An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 27

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 27
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 27
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 27
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 27

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The opening of the year 1900 was a very propiti- ous one in the county. The mild winter left the cat- tlemen's stacks of hay scarcely touched while the cat- tle, feeding along the breaks of the rivers, were fatter than if they had been compelled by severe weather to consume all the fodder provided for their use in case of emergency. The year throughout was one of sub- stantial progress and universal prosperity, though it was not characterized by the excitement and rush which distinguished its predecessor. When fall came it brought the largest harvests ever known in Nez Perces county with a consequent stimulus to business of all kinds. The only disaster of the year was for- tunately not serious. It consisted of the wreck on the Clearwater Short Line, on June 27th, of a mixed train consisting of four carloads of hogs, two box cars, three flat cars, a steam shovel, one passenger coach and the express car. The train had just rounded a curve about two miles east of Contact and was com- ing onto straight road again when one of the trucks under the steam shovel left the track. The engineer saw the shovel flying up in the air and immediately applied the brakes, but the king bolt under the shovel had been broken ; the trucks were pulled out from un- der it; the Hat car behind struck it throwing it into the river and the car itself was thrown crosswise of the track. The other freight cars were badly wrecked, but fortunately the passenger coach, in which were fifteen or twenty people, was not injured, and besides being badly shaken up no one was hurt.

An event of the year 1900 which must not be over- looked was the organization on February 19th of the Nez Perces County Pioneer Association, of which all persons might become members who settled in the county prior to or during 1877. The first officers were C. G. Kress, president ; C. P. Coburn, vice-pres- ident ; Wallace B. Stainton, secretary ; John N. Lind- say, treasurer ; Edmund Pearcy, Robert Grostein, Joel Martin and M. A. Kelly, trustees. For the purpose of preserving as many as possible of the names of those who have toiled so long in the development of the county and done so much for its material and so- cial upbuilding, we give the membership roll of the society as follows :

W. P. Bell, 1859; John M. Silcott, Thomas B. Beall, 1860; G. W. Underwood, A. R. Trimble, Thom- as F. Reynolds, 1861 ; C. C. Bunnell, Edmund Pear- cy, Chester P. Coburn, Augustus C. Sweet, Ezra Baird, W. S. Dver, G. A. Frost, M. A. Kelly, Joel D. Martin, S. Wildenthaler. R. Grostein, C. E. Faunce,

T. C. Moxley, August Meilk, W. P. Hunt, William LeBaron, N. B. Holbrook, E. Tixier, L. G. Maguire, John Denny, J. O. Maxon, Sarah G. Thompson, D. W. C. Dunwell, 1862; Eva K. Mounce, Mrs. C. P. Grostein, Elizabeth Barnett, Eliza W. Thatcher, Em- ma J. Chapman, J. Alexander, John W. Denney, W. W. Leeper, Sophia Whitman, Mallery, Mrs. Martha Coburn, P. B. Whitman, Samuel W. Childs, 1863; Mrs. Rosa Grostein, M. H. Sprague, Olive C. Hunt, C. A. McCabe, John O. Barbour, S. E. Vollmer, Ben- jamin F. Morris, 1864: Alma Havenick, Lucinda j. Breanley, Charles G. Kress, 1865; William Stevenson, T. S. Billings, William Baird, C. E. Bradish, Anna M. Clark, 1866; Rachael Binnard, A. C. Coburn, Mrs. Mary W. Smith, Nellie W. Leeper, Joseph Dubuc, Harry Dowd, James Conley, L. Grostein, 1867; C. A. Elmer, Mrs. W. E. Erb, Mrs. F. Roos, John P. Vollmer, Mrs. Alida G. Faunce, 1868; Mrs. Annie Krautinger, Frank B. Willis, Mrs. Josephine Boise, Christ Weirgerder, 1869; H. R. Grostein, Fred M. Manning, Ferdinand Roos, Amy D. Kettenbach, Charles Dowd, John L. Chapman, James Hayes, Perry Thomas, G. A. Manning, Mrs. Laura B. Morris, Su- san E. Manning, H. Penault, 1870; H. A. Trimble, G. M. Smith, P. M. Davis, H. K. Barnett, 1871; Harry Lydon, Mrs. Clifford Riggs, j. R. Lydon, Robert Schleicher, Matt Dowd, Mrs. J. E. Akins, Wallace B. Stainton, 1872; Mrs. Sarah A. Roxley, L. Rowley, J. Q. Moxley, E. A. Rowley, 1873; Louis N. Roos, S. E. Arant, William L. Boise, E. H. Wig- gin, Mrs. Ella Rowley, Mrs. Mary R. Denny, Anna Binnard, 1874; A. G. Wisner, Curtis Thatcher, F. Oliver, Edna M. Baird, Mrs. Mary C. Moxley, J. B. Morris, John M. Fix, W. R. Dixon, 1875; J. N. Lindsay, L. Stannus, Mrs. Mollie Armstrong, Mrs. W. B. Cooper, Miss Bessie Vollmer, Elizabeth M. Beeson, Mary A. Butler, Ferdinand Roos, Jr., George C. Leland, George H. Storer, J. D. C. Thiessen, Re- becca Lindsay, C. A. Leeper, Rosa Ponting, Mrs. Lillie Wisner, W. H. Leland, J. H. Frost, Mrs. L. K. Stirling, Mrs. Hattie Wildenthaler, Louis D. Schattner, 1876; John Weiss, Thomas Kittsmiller, Wilbur Wardwell, J. C. Kincaid, John Ponting, John Speck, W. A. Smith, Catherine Metcalf, Margaret A. Goldsmith, Frances M. Moxley, Mrs. Viola C. McConville, Martin L. Goldsmith, Newton Hibbs, J. E. Kincaid, John H. McCalli, William Wright, J. R. Wolfe, A. W. Krautinger, Fred S. Kling, F. J. Edwards, Maud Wildenthaler, Clara P. Phillips, Mrs. Mary White Kettenback, W. F. Kettenbach, Mrs. Emma M. Edwards, Henry Harsell, W. Haver- nick, 1877.

