Those who
are at all informed concerning the mining his-
tory of the Coeur d'Alene district know that Mr.
Campbell's enterprises and their successes have
made him one of the leading mining men of the
great west and that through his influence and
exertions some of the greatest mining properties
in the world have bpen developed, have yielded
their treasures for the enrichment of Idaho and
the improvement of the commerce of the nation
and have long afforded and are now affording
profitable employrnent to thousands of men.
A self-made man in all that the term implies,
Mr. Campbell has won his great success by legiti-
mate methods and by the exercise of sagacity,
foresight and business capacity of the highest
order, and another factor potent in his successes
has been labor, early and late, hard and unceas-
ing. In his views of affairs of public moment,
Mr. Campbell is a Republican, adhering strictly
to the principles of that party as enunciated by
.Abraham Lincoln. But in Lincoln's time the
silver question, as it is now understood, had not
arisen, and Mr. Campbell believes, with Senator
Teller and other distinguished Republicans of
the west, that he made no departure from Repub-
licanism when, as delegate to the national Re-
publican convention, at St. Louis, in 1896, he
370
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
with Senator Teller and others, refused to sup-
port the gold platform, and left the convention
hall. Mr. Campbell has risen to a high place in
the Masonic fraternity. Education has ever
commanded his best thought, and his dearest
wish is for the thorough and general education
of the American people. In recognition of his
interest in this subject, so vital to our national
progress, he was in 1899, appointed by Governor
Steunenberg a member of the board of regents
of the University of the State of Idaho, but fear-
ing that his important private interests would
prevent his giving due attention to the duties of
this ofSce he declined it appreciatively but firmly.
In 1890 Mr. Campbell married Miss Grace M.
Fox, of Youngstown, Ohio, and they have a
daughter, named Helen. They lived at Wallace
from 1890 to 1898, but have since had their home
at Spokane, Washington.
FR.\NK STEUNENBERG.
Frank Steunenberg was born in Keokr.k,
Iowa, August 8, 1861, and in the public schools
of his native state acquired his literary educa-
tion. In early life he learned the printer's trade,
and until January, 1887, was engaged in the
printing and publishing business in his native
state. He then came to Idaho, locating at Cald-
well, where he began business along the same
line. In 1889 he was chosen a member of the
convention that framed the state constitution,
and served upon several of its important com-
mittees. In 1890 he was elected a member of
the house of representatives, on the Democratic
ticket, from what was then Ad^a county. He also
served as chairman of the board of trustees of
Caldwell for two terms.
In politics he has always been a Democrat,
unswerving in his allegiance to the party, and
laboring earnestly to secure the adoption of its
principles. Since his arrival in the state he has
been a prominent factor in its circles. He was
chosen secretary of the Democratic state central
committee; in 1896 he became the nominee of
the People's-Democratic party for the office of
governor, being elected over the Republican
candidate by a good majority. In his first mes-
sage to the Idaho legislature Governor Steunen-
berg called attention to some abuses that needed
correcting, and also indicated the economic lines
upon which he meant to conduct the administra-
tion of the affairs of the state. This policy was
closely followed, and so acceptable were his
services that in 1898 he was renominated by the
bimetallists of the state, the Democrats and sil-
ver Republicans, and was elected.
CHARLES F. BURR.
The trite saying that "blood will tell" does not
depend for its illustration on the achievements
of distinguished members of the family so much
as upon the sum of the achievements of the rank
and file of the family in all generations and amid
varying circumstances, few of which are condu-
cive to what the world is pleased to call greatness.
There has been one great man in America named
Burr and there have been countless representa-
tives of the name in many communities who have
performed well their part and added to the sum
total of greatness by quiet work where work has
been needed and has counted. Such a man was
the late Rev. Samuel Prentice Burr and such a
citizen is his son, the subject of this sketch, who
is more truly a representative American than the
Burr whose name is prominent on the printed
pages of our early national history. And the
Rev. Samuel Prentice Burr and his son Charles
F. count for only two of thousands of the faniil\-
who have made their ranks in the communities
in which their lot has been cast, and in doing so
have advanced the interest of their fellow citizens.
Judge Charles F. Burr, an early settler and
an influential resident of Genesee, Idaho, was
born in jNIomence, Illinois, March 31, 1857, a son
of Samuel Prentice and Almira J. (Evans) Burr,
and lineal descendant of Rev. Jonathan Burr,
who was born in Redgrove, Suffolk, England, in
1604. He came to New England in 1639 and
settled in Dorchester, New Hampshire. He died
in 1640, aged thirty-seven years. He was the
founder of the American family of Burrs. One
of his sons was the progenitor of the branch of
the family of which Aaron Burr was a member,
and another was the ancestor of the family oE
Burrs of which our subject is a representative.
Laban Burr, the grandfather of the Judge, was
born in New Hampshire, and in 1820 located in
Ohio. In 1821 he removed to Illinois. The
Rev. Samuel Prentice Burr was born in Hing-
ham. New Hampshire, September 8, 1809, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
371
came west with his father's family. He married
Miss Ahnira J. Evans, a native of X'irginia and
a daughter of Joshua Evans, who came of one
of the old \'irginia families and was one of the
earliest pioneers in Illinois. He was a Methodist
and a circuit-rider of the pioneer days ; he spent
fortv-four years of his life among the pioneers
and in the service of the new anu struggling
churches of Illinois, and his work was crowned
with signal and permanent results. After this
long experience in Illinois, he continued the work
in Nebraska, always busy, always achieving, to
the very day of his death, which occurred sud-
denly, November 28, 1881, in the seventy-fourth
year of his age. He had preached the day uefore,
with all his wonted energy and forcefulness. He
is remembered as a friendly man with a hand-
shake and encouraging word for those in trouble
or in doubt, a preacher of sermons sound, vigor-
ous and brilliant, and a tireless worker in the
cause to which he gave his life. Living, he was
long and widely popular; dead, he will be long
and widely mourned. His wife survives him,
aged seventy-four years. They had eight chil-
dren, five of whom are living.
Charles F. Burr, their only son, was educated
in the public schools of Illinois and followed
agricultural pursuits most of the time until 1876,
when he came to the Pacific coast and traveled
extensively through California, Oregon and
Washington, looking the country over carefully,
with a view of changing his location. He came
west to stay in 1880 and for a time was in the
government employ at the Cascade locks. He
then went east and settled up his father's estate,
and in i888 came to the site of the present thriv-
ing town of Genesee. He arrived April 10 and
found just two structures to foreshadow the
future prosperity of the locality. One of these
was a "shack" occupied by ^Ir. Larrabee, tlie
other was John J. Owens' little frame hotel. Mr.
Herman was erecting a small building for a
store. The possibilities of the locality were ap-
parent to Judge Burr and he engaged in the real-
estate, loan and insurance business and was
largely instrumental in advancing the interests of
the town. He was of material assistance to its
business enterprises, and naturally succeeded in
his own undertakings. Besides handling real
estate he has erected a number of the good build-
ings in Genesee, and in addition to his local
interests he has valuable mining property in the
Pierce City district. With others he owns a
rich group of mines there, and all are in various
stages of promising development. Judge Burr
was one of the incorporators both of the town
and city of Genesee and was the first city clerk.
He has served as its police judge and justice of
the peace, and was its postmaster for four years,
through the appointment of President Harrison.
He was also one of the founders and the cashier
of the Bank of Genesee, and his influence has
been exerted to further the public interests in
every way. He has always represented a line of
the largest and strongest insurance companies
and has been instrumental in settling all losses
to the entire satisfaction of his patrons.
Judge Burr was married November 30, 1876,
to Miss Mary E. Wigg. a native of Elgin, Illinois,
and their children are as follows: Samuel P.,
the eldest son, is now serving his country in the
Philippine islands as a member of Company D,
First Regiment of Idaho Volunteers; Fannie is
now the wife of Gilbert C. Crawford; William is
first sergeant of Company D, First Regiment of
Idaho Volunteers, now in active service in the
Philippines; Daniel C, LeRoy, Dora E., Aha and
Marie are all at home with their parents.
In his political views the Judge is a stalwart
Republican. He has passed all of the chairs in
all of the branches of Odd Fellowship and the
grand encampment and is now serving his second
term as representative to the sovereign grand
lodge. He was made a Master Mason in Unity
Lodge, No. 32, F. & A. M., and his wife is an
influential member of the Congregational church.
He has erected and occupies one of the finest res-
idences in the city, and he and his family are held
in the highest esteem by a wide and constantly
enlarging circle of acquaintances.
JOSEPH R. SHEPHERD.
Tliis is an age when the young man is prom-
inent. He is at the head of many important enter-
prises and is bringing others to the front which
ire bound to startle very many who have per-
mitted themselves to be buried under superannu-
ated ideas. At an age when the average business
man of two generations ago was considered but
a child, tlie boys of the end of the century have
372
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
acquired the foundation of a practical knowledge
of successful business methods, and with broad
ideas, in harmony with the spirit and opportu-
nities of the age, are planning their work for the
future with a view to achieving success and retir-
ing early in life. The west is full of young
business men, and Idaho has its share of those
who have made their marks early in life. One
of these, the narrative of whose career will serve
as an illustration pertinent to these remarks, is
Mayor Shepherd of the city of Paris.
Joseph R. Shepherd was born in Hampshire,
England, March i8, 1865, a son of William and
Mary Ann (Tracy) Shepherd. His parents came
of old English stock, and his father was a shoe-
maker by trade. They became converts to the
doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, and in 1877 they emigrated to this
country, bringing with them their ten children,
and located at Paris, Bear Lake county, Idaho,
where Mr. Shepherd worked at his trade until
he retired from active life, and he died in 1898,
aged seventy-three. His wife survives him and
is now (1899) sixty-nine years old. He was a
high priest in his church, having done valuable
missionary work for it before coming to the
United States, and his exertions in its behalf were
continued with good results after he took up his
residence in Paris. His children, except one, all
live in Paris. Joseph R. Shepherd, the seventh
in order of birth, attended school in England
from his fifth to his twelfth year, when he was
Drought to Paris. Here he entered upon the
work of earning his own living as a boy clerk in
the store of the Paris Co-operative Institution,
with which concern he was employed about five
years. He then accepted a position with the
Wooley Brothers, and was employed in their
store about three years. He was then engaged
as manager of the co-operative store of the
town, and had charge of all its interests
about five years, during which time he
bought and sold large quantities of goods.
In 1891, in connection with others, he organ-
ized the Paris Mercantile Company, in whicli
he was a large stockholder and of which
he was made business manager. At the
expiration of two years he bought out the
other stockholders and he has since that time
owned and conducted the business of the concern.
He deals in every kind of merchandise for ahich
there is any demand at Paris, and is a large
buyer of the produce of the country round about.
He is the owner of the large frame building in
which his business is conducted and which is
now too small for its adequate accommoda-
tion, and is now erecting a large double brick
block, with rock basement and steel roof, which
will be as nearly fire-proof as it is possible to
make it.
He is a man of liberal methods, who is willing
to invest money to make money and who treats
his employes so generously that they work for his
interests faithfully and tirelessly. His public-
spirited helpfulness is recognized by all his fellow
citizens. In politics he is a Republican. He was
one of the organizers of the city of Paris, was
one of the first councilmen and is its present effi-
cient and popular mayor. All the members of
his household are members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Pie was
married, in 1885, to Miss Rose Budge, daughter
of State Senator William Budge of Paris, and
they have si.x children: J. Russell, Alfred Will-
iam, Clarence, David, Eva and Harold.
WALTER ALLEN JONES.
This gentleman is the senior member of the
law firm of Jones & Morphy, of Wallace, and
holds a position of distinctive precedence at the
bar of northern Idaho, by reason of his eminent
ability as counsel and advocate. He was born
in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1855, and is
a son of Joseph D. and Catherine A. (Kaercher)
Jones, both of whom were natives of Pennsyl-
vania and spent their entire lives in that state,
as had their ancestors since early colonial days.
The father died at the age of forty-five years, and
the mother was called to her final rest when
seventy-three years of age.
The subject of this review was reared and edu-
cated in the common schools of Pottsville and
further continued his studies in the Paschal Insti-
tute, at that place. Determinmg to prepare for
the bar, he began familiarizing himself with the
principles of jurisprudence in 1874, as a student
in the law office of the Hon. W. H. ]\I. Oram, of
Shamokin, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to
the bar at Sunsbury. Pennsylvania, Janu-
ary 15, 1878, and immediately afterward began
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
373
practice, spending one year in Mount Carmcl,
and then removing to Shamokin, where he
practiced from 1879 until the close of the
year 1885. In January, 1886, he came to
the Coeur d'AIene country and took up his
abode in Murray, Shoshone county, where
through the summer he engaged in mining. Since
the autumn of that year he has been in active
practice in all of the civil and federal courts of
the state, and in November, 1897, was admitted
to practice in the United States supreme court,
and in October, 1892, had been admitted to
practice in the United States circuit court of ap-
peals, at San Francisco, California. He is re-
garded as one of the leading lawyers of the north-
west, and much important litigation has been en-
trusted to his care.
In politics Mr. Jones was a Republican until
1892, since which time he has been identified with
the People's party. He has been honored with
a number of ofificial positions, — he was elected
city auditor of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in 1875,
serving for two years; in 1879 was elected
police magistrate of the same city, and acceptably
filled that position for five years: and he received
the unanimous nomination of tlie Republican
party for state senator from the fourteenth dis-
trict of Pennsylvania, but declined the honor
proffered him. In 1886 he was elected district at-
torney of Shoshone county. Idaho, and during his
term of service prosecuted some of the noted
criminal cases of the state. He conducted the
prosecution at the trial of ex-Sheriff Teddy
Guthrie and of Patrick McGown, county com-
missioner, both of whom were convicted. In
1889 Mr. Jones removed to Wallace and con-
ducted the litigation which arose from the locat-
ing of the town site by Colonel Wallace. He has
been elected city attorney of Wallace for four
successive terms, and in addition to his official
duties has all the time carried on a large and
important private practice. He prepares his
cases with great care and precision and in the
court-room marshals his facts and evidence with
all the ability of a general on the field of battle.
His manner is always courteous to judge, jury
and witnesses, yet he never loses sight of .", point
that will advance his client's interests, and has
won many forensic triumphs.
On the 1st of January, 1880, Mr. Jones mar-
ried Miss Frances ]\I. Thomas, at Wilkesbarre,
in the famous Wyoming valley of Pennsylvania,
which was the home of her parents and had been
the ancestral place of residence of the family for
more than a century. She is a member of the
Episcopal church and is a cultured lady who
shares in the high regard in which her husband
is uniformly held.
MARCUS D. WRIGHT.
One of the most successful and progressive
business men of Idaho, and the leading land-
owner of Kootenai county, is Marcus D. Wright,
of Rathdrum. He was born in Kentucky, April
16, 1851, and is a son of John W. and Mary
(Gipson) Wright, both of whom were likewise
natives of Kentucky. The father died in Illinois,
at the age of sixty-four years, but the mother is
still living, at the age of eighty-seven, and is a
resident of Germantown, Kentucky. Of their
seven children six yet survive.
Marcus D. Wright was reared in Kentucky
and acquired his education in the public schools
there. At the age of seventeen he left his native
state and went to Missouri, making his home in
St. Joseph until he had attained his majority. In
1871 he went to Montana, in which state he
lived for six years, and in 1877 he removed to
Spokane, Washington. In 1881 he came to what
is now Kootenai county, Idaho, locating on the
present site of the town of Rathdrum, with whose
interests he has since been prominently identified.
He was one of the first merchants of the place,
and for thirteen years he has been engaged in
furnishing railroad ties, under contract, to the
Xorthern Pacific Railroad Company, which he
has supplied with more than three million ties in
tliat period. The period of his mercantile career
here covers eleven years. He has a well selected
stock of general merchandise, and commands an
excellent patronage by reason of his courtesy, his
enterprise and his reliable business methods. He
is also the most extensive land-owner in Kootenai
county, having four thousand acres, of which
eight hundred acres are planted to wheat, oats,
hay and potatoes. His agricultural interests add
materially to his income, and the various depart-
ments of his business have proved profitable,
owing to his sound judgment and capable busi-
ness management.
374
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In 1881 Mr. Wright married Miss Bertie Piper,
a native of California, and they have eight chil-
dren, as follows : Florence A., May W., Elida R.,
Zella Z., John J, Bertie D, Stella H., and J\I.
Gordon.
In his political adherency ^Ir. Wright is a
Democrat, and he keeps well informed on the
issues and questions which affect the public pol-
icy and the national welfare. He aided in organ-
izing Kootenai county, and served as its first
collector and assessor, yet has never been an
ofifice-seeker, preferring to devote his energies
to his business interests. He belongs to that
class of representative American citizens who
promote the general prosperity while laboring for
individual success, and is a man of pleasant de-
meanor and genuine worth, having gained the
confidence and regard of all whom he has met.
JOHN COZZENS.
The man whose name appears above is one
of the most prominent citizens of Montpelier,
Bear Lake county, Idaho, and is entitled to the
distinction of having been a pioneer and a leader
of pioneers on the site of the present town, where
he first arrived a third of a century ago and
where he has lived since, active in all good works
tending to development and prosperity.
John Cozzens was born in South Wales, at
High Cross, Penbrookshire, May 17, 1833, of
Welsh, Scotch and Irish ancestry. James Coz-
zens, his father, was a farmer and a member of
what was then the Independent Presbyterian
church. His wife was Diana Thomas. He died
in the thirty-seventh year of his age, she at the
age of forty-two. They left nine children, of
whom only three are living. John Cozzens, the
eldest of the family, was educated in Wales,
learned the butcher's trade there and, at the age
of nineteen, married Miss Martha Cozzens, a
distant relative and one of the pioneers of Mont-
pelier. They were converted to the faith of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and
sailed, the year after their marriage, for America,
with Utah as their destination. That was in
1856. Mr. Cozzens took up government lands
in Weaver valley and lived there until the church
called for volunteers to settle Bear Lake valley.
Then he was one of the fifteen men, who with
their families, responded to the call. After stop-
ping for a while at Paris, they came to Mont-
pelier in 1864. There was not at that lime a
rod of iron rail within the limits of the present
county of Bear Lake and the settlers had to go
seventy-five miles for their supplies and bring
them in with ox teams. They lived simply and
cheaply in the poorest apologies for log houses,
and had to rely on the most primitive means for
everything. Mr. Cozzens brought along a big
coffee mill, and this was used to grind the grain
for the colony. It was hard enough for the pio-
neers to procure the necessaries of life for them-
selves and their families, but they fed the Indians
also when opportunity presented, as a means to
gaining and retaining their good will. Mr. Coz-
zens early took up a quarter-section of govern-
ment land, and most of his companions secured
land in the same way. He was the president of
the colony during the first ten years of its ex-
istence. For a time the hardships and discour-
agements were numerous and diversified. They
took the form of early frosts, which killed every-
thing that had been planted and had appeared
above the ground, and of crickets and grasshop-
pers, which destroyed the crops when the harvest
time approached. But the pioneers were patient
and were upborne by their faith. The winters
were colder than any winters have been in the
same locality since, and this brought many dis-
comforts. The mail was brought in irregularly
by men on snow-shoes and it was necessary to
burrow down under the drifts for the fuel which
was indispensable. But better things came by
and by. The wilderness disappeared, a beautiful
agricultural country was developed and a thriving
town grew up as if by magic. Mr. Cozzens is
now the owner of two hundred acres of land
which, even if he had nothing else to show for
his years of toil and self-denial, would in itself
be a small fortune. Modern improvements and
appliances are to be seen everywhere. The pests
of the early days are for the most part gone. The
Indians are gone, but this blessing has a shadow.
The Indians formerly ate ground-squirrels in
such large numbers that those pests were killed
and frightened ofif so thoroughly as to be no ob-
struction to successful farming. The squirrels
have now multiplied to such an extent that,
though many are killed every year for the bounty,
paid by the county, of two cents on each tail
7.
f^ /2^<
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
375
brought in, they are numerous enough to de-
stroy much grain.
July 25, 1870, Mr. Cozzens married Miss Emily
Merrill and Miss Sarah J. Perkins. By his two
marriages he has eighteen children. Following
are the names of his children by his first wife:
Almira, who married D. E. Rich and lives at
Ogden, Utah; James D., of Preston; William,
who is on a mission to Kansas for his church;
Orrin, who has a sheep range in tlie mountains;
and Mark, Earl and Lucille, who are members
of their father's household. His children by his
second marriage are named as follows: John,
who is married and lives at Meadowville; Diana,
Matthew, David, Luke, Joseph, Paul, Milton,
Martha and Golden. Mr. Cozzens is a Democrat,
a man of good business reputation and a citizen
of much liberality and public spirit.
WILLIAM E. BORAH.
In the "learned professions" merit alone can
win advancement. When success must depend
upon the various mental attributes of the indi-
vidual, neither wealth nor influential friends can
aid one in the progress toward fame. The man
who has attained prominence at the bar is there-
fore entitled to great credit, for as he lengthens
the distance between himself and mediocrity
it is the indication of great zeal, marked abil-
ity, close application and thorough knowledge.
It has been through the exercise of these
qualities that William E. Borah has attained a
position at the bar that might well be envied
by many an older practitioner.
He was born in Fairfield, Wayne county, Illi-
nois, June 29, 1865, and is of German and Irish
lineage. Three brothers of the name emigrated
to America in colonial days and two of them
fought for the independence of the nation, while
the third was an ardent loyalist. William N.
Borah, the father of our subject, was a native of
Kentucky, numbered among the influential farm-
ers and officials in his county for many years.
He married Elizabeth West, a native of Indiana,
and in 1820 they removed to Illinois, where they
still reside, their home being in Fairfield. They
are members of the Presbyterian church, honored
pioneers of the community, and are widely and
favorably known. They had a family of ten chil-
dren, eight of whom are yet living.
Among this number is William Edward Borah,
of Boise, who was reared on the old familv home-
stead in Illinois, aiding in the labors of field and
meadow through the summer months, while in
the winter season he attended the district schools
of the neighborhood. Later he entered the
Southern Illinois Academy, at Enfield, that state,
where he studied for a year, after which he was
matriculated in the university at Lawrence, Kan-
sas. He had almost completed his course there
when failing health forced him to seek a change
of climate by going south. When he had suffi-
ciently recovered he came to Lyons, Kansas, and
began reading law under the instruction of A. M.
Lasley, now of Chicago. He applied himself
with great earnestness to the mastery of the
fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and in
1888 was admitted to the bar. He was then
ready to put his theoretical knowledge to the
practical test, — a test which afterward fully dem-
onstrated his ability to cope with the intricate
problems of the courts. He came to Boise in
1891, entered upon the practice of his profession
and rose rapidly to prominence, acquiring an ex-
tensive and profitable clientage. He now has the
reputation of being one of the most successful
lawyers in the state, having won many notable
victories before judge and jury.
On the 28th of April, 1895, Mr. Borah was
united in marriage to Miss Mamie McConnell,
a daughter of ex-Governor McConnell, of Idaho.
They have a nice home in Boise and their posi-
tion in social circles is very enviable. In politics
Air. Borah has ahvays been a stalwart Republi-
can, but in 1896, not agreeing with his party on
the position which it took on the money question,
he refused to follow- its leadership and joined the
ranks of the "silver" Republicans. With great
power he defended the cause of bimetallism, was
nominated for congress on that issue and con-
ducted one of the most brilliant campaigns in the
history of the state. The brilliance and force of
his eloquence soon became noised abroad and
wherever he spoke he attracted large audiences
from every class and station in life. He had the
power of holding the attention of his hearers to a
remarkable degree, and though he was defeated
he led his ticket, won hosts of friends and ac-
quired the reputation of being one of the alilest
campaign orators in Idaho. He is a young man
376
HISTORY OF ID. mo.
of great promise. His close study of the momen-
tous questions of the day and his loyalty to
America and her institutions well fit him for
leadership, and both in the field of politics and
at the bar he will undoubtedly win still greater
successes in the future.
HENRY M. THATCHER.
Throughout the greater part of his life Judge
Henry M. Thatcher has resided on the Pacific
slope, and as one of the honored pioneers of this
section of the country has been prominently
identified with its development, progress and up-
building from an early day. He was born in
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, October 17,
1833, and is of German lineage. His grandfather,
Samuel Thatcher, was born in Germany, and
when a young man emigrated to the United
States, settling in Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he married Miss Hannah Smith. He
was a soldier in the war of 1812 and lived to the
advanced age of ninety-three years. Enos
Thatcher, the father of the Judge, was one of a
family of three sons and five daughters. He
married Miss Artemesia Case, also a native of
Susquehanna county, and in 1837 they removed
to Illinois, locating at Ottawa, LaSalle county,
where the father entered land and, in connection
with agricultural pursuits, conducted a hotel.
Both he and his wife were Congregationalists in
religious belief, and for many years Mr. Thatcher
served as chorister of his church and took an
active part in other branches of the work. He
lived to be seventy-eight years of age. The
mother of our subject died in the fifty-first year
• of her age, leaving two children, Henry M. and
Elizabeth, who is now Mrs. Deckerd, of Albany,
Oregon. After the death of his first wife the
father married again, and by that union had two
children.
Judge Thatcher was reared on the old home-
stead in Illinois, and in 1850 crossed the plains
from LaSalle county to Placerville, California.
He traveled with a party, and they experienced
many hardships and trials. At Independence
Rock they were obliged to abandon their wagons
and supplies, after which they suffered for the
want of food and were obliged to live on boiled
corn, of which they partook but once a day.
They had no money with which to buy food at
the few places where it could be obtained, and
thus it was, empty-handed, that Henry 'M.
Thatcher began life in the west. For a time he
engaged in placer mining near Hangtown and
then went to Coloma, just below where Marshall
made the first discovery of gold. He also engaged
in mining at American Bar, on the American
river, but in 1852 returned to the east, making
the journey by way of the isthmus route. After
paying all expenses he was enabled to take back
with him a capital of two thousand dollars.
In the spring of 1853, however, Mr. Thatcher
again crossed the plains to California, and was
engaged in ranching in the San Jose valley,
where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres
of land, near Hayward. He raised barley and
wheat and received good prices for his cereals.
Later he was in San Francisco for a time and
served as a member of the vigilance committee,
being present when Cora and Casey were hung.
The work of that committee was very important
in bringing to an end the power of the lawless
element which infested the new country and per-
petrated many atrocious crimes. In i8s8 he re-
moved to Albany, Oregon, and thence to Salem,
where he engaged in the livery and transfer busi-
ness until 1878, when he came to Boise, Idaho,
and took charge of the overland stage from
Boise to Kelton. After three years devoted to
that business he purchased a ranch on Goose
creek, in Cassia county, and in connection with
its cultivation and improvement he conducted a
hotel, his energies being devoted to that enter-
prise for nine years, during which time he met
with a gratifying success.
In 1890 Judge Thatcher came to Shoshone,
and purchased four hundred and forty acres of
land five miles east of the town on Little Wood
river. Here he has since been engaged in ranch-
ing and raising cattle, and has made his property
one of the best in the country. He has a fine
water right, and also has various placer-mining
claims, the estimated value of which is from one
to two dollars per yard. He is now engaged in
doing hydraulic work, which it is expected will
yield large returns. Thus steadily has he added
to his possessions, and although he came to
California without capital he is to-day the pos-
sessor of considerable property, which has come
to him as the reward of his own labors.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
3;r
»
In 1878 Judge Thatcher was united in mar-
riage to Miss Lou L. Hart, of Portland, Oregon,
and they have two sons, Leroy and Harry S. The
former, now eighteen years of age, is ably con-
ducting affairs on the ranch and is engaged in
the stock business. The younger son is a little
lad of six summers.
Socially Mr. Thatcher is a Mason, having been
connected with the order since 1868. He is past
master of the lodge and has also been scribe in
the chapter and is a member of the Odd Fellows
society. In politics he has always been a stal-
wart Republican, but does not agree with
the party on the money question. He was
elected a justice of the peace in 1894,
and is now serving his fifth year in that
office, having ever discharged his duties with
marked promptness and fidelity and without fear
or favor. He has a wide acquaintance in Califor-
nia, Oregon and Idaho, and takes a deep interest
in the western states, where so many years of
his life have been passed.
JOHN CUDDY.
In western Idaho is located Cuddy mountain,
which will ever stand as a monument to the gen-
tleman whose name heads this sketch, — one of
the honored pioneers of the state. More than a
third of a century has passed since he came to
this part of the Union, and few if any of the
early settlers are more widely known than he,
while none are held in more genuine regard.
In almost daily fear of Indian attack, he planted
his business interests near the mountain named
in his honor and there maintained his home
while civilization slowly advanced toward him
from the older east, gradually lessening the realm
of the red men, who were once lords over this
rich and beautiful region. The history of his life
here in the early days, if written in detail, would
prove more marvelous than the most wonderful
tale of the novelist, but space forbids us to give
more than a limited notice of his career.
Mr. Cuddy was born in county Tipperary, Ire-
land, November 15, 1834, a son of Michael and
Catharine (Murphy) Cuddy. In 1840 his parents
crossed the Atlantic to Boston, Massachusetts.
bringing with them their ten children, while one
of the number, having married, remained on the
Emerald Isle. The father died at the age of
seventy-eight years, and the motner passed away
at the age of ninety-three. John Cuddy, their
youngest child, was only six years of age when
they sailed for the New World. He is a self-made
man, for from early youth he has been dependent
entirely upon his own efforts. His education was
acquired at night schools and in the hard school
of experience, but through his activity in the af-
fairs of life he has gained a good practical knowl-
edge. In his youth he learned the machinist's
trade and operated a stationary engine. In 1852
he made his way to the Pacific coast, traveling
by way of the isthmus route to San Fran-
cisco, where he was employed in a ware-
house for a time. He also engaged in
mining on the Tuolumne river and operated a
sawmill. In 1856 he went to Puget sound, where
he manufactured lumber, and then accepted a
position as engineer on a tow boat.
In 1865 Mr. Cuddy came to Idaho, bringing
with him a stock of goods from San Francisco.
He came by water up the coast and through the
river to Umatilla, and thence by team proceeded
to Boise, where he opened his store, having a
stock of liquors, groceries, paints and oils. He
was the senior member of the firm of Cuddy &
Tyne, and carried on business in Boise until
1869, when they came to Salubria and erected the
first mills in this part of the country. These were
ready for operation in 1870, and the following-
year Mr. Cuddy purchased his partner's interest
and has since carried on the business alone. He
engages in the manufacture of both lumber and
flour, and nearly every house in this part of the
state is constructed from lumber from his mill,
while there is scarcely a home not familiar witli
the John Cuddy brand of flour. There were
many difficulties and obstacles to be overcome
in the establishment of a p-ood business, but he
i? now enjoying a large trade, and his efforts are
crowned with a merited deeree of prosperity.
In addition to his milling interests he owns a
valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres,
a mile and a half from Salubria, and is justly re-
garded as one of the successful agriculturists and
stock-raisers of this section of the state.
When he brought his materials and supplies
from Boise to build his mills, there were no
bridges in this ]5art of the state, and so he and
]\Ir. Tvne built a boat, which thev carried with
378
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
them. On reaching a stream that was not ford-
able they loaded their supplies in the boat and
swam their stock across, thus eventually reaching
their destination. Salubria is only seventy-
five miles distant from Boise, but at that time
it required twenty-one days to make the trip to
and from the capital city. He located seven
miles from any habitation, and the mountain near
which he built his mill and home soon became
known as Cuddy mountain, a name which it still
bears. The first winter after his arrival in the
Salubria valley the roads became so blocked with
snow that for three months INIrs. Cuddy saw
no one but her husband and baby On one oc-
casion he loaded two four-horse teams with
dressed hogs and bacon and started for the city,
but the snow and mud under it were so deep
that it required four days to go nine miles. They
left the loads and went back to the house to sleep
at nights. At another time Mr. Cuddy went to
Boise for a ton of salt and was commissioned by
a neighbor to purchase a can of kerosene. He
paid one hundred and sixty dollars for the salt
and secured the oil, but when he reached home
he found that it had leaked on the salt, render-
ing it unfit for use, and thus he was obliged to
make the trip again for more salt. The first load
he left exposed to the weather, and at the end of
a year the oil had evaporated so that the salt
could be fed to the stock.
In 1877, when the Nez Perces war broke out,
the settlers were in imminent danger, and many
of them packed up their goods, left their homes
and went to Weiser. Mr. Cuddy sent his family
to Boise, and thus they lived in constant danger
of the red men who again and again went on the
war-path. The men always wore their cartridge
belts to the fields where they worked, and at the
slightest noise glanced apprehensively around,
fearful of seeing the Indians. In 1878 the Ban-
nacks went on the war-path, and when the news
reached Mr. Cuddy he put his family in a wagon
and took them down the valley to a fort which
was built for protection for the settlers. Xo less
than ten times did he thus take his wife and
children from home, for he had taken part in an
Indian war in Oregon in 1865, and knew of the
cruelties and treachery of the savages. Grad-
ually, however, as civilization advanced and the
country became more thickly populated, the In-
dians were subjugated and thus departed for
other regions, leaving this fair district to yield its
splendid gifts in return for the labors of the white
race.
It was on the loth of January, 1871, that Mr.
Cuddy was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Delia
Tyne, a native of his own country and county,
and to them have been born six children, five of
whom are living, namely: Kate, Ellen, John,
Mary and Edward. They are being provided
with good educational privileges and thus fitted
to become useful men and women and to do
credit to the untarnished family name which they
wear.
In his political views Mr. Cuddy is a Republi-
can, but has never been a politician in the sense
of office-seeking, preferring to devote his time
and energies to his business interests, in which
he has met with good success. He, however,
served his county on the board of commissioners
for eight years, and has ever sought to promote
the public welfare and the general good. He be-
longs to that class of brave and loyal men who
have made possible the present splendid devel-
opment of the northwest, and on the pages of
Idaho's history his name will ever be engraved
as one of its honored pioneers.
WARREN P. HUNT.
\\'arren Palmerton Hunt, who has been a
highly respected citizen of Lewiston since 1862,
and is numbered among the California pioneers
of 1854, was born in Erie county. New York,
JMarch 13, 1832, a son of Isaac and Diantha (All-
bee) Hunt, the former a native of Vermont and
the latter of the Empire state. In 1852 the
father went by way of the Cape Horn route to
California, but returned to his farm in Erie coun-
ty, where he made his home until his death,
which occurred in the eighty-sixth year of his
age. His wife passed away in her eighty-second
year, and both died on the old family homestead
in New York, where they had spent the greater
part of their lives. They were honest, industrious
farming people, highly respected by all. They
held membership in the Christian church, and
iMr. Hunt gave his political support to the Re-
publican party.
Warren P. Hunt was the eldest in their family
of three children, and was reared upon the old
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
379
homestead, attending the public schools through
the winter months, while in the summer he assist-
ed in the labors of field and meadow. In 1854
he sailed from New York for San Francisco,
reaching the latter place after a month's voyage.
He then went directly to the mines in Sonora,
Tuolumne county, California, and engaged in
mining for about six years, meeting with only
moderate success. While on the Stanislaus river
with three partners, an incident occurred which
terminated fatally to two of his partners, and
Mr. Hunt and the other partner narrowly es-
caped with their lives. In the river thev had a
wheel that lifted the water to the sluice. Three
Frenchmen belo^v them were engaged in putting
in a wing-dam in the river some distance below,
which backed the water on the wheel and pre-
vented its turning. Mr. Hunt and his partners
went down to see the Frenchmen and in a peace-
able way endeavored to get them to obviate the
difficulty. They even ofTered to help deepen the
race without charge, but the Frenchmen were
obstinate and would agree to nothing, but con-
tinued to wheel dirt onto their dam. This so
excited the little Englishman of Mr. Hunt's party
that he pushed the plank on which they were
wheeling the dirt into the water. At this, the
big Frenchman clutched him, and Mr. Hunt,
fearing that his partner would be drowned, went
to the rescue. Finding that his fists — for he
had no firearms with him — did not suffice to
make the Frenchman desist, he took a stone and
hit him on the head hard enough to make him
loosen his hold. While they were in the fight the
other Frenchmen ran to the cabin and brought
out two guns and shot and killed the two partners
of Air. Hunt. By this time the Englishman had
partially succeeded in disengaging himself from
the clutches of his opponent, but he was also
shot, being wounded in the knee. The French-
men then rushed back to the cabin to reload their
guns, while Mr. Hunt and the Englishman en-
deavored to make their escape. They hadn't
gotten away from the range ot the guns, how-
ever, before they were fired upon again, and the
partner, who was leaning on Mr. Hunt for sup-
port, was again wounded. They however, man-
aged to reach their own cabin, where they had
arms, but the Frenchmen did not follow them.
Soon the news of the murder sped among the
miners in that vicinity, who turned out in force,
but the P'renchmen escaped in the under-
brush, which was then very dense. One of the
hunting parties, however, came upon them, and
was fired upon by them. It was supposed that
they were helped out of the country by a brother
Frenchman, who conveyed them away in drv-
goods boxes. However, Mr. Hunt afterward
learned that one of the Frenchmen was later
hung in Los Angeles, for other crimes.
In 1859 the subject of this sketch removed to
Monterey, California, where he engaged in farm-
ing until 1861. In the winter of that year he
went to San Francisco, thence by steamer to
Portland, and up the Columbia river to The
Dalles. At that point he joined a party of five, who
secured pack horses and came overland to the
Grande Ronde country on the Powder river and
thence, in the same year, to Lewiston. There
w'ere then but two wooden buildings in the town,
but many tents marked the site of the now flour-
ishing and prosperous city. In July the party
went to Warren's, where Mr. Hunt took a miner's
claim, but met with only fair success in his ef-
forts there. He next made his way to Idaho City,
in the Boise basin, where he followed mining for
a year and a half. That venture, however, did
not prove very profitable, and in the winter he
returned to Warren's on snow-shoes, digging
down and making a bed in the snow at night.
The heavy snows greatly delayed the party, and
their supply of food gave out. Some of the men
suffered greatly and a number of them froze their
feet. At last most of them were so exhausted
that a Scotchman and Mr. Hunt were the only
two strong enough to go ahead and break the
track, and a part of the time they were able to
make only from five to ten miles a day.
After again mining at Warren's for a year Mr.
Hunt abandoned that industry altogether and
engaged in carrying the mail and express be-
tween Lewiston and Warren's, traveling on horse-
back in the summer and making the journey on
snow-shoes in the winter. He carried on his
back from eighty-five to ninety pounds from
Warren's to Lewiston, and was paid one dollar
per pound. He made the round trip of one hun-
dred and seventy miles each week in the summer
and in the winter once in two weeks, seventy
miles of the distance on snow-shoes. There were
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
road agents in the country then, but Mr. Hunt
succeeded in evading them, and although he ran
great risk he never received a scratch. He con-
tinued this arduous task for six years and then
took up his abode in Lewiston, where he has
since made his home. He was elected to public
office in 1867, being chosen sheriff of Nez Perces
county, — the candidate of the Republican party,
of which he has always been a stanch supporter.
He was afterward elected auditor, recorder and
clerk of the board of county commissioners, serv-
ing for two years in such a capable and satisfac-
tory manner that on the expiration of his two-
years' term he was re-elected. Since that time he
has been engaged in stock-raising, farming and
in the meat business. He owns a valuable farm
of one hundred and sixty acres, ten miles from
Lewiston, and in the city he has erected a de-
lightful residence, — a fitting place for one of
Idaho's bravest and best pioneers to spend the
evening of his days.
In 1870 Mr. Hunt was united in marriage to
Miss Olive C. Martin, a native of New York,
and a daughter of Joel D. Martin, who took up
his abode in California in 1850, and is numbered
among the honored Idaho pioneers of 1862. He
resides near Lewiston, and is one of the respected
and valued citizens of this commonwealth. Mr.
and Mrs. Hunt had two children. The little son
died in infancy, and their daughter, Clara Irene,
was spared to them only until her tenth vear,
when the dread disease, diphtheria, carried her
away, bringing the greatest grief to the house-
hold. Mrs. Hunt is a leading member of the
Methodist church. Mr. Hunt is not connected
with any church or society, but is widely recog-
nized as a man of sterling worth, and in his up-
right and useful life has gained not onlv a com-
fortable competence, but has also won that good
name which is rather to be chosen than great
riches.
EZRA BAIRD.
In tlie year which witnessed the arrival of so
many of Idaho's prominent pioneeers — 1862 —
this gentleman cast in his lot with the early set-
tlers, and through the period which has since
elapsed he has been an important factor in the
development and progress of the state. He is a
native of Schoharie county, New York, born May
II, 1839, and is of Scotch and English descent.
His ancestors came to America in colonial days.
and the maternal great-grandfather of our sub-
ject. Major Norton, fought throughout the strug-
gle for independence. Joseph Baird, the father of
our subject, was born in New York, and married
Miss Sally Ann Gifford. For many years he
engaged in the operation of a flouring mill, but
in 1849 took up his residence upon a farm near
Binghamton, New York, where he spent the re-
mainder of his life. He took an active part in
public affairs, and held various county offices,
discharging his duties with marked promptness
and fidelity. Both he and his wife were faithful
members of the Episcopal church. The former
departed this life in the fifty-ninth year of his
age, the latter in her seventy-seventh year. They
had a family of four sons and three daughters, of
whom five are living.
Ezra'Baird was reared and educated in Bing-
hamton, New York. With the hope of more
rapidly acquiring a competence in the west, in
1861, when twenty-two years of age, he went by
way of the isthmus of Panama to San Francisco,
where he remained for a year. The following
year he arrived in Lewiston, where he has since
made his home. He engaged in placer mining
on Newsom creek and in the vicinity of Elk
City, meeting with fair success, and taking out
at times as high as one hundred dollars per day.
After these early mining experiences he engaged
in the stage and express business between Lew-
iston, Warren's, Elk City and other places, and
met with prosperity in that undertaking, which
he continued for ten years. He was then called
to public office, being elected sheriff of Nez Per-
ces county in the fall of 1874. So fearlessly and
efficiently did he discharge his duties that he was
elected for three successive terms and served in
all for eight consecutive years, proving a most
capable officer and true to the public trust. He
was also United States marshal for the territory
of Idaho, appointed by President Cleveland. He
is now largely interested in quartz mining in
Montana, British Columbia; and, in Idaho, at
Buffalo Hump, Dixie, Florence and on the
Snake river, where he has rich copper mines. He
is also engaged in buying and selling mines on
his own account. At Lewiston he was also en-
gaged in the livery business for several years,
and has uniformly met with success in the various
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
381
undertakings to which he has devoted his ener-
gies.
In 1873 INIr. Baird was united in marriage to
Miss Mary A. Odle, a native of Oregon and a
daughter of James Odle, a pioneer of the Sun-
set state. They have two children, Edna May
and Lewis Lawrence. They reside in a very at-
tractive home, which stands on the hill near the
State Normal School, and the household is noted
for its genial hospitality. Socially Mr. Baird is
connected with the Masonic fraternitv, being
connected with the blue lodge, chapter and coni-
mandery. and has also attained the thirty-second
degree of the Scottish rite. In addition to his
service as county sherifif, he has filled the office
of alderman of Lewiston and has also been its
mayor. He has exercised his official prerogatives
for the upbuilding and development of the city,
and at all times gives a hearty support to all
measures intended for the public good. For thir-
ty-seven years he has been a resident of Idaho
and is widely and favorably known throughout
the state.
BENJAMIN F. HASTINGS.
It has been the discovery of the rich mineral
deposits of the northwest that has led to the de-
velopment of this section of the country, and
among those who have been prominent in pro-
moting the mining interests of Idaho is Benjamin
F. Hastings, late mining inspector of the state.
An excellent judge of the value of ore, and a man
of unimpeachable integrity, he was well quali-
fied for the position which he so acceptably filled,
and all concerned commended him for the
straightforward, prompt and reliable manner in
which he discharged his duties.
A native of Mississippi, Mr. Hastings was
born in the city of Vicksburg, on the 31st of
August, 1848. His ancestors were English peo-
ple wdio took up their abode in Pennsylvania at
an early period in the history of the Keystone
state. They took an active part in the affairs
which shaped the destiny of the colony, and rep-
resentatives of the name aided in the struggle
for American independence. Benjamin Franklin
Hastings, father of our subject, was born in Lan-
caster county. Pennsylvania, and when a young
man removed to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where
he married Miss Ann Caroline Baker, a native
of Somersetshire, England, and a daughter of
Amos Baker, Esquire. On the discovery of gold
in California, in 1849, Mr. Hastings, Sr., made
a voyage around Cape Horn to the Pacific coast
and became prominently engaged in the banking
business in Sacramento, Virginia City, Nevada,
and in San Francisco. He died in the last named
place in 1882, at the age of sixty-five years. He
was a man of excellent business abilit)' and un-
questioned integrity and left to his family the
priceless heritage of an untarnished name as well
as a goodly competence. In the family were ten
children, but only two are now living, Benjamin
F. and James, the latter now a resident of Cal-
ifornia.
In 1852 Benjamin F. Hastings of this review-
was taken to California by his parents. He was
then only three years of age, and since that time
he has resided in this section of the country. He
attended the public schools of the Golden state,
continued his studies in Philadelphia, and com-
pleted his education abroad, studying both in
England and in Paris, France. In 1868 he came
to Idaho and for a year engaged in mining near
Silver City, but at the expiration of that period
returned to San Francisco and accepted the po-
sition of receiving teller in the banking house
of John Sime & Company. At the time of the
Pioche excitement, in 1870, he went to that
region, where he spent four years, and in 1875
he returned to Silver City, where he has since
made his home. He has made judicious and
extensive investments in mines, has operated a
number successfully, has sold others at good
profits, and still has valuable mining property in
the vicinity of Silver City. He also has some
good residence property here, and is one of the
substantial citizens of this section of the state.
He was elected to the office of state inspector of
mines in 1896, and his term expired in January,
1899.
He has always been a stanch Democrat in his
political affiliations, and in 1886 was elected on
that ticket to the position of sheriff of Owyhee
county. On the expiration of his term of service
he received his party's nomination for re-election.
Mr. Hastings was united in marriage to ]\Irs.
Anna Kimberly, of Dallas, Texas. They are
both members of the Episcopal church, and are
very highly esteemed in the community in which
thev make their home. Mr. Hastings has a wide
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
acquaintance throughout the state, especially in
mining circles, and his election to an important
office indicated the confidence reposed in him and
the high regard accorded him.
HON. BURDICE J. BRIGGS.
There are few men in southern Idaho better
or more favorably known than Hon. Burdice J.
Briggs, a lawyer of ability and success, an up-
right and patriotic citizen, and the constant
promoter of the best interests of the state and its
people. His effective work in the legislature in
behalf of irrigation entitles him to a prominent
place in any volume which purports to give an
account of Idaho and her leading useful citizens.
Hon. Burdice J. Briggs was born at Bellevue,
Nebraska, November 21, 1859, a son of Alpheus
N. and Harriet (Green) Briggs. The Briggs
family in America is of English origin and Bur-
dice J. Briggs' ancestors came over previously
to the Revolution and located in New England
and New York. Alpheus N. Briggs was born
in Vermont. While yet a young man, unmarried.
he settled with his parents in ^Michigan, where he
was a pioneer. He married Miss Harriet Green,
of Allegan, that state. Judge Henry C. Briggs,
of Kalamazoo, long a legal light in ^lichigan,
was his brother. The family were Baptists for
a long period in their earlier history. Later some
of them became Congregationalists. During his
younger and more active years Alpheus N.
Briggs was a carpenter and a farmer, and he has
always proven himself a man of good knowledge
and understanding and influential as a citizen.
He has attained the age of sixty-four years. He
lives at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with his daughter,
Mrs. H. C. Compton, whose husband is battalion
sergeant of the Iowa volunteers in the United
States service at Manila. His wife died at
Georgetown, Montana, in January, 1891, aged
forty-nine.
Alpheus X. Briggs removed with his family to
Nebraska in 1853, and located at Bellevue, where
Burdice J. was born. The future lawyer gained
a common-school education at Columbus, Neb-
raska, and began his legal studies in Nebraska
and finished them in Idaho. He came to this
state in 1881 and was so fortunate as to secure as
a preceptor F. S. Dietrich, a man thoroughly
grounded in the law and now a prominent legal
practitioner at Pocatello. Mr. Briggs was admit-
ted to practice in 1887 and located at Idaho Ealls,
and he has built up a large and lucrative business
in Bingham and adjoining counties. He is a
member of the popular law firm of Briggs «S:
Reeves, Judge \\'illiam T. Reeves being his part-
ner, and they have offices at Pocatello and at
Idaho Falls.
Politically Mr. Briggs is a Populist, and he is
active and influential in the inner circles of his
parly. ]\Ir. Briggs was a Republican unti! 1896,
when he became a Populist because he could
no longer support the financial theories of the
Republican party. He was elected to the first
legislature as a Republican and to the fourth
legislature as a Populist, and was prominent in
connection with much important legislation. He
took deep interest in the passage of a bill to pro-
mote the irrigation of the state, on which the
fortunes of southern Idaho greatly depend. He
is a prominent Mason and is now (1899) filling
an important office in Eagle Rock Lodge, No.
19, A. F. & A. M., of Idaho Falls. He has a
beautiful residence at Idaho Falls and a hundred
and sixty acre farm, seven miles north of that
place.
]Mr. Briggs was married October 7, 1885, to
Miss Isabelle W. Gordon, a native of Scotland
and daughter of James Gordon, of Castle Doug-
las, Scotland. They have four children: Ethel
Gordon, Milroy Green, DeForest Graham and
Jane. Mrs. Briggs is a member of the Presby-
terian church.
PERRIN BEZA WHIT^IAN.
The name of Perrin Beza Whitman is indeli-
bly inscribed on the pages of the history of the
northwest, for throughout the period of its de-
velopment he was an active factor in promoting
its interests and is numbered among the honored
pioneers who made possible its later-day prog-
ress and prosperity. The lot of the pioneer of
the northwest has been a peculiarly hard one.
The Indians, driven from their hunting grounds
farther east, have cherished the resentment char-
acteristic of the race, and have met as foes the
brave band of white men who came to the west-
ern wilderness to reclaim the lands for purposes
of civilization and to garner the riches of nature
for themselves and families. Not onlv were the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
383
pioneers met by the hostility of the Indians, but
vast stretches of sandy plains and almost impass-
able mountains separated them from the com-
forts and conveniences of the east, and their lot
was one of danger, difficulty, hardship and toil.
A courageous spirit, an unconquerable deter-
mination and steadfast purpose, — these were the
qualities demanded of the pioneers, and such
characteristics enabled Mr. Whitman to meet
conditions before which many another man
would have quailed.
He was the adopted son and nephew of the
renowned Indian missionary, Dr. Marcus Whit-
man, who was massacred by the Indians in 1847.
His birth occurred in Danville, Illinois, March 4,
1830. In 1840 he went to New York, and in
1843, when thirteen years of age, he crossed the
plains to Oregon with his uncle and the first
wagon train that made its way over the plains
to the Columbia river. When Dr. Whitman was
killed and the mission burned, the papers of his
adoption were destroyed. His life was spared
only through chance, he being at The Dalles
when the massacre occurred. His uncle had sent
him to that place to take charge of some property
which he had purchased of the^Iethodist mission,
and sixteen days intervened before our subject
heard of the tragedy. A Mr. Hinman had gone
to \ ancouver, where he learned the news, which
had been carried to that point by a Frenchman,
and on learning of the sad event Mr. Hinman at
once hurried back to The Dalles. While a con-
sultation was being held to decide what had bet-
ter be done about the matter, five Indians rode
up, saying that they were hungry, and Perrin
Whitman w^ent to the barn with them and gave
them in their blankets nearly half a bushel of
wheat. They had placed their guns by the fence,
and all at once they gave a tremendous yell, scat-
tered the wheat out of the blankets and rode
away, for they had discovered that the white men
had learned of the killing and were in a measure
prepared for them. At three o'clock on the fol-
lowing morning the pioneers at The Dalles
started for Oregon City, knowing they were no
longer safe at the former place, but after pro-
ceeding only sixteen miles on their way, a severe
wind caused them to have to push ashore, and
they were forced to remain at that point for six-
teen days longer, — days fraught with danger and
suspense. After reaching Oregon City Mr. Whit-
man joined a party of volunteers tliat started
out to arrest the Indians that had committed the
crime, and also to relieve and protect the white
men at the other mission. When all the volun-
teers had assembled there were several hundred
of them, and Mr. Whitman piloted the boats up
the Columbia river and also acted as interpreter
to the Indians. Many of the savages who had
been connected with the murder were killed, and
five were tried, convicted and hung. At the time
the volunteers were mustered out, it was re-
quested that fifty should continue in service, and
Air. Whitman was one of the number who ac-
ceded to the request. He was in the upper coun-
try when the Indians who had murdered his uncle
were hanged, at Oregon City, and though he
made all haste to reach the scene he arrived a
day too late.
Later he secured a clerkship in a store, where
he remained for two years, and on the expiration
of that period he began buying and selling
horses. He was married February 5, 1854, to
Miss Priscilla M. Parker, of Salem, Oregon, a
daughter of Samuel Parker, who was born in
Mrginia and crossed the plains in 1845. He was
a lawyer of ability, a man of much prominence in
the early history of Oregon, and was instrumental
in securing the establishment of the capital at
Salem. In his religious connections he was a
Alethodist, and in his political views he was a
Democrat, but w^as a strong advocate of the
Union cause during the civil war. He died in
1887, and the comnumitv in which he resided
mourned the loss of one of its most valued citi-
zens.
In 1863 Mr. Whitman came with his familv to
Idaho, locating in Lapwai, where he was em-
ployed by the government as an interpreter in
the Indian schools, anl also had charge of the
Indian agency for a time. In 1883 he removed
to Lewiston, where he was employed during the
greater part of the time as a salesman. He was
most trustworthy m business circles, reliable and
honorable, and his enterprise made him a valued
factor in the promotion of any business concern
with which he was connected. In his religious
belief he was a Presbyterian, and was a man of
the highest integrity of character, who gained
and retained the respect and confidence of all
384
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
with whom he came in contact. He was at all times
a loyal citizen of his adopted state, and did all in
his power to promote its growth and advance its
interests along educational, material, social and
moral lines. He departed this life January 26,
1899, 2"d ^'•is many friends mourned the loss of
not only a valued citizen but of a gentleman
whom to know was to esteem and honor,
^Ir, and Mrs. Whitman were the parents of
seven children, namely: Marcus S., who died in
his eleventh year: Katherine, who became the
wife of Mr. Barber and departed this life in her
twenty-second year; Frances, wife of Charles
E. Monteith, who is United States consul to Can-
ada and resides in Chatham; Elizabetli K., wife
of Henry K. Barnett, of Lewiston ; Sophia, wife
of William E. Mallory, a resident of Lewiston;
Ethel, wife of Dr. Ashford, of Canyon City, Ore-
gon; and Jennie, wife of T. D. Barton, of Lew-
iston, an ex-sherifif of Xez Perces county. There
are now two granddaughters and seven grand-
sons. Mrs. Whitman survives her husband and
makes her home with ]Mr. and JNIrs. Mallory.
She is one of the noble pioneer ladies of the state,
and her splendid qualities of mind and heart have
endeared her to all who have the pleasure of her
acquaintance. The family is one of prominence
in this community and the history of Lewiston
would be incomplete without reference thereto.
MATTHEW H. TRUSCOTT.
The leading merchant and eiificient postmaster
of Mount Idaho, Matthew H. Truscott, has been
a resident of this state since 1865, and has there-
fore been a witness of the greater part of its
growth and development, has seen its wild land
reclaimed for purposes of cultivation, its rich
mineral storehouses give forth their treasures,
and the forests yield their trees to be converted
into the homes of white men, who thus replaced
the tents of the Indians. He was a young man
of only twenty years when he arrived in the terri-
tory, his birth having occurred in England,
March 20, 1845. He was educated in the schools
of his native land, there learned engineering and
was for some time employed in that line of in-
dustry and at mining. In 1861 he went to Chili,
and two years later proceeded up the Pacific coast
to California, where he was engaged in mining
and engineering until the spring of 1865, when
he came to Idaho, making the journey on horse-
back through the Indian country, Nevada and the
valley of the Humboldt river, to Idaho City, in
the Boise basin. He remained there only a month
or two, when, attracted by the gold excitement
at Coeur d'Alene, he went to Clearwater station
and mined in the different camps of Elk City and
Newsom. He met with a fair degree of success
and still has mining interests on the Clearwater.
On coming to Camas prairie he was employed
as engineer in a saw and flouring mill until 1883,
when he accepted the position of clerk in the
Mount Idaho Hotel. In 1886 he was appointed
by President Cleveland to the position of post-
master, an office which he has since filled most
satisfactorily to the people of the town and most
creditably to himself. He was also agent for the
Wells-Fargo Express Company for two years,
and in 1892 he entered into a contract with the
firm of \'ollmer & Scott to manage their general
mercantile store in Mount Idaho. The following
year he purchased that store, and has since car-
ried on the business on his own account, having
the principal establishment of the kind in the
town. He is now enjoying a good trade and is
meeting with excellent success in his undertak-
ings.
In addition to his duties in the post-office Mr.
Truscott has performed other public service, hav-
ing been deputy sheriff, deputy county assessor,
deputy county treasurer and deputy school super-
intendent, and at the present time he is capably
filling the position of county superintendent of
schools. In his political affiliations he is a stal-
wart Democrat, and keeps well informed on the
issues of the day, doing all in his power to pro-
mote the growth and insure the success of the
party. He belongs to the jMasonic fraternity and
has attained the twentieth degree of the Scottish
rite. In his life he exemplifies the benevolent and
inspiring principles of the order, and throughout
northern Idaho he is widely and favorably
known.
HENDERSON ORCH.-\RD.
Each community is judged by the character of
its representative citizens, and its social, intellec-
tual and business standing is determined thereby.
The sterling worth, commercial ability and en-
terprise of the leading men are mirrored forth in
the public life of the town, and therefore the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
385
history of the people of prominence is the his-
tory of the community. No account of Grange-
ville would be complete without the life record of
Henderson Orchard, the popular president of the
board of trade and a man whose public spirit is
manifested in his many efforts to improve the
conditions and promote the upbuilding of the
town.
A native of Oregon, he was born in the city of
Monmouth, November 22, 1857, his parents
being Jesse C. and Minerva (Medford) Orchard,
natives of Virginia and Illinois respectively. They
crossed the plains with oxen to Oregon in 1852,
making that long and perilous journey with their
family of five little children. While residing in
Oregon six more children were added to their
family. Mr. Orchard secured their' donation
claim of six hundred and forty acres where the
town of Monmouth now stands, — a beautiful tract
in one of the richest and loveliest valleys of the
northwest. There the family resided until 1859,
when the father sold that property and purchased
a homestead seven miles west of Portland, where
he now resides, at the age of eighty-one years.
His wife passed away in 1886, in her sixty-fifth
year. This worthy couple were the parents of
eleven children, all of whom are yet living.
Henderson Orchard, the sixth in order of birth,
acquired his education in Portland, learned the
plumber's trade in early manhood, and for the
past twenty-five years has devoted nearly his en-
tire time and attention, through business hours,
to putting in water systems in various towns in
Oregon, California, Washington and Idaho,
which work has gained for him the title of "The '
Water King." He put in and owns the fine water
system which is so valuable an acquisition to the
business interests of Grangeville. The water is
obtained from springs three and a half miles up
in the mountains, and is piped under pressure
to the town and through Grangeville in all direc-
tions. Mr. Orchard is also engaged in the hard-
ware business here and he was one of the organ-
izers of the board of trade and was elected its
first president. One of the principal objects of
the board is to promote the building of good
roads in all directions, and other improvements
receive its encouragement and support.
In 1878 Mr. Orchard was united in marriage,
at Portland, to Miss Emma Jane ^lason, a
daughter of M. B. Mason, one of Oregon's brave
pioneers. They now have four sons,— Hollie,
Thane, \'ance and Tesla Edison. In his social
relations Mr. Orchard is connected with the Odd
Fellows lodge, and with the Modern Woodmen
of the World. In politics he is a stalwart Republi-
can and friend of the administration. His life has
been one of activity in the industrial world, and
the success which he has achieved is the fitting
crown of well directed labors.
ROBERT L, NOURSE, M. D,
Dr. Robert L. Nourse, a prominent citizen and
leading physician of Hailey, was born at Clo-
verport, Kentucky, September 27, 1864. He
descended from English ancestry, and his Amer-
ican progenitors were among the early settlers
at Salem and Nashua, Massachusetts. History
tells how Rebecca Nourse, a member of his
family, was burned at the stake at Salem on a
charge of witchcraft, and the story forms one
of the darkest and most painful chapters of our
American history. One of the sights of Salem is
the monument erected to her memory by mem-
bers of her family of a later generation, and there
is no other shrine on the continent at which so
many tears have been shed.
Dr. Nourse's father, Charles Augustus Nourse,
was bom at Salem. He came west to Illinois
with his brothers and was married at Ouincy to
Aliss Frances Bridges, a native of Kentucky, re-
lated to the Bullard and Murray families of
that state, members of whom, as did some of
the Bridges, participated in the war of 1812-14.
and the war with Mexico. He died in 1880, at
the age of sixty-one; his wife, at the age of forty-
one, in 1867. They had nine children, of whom
five are living, and so far as possible reared their
family in the strict Presbyterian faith, of which
they were lifelong adherents.
Dr. Robert L. Nourse, their youngest child,
was educated in the public schools and at an
academy, and received his degree of M. D. from
Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1889. He
practiced his profession in Chicago and at Ash-
land, Wisconsin, until he came to Hailey. Al-
most from the day on which he opened his office
in the flourishing Idaho town he may be said to
have had a successful practice. It has grown
constantlv and extended into the countrv sur-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
rounding Hailey until it is very valuable. While
devoting himself to general practice, Dr. Noursc
has been an enthusiast in the study and treat-
ment of diseases of the eye, ear and nose, and
in surgery he has won a wide reputation as a
safe and skillful operator. He is the sort of phy-
sician who would practice his profession for the
love of it, even under less favorable environ-
ments than those of Hailey; and he recognizes
the fact that the physician, endowed with superior
knowledge and skill, is under grave responsi-
bility to suffering mankind regardless of any
mere question of pecuniary gain. In May, 1899,
he was appointed by the governor a member of
the state board of medical examiners for six
years, and was elected secretary and treasurer by
said board for two years.
In 1889 Dr. Xourse was married to ^Miss ]^Iarie
Crawford, daughter of Dr. S. K. Crawford, an
eminent practitioner of Chicago. They have
two children, Robert L., Jr., and Norman Craw-
ford. Dr. and Mrs. Nourse are Presbyterians,
but, there being no church of their own denom-
ination in Hailey, attend the services of the
Methodist Episcopal church and contribute lib-
erallv toward its support. Dr. Nourse is a mem-
ber of the American :Medical Association and of
the Idaho State Aledical Society. He was made
a Master Mason in Ancient Landmark Lodge,
No. 210, of Ashland, Wisconsin. He is an Odd
Fellow and a Modern Woodman. He is one of
the most popular men in Hailey and has a wide
acquaintance among the leading men of the
state.
LOUIS N. B. ANDERSON.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him an
ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy
is he whose lines of life are cast in harmony there-
with. In person, in character and talents, :Mr.
Anderson is a worthy scion of his race. Though
his life has been one rather of modest reserve
than of ambitious self-seeking, he has shown him-
self a peer of the brightest men of his adopted
state, and his mental talents led to his selection
for the important position of superintendent of
public instruction of Idaho for the years 1897
and 1898, in which capacity he served with dis-
tinction. For several generations his ancestors
have devoted their energies to the advancement
of intellectual acquirements among their fellow
men. His great-grandfather, a native of Den-
mark, followed school-teaching in his native land
prior to his emigration to America. The latter
event occurred, however, in the colonial period of
our country, and he aided in the struggle which
brought to the nation her independence. He
afterward erected a school-house, and conducted
a private school throughout the remainder of his
life. He was born December 22, 1747, and died
in 1834, at the advanced age of eighty-seven
years. His son, Allen Anderson, the grandfather
of our subject, was born in North Carolina, in
1777, and he likewise devoted his life to educa-
tional work. He married a Miss Evans, and died
in 1847, at the age of seventy years. Of his three
sons, Watson Gates Anderson was born in North
Carolina in 181 5, and when seventeen years of
age removed to Indiana. He was among the
pioneer school-teachers of that state, being of the
third generation of the family to devote his en-
ergies to that profession. He married Miss Beu-
lah Jane Jeffrey, a native of Indiana, whose
father was born in New Jersey and was of Eng-
lish descent. He also loyally served the colonies
in the war of the Revolution. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Anderson were born nine children, three
sons and six daughters, four of whom are living.
The father and one son aided in the defense of
the Union during the civil war and the latter died
of disease contracted in the service. Mr. Ander-
son and his family were all devout members of
the Methodist Episcopal church.
Professor Anderson, whose name intro-
duces this review, was born on the i6th
of August. 1850, in Spartansburg, Randolph
county, Indiana, and was given the name
of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. When a
child of seven years he accompanied his par-
ents on their removal to southern Kansas, a set-
tlement being made near Neosho Falls, in Wood-
son county, where they lived during the troublous
times which preceded the war and during the
great struggle between the north and the south.
At the age of ten years Professor Anderson be-
came a member of the church, and his whole life
has been guided by the lofty principles of Chris-
tianity. He acquired his early education under
the direction of his father, who instructed him by
the light of a hickory fire, in the wilds of Kansas.
From 1872 until 1881 he engaged in teaching in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Woodson county, and with the capital he had
thus acquired he pursued a classical education
in Hanover College, in Indiana. In 1882 he was
ordained an elder of the Methodist church, and
has since been a very acceptable minister in that
denomination, preaching in Kansas, Washing-
ton, Oregon and Idaho. In 1879 he began a
five years' course in history, literature, science
and theology, and was graduated in 1884. The
previous year he had located in Idaho, where he
has made his home almost continuously since.
He resided in Boise county for one year, and has
since lived in Latah county.
In 1888 Professor Anderson began the study
of law, which he pursued at intervals for a num-
ber of years, acquiring a thorough and compre-
hensive knowledge of the principles of jurispru-
dence. On the loth of February, 1897, he was
admitted to practice by the supreme court of the
state. In 1894 he was elected probate judge of
Latah county, serving two years in that capacity,
during which time he passed judgment upon as
many cases as most of the district judges, and his
decisions were never in a single case, civil, crim-
inal or probate, reversed on revision by a higher
court. He was absolutely fair and conscientious
in the discharge of his duties and his judicial
career was most commendable. In 1896 he was
nominated by the People's Democratic party for
superintendent of public instruction, to which
office he was elected, serving in that capacity for
the years 1897 and 1898.
For several years he has been an active factor
in the politics of Idaho. He gives a stanch sup-
port to the Populist party, believing that its prin-
ciples are more in accord than those of any other
party with the sentiment of a government "of the
people, by the people, and for the people." He
also holds firmly to the opinion that remoneti-
zation of silver would be of immense benefit to
the country, both in the east and in the west.
He gives to all political questions his earnest and
careful consideration and his views are the result
of logical deductions. He is now engaged in the
active practice of the law, with headquarters at
Moscow.
In 1876 Professor Anderson was united in
marriage to Miss Ellen Taylor, a native of Mis-
souri, and a daughter of George M. Taylor, a
well known ranch-owner and a representative of
Revolutionary ancestors. To Professor and 2^Irs.
Anderson were born five children, three of whom
died in childhood, while in Kansas. Those now
living are Ella and Paul. The family have a
pleasant home in Moscow and enjoy the friend-
ship of many of the best people of the state. At
this point it would be almost tautological to
enter into any series of statements as showing the
Professor to be a man of broad intelligence and
genuine public spirit, for these have been shad-
owed forth between the lines of this review.
Strong in his individuality, he never lacks the
courage of his convictions, but there are as dom-
inating elements in this individuality a lively
human sympathy and an abiding charity, which,
as taken in connection with the sterling integrity
and honor of his character, have naturally gained
to him the respect and confidence of men.
JAMES M. STEVENS.
In a new state like Idaho the really prominent
men who are native to the soil are comparatively
few, for the reason that few men are able to at-
tain prominence young enough to take this dis-
tinguished position. James M. Stevens, junior
member of the firm of Detrich, Chalmers & Ste-
vens, of Blackfoot, one of Idaho's law firms, has
the distinction of being one of Idaho's native
sons. He was born January 30, 1873, at his
father's home on the bank of the Snake river, in
what was then Oneida county, near where the
city of Blackfoot has since come into being. He
is of Scotch-English ancestry, and his forefathers
settled early in New England, where four gen-
erations of the family were born, at Lynn, Mas-
sachusetts, and was there reared and educated.
While yet a young man, he went to California.
Not long after his arrival there, the war of the
states being in progress, he enlisted in the United
States army, with the expectation that the regi-
ment would be sent south to take part in aggres-
sive fighting. To the bitter disappointment of
Judge Stevens and his comrades-in-arms, the
regiment was, instead, sent into L^tah to keep the
Indians in subjection and defend emigrants and
settlers against their attacks. At the expiration
of his term of service he settled on a government
ranch, which he improved and to which he added
until he had one of the large and fine farms of
the state, comprising five hundred acres, fitted
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
up with first-class buildings and appointments.
His home here is a beautiful one, and it was amid
its refined surroundings that he reared his fam-
ily. As a farmer he has given much attention to
stock-raising, which he has prosecuted with
much success. He has been a lifelong Republi-
can, stanch and active, and, in recognition of his
effective work for the success of the party, was
appointed by President Harrison postmaster at
Blackfoot, a position which he filled four years
to the entire satisfaction of every one concerned,
and in any locality everyone is concerned in the
local post-office and will criticise its management
if there is any chance for criticism. Later he was
elected judge of probate for his county, and
filled that ofifice six years, with credit to himself
and honor to his fellow citizens. Judge Stevens
married Miss Finnetta E. Garrett, a native of
England. They had four children: Emma, James
M., Abbie and Richard.
James IM. Stevens was reared on his father's
farm and attended the public schools. He ob-
tained his education in the law in the law depart-
ment of the Leland Stanford University, Califor-
nia, and was admitted to practice by the supreme
court of the state of Idaho, at Boise, and soon
afterward became a member of the law firm of
Detrich, Chalmers & Stevens, a very strong pro-
fessional combination which has a wide reputa-
tion for honorable methods and substantial suc-
cess. Mr. Stevens has proven that he possesses
not only knowledge of the law but real talent for
its practice. He is an honest advocate, respects
himself and the court, and does credit to any
cause with which he identifies himself. He is a
Mason, a Modern Woodman of the World and
an Odd Fellow, and has passed every chair in the
lodge of the order last mentioned.
EDWARD H. MOFFITT.
Edward H. Moffitt, secretary and treasurer of
the Coeur d'Alene Hardware Company, of Wal-
lace, Idaho, is numbered among the native sons
of the Keystone state, his birth having occurred
in Allegheny City, August 22, 1845. His parents
were Rev. Thomas and Maria L. (Patterson)
Moffitt. The father was born in Pennsylvania in
18 18, and for many years devoted his energies to
the work of the ministry in connection with the
Methodist Episcopal church. His death oc-
curred in 1878, when he had reached the age of
sixty years. His wife, who was born in Penn-
sylvania, in 1818, is now a resident of Canon
City, Colorado. The family resided in Allegheny
City, Pennsylvania, until 1857, when they re-
moved to central Illinois, where they remained
until 1870, — the year of their removal to Kansas.
It was in the latter state that the father died, and
since 1881 the mother has made her home in
Colorado.
Mr. Moffitt, whose name introduces this re-
view, acquired his education in the public schools
of Pennsylvania and Illinois, and in January,
1864, when eighteen years of age, loyally offered
his services to the government as a defender of
the Union, and was assigned to Company F,
Second Illinois Cavalry. He served until Jan-
uary, 1866, and was mustered out at San An-
tonio, Texas, for the war had ended and his aid
was no longer needed.
Returning to his home in Illinois jNIr. jMoffitt
was for two years engaged in the grocery busi-
ness in Monticello, and in 1868 he went to Colo-
rado, where he engaged in mining and prospect-
ing until 1887. He first visited Idaho in 1879
and was for some time in the Wood river coun-
try. In February, 1884, he came to Shoshone
county and was one of the first settlers in the
Coeur d'Alene section. In 1887 the hardware
business with which he is now connected was
established in Wallace, under the firm name of
J. R. jXIarks & Company and later passed into
the hands of the firm of Holley, Mason, Marks &
Company. Upon the reorganization of the firm,
in 1882, the business was incorporated under the
firm name of the Coeur d'Alene Hardware Com-
pany, with J. A. Fitch as president; A. B. Camp-
bell, vice-president, and Edward H. Moffitt, sec-
retary and treasurer. They deal in mining and
mill supplies and all kinds of general hardware
and have one of the most extensive hardware
stores in the west. They enjoy a very liberal
patronage, and not a little of the success of the
enterprise is due to the energetic and capable
secretary, whose executive abilitv and keen fore-
sight are most marked.
In 1888 occurred the marriage of ]\Ir. Moffitt
and Miss Efihe J. Colborn, of lola. Kansas, and
to them have been born two sons. They have a
pleasant home in Wallace, and the household is
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
389
celebrated for its hospitality. In his pohtical
views Mr. Moffitt is a Democrat and socially is
connected with the Masonic fraternity. He is a
public-spirited and progressive citizen, lending
his aid and co-operation to every movement for
the public good, and is a reliable business man,
who fully merits the confidence reposed in him.
WYLIE A. LAUDER.
Among those who have been distinctly con-
spicuous in connection with the substantial up-
building and legitimate progress of the attractive
little city of Moscow, the county-seat of Latah
county, very definite recognition must be given
to him whose name initiates this paragraph. It
was his fortune to be on the ground when the
town practically had its inception, and with every
advance movement he has been prominently iden-
tified, being recognized as one of the leading
and most enterprising business men of the place
and as one who has contributed liberally and with
enthusiasm to every cause which has had as its
object the growth and prosperity of Moscow.
Mr. Lauder traces his ancestral line through
many generations of sturdy Scottish stock, he
himself being of but the second generation on
American soil, since his father, William Lauder,
was a native of bonnie Scotland, the fair land of
"brown heather and shaggy wood." Wylie A.
Lauder is a native of Canisteo, Steuben county.
New York, where he was born in July, 1857,
the son of William and Mary (Cameron) Lauder,
the former of whom was born in Scotland, as has
already been noted, while the latter is likewise of
Scottish ancestry. William Lauder came to the
United States in the year 1845, locating at
Duanesburg, New York, where was eventually
solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary Cameron.
In the year 1869 they removed to North Caro-
lina, where the father of our subject devoted his
attention to agricultural pursuits until the fall
of 1885, when he made a visit to Moscow, Idaho,
becoming so impressed with the attractions of
the place that when he returned to his home in
the south he determined to dispose of his prop-
erty there and to make his home in the little city
where his son was located. Accordingly, in
1891, he closed out his interests in North Caro-
lina and came to Moscow, where he passed the
residue of his davs, his death occurring on the
24th of November, 1897, at the age of seventy
years. He was a Republican in his political pro-
clivities, was a man of strong intellectuality and
so ordered his life as to gain and to merit the
esteem and confidence of his fellow men. His
widow is still living, having reached the venera-
ble age of seventy-six years, and makes her home
in Moscow, where she is accorded the utmost
filial devotion by her children, who are three in
number.
Wylie A. Lauder, the immediate subject of
this review, was the second in order of birth of
the three children, and his educational discipline
was secured in the public schools of North Caro-
lina, where he was reared under the invigorating
influences of the parental farmstead. He contin-
ued to be identified with agricultural pursuits
until 1883, when he came to Colfax, Washington,
where he was placed in charge of the store which
furnished supplies to those engaged in the con-
struction of the line of the Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company. When the line had been
completed to Moscow Mr. Lauder determined to
make this his permanent abiding place, foresee-
ing that the natural advantages of the location
would in time make it an important point. His
confidence in the future of Moscow has been
justified by results, and his faith in its still greater
precedence is unwavering. His first distinctly
local business venture was made in company with
Fred S. Clough, with whom he became asso-
ciated in the manufacture of brick, in which im-
portant line of enterprise they were the absolute
pioneers in the place. They made the first brick
ever manufactured in Moscow, and supplied the
material in this line for all of the many fine brick
structures which have made the town so attract-
ive and substantial in its upbuilding. The first
building erected of brick was the Bank of Mos-
cow, .and for this the firm supplied the material,
as well as for all other structures both public and
private. The association of Messrs. Lauder and
Clough continued for three years, after which, in
1886, our subject entered into nartnership with
his brother-in-law, T. J. Taylor, who is now sher-
iff of Lemhi county. Idaho. They continued the
manufacture of brick up to the year 1895, con-
ducting an extensive business in this line and
also in that of contracting and building. The
firm erected the building for the Washington
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
State Agricultural College, at Pullman; the
splendid building of the Idaho State University,
at AIoscow; all of the public-school buildings of
this city and all but three of Moscow's fine busi-
ness blocks. They manufactured more than
twelve million brick, having shipped over a mill •
ion to Spokane, and the firm had a reputation
for the highest integrity and for scrupulous honor
in every business transaction.
When their business success was at its height,
the general financial depression of 1893 began to
make its influence felt in this section of the
Union, and the firm failed, as did many others
within that memorable period. The loss entailed
to the firm was such that they were compelled,
though with great reluctance, to discontinue the
business which they had labored so assiduously
to establish. In 1892-3 they had brought about
the organization of the Builders' Supply Com-
pany, of which Mr. Lauder was president. Quite
extensive investments had been made in real
estate, and with the depreciation in values and
the slight demands for investments in realty, re-
sulting from the unsettled financial conditions of
the country, they met with heavy losses.
Mr. Lauder is not, however, a man to be easilv
disheartened or discouraged, and he soon turned
his attention to other lines of enterprise, confi-
dent that energy, careful methods and hard work
would insure success, even with many obstacles
to be overcome. He accordingly organized the
Idaho Fruit & Produce Company, of which he
is manager. The company deals largely, at
wholesale, in hay, grain and other agricultural
products, and also handles fruits of all kinds in
large -amounts. The enterprise supplies a dis-
tinct need in Moscow, and excellent success is
attending it. The producers find here a ready
cash market for their products, and to Moscow
is thus attracted the business of a large tributary
territory, practically comprising the entire north-
ern section of the state. The value of such an
enterprise can not be overestimated, and in this
way Mr. Lauder is contributing to the progress
and prosperity of the city while promoting indi-
vidual success. He is public-spirited in his atti-
tude, and is at all times ready to lend his aid and
influence to whatever conserves the well-being of
his home city.
In the year 1886 I\Ir. Lauder was united in
marriage to Miss Minnie Taylor, daughter of
William Taylor, the pioneer settler of Latah
county, to whom specific reference is made on
other pages of this work. To the article men-
tioned the reader is referred for a detailed his-
tory of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Lauder are the
parents of two children, — Ralph Emerson and
Alma. The family home is a most attractive resi-
dence of modern architectural design, located
on a ten-acre tract near the grounds of the State
University, and here a gracious hospitality is ex-
tended to a large circle of friends. Mr. Lauder
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
while Mrs. Lauder holds membership in the
Christian church. Our subject is one of the
trustees of his church and was prominently iden-
tified with the building of the fine church edifice.
In his political adherency he is arrayed in sup-
port of the Republican party. An energetic, up-
right and enterprising business man of Moscow,
Mr. Lauder is one of the city's honored and rep-
resentative citizens.
WILLIAM M. BROWN, M. D.
The medical fraternity is ably represented by
Dr. William M. Brown, who is the leading phy-
sician of Cuprum, whither he removed in June
of the present year, 1899, from Salubria, where
he had continuously and successfully engaged in
practice from June, 1892. He was born in
Preble county, Ohio, on the 18th of November,
i860. His ancestors were early settlers of South
Carolina, and his grandfather, James Brown, was
born in Due West, that state. James Scott
Brown, the Doctor's father, was a native of
Preble county, Ohio, and having arrived at man's
estate he married Miss Julia Robertson, of
Brighton, Iowa, who was born at Spring Hill,
Indiana. He spent his entire life, however, near
the old homestead where his birth occurred, and
was an industrious, prosperous and honorable
farmer. He and his wife were valued members
of the United Presbyterian church and exempli-
fied in their daily lives their religious belief.
Dr. Brown, the eldest in their family of nine
children, eight of whom are yet living, was lib-
erally educated and thus fitted for the responsi-
ble duties of life. Having attended the public
schools of the Buckeye state, he further contin-
ued his studies in the university at Oxford, Ohio,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
391
and in Alonnioutli College, at ]\Ionmoutli, Illi-
nois. He was graduated in the Miami Medical
College of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the class of 1888,
having therein completed a course in medicine,
after which he engaged in the practice of his
chosen profession in Omaha, Nebraska, until
June, 1892, when he came to Salubria. For
seven years he made his home there and his
practice constantly extended throughout the val-
ley. In June. 1899, he removed to Cuprum.
Idaho, where in connection with his practice, he
conducts a drug store. He numbers among his
patrons many of the best people of this section of
the state, and his success is richly merited, for
he is a close student of his profession and spares
no efforts whereby he will be better fitted to min-
ister to the needs of suffering humanity and
check the ravages of disease.
Dr. Brown erected a good residence in Salu-
bria and there resided with his interesting family
until his removal to Cuprum. He was married
on the 1st of October, 1889, to Miss Emma L.
Sherman, of New York, a daughter of Jesse S.
Sherman, of the Empire state. The^v have two
daughters, Winifred and Mildred, and the mem-
bers of the family are highly esteemed in the
community. The Doctor is a valued member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in
his political preferences and affiliations he is a
Republican. He has served as coroner of Wash-
ington county and takes a deep interest in every-
thing pertaining to the welfare and advancement
of town, county and state.
JESSIE K. CLARKE, yi. D.
In no field of endeavor requiring intellectuality
has woman failed to demonstrate her equality
with man, and more and more the different lines
of professional labor are opening to her, and
therein she is winning successes that are most
creditable. Dr. Jessie K. Clarke, although a re-
cent acquisition to the medical fraternity of
Grangeville, has already demonstrated her riglit
to be classed among the foremost physicians of
Idaho county, and her ability is indicated by the
liberal patronage she now enjoys. She makes a
specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and
throat, and her labors have been attended by
most gratifying results to patient and practi-
tioner.
Dr. Clarke is a native of Ohio, her birth hav-
ing occurred in Circleville, June i, 1861. She is
of English lineage on the paternal side and of
Scotch descent on the maternal, her mother's
people tracing their ancestry back to Sir William
Wallace, one of the greatest heroes and patriots
that his land has ever produced. The Clarkes have
for generations been residents of New York. To
this family belongs Dr. Elisha Clarke, a grand-
uncle of the lady of whom we write. Her father,
William A. Clarke, was a native of Albany, New
York, was a farmer by occupation, and relig-
iously was connected with the United Brethren
church. He married Miss Sarah M. Cleveland,
and to them were born eight children, all of
whom are living. The father passed away in
1892, at the age of seventy-eight years, and his
wife is now living, in her seventy-first year.
Dr. Clarke was educated in the Normal School
and Business Institute, at Paola, Kansas, and in
the Willamette University, in Oregon, graduat-
ing at the latter institution in the class of 1879.
She pursued her medical education in the Eds-
worth Medical College, at St. Joseph, Missouri,
where she was graduated with honors in the class
of 1896, after which she spent a year in perfect-
ing herself in her specialty in the New York
Polyclinic. Thus well informed concerning the
science of medicine, and particularly well versed
concerning the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and
throat, she began practice in Topeka, Kansas,
where she still has her office, which is now in
charge of her partner, H. L. Akire. She is a val-
ued member of the Kansas State Medical Society,
also the City Medical Society and of the Acad-
emy of Medicine and Surgery in Topeka. She
came to Grangeville in October, 1898, to see
her mother and sister, who were ill, and was by
them induced to open an office in Grangeville,
where she is meeting with very gratifying suc-
cess. She is a close student of her profession, and
her knowledge of the science of medicine is com-
prehensive and accurate. Her zeal and devotion
are manifest in the faithful performance of each
day's duty, from which she also gains inspiration
and strength for the labors of the succeeding day.
She is very skillful in the diagnosing of a case,
and has effected some remarkable cures.
Dr. Clarke is a lady of fine physique and most
pleasing manner, is an excellent conversational-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ist and has a very sympathetic nature, which is
manifest in her professional as well as social
life. She deserves great credit for her success,
for through her own efforts she has worked her
way upward. By teaching she acquired the means
that enabled her to pursue her professional edu-
cation, and her resolution and zeal are most com-
mendable. She has already won many friends
in Grangeville and the surrounding country, and
the medical fraternity accord her a leading place
in their ranks.
HENRY W. CURTIS.
There is a sprinkling of English blood in Idaho
which adds to the moral and financial vitality of
the state. One of the leading citizens of Black-
foot of English birth is ex-County Treasurer
Henry W. Curtis, who was also the pioneer
hardware merchant of that city. j\lr. Curtis was
born in London, England, August 9, 1854. His
father, Joseph H. Curtis, of an old English fam-
ily, married Miss Sarah jMorrell, a native of Lon-
don. They had seven children born to them in
England, and in i860 they came to the United
States, to found a home in the New World. Mr.
Curtis was a silk-weaver by trade and for about
a year was employed at stocking-weaving in
Philadelphia. In 1861 the family moved to Utah,
and there the father died in 1877, aged sixty-four
years. His wife has attained the age of eightv-
four, and their children are all living.
Henry W. Curtis, the youngest of the .seven,
was educated in public schools of Utali and be-
gan to earn his living at the early age of nine
years. He has not only depended on himself
since that time, but has helped others, and mav
be called a self-educated man. In his early efforts
to get on in the world he engaged four years in
freighting from Corinne, Utah, to different points
in Montana. In 1874 he embarked in the hard-
ware business and general manufacture of tin-
ware, and in 1885 became the first hardware mer-
chant of Blackfoot, where he met with well de-
served success. He has proven himself a busi-
ness man of first-class ability, and the favor with
which he has been received and which b.as re-
sulted in the building up of a large trade through-
out allof Blackfoot tributary territory, has been
won by honest methods and the policy of giving
full value in every transaction, large or small.
yir. Curtis has a genial manner and a hearty
courtesy which gain him friends not only nume-
rous but warm and steadfast. Possessed of a gen-
erous disposition and much public spirit, he has
interested himself in every movement for the
public good, and he has been a useful citizen
whose good offices are appreciated by the people
of Blackfoot. He was twice elected, as a Re-
publican, to the office of county treasurer and
performed its duties to the satisfaction of every
good citizen.
J\lr. Curtis was made a ]\Iason in Grove City
Lodge, Xo. 33, Ancient Free and Accepted
]\Iasons, and has passed every chair in the local
Odd Fellows lodge and is a ]\Iodern Woodman of
America.
In 1870 Mr. Curtis married Miss Luella Ben-
son, who bore him a son, Harry B. Curtis, who
is one of Blackfoot's most prominent young men
and is a valuable assistant to his father in his
business. Mrs. Curtis died in 1881. She was a
woman of great ability and of the truest worth,
and her loss was felt keenly not only in her own
household, but throughout her large circle of
acquaintance. After the expiration of nine years,
in 1890, Mr. Curtis married Miss Agnes E. Mil-
len, who was of Scotch parentage and a native of
[Minnesota. She died in March, 1895, leaving
two daughters, Lola and Sadie. She had proven
herself a loving wife and mother and a w'oman
of value to the community, and her death caused
sorrow to all who knew her. Mr. Curtis has
since lived a single life, comforted by the affec-
tion of his children.
EPHR.\IM W. BAUGHM.\N.
Few men'are more widely known in the north-
west than Captain E. W. Baughman, of Lewis-
ton, who for forty-eight years has sailed on the
rivers in this section of the country. His circle
of friends is indeed extensive, and his genial
manner and social disposition win him the regard
of all. He was born in Fulton county, Illinois,
May 18, 1835, and is of German lineage, his an-
cestors having long been residents of Pennsyl-
vania, however. His father, John Baughman,
was born in that state and married Miss Jane
Murphy, a lady of German descent. In an early
day they removed to Illinois, settling in the west
before the Black Hawk war. The father secured a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
393
farm in Fulton count}' and there reared his family
of nine children, four of whom are yet living. He
departed this life in the eightieth year of his age,
and his wife passed away when about the same
age-
Captain Baughman, their fifth child, was reared
in the state of his nativity until his sixteenth
year, and then crossed the plains with ox teams
to California, in 1850. The party with which he
traveled took with them a year's provisions, but
found they had more than they needed, and on
reaching California they sold their surplus sup-
ply of flour, bacon, beans and sugar for two dol-
lars per pound. The Captain engaged at placer
mining at Hangtown and on the south fork of
the American river, and after spending a brief
tim.e in the mines he went on a sailing vessel to
Portland, Oregon, paying fifty-five dollars for the
passage. The voyage lasted for a month, and on
reaching his destination Captain Baughman
worked at whatever he could find to do, being
principally engaged in "packing" things on his
back from one place to another in the town.
After a winter spent in that way his employer
wanted him to take city lots at fifty dollars each
in payment, but he declined, wanting money in-
stead. The man, however, failed and in conse-
quence he got nothing, and the lots which he
refused are now of great value.
That spring Captain Baughman suffered a
severe attack of rheumatism, during which he
was cared for and treated by Dr. Baker. When
our subject had recovered and asked for his bill,
expecting to be charged a very large sum, the
doctor responded that he would make no charge
except for the actual cost of the medicine, about
forty dollars. Thus Captain Baughman realized
the truth of the old adage: "A friend in need is
a friend indeed!" Removing to Oregon City, he
soon became well and strong again, and accepted
a position as fireman on a steamboat. Later he
was engaged in the sawmill business and subse-
quently went to Yamhill county, Oregon, where
he operated a farm for a year. In 1851 he ac-
cepted a position as fireman on the Lot Whitman
and was thus employed until 1853, when he went
to the Cascades and became captain of a little
sailboat, carrying lumber and merchandise on
the Columbia river and also taking emigrants
down the river to Portland and other point.';. He
received eighty-four dollars per ton for loading
freight. He next became captain of the steamer
Hasalo, running between the Cascades and The
Dalles, and in May, 1861, he was sent by the
Oregon Steam Navigation Company to explore
the Snake river from Caldwell to Lewiston. In
1862 he was in command of the Colonel Wright
and made the first trip up the Snake river. He
made for his company over twenty-one thou-
sand dollars, the trips averaging about fifteen
thousand dollars. In August, 1862, in partner-
ship with Henry Corbet (now ex-senator) and
others, he built the steamboat Spray, at a cost 01
thirty-three thousand dollars, and in five months
he earned on her trips fifty-two thousand dollars.
He then sold the vessel to the Oregon Steam
Navigation Company for sixty-three thousand
dollars. While running that boat the Captain
made seven hundred dollars per month. After
selling the Spray he went to the Willamette river
and was a director of the People's Navigation
Company and captain of one of the boats, but the
starting of an opposition boat proved a failure
and he lost money.
Subsequen.tly Captain Baughman engaged in
boating on the Puget Sound for two years, and
was also on the Fraser river for two years. In
1873 he returned to the Willamette river and
urged the building of the locks at Oregon City,
helped to organize the company for this purpose
and was elected its president. He was in com-
mand of boats on the Willamette until 1876. and
has been connected with the Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company longer than any other of
its employes. His long service on the rivers of
the northwest has gained him a very extensive
acquaintance, until in this section of the country
not to know Captain Baughman is almost to
argue oneself unknown.
In 1864 was celebrated the marriage of the
Captain and Miss Lizzy Thomas, a native of St.
Louis, and a daughter of John Thomas, an Eng-
lish gentleman who was brought to America
when a child by his parents. Mrs. Baughman
crossed the plains to the Pacific coast in 1850.
By her marriage she has become the mother of
four children: Hattie, wife of H. A. Thatcher;
Henry, who was a steamboat captain for a num-
ber of years, and is now a leading business man
of Lewiston : Ralph, who is a pilot on the steam-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
er Lewiston; and Frank, who died of typhoid
fever in his nineteenth year, while attending
school in Portland. The family is one of prom-
inence in the community- Mrs. Baughman is a
valued member of the Episcopal church and also
of the order of the Eastern Star. The Captain
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and has at-
tained the fourteenth degree of the Scottish rite.
His many excellent qualities, uniform courtesy
and genuine worth have gained him high and
uniform regard, and he well deserves mention in
the history of his adopted state.
BISHOP jaj\ies tho;mas.
"Faith without works" has never accomplished
much. Religion that is practical and applicable
to tlie every-day life of any people is good for
them, regardless of any peculiarities of creed.
Bishop Thomas, of the Eagle Rock ward of the
Church of Latter Day Saints, must be recom-
mended as a man of the highest quality of busi-
ness ability, — one who makes a business of re-
ligion and does not attempt to do business except
by the rule which is the rule of his private life.
Bishop Thomas is a native of Wales and a son
of John and Mary (Roberts) Thomas. He was
born at Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, April 29,
1848. His parents were converted to the faith
of the Church of Latter Day Saints that same
year. His father, who was a tailor, came with
his wife and seven of their sons to America,
twenty years later, and settled at Salt Lake City,
LUah. There he devoted himself to his trade
until his retirement from the active life. He is
living at Smithfield, LTtah, aged eighty-four years.
His wife died in 1885 aged sixty-five. John,
Thomas, William, James, Lorenzo, Dan and
George, their seven sons who came with them
to the United States, all settled in Utah and
were ardent adherents to the Mormon faith. Dan
alone has died.
James Thomas, fourth son of John and Mary
(Roberts) Thomas, was educated in Wales, where
he learned the tailor's trade with his father and
worked at it before he came to the United State.^.
He followed it successfully at Salt Lake City,
Utah, from the date of his arrival there until
1882, when he came to Idaho and opened a
tailoring establishment at Idaho Falls. Later he
added a millinery department, and in 1892 a
ready-made clothing and men's furnishing
department. As a practical tailor of almost life-
long experience, he has an advantage over ordi-
nary merchants in selecting ready to wear
clothing. Not only is he able to judge instantly
the quality of the cloth and trimmings, but a
glance suffices to inform him if garments are
artistically cut and properly tailored, and he car-
ries no goods that do not in every way come up
to his high standard of quality and finish. He
has built up a large trade, for the public has
come to know that anything bought at his estab-
lishment is exactly as represented.
The history of Bishop Thomas's religious de-
velopment would be most interesting in a work
devoted to the spiritual side of life, but it will
scarcely be looked for in a history of the material
growth and prosperity of Idaho and her people.
Suffice to say that he showed such zeal in church
work and developed such conspicuous talent as
an expounder of the word of God, as it was re-
vealed to him through the teachings of the dis-
ciples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, that, as one of the ministers of the
church, he was sent to England to preacli and
to make converts. He was so successful in this
work and in other important duties wliich were
entrusted to him, that in 1885 he was ordained a
bishop and in that high and responsible office is
serving his people with rare ability and fidelity,
with authority over the Eagle Rock ward. His
duties are many and diverse. Aside from his
ministerial office, he has a business-like super-
vision over the temporal affairs of the church in
his ward, and is especially charged to see that
the poor, of any religion or no religion, do not
suffer for food or other absolute essentials to
continued existence which may be supplied by
the charity of the church. The members, elders
and bishops of the Church of Latter Day Saints
are all enjoined to work, and they are more than
self-supporting in their relation to the work they
are given to do. At Idaho Falls a fine meeting-
house of sandstone has been erected, and the
church is thrifty and progressive.
Politically Bishop Thomas is a Democrat, and
as such he has twice been elected a member of
Idaho Falls town council, and in that capacity
has served with the practical, business-like effec-
tiveness that characterizes everything he does,
/r^vic
^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
395
holding the welfare of the whole people in view
at all times. In every way he has shown himself
public-spirited and deeply concerned for the
growth of Idaho Falls and the advancement of
its every important interest. Personally he en-
joys the friendship of the best and most patriotic
citizens of southeastern Idaho, and is highly re-
garded in business circles throughout Idaho and
adjoining states.
Bishop Thomas was married, in Wales, in
1866, to Elizabeth Richardson, daughter of
Charles and Mary (Harvey) Richardson, this
event occurring before he came to America, and
his wife came with the family party, as did the
wives of some of his brothers. They have a son
and a daughter. Lorenzo R. Thomas, the son, is
a prominent citizen of Bingham county, and is
now filling the office of register of the United
States land office at Blackfoot. Mary E., the
daughter, married S. H. Jacobs and has five
children.
JAMES C. HANSON.
The Danish citizens of the United States are
more nearly identical with our Anglo-American
race than any other citizens of foreign birth. They
possess the spirit which we call "go-aheaditive-
ness" in as large measure as any of our citizens,
and they become Americanized and assimilate
with the older population of our country sooner
perhaps than foreigners of any other race. They
are industrious, take to business on broad prin-
ciples and are about as certain to make successes
as any people among us. James C. Hanson,
one of the prominent farmers of Latah county,
Idaho, is not by any means one of the exceptions
that prove this rule. He belongs rather to the
large majority whose progressive and intelligent
industry is having an influence more and more
marked on our general prosperity as we approach
the beginning of a new century.
Mr. Hanson was a pioneer in Latah county
and is one of its most prominent citizens. He
located in Idaho in 1872, before there had come
into existence anything to so much as foreshadow
the inception and development of the city of
Genesee, and he not only witnessed but has as-
sisted in the opening up and improvement of
Latah and her sister counties.
Mr. Hanson was born in Denmark and was
educated and began his active life there. His
father, Hanse K. Hanson, married }^Iiss Paulson,
and the worthy couple lived and died in their
native land, Mr. Hanson passing away in 1889,
aged seventy years, and Mrs. Hanson in 1899,
aged eighty. They were devoted members of
the Lutheran church. They brought into the
world five children, of whom four are living.
James C. Hanson, the subject of this review,
came to America in 1868 and located in Wis-
consin. He had six hundred dollars with which
to begin life in a new world, but no knowledge
of the language and ways of the country in which
he sought success and fortune. He determined
to begin cautiously and carefully, and he found
employment in Waupaca county, Wisconsin, as
a farm laborer, first at sixteen, and later at
twenty dollars a month. He saved his money
and acquired a knowledge of English as Vv-ell as
much other information that he has since found
useful. Besides this, he saved his money.
In 1872 he came to Lewiston, Idaho. There
were then but few settlers in this part of Latah
county, and Lewiston was the only town within
the county limits. He entered government land,
built on it, farmed it profitably and sold it in
1880, for two thousand five hundred dollars, and
then bought a settler's right to another pre-
emption. Later he bought his present property,
near Genesee, and he now owns one hundred and
seventy acres. He has put this property under
advanced improvement and has every facility for
thorough and successful farming and many con-
veniences and up-to-date luxuries not possessed
by farmers generally in this vicinity. From a
somewhat distant spring, water is brought to his
house, barns and stock-yards, pure, cold, health-
ful and always available. In 1898 he raised two
thousand two hundred bushels of wheat and cut
sixty tons of hay. He has bred many Norman-
Percheron horses and has some fine specimens
of this celebrated breed on hand at this time.
Mr. Hanson was married January 14, 1869, to
Miss Carrie Beck, a native of Denmark. They
have had five children, two of whom are living.
Alonzo, the elder son, is married and his father
has built him a cosy residence near his own.
He is assisting in the management of one of the
farms. The other son, Ira D. J. Hanson, is a
member of his father's household. Mr. Hanson
is an influential Republican. He has passed all
396
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the cliairs in both branches of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and has been representa-
tive in the grand lodge and holds an important
ofSce in that lodge. Mr. and JMrs. Hanson are
active and helpful members of the Congrega-
tional church of Genesee.
JAMES W. POE.
James W. Poe, a distinguished lawyer and
Idaho pioneer, residing at Lewiston, is a native
of Jackson county, Missouri, his birth having
there occurred on the 15th of January, 1838. His
father, William B. Poe, was born in North Caro-
lina, and married Mrs. Nancy Mulkey, nee
Johnson, a native of South Carolina, by whom he
had four children, two of whom are yet living.
He valiantly served his country as a soldier in
the Mexican war, and in 1853 crossed the plains
to Oregon with his family. Our subject accom-
panied his parents on their westward emigration,
and acquired his education at Forest Grove and
in the Portland Academy. He has the honor of
being the first male graduate of that then new
institution of learning. Well fitted by superior
educational advantages for the practical duties
of life, he then entered upon his business career,
and in 1861 came to Idaho. He engaged in min-
ing at Oro Fino, Florence and Warren, and also
conducted a mercantile establishment for a time,
but wishing to enter the legal profession, he took
up the study of law in the ofifice and under the
direction of the law firm of Williams & Gibbs.
The senior partner, George L. Williams, after-
ward became United States attorney general, and
Mr. Gibbs held the ofifice of governor of Oregon.
In 1869 Mr. Poe was admitted to practice in
the district court. His partner was the discoverer
of gold at Warren's, and they operated and sold
goods there for some time. Mr. Poe was elected
the first district recorder of the Warren's mining
district, and practiced law at Warren's and Mount
Idaho until 1876, at which time he was elected
attorney for the district comprising all of north-
ern Idaho. He then established his ofifice in
Lewiston, where he has since made his home.
He had served for six years previously as deputy
district attorney, filling that position in all for
ten years. He was elected and served in the
territorial legislature in 1879-80, and took an
active part in shaping the destiny of the territory
during that period. Other public service of a
very dififerent nature also fell to his lot, as he
was a participant in the Clearwater battle with
the Nez Perces Indians, the conflict resulting in
driving the Indians back into Montana. He was
a leading member of the state constitutional con-
vention, his knowledge of constitutional law ren-
dering him an important factor in framing the
organic law of Idaho. He also had the honor of
presiding over the first mass meeting which was
called for the purpose of adopting measures to
secure statehood for Idaho, and is now, 1899,
city attorney of Lewiston, and attorney for the
board of education of the independent school
district of Lewiston.
Such in brief is the history of his public service,
— a service in which at all times and under all
circumstances he has shown himself worthy of
the trust and confidence reposed in him. He has
studied closely both the conditions and needs of
his state, both locally and otherwise, and at all
times has manifested a most loyal and public-
spirited interest in the common good. He is
now engaged in the private practice of law, as
the senior member of the firm of Poe, Anderson
& Anderson, one of the most able and prominent
law firms in this section of the state. He enjoys
a large and lucrative practice and his clientage
has been secured through his marked ability in
handling the intricate problems of jurisprudence.
He is careful in the preparation of his cases, clear
in argument and logical in his deductions and
has gained many important cases.
Mr. Poe has also been the promoter of the
horticultural interests of northern Idaho. He
planted a large fruit orchard at Lewiston, and
as the seasons passed gathered large crops, thus
adding to his income and at the same time dem-
onstrating the adaptability of the soil of this
region for the production of choice fruits.
In 1877 Mr. Poe was united in marriage to
Mrs. Fannie L. Turpin, a sister of Judge More-
land's wife and a daughter of Colonel John L.
Cline, a Mexican war veteran. She had' two
children by her former marriage, the elder,
Serena, being now the wife of Dr. C. W. Shaflf,
a prominent physician of Lewiston ; and Sarah E.,
who has been a successful teacher in the state
university at Moscow since its organization.
Sociallv Mr. Poe is connected with the Ma-
^C^^£^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
397
sonic fraternit)', having joined the order at Mount
Idaho in 1876. He now affiliates with Lewiston
Lodge, No. ID, F. & A. M. In politics he has
been a lifelong and ardent Democrat, has kept
well informed on the issues of the day and has
rendered his party valuable service in the cam-
paigns. The record of Mr. Poe is that of a man
who has by his own efforts worked his way up-
ward to a position of affluence. His life has
been one of industry and perseverance, and the
systematic and honorable business methods he
has followed, together with his diligence and
ability in his profession, have won him the sup-
port and confidence of many. Without the aid
of wealth, he has risen to a position among the
most prominent men of the state, and his native
genius and acquired ability are the stepping
stones on which he mounted.
FRANK C. RAMSEY.
The history of a state, as well as that of a
nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and
deeds of those who have conferred honor and
dignity upon society. The world judges of the
character of a community by those of its repre-
sentative citizens, and yields its tribute of ad-
miration and respect for the genius or learning
or accomplishment of those whose works and
actions constitute the record of a state's prosper-
ity and pride. In a review of the events that
constitute the annals of Idaho we learn that
Frank C. Ramsey is numbered among those who
have been active in shaping the policy of the
state, in promoting its interests and advancing
its welfare. In public office he has acquitted
himself as a loyal and patriotic citizen, having
the best interests of the state at heart, and to-day
he is a recognized leader in political circles.
A resident of Boise, where he engaged in
the loan and insurance business, he was born in
Fulton county, Pennsylvania, in 1855, and is of
Scotch and German ancestry. The founders of
the family in America were early settlers in the
south, and the maternal ancestry furnished sev-
eral representatives to the colonial army in the
war of the Revolution. His father, James Ram-
sey, was born and reared in the south, and in
early life removed to Pennsylvania, where he was
married to Miss Susan Snyder, a native of Penn-
svlvania. Thev had seven children, all of whom
are living. The father departed this life in 1859,
but the mother lived to the age of eighty years
and passed away on the 6th of March, 1898. They
were members of the Methodist church and Mr.
Ramsey was an honest and industrious farmer
who won the respect of all with whom he came
in contact.
In the public schools of his native state Frank
C. Ramsey acquired his early education, which
was supplemented by a course in the Iron City
Business College. Owing to ill health he sought
a change of climate, going first to Ohio and
thence to Idaho, where he spent some years en-
gaged in farming. He later removed to Kansas
and afterward to Colorado, where he engaged in
the stock business until 1884, — the year of his
arrival in Idaho. Here he continued in stock
raising for some time. In Cassia county he
turned his attention to journalistic work, becom-
ing the publisher of the Cassia County Times,
now the Albion Times. He also published the
Pocatello Tribune, both Republican papers, and
through the columns of those journals exerted
considerable influence in public affairs.
While in Cassia county, Mr. Ramsey served
as county assessor and was elected a member
of the legislature in 1890, taking a prominent
part in the great senatorial contest of that year.
In 1892 he was nominated and elected on the
Republican ticket state auditor of Idaho, and so
acceptably discharged the duties of that responsi-
ble position that he was re-elected in 1894. His
official record was indeed creditable and he wp..s
again nominated "in 1896, this time for state
treasurer; but in that year there was great dis-
satisfaction among the Republicans of Idaho on
account of the money question and he was de-
feated by the candidate of the People's Demo-
cratic party. He is a member of the Republican
state central committee and president of the Re-
publican League of Ada county. After com-
pleting his term as auditor he was engaged in the
insurance and loan business for about two years,
or until he was appointed by President McKinley
United States marshal for Idaho, receiving his
commission September 10, 1898.
On the 2d of February, 1888, Mr. Ramsey mar-
ried Miss Rachel Worthington, a native of Salt
Lake City, L^tah, and they have three children, —
Marion L.. Lilian G. and Frances C. Mr. Ram-
398
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
sey is a member of the Masonic fraternity and
of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He
is very popular among his brethren of these so-
cieties, in political circles and in business and
social life; for his uniform courtesy, his char-
acter, worth and his genial manner have brought
him the friendship and regard of a large circle
of acquaintances.
CHARLES L. GRITMAN, M. D.
Among the ablest representatives of the med-
ical profession of Idaho is Dr. Gritman, of Mos-
cow, who is successfully engaged in practice as
the senior member of the firm of Gritman &
Ward, and is also conducting the Moscow Hos-
pital. He was born near Springfield, Illinois,
December 28, 1862. His grandfather, Erastus
Gritman, was a native of Germany, and when a
voung man crossed the broad Atlantic to Amer-
ica, locating at Lockport. He thus became the
progenitor of the family in the United States. He
was^married at Lockport, spent the remainder of
his life there and died at the age of seventy-nmc
years,— an honest, industrious and respected
farmer. His son, Delos Walter Gritman, the
Doctor's father, was born in Lockport in 1831,
and in his nineteenth year removed to central
Illinois, where he married Mary Ellen Davis, a
native of Maryland. In his early life he was a
carpenter, contractor and builder, but later be-
came a prosperous farmer. He and his wife were
valued members of the Methodist church. The
father died in 1893 at the age of sixty-two years,
and the mother died exactly a year later, at the
age of fifty-eight years. Thev had a family of
nine children, eight of whom are living.
The Doctor, the third in order of birth, was
reared on the home farm and obtained his literary
education in Lincoln, Illinois. He then became
a student in the Cincinnati Medical College and
was graduated in the class of 1890, entering
upon an active connection with the medical pro-
fession in that city. There he remained until
September, 1892, when he was called home on
account of the death of his mother, the family
having in the meantime removed to Washington.
His father being in poor health, the Doctor did
not return to the east, but remained on the Pa-
cific coast and soon afterward opened an ofifice
in AIoscow, where he rapidly acquired a large
and lucrative patronage. He is well versed in his
chosen profession and his devotion thereto has
made him one of its most able representatives in
this part of the state. In 1897 he opened the
hospital, which is a well built two-story brick
structure, located on the main street of the town
and containing sixty rooms. It is fitted up with
all modern appliances and conveniences for the
care of the sick, and has been well patronized.
In his practice Dr. Gritman is now associated
with Dr. Ward, and in the hospital they are as-
sisted by an able corps of trained nurses. Their
office is on the first floor of the hospital building,
and in addition to the care of the patients in the
institution they enjoy a large general practice,
both in medicine and surgery.
On the nth of January, 1895, Dr. Gritman
was united in marriage to Miss Bertie E. Cox, a
native of Washington, and their hospitable home
is the center of a cultured society circle, their
friends in the community being many. The Doc-
tor is a member of the Woodmen of the World
and the Fraternal Union of America, and in his
political views is a stanch Republican, but has
never been a politician in the sense of office-seek-
ing, preferring to devote his time and energies
to his professional duties, in which he is meeting
with most creditable success and in which he has
attained a most enviable reputation.
HON. JOHN I. MITCHAM.
The well known and popular postmaster of
Kendrick, John Irving ]\Iitcham, was born in
Indiana, April 7, 1849, and is of Scotch-Irish
lineage, his ancestors being early settlers of South
Carolina. His paternal grandfather emigrated
to Ohio at an early day, and there John Mitcham,
father of our subject, was born and reared. When
a young man he removed to Indiana and was
married in the Hoosier state to ]\Iiss Jane Mc-
Cann, a native of Indiana. They have been life-
long and faithful members of the United Brethren
church, and now, in their declining years, are
surrounded by the veneration and respect which
should always accompany an honorable old age.
They reside in Fairbury, Nebraska, to which
state they removed in 1867. The father is now
eighty-five years of age, and the mother eighty-
one. Their home was blessed with five children,
three of whom are living, and they have passed
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding day,
thus traveling life's journey together for more
than half a century, their mutual love and con-
fidence increasing as the years have gone by.
The subject of this sketch is the eldest of their
children. He was educated in Greenhill Sem-
inary, in Indiana, and at Taber College, Iowa,
and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits
and religious work in the United Brethren and
Methodist churches. In 1885 he was ordained
a minister of the gospel, and became a very
zealous and efficient worker in the Master's vine-
yard. He joined the Columbia river conference
and for some years also carried on his ministerial
labors in Idaho. He came to Kendrick very
early in the history of the town, in 1883, and
purchased seventy-five acres of land adjoining
the corporation limits. He has a very pleasant
home, overlooking the picturesque valley in
which the town is located, the view being a most
attractive and delightful one, hardly surpassed in
the entire state, which so richly deserves the
name of "Gem of the Mountains."
Mr. Mitcham was happily married August 22.
1878, to Miss Arizona Miller, a native of Ne-
braska. Three children, two daughters and a
son, have come to bless their union, — Floyd,
Mary E. and John Milton.
In his political affiliations Mr. Mitcham is a
stalwart Republican, unswerving in his advocacy
of the principles of the partv. On that ticket he
was elected a member of the last territorial legis-
lature of Idaho and has been a member of the
state senate. His close study of the conditions,
needs and demands of the state made him a val-
uable member of the assembly and his aid was
zealously given to every measure which he be-
lieved would prove of public benefit. For three
years he served as a member of the city council
of Kendrick, was mayor of the city two terms,
was police judge four years and justice of the
peace six years. His public duties have ever
been discharged in a most prompt and faithful
manner, showing him to be a trustworthy and
patriotic official. He is a man of broad general
information, of sound judgment and the highest
integrity of character and has the unqualified
confidence of his fellow townsmen and all who
know him. The cause of education has also
found in him a warm friend, and he has taken
a deep interest in everything pertaining to the
intellectual advancement of this town, county and
state. For three years he was a member of the
school board of Kendrick, was largely instru-
mental in securing the establishment of the State
University at^Moscow, and has the credit of hav-
ing cast the* deciding vote which located the
State Normal School at Lewiston. He received
the appointment of postmaster of Kendrick on
the 3d of July, 1897, and has made a very capable
officer, winning the commendation of all con-
cerned. In manner he is free from all ostentation
and display, but his intrinsic worth is recognized
and his friendship is most prized by those who
know him best, showing that his character will
bear the scrutiny of close acquaintance. He is
a generous, broad-minded man, a true type of the
American spirit and an embodiment of that
progress which in the last few years has drawn
to this country the admiring gaze of the nations
of the world.
DE FOREST CHAMBERLAIN.
Not only has the subject of this all too brief
sketch seen southeastern Idaho grow from a wild
country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a
rich agricultural country, containing thousands
of good homes and acres of growing towns, in-
habited by an industrious, prosperous, enlight-
ened and progressive people, but he has partici-
pated in and assisted the slow, persistent work of
development which was necessary to produce a
change which is so complete that it has come to
be popularly referred to as magical.
De Forest Chamberlain is descended from
English and Irish ancestors, who settled in
America before the Revolution and were partici-
pants in the struggle for libertv. Riley Chamber-
lain, his father, was born in Vermont, and mar-
ried Miss Sarah Mann, a native of Onondaga
county. New York. With his wife he removed to
Illinois, some time between i8-?o and 1840, where
he died in 1873, aged sixty-six vears. His widow
is still living, aged eighty-one, making her home
with a daughter at Creston, Iowa. They had
three children.
De Forest Chamberlain was born in Stark
county, Illinois, August 24, 1843. He entered
Lombard University with the intention of taking
the full collegiate course, but his studies were in-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
terrupted by his patriotic ardor, aroused by the
opening of actual hostihties between the northern
and southern sections of our country, early in
1861. He was one of the first to offer services
for the defence of the Union, and enlisted, June
17, 1861, in Company B, Xineteenth Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantry. His first active service was in
Missouri, under General John C. Fremont. Later
he served in the Department of the Tennessee.
He was in battle at Stone river, Chickamauga,
IMissionary Ridge, and Resaca. and was promoted
to sergeant and honorably discharged from the
service and mustered out July 9. 1864, after hav-
• ing served his country faithfully for three years
and twelve days. In 1866 he went west and
traveled extensively through Colorado, Wyom-
ing and Idaho, prospecting and mining, but not
successfully. He went to the Dakotas also, and
to western Nebraska, on a prospecting tour, a
part of the time in company with one or two
others who were going his way for longer or
shorter distances. While journeying thus
through the Indian country, he had many peril-
ous adventures, and hair-breadth escapes. Several
of his party were killed in a skirmish with the
Indians at South Pass. At Lodge Pole creek he
and a companion were attacked by fifty Indians.
Mr. Chamberlain and his comrade were provided
with long-range rifles and were fairly supplied
with ammunition and they stood their assailants
off for twenty hours. How the siege may have
terminated under other circumstances cannot be
known, but it was evident to them that the^policy
of the Indians was to induce them to expend their
ammunition and after they had done so to close
in on them and destroy them. Opportunely two
companies of United States cavalry came upon
the scene and the Indians took their ponies and
escaped.
It was in April, 1879, that ]Mr. Chamberlain
came to Idaho Falls. The railroad, then under
construction, had its terminus here. He opened
a saloon and built the Chamberlain hotel, which
he managed successfully for seventeen years.
Since 1896 he has kept it open as a lodging
house only. After coming to the town, he bought
one hundred and eighty acres of land, all of
which has been platted and added to the town
site, and he has sixty-five acres more adjoining
the town. He has taken an active interest in the
breeding of fine trotting horses and has bred
several of more than ordinary merit and is the
owner of Young Gypsey Boy, which is regarded
as one of the best horses in the state, if not the
best one.
Ever since the organization of the Grand Army
of the Republic Mr. Cliamberlain has been identi-
fied with it actively and helpfully. He is a m.ember
of Joe Hooker Post, No. 20, of Idaho Falls, and
has several times served as its commander. He
is past master of the Eagle Rock Lodge, No. 19,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Idaho
Falls, and has a wide acquaintance among Ma-
sons throughout Idaho and adjacent states. In
his political views he is a Populist, but his tastes
have never inclined him to special activity in
political work, yet he is not without recognized
influence in his party. He is a modest man who
says little of himself or his achievements, but his
worth is known to his fellow citizens, who give
him rank as a leader in public-spirited work for
the general good and regard him as an upright
and reliable man of business and one of great
value to Idaho Falls. He was married. Novem-
ber 12, 1871, to Miss Harriet Regan, a native of
New York citv.
'ALFRED DAMAS.
The career of Mr. Damas has been a very
eventful and interesting one, and now, at
the age of sixty-four, he is the possessor
of a handsome competence, — the fitting reward
of his well spent life. For twenty-six years
he has been prominently connected with the
mercantile interests of Lewiston and his efforts
have been an important element in the prog-
ress 'and advancement of this section of the
state. He was born far from his present
home, being a native of Brussels, Belgium, where
his birth occurred on the i8th of July, 1835. He
attended school in his native country until nine
years of age and then became a cadet in the
celebrated naval academy at Antwerp, where he
remained for several years, spending a part of
the time on a school-ship at sea. During that
period they sailed in every sea and visited all of
the principal ports of the world, and later Mr.
Damas was graduated as a second-class midship-
man.
In 1848 his father sent him to Salem, Alassa-
chusetts, to learn the English language, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
401
there, as an apprentice, he went aboard the vessel
Thomas Perkins, under command of Captain
WilHam Rogers, saihng for San Francisco, Cah-
fornia, the vessel dropping anchor in that harbor
in the summer of 1849. Gold had but recently
been discovered and the great excitement there
caused every man to desert the ship save Mr.
Damas and the captain, who had to do the com-
mon sailor's work. Early in the spring of 1850
they secured a small crew of men and bovs and
sailed to the Sandwich islands, where a good
crew was employed, and from there they con-
tinued the voyage around the world. They
remained at Calcutta, India, for some tim.e and
returned by way of the Cape of Good Hope,
visiting St. Helena and the place where one of the
greatest military heroes of the world. Napoleon
Bonaparte, was laid to rest. They reached Bos-
ton, Massachusetts, just before Christmas of
1851, and found Captain Rogers' father ready to
launch the Witchcraft, a very fast sailing clipper
ship, making a record of eighteen miles an hour.
Mr. Damas was sent aboard this ship under his
former captain and was given the confidential
position of secretary. They took on a cargo for
San Francisco and started on a second voyage
around the world. In the China sea the vessel
was totally dismantled in a severe typhoon, in
which several ships were lost, but after great
effort the Witchcraft managed to reach Hong
Kong, where she remained four months undergo-
ing repairs. Notwithstanding all this she made
better time to San Francisco than any other ves-
sel had previously done. From Rio Janeiro
they took on four hundred Chinamen for San
Francisco, arid during the voyage the Celestials
mutinied, and almost succeeded in gaining con-
trol of the ship, but finally they were subdued
and the Witchcraft reached San Francisco in
safety. There they proceeded to prepare for
another trip to Calcutta, but Mr. Damas came to
the conclusion that it was advisable to seek to
better his condition on land, as he saw no pros-
pect of ever becoming owner of a vessel and
probably would never be more than a third of-
ficer, or at most a second ofificer. The relations
between himself and Captain Rogers had always
been most harmonious and agreeable, and the
Captain gave a very reluctant consent to Mr. Da-
mas' withdrawal, yet acceded the justice of his
wishes to better his lot in life. He was, how-
ever, asked to remain until the ship was ready
to start. While the preparations for sailing were
being made the crew made considerable fun of
him, assuring him that he would not be allowed
to leave the ship, and he had some fears himself
that such might be the case, but he packed his
trunk and had all in readiness to disembark. The
pilot came on board, the ship set sail, and it was
not until the pilot left the Witchcraft that Mr.
Damas received orders to go ashore. His trunk
was then lowered into the pilot's boat, and the
Captain bade him an affectionate good-bye,
placing in his hand a sealed envelope, which on
opening he found to contain a letter of recom-
mendation and a check for one thousand dollars,
— certainly a high tribute to the fidelity and
ability of Mr. Damas!
After some time our subject went to Sierra
county, California, where he engaged in mining
with good success. In 1853 he took out as higli
as one hundred dollars per day, but he loaned his
money and did not have much at the end of the
year. He was one of the discoverers of the How-
land Flats, a rich minine- district, but before he
knew the real value he sold out for a small sum
and went to the Feather river, where he became
interested in the building of a large flume near
Oroville. He was also interested in the Spanish
Flat-water ditch. From there he went to Siski-
you county, and arrived at Scott's Bar just in
time to take a part in the Indian war on the Kla-
math river. In 1861 the Oro Fino gold discov-
eries attracted him to Idaho. As the snow
melted and they progressed farther into the state,
they endured many hardships. In 1862 Mr.
Damas arrived at Lewiston, and at Oro Fino ac-
cepted a clerkship in the store of A. P. Aukeny,
remaining in that position until 1866, when, on
his own account, he began packing goods to
Montana. He sold out at Beartown. making ten
thousand dollars on the transaction. He then
returned to Oro Fino and succeeded A. P. Auk-
eny & Company in the mercantile business.
After successfully conducting a large trade there
for about six years, he was taken ill and by his
physician was advised to go to a lower altitude.
This led to his removal to Lewiston, where he has
made his home since 1872, engaged in the gen-
eral merchandise business.
402
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In that year Mr. Damas went to San Fran-
cisco, purchased a stock of general merchandise
and opened the store which he thereafter carried
on with eminent success. He had a large and
well appointed store, carried a fine line of goods,
and enjoyed a very liberal patronage from
the beginning, so that he is now the possessor of
a handsome competence acquired through his
own well directed efiforts. He sold out his busi-
ness in May, 1899.
In 1869 Mr. Damas was united in m.arriage to
Miss Maria Frances Sperling, a native of New
York city, who was brought to Idaho in her early
girlhood, and is now one of the honored pioneer
women of the state. They have one daughter.
Amy D., now the wife of Frank W. Kettenbach,
of Lewiston. She was born in Pierce City, in
1870, and is now one of the esteemed residents
of Lewiston.
j\Ir. Damas has held several positions of pub-
lic honor and trust. He was the first treasurer
of Shoshone county, to which position he was
elected in 1862. He was its first district deputy
clerk and also filled the offices of justice of the
peace and probate judge, but he is probably best
known in connection with the Masonic fraternity,
of which he is an exemplary member, his life
standing in evidence of the humane, benevolent
and ennobling principles of the order. He be-
came a Master Mason in Mount Idaho Lodge,
No. 9, in 1864, and since then has taken all the
degrees of the York rite, and has attained the
thirty-third degree of the Scottish rite, and been
proclaimed a Sublime Prince of the Royal Se-
cret. He became a Royal Arch Mason in Lewis-
ton Chapter, No. 4, has filled all of its offices,
and was its high priest for four consecutive
terms. He is a charter member of Lewiston
Commandery, No. 2, was knighted in 1892, and
has filled the office of generaHssimo. Having
been a close student of the teachings and tenets
of Masonry, and becoming more and more im-
pressed with its beautiful teachings, he advanced
to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite,
and has been instrumental in founding the four
bodies in Lewiston. He established the Lewis-
ton Lodge of Perfection, No. i. fourteenth de-
gree; Lewiston Rose Croix Chapter, No. i,
eighteenth degree; Lewiston Consistory of
Knights of Kodash, thirtieth degree; and Idaho
Consistory, No. i, thirty-second degree. He
now has the honor of being inspector general of
the state of Idaho, and has the great honor of
legally wearing the ]\Iasonic cross of honor, voted
him by the supreme council of the southern juris-
diction in 1897, and in October, 1899, he was
elected a thirty-third degree Mason. He is a
very enthusiastic IMason, taking great delight in
the work of the order, and his wife is connected
with the ladies' branch of Masonry, being a mem-
ber of the Order of the Eastern Star. As pio-
neers of Idaho they have a wide acquaintance
and many friends, and none are more worthy the
high regard of their fellow townsmen.
NORMAN SIMON HUBBELL.
To the brave pioneers of the early 'Sos and
'70s Idaho owes, in a large measure, the pros-
perity she now enjoys, as a state. Among those
hardy souls and courageous hearts who then
believed in her future, and by long years of toil
and undaunted perseverance assisted nobly in the
development of her resources, is the subject of
this article; and no one is more worthy of repre-
sentation in the annals of the state.
The ancestors of Norman S. Hubbell were
respected American citizens for many genera-
tions. He was born near Burdette, in what is now
Schuyler county. New York, October 29, 1837,
and his parents, Walton and Rebecca Emily
(Cure) Hubbell, were likewise natives of the Em-
pire state. The father was a millwright by trade,
an excellent machinist and a good business man.
At one time he was the drum major of a militia
company in his own state. He lived to reach his
seventy-second year, and died, loved and re-
spected by all who knew him. The wife and
mother was summoned to the silent land when
she was in her sixty-fifth year. Of their eight
children but two survive.
The education which N. S. Hubbell acquired
was such as the public schools of his boyhood
afforded, and from the time he was sixteen until
he was twenty-five years of age he gave all of his
earnings to his parents, reserving only what was
necessary to his support. On the 12th of June,
1862, he started west from Omaha, bound for the
Pacific coast, and on the 3d of the following
October reached his destination at what is now
Baker City, Oregon. From that place he and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
403
two companions went to Auburn, Oregon, pros-
pecting for gold, and though they found good
claims they were obliged to leave them, as the
Indians were so hostile that their lives were
constantly menaced. In the spring of 1863 Mr.
Hubbell came to Boise basin, where he found
employment at six dollars a day, and the next
winter he returned to Oregon. After a few
months he again came to this locality and
for a few years he worked at freighting,
mining and other occupations, — at anything
whereby he might earn money honestly. From
1868 to 1 87 1 he was engaged in the
butchering business at Union, Oregon, and
at the same time he bought, sold and raised
cattle extensively. The country becoming
overstocked with cattle, prices declined, and
Mr. Hubbell retired from the business in
1873. Returning then to Boise Citv, he opened
a meat market here and also owned one at Wood
River, but these enterprises did not prove suc-
cessful. Then for some years he was interested
in sheep-raising, which he continued until 1898.
He now owns forty-six acres of land, situated a
mile and a half west of Boise City, and here he
still makes his home. He built a comfortable
house and planted a prune orchard and various
other fruits. He is still financially concerned in
the raising of sheep, and at this writing has be-
tween eight and nine thousand head. The flock
is in charge of his son Walton, and some seasons
of the year the sheep graze on the ranges and
need no feed, while some winters the cost of keep-
ing them is considerable. ^Ir. Hubbell owns
stock in the Artesian Hot & Cold Water Com-
pany of Boise City and has invested in other local
plants.
In his habits of life ]\Ir. Hubbell is strictl;/
temperate, upright and just in all his transac-
tions. He was postmaster and a justice of the
peace in Oregon, but has never sought nor de-
sired public office. Fraternally, he belongs to the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politic-
ally he has been a life-long Republican.
The marriage of Mr. Hubbell and Miss Cyn-
thia Elizabeth Reynolds was celebrated Au-
gust 14, 1870. Mrs. Hubbell is a daugh-
ter of C. F. Reynolds, of Xew York state,
and she was born and reared in the same
town as was her husband. In all his joys
and sorrows she has been a true helpmate,
cheering and strengthening him with her wifely
devotion. She is a valued member of the Method-
ist church of Boise City. Of the five children
born to our subject ana wife, one, Nora P.. died
at the age of seventeen months. Clara Rebecca
is the wife of John McMillan. Walton is manag-
ing his father's sheep, and Reynolds, the next son,
is in charge of the McMillan sheep ranch in the
same locality. Norman S., Jr., is a student in
the local schools.
ROBERT GROSTEIN.
Robert Grostein, one of Idaho's most success-
ful pioneer merchants, has carried on business in
Lewiston since 1862. and through the interven-
ing years has borne an unassailable reputation in
trade circles, never making an engagement which
he has not kept nor contracting an obHgation
that he has not met. His sagacity and enterprise
and moreover his untiring labor have brought
to him a handsome competence, and the most
envious could not grudge him his success, so
honorably has it been acquired.
Mr. Grostein is a native of Poland, born in
1835, and is the eldest in the family of four chil-
dren whose parents were Closes and Bena
(Herschell) Grostein. Thev also were natives of
Poland, in which country they were reared and
married, the father there remaining until 1838,
when he came to the United States. He had
been in sympathy with Napoleon, to whom he
had rendered active assistance, and for this reason
he was obliged to flee from his native land. After
spending a year in America he sent for his fam-
ily, having decided to make his home in the land
of the free. He settled first at Mason, Georgia,
spending six years there, after which he went to
Buffalo, New York, and was engaged in trade
there until 1870. In that year he came to Lewis-
ton, Idaho, bringing with, him his good wife, and
here they spent their remaining days with their
son Robert, the father dying in 1891, at the age
of ninety-two years, while the mother reached the
age of eighty-eight years. Of their family two
sons and the daughter are yet living.
During his early childhood Robert Grostein
was brought to the United States by his mother,
and was educated in the public schools of Buffalo,
Xew York. He received his business training in
404
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
his father's store and then went to California by
way of the Nicaraugua route, in 1854, landing at
San Francisco. From the coast he made his way
to Downieville, where he engaged in mini'.ig for
two years, working for wages at eight dollars for
six hours" labor. He wisely saved his money,
hoping to be able soon to engage in business on
his own account, and in 1856 he went to The
Dalles, Oregon, where he opened a store and
soon built up a large and lucrative trade, suc-
cessfully carrying on operations there until 1862,
when he chose Lewiston as a new field of labor.
The gold excitement here, and the large number
of people who were making their way to this
point, made Mr. Grostein realize that this would
prove an excellent business opening, and accord-
ingly he came to the new town, which was then a
collection of tents. As in all new mining com-
munities there was a rough element mixed in
with the better class, and on the first night which
Mr. Grostein spent in Nez Perces county a man
was ruthlessly murdered. In a small tent he
opened the store which has now grown to such
magnificent proportions, and began business in
the primitive style of the mining camps. He
had to pay about one hundred and fifty dollars
per ton to get his goods hauled to this place, and
he took his pay for his merchandise in gold dust,
at from thirteen to fifteen dollars per ounce. He
purchased his goods in Portland, and the pioneer
merchants of the northwest soon became his in-
timate and w^arm friends. He conducted busi-
ness in the tent for a year and a half, and in 1864
erected a log building, twenty by forty feet and
one story in height, the logs having been floated
down the Clearwater river. In 1865 he admitted
Abraham Binnard to a partnership in the store,
and they carried on business with mutual pleas-
ure and profit for thirty-three years, when, in
1898, Mr. Binnard was called to the home be-
yond. In 1890 they erected the fine brick block
in which Mr. Grostein now carries a sixty thou-
sand dollar stock of goods. This is a double
store, fifty by one hundred feet and two stories in
height with basement. It is splendidly equipped
in the most approved style of modern merchan-
dising, and he carries everything- found in a
first-class establishment of the kind. By close
attention to business and liberal and honorable
methods he has met with marked success and has
a very liberal patronage, which insures continued
prosperity as long as he continues in the trade.
He also has a branch store in Warren.
Mr. Grostein is a man of resourceful ability and
carries forward to successful completion what-
ever he undertakes. As his financial resources
have increased he has made judicious investments
in real estate, has erected a number of substantial
buildings in Lewiston, and is now putting up sev-
eral fine brick blocks, the rental from which adds
materially to his income. He has also been the
owner of about thirty-five hundred acres of land,
mostly comprised in farms in Nez Perces county,
on which he raises large quantities of wheat. He
has also erected one of the finest residences of the
city, and his improvements of property have been
of incalculable benefit to Lewiston. He has wit-
nessed almost the entire growth and development
of the city, and has done much for its advance-
ment. He has given his support to many meas-
ures for the public good, and in 1864, when
murder and theft increased to an alarming extent
in Lewiston, and life and property were in jeop-
ardy, he joined the other law-abiding citizens,
and a vigilance committee was formed. A num-
ber of the worst characters were then caught and
hanged, order v/as effectually restored, and life
and property soon became as secure in Lewiston
as in any section of the entire country. In
many ways Mr. Grostein has been connected with
the events which form the early history of the
state. At one time he had two hundred mules,
used in packing goods to the different mines
where he had supply stores, and during the Nez
Perces war one hundred and fifty of these mules
were rented to the government to carry supplies
to the army. He was paid one dollar a day for
each mule, and seventy of them were lost and
killed, for which the government paid him one
hundred dollars each. The remaining eighty
mules were returned to him. In the Cayuse war
the government again had his mules for ninety
days, and he was again paid for the forty that
were lost in that war. When the Bannack w-ar
came on he was able to once more immediately
meet the needs of the government for pack mules,
and thus greatly expedited the work of the sol-
diers.
In 1864 Mr. Grostein w-as happily married to
]\Iiss Rachel Newman, of Sacramento. Their
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
405
union has been blessed with the following named
children: Leah, wife of A. Kuhn, a resident of
Colfax, Oregon; Bell, wife of H. Keminskey;
Henry, who is conducting his father's store in
Warren; Louie and Ruth, who are attending
school in Pottland, Oregon; and Mitchel, the
youngest, a student in the Lewiston schools. In
connection with one of his school friends, he is
now publishing a bright little weekly paper
called the M. & M., devoted to local news. The
family adhere to the Hebrew faith. Mr. Grostein
is a man of excellent business and executive
ability, and is widely and favorably known
throughout the northwest. He has steadily
worked his way upward through his own efforts,
and the competence that crowns his labors is
well merited.
HON. GEORGE B. ROGERS.
Some men achieve success almost instantan-
eously, some by slow accretion, others only after
long and patient working and waiting. The ex-
perience of men who are willing to work persist-
ently and intelligently and wait calmly goes to
prove that success may surely be attained during
an ordinary life-time, and no man not cut ofif at
an untimely age need work and wait in vain.
These reflections have been suggested by a con-
sideration of the career of Hon. George B. Rog-
ers, receiver of the United States land office at
Blackfoot, Idaho, who is one of the most promi-
nent and successful citizens of the state. He was
born in Dodgeville, Iowa county, Wisconsin,
February 22, 1842. His father, •John Rogers,
was born in England and there married Miss
Hannah Bailey. They came to the United States
in 1837, bringing with them two daughters,
named Susan and Elizabeth, and located at Min-
eral Point, Wisconsin, where Mr. Rcjgers en-
gaged in lead-mining and later became a farmer.
He died in 1880, aged seventy-six years, and his
wife passed away in 1882, aged seventy-three.
They were lifelong members and supporters of
the Methodist Episcopal church. Six more
children were born to them in Wisconsin, of
whom George B. Rogers was the second in order
of nativity and of whom two others are living.
George B. Rogers was brought up on his
father's farm and at a tender age gained an inti-
mate acquaintance with hard work and long
hours. The winter schools of that day and lo-
cality were poor, but such as they were he at-
tended as opportunity presented, and later he
attended night schools, but he may be said to be
practically self-educated.
In 1862 Mr. Rogers went to California by
water and was twenty-six days en route. He left
Wisconsin with borrowed capital to the amount
of three hundred dollars. For a time he worked
for three dollars and a half a day in the middle
California mines, and a knowledge of lead-min-
ing he had acquired while working with his
father in Wisconsin proved of great service to
him in this employment. Then he went back to
San Francisco and from there to Victoria, British
Columbia. Thence he came back to Portland.
Oregon, and from Portland he came to Idaho, in
1865, and went to the placer mines in Boise basin
and worked for wages in the Elkhorn mine. At
the time of Salmon river mining excitement he
went to that district. He worked there two
months, in 1867, and went from there to Mon-
tana. The succeeding two years he put in at the
mines at Helena and the next two years in pros-
pecting in Nevada and Idaho. He then returned
to Montana and worked six months in the old
Cable mine. He then bought mules and en-
gaged in freighting between points in L^tah and
Montana and, in partnership with C. W. Berry-
man, continued that business successfully for
fourteen years. An idea of the extent of their
operations will be afforded by the statement that
they owned considerably more than one hundred
mules and much of the time kept six twelve-mule
teams and eight six-mule teams busy. The work
was always arduous and sometimes dangerous,
but it was profitable, and when, in 1882, Rogers
& Berryman sold out, they found themselves
well on the way to fortune. Conditions had
changed and the business that had served them
so well was of decreasing value. They now
turned their attention to stock-raising, in which
thev have been eminently successful. They own
twenty-six hundred acres of land twelve miles
northwest of Blackfoot, and most of it is im-
proved and fenced. Six hundred acres of this
land lies just outside of Blackfoot. This exten-
sive property is in every way adapted to stock-
raising, and is as valuable as any land of its class
in the state. At times there are as many as five
406
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
hundred horses and two hundred to five hundred
head of cattle on tliese ranges, and a speciahy
has been made of bringing fine blooded stock
from the east. Thus Mr. Rogers and his partner
have improved their own stock and have at the
same time raised the standard of stock through-
out this whole section.
Mr. Rogers' interest in the growth and pros-
perity of Blackfoot has been manifested in many
ways, and he has been influential in advancing
the public interests to a degree that renders him
conspicuous as a public-spirited citizen. In 1885
he erected one of the best residences in the city.
He has been a lifelong Republican, and was
elected a member of the first Idaho state senate,
in which he served on several important commit-
tees and was active in securing the passage of
the law authorizing the use of the Australian
ballot system in the state. For two years he was
one of the county commissioners of Bingham
county. In October, 1897, he was appointed, by
President McKinley, receiver of the United
States land office at Blackfoot, an office which he
is filling ably and affably and to the entire satis-
faction of every one interested in its administra-
tion.
Mr. Rogers was married in 1876 to Elizabeth
Toombs, a native of England, whose father,
James Toombs, is now a resident of Ogden,
Utah. They have four children: Eva, the eldest,
is the wife of E. J. Frawdey, a prominent lawyer
of Boise, Idaho; Walter John, their oldest son,
manages a ranch for his father; and Raymond
and Susie, two young children, help to make glad
their delightful home.
HON. SAMUEL F. TAYLOR.
Hon. Samuel F. Taylor was not a pioneer of
Idaho Falls simply. He was one of a very few
who were pioneers at that locality before the
town had a beginning, and was active in an en-
terprise which was influential m locating a town
at that point on the Snake river. He came to
the place in 1870 with his cousin, J. M. Taylor,
who with the firm of Taylor & Anderson, built
the bridge across the Snake river at the falls. It
was the first bridge in this part of the state, was
a great aid to immigration and made Idaho Falls
(then Eagle Rock) a point of so much importance
on the route into this countrv, and to the country
beyond, that the springing up of a good town
there was a foregone conclusion, and only a mat-
ter of time.
Samuel F. Taylor is a member of an old Ken-
tucky family, and his paternal grandfather was
a pioneer in that state. Samuel F. Taylor, Sr.,
his father, was born there and married Fanny
Simpson, and in his time was j rominent in that
state. Samuel F. Taylor, Jr., was born in Ken-
tucky April 18, 1848, and in 1849 his parents re-
moved to Missouri and located ni Lafayette
county. His father was a lawyer and a farmer.
The family were strict Presbyterians.
Samuel F. Taylor, Sr., was an ardent south-
erner, and shortly after the beginning of our
civil war he enlisted in the Confederate army and
served under General Sterlinpr Price, and was
killed in battle at Corinth, Mississippi. Records
show that he was captain of Company B, Sixth-
Missouri Volunteers. He left a widow and six
children. Mrs. Taylor is now (1899) seventy-
two years old. Five of their children survive.
Samuel F. Taylor, the third of the children of
Samuel F. and Fanny (Simpson) Taylor, was
educated in the common schools of Missouri and
in the Kentucky State University, from which
institution, after having completed his studies,
he came direct to what is now Idaho Falls. After
the completion of the bridge he decided to re-
main in the vicinity and engage in the stock busi-
ness. The whole country then was one vast and
almost limitless range, offering the best facilities
for such enterprise, and Mr. Taylor put in several
years in that way with success, and then turned
his attention profitably to breeding fine trotting
horses. He has introduced several horses of
ability, among them Ryland T., who has a record
of 2:07^. In 1885 he established his livery stable
at Idaho Falls and soon became the leading livery
man of the town. Eight miles southeast of
Idaho Falls he has a farm of three hundred and
sixty acres, where he raises hay and grain for
his stock. He has one of the many roomy and
elegant residences for which Idaho is famous.
From youth ]\Ir. Taylor has always been a
strong Democrat, active in promoting the inter-
ests of his party. In 1884 he was elected sheriff
of Oneida county, which then comprised the
whole of southern Idaho, and filled that impor-
tant office, with signal ability, during two elective
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
407
terms. There were in Oneida county at that
time many horse and cattle thieves, and Sheriff
Taylor's work toward ridding the county of them
was so effective as to be practically complete in
its results. His efficiency as a public official was
not forgotten, and later he was elected a mem-
ber of Idaho's last territorial legislature, and he
was a member of the constitutional convention
that framed the constitution of the new state.
In 1880 Mr. Taylor was happily married to
Miss Bettie Hays, daughter of Judge Gilmore
Hays, and a native of Kentucky, she being a
sister of Senator Charles M. Hays, of Boise,
Idaho. They have five children, — Edward Lee,
Fanny Simpson, Samuel F. (third), Betsy Jane
and Mary Ellen. Mrs. Taylor is a member of
the Presbyterian church. Mr. Taylor was made
a Master Mason in Eagle Rock Lodge, No. 19, of
Idaho Falls, and is one of its past masters.
SANFORD EVANS.
The self-made man, when he has made a place
for himself in the world and installed himself in
it, has done as much for the world as he has done
for himself. The builder of his own fortunes is
an active factor in advancing the best interests
of the community in which he lives and flour-
ishes, and every dollar he makes for himself
becomes, in a sense, public capital. Such a pro-
gressive and helpful citizen is Sanford Evans, of
Genesee, a prominent farmer and mill owner,
who has done as much for the development of
Genesee and its tributary territory as any other
man. A glance at the successful incidents in his
career affords an index to his character and a
suggestion of the prime reason of his success.
He would appear to be a man who plans far
ahead, and, adhering tenaciously to his plans,
works untiringly to insure their success.
Sanford Evans is of Welsh ancestry. His fore-
fathers settled in the part of old Virginia now
known as West Virginia, where Benjamin Evans,
his grandfather, was a successful farmer. Silas
Evans, son of Benjamin and father of Sanford
Evans, was born in Virginia, succeeded to the
old Evans homestead, married Miss Peggie
Walker, a native of his own state, and lived well-
to-do and respected until after his sixty-ninth
birthday. His wife died in her sixty-sixth year.
Thev had eight children, seven of whom are liv-
ing. Sanford Evans, their third child, was born
in what is now known as West Virginia, January
8, 1848. He was educated in schools near his
home, and at the age of twenty-one years went to
Missouri and began life for himself. He worked
at first as a farm hand and remained there with
varying fortune for about six years. In 1874 he
crossed the plains with a team and went to the
Willamette valley, thence to Walla Walla and
from there came on to Nez Perces county, Idaho,
and located on one hundred and sixty acres of
government land.
At that time Mr. Evans had little besides his
horse and wagon and his few personal belong-
ings. But he was rich in ambition and had
splendid capital in power for a goodly aggregate
number of days' work, upon which he drew lib-
erally, and which he invested profitably. For
eight years he lived a lonelv bachelor life on his
place. He paid for it and enlarged his holdings
from time to time until he was the owner of
eleven hundred and forty acres of nice land.
Meantime his attention was directed to another
means to the improvement of his fortune and he
availed himself of it and improved it with the
tenacity of purpose that has characterized his ca-
reer. While he was building a fine large resi-
dence and other good buildings on his property
he engaged in conducting a ware-house business
in Genesee. This enterprise grew to such pro-
portion that when his ware-house burned, January
9, 1899, he lost forty-eight thousand bushels of
wheat. Notwithstanding he carried heavy insur-
ance, he sustained an actual cash loss of about
three thousand dollars. But he has already
erected a new flouring mill and ware-house and
has entered upon a new era of prosperity. His
mill is supplied with modern roller-process ma-
chinery and has a capacity of seventy-five barrels
of flour a day. He sows four hundred acres of
wheat every year, and one year he garnered
twenty-one thousand bushels from eleven hun-
dred acres, and on four hundred acres of summer
fallow he once raised twelve thousand bushels.
Mr. Evans returned to West Virginia in 1886,
and, at his old home, married Miss Erma Bur-
gess, daughter of Columbus Burgess, who came
of an old Virginia family. They have three in-
teresting children, named Edgar, Roy and Min-
nie. Mr. Evans is a Republican, but is not
408
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
enough of a practical politician to have any de-
sire for office. He believes he will best serve his
personal interests by giving his attention entirely
to his large and growing business. He is a
Knight of Pythias and is popular in social and
business circles, andJias proved himself a public-
spirited and progressive citizen, devoted to all
worthy interests of Genesee.
ARCHIBALD GAMMELL.
Archibald Gammell, county assessor and tax
collector of Latah county, now residing in Mos-
cow, is a native of Nova Scotia, his birth having
occurred February 23, 1835. He is descended
from Scotch-Irish ancestry, of Presbyterian
faith. William Gammell was the progenitor of
the family in the New World. He crossed the
Atlantic to Nova Scotia about 1776, since which
time three generations of the family have been
born there. Industry, uprightness and reliability
are the chief characteristics of the Gammells, and
they are also noted for longevity, most of the
name having attained the age of eighty years or
more. John Gammell, the grandfather, and
William K. Gammell, the father of our subject,
were both born in Nova Scotia, and the latter
married Miss Martha Millen, a native of Ireland.
They had seven children, but three are now de-
ceased. The mother departed this life in her
eighty-first year, and the father survived her only
twenty-eight days. They were about the same
age, and had celebrated their fifty-sixth wedding
anniversary. In religious belief they were Pres-
byterians, and their upright lives exemplified
their faith.
Archibald Gammell is now the eldest of the
surviving members of the family. He was reared
on his father's farm, educated in the common
schools, and entered upon his independent busi-
ness career as an employe in a woolen factory.
He also learned the miller's trade in a flouring
mill, and in 1875 removed to Petaluma, Califor-
nia, where he was engaged in the draying busi-
ness for three years. He met with moderate
success in that undertaking, and in 1878 came
to Idaho, securing a farm on American ridge, in
the Potlatch country, in Latah county. Here
for twenty-one years he has carried on agricul-
tural pursuits and has greatly improved his
property, now raising large crops of wheat, bar-
ley, corn and flax, together with an abundance of
fruit for home consumption. His wheat crops
have yielded as high as thirty-eight bushels to
the acre, and through his well directed efforts he
has become one of the prosperous farmers of this
rich section of the county and one of the most
progressive, practical, and influential agricultur-
ists.
In 1868 Mr. Gammell married Miss Agnes
Brenton, a native of Nova Scotia, who shares
with him his pleasant home. In politics he has
always been a zealous Republican, and in 1898
he was elected on that ticket to the office of
assessor and tax collector, which position he is
now filling in a most satisfactory manner. The
assessment of the county in 1898 reached the
sum of two million seven hundred thousand dol-
lars. In his social relations Mr. Gammell is a
Mason, having taken the preliminary degrees in
Eureka Lodge, No. 17, F. & A. M., in Nova
Scotia; the Royal Arch degrees in Keith Chap-
ter, No. 3, traveling thirty miles in order to
become initiated into the mysteries of capitular
Masonry. He is a worthy exemplar of the teach
ings of this ancient and beneficent fraternity, but
his remoteness from the lodge makes it impossi-
ble for him to take an active part in ritualistic
work. He and his estimable wife are members
of the Presbyterian church at Tuliaetta, and now
attend the services of that denomination in Mos-
cow. They have many friends m the county
where they have so long resided and are highly
esteemed by all with whom they have come in
contact.
TIMOTHY REGAN.
Among the pioneers of Idaho is Timothy Re-
gan, of Boise, who came to the territory in 1864,
and has since been largely instrumental in de-
veloping the rich mineral resources of the state.
He is a native of Rochester, New York, born
November 14, 1843, and is of Irish extraction.
His parents, Morgan and Mary (Burk) Regan,
were both natives of the Emerald Isle, whence
they emigrated to the state of Maine, in 183 1,
bringing with them their two infant daughters.
At a later date they removed to New York,
thence to Chicago and afterward to Wisconsin,
where the father secured a tract of land and in-
dustriously carried on agricultural pursuits imtil
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
409
his death, which occurred in 1878, at- the age of
sixty-nine years. His wife, surviving him some
time, departed this life in 1897, at the age of
eighty-four years, in Wisconsin. They were de-
vout members of the CathoHc church and were
people of the highest respectability. Nine child-
ren were added to their family in America, of
whom seven are still living, one being a resident
of Boise, namely, Timothy. Philip, who for
many years was a leading grocer of the city, died
February 9, 1899.
Timothy Regan, whose name introduces this
review, was educated in the public schools of
Wisconsin, and was reared on his father's farm,
early becoming familiar with all the duties of
field and meadow. When nineteen years of age
he started out in life for himself. Leaving home,
he made his way to New York, whence he
sailed for California, going by way of the isthmus.
After reaching the golden state he traveled by
wagon to Humboldt, Nevada, and on to Silver
City, Idaho, where he engaged in mining in the
employ of others for a short time. He then en-
gaged in teaming and in furnishing supplies to
the miners. He also conducted a hotel, and as
time passed his financial resources gradually
increased. Having acquired some capital he in-
vested his money in various mines and found this
most profitable.' He is regarded as an expert in
his judgment of ore, and his knowledge in this
particular, combined with sound judgment in all
business transactions, has brought to him most
gratifying success. He is the owner of the cele-
brated Oro Fino mine, from which were taken
seventy tons of ore, that yielded eight hundred
dollars to the ton. He also owns the Golden
Chariot mine, and formerly owned a mine at De
Lamar which he sold to the De Lamar Mining
Company for eighty-seven thousand five hundred
dollars. These mines all have seven thousand
feet on one, or the mother, lode. He sold the
Oro Fino mine to an English company for one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but after mak-
ing a large payment, this company, through mis-
management, allowed it to revert to the original
owner.
As he has met with success in his mining ven-
tures, Mr. Regan has extended his field of oper-
ations into other lines of business and has been
the promoter of many industries, which have
largely promoted the material interests of Boise.
He was one of the organizers of the Hot and
Cold Water Company, which supplies the city
with both hot and cold water from artesian wells,
many of the best buildings and residences being
heated with this natural hot water. This enter-
prise has proved of great value to Boise, as have
others with which Mr. Regan is connected. He
is a stockholder and director of the Boise City
National Bank, one of the strongest and best
financial institutions in the state, now occupying
a splendid bank building, which was erected by
the company. He is a stockholder in the Wei-
ser Land and Improvement Company and in
many other enterprises, and his capable manage-
ment and wise judgment in business affairs have
proved of great benefit in the control of many of
these interests.
In 1878 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Regan and Miss Rose Blackinger, of Buffalo,
New York, and to them have been born two
sons, William and John, who are now attending
college in Santa Clara, California. They have a
beautiful home at the corner of Fourteenth and
Bannock streets, surrounded with well kept
grounds, tastefully adorned.
Mr. Regan is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, having taken the first three degrees in
Silver City Lodge, of which he is past master.
He has also taken the royal arch and knight
templar degrees, and now belongs to the lodge,
chapter and commandery of Boise. In poHtics
he is a stalwart Democrat, but has never sought
the honors or emoluments of public ofifice. pre-
ferring to devote his time and energies to his
business interests, in which he has met with sig-
nal success. His life has been one of untiring
activity, and has been crowned with a degree of
prosperity attained by comparatively few men.
He is of the highest type of a business man, and
none more than he deserves a fitting recognition
among those whose hardy genius and splendid
abilities have achieved results that are the won-
der and admiration of all.
GEORGE E. ERB.
In the last half century, especially, it is sel-
dom that one wins prominence in several lines.
It is the tendency of the age to devote one's en-
tire energies to a special line, continually work-
410
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing upward and concentrating his efforts toward
accomplishing a desired end; yet in the case of
George E. Erb it is demonstrated that a leading
position may be reached in more than one line
of action. He is an able educator, a successful
stock-dealer and business man and a recognized
leader in political circles. By reason of his
prominent connection with the public life and
interests of Lewiston, and on account of his repu-
tation, which extends far beyond the confines of
the city, he is well entitled to representation in
this volume.
Mr. Erb was born in Lafayette county, Mis-
souri. April 26, 1866, and is of German descent.
His fatlier. Maximum Erb, was born in Ger-
many, and when a young man crossed the At-
lantic to the United States. He served through-
out the Mexican war as a loyal defender of his
adopted land, and then took up his residence in
jMissouri, becoming one of the enterprising
farmers of that state. He married Miss Mary A.
Ferguson, and died in 1878, at the age of fifty-
six years. The widow with her five children,
four sons and a daughter, crossed the plains to
Oregon in 1884, and she has since resided near
Weston, that state.
George E. Erb, the eldest son, attended the
public schools until thirteen years of age, but
after that had no opportunity to acquire further
education in the school-room. Study, reading,
experience and observation, however, have made
him a well informed man, and his literary tastes
and attainments have gained him entrance into
the cultured society circles. He began his busi-
ness career as a stock-raiser in Oregon, and in
1889, when but twenty-two years of age, he
walked to the city of Lewiston to try his fortunes
among this enterprising people. He had no
capital, but was energetic, progressive and will-
ing to work, and he soon secured a position at
manual labor. His real worth of character was
recognized by the Rev. John D. McConkey, rec-
tor of the Episcopal church, v;ho took a deep in-
terest in the young man and acted as his tutor
for a few months, thus enabling him to satis-
factorily pass an examination and secure a teach-
er's certificate. His appetite for learning has
never been satiated, and through the passing
years he has continually added to his store of
knowledge, until he is now a man of scholarlv
attainments. After securing his certificate, he
successfully engaged in teaching for four years,
and then had the honor of being elected county
superintendent of schools and ex-oiificio probate
judge, which office he filled most ably until the
close of the term. He was then for three and a
half years the deputy district-court clerk, having
charge of all the legal business of the court. He
had the honor of serving one term, for the year
ending June 30, 1897, as mayor of the city of
Lewiston. On the expiration of that period he
became extensively engaged in the butchering
business, including the packing and curing of
meats and dealing in live-stock, as a member of
the firm of Dowd, Shaw & Company. After a
year this firm sold out and Mr. Erb has since
been engaged in stock-raising, in connection with
his brothers-in-law, the Dowd brothers. They
have one fine ranch of seven hundred and twenty
acres, on which are three excellent artesian wells.
On it are six hundred head of cattle and from
three to four hundred head of horses. Mr. Erb
is also the special right-of-way agent of the Ore-
gon Railway & Navigation Company for the
counties of Idaho and Nez Perces. He has also
acquired valuable interests in some promising
mining properties in the celebrated Buffalo
Hump mining district of central Idaho.
On the 14th of June, 1893, Mr.- Erb was united
in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dowd, a daughter
of Michael Dowd, one of the honored pioneers of
Idaho, who was engaged in mining at Pierce City
and afterward in farming and stock-raising in
Nez Perces county, Idaho. Mrs. Erb was one
of the first white children born in Pierce City.
By her marriage she has become the mother of a
son and daughter, — Charles Frederick and Mary
Ernestine.
Mr. Erb is a prominent member and the grand
vice-chancellor of the Knights of Pythias fra-
ternity for the state of Idaho, and adjutant of the
First Regiment of the Idaho Uniformed Rank of
that order, in which he stands very high. He is
also a member of the Rathbone Sisters and of
the Woodmen of the World. In politics he has
always been a stanch Democrat since casting his
first vote, and has done effective service for his
party. As chairman of the Democratic county
central committee, he ably managed the cam-
paign in this part of the state, and did effective
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
411
work in the interests of Democracy during the
last campaign. He was appointed by Governor
Stennenberg a member of the board of trustees
of the State Normal School, in January, 1897, to
serve for a term of six years. His deep interest
in the cause of education well qualifies him for
the position. In his own home he has a fine li-
brary and some of his most pleasant hours are
spent with the companionship of the master
minds of both this and past ages.
ALFRED EOFF.
Alfred Eofif, the able and widely known cashier
of the Boise City National Bank, possesses the
undaunted spirit and business enterprise which
have developed and are developing the marvelous
resources and wealth of the western states antl
territories. All credit is due the brave and fear-
less frontiersman who paves the way for the on-
coming tide of civilization, and, by his industry
and zeal opens a thousand avenues for com-
merce and progress. In such a work ]Mr. Eoff
has largely aided and in the history of Idaho he
well deserves representation.
Of Dutch ancestry, the forefathers of Alfred
EofT settled at an early day in Wheeling, West
Mrginia, and one of the streets of that city is
named in honor of the family. James EofI, the
father of our subject, was born in Virginia (ere
that state had been divided) and in 1840 removed
to the prairies of Illinois, in company with his
father. When grown to maturity he married
there Miss Jane Ayres, and of their five children
Alfred is now the only survivor.
He was born in the village of White Hall, Illi-
nois, June II, 1845, and received his education
in the schools of Chicago. In 1862, when he was
seventeen years of age, he joined an uncle in Col-
orado, and within a short time he became con-
nected with the Ben HoUiday Stage Company.
Later he was made cashier of the Wells-Fargo &
Company's Bank at Salt Lake City, which posi-
tion he filled for six years. He was then offered
the place of assistant cashier of the bank in San
Francisco, owned by the same corporation, and
accepted the position, which he retained until
1885, when he came to Idaho for the purpose of
organizing the Boise City National Bank, of
which he has since been cashier and manager.
As earlv as 1866 Mr. EofT had come to this
state as the agent for the Wells-Fargo Company,
also serving as their paymaster from Denver to
Salt Lake City, until the road was completed. To
his marked business ability is due much of the
success of the Boise City National Bank, now
recognized as one of the leading banking institu-
tions of the northwest.
Idaho has just cause to be proud of her fine
commercial facilities and of the able, far-seeing
financiers who stand at the head of these vast
business enterprises — the banks of the state. The
one with which Mr. Eofif is connected as cashier
was organized in the fall of 1885, and on the loth
of the following April its doors were opened for
business. At that time its capital stock was fifty
thousand dollars; in 1891 this was raised to
double the amount; and it has been authorized to
incresse its capital to five hundred thousand dol-
lars. In 1898 the profits and surplus of the bank
equaled its original capital, and this has been
accomplished in spite of the fact that great finan-
cial depression has characterized the money mar-
kets of this country much of the time covered by
the existence of the bank. In the winter of
1891-92 the fine building occupied by the bank
was erected, which, with its furnishings, cost up-
ward of fifty thousand dollars; but about half
of that amount has been since realized from the
renting of offices. The first year the deposits in
the bank amounted to one hundred thousand dol-
lars, which sum has been gradually increased un-
til it lias now reached five times the original
amount. A dividend of ten per cent has been
regularly paid and forty per cent has been added
to the surplus, — a tndy wonderful showing!
Among those prominent in the organization of
tlie bank were Henry Wadsworth, cashier of the
Wells-Fargo Bank at San Francisco; A. H.
Boomer, manager of the California & Oregon
Stage Company ; Edward A. Hawley, of Hawley
Brothers Hardware Company, of San Francisco;
and James G. Walker, a wholesale liquor mer-
chant of the same city: H. B. and B. M. East-
man, of Boise; and Joseph Perrault, surveyor-
general of Idaho. The first officers were Henry
Wadsworth, president; Alfred Eofif, cashier; and
Joseph Perrault, assistant cashier. There have
been no changes since, save that W. S. Bruce is
now the assistant cashier.
During the civil war Mr. FofY volunteered his
412
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
services in aid of his country, was assigned to
Company C, First Colorado Infantry, and was
sent against the Indians, who were proving a
constant source of danger to the white settlers
of the state and of the northwest in general. He
is now a member of George H. Thomas Post,
No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic. Politically
he is an ardent Republican.
One of the handsomest residences in Boise is
the recently completed home of Air. EofT. He
was married in 1882 to Miss Victoria Louise
Mtrsh, who was born in Canada, is a lady of
superior education and social attainments, and
is a consistent member of the Episcopal church.
In all his business and social relations Mr. Eoiif
is popular and influential. His marked financial
and executive ability has gained him pre-emi-
nence in commercial circles, while his pleasant
personality and unquestioned integrity have won
for him the respect of all.
WILLIAM B, ALLISON.
One of the most prominent pioneer citizens of
Salubria valley, an organizer of Washington
county, and now (1898) its assessor, is William
B. Allison, an enterprising and leading stock-
raiser in the beautiful valley of Salubria. where he
has a rich and finely improved farm of five hun-
dred and twenty acres, through which runs a
splendid stream of water.
Zur. Allison was born at Glasgow, Columbia
county, Ohio, on August 22, 1845, a"d is of
Scotch ancestry, his parents, Alexander and
Sarah (Glover) Allison, having been natives of
Scotland. In 1837 the father emigrated to
America, and was married in Pottsville, Pennsyl-
vania, where he followed the blacksmith's trade,
having learned the same in Scotland. He re-
moved to Illinois in 1854, and a year later to
northwestern Iowa, and in 1863 he and his fam.-
ily, consisting of his wife and three children,
crossed the plains and located in Boise valley,
where he took up a farm of three hundred and
twenty acres, becoming one of the pioneers of
that valley. He found a ready market for the
products of his farm in the mining camps, and in
those early days received a very remunerative
price for anything he could raise. The cost of
threshing grain was at that time twenty-five cents
a bushel, and everything else equally high. In
1868 Mr. Allison removed to Salubria valley,
where he took up one hundred and sixty acres
of rich land, one mile north of where the town of
Salubria now stands, built upon this land, im-
proved it and became a successful, industrious
and capable farmer. Being a lover of liberty, he
identified himself with the Republican party when
it was organized, and became one of its faithful
adherents. Among other of the early enter-
prises of the territory aided by him was the
founding of the Statesman, at Boise, to which
he liberally contributed, in his religious faith he
was a Presbyterian. His death occurred at his
home in Salubria, in 1882, at which time he had
attained the age of sixty-nine years. The wife
to whom he was first married departed this life
in 1854. His second wife, who crossed the
plains and endured the hardships of pioneer life
with him, still survives him and has attained the
grand old age of ninety years. All the children
are living in Salubria.
William B. Allison was educated in the public
schools of Pennsylvania and Iowa, and in 1863,
when in his eighteenth year, he was one of the
drivers of a freight train across the plains, the
rate per pound for freight at that time being
thirty-three cents to Salt Lake, the time
consumed in driving from Omaha being ninety
days. After coming to Idaho our subject
freighted all over the territory, and crossed the
plains three times with oxen, without accident or
misfortune. In 1868 he came to the Salubria
valley and took up one hundred and sixty acres
of rich land, upon a part of which is now built the
town of Salubria, and on this property he built
his log house, with a dirt floor and roof, and in
this humble way began his farm life. He en-
gaged in raising cattle, horses and hogs, and from
time to time, as by his industry he secured
means, he added to his farm until now he has
five hundred and twenty acres, stocked with a
fine grade of Hereford cattle, Berkshire hogs and
good horses. In 1891 he erected a larger and
more commodious house on his farm, and there
he and his family enjoy the comforts of life which
his unaided efforts and intelligence have pro-
vided.
jNIr. Allison was a strong .adhcreni of the Re-
publican party up to the time of the St. Louis
convention in 1896, when he decided that the
^^tT^^^^I^-^^^ '~~^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
413
"G. O. P." had left him. and he alHed himself
with the silver or bimetal forces oi his state.
He was elected a member of the Idaho territorial
legislature and introduced the bill creating the
count}^ of Washington. He was also elected a
member of the second session of the state legis-
lature, and became acquainted with all the rep-
resentative men of the state. In 1896 he was
elected assessor of Washington county, an office
he has filled in a most satisfactory manner. .So-
cially he is a member of the Grand Lodge of the
I. O. O. F. of the state.
On the i8th of November, 1868, Mr. Allison
was married to Miss Ruhannah Hedgecock, a
native of North Carolina, and a daughter of Jos-
eph Hedgecock. Of this union five children
have been born, namely: Minnie; Loutitia,
now Mrs. Henry Mossman; Alexander, who is
married and resides with his father, aiding him
in conducting the farm; William B., Jr , and
Joseph.
JAMES W. B.\LLANTINE.
One of the foremost representatives of the
mercantile interests of the Wood river valley is
James W. Ballantine, of Bellevue. A native of
Pennsylvania, he was born February 15, 1839,
and in his life has manifested many of the sterling
traits of his Scotch ancestry, who emigrated to
the United States in 1825. His parents were
Nathaniel and Sarah (Wallace) Ballantine,
natives of Scotland, in which country they were
reared and married. Crossing the Atlantic to
America, they took up their residence near Can-
onsburg, Pennsylvania, where the father en-
gaged in merchandising. They were Presby-
terians in their religious faith, and were people
of the highest integrity of character, respected
by all who knew them. For more than forty
years Nathaniel Ballantine was a successful busi-
ness man of Pennsylvania, and lived to be
seventy-eight years of age, while his wife passed
away at the age of seventy. They had eight
children, four of whom are living.
James W. Ballantine is the eldest living of their
sons. He was educated in the public schools of
his native state, and received his business training
at the store and under the direction of his father,
whom he assisted in the conduct of a mercantile
establishment until President Lincoln issued his
first call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the
rebellion m the south. .Air. Ballantine at once
responded, enlisting in April. 1861, and assisted
m raismg Company E, of the Ninth Pennsvl-
vama Reserve Corps, of which he was elected
first lieutenant. He was afterward chosen
captam of Company K, of the same regiment in
which position he served until the expiration of
his term. He then assisted in raising the One
Hundred and Ninety-third Regiment of Pennsyl-
vania \'olunteers, of which he was elected
lieutenant colonel, continuing to act in that
capacity until the close of his second term of
enlistment. For three years he was with the
Army of the Potomac and participated in all of
its hard-fought battles and glorious victories. He
was wounded by a gunshot in the thigh and was
also captured at the second battle of Bull Run,
but after two months he returned to his com-
mand, with which he continued until the close
of hostilities. He was always a valiant soldier,
fearless and true, and because of his meritorious
service on the field of battle was brevetted major
by President Johnson.
