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Volume 55 | Number 4 Article 2

7-1-1974 -Iowa' Peter T. Harstad

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Recommended Citation Harstad, Peter T. "Idaho-Iowa'." The Palimpsest 55 (1974), 98-126. Available at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/palimpsest/vol55/iss4/2

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the State Historical Society of Iowa at Iowa Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in The alP impsest by an authorized administrator of Iowa Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 98 T he Palimpsest

seriously. But only those irrigated and groomed "IDAHO-IOWA" row crops reminded one of Iowa. My new neigh­ bor in Pocatello, who regarded Denver as an eastern city, would simply not accept the fact that in parts of Iowa there are six feet or more by of fertile black topsoil. Peter T. Harstad After a decade of conditioning in the Gem State I followed my fathers cue and moved to and Iowa. How rectangular the farms; how lush the Michael D. Gibson vegetation. Plant one seed of corn in the glacial soil and get back a thousand without irrigation. Back in Iowa I began to detect the frequent Introduction confusion that exists in some minds concerning An explanation of why anyone would wish to the Hawkeye and Gem states. To a considerable pursue this std?ject may he in order. Initially, degree the confusion springs from the similarity the motivation stemmed from family and personal of the two names. For example, a west coast history. During the Civil War, my maternal great­ book dealer sent a catalog to me at my Idaho grandfather settled in central Iowa. The family address. With a hasty scrawl the post office re­ is still there on the same farm near Story City. turned it to the sender with the information that My fathers forebears pushed farther north, just I now lived in Iowa City, Iowa. The bookman over the Minnesota line. After attending Luther sent out the catalog again, this time with my College at Decorah and graduating from a correct street address in Iowa City, but the mid-western seminary, my paternal grandfather name of the town “Idaho City, Idaho.” The post­ moved along with the Dakota frontier, skipped man in Idaho City apparently decoded the zip over Montana and the , and and sent the parcel off to Iowa City where it settled down in the state of Washington. Father finally reached me. too became a minister and, because of compli­ An illustration of confusion from the opposite cated reorientations, came to serve a parish of coast comes from the pen of Laurence Lafore, like-minded souls near Story City. Here my the historian-novelist at The University of Iowa. parents met and were wed. In an interesting article about Iowa in the Octo­ After a mid-western upbringing and education, ber 1971 issue of Harper’s Lafore tells about an with boyhood summers spent on the Iowa farm, eastern hostess who has just been informed that I headed west to teach history in Idaho. Happily her guest has moved to Iowa. “My dear,” the for me, my wife came along. She is a native of hostess retorts, “I think you ought to know in Albert Lea, Minnesota, barely over the Iowa line, Boston we pronounce it Idaho.” Many variations but named after the army officer and frontier of this story circulate, some of them involving promoter who gave Iowa its name. Ohio, Iowa, or Idaho. For example, a native of I remember vividly that August day in 1963 northwestern Iowa recognized the following pro­ when we approached Idaho from West Yellow­ vincial assurance while he attended Harvard stone and, just over the border, read these words early in this century. One of his friends informed painted on the blistering blacktop: “HELP a distinguished Boston lady that he was from KEEP IDAHO GREEN.” There was no Corn Iowa. She replied, “We pronounce it Ohio here Belt greenery in sight. It would take several years in Boston.” Perhaps the idtimate in this vein ap­ to read the subtle hues in the Idaho landscape peared on some shirts made especially for some and to realize that the slogan was to be taken good-natured University of Iowa students in the f

T he Palimpsest 99

Looking west from the summit of Mt. Borah, Idaho's highest point. spring of 1974. The hold lettering reads: “Uni­ versity of Iowa—Idaho City, Ohio." Sometimes the confusion takes on more serious implications as when Newsweek reported Au­ gust 14, 1972 on the “lower-magnitude stars” who refused to be considered for the Democratic nomination for the Vice-Presidency. Included were Senators “Nelson of Wisconsin, Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota and Frank Church of Iowa. . . .” No good geographical reason exists for the confusion of the Hawkeye and Gem states ex­ cept perhaps in the minds of the rtiost sheltered and smug residents of the coastal regions. A thousand miles separates the two states. The high point in Idaho is emphatic 12,662 foot Mount Borah. Late one October I stood on this summit and saw the Grand Tetons of western The view from Merrill Sterlers hog lot, Iowa's Wyoming 150 miles distant. The high point in highest elevation, somewhat less dramatic than Mt. Iowa is so undramatic that it was found only Borah, (courtesy of the Des Moines Register) 100 T he Palimpsest this year. It is located on Merrill Sterlers hop, members of editors families. Picotte was lot— 7,669.35 feet above sea level in northwestern editor of the bombastic Wood River Times. Iowa. According to Des Moines Register report­ er Otto Knauth, Sterlers hogs have a view un­ As the evening progressed, speeches alter­ matched anywhere in Iowa. “On a clear day, nated with music, recitations, dancing, and they can easily see Sibley, four miles to the hearty expressions of good will. At one southwest. ...” point S. B. Kingsbury of Hailey and editor Iowa's land is so rich that only 0.6 percent of Lafe Young of the Atlantic, Iowa Daily it remains in federal ownership; 63.9 percent of Telegraph offered a joint toast: Tdaho- Idaho is federally owned, much of it mountain­ ous. In Iowa there is usually ample rain for row Iowa.” crops; irrigation is necessary for intensive farm­ When the toast was offered, anv of the ing in most of Idaho. Iowa editors with a historical turn of mind Progressing beyond personal involvement with might have conjured up visions of the past. both Iowa and Idaho and frequent confusion The 1885 visitors were not the first to stemming from the similarity of names, what strands of the history of these two areas inter­ travel the westward route from Iowa to twine? Seldom has anyone defied the forces of the Intermountain region. American nationalism and written about the re­ The Lewis and Clark journals record the lationship of one state to another. Yet such re­ first known journey of Caucasians between lationships exist. This article is an attempt to the two areas. The explorers encountered examine some of the ties that bind Iowa and Idaho. serious difficulties of contrasting nature in P.T.H. the areas destined to become Iowa and Idaho. The only fatality of the expedition occurred at what is now Sioux Citv where In midafternoon of June 12, 1885, a train Sergeant Charles Floyd died of what was halted at the Bullion Street crossing in probably appendicitis, but the trek across Ketchum, a mining town in Idaho Terri­ Idaho, between the headwaters of the Mis­ tory. Iowans by the score disembarked. A souri and those of the Columbia, proved mountain breeze wafted unfamiliar hints to be the most rugged and exhausting part of pine, sage, and sulfur. How different of the trip. from the smells back home. A local ar­ Four decades later (after the Oregon rangements committee transported the Trail had wended its wav across the con- visitors to nearby sites. They viewed the tinent with frayed ends in Iowa and main Queen of the Hills Mine, took in the strands through southern Idaho) there be­ mountain scenery, and bathed in a warm gan a steady flow of people westward. Re­ sulfur spring. cently, the United States government com­ 1 hat evening, band music summoned missioned a study of the construction and both visitors and locals to the courthouse use of the Lander Cutoff of the Oregon at nearby Hailev. If anv of the Hawkeves Trail through the Caribou National Forest passed T. E. Picotte’s establishment on of southern Idaho. Twelve diaries, written their wav to the festivities thev would have * 0 by people who used this route between known his occupation by the sound of the the years 1859 and 1865, came to light. Six machinery and the smell of printer s ink. of the twelve diarists were Iowans. One of 1 he Iowans were newspaper editors, or them (Charles J. Cummings of Brooklyn, I

T he Palimpsest 101

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N y l .iri * 4 0 3 $ ,4 V-, ’ t V*. * ' ~ 5 ^ o f ? >y *m ^ -,J^ —** • v*. ^ ■r*"*“ - - ‘ • •. -"• 'v’ * - V- -v "“*•>'/ -’' A >’- *'77' ' 7. * 7 ‘7 *'- ¿T ,..—-‘--:- -* ~,jS*rpr>s- r . - - v - -. T - :--V** ^ *»s. AW~ - -- , T-zMm- ' *> ' > '-■-.-j.-?^'- - 22£ ~-»y-A** ’ / - • — ^ ■_..... ~-\ j rv^* pr^ ' **.• . ^ • \'v . -.y. . •’» J r * • Massacre Rocks, Idaho (an early twentieth century view), scene of the death of A. J. Hunter of Iowa City in 1862. (courtesy of the Idaho Historical Society)

Iowa) found familiar vegetation only after sitting erect in their saddles, now throw­ he passed through Idaho and reached Kla­ ing themselves flat along their horses’ math Lake, Oregon. He recorded in his backs, or completely hiding themselves diary: hooked some green corn.’ behind the bodies of their ponies.” After The best known episode related to the the struggle was over, Hunter was laid to Oregon Trail in Idaho involves Iowans. rest near the banks of the Snake River, and During the summer of 1862, the Andrew A. J. Cassady of his party nursed serious J. Hunter party from Iowa City was travel­ wounds. There are other aspects to the ing unsuspectingly through some rocky story, but since 1862, the site has been country about 20 miles below American known as Massacre Rocks.

