History of Idaho Territory Showing Its Resources and Advantages; With

Item #52533

(IDAHO). History of Idaho Territory Showing Its Resources and Advantages; With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Residences, Farms, Mines, Mills, Hotels, Business Houses, Schools, Churches, &c. San Francisco: Wallace W. Elliott & Co., 1884. [9],20-304,[1]pp. plus maps and numerous unnumbered leaves of lithographs. Folio. Contemporary half sheep and publisher's cloth, tooled in blind and gilt. Boards scuffed and stained. Top edge lightly dampstained; minor scattered foxing. About very good. HOWES I2 "aa". The first "full-scale history of Idaho" - Howes. This work contains illustrations of Idaho Territory's prominent citizens and their homes including many specific ranches and farms; many of the buildings in Boise, as well as street-scenes and views of other towns; mines, mills, and other industry of the territory; and a map of the territory with an inset of the Old Faithful Geyser. The frontispiece is a view of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River. The introductory remarks indicate that the text has been divided into twenty-six sections for easy reference, including a history of the Northwest Territory; missionaries and immigration; description of Idaho Territory's physical features, climate, soils, and natural resources; the "state of society in the Territory," biographical sketches of prominent citizens, and public schools; the native peoples and animals; and "miscellaneous historical matters." In the section entitled "Primitive Inhabitants," the native tribes of the area are given, with a brief description of each: "The Pend d'Oreilles are peaceable, industrious, and, in the main, self-supporting. Many of them have adopted the dress, and, in a measure, the customs and habits of civilized people. ... The Kootenay's are an indolent, thriftless people, too cowardly to fight, too indolent to work, and many of them too lazy to hunt. ... The Shoshones are well supplied with good horses, and warmly and decently clad, with the single exception, dirt." And so forth. There is an extensive section on the Nez Perce, encompassing the Nez Perce War and efforts to relocate the tribe to a reservation. A very nice piece of Western American history. This work has a remarkable group of lithographs illustrating ranches, houses, and properties in the Territory, making it a tremendous visual resource for the American West.

Price: $6,000.00