The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1918-12-13
eRosNAN's HISTORY or IDAHO


By John e. Rees, Editor Pioneer De-
partment of The Idaho Recorder.
Charles Scribners' Sons have Just
Published a history of Idaho, book
of 237 pages. written by Prof. c. J.
Brosnan, Superintendent of Public
Schools of Nampa. Idaho, for eighth
grade school work. This is a sp1en-
did work and the best history of the
state, especially for schools, that has
been published to date.
Idaho was part of the Oregon
country and previous historians have
treated her history as secondary. If
at ALL But this state has separate
and typical history of it's own begin
ming back in very early days, forf1t
was upon her soil was erected the
first establishment and the first fort
ever built in the entire Northwest
coast. Many of the former writer's
! of the state have compiled our his
. tory as if it were composed of or
limited to three or four mining
camps. Lemhi county, which is SO
full of pioneer history and which
has had such an influence on the fu-
ture history asd shaping of our state,
has usually been passed over by the
mention of a Mormon fort in the SOS
ana q placer SITlh6 III lie OU D
Mr.. Brosnan's history is succinct
and readable history of the early
growth and development that was
wrought by the pioneer, all unfolded
in an orderly and understandable
treatment, especially of those mat
ters of greatest concern and inter
est. The history of the aboriginies is
such that taken in connection with
The map of the habitats of our lndi-
an tribes which is here presented in
the best form for mental grasp
makes q short but concise statement
of the Indian inhabitants OF our
state The many maps in this book
are eff inestimable value for the
proper understanding of oun advance
and development, especially those
showing Idahos outline from 1S4S tc
1858, being the only means of vivid
ly impressing on the mind the grad
ual shaping of our commonwealth
and giving one the proper insight ol
the manner in which our state came
to be as it is. Many rare, out OF date
and historic pictures of Idaho per
sonages and scenes are reproduced
here and many appearing for th'
first time
My reason for calling attention t
this publication at this time through
these columns is that it is the oni.
history, so far, that gives Lemh
county much consideration at all
Here for the first time in the histor,
of Idaho is Lemhis proper inf1uenc'
on the trend of history given. Her
We are told of Captains Lewis an
Clark, their advent into the Colum
bia river basin via Lemhi: of Sacaga
wea, Lemhis national heroine; O
Captain Bonneville's cantonment o.
Salmon river; of the establishment
of the Mormon fort on the Lemnl
and many incidents of the early III
trapping days Here for the mrs
time appears scene OF historic OF
Fort Lemhi; of the old town of Sa
mon and one of Lemhi's Shoshor
Indians.
There are also a few minor mi
takes to guard against. The Sn.
shoni was the third largest famll
OF Indians in the United States !
The extent of territory occupied an
not numerically" Chief Snagg, .
Ing a nephew of Chief Cameahwai
The friend of Lewis and Clark, w
2 Shoshoni and chief of the Shosh
MS and not of the "Bannacks, nov
ever some Bannacks belonged to an
amalgamated with his tribe. Chl'
snagg was always friendly to II
whites and especially the Mormon
and when they left the Lemhi the
gave to him several hundred bushe
ot wheat. 1t was the renegade ba
BACKS from southern Idaho and ives
srn Montana that attacked and dro'
,he Mormons out of Lemhi. III
Lemhis left for Fort Hall in 1907 al
aot '1909.''
These are but minor mistakes II
t.