[1] The number of names by which this species was known in ancient
times--_Chloris_ or _Chlorion_, _Galbula_ (akin to _Galgulus_),
_Parra_ and _Vireo_--may be explained by its being a common and
conspicuous bird, as well as one which varied in plumage according to
age and sex (see ORIOLE). Owing to its general colour, _Chloris_ was
in time transferred to the Greenfinch (q.v.), while the names
_Galbula_, _Parra_ and _Vireo_ have since been utilized by
ornithologists (see JACAMAR and JACANA).
ICTINUS, the architect of the Parthenon at Athens, of the Hall of the
Mysteries at Eleusis, and of the temple of Apollo at Bassae, near
Phigalia. He was thus active about 450-430 B.C. We know little else
about him; but the remains of his two great temples testify to his
wonderful mastery of the principles of Greek architecture.
IDA (d. 559), king of Bernicia, became king in 547, soon after the
foundation of the kingdom of Bernicia by the Angles. He built the
fortress of Bebbanburh, the modern Bamborough, and after his death his
kingdom, which did not extend south of the Tees, passed in turn to six
of his sons. The surname of "Flame-Bearer," sometimes applied to him,
refers, however, not to Ida, but to his son Theodric (d. 587).
See J. R. Green, _Making of England_, vol. i. (London, 1897).
IDAHO, a western state of the United States of America, situated between
42° and 49° N. lat. and 111° and 117° W. long. It is bounded N. by
British Columbia and Montana, E. by Montana and Wyoming, S. by Utah and
Nevada, and W. by Oregon and Washington. Its total area is 83,888 sq.
m., of which 83,354 sq. m. are land surface, and of this 41,851.55 sq.
m. were in July 1908 unappropriated and unreserved public lands of the
United States, and 31,775.7 sq. m. were forest reserves, of which
15,153.5 sq. m. were reserved between the 1st of July 1906 and the 1st
of July 1907.
_Physical Features._--Idaho's elevation above sea-level varies from
738 ft. (at Lewiston, Nez Perce county) to 12,078 ft. (Hyndman Peak,
on the boundary between Custer and Blaine counties), and its mean
elevation is about 4500 ft. The S.E. corner of the wedge-shaped
surface of the state is a part of the Great Basin region of the United
States. The remainder of the state is divided by a line running S.E.
and N.W., the smaller section, to the N. and E., belonging to the
Rocky Mountain region, and the larger, S. and W. of this imaginary
line, being a part of the Columbia Plateau region. The topography of
the Great Basin region in Idaho is similar to that of the same region
in other states (see NEVADA); in Idaho it forms a very small part of
the state; its mountains are practically a part of the Wasatch Range
of Utah; and the southward drainage of the region (into Great Salt
Lake, by Bear river) also separates it from the other parts of the
state. The Rocky Mountain region of Idaho is bounded by most of the
state's irregular E. boundary--the Bitter Root, the Coeur d'Alene and
the Cabinet ranges being parts of the Rocky Mountain System. The Rocky
Mountain region reaches across the N. part of the state (the
Panhandle), and well into the middle of the state farther S., where
the region is widest and where the Salmon River range is the principal
one. The region is made up in general of high ranges deeply glaciated,
preserving some remnants of ancient glaciers, and having fine "Alpine"
scenery, with many sharp peaks and ridges, U-shaped valleys, cirques,
lakes and waterfalls. In the third physiographic region, the Columbia
plateau, are the Saw Tooth, Boisé, Owyhee and other rugged ranges,
especially on the S. and W. borders of the region. The most prominent
features of this part of the state are the arid Snake river plains and
three mountain-like elevations--Big, Middle and East Buttes--that rise
from their midst. The plains extend from near the S.E. corner of the
state in a curved course to the W. and N.W. for about 350 m. over a
belt 50 to 75 m. wide, and cover about 30,000 sq. m. Where they cross
the W. border at Lewiston is the lowest elevation in the state, 738
ft. above the sea. Instead of being one plain formed by erosion, this
region is rather a series of plains built up with sheets of lava,
several thousand feet deep, varying considerably in elevation and in
smoothness of surface according to the nature of the lava, and being
greater in area than any other lava beds in North America except those
of the Columbia river, which are of similar formation and, with the
Snake river plains, form the Columbia plateau. Many volcanic cones
mark the surface, but by far the most prominent among them are Big
Butte, which rises precipitously 2350 ft. above the plain (7659 ft.
