An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 96

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 96
USA > Idaho > Nez Perce County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 96
USA > Idaho > Shoshone County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 96
USA > Idaho > Latah County > An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho > Part 96

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The first object proposed to itself by this grange was speedily accomplished. It desired to form a closer bond of union between the citizens of the prairie, and inasmuch as this part of the country had no affilia- tions with Nez Perces county but carried on practically all its business with the mining districts, it desired also tinion with Idaho county. An effort had been made looking toward this end in 1872, but as the petition in- cluded also a removal of the county seat from Washing- ton, in the Warren district, the people of that town joined Nez Perces in opposing the measure so that it failed. But at the session of the legislature of 1874-5. a determined movement was inaugurated in the direction of securing this desideratum. It proved suc- cessful and an act was passed granting to Idaho coun- ty not only the Camas prairie country, but the rich strip lying east of it in which Elk City is situated. The measure created a new Idaho county with both farm- ing and mining communities, bound together by the closest ties of trade relationship and reciprocal inter- ests. It saved the political entity from danger of dis- integration, building up a united, interdependent and stable community, while it inflicted little or no perma- nent damage, probably, upon Nez Perces county. While the grange was behind the measure, credit for this judicious piece of legislation is owing, as L. P. Brown informs tis, to Hons. S. S. Fenn, Phil. Cleary and S. P. C. Howard, members of the legislature at the time, to C. W. Case, N. B. Willey and Bailey Chamberlain of Warren camp, to Jeff Rhoads and George Shearer, of Florence, and to D. H. Howser, James Odle, Judge Bower, James Witt. J. M. Dorman. MI. H. and C. L. Rice, Crooks & Shumway, J. H. Robinson, Girton, Telcher, Pearson, B. F. Morris and others of Camas prairie. Mr. Brown himself was also an efficient worker in this cause. The bill was indited as follows :

AN ACT.

To Define the Boundaries of Idaho County and for other Pur- poses.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Terri- tory of Idaho as follows :

Section 1. The boundaries of the county of Idaho shall hereafter he as follows: Commencing at the junction of Sal- mon river with Snake river ; thence up the channel of Salmon river to the mouth of Maloney creek : thence easterly to the mouth of the north fork of the south fork of Clearwater ; thence due east to the Lolo fork of Clearwater; thence up the Lolo fork to the summit of the Bitter Root mountains ; thence southeastwardly and southerly, following the present defined boundary line between the territories of Idaho and Montana, to the northwest corner of Lemhi county; thence south and southwest along the line between the counties of Idaho and Lemhi to Boise county ; thence westerly and north- westerly along the present line dividing Idaho county and Boise county. and the present line dividing the counties of Ada and Idaho to the extreme north corner of Ada county on Snake river, thence down Snake river to the place of he- ginning.

Sec. 2. All that part of Nez Perces county being -outh and east of the boundary line established by section of 11) of this act, shall hereafter be attached to and form a part of the county of Idaho.

Sec. 3. In consideration of the grant of territory hereby made by Nez Perces county, the county of Idaho shall be liable for, and shall assume and pay to the county of Nez Perces forty per cent of the indebtedness of said Nez Perces county. at the time this act shall take effect and be in force.

The amount of such indebtedness of Nez Perces county to be so assumed and paid by Idaho county shall be ascertained as follows: The auditor of Idaho county shall, within three months from the taking effect of this act, ascertain from the reports of the auditor and treasurer of Nez Perces county, or, if such reports be not complete, or be from any cause tin- satisfactory, then from the books of said auditor and treas- urer, the total amount of county warrants of Nez Perces county, drawn and outstanding, and shall report the same to the board of county commissioners of Idaho county ; from the total sum of such indebtedness shall be deducted the amount of cash in the county treasury and the further sum of one thousand dollars assumed to be the value of county property retained by Nez Perces county. Of the net indebtedness so ascertained. the county of Idaho shall be liable for and shall pay to Nez Perces county forty per cent. upon such adjust- ment made and reported to the board of county commissioners, as herein provided for. The auditor of Idaho county shall be authorized to draw his warrants in sums not exceeding five hundred dollars each, payable to the treasurer of Nez Perces county, for the benefit of said county, and not transferable, and he shall deliver the same to the treasurer of Nez Perces county.

