Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-02-20
Fall Of Fort WaIIa waIIa.

~ ~ VIZ w w ailds
When the Indian wars of 1864
broke out, Fort Walla Walla fell in
October of that year. at the hands OF
that noted chief, Peu-peu- mox-mox
Messengers were sent to Fort Boise
and Fort Hall to warn them that theil
base OF supplies had fallen into the
hands of the Indians and to abandon
the country. During that winter the
stores of both forts were moved TO the
Flathead post, north of Missoula
Mont, which continued to do business
, until 1872. United States troops oc-
cupied Fort Hall for a time but dur
Ing the Civil war they were moved
| over to Lincoln creek and its glory
was at an end. When the stage line
| was established between Salt Lake and
the mining districts of Montana, a sta
tion was located three miles south OF
! the fort and many of the sun dried
brick of its walls were taken there
and used in those buildings. In
1852. pioneer noted in his journal
that moro than 100 army wagons stood
around the fort rotting down.
Not long since the writer made a pill
grimage to the site OF the old fort Ar
the crossing Of the stream where the
stage station once stood, he found a
monument lying in the grass, having
fallen from its base There was no
inscription to indicate for what pur-
pose the same had been placed there.
or by whom. The country on the east
side of the river is included in the
Fort Hall Indian reservation and.
there being not house in the valley.
fa H..
the same as it was on the day that
Jason Lee preached his sermon The
grove is still there and it seemed an
easy matter to locate the place where
he stood, though of course this was n
matter of Interesting conjecture.
The outlines of the fort are as plain
as when the structure stood. Even
the we'll on the inside. near the south
west corner of the Enclosure. is st,ll
about eight feet deep, and the position
OF the bastions, the gates and the
quarters are plainly dlscernible. They
were hidden, however, by a growth OF
tan grass reaching to ones shoulders
The old trail marks and camping
places are easily located, but our tVo
indian guides We're unable to give us
any information as to tho location of
the burial ground where sleep SO many
OF our pioneers. The solitude of the
place could have been no more i'm
pressive the day that Mr. Wyeth shot
the buffalo. when the nearest settle
ment was Fort Bellevue on the Mis-
souri, river, than IL was on that July
day last summer when the writer Wis
tied the historic spot
To the south the railroad trains
could be seen bearing the burdens of
mighty commerce and. likewise
garnering for their owners a revenue
sufhcient, We trust, for the serviceq
rendered cities have sprung up as bv
magic, and b-sy and a prosperous
people are now reaping the harvest
so~n by those who have gone before
But the historic ground where Wvetb
unfuried the flag OF Idaho. and where
Jason Lee delivered the message. and
where stood the post that succored the
tired and halting pioneers who won
and left us our heritage. and made IL
possible for railroads to build. and
cities to grow and fortunes TO accumu-
late. is forgotten and seen no more. II
seems heartless fate, vet but anotb-
or Illustration OF the survival of the
flttest' shadow that follows US all
-
Store your household goods with
ar