above the sea) in the E. part of Blaine county, and East Butte, 700
ft. above the plain, in the N.W. part of Bingham county. Middle Butte
(400 ft. above the plain, also in Bingham county) is an upraised block
of stratified basalt. The Snake river (which receives all the drainage
of Idaho except small amounts taken by the Spokane, the Pend Oreille
and the Kootenai in the N., all emptying directly into the Columbia,
and by some minor streams of the S.E. that empty into Great Salt Lake,
Utah) rises in Yellowstone National Park a few miles from the heads of
the Madison fork of the Missouri, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico,
and the Green fork of the Colorado, which flows to the Gulf of
California. It flows S.W. and then W. for about 800 m. in a tremendous
cañon across southern Idaho; turns N. and runs for 200 m. as the
boundary between Idaho and Oregon (and for a short distance between
Idaho and Washington); turns again at Lewiston (where it ceases to be
the boundary, and where the Clearwater empties into it) to the W. into
a deep narrow valley, and joins the Columbia in S.E. Washington.
Practically all the valley of the Snake from Idaho Falls in S.E. Idaho
(Bingham county) to the mouth is of cañon character, with walls from a
few hundred to 6000 ft. in height (about 650 m. in Idaho). The finest
parts are among the most magnificent in the west; among its falls are
the American (Oneida and Blaine counties), and the Shoshone and the
Salmon (Lincoln county). At the Shoshone Falls the river makes a
sudden plunge of nearly 200 ft., and the Falls have been compared with
the Niagara and Zambezi; a short distance back of the main fall is a
cataract of 125 ft., the Bridal Veil. Between Henry's Fork and Malade
(or Big Wood) river, a distance of 200 m., the river apparently has no
northern tributaries; but several streams, as the Camas, Medicine
Lodge and Birch creeks, and Big and Little Lost rivers, which fail to
penetrate the plain of the Snake after reaching its border, are
believed to join it through subterranean channels. The more important
affluents are the North Fork in the E., the Raft, Salmon Falls and the
Bruneau in the S., the Owyhee and the Payette in the S.W., and the
Salmon and Clearwater in the W. The scenery on some of these
tributaries is almost as beautiful as that of the Snake, though
lacking the grandeur of its greater scale. In 1904 electricity,
generated by water-power from the rivers, notably the Snake, began to
be utilized in mining operations. Scattered among the mountains are
numerous (glacial) lakes. In the N. are: Coeur d'Alene Lake, in
Kootenai county, about 30 m. long and from 2 to 4 m. wide, drained by
the Spokane river; Priest Lake, in Bonner county, 20 m. long and about
10 m. wide; and mostly in Bonner, but partly in Kootenai county, a
widening of Clark Fork, Lake Pend Oreille, 60 m. long and from 3 to 15
m. wide, which is spanned by a trestle of the Northern Pacific 8400
ft. long. Bear Lake, in the extreme S.E., lies partly in Utah. Mineral
springs and hot springs are also a notable feature of Idaho's
physiography, being found in Washington, Ada, Blaine, Bannock, Cassia,
Owyhee, Oneida, Nez Perce, Kootenai, Shoshone and Fremont counties. At
Soda Springs in Bannock county are scores of springs whose waters,
some ice cold and some warm, contain magnesia, soda, iron, sulphur,
&c.; near Hailey, Blaine county, water with a temperature of 144° F.
is discharged from numerous springs; and at Boisé, water with a
temperature of 165° is obtained from wells.
The fauna and flora of Idaho are similar in general to those of the
other states in the north-western part of the United States.
_Climate._--The mean annual temperature of Idaho from 1898 to 1903 was
45.5° F. There are several distinct climate zones within the state.
North of Clearwater river the climate is comparatively mild, the
maximum in 1902 (96° F.) being lower than the highest temperature in
the state and the minimum (-16°) higher than the lowest temperature
registered. The mildest region of the state is the Snake river basin
between Twin Falls and Lewiston, and the valley of the Boisé, Payette
and Weiser rivers; here the mean annual temperature in 1902 was 52°
F., the maximum was 106° F., and the minimum was -13° F. In the Upper
Snake basin, in the Camas prairie and Lost river regions, the climate
is much colder, the highest temperature in 1902 being 101° and the
lowest -35° F. The mean annual rainfall for the entire state in 1903
was 16.60 in.; the highest amount recorded was at Murray, Shoshone
county (37.70 in.) and the lowest was at Garnet, Elmore county (5.69
in.).