On January 22, 1901, Representative Oxley, of Shoshone county, introduced into the legislature a bill providing for the creation of Clearwater county out of territory belonging to Nez Perces, Idaho and Shoshone counties. It was later amended to take in the Potlatch country, its first draft having taken no part of Nez Perces county except that east of the Boise meridian. The result of the change was a vigorous protest from the residents of the section affected. The bill was de- feated by a vote of 22 to 21 in the house, but in the

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

evening that body reconvened and determined by a vote of 31 to II to reconsider the measure. This was on March 6th. Later in the same month a substitute bill was passed, the boundaries being so defined as to take from Nez Perces county about three townships in the Potlatch and three in the reservation. The bill was promptly signed by the governor, who appointed for the new county of Clearwater the following officers : Commissioners, P. H. Blake, William LeBaron and John T. Mallory ; sheriff, Frank Gaffney ; assessor, J. L. Harris; treasurer. A. E. Holmberg ; superintendent of schools, Mrs. Fannie Roberts ; probate judge, J. S. Hogue ; county attorney, J. A. Brown; surveyor, D. H. Guilland, coroner, Henry Merchant.

But the new county was not organized as speedily as at first intended, owing to several difficulties, and when at last it was ready to take its place among the legal subdivisions of the state, the state auditor refused to furnish blank licenses such as the law required him to furnish to the treasurers of the different counties, alleging that Clearwater county had not been legally created. The case was taken into court by the county treasurer of the new political division, who applied for a writ of mandate compelling the state auditor to com- ply with the law in this respect. The defendant, in his answer, filed in response to an. order by the court to appear and show cause why the writ should not issue, set up that the county did not contain taxable prop- erty to the value of one million dollars as required by section 4, article 18 of the constitution, and further that the act creating or purporting to create it was fatally defective in its language, therefore the county of Cleawater has no legal existence. Attorneys for the county of Cleawater thought the second objection would not be seriously considered by the court and contended that the amendment upon which the first was based was unconstitutional for the reason that it was not passed by a two-thirds vote of the house. The su- preme court did not pass upon the constitutionality of the amendment, hut held the creating act void for the reason that it did not state specifically that the territory within the defined boundaries "shall constitute the coun- ty of Clearwater." The section at fault read: "That all portions of the state of Idaho included within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the south- east corner of Kootenai county on the water shed separating the waters of the St. Mary and Clearwater rivers ; thence in an easterly direction to the place of beginning." The sentence contained no verb and was obviously meaningless. Thus through a clerical mistake or literary error the hopes of the friends of Clearwater county were dashed to the ground.

This year witnessed in Whitman county and other parts of Washington a very considerable excitement over the discovery of indications of oil and natural gas, an excitement which extended to Nez Perces county also. It is stated that after two days of careful examination of the Isaman farm and adjoining lands, Prof. Aughey, an expert, concluded that Lewiston was in the gas belt and that the Lewiston valley was underlaid, at a depth of between six hundred and a

thousand feet, with formations containing oil and gas. Those who were with Professor Aughey stated that from holes made in the soil at various points a gas flow was obtained. The exudations burned with a yellow flame, leading to the conclusion that they were petrolium gas. Many claims were taken in the vicin- ity and considerable excitement was engendered by the find and by Aughey's very conservative report.

