The Washington herald., 1907-07-03
By FREDERIC J. HASKTN.

Idaho. the gem Of the mountains. is sew
enteen years old to-day. having been
admitted 70 the Union Of States on July
8 1880 during the administration Of the
learned BENJAMIN Harrison. But two
states in the sisterhOOd arc younger, Wy
sefalng by eight days, and Utah by six
xears, Oklahoma's status still being un-
determined. The Industrial progress Of
idaho has been keeping step with the
prosperity Of the nation. but even now
NTH an area ten times more than Mas
aachusetts. II has a population only half
as great az the city of Boston. On the
siopes Of the Rockies in Idaho there are
areas larger than Connecticut that have
never been surveyed or prospected.
Seventeen-year-old Idaho has had an
eventful history since she became a State.
as well as during the thirty years be-
fore When Hiram Pierce discovered the
placer gold mines of the Clearwater in
1850 host Of gold seekers abandoned
California and Nevada for the new FL
Dorado. Two years later, when the Boise
mines were found, the prospect Of rich
es attracted hosts Of miners, prospectors
adventures, and criminals-many Of them
desiring to escape service In the civil
war These bad men ruled the new min
ing settlements by terror. In Boise alone
there were twenty murders in a few
months during 1864 and nothing could be
done about it,
But the better class Of people drew
many recruits from the East at the close
Of the war and peaceful government was
begun. mining was soon supplemented by
other callings. and IDAHO lived In COM
parative peace. In March, 1868, the Ter
ritory Of Idaho containing all Of what
is now Idaho. Montana. and Wyoming.
was set off by Congress from parts Of
the Territories of Washington. Nebraska,
and DacOtah The capital was set up at
Lewiston. in the northern part Of the
Territory When the bill for the creation
of the Territory passed the House Of
Representatives the name was Mon
tana," but at the suggestion Of Senator
Wilson, Of Massachusetts. II was changed
70 Idaho" II is interesting to note in
this connection that the first measure
for the creation Of the Territory Of Col
Crado provided that IL be named Ida
no, as Idaho Springs was a leading set
uement Of the country. Some other rea-
son prevailed. however. and II was named
for a river which belongs TO other States,
Idaho is the Idaho Of the Indians,
meaning the jeweled mountain tops from
which the sunrise came 10 illumine the
earth. and no other mountains in the
world can claim a better right TO this
poctical designation than the snow-Clad
peaks that mark the eastern border Of
the State Of Idaho. Joaquin Miller tells
the story that when the party led by
Hiram Pierce was approaching the spot
where the first gold was found. an In
dian guide pointed to the mountain to
the east of them and said 'T-dah-o."
Pierce then declared that I-dah-o should
be the name Of the country. George B.
Walker. some time member Of Congress
from Seattle is probably entitled TO the
credit Of having the name preserved as
the designation of one Of the sovereign
States of the American Union.
While the settlement Of Idaho did not
begin until the COS. efforts had been
made long before. The first white settle
ment in the State was made by Nathaniel
J. Wyeth at Fort Hall IN 1894 Two years
later the Presbyterian missionaries. DR..
Marcus Whitman and H. II. Spaulding
came to convert the Indians. Jesuits from
Canada had before attempted TO found
missions. but they were not permanent.
Mormons from Utah made an unsuccess-
ful attempt to found 4 town in the south
ern portion of the State. The rigors Of
the winters. the distance from a base of
supplies and the hostility Of some Of the
Indians made it difficult for any Of these
early settlements 10 prosper. When gold
was found il was a different story.
The last gold excitement In Idaho was
the rush to Thunder Mountain, which
occurred a few years ago. when the COun-
try was electrified by the story Of
mountain Of gold being uncovered in the
wilds In the heart Of an almost mac
cessible region. where the earth is fear
fully ripped and sashed by those awful
upheavals which made mountains and the
dizzy canyons between them, the Caswell
twins, rowing hunters and gold seekers,
stumbled across n place where there was
n leak from the hidden treasure chest Of
Nature. The Caswells were easy-going
chaps. more fond Of chasing grizzlies than
panning creeks, so when their find netted
then S24j worth Of precious metal they
said nothing about 1t. but went back to
their hunting and fishing until the freshet
Of another spring should provide water
with which 10 make easy work Of wash
ing out more gold. For several years the
twins kept their secret. One season they
took out 800, another $500, and finally
washed out 1000 worth Of treasure in n
few weeks time They took $50 from
one pan In twenty minutes.
OF course, all this could not go on with
out eventually creating a stir and the
usual rush to the scene Of such discov-
cries set in. Thunder Mountain is one
Of the most oUt-Of-the-way localities in
the United States. It was 80 miles from
a railroad by the nearest route, which
led over mountains almost as steep as
hOuse-topS. Despite this fact the heart
breaking trail TO the new Golconda be-
came congested with gold-hungry men.
To scale those forbiddlng peaks was
fearful strain on the muscles Of man and
beast, but they went over. At the foot
Of a great rift in the mountains a huge
snowdrift was replaced by the white
topped cabins Of the town Of Roosevelt
Five Idaho towns. all about the same dis
tance from the new camp, entered into
spirited rivalry 10 secure the rich profit
derived from o9rfGftiuer those =rE --are