An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 181

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 181
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 181
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 181
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 181

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S. J. Langdon was educated in Newark, Ohio, and began life as a farmer, and on July 26, 1853, married Miss Martha Virginia, a daughter of Isaac Wilson, a pioneer of Ohio. In August, 1862, Mr. Langdon en- listed in Company G, Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving in Missouri, Arkansas, Vicksburg, and in the Gulf department. Nine battles and sieges, besides many skirmishes, were participated in by him, among which are Prairie Grove, Arkansas, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Fort Morgan, Alabama, and Spanish Fort, also in Alabama. He was never wounded and he faithfully fought until the close of the war, then re- tired with a most creditable military record, having been promoted to corporal during the the first six months of service and later attaining the rank of ser- geant. Returning to his home in Illinois, he farmed until 1866, then removed to Crawford county, Kansas, whence in 1874 he crossed the plains to Latah county, using a team of horses and a team of cows. His wife and one daughter had died in Kansas in 1872. He had left his children in Kansas when he started west and intended to go to New Mexico, but abandoned that project on acount of hostile Indians, and settled in Grass valley, Utah, for a year and a half, then was joined by his children and came on to this country, spending one winter in Walla Walla, and in 1877 com- ing to Latah county. He took a quarter section of government land and embarked in lumbering with partners, manufacturing most of the lumber that was used in Moscow in early days. He served as deputy assessor, later as assessor, filled the office of deputy sheriff for two terms and that of sheriff for one term and was a member of the territorial legislature in 1880, having also served in that capacity four terms in Kansas. He gave his original farm to his daughter, and now owns three hundred and twenty acres on the Little Potlatch. He has recently removed to the city of Moscow, and from there he superintends the es- tate, which is a bountiful producer of the cereals and fruits. He has manifested capabilities in the man- agement of his business affairs, and he is now spend-

ing the golden years of his life in the enjoyment of a handsome competence and the esteem and confidence of all. Mr. Langdon was one of the organizers of the Republican party and held with it until Grant's second administration and then joined the ranks of Democracy, remaining there until Cleveland's second term; then he went with the Populists, but of late years he has been independent, voting according to the question and the man. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Order of Pyramids, the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic, having served on the staff of two of the national commanders of the last named order. Mr. Langdon is a loyal citizen, a genial and affable neighbor, and a true and substantial man.

GEORGE W. PIERCE. One of the earliest pioneers of Idaho, and a man who has been acquainted with the frontier all of his life, having ever displayed courage and those telling qualities of worth which have enabled him to carve out a successful career in the west. the esteemed pioneer and gentleman whose name is at the head of this article is deserving of es- pecial mention in the volume of his county's history, which we are pleased to accord to him.

Mr. Pierce was born in Oxford county, Maine, on March 20, 1834, and there grew to manhood and was educated. In 1853 he came, via Panama, to San Francisco, and mined in Tuolumne county, where he was successful. Later he perceived the need of further educational training, and so spent some time at the Bryant & Stratton College in San Francisco. Then he went to Virginia City, Nevada, and bought stock in the Crown Point mines, which he sold later for fourteen thousand dollars. In 1870 he could have sold the same amount for five hundred thousand dollars. Next we see him in South America, prospecting in the Andes for two years. From that place he came to Idaho, and was one of a group of men who discovered the Oro Fino mines. He was the man from whom the well known point of Pierce City was named. It is supposed to be the oldest town in Idaho, and Mr. Pierce well deserves the credit and approbation given to the sturdy pioneer. He has done a lion's share in the praiseworthy work of developing this county and this state.

At the present time Mr. Pierce is located in the Hoodoo district, where he has some very fine prop- erties. He has constantly followed mining, more or less, since his first trip to California, and he is ac- quainted with it in all of its phases, and is a practical man in these lines. Mr. Pierce has raised two adopted daughters. The youngest is married and living in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The eldest died in her fifteenth year. He owns a farm of one-half section in the valley in addition to his mines and other property. Wherever he is known Mr. Pierce is highly respected and enjoys a very enviable prestige.

PART V. HISTORY OF KOOTENAI COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

EARLY EVENTS.