The spring of 1902 brought another rush of gold seekers through the county, Thunder mountain being the mecca of the wealth hunting hordes this time. Some few of the travelers stopped at Lewiston to secure their outfits, but for the most part that city was left out of their calculations after the Northern Pacific time schedule was changed so as to permit passengers to proceed direct to Stites, the Clearwater terminal of the road. From that point two routes were open to the pilgrims, one via Dixie, the other via Grange- ville and Warrens. The rush had a stimulating effect upon business all along the route, as all such must have.

One of the principal progressive movements of the year was that which resulted in the construction of a tramway at a site between Kamiah and Greer for the purpose of facilitating the marketing of wheat and other cereals raised on the heights far above the rail- road track. The farmers of Nez Perces prairie banded themselves together for the purpose of con- structing this much needed improvement, formed a stock company, looked up a suitable site, let the con- tract for furnishing a cable, buckets and other ap- paratus to a San Francisco firm and set vigorously about the work of installing the somewhat expensive plant. They had, in their efforts, the encouragement of both the grain handling firms of Lewiston, which took large blocks of the stock, while the railway com- pany put in a side track for their accommodation. The cable used is an endless coil of steel wires 13,200 feet long, suspended on rollers and carrying a thou- sand steel cages or buckets. The power is furnished by a large stationary engine upon the heights above.

During the closing month of the year agitation for the formation of Clearwater county was revived. Orofino gave inception to the struggle by circulating a petition for the formation of a new county with such boundaries that it would be the logical county seat. Nez Perces at once took up the gauntlet by cir- culating a petition praying for a new county to include all of southern Shoshone county, part of the Potlatch and a strip off Nez Perces prairie. This action was taken not so much that the people desired a change of county affiliations as that they desired above all things to defeat the Orofino measure. Representative-elect C. D. Thomas, of Nezperce, stated the position of his home town in the following language :

"The people of Nezperce are perfectly satisfied with their present county affiliations but if a division is inevitable, they believe in dividing the county in the right way. The petition we have prepared and which is being circulated, has now been signed by every man save one in Nezperce city, and by every- one in the adjacent country to whom it has been pre-

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

sented. We have no intention of establishing a new county on the lines mentioned in the petition, but the people of Nezperce have discovered that Lewis- ton had concluded to permit the organization of Clearwater county without opposition so long as only a small strip of Nez Perces county was taken, and we have concluded to give them the alternative of either fighting against the taking of any of the old county to create Clearwater county or to submit to the dismemberment of the county on rational lines. In preparing our petition we endeavored to arrange for a county with boundaries drawn on geographical lines, following the water courses wherever possi- ble, and in our petition we make no attempt to decide the matter of the location of a county seat."

The matter was brought up in the legislature by the introduction, by Representative Greer, of Sho- shone county, of a bill creating Clearwater county out of Shoshone and Nez Perces counties with Orofino as county seat until the general election of 1904, when the voters were to select the permanent county seat. The technical description of the boundaries of the new political division was as follows:

"Beginning at the intersection of the northern boundary line of township 41, range I east, of the Boise meridian, with the western boundary line of Shoshone county ; thence due east along the northern boundary line of said township 41 and continuing due east to the boundary line between the states of Idaho and Montana ; thence in a southeasterly direc- tion along the boundary line between the states of Idaho and Montana to its intersection with the pres- ent southern boundary line of Shoshone county ; thence in a westerly direction along the present south- ern boundary line of Shoshone county to where the same intersects with the center of the channel of the Clearwater river ; thence up the center of the main channel of the Clearwater river to the mouth of Law-

yer's creek, being the present boundary line between the counties of Nez Perces and Idaho; thence in a westerly direction up the center of the main channel of Lawyer's creek, being the present northern bound- ary line of Idaho county, to its intersection with the Boise meridian ; thence north along the Boise merid- ian to its intersection with the southern boundary line of township 35, range I west, of Boise meridian ; thence west along the southern boundary line of said township to the southwest corner thereof; thence north along the western boundary line of townships 35, 36, 37, 38 to the present southern boundary line of Latah county ; thence east along the present south- ern boundary line of Latah county to the southeast corner of said county ; thence north along the present boundary line between the counties of Shoshone and Latah and Shoshone and Kootenai to the place of beginning."

