Evan E. Filby's Blog: South Fork and More, page 128

General Connor Plans Fort and Town Near the Soda Springs in Idaho

On April 29, 1863, the Deseret News in Salt Lake City reported, “For some time past rumors have been in circulation that is was the intention of Gen. Connor to establish a new military post at or near Soda Springs, in Idaho Territory, this spring, in order to hold the Indians in check.”

The News had not paid a lot of attention to these stories, but now they said, “We have been informed on good authority … that within ten days two companies – one of infantry and one of cavalry – will be detache...

Angry Union Men Blow Up Wardner Mill, Kill One Non-Union Worker [otd 04/29]

On April 29, 1899, a train packed with perhaps a thousand angry union members rumbled along the tracks leading from Burke and Wallace into the Kellogg-Wardner area. They were headed for the concentrator mill of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan (BH&S) Mining Company in Wardner, Idaho.
Wardner mine before bombing, ca 1899.
Washington State Archives.
Near Wallace, they had loaded up with "giant powder" (an early form of dynamite). The act of violence they planned arose from years of labor-manage...

Sportsman and Idaho Dentistry Pioneer Edward Maberly [otd 04/28]

Boise dentist Edward H. Maberly was born April 28, 1853 in England. Apparently his father lived for a time in Illinois. However, Edward did not arrive in the U. S. until about 1869, when he joined the family in Mount Carroll, a northwest Illinois village near the Iowa border. His father, older brother, and Edward engaged in carriage painting and construction. They all moved to Ellsworth, Kansas, in 1878 – missing the wild times when the town was known as the “Wickedest Cattletown in Kansas."

I...

Portland Merchants Try to Divert Gold Prospectors to Their Stores

On April 27, 1863, the Oregonian, in Portland, carried the following advertisement:
“Ho! for Boise, John Day and the Powder River Gold Mines!
"Through without detention! The only sure way for miners to reach the new mines, without being detained, is to secure their supplies in Portland! … [We have] 20,000 pounds choice Oregon bacon, 30,000 pounds extra fine flour, 10,000 pounds of assorted beans, 300 pairs of Oregon Gray Blankets, together with a full supply of groceries, boots, shoes and all k...

Governor Issues Proclamation to Protect Chinese from Attack [otd 04/27]

Gov. Stevenson. City of Boise photo.On April 27, 1886, Idaho Territorial Governor Edward A. Stevenson issued a proclamation that said, in part, "The life and property of our citizens, and those of the Chinese as well, who are engaged in our midst in peaceful occupations, are entitled to and must receive the equal protection of the laws of our Territory."

Chinese miners had been active participants in the gold fields from the earliest days. Every region followed much the same pattern: Whites wr...

Major Lead-Silver Discoveries Spark Rush to Wood River Area [otd 04/26]

On April 26, 1879, Warren P. Callahan filed on a lead-silver claim at the base of the ridge a mile or so west of the present town of Bellevue. This filing was a major milestone for what would quickly build into a rush into the Wood River mining districts.
Wood River Valley, looking south. Illustrated History, 1899.
The Boise Basin gold discoveries of 1862 [blog, Oct 7] drew thousands of hopeful miners to southern Idaho. Soon, all the best claims had been staked, so prospectors began to bro...

Correspondent from Gold Country Writes Back to "the States" (Wisconsin)

On April 25, 1863, the Wisconsin Daily Patriot in Madison, Wisconsin published a letter from an Oregon emigrant to "My dear old friends" back in Wisconsin. The correspondent, Royal A. Pierce, had arrived in the then-thriving mining town of Auburn, Oregon in the fall of 1862.

After discoursing on the geography, climate, and animals of his new home, Pierce wrote, "But the great interest, and the interest to be most sought after in this portion of the world, is the mining interest … Gold has been...

Prichard Tries to Hide Coeur d'Alene Gold, Sparks Rush Anyway [otd 04/25]

On April 25, 1882, Andrew J. Prichard* discovered an outcropping of rich gold-bearing quartz in the Coeur d'Alene River watershed. Prichard, and others, had unearthed signs of gold in the area before, but this find is credited with setting off the decisive rush into these Idaho mountains.
Coeur d’Alene mining area. Idaho State Historical Society.
Rumors of gold in the Coeur d'Alenes had surfaced as early as about 1852. But such stories were common and no one paid much attention.

In 1859, Lieute...

Pritchard Tries to Hide Coeur d'Alene Gold, Sparks Rush Anyway [otd 04/25]

On April 25, 1882, Andrew J. Pritchard discovered an outcropping of rich gold-bearing quartz in the Coeur d'Alene River watershed. Pritchard, and others, had unearthed signs of gold in the area before, but this find is credited with setting off the decisive rush into these Idaho mountains.
Coeur d’Alene mining area. Idaho State Historical Society.
Rumors of gold in the Coeur d'Alenes had surfaced as early as about 1852. But such stories were common and no one paid much attention.

In 1859, Lieut...

Movie, TV, and Stage Actor J.D. Cannon ... "McCloud" Co-Star [otd 04/24]

J.D. Cannon as western detective Harry Briscoe
in Alias Smith & Jones. ABC TV trailer.Long-time stage, movie, and TV actor John Donovan "J. D." Cannon was born April 24, 1922 in Salmon, Idaho. A child of the Depression, teen-aged “Jack” (as he was then known) worked as a ranch hand, trapper, and outdoor guide.

He graduated from Salmon High School in 1940. Cannon credited his high school English teacher with arranging to get him to New York City and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramat...