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IDAHO

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 279 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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IDAHO , a western See also:

state of the See also:United States of See also:America, situated between 42° and 49° N. See also:lat. and 111° and 117° W. See also:long. It is bounded N. by See also:British See also:Columbia and See also:Montana, E. by Montana and See also:Wyoming, S. by See also:Utah and See also:Nevada, and W. by See also:Oregon and See also:Washington. Its See also:total See also:area is 83,888 sq. m., of which 83,354 sq. m. are See also:land See also:surface, and of this 41,851.55 sq. m. were in See also:July 1908 unappropriated and unreserved public lands of the United States, and 31,775.7 sq. m. were See also:forest reserves, of which 15,153.5 sq. m. were reserved between the 1st of July 1906 and the 1st of July 1907. See also:Physical Features.—Idaho's See also:elevation above See also:sea-level varies from 738 ft. (at See also:Lewiston, Nez Perce See also:county) to 12,078 ft. (Hyndman See also:Peak, on the boundary between See also:Custer and See also:Blaine counties), and its mean elevation is about 4500 ft. The S.E. corner of the See also:wedge-shaped surface of the state is a See also:part of the See also:Great See also:Basin region of the United States. The See also:remainder of the state is divided by a See also:line See also:running S.E. and N.W., the smaller See also:section, to the N. and E., belonging to the Rocky See also:Mountain region, and the larger, S. and W. of this imaginary line, being a part of the Columbia See also:Plateau region. The See also: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 See also:Salt See also:Lake, by See also:Bear See also: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 See also:Bitter See also:Root, the Cceur d'Alene and the See also:Cabinet ranges being parts of the Rocky Mountain See also:System. The Rocky Mountain region reaches across the N. part of the state (the Panhandle), and well into the See also:middle of the state farther S., where the region is widest and where the See also:Salmon River range is the See also:principal one. The region is made up in See also:general of high ranges deeply glaciated, preserving some remnants of See also:ancient glaciers, and having See also:fine " Alpine " scenery, with many See also:sharp peaks and ridges, U-shaped valleys, cirques, lakes and waterfalls.

In the third physiographic region, the Columbia plateau, are the Saw Tooth, See also:

Boise, Owyhee and other rugged ranges, especially on the S. and W. See also: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 See also: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 See also:belt 5o to 75 M. wide, and See also:cover about 30,000 sq. m. Where they See also:cross the W. border at Lewiston is the lowest elevation in the state, 738 ft. above the sea. Instead of being one See also:plain formed by erosion, this region is rather a See also:series of plains built up with sheets of See also:lava, several thousand feet deep, varying considerably in elevation and in smoothness of surface according to the nature of the lava, aad being greater in area than any other lava beds in See also:North America except those of the Columbia river, which are of similar formation and, with the Snake river plains, See also:form the Columbia plateau. Many volcanic cones See also:mark the surface, but by far the most prominent among them are Big See also: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 See also:Bingham county. Middle Butte (400 ft. above the plain, also in Bingham county) is an upraised See also:block of stratified See also:basalt. The Snake river (which receives all the drainage of Idaho except small amounts taken by the See also:Spokane, the Pend Oreille and the Kootenai in the N., all emptying directly into the Columbia, and by some See also:minor streams of the S.E. that empty into Great Salt Lake, Utah) rises in Yellowstone See also:National See also:Park a few See also:miles from the heads of the See also:Madison See also:fork of the See also:Missouri, which flows to the Gulf of See also:Mexico, and the See also:Green fork of the See also:Colorado, which flows to the Gulf of See also:California. It flows S.W. and then W. for about 800 m. in a tremendous See also:canon.across See also:southern Idaho; turns N. and runs for 200 M. as the boundary between Idaho and Oregon (and for a See also: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 canon See also:character, with walls from a few See also:hundred to 6000 ft. in height (about 65o m. in Idaho).

The finest parts are among the most magnificent in the See also:

west; among its falls are the See also:American (See also:Oneida and Blaine counties), and the Shoshone and the Salmon (See also:Lincoln county). At the Shoshone Falls the river makes a sudden plunge of nearly 200 ft., and the Falls have been compared with the See also:Niagara and See also:Zambezi; a short distance back of the See also:main fall is a See also:cataract of 125 ft., the Bridal See also:Veil. Between See also:Henry's Fork and Malade (or Big See also:Wood) river, a distance of 200 m., the river apparently has no See also:northern tributaries; but several streams, as the Camas, See also:Medicine See also:Lodge and See also:Birch creeks, and Big and Little Lost See also:rivers, which fail to penetrate the plain of the Snake after reaching its border, are believed tojoin it through subterranean channels. The more important affluents are the North Fork in the E., the Raft, Salmon Falls and the See also: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 See also:scale. In 1904 See also:electricity, generated by See also:water-See also:power from the rivers, notably the Snake, began to be utilized in See also:mining operations. Scattered among the mountains are numerous (glacial) lakes. In the N. are: Cceur d'Alene Lake, in Kootenai county, about 30 M. long and from 2 to 4 M. wide, drained by the Spokane river; See also:Priest Lake, in See also:Bonner county, 20 M. long and about 10 m. wide; and mostly in Bonner, but partly in Kootenai county, a widening of See also:Clark Fork, Lake Pend Oreille, 6o 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. See also:Mineral springs and hot springs are also a notable feature of Idaho's physiography, being found in Washington, Ada, Blaine, See also:Bannock, See also:Cassia, Owyhee, Oneida, Nez Perce, Kootenai, Shoshone and See also:Fremont counties. At Soda Springs in Bannock county are scores of springs whose See also:waters, some See also:ice See also:cold and some warm, contain See also:magnesia, soda, See also:iron, See also:sulphur, &c.; near Hailey, Blaine county, water with a temperature of 144° F. is discharged from numerous springs; and at Boise, water with a temperature of 165° is obtained from See also:wells. The See also:fauna and See also:flora of Idaho are similar in general to those of the other states in the north-western part of the United States.

See also:

Climate.—The mean See also: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 See also: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 Boise, Payette and Weiser rivers; here the mean annual temperature in 1902 was 52° F., the maximum was 1o6° F., and the minimum was – 13° F. In the Upper Snake basin, in the Camas See also:prairie and Lost river regions, the climate is much colder, the highest temperature in 1902 being 1o1 ° and the lowest – 35° F. The mean annual rainfall for the entire state in 1903 was 16.6o in.; the highest amount recorded was at See also:Murray, Shoshone county (37.70 in.) and the lowest was at See also:Garnet, Elmore county (5.69 in.). See also:Agriculture.—The principal source of See also: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 See also:black in See also:colour and See also:rich in See also:vegetable See also:mould, the surface of the state is arid; the Snake river valley is a vast lava See also:bed, covered with deposits of salt and See also:sand, or soils of volcanic origin. And, apart from this, the farming See also: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 See also:macaroni See also:wheat—until 1898 had no See also: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 See also:shipping point, for the road had followed the Clear-water. 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.

See also:

Timothy was grown in the northern, and See also:alfalfa in the southern region as a See also:forage See also:crop. Even at this earliest See also:period, See also:irrigation, See also:simple and individual, had begun in the southern section, the See also:head waters of the few streams in this See also:district being soon surrounded by farms. Co-operation and colonization followed, and more ditching was clone, co-operative irrigation canals were constructed with some elaborate and large dams and head See also:gates. The See also:Carey See also:Act (1894) and the Federal Reclamation Act (19o2)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 See also:March 1903 and construction in See also:December 1904, and which was completed in 1907, commanding an irrigable area of 130,000-150,000 acres,' and has a diversion See also:dam (See also:rock-fill type) 600 ft. long, and 130 M. of canals and 110 m. of laterals; the larger Payette-Boise project in Ada, See also:Canyon and Owyhee counties (372,000 acres irrigable; 300,000 now See also:desert; 6o% privately owned), whose principal features are the Payette dam (rock-fill), See also:loo ft. high and 400 ft. long, and the Boise dam (See also:masonry), 33 ft. high and 400 ft. long, 200 M. of canals, loo m. of laterals, a See also:tunnel 1moo ft. long and 12,500 h.p. transmitted 29 m., 3000 h.p. being necessary to See also:pump to a height of 50-90 ft. water for the irrigation of 15,000 acres; and the See also:Dubois project, the largest in the state, on which survey and See also:reconnaissance See also:work were done in 1903–1904, which requires storage sites on the North Fork of the es_ ' Of these 8o,000 acres are reached directly—72,000 N., and 8000 S. of the Snake river; and from 50,000 to 70,000 acres more are above the level of the canals and will have water pumped to them by the 11,000-30,000 h.p. See also:developed. Snake and on nearly all the important branches of the North Fork, value of the deposits of See also:gold and See also:silver about 1860 that led to the and whose See also:field is 200,000—250,000 acres, almost entirely Federal See also:property, un 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 to ft. below the surface is tapped and pumped by electricity generated from the only surface water of the region, Camas See also: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 See also:Report of the state See also:commissioner of See also:immigration, 1,559,915 irrigated acres were under cultivation, and 3,266,386 acres were " covered " by canals 3789 m, long and costing $11,257,02 Up to 1900 the most prosperous period (absolutely) in the agricultural development of the state was the last See also:decade of the 19th See also:century; the relative increase, however, was greater between 1880 and 1890. The number of farms increased from 1885 in 188o to 6603 in 1890 and to 17,471 in 1900; the See also: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 See also:Indian reservations) from 217,005 acres in 1889 to 602,568 acres in 1899; the value of products increased from 81,515,314 in 1879 to $3,848,930 in 1889, and to 818,051,625 in 1899; the value of farm land with improvements (including buildings) from $2,832,890 in 1880 to $17,431,580 in 1890 and 842,318,183 in 1900; the value of implements and machinery from 8363,930 in 188o to $1,172,460 in 1890 and to $3,295,045 in 1900; and that of live-stock from $4,023,800 in 188o to $7,253,490 in 1890 and to $21,657,974 in 1900. In 1900 the See also:average See also:size of farms was 183.4 acres.

Cultivation by owners is the prevailin form of See also:

tenure, 91.3% of the farms being so operated in 1900 (2.3 % by See also:cash tenants and 6.4% by See also:share tenants). As illustrative of agricultural conditions the contrast of the products of farms operated by See also:Indians, See also:Chinese and whites is of considerable See also:interest, the value of products (not fed to live-stock) per See also:acre of the 563 Indian farms being in 1899 $1.40, that of the 16,876 See also: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 See also:animal products ($8,784,364)—in t See also:hat 7•See also:ear forest products were valued at $315,821. Of the crops, See also: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 See also:Year-See also:book of the See also: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 See also:barley crop in 1899 (8312,730) 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 See also: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-See also:half of the cereal crop in 1905 was produced in the prairie and plateau region of Nez Perce and Latah counties. The See also:production of See also:orchard fruits (apples, cherries, peaches, See also:pears, plums and prunes) increased greatly from 1889 to 1899; the six counties of Ada, Canyon (probably the leading See also:fruit county of the state), Latah (famous for apples), Washington, Owyhee and Nez Perce had in 1900 89% of the See also:plum and See also:prune trees, 85% of all See also:pear trees. 78 % of all See also:cherry trees, and 74% of all See also: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 See also:sugar See also:beets were raised, and See also:fields in the Boise 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 See also:industry was carried on most extensively in the S.E. part of the state. See also:Wool ranked second in value ($2,210,790), and according to the estimate of the National Association of Wool Manufactures for 1907, Idaho ranked See also:fourth among the wool-producing states in number of See also:sheep (2,500,000), third in wool, washed and unwashed (17,250,000 lb), and fourth in scoured wool (5,692,500 lb).