Conversing recently with a prominent citizen of Kootenai county, one thoroughly familiar with its past, the writer asked him this question : "If you were writ- ing the history of Kootenai county, to what events would you give prominence ?" The answer was : "Thus far, no events worthy of special mention, aside from the construction of the railroads, have transpired in Koot- enai county. Its history, as one of the best counties of the state, is just beginning." In attempting to write a comprehensive and correct past record of a county whose history is just beginning, many obstacles have been encountered. Information concerning the earlier periods of exploration, road building and Indian mis- sion work, when no man or woman now a resident of the county had ever crossed its boundaries, was realily obtained from the writings of the missionaries, the road builders and the explorers. Later history has not been so easily obtained. There are a number of reasons for this, some of them excusable and others inexcusable. At the time of the organization of the county there were barely voters enough to secure county organiza- tion under the state law. From this handfull of men great difficulty was had in securing men enough to fill the various county offices. As there was little or no promise of remuneration for services rendered, there were no special inducements for capable men to devote their time to the management of county affairs. The few settlers who were in the county were not politicians ; the field was not ripe for the office seeker ; the wonder- ful timber resources of the country and the supposed existence of precious minerals had led a few ventur- some settlers to invade the wilderness in search of homes and with the hope of acquiring wealth. These men could only hold office at a sacrifice. Uuder such circumstances it is not surprising that early official

records were poorly kept at the time, and allowed to disappear when their immediate purpose had been served. We have not had the advantage of official records, covering the earlier life of the county. Usu- ally the historian gains much valuable and accurate in- formation from the files of pioneer newspapers. In Kootenai the early newspapers quit publication before the county was ten years old, the plants were moved to other parts of the country, and the files disappeared. There is not, at present, a newspaper file in the county that was published prior to the year 1800. For the record of the events of the first decade in the official life of the county we have had to depend largely upon the memory of individuals, many of whom are now resi- dents of other counties and other states who are con- sequently not especially interested in the history of Kootenai. From some of the pioneer residents who still make it their home, we gained much valuable knowledge of early events. To these men we are 1111- cier special obligations and in the preface of this work have made mention of their kindly assistance.

Kootenai county has no old settlers' organization and hence there has been no united effort to preserve the records historical and reminiscent of the pioneer days. No provision has been made thus far for keeping an account of the annual output from the various indus- tries of the county. In the industrial reports gotten out yearly by the state, no definite information is tabulated concerning Kootenai county, and no county official seems to have been charged with the gathering of data of this character. Hence, from no source could we obtain full and accurate information along these lines.

However, after many weeks of persistent effort, in spite of innumerable obstacles, and indifference on the part of a few who were in position to render valuable

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aid along special lines we have secured the necessary information that enables us to narrate in full the events associated with the exploration, settlement and develop- ment of the county.

In another chapter will be found, in detail, the his- tory of railroad schemes and railroad building in North- ern Idaho, of the annexation question, and other gen- eral matter, effecting the whole territory covered by this work. In this chapter such matters will be but briefly mentioned excepting as they have directly affected conditions of Kootenai county. We will review, first, the period of early exploration and in direct con- nection have something to say of the aboriginal tribes of this section. We will relate the story of the Jesuit Missionaries and their work among the Indians, and tell of the first permanent settlements made in the county by home seekers. Second, we will write in de- tail the history of the county from the date of its or- ganization to the present time.

It is purely a matter of speculation as to the time when white men first explored the territory now com- posing the political division of Idaho known as Kootenai county. Actual records of the presence of white men on the shores of Couer d'Alene and Pend Oreille lakes extend as far back as 1842. But those who came in that year found the agents of the Hud- son's Bay Company located at various points along the lakes and rivers, and rude cabins of hunters and trap- pers were scattered about in remote mountain regions. There are no available prints telling when this section was first occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company. This is not of course a matter of vital importance as the civilization of today is but remotely the result of the visits of the fur trader. The first invasions were no doubt from the north up the Kootenai river. It is known that fur traders were in eastern Washington in 18II and that the Hudson's Bay Company occupied the lake region of southern British Columbia still earlier in the nineteenth century, and it would have been very natural for the trapper to make excursions up the Kootenai river in the pursuit of game. In a two-days' journey he would have passed the forty-ninth parallel of latitude and made his camps in what is now Kootenai county territory.

Across-the-continent expeditions prior to the year 1853, entered the present state of Idaho through, or south of, what is known as the Lolo pass. Their course was down the Snake and Columbia rivers to the coast, and the extreme northern portion of Idaho was not visited. Inland excursions made from the Pacific coast prior to and after this date, did not extend as far east as the present Idaho boundaries. Lewis and Clarke did not explore any portion of the Idaho teritory north of the forty-seventh parallel of latitude.

Before beginning the history of settlement and de- velopment by white men, it is appropriate that we make some mention of the aboriginal trihes that were the first possessors of the land. There are evidences seeming to establish the fact of the existence here of a prehistoric race, although nothing has been discovered that sheds any light upon its character or customs. On the rocky shores of Lake Pend Oreille, near what is

known as Steamboat Landing, at the head of the lake, are some rude carvings which were discovered a few years ago by John B. Leiberg, of the United States Geological Survey. They have apparently been made to represent the feet and claws or toes of animals and the forms of birds and beasts. There are also figures bearing no resemblance to cxisting forms of animal life. The present generation of Indians has no knowl- edge of the meaning or authorship of these figures and their ancestors have handed down no legends concern- ing the workmen who wrought so indelibly in the everlasting rocks. The carvings appear on the face of granite formations so hard that no metal instrument of modern manufacture could possibly reproduce them on the same surface. Similiar evidences of the ex- istence of an ancient race are found elsewhere but there is not space in such a work as this for exhaustive descriptions. There is opportunity here for research and speculation by the student of the future, and it will doubtless be improved.

