The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-05-26


History records the name of Hend-
rick Hudson, who found the river
bearing his name; it tells of John
Smith, who explored. the rivers of
Virginia; it praises the indomitable
courage of Joliet and Marquette; it
fingers over the names of Miles
Standish Our writers weave their
names into novel and romance; but
he names of Lewis and Clarke, Of
aptain Grey, of Whitman and
Spaulding, of William Craig and
John HALEY should be painted in
coiors equally glowing. Yet We find
that the citizens of Idaho and the ma
ton at large know practically no.
thing of them. Should this be SO?
Our pioneers endured just as many
hardships as did those of eastern
states. They worried as faithfully and
the state they founded will some day
occupy as important place as do
any of the thirteen original states.
Our pioneers can be- divided into
two classes; the explorers and the
settlers. Among the explorers are: the
party with Lewis and Clarke, Captain
Grey, Captain Bonneville and Nat.
Wyeth. The latter in 1884 built old
Fort Hall, the first trading post es-
tablished in Idaho. A year later old
Fort Boise was established by the
Hudson Bay Trading company These
men were brave and enduring, they
opened the way for others to follow,
but they were not the men that re-
claimed Idaho. Their object was to
gain wealth.. While the purpose of
the settlers was to bring Oregon into
the Union.
The names of Jason Lee, with the
Rev. Marcus Whitman and the Rev.
Spaulding stand out prominently
among the number of men that gave
the life's work to the building up
of this western country. The Rev.
Spaulding worked exclusively in
Boise, and while the others spent
most of their time in Oregon, they
yet blazed the trail for future gen
erations.
To Jason Lee is given the honor
of having preached the first Protest
ant sermon west of the Rocky Mount
aims. And along with these men
should be mentioned Mrs. Spaulding
and Mrs. Whitman These noble wo-
men, the first to come overland to
Oregon, are as deserving of praise as
are their husbands. William Craig,
John HALEY, w. A. Goulder, General
Joseph Perrault and Joseph Meek are
important names on the pioneer list.
The first settlement in Idaho of
which we have any record is the Lap
wal Mission, established in 1886 by
the Rev. Spaulding near the present
site of Lewiston. There he and his
brave wife took up the work of teach
ing the savage Indians the first es-
sentials of civilization.
A little later than the Rev. Spauld-
ing came the Jesuit Fathers, and they
did much good in Northern Idaho.
About 1854 a small colony of Nor
mons settled in the Lemhi country
and there laid the foundation for
Idaho's first irrigation system.
In 1851 the Cayuse Indians became
so troublesome that federal troops
We're sent to the Lapawai Mission,
and it was converted into military
LIST.
From there civilization followed
the gold seekers into the Boise VAL
ley, up through the Salmon River
south again to Fort Hall.
And with that trail as a nucleus Ida
no has grown and flourished until she
is today one of the leading states of
the Union.
To write of the trials of a pioneers
is easy. To understand them is ex-
tremely difficult. We too often think
of the pioneers having only to protect
themselves against the Indians, but
the redmen were only one of the
many foes to be conquered. Only,
those who have experienced a pion-
GERS life can conceive of its hard
ships, its dangers, its heartaches.
Let us start, say from st. Louis,
with company of immigrants bound
for Oregon, and perhaps we may
catch glimpse of what they really
endured. Imagine, if you can, the
severing of home ties. AS the prairie
wagon creeps slowly forward the i'm
migrant realizes that he has seen
home and friends for the last time.
Do I, x,sII n