In See also:

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 See also:cattle, 344,000, valued at $5,848,000; horses, 150,000, $11,250,000; sheep, 3,575,000, $12,691,000; and See also: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 See also: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 r906—1907. Mining.. —The mineral resource: of Idaho are second only to the agricultural; indeed it was priularilythe See also:discovery of the immense See also: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 See also:account of the exhaustion of the placers. Then came an See also:adjustment to new conditions and a See also: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 186o 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 Boise and the S. fork of the Payette rivers. In 1901—1902 rich gold deposits were discovered in the See also:Thunder Mountain district in Idaho county. The counties with the largest production of gold in 1907 (state report) were Owyhee ($362,742), Boise ($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. T'he 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 See also:

lead See also: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 See also: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 See also: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 in-accessible 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 Cceur d'Alene district in Shoshone county. See also:Zinc occurs in the Coeur d'Alene district, at Hailey, Blaine county and elsewhere; according to the state reports, the state's output in Igo6 was valued at $91,426 and in 1907 at $534,087. Other minerals of economic value are See also:sandstone, quarried at Boise, Ada county, at See also:Preston, Oneida county, and at See also:Goshen, Prospect and Idaho Falls, Bingham county, valued at $22,265 in 1905, and at $11,969 in 1906; See also:limestone, valued at $14,105 in 1905 and at $12,600 in 1906, used entirely for the See also:local manufacture of See also:lime, part of which was used in the manufacture of sugar; and See also:coal, in the Horseshoe See also:Bend and See also:Jerusalem districts in Boise county, in Lemhi county near Salmon See also: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 lo tons respectively in 1899 and 1900. Minerals developed slightly, or not at all, are See also:granite, valued at $1500 in 1905; surface salt, in the arid and semi-arid regions; See also:nickel and See also:cobalt, in Lemhi county; See also:tungsten, near Murray, Shoshone county; See also:monazite and See also:zircon, in certain sands; and some See also: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 See also:supply of local demands. The principal See also:industries were devoted to See also:lumber and See also:timber products, valued at $908,670 in 1900, and in 1905 at $2,834,506, 211.9% more. In 1906 the Weyerhauser See also:Syndicate built at See also:Potlatch, a See also:town built by the syndicate in Latah county, a lumber See also:mill, supposed to be the largest in the United States, with { a daily capacity of 750,000 ft.

In Bonner county there are great See also:

mills at Sand Point and at Bonner's See also:Ferry. In these and the other 93 saw-mills in the state in 1905 See also:steam generated by the See also:waste wood was the See also: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 See also:April 1907 by the United States See also:government) ; four-fifths of the cut in 1900 was yellow See also:pine. See also: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-See also:car construction and See also: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 See also:beet sugar were undertaken, and manufacturing establishments for that purpose were installed at Idaho Falls and See also:Blackfoot (Bingham county), at Sugar, or Sugar City (Fremont county), a See also: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. See also:Brick-making was of little more than local importance in 1906, the largest kilns being at Boise, Sand Point and Cceur d'Alene City. Lime is made at Orofino, Shoshone county, and at See also:Hope, Bonner county. Communications.—The total railway mileage in January 1909 was 2,022.0.1 m., an increase from 206 m. in 188o and 946 M. in 18o0, The Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the OregonRailway & See also:Navigation lines cross the N. part of the state; the Oregon Short Line crosses the S., and the See also:Union Pacific, which owns the Oregon Railway & Navigation and the Oregon Short Line roads, crosses the eastern part. The constitution declares that See also:railways are public highways, that the legislature has authority to regulate rates, and that discrimination in tolls shall not be allowed. See also:Population.—The population of Idaho in 2870 was 14,999; in r88o it was 32,610, an increase of 117.4%; in t890 it was 88,548, an increase of 158.8%; in 1900 161,772 (82.7% increase); and in 1910 325,J94 (101.3% increase). Of the inhabitants 15.2% were in 1900 See also:foreign-See also:born and 4.5% were coloured, the coloured population consisting of 293 negroes, 1291 See also:Japanese, 1467 Chinese and 4226 Indians.

