The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-07-15
THE STATE OF IDAHO.
Last in the Chain Along the
North Frontier.
GEM OF THE MOUNTAINS.
Monssns snd wyonsfux Were Formed Of
EIbs Taken From Her Side
HiIIs Full Of Gold.
gt Louis GIobe-Democrat.

81. Louis Globe Democrat
With the admission of Idaho the chain
of states from ocean to ocean Is forged.
The state-making of last year, grand as it
was, did not com pIete the connection. 1t
left q tier OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Utah and
Misunderstanding from Mexico TO the
British dominions. Idaho's statehood Ills
In the narrow gap between Montana and
Washington. Seem of the Mountains" is
said to Be the meaning Of Idaho. 1t Is o
queer shaped gem. All around are states
blocked out in squares or paralielograms.
But Idaho, with great base. has gradu-
ally narrowing peak which reaches almost
. point where the British dominion's line
cuts 1t of. The new states outline may be
generally described as that of rightangied
triangle with VERY ragged hypothenuse.
The north and south lines Is 40 miles, the
width Is 306 miles along the southern base
and tapefs to A miles at the northern ex-
tremity.
1t is little rough on Idaho that, having
given generously to form other territories.
she has had to wait for statehood until
after two of her offsprings had been adj
UiGi6Q. w Aclf tnC SCAIiVOAy va 41SAS0 W 80
created in 1863 the boundaries embraced
325, 600 square mics. Montana and Wyon-
ing we're taken out in large part several
years later. Idaho has been pared down
until she now has 81, 294 square miles, about
one-fourth of the original area.
Idaho has been described as the coun-
try
where land il a. cheap IS the wind that blows,
And gold In every rfvulet h0wa
This IS truth as well as poetry. A traveller
crossing the sage brush plains OF the Snake
river will accumulate more free real estate
than anywhere else in the United States.
As for the gold 1t is on record. Idaho Is
divided into eighteen counties Fourteen
OF them have added in respectable degree
TO the mineral wealth of the country. Each
of the fourteen is at pretent gold pro-
Queer. Twelve of the fourteen have silver
mines. The new state comes in with a
record of having yielded since 1862 $685.
000. 600 worth OF valuable metals. The gold
and silver taken out of Idaho mines last
year was over $40. 900 000-neariy $l1 .000,-
600. The product would have bee 5000, :
600 greater but for the failure of the usual
water supply. A single county produced
s., 500 900 worth of lead.
The heart of Idaho is as yet an undis-
covered country. Across the southern
part of the state from east to west the Ore
gon Short Line of the Union Pacific fol-
lows the serpentine course OF the Snake
river. The Northern Pacific traverses the
Panhandle away up toward the British
line. The Utah Northern connects Utah
and Montana by north and south route
through the eastern part of the new state.
Thus Southern. Northern and Eastern
Idaho have railroads. Central Idaho Is an
unknown country A little west of the
center is q mountainous, broken region
which can only be reached by pack ami
mails. It has not even Q wagon road.
There the Idaho people believe ;; is located ted
years place their state at the head
Of al the gold and silver producing
states. 1t Is no exaggeration to say that
gold in every r1vulet flows" in thst part
OF Idaho. Wherever the prospector has
penetrated he has found "the color" The
Salmon and its branches drain the north
side Of this strong box in the mountains. I"
On the east of it is Wood river and on the
south the Snake. In the gulches of a
single tributary creek of the Salmon
$4,000 600 in gold have been washed out
In the Wood river valley there is q mine
lead-bearing silyer-which has yielded
SO, 600 900 in seven years. As for the Snake,
there is gold in the sands of every mile of
It's sinuous length-enough, as the Idaho
people are fond of saying, to pay the
uAGOu6k ucDts Any yCb Onty StS OOi0C1S
of the great treasure field have been
worked.
ssThe largest and least known scope of
mineral country on the Pacific slope" is
the way this undeveloped portion of Idaho
has been described. Nearly in the center
OF It Is great plateau known as the Camas
prairie. The name is taken from q nour-
ishing root, kind of wild prairie potato,
which grows in profusion. All about the
Camas prairie ale the mountains over
which q wagon has never passed. The
Idaho delegate came to Washington several
years ago with proposition that the gen.
eral government should authorize the terri
tory TO appropriate 600 to construct a
wagon road across this region. The difficult
ties TO be surmounted were admittedly be-
You'd the peoples means to overcome. This
great barrier actually cuts off Northern
Idaho from Southern Idaho. There is no
INSTRUMENTATION. When the Panhandle
senators and representatives 60 to Boise,
the capital they made long detour to the
west through Washington and Oregon.
Or, If they prefer, they travel eastward
nearly half way through Montana,
then southwark through Idaho and west
the Panhandle people despaired OF ever
being more neighborly with the rest OF
Idaho. They got up movement to annex
themselves to Washington or Montana,
they didn't care much which. They came
to congress with memorial setting forth
that nature had evidedtly never intended
the Panhandle to be part of Idaho. A
bill was introduced 10 chop. up the whole
territory and apportion it out TO Washing
ton. Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. But
the territorial pride became aroused Since
the statehood movement set in there has
been no more talk of ACKNOWLEDGMENT and
humiliation OF Idaho.
As early as the sixties the gold-washers
skinned around the edges of the treasure
field. Fabulous stories are told of what
was done along the Salmon river. There
are localities where by means of wing dams
rs much as $1,000 has been taken out in
twenty-four hours. The famous placers of
Orc Fine, Florence and the Salmon river
are still worked TO some extent. But il is
from 100 to $50 miles to the base
of supplies. Everything must be brought
in ON pack animals, which travel Ten
miles day. Freight is from five
cents to fifteen cents a pound. A
mining country which can stand such dis
advantages win be an Ell Dorado when the
railroads penetrate 1t. Idaho county. in
which the wild mountainous region is
chiefly embraced, turned out $4,000 in
gold dust last year. With railroad facli-
ties. such as Colorado has got. there
would be 200 gold hunters where there
are 1900 today in this single county, and
the output would startle the nation. In
is nothing uncommon TO see quartz spec
linens from this region which go S.. 600 to
the ton.