Sec 4. The county commissioners of Idaho shall at their next regular meeting, after the passage and approval of this act, and annually thereafter, as long as the same may be re- quired, for the payments of the warrants to be drawn as pro- vided by section three (3) of this act. set apart the whole amount of poll and eighty per cent. of the hospital taxes col- lected in said county, and ten per cent, derived from property taxes which shall constitute a sinking fund for the payment of warrants in favor of Nez Perces county, and the county treasurer of Idaho county shall, on the first day of July and January of each year, and oftener if directed by the county commissioners, pay to the treasurer of Nez Perces county the whole amount in said sinking fund to be by him applied to the redemption of said warrants

Sec. 5. The board of county commissioners of Idaho county shall call a special election to be held at all the usual voting places in the whole county on the first Monday of June, 1875, at which time there shall be elected a full board of county commissioners, who shall hold their offices until the next gen- eral election, and until their successors are elected and quali- fied. They shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of their duties on the first Monday of July subsequent to said election ; and at said election there shall be submitted to the voters of said county the permanent location of the county seat. for which purpose the three points or places, Washington. Slate creek and Mount Idaho, shall be voted for, and the point or place so designated, receiving the highest number of votes, shall be declared the county seat of Idaho county.

The special election to be held under the provisions of this act shall be canvassed and governed by the general elec- tion law of the territory.

Sec 6. The board of county commissioners of Idaho county shall. at their first regular or special session after said election, provide for and direct the removal of all the county records, books, papers and other county property, to be re- moved to the said county seat and provide county buildings, and do all things necessary to be done to carry the provisions of this act into effect.

Sec. 7. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 8. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the governor.

Approved. January 8, 1875.

At the special election, held in accordance with the

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

provisions of this act. Mount Idaho was chosen as the county seat. Elliott's history of Idaho territory in- forms us that "there being no court house, rooms were fitted up for the various officers in the Idaho hotel, since which time a commodious court house and jail have been erected, where the county officers have com- fortable offices, and a large hall for the district court, jury rooms, etc."

The next important direct result of the organiza- tion of this Grange society was the formation of a stock company among the grangers, capitalized at $25,000, for the purpose of erecting a flouring mill, in addition to that erected by Wheeler. Toothacher and Kelley at Mount Idaho in 1874. The mill was completed some time in 1876 at a cost of approximately $8,000. Its site was on Three Mile creek, just below the Crooks' ranch. The plant was equipped with one set of burrs, was operated by water power and had a capacity of twenty-five barrels daily. Its natural result was to help keep among the settlers the thousands of dollars there- tofore expended annually for flour in other counties, and to stimulate wheat raising among the populace.

A little later the grange built a hall on a five-acre tract of land, donated to them by J. M. Crooks, south of the mill. This hall, erected under the supervision of William B. Bloomer and Frank D. Vansise, stands today in the heart of Grangeville, to which city it gave inception and name. For twenty years it was the favorite meeting place of the prairie. It was open to preacher, lecturer, teacher or anyone who had aught to contribute toward the enlightenment or entertain- ment of the community and it has certainly contributed not a littie to the social and substantial well being of the people.

Until the early 'eighties Charity Grange was the leading combination of men in Idaho county. What- ever the order may have done or failed to do in other parts of the American Union, it must certainly be given credit for having effected much good in this com- munity. It came at a critical period of the county's history, gathered up the scattered and divided ele- ments of strength and cemented them together into a harmonious, energetic body, working unitedly for the common welfare. It was one of the important fac- tors in the development of Idaho county.

The momentous year of 1877 came in with few clouds in the sky, but before it was half over, the most awful storm burst upon the county and north Idaho that has ever been experienced in this region or state. The horrible murders by which the Indian war was in- augurated and the course of that war until the surrend- er of Joseph at Bear Paw mountain, have been given in some detail elsewhere in this volume. Besides these horrors many homes and outbuildings were sacked and destroyed by fire and hundreds of head of cattle and horses were captured and appropriated to the uses of the hostiles. The advertising the country received, while it called attention to its undeveloped resources, was not of the right kind. as it also gave the impression that central Idaho was not a safe place in which to live, an impression which was unfortunately heightened

during the next year or two by the Sheepeater out- break. The war, however, led to the establishment of Camp Howard on the prairie, which gave assurance to all old settlers and new arrivals that they would be fully protected, also furnished an excellent market for such of the farm products of the community as were needed by the soldiers. Camp Howard was a two com- pany post, established by Colonel Green and com- manded by Major Hancock and Captains Kroutinger and Mckeever during the period of its existence. When it was abandoned in 1881 an indignant and en- ergetic though unavailing protest was raised by the people of this and Nez Perces county. It is with pleas- ure that we record here for permanent preservation the names of the volunteers enrolled at Mount Idaho and Grangeville for service in the war of 1877, with their commissioned and non-commissioned officers. The cor- rectness of these muster rolls was certified to by Major James P. Canby, paymaster, United States army, in August, 1877, and by affidavits of the two captains. They are as follows:

Roll of officers, non-commissioned officers and pri- vates enrolled at Mount Idaho, Idaho, June 15, 1877 : Captain, D. B. Randall; first lieutenant, James Cear- ley ; second lieutenant, L. P. Wilmott ; sergeants, John McPherson, J. W. Rainey, F. Oliver, J. W. Eastman, Robert Nugent : corporals, George Smith, John Bower, M. S. Martin, K. W. White, George Riggins, John M. Auchinvole ; privates, J. T. Aram, John Aram, John R. Adkison, R. D. Adkison, J. O. Barber, R. C. Brown. W. B. Beamer, L. Bocher, A. D. Bartley, T. J. Bunker, James Buchannan, W. Clark, John Crea, Thomas Crea, J. Chapman, H. E. Croasdale, Green Dallas, C. M. Day, J. W. Eastman, C. T. Eaton, Charles Flynn, H. A. Faxson, William Grotts, George Hall, Joseph Hemelspak, Joseph Harrison, J. C. Har- ris, John Hansen, D. H. Howser, M. V. Jarrett, F. E. Jerome, Peter King, F. B. King, A. B. Leland, B. F. Morris, Daniel McPherson, Cyrus Overman, Larry Ott, D. Ousterhaus, Joseph Peasley, A. F. Plummer, J. W. Poe, John Riggins, F. M. Rice, M. H. Rice, C. L. Rice, James Rice, J. N. Rice, J. G. Rowton, J. A. Swarts, F. Shissler, T. D. Swarts, F. M. St. Clair, Marion Smith, J. M. Snodgrass, George Sears, Vince Tellis, M. H. Truscott, Frank Vansise, B. R. Wilmot, W. West. A. I. Watson, T. Wall, J. A. Miller, George M. Shearer, T. W. Girton, George Woodward, Ernest Smith, Hugh Kennedy, P. Price. P. Mallick, B. Penny, P. H. Ready, D. H. Telcher, F. Noyes, T. Gano, N. Markham, E. Watkins, James Crea, A. A. Harris, Elijah Adkison, T. L. Ward, S. S. Fenn. L. P. Brown, Sidney B. Brown, William Mitchell, Walter B. Fenn, A. Talkington, H. C. Johnson, James Ragan. C. B. Woods, E. C. Sherwin, Elbert Sherwin, Perry Sherwin, Charles Johnson, James Odle, J. M. Dorman, Clyde Fountain, Thomas Surridge, John Pe- terson. Elias Shipley, William Gaddy, C. A. Sears, Henry Van Buren, Joseph Richards, Henry Meyers, Norman Gould. Philip Helmer, H. W. Cone, Isaac Orcutt. J. H. Getter, N. B. Mallory, Charles F. Cone, C. P. Cone, A. Van Sicle, Samuel Large, John S.

A GLIMPSE OF THE KOOTENAI NEAR BONNERS FERRY.

SOLDIERS' LOOKOUTS OVERLOOKING WHITEBIRD CANYON IN THE WAR OF 1877.

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

Kelley, James Carey, John Wood, M. B. Howard, William Trieblecock, John Ramsey, John Stuart, Ab- ner Smith.

Grangeville volunteers: 'W. B. Bloomer, captain ; A. H. Gordon, C. P. Clingan, A. Shumway, J. T. Silverwood, John Johnson, F. M. Hughes, C. M. Red- man, S Weaver, W. M. Williams, James Flenne, J. M. Crooks, John Fields, J. H. Rauch, G. W. Hashagen, V. D. Remington, W. C. Pearson, W. H. Sebastian, T. Brown, J. B. Crooks, J. J. Remington, Charles Bentz. Jacob W. Crooks, Samuel Harty. S. W. Reynolds. Charles Crooks, E. S. Remington, John By- rom. D. C. Crooks. James L. Crooks, M. P. Crooks, James Spence, Robert Wilmot, John Flynn, Patk. Curtin, Frank Weichel, E. W. Robie, John Healy, John Weaver. C. H. Robinson, C. H. Brown, Albert Bensching, John Mitchell.