Falls on the Snake River on their wavj to A disaster of another sort, which oc­ the Salmon River Mines. A letter published curred between Iowa and Nebraska on in the Iowa City State Democratic Press the Missouri River in 1865, reveals much of October 18, 1862 described what hap­ about life on the mining frontier of eastern pened. Suddenly, some ‘twelve or four­ Idaho and western Montana. Early that teen Indians came out of a ravine and year the Montana and Idaho Transporta­ commenced the attack with bows and ar­ tion Line prepared for the maiden voyage rows, riding along side and shooting at the up the Missouri of the Steamboat Bertrand. two men in the wagon, one of whom was Laden in Saint Louis, the vessel was des­ wounded in three places. . . . The Indians tined for Fort Benton, Montana Territory. then began to circle round us, yelling and On April 1, the Bertrand struck a snag and discharging their guns at random into our sank about 25 miles upstream from Coun­ midst. Some of the attackers then scram­ cil Bluffs. The passengers and crew bled up into the sage brush; “we had no reached safety, but the boat and cargo indication of their whereabouts until we went to the bottom where most of it stayed heard the sharp crack of a rifle, and the until excavated in 1968. In a book entitled death-dealing missile came whizzing the The Steamboat Bertrand (Washington, air, striking Hunter in the neck.” Mean­ 1974), Jerome E. Petsche describes in fas­ while, other Indians “rode like demons, cinating detail the well-preserved cargo turning their horses here and there, now originally intended for Virginia City, Deer 9

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r . 102 T he Palimpsest

Lodge, and the Bitter Root Valley. Work tributing native born people to that west­ clothes, basic foods, mining supplies, and ern territory. In 1870, Iowa ranked eighth bourbon were to be expected, but the among states supplying native born people quantities of luxuries shed new light on to Idaho. It ranked seventh in 1880, fourth life on the Continental Divide during the in 1890, third in 1900, and second in 1910. This was the onlv decade to date when last year of the Civil War. Petsche’s care­ ✓ ful work with this time capsule revealed Iowa stood above its neighboring state of such items as cases of imported French Missouri. During the past century, the only brandied cherries in graceful aqua-colored state consistently credited with more na­ bottles with necks terminating in slightly tive born people than Iowa among the resi­ rolled collars. The bottles and hundreds of dent population of Idaho has been Utah. other items are now on display at DeSoto The census data suggests that Iowa was a Bend of the Missouri River, rather than wellspring for Idaho, just as Ohio was, mingled with the tailings of the defunct decades earlier, for Iowa. mines of Idaho and Montana. The search for reasons for the strong Beginning in 1870, the United States showing of Hawkeyes in the Gem state census gauged the flow of Iowans to leads us back to 1885 and the Iowa news­ Idaho. One meaningful measure is the paper editors. position of Iowa in the list of states con- During this era, the Iowa Press Associa­ tion sponsored informative summertime tours for its members, their families, and a few invited dignitaries. In 1885, two such excursions were scheduled to accommo­ date the Iowa newsmen. Early that year Grover Cleveland was inaugurated Presi­ dent of the United States. For a quarter of a century there had not been a Democratic ✓ president. The Democratic editors of Iowa could not resist a visit to the nation’s capi­ tal. A party of 175 left for Washington, D.C. during the first week of June. The president of the Iowa Press Associa­ tion, Albert W. Swalm of Oskaloosa, felt that the editors who did not wish to make this trip deserved another alternative. He therefore arranged and personally led a trip to the Pacific Northwest. “ Do not fail to go! It will be the Great Excursion of the Decade,’ he invited. “Al W. Swalm, is recognized as one of the oldest newspapermen in the state of Albert Swalm, the “Chief” Iowa, the Crestón Daily Gazette of June T he Palimpsest 103

Rank of Iowa Among Top Ten States Contributing Native-Born People to Idaho As Show in United States Census Data, 1870-1970 (Idaho Exluded)

1st N Y . UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH UTAH

2nd OHIO MISSOURI MISSOURI MISSOURI IOWA MISSOURI MISSOURI MISSOURI WASH WASH. WASH

3rd MISSOURI N Y . ILLINOIS IOWA CALIF

4th UTAH ILLINOIS IOWA WASH MISSOURI MISSOURI OREGON

* 5th PENN z OHIO KANSAS KANSAS OREGON NEB, a< 6th ILLINOIS OREGON KANSAS KANSAS

7th OREGON IOWA CALIF. MISSOURI

8th MONTANA MONTANA

9th COLO

10th

For example, in 1910 the number of native-born Iotvans living in Idaho ranked second only to the num-.... her of native-born Utahans living in Idaho. Fhe 1960 census is the first to record more natives of Mon­ tana living in Idaho than natives of Iowa, etc.

IS informed its readers. Tie is a man of ister, "the nestor of Iowa journalism.” Gov­ peculiar appearance and impresses you ernor Buren R. Sherman came along as at first sight as being a brainy fellow, and a guest, as did Railroad Commissioner the longer you know him the stronger the Lorenzo S. Coffin. first impression will become. The aspect When Lewis and Clark headed west of Swalm s appearance which often drew early in the century, they used the water comment was that he looked strikingly like courses; the cross-country immigrants fol­ an American Indian—an appearance which lowed the overland trails; the Iowa editors he cultivated and which enters into the traveled the rails. Governmental regulation story later. Choctah Swalm or ' Chief of the railroads was a hot issue in Iowa were sobriquets for the popular president and national politics in the 1880s, and Iowa of the Iowa Press Association. The Re­ had been a testing ground for the so-called publican journalists of Iowa responded “Granger Laws.” The Union Pacific Rail­ heartily to Swalm’s invitation. Two hun­ road was mindful of the advantages to be dred and five people signed up for the gained from good treatment of influential trip including such respected editors as people. At this time the agricultural fron­ Henry Wallace of the Iowa Homestead tier was fast drawing to a close in Iowa. and C. F. Clarkson of the Iowa State Reg­ Children and grandchildren of the Iowa 104 T he Palimpsest pioneers looked westward for homesteads. been impossible the previous summer. What could be better for the railroad than Business was needed for 600 miles of shin­ to gain the goodwill of Iowa editors and ing new rails through the sparsely popu­ politicians, spread good words about the lated, little known Intermountain West. services of the Union Pacific, and dissemi­ Company officials baited the Iowans nate knowledge about the agricultural, well. They offered a day coach, a baggage tourist, and other potential of the vast un­ car, five of their best Pullman sleeping developed regions served by the company? cars, and the services of two high company From the standpoint of Union Pacific officials for the entire trip at a prorated management, timing was crucial. In 1881, cost of less than twenty dollars per person. construction began on the eastern end of In his inimitable way, Editor T. E. Picotte a Union Pacific subsidiary from Granger, of the Wood River Times ferreted out the Wyoming across southern Idaho to Hunt­ financial details—facts unreported in the ington, Oregon. By October 1884, con­ Iowa press. In his June 13 issue, Picotte struction was complete on the Oregon noted that the bill for the use of the cars Short Line, as this company was called, was about half the normal rate, “but as all and a spur with its terminus at Ketchum these excursionists will write and publish a connected the newly opened Wood River full account of the trip this will amply mining district to the main line at Sho­ compensate the railway company for the shone. Thus Swalm and the Union Pacific low rate paid for transportation/ The edi­ officials arranged a trip which would have tors took the bait, fulfilled Picotte’s proph­ ecy, and in so doing disseminated a great quantity of information about Idaho Note on Sources The authors thank Bert W. Marley, Waller B. throughout their home state. Wigginton (both of Idaho State University), Merle Under the heading “Editorial Exodus,” Wells, and Judith Austin (both of the Idaho Historical Society) for insights and materials con­ the Mt. Pleasant Free Press reported that cerning the Gem State. We are grateful to our colleagues at the State Historical Society of Iowa the Democratic editors headed east and for numerous, helpful suggestions. In addition to sources mentioned in the text, the Republican editors west: “This would this article is based upon the accounts of the 1885 seem to leave Iowa politics to run itself.” Iowa Press Association excursion appearing in all of the newspapers listed on pp. 124-5 which are On the morning of June 9, 1885, the presently in the possession of the newly-created Iowa State Historical Department both in Des west-bound editors met at the Union Pacif­ Moines and Iowa City. The section on the gover­ nors stems from a conversation with George Mills ic Transfer Hotel in Council Bluffs, and in in August 1972. Much of the article is based on standard secondary sources in Iowa and Idaho a short time were ticketed for the excur­ history. sion of 18 davs in the “wonderland of Other specific sources are: Peter T. Harstad, "Lander Trail Report” (Pocatello, 1966); Robert America/ Liberated from his post beside G. Athearn, Union Pacific Country (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1971); Richard J. Jensen, The Winning the paste pot, the editor of the Traer Star of the Midwest (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1971); Ralph W. Hidy, et. ai, Timber and Men: Clipper was ready “to be bom in triumph The Weyerhaeuser Story (New York: Macmillan, on a chip around the wilds of the Lewis 1963); Charles J. V. Murphy, “Jack Simplot and His Private Conglomerate,” Fortune, 78, 2 (August and Clark’s addition to the United States.” 1968); an article about Simplot in the Boise Idaho Statesman (November 24, 1972); and correspond­ The editors represented 53 of Iowa’s 99 ence with Robert E. Smylie, Don Samuelson, Himena V. Hoffman, and others. counties. Mr. and Mrs. S. N. Williams of the Normal Monthly were already 300 w »