As quite a numerous remnant of the Indian tribes that occupied this region in the beginning of the nine- teenth century, still lives within the boundaries of Kootenai county, it is proper that they should have a place in its history. The Kootenais inhabited the most northern portion of the county and roamed over the greater part of British Columbia. Writers on the genealogy of the north-west Indians class the Kootenais with the Shushwap nation, a general terin applied to all tribes inhabiting the region of the upper Columbia river and its northern tributaries. The primitive Koot- enais are said to have possessed many notable traits of character and there are yet those living at Bonner's Ferry who had many personal dealings with the good old Chief Abraham who was ever the steadfast friend of the whites and who is held in most respectful re- membrance for his personal traits, his intelligence and honesty and for his great influence for good over the members of the tribe. Compared with many other tribes of the northwest, the Kootenais have fewer repugnant characteristics. They are brave and of commanding stature. They are neat and cleanly to a certain degree and on occasion are sociable and gay, although not lack- ing in the traditional cold reserve of the red men. They were once a powerful tribe and were the allies of the Flatheads in many wars against their common enemy, the Blackfeet. The Kootenais are the most northern tribe accustomed to horses. These animals are sup- posed to have been originally obtained from the Sho- shones. The latter were old-time allies of the Coman- ches, to whom horses were traded by the Spaniards in the Sixteenth century.

The Pend Oreilles and Couer d'Alenes belong to the Salish family of Indians. This family also be- longed to the Columbia group, but dwelt south of the Shushwaps, along the Columbia river and its tributaries between the forty-seventh and forty-ninth parallels of latitude and between the Cascade and the Bitter Root mountains.

The term Pend Oreille, meaning ear-pendant, is said by some to have been applied to the lake of that name because of its resemblance in shape to the human

Hieroglyphics on the Shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Scientists have not yet deciphered their meaning.

East View of Clearwater Battle Ground, where Thirteen United States Soldiers and Twenty three Indians were Killed on July 11, 1877.

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

ear. By others the term is said to have been applied to the Indian tribe because of the custom of wearing shell rings in the ears. The Pend Oreille Indians dwelt about the lake and for seventy-five miles on either side along the Clarks' Fork and Pend Oreille rivers. But little has been written concerning the characteristics of these Indians. They are not classed by early historians with the more powerful and warlike tribes and scarcely anything has been told of a creditable nature, of their personal traits or of their achievements in tribal con- tests. In physical qualities they are said to have been inferior to their neighbors and by the early missionaries they are represented as being untidy even for savages. One writer tells us that when provisions and other necessaries were scarce, or when driven to severe straits by their enemies, it was their custom to bury the very young and very old alive because they were unable to take care of themselves. By the same writer it is said that the young Pend Oreille, on reaching his ma- jority, was sent to the top of a high mountain, where he was compelled to remain until he had dreamed of some animal or bird, which was through life to be his medicine. A claw, a tooth, or a feather of the animal, or bird, was ever afterwards worn as a charm. Al- though their women were treated more kindly than those of the other tribes, the standard of the wife's qualifications was her ability to work.

Some of the Kootenai Indians, and a few of the Pend Oreilles make their homes in the northern part of Kootenai county, living by farming, stock-raising, fishing and hunting ; but the majority of the remnants of these tribes have been removed to the Flathead Agency in Montana.

The Coeur d'Alenes, although closely allied to the Pend Oreilles and belonging to the same general fam- ily, are mentally, morally, and physically their superiors. This is the only tribe whose primitive hunting grounds embraced what is now a portion of Kootenai county, that has a history really worth recording, and as that history bears directly upon the settlement and de- velopment of the county, and as the tribe itself has pro- gressed from a condition of savagery to one of civili- zation and peace, we will enter more minutely into the record of its past than we have into that of the other tribes.

According to the missionaries now in charge of the DeSmet mission, the term Coeur d'Alene was first applied to these Indians by Canadian Frenchmen in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. While be- longing to the Salish family of Indians, their correct tribal name is Schiznumsh, which means, in the Indian tongue, "an awl's heart." This word by some his- torians been misspelled "Skizoomish." The Kalispel Indians call the Coeur d'Alenes "Schizui" and the Yakima Indians call them "Skizimug." These words have no special meaning, but are simply to point a distinction between this and other tribes. Our att- thority for these tribal appellations is Father Joseph M. Caruana, who has dwelt among these Indians and studied their language and customs for more than forty years.

