USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 14
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THE WELLS-FARGO EXPRESS
One of the great institutions of the early days of California was the ex- press business, Several companies came into existence in the early '50s, of the larger companies the Wells-Fargo Company being the only survivor. After gold was discovered in Idaho that company extended its operations into this jurisdiction. After stage lines came into existence, a ready method of taking out gold dust and of bringing in valuable articles was opened to this company. The risk from highwaymen was great and charges for taking the dust out to the San Francisco mint or to banking institutions in the larger cities of the coast were high. The Wells-Fargo Express cut a very important figure in the early history of the mining sections.
MAIL FACILITIES
In the very early days of the mining camps, no arrangements were made for bringing in mail and the Wells-Fargo Express carried most of the letters Charges for this service varied greatly, running as high as one dollar for bring-
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ing in or sending out an ordinary letter, but finally being reduced as regular mails were established to fifty cents and twenty-five cents per letter. For years many of the business houses in the larger mining camps sent their important communications by express, believing it to be a safer method of communication.
During these early days stirring events were happening throughout the world. The great Civil war was going on and, as a matter of course, all were vitally interested in its events. Even after local newspapers were started in a few places in Idaho, they gave but little information of events happening in the world outside. The express companies supplied this information by regularly bring- ing into the camps newspapers from California. San Francisco at that time was the headquarters of the Pacific Coast. California was the section to which practically all of the earliest pioneers expected to return. It was natural that the California newspapers should be sought after. The Sacramento Union was the popular paper of that state and hundreds of copies were brought in every day by the express company and sold in the various mining camps at $1.00 a copy, that being the usual charge in the early times.
RAILWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION
When the different placer mining camps of Idaho were first established no railways existed on the Pacific Coast. In fact, the only railway in the State of California was a short line between San Francisco and San Jose, less than fifty miles in length, and there were no railways at all in Oregon and Wash- ington, excepting a track a few miles in length at the Cascades, which was used in connection with the steamboats plying on the Columbia River. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were finished in 1869. Prior to this there had been no communication between the eastern section of the United States and the Pacific Coast except by stage or by steamer from the Atlantic ports to San Francisco. There were no telegraph lines across the Continent until 1860 and during the first three years of the Civil war, all of the news in regard to the stirring events of that great contest were heard for the first time through the mail sent by way of the Isthmus of Panama and from there to San Francisco by water, a voyage which took nearly thirty days. This condition was improved in 1860 by the establishment of the "pony express" started to connect California with the settlements east of the Missouri River, and which reduced the time for a letter from New York to reach San Francisco to thirteen days. Fearless and physically fit young men acted as riders on this express and were provided with strong and swift mounts. Stations were established at frequent intervals, at which changes of horses could be made. Hostile Indians abided over much of the route, but the stations were almost forts and arsenals and the rider, when attacked, was expected to outrun his savage enemies and find safety at these stations. The charges for any matter carried were enormous and the matter so conveyed was generally confined to letters or small packages that could be conveniently carried upon a riding horse and the weight of which, combined with the weight of the light rider, would not seriously impair the speed of the horse. The pony express was an institution which rendered great service to the people of the coast and put them in communication with the world much more quickly than the long trip by the Isthmus. It ceased to exist only when telegraph lines were established.
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The building of the telegraph line in 1863 marked the passage of the pony express, as the subsequent construction of railways marked the passage of the stage lines.
Many other interesting peculiarities of the early pioneer days will be re- ferred to in other chapters treating of special subjects.
CHAPTER X TERRITORIAL HISTORY
EVOLUTION OF IDAHO TERRITORY AND STATE-PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT-JOSEPH MEEK'S MISSION TO WASHINGTON-OREGON, WASHINGTON AND IDAHO-THE ORGANIC ACT-CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED-WAL- - LACE'S ADMINISTRATION-FIRST POLITICAL CONVENTIONS-FIRST LEGISLATURE -- LYON'S ADMINISTRATION-A THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION-POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1864-ELECTION OF E. D. HOLBROOK AS DELEGATE-DEATH OF HOLBROOK-SECOND LEGISLATURE-LOCATING THE CAPITAL-THIRD LEGISLA- TURE-GILSON'S DEFALCATION-GOVERNOR LYON'S DEATH.
The evolution of Idaho as one of the states of the American Union began with the establishment of the provisional government of Oregon, twenty years before the organization of Idaho as a separate and distinct territory. In the early '4os, while the territory west of the Rocky Mountains from the forty- second to the forty-ninth parallels of latitude was claimed by both England and the United States, there was a heavy tide of emigration from the older states, particularly those of the Ohio Valley, to the Northwest, under the treaty of joint occupation by American citizens and British subjects. The agents and employes of the Hudson's Bay Company-a British corporation-looked upon this American immigration as an invasion of their vested rights, with the result that the people from "The States" found it difficult to engage in any line of business or any occupation with assurances of success. Under these conditions, the pioneers sent petitions to the President and to Congress asking for protec- tion and for the establishment of some system of civil law in the Northwest. But, until the boundary question was finally settled, Congress and the adminis- tration felt themselves powerless to grant the prayer of the petitioners.
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
On May 20, 1843, a large mass meeting of the American settlers was held at a place called Shampoig, not far from the present City of Salem, and or- ganized a provisional government, consisting of an executive board of three members, a judge, a legislature and a sheriff. Oregon City was designated as the capital and the first session of the provisional legislature was held there in a carpenter shop. Among the members was a man from Iowa, who had brought
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with him a copy of the laws of that state, which were adopted "so far as they might be suitable or applicable."
This provisional government lasted for about five years, though it was modi- fied in 1846 by abolishing the executive board and substituting therefor a governor. George Abernathy was chosen governor under the new arrangement. He has been described as "a brave, intelligent, farseeing and honorable man," and under his administration the settlers received more consideration from their English neighbors than before. After about two years it was decided to send Joseph L. Meek as a special delegate to Washington to present the Oregon situation to the President and Congress and endeavor to persuade them to do something for the people of the Northwest by organizing a territorial govern- ment, or at least giving them some protection.
Meek left Oregon City on March 4, 1848, accompanied by eight men who were tired of the hardships of the frontier and were returning to their former homes. Two of these men stopped at Fort Boise and two others on the Bear River, but the other five pursued their journey. After meeting and overcoming many difficulties, Meek arrived at Washington in the latter part of May. It is said that he was a cousin to Mrs. Polk, which relationship aided him to secure an audience with the President. At any rate, he lost no time in calling upon Mr. Polk, to whom he presented the documents from Governor Abernathy and the Provisional Legislature. The boundary question had been adjusted by the treaty of June 15, 1846, and the massacre of Dr. Marcus Whitman and fourteen others at the Waiilatpu Mission by the Cayuse Indians in November, 1847, had awak- ened a general demand for the Government to take some measures for the pro- tection of the Oregon settlers.
Mr. Meek therefore found President Polk in a receptive mood. In a special message to Congress on May 29, 1848, he recommended the passage of an act to provide a territorial government for the Northwest. In response to this message Congress passed the act creating the Territory of Oregon. The act was approved on August 14, 1848, by President Polk, who appointed Gen. Joseph Lane as governor and Joseph L. Meek as United States marshal. The new territory included the present states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and that part of Wyoming west of the Continental Divide and north of the forty-second parallel of latitude.