_Agriculture._--The principal source of wealth in Idaho was in 1900
agriculture, but it had long been secondary to mining, and its
development had been impeded by certain natural disadvantages. Except
for the broad valleys of the Panhandle, where the soils are black in
colour and rich in vegetable mould, the surface of the state is arid;
the Snake river valley is a vast lava bed, covered with deposits of
salt and sand, or soils of volcanic origin. And, apart from this, the
farming country was long without transport facilities. The fertile
northern plateaus, the Camas and Nez Perce prairies and the Palouse
country--a wonderful region for growing the _durum_ or macaroni
wheat--until 1898 had no market nearer than Lewiston, 50-70 m. away;
and even in 1898, when the railway was built, large parts of the
region were not tapped by it, and were as much as 30 m. from any
shipping point, for the road had followed the Clearwater. In the arid
southern region, also, there was no railway until 1885, when the
Oregon Short Line was begun. Like limitations in N. and S. had like
effects: for years the country was devoted to live-stock, which could
be driven to a distant market. Timothy was grown in the northern, and
alfalfa in the southern region as a forage crop. Even at this earliest
period, irrigation, simple and individual, had begun in the southern
section, the head waters of the few streams in this district being
soon surrounded by farms. Co-operation and colonization followed, and
more ditching was done, co-operative irrigation canals were
constructed with some elaborate and large dams and head gates. The
Carey Act (1894) and the Federal Reclamation Act (1902) introduced the
most important period of irrigation. Under the Carey Act the Twin
Falls project, deriving water from the Snake river near Twin Falls,
and irrigating more than 200,000 acres, was completed in 1903-1905.
The great projects undertaken with Federal aid were: the Minidoka, in
Lincoln and Cassia counties, of which survey began in March 1903 and
construction in December 1904, and which was completed in 1907,
commanding an irrigable area of 130,000-150,000 acres,[1] and has a
diversion dam (rock-fill type) 600 ft. long, and 130 m. of canals and
100 m. of laterals; the larger Payette-Boisé project in Ada, Canyon
and Owyhee counties (372,000 acres irrigable; 300,000 now desert; 60%
privately owned), whose principal features are the Payette dam
(rock-fill), 100 ft. high and 400 ft. long, and the Boisé dam
(masonry), 33 ft. high and 400 ft. long, 200 m. of canals, 100 m. of
laterals, a tunnel 1100 ft. long and 12,500 h.p. transmitted 29 m.,
3000 h.p. being necessary to pump to a height of 50-90 ft. water for
the irrigation of 15,000 acres; and the Dubois project, the largest in
the state, on which survey and reconnaissance work were done in
1903-1904, which requires storage sites on the North Fork of the
Snake and on nearly all the important branches of the North Fork, and
whose field is 200,000--250,000 acres, almost entirely Federal
property, in the W. end of Fremont county between Mud Lake and the
lower end of Big Lost river. A further step in irrigation is the
utilization of underground waters: in the Big Camas Prairie region,
Blaine county, water 10 ft. below the surface is tapped and pumped by
electricity generated from the only surface water of the region, Camas
Creek. In 1899 the value of the crops and other agricultural products
of the irrigated region amounted to more than seven-tenths of the
total for the state. In 1907, according to the _Report_ of the state
commissioner of immigration, 1,559,915 irrigated acres were under
cultivation, and 3,266,386 acres were "covered" by canals 3789 m. long
and costing $11,257,023.
[Illustration: Map of Idaho and Montana.]
