Army Tries to Over-Awe Indians, Potential for Irrigated Agriculture Overlooked

On September 9, 1863, a correspondent sent off a long letter from “Camas Prairie, I. T.” that was later published in The Oregonian and in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin. He wrote, “We left Fort Hall on our homeward trip, on the 27th of August, and arrived here on the 5th of September, all well.”

In this case, the “Camas Prairie” referred to lay west of today’s Bellevue, Idaho, not the one southeast of Lewiston. The letter went on, “The cavalry, under Col. Maury, will leave here on the 11th...