The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-06-01
Continued from Tuesdays star
MirrOr.l

:
In his fascinating volume, TIL,
/. Fur Hunters of the Far West" pub
lished in 1855, is our main source O
information concerning Idaho from
} 1916 to 1925. One of the charming
J passages in this book describes his de-
, scent of Boise river from it's wild
mountain sources. " We proceeded,
writes Ross, down Reds (the
Boise) river. At the end of three
days toll we got clear out of the
mountains, and into the highly pic
turesque and open country well fur
nished with animals of the chase.
Our first lift of beaver was Ga.
Added to this charming prospect, six
elks and IL small deer coming into
camp at once filled starving and
dissatisfied people with abundance,
and now for the first time during the
last rs days ! witnessed a smile of
content throughout the camp
Alexander Ross returned eastward
and northward through southern Ida
no, reaching F1athead Post, in the
present Montana, in late November,
1924. In April, 1925, he bade final
| farewell to Idaho and departed for the
Red river settlements in the modern
Manitoba, where he made his future
home
To Ross belong the unique honor
of having assisted in the building of
three of the famous forts of old Ore
gon: Fort Astoria, Fort Okanogan,
and Fort Walla Walla. 1t was his
| fortune, too, to have rendered eff
cient service to Astor's Pacific Fur
company, the Northwest and Hudson
Bay companies, three of the famous
fur companies of North America. He
rounded out his busy life to Red river
by serving on the council of Assine-
bois, and filling the office of sheriff
of the Red river settlement In adj
dition to this he wrote The First
Settlers on the Columbia River" and
" The Fur Traders of the Far Vest
two basic source works on our far
western history for which historical
students will ever hold his name in
grateful remembrance. Ross died in
Colony Gardens, now Winnipeg, Mani
toba, October %, 1856, leaving as one
of his heirs, his son, James, who be-
came chief justice of the provisional
government of Canada in 1870
Ogden's Operations
The next Hudson's Bay man to con-
duct a Snake expedition to Idaho was |
Peter Skene Ogden, who managed the |
Snake trade from 1925 to 1880. From
the journal of Alexander Ross we
learn that he started for Idaho from
Flathead Post, Montana, in the win
ter of 1924 with the most formid-
able party that ever set out for the
Snakes" consisting of 25 lodges, two
gentlemen, two interpreters, II men
and lads, 80 guns, 1854 beaver traps,
and 372 horses The story of Og-
denis life and his successful work in
he Snake country are relatively well
A~SI,r IL Ill
could be so eloquent as the series of
'apid promotions that were showered
lpon him by both the Northwest and
iudsons Bay companies. Just be-
ore Ogdens departure for the Snake
in December, 1924, he was {
landed parchment from Hudson's !
Bay House, Fenchurch street, London, |
certifying to his appointment as chief |
raider by the directors of the COM S
any at their meeting in March, 1924. t
'ince Ogden was born in 1894, this {
would mean that at the extraordin- t
rily youthful age of 80 he had won
position of large responsibility with q
is company. The Hudson's Bay ex- c
ress of 1885 brought Ogden another n
archment, announcing his elevation a
} the high position of chief factor tt
T its New Caledonia district, Canada. L
w
hen upon the retirement of DR.. Nc Fl
oughlin he became the ranking chief n
actor on the Columbia.
There is a touch Of pathos in the B
fought that Peter Skene Ogden, son v
{ e Justice of the Court of the
ing's BENCH" Quebec, descendant of
lie Ogdens who founded Elizabeth
,wn, New jersey and Ogdensburg,
ew York, the man who in December,
'48, accomplished the ransom of
ore than so women and children
lrvivors of the Whitman massacre, 81
i'd gave his name to Ogden, Utah, r.
lould sleep in an unmarked grave Sc
Oregon City, with no monument ex- n
,pt a wild rose bush and the glis- b.
ming summit of Mount Hood.
Unearthing Idaho History
Another forceful gentleman :" of
e Great Company" to exploit the
,aver streams of Idaho was John
ork, who succeeded Peter Skene
gden in the dangerous but rich 9
lake district. Like Ogden he left Il
s track along the banks of most of
lr Idaho streams. In 1905 Miss Ag- G
IS C. Laut of New York City, dis
,vered his official journal of the Z
gar 1830-31 in the Hudson's Bay
mpany house, Lime street, London.
an entry of this journal under date Ie
September Z, 1880, he chronicled in
e fact that one of his lieutenants kr
med Alexander Carson, with a com ia
ny of five trappers crossed the no
yer northward to hunt the WAGER be
be Weiser) and Payette rivers and tn
ossed the rivers to some of the
anches of Salmon river" He goes
to describe how his own party
oceeded up Payette river and
W one Of his experienced hunters
d trappers, Francois Payette, who
We his name to Payette river and
: present city of Payette and who wi
IS later clerk and postmaster at Fort ma
Use for several years, was pleased wi
find a horse which the thieying da
axes had stolen from him three at