Up to 1900 the most prosperous period (absolutely) in the agricultural
development of the state was the last decade of the 19th century; the
relative increase, however, was greater between 1880 and 1890. The
number of farms increased from 1885 in 1880 to 6603 in 1890 and to
17,471 in 1900; the farm acreage from 327,798 in 1880 to 1,302,256 in
1890 and to 3,204,903 acres in 1900; the irrigated area (exclusive of
farms on Indian reservations) from 217,005 acres in 1889 to 602,568
acres in 1899; the value of products increased from $1,515,314 in 1879
to $3,848,930 in 1889, and to $18,051,625 in 1899; the value of farm
land with improvements (including buildings) from $2,832,890 in 1880
to $17,431,580 in 1890 and $42,318,183 in 1900; the value of
implements and machinery from $363,930 in 1880 to $1,172,460 in 1890
and to $3,295,045 in 1900; and that of live-stock from $4,023,800 in
1880 to $7,253,490 in 1890 and to $21,657,974 in 1900. In 1900 the
average size of farms was 183.4 acres. Cultivation by owners is the
prevailing form of tenure, 91.3% of the farms being so operated in
1900 (2.3% by cash tenants and 6.4% by share tenants). As illustrative
of agricultural conditions the contrast of the products of farms
operated by Indians, Chinese and whites is of considerable interest,
the value of products (not fed to live-stock) per acre of the 563
Indian farms being in 1899 $1.40, that of the 16,876 white farms
$4.67, and that of the 23 Chinese farms intensively cultivated and
devoted to market vegetables $69.83.
The income from agriculture in 1899 was almost equally divided between
crops ($8,951,440) and animal products ($8,784,364)--in that year
forest products were valued at $315,821. Of the crops, hay and forage
were the most valuable ($4,238,993), yielding 47.4% of the total value
of crops, an increase of more than 200% over that of 1889, and in
1907, according to the _Year-book_ of the Department of Agriculture,
the crop was valued at $8,585,000. Wheat, which in 1899 ranked second
($2,131,953), showed an increase of more than 400% in the decade, and
the farm value of the crop of 1907, according to the _Year-book_ of
the United States Department of Agriculture, was $5,788,000; the value
of the barley crop in 1899 ($312,730) also increased more than 400%
over that of 1889, and in 1907 the farm value of the product,
according to the same authority, was $1,265,000; the value of the oat
crop in 1899 ($702,955) showed an increase of more than 300% in the
decade, and the value of the product in 1907, according to the United
States Department of Agriculture, was $2,397,000.
More than one-half of the cereal crop in 1905 was produced in the
prairie and plateau region of Nez Perce and Latah counties. The
production of orchard fruits (apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums
and prunes) increased greatly from 1889 to 1899; the six counties of
Ada, Canyon (probably the leading fruit county of the state), Latah
(famous for apples), Washington, Owyhee and Nez Perce had in 1900 89%
of the plum and prune trees, 85% of all pear trees, 78% of all cherry
trees, and 74% of all apple trees in the state, and in 1906 it was
estimated by the State Commissioner of Immigration that there were
nearly 48,000 acres of land devoted to orchard fruits in Idaho.
Viticulture is of importance, particularly in the Lewiston valley. In
1906, 234,000 tons of sugar beets were raised, and fields in the Boisé
valley raised 30 tons per acre.
Of the animal products in 1899, the most valuable was live-stock sold
during the year ($3,909,454); the stock-raising industry was carried
on most extensively in the S.E. part of the state. Wool ranked second
in value ($2,210,790), and according to the estimate of the National
Association of Wool Manufactures for 1907, Idaho ranked fourth among
the wool-producing states in number of sheep (2,500,000), third in
wool, washed and unwashed (17,250,000 lb.), and fourth in scoured wool
(5,692,500 lb.). In January 1908, according to the _Year-book_ of the
Department of Agriculture, the number and farm values of live-stock
were: milch cows, 69,000, valued at $2,208,000, and other neat cattle,
344,000, valued at $5,848,000; horses, 150,000, $11,250,000; sheep,
3,575,000, $12,691,000; and swine, 130,000, $910,000. According to
state reports for 1906, most of the neat cattle were then on ranges in
Lemhi, Idaho, Washington, Cassia and Owyhee counties; Nez Perce,
Canyon, Fremont, Idaho, and Washington counties had the largest number
of horses; Owyhee, Blaine and Canyon counties had the largest numbers
of sheep, and Idaho and Nez Perce counties were the principal
swine-raising regions. The pasture lands of the state have been
greatly decreased by the increase of forest reserves, especially by
the large reservations made in 1906-1907.
_Mining._--The mineral resource of Idaho are second only to the
agricultural; indeed it was primarily the discovery of the immense
value of the deposits of gold and silver about 1860 that led to the
settlement of Idaho Territory. In Idaho, as elsewhere, the first form
of mining was a very lucrative working of placer deposits; this gave
way to vein mining and a greatly reduced production of gold and silver
after 1878, on account of the exhaustion of the placers. Then came an
adjustment to new conditions and a gradual increase of the product.
