An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 106

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524

USA > Idaho > Kootenai County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 106
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 106
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 106
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 106

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In this age of scientific research, men are prone to seek causes for observed effects, and this chapter would be read with no little interest, could it draw aside the veil of the past and reveal the solution to problems which have presented themselves to thous- ands of thoughtful minds since the entrance of whites into central Idaho. Why this distribution of rocks? How came these canyons? Whence these deposits of gold? How came they to be distributed thus? Most important of all, where are the missing mother lodes ? Some of these questions no man can answer. Others would doubtless yield a ready solution to the investi- gation of the skilled geologist. For some reason the geology of central Idaho has received but little atten- tion from scholars, practically the only investigators

until quite recently being the indomitable gold hunters, who give themselves slight concern about theories and generalizations further than those which tend to aid them in their search for hidden treasuries. Of a like practical character are the few notices given the coun- try in the earlier government publications. Never- theless Idaho county presents an ideal field for the geologist. Its deep-cut canyons expose the rocks to a depth of several thousand feet in many places and to him who can read petrographic language, these rocks reveal a history of deep and absorbing interest. They tell a tale of a giant age when the earth was torn and twisted by the fire demon, whose spittle was lava and whose breath was flame; of a war between him and the frost king continued through successive ages, in which the combatants were successively victorious. They show the efforts of the king of ice and snow to imprison his enemy under an immovable mass of rock, and how the powerful foe at length broke through his prison wall and in his anger spewed forth yet greater lakes of fiery lava, how the opposing king renewed the conflict, again forcing his enemy to a retreat in the caverns of the earth and again weighting him down under a mass of rock. They show successive escapes of the demon, each followed by renewed war- fare and final victory for the king. until at last the fire gave up the conflict and the frost ruled supreme. They tell the story of that reign of ice, during which the lands were being slowly moulded and fashioned to suit the fancy of its new ruler, and how he at last grew weary of his task and withdrew to the mountain heights, where he makes an annual descent that he may assist the softer forces of water and rain and decomposition in their benevolent fashioning of the land for the uses of man. They tell also of these gentler agencies, which for ages have been noislessly at work, of Neocene lake beds, of floods, of erosion and of variations in drainage.

But we leave the details of the story of the rocks to be developed by those to whom their language is not so nearly unknown, merely pansing to notice some

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of the observations of Lindgren and Leiberg upon the geology and topography of our section. The maps and reports of the former show the southern part of Idaho county or much of it in the granite area, while Grangeville and Mount Idaho are known to be not far from the contact of that formation with the sedimentary rocks. Florence, Buffalo Hump, War- ren, Secesh Ridge, Marshall lake, and the country, in- tervening, together with a strip extending many miles farther south, as shown to be in areas of granite and diorite; the Salmon river canyon at the bend of that river from a westerly to a northerly course, including John Day, Carver's ranch, Fiddle creek, and consider- able territory around the confluence of the Little Salmon with the larger stream of that name is marked on the map as a carboniferous area of slates, schists and old effusive rocks, as is also the Seven Devils region, while the Salmon river country northward from a line of contact between John Day and Free- dom is characterized as a Columbia river lava for- mation. Large areas of country on either side of the Little Salmon south of Pollock and between the Salmon and the Snake are marked rugged mountains or rugged high ridges and their petrographic charac- ter is not indicated, not having been determined by the survey.

"The main mountainous complex north of the Snake river," says Professor Lindgren, "may be di- vided into three parts. The great central granite area occupies by far the largest space, extending with a width of 100 miles from the Snake river plains northward to the limit of the map. (The township line north of township 27). How much farther north it extends is not known, but probably it ends some- where in the Clearwater drainage, by junction of the eastern and western sedimentary areas. As provision- ally outlined on the map, it forms one of the largest granite areas in the United States."