T he Palimpsest 105 miles away from their home in Dubuque, while others hailed from such places as Clear Lake, Columbus Junction, LeMars, Ida Grove, Clarinda, and many others. Representing 125 newspapers, the editors came from large and small towns, urban centers and rural hamlets, but they all shared one common trait—boasting of the spiciest, best-edited paper in the state! While waiting for the train to depart, the characters around the station provided amusement. A confidence man asks a newspaperman if he is going far. 1 ‘No, just been invited out to Hailey, Idaho, to a dance. May go on to the shore. Coker F. Clarkson Think you will have a pleasant time at this season? asks the confidence man. tentive editor learned that “corn matures ‘Yes/ replies the editor. 200 miles west of Omaha, and small grains The panhandler also asks the newspaper­ do well 50 to 75 miles still further out. man if he thinks he ‘will locate while out As the train rolled toward the arid west, west/ Henry Wallace debated with other farm Yes, intend to buy the territory/ replies editors whether the changing land was the editor. ‘Only lack $5.00 of having best suited for raising grass or grain. At enough to pay for it. Can’t you let me have Grand Island the discussion changed to that much until we get to Umatilla where the fine quality of food provided by the I have an uncle that has the contract of Union Pacific. cheating Indians and sending them on the As nightfall approached, W. I. Endicott warpath?’ of the Star Clipper turned his attention The confidence man drops off like a to his fellow passengers, particularly the tick that is full of blood and is seen no “old lady who takes her medicine out of more.’ ” a drinking cup and the man with the un­ All aboard!” mingled with the sound of usual “water flask who makes “a wry face the clock striking noon. The drive wheels and doesn’t pass it around. In 1884, the began to move; soon the Council Bluffs prohibitionists within the Republican Party depot passed out of sight. The Iowans had forced a stringent dry law through the filled five Pullman sleepers with their Iowa legislature. Thus, Endicott chided bodies, one baggage car with their lunch the two wayward Ilawkeyes. On other baskets, and one day coach with their to­ scores he had no qualms, for the crowd bacco smoke. The women, however did not was good natured and there were “just smoke, their powder was not of the kind to enough ladies along to make it respectable smoke when it went off. As the train and not prevent touching up the faded moved quickly through Nebraska, one at- colors of the West with red.’ 106 T he Palimpsest

Morning brought the travelers to “the is worth upon an average of 60 per acre,” # navel of the cattle world — Cheyenne. and he would not like to invest in “more After breakfast, the Governor of Wyoming than one acre at this price. Mr. Schooley Territory took the Iowans on a tour of the of the Indianola Advocate-Tribune sum­ town. They were elated to meet the fam­ med it up this way: “This, to one fresh ily of A. H. Swan, the “Cattle King” of from the sterile hills of New England Wyoming, (formerly from Mt. Pleasant) would probably appear of ‘remarkable fer- and Mrs. William Hale, widow of the re­ tilitv and beautv’; but to one who has lived cently deceased Territorial Governor (both a score of years in the very garden-spot of former Iowans). But the nostalgia was Iowa, its attractions are decidedly second- shattered when the delegation was shown class.” a telegraph pole in front of a jail “upon What the landscape lacked, the Union which a man had been hung.“ One editor Pacific dining hall made up for. At Green was sure that when the cowboys come River the excursionists ate “meats, rich, to town “the place is pretty rough.” After tender, juicy; fruits in superb quality, and seeing a genuine cowboy in action one of other good things in abundance.” the editors commented that if he had his Old mingled with new as the editor of choice “between training a bronco pony to the Guthrian spotted wagon ruts hugging the saddle or breaking a ten day’s cyclone the railroad line. Near South Pass he was to drive into a single harness” he would surprised to see a “westward mover with gladly tackle the cyclone. his covered wagon working his slow prog­ At Cheyenne, Mr. Endicott of Traer ress within a stone’s cast of our hurrying proved that he knew his Mark Twain. He train.” reported that he posed one final question At Granger, the train switched from the to a Wyoming native: “ ‘How do you like main Union Pacific track to the Oregon this country?’ Short Line. Here the president of the Idaho ‘Pretty well,’ replied the cowboy, ‘All we Press Association came aboard in prepara­ lack is water and good society.’ tion for entrvy into the Gem state. ‘Those are the principal faults with hell,’ ” At Montpelier, just over the Idaho line, remarked Mr. Endicott, as he left without the Iowa journalists first encountered Mor­ further comment. mons. Since the mid-1850s, the Republi­ It was now two o clock in the afternoon can Party had taken a strong anti-Morman and the train rolled onward. Night fell position in its national platforms. No doubt near Laramie. “We woke up amid the many of the editors were familiar with eroded clay buttes and utter desolation of the party platform adopted in Chicago in the Green River valley, where no bird flew 1884 which asserted that: or sang and no grass blade sprang,” re­ it is the duty of Congress to enact such called one editor, and “all the inhabitants laws as shall promptly and effectually sup­ ought to be atheists, since the countrv press the system of polygamy within our was made by devils at play or malice. . . .” Territories and divorce the political from the ecclesiastical power of the so-called Another newspaperman declared that the Mormon Church; and that the laws so land through Wyoming “west of Laramie enacted should be rigidly enforced by the T he Palimpsest 107