Soon after his return home Major Ballantine
engaged in the oil-refining business, at Pittsburg,
and did a successful business in that line from
1865 to 1883, when the great mining excitement
in the Wood river vailed allured him to Idaho,
and he has since been a valued and influential
citizen of this part of the state. He came to
superintend the mining and smeltino- works of a
Philadelphia company, doing business at Mul-
doon, and was thus engaged for two vears, when
the company concluded to close their establish-
ment. Mr. Ballantine then turned his attention
to mining and stock-raising. He has been
interested in various gold mines, and was a
member of a company that, after taking out
considerable ore from the Hub mine, sold the
property for ninety thousand dollars. He is still
interested in mining ventures, and is now work-
ing a copper mine in Nevada. This property is
bonded and probably sold. He also has a valu-
able cattle ranch twenty miles east of Bellevue,
where he is raising cattle and horses on an
extensive scale. At Bellevue he is a member of
the firm of Hill & Ballantine, proprietors of the
largest general mercantile establishment in the
Wood river valley. They enjoy an extensive
and constantly increasing patronage, and have a
414
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
well equipped store, supplied with everything in
their line demanded by the general public.
Reasonable prices, honorable dealing and courte-
ous treatment have secured for them a good
business, and the enterprise has proved a profit-
able one.
In 1865, after his return from the war, Mr.
Ballantine was united in marriage to Miss Lena
Mclntyre, a native of Pennsylvania, and they
had one daughter, Carrie, who died while the
family yet resided in Pittsburg. Mrs. Ballantine
is a consistent and faithful member of the Presby-
terian church.
Mr. Ballantine gave his political support to the
Republican party until 1892, when his opinions
concerning the money question led him to with-
draw his allegiance. He then aided in the
organization of the Populist party, and on that
ticket, in 1892, was elected a member of the
Idaho state legislature. In 1894 he was honored
by the Populist nomination for governor and
polled a heavy vote, but was defeated by a small
majority of a few hundred. In i8g6 he was
elected a member of the state senate and was the
candidate of his party for United States senator,
receiving the full Populist vote, lacking only
eight votes of being elected. Before coming
west he served as a member of the Pennsylvania
legislature. He has long taken an active and
influential part in politics, and is a recognized
leader in the ranks of his party, his opinions
carrying great weight in its councils. Socially,
he is connected with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Grand Army of the Republic,
and served as commander of O. H. Rippey Post,
No. 41, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In business
he sustains an unassailable reputation, in political
life he has the ability and knowledge of the
statesman, and in social circles he is known as a
courteous, cultured and popular gentleman.
WILLIAM TAYLOR.
For twenty-eight years William Taylor has
resided in Latah county, and is therefore one
of the honored pioneer farmers of the locality.
He has not only witnessed the entire growth and
development of this section of the state, but has
ever borne his part in the work of progress, and
his name should be enduringly inscribed on the
pages of its history. A native of the Emerald
Isle, he was born in county Armagh, Ireland,
April 15, 1820, his parents being Joseph and
Elizabeth (Rankin) Taylor. In 1840 the father
came to America, bringing with him his wife
and seven children. They made the voyage on
the sailing vessel Fairfield, and were five weeks
on the passage. They took up their residence
on Bonus prairie, Boone county, Illinois, near
where the city of Belvidere now stands, the
father purchasing forty acres of land, from which
he developed a fine farm. The city of Chicago
was then but a little muddy village and the
country was largely unimproved. Both he and
his wife were members of the Presbyterian
church, were highly respected people, and each
lived to the age of seventy-three rears.
William Taylor, their eldest child, was edu-
cated in his native land, and learned the mason's
trade, serving a five years' apprenticeship. After
becoming a resident of Illinois he followed that
pursuit, doing much of the work in his line in
that early day both in Belvidere and Rockford.
Many of the substantial structures of those towns
still stand in evidence of his excellent handiwork.
He was married, in Illinois, to Miss Priscilla
Mitchell, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter
of Thomas [Mitchell of that state.
In 1 871 Mr. Taylor determined to seek a
location in the new and undeveloped west. He
first made his way to California, later traveled
through Oregon and then came to Idaho. Here
he believed he had found the richest farming
land in the United States, and the unsettled
condition of the country made it possible for him
to take his choice of a claim in the vast region.
He selected the farm upon which he now resides,
it being then covered with rich verdure. With .1
spade he turned the sod in several places and
found a rich black loam, from four to five feet
deep. There was also a little stream on the place
and several good springs, and he believed that
everything could be grown in abundance here.
Time has proved the wisdom of his judgment, as
his labors have resulted in making this one of
the finest and richest farming properties in the
state. He built a log house and then wrote for
his wife to join him in the new home. With her
children she traveled to Ogden, Utah, where Mr.
Taylor met them with a team, thus conveying
them to the new farm in the wilds of Idaho.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
During those first years he had very httle
money. He had to go to Walla Walla for sup-
plies, and for four years Mr. Silcott, who ran
the ferry at Lewiston, trusted him for his ferry
bill, but after a time he was able to do some
building for the kind ferryman, and thus dis-
charged his indebtedness and received twenty-
five dollars additional for his labor. Mr. Taylor
is a man of great industry, energy, diligence and
practical common sense, and in his undertaking.^?
he prospered. He improved the place and added
to it until he has six hundred and forty acres of
the splendid farming land of the district. His
son, Thomas J., grew up to be a capable young
business man and became associated with W. A.
Lauder, a son-in-law of our subject, in the manu-
facture of brick. They met with splendid
success in the business, did contracting and
building and furnished all the brick ustd
in Moscow. They erected many of the
finest public buildings, including the State
University. In order to help his son and son-
in-law in their business reverses, he sold a
portion of the old homestead, but still has left
one hundred acres of the old homestead and
three hundred and twenty acres of timber land in
the mountains, not far distant. In addition to
the fine springs of pure water which he has on
his homestead, there is a rich mineral spring
which has fine medicinal properties, being a
curative for a number of diseases. Charles W.
McCurdy, of the chemical department of the
University of Idaho, has made a most careful
anahsis of this mineral earth showing its ele-
ments and properties, and in the hands of an
enterprising man the spring might be made a
most profitable business undertaking, but j\Ir.
Taylor is now too far advanced in years to under-
take a new work of this character.
The children of Air. and Mrs. Taylor are
Thomas J., now sheriff^ of Lemhi county, Idaho,
and a prominent young man; Edward, who was
graduated from West Point Military Academy
and is now an officer in the regular army, serving
his country in Manila; Elizabeth, wife of Mr.
Clayton, of Moscow; and Minnie, wife of W. A.
Lauder. The other children are now deceased.
In early life Mr. Taylor became a Master
Mason, in Illinois. In politics he was formerly a
Republican, but differing with the party on the
415
money question, he now gives his support to the
men and measures that, in his judgment, stanri
for the best interests of the country. He is a
gentleman of broad intelligence, of sterling worth
and unassailable reputation, and he and his
estmiable wife are numbered among the honored
pioneers of northern Idaho,— pioneers to whos-
unselfish efforts this section of the state largelv
owes its prosperity and progress. ^ '
JOHN STRODE.
With two of the most important industries that
have contributed to the development and pros-
perity of the northwest,— mining and stock -
ra.sing,-John Strode has long been identified
He became a resident of California in 1852, ten
years later went to Oregon, and since 1863 has
made his home in Idaho. His birth occurred in
Tennessee, on the 6th of tebruarv. 1833, and he
IS of English, German and Welsh descent- but
the original ancestors, who came from England
Wales and Germany, found homes in America at
an early period in her historv and were pioneer
settlers of Kentucky. John Strode, the father of
our subject, was born and reared in Kentucky
and Miss Nancy Evans, of Ohio, became his
wife. Thirteen children were born of this union,
five of whom are yet living. The father denarted
this life in the sixty-third year of his age, and his
wife passed away in her sixty-seventh year.
During his childhood Jolin Strode 'accompa-
nied his parents on their removal to Missouri,
where he remained until nineteen years of age,
when he drove an ox-team across the plains to
California. The dangers and hardships of such
a journey can scarcely be imagined, much less
realized in this age of parlor-car transportation.
The company of which Mr. Strode was a member
were four months and eight days upon the wav.
but though they endured many discomforts, the\'
escaped death through disease or at the hands of
treacherous savages, yet many new-made graves
marked the route, — the last resting places of
those who had hopefully started out to seek
fortune in the Golden state. After arriving on
the Pacific slope, Mr. Strode engaged in mining
for a short time and then conducted a ranch in
Contra Costa county. Subsequently he went to
Siskiyou county, where he engaged in placer
mining until his removal to Auburn, Baker
416
HISTORY OF rOAHO.
county. He was very successful in his mining
operations there, often taking out gold to the
value of fifty or sixty dollars per day. In Sis-
kiyou county he dug out a nugget wortli three
thousand and thirty-three dollars! He also
carried on mining at Independence, but in
1862 left California for Oregon, and the
following year came to Boise. He engaged
in mining in the Boise basin, at Atlanta
Gulch, and in 1865 secured a nugget worth
three hundred and thirty-three dollars. Jrie
was interested in the Monarch mine, which
proved to be a very rich one. He sold some of
his stock for fifteen thousand dollars cash, but
retained stock to the value of fifty thousand dol-
lars. After his removal to Boise, Mr. Strode
began stock-raising, which he has followed with
excellent success, and is now the owner of seven
hundred and fifty-two acres of valuable land in
Idaho, a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in
Oregon, and two grape vineyards in Sonoma
county, California. He has also a thirty-acre
orchard at Nampa, and a fine residence and fruit
farm one mile west of the center of Boise, and
there he makes his home.
In 1869 Mr. Strode was united in marriage to
Miss Sophia Youst, and to them were born
seven children, namely: Harvey Lee, John,
Sophia, William, James, Charles and George.
The mother died in 1886, and eight years later
^Ir. Strode married Mrs. Flora A. Deeds, a
native of Indiana. In all his business relations
he has commanded the confidence and good will
of his fellow men by his honorable and system-
atic methods, his fairness and his enterprise. He
carries forward to successful completion what-
ever he undertakes, and as the' result of his sound
judgment and unfaltering industry he is now
accounted one of the wealthy farmers and stock-
raisers of his adopted state.
JOHN L. CH.\PMAN.
John L. Chapman, trfie postmaster and city
treasurer of Lewiston, is a native of Wisconsin,
his birth having occurred in Evansville, Rock
county, that state, on the 27th of December, 1850.
He is a representative of one of the old American
families. His father, Timothy S. Chapman, was
a native of New York, and married ]\Iinerva
Hurlburt, who was also born in the Empire state.
He was a vocalist of superior ability and a
teacher of both instrumental music and singing.
In i844he removed to Illinois, and there his home
became a station on the famous underground
railroad. He was a lover of freedom, an oppo-
nent of oppression in any form, and, just prior to
the war, he assisted many a negro on his way to
liberty. Subsequently he removed to Wisconsin,
and later came to Idaho, where his remaining
days were passed. He died in Lewiston, in 1891,
but his wife still survives him, and is now in the
eightieth year of her age. In early life they were
members of the Presbyterian church, but after-
ward united with the Congregational church. Of
their family of seven children only three are now
living.
John L. Chapman, whose name introduces this
sketch, was reared and educated in Mazomanie,
Wisconsin, and came to Lewiston in 1870, at the
age of nineteen years. He began working in the
lumber regions at day's work and engaged in
saw-milling, which he followed for sixteen years.
He has been a stalwart Republican since attain-
ing his majority, and in 1892 was appointed by
President Harrison to the position of postmaster
of Lewiston to fill out an unexpired term. At
the following election he was chosen by popular
ballot to the office of city treasurer, which posi-
tion he has filled most satisfactorily for the past
four years. In January, 1899, he was appointed
by President McKinley to ths position of post-
master, and at once began a work of improve-
ment in the Lewiston office, putting in new
boxes of the latest style and otherwise carrying
on the business on a progressive scale. As yet
this is only a third-class office, but it is now doing
the business of a second-class office and will
undoubtedly soon be raised to that rank.
Socially Mr. Chapman is connected with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the
Royal Arcanum, and has filled all the chairs in
the former. He was married in 1875 to Miss
Emma J. Thatcher. She was born in what was
then Oregon, and is a daughter of C. A.
Thatcher, an Oregon pioneer of 1852. Eight
children have been born of this union, of whom
seven are living. Their son, Charles, a promis-
ing young man of twenty-two years, was
drowned in the Clearwater river while in swim-
ming. The surviving children are Ralph H.,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
John E., Guy E., Fannie K., Roy, Helen and
Willard L. John E. is efficiently assisting his
father in the post-office, in the capacity of deliv-
ery clerk. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are valued
members of the Presbyterian church and he is
serving as one of the elders. Twenty-three years
ago they erected their pleasant home in Lewis-
ton, and through the intervening decades it has
always been noted for its hospitality and good
cheer. Mr. Chapman is regarded as a most
trustworthy and efficient officer in both positions
which he is filling, and in both public and private
life he has ever commanded the confidence and
respect of his many friends and acquaintances.
JOHN McCLELLAN.
John McClellan, one of the earliest pioneers of
Boise, Idaho, is a native of Ohio, born in Licking-
county, March i6, 1827, of Irish and English
extraction, his paternal ancestors being Irish, his
maternal, English. John McClellan, his father,
was born in Ireland in 1777, and in the year 1820
came to America, landing at New York, where
he remained for some time and where he was
married to Miss Amanda Reed, a native of New
York and a daughter of English parents. From
New York they removed to Dresden, Ohio,
where they resided until 1850. in which year he
and his wife and seven children crossed the plains
to Oregon, John, the subject of this sketch, at
that time being twenty-two years of age. That
year many of the overland emigrants died of
cholera, and several of the company with which
the McClellan family traveled were victims of
that dread disease and were buried by the way-
side, among them an aunt of our subject. His
immediate family, however, made the trip in
safety, and stopped first at Milwaukee, on the
Willamette river, six miles above Portland. Later
they removed to Yam Hill county and settled on
a farm, where the father spent the rest of his
life and died at the age of eighty-eight years. .Of
his family of seven who crossed the plains in 1850,
only four are now living, — John and three
sisters.
F"rom Dayton, Oregon, in 1863, John Mc-
Clellan, the subject of our sketch, came to
P)Oise, arriving on the 6th of May, or, rather,
came to where Boise is now located, for this
place was then a wilderness and there were plentv
of P.annack Indians camped near tne river. The
military post was not located until the 7th of
July following; the state capital a little later. Mr.
]\IcClellan's trip from Oregon to this place was
made with an ox train. He mined in the Owyhee,
— witnout success, however, and was at the
Florence mines for a short time, when he took
out forty dollars per day, after which he pros-
pected, again being unsuccessful. That same
year he took a claim to a tract of eighty acres of
land on the north side of the river, and built on
it a log cabin, which still stands on the property
in a good state of preservation, and which he
intends to keep there as long as he lives. Later
he built a good frame residence, the one ne now
occupies, which is surrounded with large fruit
trees, planted by his own- hands. In the course
of time the city of Boise grew out to his property
and he sold thirty acres of it for three hundred
dollars per acre, and on it have been built a
number of residences. Mr. McClellan, soon after
locating at Boise, floated logs down the river,
sawed them into lumber and built a ferry-boat,
with which for many years he ferried the people
across the river. Afterward he, in company with
others, built a toll-bridge, and had charge of
that some three years. Both of these undertak-
ings were a financial success. After selling them
he directed his energies to farming and raising
fruit and vegetables, and later gave attention to
the keeping of bees, in all of which he has been
fairly successful.
Mr. McClellan is a lifelong Republican, takin;.;-
an intelligent interest in public affairs, but never
caring for or seeking official honors. He is .^
member of the Alethodist Episcopal church and
was one of the early trustees of the church at
Boise. His sister. Miss Letta Ann, who came to
Boise in 1867, is his housekeeper, both having
remained unmarried. In their pleasant home
they extend to their neighbors and many friends
that genial hospitality so characteristic of the
west.
ADDISON V. SCOTT.
Addison V. Scott is well known throughout
southern Idaho as a shrewd and public-spirited
financier and real-estate operator, and ]\Irs.
.A.delia B. (Dugan) Scott, his wife, has wide dis-
tinction as having been the first w onian in Idaho
elected to the office of justice of the peace, the
418
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
important functions of which she is discharging
with admirable ability. They were married in
1883 and are among the prominent families of
Idaho Falls.
Addison ^'. Scott was born in ]Madison county,
Iowa, January 14, 1858, and is descended from
English-Irish ancestry. His forefathers settled
early in Indiana, and Joseph Scott, his grand-
father, became prominent in that state. Joseph
C. Scott, son of Joseph Scott and father of
Addison V. Scott, was born, reared and educated
in Indiana, and there married Miss Eliza Jane
Rawlings, a native of Indiana and daughter of
Rev. James Rawlings, of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, a man whose good life and good
works had a beneficent influence upon the people
among whom he lived and labored. Joseph C.
Scott and Eliza Jane (Rawlings) Scott had eight
children, only three of whom are living. The
father died, in 1897, at the age of seventy-one.
His wife, who was many years his junior, is now
(1899) sixty-five years old. Addison V. Scott,
their fourth child, was educated in the high
schools of Iowa, principally at Burlington, and
at the age of seventeen began to teach school.
He was successful in the work, but a business
career was more to his taste, and later he was a
clerk in mercantile houses until he secured a
position with a large real-estate, loan and bank-
ing firm. In 1883 he was called to tne cashiership
of the Creston (Iowa) National Bank, of which
J. B. Harsh was president. He resigned the
position four years later (1887) to go to Kansas.
He did not remain long in the Sunflower state,
however, but went to Colorado and there engaged
in the real-estate and banking business on his
own account. In 1890 he came to Idaho Falls,
from Denver, and opened a real-estate and fire-
msurance office. He secured a combination of
first-class fire-insurance companies, and his
knowledge of underwriting and his business
ability were such than he soon gained a large
and increasing patronage. He also dealt exten-
sively in real estate for himself and others and
platted Scott's Addition to Idaho Falls, which
has been partially sold off and built upon, and
built a hotel and a business block which are
among the prominent buildings of the town.
Soon after he came to southeastern Idaho, the
importance of irrigation became apparent to him,
and he became prominent in connection with the
work of the Idano Canal Company and later
with that of the ]\Iarysville Canal & Improve-
ment Company, which is doing much for the
improvement of Fremont county, and of which
he was elected secretary and treasurer, which
positions he holds at this time.
Mr. Scott is a Republican and takes an active
and helpful interest in the work of his party.
While he lived in Iowa he was elected city treas-
urer of Creston, and since coming to Idaho he
was appointed by Governor Willey one of the
first regents of the state university. There is no
movement for the public good that does not
receive Mr. Scott's hearty indorsement and
generous financial support, -and Mrs. Scott is
equally public-spirited. She is vice-president of
the Ladies' Improvement Society, of Idaho Falls,
an organization having for its object the improve ■
ment and beautifying of the town, whose work
has been so efTective that largely through its
agency, directly and indirectly, Idaho Falls is
cleaner and more attractive than many of her
sister towns.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott, who are communicants of
the Catholic church, did verv much toward the
building of the Catholic church at Idaho Falls
and have labored otherwise to advance the cause
of their church in the town of their adoption.
MICHAEL J. SHIELDS.
The life of Michael Joseph Shields affords an
illustration of the vicissitudes of business under
modern conditions ; it emphasizes the importance
of doing the right thing at the right time, and it
teaches a lesson of patience under difficulties and
perseverance against obstacles, — a lesson that
should not be lost upon all of the many
who need it. It is suggestive in another
way, too, because it affords an example,
in addition to many others that have been
given in the past, of the excellent quality of the
sturdy Irish-American character. ,
Mr. Shields, who is one of the most enter-
prising and influential citizens of Moscow and
who has the reputation of having done as much
toward the upbuilding of that city as any other
man, was born near Lockport, New York, Sep-
tember 15, 1853. His parents were natives of
Ireland. His father, John Shields a well known
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
419
contractor, was drowned at the age of thirty-
one while making improvements on a section of
the Erie canal. After his death his widow, with
three children, removed to Lockport. where she
died in her fifty-seventh year. After having
attended school at Rochester and Lockport, New
York, Michael Joseph Shields began the battle
of life as a driver on the Erie canal. His business
ability was exhibited early in his career, for at
seventeen we find him the owner of a team, at
work independently, towing canal-boats from
station to station, at two dollars a trip. From
this work he advanced to towing rafts of lumber
between Tonawanda and Troy, New York. In
1871, when he was eighteen, he went to San
Francisco, California, and found employment as
teamster for a wholesale commission house.
He soon won the confidence of his employers
to such an extent that he was made collector and
general outside man for the concern. In 1872
he had saved enough money to enable him to
buy a truck and team and engage in trucking
on his own account. He prosecuted that business
successfully until 1878, and then went with a very
snug sum of money, the result of his enterprise
and good management, to Walla Walla, Wash-
ington. He found an investment at Dayton,
Washington, where he completed and equipped
a hotel, which he sold, however, before it was
opened. He then bargained for a ranch consist-
ing of land for which he was to have paid the
sum of two thousand seven hundred dollars, but
other opportunities came to him which he
accepted as more promising, and he let the deal
fall through. In the light of subsequent events
he has considered this the great mistake of his
life; yet other men have made just such mis-
takes, some of them on a large scale. How could
he have known that a portion of the big city
would in a few years spring forth upon that
ranch? If he had possessed such foreknowledge
he would have made a still greater mistake in
not securing all the land now covered by
Spokane and its suburbs.
It was at Moscow that Mr. Shields made the
investment that he might have made at Spokane.
In March, 1879, he opened up a trade in farm
implements in Moscow. In 1882 he added hard-
ware stock and in 1885 a lumber yard, and he
did a growing, profitable business until 1895. ^'^t
that time the whole country was involved in
financial dif^culty. Banks were failing, shops
were shut down, crops failed and productive
energy was paralyzed. There were many failures
in the new west as a result of these conditions,
and Mr. Shields' failure was by no means one of
the largest of them. He had been engaged in
very extensive business operations for some
years. In 1887 he had built the Moscow planing
mills, and he owned and operated four sawmills.
He had built the works of the Moscow water
system and the Moscow electric-light plant. He
had built the Idaho University building, the
contract price for which was one hundred and
twenty-five thousand dollars, and he had built,
under contract, some of Idaho's largest public-
school buildings, and was thought to be worth at
least three hundred thousand dollars. He was
literally "driven to the wall" by adverse circum-
stances, but his spirit was not broken, nor did his
enterprise slumber. The Shields Company,
Limited, was organized and incorporated, and
Air. Shields was made its manager. Its success
has been noteworthy and it is now one of the
strongest concerns of the kind in the state. It
occupies a brick block, one hundred and forty by
one hundred and twenty-five feet, which Mr.
Shields erected in 1890.
There was not a citizen of Moscow who did
not sympathize with Mr. Shields in his trouble,
and there is not one who is not glad that he is
coming to the front again with a pronounced
business success that promises well for his luture.
Mr. Shields was married, in June, 1885, to Miss
Sarah A. Henry, a native of Massachusetts, who
has borne him four children, — Frederick Milton,
Madeline Mary, James Henry and John Lewis.
In politics Mr. Shields is a Republican, in reli-
gion a Catholic. He was a regent of the State
University of Idaho, and in that capacity did
much excellent and far-reaching work to advance
the cause of public education in his adopted
state.
JOSEPH B. HULSE.
Joseph B. Hulse, proprietor of the only photo-
graph gallery in Hailey, is a native of Iowa, born
in Glenwood, on the 3d of January, 1859. The
family, of German origin, was planted on
American soil at an early period in the historv of
New England. The grandfather, Joseph Hulse,
420
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
was a pioneer settler of the state of Ohio, and
his son, Henry A. Hulse, the father of our sub-
ject, was born near the old home of Abraham
Lincoln, in the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois.
Having arrived at years of maturity, he married
Caroline Maloon and removed to Iowa, whence
he afterward went to Pike's Peak. In 1863 he
removed with his family to Denver, Colorado,
and in 1866 went to Saline county, Nebraska,
settling on a farm' on a tributary of the Blue
river, where he remained until 1880. In that
year he became a resident of Oregon, taking up
his abode near LaGrande, Union county, where
he remained until called to the home beyond, in
1893, at the age of fifty-seven years. His widow
still resides there and is now fifty-six years of
age. They were the parents of eight children,
five of whom are living.
In the public schools Joseph B. Hulse acquired
his literary education, pursuing his studies
through the fall and winter months, while in the
summer season he assisted in the labors of the
home farm. In early life he began to learn the
art of photography, and in 1889 established a
gallery in Alturas, California, where he remained
three years, after which he spent nearly a year at
Lake View, Oregon. He then went to Mountain
Home, and after passing a winter there came to
Hailey, in the spring of 1895. Here he opened
his art gallery, the only one in the town, and has
since conducted a successful business, receiving
all the patronage of the entire county in his line.
He does his work in a most artistic manner and
after the most approved processes in photog-
raphy, and his work gives general satisfaction.
This, combined with his reasonable prices and
his uniform courtesy to his patrons, has secured
him a large and profitable business.
Mr. Hulse voted with the Republican party
until 1892, when, on account of his views on the
money question, he transferred his allegiance to
the Populist party, and in the fall of 1898 was
elected on that ticket to the state legislature,
receiving a flattering majority. His careful
consideration of matters of public moment and
his adherence to a course which he believes to be
right make him a valued member of the house
and a worthy representative of the interests of
his constituents.
Socially Mr. Hulse is chief forester of the
Modern Woodmen Camp of Hailey. He has in
Blaine county a wide acquaintance and many
friends, and a home which is a favorite resort
with many of the best people of the community.
He was married in 1892 to Miss Kittle G. Spar-
gur, a native of Reno, Nevada, and a daughter of
Henry L. Spargur, an attornev of Alturas, Cali-
fornia. Prior to her marriage she was a success-
ful teacher in the public schools of California.
She is descended from German ancestors, the
family having first been founded in New York,
whence representatives of the name went to Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Hulse have three cliildren, —
Amidol A., Henry D. and Joseph B.
CHAPTER XXIX.
MINES AND MINING.
IDAHO is essentially a mining territory. It
was her mines that first stimulated immigra-
tion to within her borders, and it is to the
results of the mines that her present prosperity
is due in a great measure. Now that mining has
been reduced to a legitimate occupation, there is
less reckless speculation, perhaps, than of old,
but more solid, substantial business. The days
of stock gambling in mining properties are about
over. Science, aided by practical experience, has
taught the best methods of treating ores. Capi-
talists no longer purchase prospects for fabulous
prices on the strength of picked specimens or the
vicinity of rich claims. It is a fortunate circum-
stance for Idaho that mining has been for the
most part a steady, productive industry, yielding
rich returns to the patient and intelligent pros-
pector, and that it has not been necessary to
rely on fictitious "booms."
As in the case of mining countries generally,
the placer mines first attracted attention. The
placers of Boise basin, Salmon river, and other
localities had yielded rich returns. But it is
within a comparatively recent period that quartz
mining has become as general as at present in
southern and central Idaho. Even now in well
known mining regions there are many miles as
yet unexplored.
The minerals of Idaho are gold, silver, copper,
iron, lead, plumbago, quicksilver, coal, and
others. There are also mountains of sulphur,
productive salt springs, quarries of the finest
marble and building stone, large deposits of
mica, and various varieties of semi-precious
stones. Her precious-metal belt is three hundred
and fifty miles long, and from ten to one hundred
and fifty miles wide.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
It is reported that gold was discovered by a
French Canadian in Pend d'Oreille river, in 1852.
Two years later General Lander found gold while
exploring the route for a military road from the
Columbia to Fort Bridger. The earliest discov-
eries of which we have any authentic record,
however, were probablv made by members of the
party with that veteran pioneer and path-finder,
Captain John Mullan, the originator of the now
famous Mullan road from Fort Benton to Walla
Walla, a distance of six hundred and twenty-
four miles. In a letter dated Washington, D. C,
June 4, 1884, to Mr. A. F. Parker, of Eagle City,
he says:
I am not at all surprised at the discovery of nume-
rous rich gold deposits in your mountains, because
both on the waters of the St. Joseph and the Coeur
d'Alene, when there many years ago, I frequently
noticed vast masses of quartz strewing the ground,
particularly on the St. Joseph river, and wide veins o!
quartz projecting at numerous points along the line
of my road along the Coeur d'Alene, all of which
indicated the presence of gold. Nay, more: I now
recall quite vividly the fact that one of my herders
and hunters, a man by the name of Moise, coming
into camp one day with a handful of coarse gold,
which he said he found on the waters of the north
{ork of the Coeur d'Alene while out hunting for our
expedition. This was in 1858 or 1859. The members
of my expedition were composed very largely of old
miners from California, and having had more or less
experience in noticing the indication of mineral de-
posits, their universal verdict was that the entire coun-
try, from Coeur d'Alene lake on toward and including
the east slope of the Rocky mountains, was one vast
gold-bearing country, and I was always nervous as to
the possible discovery of gold along the
of my
road; and I am now frank to say that I did nothmg
to encourage its discovery at that time, for I feared
that any rich discovery would lead to a general stam-
pede of my men from my expedition, and thus destroy
the probable consummation of my work during the
time within which I desired to complete the same. I
then regarded it as of the first importance to myself
and to the public to open a base line from the plains
of the Spokane on the west to the plains of the Mis-
souri on the east, from which other lines could be
subsequently opened, and by means of which the cor-
rect geography of the country could be delineated. My
object at that time was to ascertain whether there was
a practicable railroad line through the valleys, and if
there existed any practicable pass in the main range
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of the Rocky mountains through which, in connection
with the proper approaches thereto, we could carry a
wagon road, to be followed by a railroad line, and I
did not hesitate to make all other considerations sec-
ondary or subordinate thereto, believing then, and
knowing now, that if a railroad line was projected and
completed through the valleys and the passes of the
Rocky mountains, between the forty-fifth and forty-
eighth parallels of latitude, all other developments
would naturally and necessarily soon follow.
A romantic tale is told of the discoveries which
led to the Oro Fino excitement in i860. Tra-
dition relates that a Nez Perce Indian, in i860,
informed Captain E. D. Pierce that while himself
and two companions were camping at night
among the defiles of his native mountains, an
apparition in the shape of a brilliant star sud-
denly burst forth from among the clififs. They
believed it to be the eye of the Great Spirit, and
when daylight had given them sufficient courage
they sought the spot and found a glittering ball
that looked like glass, embodied in the solid rock.
The Indians believed it to be "great medicine,"
but could not get it from its resting place. With
his ardent imagination fired by such a tale,
Captain Pierce organized a company, and with
the hope of finding the "eye of their Manitou,"
explored the mountains in the country of the
Nez Perces.
He was accompanied by W. F. Bassett,
Thomas Walters, Jonathan Smith, and John and
James Dodge. The Indians distrusted them,
however, and refused to permit them to make
further search. Thev would doubtless have had
to leave the country had not a Nez Perce squaw
come to their relief and piloted them through
to the north fork of the Clearwater and the
Palouse country, cutting a trail for days through
the small cedars, reaching a mountain meadow,
where they stopped to rest. While there Bassett
went to a stream and tried the soil for gold,
finding about three cents in his first panful of
dirt. This is said to be the discovery that
resulted in the afterwards famous Oro Fino
mines. After taking out about eighty dollars,
they returned to Walla Walla. Sergeant J. C.
Smith, of that place, thereupon fitted out a party
and started for the mines, reaching there in
November, i860. In the following ]\Iarch Smitli
made his way out on snow-shoes, taking with
him eight hundred dollars in gold-dust. This
dust was shipped to Portland, where it caused a
blaze of excitement.
During 1861 and 1862 the rush continued.
Steamers arrived at Portland from San Francisco
and Victoria loaded down with freight and pas-
sengers for the new gold-fields. New mining
regions were constantly discovered. In the spring
of 1861 Pierce City was founded and named in
honor of Captain Pierce. The Elk City mines
were discovered early in 1861 by parties from
Oro Fino. Florence was discovered in the fol-
lowing autumn. In August, 1862, James
Warren and others located claims in what was
thereafter known as Warren's Diggings. These
last named are all on the tributaries of the
Salmon river. Warren's never caused the rush
and excitement that attended the discovery of
Florence. The latter, it is claimed, was found
by a greenhorn, one of a party of seven hunters.
The recklessness characteristic of new mining
camps found full play here. Thirtv men were
killed in the first year; shooting and cutting were
every-day matters. Prices were abnormal.
The Walla Walla Statesman, in chronicling
the event, gives the following description of the
discovery of the Salmon river mines in 1861:
"S. F. Ledyard arrived last evening from the
Salmon river mines, and from him it is learned
that some six hundred miners would winter
there; that some two hundred had gone to the
south side of the river, where two streams head
that empty into the Salmon, some thirty miles
southeast of the present mining camp. Coarse
gold is found, and as high as one hundred dollars
per day to the man has been taken out. The
big mining claim of the old locality belongs to
Mr. Weiser, of Oregon, from where two thousand
six hundred and eighty dollars were taken on the
20th, with rockers. On the 21st three thousand
three hundred and sixty dollars were taken out
with the same machines. Other claims were pay-
ing from two to five pounds per day. Flour has
fallen to fifty cents per pound, and beef at from
fifteen to twenty-five cents is to be found in
abundance. Most of the mines are supplied till
the first of June. Mr. Ledyard met between
Slate creek and Walla Walla, en route to the
mines, three hundred and ninety-four packs and
two hundred and fifty head of beef cattle."
The same journal on December 13, 1861, gives
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
423
the following- account of the new diggings:
"The tide of immigration to Sahiion river flows
steadily onward. During the week past not less
than two hundred and twenty-five pack-animals,
heavily laden w^ith provisions, have left this city
(Walla Walla) for the mines. If the mines arc
one-half so rich as they are said to be, we may
safely calculate that many of these trains will
return as heavily laden with gold-dust as they are
now witn provisions. The late news from
Salmon river seems to have given the gold fever
to everybody in this immediate neighborhood.
A number of persons from Florence City have
arrived in this place during the week, and all
bring the most extravagant reports as to the
richness of the mines. A report in relation to a
rich strike made by Air. Bridges, of Oregon
City, seems to come well authenticated. The first
day he worked on his claim, near Baboon Gulch,
he took fifty-seven ounces: the second day he
took one hundred and fifty-seven ounces: third
day, two hundred and fourteen ounces; and the
fourth dav, two hundred ounces in two hours.
One gentleman informs us that diggings have
been found on the bars of the Salmon river which
yield from t,wentv-five cents to two dollars and
fifty cents to the pan, and that on claims in the
Salmon river diggings have been found where
"ounces' won't describe them and where they say
the gulches are 'full of gold.' The discoverer of
Baboon Gulch arrived in this city yesterday,
bringing with him sixty pounds of gold-dust : and
Mr. Jacob Weiser is on his way in with a mule
loaded with gold-dust."
Such glowing descriptions nearly forty years
ago had their inevitable efTects, while the more
substantial argument was adduced in the fact
that $1,750,000 in gold-dust was exported from
this region that year. According to Mr. Elliott,
during April, 1862, three thousand persons left
Portland, by steamer, for the mines, and by the
last of May it was estimated that between
twenty and twenty-five thousand persons had
reached or were on their way to and near the
mines east of the Cascade mountains. The yield
accounted for, of gold, in 1862, in this region of
country, reached seven million dollars, and
several millions in addition to this were shipped
through avenues not reported.
"Such," says the chronicler, "were the results
following in a few short months upon the trail
pioneered by E. D. Pierce, W. F. Bassett, and
their little party of prospectors whom the Indians
had driven out of the country, but to return to it
again and again, first led by a squaw, then
through the assistance of T. C. Smith, when pur-
sued as trespassers by a company of United
States cavalry. Enough has been given to show
the reader the influence that awoke eastern
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho from their sleep
through the centuries, to a new era of activity
and usefulness."
It was a strange throng that came pouring
over the mountains of north Idaho in the days
of 1862. On foot, horseback, or by any other
means that could be obtained, they pushed their
way over swollen rivers, rugged mountains, and
Indian-infested valleys. Lewiston, Lapwai, Oro
Fino, Pierce City, Elk City, Florence, — these
were the magic names that fired the imaginations
and stimulated the ardor of these dauntless
pioneers.
One of the effects of the Florence excitement
was the discovery of Boise basin, in Boise
county. A party of men left Florence in the
fall of 1 86 1, and in the following summer passed
over into central Idaho. They came by the way
of Oregon, crossing the Snake river liy the
mouth of the Boise. They followed up I'oise
river to the site of Boise city. Under instruc-
tions from an Indian whom they there encoun-
tered, they struck out for the mountains north of
Boise river, and subsequently camped near
where Centerville now stands. While prospect-
ing on the creek, one of the party named Grimes
was killed by Indians. The creek, which has
become famous in the history of Idaho placer
mining, has ever since been called Grimes creek.
After the death of Grimes, his companions left
the country for Walla Walla. Another party
returned to the basin in October, 1862. A stock-
ade was built, and the place was styled "Fort
Hog'em," a name which locally survives to this
day. .\ writer in the Idaho World gives the fol-
lowing account of the discovery of Boise basin:
.\ party of ihirly-eiglit men, known as Turner's party,
left Auburn. Oregon, in the spring of 1862, for Sinker
creek, in Owyhee county. It was reported that emi-
grants, in fishing along this creek, used gold nuggets,
picked up on the creek, for sinkers — hence the name.
424
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Joseph Branstetter. of this place, was with Turner's
party. Failing to find gold on Sinker creek, Bran-
steftter and seven others left the party and met Captain
Grimes' party of eight men, between Sinker creek and
Owyhee river. Grimes' party and Branstetter and
three others of his party. Colonel Dave Fogus one of
the number, making twelve 'men all told, concluded
to strike up into the mountains of this section. They
crossed Snake river, eight miles above the Owyhee
river, in skiffs made of willows. Snake river was then
at higl;-water mark. The party struck Grimes creek
near Black's ranch and followed up said creek, along
which they first discovered gold, near where the town
of Boston stood — two or three miles below Centerville.
They obtained good prospects there— about a bit to the
pan. The party proceeded up to Grimes Pass, near the
head of Grimes creek. One day, while all of the parly
were in camp, a shot was fired a short distance from
the camp, the bullet passing over the men's heads. A
few moments after a second shot was fired, the bullet
cutting the hair over one of Mr. Branstetter's ears.
Grimes, a Portuguese named Phillip, Mose Splann, and
Wilson, Grimes' partner, then struck out from camp
on the hunt of the Indian that did the shooting. Grimes
got on the track of the Indian, on the hill above
camp, and was following the tracks with his shot-gun
in his hands when the fatal shot was fired. Splann was
about fifty yards to Grimes' left, and the Portuguese
a short distance behind. Grimes was within thirty
steps of an Indian and about a hundred and fifty yards
from the camp when he was shot. The Indian made his
escape. Grimes was shot near the heart, and lived
only long enough to tell Wilson to tell his wife, who
was in Portland, how he came to his death. Grimes
frequently made the remark that he would never reach
home.— that he was to be killed by Indians. The day
before he was killed he remarked, while gazing at the
picture of his only child, a daughter of a few years of
age, that he would never see her again,— that he had
only a short time to live. Grimes' remains vifere buried
at Grimes Pass, where he was killed. Grimes was a
young man, twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age.
The party consisted of four Portuguese and three other
men, in addition to those mentioned, the names of two
of whom Mr. Branstetter never knew, and the names of
the others he has forgotten. Grimes was killed in
August, 1862. A short time after his death the party
left for Auburn, Oregon, and returned in October of
the same year. That fall Branstetter and A. Saunders
rocked out from fifty to seventy-five dollars a day
near Pioneerville, and packed the dirt one hundred
yards in sacks. A. D. Saunders and Marion More
returned with the party in October. The party num-
bered ninety-three men. JefT Standifer's party arrived
from Florence about a week after the party of ninety-
three got in from Auburn. W. B. Noble of this place
was with the Standifer party. The above was related
to us by Mr. Branstetter. He was the youngest man
in Grimes' party; was twenty years of age when they
reached Boise Basin.
The mines on Granite creek were discovered
abotJt the ist of December by th« party, who also
located the site of Placerville, which contained
about six cabins, partly completed on the 14th
day of that month.
Boise basin soon became known as the greatest
placer country outside of California. By the ist
of January, 1863, over three thousand men had
made their way into it. Centerville, Pioneerville,
Placerville, Granite Creek, Idaho City (originally
known as Bannock), sprung into existence, and
by September of that year there were probably
two thousand five hundred men scattered through
the basin. Several million dollars had been
taken out by the close of the season that year.
In July, 1864, over two thousand five hundred
claims had been recorded in Banner district; in
Centerville over two thousand, and in Placerville
over four thousand five hundred.
Idaho City, or Bannock, became the metropolis
of the basin, and at one time could boast of a
population, transient and permanent, estimated
as high as from seven thousand to ten thousand.
On the i8th of May, 1865, the town was com-
pletely destroyed by a disastrous fire, property to
the extent of one and a quarter million of dollars
lost, and seven thousand people left homeless and
shelterless. The town was rebuilt durinor the
same season, however, and though three times
destroyed by fire, for many years retained its
prestige as the leading mining town of Idaho.
The first ferry across Snake river was estab-
lished in 1862. A number of persons from
Placerville, twenty-seven in all, in the spring of
1863, visited what is now Owyhee county. They
discovered Reynolds creek, which was named in
honor of one of their party. On the following
day the men reached a stream, where they
camped, panned the gravel, and obtained a hun-
dred colors. The place was named Discovery
Bar. Happy Camp, near the site of Ruby City,
was discovered soon after. The creek was
named after the leader of the expedition, and the
district was called Carson, after another member
of the party. In July the first quartz lead was
discovered by R. H. Wade, and named Whisky
Gulch. In the following month the placers in
the French district were discovered, and also the
Oro Fino quartz ledge. The celebrated Poor-
man tuine was not discovered until October,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
425
1S65. The mines of middle and south Boise, in
Alturas county, including Atlanta, Yuba, and
Rocky Bar, were discovered in 1864.
Such in brief is the history of the mineral dis-
coveries in Idaho prior to 1870. By that time
the rush, the fever, the excitement attendant
upon new discoveries, had quieted down. Many
of those who had come into the territory, carried
along by the wave of excitement, left with the
ebbing tide. The placer mines had been worked,
though by no means exhausted. The rush had
subsided and a reaction had set in. According
to statistics, the yield of 1869 was less
than that of any year before or since. Those
who remained in Idaho, however, continued to
prosper.
Dispersed over Idaho's immense territor)-,
greater than that of New York, New Jersey.
Massachusetts, and New Hampshire combined,
there were in 1870, exclusive of tribal Indians,
less than fifteen thousand inhabitants, including
about four thousand Chinamen. Her settle-
ments were scattered, frequently a hundred miles
or more apart. Situated far from the ordinary
lines of through travel, only the most daring and
hardy adventurers sought her mountain soli-
tudes. The only means of communication were
by tedious journeys by stage or team, or more
frequently on horseback, over rough mountain
trails, where natural obstacles were only en-
hanced by the oft-recurring presence of prowling
bands of Indians, who so long resented the intru-
sion of the whites. The nearest railroad at this
time was the Central Pacific, through Utah and
Nevada.
None of these drawbacks, however, could deter
the pioneer and prospector. Great as these ob-
stacles were, they shrank into insignificance when
confronted by the spirit of the gold-seekers. The
discoveries of the past were regarded as but an
earnest of the future. It was known that far up
among her mountain fastnesses were other store-
houses of precious metals that needed only en-
terprise and capital to develop their hidden 'trea.s-
ures. From the remote and secluded mountains
of "Far Idaho," as from an almost unknown and
unseen source, the golden streams continued
flowing. For years the placers of Boise basin
and Salmon river, and the ledges of Owyhee,
Rockv Bar, and Atlanta, continued yielding their
riches, thus constantly adding to the national
wealth.
Xo discoveries of new fields, and no stampedes
of any importance, occurred, however, for several
years. In the meantime the great work of pros-
pecting the rugged mountains still went on. Far
up among the snow-capped hills of northeastern
Idaho was an unknown region, still described on
some maps as "unexplored country." .\lonCT the
tributaries of the upper Salmon, in the neighbor-
hood of Yankee Fork, Kinni-kinnick and Bay-
horse creeks, in what is now Custer county, prior
to 1877, solitary prospectors had located a few
claims, and placers had been worked to advant-
age. Occasional visitors from that far-off land
had exhibited among the mining men of Salt
Lake City specimens of gold and silver ore, whose
assay value could be expressed only in four fig-
ures. The Charles Dickens had been located in
1875. A thousand dollars had been crushed out
in small hand-mortars in a day. During the
first month, two men pounded out about twelve
thousand dollars. A few tons of ore were then
sacked and shipped to Salt Lake City and to
Swansea. The net results were fifteen thousand
dollars, the highest grade sampling three thou-
sand seven hundred dollars per ton. A lot of
twenty-three tons netted over seventeen thousand
dollars. In 1878 a two-bed arastra, with pan
and settler, was built at a cost of nineteen thou-
sand four hundred dollars, and started up late in
August. By the first of November, by crushing
two tons of quartz per day, the arastra had pro-
duced bullion to the amount of thirty-two thou-
sand dollars. A well known writer, speaking of
the General Custer mine in the same district,
says:
It is the only instance on record where a ledge so
immense in wealth and size was already opened and
developed when the eyes of the prospector first looked
upon it. Ore bodies are usually found beneath the
surface, and miners consider themselves fortunate if,
after long searching by shafts and tunnels, they strike
a vein that insures them reasonable dividends over and
above the cost of development. The Custer required
no outlay of money to make it a paying mine. Its face
was good for millions. Nature, in one of her philan-
thropic moods, did the prospecting and development.
The outer wall of this great treasure-vault, through
the wear and tear of ages, crumbled and slipped from
the ore body for a distance of several hundred feet,
leaving many thousands of tons of the very choicest
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
rock lying against the motintain side, to be broken
down at little expense.
The Montana mine on Mount Estes has been
pronounced by mining men to be the richest vein
of quartz ever discovered, taking the whole vein
matter from wall to wall. Some of the ledge
matter was so rich that it has been worked in a
mortar at the mine. A lot of two hundred and
fifty pounds yielded one thousand eight hundred
dollars.
The completion of the Utah and Northern to
Blackfoot, early in the spring of 1879, brought
the Bay-horse district within one hundred and
fifty miles, and the Yankee Fork within one hun-
dred and ninety miles, of railroad communication.
In the spring and summer of 1879 people rushed
in by the hundreds, and Challis, Custer City, Bo-
nanza, Clayton, Crystal City and ^tna became
prosperous mining camps. The Sawtooth and
Wood river sections in Alturas county now began
to attract attention, but were not thoroughly
prospected till the following year. To these dis-
tricts incidental reference is made on other pages
of this volume.
One of the most remarkable mining excite-
ments in history was the great Coeur d'Alene
stampede of 1884. Gold had been discovered in
that country in former years, but no develop-
ments had ever been made, owing to the remote-
ness of the locality. In 1883 a man named
Pritchard discovered and located the "Widow's
Claim," which proved of more than average rich-
ness. Further discoveries were made, which
were rapidly noised abroad. From the heart of
the Coeur d'Alene mountains, though distant
only forty miles from the Northern Pacific, came
the most exaggerated accounts. The whole re-
gion was subjected to an artificial "boom," at a
most inopportune time. In February of 1884,
over the snows came trudging an eager multi-
tude, who would harken neither to the voice of
reason nor the warnings of experience. The
mails were flooded with fantastic descriptions of
this latest El Dorado. Newspaper correspond-
ents from all over the land came flocking hither,
and contributed to give further publicity to a
region already overadvertised. Circulars were
sent broadcast all over the land, giving the most
glowing accounts of nuggets of fabulous wealth.
that could be had almost for the seeking. It was
declared that old prospectors and miners, con-
versant with the history of the banner districts of
California, Montana, and Colorado, would stand
amazed at the new fields so unequaled in richness
and extent; that twenty-five dollars to forty dol-
lars per man per day were being panned out in
the gulches; that the fields being practically in-
exhaustible, rendered impossible any overcrowd-
ing of the district; that wherever the bed-rock
had been uncovered, beautiful rich dust was be-
ing "scooped up" by the lucky owners; that no
machinery or capital was required ; that limitless
quartz ledges were being struck "fairly glistening
with free gold." The result was that in a few
weeks, early in the spring of 1884, the forest land
at the junction of Eagle and Pritchard creeks
became metamorphosed into a city of five thou-
sand restless inhabitants, all waiting for the snow
to disappear. The effect of overadvertising soon
became manifest in the reaction that took place
after the summer had fairly set in. A hasty
exodus followed, and hundreds left on foot,
"packing their blankets" and cursing the coun-
try. The region was even more misreprei^ented
by the unsuccessful adventurers, who, in spite of
incontestable facts, declared there "was no gold
in the country." Many of the claims got into
litigation, which retarded their development. The
July term of court at Eagle City settled the dis-
puted titles, when the work of development was
fairly begun, and since which time the region has
been keeping up a steady output. Business has
settled down to a legitimate basis, and the coun-
try is being systematically opened up.
Major N. H. Camp, an early superintendent
of the United States assay office at Boise, fur-
nished the following description of the Snake
river gold-fields, and the record, though written
a number of years ago, is well worthy of perpetu-
ation in this work:
It is popularly supposed that the occupation of a
gold-miner is most favorably adapted to the develop-
ment of those qualities called for by a bold and ad-
venturous life, uncheered by the amenities of social
civilization, untrammeled by its laws and , intercourse
between its members, unlubricated by the presence of
(air woman. What wonder, then, that gold-seeking
should be the chief interest of this lonely region! The
character of its banks forbids the construction of towns,
while the lack of navigation facilities prevents this
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
421
great water-way from ministering to the transporta-
tion needs of the neighboring stock-farms, sage prai-
ries, or the supplying of the isolated mining camps. It
is in such localities that gold delights to reward the
pains taken by the lonesome prospector, and here
does he find, not only the coveted treasure, but in
such quantities as will reward his patient search at a
minimum of expense. The only drawback is the ex-
tremely small size of the particles of gold; coarse gold
is unknown on Snake river, but from Eagle Rock, in
Oneida county, to the mouth of the river, gold can be
found of such exactly similar metallurgical conditions,
both as to fineness in grade (shape of grains being
scale-like in form) and fineness in character of grains,
that it might have come from either end of the river.
On the afifluents of this river gold is also found; but
even within half a mile of its mouth, "Boise" gold sinks
to an assay fineness of from 720 to 780, while that from
the river under review will assay over 900 and even
990. The shape of the grains is noticeably a feature of
Snake river gold, being so flat and scale-like that the
precious metal is often seen floating on the surface of
the water! while gold from any of the feeder streams
assumes more the character of shot gold, is coarser,
and much more easily harnessed to the service of man.
Its extremely small size is also a distinguishing mark
of this gold. The writer has seen a gold-pan full of
the gold-bearing sands, which, in the hands of an ex-
perienced prospector, soon showed its bottom as if
gilt by a practiced workman. Out of curiosity, an
attempt was made to count the "colors," but when the
sum of fourteen hundred was reached, the business was
given up in disgust — there were so many left to count!
Nor has nature herself been niggardly in furnishing
facilities to man for mining these rich deposits. From
many a fissure in the canyon walls along the banks of
this wonderful river fall "springs" — some of which are
the size of young rivers — as they are called. Issuing '
from one to two hundred feet above the level of the
river, they only require to be conducted to the gravel
bars to assume the duties of washing out gold. At
other points rivers fall into the Snake, along whose
banks it is only necessary to dig the necessary ditches,
to convert the streams into the obedient and useful
servants of mankind. In many cases, however, these
ditches have to be blasted out of the lava rock, and the
dams across the smaller streams are costly and tedious
structures, making the enterprise, when completed, as
dear to the heart as something attained only at great
cost of time, labor and capital, as in one instance where
a miner for two years contented himself with the priva-
tions and solitude of his cabin, mining in a small way,
but devoting all his savings and leisure to the con-
struction of a ditch, despite the sneers and ridicule of
his neighbors. The ditch was completed in the spring
of 1884, and now he harvests three thousand dollars
per month in virgin gold.
Where springs gush from the canyon walls in suffi-
cient volume to wash gravel for gold, the expense of a
moderately profitable mining outfit, comprising say
four hundred yards of ditching, seventy-twp feet of
fluming, thirty-six feet of sluice boxes, twelve feet of
grizzlies (sheets of perforated iron), two amalgamating
plates, a concentrating tank three by six, and twenty-
four feet of burlap tables — ought to be not less than
$550 to $600; add the cost of one month's subsistence.
$40, for two men, and the services of a laborer, and
about the cost of a small mining establishment on this
river is told. This outfit ought to pay for itself in three
months, and yield a moderate profit — twelve to fifteen
per cent, per annum in excess of working expenses.
"High bars" there are. too, prospecting rich, but until
some inexpensive method is discovered of raising, and
utilizing for mining purposes, the water of Snake river,
these spots must remain closed to the avarice of man.
A patent motor has been devised for raising water by
using the force of the river current, but experiment has
failed to demonstrate its economy, or to bring its price
within the means of the moderately wealthy.
But it is not only the production of fruits, and the
golden results of placer mining, that the broadway li
Idaho relies on to attract to her borders those energies
necessary in the development of a hitherto terra mcog-
nita. In the range of mountains through which our
river cuts her way, forming here the western boundary
of Washington county, are rich deposits of copper and
silver, assays of which show from twenty-six to sixty-
eight per cent, of copper, and from nine to one hundred
and sixty-three ounces of silver per ton. This region
is now brought into communication with the rest of
the United States by the railroad system rendered
available by the meeting of the Oregon Short Line and
the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's lines.
The Wood river country has proved an immense silver
success; but it is predicted that the copper region of
western Idaho will largely exceed it in bringing ma-
terial prosperity to those of limited means coming in to
work the bowels of the earth for the riches to be ex-
tracted therefrom. To such, Idaho must look in large
measure for the permanence of her prosperity, and it
is with a view of attracting their attention to our terri-
tory that this is written.
In view of the developments wliich later years
have brought forth, this retrospect is doubly in-
teresting.
THE MINING FIELDS OF IDAHO.
The following excellent monograph by W. C.
Austin was issued in pamphlet form early in the
present year (1899) by authority of C. J. Bassett,
state commissioner of immigration, labor and
statistics, and as a valuable contribution to the
history of the great mining industry of Idaho is
held to be worthy of reproduction in this work:
There is no other country on God's green earth that
has encompassed within her borders such vast and
varied mineral wealth as Idaho. The position that
428
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Idaho occupies in the western mineral world is like
a wagon wheel, of which Idaho is the hub, while her
great mineral belts, radiating out from her mountain
fastnesses, penetrating her sister states and enriching
them, represent the spokes. Place yourself before a map
and trace out several of these great mineral belts. Be-
ginning in the southern part of California, the belt runs
through Eldorado, l\Iariposa and Calaveras counties,
thence to Bodie. across into Nevada in a northeaster!}'
course, giving birth to the great Comstock lode and
other camps, through by Winnemucca, and in
Idaho makes its grand entry at Silver City and De
Lamar, in Owyhee county; thence on in through
Rocky Bar and Atlanta. Custer and Bonanza; thence
on to central Idaho, at Gibbonsville. Here the oppo-
site spoke to the great mineral wheel comes in and
penetrates the Rocky mountains on into Montana,
where it makes its debut at Butte.
The northern belt or zone was first discovered in
northern California; gave life to such camps as Wea-
verville, Scotts, and Yreka; thence on through into
Oregon, via Canyon City, Granite, Old Auburn. Baker
City and Sparta. It crosses with a grand flourish into
Idaho at the Seven Devils; thence on into Warrens,
Florence, Buffalo Hump, Dixie and Elk City, where
it loses itself to appear in its opposite spoke in the
Missoula country in Montana. The belts penetrating
Utah can be easily traced through Cassia county.
Idaho, northward to the interior of Idaho.
The great northwestern belt begins in British Col-
umbia, runs down through Washington, from the Trail
Creek country, beginning at Rossland, thence on
through the Great Republic camp and on into Idaho,
and here it gives to the world the great Coeur d'Alene
country, with such mines as the Bunker Hill, Sullivan
and Gem. As these great mineral zones draw nearer
to the hub the intervening country becomes more and
more mineralized, until, when Idaho is reached, bands
of mineral reach out from one zone to another, play-
ing "hide and seek" in the rock-ribbed mountains that
stand like grim sentinels guarding the treasure within.
The whole country becomes a network of veins. There
is not a hill or mountain from east to west, north or
south, in the whole state, but what is mineral-bearing.
There is no other country in the United States that is
so little prospected, unknown and unexplored as Idaho.
No other country in the world can compare with it in
richness. Its grand and beautiful scenery, the poverty
of language makes it impossible to describe. Words
cannot paint it. The poet is unborn who is capable
of singing the sweet song of Idaho.
From Boise City northward is one unbroken line
of forest, valley, stream and lake, and mountain upon
mountain, some craggy, grim and terrible, walled
and turreted, raising sheer walls of granite, white and
glistening in the sun, thousands of feet in the air;
here and there great domes, minarets and towers —
grand, majestic, awful. You feel, as you gaze for
the first time upon God's grand cathedral, as if you
stood in His very presence; and as you catch the
smile of the beautiful valley, with its limpid l4ke and
peaceful river nestling in security at its feet, you can
appreciate the words of Joaquin Miller, the poet of
the Sierras, when he says:
" 'Tis not the place of mirthfulness.
But meditation deep, and prayer;
And kneeling on the salted sod.
Where man must own his littleness.
And know the mightiness of God."
'Tis the ideal country for the prospector. Wher-
ever he may go, water, timber and grass everywhere.
Every stream alive with salmon and trout of every
species; while bear, deer, elk, moose and sheep are
plentiful. Is he interested in some particular forma-
tion,— say, in porphyry and granite, slate or lime, or
any of the sub-families of these formations? If it
is not in this particular mountain he has it in the
next. There is not a mineral known to the miner-
alogist, nor a gem to the lapidary, that is not found
within her borders. Does he want new fields to ex-
plore? There are belts of country a' hundred miles
square, that have never I^nown the step of a white
man. The whole western slope of the Bitter Root
range, the headwaters of the Clearwater, is an unex-
plored field; and yet, it is known to be rich in gold
and other precious metals; for every mountain stream
is laden with golden sand that has its birth in their
rocky fastnesses. Stories of fabulous finds in the
early days, on the outskirts of these unexplored fields,
of lost diggings, mountains of rich quartz, will be
told by old, gray, grizzled miners who were in their
prime in the rush and excitement of Pierce City, Flor-
ence, Warrens and the Idaho basin. The stories told
will be like a chapter from the Arabian Nights; but.
wild as you may imagine them to be, upon investi-
gation you will find them to be essentially true. For
years some of the Indians of the Nez Perce reserva-
tion would steal away and go to the mountains, bring-
ing back gold by the sack-full. One of them had a
short time ago in the bank at Moscow, thirty thous-
and dollars in nuggets of gold. The gold was ob-
tained by picking it up from off the surface of the
ground, as they knew nothing about panning. The
secret of these diggings will one of these days belong
to some hardy prospector.
The Buffalo Hump, six months ago, was known
only as a landmark. To-day it marks the center of
probably the greatest and richest mining camp ever
discovered. Yet hundreds of prospectors have walked
and camped right on the great mother lode of the
district. Big ledges? Yes; but they never examined
them, for they said they were so big they could not
carry any value. But how about the hundreds of
smaller ones that have been found there? Six months
ago two prospectors happened to camp there. Near
a large reef of rock, one evening, one of them hap-
pened to pick up a piece of the rock and found ore.
It was rich beyond his wildest dreaming. Think of
it! a vein from forty to sixty feet wide, cropping out
^■■■j
i^^H
^^mU^j/'
^^
^^^Hjjp
R^M^
^^^^^Hs
I^^^H
m
^^^^H^ ,^MiM
^|WRwl
^^^^^^^^^t ^^^^^hfi^HEity
K-^
^B ^M
J^w^S
■^^^hmI
H^M
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
429
for three miles, all carrying good value, and some
of the ore running into the thousands of dollars per
ton! And thus the great mine was found.
Hundreds of other mines were found and located.
The camp is not six months old, and the deepest
prospect hole not forty feet deep; yet the original
discovery sold for $550,000, then for $650,000. Over
$2,500,000 have already been negotiated for property
in this camp. This belt was followed south to where
the Salmon river cut it, and here a new camp, called
Mallack, was formed during the winter. The veins
here are from ten to fifty feet wide, and run from
five dollars to one hundred dollars per ton; $250,000
has been refused for one group of claims. Twenty
thousand people will go into the country during the
coming year.
Thunder ^fountain is another new camp, struck last
year, lying about seventy miles east from Warrens.
The mountain is a soft porphyry and the whole mass,
for three hundred feet wide, will pay to mill. The
discoverers, the Caswell boys, sluiced and rocked out
$3,500 in a month after their find. Last fall copper
ledges were found about twenty-five miles from Thun-
der Mountain, — great veins, from ten to twenty feet
wide, running up one side of the mountain and down
the other and carrying values of copper of from twen-
ty-five to sixty per cent, and from eight to thirty-five
dollars gold per ton.
The greatest copper mines not worked in the world
lie in Washington county, in what is known as the
Seven Devils. The Peacock shows an outcrop of
over two hundred feet in width in one place, and
gave an average sample of nineteen per cent, copper
and eight dollars gold, while contracts have been let
to smelters, agreeing to furnish ore by the thousand
tons to go not less than twenty-five per cent. Lots
of the ore shipped run above fifty per cent, copper.
The White iNIonument, Hecla, Bodie, Standard, South
Peacock and other. mines in the district show up vast
bodies of ore. Two railroads are now being built
into the district; one from Weiser City, on the Ore-
gon Short Line, which will not only open up the
great copper mines that show up for a distance of
forty miles north and south, and fifteen miles east
and west, but also a rich agricultural country. The
whole length the route will be through a country of
ever changing beauty, — up the Weiser river, around
one jutting spur of the mountain, whirled in an in-
stant from one beautiful valley to another, rich in
fruits and grain that no other country can equal,
while great forests of pine, fir and hemlock cover the
mountains.
The other line of railroad begins at Huntington
and follows down the Snake river on the Oregon side-,
and crosses into Idaho below Mineral, and thence
on into the Seven Devils. Work is being pushed
rapidly. The Devils was a name given by the Hud-
son's Bay Company to seven high mountain peaks
nine thousand feet above Box canyon on Snake river.
The west slope of these hills along Snake river is
very steep and precipitous and only accessible in two
or tliree places. The district also has running parallel
with it, at a distance of about eight miles, a gold
belt that is proving of wonderful richness. Colorado
capital is investing heavily in the gold district.
Over in old Owyhee county they say but little,
but the shipments of ore speak for them. Car-loads
have been shipped of raw ore running as high as
eighty-seven thousand dollars to the car-load, from
the Trade Dollar mine. This was acknowledged by
the smelters in Colorado to be the richest car-load
of ore ever shipped from any mine. The mines of
Florida Mountain and War Eagle, at Silver City, have
yielded upwards of fifty million dollars. Eight miles
west from Silver City is situated the De Lamar mines.
which made Captain De Lamar rise from a miner to
be the Monte Cristo of the west. Ten years ago he
went there poor. In five years he was worth five mil-
lion dollars, and he is now estimated to be worth
ten million dollars. Such is fortune in Idaho.
Boise basin, of which Idaho City is the center, is
by careful investigation supposed to have yielded from
her placers, a strip of country fifteen miles wide by
twenty-five in length, over two hundred and fifty mil-
lion dollars, while her quartz veins have yielded ten
million dollars. Now great attention is being paid
to her quartz veins, which have furnished the placer
gold. The yield of some of her quartz veins has been
wonderful. The Ebenezer yielded upward of $300,000
in seventy-five feet of ground; the Gambrinus $325,000;
Sub Rosa $260,000, etc. This is an old camp, yet
new ledges are found every day. The country is not
half prospected, nor the hundredth part developed.
The mines of Elmore county, at Rocky Bar and
Atlanta, have produced, according to the records of
Wells, Fargo & Company's express, of bullion hauled
hy them alone, $58,800,000; the Monarch lode. $4,000,-
000; the Elmore, $5,000,000, and the Vishnue. $1,500,000.
In the Custer country the Charles Dickens has a
record of four million dollars before a stick of tim-
ber was put in the mine or a candle burned. The
Montana, in Estes mountains, paid one thousand dol-
lars a foot while simply a common prospect shaft,
and yielded in going five hundred feet $380,000. The
Custer has a record of seven million five hundred
thousand dollars. The Lucky Boy has fifteen feet
of twenty-five dollar free-gold ore, and has paid hun-
dreds of thousands. The De Lamar mine was sold to
an English company for $2,500,000 after Captain De-
Lamar had taken out several millions. Since that
time she has paid in dividends to the English share-
holders the amount of the purchase price, and been
running on velvet for two years. So the yield must
be from this one mine about ten million dollars.
The Wood river country was always supposed to
be a lead and silver country, and has produced mil-
lions of dollars' worth. The Minnie Moore has a
record of $6,500,000, but since silver was demonetized
attention has been paid to gold mining, and now a
gold belt has been found — in fact, two of them — that
430
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
may prove to be more valuable than her silver mines
in the palmy days. The Camas No. I and 2 show
great bodies of ore and the Croesus, at or near
Hailey, has ore that is running from one hundred to
two thousand dollars per ton in gold, and has just
been sold to a big company.
Up the Boise river from Boise city, in the last
two years, the bars of gravel have all been located.
The old timers have ridden over them day after day,
but they were found to be rich in gold by some ten-
derfoot, and big companies are formed to work them.
The Twin Springs Company, of which Mr. Ander-
son is superintendent, have expended two hundred
thousand dollars in opening their ground, and last
fall struck an old river channel upon the side of
the mountain that out-rivals Klondike, going as high
as twenty-five dollars per yard. Other companies, one
of which Major F. R. Reed is managing, will be in
successful operation in the spring.
The Sheep Mountain country contains without doubt
the largest and richest silver mines in the west. The
Bull Dog mine shows an unbroken vein thirty feet
wide for six thousand feet in length and runs from
twenty to five hundred ounces silver, and gold from
two dollars and fifty cents to eighty dollars per ton.
Ore shipped from J. Earley's Birdie ledge all went from
three hundred and seventy-five to three thousand ounces
silver, and from twenty to eighty dollars gold. This
is an unprospected country. Lack of roads and trans-
portation has been the greatest drawback to the min-
ing industry. There is not a mine in Idaho but has
had to pay its own way for all roads, machinery
and everything for the successful operation of the
mine from the start.
The Snake river valley, cold and uninviting as it
may look, is lined with a ribbon of gold. Hundreds
of miners are working the bars along its banks. They
cannot save all the gold, but, then, they save enough
to make it a good thing. Some men, by the most
primitive methods of working, are making from ten
dollars to fifty dollars per day, others good wages,
while some of the big companies who have capital
to put in reqilisite plants, are making fortunes. I
know one company that banked to their credit for
September. 1898. nine thousand dollars' worth of gold.
One of these days the great kaolin and kaolinite
beds will be worked, which extend for miles along
the banks. There are fine beds of gypsum and fire
clays, magnesium, lime and lithographic stone every-
where, and the opal mines of Opaline produce opals
that are equal to those found in any country, and
-in quantity. They took the prize at the World's Fair.
Opals weighing three hundred and seventy-five carets,
irridescent, such as would make a Hungarian opal
blush with envy, have been found, wliile in Long Val-
ley a sapphire was found that weighed upwards of
one thousand carets. It was perfect, without a flaw,
and the largest in the world.
Every mining camp will see the greatest activity
the coming season. The great mines of the Coeur
d'Alene in 1898, produced in galena 112.500 tons aver-
aging sixty per cent, lead and about thirty-five ounces
silver per ton, making 67.500 tons of lead and 3,937,500
ounces of silver. The Bunker Hill, Sullivan and Gem
mines, all have records to their credit of producing
upwards of ten million dollars each. Can it be beat?
Pierce City, or Oro Fino, was one of the early
camps of Idaho, and yielded upwards of thirty tuil-
lion dollars in placer gold. In the last few years
quartz prospectors have gone back to the old deserted
camps and opened up some wonderful quartz veins.
A number of companies have been organized, and
mills and machinery put in; three new mills having
been built in the past year. The district is fast mak-
ing a name for itself and will soon take a front
seat as a producer. Elk City is another of the old
placer camps that gave to the world in its placer
days twenty million dollars of gold. Great veins of
quartz have been found in her hills, — veins of ore from
ten to forty feet in width, and milling upwards of
twenty dollars per ton free on an average. Two years
ago these mines were prospects, but they have been
prospected by shaft and tunnel for hundreds of feet,
and the great ore bodies improve with depth, and
modern gold mills of twenty stamps were erected last
year. There is no question as to the future of this
district, and it is scarcely prospected. In sight of
the little camp are whole mountain ranges that have
never had a prospecting pick stuck in them.
The Dixie district is another new camp opened up
in the last year. It lies south from Elk City, and
is on the head waters of the south fork of the Clear-
water. The ores are of high value, and ledges carry-
ing every character of ore are found, — lead, iron, cop-
per, zinc, antimony, gold and silver. The great Buf-
falo Hump district lies in the center of a triangle,
with Florence, Elk City and Dixie at the three cor-
ners of the angle.
Florence was probably the richest camp ever dis-
covered, according to its size. The first pan of dirt
in the discovery yielded eight hundred dollars. Last
year prospecting for quartz was prosecuted extensively,
and five new mills built. The yield per ton of her
quartz is wonderful. In the early days this camp
yield'ed thirty-eight million dollars gold from her plac-
ers. Warrens, the sister camp to Florence, is also a
scene of great activity. In the last few years three new
mills have been built. The ore is very rich, some
of it milling (from the Riebolt mine) two thousand
dollars per ton. This camp in the early days pro-
duced upwards of twenty-five million dollars.
In most of our sister states the big mines are in
the hands of big capitalists and close corporations,
while the prospects and anything that has a chance
to luake a mine are in the hands of middlemen who
load the property so heavy that capital has to take
uneven chances, while here capital has every show.
What the country needs more than anything is pros-
pecting and developing capital. There is not a dis-
trict in the state but where will be found plenty of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
431
good prospects, which have promise and merit, be-
longing to poor men who have no money to prose-
cute work on them, or the means or ability to call
the attention of capital to "what they have got.
Idaho is the least prospected of any state in the
west. It has scarcely been run over, let alone being
prospected. Take any of the old-settled camps, for
instance, and the minute you get outside of the im-
mediate camp a prospect hole is a curiosity. Only
the veins cropping out bold and plain are looked at,
and even not one in a hundred then. Just think of
the great mother vein in Buffalo Hump, standing out
of the ground for twenty-five feet in height in places,
and a well beaten trail crossing it half-a-dozen times,
over which hundreds of prospectors have ridden seek-
ing fortunes, when if they had only gotten ofif their
horses and broken one piece of the ore they would
have had the great bonanza. And there it lay un-
claimed, with the trail running over it for thirty-five
years.
Within site of Boise. Idaho's capital, ledges have
been discovered in the last year or so that milled
free gold from eighty to one hundred and twenty dol-
lars per ton. Let the prospector go where he will,
— to the right of him, to the left of him, to the front
of him. behind him. — there is but little choice, for it
is everywhere. There are hundreds of camps and dis-
tricts not mentioned. — like Pine Grove, Bonaparte.
Cassia, Neal, Black Hornet, Willow Creek, Banner,
Mineral. Flint and hundreds of others.
The future of Idaho reads like an open book. It
is plain as the open day. and he who runs may read.
Already the gigantic discoveries made in the last year
are astounding the world with the story of their wealth.
The dawning season marks a new era in the history
of Idaho. She will march on steadily and will soon
forge ahead and take the lead as the greatest gold,
silver, lead and copper producing country in the world.
It is here in the treasure vaults of her hills. The
magic wand of capital and labor shall soon touch it.
Cities, towns and hamlets, connected with bands of
steel, shall find shelter in the lap of her mountains.
The silent canyons shall give echo back of a thousand
stamps, and her hills shall be lit in a hundred places
by night by the glow of her smelters.
THE COEUR D'ALENE MINING DISTRICT.
This article, as well as that following, con-
cerning the lead belt of the district, is contributed
by F. R. Culbertson, under date of July 9. 1898:
The Coeur d'AIcnc mineral belt of northern Idaho,
in area abovit twenty miles square, first came into
prominence as a gold-placer camp in the summer
and fall of 1883. Placer gold was first discovered on
Pritchard creek, near Eagle City, now a deserted camp
in Shoshone county. Fabulous reports of the rich-
ness and extent of this gold soon spread and attracted
the attention of the outside world. In the spring of
1884 there was quite a stampede into the Coeur d'Alene
district, being somewhat similar to the present excite-
ment over Klondike. Prospectors for the Coeur
d'Alenes from the west outfitted at Spokane and pro-
ceeded thence by rail to Rathdrum, by stage to Coeur
d'Alene city and from this point on by the old Mul-
lan road (built by the government as a military road)
to Evolution, about twenty miles above the Mission;
and from this point on by trail to Eagle City. Pros-
pectors from the east left the main line of the North-
ern Pacific at Herron and Trout Creek and contin-
ued from there by trail into the mines. The stories
told by the old prospectors of the difficulties of get-
ting into the country over these trails remind one
of the description and accounts of the Skaguay trail.
In the spring of 1884 Eagle City had grown to be
a town of two thousand people and became a full-
fledged mining camp with all the accessories, includ-
ing dance halls, gambling houses, restaurants, etc.,
where the prospector paid from one to two dollars
for a meal consisting of bacon and beans, and one
dollar for a bed, which meant the privilege of fur-
nishing your own blankets, which were laid on the
floor, the landlord furnishing the tent. It was dur-
ing the year 1884 that the town of Murray, about five
miles up the creek from Eagle City, was laid out, and
this new camp soon superseded Eagle and for sev-
eral years was the main town of the Coeur d'Alenes.
It was during this year that the town of Thompson
Falls, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, was laid out,
and a trail from there to Murray was built, this be-
ing the shorter distance from the railroad, and it
was the main outfitting point for the prospectors from
this time on. A wagon road was built out from
Thompson Falls a distance of fifteen miles to what
was known as the Mountain House; a stage line was
run to this point; and from there to Murray, a dis-
tance of fifteen miles further, a trail was built and
the traveler either footed it or took a cayuse (Indian
pony, so called from tribe of that name). It was
also during this year, 1884. that Captain I. B. San-
born, C. B. King and John Monohan built the steamer
Coeur d'Alene to ply between Coeur d'Alene City
and the Old Mission, a distance of sixty miles. Nel-
son Bennett put on a stage line between Spokane and
Coeur d'Alene City, and considerable travel and freight
were brought in by this route. During this same year
from four to five thousand people had come into camp
and had prospected Pritchard creek from mouth to .
source, including the tributaries, and considerable
placer gold was taken out up to this time. Pros-
pectors in this year began to branch out and look
for new fields. Several prospectors found their way
over to Canyon creek during this year and Canyon
creek, near the town of Burke, was first located, for
an extent of several miles, with placer locations, and
considerable work was done but no gold found in
paying quantities.
In September, 1884, John Carton and .Mmedos Sey-
mour, while looking for placers on Canyon creek.
432
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
discovered some float, which they followed up and,
discovering the source, located the Tiger quartz lode.
The next day the Poorman quartz lode was discovered
by Scott McDonald. These two claims, both on the
same ledge, were the first quartz discoveries found in
the lead belt of the Coeur d'Alenes. Other quartz
discoveries soon followed on Canyon creek, — the Ore-
Or-No-Go, Diamond Hitch, Black Bear, Badger,
Frisco, Gem and others of less importance soon fol-
lowing. Very little work of any consequence was
done on any of these properties during the year 1884,
except on the Tiger, which was bonded in the month
of October to John M. Burke and by him to S. S.
Glidden, at that time in Thompson Falls, Montana,
Mr. Glidden being engaged in the wholesale grocery
business in St. Paul and having a branch wholesale
house in Thompson Falls. To Mr. S. S. Glidden,
now president of the Old National Bank of Spo-
kane, as much, if not more, credit is due as to any
other single individual for the development of the
quartz interests of the Coeur d'Alenes. Mr. Glidden
took hold of the Tiger mine in October, 1884, and
has been connected with it up to the recent date,
now being president of the Consolidated Tiger & Poor-
man Mining Company, one of the principal mining
companies in this district and one of the largest pro-
ducers. Development work on the Tiger was carried
on during the winter of 1884. In the spring of 18S5
Mr. Glidden closed out his grocery business at St.
Paul and Thompson Falls and devoted his entire time
and energies to the development of the Tiger mine.
Trails were built by him to connect with the Thomp-
son Falls and Murray roads, also to connect at Placer
Center, now Wallace, with the old Mullan wagon road.
During the summer and fall of 1885 development work
was carried on at the Tiger, and the value of the
property sufficiently determined to take up the bond
for thirty-five thousand dollars, this being the price
the property was originally bonded for.
In the fall of 1885 the Bunker Hill and Sullivan
mines were discovered at Wardner. The surface show-
ings at the discovery were so much larger than any-
thing that had been found up to that time that quite
an excitement was created at that place, and numer-
ous other valuable quartz properties were located.
Also during the early part of this year the Hunter,
Morning, Evening, and other quartz properties were
discovered at Mullan. The Bunker Hill and Sulli-
van property was leased by the original locators to
Jim Wardner, after whom the town was named.
Through him some Helena parties were interested in
the deal and a contract entered into with the locat-
ors for concentrating fifty thousand tons of ore at
five dollars per ton, which at this date would be
considered a very extravagant price to pay. These
locations all coming to the front, and with a boat
running between the Mission and Coeur d'Alene City,
Mr. Glidden turned his attention to interesting par-
ties in the building of a railroad up the South Fork
from Spokane to Burke. A company was organized
for this purpose, and of this Mr. Glidden was one
of the first promoters. The first company organized
fell through, and afterward D. C. Corbin became in-
terested in the project and organized the Coeur d'Alene
Raihvay & Navigation Company, buying out the boat
and building a narrow-gauge railroad from Mission
to Wardner. About this time the Washington & Idaho,
now the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company,
commenced building from Pendleton to Spokane, with
a branch from Tekoa into the Coeur d'Alenes. Neither
of the roads at that time would entertain the idea of
building up Canyon creek, and Mr. Glidden organized
the Canyon Creek Railroad Company and built a nar-
row-gauge railroad from Burke to Wallace, to meet
the other two roads which were heading for that point.
This road was built by Mr. Glidden and afterward
sold by him to D. C. Corbin, of the Coeur d'Alene
Raihvay & Navigation Company, who later disposed
of the same to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
who had started to build into the country from the
main line of their road at De Smet, about six miles
west of Missoula. The Northern Pacific also built a
branch from Hauser Junction to Coeur d'Alene City,
making a rail, river and lake route from Burke to
Hauser Junction. The Washington & Idaho reached
Wallace a short time afterward, giving the camp two
transcontinental railroads, and reducing the freight
rates on ore shipment routes.
The first concentrator in the district was placed on
the Bunker PIiU & Sullivan mine, at Wardner, and
was built by A. M. Esler, in the interests of Helena
parties having the fifty-thousand-ton contract, and it
was of one-hundred-tons capacity. Before the expira-
tion of this contract this property was sold to Sim
Read, of Portland, who paid the dififerent parties in-
terested in the property at that time about six hun-
dred and twenty-five thousand dollars, which was con-
sidered at that time a very extravagant price for the
property. Two-thirds of this money found its way
to Spokane and helped to build up the town. The
title to the property was in litigation at the time of
the sale and numerous interests had to be bought out
to perfect the title. The principal parties interested
at that time, and the amounts that they were sup-
posed to have received for their interests, were: Noah
S. Kellogg, $100,000: Goetz & Bear,' now of Spokane,
$150,000; Cooper & Peck, $75,000; Phil O'Rourke, $75,-
000; Con Sullivan, $50,000. The Helena parties inter-
ested in the lease were paid fifty thousand dollars and
the cost of their concentrating plant, to cancel the
lease; the dififerent lawyers interested in the litigation
received about one hundred thousand dollars out of
the deal, and the balance went to other parties, who
had smaller interests. Sim Read worked the prop-
erty for several years, afterward selling out to the
present company, who are California parties and mem-
bers of the Standard Oil Company. This property is
now under the management of F. W. Bradley, with
head office at San Francisco, California, and F. Bur-
bidge as resident manager at Wardner. The com-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
433
pany have been gradually absorbing all the adjacent
claims, and now have control of something like forty
or fifty locations adjoining and connecting, and, with
the exception of the Last Chance Mining Company's
property, they have about all the desirable mining
property in Wardner. As a whole, it is probably the
greatest lead property in the world, exceeding that of
Broken Hills mine in Australia, which has always
been heretofore considered the greatest lead producer.
The company have extensive improvements and are
now operating a seven-hundred-ton concentrating plant,
producing about three thousand tons of shipping ore
per month. The property could probably produce
double this quantity of shipping ore by enlarging their
concentrating plant, without making any serious in-
roads on their ore reserves. They give employment
to about four hundred men and are now constructing
a tunnel two miles in length from their mill at Kel-
logg to their mine at Wardner. which will cut their
ledge at seven hundred and fifty feet vertical depth
below their lowest workings and. with the incline of
the ledge, will give them about one thousand five hun-
dred feet of stoping ground. This tunnel will be
used for drain purposes and bringing ore from the
mine to the mill; it will require about fifteen months
for completion, and when completed will give them
a large amount of ore which can be taken out without
any pumping, and no doubt at that time the capacity
of the mill will be enlarged.
The Last Chance Company has several valuable
claims at Wardner. They are operating a one-hundred-
and-fifty-ton concentrator and producing seven hun-
dred and fifty to nine hundred tons of concentrates
per month. Plans have been drawn for enlarging the
mill and the property can easily be made to produce
double the present quantity of ore that is now being
taken out. Unfortunately, for several years the prop-
erty has been handicapped with more or less litiga-
tion, which has had the effect of retarding the devel-
opment to that extent which the property would war-
rant. There are other valuable properties in Ward-
ner, but at present none are being worked to any
great extent.
Between Wardner and Wallace on the South Fork
there are several promising prospects, from which con-
siderable ore has been shipped, the principal value
of the ore being silver; and with an increase in the
price of silver considerable work would be done on
them.
From Wallace, which is now tlie main town of the
Coeur d'Alenes. diverge Placer creek. Nine Mile
creek. Canyon creek, and the continuation of the
South Fork above Mullan. There are quite a number
of prospects on Placer creek, but no extensive devel-
opment work has been done. On Nine Mile are sit-
uated the Custer and Granite mines, both of which
properties have concentrating plants and have been
heavy producers, but neither of which are being at
present operated. Development work is being carried
on in both properties with good showings and fair
prospects of resuming milling operations. Numerous
other properties are situated on this creek, and con-
siderable development work is now being done. Sun-
set Peak, on which are situated some of the largest
surface-showings in the camp, is reached from this
canyon, and with a railroad up the canyon from Wal-
lace, the roadbed of which has already been graded,
the Nine Mile properties would be brought to the
front in a short time.
At Mullan, seven miles up the South Fork from
Wallace, are situated the Hunter, Morning, Evening.
You Like, and numerous other properties. The Hun-
ter Mining Company had the misfortune to lose their
mill by fire this summer and at the present the prop-
erty is not being operated. Report is that they ex-
pect to rebuild this winter and arrangements and plans
are now made for new concentrating plant. The mine
is a valuable one and produces a high-grade ore. The
Morning Mining Company, situated at this point, is
operated by Larson & Greenough, who are working
the Morning, Evening and You Like mines. They
have a six-hundred-ton concentrating plant in opera-
tion, a narrow-gauge railroad and are producing about
two hundred and fifty thousand tons of concentrates
per month, giving employment to about two hundred
and fifty men.
Canyon creek is and has always been the heaviest
producer in the Coeur d'Alenes. At the mouth of
the creek is situated the Standard mill, the ore from
the Standard mine five miles up the creek being
brought down by the railroad to the mill, concentrat-
ing about four hundred and twenty-five tons per day,
and producing about two thousand two hundred tons
of concentrates per month. The ore from this prop-
erty produces the highest grade of concentrates in the
camp and as a dividend-payer has probably exceeded
that of any other company in the district. The For-
mosa mine and mill is the next property up the creek,
being situated about a mile below Gem. The com-
pany have erected during the present year a seventy-
five-ton mill, which has only recently been completed
and very little ore has yet been taken from this
property. The Granite mill comes next and at pres-
ent is not being operated. The Gem mill belonging
to the Milwaukee Mining Company comes next and
is now being run on ore from the Mammoth mine.
The Mammoth vein is on the same ledge as the Stand-
ard and this property also produces high-grade con-
centrates. The Gem mine has been a valuable pro-
ducer and dividend-payer, but at present only the
upper workings are being worked by leasers, the lower
part of the mine being allowed to fill with water dur-
ing the low prices prevailing for lead and silver last
year. The mill having been leased to the Mammoth
company, it is not likely that any extensive mining
operations will be resumed until the expiration of this
lease. The Frisco mine and mill, about a mile above
the Gem, are being worked very extensively. The
company has expended a large amount of money in
improvements and development work since January ist
434
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of this year. The mill started up in July and is now
shipping from one thousand eight hundred to two
thousand tons per month and giving employment to
about two hundred men. The product from this prop-
erty is considerably above the average, running high
in silver. The controlling interest has recently changed
hands and is now in the possession of the London
Exploration Company, of England. Joseph McDon-
ald is the resident manager for the company. The
Black Bear mine and mill, about a quarter of a mile
above the Frisco, were operated in early days, but for
several years have lain idle, the company, composed
of eastern parties, becoming more or less involved in
financial difhculties during the panic of 1893. The
Standard mine is the next property and adjacent to
it is the Mammoth. The ore from the Standard is
taken to the mouth of Canyon creek and milled, and
that from the Mammoth to the Gem Mill at Gem.
The Standard mine at this point gives employment to
about one hundred and seventy-five men and at their
mill about twenty-five more, Emerson Gee being the
manager of the mill and mine, and Richard Wilson
the manager of the Mammoth. The Mammoth Com-
pany give employment at the mine and mill to about
one hundred and twenty-five.
The Tiger & Poorman, at Burke, being the oldest
location in the Coeur d'Alenes. more work has been
done on this property than any other; both mines
have been steady producers since January, 1887. The
Tiger concentrator was completed in January, 1887, and
during the same month the narrow-gauge railroad
from Burke to Wallace was also completed. The Tiger
mill was the second concentrator in the Coeur d'.\lenes.
being originally built for a one-hundred-ton mill. The
Poorman concentrator was the third mill built in the
Coeur d'Alenes and was finished during the fall of
1887, the concentrator being a three-hundred-ton plant.
Prior to October, 1895, both the Tiger and Poorman
were operated as separate companies and both were
fully equipped with mills, hoists, surface buildings,
etc. Patrick Clark was the operator of the Poor-
man Company up to the time of the consolidation
in October, 1895. The two companies consolidated
their interests, extensive improvements were made for
the economic working of the two properties as one,
and at about the time of the completion of these im-
provements, in March. i8g6. a fire occurred, com-
pletely destroying both mills and all surface improve-
ments, excepting the Tiger hoist, of the two properties.
The mines at the time of the fire had reached a depth
of one thousand feet, and, owing to the destruction
of their boiler plant, the mines were allowed to fill
with water. Considerable doubt was expressed at
the time as to what the consequence might be in
allowing the mines to fill with water, and fears were
entertained that the ground might cave after being
pumped out. Rebuilding of the plant was commenced
immediately after the fire and a five-hundred-ton con-
centrator with the latest improved machinery and ap-
pliances for the economical handling of ore was com-
pleted and started up in February of this year.
Pumping out the mines was started in Aiigust and
the mine was unwatered by the middle of January,
with no bad results showing on account of its hav-
ing been allowed to fill. The property is now pro-
ducing from one thousand eight hundred to two thous-
and tons of concentrates per month and giving em-
ployment to one hundred and sixty men. The prop-
erty is well equipped with the heaviest mining ma-
chinery in the Coeur d'Alenes and is so arranged that
all the machinery can be operated by either water or
steam power, the company having a water power
amply sufficient for all purposes during a portion of
the year. The company are also operating an elec-
tric plant of about one hundred and seventy-five horse-
power capacity which at the time of its completion,
some seven or eight years ago, was the largest elec-
tric plant in the United States. Both mines are worked
from one shaft, which at the present time is down
to their one thousand three hundred station, being
one thousand one hundred feet vertically below the
bed of the creek. The lowest workings show an im-
provement both in quality and quantity of ore as depth
is increased. From all indications shown in the low-
est workings, there is no reason why it is not safe
to say that the ore will go down to that point where
the cost of handling the water will stop further opera-
tions. With improved pumping machinery, water and
electric power, this point should not be reached until
after the three-thousand-foot mark has been passed.
The depth of the Tiger & Poorman augurs well for
the future of the Coeur d'Alenes and the mines of
this section, insuring a long life ahead as a mining
camp.
While we read a great deal about the rich mines
of Rossland, Cripple Creek, Creede and other camps,
there are but few camps in the west that compare
to the Coeur d'Alenes as steady producers, and with
little or no notoriety they have gone forward and
kept steadily at work for the past eight years, except-
ing a period of six-months shut-down during the
strike of 1892, and with lead down as low as two
dollars and fifty cents and silver as low as fifty-one
cents. At the present time the shipments from the
Coeur d'Alenes will show a tonnage of thirteen thous-
and tons per month, which tonnage is made up as
follows:
Tons per month.
Bunker Hill & Sullivan 3.000
Morning 2.500
Standard 2.200
Tiger & Poorman 1,800
Helena & Frisco 1,800
Last Chance 750
Mammoth 600
Other smaller properties including prospects 350
Making a total of 13.000
The output has averaged fifty-five per cent. lead and
thirty ounces of silver, which at present prices show
a valuation of over seven hundred and fifty thousand
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
435
dollars per month or nearly ten million dollars per
year added to the wealth of the world by the lead and
silver shipments from the Coeur d'Alenes, to say noth-
ing about the gold from the north side, of which there
is considerable quantity, furnishing steady employ-
ment to over two thousand men at the best wages in
the west. What other mining camp outside of Butte
can beat this record?
The total lead production of the United States for
the year 1896 amounted to 174,692 tons, of wjiich
135.332 tons were desilverized lead. 33,428 were soft
lead from the Missouri and Kansas districts, and 5,932
tons were hard or antimonial lead. In addition to
the domestic production there were 80,159 tons imported
in all forms, chiefly as base bullion, from Mexico and
Canada. This year's production will probably show
an increase, and the Coeur d'.A,lenes will produce nearly
one-half of the entire production. It is to this camp
that American Smelters now have to look for their
largest supply of lead ore.
THE LEAD BELT OF THE COEUR D'ALENES.
Lead was first discovered in the Coeur d'Alene min-
ing district, in northern Idaho, on Canyon creek in
the fall of 1884, the discovery at that time being
the Tiger mine, situated at the tov/n of Burke. Dur-
ing same year a few other locations were made on
Canyon creek, a few at Mullan, and in the fall of
1885 the Bunker Hill & Sullivan mines were discov-
ered at Wardner.
At the time these discoveries were made the coun-
try was inaccessible, with no railroads, wagon roads
or trails, and the only way of getting in was by foot;
ten to fifteen miles' travel per day was about all the
distance a prospector could cover, owing to the heavy
underbrush and timber at that time. The prospector
of that day who has not kept posted with the prog-
ress of the Coeur d'Alenes would hardly be able to
recognize the country at this time. The camp at pres-
ent may be divided into four districts, viz. : Canyon
Creek, Wardner, Mullan and Nine Mile, and stand-
ing in the importance of output in the order named.
The veins in the Canyon creek district are true fis-
sure veins and as such are likely to go to great depth,
some of them having already reached a depth of one
thousand feet to one thousand two liundred feet, with
no signs of any decrease in quality or quantity of
ore. The ore shutes in all the mines on Canyon creek
are well defined, regular in width and length and lying
between two walls that require but very little pros-
pecting outside the walls or ore-bearing bodies. The
sluUes are much longer than usually found in other
camps with like character of ore. The pay streaks
vary from two to thirty feet in width and the ore is
comparatively clean, requiring no sorting of waste,
that is, everything between the walls being milled.
This district lies between the Mullan and Nine Mile
districts, and being in the center the ore bodies are
larger and richer. In the Wardner district the veins
are not so regular and defined. The ore bodies lie
between the two walls, which are from 200 feet to
300 feet apart: between these walls the vein is filled
with ledge matter, the ore bodies or pay ore being
bunchy in character and somewhat irregular as to
position, requiring a large amount of prospecting
work and considerable sorting of the waste from the
ore when found. It would be called more of a min-
eral zone than a fissure vein. The ore bodies when
found are large, being anywhere from two to one
hundred feet in width, but the shutes are usually short
in length. The Mullan district more fully resembles
the Canyon creek veins, but the ore bodies do not
carry as high values in silver. The Nine Mile is also
similar to Canyon creek with the exception that the
shutes are not as regular or defined and the ore bodies
not so long or wide.
Generally speaking, as to the formation of the camp,
the country rock is slate with more or less quartz-
ite and is said to resemble closely the formation of
the Hartz mountains in Germany, in which district
the lead mines have been worked for the last cen-
tury to a depth of over three thousand feet. The gen-
eral character of the ore is an argentiferous galena,
and on an average it carries about one-half an ounce
of silver to one per cent, of lead. The output of the
camp for the last ten years has been steadily increas-
ing, and in 1897 the Coeur d'Alene lead district pro-
duced nearly forty per cent, of the entire lead product
of the United Slates. It is on this district that the
smelters rely principally for their supply of lead ores.
From oflicial figures I append the following lead
statistics for the past four years; showing the United
States production and consumption of lead, together
with average prices for same:
PIG-LEAD STATISTICS. 1894 TO 1897.
Tons produced. 1894 1895 1896 1897
Deslvd product U. S.
.""■e ■■■i.-- i-29'08i 129,748 138.395 152,475
Missoun-Galena 38.113 38,189 44,616 43,820
Total U. S. produc-
, t'on 158.194 167.937 183.011 196.295
Used from imported
ores and bullion... 29,276 48,020 27.451 30,528
Imported foreign pig. 8,572 22,947 2,414 1.740
Total supply 196,042 238,904 212.876 228.563
Re-exported manu-
factured 950 2.048 1.500 1.250
195.092 236.856 211.376 227.313
Decrease or mcrease
in stocks 2.000 1 1.500 10,900 4,000
Total consumption. 197.092 225,356 222,276 223.313
Stocks, Dec. 31st.... 2.000 13.500 2.600 6,600
Yearly average price
of "Common" at N.
'^' ?3.i2 $3-12 %2.?,i $3.38
Tons of 2.000 lbs. througliout.
436
HISTORY Of IDAHO.
From the above statistics for the year 1897, the total
United States production shows 196,295 tons, of which
amount the Coeur d'Alene lead beh produced 69,600
tons of metallic lead, having shipped during the year
1897, 116,000 tons of concentrates which will average
sixty per cent, lead and thirty ounces silver to the
ton, — this output for the year 1897 being made up
from the three districts — Canyon Creek, Wardner and
Mullan, as follows: Canyon Creek. 54.565 tons; Ward-
ner, 36.715 tons; Mullan, 23,660 tons; and furnished
by the following mines:
Tons.
CC Tiger & Poorman Mining Co. (9 mos.) ... .16,740
a r Mammoth Mining Co 4.360
n e Standard Mining Co 22,075
y e Helena & Frisco Mming Co. (5 mos.) 10,750
o k Milwaukee Mining Co 600
n Formosa Mining Co 40
,,r J ( Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining Co. ..29,600
Wardner j ^ast Chance Mining Co 7.1 15
Mullan: Morning Mining Co 23.660
From sundry other smaller claims (estimated).. 1.060
Total 1 16.000
Of this 116.000 of concentrates shipped, the lead
contents will average for the district sixty per cent,
lead, producing 69.600 tons desilverized lead, contain-
ing 3.480,000 ounces silver, being an average of thirty
ounces to the ton of concentrates shipped. The aver-
age price for lead for 1897 was tltree dollars and thirty-
eight cents per one hundred pounds, and the average
price of silver per ounce for 1897 was fifty-nine cents,
showing a gross value of lead, $4,704,960. and a gross
value of silver. $2,053,200. making a total of $6,758,160.
Statistics so far this year (1898) show a general fall-
ing of? in the lead production of the United States of
about twenty per cent., while British Columbia shows
a reduction of about thirty per cent. This falling ofif
of the production and the natural advance in all the
products on account of the war have had the effect to
advance the price of lead, and prices to-day are about
one-half a cent higher than at the beginning of the
year, with probabilities of a still further advance.
Should the war continue long, Spanish production,
which cuts quite a figure, must be considerably de-
creased; and this and the numerous sums of money
to be spent on the navies of the world for the next
few years must create a large demand for all mate-
rials. The construction of the larger guns for the navy
requires more lead than is demanded for the use of
the guns afterward, in actual warfare. — the guns using
iron and steel for the projectiles, while in the con-
struction of the guns there is an average of from thirty
to sixty tons of lead used per gun for counter-weights
on the disappearing gun carriages. This shortage of
production from other sources, the probable increase
for the use of lead in gun construction and electrical
machinery, would indicate higher prices for the ma-
terial and better times for the Coeur d'Alenes.
That the Coeur d'Alene district is getting ready to
take advantage of these prices is evidenced by the gen-
eral activity throughout the entire district, new pros-
pects being opened up and getting into the hands of
capital able to work them, and all of the older mines
preparing for a larger output. Nine Mile district will
be a producer in a short time. The Black Cloud Com-
pany have recently erected a one-hundred-ton concen-
trator, which will be ready for operation August ist.
The Custer mine is also being worked again; consid-
erable work has been done on the Tamarack & Chesa-
peake properties, also on the Cowan and Blue Grouse,
as well as numerous other properties on Nine Mile,
— all of which make a good showing. There is every
reason to expect that Nine Mile next year will show
quite a tonnage. That the permanency of the camp
is assured is fully evidenced by the workings of the
older mines. The first mines discovered in the camp
are all working to-day and turning out more ore
than ever before in their history.
The Tiger & Poorman, the first location in the belt,
has been a steady producer since 1887; the Tiger shaft
is down to the one thousand four hundred level. —
a perpendicular distance of one thousand two hundred
feet. The lower workings of this property are better
to-day than they were nearer the surface. The Helena
& Frisco, in the same canyon, is down a depth of one
thousand feet vertically, with same conditions. From
these two properties, which are the deepest in the
camp, it is safe to say that deep mining in the Coeur
d'Alenes is only in its infancy and with a long future
in store.
All the producing mines have concentrators of their
own, which for extensive and close work cannot be
excelled anywhere in the United States. All of them
are equipped with both water and steam power, and
for six months in the year are able to run by water
power, effecting considerable saving in operating ex-
penses. All are equipped with machine shops, enab-
ling the mines to do most of their repair work about
the mines and mills. Nowhere do you find the busi-
ness of mining conducted on better business principles
than in the Coeur d'Alenes. The ore is here, the veins
are permanent, and while it requires considerable money
to open up the properties as well as large outlays for
machinery to handle the ore, after this is done it
simply becomes a business proposition to get out the
ore as cheaply as possible. Every advantage is used
for the economical working of the ore with as little
handling of same as possible, from the time the ore
is taken from the mine until loaded on the cars in
the shape of concentrates.
Air drills are used almost altogether for the break-
ing of the ore in the mines, all the mines being
equipped with the best compressing plants that money
can buy, and some of the plants having capacities of
forty to sixty drills, and very few less than twenty
drill plants. Heavy mining machinery of all kinds
is used, there being two 20x60 direct-acting hoists now
working in the camp, situated on the Tiger & Poor-
man and Helena & Frisco properties. These hoists
are built to go to a depth of two thousand five hun-
dred feet and handle from si.x hundred to seven hun-
I-IISTORV OF IDAHO.
437
dred tons of ore per day. besides handling the waste
and necessary mining supplies, and requiring from
five hundred to six hundred horse power to operate
them. Pumps of a capacity of one thousand gallons
per minute, hoisting one thousand feet in one lift,
are to be found in these mines. Some idea of the size
of these pumps and the amount of power required to
operate same, may be formed when it is consid-
ered that few cities of twenty thousand population
have la';ger w'ater-works for supplying the city than
these same pumps, which are used only for keeping
some of the mines dry. From one thousand to one thous-
and five hundred horse power is not uncommon for the
amount of power required to operate the machinery
of some of the mines of the district: and to furnish
this power, water, electricity and steam are generally
used. Water power costs nothing outside the devel-
opment of the power, which first cost of installation
does not generally exceed that of first cost of steam
plant for same amount of power; but expenses of
operation are only nominal after flumes and water
wheels are in place. With steam, the cost of furnish-
ing power is quite an item, with some companies re-
quiring an expenditure of from thirty-five to fifty thous-
and dollars per year. This will be remedied within
a few years by the installation of large electrical plants
which will be operated by water power and which will
distribute the power for the dififerent mines interested,
from five hundred to one thousand horse power each.
Such an enterprise will be a paying investment and
can not long be delayed, there being several suffi-
cient water powers within forty to fifty miles of the
camp. When this is installed it will materially add to
the life of the mines and the permanency of the dis-
trict, cheapening the cost of power and allowing low-
grade properties to be worked at a profit.
The shipping facilities of the camp cannot be ex-
celled in any mining camp in the west. There are
two transcontinental railroads running to the mill doors
of nearly all the producing mines of the camp. The
ore is delivered direct from the mill to the cars with-
out any team-hauling and the only improvement in
this line would be a reduction in railroad freights,
which the camp is entitled to, not only on account of
the magnitude of the tonnage furnished, but more
especially on account of excessive freight charges in
comparison with rates given other camps. Present
freight rates, which will average twelve dollars per ton
to Denver and Colorado points, should be reduced
at least one-third. Smelter rates should also be re-
duced. Without the lead ores of the Coeur d'Alencs,
more than one-half the smelters now in operation
would be compelled to close down, and without our
lead ores the dry ores of Colorado and Utah could
not be worked.
The present condition of the Coeur dWlencs is one
of prosperity. We are furnishing steady employment
to fully two thousand men in the working of the mines
and mills at the best wages in the west. Fully three
thousand more men derive their living indirectly from
the mines and mills, and depend upon their prosperity.
This, with the women and children, will give a popu-
lation of eight to ten thousand living immediately in
the vicinity of the camp and all more or less inter-
ested in the working of the mines in this district. The
pay roll of the camp for wages paid out each month
will amount to two hundred and fifty thousand dol-
lars, or three million dollars per annum. The railroad
companies are paid for outgoing and incoming freights
not less than one million five himdred thousand dollars
per annum, and the smelters, for the treatment of the
ore, nearly a million more annually.
Where can you find a more prosperous condition of
affairs? Were it not for the few agitators who infest
the camp, and who not only commit lawless acts them-
selves (which are a disgrace to the community and an
outrage upon the liberties of law-abiding citizens) but
draw others into them who are opposed to such things,
but dare not assert their opinions concerning same,
for fear of incurring the enmity of organized labor, —
we would have one of the best and most prosperous
camps m the west.
The Miners' Union and the Knights of Labor prac-
tically control the work of the camp outside of the
Wardner district, which is a non-union camp, the other
camps being union camps and paying the union scale
of wages which is three dollars and fifty cents per
day for underground men and three dollars per day
for all men above ground. These two organizations
are a power in the district and could do and do ac-
complish a great deal of good in relieving the suffer-
ing of their fellow workmen in case of sickness and
accidents, by paying them weekly allow-ances and look-
ing after their sick, and in case of death by giving
them a decent burial and paying all funeral expenses.
For their efforts in this direction, as well as to secure
a good rate of wages, no reasonable person can object
to their union; and were it not for the agitator who
makes himself conspicuous under the guise of work-
ing for the cause of labor, but in reality working
against the laboring man's interest by stirring up strife
and discord between laborer and employer, the country
would be better off and more prosperous. By the
co-operation of the better class of members of the
Miners' Union and the Knights of Labor, which ele-
ment is largely in the majority in both orders, with
the law-abiding element of the business community,
working together m harmony, the restoration of law
and order could easily be brought about and a stop
put to the many outrages that have been a disgrace
to this section of the country and that have prevented
outside capital from seeking investment in the Coeur
d'Alenes, forcing capital to British Columbia and other
points where the opportunities for profitable invest-
ments are not half so good or sure as in the lead
belt of the Coeur d'-Alenes. The unions for their own
interests, as well as in the interest of organized labor
at large, should lend their assistance to put a stop
to some of the occurrences which have taken place in
the camp and for which the unions as a body have
438
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
been blamed, while as organizations they have had
nothing to do with the same, but have allowed a few
of their members to commit these acts and to cover
them under the plea that it had been done for the
cause of labor, — thereby using the unions as a cloak
to cover their acts. That the better element in both
organizations of the camp do not approve and counte-
nance these outrages, the writer is satisfied from a
personal acquaintance with a large number of its mem-
bers.
LABOR TROUBLES IN THE COEUR D'ALENE
DISTRICT.
The following account of the recent labor trou-
bles in the Coeur d'Alene mining district is
contributed by H. H. Smith, of the Cincinnati
Post, who, as a reporter of the Scripps-McRae
League, was present on the scene and made
careful investigation of the matter:
The blowing up of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan mill
at Wardner on April 29. 1899. entailing a financial loss
of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the mur-
der of two men. was the culminating act of violence in
the ten-years war between labor and capital that has
waged in the Coeur d'Alenes. In the active prose-
cution of that warfare many lives have been sacrificed,
hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property
have been blown to pieces with dynamite, and the devel-
opment of the richest and most extensive silver-lead
mines in the United States has been retarded to a
degree that leaves the country practically in its infancy,
when under natural conditions it would now be em-
ploying thousands of men. More regrettable is the fact
that as this is written things are still in a condition of
disorder, and no one can foretell what the end will be.
Troubles between the mine managers and their
employes commenced almost with the opening up of
the new country, but it was not until 1891 that the
first serious dispute arose. In that year the employes
of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Company struck to
enforce their demand that they be allowed to pay their
hospital dues of one dollar a month to a hospital of
their own selection, and they gained their point. The
mine-owners then organized an association of their
own with which to combat the miners' unions of Gejn,
Wardner, Mullan and Burke, and their relations with
their men became badly strained.
In 1892 all of the principal mines closed down, and
in a short time the mine-owners commenced to import
men and work them under the protection of hired
detectives and special officers. Wages were not
reduced, but the union men claimed that was to follow.
The mine-owners bought rifles and ammunition for
their new employes and the men who guarded them,
and the union men also armed themselves for the
approaching conflict. On Monday, July 11, a pitched
battle ensued and six men were killed, in addition to the
blowing up of the Frisco mill. It has always been a
disputed point as to which side was the direct cause
of the battle. The union men insist that all of the
trouble was created by the imported Pinkerton. Hill
and Sullivan agency detectives and that they com-
menced the bloody struggle by firing on and killing a
union man. On the other hand, the mine-owners allege
that the unionists were responsible for the whole aflfair.
At any rate, some one fired the first shot, and before
a truce was patched up three men on each side were
dead. The unionists lost Ed Cummins and two min-
ers named Carlson and Hennessy. Their opponents'
death list was made up of Ivory Bean, John Stanlik
and McDonald.
A penstock, — which was afterward known as "the
long gun of the Coeur d'Alenes" — six hundred and
forty feet long, through which water was fed to the
turbines, ran down the side of the mountain to the
'Frisco mill. The union men ran three or four hun-
dred pounds of dynamite down the penstock and
exploded it and the mill was blown to pieces. Mc-
Donald, one of the guards, was killed. The Gem
and Bunker Hill and Sullivan mills then surrendered,
and it was agreed that all of the nonunion men should
be sent out of the country and that the companies
would employ union men at three dollars and a half
a day for all underground labor.
Things then quieted down for a time, but trouble
broke out at intervals. John Kneebone, who had
deserted the union for the mine-owners, was murdered
on July 3, 1894, and F. D. Whitney, a foreman at the
'Frisco concentrator, was assassinated on December 23,
1897.
These crimes, with others, were laid at the door of
the unions, but the unionists always protested their
entire innocence, and passed resolutions denouncing
some of the outrages. The agreement entered into after
the trouble of 1892 was lived up to by all of the com-
panies except the Bunker Hill & Sullivan, which soon
reduced wages to three dollars a day for shovelers and
car men and three dollars and a half for miners. In
1894 it had some more trouble with its men. and again
reduced wages to two dollars and a half and three dol-
lars a day. The Bunker Hill & Sullivan is the only dry
mine in the Coeur d'Alenes. and the company claimed
it was paying as good wages as the others, everything
considered. Its management was very antagonistic to
the unions, and the dislike was mutual. The unions
declared it a "scab" mine and let it go at that, attempt-
ing no violence.
Early in 1899. however, an attempt was made to
unionize the mine, and the old fire broke out again.
On May 26th the company raised wages to three dol-
lars for shovelers and three dollars and a half for
miners, but refused to recognize the union. Three
days later its mill was blown up. The rioters seized a
Northern Pacific train at Burke and ran it to Ward-
ner, pickin.g up delegations from Gem, Mullan and
Wallace. A stop was made at the 'Frisco magazine
and eighty fifty-pound boxes of dynamite were taken.
By the time the train reached Wardner it had over a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
thousand men on board. Many of them were masked
and carried rifles. They evidently anticipated and were
prepared for a fight, but they met with no opposition,
as all of the mill employes had heard of the approach
of the train and fled over the hills. James Cheyne,
one of the mill men, was shot and mortally wounded
as he was running away, and Jack Smith, one of the
rioters, was killed by his companions, presumably by
mistake. The eighty boxes of dynamite were scattered
around the mill and it was blown to fragments. The
rioters then returned home, and in an hour everything
was quiet again.
Governor Steunenberg called for federal troops, and
several hundred were sent in under command of Brig-
adier General H. C. Merriam. Martial law was
declared in Shoshone county, and Bartlett Sinclair,
state auditor, was placed in charge as the governor's
representative. He caused wholesale arrests, and at one
time nearly one thousand men were in custody. Those
who were considered to have had no part in the rioting
were released as rapidly as possible, but on September
ist there were still about one hundred men confined
in a stockade known as the "bull pen," while many
others were out on bond. Paul Corcoran, financial sec-
retary of the Burke Miners' Union, was the first one
of the alleged rioters to be tried. He was convicted
and sentenced to seventeen years in the penitentiary.
Many other cases are to be tried in September, 1899 —
the time of this writing. Corcoran's attorneys alleged
gross irregularities in his trial and a motion was made
for a rehearing.
The sheriff and commissioners of Shoshone county
were removed from ofBce when martial law was de-
clared, as it was claimed they sympathized with the
rioters, and the county attorney was suspended for the
same reason. Other officers were named in their places.
The miners' unions were declared to be criminal bodies,
and the governor's representative issued an order that
none should be employed in or around the mines with-
out a permit from him. Governor Steunenberg
declared that troubles in the Coeur d'Alenes must stop
and the miners' unions be wiped out, and that to that
end martial law would' continue until his term of office
expires on January i, igoi. The sub-committee on
mining of the industrial commission visited Wallace
and investigated the trouble, but could secure no con-
clusive testimony that the unions were responsible for
it, though members of the unions might have been
involved in it. All of the union men who were exam-
ined swore that the blowing up of the mill, or any
other deed of violence, was never discussed or thought
of by the unions, and was deplored by them. They
said the mill was blown up by outside hotheads and
not by members of the unions. - Some of the mine-
owners expressed the belief that very few of the riot-
ers were union men, and even that they did not know
that property was to be destroyed when they joined
the mob that went to Wardner. There is no doubt
that all of the leading spirits in the mob, who are
declared to have never been members of any union.
were out of the country long before the soldiers
arrived, and there seems to be little likelihood of their
ever being apprehended or punished.
THE STANDARD GROUP OF MINERAL
CLAIMS.
The Standard group of claims consists of the
following patented lode claims: Standard, Ban-
ner, Snow Line, Sancho, Sandwich, Yotings-
town, Sullivan Fraction, Banner Fraction, Par-
allel, Little Chap, Mammoth Fraction, a portion
of the Mammoth, and Tariff, also the Columbia,
Crown Point and Tom Reed, — all located in the
Coeur d'Alene silver-lead mineral belt, Lalande
mining district, Shoshone county, Idaho, one
mile from Burke, — also the Union Mill-site.
located at Wallace, Idaho, together with water
rights and flumes from which is developed about
three hundred horse-power. The Standard claim
was located May 7, 1885, by Timothy McCarthy,
Timothy Hynes. Frank Hanson and John H.
Simmons.
All the claims in the Standard group are pat-
ented, the patents having issued direct to the
Standard Mining Company, with the exception
of the Mammoth, Tariff and Mammoth Fraction.
These claims are patented, but the patent issued
direct to the original owners and was afterward
transferred to the Standard Mining Company.
The Standard Mining Company is a corporation
of Idaho. Its capital stock is five hundred
thousand dollars, divided into five hundred thou-
sand shares of the par value of one dollar each.
The officers of the company are as follows:
Amasa B. Campbell, president; John A. Finch,
vice-president and treasurer; W. E. Finch, sec-
retary. The stock is held principally by the
Finch & Campbell Syndicate of Youngstown,
Ohio, Chicago and Milwaukee.
The property was purchased by the Standard
Company in the spring of 1891, when the de-
velopment work was commenced. The first ore
was struck in the fall of 1892, and since that time
it has been a steady shipper and dividend-payer.
The property has been worked through four
tunnels. The lower, or Campbell tunnel, as it is
called, is two thousand nine hundred and fifty
feet long, and is nine hundred feet below the
upper tunnel. In all there arc probably over
ten thousand feet of tunnel. At the end of this
long tunnel is the chamber for the hoisting en-
440
IHSTORV OF IDAHO.
gine. The chamber is one hundred feet long,
fifty feet wide and thirty-six feet high. Here
they have a twenty by sixty first-motion
hoisting engine, built by Fraser I'v: dialnuMs,
capable of hoisting two thousand five hundred
feet. The shaft is down two hundred feet from
the Campbell tunnel, and a drift has been run to
strike the vein, where it is found they have an
ore chute over six hundrcil feet long and from
fifteen to forty feet wide, lint little stoping has
been done from this level up.
The ore is silver-lead, and the average assay
of the entire vein is ten to fifteen per cent lead
and twelve to fifteen ounces silver. This ore is
transported from the mine, one mile below Burke,
Idalio, to the concentrator, which is located at
Wallace, a distance of six miles. Here the ore
is concentrated into a shipping product. It re-
quires about five and eight-tenths tons of crude
ore to make one ton of concentrates, or ship-
ping product. The capacity of the mill is six
hundred tons of crude ore in twenty-four hours.
The average assay of concentrates is fifty-eight
to sixty per cent lead and about fifty-eight to
sixty ounces of silver to the ton.
Up to May I, 1899, the Standard shipped
68,295 tons of concentrates, the net value of
which (after paying freight charges to the smelter
and treatment on the ore, which averaged about
twenty-two dollars per ton), was $3,416,248.87.
The company has paid in dividends the sum of
$1,775,000.00, or $3.55 per share. The original
cost of the property was $33,804.80. The amount
expended for improvements and equipment to
date is $280,000.00, all of which was taken out of
the mine in addition to the amount paid in divi-
dends. The property is under the management
of Finch & Campbell of .S|xikane, Washington,
their representative being II. R, .Allen, of Wal-
lace, Idaho.
The Standard is one of the best equipped mines
in the world, and it was developed from the grass
roots by and under tlie supervision of ,\rchie
McCallum, who is at present in charge of the
mine.
THE HECL.A GROUP.
The Hecla mine is located at Burke, Shoshone
county (Lalande mining district). The original
claims comprising the Hecla group were the
Hecla and Katie May lode claims, located by
James Toner on May 5, 1885. The property was
purchased by the Hecla Mining Company, a cor-
poration of Idaho, the principal stockholders be-
ing A. B. Canii.l.ell. John .\, iMnch, Patrick
Clark, Simon Haley and a jiartv of Milwaukee
gentlemen. Up to January i, 1898, the Hecla
shipped thirteen thousand dollars' worth of lead-
silver ore while the development work was pro-
gressing. This ore was taken out partly by the
company and partly by leasers. During the
spring and summer of 1898 the Hecla Mining
Company of Washington was organized, with a
capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
— one million shares of the par value of twenty-
five cents each, — the officers being: A. B.
Campbell, president; John A. Finch, vice-presi-
dent; and H. R. Allen, secretary and treasurer
The new company purchased the Hecla and
Katie May claims from the old Hecla company,
and also purchased the Or-No-Go fraction lode
from James Doherty, M. Maher and John Stack.
A bond was taken on the Orphan Boy, Orphan
Girl, Leadville, Denver, Climax and Sylvanite,
from John H. Van Dorn, which was subsequently
taken up by the company. Later on the com-
pany purchased the Muscatine and Burlington
claims from J. H. Van Dorn. John Frank and
Ed. Ehrenberg, and also the Muscatine P^action
and Croesus from H. R. Allen.
In all, the Hecla group now conqirises fifteen
lode claims and a mill-site, the total area being
about two hundred and fifty acres. The develop-
ment work consists of a sixteen hun-
dred-foot tunnel run in at a depth from the sur-
face of about nine hundred feet, and a four-
hundred-foot tiuniel. which i's one hundred and
seventy-five feet above the long tunnel. In the
lower tunnel they have an ore chute about three
hundred and seventy-five feet long, averaging
three feet wide. They still have five hundred feet
to drive before getting under the immense cro]i-
pings which show on the surface.
' The Hecla is still a prospect, but it is more
than paying its own way. It is being worked by
a force of twenty i;ien. The ore is milled at the
Standard mill at Wallace, being transported over
the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's
road, a distance of seven miles. The average
grade of the ore is fifty-eight per cent lead and
forty ounces silver. The property is under the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
441
management of Messrs. Finch & Campbell, of
Spokane, Washington, their representative in
this district being Air. H. R. Allen, of Wallace,
Idaho.
THE PHILADELPHI.\ & IDAHO MINING &
SMELTING COMPANY.
The above named company was organized in
1882 by Colonel Green and Philadelphia parties,
who built two stock plants and a large smelter
plant at Muldoon, Blaine county, this state, and
operated them for several years, in Muldoon.
The ores in the vicinity of Ketchum, Idaho, were
of a higher grade, and were attracting more at-
tention than those they were then mining, and
certain Philadelphia gentlemen had become in-
terested in them, and they induced the Philadel-
phia Mining & Smelting Company to come to
Ketchum. A small test was made with a little
tester, and in the course of less than a week a
profit of ten thousand dollars was made! They
then joined with the other Philadelphia people
and organized the Philadelphia & Idaho Com-
pany.
The Philadelphia company that had first begun
the work had acquired the North Star mine, the
West Fork group, the Ervin and the Ten F.rook
on Boyle mountains, the Silver Star, Salamander,
Xew York Boy and the Muldoon. The build-
ings at the North Star and Silver Star mines
were, on the reorganization, remodeled and en-
larged; power was obtained from two water
wheels. The flume, coming out from Warm
Springs creek about two miles above the smelter
and just below the geyser hot springs, was easily
kept open during the coldest weather, which was
an exceptional advantage, and enabled the com-
pany to continue their work uninterruptedly
throughout the year. The operations for a time
were so promising that the proprietors overdid
the work of providing facilities, especially by the
erection of a mill at the Silver Star mine, at a
cost of seventy-six thousand dollars. It was not
only badly located but proved ill adapted to the
ore, of which there was a large quantity on hand.
This ore, which is still there, is a galena, very
much mixed with silver, copper and iron, carry-
ing gold in a true fissure vein. The silver and
lead might be made to pay. The heavy-grade
ores, of which there were large quantities mined.
have averaged two to three hundred ounces of
silver to the ton in quartz. A great deal of
galena, which yielded sixty per cent, lead and
eighty ounces of silver, was shipped to the smel-
ters as first-class ore; but the mill was built to
treat only the more common kind, which con-
tained twenty-two per cent, lead, as many ounces
of silver, with copper sulphide, carrying gold to
the amount of ten to fifteen dollars and mixed
with zinc, spar, quartz, and lime.
The running of the mill, which was located
upon the hill side, was unsuccessful and the insti-
tution was shut down and sold; and since that
time little has been done with it, except that it
has been leased to miners wiio work in a small
way.
The most prominent property, the Nortli Star,
has been a continuous producer ever since 1881.
Although much extravagant outlay was incurred,
the operation was successful. The ore is not of
a grade so high as most of the ore on Wood
river, running sixty per cent, lead and seventy-
five to eighty ounces of silver; but many of the
bodies have been large and continuous for a con-
siderable distance, — being large enough to yield
over one hundred thousand dollars each. There
have also been considerable bodies of ore run-
ning on the average eighteen per cent, lead, twen-
t\'-two to twenty-four ounces of silver, ten per
cent, zinc, in arsenical iron and quartz, with spar
and lime. These bodies have been milled at the
North Star works, making a fairly good grade of
concentrates.
In 1892, when the clean galena could not be
obtained in sufficiently large quantities to run
the smelters, the general managers endeavored
t(j run, in the winter of 1892-3, on the bodies of
low-grade ore from the North Star mine; and.
owing chiefly to the presence of zinc, — which ran
at times as high as seventeen per cent., — the work
was unsuccessful: the smelters were closed and
have not since been opened. The work at the
North Star has been continued by leasing.
At the Silver Star they now have fourteen
claims, and at the North Star there are also large
bodies of arsenical-iron pyrite, which carry gold
from ten to twenty dollars to the ton. The mine is
on the east fork of Wood river, seven miles froni
Gimlet station. The Silver Star is thirty miles
from the town of Ketchum. .At the town of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Ketchum the company have a large and substan-
tially built smelter and all the appliances and
structures, — one of the best plants in the county,
and the works are located in a delightful situa-
tion. The boarding house and buildings for the
offices of the company are first-class and afford a
delightful residence and resort in the summer.
Wood river is so near the residence that its gur-
gling current can be heard there.
THE RED CLOUD GROUP OF MINES.
This group of mines is situated on Deer creek,
a tributary of Wood river, about twelve miles in
a northwesterly direction from the town of
Hailey, in Mineral Hill mining district, Blaine
county, and is owned by Lyttleton Price, of
Hailey, and Pittsburg parties. These mines were
discovered by Orin Porter, E. H. Porter and
James L. Mason, in 1880. The present owners
purchased them in 1889, organized what was
known as the Red Cloud Mining Company, and
worked these properties for several years, paying
in dividends ten thousand dollars per month, ap-
proximating in the total two hundred thousand
dollars.
In 1897 large quantities of water were struck
and a deep tunnel was run on the property for
the purpose of draining the mines and exploring
them at greater depth. About this time the com-
pany put in a water-power plant, air-compressor,
and also every other mechanical adjunct neces-
sary to modern mining; but, after they had ex-
tended their deep tunnel to a distance of six thou-
sand feet and made connection with the upper
workings, five hundred and sixty feet higher,
they found that the country was broken and
faulted and that, together with the very low price
of silver and lead then prevailing, discouraged the
owners and they accordingly discontinued opera-
tions, although the mine was considered by ex-
perts to be one of the most valuable in the state.
The deep tunnel opens and drains the country to
a depth of fourteen hundred feet.
United States patents have been granted for
these mines, comprising sixteen claims. The
Red Cloud Mining Company has gone out of ex-
istence, the property being now owned as above
stated. Nothing has been done for a number of
years on this property until within a few montlis
since, when operations were resumed under lease
by Lyttleton Price, Thomas Kennelly and G. L.
Havens, who now have a fine ore body developed
and are extracting and shipping ore, and from
present indications this group of mines now
promises to be one of the most valuable proper-
ties in the state of Idaho.
THE POORM.\N ^HNE.
On War Eagle mountain, a mile and a half
southeast of Silver City, are a group of about
twenty mines, in one of the richest belts in that
section of the state, — a belt which has afforded
material to render Silver City famous throughout
the civilized world. The Poorman mine has a
production record of three million dollars, and
other properties of the group — as Bell Pick, Oso,
Illinois Central, Jackson and Silver Cord — have
all been good producers.
The Poorman mine was discovered in 1865,
and between July 9 and October i, 1866, there
was shipped from it the enormous sum of $606,-
692. The ore consists of chloride, sulphide of
silver and a considerable proportion of copper.
At a depth of one hundred feet five hundred
pounds of ruby silver were taken out in one solid
piece. This piece of ore was awarded a gold
medal at the Paris Exposition of 1867. The
Poorman mine is said to have been the richest
body of ore for its size ever discovered. The
mine is equipped with a ten-stamp mill, erected
in 1895, and for the transportation of ore from
the mine to the mill there is a wire-cable tramway
of the Hallidie system one mile long. In 1888
the property was purchased by a syndicate of
London, England, which is incorporated as the
Poorman Gold Mines, limited. John B. Bryson.
a resident of London, is the president of the
company, and R. H. Britt, a resident here, is the
manager. This company contemplates a deeper
cut into the earth and a larger development, and
great results are expected.
THE BLACK JACK MINE.
This famous mine, situated on Florida moun-
tain three miles southwest of Silver City and one
and a half miles from Dewey, was discovered in
the early '60s, being the first mine found in this
mountain. The company was first incorporated
as the Black Jack Mining Company, and was
listed on the San Francisco Stock Board. This
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
443
company is said to have taken out one million and
six hundred thousand dollars worth of the pre-
cious metals: but, owing to the failure of the
Bank of California, in 1875, all work in this vicin-
ity was stopped, including operations in connec-
tion with the Black Jack mine. This property
was then sold for debt and finally came into the
possession of William H. Dewey. During the
period of his ownership of the mine it was worked
principally by lessees, who opened no new
groimd, and the production was very light.
In 1889 the present owners, the Idaho & Pitts-
burg Mining & Milling Company, of Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania, came into possession of the prop-
erty, by purchase. They were incorporated in
1890, under the laws of Kentucky, with a nomi-
nal capital of two and a half million dollars, di-
vided into two hundred and fifty thousand shares,
of ten dollars each. They immediately began ex-
tensive work, building a ten-stamp mill and all
the necessary structures and starting a tunnel to
tap the ledge five hundred and seventy feet below
the deepest of the old workings. This tunnel
reached the ledge in 1891, after passing through
over nine hundred feet of country rock, and at
last found the ledge barren! Drifting south,
however, on the ledge, a pay chute was located.
This was cut in 1892, and from that time on the
enterprise has been on a permanent producing
basis, with the exception of only one month, dur-
ing the panic of 1893.
In 1894 a tunnel was started three hundred
feet below the tunnel above referred to, and was
completed in 1895, cutting the ledge after going
through two thousand and one hundred feet of
country rock. Connections were made with the
upper levels, and from that time on all the ore
for the mill has been taken out from the lower
tunnel and hauled directly to the top of the ten-
stamp mill, where it is discharged into the ore
bin. In 1896 a shaft was started to work below
the lower tunnel, which is now (1898) down two
hundred and thirty-five feet; it is equipped with
a cage. The power is ■furnished by an air-com-
pressor at the mill, twenty-six hundred feet dis-
tant. The lowest level of the mine appro.ximates
fourteen hundred feet below the top of the moun-
tain, and the mine is opened up by levels about
a hundred feet apart. The twelve-hundred-foot
level connects with the Blaine tunnel of the Trade
Dollar Company, so that it is possible to go from
the Black Jack mill to the Trade Dollar by an
underground route, the distance being seven
thousand and five hundred feet, — two thou-
sand feet of which being a cross-cut and the re-
mainder a drift on the ledge.
The mill is a Frazier & Chalmers ten-stamp
combination, equipped with frew vanners. There
are four six-foot vanners, over which the pulp
passes before going to the pans. In the latter
the material is treated by regular amalgamation,
eight pans and four settlers being required. The
engine is a C. & G. Cooper Corliss single-cylin-
der structure of a hundred-horse power. Two
seventy-five-horse-power boilers generate the
steam required for the plant. An Ingersoll-Sar-
gent air-compressor, located in the mill, furnishes
the power for the underground hoist previously
referred to.
The ore occurs in a medium-hard quartz; the
silver in the form of an argentite carries about
two-thirds of the values, and gold one-third.
Gold assays can be obtained from picked speci-
mens that will run enormously rich, — as high as
a thousand ounces ; but the average value of the
ore is between thirty and forty ounces of silver
and ten dollars in gold to the ton.
Eighty men are employed at the mine and
twelve at the mill. The mine and mill are run
continuously, with two shifts of men, every day
and night in the year excepting two days at
Christmas, two at the Fourth of July and one
Labor Day. About seventy per cent, of the
values are obtained by concentration and about
twenty per cent, in bullion, making a total of
ninety per cent, saving. The concentrates are
shipped to Denver for final treatment. The of-
ficers of the company are John Irwin, Jr., presi-
dent; Edward Bindley, vice-president; James
McKay, treasurer; and Lloyd L. Little, secre-
tary, residing at Pittsburg. The local officers are
Frederic Irwin, superintendent; J. B. Mattenson,
mine foreman ; James Ingals, mill foreman ; and
Bert Haug, assayer and accountant. The com-
pany are the owners of the following mines:
Black Jack, Empire State. Phillips, Sullivan, Bel-
fast and Independence, — all of which arc pat-
ented; while the unpatented claims arc the \"ir-
ginia. Bay State, Industry, Economy and Sun-
tlower.
iU
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
THE ONTARIO GROUP OF MINES.
These mines, which are now owned by ^Michael
Carey, state senator, are located on Warm Spring
creek, twelve miles west of Ketchum, in Blaine
county, Idaho. They yield galena ore — silver
and lead — and the veins extend east and west,
dipping toward the south, and average from
three to three and a half feet in width. The ore
has an average yield of forty per cent, lead,
eighty ounces of silver and three dollars in gold
to tlic ton. These mines are worked by tunnels,
which thus afford drainage and permit the ore to
be run out on tracks. They were first discovered
by John Boyle in [S8o, were purchased by the
Warm Springs Consolidated Company, and, as
stated, are now the property of Senator Carey.
The group consists of the following mines: On-
tario, Hub No. 2, Niagara, Hathaway, Sunday,
Gopher, Kalemet Fraction, Log Cabin, Michigan
Fraction and the North Star. Half a million of
dollars have been taken from the Ontario. The
Star has been a good producer, also the Sunday,
and the others have not as yet been worked so
extensively. There is a good concentrating mill,
costing twenty thousand dollars, on the prop-
erty, and quite a number of tunnels have been
made, the longest being three hundred feet. All
the mines in this vicinity produce rich ore, and
there is no doubt but that the Ontario will yield
to its owner valuable ores for many years to
come.
THE ALTURAS SENATOR MINING COMPANY.
The mines of this company are situated at Ga-
lena, Blaine county, Idaho, comprising ten
claims, the most promising of which are the Sen-
ate and Gladwater. At one time these mines
were yielding well, but, because of the decline in
silver, operations were discontinued and the
smelter dismantled. Some development is con-
templated in this year, 1899. The company is
composed of wealthy men in New York. Lewis
Edwards, the president, and Dr. Barron, the
president of the Carpenter Steel Works of New
York, are the principal factors.
The Ashland Group Mining Company have
four silver-lead claims at Muldoon and two silver-
lead claims on Boyle mountain. Nothing has
been done with these claims for the past twelve
yfears.
The Cansada-Ledlie Company own two claims,
the Cansada and the Ledlie, on Trail creek about
six miles from Ketchum. George Yount, of
Ketchum, and a Philadelphia party are conduct-
ing some development work on the Cansada un-
der the management of Knox Taylor.
THE SILVER KING MINING COMPANY.
This company was organized under the l.iws
of New Jersey, by Philadelphia parties, with
Henry Tevis as president. They have two
groups of mines. The Davitt, a silver-lead prop-
erty, is located on Deer creek, a tributary of
Wood river. The ore occurs in a granite forma-
tion. A large and continuous seam has pro-
duced a great deal of silver and lead. It was
operated with a shaft; but a snow-slide ruined
the hoist and operations were abandoned.
The company also owns the Silver King, a
group of four claims located four miles above
Sawtooth on the Salmon river, in a granite forma-
tion and quartz, being very rich in silver, with
sulphur, antimony, a sulphide of iron and zinc.
Gold has been found in the iron to the amount of
twenty-four dollars. The silver Values have been
very high, averaging at times three hundred
ounces, with sometimes as high as fifteen hun-
dred ounces, and many shipments running to
four, five and even six hundred ounces.
Major Hyndman had a lease of the propertv
for three years and paid the company in one of
the years ten thousand dollars on a fifteen per
cent, royalty; but little other work has been done
on it. At length he acquired an interest in the
enterprise and finally became half-owner, and
was leasing the property in 1892 when the saw-
dust covering of the boiler at the hoist caught
fire and the hoist was burned; and the apparatus
has not since been repaired, and after Major
Hyndman's death disagreements with his widow
have prevented work. The improvements of the
property consist of mill, rolls and two frew run-
ners.
PIERCE CITY GOLD CAMP.
This camp is now attracting considerable at-
tention-from capitalists. Ohio parties have pur-
chased an interest in the Golden Gate Alining
Company's propert}-, and are now carrying on
work there. ■ The Milling & Mining Company
also have a five-stamp mill on their property three
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
miles from Pierce City, have begun the milHng of
ore, and good results have been obtained. Some
sixty thousand dollars in gold has been extracted
by a three-stamp mill owned by the Dunn Broth-
ers on adjoining property. The character of the
ore in this camp is mostly free-milling gold
quartz. The Chapman group of gold-quartz
claims on the Oro Grande creek, fifteen miles
northeast of Pierce City will be worked in 189Q.
The showing is one hundred thousand tons of ore
in sight, free-milling, with assays, from seven
dollars and forty-five cents to fifty-six dollars per
ton. A contemporary publication in an article
headed "The Free Milling Gold Belt of Idaho."
gives the following: "The Western Alining
World's correspondents in Idaho exhibit a well
founded enthusiasm over the mineral outlook in
that state. In writing from Pierce City one gen-
tleman refers to the fact that mining men seeking
investment have a natural preference for free-
milling propositions, the great advantage being
that the ore requires no shipment from the mine,
but is milled on the ground by stamp mills. An-
other advantage is that the machinery required is
not ponderous and can be transported to the
mine by wagon or pack train, and a mill can be
erected at a cost of from two to five thousand
dollars that will turn out from eight to fifteen
tons of ore per day at an expense of from four to
five dollars per ton. Then again, after the ore is
extracted and put on the dump, four men are
sufficient to operate a stamp mill with an ex-
pense— including labor, fuel and repairs — not
exceeding twenty-five dollars per day to mill
twelve tons. The expense of taking ore from the
mine might be estimated at two dollars, and the
milling two dollars per ton. As no shipment of
ore is required, free-milling camps are free from
the exactions and high tariffs of transportation
companies. The fact that Pierce City is a free-
milling gold-quartz camp perhaps has more to do
with the rapid growth now in progress than any
other one thing.
"The Idaho free-milling gold belt embraces
thousands of square miles of territory lying in
Shoshone county and running southeasterly to
Pierce City, between the forks of Clearwater
river and including tlie headwaters of the Oro
Fino, Oro Grande, French, Lo-Lo and Mussel
Shell creeks, and continuing on to Dixie, Elk
City, Florence and Warrens, comprising the
southeastern slope of the Bitter Root mountain.
The streams above mentioned empty into the
Clearwater, Salmon and Snake rivers. Cither
minerals than gold are found in the territory, and
some gold quartz has been found that is not free ■
milling, but the main featur; of the important
properties so far developed has been free-milling
gold. This vast mineral district is largely tribu-
tary to Spokane, and mining men of that citv are
becoming interested in some of the best proper-
ties, and are sending forward machinerv and sup-
plies to aid in rapid development."
Quartz mining in this locality can be carried
on twelve months in the year, and the large tract
of agricultural land in the Nez Perces reservation
now being cultivated makes living as cheap in
Pierce City as in almost any farming communitv.
Fairly good wagon roads from Lewiston and
Kendrick are traveled daily with freight, camp
supplies, stage and express. The distance is
eighty miles from Lewiston and sixty-five miles
from Kendrick. Steamboats from Lewiston
make trips in the spring within twenty-five miles
of Golden Gate, and merchandise for Pierce City
is landed at the mouth of Oro Fino creek, forty
miles away. The government is now working a
force of men, improving the navigation as far up
as Chamois, which will probably make it naviga-
ble for steamers six months in the year. Work
on the free-milling gold-quartz mines of French,
Oro Fino, Rhodes and Mussel Shell creeks is
being pushed, and some new developments are
reported. The Klondyke has widened into a
twelve-foot vein of solid ore. The manager of
the Gold Bar reports sixty feet depth in shaft No.
I, with a twenty-eight-inch vein of ore that assavs
one hundred and twelve dollars and twenty-seven
cents a ton. It is proposed to go down seventy-
five feet and then run in a tunnel, tapping the
main body of ore at a depth of one hundred and
fifty feet. The Golden Gate will go down two
hundred feet on one ore vein of three feet in
width and a parallel vein of eighteen inches. The
veins are seven feet apart. These properties are
attracting a great deal of attention and the invest-
ment of capital in the operation of the mines will
make this one of the richest mining districts of
the country, and will thereby contribute to the
growth and material advancement of the state.
446
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
THE TIP-TOP MINE.
This is a gold property. It is situated twelve
miles west of Hailey, Blaine county, in the center
of what is known as the gold belt. The mine
is thoroughly developed by an inclined shaft three
himdred feet in depth, passing through three
levels, from which project several wings. The
ore is obtained to the extent of five hundred feet,
with an average width of the tunnel from five to
six feet. The ore consists of gold in iron and
copper pyrites. The value of the gold is one
ounce to the ton. A twenty-stamp mill is in
process of construction at the mine, which will
probably be completed and running before the
publication of this volume. A four-inch water
pipe two miles in length supplies the mill with
water, which has to be raised nine hundred feet.
The ore is treated by running it from the battery
over copper-silver plates, where one-half is amal-
gamated. The remaining gold is concentrated by
twelve frew runners and other concentrating
machinery, which work can be effected with the
result of a high percentage.
The outlay in developing the mine to its present
stage and in erecting the mill is about one hun-
dred thousand dollars. The plant is owned by
John O. Packard, of Salt Lake City, and H. E.
Miller, of Bellevue, a thoroughly practical mining
expert. The work is under the direct superin-
tendency of Captain James A. Lusk, a prominent
mining man from Utah. Mr. Aliller came to
Wood river in 1881 and has assisted in the devel-
opment of various mines, among which may bt-
mentioned the Minnie Moore, whicn eventually
proved to be the largest producer of all the mines
in the Wood river country, yielding nearly as
much as any four of the best mines in that
section of the state. The amount of ore, con-
sisting of galena carrying ninety ounces of silver,
which has been shipped from this mine, is esti-
mated at three or four million dollars, shipping
value.
In 1883 this mine was purchased by an English
company, who for a time afterward continued its
operation ; but at present no work is being done.
They paid half a million dollars for the plant. It
has an inclined shaft nine hundred feet in extent,
v^'ith levels of one hundred feet each. Professor
Blake, a distinguished metallurgist, said that this
mine contained the largest body of galena ore
he had ever seen in America. The ore is clear
galena, carrying one hundred and twelve ounces
of silver. For a length of three hundred feet the
tunnel has an average width of eighteen feet.
CHAPTER XXX.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
HORACE E. NEAL.
POR the past six years this enterprising
young business man has occupied the
responsible position of cashier of the Cap-
ital State Bank, of Idaho, and is rapidly acquiring
the reputation of being one of the ablest
financiers in the state. Prior to his connection
with this well known banking institution, now
regarded as one of the best in the great northwest,
he had had experience in the handling of finances,
having for several years been engaged in the
loan business in this state and in Colorado, and
having served as the first county treasurer of Kit
Carson county, Colorado, after its organization
by act of the state legislature, his appointment
coming from Governor J. A. Cooper.
The ancestors of Horace E. Neal were Scotch,
as his name indicates, and for several generations
the family has lived in New Jersey and Ohio.
James E. Neal, the father of our subject, was
one of the early settlers of Ohio, and was ;:
farmer by occupation. In politics he has been a
Republican from the time that the party was
organized. For his wife he chose Miss Mary A.
Nincehelser, a lady of German extraction, whose
family had long resided in Pennsylvania; and
unto James E. and Mary A. Neal were born
seven sons and two daughters, and three of the
sons are numbered among the successful business
men of Boise. The birth of Horace E. Neal
occu.rred in \'an Burcn county, Iowa, September
7, 1859, and when a child he removed with his
parents to Peru, Nebraska, where he was reared
on a farm. He received a common-school train-
ing, and later pursued his studies in the State
Normal at Peru, Nebraska, and at Tabor College,
Tabor, Iowa, and completed his education in the
Methodist University, then located at York,
Nebraska. For three years he engaged in teach-
ing in the conmion and graded schools of
Nemaha county, Nebraska; afterward he went
to western Kansas; thence to Burlineton, Colo-
rado, and during his residence in those cities was
engaged in the lumber, real-estate and loan
business. He then served in the capacity of
treasurer of Kit Carson county, Colorado, for two
years, and in November, 1890. came to Boise,
where, in partnership with his brother, W. Scott,
he engaged in the insurance and loan business.
In July, 1 89 1, Horace E. Neal became inter-
ested in the organization of the Capital State
Bank of Idaho, and for the first two years of its
existence he was its assistant cashier. In Febru-
ary, 1893, he was elected to the position of
cashier, and has since served as such. Much of
the prosperity which this institution enjoys is-
directly traceable to the energy, good judp-ment
and keen foresight of Mr. Neal in the manage-
ment of its afifairs. The bank was organized
with fifty thousand dollars of paid-up stock, and
an authorized capital of two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, and it now has a surplus of
fourteen thousand dollars. Among the gentlemen
who were concerned in the establishment of the
bank were George D. Ellis; J. S. Fordyce; James
H. Bush; B. Lombard, Jr., of Boston; H. E.
Neal; H. H. Wheeler, of Lincoln, Nebraska;
Edward Shainwald; and Frank A. Xourse. The
first officers were J. S. Fordyce, president; J. H.
Bush, vice-president; W. E. Mitchell, cashier;
and H. E. Neal, assistant cashier. The present
officers are George D. ElHs, president; J. C.
Pence, vice-president; Horace E. Neal, cashier;
and F. D. Young, assistant cashier. The bank
now numbers among its patrons the leading mer-
chants, cattle, sheep and mining men of the
northwest.
In 1803 H. E. Neal was honored by an ajipoint-
ment to the office of city treasurer of Boise, and
in July, 1895, was elected to the position which
he still retains. He takes a deep interest in
educational matters, and in 1896 was elected as a
member of the board of trustees of the inde-
pendent school district of Boise. In the Masonic
448
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
fraternity he ranks deservedly higfh. In 1891 he
was made a Master Mason of Boise Lodge, No. 2,
A. F. & A. M., and is a member of the chapter,
commandery and shrine, being past master of
Boise Lodge. In his poHtical views he is an
uncompromising RepubHcan.
On the 24th of May, 1893, Mr. Neal was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Wallace, daugh-
ter of John N. Wallace, of Boise City. They have
one child, a little son, W. Edwin. Mr. and Mrs.
Neal are valued workers and members of the
Methodist church here, the former being the
popular superintendent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Neal takes a lively interest in all public
matters, and takes a firm stand on the side of
right at all times. He is president of the State
Sunday School Association, and as such officer
has been the means of building up the work
throughout the state.
AUREN G. REDWAY,
For thirty-six years Auren G. Redway has
been a resident of Boise, and for many years was
prominently connected with her banking inter-
ests, but is now living retired, enjoying that well
earned rest which is the fitting reward of an
honorable and active business career. He comes
from the far-ofif east and is a representative of a
family that was established in America in colonial
days. His grandfather, Preserved Redway,
served his country throughout the war of the
Revolution, was one of General Washington's
body guard, and had the honor of being a
corporal of the guard at the time of the surrender
of General Burgoyne. He lost one of his limbs
in that great struggle for independence, but it was
a willing sacrifice for the great cause of American
liberty. By occupation he was a farmer, making
that pursuit his life work. In religious belief he
was a Presbyterian, and his death occurred April
28, 1837, when he had attained an advanced age.
His wife, Azuba Redway, survived him a number
of years, and passed away January i, 1853.
Their son, Abel Redway, father of our subject,
was born in Adams, Jefferson county. New York,
February 8, 1805, and married Sally Charlotte
Grinnell, a representative of the prominent Grin-
nell family of the Empire state. She was born
at Galway. on the 19th of May, 1810, and at
the time of her marriage went to her husband's
home, on one of the farms of JefTerson county.
They were also members of the Presbyterian
church, and by their union were born six children,
four of whom are still living.
Auren G. Redway, the second child, was born
in Adams, Jefferson county. New York, on the
5th of March, 1835, and was reared and educated
in his native town. On the 20th of December,
1859, when a young man of twenty-four years,
he sailed from New York to San Francisco, by
way of the isthmus of Panama, and arrived at his
destination on the loth of January, 1859, making
the voyage in twenty days and six hours. For a
time he was engaged in the nursery business in
San Jose, California, and in 1862 he went to Van-
couver, Washington, where he was employed as
clerk in a sutler's store until his removal to Boise,
on the loth of July, 1863. He was then com-
missioned to act as sutler to the fort which had
recently been established at Boise, and bought
goods, selling to the soldiers. He continued in
that business for five years, or until 1868, when
he turned his attention to speculating in loans,
buying obligations, etc. In 1872 he entered the
First National Bank, of Boise, as bookkeeper, and
was connected with that institution for twenty-
four years. He served for fourteen years as
bookkeeper, four years as assistant cashier and
six years as cashier, and in 1896 retired to private
life. During all that time he was never absent
from the bank with the exception of two weeks,
and his fidelity, trustworthiness and ability, mani-
fested in the discharge of his duties, contributed
not a little to the success of the institution.
On the 30th of August, 1856, Mr. Redway was
happily married to Miss Marv Ann Outterson, a
native of Dublin, Ireland, who at the age of four
years was brought to the United States by her
father, Andrew Outterson, a paper manufacturer,
who made for the government the first paper on
which greenbacks were issued. Mr. and Mrs.
Redway have three children. William Harvey is
now a prosperous and popular merchant of Cald-
well, Idaho. George Francis has for seventeen
years been connected with the First National
Bank of Boise, in which he is now serving as
assistant cashier. The daughter, Elizabeth Char-
lotte, is an accomplisned and successful teacher
in St. Margaret's school, an Episcopal boarding
and day school for girls and young ladies. The
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
449
family have a pleasant and liospitable home in
Boise, and the members of the household occup}'
a very enviable position in social circles. Air.
Redway is a member of the Pioneer Society of
Idaho and of the State Historical Society, and
of the latter is now serving as treasurer.
JAMES A. GERWICK.
Of the commercial interests of \\'eiser James
A. Gerwick is a leading representative. He is
now engaged in the harness and saddlery busi-
ness, and enjoys a liberal patronage which comes
to him from all sections of Washington county.
His conformity to high business principles and
honorable methods, combined with energy and
enterprise, have gained him a foremost place in
mercantile circles, and a well merited success
rewards his efforts.
"Sir. Gerwick came to the west from far-ofT
Pennsylvania. He is a native of Butler county,
that state, and is of German lineage. His parents
are Fred and Lovina (Winters) Gerwick. natives
of Germany, in which land their ancestors had
resided for many generations. The father of our
subject came to the United States with his
parents, the family locating in Pennsylvania. He
was married in Pittsburg, and is now a merchant
in McKeen county, of the Keystone state. In
the familv were eleven children, ten of v,-hom are
living.
Of these James A. Gerwick is tne ninth in
order of birth. He was educated in Pennsylvania
and during his residence in the east carried on
agricultural pursuits. In 1887 he came to Idaho
and engaged in raising sheep, in which industrv
he continued successfully for about thirteen years,
when he sold his sheep for thirteen tliousand and
seven hundred dollars. He had at times owned
as high as five thousand head, and was very
prosperous in that business. He disposed of his
ranch, however, in order to engage in the harness
and saddlery business, which he finds a more
congenial occupation. He has erected a sub-
stantial brick store, which is filled with a largr
line of every class of goods of the kind, and in
the fall of 1898 he added a comnlete line of boots
and shoes. His straightforward deahng, his
earnest desire to please his customers and hi.s
moderate prices have secured to him a liberal
patronage.
In 1888 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Gerwick and Aliss Laura Alonroe, and their
union has been blessed with two sons and a
daughter, — Guy Albert, Roy Leslie and Edith
Luvena. Their home, erected by Mr. Gerwick,
is one of the finest residences in the city, and its
air of culture and good cheer renders it a favorite
resort with tneir many friends. Sociallv Mr. Ger-
wick is connected with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and in his political affiliations is a
Republican. Coming to the west with the hope
of bettering his financial condition, he has nevei-
had occasion to regret the step thus taken, for
prosperity has attended his efforts and due
recognition has been accorded his sterling qual-
ities of character, such as command respect in
every land and clime.
DR. HO.MER D. JONES.
In nearly every community the leading dentist
divides with the family physicians a public con-
fidence which is accorded him to a degree that
is little understood outside the profession. If a
dentist cannot inspire such confidence he never
becomes a leading dentist. The experience of
Hailey emphasizes these facts. Hailey's leading
dentist -is Dr. Homer D. Jones, who is also its
oldest dental practitioner in point of years, of
residence and practice.
Dr. Jones was born in Jeffersonville, Oregon,
April 12, 1867. His father, Ansel Cromwell
Jones, a native of Ohio, was one of the bold and
hardy pioneers who crossed the trackless plains
in 1850 to the then isolated territory of Oregon.
He was one of the first settlers in the beautiful
Willamette valley, and there he met and married
Miss Elizabetli Smith, a native of Pennsylvania,
who had found an abiding place in that far-away
land. He was a successful lawyer, influential in
public affairs and was elected to numerous
offices, representing his people in the Oregon
legislature and otherwise serving their interests
with ability and integrity. He is now living
retired at San Diego, California, and the wife of
his youth is spared to him in his declining years.
He is sixty-seven and she is fifty-one years of
age. They had five children, three of whom arc
living.
Dr. Homer D. Jones was educated at Albany
College, Oregon. After comp'eting his classical
450
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
course he studied dentistry three years under the
preceptorship of Dr. N. W. Davis, of Roseburg,
Oregon. He practiced his profession in his native
state until the summer of 1888. June i, that
year, he located at Hailey, where his skill as a
dental surgeon was at once recognized and where
he has built up a large and successful practice,
which extends to all the country round about.
He has never married.
N. P. NIELSON.
N. P. Nielson, treasurer of Bannock county,
and a pioneer grocer of Pocateho, is a native
of Denmark, his birth having occurred in that
country, September 17, 1852. rie was the second
in order of birth in a family of two sons and two
daughters, whose parents were Peter and Mary
(Henson) Nielson, also natives of the same coun-
try. The subject of this sketch came to America
in 1868, and four years later the rest of the family
also crossed the Atlantic, taking up their resi-
dence in Utah, where the father died at the age
of sixty-four years, the mother passing away
several years previously. The brother of our
subject is also deceased, but the two sisters are
still living.
N. P. Nielson acquired his education in the
schools of his native land, and after coming to
the United States took up his residence in Salt
Lake City, Utah, where he secured a position as
clerk in the old Townsend House. Later he
occupied a similar position in the Keeney House,
in Ogden, Utah, and in 1880 he came to Black-
foot, Idaho, where he assisted in opening a hotel,
also known as the Keeney House. There he
remained until 1885, when he took up his resi-
dence in Pocatello. Here he served as clerk in
the Pacific Hotel for a time, but was soon
afterward elected constable of the town and
served in that capacity for two years, in a most
efficient and acceptable manner. It was then a
rough railroad town of twenty-five hundred pop-
ulation, and his duties were difficult and arduous,
but he discharged them without fear or favor.
In 1888 he established a grocery store, and now
has the distinction of being the oldest in years of
consecutive connection with the trade of any
grocery merchant in Pocatello. He established
this enterprise with but Httle capital, but he had
the necessary requisites of industry and in-
tegrity, and by means of a credit which
he never abused he was enabled to stock
his store and begin operations. Success has
attended his efforts from the beginning,
and in the conduct of his store he is now
assisted by his wife and son. He now has a large
patronage from among the best citizens of
Pocatello and the surrounding country, and not
only owns the grocery stock, but also the store
building in which he is carryinp- on business. In
addition he has a pleasant residence and other
city property, all of which has been acquired
through his own well directed and honorable
efforts.
In 1 88 1 Mr. Nielson was united in marriage to
]\Iiss Hattie Jackson, a native of England, and a
daughter of William Jackson, of Ogden, Utah.
Their union has been blessed with nine children,
and the family circle vet remains unbroken. They
are William E., Niels P., Elvira Pearl, Joseph
Leroy, Mary Ethel, Arthur H., Charlotte Kate,
Matie Cumorah and John Harmon Gilbert. The
parents are members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints and Mr. Nielson is
past master workman of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. In politics he is a Popuhst,
and on that ticket was elected county treasurer,
in which capacity he is now serving. His admin-
istration of the financial affairs of the county is
characterized by the same ability which marks
his business affairs, and the public money has
certainly been entrusted to worthy hands.
JAlMES N. STACY.
One of the most straightforward, ener-
getic and successful business men of Lew-
iston is James N. Stacy, who has also
attained distinction in political circles and
is now the honored state senator from his
district. He is president of the Gold Bar
Mining Company, a director in the Golden Gate
Company and is also extensively engaged in real-
estate dealings. In studying the lives and char
acters of prominent men we are naturally I
inquire into the secret of their success and
motives that prompted their action. Success is
not the result of genius, as held by many, but is
the outcome of experience and sound judgment,
for when we trace the career of those who stand
highest in public esteem, we find that in nearly
char- I
ed to J
d the ■]
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
451
every case they are those who have risen
gradually, fighting their way in the face of all
opposition. Self-reliance, conscientiousness, en-
ergy, honesty, — these are the traits of character
that insure the highest emoluments and greatest
success. To these may we attribute the success
that has crowned the efforts of Senator Stacy.
He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts,
March lo, 1839, and is of English and Scotch
lineage. His ancestors were early settlers of the
east, and the family gradually spread through
New York, Vermont and Massachusetts. His
parents were Ezra and Sophia (Gleason) Stacy,
both of whom were natives of Vermont. The
father was a Methodist in religious faith, and the
mother belonged to the Presbyterian church until
late in life, when she became a Methodist. Both
reached a very ripe old age, and the Stacy family
is one noted for longevity, many of its represen-
tatives reaching ages between ninety and one
hundred years.
James N. Stacy was the eighth in order of
birth in a family of nine children, and when a
little lad of six summers accompanied his parents
on their removal to West Virginia, where he
received a common-school education. In Decem-
ber, 1856, they went to the territory of Minnesota,
locating in Wright county, where for some years
our subject engaged in land surveying.
In 1862, when the Sioux war broke out in
Minnesota, he enlisted in the First Regiment of
Mounted Rangers, for one year, and served for
thirteen months in the Indian war, holding a
commission as second lieutenant. He then
received an honorable discharge, and in August,
1863, he enlisted in Company F, Eleventh Minne-
sota Volunteer Infantry. He was again made
second lieutenant, and with his command was in
active service in the army of the Cumberland
until the close of the war, when he returned to
his home in Wright county. In 1867 he began
business as a general merchant in Monticello,
Minnesota, conducting his store until 1877, after
which he engaged in iron and manganese mining
until 1894. In this enterprise he was very
successful and also extended his operations into
other fields, being a man of resourceful business
ability and carrying forward to successful com-
pletion whatever he undertakes. He was the
organizer and served as president of the Alinne-
sota Mining Company. He engaged in the
manufacture of dry pressed brick and was
instrumental in forming the company which con-
ducted the Minneapolis and the Monticello brick
works. He was also its president, and in addition
to his connection with these interests he dealt
quite extensively in real estate.
His splendid executive ability and his knowl-
edge of the public needs also led to his selection
for political honors. He was elected and served
for six years as auditor of Wright county, was
for two years a member of the house of repre-
sentatives and for a similar period represented his
district in the state senate. He declined the
nomination for congress in the convention of the
fifth congressional district, because of his having
been instructed for another aspirant. He was a
member of the national convention, held in
Chicago, which nominated James G. Blaine for
the presidency, and also of the Republican con-
vention which made Benjamin Harrison its
nominee. He was also offered the position of
United States marshal of the district of Minne-
sota, but declined in favor of another applicant,
and signified his willingness to accept an appoint-
ment as chief of the secret-service bureau instead,
from the secretary of the United States treasury,
William Windom. That appointment was to be
made at the expiration of the term of the then
incumbent, but before the term expired Secretary
Windom died, and his successor did not redeem
the pledge which had been made Mr. Stacy.
In 1894 Mr. Stacy came to Lewiston. He
spent two years in gold mining and then organ-
ized two companies, the Golden Gate and the
Golden Bar Companies. From one of the placer
mines ten thousand eight hundred dollars were
taken, and a number of nuggets were valued from
twenty-three to fifty-two dollars, while five
nuggets were worth one hundred and one dollars
and fifty cents. He is still devoting his attention
to mining and to the real-estate business, and his
capable management is bringing him excellent
financial returns. He is president of the Gold
Bar Mining Company, and one of the directors
in the Golden Gate, which have a capitalization
of one million dollars and a treasury stock of
four hundred thousand. He has always taken a
deep interest in politics, as every true American
citizen should do, has made a careful studv of
453
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
political matters, and no citizen of Idaho is better
informed on the issues of the day. He has always
been a stanch Republican and on that ticket he
was elected to the state senate from Nez Perces
county in 1898. He soon took a prominent place
among the leaders of his party and was largely
mstrumental in securing much needed legislation.
He served with ability as chairman of the com-
mittees on rules and public lands, and was
a member of the committees on appro-
priations, judiciary and mines and mining.
He introduced and secured the passage of a
number of important bills, made an important
record, and though strongly partisan, won the
warm friendship of many of the Democratic
members.
In 1869 'Sir. Stacy was united in marriage to
j\Iiss Augusta E. Granger, a native of Illinois,
and a daughter of Joseph Granger, of that state.
Their union has been blessed with three children,
but only one is now living, Emma A. Mr. and
]\Irs. Stacy and daughter are valued members of
the Methodist church, contribute liberally to it?
support and take an active part in its work. Mr.
Stacy' is also a valued representative of the
Masonic fraternity, the Order of the Eastern Star
and the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a
genial, cordial gentleman, and his ready wit and
fun make him a most entertaining companion.
He is also a most interesting and fluent speaker,
and, well informed, progressive and enterprising,
he stands to-day one of the leading representative
men of the state, — a man who is a power in his
comnumitv.
' MICHAEL C. NORMOYLE.
In the olden days the kings and rulers of
countries erected palaces, temples or shrines in
honor of themselves and to serve as monuments
perpetuating their memory after they had passed
awav, but how much more does one do for
civilization and his fellow men who aids in the
substantial upbuilding of a city, the promotion
of enterprises that add to its prosperity or the
establishment of movements that produce prog-
ress and improvement along intellectual, social
and material lines. Such Michael Charles
Normoyle has done. No resident of Kendrick
through the past nine years has done more for
the city than he, for throua:h the establishment
and conduct of private business interests he has
led to the improvement and growth of the town.
He is a most loyal and public-spirited citizen, and
is now the possessor of a handsome capital, which
has come to him through his own labors. A bell-
boy in a hotel at the age of ten, he is now
proprietor of the St. Elmo Hotel, one of the best
in the state of Idaho, and has other extensive and
profitable investments which render him the
heaviest tax-payer in Kendrick.
A native of Troy, New York, Mr. Normoyle
was born September 8, 1853, and is of Irish
lineage. His parents, John and Bessie (Clancy)
Normoyle. were both born in Ireland, and came
to the United States with their resoective parents
in 1834. They were reared and married in Troy,
New York, where the father followed his trade
of stone-cutting. He departed this life in the
forty-third year of age, but his wife survives him
and now resides in Kendrick, with her son
Michael, at the age of seventy-five years. They
were devout members of the Catholic church. Of
their six children three are now living.
Michael C. Normoyle, whose, name introduces
this review, was educated in the city of Denver,
Colorado, and began his present successful
career as a bell-boy in a hotel in Washington,
D. C, when but ten years of age. He was then
an active, bright, good-looking little fellow, who
became very popular on account of his obliging
ways, and by his fidelity to duty he steadily
worked his way upward, becoming successively
waiter, steward and clerk, and when but eighteen
years of age was proprietor of the Lindell Hotel,
in Denver, Colorado. He successfully conducted
it for five years, and then conducted all the eating-
houses on the Rio Grande Railroad for five years.
Subsequently he was actively engaged in the
hotel business, conducting two hotels at a time
for three years, after which he went to Palouse
City, where he was in business as proprietor of
the St. Elmo Hotel for two years, meeting with
p-ratifying prosperity in his undertakings.
In 1890 Mr. Normoyle came to Kendrick. and
has been identified with the growth of the town
almost from the beginning. He built a frame
hotel — the first in the place — and therein enter-
tained the visitors to Kendrick until 1892, when
the building was destroyed by fire, entailing a
loss of fourteen thousand dollars, the accumula-
tion of manv vears of active business life. \\'itli
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
453
remarkable enterprise, however, he continued to
care for his patrons in tents until more substan-
tial quarters could be secured. Men of means,
believing implicitly in his business ability and
integrity, offered to advance him the means with
which to erect a new hotel, and thus he was
enabled to build the St. Elmo, a fine brick
structure, together with the St. Elmo block, a
two-story brick. These are the finest buildings
of the town and the confidence in the future of
Kendrick which Mr. Normoyle thus displayed
by the erection of these substantial structures
has been an important factor in the further
upbuilding of the place, by causing others to
invest in realty here. The hotel, two stories
high, is built in the form of an L, sixty by
ninety-two feet, the first story with sixteen feet
between joists, the second eleven feet. It is
fitted up with fine offices and Darlors and twenty-
four handsome sleeping apartments, and supplied
with every modern convenience which will min-
istef to the comfort of the guests. His patronage
is so large that he also utilizes several rooms on
the second floor of adjoining buildings. He is a
most popular landlord, and his earnest desire to
please his patrons, his genuine interest in their
welfare, and his cordial, genial manner have
gained for him many friends among the visitors
to Kendrick.
The St. Elmo block is sixty by seventy-five
feet, two stories in height, the lower floor making
a fine double store, while the second story is
fitted up with scenery, stage and chairs, making
a most pleasing little opera house, where many
attractive entertainments are offered the citizens
of the town. Mr. Normoyle takes a deep interest
in everything pertaining to the welfare of
Kendrick, and lends an active support to all
measures for the public good. He was one of
the founders of the First National Bank of Ken-
drick, one of its stockholders and a member of
the directorate. He is the owner of a fine farm
of one hundred and forty-eight acres of land
adjoining the tow-n, whereon he raises cattle,
hogs, poultry, vegetables and fruit, thus supply-
ing the hotel with nearlv everything demanded by
the table. He is president of the company which
has furnished Kendrick with its splendid water
system, the water supply being obtained from a
spring on his propert}', four hundred and five
feet above the town. They have a reservoir with
a capacity of six hundred thousand n-allons, three
hundred feet head and on the main street a
pressure of one hundred and sixty nounds to the
square inch. He also has large and valuable
mining interests. He furnished food and pro-
visions to the miners who, it is believed,
rediscovered the lost Robinson gold quartz
mines. To operate this mine a large corporation
has been formed, composed of many of the
leading capitalists of Spokane, under the name of
the Syndicate Gold Mining Company, and Mr.
Normoyle was elected its vice-president and is
one of its heavy stockholders. The mine is
located in Shoshone county, in what is known as
the Burnt Creek mining district, three and a half
miles north of the north fork of the Clearwater
river, thirty-two miles from Kendrick and twenty
miles west of Pierce City. There has been over
six hundred feet of work done, and competent
experts estimate more than one thousand tons of
high grade ore in sight, an average of eighty
dollars in gold being obtained. iNIr. Normoyle
is entitled to the credit for the assay and develop-
ing work tnat has been done in this mine.
In 1872 he was united in marriage to Miss
Marv Aggara, and to them was born a son,
Thomas Francis, who is now clerk of the district
court at Butte, Montana, and a member of the
Montana state legislature, and he is now only
twenty-five years of age. The mother died in
1885, and Mr. Normoyle was again married, in
Kendrick, in 1891, his second union being with
Arra Nichols. They have two very bright little
sons, George W. and Edwin N. The father is a
valued member of the Masonic fraternity, the
Eastern Star and of the Odd Fellows society, of
which he is representative for Idaho to the grand
lodge of the state of Louisiana. He is a charter
member of Kendrick Lodge, No. 26, F. & A. M.,
formerly served as master and is now its efficient
secretary. In politics he is a Democrat, but has
had neither time nor inclination to seek office,
although he served as a member of tne first city
council of Kendrick. He possesses marked busi-
ness and executive ability, keen discrimination
and sound judgment, and his resolute purpose
has enabled him to carry forward to successful
completion whatever he has undertaken. His
life has been well si>cnt and successful, and his
454
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
capital is the merited reward of indefatigable
effort. In manner he is free from all ostentation
and display, but his intrinsic worth is recognized
and his friendship is most prized by those who
know him best, showing that his character will
bear the scrutiny of close acquaintance. He is a
generous-spirited, broad-minded man, a true type
of the American spirit and an embodiment of that
progress which in the last few years has drawn
to this country the admiring gaze of the nations
of the world.
FREDERICK CRETE, SR.
One of the most successful pioneer citizens of
Silver City is Frederick Crete, who is a native of
Hanover, Cermany, where he was born in
August, 1833. He is a brother of John Crete, Sr.,
whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this
volume. While still a young man Mr. Crete de-
cided to try his fortunes in the New World, of
which he had heard so much, and bidding adieu
to the Fatherland and all its happy associations,
he embarked on a vessel which landed him in
New York city in 1852. From there he found his
way to Attleboro, Massachusetts, where for some
time he worked at the jewelry business.
In 1858 Mr. Crete became a victim of the
California fever and took a trip to the land of
gold by way of the isthmus of Panama, sailing
on the steamer John L. Stephens. He remained
in California until 1865, during that time study-
ing and practicing dentistry, and then removed to
Silver City, where he carried on his profession
for some years. He also had a store at a place
called Fairview, on Eagle mountain. This town
was burned out in 1875 and Mr. Crete lost all
his property. Soon after this the great excite-
ment caused by the discovery of gold in the Black
Hills swept over the land, and our subject started
with hundreds of others to test the truth of the
reports. He traveled as far as Cheyenne,
Wyoming, but on reaching there received some
intelligence from Silver City which caused him to
return, and soon afterward he started the Silver
City brewery, which he has since carried on with
great success. He is also the owner of the
Brewery saloon. Mr. Crete is largely interested
in the San Juan group of mines on War Eagle
mountain. They are now running a tunnel under-
neath the veins wliich they have been working.
and from which many thousands of dollars have
been taken. Three hundred feet of this tunnel
have been completed and two hundred remain
yet to be excavated, when it is expected that
very rich ore will be struck.
