Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-01-10
GOLD IN IDAHO.
'ome Interesting "Reminiscences OF the
Discovery Of the Precious Metal.

Now that the President has signed
The bill admitting Idado into the
Union, The fOrty-fourth star in our
glorious constellation of States. il may
not be out Of place for n who. If he
lid not really give the name to this new
State. first put that name in print, to
record a page or two of its early
history. and recall an incident that
still makes his nerves Jingle as he tells
il.
Gold was first found. in that vast and
lrackless region now forming the new
States of Washington, Idaho, and
Montana, in the spring of 1860, by a
small party Of prospectors led by Cap
tain Pierce on the spot where Pierce
CITY uu4Yr stands.
The writer, although not then of age.
had read law aud been admitted TO
practice under Judge Geo. II. Williams,
afterwards President Grants Attorney
General. And when news of the dis
covery Of gold reached Oregon, /
gathered up n law-book and two
''six-shooters,n and set out on a ride
Of many hundred miles through the
mountains for the new placers.
But AS gold was not plenty. and there
was no use for the law-book. because
there was no law; and as there was an
opening for a good and handy horse
man to carry letters and money to and
from the new mines, the writer and a
young man by the name of Mossman
soon had nailed up ove the door Of the
only store as yet in all that wild region,
"A sign which read: ''Mossman and
Miller's Express"
1t was two hundred miles to the
nearest post-ofice at Walla Walla.
The lover of pretty names will easily
trace this Walla Walla back to its
French settlers Void! Volta"
No man can look down from the en-
vironment of mountains on this sweet
valley, with its beautiful city in the
center, whose many flashing little
rivers run together and make it for
ever green and glorious to see, without
iustinctiyely crying out Voita! Pla!
1t is another Damascus, only it is
broader Of girth and far, far more
beautiful. In this ride of two hundred
miles there was but one town, Lewiston.
Get your man now. and as you follow
the story Of the ride, fix the geography
of this new empire in your minds, for
it viii be a grand land.
Lewiston, you observe. is at the head
of navigation on the ''S~hoshonee" or
Snake River. by way of the Columbia
River. This word Shoshonee means
snake. fancy You can almost hear
the rattle Of the reptile as
you speak this Indian word. The ac-
cent, as in nearly all Indian names,
such as Dakota, Iowa, and so on, is on
the middle syllable. In reading Long
fellows poems you will find he has
preserved the proper pronunciation of
Omaha by putting the accent where it
belongs. And more than once this
learned, knan reminded me that Idaho
must be pronounced 10 the same soft
and liquid fashion: / da no.
In these long. long rides we changed
horses from five to ten times daily. and
we rode at a desperate speed. We
used Indian ponies oesy, and usually
rode without escort, with pistols ready
at hand. Indians were numerous, but
our fear was not of them. but of white
men. In fact, the Indians were by far
the most ~peaceable people we had 10
deal with. They always kept our
stations" that is. the places where
we changed horses and drank a cup of
coffee. These Indians were of the
Nez Perez tribe. 1t may not be gener-
ally known that these noble Indians
were nearly civilized long before the
renowned Chief Joseph (who fought
the whole United States for half a year
not long ago) was ever heard Of
These Indians. under the direction OF
good old Father Spaulding, published
the first newspaper that was issued west
of the Rocky Mountains. They also
printed some portions of the Bible in
their own tongue, including many
Psalms. Keep THESE facts OF history As
well as the geography Of this great
region in mind.
As before stated. we did not find gold
plenty at first, and the Express did not
pay. We two boys worked had. took
many desperate risks, and lived almost
literally on horseback, with little food
and with less sleep for the first few
months. But suddenly gold was found,
as thick as wheat on a threshing floor.
far away to the east of a big black
mountain which the Indians called
.'I-dah-ho," which literally means.
'mountain where light comes" ]
happened to be 10 Lewiston on my way
to Pierce City with the Express. when
the ragged and sunburnt leader of the
party that had made the discovery be-
yond the Black Mountain came ia. He
took me into his confidence. / sent an
Indian on with my Express; and
branching of a hundred miles to the
southeast reached the new mines. took
up ''claims." and opened an Express
Office before a dozen people knew OF
the discovery which was to give State
after State to the Union. You will find
the plaeSon the old maps. and some
of the new ones. marked "Millers-
burgh." But there is no town there
now.
The gold lay almost in the grass
roots. in the shallow surface. like
grains of wheat. 1t was n high bleak
place. densely wooded aud Intensely
cold as winter came on. Greater dis
coveries lay further on and In kindlier
chimes. and broad valleys and rich
cities receive you there now. But our
story is OF the snow and the stony
sleeps Of Mount I-dah-ho.
Returning to Lewiston with saddle
bags nearly fully Of gold. I wrote the
first published account of the d,scovs
cry; and the new mines were naturally
called in that publication. as they were
called by all that excited mass Of peol
pie from Lewiston on their way 10 the
mines beyond the Black Mountain. the
'.ldahho Mines" The name. however.
like that Of 0mah-ha. soon lost In the
mouths Of strangers its soft sweet
sound. Joaquin Mailer. IN ST. Nicholas.