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- ;TCk r" •:-. /d SL.J \ -L r:* *v: F^ > ■ >< /• - f> ; r/- • - ■ i ■ mi S’ i\:• iv dLP. 7' ■'•- m «..; sy- r*û^ 1*«*, fîM *^r* 7^' r*' ' - &£c&r. The rail line cut near Green River, Wyoming. (courtesy of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum Collection)

civil authorities, if possible, and by the mili­ hold his own. The man claimed to have tary, if need be. two wives which he treated impartially Four decades earlier, Mormons crossed “—sends one out to wash this week, t other Iowa and wintered near Council Bluffs on the next, and gives them half they can their way to Utah. Later, other Mormons make.” He was sure that “if we d hold the pushed hand carts across the state on their train long enough he could get two more way to Zion. Now the editors had a chance wives.” Swalm later recalled the fellow to talk to Mormons on the rim of the Great as a “queer genius, a trifle tipsy, but chock Basin. Could they be objective in their full of a rather coarse humor which reports back home? tickled the editors no end. Henry Wallace s only regret was that The editor of the Monticello Express the curse of Mormonism should rest on evaluated these inhabitants differently. He so fair a land,” but noted that “a finer described a “number of lazy looking Mor­ grazing country could scarcely be found mons hanging around the depot,” people than this part of Idaho. Al Swalm inter­ who “hold the balance of political power viewed one of the inhabitants of Mont­ in the territory and generally hook on with pelier, a predominantly Mormon town the Democrats—a case of elective affinity.” » of 1,500. The Mormon informant was "a The most bitter attack on the practice coarse, brutal looking fellow, but able to of polygamy came from the pen of Endi-

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* r. 108 T he Palimpsest cott of the Traer Star Clipper. He de­ had done to transform portions of south­ scribed one Mormon spokesman as “a fat eastern Idaho into productivity. The Wash­ complected man, apparently fifty years ington Comity Press reported: “Mormons old, who pled guilty of having three disdain mining and ranching, sticking to wives and was the oldest and smallest, he agriculture; they tap the mountain streams said, of fifty-two children in his father s and train them in irrigating ditches family.” The Edmunds Act of 1882 facili­ through sage brush tracts, and lo! the tated indictment and conviction for polyg­ desert blossoms as the rose. Thus the amy. Apparently this is what Endicott had Mormons were good to reclaim a waste in mind when he explained that recent country* even if thev * “harm society.” * prosecutions interfered with “the love af­ The train moved on to Soda Springs fairs of the Mormons, and now the polyg­ where the travelers stopped for 30 minutes amists are closing out their second hand to taste the naturally carbonated spring wives at a discount. A fair article of wom­ waters. They predicted that “a few years an can be had for a mere song, while will see a great sanitarium, with crowds those which are out of style or shelf-worn of invalid visitors located at this point. are offered in job lots of six bits a cluster. All but one of these springs now bubble Vicious as the editors were, they did not beneath a man-made reservoir, but 35 fail to recognize what the Mormon people miles down the track at Lava Hot Springs

The rail station in Pocatello, Idaho in 1885. (courtesy of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum Collection) 1/ t

Shoshone-Bannock Indian camp at Pocatello, (courtesy of Clifford H. Peake) a sanitarium was built which exists to this can have an adequate conception of their day. grandeur.” When the visitors reached the Portneuf Near the junction of the Oregon Short River Valley, they saw beds of lava rock Line and Utah & Northern, the editors and were astonished to see buildings being found a small town of 200 people. Poca­ made from this “hard and black material. tello, named after a local Indian, was one The scenery along the Portneuf River is of the few places on the entire journey very fine with beautiful cascades and where the Iowans encountered a signifi­ waterfalls on the one side and enchanting cant concentration of Native Americans. mountains, frequently plentifully pow­ Pocatello was a supper stop so there was dered with snow, and long dark canyons opportunity for observation. The Iowans’ on the other/’ One editor was so elated at impressions may astound a later genera­ the beauty that he remarked, “The trip tion. H. A. Burrell of the Washington along the Port-Neuf valley would pay one County Press recalled his encounter with lor the trip, if he saw nothing else. . . / All Mr. and Mrs. Lo of the Bannock tribe had difficulty describing a canyon in the with their papooses, dogs, and other pets. mountains; “the dwellers on the prairie The editor found “wigwams and huts . . . must see with their own eyes before they in the dirt and cactus; nasty wretches; a

» r. 110 T he Palimpsest squaw splitting wood awkwardly; a rather has our party/ The Iowans were escorted pretty white girl, with babe in arms, sired to Shoshone Falls which Henry Wallace by a half-breed husband, ugly and stout compared favorably with Niagara Falls: . . . .” Burrell was not in the mood for sup­ “Niagara is magestic; Shoshone is beauti­ per after seeing Bannocks select cactus or ful. Niagara is mighty, Shoshone is fantas­ the eggs of the red ant as choice morsels. tic .. . Shoshone is not more worthy of “Choctah” Swalm was introduced to a visit than Niagara, though far more pleas­ "degraded Indian” as the “Big Injun” of ing and beautiful. Having beheld the one, the party. The man looked at Swalm a vouy do not rest until yvou have seen the moment, shrugged his shoulders and “con­ other.” temptuously grunted: ‘Ugh—liar, he only Resuming its journey, the locomotive half breed. ” This was greeted with “yells chugged up valley, or as one editor put of laughter and a big collection was taken it, “rather to all appearance, down. For it up for the Indian.” Soon, “a hag passed is one of the strange things in these high along the train with a papoose on her back altitudes, that in going toward a moun­ charging ‘two bittee’ to look at the brat tain you invariably seem to be going down­ . . . . Thus the humor and good will of an hill, and it is only by seeing the water in earlier moment withered into disgust. the stream and irrigating ditches that the As the train left Pocatello one editor tenderfoot can be convinced that his eye­ wrote that the place would “grow in im­ sight deceives him. Soon the train arrived portance if the Fort Hall Indian Reserva­ at Ketchum—the heart of Idaho’s newest tion on which it stands, was thrown open mining district and the end of the line. In to settlement. . . . The reservation is fertile general, the Iowans were not overly inter­ and beautiful . . . ,” he reported to the ested in mining operations for, as one of land-hungry people back home, “but it them put it, “the industry is not adapted is entirely too good for a horde of lazy to our community. One journalist could Indians and will no doubt be taken from not resist comment about the lead and its half savage owners in a few years. . . .” silver “thrown around carelessly as brick They reached American Falls at dusk, a around a drying yard, and quartz and point 1,115 miles from Council Bluffs. galena . . . in great bins like com in a Here the train stopped long enough for Hawkeye elevator.” Most of the Iowans a look at the water of the Snake River took a turn at bathing in Smith’s Sulphur tumbling over the falls. Baths where the water issued forth from At midnight, the train coasted to a halt the ground at a temperature of 136°. But at Shoshone, and the passengers slept in this was only “warm up” for other events stillness. The citizens of the new town of the day. (A half century later, after the roused their guests at 7:30 in the morning rich ore was long exploited, the Union with a noisy band, cheers, and ovations. Pacific developed Sun Valley as a resort Charles Blodgett of the Des Moines Daily in this setting and named one of its prime Capital stated that “General Grant on his ski runs “Warm Springs.”) return trip from around the world could After a few hours of recreation, the edi­ not have had more attention paid him than tors returned to Hailey where the more T he Palimpsest 111

Shoshone halls on the Snake River, Idaho, (courtesy of the Idaho Historical Society) formal festivities were held. Here Henry of secrecy, please don’t ask us to betray Wallace of the Iowa Homestead received their confidence. . . .” The editor of the two keys on behalf of the Iowa delegation. Mt. V ernon Hawk-Eye also stood on top The key to Hailey was sheet iron, two of a mountain and proclaimed that he feet long; the other was brass, about 18 “felt closer to heaven than he ever had in inches, on which was inscribed “Welkum, Mt. Vernon.” Ketchum, Hold m. Hailey was a lively A half dozen editors fished for trout mining town in the mid-1880s, with gam­ with Homer Pound, Register of the United bling houses, tainted women, and dives. States Land Office, as their guide and a Revolvers were used on slight provoca­ container of lemonade for refreshment. tion, according to the Winterset Madison­ Washington County Press readers learned ian. Many Chinamen, a few Indians, and from editor Burrell that “of all the beauti­ one or two Blacks could be seen on the ful things I’ve seen in this vale of tears . . . streets. Late in the afternoon some of the I vote a trout stream in the mountains, party found more sulphur baths. A friend­ chief. What he had no way of knowing ly rRal noted that the Mt. Vernon dele­ was that Pound s wife was home preg­ gation indulged freely,” but added teas- nant with a child who was destined to inglv, ' in as much as we are under bonds become a leading literary figure of this 112 T he Palimpsest century. When the “infant Gargantua was born on October 30, 1885, the parents named him Ezra. The citizens of this Wood River com­ munity provided a large feast for the ex­ cursionists, after which evervone✓ retired

