The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-05-15
HOW I. c. ELLIOTT
GETS His FACTS
ON WESTERN HIS
TORY CONDUCTS CONTINUOUS
AND CAREFUL RESEARCH

t. G. Elliott arrived in Moscow this
morning from Walla Walla and spoke
at ten o'clock before the classes in
northwest and Idaho history on char
acters who will be represented in the
coming all-university historical page
ant, which will be given on MacLean
field, June 9. At four o'clock this
afternoon he is speaking before an
assemblage at the " U hut, illustrat
ing his talk with pictures pOrtraying
scenes of the earliest days in Idaho.
Mr.. Elliott is one of Walla Walla's
successful pioneer business men, and
while he devotes much time to his
business, he also devoes no little time
to historical research, early pioneer
history of the northwest states being
what he terms his hobby. He is
strongly in favor of such a pageant
as will be staged at the University
of Idaho, and which will be true to
the scenes and incidents which it will
depict, but he is opposed to pageantry
being commercialized, as, he states, is
being done at some places.
When asked by Star Mirror re-
preventative how he secured informa-
ton regarding the earliest pioneers
history of the northwest, which has
caused him to be recognized as one
of the greatest, if not the greatest au-
thority on early day pioneer history
in the west, Mr.. Elliott stated that
he gained his information through re-
search and reading records which the
general public did not know existed.
For instance, David Thompson, who
will be one of the characters depicted
in the pageant, kept daily journal,
the original manuscript of which Is
on file in Toronto, Canada. Mr.. Ell
lott made trip to Toronto and copied
this journal, which gives much infor-
nation in itself. Mr. Elliott keeps
constant lookout for early day litera
ture of any kind, and has been able
to secure many books from which
valuable early day history is CLEANED.
Mr.. Elliott made a special trip to
the summit of the Rocky Mountains
to stand where Lewis and Clark stood
when the first viewed the great ex-
panse of country west of the Rockies
and has visited, from time to time,
practically every place in the north
west which possesses any historic
significance. Securing data on early
day historical events is, he states,
very much like the work of a detec-
tive agency, clew after clew being
followed in order to obtain tangible
facts. /
Mr.. Elliott holds the man who
makes public unsubstantiated state
ments regarding the history of
the territory west of the Rockies
is held very much in the same
esteem in which Theodore Roose-
welt held the nature faker. He writes
articles for the Oregon Quarterly and
the Washington Quarterly, historical
journals, which deal only with sub
stantiated historical matter
Takes Jab at PuIenan-Moscow Road
Mr.. Elliott who, during his short
stay in Moscow is guest at the home
of Professor and Mrs. G. ]. Brosnan,
stated that he found the roads in ex-
cellent condition between Wa1la Walla
and Pullman, but found the going bad
between Pullman and Moscow. He
said he could not understand why
there is not a good highway between
the two towns, with traffic as heavy
as it would naturally be.