The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-25
IN IDAHO.
A Pen Picture Of Our
NeighbOr.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
1t Had the First Printing Office
on the Pacific Coast.
THE OLD, RICH PLACER DIGGINGS.
Mines and Mining-Her Timber, Agricultural
and Grazing Lands Schools, Railways,
Stock, Public Buildings, Etc.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
1t Had the First Printing Office
on the Pacific Coast.
THE OLD, RICH PLACER DIGGINGs.
Mines and Mining-Her Timber, Agricultural
and Grazing Lands-SchOOls, Railways,
Stock, Public Buildings, Etc.
BY GEORGE W. BRIZEE.

The territory of Idaho was created by
act of Congress of March 3, 1868, from parts
of Dakota, Nebraska and Washington ter
ritories. AS originally constituted it EN-
braced 1861 square miles, including all
the present territory of Montana and a
large portion of Wyoming. In 1868 it was
reduced to its present dimensions, ex-
tending from the British possessions on the
north to Utah and Nevada on the south;
from Montana and Wyoming on the east to
Oregon and Washington on the west, hav-
ing length from north to south of 40
miles, and width from east to west vary
ing from sixty to two hundred and fifty
seven miles.
Hon. James G.. Blaine, in his "Twenty
Years in Congress-" has the following to
say of the manner in which the United
States became possessed of the territory
out of which Idaho was founded: 1.-The
Louisiana purchase did net extend beyond
the main range of the Rocky mountains,
and our title to that large area which is in
Guided in the state of Oregon and in the
territories of Washington and Idaho rests
upon different foundation, or rather upon
a series of claims, each of which was strong
under the law of nations. We claimed it
first by right of original discovery of the
Columbia river by an American navigator
in 1892; second, by an original explora-
ton in 1905; third, by original settlement
in 1S10-by the enterprising company of
which John Jacob Astor was the head; and
lastly and principally, by the transfer of the
Spanish title in 1919, many years after the
7 r.
is not. however, probable that we should
have been able to maintain our title to Ore
gon if we had not secured the intervening
country. 1t was certainly our purchase of
Louisiana that enabled US to secure the
Spanish title to the shores of the Pacific,
and without that title we could hardly have
maintained our claim. AS against England
our title seemed to US to be perfect; but as
against Spain our case was not so strong.
The purchase of Louisiana may, therefore,
be fairly said to have carried with it and
secured to US our possession of Oregon"
A great deal of dispute has arisen with
regard to the origin of the word Idaho.
Joaquin Miller, in his ambition to connect
his name with the early history of the ter
ritory and make it historic as well as con-
nected with western literature. gives the |
following account which seems to bear
upon its face great deal of the imprint of |
imagination II was riding pony express
at the time rumors reached US through the |
Nez Perez Indians that gold was to be |
found on the head waters and tributaries of
the Salmon river. 1 had lived with the In
dams and Colonel Craig, who had spent
Of u 70 FOL ya1
with me about possible discoveries in the
mountains to the right as we rode to Orc
Fine, and of what the Indians said Of the
then unknown region. Gallop your horse,
as have hundred times, against the ris-
ing sun. AS you climb the Sweetwater
mountains far away to the right, you will
see the name of Idaho written on the
mountain top-at least you will see pecu-
liar and beautiful light at sunrise-a sort of
diadem on two grand clusters of mountains
that bear away under the clouds fifty miles
distant. called Colonel Craig's attention
to this peculiar and beautifully arched
light That, said he, is what the In
dams call E-dah-hoe, which means
the light, or diadem on the line
of the mountains. That was the first time
/ ever heard the name. Later, IN Sep
TENDER, 'G1, when 1 rode into the newly
camp to establish an express
office, 1 took with me an Indian from Lap
wal. We followed an Indian trail, crossed
Craig's mountains, then Camas Prairie and
had all the time E-dah-hoe mount for our
objective point. On my return to Lewis
ton wrote letter containing brief ac
count of our trip and of the mines and it was
published in one of the Oregon papers,
which one l have now forgotten. In that
account often mentioned E dah-hoe, but
spell it Idaho, leaving The pronunciation
by my diacritial signs; so that,
pc haps may have b en- the first to give it