to the Hailev* courthouse. Ezras uncle

conducted the Hailev+ Silver Band which summoned the crowd. I. N. Sullivan, a former Iowan, presided over the events of the evening. Swalm and Wallace spoke for the Iowa delegation, the locals got their say, then came the “Idaho-Iowa” toast by Kingsbury and Young. If Gover­ nor Sherman and the editors held to the laws of their home state this was a “drv”J toast for the Iowans. After, came an eve­ ning of general frolic and dancing. “I kept three squaws busy on the floor at once,” boasted one editor. At 11:30 o’clock the train departed for Shoshone. After the entertainment at Ilailey and only four days out of Council Bluffs, the editors were understandably tired. Their train rejoined the main line at Shoshone, but the Iowans could barely respond to the brass band that serenaded them from the platform. It was probably just as well because the band had been organized only ten days earlier. In self-defense one melody, said the editor of the Mt. Vernon energetic horn blower wore a placard Hawk-Eye. reading: ‘ Don t shoot boys; we are doing The train moved through the night and the best we can.” And the bass drum- reached Caldwell the next morning. Here beater had a yellow dog tied to his leg. the Hawkeyes were greeted by a delega­ The sleepy Iowans first supposed this was tion from Boise, the capital of the Territo­ a precautionary measure, but it was soon ry. To avoid a steep grade, the Oregon ascertained that the dog was part of the Short Line engineers had not run the band. After the drummer had beaten the tracks into Boise. Therefore, not even the drum for awhile he proceeded to beat the sleek Pullman “Boise City” which was part dog. “Sort of played on his feeling as it of the entourage could reach that town. were to the great improvement of the During breakfast, the Iowans learned more T iie Palimpsest 113

The courthouse at Hailey, Idaho, scene of the “Idaho-lowa” toast, (courtesy of the Idaho State Historical Society)

114 T he Palimpsest

about Idaho from the Boiseans as well as After traveling through the Payette and the locals, including “an old Mexican sol­ Weiser valleys, the excursionists left Idaho dier who helped kill off the Indians, and and arrived in Huntington, Oregon where the first year or two lived on horse flesh.” they traveled on the Oregon Railway and The man bragged that his 160-acre farm Navigation line to Portland. When they could raise 400 bushels of potatoes per reached that city, they had been on the acre! He also claimed to have caught a road for five da vs and had traveled 1,820 sturgeon in the Snake River which weighed miles from Council Bluffs. They would 900 pounds. The editors felt compelled to go on to Tacoma, Seattle, south to Eu­ “sit this down as a fish story.” gene and Corvallis, and then back to Perhaps satiated by breakfast and hyper­ Walla Walla. Then they would again fol­ bole, a 250 pound Iowan cut in on a man low their Oregon Short Line and Union extolling Idaho’s charms, “My friend, I Pacific route back to Iowa, arriving in believe in your territory and your climate Council Bluffs on June 27, 1885. . . . . When I left Iowa last Tuesday . . . I ✓ On all accounts the excursion had been had just left a dime museum, where I was a genuine success, just as Swalm had prom­ on exhibition as the living skeleton. Now ised. During the trip and for weeks there­ look at me; all those changes since I struck after, articles about Idaho and the Pacific Idaho. Without a change in expression Northwest appeared in Iowa newspapers. the Idahoan continued talking about his Frequently, the editors tinted their facts territory’s greatness, then added, “. . . with the color of their emotions. Even the but we don’t claim everything; we will highly respected C. F. Clarkson of the award the palm to Iowa for liars.” Iowa State Register paid tribute to the

COUNCIL BLUFFS. IA. -

J. W . M a y n a r d , Ticket Agent. jf 1 hr Council Bluffs, Iowa rail .station, the point of departure and return for the 1885 excursionists. (courte of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum collection) T he Palimpsest 115

The lush greenery of an Iowa corn field, produced by the conjunction of rich soil and natural rainfall, seems almost effortless when compared to the elaborate irrigation procedures neces­ sary to sustain row crops in Idaho. (John Schultz photo)

railroad that linked Iowa and Idaho. "No gardening, and various specialties. Charles matter what may, in the future, be the Blodgett of the Daily Capital wrote glow- political question involving the regulation ingly about fruit production on the Idaho- or management of the railroads,' he wrote, Oregon border. "Apples, peaches, pears, the editors of Iowa can have nothing but nectarines, apricots, plums, prunes, grapes, the kindest recollections of the care and and all the small fruits are produced in treatment they received from the Union abundance, and of a quality your cor- Pacific Railroad." Thus the energies of respondent has never seen surpassed. C. President Charles Francis Adams and his K. Meyers of Denison was so thoroughly Union Pacific subordinates were well absorbed with John Gilman’s dairy opera- spent. tion near Ketchum that Meyers nearly As might be expected, the editors told missed the train back to Hailey. The dairy their subscribers a great deal about Idaho products were excellent. Fifteen miles of agriculture, a few samples of which have irrigation ditch brought water to Gilman’s already been presented. Many commented fenced pasture for 50 dairy cows. Range that because of the high altitudes and cool cattle browsed the open slopes nearby, nights, corn would not thrive in Idaho. Generally, the editors found good things Nevertheless, many positive things could to say about the quality of the farm ani- be said about ranching, grain growing, mals they observed in Idaho. The account 116 T he Palimpsest

by Charles Aldrich published in the Web­ the diversion of the smaller streams. The ster City Freeman is typical. “Horses, Iowans did not see a major empoundment cattle, and sheep look fat and sleek, even or an elaborate canal system of the type in the barren and desolate looking sage the Mormons were then building in the brush and lava bed regions of Idaho,” he Upper Snake River Valley. J. E. Eggert’s asserted from his own observations. Then generalizations about irrigation in the Col­ he repeated an Idahoan s theory that “the umbus Safeguard are as informative as small amount of grass found there con­ any on that subject: tains a far greater percent of the flesh- In southern Idaho, irrigation is necessary producing element than the native grasses to insure the ripening of crops. The process in the states.” of irrigating has been reduced to scientfiic Early on their trip the Iowans detected principles, and it is claimed by those who have tested it, that it gives better results, inherent problems with western hogs. The insures more regular crops, and with less basic problem was that the “snouts tended worry, than where the rainfall is depended to grow toward the setting sun. . . . Their upon. ears have made a desperate . . . effort to Editorial opinion ranged widely on the keep pace, and despite the long legs on question of how land-hungry Iowans which they are borne, have constantly lost should react to the Idaho lands. The Win- in the race; the distance between snout terset Madisonian concluded that “the and ears has been constantly increasing. Iowa farmer has a more rigorous climate, Therefore, the farm editors rejected all may have to work somewhat harder, but known rules for hog judging and came at the year’s end he will have more to up with the following: “The hog was to show for it.” Then, Editor H. J. B. Cum­ be suspended by the ears; if the rear end mings advised: “If on a good farm, in good descended, showing the preponderance of health, he had better stay where he is.” weight to be back of the ears, it was to After seeing the productive country around stand approved; but if snout descended Walla Walla, then traveling a second time the hog was to be discarded.” Upon com­ across the Snake River Plain, W. H. School- pletion of the trip the men compared ey of Indianola was over-whelmed by the notes and found that upon mental applica­ thought of what this country, once irri­ tion of their criteria, “only three hogs were gated, could do for the food supply of the found west of the Idaho line that would world. “But the pioneers who shall reduce pass muster.” these plains to fertile and productive farms Few of the Iowa editors presented in­ will have no picnic of it.” cisive information about the mvsterious After 1885, Iowa farmers and others process of bringing water to the land. By who were curious about Idaho, could talk 1885, irrigation in the parts of Idaho they to local people with at least a moderate visited had not progressed much beyond reservoir of first hand information. The T he Palimpsest 117

