The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1907-06-25
On the Trail of
the Idaho Pioneers.
FOR THE MESSENGER. ]
VIM. X. FLENNIKEN.

ed out early into the woody wild
west" as it was called in song.
He was ''kid" s or 9 years old
when he came first to the west
side of the Rockies.
Mr.. Flenniken was born Oct.
%, 184S, in Uniontown, Fayette
county, Penn, on the National
Turnpike, at west base of the AL
leghenies, in the Monongahela
valley, twelve miles from Con-
nellsville and 60 miles from Pitts
burg. He is son of the Hon.
Robert P. Flenniken, who rep
resented that district in Con-
gress; was a prominent Demo
cratic politician and attorney and
was generally conceded to be a
wheel horse that the party could
not well get along without. He
was also recognized as a diplo-
mat and was Minister to Den
mark under President Polk, and
held other important govern
mental positions of trust.
(The writer of these historical
romances was cast at an iron fur
mace in the same part of the AL
leghenies, but long before the
subject of this sketch come to the
surface, and has once touched
the highest point on the Temple
of Fame that can be reached by
mortal man or woman, to-wit-
the Idaho Legislature
In 1857 the elder Flenniken
was appointed U. S. Judge of the
Territory of Utah, which then
included what is now Nevada,
and James Buchanan was Presi-
dent. The father brought the
kid" along for company or most
likely to keep him out of mis-
chief and give the folks at home
a rest. The boy was left in Salt
Lake City when the Judge was
on his professional tours. Re-
mained three years enough
to form taste for western life,
and returned later.
| In the party that crossed the
plains to Salt Lake with Judge
Flenniken were U. S. Marshal
Henry Grice and Capt. Burton,
the latter on a journey of obser-
walton and to write a book on
Utah and the West, and which
| he did-a work that had a great
sale and was accepted as author
ity both in Europe and the Uni
ted States. He was British
officer.
Returning home with his father
young Flcnniken came West a
few years later. The party out
fitted at the Missouri river and
went through to Colorado with
pack and saddle train After do.
ing Colorado to his satisfaction,
our youthful pioneer returned to
Utah for a year; thence horse.
back to Nevada; was there when
it became a State; followed min
ing and prospecting and sold out
his discoveries and moved on fur.
ther west For while he was
interested in placer mines at the
, Rich Bar mines on Feather Riv'
er; thence back to Nevada; in
1876 the trailer" caught sight
of him again; this time he was
at BoiseS next time he comes tC
the surface was at the Atlanta
mines; he appeared to be hitting
only the high places; then lost
him again during the hurrah OF
an Indian outbreak; after while
picked up the trail again but
found it too hot to follow with
comfort; he was scouting and
with a pack train furnishing the
soldiers with supplies and ammu
milton in the Nez Perce war
in company with the Rasin and
Boise boys, Rube Robbins, Mey
ers of Atlanta and others; didn't
: go near enough to catch him
left the trail and took rest.
, After the war he showed uI
: for short time in Boise anC
3 thence to Idaho City; then came
the Bannock war in rs; ther
trailed him toward the Bannoct
camp; was scouting and with ;
supply train for the troops; lef
the trail again but after the wal
struck il in Boise and followed i
to the C9ur d'Alenes; from