The total mineral product in 1906, according to the State Mine
Inspector, was valued at $24,138,317. The total gold production of
Idaho from 1860 to 1906 has been estimated at $250,000,000, of which a
large part was produced in the Idaho Basin, the region lying between
the N. fork of the Boisé and the S. fork of the Payette rivers. In
1901-1902 rich gold deposits were discovered in the Thunder Mountain
district in Idaho county. The counties with the largest production of
gold in 1907 (state report) were Owyhee ($362,742), Boisé ($282,444),
Custer ($210,900) and Idaho; the total for the state was $1,075,618 in
1905; in 1906 it was $1,149,100; and in 1907, according to state
reports, $1,373,031. The total of the state for silver in 1905 was
$5,242,172; in 1906 it was $6,042,606; in 1907, according to state
reports, it was $5,546,554. The richest deposits of silver are those
of Wood river and of the Coeur d'Alene district in Shoshone county
(opened up in 1886); the county's product in 1906 was valued at
$5,322,706, an increase of $917,743 over the preceding year; in 1907
it was $4,780,093, according to state reports. The production of the
next richest county, Owyhee, in 1907, was less than one tenth that of
Shoshone county, which yields, besides, about one half of the lead
mined in the United States, its product of lead being valued at
$9,851,076 in 1904, at $14,365,265 in 1906, and at $12,232,233 (state
report) in 1907. Idaho was the first of the states in its output of
lead from 1896, when it first passed Colorado in rank, to 1906,
excepting the year 1899, when Colorado again was first; the value of
the lead mined in 1906 was $14,535,823, and of that mined in 1907
(state report), $12,470,375. High grade copper ores have been produced
in the Seven Devils and Washington districts of Washington county;
there are deposits, little developed up to 1906, in Lemhi county
(which was almost inaccessible by railway) and in Bannock county; the
copper mined in 1905 was valued at $1,134,846, and in 1907, according
to state reports, at $2,241,177, of which about two-thirds was the
output of the Coeur d'Alene district in Shoshone county. Zinc occurs
in the Coeur d'Alene district, at Hailey, Blaine county and elsewhere;
according to the state reports, the state's output in 1906 was valued
at $91,426 and in 1907 at $534,087. Other minerals of economic value
are sandstone, quarried at Boisé, Ada county, at Preston, Oneida
county, and at Goshen, Prospect and Idaho Falls, Bingham county,
valued at $22,265 in 1905, and at $11,969 in 1906; limestone, valued
at $14,105 in 1905 and at $12,600 in 1906, used entirely for the local
manufacture of lime, part of which was used in the manufacture of
sugar; and coal, in the Horseshoe Bend and Jerusalem districts in
Boisé county, in Lemhi county near Salmon City, and in E. Bingham and
Fremont counties, with an output in 1906 of 5365 tons, valued at
$18,538 as compared with 20 and 10 tons respectively in 1899 and 1900.
Minerals developed slightly, or not at all, are granite, valued at
$1500 in 1905; surface salt, in the arid and semi-arid regions; nickel
and cobalt, in Lemhi county; tungsten, near Murray, Shoshone county;
monazite and zircon, in certain sands; and some pumice.
_Manufactures._--The manufactures of Idaho in 1900 were relatively
unimportant, the value of all products of establishments under the
"factory system" being $3,001,442; in 1905 the value of such
manufactured products had increased 192.2%, to $8,768,743. The
manufacturing establishments were limited to the supply of local
demands. The principal industries were devoted to lumber and timber
products, valued at $908,670 in 1900, and in 1905 at $2,834,506,
211.9% more. In 1906 the Weyerhauser Syndicate built at Potlatch, a
town built by the syndicate in Latah county, a lumber mill, supposed
to be the largest in the United States, with a daily capacity of
750,000 ft. In Bonner county there are great mills at Sand Point and
at Bonner's Ferry. In these and the other 93 saw-mills in the state in
1905 steam generated by the waste wood was the common power. The raw
material for these products was secured from the 35,000 sq. m. of
timber land in the state (6164 sq. m. having been reserved up to 1905,
and 31,775.7 sq. m. up to April 1907 by the United States government);
four-fifths of the cut in 1900 was yellow pine. Flour and grist mill
products ranked second among the manufactures, being valued at
$1,584,473 in 1905, an increase of nearly 116% over the product in
1900; and steam-car construction and repairs ranked third, with a
value of $913,670 in 1905 and $523,631 in 1900. In 1903-1904 the
cultivation of sugar beets and the manufacture of beet sugar were
undertaken, and manufacturing establishments for that purpose were
installed at Idaho Falls and Blackfoot (Bingham county), at Sugar, or
Sugar City (Fremont county), a place built up about the sugar
refineries, and at Nampa, Canyon county. In 1906 between 57,000,000
and 64,000,000 lb. of beet sugar were refined in the state.