Mr. Crete was married in 1862, in the old town
of Shasta, California, to Miss Wilhelmina Korn-
mann, a native of New York city, born in 1843,
and a sister of Mrs. John Crete, Sr. She has been
a resident of California since 1861. Of this union
six children have been born, of whom three are
living namely: Charles H., a well known mer-
chant of Silver City; Ida, the wife of Severon
Moe, a jeweler of Silver City; and Edward, who
is associated with his father in business.
Mr. Crete is a silver Republican, but does not
take a prominent part in politics. He is a much
esteemed member of the Odd Fellows fraternity,
receiving the degrees in Owyhee Lodge, No. 2,
in 1869. He has passed all the chairs and has
several times represented his lodee in the grand
lodge. Mrs. Crete is past noble grand in -the
lodge of Daughters of Rebekah, and is also a
member of the St. James Cuild. She is highly
esteemed for her kindness and benevolence, and
with her husband shares the regard of a large
circle of friends.
JOHN J. OWEN.
The history of the first things is always inter-
esting. In any town the first settler's is the
name most carefully preserved. The places where
he established his home and first worked at his
primitive vocation are carefully noted, and his
deeds and words are recounted often and witn
increasing interest as generations succeed one
another. There lives in Cenesee, Idaho, a man,
now the postmaster of the city, who was its
pioneer in more ways than one. and it is the
purpose of the biographer to record now a brief
statement of the facts of his life and of his resi-
dence in the town with whose progress he has
been so long and closely identified.
John J. Owen is of English and Welsh
ancestry and was born in Birmingham, England,
January 30, 1843, a son of John and ]\Iatilda
(Jordan) Owen. In 1849, when he was six years
old, the family came to the United States. It
consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Owen, John J. and two
sisters. Charles, an older son, had been lost at
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
sea. W. H., the youngest of the family, was
born after the others came to this country and
is now Hving in Minnesota. The family settled
at Jacksonville, Illinois, where the elder Owen
found work as a tinner, a trade which lie had
learned and at which he had been employed in
England. Later the family lived successively in
Mason county and in Iroquois county, Illinois:
and there John Owen died at the age of seventy-
seven, after having survived his wife several
years. They had been reared in the Baptist
faith, and later in life allied themselves with the
Seventh-day Adventists. Their two daughters
married well.
John J. Owen was educated at the Grand
Prairie Seminary, in Illinois, and at Milton
Academy, at ^lilton. Wisconsin. He was in
school when the civil war began, and threw down
his books to respond to President Lincoln's first
call for troops. He enlisted in Company C, Fifty-
seventh Illinois \'olunteer Infantry, while yet a
boy in his 'teens, served with this regiment until
the end of its term of enlistment, and was the
only member of it who made himself a veteran
by re-enlistment. As a member of Company I
of the same regiment he served until the close of
the hostilities. His regiment was attached to the
command of General Jotin A. Logan, who was
in charge of the Western Department, and young
Ow^en fought at Fort Donelson, Altoona Pass,
Goldsboro. Shiloh, Corinth (second regiment 1,
Buzzard's Roost creek. Bee creek and Resaca.
After that the regiment was transferred to the
command of General W. T. Sherman and fol-
lowed him on his famous march from Atlanta to
the sea. When the war was at the end he
participated in the grand review of the victorious
army at Washington. He received an honorable
discharge from the service and was mustered out
at Louisville, Kentucky, and returned to his
home, a victor and a veteran, and at once settled
down to the peaceful vocation of a tinner and
hardware dealer.
From 1868 to 1876 he was a farmer in
Nebraska. Then after two years' residence at
Sacramento, California, he went to Astoria, Ore-
gon. The steamer Great Republic, on which,
with his wife and two daughters, he took passage,
was wrecked. The disaster occurred unex
pectedly, at four o'clock in the morning, when
all the passengers were asleep in their state-
rooms. They were a day on the wreck before
they were taken off by life-boats. Mr. Ow^en lost
all he had, even to his family records, and was so
glad that he and his wife and daughters were
alive that he felt little like finding fault. He
went with his family to Knappa, Oregon, and
from there, in 1885, thev removed to Moscow,
Idaho. Two years later he came to Genesee.
When he arrived here only one little shantv had
been erected in the town, and on a lot which he
purchased he proceeded to put the first building
dignified and made habitable by a shingle roof.
This was Genesee's pioneer hotel, which he suc-
cessfully managed four years, or until he was
appointed industrial teacher in the Indian agency.
Two years later the school was discontinued and
Mr. Owen returned to Genesee, took his hotel of?
the hands of a lessee who had been running it in
his absence and again assumed its personal
direction, which he retained until he sold the
property.
In 1897 Mr. Owen was appointed postmaster
of Genesee, then a fourth-class post-ofifice. Not
long afterward it was advanced to the third class,
and he received his appointment from President
AIcKinley. He has added greatlv to the facilities
of the office and, with the assistance of A'Irs.
Owen, who is his deputy, he is giving Genesee
the best mail service the city ever had.
Mr. Owen married, in 1867. Aliss Thalia L.
Krunn, a native of Ohio, and a woman of many
virtues and accomplishments. She has borne
him three daughters, Mettie E., now Mrs. A. W.
Conway: Nettie, wife of Captain A. McKing, of
the United States signal service, Philippine
islands: and Cora Matilda, who is a member of
her father's household. Mr. Owen is a Knight of
Pythias and an Odd Fellow and a comrade of the
Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Owen is a
member of the Relief Corps, an adjunct of the
local Grand Army post, and of the Rathbone
Sisters, a woman's organization connected with
the Knights of Pythias. In the Grand Army
work Mr. Owen has been especially prominent,
and he has been elected to many important offices
in his post. He has been a lifelong Republican
and has served as city marshal of Genesee and
was a member of the first city council. Mr. and
Airs. Owen have a home where comfort and quiet
456
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
elegance prevail, and its generous hospitality is
partaken of by the best people of Genesee and
all the country round about. Mr. Owen is a
popular citizen, and in the best sense, he wears
the honors of a pioneer of the day of small things
for Genesee, and is prominently identified with
the leading interests of the modern progressive
citv.
PETER ADAI\IS.
For a third of a century Peter Adams has
been a resident of Owyhee county, and has been
identified with the important work of taking from
the mountain side the rich mineral deposits and
securing the valuable metals that they may be
used in connection with the commercial activity
of the nation. He came to the west from the far-
ofif Empire state, his birth having occurred in
Dunkirk, New York, on the 24th of February,
1837. The Adams family is of Scotch origin, and
the parents of our subject were Peter and Jane
(Brodie) Adams, residents of Buffalo, New York.
The father followed the business of stone-cutting
and contracting, and died in the forty-seventh
year of his age. His wife, surviving him manv
years, was called to her final rest at tlie age of
seventy-six. They were members of the Presby-
terian church, and were people of the highest in-
tegrity and respectability.
Peter Adams, who was one of their familv of
seven children, was reared and educated in Xew
York, and in 1864 crossed the plains to California,
where he engaged in the butchering business for
two years. In i866 he went to Silver City, Idaho,
and soon afterward formed a partnership with
T. W. Jones, since which time they have done
a large and profitable business as contractors and
builders. They have constructed many of the
hoisting works and erected many of the resi-
dences of Silver City and vicinity, and substantial
and attractive structures stand as monuments to
their skill and enterprise. For a number of vears
they were also in the furniture business. Mr.
Adams is now the owner of the Garfield group of
mines, located in the Corson district, one-haU'
mile from De Lamar. Here he has the Garfield,
Gold Hill, North End, and Chief mines, and he
was the shipper of the first ore sent from the De
Lamar district over the Short Line Railroad to
Salt Lake, Denver and Omaha. He also built
the first quartz mill in the De Lamar district.
He has three thousand feet of tunnels and has
large quantities of gold and silver ore in sight,
so that there is every evidence of continued pros-
perity.
In 1863 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Adams and Aliss Etta Wells, and to them was
born a daughter, Jennie, who is now the wife
of James L. Napier. The mother died in 1891,
at Salt Lake, and Mr. Adams has not remarried.
In his political affiliations he is a silver Repub-
lican and has given close and earnest study to the
issues and questions which now demand the
public attention. He has been honored with
office, having represented his district in the terri-
torial legislature in 1872, while in 1898 he was
again the nominee for that position. He is a
progressive and public-spirited man, deeply inter-
ested in the welfare of his county and stale, and
withholds his co-operation from no movement
for the general good.
FRANZ L. KOEHLER.
The sturdy German element in our national
commonwealth has been one of the most import-
ant factors in furthering the substantial and
normal advancement of the country, for this is an
element signally appreciative of practical values
and also of the higher intellectuality which trans-
cends all provincial confines. \\'ell may any
person take pride in tracing his lineage to such a
source. As one of the able and enterprising
citizens whom the German Fatherland has con-
tributed to the United States, and as one of the
prominent and progressive citizens of the flour-
ishing town of ]\Ioscow, Latah county, Idaho,
Franz Louis Koehler is worthy of distinct recog-
nition in this work.
Mr. Koehler is a native of the provmce of
Bavaria, Germany, where he was born on the
8th of October, 1859, coming of stanch old
German stock. He received his educational
discipline in the excellent schools of the Father-
land and there instituted his association with the
practical affairs of life by learning the brewing
business, a line of enterprise in which the sons
of the German empire have ever been the leaders.
He was employed in the leading breweries of his
native land, becoming thoroughly familiar with
every detail of the business and with the methods
employed to secure the maximum excellence in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
45r
products. Finally determining- to try his for-
tunes in the New World, j\lr. Koehler embarked
for the United States in the year 1883, the vessel
on which he secured passage dropping anchor in
the harbor of Xew York city in due course of
time. Upon his arrival here he was entirely
unfamiliar with the language of his adopted
country, but was amply fortified by strong men-
tality, industrious habits, a thorough knowledge
of the brewing business, and by a cash capital
of one thousand dollars, with which to make a
start for himself. Mr. Koehler readily secured
employment in the line of his trade, and worked
in leading breweries at Cmcinnati and St. Louis
prior to removing to the far west. He eventually
became a resident of Portland, Oregon, where he
was engaged in work at his trade and whence he
came to Idaho, becoming foreman of the Boise
City Brewery, where he remained until 1890,
when he came to Moscow, where he effected a
lease of the Moscow Brewery, which he con-
tinued to operate on this plan until 1895, when
he purchased the property. He forthwith
remodeled the plant, supplying it with the most
modern and approved facilities, increased its
capacity to meet the demands of his rapidlv
expanding business, and has made the brewery
a model, both in its equipment and in the super-
iority of its product. Mr. Koehler is an expert
in the brewing business, and in addition to this is
not satisfied with anything short of the highest
grade of products, so that he spares neither care
nor expense in his efforts to insure desired
results. He utilizes the finest oarley erown in
the Palouse valley and the^best Oregon hops,
while every process of the manufacture is con-
ducted with the single view of securing the
highest possible excellence. Adulterated or
improperly matured stock he will not tolerate,
and this fact is recognized and aporeciated bv
the public, whose patronage is thus freeh'
accorded, so that the business is constantlx-
increasing in extent and importance, the products
of the brewery being sold principally in Moscow
and contiguous territory. The product is pro-
nounced by competent judges to be equal in
flavor and permanency to the best eastern beers,
and there is a perceptibly increasing demand for
it. The capacity of the brewery is two thousand
barrels per annum.
In the city of Spokane, Washington, in the
year 1891, Mr. Koehler was united in marriage to
Aliss Bertie Herman, a native of Switzerland,,
and their happy home has been brightened by
the presence of a son and a daughter, — Adolph
Louis and Freda Emma. ^Ir. and Mrs. Koehler
are communicants of the Roman Catholic church
and in politics our subject gives his support to
the Republican party. He is a man whose relia-
bility and integrity are beyond question, and he
merits the respect and esteem which are so uni-
formly accorded him in the community where he
.lives and in whose advancement he maintains a
lively interest.
CHARLES W. SHAFF, M. D.
Holding marked prestige as a member of the
medical profession of Idaho is Dr. Charles W.
ShafT, of Lewiston, now the honored president^
of the State Medical Association. In the learned
professions advancement depends upon the man,
his talents, his skill and his ambition. The phy-
sician's power is especially his own ; not by pur-
chase, by gift or by influence can he gain it. He
must commence at the very beginning, learn the
very rudiments of medicine and surgery, con-
tinually add to this knowledge by close study
and earnest application, and gain reputation by
merit. If he would gain the highest prominence
it must come as the result of superior skill, knowl-
edge and ability, — which qualifications are pos-
sessed in an eminent degree by Dr. Shaff. He is
known throughout the state as one of the most
eminent members of the profession in Idaho, and
his opinions are widely received as authority.
The life history of such a man is always of
profit as well as interest. The Doctor has spent
his entire life on the Pacific coast, his birth hav-
ing occurred in Eldorado county, California, July
6, 1855. During the colonial history of New
York his ancestors, natives of Germany, located
in the Empire state, and representatives of the
family loyally served their country in the Revo-
lutionary war and in the war of 181 2. The Doc-
tor's father, Joseph Shaff, was born in New York
and married Miss Betsy Matilda Scott, a native
of \'ermont, and a descendant of two of the
prominent families of the Green Mountain state,
— the Scotts and the Woods. Some of her ances-
tors were among the Green Mountain bovs who
458
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
won fame for their daring and gallant conduct
in the struggle for independence. The Scott fam-
ily was founded in America in 1622, a settlement
being made on Manhattan Island. The Doctor's
parents were married in Prairie du Chien, Wis-
consin, in 1848, and in 1852 went to California by
way of the isthmus route. The father was en-
gaged in mining there until 1857, and the follow-
ing year removed with his family to Oregon,
purchasing a farm near Salem, where he
made his home until his death, devoting his
energies to agricultural pursuits. He died in
1880, at the age of fifty-nine years, and his wife,
now sixty-seven years of age, is still living on
the old homestead, near Salem. They had four
sons, of whom only two are living.
Dr. ShafT, the second in order of birth, began
his education in the common schools, later pur-
sued a three years' course in the Willamette Uni-
versity, and also took a full course in the Pacific
University, at Forest Grove, graduating from the
last named institution in the class of 1877. Deter-
mining to devote his attention to the practice of
medicine, he became a student in the medical
department of the Iowa State University, where
he was graduated in 1881. Immediately after-
ward he began the practice of his profession in
Brownsville,- Oregon, where he remained for two
years, but becoming favorably impressed with
Lewiston, its location and its prospects, he deter-
mined to locate here, and in 1883 opened his
office. From the beginning he has met with
very marked success, and the volume of his
practice is an indication of his ability. He has
put forth every efTort to perfect himself in his
chosen life work, and took a year's post-gradu-
ate work in the New York City Post Graduate
School. His careful diagnosis of a case, his
comprehensive knowledge of the science of medi-
cine and his marked skill in applying medical
principles to the needs of suffering humanity
have gained him a foremost place among the
representatives of the medical fraternity of Idaho.
He enjoys a large practice, which comes from
the best families of Lewiston and the surround-
ing district, and his standing among his profes-
sional brethren is shown by the honor conferred
upon him by his election to the office of presi-
dent of the Idaho State Medical Society.
The Doctor is also a prominent and active
:Mason and Odd Fellow, and is past master in the
former organization and past grand in the latter.
He has been a lifelong Republican, has served
for two terms as regent of the State University,
and is now serving his second term as a trustee
of the State Normal School. For eight years he
has been a member of the school board of Lewis-
ton, and his deep interest in educational matters
is shown by his efficient efforts in behalf of the
schools, which owe not a little of their progress
to his labors and influence.
The Doctor was happily married, in 1888, to
Miss Rena M. Poe, the stepdaughter of Judge
Poe, a prominent lawyer and citizen of Lewiston.
They now have a lovely little daughter, Terressa
Louisa. Mrs. Shaff is a lady of great refinement
and culture, and a graduate of the Boston Con-
servatory of Music. She has superior talent as a
musician, and her accomplishments in that direc-
tion form an important feature of many social
functions. The Doctor and his wife are both
very agreeable, genial people, and have drawn
about them a host of warm friends, including
Lewiston's best people.
JOSEPH R. NUMBERS, M. D.
A member of the medical fraternity of Weiser,
Washington county. Dr. Numbers was born in
Lexington, Ohio, May 30, 1864, and traces his
ancestry back to some of the early colonists of
Pennsylvania, who were of German lineage. His
father, Esau Numbers, was born in the Keystone
state, November i, 1816, and became one of the
pioneer farmers of Ohio, whither he removed in
1840. He married Miss Anna Smith, of western
Ohio, and to them were born eight children, but
only three are now living. Their eldest son, Will-
iam Numbers, died in the service of his country
in the great civil war, losing his life at Cumber-
land Gap. The mother departed. this life in 1877,
at the age of fifty-six years, and in 1888 the
father accompanied Dr. Numbers to Idaho,
spending his last days in Weiser, where his death
occurred when he had reached the advanced age
of eighty-two years.
Dr. Numbers acquired his literary education in
the Ohio Central College and prepared for his
profession in the Eclectic Medical Institute, of
Cincinnati, where he was graduated in the class
of 1885. He entered upon the practice of his
^^(^/(-^^^^^^^ )^^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
459
chosen calling in Kansas, where he remained one
)-ear, and then went to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
being a representative of the medical fraternity
of that city for two years. Since 1888 he has
been a resident of Weiser, where he has built up a
large and lucrative practice that many an older
physician might well envy. He has a broad, com-
prehensive and accurate knowledge of the prin-
ciples of the science of medicine and by the faith-
ful performance of each day's duty he finds
strength and inspiration for the labors of the
next. His efiforts have been attended with excel-
lent success, and the public and the profession
accord him a foremost place among the able prac-
titioners of this section of the state. He is a
valued member of the Idaho Medical Society,
the National Medical Society, and of the board of
medical examiners of the state. Through these
connections, as well as through the perusal of
some of the leading medical journals of the coun-
try, he keeps abreast with all the advancement
that is continually being made in methods of
medical practice.
In 1887 the Doctor was united in marriage to
Miss Mary B. Swartz, of Topeka, Kansas, and
by their union have been born three children;
Donald S., Joseph Reno and Josephine. The
Doctor and his family occupy a high place in the
esteem of their fellow-citizens. In 1886 h^e was
made a Mason in Carbondale Lodge, No. 72,
A. F. & A. M., of Kansas, and is a past master.
He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fra-
ternity and to the Modern Woodmen of the
World. He devotes his time and energies almost
exclusively to his profession and his ability has
gained him a gratifying degree of success.
LOUIS ELG.
The man who first used gas for illumination
at Idaho Falls, who put in the first telephone and
who set up the first soda fountain in the town,
is Louis Elg, druggist. Front and Maine streets.
In other respects Mr. Elg has been a pioneer
as well. His life has been a busy and eventful
one and its important details are well worth the
writing and the reading. He was born in Swe-
den, June 8, 1853, and is descended from a long
line of Swedish ancestors. His father, also named
Louis Elg, was an iron-worker and was frozen
to death, at the age of forty-eight, in 1867. His
son Louis was then fourteen years old, and on
him devolved much of the task of providing for
the widow and her seven other children. He
worked in a nail factory and in due course of
time learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1874,
when he was twenty-one years old, he came to
America. His mother is still living in her native
land, being eighty years old.
When Mr. Elg came to the United States he
found himself seriously handicapped in his efforts
to get on by reason of his total ignorance of the
prevailing language of the country, but that was
only one of the difficulties which he overcame as
time passed. He stopped for a while in Chi-
cago, and then located in Boone county, Iowa,
and worked for a time in the coal mines there.
After that he made his way to Omaha, Nebraska,
where he found employment as a blacksmith.
Later he worked in Van Dorn's machine shop
and after that the vicissitudes of fortune made
him in turn the driver of a grocery wagon and a
barkeeper. In 1879 he went to Rollins, Wyo-
ming, and again worked at his trade. Then he
attached himself to the work gang that was
constructing the railroad which connects Idaho
Falls with the outside world, and worked in the
building department until operations had ex-
tended as far as Dillon, Montana. From that
point he returned to Red Rock and opened a
saloon and ran it for a time at a profit. From
Red Rock he came to Idaho Falls, where he
accepted a situation as barkeeper and later bought
a half interest in the saloon in which he was
employed. Still later he engaged in the saloon
business alone and continued in it successfully
until 1895, when he abandoned the enterprise
to open his drug store. He has erected a build-
ing at Front and Maine streets, which contains
two large stores, one of which he rents and one
of which he occupies. He carries a large stock
of drugs, medicines, toilet articles, paints, oils
and such other goods as are usually found in the
best drug stores. He also deals extensively in
coal and ice and is the owner of considerable
town property and a fine farm of one hundred
and sixty acres.
Mr. Elg is a Democrat, but devotes little time
or attention to practical politics. He is an en-
terprising and public-spirited citizen, who takes a
deep and abiding interest in the development and
4G0
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
prosperity of Idaho Falls, and there is no
measure for the enhancement of the public weal
that does not have his generous support. He is
a ^Master jMason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of
Pythias.
In 1887 Mr. Elg married Charlotte Salstrom,
a native of Sweden, and they have a son, named
Edward August. :\Irs. Elg is identified with the
Lutheran church.
DONALD S. McCREA.
]\Ir. JMcCrea, who is a hardware merchant of
Kendrick, and one of the early settlers of the
town, dates his residence here from August, 1891.
A native of Minnesota, he was born February 10.
1862, and is of Scotch-Irish descent, his ancestors
having been early settlers of New Brunswick.
His parents were both natives of that country,
and were reared, married and educated there.
The father was Andrew McCrea and the mother
bore the maiden name of Lydia Jane Murphy.
Soon after their marriage they removed to Min-
nesota, where Andrew McCrea became a promi-
nent lumberman. He was a gentleman of abil-
ity and influence and served as a member of the
Minnesota legislature, both in the house and
senate. Later in life he removed to Spokane,
Washington, where he was connected with the
Great Northern Railroad Company until his
death, which occurred in 1894, at the age of sixty-
one years. His wife departed this life in 1876,
at the age of forty-seven years. They had a fam-
ily of ten children, eight of whom are living.
Donald S. ]\IcCrea, the fifth in order of birth,
was educated in the public schools of his native
state, and there learned the hardware business.
In 1 88 1, at Warren, Minnesota, he established
a store of his own in that line, conducting the
same for three years, when he removed to Rock;
ford, Washington, where he carried on a hard-
ware store for eight years. On the expiration
of that period he came to Kendrick, in 1891, and
organized the hardware firm of McCrea Brothers
& Company. After some time he bought out his
partners, and is now the sole owner of the busi-
ness. He has a good brick store building, in
the center of the business district, and by close
attention to his store, by honorable dealing and
by courteous treatment of his patrons he has
secured a large and constantly growing trade.
which extends all over the rich Potlatch country
and even comes from a distance of sixty-five
miles. He carries a large stock of shelf and heavy
hardware, doors, window-glass, iron, steel, farm-
ing implements and coal, and his sales have now
reached a very desirable volume. In addition to
his store building he has a large warehouse, in
which to place the stock until needed.
Mr. McCrea exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the Repub-
lican party, and has served as a member of the
city council of Kendrick. He has been a trustee
in the Knights of Pythias lodge and is also a
member of the Modern Woodmen of the World. ■
He was married, in 1883 to Miss Dora M. Davies, "
a native of Wisconsin, but after three years of
happy married life she was called to the home
beyond, leaving a beautiful little daughter, Dora
Viola, who is now attending school at Spokane. I
Mrs. McCrea was a most estimable lady, and her ^
many admirable qualities endeared her to all who
knew her. Mr. McCrea has maintained a most
honorable record throughout the whole of his
business career, as well as in private life, and is a
useful and popular citizen of Kendrick. He has
been the architect of his own fortunes and has
builded wisely and well. His honorable methods
and indefatigable industry formed the foundation
of the structure, which is substantial and endur-
ing.
FRANK L. MOORE.
The junior member of the prominent law
firm of Forney, Smith & Moore, of Moscow, is
Frank Latham !Moore, who was born in Olm-
stead county, Minnesota, February 8, 1863, and
is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The family was early
founded in Canada, the great-grandfather of our
subject being its progenitor there. The grand-
father, Chauncy Moore, was born in Canada, and
when a young man removed with his family to
Rochester, New York, where Reuben Billings
Moore, father of our subject, was born in 1826.
The grandfather removed from Rochester to Put-
nam county, Illinois, where he secured land from
the government and made his home until his
death, in 1844, when he had reached the age of
forty-three years. His wife was a cousin of Cap-
tain Johnson, who fought in the war of 1812, and
is credited with having killed the Indian chief
and warrior, Tecumseh. Her people were of Ger-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
461
man descent and were early settlers of the Mo-
hawk valley.
In 1849 Reuben B. Moore crossed the plains
to California with oxen, being the first to arrive
at Sutter's Fort that year. He mined on Feather
river, but was principally engaged in construct-
ing ditches and flumes to convey water to the
miners. He met with a satisfactory degree of
success during his ten-years residence in Cali-
fornia, and then returned to Illinois. Soon after-
ward he removed to Rochester, Minnesota, where
he purchased a farm. In 1859 he married Miss
Adele Buckland, a native of Cattaraugus county,
New York, and to them were born four children.
Frank Latham j\Ioore, their eldest child, was
educated in the public schools of Rochester,
Alinnesota, was graduated in the high school with
the class of 1879, ^"d was graduated in the law
department of the Michigan State University, at
Ann Arbor, in 1888. Soon afterward he came to
the Pacific coast and practiced his profession for
four years in Palouse City, Washington. In April,
1893, he came to Moscow, and in November,
1894, the present law firm of Forney, Smith &
!Moore was organized.
In Alarch, 1893, Mr. Moore married Miss A'ina
Deavitt, a native of Canada, and they now have
two children, Gladys and Latham.
C. .•\. S. PROSSER, M. D.
For six years a distinguished member of the
medical profession of Boise, honored and re-
spected in every class of society. Dr. C. A. S.
Prosser is numbered among the leading citizens
of his community. In the great competitive
struggle of life, when each must enter the field
and fight his way to the front, or else be over-
takeq by disaster of circumstance or place, there
is ever particular interest attaching to the life of
one who has turned the tide of success and has
shown his ability to cope with others in their rush
for the coveted goal. This Dr. Prosser has done
and his high standing in his profession is an
unmistakable indication of his ability.
A native of Ontario, Canada, he was born in
Lunenburg, on the 29th of January, 1864. For
three generations the family has resided in Can-
ada, but the ancestry can be traced back to Eng-
land. The great-grandfather of our subject
located in New England, but during the war of
the Revolution, owing to his loyalty to the king,
he removed to Canada, accompanied by his fam-
ily, which included Jesse Prosser, the Doctor's
grandfather. The latter fought on the side of
Great Britain in the war of 1812, and his son,
Henry Calvin Prosser, participated in the war
of 1837, in Canada, fighting at Prescott, at what
was called the Windmill battle. He married Ann
Eliza Wade, of Fort Covington, New York, a
lady of English ancestry, who died in 1863.
Henry Prosser, however, is still living, at the ad-
vanced age of seventy-nine years, and through
his active business career successfully carried on
agricultural pursuits.
Dr. Prosser is the youngest of a family of six
children, and was reared on his father's farm,
while in the common schools of his native land
he acquired his elementary education. At the
age of eighteen years he removed to Le Mars,
Iowa, where he began the study of medicine
under the direction of his brother. Dr. W. O.
Prosser, a graduate of McGill Medical Col-
lege, of Montreal, Canada. He also won the de-
grees of L. R. C. P. and L. R. C. S., of Edinburg.
In March, 1887, C. A. S. Prosser was graduated
at Bellevue Hospital ]\Iedical College, of New
York city, after which he practiced his profession
for six months in Potsdam, New York. He then
took charge of his brother's business while the
latter took a much needed rest and upon the return
of his brother, Dr. Prosser, of this review, opened
an office on his own account in Marcus^ Iowa,
where he soon built up an excellent business.
In 1893 he entered the Post-Graduate Medical
School, of Chicago, and then, on account of his
health, he determined not to return to Iowa, but
to try the climate of Idaho. Accordingly he
came to Boise, where he has built up an extensive
and lucrative practice. He holds rank with the
ablest physicians and surgeons of the state, and
by his study and investigation and the perusal of
the medical journals he keeps in constant touch
with the profession and the advance which is
carrying it forward toward perfection. In con-
nection with his private practice, he also occupies
the position of physician and surgeon to the Wes-
leyan Hospital of Boise.
The Doctor occupies a pleasant suite of rooms
in the Pioneer Building, and has a beautiful resi-
dence at No. 316 Bannock street. He was mar-
462
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ried July 3, 1889, to Miss Clara Raymond, of
Ontario, and they now have two daughters,
Beatrice Gertrude and Laura Clarissa. The par-
ents are valued members of the Methodist church
and take an active part in its work. Dr. Prosser
inspires personal friendships of unusual strength,
and all who know him have the highest admira-
tion for his good qualities of head and heart.
WILLIAM A. CALDWELL,
The history of pioneer life has long rivaled in
interest the tales of battles and of life on the
tented field. Without the roar of cannon and
musketry or the inspiring notes of fife and drum,
hosts no less brave and determined have gone
forth into the wilderness to reclaim it for the pur-
poses of civilization and have fought the hard
battle of conquering the raw land, the sturdy
forest and the rocky fastnesses of the earth, mak-
ing each yield of its treasures such elements as
can be utilized for man. This is an arduous labor
and one to which is due recognition and commen-
dation, and therefore in preparing a history of
Idaho it is with pleasure that we introduce the life
records of such worthy pioneers as William A.
Caldwell, whose identification with the state ante-
dates the formation of its territorial government.
He was born in Newford, New York, Decem-
ber 10, 1832, and is of Scotch lineage. His
grandfather, William Caldwell, having emigrated
from Scotland before the Revolution, settled first
in Xew Jersey and later removed to Orange
county. New York. By occupation he was an
agriculturist, and in connection with general
farming he conducted a dairy. He married ]\Iiss
Maria Anderson, also a native of Scotland, and
they became the parents of eight children, of
whom Mr. Caldwell of this review is now the only
male survivor. The father died in the sixty-third
year of his age, and the mother departed this life
at the age of fifty-eight.
In Tompkins county, New York, William A.
Caldwell spent his boyhood days. His early edu-
cational privileges there, acquired in the com-
mon schools, were supplemented by study in
Ithaca, New York, after which he learned the
boat-builder's trade. He then served on the Pan-
ama railroad survey and crossed the plains from
St. Paul with Colonel Knobles. While en route he
heard of the Eraser river excitement, caused bv
the gold discoveries, and with four others con-
tinued across the country to Walla Walla, where
he arrived December 20, 1859. The government
post was then in process of construction, and the
pioneers of the northwest were but beginning
their labors of reclaiming this section of the coun-
try. Mr. Caldwell went with a pack train to
Fraser river, taking to the mines provisions, con-
sisting of bacon, beans, flour and sugar. Those
commodities he bought for about twenty cents
per pound and sold for ninety, thus realizing a
handsome profit. He also sold his horses and
cleared a large sum of money in that way. He
made the trip to Carriboo, then returned to Walla
Walla and from there made his way to Pierce
City. The following year he secured a claim and
in two years cleared two thousand dollars off that
property.
On the expiration of that period he went to the
Boise basin and took up a claim, but sold the
property for six hundred dollars and engaged in
packing to every camp in the territory. He had
fifty-two packs, and between July and the late fall
cleared four thousand dollars. In 1861 he was
paid by Mr. Baker fifty dollars to carry a letter
from Walla Walla to Lewiston, and made the
journey of nearly a hundred miles with one horse
in a day. Nor did he injure the horse by hard
riding, but was able to ride it some distance the
next day. Subsequently he sold his pack train
and was engaged in furnishing hay and grain to
the government, under contract. He had a sta-
tion on the reservation, and met with most grati-
fying and creditable success in that undertaking.
His station was located at the foot of the moun-
tains, twenty-two miles distant from Lewiston,
and there he presided for almost a quarter of a
century. He also engaged in raising cattle and
sheep, having one thousand head of cattle and
ten thousand sheep. By the wise direction of his
business afifairs and his undaunted energy and
perseverance he has gained a desirable fortune,
and is now the owner of six hundred acres of land
in one farm, together with several lots in Lewis-
ton. He has a beautiful and valuable block in the
city in which he and his family now reside.
Mr. Caldwell was married in 1871, the lady of
his choice being Miss Maria Reddy, a native of
Canada. They have four children: William,
Solomon, Frederick and Moses. In his social re-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
463
lations Mr. Caldwell is a IMaster IMason, and
politically he is a Democrat, but has never sought
nor desired official preferment. He is now living
retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned
and richly deserves.
JOHN Q. MOXLEY, M. D.
Dr. John Ouincy Moxley, the pioneer druggist
of Lewiston, and a successful practicing physi-
cian, was born in Scioto county, Ohio, April 15,
1846, and is of English lineage, the original
American ancestors having been early settlers of
New England. His father, Thomas S. Moxley,
was born in A'ermont, and when a young man
removed to Ohio, where he engaged in the prac-
tice of medicine for fifty years. He married Miss
Susan McConnell, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and to
them were born six children, three of whom are
now living. The father died in the seventy-fourth
year of his age, and the mother passed away at
the age of seventy-nine.
Their son, John Ouincy Moxley, completed his
literary education in the Ohio Wesleyan Univer-
sity, and in the Miami Medical College, of Cin-
cinnati, prepared for his profession. Subsequent-
ly he engaged in the practice of medicine in the
Buckeye state, and in 1873 emigrated westward,
locating in Mount Idaho, this state, where he
practiced for six months. He then came to Lew-
iston and bought of Dr. Kelly the pioneer drug
store of the town. Since that time he has con-
ducted the store and attended to a large practice,
which is steadily increasing in volume and in im-
portance. He is a competent physician, with a
comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the
science of medicine, and his professional labors
have been followed by excellent results. He has
also built up a good trade in the store, and has
the good will and respect of all with whom he has
been brought in contact.
In addition to his other business interests the
Doctor was for twelve years a director in the
Lewiston National Bank, and is a stockholder in
various mines in British Columbia, Pierce City
and Florence, and in the Iron Crown mine on
Newsom creek, where they have an inexhaustible
supply of rich ore, having taken out as high as
twent)--one hundred and eighteen dollars in one
hundred hours' run. He owns a fine business
block, — a brick structure at the corner of Main
and Third streets, the very center of the business
district. He has always taken a deep interest in
the educational affairs of the city, has been di-
rector of the Lewiston schools, and has efficiently
served as county superintendent of schools. He
is a most progressive and public-spirited citizen,
advocating all commendable improvements and
lending an active support to all measures for the
public good.
EDWARD S. JEWELL.
Edward S. Jewell dates his residence in the
Salubria valley from 1869, and is therefore num-
bered among its pioneer farmers and stock-rais-
ers. A native of Wisconsin, he was born in
Dodgeville, Iowa county, that state, on the 9th
of October, 1846, and is of English extraction.
His father, Edward S. Jewell, Sr., was born in
Cornwall, England, and after his marriage came
with his wife and five children to the L^nited
States, locating in Wisconsin, where he remained
until 1852, when he went to California to secure
gold in the Eldorado of the west. It is believed
that he was killed by the Indians, for no news
was ever afterward received of him. His wife
survived him two years and died in 1854, leaving
a family of six children, three of whom are now
living in Idaho. She was a devout member of
the Methodist church.
In the public schools of his native state Edward
S. Jewell, the subject of this sketch, acquired his
education. He was only sixteen years of age
when he drove a team across the hot and arid
plains to California, in company with his uncle,
LT. E. Rowe, and S. B. Dilley. They continued
their travel to Auburn, Oregon, where Mr. Jew-
ell learned the blacksmith's trade. The following
year he went to Idaho City, there continuing to
work at his trade, at which there was more money
to be made than at mining. The price for shoe-
ing a horse was ten dollars, for setting a tire on
a wagon from twenty-four to thirty dollars, while
a miner's pick sold for sixteen dollars and every-
thing else was proportionately high. In 1869 Mr.
Jewell came to the Salubria valley, entered one
hundred and sixty acres of land, built upon it and
otherwise improved it. and from time to time ex-
tended its boundaries by additional purchase,
until he now has seven hundred and seventy-five
acres of highly cultivated land, the well tilled
fields yielding to him a golden tribute in return
4CA
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
for the care and labor he bestows upon them.
His home is pleasantly located just a half mile
west of Salubria, so that the conveniences and ad-
vantages of town as well as country life are easily
accessible. Upon his farm are located the Wash-
ington county fair grounds. Throughout his
residence here he has engaged in stock-raising,
and he is now breeding Hereford cattle and Ham-
bletonian horses, having some of the best stock
in the county. He is also engaged in raising
Berkshire hogs, and has met with very desirable
success in his stock-raising ventures. He was
the first to introduce Norman and Hambletonian
horses in Salubria valley, and in this way has
aided in improving the grade raised in this local-
ity. Nor are his efiforts confined alone to the
labors connected with his farm. He is a stock-
holder in the Creamery Company and the Tele-
phone Company, and is not slow to co-operate in
any movement which he believes will advance the
material welfare of this section of the state.
In 1868 Mr. Jewell was united in marriage to
Miss Hilary A. Markham, who, in 1864, came to
Idaho with her father, David Markham, now a
resident of Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Jewell have
had ten children, namely: William E.. who is en-
gaged in merchandising in Arizona: Mary Grace,
wife of W. H. Eckles, a farmer of Salubria valley:
Edgar D., who assists in the operation of the
home farm ; Maud May, who is engaged in teach-
ing music and makes her home with her parents :
James Edward, who entered his country's service
when war was declared against Spain and is now
in Manila; Edna Salome and Esther T., who are
successful school-teachers; and Sarah E., Fred
Markham and Earl C, yet under the parental
roof.
In his political views Mr. Jewell has always
been a Democrat and was twice elected county
commissioner of Washington county. He also
served as a member of the territorial senate -and
of the convention which framed the present state
constitution, and was a member of the first state
senate. He has studied closely the questions af-
fecting the welfare of the commonwealth, and has
given his support to all measures which he be-
lieves to be for the public good. His course has
ever been most commendable, and he is regarded
as one of the most prominent and influential citi-
zens of this portion of Idaho. Sociallv he is con-
nected with the Masonic fraternity, having been
made a Master i\Iason in Idaho City, in 1868.
He is a charter member of Salubria Lodge, No.
31, and has filled all the offices therein. All who
know him, and his acquaintance is extensive,
esteem him for the possession of most sterling
traits of character.
JAMES R. STRONG.
James Russell Strong, judge of the probate
court of Latah county, was born in Sullivan, Ash-
land county, Ohio, September 24, 1849. His
great-grandfather, RuSsell Strong, was a resident
of \'ermont and participated in the events which
go to form the early history of the Green Moun-
tain state. His son, Alvah Strong, grandfather
of our subject, was a participant in the war of
18 1 2 when but a boy, and for one year served in
the Union army during the civil war as a member
of Company F, First Nebraska \'olunteer Infan-
try. He participated in the battle of Fort Donel-
son and after the battle of Shiloh received an
honorable discharge on account of his advanced
age. He spent his last days with his son, Orrin
R. Strong, and his grandson, James R. Strong,
and had passed the ninetieth milestone on life's
journey when called to his final rest.
Orrin R. Strong, father of our subject, was
born in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus county, New
York, September 30, 1823, and having arrived at
years of maturity married Miss Amanda Gibbs.
who was born in Rutland county, \*ermont, a
daughter of Elijah Gibbs, of that state. :Mr.
Strong was a farmer, but at the time of the
rebellion he put aside all business cares and per-
sonal considerations to enter his country's serv-
ice, as a member of Company C, Fourth Regi-
ment of Missouri Cavalry. On the expiration of
his first term he re-enlisted, and continued at the
front until the close of the war. He now resides
in Garfield, Washington, at the age of seventy-
six years, and his wife is seventy-one years of
age. They celebrated their golden wedding in
October, 1898, having traveled life's journey to-
gether for half a century. They are members of
the Methodist church, in which they have for
many years been faithful workers. In their fam-
ily were eight children, six of whom are living.
James Russell Strong, the eldest of the family,
acquired his preliminary education in the public
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
465
schools, and later was a student in Amity Acad-
emy, in Page county, Iowa. He entered upon his
business career as a school-teacher and farmer,
performing the labors of the school-room through
the winter season, while in the summer months
he worked in the fields. In 1877 he removed to
Kansas, where he purchased a cheese factory,
which he operated for five years. He was also
engaged in merchandising for five years in Rip-
ley, Kansas, but in 1889 sold his business inter-
ests in that state and came to Idaho, locating on
one hundred and sixty acres of land in the north-
ern part of Latah county, his post-office being
Cora. He has also acted as salesman, book-
keeper and time-keeper in connection with a
large sawmill in the neighborhood.
In politics Mr. Strong has always been a Re-
publican and has been honored with a number
of positions of public trust. He has served as
postmaster and justice of the peace, and in 1898
received the Republican nomination for judge of
the probate court of Latah county. Being elected,
he is now ably serving, discharging his duties in
a most prompt and able manner. The cause of
education ever finds in him a warm friend and he
has rendered efTective service as school trustee.
In 1876 Mr. Strong was united in marriage to
Miss Mary M. Putnam, a native of Canton, Ful-
ton county, Illinois, and they have four children :
Alvah, Eunice, Ettie and Alice, all yet under the
parental roof. Mrs. Strong holds membership in
the Methodist church, and for many years Mr.
Strong has been a valued member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, passing all the
chairs in the encampment. He is a gentleman
of ability and is an obliging and painstaking
officer.
JOSHUA G. ROWTON.
One of the prominent farmers of Camas prairie
is Joshua Graham Rowton, who was born in
Benton county, Missouri, June 16, 1850. He is of
English descent, his ancestors having been early
settlers of Kentucky, where the family was founded
by John Rowton, the grandfather of our subject.
He afterward removed to Missouri and was num-
bered among the pioneers of that state. William
Willis Rowton. the father of Joshua, was born
near Louisville, Kentucky, and when a young man
accompanied the family on their emigration to
Missouri. He made his home in Benton countv.
but died at the early age of twenty-seven years.
He married Alartha Graham, who was left a
widow with two little sons. She was ever faith-
fully devoted to her children and is still living, in
her seventy-first year, her home being in Kansas.
She has long been a member of the Baptist
church and is a most estimable lady.
Mr. Rowton of this review was only a year
old when his father died. He had little oppor-
tunity for acquiring an education, and as the
family lost all their property during the civil war
his school privileges were necessarily more lim-
ited than would otherwise have been the case.
However, reading and experience in the practical
affairs of life have added greatly to his knowl-
edge, and he is to-day a very well informed man.
When fourteen years of age he removed with his
mother to Kansas, and since that time has been
dependent entirely upon his ow-n resources for his
livelihood, so that whatever success he has
achieved is due entirely to his own efforts. In the
fall of 1872 he removed to Montana, and the fol-
lowing year packed over the mountains to Camas
prairie. Here he located the homestead upon
which he now resides, a rich tract of land seven
and a half miles northeast of Grangeville. Here,
as the result of his industry and energy, he has
now a fine country place, and from time to time
has extended the boundaries of his farm until it
now comprises six hundred acres. His cozy
home, attractive grounds, good orchard and
many other improvements all indicate the pro-
gressive spirit and good taste of the owner, wdio
is regarded as one of the leading representatives
of the agricultural interests in this part of the
state. He follows general farming, but has given
his attention chiefly to stock-raising, including
cattle, horses, sheep and hogs. He has had as
many as three hundred head of cattle at one time,
and in this branch of his business is meeting with
very gratifying success.
In 1877 Mr. Rowton was united in marriage to
Miss Emma L. Clarke, a native of Ohio, and
three children grace their union: Eva, Homer
C. and Jessie. Mrs. Rowton is a cultured and
amiable lady, and presides very gracefully over
their hospitable home, being to her husband a
worthy helpmeet.
Since coming to this state Mr. Rowton has
been actively connected with many of the events
466
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
which form its history. At the time the Nez
Perces Indian war broke out he was at Mount
Idaho, and was one of the first to volunteer in the
service of quelling the uprising. He aided in
building the stone fortifications at Mount Idaho
and was one of the party that routed a band of
Indians in that vicinity. He also served with
General Custer in Texas in following a band of
Indians who had captured a white woman on the
Red river. After a long and arduous chase they
overtook the Indians and rescued the woman,
a fact of which the participants in the afifairs have
every reason to be proud.
In politics Mr. Rowton has also been an active
factor. He belongs to a family of Republicans,
and had an uncle who was a slave-holder in the
south, but who nevertheless espoused the cause of
the Union and fought in the northern army in
support of the supremacy of the government at
Washington. Our subject has always been a
stanch advocate of the Grand Old Party, and in
the fall of 1893 was elected on its ticket to the
state legislature, where he served most creditably
and was the chairman of the committee on roads
and bridges. In 1896 he was again nominated,
but the entire ticket met defeat in Idaho in that
year. Mr. Rowton, however, has never been an
office-seeker, preferring to devote his energies to
his business interests. Socially he is a representa-
tive of the Odd Fellows society. Both he and his
wife have a wide acquaintance on Camas prairie
and are verv favorablv known.
CHAPTER XXXI.
EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES IN IDAHO.
Iis THE character of her schools and the facili-
ties for education Idaho has kept fully abreast
with the other states of the west. Education
in the Gem state has kept pace with her material
developments. The future of Idaho as regards
educational facilities and advantages is most
promising. The munificent grant of land made
to the state by the general government, coupled
with the minimum price (ten dollars per acre) at
which state lands may be sold, secures an endow-
ment amply sufficient to defray all expenses of
the public schools. The amount received from
the sale of school lands goes into the general
school fund, which is irreducible, the interest de-
rived from its investment in state bonds and farm
mortgages being alone available for the support
of the schools. This interest, after but one year's
operation of the law providing for sales of land,
amounted to over forty thousand dollars per an-
num. The first school land was sold November
27, 1891. When it is remembered that there are
belonging to the state, under the grant for com-
mon schools, nearly three million five hundred
thousand acres, an idea of the magnitude of the
school fund in the near future can be formed.
Within a few years it is confidently expected that
the common schools of the state will be entirely
supported by the income from the state fund, and
that local taxation, except for extraordinary pur-
poses, will not be known in connection with the
public schools.
Other educational institutions are, like the
common schools, munificently endowed. The
university, located at Moscow, has a grant of
fifty thousand acres, which, at the minimum price
of ten dollars an acre, means an irreducible fund
for the university of at least five hundred thou-
sand dollars. \'ery much of this land will sell for
twice or thrice the minimum, so that the univer-
sity may be safely said to have one million dollars
represented by her grant of lands. The grant for
the support of the normal schools is one hundred
thousand acres, and assures for the teachers of
Idaho opportunities for technical training equal
to the best in the Union. The selection of large
tracts of land in all parts of the state, in satisfac-
tion of the grants made by the United States,
affords to colonies opportunities to secure thou-
sands of acres in a body, for the establishment of
homes and for the acquisition of lands under the
most favorable conditions.
The school age is from six to seventeen years.
In 1896 there were 39,288 children enrolled in
the public schools. On the reorganization of the
school system and the passage of the compulsory
school law by the legislature, in 1887, a more
general attention was given to this subject. As
now arranged the school officers consist of a state
superintendent of public instruction, a superin-
tendent in each county, and a board of three
trustees in each district.
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO.
The University of Idaho is a part of the educa-
tional system of the state. The governing body
of the institution is a board of nine regents, ap-
pointed by the governor, as provided in its char-
ter. The university aims to complete and crown
the work that is begun in the public schools, h\
furnishing ample facilities for liberal education in
literature, science and the arts, and for thorough
technical training in engineering, mining and
agriculture. Through the aid that has been re-
ceived from the United States and the state, it is
enabled to offer its privileges to all persons of
either sex, who are qualified for admission.
The university comprises, in accordance with
the provisions of its charter, the colleges or de-
partments of arts, letters, agriculture and
mechanic arts, mining, applied sciences, engi-
neering, music, freehand and industrial art and
graduate study. Six collegiate courses are of-
fered: The classical, leading to the degree of
bachelor of arts: the philosophical, leading to the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
degree of bachelor of philosophy; the scientific,
leading to the degree of bachelor of science: the
civil-engineering, leading to the degree of bach-
elor of civil engineering; the mining-engineering,
leading to the degree of bachelor of mining en-
gineering: the agricultural, leading to the degree
of bachelor of agriculture. The master's degree
will be conferred upon the fulfilment of the proper
conditions. The university not yet having facili-
ties for graduate work beyond'the degree of mas-
ter will not entertain applications for the doctor-
ate degrees.
Moscow, the seat of the university, is the prin-
cipal city in the northern part of the state, com-
monly known as the "Panhandle." It is on the
main line of the Spokane & Palouse Railroad, a
branch of the Northern Pacific, and on a branch
of the Spokane line of the Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company's lines. The population is
about four thousand. The city has electric lights
and an abundant supply of pure artesian water.
There are several well sustained churches and ex-
cellent public schools. The altitude is about
twenty-seven hundred feet, the air pure and in-
vigorating and the climate healthful. The winters
are neither severe nor prolonged. There is no
better climate for effective study.
The university is located upon one of the beau-
tiful rolling hills that environ the city. The pros-
pect is one of the most charming in the famous
Palouse country and is an ideal scenic location
for an educational institution. The campus com-
prises twenty acres. North of the main building
is a meadow of several acres, which is used as an
athletic field and drill ground. In front is a
broad terrace, which is devoted entirely to lawn.
The main or administration building is an at-
tractive and commodious structure of three
stories and a high basement, finished in California
redwood and supplied with artesian water and
electric lights. It has cost with furniture one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and when
completed and furnished throughout will repre-
sent an outlay of one hundred and thirty-five
thousand dollars. At present thirty-five rooms
are occupied, the dififerent departments hav-
ing from one to four rooms as necessity
demands.
A wooden building, 50x125, known as the An-
nex, is located about one hundred feet in the rear
of the main building. Standing on the edge of
the embankment of the graded area about the
university building it consists of one story and
basement and two stories in the rear. The main
portion of the front afifords fair accommodations
for the armory. Here are also to be found rooms
for the dairy school, cooking school, milk-testing
laboratory and a dark-room for the photographic
work of the experiment station; also seed, work-
ing, tool and store rooms, and excellent cellars
for the experiment station. East of the main
building stands the greenhouse. The greenhouse
proper is 18x50 feet, resting upon a stone founda-
tion with brick and glass side walls, wrought iron
rafters, cement floor, and every provision known
to the best greenhouse construction. In front of
the greenhouse is a neat wooden structure 24x34,
being the class room and office of the horticul-
tural department and working-room for the
greenhouse.
The library of the university is composed of a
general library and the technical libraries of agri-
culture, art, chemistry, botany, civil engineering,
languages, mathematics, mechanic arts, military
tactics, mining, physics and zoology. At present
the library contains three thousand purchased
volumes, thirty-one hundred government docu-
ments, and over ninety-five hundred pamphlets,
files of magazines, newspapers; and agricultural
bulletins and reports. The general library and
reading-room occupies a large, well lighted room
on the first floor of the university building. The
technical libraries are kept in the rooms of the
respective departments. The station library has
been organized and placed in the general library.
This consists of books on general station work,
government documents and files of bulletins and
agricultural papers. The bulletins are arranged
according to states and topics and made available
by a special card catalogue of over fifteen thou-
sand numbers.
The various laboratories are conveniently ar-
ranged and supplied with necessary equipments
for the proper illustration of the several courses
of study implied. The necessary expenses of the
student in the university are very low as com-
pared with other institutions affording equal
advantages. The various courses of study are
admirably arranged for effective work On the part
of students and the faculty and corps of supple-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
469
mental instructors are all strong in their respec-
tive fields.
The preparatory school is sustained expressly
for preparing students for the college courses.
Its courses are so arranged as to facilitate prepa-
ration for college. No instruction is given in the
elementary sciences, except physiology, as the
sciences are fully treated in the collegiate depart-
ment. Accordingly students devote their entire
time in the preparatory courses to those branches
that lead directly to the college courses. The
preparatory school is under the immediate super-
vision of the president and faculty. This insures
a high order of instruction and thoroughly har-
monizes its methods with those of the university
proper. While the courses, as stated above, are
strictly college preparatory, they are nevertheless
thoroughly practical, being divested of non-
essentials, and invaluable to those who do not
contemplate entering the university.
The personnel of the present board of regents
is as follows: Hon. James H. Forney (president),
Hon. Frank Martin (vice-president), Hon. Frank
E. Cornwall (secretary), Hon. John G. Brown,
Hon. D. M. Eckman, Hon. James H. Hawley,
Hon. A. F. Parker, Hon Warren Truitt, Mrs. M.
J. Whitman. Hon. W. L. Payne is treasurer.
The faculty of the university as at present con-
stituted is as follows, the scholastic assignment of
each member being given in the connection:
Joseph P. Blanton, A. M., LL. D. (president),
philosophy; Charles W. McCurdy, Ph. D., pro-
fessor of chemistry; Willard K. Clement, Ph. D.,
professor of Latin and Greek; Louis F. Hender-
son, Ph. B., professor of botany; John M. Al-
drich, M. S., professor of zoology; Harriett E.
Cushmau, A. M., professor of English language
and literature; John E. Bonebright, B. S., pro-
fessor of physics; Fred G. Frink, B. S., professor
of civil engineering; Alfred S. Miller, Ph. D.,
professor of mining and metallurgy; Hiram T.
French, M. S., professor of agriculture; Fred A.
Huntley, B. S. A., professor of horticulture; S.
Annette Bowman, acting professor of free-hand
drawing; L J. Cogswell. B. ]\L. acting professor
of music; Aurelia L Henry, B. L., acting pro-
fessor of elocution and physical culture and in-
structor in French; Thorn Smith, B. S., assistant
chemist and instructor in chemistry; J. J. An-
thonv.Ph. B., instructor in mechanic arts and
preparatory mathematics; Sara E. Foe, B. L., in-
structor in English in preparatory department;
Flora P. Moore, B. S., instructor in history and
German; Gurry E. Huggins, B. L., instructor in
military science and tactics and Latin; Herbert
T. Condon, registrar and secretary of the faculty;
Stella M. Allen, Ph. B., librarian; John M. Al-
drich, curator of museum.
The following interesting data are gleaned
from the annual report of the president of the
board of regents for the fiscal year ending De-
cember 31, 1898:
The University of Idaho was chartered by the ter-
ritorial legislature in 1889, and located at Moscow. The
university and agricultural college were wisely com-
bined, making their support by the state comparatively
easy, when aided by the several federal funds set apart
for the support 01 colleges of agriculture and mechanic
arts and agricultural experiment stations. A state tax
for building purposes was levied for several years.
Through this, one hundred and twenty-five thousand
dollars was raised for the construction of the present
attractive and commodious main building. Its entire
central 'part, however, above the basement and first
story, is still unfinished.
The university opened in October. 1892. with a faculty
of two. This has been steadily increased and now num-
bers nineteen. Among these are graduates from insti-
tutions like Cornell, Oberlin, Leland Stanford and
Northwestern, the universities of California, Michigan
and Missouri, and the agricultural colleges of Iowa,
Michigan and South Dakota. The enrollment in 1897
was two hundred and forty-eight, eighty-seven of these
Ijeing in the college classes; the enrollment to date is
two hundred and nine, of whom eighty-one are in the
college classes. The enrollment of the present year has
been considerably afTected by two causes, — the lowest
preparatory class has been discontinued (this would have
had a membership of not less than fifty), and thirty-nine
of the young men, nearly all of them college students,
enlisted in the Idaho Volunteers and are now stationed
at Manila. These two factors will account for the ap-
parent falling ofT in this year's enrollment. As the
public high schools of the state had come into closer
touch with the university and had adjusted their courses
to meet its requirements, it was decided, on account
of the crowded condition of the rooms available, to
discontinue the lowest preparatory year. The faculty
were exceedingly loath to take this action, as they
knew that there were tnany worthy youths applying foi
admission, who had no high-school advantages at
home, and who tame to the university to receive what
tliey could not get in their neighborhood schools, but
it was found impossible, with the present facihties and
teaching force, to accommodate them without neglect-
ing the higher instruction which seemed the more legit-
imate function of the institution. When the building is
470
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
finished it might be wise to reinstate this preparatory
year.
It is a matter that should excite the patriotic pride of
every citizen of the state that the University of Idaho
furnished a larger number of soldiers to the late war,
relative to enrollment, than any other university in the
United States.
Nine courses of study have been offered for the past
two years. These are the classical, the philosophical,
the civil-engineering, the mining-engineering, the agri-
cultural, and the four courses in science, with botany,
chemistry, zoology and mathematics and physics as
major subjects. Considerable freedom of election pre-
vails. Advanced courses in art, elocution, oratory and
music are offered. The university has a department of
music with a course of four years, leading tQ a diploma.
The departments of mining, agriculture and horticul-
ture have made special efforts to be of practical assist-
ance to the people of the state of Idaho along the lines
where so much of its prosperity lies. The professor of
mining, besides making frequent assays for miners in
all sections of the state, has given two short practical
courses in assaying for the benefit of prospectors and
mining men. These were well attended. The agri-
culturist, assisted by other members of the experiment
station staff, has conducted numerous investigations,
the results of which have been already published, or
are being prepared for the press. Members of the staff
have visited various sections of the state repeatedly in
response to appeals and have materially assisted in
combating many pests which seriously threaten our
agricultural and horticultural interests. It is the pur-
pose of the agricultural department to hold numer-
ous farmers' institutes during the coming winter and
spring.
In the summer of 1896, the citizens of Moscow pur-
chased a fine farm of ninety-four acres and presented it
to the university for the use of the college of agriculture
and experiment station. Suitable barns and outbuild-
ings have been erected and the practical value of the
gift is already evident.
A course in manual training is offered, instruction in
the use of tools and in wood-working being furnished
to all young men pursuing courses requiring a knowl-
edge of this subject, and in wood-carving to all young
women who may elect it. The Morrill act, under which
we draw our aid in instruction in the mechanic arts,
requires that students, so desiring, shall be given man-
ual training in both wood and iron.
THE LEWISTON STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
The history of the Lewiston State Normal
School is the history of progress. Handicapped
for want of funds on several occasions, the
normal building came to a standstill and the
school was not inaugurated as early as was ex-
pected; but from the 6th of January, 1896, when
the school was first opened, there has been a
steady development until to-day the school has a
future in every way most encouraging. ■
In the erection of an excellent building, in the
selection of teachers and in the general manage-
ment the trustees have been most harmonious
and fortunate. The buildings, enclosures and
grounds were completed and dedicated with ap-
propriate ceremonies on June 3, 1896.
THE ALBION NORMAL SCHOOL.
This institution was established by an act of the
second legislative assembly of Idaho, March 7,
1893, as one of the two normal schools of the
state, the other one being located at Lewiston,
Nez Perces county. It was at first thought by
many to be a mistake for the young state to at-
tempt to support two schools of this character,
but when it is considered that the two sections of
the state, the north and the south, are separated
by almost impassable mountain barriers, and that
a journey of several hundred miles,- passing
through two other states, is necessary in order to
pass from one section to the other, the necessity
of two schools for the training of teachers is ap-
parent.' The common schools are the hope of the
future state, and we cannot have the highest and
best results in them without trained teachers.
The Albion Normal School is the only state insti-
tution of learning in southern Idaho, and the
people are coming to more fully appreciate the
importance of maintaining it liberally.
THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO.
One of the promising young institutions of the
state of Idaho is the one whose official title is
given above. Though but a few years old it has
already taken a distinctive position among the
educational institutions of the northwest and is
destined to exercise vast power, if it inay be
judged by what has already been accomplished.
Nothing is a surer index to the civilization and
progress of a community than the character of its
schools and the opportunities which are afforded
to the rising generation in the acquisition of
knowledge, and undoubtedly one of the secrets of
the success achieved by the American people lies
in the fact that they, as a people, have always en-
couraged and loyally supported the cause of edu-
cation.
The College of Idaho was formally organized
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
471
October 7, 1891, its first board of managers being
Rev. J. H. Barton, of Boise City, Rev. W. J.
Boone, of Caldwell, and J. M. Jones, of Nampa.
The first sessions of the school were held in the
side room of the Presbyterian church at Caldwell,
and it was not until the ensuing year that the col-
lege building was ready for occupancy. Rev. W.
J. Boone was elected to serve as president, and
has continued faithfully at the head of the man-
agement since the inception of the enterprise.
The college is now out of debt and is self-sustain-
ing, and, encouraged and upheld by the memory
of past victories, is pressing forward to larger
power.
The college opens on the 21st of September
and closes on the 22d of June (approximately).
The terms are moderate, the regular academic
department course being but twenty-five dollars
a year. Over three hundred students have been
accommodated at the college and forty have been
graduated from here. Some have gone forth as
teachers and many have gone east to obtain still
higher advantages in the fine old universities of
their fathers and grandfathers.
The first faculty of the College of Idaho in-
cluded John C. Rice, A. M., professor of Greek
and mathematics; John T. Morrison, A. M., his-
tory and English; C. S. Blatchley, B. S., elocu-
tion; Edward E. Maxey, M. D., physiology;
Charles A. Hand, drawing; L. A. Hemphill, Ph.
D., German and Latin. The present faculty and
the chairs occupied are as follows: W. J. Boone,
M. A., natural science and Latin; Abbie F. Hull,
English and mathematics; Ambrose P. Hayden,
M. A., Greek and German; J. H. Barton, M. A.,
Evidences of Christianity; Grace D. M. Mor-
rison, M. B., piano and harmony; Elma Brown,
painting and drawing; H. O. Douglass, M. A.,
bookkeeping and commercial law; Nettie Doug-
lass, typewriting and stenography; Albert F.
Isham, M. D., practical chemistry; William C.
Maxey, M. D., American history, and Abbott
Satterthwait, hygiene.
WEISER ACADEMY.
Among the institutions which indicate the in-
tellectual progress and status of the state of Idaho
is Weiser Academy, which has made for itself a
most excellent record and has contributed in no
small degree to the mental and moral advance-
ment of this section of the Gem of the Mountains.
There are at least two prominent essentials in
the constitution of a desirable citizen, — a
conscience and an enlightened common
sense. The Christian church and the
Christian school are the two most potent
agencies in the production of these necessary ele-
ments of character, and our Pilgrim Fathers
made no mistake when they built a church in
every settlement and a schoolhouse by its side.
Actuated by the same high moral idea, patriotic
men have gone west and founded Christian mis-
sions and Christian schools on the frontier.
Among the most notable founded in recent years
are the Weiser church and Weiser Academy, at
Weiser, Idaho. The work which has resulted in
the means of grace and of enlightenment was be-
gun in 1892, when the Rev. E. A. Paddock was
commissioned as missionary to Idaho by the Con-
gregational Home Missionary Society, of New
York city. The work of erecting a church build-
ing was begun in November of that year, and
within twelve months from the time ground was
broken there was completed a church which, to-
gether with the lot it occupied, cost nearly four
thousand dollars. The Church Building Society
made a grant of five hundred dollars, and benev-
olent persons in the east contributed a large part
of the balance required.
It was evident to Mr. Paddock that a Christian
school was needed also. Miss Miriam Lee. an
earnest Christian young lady, whose home had
formerly been in New York city, consented to
unite with him in the enterprise. The school was
opened with five pupils in the new church build-
ing. The next year a hotel building was rented
for its use. The school was successful and, en-
larging the scope of its work, more teachers were
needed, and it was evident that some one must
be found who would be as self-denying as the
founders of the school. Miss Lee remained as
lady principal, and the Rev. A. G. Upton, for-
merly home-missionary superintendent of New
York, accepted the presidency.
The second year was even more successful than
the first, and the academy abundantly proved its
right to be; but the success achieved demanded
greater things for the future. Eighty acres of
land were donated for the academy campus and
building grounds by H. A. Lee, of Weiser, and a
473
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
gentleman who is a warm friend of every good
enterprise advanced the money at a low rate of
interest to erect three buildings for the use of the
academy. The school is picturesquely located
about one mile to the north of the village, and,
situated on an elevation, it commands a fine view
of the town, the surrounding country and the two
rivers — the Snake and the Weiser — which here
unite. The academy buildings consist of a three-
story hall, with first-class appointments for young
women; a two-story dormitory for young men;
and a two-and-a-half-story recitation building,
the last containing a chapel, library and reading
room, president's office and recitation rooms.
Students may pursue the classical, philosophical,
scientific or English courses, and there is an ex-
cellent music department in connection. Train-
ing is "also given in elocution, oratory and phys-
ical culture. All work done in the school is of the
highest order, exalted ideals being continually
placed before the pupils, thus stimulating them to
greater effort. The library contains more than a
thousand volumes and pamphlets, including
standard works of reference, together with the
best literature and the modern magazines of
worth. Although the majority of the trustees
must always be Congregational, the school is
non-sectarian, several denominations being rep-
resented among both teachers and pupils.
The high standard of work done in the school
is evidenced by the fact that a certificate of grad-
uation therefrom will entitle the holder to admis-
sion to some of the leading colleges of the east
without further examination. Already a small
endowment fund has been started, and the acad-
emy is now in a very flourishing condition. Ten
pupils have been graduated from the school,
which is now only five years old. A paper called
The Search Light is published in the interest of
the academy, and now has a circulation of four
thousand, making the school well known in the
east. The faculty consists of seven able teachers,
including Augustus G. Upton, A. M., D. D.,
president, and Miss Miriam B. Lee, lady prin-
cipal. Under the able superintendence of Dr.
Upton and his corps of assistants Weiser Acad-
emy has taken a place among the leading schools
of its character in the northwest and is a credit to
the town and the state. The institution is incor-
porated as Weiser College and Academy, but the
college department will not be opened before the
fall of 1900.
The educational work, however, is only a part
of that done by the academy, for the Christian in-
fluence e.xerted over the students is most marked.
Nearly all of the students become Christians be-
fore leaving the school, and they engage in active
Christian work at once, both as students and
when they are at home on their vacations. The
communities whence the students come are thus
leavened and the influence of the academy is felt
in many needy places.
THE BOISE BUSINESS AND SHORTHAND
COLLEGE.
Miss Grace E. Doyle, proprietor of the Boise
Business and Shorthand College, is in every sense
of the word a practical, energetic, young woman,
possessing rare natural abilities and skill as an in-
structor and the culture and refinement of a lady.
She is recognized as one of the most polished and
efficient young women of Idaho.
She was born in the state of Nebraska, of
American-Irish parents of no mean attainments.
Inheriting a fine mental but frail physical consti-
tution, her parents with wise foresight saw
the necessity of an early training in business, its
management and methods. They placed her in
one of the colleges of her native state, where her
general education was well rounded and followed
by one of the most complete and thorough busi-
ness courses extant.
Since coming to the state of Idaho, where the
enfranchisement of women gives them equal rep-
resentation with their brothers, she perceived the
necessity of a wider business education for the
young of both sexes, and. associated with James
W.McKinney, established the Boise Business and
Shorthand College. Two years later Miss Doyle
became sole proprietor of the present success-
ful and well known institution, which is a daily
tribute to her business ability, energy and skill as
a teacher. The educational enterprise of this
young woman is one of which the state of Idaho
may be justly proud, and it has met with hearty
appreciation and support of the business people
of Boise and southern Idaho. The following tes-
timonial reflects the general sentiment of the
business men of Boise:
Boise. Idaho. May 29. 1899.
Miss Grace E. Doyle, Proprietor Boise Business and
Shorthand College, Boise, Idaho:
Miss Doyle: Boise may well be proud in possessing
such an institution as the Boise Business and Short-
hand College, The Boise Chamber of Commerce
unhesitatingly gives your college and its proprietor its
most heartv endorsement,
BOISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
Fred, R. Reed, President,
Attest: S. M, Coffin, Secretary,
CHAPTER XXXII.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAMES H. BUSH.
JAMES H. BUSH, deceased, was one of the
prominent and widely known business
men of Boise, where he spent the greater
part of his life. He was born in White Lake,
Oakland county, Michigan, July 29, 1842, and
was a son of Elias Oliver and Mary Jane (Fife)
Bush, both of whom were well-to-do farmers and
early settlers of Michigan and members of the
Baptist church.
James Bush was educated in Flint, Michigan,
and in early manhood was a purser on a steam-
boat. In February, 1865, he sailed from New
York for the Pacific coast by way of Panama,
reaching Boise Basin in April, and there engag-
ing in mining with William Law. In the summer
of 1874 he came to Boise and purchased the Cen-
tral Hotel, which he personally conducted for
fifteen years in a most successful manner. He
was one of the organizers of the Capital State
Bank, was elected its first vice-president and
filled that office up to the time of his death, de-
voting his time and talents during his incum-
bency to the task of making it the prosperous
institution it became. As a business man he was
enterprising, capable and energetic, and in 1892
built one of the beautiful and commodious houses
which adorn the city of Boise. As an early set-
tler of the state he took a great interest in its de-
velopment and progress and did everything in his
power to advance its interests. During the Ban-
nack war he was captain of a company, and on
one occasion, with forty-five men, he gallantly
rescued a train of sixty wagons which was be-
sieged by the Indians near Cold Springs.
On January 5, 1876, Mr. Bush was united in
marriage to Miss Ellen Kelly, a daughter of the
late Judge Kelly, one of Idaho's distinguished
citizens, and three children were born to them:
Mabel, now the wife of George S. Lindsey, of
Blackfoot: Florence and Milton. Mrs. Bush sur-
vives her husband and is a most estimable ladv,
who now resides in the beautiful home provided
by Mr. Bush.
Mr. Bush departed this life on November 22,
1897, and his loss was deeply felt not only by his
family but also by all the citizens of Boise, to
whom he had long been endeared. He was a
valued member of the Masonic fraternity and was
made a Master Mason in 1868, at Idaho City. He
was also made a Knight Templar, at Flint, Mich-
igan.
CHARLES A. THATCHER.
Identified with pioneer life in Oregon. Wash-
ington and Idaho, Charles Albert Thatcher fig-
ured long and prominently in the development
and progress of the northwest and in the events
which form its history. He Hved an honorable,
upright life, won prosperity through determined
purpose and indefatigable energy, and at all times
enjoyed the esteem of his fellow men, by reason
of those sterling qualities of manhood which in
every land and every clime awaken admiration
and regard.
Mr. Thatcher was born in Bradford county,
Pennsylvania, July 24, 1826, and was a repre-
sentative of an old American family. He acquired
his education in Harford University and in Ober-
lin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, but, his health fail-
ing him, he was obliged to abandon his studies
before the day of graduation arrived, and spent
two years in the pine forests of Wisconsin. He
was much benefited by his sojourn in that state,
and afterward engaged in teaching school in
Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1852 he crossed the
plains to Oregon, starting early in the season
with a party en route for the Pacific coast. They
were fortunate in escaping the cholera and at-
tacks from the Indians, safely reaching their
destination after some months of travel. The fol-
lowing year the territory of Washington was or-
ganized and Mr. Thatcher was made its first
school superintendent. He formed the first school
districts, and filled that office for nine vears, dur-
474
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing which time he placed the educational system
of the state on a firm basis and gave it a progres-
sive impetus whose influence is still felt. Thus he
engraved his name deeply on the record of Wash-
ington's intellectual advancement.
In 1854 Mr. Thatcher w^as united in marriage
to ]\Iiss Eliza Huntington, a daughter of Jacob
Huntington, who with his family crossed the
plains in 1852. JMrs. Thatcher was born in In-
diana, and was a maiden of fifteen summers when
she came to the west. Her father secured a dona-
tion claim on the Cowlitz river, where he made a
good home and there lived until October, 1897,
when he was called to his final rest, at the age of
eighty-five years. His good wife passed away
many years previously. After their marriage Mr.
and J^Irs. Thatcher continued to reside in Cowlitz
county until the time of the mining excitement at
Florence, Idaho, when our subject made his way
thither, in company with Judge Langdon. They
did not, however, meet with the success which
they had anticipated, and in consequence went to
Lewiston, where Mr. Thatcher was appointed
superintendent of farming at Lapwai. He con-
tinued in that capacity among the Nez Perces In-
dians for six years, and during that time he and
Mrs. Thatcher were intimate friends of that noble
man, Rev. Spaulding, the Presbyterian mission-
ary, who labored so earnestly among the red men
and established the mission at Lapwai at a very
early day.
In October, 1868, Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher re-
moved to Lewiston, and he was appointed by
President Grant to the position of postmaster,
acceptably serving in that office for two years,
when he resigned and engaged in general mer-
chandising. Later he opened a book and station-
ery store, which he conducted until 1896, when,
his health failing him, he turned over the business
to his son and retired to private life. He had
built up an excellent trade, and his business was
constantly increasing in volume and importance.
Mr. Thatcher never recovered his health, his
strength gradually failing him until the end came,
September 18, 1897. and he was at rest. In poli-
tics he was a stanch Republican. A public spir-
ited man and valued citizen, his loss was felt
throughout the entire community. He was a de-
voted husband and father, and as the result of his
well directed efforts in business he was enabled
to leave his family in comfortable circumstances.
L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher were born six
children: Eva, who died in 1870, at the age of
fourteen years: Charles, who in 1879, when in his
thirty-ninth year, was robbed and killed at Lap-
wai, v.-here he was engaged in business: Emma,
wife of John L. Chapman, w'ho is postmaster at
Lewiston; Harry A., who married the daughter
of Captain E. W. Baughman and resides in Gen-
esee; Katherine, wife of B. B. Bravinder; Cur-
tis, who is conducting business in partnership with
Fred A. Kling, in Lewiston : and George, who is
likewise at home with his mother. Mrs. Thatcher
still makes her home in Lewiston. She is a
Christian Scientist, a most intelligent lady and
one of the honored pioneer women of the state.
JOHN HANSON.
John Hanson, who loyally served this country
as a member of the navy, is now successfully en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising on Camas
prairie, in Idaho county, where he owns four hun-
dred and eighty acres of land. He is a native of
Denmark, his birth having occurred in that land
on the 9th of June, 1827. At the age of fifteen
he bade adieu to home and friends and went to
sea, eventually sailing to New York, in 1849.
While there he joined the L^nited States Navy
and served for sixteen months, at the expiration
of which period he received an honorable dis-
charge. He then sailed on merchant vessels on
the Pacific ocean and on the Mediterranean sea,
and became a well informed seaman, his ability
and worth winning him promotion from time to
time, until he became a first mate. During his
seafaring life he passed through many dangers
and hardships, wdiich if written out in full would
make a most interesting volume. He was ship-
wrecked twice off the coast of San Francisco,
where the ship was driven ashore, and was also
in a fearful typhoon in South American waters,
the ship being lost, but the crew escaped with
their lives. When the United States became in-
volved in the greatest civil war known to modern
history, he determined to aid in the perpetuation
of the Union, and enlisted in the navy, March 28.
1862. He became acting master of the Cayuga,
a gunboat in the gulf squadron, under Admiral
Farragut. They had several engagements up the
Mississippi river and were engaged in forming
:-^W|Wl f f
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
475
the blockade off Galveston and Mobile. Mr.
Hanson continued in the service until December,
1865, when he received an honorable discharge,
after which he located at Vineland, New Jersey.
There he turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits, which he followed for nine years, but
the business was entirely new to him, and after
nine years of hard work, in which he gained much
valuable experience, he was glad to get out of his
farm what he had put into it. He then came west,
locating first at San Francisco, and in 1876 took
up his abode on his present farm on Camas
prairie, where he secured three hundred and
twenty acres of land, to which he has added an-
otherquartersection, now owning a valuable tract
of four hundred and eighty acres. He has erected
there a comfortable residence, good barns and
outbuildings, and has all the latest improved ma-
chinery necessary in carrying on his farm after
the most approved modern methods. He raises
grain, hay, cattle, horses and hogs, and has had
as high as two hundred head of cattle at one time.
He is a successful stock-raiser, and has acquired
a handsome competence through his well directed
efforts.
In 1859 Mr. Hanson was married to Mrs. Anna
Savage, widow of James Savage. She had no
children by her first marriage, but by the second
union has become the mother of the following
named : Henry, a farmer and miner, residing at
White Bird, Idaho; George, who carries on farm-
ing and stock-raising; Frederick, an agriculturist;
\\'illiam and Charles, who are at home with their
parents.
Mr. Hanson is a Republican in politics and has
been a member of the Masonic fraternity since
1857. Both he and his estimable wife hold mem-
bership in the Methodist Episcopal church and
are people of the highest respectability, enjoying
the friendship and esteem of all who know them.
]Mr. Hanson has ever been a loyal citizen since
first entering the naval service of his adopted
land, and no native-born son is truer to her inter-
ests and welfare.
CH.\RLES F. LELAND.
Charles F. Leland, coming to Lewiston in his
bo\hood, has spent almost his entire life in this
beautiful and prosperous city of northern Idaho.
where he is now serving as general stage agent
and also as agent for the Northern Pacific Ex-
press Company. He was born in Portland, Ore-
gon, November 5, 1858, and in 1864 removed to
Lewiston with his parents. His father. Alonzo
Leland, was born in Springfield, \'ermont, July
12, 1818, and in the public schools acquired his
education. At the age of sixteen he began to
earn his own living by teaching, which profession
he followed for two years, in the meantime doing
what he could to fit himself for a higher educa-
tion. He subsequently spent three years as a
student in the New Hampshire State Academy,
and for a similar period continued his education
in Brown University, graduating with honor in
the class of 1843. During the acquirement of his
education he maintained himself by working dur-
ing vacations at the carpenter's trade. After the
completion of his collegiate course he engaged
in teaching in Maryland and in Massachusetts for
a number of years, but becoming aware of the
great possibilities of the growing west he re-
solved to try his fortune on the Pacific coast. By
way of the isthmus of Panama he proceeded to
Portland, Oregon, where he arrived in October,
1850, and having acquired a knowledge of civil
engineering he was employed on the work of
surveying and platting that city, which was then
being builded in the bushes along the banks of
the Willamette river. Subsequentlv he turned his
attention to journalism and had the honor of
establishing the first daily paper, the Portland
Standard, in that then rapidly growing town. He
was appointed and served as postmaster of Port-
land, and also held the ofifice of judge of the pro-
bate court. In the meantime he had devoted
much of his leisure time for several years to the
study of law, and in 1861 was admitted to the bar.
It was not long after this that discoveries of
gold were made at Florence and Warrens, Idaho,
and with the hope of more rapidly acquiring
wealth Alonzo Leland made his way to the terri-
tory of Idaho, where for some time he was en-
gaged in placer gold mining. In 1862 he opened
a law office in Lewiston, and was prominently
connected with the important litigated interests
in those early days. In addition he was also con-
nected with the Lewiston Journal and was the
founder of The Teller, which he conducted as a
neutral paper, devoted to the best interests of his
town and surrounding country. He made this
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
one of the leading journals of the state, and
through its columns he advocated and promoted
many movements of great public benefit. He
continued to edit and publish this paper until
189 1, when he sold out. His death occurred in
October of the same year, and thus was ended an
important life work. In early manhood he mar-
ried Miss Rachel Bliss, a native of Springfield,
Vermont, and to them were born five children,
four of whom are yet living.
Charles F. Leland, the fourth in order of birth,
was a mere child when his parents came to Lew-
iston. In its public schools he acquired his edu-
cation, and in his father's office he learned the
printer's trade, which he mastered, becoming an
expert workman. He was admitted to a partner-
ship in The Teller, and assisted in making it one
of the most progressive and readable journals in
this section of the state. In 1891 the paper was
sold and he has since devoted his energies to
other lines of activity.
Mr. Leland has been somewhat prominent in
the public service, having for two years accept-
ably served as marshal of Lewiston. In politics
he has been a lifelong Democrat and warmly
espouses the principles of his party. Since June,
1893, he has been general stage agent, and in
May, 1894, was appointed agent for the Northern
Pacific Express Company, serving both the com-
pany and the citizens of Lewiston in a most satis-
factory manner.
In 1892 Mr. Leland married Mrs. Helen Clin-
dining, widow of John Clindining, a prominent
citizen of Lewiston and a daughter of Joel B.
Martin, a noted pioneer of Idaho. Mr. and Mrs.
Leland now have one child, Evangeline Rudel.
They have a delightful home in Lewiston and en-
joy the esteem of many friends. Mr. Leland is
an acceptable member of the Knights of Pythias
fraternity, and is widely and favorably known in
this community, where he has spent almost his
entire life.
JOHN GREEN.
For the past four years a distinguished member
of the Lewiston bar, John Green was born in
Wythe county, Virginia, September 30, i860, and
is a descendant of General Nathaniel Greene, of
Revolutionary fame. His father, John W. Green,
was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and
married Miss Bettv Newell Fulton, a native of
Staunton, Mrginia, and a direct descendant of
the noted family of Stewarts. Her father, An-
drew S. Fulton, was judge of the supreme court
and presided over the fifteenth judicial district of
Virginia for thirty consecutive years. He was a
cousin of J. E. Stewart, a prominent cavalry of-
ficer in the civil war. When a young man Mr.
Green, the father of our subject, removed to
Hillsville, Virginia, and became a successful mer-
chant of the town, where he carried on operations
along that line until his death, which occurred
March 24, 1899, when he had reached the age of
sixty-seven years. His wife still survives him and
is now in her sixty-eighth year. They were
prominent and leading members in the Presby-
terian church, and in his political views Mr.
Green was a Democrat. He held the office of
treasurer of Carroll county, V'irginia, for sixteen
consecutive years and was a citizen of the highest
integrity and worth.
John Green, of this review, was the second in
a family of two sons and two daughters. He was
reared to manhood in Carroll county, Virginia,
completed his literary education by his gradua-
tion in the Hampden-Sidney College, with the
class of 1880, and pursued the study of law in
the office and under the direction of his grand-
father, Judge Andrew S. Fulton, and his uncle.
Judge John Fulton, both eminent jurists of the
Old Dominion. He began the practice of his
profession in his native county, where he prac-
ticed successfully for ten years. He then trav-
eled quite extensively through the west, and after
visiting many points he gave to the city of Lewis-
ton his preference and located here August 15,
1895. From the beginning he has succeeded in
his new field of labor and now has a distinctively
representative clientage. It would be impossible
for any one man to be perfectly familiar with
every point of law, but it is possible for him to
prepare for each case, and his careful study, ana-
lyzation and plan of argument ofttimes bring the
decisions for which he strives. Mr. Green is par-
ticularly careful in informing himself on the law
which applies to the questions in controversy,
and this, added to his logical reasoning and ora-
torical power, renders his efforts before court or
jury most effective. The public and the profes-
sion accord him a foremost place in the ranks of
the legal fraternity. Since his arrival in Lewis-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ton he has also been thoroughly identified with
the affairs of the city and county and withholds
his support from no measure which he believes
will prove of public benefit. He is a stockholder
in the Lapwai Placer Mining Company, owning
a number of rich mining claims, which they are
now preparing to work after the most approved
methods.
On the 9th of September, 1896, Mr. Green was
vmited in marriage to Miss Annie Alice Russell,
a native of Douglas county, Oregon, and a
daughter of George Russell, who was born in
Kentucky, but who for twenty years has been a
resident of the Sunset state. Mr. and Mrs. Green
now have two interesting little daughters: Ethel
Alice and Lucile. They ha\*e a delightful home
in Lewiston and are highly esteemed.
Mr. Green was made a Master Mason in Ful-
ton Lodge, No. 193, F. & A. M., which was or-
ganized by his grandfather and named in his
honor. He became actively interested in the work
of the order and has served as junior warden
of the lodge. He also belongs to the Knights of
Pythias fraternity, and to Tscemimcum Tribe,
No. 8, I. O. R., of Lewiston, having the honor of
being the present sachem of the latter. Both he
and his wife are members of the United Artisans.
In politics Mr. Green has been a lifelong Demo-
crat and has taken an active part in the work and
counsels of this party. In a recent campaign he
was candidate for county attorney, but though he
made a strong race was defeated by a small ma-
jority. In Virginia he served as chairman of the
Democratic county committee and a member of
the state executive committee, and did a large
amount of campaign work. He has studied
closely the issues of the day and his intelligent
support of the party measures has been effective
in securing their adoption in the locality in which
he resides. He is a young man of marked ability
and strong intellectuality, and his honorable
career adorns a profession that has furnished to
the nation many of her most brilliant men.
M.ASON A. CORNW,\LL.
This honored citizen of Moscow has now
attained the venerable age of seventy-seven
years, yet largely possesses the vigor of a man
in his prime. His life has been a busy, useful
and honorable one, and has been crowned with
a rich measure of success as the fitting reward
of his labors and his well directed energies. He
is still actively interested in business affairs and in
all that is connected with the state's prosperity
and progress, and is one of the most valued cit-
izens of Idaho. Old age is not necessarily a
synonym of weakness or inactivity. It need not
suggest as a matter of course want of occupation
or helplessness. There is an old age that is a
benediction to all that comes in contact with it,
that gives out of its rich stores of learning and
experience, and grows stronger intellectually and
spiritually as the years pass. Such is the life of
Mr. Cornwall, an encouragement to his associ-
ates and an example well worthy of emulation to
the young.
Mason A. Cornwall was born in Truxton,
Cortland county, New York, December 2, 1821,
and is a descendant of an old English family that
numbers many prominent men among its repre-
sentatives. Four Cornwall brothers emigrated to
New England in 1636, and founded the family in
Connecticut and Rhode Island. William Corn-
wall settled in Hartford, Connecticut, and became
the progenitor of the branch of the family to
which our subject belongs. Benjamin Cornwall,
his grandfather, served as a captain in the colo-
nial army throughout the Revolutionary war, thus
valiantly aiding in the struggle for independence,
and after the establishment of the republic he
removed from Connecticut to Montgomery
county, New York. He had a large family of
boys, and with therh he divided his landed pos-
sessions in Truxton, Cortland county, and they
all settled around him. There he resided, sur-
rounded by the comforts of life, until called to
his final rest, in 1835, at the age of seventy-five
years. His wife bore the maiden name of Esther
Carrington.
Their son Enos Cornwall, the father of our
subject, was born in the Nutmeg state, and
located on a farm near his father in Cortland
county, New York. Loyalty to his country
prompted his service as captain of a company
in the war of 1812, and at all times he was faith-
ful to his duties of citizenship. He married Miss
Betsy Fox, a native of Montgomery county, and
they became the parents of ten children, six of
whom reached years of maturity. The mother
departed this life at the age of forty years and the
478
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
father died in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
They were Baptists in their reHgious faith and
were people of the highest respectabihty.
Alason A. Cornwall, their youngest son, is now
the only surviving member of the family. He
was educated at Cornwall Hill, the place of his
nativity, so called in honor of his father. Remov-
ing to the Western Reserve of Ohio, he settled
in Cuyahoga, and while there he worked in order
to secure further educational advantages afiforded
in the Berea Seminary. After leaving that insti-
tution he taught school for several years and then
entered the Fredonia Academy, wherein he be-
came a teacher of French. Subsequently he
removed to Canada, where he was successfully
engaged in educational work for more than
twenty years, having the happy faculty of im-
parting clearly and readily to others the knowl-
edge he had acquired. From Canada he removed
to Lorain county, Ohio, where he purchased a
large ranch at a bargain, retaining possession of
that property until 1864, when he sold the farm
(for which he had paid twelve hundred dollars)
for forty-seven hundred dollars. Mr. Cornwall
also resided for about twenty years in the town-
ship of Eagle, Richland county, Wisconsin, and
became the owner of a number of farms there.
He also purchased a portable sawmill, which
was to be operated by another man, but the one
who took charge of it did not make a success of
the business, and Mr. Cornwall converted it into
a store, carrying on merchandising there for sev-
eral years. The confinement, however, made in-
roads upon his health, and he went to New
Orleans, where he became interested in sugar
plantations and both made and lost money.
In 1883 he arrived in Idaho and secured from
the government a ranch of eighty acres, six and
a half miles east of Moscow. There he built a
store, opened trade, secured the establishment
of a post-office, which was called Cornwall, and
continued merchandising until 1887, when he re-
moved to Moscow. Here he engaged in money
loaning and in speculating, and subsequently
established the Bank of Moscow, in partnership
with McConnell, McGuire & Brown. He held
half of the stock and was elected president, but
after five months he withdrew, and in 1890 erected
the Cornwall Block, sixty-two and a half feet
front, on Third street, and seventy feet deep. It
is a fine substantial structure, three stories in
height, and stands as a fitting monument to his
business ability and enterprise. He now owns
nearly the whole of that valuable block, one hun-
dred and twenty-five feet front, and his building
brings him a rental of four hundred dollars per
month. He continues his money speculations
and is still the owner of the ranch which he
entered from the government, together with
many other fine ranches, which are principally
planted to wheat. He has built and occupies one
of the finest residences in the town, and it stands
in the midst of twenty-seven acres of ground.
Mr. Cornwall is also largely interested in several
gold quartz-mines, among which is the ■ Ozark
mine, at Florence, and the Oro Fino, which
assays as high as one hundred and twenty-five
dollars to the ton, and of which he and his son
own one-half interest. He has shares to the value
of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars
in the Golden Gate mine, six and a half miles
from Moscow, its ore assaying seventy-six dollars
to the ton, and is a shareholder in many other
rich mining properties.
In 1849 ^I'"- Cornwall married Miss Barbara
Wise, a lady of German descent, who was born
in Canada. Their union was blessed with four
sons and two daughters. They lived happily to-
gether for about twenty years, when death
claimed the loving wife, during their residence
in \\'isconsin. All of the children of that mar-
riage still reside in the Badger state, except the
eldest daughter, who is deceased, and the second
child, Frank E., who resides in Moscow and is
his father's partner in various enterprises. !Mr.
Cornwall was again married July 17, 1881. when
Vnnie Maria Olson became his wife. She was
born in Wisconsin and is of Norwegian descent.
Their children are: Lulu A., Mason H., Enos C.
and Corwin E., all living at home with their
parents, although the two eldest are now attend-
ing the state university. ]^Irs. Cornwall is a
valued member of the Presbyterian church and
Mr. Cornwall contributes liberally to its support.
He was made a Master Mason many years ago
in Orion Lodge, No. 70, F. & A. M., in Wiscon-
sin, filled every ofifice and is now past master. He
has now reached the age of seventy-seven years,
but is still hale and hearty. The record of his
life is a historv of business abilitv and success, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
his taxes now amount to one thousand dollars
annually. He has been a liberal giver to church
and public enterprises and has taken a deep inter-
est in the upbuilding and prosperity of the town.
In his business dealings he has ever been just and
honorable, and on no occasion has he ever
oppressed or cramped a debtor whom he believed
to be honest, but who through unfortunate cir-
cumstances was unable to meet his obligations.
His life has been one of the highest integrity. He
is a man of broad scholarly attainments, of culture
and ability, and he belongs to that class of repre-
sentative Americans who, while advancing indi-
vidual success, also promote the general welfare.
WILLI.\M F. SCHMADEKA.
This gentleman has been such an important
factor in the upbuilding of Grangeville that his
life record forms a part of its history, and no
work purporting to give an account of the
growth and improvement of Idaho and her towns
and cities would be complete without an account
of his life. He has always resided in the north-
west, his interests are centered here, and he has
labored untiringly for the best interests of this
section of the country.
A native of Lane. county, Oregon, he was born
on the 5th of September, i860, and is a son of
George Schmadeka, one of the honored pioneers
of northern Idaho, whose sketch appears else-
where in this work. Our subject was educated in
the public schools of Oregon, and also con-
tinued his education in Grangeville, w"hither he
came with his parents when sixteen years of age.
He entered the Grangeville Academy, and prose-
cuted his studies under the direction of Judge
Hall. He entered upon his business career as a
farmer and stock-raiser, and, owing to his capable
management and wise business policy, met suc-
cess in his undertakings. He had been a resident
of the county only a vear when the Nez Perces In-
dian war broke out, at which time he was on the
ranch with his brothers, George, John and Henry,
and his sister, Caroline. While they were loading
up a wagon in order to make their escape to
Mount Idaho they were joined by some freight-
ers, who had been attacked by the Indians and
had cut their horses loose from the wagons and
ridden them to the Schmadeka farm. They all
made their way together to Mount Idaho, the
Indians following them almost to the town. At
Mount Idaho our subject and his brothers
assisted in fortifying the place and remained there
for twenty days. After returning to their home,
in connection with other settlers ol the locality,
they built a strong stockade, formed of logs six-
teen feet long, imbedded in the ground five feet.
There were three thicknesses of logs. In the
center of the stockade was the Grange Hall, the
second floor of which was used as a hospital for
wounded soldiers, and they fortified the upper
room by piling sacks of flour on the inside of
the walls. The fort at Mount Idaho was built
of stone, and Mr. Schmadeka took an active part
in preparing these places of safety and stood on
guard many a night on the hill near by, in order
to give the warning in case of attack.
He has long been prominently identified with
the business interests of the city, having for
twelve years conducted a meat market, after
which, in 1893, he established his present general
mercantile store. He erected a brick building,
fifty by eighty feet, which is filled with a large
and well selected stock of dry goods, groceries,
men's furnishing goods and millinery. He re-
ceives a liberal patronage and is conducting a
profitable and constantly increasing business. He
is also accredited with having erected more build-
ings in Grangeville than any other man. He put
up the first brick block and the second two-story
building, the first being the Grange Hall, and all
these substantial structures, erected through his
efYorts, not only stand as monuments to his enter-
prise and business ability, but have also proven of
material benefit to the town.
On the loth of May, 1893, Mr. Schmadeka was
united in marriage to Miss Lorena Harmon, the
wedding ceremony being performed by the Rev.
W. A. Hall, his friend and former teacher. Their
union has been blessed with one son, whom tliey
have named Edmund Carlisle. Theirs is one of
the most beautiful homes in Grangeville, sur-
rounded by extensive and well kept grounds, and
its hospitality makes it the center of a cultured
society circle.
In his political views Mr. Schmadeka has al-
ways been a Democrat, and active in support of
the party. He served as deputy sheriff of the
county under T. J. Rhodes, and was a member
of the first board of trustees of the town of
480
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Grangeville, being appointed to that position by
the board of county commissioners. He was
afterward elected to the same office and dis-
charged his duties in a most prompt and able
manner. He was also at one time an active
worker in the Grange, and has ever been regarded
as one of the most progressive and public-spir-
ited citizens of his town and county.
WILLL\M F. SOAniERC.\MP.
William F. Sommercamp, the leading merchant
of Weiser, Idaho, is a native son of the golden
west. He was born in California, February 16,
i860, and comes of German ancestry. His father,
William F. Sommercamp, was born in Germany
and when a young man emigrated to America,
landing at New Orleans, where for a time he fol-
lowed his trade, that of confectioner. Subse-
quently he married Miss Mary Slack, of
Zanesville, Ohio, and shortly after their marriage
they removed to California, where he engaged in
mining. In 1864 he came over into Idaho and
became one of the promient miners and stock-
raisers of Owyhee county. He died in the sixty-
second year of his age. His widow is living,
aged fifty-nine years, and of their children, — three
daughters and seven sons, — only four are now
living, three sons and a daughter.
William F., the subject of this sketch, is the
eldest of the family. He was in his fifth year
when they moved to Idaho and located in Silver
City, and in the public schools of this place his
education was begun. Later he attended St.
Augustine College, at Benicia, and, after clerk-
ing three years in a mercantile establishment,
took a course in Heald's Business College, San
Francisco, where he graduated in due time.
After his graduation he accepted a position in a
San Francisco wholesale house, where he re-
mained three years. Next, we find him at Bodie
employed as bookkeeper for Gilson, Barber &
Company, and afterward he was for two years
receiving teller in the Bodie Bank. Returning
to Silver City at the end of that time, he became
manager of the mercantile business of W. D.
Bigelow. In the course of a year Mr. Bigelow
died and Mr. Sommercamp took charge of the
business, running it on shares for a year.
Then he purchased the stock and continued the
business five years longer. In 1891 he came to
Weiser and opened his general merchandise busi-
ness in this city. From the first he met with grati-
fying success, his long experience and excellent
training standing him in good stead. His busi-
ness has constantly grown, and to-day his well
stocked general store would do credit to any
merchant in any town.
Mr. Sommercamp was married December 16,
1 88 1, to Miss Alice Harley, a native of Oregon
and a daughter of W. S. Harley of that state.
They have two sons and a daughter, — William
FL, Walter E. and Ora Belle.
Mr. and Mrs. Sommercamp are worthy mem-
bers of the Episcopal church. Fraternally he is
identified with the popular orders of Odd Fel-
lows, Knights of Pythias and Masons. In the
I. O. O. F. he is past grand, and past chief
patriarch of the encampment, and he holds the
rank of past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias.
Politically he supports the Democratic party, tak-
ing an active and influential part in local affairs.
For three successive terms he served as treasurer
of Owyhee county.-
HENRY A. RUSSELL.
Among the industrial interests which claim the
attention of the residents of northern Idaho fruit-
raising now demands special attention, and the
gentleman whose name heads this review has at-
tained considerable prominence as a horticultur-
ist and has made a life study of the subject, is
familiar with the needs of the different kinds of
fruits, and his success has demonstrated his prac-
ticability and enterprise. It is worthy of note
that he was but twelve years of age when he
planted his first orchard, which comprised two
hundred pear, peach and apple trees, which he
purchased of the Rochester, New York, nurser-
ies, with funds of his own earning.
A native of Mercer county. Pennsylvania, Mr.
Russell was born December 23, 1855, and is of
German and Irish ancestors, who settled there at
an early period in its history. His father, John
Russell, was born in Lawrence county, Pennsyl-
vania, and married Miss Julia A. Bryan. By
occupation he is a farmer and live-stock dealer
and has followed these pursuits throughout his
entire life. He is now seventy-two years of age.
His wife died in 1887, at the age of sixty-four
years. In their family were seven sons and three
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
481
daughters, all of whom are yet living. Leonard
Russell, the grandfather of our subject, was a
native of JManassas Gap, Virginia, and died at the
age of eighty-nine years.
Henry Agnew Russell, who was the third child
in his father's family, was reared under the
parental roof and acquired his education in the
Jamestown Academy and the Pennsylvania State
Normal School, after which he spent several years
in Illinois, in teaching and studying. He then
made his way across the Mississippi, and at dif-
ferent times has been in southwestern Missouri,
Kansas, Dakota and eastern Washington, teach-
ing in most of those states. He came to his pres-
ent home in 1892 and here has two hundred and
forty acres of land. He has planted his trees
twenty feet apart, alternating the apple trees with
peaches, pears, cherries and prunes. Upon his
arrival he erected a nice commodious residence,
in which he and his family reside, and all the
other accessories of the model farm are there
found, in addition to the fruits mentioned.
Being a practical nurseryman he propagates
ornamental trees and plants as well as fruit trees,
and raises wheat, oats, corn, beans, barley, tim-
othy and clover hay, flax, live stock, poultry and
Italian bees. While the orchard was young he
planted it with beans, placing five rows between
the trees, believing the growing of a leguminous
crop to be much better than to leave the ground
uncultivated and uncovered. He raised one thou-
sand pounds of beans to the acre, last season's
crop amounting to eighteen tons, without taking
any of the tree food from the ground, and the
land seemed benefited by the methods which he
followed. He has taken a very active interest in
fruit culture and fruit shipping, his present
orchard consisting of more than ten thousand
trees, mostly coming in bearing, the output
amounting to five carloads last season, and it
would be almost impossible to find any one better
informed on the subject than he, having propa-
gated most of the orchard trees now bearing in
the Potlatch fruit belt.
Mr. Russell was assistant collector of fruits,
etc.. for the World's Columbian Exposition,
which display from Idaho was so greatly admired
and highly spoken of. He was also the first ap-
pointed fruit inspector of Idaho and has served
continuously under the different laws enacted.
The work of this ofificer is to inspect the orchards,
to direct and compel the ridding them of fruit
pests and noxious weeds and to aid in promoting
and protecting the horticultural interests of the
commonwealth and preventing the sale or dis-
tribution of infected fruits, etc. He was the rep-
resentative of the Potlatch fruit-growers at the
Spokane Fruit Fair for three years, and received
the gold medal for their display of fruits. He is
one of the vice-presidents of the Northwestern
Fruit Growers' Association, and it was from their
exhibition at the Columbian Exposition that the
fruit was taken which won the first prize in com-
petition with the apples of the world. Very suc-
cessful fruit fairs are now held in Spokane annu-
ally, and the horticultural interests of the north-
west are thereby greatly advanced. Mr. Russell
has built a fruit evaporator on his property with a
capacity of three tons of green fruit daily, and is
thereby prepared to care for the products of his
orchard when the market will not pay fair prices
for the fresh fruit. He has served for some years
as inspector and secretary of the Potlatch Horti-
cultural Association, and is regarded as one of the
leading representatives of the fruit-raising inter-
ests of Idaho.
Mr. Russell was married September 15, 1886,
to Miss Minnie O. Burns, a native of Ray county,
Missouri, and a daughter of Agnew Burns. They
now have three children, Eniile H., Frederick A.
and Floyd E. In politics Mr. Russell is a Repub-
lican, locally casting his vote without regard to
party ties. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen
of the World and the Knights of Pythias fra-
ternity, and is held in high esteem by all who
know him.
LEMUEL C. NE.\L.
A representative of the mercantile interests of
Lewiston, Lemuel C. Neal is engaged in the
furniture and undertaking business and is a most
energetic, enterprising man, whose success comes
to him as the reward of his well directed efforts,
and is therefore justly deserved. He is native of
Wisconsin, his birth having occurred at Sun
Prairie, Dane county, on the 12th of June, 1845.
His ancestors were early settlers of Maine, and
there his parents, Thomas and Olive (Dalton)
Neal, were born, reared and married. In 1843
they removed to Wisconsin, locating within its
borders ere its admission to the L^nion. In 1867
482
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
they went to Kansas, purchased lands at Beloit,
and there the father carried on agricultural pur-
suits until his death, which occurred in 1887,
when he had reached the age of seventy-two
years. His wife departed this life in her fifty-
sixth year. They had nine children, of whom six
are living.
Lemuel C. Neal, the fifth in order of birth, was
reared to manhood on his father's farm in Wis-
consin, and pursued his education through the
winter seasons in a log school house, while in the
summer months he assisted in the labors of culti-
vating the fields. When he was but sixteen years
of age the country became involved in the great
civil war, and from the beginning his patriotic
spirit prompted his enlistment. It was not until
the 29th of September, 1862, however, when he
was seventeen years of age, that he was received,
but the demand for soldiers had then become so
great that the enlisting ofificers did not draw the
lines so closely, and he was enrolled among the
boys in blue of Company I, Twelfth Wisconsin
Infantry. He participated in the siege and cap-
ture of Vicksburg, under General Grant, and was
later, with General Sherman, in the memorable
Atlanta campaign, taking part in the thirty-days
fighting before the city was reached and captured.
Then came the celebrated march to the sea, and
later he participated in the grand review in Wash-
ington, the most brilliant military pageant ever
seen in the western hemisphere, the victorious
army marching through the streets of the capital
city that was the seat of a government whose
power and supremacy they had established by
the force of. arms. Mr. Neal then returned to
Wisconsin, and was honorably discharged in
June, 1865, after two years and nine months of
faithful service. He participated in many a hard-
fought battle, including the terrible battle of At-
lanta, but had the good fortune to return to his
home with only a slight flesh wound. The record
of the boy soldier was a most brilliant and credit-
able one, and he had just completed his twentieth
year when mustered out.
When the war was over and the country no
longer needed his services, Mr. Neal engaged in
farming in his native state, and also followed that
occupation in Dakota, where he took up wild land
from the government, transforming it into richly
cultivated fields. He also erected and conducted
a hotel in Larimore, North Dakota, for ten years,
and there established a furniture and undertaking
business, meeting with success in both lines of
endeavor. His excellent business methods, strict
integrity and careful management brought him
prosperity, and he continued his active connec-
tion with the business interests of that state until
failing health caused him to seek a different loca-
tion, and he found the needed change of climate
in Lewiston. Here he purchased property and
built a good residence and store, opening a furni-
ture and undertaking establishment. He has won
an enviable reputation in business circles, and his
reliability, reasonable prices and earnest desire to
please his patrons have secured him a good trade.
He studied embalming in the Minneapolis School
of Embalming, and, having had an experience of
twenty years in the business, is a careful and
accomplished funeral director.
In 1879 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Neal and Miss Ella Forest, a native of Canada.
Four children have blessed their union, namely:
John T., Olive E., Thomas F. and Mabel W. The
parents are active and prominent members of the
Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Neal is now
serving as elder. He is a worthy member of R.
B. Hayes Post, No. 2, G. A. R., at Lewiston, and
while in Dakota filled all the offices of the post
with which he was connected there. He is also a
member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges
in Lewiston, and is highly esteemed in social,
church and business circles, being true and faith-
ful to every duty and in every relation of life. He
is as loyal to the best interests of his country as
when he followed the starry banner over the bat-
tle fields of the south and valiantly fought for t"he
preservation of the LTnion.
JAMES COLSON.
One of the respected pioneer farmers of Salu-
bria is James Colson, who came to Idaho in
1864, and has since been engaged in stock-rais-
ing. He was born in Ripley county, Indiana,
October 23, 1834, a son of John and Polly (Allen)
Colson, the former of whom was a farmer in Ken-
tucky, moving to Iowa in 1850, where he was
successful as a business man and land-owner.
He died at the advanced age of seventy years. To
him and his wife were born eight children, three
of whom survive.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
James Colson was reared on his father's farm
and received his education in the public schools,
remaining at home until 1853, when he crossed
the plains to California, locating in Siskiyou
county. Here he engaged in mining, but met
with only moderate success, notwithstanding the
fact that he took out in one day four hundred
dollars, which, with a great deal more, he lost in
unprofitable mining enterprises. After three
years spent in California he returned to his home
by steamer and in i860 went to Colorado, where
he mined a year, then removed to Idaho in 1864,
and during his many journeys never met with any
misfortune. He resided two years at Idaho City
and a similar length of time at Weiser, and in
1868 located in Salubria valley, on one hundred
and sixty acres of land, and since then has been
successfully engaged in raising cattle, horses and
hogs. In politics Mr. Colson is a silver Repub-
lican, but has never sought office, preferring to
give his entire attention to his business.
On July 3, 1856, our subject was married to
Miss Margaret Ann Taylor, a native of Ohio, and
of this union ten children were born, of whom
five are now living, namely: Anthony M., Daniel
S., Frank, Charles and George. Mr. and Mrs.
Colson are consistent members of the Methodist
church, of which he is one of the pillars. Thor-
oughly reliable in all his dealings, Mr. Colson
possesses the high regard and confidence of all
with whom he comes in contact.
JAMES J. ROGERS.
The life of James J. Rogers has not been one
of unvarying monotony, circumscribed by the
habits, thoughts and customs of some narrow
community, but contains many interesting inci-
dents that come with travel and extensive inter-
course with the world. Born on the Atlantic
coast, he has visited foreign lands, has viewed
many of the interesting scenes of our own coun-
try, and is now located in the beautiful city of
Boise, which nestles in one of the loveliest valleys
of the Pacific slope. There he is successfully
engaged in the practice of law, and in the political
affairs of the state he is no unimportant factor.
A native of Maryland, he was born in the city
of Baltimore, on the 24th of July, 1862, and is of
Irish lineage. His parents, Joseph P. and Eliza-
beth (Donahue) Rogers, were both natives of Bel-
fast, Ireland, and in 1858 crossed the Atlantic to
Baltimore, where the father devoted his energies
to bookkeeping. In politics he was a Democrat,
and in religious belief both he and his wife were
Catholics. His death occurred on the 14th of
April, 1895, when he had reached the age of six-
ty-two years, and his wife passed away on the
22d of February, 1878, at the age of thirty-nine
years. They were the parents of nine children,
seven of whom are residents of either Illinois or
Iowa.
During his childhood James J. Rogers re-
moved with his parents from his southern home
to New York city, and in America's metropolis
he spent his early boyhood. He there attended
the public schools, and after the removal of the
family to Peoria, Illinois, he was a student in the
Christian Brothers' College of that city for sev-
eral years. On putting aside his text-books he
entered the theatrical profession, and played with
several companies in the south and southwest.
In 1882, however, he abandoned the histrionic
art and entered the Washington University, at
St. Louis, Missouri, where he pursued a special
course in painting, and for some time thereafter
engaged in portrait-painting and decorating. He
has traveled extensively and has gained that
knowledge and culture which only travel can
bring. He has visited China and Japan in the
Orient, our new possessions in the Pacific, — the
lately annexed Hawaiian islands, — the cold
regions of Alaska, and many points in the United
States that are of interest to the traveler. For
six years he resided in Nevada, and two years in
Utah and Montana, and on the 12th of February,
1892, arrived in Boise. Here he entered upon
the study of law in the office of Hon. J. H. Rich-
ards, and was admitted to the bar in 1895, after
which he began the practice of the profession as a
partner of his former preceptor. He is now alone,
occupying a suite of rooms in the Sonna Block,
and at the bar is meeting with success. He is
also a very active and influential factor in politics,
and was one of the founders of the Populist partv
in Idaho. He served as secretary of the first state
central committee, and also held that office in
1894 and 1895. The following year he was
elected to the house of representatives of Idaho
and was recognized as one of the most effective
debaters and active workers in that assemblv.
484
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In 1893 he served as secretary of the state senate.
On the 2d of January, 1889, while residing at
Elko, Nevada, Mr. Rogers was happily married
to Miss Rose Gertrude Garrecht, a native of that
place. They now have two interesting children:
Lucille Mary and James J. Mr. Rogers and his
wife enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of
Boise and occupy an enviable position in cul-
tured society circles. He is a gentleman of much
ability and great versatihty of talent. On the
stage, in the field of painting and at the bar he
has scored notable successes. His broad culture
and wide general knowledge, arising from his
travels, makes him a most entertaining conver-
sationalist, and he is a most companionable gen-
tleman, whose unfailing courtesy renders him a
favorite with all.
LAMBERT L. STRONG.
Lambert Leroy Strong, one of Lewiston's rep-
resentative and enterprising citizens, engaged in
the undertaking and embalming business here for
the past fifteen years, was born in Franklin
county, Ohio, August 8, 1849. He is of Scotch
descent and his ancestors were early settlers of
New York. The paternal grandfather was a
Methodist minister and became one of the pio-
neer settlers of Ohio. His son, Caleb Strong,
the father of our subject, was born in Ohio, and
married Miss Albinia Lambertson. When our
subject was only five years of age they removed
with their family to Cedar county, Iowa. The
father served his country in the war with Mex-
ico, and in 1862 started across the plains to Cali-
fornia, but died at Fort Kearney, at the age of
fifty years. His wife still survives him and is
now sixty-eight years of age. They had four
children, of whom three are living.
The eldest of the family, Lambert L. Strong,
spent his boyhood days under the parental roof,
and as soon as old enough to handle the plow
began work in the fields. He assisted in the culti-
vation of the fields through the summer months
and in the winter season pursued his education
in a little log school-house. On attaining his
majority he enlisted in the regular army, and
served for three years, receiving an honorable
discharge on the expiration of that term. In
1879 he came to Lewiston and entered from the
government a claim of one hundred and sixtv
acres of land, which he has improved and still
owns. He has erected a good residence on the
place and now has the fields planted to wheat.
He also has a good residence in Lewiston, where
he and his family make their home. For some
years Mr. Strong has been engaged in the under-
taking business, and in 1888 pursued a course in
the embalming school conducted by Dr. Rogers,
of San Francisco. He was graduated there Oc-
tober 23, 1890, and has since done most excellent
work in the line of embalming. He keeps a large
line of caskets and everything pertaining to a
first-class undertaking business, and has acquired
an excellent reputation. His reliable business
methods have gained him a very desirable posi-
tion in the ranks of the leading business men of
Lewiston, all of whom entertain for nim the high-
est regard and accord him their confidence.
In 1877 Mr. Strong led to the marriage altar
Miss Ester A. Blackington, a native of Illinois
and a daughter of M. R. Blackington, who re-
moved from Vermont to Illinois. Mrs. Strong is
a valued member of the Methodist church, and
Mr. Strong holds membership in the Knights of
Pythias fraternity. Both have many warm
friends in Lewiston, won through their sterling
qualities of mind and heart. In his political
views and affiliations Mr. Strong was for many
years connected with the Republican party, but
now disagrees with it on the great money ques-
tion. He has served his city as one of her coun-
cilmen and has twice been elected coroner of
Nez Perces county. His duties have been
promptly and faithfully performed, and no trust
reposed in him, whether of a public or private
nature, has ever been betrayed.
JOHN CORAM.
One of the most extensive land-owners and
stockmen of Camas prairie is John Coram, who,
through his well directed efiforts has achieved a
most creditable success in his business career and
has not only won a handsome competence but has
gained the confidence and respect of all, by rea-
son of his honorable methods and reliability. A
native of Bristol, England, he was born August
I, 1841, his parents being William and Jane
(Dunn) Coram, both of whom were natives of
England. They were married in that country
and in 1847 emigrated to Canada, becoming re-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
485
spected farming people of the British domain.
The mother died there in 1853, at the age of
thirty-two years, leaving her husband and two
children to mourn her loss. Mr. Coram reached
the advanced age of seventy-four years.
John Coram obtained his education in Can-
ada, and became a seafaring man. He was upon
the ocean from i860 until 1883, occupying the
position of engineer on a steamer. On December
21, 1861, when on the steamship Columbus, in
Central America, he was shipwrecked, the vessel
running ashore and dashing to pieces against the
rocks in the night. On the 27th of July, 1862,
he was on the fated steamer Golden Gate, when
she was lost by fire while en route from San
Francisco to Panama. Two hundred and thirty
passengers were lost. Mr. Coram escaped death
by swimming ashore, but he can never forget the
terrible disaster. The boat ran toward shore, but
he did not leave his post until the flames envel-
oped the sixteen-foot ladder upon which he had
to depend if he escaped. He was badly burned,
but rushed through the flames, jumped over-
board into the water and swam ashore, a dis-
tance of about five hundred yards. The marks of
that catastrophe he still carries with him in the
scars of his burns. During his "life on the ocean
wave" he experienced many hardships and dan-
gers and visited many portions of the world, so
that he has a broad and comprehensive knowl-
edge of the globe and can relate most interesting
anecdotes of his voyages and the sights he has
witnessed in foreign ports.
In 1883 Mr. Coram came to Camas prairie and
took up one hundred and sixty acres of land,
since which time he has engaged in raising cat-
tle, horses and hogs, of the Durham, Shire and
Poland-China breeds, respectively. He and his
brother have had as high as four hundred head
of cattle, one hundred head of horses and one
hundred and fifty head of hogs at one time, and
have added to their landed possessions until their
farm property aggregates eighteen hundred and
sixty acres of the rich productive land of Camas
prairie. They have met with almost phenomenal
success in their undertakings since coming to
Idaho sixteen years ago, the rich land affording
them excellent returns for their labors, while in
their stock-raising industry they have been
equally prosperous. They are gentlemen of ex-
cellent business ability and marked energy and
well deserve to be ranked among the leading cit-
izens of this section of Idaho.
Mr. Coram of this review was married in No-
vember, 1884, to Miss Mary Catherine Carroth-
ers, a native of Westminster, Canada. Their
children are: jNIaude V., Olive G., Cassia M.,
Jessie I. and Edwin. They are an interesting
family and have many friends in the community.
Mr. Coram belongs to the Masonic and Odd
Fellows fraternities, takes a deep interest in edu-
cational affairs and gives an earnest and hearty
support to all measures calculated to advance the
material, social, moral or intellectual welfare of
the community in which he resides.
EDWARD E. LORTON.
Edward Ewell Lorton, the proprietor of The
City Drug Store, at Salubria, is a native of Mis-
souri, his birth having occurred in Montgomery
county, that state, on the 29th of May, 1866. The
family of which he is a representative is of Eng-
lish origin, and the ancestry can be traced back
to John S. Lorton, the great-grandfather of our
subject, who took up his abode in Baltimore,
Maryland, at one time owning the town location,
whence he afterward removed to Norfolk, North
Carolina, in 1801, and there his son, John J.,
the grandfather of our subject, was born, March
20, 1805. In 1810 John S. Lorton and family
removed to Warren county, Kentucky, where
William H. Lorton, father of Edward Ewell Lor-
ton, was born, February 20, 1827. Having ar-
rived at years of maturity he married Miss Mary
A. Sailor, their union being solemnized Novem-
ber II, 1854. She was a native of Missouri, in
which state William H. Lorton engaged in stock
dealing. He owned a large amount of land there
and carried on business on an extensive scale.
In 1888 he came with his family to Idaho, locat-
ing in Salubria, where he is now living a retired
life.
Edward E. Lorton, whose name introduces this
sketch, is the fifth in order of birth in a family of
six children. He was educated in Shell City,
Missouri, and for a number of years successfully
engaged in teaching school, being a most able
and efficient instructor, having marked ability to
impart clearly and concisely to others the knowl-
edge that he had acquired. In 1895 he purchased
486
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the pioneer drug store of Salubria, it having been
estabhshed by W. D. Shaw, in 1889. From the
beginning Mr. Lorton has enjoyed a good trade,
which is constantly increasing, and the prosperity
which is attending his efforts is well deserved.
As a business man he is highly regarded for his
probity, and his upright, honorable methods com-
mend him to the confidence and support of all.
In politics he is a Democrat and religiously he is
connected with the Christian church. A popular
resident of Salubria, having many friends in the
community, he is justly deserving mention
among the representative men of western Idaho.
JOHN W. DANIELS.
The public-school system of Boise is a monu-
ment to the character and labors of Professor
John W. Daniels. There is no nobler profession
to which man may devote his energies than that
of the teacher. What man prominent in public
life does not attribute his success in a considerable
measure to the influence of some teacher whose
instruction he enjoyed in youth? The thoughts
implanted in the young minds grow and develop,
and largely shape the destinies of those by whom
they have been received. It is therefore of the
utmost importance that the training of the young
shall be entrusted to those who have a just appre-
ciation of the responsibilities that rest upon them,
who realize the value of physical, mental and
moral development, who can insfruct the chil-
dren how best to use their powers, and, while
promoting intellectual activity, neglect not to sow
the seeds of character that will produce high
ideals of manhood and womanhood. Such is the
mission of the teacher, and such has been the life
work of John W. Daniels.
Professor Daniels was born in England, on the
1st of January, 1846, and when five years of age
was brought to America by his parents, Thomas
and Margaret (Sullivan) Daniels, who crossed
the Atlantic with their five children, and located
near Boston, Massachusetts. The father had
learned the dyer's trade in England and had be-
come very proficient in that line of work, which
he successfully followed during his residence in
this country. He departed this life in the sixty-
third year of his age, his wife having died ten
years previously.
Their son, John W. Daniels, acquired his early
education in the public schools, where he was
always known as a bright and enthusiastic stu-
dent. In his young manhood he engaged in
school-teaching, whereby he acquired the capital
which enabled him to pursue his studies in higher
institutions of learning. He pursued a literary
course in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where
his Greek and Latin studies were directed by the
celebrated Dr. Andrews. He continued studying
and teaching alternately until his graduation in
Bates College, of Lewiston, Maine, in 1876. The
great persistence which he displayed in the ac-
quirement of his education has marked his busi-
ness career throughout life. For some time he
was engaged in teaching in the Westbrook Semi-
nary and Female College, at Westbrook, Maine,
and during that time Mr. Lippincott, now an ex-
sheriff of Boise county, was one of his pupils.
In 1876 Professor Daniels was united in mar-
riage to Miss Alice S. Steward, of North Anson,
Maine, and in 1881 they came to Boise, where
they have since made their home. At that time
the public-school system had not been estab-
lished, there was no good school building in the
town, and less than two hundred pupils. When
the large and handsome central school building,
containing sixteen rooms, was erected, the school
board was severely criticized for putting up a
structure of such dimensions, but it is now
crowded to its utmost capacity, and two other
fine brick edifices are included within the school
property of Boise. Professor Daniels at once
commenced his work of organizing a public-
school system, and has been seconded in all his
efforts by the school board, who have the utmost
confidence in the ability and trustworthiness of
their superintendent of public instruction. Thus
assisted by a progressive board, he has prose-
cuted his labors along advanced lines, introduc-
ing the best methods of teaching and securing
all the modern appliances which aid in the ac-
quirement of an education. His labors are by
everyone spoken of in terms of the highest
praise, and the schools of Boise rank with the
best in the land. A man of scholastic attainments
and broad general knowledge. Professor Daniels
is also an excellent disciplinarian, an enthusiastic
instructor and a gentleman of culture and refine-
ment, never failing to leave the impress of his
own individuality upon the minds and characters
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
481
of his pupils. He is assisted by a most efficient
corps of teachers, and the work done in the
school is alike creditable to the instructors and
the pupils. The latter are furnished with all
things necessary for their school work, from the
most advanced text-books down to lead pencils
and even pencil sharpeners.
In teachers-institute work Professor Daniels is
also very successful, for his methods are practical
and appeal at once to the intelligence of those
whom he is directing. He has the faculty of im-
parting clearly and readily to others the knowl-
edge he has acquired and of inspiring other teach-
ers with his own enthusiasm and interest in the
work. In ' 1885, after having advanced the
schools of Boise to a high standard of proficiency,
he resigned his position, studied law and was
admitted to the bar of the supreme court. He
then practiced in Boise with good success for six
years, but during this time the schools degener-
ated, and the board induced him to again resume
the superintendency, giving him a salary of two
thousand dollars per year. Almost as if by magic
the tone of the school was improved, and Boise
has now every reason to be proud of her excellent
educational system. In April, 1899, Professor
Daniels was re-elected to the superintendency,
and his long service is certainly an incontrovert-
ible argument in evidence of his marked ability.
The home of Professor and -Mrs. Daniels is
the center of a cultured society circle. Mrs. Dan-
iels possesses that grace of manner and cordiality
that renders her a charming hostess. She is an
excellent pianist and her husband possesses a fine
tenor voice, so that music is often a feature of
their pleasant "at homes." Their residence is
surrounded by most tasteful and beautiful
grounds, and the air of culture and gracious
cordiality that pervades the place is most pleas-
ing. The Professor ranks among the most noted
educators of the northwest, and the high char-
acter of his work shows forth the lofty principles
which permeate all that he says or does.
GEORGE A. FROST.
The horologe of time has marked off thirty-
nine years since George A. Frost came to the
Pacific coast, and thirty years have been added
to the cycle of the centuries since his arrival in
Lewiston. He is numbered among the esteemed
and valued residents of this place, and as a repre-
sentative citizen of northern Idaho well deserves
mention in this volume'. He was born in St.
Auburns, Somerset county, Maine, November 14,
1836, and is of Scotch and English lineage. His
parents were both natives of Kennebec county,
Maine, and in 1852 the father came to the west,
making the journey by way of the Panama route.
He first located in California, where he engaged
in mining, and was one of the first at the Corn-
stock lead, in Nevada. He later removed to
Walla Walla, Washington, where his death oc-
curred in 1878, when he had reached the age of
seventy-eight years. His widow still resides
there and is now in her seventy-ninth year.
George A. Frost is the eldest of their three
children. He was educated in Dexter, Maine,
and when his father returned to the Pine Tree
state for the family he came to the Pacific coast.
They followed the isthmus route and located in
California, our subject engaging in mining on the
American river. He afterward went to Nevada,
where he took out considerable gold, and then
sold his claim for twenty-seven thousand dollars.
Then followed a period in which he was not quite
so successful, and he returned to the east by the
overland route. He paid Charles A. Robinson
fifteen hundred dollars for a claim which was
represented to be very rich, and then again
crossed the plains for the purpose of finding and
working his new claim, but he never found it.
He then prospected in the Coeur d'Alene moun-
tains for three years, and discovered a valuable
claim, which he still owns and which is now
about to be developed. It is located between the
Coeur d'Alene and Buffalo Hump, and is a very
rich property.
Mr. Frost, however, has not confined his atten-
tion and energies entirely to mining interests.
While in San Francisco he studied photography,
and in 1871 opened an art gallery in Lewiston,
where he carried on business for three winters.
Subsequently he accepted a position in John
Brearley's private bank and was thus employed
until the death of Mr. Brearley. In 1875 he was
superintendent of the Rescue mine at Warrens.
He was also engaged in the draying business for
a number of years, but eventually sold out and is
now partially retired from active business. How-
ever, he looks after his property interests, hav-
488
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing considerable improved and unimproved city
property, and personally superintends its sales.
He manages his business interests with marked
ability, and his undaunted enterprise, strong reso-
lution and native sagacity have been the salient
features in his success.
Mr. Frost was united in marriage to Miss
Angeletta Sidelinger, a native of Maine, and to
them have been born a son and two daughters:
Caro C, George H. and Alta A. In his political
views Mr. Frost has always been a stalwart Re-
publican, unswerving in his allegiance to the
party. He was elected and served for five years
as a member of the city council of Lewiston, and
has ever been active in promoting the best inter-
ests of the town, giving his aid to all measures
tending to advance the social, intellectual, ma-
terial and moral welfare. He has witnessed almost
the entire development of this region. When
he came to Lewiston there were but four ranches
under cultivation near the city, and all goods
were brought by pack trains. Now this is a
beautiful railroad center, surrounded by a splen-
did agricultural district, the fields of waving grain
giving evidence of a prosperous and contented
people.
HON. RUEL ROUNDS.
Ex-Senator Ruel Rounds, postmaster and
prominent citizen of Idaho Falls, was born in
Rutland, A'ermont, September 3, 1841, a son of
William M. and Maria (Sanderson) Rounds, both
natives of Vermont, where his ancestors were
early settlers. Forefathers of his in both lines
fought for American liberty in the Revolutionary
war. His parents were members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church and wielded an influence
for good upon all who knew them. His father,
who was a successful farmer, died in his fifty-
eighth year. His mother died ten years younger.
Of their eight children, five are living and Ruel
was the first born.
After having gained requisite primary educa-
tion in the district schools near his home, Ruel
Rounds entered Windsor College, from which in-
stitution he was "graduated" into the United
States Army in May, 1861, without waiting to
finish his classical course. He became a member
of Company K, First Regiment Vermont Volun-
teer Infantry, and on the loth of June, the next
month after his enlistment, received his "baptism
of fire," in the battle of. Big Bethel. His term
of service expired in 1862, and he re-enlisted in
Company K, Twelfth Regiment, Vermont Volun-
teer Infantry, which was included in the Army of
the Potomac. He was in numerous engage-
ments, among them those of Falmouth, Fred-
ericksburg and Gettysburg; where he participated
in heavy and prolonged fighting. At the end of
his term of enlistment he received a second hon-
orable discharge from the service in the United
States Army. Returning to the life of a private
citizen, he was for two years engaged in the
marble business. In 1866 he left New York city
for the west and arrived in Virginia City, Mon-
tana, in the fall. A little later he joined a com-
pany of prospectors bound for the Wind River
mountain, where he prospected during the winter
and spring of 1866-7, and early in the summer
following he established a trading post at South
Bitter Creek, on the stage road between Denver,
Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah. While this
enterprise promised well at the outset, it was
doomed to an early termination, for the estab-
lishment was wiped out of existence by Indians,
July 7, 1867, and its proprietor was left nothing
but his rifle and the clothes he wore. A posi-
tion as guard on the stage line was offered him
by the Wells-Fargo Express Company, and he
accepted it, the more gladly because he hoped
some day to get a shot at some of the redskins
who had despoiled him. Whether he did or' not
he never knew, for he never recognized any of
the Indians who from time to time were defeated
in attacks on the stages on which he rode. The
life was an exciting one, and he continued it until
the Union Pacific railroad was completed to
Green river, Wyoming. He then engaged in
merchandising along the line of construction,
stopping for a longer or shorter time at different
points, as business policy appeared to dictate.
When the two branches were completed to the
junction, in 1869, he sold his stock in trade and
for about two years mined with considerable suc-
cess in the Sweet Water mining country. Again
he started up a business in marble, this time in
Denver, Colorado, but he sold it out after two
years to go back to mining in the San Juan dis-
trict in that state. There he operated to some
good purpose, and in 1878 he went to Silver Cliff,
a new mining town in the Wet [Mountain valley.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
48D
He was successful there for two years and then
mined a year at Leadville. At this time oppor-
tunity for merchandising with profit along the
Hne of construction of the Mexican Central Rail-
road was' presented. He availed himself of the
opportunity and operated at different points be-
tween El Paso del Norte and the city of Mex-
ico until the railroad was completed. He then
returned to Colorado, and in 1885 went thence to
southwestern Kansas, where he developed into
an efficient and prominent real-estate operator
and from 1885 to i88n helped to "boom" several
Kansas towns. In 1889 he returned to Colorado.
In 1890 he took up his residence in Idaho Falls,
where he bought land, and was interested with
others in the purchase of all the unsold lots in
the original town site and also bought more land
outside the town limits and helped to plat addi-
tions thereto and became one of the leading pro-
moters of the town.
In 1893 he was appointed, by Governor Mc-
Connell, commissioner for Bingham county, a
responsible position, in which he served with
great ability and credit for two years, assisting
to adjust satisfactorily all matters of difference
between Bingham and adjacent counties, grow-
ing out of the erection of several new counties
from the territory formerly known as Oneida
county. His part in these important affairs was
taken so creditably that he was the most available
Republican candidate for the state senatorship,
in the campaign that followed. He was elected
and made an enviable record as a senator, plac-
ing himself on the right side of much important
legislation and bearing a conspicuous part in the
movement which seated Hon. George L. Shoup
in the United States senate. In 1897 Mr. Rounds
was appointed postmaster of Idaho Falls, and it
is a noteworthy fact that his was the first appoint-
ment by the present administration in the state
of Idaho, it having been confirmed by the sen-
ate April 19, 1897. Mr. Rounds entered upon the
performance of the duties of this office June i,
following, and is discharging them in such man-
ner as to win the approbation of all classes of
citizens.
Mr. Rounds has seven hundred and twenty
acres of rich farming land near Idaho Falls, and
a fine fruit farm at one side of the town. His
residence in Idaho Falls is one of the finest in
the city and he owns other town property. His
interest in everything which affects the welfare
of the people of Idaho Falls and the growth and
development of the city along all industrial, com-
mercial and financial lines, is deep and abiding,
and as a citizen and an official he has the respect
of all who have knowledge of his straightforward
methods and uprightness of character.
JOSEPH ALEXANDER.
There is ever an element of interest in the his-
tory of a self-made man, — one who starts out in
life empty-handed and wrests fortune from an
adverse fate. Obstacles and difficulties are en-
countered, but to the man of resolute purpose
these but call for renewed effort and serve as
stepping stones to something higher. The life
record of Mr. Alexander stands in exemplifica-
tion of what may be accomplished in this free
land of ours, where the man of ambition and de-
termination is unhampered by caste or class.
He was born in Adelsheim, in the grand duchy
of Baden, Germany, on the 17th of March, 1837,
his parents being Samuel and Caroline (Stein-
hart) Alexander. The father was a dealer in cat-
tle and horses. Both parents were Hebrews in
religious faith, and the mother departed this life
in her forty-fourth year, while the father reached
the ripe old age of seventy-one. They had two
sons and two daughters, all yet living. Joseph
Alexander attended the public schools of his na-
tive land until his sixteenth year, when he bade
adieu to home and friends and crossed the Atlan-
tic to America, hoping to make a fortune in the
New World. He was a poor boy and the lan-
guage of the people was unknown to him, but
with a stout heart and ready hands he began
work, being employed for a few years as clerk in
a general store in New York city. During that
time he became familiar with the methods of
merchandising and thus was well fitted for carry-
ing on business on his own account.
In 1857 Mr. Alexander sailed for California,
going by way of the isthmus of Panama, and ar-
riving at San Francisco in the same year. There
he secured a clerkship which continued for three
years, during which time he saved his earnings
and was thus enabled to embark in business on
his own account. At the IMetropolitan market
he began dealing in live and dressed poultry, and
490
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
was thus engaged until, attracted by the gold
discoveries in Idaho, he came to this state with
Mr. Strouce, for whom he clerked for a few
years. He then began business on his own ac-
count in Lewiston, and the history of his ven-
ture has been one of remarkable success from
the beginning. He first opened a general mer-
cantile store on the street next to the river, and
in 1883 erected his present large store and ware-
house. He carries a large stock of general mer-
chandise and does an extensive and profitable
buaness. So successful has he been in this ven-
ture that he has been enabled to establish branch
stores in Grangeville, Genesee and Oaksdale, all
of which are now paying investments. He has
also judiciously invested in lands, until he is now
the owner of about four thousand acres, com-
prising some of the finest farms of the state. He
also owns several good buildings in Lewiston,
including a fine residence property, and for some
years has been prominently connected with the
Lewiston A^ational Bank, as vice-president, di-
rector and stockholder.
Mr. Alexander has long taken a deep and
active interest in the affairs of the town, has been
mstrumental in promoting many of its beneficial
measures, and for fourteen years has served as
a member of the city council, exercising his of-
ficial prerogatives in support of all movements
calculated for the public good. In politics he
is a Republican, and socially he is connected
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
business career has been remarkably successful,
but his wealth is the natural effect following
cause. Energy, untiring labor, keen business
discernment and unfailing honesty,— these have
made him a prosperous man, and at all times his
uprightness and reliability have won him the re-
gard and confidence of those with whom he has
been brought in contact.
LOUIS F. HORNING.
Louis F. Horning, who follows farming on
Camas prairie, is a native of the Sunset state, his
birth having there occurred August 20, 1851. His
father, Frederick Horning, was born in Prussia,
August 9, 1822, and was educated in Germany,
after which he came with his father, George God-
frey Horning, to America. The last named was
likewise a Prussian by birth, and on crossing the
Atlantic he took up his residence in St. Louis,
being one of the pioneers of that now populous
city. For fifteen hundred dollars he sold ten
acres of land which is now in the heart of the
city and is now worth an almost fabulous price.
He afterward went to Westport, Missouri, and
located on the present site of Kansas City, where
his heirs now have a vineyard which he formerly
owned. He lived to be ninety-three years of
age, and died in 1870.
Frederick Horning, the father of our subject,
went to Milwaukee, Oregon, in 1849, at which
time that little place had hopes of becoming the
metropolis of the state. Later he settled near
Corvallis and purchased a donation claim, which
he improved, transforming it into a good farm.
He spent his last days in retirement from labor,
and died in 1892, at the age of seventy years. He
married Miss Mary A. Johnson, a native of Ken-
tucky. Her father crossed the plains with his
family at a very early day and suffered greatly on
the journey. The wife and one daughter died
on the plains. The mother of our subject de-
parted this life in her thirty-ninth year. Like her
husband she was a faithful member of the Pres-
byterian church, and they were regarded by all
who knew them as people of the highest respecta-
bility and worth. Mr. Horning was also a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity. They were laid to
rest in the cemetery near Corvallis, but their
memory remains as a good influence with all who
knew them. They had a family of eleven chil-
dren, all of whom are yet living.
Louis F. Horning, their second child and oldest
son, completed his literary education in Corvallis
College, and then learned the printer's trade in
Corvallis, following that occupation for a time.
He afterward removed to southeastern Oregon
and for seven years was successfully engaged in
the stock business there. In 1879 he came to
Camas prairie, locating at his present place of
residence, where he took up a government claim
of one hundred and sixty acres. To this he has
added until his landed possessions now aggre-
gate three hundred and twenty acres. He was
still single when he came to the farm. In i8So.
however, he married Miss Dora Spooner, who
was born in Missouri, but was reared in Xew
York and Maine. He then erected a more com-
modious residence and also built substantial
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
491
barns and other outbuildings necessary for the
shelter of grain and stock. He now has a highl)-
improved farm and was one of the pioneer fruit
men of this region, especially in the cultivation
of peaches. He now has a most excellent or-
chard, and everything about the place indicates
the careful supervision of a practical and pro-
gressive owner. The home has been blessed
with the presence of five daughters and two sons,
namely: Emma, Mary, Cora, Ella, Nellie,
Charles and Arthur, all of whom were born on
the farm and are still under the parental roof.
In his political views Mr. Horning is a Demo-
crat, exercising his right of franchise in sup-
port of the men and measures of the party, yet
never seeking office for himself, preferring to de-
vote his time and energies to his business inter-
ests, in which he is meeting with good success.
He has always resided in the northwest, and is
thoroughly identified with this region, its inter-
ests and its upbuilding, ever lending his aid to
all measures for the public good.
CAPTAIN R. PICKERING.
The veteran soldier who risked his life in de-
fense of the flag, all things else being equal, takes
high rank as a citizen. This may be partly be-
cause of the quality of the patriotism of the
American public, but there is another reason for
the pre-eminence of the veteran. The man who
has the form of character to rise to distinction as
a soldier possesses the resourceful perseverance
so necessary to success in other fields. Captain
R. Pickering, who has been a prominent resident
of Genesee from its earliest history, was born in
Belmont county, Ohio, May 3, 1842, and comes
of a very old and honorable English family. The
progenitor of the American branch was Joseph
Pickering, who settled in New England in 171 1,
and he and his posterity were conspicuous in
colonial history and in the struggle for American
independence.
John Pickering, grandfather of R. Pickering,
was born in Virginia, was a successful farmer in
that state and removed to Ohio, where he was a
pioneer. There his son, Elisha Pickering, father
of R. Pickering, was born, and there he married
Miss Mary Berry. He removed later in life to
Iowa, and thence to Nebraska, where he died in
1801, aged eightv-six vears. His wife died two
years previously. This worthy couple were of
Quaker stock and were strict adherents to the
faith of their forefathers. R. Pickering, their
only son, had the advantages of excellent moral
training and was educated in the common
schools of Ohio. He had not yet celebrated his
nineteenth birthday, when, in 1861, President
Lincoln issued his first call for seventy-five
thousand volunteers, for three months, to sup-
press in the south an insurrectionary movement
whose vitality and longevity had been terribly
miscalculated. The next call was for a large
number of men to serve for three years or during
the war. In response to this call, now that war
was upon the country and there was little pros-
pects of soon dispeUing it, young Pickering of-
fered himself for his country's service, and Sep-
tember 23, 1861, enlisted in Company K, Fif-
teenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in
the Army of the Cumberland. His first engage-
ment, at Stone River, turned out somewhat disas-
trously for him. He was slightly wounded and
pretty thoroughly stunned, and when he got his
senses back he and others were prisoners in the
hands of the "Johnny Rebs" and booked for
Castle Thunder and Libby prison. He was pa-
roled at the end of six weeks' memorable expe-
rience. After he returned to the regiment he was
in the fighting at Liberty Gap, Chickamauga,
Missionary Ridge and in the Atlanta campaign, —
a month of almost continuous battling, which
ceased only when Atlanta fell. He was also in
the engagement at Franklin and Nashville, Ten-
nessee. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted and was
commissioned captain of Company I, of the same
regiment, which he commanded until the close of
the war, when he was mustered out of the service,
at San Antonio, Tex., November 26, 1865.
After the war was over Captain Pickering re-
turned to Ohio and for two years was engaged in
merchandising. He then removed to Iowa and
farmed there with success during the ensuing ten
years. Selling out his interest in Iowa, Captain
Pickering removed to Nebraska, where he re-
ceived the appointment of clerk of the Lfnited
States Indian agency and was later given charge
of the agency. When the Indians were trans-
ferred to the Indian Territory he accompanied
them and remained in charge of them until he
was given charge of the Pawnee agency. In
492
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
1889 he took up his residence in eastern Oregon,
and a few months later removed to Genesee,
where he engaged in the loan and insurance busi-
ness, which he has continued successfully to the
present time. He represents a list of strong fire
and life insurance companies, and as underwriter
has always been exceedingly popular and given
the most complete satisfaction to his patrons.
He has invested quite heavily in real estate and
owns and occupies one of the best residences
in the city. He has, for a number of years,
served the public well and faithfully as justice
of the peace and notary public.
Captain Pickering was married February 21,
1867, to Miss Sarah E. Mead, a daughter of Filo
Mead, and a native of his own county in Ohio.
Captain and Mrs. Pickering have had seven chil-
dren: Fred L. ; Mary, M., who is Mrs. George
Ingraham; Maud A., who died in her eighteenth
year; Anna, who married Charles Power; J. L. ;
Edna B., and A. F.
Captain Pickering was made a Mason in 1868,
has filled every important office and is past mas-
ter of Unity Lodge, No. 32, of Genesee. He
identified himself with the Grand Army of the
Republic at the organization, has always worked
ardently to advance its interests, is commander
of Lyon Post, No. 24, and has been a member of
the stafif of the commander of the Idaho state
department. As a business man, citizen, public
officer and veteran soldier, Captain Pickering
takes high rank. He is a man of pleasing per-
sonality, genial, sympathetic and helpful, and his
friends are many and steadfast.
GEORGE N. IFFT.
George N. IfTt, of the firm of Ifft & Wallin,
proprietors and managers of the Pocatello Trib-
une, is a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania,
born January 27, 1865. He began newspaper
work, as a reporter, in Pittsburg, that state, and
continued in that capacity and in various edi-
torial relations in other cities, as Washington,
D. C, Chicago. Denver, Salt Lake City and San
Francisco, — until January i, 1893, when he came
to Idaho, locating at Pocatello, and since that
time he has been connected with the Pocatello
Tribune, as more fully described in our sketch of
that paper.
Mr. Ifift is a Repuljlican, but is one of those
who have always been firm believers in silver as
advocated by the people of the west generally,
and as such has taken an active part in the poli-
tics of the state.
William Wallin is a practical, all-around news-
paper man, who came to Idaho in 1893, after a
service extending over a number of years in vari-
ous capacities on papers in Ogden and Salt Lake
City.
BENJAMIN BENNETT.
There have been few more impressive lessons
of the value of faithfulness in small things than
that afforded by the struggles and triumphs of
Benjamin Bennett of Idaho Falls, Idaho, who is
prominent in the commercial circles of Idaho
and adjoining states and whose high position as
a merchant and as a citizen has been gained by
honest devotion to every interest entrusted to
him as boy and man.
Benjamin Bennett was born in the north of
Wales, January i, 1846. His parents, John and
Jane (Roberts) Bennett, came to the United
States in 1863, bringing with them their ten
children, and settled at Fillmore, Millard county.
Utah. In his native land the elder Bennett had
been a sea captain and a river pilot. He became
a farmer in Utah, where he died, aged forty-six,
leaving the management of the farm and the care
of the family to his son Benjamin, then a lad of
sixteen, but one already used to work, and brave
and resolute beyond most boys of his age; for
he was the eldest son and his help had been re-
quired several years earlier. After he was twelve
years old he had no opportunity to attend school,
and he may be truly said to be a man self-edu-
cated and self-made, for he is a man of thorough
and comprehensive mental training and of un-
doubted standing. His mother and eight of her
ten children are living and she has attained to
the advanced age of seventy-six years.
Young Bennett tried to do his duty, and in so
doing made for himself a good reputation, which
helped him to a higher business plane. He was
called to a mercantile position and acquitted
himself so creditably in it that his promotion was
only a matter of time. In 1873 he was made
manager of a co-operative store at Halden, Mil-
lard county, Utah. He left that position to go
to Frisco, Beaver county, Utah, where he be-
came a partner in a mercantile house. Mean-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
493
time he had developed religiously until he was
an able speaker and an efficient worker in the
church of Latter Day Saints. He was chosen
one of the elders of that church and for a time
relinquished his business career to go on a mis-
sionary tour through England. Two years were
consumed inth^workand his labors were crowned
with gratifying success. On his return to Utah
he was made manager of a store of the Beaver
Co-operative Mercantile Institution, at Beaver,
Beaver coimty, Utah. Later he had charge of a
similar establishment at Provo City, Utah, and
from there came to Idaho Falls, in 1894, to man-
age the large mercantile house of the Zion Co-
operative Mercantile Institution at that place.
It may be edifying to note in this connection
that this extensive business house is one of the
branches of a large corporation, capitalized at
one million two hundred and fifty thousand dol-
lars, which has its principal offices at Salt Lake
City, Utah, and, through favorably located
branch stores, handles every kind of merchan-
dise required by its trade. The concern owns
and operates factories in which some classes of
goods are made, and is enabled to buy other
merchandise in large quantities, to be shipped
by the carload to some of its important branch
stores, including that at Idaho Falls. Under the
management of Mr. Bennett, the business of the
store has increased satisfactorily and extends
into the country at least fifty miles in every di-
rection. Goods are sold for cash or on credit to
approved purchasers, and a discount is made in
some classes of goods for spot cash, which is
quite an inducement to thrifty buyers.
Mr. Bennett is a Democrat, and while he has
never been particularly active politically, he has
been chosen to several important offices, among
them that of mayor of Beaver, Utah, and county
commissioner of Beaver county, LTtah. Wher-
ever he has lived, his influence has been for the
public good. He was married in 1869 to Emma
Jane Holnian, daughter of James S. Holman, of
Salt Lake City, Utah, who was a pioneer there
in 1847. They have had twelve children, eleven
of whom are living, all members of the church
of Latter Day Saints. Three of the sons are mis-
sionaries for the church, — one in England, one in
California and one in Oregon.
CHAPTER XXXUI.
BINGHAM COUNTY.
WHILE not one of the most populous nor
one of the most weahhy counties in the
state, Bingham county does not by any
means stand at the foot of the hst.
In 1891 the Idaho Register, published at
Idaho Falls, in giving a description of Bingham
county, stated that it was the largest county in
the state. Its length was one hundred and sev-
enty-six miles, its width ninety miles, and it con-
tained about fourteen thousand square miles, or
about eight million acres of land; it extended
from the Montana line on the north to within
about twenty-one miles of the Utah line on the
south. By an act approved March 6, 1893, a
strip of about fifty-six miles was taken from the
south end of the county and a new county
formed, called Bannock county, and by an act
approved March 4, at the same session of the
legislature, a strip of about seventy-five miles
was taken from the north end, forming a new
county, called Fremont. This left Bingham
county about ninety miles east and west and
about forty-five miles north and south.
The central portion of the county is traversed
by the Snake river, and what is known as the
great Snake river valley composes a large part
of the central portion of the county. It is a very
fertile section of country. The most extensive
yield of wheat, oats, hay and potatoes is here
shown. Many fields of wheat average fifty bush-
els to the acre, machine measure, which would
usually hold out to nearly fifty-five bushels by
weight, as nearly all the wheat runs sixty-two to
sixty-three pounds to the bushel. Oats at ninety
bushels to the acre, at forty pounds to the bushel,
is not an unusual yield, in fact it is seldom that
oats run less than forty pounds to the bushel and
sometimes as high as forty-four.
For quantity and quality of production there
is no country that can excel and few can compare
with this valley. All kinds of vegetables are
raised, such as squash, pumpkins, turnips, beets
and tomatoes, and while it cannot be called a
corn country this product is often raised and
matured.
About two-thirds of the area of the county is
mountainous. The foot-hills, valleys and can-
yons furnish most excellent feed for cattle and
horses, and during many seasons they are (espe-
cially horses) allowed to roam during the entire
winter to hunt their own feed, and they usually
come out in the spring in good condition. The
snow in the mountains does not commence to
melt until June, when it furnishes an abundance
of water for irrigating, the highest stages of the
river being usually between the 15th of June and
loth of July.
The climate is mild, not exceedingly hot in the
summer, the nights always being cool. The
winters are not severe, although the mercury
often indicates from fifteen to thirty degrees be-
low zero. The atmosphere being dry, the cold is
not felt to the extent the same degree of cold
would be in a damper climate.
The mountains abound in game such as elk,
deer, antelope, moose, bear and mountain sheep,
while small game, such as sage hens, prairie
chickens, partridges, grouse, geese, ducks and
rabbits, are found in the valleys, and the Snake
river and its tributaries abound in trout.
The altitude of the valley is from forty-four to
forty-eight hundred feet above the sea, or about
three hundred feet above Great Salt Lake, and in
most instances the great storms that traverse the
continent, especially those from the west, pass
either to the north or south of this section. A
blizzard or a cyclone is unknown in this valley.
Whenever the weather is severely cold there is
hardly a breath of air stirring. ■ It is a beautiful
sight on a frosty morning when the sun is just
beginning to cast its first rays over the moun-
tain tops to see the smoke from the scores of
chimneys rising straight toward the sky for hun-
dreds of feet.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
All crops are raised by irrigation and a failure
on account of drouth or excess of rainfall is not
known. Being at the head of the water supply
of the Snake river, there is no danger whatever
of the supply being exhausted. A large amount
of money has been expended in this vicinity in
building irrigating canals. There are probably
more miles of completed irrigating canals in this
valley, and the greater part of them in this
county, than in all other portions of the state
combined. None of these are prospective canals,
but each and every one of them is completed
and supplying water to those having land under
them, and. as before stated, these are all in Bing-
ham county or its immediate vicinity.
The immense canal system of the American
Falls Power & Canal Company, consists of a
main supply canal eighty feet wide at the top
and sixty feet wide at the bottom. This canal is
sixty-five miles long and one hundred miles of
laterals convey the water to the lands to be irri-
gated. The company has constructed an emer-
gency reservoir covering three hundred acres of
land, which will be used as a feeder on the lower
end of the system. The canal leaves the Snake
river about nine miles north of Blackfoot, on
the west side, and takes a general southwesterly
course, crossing the Oregon Short Line at
American Falls. The system will water about
seventy-five thousand acres of the finest and
most fertile lands in the west, and as the canal
has a carrying capacity sufificient to water ninety-
six thousand acres, there will at all times be an
abundance of water and the farmer who secures
water under this system will be fortunate. The
system is one of the most complete and exten-
sive in the west, and one of the chief features to
recommend it to a man looking for a home is the
wise provision made by the company to the ef-
fect that whenever sixty per cent, of the stock
is sold the control and management of the com-
pany passes to the farmers, thereby giving each
man entitled to water from the canal a voice in
the management of the company.
The Snake river rises in the Yellowstone Na-
tional Park, among the snow-capped peaks of
the Teton mountains, and is one of the most
beautiful rivers on the American continent. It
affords an abundance of water at all times to irri-
gate the immense tracts of land lying along its
course, and at the same time would furnish
power enough to turn the wheels of every manu-
facturing plant in the Union. The land under
this canal can be obtamed at a nominal cost, and
crops of all kinds can be raised at once. This
makes it most desirable for the poor man or man
with moderate means, as he can make a good
living and at the same time meet his payments
on the land. He has the best of markets and all
the comforts and conveniences of society,
schools and churches, as towns are being estab-
lished every few miles along the canal.
The Oregon Short Line Railroad passes.
through the county north and south, crossing
the Snake river at Idaho Falls.
The principal towns of the county are: Idaho
Falls, Blackfoot (which is the county seat and
location of the United States land-office). Basalt,
Shelly, lona; with the settlements of Riverside,
New Sweden, Tilden, Bryan, Presto, Leorin,
Taylor, Ammon, Fairview, Gray, Coltman, Rosa,
Goshen and Prospect.
The population of the county is about eight
thousand.
In regard to schools Bingham county is not
behind any of her sister counties, and she has
reason to be proud of her facilities in this line.
There are in the county thirty-four districts and
thirty-six school-houses, the total value of build-
ings and other property aggregating nearly
forty-four thousand dollars.
BLACKFOOT.
The attractive village of Blackfoot is located
on the Oregon Short Line Railroad, distant to
the north twenty-four miles from Pocatello and
one hundred and fifty-eight miles from Ogden,
Utah; while the city of Butte, Montana, is two
hundred and thirty-nine miles northward.
Its population is one thousand, grown thus
from its birth in 1880, but a conservative forecast
of its population five years hence is two thou-
sand. It is the capital of Bingham county, and
was formerly the mother county seat of this,
Bannock and Fremont counties, before their
segregation, and a twenty-three thousand dollar
court-house is here. It is the home of the State
Insane Asylum since 1885, in whose one hun-
dred and twenty-five thousand dollar structure
some one hundred and seventv-five unfortunates
496
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
are kindly kept captive. The original asj'lum
was destroyed by fire in 1887, only to be replaced
by a much better one. Since 1887 the United
States land-office has been located here, and the
following facts hint the magnitude of its transac-
tions and its vital import to Blackfoot: In May,
1898, there were of homestead entries 84, with an
acreage of 12,766; June, 95 entries, acreage
13,996; July, 122 entries, acreage 18,330. In the
corresponding period of homestead proofs there
were in May, 1898, 36, acreage 5,475; June. 22,
acreage 3,776: July, 35, acreage 5,404-
Industrially there are here: A fifteen thou-
sand dollar roller flouring mill, fifty barrels daily
capacity, and as an adjunct a five thousand dol-
lar elevator with a storage capacity of thirty
thousand bushels : a creamery is completed, which
will give a high cash market price for milk, but-
ter and cheese; the town has one hundred busi-
ness and professional representatives, and its
yearly trade transactions are about two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. Its trade territory is
twelve miles north and south and one hundred
and eighty miles west, beyond even the great
Custer county mining district, one hundred and
fifty miles distant, whose gold, silver, lead and
copper propositions sometimes employ four
thousand men, supplies for all of whom are
bought in Blackfoot, a daily stage line
running between here and Challis, the center of
the famous camps. A tri-weekly stage also runs
from here to Tilden, thirty-five miles southwest.
A goodly quota of trade is likewise drawn from
the Indian industrial school, nine miles east-
ward, where one hundred and fifty students are
under the supervision of thirty government em-
ployes.
The immediate environing country is agri-
cultural, prodigal in its products, though as
yet but in the infancy of its development and
utility.
Blackfoot maintains an advanced position in
regard to educational and religious advantages.
Its attractive brick school-house was erected at
a cost of twelve thousand dollars and is an endur-
ing monument to the zeal of the citizens for the
mental uplifting of the rising generations. Of
the religious societies the Methodists, Baptists
and Episcopalians have attractive houses of wor-
ship here, and the Mormon church also has an
organization here. The various fraternal or-
ganizations are well represented and are in flour-
ishing condition.
The business portion of Blackfoot is of attrac-
tive brick and stone structures, the stone being
quarried near by. The town is tented in trees,
hence is called "Grove City." The great Snake
river is but a mile to the west, and the largest
canal in Idaho is near by, supplemented by four
others. Both business and resident lots are
25x125 feet; the former sell at from two hundred
to four hundred dollars; the latter at from
twenty-five to seventy-five dollars. Blackfoot's
altitude is four thousand six hundred feet, and
one can see with a nude eye seventy-five miles to
the west. Blackfoot is the seat of government
of Bingham county, with a population of one
thousand wide-awake, prosperous, happy and
contented people, surrounded by the comforts of
life. The history of Blackfoot has been one of
steady growth and development. Its streets are
dotted with cozy cottages and handsome homes,
which form the border for substantial brick and
stone business blocks, and it has the general ap-
pearance of solidity and commercial activity.
Vigorous and strong, its future growth is as-
sured. The city has a good system of water-
works and a well organized fire department,
which affords protection to life and property.
IDAHO FALLS.
Idaho Falls is an old and a new town. Away
back in 1865, when the Indians had possession
of nearly all of this country, parties who had
gone up the Missouri river and discovered mines
in Montana, the trail from these mining camps
to Salt Lake City, and to connect with the great
overland stage line to California, was opened
through this section and Snake river was crossed
here. A bridge was built, and in order to get
required bolts, one hundred and fifty dollars was
paid for an old freight wagon, for the iron it
contained.
When the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
Railroads were completed, a few years later,
there was considerable travel between Corinne,
about thirty miles west of Ogden, and ]Montana
points. This place was then known as Taylor's
bridge. It was afterward changed to Eagle
Rock, on account of a large rock in the river, a
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
497
short distance above the present town, where
eagles built their nests.
When the Utah Northern Railroad was com-
pleted, in 1881, this was made a division and the
machine and car shops were located here. In
1882 and 1883 the town grew rapidly, and in
1885 the population was fully fifteen hundred,
and it was one of the best towns in the south-
eastern part of the territory.
In 1887, however, the railroad company re-
moved the shops to Pocatello, and at least sixty
other buildings, mostly dwellings, were removed,
and the population of the town was greatly de-
creased, leaving it not to exceed three hundred.
With the completion of some of the irrigation
canals, however, the county began to settle up
and the town began to grow. In 1890 the name
was changed to Idaho Falls, and a new impetus
given it. It was advertised throughout the east,
until to-day it is one of the best business points
in southern Idaho, and we doubt if there is an-
other town in the state of equal population that
can show the volume of business that Idaho
Falls can.
Its growth has been substantial. Fine brick
or stone buildings have taken the place of
shacks. The dwellings are more commodious
and pretentious. The population is about one
thousand four hundred and is steadily increasing.
Idaho Falls is situated on the east bank of
Snake river, where the Oregon Short Line Rail-
road crpsses on a substantial iron bridge. There
is also a first-class iron wagon-bridge. At -this
point there is a succession of rapids in the river,
the fall being twenty-two feet in a little over a
quarter of a mile, making one of the grandest
water powers in the Rocky mountain region.
Competent engineers have measured and placed
it at twenty-six thousand horse-power.
In respect to schools and churches Idaho Falls
is well supplied. The first society to build a
church was the Baptist, who have a commodious
building that will seat about two hundred per-
sons comfortably. The society also has a fine
parsonage. The Presbyterians were the next to
build, but eventually they found they were short
of room, and built a large addition for a Sunday-
school room, which is shut ofif from the main
room by folding doors.
The Mormons built a small church several
years ago, but it was found entirely inadequate
to their needs, and in 1896 they erected a large
stone building capable of seating four hundred.
The Methodist society started to build in 1895,
but many things retarded the completion of the
building, which is the finest church edifice in the
town. The Episcopal society has been organ-
ized for some time and in 1896 a handsome brick
church was completed except seating. The Cath-
olic society has been organized for some time,
and on the west side of the river, where there is a
large Swedish population, a fine church was built
in 1895. Services are held every Sunday.
The public schools of Idaho Falls are second
to none in the state. A large two-story brick
building stands in the center of a block and pre-
sents a commanding view. The various secret
societies are well represented in the village.
Idaho Falls is incorporated as a village. The
affairs are conducted by a board of five trustees,
elected every year on the first Tuesday in April.
There are probably few towns of the size that
can boast of as good a system of water-works,
which supplies a large portion of the town with
fine water from Snake river. There are about
three thousand feet of four-inch mains, with a
large amount of one-and-a-half-inch connections
and four large hydrants for fire purposes. The
power is supplied by steam and a wind-mill.
There is also a chemical engine, which is always
kept ready for use, but Idaho Falls has been very
fortunate regarding fires. Only two fires, where
there has been any considerable loss, have oc-
curred.
The United States weather bureau is located
here. Reports are received from all over the
state during the summer months and a regular
monthly bulletin published. Reports of the
weather forecasts are received and sent out every
day.
The following pen picture was written by a
citizen of Butte after he had passed a few days in
Idaho Falls:
"Standing on the terraced foothills of the Teton
range, seven miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho, the
wondering eye is met by a scene unsurpassed in
beauty and grandeur. The towering mountains
are behind you, rising high above the foothills,
high above the timber line, until their hoary
peaks are bathed in lofty regions of perpetual
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
snow. Standing thus, you have laid out before
you the rich and fertile valley of the -Snake river,
with her three million acres of farming lands,
like a great map. The solemn magnificence of
mighty crags and peaks is above you, while the
sound of rushing torrents from many waterfalls
is sweet music to your ears. Numerous rivu-
lets and streams of water, all carrying the wealth
of Ophir in their pure and limpid depths, wend
their way to the verdant plain below, and in the
western distance, some seven miles away, there
stands in all her newness, beauty and promise,
Idaho Falls, the 'Orient of the West,' upon the
banks of the mighty Snake river, containing
oceans of water, and beyond to the westward,
across the broad and level valley, the purple
mountains rise again in majesty and grandeur,
while the afterglow of the sun's reflection turns
the waters of the irrigating canals throughout
the valley into liquid gold."
ufiwis PUBLISHING ua naiCAUD.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
. JOHN LEMP.
Ti yr ORE than a third of a century has passed
lYI since John Lemp came to Idaho, and
'*■ *■ throughout this long period he has
been most actively connected with the business
interests of Boise. His labors have contributed
largely to its growth and upbuilding, and its
commercial enterprise is due in no small measure
to his investment in industries and business con-
cerns which have contributed materially to its
prosperity. He is one of the highly esteemed
residents of the city, whose history would be in-
complete without the record of his life.
A native of Germany, John Lemp was born
April 21, 1838, and belongs to an old family of
the Fatherland. There he was reared and edu-
cated. In 1852 he came to the United States,
landing at New York, whence he made his way
to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was principally
engaged in clerking until 1850, when he removed
to Colorado. There he owned a claim and was
for some time engaged in mining, but not meet-
ing with the success he anticipated he abandoned
the claim and came to Idaho in 1863. The city
of Boise was just springing into existence. The
post had been located there, and a few residences
and business houses had been erected, but its
development was a work of the future in which
Mr. Lemp was to bear an active part. He first
went to Idaho City, in the Boise basin, then the
center of mining excitement, but after a short
time returned to Boise, where he has since re-
sided. Here he began the brewing business on a
small scale, but by good management and in pro-
portron to the growth of the city his trade has
grown and for many years the manufacture of
beer in this city was profitable. In 1864 he
erected the brewery, which he still conducts, but
being a man of resourceful business ability his
efforts have by no means been confined to one
line of endeavor. Alany of the fine Ijuildings of
the city stand as monuments to his enterprising
and progressive spirit. He erected the Capital
Hotel, a fine building containing one hundred
and twenty-three rooms and having a frontage
on Main street of one hundred and twenty-five
feet. There are three stories and a basement, and
the entire building is supplied with modern acces-
sories and conveniences, constituting it one of
the best hotel buildings in the state. Mr. Lemp
also erected the Shainewalt block, thirty-six by
one hundred and twenty feet, together with many
other buildings. In fact, he has been one of the
most extensive builders in the city. He was,
for years, a stockholder and director of the First
National Bank, one of the leading and reliable
financial institutions in the state; is a stockholder
of the Boise Electric Railway Company, and a
stockholder in the Hot and Cold Water Com-
pany. He has probably done as much as any
other one individual toward advancing the varied
interests of the city and is numbered among its
most liberal and progressive men.
In 1866 Mr. Lemp was married to Miss Cath-
arine Kohlhept, who was born in Germany, but
was reared in this country. To them have been
born the following children, namely: John Emil,
who died in 1895; George William, who is man-
aging his father's farm; Elizabeth, wife of W. B.
Conner; Augu.sta, wife of Roderick Grant; Ida
and Ada, twins, the latter now the wife of H.
Hunt; William, who died in 1881 ; Albert, who
is connected with his father in the management
of the hotel and dry-goods business; Edward,
Herbert and Bernard, who are attending school;
and Marie, who died in 1896, at the age of four
years. The family is one of prominence in the
community, and the members of the household
occupy enviable positions in social circles.
Mr. Lemp has been a member of the Masonic
fraternity for many years, having been made a
Master Mason in Shoshone Lodge, No. 3, which
has since been consolidated with I'.oise Lodge.
.\o. 2, and of which he is a past master. He aLso
500-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
belongs to the chapter, commandery and the
M3-stic Shrine. He has also been a member of
the Odd Fellows society since 1868, has filled all
of its chairs, was noble grand, and for thirteen
years served as its grand treasurer. The .Ancient
Order of United Workmen likewise numbers him
among its valued representatives. In politics Air.
Lemp has always been a stanch Republican and
an ardent worker in the ranks of the party. In
1874 he was elected by his fellow townsmen
mayor of Boise, and for about twenty years he
has been a member of the city council. He has
ever used his official prerogatives to advance the
welfare of Boise, to aid in its improvement and
promote its best interests. At all times he is
possessed of that progressive spirit which seeks
not his own good alone, but is alive to the ad-
vancement of city, county and state, and his place
in Boise would be difficult to fill.
CHARLES F. BROWN.
Charles Francis Brown is the owner of a fine
ranch of one hundred and sixty acres on Camas
prairie, near Grangeville, where, in addition to
farming and stock-raising, he owns and oper-
ates a sawmill, manufacturing a large amount of
lumber. His well directed efforts are bringing to
him a deserved success, and he is accounted one
of the substantial citizens of the community. He
claims Wisconsin as the state of his nativity, his
birth having occurred in Monroe, Green county,
on the 15th of November, 1846. His parents
were William G. and Clarissa (Bartley) Brown,
the former a native of Missouri, and the latter of
Ohio. They were married in Wisconsin and
were numbered among the pioneer settlers of that
state. In 1849 the father crossed the plains to
California, attracted by the then recent discov-
eries of gold, and in his mining ventures met with
success. He afterward returned to the east,
but later again went to the Golden state. He
was a man of ability and influence and held a
number of public positions of honor and trust.
He departed this life in 1898, at the age of eighty-
three years, and his wife passed away in the
spring of 1899, at the age of eighty-two years.
They were the parents of nine children, four of
whom are now living.
Charles F. Brown, the eighth of the family,
was only a small boy when he accompanied his
parents to California. He was educated in the
public school at Dutch Flat, that state, and after-
ward engaged in mining. When a young man,
however, he came to Camas prairie where he
purchased eighty acres of land, to which he has
since added until he now has a valuable tract
of one hundred and sixty acres. He has erected
thereon a desirable residence and has one of the
most attractive and beautiful ranches in his sec-
tion of the county. His land is mostly planted
to timothy hay for the stock, and in his stock
business he is meeting with signal success. Since
coming to Idaho he has crossed his cattle until
now the Hereford blood prevails. In 1892 he
purchased his sawmill property. He has here a
good water-power and a mill which turns out
seven thousand feet of lumber daily. He has a
large home demand for all the lumber he can
manufacture, and this branch of his business
therefore adds materially to his income.
In 1866 Mr. Brown was united in marriage to
Miss Mary Lumis, and to them 'have been born
four children : William G., who now assists his
father in the mill; Jennie, wife of Harry Mark-
ham, a resident of Grangeville; Ada, wife of
Charles Keller, whose home is in Cadiz. Wiscon-
sin; and Udora, now deceased. The mother of
this family was called to her final rest in 1873.
She was a most faithful wife and a loving and in-
dulgent mother and her loss was deeply felt by
her family and many friends. Four years later,
in 1877, Mr. Brown wedded Miss Almira Tuck,
a native of Maine, and they now occupy their
pleasant home on the ranch.
Mr. Brown has always been a loyal and de-
voted citizen of the republic, and when only
seventeen years of age gave evidence of his patri-
otic spirit by enlisting, in 1864, in the Union
army as a member of Company D, Seventh Cali-
fornia Infantry. The regiment expected to be
sent to the south, but was put on the border line
between Alexico and Arizona in order to keep
the Indians in subjection. Thus our subject par-
ticipated in several Indian skirmishes. He re-
mained in the army until he received an honor-
able discharge, in May, 1866. He is a valued
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and
in politics has been a stalwart Republican since
attaining his majority. His time and attention
are' closely given to his business interests, and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
501
liis industry, enterprise and capable management
are the important elements in his success.
BENJAMIN F. MORRIS.
The prominent position which Benjamin F.
Morris occupies in business circles is indicated
by the honor that was conferred upon him bv
his election to the presidency of the Commercial
Club, of Lewiston. He is a man of marked busi-
ness and executive ability, of sterling worth and
of great popularity, and is regarded as one of the
most valued citizens of Lewiston. A native of
Missouri, he was born in 1843, of English ances-
try. The family was founded in America a cen-
tury and a half ago, and from New York, where
the first settlement was made, representatives of
the name removed to Virginia, and later to Ken-
tucky. One of the family signed the Declaration
of Independence and others valiantly fought for
the cause of freedom in the Revolutionary war.
Benjamin Morris, the father of our subject, was
born in Virginia, and married Miss Amanda J.
Hamilton, a native of West \'irginia. He was a
farmer and stock-raiser by occupation, and died
of cholera, in the forty-eighth year of his age,
while his widow, long surviving him, lived to be
seventy-seven years of age. They had eight
children, of whom seven are yet living.
Mr. Morris of this review acquired his educa-
tion in his native state and in Oregon. He
crossed the plains to California in 1863, driving a
mule team to Salt Lake City and riding a mule
the rest of the way. He remained in the Golden
state for a short time, but in 1864 went by water
to Oregon, where he took pack horses from The
Dalles to Warrens. In the latter place he also
engaged in mining and took an active part in
public affairs, serving for ten years as auditor
and recorder and clerk of the district court. He
filled that position for fifteen years, after which
he was register of the land office for four years,
and is now land attorney. He is engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business, and is a stock-
holder in the Lewiston Mercantile Company, do-
ing a large wholesale business, and has large
tracts of land in Idaho county. He is a man of
sound judgment, keen discrimination and un-
abating energy, and his well directed efforts have
crowned with prosperity the various enterprises
with which he is connected. He also has the
honor of being president of the Commercial Club,
of Lewiston, and is justly popular in business and
social circles.
In 1881 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Morris and Miss Harriet F. Graham, and their
union has been blessed with three children: John
Roy, William Graham and Zella A. They have
in Lewiston a very attractive home, which was
built by Mr. Morris, and the members of the
household occupy enviable positions in social cir-
cles and enjoy the friendship of many of Lewis-
ton's best people.
In politics Mr. Morris has been a lifelong Dem-
ocrat, unswerving in his allegiance to the prin-
ciples of the party. He is aiso a very prominent
member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has taken all the degrees of the York rite and
has attained the thirtieth degree in the Scottish
rite. He is a past master and deputy grand mas-
ter of the state of Idaho, and is not only eminent
in that organization, but bv his upright life has
won a place among the representative men of
northern Idaho.
WILLL\M H. B. CROW.
William Henry Byron Crow was born in
Greene county, Illinois, June 16, 1S52, and came
of English ancestors who emigratetl to America
before the Revolution. His paternal great-
grandfather was born at Bennineton, Vermont, iii
1754. and with his son, Mr. Crows grandfather,
went to Ohio in 1818, where the elder Crow died
in \S<M- a,S;ecl ninety years. Stephen Crow, father
of William H. B. Crow, was born in New York
in 18 16, and was two years old when the family
removed to Ohio. He married Aliss Elizabeth
Prater, a native of Indiana, born in 1823, who
was brought up and educated at Dowagiac,
Michigan, where her father was a prominent
pioneer settler. Stephen Crow and his wife are
both living, he being eighty-three years old, she
seventy-four. They are Baptists and have been
almost literally pillars of the church, Mr. Crow
having been one of its deacons for many years.
They had ten children, nine of whom are
yet living. William Henry Byron Crow, their
fifth child, was educated in district schools in
Iowa, in the Missouri \'alley (lowal high school
and at Lincoln Lniversity, and he was a pro-
fessional teacher in Iowa and eastern Nel^raska
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
during the years from 1870 to 1880. A close
student, a logical thinker and conclusive reasoner,
he gained a reputation as one of the most suc-
cessful educators in that part of the country. In
1880 he came to Idaho Falls and filed on one
hundred and sixty acres of land and a desert
claim, both adjoining the Idaho Falls town plat
on the east, which he subsequently platted and
sold and which tract has come to be known as
the Crow Addition to Idaho Falls. Not finding
an opening in his accustomed vocation, he
found employment in the erection of the railroad
shops, and as foreman for the railroad company
directed their removal. From the day of his ad-
vent in the town he has been active in the up-
building of all its important interests. He was
the organizer of the Idaho Falls Waterworks
Company, which supplies water to the town from
Snake river, and is now its sole owner. He is
the owner also of considerable valuable ranch
property and of other town property, including
a fine home. His career as a teacher naturally
inclined him to concern himself in the public
schools of Idaho Falls, and he has been a tireless
and very efficient promoter of their best inter-
ests. Since the organization of the school board
of the town he has been almost continuously one
of its members. He helped to incorporate Idaho
Falls and was a member of the first board of
trustees. He was one of the organizers of the
Bingham County Agricultural Fair Association
and was influential in securing the location of the
state experimental station at Idaho Falls. He is
a charter member of Bingham Lodge, No. 14,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and had
much to do with bringing about the building of
the Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home, having been
a member of the board of trustees that had the
supervision of its erection at Idaho Falls. He is
an active Republican and serves his party unos-
tentatiously, as he does everything else, but al-
ways effectively. In 1888 he was elected a mem-
ber of the last Idaho territorial legislature. He
was a useful legislator, especially active in the
irrigation legislation, and represented Bingham
county before the senatorial committee on irri-
gation in 1890.
Mr. Crow married, in 1882, Miss Sarah E.
Murphy, a native of McHenry county, Illinois.
Mrs. Crow is an active and useful member of
the Methodist church, and Mr. Crow, while not
one of its communicants, is one of its ardent and
generous supporters. Mrs. Crow possesses
much musical talent, which has been cultivated
most generously, and she is an invaluable help in
the musical department of the church work. No
children have been born to bless their union and
they have an adopted daughter, Emma Owena
Crow, who has been to them as their own child
since she was two weeks old.
JUDGE CH.\RLES F, MOLDEN.
Young shoulders that bend beneath unnatural
responsibilities which may not be laid aside be-
come strong shoulders, and young brains that
must plan and direct the work of bread-winning
become active and practical, and the boy who
makes success from ruin, as nianv a boy has done,
is pretty apt to develop into a successful man of
affairs. Such a boy was Charles F. Molden, and
such a man is this boy grown to maturity, who
is the present judge of probate of Blackfoot,
Bingham county, Idaho.
Judge Molden was born in Germany, March 4,
1862, a son of Fredrick and Bertha (Febing)
Molden, both of whom descended from, old Ger-
man families. In 1872 when the future Judge
Molden was only ten years old, Mr. and Mrs.
Molden came with their family of seven sons to
the United States and located at Black River
Falls, Wisconsin. Mr. Molden had been steward
of a large estate in his native land and he became
a farmer in the New World. In the spring of
1873, scarcely a year after his settFement in Wis-
consin, he died at the age of fifty-eight years.
His wife survived him, and died at the age of
sixty-nine years, in 1886. It was now that Judge
Molden was brought face to face with the stern-
est necessity of his life. His mother and his
younger brothers must be provided for, and the
task devolved largely on him. He sold fish and
berries and did anything that was honest that any
one would pay him for doing. He proved him-
self a good boy, willing to work, and as time
passed his opportunities improved. He attended
school when he could, read and studied in his
spare moments and managed to educate him-
self to an extent, and he kept the wolf from the
door for those who were dependent upon him.
Some of the younger boys came to his assistance
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
503
later, and by hard effort and skillful management
he not only supported the family, but paid for
the farm, which he operated for years, and which
he still owns.
In 1894 Mr. Molden came to Idaho and lo-
cated on a ranch three miles west of Blackfoot,
where he has a fine home and raises fruit and
cattle. He also deals in cattle quite extensively,
buying and shipping them to eastern markets.
Judge Molden has, as a Democrat, interested
himself actively and intelligently in politics. He
was chairman of the Democratic county conven-
tion of 1898, and received the Democratic nomi-
nation for the office of judge of probate. Later
there was a fusion of the county Democracy with
the silver Republicans. The election that ensued
was a signal test of Mr. Molden's personal popu-
larity. While the entire fusion ticket was elected,
Mr. Molden was elected by one hundred and
forty-eight majority. As a trial judge he has
been very successful, his decisions having been
in accordance with the law and tne evidence and'
not one of them having been reversed by an
appellate court.
Judge Molden was married August 3, 1886, to
Miss Anna Lee, a native of Red Wing, Minne-
sota. They have three daughters, named Clara,
Mabel and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Molden are
members of the Methodist church, and the Judge
is a member of the Woodmen of America.
SYLVESTER WERNETH.
Sylvester Werneth came to America from the
Fatherland. He was born in Germany, on the
29th of December, 1856, and when eight years
of age crossed the Atlantic with his parents, the
family locating in Wisconsin, whence they after-
ward removed to Springfield, Illinois. In the
capital city of the Prairie state he acquired his
education in the public schools and was there
reared to manhood. When about sixteen years
of age he entered upon an independent business
career, learning the brewer's trade, at which he
worked in St. Louis, Missouri, and in California.
In 1886 he came to Weiser, Idaho, and purchased
the little brewery in the old town. He has since
successfully carried on the brewing business, in-
creasing his facilities to meet the growing de-
mands of his trade, until he now has the best
equipped and one of the largest breweries in the
state. In 1897 he purchased a large lot in the
new section of Weiser, near the depot and in
the business center, and erected thereon a large
brick building, ninety by seventy feet, and two
stories and basement in height. The brewing
department is twenty-five by fifty feet, all of brick
and substantially built — the best brewing plant
in the state. He manufactures a fine article of
beer and has a large home trade, besides ship-
ping quite extensively to various places in the
northwest. He also owns a good residence and
grounds in the city.
In 1885 Mr. Werneth married Miss Mary
Fisherkiller, a native of Illinois, but of German
descent. They have four children, namely: Tre-
sea Ellen, Mary Francis, Ethel Julia and Louis
Sylvester. In his political views our subject is a
Democrat, but has never sought or desired office,
preferring to give his time and attention to his
business interests, in \yhich he is meeting with
excellent success. His prosperity is the reward
of his own unaided and well directed efforts, and
to-day he ranks among the representative resi-
dents of his adopted city.
JOHN HALLENBECK.
■ In March, 1864, John Hallenbeck became a
resident of Silver City, and from that time until
his death, throughout the period of pioneer de-
velopment and latter-day progress, he was promi-
nently identified with its upbuilding and inter-
ests. A native of the Empire state, he was born
in Albany, October 24, 1830, and was of Holland
lineage. His ancestors were among the early
settlers of New York and participated in the
events which form the colonial and Revolution-
ary history of that state. The maternal grand-
father of our subject was also one of the heroes
of the war for independence, and his wife after-
ward received a pension in recognition of his
services. He lived to be seventy-eight years of
age, while her death occurred when she had at-
tained the advanced age of eighty-seven.
Mathew Hallenbeck, the father of our subject,
was born in New York, and married Catharine
Shoudy, a native of the same state. He devoted
his energies to many pursuits, having been a car-
penter and joiner, also a teacher of music and
a teacher in the public schools. In 1841 he re-
moved with his family to Syracuse, New York,
o04
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and in 1854 to Cordova, Illinois, where he re-
sided up to the time of his death, which occurred
in 1878. Both he and his wife were members of
the Dutch Reformed church, and they had a fam-
ily of twelve children, nine of whom grew to
years of maturity, while three sons and four
daughters are yet living.
John Hallenbeck spent his early boyhood days
on his father's farm, near Syracuse, New York,
and assisted in the labors of the fields through
the summer months while in the winter season
he pursued his education in the public schools.
At the age of seventeen he started out to fight
the battles of life unaided, and that victory
crowned his efforts was due to his .untiring dili-
gence, perseverance and enterprise. He was first
employed as a clerk in a little store in Orville,
New York, where he remained for three years,
during which time he was made its manager.
The state was then building an aqueduct at
that place, and the house boarded all of the of-
ficers engaged in the management of the enter-
prise. The superintendent became quite inter-
ested in young Hallenbeck, and after completing
his work there and becoming superintendent of
the Delaware & Chesapeake canal, he sent for
our subject, who left the little grocery store and
v^'as employed on the canal until its completion,
having charge of the construction of the large
reservoir adjoining the exit lock. His next work,
under the same superintendent, was on the en-
larging of the Erie canal at Black Rock, where
he remained for a year, when, his task being fin-
ished, he visited Baltimore, Norfolk, Richmond
and Washington, viewing the various points of
interest in the different cities.
After this little period of recreation, Mr. Hal-
lenbeck engaged once more in canal construc-
tion, in the capacity of foreman at Weedsport,
New York. He made considerable money in
this way. but spent it freely. Later he was con-
nected with the engineer's corps as leveler until
the fall of 1858, when the discovery of gold at
Pike's Peak excited the entire country. In the
spring of 1859 '''^ started for Colorado, accom-
panied by a party named Benham, whose ex-
penses he agreed to pay upon condition that he
was to receive half of what Mr. Benham could
make for two years. They left Weedsport, New-
York, for Illinois, where !Mr. Hallenbeck's par-
ents were then residing, and there engaged pass-
age on ox trains bound for "Pike's Peak or bust,"
and under the charge of two men, Duflfee and
Addison by name. While at home preparing for
the trip Mr. Hallenbeck was accidentally shot in
the arm by his partner, which detained him for a
few weeks, but when the party could no longer
delay he started with them, although entirely un-
fit for travel. They journeyed on toward the
Eldorado of the west, through mud and snow,
over slush 'and bad roads, — a six weeks' trip
through Iowa, during which they encountered
innumerable storms. At length they reached the
Missouri river, at Plattsburg, where they met the
returning tide of emigration, declaring the dig-
gings a humbug. The captains of the ox teams
decided to return and refused to refund Mr. Hal-
lenbeck's money, but he succeeded in getting his
money at the point of a revolver, and with his
partner decided to try and overtake a party en
route for California. Thev went to Glenwood,
twenty-five miles distant from Council Blufifs, and
engaged passage on the stage. It arrived at 12:30
and departed at i P. M., but it was too crowded
to take on any more passengers, and thev decided
to walk the distance to Council Bluffs. They
made their way in the moonlight over a rolling
prairie, sending their baggage by stage, and the
next morning reached their destination tired and
hungry. Mr. Hallenbeck, however, could not
eat, and after taking a cup of cofifee ordered a
hack to take them to the river. When they
climbed the blufifs at Omaha the California party
was just starting on its long trip across the
plains. There were twenty wagons, fifty-seven
men, three women and a few children, the party
being under command of Captain George Pierce.
Mr. Hallenbeck engaged passage for himself and
partner to Hangtown, California, for one hun-
dred and twenty dollars. They had the privilege
of riding all the way in a wagon fitted up to carry
ten people, and all they had to do was to take their
turn in standing guard once a week. The trip
was an exciting one, owing to the stampedes of
the stock and the danger of Indian attacks, and
for nearly three and a half months they traveled
in that way across the hot sands and through the
mountain passes until they arrived at Placervillc,
California, September 8, 1859, having left Omaha
on the 22d of May.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
After a week ;Mr. Hallenbeck and his partner
went to Sacramento. His funds having become
exhausted he borrowed twenty dollars of Captain
Pierce and then started for San Francisco, where
they boarded the steamer Panama for Portland,
Oregon, where they arrived at the time Gen-
eral Scott was on his way to settle the
San Juan afifair — "fifty-four, forty or fight."
On arriving at Portland Mr. Hallenbeck had
, only five dollars and ten cents left. He
went to the Columbus Hotel, where he was told
he and his partner might remain until they found
work, but he realized that he would soon be piling
up a large debt and proposed to his companion
that they should chop wood, as no other employ-
ment could be secured. He purchased a chop-
ping outfit on credit, took an empty cabin in
Penitentiary gulch, and the first week they cut
thirteen cords of wood, but the partner was not
satisfied with his lot, being opposed to hard work,
and concluded to return to California, so our sub-
ject divided his blankets with him and he took
his departure, Mr. Hallenbeck never hearing
from him again.
The next week, all alone, Mr. Hallenbeck cut
thirteen cords of wood for a dollar and seventy-
five cents per cord. After a month he obtained
a position in Abrams & Hogue's sawmill, first at
tail-sawing, then turning screws, and in the
spring of i860, when the sawyer left, he was pro-
moted to the vacant position. He was thus em-
ployed until the spring of 1861, when he left for
the Oro Fino mines, where he worked during the
summer, returning to Portland to spend the win-
ter. In the spring of 1862, in connection with
Kirkpatrick, Hay and others, he discovered the
camp where Auburn, Oregon, is now located, but
he did not like the prospects there, and visited
Walla Walla, Lewiston and Florence. A short
time afterward he crossed the country to Oro
Fino, where he purchased a claim and made
some money, but in the fall again returned to
Portland and was sent bv his former employer,
Mr. Abrams, to The Dalles to take charge of his
office and lumber yards there. Desiring, how-
ever, to engage in mining, Mr. Hallenbeck soon
started for Auburn, and on arriving there learned
of the Boise basin and Owyhee mines excitement.
Accordingly he started for Idaho and arrived at
his destination March 22, 1864. Rubv City had
been founded in the fall of 1863 and Silver City
had its beginning in the fall of 1864. Building a
cabin out of logs hewed by himself, he then began
prospecting, which he continued for five years,
when he met heavy losses. With his small re-
maining capital he then engaged in various kinds
of speculating, in which he prospered somewhat
better. Subsequently he invested in stocks and
in 1878 the financial crash and the failure of the
California Bank again brought heavy losses to
him, as well as to many others, but with un-
daunted courage he embarked in the grain and
feed business, in which he continued at Silver
City, building up a large and profitable trade.
He also loaned money and was one of the most
reliable and trustworthy business men of the
county. Great determination, energy and excel-
lent executive ability were the salient points in
his business career and eventually brought him
success.
In his early political affiliations Mr. Hallenbeck
was a Whig, but joined the Republican party on
its organization and was one of its stalwart ad-
vocates up to the time of his death, which oc-
curred May 5, 1899. He was made a Master
Mason in Weedsport, New York, in 1854, and
afterward took the Royal Arch degrees and
served for a number of terms as master of the
lodge in Silver City. As a man and citizen he
enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who
knew him, and his name should be enduringlv
inscribed on the roll of Idaho's pioneers.
GEORGE M. ROBERTSON.
The treasurer of Idaho county, George M.
Robertson, of Mount Idaho, is a native of Kauf-
man county, Texas, his birth having there oc-
curred February 4, 1862. He is of Scotch de-
scent, his great-grandfather, John Robertson,
having emigrated from Scotland to Xew Jersey
in colonial days. When the oppression of Great
Britain- became so intolerable that the colonies
rose in rebellion, he joined the American army
and served throughout the Revolutionary war,
which brought to the nation her independence.
He afterward became one of the pioneer settlers
of Kentucky, where he spent the remainder of his
life. His son, William Robertson, the grand-
father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, and
removed thence to Missouri, where his active
506
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
business life was passed. He served as colonel
of militia at the time the ^Mormons were driven
out of Jackson county, that state. His son,
George W. Robertson, Sr., was born in JNIissouri,
and having arrived at years of maturity married
Larcena Van Pool, a native of that state. He
was a talented and devoted minister of the Chris-
tian church and made the preaching of the gospel
of peace his life work. He died in Lewiston, and
was called to his final rest in 1889, when fifty-
four years of age. His wife, a most estimable
lady, departed this life in 1874. They had five
children, four sons and a daughter.
George M. Robertson, the third child of the
family, was educated at Pea Ridge Academy,
Arkansas, and began life on his own account as
a farmer and school-teacher. He came to Idaho
in the spring of 1886 and resided near Farming-
ton, and also engaged in educational work and
farming. In the fall of 1890 he sold out and
came to Camas prairie, locating on a tract of
land on the east side of the south fork of the
Clearwater river, where he has since developed a
good farm that he still owns. He made many
excellent improvements on the place and trans-
formed the land into rich and fertile fields. In
the fall of 1892 he was elected county surveyor
of Idaho county and during his term of office
did a large amount of road surveying. In the
fall of 1896 he was chosen by his fellow citizens
to the office of county treasurer, and on the ex-
piration of his term of two years, was re-elected,
in 1898, so that he is the present incumbent. In
1898 he also acceptably served as deputy clerk
of the county, under C. W. Case. In politics he
is a stanch Democrat and keeps well informed
on the issues of the day. Socially he is a mem-
ber of the Knights of the Maccabees.
Mr. Robertson was united in marriage at
Farmington, in 1888, to Miss Ora R. Ouarles.
daughter of J. P. Quarles, a leading citizen of
Nez Perces county. They have three children.
Jesse, Leo and Ira. The parents are members
of the Christian church.
OSC.\R B. STEELY, M. D.
Oscar B. Steely, jNI. D., is a prominent resi-
dent and physician living at Pocatello, Idaho,
and is surgeon of the Idaho and Montana division
of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Dr. Steely
was born in Belleville, Pennsylvania, August 22,
1862, and is descended from English and German
ancestry. His forefathers in both lines were
among the early settlers of Pennsylvania, and his
maternal grandfather (Baker) did patriotic ser-
vice as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His
parents were William and Sarah (Baker) Steely,
both natives of Pennsylvania. His father, who
for many years was a successful dealer in meats,
died at the age of seventy-six, in 1897. His wife
died at the age of seventy-six. three days prior to
the death of her husband. They lived happily as
man and wife for forty-nine years and enjoyed in
the highest sense the respect of all who knew
them. They had eight children, four of whom
are living and of whom Dr. Oscar B. Steely was
the youngest born.
Dr. Steely was prepared for college in the pub-
lic schools and was graduated from Pennsylvania
College in the class of 1883 and from the Jeffer-
son Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1891. For
a year thereafter he practiced in one of the prin-
cipal hospitals of Philadelphia, and thus espe-
cially fitted himself for the duties of railway sur-
gery. From that institution he came direct to
Pocatello to accept the position, which had been
tendered him, of assistant surgeon of the Union
Pacific Railway. In 1896, when the Oregon Short
Line was organized, he was appointed to his
present position as surgeon of the Idaho and
Montana divisions. He has had an extensive
and varied experience in surgery in Idaho and ad-
joining states and as a skillful surgeon and phy-
sician has won a reputation of which a practi-
tioner of twice his years might be justly proud.
His standing with the profession is exceptionally
high. Dr. Steely was a member of the State
Medical Association of Pennsylvania, and is a
member of the State Medical Association of Idaho
and a member of the Association of Military
Surgeons of the United States. He was surgeon
general of the state of Idaho under the adminis-
tration of Governor McConnell. As is indicated
by the fact that this honor was conferred upon
him by such authority, he is a stanch Republican
politically, but he is not in the accepted sense of
the term a politician.
He was made a Mason in Cassin Lodge, No.
273, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and took tne Royal
Arch degree at Pocatello and is now high priest
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
507
of his chapter. He has advanced slowly in the
order from choice, and has made an exhaustive
study of its principles as he nas proceeded, apply-
ing them to his daily life, until he has adopted
them as the rule of his conduct in all his rela-
tions with his fellow men. He is also a mem-
ber of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen
of the World. Personally he is popular wher-
ever he is known and his acquaintance is large
and growing rapidly, both professionally and
socially.
NOYES B. HOLBROOK.
Mr. Holbrook dates his residence in Idaho
from 1862, and is therefore one of its pioneer set-
tlers. He has witnessed almost the entire growth
and development of the state, and has largely
aided in its progress and advancement, neglecting
no duty of citizenship and withholding his sup-
port and co-operation from no measure for the
public good. He is now proprietor of the roller-
process flouring mill at Juliaetta, and is an en-
terprising business man whose honorable meth-
ods commend him to the confidence and secure
him the patronage of a large portion of the com-
munity with which he is connected.
Mr. Holbrook was born in New Haven, Con-
necticut, March 29, 1830, and is of English de-
scent, a representative of one of the early New
England families. John Holbrook, his great-
grandfather, was a native of the "merrie isle,"
and thence crossed the Atlantic to the New
World, taking up his residence in New Haven
county, Connecticut. He had a family of five
sons, four of whom served in the war which
brought to America her independence, being
loyal members of the Colonial army. The young-
est served under General Harrison in the war
of 1812. One of these sons, Abel Holbrook, was
the grandfather of our subject. He was born in
New Haven county, and during the Revolution
served as captain of a company. By occupation
he was a farmer, and operated his land with the
aid of slaves, but becoming disgusted with the
institution of slavery he freed his negroes and
was active in promulgating an abolition senti-
ment throughout the community. He was a
member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and
lived to the ripe old age of eighty years, respected
by all who knew him, as one of Connecticut's
best citizens.
Thomas C. Holbrook, father of our subject, was
born and reared in New Haven county, Connecti-
cut, and married Miss Maria Benham, also of the
Nutmeg state. He followed the occupation of
farming in pursuit of fortune, and was an in-
dustrious man and reliable citizen. His deatii
occurred when he had reached the age of ninety-
four, and his wife passed away at the age of
eighty-four. They had three children, two of
whom are yet living.
Noyes B. Holbrook, the youngest of the fam-
ily, was educated in Connecticut and in the North
Wilbraham Academy, in Massachusetts, after
which he learned the trade of a brick-layer and
plasterer. Determining to try his fortune in the
rapidly developing west, he sailed for California
in 1854, by way of the isthmus route, and at
length arrived safely in San Francisco. There he
worked at his trade for a time, and then engaged
in mining in Nevada and Butte counties on the
Feather river. He made money, but sunk it in
other mining ventures, and after losing all that
he had he returned to Marysville, California,
where he worked at his trade, doing considerable
contracting and building. In 1862, at the time
of the gold discoveries at Florence, he made the
journey with a companion through eastern Ore-
gon to the place of the excitement. He pros-
pected and worked at his trade in the then new
town of Lewiston, and the following year went
to the Boise basin, making the journey by boat
up the Snake river. He met with fair success in
the placer mines in the Boise basin and then
returned to the northern part of the state, estab-
lishing a store on Salmon river. After a time
he sold that property and purchased a placer
claim, from which he took out from fifty to sev-
enty-five dollars per day. The following spring
he went to Lapwai, where he worked for the
government for three months, spending the suc-
ceeding winter in Lewiston. When spring came
he went to the Coeur d'Alene district and was
there during the Wilson excitement. A mur-
dered negro was found there and buried on the
prairie, which for a long time thereafter went
bv the name of "Nigger Prairie." The town of
Mullan now stands on the site.
On leaving that locality Mr. Holbrook went
to Montana at the time of the Blackfoot excite-
ment, and thence returned to Idaho by way of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the Lolo trail. He opened a store at Long Bar,
on the Salmon river, but the following year sold
that and established a store on the main crossing
of the Coeur d'Alene, and in connection pur-
chased and operated the ferry there. He sold
out the following winter and went to Lewiston, •
where he secured the appointment to the position
of deputy sheriff, in which capacity he served
until the following July. He then resigned, and
resumed prospecting in the Seven Devils country.
He took up the Peacock lead and had it recorded
in Idaho county, but finally let it go by default.
Thence he went to Warrens, where he aided in
building the first quartz-mill at that point. He
remained in Warrens for five years, was there
appointed deputy sheriff and while thus serving
brought out four murderers through the then un"
inhabited mountain districts. He spent the winter
of 1870 in Portland, Oregon, and the next spring
purchased a livery business in Lewiston, conduct-
ingthe same for fourteen years. He met with good
success in the undertaking, having a very liberal
patronage. In 1880 he was elected sheriff of Nez
Perces county, and so acceptably did he serve
through the two years" term that he was re-
elected. In 1884 he sold his livery barn and
turned his attention to stock dealing.' In 1885 he
erected his flouring-mill in Juliaetta, where he
has fine water power and a full roller-process
mill, with a capacity of fifty barrels of flour per
day. His special brand is called the "Pride of
the Potlatch," and is of very superior quality. In
1896 Mr. Holbrook removed to Juliaetta, and has
since managed the mill himself. Owing to the
excellent quality of the product and his honor-
able business methods he receives a liberal pat- .
ronage, and is conducting a profitable business.
He resides in a pleasant home of his own, a
short distance above the mill, and from his resi-
dence has a splendid view of the beautiful valley.
In 1880 Mr. Holbrook was united in marriage
to Miss Lizzie Armstrong, but she died two
years later. In 1896 he wedded Eliza E. Cald-
well, his present w^ife. They have three chil-
dren. Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook are most highly
esteemed and have a large circle of warm friends
in the community. He has been a member of the
Masonic fraternity for more than forty-five years,
having joined the order in 1853, in Morning Star
Lodge, Xo. 43, F. & A. M., of Seymour, Con-
necticut. He assisted in organizinp- the lodge at
Lewiston and was one of its most active mem-
bers. In politics he has been a lifelong Demo-
crat, but during the war was a strong Union
man. He has filled various public positions of
honor and trust, and in every case has shown
himself fully worthy of the confidence reposed
in him. He was at one time county commis-
sioner of Nez Perces countv, and served as mayoi
of Lewiston. He ever discharged his duties with
promptness and fidelitv, and exercised his official
prerogatives to advance all measures which he
believed would prove of general frood. His life
has been a busy, useful and honorable one, and
he well deserves mention among the representa-
tive citizens of Idaho.
JAMES AND THOMAS SURRIDGE.
The Surridge Brothers, of Bridgeport, Idaho
county, came to the territory of Idaho in June,
1876, and are numbered among the most enter-
prising and progressive citizens of the community
in which they make their home. They are both
natives of London, England, sons of John and
Mary (Cochran) Surridge, who emigrated to
America in 1859, bringing with them their three
children. They located at Milan, ]\Ionroe coun-
ty, Michigan, where the father improved a good
farm and spent his remaining days. ]\Ir. Sur-
ridge died in 1898, at the age of seventy-two
years, and his wife is still living, in 1899. at the
age of seventy-three. Five children were added
to the family in Michigan and all the sons and
daughters yet survive.
James Surridge was born July 3, 1847, and
Thomas Surridge in October, 1849. W'hen they
became young men they went to California and
thence removed to Camas prairie, where they
now reside. They took up government laud and
successfully and extensively engaged in stock-
raising, being the first to introduce Clydesdale
horses and Berkshire hogs into this section of
the county. They also graded their cattle with
the Durham breed, and thus did much to advance
the interests of the stock-raisers of Idaho by im.-
proving the grade of cattle, horses and hogs
raised. They have become large land-owners,
their possessions aggregating two thousand two
hundred acres, of which fifteen hundred and
sixty acres belong to James, while six hundred
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and forty acres belong to Thomas. The land lies
on the sonth fork of the Clearwater river, at the
old Jackson bridge, and there they have platted
a town site of forty acres, which they have named
Bridgeport. It is on the Clearwater river twelve
miles from Grangeville and dn the road between
Elk City and Newsom creek. The business lots
are twenty-five by one hundred feet and the resi-
dence lots fifty by one hundred feet, with an alley
in the rear. The town site is a beautiful one, be-
ing located on high ground adjoining the river.
There is fine water-power and two quartz leads
on the property, with a five-foot vein at the sur-
face and ore which shows fifty dollars per ton
at the shaft. There are also a school-house, store
and other buildings on the town site, and the
Surridge brothers, being men of the highest in-
tegrity of character, will spare no pains to make
it for the interest of people to join them in mak-
ing Bridgeport one of the most thriving towns
in the county. They conduct a stage line and
have the mail contract from Grangeville to Elk
City. Their business interests are. varied and
comprehensive. They own eight hundred head
of cattle, one hundred head of horses, and they
pack from seventy-five to one hundred head of
hogs annually. Their brand is "70," and they
brand all of their products. They supply the
miners with beef and pork, and thus add materi-
ally to their income. They are both men of grear
industry and enterprise, and their keen sagacity,
judicious investments and capable management
have brought to them splendid success, which
they well merit.
In 1876 Thomas Surridge was united in mar-
riage to Miss Julia Pequay, a native of Rutland,
Vermont, and they have four children: May,
Katie, John and Georgie. In politics the broth-
ers are both stalwart Democrats and James has
served as justice of the peace in his township
for a number of years. They also belong to the
Masonic fraternity and are active and valued
members of the order. In 1877 James Surridge
made a trip to the east and was absent at the time
of the Nez Perces war, but Thomas volunteered
and served as a scout and guide. They also par-
ticipated in the Bannock and Sheep-eater Indian
wars, doing guard duty and performing all the
service necessary in the protection of the, fort at
Mount Idaho. Thev are very widelv and favor-
ably known throughout Idaho and are held in
high esteem by all with whom they have come in
contact. Their efforts have been attended bv a
most creditable success, and their business polky
has ever commended them to the confidence of
those with whom they have had dealings.
JOEL M. WALKER.
In all the walks of life Captain Joel M.
Walker has so acquitted himself as to be re-
garded as a most valued and honorable citizen,
and as a representative business man and a leader
ni political circles he well deserves mention
among the prominent residents of Idaho.
Through the civil war he loyally served his coun-
try upon the field of battle, and has ever dis-
charged his duties of citizenship with marked
promptness and fidelity. It is pleasing in-
dulgence to write the biography of a man who
has been so prominent in the civil and military
affairs of the nation as has Captain Walker. This
country has brought forth many heroes, states-
men, financiers and brilliant men in all spheres
of life. Its annals teem with the records of good
lives and noble deeds. Most of our noblest and
best men are "self-made," and a worthy repre-
sentative of that class is the subject of 'this re-
view, who deserves prominent mention in this
volume by reason of his broad sympathies and
public spirit. He has left the imprint of his in-
dividuality on each place in which, for any length
of time, he ever resided, and Kendrick owes
nuich of its advancement to his .efforts. His
patriotism is clearly shown by his quick response
to the call to arms, when his country was in need,
and to-day he is numbered among the loyal and
progressive residents of Moscow.
Captain Walker is a native of Ohio, his birth
having occurred in Pickaway county, November
8, 1835. He is a representative of an old Vir-
ginian family, and from the Old Dominion his
paternal grandfather removed to Ohio in 1805.
Thomas Armstrong Walker, the father of the
Captain, was born in that year and was given
his mother's maiden name, Armstrong. She be-
longed to an equally old Virginian family, and
of the Walker family. Mrs. James K. Polk was
a member. In 1840 Thomas A. Walker removed
with his family to Iowa, where he resided until
1882, when he went with his son to southern
510
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Kansas, where his death occurred in 1888, at the
age of eighty-three years. In their rehgious
faith both jie and his wife were Presbyterians.
Mr. Walker was a man of marked abihty and
wide influence and held a number of positions of
public trust. During the administration of Presi-
dent Polk he served as postmaster of Fort Mad-
ison, Iowa, and was register of the land ofifice at
Des Moines during the presidency of Franklin
Pierce and a portion of President Buchanan's ad-
ministration. His wife died at an early age, leav-
ing two children, but the Captain is the only one
now living. The father afterward married again
and had a family by the second union.
In the common schools Captain Walker ac-
quired his preliminary education, which was sup-
plemented by a course in the Denmark Acad-
emy, a Congregational school, at Denmark, Lee
county, Iowa. When only four years of age
he was taken to the Hawkeye state by his father,
and for many years made his home within its
borders. After leaving school he spent some
time in his father's office and then read law under
the direction of Finch & Crocker, the latter being
the distinguished General Crocker. He was ad-
mitted to practice in the district courts before
he was twenty-one years of age, and when twen-
ty-two years of age was licensed to practice in
the supreme court, but the great civil war was
inaugurated and interfered with his professional
labors. President Lincoln issued his call for
troops and Captain Walker and a friend enlisted
two hundred men, from among whom they chose
one hundred to form Company B, of the Twenty-
third Iowa Volunteers. Mr. Walker was ofifered
the captaincy of the company, but declined be-
cause he had no military knowledge, and his
friend was then given command, while he was
elected first lieutenant. With that rank he went
to the front, serving first in Missouri against
the guerrillas. The first engagement of import-
ance in which he participated was the Vicksburg
campaign, and his regiment was the first to cross
the Mississippi river, April 30, 1863. They were
under fire throughout the entire night and were
in the battle the next day. They were also in
the battle of Champion Hill, ]\Iay 16, and led the
charge on the enemy's works at Black river
bridge, where three thousand Confederate sol-
diers were taken prisoners, and the colonel and
several other officers and men were killed. After
this battle the regiment to which Captain Walker
belonged was detailed by General Grant to take
the prisoners to Memphis, Tennessee, and place
them in charge of the federal authorities there.
When they had returned to Vicksburg a colored
regiment was attacked by Texans and when hard
pressed broke. The Twenty-third Iowa was then
thrown in and stood the brunt of the fight. It
was a desperate, almost hand-to-hand, encounter,
but finally victory perched on the banner of the
Union forces. After the surrender of Vicksburg
the regiment was ordered to New Orleans, under
General Banks, and with him they made the
march through Louisiana and into the border of
Texas, where they spent the winter of 1863-4.
By this time their ranks had become very much
depleted, and in the spring Captain W'alker was
ordered on recruiting service in order to fill up
the thinned-out columns. When that task was
completed Captain Walker received an appoint-
ment on the staff of General Crocker, wlio had
been appointed governor of Arizona. They made
their way across the plains to New Mexico and
the Captain remained on the Governor's staff un.-
til the close of the war, in 1865. Soon after en-
tering active service in the Union army he was
promoted to the rank of captain, and led his com-
pany in all the engagements until he was ap-
pointed staff officer. He rejoined his regiment at
Mobile, Alabama, in June, 1865, and they were
again sent to Texas, where he was appointed
assistant provost marshal, and paroled many of
General Kirby Sniith's men. The regiment was
mustered out in August, 1866, and Captain
Walker immediately returned to his home.
Not long after this he was appointed by Presi-
dent Johnson to the position of L^nited States
marshal for the state of Iowa, and when his term
expired he engaged in farming in the central por-
tion of that state, having a large stock ranch,
whereon he engaged extensively in the raising of
blooded cattle, owning many of the best in Iowa.
In 1882 he sold out and removed to southern
Kansas, hoping that a change of climate would
benefit his impaired health. He engaged in loan-
ing money in Howard, that state, and there re-
mained for eight years, after which he spent three
months in the sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michi-
gan. In August, i8go, still in search of health.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
511
he took up his abode in Kendrick, Idaho, and
established the Bank of Kendrick, opening it for
business in October, of that year. He conducted
it successfully until 1892, when he sold out to
the First National Bank of Moscow. He had
erected the bank building, which was the first
brick structure in the town, and was prominent
in advancing the interests of the town. He is
still connected with business affairs there, he and
his family owning all of the stock of the Lincoln
Hardware & Implement Company, of Kendrick.
They have a large store, carry a complete line of
goods and do an extensive business. In connec-
tion with his son-in-law, Captain Walker is inter-
ested in a book and stationery store in Moscow.
Not only has he won prominence in military
circles and prosperity in business life, but he is
also recognized as a leader in political circles,
being a stanch advocate of the Democratic party.
He is not an office-seeker in the usually accepted
sense of the term, yet has been honored by his
fellow citizens with positions of public trust.
While in Polk county, Iowa, he was elected and
served for two terms on the board of county
supervisors, notwithstanding the district was
largely Republican. He was also twice candidate
for the state legislature and was once candidate
for lieutenant governor, — facts which indicate his
high standing in Democratic circles. Since com-
ing to Latah county he has been the candidate
for state senator. He was for two years chair-
man of the Democratic state central committee of
Iowa. He was a member of the Soldiers' and
Sailors' national convention, which met at Phila-
delphia, in 1866. He has always attended the
state conventions of his party, wherever he has
resided, and has exerted great influence in the
afifairs and deliberations of those organizations.
In October, 1857, Captain Walker was united
in marriage to Miss Idie Marshall, a native of
Iowa and a representative of a Kentucky family.
Their union was blessed with three children, of
whom two are living: Eliza Marshall, now the
wife of J. R. Hall, of Moscow; and India, wife
of James M. Pierce, of Kendrick. Both sons-in-
law are associated with Captain Walker in busi-
ness. After six years of happy married life Mrs.
Walker was called to her final rest, and in 1865
the Captain married Miss Lou Ramsay, a native
of Iowa. Thev have one son, Ranisav M.. who
is now in charge of the large hardware business
in Kendrick. Captain W'alker and his wife have
also reared two bright girls, the daughters of his
half-sister, who died during their infancy. They
were reared as members of the Walker household
and both are now comfortably settled in homes
of their own. They are Louise, wife of R. C.
Sinclair; and Bessie W., wife of Robert Snyder,
both residents of Kendrick. Mrs. Walker de-
parted this life July 4, 1892, and her death was
deeply mourned by her many friends. The
Captain has since resided with his daughters, in
Kendrick and Moscow, and is one of the most
highly esteemed residents of this section of the
state. He has been true to all the duties of life,
meeting fully every obligation resting upon him,
and his honorable career has gained him the re-
spect, confidence and warm regard of all with
whom he has been brought in contact.
ED. F. WINN.
No work that might attempt to tell the story
of the settlement and civilization of Idaho would
be complete if it should contain no account of
the hard, brave work performed by Deputy
Sheriff and Deputy United States Marshal Ed.
F. Winn, in ridding the country of the gangs of
thieves, cut-throats and outlaws that once infested
it. A book devoted to the exploits of Winn and
other Federal and civil officers in this part of
the country would be of thrilling interest.
Ed. F. Winn is a native of Brownsville, Penn-
sylvania, and was born October 29, 1857. His
parents, Isaac and Mary Jane (Moore) Winn,
came to the United States from Lancashire,
England, soon after their marriage and settled in
Pennsylvania, where they are vet living, ^Ir.
Winn being still in the active practice of his
profession, as a civil engineer. They are people
of the highest worth, ornaments of the commu-
nity in which they live, and have been lifelong
members of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church. They had three sons and a daughter,
and Ed. F. Winn was their second child. He
was educated and learned the carpenter's trade
in his native state, and in 1875, when lie was
about eighteen, went to Iowa and thence to
Nebraska. At Omaha he found work as a car-
penter, in tlie employ of the Union Pacific Rail-
road Company. He was sent out on the line of
51^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
construction, while the road was being built, and
worked his way to Helena, Montana, where he
arrived July 8, 1879. He found employment in
Helena until fall and then took up work for the
Utah & Northern Railway Company, at Oxford,
and was thus employed until the line had been
constructed as far as Dillon. From Dillon he
returned to Idaho Falls and worked on the rail-
road shops, which were then being erected. When
that work was finished he engaged in the saloon
business, in which he continued successfully until
he was appointed deputy sheriff of Oneida county
by Sheriff Homer. Oneida county then comprised
a large territory, and it was infested by cattle and
horse thieves, escaped criminals and other out-
laws. Deputy Sheriff Winn's work against this
class was so aggressive and effective that it came
to the notice of United States Marshal Fred T.
Dubois, who appointed him deputy United States
marshal. The office which Mr. Winn filled at
that time required indomitable will, chilly nerve
and the quality known as "clear grit." These
he proved that he possessed. He had many gun
fights and hand-to-hand "scrimmages" with the
desperate men, often against fearful odds, but he
invariably came out victorious. He was shot at
man}- times and had to shoot men down in self-
defence, but if he went out for a man he got him
if he was to be found and brought him in if he
once got his hand on him. In time the bad men
with whom he had to deal found this out, and
then his work was not quite so hard. He brought
many to trial, many fled the country and in time
Oneida county came to be a law-abiding place,
and as such was gradually taken possession of by
law-abiding people. This welcome change was
due in no small measure to the efforts of Mr.
Winn. He was kept at this good work under
reappointment by Sheriff Wooden, in 1893-4,
and during that period shot a burglar whom he
had captured and who sought to escape from
custody.
For' some years Mr. Winn had a stock ranch,
where he was engaged somewhat extensively in
raising and dealing in cattle, buying in the fall,
feeding through the winter and selling in the
spring, and in this enterprise he met with the
same degree of satisfactory success that has at-
tended his other business ventures. Not long
after he came to Idaho Falls he took up twenty-
two acres of land adjoining the town site, which
he platted as Winn's Addition to Idaho Falls,
and which has been sold off and built upon quite
extensively. He has built several good residences
and has otherwise done his part fully in the
development of the town from the day of small
things to the present magnitude and prominence.
In this connection reference should be made to
the fact that Mr. Winn built the Odd Fellows
Orphans' Home, at Idaho Falls, a fine large
sandstone structure which is a credit alike to the
order and to him.
In 1888 Mr. Winn went into the grocery trade,
at the corner of Main street and Capital avenue,
Idaho Falls, and his business has grown to such
proportions that it is not only large locally, but
extends throughout all of Idaho Falls' rapidly
developing tributary territory.
Mr. Winn is a strong Republican and has
always attended state and county conventions
and otherwise aided actively in the work of his
part}'. His standing as a man may be inferred
from the fact that he has been elected to impor-
tant offices on a ticket to which he was opposed,
having been taken up in that way because he
was logically the best man for the place. He has
long been an active Odd Fellow, devoted to the
order in all principles and in all phases of its
work. As a citizen he is public-spirited and up-
to-date, ready always to give his time and means
for the furtherance of any public measure which
commends itself to his judgment as being just
and wise.
In January, 1885, ]\Ir. Winn married ]\Iiss
Katie Freeman, who was then living at Golden,
Colorado, a native of England and a daughter
of Joseph and Martha Freeman, of Cheyenne,
Wyoming. Mrs. Winn is a member of the Epis-
copal church.
ST.\AS SPEKKER.
As his name indicates, Staas Spekker, of Lewis-
ton, the well known assessor and tax collector of
Nez Perces county, is of German birth. — one of
the representative citizens that the Fatherland
has furnished to the New World. The German
element is an important one in our national
existence, for its men of sterling worth, of enter-
prise and perseverance, have done much to pro-
mote the industrial, commercial and professional
interests of the land. In his business career Mr.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
513
Spekker has manifested the sterhng characte*-
of his race, and is regarded to-day as one of the
valued citizens of northern Idaho. He was born
in Hanover, Germany, March 4, 1841, was edu-
cated in the schools of that country, and during
the period of his scholastic training studied the
English language, so that he was familiar with
the tongue of the people among wliom he cast
his lot in 1871. Before coming to this country,
however, he had had practical experience in farm-
ing. Having attended a school of agriculture, he
accepted the position of superintendent of a large
estate owned by a German nobleman, and held
that position until, tiring of the manners and .
customs of the nobility, he determined to seek a
home in the land of the free. Accordingly he
crossed the Atlantic and located first at Ackley,
Hardin county, Iowa, where he was emploved as
a farm hand.
i\Ir. Spekker was married there to Miss Mary
Latzsch,and immediately afterward they removed
to Oregon, renting a farm in Linn county, of
Judge Geary. There he remained for eight years,
and by untiring industry and close application he
acquired considerable capital. Disaster overtook
him, however, for the heavy rains caused the
utter failure of his crops. In 1879 he removed to
eastern Oregon, erected a country hotel and con-
ducted a stage station. Prosperity attended his
efforts in that direction, and after carrying on
the business for two years he removed to the
territory of Washington, in 1881. There he took
up a homestead claim from the government, re-
siding thereon for six years. He made many
excellent improvements on the place and in 1885
sold the property for four thousand dollars. In
1886 he came to Xez Perces county and pur-
chased a farm of two hundred and eighty acres,
two miles from Leland. where he has since been
engaged in raising wheat, barley, oats and stock.
This is a valuable farming property, and by his
judicious methods and thrifty management he
has gained a well merited prosperity.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
seven sons and five daughters, and the family cir-
cle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. In
order of birth the children are Edwin, Peter,
Clara, Minnie, Clay, Amos, Arthur, Marion, Ida,
Opal, Clarence and Emma. The two eldest sons
are now deputies in their father's office and also
operating the farm, while the younger children
of the family, together with their parents, are
occupying the pleasant home in Lewiston, which
is inpluded among Mr. Spekker's realty posses-
sions. The children are now enjoying the excel-
lent educational advantages offered by the public
schools of Lewiston, and thus are being well
prepared for life's practical duties. In religious
views the family is somewhat divided. Mr. Spek-
ker was reared in the Reformed church of
Germany, his wife in the Lutheran church, and
some of the children belong to the Methodist
church, while others attend the Presbyterian
services.
In politics our subject has been a stalwart
Republican since becoming an American citizen,
and in the fall of 1898 he was chosen by popular
ballot to fill the offices of assessor and tax collec-
tor of Nez Perces county, in which capacity he
is now acceptably serving, being well qualified
to assess the taxable property of the county,
owing to his systematic business methods and
his thorough reliability. No trust reposed in him
has ever been betrayed, and all know him for a
man of sterling worth. His career in America
has been crowned with the success that comes
through earnest, honest labor, and he has justly
won the proud American title of a "self-made
man."
HENRY W.AX.
Henry Wax, president of the board of trustees
of Grangeville and one of her most enterprising
business men, claims California as the state of
his nativity, his birth having occurred in San
Francisco, on the 4th of August, 1859. His
parents were Jacob and Amelia (Elkles) Wax.^
natives of Germany, who located in California in
pioneer days. The year 1852 witnessed their
arrival in the Golden state, where the father car-
ried on merchandising in several towns up to the
time of his death. He passed away in his forty-
fourth year, his estimable wife having been called
to the home beyond three weeks previously. In
their family were seven children, of whom only
three are living.
Henry Wax, the third in order of birth, was
only a small boy when bereft of his parents He
was educated in the public schools of his native
town and began to earn his own living as a clerk
in the store of Meier & Frank, remaining with
514
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
that firm for seven years, as one of their most
trusted employes. There he laid the foundation
of his future successful career, by acquiring a
systematic and thorough knowledge of business
methods and becoming familiar with the qualities
of goods handled. In 1880 he became a resident
of Mount Idaho, and in partnership with Mr.
Weiler began business on his own account. In
1886 he opened his store at Grangeville, and
from the beginning success attended the new
enterprise. In 1888 he established a branch store
at Cottonwood, and for several years the firm
conducted the three stores, but found that the
one at Grangeville could supply the Mount Idaho
customers, and accordingly the one in the latter
place was abandoned. Business is carried on at
Cottonwood by the firm of Wax & Brown, while
Mr. Wax is now sole proprietor of the store in
Grangeville. He carries a large and well selected
stock of goods and has studied closely the varied
tastes of the public, so that he is able to meet the
demand. His honorable business policy, com-
bined with his uniform courtesy and his earnest
desire to please his patrons, has secured to him a
liberal patronage.
His efforts have not been confined entirely to
mercantile pursuits. He has been the promoter
of other interests which have resulted to the gen-
eral good as well as to individual benefit. He wa.j
the organizer of the Lewiston & Camas Prairie
Telephone Company, one of the most valuable
acquisitions to the business interests of the town.
He is also one of the stockholders and a director
of the Bank of Camas Prairie. He carries for-
ward to successful completion whatever he
undertakes, and his enterprise and capable man-
agement are most marked.
Mr. Wax is independent in his political views,
casting his vote for the men and measures that
he believes will best advance the interests of the
county. That he is one of Grangeville's most
public-spirited and able citizens is evinced by
the fact that he is now serving this third term as
president of the board of trustees, and in that
capacity is doing all that he can to promote the
upbuilding and welfare of the town. The public
acknowledges its indebtedness to him, and his
fellow townsmen give him their active co-opera-
tion as he labors for the improvement of the
place.
In 1885 Mr. Wax married Miss Hinda Bin-
nard, daughter of A. Binnard, one of Lewiston's
most prominent merchants, now deceased. Their
union has been blessed with a son, Monte, a
bright young bov. who takes an active interest in
selling goods in his father's store during the
months of vacation from school. Mr. Wax is a
valued member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, has passed all the chairs in both
branches and has represented his lodge in the
grand lodge of the state. He is also connected
with the Woodmen of the World and has repre-
sented that organization in its grand lodge. His
wife is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah,
and both enjoy the high esteem of their fellow
townsmen. His reliability in business, his devo-
tion to the public good, and his fidelity to all the
duties of life have made Mr. Wax a most popular
citizen of Grangeville.
W. H. PUCKETT.
The junior member of the well known law
firm of Hawley & Puckett is the gentleman
wdiose name forms the caption of this sketch.
He is still a young man, but has attained a posi-
tion of distinction at the bar that many an older
practitioner might well envy. He was born at
Herndon Place, Ballard county, Kentucky, on
the 8th of August, 1869. His father, W. J.
Puckett, was a native of Jackson, Mississippi,
and became one of the prominent lawyers of
Kentucky, where he practiced successfully for a
number of years. He is now living retired in
Denver, Colorado.
In the public schools of his native town W. H.
Puckett acquired his preliminary education,
which was supplemented by a course in the
Baptist College at Blandville, Kentucky. In 1885
he went to Denver, Colorado, and was graduated
in the Denver Business College, in 1888. The
same year he became a student in the Washing-
ton and Lee University, of Lexington, Virginia,
where he was graduated with the degree of
Bachelor of Law. The year 1891 witnessed his
arrival in Idaho. He secured a position as sten-
ographer in the law office of Hawley & Reever,
at Blackfoot, and in 1892 came with them to
Boise, where he has since made his home. He
continued with the firm until its dissolution,
when he joined the senior partner in the estab-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lishment of the present firm of Hawley &
Puckett. They occupy a commanding position
at the bar and enjoy a very Hberal share of the
legal business in the courts of this locality. Mr.
Puckett is thoroughly devoted to his profession,
prepares his cases with great thoroughness, is
ready and apt in argument, and quick to note any
point of attack in an opponent's position.
In his social relations he is a Mason, a valued
representative of Boise Lodge, No. 2, A. F. &
A. M. He also belongs to Capital City Lodge,
No. 310, B. P. O. E., in which he holds the office
of esteemed loyal knight, and in politics he is a
Democrat. He is regarded as a gentleman of
high character and reliability, of laudable ambi-
tion and commendable enterprise in business, and
a successful future undoubtedlv awaits him.
JUDGE FREDERICK S. STEVENS.
The distinguished citizen of Bingham county,
Idaho, whose name appears above, has lived
longer in that county than any other resident
now alive. He has at different stages of his life
in the county been soldier, pioneer, storekeeper,
farmer and jurist, and in each capacity has won
the respect of all who have been associated with
him, and he is widely known as one of the most
prominent citizens of southeastern Idaho.
Frederick S. Stevens was born in Lynn, ]\Iassa-
chusetts, August 7, 18^8. Benjamin Stevens, his
grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, as was
also Benjamin Stevens, Jr., his father. Benjamin
Stevens married a native of Lynn, Massachusetts,
and a daughter of Smith Downing. He was a
tanner, and died in 1856, at the age of forty-four
years. His widow lived seventy-five years, her
death occurring in 1896. They were devout and
helpful members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. They had four children, three of whom
are living.
Judge Frederick S. Stevens, the eldest of the
survivors of his father's family, was graduated
from the Lynn (Massachusetts) hieh school. He
went early in life to California, via the isthmus
of Panama, and was there a miner, a bookkeeper
and a clerk in turn, until the outbreak of the civil
war. In April. 1861, he enlisted in Company H,
Third Regiment of California Volunteer Infan-
try, with the expectation that the regiment would
be sent to participate in the war in the southern
states, but it was sent into the interior, instead,
to keep the Indians in subjection and to protect
emigrants. The regiment was located at Camp
Douglas and at Soda Springs, and Judge Stevens
saw three years and six months of service in the
wilderness, which has now mostly disappeared,
the territory it covered being dotted bv hundreds
of villages and cities and peopled bv thousands of
prosperous and contented men, women and chil-
dren, surrounded bv all the evidences of an ad-
vanced civilization. .After he was mustered out
of the service, he opened a settler's store at Soda
Springs, and, with a company stationed there,
carried on a trade which paid to a degree and
promised more, but was terminated suddenly at
the expiration of a year by the unexpected re-
moval of the company.
In 1866 Judge Stevens came to the site of
Blackfoot, then luxuriant in sage-brush and a
frequent resort of Indians. He pre-empted a
farm and acquired a timber claim and set himself
energetically to the work of improvement and
cultivation. The farm has become one of the
model farms of Bingham county, and it has a
fine brick residence and large modern outbuild-
ings. The timber claim has been developed into
one of the finest timber-culture quarter-sections
in the state, and not far from the handsome brick
house stands the little log hut in which Judge
Stevens began life in the wilderness. In that
rude, scanty structure was dispensed a pioneer
hospitality which was often made available by
emigrants to or through the place; and some-
times it was the scene of festive gatherings of
neighbors, who crowded one another within its
narrow walls and gave themselves up to the en-
joyment of a mutual friendship that was as gen-
uine as it was spontaneous and hearty. Indian
scares were frequent in those pioneer days. On
such occasions the few settlers would seek safety
in the house of Mr. Warren, which was provided
with loopholes between the layers of logs and
was otherwise adapted to purposes of defense,
and men would take turns standing guard out-
side, day and night. Inside everything was in
readiness for desperate battle, and every man was
resolved to sell his life at the greatest possible
cost to his assailants. Judge Stevens made
many trips to Logan, to Corinne and to other
distant points, with an ox team, for necessary
516
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
supplies. The perils, deprivations and hardships
of the past are now but a memory. Judge and
Mrs. Stevens have seen the land of their choice
touched by the magical hand of progress, the
old order of things has given place to the new,
and the pioneer is not without honor in his own
country. Stock-raising has received much at-
tention from Judge Stevens, and he has become
prominent as a breeder of and dealer in Durham
cattle.
Busy as Judge Stevens has been, his interest
in public afifairs has always been keen. A Repub-
lican in politics, he cast his first presidential vote
for Abraham Lincoln, and from that day to this
he has been a faithful and active adherent to the
principles of his party. He was postmaster of
Blackfoot under President Harrison, and filled
that position to the satisfaction of the whole town
for eight years. He was three times elected
probate judge of Bingham county, and during
his long term of service administered the office
admirably. The trial of criminal as well as civil
cases then devolved upon this office, and its in-
cumbent was ex-officio superintendent of the
schools of the county. The various and respon-
sible duties of the position were performea by
Judge Stevens with rare ability and fidelity, and
it is a matter of record that only one of his de-
cisions was reversed by a higher court.
In 1864 he married Finetta Garrett, a native
of England, and they entered upon a married life
whose happiness has not been diminished by
time. They have brought up a family of five
interesting children: Fred, named in his father's
honor, died of typhus fever at the age of twenty-
six years ; James is one of the prominent lawyers
of this part of the state and lives at Blackfoot;
Emma, Abbie and Rachel are members of their
parents' household.
TOM K. LITTLE.
From his boyhood until the present time the
subject of this sketch has been connected with
mercantile interests, and is thoroughly acquainted
with that line of business in every detail. Almost
a decade ago he became a resident of Caldwell,
Canyon county, and during the intervening years
ne has been one of the enterprising business men
of the place, devoting his time and energies to
the conduct of a general store. So ably has he
managed his interests that he has met with most
gratifying success, and at the same time has
gained the public confidence and good will by
his honorable business methods.
Mr. Little was born in the northern part of
Ireland, in the town of ]\Iohill, county Leitrim,
October 26, 1850, his parents being of Scotch-
Irish ancestry. When he had mastered the ele-
mentary branches of an education he commenced
serving an apprenticeship in a dry-goods house
in Longford, Ireland, and by diligence and close
application won the esteem and trust of his em-
ployers. At length he became possessed of the
desire to try his fortune in America, for he was
an ambitious lad and had determined to make a
success of his life if it lay within his power. Ac-
cordingly he sailed for the New World, and after
landing on American shores continued his west-
ward journey to Chicago, where he pursued a
course of practical commercial training in the
well known Bryant & Stratton's College of that
thriving young metropolis. Having acquitted
himself with credit in the college he was offered
a good position by the large wholesale dry-goods
house of John V. Farwell & Company, of that
city, and for twenty-one years was one of the
most trusted employes of that firm. Naturally
he became thoroughly posted in the various de-
partments of the business, as he handled- all kinds
of goods in the line. For several years he trav-
eled almost exclusively in Michigan for the firm
and was thus brought into contact with large
and small dealers, becoming conversant with the
retail as well as the wholesale trade. After all
these years of experience he was eminently well
qualified to carry on a business of his own, and
since opening his store in Caldwell he has met
with the success which he richly deserves. It was
in 1891 that a stock company was formed here,
with Mr. Little as vice president and I\Iontie B.
Gwinn as president, and three years later Ernest
Boone and J\Ir. Little bought out the Montie B.
Gwinn interests. But in January, 1898, Mr. Lit-
tle purchased his partner's interests and has since
been sole proprietor. He carries a large and
well selected stock of dry goods, clothing, fur-
nishing goods, hats and caps, boots and shoes,
carpets and general supplies. Year by year the
volume of business transacted by the firm has
increased, and the house now ranks with the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
517
leading ones of the state. January 15, 1899, Mr.
Little purchased the Lucas block, which he re-
modeled and is now occupying the same, it being
one of the finest and most modern in the state
and in every way suitable to meet the demands
of his increasing business.
On the 24th of February, 1879, Mr. Little was
united in marriage to Miss Minnie Hollecker, of
Ottawa, Illinois, where the wedding was cele-
brated. They now have one child, a daughter
named Anabelle. Theirs is one of the attractive
homes of Caldwell, and in this city they enjoy
the high regard of many friends. Mr. Little has
always taken a deep interest in the development
and growth of the town and has been foremost
in all local improvements and enterprises calcu-
lated to permanently benefit the locality. While
he gives his' attention strictly to his business
afifairs, he finds time, nevertheless, to fulfil his
duties as a patriotic citizen of this great common-
wealth. His ballot supports the nominees and
measures of the Republican party.
LINDOL SMITH.
For seventeen years this gentleman has been
a resident of Moscow, and has been one of the
most active factors in its upbuilding, progress
and advancement. He was born in New Phila-
delphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, June 6, 1832.
His paternal great-grandfather was a French
revolutionist, and was a refugee from his' native
land. Coming to this country, he joined the
colonial army in the struggle for independence,
and loyally aided in the war for freedom. His
son Jonathan Smith was a soldier in the war of
1812, and in an early day became a pioneer of
Ohio, where he reared his family. His son,
James M. Smith, father of our subject, was born
in Millersburg, Ohio, and married Miss Sarah N.
Casebeer, a lady of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry.
He was a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran
church and devoted his life to the work of saving
souls. When well advanced in years he retired
from the ministry and spent his last days with
his son Lindol, in whose home he passed away,
at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. During
the civil war he manifested the same spirit of
loyalty which has ever been a marked character-
istic of the familv. and went to the front, caring
for the soldiers ill with smallpo.x in the hospitals
in Nashville, Tennessee. He had great love for
his fellow men and improved every opportunity
for doing good to others. His estimable wife,
who proved to him a faithful companion and
helpmeet, died at the age of sixty-eight years.
They had eleven children, of whom only four
survive, the subject of this review being the
eldest.
The family removed to Indiana when Lindol
Smith was only seven years of age, and after
acquiring a practical education in the public
schools he learned the carpenter's trade, and has
made contracting and building his life work. In
1862, however, when the country was engaged in
civil war, he could no longer content himself to
remain at the bench, and joined the boys in blue
of Company G, Seventy-third Indiana Infantry,
which was attached to the Army of the Cumber-
land. The first battle in which he participated
was at Richmond, Kentucky, after which he was
engaged in fighting nearly every day until Bragg
and his forces were driven from the state. They
then went to Tennessee for the purpose of cap-
turing John Morgan, and while making a charge
Mr. Smith attempted to jump across a ditch, fell,
and, striking a root, broke two of his ribs. One
of the bones penetrated his lungs, pneumonia
followed and he was forced to lie in the hospital
for a month. He was then granted a thirty-days
furlough. At the expiration of that time he re-
joined his regiment at Camp Morton, the com-
mand in the meantime having been captured,
paroled and then placed on duty to guard
prisoners. Mr. Smith was examined by the sur-
geon, and being declared unfit for field duty, was
placed in charge of the military prison at Indian-
apolis, where he remained until the close of the
war, when he received an honorable discharge,
July 2, 1865.
Before the war he had married Miss Rachel
Surface, and to them were born four children,
but he lost his' wife and two of his children, and
two of his brothers through the dread disease,
scarlet fever. He was again married January
10, 1861, ]\Iiss Alwieda Patton, a native of In-
diana, becoming his wife. When he was wounded
she obtained from Governor Morton a commis-
sion as a nurse, went to her husband's bedside
and remained as matron of the hospital until the
war was over, having one hundred and fifty sick
518
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and wounded soldiers under her supervision. She
was untiring in her efforts to relieve their suffer-
ings and minister to their wants, and was very
much beloved by the gallant boys in blue. In
consideration of her services, her country has
granted her a pension of twelve dollars per
month.
After the war Mr. Smith was in poor health
for some time and unfit for active carpenter work.
He therefore engaged in buying and selling lum-
ber until the financial panic of 1873, when he
lost heavily. In 1882 he came to Moscow, bulk
a planing mill and in connection with its opera-
tion engaged in contracting and building, super-
intending the erection of many of the best
buildings in the city. He was employed by the
state board of regents of the university to super-
vise its construction, to see that proper materials
were used and that the work was done according
to the most improved methods, and at the present
time he is occupied with the superintendency of
the completion of the building. The university
is a credit to the city and the state and stands as
a monument to the business ability and skill of
Mr. Smith. He is most rehable in all dealings,
faithfully lives up to the terms of a contract and
has the confidence and patronage of the public
in an unusual degree.
Mr. Smith has always taken a deep interest in
the welfare and progress of the town, has served
for eleven years as a member of the school board
and has largely promoted the cause of education.
He was also a member of the citv council one
term, and for two terms, as mayor, administered
the affairs of Moscow, his rule being a beneficent
and progressive one. In 1898 he was elected a
member of the state legislature, and in all the
positions of trust has labored earnestly and
effectively for the welfare of his county and state.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born
seven children, four of whom are living. The
daughter, Ivanella, is now the wife of J. W.
Lewellan, of Moscow. Edward had just gradu-
ated from the State University when the war
with Spain began, and with forty-five of his
fellow students he enlisted and was made captain
of Company D, First Idaho Volunteers, in which
capacity he is now serving his country at Manila,
under General Lawton. He received a slight gun-
shot wound in the left leg at San Pedro. Captain
Smith is only twenty-three years of age, and is
said to be the youngest captain in the service.
He was a member of the state militia and a
thorough tactician, and his ability in tiis present
office rivals that of many a veteran of twice his
years. Leo, the second son, now nineteen years
of age, is serving in his brother's company and
has written a poem of much merit on the Boys
in Blue. The youngest son, Wilbert A., is now
attending the summer term -of the state univer-
sity. The parents certainly have just reason to
be proud of their children who in a foreign land
are protecting the starry banner of the nation.
Mr. Smith is a valued member of the Odd
Fellows society and has filled all the offices in
both branches of the order. His wife belongs
to the adjunct order, the Daughters of Rebekah,
was the first president of the assembly and was
also the first president of the Women's Relief
Corps of the state. Mr. Smith is very active in
the Grand Army of the Republic, is past com-
mander of the local post, and state department
commander. He has near his home a flag-pole
from which he flies "old glory" on occasions of
note, and also has a ten-pound Parrott gun which
he received from Boston,for the benefit of the post.
The family is one long celebrated for loyalty to
the flag, for since the time the French refugee
landed on American shores down to the present
when two loyal sons of our subject are serving
in Manila, each generation of the family has been
represented in the wars which have sustained the
honor of the nation and led to its present great-
ness and its proud position among the powers of
the world.
JESSE L. CONANT, M. D.
The subject of this sketch is a worthy example
of the large class of well read, careful and honor-
able physicians who are dear to their fellow
townsmen wherever their lot may be cast. They
are near to the people in sickness and trouble and
grow very near to them in all relations of life,
and become, many of them, the most influential
men in their communities. Doctor Jesse Lyman
Conant, mayor and prominent physician and
druggist of Genesee, Idaho, was born in Birming-
ham, Essex county, New York, May 31, 1831,
and is descended from an old Norman family
which went to the mother country with William
the Conqueror. George Conant, who came early
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
519
to New England and was the friend and rival of
Miles Standish, was the progenitor of the family
in America. Doctor Conant's grandfather was
born in Berkshire, Massachusetts, and his son,
Clark Conant, who was Doctor Conant's father,
was a native of the same town.
Clark Conant married Samantha Grandy. of
Vermont, and moved to Jackson county, Michi-
gan, at a comparatively early date. Thence they
removed, in 1878, when somewhat advanced in
life, to Los Angeles, California, where Mr.
Conant died at the age of ninety-eight, and Mrs.
Conant at the age of ninety-si.x. They were of
the highest character and were almost lifelong
members of the Baptist church. They had six
children, of whom four are living. George Clark
Conant died in defense of his country during the
civil war.
Doctor Jesse Lyman Conant was educated in
a general way in the public schools and profes-
sionally in Rush Medical College, where he stood
third in a class of eighty. He entered upon the
practice of his profession and pursued it success-
fully in Jackson county, Michigan, for a number
of years. Then for eight years he ministered to
the sick at Blair, Nebraska, where he becan.ie well
known as an able and successful physician and
surgeon. The succeeding eight years were passed,
with similar results, at Buffalo Gap, South
Dakota. From there he came to Genesee, where
he and his son. Dr. J. L. Conant, Jr., erected a
two-story and basement store building, twenty-
five by eighty feet, which he so planned that he
has one of the most attractive as well as one of
the most convenient drug stores in northern
Idaho. He carries a large stock of drugs, paints,
oils, and stationery, and has an extensive and
constantly growing trade. He has prospered in
a professional way also, and has a large practice
among the best citizens of Genesee and its sur-
rounding country.
Dr. Conant was married, in 1854, to Miss Julia
Rock, a native of Clinton county. New York.
They have had three children, of whom two are
living. Their daughter, Helen Elizabeth, is the
wife of Frank Standish. Doctor Jesse L. Conant,
Jr., their son, received a thorough medical educa-
tion and became his father's partner and gained
an enviable professional reputation. At the be-
ginning of the Spanish war he tendered his
services to his country and was appointed sur-
geon of the First Idaho Regiment, and is now
serving with it in the Philippine Islands.
Doctor Conant's first vote was cast for Win-
field Scott, Whig candidate for president, and
when the Republican party was formed he
attached himself to it and has voted for every one
of its nominees for the presidency, from Fremont
to McKinley, and has been a warm supporter of
its party at all periods of its history. He never
was an ofifice-seeker, and has often refused posi-
tions of responsibility which might have been his
for the taking, but in 1899 he was prevailed upon
to become the nominee of his party for the
mayoralty of Genesee. His election followed,
and the choice was so good a one that it was
satisfactory to the citizens of all classes and
parties. He was made Mason many years ago
and is a past master of his lodge.
C.AR^IEL C. C.\RPEXTER.
One whose faith in the magnificent agricultural
possibilities of Idaho was such as to lead him to
become identified with this great basic industry
is Carmel C. Carpenter, who is one of the prom-
inent and representative farmers of Latah countv.
Results have amply justified his confidence, and
he to-day maintains his residence on his fine
farm, which is located seven and one-half miles
south of the thriving town of Moscow. Mr.
Carpenter is a native of the state of Iowa, having
been born in Dubuque county, on the 27th of
April, 1845. His lineage traces back to stanch
old English stock, the first American representa-
tives of the family having been numbered among
the early settlers in Vermont, from which state
the great-grandfather of our subject went forth
to valiant service for the cause of independence
in the war of the Revolution.
Cephas Carpenter, grandfather of Carme! C,
was born in Vermont, and, as a colonel in the
militia of that state, saw active service in the
war of 1812, participating in the battle of Platts-
burg Heights. He attained remarkable longevity,
being ninety-six years of age at the time of his
death and being active and in full possession of
h.is faculties even to the day of his demise. It is
a matter of record that he walked a distance of
seven miles the day licfore he passed awav, — an
honored patriarch, in wlioni there was no guile.
520
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
He was by profession a lawyer, was a man of
high intellectual gifts and sterling integrity, and
that as a prototype his influence on heredity has
been altogether beneficial may be inferred from
the fact that one of his grandsons was Matt. H.
Carpenter, the celebrated lawyer of Wisconsin
and for many years a representative of that state
in the United States senate.
Alfred Carpenter, the father of the subject of
this review, was born in the state of Vermont, his
birth having occurred in Washington county, in
the year 1812. He was a farmer by occupation,
and his efforts were attended with a due measure
of success. He married INIiss Mary K. Cheney,
a native of Milford, Massachusetts, and they be-
came the parents of thirteen children, all of whom
reached mature years and of whom only
two are deceased at the present time. The
father lived to attain the age of seventy years,
and his widow has now reached the venerable age
of seventy-seven years.
In this large family of children, who grew up
under the invigorating influences of the old
Green Mountain state, Carmel C. Carpenter, of
this sketch, was the third in order of birth and
is the eldest of the survivors. He was reared on
the parental farmstead, early becoming familiar
with the duties incidental to its cultivation, while
in the winter seasons he was accorded the ad-
vantages afTorded by the district schools. Mr.
Carpenter was a youth of seventeen years when
the dark cloud of civil war cast its pall over the
national horizon, and his patriotic ardor was
quickened to the point of action. In response to
President Lincoln's second call for volunteers,
he enlisted in Company G, Twenty-third Missouri
\'olunteer Infantry, with which he served in the
Army of the Tennessee and later in the Army of
the Cumberland. He participated in many of
the important conflicts which marked the prog-
ress of the great war of the Rebellion, among
the number being those of Shiloh, Peach Tree
Creek, New Hope Church and Jonesboro,
Georgia, while he also was an active participant
in the almost continuous fighting of the Atlanta
campaign, including the taking of the city. His
regiment accompanied General Sherman on the
ever memorable "march to the sea," and he took
part in the battles at Louisville, Georgia, and
Waynesboro. Mr. Carpenter was too young to
secure promotion, but his military record was
one of splendid order and one in which he may
justly take pride. It is worthy of note in this
connection that the vouthful soldier did not re-
ceive a wound during the entire course of his
service, nor was he ill for even a day, his sturdy
vigor and his intrepid bravery making him a
valuable addition to the ranks of "boys in blue"
who perpetuated the integrity of our nation. Mr.
Carpenter received an honorable discharge at
Savannah, Georgia, on the 24th of January, 1865,
a youthful veteran who had rendered to his coun ■
try the valiant service of a loval son of the
republic.
His army service thus ended and victory hav-
ing crowned the Union arms, Mr. Carpenter
returned to his far-distant home, where he forth
with resumed the vocation of farming. In 1869
was consummated his marriage to Miss Amy M.
Randall, who was born in Iowa, the daughter of
Almeron Randall.
In the year 1880 I\Ir. Carpenter disposed of
his farm in Missouri and turned his face toward
the "shining mountains" of Idaho, the Gem state
of the L^nion. L'pon arriving here he located
three hundred and twenty acres of rich farming
land in Latah county, where he has since main-
tained his home and where success has crowned
his indefatigable and well directed efforts. He
has given his attention to the improvement and
cultivation of his property, bringing to bear the
most approved methods and carrying on opera-
tions according to scientific principles. His suc-
cess, as taken in connection witn the natural
benefices which soil and climate afford, has been
a natural result, and he is to be numbered among
those who have done much to advance the agri-
cultural interests of a state whose prestige is ever
increasing. Wisely interpreting the possibilities
for successful production, Mr. Carpenter has de-
voted his attention principally to the raising of
wheat, having secured a yield of as high as forty
bushels per acre, as an average for the entire
crop. Of barley he has raised seventy-eight
bushels per acre, the entire crop being sold at
the rate of one cent a pound and returning to him
twenty-five dollars per acre. L^pon his place Air.
Carpenter has also a fine fruit orchard, the prod-
ucts of which are principally retained for home
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
531
To our subject and his wife seven children
have been born, and of this number five are
living. The eldest daughter, Nellie, is the wife
of Ralph L. Hall, of Coeur d'Alene; and the
3'ounger children are Jessie, Arthur, Jennie and
Leona.
In his political adherency Mr. Carpenter is
stanchly arrayed in support of the Republican
party and its principles. For two years he has
been chairman of the board of trustees of Latah
county, and for the long period of eighteen years
he has served as one of the trustees of his school
district, while for three years he was a member
of the board of trustees of the Soldiers' Home,
at Boise, having been appointed to this position
by Governor McConnell. He keeps alive the
associations and memories of his military life by
retaining membership in the Grand Army of the
Republic, and in addition to this valued fraternal
connection, he is also identified with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Carpenter is recognized as one of the rep-
resentative citizens of the county, being a man
of marked intellectuality and inflexible integrity
and holding the respect and confidence of all
who come in contact with him. He and his family
enjoy a wide acquaintanceship and distinct popu-
larity in Latah county, where they have resided
for so many years, and they merit consideration
in any work which has to do with the history of
the fair state of Idaho.
S.\MUEL O. TANNAHILL.
Samuel O. Tannahill, of the law firm of Tanna-
hill & Tannahill, of Lewiston, is a native of
Iowa, his birth having occurred in Van Buren
county, that state, August lo, 1868. In colonial
days the family was founded in New England,
and the great-grandfather of our subject, Henry
W. Tannahill, was one of the heroes of the Revo-
lution, valiantly fighting for the independence of
the nation. He afterward became one of the
pioneer settlers of Ohio, and there occurred the
birth of Henry and John L. Tannahill, the former
the grandfather, the latter the father of our sub-
ject. When a young man John L. Tannahill
emigrated to Iowa, and became an industrious
and successful farmef of that state. He married
^liss Elmira Jones, a native 01 Iowa, and to them
were born three sons, all vet living. At the time
of the civil war, the father responded to the coun-
try's call for aid and served in the Seventh Iowa
Cavalry until the cessation of hostilities. Later
he removed to Kansas, in 1872, where he died in
the thirty-third year of his age. His widow still
survives him and is now forty-nine years of age.
She belongs to the Presbyterian church, as did
her husband.
Samuel O. Tannahill, the eldest son, acquired
his preliminary education in the public schools
of Kansas, and later was a student in the Kansas
State Normal School. He was reared oil the
home farm, and when seventeen years of age
began to earn his own living by teaching school.
He was employed as a teacher of country schools
until 1888, when he came to Idaho and continued
his labors along educational lines, in Nez Perces
county, until 1892, when, by popular ballot, he
was elected to the ofifice of assessor and ex-ofificio
tax collector. He then came to Lewiston to
reside, and filled his position in such a satisfactory
manner that in 1894 he received the nomination
of his party for clerk of the district court and.
ex-ofificio auditor and recorder of the county.
He was also clerk of the board of commissioners,
and his public service was most acceptable and
commendable. In the meantime Mr. Tannahill
had read law, and having passed the necessary
examination was admitted to the bar. He then
entered into partnership with his brother, George
W. Tannahill, who is a graduate of the law
school at A'alparaiso, Indiana, and they have
rapidly acquired a good practice, now retaining
a distinctively representative clientele. They have
a nicely appointed ofifice, a good library and also
own a set of abstract books.
Samuel O. Tannahill has always been an advo-
cate and supporter of the Democracy, has
attended many of the coun^ and state conven-
tions and has a wide acquaintance in the party
throughout the state. He had the honor of being
appointed by Governor Steunenberg a member
of his staff. He keeps well informed on the
issues of the day and is therefore able to give an
intelligent support to the principles in which he
so firmly believes.
■ Mr. Tannahill was married, in 1897, to Miss
Alice Cox, a daughter of W. S. Cox, a prominent
Lewiston merchant. She is a lady of culture
and refinement and is a valued member of the
523
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Tannahill
have a nice home in Lewiston, where he has
acquired considerable property. He belongs to
the Odd Fellows society, has passed all the chairs
in all its branches, is a blue-lodge and royal-arch
Mason and has taken the Scottish-rite degrees up
to and including the eighteenth. He is a young-
man of worth and ability, and has the happy
faculty of making friends and drawing them
closer to him as the years pass by. At the bar
he has attained an enviable nosition. Deeply in-
terested in his profession he spares no pains in
perfecting himself in his chosen calling, and
has a wide and accurate knowledge of the prin-
ciples of jurisprudence.
CARTER W. BURNS.
Among the public ofificials of Elmore county
is Carter W. Burns, of Mountain Home, who is
now acceptably serving as sherifif. His entire life
has been spent west of the Mississippi, his birth
having occurred in Jackson county, Iowa, on
the 5th of April, 1856. The family is of Scotch
descent and was early founded in the state of
Missouri, the paternal grandfather of our subject
having taken up his residence there when the
region was an almost unbroken wilderness
Jerome Samuel Burns, the father of our subject,
was born in Missouri and wedded Miss Mary
Kuntz, a native of Pennsylvania, and of German
descent. They are now residents of San Jose,
California, the father having attained the age of
sixty-seven, the mother fifty-seven years. Thev
are both valued members of the Methodist church,
and are people of the highest respectability and
worth. In their family were twelve children, ten
of whom reached years of maturity, while nine
are still living.
Carter W. Burns, whose name introduces this
review, acquired his education in the public
schools near his Iowa home, and spent his boy-
hood days upon his father's farm, assisting in
the work of plowing, planting and harvesting.
His time was thus occupied until he attained his
majority, when he left home and went to the
Black Hills, where he engaged in prospecting
and mining. During the Leadville excitement he
went to Colorado, where he again engaged in
mining and also followed freighting for some
time. He carried supplies for the miners into
the state of Durango, Mexico, and while in that
land took a contract for building a portion of the
Rio Grande Railroad. On the completion of
that work he returned to Colorado, and in 1882
came to Idaho, locating on Wood river, where
he engaged in prospecting, mining, freighting
and in furnishing railroad ties for the railroad
between Shoshone and Ketchum.
In 1884 Mr. Burns arrived in Mountain Home
and opened a meat market, which he conducted
with excellent success for ten years. He also had
the contract for carrying the mail from Mountain
Home to Rocky Bar, and is now quite exten-
sively interested in mining claims, having made
judicious investments in mining property. In
1896 he was elected on the silver Republican
ticket to the office of county sherifT, which posi-
tion he has filled wdth marked capability. He is
prompt and reliable, discharging his duties with-
out fear or favor, and the high commendation of
the public is accorded him.
In 1886 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Burns and Miss Emma Jane Bluett, a native of
Walla Walla, Washington. Their union has been
blessed with two children, Mary L. and Charles
J., who are still with their parents. Mrs. Burns
is an acceptable member of the Protestant Epis-
copal church, and both our subject and his wife
are held in the high regard of an extensive circle
of friends and acquaintances.
CHESTER P. COBURN.
Among the well known and highly respected
citizens of northern Idaho who have borne an
important part in the development of the state is
Chester P. Coburn, of Lewiston, whose name is
enrolled among the pioneers who came to this
section of the country in 1862. He aided in the
organization not onlv of the state but of the
territory, and has ever been a prominent factor
in the progress and advancement which have
wrought a marvelous transformation here. It is
a well attested maxim that the greatness of a
state lies not in its machinery of government,
nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling
qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity
for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to
the public good. Regarded as a citizen, ]\Ir,
Coburn belongs to that public-sJDirited, useful
and helpful type of men whose ambitions and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
desires are centered and directed in those chan-
nels through which flow the greatest and most
permanent good to the greatest number, and it
is therefore consistent with the purpose and plan
of this work that his record be given among those
of the representative men of the state.
A native of Vermont, Chester P. Coburn was
born in Rochester, that state, May 3, 1832. His
ancestors were early settlers of New Hampshire
and the Green Mountain state, and his grand-
fathers, Abraham Coburn and Benjamin Stone,
fought for the freedom and independence of the
colonies in the Revolutionary war. His father,
Thomas Coburn, was a native of New Hamp-
shire, and in early life learned the tanner's trade,
but in later years became a farmer. He married
Miss Amelia Stone, and they removed from Ver-
mont to Potsdam, New York, where the father
departed this life at the advanced age of eighty-
six years, while the mother was called to her final
rest in her eighty-fourth year. They were lifelong
members of the Congregational church, and in
his political views Mr. Coburn was first a Whig
and afterward a Republican. Both he and his
wife enjoyed the high regard of many friends
and their lives were exemplary in all respects.
They had a family of nine children, three sons
and six daughters, but four of the daughters are
now deceased.
Chester P. Coburn, the eighth in order of birth,
was reared and educated in Vermont and New
York. He left his home in August, 1849, at the
age of seventeen years, and went to New York,
where he remained until 1852, when he sailed for
California, going by way of the Nicaragua
route. He was for some years engaged in mining
and merchandising in Placer and Yolo counties,
where members of his party took out nuggets
worth seventy-five and eighty dollars. The larg-
est one he ever secured, however, was worth ten
dollars. He also engaged in stock-raising in
California, and had been in the latter business
four years when, attracted by the Florence gold
discoveries, he came to Lewiston, Idaho. During
the first summer he engaged in mining, and then
established a livery business, for there was a large
demand for pack and saddle horses. He carried
on operations along that line until 1864, when
he sold his barn and went to Oregon, where he
purchased one hundred and seventy-five head of
cattle, which he brought to Lewiston. He then en-
gaged in stock-raising and fn the dairy business,
and subsequently carried on the butchering busi-
ness in Lewiston for fourteen years. In 1890 he
went to the Salmon river country, took up gov-
ernment land and continued in the stock busi-
ness, meeting with gratifying success. He is a
man of great industry, and his sagacity in
business afifairs and his untiring energy resulted
in securing a handsome competence. In 1898 he
sold his ranch and stock, and just as he was
concluding the transaction he was robbed of three
thousand dollars worth of stock. He never found
the thief or cattle, although he traveled in every
direction, searching for months, but without
avail. He is now retired from active business
life and resides in his home in Lewiston, which
he has owned for thirty years.
In 1866 Mr. Coburn was united in marriage to
Miss Martha Chauncy, a native of Illinois. "who
crossed the plains in an early day. Their union
has been blessed with seven children, four sons
and three daughters, all yet living, namely:
Albert C: Howard S. and Herbert E., twin's;
Ransom M.; Alice M.; Flora G., wife of Frank
Sears; and Cora E.
Mr. Coburn cast his first presidential vote for
Winfield Scott, and was one of the organizers of
the Republican party in California. He remaine'l
as one of its most stalwart supporters for many
years, but is not in harmony with it on the
financial question, and is therefore independent
at the present time, placing the country's good
before party advancement. He has attended
various conventions of his party in Boise, when
the fare by stage was one hundred and five
dollars each way, and several weeks were re-
quired for the transaction of business and the
accomplishment of the journey. Few, if any, of
the pioneers have manifested greater devotion to
the best interests of the state or performed more
effective labor in behalf of the general progress
and advancement of Idaho. He has left the im-
press of his individuality upon the social, moral,
business and political life of the state, and is
regarded as one of Idaho's most. valued citizens.
He is very prominent in Masonic circles and has ,
attained distinction in connection with the official
labors of the organization. He was made a
J\laster Mason in Nez Perces Lodge, No. 10, F. .
& A. 'KL. was a charter member of Lewiston
Chapter, No. 4, R. A. AI., and was chosen its
first high priest, serving in that capacity for
seven years. He is also past master of the lodge
and past grand master of the order in the state.
His life exemplifies the ennobling principles of
the fraternity, which through countless ages has
inculcated charity and kindliness among men.
CHAPTER XXXV.
POLITICAL, RESUMED.
IN 1890 there were two important supreme-
court decisions rendered which were of popu-
lar interest. The legislature remained in
session for a time beyond the sixty-day limit pre-
scribed by the constitution, and the question was
raised as to the validity of the laws passed after
that limit was passed. The supreme court of
the state decided that they were valid, and this
decision was finally affirmed by the supreme
court of the United States.
The other decision concerned the great Mor-
mon question and the test oath so stringently
adopted by the early settlers of the territory. The
territorial statute provided that no person should
be entitled to vote who was 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 law, as a duty arising or resulting from
membership in such order, organization or asso-
ciation, or which practices bigamy, polygamy or
plural or celestial marriages as a doctrinal rite
of such organizations."
To enforce this provision it was further en-
acted that every person applying for registration
should take a stringent oath, known as the "test
oath," to the effect that he "does not and will not
practice bigamy or polygamy, and is not and will
not be connected in any way with the Mormon
organization or aid it, or teach its doctrines." It
was claimed by the Mormons that these statutes
violated the first amendment to the constitution
of the United States, which forbids the passage
' of any law "respecting the establishment of re-
ligion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The decision of this court, rendered February 3,
1890, denied this contention and fully established
the constitutionality of such legislation. The
document contains the following statements of
the law:
Bigamy and polygamy are crimes by the laws of all
civilized and Christian countries. They are crimes by
the laws of the United States, and they are crimes by
the laws of Idaho. The term "religion" has reference
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 respecting the estab-
lishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise'
thereof," was intended to allow every one under 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. The oppressive measures
adopted, and the cruelties and punishments inflicted
by the governments of Europe for many ages, to com-
pel parties to conform in their religious beliefs and
modes of worship to the views of the most numerous
sect, and the folly of attempting in that way to control
the mental operation of persons and enforce an outward
conformity to a prescribed standard, led to the adop-
tion of the amendment in question. It was never in-
tended or supposed that the amendment could be in-
voked as a protection against legislation for the pun-
ishment of acts inimical to the peace, good order and
morals of society. However free the exercise of re-
ligion may be, it must be subordinate to the criminal
laws of the country passed with reference to actions
regarded 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 prohib-
itory legislation, must be suspended in order that the
tenets of a religious sect encouraging crime may be
carried out without hindrance.
It was further decided -that the legislation in
question was entirely within the powers granted
by congress to the territorial legislature.
ADMISSION TO THE UNION.
The passage of the Idaho admission bill
through congress was virtually assured by the
above decision. Until it was made certain that
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the new state, if admitted, could lawfully control
and exclude from power its polygamous popula-
tion, no one cared to hasten its admission; and
the bill slumbered in the house committee at
Washington. After this decision the bill was
reported to the house, and passed, April 3. It
received the approval of the senate July i, and
was signed by the president on July 3, and at
that moment Idaho became a state. Its constitu-
tion had been framed in July, 1889, and adopted
by the people in November of that year.
The boundaries of the new state were
defined as follows: Beginning at the inter-
section of the thirty-ninth meridian with
the boundary line between the United States
and the British possessions, then following
said meridian south until it reaches the
summit of the Bitter Root mountains, then
southeast along the crest of the Bitter Root
range and the continental divide until it inter-
sects the meridian of thirty-four degrees of longi-
tude, thence southward on this meridian to the
forty-second parallel of latitude, thence west on
this parallel of latitude to its intersection with
the meridian drawn through the mouth of the
Owyhee river, thence north on this merid-
ian to the mouth of the Owyhee river,
thence down the mid-channel of the Snake
river to the mouth of the Clearwater river,
and north on the meridian which passes
through the mouth of the Clearwater to the
boundary line between the United States and the
British possessions, and east on said boundary
line to the place of beginning.
On the admission of Idaho into the Union, it
was assigned one representative in congress, be-
sides the two senators. It was provided that in
the first election held for state officers the terri-
torial laws for registration, including the test-oath
law, should apply. The sixteenth and thirty-sixth
sections of the public lands in each township, or
sections in lieu thereof, were granted to the state
for the support of common schools, the proceeds
from the sale of such lands to be preserved as a
permanent school fund. This fund was entitled
also to receive five per cent, of the net proceeds
accruing to the United States from the sale of
public lands in the state. Fifty sections of the
public lands were granted in aid of the erection
of public buildings at the capital, and ninety
thousand acres were granted for the establish-
ment and maintenance of an agricultural college.
In lieu of the general grant of lands for internal
improvements usually made to new states, the
following special grants were made: For the
establishment and maintenance of a scientific
school, 100,000 acres; for state normal schools,
90,000 acres; for the maintenance of the insane
asylum at Blackfoot, 50,000 acres ; for the main-
tenance of the state university at Moscow, 50,000
acres; for the penitentiary at Boise, 50,000 acres;
and for other state charitable, educational, penal
and reformatory institutions, 150,000 acres. None
of the lands granted was to be sold for less than
ten dollars an acre.
THE FIRST ST.J.TE OFFICERS.
Pursuant to the provisions of the admission
act and of the new constitution. Territorial Gov-
ernor Shoup issued a proclamation. July 18, 1890,
directing a special election to be held on October
I to choose a full corps of state and county
ofificers and a representative to the fifty-first and
fifty-second congresses. Nominating conventions
were at once called by the Republican and Demo-
cratic state committees.
The Republican state convention met at Boise
August 20 and nominated the following ticket:
For governor, George L. Shoup; for lieutenant
governor, Norman B. Willey; secretary of state.
A. J. Pinkham; auditor, George Robethan ; treas-
urer, Frank R. Coffin; attorney general, George
H. Roberts; superintendent of public instruction.
J. E. Harroun; justices of the supreme court,
Joseph W. Huston,. John T. Morgan and Isaac
N. Sullivan; and member of congress for both
terms, Willis Sweet. In their platform, besides
the customary declarations, the Republicans de-
manded a repeal of the national law which placed
the public domain of the state of Idaho within
the arid region and reserved the same from settle-
ment, which law "retarded the growth of the
state and worked a great injustice to the people."
The Democratic state convention also met at
Boise, August 26, and nominated Benjamin Wil-
son for governor, Sanuiel F. Taylor for lieutenant
governor, E. A. Sherwin for secretary of state,
James H. Wickersham for auditor, T. A. Regan
for treasurer, Richard Z. Johnson for attorney
general, Milton A. Kelly for superintendent of
526
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
public instruction, I. X. Alaxwell, F. H. Ensign
and Hugh W. Weir for justices of the supreme
court, and Alexander E. Alayhew for member of
congress. In their platform they declared for tho
free and unlimited coinage of silver, for an eight-
hour system of labor, for laws restricting Chinese
immigration and prohibiting their employment,
and even favored the deportation of the Chinese
that may be found already in the state ; and they
also favored the principle of electing United
States senators by a popular vote.
During the ensuing canvass the name of Silas
W. Moody was substituted on the Republican
ticket for that of George Robethan. The election
resulted in a victory for the Republican ticket,
as follows: For George L. Shoup, Republican
candidate for governor, 10,262; for Benjamin
Wilson, the Democratic candidate for that office,
7,948; for Willis Sweet, Republican candidate for
member of congress, 10,150; for Alex. E. May-
hew, for the same office, 8,026; and the other
candidates received majorities varying from 1,500
to 2,200.
The state legislature was composed of fourteen
Republicans and four Democrats in the senate,
and thirty Republicans and six Democrats in the
house. On November 3, soon after assuming
office, Governor Shoup issued his proclamation
convening the new legislature for its first session
at Boise on December 8. This body accordingly
met on that date, and completed its session on
March 14 following. Almost immediately after
assembling, the legislature proceeded to the elec-
tion of United States senators. On December 18
it chose Governor Shoup for the term ending
i^Iarch 4, 1897, and William J. McConnell for
the term ending March 4, 1893. At the same
time this legislature elected ex-Delegate Fred-
erick T. Dubois to succeed Governor Shoup at
the end of his term. The ballot for Dubois was
taken in joint session, without having first, on
the day previous, taken a ballot separately in
each house, according to the statute. His Re-
publican opponents took advantage of this, and,
combining with the Democrats, protested against
the election as illegal. They passed through both,
houses a resolution under which, on February 10,
each house separately voted for a senator in place
of Dubois. This resolution declared that great
doubt of the validity of the former election ex-
isted, because it took place in advance of the
time fixed by law, and without a separate ballot
in each house. On February 1 1 both houses in
joint session, finding that no choice had been
made on the preceding day on the separate ballot
in each house, proceeded by joint ballot to elect
William H. Clagett to the United States senate,
by a vote of twenty-eight, to four for all other
candidates. Seventeen Republican members were
present and refused to vote, and four were ab-
sent; but the Republican minority and the Demo-
crats (who voted for Qagett) formed a majority
of both houses. Subsequently acting Governor
Willey signed the certificate of Clagett'^^ election ;
but Secretary of State Pinkham refused to coun-
tersign it or affix the state seal. Dubois had
previously obtained a certificate of election
signed by the governor and the secretary of state
and duly sealed. It then became the duty of the
United States senate to pass upon the validity of
both these certificates.
At this session of the legislature the Australian
ballot system was adopted, applying to all elections
in the state excepting school-district elections.
Under its provisions candidates may be nomi-
nated by the convention or primary meeting of a
political party, or by certificates of nomination
signed by electors residing within the political
division for which the nomination is made to the
number at least of three hundred if for a state
office, at least one hundred and fifty if for an
office representing two or more counties, and so
on down in a corresponding ratio. In connec-
tion with elections a registration law was adopted,
and the usual restrictions placed upon qualifica-
tions of voters.
In order to fund the bonded and floating debts
of the state, an act was passed authorizing the
issue of six-per-cent. state bonds, redeemable on
December i, 191 1, or at any time after Decem-
ber I, 1900, at the option of the state. At the
time of the adoption of this law the bonded debt
of the state to be refunded amounted to
$51,715.06, with accrued interest, while the float-
ing debt was about $76,000, with accrued
interest. The ad-valorem state ta.x to be levied
annually for general purposes was fixed at eight
and a half mills on the dollar, and a further
annual tax of three-fourths of a mill was levied
in aid of the state university building fund. The
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
527
legislature also passed a law changing the school
system in conformity with the requirements of
the state constitution and provided for an annual
tax levy in each county, for the support of
schools, of not less than five nor more than ten
mills on the dollar. The liquor-license law-
enacted at this session fixed the annual license
fee at five hundred dollars in all places where the
total vote for governor at the preceding election
exceeded one hundred and fifty; three hundred
dollars in other places ; but a tavern where liquor
was sold three miles or more from a village should
pay only one hundred dollars annually. The sell-
ing or giving of liquors to minors was forbidden.
The sum of thirty-five thousand dollars was ap-
propriated for restoring the buildings of the
insane asylum at Blackfoot, which had been
burned. For the World's Columbian Exposition
at Chicago twenty thousand dollars was appro-
priated. Aliens were forbidden to acquire or hold
any real estate in the state except mining lands.
unless such real estate be acquired by inheritance
or by the enforcement of a lien or judgment for
debt. Resolutions were adopted urging an
amendment to the federal constitution permitting
the election of United States senators by a direct
vote of the people. The county of Canyon was
created out of a portion of Ada county. A state
penitentiary was established at Boise in the build-
ings already in use by the territory, two miles
east of the city. The killing of moose was pro-
hibited for six entire years. Three-fourths of a
jury in civil cases were allowed to render a ver-
dict. Eight hours was made a "day's" work. A
county horticultural commissioner was provided
for in certain cases. A great seal for the state
was adopted. Three thousand dollars was appro-
priated annually for the education of the deaf,
dumb and blind of the state at institutions in
adjoining states or territories: and many other
important acts were passed.
CHAPTER XXXVl.
IDAHO IN 1890.
THE officers for the territory and state of
Idaho for the year 1890 were: Governor^
George L. Shoup, RepubHcan; secretary
of state, Edward J. Curtis; treasurer, Charles
Himrod; comptroller, James H. Wickersham;
attorney general, Richard Z. Johnson; superin
tendent of public instruction, Charles C. Steven-
son; chief justice of the supreme court, James
H. Beattjj; associate justices, Willis Sweet and
Charles H. Berry.
November i, 1890, the following state officers
were declared elected by the state board of can-
vassers and soon thereafter assumed office: Gov-
ernor, George L. Shoup; lieutenant governor,
Norman B. Willey ; secretary of state, A. J. Pink-
ham; auditor, Silas W. Moody; treasurer, Frank
R. Coffin; attorney general, George H. Roberts;
superintendent of public instruction. J. E. Har-
roun; justices of the supreme court, Isaac N.
Sullivan, Joseph W. Huston and John T. Mor-
gan. Justice Sullivan drew by lot the shortest
term and thereby became the chief justice.
The population of Idaho in 1890 by counties
was:
Ada 8,368
Alturas ' 2.629
■ Bear Lake 6,057
Bingham 13.575
Boise 3.342
Cassia 3,i43
Custer 2,176
Elmore 1,870
Idaho 2.955
Kootenai 4.108
Latah 9.173
Lemhi 1,915
Logan 4.169
Nez Perces 2,847
Oneida 6,819
Owyhee 2,021
Shoshone S.382
Washington 3,836
Total for the state 84,385
Increase since 1880 5I.77S
52
The total indebtedness of the counties in 1890,
when Idaho became a state, was $1,320,795, of
which $858,700 was bonded. The state debt
October i, 1890, was: Bonds of 1877, due De-
cember I, 1891, $46,715.06; capitol-building
bonds of 1885, $80,000; insane-asylum bonds of
1885, $20,000; outstanding warrants unpaid.
$92,552.89; total debt, $239,267.95. The large
amount of outstanding warrants was due to ap-
propriations made by the preceding legislature
for improvements upon the capitol grounds, the
insane asylum and the university lands, and to
unusual expenditures caused by the destruction
of the insane asylum at Blackfoot by fire on No-
vember 24, 1889. Before the end of December
the wagon road bonds, amounting to $50,000,
authorized by the preceding legislature, were sold
at a premium, to be delivered as fast as money
for the road should be needed.
The balances in the various funds of the state
treasury were: General, $799.39; capitol build-
ing, $20,774.95; library, $198.89; university,
$78.32; common school, $758.60; insane, $334.57;
general scliool fund, $10,919.40; total, $33,-
864.12.
The governor estimated the necessary expenses
of the first year of statehood at $177,535, ^o meet
which a tax levy, for 1891, of six and a half mills,
would be necessary, exclusive of the half-mill
levy for the state university and the one-fifth-mill
levy for the wagon roads.
The state university was established at Moscov/
by an act of the fifteenth legislature, and the sum
of fifteen thousand dollars appropriated for the
purchase of a site and for procuring plans and
specifications for a building.
The growth of the public schools during the
two years ending August 31, 1890, was indicated
by the following figures : The number of school
districts increased from 337 to 410; school-houses
from 269 to 315; schools from 376 to 497; chil-
dren of school age (between five and twenty-one)
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
529
from 20,433 to 25,471; the amount received for
school purposes from $158,512 to $202,235.
The assessed vahiation of property for the year
1890 was: Real estate and improvements,
$1 1> 173.51 1 ; railroad property, $5,358,338; live
stock, $4,744,276; goods, wares and merchandise,
$1,612,615; money, bank shares and other secur-
ities, $763,284; other personal property, $1,929,-
281; total, $25,581,305. The rate of taxation
upon this valuation was four mills, — three and a
half mills being for general purposes, and half a
mill for the university.
The mineral production for the year 1890 by
counties, was:
Silver, Lead,
at$i at4cts.
Gold. per ounce. a pound.
Ada $ 16,000 $ 500 $
Alturas 140,000 360,000 240,000
Bingham 66,000
Boise 410,000 125,000
Cassia 4S.000
Custer 260,000 893,000 145,000
Elmore 200,000 18,000
Idaho 485.000 37,000
Kootenai 166,500 325.000 1 10.000
Lemhi 725.500 150.000
Logan 75.000 550,000 125,000
Owyhee 651,000 325,000
Shoshone 340.000 2,750,000 3,890,000
Washington 15.000 60,000
Total
•$3,595,000 $5,594,000 $4,510,000
Besides, Custer county produced $75,000 worth of
copper, and Washington county $50,000 worth, mak-
ing the grand total $13,824,500.
During the year ending March 31, 1890, crops
were raised in the state by irrigation on 217,005
acres of land, or 339.07 square miles, — about
four-tenths of one per cent of the area of the
state. The number of farms on May 31, 1890,
was 6,654, of which 4,323, or about two-thirds,
irrigated areas, the remaining third being farms
in the northern counties or stock ranges requir-
ing no irrigation. The average first cost of water
right was $4.74 an acre, and the average cost of
preparing the soil for cultivation, including the
purchase price. t)f the land but excluding the cost
of water right, was $10.56 an acre. The average
annual cost of water is eighty cents an acre. The
average value of the irrigated land was $45.50 an
acre.
On August I, 1890, there were seventy-five
prisoners in the state penitentiary, which is lo-
cated two miles east of Boise, on a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres. Of these six were
United States prisoners. There is no employ-
ment for the inmates of this institution, but occa-
sionally some were employed in a quarry near by.
During the year 1889 congress made an appro-
priation of twenty-five thousand dollars for the
support of this prison, consisting of an addition
to the building, on which work was begun in
March, 1890, and completed before the close of
the year. In 1893 it was reported by the officer
in charge that the cost of keeping each prisoner
was about seventy-three cents a day, the convicts
not being employed at profitable labor. Indeed,
nearly all of them had never learned a trade. On
December i, this year, there were one hundred
and thirty-two prisoners. The cost of their food
per diem was fifteen cents per capita.
The Idaho national guard, in 1890, consisted
of six companies, aggregating about three hun-
dred and fifty men, supplied with uniforms by
the national government.
The legislature of 1889 appropriated fifty
thousand dollars for the construction of a wagon
road from Mount Idaho to Little Salmon
Meadows. This section of the public highway,
after it was completed, for a long time was the
only means of communication within the state
between the northern and southern counties.
CHAPTER XXXVll
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
ROBERT NOBLE.
THIS well known citizen of Reynolds, Owy-
hee county, is one of the largest sheep-
raisers in Idaho and has been largely
instrumental in improving the grade of stock
raised in the state. His efforts have therefore
been of public benefit, for the improvement of
stock adds to its market value, and the wealth
of the agricultural class is thereby augmented.
The rich pasture lands of the northwest provide
excellent opportunities to the stock-raiser, and
this industry has become a most important one
in the commercial interests of Idaho.
Mr. Noble, one of its leading representatives,
is of English birth, — a native of Cumberland
county, England, born October 19, 1844.
His father, John Noble, was born in the same
county, and wedded Miss Mary Mossop. In
1854 they came to Canada with their family of
eight children, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing
vessel which, after a voyage of eight weeks,
reached the harbor of Quebec. At Kingston,
Canada, the wife and mother died, being then
forty-four years of age. In 1857 the family came
to the United States and settled in New York
state. All of the children are yet living, and
three of the number are residents of Idaho. The
father died in Owyhee county, in March, 1899,
his birth having occurred August 13, 1800. He
resided in Tonawanda, New York, for twenty
years, and afterward resided successively in Illi-
nois, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, while since
May, 1895, he made his home with his son Robert
in Reynolds until the time of his death. He was
the father of thirteen children, the grandfather of
thirty-nine and the great-grandfather of sixteen.
Robert Noble attended school for a short time
in Canada and continued his education in the
state of New York. Upon the breaking out of
the great civil war he volunteered in the Union
army, and served in the quartermaster's depart-
ment in Missouri and Tennessee until honorably
discharged at Springfield, Tennessee, in April,
1865. He then engaged in farming in Illinois
until 1870, when he came to Idaho, making the
journey westward by way of California. He has
resided upon his sheep ranch at Reynolds since
1874, and has valuable ranches aggregating in
area twenty-two hundred acres. In the year 1898
he had seventy thousand sheep and two seasons"
clip of wool on hand, and is regarded as one of
the most successful as well as one of the most
extensive sheep-raisers of the state. He is also
engaged in raising horses, of which he has quite
a band, and is also the owner of a valuable Eng-
lish shire horse which weighs eighteen hundred
pounds, and is one of the finest horses to be
found in Idaho.
In 1877 Mr. Noble was united in marriage to
Miss Anna Peters, a native of Missouri, and of
German descent. They have seven children, all
born in Reynolds, namely : Nellie, Robert,
Frank C, Ernest, May, James Blaine and Rosella.
The older children are attending school in San
Rafael, California, and Boise. Mr. Noble and
his family are Episcopalians, and he is a Knight
Templar Mason. He also belongs to the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics is
a Republican. In all his business dealings he is
straightforward and commands the confidence
and good will of those with whom he is brought
in contact. His prosperity is therefore well de-
served, as it comes in return for effort, both
honorable and consecutive.
PETER S. BECK, M. D.
The physician wields an influence in any com-
munity which is peculiarly strong, because it is
based on relations with the general public more
intimate than those of almost any one else, and
any good physician who is at the same time a
good man may continue to broaden and deepen
this influence to the end of his days. These re-
flections have been suggested by the success of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Dr. Peter S. Beck, ex-mayor of Genesee, Idaho.
Dr. Beck is a Homeopathic physician, and Home-
opathy is gaining in popularity, but that does
not fully account for his success, for he has car-
ried the banner of his chosen school of medicine
to victory against prejudice and opposition,
which he could not have done had he not pos-
sessed a personality and a character which would
have made him popular and successful in about
any other field of endeavor.
Doctor Beck is a native of Pennsylvania, hav-
ing been born in Armstrong county, March 28,
1852, of German ancestors, who were early set-
tlers in that commonwealth. Jacob Beck, his
father, was born in the same county, in 1820,
and his mother, Sophia (Soxman) Beck, was
born there one year earlier. She also was de-
scended from a German family, representatives of
which were early settlers in Pennsylvania. Jacob
Beck is a Dunkard, his wife a Methodist. He is
seventy-nine years old, and she is eighty years
of age. They had six sons and a daughter, five
of whom are living.
Doctor Beck was reared on his father's farm
and attended the public schools as occasion pre-
sented, to such good purpose that at the age of
nineteen he was sufficiently advanced to begin
teaching. It was by such work that he supported
himself while he coinpleted his general education
and took a course in medicine at the Iowa State
University. After he secured his diploma, he
entered upon the practice of his profession in
Kansas.
It was in 1893 that Doctor Beck came to Idaho
and, in association with his brother. Dr. John
Beck, took up his professional work at Genesee.
Their success has been more than satisfactory to
them, but it has not been undeserved and has
been fairly won in open competition with older
ph}'sicians. It means that they have proven them-
selves able physicians and the practical results of
their \vork have commended them to the good
opinion of the general public. Their practice is
large, not only in Genesee, but throughout all
the country tributary to that thriving town.
On the 13th of August, 1892, Dr. Beck was
happily married to ]\Iiss Ida A. Thomas, a native
of jMichigan, who has borne him two sons, prom-
ising boys, named Orrin Roy and Joseph
Edward. Mrs. Beck is a member of the Seventh-
day Advent church and active in all good works
in which the women of Genesee participate.
Doctor Beck is a royal-arch Mason, a Knight of
Pythias, an Odd Fellow and a Woodman of the
World, and is active in promoting the local and
general interests of these orders. Politically he is
an Independent, and his political influence has
made itself felt on more than one occasion. He
is a school trustee and councilman of Genesee
and was mayor of the city in 1897, and in that
capacity administered its municipal affairs admir-
ably. He has relations with medical societies
and is a member of the Genesee board of phar-
macy and in every professional relation and in
every relation of citizenship is progressive and
helpful to a generous degree. He has built a
roomy residence on ten acres of choice land,
nicely located in Genesee, and grows fruit and
vegetables in great variety and gives much atten-
tion to poultry raising, so that his table is alwavs
supplied with every reasonable delicacy, for he ii
a believer in the theory that to a considerable ex-
tent good eating makes for good living. He is
a successful man, who richly deserves his success,
and has, while gaining it, gained the public con-
fidence in a remarkable degree.
JOHN C. MILLICK.
The large steam roller-process flouring mill at
Blackfoot, Idaho, represents one of the prominent
business interests of that city. It is the property
of :\Ir. John C. Millick, and it is to give some
account of Mr. Millick"s career that these para-
graphs are presented.
Air. Millick is a very modest and unassuming-
man, but he is very busy and successful. 'He is
of German descent and was born in Dodge coun-
ty, Wisconsin, August 4, 1854, a son of Joseph
Millick, who had come to that part of the country
from Germany, accompanied by his wife and'
children. Joseph Millick died in Dodge county,
\A'isconsin, in 1876, aged seventy-eight years, his
wife also having died there, in 1863. They had
ten children, all but one of whom are living. Of
these John C. was the seventh in order of birth,
and he was only nine years old when his mother
died. Though he began to earn his own living
when he was thirteen, he found some time to
attend such schools as existed in that part of
^^'isco^sin at that time. When he was eighteen
532
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
years old he went to northern Kansas, when-
he found employment as a farm hand and later
farmed on his own account, on rented land. From
Kansas he came, in 1880, to the Salmon river
country, Idaho, then new and very sparsely popu-
lated. He hired out as a miner, at three dollars
a day, and was thus employed most of the time
for three years. The succeeding six years he
spent as a clerk in a store at Pocatello, and this
experience was so comprehensive and he made
such good use of his opportunities that he ac-
quired an expert knowledge of merchandising.
He then, in 1889, bought a post trader's store at
Ross Fork and sold goods there four years.
He then returned to the Salmon river countr\-
and mined and bought and sold mining claims
and property. For a part of his interest in one
mine, which is a steady producer, he secured ten
thousand dollars, and he still retains an interest,
which brings him a constant income. Later he
did considerable business as a money-loaner, and
one important financial transaction terminated in
his ownership of the large stone steam roller-
process flouring mill at Blackfoot. Mr. INIillick
is a Republican, but not a practical poli-
tician. He was postmaster at Ross Forks during
his residence there.
In 1897 Mr. Millick built an elegant brown-
sandstone residence, which is in every respect
one of the best in the city. It stands in the midst
of large, well kept grounds and contains every-
thing essential to make it comfortable and attrac-
tive as a home. In 1896 Mr. Millick married
Miss Gertrude Cleeg, a native of England, and
they have a little daughter, named Marie.
ROBERT H. B.\RTON.
One of the well known citizens of Moscow is
Robert H. Barton, who is now capably serving as
postmaster. He is true and faithful to this public
trust and at all times has discharged his duties
of citizenship with the same promptness and
fidelity which marked his course when on the
battle-fields of the south he followed the starry
banner to victory and thus aided in the preserva-
tion of the Union. He came to Moscow in 1877.
His birth occurred in Perry county, Ohio, Febru-
ary I, 1842, and he is of Scotch-Irish lineage.
His grandfather, Robert Barton, emigrated from
the north of Ireland to the New World and lo-
cated in Baltimore, ^Maryland, where Andrew
Barton, father of our subject, was born, in 181 1,
The latter married ^liss Elizabeth Biddison, also
a native of Baltimore, and a daughter of William
Biddison, a soldier of the war of 1812. They
were farming people, and in 1833 removed to
Perry county, Ohio, where the father improved
a farm and reared his family. He died on the
old homestead which he had acquired through
his own industry, passing away in 1883, at the
age of seventy-two years. His wife died in 1876,
at the age of sixty-three years. They were mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and were
the parents of twelve children, eleven of whom
grew to years of maturity, while six are yet living.
Robert H. Barton, their fifth child, acquired
his education in the public schools and in the
Ohio University, at Athens, and in 1861, in
answer to President Lincoln's first call for volun-
teers to put down the rebellion, he put aside his
te.xt-books and college duties to perform his
greater duty to his country, enlisting in Com-
pany D, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He
served for four months in the Army of Western
Virginia, under General Rosecrans, after which
his regiment was disbanded, but the d.inger was
not yet past, and he re-enlisted in Company B,
First Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, serving with the
Army of the Cumberland, His regiment first did
escort duty with General O. M. Mitchell and
later with the cavalry in General Buell's cam-
paign. Subsequently they were with General
Rosecrans at Stone river and until after the
battle of Chickamauga, and during the Atlanta
campaign were at General McPherson's head-
quarters. Mr. Barton served as a foraging scout
for department headquarters until General Mc-
Pherson was killed. He saw the brave comman-
der fall, and caught his horse. Later he was at
General Howard's headquarters in the same
capacity, and after the capture of Atlanta was
sent with his regiment on the Wilson raid. They
were at Macon, Georgia, when they received the
glad news of the surrender of General Lee, and
Mr. Barton was honorably discharged at Hilton
Head, South Carolina, on the 25th of September,
1865. During the whole of his service during
the great struggle he was only of? duty one time,
this being occasioned by a gun-shot wound which
he sustained in the battle of Russellville, Ala-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
bania, July 2, 1862. The ball broke his jaw and
carried away both the upper and lower teeth
on that side. He was in the hospital for six
weeks and was then granted a thirty-davs fur-
lough which he spent at home. He entered the
service as a private, was promoted to quarter-
master sergeant and was recommended for pro-
motion to the captaincy of a colored company,
but the war closed and the regiment was not
organized.
With a most creditable military record Mr.
Barton returned to his home and began school-
teaching in Ohio, but soon afterward removed to
Kansas, where he entered one hundred and six'.y
acres of land, operating his land through the
summer, while in the winter he taught school.
During his residence there he also served as a
member of the school board, was recorder of
deeds and assessor of the county for six years.
From Kansas he removed to Utah, where he
taught school for two years, and in 1877, he
brought a sawmill to Moscow- and engaged in
the manufacture of lumber. He continued in the
sawmill business for three years, and in 1881 built
the Barton Hotel, which he conducted until i8go.
when it was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of
fifteen thousand dollars. He then erected the
Moscow Hotel, valued at thirty-five thousand
dollars, not including the price of the land. To
do this he had to borrow twenty thousand dollars.
He conducted the hotel for a short time, but soon
the financial panic came on and he was forced to
lose this valuable and beautiful property. The
building is a very fine one, being creditable alike
to the city and the builder.
Mr. Barton was then appointed by President
Harrison to the position of postmaster of Mos-
cow, and served for two and a half years, when
his party went out of power, but in 1899 he was
reappointed, by President McKinley, and is the
present incumbent of the office. He is very oblig-
ing, prompt and courteous, and has won favor
with the public through his capable discharge of
duties. The Moscow office is of the second class
and is well managed by ^fr. Barton, his eldest
son acting as his deputy, while other members of
the family serve in clerical positions. Mr. Barton
was also deputy sheriff of Xez Perces count}- for
eight years.
In 1869 was celebrated his marriage to Miss
Lettie Langdon, a native of Illinois, and to them
were born two children, but one is now deceased.
The other, Ed. T., is now serving as his father's
deputy. The mother died in 1872, and in 1875
Mr. Barton wedded her sister, Louise Langdon,
by whom he has had five children, four of whom
are living. The eldest, Maude M., is a graduate
of the Moscow high school and is now attending
the Idaho University; Earl S. is also a student in
the university; Louise E. is in the high school;
and Faith S. is the youngest. She was named
by the Idaho department of the Grand Army of
the Republic during its encampment in Moscow,
at which time her birth occurred, and by the
soldiers was presented with a nice silver set.
Mr. and Mrs. Barton have always been very
active and valued members respectively of
the Grand Army of the Republic and its
auxiliary, the Women's Relief Corps, and he
is past commander and she past secre-
tary of the state departments of their re-
spective organizations. In consideration and
recognition of the great service he has rendered
Anderson Post, No. 5, he was presented bv it
with a fine sword, which he highly prizes and
which now hangs by the faithful blade which he
carried in the great struggle to preserve the
Union. He has been a stalwart Republican since
casting his first presidential vote, for Abrahani
Lincoln, during the war, and was very highly
recommended by the leading statesmen of Ohio
and Idaho for the position of United States mar-
shal of Idaho, but as the office was promised
to another he was given his present position, that
of postmaster. In 1889 he purchased a large lot,
pleasantly located, and erected tli^reon a fine
modern residence, in which he now resides hap-
pily, surrounded by his interesting family. His
career has ever been upright and honorable, and
his friendship is prized most by those who know
him best.
JAMES DE.-\KIN.
Those who have opened the way for civilization
in our land, as the star of empire has taken its
way toward the sunset gates, have been men of
strong character, — courageous, hardy, tenacious
of purpose and willing lo endure hardships and
privations for the sake of making homes for
themselves and posterity. All honor has been
paid the pioneers who blazed their way through
534
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the sylvan wilderness of the middle west in past
generations, while not less is the homage due
to those whose fortitude led them to traverse the
plains, invade the mountain fastnesses and do
battle with a dusky and treacherous foe in the
great empire of the far west. Among those who
are to be considered as genuine pioneers of Latah
county is James Deakin, one of the honored
citizens of the thriving county-seat, Moscow.
Hither he came to make his permanent abode as
early as the year 1871, at which time there was
no Moscow, no Colfax, no Spokane, — this entire
region, with its opulent resources, being then 1
wild and uninhabited district, save as the red men
roamed at will among the peaceful valleys and
over the mountain crags. At the time our subject
located here the settlers were compelled to go to
Walla Walla for their supplies, — a distance of
ninety miles. He passed through many and try-
ing vicissitudes and has watched with interest
the development and advancement of this section
and is now able to enjoy here the privileges
which modern civilization supplies. The trans-
formation has been wonderful, and one can to-day
scarcely realize the changes which a few years
have wrought in this favored section of the
Union.
James Deakin is a native of the Emerald Isle.
having been born in county Antrim on the 20th
of June, 1840, a representative of stanch old
Irish stock, his parents having been devout mem-
bers of the Roman Catholic church. He received
his educational discipline in his native land, but
laid aside his text-books at the early age of
fifteen years and came to America, and since
that time has been a leal and loyal son of the
republic. In the year 1871 he arrived on the
spot where the thriving city of Moscow, Idaho,
now stands. At that time there were established
in the county the homes of a few settlers, — the
list comprising William Taylor, Ailsbury
Llewellyn, William Frazier, the Cameron broth-
ers, Thomas Tirney and Thomas Corley. ]\Ir.
Deakin says there may have been one or two
others located here, but if so he fails to recall
them or their names. He took up a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres, upon which a portion
of the city of Moscow now stands, and including
the ground upon which the splendid building of
the Idaho State Universitv is located.
I\Ir. Deakin at once set to work to improve
his farm, platted a portion of the town and did
all in his power to aid in the development of the
locality. He may be appropriately termed one
of the fathers of Moscow. He has been frugal,
industrious, and his personal prosperity has kept
pace with the development of this section. He is
a m.an of alert mentality and sterling integrity,
and his conduct has been such as to gain and
retain to him the confidence and high esteem of
all with whom he has come in contact. He is
now spending the evening of his life in the quiet
enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of
toil and endeavor, having a commodious and
attractive home residence in the city which he has
so greatly aided in developing, and of which he
was one of the first settlers. It was his plow
which first turned the soil where Moscow now
stands, and here he grew his crops -of wheat, bar-
ley and oats, and reaped rich harvests in due
season. Mr. Deakin has several fine farms in the
county, and these are being operated on shares,
desirable tenants being secured for the same.
In the year 1874 was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Deakin and INIiss Annie King, of New
York, and they are both devoted adherents of
the Roman Catholic church. In politics Mr.
Deakin is a stalwart Democrat. He and his
estimable wife enjoy a marked popularity in the
community, and as one of the honored pioneers
of the county Mr. Deakin amply deserves recog-
nition in this work.
WILLIAM W. WATKINS, M. D.
A man's reputation is the property of the
world. The laws of nature have forbidden isola-
tion. Every human being submits to the con-
trolling influence of others or, as a master, wields
a power for good or evil on the masses of man-
kind. There can be no impropriety in justly
scanning the acts of any man as they affect his
public, social and business relations. If he be
honest and successful in his chosen field of en-
deavor, investigation will brighten his fame and
point the path along which others may follow.
One whose record will bear the closest scrutiny
and stand the test of public criticism is Dr. Wat-
kins, a most able physician, a loyal citizen and
true gentleman, whom Moscow numbers among
her valued residents.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
535
The Doctor was born in Warner, Merrimac
county, New Hampshire, August 3, 1846, that
locaHty having been the birthplace of three gen-
erations of the family before him. On the pater-
nal side he is of Welsh descent, and on the
maternal of English lineage. His father, Jason
D. Watkins, was there born and in early life
followed farming, but afterward became a mer-
chant. He married Miss Phoebe Abbott, a native
of Boscawen, New Hampshire, and a representa-
tive of the eminent Abbott family of America.
Their union was blessed with seven children. In
religious faith they were Baptists and were people
of the highest respectability and integrity of
character. The father reached the psalmist's life
span of three score years and ten, but the mother
passed away at the age of fifty-four.
Dr. William Woodbury Watkins, their young-
est child, was educated in the public schools of
his native state, and in the medical department
of the Washington University, at St. Louis, pre-
pared for his professional career. In the latter
institution he was graduated in 1872 and imme-
diately afterward opened an ofifice in Mine La
Motte, Missouri, where he remained until 1880,
when he became a member of the medical frater-
nity of St. Louis, there continuing until 1887. In
1884 he was appointed professor of theory and
practice of medicine in the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, in St. Louis, and ably filled that
chair until failing health compelled his resigna-
tion and necessitated his removal to Moscow, in
the hope that a change of climate would prove
beneficial. This hope has been realized, and
soon Dr. Watkins acquired a large and remuner-
ative practice, which he has since enjoyed. He
has been prominently connected with various in-
terests of the city, both along professional and
other lines. He has for years been surgeon of the
Latah County Hospital, and during the greater
part of his residence in Moscow has been United
States examining surgeon for pensions. In 1890
he became one of the organizers of the Idaho
State Medical Society, and was elected its first
president, — a fact indicative of his high standing
among his professional brethren. He is also a
member of the American Medical Association, is
examining surgeon for various life-insurance
companies and is also vice-president of the Idaho
state board of medical examiners. He has alwa\s
been a close student of his profession, has a most
comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the
science of medicine, is most careful in the diag-
nosing of cases, and his judgment is rarely at
fault in the slightest degree in administering the
remedies which most quickly produce the best
results.
His time is largely occupied by the engrossing
duties of his large practice, yet he manages to
find opportunity to aid in the furthering of those
interests which promote the welfare of the com-
munity. After the location of the state university
at Moscow, he was appointed a member of the
board of regents, was its secretary, and in 1894
established in the institution the Watkins gold
medal for oratory. He is president of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, at Moscow, and had the honor
of being chairman of the first Idaho Republican
state convention. These varied interests show
the versatility of the man and indicate a well
rounded character.
In 1873 the Doctor wedded Miss Carolina A.
Woodhouse, a native of Boston, Massachusetts,
and a daughter of John V. Woodhouse, a master
mechanic whose varied inventions have gained
him a world-wide reputation. He is now living
a retired life in western Washington, at the age
of seventy-three years. The union of Dr. and
Mrs. Watkins has been blessed with three daugh-
ters: Henrietta, wife of A. Ryrie, of Moscow:
and Elsie and Winnie, at home. The parents
and children hold membership in the First Pres-
byterian church in Moscow. The Doctor has
erected a brick office and also a nice residence
in Moscow, and is the owner of a good farm, a
mile from the city, where he is raising a high
grade of Jersey cattle and thoroughbred poultry,
and also has an extensive apple orchard. He is a
very active business man, not only taking great
interest in his practice, but also in the welfare
and progress of Moscow. Socially he is an Odd
Fellow in good standing, having been identified
with the order for nearly thirty years, and is an
exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity. He
is now master of Paradise Lodge, No. 17, F. &
A. M., of Moscow, received the blue lodge de-
grees in Pittsburg, Kansas, the Royal Arch
degrees in Oswego, Kansas, and was also created
a Knight Templar there. He is a man of strong
individuality and indubitable probity, has at-
536
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tained a due measure of success in the affairs of
life, and his influence has ever been exerted in
the direction of the good and the true. He is a
man of genial and social nature and has thcrebv
contributed in no small degree to the sum of
human happiness.
EDMOND PEARCY.
Edmond Pearcy, whose history is one of close
connection with the pioneer development of the
state as well as its latter-day progress and pros-
perity, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, on
the 22d of March, 1832, and is of Scotch and
Dutch descent. His ancestors were early settlers
of A'irginia, and for many years the families were
represented in Bedford county. His father,
Nicholas Pearcy, was born there, and having ar-
rived at years of maturity he married Rebecca
Hardy, a native of Maryland. They became the
parents of twelve children, eleven sons and one
daughter, and of the number but three are now
living.
Edmond Pearcy was the youngest of the fam-
ily. He was reared on his father's farm and re-
ceived a common-school education in his native
state, after which he taught school for one term.
In 1852, at the age of twenty years, he started
for California, but arrived in Missouri too late
to join an emigrant train en route for the Golden
state, and consequently spent the winter with a
relative in Pike county, Missouri. In the spring
of 1853 he started with a company of sixteen.
They drove a band of cattle across the plains and
mountains to California, but on reaching the
mountains were greatly retarded by the deep
snows, and were without food for two days. It
was the middle of November when they at last
reached the Sonora mines, and from that point
they pushed south to the San Joaquin valley,
where Mr. Pearcy was for a short time engaged
in teaming. He then went to San Francisco, and
on the 1st of January, 1854, sailed for Portland,
Oregon, in search of his brothers, Nathan and
James. He found them on the Willamette and
remained with them through the winter. He
engaged in shipping lumber and hay on a flat-
boat, and in the spring of 1855. in company v>ith
his brother James, he went to Scott's vallev, in
northern California, where his brother engaged
in mining and he in ranching. The}' met with
only moderate success there, and accordingly de-
termined to return to Portland, Oregon. On the
way Mr. Pearcy was taken dangerously ill. At
this time the Rogue river Indian war broke out,
and James left his brother's bedside to participate
as a volunteer against the Indians, and was killed
in the battle of Grave creek, in which the white
'troops were defeated and compelled to retreat.
When Mr. Pearcy had sufficiently recovered to
travel, he left Umpqua and proceeded on his way
northward, saddened by the death of his brother,
3'et fortunate himself in meeting with no Indians,
for they were still on the war path.
After arriving in Portland Mr. Pearcy engaged
in taking contracts for supplying the government
with wood and hay. In that enterprise he made
money and remained there until 1859, when he
was driven out by chills and fever. He then
removed to The Dalles, and shortly afterward
joined Lieutenant Mullan's party in constructing
the IMullan road from Walla Walla to Montana,
it being still the main road between those two
points. While at Walla Walla, in 1856, he vol-
unteered in a company to fight the Indians, but
no engagement took place. Later in the season
the red men captured a supply train. They were
then followed by the volunteers, were defeated
in Grande Ronde valley, and the supplies re-
covered. ]\Ir. Pearcy did not participate in the
battle, but was in charge of the camp at Walla
Walla. He also secured a government claim in
that locality, but in the spring of 1861 abandoned
his ranch and went to the Oro Fino mining re-
gion, that being the time of the great excitement
there. There were fourteen men in his company
and they each took out on an average ten dollars
per day, thus meeting with satisfactory success.
Later they went to Florence, but found nothing
there to repay them for their trouble, and Mr.
Pearcy returned to Walla Walla, passing on the
way through Lewiston, which then consisted only
of a few tents and rude shacks. He spent the
winter of 1861-2 at Walla Walla, the hardest win-
ter in the history of that country, snow lying two
and a half feet deep on a level, and the mercury
for thirty days registering twenty-six degrees be-
low zero. With a company of nine he occupied a
board cabin lined with paper, but they were
strong and vigorous young men and did not
mind the cold, enjoying themselves with cards
and other amusements.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
On the 14th of March, 1862, Mr. Pearcy, with
a party of fourteen, set sail in a large bateau for
a prospecting tour up Snake river. This was a
perilous trip, because of the numerous ice jams,
but notwithstanding the fact that the river was
so full of ice they reached Lewiston safely. They
prospected up Salmon river twelve miles and
then, with packs upon their backs, went into the
country, but found nothing of value. After this
they went to Pittsburg Landing on the Snake
river, twenty miles above the mouth of the Sal-
mon river, where they hired horses of the Indians
and went up Little Salmon to the head of Salmon
valley, whence they started for Snake river. They
camped at the big canyon and discovered the
Peacock country copper and gold mine, which
afterward sold for sixty thousand dollars. That
was the first discovery of the Seven Devils. The
party camped out, killed mountain sheep to sup-
ply their table with meat, and enjoyed life there,
although they celebrated the Fourth of July with
snow, six inches deep, upon the ground. When
their provisions gave out they returned to Lewis-
ton and then went up the Clearwater river and
made a large drive of logs for the agency at Lap-
wai. All through the winter Mr. Pearcy made
shingles for the government, working in his shirt
sleeves, and with his partner, Mr. Allen, manu-
factured shingles and cord-wood for the govern-
ment. In 1866 Mr. Allen lost his life by drown-
ing in the big eddy of the Clearwater, but Mr.
Pearcy continued to operate his sawmill, at the
Lapwai agency, in the manufacture of lumber for
the government until 1871.
In the meantime he had purchased a fourth in-
terest in the ferries, and in that year began to
operate them. He made his headquarters at the
ferry six miles below Lewiston, there remaining
until the spring of 1872, when'he commenced the
road north to the Palouse country. About this
time an ice jam carried away the ferry boat at
Lewiston. It drifted a mile down the river and
lodged upon the ice fifteen feet high. Mr. Pearcy
undertook the arduous and dangerous task of se-
curing the boat, and brought it safely back to
Lewiston, after which he managed the ferry
across the Snake river at this point. Becoming
convinced that Lewiston would one day be an
important commercial center, he took up two
government claims on the west side of the river
about a quarter of a mile above the ferrv, made a
number of improvements upon the place and sub-
sequently sold It to the Vineland Company for
nine thousand dollars. It is now subdivided and
has become very valuable, bringing high prices.
• Through all the years Mr. Pearcy continued
his connection with the ferry. In the early days
that business brought high prices, three dollars
being received for taking a team and wagon over
and back; a man on horseback paid one dollar
for the round trip; on foot fifty cents; and sheep
and hogs were transported for twenty-five cents
each. Mr. Pearcy also built the road to Asoten,
putting in twelve hundred dollars of his own
money in the enterprise, which has proven of
great practical benefit to the town. He has al-
waj'S taken a deep and active interest in the
development and growth of this section of the
state, is a public-spirited and progressive citizen,
and his labors have been an important factor in
the substantial progress and improvement of
northern Idaho. In politics he has been a Jefifer-
sonian Democrat from the time he reached ma-
ture years.
Mr. Pearcy was married, in 1881, to Miss Jane
Davis, a native of South Carolina, and they have
one daughter, Edna G., who is now fourteen years
of age, and is attending school in Alameda, Cali-
fornia. Mr. Pearcy has erected a good residence
on the bank of Snake river, near the ferry land-
ing, and there lives in the enjoyment of peace and
plenty, held in the highest esteem by all as one
of the bravest and best pioneers of Idaho.
ROBERT J. ANDERSON.
A glance at the history of past centuries will
indicate at once what would be the condition of
the world if the mining interests no longer had a
part in the industrial and commercial life. Only
a few centuries ago agriculture was almost the
only occupation of man. A landed proprietor
surrounded himself with his tenants and his serfs
who tilled his broad fields, while he reaped the
reward of their labors ; but when the rich mineral
resources of the world were placed upon the mar-
ket industry found its way into new and broader
fields, minerals were used in the production of
thousands of new articles of trade and in the
production of hundreds of inventions, and the
business of nations was revolutionized. \\'hen
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
considering these facts we can in a measure de-
termine the vaUie to mankind of the mining inter-
ests. One who is now prominently connected
with the development of the rich mineral re-
sources of the northwest is Mr. Anderson, whose
name heads this sketch, the promoter and the
organizer of the Twin Springs Placer Mining
Company.
A native of Minnesota, Mr. Anderson was born
in the town of Eden Prairie, February iq, 1856.
and in 1894 came to Idaho, since which time he
has been engaged in developing the great mining
enterprise, of which he has since been the man-
ager, and which he has brought to successful
completion, attracting to it a capital of a half a
million dollars, furnished principally by wealthy
men of Philadelphia. The plant of the company
is located forty miles northeast of Boise, where
they have a flume six feet and two inches in the
clear, and having a decline of ten and eight-tenths
feet to the mile. It carries ten thousand miners'
inches of water, which, it is believed, is the larg-
est water supply in the world used in connection
with placer mining. The siphon, made of steel
pipe, is four feet in diameter and seventeen hun-
dred and eighty feet in length. It crosses the
Boise river on a single-span bridge, ninety feet
above the stream, and the depression in the
siphon is three hundred and seventy feet in depth,
there being thirty-two feet dift'erence in elevation
between the intake and its discharge. This is the
largest siphon ever constructed, in diameter, in
length and in head. The water was turned
tJirough it on the 15th of August, 1898. and it
worked perfectly, fully meeting the highest ex-
pectation of the company. The siphon and
flume are considered marvels of engineering skill,
and were plannedby the celebrated engineer John
O. Bouse, of San Francisco. The company owns
four thousand acres of very rich placer ground,
has thirty-two miles of the river bars, thirteen
hydraulic giants and has constructed twenty-
eight miles of good wagon road. The water is
supplied in vast quantities and every modern and
improved appliance for successfully carrying on
the work is found in connection with the plant.
This is a vast enterprise, which will undoubt-
edly produce ore to the value of many millions of
dollars and will furnish employment to many
men, thus greatly contributing to the wealth and
prosperity of Idaho. When the siphon was com-
pleted the governor of the state drove the last
rivet, which was four inches in length and made
of gold. Many prominent citizens were invited
to attend the ceremony and the occasion was made
a very important one in the history of mining
interests in the northwest. The Twin Springs
Placer Mining Company has also purchased a
large number of placer claims in the Boise Basin
and is now engaged in working and developing
the vast property. The great works have been
completed in less than two years and Mr. Ander-
son and the company are to be congratulated on
what has been so successfully accomplished.
Mr. Anderson has moved his family to Boise,
and in social circles they occupy a very prominent
position. He was married in 1887 to Miss Mary
Douglas, of Chicago, and their children are Edna
C. and Ruth E. In politics he is a Republican,
and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He
is a gentleman of marked business and executive
ability, of keen foresight and discrimination,
forms his plans readily, is determined in their
execution, and is rarely mistaken in a matter of
business policy. He is a valued accession to
mining circles in Idaho, and with pleasure we
present this brief record of his career to our read-
ers.
FRANCIS MARION DAVIS.
The history of Idaho would be incomplete if
the biographies of two of her pioneers, Francis
M. and Thomas Davis, brothers, and old resi-
dents of Boise City, were omitted. They were
always believers in the great future which was in
store for the state, and were influential factors in
the development of its resources. When death
summoned Francis M. Davis to lay aside his
many enterprises, to leave to other hands his
uncompleted wofk, the whole community
mourned^ and, though nine years have rolled
away, the memory of his goodness, his many
worthy deeds and fine traits of character, is un-
dimmed in the minds of his numerous friends.
A native of Warren county, Illinois, born July
7, 1838, Francis M. Davis passed his boyhood in
the Prairie state, and gained a fair education, as
he made the best of his limited advantages. (For
his ancestral history the reader is referred to
the sketch of his brother, Thomas Davis,
printed elsewhere in this work.) Having com-
J^j^^dcu^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
539
pleted his education in the schools of Monmouth,
lUinois, our subject determined to seek his for-
tune in the west, and in 1863, in company with
the brother already mentioned, he crossed the
plains. They settled at Boise City, and were thus
among the first of the permanent citizens of this
place. For many years the brother, George
D. Ellis and William L. Ritchey (who now re-
sides in Polman. Washington) were in partner-
ship in the management and ownership of a
ranch, and they planted the first apple orchard
in this state. Very large returns were had from
this venture, and others hastened to follow the
good example set, and thus to-day one of Idaho's
sources of income lies in the fine fruit raised here.
At length F. M. Davis sold out his interest in
the ranch and for some time engaged in the hard-
ware business in Boise City. In the Centennial
year he purchased a quarter section of land near
the city limits on the west and embarked in dairy-
ing, which business he had formerly followed to
some extent. He erected a fine farm-house and
substantial barns and dairy buildings, and as long
as he lived kept everything about the place in ex-
cellent condition. As a just reward for his in-
dustry and good management success crowned
his efforts, and he was well off at the time of his
death.
In his political views Mr. Davis was con-
servative, and his allegiance was given to the
Republican party. An honored member of the
Masonic order, he was buried under the auspices
of the local lodge. In the Methodist church he
was a member and took a leading part in the
religious work of the denomination. The date of
his demise was March 8, 1891, he then being but
little past the prime of life. His influence for
good in this community has been far-reaching,
and no better example of sincere Christian man-
hood can be found.
In January, 1865, Mr. Davis married Miss
Hester A. Cory, who was born in Ohio, a daugh-
ter of John and Susan (Carpenter) Cory, of that
state. In 1864 she came to Idaho with her
brother, and here made the acquaintance of her
future husband. Two children blessed the union
of our subject and wife. The son, Charles A., is
with his mother at the old home, and the daugh-
ter, Laura E., is now the wife of P. W. Porter.
Mrs. Davis has ably managed the fine property
which was left to her at her husband's death.
Her home is a beautiful one, and everything
about the place is kept in good order; the
grounds surrounding the house are especially
lovely, and reflect much credit upon the good
taste of the owner.
THERON J. SMITH.
Theron J. Smith, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, has
influenced the settlement of more families in the
Snake river valley than any two or three other
men. He has been a factor in local real-estate
transactions, and without doubt has been, in a
general way, one of the most efficient promoters
of the growth and prosperity of Idaho Falls and
the settlement and development of its tributary
territory. As immigrant agent of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad, he has brought many ex-
cursions to this part of the country from Iowa,
Nebraska and Illinois, and these excursions have
resulted in a marked increase of population at
and near Idaho Falls. He began the work six
years ago, and an idea of its value is afforded by
the fact that in 1898 fifty-eight persons were set-
tled by him in Bingham county.
Theron J. Smith was born in Wayne county,
New York, July 22, 1844, and was descended
from early settlers of Dutchess county. New
York, many of whom were prominent in their
time. His grandfather, Samuel Smith, together
with his brothers, served the cause of the colonies
in the American Revolution, and they were paid
in colonial scrip, which was never redeemed, but
they had the satisfaction of knowing that they
had risked their lives in a good and triumphant
cause. Late in life Samuel Smith represented his
district in the assembly of the state of New York.
Lewis H. Smith, son of Samuel Smith and father
of Theron J. Smith, was born in Dutchess county,
New York, and married one of the daughters of
the county. Miss Phoebe Mott. He was a Qua-
ker farmer, a good, intelligent, industrious man,
and died in 1854, at the age of fifty, in Wayne
county, from an attack of cholera, to which one
of his sons succumbed at the same time. His
wife attained the age of seventy-seven years.
They had eight children, of whom five are living.
Theron J. Smith was the next to the youngest
of this family of eight, and was about ten years
old when his father died. He received a com-
540
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
mon-school and academic education in his native
state, then gave his attention to farming, and lo-
cated, when about twenty-five, at Lake City,
Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits un-
successfully until 1885, when he sold his farm and
removed to Idaho Falls, where he arrived No-
vember 22. It was a little railroad town, in
which he found a new home, a town which de-
rived its importance from the railroad and the
bridge and had no surrounding settlement that
could bring much trade or support. Irrigation,
real-estate operations, and a determined effort to
bring a good class of settlers, changed the town
into the commercial, financial and mechanical
center of a thrifty and growing agricultural popu-
lation. In this work of improvement settlement
and development, Mr. Smith has taken a leading
part. He induced settlement and fostered ac-
tivity in real estate and this, in turn, encouraged
investment along all industrial lines. He platted
the Broadbeck addition to Idaho Falls and
placed it on the market, and has handled real-
estate extensively otherwise, on his own account
and for others.
In the spring of 1864, before Mr. Smith was
twenty-one, in personal response to the urgent
demand of the United States government for men
for military duty, in the suppression of the south.-
ern rebellion, he enlisted in Company A, One
Hundred and Fortieth Illinois Volunteer Infan-
try, and served in Tennessee and Mississippi un-
til he was discharged on account of ill health, in
the fall of the same year. His regiment was de-
tailed to guard railroads, and in connection with
that work Iiad many exciting encounters with
guerrillas. This warfare was in many ways more
harassing and dangerous than fighting in "regu-
lar order of battle. Mr. Smith is a Grand Army
man and a prominent Silver-Republican. He
was elected justice of the peace and served in
that office with much credit and greatly to the
satisfaction of his fellow townsmen, but he has
declined all other offices which have been offered
him, in deference to the imperative demands
made upon him by his private business.
October 13, 1868, he married Miss Sarah E.
Bradt, of Mohawk-Dutch ancestry, and a native
of Herkimer county. New York, daughter ot
James Bradt. Her father lived to be eighty-seven
years old and her mother also attained a ripe old
age. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had six children,
of whom four are living. Their daughter, Mary
E., is Mrs. W. S. Jackson, of Idaho Falls, and
Lewis M., Elva and Theron J., Jr., are members
of their father's household. Mrs. Smith is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
DANIEL H. CLYNE.
A captivating address, a cheerful manner and
a friendly interest in those with whom one comes
in contact will not alone make success for any
man, but all things being about equal, these three
things will give their possessor supremacy over
any competitors who do not possess them or
possess them in a lesser degree. This means
that some men are able to make many personal
friends, well-wishers and helpers, and any warm
personal friend is a material assistance to any
man in any business. Sheriff Clyne, of Bing-
ham county, Idaho, has this faculty of binding
others to him, a faculty which is none the less
potent because it is exerted unconsciously, and
to the kindly and helpful interest of his friends he
attributes much of the success he has achieved.
It should be added that a good deal has been
expected of him and he has been equal to all
demands placed upon him.
Daniel Henry Clyne is of German lineage on
the paternal side and was born in Indiana, in
1857. Thomas Clyne, his father, married ]\Iiss
Sarah A. Keeney, a native of Pennsylvania, and
the father now lives in Kansas. They had seven
children, four of whom are living. Daniel Henry
Clyne, fourth in order of birth, was reared in
Nebraska and educated himself in the school of
experience. He began life as a cow-boy, and
later embarked in the stock business on his own
account. He came to Idaho Falls in 1890 and
for a time was employed in a livery staljle. Sub-
sequently he was enabled to open a stable of his
own, and by close attention to business and hon-
orable and courteous treatment of all with whom
he came in contact, he gained the favor of the
public and in a few years built up a large- and
profitable trade. Indeed, his success in this and
in every other enterprise with which he has had
to do since coming to Idaho has been most flat-
tering. His home in Idaho Falls is one of the
best in that part of the county.
In politics Sheriff Clyne has been a Repubhcan
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
even from the time when he had not yet attained
sufficient age to exercise the right of franchise.
He was elected town marshal of Idaho Falls and
was re-elected three times, filling the office fonr
successive terms, with ability and discretion. In
1898 he was elected sheriff of Bingham county.
He was the only Republican on the ticket, and
in his own town received three hundred and
eighty votes out of a total of five hundred. After
his election his friends in Idaho Falls had made
and presented to him a beautiful gold badge,
thus decorating him with the insignia of his office.
In 1 88 1 Mr. Clyne married Mary Watson, a
native of Missouri, and they have had seven
children: William H., Nettie E., Bessie A., Wes-
ley T., Chase D., BVederick C. and Charles C.
WILLIAM N. BUCHANAN.
On the roster of county officials of Latah
county appears the name of William N. Buchan-
an, who is now serving as sherifif, and his fear-
less and prompt discharge of his public duties has
gained him the commendation of all law-abiding
citizens. For twenty-one years he has been a
resident of the "county, and has therefore wit-
nessed the greater part of its growth and develop-
ment. Throughout this period he has been con-
nected with its agricultural interests, and is
accounted one of the leading farmers of this sec-
tion of the state.
Mr. Buchanan was born in Newton county,
Missouri, April 2, 1857, and is descended from
Scotch ancestors, who were pioneer settlers of
Indiana. His great-grandfather removed to that
state at a very early period in its history, and his
grandfather and father, each of whom bore the
name of Nathan Buchanan, were there born. The
latter was a native of Putnam county, and was
married there to Miss Diana Sutherland, a native
of that locality. They were faithful members of
the Christian church, and Nathan Buchanan, Jr.,
was a man of ability and influence, having served
his fellow citizens in the position of county
assessor. In the fall of 1878 he came to Idaho
with his wife and six children, and he now re-
sides in Moscow, at the age of sixtv-four years.
Three of their sons are still living.
The subject of this review is the eldest of the
famih', and was reared on his father's farm in
Missouri, the family having removed to that state
in his early childhood. He attended the public
schools there, and in 1878 came with his parents
to Idaho. Latah county and this section of the
state were just opening up to civilization, and he
secured from the government a claim seven miles
south of the city of Moscow. The following year
he was married to Miss Mary McKensie, and
then located upon his farm, which he has trans-
formed into a richly improved and valuable prop-
erty. The home has been blessed with four chil-
dren, Etta, Hazel. William and Willard. Mr.
Buchanan has been a practical farmer, has fol-
lowed advanced methods, and through his indus-
try has succeeded in raising large crops of wheat,
barley, oats, flax and fruit, whereby he has addetl
largely to his financial resources.
In politics he is a zealous Republican, and on
that ticket was elected to the office of county
sherifif. This public trust was well reposed in
him, for he is most true to every duty and obli-
gation and is a most capable official. His wife is
a worthy member of the Christian church, but he
has never affiliated with any organization. He is
a loyal citizen, a reliable business man and stanch
friend, and in the history of his adopted state he
well deserves representation.
COLLINS FERRYMAN.
Among the most prominent and valued resi-
dents of his section of the state is Collins Perry-
man, of Juliaetta, a veteran of the civil war, and
a citizen whose labors in behalf of the town of his
abode have been most effective in advancing its
interests. He was the pioneer hotel man, as a
real-estate dealer has handled the greater part of
its property, has done more than any other man
in the locality to improve the roads through the
surrounding country, and has always been watch-
ful of the welfare and progress, doing all in his
power to promote the growth and prosperity of
the thriving little place.
A native of the Empire state, Collins Ferryman
was born in Cattaraugus county, April 28, 1847,
and is of English lineage. His grandfather sailed
from England for the New World and was
wrecked off the coast of Rhode Island, which led
to his settlement in that state. His son, James
Ferryman, the father of our subject, was born
near Providence. Rhode Island, and married Miss
Lucinda Kerkendal!, who was born near Roches-
543
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ter. New York. In 1866 they removed to Michi-
gan, where the father died October 6, 1872, at
the age of sixty-five years, his wife surviving him
until 1882, when she, too, was called to the home
beyond, at the age of seventy-five years. They
were farming people and were members of the
Baptist church, Mr. Ferryman being a powerful
exhorter in the church.
Our subject is now the only survivor of their
family of six children. He was educated in the
public schools of his native state, and after the
inauguration of the civil war, he patriotically re-
sponded to his country's call, enlisting December
22, 1863, in Company ]M, Fourth New York
Heavy Artillery, when only sixteen years of age.
He served with the victorious Army of the Fo-
tomac under General Hancock, and participated
in all the engagements of the command until the
surrender of General Lee. This included the
hard-fought battle of the Wilderness. Through
the exposure sustained in snow, sleet and mud he
contracted inflammatory rheumatism to such an
extent that he has entirely lost the sight of his
right eye. He won for himself an honorable
military record and was discharged on the 13th
of June, 1865, but for three years thereafter he
was in an invalid condition. When he had suf-
ficiently regained his health to engage in busi-
ness, he became connected with the lumber trade
in northern Michigan and later removed thence
to Missouri.
In the latter state, on the 4th of October, 187 1,
Mr. Ferryman was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Alice Nichols, a native of Kentucky. He
resided in ]\Iissouri from September, 1870, until
April, 1883, when he crossed the plains and se-
cured a homestead two and a half miles west of
where the pleasant town of Juliaetta now stands.
He obtained one hundred and sixty acres of land
from the government and erected thereon a good
residence, but when Juliaetta was laid out, he
removed to the new village and became one of
its most energetic and zealous promoters. He
has aided in promoting all the enterprises of the
town, and no movement for the public good has
solicited his aid in vain. He is a most pro-
gressive and public-spirited citizen, and his labors
have advanced the welfare of Juliaetta to a great-
er degree than those of any other man.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferryman have reared but one
child, Willis Arthur, who is now engaged in the
grocery business in Juliaetta. Mrs. Ferryman is
a lady of refinement and ability, and is now serv-
ing as past noble grand and district deputy of
the Rebekah Lodge. Our subject belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Daughters of Rebekah, also the Knights of
Fythias fraternity, the Grand Army of the Re-
public and the Star of Bethlehem. By the grand
lodge he was appointed to the position of district
deputy of the latter. In politics he is inde-
pendent, supporting the men whom he regards
the best qualified for office, regardless of party
ties. He is a gentleman of much kindness of
heart, of generous impulses and sterling worth,
and his many admirable qualities have endeared
him in strong ties of friendship to many of the
best citizens of his section of the state.
FRANK M. HUBB.'\RD.
Frank M. Hubbard is numbered among the
successful farmers of Weiser. He was born in
Fike county, Illinois, on the 9th of July, 1851,
his parents being Joseph and Sarah (Venable)
Hubbard. His father was born in Wisconsin,
and the mother was a native of Illinois. They
crossed the plains with oxen in 1853. being six
months in making the long and perilous journey
to the northwest. Indians occasioned them con-
siderable annoyance, but they accomplished the
journey in safety and located in Silverton, Marion
county, Oregon, where the father obtained three
himdred and twenty acres of land, which he suc-
cessfully cultivated for forty years. His life"?
labors were then ended by death in 1887. when
he had attained the age of seventy-five years. He
was a very industrious and energetic farmer and
his labors brought him good returns. Both he
and his estimable wife were members of the Bap-
tist church. She survived him two years, and
departed this life in 1889, at the age of seventy-
four. On their journey across the plains they
brought with them their three children, and five
others were added to the family after their arrival
in Oregon. Seven of the number still survive.
Frank Marion Hubbard, the third in order of
birth, was only two years old at the time of the
emigration of the family westward. He acquired
his education in the public schools of the Willa-
mette valley, and in i86q came to Idaho. He en-
^^?Va^^>v\ nuM^-^^^^^l^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
543
in freighting from Kelton, Utah, to the
city of Boise and to Boise basin, and later turned
his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchasing-
four hundred and eighty acres of land near Wei-
ser, where he erected a residence, devoting his
energies to the development and cultivation of
the land. There he carried on agricultural pur-
suits until 1887, when he sold out. In 1895 he
purchased other lands, and is now the owner of
a valuable tract of three hundred and forty acres,
near the town of Weiser. He has a good resi-
dence and fine orchard and carries on general
farming. He is a most energetic and progress-
ive agriculturist, follows advanced methods, and
is very neat and thrifty in the care of his property.
He now owns one of the fine farms of the locality
and has met with good success in its operation.
In 1874 Mr. Hubbard was united in marriage
to Miss Ella Lowe, of Silverton, Oregon, and
they have had six children, five sons and a daugh-
ter, namely: Melvin W., Calvin Rosco, Millard
Fillmore, Lelah Winnefred, Frank M. and Orval
H. Mrs. Hubbard died October 12, 1889, at the
age of thirty-four years. She was a faithful and
loving wife and mother, and her death was deeply
deplored by her many friends as well as her im-
mediate family.
In his political views Mr. Hubbard has been a
life-long Democrat, and on that ticket was elected
county assessor in 1888. The following year he
was nominated for county sheriff but was de-
feated by nine votes. In 1893, however, he was
again elected county assessor, receiving a very
large majority, — a fact which indicated his faith-
fulness and ability while holding the office on a
former occasion. He is a valued member of the
Masonic fraternity and Odd Fellows' society, and
commands the esteem of his fellow men by rea-
son of his upright life, his fidelity to every trust
reposed in him, his genial manner and genuine
friendliness.
JACOB C. GARBER.
The efficient and capable postmaster of
Grangeville, Jacob C. Garber, is a native of Rock-
ingham county, Virginia, born ne&r Fort Re-
public, January 7, 1829. The family is of Swiss
origin and the ancestors of our subject crossed
the Atlantic to the Xew World prior to the Revo-
lutionary war. They were long residents of
Pennsylvania and A'irginia, and in religious faith
were Dunkards. Martin Garber, the father of
our subject, was born in the Old Dominion and
married Miss Magdalen Mohler, a lady of Ger-
man lineage and a representative of one of the
old \'lrginian families. Fourteen children were
born of this union, of whom eight sons and three
daughters grew to years of maturity. The father
was a farmer by occupation, and died of palsy, in
the fifty-fourth year of his age. His wife at-
tained a very advanced age and finally met death
by accident, in the upsetting of a stage-coach in
which she was a passenger.
Jacob C. Garber, their fourth child, was edu-
cated in Virginia and Ohio, the family having
removed to the latter state when he was fourteen
years of age. Subsequently he emigrated with
an older brother to Iowa, and in 1854 he sailed
from New York to California, going by way of
the Xicaraugua route to San Francisco, where he
arrived on the 13th of August. He then en-
gaged in mining in Sierra and Nevada counties,
meeting with good success. It was his intention
to return home in 1857, but, being taken ill, a
year had passed before he had sufficiently recov-
ered to travel, and by that time the expenses of
his sickness had eaten up all his capital. From
Sierra county he went to Nevada county, and
with the assistance of a friend procured a claim,,
on which he again made money rapidly. He re-
mained there from 1858 until 1865, and during
that time was elected and served as county re-
corder of Nevada county, continuing in the office
until 1868, when he removed to Humboldt coun-
ty,, where he established a general merchandise
store. The new undertaking proved a profitable
one, and he carried on business along that line
until 1885, when he sold out and went to the
Portuguese Flat, in Shasta county. There he
purchased an interest in a mine, but lost his mon-
ey in that investment, through the treachery of a
partner.
i\Ir. Garber next came to Camas prairie, Idaho,
and secured a claim of one hundred and sixty
acres of government land, on which he engaged
in raising hay, grain and cattle. He transformed
it into a good farm, and it is still in his posses-
sion. In 1893, however, he left the farm, liaving
been elected probate judge of Idaho county, and
on the expiration of his term of service in that
capacity he accepted the position of bookkeeper
5-W
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in the large wholesale and retail house of Henry
Wax, of Grangeville. He was thus employed in
1897, when President jMcKinley appointed him
postmaster. He is now giving his entire time
and attention to the duties of his office, which he
is discharging in a most capable manner, winning
the high commendation of all concerned. He
has always been a stanch Republican in politics
since casting his first presidential vote for Abra-
ham Lincoln, in i860.
In 1868 Mr. Garber was united in marriage to
Miss Julia A. Wheeler, in Nevada county, Cali-
fornia. She is a native of Georgia and a daugh-
ter of Nathan Wheeler, and to her husband she
renders able assistance in the administration of
the affairs of the postoffice. Mr. Garber was
formerly a very active member of the Odd Fel-
lows society and has filled all the chairs in both
branches of the order. He is a wide-awake and
progressive citizen, giving a loyal support to all
measures for the public good, and is a most trust-
worthy officer.
AARON FREIDENRICH.
Aaron Freidenrich, one of the most prominent
merchants of Grangeville, and the managing
member of the firm of Alexander & Freidenrich,
wholesale and retail dealers in general merchan-
dise, is in control of the largest establishment of
the kind in the town, and perhaps no town of
equal proportion in the entire country can boast
of a better or more extensive store. The success
of this enterprise is due to him whose name be-
gins this sketch, a most energetic and progressdve
man, whose sound judgment is supplemented by
industry and honorable methods. These quali-
ties have brought to him a most creditable pros-
perity and have gained him a place in the fore-
most ranks of the commercial interests of north-
ern Idaho.
Mr. Freidenrich has been a resident of this
state for thirty-one years. He was born in Ger-
many on the 24th of February, 185 1, a son of
Isaac and Caroline (Adler) Freidenrich. Many
of the representatives of the name were German
merchants, and in religious faith the family were
Hebrews. In the land of his nativity the subject
of this sketch acquired his education, and also be-
came familiar with business methods by acting as
salesman in a mercantile establishment. He was
only seventeen years of age when he emigrated to
the United States, hoping to better his financial
condition in the land where every opportunity is
afforded the man of ability, ambition and deter-
mination. He landed in New York, and though
he had but little knowledge of the English lan-
guage he soon secured a position in a wholesale
house in that city, where he remained until 1867,
when he sailed for Portland, Oregon. There he
remained for twelve months, and in 1868 he took
up his abode in Lewiston, Idaho. There he ob-
tained a position in the store of Hexter Brothers,
with whom he continued until 1871, at which
time he went to Florence and began merchan-
dising on his own account. In 1874 he removed
to Warren, where he conducted a store until
1879, when he sold his business there and took
up his abode in Grangeville, becoming the man-
aging member of the present firm of Alexander
& Freidenrich. During his twenty-years con-
nection with the business interests of Grange-
ville, he has met with splendid success, which has
been well earned by his close attention to Iris
commercial affairs, his excellent ability and hi-5
honorable business methods. The store which
he occupies is thirty-five by one hundred and
seventy-five feet, and in addition the firm has two
large warehouses in Grangeville. The bills of
sales have amounted to as high as five thousand
dollars, and they carry a stock valued at eighty-
thousand dollars, to which they are making al-
most daily additions. They carry a full line of
standard staple and fancy goods, and their finely
equipped store would be a credit to a city of much
greater size than Grangeville. In addition to
this property Mr. Freidenrich has become the
possessor of a number of good farms on Camas
prairie, which are now rented. They are planted
to hay and grain, and fine apples, cherries, plums
and prunes are raised upon them. Thus he has
judiciously invested his surplus earnings and
thereby materially increased his income.
Mr. Freidenrich was happily married March 4,
1883, to Miss Rosa Stenhauser, a cultured lady,
born in San Francisco, California. They have
one son, Melton, who is now attending school in
Portland, Oregon. Our subject is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, and was for some years
treasurer of Mount Idaho Lodge, No. 9, F. & A.
M., now located at Grangeville. He also be-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
longs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen,
and is accounted one of Grangeville"s best busi-
ness men and representative citizens. Although
he came to America empty-handed, he is now the
possessor of a handsome competence, his hopes
having been more than realized. His life demon-
strates the truth of the saying that success is noi
the result of genius, but the outcome of a clear
judgment and experience.
JOHN S. KINKAID.
John S. Kinkaid, one of the highly respected
farmers of Camas prairie, was born in Indiana,
September 9, 1833, and is a representative of an
old Kentucky family. His grandfather, Joseph
Kinkaid, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and
was an early settler of Kentucky. His son, An-
drew Kinkaid, was born, reared and educated in
Kentucky and became a minister of the Christian
church. In 1841 he removed to Missouri and
was a prominent preacher of the gospel in that
state. He married Miss Elizabeth Landis, a
native of Tennessee, who is still living and has
celebrated her ninetieth birthday, her home being
with a daughter in Kansas. The father died in
the fifty-fifth year of his age, but his memory re-
mains as a blessed benediction to all who knew
him. Two of the sons loyally served their coun-
try in the Union army during the civil war, and
one of them lost his life in the great struggle to
maintain the Union. In the family were seven
children, five of whom yet survive.
Rev. John S. Kinkaid was educated in Cass
county, Missouri, in a little log school-house such
as was common at that time. In his early youth
he had accompanied his parents from Indiana to
that state, and in 1861 went with them to Kan-
sas, locating in Franklin county. He had been
married, however, in Missouri, in 1859, to ^liss
Caroline Frazier, and they made their home upon
a farm in Kansas from 1861 until 1883, when
they came to Camas prairie and took up a tract
of land, whereon Mr. Kinkaid has since engaged
in stock-raising, making a specialty of graded
Durham cattle and graded Percheron horses.
He has one hundred and fourteen acres of land
and a most hospitable home, the latch-string al-
ways being out to those who come this way.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kinkaid have been born
ten children, all of whom reached years of ma-
turity, while four sons and four daughters are
yet living, namely: Denver, who is engaged in
farming near his father; Ulysses S., who is en-
gaged in the butchering business at Elk City;
Annie, wife of William Perkins; Alice, wife of
Robert Farris; Marion and William, who follow
farming; Maude, who is engaged in school-
teaching; and Myrtle, wife of Charles S. Jacob-
son. The parents are valued members of the
Christian church, in which Elder Kinkaid is an
ordained minister. He is a man of broad hu-
manitarian principles, a faithful follower of the
Teacher of Nazareth, and gladly embraces every
opportunity of proclaiming the gospel of peace
on earth, good will to men. His political support
is given the Republican party. His noble life is
unclouded by shadow of wrong or suspicion of
evil, and all who know him have for him the
kindliest regard.
JOHN LANE.
Colonel John Lane, the senior member of the
law firm of Lane & McDonald, has long resided
on the Pacific coast, but has made his home in
Lewiston for only two years. In that time, how-
ever, he has gained prestige as one of the ablest
members of the bar of this locality, and is there-
fore a valued addition to the professional circles
of the city.
A native of the state of Indiana, Colonel Lane
was born in Evansville, May 17, 1837. His an-
cestors were of Irish and French stock and were
early settlers of North Carolina, where they
founded the city of Raleigh one hundred years
before America sought her independence through
the power of arms. Several of the family held
military commissions under General Washington,
in the Revolutionary war, and the family has
always been celebrated for bravery and valor in
battle. General Joseph Lane, the father of the
Colonel, was born jn North Carolina, December
14. 1 80 1, and became a brevet major general in
the ]\Iexican war. He was appointed by President
James K. Polk to go to Oregon and organize
the territorial government there before the ex-
piration of the president's term. With all expedi-
tion he started across the jilains, in the fall of
1848, with a small escort of the regiment of
mounted rifles. On the approach of the winter,
he turned aside and passed througli New Mexico
and Arizona, finally reaching San Diego. Call-
546
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
fornia, where he took a schooner for Yuba
Buena, afterward San Francisco. From that
point he proceeded by schooner to the mouth of
the Cohnnbia, after which, with Indians and
canoes, he proceeded up the Columbia to Will-
amette, and up that river to Oregon City, where
he arrived ]\Iarch 3, 1849. He immediately issued
the proclamation organizing the territory of Ore-
gon. This was just the day previous to the close
of Mr. Polk's administration, so that he made
the long and perilous journey and performed his
mission just in time. He then took up his abode
in the new territory, and in 185 1 was elected its
delegate to congress. When Oregon became a
state he was its first United States senator, and
in i860 he was a candidate on the Democratic
ticket for vice-president, Breckinridge being the
nominee for president. Soon afterward he re-
turned to Roseburg, Oregon, where he retired
from active life. He died there on the 19th of
April, 1881, at the age of eighty years, and his
death was probably hastened by the wounds
which he sustained in the Mexican war and in
the Indian wars in Oregon. In early life he had
married Miss Mary Hart, a native of Kentucky,
and to them were born ten children, six of whom
are yet living. The mother died in 1870.
Colonel Lane, the eighth of the family, ac-
quired his education in Indiana, Kentucky and
Virginia, and in his twentieth year he was ap-
pointed by President Pierce a cadet at large to
West Point, where he remained until March,
1861, when he resigned, and at the opening of the
civil war entered the Confederate service as a
second lieutenant. He was ordnance officer and
drill master at Fort Pulaski, and subsequently
was ordered to A'irginia, where he was attached
as drill master to a company of artillery. He was
on the stafif of General G. W. Smith as aid-de-
camp and later was captain of a battery of artil-
lery. He participated in twenty-three battles, and
at the siege of Petersburg, at the close of the war,
he held the rank of lieutenant colonel in com-
mand of a battalion of artillery. He was three
times slightly wounded. His training at West
Point, combined with his devotion to the cause
he espoused, made him a most valued and brave
representative of the southern cause.