The return of a small remnant of Joseeph's scat- tered band of hostiles caused a little flurry of excite- ment in Idaho county during the summer of 1878. This remnant consisted of perhaps half a dozen war- riors and their squaws and children, but in their efforts to slip back to the reservation unobserved they ap- peared to be several times their real number. Whether or not they belonged to White Bird's band is not known, but it is certain that they had been driven out of southwestern Montana by a detachment of troops, and had crossed the Bitter Root range, proceeding thence westward via Elk City. Near this little min- ing town they stopped at a Chinaman's house early one August morning and forced him to prepare food for them. While they were engaged here they were seen by one of the white men living nearby, who hastily spread the news that a band of hostile Indians was about to attack the town. The few white men in the camp thereupon repaired hurriedly to the old fort con- structed by them during the Indian war, there to await further develpoments. Two of the whites ventured to the outskirts of the town, whence they could see the little band of redskins as they passed near the place. As soon as the Indians saw that they were observed by the whites, they fled in the direction of Newsome creek. Here they plundered a Chinese store and stole a horse, after which they continued westward.

Meanwhile James B. Sloan, one of the residents of Elk City, volunteered to inform the commandant at Camp Howard of the actions of this band of Indians and through him the news reached Camas prairie. At Mount Idaho a few settlers under command of Benja- min F. Morris went in search of the renegades and soon came upon them near the Clearwater beyond Jackson's bridge. On the approach of the whites the Indians scattered and fled. They ultimately reached the reservation in safety, without committing further depredations.

Doubtless a few other members of Joseph's band reached the Sheepeater country in the southern por- tion of Idaho county during that same summer and the succeeding winter. and were instrumental in inciting the outbreak which occurred in that region the next year. Here they would find renegades from nearly every tribe in this section of the northwest-Nez

Perces, Bannocks, Shoshones, Umatillas and a few Montana Indians and doubtless representatives of other tribes. All were outlaws, fugitives from the courts of the white man or from the wrath of their own tribesmen, joined to each other only by the bonds of fear and companionship in crime. In their mountain retreats they were safe from pursuit and capture.

What is known as the Sheepeater's country is the wildest and most impenetrable region in Idaho, if not in the entire Northwest. It is a region of indescribable ruggedness and grandeur. Hoary mountain peaks with their green mantles of forest alternate with abyssmal canyons thousands of feet in depth along whose bottoms the waters of angry mountain torrents leap and dash and writhe in their efforts to free them- selves from their rocky bounds. There are no broad prairies or level tracts of any size here; nothing but precipitous mountain sides and sheer canyons for the most part. Along the crests of the highest ridges with an occasional abrupt descent into the canyons the old Indian trails wind and there are no more tortuous paths than these in all the Northwest. The forests abound in game : the streams teem with fish and these constituted the principal subsistence of the Sheep- eaters. The big horn or mountain sheep were very numerous in this region until a comparatively short time ago and because of the fact that the Indians who lived here were such successful hunters of this most elusive game and to a large extent lived on their meat, they were called the "Sheepeaters."

So far as is known no serious crimes were ever laid at their door until the outbreak of 1879. They were seldom seen by the whites, but kept in their mountain fastnesses, well hidden from the curious gaze of civilized man. Occasionally two or three came into Warren with strings of fish or with game, but even these seldom stayed long. The Sheepeaters were very poor, possessing only a few guns and few if any horses,-so poor, indeed, that to many it was a mys- tery how they managed to exist. They were not con- sidered Indians of good moral character, but as long as they left the whites alone the latter were content to treat them in like manner, and there was peace between them for many years. The Sheepeaters wintered on the east fork of the Salmon. During the summer they roamed throughout that part of Idaho county bounded on the north by the main Salmon, on the east by Lemhi county and on the west by the south fork. An Indian known as War Jack seemed to be their chief, while Chuck and Boyer also exercised dominion among the band James Edwards, who was a resident of Warren for many years and to whom we acknowledge indebt- edness for much of our information concerning these Indians, estimates their number at nearly 150, of whom perhaps forty of fifty were men.

There seems to have been no excuse for the Sheep- eaters' taking up arms against the government in 1879. The only reasonable explanation of their con- duct seems to be that they were incited to the upris- ing by renegades who joined them after the Nez Perces war of 1877 and the Bannock campaign in 1878. But whatever may have been the cause, they commenced,

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HISTORY OF NORTH IDAHO.

early in the spring of 1879, a series of depredations and murders. In the hostilities which ensued they eluded three bodies of troops sent against them, defeating one, and resisted capture until late in the fall, when they surrendered with all the honors of war-quite a record considering the circumstances.