With regard to the Seven Devils, Lindgren says that they "may be considered an outlier of the main old mountain mass of Idaho, against which successive fiery flows piled up, until now only the summits pro- trude above the lava plateau. North of the copper mines on the western side of the river the contact of the old rocks with the basalt rises to nearly 7,000 feet, and the whole canyon is cut in these old eruptives and allied rocks. But immediately north of this point the contact again sinks, and heavy basalt flows from the brink of the canyon continuously down to Lewiston. Thus the gigantic trench of the canyon has shown the structure of the Columbia lava and laid bare the formation upon which it rests. Below the broad plateau lies a buried topography-mountain ranges, deep valleys and canyons, all blotted out by the swift- ly succeeding flows, only the very highest peaks still showing their heads. The bottoms of the old valleys clearly lie far below the deep cut of Snake river, how far is not known. More detailed investigation will reveal more of the character of this old submerged topography."

An immense area in the eastern part of Idaho county, as well as much of southeastern Shoshone, is 28

included in the Bitter Root forest reserve. The region is wild, rugged and in some places grand indeed, be- ing traversed on the east by the main axis of the Bitter Root mountain divide between Idaho and Montana, from which spurs extend far to westward. The rock of the area is granite and diorite. Until recent years this was the least known region of the United States, few having ventured into its remote retreats and for- bidding depths except the indomitable prospector, and the various surveying parties sent out to search for passes through which railways might gain entrance to the Pacific states. The establishment of the reserve has done much to dispel ignorance regarding the country, and the reports of the various government agents will soon make it one of the best known areas of the state.

The writer has before him a government publi- cation of which John B. Leiberg is the author, a few excerpts from which will serve to convey an idea of its topographic features sufficient for our purpose.

"The Idaho portion of the Bitter Root forest re- serve," says this authority, "is situated almost wholly within the Clearwater river drainage area, a tract along the southern boundary on the Salmon river slope being the only exception. The Clearwater drainage consists of a number of large forks or tributaries, which divide into an intricate system of long and short can- yons, mostly narrow and winding. Its main arteries are the North, Middle, Lochsa, South, Lolo and Sel- way forks. Of these tributaries the area of the reserve includes the entire length of the Selway and Lochsa forks, and a small portion of the southern drainage of the North fork. The canyon system of which these affluents from the main trunks, is by far the most note- worthy and striking feature in the topography of the Clearwater basins. Its windings and ramifications are very great. Excluding the Salmon river gorge and lateral canyons and the small draws or mere creases in the mountain sides of the Clearwater areas, 1 estimate that the canyon system of the Clearwater basins within the reserve measures more than 5,000 miles in aggregate length.

"The western slope of the Bitter Root mountains is primarily formed by a few great branches from the main range, which in their turn branch out into a vast mass of curving, winding, peak-crowned spurs, constituting the water sheds of the Clearwater basins. * * The primary divides, together

with the great number of lateral spurs to which they give rise, form a perfect maze of bewildering ridges. From the summit of an eminence that commands a clear view of the surrounding country for many miles the exact course of even one canyon or spur cannot be traced for more than a mile or two at most. The curvings, windings, ascents and descents are incessant and confusing, and in every case only actual travel can determine the precise point at which any particular canyon or spur originates or ends. The primary divides vary considerably in their topographic de- tails, depending on the amount of erosion they have undergone and the agent that effected it. The lateral spurs, on the contrary, do not differ much, except near the main range of the Bitter Roots.

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

"It is in the main range of the mountain system that the most rocky and precipitous areas exist. From Lolo pass to Nez Perces pass the rock formation is a massive, hard granite. The crest of the range is a succession of sharp, craggy peaks and 'hogbacks,' with long east and west swinging curves alternating with deep saddles where the larger canyons have their rise. The peaks attain elevations of 8,000 to 9,000 feet- in some instances 10,000 feet-while the deeper sad- dles, which form the passes of the range, have ele- vations of 5.800 to 6,500 feet. The direct western slope of the main backbone of the system has been cut and fissured by great glaciers that have long since dis- appeared, but which left behind beetling crags, deep canyons with precipitous walls, and a general rug- gedness in the landscape that time has not yet suc- ceeded in modifying, except in a very small degree.