Brick-making was of little more than local importance in 1906, the
largest kilns being at Boisé, Sand Point and Coeur d'Alene City. Lime
is made at Orofino, Shoshone county, and at Hope, Bonner county.
_Communications._--The total railway mileage in January 1909 was
2,022.04 m., an increase from 206 m. in 1880 and 946 m. in 1890. The
Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the Oregon Railway &
Navigation lines cross the N. part of the state; the Oregon Short Line
crosses the S., and the Union Pacific, which owns the Oregon Railway &
Navigation and the Oregon Short Line roads, crosses the eastern part.
The constitution declares that railways are public highways, that the
legislature has authority to regulate rates, and that discrimination
in tolls shall not be allowed.
_Population._--The population of Idaho in 1870 was 14,999; in 1880 it
was 32,610, an increase of 117.4%; in 1890 it was 88,548, an increase of
158.8%; in 1900 161,772 (82.7% increase); and in 1910 325,594 (101.3%
increase). Of the inhabitants 15.2% were in 1900 foreign-born and 4.5%
were coloured, the coloured population consisting of 293 negroes, 1291
Japanese, 1467 Chinese and 4226 Indians. The Indians lived principally
in three reservations, the Fort Hall and Lemhi reservations (1350 sq. m.
and 100 sq. m. respectively), in S.E. and E. Idaho, being occupied by
the Shoshone, Bannock and Sheef-eater tribes, and the Coeur d'Alene
reservation (632 sq. m.), in the N.W., by the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane
tribes. The former Nez Perce reservation, in the N.W. part of the state,
was abolished in 1895, and the Nez Perces were put under the supervision
of the superintendent of the Indian School at Fort Lapwai, about 12 m.
E. of Lewiston, in Nez Perce county. Of these tribes, the Nez Perce and
Coeur d'Alene were self-supporting; the other tribes were in 1900
dependent upon the United States government for 30% of their rations. Of
the 24,604 foreign-born inhabitants of the state, 3943 were from
England, 2974 were from Germany, 2528 were Canadian English, 2822 were
from Sweden, and 1633 were from Ireland, various other countries being
represented by smaller numbers. The urban population of Idaho in 1900
(i.e. the population of places having 4000 or more inhabitants) was 6.2%
of the whole. There were thirty-three incorporated cities, towns and
villages, but only five had a population exceeding 2000; these were
Boisé (5957), Pocatello (4046), Lewiston (2425), Moscow (2484) and
Wallace (2265). In 1906 it was estimated that the total membership of
all religious denominations was 74,578, and that there were 32,425
Latter-Day Saints or Mormons (266 of the Reorganized Church), 18,057
Roman Catholics, 5884 Methodist Episcopalians (5313 of the Northern
Church), 3770 Presbyterians (3698 of the Northern Church), 3206
Disciples of Christ, and 2374 Baptists (2331 of the Northern
Convention).
_Government._--The present constitution of Idaho was adopted in 1889.
The government is similar in outline to that of the other states of the
United States. The executive officials serve for a term of two years.
Besides being citizens of the United States and residents of the state
for two years preceding their election the governor, lieutenant-governor
and attorney-general must each be at least thirty years of age, and the
secretary of state, state auditor, treasurer and superintendent of
education must be at least twenty-five years old. The governor's veto
may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the legislature; the governor,
secretary of state, and the attorney-general constitute a Board of
Pardons and a Board of State Prison Commissioners. The legislature meets
biennially; its members, who must be citizens of the United States and
electors of the state for one year preceding their election, are chosen
biennially; the number of senators may never exceed twenty-four, that of
representatives sixty; each county is entitled to at least one
representative. The judiciary consists of a supreme court of three
judges, elected every six years, and circuit and probate courts, the
five district judges being elected every four years. Suffrage
requirements are citizenship in the United States, registration and
residence in the state for six months and in the county for thirty days
immediately before election, but mental deficiency, conviction of
infamous crimes (without restoration to rights of citizenship), bribery
or attempt at bribery, bigamy, living in "what is known as patriarchal,
plural or celestial marriage," or teaching its validity or belonging to
any organization which teaches polygamy,[2] are disqualifications.