Along the south fork of the Salmon there were in 1879 four small farms, all on a narrow strip of land along the bed of the canyon and each isolated from the others except by round-about trails through Warren. From James P. Rain's place, just above the mouth of the south fork, to Hugh Johnson's ranch, the farthest up the stream, the distance was forty miles, while be- tween these two places were those of Sylvester S. ( bet- ter known as "Three-Fingered") Smith and A. D. Smead. Each of these places was, as just stated, reached by a trail leading from Warren. There were a few hars along the river where placer mining was carried on, though even these were for the most part then deserted. All four of the ranchmen mentioned, except Jolinson, had families.

At Johnson's place the Sheepeaters opened the war -if the outbreak may with propriety be referred to as such. Sometime in April, while the snow was yet hard, they fell upon him in his lonely cabin and killed him. For what particular reason they chose him as their first victim it is not known, as he is not accused of having ever done anything to arouse their wrath. They may have been aware that he was alone and per- haps they coveted his horses. Peter Dorsey, who was staying at the ranch just below, went over to visit Johnson the latter part of April. He was greeted with death-dealing bullets and his life blotted out. As Dor- sey did not return within a reasonable time, and as nothing was heard of Johnson, friends decided late in May to investigate and accordingly a party con- sisting of William Kelly. J. Jenkins and A. D. Smead went to the Johnson home. They failed to find anyone at the house or nearby and saw that the cabin had been entered and plundered and that the horses were gone. Fearing that the worst had happened, the party went · back to Warren, secured reinforcements in the persons of George Riebold, P. Beamer, E. Brooks, C. Stark and C. Johnson ; then returned for a more thorough search of the premises. They found in a nearby field the decomposed bodies of Johnson and Dorsey, bear- ing gunshot wounds. Indian signs were discovered and all the circumstances warranted the conclusion that the outrage had been committed by redmen.

The settlers immediately despatched a messenger to Camp Howard. requesting the commandant of that post to send a force to protect the community and cap- ture the Indians. Lieutenant Catley, on receipt of the news. made preparations to begin a campaign against the Sheepeaters. By the first of July he set out with about sixty mounted infantrymen, members of the Second Infantry. U. S. A .. and a large packtrain loaded with sufficient supplies to last several weeks. Besides the regulars, several scouts were recruited and these with the packers brought the total strength of the column up to about seventy men. The expedition reached Warren early in July and after tarrying there

a short time took up the march into the Sheepeater country.

For eleven days they traveled eastward across the south and east forks of the Salmon toward the mid- dle fork, but not a sign of the Indians did they see until the afternoon of July 28th, when one of the pack- ers, a man named White, reported to David Monroe, one of the scouts, that he had seen Indian signs during the morning about eight miles below the camp on Big creek. This stream heads north of Thunder mountain and flowing in a northeasterly direction, empties into the middle fork of the Salmon river. For most of its length it rushes through narrow box canyons, though there are a few open and level basins along its banks. For the details of what followed,-the discovery of the Indians, the attack on the troops. the retreat. the fight on Vinegar hill and the journey back to Warren-we shall rely principally on an official report made by Lieutenant Muhlenberg, a member of the experliti :1. to Lieutenant C. M. Rowell. regimental adjutant of the Second Infantry. This report bears date of October 28. 1879. The copy before ns belongs to Mrs. Matthew Truscott, of Mount Idaho. As far as possible the statements made in the report have been verified by reference to other authorities.

Upon receipt of White's information, Monroe com- municated the news to Lieutenant Catley, who lis- teneci with impatience to the report, referring to it as a "foolish story." However, on his return to camp an hour later, Catley had the story told a second time, then ordered the troops to camp for the night. de- spite Lieutenant Webster's suggestion that there was still plenty of time to send out a scouting party. The following morning between the hours of six and seven o'clock the troops broke camp and started down Big creek toward the location of the supposed Indian camp, leaving Lientenant Webster and seven men in charge of the pack train. They marched in single file along the bed of the canyon, David Monroe and Josh. Fock- ler, volunteer scouts, in the lead. The Indian camp was reached about ten o'clock and found deserted. the redskins having doubtless become aware of the pres- ence of the troops. Judging from all signs it was evi- dent that the Indians had departed about two hours previously.

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An illustrated history of north Idaho : embracing Nez Perces, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, state of Idaho, Part 96

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