After the war Colonel Lane visited his father
in Oregon, and was induced by him to engage
in the stock business, which he carried on suc-
cessfully for a number of years in Douglas
county, Oregon. He also engaged in mining at
the Black Sand mines on the coast, and took out
one hundred thousand dollars, but it was such
difficult work that the cost of carrying it on
was as great as the returns. In the meantime,
while engaged' in stock-raising, Colonel Lane had
read law under the direction of his brother, L. F.
Lane, who afterward became a member of con-
gress, but before beginning practice he served in
public office, first filling the position of assessor
of Coos county. Later he was elected and served
for two consecutive terms as sheriff of the county.
In 1883, being in Salem, Oregon, with prisoners
at the time the supreme court was in session, he
was invited by one of the supreme judges to
take the examination for admission to the bar.
With no idea of engaging m practice, he con-
sented, and acquitted himself most creditably,
thus becoming a member of the legal profession.
He then completed his term as sheriff, after
which he took up the practice of law at Roseburg
with his brother, L. F. Lane.
In 1893 Colonel Lane went to Washington,
D. C, where he had the pleasure of seeing Presi-
dent Cleveland inaugurated, and was by him
appointed Indian agent, in which capacity he
served until March, 1896, when he was ordered
to report to Washington, and was appointed by
Hoke Smith, secretary of the interior, to the
position of special Indian agent and afterward
appointed Indian inspector. He capably filled
that office until June, 1897, when he retired and
has since devoted his energies to the private
practice of law. In the summer of that year he
visited Lewiston, and being greatly pleased with
the city and its excellent outlook he determined
to locate here. He arrived October 19, 1897, and,
on the hill just above the town, the stage on
which he was riding was held up and robbed.
Opening an office, he has within two years
secured a large clientage and has been connected
with most of the important litigation heard dur-
ing this period. The firm of Lane & McDonald
take precedence of many others of longer stand-
ing, and their devotion to the clients' interests,
combined with their skill in argument, insures
them a continuance of the law business of Lewis-
ton and the surrounding country.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
547
In 1878 ]\Ir. Lane was united in marriage to
Miss Hattie Sherrard, of Coos county, Oregon.
Five children have been born to them, of whom
four are Uving: Joseph W., Roy C, Winifred
and Lorena. The family reside in one of the nice
homes of Lewiston, and the Colonel and his wife
are held in high regard. Socially he is a repre-
sentative of the Ancient Order of United Work-
men.
HARLAN P. USTICK, A. M., M. D.
The medical profession in Boise is ably rep-
resented by Dr. Harlan Page Ustick, a promi-
nent homeopathic physician, who was born in
Fayette county, Ohio, on the 26th of November,
1848. His paternal grandfather was a Baptist
minister, who, leaving his home in France,
crossed the Atlantic to New York city, where he
passed the residue of his days. His son, William
Arnold Ustick, the father of the Doctor, was born
in Orange county. New York, in the year 1800,
and when seventeen years of age removed to
Ohio, where he resided until he laid down the
burdens of life, in his ninetieth year. He mar-
ried Miss Mary Stewart, a native of Maryland,
and a descendant of the royal house of Stuart, of
England. Mr. Ustick resided upon a farm and
was accounted one of the industrious and prac-
tical agriculturists of his community. In later
years he also engaged in buying and selling wool
on an extensive scale, and won success in his un-
dertakings. For many years he was an elder in
the Presbyterian church, and his life was actu-
ated by noble principles and characterized by
kindly deeds. Uncompromisingly opposed to
oppression of every form, his home became a
station on the famous underground railroad in
ante-bellum days, and he aided many a poor
negro on his way to freedom. He died in his
ninetieth year, and his wife passed away at the
age of seventy-six. They were the parents of
thirteen children, of whom only five now sur-
vive.
Dr. Ustick, the youngest of the family, com-
pleted his literary education by his graduation in
Miami University, in 1870, after which he began
preparation for the medical profession as a stu-
dent in Hahnemann College, in Philadelphia,
where he was graduated in 1883. At his old
Ohio home he practiced medicine for eight years
and then removed to Chicago, whence he came to
the Pacific coasf in 1892, spending a short time
in Portland, Oregon. From that city he removed
to Boise, where he opened an office and was soon
in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative busi-
ness. He makes a specialty of chronic diseases
and the treatment of the eye and ear, and his
efforts have been attended by results which indi-
cate his superior ability in the line of his chosen
calling. From the faithful performance of each
day's duty he gains inspiration and strength for
the labors of the next; perusal of the leading
medical journals keeps him in touch with the
advancement that is continually being made in
medical circles; and his capability has gained
him distinction in professional circles. He has
other business interests in addition to his prac-
tice, is the owner of a fine fruit farm of eighty
acres, and is very active in promoting the inter-
ests of the horticulturists of the state, being, at
the present writing, secretary of the Fruit Grow-
ers' Association of the state of Idaho.
In 1892 was celebrated the marriage of Dr.
Ustick and Mrs. Margaret Pittenger, who by
her former marriage has a son Fred; the latter
graduated at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical
College in March, 1899. The Doctor also has
two sons and a daughter by a former marriage,
viz.: Roy P., Faye S. and Clyde E. The last
mentioned is now taking a professional course
in electricity. The Doctor and his estimable wife
are leading members of the Presbyterian church,
in which he is now serving as elder. In politics
he is most earnest in his advocacy of the Repub-
lican party and its principles, and socially is con-
nected with the Knights of Pythias, the
Woodmen of the World and the Pioneers of the
Pacific.
JOHN SCALES.
John Scales, a resident of Wagontown, is a
native of the Emerald Isle, his birth having
occurred in Kilrush, county Clare, on the 6th of
May, 1840. At the time of the protectorate in
England members of the Scales family, natives
of that land, went to Ireland as soldiers of Oliver
Cromwell, and for their services were paid in
Irish estates, called "sword-lands." The parents
of our subject were Samuel and Rachel Scales,
who were distant relatives. They came to
America in 1855, bringing with them their family
of five children, and took up their residence in
548
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the state of Maine. The father died in 1875, at
the age of seventy-two years, and the mother
spent her last days in the home of her son John,
passing away at the advanced age of ninety-two
years. Four of the children yet survive, one
being a resident of Maine, one of Oregon, one
of Silver City and one of Wagontown, Idaho,
and thus they are separated by the width of the
continent.
John Scales was a youth of fifteen years when
he accompanied his parents on the voyage
across the briny deep. He attended school in
his native land and pursued a commercial course
in Eastman's Business College of Poughkeepsie,
New York. His residence in Idaho dates from
1868, when he took up his abode in Silver City
and began work in the mines. At that time
miners were making from five to twenty dollars
per day. He also 'became part owner of the
Casco mines near the De Lamar mines, and while
milling for others also took out ore from his
own claims, thus gaining a good start in business
life. He sold the Casco mine to William F. Som-
mercamp, who later sold the property to the
De Lamar Company, who now have the largest
and best paying mines in Owyhee county. At
the present writing Mr. Scales resides at Wagon-
town, two miles west of De Lamar, on the famous
Jordan creek. In 1891 he conceived the idea of
building a dam and inpounding the tailings of
the great mill of the De Lamar Mining Com-
pany. He also built a flume to convey the
tailings to his reservoirs and thus has he in-
pounded a large quantity of the tailings, which
have been found on second working to produce
seven dollars to the ton. Formerly Mr. Scales
owned a custom mill at Silver City for several
years, had run ore to the value of millions of dol-
lars and had become a miner and mill man. He
turned his knowledge to practical account in the
establishment of his present business, and his
new enterprise will doubtless net him a handsome
profit, for the tailings yield three ounces of silver
and five dollars and a half in gold to the ton, and
he now has seventy thousand tons of the tailings,
the gross income from which will be about a
half million dollars. He has recently equipped
his mill to a capacity of one hundred tons per
twenty-four hours, and used the pan-amalgama-
tion method. His efforts are therefore being
crowned with success — a prosperity which is j
justly deserved. In connection with j\lr. I
Wagoner he is also owner of the Trook and
Jennings mines, one of the valuable mining prop-
erties of Silver City.
In 1879 Mr. Scales was united in marriage to
Miss Mary E. Crowell, of China, ]\Iaine, and
they now have two sons, Henry C. and Wilbert
G., both of whom are attending school in Cali-
fornia. Mrs. Scales is a cultured and entertaining-
lady, presiding with gracious hospitality over the
commodious residence which Mr. Scales has
erected at Wagontown, and in which they have
resided since 1891. She is also a valued member
of the Baptist church, while Mr. Scales is a Royal
Arch Mason and has served as high priest of
Cyrus Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M., of Silver City.
His political support is given the Democracy
and he keeps well informed on the issues of the
day, thus being able to intelligently advocate the
principles in which he believes. He has served
for several terms as county commissioner and
also as county school-superintendent, and has
been a most capable and efficient officer. He and
his family are very highly esteemed in the county
in which they have so long resided, and their
history is deserving a prominent place in this
volume.
A. F. WOHLENBERG, M. D.
Dr. Wohlenberg, a practicing physician and
surgeon of Kendrick, is a native of Lyons, Iowa,
born April 27, 1862. As the name indicates, he
is of German descent. His parents, Ludwig A.
and Maria (Vollbehr) Wohlenberg, were both
natives of the Fatherland and came to America
during their childhood. After their marriage
they located on the farm where Ludwig Wohlen-
berg is now living, retired from active business
life, enjoying the handsome competence which
came to him as the result of arduous toil in
former years. He has held various township
offices, discharging his duties in a most accept-
able manner, and has been a lifelong member of
the Lutheran church. The Doctor's mother died
in 1864. when he was but two years old, and the
father afterward married again. By the first union
there were two children and by the second four,
and of the number four are yet living.
Dr. Wohlenberg was educated in the public
schools, and in his bovhood worked on a farm
^, }^< . ^^frcY,
HISTORY OF -IDAHO.
5-19
and clerked in a store, thus entering upon his
business career. Determining to devote his at-
tention to the medical profession, he began
preparation for his chosen life work in the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, of Chicago,
from which he graduated in 1894. He began
practice in Seattle, Washington, and thence came
to Kendrick, where he has since enjoyed a profit-
able and constantly increasing business, his skill
and ability winning him the public confidence
and likewise the public patronage. lie has a
comprehensive knowledge of the science of medi-
cine, keeps thoroughly informed concerning all
the new theories and discoveries which are ad-
vanced, and shows most discriminating judg-
ment in the selection of such of these as he
believes will aid him in his practice. He studies
closely the leading medical journals and keeps
in close touch with his professional brethren
through his membership connection with the
State Medical Association of Idaho.
In 1886 Dr. Wohlenberg was united in mar-
riage to Miss Julia Canfield, a native of ]\Iarshall-
town, Iowa, and a daughter of Dr. Mosley Can-
field, of that place. The Doctor and his wife
have made many friends in Kendrick. and are
in every way worthy the high esteem in which
they are held. He belongs to the Woodmen of
the World, is a member and trustee of the
Knights of Pythias fraternity, but has neither
time nor inclination to seek office, preferring to
devote his energies to his professional labors,
whereby he is gaining a position of distinction.
WILLIAM H. SEBASTIAN.
Among the pioneers who came to northern
Idaho in an early day to secure homes and open
up this region to civilization is William H. Sebas-
tian, now an enterprising farmer of Camas
prairie. He located on the prairie in 1871, fought
for the protection of the settlers in the Nez
Perces Indian war, and has ever labored for the
advancement and upbuilding of the section. He
was born in Missouri, December 31, 185 1, but
has practically spent his entire life in the north-
west. His father, Daniel Smith Sebastian, was
born in Missouri, November 21, 1819, and was
there reared to manhood and married, and in 1852,
with his wife and three children, made a safe
journey across the plains to Oregon. He located
in Clackamas county, where he secured a govern-
ment donation-claim of six hundred and forty
acres. At the time of the gold excitement, how-
ever, he went to Elk City, Idaho, in 1861, and
engaged in mining there for some time, after
which he returned to his family. In 1871 he took
up his abode on Camas prairie, on land on Three
Mile creek, and there resided until 1875, when he
sold out. He died in March, 1896, at the age of
seventy-seven years. When the Nez Perces In-
dians went on the war-path he was among the
volunteers who aided in defending the settlers
and their homes. He was twice married, his
first wife dying in 1853. By their union there
were four children, and three by the second mar-
riage. The second wife died in July, 1896.
William H. Sebastian was only four months
old when his parents crossed the plains. He at-
tended school in Oregon and in 1871 came with
the family to Camas prairie. In 1877, when the
Indian war broke out, he also volunteered, con-
tinuing on duty until all danger was past. Subse-
quently he secured from the government a claim
of one hundred and sixty acres, and in 1886 he
further completed his preparations for a home of
his own by his marriage to Miss Thamer Mc-
Kerlee.a native of North Carolina and a daughter
of E. B. McKerlee, who was also born in that
state and came to Camas prairie in 1883. They
now have one daughter, Cloah. The mother is
a valued member of the Baptist church and is a
most estimable lady. In his political affiliations
Mr. Sebastian is a Democrat. In 1896 he built a
very comfortable residence, and there makes his
home, giving his time and attention to his farm-
ing pursuits, in which he is meeting with credit-
able success.
CHARLES M. HAYS.
A well known lawyer and pioneer of Idaho is
Charles Marshall Hays, of Boise. Almost his
entire life has been passed on the Pacific coast
and he has therefore been a witness of the mar-
velous development of this section of the coun-
try. He was born in Saline county, Alissouri,
on the 22d of April, 1845, and is descended from
Irish ancestry. Members of the family were early
residents of Virginia and Kentucky and were
participants in the struggle that brought to the
nation her independence. The grandfather of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
our subject removed from the Old Dominion
to Kentucky during the pioneer epoch in its his-
tory, and there the birth of Gilmore Hays
occurred. The latter married Mrs. Nevina Knox
Montgomery, and to them were born seven chil-
dren, of whom three are living. In 1848 the
father crossed the plains to California, in 1852
went to Oregon, and in 1855 came to Idaho,
when it was still a part of the territory of Wash-
ington. He was the first recorder of Owyhee
county and held various offices of trust and
honor under the territorial government. He was
a man of unwavering integrity and ability, and
lived to be seventy-one years of age, while his
wife passed away at the age of thirty-five years.
Their son, Charles Marshall Hays, was edu-
cated in the schools of California and Washing-
ton. When a boy he crossed the plains with his
father, following the old emigrant road on the
south side of the Snake river and passing under
the shadow of what is now known as War Eagle
mountain, never even dreaming then that thir-
teen years later he would return to pass a quarter
of a century at its very base. In the fall of that
year he reached The Dalles, then a military post,
whence he proceeded down the Columbia river
and on to Portland, where he spent the winter.
In the spring of 1853 he made his way to Puget
sound, and in 1857 removed to California, where
he made his home until August, 1865, when he
started for Ruby City, then the county-seat of
Owyhee county, arriving on the 8th of Septem-
ber. He filled the office of deputy county recorder
under his father until 1866, when he became
deputy district clerk under Solomon Hasbrouck.
now the clerk of the supreme court of Idaho.
In the fall of 1866 Mr. Hays removed from
Ruby City to Silver City, and in 1868 was
appointed deputy United States internal-revenue
collector, which position he filled until the follow-
ing year. In 1868 he was nominated on a
Citizens' ticket for the office of recorder, but was
defeated at the general election. In 1870 Hill
Beachy, the proprietor of the railroad stage line
from Boise to Winnemucca, Nevada, a distance
of two hundred and sixty-five miles, appointed
him agent at Silver City, with full power and
authority to conduct all business connected with
that office during the absence of the superintend-
ent. When Mr. Beachv sold the line to the North-
western Stage Company, Mr. Hays was retained I
as agent and also remained with that company's j
successor, John Hailey, holding the position until
1880.
In 1871-2 he read law in the office of Richar<l
Z. Johnson, afterward attorney-general of Idaho,
and in 1873 was admitted to practice as an attor-
ney and counsellor at law and solicitor in
chancery in all the courts of record in the then
territory of Idaho. He has ever acknowledged I
his indebtedness to his preceptor for the kindness
and assistance he received at his hands, and has
ever pointed to him as an example that all young
lawyers might well emulate. Thus Mr. Hays
entered upon his career at the bar, and by his
marked ability in the line of his profession has j
won distinction as a legal practitioner. In 1874
he was nominated by the Republican party for 1
the office of county sherifif. Having so recently
begun practice, he was loath to accept the can-
didacy, but finally did so. He was nominated on
the first ballot, and then followed a hotly con-
tested campaign, which resulted in Mr. Hays
receiving a majority of two hundred votes, al-
though the county was regarded as a strong
Democratic stronghold. He carried every pre-
cinct but one, a fact which indicates his persona!
popularity and the confidence reposed in him by
his fellow townsmen. He made a most capable
officer, was entirely fair and impartial in per-
forming his duties, and displayed the utmosr
courage in their discharge.
On one occasion, a man having stabbed an-
other at South Mountain, Mr. Hays mounted a
fast horse and rode the distance of thirty miles in
two and a half hours. He found the members
of the Miners' Union wild with excitement, wish-
ing to hang the murderer, but the sherifif resolved
to make the arrest and save the man's life that
he might have a fair trial. He appointed five
deputies, armed them with double-barreled shot-
guns, arrested the murderer and another man
who was implicated in the affair and marched
with them through a crowd of a hundred men
who had been searching all night for the culprit
in order to lynch him. He then put his captives
in a wagon and took them to Silver City, where
they were granted a trial in accordance with the
laws of the land.
Mr. Hays discharged his duties with such abil-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
551
ity and fidelity that he was re-elected in 1876,
and served for a second term. In 1881 he was
appointed deputy district attorney for Owyhee
county, which position he filled until elected
county attorney in 1882. In 1884, in 1886 and
a third time in 1888 he was re-elected, and in the
trial of important cases manifested superior legal
attainments. In the spring of 1882 he purchased
a half interest in the Idaho Avalanche, the year
following became sole proprietor and then con-
ducted an independent paper, through the col-
umns of which he strongly advocated the mining-
interests of the state. He was thus largely
instrumental in sustaining the camps at Silver
City and De Lamar, and in bringing capital to
aid in the development, so that the mines of
southwestern Idaho were soon brought to the
attention of the mining world. It was through
his influence that Captain De Lamar was induced
to come to Silver City, and Mr. Hays acted as
his attorney until he sold his interests to an
English syndicate.
Further political honors came to him in 1889,
when he was elected to the constitutional con-
vention from Owyhee county, and in that assem-
bly was appointed a member of the committees
on election and franchise, on corporation, and on
revenue, serving as chairman of the last. He
was a very active and useful member of the con-
vention, his knowledge of constitutional law en-
abling him to aid greatly in framing the organic
law of the state. At the first election after the
admission of Idaho to the L'nion he was elected
district attorney of the third judicial district,
embracing Boise, Ada, Washington and Owyhee
counties, and in 1894 was re-elected, to serve
until January i, 1899. During this time he prob-
ably prosecuted more criminals and convicted
more than any other attorney in Idaho. In the
past two and a half years he has prosecuted eight
murder cases, securing one conviction for murder
in the first degree, three for murder in the second
degree and four for manslaughter. Perhaps one-
third of the convicts in the state prison are from
the third district, yet Mr. Hays has never been
known to abuse a prisoner, giving him every
chance to introduce evidence and prove his
innocence. If his guilt is once established, how-
ever, he never signs a petition for pardon, believ-
ing that the law should then take its course.
In 1898 he was elected to the state senate from
Ada county, by a majority of six hundred. He
was chairman of the judiciary committee and
took an active part in the general assembly of
1899. At the close of the session he was appointed
by the governor a member of the code commis-
sion of Idaho, being the only Republican ap-
pointed on the commission.
In 1868 Mr. Hays was united in marriage to
jNIiss Rebecca L. Dye, a cultured young lady,
who was born in California, and is a daughter of
Job F. Dye, a native of Kentucky. He went to
the Golden state in 1832 and w^as also an honored
pioneer of Idaho. Eight children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Hays: Helen, wife of J. H.
Hutchinson; C. D., who is mining in Silver City;
Rebecca; Rowena; Irene; Elma: Mrs. M. ^I.
Getchell, deceased: and one who departed this
life in infancy. The family occupy a pleasant
home in Boise, and in addition to this property
]Mr. Hays is the owner of six hundred and forty
acres of land, besides stock and other property,
all of which has been acquired through his own
efforts. He is a past master of the Masonic
lodge and a Royal Arch Mason, also belongs to
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a
lifelong Republican. In all life's relations he
has been true to the confidence and trust reposed
in him, and so intimately has he been associated
with the history of the state in various depart-
ments that his life record is deserving of a prom-
inent place in this volume.
JAMES S. ACKER,
James S. Acker, proprietor of the general mer-
cantile cash store, at Mountain Home, is one
of the successful business men of the town, and
his enterprise and energy have given him rank
among the leading representatives of commercial
interests in Elmore county. A native of Ala-
bama, he was born near Birmingham, on the 6th
of August, 1865. His ancestors were natives of
Holland and at an early day joined a Dutch
colony that settled in South Carolina. His father,
Dr. J. W. Acker, engaged in the practice of medi-
cine throughout his business career and became a
very prominent and successful physician, being
for many years numbered among the distin-
guished representatives of the profession in
Shelby county. William Acker had removed
552
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
at an early day from South Carolina, in which
state the Ackers were well known planters and
owned many slaves. Dr. Acker married Miss
Sarah Caffee, a native of Alabama, and a de-
scendant of one of the old southern families. Her
people were connected with the Baptist church,
while the Ackers were Methodists in religious'
faith.
James S. Acker is one of a family of six chil-
dren, four of whom are yet living. He spent his
boyhood days in the state of his nativity, attended
school there and was later graduated in the com-
mercial department of the Kentucky State Uni-
versity. He entered upon his business career in
the capacity of a journalist, writing for the
Evening Chronicle and the Birmingham Age-
Herald; but circumstances caused him to enter
other fields of labor jand he began merchandising,
for which work he is well adapted. He is a man
of keen foresight, of pleasant and agreeable man-
ner and unimpeachable integrity,— ^essential qual-
ifications in those who would win success in
commercial fines. His whole career has been
permeated by the idea that debt is one of the
curses of the world, and that a nice, clean cash
business, such as is conducted by the railroads,
is best for the buyer as well as for the seller; it
does away with the expense of bookkeeping, of
litigation and with the animosities that arise from
an attercjpt to force payment. The goods can be
sold cheaper and the honest customer is not an-
noyed by the debt or the merchant by the credit.
There would be no failures and no suicides as
the result of financial embarrassm.ent, and the
real result would be a much healthier condition
in business life. Such has been the principle
upon which Mr. Acker has conducted his busi-
ness, and he has found it to be a practical one.
In 1888 he went to California for rest and in
order to see the country, and after spending
some time in the Golden state, made his way to
Salt Lake City, Utah, where he engaged in the
produce business for a short time. Subsequently
he became a traveling salesman, learned much
concerning the first cost of the goods and of the
conditions of the retail trade. This led him to
engage in business on his own account, and in
1895 he opened his cash store on a corner lot in
Mountain Home, where his building is not ex-
posed to fire, and where he keeps a very carefully
selected stock of general merchandise. By his
promptness and honorable dealing, combined with
his earnest efforts to please his patrons, he has
secured a good trade and won the good will and
confidence of the better class of customers, both
in the town and surrounding country. He is
numbered among the leading merchants at
Mountain Home and occupies a prominent place
in commercial circles.
Mr. Acker was married in 1893, the ladv of his
choice being Miss Allie S. Smithson, a native of
Salt Lake City, Utah. Their marriage has been
blessed with a daughter, Nydia Marie. Mr.
Acker exercises his right of franchise in support
of the men and measures of the Republican party.
His name is on the membership rolls of the Odd
Fellows society, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, the Woodmen of the World and the
Home Forum, and in his religious views he is
liberal. He has, however, the strictest regard for
the ethics of life, and he and his wife enjoy the
high regard of many friends and receive the
hospitality of the best homes in this section of
Idaho.
CHARLES J. SINSEL.
Charles J. Sinsel, a wholesale fruit dealer of
Boise and ex-county treasurer of Ada county,
was born in Grafton, West Virginia, July 13,
1867, and is descended from Holland ancestry.
Three brothers of the Sinsel family came from the
little Dutch kingdom to America to aid Great
Britain in her subjugation of the colonies, but
were so well pleased with the land that they
resolved to make their home in the new republic
and located in Virginia. They and their descend-
ants were planters and were Baptists in religious
faith. The father of our subject, William F.
Sinsel, was born in Grafton, West Virginia, and
after arriving at years of maturity married Miss
Fannie A. Holden, a daughter of Rev. Charles
Holden, a Baptist minister. Through many
years of his active business career Mr. Sinsel
engaged in railroad contracting, but is now
engaged in the stock business in Nebraska,
where he is living at the age of sixty years. For
a long period he has been a prominent member
of the Alasonic fraternity.
Charles J. Sinsel is the eldest of a family of
four sons, all of whom are living. In 1875 he
went with his parents to Central City, Nebraska,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
553
where he attended school for a time, and then
engaged in teaching in order to gain the means
whereby he might secure a more advanced educa-
tion. Subsequently he attended the Wesleyan
University of Central City. He then spent some
years traveling for a wholesale house in Omaha,
and in 1891 he came to Boise, where for five
years he was connected with the Idaho Saddlery
Company. On the expiration of that period he
embarked in the wholesale fruit business, and
from the beginning his trade has rapidly and
constantly increased. In 1897 he shipped two
hundred car-loads to various markets. His relia-
bility, the excellent Hne of fruits which he carries,
and his enterprising business methods have
brought him an excellent trade and made him
one of the prosperous merchants of the capital
city.
Mr. Sinsel early became identified with the
Populist party and is one of its most active and
enthusiastic supporters. In 1892 he was the
nominee of his party for state senator, but was
defeated by the Republican candidate, Hon.
George Stewart. In 1894 he was nominated for
county treasurer, but again met defeat. In 1896,
however, he was again awarded the nomination
for that office, was elected and served his term
most acceptably.
On the 4th of August, 1892, Mr. Sinsel was
united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Young, a
native of Salem, Ohio, and they now have two
children, — Alma and Frederick. The parents
hold a membership in the Baptist church and
take an active and laudable interest in its work
and upbuilding. Mr. Sinsel also belongs to the
Uniformed Rank, Knights of Pythias, and has
filled all the offices in that order. He is a young
man of marked business and executive ability and
Boise numbers him among her leading repre-
sentatives.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
IDAHO SINCE 1S90— POLITICAL.
LATE in June, 1891, the state supreme court
rendered a decision pronouncing tlie act
of 1 89 1, purporting to create the counties
of Alta and Lincoln out of the counties of
Ahuras and Logan, to be unconstitutional, on
the ground that the state constitution forbids
the division of a county and the attachment of a
part thereof to another county without a vote
of the people in the portion to be separated.
State Attorney General Roberts returned the
following opinion to the state superintendent of
public instruction: Women possessing the con-
stitutional and statutory Cjualifications can vote
at all school elections; but to vote upon the
proposition as to whether a special tax shall be
levied women must possess, with male sufifragists,
the additional qualification of being "an actual
resident free-holder or head of a family."
On May 5, 1892, the Republicans held a state
convention at Pocatello, and a nominating con-
vention in August following, at which they advo-
cated the free and unlimited coinage of silver,
the creation of a federal department of mines
and mining at Washington, protection of labor
and capital, prompt action in allotting lands in
the Nez Perces Indian reservation, certain
amendments to the immigration laws, and hold-
ing the Democrats responsible for the crippling
of western industries. For the state ticket they
nominated, in August, W. J. McConnell for gov-
ernor, Frank B. Willis for lieutenant governor,
James F. Curtis for secretary of state, George
M. Parsons for attorney general, Frank Ramsey
for auditor, W. C. Hill for treasurer. J. S.
Brandon for superintendent of public instruc-
tion, and Willis Sweet for congressman.
During the same season the Democrats, also
holding state conventions in May and August,
at Pocatello, declared, like the Republicans, in
favor of the free and unlimited coinage of silver.
but unlike them declared in favor of several re-
forms which have ever since characterized their
party. In August they nominated A. J. Crook
for governor, J. B. Wright for lieutenant gov-
ernor, B. F. Chaney for secretary of state. T. J.
Sutton for treasurer, J. H. Anderson for auditor,
J. R. Westen for attorney general and L. L.
Shearer for superintendent of public instruction.
Meanwhile the Prohibitionists, representing
three counties, met to the number of twenty-five
and nominated a full state ticket.
The entire Republican ticket was elected, by a
majority of two thousand and more.
The state officers for the year 1893 were: Wil-
liam J. McConnell, governor; Frank B. Willis,
heutenant governor; James F. Curtis, secretary
of state; William C. Hill, treasurer; Frank C.
Ramsey, auditor; George M. Parsons, attorney
general; B. B. Lower, superintendent of public
instruction; Isaac N. Sullivan, chief justice; and
Francis E. English and Thomas M. Stewart,
associate justices.
The second session of the legislature, which
meets each alternate year, began January 2, 1893,
and continued until the evening of ^larch 6. The
delays brought about by the Democrats and
Populists in the senate defeated many important
measures. By them a rule of obstruction was
inaugurated, and bills were held back until the
last days of the session, when it became too late
to consider them in the house. Among the bills
held back was one reducing the state-tax levy
from eighty-five to sixty-five cents on the one
hundred dollars. The levy of eighty-five cents
had already produced a surplus and there was no
law providing for the lending of the funds. An-
other bill failing to pass was that which provided
for a reapportionment of the representation of the
state. Much time was spent in an effort to pass
a general law for the division of counties and the
removal of county seats.
The governor withheld his signature from a
bill that reduced the liquor license from live hun-
dred dollars a year in the large towns to three
hundred dollars, making the cost of license uni-
form in large and small towns. The bill was
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
555
passed over the governor's veto in the senate, but
the house refused to act with it. The Coeur
d'Alene city school of mines bill was not ap-
proved, because several of its provisions con-
flicted with the state constitution, and several
were of doubtful meaning. The act authorizing
county commissioners to issue bonds for the pur-
pose of refunding the indebtedness of their respec-
tive counties was held to give too much latitude to
the commissioners, and it was not signed nor
was the bill defining the property relations of
husband and wnfe. Just before the close of the
session an appropriation bill to cover the state
expenses for the years 1893-4 was rushed through
the senate, and the house was forced to concur
and pass it without amendment. A bill was
passed enfranchising the Mormons not guilty of
polygamy. Thirty thousand dollars more was
appropriated for the Idaho exhibit at the World's
Fair at Chicago. Acts were passed organizing
the state normal at Lewiston, providing for the
establishment of a soldiers' home, for the pro-
tection of game and fish, providing for the de-
struction of coyotes, wild-cats, foxes, lynxes,
bears, squirrels, rabbits, gophers, muskrats,
panthers and cougars, defining and prohibiting
certain practices of the nature of gambling, pro-
viding for the prevention of fruit-tree pests and
for their extirpation, and prohibiting employers
from discriminating against labor organizations;
and congress was memorialized to pass a law for
the free and unlimited coinage of silver.
In 1893 it was estimated that the Mormon
voters in the state reached the number of about
three thousand in Bingham county, seven hun-
dred in Bear Lake county, three hundred and
fifty in Cassia county, and eight hundred and
fifty in Oneida county. To most of these the
right of franchise was extended during this year
(1893), by a modification of the "test-oath" clause
in the law.
In August, 1894, the platform adopted by the
Republican convention at Boise reaf^rmed the
doctrine of "protection," declared for the free
coinage of silver, at the ratio of sixteen to one,
and advocated the submission of an equal-suf-
frage amendment to the state constitution; while
the Democrats, also at Boise and in the same
month, declared for revenue for tariff only, and,
like the Republicans, for the free coinage of silver
at the ratio of si.xtecn times as much silver to
the dollar as gold. The Popuiists also held a
convention, indorsing the platform of the Demo-
cratic party of 1892 at Omaha, Nebraska. The
ensuing election gave the Republicans the usual
majorities. The Populists polled a vote nearly
as large as that of the Democrats for some of
the offices and even larger for some. The state
officers elected were: William J. McConnell,
governor; F. J. Mills, lieutenant governor; I. W.
Garrett, secretary of state; C. Bunting, treasurer;
Frank C. Ramsey, auditor; C. A. Foresman,
superintendent of public instruction; A. Case,
adjutant general; George AI. Parsons, attorney
general; John T. Morgan, chief justice of the
supreme court; and J. W. Huston and I. X. Sulli-
van, associate justices.
The ensuing legislature met January 7, 1895,
and continued in session until March 9. Among
the measures passed at this session was the repeal
of the law passed unanimously at the preceding
legislature providing that all obligations should
be paid in gold or silver, all contracts to the con-
trary notwithstanding, the ground for repeal be-
ing that the measure had been detrimental to the
business interests of the state. An act making a
new legislative apportionment was passed pro-
viding for a senator for every county, while repre-
sentation in the house was fixed upon the basis
of one representative for every five hundred and
thirty-six votes or fraction over one-half of that
number cast at the preceding election. The new
game and fish law abolished the office of county
game and fish warden, specified what are the
closed seasons and prohibited the transportation
of or dealing in hides of wild animals and hunting
with dogs. Three irrigation bills were passed. One
was the joint irrigation bill, providing means of
accepting the gift of one million acres of land
under the Carey act from the federal government,
and two measures providing for the organization
of irrigation districts, a system of water measure-
ments and the fixing of water rates in certain
emergencies by the district courts. Under the
new system it was proposed to purchase existing
ditches or construct new ones by issuing bonds
based upon the property of the district and taxing
all the land in the district for the payment of the
bonds.
A radical change in tlie system of locating
556
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
mines was made by a new mining law, the most
important feature of which was a provision re-
quiring a locator to sink a shaft at least ten feet
within two months after location, or to make
other cuts equivalent.
By this legislature the "age of consent" was
still further raised, being now made eighteen
years.
In [March the office of state engineer was cre-
ated, to which the governor appointed Frank B.
Mills, the lieutenant governor, who accordingly
resigned his elective office.
This legislature abolished the counties of
Logan and Alturas and created from that terri-
tory the county of Blaine, and also established
the county of Lincoln from the southern portion
of the new county of Blaine; repealed the test
oath, passed a law requiring marriage licenses, and
memorialized congress to adopt the free coinage
of silver, and recommended state constitutional
amendments permitting woman suffrage and the
election of a prosecuting attorney in each county,
instead of district only, as previously.
Li March George L. Shoup was elected again
to the United States senate, the fifty-second and
final ballot being: Shoup, Republican, 2y\ Willii
Sweet, also Republican, 12; and A. J. Crook,
Populist, 14.
In 189s the state supreme court decided that
women were eligible to practice law, the statutes
to the contrary notwithstanding. This court also
■affirmed the constitutionality of the law providing
that water companies shall furnish water free for
fire purposes and other great public emergencies.
The state officers for 1896 were: William J.
McConnell, governor; Vincent Bierbower, lieu-
tenant governor; Isaac W. Garrett, secretary of
state: C. Bunting, treasurer; Frank C. Ramsey,
auditor; George M. Parsons, attorney general;
A. H. Capwell, adjutant general; C. A. Fores-
man, superintendent of public instruction; Fred-
erick J. Mills, state engineer; John T. Morgan,
chief justice of the supreme court; J- W. Huston
and Isaac N. Sullivan, associate justices; and
Solomon Hasbrouck, clerk of the court.
]\Iay 16, 1896, the Republicans held a state
convention at Pocatello and selected delegates to
the national convention. It declared the rein-
statement of silver to be the paramount issue. On
August 8 the state central committee convened at
Boise and divided into two factions, each claim-
ing to be the regular committee and proceeding
accordingly to fill the vacancies in their respective
bodies by special appointments. The silver Re-
publicans met August 17, in the same city, and
made a declaration of principles similar to those
of the May convention, and in addition congrat-
ulated Congressman Wilson "on his able and
exceptional work" in congress, and unequivocally
approved the "action of Senators Teller, Cannon
and Dubois and their associates who left the na-
tional convention" at St. Louis, and also
approved the nomination of Bryan and Sewall
for president and vice president of the United
States.
At the Republican state convention which met at
Boise August 26, the following nominations were
made: For representative in congress, John T.
Morrison; justice of the supreme court. Drew W.
Standrod; governor, David H. Budlong; lieu-
tenant governor, A'incent Bierbower; secretary of
state, Isaac W. Garrett; attorney general, John
A. Bagley; auditor, Elmore A. McKenna; treas-
urer, Frank C. Ramsey ; superintendent of public
instruction, Charles A. Foresman; and inspector
of mines, Theodore Brown.
Being dissatisfied with the regular nominations
of the Republican convention, the silver Repub-
licans. September 26, named a ticket headed by
W. E. Borah for representative in congress.
Edgar Wilson for justice of the supreme court,
and Frank Steunenberg for governor. This
ticket was filed with the secretan,' of state as the
regular ticket of a Republican state convention,
and the same ticket was also filed by petition as
the "Electors' Democratic ticket."
The Democrats and Populists fused on the
principal issues of the day in naming their ticket,
under the name of the "People's Democratic
party." They agreed that the succeeding legisla-
ture should select a man from the "present Pop-
ulist party" for United States senator. On
August 21 this party nominated R. P. Quarrels
for supreme justice; Frank Steunenberg for gov-
ernor; R. E. McFarland for attorney general;
George H. Storer for treasurer; and B. F. Hast-
ings for inspector of mines; while the Populists
named James Gunn for representative in con-
gress, C. C. Fuller for lieutenant governor, James
H. Anderson for auditor, George J. Lewis for
HISTORY OF IDAHO. 557
secretary of state, and Lewis Anderson for the plan of campaign was fullv outlined. So
superintendent of public instruction. On October pronounced was the sentiment thereafter aroused
5, George F. Moore was selected by the Populist that all the political conventions in the state rec-
and Democratic state committees as their candi- ommended the woman-suffrage amendment to
date for lieutenant governor in place of jMr. favorable consideration. The campaign increased
Fuller, resigned. in vigor as the polling day approached, the
In the exciting election of November, 1896, the women refraining from taking sides with either
"People's Democratic" ticket was successful, Republicans or Democrats. The official count
their presidential electors polling 23,192, against showed 12,126 votes for the amendment and
only 6,324 for the McKinley electors. At the 6,282 against it.
same time the proposed constitutional amend- Although receiving six thousand more votfs
ments providing for county attorneys and county than had been cast against it, the amendment did
superintendents were carried, while the equal- not receive a majority of the votes cast at the
suffrage amendment received six thousand more election, — the total vote being 29,697. Thus
votes than were cast against it, though not a some doubt remained as to whether or not it had
majority of the votes cast at the election. The carried, which doubt was based on certain
last mentioned issue, however, was taken before clauses of the constitution regulating the passage
the supreme court of the state, December 11, of amendments. This doubt, however, was finally
which decided that when a proposed amendment dispelled, December 11, 1896, when the supreme
to the constitution receives a majority of the court unanimously decided that the amendment
votes cast on the proposition whether or not it is had carried, though it had not received a majority
a majority of all the votes cast at that election, of the votes cast at the election. A majority of
the amendment is carried. those cast on the proposition was held to be
The history of the struggle which thus cul- sufficient,
minated in final victory for the advocates of a The following legislature (1897) elected Henry
female-suffrage amendment to the state constitu- Heitfield, Populist, United States senator, over
tion is interesting to trace. Frederick T. Dubois, silver Republican, by a vote
The movement first took definite shape in the of thirty-nine to thirty. The same body fixed
political arena at the Populist state convention the legal rate of interest at seven per cent., estab-
of 1894, w'here, after a hard fight, the passage of Hshed a sheep quarantine system, and provided
a favorable resolution was secured. A similar for a state board of arbitration for settling labor
resolution was then passed by the Republican troubles.
state convention. Popular indifference to the , tj . a.-
^ ., , J ,. Governors of Idaho. \ ears.
movement, however, was widespread; and poll- William H. Wallace 1863-4
ticians of all parties, while nominally supporting Calgb Lyon 1864-6
it, seemed to think that when the matter came to David A. Ballard 1866-7
a general vote it would be swept into oblivion. Samuel Bard 1870
The women, however, kept up an active agitation. G.lman Marston .870-1
. . , , rr, Alexander Connor 18/I
forming an association for that purpose. The Thomas M. Bowen 1871
result was that the state legislature passed a bill Thomas W. Bennett 1871-6
submitting to the voters of the state the question Mason Brayman 1876-80
cyf a change of the constitution so as to allow John B. Neil 'ff°"'^
woman suffrage. Thereafter the battle was kept J°hn^N. ^Iru^n ^ 1883 _
up vigorously. A state convention was called in EdwaM W.' Stevenson.'.' ^' .' '. .1885-9
Boise in November, 1895, to which eight counties George L. Shoup 1889-91
sent delegates. Another state convention ^ssem- William J. McConnell 1891-6
bled in the capital city July i, 1896, at which Frank Steunenberg 1896-1901
CHAPTER XXXIX.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAMES BAXTER.
CAPTAIN JAMES BAXTER, of Boise, is
a native of England, his birth having oc-
curred' in Norwich. His parents were
Frank and Mary (Gunn) Baxter, who came with
their family to the United States when the
Captain was very young. They resided near New-
York city for some years, and then removed to
Paterson, New Jersey. The father was a horti-
lES B.\XTER IN
culturist by occupation and successfully engaged
in the cultivation of vegetables and flowers. Soon
after his arrival in America he took steps toward
becoming naturalized and was recognized as a
valued and influential citizen. He served as
county commissioner in New Jersey for a number
of years, and was also county sheriff, in which
positions he discharged his duties with signal
ability. After a residence of thirty years in
America, he died at the age of seventy-eight. His
widow still survives him, and at the age of eighty-
seven years is living in Paterson, New Jersey,
where she has so long made her home. She was
the mother of thirteen children, seven of whom
grew to years of maturity and are still living.
In the public schools of New York city James
Baxter began his education, which he continued
in Paterson. Subsequently he attended the
school of mines at Columbia College, New York,
and was graduated there as a mining engineer
and metallurgist. He learned the machinist's
trade with the Rogers Locomotive Company, of
Paterson, New Jersey. In 1856 he went to Chili
and for three years was master mechanic for the
Southern Railroad, of that country. In 1859 he
returned to the United States and purchased a
plantation in Mecklenburg county, North Caro-
lina, called the Jugnot, because of its gold indi-
cations. After six months spent in developing
this and finding no gold in paying quantities, he
abandoned it and went to Colorado, locating a
mine in Gilpin county, and was engaged in erect-
ing mills and other machinerv.
But now the trouble between the north and the
south, occasioned by the slavery agitation,
brought on the civil war, and, realizing the need
of the Union for all its loyal sons, Mr. Baxter put
aside all business interests, disposed of his prop-
ertv and returned to New York, where in August,
1 86 1, he enlisted in Company K, First New York
Regiment of Engineers. During his service he
was promoted successively to the ranks of cor-
poral, sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant
and captain. He also served for some time on
the stafif of General Gilmore. He was injured
several times, the last time at Fort Johnson.
South Carolina, by a shell which broke his hip.
He was mustered out near the Appomattox river,
/ ^
/
/C?^:i^jC^!^^;t^ ,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
559
in May, 1864, and went home, it was supposed to
die, ijut owing to the aid of a strong constitution
he eventually recovered from his injuries, al-
though for two years he was obliged to go about
on crutches. He sufifered much, but finally re-
covered and then went to Colorado again, and to
the South and Central Americas, where he was
engaged in mining.
In 1883 Captain Baxter went to Mexico, where
he was engaged on the construction of smelters
and a railroad. He first visited Idaho in 1874,
at which time he operated extensively in the At-
lanta and Rocky Bar. In 1892 he came to Boise
and established a foundry and machine shop
known as the Boise Iron and Reduction Works,
in which he manufactures quartz mills and all
kinds of mining machinery. He has built as
many as twenty mills, each one of which, when
erected properly, has been a complete success and
given the fullest satisfaction to the owners.
Captain Baxter is meeting with a well deserved
prosperity in this undertaking, owing to his com-
prehensive understanding of the business, his
thoroughness, reliability, and upright dealing.
In 1854 Captain Baxter was united in marriage
to Miss Amanda Langworth, of Paterson, New
Jersey, and they have had eight children, of whom
four are living, namely: Julia, wife of C. V.
Smith ; Fannie, wife of James Williams ; Charles
F. and Carrie, the latter at home. Captain Baxter
and his family are members of the Baptist church,
and in Boise they live in a pleasant and commo-
dious home, whose hospitality is enjoyed by their
many friends. The Captain is a Royal Arch
Mason. He was made a Master Mason in Nevada
Lodge, No. 4, of Colorado, in 1866, and subse-
quently took the chapter degrees in Charlotte.
North Carolina, in 1868. He was a charter mem-
ber of Alturas Lodge, No. 12, of Idaho, was its
worshipful master for four years, and is now a
valued member of both the blue lodge and chap-
ter of Boise. He has been a member of the
Knights of Pythias fraternity since 187 1 and is
post commander of Phil. Sheridan Post, No. 4,
G. A. R. He is a progressive and public-spiritej
citizen who is as true to-day to duty as when
he followed the stars and stripes through the
great southern rebellion. He ever supports all
measures for the educational, social, material and
moral advancement of his citv and state, and at
all times has lived so as to command the esteem
of his fellow men, which is accorded him in a
large degree.
SIMON HARRIS.
Simon Harris, of Silver City, is a native of
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, born April 18, 185 1,
and is of English descent, his parents, Elijah and
Caroline (Mitchell) Harris, both being natives of
England. In 1844 the father crossed the Atlantic
to America and took up his residence in Mineral
Point, where he was married. In 1852 he crossed
the plains to California and was quite successful
in his business ventures in the Golden state.
Several times he made the trip across the country
to California, Colorado and Montana, and in
1872 came to Silver City. He is now living in
Wisconsin, at the age of seventy-seven years. His
wife departed this life in 1894, at the age of
seventy years. They were the parents of eight
children, four of whom are living.
In the public schools of his native town Simon
Harris was educated, and was reared upon a farm,
but during the greater part of his life has engaged
in mining. He came to Silver City, October 16.
1872, when a young man of twenty-one years,
and engaged in mining on War Eagle mountain.
He worked in the Golden Chariot mine in 1873-4.
when it was one of the greatest producers in the
state, its stock advancing to twenty-two and even
twenty-four dollars per share. Miners were paid
by the foot for drilling and it was a prosperous
era on the old mountain. Mr. Harris was elected
president of the Fairview Miners' Union, in
March, 1875, and six months later the organiza-
tion had fifteen hundred members in good stand-
ing. The following year he filled the responsible
position of treasurer in that organization.
He was married in Silver City, December 5,
1880, to Mrs. Bertha Lewis, of Peru, Illinois, and
a few weeks afterward they visited Arizona,
Washington, D. C, and the old Harris home
in Wisconsin, whence they returned to Silver
City. In July, 1881, Mr. Harris took charge of
the Black Jack Mine for a short time and was
foreman of the Trade Dollar Mine from 1892 un-
til August, 1893, at which time he resigned his
position, making a trip to the east, visiting the
^^^o^ld's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and
manv places of interest in the capital city of the
nation, returning to Idaho in }ilay. 1894.
560
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
At the general election in 1896 Mr. Harris was
chosen a justice of the peace of Silver City, which
position he has since acceptably filled. At the
formation of the Silver City Miners' Union, in
August, 1896, he was elected its vice-president,
and in 1897 was elected its recording secretary.
He has been a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows since 1872, when he took the de-
grees of the order in Wisconsin, and soon after
his arrival in Idaho he transferred his member-
ship to Owyhee Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., which
organization he represented in the grand lodge in
1888. In November, 1875, he was a representa-
tive to the grand lodge of Good Templars from
Fairview, and he is also a member of the ]Ma-
sonic fraternity, having served as master of Sil-
ver City Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., in 1892, and
as high priest of Cyrus Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M.,
in 1897. He is also a member of Idaho Com-
mandery, and his wife is a valued member of the
Episcopal church, while both are highly esteemed
residents of Silver City and have a large circle of
warm friends.
FRANK T. MARTIN.
When, in 1871, Frank T. Martin first saw the
Snake river valley, Idaho, it was a vast, desolate
and unexplored wilderness, not so inviting to
settlement as it might have been otherwise, be-
cause of its arid, unproductive soil. i\Ir. Martin
was then a youth of seventeen, and he came v;ith
thirteen others and drove seven hundred head of
cattle across the plains from Saline county, ]Mis-
souri. They were one hundred and eleven days
on the way, and after they reached the Snake
river valley the company separated, some of its
members going to different points round about,
and some to Montana. Young Martin passed
the winter of 1871-2 at Helena, ^Montana, and in
the spring returned to the valley and located on
the island eighteen miles above Idaho Fahs. At
that time four men were the only persons on the
island, which has now a population of fifteen
hundred. He remained in the valley two years,
herding cattle for 'Sir. J. M. Taylor, then went
to Utah. In 1876 he went back to his old home
in Missouri. In 1885 he returned to Idaho Falls,
where he has since lived and where he is known
as an enterprising business man and a public-
spirited citizen. He conducted a meat market
and later a livery business, and six years ago be-
came a dealer in coal, which he has since handled
quite extensively. He is a member also of the
firm of Martin & Mills, butchers, and wholesale
and retail dealers in meat, and they do a large
trade over a wide territory. J\lr. ^Martin is well
known in business circles throughout southeast-
ern Idaho. He is a Democrat, but not an active
politician nor one who has an itching for office,
his business interests requiring his entire time
and attention.
The following biographical items concerning
Frank T. Martin will be of interest. He was
born in Saline county, Missouri, September 6,
1854. His grandfather Samuel T. Martin, a na-
tive of \'irginia, was a pioneer in Kentucky and
died there at the age of eighty-seven. Frank T.
]\Iartin's father, also named Samuel T. ^Martin,
was born in Kentucky and married ^liss Annie
E. Jones, daughter of Captain Thomas Jones,
who in his young manhood was an officer in the
Revolutionary army in the struggle for Ameri-
can independence. In 1849 they removed to
Missouri, where Mr. Martin became a successful
farmer, and where he is yet living, aged eighty
years. Mrs. Martin died in 1866. They had
twelve children, of whom Frank T. Alartin was
the eighth born. His boyhood was passed on
the farm and in the public schools of Missouri,
until, at the age of seventeen, he first came to
Idaho, as has been stated. In August, 1880, he
married jNIiss Susie Chowning, a native of Owen
county, Kentucky, who bore him four children, —
Paris, Helen, Eva and Charles, — and she died in
June, 1890. She was a true and faithful wife and
loving and indulgent mother, being a woman o:
beautiful Christian character, and her loss was
keenly felt by the whole community.
HENRY D. BLATCHLEY.
Henry D. Blatchley came to Caldwell when it
contained but one building, and has therefore
witnessed its entire growth and development. In
the work of progress and advancement he has
ever borne his part and to-day is numbered
among the pioneers and leading business men
to whom the city is indebted for its upbuilding.
A spirit of enterprise, so characteristic of the
west, is noticeable in all that he does and has been
manifest in his connection with Caldwell. He
has ever merited the confidence and regard of his
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
561
felllow men, which he receives in an unHmited
degree, and in this volume well deserves mention
among the representative merchants of Idaho.
Mr. Blatchley is a native of Idaho, his birth
having occurred in Blanchester, March 2, 1854.
He is of Welsh lineage and his ancestors were
among the early settlers of Pennsylvania and
Ohio. One of the number, David Blatchley, was
an ofificer in the Colonial army in the war of
the Revolution; and the Comstock family, from
which our subject is descended on the maternal
side, was also represented in the struggle for
American independence. They settled in Ohio,
and one of the towns in the Buckeye state now
bears the name of Comstock, it having been
founded by relatives of our subject. His father,
Daniel W. Blatchley, was born in Pennsylvania
and was married there to Sylvia Ann Comstock,
of Scranton, that state, a daughter of Zebulon
Comstock, a prominent land-owner of Scranton,
and a representative of an old Virginian family.
At a later date Mr. Blatchley removed with his
family to Ohio, where for many years he suc-
cessfully engaged in school-teaching. He de-
parted this life in the sixty-fifth year of his age,
and his wife was called to her final rest in her
sixty-eighth year. They were the parents of five
sons.
Henry D. Blatchley, the fourth in order of
birth, was a little lad of four summers when he
accompanied his parents on their removal to
Vandalia, Illinois, where he was reared and edu-
cated. On completing his literary course he be-
came a student in the Cincinnati Medical Col-
lege, and later learned the druggist's trade, thus
being well qualified for an independent business
career. Coming to Caldwell he engaged in clerk-
ing for a year and then began business on his
own account, since which time he has success-
fully conducted the leading drug store of the
town. In 1894 he erected a good brick business
block, twenty-five by one hundred feet, in which
he now carries a large stock of drugs, paints, oils
and notions. His business methods are most
commendable, his prices reasonable, and by his
courteous treatment of the public and his
straightforward dealing he has won a liberal pat-
ronage.
In Caldwell he has also erected a very pleasant
and commodious residence, which is presided
over by his estimable .wife, who in her maiden-
hood was Miss Carrie S. Gwinn. Their mar-
riage was celebrated in June, 1887, and the lady
is a daughter of Rev. Robert M. Gwinn, the pio-
neer Methodist minister of Idaho. Mr. Blatch-
ley is prominent in fraternal circles. He was a
charter member of the Odd Fellows lodge of
Caldwell, its first presiding officer, and has filled
all the chairs in both the subordinate lodge and
the encampment. For nine years he has been
the representative to the grand lodge. He exer-
cises his right of franchise in behalf of the men
and measures of the Republican party, but has
never been an aspirant for public office. He is
a valued member of the Presbyterian church, a
teacher of ability in the Sunday-school, and a
member of the Presbyterian session. He is also
trustee and treasurer of the Idaho College, and
takes a deep interest in its growth and prosperity.
A loyal citizen, public-spirited and progressive, a
successful merchant, and not unmindful of the
holier duties of life which lead to man's best de-
velopment, he commands the respect and confi-
dence of all whom he meets.
J.-VMES A. LAUER.
One of the popular and enterprising young
merchants of Payette is James A. Lauer, who is
numbered among Idaho's native sons, his birth
having occurred in Idaho City, on the 26th of
February, 1872. His father, William Lauer, is
numbered among the early settlers of the state,
having located here in 1861, and is the pioneer
hardware merchant of Payette. The subject of
this review was educated in the public schools
of Idaho City, and with his parents came to Pay-
ette in 1885. Here he accepted a position as
clerk in the general mercantile store of Mar-
quardsen & Lamme, acceptably serving in that
capacity for seven years, during which time he
mastered the business in every detail. Having
gained an excellent knowledge of the methods of
commercial life, in September, 1895, he began
business on his own account, opening a general
mercantile store in Payette. He carries a large
and carefully selected stock of goods, is a most
courteous and obliging salesman, and by means
of moderate prices, fair dealing and reliability he
has won success, his patronage constantly in-
creasing.
562
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mr. Lauer is an active and valued member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having
taken thedegrees in Payette Lodge, No. 22. He
has passed all the chairs in the lodge, and in
1896 was its representative in the grand lodge of
the state. In politics he is a silver-Republican,
and is now serving as a member of the city coun-
cil, so discharging his duties as to advance the
best interests of the city. He is also a member
and was one of the organizers of the Payette
Band, a very creditable musical organization.
He takes a deep interest in all that pertains to
the material, political and social welfare of the
city, and is a most courteous and popular young
man, having the warm regard of a large circle
of friends.
W. B. KURTZ.
It is given to few to attain prominence in poli-
tics, honor in military affairs or fame in literary
life, but respect and esteem await every man who
lives worthily, who performs the duties of public
and private life faithfully and promptly, and in
business has strict regard for commercial ethics.
Such an one is W. B. Kurtz, proprietor of the
Weiser flouring mill, which was built in 1890,
and represents one of the leading industrial inter-
ests of the city in which it is located.
Mr. Kurtz is a native of Berks county, Penn-
sylvania, born November i, 1846, and is of Ger-
man descent. His grandfather, Jacob Kurtz,
was born in Germany and in his early boyhood
crossed the Atlantic to America, becoming a resi-
dent of the Keystone state, where he was reared
to manhood and married ^liss Mary Shingle, a
native of Pennsylvania. He fought in the Revo-
lutionary war on the side of the colonies, and
lived to be seventy-seven years of age. His son,
John Kurtz, was born in Pennsylvania, and hav-
ing arrived at years of maturity married Miss
Harriet Gabrial, a lady of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
They had five sons and five daughters, eight of
whom are now living. Through his active busi-
ness career the father engaged in the milling
business, manufacturing flour. In his religious
views he was an Episcopalian, and he was highly
esteemed for his sterling worth and devotion to
duty.
Mr. Kurtz of this reviev.' was educated in the
public schools of his native state, and in his boy-
hood learned the miller's trade, which he has fol-
lowed as a life work. By close application he
soon mastered the business, and for four years
carried on operations along that line in Rock
Falls, Illinois. In 1878 he came to Idaho, locat-
ing in Boise, where for fourteen years he had the
management of the Ridenbaugh mill. His long
connection with that enterprise plainlv indicates
his reliability and his effective service, — qualities
which won him the entire respect and confidence
of his employer. In 1890 he came to Weiser
and in connection with others erected the Weiser
flouring mill, of which he has since had charge.
It is a full roller-process mill with a capacity of
one hundred and twenty barrels of flour per day.
The main building is forty by forty feet, and in
height three stories, attic and basement. The
elevator is fifty by forty feet and forty feet in
height, and has a capacity of fifty thousand bush-
els of wheat. There is also a brick engine-room,
and the entire plant is complete in every appoint-
ment and detail. They manufacture the Lily of
the Valley brand of flour, for which there is a
great home demand, and an excellent market is
thus furnished for the wheat raised in this local-
ity. Mr. Kurtz, who is one of the owners as well
as the manager, is a practical miller of many
years' experience, and under his direction the
enterprise has become a profitable one and has
proven of great importance to the community.
On the loth of July, 1887, Mr. Kurtz was
united in marriage to Miss Lenora B. Babcock,
a native of Galesburg, Illinois, who prior to her
marriage was a most capable and successful
school-teacher of Boise. They now have a
daughter. Hazel. They are valued members of
the Congregational church, in which '\lv. Kurtz j
is serving as trustee, while his wife is a teacher in 1
the Sunday-school. He also belongs to the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights
of Pythias fraternity, and he and his wife are
highly esteemed citizens of Weiser.
JAMES FLANAGAN. .
Success comes not to the man who idly waits, 1
but to the faithful toiler whose work is character- |
ized by intelligence and force; it comes only to
the man who has the foresight and keenness of
mental vision to know when and where and how J
to exert his energies, and thus it happens that
but a small proportion of those who enter the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
563
"world's broad field of battle" come off victors
in the struggle for wealth and position.
James Flanagan, a worthy pioneer and suc-
cessful business man of Boise, is one of the many
good citizens that Ireland has furnished the
United States. He was born near Dublin, in
July, 1837, a son of William and Mary (Burns')
Flanagan, also natives of the Emerald Isle. The
father died of cholera, in the fifty-fourth year of
his age, and his widow lived to the advanced age
of seventy-eight years. Both were devout mem-
bers of the Catholic church. Of their chil-
dren— four sons and four daughters — five are still
living.
Their son James, the subject of this review,
received his education in his native country,
where he remained until he was sixteen years of
age. He then sailed for America, to make his
own way in the world and to enjoy the civil lib-
erty denied to him in his own land. Arriving in
New York city, he secured employment and re-
mained there for a number of years, part of the
time working as a brick-maker. Later he re-
moved to Wisconsin, where he engaged in farm-
ing. On the i8th of July, 1864, he arrived at
Boise, Idaho, where at first he worked for wages
and did anything that offered whereby he might
earn an honest living, and for some time he was
employed by a brick-maker, who later failed in
business. "Sir. Flanagan then embarked in the
same line of manufacture and for twenty-two
years followed it successfully, his business being
so conducted that it brought not only financial
prosperity to him but also gave general satisfac-
tion to his patrons. Being a man of industry and
general reliability, he was liberally patronized by
the people of this vicinity, and many of the fine
buildings of Boise stand as monuments to his
enterprise. During his career here he has ac-
quired considerable property, and at one time
owned fifteen acres of land in what is now the
very best residence portion of the city. Some of
this land he platted and sold, and many beautiful
homes have been built upon it, but he still re-
tains enough to insure him a good income and a
competency for the rest of his life. He took
great pleasure and pains in building the residence
which he and his family now occupy. It is mod-
ern and convenient, exemplifying the good taste,
not oi»lv of the fortunate owners but of the dec-
ade, as well. i\Ir. Flanagan also has valuable
mining interests, and for the past five years has
given much attention to the same. Several of
his excellent quartz claims, in the Hornet and
Mclntire districts, are situated but six miles from
Boise.
Mr. Flanagan was happily married, in 1861, to
Miss Catherine Murray, a native of county Meath,
Ireland, and they have had two children, a son
and daughter. The son is deceased and the lat-
ter, Mary Ellen, resides with her parents, and
with them holds a membership in the Catholic
church.
Fraternally. Mr. Flanagan is identified with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, has
filled all the offices in his lodge and, besides hav-
ing been a representative to the grand lodge of
the state, is now acting in the capacity of deputy
grand master workman. Politically, he has al-
ways been loyal to the Democratic party, and for
three years he has represented his ward in the
city council of Boise. For thirty-five years he
has been sincerely concerned in everything affect-
ing the growth and advancement of the citv, and
has performed his full duty as a townsman an,d
patriot.
JAMES O'NEILL.
James O'Neill came to the northwest from the
far-ofl' Atlantic coast: nor have his travels been
limited by his journey across the continent, for
he spent some time among the mountains in the
distant south. He was born in Rondout. Xew
York, May 6. 1861. his parents being Patrick
and Hannah (Mullroy) O'Neill, natives of Ire-
land. Both crossed the Atlantic to the Unite.!
States in childhood, and were reared, educated
and married in the Empire state. The father,
who was a tanner by trade, died when our subject
was only about five years old. leaving the mother
to care for her five small children. She lived to
be fifty-five years of age. and departed this life
in Jarmyn, Pennsylvania.
When a mere lad of seven sunuuers lames
O'Neill began to earn his own living in the coal
breakers of Pennsylvania, receiving forty-two
cents per day for his services. His youth was
one of hard toil and his entire life has been one
of diligence. In 1879 he left the east and went
to the Black Hills, settling at Lead City. South
Dakota, where he engaged in mining for a vear.
564
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
He then went to Tombstone, Arizona, where he
followed mining for a short time, after which he
made his way to the Coeur d'Alene country on
the discovery of the rich mineral deposits there.
Later he was identified with mining interests at
Butte, Montana, and thence went to Rocky Bar,
Idaho, continuing his mining operations until
November 3, 1896, when he was elected assessor
of Elniore county and came to :\Iountain Home.
Acceptably discharging the duties of that posi-
tion, he won the public confidence, and in 1898
was elected sheriff of Elmore county.
While at Rocky Bar Mr. O'Neill was united in
marriage, by Bishop Glorieux, to Miss Mary T.
Donnelly, and to them have been born five chil-
dren, namely: Anna Josephine, James Albert,
Emniett John, Larkin Lucius and Allen Leo.
The parents are both members in good standing
of the Catholic church, and Mr. O'Neill also be-
longs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen
and Modern Woodmen of America. He is a
good business man, an efificient and faithful officer
and a popular citizen. The difficulties and obsta-
cles which beset his path in youth he has over-
come by determined purpose, and his life demon-
strates what is possible of accomplishment to
those who in early life are deprived of favorable
privileges and opportunities.
JOSEPH C. GROSS.
This well and favorably known pioneer of Sil-
ver City has been for many years the experienced
and obliging clerk of the War Eagle Hotel, at
Silver City. He is a native of the city of Neus-
tadt, province of Hesse-Nassau, Germany, born
February 18, 1835, was educated in his native
land, and at the age of fourteen came with an
uncle to the United States. For an occupation
he worked at the shoemaker's trade for a time.
On the 22d of December, 185 1, in company
with his cousin, Charles A. Gross, he started for
the Golden state, on the steamer El Dorado.
Landing at the mouth of the Chagres, at the
isthmus of Panama, they boated up that river to
Gorgona and from there proceeded overland to
Panama, which place they found filled with men
en route for California, many of whom were at-
tacked with the fever peculiar to the isthmus, and
many died. Of course one can imagine how
anxious the living were to get away from that
point. There was but one steamer, The New
World, about to sail, and it was far from being
adequate for the transportation of all who desired
to embark. Mr. Gross sold his ticket, at a great
profit, and took a situation in a restaurant there
as a waiter until the following spring, when he
secured passage on a French sailing vessel named
Les Cinq Freres. Shortly after their departure
from the port of Panama the tropical fever broke
out on board and out of ninety passengers thirty-
three were consigned to the deep.
After suffering many hardships the remaining
passengers arrived at San Francisco, April 9,
1852. Mr. Gross, who had the advantage of a
considerable degree of knowledge obtained from
his cousin, who had previously been in Califor-
nia, immediately engaged in mining, and fol-
lowed it, with varying success, until 1864, when
he struck out for ^lontana ; but when he reached
Silver City he met an old partner and decided to
remain here. He followed mining on Jordan
creek, with good results, and in 1867, in company
with Christopher Stender, Jacob Dellenbach and
Frank Schuster, purchased the Blue Gulch claim,
for twelve thousand and five hundred dollars,
and also the water rights of John Sullivan, for
four thousand dollars. In 1876 he disposed of
his interests to Stender and Dellenbach, Schuster
having previously sold out; and then he was en-
gaged in quartz-mining until 1881, when he ac-
cepted a position in the office of the War Eagle
Hotel, which he has since so satisfactorily filled.
In society relations Mr. Gross is a prominent
and enthusiastic Freemason, a charter member
of Silver City Lodge, No. 13. He was made a
Mason in i8'7o, in Owyhee Lodge, No. 5. He
is a past master of the blue lodge, having served
as master for four terms., and he has served as
high priest of the chapter three terms, and was
grand warden of the grand lodge of Idaho in
1883. In the latter body he has filled the offices
of junior and senior deacon. His lodge in Silver
City is now in a flourishing condition.
SUMNER W. DEE.
Mr. Dee is the only clothing merchant who
deals exclusively in everything that pertains to
men's and boys' wearing apparel in the city of
Caldwell. He was born in Holton, Jackson
countv, Kansas, November 26, 1862, and iS a son
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
565
of Chester Dee. of Burlington, \'ermont. whose
ancestors settled in A'irginia in 1620. He is a
direct descendant of the first colonial governor of
A'ermont, and memb,ers of the family were promi-
nent in the early history of the colonies and in
the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, when
a boy, saw the battle at Ticonderoga. Mr. Dee
married Miss Elizabeth Blake, a native of Indi-
ana, and of this union two children were born, a
son and a daughter, the latter of whom is now
Mrs. Charles West, whose husband is a dry-goods
merchant. Mr. Dee was with General Fremonr
during the ascent of the latter to Pike's Peak, and
he was a member of the Fifteenth Kansas Volun-
teer Infantry at the time of the civil war, at the
conclusion of which he settled on a farm in Iowa,
where he now resides, with his wife, at the age
of sixty-five years.
Sumner W. Dee received his education in the
public schools of Brooklyn, Iowa, and at the
Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso,
after which he learned the trade of miller, taught
school two years in Iowa and one in Nebraska,
and for several years clerked in stores until he
obtained a general knowledge of the mercantile
business, having been for eight years a clerk in
the large wholesale and retail establishment of T.
C. Egleston & Company, at Caldwell, before
opening his own store. He now has a large,
complete stock of men's and boys' clothing and
furnishings and is well know-n throughout the
county as an honest, capable and reliable busi-
ness man.
In 1893 Mr. Dee was united in marriage to
Miss Isabella W. Bishop, of Chicago, and they
have two children, — Nina Wilma and Dorothy
Elizabeth. Mrs. Dee is a valued worker in and
member of the Presbyterian church. Our sub-
ject is a Republican and an active member of the
I. O. O. F. and the Knights of Pythias.
JESSE K. DUBOIS. M. D.
Dr. Dubois is one of the well and favorably
known physicians not only of Boise but also of
the entire state of Idaho. He is a native of
Springfield, Illinois, where he was born Novem-
ber 16. 1848, and is of French descent. His
grandfather, Dubois, came to America
from France and was chief of the stafif of General
William Henry Harrison. Jesse Dubois, the
father of our subject, was born in Illinois when
that state was a territory. He married Miss
Adelia Morris, of Kentucky ancestry. He was a
prominent lawyer and a stanch Republican, hav-
ing been a neighbor, friend and co-laborer of
Abraham Lincoln and other well known public
men of that time. He served for a number of
years as state auditor of Illinois. Mr. Dubois
departed this life in 1876, at the age of sixty-six
years, his wife surviving him ten years. To them
were born three sons and one daughter, one of
the former being ex-United States Senator Du-
bois.
Jesse K. Dubois attended the public schools
and later entered Yale College, at which he was
graduated in 1872. He then attended the medi-
cal college at St. Louis and was graduated with
the class of 1875, after which he practiced his pro-
fession in Springfield for five years, and then
came to Idaho as the physician of the Indian
agency at Fort Hall. In 1883 he moved to
Boise, where he has since followed his profession
most successfully, building up a large and re-
munerative practice.
In 1884 Dr. Dubois was united in marriage to
Miss Anna Curtis, a daughter of Hon. E. J. Cur-
tis, one of Idaho's most prominent citizens whose
biography appears in another portion of this
work. Of this union one daughter, Susie, has
been born.
In his social relations Dr. Dubois is a member
of the Masonic fraternity and was a blaster ila-
son in the lodge of which his father was a charter
member. He enjoys the high esteem of a wide
circle of friends.
JOSEPH C. STR.\UGHAN.
AMien we think of the wonderful development
of our country in the last half century we find
that it is largely due to two agencies,— railroad
construction and civil engineering, and of both
of these industries Joseph C. Straughan is a rep-
resentative. The era of progress and develop-
ment in the various sections of this great republic
west of the Atlantic coast has been almost in-
variably ushered in by railroad construction, and
the vast network of glistening rails that trace
their parallel course over mountain and plain and
through the fertile valleys, represent more than
mere corporate enterprise and accomplishment.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
since the railroad has proved the avant courier
of civilization and of that substantial and perma-
nent improvement which has placed our national
commonwealth upon a stable foundation. For
many years Mr. Straughan was connected with
railroad construction in the Mississippi valley and
later became an important factor in opening up
the region of the northwest to civilization
through his labors as United States surveyor-
general for Idaho.
A native of Ohio, he was born in Wooster,
Wayne county, Ohio, on the 15th of June, 1849,
and is of Welsh and Scotch ancestry. The found-
ers of the family in America came to this country
with William Penn and were members of the
Society of Friends. Notwithstanding the fact
that this religious organization was opposed to
war, the great-grandfather of our subject entered
the colonial service and fought for the independ-
ence of the nation. His son, the grandfather of
the subject of this sketch, also fought in the war
of 1812. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr.
Straughan also entered the army and was the in-
ventor of the Chambers swivel gun, one of the first
rapid-firing guns ever made. With it he defeated
the British at Sackett's Harbor, — a few colonial
troops, and they in poor health, putting to flight
a large number of the English, who supposed, on
account of the rapid execution of the swivel gun,
that the fort was attacked by large numbers. The
inventor of this gun resided in Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, which place was founded by mem-
bers of his family and named in honor thereof.
The paternal great-grandfather of our subject
was an industrious and influential farmer of Bucks
county, Pennsylvania. The grandfather, John
Straughan, was born in that county, and in 1803
removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, becoming
one of the pioneer builders of that state. His
son, Jesse R. Straughan, was born in the Buckeye
state and became one of Ohio's most renowned
civil engineers. He built the Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne & Chicago Railroad, the second road con-
structed west of the Alleghany mountains. Both
he and Hon. John Sherman, late secretary of
state, were employed by the state of Ohio and
were associated in the construction of many of
the public works. Thus Mr. Straughan took a
very active part in improving and developing
that great commonwealth, and his labors were a
benefit to all. He now resides in Fort Wayne,
Indiana, at the age of eighty-one years. He mar-
ried Caroline J. Chambers, a native of Ohio, and
a niece of David Chambers, at one time a promi-
nent member of the United States senate, popu-
larly called "Old Eagle Eyes," because of the
keenness with which he saw into the topics of the
times. Her father, Joseph Chambers, was a
prosperous merchant of Morgan county, Ohio.
He departed this life in the fifty-sixth year of his
age.
Joseph C. Straughan, whose name introduces
this sketch, was educated in Fort Wayne. Indi-
ana, and Delaware, Ohio, and like his father be-
came a noted civil engineer, possessing very su-
perior ability in- the line of his chosen profession.
For a number of years he was prominently con-
nected with railroad-building, and was engaged
on the construction of thirteen railroads in Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois and Mississippi. In 1885, in
recognition of his superior ability as a civil en-
gineer, and also of his fidelity to the Democratic
party, he was appointed by President Cleveland
as surveyor-general of Idaho, an office which he
filled with great capability and fidelity for nine
years. His work here consisted principally in
directing the survey of the public lands of the
state, both agricultural and mineral; and his re-
port on irrigation and arid lands, made to the
United States senate committee sent to the west
in 1889, was highly spoken of as the best and
most valuable report received by that committee.
In 1879 Mr. Straughan was united in marriage
to Miss Mary V. Shoemaker, of Indianapolis, In-
diana, and they had two children, John S. anfi
Virginia C. The mother died in Mississippi, in
1883, and three years later, in 1886, Mr. Straug-
han married Miss Alice B. Ramsay, a native of
Illinois and a graduate of Jacksonville Seminary,
a Presbyterian college of that city. She was one
of the two lady managers for Idaho at the World's
Columbian Exposition at Chicago, and is the
founder and has been president of the Women's
Columbian Club of Boise. They have a delight-
ful home in the capital city and are very highly
esteemed by a host of friends both within and
without Boise, for their accjuaintance extends
throughout the state.
In his political affiliations Mr. Straughan has
always been an ardent Democrat, unfaltering in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
567
his support of the principles of that party. As
associate editor of the Sentinel, in the campaign
of 1884, he rendered his party valuable service,
and has ever done all in his power for its advance-
ment. His labors for the benefit of Boise have
proven an important factor in its progress. In
connection with others he has made two addi-
tions to the city, and at all times he gives his sup-
port to such measures as tend to promote the
educational, material, social and moral welfare of
the community.
GEORGE SCHMADEKA.
History was at one time almost entirely a rec-
ord of wars, — a tale of conquest in which armed
hosts went forth to capture, pillage and destroy, —
but with advancing civilizatioa it has become a
very dififerent chronicle, being now more particu-
larly the story of the onward march of progress,
the upbuilding of towns and the establishment
of those enterprises and interests which contribute
to man's happiness and welfare. In pursuing the
study of Idaho's history we find that the flourish-
ing town of Grangeville owes its existence in part
to the gentleman whose name heads this sketch.
He arrived on Camas prairie, July 3, 1876, and
celebrated the centennial of our national exist-
ence at the place which has since been his home.
Here he has kept untarnished his good name, and
is accounted one of the loyal citizens of his adopt-
ed land.
Mr. Schmadeka was born in Hanover, Ger-
many, June 25, 1830, and is of stanch German
lineage. He acquired his education in the Fath-
erland and came to the United States in 1849,
then in his nineteenth year. He landed at New
Orleans to find himself among a people whose
manners and language were utterly unfamiliar to
him, but he possessed a resolute spirit and strong-
determination, and it was not long before he had
gained a start in business life here. He finally
joined a party emigrating to Missouri, and on
the way eleven of the number died of cholera.
On arriving in Missouri he secured employment
at a dollar per day and board, in Lafayette
county, at raising hemp and also breaking it,
which is an arduous task. In 1852 he crossed
the plains to Oregon and became one of the brave
pioneers of that now prosperous state. That was
the year of the "great emigration," when many
hundreds of the emigrants were stricken with the
dread scourge of cholera, and the new-made
graves of the victims marked the way across the
plains. There were thirty wagons in the party
with which Mr. Schmadeka traveled, under com-
mand of Rev. Jacob Glasbie, a Presbyterian min-
ister, but though the Indians were frequently
seen, such a close watch was kept that the party
were not attacked by the savages. They were
also fortunate in escaping the cholera, only two
of the number dying of the disease. On the
journey they passed through what is now the
state of Idaho, on their way to the beautiful
Willamette valley in Oregon, and Mr. Schmad-
eka located near Eugene, where he took up gov-
ernment land and improved it. He had brought
with him a team of horses and a yoke of oxen,
and with these he began farming. There he re-
mained for ten years, and his industry and econ-
omy brought him success. When the railroad
was being built through that section he was en-
abled to sell his place for a good price, and in
1862 he came to Idaho, where for a number of
years he engaged in stock-raising.
In 1876 Mr. Schmadeka came with his stock to
pasture them on Camas prairie, and that year he
purchased here a ranch of one hundred and sixty
acres, for nineteen hundred dollars. On a por-
tion of this has since been built the town oi
Grangeville. He with the neighboring pioneers
were "Grangers," and they built a hall, which
was the first public building in Grangeville. This
formed the nucleus around which the town was
built and from which Grangeville took its name.
Thus he became one of the founders of the town,
and he and his sons have been important factors
in its upbuilding. In the early days of its exist-
ence the settlers built a stockade, within which
they gathered for safety during the Nez Perces
war. In the pioneer times Mr. Schmadeka also
offered a lot in exchange for a wheelbarrow, but
the owner of the barrow would not make the
trade. At all times our subject has aided mate-
rially in the improvement and advancement of
Grangeville, and many of its enterprises owe their
existence to his pubHc spirit. He donated a large
lot whereon was erected a roller-process flouring
mill, and gave the land which forms the sites of
the ]\Iethodist and Episcopal churches. He has
platted a large part of the town: many of the
568
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lots have been sold and improved by substantial
residences or other good buildings, and the lots
which he still retains are enough to make him a
rich man. Some of the land which he purchased
for ten dollars per acre is now valued, at a low
figure, at three hundred dollars. No movement
or measure tending to benefit the moral, intellec-
tual, social or material interests of Grangeville
solicits his aid in vain, his support being cheer-
fully given to all such. When the grain industry
of the valley became great enough to require it,
he bought two headers and a threshing machine,
and his sons and son-in-law did all the heading
and threshing in this locality for years.
While a young industrious farmer in Oregon,
Mr. Schmadeka became acquainted with Miss
Sophia Maria Gostmaer, a native of Prussia, Ger-
many, and before he had been two years in the
Sunset state they were happily married, in 1854.
Unto them have been born five sons and three
daughters: Christopher Henry, who is now a farm-
er near Grangeville ; Caroline,wife of Henry Miller,
of Grangeville; William Frederick, a prominent
merchant of the same town ; George S., a farmer
and stock-raiser on Camas prairie; John Wesley,
who also follows stock-raising on the same prai-
rie; Henry, who died in February, 1898, at the
age of twenty-four years; Emma May, at home;
and ]\Iartha Alice, who died in infancy.
In the Nez Perces Indian war Mr. Schmadeka,
with his wife and one child, had an almost mirac-
ulous escape from death. Just before the out-
break of the war he had planned to go with his
wife, one of their children and their son-in-law,
Mr. Miller, to Walla Walla. The day before
starting, a neighbor, John Chamberlain, came to
them and asked if he and his wife and child
could not go with them. Mr. Schmadeka told
them yes, but said to be on hand promptly, as
they wished to make a very early start; where-
upon the neighbor replied that if he was not there
at the hour appointed for Mr. Schmadeka to ride
on and he, Chamberlain, would overtake him.
The following morning, at the time designated,
our subject started. About half an hour later Mr.
Chamberlain also started, but met some Indians,
who knocked out his brains with the butt of a
musket, took the child from its mother's arms,
made a gash in its throat and cut ofif the end of
its tongue. The mother and daughter still live
in Idaho. Had ]Mr. Schmadeka's family started
only a few minutes later they would have un-
doubtedly met the same fate.
For many 'years our subject has been an active
member of the South Methodist church and still
strongly adheres to that faith. In politics he has
been a lifelong Democrat, but has never sought
office, serving only as school trustee. For some
time he was a prominent member of the Grange,
and therein served as trustee and chaplain. Such
is the history of one whose connection with Idaho
has been long, honorable and beneficial to the
state, and although he came to America empty-
handed he has by well directed and earnest effort
attained a position among the substantial citizens
of the community in which he makes his home.
GEORGE H. NORTH.
Among the worthy citizens that New York has
furnished to the state of Idaho is George H.
North, the well known clothing merchant of Po-
catello, whose enterprising, progressive methods
give character to the business life of the city, and
whose reputation in commercial circles is unas-
sailable. He was born in Springwater, Living-
ston county, of the Empire state, July 14, 1858,
a son of C. S. and Elvira Thankful (Wetmore)
North, who likewise were natives of the same
county. The father successfully carried on farm-
ing there until his death, which occurred in the
fifty-eighth year of his age, while his wife, who
still survives, is now sixty-five years of age. They
were the parents of five children, but only two
are living at this writing, in the summer of 1899.
George H. North, having obtained his prelimi-
nary education in the common school, supple-
mented it by a course in the Geneseo Western
Seminary, in Syracuse, New York, where he was
graduated with the class of 1876. He then
worked on his father's farm for a time, after which
he started westward and accepted a clerkship
with his uncle, Orland North, in Evanston
Spring, Wyoming. He spent two years in that
place and then began business on his ov.n ac-
count in Shoshone, Idaho. Subsequently he
came to Pocatello and, as a member of the firm of
North & Church, established his present business
in 1890. That partnership was continued until
January i, 1895, after which Mr. North carried
on operations alone until October i, 1898, when
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he sold a half interest in the store to Richard
Douglass and the present firm of North & Doug-
lass was formed. They have one of the finest
stores in the town, splendidly equipped with
everything in their line. They occupy a modern
brick building twenty-five by eighty feet, their
salesroom being on the first floor, while the
basement is used as a storeroom. They carry
a large and well selected stock of clothing and
men's furnishing goods and shoes, and from the
beginning the enterprise has been a successful
one, its patronage steadily increasing in volume
and importance.
On the 1st of July, 1886, Mr. North was united
in marriage to Miss Peronne Church, a native of
Alankato, Minnesota, and they now have one
child, Carlic, who was born in Shoshone. Mr.
North became a member of Eagle Lodge, No.
619, A. F. & A. M., in New York, in 1879, and
has since taken the Royal Arch degrees. In his
political views he is a Republican and keeps well
informed on the issues of the day, but has never
been an aspirant for office, preferring to devote
his time and energies to his business interests, in
which he is meeting with creditable and gratify-
ing success. Indolence and idleness are utterly
foreign to his nature, and his diligence, systemat-
ic methods and reliability have secured to him
prosperity.
EDWARD FANNING.
The career of this prominent Idaho merchant
illustrates the claim, frequently made, that a man
of enterprise will inevitably get into and make a
success of the business for which he has the most
liking and aptitude, regardless of discourage-
ments and obstacles which would direct weaker
men permanently into other paths of endeavor.
Edward Fanning was born in county Carlow,
Ireland, February 23, 1844, a son of Patrick and
Bridget (Murphy) Fanning. His father was a
farmer, and both his parents were born in the
Catholic faith and were reared and lived and died
in it, — Patrick Fanning passing away in his
eighty-fourth year, and Bridget Fanning in her
eighty-second year. They had eight children, of
whom only three survive. Edward was educated
in his native country and entered mercantile life
at the age of twenty, as a salesman in a store.
Three years later he came to the United States
and located in Omaha, where he was given a po-
sition in the storeroom of the railroad company.
In 1869 he removed to Evanston, Wyoming, and
was road-master there and at Pocatelio and Idaho
Falls until 1895. He then gave up the railroad
position to become a member of the Clark & Fan-
ning Company, merchants, in which Nathan H.
Clark was his partner. The concern was burned
out after about two years' successful business, but
the company had sufficient insurance on its plant
and stock and sufficient capital to enable it to
continue business without embarrassment. A
mercantile enterprise which had been established
by Messrs. Johnson & Poulson was purchased by
the Clark & Fanning Company. Mr. Clark
withdrew from the business and Mr. Johnson
and Mr. Poulson bought an interest in it, and it
has since been continued under the old corporate
name. The store of this concern is centrally
located and is attractive and substantial. With
a floor space twenty-five by one hundred and
thirty feet, ample room is afforded to carry a
large stock of all kinds of merchandise required
by the people of Idaho Falls and its tributary
country. This stock is selected with that care
which is assured only by long experience in buy-
ing and selling and intimate knowledge of trade
and demands. The building is a large brick
structure, owned by Mr. Fanning and his asso-
ciates, and the store is so popular that its trade
reaches out into adjoining counties. Of this im-
portant business Mr. Fanning was the organizer
and is the directing spirit. He is a man of extra-
ordinary public spirit and has done very much
toward the advancement of all of Idaho Falls'
best interests. As a Democrat, he has been three
times elected a member of the board of trustees of
that town. Socially he and his family are held
in high esteem.
In 1879 Mr. Fanning married Miss Catlierine
Coady, a native of Iowa. They were vouch-
safed a happy married life of twelve years, and
then Mrs. Fanning died, leaving six children, in-
cluding twins who were born just before her
death. She was a loving and faithful wife and
a kind and indulgent mother, a helpful and hon-
ored member of society and a devout communi-
cant of the Catholic church, and her death was
deeply regretted by all who knew her. The six
children of Edward and Catherine (Coady) Fan-
ning are Margaret, Ann, John T., Helen. Ed-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ward and ]\Iary. John T. is employed by the
Fanning & Clark Company. January 5, 1894,
]Mr. Fanning married Mrs. Agnes Furrey, a na-
tive of Ohio, and a lady of many virtues and ac-
complishments, who has been a lifelong member
of the Catholic church. The home of the family
is one of the most attractive in Idaho Falls, and
their list of personal friends is large, including
the best people in southeastern Idaho.
NATHAN H. CLARK.
Nathan H. Clark, though yet a young man,
has had a busy and useful career at Idaho Falls,
where he has served the people as mayor and
member of the town council, and he is now serv-
ing as prosecuting attorney of Bingham county.
In Idaho Falls he was for three years a prominent
member of a leading mercantile house, and here
he has in many ways shown himself to be a pub-
lic-spirited citizen, devoted to worthy local inter-
ests. Mr. Clark is a son of Hon. Joseph A.
Clark, present mayor of Idaho Falls, and was
born at Amo, Hendricks county. Indiana, May
II, 1869. Much that is interesting in the history
of his family is given in the sketch of the life of
Hon. Joseph A. Clark, which has a place in this
work.
It was in the high school of his native town
that Mr. Clark acquired the basis of his very
substantial education. He read law, as occasion
permitted, for years, even during his three busy
years as a member of the Clark & Fanning Com-
pany, general merchants, of Idaho Falls, when he
was obliged to give his attention to extensive in-
terests, which included merchandising on an am-
bitious scale and the erection of a large business
block. In 1896 he took a special course in the
law department of the ^Michigan State University,
and was admitted to practice in the lower courts,
and in 1899 he was admitted to practice in the
federal courts and the district and supreme courts
of Idaho. The law was his chosen profession,
and in order to enter actively upon its practice he
put aside all other interests requiring his time
and devoted attention. He quickly gained a
reputation as a successful lawyer and in 1898 was
elected prosecuting attorney for Bingham
county, in which ofiQce he has served with signal
ability and credit. His preference is for civil and
probate law, but as prosecuting attorney he nat-
urally has much to do with criminal cases, and
in his handling and presentation of them he has
met with a flattering success, which has given
him a standing among the prominent criminal
lawyers of the state. He is an active worker for
the success of the Democratic party, and as may-
or and councilman and in other important posi-
tions, official and otherwise, he has been a factor
in the encouragement of pure politics. He is the
owner of valuable town property and has a fine
farm of one hundred and sixty acres, just beyond
the city limits, where he has applied himself to
stock farming with the best results.
August 21, 1890, Mr. Clark married Miss Lot-
tie Bonney. She bore him a son, whom thev
named Salon B., and in February, 1893, Mrs.
Clark died in childbirth and her new-born infant
died at the same time. In April, 1894, Mr. Clark
married Miss Evaline Rosenberger, and they
have children named Lois, Donald and Dorothy.
The last two mentioned are twins.
WALTER E. PIERCE.
Walter E. Pierce, ex-mayor of Boise, is an
energetic, enterprising young business man who
for the past nine years has been closely associated
with the commercial, political and social activities
of the city. He is a notable example of the self-
made man who. rising above the difficulties and
drawbacks of early environment, makes a place
for himself in the world and justly claims the re-
spect and esteem of all.
A native of Bell county, Texas, born January
9, i860, Mr. Pierce is a descendant of an old and
prominent Rhode Island family, many of whose
representatives resided in Providence, where they
were wealthy and influential. Lyman Pierce, an
uncle of our subject, was a very active and popu-
lar Democrat, and, having been nominated on
that ticket for the governorship of Rhode Island,
made a very strong canvass, but was not elected.
The parents of Walter E. were Charles and Eliza-
beth (Harding) Pierce, natives of Providence. In
1854 they removed to a sheep ranch in Texas,
but in i860 were obliged to leave that state on
account of the Indians, who were very trouble-
some. The father did not long survive, his death
taking place at Baxter Springs, Kansas, in the
fall of i860. He left a widow and six children,
three of whom are deceased. The mother, now
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in her seventy-fourth year, is making her home
with a son in Hanford, CaHfornia. For a short
time after the demise of J\Ir. Pierce the family
lived in southeastern Kansas, thence going to
Mcksburg, J\Iississippi, where they dwelt seven
years, and subsequently returned to Kansas.
Owing to the vicissitudes through which his
family passed, Walter E. Pierce had but limited
chances for obtaining an education when he was
a lad, and he is largely self-taught. After taking
a course in a business college he embarked in
various enterprises. For a period he conducted
a hotel at Rich Hill, Missouri ; then he engaged
in raising sheep; and later he constructed a por-
tion of the Kansas City & Southern Railroad in
Missouri, under contract. For several years he
was very successfully engaged in the real-estate
business in Richfield, Morton county, Kansas.
His fellow townsmen, in recognition of his valu-
able services in the upbuilding and progress of
the city, elected him to a position in the council,
and later he was honored by being elected to the
responsible office of register of deeds of the
county. As a rule the county was strongly Re-
publican, but his personal popularity was such
that he, though a candidate of the Democrats,
won the victory. He acquitted himself to the
satisfaction of all concerned, but declined re-
election, as that part of Kansas was suffering
from a series of reverses, and he believed that he
could do better elsewhere, from a financial point
of view.
Accordingly, in 1890, Mr. Pierce came to
Boise, and since that time has been accounted
one of the leading business men of the city. That
few have done more for the advancement of the
city of Boise and Ada county is a fact generally
acknowledged. He is actively engaged in the
real-estate business, and it is estimated that fully
five hundred persons have settled within the lim-
its of this county annually as the result of the
efforts of the firm of W. E. Pierce & Company,
consisting of W. E. Pierce, J. M. Haines and L.
H. Cox, is the best known and most reliable real-
estate firm in "The Gem of the Mountains," and
has done more than all others combined for the
advancement and best interests of the city and
state. They have induced eastern people
and others to become permanent citizens here.
Large sums of eastern capital also have been in-
vested in local enterprises, owing to the zeal and
executive ability of the firm and the personal in-
fluence of Mr. Pierce and his partners. They
constantly handle property, both in large and
small tracts, and are agents for outside parties, at
home and abroad. An example of the enterprise
of the firm is shown in the very handsome sou-
venir pamphlets which they publish annually,
illustrating the attractions of the city and setting
forth its numerous advantages as a place of resi-
dence and business investment.
In 1896 W. E. Pierce was honored by election
to the mayoralty of Boise, and the same progres-
sive spirit and executive force manifested in his
business career marked the discharge of his of-
ficial duties. Under his administration many
substantial improvements, accruing greatly to the
benefit and beauty of the city, were instituted:
sidewalks were built, shade-trees planted and
numerous other necessary and valuable public
works were inaugurated. Mr. Pierce inaugurated
the first street-paving, at the time he was mayor,
even though at that time it was accomplished un-
der great difficulties and met with great opposi-
tion, while now everybody concedes that it was the
right thing to do. He was the most progressive
mayor that Boise ever had, and under his man-
agement an immense stride was taken toward a
more brilliant future than was ever before
thought possible for her.
The marriage of W. E. Pierce and Miss
Georgie Mundy, of Keokuk, Iowa, was cele-
brated in 1882. She presides with grace and
dignity over their beautiful home on Franklin,
near Eleventh, street.
ALBERT G. CORDELLE.
Among the wide-awake and enterprising mer-
chants of Weiser is Albert G. Cordelle, proprietor
of the leading furniture store of the town. His
entire life has been passed in the northwest, and
he possesses that spirit of progress and energy
which has resulted in the rapid development and
upbuilding of this section of the country. He
was born in Canyon City, Oregon, on the 30th
of January, 1866, and is a son of W. J. and Jane
Cordelle, of the same state. He acquired his
education in the public schools of Idaho, and
was then fitted for the practical and responsible
duties of life. In 1886 he entered upon his busi-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ness career as a clerk in a store in Silver City,
where he was employed for some time by W. F.
Sommercamp. with whom he came to Weiser in
1890. Forming a partnership with his former
employer, they carried on business together for
seven years, at the expiration of which period
Mr. Cordelle sold his interest to Mr. Sommer-
camp and opened the furniture store which he has
since conducted. He carries a full and complete
line of furniture, carpets, crockery and house-
furnishing goods and enjoys a large trade, which
has come to him by reason of his straightforward
business methods, his careful management, his
moderate prices, and his earnest efforts to please
his patrons.
Mr. Cordelle was married in 1890 to Miss Mary
Sommercamp, a sister of his former partner, and
they now have two children, Howard and Grace.
In his political views Mr. Cordelle is a Democrat,
but has never sought nor desired the honors or
emoluments of public office. He belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and occupies a lead-
ing position in business and social circles. He is
stiil a young man, but has attained most credit-
able and gratifying success, and the future holds
out bright prospects for him.
JAMES F. KANE.
James F. Kane, the leading grocer of Poca-
tello, Idaho, was born at Joliet, Illinois, April 3,
1858, to Michael and Anna (Smith) Kane, natives
of Ireland, who emigrated to Boston, ]Massa-
chusetts, early in life and there met and married.
At Joliet, Illinois, Michael Kane became a pros-
perous farmer, and for years he was foreman of
the Illinois prison quarries. He is now, at the
age of sixty-nine, a prominent farmer and stock-
raiser of Nuckolls county, Nebraska. His wife
died in her fiftieth year, in 1882. As is her hus-
band, she was a devout member of the Catholic
church. They had eight children, of whom seven
are living.
James F. Kane was the fifth in order of birth.
He was reared at Joliet and attended the public
school and a private school of his church. He
farmed three years in Nebraska and then lived
for a time in Iowa, until he was offered a position
as traveling salesman for a cigar factory, in New-
York city, of which one of his uncles was pro-
prietor. He was successful in this work, and was
called into the office and made assistant book-
keeper, a position which he retained until the
death of his uncle necessitated the termination of
the business. He was then chosen to settle up
his uncle's estate, which he did to the satisfaction
of everyone concerned.
In 1890 he came to Pocatello and for about
nine months was in the employ of the Oregon
Short Line Railroad Company. For a time he
was a clerk in the mercantile house of Harkness
& Company, then in a small way he began busi-
ness for himself on the east side of the town,
handling fruits, vegetables, fish and oysters. He
was successful in this venture, and in about two
years removed to the west side and embarked in
a general grocery business on Cleveland avenue.
In 1895 he purchased his present store, in which
he materially enlarged his business, which is now
the most important of its kind in the town. His
stock of merchandise is most complete, and his
honorable methods commend his establishment
to the favor of all classes of customers. Heeding
the instructive maxim of Ben Franklin that "he
who by the plow would thrive, himself must
either hold or drive," he has from the outset giv-
en the closest personal attention to his growing
interests, and to this fact much of his success is
to be attributed.
He was married in 1881 to Miss ^lyra L. Hol-
lingsworth, a native of Boston, Massachusetts.
They have three children, named Kathleen, Myra
and John. Their home is a very cosy and en-
joyable one. They are hospitable in the extreme,
and are highly esteemed by a wide circle of ac-
quaintances. Mr. Kane is a member of the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the
Woodmen of the World.
WILLIAM H. STUFFLEBEAM.
There is not a more popular man in Idaho
either as Elk or "landlord" than William Herman
Stutfiebeam, proprietor of the Blackfoot Hotel,
at Blackfoot; there is not a man better liked on
purely personal grounds ; and there is not a man
to whom the citizens of Idaho would more con-
fidently entrust the unraveling of a difficult prob-
lem or the settlement of important monetary in-
terests than to Mr. Stuffiebeam, who is a business
man of careful and comprehensive training.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
573
William Herman Stufflebeam was born at
Whitehall, \\'ashington connty, New York. His
paternal great-grandfather and his grandfather
fought together in the patriot cause during the
Revolutionary struggle, the former as captain and
the latter as private in his father's company.
After peace and American independence were
establish.ed, these two patriot soldiers became
prosperous farmers in Hudson county. New
•York, and upon the death of the father the old
homestead descended to the son. William G.
Stufflebeam, father of the subject of this review,
was born in 1834 and married Miss Olive Mosher,
a native of Washington county. He was long
superintendent of the New York & Lake Cham-
plain Transportation Company. In 1883, in com-
pany with his son, William Herman Stufflebeam,
he came west on a prospecting tour, and bought
a stock ranch twenty-five miles south of Black-
foot. In 1884 his wife and their other children
came out from New York state and the family
was reunited on this place, which comprises
twelve hundred acres and is regarded as one of
the fine stock ranches of Idaho. Mr. and Mrs.
Stufflebeam had four children, all of whom are
living: William Herman, John H., who assisted
his father in his stock-raising enterprise; Benja-
min E., who is in the service of the Illinois Cen-
tral Railroad Company, at Vicksburg, Mississip-
pi; and Mary E., who married J. E. Holbrook,
and lives at Greenwood, British Columbia.
William Herman Stufflebeam was educated at
WHiitehall, New York, at Greenville Military
Academy, New York, and at Eastman's Business
College, Poughkeepsie, New York. During the
early part of his business career he was in charge
of the office and business of the New York &
Lake Champlain Transportation Company, at
Troy, New York. In 1883 he built the Black-
foot Hotel, which he has managed since, except
during an interval of five years. During four
years of the five referred to, Mr. Stufflebeam was
chief of the division of suspended banks at Wash-
ington, D. C, and during the remaining year of
the five was receiver of the National Bank of
Moscow, Idaho. At present he is state land se-
lector for Idaho. He is an active Democrat, in-
fluential in the conventions and campaign work
of his party. He is an Elk and enjoys a wide
acquaintance with the members of that order
throughout the country. In i8y2 he married
Miss Carrie M. Keith, daughter of William
Keith, of Whitehall, New York. Mrs. Stuffle-
beam is a member of the Baptist church. Mr.
Stufflebeam was reared in the Presbyterian faith.
PETER J, PEFLEV.
An Idaho pioneer of 1864, Peter J. Peflev, is
now engaged in the harness and saddlery busi-
ness in Lewiston, and has long been accounted
one of the representative men of the state, for
the active interest he has taken in promoting her
welfare renders him one of her valued citizens.
His childhood days were spent on the Atlantic
coast. He was born in Roanoke county, Vir-
ginia, June 6, 1830, and traces his ancestry back
to the Fatherland, whence John Pefley, his great-
grandfather, came to America, sailing from Bad-
en-Baden in 1730. He took up his residence in
Mrginia, and there occurred the birth of John
Pefley, the grandfather, who served as a lieuten-
ant with the Virginia volunteers during the war
of the Revolution. He was a lover of liberty
and an opponent of oppression in every form, and
on account of this liberated his slaves. With
the Dunkard church he held membership, and he
was a man of most generous impulses. He mar-
ried Susanah Bond, a native of his own county,
and they became the parents of seven children, all
of whom were given scriptural names, including
such as Solomon, Jonathan. Jacob and Daniel.
The grandfather lived an upright, honorable life
and died in the sixty-second year of his age. his
wife being called to her final rest in her fifty-
fifth year. Their son Jacob Pefley, the father of
our subject, was born in Virginia and married
Miss Mary Myers, also a native of the Old Do-
minion. They were industrious and respected
farming people, their well spent lives winning
them high regard. The father died at the age
of sixty-three, while the mother departed this
life in her thirtieth year, leaving a family of five
children.
Peter J. Pefley, the second in order of birth, i.s
now the only survivor. He was educated in the
Delawaretown Academy, learned the harness-
maker's trade in early life, and in 185 1 crossed
the plains to California, driving an ox team in a
train consisting of twenty-seven wagons. On the
journey some of the stock was stolen by the
574
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Indians, but the savages did not attack the peo-
ple, who were armed and well prepared to receive
them. They were six months upon the journey,
but ultimately reached their destination in safety,
without having any great misfortune. Mr. Peiley
engaged in farming on French prairie, near
Salem. He was married there, in 1855, to Miss
Sarah A. Smith, a daughter of Daniel Smith,
who with his family crossed the plains in the
same company with which Mr. Pefley traveled.
In 1864 Mr. Pefley brought his family to
Idaho, locating on the Idaho City road, about five
miles from Boise. He brought with him from
Oregon about ninety-five head of cattle, and en-
gaged in the stock business and in dairy farming.
Four years later he removed to Boise, where he
opened a harness and saddlery store, which he
successfully conducted until 1896. While in
southern Idaho he also became the owner of a
placer-mining claim, operated it to a considerable
extent and still has mining interests in that part
of the state. In 1898 he removed to Lewiston,
where he opened his present store, and has now
built up a good trade. In the manufacture of
harness and saddlery he displays excellent work-
manship, and his reliable business methods, rea-
sonable prices and courteous treatment of his
patrons have secured to him a large and con-
stantly increasing business.
While in Oregon six children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Pefley,— Pierce J., Elbridge,
Serena, Edith, Harlan and Wayne; but Pierce J.,
Wayne and Edith all died in that state. Since
coming to Idaho the family circle has been in-
creased by the addition of five other children, —
Anna Inez, Maude, Claudia, Ray and Wynn, but
Anna Inez and Ray are now deceased. Maude
and Claudia are at home, and Wynn entered his
country's service and is now on active duty in
Manila. Throughout his entire life Mr. Pefley
has given an earnest support to the principles of
Democracy, and has been a recognized leader in
the ranks of his party in Idaho. In 1887 he was
elected mayor of Boise, and in 1880 was elected
to the territorial legislature, and was a member
of the convention which framed the present state
constitution of Idaho. Every public trust re-
posed in him has been faithfully guarded, and
his service has been valuable and progressive.
He has witnessed almost the entire growth of
Idaho, and at all times has given his influence
and co-operation to such measures as tend to-
ward the material, social, moral and intellectual
progress of the state.
EDWIN R. SHERWIN.
This well and favorably known resident of
Grangeville came to the territory of Idaho when
the, flourishing city of Lewiston was but a col-
lection of tents, and through the thirty-seven,
years that have since come and gone he has
been an important element in the business life
of this section of the commonwealth. He was
born in Onondaga county. New York, January
26, 1821, and is of English and German descent.
His ancestors were early settlers of New Eng-
land, and the grandfather. Captain Joshua Sher-
win, was a resident of Hartford, Connecticut.
He was one of a family of seven sons, whose
parents were old-school Presbyterians and gave
to all of their children scriptural names.
Joshua Sherwin, Jr., the father of our subject,
was born in the Nutmeg state, and in New York
wedded ^Nliss Mary Perry. He was an indus-
trious and respected farmer, whose life was well
spent. Both he and his wife were consistent
members of the Presbyterian church, and while
attending a convention of the church in Buffalo,
New York, he was taken ill with cholera. For a
time he appeared to improve, and made his way
to his home, but soon after had a relapse and
died of the disease. In the family were four chil-
dren, but a daughter and our subject are the
only ones now living.
The mother died when Edwin R. Sherwin was
about six years of age, and he was reared by his
paternal grandparents. He was educated in the
public schools, and learned the blacksmith's
trade, which he later followed in Rochester, New
York, and in Hamilton, Canada West. He was
married on the 2d of June, 1847, to Miss Susan
Benson, a daughter of Loyal Benson, a New
York farmer. They resided in Hamilton for four
years and then returned to the United States.
After traveling for some time in Illinois, he pur-
chased a farm fifteen miles east of Belvidere,
that state, and in connection with blacksmith
work carried on agricultural pursuits until 1861.
He then entered into an agreement with a party
to cross the plains to California, as their black-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
smith and farrier, as they were taking a large
number of horses with them and would need
the services of some one familiar with his trade.
The}' made a successful journey, arriving at Sac-
ramento in September, 1861. Although he had
no intention of remaining- in the Golden state,
j\Ir. Sherwin began working at his trade there
the day following his arrival, and thus spent
the winter, being in Sacramento at the time of
the great flood. The same fall gold was dis-
covered at Florence, Oro Fino and Elk City,
and in April, 1862, he left Sacramento for the
gold diggings of Idaho, going by steamer to
Portland, thence to The Dalles, where he ob-
tained pack horses to convey his goods, while he
walked from there to Lewiston. He was accom-
panied by a Mr. Anderson, of California, and
after spending a week at Lewiston, they started
for Florence, crossing the Craig mountain and
for the first time viewing the beautiful Camas
prairie, which, covered with grass, lay spread out
before them. There was, however, not a house
to be seen on the prairie. They continued on
their way to the Salmon river, deciding to go up
that stream to Florence, thereby escaping travel
in the deep snows. At length they reached their
destination in safety, and soon afterward pur-
chased a placer claim and engaged in mining
with a rocker, but this was Mr. Sherwin's first
experience in that kind of business and the work
went slowly and did not pi-ove as profitable as
lie anticipated. That winter he and his partner
built a little cabin and continued to mine until
spring, when Mr. Sherwin went to Warrens to
take possession of a half interest in a blacksmith
shop he had purchased. After working for some
time with his partner he purchased the latter's
interest, and for some time made money rapidly,
doing all the business in his line for the entire
camp of fifteen hundred people, taking in as high
as eighty dollars per day. But money made easily
is easily spent, and people at that time did not
as carefully save their earnings as at the present
time.
About this time quartz-mining was instituted
in the locality, and many brought their quartz
to Mr.-Sherwin to melt in his shop. He was the
first to do that kind of work in this section of the
state, and was quite extensively engaged in that
labor for some time. He also engaged in quartz-
mining on his own account. One day, while
sitting on a ridge to rest, in company with Jo.
Griffith, they kicked off a piece of rock and
found gold in it. The next day they returned
to the place and began a search for float, which
they found two hundred yards below and which
had considerable gold in it. They trenched, found
the ledge, named it the Rescue and located it,
and it proved a valuable property, the ore assay-
ing fifty dollars to the ton. They took fifty tons
to the mill, and after working the ore the mill
made a return of ten dollars to the ton. This
they knew was an insufficient amount, so they
took twenty-one tons more to the mill and ^Ir.
Sherwin remained there while it was worked, —
the result being just fifty dollars per ton. The
mill-owners were nonplussed, but claimed that
the rock was picked and they supervised the
bringing of twenty tons more. On that lot the
man who had operated the mill all the time ran
it very hard, but the rock produced forty-eight
dollars per ton, and there was in consequence
every reason to suspect the mill operator. Mr.
Sherwin and Mr. Leland then declined to pay a
store bill which they owed the parties, until the
loss on the ore was made good, whereupon they
were sued and put to much trouble, the parties
getting judgment against them, and taking the
mine for the debt and costs. They operated it
for a time and took out eighty thousand dollars.
Mr. Leland then took the matter on appeal to
the supreme court and recovered judgment for
the mine and property. A corporation was then
formed, but under its management the mine was
not successfully worked. Mr. Sherwin sunk ten
thousand dollars in the operation and found him-
self again without money. He then accepted a
position from the government at Camas and
Lapwai, having charge of the government black-
smith shops. He served in that capacity for sev-
eral years, or until the government lowered the
price of labor.
In the meantime Mr. Sherwin had saved his
money and sent for his wife and children, who
joined him in 1873. He went to tlie Salmon
river, and purchased a ranch and a placer mine.
He improved the former property, consisting of
one hundred and sixty acres, still owns it, and
has recently planted a portion of it to a variety
of fruits, including prunes, peaches and apples.
576
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
During the Nez Perces war, all of his property
was destroyed by the Indians, but he has since
largely repaired the ravages and has an excellent
ranch. He has developed his mining claim but
little as yet, but the whole flat is underlaid by a
river channel, and there is an area one hundred
by seventeen hundred feet of virgin soil, in addi-
tion to which he has a vast body of ground,
twelve feet deep, and gold in all of it, so that it is
a ven' valuable unworked property. At the time
of the Indian war, Mr. Sherwin, with other set-
tlers, built a fort for the protection of their fam-
ilies, and they were thus unmolested, but the
Indian depredations began near them, several
white men in the vicinity were killed, and it be-
came a time of great danger to the few white
settlers then in the county. It was the plan of
the savages to kill every white man, but the
young warriors were so eager to begin their work
of butchery, that they did not fully mature their
plans and thus frustrated their own ends. Those
were days of great hardship and dangers, and
the pioneers who were the advance guard of
civilization in this once wild region certainly are
deserving of great praise and gratitude.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin have been born
four children: Perry E. ; Elbert C; Frances E..
who became the wife of Francis James, and died
in 1891, leaving three children; and Carrie E.,
who resides with her parents and relieves them
of many cares in their declining years. iSIrs.
Sherwin is now an invalid, and the daughter has
the management of the household affairs. One
of the sons resides upon and operates the ranch,
and Mr. Sherwin is therefore living a retired life
in his pleasant home in Grangeville. He is a
gentleman of much intelligence and has restored
his eyesight so that he can now read the news-
papers without glasses. In politics he was first a
Whig, but on the organization of the Republican
party joined its ranks, and has since been one of
its stalwart supporters, yet has never been an
aspirant for office. He enjoys the high esteem of
his fellow men and is numbered among the hon-
ored pioneers of Idaho, and having passed the
seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey, he is
crowned with the veneration and respect which
should always accompany old age.
CHAPTER XL.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
IN 1892 twenty thousand dollars was voted by
congress for the improvement of Snake river,
and one hundred thousand dollars for the
Boise public building.
The river and harbor appropriation bill, passed
by congress in April, 1896, carried twenty-five
thousand dollars for the improvement of the
Clearwater river, and five thousand dollars for
the Kootenai between Bonner's ferry and the
British boundary. The appropriation for the
Boise public building was increased from one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars to two hun-
dred thousand dollars and a building site was
selected which cost seventeen thousand and five
hundred dollars.
Of the special land grants to the state by the
national government, aggregating over six hun-
dred thousand acres, only one-sixth remained to
be settled in 1897.
ASSESSED VALUATION OF PROPERTY.
The total assessed valuation of the state in
1894, exclusive of railroad property, was $22,-
942,910, which was about fifteen per cent, less
than that of the preceding year. The railroad
assessment was about eight million dollars. The
assessment of the main lines of all railroads for
this year was fixed at six thousand and five hun-
dred dollars a mile, including rolling stock;
branch lines at five thousand dollars a mile, and
narrow-gauges at four thousand dollars a mile.
The assessment on telegraph lines was at the
rate of fifty dollars a mile for poles and the first
wire, and twelve dollars and fifty cents a mile for
each additional wire; and telephone lines at forty-
two dollars a mile.
The assessment of the various counties for
1896, as reported in August, amounted to $22,-
608,069.25, while the preceding year it was
$22,878,500.50. For several years it had been
urged upon the counties to increase the valuation
of property and decrease the tax levy; but Cassia
county was the only county that had done this.
The railroad assessment was continued this year
the same as the preceding year. In his message
to the legislature of 1897, the governor called at-
tention to the fact that the bonded interest-bear-
ing debt of Idaho had almost doubled since 1890,
while the assessed valuation of property was
decreasing. Deficiency warrants had been issued
to the extent of $44,298.50.
The area of Indian reservation in the state is
1,364,500 acres, or 2,132 square miles. Indian
population, 3,640, and decreasing, there being
132 deaths in 1897 and only 88 births.
BANKS.
Idaho has no state banking law. Incorporated
banking associations are governed by general
incorporation laws. There is no restriction as
to classes or kinds of banking, except that a
special partnership cannot be formed for the
purpose of banking. Banking business is done
by private parties without incorporation and
without capital. There is no law regarding the
organization of savings banks, and there are no
such financial institutions in the state.
On July 14, 1896, Idaho had eleven national
banks, whose combined capital was $725,000,
and combined resources amounting to $3,187,307,
the loans and discounts aggregating $1,265,434.
The total liabilities were $2,925,382, while the
average reserve held was 27.16 per cent.
During the year 1897 the banks practically
held their status. The banking house of C. Bunt-
ing & Company, in business at Blackfoot and
Dubois, was closed February 15, under an attach-
ment of the First National Bank at Pocatello. of
which Mr. Bunting was president. The liabilities
were placed at about two hundred thousand dol-
lars. In the attached bank there were fifty-three
thousand dollars of the county funds and nine
thousand dollars of state money. The withdrawal
of twentv-two thousand dollars of state funds was
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
the immediate cause of the collapse. The assets,
however, were said to be large.
This year (1897) a resumption of genera! pros-
perity was conspicuous.
MINERAL PRODUCTION.
The Boise assay office reported that during the
year 1893 the production of gold was 81,930 fine
ounces, valued at $1,693,641; of silver, 3,455,662
fine ounces, valued at $4,457,823; and kad, 72,-
135,781 pounds, of the value of $2,524,753; total,
$8,686,217, as against $7,814,015 the preceding
year.
During the year 1894 the secretary of the in-
terior rendered a decision, in an appeal from the
ruling of the commissioner of the general land
ofifice, that "there must be a discovery upon each
twenty-acre tract included in a placer location of
one hundred and sixty acres; and a location
made of that amount of land upon a single dis-
covery is made void except as to the twenty
acres immediately surrounding it." The secretary
indirectly laid down another rule, namely,
that while a discovery must be made on each
twenty acres, the work can all be done at one
place.
During the year 1894 the metal output was:
Gold, 111,687 fine ounces, valued at $2,308,775;
silver, 3,774.349 fine ounces, valued at $7,188,-
630; lead, $2,605,450; total, $9,793,080,— an in-
crease of $1,108,222 over the preceding year.
Flour gold, found in great quantities along Snake
river, began to attract unusual attention.
In 1895 the production of gold was 125,517
fine ounces, valued at $2,594,666; silver, 4,033,180
fine ounces, of the value of $5,214,498; lead, 65,-
752,037 pounds, valued at $2,301,321. Some of
the largest mines were shut down for some time,
on account of labor troubles.
The mineral production of the state for the
year 1896 was $11,751,845, of which the gold
production was $2,323,700; silver, $6,474,765:
lead, $2,953,380. By counties the gold produc-
tion was: Owyhee, $681,095; Shoshone. $359.-
049; Boise, $325,995; Custer, $106,791; Idaho,
$155,349; Blaine, $66,894; Elmore, $63,731 ; Cas-
sia, $18,522; Ada, $27,349; Bingham, $15,528;
Canyon, $10,791; Lincoln, $17,426; Lemhi,
$451,411; Oneida, $13,844; Nez Perces, $3,824;
and Washington, $6,801.
In 1897 the gold production was $2,500,000;
silver, $7,100,000; lead, $3,500,000, — an increase
of over $1,358,000 over the preceding year. Re-
ceipts of bullion at the United States assay office
at Boise, $1,497,146, — an increase of $128,146
over the preceding year.
AGRICULTURAL, ETC.
The appropriation for agricultural education
in 1 89 1 made by the general government for
Idaho amounted to $33,000, of which sum
$15,000 was devoted to the use of the state uni-
versity at jMoscow and $18,000 to experiment
stations in other parts of the state.
In the autumn both the out-going and in-com-
ing governors called attention to the importance
of having a system of laws for the control of
irrigation-canal property which was declared sub-
ject to taxation according to the state consti-
tution. For the purpose of facilitating the estab-
lishment of systems of irrigation, the topograph-
ical division of the geological surveying corps
was employed in 1893 in gauging the streams
and in other necessary work for said purpose. Of
the sixteen millions of acres of agricultural lands
in Idaho, three-fifths is arid.
In March, 1894, the first session of the Idaho
commission of the National Irrigation Congress
was held at Boise and organized for work. In
September the work of blasting out the rock in
Whisky and Bay Horse rapids in Snake river
channel was resumed, for which the government
had made an appropriation of $25,000.
In April, 1896, the state horticultural inspector
reported that about twenty thousand acres in
Idaho are devoted to fruit culture, — 6,695 acres
producing apples, 5,632 prunes, 1,838 pears,
1,030 berries, 972 peaches, and 526 cherries. The
rest of the acreage was devoted to other fruits.
The next year he reported that the common pests
in the state are the San Jose scale, codHn moth,
woolly aphis, green aphis, pear-leaf blister mite.
oyster-shell bark louse, apple scab, peach blight
and "dieback."
The first biennial report of the state engineer,
to January i, 1897, estimated the acreage of the
state cultivated by irrigation at 315,000 acres,
and the total area under ditch, or that can be
covered by laterals and distributing channels
from exis-canals, at 1,250,000 acres. The first
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
withdrawal of land under the Carey act was made
in January, 1897. It consisted of 66,430 acres,
on Snake river, which are to be reclaimed by
means of a canal leading out of it, water rates
to be furnished for ten dollars an acre and the
payments to extend over a period of nine years.
In 1897 a large irrigation scheme was inaugu-
rated, with a capital of one million dollars, and an
immense dam was commenced on Bear river, to
run a ditch a hundred miles long and irrigate
half a million acres, upon 300,000 acres of which
there are settlers, and 200,000 acres of it is gov-
ernment land.
In 1895 the state land estimator made an esti-
mate of the timber on 39,480 acres in Latah and
Shoshone counties, calculating it to be 410,297,-
000 feet, divided as follows: White pine, 144,-
219,000 feet; yellow pine, 25,791,000 feet; white
fir, 49,671,000 feet; tamarack, 96,601,000 feet;
and cedar, 47,129,000 feet.
WILD GAME.
The game law enacted in the year 1893 P''0"
vided that no moose, caribou or elk should be
killed prior to September i, 1897, and after that
only between September i and December 31.
The season for deer, mountain sheep, antelope
and goats was fixed from September i to January
I. None of these animals were allowed to be
killed for their hides or hunted with dogs. The
Mongolian pheasant was not allowed to be killed
until August I, 1897. The season for killing
pheasants, grouse, sage hens and "fool" hens was
made to be from August i to January i ; for
quail and prairie chickens from October 15 to
December 15; and for ducks, geese and swans
from August 15 to April 15. No fish except
salmon, salmon trout and sturgeon were allowed
to be taken excepting by hook and line, and none
of any kind should be taken in any way except
for home consumption or breeding purposes be-
tween November i and October i of the suc-
ceeding year.
It was ascertained in 1895 that Ada county
alone had paid out since 1878 $31,093.44 for rab-
bit scalps, at the legal rate of three cents a scalp,
— over a million rabbits! This was said to be a
larger amount than the aggregate bounties paid
by all the states in the west that had offered
bounties on jack rabbits. This amount in Ada
county was so large that the commissioners felt
obliged to discontinue the bounty.
EDUCATIONAL.
According to the school census of 1892 there
were 27,740 school children in the state, while the
per capita of the current appropriation for school
purposes was fifty cents. In June the school
funds apportioned had increased to $13,674.67,—
a large advance over the preceding year. In
1893 the amount of the school fund subject to
distribution for the following year was $40,000.
The school population was 31,219, an increase of
5,478 during the preceding two years. Mormon
children began to attend the public schools this
year, as the old prejudice against the "gentiles"
began to die out. The state university at Moscow
was opened in October, 1892, and by January
following there were one hundred and seventeen
students enrolled, but only the west wing of the
university building was erected, at a cost
of $34,749- This year there were three
agricultural experiment stations in opera-
tion, namely, at Nampa, Grangeville and
Idaho Falls, — which were under the direc-
tion of the board of regents of the university,
where also agriculture is taught. In December,
1893, the enrollment at this university was one
hundred and ninety-four. The chair of military
instruction was instituted this year, and the ex-
terior, basement and first story of the main build-
ing were completed, at a cost of seventy-seven
thousand dollars. In September, 1895, the uni-
versity began its school year with an enrollment
of one hundred and eight, an increase for that
month, over the preceding year. The next year,
1897, university tuition was made free to resident
pupils.
Under the law providing for normal schools,
the state in 1895 made no appropriation; but at
Albion the citizens, not waiting for the slow
methods of the government, erected a building
and opened a flourishing school.
The legislature of 1896, however, provided for
the building of state normal schools, the outlay
for building and maintenance being $81,521. The
appropriation of 1897 for the schools was only
$28,000, — a difference of $53,521.
The enrollment here for the half year ending
July I, 1895, was eighty-three, and the expenses
580
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
$5,278.22. In anticipation of a normal school at
Lewiston, the people there laid the foundation
for a building. The agricultural college for the
state was fixed this year, 1895, at Idaho Falls.
In June, the next year, the normal schools at
Lewiston and Albion were dedicated.
In 1896 the number of school children in the
state was 39,288, and of the semi-annual appor-
tionment of the public money for school pur-
poses the distribution amounted to eighteen and
a half cents per capita of the children. In 1897
the superintendent of public instruction an-
nounced, in reference to the growth of the
schools, that while in 1869 there were but twenty-
four school districts in the state, and fifteen
school houses, in 1897 there were six hundred
and seventy-one districts and six hundred and
fifty-eight school-hottses. In 1896 the number
of children between the ages of five and twenty-
one was 43,745. During the years 1895-6 the
school census showed a growth in population of
nearly twenty-five per cent. Four hundred and
forty young Indians were attending government
schools in the state, besides fifty-five in a contract
school in the Coeur d'Alene reservation, for
whom tuition was paid at the rate of one hundred
and eight dollars a year.
OTHER STATE INSTITUTIONS.
The control of the soldiers' home was vested
by the legislature of r893 in a board of five
trustees, to consist of the secretary of state, com-
mander of the department of Idaho of the Grr.nd
Army of the Republic, and three others, two of
whom were to be members of the Grand Army
of the Republic, and all to be appointed by the
governor. An appropriation of twenty-five thou-
sand dollars was made, to be secured from the
sale of public lands given to the state by the
general government for charitable purposes in-
stead of being taken directly out of the general
revenue fund, — the amount appropriated to be
loaned to the institution, which takes a lien on
the land to secure the amount advanced.
The soldiers' home, two miles from Boise, was
completed in November, 1894, the corner-stone
having been laid May 23 previously. It is built
of brick and cut stone, has a frontage of one
hundred feet, with a central tower and a tower at
each end, and the capacity of the institution is
sufficient for the accommodation of sixty beds,
single and double. The structure cost $13,499.
In 1895 the number of inmates was twenty-seven.
Idaho deserves much credit for the provisions
made for her unfortunate wards in various lines.
The building of the asylum for the insane was
instituted in 1885, on ground donated by L.
Shilling, about a half mile from the town of
Blackfoot, and the new institution was opened
for the admission of patients on July 2d of the
following year. Prior to this time this class of
patients were cared for by the Salem in-
sane hospital, in the state of Oregon, under
contract, and they were immediately transferred
to their new home, under charge of Dr. Cabaniss,
the first medical superintendent of the institution.
Of the number so transferred there were twenty-
six male and ten female patients. The affairs of
the institution are administered by a board cjf
trustees.
A fire occurred on the morning of Xovember
24, 1889, and the main or administration building
was totally destroyed, together with the greater
portion of the records. At that time there were
forty-seven male and twenty female inmates, and
after the fire five men and two women were
missing among the patients. Of these the charred
remains of one man and one woman were found
in the ruins, and it is probable that others of the
missing number met the same fate.
In the summer of 1890 the building of the
asylum was commenced in a new location, north
of the old site, where a better means of drainage
was afforded. The present building is equipped
with modern accessories and conveniences, and
the state has reason to be proud of the asylum
and its management. The original grant of land
has been added to from time to time by pur-
chase, and it now comprises 2,150 acres, of which
about four hundred are under cultivation.
In 1893 the insane asylum had ninety-eight
inmates at the beginning of the year. During the
summer seasons many of these were employed at
brick-making, and during the winter at cutting
cord-wood. The medical superintendent called
attention to the fact that the rate of insanity in
this state was less than half the rate in other
states: but this observation was made before the
usual ]3roportion of patients had been examined.
In 1895 the asylum for the insane had one
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
581
hundred and fifty-two patients, of whom fifty-six
were women. In May, the next year, the gov-
ernor reported that the increase in the number of
inmates was so rapid that the extra accommoda-
tions provided for by the preceding legislature
would be crowded before the next session. The
number, however, grew only to one hundred and
fifty-eight in 1896. The next year there were one
hundred and eighty-seven. The per capita cost
of keeping these patients was reported this year
as having diminished from eighty-five and three-
fourths cents a day in 1891 to fifty-four and a
half cents in 1896.
CHAPTER XLl.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
JAY A. CZIZEK.
THIS is the day of the specialist. The men
who are prominent in connection with the
administration of difficult and peculiar
affairs are men who have given their lives to their
study and have an experimental knowledge of
them in all their ramifications. The demand for
the very best technical knowledge in the office led
to the selection of Jay A. Czizek for inspector of
mines for the state of Idaho, and his manage-
ment of the afifairs of the office every day demon-
strates the wisdom of his having been chosen.
Jay A. Czizek was born at Mount Clemen?,
Michigan, October 8, 1864. August Czizek, his
father, a German and a native of Berlin, came
to the United States in his boyhood and located
in Michigan, where he informed himself con-
cerning American institutions and became an
ardent supporter of the Union cause when war
between the north and the south became inevit-
able. He served as lieutenant in the Twenty-
second Regiment of Michigan Vohmteer Infantry
from his enlistment, early in 1861, nearly to the
close of the war, and died in ^Michigan soon after
his return home. His widow, Mrs. Gertrude
Czizek, has since lived at Mount Clemens.
Jay A. Czizek received a common-school edu-
cation, and when about eighteen years of age
sought his fortune in Colorado, and for about
two years before he attained his majority was
employed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
Company, a portion of the time in charge of
the commissary and material departments. In
association with Thomas H. Wigglesworth, one
of the prominent railroad locating engineers of
the west, he prospected for and settled the route
in which the Colorado Midland Railway was
constructed. Since the completion of that work
for the development of the new west, he has been
engaged in mining in Colorado, Montana and
Oregon, and during the last thirteen years in
Idaho. He developed a mastery over all the
details of mining and came to be known as one
of the most scientific miners in the country. For
some years he was manager in Idaho county for
two prominent mining companies. This respon-
sible position he gave up to accept the office of
inspector of mines for the state of Idaho, to
which he was elected in 1898.
Politically Mr. Czizek has always been a Dem-
ocrat, and he has taken an active and influential
interest in the practical work of his party. He
was a delegate to the state Democratic conven-
tion which nominated him by acclamation for the
office which he fills with so much ability and
honor and in which he was placed by a majority
large enough to amply attest his personal popu-
larity.
Personally Mr. Czizek is warmly regarded
wherever he is known, and he is one of the
leaders in public afifairs in Idaho. He is a prom-
inent Elk and is in everything a thorough west-
ern man, alive to the interests of the western
country and with very clear-cut views as to how
they may be best promoted.
ROBERT V. COZIER.
On the roll of Idaho's statesmen and eminent
representatives of the bar is found the name of
Hon. Robert V. Cozier, who has left the impress
of his individuality upon the legislation and pub-
lic progress. He is a man of strong mentality,
of marked patriotism and broad humanitarian
principles, and is therefore well fitted for leader-
ship in the public movements which afifect the
welfare of the commonwealth. He is now accept-
ably filling the position of United States attorney
for Idaho, and his comprehensive knowledge of
the principles of jurisprudence and his ability in
handling intricate legal problems make him a
most competent official.
■ Robert V. Cozier is a native of Ohio, his birth
having occurred in the town of Wapakoneta,
October 20, 1867. He is of German and Irish
r
rJ"^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
583
lineage, but for several generations the family
has been represented in America. His father,
Rev. B. F. W. Cozier, was born in Pennsylvania
in 1836, on what is now the battlefield of Gettys-
burg, and is a prominent minister in the ]\Iethod-
ist Episcopal church, having devoted his entire
life to preaching the gospel of peace and
righteousness among men. In 1870 he removed
to Iowa, where the greater part of his ministerial
labor has been performed. For years he was a
presiding elder, connected with different con-
ferences in that state. During the entire civil
war he served his country as chaplain of the
Third Ohio Cavalry, and his voice and talent
were used on the side of the Union and for
"liberty throughout the land and to all the inhab-
itants thereof." He carried comfort to many a
soldier upon the tented field, and won the love
of many of his comrades of the blue. He is now
residing in Iowa and has partially retired from
active connection with the ministry, although his
interest in the cause of Christianity grows
greater with the passing years. He married
Zelora A. Carter, a native of Ohio, and to them
have been born five children, all of whom are
occupying honorable and useful positions in life.
Hon. Robert V. Cozier acquired his early edu-
cation in the public schools of Iowa, and is a
graduate of Simpson College, of Indianola,
that state, completing the course with the class
of 1889. Determining to make the practice of
law his life work, he began study under private
instruction in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at-
tended the Washington Law School, in St. Louis,
and was admitted to practice in the supreme
court of Iowa in 1891. Immediately afterward he
came to Idaho, locating in Blackfoot, where he
engaged in the prosecution of his chosen profes-
sion until 189s, when he came to Moscow. He
soon took rank among the ablest members of the
bar in this section of the state. The judgment
which the public passed upon him in the first
years of his practice has never been set aside or
in any degree modified. It has, on the contrary,
been emphasized by his careful conduct of im-
portant litigation, his candor and fairness in the
presentation of cases, his zeal and earnestness
as an advocate, and the generous commendation
which he has received from his contemporaries,
who unite in bearing testimony as to his high
character and superior mind. In 1897 he was
admitted to practice before the United States
supreme court, at Washington.
In politics he has always been an ardent advo-
cate of Republican principles, and is a recognized
leader of his party in Idaho. He was elected to
the third general assembly of the state and had
the honor of being chosen speaker of the house,
being an excellent parliamentarian, and one
whose genuine interest and zeal for the welfare
of the state made him absolutely just in all his
rulings. While presiding officer, he was entirely
free from partisan bias, although he is a stalwart
Republican, and on all proper occasions labors
earnestly to promote the growth and insure the
success of his party. He attends all the Repub-
lican conventions, and in that of 1898 had the
honor of nominating W. B. Heyburn, as candi-
date for congress. In December, 1897, in recog-
nition of his effective service in behalf of the
party. President McKinley appointed him United
States attorney for the state of Idaho, and to
those who are familiar with his legal ability and
unflagging patriotism it is unnecessary to state
that his service has been most able and com-
mendable.
In 1893 Mr. Cozier led to the marriage altar
Miss Lena M. Fife, a native of Michigan, and
they now have three children: Mary Helen,
Zelora Edna and Robert James. The parents
are valued and consistent members of the Aleth-
odist church of Moscow and they have a nice
residence in the city where they make their home
and where their circle of friends is almost
coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.
CHARLES L. HEITM.-W.
The influence of culture and broad profes-
sional and worldly experience upon a new com-
munity is visible in Idaho as the result of the
work and the example of high-minded men like
Charles L. Heitman of Rathdrum, Kootenai
county, a lawyer who does honor to the law,
to the courts, to himself and to the people among
whom he lives and whose interests it devolves
upon him to serve from day to day. Charles L.
Heitman comes of an old North Carolina family,
and is a son of Henry N. and Eve (McCrary)
Heitman. His father was for sixty years a local
preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church,
584
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
south, and for twenty years was clerk of the
superior court of Davidson county. He died at
the age of eighty-three years, his wife at sixty-
five, and they are buried in the land of their
birth and life. Charles L. Heitman was educated
at Trinity College, in Randolph county, North
Carolina, and was graduated at the head of his
class, in 1876. During the succeeding two years
he read law under the preceptorship of Chief
Justice Pearson, at Richmond Hill, North Caro-
lina. He was admitted to the bar of his native
state in 1878 and practiced his profession at Lex-
ington nine years. In 1890 he went to Idaho
and located at Rathdrum, which then had a his-
tory covering nine years more or less, and he
has attained a standing at the bar of Idaho second
to that of no lawyer in the state. He is an un-
swerving Republican and takes an active part in
the afifairs of his party in his county and state,
but he does not seek nor want office for himself.
When, in 1894, he was given the honor of a
nomination by his party for district judge, he de-
clined, preferring to devote himself entirely to
the practice of his profession. He is a good
public speaker, apt in illustration and skillful in
argument, and is in demand during political
campaigns. His oratorical triumphs before
judges and juries are among the most important
successes of their kind in the legal annals of the
state. His law library is one of the largest and
best selected west of Chicago.
Mr. Heitman married Miss Stella Smith, of
Rathdrum, Idaho, in January, 1894, and has
three children. He is a Free Mason and a Knight
of Pythias.
JOHN U. STUCKI.
A leading representative of the business, the
political and the church interests of Paris, John
Ulrich Stucki is accounted one of the most val-
ued citizens of Bear Lake county. He has re-
sided in the town since 1870, has been identified
with all its interests through the passing years,
and was honored with the office of mayor, being
the first incumbent in that position. A native of
Switzerland, he was born in Oberneunforn, June
8, 1837, and is of Swiss descent. His parents
were John and Elizabeth (Sauter) Stucki, also
natives of that land, where the father was a
thrifty farmer and an influential citizen. Both
he and his wife were Protestants in their religious
faith. Mrs. Stucki was called to the home be-
yond at the age of forty-five years, and Mr.
Stucki, who was born July 15, 1806, died De-
cember 5, 1886, in the eighty-first year of his
age. In their family were thirteen children, nine
of whom grew to years of maturity, while six are
still living. The family were one highly respected
in the community where they made their home.
In the schools of his native town and in Andel-
fingen, John Ulrich Stucki acquired his educa-
tion, and, his father desiring to have him edu-
cated as a merchant tailor, he apprenticed in and
followed that business for about four years, when,
in the fall of 1856, in the city of Zurich, the
capital of his native canton, intending to go to
Paris, the capital of France, to perfect himself in
his occupation and business, he heard the gospel
of Jesus Christ as revealed through the Prophet
Joseph Smith and taught by the elders of Latter
Day Saints, or Mormon church, which changed
his course in life. On the ist day of November,
1856, he was received as a member into said
church. On the 19th day of July, 1857, he was
ordained an elder in said church and soon after-
ward began to preach its doctrines, devoting all
his time to the interests of the church. In the
spring of 1858 he introduced the doctrines of his
church, commonly called Mormonism, in the city
and canton of Schafifhausen, and organized a
branch of the church in the city of SchafThausen.
During the same year he also labored several
weeks in canton Graubuendten, but not with so
much immediate success.
On the 8th of August, 1859, he left his native
country for the L'nited States and Salt Lake, the
headquarters of the ]\Iormon church, with barely
enough means to take him to his destination.
While on the journey he was married, on the
19th of August, 1859, to Miss Margaret Huber, a
native of Weinfelden, Switzerland, who has since
been to him a faithful and helpful wife on life's
journey. After a voyage of six weeks, in which
they encountered some very severe weather,
they reached New York, but the vessel, the
Emerald Isle, had not only been tossed about
in severe gales, but on one occasion had caught
fire, and it was supposed that all on board would
be lost, but eventually the flames were extin-
guished.
Mr. Stucki spent several months in New York
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
585
city, and then by steamer and by rail proceeded
to Florence, Nebraska, whence he crossed the
plains to Salt Lake City, driving a team, con-
sisting of two yoke of oxen and two yoke of
cows. They were ten weeks and three days in
making the journey, but it was free from acci-
dent, their loss being only one of their cows.
Mr. Stucki took with him a little corn-plow, a
shovel and a pitchfork, intending to engage in
farming, and with that limited outfit began the
tilling of the soil. They also had a tent and
bedding. After a few days spent in Salt Lake
City, he removed to the Cache valley, where he
secured ten acres of land. He had no experience
in farming, but his practical common sense stood
him in stead of training, and the first year he
raised a good crop of wheat and stacked it so
well that while much of the wheat grew in the
stack that year, his withstood the wet weather
excellently.
While residing in the valley Mr. Stucki served
as president of the German branch of the church.
In July, 1870, at a call from his church, he came
to Paris, selling some 'of his property, but still
retaining the ownership of some of it in the
Cache valley. He removed to this place in order
to assume the duties of tithing clerk of the stake,
his labor being to take care and keep account of
the tithes, the care of the poor and other needful
church work. This important ofifice Mr. Stucki
has, with the exception of five years, ever since
faithfully filled, and he is recognized as a very
efficient church officer. He has also spent five
years in the mission field, having charge of the
Swiss and German mission. Thus he labored in
Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany, and sent
out many converts to Utah. He has held the
ofiice of high priest for many years and is presi-
dent of the high priests of the stake. During
the whole of this time Mr. Stucki has also suc-
cessfully managed his business interests, carrying
on general farming and stock-raising. In his
efTorts he has prospered, and is now the owner
of about three hundred acres of land, together
with two good residences, in Paris, which he
erected and one which he purchased.
L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Stucki have been born the
following children: Charles Thomas, who assists
his father in the work of the home farm: Caro-
line Elizabeth, who died in her sixth year: Maria
Jane: William B.: Hiram D., who died in in-
fancy; Joseph S.; Ann; Margaret; Elfrieda; F. S.;
Erastus; and Ezra S. They also had a little
adopted son, John Henry, who lived to be eight
years of age. He was an attractive and obedient
child, and they loved him dearly. Mr. Stucki is
also rearing Fritz, the son of his niece.
In his political views Mr. Stucki is a Republi-
can, has labored earnestly for the success of his
party, and has filled a number of offices, being
called to public service by his fellow townsmen,
who thus gave evidence of their appreciation of
his worth and ability. He served for a number
of years as justice of the peace, has been county
treasurer, county auditor, recorder, was notary
public for eight years, with his commission re-
newed for four more years, and was the first
mayor of the city of Paris. In all these positions
he has discharged his duties in a most prompt
and creditable manner, and is accounted one of
the most reliable and valued citizens of his
countv.
lOSEPH B. SCARBOROUGH.
One of the capable county commissioners of
Oneida county is Joseph Brook Scarborough, of
Franklin. He was born in England, September
II, 1851, and is a son of John and EHzabeth
(Brook) Scarborough. When ten years of age
he came with his mother to the United States,
crossing the Atlantic in 1861, in a sailing vessel
which, after a voyage of six weeks, reached the
American port. They then crossed the plains
and located at Lehi, Utah, thirty miles south of
Salt Lake City, and there the mother remained
while the son went to Dixie, where he worked for
a year on a farm for his board and clothes. In
1863 he came with the family to Franklin. The
settlers were then living in little log houses, built
in the form of a hollow square, the backs of the
houses forming a part of the wall of the fort.
Mr. Scarborough remained with his family
until nineteen years of age, at which time he was
happily married to Miss Mary A. Foster. He
then located land for himself, built a house and
began his domestic life in Franklin. Later he
became the owner of one hundred and twenty-
five acres of land a half-mile north of the town,
and also has fifteen acres adjoining the corpora-
tion limits, while in the town of Franklin, on the
principal street, he has two corner lots, on which
586
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he has built a very nice brick cottage. He has
been an industrious and successful farmer and his
labors have been crowned with success.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Scarborough have been
born ten children, eight of whom are living,
namely: Annie, wife of Soren Peterson, of
Logan; Rhoda, who was a most lovable and
beautiful woman, became the wife of Samuel
Wright, but died soon after the birth of their
child, her death proving a great loss to her hus-
band, family and friends; Charles; Letta, an
accomplished school-teacher; Joseph; Teressa;
Ef¥a Roy, who died in infancy; Esrom; Leland
and Relta. They are all members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Mr.
Scarborough is very active in the church work,
has been assistant Sunday-school superintendent
of the Oneida stake, and has served his church on
a mission to Illinois and to Indiana in 1887-8.
In politics he has been a life-long Democrat,
and was postmaster for four years under the ad-
ministration of President Cleveland. He has been
a school trustee for six years, has taken a very
deep and commendable interest in educational
matters and was largely instrumental in securing
the fine new brick school-house that now adorns
the town of Franklin and is a credit to the enter-
prise of its citizens. In 1896 his fellow townsmen,
recognizing his worth and ability, elected him to
the important position of county commissioner,
and so well did he discharge his duties that he
was re-elected in 1898 and is therefore the present
incumbent. He is also chairman of the village
board of trustees. Mr. Scarborough is a loyal
and enterprising citizen and a gentleman of the
highest integrity and worth.
JOHN F. ?*IcLEAN.
John F. McLean, sheriff of Idaho county, is a
native of Indiana, born in Lebanon, June 22,
1843. The family is of Scotch lineage and was
founded in America by Samuel McLean, the
grandfather of our subject, who crossed the At-
lantic with his family and took up his residence
in Pennsylvania. He was a miller and mill-
wright by trade, and after spending some time
in the Keystone state, he went to Indiana, be-
coming one of the pioneer settlers there. He
lived to be eighty-four years of age, and his wife,
who was four years his junior, passed away at
the same age. Their son, John McLean, the
father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania,
September 21, 1809, and during his childhood
accompanied his parents to Indiana, where he
was reared to manhood and married Miss Alary
^filler, a native of the latter state. They had a
family of seven children. The mother died some
years ago, but the father is still living, at the age
of eighty-nine years, and resides on the ranch
belonging to his son John F., at Mount Idaho.
He has always been a man of the highest integ-
rity of character and good influence, and his
fellow townsmen, recognizing his sterling worth,
have frequently called him to positions of public
honor and trust. For a number of years he
served as justice of the peace. By trade he was
a miller, following that occupation throughout
his active business career. He has been a life-
long and consistent member of the Christian
church, to which his wife also belonged from
early girlhood. Of their family of seven children,
three sons and two daughters are yet living.
John F. McLean, who is the youngest, was
educated in the public schools of Indiana, pursu-
ing his studies in one of the primitive log school-
houses of the time. He then learned the miller's
trade under the direction of his father, and in
1867 went to Oregon, where he remained for
four years. He then returned to Indiana, and
in 1880 came to Idaho, locating at Grangeville,
where for sixteen years he operated a flouring
mill, doing a large and profitable business. His
honorable methods and courteous treatment of
his patrons secured him a good trade, and he
continued in charge of the mill until his public
duties demanded his entire attention. He was
first called to the office of assessor and collector
of taxes in Idaho county and in i8g8 was chosen
by popular ballot to the position of county sheriff.
in which capacity he is now serving, discharging
his duties in a most prompt and able manner. In
politics he is a Democrat, and at the election he
ran far ahead of his ticket, a fact which indicates
his personal popularity and the confidence re-
posed in him. He owns a splendid farm of one
hundred and sixty acres, and on it stands or.e
of the most attractive country residences in this
part of the state. It commands a splendid view
of the surrounding country, — the beautiful
Camas prairie, the town of Grangeville and the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
587
distant mountains in the background, — all form-
ing a picture of surpassing loveliness.
In November, 1874, was celebrated the mar-
riage of Mr. McLean and Miss Sarah T. Kibby,
a native of Kentucky. Their union has been
blessed with five sons, as follows: E K., who
is now serving as his father's deputy; C. M., who
is married and follows farming; F. J., deputy tax
collector; F. H. and A. E., at home. The
mother, who was a valued member of the Chris-
tian church, departed this Hfe in August, 1889.
She was a loving and faithful wife and mother, a
most amiable woman and a devoted Christian,
and her loss has been deeply felt in church and
social circles as well as in her home. Mr. McLean
also belongs to the same church, and socially he
is connected with the Knights of Pythias frater-
nity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
having filled all the offices in both societies. He
is widely known as a progressive and valued
citizen, a trustworthy official and reliable busi-
ness man, and therefore deserves mention among
Idaho's representative residents.
JAMES MADDEN.
The broad acres of Idaho have made stock-
raising one of the principal industries of the state,
by reason of the excellent pasturage afiforded,
and among those who are successfully and exten-
sively engaged in this business is James Madden,
of Lewiston. A native of Ireland, he was born in
county Galloway, December 18, 1855, his parents
being Patrick and Mary (Kane) Madden, both of
whom were natives of the Emerald Isle, where
the father filled the responsible position of super-
intendent of a large estate. He lived to the
venerable age of ninety-five years, and the mother
passed away at the age of seventy-five. They
were devout members of the Catholic church and
were people of the highest respectability. In
their family were seven children, five sons and
two daughters, and with one exception all arc
yet living.
James Madden, the fourth in order of birth,
was reared and educated in the land of his nativ-
ity, and in 1865 crossed the Atlantic to America.
He was then a poor young man without capital,
but he possessed energy, and resolute purpose,
and these stood him in stead of fortune. He
spent eighteen months in Massachusetts, working
for twenty-nine dollars per month. He saved his
money and when he went to San Francisco,
California, he had three hundred and twenty dol-
lars. He was forced to expend this for board,
however, after which he went to Sutter county,
where he entered the employ of John G. Brig'gs.
Subsequently he rented a farm and planted one
hundred and sixty acres to wheat, gathering there-
from a large crop, which he sold for a dollar and
ninety-five cents per bushel. He then paid twelve
hundred dollars for three hundred and twenty
acres of summer fallow, and gave two dollars
and thirty-seven and one-half cents per hundred
for seed wheat. That winter the high water
destroyed the entire crop and thus he lost a!l
that he had made. Through the succeeding four
years he worked for wages, and then purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of land for five
thousand dollars, making a payment of one-half
down.
About this time Mr. Madden was united in
marriage to Miss Mary Riggs, a native of Ken-
tucky and a daughter of Sylvester A. Riggs, also
of that state. They began their domestic life
upon the California farm, and by their careful
management, economy and industry were soon
enabled to clear it of all indebtedness. Prosperity
attended their efforts for a time, but later high
water again destroyed their crops and washed
ofif nearly all of the top soil. He then summer-
fallowed it and raised forty-five bushels of wheat
to the acre. After this he sold the property for
twentv-five hundred dollars, just half of what it-
cost him, and then came to Idaho, in 1884, bring-
ing with him five thousand dollars. Here he
took up one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land, also a timber claim of one hundred
and sixty acres, and a homestead of like amount.
He purchased sixty head of cattle, but at i1k-
end of the year they were so scattered over the
plains by the large cattle men that he was never
able to recover half of them. He then sold out
what he had left and purchased six hundred
breeding ewes, at two dollars and seventy-five
cents each. They were grade merinos, and thus
Mr. Madden began the business in which he has
since been eminently successful. His flocks in-
creased rapidly, but at first he and his sons, witb.
the assistance of one hired man, took care of
them. Now, however, they employ nine men and
588
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
have had as high as six thousand sheep at one
time. He also has two thousand five hundred
acres of land, which he is fencing for his own
stock. He has erected a good residence in Lewis-
ton, has two others on his farm, and now has
about eighty thousand pounds of wool on hand.
He also has two thousand young lambs, and is
one of the heaviest tax-payers in Nez Perces
county.
Air. and Mrs. Madden have reared an indus-
trious and intelligent family of seven sons and
one daughter, — Patrick, who is associated with
his father in business; James, who is foreman of
the ranch; Michael, who is working with their
men; George, who is herding one of the bands
of sheep ; John, who is herding the cattle ; and
Joseph, Dan and Mary Jane, who are in school.
The family are all valued members of the Cath-
olic church.
Mr. Madden always gave his political support
to the Democracy until President Cleveland's
second administration, when he voted the Repub-
lican ticket and has since been allied witli that
party. He has, however, never sought nor de-
sired office, preferring to devote his energies to
his business, in which he is meeting with gratify-
ing success. He has met many difficulties and
hardships in life, but has wrested fortune from
the hands of a seemingly adverse fate, and is
now one of the wealthiest residents of Nez Perces
county. This is due entirely to his own well
directed efTorts, his business ability, sound judg-
ment and untiring labor, and certainly his pros-
perity is well merited.
GEORGE E. GRAY.
The profession of the law, when clothed with
its true dignity and purity, and strength, must
rank first among the callings of men, for law
rules the universe. The work of the legal pro-
fession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate,
to adjust, to administer those rules and principles
that underlie and permeate all government and
society and control the varied relations of man.
As thus viewed, there attaches to the legal pro-
fession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected
in the life of the true lawyer, who, conscious of
the greatness of his profession, and honest in
the pursuit of his purpose, embraces the richness
of learning, the profoundness of wisdom, the
firmness of integrity and the purity of morals,
together with the graces of modesty, courtesy
and the general amenities of life. The leading
attorney of Malad, and a worthy representative
of his calling is George E. Gray.
Born in Sparta, Wisconsin, July 26, 1867, he
is of Scotch, Irish and German descent. His
father, P. D. Gray, was born in New York and
when a young man removed to Wisconsin, where
he married Miss Harriet L. Nash, a native of
Vermont. Both parents are still living in Wis-
consin and are well-to-do and respected citizens
of that state. They had three children, George
E. being the eldest. Having acquired a good
preliminary education, he entered the University
of Wisconsin, wherein he pursued both a literary
and law course, graduating in the law department
with the class of 1891. He was then admitted
to the bar of his native state, and coming to
Idaho soon afterward, at Boise, he was admitted
to practice in the supreme court of this state and
in the United States courts. For two years he
was a member of the bar of the capital city, and
in 1893 he came to Malad, where he entered
almost immediately upon a large and constantly
growing practice. Demonstrating his ability in
the careful manner in which he handled the liti-
gated interests entrusted to him, he naturally won
an increased clientage, and is now regarded as
the leading practitioner at the bar of southern
Idaho. He engages in general practice, but pre-
fers corporation and irrigation law, and has at-
tained a high degree of proficiency in those
branches of jurisprudence. He is now serving
as city attorney of Malad, to which position he
was elected on the Republican ticket, being one
of the stanch supporters of the Republican party.
In 1891 Mr. Gray was united in marriage to
Miss Meda Whalen, a native of Wisconsin, and
they now have a very bright little son, Warren
P., who is the light of the household. Their
home is one of the pleasant residences of Malad,
and they hold an enviable position in the social
circles of the city.
WILLIAM WOODWARD.
One of the pioneer settlers of Franklin, Oneida
county, Idaho, and a farmer of the above state,
William Woodward, was born on the 4th of Jan-
uary, 1833, in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England.
r
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
He received a common-school education in his
native village. In 1845 he removed to Watford,
and there he heard Mormonism by a blacksmith,
Richard B. Margetts, and he was baptized June
21, 1848. He soon became anxious to join his
co-religionists in Salt Lake valley, then in upper
California.
In January, 1850, Mr. Woodward sailed from
Liverpool, England, on the ship Argo, Captain
Alills, with four hundred Latter Day Saints, ar-
riving at New Orleans, March 8, after an ocean
passage of eight weeks. With other emigrants
Mr. Woodward wended his way to St. Louis, on
the steamboat Glencoe: from there proceeded
to Council Bluiifs, where he arrived on April 9,
and on the 13th of April he went to work for
Orson Hyde, at six dollars per month. He lived
with Mr. Hyde for over a year and then drove
team to Salt Lake City, in Captain Horner"s
company. They were some three months on the
way. V On tlie plains in that early day, 185 1,
thousands of buffalo were encountered on the
way, and sometimes in the distance they appeared
like a forest of timber; twenty thousand were
passed in one day. The Platte valley and the
hills on both sides of the river were covered with
them. When Fort Laramie was passed, the
scenery changed. Mountains appeared, and
beautiful streams of pure water were wending
their way to larger streams, — the Sweetwater
river, Green river, Harris Fork, Smith's Fork,
Black's Fork, Bear and Weber rivers and other
streams. Buffalo robes at that early day could
be bought for three dollars and fifty cents,
dressed, ready for use, and they were an excellent
piece of bedding.
He arrived in Salt Lake City the latter part of
September of that year, and a few days later he
was working for R. T. Burton, In January,
1852, he attended the University of Deseret, then
in a primitive state. Orson Spencer was princi-
pal, and chancellor, also a teacher, and W. W.
Phelps was his assistant. In attending this
school books were scarce, and Mr. Woodward
stood guard over Mexicans and Indians for the
money to buy -him a McGufify's Fifth. Reader.
He had a grammar, and an arithmetic; he bor-
rowed a slate, and a friend made him a tin slate-
pencil holder. Thus equipped, he plodded on in
his studies. Durinsr winter he read the book of
Mormon through for the first time. In April he
went to work for Heber C. Kimball.
After his arrival in Salt Lake City, Mr. Wood-
ward was anxious to see Brigham Young and
other prominent Mormon leaders; to say that he
was delighted with them, and their preaching, is
hardly expressing the feelings he entertained to-
ward these men. He availed himself of every
opportunity to hear them preach, and was al-
ways pleased to be in their company. For no-
bility of character, for great motives to benefit
mankind, for kindness to the Alormon people,
these leaders were, in Mr. Woodward's eyes, par
excellence. The leading men, besides Brigham
Young, were Heber C. Kimball, Willard Rich-
ards, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A.
Smith, and in the summer of 1852 Charles C.
Rich, John Taylor, Eras.tus Snow, Franklin D.
Richards, and Lorenzo Snow arrived in Salt
Lake City. At a conference held August 28 and
29, missionaries were called to different parts of
the world, and Mr. Woodward was called to go
to England, where he arrived January 4, 1853.
He arrived in London a short time after this, and
labored as a missionary for more than a year in
that metropolis. He spent the rest of his time in
England in Kent and Dorsetshire conferences,
and in April, 1856, he again crossed the sea, with
seven hundred Latter Day Saints, who were pre-
sided over by Dan Jones. He arrived in Boston,
left the good ship "S. Curling," and started for
Iowa City, where he arrived on June 2.
The year 1856 was memorable in Mormon emi-
gration. Five hand-cart companies crossed the
plains — Mr. Woodward was attached to the
fourth company, and was captain of the third
hundred. In the Sweetwater valley snow fell,
and hardships were endured by the people till
they arrived in Salt Lake valley. Relief trains
with supplies of food and clothing were sent to
the rescue of the emigrants, and Brigham Young
was foremost in starting these expeditions. After
Mr. Woodward's arrival in Salt Lake City — after
an absence of four years and nearly two months
— he went to work at anything he could find to
do, finally teaching school and "boarding
around."
He was first married in 1857. and is the father
of twenty-two children, eight boys and fourteen
girls, — and tliirteen children are still living.
590
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
j\lr. Woodward came to Franklin April 14.
i860, with a few others, and they were the first
real settlers of Idaho. They built the first school
house in the state, and labored diligently to make
homes, building their houses in a square fort,
for protection against Indians, who were numer-
ous at that time.
Mr. Woodward has been a lifelong Democrat
in politics; has been postmaster, justice of the
peace, city councilor, and once was elected to the
legislature, but was not seated through two of his
party selling out to the opposition. Mr. Wood-
ward is a farmer, raises some one hundred tons
of hay yearly, and in 1898 raised over three thou-
sand bushels of grain. He lives on his farm of
ninety acres, has other lands in this state and in
Utah, keeps cows and other domestic animals,
and might be said to be fairly prosperous. He
is a devoted Mormon and a lover of the Declara-
tion of Independence and the constitution of the
United States; is strictly a temperance man, does
not use strong drinks, or tobacco, nor use tea or
coff^ee. He believes in honest government for
the people, and is a full believer that all men
should worship God as they please, without mo-
lestation. He is a president of the eighteenth
quorum of Seventies in the church, and a full be-
liever in the divine mission of Joseph Smith as a
prophet.
On his farm he has been greatly assisted by his
family, who are models of industry and thrift.
JOB FRANCIS DYE.
Among the figures who stand prominently
forth on the pages of western history is the gen-
tleman whose name introduces this review. His
was a marvelous record of long connection with
the events which go to make up the annals of the
Pacific coast. He was one of those honored
pioneers who blazed a path for future cavalcades
to follow ; who bravely turned their faces from
the cities of the east, with all the advantages of
wealth and civilization, and cast their fortunes
with the western frontier, in all its wildness and
primitive modes of life; who, rather than enjoy
the comforts of their former homes, chose to en-
dure the hardships of a wider and freer country;
and who made out of those very obstacles, which,
to a weaker class of men would have been stum-
bling blocks, the stepping stones to wealth and
renown, — none of these great men are more
noted for untiring perseverance and steady prog-
ress which have resulted in the acquirement of
wealth and the well merited esteem of their fel-
low men than the gentleman whose name heads
this memoir. He realized with great prophetic
foresight the magnitude of the prospects of the
west, and that at a time when this section of the
country gave but slight signs of her future great-
ness. If, as is maintained, the history of a coun-
try is best told in the lives of her prominent men,
then certainly any history of Idaho or the Pacific
coast would be incomplete without recognition of
the salient points of the life record of this man,
who was for many years a most influential and
respected citizen of this part of the Union.
Mr. Dye was born in Hardin county, Ken-
tucky, January 17, 1807, and, spending his boy-
hood days in that state, started westward on at-
taining his majority, going to Arkansas in 1828.
That state was then an almost unbroken wilder-
ness, inhabited only by Indians. Buffalo, deer
and other wild game roamed through the forest,
and the lodges of the hunter and trapper were
almost the only places of human abode, except
the wigwams of the Indians. For two years he
remained in that territory, — for Arkansas had not
then been admitted to the Union, — and in 1830
went to New Orleans, where he joined a party of
trappers who were going to the Rocky moun-
tains to collect furs. Mr. Dye remained with
them for two years, during which time he expe-
rienced many of the hardships and trials of such
a life. Traveling where white men had never
before been, spending many a night by the camp-
fire in the forest, there was nevertheless an ex-
citement and interest about such a life that lent
it great zest. He became an expert trapper and
hunter and also an expert mountain-climber. In
1 83 1 he started for California with a party of
thirty-five, who traveled from Taos, New Mexico,
across the mountains to the Golden state, reach-
ing their destination in January, 1832. There
were immense herds of cattle and horses all
through the country at that time, and it was cus-
tomary for the traveler to take all the cattle that
was needed for food.
Mr. Dye traveled northward from the pueblo
of Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, where he
thought to engage in otter hunting, and formed
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
591
a partnership with Don Roberto, who, together
with the Mexican authorities, robbed him of all
his money. At this time all California belonged
to JNIexico, and was largely settled by a wealthy
class of Spaniards, who pwned immense ranches,
containing thousands of acres, each household,
with their many slaves and servants, constituting
quite a little settlement. After losing his money
Mr. Dye continued on his northward way to San
Louis Obispo, where he continued in the fur
business, meeting with splendid success. Later
he went to Monterey, where he married and es-
tablished his home. He engaged in the distill-
ing business near Santa Cruz, conducting a suc-
cessful business until 1840, when the Mexicans,
believing that a revolution was about to break
out among the people, confiscated his property.
Not daunted by this adversity, he removed to
Monterey and engaged in merchandising, again
accumulating quite a fortune. He received a
land grant from the Mexican government of
twenty-six thousand, seven hundred acres, lo-
cated on the Sacramento river in what is now
Tehama county, and including the site of the city
of Red Bluff and several other now flourishing
towns. He called his place the Antelope Valley
Ranch, and on it had two hundred head of horses
and one thousand head of cattle. This property
became quite valuable in 1848, when gold was
discovered in California. In 1849 he was still
engaged in merchandising in Monterey, but af-
terward removed to his ranch, where he carried
on stock-raising and mining. In 1850 he con-
ducted a mercantile business in Sacramento.
In 1863 Mr. Dye sold his ranch and removed
to Silver City, Idaho, engaging in business in
Idaho City and afterward at Silver City, where he
resided until 1869. He then went to Mountain
City, Nevada, where he was engaged in merchan-
dising for about two years, when he went to Cor-
ralitos, California, where he departed this life on
the 4th of March, 1883. He had been one of the
first Americans to locate in that state, and was
well known to the pioneers of the Pacific coast
from Mexico to British Columbia. He soon
learned the Spanish language and became ac-
quainted with all the prominent Spanish and
Mexican families on the coast. His first wife
was a Spanish lady of great culture and refine-
ment, a relative of Governor Peco. He was ac-
tive in the war which secured California to the
United States, was present at the raising of the
Bear flag and also took an active part in raising
the stars and stripes in California. He was inti-
mately acquainted with General Sutter, General
Bidwell, Major Reading and General Fremont,
and during his early life was one of the best
known and most active citizens, being promi-
nently connected with the mining interests and
having gold in such abundance that it was al-
most a waste of time to count the cost of little
things. He gave as high as fifty head of cattle at
one time to feed the Indians, and no stranger who
knocked at his door to seek food or shelter was
ever turned away. Hospitality there reigned su-
preme, and was accompanied by the sister virtue
of generosity. He was a man of kindly impulses,
of sterling worth, honest in all his dealings, and
devoted to his family. He not only watched the
wonderful development that transformed the
west from the wilderness to one of the richest
sections of the country, and brought it from un-
der the sway of Mexican rule to the liberty of the
American republic, but aided in many movements
for the public good and thus enduringly in-
scribed his name on the pages of its history.
Four of his children survive him: Mrs. John S.
Butler, of Oakland. California; Rebecca L., who
was married in 1868 to Charles M. Hays, their
home being in Boise; and James and Newton,
now of Santa Cruz county, California.
HON. JOHN S. B.\RRETT.
The pluckiest men, those who mav go down
temporarily in the world's great battle, but who
will never give up the fight and are certain to
overcome all obstacles and win the victory soon-
er or later, are those who have gone into the
battle while yet in their childhood, and as boys
have done the work of men, and have been men
before their time. An illustration of this fact is
afforded by the career of Hon. John S. Barrett,
of Montpelier, Idaho.
John S. Barrett was born in London, England,
February 8, 1854. In i860, when he was eight
years old, he and an older sister were sent to the
United States with a company bound for Salt
Lake City, Utah. In 1864 his father, Henry
Barrett, came over and made a home at Salt Lake
City. He was a carpenter by trade, an Indus-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
trious and reputable citizen and a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He
died at Salt Lake City in 1897, aged eighty-four
years. John S. Barrett had little opportunity for
schooling, but he has gained much knowledge by
the way he has gone through life and is a well
informed man, with special ability for important
business affairs. He attended district school a
little and was sent to a night school a while. He
began his active life as a farmer's boy-of-all-work,
drove team and labored in the harvest field, and
at length got a chance to clerk in a store, where
he soon developed ability to sell goods. This
was the beginning of his real career. He perse-
vered in it and prospered in it, and in 1889
opened a somewhat pretentious store at Mont-
pelier. He was successful until the panic of 1893
caught him unprepared and compelled him to dis-
continue the enterprise. He was offered and ac-
cepted a position as bookkeeper in the store of
the Co-operative Wagon & Machine Company,
and held it until 1899, when he relinquished it to
become manager of the Sidney Stevens 'Imple-
ment Company, dealers in all kmds of farm im-
plements, wagons and carriages. The home
plant of this company is at Ogden, Utah, and it
has branches at Logan. Utah, and Preston and
Montpelier, Idaho, and many agencies in differ-
ent states. It is one of the oldest and largest
concerns of its kind in Utah, has an extensive
capital and is operating successfully on a mam-
moth scale. At Ogden it has large shops, where
it manufactures some of the products it handles.
Under Mr. Barrett's management the business of
the Montpelier branch is prosperous and steadily
increasing, and his success is gratifying alike to
his employers and to himself.
In politics, from the Democratic point of view,
Mr. Barrett has taken an active interest, and he
has several times been elected to the office of
school trustee, has been a member of the city
council of Montpelier, has been mayor of the city
and in 1894 was elected to the state legislature,
where he was influential in securing the passage
of the law under which the state supplies text-
books to pupils in the public schools, a very ex-
cellent plan, and one which puts Idaho far in
advance of many older states in the matter of
placing education in the reach of even the poor-
est children. He was also active in securing the
passage in the lower house of a bill providing
for the removal of the county-seat of Bear Lake
county from Paris to ]\Iontpelier. Though this
bill failed in the senate, it was favored by a large
portion of the population, as the location of
Montpelier, in the geographical center of the
county and on the railroad, was a strong argu-
ment for the proposed removal. J\Ir. Barrett is
the owner of a sawmill at Liberty and has an
established insurance business, with as good a
line of companies as are represented at Montpel-
ier. He is a Woodman of the World and is a
zealous member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, holding the office of elder and
working forcefully in the mutual-improvement
society of the church which has been made a
power for good.
In 1876 Mr. Barrett married ]\Iiss Eliza Ann
Stewart, a native of San Bernardino, California,
and they have five children: Alfred, Minnie, Cyn-
thia, Edward and Hannah. The people of Mont-
pelier have come to regard Mr. Barrett as one of
the most public-spirited men in the city. He is
progressive and generously helpful to every
measure which in his judgment tends to the gen-
eral good.
HON. JAMES E. HART.
Faithfulness is the surest stepping-stone to suc-
cess. Faithfulness in small things begets confi-
dence in one's ability to undertake more consid-
erable tasks; and in business life, in professional
life, in the church and in public affairs, faithful-
ness and thoroughness have carried thousands
and are carrj'ing thousands up from the day and
place of small things to places of higher and still
higher responsibility and honor. These thoughts
have been suggested by a consideration of the
successful career of the man whose name appears
above.
James E. Hart, clerk of the district court and
ex-officio auditor and recorder of Bear Lake
county, Idaho, was born in St. Louis, IMissouri,
January 17, 1857, descending in both lines from
old English families. His parents, James H. and
Emily (Ellingham) Hart, were born in England
and married there, and came to America and took
up their residence in St. Louis, in 1854. They
had embraced the faith of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Mr. Hart had
done missionary work in England and France
r
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
for seven years, under President John Taylor.
He had learned the use of the French language
and had been sent to St. Louis on account of the
goodly percentage of French residents there, and
from 1854 to 1857 had charge of a local branch
of the church, as its president. He organized a
colony for Utah in the year last mentioned, and
was naturally chosen its captain. It was joined
by others until it became a large party, which re-
quired about forty wagons to cross the plains to
Utah. Oxen were their draft animals. Besides
their provisions and outfit, they had a number of
sick, old and weak people, and women and chil-
dren. For a considerable time after his arrival
in Utah Mr. Hart was in charge of a nail factory.
Later other interests claimed his attention until
his final retirement from active life. He lives
near Paris, aged seventy-four years, highly re-
spected by a wide circle of acquain^nces. His
wife died in 1892, aged seventy-one years. They
had six children, of whom James E. Hart was
the youngest, and is the only survivor.