Chinese or persons of Mongolian descent not born in the United States
are also excluded from suffrage rights. Women, however, since 1897, have
had the right to vote and to hold office, and they are subject to jury
service. An Australian ballot law was passed in 1891. The constitution
forbids the chartering of corporations except according to general laws.
In 1909 a direct primary elections law was passed which required a
majority of all votes to nominate, and, to make a majority possible,
provided for preferential (or second-choice) voting, such votes to be
canvassed and added to the first-choice vote for each candidate if there
be no majority by the first-choice vote. The right of eminent domain
over all corporations is reserved to the state; and no corporation may
issue stock except for labour, service rendered, or money paid in. The
waters of the state are, by the constitution of the state, devoted to
the public use, contrary to the common law theory of riparian rights. By
statute (1891) it has been provided that in civil actions three-fourths
of a jury may render a verdict, and in misdemeanour cases five-sixths
may give a verdict. Life insurance agents not residents of Idaho cannot
write policies in the state. Divorces may be obtained after residence of
six months on the ground of adultery, cruelty, desertion or neglect for
one year, habitual drunkenness for the same period, felony or insanity.
There are a state penitentiary at Boisé, an Industrial Training School
at St Anthony, an Insane Asylum at Blackfoot, and a North Idaho Insane
Asylum at Orofino. The care of all defectives was let by contract to
other states until 1906, when a state school for the deaf and blind was
opened in Boisé. No bureau of charities is in existence, but there is a
Labor Commission, and a Commissioner of Immigration and a Commissioner
of Public Lands to investigate the industrial resources. The offices of
State Engineer and Inspector of Mines have been created.
_Education._--The public schools in 1905-1906 had an enrolment of
62,726, or 81.5% of the population between 5 and 21 years of age. The
average length of school term was 6-8 months, the average expenditure
(year ending Aug. 31, 1906) for instruction for each child was $19.29,
and the expenditure for all school purposes was $1,008,481. There was
a compulsory attendance law, which, however, was not enforced. Higher
education is provided by the University of Idaho, established in 1899
at Moscow, Latah county, which confers degrees in arts, science, music
and engineering, and offers free tuition. In 1907-1908 the institution
had 41 instructors and 426 regular and 58 special students. In 1901
the Academy of Idaho, another state institution with industrial and
technical courses and a preparatory department, was established at
Pocatello, Bannock county, to be a connecting link between the public
schools and the university. There are two state normal schools, one at
Lewiston and the other at Albion. The only private institution of
college rank in 1908 was the College of Caldwell (Presbyterian, opened
1891) at Caldwell, Canyon county, with 65 students in 1906-1907. There
are Catholic academies at Boisé and Coeur d'Alene and a convent, Our
Lady of Lourdes, at Wallace, Shoshone county, opened in 1905; Mormon
schools at Paris (Bear Lake county), Preston (Oneida county), Rexburg
(Fremont county), and Oakley (Cassia county); a Methodist Episcopal
school (1906) at Weiser (Washington county); and a Protestant
Episcopal school at Boisé (1892). The Idaho Industrial Institute
(non-denominational; incorporated in 1899) is at Weiser.
_Finance._--The finances of Idaho are in excellent condition. The
bonded debt on the 30th of September 1908 was $1,364,000. The revenue
system is based on the general property tax and there is a State Board
of Equalization. Each year $100,000 is set aside for the sinking fund
for the payment of outstanding bonds as fast as they become due. The
constitution provides that the rate of taxation shall never exceed 10
mills for each dollar of assessed valuation, that when the taxable
property amounts to $50,000,000 the rate shall not exceed 5 mills,
when it reaches $100,000,000, 3 mills shall be the limit, and when it
reaches $300,000,000 the rate shall not exceed 1½ mills; but a greater
rate may be established by a vote of the people. No public debt
(exclusive of the debt of the Territory of Idaho at the date of its
admission to the Union as a state) may be created that exceeds 1½% of
the assessed valuation (except in case of war, &c.); the state cannot
lend its credit to any corporation, municipality or individual; nor
can any county, city or town lend its credit or become a stockholder
in any company (except for municipal works).