"The general aspect of the crests of all the pri- mary divides for distances of forty to sixty miles west from the main range, indicates the existence of past glaciers on their summits and upper slopes. The sculpturing of the slopes and the peculiar recessing of the heads of the larger canyons into the divides are, in their general features, precisely the same on the pri- mary divides as they are on the main range, where no doubt exists as to the presence and work of big gla- ciers in past times. The most rugged and elevated portions of the Bitter Root range lies north of Nez Perces pass. South of this place the crest averages 1,500 to 3,000 feet less in elevation, and is for the most part a narrow ridge with rounded outlines oc- casionally rising into small peaks, but on the whole is more like the primary divides toward their termination on the west. The main range of the Bitter Roots north of Nez Perces pass has always proved a formidable barrier in the way of travel from east to west in this region. The difficulty does not lie in the approach from the eastern side, though this declivity has by far the shortest and steepest slope. It is the descent on the western side that presents the chief obstacles. The immediate slopes from the crest are here very abrupt. are cut up by immense gorges and abound in preci- pices and extensive rockslides to such a degree that they are entirely impassable. The three trails extend- ing across the reserve, the Lolo trail on the north, the trail through Lost Horse pass in the center and the Nez Perces trail on the south, were laid out by the Indians ages ago and their course was made to coin- cide as nearly as possible with the crests of the pri- mary ridges, the canyons being utterly impassable without much grading and rock cutting."

With the rock-ribbed Bitter Roots, just described. on the east and piercing with their rugged granite spurs the country to westward for scores of miles, with the lofty Seven Devils, spanning. like a Colossus, the strip between the Salmon and the Snake, with Craig's mountain forming a northwestern boundary, and with the Salmon river mountains on the south, with all these ranges, many of which sent forth huge glaciers in past ages to plow deep furrows in the bosom of earth and with the swift flowing streams to continue by their erosion the deepening of the canyons, Idaho county is

indeed a rough, rugged, prodigious region. It is not hard to imagine it as having been fashioned by the hand of a giant architect as a home for a giant race. The lover of a tender beauty may find here scenes suited to his taste, but it is to the admirer of a strong, wild, picturesque landscape that central Idaho will ap- peal with especial potency. A scenic poem it may be denominated, but it is a poem replete with epic heroism, composed in the stirring meter of the Norse Viking's song of defiance, with a few couplets of a gentler strain, little of the soft, sweet music of love. It is not, how- ever, the plan of nature to divorce absolutely mascu- line strength from feminine prettiness, the sublimely grand from the delicately beautiful, and there is in the eternal verdure of the forest, the deep blue of the dis- tant hills, the paler blue of the summer sky, the rich green carpet that spring time weaves, and the illumina- tion of the sunlight, power to subdue and soften and transfigure the most rugged landscape. Here as else- where may be seen the effort of artistic nature to adorn, with the clinging ivy vine. the ruins of the feudal castle.

But it must not be supposed from the foregoing that Idaho county is all mountainous : on the contrary there is within its borders one of the finest and most extensive bodies of agricultural land in the entire state. From many points in the surrounding mountains may be obtained a splendid view of a part or the whole of this grand prairie, but perhaps as good a position as one may choose is a station on the side of Craig's mountain not far from Foster's grave. As the observer beholds the beautiful scene which is spread out before him, he is not surprised that the wild Indian warrior of 1877 should have resorted to force and arms rather than vield the privilege of wandering free over such a prairie and such inviting mountain uplifts, meekly sub- mitting to the semi-incarceration of a reserve. It was the writer's privilege to behold Camas prairie from the position designated, early in the spring of the present year. The country had been the scene of a noiseless warfare for its possession, that between the seasons ; and the forces of warmth and sunlight had just suc- ceeded in driving their adversaries, the frost and the snow, to distant retreats in the heights beyond. The country was not at its best. It had not yet been clothed in vernal colors. The labor of the husbandman during the previous fall had, by turning up the rich black soil in places, given it a somewhat checkered appear- ance, and here and there could be noticed the first feeble efforts of the winter wheat to cover the blackness of its parent soil, with a carpet of green. The distant hills wore their perennial timber covering, the verdure of which was then as always transformed into a dark beautiful blue by one of nature's secret processes. Though the hills to the left shut off the view of the mountains in that direction. making it impossible to see the entire farming country, the prairie appeared crescent shaped, the concave side toward the beholder, and it seemed to rise by a gradual ascent to the tim- bered and snow crested uplands beyond. It required but little effort to project one's self backward through thirty-five or forty years of time and behold in im-