excursion was very beneficial, and as the ness of Iowa editors and their readers. editor of the Indianola Advocate-Tribune During the decades when tracts of ir­ said: rigated farm land were coming on the It is has given the people of Iowa and market (and when the Union Pacific was the people whom we visited a better knowl­ offering cheap passenger and freight rates edge of each other. It has awakened in to settlers) Iowa moved steadily upward them a lively interest in each other’s wel­ in the list of states supplying native born fare. It has enkindled or rekindled an en­ during friendship. It has enlarged the people to Idaho. The federal Carey Act patriotism of both, making us feel, as we of 1894 facilitated the opening of the vast never felt before, that we are one common Twin Falls and subsequent projects early people, inheritors of one common country, in the present century. It is not accidental and it is the best and grandest country on that Iowa peaked out in the aforemen­ the face of God’s green earth. tioned list in 1910 and descended as few­ With luck, an inquirer might receive er and fewer acres of new farm land came more accurate information about soil fer­ on the market. tility than that furnished by the editor of the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil who ponderously asserted: “It is well known The members of the Iowa Press Associa­ that these sage brushes cannot grow ex­ tion who went west were fond of telling cept in rich soil, which when properly their readers about the Iowans “whirled irrigated, produces rich crops of cereals, westward like cast leaves in the autumn; vegetables, fruits, etc.” The editors were the wind seems to have lodged them in an important part of their communities, sheltered nooks everywhere. At Pocatello and what they knew about the West was alone they met four former Iowans work­ bound to spread. ing for the railroad—William Cavanaugh If an Iowa laborer contemplating a and James Connors of Denison and Walt move sought the advice of one of the Close and Ed Forrester of Independence, editors who went west, he would likely “In numerous instances,” wrote W. IT. be told that it would be futile to compete Schooley of Indianola, “the scenes were with the cheap Chinese labor of Idaho. truly pathetic as friends of ten or twenty Business men with capital and pluck, on years ago met unannounced, and clasped the other hand, might do quite well. each others’ hands in genuine delight.” To what extent did the Iowa editors What none of the editors noted was influence the stream of migrants from the the inordinate number of Iowans lodged Hawkeye to the Gem state? The issues in the governor’s office of the Gem state. are too complicated for easy generaliza­ To date, a quarter of Idaho’s governors tion. It is safe to sav that the mid-1880s w have had some affiliation with Iowa. The was a good time for an infusion of infor­ list includes the first governor of Idaho mation about Idaho into the conscious­ Territory as well as two contemporaries.

> 118 T he Palimpsest

1. William H. ice in Idaho. Bowen saw little potential \ Wallace (Governor in Idaho and told an acquaintance, Thom­ 1863-1864, Repub- as Donaldson: “This place is a sucked • lican) cut his po- lemon—squeezed dry! He went to Ar­ litioal teeth as kansas saying: “One day-and-night poker Speaker of t he session of the Arkansas legislature would House in the first clean out this entire territory." session of the Io­ 3. John N. Irxvin wa territorial leg­ (Governor 18 83, islature in 1838 Republican) was and as a member of the Council in 1842- also a native of 43. He moved to Washington Territory southeastern Iowa. in 1853, where he also served on the Born in Keokuk, Council, then went off to Congress. Like he had both mav-✓ Abraham Lincoln, who appointed him |BiiM oral legisla- Governor of Idaho Territory,* ' Wallace was ^ B H tive experience an ardent Whig who made a well-timed Iowa before being switch to the Republican Party. appointed Governor of Idaho Territory. W. W. Wallace, son of the Governor, He came west for an inspection, but re­ related his family’s and perhaps an Iowa turned to Iowa for one or more of the version of the naming of the Gem state. following reasons: health problems, bus­ The Governor’s wife had been in Iowa iness complications, or as one historian visiting with a married sister from Col­ put it: “either . . . Idaho had no use for orado. That sister had a daughter named him or . . . he had no use for Idaho. . . Idaho, perhaps after the Colorado place The appointment of these three gov­ name. In March 1863, a committee dis­ ernors was related to the strength of the cussed the names Idaho and Lafayette for Republican Party in Iowa and the nation the new territory. Mrs. Wallace thought during the Givil War, and post-war years. that “there was never quite as sweet and Senator William Boyd Allison was pow­ pretty a little creature in all the world" erful within the Republican fold and as her niece. According to her son, she could advance the careers of his Iowa successfully urged the committee to ac­ friends. In the case of Irwin it took more cept the name Idaho. than one try. 2. Thomas M. 4. Frank Steu- Boxeen (Governor nenherg (Gover­ 1871, Republican) nor 18 97-1900, was in office for Democrat) also a only two months. native of Keokuk, Born near Burling­ came from an Iowa ton, Iowa, he had Dutch family. He a diverse political was a successful career both before Iowa journalist and after his serv­ with both the Des The Palimpsest 119 Moines Register and the Knoxville Ex­ press before lie and his brother purchased the Caldwell Tribune in 1886. Neither of the Steunenberg brothers was along with the western excursion of the Iowa Press Association in 1885, but they came to Idaho a year later. Through the years Steunenberg kept up his Iowa contacts and at the time of his murder in 1905 his picture was still hanging in the com­ posing room of the Knoxville newspaper. 5. James //. Hawley (Governor 1911-1912, Demo­ crat) born in the Democratic town of Dubuque, Io­ wa, became the ninth Governor of When was Governor Idaho. A clever of Idaho, relations between labor and man­ lad, he came to agement in the mines strained beyond the the Salmon River country of Idaho from breaking point and produced acts of vio­ lence. To restore peace at Coeur d'Alene, California. While working one day in Governor Steunenberg called in federal 1869, he reportedly found a rich deposit troops. When Steunenberg was killed by and gathering some of the rocks into a a nitro-glycerine bomb attached to the gate flour sack, he took it to the creek, where of his Caldwell home December 30, 1905 he washed out the gold to the value of (five years after he left office) union forces one thousand dollars!” Not forgetting his were suspected of the crime. The Knoxville (Iowa) Tribune of January 6, 1906 re­ native state, he called this strike the Iowa ported: Mine. During his administration, Hawley Former Knoxville Man of Prominence Slain sent a train to the Midwest called the in the Gateway of His Own Home at Western Governors’ Special containing Caldwell, Idaho, at 6:40 Saturday exhibits of Idaho. Evening.—Probably the Result 6. John M. of an Old Grudge. Haines (Governor A crack Pinkerton detective teas engaged to assist Idaho authorities with the investi­ 1913-1914, Repub­ gation. llarry Orchard, a miner, confessed lican) came from to the crime. State Prosecutors, James Haw­ an Iowa Quaker ley and William E. Borah, tried to estab­ family. Born in lish that the Western Federation of Miners Jasper County in was party to the crime. The proceedings 1863, and educat­ turned into a celebrated trial of the union movement with Clarence Darrow handling ed at Penn Col­ the defense. lege, Haines 120 T he Palimpsest moved westward from town to town until 9. Robert E. his roots took hold as a real estate man Smylie (Governor in Boise. Here he became active in citv 1955-1966, Repub­ politics. He won the 1912 gubernatorial lican) Idaho s pop­ race as a Taft Republican but went down ular t h r e e-term in the next campaign. Haines was the governor, is a na­ first of the Iowa affiliated governors to tive of Marcus, Io­ die a natural death in Idaho. wa. He attended 7. David W. Cresco High Davis (Governor School with a not- 1919-1922, Repub­ ed Hawkeye, Norman Borlaug. Shortly lican) was a native after Boriami received the Nobel Prize, of W ales who the Des Moines Register published an ar­ spent his formative ticle calling attention to the successes of vears* in the coal these two men and pictured them on the mining districts of same football team. In acknowledging the Iowa. At the age clipping Smylie confessed: "It is good we W of 12 he went to could do something pretty well, because work in the coal fields of Angus, three neither of us could play football worth a years later became clerk of a company damn.” Smylie has the distinction of be­ store at Dawson, and at the age of 21 ing the only Iowa associated governor he became manager of the company store of the Gem state, whose father can be at Rippey. "His intense application to verified as once holding a membership business matters caused the impairment in the State Historical Societv* of Iowa. of his health and lured by the splendid This may not be entirely unrelated to the opportunities Idaho presented, Mr. Davis fact that Governor Smylie took a deep came West in 1904, and in a short time and personal interest in the moderniza­ established a bank at American Falls. . . .” tion and professionalization of the Idaho