On March 3, 1853, President Millard Fillmore approved the act of Congress creating the Territory of Washington, which included all that portion of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains and north of the forty-second par- allel of latitude, except the present State of Oregon. The territory now con- stituting the State of Idaho became by this act a part of the Territory of Wash- ington and remained so for exactly ten years, or until March 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln affixed his signature to the bill "to provide a tem- porary government for the Territory of Idaho," which is as follows:
THE ORGANIC ACT
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, that all that part of the territory of the United States included within the following limits, to wit: Beginning at a point in the middle channel of the Snake River where the northern boundary of Oregon
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THE FIRST CAPITOL OF THE TERRITORY OF IDAHO
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intersects the same; then follow down the said channel of Snake River to a point opposite the mouth of the Kooskooskia, or Clearwater River; thence due north to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude; thence -east along said parallel to the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west of Washington; thence south along said degree of longitude to the northern boundary of Colorado Territory ; thence west along said boundary to the thirty-third degree of longitude west of Wash- ington ; thence north along said degree to the forty-second parallel of latitude; thence west along said parallel to the eastern boundary of the State of Oregon ; thence north along said boundary to the place of beginning. And the same is hereby created into a temporary government, by the name of the Territory of Idaho: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to inhibit the Government of the United States from dividing said territory or changing its boundaries in such manner and at such time as Congress shall deem con- venient and proper, or from attaching any portion of said territory to any other state or territory of the United States: Provided, further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair the rights of persons or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so long as such right shall re- main inextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or include any territory, which, by treaty with the Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or juris- diction of any state or territory; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the Territory of Idaho, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the President of the United States to be in- cluded within said territory, or to affect the authority of the Government of the United States, to make any regulations respecting such Indians, their lands, property, or other rights, by treaty, law, or otherwise, which it would have been competent for the Government to make if this act had never been passed.
"Section 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and au- thority in and over said Territory of Idaho shall be vested in a governor, who shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States. The governor shall reside within said territory, and shall be commander-in-chief of the militia and superintendent of Indian affairs thereof. He may grant pardons and respites for offenses against the laws of said territory, and re- prieve for offenses against the laws of the United States until the decision of the President of the United States can be made known thereof ; he shall com- mission all officers who shall be appointed to office under the laws of said ter- ritory, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
"Section 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a secretary of said territory, who shall reside therein, and shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed by the President of the United States; he shall record and preserve all laws and proceedings of the legislative assembly hereinafter constituted, and all the acts and proceedings of the governor in his executive department ; he shall transmit one copy of the laws and journals of the legis- lative assembly within thirty days after the end of each session, and one copy of the executive proceedings and official correspondence semi-annually, on the first days of January and July in each year, to the President of the United States, and two copies of the laws to the president of the senate and to the
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speaker of the house of representatives for the use of Congress; and in case of death, removal, resignation, or absence of the governor from the territory, the secretary shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to execute and perform all the powers and duties of the governor during such vacancy or ab- sence, or until another governor shall be duly appointed and qualified to fill such vacancy.
"Section 4. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power and au- thority of said territory shall be vested in the governor and legislative assembly. The legislative assembly shall consist of a council and house of representatives. The council shall consist of seven members having the qualifications of voters as hereinafter prescribed, whose term of service shall continue two years. The house of representatives shall at its first session, consist of thirteen members possessing the same qualifications as prescribed for the members of the council, and whose term of service shall continue one year. The number of representa- tives may be increased by the legislative assembly, from time to time, to twenty- six, in proportion to the increase of qualified voters; and the council, in like manner, to thirteen. An apportionment shall be made as nearly equal as prac- ticable among the several counties or districts for the election of the council and representatives, giving to each section of the territory representation in the ratio of its qualified voters as nearly as may be. And the members of the council and of the house of representatives shall reside in, and be inhabitants of, the district or county, or counties, for which they may be elected respectively. Previous to the first election, the governor shall cause a census or enumeration of the inhabitants and qualified voters of the several counties and districts of the territory to be taken by such persons and in such mode as the governor shall designate and appoint, and the persons so appointed shall receive a rea- sonable compensation therefor. And the first election shall be held at such time and places, and may be conducted in such manner both as to the persons who shall superintend such election and the returns thereof, as the governor shall appoint and direct; and he shall at the same time declare the number of mem- bers of the council and house of representatives to which each of the counties or districts shall be entitled under this act. The persons having the highest number of legal votes in each of said council districts for members of the council shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected to the council and the persons having the highest number of legal votes for the house of repre- sentatives shall be declared by the governor to be duly elected members of said house: 'Provided, That in case two or more persons voted for shall have an equal number of votes, and in case a vacancy shall otherwise occur in either branch of the legislative assembly, the governor shall order a new election; and the persons thus elected to the legislative assembly shall meet at such place and on such day as the governor shall appoint; but thereafter the time, place and manner of holding and conducting all elections by the people and the appor- tioning the representation in the several counties or districts to the council and house of representatives, according to the number of qualified voters, shall be prescribed by law as well as the day of the commencement of the regular ses- sions of the legislative assembly: Provided, That no session in any one year shall exceed the term of forty days, except the first session, which may continue sixty days.