Mr. Hart was in the first year of his life when
his parents took him to Salt Lake City, and had
attained only to the age of six years when the
family came to what is now Bear Lake county,
Idaho. He was educated in the public schools
of Bloomington, Idaho, and at the University of
Utah, and was graduated, in 1890, in the law de-
partment of the University of Michigan. He
practiced his profession three years at Paris and
at Logan, with increasing success, and was then
called by his church to a mission in the southern
states, where he labored successfully for twenty-
seven months in Tennessee and for two years of
that time was president of the East Tennessee
Conference, which embraced forty counties in
eastern Tennessee and about the same number in
western North Carolina. He directed a very ex-
tensive work there, which was signally productive
of results, and at its termination returned to Ida-
ho, where he was called to take charge of the
Bear Lake stake as the president of the Young
Men's Mutual Improvement Association, — an
office which he still holds. For about one year he
was in the implement trade at Montpelier, but
gave most of his time to farming and stock-rais-
ing. He was elected to the thirteenth session of
the territorial legislature of Idaho and repre-
sented the interests of his district ably and most
conscientiously. A lawyer of praiseworthy at-
tainments, an able man of affairs, a churchman
devoted to all the interests of his church, he is
peculiarly fitted to fill the ecclesiastical and secu-
lar offices of high responsibility of which he is the
incumbent, and he is discharging his duties with
success.
July 28, 1881, President Hart was united in
marriage with Miss Elmira Beirdneau, of Ken-
tucky ancestry, and a native of Logan, Utah.
They have three daughters and two sons: El-
mira E., Ermie B., Alta A., James B. and Clififord
E. The family home of the Harts is one of the
cosiest and most hospitable in the county.
HENRY H. HOFF.
The German character has impressed itself
upon our American progress by the inculcation
of lessons of thrift, industry and respect for the
law. It has made itself felt in the development
of our public educational system. In the pos-
session of a goodly number of citizens of German
parentage Idaho is fortunate. One of its lead-
ing representative German-American citizens is
Henry Herman Hoff, of Montpelier.
Henry Herman Hoff was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, March 16, 1849, a son of John G.
and Catharine (Pfitzenmaier) Hoff, who were
born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1814, were
married in the Fatherland, and came to the United
States in 1835. Mr. Hofif became a wholesale
boot and shoe merchant at Philadelphia, where
he died in 1891, aged seventy-seven. Mrs. Hoff
died in 1861, aged forty-seven. They had seven
sons and two daughters, of whom only four are
living. Henry Herman Hoff, the sixth son in
order of nativity, attended the public schools of
Philadelphia until he was twelve years old, and
then took up the battle for bread on his own ac-
count. He spent six years in acquiring a knowl-
edge of the butcher's trade and business, in which
he has been employed almost continuously since,
latterly as the proprietor of extensive interests in
that line. He was at Chicago four years, until
after the great fire of 1871, of which he has a
vivid recollection: at San Francisco, California,
four months and then went to Salt Lake City,
where he met two of his brothers, whom he had
not seen for thirteen years. After an interval in
which he hauled ore for smelters and was em-
504
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ployed by a railroad company, he filled out the
balance of a year at Salt Lake City as manager
of the wholesale slaughter-house of B. A. Stevens.
He spent the ensuing fifteen months at Evans-
ton, Wyoming, then went to Pleasant Grove,
Utah, where, on March 8, 1875, he married Miss
Harriet Bacon, a native of that place, born De-
cember 22, 1856, a daughter of Chauncey Bacon.
During the first year of his married life he lived
at Salt Lake City. He then went back to Evans-
ton, Wyoming, and for four years was employed
by Crawford, Thompson & Company, the firm
with which he had been at the time of his previou-,
residence there, and for another year by Jay
AIcDonald. He then removed to Georgetown,
Idaho, where he took up one htmdred and sixty
acres of land. He has since added to his landed
possessions until he has at this time four hundred
acres, on which he pastures his stock and raises
hay and grain. He is a breeder, on an extensive
scale, of Cotswold sheep, Clydesdale horses, Dur-
ham cattle and Berkshire hogs, and has a large,
well equipped meat market at Montpelier. He
is entitled to the credit of having been the pio-
neer meat-market proprietor of Bear Lake
county. His lifelong experience renders him an
expert in every detail of this business, and he is
known as a bright, active and capable business
man.
A Democrat who has always voted his party
ticket and worked for the triumph of the Demo-
cratic principles, Mr. Hofif has attained much in-
fluence in political circles and has been entrusted
with work of great public importance. In Feb-
ruary. 1893, he was appointed by Governor Mc-
Connell a member of the second board of regents
of the L'niversity of the State of Idaho. He en-
tered upon the work of the position with char-
acteristic promptness and thoroughness and
brought to bear upon it all his trained business
ability. When he became a member of the board
of regents, only the west wing of the university
building had been erected, and during his term
of service the main building and east wing have
been built. The structure is a credit to the state
and to those who had the supervision of its erec-
tion. He has since been appointed by Governor
Steunenberg a member of the board of the State
Normal School at Albion. An Odd Fellow of
manyyears' membership, Mr. Hofif has passed the
chairs of both the subordinate lodge and the en-
campment, has represented his lodge in the grand
lodge and has the honor of having been grand
patriarch of the order in the state. For nine
years he was secretary of his lodge. He is a
Woodman of the World, and for three years has
been secretary of his lodge of that order. ]\Ir.
Hoff and his family are members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in which he
holds the ofifice of elder. Public-spirited to a
marked degree, he has done very much toward
the propagation of religion and education
throughout the county and state, and has assisted
by every means at his command every movement
having for its object the enhancement of the hap-
piness and prosperity of any considerable num-
ber of his fellow citizens. There have been born
to IVIr. and Mrs. Hofif six children, named as fol-
lows: Beatrice H., H. Herman, Edward C, Ern-
est P., Myrtle Desant and Frank Emanuel.
IMOSES .ALEXANDER.
The sturdy German element in our national
commonwealth has been one of the most impor-
tant in furthering the substantial and normal ad-
vancement of the country, for this is. an element
signally appreciative of practical values and also
of the higher intellectuality which transcends all
provincial confines. Well may any person take
pride in tracing his lineage to such a source.
jMoses Alexander is one of the worthy sons that
the Fatherland has furnished to America, and
Boise now numbers him among her leading mer-
chants, while in the ofifice of mayor he is capably
handling the reins of city government.
He was born in Obrigheim, Germany, on the
13th of November, 1853, and acquired his educa-
tion in his native country. He came to the
United States in 1867, and after spending one
year in New York city, went to Chillicothe, Mis-
souri, where he was employed as a clerk in the
store of Jacob Berg & Company until 1873, when
he became a partner in the enterprise, the firm
name, however, being changed at that time to
Wallbrunn, Alexander & Company. He was
thus engaged in business until February, 1891,
and on the 14th of July, of the same year, he
opened a store in Boise, where he has since car-
ried on operations as a dealer in men's clothing
and furnishing goods. His establishment is lo-
^JmwJ-OJjj
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
cated at the corner of Seventh and Alain streets,
and he has a large and well selected stock, which
enables him to retain an extensive patronage.
His business methods are commendable, and suc-
cess has crowned his enterprising efforts.
For many years J\Ir. Alexander has taken quite
an active interest in political affairs, giving his
support to the Democratic party on ciuestions of
national importance. In 1886 he was elected to
represent the second ward of Chillicothe, Mis-
souri, in the city council, and the following year
was elected mayor of that city on the non-par-
tisan citizens' ticket. In 1897 he was elected
mayor of Boise on the Citizens" Silver-Improve-
ment ticket, by a plurality of more than three
hundred. He has been a progressive mayor, and
during his administration many important im-
provements have been inaugurated and carried
forward to successful completion. He ever places
principle before party, and the general good be-
fore self-aggrandizement, and his public service
has been that of a trustworthy and practical busi-
ness man.
On the 5th of Xovember, 1876, was celebrated
the marriage of Jilr. Alexander and Miss Helen
Keastner, the wedding taking place in St. Joseph,
Alissouri. The lady is a native of Crimmitzschau,
Saxony, and crossed the Atlantic to Ameri-
ca in 1868. To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander have
been born three daughters and a son. Mr. Alex-
ander is a member of Chillicothe Lodge, No. 333,
F. & A. M., and is a man of social qualities. His
genuine worth and freedom from all ostentation
have won recognition in the friendly regard
which is so uniformly extended him.
HON. TANNES E. DULLER.
]\Iany interesting stories might be told by the
early pioneers of Idaho, but it is not likely there
are many men living in the state who could tell
more stories, or stories of greater interest, than
Senator Tannes E. Jililler, and Senator Miller can
go back of the pioneer days in Idaho and tell
tales of the building and sailing of ships in Wis-
consin and of pioneer life among the Indians.
Senator Miller is one of Idaho's most useful
citizens and one of Latah county's most promi-
nent pioneers and most successful farmers. He
has a model farm, which is located two miles east
of Genesee. It is not only a very productive
farm, but a very beautiful homestead, for Senator
Miller is a man of refined taste, who be-
lieves there is nothing too good for his family.
Tannes E. Miller was born in Norway, August
6, 1840, eldest child of Tabias and Christine (Elle)
Aliller, and came to America with his parents
and brothers and sisters in 1849, and located in
Wisconsin. His father had been a sea captain,
but took up the life of a farmer and made a suc-
cess of it. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were of the Luth-
eran faith. Mr. Miller died at the age of seventv-
two, his wife at the age of sixty-three. Mrs.
Miller died only a year later than her husband.
They had eight sons and a daughter, five of whom
are living.
When the Millers arrived in Wisconsin the fu-
ture senator was nine years old. For a bov of
his age he was quite well educated, for his father
had taken him to sea with him and had .taught
him with much system and thoroughness. Those
were pioneer days in that part of \\'isconsin in
which the iMillers had found a home, and the bov
was busy, and educational facilities were meager,
and he attended school but twenty-one davs in
Wisconsin. But he studied at home, read when
he had time, kept his eyes open wherever he went,
and grew to manhood intelligent, alert and well
informed.
He lived the life of a farmer boy and youth,
attaining his majority in 1861, a few months after
the outbreak of the war of the states. He early
formed a determination to enlist for soldier's duty
in the Union cause, and September 6, 1862, he
joined Company D, Sixty-seventh Illinois Volun-
teer Infantry, with which he served three months.
In 1863 he enlisted in the First Wisconsin Heavy
Artillery. He was in the memorable battle of
Missionary Ridge, in which the federal troops
covered themselves with so much glory, and later
was on several detached services as bugler and
clerk, etc. He was on General Stoneman's staff
and later was chief bugler to General Steadman.
He was once appointed by his lieutenant colonel
for drum major of the regiment, but his captain
refused to transfer him because he was the only
company bugler, so he could not accept tlie pro-
motion. He was honorably discharged from the
service at Nashville, Tennessee, September 6,
1865, just three years to the day after his first en-
listment.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Returning to Wisconsin, he gave himself up to
the acquisition of the trade of ship-builder. He
began at rough work and finished in the draught-
ing department. But by the marriage of the son,
his father gave him a small farm and it was so
located and situated that it demanded his time
and attention, and this event changed his plans.
After a few years he sold that property and
bought another farm, in Waupaca county, on
which he lived four years, then took charge of his
father's farm until, April 9, 1878, he started for
Idaho. He made this journey via San Francisco
and by ship to Portland, Oregon. Thence he
made his way to Lewiston, and May 6 following
his departure from Wisconsin located on the
farm which has since been his home. He pre-
empted a claim of one hundred and sixty acres
and an eighty-acre timber-culture claim. He
came to the place with a wife and eight children
and a cash capital of twenty-five dollars, — all the
money he had left after paying the ordinary ex-
penses of the journey for ten persons. But he
faced the future bravely, and his ability was rec-
ognized by his pioneer neighbors. On the day
of his arrival he was chosen superintendent of
the construction of a fort for the protection of the
settlers from the Indians, who were quite numer-
ous and whose friendship was not to be relied on
implicitly. Less than two months after he came
to Idaho he was the prime mover in the organiza-
tion of as good a Fourth of July celebration as
the few settlers could put up. It was not numer-
ously attended, but the entire population was
present and it was very patriotic.
Senator Miller was formerly, for years, a Re-
publican, but is now a Populist of very inde-
pendent thought, studying all economic problems
for himself and favoring that only which he
deems best for the country. His interest in
public education has been deep and abiding, and
he has served his school district for twenty years
as a trustee. He was elected to the state senate
in 1894, and served on several important com-
mittees and was prominent in championing the
location that was adopted for the Idaho State
University. When his fellow senators found that
he could not be led and was fearless and aggres-
sive, he exerted a strong and valuable influence.
Senator IMiller raises a variety of crops on his
farm. The principal one is wheat. He has
planted many kinds of fruit trees, shade trees
and flowers, which combine to render the place
one of the most beautiful in thii part of the
state. The home life of the family has always
been happy in the extreme. Mr. Miller was
married April 7, 1866, to Miss Anna Halverson.
Several of their children are now settled in life.
The eldest daughter married in 1885 and died in
1889, leaving a son and a daughter, and the
former is now a member of the household of
his grandfather Miller and the latter has a home
with her paternal grandfather. Roderick C ,
Alfred and Leo Miller, three of Senator Miller's
sons, are farmers on the Nez Perces reservation.
Rachel Christine, Frederick and Charlotte are
members of their parents' household. The Millers
are talented as musicians and artists, the Senator
himself being a proficient player on eight instru-
ments, and a painter of no mean ability. His
children have inherited his genius, and the walls
of the Miller home are hung with paintings made
by different members of the family, many of these
productions being artistic and elegant. Mr. and
Mrs. Miller were formerly Lutherans, but the
family are communicants of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, in which Senator Miller is record-
ing steward and of which he a generous sup-
porter.
CHRISTIAN WALLANTINE.
Christian Wallantine, one of the prominent
farmers and old residents of Paris, Idaho, is a
native of Denmark, having been born on the
little island of Barnholm, in the Baltic sea, off
the Danish coast, October 21, 184 1. He is a
descendant of German ancestry on his father's
side, representing in this line very old Teutonic
stock. His parents were Wallantine and Augel
Margaret (Kofoot) Wallentinesen, who, having
become converts to the faith of the Church of
Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, decided
to cross the ocean and live out the remainder
of their days in Utah, where it was promised
the temple of this church should be erected. They
came in 1853-4, and were quite a year in making
the voyage across the sea and the long and
tedious journey across the plains. They were
able to employ only the most primitive means,
and they had no team swifter or better than
oxen, which the men and big boys took turns
at driving, and which, with the plodding patience
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
of their kind, came with them at last to their jour-
ney's end. The parents brought with them their
three sons; and Christian, the second born, was
then thirteen years old; and he has a vivid recol-
lection of their hardships, their hopes and fears,
their mishaps, their perils, seen and unseen, and
their long, tense struggle against wind and
weather, miasma and ever increasing weariness,
and of the great thankfulness that filled their
hearts when at last the family stood unbroken
in the paved streets of Salt Lake City. He
could never forget that day, though he should
live to die with the world.
His father took up government land at Brig-
ham City, Utah, and became a successful farmer,
a prominent citizen and one of the lights of his
church, of which when he died, aged sixty-five,
he had been for many years a priest and high
priest. His wife died a year or so later, at about the
same age. Their eldest son, August, is the bishop
of the fourth ward of Brigham City. Their
youngest son, Charles, is a farmer and lives near
Rexburg, Fremont county, Idaho.
Facilities for public education near the early
home of the Wallentinsens, on the little Danish
island, were very poor; and though Christian at-
tended such schools as there were until he was
nearly ten years old he is almost entirely self-
educated. From childhood he helped his parents
until he attained the age of eighteen. Then he
set up in the world for himself, working on a
farm for wages, and a year later married ]\Iiss
Elizabeth Caldwell, a native of Scotland. They
came to Paris, now in Bear Lake county, in 1864,
among the very first settlers at the place. He
was then twenty-three years old. He located on
property which he still occupies, and has the his-
torical distinction of having erected upon it the
first frame house in Bear Lake valley. His little
claim has grown, however, until it is a farm of
four hundred acres, and Mr. Wallantine raises
some grain, a great deal of timothy hay and many
fine Durham cattle and Clydesdale horses, as
well as cattle and horses of crossed breeds.
When, in common with other thinking men
of his faith, ]Mr. \\'allantine began to see that
politics would inevitably have an irresistible
influence on Mormon affairs, he began to cast
about for a political anchorage, and rested at
last within the haven of Democracy. A man of
good ability and of undoubted integrity, he came
in time to find various public offices seeking him,
and as his party was strong enough to elect him
to them he served successively in the offices of
constable, school trustee, under-sheriff, sheriff,
county commissioner and representative in the
Idaho legislature, to which he was elected in
1896; and in 1898 he was re-elected for a second
term, and was the only member succeeding him-
self in that year. He has taken part in the most
important work of the sessions to which he was
sent, always intelligently, influentially and with a
keen appreciation of his responsibilities. It was
he who formulated the bill equaHzing property
valuation in the several counties of the state so
that the burden of taxation might rest upon all
the citizens of the state in equal measure accord-
ing to their financial ability. In the discharge
of duty, public or private, he is prompt, thor-
ough and utterly fearless, and his interest in
everything that affects the welfare of the people
is so great and his impulses are so generous that
he is a leader among the public-spirited citizens
of Bear Lake county.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallantine have had eleven chil-
dren, of whom nine are living, as follows: Chris-
tian William is married and lives near his father ;
Charles A. assists his father in carrying on his
farm and is the owner of a ranch near by;
Thomas Caldwell is married and lives at Dingle,
where he owns a farm; Annie is married to
Robert Kelsey; Robert W. is also married and
lives on his own farm, not far from his father's;
Clara, Elizabeth, Mabel and Ray are members
of their father's household.
JOHN W. BRIGHAIM.
A large and well improved ranch eight and a
half miles southeast of the city of Moscow, in
Latah county, is owned by John Warren Brig-
ham, who is regarded as one of the most enter-
prising and progressive agriculturists of this part
of the state. His business ability, untiring indus-
try and capable management have been the chief
elements in his success and have gained him a
position among the substantial residents of the
county.
^Ir. Brigham is a native of California, his birth
having occurred in Placer county, on the 22d of
March, 1857. On the paternal side he is of Eng-
598
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
lish and Welsh lineage, and on the maternal side
of English and Dutch descent. The original
American ancestors of the Brigham family left
the "merrie isle" to become residents of New-
England, and his great-grandfather fought in the
Revolutionary war, participating in the battle of
Bunker Hill. He was a resident of jMassachusetts,
and was a shoemaker by occupation. The grand-
father, Curtis Brigham, was born in Massachu-
setts and became a Baptist minister. With his
family he removed to Michigan in an early day,
locating in Plainwell, Allegan county, where he
entered the government land that now lies within
the corporation limits of that city. He improved
his property and there made his home until his
death, which occurred when he was eighty years,
of age, his wife surviving until she had passed
the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey.
They were members of the Baptist church, and
were people of sterling worth.
Curtis Brigham, the father of our subject, was
ten years of age when the family settled in Michi-
gan, and was therefore reared amid the wild
scenes of the frontier. He was educated in the
public schools and in the academy of the town
and was a man of much intelligence and broad
general information. In his religious views he
might have been termed a liberal Baptist. He
married Miss Esther ]\Ietcalf, a native of Ohio,
and in 1854 went to California by way of the
isthmus of Panama. Two years later his wife and
two young sons joined him in the Golden state,
and in order to support his family he devoted his
energies to farming in the San Joaquin valley,
where he owned a large ranch and was also ex-
tensively engaged as an apiarist. In 1875 he
came to Latah county, Idaho, where he died in
the sixty-sixth year of his age, his wife passing
away in her fifty-fourth year. Their Christian
piety was manifest in their upright lives, and
they were faithful laborers in the Master's vine-
yard. The father was the founder of the first
Baptist church in Plainwell, Michigan, and it
grew to be a very large and influential organiza-
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Brigham had a family of six
children, five of whom are living.
John Warren Brigham, the third in order of
birth, was educated in the public schools of Cali-
fornia and came to his present home in Latah
countv in 1878. This was then a new and unde-
veloped district, and he secured both a pre-emp-
tion and homestead claim from the government.
With characteristic energy and determination he
began transforming the raw land into rich and
fertile fields, and now has one of the fine farming
properties in this section of the state. The im-
provements include a good residence and barn,
an excellent fish pond, and orchards covering
sixty-five acres. He raises nearly all kinds of
fruit, grain, vegetables and stock, uses improved
machinery in the cultivation of the fields, and
follows the most advanced and progressive meth-
ods in all departments of his farm work. Through
his well directed labors he has attained a position
among the substantial farmers of Idaho, and his
success is the just reward of his efforts.
For a number of years Mr. Brigham lived
alone upon his ranch, but in 1893 he was united
in marriage to [Miss Xellie Wilson, a native of
Nebraska and a daughter of William Wilson,
now of Latah county. Idaho. They now have
two interesting little children: John Wilson and
Verna Esther. The parents are valued members
of the United Brethren church, and in political
faith Mr. Brigham is a Republican. He was a
member of the fifteenth territorial council, the
state convention which framed the present con-
stitution of Idaho, was a member of the first
state senate, and at the present writing, 1899,
also occupies a seat in the upper house of the
general assembly. He is a man of ideas, viewing
broadly and in an unprejudiced manner the ques-
tions that come up for consideration, and having
at heart the best interest of his fellow men and
the state of his adoption. He considers carefullv
all issues, and his mature judgment has had a
marked and beneficial influence upon the legisla-
tion of the commonwealth. During campaigns
he has labored earnestly for the success of his
party, delivering many addresses in support of
its principles and is a recognized leader in its
ranks. His career, both public and private, is
irreproachable, and such men are an honor to
Idaho.
WILLI.\]\I F. HERRINGTON.
The medical profession would seem to afiford
a better business training than any other of the
learned professions. At least, of the lawyers and
clergymen who turn their attention to the busi-
ness very many of them fail. \'ery few physicians
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
599
do, and in almost any community the successful
physician develops, without apparent effort, into
the successful man of affairs. One of the many
medical men who are making noteworthy careers
as business men is the gentleman whose name is
the title of this article.
Dr. William F. Herrington was born in Jeffer-
son county, Missouri, September 12, 1861, a son
of S. G. and Jane (Beeler) Herrington. His
father was born in Missouri also, in 1841, and is
now a well-to-do farmer in the southern part of
that state. His mother, a native of Tennessee,
died in ^Missouri, when only twenty-four years
of age.
After gaining a practical education in the pub-
lic schools of Salem, Missouri, and spending sev-
eral years in business pursuits, young Herrington
began the study of medicine, at the age of
twenty-four, under the preceptorship of Dr. L. B.
Laws, of Houston, Missouri. Later he took a
course of professional lectures at Cincinnati,
Ohio, and was graduated in 1889 from the
American Medical College, of St. Louis, Mis-
souri, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
He practiced his profession one year in Missouri
and one year in the state of Washington, and in
1891 took up his residence at Wallace, Idaho,
where he was in successful practice until 1895
and was attending physician at Providence Hos-
pital from July, 1891, to October, 1894. Since
1895 he has been engaged in the real-estate
and insurance business, and he is now a member
of the firm of Herrington & Rossi (William F.
Herrington and Herman J. Rossi), which does
the leading real-estate business of Shoshone
county and represents forty-three strong insur-
ance companies.
In 1885 Dr. Herrington married i\Iiss Mary
Coats, of Missouri, and they have four children,
named Grover, Bessie, Maude and Edna. Dr.
Herrington is an influential Democrat, active and
popular in political circles throughout the state
He is a Mason, an Elk and an Odd Fellow. As
a citizen he is always reliably public-spirited and
helpful.
JOHN J. BINGMAN.
For twenty-two years this gentleman has car-
ried on agricultural pursuits on Camas prairie
and is now the owner of one of the finest farms
that adorn this section of the state. He was
born in Pennsylvania, in 1853, a son of Jacob
and j\Iary Louisa (Swarts) Bingman, also natives
of the Keystone state. The father was a farmer
and a charcoal burner, and at the time of the civil
war he enlisted in his country's service as a de-
fender of the Union. He was a drum major and
belonged to Company E, Fifty-third Pennsylva-
nia \'olunteer Infantry, with which he ser\'ed un-
til injured, when he was honorably discharged.
He lived to be seventy-five years of age,
and died in 1882, his wife passing aw-ay
when seventy-four years of age. Thev were
the parents of fourteen children, and their
three eldest sons, James, George and Charles,
entered the Union army. James laid down his
life on the altar of his country. He was taken
prisoner, and after suffering all the hardships
and privations of life in Andersonville, he passed
away. Ten of the family still survive.
Mr. Bingman of this review was educated in
the public schools of his native state, and since
ten years of age has not only earned his own
living but gave his wages to his father until he
had attained his majority. Leaving the Keystone
state, he then went to Michigan, where he was
employed as a farm hand until 1877, when, hop-
ing to take advantage of the government's offer
of land, he came to Idaho and entered one hun-
dred and sixty acres on Camas prairie, one of
the richest agricultural districts in the entire
northwest. The farm is conveniently and pleas-
antly located four miles north of Grangeville and
thereon he has built a good house and barn and
made other substantial improvements. Some of
the land has been transformed into rich fields,
giving evidence of abundant harvests, and the
other is used as pasture lands for his cattle,
horses and hogs. Both as a general grain
farmer and stock-raiser he has met with good
success, being a very industrious, energetic man,
— which qualities are the elements of prosperity.
In 1883 Mr. Bingman returned east, and on
the 14th of February, 1888, married Miss Rose
G. White, by whom he lyis one child. May Alice.
They have since resided on the farm and are
widely and favorably known in the community.
Mr. Bingman exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the Democ-
racv. He was a participant in the Xez Perccs
war. and did dut\- at Mount Idaho and the
600
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Grangeville stockade, and was also at the battle
of Clearwater. The days of Indian hostilities
being past, he has since zealously labored to pro-
mote all interests calculated to benefit the com-
munity, and his public spirit would make him a
valued citizen in any community.
L. C. EASTMAN.
The quality of a man's manhood has every-
thing to do with not only the degree but with
the quality of his success. In point of magni-
tude a man's success may be great, but it may be
of a character pitifully weak, if not dangerous to
the public weal. The soHd, substantial, honest
and admirable success which brings a man not
only money but the respect of his fellow men is
the kind of success that has crowned the endeav-
ors of the man whose name appears as the title
of this article.
L. C. Eastman, postmaster at Soda Springs,
Idaho, and pioneer and leading druggist of that
city, was born at Oskaloosa, Iowa, August 22,
1855, a son of Hon. Enoch and Caroline (Green-
ough) Eastman. The founder of this family of
Eastman in America was Jeremiah Eastman, an
English gentleman who had a fine place near
some of the landed property of the king of Eng-
land. Frequently, it is related, he was annoyed
by the sheep belonging to His Majesty breaking
into his grounds and injuring them. Remon-
strance was vain. One day the animals invaded
Mr. Eastman's garden and destroyed it, and in
driving them out, not any too gently perhaps, the
. wronged subject shot one of them, greatly to the
displeasure of those who were presumed to have
them in charge and to His Majesty's personal
displeasure also, it appears likely, for he was
menaced with such serious trouble and personal
danger because of this trivial occurrence, that
he was obliged to seek safety beyond the borders
of his native land. With his two sons he escaped
to New England, embarking from Liverpool, and
settled in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where his
wife joined him not long afterward. He and his
descendants were active in making our early his-
tory. Some of them did patriotic service for the
cause of the colonies in the seven-years fight for
American independence, and John Eastman, L.
C. Eastman's paternal grandfather, served his
country in the war of 1812-14, and A'Ir. Eastman
has this ancestor's honorable discharge from the
United States army. He lived to a good old
age and died respected and regretted.
Hon. Enoch Eastman, L. C. Eastman's father,
was born in Epsom, New Hampshire, and nxar-
ried Miss Caroline Greenough in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He became a lawyer and removed
to Iowa, where he practiced his profession and
became a prominent citizen and leading Republi-
can. He long represented his county in the Iowa
legislature and was lieutenant governor of that
state. He died in Iowa, in 1885. His wife died
in 1 86 1, aged forty-four years. They had eight
children, of whom four are living and of whorn
four died in infancy or early childhood.
L. C. Eastman was educated in the public _
schools of Iowa, and at sixteen years of age faced
the world with a demand for a living, which he
was quite willing to earn. He found employment
as an assistant on the survey of the Iowa Central
Railroad, and in 1882 went west as far as Colo-
rado, where he engaged in quartz-mining with
little success and in the drug trade at the same
time with more satisfactory results. His partner
in the drug business was N. J. Brown, M. D.,
and their store was at Kiowa, Colorado. In 1884
he came to Soda Springs and opened the pioneer
pharmacy in the town. He has been quite suc-
cessful in this enterprise and has a large estab-
lishment, in which he carries a full line of drugs
and medicines, paints, oils and stationery. His
trade is large and constantly growing and ex-
tending over a wider area, and he is so popular
personally that, notwithstanding he is a Repub-
lican, he was appointed postmaster at Soda
Springs under President Cleveland's first admin-
istration. In 1897 he was again appointed to the
same ofiice, under President McKinley's admin-
istration. The people of Soda Springs have
implicit confidence in him as a business man and
know him as a thoroughly public-spirited citizen,
who has the important interests of the town close
to his heart and is always ready to promote them,
financially or otherwise, to the extent of his
ability. He has erected and fitted up one of the
pleasantest and most comfortable homes in the
city. He was married, in October, 1885, to ]\Iiss
Caroline Dorrien, a native of Salt Lake City,
Utah. Their union has been blessed by four
children: Elbert W., Loretta, JNIarguerite and
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
601
Richard Gorton, the latter having been named
in honor of Mr. Eastman's neighbor and personal
friend, the late Hon. George W. Gorton, one of
whose sons bears the name of Eastman.
PETER J. HOLOHAN.
The gentleman whose name appears above
claims distinction as having been pne of the first
settlers at Wallace, Idaho, and as a member of
the firm of Holohan & McKinlay, dealers in
tobacco and cigars, he is recognized as one of
the prominent business men of that city. He is a
native of Hardin county, Kentucky, and is a son
of Michael and Ann (Welsh) Holohan, natives of
Ireland, who came early in life to the United
States and met and married here, settling in Ken-
tucky about 1850. Michael Holohan died in
Idaho, in 1880, aged about fifty years, and his
widow, now about sixty-two years old, is living
at Wallace. They had eight children, of whom
six are now living, and of whom Peter J. Holohan
was the second in order of nativity.
At nine years of age Peter J. Holohan accom-
panied his parents and brothers and sisters from
Kentucky to Iowa, where the family lived until
1878. He then went to Oregon, but remained
only a short time before settling with his father's
family on Camas prairie, in Idaho (now in Idaho
county), where he lived until 1885, five years
after his father's death, and then came to Wal-
lace, where he was one of the first settlers.
Mr. Holohan's first enterprise after taking up
his residence at Wallace was in packing mer-
chandise to the various mining camps round
about, where it met with ready sale. Later he
engaged in real-estate operations and thus ac-
quired considerable property, notably an interest
in the Holohan & McKinlay block at Wallace,
occupied partially by the tobacco and cigar estab-
lishment of Holohan & McKinlay. He has mined
with some success, too, and has conducted all of
the enterprises with which he has had to do with
§0 much energy and good judgment that he ranks
as one of the leading business men of the city.
Personally Mr. Holohan is very popular, and
he has a large acquaintance, which is constantly
augmented by his membership of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks and by his activity
as a Democrat, for he is a Democrat of the kind
that is bred in "Old Kentucky" and has been
chairman of the Democratic county central com-
mittee of Shoshone county, and is influential in
all important and local councils of his party. He
was married in 1881 to Miss Mildred Sebastian,
a native of Oregon, and they have two children
named Denis and Guy.
.A.LBERT SMALL. '
Albert Small, the senior member of the firm
of Small & Emery, prominent wholesale dealers
in and manufacturers of lumber, and proprietors
of the Lewiston Lumber Mills, is a native of the
province of New Brunswick, born September 30,
1841, and is of English and Scotch ancestry. His
great-grandfather Small was a sea captain who
emigrated to the state of Maine, where for man>
years he made his home and headquarters. He
attained the advanced age of eighty-seven years,
while his wife, who bore the maiden name of
Mitchell, reached the remarkable age of ninety-
seven. They were the parents of six sons and
seven daughters, and the first member of the
family to pass away was fifty-two years of age at
the time of his death. One of the number, Daniel
Small, the father of our subject, was born in New
Brunswick, and having arrived at years of matur-
ity married Lavina IMonroe, by whom he had
nine children, Albert being the third in order of
birth. The father passed away at the age of sixty-
two years, and the mother died about the same
time, at the age of sixty years. They were indus-
trious farming people, and were members of the
Baptist church.
During his early boyhood .-Mbert Small accom-
panied his parents on their removal to the Pine
Tree state, and he is indebted to the public-school
system of Maine for the educational privileges he
received. He had just reached his twentieth year
when the great civil war was at its height, and
in response to the president's call for volunteers
he enlisted in the First Maine Cavalry and served
with the glorious Army of the Potomac until the
close of hostilities. He witnessed one hundred
and three engagements, great and small, and
never was injured in the slightest way, nor was
he ofif duty for a single day on account of illness.
He v.-as seventeen months at General J. Irvin
Craig's headquarters, in the provost marshal's
office, and the remainder of the time at the head-
quarters of General C. H. Smith, who was com-
603
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
mander of the Third Brigade in their division. In
1862 he was sent to General Meade's headquar-
ters and was with him up to and through the
battle of Gettysburg, and also saw the great de-
feat and slaughter of the Union forces at Fred-
ericksburg. On the 27th of May, 1865, he
received an honorable discharge, at Petersburg,
Virginia.
In August of the same year Mr. Small went
to ^Montana, where he remained for nine years.
He \\as engaged in mining and in various other
pursuits, spending a considerable portion of that
time in Helena, in charge of a freighting busi-
ness. On leaving that city he went to Walla
Walla, where for twelve years he was activelv en-
gaged in business pursuits, and then went to the
Coeur d'Alene district, where he built a sawmill
and furnished the mines in that country with
much of the lumber they used. For twelve years
he was successfully conducting that enterprise
and then came to Lewiston, in 1897. Here he
formed the firm of Small & Emery, which is now
doing a very extensive and profitable wholesale
business. They are proprietors of the Lewiston
Lumber Mills, and are doing a large business in
the manufacture and sale of lumber, posts, shin-
gles, lath, sash, doors, moldings and casings.
They also put up wood and pack ice, and their
annual sales have reached a large amount. The
firm enjoy a most enviable reputation in com-
mercial circles, for the partners are men of recog-
nized business ability and unquestioned integrity.
They manufacture their lumber from logs which
come from the Palouse country and also from
the large white-pine forests on the Clearwater
river, and these are brought down the stream in
rafts. The mill has a capacity of twentv-five
thousand feet of lumber in ten hours. In addi-
tion to the work of the sawmill and factory, they
deal in all kinds of building materials, and Mr.
Small also has a number of valuable mining inter-
ests in Idaho and British Columbia.
In 1880 Mr. Small married Miss Annie Welsh,
a native of Canada, and to them have been born
four children : Albert, who is associated with his
father in business; Melville; and Rodney and
Nora, who are in school.
In politics Mr. Small is a stalwart Republican,
but has never sought nor desired political office
for himself. His name is on the membership roll
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
he has filled all the chairs in the local lodge,
while in his life he exemplifies the noble and
beneficent principles of the fraternity. He is
widely known in northern Idaho and has a host
of warm friends, who esteem him for the posses-
sion of those sterling traits of character which in
every land and every clime command respect.
WILLIAM BUDGE.
Bishop Budge, of Paris, state senator repre-
senting Bear Lake county, Idaho, one of the
most widely known and influential men in the
state as a citizen and as a Repubhcan, and a
power for good through his administration of the
affairs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints in his stake and throughout Idaho,
is a native of Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and
a son of William and Mary (Scott) Budge, bom
May I, 1828. His father was of Highland Scotch
ancestry and was born in Edinburg. His mother
came of the Scotts,of Douglas Castle, Scotland.
They were of the highest respectability, of good
social status and members of the Presbyterian
church. Bishop Budge's father died in the sixty-
third year of his life, and his mother at the age
of forty-seven. They had eight children, of whom
Senator Budge was the second born. He at-
tended school in Scotland, but the education he
gained in that way was so meager that he may
truly be said to be a man self-educated, as he is
undoubtedly self-made in the best and most cred-
itable sense of the term. At twenty he was con-
verted to the faith of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints and, almost immediately be-
came one of its missionaries and labored in its
behalf, in England, Scotland, Switzerland and
Germany, with such great success that he sent
many hundreds of converts to the headquarters
of the church in America, and he was for some
years second counselor of the president of the
church in Europe. Much of this work he accom-
plished before he was thirty. In i860, when hd"
was thirty-two, he brought about six hundred
men, women and children to America on the
sailing vessel William Tapscott. Their destination
was Salt Lake City. They arrived at New York
in July and were there joined by other converts,
making a devoted band which, as its captain.
Bishop Budge led in a long journey across the
^^-c
>
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
plains. Seventy-two ox wagons were required.
A few of the company died en route, and Bishop
Budge lost his own little child by death on the
plains. Once when they were encamped they
were visited by a large party of Indians, whom
they fed and who departed without molesting
them in any way. The overland journey con-
sumed three months, and the party reached Salt
Lake City on October 5, i860. Upon their
arrival the church made provisions for those who
were needy, and the others soon secured work-
here and there, or engaged in business if they
had the means, and became permanent settlers.
As for William Budge, he located at Farmington,
Idaho, and while he did not abate his work for
the church, labored for his material support at
whatever his hands found to do. After a time
he was ordained a bishop of the church, and
removed to Cache valley, where he engaged in
farming and was for six years county assessor
and collector of taxes. Later he was sent abroad
as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints in Europe and fulfilled the
responsibilities of that high office with signal
ability for some years. In 1870 he came to Paris,
Idaho, as bishop of the church in Bear Lake
county and became prominent in the affairs of
the church in Idaho. This office also he has filled
with marked ability, and under his management
the church has had a steady and substantial
growth. A splendid tabernacle has been built at
Paris by the Bear Lake Stake, at a cost of forty-
seven thousand dollars, which is much the finest
house of worship in the state of Idaho. A large
building is being erected for a pretentious educa-
tional institution under the church auspices, at
which it is intended to fit students for college.
These extensive building operations have been
carried on under the Bishop's general super-
vision, which has provided for the payment of all
expenses as they have become due and has not
created any debt, direct or indirect.
For many years the Latter Day Saints took
little interest in politics, but about the time of
the admission of Utah to statehood they began
to side with different parties in different localities
as they believed their church and personal inter-
ests dictated. Bishop Budge inclined to the Re-
publican view of public questions and affiliated
with that party. He was twice sent to the na-
tional capital to exert his influence with congress-
men in the interests of his people, and was twice
elected to the Idaho territorial legislature from
Bear Lake county and made a favorable rejiuta-
tion for himself with the public men with whom
he came in contact. In 1898 he was elected a
member of the Idaho state senate, in which body
he has served with ability, dignity and true de-
votion to the best interests of his constituency.
When Bishop Budge came to the territory now
known as Bear Lake county, it was a poor coun-
try, sparsely settled and offering little encourage-
ment to investment or enterprise. His life and
that of his associates was in a sense the life of the
pioneer. In all the trials through which the
people have passed. Bishop Budge has stood by
them manfully and has used his great ability and
personal influence to silence opposition and re-
move obstacles. He has devoted so much of his
time and labor to the church that he has been
debarred from prospering financially as he might
have done otherwise, and he has not acquired a
large amount of property, but he has a pleasant
home at Paris and a good ranch upon which he
farms and raises stock successfully, and he is
slowly but surely laying the foundation for a
comfortable competence. He was married in
1856 to Miss Julia Stratford, a native of England.
Five of their children have grown to maturity:
Julia, who married Charles W. Nibley; Annie,
who is postmistress at Paris : Mary, who married
H. Smith Wooley: Jesse, now a student in the
law department of the University of the State of
Alichigan; and Rose, who married Joseph R
Shepherd.
HENRY DUNN.
There was a romantic side to early western
history, romantic in the reading, and romantic
and perilous in the living, which will always have
a place in American literature. The men who
participated in it were of the quality of manhood
of which good soldiers are made, with a dash of
the explorer, the adventurer and the pioneer.
They were the avant heralds of advancing civil-
ization, and when civilization came they were
quick to avail themselves of the advantages it
offered, and were more far-seeing than some
other men when it came to penetrating the future
and sizing up its possibilities and probabilities.
Such a pioneer was Henry Dunn, of Blackfoot,
604
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
who came to the west at the very dawn of its
civiHzation and has made a place for himself and
for his posterity in a country which has a glorious
future and a destiny ever onward.
Henry Dunn, one of the pioneer stock men of
Bingham county, came to Idaho in 1864. He
was born in Liverpool, England, December 9,
1840, a son of James and Mary (Spinsby) Dunn,
and is descended from a long line of English
ancestors. When he was seven years old his
parents emigrated to Canada. There his mother
died at the age of seventy-four, in 1893, and his
father, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, in 1894.
They were educated and of more than ordinary
ability and were lifelong members of the Epis-
copal church. Mr. Dunn was a successful farm-
er, and his sons were brought up with a thor-
ough knowledge of the ancient and honorable
pursuit to which he devoted his life. Of the four
sons and five daughters of James and Mary
(Spinsby) Dunn, all but one are living. Henry,
the eldest child, was educated in Canada so far
as facilities permitted, and by reading and ob-
serving has come to be thoroughly informed on
all subjects of interest to intelligent American
citizens. He came to the United States in 1857
and located at St. Louis, Missouri, where he
obtained employment as an omnibus driver. After
a year he was employed on the old North Mis-
souri Railroad. In the spring of 1861 he helped
to stock the stage road from St. Joseph, Missouri,
to Salt Lake City, Utah, and after that he drove
stage for the noted Ben Halliday until the spring
of 1864. He then came to Snake river, Idaho,
and operated the Conner, Richards & Massey
ferry, eight miles above Idaho Falls. The Mon-
tana gold excitement was then at its height, and
Mr. Dunn ferried many of the miners and pros-
pectors who flocked to Alder Gulch. Later he
ran a trading post, thirty miles north of Soda
Springs, where he built a bridge of logs, which
did much to facilitate travel past that point. In
1866 he came to what is now known as Lincoln
valley and engaged in stock-raising. Thence he
removed to Snake river, and in 1875 he came to
Blackfoot, where he has one thousand acres of
land and keeps five hundred fine Durham cattle.
He has imported many fine animals, and in so
doing has benefited not himself alone but this
part of the state. He raises large quantities of
the best alfalfa hay, which he uses for winter
feeding.
yir. Dunn has been a Democrat since before he
was old enough to vote, but has never sought
nor accepted office, preferring to give all his time
and energy to his private affairs. He has always
been a willing and effective worker and has richly
earned the success that has crowned his efforts.
He stands high as a citizen and as a business man
whose word is always good, and to him is ac-
corded the honor that belongs to the pioneer.
His early life in the west was an adventurous
one and such as is sought only by men of daring
and of enterprise, and the stories he could tell of
the days of stages, log bridges and ferries would
make a book of unusual interest.
Mr. Dunn was married, in 1870, to Mary Jane
Higham, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana,
and their union has been blessed by the advent of ,
five children, — Ettie (Mrs. David A. Johnson);
Elizabeth (Mrs. R. M. Shannon); George, who
assists his father in the management of his affairs;
Margaret May, a member of her father's house-
hold; and another not named here.
CHARLES HOFF.
The sturdy German element in our national
commonwealth has been one of the most import-
ant in furthering the substantial and normal ad-
vancement of the country, for it is an element
which takes practical values into account, and
one of higher intellectuality which appreciates
educational advantages and applies classical and
special knowledge to the common affairs of life.
Idaho has no citizens more patriotic than those
of German-American birth, nor has it a citizen
whose influence is better directed than that of
one of the leading citizens of Montpelier whose
useful career is here outlined.
Charles Hoff was born in Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania, October 19, 185 1, a son of John G. and
Catharine (Pfitzenmaier) Hoff and a brother of
Henry Herman Hoff, to a sketch of whose life,
which appears in this volume, the reader is re-
ferred for much of interest concerning the Hoff
family history. Charles was the seventh son m
order of birth in a family of nine. By circum-
stances affecting the fortunes of his family he was
prevented from attending school after he was
ten years old. Previous to that time, however, he
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
was a student in the public schools of Philadel-
phia, and, possessing an active, receptive and
retentive mind, he there laid the foundation of his
present wide range of useful information, most
of which he obtained in the hard but thorough
school of experience. When he was eleven years
old he drove an ox team across the plains from
Omaha, Nebraska, to Salt Lake City, Utah. In
the spring of 1862, accompanying an elder
brother, he left Philadelphia arid went by rail
to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence up the Mis-
souri river to Omaha, where he found fifty-two
wagons in a train, carrying freight and a con-
siderable number of emigrants.
Soon after his arrival in Salt Lake City he
secured employment in a bakery. Later he
worked on a farm at Pleasant Grove, Utah, was
clerk in a store and was employed in railway con-
struction. After he had seen the golden spike
driven which celebrated the connection of the
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific lines, he
worked at mining, for wages, in American Fork
canyon, until 1874, when he came to a favorable
location within the present limits of Bear Lake
county, Idaho, and took up two hundred and
eighty acres of government land. He improved,
cultivated and built upon this property, followed
agriculture, with success, and in 1897 sold it, for
three thousand and one hundred dollars cash in
hand, and removed to Montpelier.
Upon his arrival here Mr. Hoff purchased
town property and engaged in the hotel and
livery business. He disposed of his hotel interest
at the end of a year, and has since carried on
a good livery business, in connection with dray-
ing, general teaming and a trade in coal. He is
an alert, energetic, honorable and magnetic man,
who draws custom by his methods and personal
influence, and retains it by the fidelity with which
he makes the interests of each individual patron
his own.
A Democrat in politics, he is active and influ-
ential. He was county commissioner of Bear
Lake county, has been a school trustee for seven
years, and was prominent in connection with the
erection of the school buildings at Georgetown,
and otherwise helpful in educational matters, and
at this time is a member of the town council of
the city of Montpelier. He is an elder in the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of
which his family also are all members. He was
happily married, in 1873, to Miss Celestia A.
Bacon, sister of Mrs. Henry Herman Hoff, and
they have had two sons, who are dead, and eight
daughters, named Catharine Celestia, Harriet
Edith, Grace Elizabeth, Nina, Mary, Ruby, Shir-
ley and Genevieve. Harriet E. became the wife
of Riley Barkdull.
LORENZO L, HATCH.
A prominent representative of the Church of
Latter Day Saints is Lorenzo Lafayette Hatch,
who is now bishop of the Franklin ward in the
Oneida stake of Zion of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, and who makes his
home in the pretty little town of Franklin. He
was born in Lehi, Utah, December 25, 185 1, and
is of English lineage, his ancestors having been
among the early settlers of Vermont. They were
participants in the events which form the early
history of this country, and representatives of the
name loyally served in the Revolutionary war.
The grandfather, Hezekiah Hatch, was born in
Vermont, and was among the first to become a
member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints when that organization, was first es-
tablished. From his native state of Vermont he
removed to Nauvoo, Illinois, where he died at a
ripe old age. Lorenzo Hill Hatch, father of our
subject, was born in the Green Mountain state, and
with his father went to Nauvoo when fourteen
years of age. There he became an active member
of the church and was sent on a mission to the
eastern states, the object of his journey being to
work for the nomination of the prophet, Joseph
Smith, as a candidate for the presidency of the
LTnited States. In 1850 he crossed the plains
with oxen to Utah. He had been married when
twenty years of age, and his wife died at Council
Bluflfs while on the way to the west. At Salt Lake
Mr. Hatch became a farmer and carpenter and
built a gristmill at Lehi, one of the first mills in
that section of the country. Soon after its com-
pletion it was burned down, probably by the In-
dians, but he rebuilt it 'and carried on business
there for some time. He was married in Salt
Lake City, in 1850, to Sylvia Eastman, a native
of Vermont, and in 1864 he came to Franklin,
sent by the church as presiding bishop of the
ward, in which honorable office he capably served
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
until 1877, when he removed to St. George, Utah.
Subsequently he went to Woodruff, Arizona,
where he fomied a settlement of the church and
was counselor to the president of the stake. He
has been a patriarch for twenty years and is very
prominent in the society. There were in all
twenty-two children born to him, and he has one
hundred grandchildren and two great-grandchil-
dren. He is now seventy-four years of age, and
is still hale and hearty.
Bishop Hatch of this review is the eldest of
the family. He acquired the greater part of his
education in Franklin, one of his teachers being
the pioneer educator, William Woodward. He
attended school for about three months each year,
and the remainder of the time worked hard on
the farm, since which time he has carried on agri-
cultural pursuits as a life work. He has a valu-
able tract of land, comprising one hundred acres,
which he has acquired through his own well
directed and energetic efforts, and is now en-
gaged in raising grain, hay and stock, making a
specialty of the sheep and wool-growing indus-
try. He and his company have six thousand
head of sheep, and the gross income from the
flock in 1898 was over eleven thousand dollars.
Mr. Hatch has a large and commodious resi-
dence, surrounded by a beautiful grove of large
trees of his own planting, and the neat and
thrifty appearance of his place indicates the care-
ful supervision of the owner.
In his political affiliations I\Ir. Hatch is a Re-
publican. He embraced the religious belief of
his fathers, and is a highly valued member of
the church. Upon the departure of his father
from Franklin, in 1877, he was ordained bishop,
and has since creditably and satisfactorily served
in that capacity. From 1884 until 1886 he was on
a mission in Great Britain, where he did all in
his power to promote the interests of the church
of whose principles he is a worthy exponent.
Bishop Hatch was happily married, in 1873,
to Miss Annie Scarborough, a native of Eng-
land, and their union has been blessed with ten
children, of whom nine are living, the entire num-
ber Deing as follows: Lorenzo Fayette; Delia Sa-
vonia ; Ina Elizabeth ; Ruth Blanche ; Artie Brooks,
who died in infancy; Hezekiah James; Unita,
Leah, Aura and Catherine. The eldest son is a
graduate of the Brigham Young College, at
Logan, and in 1896, when twenty-one years of
age, went on a mission to the Samoa islands, but
after six months spent in the work he lost his
voice, and is now aiding his father in the care
of the sheep, hoping to regain his health through
outdoor life and exercise. In addition to the
children mentioned, there is also another child
who is a member of the Hatch household, an
infant boy having been left on the door-step at
one time, and this child they are now rearing ai
their own. The Bishop's family is one of prom-
inence in the community and their friends are
many. In his political views Mr. Hatch is a
Republican, and he is now serving as postmaster
of Franklin. His daughter Delia is acting as his
deputy, and she is also the telegraph operator
at this point, the Deseret telegraph line having
been built by the church to Franklin.
GEORGE D. CA^IPBELL.
Aluch might be written of the substantial qual-
ity of the Canadian character and the progressive
spirit which has been manifested by Canadians
who have located in the United States, but ex-
amples which prove all that might be advanced
in this direction are so numerous and conspicu-
ous everywhere that comment along this line
would appear to be almost superfluous.
George D. Campbell, one of the most prom-
inent citizens, land-owners and capitalists of
Spaulding, Idaho, is a native of Grandville, Can-
ada, and was bom November 12, 1867. He is
descended from Scotch ancestry of great his-
torical note. His father, James Campbell, mar-
ried Mary Bevin, a native of his own county.
They had six children, all of whom are living in
the United States. They were persons of high
character and intelligence and were lifelong mem-
bers of the Episcopal church. James Campbell
died February 21, 1899, aged eighty-five years,
and his wife is living, in her seventy-sixth .year.
George D. Campbell was the fifth child of this
worthy couple. He was educated in Canada and
in Wisconsin and early turned his attention to
hotel-keeping. He was married January 3, 1894,
at Missoula, Montana, to Miss Mary Christine
Williams, a native of British Colunibia, daughter
of Edward Williams and granddaughter of Angus
McDonald, post trader and shareholder of the
Hudson's Bay Company and one of the earliest
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
607
settlers in Montana. Mr. and I^Irs. Campbell came
to Idaho soon after their marriage, and in 1895
became possessed of twenty-seven acres of land
in the center of Spaulding, including the entire
business portion of the town. On this property
they have erected seven store and business build-
ings and the Spaulding hotel, a three-story frame
structure containing forty rooms, which is the
only hotel in the town and is in every way ade-
quate to demands upon it. The hotel and the
seven other buildings are all leased to desirable
tenants, and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have rooms
at the hotel. Besides this property, they own
fifty-five acres of choice land outside the town.
j\Ir. Campbell is a Republican and a Woodman
of the World. He is an honorable man of much
public spirit and is highly esteemed by all who
know him.
ISA.\C C. HATT.\B.\UGH.
Prominent in the field of politics and in busi-
ness circles, Isaac C. Hattabaugh has left the
impress of his individuality upon the public life
of Latah county, and is to-day numbered among
the leading and influential citizens of Moscow. A
native of Indiana, he was born in Salem, that
state, December 24, 185 1. His grandfather,
Jacob Hattabaugh, was born in Germany, and
crossing the Atlantic to America settled in \\r-
ginia, whence he afterward removed to Pennsyl-
vania and from there to Indiana. He was a man
of ability and an influential pioneer settler of
southern Indiana. His son, George W. Hatta-
baugh, the father of our subject, was a native of
the Hoosier state, and there married Sarah
Boling, who was born in North Carolina and
was a daughter of Randolph and Jane (Graves')
Boling. By occupation Mr. Hattabaugh was a
farmer, following that pursuit throughout his
active business life. His wife was a member of
the Christian church. He was never identified
with any church. He was born in 1822 and died
in 1898, at the age of seventy-six years, and his
wife passed away in 1892, at the age of sixty-
eight. They were the parents of seven children,
four of whom are still living in Indiana and
Illinois.
The subject of this sketch was reared on his
father's farm, where he early became familiar
with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot
of the agriculturist. He acquired his education
in the public schools of Kossuth and Plattsburg,
and when nineteen years of age left home, going
to Indianapolis, where he taught school and later
engaged in bridge-building and contracting. He
was also for some years engaged in the manu-
facture of drain tile near Jamestown, Indiana, and
in 1878 he resolved to try his fortune in the far
west. Accordingly he took up his residence in
Lewiston, Idaho, pre-empted one hundred and
sixty acres of land, and then engaged in con-
tracting and building. He also was interested
in a sash and door manufactory for a number of
years, and was thus very active in promoting the
industrial interests of the community in which
he resided. He is a man of excellent business
and executive ability, and his capable manage-
ment and industry brought to him a deserved
success.
Mr. Hattabaugh also early became recognized
as a leading factor in Democratic circles, giving
an active support to the men and measures of
the party. He received the appointment of deputy
auditor of his county and afterward was elected
auditor of Nez Perces county, which then in-
cluded all of Latah county. In 1889 he came
to Moscow to reside and here served as deputy
court clerk. He also established an ab-
stract office and in that year the Commercial
Bank was organized, with a capital stock of fifty
thousand dollars, and he was elected president of
the new institution, over which he presided until
1895. "Cnder his capable management the bank
prospered and became very popular, doing a
large business, but in 1895. when the great
financial panic came, they had one hundred and
twenty thousand dollars loaned out and were un-
able to get the money. Therefore, like man}-
other banks and business enterprises, they were
forced into bankruptcy. Mr. Hattabaugh was
appointed trustee to close up the business of the
bank, but the entire wheat crop of the country
was destroyed by heavy rains that year and fifteen
thousand dollars was all that could be collected,
so that the loss sustained by the bank was one
hundred and five thousand dollars. Since that
time ^Ir. Hattabaugh has been with the Elder
lirothers, dealers in farm machinery, this being
the largest house of the kind south of Spokane.
In 1892 Mr. Hattabaugh was chosen by his
partv as the candidate for county treasurer. The
608
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
campaign was a very spirited one and he
made a splendid canvass, receiving a majority
of one hundred and fifty-two votes, when the
usual Republican majority was from five to
seven hundred. He has also held the office of
regent of the State University, to which he was
appointed by Governor McConnell, and had the
honor of being president of the board for two
years. He took a deep interest in the affairs of
the university and labored most effectively and
earnestly for its welfare. He is at all times a
progressive and loyal citizen and witliholds his
support from no measure which he believes will
advance the general good. He was six years a
member of the Moscow school board of trustees,
during which time he was treasurer of the board,
and when the bank failed, wherein the funds were
deposited, he made it good by deeding the school
board one brick building in Moscow and his for-
mer residence in Lewiston. This sacrifice was
in the interest of education.
Before leaving Indiana Mr. Hattabaugh was
married, December i6, 1875, to Miss AUie Miller,
daughter of Eli Miller, of Indiana, and now the
only survivor of her father's family. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Hattabaugh have been born two chil-
dren, a son and daughter, M. Reese and Nona,
both now students in the State University. The
family have a pleasant home in Moscow and the
members of the household hold high rank in
social circles. Our subject is a very zealous and
enthusiastic member of the Masonic fraternity,
and his wife is an active member of the Order of
the Eastern Star, while she and her daughter
both belong to the Order of Rebekah, Miss Nona
being secretary of the latter lodge in Moscow.
Mr. Hattabaugh was made a Master Mason in
:\IiddlefoTk Lodge, No. 304, F. & A. M., of Mid-
dlefork, Indiana, March 6, 1875, and dimitted
therefrom in 1879 to become a member of Nez
Perces Lodge, No. 10, of Lewiston. He took a
very active part in its work, filled all of the offices
and served as master for two years. On remov-
ing to Moscow, he dimitted from the lodge in
Lewiston, in 1890, and is now affiliated with
Paradise Lodge, No. 17, of which he had the
honor of being chosen master in 1891. He was
made a Royal Arch Mason in Lewiston Chapter,
No. 4, R. A. M., October 24, 1885, and in
1889 he dimitted to Moscow Chapter No.
7. He was created a Knight Templar in
Moscow Commandery in 1892, is now its emi-
nent commander, and has attained the fourteenth
degree of the Scottish rite. He is well versed in
the ritual and the work of the order, and by rea-
son of his proficiency was appointed deputy grand
master in 1887, and in 1892 was honored by elec-
tion to the office of most worshipful grand master
of the grand lodge of Idaho. He is a worthy ex-
emplar of the beneficent and ennobling teachings
of the fraternity and as a man and Mason stands
very high in the public regard.
MARCUS A. MEANS.
The successful career of Marcus Asbury
Means, of Genesee, is an illustration of the trite
saying that brains and perseverance will make
their way against all obstacles. Yet it is the
multiplication of this illustration in all parts of
our country that m.akes America one of the great
powers of the earth. Mr. Means may be said to
have been a child of war. He was born at Sea-
brook, Illinois, October 16, 1862, while his father
was fighting for the preservation of the Union on
southern battlefields, a service in which he
yielded up his life in defense of his country. Mr.
Means is of Scotch-English ancestry. His
grandfather, Collin Means, from England, set-
tled in Virginia and was the progenitor of the
family in the United States. He removed to Mc-
Lean county, Illinois, in 1829, and his son, Jo-
seph Kefer Means, was born in Virginia and
reared in Illinois, — a good combination for the
promotion of patriotism. Joseph K. ]\Ieans
married Matilda Rankin, also of Scotch-English
descent. When the civil war came he was well
established in life and had an interesting family.
He enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and
Sixteenth Illinois Volunteers, September 6, 1862,
and he died, of a disease contracted in the service,
at Walnut Hill, Mississippi, January 15, 1863.
It is indeed glorious for a man to die for the land
he loves, but the mourning of those he leaves be-
hind is long, and often without much comfort.
Alta, one of Mr. Means' sisters, is the wife of
W. L. Brown, a talented lawyer of Salt Lake
City, Utah. Marcus Asbury Means is the only
survivor of his immediate family.
Mr. Means was educated at Normal, Illinois,
and in 1878 went to San Jose, California. He
^^.(H)^J/^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
was employed there about two years and tlien
went to Portland, Oregon. During the succeed-
ing two years he was a member of a surveying
party operating on the hne of the Northern Pa-
cific Railroad. Coming to Idaho in 1895, he
entered upon his successful mercantile career in
a little store eighteen by thirty feet in size. It
was a small beginning, but it foreshadowed im-
portant things. Since that time this store has
been twice enlarged and Mr. Means occupies ex-
tensive warehouses and a branch store, the latter
located at Oro Fino, Idaho. He handles all
kinds of merchandise demanded in a first-class
farming and mining community, and has a large
and increasing trade. He has acquired con-
siderable real-estate.
Mr. Means was married September i, 1889, to
Catherine Hayes, daughter of James Hayes, of
Lewiston, and a native of that city, and she has
borne him a daughter, named ^Marguerite. Mrs.
Means is prominent in all good work in her com-
munity. Mr. Means is a successful and public-
spirited man and is in every way deserving of the
high esteem in which he is held by his fellow
citizens.
LEON MISSLIN.
The career of any pioneer is interesting. An
account of that of Leon Misslin will be found
especially so to the many who know and respect
him for his many good qualities of head and
heart. He came into the "wilds of Idaho" eight
years before the government surveyed the land,
and as a pioneer had many thrilling experiences
and encountered numerous hardships and over-
came many obstacles. The story of his struggles
and triumphs, could it be given in full, would
be of the greatest interest.
Leon Misslin was born at Nantes, Loire,
France, a son of J. A. and ^Nfary (Ortteschurd)
Misslin, and came with his parents and his seven
brothers and sisters to the United States in 1855.
The family lived at Racine, Wisconsin, until
1861, when they went to ^Minnesota, where Mr.
Misslin achieved success as a farmer and there
died, aged seventy, in 1869.. His wife survives
him and has attained the advanced age of ninety-
two years. Of their eight children, seven are
living.
Leon Misslin, who, in the sequence of birth,
was the fourth child of T- A. and Marv ^Misslin,
received a common-school education in Wiscon-
sin, and took up the battle of life for himself at
the age of fifteen. He devoted three years to
hard work in a blacksmith shop, becoming a
thorough master of the blacksmith's trade, and
in 1863 he entered the United States service as
a blacksmith in connection with military opera-
tions, and was with the army in Arkansas. After
the war was ended he went to 'Salt Lake City,
Utah, and thence to Idaho. About this time he
was employed by Ben Halliday to keep some of
his stages in repair and to do other blacksmithing
necessary to his extensive business. Soon after
his arrival in Idaho Mr. Misslin bought a bunch
of cattle and brought them to his present loca-
tion, where, after the land was surveyed, in 1873,
he acquired a half-section, well suited to stock-
raising. He has since added to his landed pos-
sessions until he is the owner of four hundred
and eighty acres. He was very successful as a
stockman and for a considerable period, down to
1897, when they sold out, he and his brother con-
trolled the cattle business in this locality, some-
times having on their ranges at one time as many
as six hundred head. After they retired from
cattle-raising they invested in Cotswold sheep,
and for some time past they have owned an aver-
age of two thousand head.
Politically Mr. Misslin is a Republican. He
was reared in the Catholic faith. As a business
man he is progressive and enterprising, shrewd
and scrupulously honest. His standing in the
business community is deservedly high, and he
is uniformly regarded as a useful and influential
citizen.
Mr. Misslin was married, in 1888, to Miss Jen-
nie L. Heaton, a native of St. Louis, Missouri,
who is descended from English ancestry. They
have two daughters, named Isabel and Anna.
GEORGE DABNEY ELLIS.
One of the founders of Boise City and one of
the most active spirits in the upbuilding and
progress of this thriving place during the past
quarter of a century has been George D. Ellis, a
pioneer of Idaho, whither he came in 1863. He
is and has been the president of the Capital State
Bank of Boise City for several years; is a stock-
holder and general manager and treasurer of the
electric street-car line of this place and is a stock-
610
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
holder and a director of the Artesian Hot & Cold
Water Company, besides having materially aided
and fostered many other local enterprises calcu-
lated to benefit the city. He is a man of great
public spirit, ever ready to do all in his power
to promote the well-being of his brother men;
and herein lies one of the secrets of his popularity.
By birth George D. Ellis is a Virginian, and
comes from one of the honored old families of
that state. His father, Thomas Ellis, married a
lady of the same state. Miss Polly Ballard, and
ten children were born to them, five of the num-
ber still living. Thomas Ellis, who was a soldier
of the war of 1812, lived to be seventy-seven years
of age, and his wife departed this life when in
her seventieth year.
George D. Ellis was born in Albemarle county,
Virginia, April 10, 1837, and received a common-
school education. At nineteen he left home to
make his own way in the world, and in 1856 he
went to Kansas. Until i860 he lived in Paola,
and consequently was a witness of some of the
thrilling events of that troublous period in the
annals of "bleeding" Kansas. The "border ruf-
fianism" of that region and the unscrupulous
methods of local pro-slavery politicians made a
good Republican of him, and from that time to
the present he has never wavered in his allegiance
to the party. From Kansas he went to Col-
orado, where he engaged in mining in the vicinity
of Gregory and met with a fair measure of suc-
cess. At the end of three years he came with
a mule team to Idaho City, and having obtained
a claim he and his companions engaged in min-
ing and took out about ten dollars a day apiece.
For several years thereafter he was connected
with agricultural enterprises and also engaged in
contracting and building, for he had learned the
carpenter's trade years before. For ten years,
also, he freighted from Kelton to Boise City and
other points. At Boise City he took up one
hundred and forty acres of land, and in partner-
ship with T. Davis planted the first apple orchard
in the territory. Later, he sold the farm to Mr.
Davis, and purchased three hundred acres north-
west and outside the boundary of Boise City. On
this property he erected a comfortable house and
made other improvements, and as he went there
to dwell in 1876 the place has been called the
Centennial Ranch. The farm is a valuable one,
producing grain, timothy, etc., and is one of the
best managed homesteads in this section of the
state.
In the Methodist denomination Mr. Ellis has
been a power in Idaho, using his means and in-
fluence liberally toward the upbuilding and
spreading of Christianity. He was given the
contract for the building of the large, substantial
brick church at Boise City, and for twenty vears
he was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He
is a man of undoubted integrity and uprightness,
and no citizen here is held in higher esteem.
In 1873 Mr. Ellis married Miss Telitha Staf-
ford, a native of Illinois. This worthy couple,
having no children of their own, took into their
hearts and home two boys and twO' girls, and
i-eared them to manhood and womanhood. They
are all respected and useful citizens, and look
upon their devoted foster parents with the love
and veneration which is their just due. Olive
Ellis West is the wife of C. H. Packingham, and
the other daughter is now 'Mrs. E. W. Brown.
William Stafford is a well-to-do and successful
farmer, and Robert Jago, the youngest of the
children of Mr. Ellis, is still attending school.
GEORGE W. MILLS.
A self-made man who has not despised the
day of small things, and who has used obstacles
as stepping-stones to higher successes, has a right
to regard his advancement with pride. It is
comparatively easy for a man of reasonably good
ability to achieve a business success on capital
borrowed or inherited, but it requires real force
of character to earn the capital by hard, persistent
work, and save it and invest it successfully.
George W. Mills, who enjoys the distinction of
being one of the leading butchers of southeastern
Idaho, was born in Franklin county, Pennsyl-
vania, September 13, 1854, a son of John and
Amy (Clymens) Mills, and is descended from
Scotch ancestry, inheriting many of the sterling
qualities of that sturdy people. His father, John
Mills, was born in Pennsylvania, and died there
in his fifty-fourth year. His widow lived to be
seventy-seven years old. Thev were lifelong
members of the Presbyterian church, and were of
the most admirable character, industrious, eco-
nomical, philanthropic and helpful to every
worthy movement having the public good for its
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
object. They had five sons and three daughters,
and five of the eight are Uving at this time. After
gaining a primary education in the pubUc schools
near his Pennsylvania home, George W. Mills
began in 1867, when he was thirteen, to earn his
own living. For twenty-seven years he worked
for others, without getting on financially to any
satisfactory extent. He came to Idaho Falls in
1885 and was first employed at carpenter's trade.
Later he did about any honest work his hands
found to do and that any one would pay him
for doing, until 1894, when he opened a meat-
market at Idaho Falls. Since then there has
been developed from this central plant a large
and growing trade in meats and allied products,
which trade extends in every direction through-
out a large territory. Some time since Frank T.
Martin acquired an interest in the business, and
it has since been conducted under the style of
Martin & Mills. Mr. Mills has a farm of eighty
acres and several pieces of valuable town prop-
erty, including a pleasant and convenient home.
In 1894 Mr. Mills married Miss Emma Yoe,
a native of Pennsylvania, and they have two
children, named John and Myrtle. Mrs. Mills is
a devout and helpful member of the Baptist
church. Mr. Mills is a Republican, but is too
busy to take an active part in politics. He is an
Odd Fellow and has from time to time been
identified with other organizations. His stand-
ing in business circles is deservedly high.
SAMUEL J. LANGDON.
Samuel J. Langdon, one of the highly esteemed
pioneer farmers of Latah county, is a native of
Ohio, having been born at Granville, Licking
county, May 4, 1829. He is of Scotch-Irish line-
age, and his ancestors were early settlers of Con-
necticut and participants in the Revolutionary
war and in the events which go to form the colo-
nial history of the country. The family is noted
for a patriotic spirit, and one of the Langdons
served as commander of the colonial forces at the
battle of Ticonderoga. Jesse Langdon, the
grandfather of our subject, was born and reared
in Connecticut and there married Miss Jewett,
with whom he later removed to Berkshire, ]\Ias-
sachusetts, where he followed the occupation of
farming. They were members of the Congrega-
tional church, and both attained to a ripe old age.
In their family were seven children: Hiram, An-
son, Richardson, James J., Albert, Betsy and
Eunice H.
James J. Langdon, the father of our subject,
was born on the old family homestead in Massa-
chusetts, in 1795, and when a young man re-
moved to Licking county, Ohio, where he was
married to Miss Mary White, a daughter of Cap-
tain Samuel White, who was a prominent citizen
of Licking county, and who won his title by com-
manding a company of the state militia. The
maternal great-grandfather of our subject,
Thomas Philipps, was a native of Wales, and
leaving that little rock-ribbed country, in 1787,
he crossed the water to Philadelphia. His son,
John H. Philipps, was a member of the staff of
General Anthony Wayne during the Indian wars,
and after the establishment of the republic he
removed to Licking county, Ohio, where he
owned a large tract of land at Granville. Samuel
White married Martha Philipps, the daughter of
Thomas Philipps, and in 1810 went from Penn-
sylvania to Granville, Ohio, casting in his lot
with the pioneers of that section of the state.
Their daughter Mary became the wife of James
J. Langdon, and the mother of him whose name
heads this sketch. After their marriage Mr.
Langdon carried on a coopering establishment in
Ohio until 1840, when he removed with his fam-
ily to southeastern Missouri. Five years later
he returned to Newark, Ohio, and from there
emigrated to McLean county, Illinois, where his
death occurred in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
His wife survived him ten years and died in her
seventieth year. They had a family of six chil-
dren: Martha, Mary, Samuel J., Albert E., Eliza-
beth D., and Ellen E. Martha, Mary and Eliza-
beth have passed away. Albert E. is now a resi-
dent of Illinois, and Ellen is now Mrs. Calkins, a
widow, residing with her brother, the subject of
this review.
Samuel J. Langdon was educated in Newark,
Ohio, and began life on his own account as a
farmer. He was married on the 26th of July,
1853, to Miss Martha Virginia Willson, a daugh-
ter of Ison Willson, a pioneer of the Buckeye
state. In August, 1862, in answer to President
Lincoln's call for volunteers, Mr. Langdon
off'ered his services to the government and was
assigned to duty with Company G, Ninety-fourth
612
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Illinois Infantry. He served in southwestern
Alissouri, Arkansas and at Vicksburg, and par-
ticipated in nine battles and sieges, together with
many skirmishes, the principal engagements in
which he participated being at Prairie Grove,
Vicksburg, Fort Morgan and Spanish Fort. He
was very fortunate in that he was never wounded
by an enemy's ball, and after loyally and faith-
fully serving the Union until the cessation of hos-
tilities he returned home with a most creditable
military record. He entered the service as a pri-
vate, but after six months was made corporal and
when a year had passed was promoted to the
rank of sergeant.
Returning to his home in Illinois, Mr. Lang-
don there carried on agricultural pursuits until
1866, when he removed to Crawford county,
Kansas. In 1874 he crossed the plains with a
team of horses and a team of cows. Mrs. Lang-
don and one of their daughters had died in Kan-
sas, in 1872, which was a most severe blow to the
husband and father. On starting westward he
left his other children in Kansas and came to
the Pacific slope in search of a better location.
It was his first intention to go to New Mexico,
but the Indians were so hostile that he stopped at
Salt Lake and spent the winter in Grass valley,
there remaining for a year and a half, engaged in
stock-raising. From that point he wrote to his
children to join him, and when they were re-
united they continued their travels to the north-
west. They spent a winter in the Walla Walla
country, and in 1877 came to their present loca-
tion, Mr. Langdon taking up a claim of one hun-
dred and sixty acres. Here he with partners en-
gaged in the sawmill business and manufactured
most of the lumber used in the early building of
Moscow. He continued milling and lumbering
until 1888, and during a part of that time resided
in Moscow, where he served as deputy assessor
of the county and later was elected assessor. He
also filled the office of deputy sherifif for two
terms, and that of sherifif for one term, and was
a member of the territorial legislature in 1880,
having also served four terms in the legislature
of Kansas. In the meantime he gave the land
on which he first settled to his daughter, while
his present home place, comprising three hun-
dred and twenty acr»s, is pleasantly located eight
miles south of Moscow on the Potlatch creek.
There he is passing the evening of a well spent
life, superintending his farm and raising large
quantities of wheat and other cereals, also fine
fruits, unsurpassed for excellence in any fruit
district of the Union. His business affairs have
been capably managed, and his diligence and en-
terprise have brought to him a handsome compe-
tence.
When the Republican party was formed Mr.
Langdon became one of its stanch supporters
and continued to afifiliate therewith until Presi-
dent Grant's second administration, when, be-
coming dissatisfied with the policy of the party,
he joined the Democracy. He followed its ban-
ner until President Cleveland's second adminis-
tration, and then became a Populist, but is now
independent, supporting the men and measures
that he believes best fitted to promote the general
good. Socially he is a representative of the An-
cient Order of Pyramids, the Knights of Pythias
and the Grand Army of the Republic, and has
served on the staff of two of the national com-
manders of the last named organization. He
has ever been as loyal and true to his country
as when he followed the starry banner in the
south.
WILLIA-AI E. HEARD.
William E. Heard, clerk of the district court
of the fourth judicial district of Idaho, and ex-
officio auditor and recorder in and for Blaine
county, Idaho, is a native of Missouri. He was
born May 21, 1865, in a part of Benton county
which has since been set ofif to form Hickory
county, where John Heard, his grandfather, set-
tled in 1832 and died in 1864. John Heard was
a typical southern gentleman, born in the south
in 1796. He lived in the south until about 1830,
when he moved to Benton county, Missouri, be-
coming one of its first settlers. Earl Heard, son
of John Heard and father of William E. Heard,
was born in Hickory county, Missouri, May 8,
1837. He has been a successful farmer and is a
decided Democrat and a member of the Mission-
ary Baptist church. He married Mary Miller,
also a native of Hickory county, Missouri, and a
member of the same church, and they are both
living, contented and respected, in their native
county.
Reared on his father's farm, William E. Heard
attended the public schools near his Ijirthplace
s.^^^^^y
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
613
in Missouri and later was a student at the Mis-
sionary Baptist Institute at Macedonia, Missouri.
For five years after his graduation he divided his
time between working on the farm and teacliing
school. He came to Hailey, Idaho, in 1890, and
for four years afterward taught near that place.
In 1894 he was elected probate judge of Logan
county, Idaho, but not long afterward Logan
county was legislated out of existence as a civil
division of the state, and Mr. Heard found him-
self in the anomalous position of an officer with-
out an office and again gave his attention to
"teaching the young idea how to shoot." In
1896 he was nominated on the Populist ticket for
the office of assessor and ex-officio tax collector
of Blaine county, and was elected by a majority
of three hundred and sevent)^-six, and in 1898,
again on the Populist ticket, he was elected clerk
of the district court of the fourth judicial district
of Idaho and ex-officio auditor and recorder of
Blaine county, by a majority of one hundred and
forty-three. His election to the last mentioned
office was regarded as a pleasing demonstration
of his personal popularity and the fealty of his
friends.
August I, 1886, Mr. Heard married Miss Ad-
die M. Bartsche, and they have two sons, Har-
mon C, born July 2, 1889, and Herman C, born
August 15, 1892. Mrs. Heard is the only child
of George and Clarrissa Bartsche, and was born
in Hickory county, Missouri, where her parents
settled in 1841, though they now live at Hailey,
members of their daughter's household.
Mr. Heard is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Wood-
men of America, and he and Mrs. Heard are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to
all the interests of which they give most generous
support. Mr. Heard is a public-spirited citizen
who has at heart the progress and prosperity of
the town of his adoption and who gives his help-
ful encouragement to every movement having for
its object the enhancement of the welfare of its
people or any considerable class of them.
GEORGE F. MOORE.
The professional politician, clamorous, aggres-
sive and spectacular, may appear more often in
public and in the public print that the quiet, un-
assuming, judicious business man who takes a
patriotic interest in politics because of the effect
of politics on the prosperity of the people, but he
is usually not so potent a factor in political move-
ment and his influence is not so lasting, because
it is likely to be exerted spasmodically, when the
politician has in view some alluring official re-
ward for political service, and it loses part of its
effect upon the public because the public is al-
ways a little in doubt as to its disinterestedness.
Yet the able man of affairs who does not seek
office is often taken from his desk and given im-
portant public responsibilities because the people
know that he will discharge them with an eye
single to the public good. One of the most con-
spicuous examples of this kind in Idaho was in
the election of Hon. George F. Moore to the
office of lieutenant governor in 1896.
George F. Moore was born in Lewisburg,
Preble county Ohio, March 9, 1861, a son of
Newton and Belle L. (Fall) Moore, natives of
Ohio. The family removed to Kansas in 1868
and thence to Colorado in 1877. Newton G.
Moore died ten years after that, aged about fifly-
two. His widow lives at Wallace, Idaho. Hon.
George F. Moore gained a common-school edu-
cation in Kansas, and after the family wentto
Colorado helped his father in a freighting enter-
prise in which he was engaged there for a time.
Later he mined and devoted himself to different
enterprises with good success until 1891. when
he came to Wallace and established a business
in the furniture line, which he has built up to
such a notable success that he now has the larg-
est store and the largest stock of household goods
in the city.
For the last twelve years Mr. Moore has been
an earnest supporter of the principles of the Peo-
ple's party and his intelligent efforts for its suc-
cess have not been without recognized results.
In 1896 he was elected lieutenant governor of
Idaho on the People's-Democratic ticket, by a
plurality of five thousand five hundred votes, and
filled that important office in 1897-8. Through
his political prominence and through his mem-
bership in the orders of the Free Masons.
Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of the
World and of the Knights of Labor he has gained
a wide acquaintance with the leaders of thought
and action throughout Idaho and adjoining
states, and his heartv interest in the welfare of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Idaho and her people has made him very popu-
lar wherever he is known.
JUDGE EDGAR C. STEELE.
Edgar Clarence Steele occupies as enviable a
position in the public esteem as the most ambi-
tious could desire or as any of our prominent
men have achieved. To the citizens of Moscow
and the second judicial district he can only be
known as being a reputable, prominent man and
an honest, able and efficient officer. At the bar
he manifests all the qualities of the successful
lawyer, and on the bench he displays a rare com-
bination of talent, learning, tact, patience and
industry. The successful lawyer and the com-
petent judge must be a man of well balanced
intellect, thoroughly familiar with the law and
practice, of comprehensive general information,
possessed of an analytical mind and a self-control
that will enable him to lose his individuality, his
personal feelings, his prejudices and the peculiari-
ties of disposition, in the dignity, impartiality and
equity of the office to which life, property, right
and liberty must look for protection. All these
qualities Judge Steele displays.
A native of Indiana, he was born November
15' 1857, his parents being Samuel A. and Mary
Amnie (Beem) Steele. The father was born in
Indiana about 1830, has followed farming and
stock-raising throughout his entire business
career, and is now living in Romona, Indiana.
His wife also is a native of the Hoosier state, and
is still living. The paternal grandfather of our
subject was Samuel Steele, a native of Ireland,
who on coming to the United States located in
Maryland. Subsequently he removed to the
blue-grass region of Kentucky, and thence to In-
diana, where he died at the age of seventy-two
years.
Judge Steele is a graduate of the high school of
Spencer, Indiana, and also pursued his studies in
the State University, at Bloomington, Indiana.
Determining to engage in the practice of law as
a life work, he spent two years in the Indiana
Law School, at Indianapolis, where he was grad-
uated with the class of 1879. He practiced law
in that state until the fall of 1889, and for four
years was in partnership with James H. Jordan,
who is now a member of the supreme bench of
that state. In 1889 Judge Steele was appointed
law examiner of the general land-office at Wash-
ington, and served until January, 1893, when he
resigned and came to Idaho, having in the mean-
time formed a partnership with Hon. Willis
Sweet, of Moscow. That relationship was main-
tained until 1898, when Judge Steele was elevated
to the bench.
The Judge is a stalwart Republican in his po-
litical views, and in August, 1898, he was nomi-
nated for judicial honors in the second district,
being elected by a plurahty of eight hundred.
He has proved a most competent officer, strictly
fair and impartial, weighing the evidence care-
fully and framing his decisions with due regard
.to the law and to precedent. He is proving him-
self to be one of the best district judges of the
state, and his judicial actions are in entire har-
mony with the opinions of the leading members
of the bar.
In November, 1889, in Logan, Ohio, Judge
Steele was united in marriage to Miss Jessie L.
White, a native of Ohio, and their pleasant home
is a popular resort with Moscow's best citizens.
In his social relations the Judge is a Mason, and
in professional and political circles he is regarded
as one of the leading men of his adopted state.
ALEXANDER STALKER.
In the days of the early development of south-
eastern Idaho Alexander Stalker came to the
state, and is therefore numbered among its pio-
neer settlers, but he has not only witnessed the
changes that have since occurred, for in all that
has tended to the development, progress and ad-
vancement of the section he has ever borne his
part, and may therefore well be called one of the
founders of his county and town. In later years
he has been somewhat prominent in political af-
fairs, and at all times he has been a loyal citizen,
deeply interested in everything pertaining to the
welfare of the community.
A native of bonnie Scotland, Mr. Stalker was
born November 21, 1829, and is of Scotch lin-
eage, his parents, Robert and Janet (Tansh)
Stalker, having also been natives of that land.
They were married in Scotland and six children
were born to them there. Their son Alexander
preceded them to America, in 1848, and three
years later the father, mother and three children,
also crossed the Atlantic, taking up their abode
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
615
on the boundary line between Monroe and Or-
leans counties, Xew York, about twenty miles
from Rochester. There the father engaged in
farming, but in Scotland he had been a mer-
chant. After a time he returned to Scotland,
disposed of his houses and other property there,
and again became a resident of New York,
whence he subsequently removed to Kansas.
His wife and sons took passage on the Northern
Indiana, and when crossing the lake the ship
took fire and was burned to the water's edge,
but the passengers were saved. Mr. Stalker and
his family located near Fort Scott, Kansas, where
he died at- the age of sixty-five years, the mother
surviving twenty years and passing away in
1895, at the age of eighty-six.
Alexander Stalker acquired a good Englisli
education, attending the public schools of Scot-
land until fourteen years of age. He afterward
learned the cabinet-maker's and ship-builder's
trades, and after coming to America located in
St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in boat-
building. He also followed the same business in
Kentucky. In Scotland, when but eighteen
years of age, he was converted to the faith of the
Latter Day Saints, and in 1850 he crossed the
plains to Utah, driving a team for a Mr. Johnson,
who died at Fort Kearney, while en route to the
west. Mr. Stalker continued on to Salt Lake
City, and there worked in a sawmill for Dr. Rich-
ards, who was one of President Brigham Young's
first counselors. Subsequently he engaged in
erecting houses and was also employed on the
construction of the state house at Fillmore.
Later he worked in a cabinet shop, until the
spring of 1853, and in the meantime, in 1851, he
was married to Miss Ortencia H. Smith, a daugh-
ter of Warren Smith, who was killed in Missouri
by a mob.
Having promised his father and the family
that he would visit them when they came to
America, Mr. Stalker returned to the east in 1853
and remained with his relatives until March 4,
1854, when he started with a two-horse team
from New York. He had a light wagon, con-
taining a few dishes and needful articles, and
alone he made the perilous journey across the
country. When he reached Shell creek he
camped near a company of California emigrants,
who invited him to join their party and to turn
his horses out with theirs, but he declined the in-
vitation and tied his horses to either end of a
long rope, which he then fastened, near the mid-
dle, to a stake. He then lay down to rest at the
stake for the night, and in the darkness, several
times hearing noises, he pulled his horses up to
him by means of the rope and so kept them in
safety. In the morning it was found that the
Indians had stolen all the horses belonging to
the California emigrants. When he arrived at
Coup Fork many teams were there to be ferried
across and the ferryman was charging five dollars
a team. Mr. Stalker did not have the money,
but he learned that if he went farther up the
stream he could ford, and consequently drove
about twenty miles to a place where a few tracks
turned into the water. He unhooked one of his
horses and rode in to look for a crossing, but
had only proceeded a short distance when his
horse sank and with difficulty was extricated.
He then decided that if he drove up the stream in
a diagonal way he could reach the opposite bank,
and so hitching his horses he made the trial and
was nearly across when one of the horses fell .
struggling in the quicksand. ]\Ir. Stalker then
jumped in, unhitched the horses and got them
out to the bank, but looking up the river he saw
a large company of Indians in war paint. Know-
ing something of their habits he decided instant-
ly that his best course was to put on a bold front.
so he motioned to the Indians to come and help
him get the wagon out. They had a long rope,
and with their aid the wagon was secured, after
which he gave them each a cracker from his
scanty store and proceeded on his way unmo-
lested by the Indians, who were in search of an-
other party of red men. Mr. Stalker's method
was to travel most of the day, but before dark he
would stop, build a fire and prepare his supper,
after which he would move on a mile or two and
spend the night in as sheltered a place as he
could find. At length he completed the journey
in safety, and in the fall he located at American
Forks, about thirty miles from Salt Lake, where
he followed farming and also worked at his trade.
In 1852 he was in the Indian fight in Skull valley,
where twelve Indians were killed, and partici-
pated in other engagements with the red men in
the early history of the country.
In the spring of 1860 Mr. Stalker left American
616
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Forks, and on the 14th of April arrived in the
Cache valley, being one of the first settlers of
Idaho. That district, however, was then thought
to be a part of Utah. About fifty families came
first and built their log houses in the form of a
hollow square, the rear of the houses forming a
part of the fort. Openings were made at each
Corner of the square and for three years a guard
was maintained at each place both night and day.
The settlers also made a ditch to convey water to
their land, and in this way they made the desert
a favored garden spot in the midst of which .1
beautiful town, with numerous pleasant homes,
has been built. By his thrift and industry Mr.
Stalker has prospered. He became the pioneer
small-fruit grower of the valley, first cultivating
blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries and cur-
rants, and successfully demonstrating the adapt-
ability of the soil for horticultural purposes. He
has since planted a fine orchard of apple, pear and
plum trees. He became the owner of two hun-
dred acres of land, but has since sold a portion of
it. retaining possession of a valuable tract of
eighty acres. He also has a good residence in
Franklin.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Stalker was blessed
with fourteen children, eleven of whom are liv-
ing, namely, Alexander: Amanda: Janet, wife of
Louis Hook: Warren; Wallace: Ortencia Anna;
James; Alvira, wife of John D. Ellis; Sardinus
S.; Willard; Theresa D., a teacher; Alma S ;
Elizabeth, wife of Ambrose Shorten, and Joseph,
who is still with his parents. The family is one
highly respected in the community.
Mr. Stalker is a stalwart Republican, and on
that ticket was elected to the eighth session of
the territorial legislature. He was also journal
clerk for the session of forty days, and was a
member of the Idaho territorial council. When
elected to the latter ofiice his connection with the
Latter Day Saints was terminated. Since then
he has not been a church member, but retains
his faith in Christ, and adheres in a degree to the
belief of the Presbyterian church, in which he
was reared.
CLINTON T. STRANAHAN.
Important official work has been done in Nez
Perces county by Clinton T. Stranahan, now fill-
ing the office of United States Indian agent at
Spaulding, and it was because of his faithfulness
in smaller things that he was entrusted with these
broader responsibilities, which he is discharging
in a truly patriotic spirit.
Clinton T. Stranahan was born in Clayton,
Contra Costa county, California, in March, 1859,
and is descended from Irish ancestry. His fore-
fathers settled early in the state of New York,
and there his father, Ebenezer Stranahan, was
born. In 1852 Ebenezer Stranahan went to
California. He engaged in mining in Tuolumne
county and met with much success. In 1858 he
went back to New York and married Miss Ellen
Terry. He returned to California with his wife
and settled in Contra Costa county, where he
died as the result of an accident, in the forty-
fourth year of his age. His wife survives him,
aged sixty. She is a devout member of the
Presbyterian church, with which her husband
was connected during his life.
Ebenezer and Ellen (Terry) Stranahan had six
children, of whom Clinton T. was the first born,
and four of whom are living. Clinton T. Strana-
han was educated in the public schools of Oak-
land, California, and came to Moscow, Idaho, in
the spring of 1878. He took up and improved
one hundred and sixty acres of government land
near where the city of Juliaetta has since grown
up. Later he acquired a forty-acre fruit farm
just at the border of the city of Lewiston, which
he has planted and cultivated with such care and
skill that it is universally conceded to be one of
the best fruit farms in the state. On this prop-
erty Mr. Stranahan has built and furnished a de-
lightful home, which is admired by all who see
it and in which a hearty hospitality abounds.
Mrs. Stranahan was Miss May Bostwick, and is
a native of Gallatin valley, Montana. They were
married December 23, 1884, and have a son
named Clyde and a daughter named Thora. Mrs.
Stranahan is a communicant of the Episcopal
church.
Politically Mr. Stranahan has always been an
active and influential Republican. He has
worked ardently for the success of the principles
that party advocates. He has looked after the
local advancement of Republican interests and
has attended the state and county conventions of
his party. He has done this from principle and
with a desire to do his full duty as a citizen. He
has not been an office-seeker, and if he has held
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
6ir
official positions it has been because he was the
man for them, logically and by reason of his
manifest fitness for them, and because he was
urged to accept them by others, who desired to
see them administered honestly and economi-
cally. He was deputy assessor of Nez Perces
county four years, was under sheriff two years,
was United States deputy marshal, under United
States Marshal Joseph Pinkham, four years, has
served as chairman of the Republican central
committee of Nez Perces county, and was ap-
pointed United States Indian agent by President
McKinley, in June, 1899, and given charge of the
Nez Perces agency at Spaulding, Idaho. To the
duties of this office and to his personal affairs, he
gives his whole attention ; and whatever gratifi-
cation other successes may have brought him, his
chief pride is in the knowledge that he has
brought a valuable and beautiful agricultural
property out of a wilderness of sage-brush, and
has been potent in demonstrating the capabilities
of this part of the state for profitable cultivation
and its advantages for labor and investment.
WILLIAM SEVERN.
An interesting book might be written about
the early settlement of Montpelier, Idaho, to
which no one could contribute a more edifying
chapter of personal experiences than the man
whose name appears above, and some account
of his venturesome, busy, useful and successful
career is necessary to the completeness of this
work.
William Severn was born in Hucknell, in Not-
tinghamshire, England, October 4, 1836, of an
ancestry English in all known lines of descent.
His parents were Enoch and Ann (Allen) Severn.
They were married in England and were there
converted to the faith of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints. Somewhat more
than ten years ago they came to Montpelier,
where their son William had come as a pioneer
and had become a prominent citizen, and there
Mi". Severn died in 1890, his wife having passed
away a few years earlier. They had five children,
of whom three are living. William the eldest
was educated in England and learned and worked
at the trade of weaving ladies' hose. In 1856 he
sailed for America, on board tlie ship Orrison,
and was married on the voyage to Miss Mary
Astel. They were both between nineteen and
twenty years old at the time. From New York
they made their way to Iowa City. Iowa, en route
for Utah. At Iowa Cit_\' they joined a party,
numbering six hundred, which on the 1st of
August, 1856, set out over the old trail, moving
their property by means of hand-carts. It was a
long, tedious journey,' and there were some who
never reached the end of it. The snow fell long
before they reached Salt Lake City, and they
were short of provisions and found it almost im-
possible at times to make any headway. But
two hundred teams were sent to their reHef from
Salt Lake City, and met them still four hundred
miles away from their journey's. end. Without
assistance the suffering of the emigrants would
very likely have been something awful. They
did not arrive in Salt Lake City until December
I, four months after they had left Iowa City.
Mr. Severn secured employment at sawing wood
for the territorial legislature. In the spring of
1857 a farmer outside of the city employed him
and paid him from one-half to two dollars a day.
Under other circumstances he and his wife might
have lived comfortably on what he was able to
earn, but the isolation of the Mormon capital
from eastern and western markets, and the almost
total lack of transportation facilities in either di-
rection, tended to raise prices on about every
necessity to a point that made some of them
unattainable to many persons. Sugar and butter
readily brought fifty cents a pound, and flour was
six dollars a hundred pounds, and hard to get at
that price. Mr. Severn relates that he went sev-
eral miles fo buy five to si.x pounds of flour at a
time. The young 'couple saw hard times, with
little prospect of relief, but they were no worse
off than thousands of others, and made the best
they could of all the disadvantages at which they
were placed. They returned to Salt Lake City,
and went thence to Cache valley, where they
arrived in the spring of 1861. From there they
came to the site of Montpelier in the spring of
1864 and joined the band of emigrants sent to
settle Bear Lake valley, under authority of Brig-
ham Young, president of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints. The colonists
called the place Clover Creek, but the name of
Montpelier was given it by President Young, in
honor of Montpelier, \'ermont, which was the
618
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
place of his birth. Each of the pioneers of Mont-
peHer had allotted to him one acre and a quarter
in the town and twenty acres of hay land and
twenty acres of grain land. This allotment,
where land was so plentiful and cheap, was
thought to be wise, as it kept the pioneers closer
together, for mutual protection, than they proba-
bly would have remained had they been left to
their more am.bitious choice. Later Mr. Severn
took up a hundred and sixty acres and still later
a hundred and twenty acres of government land,
and he is now the owner of three hundred acres,
raises cattle, hay and grain extensively and is
one of the most successful farmers in the vicinity
of Montpelier.
Mr. Severn tells many interesting details of the
pioneer days at Montpelier. For a time after
their arrival he and his wife slept in their wagon.
In the absence of anything better to do service
as a stove, -Mrs. Severn did their baking in a
kettle. Before the snow came Mr. Severn had
provided a little log house, with a piece of cloth
for a door and a smaller one for a window. Hay
was spread on the floor as a carpet to protect
their feet from the bare ground, which, as may be
supposed, was not at all times agreeable to the
touch. Later the settlers joined hands and whip-
sawed lumber out of which floors were laid in the
cabins. Early frosts cut ofT young crops, and
those about ready to garner were destroyed year
after year, for half a dozen years, by crickets and
grasshoppers, which were so voracious that they
actually ate window curtains and any other arti-
cle of cloth or paper they could get at. Less
resolute people, less faithful and devoted people,
might have faltered in the face of all these calami-
ties, but not the colonists at Montpelier. They
worked and prayed and fought and waited for
success, and it came in plentiful measure. The
wilderness was made to "blossom as the rose," a
thrifty town sprang up about them, and they were
its most honored and most prosperous citizens.
For ten years of his later life, until after Mrs.
Severn's death, which occurred August 6, 1898,
Mr. Severn kept hotel. Mrs. Severn was one of
the "mothers" of the town, a woman loved by
all who knew her, and her removal was deeply
regretted. Following are the names of her chil-
dren, all living at or near Montpelier, some of
them vet members of their father's household:
Mary (Mrs. Joseph Robertson), William, Thom-
as, Elizabeth, Harry H., and Daniel E. July 11,
1899, Mr. Severn married Miss Mary Cornwallis,
an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints. Mr. Severn is a stanch
Democrat, but is not an office-seeker nor a prac-
tical politician; but he is a helpful citizen of hb-
eral views, and has a reputation for sterling man-
hood that makes him popular with all who know
him.
CALEB S. STONE, M. D.
Dr. Stone has left the ranks of the many to
stand among the more successful few in a profes-
sion where advancement depends solely upon in-
dividual merit. In other walks of life, especially
in commercial circles, one may enter upon a
business already established and carry it on from
the point where others laid it down, but the phy-
sician must rely solely upon his knowledge and
ability, and these must be acquired through close
and earnest application. That Dr. Stone, of
Wallace, is numbered among the leading physi-
cians and surgeons of his section of the state, is
therefore evidence of his power in his chosen call-
ing.
A native of Missouri, he was born May 10.
1859, his parents being Robert Harris and Eliza
(Rodes) Stone, both of whom were natives of
Kentucky, and are now deceased.' The father
died in Missouri, in 1881, at the age of sixty-five
years, and the mother in Texas, when about
thirty-five years of age. Mr. Stone engaged in
merchandising throughout his business career.
The Doctor obtained his preliminary education
in the common schools of his native state, and
supplemented it by study in an academy for boys
at Little Rock, Arkansas, and m Woodlawn
Seminary, at St. Charles, Missouri. He began
the study of medicine in Louisville, Kentucky,
at the age of seventeen years, and in 1879 he went
to Leadville, Colorado, where he remained until
• 1881 acting as bookkeeper for the Chrysolite
Mining Company. In 1882 he returned to
Louisville, Kentucky, where he resumed the
study of medicine, and in 1883 was graduated in
the Louisville Medical College.
Immediately afterward Dr. Stone began the
practice of his chosen profession in Colorado,
where he continued for five years, meeting with
excellent success in his undertakings. Having
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in that time accumulated considerable capital, he
was enabled to spend the two succeeding years
in travel, and in 1889 he came to Idaho, locating
in Burke, Shoshone county, where he acted as
surgeon for the Tiger, Poorman and other min-
ing companies. In 1891 he took up his abode in
Wallace and was at once appointed surgeon for
the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Rail-
ways. In 1891 he was appointed attending sur-
geon for the Providence Hospital, at Wallace,
and is now county health officer also. He has a
broad and accurate knowledge of medical princi-
ples, is very skillful in diagnosing a case and in
applying his knowledge in the manner best cal-
culated to relieve suffering. His ability has won
him rank among the leading physicians of Idaho,
and he is a valued member of the Idaho State
Medical Society, the American Medical Associa-
tion and the American Association of Railway
Surgeons.
On Christmas day of 1896 Dr. Stone was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Ervin, of Fay-
ette, Missouri, and they have one of the finest
homes in Wallace. It is not only beautiful in
appearance, but is celebrated for its hospitality,
which is generously extended to their many
friends. They are the parents of a little son,
whose birth occurred July 14, 1899. In politics
the Doctor is a Democrat of the old school. A
gentleman of courteous address and general man-
ner, he is a favorite with all classes and is ac-
counted one of the leading citizens of Wallace.
JACOB JONES.
Jacob Jones, a pioneer property-owner, mer-
chant, farmer, blacksmith and hotel-keeper at
Montpelier, Idaho, and one of the most promi-'
nent citizens of the town, was born in Brecon-
shire, South Wales, May 14, 1825. His parents
were descended from old Welsh families and his
father was a Methodist, and his mother was a
Presbyterian. Of their ten children he was the
youngest. He was educated and entered upon
the active struggle of life in his native land and
there married Miss Anne Collier on the Saturday
before Christmas, 1852. As early as 1846 he
had been converted to the faith of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he had
done much missionary work in its behalf, as a
result of which many hundreds have embraced
the faith. His wife had also been for some years
a convert. In the spring of 1853 only a few
months after their marriage, they set out for the
United States, on board the sailing ship Interna-
tional, from Liverpool. There were six hundred
passengers, and the voyage consumed eight
weeks, at the end of which time they very
gladly disembarked at New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mr. Jones and his brother, Henry, went to Fill-
more, Missouri, where the brothers engaged for
a time in contracting and building. From there
Mr. Jones went with his family to Nebraska City,
Nebraska, where they lived eight years. In the
spring of 1863 they removed to Salt Lake City,
Utah, where Mr. Jones opened a blacksmith
shop, having mastered the trade in Wales and
being thoroughly familiar with the work in all
its details. At that time the war had brought
iron up to a high price, and Salt Lake City was
isolated from the older civilization of the coun-
try to a greater extent than it is now, and black-
smith's iron cost Mr. Jones twenty-five
cents a pound. To pay these prices he was
obliged to charge good prices for his work, and
he made money. In 1864 President Brigham
Young, of the Church cf Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, called for volunteers to go to live in
Bear Lake valley, now in Bear Lake county,
Idaho, with a view of settling the country and
spreading the gospel. As a volunteer, Mr. Jones
came to the valley thirty-five years ago, in 1864,
when there was not a house in the valley, from
river head to river mouth. The next year (1865)
he brought out his family. During the first
summer they lived in the willows and slept in
their wagon, and in the fall, in preparation for
the rigors of winter, they erected a small log
cabin. Every season for six years all that they
attempted to raise was destroyed by crickets,
grasshoppers or early frosts. These troubles and
the unfriendly attitude of the Indians rendered
the prospect for the devoted settlers very dark
indeed. They were ordered away by the Sho-
shone Indians, and when they did not go Chief
Washakee went to Salt Lake City and conferred
with President Young about the matter. Brig-
ham Young believed it was cheaper to feed In-
dians than to fight them, and had confidence in
their friendship if it could be gained. He feasted
Washakee and impressed him so favorably in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
every way that the settlers were permitted to re-
main without molestation. The pioneers adopted
a friendly and conciliatory policy in dealing with
the Indians, and rarely had serious trouble with
them. Once Pocatello, the Bannack chief, came
to the settlement with his braves and treated the
whites with much insolence. Some of the In-
dians demanded beef and flour, which were scarce
articles there at the time, and some of them
amused themselves and their companions by
standing on the settlers' beds and otherwise ren-
dering themselves offensive and ridiculous. Two
men were dispatched secretly to Cache valley for
help, and the next day there were fifty minute-
men in hand, and Pocatello and his followers
withdrew, with as good grace as possible and
never troubled the settlers afterward. There was
no mill anywhere near, and grain was ground in
cofifee-mills. and the pioneers had no base of sup-
plies nearer than Cache valley. But, strange as
it may appear at first thought, Mr. Jones was
actually prospering in a financial way. He had
established a blacksmith shop and was getting as
much as six dollars for shoeing a span of horses
and was being paid for other work at propor-
tionate prices. There was much emigration
through the valley and much packing of mer-
chandise. The objective points were Boise City
and the mining camps and settlements in Mon-
tana. There were many horses to be shod and
many wagons to be repaired, and this steady
stream of overland travel made much other
profitable work for Mr. Jones. He saw a train of
eighty wagons, loaded with whisky and each
drawn by six yokes of cattle, pass his shop en
route for Montana mining camps, and at other
times evidences of enterprises in the pursuit of
the "almighty dollar" which were scarcely less
remarkable and suggestive. When he had saved
up some capital he built a big frame house and
occupied it as a residence and hotel. He planted
trees about it and made it as comfortable and
inviting as possible, and here he set a good table
and gave every one a hearty welcome and a
cheery good-bye, as a result of which he pros-
pered beyond his most sanguine calculations. The
house was kept open as a hotel until 1897, and
since then Mr. Jones has entertained only favored
old customers and personal friends.
As Mr. Jones made money, he sought good
investment for some of it in the immediate vicin-
ity. He and Edward Burgoyne acquired the land
on which the new town of Montpelier has grown
up. They have built many houses and sold
many lots and are still the largest owners of
property there. From time to time Mr. Jones
has bought other property, when he has been
able to do so on advantageous terms. In this
way and by other purchases he became the
owner of much valuable farm land, and upon the
marriage of one of his sons it is his rule to give
him a good farm. He abandoned blacksmithing
after having carried on the business with success
about fifteen years, and in 1897, when he ceased"
keeping hotel, he retired from active life, well
ofif in this world's goods, rich in the good will
of his fellow citizens and with abundant self-
approval of all methods by which he has pros-
pered. With a partner, he built the roller-process
flouring mill which became so great a factor in
the prosperity of the town and its tributary terri-
tory, but later disposed of his interest in it.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones have had twelve children,
of whom nine are living: Nessi A., who is Mrs.
C. Webster; Lilian E., who married John
Stevens; Thomas W., who is a merchant at
Montpelier; Franklin, who is a dealer in meat
in Montpelier ; Jacob, who is a successful rancher
near Montpelier; Nellie S., who is the wife of
Thomas Glen, a lawyer of Montpelier; May,
who is Mrs. Clem Oakley, of Montpelier; John
H., who is now married; and Daisy, who is a
member of her father's household.
ALFRED BUDGE.
Alfred Budge, prosecuting attorney of Bear
Lake county, was born in Providence, Utah, on
the 24th of February, 1868, of Scotch-English
and Welsh ancestry. For full details in regard to
his lineage and the immediate family history,
we refer the reader to the sketch of the life of his
father, Hon. William Budge, appearing else-
where in this volume. Alfred Budge received his
preliminary education in the academy at Provo,
Utah, and later matriculated in the law depart-
ment of the famous University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, where he was duly graduated as a
member of the law class of 1891. He was at
once admitted to practice, and he began the work
of his profession in July, 1892, at his home in
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Bigfham.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
621
Paris, Idaho, where he has since continued in the
active practice of law.
In his political adherency Mr. Budge is a
stanch advocate of the Republican party, and, as
such, was elected district attorney of the fifth ju-
dicial district of the state, in which office he
served, with great acceptability, for a period of
four years, his term expiring January 15, 1899.
In the meanwhile, in November, 1898, he had
been elected prosecuting attorney of Bear Lake
county, of which important office he is the pres-
ent incumbent, discharging its duties with
marked ability and resourcefulness.
It is worthy of note that while the political
complexion of the county is Democratic by a
majority of about two-thirds of its voters, both
Mr. Budge and his father were candidates on the
Republican ticket, — the one for prosecuting at-
torney and the other for state senator, — and both
were elected. They were the only Republicans
elected, and had made no personal efforts in the
way of electioneering. Such facts are significant,
standing in evidence of the popular recognition
of their fitness for official position, and also indi-
cating the great personal popularity in which
they are held in the county in which they have
both so long resided.
Mr. Budge is now also a member of the Paris
city council. He was born a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and
has rendered his church eminent service as a
traveling elder. He acquired the German lan-
guage and for two and one-half years traveled
and preached in Switzerland and in Germany.
His labors abroad were well received, and he ef-
fected several organizations of his church. He
also visited and spent some time in England and
France and has visited nearly all sections of his
native land.
On the 5th of Jnly, 1894, Mr. Budge was hap-
pily married to Miss Ella Hoge, the daughter of
Walter Hoge, a respected pioneer citizen of
Paris. Their union has been blessed with two
sons, — Alfred Hoge and Drew William Stanrod.
They have a delightful home on a hillside over-
looking the valley. Mr. Budge has also a ranch
and is a stockholder in a large roller-process
flouring mill, recently built in the city. There is
a large local demand for the flour, and the prod-
uct of the mill is also shipped to other towns.
Mr. Budge is polished in manner, a gentleman
of much natural and acquired ability, and he and
his family are very highly esteemed, having a
wide circle of friends.
SAMUEL W. BIGH.-\M.
Samuel W. Bigham, one of the most successful
and best known farmers of the Potlatch country,
living on American Ridge, four miles southwest
of the picturesque and prosperous town of Ken-
drick, came to this locality in 1881 and took up
government land, which he has transformed into
one of the most desirable farms in this section of
Idaho. He v/as born in Canada, July 24, 1842,
and is of Irish descent, his grandfather, Andrew
Bigham, having emigrated from the Emerald
Isle to Canada at an early day. His son Thomas
Bigham, the father of our subject, was born in
what was then the town of York, but is now the
city of Toronto, and having arrived at years of
maturity married Miss Jane Davidson, a native
of Ireland. In 1855 he removed with his family
to Illinois, became a naturalized citizen of the
United States, and when the great civil war was
inaugurated he espoused the cause of the Union,
enlisting in Company G, Fifty-eighth Illinois In-
fantry. When hostilities had ceased he returned
to his Illinois home, where he remained until the
fall of 1866, when he moved to Marysville, Mar-
shall county, Kansas, where he remained until
the fall of 1888, when he came to Idaho, locating
in jNIoscow. There he passed the remainder of
a well spent life, and he was called to his final
rest September 15, 1897, at the age of eighty-
three years. He was a man of much energy and
industry, of sterling worth of character, a valued
member of the Baptist church and a good and
worthy citizen, enjoying the esteem of all who
knew him. His good wife is still living, at the
age of eighty-six years. Through the long period
of their married life she was to him a faithful
wife and helpmeet, and to her nine children she
proved a devoted mother. ' Five sons and one
daughter are still living.
Samuel W. Bigham, the sixth of the family,
was educated in Ogle county, Illinois, and reared
at his father's home there. On the 30th of Oc-
tober, 1861, stirred with the spirit of patriotism,
he offered his services to the government, join-
ing the same company of which his father was a
623
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
member. One of his brothers, Jonathan Big-
ham, belonged to the Ninety-second IlHnois In-
fantry, so that the family was well represented in
the struggle to preserve the Union. He wa^
only nineteen years of age when he volunteered,
but the veterans many years his senior displayed
no greater loyalty or bravery than he. He served
in the western army under Generals Grant and
Sherman and participated in nine hard-fought
battles, — from Pittsburg Landing to Nashville,
Tennessee. At the battle of Pleasant Hill, Lou-
isiana, he was wounded in the face, the ball enter-
ing his mouth and breaking his jaw. As soon
as he recovered he rejoined his regiment and
continued with that command until February 7,
1865, when he received an honorable discharge.
He then laid down his gun to again take his place
behind the plow. He had rendered his country
valuable service, and every loyal soldier of the
Union certainly deserves the heartfelt praise of
the nation.
In 1881 Mr. Bigham came to Idaho, locating
a claim of one hundred and sixty acres under the
soldier's homestead act. By his industry and
earnest effort he has made this one of the most
desirable farms in the county and he is accounted
one of the leading and progressive agriculturists.
By additional purchase he has added to his prop-
erty until his landed possession now aggregates
three hundred and twenty acres, much of which
is under a high state of cultivation. He has a
line orchard of fifteen acres, planted to apples,
pears, peaches, plums and small fruits. He has
also put out a fine grove of walnut trees, and
this is used as picnic grounds by his family,
friends and neighbors. He has piped water from
a spring in his outdoor cellar to a forty-acre pas-
ture, that his horses, cattle and hogs may have
plenty of pure water. He raises grain, hay and
fine stock, and feeds most of his farm products
to the stock. His pleasant, and substantial resi-
dence is supplemented by a large barn of recent
construction and all other necessary outbuild-
ings, and no accessory of the model farm is lack-
ing. There is also a blacksmith and repair shop,
and his mechanical ingenuity enables him to
keep in repair all of his own farm implements.
He is most industrious and energetic, and his
labors are certainly deserving of the success with
which thev have been crowned.
Another and most attractive element of the
Bigham home is the generous hospitality which
there reigns supreme. Our subject and his wife
are most generous, kind-hearted people, and
have the warm regard of a very extensive circle
of friends. This worthy couple were married in
1889, the lady having been in her maidenhood
Miss Christine Anna Kuoni, She was born in
Switzerland, and came to America when two
years old. Their union has been blessed with a
son and daughter, — Zella and Walter S.
Mr. Bigham is a valued member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity and of the Grand Army of the
Republic. In politics he is a stalwart Repub-
lican, and is a public-spirited, progressive citizen,'
giving his loyal support to all measures for the
general good, and manifesting the same fidelity
to his duties of citizenship as when he followed
the nation's starry banner upon southern battle-
fields.
V. W. SANDER.
Success is not always the result of fortunate
circumstances, but is the outcome of labor and
business ability, and the one who achieves suc-
cess along industrial or commercial lines must be
possessed of energy, strong determination and
executive force. Such are the qualities which
have won for Mr. Sander a leading position
among the merchants of Idaho and gained for
him the presidency of the Idaho Mercantile Com-
pany, Limited, of Coeur d'Alene.
A native of Germany, he was born February
4, 1857, and is a son of Henry and Henrietta
(Othmer) Sander, also natives of the same coun-
try. In i860 they came with their family to the
New World, taking up their residence in Musca-
tine, Iowa, where the parents died. The subject
of this review was only three years of age at
the time of the emigration to America. He was
reared in Muscatine and acquired his education
in the common and high schools of that city,
after which he entered upon his business career
as a clerk, spending three years as a salesman in
the dry-goods store of General Gordon, of that
city. In 1877 he made his way westward to Cali-
fornia, where he was employed as a clerk in a
general store for two years, and in 1879 he re-
moved to the territory of Washington, where he
secured a ranch, upon which he made his home
until the following year. In 1880 he came to
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
623
what is now the city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and
for several years was associated in business with
George B. Wonnacott. In 1883 he began busi-
ness on his own account, opening a general
merchandising establishment, and on the ist of
March, 1895, was instrumental in organizing the
Idaho Mercantile Company, Limited, of which
he was elected president. It was capitalized for
thirty thousand dollars, and from the beginning
the new enterprise has been attended with a
marked degree of success. They carry the largest
stock in this section of the state and their goods
are of the best possible selection to meet the
varied demands of the trade of this region. In
1 89 1 the large brick block in which the business
is conducted was completed. It is fifty by one
one hundred feet, and is two stories in height
with basement.
In 1886 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Sander and Miss Lulu Lohmann, of Burlington,
Iowa, and they now have an interesting family of
four children: William E., Henrietta C, Dor-
othy L. and Carolton A. In his social relations
Mr. Sander is a Knight of Pythias, and in politics
is a Republican. He keeps well informed on the
issues of the day, yet is not an office-seeker, pre-
ferring to devote his time and energies to his
business interests. His keen discrimination in
commercial matters, his courteous treatment and
honorable dealing have secured to him a liberal
patronage, and his straightforward business
methods have gained him the commendation and
confidence of the general public.
JOHN C. BRADY.
The profession of teaching is one which de-
velops a man symmetrically, affords him oppor-
tunity for study and thought and fits him for
the higher duties of citizenship in a manner
thoroughly logical and rational. The successful
teacher is a lover of popular enlightenment, and
to be that he must be himself enlightened and
patriotic. When teachers come to public ofifice
they bring to the service of the public a broad-
minded grasp of affairs and a capacity for work
which make them useful, influential and re-
spected.
John C. Brady was born in Cedar county,
Iowa, May 19, 1863, a son of Hugh and Mary
(McClintock) Brady, who are living in Keokuk
county, Iowa, respected by all who know them,
and prosperous in temporal affairs.
Mr. Brady attended the public schools near his
home and was graduated from the Northern In-
diana Normal School, at Valparaiso, in 1884.
From that time until in 1898 he was teaching
school almost continuously, in Iowa, Montana
and Idaho. He came to Rathdrum, Kootenai
county, Idaho, in 1894, was for four years princi-
pal of the schools of that town and came to be
known as one of the most devoted and successful
educators in the state.
In November, 1898, he was, as a Democrat,
elected to the office of judge of probate of
Kootenai county, an office which he is adminis-
tering with much ability and good judgment and
with the approbation of the general public, with-
out regard to political alliances. He was called
to the position by a majority large enough to
attest great personal popularity, for he is excep-
tionally progressive and public-spirited and has
a wide personal acquaintance. He has fraternal
relations with the orders of Red Alen, Knights of
Pythias and Knights of the Maccabees. In Janu-
ary, 1899, he purchased, and has since been the
editor and publisher of, the Silver Blade, a six-
column folio newspaper, which was established
at Rathdrum in 1895 and is the only Democratic
paper in Kootenai county. This journal under
Mr. Brady's management has been greatly im-
proved; it has a circulation of one thousand and
a recognized influence throughout the prosperous
and rapidly developing field it occupies.
In 1893 Mr. Brady married Miss Nettie Pine,
a native of Illinois, who died April 15, 1899,
leaving two children, Arva and Elmer.
CHAPTER XLII.
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS IN IDAHO.
THE following record is contributed by one
who stands high in the councils of the
church and in the civic afifairs of the state,
and the article merits a place in this history, as
representing an element which has a distinct
place in the annals of Idaho and which is con-
tributing to her welfare and stable prosperity :
The remarkable journey of the Mormon people from
the borders of civilization to the wilds of the western
wilderness, in 1847, is now a matter of history. The
pioneer camp of that exodus comprised one hundred
and forty-three souls, and was led by Brigham Young,
the president of the church, and afterward governor
of Utah. This advance colony reached Salt Lake City
on the 24th day of July, 1847. Almost immediately after
planting crops sufficient for bread-stuff for these col-
onizers, Brigham Young fitted out several companies,
under the supervision of men of indomitable courage,
to explore the contiguous territory, in order to provide
for the establishment of the immense immigration of
the main body of the church, which, in the few years
following, found its way to Utah. One of these com-
panies went south to Provo valley, and another went
to Davis county, on the north, settling what are now
known as Kaysville and Centerville. Soon after this
another colony settled in Ogden valley, and this was
followed by the settlement of Brigham City, in 1850.
The inviting and fertile valleys of the north soon
led to the establishment of thrifty settlements in Cache
valley — now known as "the granary of Utah." Logan,
the county-seat of Cache, was located by Peter Man-
ghan in the spring of 1859. Reaching out on the north,
Franklin was located. This was the first town in Idaho
to be settled by the Mormon people, although then
supposed to be a part of Utah. Malad was settled by
Henry Peck, Benjamin Thomas and others, in 1863,
and in 1866 an addition was made to the population
by an influx of Josephites. Bear Lake valley, then
called Richland county, and subsequently part of Onei-
da county, was settled in 1863 by Apostle Charles C.
Rich. Cassia county — at the time of its settlement
being part of Oneida and Owyhee counties — was set-
tled in 1875, Albion — now the county-seat — being the
first town settled, followed soon after by Oakley. Tre-
mont county was settled in 1883, Rexburg being the
first town located, although there were seven families
at what is now known as Parker, and a few at Menan
and Idaho Falls. The pioneers of Fremont county
were Thomas E. Ricks. Francis Gunnell, James M.
G2
Cook, T. E. Ricks, Jr., Joseph Ricks, Brigham Ricks,
Heber Ricks, Fred Smith, Leonard Jones, Dan Wal-
ters, Edmund Paul, and a number of others, all from
Cache county.
It should be here remarked that the Jlormons were
the very first bona-fide settlers of Idaho. In 1855 a
colony was called by Brigham Young to settle what
is now known as Lemhi county — Lemhi being the
name of one of the prophets in the Book of Mormon.
They cultivated a rich body of land there, but the
Indians were very hostile, and massacred some of the
colony, besides destroying much of their property and
stealing their cattle. Finally, Brigham Young called
them in, and no further settlement of that part of
Idaho took place till mining discoveries opened up
the country, in 1866.
After the establishment of Franklin b'y the Mormon
people, settlements sprang up all around, until now
the Mormon population of Idaho numbers in the
neighborhood of thirty-three thousand, distributed in
what are generally known as the six Mormon counties,
as follows: Bear Lake. Bingham, Bannock, Cassia,
Fremont and Oneida. The condition of the Mormon
people is prosperous, and is characterized by industry,
frugality and thrift.
We have thus shown the first settlement of the
Mormon people in Idaho. The genius of the ^lormon
religion appeals to all who investigate it, as being not
only adapted to the spiritual advancement of mankind,
but as especially looking to his temporal welfare. In
the establishment of these colonies, the betterment of
the condition of the Mormon people and their inde-
pendence have been the important objects to accom-
plish, as well as the keeping of the people together in
one body for the attainment of their spiritual desires;
so that the salvation embodied in the Mormon religion
not only pertains to the life beyond, but also has a
most important bearing on the improvement of their
temporal condition. It is a practical religion in every
sense of the word.
The Mormon people have been and are, in very
deed, the pioneers and colonizers of this western coun-
try, but the hardships, the sufferings and the vicissi-
tudes they have undergone have, in many respects,
been almost beyond human endurance. Only through
the aid and the protection of the Divine Power have
they been enabled to endure the sufferings attendant
upon the early settlement of what are now the prettiest,
the richest and the most promising valleys of Idaho.
Bear Lake county can very truly be cited as an instance
of the hardships and sufferings undergone. Thirty-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
C25
three years ago, when Charles C. Rich and his band
of pioneers entered this valley, it was most forbidding
and uninviting. The valley has an altitude of five thou-
sand seven hundred feet, and the early and late frosts,
and the long winters, with their heavy snowfalls, made
it seem impossible to bring the valley to a condition
where farming would be profitable and the locality a
desirable place to live in. The change which has come
over this valley seems more like a transformation than
a reality. The finest and choicest of cereals are now
raised here, as also apples, pears, plums, cherries,
strawberries, and all the smaller fruits, while thrifty
settlements have sprung up as if by magic. There was
no railroad in the early days of its settlement, and
when the inclemency of the weather and the grasshop-
pers destroyed the crops, bread-stufifs and the other
necessaries of life had to be freighted from Cache val-
ley through the mountains, over roads which were
rough and almost impassable. Charles C. Rich, through
all these discomfitures and hardships, together with
his band of pioneers, labored for the development of
the country. He died at his home in Paris, in 1882.
The evidences of the primitive condition of afifairs
are giving way to modern improvements. The old
log school-house and place of worship have given way
to the brick school-house and the stone church. Paris,
the county-seat of Bear Lake, as is the case with all
the other Mormon settlements, has been almost entirely
rebuilt during the last fifteen years, and boasts, among
its many modern buildings, the largest and most costly
place of worship in the state of Idaho, known to the
Mormon people as their Stake Tabernacle — being con-
structed entirely of fine building rock. It also pos-
sesses a Mormon church academy of cut rock and
brick, three stories high, with a large tower, valued
at forty-five thousand dollars.
When the Mormon colonists stretched out on the
north, miles and miles from Salt Lake City, they had
no other thought but that they were in the then terri-
tory of Utah. Their interests were in common, and
they paid tribute to that territory and assisted in the
choosing of her ofiicials. When a government survey
of the west was made in 1872, a line was run by the
surveyors between Utah and Idaho, and the Mormon
people in the extreme northern settlements found
themselves in Idaho, — in what was then known as
Oneida county, which at that time embraced the pres-
ent c^ounties of Bear Lake, Oneida, Bannock, Bing-
ham, Fremont and part of Cassia. The Mormon set,-
tlers, being chiefiy from Utah, and understanding they
were part and portion of that territory, had never taken
much part in national politics — in fact, but very little.
This is easily explained by the fact that when they
reached Utah in 1847 they were over one thousand
miles from civilization, and being so isolated for years,
during the settlement of Utah, they had no occasion
to bother much with politics. They were ever loyal,
however, to the flag, and maintained, even from the
first, a devotion to the institutions of our country.
When the fact was determined that the Mormon set-
tlers in the southeastern part of our state were in
Idaho, and not in Utah as they supposed, they began
to interest themselves in the politics of the territory,
realizing that their taxes would be paid into its treas-
ury and disbursed by its officials, and not in Utah
any more; and that from henceforth their interests
would be allied with Idaho.
Just prior to this time the Republican party, in
national convention assembled, in 1876, displayed a
hostile feeling against the Mormon church, by making
the following declaration in its platform:
"The constitution confers upon congress sovereign
power over the territories of the United States for
their government; and in the exercise of this power it
is the right and duty of congress to prohibit and extir-
pate, in the territories, that relic of barbarism — polig-
amy; and we demand such legislation as shall secure
this end and the supremacy of American institutions
in all the territories." (Adopted at Cincinnati, Ohio,
June 14, 1876.)
This declaration affected the Mormon people so
intensely that, as a matter of self-protection, they
affiliated with the Democratic party, realizing that this
party had not, in any of its platforms or at any of its
conventions, displayed such unfriendliness; for it should
be remembered that the Mormon people, who had
taught the rightfulness of polygamy and practiced it —
always, however, to a limited extent — without any
legal objection, considered that they were acting under
the provisions of the constitution relating to religious
liberty. Consequently, when the Mormon settlers
found themselves in Idaho they were almost as a body
with the Democrats, and as such affiliated with that
party in territorial and congressional matters. The
Mormon vote being quite heavy, it was natural to
suppose that it would be felt in the elections that
occurred from the time of their joining hands with the
Democratic party. This was in very deed the case.
Their vote insured Democratic success in every polit-
ical battle fought. With such unanimity did the Mor-
mon people support their party ticket, that in some
counties, where hundreds of votes were rolled up, but
two or three Republican ballots were found. This solid
voting naturally brought forth a vigorous outcry from
the Republican party, and so profitably did they wage
their fight that it became of national notoriety. Fred
T. Dubois, who was then United States marshal, was
the acknowledged leader of the Republican party in
Idaho, and he used this anti-Mormon cry to good
advantage; although we are pleased to state that he
was one of the first public men who afterward openly
professed his belief in the sincere acceptance of the
manifesto by the Mormon people. The Democrats
were everywhere twitted for securing an election with
the suffrages of the Mormon people, and to such an
extent was this campaign of abuse and hatred carried
on. that the leaders of the Democratic party became
ashamed of themselves, and at a Democratic conven-
tion held, at which a candidate for delegate to con-
gress was to be nominated, they displayed their ingrati-
C36
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tude and cowardice by denying seats to the Mormon
representatives. This was the signal for what proved
to be a dividing line between them and the Mormon
people, so far as party politics in Idaho were concerned.
The Democrats threw down the gauntlet; the Mor-
mons took it up and at once prepared to defend them-
selves. Their first move was to band themselves into
an independent party, under obligations to no man
or clique. In this capacity they went to the polls,
throwing their strength in a direction which seemed
to them the best. Fred T. Dubois was elected to con-
gress on an out-and-out anti-Mormon issue, as a result
of the feeling which had grown up so suddenly against
our people. This condition, however, soon terminated.
As neither of the political parties was the gainer by
the independent action of the Mormon people, at least
to any profitable and permanent degree, they united
against them, and at the thirteenth territorial session
the legislature disfranchised the Mormon people by
enacting an infamous test-oath, directed especially
against the Mormons because of their religious belief.
and known everywhere as the "Mormon iron-clad
oath." This oath read as follows:
I do 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 18— —(naming date
of next succeeding election): that I have (or will
have) actually resided in this territory for tour (4)
months, and in this county for thirty (30) days next
preceding the day of the next ensuing election; (in
case of any election requiring a different time of resi-
dence, so make it) that I have never been convicted
of treason, felony or bribery; that I am not now regis-
tered, or entitled to vote, at any other place m this
territory; and I do further swear that I am not a
bigamis't 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 law, 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 doctrinal 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 commit the crime of bigamy or polygamy,
or any other 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
territory, as inteipreted by the courts, as the supreme
law of the land, the teachings of any order, organiza-
tion 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.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this-
-day
-Register of
County, Idaho Territory.
Under the provisions of the foregoing inimical and
unjust legislation, a member of the Mormon church,
whether he believed in polygamy or not, could not
only not hold ofiice in the territory, but he could not
even vote. Even members of the Mormon church were
denied the right to act as school trustees. When the
time came for statehood, to further the interests of
which the Mormon people worked and labored hard,
their political enemies desired to perpetuate the political
bondage they were in by incorporating in the enabling
act a test-oath similar to the one heretofore incorpor-
ated in this article. It was left for the legislators of
the first state session to out-Herod Herod by going
further than the constitution dared do, by punishing the
Mormon people for what they had done during the
terms of their lives before, as fully shown in the pro-
visions of the following test-oath:
I do swear, or aftirm, that I am a male citizen of the
United States, of the age of twenty-one years, (or will
be) the day of , A. D. 18 , (.naming date
of next succeeding election); that I have (or will have)
actually resided in this state for six months and in the
county for thirty days next preceding the next ensuing
election. (In case of any election requiring a different
time of residence, so make it.) That I have never been
convicted of treason, felony, embezzlement of public
funds, bartering or selling or offering to barter or sell
my vote, or purchasing or oiTering to purchase the vote
of another, or other infamous crime, without there-
after being restored to the right of citizenship; diat
since the first day of January, A. D. 1888, and since
I have been eighteen years of age, I have not been
a bigamist or polygamist, or have lived in what is
known as patriarchal, plural or celestial marriage, or
in violation of any law of this state, or of the United
States, forbidding any such crime; and I have not
during said time, taught, advised, counseled, aided or
encouraged any person to enter into bigamy, polygamy,
or such patriarchal, plural or celestial marriage, or to
live in violation of any such law, or to commit any such
crime. Nor have I been a member of, or contributed
to the support, aid or encouragement of any order,
organization, association, corporation or society which,
through its fecognized teachers, printed or published
creed, or other doctrinal works, or in any other man-
ner, teaches or has taught, advises or has advised,
counsels, encourages or aids, or has counseled, encour-
aged or aided, any person to enter into bigamy, polyg-
amy, or such patriarchal or plural marriage, or which
teaches or has taught, advises or has advised, that the
laws of this state or of the territory of Idaho, or of
the United States, applicable to said territory prescrib-
ing rules of civil conduct, are not the supreme law.
That I will not commit any act in violation of the
provisions in this oath contained: that I am not now
registered or entitled to vote at any other place in this
state; that I do regard the constitution of the United
States, and the laws thereof, and the constitution of
this state, and the laws thereof, as interpreted by the
courts, as the supreme law of the land, the teachings
of any order, organization or association to tlic con-
trary notwithstanding. When made before a judge of
election, add: "And I have not previously voted at this
Section." So help me God.
The next session of the legislature, irrespective of
political party, acting on instructions embodied in
Governor McConnell's message to them, passed a bill
eliminating from the elector's oath all its unjust and
retroactive provisions, which bill was promptly signed
by Governor McConnell February 23, 1893.
During all the time of their disfranchisement, the
Mormon people, as a church, had been contending in
the courts for their religious freedom and what they
considered to be their political rights and privileges
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
under the constitution of the land. Eventually the
supreme court of the United States decided against
the church, so far as its practice of polygaiuy was
concerned, and the Mormon people submitted to its
rulings. The manifesto by President Woodrufif fol-
lowed, and was accepted by the people in one of the
largest conferences ever held, and plural marriages
from that time ceased. A feeling of confidence and
good will among the political parties to the Mormon
people followed, and they divided up on national party
lines, taking such an interest in election matter as to
leave no room for doubt of their sincerity in abiding
the changed condition. When the third session of the
Idaho state legislature sat, this feeling of friendship
was manifested in the passing of a bill entirely remov-
ing all strictures and reference to the Mormon church
and its religion, as is seen by the amended oath itself
as follows:
I do swear (or affirm) that I am a male citizen of
the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, or
will be the day of . A. D. 189 ,
(naming date of next succeeding election) that I have
(or will have) actually resided in this state for six
months and in the county for thirty days next pre-
ceding the next ensuing election, (in case of any elec-
tion requiring a different time of residence so make it) ;
that I have never been convicted of treason, felony,
embezzlement of public funds, bartering or selling or
offering to barter or sell my vote, or purchasing or
offering to purchase the vote of another, or other
infamous crime, without thereafter being restored to
the rights of citizenship; that I will not commit any
act in violation of the provisions in this oath con-
tained; that I am not now registered, or entitled to
vote, at any other place in this state; that I do regard
the constitution of the United States and the laws
thereof, and the constitution of this state and the laws
thereof, as interpreted by the courts, as the supreme
law of the land; (when made before a judge of elec-
tion add: "And I have not previously voted at this
election:") so help me God.
This is the only elector's oath now on the statute
book, and as a result the Mormon people not only vote
at all elections, but hold federal, legislative, state,
county, and other offices generally.
Notwithstanding the antagonism manifested by a
certain local paper in Utah, which has recommended
extreme and cruel measures for the breaking up of
polygamous families established long before there was
any law against its practice, the object sought by the
law is being accomplished in a more humane manner,
for there being no further plural marriages, polygamy
is naturally dying out. In Bear Lake county, for
instance, the strongest Mormon county in the state, —
the number of polygamists at the time the manifesto
was formulated was seventy-four, whereas now there
are only forty-eight, and undoubtedly a much smaller
percentage remains in the other counties.
CHAPTER XLIll
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
FRANK SIGEL DIETRICH.
THE day of the lawyer who depended upon
inspiration, and whose chief preparation
for forensic victory was the acquisition of
alcoholic stimulants, is past. The lawyer of
to-day depends not alone upon inspiration, but
also upon hard work in preparing his cases for
trial, and upon their careful presentation and
handling in the courts. Usually he has to con-
vince hard-headed business men of the merits of
his case, which involves nothing of sentiment or
of sensationalism and much of pecuniary interest
and of commercial right and wrong, pure and
simple. He goes before a judge and jury cool,
collected, alert, bristling with business, equipped
with a thorough knowledge of principles and
decisions applicable to his case, ready for emer-
gencies, and with the persuasive oratory of reason
and precedent clearly expressed and logically
arrayed, but having little need for mere theatrical
display. Thus equipped, thus discharging his
duty to his client, to the court, and to himself,
he wins upon the law and the evidence, ably
interpreting the one and bringing out the full
force of the other. Such a modern, successful
lawyer is the subject of this sketch, concerning
whose life we have gathered the following facts.
Frank Sigel Dietrich was born near Ottawa,
Kansas, January 23, 1863, and came of German
ancestry. Both his father and his mother were
born near Frankfort, in Germany, where they
spent the early portion of their lives, but, imbued
with that strong desire for personal liberty and
personal rights characterizing so many Germans,
they emigrated to America in 1855. For two
years they lived in the city of Chicago, but still
desiring greater freedom, and being touched by
the stirring drama then being enacted upon the
border territory, they moved further west, set-
tling at Ohio City, Kansas, where, as a pioneer,
Jacob Dietrich, the father, began to till the soil,
an occupation for which he was little fitted either
by training or experience, but of which he made a
success.
Kansas was then passing through a critical
period in her history. As an abolitionist and as
a Union man, after the question of disrupting or
supporting the Union of the states became an
issue, Mr. Dietrich passed through the vicissi-
tudes of those years in "bleeding Kansas," living
as he did on the very scene of the careers of
Ouantrell and John Brown, not without great
personal danger, until his death in September,
1863, when his son, Frank Sigel Dietrich, who
had been named in honor of the German patriot
Franz Sigel, prominent as a general in the civil
war, was only eight months old. He left a widow
and, besides the subject of this sketch, two chil-
dren, John Dietrich, now superintendent of the
public" schools .of Colorado Springs, Colorado,
and Charles F. Dietrich, still residing near the
old homestead and employed as a traveling sales-
man. Mrs. Dietrich remarried, becoming the
wife of Jacob Puderbaugh, and by that marriage
had one child, a daughter, Addie, who, as the
wife of George M. Hill, resides at Arkansas City,
Kansas.
Such education as was obtainable in the com-
mon schools during the winter months, the boy
Frank acquired, working upon the farm during
the summer, and then, through the sacrifices of
his devoted mother, the second time a widow,
and through his own industry, he was fitted for
college in the academic department of Ottawa
University, and took the classical course at
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island,
graduating with honors in the class of 1887. Two
years thereafter he passed at the Ottawa Uni-
versity, as instructor of history and political
economy. In July. 1891, he came to Idaho to
practice his chosen profession, and in January,
1892, was admitted to the bar of the courts of
that state and of the United States. He has since
carried on his work with such success as has»
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
629
brought to him what is doubtless one of the best
practices in the state, the law firm of Dietrich,
Chalmers & Stevens, of which he is the head,
maintaining offices both at Blackfoot, where Mr.
Dietrich formerly resided, and at Pocatello, his
present residence. In January, 1899, he was ap-
pointed attorney for the Oregon Short Line Rail-
road Company, with jurisdiction over Idaho and
Wyoming, which position he now holds.
Mr. Dietrich has always been a Republican,
participating actively as a citizen in politics,
never, however, being a candidate for office until
the fall of 1898. when he was put forward by the
"silver" wing of the Republican party as a candi-
date for the office of district judge, and, though
running ahead of his ticket, yet, because of the
almost equal division of the Republican strength
on the "silver" issue, he failed of election, the
vote he received giving ample evidence of the
public confidence reposed in him.
September 27, 1893, he was united in marriage
to Miss Martha Behle, a daughter of Dr. William
H. Behle, now of Salt Lake City, and to them
has been born one child, a daughter, named
Margaret Kathryn, now aged two years. Mr.
and Mrs. Dietrich are both members of the Bap-
tist church, taking an active part in the social
and religious life of the community in which they
live. While in college Mr. Dietrich was a mem-
ber of both the Delta Upsilon and Phi Beta
Kappa societies and he has since become also
an Oddfellow and a Mason.
willi.\:m w. woods.
Idaho is fortunate in having an able bar. The
importance of the legal business growing out of
mining enterprises early drew to the state lawyers
of ability and experience in large afifairs and liti-
gation involving big sums and values. As a
result, there is at every important business center
of the state legal talent which would do credit
to Chicago or New York. Major William W.
Woods, one of the leading lawyers of Idaho,
was born in Burlington, Iowa, January 24, 1841,
a son of James W. and Catharine (Wells) Woods.
His father'was a successful lawyer, and was born
in New Hampshire in 1810, settled in Iowa in
1836 and died at Waverly, Iowa, in 1880. His
mother was born in New York in 1825 and died
at Burlington, Iowa, in 1864.
;\Iajor Woods received an academical educa-
tion at ]\Iount Pleasant, Iowa, and at nineteen
began the study of law in the office and under
the preceptorship of J. C. & B. J. Hall, of Bur-
lington, Iowa. He was called from his legal
studies by the demand for soldiers to protect our
national interests in the civil war, and in August,
1 86 1, enlisted as a private in Company L, Fourth
Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served
until September, 1865, when he was mustered
out, with the rank of major, after having made
an admirable record as a soldier. He resumed
the study of law, and in June, 1866, was admitted
to the bar, at Burlington, Iowa. He began the
practice of his profession immediately thereafter
at Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa, and remained
there four years. He then took up his residence
and practice at Council Blufifs, Iowa, where for
two years he had Robert Percival as a law' part-
ner. In February, 1872, he went to Salt Lake
City, Utah, and there gained a high standing ai
the bar, and remained there until 1887. He first
came to Coeur d'Alene region in 1884, but not
to remain, and it was not until 1888 that he lo-
cated with his family at Murray, then the seat
of justice of Shoshone county. Since 1890 he
has lived at Wallace. Major Woods has given
attention to general practice, but has devoted
himself especially, and with much success, to
litigation growing out of mining business. He
has taken a high place at the bar wherever he
has practiced, by reason of the fidelity with which
he serves his clients and the honorable and
straightforward Ynethods of his practice.
Politically Major Wood is a Democrat, but he
has never cared for office for himself, preferring
to devote himself entirely to his profession. He
was a member of the constitutional convention in
1890, and a presidential elector in 1896. He is a
Mason, an Elk and an active member of Tecum-
seh Post, No. 22, of the Grand Army of the
Republic, at Wallace. He was married in 1874,
in Salt Lake City, to Mrs. M. C. Dunford, a
native of Utah.
GEORGE GUMBERT.
The proprietor of the city meat market and
the pioneer butcher of Boise, where lie has been
in business since 1864, is George Gumbcrt, who
is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having
630
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
taken place in Pittsburg on June ii, 1835. Of
German extraction, his ancestors were early set-
tlers of Pennsylvania and his great-grandfather,
Gumbert, fought in the colonial army during
the Revolutionary war. His paternal grandfather
was a farmer in Westmoreland county. His
father, George Gumbert, was born in Pittsburg,
where he followed the meat business nearly all
his life, having attained the advanced age of
ninety years. He was in politics first a Whig,
later joining the Republican party upon its or-
ganization. He married Miss Amelia Turner,
who was born in Pennsylvania, and both of them
were members of the Baptist church. They be-
came the parents of nine children, of whom
three sons and a daughter are now living.
George Gumbert, the immediate subject of this
sketch, was educated in the public schools of
Pittsburg and in 1850, when but fifteen years
old, he crossed the plains to California, later
removing to Nevada and engaging in the butcher
business at Virginia City. He volunteered in
the war against the Piutes, furnishing his own
horse and complete outfit, and assisted in driving
the Indians back to the reservation. In 1863 he
came to Boise, which at that time consisted of a
few canvas tents, and opened a meat market in
a shanty, where he continued until 1876, and
then returned to Virginia City, remaining there
two years. Once more coming to Boise, he
again started a meat market, which he has con-
ducted ever since, and by his thoroughly reliable
and honorable business methods has secured the
good will and patronage of a large number of
his fellow citizens. His market is located on
Main street, in the business part of the city,
which is now handsomely built up and in a
flourishing condition.
In his political af^liations Mr. Gumbert is a
stanch Democrat, and, without any solicitation
on his part, he was nominated by his party for
one of the county commissioners. Such was his
popularity that he ran far ahead of his ticket, and
he is now serving his county in a business-like
and efficient manner.
Mr. Gumbert was united in marriage in 1865
to Miss Mary C. Turner, a native of Kentucky,
and one daughter was born to them. She is now
Mrs. L. Pefley. Socially Mr. Gumbert is an
active member of the uniformed rank of the
Knights of Pythias, and holds the office of treas-
urer of his lodge.
JOSEPH BUCKLE.
Joseph Buckle represents all that is best in
German-American blood, which in war and
peace, in all stages of the history of the United
States, has fought for and encouraged the causes
of liberty, public education and good govern-
ment. He was a pioneer in Kootenai county,
Idaho, and has become a popular and influential
citizen because he possesses those qualities of
head and heart which make men useful and
patriotic.
Joseph Buckle, assessor and tax collector of
Kootenai county, Idaho, was born in Stark
county, Ohio, April 3, 1857, a son of Anthony
and Mary (Datyler) Buckle, natives of Germany,
who were brought to the United States in child-
hood and married and lived out their days and
died in their son's native county.
The future Kootenai county official gained a
primary education in the district schools near his
home and, in 1877, when he was about twenty
years old, he went to California and farmed suc-
cessfully in that state until 1882. He came to
Kootenai county in the year last mentioned and
was engaged in farming until 1897, when he was
appointed deputy sherifif, which position' he held
until January, 1899, when he resigned it to as-
sume the duties of assessor and tax collector of
Kootenai county, an office to which he was
elected November, 1898, upon a fusion ticket of
Populists, silver Republicans and Democrats, by
a majority of four hundred and eighty-two. This
important office, in which all the taxable property
of the county is involved, and which comes nearer
to the private interests of the whole people of
the county than any other, is administered by Mr.
Buckle in a thoroughly business-like manner,
and with that conscientious regard for the rights
of the property owners which has made him very
popular with his fellow citizens of all classes. He
has an able deputy in the person of H. J. Bosth-
wick.
Mr. Buckle is a member of Panhandle Lodge
of the Knights of Pythias of Rathdrum. He
married Miss Mary Casey, a native of Wisconsin,
in 1892, and they have three daughters, named
Asrnes, Lilian and Florence. He has demon-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
631
strated his public spirit in many ways and is re-
garded as one of Rathdrum's most useful and
progressive citizens.
CHARLES D. ARMSTRONG.
In a record of those who have been promi-
nently identified with the development and
progress of Latah county it is imperative that
definite consideration be granted to the subject
of this review, for not only is he a prominent
representative of the agricultural interests of this
favored section, but has the distinction of being
one of the pioneers of the golden west, with
whose fortunes he has been identified for fully
forty years, concerned with varied industrial pur-
suits and so ordering his life as to gain and
retain the confidence and esteem of his fellow
■ men.
Charles Dexter Armstrong is a native of the
old Buckeye state, having been born in Knox
county, Ohio, on the 22d of January, 1834, and
being a representative of sterling old southern
families. His father, John Armstrong, was born
in Owen county, Kentucky, and did valiant
service as a soldier in the war of 1812, being a
member of an Ohio regiment. As a young man
he married Miss Melinda Hinton, a native of the
state of Maryland, and soon after their marriage
they removed to Ohio, where they established
their home and reared a family of eleven chil-
dren. They were members of the Methodist
church and were conscientious and upright in
all the relations of life. The mother departed
this life in the fifty-fourth year of her age, and
the father lived to attain the venerable age of
ninety years. Of the immediate family only four
are living at the present time, so far as known
to the subject of this sketch. Charles D. was
the youngest of the children, and his educational
training was secured in the primitive log school-
house in the vicinity of his home, in Knox
county, and this rudimentary institution he was
enabled to attend only during the winter months,
as the boys in the pioneer settlements had to
assist in the development and cultivation of the
farms, in which line our subject recalls the fact
that he contributed his due quota of hard work.
He assumed the individual responsibilities of
life at the age of eighteen years, and in 1859,
when he had attained the age of twenty-five
years, he determined to try his fortunes in the far
west. He accordingly made the long, weary and
dangerous journey across the plains and over the
mountains to the golden state of California. The
party of which he was a member comprised
eleven families, and the little band of emigrants
plodded its way across the continent with ox
teams. After reaching his destination Mr. Arm-
strong was for some time engaged in mining in
Eldorado and Nevada counties, California, in
which operations he met with only modest suc-
cess.
In the year 1882 Mr. Armstrong started for
the Camas .prairie of Idaho, but became im-
pressed with the attractions and prospects of the
northern section of the state and determined to
locate in what is now Latah county. Accord-
ingly, in 1883, he established himself upon his
present fine farm, a hundred and sixty acres,
which he secured from the government, and here,
by industry and discriminating effort, he has de-
veloped one of the most valuable farming prop-
erties in this section of the Gem state.
At Virginia City, Nevada, in the year 1867, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Armstrong and
Miss Mary E. Johnson, who was born in Polk
county, Oregon, the daughter of Nelson Johnson,
an Oregon pioneer of 1847. Mi"- ^"d Mrs. Arm-
strong had nine children at the time of their
removal to Idaho, and since that time seven
more have been added to the family circle. It is a
fact worthy of note that of this large family all
are living with the exception of one, the youngest
child being four years of age and the oldest
thirty-one. Of the children we offer the following
brief record: John Nelson; Melinda, who died in
her seventeenth year; Maud Alice, now Mrs.
Chas. A. Edwards ; Ida May, the wife of Newton
Lile; Charles Hinton, who was a bright student
in the LTniversity of Idaho, enlisted in the ranks
at the time of the inauguration of the Spanish-
American war and is now serving his country as
first sergeant of his company, in the Philippine
islands ; Waher Benton ; Rosalind ; Joshua Will-
iam ; Edwin Forrest ; Elmer James ; Mabel Flor-
ence ; George Wallace ; Albert Dexter ; Percy
Newton: Clyde D.; and Sallie Hazel. The
parents have every reason to be proud of their
children, all of whom are bright, intelligent and
good-looking, representing the best type of
632
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
American youth. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong are
both in excellent health, are of genial nature, and,
blessed with the goodly gifts of temporal fortune
and with the filial devotion of their children, they
may well feel that their lines have fallen in pleas-
ant places.
Mr. Armstrong is a man of strong mentality
and has taken a very lively interest in the cause
of education and in all other objects which tend
to further the advancement and well-being of his
county and state. He has served as a school
trustee for many years, and has been indefati-
gable in his efforts to afford the best possible
educational advantages to his own and his neigh-
bors' children. In his political adherency he has
been a lifelong Democrat, and he is known as a
man of unbending integrity and sterling worth.
The family enjoy a marked popularity in the
community where they have lived since coming
to Idaho, and this tribute is well merited.
EDWIN F. GUYON, M. D.
Edwin F. Guyon, M. D., who has become
known as county physician of Bear Lake county,
Idaho, assistant surgeon for the Oregon Short
Line, member of Idaho and Oregon State Med-
ical Associations and of the American National
Medical Association, and as author of the law to
prohibit illegal medical practice in Idaho and co-
author with Dr. C. J. Smith of the law to prevent
illegal medical practice in Oregon, is one of the
leading physicians in Idaho and is doing much
to elevate his profession and augment its useful-
ness throughout the northwest. Dr. Guyon be-
gan the practice of medicine in Pendleton City,
Oregon, in 1891, and continued it there success-
fully for five years, when his health began to fail
and he sought a higher altitude and a dryer at-
mosphere at Montpelier. The colder climate
agreed with him, and he regained his health, and
by the time he had done so he had built up a
large and rapidly growing practice, in which he
has been successful professionally as well as
financially.
Dr. Guyon was born at New Orleans, Lou-
isiana, November 7, 1853, of Huguenot ancestors,
on his father's side, who came early in our history
from France and settled in New York and New
Jersey. John Guyon, his father, was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey, and married Miss
Emily Shattuck, a native of St. Louis, but a
descendant of an old Virginia family, her mother
having been prominent at Richmond, socially
and otherwise. John Guyon, who was a con-
tractor, built many wharves in the south and died
there, of yellow fever, when Dr. Guyon was a
child. His widow, who married again, died in
California, in the forty-ninth year of her age.
Mrs. Guyon went to California in 1856, with
her second husband, and Edwin F. was a mem-
ber of the moving household. The journey was
made by the way of the isthmus of Panama. Dr.
Guyon was educated in the public schools of
California and Oregon and at Whitman College,
Washington, and was graduated from the med-
ical department of the University of Cincinnati,
Ohio, in 1891.
Politically Dr. Guyon is a Democrat, and he
wields no uncertain influence in party affairs in
the county and state. He is a prominent Odd
Fellow, having passed all the chairs in the subor-
dinate lodge and in the encampment, and he is a
member of the Woodmen of the World. As a
citizen he is public-spirited and progressive and
takes an active and helpful interest in all meas-
ures for the public good. He was married, in
1879, to Miss Maggie Jones, a native of Missouri,
and they have a son named La Fayette and a
daughter named Maud. Mrs. Guyon is a Baptist.
The Doctor was brought up in the Methodistic
faith.
LORENZO R. THOMAS.
There are some men in every community who
appear to have been born to succeed, but their
success is not by any means a matter of chance.
They are born with those qualities of mind and
heart which, if cultivated and applied to the
aff'airs of life, will produce success as surely as
wheat well sowed and fertilized will produce its
kind. Men who make vigorous and judicious use
of these talents are the successful ones.
Lorenzo R. Thomas, one of the enterprising
men of Idaho who has continually advanced in
the affairs of life, was born in Hanley, Stafford-
shire, England, May 31, 1870, and is of Welsh
ancestry. His father, James Thomas, was mar-
ried in Wales to Elizabeth Richardson, and after-
ward removed to England, whence they came to
the United States in 1873, bringing with them
their daughter and son. The family located in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
633
Salt Lake City, Utah, and there Mr. Thomas
engaged in the same business that he had fol-
lowed in England, that of merchant tailoring.
In 1877 they removed to Logan, Utah, and in
1882 took up- their abode at Idaho Falls, where
]\Ir. Thomas is now carrying on an extensive
business as a dealer in clothing and men's fur-
nishing goods. He is now in his fifty-second
year and is a respected bishop of the Church of
Latter Day Saints.
In Idaho Falls Lorenzo R. Thomas early
learned the basic principles of ■ successful mer-
chandising. He acquired also a good practical
education in the public schools of Logan, Utah.
His abilities were early recognized and he was
given the management of the mercantile business
of the Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution,
at Re.xburg, Idaho, and controlled that important
interest two years and a half. While a resident
of Rexburg he was elected a member of the third
Idaho state legislature and served in that body
with great ability and credit. Upon the expira-
tion of his term in the general assembly he re-
signed his position with the mercantile company
to accept the appointment as deputy state treas-
urer of Idaho, in which capacity he had charge
of the state treasurer's office under Hon. Charles
Bunting, and during a portion of the term of
Hon. George H. Storer. These officials had such
faith and confidence in the honesty and integrity
of Mr. Thomas that he handled the state funds
without bonds. Mr. Thomas resigned his posi-
tion and returned to his home at Rexburg, but
was soon afterward appointed United States com-
missioner, which position he held from April,
1897, until October of the same year, when he
was appointed by President McKinley register of
the United States land office, at Blackfoot. The
success which has attended Mr. Thomas' efiforts
from boyhood has been somewhat remarkable,
and the more so because it has been won entirely
through honest efifort — the result of his diligence,
capable management and straightforward deal-
ing.
On the 6th of January, 1892, Mr. Thomas was
united in marriage to Aliss Lillian Elliott, a
native of England. Her father died in that coun-
try, and in 1887 her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth
Elliott, with her family of four sons and four
daughters, came to the United States, and settled
in Rexburg, Fremont county, Idaho, where Mrs.
Elliott now resides. ;Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have
three children: Grace Lavinie, Willis Shoup
and Lawrence Myrddin. The elder son was
named in honor of Congressman _ Willis Sweet
and L'nited States Senator Shoup, who are among
Mr. Thomas' warmest friends. Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas are zealous members of the Church of
Latter Day Saints, in the interest of which he
has long been an active worker. He traveled for
three years in England and Wales as one of its
missionaries and his labors were crowned with
abundant success. In politics he has long been
an active Republican, and was treasurer of the
Republican state central committee in the cam-
paign of i8g6. By his honorable methods and
courteous manners he has made many personal
friends throughout the state, and he is universally
regarded as a model official.
ALEXANDER I. WATSON.
A third of a century has passed since Alex-
ander Irwin Watson, of Grangeville, took up his
abode in this section of Idaho, and for thirty-
seven years he has been a resident of the state.
He was born in Darke county, Ohio, June 2,
1830, a representative of one of the pioneer fam-
ilies there. His paternal grandfather was a native
of Ireland, and on leaving that country crossed
the ocean to America. He became an industrious
farmer of Darke county, and served his adopted
country as a soldier in the war of 1812. He was
almost one hundred years of age at the time of
his death. His son, Robert Watson, the father
of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania, and
married Miss Nancy Stanford, a native of Vir-
ginia, by whom he had six sons and two daugh-
ters, our subject being now the only survivor of
the family. Late in life the parents removed
to Indiana, where the father died at the age of
sixty-five years, and the mother at the age of
fifty-five.
Mr. Watson of this review was reared on his
father's farm and was educated in the little log
school-house in that then new country. He
began life on his own account as a school-teacher
and farmer, and in 1858, hoping to better his
financial condition on the Pacific coast, he
crossed the plains with oxen to California and
engaged in placer mining on the .\mcrican river,
634
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
in Placer county. After remaining there for
about eighteen months and not meeting with the
success that he had anticipated, lie removed to
San Joaquin county, where he purchased a band
of sheep and engaged in sheep-raising. He pros-
pered in that industry, but at the time of the
gold excitement in Idaho he sold out and made
his way to the Salmon river country, where he
secured a good claim and met with gratifying
success in his mining ventures. Later he came
to Camas prairie and obtained a farm, which was
located eight miles west of Grangeville, operating
that land until 1885, when he sold out and took
up his abode on his present farm, two miles south
of Grangeville. He owns one hundred and sixty
acres of rich land, lying at the base of the foot-
hills and overlooking the town of Grangeville
and the entire Camas prairie. There he and his
wife have a pleasant home of their own and are
spending the evening of their life in peace and
contentment.
In 1849 Mr. Watson was united in marriage to
Miss Maria E. Shaul, a native of Indiana, and
to them were born two daughters, but one was
taken from them by death. The other, Mallinda
Alice, became the wife of Cyrus Overman and
resides on Camas prairie. Mrs. Watson is a
valued member of the Methodist church and is a
most estimable lady.
Mr. Watson has always given his political sup-
port to the Democracy and keeps well informed
on the issues of the day, but has never sought
office, holding no public positions save that of
school trustee. The cause of education has ever
found in him a warm friend, and he does all in
his power to promote its interests. His life has
been one of industry and integrity and he justl}-
merits the esteem and confidence accorded him
by the residents of Idaho county.
STEPHEN KELSEY.
Few men are more familiar with the pioneer
history of this section of the great republic than
Stephen Kelsey, who before the days when the
emigrants flocked to the gold-fields of California
crossed the plains to Utah in company with the
colony which went with President Brigham
Young to Utah. They made their way over the
hot and arid plains and through the mountain
passes until they reached the Salt Lake country
on the 22d of July, 1847, and on the 24th of the
same month they arrived on the present site of
Salt Lake City, so that that date has since been
celebrated as pioneer day. Mr. Kelsey was then
but seventeen years of age. He was born in north-
eastern Ohio, December 23, 1830, his parents
being Stephen and Rachel (Allen) Kelsey, rep-
resentatives of industrious and well-to-do Ohio
families. The father was twice married, and by
his first union had five children. By the second
marriage there were six children, five daughters
and our subject.
Stephen Kelsey attended school in Ohio and
when seventeen years of age volunteered to go
with Brigham Young to the far west, his duty
being to drive a team of horses belonging to
the train. There were one hundred and forty
men and three women in that resolute company
of pioneers who first braved the dangers of the
long journey across the plains. They were in
constant danger of Indian attack, and had some
thrilling adventures with the red men, who fre-
quently stole their horses. There were great
herds of bufifalo upon the plains, so numerous
that some of the party would have to ride ahead
and open a track among the animals in order
that the train could pass through. When they
first arrived at the place designated for their set-
tlement the ground was very hard to a depth of
two feet or more, and their first work was to
build a dam across City creek in order to turn
the water over the land and soak it until it could
be plowed. This work was accomplished and
potatoes were planted, but it was then so late in
the season that the tubers only grew to the size
of marbles. The pioneers made adobe brick and
built a fort to protect themselves from the In-
dians: other companies followed later in that
year, about two thousand people arriving in the
Salt Lake district. The first three pioneer women
were Brigham Young's wife, Clara Decker,
Heber C. Kimball's wife, and the wife of Lorenzo
Young, a brother of Brigham Young.
After ^Ir. Kelsey arrived in Salt Lake City he
was converted to the faith of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the same season
he volunteered to return to the states with Brig-
ham Young to assist other emigrants across the
plains the following spring. After his return to
Utah he engaged in farming, and in 1850 made
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
635
a trip to the gold-mining districts of California,
where he washed out in two months, with a little
rocker, about five hundred dollars worth of gold-
dust. This was at Weavertown. On his way
back to Salt Lake City, however, the party with
which he traveled was attacked by Indians, and
for four hours they fought desperately for their
lives. They barely escaped, and in the encounter
lost many of their horses. In the fall of 1850 Mr.
Kelsey settled with his uncle, Daniel Allen,
twelve miles south of Salt Lake City and there
he married Lydia Snyder, who has since been to
him a faithful companion and helpmeet, sharing
with him in all the joys and sorrows, the adver-
sity and prosperity of life. She has been one of
the brave pioneer women of Utah and Idaho and
has greatly aided her husband in making a home.
In 1864 a company was formed to come to
what is now Bear Lake county, Idaho, then sup-
posed to be a part of Utah. General Charles
Coulsen Rich was the president of the company,
his sterling character making him a brave and
trusted leader. Mr. Kelsey and his wife volun-
teered to go, and others of the company were
Hezekiah Duffie, Joel Ricks, Thomas Sleight
and Joseph Rich, the last named now the judge
of the district court. They settled at Paris, but
most of the first company of emigrants are now-
deceased. They were allotted land and began
farming, but it was a very hard country to settle
and they endured many hardships and met many
difficulties during the first few years. Grass-
hoppers and frosts injured their crops, but
through all President Rich's faith never faltered,
and he encouraged his people to persevere in
their labors until ultimately their labors were
bountifully rewarded and the country was made
to blossom as the rose. When the land was sur-
veyed, the settlers entered their farms from the
government, and to-day Mr. Kelsey is the owner
of a valuable property of one hundred acres, on
which he raises hay, grain and stock, and also
has a pleasant residence in Paris.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
twelve children, eleven of whom are living, name-
ly : Electa Abigal, now the wife of Frederick
Slight: Lydia, wife of Samuel Payne; Sylvia, wife
of John Skinner; Alice, wife of Samuel Nate;
Alary, wife of Edward Johnson; Bess, wife of C.
Chapman; Mena; Minerva; Zina; Robert; and
Easton. The family are all well-to-do and com-
fortably situated in life. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey
are respected members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints and he has been an
active worker in the church, serving as elder,
while at the present time he is acting high priest.
He well deserves mention among the honored
pioneers, and deserves great credit for what he
has done in the way of opening up the great
northwest to the influences of civilization and
advancement. Gladly do we inscribe his name
on the pages of Idaho's history, for he is ac-
counted one of her leading citizens.
HON. JOHN L. UNDERWOOD.
Hon. John L. Underwood, postmaster at
Montpelier, Idaho, successful business man,
prominent citizen, veteran of the civil war and
influential Republican, is widely and favorably
known throughout the state. He was born in
Broome county. New York, January 15, 1832, of
parents who traced their ancestry to good Eng-
lish families. Jonas LTnderwood, his grandfather,
was a native of Fishkill, New York, and held a
commission in the Revolutionary army. He died
at Deposit, New York, in his eightieth year. His
wife, who was of the New York family of Pine,
survived him only a few days. Philip Under-
wood, son of Jonas and father of John L. Under-
wood, was born in Deposit, New York, in 1803,
and married Angeline Peters. In 1855 he located,
with his wife and family, near Polo, in Ogle
county, Illinois, where he bought a farm and
lived to attain the ripe old age of seventy-seven
years. His wife died, at about the same age, a
few years later. They were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in which he "-as a
local preacher and evangelist. They had eight
children, of whom seven are living. John L. Un-
derwood, the second of the eight in order of
birth, was educated in the public schools of the
state of New York. In July, 1861, he enhsted in
Company H., Fourteenth Regiment Iowa Vol-
unteer Infantry, to do his part in putting down
the slave-holders' rebellion, and was nuistered
into service November 6, following. He served
in the command of General U. S. Grant and par-
ticipated in the fighting at Fort Henry, Fort
Donelson, Pittsburg Landing and intermediats
points and in the Red river campaign. At Shiloh
G36
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
he was wounded by the bursting of a shell) and
was made a prisoner of war by the Confederates,
being held at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, six months,
when he was paroled. At the expiration of his
term of enlistment, late in 1864, he was honorably
discharged from service.
In 1865 I\Ir. Underwood went to Alontana,
and engaged in freighting between Helena and
Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1866 he settled down
in Montana as a stockman. In 1875 he disposed
of his local interests and began driving and ship-
ping cattle east from Montana and Idaho. Con-
tinuing this enterprise, he located at Paris, Bear
Lake county, Idaho, in 1879. He operated there
and at Soda Springs until 1885, when he came
to Alontpelier and. still pushing his business of
sending cattle east, he opened a meat market.
Almost from the day of his advent in Idaho, he
has been known as an active Republican who
knew how to deal telling blows in behalf of his
party. He became popular personally, as the
people came to know him, and it was inevitable
that he should be singled out for pubHc service.
He was a member of the constitutional conven-
tion that framed the constitution of the state,
and was elected to the first Idaho state senate,
and re-elected to succeed himself. As a senator
he endeared himself to the people by his cham-
pionship of the bill to organize the State National
Guard and the bill providing for the establish-
ment of the Soldiers' Home at Boise. Later he
served two terms as United States commissioner.
At Montpelier he has been justice of the peace,
and has ably filled the office of postmaster, al-
most continuously since his first appointment,
during President Cleveland's first administra-
tion, ufider the administrations of Cleveland,
Harrison and McKinley. He was reappointed
early in President Cleveland's second term of
office, but declined the position, though he se-
cured it for his brother-in-law, Marcus Whitman,
and he has the distinction of having been the
second postmaster appointed under President
]\IcKinley. Mrs. Underwood is his deputy, and
the consensus of opinion among Montpelier folk
is that they have a post-office which is in every
way a model.
Mr. Underwood is prominent among Idaho
Odd Fellows and !Mrs. L'nderwood is a member
of the Women's auxiliarv order of the Daughters
of Rebekah. of which she is past presiding officer.
He was a charter member and first commander
of W. H. L. Wallace Post of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and is widely known and influential
in Grand Army circles throughout the state. Mr.
and Airs. Underwood are very active and useful
members of the Presbyterian church of Alont-
pelier, and he has served the organization in the
capacity of trustee, an office which Airs. Under-
wood holds at this time. Airs. Underwood was
Aliss Lizzie AI. Whitman, daughter of E. C.
Whitman, of Como, Whiteside county, Illinois,
and a distant relative of Rev. Alarcus Whitman,
the lamented missionary, who was killed by the
Indians, in Oregon, in 1847. They have had
four children, of whom two daughters, Florence
and Esther, are living.
HON. FREDRICK H. TURNER.
Hon. Fredrick Hugh Turner, merchant,
Idaho Falls, and grand master of the grand lodge
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of
Idaho, has represented his district ably in the
state senate, and is in all respects one of the
leading business men and most distinguished
citizens of southeastern Idaho.
Mr. Turner was born at Jonesville, Wisconsin,
October 31, 1858, a son of John and Alargaret
(Jehn) Turner. His father was an English bar-
rister, born in London, who came to the United
States in 1838, and located as a pioneer in Rock
county, Wisconsin, where he became a prominent
farmer and land-owner and there died in 1885,
aged eighty-four years. He was an influential
Republican and was one of the county commis-
sioners of Rock county, Wisconsin, and held
other important local offices. Fredrick Hugh
Turner's mother, Alargaret Jehn, was a native of
Wales. She died in Rock county, Wisconsin, in
1891, at the age of sixty-three years. Air. and
Airs. Turner were members of the Episcopal
church and were of the most exalted personal
character. They had eight children, of whom
Fredrick Hugh Turner was the fifth in the order
of birth. He was educated at Alilton Academy.
Wisconsin, and at the Wisconsin State Xormal
School, at Whitewater, and for ten years devoted
himself to the work of a teacher. He taught two
years in Wisconsin and eight years afterward in
Idaho, where he was for some years principal of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
637
the schools at Soda Springs. In 1890 he opened
a large general store at Idaho Falls and has had
great success as a merchant, drawing the trade
from all the country round about and from many
distant points.
He is widely known as a stanch and active
Republican and on the ticket of his party was
elected a member of the Idaho state senate in
1896. He gained much influence on the floor of
the senate and did effective work on a number
of important senatorial committees, in all ways
acquitting himself so admirably as a representa-
tive of the people that his service was highly
appreciated by the best citizens, without regard
to party affiliations.
The high honor to which Mr. Turner has risen
in Odd Fellowship he has attained because of
his complete knowledge of the work of the order
and his great proficiency in it and because of
his ardent devotion to the order in all interests.
He has filled all the chairs in both branches of
the order, is past deputy grand master of the
grand lodge of the state, and in 1899 was chosen
grand master of the grand lodge. He was in-
fluential in holding the location of the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home at
Idaho Falls, and he was active in the super-
vision of its construction from the moving of
the first shovel of earth until the building stood
complete, a fine three-story and basement brown
sandstone structure, forty by fifty feet, and he is
one of the board of trustees which has its interests
in charge. The object which j\Ir. Turner and
his associates had in view in erecting the Odd
Fellows' Orphans' Home was to provide a com-
fortable home for orphan children of worthy Odd
Fellows who might leave them unprovided for
financially, and this object is being carried out
in a way that reflects credit on all connected.