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

agination the waving sea of blue camas which de- lighted the eye of those whose privilege it was to view the prairie in its virgin state. By a still slighter effort one might picture to himself the intense green- ness which is to characterize the country when the gentle springtime shall have woven to full completion its crown of verdure.

But why carry this description further when we have before us one from an abler pen and one which has come to possess a historic interest, having been written more than two decades ago? In 1881 A. F. Parker said :

"The tender light of an afternoon sun bathed the landscape in mellow tints as we obtained our first view of Camas prairie from the summit of Cottonwood hill. The scene spread before us was one of en- trancing beauty. At our feet lay the prairie itself, with its undulations and gently rising slopes, soft- ened by distance into the appearance of a great tran- quil inland sea ; streaching away to the eastward, the dense greenness of its vegetation merges into the dull gray of the foothills, which in their turn vanish into the blackness of the timber clad mountains in the background. The eye at first rests with feelings of refreshment upon the luxuriant hue of the vegeta- tion with which the prairie is decked till the very in- tensity of its verdure becomes painful and we turn naturally for relief to the grand old mountain ranges that form such an appropriate setting for this gem of the Pacific slope.

"Looking. to the southward, the snow-capped peaks of the Salmon river mountains loom grandly up, their serrated summits rising tier above tier till they are themselves overtopped by the weird and fantas- tic forms of the Seven Devils, whose majestic heights clearly penciled on the horizon and clad in the chaste grandeur of glittering snows lend to this enchanting scene an appearance of awe-inspiring severity that strangely contrasts with the peaceful landscape repos- ing at our feet. The rugged vertebrae of the Bitter Roots rise sharply heavenward and form the eastern boundary of the prairie, while spurs of this mighty range stretch far away to the northward and form the rock-ribbed Coeur d'Alene mountains, behind whose towering crests rise the pinnacles of other ranges. priests robed with the snows of eternal age. But the eye soon tires of the stern grandeur and unutterable solitudes of these primeval hills, and seeks harmony in contemplation of the pastures below. The stage road running the full length of the valley and by its dense blackness attesting the unexcelled fecundity of the soil, an occasional cabin, the remnants of a stockade fort erected in the dark and bloody days of 1877. the villages of Grangeville, Mount Idaho and Camp Howard glistening in the sun, nestling snugly in their respective locations at the far end of the valley, with the limited area of cultivation, hidden from view, these are the only evidences of civilization visible on Camas prairie-the land of Indian romance and of historical tragedy-the most beautiful, the most fertile country in the world.

"Nothing in nature is more enchanting than a

view of this romantic spot, obtained at a time when the green of the prairie is suffused with the golden glow of a setting sun ; and but for the fact that, like Daedalus of old, our wings are of wax and liable to melt if we soar too near the sun, we would love to linger upon the beauties of the landscape, to which, however, no pencil and no brush can do adequate justice. As we descended the hill to Cottonwood and traversed the thousands of acres of fertile soil. untilled and crying to heaven for the plow, our determination to advertise to the world the wondrous wealth of northern Idaho became like cast-iron in its rigidity."

Other agricultural and stock raising sections of the county are the valleys or canyons of the Clearwater and Salmon rivers and some of the tributary streams. Though the area in these suited to farming is not ex- tensive, the valleys are of no little agricultural and horticultural value, for their moderate elevation and sheltered position give them the advantage of a much finer climate than the high country between and on either side of them. The Clearwater valley is tra- versed by a branch of the Northern Pacific railroad as far as a town called Stites. It will receive more par- ticular treatment in connection with Nez Perces coun- ty, but we may say here that though similar in its general features to the Salmon river canyon, it is in- ferior in topographic grandeur. The rivers themselves are both streams of great beauty, and both noted for the furious impetuosity of their flow. This it is that gives them their moderate breadth and depth though they carry off the waters from so large a scope of mountainous country, receiving tribute from such a complex of creeks and rivulets that a blue print map with the drainage traced in white, presents nearly as much white surface as blue.

