The Coolidge examiner., 1934-08-10


~ ~ gathered around a tail flagstaff.
- ~ Hunters and trappers whose
- greasy. snoke-besr.'ned buck
~, skins tell ~ a hundred camp
arcs In the grea; West. rub
elbows with men whose Earh Eespeak the East.
Ia the murmur % talk the nasal twsns % the
pvwn East Yankee rises sharply above the
grurer tones of the frontlersmen.
Apart from the others stand two young fellows
destined Tor future fsme as men q science. one
Is Thomas Nu,iall Cor NuthaIn. botansi fresh
from Harvard college. and the other Is J. X
Townsend o. Philadelphia. physician aud orui-
biologist As they talk 70 a third man. scarcely
older than themselves their deferential manner
toward him stamps hlm the leader ~ this
varied company. And be is. Tor this Is Capt
Nathaniel J. wyeih. founder of the Columbia
River Fishing and Trading company" young
Boston business man. but already a veteran ot
westward travel
Now wyeth steps forward 10 the foot of the
flagstaff In bis hand be holds folded flag lie
attaches Il 20 the hayard and as Il rises TO the
peak the roaring Of muskc;s and the popping os
pistols mingle with the whining crack OF long
rifles As The banner rlpplcs out Ia the sun
shine Ia the red, white and blue glory % the
Stars and Stripes a mighty shout goes up from
the assembled company
Thus was another wilderness outpost esiab
lished and. although this shouting throng may
not realize u now. the curtain has been rung
up on another act In the epic drama which ls
r. BE- called The Winning of the West"
Two months later Wyeth "a 10 write "a an
uncle back East. saying: Il have built fort on
the Snake River. which have named Tor; Han
from the oldest gentleman IN the concern. Mr.
Henry Hail We manufactured a magnificent Gag
from some unbleached sheeting little red ian.
mel and a Few blue patches. saluted Il with dam
aged powder and vet Il IN vilalnous alcohol !:
and after all, assure you. Il makes 4 very
respectable appearance amid the drY and desc
late regions % central America. It's bas,ions
stand terror 20 the sknlklng Indian and
beacon o. safety 20 the fugitive hunter. II is
manned By l. men and has constantly loaded
In the basilous 100 guns and rifles These bas-
uons command both the Inside aud outside of
the fort. After building this fort I sent messen-
gers 20 the ueighboring nations 10 induce them
10 come TO trade"
August . 1894 The modern city os Pocatello
Idaho ls In gala array. Crowds surge through
its streets Flags are flying. Bands are biarlng
There are parades. floats. pageants. speeches.
For today Is the beginning of the fonr-day cele-
bration ~ the event which took place Just a
hundred years ago-the founding q, the cost
that was "decreed by fate TO be centrifugal
point of trade commerce and recuperatlon" Such
Is the characterization % this post by Jennie
Broushton Brown. whose splendid Fort Han Oh
the oregon Trail" vas published two years ago
by the Caxton Printers Ltd. OF Caldwell Idaho
In the years that followed Fort Hall bea-
con of safety not only 70 'the fugitive hunter
bat 20 many a weary emleraui over the Oregon
Trail which ran beneath It's walls: IL was
port of cali for nearly every wayfarer-trapper.
trader missionary. explorer. guide and army OF.
hcer-whose name looms lsrge In the early his
tory of the West: Il was to have a stirring part
in the later stagecoach and freiShting days: and
IL was n center OF activity In more than one
Indian war when the red man was making his
last desperate stand against the white man
The founder OF Fort Han was Nathaniel ]
Wyeth. Born In Cambridge Mass. January 2e
1902. OF distinguished ancestry This mother was
a relative OF John Hancock). wyeth was intended
for Harvard college OF which both his father
and oldest brother were graduates. But he was
impatient 10 begin business career and de-
clined 10 90 10 college.
BY the time ne was thirty years old he had
made modest success In his home community
managing farm and engaging in the Ice trade
which brought In an annual income OF some
$500. Then. influenced by the writings Of Hall
]. Kelley founder of the Oregon Colonization
Society" wyeth determined to organize trad
inS company 10 exploit the rich natural resources
OF the Columbia river region In the Pacific
Northwest His plan was 10 lead an overland
expedition 20 the Oregon country and establish
trading posts which were TO be supplied by ships
that were TO sail around Cape Horn to the head
OF navigation on the Columbia and from there
10 bring back the furs and salmon collected at
the posts
on March IL, 1882, the expedition set out
But although they were lucky at Independence
No. 10 fall In with Milton Sublette OF the Rocky
OF trappers and traders Into the mountains
misfortune dogged the footsteps OF the eastern
"tenderfeet-" First some OF Wyeth's men grew
fainthearted and turned back. Then they were
attacked by the fierce Blackfeet Indians and lost
three men killed and eight badly wounded