February 9th of the current year, while this bill was yet in the hands of the committee, its author, Greer of Shoshone, asked the unanimous consent of the house to withdraw it, stating that he desired to press the measure in the future. The consent asked for was given, but a storm was raised later when an- other bill was introduced providing that the people residing within the proposed new county should have the right to vote on the question as to whether or not they desired political segregation, in the election of 1904. The boundaries prescribed by this measure included a portion of Idaho county also. The new act, known as house bill No. 115, was referred to the appropriate committee, which returned a majority report against the measure and a minority report favoring it. February 17th, on motion of Moore of Idaho county, action on the bill was indefinitely post- poned by a vote of 30 to 16, effectually putting at rest all danger of loss of territory by any of the existing counties at this session of the legislature.

CHAPTER II.

POLITICAL.

Section 2 of the organic act creating Nez Perces county, passed by the legislative assembly of Wash- ington territory December 20, 1861, enacted "That J. M. Van Valsah be appointed County Auditor ; A. Creacy, Whitfield Kirtly and be ap- pointed County Commissioners; Sanford Owens, Sheriff ; and - Justice of the Peace for said county, until the next general election." As is well known, however, the year 1862 witnessed a stampede of tens of thousands to north Idaho, and it was quite 7

natural that there should be among this vast horde of gold seekers hundreds of desperadoes and lawless men-men who cared not whether there was a court- house within a thousand miles of their camps and against whom it would have been a very dangerous proceeding to enforce the laws. In the mad struggle for the possession of gold the slow machinery of the law was seldom, if ever, invoked. Civil govern- ment occupied no place in these miners' thoughts. The reign of gold was supreme. Under such condi-

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

tions county offices were not sought by men, but on the contrary were shunned and if, perchance, the of- fices were filled by appointment, the appointees eluded duty by failing to qualify.

For these reasons it is highly improbable that the above named officers ever served and we are strength- ened in the belief that they did not by failing to find, by inquiries among those who were here at the time, any account of such service. Then during the win- ter of 1862-3 the agitation in favor of creating out of this region a new territory resulted favorably, a territorial government was organized, and this change naturally disturbed local affairs.

Thus it is not until the summer of 1863 that we find a local system of government in actual operation. Immediately after Governor Wallace arrived here, in July, 1863, he proceeded to appoint the following of- ficers to serve in Nez Perces county : Sheriff, John Cassidy ; county clerk, E. C. Mayhew ; assistant clerk, S. Alexander ; treasurer, Cris. Taylor; commission- ers, B. C. Stevens, A. B. Brower, of Lewiston, and David Reese, of Elk City: prosecuting attorney, E. F. Gray; surveyor, J. B. Buker; probate judge, D. J. Warner ; justices of the peace, E. S. Sprague and Silas B. Cochran, Lewiston, Thomas M. Pomeroy, Elk City. The offices of probate judge and surveyor were purely honorary for some time. Who the first county assessor was cannot be learned. A majority of these men were Republicans. In response to the proclamation of Governor Wallace calling for an elec- tion to be held October 3Ist, at which representatives to the first legislature should be elected, Nez Perces county elected E. B. Waterbury to the council and L. Bacon as its representative in the house. The rec- ords show that at this election Nez Perces county cast 208 votes for William H. Wallace for delegate to congress and 159 votes for his Democratic op- ponent, John M. Cannady. The story is told that when the early returns of this election came in Gov- ernor Wallace's friends saw that he was sure to be defeated by a large majority, and in order to save the territory to Republicanism, United States Marshal Payne was sent to bring in the books from the out- lying precincts. Wyoming and Montana were then a portion of Idaho. Payne crossed the Clearwater river at Lewiston and started on his mission. He was gone several days and when he returned he brought back votes enough for Wallace to elect him. The boundaries of Idaho were not very clearly defined in those days, and whether the election returns brought in by Payne were bona fide or not is ques- tionable. At the time this was regarded as a shrewd maneuver and the story treated as a huge joke, but now the legality of Wallace's election is questioned by not a few.

When Governor Wallace deputized Hill Beachey to pursue the murderers of Lloyd Magruder and party, late in the fall of 1863, it is said that Sheriff Cassidy resigned because he considered the act as a slight upon his official prestige. At any rate, he re- signed and Governor Wallace appointed James H. Fisk in his stead.