The standard modern historv✓ of Idaho State Historical Societv✓ vears y later. contends that there was a strong move 10. Don Sam­ to have President Harding appoint Davis uel son (Governor Secretary of the Interior because of his 1967-1970, Repub­ strong record as a reclamationist. Had lican) called Dav­ Harding appointed him, "the Republicans enport his home could have been spared the calamity of from 1936 to 1946 the Teapot Dome scandal. . . .” where he worked 8. Dr. Charles for the City Fire A. Robins (Gov­ Department. After ernor 1947-1950, World War II, he Republican) was moved to Idaho and started a sporting born in Defiance, goods store at Sandpoint. In response to Iowa in 1884. He recent queries about confusion resulting began medical from his Iowa and Idaho associations he practice at St. replied: “Many times during my term as Maries in 1919. Governor after I had been introduced as T he Palimpsest 121 Governor of Idaho, I would be asked berculosis. Moreover, the mineral springs questions about places in Iowa and have and health spas of Idaho provided added been reintroduced a few times as the Gov­ inducement. The Sulphur Bath at Hailey ernor of Iowa.” was even a “sure pop for the itch.’ When Perhaps it was inevitable that one man, the Iowa editors visited Hailey in 1885 John B. Neil (Governor 1880-1883, Re­ they learned: “Nobody dies except doctors publican) should fall victim in published and they just evaporate.” sources to the confusion of the names John Briggs (son of Ansel Briggs, the Ohio and Iowa. Historian James Hawley first elected governor of Iowa) is a nine­ suggests, perhaps unkindly, that neither teenth-century example of one who moved state may want to claim this appointee back and forth for health reasons. Himena of Rutherford B. Hayes. “If the possession V. Hoffman, who had much more staying of brains had been a crime, Neil, even if power, is a twentieth-century example. convicted, never would have served more After receiving an M.A. degree from The than a jail sentence.’ Further studv clears University of Iowa in 1917, she taught the Hawkeye state of any association with history and coached at Fort Dodge. For Neil, but even without him there is enough the fall of 1923 she faced a choice of con­ evidence to term Iowa a nursery for Idaho 0 tinuing at Fort Dodge or accepting a politicians at the gubernatorial level. graduate fellowship in history at the Uni­ Has the flow of people and influence versity. Then illness struck. Her doctor ad­ between Iowa and Idaho invariably been vised her to neither study nor teach, but in a westerly direction? Not a scent of Ida­ added, “if you must teach you must go to ho sage brush can be found in the back­ a higher altitude!” She mailed her creden­ grounds of Iowa’s governors (unless picked tials and altitude requirements to the In­ up on brief visits such as Buren Sherman’s termountain Teachers Agency and in a in 1885). But a decided undertow in the few days was offered positions at Kali- spell, Montana and Pocatello, Idaho. “I westward flow of population is indicated decided on Pocatello and arrived there in in the census data. Idaho has never ranked September of 1923.’ She regained her high in the list of states supplying native health, taught for 30 years at Pocatello born people to Iowa. However, 1920 was High School, retired, then returned to her the peak year for both rank and number family home at Leon, Iowa, where she when there were 1,853 native Idahoans in presently lives in spritelv good health. Iowa. The same census enumerated 17,779 Within the web of business arrange­ native Hawkeyes in the Gem State—the ments that makes up the national economy high to date. numerous individual strands connect Iowa Some aspects of the relationship be­ and Idaho. A modest thread is suggested tween Iowa and Idaho have encouraged by the invitation to Hailey residents to the shuttling of people back and forth join the Odd Fellow’s Protective and between the two states. Since the 1870s Benefit Association of Fort Madison, Iowa at least, midwesterners began going to which appeared in the Wood River Times the Intermountain region for reasons of of January 29, 1886. On the other extreme Health. The light, dry mountain air was are the business interests of the Mussers thought to benefit those suffering from of Muscatine and Iowa City. When Gov­ respiratory problems and diseases, even tu­ ernor Bowen characterized Idaho “a suck- 122 T he Palimpsest

#

ed lemon—squeezed dry” in 1871, he was not looking at the timber stands of north­ ern and central Idaho. Early in this cen­ Profit a lot with £ tury, R. D. Musser, Clifton R. Musser, and SIMPLOT other members of that family teamed up fertilizers with the Frederic Weyerhaeuser and other TOP SOIL interests to incorporate the Potlatch Lum­ SCHOENEWE _ SN0-BL A ZE R — ber Company in 1903. The timber of the ■ RANCH-2 :< . ■ Clearwater-Palouse-Potlatch area was of ■ phenomenal quality. One white pine tak­ en to the Potlatch mill in 1911 measured “six feet nine inches across the butt, and t i yielded nearly 29,000 feet of lumber.” A sign advertising the J. R. Simplot Co. near Spencer, The scope and complexity of the Musser Iowa. interests are difficult to fathom, but con­ stitute one of the best places to examine over. Fertilizer sales bring the Simplot economic ties between Iowa and Idaho. name back to Iowa to bolster com j vields With the activities of Idaho industrialist and help to reverse the trend of colonial J. R. (Jack) Simplot, we come full circle exploitation of Idaho resources. with the Iowa-Idaho theme. The Simplot Idaho and Iowa share an earthy distinc­ family came to Dubuque while Iowa was tion; they are both associated with specific still a territory. Jack’s father, an Iowa crops—potatoes and com. But even before farmer, was advised to leave the state be­ the association of Idaho with potatoes, cause of respiratory problems. In 1909 and despite the thousand miles that sep­ when Jack was an infant, the family went arates them, extraordinary strands began to the state of Washington, stayed briefly, to bind the heritage of the ITawkeye and then settled on newly opened land near Gem states. T here was prophecy and emo­ Deck), Idaho. Jack as a young man went tion in the toast that night at Hailey. □ into the potato processing business. By the end of World War II, he was the largest single supplier of dried potatoes to the armed services. He became known as the Henry Ford of potatoes. When threat­ ened with a shortage of phosphate for his potato crops, he went into all phases of phosphate fertilizer production from min­ ing the ore to retail sales. His activities have now expanded in scope and magni­ tude to make him a millionaire many times I

T he Palimpsest 123

•/ ; •... •

Too much of the country is set up on edge, so to speak, Zoo little is spread out so as to he avail able for agriculturewrote W. //. Schoolci/ of the Indianola Advocate Tribune.

’ ♦ - ■■■ o;f. -r:;ü»- , * Y*i S* si»: '

of all the beautiful things I've seen in this vale of tears I'd vote a trout stream in the moun tains, chief." 124 T he Palimpsest