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"Section 5. And be it further enacted, That every free white male inhabitant above the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been an actual resident of said territory at the time of the pasasge of this act, shall be entitled to vote at the first election, and shall be eligible to any office within the said territory; but the qualifications of voters, and of holding office, at all subsequent elec- tions, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the legislative assembly.
"Section 6. And be it further enacted, That the legislative power of the territory shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of this act; but no law shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil; no tax shall be im- posed upon the property of the United States, nor shall the lands or other prop- erty of non-residents be taxed higher than the lands or other property of resi- dents. Every bill which shall have passed the council and house of represen- tatives of the said territory shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the territory; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be deter- mined by yeas and nays, to be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the assembly, by adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not be a law: Provided, That whereas slavery is prohibited in said territory by an act of Congress of June nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize or permit its existence therein.
"Section 7. And be it further enacted, That all township, district and county officers, not herein otherwise provided for, shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, in such manner as shall be provided by the governor and legislative assembly of the Territory of Idaho. The governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council, appoint all officers not herein otherwise provided for; and in the first instance the governor alone may appoint all said officers, who shall hold their offices until the end of the first session of the legislative assembly, and shall lay off the necessary districts for members of the council and house of representatives, and all other officers.
"Section 8. And be it further enacted, That no member of the legislative assembly shall hold or be appointed to any office which shall have been created, or the salary or emoluments of which shall have been increased, while he was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year after the expiration of such term; but this restriction shall not be applicable to mem- bers of the first legislative assembly; and no person holding a commission or appointment under the United States, except postmasters, shall be a member of the legislative assembly, or shall hold any office under the government of said territory.
"Section 9. And be it further enacted, That the judicial power of said ter-
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ritory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, District courts, Probate courts, and justices of the peace. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and who shall hold a term at the seat of government of said territory annually and they shall hold their offices during the period of four years, and until their suc- cessors shall be appointed and qualified. The said territory shall be divided into three judicial districts, and a District Court shall be held in each of said districts by one of the justices of the Supreme Court at such times and places as may be prescribed by law; and the said judges shall, after their appointments, respec- tively, reside in the districts which shall be assigned them The jurisdiction of the several courts herein provided for, both appellate and original, and that of the probate courts and justices of the peace, shall be limited by law: Pro- vided, That justices of the peace shall have no jurisdiction of any matter in controversy when the title or boundaries of any land may be in dispute, or where the debt or sum claimed shall exceed one hundred dollars; and the said Su- preme and District courts, respectively, shall possess chancery as well as common law jurisdiction. Each district court, or the judge thereof, shall appoint its clerk, who shall also be the register in chancery, and shall keep his office at the place where the court may be held. Writs of error, bills of exceptions, and appeals shall be allowed in all cases from the final decisions of said District courts to the Supreme Court, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. The Supreme Court, or justices thereof, shall appoint its own clerk, and every clerk shall hold his office at the pleasure of the court for which he shall have been appointed. Writs of error and appeals from the final decisions of said Supreme Court shall be allowed, and may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, in the same manner and under the same regulations as from the Circuit Court of the United States, where the value of the property of the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party, or other competent witnesses, shall exceed one thousand dollars, ex- cept that a writ of error or appeal shall be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States from the decision of the said Supreme Court created by this act, or of any judge thereof, upon any writs of habeas corpus involving the question of personal freedom. And each of the said District courts shall have and ex- ercise the same jurisdiction, in all cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States, as is vested in the Circuit and District courts of the United States; and the first six days of every term of said courts, or so much thereof as shall be necessary, shall be appropriated to the trial of causes arising under said Constitution and laws; and writs of error and appeal in all such cases shall be made to the Supreme Court of said territory, the same as in other cases. The said clerks shall receive, in all such cases, the same fees which the clerks of the District courts of Washington Territory now receive for similar services.
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