The Indians lived principally in three reservations, the Fort See also:

Hall and Lemhi reservations (1350 sq. m. and too sq. m. respectively), in S.E. and E. Idaho, being occupied by the Shoshone, Bannock and Sheef-eater tribes, and the Coeur d'Alene See also: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 See also: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 See also:England, 2974 were from See also:Germany, 2528 were See also:Canadian See also:English, 2822 were from See also:Sweden, and 1633 were from See also:Ireland, various other countries being represented by smaller numbers. The See also: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 See also:thirty-three incorporated cities, towns and villages, but only five had a population exceeding 2000; these were Boise (5957), Pocatello (4046), Lewiston (2425), See also:Moscow (2484) and See also:Wallace (2265). In 2906 it was estimated that the total membership of all religious denominations was 74,578, and that there were 32,425 Latter-See also:Day See also:Saints or See also:Mormons (266 of the Reorganized See also:Church), 18,0J7 See also:Roman Catholics, 5884 Methodist Episcopalians (5313 of the Northern Church), 3770 Presbyterians (3698 of the Northern Church), 3206 Disciples of See also:Christ, and 2374 See also:Baptists (2331 of the Northern See also:Convention). Government.—The See also: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 See also:term of two years.

Besides being citizens of the United States and residents of the state for two years preceding their See also:

election the See also:governor, See also:lieutenant-governor and See also:attorney-general must each be at least thirty years of See also:age, and the secretary of state, state auditor, treasurer and superintendent of See also:education must be at least twenty-five years old. The governor's See also:veto may be overridden by a two-thirds See also:vote of the legislature; the governor, secretary of state, and the attorney-general constitute a See also:Board of Pardons and a Board of State See also:Prison Commissioners. The legislature meets biennially; its members, who must be citizens of the United States and See also:electors of the state for one year pre-ceding 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 See also:court of three See also:judges, elected every six years, and See also:circuit and See also:probate courts, the five district judges being elected every four years. See also:Suffrage requirements are citizenship in the United States, See also:registration and See also:residence in the state for six months and in the county for thirty days immediately before election, but See also:mental deficiency, conviction of infamous crimes (without restoration to rights of citizenship), See also:bribery or See also:attempt at bribery, See also:bigamy, living in " what is known as patriarchal, plural or See also:celestial See also:marriage," or teaching its validity or belonging to any organization which teaches poly-gamy,' are disqualifications. Chinese or persons of Mongolian i This disqualification and much other legislation were due to the large Mormon population in Idaho. In 1884–1885 all county and See also:precinct See also:officers were required to take a test See also:oath abjuring bigamy, See also:polygamy, or celestial marriage ; and under this See also:law in 1888 threedescent not born in the United States are also excluded from suffrage rights. See also:Women, however, since 1897, have had the right to vote and to hold See also:office, and they are subject to See also:jury service. An Australian See also:ballot law was passed in 1891. The constitution forbids the chartering of corporations except according to general See also:laws. In 1909 a See also:direct See also:primary elections law was passed which required a See also: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 See also: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 See also:corporation may issue stock except for labour, service rendered, or See also: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 See also:

statute (1891) it has been provided that in See also:civil actions three-fourths of a jury may render a See also:verdict, and in See also:misdemeanour cases five-sixths may give a verdict. See also:Life See also: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 See also:adultery, See also:cruelty, See also:desertion or neglect for one year, habitual See also:drunkenness for the same period, See also:felony or See also:insanity. There are a state See also:penitentiary at Boise, an See also:Industrial Training School at St See also:Anthony, an Insane See also:Asylum at Blackfoot, and a North Idaho Insane Asylum at Orofino. The care of all defectives was let by See also:contract to other states until 1906, when a state school for the See also:deaf and See also:blind was opened in Boise. No See also:bureau of charities is in existence, but there is a Labor See also: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 See also: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 See also:expenditure (year ending Aug. 31, 1906) for instruction for each See also: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, See also:

science, See also:music and See also:engineering, and offers See also:free tuition. In 1907–1908 the institution had 41 instructors and 426 See also:regular and 58 See also:special students. In 1901 the See also: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 See also:link between the public schools and the university. There are two state normal schools, one at Lewiston and the other at See also:Albion. The only private institution of See also:college rank in 1908 was the College of Caldwell (Presbyterian, opened 1891) at Caldwell, Canyon county, with 65 students in 1906-1907. There are See also:Catholic See also:academies at Boise and Coeur d'Alene and a See also:convent, Our See also:Lady of See also:Lourdes, at Wallace, Shoshone county, opened in 1905; Mormon schools at See also: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 See also:Protestant Episcopal school at Boise (1892). The Idaho Industrial See also:Institute (non-denominational; incorporated in 1899) is at Weiser. See also:Finance.—The finances of Idaho are in excellent See also:condition. The bonded See also:debt on the 3oth of See also:September 1908 was $1,364,000. The See also: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 See also:payment of outstanding bonds as fast as they become due. The constitution provides that the See also:rate of See also:taxation shall never exceed to mills for each See also:dollar of assessed valuation, that when the taxable property amounts to $50,000,000 the members of the territorial legislature were deprived of their seats,ps ineligible.

An act of 1889, when the Mormons constituted over 20%i of the population, forbade in the See also:

case of any who had since the 1st of January 1888 practised, taught, aided or encouraged polygamy or bigamy, their registration or voting until two years after they had taken a test oath renouncing such practices, and until they had. satisfied the District Court that in the two years preceding they had been guilty of no such practices. The Constitutional Convention which met at Boise in July–See also:August 1889 was strongly See also:anti-Mormon, and the Constitution it framed was approved by a popular vote of 12,398 out of 14,184. The United States Supreme Court decided the, anti-Mormon legislation case of See also:Davis v. Beason in favour of the Idaho legislature. In 1893 the disqualification was made no longer retroactive, the two-year clause was omitted, and the test oath covered only present renunciation of polygamy. 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 11 mills; but a greater rate may be established by a vote of the See also:people. No public debt (exclusive of the debt of the Territory of Idaho at the date of its See also:admission to the Union as a state) may be created that exceeds 11 % of the assessed valuation (except in case of See also:war, &c.) ; the state cannot lend its See also:credit to any corporation, See also:municipality or individual; nor can any county, city or town lend its credit or become a stockholder in any See also:company (except for municipal See also:works). See also:History.—The first recorded exploration of Idaho by white men was made by See also: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 See also:rendezvous for two divisions of the Lewis and Clark expedition; later, the united divisions reached a See also:village of the Nez Perce Indians near the See also: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 See also: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 See also:meeting-point of a number of trails to the extreme western parts of North America.

See also:

Missions to the Indians were also established, both by the Catholics and by the Protestants. But the permanent settlements date from the See also:revelation of Idaho's mineral resources in 186o, 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. See also:Pierce learned in the summer of 186o that there was gold in Idaho. He found it on Orofino Creek, and a great influx followed—coming to Orofino, Newsome, See also:Elk City, See also:Florence, where the ore was especially rich, and See also:Warren. The See also:news of the discovery of the Boise Basin spread far and wide, and Idaho City, Placerville, Buena Vista; Centreville and Pioneerville See also: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 See also: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 189o. 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 18J7 they put to See also:flight a small force under See also:Col. See also:Edward See also:Jenner Steptoe; but the punitive expedition led by Col.