October 31, 1881, Mr. Turner married Miss
Harriet Elizabeth Sanderson, daughter of John
Sanderson, a native of New York, she herself
being a native of Kansas. They have four chil-
dren, named Dotta, Fredrick G., Walter H. and
Adelbert C.
EDWARD BURGOYNE.
Edward Burgoyne is one of the leading busi-
ness men and the leading merchant of Mont-
pelier, Idaho, and was one of the fifteen heads
of families who came to the spot in the spring
of 1864, volunteers in response to the call of the
authorities of their church, to settle Bear Lake
valley and spread the peculiar doctrines of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He
was born in South Wales, February 22, 1835, a
son of Thomas and Sarah (Strong) Burgoyne,
who were natives of Wales and lifelong Episco-
palians. Thomas Burgoyne was a prosperous
blacksmith. He died in 1845, his wife two years
earlier, and Edward Burgoyne was doubly or-
phaned at the tender age of ten years. He was
educated in Wales and there learned and worked
at the trade of a weaver of cloth until 1861, when
with his wife, who was Miss Mary Eeynon, he
came to the United States. The young couple
were converts of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, and their destination was
Utah. They landed at New York, after a rough
voyage of twenty-seven days on board a sailing
vessel, and came west to Omaha, Nebraska, and
thence to Cache valley, where Mr. Burgoyne
began weaving cloth. He set up and operated
the first carding machine and loom in that part
of the country, and devoted himself to wool-
carding in the summer and to the manufacture of
cloth in the winter, making kersey for men's
wear and linsey for women's wear. He was thus
employed until he came with the colony of fifteen
and their families to Bear Lake valley. They
arrived in 1864, and Mr. Burgoyne built a willow
shanty, and with his family occupied it until fall,
when he erected as good a log house as he could.
This he improved from time to time and lived
in it until 1881. He suffered the privations and
dangers which made the early life of that little
colony in that new, cold, pest-infested and Indian-
menaced land almost tragic, endured everything
resignedly, and worked untiringly, and at length
reaped the reward of well doing. He acquired
much real property, including farm lands and an
interest in the town site of Montpelier, where he
has been concerned in the erection of many
houses and the sale of many lots, and is one of
the most extensive owners of town property. He
began merchandising in 1880, and in i88i built
his present residence, which is one of the largest
and most comfortable in Montpelier. His first
store was a little room, sixteen by sixteen feet,
and he bought his first stock of goods in Salt
Lake Citv. Bv close attention to business, and
638
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
by honesty and liberality toward all, he has built
up an extensive trade, which is now both whole-
sale and retail, his rapidly growing business re-
quiring a large two-stor\' building which he has
erected expressly for its accommodation.
Mr. Burgoyne is a useful and influential citizen
whose public spirit has never been found wanting.
There has been no worthy public interest to
which he has not lent his aid, both moral and
financial. He has been especially efficient in
building up the interests at Montpelier of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In
Wales, before he came to America, he did much
effective missionary work, in season and out of
season, for the extension of the JMormon faith.
Mr. and Mrs. Burgoyne have had six children.
Of these three are living and are all residents
of Montpelier, — Edward Lorenzo, Sarah Jane
(Mrs. ]\Iilford Williams), and :\Iartha Ellen (IMrs.
Fred. Cruickshank).
JOHN C. CALLAHAN.
In any community, east or west, the man who
is for any considerable time kept in public office
is one who has proven himself zealous and effi-
cient in the discharge of duties devolving upon
him in official position. It is the old story, many
times repeated, of "faithfulness in small things."
These reflections have been encouraged by con-
templation of the successful career of one of the
prominent officials of Kootenai county and the
first judicial district of Idaho.
John C. Callahan was born in :\Iassachusetts,
January 28, 1859, a son of John and Hannah
(Tuohey) Callahan, natives of Ireland, who came
to the United States, he at twenty-one, she at
seven, and were married in Massachusetts and
lived there until 1861, when they removed to
Iowa. There they remained for thirty years.
Mr. Callahan received a common-school edu-
cation in Iowa, and in 1881 engaged in the hotel
business in that state. He continued it in ]Minne-
sota and in Montana, where he lived for seven
years. In 1891 he came to Bonner's Ferry,
Idaho, bringing with him his wife and son. He
was employed in different ways until 1896, by
which time he had become so well known and
popular as a citizen that he was elected assessor
and collector of taxes of Kootenai county, on
the silver Republican ticket, by a majority of
eighty-two, and in 1898, upon a Democratic,
silver Republican, Populist fusion ticket, he was
elected clerk of the district court of the first
judicial district of Idaho, by a majority of four
hundred and eighty. Until 1896 he was a Re-
publican "of the straight sect," but at that time ■
he became a silver Republican, in deference to I
what he believed to be the best interests of the
state. A man of liberal information and of broad
and generous views, he is regarded as a citizen
of great public spirit and usefulness. He was
made a Knight of Pythias in Acme Lodge, No.
10, of Miles City, Montana. In 1881 he married
Miss Carrie Soules, a native of Elgin, Illinois,
and they have a son named Fred L. 1
SAMUEL J. RICH.
A representative of the legal fraternity and a
well known business man of Idaho Falls, Samuel
J. Rich has spent his entire life in the west
and is thoroughly identified with its interests and
progress. He was born in Centerville, Davis
county, Utah, May i, i860, his parents being
Charles C. and Emeline (Grover) Rich, natives
of Kentucky and New York, respectively, and
pioneers of Utah of the year 1847. In 1864 they j
removed from Utah to Bear Lake county, Idaho, I
Mr. Rich being the pioneer and first while set-
tler in Bear Lake valley.
In the common schools of Bear Lake county,
Idaho, Samuel J. Rich acquired his preliminary
education, which was supplemented by a two-
years college course in Provo City, Utah. On
completing his literary education he took up the
study of law, in 1886, and after familiarizing him-
self with many of the principles of jurisprudence
was admitted to the bar in 1889. The following
year he was appointed county attorney of Bear
Lake county, serving until 1893, and at the same
time was identified with the industrial interests
of that locality. In connection with others of the
family he built the first roller mill in Bear Lake
county, and was the general manager of the en-
terprise until his removal from the county, in
1893. In the fall of that year he took up his
residence in Cache county, Utah, and was elected
county attorney in 1894, serving two years.
In January, 1899, Mr. Rich came to Idaho, lo-
cating at Blackfoot, where he engaged in the
practice of law until March, when he was ap-
op77£^.c^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
pointed receiver for the Idaho Canal Company,
with headquarters at Idaho Falls. He is also the
owner of a large ranch on Snake river in Bing-
ham county, and is engaged in the cattle business
and is also engaged in mining, having mining
interests in both Utah and Idaho. He is a man
of marked executive force, of sound judgment
and indefatigable energy, and carries forward to
successful completion whatever he undertakes.
In this connection it should be mentioned that
the canal system of the Idaho Canal Company
is the most extensive in the state, and probably
in the entire west, there being more than one
hundred miles of canal, constructed at a cost of
three hundred thousand dollars.
In April, 1884, jNIr. Rich was united in mar-
riage to Miss Anna Page, of Payson, Utah, the
wedding being celebrated in Salt Lake City.
They now have an interesting family of six chil-
dren, namely: S. Grover, Page, Wanita, H.Walker
Smith, Roscoe Clarence and Irene. In his po-
litical views Mr. Rich has always been an ardent
Democrat and has figured conspicuously in
Idaho and Utah politics, exerting a wide influ-
ence in state politics. He is a successful lawyer
of pronounced ability, and the important nature
of the legal business entrusted to his care indi-
cates his talent and his success.
CALVIN R. WHITE.
Calvin R. White, one of the best known pio-
neers of Idaho, now residing in Boise, was born
near Boston, Massachusetts, July 27, 1836, his
parents being Samuel B. and Sarah (Richardson)
\Miite, natives of the Bay state. The father was
for many years connected with the Boston &
Lowell Railway, and died in the city of Boston
when about seventy-six years of age. He was a
son of Samuel White, also a native of Massa-
chusetts, in which state his death occurred when
he had passed the psalmist's span of life of three-
score years and ten. The mother of our subject
died in Winchester, Massachusetts, in 1880, when
about seventy-four years of age.
In the public schools of South Woburn,
Winchester and Boston Calvin R. White ac-
quired his early education, which was supple-
mented by a course in the Warren Academy, at
Woburn, Massachusetts. At the age of thirteen
he went to sea, and spent fourteen years before
the mast, being in command of a vessel during
one-half of that period. He made seven trips to
Calcutta and visited many other foreign ports,
thus gaining a broad knowledge of the various
countries and their peoples. On quitting the sea
he located at San Francisco, where he spent the
winter of 1862-3. and then came across the coun-
try to the territory of Idaho. For four years he
resided in Centerville and in Placerville, and then
removed to Garden Valley, where he remained
about seven years. At the iirst two places he
was engaged in placer mining and at the last
named place carried on agricultural pursuits.
Subsequently he removed to Jerusalem, four
rniles above Florseshoe Bend, and while living
there he was elected to the territorial legislature,
becoming a member of the sixth session, as a
representative of Boise county, when that county
sent eight members to the assembly. In 1875 he
removed to Indian valley, in what was then Ada
county, but is now a part of Washington county.
There he carried on farming and stock-raising,
making his home at that place for two years,
when he removed to what was then known as
Little Salmon valley, in Idaho coimty, now
Washington county. Since 1879 the place has
been known as Meadows and a postoffice was
located there. For nearly twenty years Mr.
White efficiently served as postmaster, and in
addition to his duties he carried on farming and
stock-raising and engaged in the hotel business.
He conducted his hostelry until December. 1898,
and his hotel was one of the best known in that
section of Idaho, for hospitality there reigned
supreme and the genial landlord was very popu-
lar with his guests. At the close of the year 1898,
however, he severed all business connections with
Meadows and removed to Boise, where he has
since made his home.
In 1864 Mr. White was united in marriage, at
La Grande, Oregon, to Miss Lydia Hopper, a
native of Illinois. She died in 1889, leaving
eight children, and at Weiser, in 1893, Mr. White
was again married, his second union being with
Miss Lucy Hall, a native of Belfast, Maine.
In politics he is a Democrat and cast his presi-
dential vote for William Jennings Bryan in 1896.
Socially he is connected with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, having become a member
of the order in Centerville thirtv-one vears ago.
640
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
He is now past grand and is one of the
exemplary representatives of the fraternity. His
sterling worth, his upright life and his fidelity to
principle commend him to the confidence and
respect of all, and as a worthy pioneer of Idaho
he well deserves mention in this volume.
JOHN M. CROOKS.
John M. Crooks, now deceased, was numbered
among the Idaho pioneers of 1862 and was at one
time the owner of the land upon which the town
of Grangeville is now located. He was born in
Indiana, June 28, 1820, and was of Irish and
German lineage. He married Martha Pea, a
native of Virginia, and in 1852 they crossed the
plains to Oregon, accompanied by their five chil-
dren. One child was added to the number dur-
ing the journey. For many long weeks they
were upon the way, traveling across the arid
sands or through the mountain passes, but at
length they safely reached their destination and
settled in the Willamette valley, near Corvallis,
where Mr. Crooks secured a donation claim of
six hundred and forty acres. In 1856 he removed
to The Dalles, where he engaged in farming un-
til 1862. He then drove his stock to the Camas
prairie, Idaho, and conducted meat-markets
at Florence and Warren. In 1865 he removed
his family to the prairie, obtaining five hundred
and eighty acres of land, which included the
present site of Grangeville. There was a small
log house upon the place, and there he took up
his abode. He continued his stock-raising and
was very successful in his business undertak-
ings. He was also prominently identified with
the progress and development of the locality.
He was one of the organizers of the Grange, and
in 1876 aided in building the Grange Hall, from
which the town took its name. He was very
generous in his efforts to promote the growth of
the village and gave lots to all who would build
thereon. In 1868 he erected a good residence
for his family, and there spent his remaining
days. He was always friendly with the Indians
and they with him, and when the Nez Perces In-
dian war broke out they made a compact that
they would not molest one the other, and to its
terms they adhered.
Mr. Crooks died in 1884, at the age of sixty-
four years. He was a noted frontiersman of Ore-
gon and Idaho and an honored pioneer who ma-
terially aided in the general progress and growth.
He left a widow and eight children to mourn his
loss, and six of the children are now living, name-
ly, J. W., who is engaged in farming at White
Bird; Isabelle, wife of C. W. Pierson, resides at
White Bird; J. B., a mine owner residing in
Grangeville; Charles V., a physician, who is en-
gaged in the practice of medicine in Waterloo,
Nebraska; Alice, wife of P. C. Sherwin, who re-
sides on Salmon river; and Emma, wife of
Charles Bentz, a resident of White Bird.
Mr. Crooks, the father of this family, platted
the town of Grangeville and for some time con-
ducted the stage line between Grangeville and
Lewiston. He also embarked in various busi-
ness enterprises, which proved of public as well
as individual benefit. At the time of his death
when his estate was settled up, blocks of sixteen
lots were sold for one hundred and thirty-nine
dollars, and these have since sold for four thou-
sand dollars, and thus the estate was found to be
bankrupt. His wife died in 1897, at the age of
seventy-live years.
Their son, J. B. Crooks, who has kindly fur-
nished us with the history of his honored father,
was born near Corvallis, Oregon, November 11,
1854, and with the family came to .Camas prairie
in 1865. He has been engaged in the stock busi-
ness and is now operating quartz mines at War-
ren. He has made quartz locations south of the
great descent on Buffalo Humo and is the owner
of a ten-acre block of land in Grangeville. In
business circles he occupies a leading position,
and he possesses the essential qualifications of a
successful career, — enterprise, perseverance and
diligence. He is well known throughout Idaho
county and is a worthy representative of one of
the pioneer families.
HON. GEORGE W. GORTON.
The late Hon. George W. Gorton filled a place
in the business and social circles of Soda Springs,
and in fact of the entire state of Idaho, which will
be vacant as long as his friends and admirers sur-
vive, for he was a man of mr'^ked individuality, a
magnetic man who drew men to him and bound
them with bonds of strongest friendship, and a
helpful man who was always assisting others over
rough places, and those who knew him believed
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
that there was no man like him. Air. Gorton
was born at Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 3,
1846, a son of Job P. and Deborah (Sweet) Gor-
ton. His ancestors were English, and the pro-
genitors of his families of Gorton and Sweet lo-
cated early in Rhode Island, and some of their de-
scendants participated in the Revolutionary strug-
gle of the American colonies. His father and
mother were born in Rhode Island and found a
new home in Pennsylvania soon after their mar-
riage. They had four children, and Mrs.
Gorton died in giving birth to the subject of this
sketch. George W. Gorton was educated in the
public schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He
was only seventeen years old in 1863, when the
fortunes of the Union cause,. in the great strug-
gle for northern and southern supremacy, were
darker than at any other time during the war, but
realizing how sorely our nation needed men who
were willing to risk their lives in defense, and
inspired somewhat, perhaps, by the memory of
his Revolutionary forefathers, he enlisted in Com-
pany K, Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania
Cavalry. His term of service was from June 17,
1863, to August 17, 1865, when he was honor-
ably discharged and made the recipient of a rec-
ommendation by superior officers, in testimony
to his gallant conduct on more than one occa-
sion.
Not long after the close of the war, fresh from
his service at the front, Mr. Gorton came west,
and for a time was associated, as superintendent
of salt works and in other confidential relations,
with Governor White, of Montana, who had no
thought at that time of the high position to which
he was destined to be called. This connection
continued for five years, and for two years after
its termination Mr. Gorton lived at Malad City,
Idaho. After busying himself in various ways
in the interval, he came to Soda Springs in Janu-
ary, 1878. Not long afterward he was appointed
receiver of the firm of H. !Moore & Company, a
mercantile concern then in liquidation, and
bought its stock of goods and entered upon a
prosperous career as a merchant, which was ter-
minated only by his death, January 6, 1899. His
widow and son continue the business, which is
one of the most extensive of its kind in the town.
During his more than twenty years' residence in
southeastern Idaho, he took a deep interest in its
development and prosperity, whicli he encour-
aged generously in all ways at his command.
He was an influential Republican and served his
fellow citizens as county commissioner, county
treasurer and county assessor of Bannock coun-
ty, and as representative of the county in the ter-
ritorial legislature. He was a prominent Odd
Fellow and comrade of the Grand Army of the
Republic and had a wide acquaintance with rep-
resentative men throughout the state, being most
higlily esteemed by those who knew him. When
his party took a position on the financial ques-
tion which he could not indorse, he embraced
what he thought was the best side of the question
for the people of his county and state, and as an
avowed bimetallist was a leader among leaders
as a silver-Republican. To this position he ad-
hered as long as he lived. When he died the
people of the entire state felt that they had lost
one of their ablest and noblest citizens. He was
buried by the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and his brethren in tlie order deplored his
death and were proud to show every respect to
his memory.
Mr. Gorton left a fine home and a comfortable
competence to his family. He was married, No-
vember 3, 1877, to jNIi.ss Leah Waylett, daughter
of William Waylett, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and
a native of that city. They had eleven children,
five daughters and six sons. The daughters all
died of diphtheria. The sons survive. Henry
C, the eldest, is associated with his mother in
the management of their store. The others arc
named George W., Jr.; Shoup; Dubois; Jay P.,
and Eastman K. Shoup and Dubois are twins.
and were named in honor of Senators George L.
Shoup and F. T. Dubois, who were Mr. Gorton's
strong personal friends. Eastman was named in
honor of L. C. Eastman, Mr. Gorton's neighbor,
who returned the compliment Mr. Gorton paid
him by naming one of his sons Gorton.
WILLIAM CHESTER.
The substantial rewards that come to the able
and upright man as the result of well-doing,
small as they may be in compariso^^ with the for-
tunes and apparent honors won by questionable
methods, bring Viith them a sense of satisfaction
to which the sharp financier and the corrupt poli-
tician live and die as strangers. A man who
642
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
wisely and honestly adjudicated the small misun-
derstandings of his fellow citizens for sixteen
years, and who has the respect of all those for or
against whom he has decided, as has Justice
Chester, of Soda Springs, Idaho, has a greater
reward than the perjured judge who ends his
days in a bitter struggle to enjoy thousands ob-
tained by oppression, injustice and a systematic
afifront to the law he has falsely sworn to uphold.
William Chester, who is a member of the
board of county commissioners, has been for six-
teen years justice of the peace at Soda Springs,
and is well and favorably known throughout east-
ern Idaho. He is a native of Lincolnshire. Eng-
land, and was born May 3, 1843. His father,
Thomas Chester, died when William was only a
year old, and the baby was taken into the home
of his grandfather, John Chester. He was edu-
cated in a plain, practical way, worked on the
farm and learned the machinist's trade. He came
to America in 1873, with the expectation of hav-
ing employment in machine shops at Lockport,
New York, but the panic of that year prevented
the realization of this hope, and Mr. Chester came
west as far as Council Blufifs, Iowa, and from
there, in the winter of 1873-4, he came to Utah.
He did not find employment at his trade, but
found other work at which he busied himself
until, in the spring of 1874, he located at Soda
Springs and took up a farm of two hundred acres,
which, when the town had been surveyed, ad-
joined the town site. This property he improved
and put under cultivation, and it is now one of
the good farms of this part of the country.
In political affiliations Mr. Chester is a Demo-
crat. He was postmaster at Soda Springs eight
years, in the administrations of Presidents Cleve-
land and Harrison, has been elected eight times
to the office of justice of the peace, and was in
1898 elected a member of the board of county
commissioners of Bannock county, which impor-
tant office he is now filling with great fidelity and
ability, and to the entire satisfaction of his fellow
citizens, without regard to politics. He has in
all relations of life made an excellent reputation
as a reliable and worthy citizen, and he is a
prominent member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He is patriotically and helpfully
public-spirited and has the weal of his town and
countv close to his heart.
Mr. Chester was married, in 1866, to Miss Su-
sannah Popple, a native of Gainsborough, Eng-
land, and she and their three sons born in Eng-
land came with him. These sons were named
Joseph Thomas, William H. and Charles Ed-
ward. Five more children were born to Mr. and
]\Irs. Chester in the United States: Lucy, who
married Lorenzo Marriott; Fred; Hattie; Colin
and James. Mrs. Chester died in 1892, and her
loss was deeply regretted by all who knew her.
HENRY G. WESTON.
The number of veterans of the Mexican war is
fast diminishing, as one by one they respond to
the roll-call above, but some are still left to tell
the tale of how the gallant sons of the nation
marched into the land of Montezuma and won
victory after victory over the opposing forces.
Among this number is Henry G. Weston, who
with an Iowa regiment marched to the front.
Since that time he has seen the nation engaged
in two other conflicts in which liberty, freedom
and the right have again triumphed and through
which the powers of the world have been forced
to accord America a leading place among the
governments of civilization. Mr. Weston has
watched with deep interest the progress of events
which form our national history, and at all times
has been imbued with a spirit of patriotism and
loyalty.
Mr. Weston, who is now engaged in farming
in the Salubria valley of Idaho, was born in
Skaneateles, New York, on the 21st of July, 1827,
and is of English, Scotch and Irish lineage, his
ancestors having been early settlers of New
Hampshire. His paternal grandfather was a sol-
dier in the war of 1812. Josiah Weston, father
of our subject, was born in New Hampshire, mar- ■
ried Miss Harriet P. Webster, and in 1830 re-
moved with his family to Lorain county, Ohio,
where he followed the trade of a stone mason and
also engaged in farming. He died in the fifty-
second year of his age, and his wife died at the
age of eighty-two, at which time she was an in-
mate of the home of her son in the Salubria val-
ley. In religious faith they were Universalists. .
They had a family of ten children, but only three
are now living, one being a resident of California,
while another resides at Willow Creek, Idaho.
Henrv G. Weston was onlv three vears old
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
when the family went to Ohio, and eight years
afterward he accompanied his parents on their re-
moval to Illinois. In the public schools of those
states he acquired his education, remaining under
the parental roof and assisting in the work of the
home farm until eighteen years of age, when he
began to learn the trade of wagon and carriage
making. He was thus engaged when, on the
27th of July, 1847, at the age of nineteen years,
he enlisted for service in a volunteer company
commanded by Captain Wyat B. Stapp. He
went to the front and was on duty until the close
of hostilities, being stationed at Vera Cruz at the
time the city of Mexico was captured and the
war was ended.
Returning then to his home, Mr. Weston con-
tinued his residence in Illinois until 1863, when
he crossed the plains to Nevada, accompanied
by his wife and four children. On the 30th of
September, 1850, he had married Mrs. Annis S.
Adams, who by her former marriage had one
child, and by Mr. Weston had six children. One
daughter, Catherine, died in the eighth year of
her age, and the others are Harriet, who became
the wife of Frank Janes, now the postmaster of
Salubria; Charles, who is assisting his father in
the operation of the home farm; Julia, wife of
Joseph Hutchins; Douglass, who is married and
has a good farm near his father; and James, who
is engaged in mining.
Mr. Weston engaged in farming in Nevada
until 1879, when he sold his property there and
removed to the Salubria valley, where he secured
one hundred and sixty acres of land. He has
since been numbered among the successful farm-
ers of the valley, has placed his land under a high
state of cultivation, and well tilled fields now yield
to him a golden tribute in return for the care and
labor he bestows upon them. Although he has
passed the psalmist's span of three-score years
and ten, he is still active and vigorous, and does
no little part of the farm work. His wife also is
living, and for almost a half century they have
traveled life's journey together, sharing with
each other the joys and sorrows, and adversity
and prosperity which checker the careers of all.
They have many warm friends in this community,
who wish for them many years of happiness yet
to come.
In his political views ]\Ir. Weston has always
been a stanch Democrat, and socially he is con-
nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows. Since the days when he followed the starry
banner through the valleys and over the moun-
tains of Mexico he has been a loyal and progres-
sive citizen, and gives an earnest support to all
measures which he believes are for the public
good.
CLAYTON A. HOOVER. M. D.
It is a noteworthy fact that, wherever his lot
may be cast, the up-to-date physician is a suc-
cessful man also outside of his profession, and
becomes a leader in the affairs of his town. This
has been proven true many times, and the career
of Dr. Clayton A. Hoover, of Montpelier, Idaho,
is another conspicuous testimony to the same ef-
fect.
Dr. Hoover located at Montpelier in 1882 and
is the pioneer regular practicing physician of
southeast Idaho. He is a native of Washington,
D. C, and was born February 25, 1853, a son of
William and Elizabeth (Hough) Hoover. In the
paternal line he is descended from a German an-
cestor, three of whose sons came to America in
1784 and located one in Virginia, one in Mary-
land and one in Pennsylvania. Peter Hoover,
grandfather of the Doctor, early in life settled in
the District of Columbia, and his son, William
Hoover, the father of the subject of this sketch,
was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1800. Dr.
Hoover's mother, Elizabeth, nee Hough, also of
German ancestry, was born in Waterford, Vir-
ginia.
William and Elizabeth (Hough) Hoover lo-
cated in Washington, D. C, after their marriage.
The mother was a Quaker and they ranked with
the prominent people of the city. Mr. Hoover
died in 1882, and Mrs. Hoover in 1880. They
had seven sons and four daughters, of whom only
five are living at this lime. Of their eleven chil-
dren, Clayton A. was the ninth in sequence of
nativity. He was educated at the Columbian
University and was graduated in its medical
department in 1875. Since then he has taken
several post-graduate courses, in New York city,
and by study, reading and conference with prom-
inent brother physicians has kept abreast of the
times in a profession which during the years of
his practice has perhaps advanced more rapidly
and more radicallv than anv other. He is a
644
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
member of the American JNIedical Association
and was one of the founders and is an ex-presi-
dent of the Idaho State Medical Association.
From 1883 to 1897 he was the local surgeon for
the Union Pacific Railway Company. He is
widely and favorably known personally, and his
large and constantly growing practice extends
seventy-five to one hundred miles into Montpel-
ier's tributary territory. He established the pio-
neer drug store at Montpelier, ran it successfully
for a time, then sold it, and it was finally closed.
He began his present drug business in 1892, and
has managed it in such a manner as to render it
increasingly important and profitable.
He has contributed to the visible wealth of his
town by erecting a sightly stone store building
and a fine residence near by. Eight miles from
Montpelier he has a large ranch, on which he
carries on farming operations, successfullv rais-
ing hay principally, but giving some attention
also to other crops. He is public-spirited as a
citizen and takes a helpful interest in all impor-
tant aflfairs of the town. He is a past master of
King Solomon Lodge, No. 27, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons; was a charter member of
Idanha, Montpelier, Lodge, Knights of Pythias,
and is still an active worker for the order; and
he is also a member of the Woodmen of the
World. Politically he is a Republican and a bi-
metallist.
In 1875 Dr. Hoover married Miss Johanna E.
Claxton, of Washington, D. C, who died in 1886,
after having borne two sons,— Edward C. and
Alfred M. The elder son is making a reputation
for himself as an accountant in the state of Wash-
ington; and the younger is now at school. July
I7> 1895, Dr. Hoover married his present wife,
who was Miss Bessie R. Brown, a native of Bear
Lake county, Idaho, and educated in the normal
department of the State University of Utah, where
she was graduated, and they have two children.
named Stewart Whiting and Phvllis.
BISHOP WILFORD W. CLARK.
Wilford Woodruff Clark, bishop of the Mont-
pelier ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter Day Saints, has risen by successive steps from
deacon to elder, from elder to one of the seventy,
thence to the office of high priest and finally to
that of bishop. As a member of the seventy he
performed a mission in the south, principally in
North Carolina, where he met with great success
in establishing churches. In civil life he is
known as Hon. Wilford Woodrui? Clark. He
was elected, as a RepubHcan, to the third Idaho
state legislature, of which he was an active and
useful member. He introduced the bill giving
the state legislature its present membership: one
senator from each county and representatives ac-
cording to population, and was influential in se-
curing the passage of the bill which gave the
franchise to women.
Bishop Clark was born at Farmington, Davis
county, Utah, February 2, 1863. His forefathers
were among the first settlers of our American
colonies and were prominent in fighting the fight
of liberty and in making our primitive national
history. Ezra T. Clark, his father, was born No-
vember 25, 1823, in Illinois, where Bishop Clark's
grandfather was a pioneer, and married Mary
Stevenson, who had the unique distinction of hav-
ing been bom on the rock of Gibraltar, in 1825.
They were converted to the faith of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints early in the
history of the church in Iowa, and in 1848 crossed
the plains to Salt Lake City, and were among the
earliest emigrants who braved the dangers of that
long and perilous journey. In 1849 they located
at Farmington, Davis county, Utah, on a farm
which Mr. Clark made one of the best in the
vicinity and on which he yet lives. He has been
an active and efficient member of his church, and
has faithfully and successfully performed several
important missions in its behalf, in the United
States and in Europe, and now has the great
honor of being one of its patriarchs. The wife
of his youth has been spared to him and they are
living out their days calmly, peacefully, without
regrets and with the hope that is given to those
who labor for their fellows and trust to God for
their ultimate reward.
Bishop Clark was educated at Salt Lake City
Deseret L^niversity, now the L^tah L^niversity,
and at Brigham Young Academy, at Provo,
Utah, and engaged in farming and stock-raising,
which he has continued to the present time, with
increasing success. At JMontpelier he has a farm
of one hundred and twenty-four acres, and with
his father and brother, he owns a ranch of twelve
hundred acres at Georgetown, Bear Lake county.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
645
Idaho, where they have a herd of cattle and also
a herd of horses. They began to import Short-
horn cattle about thirty years ago, as a means to
the improvement of their own stock, and as a re-
sult they have been instrumental in improving to
a degree the stock of the whole county. They are
breeding a fine grade of horses, and are among
the most successful farmers in their part of the
state.
July 22, 1885, Bishop Clark married Miss Pa-
melia Dunn, a native of Plain City, Utah, and a
daughter of John Dunn, a prominent citizen of
that town. They have had eight children: Wil-
ford Woodruff, Jr.; William O.; Vera Pamelia;
Royal D.; Ernest, deceased; Elmer R. ; Homer,
and Howard, twins, born on their mother's thir-
ty-fifth birthdav.
JAMES WITT.
Since 1861 Mr. Witt has been a resident of
Idaho, and is now a representative of the agricul-
tural and stock-raising interests of the state. He
was born in Tennessee, July 7, 1837. His great-
grandfather, Caleb Witt, was a native of Eng-
land, and became the founder of the family in
America. He located in the south and after a
time removed to Tennessee, where he reared his
family and made his home until his death. His
son, James Witt, the grandfather of our subject,
was born in Tennessee and loyally served his
country in the war of 1812. He married a iMiss
Hann, a lady of German extraction, and their
son, Caleb Witt, was a native of Jefferson county,
Tennessee, where four generations of the family
were born. He married Miss Margaret K.
O'Marcus, a native of Anderson county, Tennes-
see, and two children were born to them, a son
and daughter. The father died in 1882, at the
age of sixty-seven years, and the mother passed
away in 1856, at the age of forty-six. They were
Baptists in religious faith, and were people of the
highest worth and integrity.
James Witt, whose name introduces this re-
view, is now the only surviving member of the
family. He obtained his education in the com-
mon schools, and by reading while in the moun-
tains. In 1859 he started with his father to cross
the plains to Pike's Peak, but on the Platte river
they met a pleasant party en route for Oregon
and joined them on their trip. At length tliey
reached Portland, spent the winter there, and in
the spring of i860 our subject went up the Co-
lumbia river, a distance of one hundred and ten
miles above the mouth of Snake river. He then
returned to Wallula, and engaged in freighting,
with bull teams, to Walla Walla. In the late
fall he made his way to the Cascades, where he
spent the winter months with his father, and in
the spring of 1861 they went to Greer's ferry,
on the Oro Pino road, on the Clearwater river,
there remaining until the spring of 1862, when
they went to Elk City. They purchased three
claims on Buffalo Hill, one mile west of Elk City,
and then joined with others in digging a ditch
which supplied water to six or eight companies.
As they went forward into the hill they required
more water, and in 1872 Mr. Witt and his father
purchased the whole claim. Half a million dol-
lars were taken out of that hill, which is now
owned by a company in Butte, Montana, of which
Mr. Leggat is a prominent member. This was
what was called a "wages camp," that is to say
the miners made fair wages, some taking away
with them from two to ten thousand dollars.
In 1876 Mr. Witt's father took up lands on
Camas prairie, and in 1880, wishing to be near
his father in his declining years, our subject also
went there, acquiring lands and engaging in
stock-raising. He and his nephew, J. B. Sloan,
have nine hundred and sixty acres of land and
are raising hogs on a very extensive scale, ship-
ping large numbers each year. His life has been
one of activity, in which he has met many diffi-
culties, but these he has overcome by determined
purpose, and has risen to a position among the
substantial citizens of his adopted county.
In 1874 Mr. Witt became a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, taking the degrees of the blue
lodge in Mount Idaho Lodge, No. 9, F. & A. M.
Hetraveled from Elk City to :\Iount Idaho for
that purpose, and though the trip cost him sev-
enty-five dollars he has always considered it a
good investment. He at once became a student
of the tenets of the order, and has ever endeav-
ored to conform his life to the ennobling princi-
ples, so that, being a good Mason, he is a good
citizen. He is a most active worker in the order.
has filled nearly all the offices of the lodge, and
has been past master for a number of terms. The
Mount Idaho Lodge was removed to Grange-
ville. where it is now located, numbering among
646
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
its members many of the best citizens of the town.
In poHtics Mr. Witt has always been a Democrat,
and while not a politician in the sense of an office-
seeker, he has served for several terms as county
commissioner, in a most capable and commend-
able manner. He is quite widely known through-
out the state, and well deserves mention among
the honored pioneers.
JOHN B. THATCHER.
John B. Thatcher, assessor and tax collector
of Bannock county, and the owner of a valuable
ranch on Bear river, where he carries on general
farming and stock-raising, was born in Clark
county, Ohio, October 22, 1834, being of English
and German descent. At an early epoch in the
history of Virginia, his ancestors, having braved
the perils incident to ocean voyages at that day,
took up their residence in the Old Dominion, and
representatives of the family fought for the inde-
pendence of the nation in the Revolutionary war.
The parents of our subject, Hezekiah and Alley
(Kitchen) Thatcher, were both natives of Vir-
ginia, and the father was an industrious and sub-
stantial farmer. He lived to be sixty-nine years
of age, and his wife passed away at the age of
eighty-two years. They were members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and
were people of the highest integrity of character.
In their family were thirteen children, eight of
whom reached years of maturity, while five are
still living.
John B. Thatcher was the fourth child and is
now the eldest surviving member of the family.
He was reared and educated in Illinois and in
Salt Lake City, Utah, and afterward engaged in
mining in El Dorado county, California. On the
1st of January, 1858, he returned to Salt Lake
City. In i860 he went to Logan, Utah, where
he engaged in clerking in the Mercantile House,
being there employed for fifteen years. In the
fall of 1881 he came to Idaho and purchased three
hundred and sixty acres of land, upon which he
has since made his home. He has devoted his
energies to general farming and stock-raising,
and his diligence, practical methods and energy
have brought to him success. As his financial
resources have increased he has extended the
boundaries of his ranch until it now comprises six
hundred acres, — a valuable property, on which he
raises hay, grain and stock. Upon his place are
found all the modern improvements and acces-
sories of the model farm, and the neat and thrifty
appearance of the place well indicates the care-
ful supervision of the owner.
In addition to his business cares Mr. Thatcher
is ably discharging his public duties and is a most
trustworthy official. In politics he has been a
lifelong Democrat, and on that ticket was elected
a member of the territorial legislature in 1882.
On the 8th of November, 1896, he was elected
assessor and tax collector, and in November,
1898, was elected to the lower house of the Idaho
general assembly, where he has ably represented
his district and labored earnestly for the best in-
terests of his constituents. He has long been a
close student of political questions, of the needs
and demands of the public, and has taken his
place among the foremost legislators of Idaho.
On the 9th of March, 1858, was celebrated the
marriage of Mr. Thatcher and Miss Rachel H.
Davis, a native of Ohio. Their union has been
blessed with six sons and two daughters, namely :
John B., a farmer of Wyoming; Milton H.; Na-
than D.; Lulu, now the wife of Frank Thirkill;
Lettie, at home; Howard E.; Gilbert, who is
his father's deputy; and Henry K., who com-
pletes the family. The mother was killed in an
accident, in January, 1882. She was a most es-
timable lady, held in high regard by all who knew
her, and her death occasioned great sadness in
the community as well as in her own home. Like
her Jiusband, she belonged to the Church of Lat-
ter Day Saints. Mr. Thatcher has the esteem
and unlimited confidence of the citizens of his
county, and is well known as a man of sound
judgment and sterling rectitude of character.
JOHN B. GOODE.
The readjustment of the national affairs after
the civil war led to conditions under which the
people of the north and the people of the south
began to mingle, and became acquainted and
ratified the feeling of mutual admiration which
their prowess during the four years' struggle had
compelled for foenien who wore the gray and foe-
men who wore the blue. Men of the north took
part in the southern business and politics; men
of the south began to have a hand in the national
#nd local affairs at the north. A paternal senti-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
647
ment has resulted which has buried old animosi-
ties and raised numerous mutual interests, and
to-day east, west, south, southwest and north-
west, southern men and northern men are work-
ing hand in hand for the greater prosperity
and the gradual but certain attainment of the
splendid destiny of the American people. Idaho
is not without its prominent men of southern
birth and education, and one of the most highly
regarded of these is John B. Goode, of Coeur
d'Alene.
John B. Goode was born in Bedford county,
Virginia, August i8, 1864, a son of John Goode,
long one of the most prominent men in the Old
Dominion, and conspicuous in national politics
since the days before the war. This distinguished
son of Virginia was born in May, 1829, and be-
came an able and successful lawyer and a factor
in the state affairs. A Democrat of Democrats
and a patriotic lover of the south and all its insti-
tutions, he early identified himself with the public
cjuestions which were engaging the best talent of
the country previous to the war of 1861-5, and as
a member of the Virginia legislature and as an
advocate of the southern cause, he became
prominent and influential among his fellow citi-
zens. He was a member of the secession con-
vention at Richmond, and later a member of the
Confederate congress. During the war he served
with the rank of colonel, on the staff of General
Early and that of General Breckenridge. After
the war, with influence unabated, he was sent to
the national congress four times as the represen-
tative of the second congressional district of A'ir-
ginia. President Cleveland, in his first term, ap-
pointed him solicitor general for the United
States and later a member of the Chilian claims
commission. He now lives in Bedford county,
Virginia, and enjoys the distinction, besides his
political honors, of being one of the ablest and
most successful lawyers in the state. His wife
was Miss Sallie Urquhart, a native of Southamp-
ton county, A'irginia, who died in Norfolk, Vir-
ginia, in 1890.
John B. Goode received his education in the
schools of Norfolk, Virginia, and by private tu-
tors until the fall of 1880, when, at the age of six-
teen years, he entered Washington and Lee Uni-
versity at Lexington, \'irginia, where he re-
mained as a student for two years.
After leaving college he was engaged for a
time in business in Norfolk, Virginia, and upon
work connected with the United States coast and
geodetic survey. In 1885 he entered the law de-
partment of the Columbian University, from
which he was graduated in 1887. During the en-
suing two years h« was an assistant in the depart-
ment of justice of the United States and was en-
gaged in the defense of the United States in the
settlement of the French spoliation claims. In
the fall of 1890 he was admitted to practice in
the supreme court of the United States. Having
some time before resigned his connection with
the department of justice, in the fall of 1890 he re-
turned to Virginia and entered actively into the
practice of his profession. During Mr. Goode's
residence in Virginia he became a member of the
Virginia State Bar Association and served upon
several of the important committees of the asso-
ciation. In May, 1895, he was appointed by
President Cleveland chairman of the United
States Mineral Land Commission for the Coeur
d'Alene land district, Idaho, and took up his
residence at Coeur d'Alene City. After retiring
from the Mineral Land Commission he began the
practice of his profession in Idaho, and has also
become largely interested in developing the min-
ing resources of the state, and has become widely
known in connection with the mining interests
of the northwest.
His opinion of mining investments is regarded
as valuable and is received with entire confidence,
and he has been instrumental in bringing much
eastern capital to Idaho for the development of
local mining enterprises. He has evinced a help-
ful interest in educational matters in Idaho, and
is known as an influential advocate of popular
education. In June, 1897, he delivered the uni-
versity oration at the Idaho State University, at
Moscow, speaking on the subject: "Citizenship,
Its Privileges and Responsibilities in the Re-
public." In February, 1899. he was appointed
bv the governor a member of the board of re-
gents of the University of the State of Idaho. In
1898 he was, as a Democrat, elected county attor-
ney for Kootenai county, an office which he is
filling with an ability and success that have won
him the admiration of his fellow citizens of all
shades of political belief.
In October, 1888, Mr. Goode married Leila S.
648
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Symington, of Baltimore, ^Maryland. They have
four children: Leila S.; John, Jr.; Clare Ran-
dolph and Stuart Symington.
JOEL B. HARPER.
History has long since placed on its pages the
names of those who, coming to the Atlantic
coast, planted colonies in the New World and
opened up that section of the country to civiliza-
tion. As the years passed, and the population of
that region rapidly increased, brave pioneers
made their way into the wild districts farther
west. The names of Daniel Boone and Simon
Kenton were enduringly inscribed upon the rec-
ords of Kentucky, that of John Jacob Astor
upon the history of Michigan and other states of
the upper Mississippi valley. Later Kit Carson
and John C. Fremont made their way into the
mountainous district.s west of the "father of wat-
ers/' and subsequently the explorers penetrated
into the vast wildnesses of the Pacific slope.
The development of the northwest, however, is
comparatively recent, but when time shall have
made the era of progress here a part of the his-
tory of the past, the names of men no less brave
and resolute than those who came to the shores
of New England or made their way into the Mis-
sissippi valley will be found illuminating the an-
nals of this section of the Union, and on the list
will be found that of Joel Beauford Harper, who
is numbered among the early settlers of both
California and Idaho.
Mr. Harper was born in Georgetown, .Scott
county, Kentucky, October 15, 1837. His fath-
er, Benjamin Harper, was a native of Delaware,
and was of English descent. In 1821 he removed
to Kentucky and was married there to Miss Han-
nah Moore. They were people of the highest
respectability, were representatives of the indus-
trious farming class, and continued their resi-
dence in that state until called to the home be-
yond. The father lived to be eighty-five years of
age, and the mother passed away at the age of
eighty-four. In his native state Joel B. Harper
acquired his education, and at the age of four-
teen crossed the plains to the Pacific coast with
five young men. They traveled with various
companies and had much trouble with the In-
dians. They were first attacked in Thousand
Springs valley, on the sublet cut-off. Thev
fought all day and succeeded in driving the In-
dians ofT, but were attacked the next day at the
head of the Humboldt river, killing several of the
Indians, while two of their own number were
wounded. Such was the daring of the Indians
that they had five fights in a distance of three
hundred miles. All the time the red men \\*ere
on the war-path, but the emigrants were well
armed and defeated the Indians in every skir-
mish, else thev wovild have been completely mas-
sacred by the wily foe.
The party with which Ish. Harper traveled ar-
rived in California July i, 1853, and he began
work in the American valley. He engaged in
mining, in operating a sawmill and in carrying on
the butchering business. He followed mining
there for five years, and ran the first tunnel in the
rock to turn the river in an old channel. In the
operation of his claim he was very successful, he
and his partner, Tim Shannon, taking out from
three to four hundred dollars per day. In 1858
he sold his interest in order to go to the Eraser
river, where gold had recently been discovered.
He fitted out a boat with supplies and started it
up the river, but it was capsized, and three men
and three hundred dollars' worth of supplies were
lost. Mr. Harper then returned to Puget sound
and crossed to Pendleton, Oregon, where he en-
gaged in carpenter work for ten months, receiv-
ing excellent wages for his services. He next
went to Dayton, Oregon, and established a sash
and door factory, but it did not prove a paying
investment, and he afterward clerked in stores
in Dayton and in Baker City.
In May, 1863, Mr. Harper arrived in Idaho
City, Idaho, then known as Bannock, where he
engaged in mining. He paid three thousand dol-
lars for two claims and took out on an average of
two hundred and fifty dollars per day to each
rocker, getting out ten thousand dollars in all,
but seven thousand dollars was stolen from him.
In 1865 he removed to Silver City, where he re-
mained fifteen years. He operated a sawmill,
built the Owyhee county court-house and jail,
together with many other buildings, and was
prominently connected with the development and
improvement of that section of the state. In
1882 he came to the ^^'ood river valley and set-
tled at Ketchum, on a government claim of
eighty-seven and one-half acres, upon which he
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
erected a commodious and pleasant home, —
which stands as a monument of his own handi-
work. He improved the farm by piping water
from a spring on the hillside, and the house is
thus continually supplied with cool and pure
water. On the place he has both a blacksmith
and carpenter shop, his superior mechanical skill
enabling him to make anything in wood, iron or
steel. He can make a good edged tool, and has
upon his place everything in that line necessary
in his work, taking a commendable pride in keep-
ing everything about his place in first-class order.
In 1883 he erected a saw-mill and built a chute,
at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars, in which to
bring logs from the mountain to the mill. He is
accounted one of the most enterprising and pro-
gressive business men of this section of Blaine
county, and is meeting with well deserved suc-
cess in his undertakings.
On the 17th of November, 1867, Mr. Harper
was united in marriage, in Nevada, near the Cali-
fornia line, to Miss Edna E. Lanbeth, a daughter
of Aaron Lanbeth, of Davis county. North Caro-
lina. She crossed the plains to California in
1859, across the southern Butterfield route, and
was the second woman to traverse that route to
San Francisco. She accompanied Mr. Harper in
all his pioneer travels on the Pacific coast and
indeed was to him a faithful companion and help-
meet.- They were comfortably situated in
the pleasant home in Ketchum, in the enjoyment
of the high esteem of many friends in that com-
munity, but within the present year, 1899, the
devoted and cherished wife has been called into
eternal rest, leaving to her sorrowing husband
the benediction of a faithful and beautiful life.
Mr. Harper has been a member of the jNIasonic
fraternity since 1857, when he joined Plumas
Lodge, No. 60, F. & A. M.. of Plumas, Califor-
nia. He has taken a very active interest in the
work of the fraternity, has filled all the ofifices of
the lodge, and is now past master. In politics
he has been a Democrat since casting his first
vote, and is a reliable citizen who supports all
measures which he believes will prove of public
benefit. He has a wide acquaintance, and by all
who know him is held in high regard, for his life
has been well spent. He has never indulged in
drinking or gambling, as have many of the pio-
neers in the new mining regions, but has lived
an honorable and upright life, and his example is
in many respects well worthy of emulation.
NICHOLAS BROCKE.
Nicholas Brocke, one of the prominent farm-
ers and fruit-growers of the t'otlatch country, is
pleasantly located three and a half miles west of
Kendrick. He was born in Michigan, July 24,
1855, a son of John and Christine (Webber)
Brocke, both of whom were natives of Germany,
whence they crossed the Atlantic to the United
States in 1849. . They were then single, their
marriage being celebrated in Baltimore, Mary-
land. Mr. Brocke spent three years in the em-
ploy of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company
and three years in the Lake Superior copper
mines, and then emigrated to Iowa. In 1858 he
went to northwestern Nebraska, and in 1877 be-
came a resident of South Dakota, where he indus-
triously and energetically carried on farming
until his death, which occurred when he was in
his sixty-fifth year. His wife still survives him,
and is now in her sixty-eighth year. They had
five children, four of whom are living.
The second child, Nicholas Brocke, was reared
in his parents' home, obtained his education in
the public schools and accompanied his parents
on their various removals until after their arrival
in Nebraska. In that state he was married, in
1877, to Miss Annie Geiser, a native of St. Louis,
Missouri. They came to Idaho and located on
a farm nine miles south of Moscow, Mr. Brocke
improving his property and making his home
thereon until 1888, when he sold his farm and
came to his present location. In June of that
year he entered a claim of one hundred and sixty
acres, which he has transformed into a very de-
sirable and valuable farm. The buildings upon
the place stand as monuments to his enterprise,
and the neat appearance of everything indicates
the careful supervision of a practical and progres-
sive owner. He has a good residence, large
barns and all the appliances for successful farm-
ing. He has secured a pumping outfit which
conveys water to his residence and all over the
farm wherever wanted, and thus the fields are
well irrigated. He raises both grain and fruit,
and his harvest and fruit crops well attest the
Inisiness ability of Mr. Brocke, who is most ener-
getic and resolute in carrying on his work.
C50
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born
eight children, namely: John, Frank, Ettie,
Carrie, Amelia, Joseph, Charles and Nicholas.
The parents and children are valued members of
the Catholic church, and Mr. Brocke belongs to
the Knights of Pythias fraternity and to the
Woodmen of the World. In his political connec-
tions he is a stalwart Democrat, and has been
school trustee and highway commissioner, filling
both offices with ability and fidelity. To all the
duties of citizenship he is true, and is ever reliable
in all life's relations. The success he has achieved
is the result of his own well directed efforts, and
he may justly be called a self-made man.
HENRY K. HARTLEY.
The middle portion of the nineteenth centur\
might properly be termed the age of utility,
especially in the northwest. This vast region was
then being opened up to civilization, and the
honored pioneers who found homes in this rich
but undeveloped region were men who had to
contend with the trials and difificulties of frontier
life. Theirs were lives of toil. They were en-
deavoring to make homes to cultivate farms,
establish stock ranches, develop mineral re-
sources, found business enterprises, and from
early manhood to old age their lot was generally
one of labor; but their importance to the com-
munity cannot be overestimated, and the com-
forts and luxuries to-day enjoyed by the younger
generation are largely due to the brave band of
pioneer men and women who came to the north-
west during its primitive condition. It is also
encouraging and interesting to note that many
who came here empty-handed have worked their
way upward to positions of afifluence; that as the
years have passed and the country improved
prosperity has attended their efforts and wealth
rewarded their earnest endeavors.
To this class of honored men belongs Henry
K. Hartley, who has been a resident of Idaho
since 1864, his home being in Caldwell, Canyon
county. He was born in Grearville, Illinois,
March 15, 1833, and is of English lineage, the
original American ancestors having settled in
the south, prior to the Revolutionary war, in
which they participated, thus aiding in the estab-
lishment of the republic. James Hartley, father
of our subject, was born in Augusta, Georgia,
and married a Miss Walker, also a native of that
state. They became the parents of thirteen chil-
dren, and eleven of the number grew to mature
years, were married and had homes of their own.
Only four, however, still survive.
]\Ir. Hartley of this review is the youngest.
When four years of age he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Missouri and was
reared to manhood in that state on his father's
farm. It was then a frontier region, and his
educational privileges were accordingly limited,
the time of his attendance at school probably not
exceeding sixty days in the aggregate. In the
school of experience, through observation and
with the aid of a retentive memory, however, he
has gained a broad and practical general knowl-
edge. He is eminently self-educated and self-
made financially and deserves great credit for
what he has accomplished in life. In 1848 he
crossed the plains to Albucjuerciue, New Mexico,
but in the autumn of the same year returned to
his home in Missouri. In 1850, when but seven-
teen years of age, he crossed the plains with his
brother to California, and during the long and
tedious journey the party with which they trav-
eled was frequently attacked by Indians, but
never lost a man. They found and buried on the
way three white men, who had been killed and
scalped by the same band whom they were pur-
suing until they escaped among the mountains
near the Humboldt river. Mr. Hartley and his
brother started with five yoke of oxen, but all
save two died on the way. Ultimately they ex-
changed their oxen and wagon for two horses,
and on them started across the mountains by way
of the Georgetown cut-off, which was then a
new trail. They had scarcely any provisions,
only a little flour and coffee, and they suffered
many hardships and trials, but eventually arrived
at Georgetown, September 7, 1850, having left
home on the loth of April previously.
Mr. Hartley and his brother followed placer-
mining on the tributaries of the American river
and met with fair success. The brother then
returned but he remained two years longer,
prospecting in different camps on the North
Yuba river, near Downieville. At one of these
he took out six thousand dollars in a day! He
both made and lost money in his different mining
ventures, and when he returned to Missouri he
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
651
had but little. He made the trip home in order
to see his aged father, who died soon after his
arrival, on the loth of October, 1855, when
eighty years of age. In the spring of 1856 Mr.
Hartley went to Kansas City and became a
wagon master, taking charge of wagon trains
going west. He received at first seventy-five dol-
lars per month, which sum was afterward in-
creased to two hundred and twenty-five dollars
per month. Each year he made two trips from
Westport to Fort Laramie, Salt Lake and other
western points in the mountains.
In the spring of 1857 the expedition was sent
out by the government under command of Gen-
eral Albert Sidney Johnston. The Mormons had
committed serious depredations on emigrant
trains, and it was felt to be necessary to send this
expedition against them. There were about
twenty-two hundred soldiers, rank and file, and
four hundred teamsters, of whom ]\Ir. Hartley
was one. The last ten days before going into
camp their progress was greatly impeded by deep
snows and their supplies ran short. The Mor-
mons harassed them and destroyed the supply
train, provisions, wagon and ox yokes, so that
they were compelled to subsist until spring on
one-third rations. It was expected that they
would have to fight the Mormons, and while in
camp General Johnston enlisted and drilled the
teamsters, forming them into four companies of
one hundred each. One of these companies
elected Mr. Hartley as their captain. The higher
offices in the battalion were filled by members of
the regular army, Bernard E. Bee receiving the
appointment to the command of the new bat-
talion. He was a captain in the regular army
and was afterward killed at the battle of Bull
Run, while serving in the Confederate army
in the civil war. The troops under command of
General Johnston m-arched into Salt Lake City,
Mr. Hartley's and another company being in
the advance. It was fully expected that a warm
reception would be given them, but the Mor-
mons had nearly all fled the town, and they met
no opposition. They went into camp on the
Jordan river and a week later marched thirty
miles south and built Fort Douglas. Subsequent-
ly the new battalion was ordered back to Leaven-
worth, Kansas, where the men were discharged
and paid ofi.
Captain Hartley then began buying and selling
cattle and mules to emigrants and to the govern-
ment, and later purchased land in Jackson
county, Missouri, where he engaged in farming
until the outbreak of the civil war. He was then
in southwestern jMissouri. Four of his brothers
joined the Union army and he and three other
brothers joined the Confederate army, believing
that the south was in the right.
The Captain was appointed to a position on
the staff of Colonel Cofferin, who was killed in
their first engagement, and then our subject was
promoted to the rank of colonel, serving under
General Price. His regiment belonged to the
Eighth Division, commanded by General Rains.
From Springfield they marched to Lexington,
had a skirmish with the troops of General Lane
on Drywood river, and afterward engaged Gen-
eral Mulligan's forces at Lexington. They drove
the federal forces into their fortifications, the
fight lasting from ten o'clock in the morning
until dark. For eight days the fight continued,
and then in the early morning they attacked the
enemy in their works, entering upon a hard-
fought siege, which continued for three days
and two nights, during which they were con-
stantly in line of battle, fighting all the time.
General Mulligan then surrendered twenty-four
hundred men, with all their guns and ammuni-
tion.
Colonel Hartley then went with his command
on a forced march to Ocola, where they were in
quarters for ten days, and thence retreated before
the Union forces to Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where
a hard-fought battle occurred. Soon after this,
in April, 1862, he was permitted to make a trip
after recruits and used the opportunity to take
his wife from that country to a place of safety.
He was accompanied by his adjutant and jour-
neyed in safety to Sarcoxie, Missouri, but was
captured there and sent as a prisoner of war to
Springfield, JMissouri, where he was held for four-
teen months. He, however, received very courte-
ous and lenient treatment, and, giving his word
of honor, he was allowed to go all over the town
at his own pleasure. At length he was paroled
and some time later was permitted to cross the
plains to Oregon with the understanding that he
would in no way take part in the struggle again
or seek to advance the cause of the Confederacy.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
On the 17th of December, 1861, Colonel Hart-
ley had married Miss Sarah J. Painter, and with
his young wife and little son, Charles Price, then
two years old, made his way to Idaho. For a
time he followed teaming and freighting in the
Boise basin and then spent three years in Cali-
fornia, after which he returned to the Boise basin
and near Caldwell engaged in farming and stock-
raising. He possesses great energy and executive
ability and as the result of his untiring effort and
good management prospered from year to year.
In 1 89 1 he sold his stock and ranch and came
to Caldwell, purchasing a residence in which he
has since made his home. In this city he has
carried on the livery business as a member of the
firm of Campbell & Hartley. They have large
barns, a number of fine carriages and buggies
and always keep on hand good horses. They
are the leading livery men of the town and enjoy
a large patronage, which they well deserve.
In 1888 Colonel Hartley was called upon to
mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who died on
the 1 2th of March. She was a member of the
Christian church, a loyal friend, a faithful and
loving wife and mother, and her death occasioned
deep regret throughout the entire community.
The eldest son of Colonel and Mrs. Hartley is
now engaged in farming and in the nursery busi-
ness eight miles from Caldwell. The other chil-
dren are all natives of Idaho, namely: Florence
L., who is now in the post-ofifice of Caldwell;
Cory, who died in her sixth year; one who died
in infancy; Alice, a most cultured and amiable
young lady who died in her twenty-second year;
Annabelle and Henry, at home.
The Colonel has been a member of the
Masonic fraternity since the winter of 1848, hav-
ing been made a Mason in Jackson county, Mis-
souri, in Shawnee Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M.,
of New Santa Fe. In politics he is a stanch
Democrat, and was elected to represent his dis-
trict in the ninth and eleventh sessions of the
general assembly of Idaho, where he served with
marked abihty and fidelity. He was also one of
the commissioners of Ada county, when Canyon
county was embraced within its borders. In
1895 he was appointed by President Cleveland
postmaster of Caldwell, entering upon the duties
of the ofifice on the 6th of February of that year.
He removed the office to a good brick building.
fitted it up with the most modern equipments
and made it one of the most creditable institu-
tions in the town. In the administration of his
duties he was most prompt, courteous and effi-
cient and was widely acknowledged to be a most
worthy representative of the government. Indo-
lence and idleness have ever been utterly foreign
to his nature, and whether in public office or in
private business life he manifests great activity
and energy, — qualities which have made him one
of the prosperous residents of Canyon county.
LEE R. CARLTON.
Lee R. Carlton, the proprietor of the Maple
Crest fruit farm, one of the finest fruit farms in
the rich Potlatch country of Idaho, is a native of
Richland county, Ohio, his birth having there oc-
curred on the i8th of October, 1848. The family
is of English origin and the first American ances-
tors were early settlers of New York and Penn-
sylvania. Representatives of the name also
became pioneer settlers of Richland county,
Ohio. James Carlton, the grandfather, was born
in that county and was a farmer and stock-raiser.
He was a Presbyterian in religious faith and
lived to be eighty years of age. His son, James
Carlton, father of our subject, was also born
in Richland county, and was a prominent railroad
contractor for twenty-five or thirty years. At the
time of his death, which occurred in 1867, when
he had reached the age of sixty-five years, he was
master of transportation on the Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne & Chicago Railroad. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Cornelia Lowdon, was a
native of Ohio and was descended from an old
American family. She died two years previously
to the death of her husband. Of their four chil-
dren two are yet living.
Mr. Carlton acquired his education in Mans-
field, Ohio, and early in life became familiar with
the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist, assisting his father in the work of
field and meadow on the home farm. When
only fifteen years of age he began railroading,
and was thus employed for a number of years,
after which he went to Colorado, where he en-
gaged in taking contracts for supplying logs to
sawmills. Seventeen years ago he came to his
present home, four and a half miles southeast of
Kendrick, and took up a quarter-section of gov-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ernment land. There were then but two resi-
dences between his home and the city of !\loscow,
and no one dreamed there was to be a future
Kendrick. On American ridge there were but
six settlers, and the work of improvement and
progress in this locality was still to come. Here
by his industry and energy Mr. Carlton has made
a valuable fruit farm, having one of the best
properties of any horticulturist in this section of
the state. He has sixty acres planted to the best
varieties of winter apples, and raises very choice
fruit, which brings one dollar per box on the
market, his ten-year-old trees averaging about
eight boxes each. He also has six acres planted
to Italian prunes, six acres in Bartlett pears,
three acres in cherries and two acres planted to a
variety of fruits. He has shipped the products
of his orchard to Boston, New York, Chicago
and St. Paul, but much of it goes to Montana
and British Columbia. He ships nothing but the
best, and his fruit has become justly celebrated,
so that there is now a large demand for it, and
his business has accordingly been in a prosperous
condition. He has made a close study of horti-
culture, and he was formerly vice-president of
the Horticultural Society, which no longer main-
tains its organization, and he was also inspector
of fruit for this association, his opinion en the
subject of fruits being widely received as
authority.
Mr. Carlton was married in 1878, Miss Olie J.
Pumphrey becoming his wife. She is a native
of Platte county, Missouri, and a daughter of
James and Sarah A. Pumphrey. They have
three children. Norma, Fern and Allen. Mr.
Carlton is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and the Woodmen of the World,
and gives his political support to the men and
measures of the Democracy. In his chosen field
of endeavor he is meeting with excellent success,
and has done much to demonstrate the practica-
bility of fine fruit-raising possibilities in this part
of Idaho.
HON. FRANK R. GOODING.
A gentleman to whom public attention has
been directed by reason of his prominence in
connection with the sheep-raising industry of thf
state and his leadership in political affairs, is
Frank R. Gooding, now an influential member
of the state senate of Idaho. His service is char-
acterized by a deep patriotism and fidelity to the
general good and his devotion is all the more to
be commended from the fact that he is of foreign
birth, though of that nativity which ever begets
the stanchest patriotism and the utmost integrity
of character. He has passed the greater portion
of his life in the United States and is as thor-
oughly American in spirit and devotion as any
child ever born beneath the protecting flag of
the stars and stripes. He has ever been an
active and zealous worker in the cause of the
Republican party and has taken a prominent
place in the deliberations and councils of the
Idaho contingent of the great political organiza-
tion, which has ever stood for liberty, protection
to American industries, reform and progress, and
is now endeavoring to extend the spirit of
righteous freedom to the land^ hitherto in the
darkness of monarchial bondage.
Frank R. Gooding is a native of England, born
October 16, 1859, and is a son of John and
Elizabeth (Galbraith) Gooding. In 1868, when
eight years of age, he accompanied his parents
to America, a location being made in \"an Buren
county, Michigan, where he attended the public
schools, gaining a good practical knowledge of
the English branches of learning, whereby he
was fitted for life's practical duties. In 1877 he
left the Mississippi valley for the far west and
for four years was engaged in farming in Cali-
fornia. On the expiration of that period he came
to Idaho, in 1881, and located at Ketchum, then
one of the thriving mining towns of the com-
monwealth. There for seven years he was con-
nected with the Philadelphia Mining & Smelting
Company, furnishing, under contract, to that cor-
poration much of the wood and charcoal con-
sumed in the operations of the smelting works,
also had charge of much of the outside work of
the company for four years. In 1888 he began
devoting his attention to sheep-raising — one of
the leading and important industries of Idaho —
and has since carried on business in that line on
an extensive scale. He has given careful study
and consideration to the subject of caring for
sheep in the best manner, and is now regarded as
the most successful sheep-raiser in the state. In
1893 the Idaho Wool Growers' Association was
organized, and since that time Mr. Gooding has
been three times elected its president. His opin-
654
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ions on anything connected with the subject are
received as authority, and he has undoubtedly
done much to advance the interests of those
engaged in the industry in Idaho.
As before stated, Mr. Gooding- is a stanch
Repubhcan, having supported the men and meas-
ures of the party since casting his first presiden-
tial vote for General James A. Garfield in 1880,
while residing in California. He has since labored
to secure the adoption of Republican principles
and to promote the interests of the party. He
has been chairman of the Lincoln County Repub-
lican central committee and is one of the well
known Republican leaders in the state. In 1898
he was elected to represent Lincoln county in
the fifth session of the state senate and took an
important part in the legislative work. He was
elected president pro tem. of the senate, and later
was paid a high compliment by Lieutenant Gov-
ernor Hutchinson, president of the senate, who
expressed himself as particularly pleased with the
kindness that had been shown him by Mr. Good-
ing.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Gooding and Miss Amanda J. Thomas, of Cali-
fornia. Prominent in social circles, they enjoy
the hospitality of many of the best homes of the
state, and their many admirable qualities have
gained them a large number of warm friends.
Mr. Gooding is enrolled among the members of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He maintains his
home at Gooding Station near his extensive
sheep ranch, but, occasioned by his official duties,
now spends much of his time in the capital. As
a business man and citizen he ranks deservedly
high. Such men are the glory and the strength
of the nation.
OSSIAN J. WEST, M. D.
It is noteworthy that but few of the more in-
fluential men of Idaho were born in the new
west and fewer still within the limits of the state.
There are some, however, who are identified with
this part of our country by birth, by education
and by lifelong residence. Dr. Ossian J. West,
government physician and surgeon at the Nez
Perces Indian Agency at Spaulding, is a son of
the Rev. W. F. and Jane (Whipple) West, and
was born in Oregon, August 24, 1866. His father,
born in England, received a theological educa-
tion in his native country and was ordained a
minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He
became a preacher of persuasive eloquence and a
writer of forceful ability, devoting his whole life
to the work of the church and to work for his
fellow men. He lived to be seventy-eight years
old and died at Santa Barbara, Cahfornia, in
1898, having preached and written and labored
without ceasing almost to the day of his death.
He was married, in Pennsylvania, to Miss Jane
Whipple, a native of that state. They crossed
the plains to Oregon in 185 1, and while they
were making this arduous and dangerous journey
their first child was born, at Fort Boise, then a
trading point near the mouth of the Boise river.
They located a little above Salem, Oregon, on a
donation claim of six hundred and forty acres.
There they lived through the pioneer period of
that part of the country and improved their land
and added to it until it included a thousand acres,
the tract being yet owned in their family. Mr.
and Mrs. West were widely noted for their hos-
pitality, and it would appear that this family of
Wests is well grounded in the opinion that it i.<
"more blessed to give than to receive." Their
generosity is one of their most conspicuous
traits. Mr. and Mrs. West entertained all who
came, strangers and friends alike, and sent all
away satisfied and, if need be, helped. Mrs.
West died in 1878. Of their six children all but
Dr. West are well-to-do Oregon farmers.
Dr. Ossian J. West was educated at the Willam-
ette University and was graduated from the med-
ical department of that institution in 1889, with
honors. For a year thereafter he practiced his
profession in the Portland Hospital. Then he
passed two years more in private practice at St.
Helens, and was appointed government physician
and surgeon at the Fort Lapwai Industrial
School by President Harrison. By President
Cleveland he was reappointed, to succeed him-
self, and again by President McKinley His
service at the agency extended through eight
years. During the greater part of this time he
was associated with General McConville, and a
warm friendship grew up between the two
men. When General McConville was called
away to participate in the Spanish war, Dr.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
655
West had charge of the school until June,
1899.
Dr. West has a wide reputation for professional
ability and integrity. He is a member of the
Idaho State ]\Iedical Association and has pre-
pared papers of value on subjects of interest to
the medical fraternity, some of which have been
read before this and other associations of physi-
cians and surgeons. He is a Republican who
sticks to his political principles and a public-
spirited man who is ever ready to assist the ad-
vancement of the interests of any community
with which his lot may be cast.
HENRY F. SAMUELS.
There is coming to the front of Idaho a class
of lawyers of the younger generation who are
making their mark in no uncertain way and will
be worthy successors to some of the older mem-
bers of the bar when their time for retirement
shall come. One of the best and most prominent
of these is Prosecuting Attorney Samuels, of
Shoshone county, some account of whose busy
and successful career to the present time it is
purposed to introduce here.
Henry F. Samuels was born in Mississippi,
April 4, 1869, a son of Captain Floyd and Isabella
(Jenkins) Samuels. His father was captain,
1 86 1 -5, of Company E, Twelfth Kentucky Cav-
alry, United States Army, and had a brother in
another Kentucky regiment in the Confederate
service. He now lives in Indiana, and his wife
died there in 1873.
Mr. Samuels spent the days of his childhood
and youth in Indiana. He acquired his primary
education in the public schools, and after leaving
the public schools, he boarded at home and
walked five miles every morning and night to
attend the high school at Leavenworth, being
unable financially to pay his board. At the age
of seventeen he went to Ulysses, Nebraska,
where he completed his high-school course in
1889. In the summer of that year he began the
study of law in the office of Waldo Brothers, at
Ulysses, Nebraska, and was under the preceptor-
ship of these able lawyers for nearly a year. After
having studied in the law department of the Uni-
versity of Michigan for some time, he returned
to Leavenworth, Indiana, where he was admitted
to the bar.
In 1892 Mr. Samuels came to Idaho, and prac-
ticed his profession at Grangeville until 1895,
when he removed to Wallace, where he has met
with much success and won a high position
among the younger members of the bar. He was
elected, in 1898, prosecuting attorney of Sho-
shone county, by a majority of eighty-four, and
is filling that office with much zeal and abil-
ity. He is a member of the sons of Veterans
and of the Woodmen of the World, and is chan-
cellor commander of Wallace Lodge, No. 9,
Knights of Pythias.
In 1892 Mr. Samuels married Miss Ionia
Snyder, a native of Indiana, and thev have a
child, Amzel, which makes a happy little family.
Air. Samuels has overcome the poverty of his
youth, which is a certificate of labor well per-
formed, and it is the same firmness and persever-
ance of character which he exhibited while get-
ting his education, allowing no obstacle to turn
him from his true course, that is now pushing
him to the front and making him a leader in his
profession.
WILLIAM E. WILSON.
Not many of the successful men of the west
are "to the manner born," fewer still were born
in the state in which their successes have been
achieved. William E. Wilson is a conspicuous
member of this class, the product of one western
state, the progressive citizen of another, — and
some account of his career forms a necessary part
of the work of the plan and scope of this.
William E. Wilson was born in the state of
Oregon, December 29, 1862, a son of James and
Nancy Wilson, who were among the pioneers of
Idaho and who are referred to more at length
elsewhere in this volume. It was in 1863 that
Mr. Wilson first saw Idaho. He was brought, a
child of less than twelve months, to the state that
year. When he was old enough he attended the
public schools in Boise valley and thus gained a
foundation for a very substantial business educa-
tion which he has since acquired, largely by ob-
servation and by reading and study in odd
moments. U^ntil 1894 he lived at Mountain
Home and since then he has lived on his ranch
on Bennett's creek, fifteen miles from that place.
For twelve years he was manager of the stock
business of Tames Wilson & Sons, in Elmore
656
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
county. His ranch, which embraces four hun-
dred acres of fine grazing land, afifords unsur-
passed facilities for successful stock-raising, in
which Mr. Wilson is engaged quite extensively.
Mr. Wilson married Miss Anna Daniels, De-
cember 22, 1886. Mrs. Wilson was born in Jack-
son county, Iowa, August 31, 1867, and was
educated in the public schools of her native state
and at the state normal school at Kirksville, Mis-
souri. She taught school in Missouri for one
year after her graduation. Her parents died in
1879, and in 1884 she came to Idaho, bringing
with her Thomas Daniels, her brother, then only
seven years of age. In 1884-5 she taught suc-
cessfully in Elmore county. Mr. and Mrs. Wil-
son have had four children : James, Ida, Maggie
(who died March 17, 1899, just past her fifth
birthday), and Lloyd.
Everything that conduces to the welfare of his
town, county and state receives Mr. Wilson's
unqualified support. He is an influential Demo-
crat and is widely popular as a Mason and a
Knight of Pythias.
JESSE W. RANDALL.
A leading representative of the agricultural in-
terests of Latah county is Jesse W. Randall, who
owns and operates a fine farm pleasantly situated
nine miles southeast of Moscow. He is most
practical and yet progressive, and his untiring
industry and capable management have brought
him a handsome competence. He was born in
Wisconsin, October 3, 1855, and is of Scotch
descent, his paternal great-grandfather having
emigrated from Scotland when this country was
still a British possession. He settled in New
York colony,- and when the attempt was made to
throw ofif the yoke of British tyranny he joined
the American army and valiantly aided in the
struggle for independence. The grandfather,
John Randall, was born in the Empire state and
married Emily Wasson, also a native of New
York. By trade he was a blacksmith. With his
wife and six children he removed to Illinois in
1847, locating in Boone county, where he died at
the age of sixty years, his wife surviving him
until she had passed the eightieth milestone on
the journey of life. They were earnest Christian
people, and their rectitude of character won them
high regard.
Almeron Randall, the father of our subject,
was born in New York, in 1827, and married
Miss Mary Ann Wright, a native of Maine, by
whom he had a family of eleven children, eight
of whom are yet living. The father was a farmer
and also a contractor and builder. He served
his fellow townsmen in the office of county com-
missioner and was a reliable and trustworthy citi-
zen. He and his wife were members of the Bap-
tist church, and he died at the age of sixty-eight
years, while her death occurred in her sixty-sixth
year.
Jesse W. Randall, the fifth in order of birth in
their family, was a youth of fourteen when the
parents removed from Illinois to Missouri
There he remained three years, and in the spring
of 1872 made the overland trip to Oregon, locat-
ing in Douglas county, where he worked as a
farm hand for six years. He was married in the
Sunset state, in 1877, to Miss Frances Suther-
land, a native of Douglas county, and a daughter
of Fendel Sutherland, an Oregon pioneer of
1848. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Randall came to their present home in Latah
county, whither his brother, John E. Randall,
had preceded them. He told them of the rich
and fertile land to be procured from the govern-
ment in what was then Nez Perces county, and
making his way to this section of the state our
subject obtained both a pre-emption and a home-
stead claim, which he has transformed into a
fine farm. As time has passed he has also pur-
chased other property until his landed posses-
sions now aggregate seven hundred acres, all
in one body. He has upon the place a com-
modious frame residence, large barn and all the
accessories and conveniences of the model farm
of the latter part of the nineteenth century. He
has three hundred acres planted to wheat, and
the alluvial soil has yielded as high as fifty-five
bushels to the acre. He also raises other grain,
vegetables and fruit and has a good orchard, in
which he is cultivating many varieties of fruit,
principally for the consumption of his family.
He also raises some high-grade sheep, cattle and
Percheron horses, and introduced into the county
some Norman-Percheron horses, thereby improv-
ing his own and his neighbors' horses. He is a
very industrious man, and though he employs
others to aid in the operation of his farm, he also
^?-^i^lo .^^C4.^^^
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
works with them, and the present fine condition
of the place is largely due to his personal labors.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Randall have been born
seven children, five of whom are living: Ernest,
John, Rena, Edith Pearl and . The two
eldest sons assist their father in the operation of
the farm. Ernest is a graduate of the high school
of Moscow and carried off the honors of the
class of 1898. The mother of this family holds
membership in the Christian church.
In his political afSliations Mr. Randall is a
Republican and keeps well informed on the issues
of the day, but has no time or inclination for
public ofhce, preferring to devote his attention
to his business interests, in which he is meeting
with gratifying success. He and his family are
very highly spoken of by all who know them,
and their record is deserving of a prominent place
in the annals of Latah county.
CHARLES BOMBERG.
Idaho owes much to her sturdy German and
German-American population, whose thrift and
industry have made success in every field of en-
deavor. Prominent among the business men of
Genesee is Charles Bomberg, raiser and buyer
of cattle and a butcher and dealer in meat. Mr.
Bomberg is of German parentage. He was born
in Huron county, Michigan, May 25, 1862. His
father, also named Charles, was born in Germany
and came to America with his parents in his
childhood. He grew to manhood and estabHshed
himself in Michigan, and there married Miss
Kate Weaver, a native of Huron county, and
also of German ancestry. They reared to useful-
ness and honor a family of nine children, and are
living out their declining years at their old home
in Michigan, happy and respected. They are
members of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Bomberg was reared on his father's farm
and did his part of the work after he was old
enough and as long as he remained at home. He
gained a practical education in the public schools
and had some business experience before he left
Michigan. In 1884 he went to Dakota, and from
Dakota he went to Washington, from Washing-
ton he came to Idaho, in 1888, accompanied by
his present partner, and the two opened a modest
meat market to cater the trade of the then infant
town of Genesee. The growth of the town was
no more rapid than the growth of their enterprise,
which has always kept pace with every new de-
mand upon it. As at first Mr. Bomberg's con-
cern has the entire trade of the city. Mr. Bom-
berg and his partner own five hundred and fifty-
two acres of land adjacent to Genesee, on which
they raise as much of the stock they kill as is
possible. But the supply thus obtained is small
in proportion to their needs, and they have estab-
lished a market for cattle which brings to Gene-
see a large part of the stock raised in the city's
tributary territory. They have erected fine resi-
dences and other necessary buildings on the land
mentioned, and have put up a large market build-
ing, which is as well adapted to the purposes for
which it was planned as any similar establishment
in the state.
Mr. Bomberg is a Knight of Pythias and was
made a Master Mason in Unity Lodge, No. 32,
of Genesee, and of this he is treasurer. In politics
he is a Republican, but he is too busy and too
little inclined to public affairs to give much more
time to political matters than is necessary to meet
the responsibilities of citizenship. He is popular
in business circles, a successful man who counts
his friends by the hundred, and is generously
helpful to all public interests. He is, as yet, a sin-
gle man, and it is not impossible that there is a
very interesting phase of his life yet to be en-
tered upon and yet to be written of.
JOHN KRALL.
Few lives have been more active or more thor-
oughly filled with incidents of interest and of
unusual nature than has that of John Krall, one
of the pioneers of Idaho, and for about thirty-five
years a resident in the vicinity of Boise City.
Now a wealthy man, he is indebted to himself
alone for his fortune, for he started out in youth to
fight the battle of life, a poor boy, and by the
exercise of industry and perseverance, in the face
of great difficulties, he came off victor over all.
Mr. Krall is a native of Germany, born Decem-
ber 10, 1835, his parents and ancestors likewise
being of German birth. His father owned a flour-
ing mill and the lad early learned the business.
When he had mastered the branches of learning
taught in the government schools he went to
England, and there, at sixteen, took up the study
of the English language and customs, while he
(358
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
worked as a baker and confectioner. Desiring
to see something of the world, and well equipped
to earn a living, as he was familiar with two
languages and had mastered two trades, he
shipped aboard a vessel and in the next few years
sailed to various parts of the world. Once, when
sailing around Cape Horn, he was shipwrecked,
and the disabled vessel was towed to Valparaiso
by an English man-of-war. From that city Mr.
Krall went to Honolulu, and thence to San Fran-
cisco, where he remained until 1856. He then
went to Oregon and Washington, and rented a
mill at Dallas, Oregon, and also carried on busi-
ness near Salem until 1859. The following two
years he passed at Vancouver, in Washington.
In 1861 Mr. Krall came to Idaho, and for some
^ime he was more or less interested in mining at
various places. He took out seven thousand dol-
lars' worth of precious minerals in six weeks at
Florence, and supposing that he had nearly
exhausted the resources of the claim he sold it
for a thousand dollars, but subsequently seventy-
five thousand dollars or more were made from
this property. During the winter of 1861-2 Mr.
Krall lived in Lewiston, and in the spring opened
a bakery. He sold bread at fifty cents a loaf, as
flour and other materials were extremely high-
priced. In the autumn of 1862 he located in
Placerville, Idaho. In 1864 he sold out and
opened a bakery in Boise City, continuing in
this enterprise until his store was destroyed by
fire, in 1870, his loss at that time amounting to
about twenty thousand dollars. The year after
that unfortunate occurrence Mr. Krall bought
four hundred acres of land from the United
States government and planted eighty acres with
different kinds of fruit trees. He has made a
specialty of raising fruit and has been exception-
ally successful. His farm extended to the original
limits of Boise City, and when the town devel-
oped Mr. Krall platted a portion of his orchard
and sold the lots to citizens. As he made a point
that no buildings should be erected save good
and substantial ones, the result is that this sec-
tion of the city is one of the most beautiful and
desirable as a place of residence in Boise. Still
actively concerned in fruit-growing and other
business enterprises, Mr. Krall is as industrious
and busy now as he has been in the past. Until
of late he has been connected with the Demo-
cratic party, but is now independent. Socially he
is a member of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen.
In 1865 Mr. Krall married Miss Barbara
Queen, who died in 1883, and left two children.
The daughter is the wife of W. Scott Xeal, a
well known business man of this city, and the
son, John, Jr., is also a citizen of this place. In
1885 Air. Krall, Sr., married Miss Eva Ayers.N
daughter of Peter and Mary (Dausch) Ayers.
The former was born in Wisconsin and the latter
in New York state, and both are now deceased.
Mrs. Krall was born in Denver, Colorado, June
20, 1859. She is a member of the Methodist
church. The three sons born of this union are
named respectively Frank E., Albert R. and
Louis V. The family is one of prominence in
the community, the members of the household
occupying a high position in social circles. In
business and social life Mr. Krall commands the
respect of all, for his reputation is above ques-
tion, his word being as good as any bond that
was ever solemnized by signature or seal. His
labors in the development of the natural re-
sources of the state have been of great benefit
to the city, and his public-spirited interest in all
measures pertaining to the general good has been
a potent factor in promoting educational, moral
and material welfare.
WILLIAM J. McCLURE.
To the pioneer rightfully belong the honors of
the land which he finds out and enriches and
beautifies. The sturdy manhood which animates
the pioneer is the kind that is required in the
administration of the laws which have been made
operative over his territory chiefly by his enter-
prise and devotion to the course of civilization.
The makers of the new country should be, and
if they want to be usually are, the governors.
William J. McClure was born in Canada, in
1843, a son of Theophilus and Maria (McCrack-
en) ]\IcClure. His parents, of Scotch-Irish de-
scent, were natives of Ireland. They came to
Canada about sixty years ago and lived out their
lives there. Mr. McClure gained a scanty educa-
tion in the public schools in the vicinity of his
boyhood home. As he grew up he began a career
as sailor on the great lakes, which occupation he
followed for some vears. It was an adventurous
HISTORY OP IDAHO.
G59
life, quite to his liking in many ways, and
afforded him an experience which has availed
him well in more recent years. In 1871 he w-ent
to Texas and from there came to Idaho, in 1879,
locating within the present limits of Kootenai
county, where he has since lived. He helped to
organize the county and has been prominent in
its affairs from that time down to the present, as
a leading citizen and influential Democrat. In
1884 he was elected assessor and tax collector for
Kootenai county, and in 1886 was appointed re-
ceiver of the United States land office at Coeur
d'Alene, serving in that capacity for four years,
under the administration of President Cleveland.
In 1890 he was elected sheriff of Kootenai coun-
ty. In 1893 1^^ '^"^■^s appointed deputy collector
of customs at Bonner's J:<'erry, Idaho, whidi office
he resigned, December i, 1898, to enter upon
that of treasurer of Kootenai county, of which
position he is the present incumbent and the
duties of which he performs in a manner that has
w-on the approbation of observant citizens of all
shades of political belief. For twenty-three years
Mr. McClure has been a Freemason, and he is
widely known in the fraternity throughout the
west. His position upon all questions of public
moment has been such as to give him an enviable
reputation for public spirit, and his citizenship is
of the highest order. He married Mrs. Mamie
Kercheval, of Coeur d'Alene, in 1895.
Mr. McClure was a pion-eer in Kootenai coun-
ty, and in his earlier life in Idaho experienced all
the trials and hardships incident to life in a re-
mote and undeveloped country. He had known
before that time how to "rough it," however, —
first on the great lakes separating his native
Canada from "the states," next in Texas among
the cowboys, "greasers" and Indians of a period
that has closed, and still later in a long, weary
journey by Wagon from Texas to Idaho, a de-
tailed account of which would make a book
voluminous, interesting and edifying.
JOSEPH H. HUTCHINSON.
Joseph H. Hutchinson, lieutenant governor of
Idaho, is one of the distinguished young men
of the west who by reason of his marked individu-
ality, strong mentality, honorable purpose
and laudable ambition has risen to a po-
sition of eminence. A native of this sec-
tion of the country, his interests are close-
ly allied with those of the northwest, and he is
deeply interested in all that pertains to the ad-
vancement, growth and prosperity of the "Gem
of the Alountains." He was elected to his present
office in 1898, — an honor well merited and
worthily worn.
Mr. Hutchinson, who for some years has been
a resident of Silver City, was born in Central
City, Colorado, on the 21st of ^lay, 1864. He is
a son of James Hutchinson, superintendent of the
Trade Dollar Mining & Milling Company, and
one of the prominent men of the state. When
sixteen years of age Joseph H. Hutchinson re-
moved to Denver, Colorado, and attended the
high school of that city, during which time he
was twice honored by election to the presidency
of the Lyceum, and in 1883 he won the Wood-
burn medal for oratory. The elemental strength
of his character was also shown forth by his
actions during this period, for desiring to acquire
a good education and at the same time finding it
necessary to provide in a measure for his own
livelihood, he acted as janitor of the Twenty-
second avenue primary school and as route car-
rier on the Rocky Mountain News and Denver
Times, while pursuing his high-school course.
His enterprise and energy found recognition in
business circles, and in 1890 he was elected chair-
man of the board of the Colorado Mining Stock:
Exchange and later was made its secretary and
treasurer, but left that position to become his
father's assistant in business in Idaho. The Colo-
rado Springs Mining Stock Association making
him a handsome offer to preside over the board in
1896, he returned and handled their stock
through the Cripple Creek stock boom, but again
came to Idaho January i, 1897, and accepted the
position of foreman of the Trade Dollar Consoli-
dated Mining Company. In that capacity he has
rendered his father very efficient aid, and is an
able representative of the mining interests of the
state. His diligence, resolution and executive
power would make him successful in almost any
line of business, and prosperity will undoubtedly
mark his future career.
Mr. Hutchinson was united in marriage to
Miss Helen Hays, a native of Silver City, and n
daughter of Hon. Charles M. Hays, district attor-
ney and a prominent pioneer of Idaho, now re-
660
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
siding in Boise. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have
many warm friends in the communit)' in which
they reside. In his poHtical affihations Mr.
Hutchinson has been a hfelong Repubhcan, but
differs with his party on the great financial ques-
tion, to which he has given close, earnest and
systematic study. He has the honor of being
secretary of the first silver club formed in the
United States; was also secretary of the first
national bimetallic convention, held in Chicago in
1893, and secretary of the Bimetallist Union,
formed at Salt Lake City, in 1895. All unsolic-
ited by him came the nomination for lieutenant
governor in 1898, he being chosen as the candi-
date of the silver Republican and Democratic
parties. His patriotic devotion to the best in-
terests of the state, his business ability, calm
judgm.ent and thorough trustworthiness all ren-
der him well qualified for the office, and his
course has awakened commendation throughout
the state.
WALTER HOGE.
Walter Hoge is one of the most prominent
representatives of the industrial interests of
southeastern Idaho. He makes his home in
Paris, where he is connected with the lumber
business, both manufacturing and selling lumber.
The volume of his trade enables him to furnish
employment to a large force of workmen and
thus he adds to the general prosperity of the
community and to the welfare of the town.
Mr. Hoge was born on the i8th of November,
1844, and is of English lineage. His parents,
Walter and Elizabeth Hoge, were also natives of
the same land, and the father supported his fam-
ily by working at the blacksmith's trade. In his
religious belief he was a Presbyterian, and died
in that faith in 1866, when sixty-six years of age.
His wife long survived him and departed this
life in 1882, when eighty-three years of age. They
were the parents of eleven children, but only
four are yet living.
Mr. Hoge, of this review, the youngest of the
family, accompanied his parents on their removal
to Scotland in his early boyhood and was there
educated. He served for four years as an appren-
tice to the butcher's trade and followed that busi-
ness until his emigration to America in 1862.
Having come to the New World he took up his
abode on \'ancouver's Island and began work in
the mines of British Columbia, but at the time
of the Cariboo excitement he went to that dis-
trict, where he was paid ten dollars per day for
his labors. In 1864 he went to Portland, Oregon,
and from there to Walla Walla, where he worked
at his trade for sixty dollars per month until the
spring of 1864, when he removed to the Kootenai
country, carrying on the butchering business
there on his own account and meeting with fair
success. Subsequently he engaged in mining at
Alder Gulch, now Silver City, Montana, and at
Helena, and on returning to Idaho settled at
Salmon City. His partner, Godfrey Knight, was
one of the discoverers of Leesburg, and Mr.
Hoge lost considerable money in his mining ven-
tures there. Leaving that place he came to the
Cache valley to spend the winter and during that
season embraced the faith of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, to which he has
since faithfully adhered.
For two years Mr. Hoge engaged in teaching
school in Utah, and in 1870 came to Bear Lake
county, locating in Paris, where for some time he
had the contract for carrying the mail and also
ran a stage route between Evanston and Cariboo,
a distance of one hundred and forty-five miles.
Success attended his efforts in that direction and
his capital was thereby materially increased.
When called to public office he abandoned the
stage route and for some time devoted his ener-
gies to public service. He is a stanch supporter
of the Republican party, well versed on the issues
of the day. Many years ago he was appointed
deputy district clerk of the third judicial district
and later he was elected sheriff of the county, in
which ofifice he was continued, by re-election,
from 1882 until 1888, discharging his duties with
marked promptness, fearlessness and fidelity. In
1884, seing the need of a sawmill in this locality,
he erected a steam mill with a capacity of ten
thousand feet of lumber per day, and also built
a sawmill, operated by water power, the latter
having a capacity of eight thousand feet of lum-
ber per day. In addition he also owns and ope-
rates a planing-mill and a shingle mill. He saws
yellow and white pine, getting his timber from
the mountain side, and employs from twenty to
thirty men. He has a good local demand for
the products of his mills, and also ships to differ-
ent towns in Idaho. In addition he owns a fine
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ranch and raises excellent Durham cattle, and has
greatly improved the grade of cattle raised in
this locality.
In 1876 Mr. Hoge erected a one-story cottage,
but afterward remodeled it, making it a two-
story residence with a mansard roof, — an attract-
ive home, pleasantly furnished, and surrounded
by beautiful shade-trees.
He was happily married, in 1869, to Miss
Amelia Smith, a native of England, and to them
have been born five children, three daughters
and two sons, namely: Rhoda, at home; Ella,
wife of Alfred Budge ; Lizzie ; Walter Smith and
William Smith. Mr. Hoge and his family are
valued members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints and he served on a mission
to England, where for a year he was in the emi-
gration office in Liverpool, during which time he
sent fifteen hundred people to Utah. That year
he was ordained high priest, and for twenty-five
years has been the first counselor to the bishop of
the second ward of Paris. He is a citizen of the
highest probity of character, is a reliable and suc-
cessful business man, and is greatly esteemed
throughout the community.
JAMES HUTCHINSON.
Many theories have been advanced as to the
best method of winning success, but the only
safe, sure way to gain it is by close application,
perseverance and careful consideration of the
business problems that are continually arising.
Investigation will show that the majority of men
who have started out in life with little or no
capital and have won a competency if not wealth,
have to attribute their prosperity to just such
causes, and it is those elements which have made
Mr. Hutchinson one of the leading business men
of his state. He is now superintendent of the
Trade Dollar Consolidated Mining Company, at
Silver City, and is numbered among the repre-
sentative residents of that place.
A native of Yorkshire, England, he was born
November 17, 1837, his parents being Joseph and
Eleanor (Spencley) Hutchinson, both of whom
were natives of the same county, where their
ancestors had lived for many generations. The
father was a miner and shepherd, and witli his
wife and eight children he crossed the .Atlantic
and took up his residence in Iowa. The voyage
was made in 1848, on a sailing vessel, which
dropped anchor in the harbor of New York nine
weeks after leaving the European port. Locating
in Dubuque, Iowa, the mother there died in 185 1,
at the age of forty-one years, being stricken with
cholera. The father began working in a smelter
and eventually became possessed of a large farm
in Iowa. Later he removed to Wisconsin, where
his death occurred in his eighty-second year.
Seven of his children are yet living, four of the
number being residents of Wisconsin, while one
is in Klondyke, another in California, and James
in Silver City, Idaho.
The last named was reared on his father's
farm and assisted in the labors of the fields. He
also worked in the mines and in his father's
smelter, and was thus in a measure prepared for
his present important position. He w^as married
January 25, 1863, to Miss Susan O'Neil, of Wis-
consin, and the following day started with his
bride for Colorado. The Indians were on the
war-path, but Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson crossed
the plains in safety, traveling by stage most of
the way. They arrived at Central City, on the
I2th of June, 1863, and Mr. Hutchinson took
charge of the celebrated Gregory lode, the first
mine discovered west of the Missouri river and
east of the Rocky mountains. He was its super-
intendent for twenty years, throughout which
time it proved a paying investment. He was
also superintendent of the famous Robinson and
Aspen mines, and was appointed state inspector
of mines for Colorado, by Governor Cooper, in
1889.
Later Mr. Hutchinson accepted the superinten-
dency of the mines of the Manhattan Company,
in Montana, and sold the property for them. He
arrived at Silver City on the 6th of December,
1893, and took charge of the works of the Trade
Dollar Mining & Milling Company on the 17th
of January, 1894, since which time the business
has paid regular dividends and the mines have
become one of the most valuable properties of
the kind in the northwest. In 1897, with a ten-
stamp mill, the net profits were four hundred
thousand dollars.
In 1889 Mr. Hutchinson was called upon to
mourn the death of his wife, who had been most
faithful and devoted to him and her family and
who was a member of the Catholic church. Thev
C62
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
had a family of six children: Joseph H., Mary
E., Margaret A., Nellie A., Charles J. and Eleanor
A. The older daughters are keeping house in
Denver, where they occupy a nice residence, and
the younger children are attending school there.
Socially Mr. Hutchinson is a Knight Templar
Mason. He was raised to the degree of Master
Mason in St. Louis City Lodge, No. 6, A. F. &
A. ]\L, in 1865. and is also a member of the tem-
ple of the iSIystic Shrine in Boise. He is a gentle-
man of lifelong mining experience, of the highest
probity of character and has always enjoyed the
esteem of those who have known him, wherever
he has resided.
CHARLES W. BERRYMAN.
Charles W. Berryman, a prominent citizen of
Blackfoot, Idaho, a member of the well known
firm of Berryman & Rogers, stock-raisers and
dealers and loaners of money and dealers in
county and city bonds, is a native of Wisconsin,
having been born at Hazel Green, October 10,
1843, of English ancestry. His parents, Richard
and Martha (Williams) Berryman, were born in
Cromwell, England. They came to the United
States and in 1840 located in Grant county, Wis-
consin. There Mr. Berryman became a farmer
and lead-miner. He died at the age of seventy-
three, in 1877, his wife having passed away many
years earlier, in her forty-seventh year. They
were devout and active members of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, in whose interests Mrs.
Berryman was a tireless worker, while Mr. Ber-
ryman performed the varied functions of trustee,
class-leader and Sunday-school superintendent.
They had eight children, of whom six are living.
Until he was nineteen years old, Charles W.
Berryman remained at home, attending school
and devoting himself to the work of the farm.
In 1862 he joined a large band of western-bound
emigrants and went overland to Oregon. In-
dians were numerous and aggressive in those
days, and the emigrants, a large party, consoli-
dated their one hundred and sixty wagons and
many horses in one big caravan and banded to-
gether for mutual protection. There were so
many of them and they were so well armed and
so determined and presented such a warlike ap-
pearance that they had little difficulty with the
"Bedouins of the Plains." But the Indians were
watchful for opportunities, ready to attack any
straggling member of the party who was delayed
or went too far ahead. At Green river, on Land-
er's cut-off, two of the wagons which had fallen
behind were surrounded and attacked by the red-
skins. There were only two men with them.
One of these, one Campbell, was killed. The
other man escaped. The wagons were plun-
dered and burned before Mr. Berryman's party
could get back to the place, and the Indians es-
caped unpunished. The "train" left Wisconsin
May 4, 1862, and arrived at Powder river Sep-
tember 7, this journey having consumed four
months and three days. Mr. Berryman engaged ■
in mining but was not successful, and he went
with the Jesse Stanford outfit to Boise basin,
Idaho, and was among the first to arrive there.
Here, too. fortune turned her back on him, and
he engaged in packing supplies for miners from
Umatilla, Oregon, to Boise basin. He was suc-
cessful in this enterprise, and in 1864 was the
owner of a pack train of thirty-seven mules and
such accessories to the business as were necessan'
for use in connection with them. During that
year that whole train was stolen by Indians at a
point on the Snake river, and Mr. Berryman
never afterward saw hoof or tail of one of the
animals. He was ruined, but went, bravely,
hopefully and full of days' work, back to Boise
basin, and in the placer mines made another
stake. In 1865 he went to Virginia City, Mon-
tana, where he bought two mining claims, a
"number one" and a "number two," of Fair-
weather, for two thousand dollars. There he
made more money, and in 1869 he returned,
comfortably fixed, to his old home and friends
in Wisconsin. In the spring of 1870 he went
back to Montana, and, with a view to again en-
gaging in packing, formed a partnership with
George B. Rogers, which association, in various
enterprises, has existed continuously since. Thev
began operations between Corinne, Lffah, and
different mining camps in Montana, and prose-
cuted this business successfully and with profit
for about ten years. They ceased giving it their
personal attention in the spring of 1880 and took
the "Custer contract" to build a large quartz mill
and smelter, for the performance of which they
were paid five thousand dollars. In 1883 they
sold their teams to the Idaho Forwarding Com-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
663
pany, and turned their attention to ranching,
purchasing property on the north side of Snake
river, where they have since been extensive horse
and cattle breeders and dealers. They now own
more than three thousand acres of land, on which
they raise hay and grain on which to feed their
stock. They import horses from England, and
an important result of their enterprise in this
way has been the improvement not only of their
own stock but that throughout eastern Idaho.
As cattle-breeders they have introduced enough
Durham and Hereford blood to produce a grade
of beef cattle that is unsurpassed anywhere. They
are the richest stock breeders and dealers in
Bingham county, and their operations are more
extensive than those of any other firm, and no
one has done more than Messrs. Berryman and
Rogers to give Idaho supremacy in this profita-
ble industry. They have a mercantile business
at Park City and have built several of the best
blocks in Blackfoot.
Mr. Berryman has also built and fitted up a
delightful home in Blackfoot. He was married
in June, 1875, to Miss Mary N. Toombs, a native
of London, England, and a daughter of James
Toombs, now of Ogden, Utah. Their children
are Elva, Harry, Frank, Flora and Edith. A
lifelong Republican, ^Ir. Berryman takes an ac-
tive interest in public affairs. He has twice been
elected chairman of the board of county commis-
sioners of Bingham county, and has served his
fellow citizens in other responsible positions.
WILLIAM KILDE.
No element in the complex personnel of our
national commonwealth has had a more vitalizing
and permeating influence than that contributed
by the hardy sons of the Norseland. From the
fair shores of Norway and Sweden, with their
beautiful fjords and quaint cities, have come to
the United States men and women of sturdy
integrity, alert mentality and unflagging indus-
try, and these have furnished to our country a
most valuable order of citizenship. In the early
settlement of Latah county, Idaho, there came to
this part of the territory a number of the am-
bitious and industrious sons of Norway, who
sought to here establish homes for themselves
and their families and to attain a due measure of
success bv honest toil and endeavor. Thev se-
cured tracts of government land, and set vigor-
ously at work to develop and improve the same.
The results have been alike creditable to them
and of distinct value to this section of the Gem
state, which they have honored by their presence
and labors. Of this number is William Kilde,
who is known as a man of unimpeachable integ-
rity and as one of the prosperous and representa-
tive farmers of the county.
William Kilde comes from a long line of sturdy
Norwegian ancestors, his birth having occurred
in the far distant land of the north on the 23d of
November, 1848. His family were Lutherans
in their religious faith, and his father was an
officer in the army of Norway, being a farmer
by occupation and standing as a representative
of one of the worthy families of that country.
He attained the venerable age of ninety-five
years, and his estimable and devoted wife passed
away at the age of sixty-five years. They became
the parents of ten children, of which number
eight are still living, the subject of this review
having been the youngest in the family.
William Kilde received his educational dis-
cipline in his native land, and at the age of seven-
teen years severed the tender ties which bound
him to the home and friends of his childhood
and came to the U^nited States, for the purpose
of making a home for himself in the "land of
the free." That the young emigrant was animated
by a courageous spirit may readily be understood
when we revert to the fact that when he arrived
in this distant land he was ignorant of the lan-
guage of the country and was without financial
reinforcement. He was, however, amply fortified
by marked intelligence, a large, strong and
healthy body, and by habits of industry, — these
have been the forces by which he has wrought out
for himself a gratifying and worthy success in
temporal affairs, and his life has been so ordered
that in his adopted country he has won and
retained the respect and esteem of all with whom
he has come in contact. No one can look without
admiration upon a success and prestige thus won
by the emigrant lad who faced the problem of life
and its duties without flinching.
Mr. Kilde located at first in Wisconsin, where
he found employment at farm work. He was
economical in his habits, saved his wages and
ever had in mind his cherished ambition of own-
664
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing a home of his own. He was eventually able
to realize his aim, for he became the owner of a
farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in La-
Crosse county, Wisconsin.
In 1869 occurred an important event in the life
of Mr. Kilde, for he was then united in marriage
to Miss Carrie Paulson, who like himself was
born in Norway, the daughter of Gilbert and Ann
Paulson, whom, as a child, she accompanied on
their emigration to the United States. Our sub-
ject and his wife continued to reside in Wiscon-
sin for several years after their marriage, and
there two children were born to them, — Annie
M. and Lena A. After their removal to Idaho
other children came to brighten the family
circle, namely: Henry, Mary, John, Gilbert, Paul,
(who died in infancy), Matilda, and Paul, (2d).
Mrs. Kilde's mother is still living, having attained
the venerable age of eighty-six years.
In the year 1878 Mr. Kilde removed with his
family to Idaho, and they took up their abode on
their present farm, in what is now Latah county,
the original tract comprising one hundred and
sixty acres of government land. Here our sub-
ject built a Httle log house, having completed
this work while his wife, with her two little
daughters, was coming to him from Portland,
Oregon. While Mrs. Kilde was in the city men-
tioned, however, she was called upon to bear a
burden of great grief and care, for the little
daughter Annie there died, from an attack of
diphtheria. She continued her saddened journey
and in due time reached the little home prepared
by her husband.
As prosperity attended the efforts of Mr. Kilde
he added to his landed possessions, until he now
has a valuable and highly productive farm of two
hundred and forty acres, well improved. For a
number of years the family continued to reside in
the primitive house of logs, but they have now a
commodious and attractive farm residence, sup-
plied with all necessary conveniences, while a
large barn has also been erected. The stock on
the place, as well as the fertile fields, shows the
care and attention of the discriminating pro-
prietor. Mr. Kilde raises all kinds of crops, in-
cluding vegetables and fruits, but makes the cul-
tivation of wheat his principal line, having se-
cured as high a yield of this cereal as forty-five
bushels to the acre.
In politics Mr. Kilde is a Republican, and he
has served as a trustee of his school district for a
number of years, doing all in his power to pro-
mote the legitimate interests of this section of the
state. He is a man of strong physique and the
fine climate of Idaho promotes continued good
health to him and his family.
Living goodly lives, industrious in habits,
kindly in all their relations with their fellow men,
they enjoy the cordial esteem and good will of a
large circle of friends and acquaintances, and the
success which has been achieved has been won
by none but worthy means.
GILBERT G. WRIGHT.
One of the most prominent business men of
Idaho Falls is Gilbert G. Wright, manager of the
Co-operative Wagon & Machine Company and
of the Idaho Falls Milling Company. ]\Ir.
Wright is a native of Ogden, L^tah, and was born
September 28, 1867. His father, Gilbert J.
Wright, was born in England and came to New
York, whence he removed to Ogden, Utah,
where he married Miss Annie Odell, also of Eng-
lish birth. He became a successful hardware
merchant, and late in life he retired to Idaho
Falls, where he and his wife are now living. The
family are devoted members of the Church of
Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Gilbert G. Wright, the eldest of their seven
children, attended the public schools of Ogden
until he was sixteen years old, and then entered
the employ of the Co-operative Wagon & Ma-
chine Company, with the important interests of
which he has since become prominently identi-
fied. After five years' experience in the estab-
lishment of the corporation at Ogden, he was, in
1889, sent to Idaho Falls to open a branch estab-
lishment at this place. The company has its
headquarters at Salt Lake City, Utah, and there,
and through its several branch stores, it does a
wholesale business in vehicles, agricultural imple-
ments and stoves. Some idea of the magnitude
of its transactions may be gained from the fact
that it is capitalized at three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars.
Mr. Wright started in business at Idaho Falls
somewhat modestly. His sales for the first year
aggregated thirty-six thousand dollars, which
was certainly a good beginning. Notwuthstand-
<?--^tx^ <5W -^/Z-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing the country has since passed through a long
period of severe financial depression, Mr. Wright
has pushed this enterprise to the front with great
certainty and great rapidity. In 1898 the busi-
ness of the Idaho Falls branch of the Co-opera-
tive Wagon & Machine Company amounted to
four hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Some
of this great success is due to the rapid settlement
and development of the country; but it is all due
in a large measure to the wise and energetic pol-
icy of Mr. Wright, who has been indefatigable in
pushing the enterprise in all departments and ex-
tending its operations in all lines and in every di-
rection, and who is regarded as a man of remark-
able foresight and talent for handling extensive
interests.
The concern at Idaho Falls occupies a stone
building with an area ninety by two hundred and
twenty-five feet, besides four hundred square
feet of yard room, employs twenty-seven men,
and ships goods to points within an average Hmit
of one hundred and fifty miles in all directions
from its center of operations.
Mr. Wright was also the builder of, and owns
a controlling interest in, the large roller-process
steam and water power flouring mill at Idaho
Falls, which has a capacity of two hundred bar-
rels a day. He is also the owner of considerable
farm land and of a great deal of town property,
including a large and well appointed residence,
one of the finest and most attractive in the city.
His character as a business man is one of which
many men of more pretensions might be proud,
for it comprehends every good qualit}-* which
makes for the best and highest reputation, and is
illumined by successes which are important
among the conspicuous successes which have
marked the development of Idaho.
In April, 1890, Mr. Wright was happily mar-
ried to Miss Tillie Bailey, a native of Ogden,
Utah, and a daughter of Joseph Bailey, a highly
respected citizen of that city. They have a son
and a daughter, named Gilbert O. and Florence
A. Wright.
Closely as is Mr. Wright bound down by the
imperative demands of the great and growing in-
terests which by tireless energy he has built up
and which with consummate sagacity he is direct-
ing to the certain achievement of still greater
success, he finds time to discharge the political
duties of the patriotic citizen, for he holds that
every man should be a practical politician to the
extent of doing his part toward securing good
laws and their honest administration; and as a
Republican he interests himself actively in all af-
fairs of public moment. He was elected county
treasurer of Bingham county and served his fel-
low citizens faithfully in that capacity. He was
also for four years a member of the common
council of Idaho Falls, and in office and out of
office he has, by every means at his command,
done all that was possible for him to do to foster
and advance the best interests of Idaho Falls,
Bingham county, and the state of Idaho.
THOMAS CR.ANE.
The manifestation of superior business talent
at an early age is always a good sign. It usually
marks a young man who will care less for pleas-
ure than work, who will keep trying and will try
intelligently, and who is pretty apt to come out
strong financially sooner or later. The career of
the late Thomas Crane, of Soda Springs, Idaho,
was an illustration of these claims. He began
early and endeavored always; he despised not
the day of small things, and he died successful
and honored.
Thomas Crane was born in Canada, July 4,
1843, and died at Soda Springs, Idaho, May 15,
1896. His parents, who were natives of New
Jersey, had taken up farming in Canada. His
father, Isaac Crane, died in the prime of life, and
the widowed mother removed with her children
to Michigan, where she died in 1899, aged eighty-
six. Of their family of nine children Thomas
was the sixth in order of birth. He attended the
public schools near his home in Canada and made
good progress with his books. When but a boy
of seventeen, he demonstrated his possession of
extraordinary business talent by establishing a
match factory, in which he employed several men.
Information is wanting as to how this enterprise
terminated, but it is safe to state that it was not
a failure. After some years of business expe-
rience as traveler for a wholesale drug house, in
Canada, he went to Oregon in 1863, being then
only twenty years old. For some years he mined
in that state and in British Columbia, with the
fluctuating fortune peculiar to mining, making
money and sinking it and making more and sink-
666
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing that. Then he made some money in the
Carriboo mines, and not taking another chance of
sinking it, bought, with part of it, a stock of gen-
eral merchandise at Soda Springs. When he
opened his store he had no idea of remaining at
Soda Springs longer than might be necessary to
sell his stock, but he made money and his honor-
able methods pleased his patrons and laid a safe
foundation for greater operations, and he staid
and became the largest merchant and wealthiest
man in the place, with money invested in bank
stock, and other money which he profitably
loaned. In 1885 he built a good store building,
in which his mercantile business is continued
successfully by his widow, and later he bought a
fine residence, which has since been the family
home.
Mr. Crane was earjy married, and his wife
died, leaving him one son, Eugene Crane, now a
resident of Detroit, Michigan. In August, 1871,
he married Miss Flora Goodwin. They had
eight children, five of whom are living: Bert,
Elliott, Albert J., Robert Roy and Elva Teck.
The youngest of the family, Flora Cuba, who
was but three months old when Mr. Crane died,
died in 1898, only about two years later, and the
family feel a sense of double bereavement. Mr.
Crane gave close attention to his business and
took little active interest in politics, but at all
times did everything in his power to promote the
welfare of his adopted town and its people. His
loss to the community is one not easily repaired.
Mr. Crane was a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows in Canada. In the man-
agement of his estate and mercantile business,
Mrs. Crane has developed unusual business abil-
ity. She is bending all her energies to the suc-
cessful realization of her late husband's plans and
to the education and establishment of her chil-
dren in life.
ALEXANDER D. McKINLAY.
The west is peopled with brave men, as men's
bravery is measured, but it has some notable citi-
zens whose experiences extend back into the days
of constant adventure and ever present peril.
Could the exploits and dangers of such men of
the west be written down and put into book form,
they would form a series of narratives of more
absorbing interest than the most exciting ro-
mances of western life and adventure that have
ever been penned. A fair representation of this
class is Alexander D. McKinlay. He is a son of
Henry and Barbara Clarke McKinlay, natives of
Scotland, and was born in Clayton county, Iowa,
February 20, 1853. His father was born in Edin-
burg in 1823, and died in Clayton county, Iowa,
in 1872. His mother, who was born in Sollen, in
1815, lives on the old family homestead in Iowa.
They came to America and to Iowa in 1847 and
became successful farmers, highly respected by
reason of their high character and upright lives.
Of their nine children, Alexander D. McKinlay
was the fifth child in order of birth. He was
reared to help at the work of the farm, and for a
time attended school in a primitive log school
house, and remained in Iowa until 1877, when, at
the age of twenty-four, he emigrated to Idaho
and located in Idaho county, where he lived until
1885. He farmed until 1882 with sufficient suc-
cess to acquire some capital and commercial
standing, and then bought thirteen hundred head
of cattle and drove them over the old Mullan road
to Montana, where he turned them over to Jack
DeMar. In 1884 he bought a drove of cattle and
took them some two hundred and sixty miles, to
Eagle City, Shoshone county, and sold them to
Mofifit and Bender. He removed to Wallace in
1885 and with the profits of these and other en-
terprises engaged in business in that city, where
he is a member of the firm of Holohan & Mc-
Kinlay, dealers in tobacco and cigars and the
owner of considerable real estate, including an
interest in the Holohan & McKinlay block.
Politically Mr. McKinlay was an ardent Re-
publican until 1892. He then saw reason to es-
pouse the Populistic cause and did so. In 1880-81
he was a justice of the peace of Idaho
county; in 1894 and 1896 was elected
justice of the peace at Wallace, and, in 1898,
judge of the probate court of Shoshone county.
In the spring of 1896 he was elected a member
of the city council of Wallace, and in 1898 he
was re-elected to the same office. He has al-
ways been a public-spirited citizen of much in-
fluence. As an instance of his work for the pub-
lic good it may be stated that he went, in 1885,
to Murray, then the county-seat of Shoshone
county, and prevailed upon the county commis-
sioners to create a road district of the part of the
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
667
old Mullan road and along the side of the South
Fork river in Shoshone county. Upon the estab-
lishment of the district he was, in recognition of
his efiforts in its behalf, appointed supervisor over
it. Mr. McKinlay is an Elk, a Knight of Labor
and a member of the order of Maccabees.
There is one chapter of Mr. McKinlay's life
which is of especial interest and which deserves
to have more space than can be allotted to it.
That is the narrative of his experiences as a sol-
dier in the Nez Perces Indian war of 1877 ^"d in
the Bannack Indian war of 1878. He is a fear-
less man who has demonstrated that he will most
cheerfully risk his life in any cause to which he
may devote himself, however hazardous it may
be. During the Bannack war a wagon was
loaded at Lewiston, Idaho, under the direction of
the late lamented Major McConville, with gun?
and ammunition, which it was desired to convey
to Grangeville, a somewhat distant point of
strategic importance. There was much proba-
bility that the Indians would attempt to capture
this valuable freight, and the driving of the teams
attached to the wagons was not a job to be
sought by a man who valued his life above his
duty. Mr. McKinlay volunteered for this service
and was gladly entrusted with it by Major Mc-
Conville. who knew very well the character of
the man he was dealing with. Four large cans
of coal oil were placed in the wagon where they
could all be set on fire immediately if the wagon
should be surrounded by Indians and its capture
should appear inevitable. Their ignition would ex-
plode the ammunition and destroy the wagon and
every living thing in it or near it, including Mr.
McKinlay, of course, and the teams. With a full
understanding of the perilous duty he assumed,
Mr. McKinlay set out at ten o'clock at night
with his dangerous cargo and was probably saved
from terminating the adventure with a fatal ex-
plosion by the timely appearance of a guard of
eight men at Spring Ranch, twenty miles out of
Lewiston, who protected him during the re-
mainder of the journey to Grangeville. Such a
service is sufficient to stamp Mr. McKinlay as a
man of the most desperate courage and of the
highest order of patriotism. The exploit of Hob-
son and his comrades in peril during the recent
Spanish war did not call for more moral and
physical courage.
Mr. McKinlay was married in Iowa, in 1876,
to Miss Ellen Holohan, who bore him six chil-
dren, and died April 6, 1887, at Cottonwood,
Idaho. Their children were named Glenn P.,
:Mary and John (twins), Harry, Maud and Katie.
John and Katie are dead. Harry is a member of
Company A, Idaho Volunteers, and is now
serving his country at the peril of his life in
the Philippine war. Glenn P., after a three-years
course at the Idaho State University, at Moscow,
is laying plans for future successes. Maud is a
member of the father's household. In 1894 Mr.
McKinlay took for his second wife Mary Bohn,
who has borne him two children. Hazel, who is
dead, and Vivian Edward.
WILLIAM KIRKPATRICK.
Wherever his lot may be cast in the north, the
intelligent, progressive southerner finds a wel-
come and makes many friends. If he fought on
"the other side" in our great civil war, he is
everywhere regarded more highly than the
southern union man or the southern non-
combatant. He is made to feel at home by
Grand Army men and is quickly on fraternal
terms with those whom once he faced on the field
of battle.
William Kirkpatrick is one of the prominent
pioneer farmers of Blackfoot, Idaho, where he
located in 1873, on one hundred and sixty acres,
west of the town site, which property he still
owns. The county was then unsurveyed and
had few inhabitants except Indians, with whom
the whites at times had misunderstandings but
managed to evade actual warfare. Mr. Kirkpat-
rick improved his property, cultivated it profita-
bly and gave much attention to stock-raising.
He has a fine water-right and is enabled to raise
large quantities of alfalfa hay, upon which he
feeds his stock in winter. He has become an
influential citizen and is a Democrat of the deep-
est dye, declaring his intention to vote the Demo-
cratic ticket as long as he lives. His ideals of
military genius and statesmanship are Robert E.
Lee and Grover Cleveland. He is active in par-
tisan work and in the conventions of his party.
In 1878 he did faithful and efficient service to his
fellow citizens as deputy sheriff, and in that ca-
pacity won an enviable reputation as a reliable
and fearless public officer.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mr. Kirkpatrick is a southerner, having been
born in Greenbrier county, Virginia (now West
Virginia), December 3, 1842, and was descended
from EngHsh ancestors who settled early in the
Old Dominion, where several generations of hi*
family were born. His father, George Kirkpat-
rick, a native of Virginia, married Miss Malinda
Dean. They were religious from childhood and
active and useful members of the Presbyterian
church, of which Mr. Kirkpatrick was an elder.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick died in the forty-third year of
her life and her husband survives her, aged
eighty-three. They had ten children, eight of
whom are living.
William Kirkpatrick, third child of George
and Malinda (Dean) Kirkpatrick, was educated
in Virginia, and when the anti-slavery agitation
culminated in the war between the states, he es-
poused the cause of the south, enlisting in Com-
pany E, twenty-sixth Virginia Battalion, which
for a time was attached to the Western Army and
did scout and guard duty in West Virginia.
Later Mr. Kirkpatrick took part in some of the
hard-fought battles of the great struggle. He
was in the fighting at Winchester, Cedar Creek,
Cold Harbor, Culpeper Court House, White Sul-
phur Springs, Charleston, Hawk's Nest and at
various other points. In one of these engage-
ments he was shot in the right shoulder, but
though his wound was painful, he bore up bravely
and never left his company. At Cold Harbor,
one of the most terrific engagements of the war,
his hearing was impaired by the incessant con-
cussions of heavy cannonading. At the time of
the surrender of General Lee, the Twenty-sixth
Battalion was in its home state, and it disbanded
and its members went to their homes without
either discharge or parole.
For a time after the war Mr. Kirkpatrick was
overseer of a large stock farm in West Virginia,
owned by a prominent citizen of that state. From
there he came to Idaho, in 1873, as has been
stated, to engage in stock-raising on his own ac-
count. After spending two years here as a single
man, he married Miss Ann Geret, a native of
England. They have six children: John, Ed-
ward, William, George Cleveland, James and
Millie.
Mr. Kirkpatrick is a genial, whole-souled man
who makes friends wherever he goes, and his
home is one of the most hospitable at Black-
foot.
THOMAS G. LOWE.
Thomas Galloway Lowe, who follows farming
near the town of Franklin, is a son of Thomas
and Eliza (Galloway) Lowe, who were natives of
Scotland. Reared and married in that country,
three children were there born to them, after
which they sailed with their family for America,
in 1853. They landed in New York and made
a location in the east, but by various removals
gradually made their way westward, and in the
interim six more children were added to the fam-
ily. In 1861 they started to cross the plains with
an old yoke of oxen, bringing with them their
nine children. They traveled from spring until
fall, but eventually reached their destination in
safety, and Mr. Lowe, who was a carpenter by
trade, at once secured work on a grist mill. He
remained at East Weaver, Utah, until the spring
of 1863, when with his wife and children, now ten
in number, he came to Oneida county, Idaho,
and settled upon unsurveyed lands. There he
made his home until 1886, when he was called to
his final rest, at the age of sixty-five years. His
wife survives him and now resides on the old
homestead, in the seventy-third year of her age,
a much respected old lady, numbered among the
brave pioneer women of the state. She was the
faithful and loving mother of sixteen children,
fourteen of whom are living.
Thomas G. Lowe, the eldest child, was born in
Scotland, April 11, 1851, and was only two years
old at the time of the emigration of the family to
America. He obtained the greater part of his
education in a private school in Franklin, Idaho,
under the instruction of President Woodward.
He learned the carpenter's trade with his father,
and worked on the building of the Logan Temple
for three and a half years. In 1875 he was sent
by his church on a mission to Europe, where he
labored very successfully in Scotland and Eng-
land for two years, bringing with him on his re-
turn trip one hundred and thirty-six converts to
the Mormon faith, the voyage being made on the
ship Wyoming.
After his return Mr. Lowe was called by Presi-
dent Taylor to superintend the building of the
Paris stake tabernacle, and carried it forward to
successful completion, it being by far the best
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
house of worship in the state. After spending
two years in that work he returned to FrankHn
and engaged in merchandising, securing a very
liberal patronage and prospering in his under-
takings. However, he sold out to engage in the
sheep industry, in which he has also met with ex-
cellent success. He has on hand most of the
time as high as forty-three hundred head of
sheep, and his lambs in the season of 1898-g
brought him four thousand dollars. He has
«heds in which he protects his sheep in the winter
and thus has fine lambs for the early market, at
which time they bring the highest price.
In 1872 Mr. Lowe was happily married to Miss
Elizabeth A. M. Pernell, a native of St. Louis,
and their children are as follows: Louisa,
Thomas M., James S., Euphana, Nora, Refuge,
Marvelous, Era and Silver. The eldest daughter
is now the wife of Thomas J. Poulter.
In politics Mr. Lowe is a Democrat. He takes
a deep interest in educational matters and has ef-
ficiently served as school trustee of his district.
In the church he is an active worker, has been
president of the elders' quorum and president of
the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associa-
tion. He is also president of the teachers' quo-
rum, and in all such positions has shown himself
to be the right man in the right place. In busi-
ness affairs he is industrious, diligent and capable,
has met with success in every undertaking, and is
a credit to the town in which he was reared and
educated, fully deserving the prosperity that has
come to him and the high esteem in which he is
held.
CHAPTER XLIV.
BEAR LAKE COUNTY.
BEAR LAKE county is the smallest in Ida-
ho, yet one of the richest, and one of the
very few counties comparatively free from
public indebtedness. The natural wealth of the
little domain is about as happily diversified as its
residents -could wish. It has mountains on either
side rich in minerals, timber and building stone,
which have recently been developed to a greater
extent than during all the years of its settlement.
The county was settled by Mormons in the
year 1863, and for a number of years afterward
their residence continued under circumstances
of the most forbidding and discouraging nature.
The county is perhaps the highest altitude that
is cultivated successfully in the world, the altitude
being about six thousand feet, and the early set-
tlers, being unaccustomed to the frosts and the
storms of these high altitudes and the different
methods of raising crops by irrigation, were for
several years compelled to haul their flour and
other necessaries over the rugged mountains
from Cache valley, Utah, a distance of seventy-
five miles, the roads being mere trails, rocky,
sidling, and without bridges over the wild, swift
mountain streams. To settle such a county, none
but the strongest and most determined could ac-
complish; so bleak and sterile was the country
that the shade and fruit trees first planted re-
fused to grow. All this is changed by the labor
and perseverance of this people, and their learn-
ing how to cultivate by irrigation, and to secure
those seeds, trees and shrubs which are accli-
mated to these high altitudes. By this means the
county is now abundantly fruitful in grain, hay
and vegetables of almost every kind. It appears
to be the home of all kinds of small fruit, and
apples, pears, plums, cherries, prunes, etc., are
becoming plentiful, while watermelons, squash,
corn, tomatoes and other of the tender fruits are
raised by many.
Along the mountainous surface of the county
is a heavy growth of pine timber, into which
numerous sawmills annually make inroads with-
out seriously diminishing the supply.
The stock business is one of the principal in-
dustries, and one of the main resources of the
county. The grazing facilities are excellent, and
the hay-producing area is very large; much of it
is overflowed by the waters of Bear river each
spring, and this not only serves the purpose of
irrigation, but also very materially increases the
productiveness of the soil. Without this heavy
hay crop, stock-raising could not be very well
carried on, as the winters are very severe from
early in January to the middle of March.
Cheese-making has come to be quite an in-
dustry in Bear Lake, and during the summer sea-
son of 1897 it was estimated that the cheese fac-
tories of Bear Lake county — of which there are
seventeen — turned out ten tons of cheese each
week, almost every pound of which found its way
into Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and
Colorado markets.
A short distance from Montpelier, near what is
known as the old Lander emigrant road, are lo-
cated the Oneida salt works. There are several
springs, and no pumping is required, the water
being run through wooden pipes into large gal-
vanized-iron pans, in which the salt is made by
boiling the water. The water is as cold as ordi-
nary spring water, and is perfectly clear, showing-
how completely the saline matter is held in solu-
tion. The salt is shoveled out once in thirty
minutes, and after draining twenty-five hours, is
thence thrown into the drying-house, there to
remain until sacked and ready for shipment. The
supply of water gives four thousand five hundred
pounds of salt per day, and the owners market it
at five cents per pound. An analysis made by
Dr. Piggott, of Baltimore, shows a higher per-
centage of pure salt than the celebrated Ononda-
ga brand of Syracuse, while neither Liverpool,
Turk's Island nor Saginaw salt approaches it in
purity, or is as white, clear or soluble in liquids.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
671
The product for 1897 was about seven hundred
and fifty thousand pounds.
It has only been but recently that the fame of
the hot springs has been published abroad. All
through the beautiful Bear Lake valley mineral
springs are plentiful. The most important, how-
ever, are the Bear Lake Hot Springs, situated on
the shores of Bear Lake. Here a stream of min-
eral water comes pouring from the side of the
mountain, nearly boiling hot, furnishing water
sufficient for two splendid plunge baths. The
curative qualities of the waters of these springs
are marvelous. For rheumatic complaints, skin
diseases, catarrh and kindred ailments, they are
unexcelled. The waters have never been fully
analyzed, but sulphur, mercury and niter exist in
quantities sufficient to make the waters the best
natural medical bath known. Montpelier, on the
Oregon Short Line, is the most convenient rail-
road point. Hunting, fishing and bathing are
all combined with this resort, and there is a good
family hotel.
Within a radius of two or three miles there are
a group of mineral springs, near Soda Springs,
which are considered most remarkable, because
of their waters ranging from almost ice-cold to
warm, containing magnesia, soda, iron, sulphur
and various other constituents in such propor-
tions as to have a great power on disease, and
some of them being so highly charged with car-
bonic acid and other gases as to prove a most
pleasing beverage. Over one million bottles of
the famous "Idanha" mineral water are put up
every year. This water is bottled out of the
spring called Idanha (the Indian name for Ida-
ho). The water from this spring is most palat-
able and has a delightfully refreshing and invig-
orating effect. During one single month the
Oregon Short Line shipped over one hundred
tons of this bottled elixir from Soda Springs
station.
In the neighborhood of these springs there are
extinct volcanoes, geyser cones, sulphur moun-
tains, a boiling lake of the same material, some
wonderful caves, superb fishing and hunting, the
Blackfoot and Portneuf furnishing the trout and
the mountains bear and elk. Four miles south-
west is .Swan Lake, one of the loveliest natural
gems set in the Wasatch range. It reclines in
an oval basin, whose rim is ten feet above the
surrounding country. The shores are densely
covered with trees, shrubs and luxuriant under-
growth. The outlet is a series of small, moss-
covered basins, symmetrically arranged, the clear
water overflowing the bank, trickling into the
nearest emerald tub, then successively into others,
until it forms a sparkling stream, emptying into
the Bear river in the valley below. The lake is
said to be bottomless, no sounding having as yet
determined its depth. Near this lake of beautiful
fresh water is the singular sulphur lake, out of
whose center liquid sulphur incessantly boils and
coats the shores with thick deposits.
But the most famous of all the lakes is the
Bear Lake, from which the county is named.
This body of fresh water is twenty miles long by
eight miles wide, reaching from St. Charles (a
prosperous, cleanly city eight miles south of
Paris, to Lake Town, in Rich county, Utah) its
elevation is five thousand nine hundred feet, and
it abounds in fish of various kinds, such as sev-
eral kinds of trout (salmon, silver and speckled),
and mullet, white fish and chub. Utah's state
game and fish warden has deposited a large
amount of black bass in this lake, and Idaho's
executive has arranged for their protection and
care.
The lake is fed by several mountain streams,
and these also abound in fish, mostly mountain
brook trout. It has an outlet, emptying into
Bear river, in the north. The shores of the lake
are sandy and gravelly, affording a clean and easy
approach. The water is shallow for a distance of
about one hundred yards, when it gradually deep-
ens to an extent not as yet determined. A little
north of Garden City, Utah, a sounding line ran
out nine hundred feet, but no bottom was
touched. The water is very clear, affording a
view of the bottom at a depth of ten to fifteen
feet. It is a splendid bathing resort, and the
inhabitants, living on its shores, delight in its
exercise, as well as the many hundreds who visit
the lake in the sunmier from Idaho, Wyoming,
Utah and other distant localities. The Oregon
Short Line skirts the northern shore.
Movements made in mining circles in Bear
Lake county during the last two years compel
one to believe that this county will yet rank as
one of the foremost mineral producers of the
state. This is made especially the more forcible
672
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
on account of the wonderful developments made
in the Humming Bird property, recently bonded
by Colonel Shaughnessey of Salt Lake City and
others. The mine is located about five miles
from Paris, up Paris canyon.
The Blackstone mine, near St. Charles, eight
miles south of Paris, is another excellent piece
of mining property, well supplied with a quartz-
crushing mill and all other necessary machinery.
This property, with fourteen others, is owned by
the Dodge Company, of Salt Lake. It produces
a low-grade galena ore, running about seventy-
five per cent lead and a few dollars in silver and
gold.
The Norman copper mines are being worked,
and are showing up brighter all the time.
The public schools of Bear Lake county take
high rank. New school furniture and apparatus
is to be found in every school district, and over
half of the school districts have now new and
commodious school-houses. Examinations have
been frequent, so as to prevent any individual
teaching school who could not come up to the
required standard.
PARIS.
Paris, the county-seat of Bear Lake county, is
situated ten miles southwest of Montpelier, which
is its nearest railroad station. The altitude is
about six thousand feet above the sea, and the
climate and natural advantages are all that could
be desired. Paris is an incorporated city, con-
taining about fifteen hundred inhabitants, and
was founded in the fall of 1863 by Apostle C. C.
Rich, who brought with him a company of Latter
Day Saints to possess the land and make a set-
tlement. Among the first residents were Robert
H. Williams, Hezekiah Duffie, John Mann,
Thomas Sleght, John and George Humphreys
and Joseph Rich, the last named now judge of
the district court. They were a brave and faith-
ful band of pioneers, who endured many hard-
ships and privations in order to make homes in
this new district, and Paris now stands as a mon-
ument to their fortitude and enterprise. It con-
tains many nice homes, beautiful shade trees, fine
gardens, and is surrounded by richly cultivated
farms and well-kept stock ranches. Farming
and stock-raising constitute the chief occupations
of the settlers of this locality, and many of the
agriculturists reside in Paris, and own and culti-
vate lands near by. In 1897 the place was incor-
porated as a village, with a board of trustees, and
in April, 1898, the first city board was elected,
consisting of John U. Stucki, mayor; J. R. Shep-
herd, Arthur Budge, Walter Hoge, Thomas
Menson, Wilfred Rich, A. F. Seegmiller, Chris-
tian Fuller and Charles Inness, all representative
men. The city is out of debt. It has a large
brick district school building, and the stake
academy, which is a large brick structure,
is now being completed and occupies a
splendid site, which was donated for the
purpose by Mayor Stucki. The grounds include
four acres, and the building overlooks Paris and
the entire valley. The Latter Day Saints have
also erected a large stake tabernacle, of red and
white stone, with a seating capacity of twenty-five
hundred. It was built at a cost of fifty thousand
dollars and is by far the finest church edifice in
the state. There are also two ward frame meet-
ing-houses, owned by the same church, for use
on more common occasions. The Presbyterian
people also have a nice little church edifice and a
resident minister. The business of the town is
done in two large general mercantile stores, a
drug store, two meat markets, two blacksmith
shops, a harness shop and a creamery. The last
is a new industry, owned by a stock company of
the citizens, and the factory has a capacity for
utilizing six hundred cans of milk per day. In
the county there are also a number of cheese
factories. The residents of Paris are nearly all
Latter Day Saints, and are an honest, temperate,
thrifty people, who have founded and maintain
an attractive little city.
MONTPELIER.
Montpelier is a city of sixteen hundred inhabi-
tants, situated in Bear Lake valley, Bear Lake
county, Idaho, on the Oregon Short Line Rail-
road, ninety-nine miles east of Pocatello, and it
is nearly six thousand feet above sea level. It
was first settled in April, 1864, by fifteen men and
their families, members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, who in answer to
the call of the church volunteered to go out and
settle the valley. Of those first fifteen brave and
faithful pioneers the following are still living in
the town, honored for what they have done: John
Bunney, Christian Hoganson, William Severns,
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
John Cozzens and William Ervin. Jacob Jones
and Edward Burgoyne are credited with having
arrived about the same time. Charles H. Bridges
is also one of the very early settlers of the town.
Most of these gentlemen have raised large and
respected families, most of whom have settled in
the town and surrounding country. The wives
of most of these pioneers who braved with them
all the early trials and dangers are still spared to
them.
The first settlers called the place Clover Creek
and Belmont, but later President Brigham
Young visited them and gave the town its pres-
ent name, Montpelier, that being the name of the
town in A'ermont in which he was born. The
first settlers lived in dug-outs covered with brush,
some by day in the willows, sleeping in their
wagons. As soon as they could, they built log
houses, and, not having lumber, spread hay on
the earth floor and hung up a cloth for a door
and covered the window in the same way. Later
thev whip-sawed lumber for floors, etc., and
made themselves more comfortable. Part of the
time a large cofTee-mill was used to grind the
grain, and they had to go with oxen seventy-five
miles for their supplies, and the mail during the
long months of winter was brought in by men on
snow-shoes. Each settler was allotted an acre
and a quarter in the town, and out of the town
twenty acres of grain land and twenty acres for
hay. These small allotments were made so that
they could live close together for mutual protec-
tion.
During several of the first years of the settle-
ment there were destructive early frosts, and the
crickets and grasshoppers came down on the pio-
neers in great numbers and completely destroyed
all that they tried to raise, and at times it looked
very dark for the brave little colony. Not a few
of the men had pulled hand-carts across the
plains and suffered many hardships for their
church, but they had courage and a great faith
that never faltered, and they endured and perse-
vered, and one outcome of their stability is the
growing business town of Montpelier. The lit-
tle huts and log houses have been replaced by
fine commodious houses, and the founders of the
town are now living in peace, comfort and con-
tentment, still true to the faith that inspired them
in those days of peril and privation.
The railroad was completed in 1884, Repair
shops were established at Montpelier and the
town was made a division terminus and grew to-
ward the depot and naturally became a distribut-
ing point for all the country north within a dis-
tance of one hundred miles and south for sixty
miles or more. At this time its post-office dis-
tributes mail for twenty-seven post-ofifices, sev-
enty million pounds of freight are annually re-
ceived at the station, and large numbers of sheep
and cattle and a considerable quantity of wool
are shipped from it, and it is believed that fully
twelve thousand people procure their supplies at
this point. The town has six general merchan-
dise stores. It has three large hardware and im-
plement houses and the only banking house in
the county. This bank, known as the Bank of
Montpelier, under the able and courteous man-
agement of Mr. G. C. Gray, its cashier, is doing a
large general banking business. On the 13th of
August, 1893, its officers were "held up" and the
bank was robbed of more than seven thousand
dollars, by cow-boys. None of the money was
ever recovered, but one of the robbers is now
serving a thirty-five-year sentence in the state
penitentiary. The plate-glass surrounding the
counting-room of the bank is now fortified with
plates of steel. Montpelier is the only telegraph
town in the county with the exception of Paris.
It has two large school houses and four church
edifices, — those of the Latter Day Saints, the
Presbyterians, the Catholics and the Episcopal-
ians. It has one live newspaper, the Examiner.
The town is located in a rich farming valley forty
miles long and eight miles wide, occupying more
than one-fourth of the territory of Bear Lake
county, which contains one thousand one hun-
dred and fifty square miles. The town was in-
corporated a village in i8qi, and as a city in 1894.
A very- large proportion of the inhabitants of the
town and county are members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They and the
"Gentile" portion of the inhabitants live on the
best of terms, and the great majority of both
classes are industrious, trustworthy and pro-
gressive citizens.
CHAPTER XLV.
PRESBYTERIANISM IN IDAHO— THE FORT HALL CANAL-PERTINENT INFORMATION
ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.
*PRESBYTERIANISM IN IDAHO.
THE history of Presbyterianismin Idaho em-
braces three separate histories : that of the
work among the Nez Perces, that of the
work among the whites in the Panhandle, and that
of the work in the southern section of the state.
The work among the Nez Perces had its begin-
ning in 1836, when Rev. Henry H. Spalding, the
friend and companion of Marcus Whitman, es-
tablished a mission station at Lapwai on the
Clearwater, twelve miles above the present city
of Lewiston. When the Whitmans were massa-
cred in 1847 Mr. Spalding and his wife were also
marked as victims, and though they escaped with
their lives they were shut out from work in that
field until 1871. In that year ]\Ir. Spalding was
allowed to return and spent three busy years
among the people from whom he had been sep-
arated for almost a quarter of a century. The
seed sown with weeping so long before had not
perished, and he was permitted to gather in his
sheaves with rejoicing. During the last three
years of his life he was permitted to baptize six
hundred and ninety-four Indian converts.
One year before he died two women of heroic
spirit, educated, consecrated, and in every way
fitted, came to his help. They were the Misses
Susan and Kate McBeth, whose names are now
household words in Presbyterian homes. Miss
Susan had worked among the Choctaws until the
civil war compelled her withdrawal, and then she
served as a nurse in the army hospitals in St.
Louis until the close of the war. Shattered in
health though she was, when she heard of the
need of the Nez Perces she offered her services
to the Presbyterian board and went out, accompa-
nied by her,"sister-todie," her friends said, to give
twenty years of splendid service as her Master
ordered it. She had said, "I will go to the Nez
* This sketch was prepared by Rev. Elmer E. Fife,
the pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Boise.
Perces: with such work to do for Christ I can
rise to life again." She continued an invalid,
but who in health could have accomplished more
than she?
Both sisters went to work with a will, Miss
Kate to teach the women and the children, and
Miss Susan to teach the men and train up an in-
telligent and consecrated native ministry. So
great was her success that she has been called
"a living theological seminary." Her scholar-
ship attracted the attention of Professor Joseph
Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, while her
personal character, and the efficiency of her la-
bors secured for her the warm friendship of such
men as Dr. Dorchester and General O. O. How-
ard. She died in 1893 and her work has since
been carried on by her sister and others. The
extent of the success of this work is indicated by
the fact that at the meeting of the Presbytery of
Walla Walla at Moscow, April 6, of this present
year, there were in attendance eighteen Indian
delegates.
The Presbytery of Idaho was organized in
1880. It embraced the entire territory of Idaho,
together with the eastern portions of Washing-
ton and Oregon. It was divided in 1883, and the
region lying "east and south of the eastern and
southern boundary of Idaho county, Idaho terri-
tory," was organized under the name of the
"Wood River Presbytery." The remaining por-
tion continued to be Idaho Presbytery until 1891,
when a second division was made and it was suc-
ceeded by the present presbyteries of Walla
Walla and Spokane. (I regret that I do not
have the data for a detailed sketch of the organi-
zation and later history of the Idaho congrega-
tions of these presbyteries.)
The first Presbyterian sermon within the limits
of the Wood River Presbytery was preached at
Boise City by Rev. H. W. Stratton, the synodical
missionarv of the Svnod of the Columbia. He
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
organized the first Presbyterian church at that
place, with sixteen members, February 4, 1878.
It was organized in the Methodist church, held
its services for a time in the Baptist church, and
built its own place of worship in 1879.
Rev. E. Pratt began work in Ketchum, Hailey
and Bellevue in 1882. A little later, churches
were organized at Hailey and Bellevue. The
church of Caldwell is the monument to the ener-
gy of a few Presbyterian ladies who wished to
have a church and a pastor. As there were no
men there at that time who wished to unite with
them in organizing a church they formed a
"Presbyterian Church Society." They made
some money, secured the promise of more, and
then wrote to the board of home missions telling
what they had done, and stating what help they
needed. The help was heartily given, and, some
men having been found in the meantime who
were ready to go into a Presbyterian church, it
was organized by Rev. J. H. Barton, in 1888,
with Rev. W. J. Boone as the first pastor. From
Boise City and Caldwell as centers the work has
extended until there are now a number of other
very promising congregations.
Wood River Presbytery was divided in 1893,
and the churches above mentioned were grouped
together in "Boise Presbytery." The eastern
section of the state was organized as "Kendall
Presbytery," taking the name in honor of that
fine old hero of Presbyterian missions. Rev.
Henry Kendall, D. D. Montpelier was the first
station occupied, ground for a chapel having
been purchased there in 1883 by Rev. D. J. Mc-
Millan, who became later one of the correspond-
ing secretaries of the home mission board. Miss
Florence E. Baker opened a mission school at
that place in the spring of 1884, teaching in a
little log cabin until the chapel was completed.
Rev. R. P. Boyd began work at Paris, the county-
seat of Bear Lake county, in March, 1885, being
the first minister of any evangelical denomination
to make that county his place of residence. He
is still faithfully at work. Since then many other
points have been occupied, and chapels and mis-
sion schools have been built. As that part of the
state is largely Mormon, the character of the
work undertaken has been determined by that
fact.
The College of Idaho, a school under Presby-
terian auspices, that at present has the grade of
an academy, was opened at Caldwell in October,
1 89 1. It has made a steady, healthy growth un-
der the management of its president, Rev. W. J.
Boone, and is attended by a fine body of students
who are old enough to know why they are going
to school and eager to make the most of their
opportunities. Eastern friends are manifesting
increased interest in it, and generous donations
have recently been made that will greatly in-
crease its efficiency.
The work of our synodical Sunday-school
missionaries is of prime importance. They or-
ganize schools where there are none, and en-
deavor to keep them alive and at work. In some
places these schools have been of direct benefit to
Presbyterianism, but its fundamental purpose is
to better the religious condition of the state
without regard to denomination. In addition to
this they give such assistance as lies in their
power to the smaller congregations, and also to
evangelistic work in unoccupied fields. Rev. J.
H. Barton is the missionary for Boise and Ken-
dall Presbyteries, and Rev. Matthew G. Mann
in the Panhandle.
The general oversight of mission congrega-
tions is intrusted to the synodical missionary,
while they are under the immediate care of a
Presbyterial Home Mission Committee. Rev.
S. E. Wishard, D. D., is the synodical missionary
for the southern part of the state, and Rev. T. AI.
Gunn, D. D., for the northern part. The outlook
for Presbyterianism in this state was never
brighter.
THE FORT HALL CANAL.
During the year 1896 the federal government
let a contract for the construction of an innnense
irrigation canal in the Fort Hall reservation, pre-
paratory to the allotment of land in severalty to
the Indians. This reservation extends for twen-
ty-five miles in every direction from Pocatello,
and contains over a million and a half acres in
Bannock, Bingliam and Oneida counties, the
greater part being in Bannock county. Of this
land about four hundred thousand acres are as
fine agricultural lands as can be found in any
region, and of this amount fully three hundred
thousand acres are in Bannock county and adja-
cent to the city of Pocatello. It is magnificent
sage-brush land and easilv watered.
676
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
The section of the canal first to be completed
ends at Ross fork, twelve miles above Pocatello,
thus arranging that the Indians should take their
allotments above that point and leaving the
thousands of acres near Pocatello for white set-
tlers, as soon as a treaty for their purchase can
be made by the government. The canal heads
in Snake river above Basalt and runs south to
the Blackfoot river, crossing it by a flume.
Thence it continues in a southeasterly direction
along the foot-hills to Ross Fork creek, which
will be the terminus for the present; but as soon
as there is a demand for the water along the foot-
hills to Port ATeuf, about five miles above Poca-
tello, the canal will be extended to that point,
thus watering the great plains east of the city.
When completed the canal will have a total
length of fifty-five miles.
The reservation is now occupied by about
fourteen hundred Shoshone and Bannack In-
dians, and besides the agricultural lands men-
tioned it also contains a number of ranges of
mountains rich in valuable minerals, as noted
elsewhere. The establishment of this great
water-way will render inhabitable land enough
for thousands of homes, which will contribute
to the prosperity of Pocatello and Bannock
county.
PERTINENT INFORMATION ON VARIOUS
SUBJECTS.
It will probably be a surprise, to persons who
have not had an opportunity for personal investi-
gation, to learn that within the boundaries of the
state of Idaho may be found the largest body of
white and yellow pine, fir, tamarack and cedar
timber now left standing in the United States.
About six million acres of this timber is grow-
ing on the head-waters of the Payette, Weiser
and Boise rivers and their tributaries in southern
Idaho, the largest body being on the Payette
river and amounting to about one million acres.
This estimate is made from actual surveys by the
United States government, which may be verified
by reference to the report of ex-Governor Shoup,
now United States senator from Idaho, who, in
his report to the secretary of the interior, places
the timber acreage of the state at ten million
acres.
The United States still owns within the bor-
ders of Idaho eight million acres of land, which
is open to settlement under the homestead, tim-
ber-culture and the desert-land acts. These
lands in many cases are as good as can be found
in the state, — only awaiting facilities for irriga-
tion, when they will be rapidly taken up. New
systems of irrigation are being constantly
opened. By the Carey law, enacted by congress
in 1894, the state of Idaho gets one million acres
of this land upon very easy terms, and it is ex-
pected that aggressive work will soon be done
toward taking advantage of the munificent gift
of congress, and the lands will be sold to actual
settlers at a nominal price, to encourage immi-
gration.
The population of Idaho in 1870 was 14,999.
In 1880, 32,610, of whom 29,013 were white and
3,507 were colored; 22,636 American-born and
9,974 foreign born; 21,818 males and 10,792 fe-
males. In 1890 the population was 84,385, being
four-tenths of one to the square mile. That year
the vote for governor was 10,262 Republican and
7,948 Democrat. The net territorial debt was
$200,855; taxable property, $56,000,000. There
were eighteen counties and two hundred and
sixty-one post-offices, eight hundred and forty-
four miles of railroad; annual product of manu-
factories, $1,200,000; number of public schools,
three hundred and sixty-five; number of school
children, ten thousand four hundred and thirty-
three; number of newspapers, thirty-eight. The
population of Boise was about four thousand;
Pocatello, two thousand and five hundred;
Hailey, two thousand; Lewiston, one thousand
and six hundred; Bellevue, fifteen hundred;
Ketchum, fifteen hundred; Moscow, fifteen hun-
dred; Wardner, fifteen hundred; Shoshone,
twelve hundred; and Wallace, twelve hundred.
The most remarkable group of mineral springs
in America are the Soda Springs, of Bingham
county, in eastern Idaho. They are situated in a
romantic valley, 5,779 feet above the level of the
sea, surrounded by lofty snow-clad mountains,
and easily reached from the east or west by the
Oregon Short Line. Within a radius of two or
three miles are scores of large springs, the waters
ranging from almost ice-cold to warm, contain-
ing magnesia, soda, iron, sulphur and various
other constituents, in such proportions as to
have a great power on disease, and some of them
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
being so highly charged with carbonic acid and
other gases as to prove a most pleasing beverage.
The waters are a superb tonic, and are effecting
remarkable cures of skin and blood diseases,
dyspepsia, rheumatism, and many other ills our
flesh is heir to.
Westward from Soda Springs, the Oregon
Short Line route lies for forty miles amid some
of the most interesting, pleasing and picturesq^ue
scenery in all nature. In winding its way down
out of the confines of the rugged Wahsatch
mountains to the great Snake river valley, it fol-
lows Port Neuf river. Giant cones and craters of
extinct volcanoes, yawning chasms, extending
into the earth's depths, dark caves and caverns,
lofty palisades, all relics of the volcanic age, vie
with the gentler phases of an exquisitely beauti-
ful valley panorama to fill the tourist's eye. The
river, sinuous as a serpent's trail, is often broken
by the loveliest cataracts. The valley is alter-
nately a solid bed of highly colored wild flowers,
a luxuriantly grassed meadow and well tilled
fields. Midway between Soda Springs and Poca-
tello, a fine group of hot sulphur springs burst
from the rocks at the water's edge. Here, almost
anywhere, the angler can land a basket of trout
in a few hours, within a few feet of the railway
track, or the sportsman can bag his dozen ducks
or geese in an equally short period. At Pocatello,
a junction point of the Oregon Short Line, are
fine hotel accommodations, and this is an excel-
lent rendezvous for the tourist.
North of Shoshone about fifty miles, the Wood
river branch of the Oregon Short Line fairly en-
ters the great Wood river region. Hailey and
Ketchum. located in the heart of this region,
probably arrive ae near to all the requirements
of the tourist and health-seeker as any of the
resorts located on the banks of the Wood river;
Hailey at an altitude of five thousand two hun-
dred feet, and Ketchum about five hundred feet
higher.
Hailev Hot Springs, located in full view of
the town, are only a mile and a half distant.
The ride or walk thither is very pleasant, leading
through a picturesque little valley, and the loca-
tion, in a lovely glen in sight of several rich
mines, is very pleasing. Large volumes of water,
of a temperature of one hundred and forty-four
degrees and containing sulphate of soda, iron,
magnesia, sulphur and other desirable ingredi-
ents, are emitted from scores of springs. Four
commodious rock-walled and cemented swim-
ming baths and many solid porcelain tub baths
are provided. These are all supplied with ele-
gantly appointed dressing rooms, lighted by
electricity, and under the same roof as the
luxuriously furnished chambers. Many patients
have gone to these with chronic cases, believed to
be hopeless, of neuralgia, paralysis, dyspepsia,
inflammatory or mercurial rheumatism, and other
complaints for which the Arkansas springs are
considered a specific, and after a few months of
bathing and drinking have left completely re-
stored.
The famous springs at Boise, and the magnifi-
cent natatorium, are known all over the L'nited
States. Beautiful for situation, located only one
mile up Warm Springs avenue, connected with all
parts of the city by elegant electric car lines,
architecturally a perfect gem, designed after some
Turkish building of ancient fame, with its diving
plunge for bathers one hundred and twenty-two
feet long and sixty feet wide, cement bottom, and
ranging in depth on a gradual slope from three to
fourteen feet; with its si.xty retiring rooms for
bathers; its spacious drawing rooms for ladies
and gentlemen ; its balcony overlooking the bath-
ing plunge, where the visitor can see the sportive
bathers darting merrily through the life-saving
and healing waters, under the glare of the electric
lights; its elegant parlors for private parties; its
pleasant smoking and reading roomsl its large
billiard room and music hall; a splendidly
equipped dining hall on the third floor, where the
visitor can be regaled with all the delicacies of
the season; with grounds handsomely laid out,
where the visitor can wander at will through
sylvan retreats; and, added to all this, the
medicinal and healing virtues of the waters, being
a specific for digestive and liver troubles of every
kind, rheumatism, dyspepsia, gout, ulcers of the
stomach, and all skin diseases, the natatorium
may be called a realization of Ponce de Leon's
fountain of life and pleasure.
The United States Geological Survey in 1871
gave the temperature of the various thermal
springs as follows;
678 . HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Temperature. beautiful capital. No state has made a more ■
Snake river, three miles below Salt river 144 decided impression on tlie public than Idaho.
Snake river, below the lower canyon t, ^ • -i r a • -i. • r
T . , ,, _ ^ ..^ „ -^ o„ lo a vast majority of Americans it is an undis-
Lmcoln valley, near Fort Hall 87 i :
Steamboat Spring, Bear river bend 88 covered country. Little wonder, then, that they
Near Fishing Flats, north of Snake river 164 are amazed, when confronted with such a display
of wonderful resources; such a demonstration of
Commencing in 1866 annual geological reports ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^j^ ^^^ ^^^,^ possibilities, as they
were made under the auspices of the general ^^^ illustrated in the Idaho building, and in its
government. F. V. Hayden was the chief of the ^^^j^^^^ ^^j^jj^j^^ j^ ^^ p^^.^^ ^^ ^^^ f^j^_„
survey for the first years. r^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^j ^f ^^^ ^^ate of Idaho, depicted
Of marble there is a good quality in Cassia j^ vignette at the opening of this volume, was
county, quarried for the market. The value of all ^^^^^^^ ^arch 14, 1891.
marketed in the state in 1891 had the value of j^^ jgg^_^ occurred the Coeur d'Alene stam-
$3,000; in 1892, $2,250; and in 1893, $5,500. ^^^^^ ^^,,^g^ ^^^ thousand gold-hunters crossed
The newly discovered deposit near Paris is of ^^^ ^^^^j^j^ ^^^^^ ^j ^,^^ mountains,
large extent, varying in quality m different local- ^j^^ j^^j^^ ^,^^1 ^jjp j^^ jg^^ amounted to
ities and also in color. The colors are jet black, ^^^^^j^ ^j^j^^ ^j^j^j^ p^^^^^^^ ^^ increase of a
black with streaks of white, black and red, black ^^^jjjj^^ p^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ preceding year. In 1894
and gold, and dark blue with gold markings, j,^^^^ ^.^^^ j^^ ^1^^ ^^^^^ ^^^j^g ^j^^gp^ ^^j^^d at
In one place a vein of onyx twenty feet wide ^ ^^jj^^. ^^^j^. -^^ ^g^^^ 717,339, of about the same
runs through the mass. Blocks of a desirable ,
size may be obtained apparently without flaw. Professor L. H. Bailey, of Cornell University,
Abundant water power is at hand, and efforts are ^j^^ ^^^^^^ eminent pomologist of this country,
in progress to develop the property. Of sand- ^^^^ ^^ j^^j^^ ^^^^^^ j^ his Annals of Horticulture:
stone there were $16,060 worth marketed near .^j^^ ^.^^j^^^ ^f j^^^^ {^.^^j^^ ^^^^5 ^^ b^^in ^^,ith
Boise in 1896, which was an increase over that j^^,^^ ^^^ ^^ j,^^]^^^^ Oregon, Washington and
of the preceding year. Most of the limestone California. The displays of apples shown from
marketed in 1896 was quarried in Kootenai ^j^^ northwestern states-Idaho, Oregon and
county, the total amount for the state being re- Washington— were characterized bv fruit of enor-
ported at $5,610 in value. Practically all the ^^^^ ^j^^^ j^igj^ ^^l^j. ^^^ remarkable freedom
limestone quarried was burnt into lime. ^^^^ ^^^^ j^ ^^e eastern man the most inter-
The relative areas of Idaho mining lands, agri- ^^^^^^ ^^^j^^^, ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ the yellow
cultural lands, grazing land, etc., cannot be ex- Newtown pippin, which is the leading apple over
actly given. Various estimates have been made ^ ^^^^^ territory there, and which is twice as
by public officials; but the following is as nearly j^^.^^ ^^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^ppj^ grown- in the Hudson
correct as we can ascertain at present: ^.j^^^ ^^jj^^ ^j^^^^ j^ ^ conspicuous difference
_ . , . ^ ^ ,,"!'„„ in specimens of the same variety when grown
Total area of the state 55,000,000 ^ ... „, . . , ,
Mountainous 17,400,000 with or without irrigation. The irrigated apples
Agricultural 15,000,000 are said to be larger than the others, higher col-
Grazing 15,000,000 ored, better keepers, and to have superior flavor."
Forest (accessible) 7,000,000 p^.^^ ^j^^ market report of the Chicago
^^^^^ '°°° Tribune of October 8, 1897, is quoted the fol-
In describing Idaho as she appeared at the lowing:
World's Fair, an enthusiastic writer declared as "A consignment of seven or eight cars of fruit
follows: "The hearts of Idaho's mountains, from Idaho attracted considerable attention on
trembling at the miner's stroke, yield up the South Water street yesterday, being the largest
precious metals; her valleys quiver with the lisp- lot to arrive from that section recently. Apples
ing grasses, and her gardens glow with flowers and plums constituted the bulk of the shipment,
and fruit. Steadily she strides on, and if there Varieties of the former were pippins, Jonathans
is a floral heaven on earth, it is Boise City, her and bellflowers. These came in fifty-pound
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
679
boxes, and are b}' far the finest-looking fruit on
the street. A pecuHarity of the Idaho apples is
that they are absolutely without blemish, such as
gnarls or worms. In form and color the fruit is
perfect.
"The eyes of the receiving interest are being
opened to the fact that if Idaho continues to do
as well as it is now doing the state will be a
formidable rival to California as a raiser and
shipper of high-grade fruits. While the Idaho
season is a little later than California, being
further north, anything that will grow in Cali-
fornia may be raised in Idaho. Freight to the
Chicago market is less than from California, and
time en route nearly two days quicker."
CHAPTER XLVI.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS.
CHARLES C. RICH.
^ PIONEER of Utah, California and Idaho,
Charles C. Rich figured prominently in
the early development of these states, and
took an active part in furthering the welfare and
promoting the progress of the commonwealths.
He was also a most able exponent of the faith of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, and with a colony of believers he
founded the beautiful and thriving little city
of Paris, the county of Bear Lake, Idaho, and
the Mormon colonies of southeastern Idaho.
A native of Kentucky, Mr. Rich was born in
Campbell county, in 1809, and was of English
and Irish ancestry. His parents removed to In-
diana during his youth and there he was edu-
cated. In 1829 they went to Illinois, becoming
pioneer settlers of that state, and in April, 1832,
Charles C. Rich embraced the faith and was
baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter Day Saints, becoming one of its most faithful
and prominent adherents. In 1839 he went to
Nauvoo, Illinois, where he remained until 1846,
and while there he was elected an adjutant gen-
eral in the Mormon forces, a part of the Illinois
militia. A little later, however, the regiment
was disbanded by the governor of the state. At
that time Mr. Rich had been ordained a high
priest of the church. In the fall of 1846, in the
general Mormon exodus, he removed to Pisgah,
Iowa, and was first counselor to President
Huntingdon, and on the death of the president
he succeeded to the office thus left vacant. In
March, 1847, he with a party went to what is now
Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they made prepara-
tion for a journey to the Rocky mountains. Air.
Rich was selected captain of a wagon train of
one hundred wagons and was also president of
the emigrants. They started on their long and
perilous journey on the 14th of June. 1847, and
after proceeding some distance experienced con-
siderable trouble with the Indians. All of the
women aided in the way of driving teams and
otherwise, and rendered such assistance as they
could in other directions. They traveled five,
ten and sometimes fifteen miles a day. Thou-
sands of Indians were around them and fre-
quently stole from them, but on the 2d of Octo-
ber, 1847, they reached their destination, having
spent three months and eighteen days upon the
way. When they arrived a settlement had
started; an adobe fort was built shortly after
their arrival at what is now the beautiful and
populous city of Salt Lake. Great credit is due
to these brave and faithful pioneers who thus
led the way and laid the foundation of a fine city
and great state.
Soon after his arrival Mr. Rich was elected
first counselor to the first president of the Salt
Lake stake, and in 1848 he was honored with
the presidency, as his predecessor had become
too feeble to longer fill the office. On the 12th
of March following, he was ordained one of the
twelve apostles, and in the fall of 1849 was sent
on a mission to California to establish a settle-
ment of members of the church at San Bernar-
dino. He purchased the Lugo ranch, a large
Mexican grant of land, and became the founder
of the town and county of San Bernardino. In
1850 he returned to Salt Lake and took five
hundred families to that delightful district of the
Golden state. He had the management of the
colony for six years and spent most of the time
there, although he traveled back and forth be-
tween San Bernardino and Salt Lake frequently.
He made his home in the former place, however,
and three of his wives were there living. In 1857
they returned to Salt Lake City, and Mr. Rich
secured a farm of two hundred acres of choice
land twelve miles to the north. When General
Johnston, with the United States troops, came to
attack them, they expected that the town would
be destroyed and organized an army to protect
themselves, Mr. Rich being elected a colonel in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
681
the Utah forces. They fixed their homes to fire
them if it became necessary, and a guard was
left for that purpose, but the women and children
were all removed to Provo. The government
forces, however, did not disturb the homes and
the owners returned in July, 1858.
In i860 Mr. Rich was sent on a mission to
Europe and was president of the organization
of the church in that country for about two and
a half years, having his headquarters at Liver-
pool. He also visited Ireland, Scotland, Sweden,
Norway, Germany and France, and came back
to this country in 1862, bringing with him a large
company of emigrant converts to the faith. He
remained in Salt Lake until September, 1863,
and was then called to look up a location for
a new settlement of his people and came to what
is now Bear Lake county, Idaho. That fall
thirty families from the Cache valley established
a settlement at what is now the thriving city of
Paris, and Mr. Rich became the leading spirit
in the enterprise. They built log cabins and
spent a long and hard winter. Brigham Young
visited the countrj^ the following June and trav-
eled through the valley, giving names to the
towns. Many indeed were the discouraging feat-
ures which met the pioneers in their attempt to
form a settlement. Frosts and grasshoppers de-
stroyed what they planted, and times looked dark
indeed, but President Rich imbued them with cour-
age, saying that he had come to settle and was
going to stay, and that brighter days would yet
dawn upon them. This prediction proved true,
and to his courage and faith is largely due the
fact that the region has been transformed into
thrifty farms, pleasant homes and enterprising
villages. When the settlement was made it was
supposed to be in LUah, and Mr. Rich frequently
represented the district in the Utah legislature.
He took an active part in framing the laws of
the state, and no one could exhibit more devo-
tion to the well-being of the pioneer settlers of
the county than he. He proved himself to be
one of the bravest and grandest of men, respected
the rights of all, was the friend of the poor and
was beloved by all.
When the land came into market Mr. Rich
secured a half-section of it, and his numerous
sons also secured government claims, making for
themselves good homes. For many years it was
the belief and practice of his church to marry
a plurality of wives and raise large families for
the kingdom of the saints in heaven. Acting upon
that faith Mr. Rich was six times married. On
the nth of February, 1837, Sarah D. Pea became
his wife; January 3, 1845, Eliza Ann Graves;
January 6, 1845, Mary Ann Phelps; January 15,
1845, Sarah Peck; February 2, 1846, Emeline
Grover; and in March, 1847, Harriet Sargent.
With him these wives and his father and mother,
Joseph Rich and Nancy (O'Neal) Rich, crossed
the plains. These women were all faithful help-
meets to him and conscientious adherents of the
church, and five of them bore him six sons each,
and twenty-two daughters were born to him,
making fifty-two children in all. The family have
all adhered to the church. Three of his widows
still survive and are comfortably provided for.
One of them, Mary Ann Rich, possesses a most
remarkable memory for events and dates and has
furnished most of the material for this sketch of
her honored husband. Twenty-two of the sons
and ten of the daughters still survive, namely:
Mrs. Sarah Jane Miller, now a widow; Joseph
C., now judge of the fifth judicial district of
Idaho; Hiram S., of St. Charles, Idaho; Mary,
wife of Joseph Linford; Franklin D., of Paris;
Elizabeth, wife of Milando Pratt; Mary Ann,
wife of Dr. Francis Pomeroy; Frances, wife of
James Collins, of Paris; Adelbert, of Canada;
Caroline, wife of Bishop Humphreys, of Paris;
William L., also of Paris ; David P., of Rexburg,
Idaho; Nancy, widow of Vincent Pugmire and
a resident of St. Charles; Minerva, wife of H. S.
Wooley; Benjamin E., of Rexburg; Amasa M., a
farmer and stock-raiser of Paris; George Abel,
of Paris; Landon J., who resides in Rich, on
Snake river; Martha Caroline, wife of Samuel
Parish, of Centerville; Fred C, of Salt Lake
City; Samuel J., an attorney at Idaho Falls;
Heber C, a resident of Rich; Harley T.; Ezra C,
a physician at Ogden, Utah: Joel, of Paris: Wil-
ford, a ranchman at Paris; Morgan J.; Edward
I., a physician; Walter P., a resident of Paris;
George Q., an attorney of Logan, Utah: .Alvin.
of Paris; Drusilla, wife of Attorney William
Streeper, of Centerville. President Rich died No-
vember 17, 1883, at the age of over seventy-four
years. He was a man of marked ability, well
fitted for leadership, and largely promoted the
682
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
interests of this section of the state. At Paris
he biiih the first sawmill and first gristmill and in
otner ways promoted the enterprises and aided
in the development of the locality. His name is
inseparably connected with its history and well
deserves a place in this volume. He was always
regarded as a wise counselor by his people and
neither Mormon, Jew nor Gentile questioned his
honesty or the right and justice of his decisions.
His name is held in honor and esteem by every
one who knew him.
ALICE A. THEWS.
The lady whose name introduces this sketch
needs no introduction to the residents of south-
eastern Idaho, for she is well known in this sec-
tion of the state, and also in the capital city of
Boise, where she has many friends. Her superior
culture and ability have won public recognition
through the honors that have been bestowed
upon her by means of the public franchise, and
she is now capably filling the office of county
treasurer of Oneida county, making her home in
Malad.
Miss Thews is a native of Rock Island county,
Illinois, and is a daughter of William and Char-
lotte (Innes) Thews, both of whom were born in
England, the former of Irish parents. They
were married in that county, and in 1850 emi-
grated to America, locating in Illinois, whence
they removed to Boise, Idaho, in 1869, at which
time the now beautiful capital was a small vil-
lage giving little promise of the changes which
the future was to bring to it. The father was a
stone mason by trade, and had a small quarry in
Boise. In 1891 his life labors were ended, and
he passed away at the age of seventy-one years.
His good wife still survives him, and is now in
the eightieth year of her age. They were the
parents of seven children, but the eldest son,
Thomas I., volunteered in the service of his coun-
try during the civil war, and was killed in the bat-
tle of Trevilian's Station. Only three of the
children are now living: Mrs. H. C. Branstetter,
of Boise; William B., formerly auditor of Oneida
county and now a resident of Pocatello; and
Alice A.
The family are Episcopalians in religious faith
and Miss Thews was educated in an Episcopalian
school, in Boise. After completing her course
she engaged in teaching school for six years in
Boise and in Silver City, and fourteen years ago
she came to Malad, where she has since made
her home. For eight years she served as post-
mistress, under the administrations of Presidents
Cleveland and Harrison, and discharged her du-
ties in a most creditable and satisfactory manner.
In 1898 she was elected treasurer of the county,
receiving a very large majority, which indicated
her high standing in the community and the con-
fidence reposed in her. She is a lady of superior
intelligence and ability, of marked executive
force and keen business judgment, and her ad-
ministration of the affairs of the office has won
her high praise. She is now not only performing
the services in connection with the county ex-
chequer, but is also the owner of a hotel in
Malad, which receives a liberal patronage on ac-
count of the excellent manner in which it is
conducted. Miss Thews deserves great credit for
what she has accomplished. Her ability is of a
high order and her true womanliness and worth
have gained her the respect of all with whom
public life has brought her in contact aixl the
friendship of those whom she has met in social
circles.
HON. PHILETUS AVERITT.
In the Weekly Capital, published in Boise,
June 17, 1899, appeared the following sketch of
him whose name introduces this article.
"Hon. Philetus Averitt was born in Mayfield,
Kentucky, thirty-one years ago. He was educated
at Bethel College and Cumberland University,
and practiced law in his native town for one
year. Six years ago he came to St. Anthony,
Idaho, and commenced the practice of his pro-
fession. In a few years he has built up a first-
class practice, and is recognized as an able and
painstaking member of the legal profession. In
1896 Mr. Averitt gave his splendid abilities to
the organization of the Democratic party of Fre-
mont county, and was made chairman of the
county committee. By his careful and able man-
agement of the county campaign every man on
the Democratic ticket was elected.
"In 1898 Mr. Averitt was elected a member of
the house of representatives from Fremont coun-
ty, and early in the session was made the leader
of the Democratic and silver-Republican majority
in that body. This leadership was maintained by
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mr. Averitt throughout the session, in face of
strong opposition from briUiant and aspiring
young men. He managed the campaign of L. C.
