The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-10-17

made in what is now the northern
part of the state.
The trails in Idaho and other parts
of the northwest had been made by
! the earlier trapperS and traders, who
as gneral thing used the old In
dian trails, also whenever it was pos
sible they made use of the water
ways. These Indian trails traversed
various parts of what was then the
Oregon territory. One was used by Nez
Perez Indians, from the Salmon Ri
yer country until it reached the Lit
| tie Salmon and there went by way of
Meadows into the Weiser country
| One of the most extensive trails ira
| veled by the Indians ran from the
upper Snake river valley to Lost ri
yer, then into Southern Idaho and
from there it extended to the Boise
river, branching out into a number
of sub trails. These, and other In
dian trails used by the Indians on
their hunting trips, or their trading
trips with each other and by their
war parties, were the only thorough
fares existing in the state outside of
the road mentioned
In 1862, when I came into what
is now the state of Idaho there was
not within it's present boundaries
settlement that had been made by
the whites, except the missions es-
tablished by the missionaries on the
Lapwai. There was not in the entire
Snake river valley, comprising two
thirds of the arabic land Of the state,
an acre of ground that had been
turned over by the pillow or planted
to crop. An attempt had been made |
in 1857 by a colony of Mormon peo-
pie to make a settlement in the Lem
hi valley, cent there for that purpose |
by their great leader, but this settle |
ment was abandoned in couple of |
years. No attempt had been made to
cultivate the valleys of the Boise, the
Welser, Payette, or the valleys of the
Snake, or that great expanse of land |
in north Idaho, except the feeble eff
forts that I have stated.
1t was the rumor of gold that
brought them here. In 1860, gold
was discovered by Captain Pierce and
his party on the Orofino creek, in
what is now the Clearwater country
in this state. Some men from WaIla
Walla were attracted to these new
found p1acers and Elks City was foun-
ded. Then gold was found on the
Salmon river and Florence was then
built. The Salmon river mines be-
came the Mecca to which all gold
seekers journeyed the next spring
lie BOISE DdS1n discoveries were
made late in the fall and the story
of their richness had soon spread
over the Pacific coast. Thousands
of adventures, young men who had
almost worked out the p1acers in Cal
ifornia, worked their way into what
is now the northern part of Idaho
Although disappointed in the alrea-
dy found placers, they soon made dis
coveries that attracted a population
that caused the organization of Idaho
territory early in 1868.
Those who came to Idaho in the
early sixties did not come for the
purpose of building homes or estab-
fishing a great community. 1t was
the lure of gold that brought them
here. They expected to locate rich
placer claims, work them out in a .
few years, and thus obtain a compe-
lance with which they would go to
some favorabl locality to enjoy their
fortunes. No idea entered the minds
of the great majority of those who
came in the early days that the fut-
ure would find a great farming COM
munity growing up in these appar-
emily barren and absolutely desolate
valleys.
few fr-seeing men thought diff