Pursuant to a notice of a special meeting, the board of county commissioners assembled at Lewis- ton, the county seat of Nez Perces county, on the 5th day of October, 1863. Commissioners B. C. Stevens and A. B. Brower were present, as also Clerk May- hew. The first business to come before the board was the appointment of a county treasurer to fill the va- cancy then existing. F. H. Simmons was appointed and gave bonds in the sum of $5,000. At the meeting of the board on the 7th a petition signed by thirty- four citizens, asking for the erection of a county jail, was received. The board decided to submit, at the election to be held on October 31st, a proposition to the voters calling for the levy of a special $3,000 tax for the purpose of building a courthouse and jail. At this meeting the assessment roll was presented and showed that there were $248,303.75 worth of taxable property in the county. On this basis a tax of one mill was levied for territorial purposes, two mills for school purposes and four mills for county purposes. The ex-county treasurer presented his report also at this meeting. The receipts up to October 5th amount- ed to $1,466, $1,200 of which was from 600 polls, and the county's indebtedness was nearly $1,700.

The vote on the question of erecting county build- ings having been in the affirmative, on November 18th the board ordered that a suitable house be procured for use as a temporary jail until the new building could be erected. A prize of ten dollars was offered to the person suggesting the best plan of construction. The new courthouse was never built, however, differ- ent buildings being rented from time to time until the purchase of the old Jaggers cabin on Front street.

The board held its first regular meeting April 4, 1864, in compliance with the laws enacted by the first legislative assembly, the same officers as formerly be- ing present. It appearing that all of the county of- ficers, with the exception of the county commission- ers, had been illegally appointed, the offices were de- clared vacant and the following appointments made : Probate judge, John G. Berry ; clerk, E. C. Mayhew ; sheriff, James H. Fisk : assessor, S. R. Howlett ; re- corder, E. C. Mayhew ; surveyor, E. F. Gray ; super- intendent of schools, I .. C. Fitch; justices of the peace, Lewiston precinct, S. E. Darnes, Elk City pre- cinct, Thomas M. Pomeroy; constables, Lewiston precinct, Thomas J. Patterson, Elk City precinct, Robert Hunt.

As is usually the case in communities which derive their support almost entirely from the mining indus- try, Nez Perces's population was constantly shifting from one place to another and was very unstable. From time to time county officers resigned, and changes were going on constantly. Thus we see that in June the commissioners were A. B. Brower, W. Leonard and A. B. Downer, the last two being recent appointees ; that C. C. Chamberlain has become sheriff ; that Warren A. Belcher has tendered his resignation as treasurer and that W. W. Thompson is appointed in his place. Later, in July, S. R. How- lett resigned as assessor and at this same session Dr. Robert Newell was appointed school superintendent.

HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

Mr. Newell declined the position and S. M. Wait was appointed to serve until the newly elected corps of officers took their places the first of the year.

Preparatory to the county's first election, at the July term, the board established the following pre-

cincts : Lewiston, Elk City, Clearwater Station, Newsome Creek, Taylor's Bridge, Long Bar, Was- shilla Creek and Wixson's. At this term also B. F. Lamkin was authorized to construct, at a cost not to exceed $600, two cells for jail purposes in the old vegetable market on First street. The first action taken toward the establishment of county roads was taken at this term also, when the road between Her- sey's mountain house and Elk City was declared a public highway and Samuel Gilman was appointed road supervisor. At the same time S. M. Wait was appointed road supervisor of the Lewiston district. From time to time the board granted ferry and toll road licenses, but as the establishment of these differ- ent enterprises has been fully dealt with in another chapter we will not stop to enumerate them here.

From the court records we see that at the election held in the fall of 1864 the following were the first reg- ularly elected officers of Nez Perces county: A. B. Brower, Loyal P. Brown and P. W. Bell, commis- sioners; E. S. Sprague, probate judge; W. W. Thompson, treasurer ; S. S. Stiles, clerk and record- er ; James Fisk, sheriff ; L. W. Bacon, assessor ; rep- resentative to the legislative assembly, George Zeigle, Republican, and T. M. Reed, Democrat ; mem- ber of the legislative council, E. B. Waterbury, Dem- ocrat. The report of the teritorial canvassing board shows that Nez Perces county cast 337 votes for Samuel E. Parks, Republican, and 237 votes for E. D. Holbrook, Democrat, candidates for the honor of representing Idaho in congress. The honors were divided about equally between Democrats and Re- publicans. Subsequently J. K. Vincent succeeded Fisk as sheriff, the latter failing to file his bond, I. C. Purcell became probate judge, and Phillip Streeter was appointed assessor.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 27

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