Rice for state treasurer, nominating him in the
state convention in a remarkably able speech.
The magnificent results for Democracy in Fre-
mont county at the last election are largely due
to the untiring energy and wise counsel of Mr.
.Averitt. He organized victory in every precinct,
and made a vigorous and successful campaign.
When it is known' that the silver Republican and
Populist forces fused in the county matters there,
the victory organized by Mr. Averitt will be
more fully appreciated. When the state code-
commission was organized Governor Steunen-
berg appointed Mr. Averitt a member of the
commission. This was a just recognition of the
legal abilities of one of Idaho's best lawyers, and
time will record the verdict that the appointment
was in every respect one most worthy.
"Mr. Averitt has a fine legal mind well stored
with legal foundation principles, and his work on
the commission will prove very satisfactory. To
a well stored mind he adds indefatigable industry
and an indomitable will. Mr. Averitt is a shrewd
politician, is a good judge of men, has organizing
qualities of a high order, and in the field of
politics has few equals in the west. His star is
rising in the western sky and is destined to grow
brighter with the years."
MATTHEW H. WILLIAMS.
Matthew H. Williams is an Idaho pioneer
whose residence dates back to 1863, and he is a
prominent citizen of Bellevue, Blaine county.
He was born in Vermont, September 20, 1840.
His father, John Williams, a native of New Jer-
sey, did soldier's duty in the war of 1812-14. He
married Magdalene Shuflfelt, a native of New
York and a descendant of an old Dutch family
of that state. They had twelve children, eight of
whom grew to maturity, and five of whom are
living. John Williams and his wife were Episco-
palians and were people of social prominence.
He died at the age of eighty-two, she at fifty-
three.
Alatthew H. Williams, their youngest child,
passed his childhood on his father's farm and
attended the public schools. In 1857 the subject
of this review went to Minnesota, where he was
occupied for a time at such employment as was
open to him, and, having acquired a limited cap-
ital, he engaged in fur trading with the Indians
and others, in which he continued until 1863,
when his business was interrupted by the Indian
outbreak. In company with four others he
started across the country for Idaho. Their party
was gradually enlarged by the accession of other
parties at different points on the plains, and they
had several exciting experiences with Indians.
When they reached the Platte, :Mr. Haskins, one
of their number, was shot, and Dan Noble, an-
other, was killed while doing guard duty in the
Sweetwater country. At Spring Butte several
spirited skirmishes occurred and the party was
beleaguered by savages for two days.
J\Ir. Williams located at Boise, at the begin-
ning of that town, and there purchased lots and
erected several log cabins on them. He did
placer-mining to some extent and took out sev-
eral thousand dollars in Boise basin. He pros-
pected from Atlanta to the gold belt, and located
the Big Camas mine No. i, and he and Ross
Smith and Tom Ford wintered there and ran a
tunnel and took out ore and had it on the dlimp
in the spring. In 1882 they sold it, and as his
share j\lr. Williams realized thirty thousand dol-
lars. In 1884 he sold Camas No. 2 for eleven
thousand dollars. It has been worked extensive-
ly and has proven a rich producer. In 1889 Mr.
Williams sold the Golden Star mine, in the same
vicinity, for fifteen thousand dollars. He makes
mining his whole business and has several valu-
able claims adjoining the Tip Top mine, on the
same belt, and has become known as one of the
lucky prospectors and miners of his state.
I\Ir. Williams was married in 1882 to Miss
Luella Reed, a native of Kentucky and a daugh-
ter of Thomas B. Reed, who came to the territory
in 1877 and died at Ballantine in 1895. Mr. and
Mrs. Williams have had five children: Edith,
Elmer, Edwin, Edna and Ramond H.
i\Ir. William.s is a large owner of Bellevue prop-
erty. He drove the first stake in the town, and
built his house in 1882. He was made a Master
]\Iason. at Rocky Bar, in 1872, and is past master
of his lodge. He is an attendant and liberal
supporter of the Presbyterian church of Belle-
vue, of which Mrs. Williams is a member. Polit-
ically he is a Republican. He is a man of influ-
684
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ence in town and county affairs, and was county
commissioner of Blaine county and did excellent
service as a school trustee of Bellevue, his interest
in education being steadfast and helpful.
The life of J\Ir. Williams has been one of hard-
ship and, until within a comparatively recent
time, one of danger. There was always danger
from Indians; much of the time there was danger
from white men, who did not value human life
very highly if money could be gained by sacrific-
ing life. Many interesting stories of his adven-
tures on the plains and in camp might be told.
One will perhaps sufifice to indicate his quality as
a man and the perils by which he was beset.
Once he and William H. Spencer were sleeping
on the divide between South Boise and Salmon
rivers. In the early morning Mr. Williams felt
an arrow strike his blanket and knew they were
attacked by Indians. He told his partner to roll
to a safe place down the bank. Half dazed from
having been suddenly aroused, Spencer sprang
to a sitting posture and instantly received an
arrow in his breast, right under the collar bone.
The two men rolled over the bank and Mr.
Williams pulled the arrow out of his companion.
It was so firmly imbedded in his flesh and mus-
cles that it was necessary for Mr. Williams to
put his foot on Spencer's shoulder and pull hard
to get it out. It was a painful operation, but
heroic measures were necessary, for the arrov/
point was of hoop iron secured to the shaft with
the sinews of a deer and had it remained until
Mr. Spencer's blood softened the sinews blood-
poisoning would have ensued. They secured
their horses, which were picketed near by, and,
without waiting for saddles or outfit, made off
rapidly. At Boise river, which they reached
about ten o'clock that morning, they halted.
While Mr. Williams sought to alleviate his com-
panion's suffering by pouring cold water on his
wound, two Indians who had followed them, rode
up an attacked them. They fought with despera-
tion and shot both Indians and then both of their
horses as a precaution against their returning to
their other pursuers and thus apprising them of
the fate of their riders. Then they made their
way to a ranch sixteen miles above Rocky Bar,
where a doctor's services were secured and Mr.
Spencer was put in a way to recovery.
Mr. Williams is accorded the honor of a pio-
neer and by all citizens of Bellevue is given due
consideration as one of those who risked their
lives to make the way easy for those who might
come after them. He is widely and popularly
acquainted, and there are thousands who would
read a detailed account of his adventuresome
career with great interest.
EDMUND BUCKLEY.
The pioneer in the woolen industry in Idaho is'
Edmund Buckley, an enterprising and progres-
sive business, man who is now carrying
on operations in the line of woolen man-
ufactures near the town of Franklin. A
native of Yorkshire, England, he was born
April 25, 1839, of English parentage, and
was educated in the land of his birth, where
he remained until 1863, when he sailed for
America, Utah being his destination. In 1856
he had been converted to the faith of the Latter
Day Saints, and taking passage on the Atlantic,
a sailing vessel, he arrived at New York after a
voyage of seven weeks. In England he had mar-
ried Miss Alice Green, and he brought with him
his wife and their first child. They crossed the
plains with ox teams to Utah, and while en route
a young lady in their party was killed by light-
ning, near Fort Laramie.
After reaching the end of their journey Mr.
Buckley conducted a carding mill, making rolls
in the old way. The following season he came to
the Cache valley, settling at High creek, where
he made rolls for W. D. Hendricks. Subse-
quently he went to Brigham City, where he
operated the woolen factory for a few years and
then went to Logan to establish a factory there,
but the new enterprise fell through and he came
to Franklin, where with six others he formed a
company and obtained a roll mill. Business was
begun on the site of his present factory in 1878,
and was conducted by Mr. Buckley for three
years, when the plant was sold to the Franklin
Co-operative Company. At that time our sub-
ject went to the east with S. R. Parkinson and
purchased the machinery for the present woolen
mill, and in 1897 he bought out the other part-
ners and has since successfully conducted the
enterprise alone. He manufactures blankets,
yarns, linseys, flannels and hosiery and also
makes wool batting, scours blankets and cleans
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
685
cloth, carrying on a general woolen business with
the farmers and turning out an excellent quality
of goods made of pure wool. The mill has a
capacity of thirty thousand- pounds of wool per
annum, and is a valuable accession to the indus-
trial interests of this section of the state.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Buckley have been born
five children, as follows: Edmund; John; Joseph;
Mary Ann, now the wife of George Housley;
and Eliza Ann, wife of Joseph Hulse. The fol-
lowing children have also been born to J\Ir.
Buckley: Hugh Gould, James Waterhouse,
Hiram Smith, George Albert, Laura Jane, Zina
and James. Mr. Buckley, his wife and children
are all members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints. He is a member of the
high council of the stake, is a high priest, and
has held various positions of trust in the church,
both in England and in this country. In politics
he is an independent Democrat, but has never
been an office seeker, preferring to devote his
time and energies to his business interests, in
which he is meeting with creditable success.
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF CALDWELL.
This reliable banking institution was organized
in 1887 by Howard Sebree, of Caldwell, and B. F.
White, of Dillon, JNIontana. These two gentle-
men are also the organizers and owners of the
First National Bank at Dillon, Mr. White being
president of the latter institution, while Howard
Sebree is at the head of the Caldwell bank. The
partnership of these gentlemen has continued
through many years and the banks with which
they are connected are among the strongest in
the west. The First National Bank of Caldwell,
on its organization, was capitalized for fifty thou-
sand dollars. In 1892 it was made a national
bank and in 1898 it had a surplus of thirty-five
thousand dollars. From the beginning the enter-
prise has proved a profitable one, paying good
dividends. The deposits on September 7, 1899,
amounted to $726,576.49, and the volume of the
business daily transacted over its counters
amounts to twenty thousand dollars. Its patrons
reside throughout eastern Oregon and as far
east as Shoshone, and include many extensive
cattle dealers and mine-owners, as well as the
merchants and other business men of Caldwell.
The bank, under the presidency of Mr. Sebree,
has followed a safe, conservative and honorable
policy that has commended it to the confidence
and support of the public, and its success is well
merited. The president is an excellent financier,
a man of sound judgment and excellent ability,
and is widely honored for his sterling worth and
fidelity to duty.
HENRY C. DIPPEL.
Our German citizens of American birth are
among our best citizens. Most of them are in-
dustrious, frugal, enterprising, progressive and
strictly up to date. There is a strain of blood,
perhaps something in the atmosphere in which
they were born, which makes them good pio-
neers. They have an unerring scent for localities
for profitable investments and improvements.
Following is one of the many life stories which
go to prove all this:
Henry Clarence Dippel, a prominent pioneer
farmer and fruit-grower of Blackfoot, Idaho, is
a native son of California, having been born at
Lincoln, Placer county, October 26, 1859. His
father and mother, Philip and Elizabeth (Smith)
Dippel, were both born in Germany and, when
children, came with their parents to Philadelphia,
where they grew to maturity and were married.
In 1848 they went to Mexico and thence came
by the coast route to California. Air. Dippel was
employed at his trade as carpenter, and later,
during the pioneer days in the Golden state, in
running a pack train, an enterprise which was
not without excitement and profit. He lived out
the balance of his life-time in Placer county,
California, and died there in 1898, aged seventy-
three. His wife survives him, aged seventy-four.
After his early experiences he settled down to
farm life and was so successful that he left a
considerable estate, which is now owned by his
heirs. He was long a member of the German
Lutheran church, with which his wife is still
identified.
Henry Clarence Dippel was the fourth in order
of birth of the children of Philip and Elizabeth
Dippel. He was brought up on a farm and was
educated in the public schools of California and
at Atkinson Business College, from which insti-
tution he was graduated in 1878. After that he
came almost immediately to Blackfoot, Idaho.
The railroad was then under construction
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
through this part of the state, and its terminus
had moved on to Idaho Falls. He sought out a
favorable point, located on three hundred and
twenty acres of land, improved it, and sold it
well in 1887. He then bought his present fifty-
acre farm adjoining the town of Blackfoot, where
he has a fine home. His buildings are all large
and convenient, he has the best water privileges,
and, all in all, he is as comfortably situated as any
one need care to be. To Mr. Dippel belongs the
distinction of having been the first in this part
of the state to grow small fruits for market, and
he is among Idaho's foremost successful horti-
cultural farmers. His principal products in this
line are strawberries, which he ships to Montana,
where they find a ready and profitable sale.
Mr. Dippel is a Democrat, but not a practical
politician. His farm interests are so extensive
that he has no time to seek offices and very little
in which to assist others into them. He was
married in 1880 to ]\Iiss Luella May Parsons, a
native of Illinois, and they have five children,
named as follows: Harold, Daisy, Guy, Luella
and Ralph.
HON. GEORGE W. DAGGETT.
In the following paragraphs will be given the
history of the busy and useful career of a dis-
tinguished resident of Genesee, Idaho, who as
pioneer, as citizen, as legislator and as a soldier,
has done his duty without fear and without re-
proach, with an eye single to the greatest good
to the greatest number. His life is one which
has in it many lessons for those who would do
well and persevere in well doing.
George W. Daggett, one of the most prom-
inent citizens of Genesee, Idaho, was born in
Illinois, August 19, 1840, and is descended from
an old Vermont family. His grandfather, Asel
Daggett, was a soldier in the war of 1812-14 and
fought under Commander Perry and participated
in his historic victory. After the war he re-
turned to Vermont, where he lived until his
death, in 1862, at the age of eighty-nine years.
His son, Asel A. Daggett, father of George W.
Daggett, was born in Vermont and married Miss
Eliza White, at Woonsocket Falls, Rhode Island,
in 1838, and was one of the pioneers of the state
of Illinois. For some years he was warden of
the Illinois state penitentiary, at Joliet. In 1847
he moved to Wisconsin and located in Grant
county, where his wife died in 1852 and where
he lived to the venerable age of eighty-two years.
Mr. and Mrs. Daggett were devout and active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and
were held in the highest esteem by all who knew
them. They had ten children, five of whom are
living.
George W. Daggett was their fifth child in
order of birth. He grew up on the farm, working
hard in spring, summer and fall and attending
school three months during the winter, in a little
log school-house, until he was fourteen. He was
a robust boy and willing worker, and after that
time was in such demand for the farm work and
as an aid in the support of the family that he
was entirely debarred from attending school. But
he liked books and had a way of learning some-
thing from about everything he saw, and he be-
came a well informed man notwithstanding his
limited educational advantages.
The civil war had begun when, in August,
1861, he attained his majority. August 27, eight
days after his birthday, he enlisted in Company
I, Tenth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer In-
fantry. His first service was in the west, under
General Mitchell. Later he was in the command
of General W. T. Sherman. He participated in
twenty-seven battles and skirmishes. The
first engagement in which he took part was at
Perryville, Kentucky. Then followed the en-
gagements at Stone River, Chickamauga, Look-
out Mountain and Missionary Ridge. He went
with Sherman to the relief of Knoxville, and
was in all the battles from Chattanooga to the
capture of Atlanta, then participated in Sher-
man's memorable march to the sea and
was in the fighting at Savannah and at
Goldsborough and was one of the veterans
who participated in the grand review at
Washington, after the war was over. In
the engagement at Chickamauga he was shot
through the arm and in the side, but though his
wounds were very painful they were not danger-
ous, and he did not leave the field, and though he
was many times after that in the thickest of the
fight, with men falling all around him, he never
afterward suffered so much as an abrasion of the
skin. He was promoted to be orderly sergeant
of his company. He re-enlisted as a private in
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
687
Company K, Fourty-fourth Regiment Wisconsin
Volunteer Infantry, and was promoted to be or-
derly sergeant of that company also. He had
served to the very end of the struggle. His
ser^'ice had been arduous and exacting and he
had been every inch a soldier. He was honor-
ably discharged and returned to Wisconsin and
settled down to the peaceful life of a farmer.
Mr. Daggett remained in Wisconsin for three
years after his return from the army and then
moved to Nebraska and took up a homestead,
improved it until 1876, when he went to Cali-
fornia and thence to Oregon. He passed the
winter of 1876-7 at Lake View, Oregon, and in
the following spring came to Idaho and pre-
empted a claim on Little Potlatch, five miles
north of the site of Genesee, in Nez Perces coun-
ty. This he improved into a fine stock and dairy
farm and he has added to it from time to time
until he now has four hundred acres, constituting
one of the finest farms in this splendid farming
district. He has a town home in Genesee, where
he is spending the evening of a busy and success-
ful life.
Mr. Daggett was married, in 1865, to Mrs.
Mary E. Clowse, a native of Wisconsin, who
has divided with him the honors of their useful
life as pioneers and in the period of Idaho's won-
derful development. Mr. and Mrs. Daggett have
had two children, both of whom died young. By
her first marriage ^Irs. Daggett (then Mrs.
Clowse) had two daughters, Edith E., who mar-
ried Alexander Matthews, and Ella E., who mar-
ried John Matthews, brother of Alexander.
A lifelong Republican, devoted to the princi-
ples of his party, Mr. Daggett has always sup-
ported its measures, national and local, energet-
ically and unselfishly, with no hope of personal
reward and with no wish for political preferment.
However, his fellow citizens of Latah county
elected him to represent them in the Idaho state
legislature, an office which he has filled to the
satisfaction of his constituents, regardless of
party afiiliation. He was one of the committee
of five appointed by the speaker of the house to
investigate the revisions of the state laws, and
determine their constitutionality. He also formu-
lated and introduced a bill looking to the more
perfect regulation of the liquor traffic, which
provided that a license must in any case be taken
out for a full year and if a liquor dealer should
violate its provisions the license should be re-
voked and, upon conviction, he should forfeit
the fee for its unexpired term. The bill was
widely conceded to be one of the best bills intro-
duced during that session. Mr. Daggett is a
zealous and active member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and is the present commander of
his post and chaplain of the state organization of
the Grand Army of the Republic. He is public-
spirited to a degree that makes him a very help-
ful citizen and he is held in the highest esteem
by nis fellow citizens of all classes and of all
shades of political and religious belief.
ISAAC W. PFOST.
The Virginians have given to nearly every
state in the union much of the good blood and
good citizenship, for, wherever his lot is cast,
the Virginian is patriotic and does honor to his
environments. Idaho has many well known citi-
zens of Virginian birth, but not one who is more
highly regarded for integrity and perseverance
and all the other qualities which make for real
success than Isaac W. Pfost, of Boise, who, hav-
ing been born in Virginia prior to its division, is
literally a native of the Old Dominion.
Isaac W. Pfost, proprietor of the Bancroft Hotel,
Boise, Idaho, was born in Jackson county, Vir-
ginia, January 21, 1846, a son of Abraham and
Elizabeth (Rader) Pfost. His father and mother
were likewise natives of Virginia. Abraham
Pfost died at the age of sixty-two. Their son,
Isaac W. Pfost, was reared and educated in the
county of his nativity. In the fall of 1865, when
he was nineteen years old, he went to Cooper
county, Missouri. A year later he went to Bates
county, in the same state, where for two years
he was engaged in farming. He then removed
to Henry county, Missouri, where he became the
owner of a farm, which he operated successfully
until 1876, when he sold it and engaged in the
grocery business at Montrose, Missouri, in which
enterprise he prospered until, out of the kindness
of his heart and with the motive of helping
others, he became security on financial paper
which he was forced to redeem and which caused
him to lose nearly everything he had accumu-
lated. He managed to pay all his obligations,
however, and then, declining profifered assistance
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
to engage in business again at Montrose, he
thanked his well-meaning friends and announced
that he had taken the advice of Horace Greeley
as his guide, and was determined to "go west
and grow up with the country." Accordingly,
in the spring of 1878, he crossed the plains with a
team and arrived at Boise July 16. Until 1883
he was engaged in freighting between Kelton,
Utah, and Boise. He drove a twelve-horse, four-
wagon team and often transferred more than
twelve tons of freight at a time. In 1883 he
located on a farm ten miles from Boise, and lived
in that vicinity until the fall of 1898. As a
farmer he ranked with the most progressive and
successful in Ada county, improving his place
constantly and adopting the most advanced
methods in every department of his work. In
i8g8 he sold his farm for a good price, and, mov-
ing to Boise, he purchased the Bancroft Hotel
with its fixtures, furniture and stock. This hotel
has a history which dates back to 1893. It is a
history of success, to which Mr. Pfost is adding
with every passing month. The Bancroft Hotel
is a three-story brick structure, containing forty
rooms, and its conveniences are modern and
complete. Mr. Pfost, who is a Mason, an Odd
Fellow, a Pioneer of the West, a Good Templar
and an influential Democrat, is keeping an up-to-
date hotel, and through his numerous fraternal
connections and wide acquaintance is drawing
to it an extensive patronage, and it is deservedly
popular with the traveling public.
December 13, 1866, Mr. Pfost married Miss
Margaret Koontz, who died in Ada county,
Idaho, December 27, 1885, leaving seven chil-
dren: Mary (now Mrs. S. M. Burns), John A..
James E., Effie (now Mrs. Boyd Burns), Otis,
Charles L., and Daisy. Mr. Pfost's second mar-
riage was with Mrs. Rebecca (Curl) Brown and
was celebrated December 4, 1890. ]\Irs. Pfost
died May 30, 1891, and February 7, 1892, Mr.
Pfost married Mrs. Mary Pullman, a native of
Iowa and a daughter of Hugh and Amanda
Baker, prominent among the wealthy citizens of
Appanoose county. By her former marriage
Mrs. Pfost has one son, Carl D. Pullman, whose
father, Edward Pullman, a druggist at Center-
ville, died January 16, '1890, when Carl was
only six days old. By his present marriage Mr.
Pfost has three children: Merle, Robert and
Montie D. Mrs. Pfost first came to Idaho in
1885. Here she taught school three terms and
then returned to Iowa, where she lived until she
came back to Idaho in 1891. She is a member
of the Odd Fellows auxiliary order, the Daugh-
ters of Rebekah, and is interested in all the good
work carried on under its auspices and in all of
the local work of thejNIethodist Episcopal church,
of which she and her husband are members.
ASBURY B. CROCHERON.
Asbury B. Crocheron has spent almost his
entire life in Owyhee county and is now a lead-
ing resident of Silver City. His prominence in
this locality is indicated by his long retention in
public office, and at the present writing, 1899,
he is filling the office of county sheriff. A native
of Oregon, he was born in Eugene, that state,
on the 25th of October, i860. The family is of
French origin and was founded in America at
a very early period in the colonial history of the
country. A settlement was made in New York,
and when British oppression forced the colonies
into insurrection, the great-grandfather of our
subject entered the service and, with the rank of
captain, participated in the struggle for freedom..
J. H. Crocheron, the father of the sherifif, was
born in New York city, and when gold was
discovered in California made his way to the
Pacific slope. Subsequently he removed to Ore-
gon, where he was united in marriage to JNIiss
i\Iary J. Crow, and in 1864 he brought his family
to Idaho, locating in Idaho City, where he en-
gaged in mining for about three years. In 1867
he came to Silver City, and in 1872 turned his
attention to farming, his home being on Sinker
creek. There he has since carried on agricul-
tural pursuits, and, although now seventy-two
years of age. still superintends the operation of
his land. His wife also is living, and they have
three sons and two daughters, the family circle
yet unbroken by the hand of death.
Asbury B. Crocheron, the eldest child, was
educated in the public schools of Silver City, and
for many years has been engaged in the stock
business with his father, acquiring a wide reputa-
tion as one of the best riders and "ropers" in the
county. He is an excellent judge of stock and
his efforts in the line of this industry have been
crowned with a high degree of success. His
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
689
time of late years, however, has been divided be-
tween his private interests and his public service.
He allied himself with the Republican party on
attaining his majority and supported its men and
measures until 1896, when, differing radically in
regard to the money plank of the national plat-
form, he has since been a silver Republican. His
fitness for public office has several times led to
his selection for important service in the inter-
ests of his fellow citizens, his duties being in
connection with the offices of county assessor
and tax-collector, to which he was elected in
1890. So capably and acceptably did he serve
during that term that he was re-elected without
opposition in 1894, and filled the position until
1896, when he was elected county sheriff. Over
his public record there falls no shadow of wrong
or suspicion of evil, and men of all parties speak
of him in the most commendatory terms.
On the 14th of October, 1897, JNIr. Crocheron
was united in marriage to Mrs. Millie Walston,
nee Stanford, a niece of Senator Stanford, of
California, now deceased. They now have one
son, and their hospitable home in Silver City is
a favorite resort with their many friends. Mr.
Crocheron is past noble grand of Silver City
Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., and is prominent in
the fraternity, having the warm regard of the
brethren. Such in brief is the life history of one
whose career has been one of close connection
with the interests of Owyhee county, and as a
representative citizen of Idaho he well deserves
mention in this volume.
DAN FEOUR.
Among the sons of the Pine Tree state who
have found homes in the northwest and whose
history forms an integral part of the record of
the development of the rich mining interests of
southern Idaho is Dan Feour. He was born in
Aroostook county, Maine, June 9, 1850, a son
of William and Catherine Feour. His father was
born in Ireland, and when a young man came
to the United States. He died in the fifty-fourth
year of his age, and his wife departed this life
at the age of forty-four years. They were the
parents of five children, four of whom are yet
living.
Dan Feour was reared to manhood in Boston,
iNIassachusetts, and acquired a good practical
education in the public schools of that city. He
then learned the machinist's trade, and for some
time worked in the Grover & Baker sewing ma-
chine factory. In 1865 he cast in his lot with
the settlers on the Pacific coast, and has borne
no unimportant part in the development of this
section of the country. By way of the isthmus
of Panama he made his way to California and
there engaged in mining until 1869, when he
went to White Pine, Nevada, and thence to the
Squaw creek, Washington, and Victoria, British
Columbia, attracted by the discovery of gold at
those places.
In 1875 Mr. Feour arrived in Owyhee county,
where he has since engaged in mining, meeting
with excellent success in his undertakings. He
has also prospected in other parts of the state,
and prosperity has attended his labors. In 1879
he sold the St. John mine to the Henrietta Com-
pany; in 1894 the Colorado group of three claims
to the Trade Dollar Mining & Milling Company;
and in 1895 the Comstock to the Florida Moun-
tain Company. The following year he negotia-
ted the deal whereby the Humboldt group,
owned by John Feour and Taylor Gearhart, was
sold to the Florida Mountain Company. On all
these transactions our subject has realized a good
profit and has thus won a handsome competencv.
He still has other valuable mining interests, and
has a firm belief and faith in the richness of min-
eral deposits to be found in the mountains of
Owyhee county. Many of the mines in which he
has prospected have already yielded good re-
turns, and there is no doubt that others are rich
in ore.
In 1895 Mr. Feour married Miss Sallie Cat-
low, of Silver City, daughter of John Catlow,
who came to this country from England, being
one of the California pioneers of 1852, and of
Silver City in 1864. In partnership with Colonel
Dewey he opened the celebrated Black Jack
mine, and was a member of the firm of Smith,
■\Iann & Catlow, of San Francisco, where they
conducted a large butchering business. They
were also owners of large cattle ranches in the
Stein mountain country, where Mr. Catlow still
resides. He was also at one time a partner of
James G. Fair, of California fame. Mr. and Mrs.
Feour have one daughter, Marion.
In his social relations the subject of this review
<;90
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
is an Odd Fellow, and in political faith is a Re-
publican, but has no time for political work, his
energies being demanded in his mining interests.
By his activity along this line he has largely aided
in the development of the state and has advanced
Its welfare, for its prosperity and growth have, in
a great measure, come as the result of the dis-
covery and utilization of the rich mineral de-
posits that nature has so bountifully bestowed
upon the "Gem of the JNIountains."
ISAAC R. SMITH.
X Isaac Roston Smith, the managing partner of
the firm of Smith Brothers, prominent merchants
and millers of Salubria, and president of the
Washington County Fair Association, was born
in Morrow county, Ohio. March ii, 1859, his
ancestors, who were English, having been early
settlers in Berks county, Pennsylvania. His
grandfather, William Smith, was born in Berks
county and married ]Miss Elizabeth Speck. They
settled in Guernsey county and in 1842 removed
to Morrow county, Ohio, where he remained un-
til his death, in 1883, at the age of seventy-four
years. His wife passed away in 1898, aged
eighty-five years. Twelve children were born to
this worthy couple, one of whom was the father
of our subject, Finley McGrew Smith, whose
birth took place in Guernsey county, Ohio, on
February 11, 1836. He served in the Union
army during the civil war as a member of the
Third Ohio Cavalry. His wife was Miss Pamelia
Sutton, a native of Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania, and of the six children born to them live
are now living.
Isaac R. Smith is the second son in the order
of birth, and accompanied his parents to Kansas
in 1866, where he received his education in the
public schools and began life as a farmer, but
when seventeen years old he embarked in the
mercantile business, in which he has since con-
tinued. In 1891 he came with his brother to
Salubria and they founded the business in which
they have continued so successfully. In 1898
they built their flouring mill, which is equipped
with the plane-sifter system and full roller
process, which is the latest improvement, and
the mill has a capacity of sixty barrels of flour a
day. The firm also have the leading general
store of the town, a branch store at Warren,
where they supply a large mining trade, and they
also have a sawmill and manufacture lumber quite
extensively. They are popular, energetic and
liberal men, taking an active part in any enter-
prise that will advance the welfare of the town,
and they enjoy the good will and high esteem of
all with whom they come in contact, either in a
business or social way. In politics "sir. Smith is
a stanch Republican and a strong supporter of
the principles of that party.
HENRY PECK.
The first settler of the city of Malad was Henry
Peck, who, in the year 1864, came to Oneida
county and established his home upon the pres-
ent site of the count}--seat. For many years he
was prominently identified with the development
and progress of the county, and his name is in-
separably associated with the advancement which
has wrought a great transformation here, making
the once wild region a fertile section of fine farms
and pleasant homes.
Mr. Peck was born in Greene county, New
York, February 26, 1823, and was a representa-
tive of one of the old families of the Empire state,
his parents being Charles and Sarah (Gosley)
Peck. He was reared to manhood in New York,
and having arrived at years of maturity was there
married, in October, 1845, to Miss Julia E.
North, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of
Jonathan and Rachel (Bissell) North. Seven
children were born to them ere they removed
from New York to Nebraska, in the year 1857.
For six years Henry Peck engaged m farming in
that state and then went with his family to Farm-
ington, Utah, whence he came to J\Ialad the fol-
lowing year. This country had not then been
surveyed, and he secured a squatter's claim of
one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he built
a little log cabin, becoming the pioneer settler of
the town. From that time until his death he
was an active factor in the movements which
have led to the upbuilding and improvement of
this section of the state.
When ]\Ir. and Mrs. Peck came to Idaho they
brought with them their family of ten children,
the record of whom is as follows:. Dwight, a
resident of Lost River; Frederick, who is living
at Ross Fork: Leonard, of Challis; Sarah, now
the wife of Stanton G. Fisher, who for several
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
years was Indian agent at Spaulding, but is now
a resident of :Mount Idaho; Howard, of Alalad;
Julia E.. now Mrs. Wisley; Amelia E., twin sis-
ter of Julia and the wife of William B. Thews;
jNIrs. Mary Scott, now a widow; Emily, wife of
William E. Wass, of Butte, Montana; and
Charles, who is engaged in farming and stock-
raising, his home being in JMalad.
A large part of the county-seat of Oneida
county has been built upon the land which Henrv
Peck claimed upon coming to this state, and he
was one of the builders of Alalad and one of its
most industrious and enterprising citizens. The
family still own the old log house in which thev
first lived, but in 1875 the father erected a large
frame residence, in which they conducted a hotel
for a number of years. [Malad was the county-
seat of Oneida county when it embraced all of
southeastern Idaho, and the sessions of the courts
brought many people to the town, including
prominent early settlers, who were entertained
at the Peck Hotel. Thus the family gained a
wide acquaintance throughout this section of the
state, and their sterling worth won for them high
regard. As time passed, the farm was enlarged
and it now comprises two hundred acres of valu-
able land adjoining Malad on the west. It is
operated by Howard 'and Charles Peck, who are
very successful agriculturists.
Mr. Peck, the father, was a prominent and in-
fluential citizen, frequently honored by public
office. He served in the territorial legislature
and was probate judge, both in Nebraska and in
Oneida county. In politics he was a lifelong
Democrat, and in the discharge of his official
duties he manifested a marked loyalty to the
public trust. He was a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was
twice on a mission to the eastern section of this
country, and also went to Canada in the service
of the church. He died July 22, 1889, at the age
of sixty-six years, respected by all who knew
him. His property was left to his widow during
her lifetime and is then to go to the children.
It is now being managed by Howard and Charles,
two of her sons. The former is the eldest of the
sons now in Malad. He was married December
7, 1880, to Miss Jane Woozley, and they have
five sons. On the 3d of January, 1889, Charles
Peck married ^liss Ann Bvwater, and thev, too.
have five children. The family is one of promi-
nence in the community and Mrs. Julia Peck is
one of the brave pioneer women who took a no
less important, though more quiet, part in the
development and advancement of the state
through the pioneer epoch in its history.
LYTTLETON PRICE.
Alichigan has contributed its full share toward
the intellectual progress of the new west. As
many Michigan men are to be found in places of
trust and responsibility, in the learned profes-
sions and in the higher circles of business, in the
Rockies and beyond them, as men from anv state
in the Union. Lyttleton Price, who is part owner
and manager of the Red Cloud and Solace groups
of mines, is a prominent Idaho lawyer and poli-
tician, a resident of Hailey and a native of Ma-
comb county, ]\Iichigan. He was born twenty
miles northeast of Detroit, May 4, 1848, a son of
David and Elvira (Momford) Price. In both
lines of descent he is of English blood. Both
families turned out heroes in the Revolutionary
war. One of these was Captain Peter Price.
Another was Captain Simons, the maternal
grandfather of Mr. Price's mother. Both were
from Maryland, and the records of their valor are
to be found among the archives of that state.
:\Ir. Price's grandfathers both lived in Rush, New
York, twenty miles from the city of Rochester,
and there his parents were born and were mar-
ried. His father was a merchant, farmer and
miller, a man of extensive enterprises for his time
and generation. In religion he was a Universal-
ist; his wife was a Methodist. They removed to
Michigan in 1835 and were among the pioneers
in their part of the state. Mrs. Price died in 1881,
aged seventy-one years. Mr. Price is still liv-
ing at the old family home in Michigan, now
eighty-nine years old. They had two daughters,
and a son whose successful career will now be
considered somewhat at length.
Lyttleton Price was educated in the public
schools near his boyhood home and at Ypsilanti
Seminary. While still quite young he went to
San Francisco, California, this being in the year
1869. He entered upon the study of law, and
was admitted to the bar in 1872. He practiced in
California four years, with growing success, and
then went to Arizona, where he was L'nited
692
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
States attorney under General John C. Fremont,
who was governor of that territory, 1880-83.
When he gave up that responsible office, which
had been by no means insignificant in its de-
mands upon his resources, and the duties and re-
quirements of which he had met with the great-
est satisfaction to the judiciary of the territory, he
came to Hailey, where he has since practiced his
profession and given attention to his mining in-
terests. As a lawyer he has taken high rank in
Idaho and has built up a practice which extends
into nearby states.
He is influential in the councils of the Repub-
lican party and for the past three years has been
one of the most prominent silver Republicans in
Idaho. He was a delegate to the St. Louis con-
vention of 1896 and was one of the delegates who
walked out because of the attitude assumed by
the controllers of the convention toward the sil-
ver question. Since then he has never retreated
from the stand then taken, and he has frequently
been chosen chairman of the state conventions
of politicians of his way of thinking.
Mr. Price was first married in 1875. By that
marriage he has a son, Lyttleton Price, Jr..
twenty-one years of age, and now attending the
Golden School of Mines in Colorado. In 1891
he married Miss Florence Hunt, a lady of refine-
ment, culture and religious conviction, who is an
active and influential member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. They have an interesting lit-
tle daughter named Catharine. Mr. and Mrs.
Price have a beautiful home in Hailey, which is
in every respect all that the term can imply under
the most favorable circumstances. They have a
wide and constantly enlarging circle of acquaint-
ance and are universally admired for their many
good qualities of mind and heart. They are in-
fluential members of the community and their
influence is a good and helpful one.
R. F. BULLER.
In modern ages, and to a large extent in the
past, banks have constituted a vital part of or-
ganized society, and governments, both mon-
archical and popular, have depended upon then\
for material aid in times of depression and
trouble. Their influence has extended over the
entire world and their prosperity has been the
barometer which lias unfalteringlv indicated the
financial status of all nations. Of this important
branch of business R. F. Buller is a worthy rep-
resentative. In April, 1892, he came to Hailey,
and is now president of the First National Bank,
which has become one of the leading and reliable
financial concerns in southern Idaho.
Mr. Buller is a native of Coburg, Canada, his
birth having there occurred March 10, 1840. He
is of English descent, and his father, Charles G.
Buller, a native of England, emigrated to Can-
ada in 1830. He was married in Coburg to Miss
Frances Boucher. He had been educated, in
Oxford College, for the Episcopal ministry, but
preferred agricultural pursuits to the calling for
which his parents intended him, and throughout
his business career carried on farming. His
was an honorable and successful life, and his
death occurred in 1897, when he had attained the
ripe old age of ninety-six years. His wife passed
away in 1898, at the age of eighty-six years.
They had nine children, five of whom are living.
R. F. Buller, the eldest son, having acquired a
good preliminary education, pursued a commer-
cial course in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was gradu-
ated in 1864, after which he took up the study of
law in the law department of the Michigan State
University, at Ann Arbor. He was there gradu-
ated in 1866, and for twenty-four years thereafter
successfully engaged in the practice of his pro-
fession in Missouri. He spent sixteen years in
Carthage, that state, and became one of the most
distinguished and able members of the bar, hav-
ing a large clientage, whereby he was connected
with most of the important litigation tried in the
courts of his district. He was also a member of
the Missouri state legislature in 1870 and was a
man of prominence in public life. As his finan-
cial resources increased, as the result of his large
law practice, he made judicious and extensive in-
vestments in real estate, and also became a stock-
holder in various banks in Missouri, acquiring
a wide and profitable banking experience. In
April, 1892, he came to Hailey and has since
been connected with the financial interests of this
city. He erected one of the good residences of
the town and the company of which he is presi-
dent also built the commodious bank building
which they occupy. As the head of the First
National Bank Mr. Buller has become widelv
known in Hailey and throughout the surround-
^'<uxf^6.^U)
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ing country. His business methods are conserv-
ative, sound and trustworthy, and his capable
management has made the First National Bank
one of the most reliable financial establishments
in this part of the state. He also has a large and
valuable ranch, of two thousand acres, fourteen
miles below Hailey. There is an abundance of
good water on the place, and he is extensively
engaged in raising grain and Hereford and
short-horn cattle and also sheep. The income
from the ranch is not inconsiderable, and in ad-
dition to that property ]\Ir. Buller has extensive
realty holdings in California, South Dakota, Mis-
souri and Iowa.
In 1880 ;Mr. Buller was united in marriage to
Miss Rosa Osburn, a native of Indiana, and they
have a son, Charles, who is now attending school
in Minnesota. The parents are members of the
Episcopal church, in which our subject is now
serving as vestryman. In politics he has been a
lifelong Republican, and, keeping well informed
on the issues of the day, gives a loyal pupport to
the party, but has never been an aspirant for of-
fice, preferring to devote his time and energies
to his business interests, in which he has met
with excellent success. He has by ceaseless toil
and endeavor attained marked prosperity in
business affairs, has gained the respect and con-
fidence of men, and is recognized as one of the
distinctively representative citizens of Hailey.
JOSEPH C. RICH.
Judge Joseph C. Rich, eldest son of Hon.
Charles C. Rich, a sketch of whom appears else-
where in this history, was born in Nauvoo, Han-
cock county, Illinois, January 16, 1841. His
mother's maiden name was Sarah D. Pea, — good
stock all around, — his ancestors being of that
hardy pioneer school who have subdued the wilds
of the middle and western states and made pos-
sible the grandeur of those noble common-
wealths.
When but a boy of five years he, in connection
with his parents and several thousand others, was
driven from the city of his birth by mobocratic
persecution, and commenced that historic jour-
ney, the Mormon exodus toward the setting sun,
which has since resulted in the settlement and
the development of our great "Inter-Mountain
Empire." He wintered in 1846-7 at Mount
Pisgah, then a portion of the wilderness of Iowa.
At this place nearly one-third of that camp died
during the winter, through sickness brought on
by exposure and want. The well peopled grave-
yard found there by the permanent settlers who
subsequently settled that region, attests suf-
ficiently that fact.
As soon as grass could grow in the spring of
1847 th^ journey westward was resumed and con-
tinued throughout the summer until one thou-
sand four hundred miles — long, lonesome and
weary ones — brought them, on the 2d day of
October. 1847, to the then parched and desolate
valley of the Salt Lake. This journey was made
by ox and cow teams, manipulated by men, boys
and women, through a country thickly peopled
by hostile Indians, through countless multitudes
of buffalo, which frequently stampeded the teams
and were so numerous that at times the train was
compelled to camp, corral the cattle within the
enclosures of their wagons and wait for hours
and sometimes days for- the immense buffalo
herds to pass. On one of these occasions the
subject of this sketch came nearly losing his life
by a frightened ox jumping over a wagon,
alighting on top of him. Mr. Rich says now,
contemplating the number of those noble animals
he remembers seeing in the Platte valley alone,
he cannot realize the fact that they are now al-
most an extinct race. He says this wanton, use-
less and cruel extermination of these noble ani-
mals is a disgrace to the Anglo-Saxon sport, so-
called, and to the government which permitted it.
His arrival in the Salt Lake valley had been
preceded by the original pioneer band of one
hundred and forty men and three women and
some companies, and all went to work and built
a fort, consisting of log and adobe houses, en-
closing a square of ten acres. Four gates, one
on each side, were so constructed that all the
stock of the colony could be driven in at night,
the gates securely fastened, and by regular details
of guards night and day, as security against In-
dian attacks, the first home and settlements of
the Rocky mountain region began. The spot,
geographically, at that time, was Mexican soil,
notwithstanding which the stars and stripes wen;
floated to the breeze. — a provincial government
under the constitution of the L'nited States was
organized. The ending of the war with Mexico
694
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and the treaty of Guadaloupe-Hidalgo culmin-
ated in the creation by congress of the territory of
Utah, which supplanted the provincial govern-
ment previously formed.
IMr. Rich attended such primitive schools as
then existed, learned to read and write, and
graduated in all the lore of Webster's Elementan/
Spelling Book, the only school library then
deemed necessary, and the only one to be had.
While his opportunities to obtain even the rudi-
ments of an education were of the rudest and
most meager kind, he prides himself on the fact
that none of the schools of his day produced a
single "dude."
In 1855 he accompanied his father to San Ber-
nardino, California, then a Mexican grant which
his father and Amasa M. Lyman had purchased
under the direction of the Mormon authorities.
While here he studied surveying and was em-
ployed a considerable part of his time in assisting
in the survey of that ranch into lots and tracts
for farming purposes. The grant was twenty
miles square and embraced nearly the whole of
San Bernardino county, California; and is now
probably one of the richest and most productive
parts of the whole state. He returned to Salt
Lake City in 1857 and worked on his father's
farm.
In i860, with his father, he performed a mis-
sion as a Mormon elder to Great Britain, visiting
England and Wales and remained abroad until
the fall of 1863, when he returned to his home in
Salt Lake. He was one of the youngest elders
ever sent abroad. During the fall of this year
his father was directed by Brigham Young to
summon volunteers and effect at that time set-
tlements in Bear Lake valley, now the southeast-
ern county of the state of Idaho, and in Septem-
ber of that year, with a company of fifty horse-
men and teams the valley was visited, the town
of Paris, now the county-seat of Bear Lake coun-
ty, was founded and from this beginning com-
menced the settlement of southeastern Idaho.
Mr. Rich accompanied the settlers in 1863 and
for the next few years put in his time surveying
the towns and villages and farming lands, from
Evanston, Wyoming, to Soda Springs, the
United States surveys not having then been
made.
The early settlers of this section had much to
contend with. Hostile Indians had to be watched
continually, the horses and cattle were herded by
armed men, the frosts of the high elevation — six
thousand feet — killed the crops, and it was only
by great suffering, deprivation and the sternest
persistence of the settlers in remaining, that the
region was peopled and the difficulties overcome.
Now the valleys teem with happy homes, grist
and sawmills, trades and business of all kinds,
public schools second to none, colleges, radroads,
telegraphs and telephones, canals, and steamers
on our lakes, and a population of tens of thou-
sands. Such have been the results of the pluck,
energy, sufferings and successful efforts of the
early settlers of southeastern Idaho. Of this
kind of material nations are made possible and
none are entitled to more credit than the forerun-
ners of American civilization in the Rocky
mountain states and territories.
Hang a garland on the grave
Of every pioneer;
We owe to them our happy homes,
Our comfort and our cheer.
In 1886 Mr. Rich married Ann Eliza Hunter,
a daughter of Bishop Edward Hunter, of Salt
Lake City, a name almost as widely known in
Utah as that of Brigham Young. They have
living three girls and three boys, — Edward C,
Susaan J., Sarah L., Libbey, Joseph C. and Stand-
ley H. They live on the shore of Bear lake and
have natural white-sulphur hot springs at their
home, which are frequented for bathing purposes
by hundreds, on account of the health-giving,
medicinal qualities of the waters.
Mr. Rich has since manhood been actively en-
gaged in politics, is a stanch, unflinching Demo-
crat, and his abilities as a leader have been rec-
ognized by his party in the state. He has been
elected to almost every office in his county and
district. Twice he represented Bear Lake county
as a representative to the territorial legislature;
presided over the Democratic state convention in
1894; was elected to and attended as delegate
the Chicago convention in 1896, casting his vote
and that of the state for William Jennings Bryan
for president; was elected state senator in 1896,
on an anti-Dubois platform, was the chairman of
the Democratic legislative caucus, and did more,
perhaps, than any other man in the state to carry
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
695
out the fusion contract between the Democrats
and the Populists. In this contest the honor of
the Democratic party of the state was involved,
and to the efforts and successful generalship of
Judge Rich and his associates may be attributed
the success of that campaign. Mr. Rich believed
that the Democratic party had entered into and
made an honest compact with the Populist party,
and that for his party to retain its honor and re-
main a worthy power in the state the terms of
that compact must be faithfully maintained, — and
they were.
As a forcible, fluent and impressive speaker and
debater he stands with the first of his party;
fearless, keen-witted, quick and able m debate
and repartee, well informed on all public ques-
tions, sarcastic when necessary, unusually fair to
an opponent, — these qualities have made him one
of the ablest men in the state in his championship
of the cause of Democracy. In the struggle of
the women for female suffrage, he championed
their cause and did all he could to give them the
standing they have in the statutes of the state to-
day.
He fought bitterly the disfranchisement of the
Mormon people in the territory of Idaho, claim-
ing the constitutional right of every religious
class to participate in the affairs of state, denied
the right of government to interfere or punish
conscionable affairs, and even went so far as to
resign his membership in the Mormon church
rather than subject himself to disfranchisement.
He continued his fight against creed discrimina-
tion until the repeal of the obnoxious and un-
constitutional statute and the rehabilitation of
the franchise of the people. In this matter he
fought both Democrats- and Republicans alike,
both parties having participated in the crime.
In 1898 a fusion on the state and congressional
ticket for the state of Idaho was effected between
the Democrats and silver-Republicans as against
the Populists on one side and the straight Re-
publicans on the other, — a three-cornered politi-
cal fight. The fusion as between the first parties
did not extend to the county and district offices.
A judge was to be elected for the fifth judicial
district, comprising nearly one-third of the coun-
ties of the state, — Oneida, Bannock, Bingham,
Fremont, 'Lemhi and Bear Lake counties. The
silver-Republicans issued an invitation for the
Democrats to go into joint convention, to nomi-
nate a judge, which invitation was accepted by
the Democrats. When it was subsequently pri-
vately ascertained that ]\Ir. Rich would have an
undoubted majority on joint ballot for the nomi-
nation, the silver-Republicans refused to honor
their own call, and the result was separate con-
ventions of the two parties on the judgeship
nomination. The Democrats nominated Judge
Rich; the silver-Republicans, F. S. Dietrich; the
straight Republicans. John A. Bagley; and the
Populists, Sample H. Orr, Judge Rich was
elected by a clear plurality over all of one thou-
sand eight hundred and twenty-four votes. His
term of office expires in January, 1904. That he
makes a fair, able, earnest and just judge is con-
ceded by all, and the people feel that in confiding
to him the interest of their lives and property they
have made no mistake.
HON. JAMES J. McDON.A.LD.
The subject of this sketch, one of the leading
general contractors of Idaho and a man of public
spirit, is a native of Ireland, his birth having oc-
curred in the city of Dublin, July 12, 1862. In
his native city he acquired a liberal education,
and in 1880 emigrated to the United States, lo-
cating in Denver, Colorado, where he remained
for two years. From 1882 to 1890 he was en-
gaged in railway construction, in several states,
and during the last named year came to Idaho,
settling at Nampa, where he has since resided.
During his residence in this state Mr. McDon-
ald has been engaged in mining, irrigation and
railway construction, under contract, the latest
contract for the latter species of work being made
for the grading of the Boise, Nampa & Owyhee
Railroad.
But his value to the community is not confined
to the directing of manual labor, for his intellec-
tual heritage and attainments have led him to
take an efficient part in the public welfare. Po-
litically he is a Republican, and he is always
active in supporting the principles and interests
of that party. In the autumn of 1898 he was
elected to represent Canyon county in the state
senate of the. fifth session of the Idaho legisla-
ture. While a member of that body he was chair-
man of the railroad and transportation commit-
tee and a member of the committee on engrossed
696
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
bills and corporations. He was one of the lead-
ing members of the senate, taking an active and
influential part.
Fraternally Mr. McDonald is a member of the
I. O. O. F. and of the B. P. O. E.. and he is also
a member of the Commercial Club of Nampa.
In all his business and social relations he is an
influential leader.
In 1890, in Boise, Mr. McDonald was united in
marriage with Miss Florence DeMeyer, a native
of Fulton, Kentucky. .
JAMES H. HARTE.
A well known real-estate and insurance agent
of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is James H. Harte, who
was born in Connecticut, near the city of Hart-
ford. July 25, 1854, his parents being Walter and
Elizabeth (Gibson) Harte, both of whom were
natives of Connecticut, in which state the father
died when about fifty-five years of age, while the
mother still makes her home there.
]\Ir. Harte of this review pursued his education
in the public schools of Plainville, and Hartford.
Connecticut. He then entered upon his business
career as a clerk in a dry-goods store in Hart-
ford, where he remained for four years, after
which he conducted operations along the same
line until 1878. He then enlisted in the regular
army as a member of Company C, Second
United States Infantry, and after serving for five
years was honorably discharged, November 8,
1883, at Fort Spokane, having in the meantime
attained the rank of first sergeant.
After leaving the army !Mr. Harte served for
three years as bookkeeper for the post trader at
Fort Spokane and then came to Coeur d'Alene,
in the winter of 1886. For one year he was en-
gaged in general merchandising in this town, and
since the spring of 1888 has been engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business.
In 1885 was celebrated his marriage to Miss
Amelia R. Brooks, a native of Boston, Massa-
chusetts, and they have one child, Margaret. In
his political affiliations Mr. Harte is a Republican
and keeps well informed on the issues of the day,
thus being qualified to give an intelligent support
to the party of his choice. He was made a
Knight of Pythias in May, 1890, at the institu-
tion of the lodge at Coeur d'Alene, and was its
first chancellor commander. In June, 1892, at
the institution of the grand lodge of Idaho, at
Moscow, he was elected grand keeper of the rec-
ords and seals, which position he has since ac-
ceptably filled. He takes an active part in all the
work and interests of the order and is a gentle-
man of pleasing address and manner who wins
friends wherever he goes and always commands
the respect of those with whom he is brought in
contact.
JOSEPH A. CLARK.
The Idaho canal is fed by Snake river, ten
miles above Idaho Falls. It has three headgates,
is forty feet wide and thirty-five miles long and
irrigates one hundred thousand acres of land, the
country which it waters being largely settled by
pro'sperous farmers who raise hay and grain in
large quantities. The productiveness of this
stretch of country and the prosperity which flows
from it are made possible by this great inland im-
provement, and the canal was made possible
largely through the personal efforts of Joseph A.
Clark, who advocated it, promoted it and was
chiefly instrumental in raising the two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars required for its con-
struction.
Joseph A. Clark, mayor of Idaho Falls, Idaho,
was born in North Carolina, December 26, 1837,
and is descended from Irish ancestors who set-
tled early in the south. His great-grandfather,
William Clark, fought under General Nathaniel
Greene in the Revolutionary war, and died in
North Carolina at the age of eighty. His son,
Dugan Clark, grandfather of Joseph A. Clark,
was born in North Carolina and became a Qua-
ker minister. His son William Clark, second,
father of Joseph A. Clark, was born in Greens-
borough, North Carolina, and there married a
North Carolina girl, named Lois Worth, a
daughter of David Worth. William Clark, sec-
ond, was a merchant, and spent most of his days
in the south, but late in life he came north to In-
diana, where he died at the age of sixty-five. He
inherited slaves, but was so thoroughly opposed
to slaverv that he freed them. When the ques-
tion of slavery threatened to disrupt the nation he
was a Union man. His wife died in 1895, aged
eighty. They had twelve children, of whom
eleven are living. The one who is deceased died
as the result of an injury.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
697
Joseph A. Clark, third child of William and
Lois (Worth) Clark, was graduated from Earl-
ham College, Indiana, in 1862, and has passed
the bus_v years of his life as a civil engineer. He
came to Idaho Falls in 1885, accompanied by his
wife and six children. The town was then in-
significant, and its tributary territory was scarce-
ly susceptible to profitable cultivation. He saw
the need of irrigation and, as has been stated, was
prominent in projecting and pushing the Idaho
canal to completion. His trained skill and long
experience as an engineer were brought to bear
on the problem which confronted the settlers and
retarded the development of the country, and his
enthusiasm and business ability were potent fac-
tors in the success of the enterprise.
In 1866 Mr. Clark married Miss Eunice Had-
ley, a native of Hadlev, Indiana, a town named in
honor of her father, Nathan Hadley, who was a
pioneer on its site. Their children are Nathan
H. (see biographical sketch); William, a farmer;
Worth, a lawyer, of the firm of Holden & Clark ;
Mary, wife of W. H. Holden ; and Barzillai and
Chase, who are being educated. Mr. Clark is an
influential Democrat.
SAMUEL R. PARKINSON.
The name of this gentleman is so inseparably
connected with the history of Franklin, its up-
building and its progress along commercial, edu-
cational and church lines, that no history of the
southeastern section of the state would be com-
plete without the record of his useful career. He
was one of the first to locate in Franklin and is
numbered among its honored pioneers. A native
of England, he was born in Barrowford, Lan-
castershire, April 12, 1831, a son of William and
Charlotte (Rose) Parkinson, who were likewise
natives of that country. He was only six months
old when his father died, and two years later his
mother married Edward Berry, a gentleman who
was very fond of travel and who took his wife and
stepson to many foreign ports, including the
Cape of Good Hope, Africa, thence to Sydney,
Australia, to New Zealand, to Valparaiso, in
South America, and then back to England in the
fall of 1846. They were shipwrecked in the Irish
channel, were rescued in life-boats, and were
landed in Ireland at the time of the severe famine
in that country. Mr. Parkinson's stepfather
expended nearly all his means in relieving the
distress of his relatives in that country, and in
the spring of 1848 he sailed with his family for
New Orleans and thence to St. Louis, where our
subject first heard the teachings of the Latter
Day Saints and embraced that faith.
The cholera was raging in the year 1849. and
by that dread scourge of the race he lost his
mother. The people died in great numbers, and
burials occurred not only in the day time but at
night, as well. Three years later, in 1852, Mr.
Parkinson was happily married, in St. Louis, to
Miss Arabella Ann Chandler, and in the spring of
1854 they crossed the plains to L'tah. bringing
with them their first-born son, Samuel C. Par-
kinson. Our subject had a team of mules, but
the train was principally composed of ox teams.
They left St. Louis, June i, 1854, and reached
Salt Lake, September 25, after a dangerous and
difficult trip, in which they were in constant fear
of Indian attack. They drove their wagons two
abreast. and were frequently surrounded by In-
dians. At night they chained their wagons to-
gether in a circle and every man slept under his
wagon with his rifle ready to be used in the de-
fense of his life, family and property, and a guard
was maintained all night long. About the time
they reached Fort Laramie the terrible Indian
massacre occurred there. The Indians flocked
tc the fort in large numbers to receive the pres-
ents which were annually given them, and some
of their number killed a white man's cow. Com-
plaint was made to the soldiers and an officer was
sent to the chief to demand the delivery of the
culprits. The officer, however, was intoxicated,
and told the Indian that he would blow his head
off if the guilty parties were not instantly de-
livered. The chief stood there, and with a wave
of his hand called attention to the large number
of his followers, saying, "If you shoot me you will
be instantly killed." The officer repeated his
threat and killed the chief, and at this the Indians
killed the officer. Then the Indians charged the
fort, killed every soldier, helped themselves to
the presents, and destroyed everything they did
not -^yant.
Mr. Parkinson was then ten miles west of the
fort, and when his party heard of the massacre
they expected to all be killed. However, they
divided the company into two sections, and Mr.
698
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Parkinson, having a mule team, was sent in the
lead of the first section. They drove all night
and made the best possible time to get out of the
reach of the excited savages. After a hard jour-
ne}' across the plains they at length arrived safely
in Salt Lake City,_ where stood the little houses
which had been built by the first emigrants. Mr.
Parkinson aided in building the Temple. A
canal was constructed on which to float the rock
from the quarry toward the building. After his
work there was completed our subject located at
Keysville, twenty-five miles north of Salt Lake
City, where for the first time he engaged in farm-
ing. It was very hard to obtain water there,
however, and in 1859, with two or three others,
he started to seek a better location. Crossing the
mountains to Hunsaker valley, they arrived at the
present site of Wellsville, and found that the land
there had been mostly claimed, so Mr. Parkinson
continued on to Logan, then a town of four or
five houses, while two or three more were being
builded at Providence and at Smithfield. In the
spring of i860 an attempt was made to start a
town at Richmond, but the company came to the
present site of Franklin and being so well pleased
with the country they sent for their families, and
soon about fifty families were here gathered, and
the work of building houses in the form of a hol-
low square was begun. Mr. Parkinson, Thomas
Smart and Mr. Sanderson were appointed to sur-
vey the land. They had no compass, and the
lines were run by means of the north star. The
land was surveyed in five and ten acre lots, the
latter to be used for farming purposes, the former
for meadow land, and who should occupy these
was decided by casting lots, the most perfect har-
mony prevailing through it all. After this the
town property was surveyed in one and a quarter
acre lots and the substantial residences that now
compose the town were erected on these. In the
fall President Young visited Franklin, named the
place and appointed Preston Thomas as bishop.
A log school-house was erected and was also used
for a meeting-house. Mr. Parkinson and Mr.
Smart built the first sawmill and then furnished
the lumber for the town. The former also started
a little store and brought his goods from Salt
Lake, a distance of one hundred and ten miles,
carrying produce to that place and returning with
merchandise. He also procured the first thresh-
ing machine seen in the locality. It was a chaff-
piler and another machine followed to clean up
the grain. In 1869 or 1870 a co-operative store
was established, a branch of the great co-opera-
tive store at Salt Lake City, from which place
they obtained their goods. The citizens took
stock and divided the profits, which made the
goods very cheap. Shares were sold at ten dol-
lars each, everyone got the goods at the same
price, and each family was expected to own at
least one share. The store was controlled by a
board of directors, and Mr. Parkinson was
elected its manager, carrying on the business for
fifteen years, after which his sons William and
Franklin, in turn, acted as superintendent for a
number of years. In the meantime other stores
were established and a proposition was made to
unite them all, which resulted in the formation of
The Oneida Mercantile Union, which has con-
tinued to carry on business to the present time,
]\Ir. Parkinson serving as one of its director.?
from the beginning.
In 1879 he went to the east to procure machin-
ery for the first woolen mill built in the state,
making his purchases mostly in Buffalo, Nev/
York, and the mill was started in the spring of
1880. In 1893 he engaged in the sheep-raising
business, but the price of wool steadily declined
for some time, and it was difficult to realize any-
thing from his business. He persevered, how-
ever, and since the advance in wool has been
meeting with good success, recently selling out
at a good profit.
Mr. Parkinson has been a Republican since the
organization of the party, but has never sought
nor desired office. In his church he has been a
useful and valued member, and has ser\'ed as
teacher, elder, a seventy, and as bishop's coun-
selor at Franklin. In 1873 he went as a mission-
ary to Arizona, for the purpose of colonizing that
territory, and was there five months, but it be-
came so dry that the settlement had to be aban-
doned, although the original plan has since been
accomplished. He is still bishop's counselor and
has been an honored patriarch in the church for
years.
By his first wife ^Ir. Parkinson had the follow-
ing named children: Samuel C, now a promi-
Hient citizen of Franklin; William C, president
of the Pocatello stake; Charlotte C, the twin sis-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
699
ter of William C, and now the wife of William
Pratt; George C, president of the Oneida stake;
Franklin C, who is engaged in the sheep busi-
ness ; Esther C, wife of Henry T. Rogers ; Clara
C, who became the wife of Charles Goaslind, and
died January 20, 1897; Caroline C, present wife
of Charles Goaslind. In 1867 Mr. Parkinson
was married to ]Miss Charlotte Smart, daughter
of Thomas Smart, a highly respected pioneer of
Franklin, and their children are as follows: An-
nie S., wife of Ossian L. Packer; Lucy S., wife
of Charles Lloyd; Joseph S.; Frederick S., who
is now on a mission in the northeastern states;
Leona S., wife of Walter Monson; Bertha S.,
wife of Nephi Larson; Eva S., Hazel S., Nettie
S. and Vivian S., all at home. In 1869 he mar-
ried Miss Maria Smart, a sister of his second
wife, and they have been blessed with the follow-
ing children: Thomas; Samuel S.; Luella S.,
wife of IMatthias F. Cowley, an apostle in the
Church of the Latter Day Saints; Arabella S.,
wife of Robert Daines; Sarah Ann S., wife of
George T. ^Marshall, Jr.; Olive S., wife of Ezra
Monson; Edmund S., who is now on a mission
in the southern states; Clarence S. ; Susan S.;
Hazen S.; Henry S., who died at the age of thir-
teen years ; Cloe S., who died in infancy ; Lenora
S., who also died at infancy; and Glenn S., who
completes the family. In all there were thirty-
three children, of whom twenty-seven are living.
There are sixty-nine grandchildren and six great-
grandchildren. All of the members of this num-
erous family are highly respected citizens of Ida-
ho, and Mr. Parkinson is entitled to great credit
for the manner in which he has reared and edu-
cated his children.
Mr. Parkinson is a polygamist in his religious
faith and has followed the dictates of his own
conscience. In 1879 he was arrested, tried and
acquitted. In 1886 he was again arrested for the
same alleged offense, taken to Blackfoot, c.x.im-
ined by the grand jury and held for trial. He
acknowledged in a most manly vvay that he had
three wives and thirty children, and that he had
been married to the last wife over twenty years.
His lawyer defended him. in a speech in which he
stated that Mr. Parkinson was a pioneer citizen of
the state, of the very highest respectability, and
had been a potent factor in the development and
improvement of the county. jNIr. Parkinson then
asked the judge if he might speak. He said he
loved his family — all of them — as much as any
man could; that he had entered into a solemn
covenant with them to take care of them; that
they were his for time and for eternity, and he
would suffer himself to be hung between the
heavens and the earth before he would either
deny or forsake them. Judge Hayes then said:
"You have left me no alternative but to convict
you," and sentenced him to six months in the
state penitentiary and imposed a three hundred
dollar fine, but told the warden to treat Mr. Par-
kinson well and not to shave him, and remarked
that when he visited Boise he would go and see
him. Mr. Parkinson thanked the judge and
went to the penitentiary, where he served out his
time, but was allowed a month off for good be-
havior, after which he returned to his family and
friends. In 1884 he built a large and commo-
dious residence in Franklin, and there the good
pioneer and patriarch, surrounded by his numer-
ous family, is spending the evening of a faithful
and exceedingly useful life, enjoying the high es-
teem of a host of warm friends.
PETER DONNELLY.
Am.ong the prominent pioneer miners of Silver
City we should mention this highly esteemed
citizen of Dewey, Owyhee county. He is a na-
tive of Ireland, born in county Longford, Octo-
ber 31, 1833. In 1840 his parents emigrated to
the New World, settling in Rhode Island, and
young Peter was brought up in the city of Provi-
dence. He arrived in California in the spring of
1853 and for several years followed placer-min-
ing, in all the prominent diggings of that state.
L'pon the discovery of gold at Oro Fino he was
among the first to arrive there, in April, 1862,
and engaged in furnishing the miners with meat.
He arrived in Idaho basin in ^March, 1863, and in
June following came to the vicinity of Silver City,
as a member of the company headed by Captain
Michael Jordan. The packers then at the gulch
were Cyrus Iby, Dr. Rood (one of the original
discoverers). Jack Reynolds and a Mr. Boon. A
man named Thompson whipsawed the lumber
and made and set the first flumes. Mr. Donnelly
and his partner, Michael Jordan, set an Indian-
head on the top of a pole at the camp, which be-
came the occasion of the place being called
700
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
"Skull Camp." Another partner was a man
named Charles Skinner. They together opened
the wagon road to Snake river, having first ob-
tained from the territorial legislature a charter,
which had a life of fifteen years. The toll on this
road was three dollars for a pair of horses and
wagon, one dollar for a horse and carriage, and
twenty-five cents for a saddle-horse. At the
same time the company were engaged in running
the mines and made a great amount of money.
Swalley Nelson was the first discoverer of the
quartz mines here, in October, 1863; next was
the discovery of the Oro Fino and the Morning
Star, on the War Eagle mountain. Mr. Fogus,
who also was a partner in these discoveries, sold
two-thirds of his interest to Marion More. Mr.
Donnelly has been connected with Colonel Dew-
ey in many business enterprises, and he is an en-
thusiastic friend of the Colonel; they are indeed
fast friends. Mr. Donnelly is tmiformly repre-
sented to be a whole-souled, generous and liberal
man and a good representative of the early set-
tlers of Idaho.
WALTER CLARK.
Walter Clark, now the leading merchant of
Ketchum, is numbered among the honored pio-
neers of Idaho of 1863, and for more than forty-
five years has been closely identified with the de-
velopment of the northwest, having taken up his
residence in Oregon in 1853. Into a wild re-
gion infested by Indians and by ruffianly white
men, the forests standing in their primeval grand-
eur, the mountains still holding their rich treas-
ures, he came and established his home. He was
one of the vanguard of civilization, and has borne
an important part in opening up this region to
industry and commerce. Few men of the north-
west are more widely known in this section of
the Union than Walter Clark, and to-day, in his
pleasant home in Ketchum, he is enjoying the
comfortable competence that has come to him as
the result of years of honest toil.
Mr. Clark was born in Iowa, October 10, 1840,
and is of English and German ancestry. He lost
his parents when only five years of age, and
knows little of them save that his father was
Jacob Clark, and that they resided in Danville,
Lee county, Iowa. He lived with J. S. Reland
until he was thirteen years of age, when, in 1853,
he crossed tlie plains to Oregon, with W. C.
Myer. They crossed the Missouri river May 10,
1853, and arrived at Rogue river on the 3d of
September following. He had but little oppor-
tunity to attend school and may be called a self-
educated as well as self-made man. In the school
of experience, however, he has learned many
valuable lessons, and is now a man of broad,
practical knowledge, thoroughly in touch with
the interests of his town, state and nation. In his
youth he eagerly accepted any employment that
offered, working for some time on a ranch and
at herding cattle. In 1863 he came to Idaho
basin, driving a pack train, and in 1864 went to
Montana. For twenty-five years he engaged in
the packing business, owning from fifty to seven-
ty-five mules, utilized in hauling the goods to
the different destinations. Two of those mules,
which he obtained when he began packing in
1864, he turned loose at Ketchum in 1887, they
having rendered him faithful service twenty-
three years. He sent his pack trains into British
Columbia, Montana and Idaho, and did an ex-
cellent business. He never had an animal stolen
by the Indians and they never attacked him, not-
withstanding they committed many murders and
depredations all around him.
On the I2th of May, 1881, Mr. Clark came to
Ketchum, bringing with him his pack train. He
became connected with the very rich mining
interests of the Wood river valley, and although
he continued packing for some time he also be-
came a part owner of the Carrie mine, on Smoky
mountain. From this he and his partners took
out over one hundred thousand dollars in silver
and lead, and on December 25, 1886, they sold
the mine for one hundred and five thousand dol-
lars. Mr. Clark is now the owner of a gold mine
in Joseph county, Oregon, and in 1887 he began
merchandising at Ketchum, in partnership with
Mr. Comstock. They soon secured an extensive
patronage, and erected a large two-story brick
store, twenty-eight by one hundred feet. In 1889
Mr. Tague bought out Mr. Comstock's interest,
and the firm of Clark & Tague carried on opera-
tions until 1892, when Mr. Clark purchased his
partner's interest, since which time he has been
sole proprietor of the leading store in Ketchum.
He enjoys a large trade from the surrounding
country and derives therefrom a good income.
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In the winter of 1887-8 Mr. Clark was united
in marriage to INIiss C. Dallarhide, a native of
Austin, Xevada, and they now have one daugh-
ter, OlHe. ]Mrs. Clark is a valued member of
the Episcopal church. They have a pleasant and
commodious home in Ketchum and are highly
esteemed throughout the community. Mr. Clark
is independent in both politics and religion, and
is a thoroughly honorable and reliable business
man. He certainly deserves great credit for his
success in life, for since a very early age he has
been dependent entirely upon his own resources
and has won his fortune through earnest, diligent
effort.
.TAMES H. BEAN, M. D.
James H. Bean, M. D., has attained a distinc-
tive position in connection with the medical fra-
ternity of southern Idaho, and is now successfully
engaged in practicing in Pocatello, where he also
conducts a drug store. Realizing the importance
of the profession, he has carefully prepared him-
self for his chosen life-work, and spares no effort
that will further perfect him along that line. By
the faithful performance of each day's duty he
finds inspiration and added strength for the la-
bors of the next, and his marked skill has secured
him prestige as the representative of one of the
most important professions to which man may
direct his energies.
Dr. Bean is a native of Boston, Massachusetts,
born October 23, 1856, of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
His father, James Bean, was born in London,
England, and there married Miss Harriet Har-
vey. In 1856 they came to the United States,
locating in Boston, where the father engaged in
business as a florist for a time. Later he was
connected with the coal trade for twenty-five
years, and is now living retired, at the advanced
age of eighty years. In 1876 he was called upon
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in her
fifty-seventh year. They were consistent mem-
bers of the Episcopal church, and people of genu-
ine worth, who won the warm regard of all with
whom they came in contact. In their family
were nine children, eight of whom are living.
The Doctor was educated in the schools of
Medford, Massachusetts, and began the study of
medicine with an army physician, after which he
entered the medical department of Dartmouth
College, in Xew Hampshire, and was graduated
in the class of 1873. Desiring to still further per-
fect himself for his chosen calling, he then ma-
triculated in the Jefferson Medical College, in
Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1877.
For a year thereafter he practiced in a hospital in
that city and then removed to Denver, Colorado,
where he remained until 1882. In that year he
came to Idaho as assistant surgeon of the Union
Pacific Railroad Company, in which capacity he
served for fifteen years, and in addition carried on
a large general practice, being located first at
Eagle Rock, whence he came to Pocatello in
1888. He is well versed in the science of medi-
cine and is very capable in every department of
the practice, ranking second to none in this part
of the state. His special interest, however, is in
surgery, and he is very expert in that line. He
has now a large and lucrative practice, and in ad-
dition conducts a well appointed drug store,
which adds not a little to his income.
The Doctor also has a pleasant home in Poca-
tello, which is presided over by the lady who be-
came his wife in 1884, and who bore the maiden
name of Delia Priestley. At that time she was a
resident of Lawrence, Kansas. The Doctor and
his wife attend the Episcopal church and are
members of the Pocatello Society. The Doctor
was made a Master Mason in Eagle Rock Lodge,
No. 19, A. F. & A. M., at Eagle Rock, in 1885.
is a charter member of the Idaho State Medical
Association, and was one of the organizers of the
Rocky Mountain Inter-state Medical Associa-
tion. Among his professional brethren he occu-
pies an enviable position, and both he and his
estimable wife are highly regarded in social cir-
cles.
JOSEPH F. GRIFFIN.
For more than a half century Joseph F. Grif-
fin, of Ketchum, has resided in the northwest. A
native of Kentucky, he was born in Cumberland
county, December 10, 1831. The family is of
Scotch origin, and the first American progenitors
were early settlers of South Carolina and partici-
pants in many of the events which form the colon-
ial history of the south. Jesse Griffin, the grand-
father of our subject, was one of the pioneers of
Kentucky, where occurred the birth of Burrell
Bell Griffin, the father of Joseph. Having ar-
rived at years of maturity he married Miss Sally
Thogmorton. a native of Tennessee, and a rep-
702
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
resentative of an old family of North Carolina.
They became the parents of twelve children,
eleven of whom reached years of maturity, while
nine are still living. In 1852 the family crossed
the plains to Oregon, and settled on the Rogue
river, where they took up a government donation
claim, upon which the parents spent their re-
maining days. The father attained the age of
seventy-three years, and the mother, surviving
him two years, passed away at about the same
age. Thev were members of the Christian
church, and were held in the highest regard by
their many friends.
Mr. Griffin was educated in Missouri and Ore-
gon. He was in his fifteenth year when he ar-
rived in the latter state, and during his boyhood
he alternated his lessons with farming and placer
mining, early forming the habits of industry and
diligence which have characterized his entire life
and which have led to his success. From the
government he secured a donation claim of three
hundred and twenty acres of good land, and as a
companion and helpmeet on life's journey he
chose Miss Elizabeth Howard, their marriage be-
ing celebrated in 1865. The lady is a daughter
of James W. Howard. From that time on Mr.
Griffin assiduously devoted himself to the task of
acquiring a competence, in order to provide for
the wants of his family, and his efforts have been
crowned with a fair measure of success.
Previously, however, he had rendered valuable
service to the northwest in contests with the In-
dians. He volunteered and fought in the Rogue
river war, as a member of Captain Rice's com-
pany, and later under command of Captain John
S. ]\Iills, a brother-in-law of our subject. They
had an engagement with the Indians at Little
Meadows, where one of the white men was killed
and three wounded. The fiercest Indian fight in
which Mr. Griffin participated was at Thomp-
son's Ferry, on Rogue river, where they attacked
the red men, killing many of them, the loss to the
volunteers being one killed and four wounded.
Mr. Griffin was with his company when they at-
tacked twenty-four Indians, killing twenty-one of
them, while later two others were foimd dead.
John Hailey located the party, and thirty-six
white men surrounded their camp in such a way
as to exterminate the whole band. This occurred
in December, and several of the white men froze
their feet while waiting for daylight, in order to
make the attack. On another occasion it was
found that old John's band, eighty strong, were
in three cabins. The volunteers sent to Fort
Lane for a howitzer, but when it was being
hauled to the place of action the mules rolled off
the trail into Applegate river, and the shells were
lost. They were then obliged to send back to the
fort for more shells, and it was evening before
they were brought to the volunteers. Loading,
they fired at the cabins and two Indians were
killed, but the darkness prevented further action
that night, and in the morning it was found thai
the Indians had escaped. In the war ^Ir. Griffin
furnished his own horse and equipment, for
which, in 1863, the government paid him forty-
four dollars and forty-four cents in greenbacks.
In 1866 he went to Payette, Idaho, and ac-
cepted a position as division agent of the stage
line owned by John Hailey. Later he engaged
in farming at Payette, raising hay and grain. In
1882 he came to what was then Alturas county,
now Blaine county, and took up one hundred and
sixty acres of government land, three miles up
the river from Ketchum. He built a residence
there, and has since engaged in dairy farming,
but in the meantime has also erected a home in
Ketchum, where he and his estimable wife spend
the winter, while in the summer months they re-
side on the farm. They formerly sold butter at
fifty cents a pound and milk at seventy-five cents
a gallon, and secured from their business a good
income, having as high as twenty-five cows at
one time.
]\Ir. and Mrs. Griffin have reared an interesting
family of children. The eldest daughter. Mar}-
L., is now the wife of Fred Gooding, a prominent
citizen of Shoshone; Sally W. married F. J.
Stone, a druggist residing in Colfax, Washing-
ton ; Leona B. is a successful school-teacher, mak-
ing her home with her parents; and Leonora,
the youngest, is also teaching school. The fam-
ily attend the Methodist church and are people of
the highest respectability, enjoying the warm re-
gard of many friends throughout the community.
In his political associations jNIr. Griffin is a Dem-
ocrat, and has taken an active part in the work
of the party, doing all in his power to promote its
growth and insure its success. \\\\i\t in Ada
countv he was elected and served as a member of
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
ros
the territorial legislature. Through his business
interests and his experiences in Indian warfare,
he has largely promoted the development of his
region, and as one of its valued citizens well de-
serves representation in this volume.
ABNER E. CALLAWAY.
The old adage that '"truth is stranger than
fiction" finds exemplification in the annals of the
northwest. The most marvelous characters of
the novelist cannot exceed in courage and daring
the hardy pioneers who have opened up this vast
region to the advance of civilization. Traveling
across the hot, arid, sandy plains, climbing the
steep mountains, threading their way through
dense forests of towering trees, they came to
this land of the "silent, sullen people," whose
hostility made existence most uncertain, and here
they have established homes, churches and
schools, developed the rich agricultural and min-
eral resources of the country and thus carried
the sunlight of civilization into the dark places
of the land. The tales of their hardships and
trials, however, can never be adequately told.
They left comfort and luxury behind them to
face difihculties, dangers and perhaps death; they
labored on, day after day, uncomplainingly, and
the present generation is enjoying the prosperity
made possible through their efforts. To them
is due a debt of gratitude tliat can never be re-
paid, but their names will be enduringly inscribed
on the pages of history and their memories will
be revered long after they have passed from
earthly scenes.
Among the honored pioneers of Idaho is
Abner Early Callaway, who has borne his full
share in the work of development and progress,
who has experienced the trials and braved the
dangers of frontier life, and who is now living
retired at his pleasant home in Caldwell. He
came to Idaho in 1861 and has since been inti-
mately connected with its growth and upbuilding.
He was born in Boone county, Missouri, March
5, 1823, and is descended from some of Virginia's
oldest and best families, including the Lees and
the Earlys. His grandfather on the paternal side
was a captain in the Revolutionary war and loyal-
ly aided in the struggle for independence. His
maternal grandfather, John Markham, was a
colonel in the colonial armv and married an aunt
of Jubal Early. The father of our subject was
born in Lynchburg, Mrginia, and married Aliss
Catharine Markham, removing with his family
to Missouri in 1820. They were the parents of
nine children, only three of whom are yet living:
William T., a resident of Ventura county, Cali-
fornia; Thomas Henry, of Boise, Idaho; and
Abner Early, the immediate subject of this re-
view.
The last named was reared in Alissouri, at a
time when it was largely a wilderness, and as
the public-school system had not been estab-
lished he was obliged to acquire an education as
best he might. In the school of experience he
has learned many valuable lessons, and has
gained a broad practical knowledge as the lessons
of life have been unfolded before him. The labors
of his father's farm largely occupied his time
and attention in youth, and in 1846 he drove a
team for Sterling Price, in the Mexican war, and
served as hospital steward in Mexico for six
months. In 1847 he returned to his home, and
on the 6th of May, 1849, started for California
with a company, among the number being G. W.
Grierson, who became one of the most celebrated
miners of the Golden state. They reached San
Diego in November, thence went to San Fran-
cisco and on to the mines at Placerville. There
Mr. Callaway engaged in mining at the old camp
at Hangtown, makmg money very rapidly, but
he afterward sunk it in other mining ventures.
None, however, was squandered in gambling and
other forms of dissipation often so common
among the miners, for his record is one which
contains no blotted pages. In 1861 he came to
Idaho, attracted by the gold discoveries at Flor-
ence, later made his way to the southern part of
the territory, and in September, 1862. arrived in
the Boise basin. That winter all the supplies had
to be transported from the Columbia river on
pack animals. Alany people suffered for want of
provisions, as it was difficult to get them, owing
to the depredation of Indians. The red men at
length grew so troublesome that a company of
one hundred men was formed to fight and subdue
them. Mr. Callaway was among the number,
and for three or four months they were actively
engaged in keeping the Indians in check. Many
a "red devil." as he called them, fell before his
trusty rifle, and he also served in the war with the
704
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Modocs and in the Rogue river war. He saw the
remains of so many white men who had been
scalped and mutilated by the relentless savages
that he came to the conclusion that they could
best be subdued by turning their own methods
of warfare against them. Therefore he took many
a scalp, and has probably killed more Indians
than any other pioneer now living. The greatest
hardships were endured by this little band of
volunteer soldiers, who banded to protect their
interests and their homes. For several weeks
they were obliged to live on Cayuse horse-flesh
only, and to fight every day. To our subject is
due the credit of killing the notorious savage,
Blackfoot. With his companions he drew near
the Indian camp in the night, and while waiting
for daybreak, Mat Bledsoe, one of his com-
panions, said, "We don't know what will happen,
but I will bet you the whisky on which of us
will draw the first blood." At the dawn ^Nlr. Calla-
way crept up near Blackfoot's tent, and when the
first gun was fired the Indian jumped out, Mr.
Callaway knocked him down, scalped him and
then shot him. Then he threw the scalp in the
air and claimed the bet.
As years passed the Indians were subdued and
left for other districts. The white man advanced,
bringing all the comforts and accessories of civil-
ization; mines were developed, ranches stocked
with cattle, farms and orchards cultivated, towns
and villages sprung up, and the wonderful work
of transformation was carried forward until the
Idaho of to-day bears little resemblance to the
wild region of thirty-five years ago, owing to the
efforts of the honored pioneers and enterprising
business men. Mr. Callaway took up one hundred
and sixty acres of land, in what was then Ada
county, but is now Canyon county, entering the
tract from the government, and for some years
he was engaged in its cultivation. It now lies
within the corporation limits of Caldwell and
has become very valuable. There our subject
resides in a home of his own building, enjoying
the rest which he has so truly earned and richly
deserves. He has been prominently identified
with the public affairs of Idaho through its terri-
torial days and the period of its statehood and
has always given his political support to the
Democratic party. In 1865 he was chosen a
member of the territorial legislature. He served
for two terms in the senate and since that time
has been six or seven times elected to the lower
house. Nature endowed him with a strong mind
and excellent abilities, and he is an effective
speaker. His mental and physical powers are
remarkably well preserved, notwithstanding he
has passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's
journey. He had the honor of making the speech
which resulted in the organization of the Pioneer
Society of Idaho, and he has a very warm place
in his heart for all the worthy pioneers who
shared with him in the dangers and privations
attendant upon the settlement of Idaho, the Gem
of the Mountains.
In the spring of 1870 Mr. Callaway was mar-
ried to Miss Mary Jane Fulton, of Ohio, who
in an early day came with her people to this
state. Five children have been born of this union:
Abner Kenton, a mine owner and operator;
Ellen, at home; Kittie Lee, wife of Ewin Hed-
den; Frances Early and Mariamne. Mr. Calla-
way and his family are members of the Christian
church. He was made a Mason in Eureka Lodge,
No. 16, of Auburn, California, in 1851, and is
held in the highest esteem by his brethren of the
fraternity, as well as by all with whom he has
been brought in contact in other walks of life.
His career has been an honorable and upright
one, and now, in the evening of life, he can look
back over the past without regret. He has per-
formed a noble work for himself and his fellow
men by taking part in the development of the
northwest, has left the impress of his individuality
upon the legislation of the state, and has inscribed
his name high on the roll of Idaho's eminent
and honored citizens.
ERVIN W. JOHNSON.
For many years actively connected with the
development and progress of different sections of
this state, Mr. Johnson is now the proprietor of
the Overland Hotel, in Boise, and is regarded as
one of the most popular and best known citizens
of Idaho. A native of Ottumwa, Iowa, he was
born March 17, 1857, a son of William W. and
Eliza A. (Myers) Johnson. His father, a native
of Indiana, born in 1829, died in Ottumwa, Iowa,
in 1867, and his wife, who was born in Botetourt
county, Virginia, also departed this life in Iowa.
By profession i\Ir. Johnson was a portrait-painter
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
705
and sketch artist. In 1852 he went to CaHfornia,
but after two years returned to Iowa and was
for some time engaged in the hotel and mercan-
tile business in Salem, that state. In 1858 he
joined a company bound for Pike's Peak, but
later again returned to Iowa, and at the outbreak
of the civil war he enlisted in the Seventh Iowa
Infantry, as a private. In the first engagement
in which he took part, the battle of Belmont, he
was seriously w'ounded, the injury resulting in
his death a few years afterward. Having been
wounded, he was taken to Camp Butler, Illinois,
and it was there, after his partial recovery, that
he painted the first panorama of the war. He
thus delineated many of the noted engagements
of the Rebellion, including the naval battle be-
tween the Monitor and the !Merrimac. These
pictures were done in oil and were eight by
twelve feet in dimensions. He also painted the
portrait of Richard Yates, the war governor of
Illinois, and portraits of other notable person-
ages.
Ervin W. Johnson began his education in the
public schools and later entered Whittier Col-
lege, at Salem, Iowa, where he pursued his
studies for two years. He entered upon his busi-
ness career as an apprentice, serving a five-years
term at the jeweler's trade, after which, in 1877,
he went to East Bend, Kansas, where he em-
barked in the jewelry business on his own ac-
count. He successfully conducted his store at
that point. until 1880, when he removed to Chi-
cago, and later went to St. Louis, Missouri,
where he remained until 1882, when, having
learned of the mining excitement in the Wood
river country in Idaho, he came to this state
and for some time engaged in prospecting and
ranching.
In 1883 Mr. Johnson was appointed by Presi-
dent Arthur to the position of postmaster of
Bellevue, Idaho, acceptably serving until 1885,
when he engaged in mining in what is now-
known as the Hailey gold belt. About this time,
however, a lucrative position was offered him
at Leadville, Colorado, which he accepted and
filled until the autumn of 1886, when he returned
to Idaho. The same fall he was nominated for
the office of assessor of Alturas county. He was
a very prominent factor in political interests
there, exerting a marked influence in public af-
fairs. While chairman of the Alturas county
Republican central committee he was instru-
mental in forming a fusion between the Demo-
crats and Republicans, and thereby caused the
defeat of the Populist ticket, which two years
before had gained an overwhelming majority.
Having been unanimously chosen as the nominee
of the fusion forces for a position in the state
legislature, he was elected, and in the session of
1894-5 tepresented Alturas county in the law-
making assembly of Idaho. As a member of that
body he introduced a bill for the creation of
Blaine county, which is now one of the legal sub-
divisions of the state. He was one of the earnest
supporters of George L. Shoup in his candidacy
for the United States senate.
When Mr. Johnson failed of election to the
office of assessor, he turned his attention to the
• hotel business, becoming proprietor of the Al-
turas Hotel at Hailey, wdiich he successfully
conducted until 1889, when he became the man-
ager of the Hailey electric-light works. He was
also made the manager of the Rocky Mountain
Bell Telephone Company, and with those enter-
prises he was associated until 1894. In 1895 he ,
was appointed chief state land-inspector and se-
lector of state lands, in which capacity he con-
tinued until the change in the state administra-
tion, in 1897, when he returned to the hotel bus-
iness, as proprietor of the famous Overland
Hotel, in Boise. He is conducting one of the
best hostelries in the northwest, and his earnest
desire to please his patrons, and the excellent
entertainment furnished, have made him very
popular with the traveling public.
]\Ir. Johnson was one of the originators of the
Idaho Inter-mountain Fair, of which he was the
director-general for the year 1897-8. Through
the instrumentality of that organization the in-
terests of the state have been largely promoted
and her resources advertised. :\Ir. Johnson has
also done much to secure and advance the devel-
opment of the mineral resources of the common-
wealth, and, in fact, at all times gives a hearty
support to every measure intended for the public
good. In politics he continued an uncompro-
mising Republican until 1896, since which time
he has been a firm believer in and supporter of
the silver theory as advocated by William Jen-
nings Brvan.
706
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
In 1888, in Hailey, Idaho, Mr. Johnson was
united in marriage to Miss Louise Crane, and
they have three daughters: Laura, Helen and
Miriam. Socially Mr. Johnson is connected with
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks,
the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood-
men of the World. He is a gentleman of distinct
personality, of genial manner and courteous de-
portment and has made many friends throughout
the state.
WILLIAM T. REEVES.
William T. Reeves, a prominent lawyer of
Idaho, residing at Pocatello, was born at Kinkle-
ville, Kentucky, January 21, 1855, and is of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, a combination which
everywhere and always produces good citizens
and has given to America many of her best and
greatest men. George Reeves, Mr. Reeves' pa-
ternal grandfather, emigrated from Ireland and
brought his wife with him. They had four sons
and three daughters. William Harrison Reeves,
Mr. Reeves' father, was born in Richmond, Vir-
ginia, and married Miss Penelope B. White, a
native of Tennessee. While he was a mere bo>
his father removed with his family to Kentucky,
and there he was reared and educated and wooed
and won his wife. He died at the age of seventy-
eight, she at sixty-one, and their neighbors in
Kentucky, among whom they passed their busy
and useful lives, bore testimony to their high
character and the beneficent quality of the influ-
ence they exerted upon the community.
William T. Reeves was educated in the com-
mon schools and in the college at Blandville,
Kentucky. He read law at Blandville, under the
direction of an older brother, then established in
professional work, and was duly admitted to the
bar in 1875. After ten years' successful practice
of his profession in his native state, he took up
his residence at Eagle Rock, now Idaho Falls,
Idaho, in 1885. Eagle Rock was then a leading
railway town, and his success there was encour-
aging, but inducements were made to him to re-
move to Blackfoot. After ten years at Blackfoot
he was for two years at Boise City. In 1894 he
located at Pocatello, where he has built up a very
satisfactory practice. He has become known
throughout the state as a lawyer of effective abil-
ity and unswerving integrity. He has some con-
siderable real-estate investments at Pocatello and
at Boise City. Mr. Reeves has been a lifelong
Democrat, and since coming to Idaho has taken
an active and influential interest in state politics.
He has been the nominee of his party for the
office of district judge, and has twice been nom-
inated for attorney general of the state. In suc-
cessive campaigns he has done much efficient
work for his party and he enjoys a wide reputa-
tion as a forceful and convincing speaker on
political questions.
Mr. Reeves was married to Miss Jennie T.
Thomas, a native of Kentucky, daughter of
Quincy Thomas. They have six children:
George W., Charles R., Ellen G., Mae, Simrell
and William F., Jr. Mrs. Reeves is a member
of the Christian church. He is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is past
grand of his lodge. He takes a deep interest in
every movement at Pocatello tending to the pub-
lic good and is a liberal supporter of every public
project which has the endorsement of his judg-
ment.
ROBERT McCLOUD GWINN.
In the early development of Idaho this honored
citizen of Caldwell came to the territory to
preach the gospel among those who were isolated
from the interests and advantages of the east.
He was the first representative of the Methodist
ministry in the territory and continued his labors
for many years, but is now living retired. A
man of ripe scholarship and marked executive
ability, one whose life has been consecrated to
the cause of the Master and to the uplifting of
men, there is particular propriety in directing at-
tention to his life history, as it has left so great
an impress upon the development of the state.
A native of Westmoreland county, Pennsyl-
vania, he was born on the 5th of June, 1833, and
is of Scotch descent. His grandfather, John
Gwinn, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and after
residing for a time in county Tyrone, Ireland,
crossed the Atlantic to America, when this coun-
try was a part of the British colonial possessions.
He brought with him from the Emerald Isle
letters from the pastor of his church, certifying to
his high Christian character ; also a letter from the
member of the house of burgesses of his town
in county Tyrone. Here he placed his mem-
bership in the Covenanters' church, and by his
upright life sustained the reputation which he had
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
707
borne in the old church in Ireland. At the time
when British oppression became intolerable he
joined the colonists in their struggle for inde-
pendence, and gallantly fought for liberty, under
command of General Washington, until the close
of hostilities. After receiving an honorable dis-
charge he located on the present site of the city
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, owning there a valu-
able farm of four hundred and ninety acres of
land. The old bombazine pocket-book which he
carried throughout the Revolution, and which
now contains his war record, was found in a
secret drawer of an old bureau that had long
been in the family, and is now in possession of
our subject — a rare and valuable relic, highly
prized by Rev. Gwinn. Although the paper is
much faded and worn, the ink with which the
record is written still remains undimmed. This
honored Revolutionary hero lived to the ad-
vanced age of eighty-eight years, and therefore
witnessed a large share of the development of the
republic which he had aided to establish. He
married Miss Mary McCloud, a lady of Scotch
birth, of fine education and amiable character,
who died in her seventy-sixth year. They had a
family of three sons and three daughters.
Their son, John Gwinn, Jr., father of our sub-
ject, was born in Maryland, in 1781. He was
very industrious, and followed farming in West-
moreland county, Pennsylvania, for many years.
He served as a magistrate and was a member of
the Seceder church. His wife departed this life
in her forty-second year, but he reached the ad-
vanced age of ninety-four years. Of their family
of four sons and two daughters only two are
now living".
Robert McCloud Gwinn spent his boyhood
days in his parents' home, acquired his literary
education in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, afterward
read law and was admitted to the bar. He and
his wife were found among the loyal adherents
of the Union cause in the war of the Rebellion.
Mr. Gwinn enlisted in his country's service as a
member of Company I, Thirty-second Iowa
Sharpshooters, and continued to defend the stars
and stripes and the cause they represented until
the flag was planted in the capital of the Con-
federacy. His wife, too, labored for the nation,
spending two and a half years in the south as
a member of the United States sanitary commis-
sion, and devoting her life to the care of the sick
and wounded. Many a soldier has reason to
bless her memory for her tender ministrations,
and many a life was undoubtedly saved through
her careful nursing.
After the war Rev. Robert M. Gwinn, returned
to the north, and in 1866 was converted, while
attending a great camp-meeting held at Cherry
Run, in Clarion county, Pennsylvania. In 1870
he was ordained to the ministry of the Methodist
Episcopal church and joined the Southern Illi-
nois conference. In 1872 he went to Salt Lake
City, Utah, where he met Bishop Foster and
seventeen ministers of his denomination, whom
he assisted in forming the Rocky Mountain con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev.
Gwinn was assigned the territory of Idaho as his
mission field, and made his way to Boise, where
the same year he organized the first Methodist
church in the state. For some time he acted as
its pastor and also traveled over the state, preach-
ing, and organizing the representatives of Meth-
odism into congregations. His labors were a
source of great good, holding in check much of
the lawlessness that often exists in newly devel-
oped regions, and strengthening the faith and
works of the earnest Christian people who upheld
law, order and righteousness. There were many
hardships and trials to be borne by Rev. and
Mrs. Gwinn in their work, and their journey from
Salt Lake City to Idaho had been one of peculiar
difficulty, after which Mrs. Gwinn was seriously ill
for some time. They labored on, however, and the
cause of morality and Christianity was greatly
advanced through their zeal and consecrated
effort. During the winter after his arrival Rev.
Gwinn served as chaplain of the territorial legis-
lature. He was the founder of the Methodist
church in Caldwell, and through his instrumen-
tality their tasteful house of worship was erected.
He has now retired from the active work of the
ministry and lives in a pleasant home in Caldwell,
where he has won many warm friends.
Unto Rev. and Mrs. Gwinn were born four
children, three of whom are living: Montie B.,
general manager of the New York Life Insurance
Company, with headquarters at Caldwell ; Carrie,
wife of H. D. Blatchley, the leading druggist of
Caldwell; and James H., a merchant of La
Grande, Oregon. Gertrude died in the twenty-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
third year of her age. For twentj'-nine years
]\Ir. Gvvinn has been a faithful member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was
one of the organizers of the Republican party,
has since been a stanch advocate of its prin-
ciples, and is now serving, by appointment, as
state fruit inspector of district No. 4, but has
never been an aspirant for political honors or
emoluments. He is a man of deep human sym-
pathy and generous spirit, and he has devoted
himself without ceasing to the interests of human-
ity and to the furtherance of all good works.
NELSON BUHL.
For thirty years Nelson Buhl has engaged in
farming and stock-raising in Idaho, and has met
with a creditable and satisfactory success in his
well directed efforts. His home farm, comprising
four hundred acres of rich land, is pleasantly sit-
uated northwest of Salubria, but in the valley he
owns many other valuable tracts of land, and is
thus prominently connected with the agricultural
interests of this section of the state.
Mr. Buhl is a native of Denmark, born Decem-
ber 8, 1858, and when a child of only five years
was brought to the United States by his parents,
Bartlet and Anna Buhl, who located in Salt Lake
City, Utah. There the father engaged in farming
and also conducted a meat market until 1869,
when he removed to the territory of Idaho. He
was hardly established in his new home when, on
the 7th of August of that year, he was killed in
a runaway. His widow and children, three in
number, survive him, and ?''rs. Buhl has now-
reached the ripe old age of seventy-two years.
To the public schools Mr. Buhl is indebted for
the educational advantages which fitted him for
the duties of a practical business life. When old
enough he entered a claim of one hundred and
sixty acres in Salubria valley, northwest of the
present town of Salubria, and at once began to
develop a farm. He erected some substantial
buildings, and soon transformed the wild land
into rich and fertile fields, to which he has added
from time to time until now four hundred acres
are included within the boundaries of his farm.
He has also made judicious investments in land
elsewhere, and is the owner of some very valuable
property in the valley. He raises short-horn
and Hereford cattle on an extensive scale, is a
successful breeder of horses and hogs, and also
raises large cjuantities of grain and ha*-. He has
gained the reputation of being an experienced
and successful stockraiser, and by his individual
efforts has acquired a good property.
Mr. Buhl was married to Miss Carrie B. Tay-
lor, on the I2th of jNIay, 1887. She was a native
of Kansas and a daughter of S. H. Taylor, of
Salubria. Four children were born of this union:
Dollie, Use, Lester H. and Mabel. The mother
departed this life August 19, 1897. She was
spared to her family only a little more than ten
years, and her loss was keenly felt, for she was
an excellent wife and an indulgent, loving
mother.
In politics ]\Ir. Buhl is a silver-Republican,
but he gives his attention almost exclusively to
his business interests, and by his diligence, care-
ful management and straightforward business
methods has won prosperity. He started out for
himself with no capital save strong determination
to succeed, and has steadily overcome all obsta-
cles in his path and gained a place among the
prosperous agriculturists and stock-raisers of the
Salubria valley.
HENRY H. ABERNATHY.
There are few of the representative and re-
spected men of Idaho whose residence in the
state antedates that of Mr. Abernathy, who came
to the territory thirty-seven years ago and has
been identified with the development of the
Salubria valley since 1868. The old Indian trails,
the uncultivated lands, the unopened mines and
the uncut forests then to be seen, all told that
the work of civilization lay in the future, and
the subject of this review has been one of the
advance guard that has carried forward the work
of progress and improvement until Idaho is, in-
deed, the veritable "Gem of the Mountains."
A native of Indiana, he was born September
10, 1834, and is of English and Scotch lineage,
his ancestors having left the land of hills and
heather and taken up their residence in Ken-
tucky. John Abernathy, father of our subject,
was born in Virginia, but when a young man
removed to Ohio, where he married Sarah Mun-
kester, a native of Pennsylvania. They removed
to Indiana, where tlie father engaged in farming
for a number of vears, and then took his familv
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
709
to Wapello county, Iowa, where he carried on
agricultural pursuits until his life's labors were
ended in death, at the age of seventy years. He
was an honest and industrious man who lived
peaceably with his neighbors and never sued or
was sued by any one in his life. He was seventy
years of age at the time of his death, and his
wife passed away in 1849, in her fifty-fifth year.
They were consistent members of the Methodist
church, and reared a family of ten children, seven
of whom are living, the eldest being ninety years
of age. After the death of his first wife the
father was again married and by that union had
four children.
Henry Harrison Abernathy was the ninth in
order of birth of the children of the first marriage
He acquired the greater part of his education in
the schools of Iowa, and in 1862 started across
the plains, driving an ox team and traveling with
a train composed of three hundred wagons. They
were five months upon the road, but met with no
misfortunes and experienced no hardships save
those common to travel across the long stretches
of hot sand. Arriving in Idaho, Mr. Abernathy
and his brother Andrew engaged in mining on
Pine creek, at a place which became known as
the Abernathy mines, and each took out gold to
the value of one thousand dollars. In 1864 they
removed to the lower Weiser, where they entered
land from the government. They built upon- it
and otherwise improved the property, and there
made their home for some time. For a number
of years while residing there our subject en-
gaged in freighting from Idaho City to Umatilla,
and also engaged in conducting a hotel at Far-
well Bend, on Snake river. In 1868 he came
to the Salubria valley and located one hundred
and sixty acres of the rich and productive land,
since which time he has devoted his energies to
farming and stock-raising. His home is -pleas-
antly located three miles northeast of the town
of Salubria, and he has one of the valuable farm-
ing properties in this section of the state, the well
tilled fields surrounding substantial buildings,
while all the latest improvements and accessories
of the model farm are there found.
On the 14th of February, 1877, Mr. Abernathy
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth South,
a native of California and a daughter of Samue!
South, of Oregon. Thev have a son and two
daughters: Martha Ellen, wife of Alex Allison,
of Salubria; Harry, who is his father's assistant
on the farm ; and Rhoda Jane, who acts as their
housekeeper.
Mr. Abernathy exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the Re-
publican party, with which he has affiliated
since attaining his majority. His life has been
well spent. He has met every obligation devolv-
ing upon him, has faithfully performed every
trust and by his fidelity to principle has com-
manded the respect of all with whom he has come
in contact. He has been prominently identified
with the history of southern Idaho from its
earliest development, when wild animals were far
more numerous than the domestic stock of the
farm-yard, when the Indians outnumbered the
white settlers, and when pack horses provided
the only means of transportation used. He takes
just pride in the wonderful transformation which
has since been wrought, placing the new state of
Idaho on a par with many of much older growth.
TEXAS ANGEL.
Since the town of Hailey was hardly more
than a collection of tents Texas Angel has been
numbered among its citizens and has successfully
engaged in the practice of law, winning many
notable lawsuits wherein he has demonstrated the
possession of legal powers of high order. A
native of the Empire state, he was born in An-
gelica, New York, October 19, 1839, and is a
representative of one of the oldest families of
New England. Hardly had the Mayflower de-
posited its precious cargo upon the shores of
America, at Plymouth Rock, when the ancestors
of our subject, people of Welsh birth, also came
to the New World, and Nathan Angel, from
whom he traces descent, removed to Providence,
Rhode Island, with Roger Williams, the apostle
of religious liberty. William Angel, the grand-
father of our subject, settled on Block Island,
and there William Gardner Angel, the father,
was born in 1790. In 1792 the family removed
to Otsego, New York, where William G. Angel
was educated, studied law and was admitted to
the bar. He was twice elected to congress dur-
ing the administration of President Jackson, and
was a prominent figure in the public life of that
locality. He also served as county judge and was
710
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
surrogate of Albany county in 1852. In politics
he was a stanch Democrat in early life, but was
a lover of liberty, and when the question of
slavery began to figure extensively in politics he
joined the new Republican party, formed to pre-
vent its further extension, and voted for Fre-
mont in 1856. The family were Quakers and did
not believe in war, but were strongly opposed to
the oppression of human beings. Judge Angel
was a man of the highest probity of character,
honored and respected by all who knew him, and
his death occurred in 1858, at the age of sixty-
nine years. His wife, who bore the maiden name
of Clarissa English, was a native of New Eng-
land. Her people were pioneers of New York
and located near Buffalo. Her death occurred
when she had attained the ripe old age of seven-
ty-three years. By her marriage she became the
mother of twelve children, all but two of whom
reached years of maturity, while five sons and a
daughter are still living. All are highly respected
and occupy prominent positions in the commu-
nities in which they reside.
Texas Angel was the youngest of the family.
His father was a warm friend and admirer of
General Sam Houston, president of the republic
of Texas, and when that gentleman was at the
height of his fame our subject was named in
honor of the republic which he governed. In
the Angelica Academy, in his native town,
Texas Angel acquired his education, and in 1861,
when the war cloud burst over the country and
President Lincoln issued his call for volunteers,
he offered his services, on the 22d of April, and
was enrolled among the boys in blue of Com-
pany I, Twenty-seventh New York Infantry,
under command of Henry W. Slocum. They
were at once ordered to the front, and partici-
pated in the first battle of Bull Run, in which
the regiment lost one hundred and five men in
killed, wounded and missing. This was followed
by the battle of West Point, where two of their
number were killed, and then came the seven-
days engagement at Gainesville, on the penin-
sula, where they lost one hundred and seventy
in killed, wounded and missing. The Twenty-
seventh was also at White Oak Swamp and
guarded the right flank at the battle of Malvern
Hill, after which they returned to Harrison's
Landing, where Mr. Angel was taken ill. There
he' was placed on a transport and sent to the
West Philadelphia hospital. During his con-
valescence he was granted a twenty-days fur-
lough, but half of that time was consumed in
making the journey to and from the south. He
met his regiment between Fairfax and Alexan-
dria, on the return from the second battle of Bull
Run. They were then sent to Maryland and
were on the left wing at the battle of South
Mountain. After the battle of Antietam, they
marched to Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg,
and there Mr. Angel was appointed commissary
sergeant and promoted to the rank of second
lieutenant of Company I, and later to first lieu-
tenant, while during the march from Antietam
to Fredericksburg he was appointed by the
colonel as quartermaster of the regiment, contin-
uing in that capacity until the close of his two-
years term of service, which expired May 21,
1863. From that time until May, 1864, he was
on recruiting service.
In May of the latter year Mr. Angel went to
California by way of the isthmus route, and on
his arrival in San Francisco read law with the
Hon. Samuel M. Wilson, being admitted to the
bar, in Sacramento, April 3, 1866. In the fall
of the same year he returned to Angelica, New
York, and after visiting his old home and the
scenes of his boyhood, established a law office in
Jamestown, New York, where he remained for
a year. On the expiration of that period he
took up his residence in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
where he practiced his profession for ten and a
half years, being for five years a partner of Levi
M. Villars, brother of Senator Villars. He also
served as district attorney and enjoyed an im-
portant business, connecting him with the lead-
ing litigation of the district.
Mr. Angel was married while in Eau Claire,
February 25, 1877, to Miss Mary E. Goodrich,
and because of her health was obliged to seek a
milder climate. Accordingly he returned to San
Francisco, California, where he arrived in Sep-
tember, 1877, there practicing law for five years.
He then came to the booming new town of
Hailey, which had been started only sixty days
before. Most of the people were living in tents,
but the place gave promise of becoming an im-
portant center, owing to the recent gold discov-
eries on Wood river. The town site was a beau-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
711
tiful and picturesque one, and Mr. Angel decided
to remain and practice his profession in Blaine'
county. He has since materially assisted in the
upbuilding of Hailey and is regarded as one of
its most valued and progressive citizens. He has
lived to see many of his hopes concerning the
new town realized, and has here a delightful
home, celebrated for its hospitality, while the
members of the household occupy an enviable
position in social circles. In the family are three
children, — Richard M., the present county attor-
ney of Blaine county; Mary Goodrich, at home;
and Floyd D., who is attending school.
On attaining his majority, Mr. Angel joined
the ranks of the Republican party, and was one
of its stanch advocates until 1892, when he sev-
ered his allegiance thereto, on account of his op-
posing views on the money question. He has
since allied himself with the Populist party and
has been an active and efficient worker in its
interests. He belongs to the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and was made a Master Mason
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1869. The greater
part of his time and attention, however, are
given to his professional duties. His devotion to
his clients' interests is proverbial. His industry
and honesty, coupled with his talents and ability,
enable him to command a large clientage, and he
has acquired a very extensive practice. He is
well vefsed in all branches of the law, and his
essentially clear mentality enables him to grasp
at once the salient points in a case and to present
them with unusual conciseness and directness.
FRANCIS L. WILCOX.
Francis Lazell Wilcox, a veteran of the civil
war, is now engaged in agricultural pursuits in
Oneida county, and is numbered among the
pioneer settlers of Preston. A native of Pennsyl-
vania, he was born in the town of Jackson, Sus-
quehanna county, April i, 1840, his parents being
Elan and Elvira (Bryant) Wilcox. The father
was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, March 16.
1815, and in Jackson, Pennsylvania, married Miss
Bryant, whose birth occurred April 13, 1821. He
was an industrious, honest man, of good judg-
ment and sterling worth, and for a number of
years held the office of justice of the peace. He
died March g, 1889, at the age of seventy-four
years, and his wife, who was a member of the
Presbyterian church, died February 9, 1889, in
the sixty-eighth year of her age. They were the
parents of eleven children.
Francis L. Wilcox, their eldest child, was edu-
cated in the public schools of Pennsylvania and
remained at home with his father, working on
the farm, until twenty-three years of age, when,
in answer to President Lincoln's call for volun-
teers to put down the rebellion and hold aloft
the flag which the Confederates would fain have
trailed in the dust, he enlisted in Company K,
Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, January i,
1862. He served until June 25th of the same
year, when, on account of illness, he was honor-
ably discharged. Still the need for volunteers
continued, and on the 6th of September, 1864,
he re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company
G, One Hundred and Eighty-fifth New York
Infantry. During both terms he was with the
Army of the Potomac, and shortly before the
surrender of General Lee he was in a hotly con-
tested engagement in which his clothes were
pierced by eleven bullets, and a niinie ball en-
tered his leg. At the same time he was taken
prisoner, and seven days had passed before his
wound was dressed. The ball was then removed
by a Confederate lieutenant, who cut it out with
an old razor, causing the greatest pain. At length
the Union men were recaptured by General
Sheridan's cavalry and Mr. Wilcox was sent to
the hospital in Washington, where he arrived on
the day President Lincoln was buried. He was
honorably discharged August 24, 1865, and with
an honorable military record returned to his
home. For two years thereafter he was forced
to use a cane in walking, but he had the satis-
faction of knowing that he had aided in the
preservation of the Lhiion and the perpetuation of
the grandest republic the sun shines upon.
As soon as he had sufficiently recovered his
health Mr. Wilcox resumed the peaceful pursuits
of the farm, carrying on agricultural pursuits in
his native state until 1877, at which time he sold
his property there and came to the west. He
assisted in building the railroad to Preston and
located one hundred and sixty acres of choice
land in the beautiful valley, three-fourths of a
mile west of the now prosperous town. Xathan
Porter was then the only settler in this part of
the county, and from that time to the present
713
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Mr. Wilcox has been an important factor in the
substantial development and progress of this sec-
tion of the state.
On the 4th of April, 1866, Mr. Wilcox married
Miss Secor, a native of Pennsylvania, who came
with him to the west and has been to him a
faithful companion and helpmeet on life's jour-
ney. Together they have improved a splendid
farm and have planted a fine grove of trees about
their home, affording a delightful shade in sum-
mer and protecting them from the chilling blasts
of winter. A large barn and other excellent
farm buildings stand as monuments to the thrift
and enterprise of the owner, and his industry is
attested by the well cultivated fields of wheat and
other grains and alfalfa hay. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Wilcox have been born the following named chil-
dren : Bryan D., a farmer ; Cora L., who became
the wife of James Maughan and died in 1897;
Francis Elon, who died in Salt Lake City, Febru-
ary 7, 1879, in his sixth year; Herman Lazell,
who died February 21, 1879, ^t the age of four
years ; Katie ; Maggie Melvina ; George ; William
Harvey and Carl. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox were
years ago converted to the faith of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and they and
their family are now faithful members of the
same. In politics Mr. Wilcox has been a lifelong
Republican. He is a man of the highest re-
spectability, and as a citizen is as loyal and true
to the old flag to-day as when he followed the
starry banner upon the battle-fields of the south.
JOHN B. WEST.
John B. West, the register of the land office, at
Lewiston, was born in Leicester, North Caro-
lina, July 31, 1861. The family to which he be-
longs is of English origin and its founders in
America became residents of the south in colonial
days and participated in the development of that
part of the country, taking part in many of the
events which go to form its history. Erwin
West, the father of our subject, was a native of
North Carolina and married Miss Caroline
Dover, who was likewise born in that state. They
had a family of fifteen children, eleven of whom
are now living. The mother departed this life in
1898, at the age of sixty-seven years, but the
father still resides on the old homestead, highly
respected throughout the entire countryside
where he has so long continued his residence.
He owned an extensive plantation, and while
not a slave-owner or a believer in slavery neither
was he an abolitionist. His neighbors were slave-
holders and he was willing that they should keep
them, as he could see no feasible plan for doing
away with the system. When the country became
engaged in civil war, he was opposed to the
severance of the Union, but such was the excite-
ment and such was the pressure brought to bear
on him that he was forced to join the Confederate
forces. A number of his neighbors, however, who
held views similar to his own, escaped to the
north and joined the Union army to fight under
the old flag. This so enraged the secessionists
that they secured thirteen young boys, the sons
of the Union men, stood them up in a row and
shot them down. One of the boys begged not to
be shot in the head, but his request was disre-
garded, and the bullets pierced him in the same
manner as they had the others. This so horrified
and exasperated Mr. West that he resolved to
fight on the side which had his sympathies and
which he believed to be right. Accordingly at the
first opportunity he escaped, and joined the
Union forces, remaining as a follower of the
stars and stripes until the close of the war. When
peace was restored and his country saved, he
returned to his southern home, where he is nov/_
passing the closing years of an upright and hon-
orable life, a worthy and law-abiding patriot.
John B. West, whose name introduces this
record, having acquired his preliminary educa-
tion in the public schools of North Carolina, sup-
plemented it by study in the Weaverville Col-
lege, and in the Wesleyan University. He studied
law with Mayor W. H. Malone and J. S. Adams,
of Asheville, North Carolina, and was admitted
to the bar, having carefully prepared himself for
the labors of his chosen profession. He received
an appointment as internal revenue collector, and
held that position until August 8, 1891, at which
time he started for Moscow, Idaho, arriving at
his destination on the i6th of the month. There
he engaged in the practice of law with good suc-
cess until April, 1898, when, through the instru-
mentality of Senator Shoup, his warm personal
friend, he was appointed by President McKinley
to the position of register of the land office. He
has always been a stalwart Republican, unwaver-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
713
ing in his allegiance to the party, and unfahering
in his support of its men and measures. He en-
tered upon the duties of his office May i6, 1898,
and is now filHng the position in a most capable
and acceptable manner. He served as chairman
of the Latah county Republican central commit-
tee for eight years, devoting much of this time
and energy to the advancement of his party's
interests, and his labors were most effective. In
the discharge of his official duties he has ever
been prompt and faithful, and no trust reposed
in him has ever been betrayed.
Socially Mr. West is connected with the Ma-
sonic fraternity, the Modern Woodmen of the
World and the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, and he and his wife are members of the
United Artisans. Mrs. West formerly bore the
maiden name of Susan M. Henderson, and their
marriage was celebrated May 17, 1889, at Car-
lock, Tennessee. Their marriage has been
blessed with a son and daughter, Bonnie Lee
'and James Everett. They have a nice home of
their own in Moscow, and enjoy the confidence
and esteem of a wide circle of friends.
KEITH W. WHITE.
Keith Wood White, a retired farmer now re-
siding in Grangeville, is a native of the far-off
state of Connecticut, his birth having occurred
in the town of Ashford, Windham county, on the
15th of May, 1838. His ancestors came from old
England and settled in New England at an early
epoch in the history of this country, and there
the family remained for several generations.
Keith W. White, the father of our subject, was
born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and married
Catharine Farnum, a native of Connecticut. They
became the parents of two children, and the
father provided for their support by working as
foreman in a cotton mill. He died in the thirty-
eighth year of his age, and his wife passed away
in her forty-eighth year. She was a member of
the Congregational church.
The subject of this review is now the only sur-
vivor of the family. When si.x years of age he
accompanied his parents on their removal to
Ohio and was reared upon the home farm near
Cleveland. He obtained his education in the
public schools, and at the age of fourteen years
began to earn his own livelihood, since which
time he has been dependent upon his own re-
sources. He removed to Ottawa, Illinois, and
thence, in 1856, went to Nebraska, and in 1859
was among the first to cross the plains to Pike's
Peak at the time of the gold discoveries there.
His party arrived at their destination on the 28th
of November, and Mr. White engaged in mining-
there, meeting with fair success. He afterward
went to Montana, thence to British Columbia, then
returned to Walla Walla, and in 1862 arrived in
Elk City, Idaho, so that he is now numbered among
the pioneer settlers of the state. He engaged in
placer-mining there until 1873, in connection
with five others, all of whom have now passed
away. He dug the ditch in the Moose creek
diggings, and his efforts at mining were crowned
with gratifying success. In 1873 he came to
Camas prairie, took up a government claim and
engaged in stock-raising. He has four hundred
acres of rich land on this beautiful prairie, and
has transformed it into a fine farm, planting
large orchards and making many other excellent
improvements on the place. For a number of
years he personally superintended the operation
of his farm, but is now living a retired life in
Grangeville, enjoying a rest which he has truly
earned and richly deserves.
In 1886 Mr. White was elected sheriff of Idaho
county, and durine his incumbency made his
home in Mount Idaho, the county seat. He was
also county assessor and also served for one
term as deputy sheriff, during which time it was
his unpleasant duty to aid in the execution of
Walleck, who had been sentenced to death for
the murder of a man at Warrens. He has always
taken a deep and active interest in the upbuilding
and improvement of his county and state, has
given his support to all measures for the public
good, and was especially zealous in maintaining
order at a time when a lawless element infested
this then new region.
He is one of the valued representatives of the-
I\Iasonic fraternity in his county, having been
raised to the sublime degree of a ]\Iaster Mason
in Mount Idaho Lodge, No. 9, in 1873. He
at once became an earnest and intelligent worker
in the order, has filled nearly all the offices in
the lodge, for two terms served as its master and
for a quarter of a century has exemplified in his
life the beneficial and uplifting principles of the
714
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
craft. Masonry upholds all that is honorable,
pure and good in life, and thus a good Mason is
a good citizen.
CHARLES G. MARTIN.
Charles G. Martin is one of the pioneers of
what is now Bingham county, Idaho, and has
seen this entire section of the state develop from
a wild region, whereon civilization had not set
its stamp, into one of the finest and richest farm-
ing and stock-raising districts of the state. In
the work of development and progress he has
ever borne his part, and he takes a just pride in
the county's improvement, and deserves great
credit for what he has done in its behalf.
Mr. Martin was born in Clark county, Ken-
tuck}^, November i6, 1847, ^"d is a son of Samuel
P. and Eliza (Jones) Martin. His father was
born in and is now a resident of Missouri, and
has reached the ripe old age of eighty years. His
wife was a native of Virginia, and died in Mis-
souri, in 1864. The Martin family removed from
Kentucky to Missouri about the year 1850, and
the father carried on farming, which has been
his life work.
Charles G. Martin spent the greater part of his
childhood and youth in Missouri and is indebted
to its public-school system for the educational
privileges afforded him. He was early trained to
habits of industry and enterprise on the home
farm and assisted in the duties and labors of the
fields upon the old homestead throughout his
minority. Until 1870 he was identified with the
agricultural interests of that state, and then came
to Idaho, settling on the bank of the Snake river.
For some time he was employed by Matt. Taylor
and then began stock-raising on his own accoimt.
He resides three and one-half miles east of Idaho
Falls, where he owns three hundred and twenty
acres of good land. He is extensively engaged
in raising horses and cattle and in his business
pursuits is meeting with very desirable success.
He makes a specialty of beef cattle, for which he
finds a ready sale on the market.
Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Mrs.
Johanna Wright, a native of West Virginia, who
came to Idaho in 1872. They now have two
children, Jo and Mary. In politics Mr. Martin
is a strong Democrat, believing most firmly in
the principles of the party, but his attention is
not given to oiifice-seeking, his energies being de-
voted to his business interests, in which he is
meeting with deserved success. Throughout this
section of the state he is well known, and he de-
serves mention among Idaho's pioneers.
ALEXANDER E. MAYHEW.
The rewards of purity in public life are many,
but one of the most important and apparent is
continuance in public life. This is true every-
where, and of course it is true in Idaho, where
the fact is emphasized and illustrated by the
career of Judge Mayhew of Wallace, Shoshone
county, Idaho. At least he lives at Wallace, but
he is a man of the west and for the west, and his
influence is active and far-reaching.
Alexander E. Mayhew, son of Samuel and
Elizabeth (Conklin) Mayhew, was born in Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1830. His
father, a native of Philadelphia, was for many
years a merchant of that city,, but died in New
Jersey in 1871, and his mother, born in Phila-
delphia, died in New Jersey, in 1887.
The boyhood days of Judge Mayhew were
passed in Philadelphia, where he attended the
public schools and was graduated from the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, with the class of 1852.
He read law under the preceptorship of William
D. Baker, one of the leading Philadelphia law-
yers of his time and one of the most successful
in the country, and in 18c; q he located at Atchi-
son, Kansas, where he continued his legal studies
in the of^fice of Abel & Stringfellow, being ad-
mitted to the bar in 1856. He entered upon
the practice of his profession in Atchison and
served one year as city attorney. In 1859 he went
to Pike's Peak, Colorado, where he practiced
law and was connected with mining interests,
and there he remained until 1864, when he re-
moved to Helena, Montana, whence he went
later to Deer Lodge, that state. Here he was
successful professionally. For twelve years he
was prosecuting attorney for his county, witli
office at Deer Lodge, and he was a member of
the Montana legislature in nine successive ses-
sions, in eight of which he was speaker 'of the
house.
Judge Mayhew came to the Coeur d'Alene
country in 1884, and has lived at Wallace since
1890. He was a member of the Idaho legisla-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
715
ture of 1887-9 and a member of the state consti-
tutional convention in 1890. In 1891 he was the
Democratic candidate for congress in his dis-
trict, but was defeated at the polls by Willis
Sweet. In 1894 he was elected to the Idaho
state senate and was president of the senate in
the session which followed. In 1895 he was
elected judge of the first judicial district of Idaho,
and in 1898 was re-elected to succeed himself.
The professional success of Judge Mayhew is
a part of the recorded legal and judicial history of
the west. A lawyer of fine attainments, with an
intimate knowledge of law and its application to
the affairs of life, with magnetic qualities as a
forensic speaker, with industry, carefulness, and
great zeal in caring for the interests of clients,
actuated always by a high sense of honor, which
long since won him the complimentary sobriquet
of "Honest Alex," and with a genuine love for
the law and the highest respect for its established
tribunals, — he has achieved a reputation of which
any lawyer in the country might be proud. Long
years of political service have not corrupted him,
and upon every legislative body of which he has
been a member, upon every court in which he
has appeared, he has left the influence of pure
motives, fair fighting, honest methods and un-
swerving devotion to the right as it has been re-
vealed to him. As a judge he considers the poor
and the rich alike and renders decisions which
stand and win for him the praise of good and
honest citizens.
Of a genial, whole-souled disposition. Judge
Mayhew has made many friends wherever he has
lived, and has come to be one of the best known
men in the west. He is an Elk and an Odd Fel-
low, and is connected with the various profes-
sional organizations. Among those men of Idaho
who have at heart everything affecting her prog-
ress and development he is a leader, and so act-
ive has he been in good works for the public
benefit that his public spirit has come to be pro-
verbial.
LOUIS E. EILERT.
The new west is eminently the home of the
self-made man. Indeed, it may be said that in
making himself the self-made man of the new
west has built the new west up about him. Of
course this means the self-made man in a col-
lective sense. Individually self-made men like
Louis E. Eilert, of Rathdrum, Kootenai county,
Idaho, are units in the scheme of moral and ma-
terial development and progress. Louis E. Eil-
ert is a native of Hanover, Germany, and was
born April 5, 1851, a son of Ernest and Mary
Eilert, descendants from a long line of German
ancestors. In 1852 Ernest Eilert started for
America with his wife and his son (then about a
year old), with such plans in his mind as a man
will make for those whose lives he wants to make
better, without regard to the sacrifices he may
be called upon to make in his efforts to the end.
But he was doomed to bitter disappointment at
the very outset. His wife died on the voyage
and was buried in the Atlantic ocean. But still
duty lay plainly enough before him. Emigrants
and pioneers may not have time for mourning
their dead, for they have a fight to wage for the
living. One may scarcely imagine how lonely
the journey was of Mr. Eilert to the new land,
after that dark day in his history, and across a
land to him unknown to Wisconsin, where he
settled on Wood river, in Waukesha county.
There the boy Louis was reared and taught a
good deal about work and not much about books.
The schools there were crude and inadequate,
but they were schools of a kind, and the boy
learned enough to serve as seed in the field of
knowledge, — seed which he has cultivated since
as well as he might, until he is regarded as a well
informed man, alive to every important public
question and zealous for education and all mate-
rial progress. He came to the site of Rathdrum,
Idaho, in 1880, and was one of the men who
erected the first building where the town has
since grown up. He is to some extent interested
in mining, and is the operator of the Rathdrum
brewery and carries on a retail trade in wines and
liquors. He has been successful as a business
man and owes his success entirely to his own ex-
ertions, for he is in every sense of the word a
self-made man.
A steadfast Democrat, he has always taken an
active interest in the work of his party, but he
has no desire for official position and has discour-
aged the use of his name whenever his candidacy
for office has been suggested. He is a member
of the Knights of Pythias, and has made an en-
viable reputation as a pubhc-spirited citizen.
Mr. Eilert married j\Irs. Abbie (Bradbury)
716
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
Tucker, in 1883, and her one son by her former
marriage has been given the name of his step-
father, Louis Eilert.
JOHN A. O'FARRELL.
John Andrew O'Farrell was born in the county
of Tyrone, province of Ulster, Ireland, on the
13th day of February, 1823. He pursued his
education in the common schools until his thir-
teenth year, and was then placed in a naval school
where he remained for two years. He went to
sea in the Oriental Steamship line when fifteen
years of age, sailing from the East India dock on
the Thames, London, England, to the city of Cal-
cutta, Hindustan, East Indies. The return trip
occupied seven months' time and the vessel deliv-
ered and received mails and passengers at the isle
of St. Helena, ofif the west coast of Africa, and at
all the ports of entry on the African coast and the
isles of Madagascar and Ceylon in the Indian
ocean, thence to Madras and Calcutta. At the
age of sixteen, on his return from India to Lon-
don, Mr. O'Farrell was transferred to the Aus-
tralian liner, Nebob, of the East India Company,
sailing from Birkenhead, opposite Liverpool,
England, to Sydney, New South Wales, Austra-
lia. On the return trip they stopped at Chinese
and Japanese ports for mails and passengers, and
sailed the Pacific route through the straits of
Magellan, crossing the southern Atlantic to the
Cape of Good Hope and taking on mail and pas-
sengers at St. Helena and other stations on the
way to England. This trip occupied thirteen
months' time.
The father of our subject was Andrew O'Far-
rell, a military engineer, who served in that ca-
pacity on the battlefield of Waterloo under the
Duke of Wellington. He was for thirty-one
years an engineer in the British service. His
eldest son, Patrick Gregory O'Farrell, entered
the British navy as a cadet and served continu-
ously in the navy for twenty-eight years, being
on the Arctic expedition with Captain McClure
in the early '40s, on a three-years trip in the froz-
en polar region.
After his return from Australia in the ship Ne-
bob, John A. O'Farrell remained at home for
eighteen months, working at the trade of ship-
smith in Captain Coppin's ship-building works
on the river Foyle, at Londonderrv, in the north
of Ireland. He was then between nineteen and
twenty years of age. The White Star Hner, City
of New York, was undergoing repairs, and
he worked on her and shipped as one of her crew,
as an able seaman, bouiid for New York. He
landed in New York city on the 5th of January,
1843, being nineteen years and eleven months of
age. The following day he left for Philadelphia,
and through his uncle secured a position in the
Philadelphia navy yards as shipsmith. He was
employed in that capacity until the Mexican war
broke out, when he sailed on the United States
store-ship, the Lexington, which was ordered to
the Mexican frontier on the Pacific waters, bound
for Monterey, the Mexican capital of Alta, or
Northern, California. There was no such place
as San Francisco then on the Pacific coast, and
on the site of the present city was an old Spanish
settlement of two hundred people, the place be-
ing known as Yerba Buena. The ship was
loaded with arms and ammunition and a force of
marines under command of Captain C. Q. Tomp-
kins, of Company F, Third Artillery, and Lieu-
tenant W. T. Sherman. The Lexington sailed
around Cape Horn, making the trip from the
Delaware to the bay of Monterey in one hundred
and ninety-eight days. They arrived at their des-
tination January 29, 1847, ^"d found the United
States frigate. Independence, commanded by
Commodore William Branford Shubrick, lying
at anchor in the bay. When the Lexington ar-
rived Commodore Shubrick boarded her and
finding Captain C. O. Tompkins with Company
F, of the Third Artillery, placed him in command
of the land forces, while Lieutenant Sherman,
afterward the celebrated general of the civil war,
was made quartermaster and adjutant. Two days
later the sloop of war Cyane, under command of
Captain Dupont, entered the harbor, having on
board General S. W. Kearny with his staff and
troops. He established headquarters at Mon-
terey and Commodore Shubrick took command
of the sea on the frigate Independence. General
Kearny's staff was composed of the following:
Colonel R. B. Mason, of the First Dragoons;
Captain Folsom and Lieutenant Ord. afterward
General Ord, with Lewis Dent as private secre-
tary. Dent was the brother of Mrs. General
Grant. He was appointed probate judge and
magistrate, before whom all difficulties were
/dn.Aa
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
tit
tried. In May, 1847, General Kearny returned
to the United States in the sloop of war Cyane,
to report to the government his opinion and to
give an account of the new territory of Alta Cali-
fornia. Colonel R. B. ^lason was left in com-
mand of the land forces, with Lieutenant Sher-
man as adjutant and Captain Folsom quarter-
master. There were no mail routes then on the
Pacific coast in California, not even a wagon
road. All travel was over the trails or by canoes
on the rivers. A tri-monthly mail was estab-
lished by Colonel Mason and Commodore Shu-
brick, being carried three times a month from
Monterey to Point Danas, thence to Los Angeles
and on to San Diego, and returning by the same
ports to Monterey, thence north to Yerba Buena,
Captain Folsom's station. The store-ship Lex-
ington was detailed for the mail service from De-
cember, 1847, until the 1st of May, 1848.
Mr. O'Farrell was a seaman on the mail ship
and on the first Sunday in May, 1848, at the
trading post in Yerba Buena, he met Captain
John Sutter, Jim jNIarshall and others who had
arrived from Sutter's sawmill at Coloma, forty
miles from San Francisco. They had the first
gold-dust Mr. O'Farrell had ever seen. It was
as coarse as grains of wheat and corn. Marshall
gave him three grains of gold, worth about two
dollars, and he engaged with Sutter to work in
the gold mines. He was to receive a per cent
of what he washed out of the ground at the mill,
and his daily wages averaged from thirty to fifty
dollars. Being fond of excitement he visited all
the newly discovered gold-producing localities in
the territory of California. On the 9th of Sep-
tember, 1850, California was admitted into the
Union with the provision that all men over twen-
ty-one years of age in the state on that date were
made by act of congress lawful citizens of the
United States. Mr. O'Farrell had been seven
years in America, either on land or in American
waters, and was twenty-seven years of age, so
he cast his first vote in California, in the fall of
1850. That winter the snow was ver\' deep in
the mining districts of California, and the bay of
San Francisco was crowded with ships from all
cjuarters of the globe. Seamen's services com-
manded high wages and Mr. O'Farrell engaged
on the Red Jacket, a Baltimore clipper, for the
round trip from San Francisco to Auckland, New
Zealand, thence to Melbourne and Sydney, Aus-
tralia, stopping at Honolulu both going and on
the return trip. The vessel at length arrived again in
San Francisco, laden with coal, which was then
a valuable cargo in San Francisco. Nine months
had been consumed in making the voyage. In
1 85 1 William H. Aspinwall & Company, of New
York, secured the L'nited States mail contract,
to carry the mail by the isthmus route, and placed
three large steamships on the Pacific side to run
between San Francisco and Panama. These ves-
sels were called the California, the Oregon and
the Panama. Commodore Vanderbilt was an
unsuccessful candidate for the mail contract,
which paid several millions of dollars during the
four years of its term. Vanderbilt, however, re-
solved not to be defeated in his plans. He went
to Liverpool, England, and connected himself
with all the Atlantic ocean lines of ever}' nation
of Europe, and they placed four large steamers
on the Pacific between San Francisco and the
Central American port of San Juan del Sur.
From that port passengers were taken across the
isthmus to Graytown, whence the English lines
of steamers carried the mail and passengers to
Kingstown, Jamaica, where they could be trans-
ferred to American and English vessels. In the
winter of 1852, when the snow in the moimtains
was too deep to admit of profitable gold-washing,
Mr. O'Farrell worked on the ^"anderbilt line be-
tween San Francisco and San Juan del Sur, and
in 1853 he was engaged on the ships of the same
company on the Caribbean sea, on the Atlantic
side, sailing between Graytown and Southamp-
ton, England.
In the fall of 1853 England and France de-
clared war against Russia and Patrick Gregory
O'Farrell, the eldest brother of our subject, was
one of the naval officers under Admiral Dundas,
being stationed on the Black sea and the sea of
Azov. As seamen were in great demand for that
naval service, John A. O'Farrell shipped at Spit-
head, Portsmouth, England, on the Agamemnon,
the flagship of Admiral Lyons, for service on the
Black sea and along the Crimean coast. That
vessel reached the bay of Odessa about the I5tli
of February, 1854. The British fleet, under the
command of Admirals Dundas and Lyons, num-
bered twenty-one ships, including war ships, fri-
gates and curvets or sloops of war, while the
718
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
French fleet, under command of Admirals Ham-
lin and Brunnette, numbered twenty-three ships.
The orders to demand the surrender of Odessa
arrived on the night of the 2 1st of April, 1854,
by the naval mail packet Credock from Constan-
tinople to the fleet. Of course the order was not
complied with, and the first guns of the Crimean
war were turned upon Odessa about five o'clock
on the morning of Saturday, April 22, 1854, the
cannonading continuing thirteen hours. The
city was on fire, but Prince Mencicoff, the Rus-
sian general, did not surrender. The British
war ship Terrible was destroyed by the Russian
fire from the guns of the forts of Odessa, and
several ships of the French and British fleets
were crippled, and the fleets were unable to effect
a landing. The British army of over thirty thou-
sand men under Lord Raglan, and the French
army of forty thousand men under Marechal St.
Arnod, with ten thousand Turks under Omar
Pasha, were ordered to the front under the pro-
tection of the combined fleets of France and Eng-
land. On the 14th of September, 1854, at Kil-
matta bay, where the river Alma connects with
the Black sea, the French, British and Turkish
troops were landed. The Heights of Alma, a
rocky cliiif, are situated from one to three miles
from the shores of the Black sea, and along the
apex of the chff was theWarnsoff stage road from
Sebastopol to Odessa. A telegraph station and
mercantile houses were located there, and Gen-
eral Mencicofif, commander-in-chief of the Rus-
sian army, concentrated seventy thousand men
there on the night of September 19, 1854. On
the following morning the French, British and
Turks, under the command of Field-Marshal
Arnod, of France, formed a battle line three
miles in length at right angles on the north bank
of the Alma and the shore of the sea. The Rus-
sian army of seventy thousand opened fire on the
French army, who had their position along the
sea 'shore, hoping to drive the French into the
sea, but the heavy guns of the fleet kept the Rus-
sians at bay until Lord Raglan with his command
arrived, bringing the cannon up the Alma river
and onto the heights in the third hour of the bat-
tle, and attacked the Russians on the level plain
of the heights. This move drew the strong force
of the Russians from the French, who almost as
if by magic scaled the heights. The roar of ar-
tillery and the thunderous sounds of the battle
lasted for three hours, at the end of which time
the Russians retreated toward the valley of Bal-
aklava. So intense had been the battle that it
required six days to bury the dead and get the
wounded on board the hospital ships. On the
seventh day after the battle of Alma the com-
bined force of French, English, the Piedmontese,
under General Forey, and the Turks, under Gen-
eral Omar Pasha, marched toward the Balaklava
valley, a thriving agricultural district farmed
principally by Scotch farmers who immigrated
there to raise wheat on a large scale. At the
head of this valley the Warnsofif stage road from
Odessa to Simferopol and Sebastopol crosses the
Takernea river on a long stone bridge of many
arches. A Russian fort stood in this locality.
The two famous brothers, the Generals Luder,
held this position, fifteen miles from Sebastopol,
with a strong army, and General and Prince
Mancicoff with his men who fought in the Alma,
were fortified on the heights on the south side of
the valley, whilst the sons of Emperor Nicholas,
Michael and Nicholas, held their artillery and
cavalry forces for any emergency on a com-
manding position. The Russians held position
v.'here the gims of the fleet could not reach them,
and where they could deliver a deadly fire on the
French, British and Turks. The French and
British marines and the marine artillery were
ordered ashore together with the artillery of the
navy, and the troops forced a position on the
nearest heights, known then as the marine
heights. While getting their guns in place under
cover of darkness, on the morning of October
17, 1854, the Russian pickets opened fire, and the
battle of Balaklava commenced. Captain Nolan,
of the Seventeenth Irish Hussars, was field dis-
patcher for Lord Reglan, who gave him a written
dispatch to the Earl of Cardigan, who com-
manded the cavalry, to charge up the valley in
order to know better the Russian position.
Cardigan ordered Captain Nolan to lead the
charge. He and his six hundred men then dis-
mounted, tightened their saddles and then re-
mounted for the fatal charge. They rode over
a rolling ridge about one thousand yards only to
find themselves within the range of sixty field-
pieces, planted on each side of the valley. To re-
treat was certain death. Captain Nolan charged
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
for the battery, he and his men cutting the Russian
gunners from their guns, and then turning at
the command to right about face, cut through a
second time and charged down the valley to their
own line, where Captain Nolan, who had lead in
what was one of the most daring and brilliant
military movements in history, was killed by a
cannon shot.
On the 5th of November, 1854, the allied ar-
mies of France and England, in connection with
the fleets, had arranged for the final assault on
Sebastopol. Marechal McMahon, of France,
with his men, stormed the Malakof, capturing the
principal defense of Sebastopol, Forts Nicholas
and Alexander, with several hundred guns, which
commanded the naval entrance to Sebastopol.
Here the Agamemnon, the flagship of Admiral
Lyons, was crippled. Many of the men were
killed, and Mr. O'Farrell was among the
wounded. For his meritorious services in that
engagement, however, he received a Crimean
prize medal, which he still has in his possession.
In 1856 the Crimean war was ended, and he re-
turned to California, where he resumed mining
in the gold districts.
In the fall of 1857 Mr. O'Farrell was one of a
party who organized a company at Downie-
ville, California, to prospect for gold on the
Pike's Peak mountain range, at the head waters
of the Platte river, then in western Kansas, but
now in the state of Colorado. He was one of the
first to find gold, making his discovery April 6,
i860, in what is known as California Gulch,
where the Leadville Mining Camp is now lo-
cated. Attracted by the gold discoveries
throughotit the northwest he has visited and
worked in the mining regions of Oregon, Wash-
ington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Ne-
vada and the territories of New Mexico and Ari-
zona, but has made his home in Boise, Idaho,
since June, 1863.
WILLIAM C. DUNBAR, JR.
A popular citizen of Caldwell, the county-seat
of Canyon county, is the gentleman whose name
appears above. In 1895 he was elected to the
position which he now holds, that of county clerk
of the district court, and has made a thorough,
capable and reliable official. In his political
views he is a Populist. Formerly he served as
auditor and recorder of Canyon county, and gave
entire satisfaction to all concerned in the proper
administration of local affairs, and prior to his
arrival in this section he acceptably filled the re-
quirements of the office of clerk of the probate
court in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Mr. Dunbar is a native of the city just men-
tioned, his birth having taken place on the 23d
of August, 1854. He is of Scotch-English ex-
traction, and inherited strong, upright, just traits
of character from his ancestors. His father,
William C. Dunbar, Sr., is one of the oldest resi-
dents of Salt Lake City, Utah, as he has dwelt
there for almost half a century, going there
scarcely two years after it was founded by the
Mormons. He was born in Inverness, a city in
the far northern highlands of Scotland, but he
was reared and educated in Edinburg. Starting-
out when a young man to make his own way in
the world, he came to the United States, and in
1850 crossed the plains and settled in Salt Lake
City. He has witnessed the entire development
of that wonderful city and the amazing growth
and yearly increasing wealth of that once barren
wilderness, which has literally been made to blos-
som as the rose, by the thrifty, beauty-loving in-
habitants. J\lr. Dunbar was one of the founders
of the Salt Lake Herald, and was its business
manager for several years. He is now in his
seventy-sixth year, and his good wife, also well
along in years, is still his helpmate and friend,
the sharer of his joys and sorrows. Her maiden
name was Hannah Hales, and Yarmouth, Eng-
land, is her native place. Of the twelve children
born to this worthy couple eight are still living.
W. C. Dunbar, Jr., the eldest of his parents'
children, was educated in the public schools and
in the University of Utah, and later pursued a
commercial course in a business college, in order
to thoroughly equip himself for the duties of his
future life. In this laudable undertaking he was
obliged to rely chiefly upon his own efforts, and
the expenses of his higher mental training were
sustained by himself. Upon leaving the school-
room, the young man accepted a position as in-
voice clerk in a large mercantile establishment,
with which house he remained for two years.
His next position was as a bookkeeper for the
firm of F. Auerbach & Brothers, of Salt Lake
City. In 1890 Mr. Dunbar came to Caldwell
720
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
and for three years conducted a mercantile busi-
ness upon his own responsibility. Then, selhng
out, he engaged in the abstract business, and was
thus employed until 1895, when he assumed the
duties of his present office. Fraternally, he is
identified with the Masonic order and with the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
THOMAS SMITH.
Thomas Smith, county assessor of Oneida
county, and a leading merchant and farmer of
Preston, was born in Brigham City, Utah, Octo-
ber 22, 1862, his parents being Samuel and Maria
Smith, who were natives of England. In that
land they embraced the faith of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and wishing
to ally their interests with the colony of that be-
lief resident in Utah, they crossed the Atlantic
to America and settled in the Salt Lake region
at an early period in its development. They lo-
cated first at Cottonwood, and a little later at
Brigham City, where the father was known as
one of the prominent pioneers. He served as
probate judge and mayor of the city for a num-
ber of years, and took an active part in public
afifairs. He was the father of about fifty chil-
dren, was counselor to the president of Box
Elder, and a man of much influence and ability.
He departed this life in the seventieth year of his
age, but the wife of his youth is still living, one
of the honored pioneer women of Utah.
Their son, Thomas Smith, was educated in
Brigham City and at twelve years of age began
to earn his own living by working in the pioneer
woolen factory of that part of the country. In
1882 he came to Cache valley, locating at what
was then known as the Falls, but is now River-
dale, where for five years he engaged in ranching.
In 1887 he came to Preston and accepted a clerk-
ship in the large general mercantile store of Will-
iam C. Parkinson & Company, continuing in that
position until 1899. He acquired a complete
knowledge of the business in all its departments,
and for a number of years held the responsible
position of chief clerk and acted as superintendent
during the absence of the manager, who was
often away on other business. In the fall of 1898
Mr. Smith was chosen by the Democratic party
as their candidate for county assessor and was
elected to the office, which he is now capably fill-
ing, discharging his duties in a prompt and able
manner. The assessed property of the county
now amounts to two and a quarter million dol-
lars.
James Smith, the brother of our subject, es-
tablished a general mercantile store in Preston in
1894, and in 1899 he was sent on a mission to
England, at which time the firm of Smith Broth-
ers was formed, Thomas Smith becoming a part-
ner and stockholder in the enterprise. He now
has the management of the business, for which
his long experience as a salesman well fitted him.
He has a wide acquaintance with the people in
the county, is very popular, and as the result of
his honoiable dealing, his moderate prices and
his uniform courtesy he is now receiving a lib-
eral patronage from the public. In addition to
his mercantile interests he owns a farm of one
hundred acres near the city and a number of
town lots, besides his residence property.
In 1882 was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Smith and Miss Frances Van Nov, a native of
Richmond, LUah. Their union has been blessed
with six children, namely : Thomas W., Clement,
Nettie, Lorane, Francis and Leora. They are
all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, of which Mr. Smith is an
elder. He is very popular as a citizen and busi-
ness man, and sustains a very enviable reputa-
tion for his unassailable integrity.
ISAAC B. NASH.
Isaac Bartlett Nash is one of the early settlers
and highly respected citizens of Franklin, where
he has made his home since 1864. He became a
resident of Salt Lake City in 1849, ^"d 's a native
of Wales, his birth having occurred in Kedwelly,
Carmarthenshire, on the 14th of June, 1824. He
was educated in his native country and spent
seven years as an apprentice to the blacksmith's
trade, after which he worked at the business there
until 1849.
In the year 1847 '^^ was converted to the faith
of the Latter Day Saints, and it was this which
determined him to go to Salt Lake. He joined
a company that started from Wales under the
leadership of Captain Dan Jones and sailed in the
ship Buena Vista, which was a new vessel, just
starting on her first voyage. At length the com-
pany arrived at New Orleans, where they took
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
t%\
passage on the old steamboat Constitution for
St. Louis. The cholera was then raging in the
latter place and twenty-one of the emigrants died
during the first night and were buried in the
morning. On the way to St. Joseph they buried
sixty-four of their number. The burials occurred
in the morning at eight o'clock and in the after-
noon at four, and it was not infrequent that some
of those who assisted at the sad rites of the morn-
ing were themselves cold in death at the time of
the afternoon burial. Mr. Nash buried his grand-
mother in the same grave with eight others.
Mrs. Nash and another lady were all who were
able to assist in caring for the sick, and Mrs.
Nash suffered an attack of the disease but recov-
ered. Whole families were swept away by the
dread plague, and the first experience of the emi-
grants in America was attended with great sor-
row. From Council BlufTs they crossed the
plains with ox teams. Mr. Nash came to this
country in company with a Mrs. Lewis, who paid
the expenses of twenty-four families from Wales
to Salt Lake. He worked there for a time, and
in 1852 went to the mines in Sonora county, Cali-
fornia, where he met with moderate success, but
when the floods -came the work was all swept
away and much suffering followed on account of
the scarcity of provisions and the high prices de-
manded for all such commodities. Flour sold for
a dollar and a half per pound, potatoes one dollar
per pound, and everything else was equally high.
The brother-in-law of Mr. Nash had a child sick
with smallpox and offered a handful of gold-dust
for six crackers for the little one, but could not
get them. Flour became so scarce that it could
not be had at any price. A Mr. Ford, the owner
of a store there, had a large amount of flour
which he was holding for higher prices. Another
dealer offered him one hundred and fifty dollars
per hundred, so that he could sell it and supply
the people, but Ford refused the offer and de-
manded two hundred dollars a hundred. Failing
to sell at the latter figure, the heavy rains leaked
in upon his flour, and about the same time the
Mexicans came with large amounts of flour,
packing it with mules, so that Ford was finally
forced to sell the flour which had not been ruined
by the rain at five cents per pound, which seemed
like a just retribution upon the man for his greed
and inhumanity.
Later Mr. Nash returned to San Francisco and
crossed the bay to Union City, where he pur-
chased land, built a house and shop and carried
on the blacksmith business there until 1856, get-
ting six dollars for shoeing a span of horses. He
made and saved money, purchased a span of
mules and in 1856 sold his property there and
returned to Salt Lake City. He had been mar-
ried in Wales to Miss Eliza Morris, a native of
that country, and she accompanied him in all his
journey ings until they arrived in Salt Lake City,
but finally she left him and went with another
man, and in 1852 Mr. Nash married Hester E.
Pool, from Prince Edwards Island, who has since
been to him a faithful companion and helpmeet
on life's journey.
Mr. Nash continued to work at his trade in his
own shop until 1859, ^t which time he returned
to the states with the children that were saved
from the Mountain Meadow massacre. In com-
pany with Dr. Forney he took them back, having
been commissioned by President Young to ac-
complish that task, and acted as commissary on
the journey to St. Louis. He remained in the
latter city until 1864, working at his trade, and
during the civil war was thrice arrested on ac-
count of things which he said in favor of the
south. In each case the British consul secured
his release, and he finally took the oath of neu-
trality, after which he had no more trouble.
Later he took the oath of allegiance to the gov-
ernment at Washington and became a naturalized
citizen and a Republican. He returned to Salt
Lake City and from there came to Franklin in
1864, since which date he has been the indus-
trious village blacksmith at this place and an ac-
tive and useful member of his church. In it he
has served as elder, as one of the seventy, as high
priest, and is now a patriarch. He has also been
a very active Sunday-school worker and, possess-
ing an excellent voice, has contributed much to
the musical service of the meetings. When he
first came to Franklin he purchased property and
became the owner of a house and shop. He has
made an honorable living through his efforts at
the forge, and in addition to the income derived
from that line of business he has that which
comes from his forty-acre farm, which is planted
to hay and grain.
While in St. Louis, as he and his wife had no
722
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
children, they took three orphan children into
their home. Two of them died, but the other,
Ellen, was reared by them as their own, and they
loved her dearly and she them. She is now the
wife of William Parkinson, president of the stake
at Pocatello. Twelve children were born to Mr.
Nash by his present wife, of whom eight are yet
living. The three sons are all blacksmiths and
are partners of their father. They are Andrew
B., Isaac H. and David, and the daughters are
Estella, Emenetta, Rhodessa, Nellie and Laura.
Mr. Nash and his family have a good home and
enjoy the respect of all who know them.
THOMAS J. HUFF.
One of the pioneers of the northwest and one
of the old residents of Caldwell is Thomas Jeffer-
son Huff, the present assessor of Canyon county.
He is a man of the highest integrity and ability,
and stands well in the estimation of all who know
him. A lifelong Democrat, and devoted to his
party, he has never occupied a public office be-
fore, and has not been an aspirant for pohtical
honors and emoluments. In his business career
he has met with success, and by well directed
energy and good judgment he has amassed a
comfortable fortune.
Philip Huff, the paternal grandfather of our
subject, was born in Germany, and coming to
America in early manhood, settled in Tennessee.
In that state his son Jefferson, father of Thomas
J. Huff, was born, and for some years he made
his home in Indiana. He married Lutilda White,
and twelve children were born to them. In 1852
■ the family set out on a long and dangerous jour-
ney across the almost interminable plains, seek-
ing for a new home and better prospects. The
year was an especially trying one, as the cholera
was raging in this country, and the emigrants
along the way appeared to be favorite subjects of
attack by the dread enemy to life. Four of the
children of Mr. and Mrs. Huf¥ succumbed and
were buried on the dreary plains. Newly made
graves along the trail indicated the havoc which
death was making in the ranks of the toiling pil-
grims, but at last some of them reached the land
of promise, and developed the wonderful Pacific
slope. The following winter Mr. Huff, who was
a practicing physician, stayed with his family in
Portland, and then they went to the Lewis river
district of Washington, and dwelt there until the
Indian troubles of 1855, when they settled on the
Willamette, just below Portland. Mrs. Huff
died in 1857, aged forty years. Dr. Huff after-
ward removed to Linn county, re-married, and
lived to attain the age of seventy-one years, his
death occurring in 1881.
Thomas J. Huff was born near Hartford,
Boone county, Indiana, December 31, 1844, and
he and one sister are the only survivors of the
family of eleven who bravely set out for the west
to meet the untold hardships of pioneer exist-
ence. He was about eight years old at the time
of the eventful journey, and can never forget
some of his experiences. Much of his education
was gathered in the public schools of Linn
county. In 1865 he embarked in the stock busi-
ness in Oregon and at Walla Walla, Washing-
ton, and for almost a quarter of a century gave
his whole attention to this line of enterprise, hav-
ing at times six hundred head of cattle. In 1886
he came to Caldwell, Idaho, and purchased a
home, and he still owns a stock ranch of five hun-
dred acres on Cow creek, Malheur county, Ore-
gon. He is also the owner of a ferry across
Snake river, between Idaho and Oregon, and the
Riverside ferry belongs to him. Fraternally he
is associated with the Odd Fellows, and has
passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge.
On the 27th of February, 1895, Mr. Huff mar-
ried Mrs. A. J. Strickland, who has a son and a
daughter by her previous marriage. The family
have a pleasant home and their friends are legion.
SAMUEL C. PARKINSON.
The name of Parkinson is so inseparably inter-
woven with the history of southeastern Idaho and
its development that those who bear it need no
special introduction to the readers of this volume.
He of whom we write has long been accorded a
place among the leading business men and pro-
gressive citizens of Franklin and Oneida county,
where he has made his home since his boyhood
days. His father is the honored Samuel Rose '
Parkinson, one of the founders of the town and a
leader in the Church of the Latter Day Saints. A
history of his life is given elsewhere in this work.
Samuel Chandler Parkinson, his eldest child,
was born in St. Louis, Missouri, February 23,
1853, 3nd was less than two years of age when
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
723
the father, with a mule team, crossed the plains
tf) Utah. A youth of seven, he came to Franklin
and was educated in district schools, conducted
by various teachers. During the early days of
the settlement of the town the families were in
imminent danger of Indian attack and suffered
many hardships and privations. When sixteen
years of age Samuel C. Parkinson was sent by
his father to Salt Lake City to learn the carpen-
ter's trade, remaining there for two years. After
his return he followed the occupation for a time,
but not finding it congenial he returned to the
farm and assisted his father for a time. Later
he engaged in freighting between Utah and Mon-
tana, carrying goods to the different mining
camps in the latter state, and was engaged in that
business when General Custer and his entire
command were killed by the Nez Perces Indians.
Mr. Parkinson continued to engage in freight-
ing for some time ana metwithveryexcellentsuc-
cess, but later began raising high grades of horses
and cattle, thus doing much to improve the stock
in this section of Idaho. He made a specialty of
Norman and English Shire horses, and was the
owner of one fine horse which weighed two thou-
sand pounds and was valued at two thousand dol-
lars. He also introduced Holstein and, later,
Durham cattle into the county, and thus greatly
improved the stock in southeastern Idaho. For
some years past he has been extensively engaged
in the sheep industry, and has from ten to twelve
thousand head of sheep, employing ten men in
their care. They are fed upon a farm of six hun-
dred acres, where he has excellent pasture land
and meadows devoted to the raising of hay. Mr.
Parkinson also owns one hundred and sixt\-
acres of land adjoining the town of Franklin, on
which lie has a large and commodious frame
residence, surrounded by a fine grove of trees of
his own planting. His business interests are
well managed, and his industry and sound judg-
ment have been the important elements in his
very enviable success.
On the 9th of December, 1873, ^^i'- Parkinson
wedded Miss Mary Ann Hobbs, daughter of
Charles Hobbs, an esteemed pioneer of Franklin.
She was born in England, and when a little girl
was brought by her parents to America. Their
union has been blessed with eleven children:
Nessy Estelia, wife of George Hobbs ; Edith
Arabella, who died in her second year ; .Samuel
William, a very intelligent young man now on a
mission in England ; Mary, Albert H. and Leon-
ard H., at home. The younger children are
Theresa, Raymond H., Anetta, Bernice H. and
Rowland H. Mr. Parkinson is giving all of his
children good educational privileges, some at-
tending the college at Logan, and others the
Oneida Stake Academy. They are all members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day
Saints, in which Mr. Parkinson has served as
elder, a seventy, and is now high priest. He
went on a mission for his church to the state of
Alabama and met with excellent success, leaving
a very prosperous organization there. He also
served in a mission in Oregon, spending three
months in Portland and traveling all over the
state. He likewise visited San Francisco, and
in his work was associated with his brother Will-
iam, their object being to open new fields. At
present he is a high counselor in the Oneida
stake.
In his political views Mr. Parkinson is a Re-
publican and keeps well informed on the issues
of the day. He attends various conventions of
his party, and has frequently acted as chairman,
but has never been an oiSce-seeker, preferring to
devote his time and attention to the interests of
the church and of his business. In all his busi-
ness relations he has met with excellent results,
and his success is indeed creditable because it
has come as the reward of his own efforts, hon-
esty and enterprise. As a citizen he is highly
esteeme.d and well deserves representation in this
volume.
JOHN LARSON.
Not a few are the worthy citizens that the
peninsular country of Denmark has furnished
to the United States, and among those who have
sought homes in the far northwest is John Lar-
son, bishop of the Preston ward and one of the
leading and influential citizens of Preston. A
native of Denmark, he was born on the ist of
May, 1845, his parents, Andrew and Mary (Nes-
sen) Larson, being also natives of the same land.
They were converted to the faith of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and in
1861, with their family of three sons and two
daughters, they sailed for the New World, Salt
Lake City being their destination. They were
724
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
poor but honest and worthy people, and the
church furnished them with an ox team with
which to cross the plains from Council Bluffs to
Utah.
John Larson was then in his sixteenth year,
and notwithstanding he had never driven oxen he
soon learned how to manage them, and drove
four pair across the plains, walking all the way.
At length the journey was safely terminated, the
family arriving at Salt Lake in September. They
settled in Logan soon after their arrival, the par-
ents there residing until 1868, when the father
died, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He was
an esteemed citizen, faithful to every duty. His
good wife still survives him, at the age of eighty-
six years, and is a worthy representative of the
brave type of pioneer women who aided in the
settlement of LTtah. Four of the children are
also living and are greatly respected by all who
know them.
Bishop Larson acquired his education in his
native country, and at Logan began life as a
farmer. His first landed possession was a tract
of twenty-five acres, to which he added when his
earnest toil had brought him increased capital.
In this way he became the owner of fifty-tive
acres and a good house in the city of Logan, and
a part of his farm now lies within the corporation
limits and has become very valuable property.
In 1885 he came to Preston, being one of the
early settlers of the town. He took up two quar-
ter-sections of land under the desert act, eighty
acres under the timber act and eighty acres under
the homestead act, and as prosperity has further
attended his efforts he has added to his posses-
sions by additional purchase until he now owns
eight hundred and eighty acres, of which five
hundred acres are under a high state of cultiva-
tion, yielding to the owner a golden tribute in
return for the care and labor he bestows. He has
raised forty-five bushels of wheat to the»acre on
land that is irrigated, and twenty-five bushels on
land not irrigated. He also raises cattle and
horses, and buys and deals in stock. He has a
fine Norman-Percheron horse for which he paid
fourteen hundred dollars, and has introduced
thorough-bred Durham cattle, in which way he
has not only advanced his own interests, but has
improved the grade of stock in the county and
thus added to the general prosperity of the stock-
raisers. He is also one of the leading stock-
holders in the extensive general mercantile es-
tablishment conducted under the name of W. C.
Parkinson & Company, a well managed institu-
tion doing a large business in all kinds o^ mer-
chandise and also handling produce.
In 1866 Bishop Larson was united in marriage
to Miss Annie Jenson, a native of Sweden, and
their children are as follows: John A., who is
operating the home farm ; Nephi, who is on a
mission to England ; Willard, who is on a mis-
sion to Oregon ; Alma, Marinda and Blanche, at
home. Such in brief is the history of one who
has made his own way in the world, and whose
life has been crowned with success and with the
high regard of his fellow men.
GEORGE C. PARKINSON.
George C. Parkinson, president of the Oneida
stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter
Day Saints, with residence at Preston, Idaho, is
a native son of Utah, his birth having occurred in
Keysville, Davis county, July 18, 1857. His
father is Samuel Rose Parkinson, one of the most
prominent pioneer citizens of Oneida county,
Idaho. President Parkinson is the fourth child
and third son of the family. He was educated at
Brigham Young College, in Logan, Utah, and
was graduated with honor in the class of 1880.
He entered upon his business career as a teacher
in Logan, his first term of school being in 1877-8.
He continued teaching until 1881, at which time
he was sent on a mission to the southern states,
where he remained for a year, doing a very suc-
cessful work. He then went to England, where
he remained for a year and three months, and
the work he accompHshed for the church there
was also very satisfactory.
Upon his return, in the spring of 1883, he
again resumed teaching and was appointed one
of the presiding ofificers of the stake, making his
home and headquarters . at Frankhn. Subse-
quently he removed to Oxford, where he re-
sumed teaching and was elected county superin-
tendent of schools on the Republican ticket.
While at that place he was also superintendent of
a co-operative store, and during that time a very
unpleasant and unjust occurrence came into his
life. An alleged polygamist hid in the cellar of
his store without his knowledge, but the ofificers
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
??5
arrested President Parkinson for concealing a
criminal. He was tried, James H. Hawley de-
fending him, but the jtiry disagreed on the ver-
dict. His trial was then set for six months later
and Mr. Hawley then became the prosecuting
attorney, and he was convicted and sentenced to
one year in the state's prison and fined three
hundred dollars. He paid his fine and served
eleven months in the penitentiary, being given
one month of his time on account of his good
behavior. He had no knowledge of the man
who had concealed himself in the cellar, but the
jury were all anti-Mormons, and the officer who
subpoenaed the jury was heard to remark : "I
have now a jury that would convict Jesus Christ."
Such was the justice that he received in the name
of the law !
Returning to Franklin Mr. Parkinson engaged
in the produce business, handling all kinds of
produce and also dealing in cattle and sheep. On
the 28th of August, 1887, he received the great
honor of being appointed president of the Oneida
stake, his counselors being Solomon H. Hale and
Matthias F. Cowley. President Parkinson has
since served with great credit to the church and
has largely advanced its interests. He is also
successfully conducting several business enter-
prises and is a progressive and diligent man.
While at Franklin, in connection with Franklin
and Logan parties, they purchased all the stores
in the former place and consolidated the business
under the name of The OneidaMercantile Union,
with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. He
became one of the stockholders and directors,
and an excellent business was carried on. Some
of these stockholders established a full roller-
process flouring-mill at Franklin, with a capacity
of one hundred and twenty-five barrels. P)Usi-
ness is carried on under the name of the Idaho
Milling, Grain & Power Company, and as a
stockholder and director Mr. Parkinson was ac-
tively connected with its management. He is
also a stockholder in and the manager of the W.
C. Parkinson Mercantile Company, at Preston,
where he carries a large line of goods, handling
all merchandise used by the citizens of this sec-
tion of the state. In addition he buys and
handles all kinds of produce, and is conducting
an extensive and profitable business. He is man-
ager of the Studenberg Brothers Manufacturing
Company, at Preston, which also handles a very
large stock and is doing a successful bvisiness.
Aside from mercantile interests he is connected
with the sheep and wool industry and thereby
adds materially to his income. He is a man of
excellent executive force, of sound judgment,
capable management and indefatigable energy,
and carries forward to successful completion
whatever he undertakes.
Mr. Parkinson takes quite an active interest in
politics, as a supporter of the Republican party,
and for a number of years has attended all of the
state conventions. In 1894 he was elected to the
sta'.e senate, representing the district of five
counties, which includes one-fourth of the popu-
lation of the entire state. In 1895 he had the
honor of being appointed by Governor McCon-
nell a member of the board of regents of the
State University, and in 1896 he was one of the
presidential electors on the Republican ticket.
He is now president of the board of education of
the Oneida stake, and acted as superintendent of
the building of the splendid academy erected by
the stake at Preston, at a cost of fifty thousand
dollars.
President Parkinson was happily married in
1 88 1 to Miss Lucy M. Doney, a native of Frank-
lin, Idaho, and their union has been blessed with
seven children, three sons and four daughters,
namely : George D., Lucy Ann, John Leo, Vera,
Samuel Parley, Elna and Aleida. Mr. Parkinson
and his family have one of the most beautiful and
attractive residences in this part of the state, and
he is richly deserving ot the excellent success
which has attended his intelligent and honorable
efforts.
PETER FREDRICKSON.
The hope of reward is the spur of ambition,
and honorable ambition is the keynote to success.
Without it business would flag, enterprise and
energy would stagnate and advancement would
be little, if any ; but permeated by this element
the world moves on to better things, to greater
achievements and more enduring successes. It
is this same ambition which has made Mr. Fred-
rickson one of the leading business men of Malad.
His career is one into which has entered many
picturesque elements. He went forth in his early
youth to win a place for himself in the world, has
been identified with the pioneer interests and de-
HISTORY OF IDAHO.
velopment of the northwest, and has attained suc-
cess and honor through well directed and consci-
entious effort. He is now the mayor of the city
and well deserves the prominent place which is
accorded him by his fellow townsmen.
Mr. Fredrickson was born in Denmark, Octo-
ber 26, 1849, and is of Danish and Swiss descent.
His father. Christian U. Fredrickson, was also a
native of Denmark, and his mother was a native
of Sweden. They were married in the former
country and there two children, a son and daugh-
ter, were born to them. In 1862 they came to
America, bringing with them their two children.
They had been converted to the faith of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in
Denmark, and left that land in order to join the
colony of their people in Utah. They settled in
Grantsville, Utah, and from that place removed
to Lake Point, where for some years the father
engaged in farming. * Subsequently they came to
Malad, where the father died in 1897, at the age
of eighty-seven years. His wife passed away at
the age of seventy-four. Their daughter, Mary,
is now the wife of Thomas Jenkins.
Mr. Fredrickson of this review attended school
in Denmark until his twelfth year, and was a
student in the schools of this country for six
months, but is largely self-educated, having ac-
quired his knowledge through reading, observa-
tion and in the school of experience. He is now
a well informed man, having wide general in-
formation. He began to earn his own living
when only thirteen years of age, and since 1870
has been a resident of Malad. For some time he
engaged in freighting, hauling supplies from
Corinne, Utah, to the mining camps of Montana,
and later turned his attention to agricultural pur-
suits. He secured seventy acres of land, a part
of which is now within the corporation limits of
;\Ialad, and began breeding draft and driving
horses. To him is largely due the introduction
of fine horses into this county and the improve-
ment of the grade of stock here raised. He ha;
prospered in his undertakings, and is the owner
of a valuable ranch of eighty acres three miles
west of the city, together with much desirable city
property, including one of the best homes in
Malad, which was erected in 1885.
Mr. Fredrickson was married in 1870 to Miss
Annie Johnson, a native of Sweden, and they
have had twelve children, eight of whom are liv-
ing, namely : Charles, John, Grace, Maude, El-
sie, Ida, Gladys and Jonas.
In his political affiliations Mr. Fredrickson is
a Republican, and on that ticket he has been twice
elected to the very important office of county
commissioner, discharging his duties in a most
creditable manner. He was also elected a mem-
ber of the first state legislature of Idaho, and in
1897 was appointed mayor of Malad. Soon af-
terward he was elected to the office, and is now
serving his third year as chief executive of the
city, his administration being practical, progres-
sive and commendable. He takes a deep interest
in the welfare of the place, and uses official pre-
rogatives to.advance those measures calculated to
prove of public benefit. In business he has given
close attention to his interests, and by his indus-
try and integrity has achieved a well earned suc-
cess.
610