_History._--The first recorded exploration of Idaho by white men was
made by Lewis and Clark, who passed along the Snake river to its
junction with the Columbia; in 1805 the site of Fort Lemhi in Lemhi
county was a rendezvous for two divisions of the Lewis and Clark
expedition; later, the united divisions reached a village of the Nez
Perce Indians near the south fork of the Clearwater river, where they
found traces of visits by other white men. In 1810 Fort Henry, on the
Snake river, was established by the Missouri Fur Company, and in the
following year a party under the auspices of the Pacific Fur Company
descended the Snake river to the Columbia. In 1834 Fort Hall in E. Idaho
(Bingham county) was founded. It acquired prominence as the
meeting-point of a number of trails to the extreme western parts of
North America. Missions to the Indians were also established, both by
the Catholics and by the Protestants. But the permanent settlements date
from the revelation of Idaho's mineral resources in 1860, when the Coeur
d'Alene, Palouses and Nez Perces were in the North, and the Blackfoots,
Bannocks and Shoshones in the South. While trading with these Indians,
Capt. Pierce learned in the summer of 1860 that there was gold in Idaho.
He found it on Orofino Creek, and a great influx followed--coming to
Orofino, Newsome, Elk City, Florence, where the ore was especially rich,
and Warren. The news of the discovery of the Boisé Basin spread far and
wide, and Idaho City, Placerville, Buena Vista, Centreville and
Pioneerville grew up. The territory now constituting Idaho was comprised
in the Territory of Oregon from 1848 to 1853; from 1853 to 1859 the
southern portion of the present state was a part of Oregon, the northern
a part of Washington Territory; from 1859 to 1863 the territory was
within the bounds of Washington Territory. In 1863 the Territory of
Idaho was organized; it included Montana until 1864, and a part of
Wyoming until 1868, when the area of the Territory of Idaho was
practically the same as that of the present state. Idaho was admitted
into the Union as a state in 1890. There have been a few serious Indian
outbreaks in Idaho. In 1856 the Coeur d'Alenes, Palouses and Spokanes
went on the war-path; in April 1857 they put to flight a small force
under Col. Edward Tenner Steptoe; but the punitive expedition led by
Col. George Wright (1803-1865) was a success. In 1877 the Nez Perces,
led by Chief Joseph, refused to go on the reservation set apart for
them, defeated a small body of regulars, were pursued by Major-General
O. O. Howard, reinforced by frontier volunteers, and in September and
October were defeated and retreated into Northern Montana, where they
were captured by Major-General Nelson A. Miles. Occasional labour
troubles have been very severe in the Coeur d'Alene region, where the
attempt in 1892 of the Mine Owners' Association to discriminate in wages
between miners and surfacemen brought on a union strike. Rioting
followed the introduction of non-union men, the Frisco Mill was blown
up, and many non-union miners were killed. The militia was called out
and regular troops were hurried to Shoshone county from Fort Sherman,
Idaho and Fort Missoula, Montana. These soon quieted the district. But
the restlessness of the region caused more trouble in 1899. The famous
Bunker Hill and Sullivan mines were wrecked, late in April, by union
men. Federal troops, called for by Governor Frank Steunenberg, again
took charge, and about 800 suspected men in the district were arrested
and shut up in a stockade known as the "bull-pen." Ten prisoners,
convicted of destroying the property of the mine-owners, were sentenced
to twenty-two months in jail. The feeling among the union men was bitter
against Steunenberg, who was assassinated on the 30th of December 1905.
The trial in 1907 of Charles H. Haywood, secretary of the Western
Federation of Miners, who was charged with conspiracy in connexion with
the murder, attracted national attention; it resulted in Haywood's
acquittal. Before 1897 the administration of the state was controlled by
the Republican party; but in 1896 Democrats, Populists and those
Republicans who believed in free coinage of silver united, and until
1902 elected a majority of all candidates for state offices. In 1902,
1904, 1906 and 1908 a Republican state ticket was elected.