MEMBERS OF THE IOWA PRESS ASSOCIA Jackson, Edmund Belle Plaine Union TION WESTERN EXCURSION OF 1885 Jarnagin, Mr. & Mrs. J. W. M o n te z u m a Republican Jones, Mr. & Mrs. C. J. Des Moines Daily News (As listed in the Daily Nonpareil Junkin, Mr. & Mrs. C. M. F a irfie ld Ledger of June 1 0, 1 885) Kennington, L. S. N e w to n Dem ocrat Kepler, Mr. & Mrs. C. W. Cedar Rapids Standard Adams, C. G. M o n te z u m a Dem ocrat K o d e r, S. Sac C ity Dem ocrat Aldrich, Mr. & Mrs. Charles T a m a C ity Chronicle Laub, H. C , Mrs. J. D. O naw a Gazette Allen, B. F. Story City Review Ainsworth and Miss Laub Ankeny, Miss Hattie Des Moines Hawk-Eye Blade Lefferts, Mr. & Mrs. C. S. Council Bluffs Daily Artz, H. H. G ra v ity Express N onpareil Ashton, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Guthrie Center G uthrian Leonard, Mr. & Mrs. Z. P erry Pilot Atkins, Henri Council Bluffs N onpareil Lewis, L. W. S eym our Press Ballou, V. A. N e va d a W atchm an Lowry, Robert A. A n g u s Black Diamond Bauman, Mr. & Mrs. S. H Mt. Vernon Hawk-Eye Magoun, Dr. G. F. Grinnell, honorary member Beatty, Mr. & Mrs. E. M. S ig o u rn e y News Mahin, Mr. & Mrs. John M u s c a tin e Daily Journal Bennett, Mr. & Mrs. N. Mechanicsville Press Marine, C. B., and V in to n Observer Benzinger, F. Cedar Rapids Chat M iss S m ith Maxon, Mr. & Mrs. J. Blodgett, Charles Des Moines Daily Capital West Liberty Daily Journal Brainard, J. M. & daughter Boone Standard M c C le lla n d , D r. F. & Cedar Rapids Times d a u g h te r Bull, Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Cedar Rapids Farm Journal McKean, J. B., and Mrs. Burdick, E. E. P o stville Review M a rio n Pilot Burke, J. W. K e llo g g Enterprise S. C. Williams Meyers, C. K., and Burrell, Mr. & Mrs. H. A. Washington Press D enison Review Miss Hunter Chandler, Mr. & Mrs. E. S. P erry Chief Miller, J. A. and Miss Clarkson, Mr. & Mrs. C. F. Des Moines Iowa State Des Moines Daily Register Register H ughes Miracle, Mr. & Mrs. D. D. E ldora Herald Coffin, Mr. & Mrs. L. S., Cedar Rapids W eekly Motz, J. E. Guthrie Center Iowa Star & Miss Gue Gazette Myers, Mr. & Mrs. Ed Cedar Rapids Iowa Farmer Cole & Hare, Misses Mt. Pleasant Free Press N a u g ie , L. Morning Sun Herald Conaway, F. R. B ro o klyn Chronicle Nevenesch, Mr. & Mrs. H. P ella Blade Cravath, Mr. & Mrs. S. A. G rin n e ll Semi-Weekly Herald Oungst, Mr. & Mrs. H a rla n Republican Crawford, Mrs. J. B Lisbon Sun W e b b M . C ra w fo rd , R. W . M a n so n Journal Painter, Mr. & Mrs. Chas. S. Des Moines Daily News Cummings, Mr & W in te rs e t M adisonian Palm, J. W., & Miss Andres Mt. Pleasant Journal Mrs. H. J. B. Palmer, Mr. & Mrs. G. D. W in te rs e t News Davis, Mr. & Mrs. R. A n ita Republican Palmer, T. J. What Cheer Patriot D odd, C. J. L y n n v ille Vindicator Parrott, Louis G. W a te rlo o Reporter Doxsee, J. W. Monticello Express Parrott, Mr. & Mrs. Matt W a te rlo o Reporter Duncombe, W. E. & sister Fort Dodge Daily Chronicle Persinger, H. R., Mother & Des Moines Persinger's Eggert, Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Columbus Junction sister, AI Belknap T imes

• Safeguard Ragsdale, M r & Mrs. G. H. Le M a rs Daily Sentinel Endicott, W. I. T ra e r Star Clipper Rees, W. H. W. C reston Daily Gazette Engle, Mr. & Mrs. Perry N e w to n Herald Rhoads, J. M. J e ffe rso n Bee Evans, H. C. Bloomfield Democrat Roberts, G. E., & sister Fort Dodge Messenger Fancher, Mr. & Mrs. N. M a rio n Register Robinson, L. S. Leon Journal Farbush, E. E. A tla n tic People's Advocate Robinson, Ralph & daughter N e w to n Journal Faulkes, Mr. & Mrs. F. W. Cedar Rapids Daily Gazette Rockwell, Mr. &. Mrs. G. B. R ockw ell Phonograph Fay, H . I. D e W itt Advertiser Rood, Mr. & Mrs. V. D. A n ita Times Foster, Mr. & Mrs. John S tu a rt Locomotive Schooley, Mr. & Mrs. W. H In d ia n o la Advocate Tribune Frost, George E. Clear Lake Record Scott, D. H., and Miss G risw o ld Reporter Gilliland, A. S. Grand Junction Head-Light Nourse & Miss Gage G irto n , M r. & M rs . J. F. Des Moines Anzeiger Sheffer, Mr. & Mrs. D. Red O ak Express Gorrell, J. R. C o lfa x Clipper Sheppardson, Mr. & Mrs. Marble Rock W eekly G ray, John A vo ca Delta J. B. Guilford, Mr. & Mrs. C. D. H a m p to n Chronicle Sherman, Gov. & Mrs. B. R. Des Moines, honorary Hanawalt, Mr. & Mrs. G. P. Des Moines Surgeon Shockley, G. W. O skaloosa Globe Hanna, Miss Belle Mt. Vernon Cornellian Simmons, Mr. & Mrs. F. A Cedar Rapids Real Estate Hazard, Louis Greenfield Review Investor Hoffman, Philip, and O skaloosa Messenger Slaughter, H. J. A tla n tic Democrat Miss Eva Wagoner Smart, J. J. D a k o ta Independent Hunter, J. D., wife & Webster City Freeman Smith, J. S. T ip to n Conservative d a u g h te r Snyder, Charles A. T ip to n Advertiser Hurst, S. W. Leon Democrat-Reporter Snyder, Mr. & Mrs. E. A Cedar Falls Gazette Hutchison, S. B e d fo rd Tribune Spencer, Wilson C reston M onitor T hf Palimpsest 125

Stewart, T. M C la rin d a Democrat Stults, Mr. & Mrs. S. F. M e n lo Enterprise Swalm, Mr. & Mrs. O skaloosa Semi-Weekly A lb e rt W . Herald Taylor, Mr. & Mrs. H. C. M ilto n Herald Thompson, Mr. & Mrs. D u n la p Reporter G. W . Thurman, C. D., Mrs. & Council Bluffs Railroad Miss Mitchell Reporter Toman, William Independence Bulletin Wallace, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Des Moines Homestead Ward, Mr. & Mrs. M. L. Cedar Rapids Daily Republican Weaver, S. M Iowa Falls Citizen Welle, Mr. & Mrs. D. Pella W eekblad Wheeler, H. C. Ida G rove Pioneer W h itm a n , F. L. A d e l Democrat Whitman, J. D. Dallas Center Globe W ic k , A . D. Jewell Junction Record Wiggins, M. B. R o ckfo rd Independent Willey, J. H. A tla n tic Messenger Williams, Mr. & Mrs. S. N. D ubuque Normal Monthly Young, Mr. & Mrs. Lafe A tla n tic Daily Telegraph

Home counties of Iowa editors who were members of the 1885 excursion to the Pacific Northwest. 126 T he Palimpsest

(John Schultz photo)

When the members of the Iowa Press As­ such hogs were rounded up and moved to sociation wrote disparaging words about market in droves. The sight of several hun­ western hogs (p. 116) they were calling dred porkers, galloping across the rolling attention in a humorous fashion to part of prairie, must have been awesome. American agricultural history. Had a simi­ Despite the advantages of such hogs— lar group of journalists from a more eastern especially the lack of work involved in state visited Iowa prairies during the middle raising them—Iowa farmers soon began ef­ part of the nineteenth century, they might forts to improve the cash return on their have commented on the odd appearance animals. Just as others in Ohio and Illinois of Iowa hogs. A. T. Hofer, editor of the had done before them, Iowans began to McGregor News, in 1879 recalled the swine breed hogs selectively. New strains such of a bygone Iowa era: “old settlers will as the Chester White and the Poland China recollect of that pioneer breed of hogs pro­ were imported as breeding stock. By the vided by nature with snouts no less than 1870s, many counties had active hog breed­ a yard long.’ ing associations. The effort paid off rapidly, The first hogs raised by Iowa farmers and the prairie hog was replaced by the were rangy, long-legged, long-snouted crea­ short-faced, heavier, and more profitable tures, best suited to free feeding among modem pig. com fields or wooded areas. These swine When the Iowa editors visited Idaho in were hardy enough to survive benign neg­ 1885 they observed swine production at a lect by farmers and still be profitable with stage which had already disappeared from a minimum of finishing before market time. Iowa. The hog frontier had moved west. In the 1840s and 1850s large numbers of