To one entering the Salmon river canyon from the north during the winter or spring seasons, the scene is especially entrancing. The deep, sticky mud of Camas prairie is likely to blind temporarily one who has toiled through it to the beauty of its topography. the richness of its soil and the blessings it bestows so bountifully upon its inhabitants. The climb to the summit of White Bird divide is sure to be attended with inconvenience, if not hardship, being either mud- dy in the extreme or snow-clad, and the eye and mind are prepared to feast with especial pleasure on the beautiful landscape that comes into view, when you begin your descent of the opposite slope. As you wind your way down the steep hillside and behold. stretching away to your right, the narrow valley of White Bird creek, apparently ending at the foot of a steep, snow-capped bluff, which is, however, across the Salmon river, you are likely to wonder how Colo- nel Perry could have dared to lead his men into a country so favorable for ambuscades and so difficult to get out of in case of defeat. But there is no danger now. The work of the Indian warrior is done and you gaze without fear upon a landscape at once ex- tremely rugged and uncommonly regular. The hills are steep and high to be sure, but their sculpturing is so smooth as to suggest the work of a landscape gar- (lener, while the numerous cattle patlis extending hor-

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

izontally across them one above another, would, if a little more nearly straight, give the impression of ter- racing. To your right as you pass through the town of White Bird, looms up a great, precipitous knob of basalt, much more irregular and rugged than the sur- rounding hills, castle like columns of undecomposed lava rock rising perpendicularly in places from its steep sides. Upon this at the time of the writer's visit, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of feet above the valley, well up toward the summit, a herd of cattle were feeding peacefully, many of them in places where, it would seem, a mountain sheep would hardly dare to venture.

Rugged though White Bird canyon is, that of the Salmon river proper is deeper and more rugged, though the hills on either side are of the same steep, comparatively smoothly sculptured character. As you ascend the river you are continually reminded of the two main industries of the people. Herds of cat- tle, feeding upon the precipitous sides of the ver- dure-clad hills above you, speak of the extent to which pastoral pursuits engage their energies, while piles of tailings, huge excavations in the gravel banks of the river, an occasional ditch far up on the hill side, here and there a large iron pipe bearing water to some hydraulic giant and perhaps an occasional miner at work on his property tell you that the precious metal abounds, that much energy has been expended in se- curing it in the past and that not a little effort is still being directed toward its acquisition. Though smil- ing spring pays its earliest visit to this land, hoary winter always takes up its abode not far away, and the sight of vernal beauty and loveliness at hand bor- dered by a landscape appareled in robes of snow just beyond is a common and perfectly normal one. How- ever interesting to the new comer this illogical mar- riage between winter and summer, it has long since ceased to seem marvelous to the eyes of the old Idahoan.

If you are interested in the past history of the country, you will find the people more than willing to point out to you places rendered memorable by the stirring events of the awful Indian outbreak of 1877. Though this terrible scourge visited the land so long ago, its details were so horrible, and shocked the sen- sibilities of the pioneers so deeply, that the impres- sions remain vivid to this day, and the story has been told so many times that even the younger generation is familiar with the landmarks of the war. They will point out to you the remnants of Indian fortifications ; the place where Perry was first attacked; where Howard crossed the river and where he camped ; the high bluff upon the summit of which is the prairie where the Indians from times immemorial were wont to assemble for councils and for worship; the place where Benedict was killed : the old stone chimneys, sole remnants of the miners' cabins in which were the Masons and Osbornes when the Indians attacked them ; the site of the fort at Slate creek ; the field in which were Elfers, Bland and Beckroge when tragic death overtook them; and the spot where poor, old, consumptive Dick Divine was murdered for his gun.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 106

Author: Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1524

Author:
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [S.l.] : Western Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1524