OLD FORT BOISE.
Erecting a monument in Vale, as related in the last chapter, finished
the work in Oregon, as we soon crossed Snake River just below the mouth
of Boise, and were landed on the historic spot of Old Fort Boise,
established by the Hudson Bay Company in September, 1834. This fort was
established for the purpose of preventing the success of the American
venture at Fort Hall, a post established earlier in 1834 by Nathaniel
J. Wyethe. Wyethe's venture proved disastrous, and the fort soon passed
into his rival's hands, the Hudson Bay Company, thus for the time being
securing undisputed British rule for the whole of that vast region
later known as the Inland Empire, then, the Oregon Country.
Some relics of the old fort at Boise were secured, arrangements made
for planting a double inscribed stone to mark the site of the fort and
the Trail, and afterwards, through the liberality of the citizens of
Boise City, a stone was ordered and doubtless before this put in place.
PARMA, IDAHO.
The first town encountered in Idaho was Parma, where the contributions
warranted shipping an inscribed stone from Boise City, which was done,
and is doubtless ere this in place, but no photograph of it is at hand.
BOISE, IDAHO.
At Boise, the capital city of Idaho, there were nearly 1,200
contributions to the monument fund by the pupils of the public schools,
each child signing his or her name to the roll, showing the school and
grade to which the child belonged. These rolls with printed headlines
were collected, bound together, and deposited with the archives of
the Pioneer Society historical collection for future reference and as
a part of the history of the monument. Each child was given a signed
certificate showing the amount of the contribution. The monument stands
on the state house grounds and is inscribed as the children's offering
to the memory of the pioneers. Over three thousand people attended the
dedication service.
The citizens of Boise also paid for the stone planted on the site of
the old fort and also for one planted on the Trail, near the South
Boise school buildings, all of which were native granite shafts, of
which there is a large supply in the quarries of Idaho very suitable
for such work.
TWIN FALLS, IDAHO.
At Twin Falls, 537 miles out from The Dalles, funds were contributed to
place an inscribed stone in the track of the old Trail a mile from the
city, and a granite shaft was accordingly ordered.
AMERICAN FALLS, IDAHO.
Upon my arrival at American Falls, Idaho, 649 miles out from The
Dalles, a combination was quickly formed to erect a cement shaft twelve
feet high to plant in the track of the Trail, and a park was to be
dedicated where the monument is to stand and a section of the old Trail
preserved.
POCATELLO, IDAHO.
The Ladies' Study Club has undertaken the work of erecting a monument
at Pocatello, Idaho, 676 miles out from The Dalles. I made twenty-three
addresses to the school children on behalf of the work before leaving,
and have the satisfaction of knowing the undertaking has been
vigorously prosecuted, and that a fine monument has been placed on the
high school grounds.
SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO.
At Soda Springs, 739 miles from The Dalles, the next place where an
attempt was made to erect a monument, a committee of citizens undertook
the work, collected the funds to erect a monument by one of those
beautiful bubbling soda springs, which is in the park and on the Trail.
MONTPELIER, IDAHO.
Montpelier proved no exception to what apparently had become the rule.
A committee of three was appointed by the Commercial Club to take
charge of the work of erecting a monument, a contribution from members
and citizens solicited, nearly $30 collected and paid into the bank,
and arrangements for increasing the contributions and completing the
monument were made before the team arrived. A pleasant feature of the
occasion was the calling of a meeting of the Woman's Club at the Hunter
Hotel, where I was stopping, and a resolution passed to thoroughly
canvass the town for aid in the work, and to interest the school
children.
THE MAD BULL.
I quote from my journal:
"June 7.—Up at 4:30; started at 5:30; arrived at Montpelier 11:00 a. m.
* * * A dangerous and exciting incident occurred this forenoon when a
vicious bull attacked the team, first from one side and then the other,
getting in between the oxen and causing them to nearly upset the wagon.
I was finally thrown down in the melee, but escaped unharmed," and it
was a narrow escape from being run over both by team and wagon.
THE WOUNDED BUFFALO.
This incident reminded me of a "scrape" one of our neighboring trains
got into on the Platte in 1852 with a wounded buffalo. The train had
encountered a large herd feeding and traveling at right angles to the
road. The older heads of the party, fearing a stampede of their teams,
had given orders not to molest the buffaloes, but to give their whole
attention to the care of the teams. But one impulsive young fellow
would not be restrained, and fired into the herd and wounded a large
bull. Either in anger or from confusion, the mad bull charged upon a
wagon filled with women and children and drawn by a team of mules. He
became entangled in the harness and on the tongue between the mules. An
eye-witness described the scene as "exciting for a while." It would be
natural for the women to scream, the children to cry, and the men to
halloa, but the practical question was how to dispatch the bull without
shooting the mules as well. What, with multiplicity of counsel, the
independent action of everyone, each having a plan of his own, there
seemed certain to be some fatalities from the gun-shots of the large
crowd of trainmen who had forgotten their own teams and rushed to the
wagon in trouble. As in this incident of my own, just related, nothing
was harmed, but when it was over all agreed it was past understanding
how it came about there was no loss of life or bodily injury.
[Illustration: The Old Oregon Trail.]
COKEVILLE, WYOMING.
Cokeville, 800¼ miles out on the Trail from The Dalles, and near
the junction of the Sublette cut-off with the more southerly trail,
resolved to have a monument, and arrangements were completed for
erecting one of stone from a nearby quarry that will bear witness for
many centuries.