There are several translations or explanations of

the name Coeur d'Alene. One of the early missionary writers has this to say of the meaning of the term : "Coeur d'Alene is nothing but a nick-name. The first immigrants to this region were French Canadians be- longing to the Hudson's Bay Company. From them it emanated. The literal meaning of the term is 'the heart of the owl,' and it was first given to a chief who was known through life by that name."

A Catholic historian of the present day in review- ing the history of this tribe in the columns of the Catho- lic Sentinel refers to them as "the savages whose ex- cessive cruelty won for them the title indicative of their character, that of Coeur d'Alenes, Hearts of Awls."

Another writer gives "stout hearted" as a liberal translation of the term, claiming the Indians were so called because of their powers of endurance and their fearless natures.

A writer in the "Boise Statesman" in 1890 says: "The Coeur d'Alenes were not 'awl hearted,' nor In- dians with pointed hearts, as some have translated the term. The Canadian trappers and hunters found a tribe of Indians inhabiting the country bordering on the beautiful sheet of water since known as 'Coeur d'Alene' lake. These Indians were strong of limb and fleet of foot-tireless runners up hill and down hill and the first white visitor gave them the name of Coeur A'haleine, meaning strong breathed or long winded-literally 'hearts of breath.' From this the word has been reduced to Alene, which, taken alone, means 'Awl' "

Following the Hudson's Bay Company's agents, came the Jesuit missionaries to the Indians. It is the office of the historian to make faithful record not alone of events which ultimately result in the settlement and development of a new country, but of all events which materially affect conditions in the new country. While the Jesuits did not bring capital, construct railroads, build cities, and put up mills in Kootenai county, their work, in another direction, was of very great impor- tance. The changes in primitive conditions, in the at- titude of the red men toward the "paleface" intruder, brought about by these faithful missionaries, were mar- velous in character and far reaching in results. It is impossible to estimate the weight of their influence in subduing savage hatred and thus paving the way for the civilization that came at a later day. Theirs was not the work of a day, a year, or even of a decade. Prior to the year 1880, Kootenai county was practically an unexplored wilderness. There was not at this time a single house within its boundaries. Forty years be- fore this. Father DeSmet began work among the In- dians on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene and along the Coeur d'Alene river. While the work of the Jesuits has not been directly associated with the com- mercial and political evolution of the county, their most effective labors have been with the Indian tribes within its boundaries, and form an important chapter in its chronological history. We deem it advisable therefore, as theirs was the first civilizing influence to invade the wilderness, to give a detailed account of the work.

The first missionary work of the Catholic church

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in Kootenai county was by the famous Indian mission- ary, Father DeSmet, who, whilst on his way from St. Mary's Mission, Montana, to Vancouver, in the Spring of 1842, met the Coeur d'Alene Indians at their largest camp, called Nchim Kilgos, which was located just at the head of the Spokane river, near the present site of Fort Sherman. Here was erected a log chapel, the first mission house built in the wilderness. It was only in- tended as a temporary building, to serve until a more central location could be selected. He found the In- dians wild and savage, warlike and treacherous, ad- dicted to all the immoralities and brutalities, super- stitions and idolatries, characteristic of the "bad" In- dian. Their hatred of the white man was so inappeasa- ble that the Hudson Bay Company did not dare to es- tablish a trading post among them. Their prowess in fighting their aboriginal enemies is evident from the fact that they were never conquered by the red man or sub- jugated by the white man. The subjugation, however, came not by force of arms but by the influence of the Church. 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. Not being able to comply with their request for a longer time than three days, he improved the opportunity by teaching the principal prayers and dogmas of the Church in a man- ner of his own conception that was very ingenious. With the aid of an interpreter he translated into the Indian language spoken by the Coeur d'Alenes the sign of the Cross, the Our Father and Hail Mary, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Acts of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Contrition. The trans- lation being completed, he made all the younger mem- bers of the tribe stand in a circle around him, demand- ing that they should always take the same places when meeting for prayer and instruction ; then he entrusted to the memory 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 secured to all in a few days the knowledge of the prayers in their en- tirety. 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.

Father DeSmet and his followers found some diffi- culty in teaching the Ten Commandments to many of the red men, owing to an indisposition on the part of the Indians to apply themselves studiously to the work of memorizing. The Indians were all addicted to smok- ing. The priests made an effort to break them of the habit : but finding it almost impossible to do so and being somewhat discouraged at the progress made in learning the commandments, they allowed each Indian to smoke a pipe when he had memorized a command- ment. This had the desired effect and progress became more satisfactory. Because of the inducements held ont by the priests, the commandments were called by the Indians. "The ten pipes."

In the fall of the year 1844 Father Nicholas Point and Bro. Charles Huet left the Flathead Mission in

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 181

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