See also:

George See also:Wright (1803-1865) was a success. In 1877 the Nez Perces, led by See also:Chief See also:Joseph, refused to go on the reservation set apart for them, defeated a small See also:body of regulars, were pursued by See also:Major-General O. O. See also:Howard, reinforced by frontier See also:volunteers, and in September and See also:October were defeated and retreated into Northern Montana, where they were captured by Major-General See also: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 See also: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 See also:militia was called out and regular troops were hurried to Shoshone county from Fort See also:Sherman, Idaho and Fort See also:Missoula, Montana. These soon quieted the district. But the restlessness of the region caused more trouble in 1899. The famous Bunker See also:Hill and See also:Sullivan mines were wrecked, See also:late in April, by union men. Federal troops, called for by Governor See also:Frank Steunenberg, again took See also:charge, and about 800 suspected men in the district were arrested and shut up in a stockade known as the " See also:bull-See also: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 3oth of December 1905. The trial in 1907 of See also:

Charles H. See also:Haywood, secretary of the Western Federation of Miners, who was charged with See also:conspiracy in connexion with the See also:murder, attracted national See also:attention; it resulted in Haywood's acquittal. Before 1897 the See also: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 See also:ticket was elected. See also:GOVERNORS Territorial. See also:William H. Wallace . 1863 W. B. Daniels, Secretary, Acting Governor . 1863-1864 See also:Caleb See also:Lyon .

. . 1864-1865 C. de Witt See also:

Smith, Secretary, Acting Governor 1865 See also:Horace C. Gilson „ ., 1865-1866 S. R. Howlett 1866 See also:David W. Ballard 1866-1870 E. J. See also:Curtis, Acting Governor 1870 See also:Thomas W. See also:Bennett 1871-1875 D. P. See also:Thompson 1875-1876 See also:Mason Brayman 1876-188o See also:John B. Neil 188o-1883 John N.

Irwin 1883-1884 William M. See also:

Bunn 1884-1885 Edward A. See also:Stevenson 1885-1889 George L. Shoup 1889-1890 STATE GOVERNORS George L. Shoup,' Republican . . 1890 See also:Norman B. Wiley, Acting Governor . . 1890-1892 William J. McConnell, Republican . . 1893-1897 Frank Steunenberg, Democrat Populist . 1897-1901 Frank W. See also:Hunt, 1901-1903 John T.

See also:

Morrison, Republican . 1903-1905 Frank R. Gooding, „ 1905-1909 See also:James H. See also:Brady, . . . . 1909- BIBLIoGRAPaY.-The physical features and economic resources of Idaho are discussed in J. L. Onderdonk's Idaho: Facts and See also:Statistics (See also:San Francisco, 1885), See also:Israel C. See also:Russell's " See also:Geology and Water Resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho,” U.S. See also:Geological Survey, Bulletin 199 (Washington, 1902), The State of Idaho (a pamphlet issued by the State Commissioner of Immigration), Waldmor Lindgren's " Gold and Silver See also:Veins of Silver City, De See also:Lamar and other Mining Districts of Idaho,” U.S. Geological Survey, loth Annual Report (Washington, 1900), and " The Mining Districts of the Idaho Basin and the Boise See also:Ridge, Idaho," U.S. Geological Survey, 28th Annual Report (Washington, 1898).

These reports should be supplemented by the See also:

information contained elsewhere in the publications of the Geological Survey (see the Indexes of the survey) and in various volumes of the United States See also:Census. W. B. See also:Hepburn's Idaho Laws and Decisions, Annotated and Digested (Boise, 1900), and H. H. See also:Bancroft's Washington, Idaho, and Montana (San Francisco, 189o) are the principal authorities for administration and history. The reports of the state's various executive officers should be consulted also.

End of Article: IDAHO

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