Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/176

168 IDAHO suited to agriculture; 5,000.000 to grazing; 14,328,160 are sterile, producing only wild sage and occasional tufts of buffalo grass, but most- ly recluimable into pasture and agricultural land by irrigation ; 18,400,000, mountains, in- cluding 7,500,000 acres of timber land and 8,000,000 of mineral land ; and 575,000 acres are covered by lakes. In 1870 there were 77,139 acres in farms, of which 26,603 were improved. The cash value of farms was $492,- 860 ; of farming implements and machinery, $59,295 ; amount of wages paid during the year, including the value of board, $153,007 ; estimated value of all farm productions, in- cluding betterments and additions to stock, $637,797; value of orchard products, $725 ; of produce of market gardens, $24,577 ; of home manufactures, $34,730 ; of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $57,932 ; of live stock, $520,580. There were 2,151 horses, 371 mules and asses, 4,171 milch cows, 522 working oxen, 5,763 other cattle, 1,021 sheep, and 2,316 swine, besides 624 horses and 49,540 cattle not on farms. The productions were 73,725 bushels of winter and 1,925 of spring wheat, 1,756 of rye, 5,750 of Indian corn, 100,119 of oats, 72,- 316 of barley, 64,534 of Irish potatoes, 610 of peas and beans, 14 of grass seed, 3,415 Ibs. of wool, 111,480 of butter, 4,464 of cheese, 21 of hops, 11,250 gallons of milk sold, and 6,985 tons of hay. The number of manufacturing establishments was 101, having 11 steam en- gines of 311 horse power and 16 water wheels of 295 horse power ; number of hands em- ployed, 265 ; capital invested, $742,300 ; wages paid during the year, $112,372 ; value of ma- terials used, $691,785 ; of products, $1,047,- 624. The only important establishments were 8 quartz mills (value of products, $523,100), 3 flouring and grist mills, 10 saw mills, 7 brew- eries, and 2 distilleries. The United States commissioner of mining statistics in 1871 states the number of quartz mills, including those not in operation, at 30, having 344 stamps and 4 arastras, and mostly run by steam ; 9 were for the production of gold alone, and 21 for the production of gold and silver. There is a national bank at Bois6 City, with a capital of $100,000. No railroads are in operation in the territory, but the Northern Pacific is to cross the N. part. The government is similar to that of other territories. The executive officers are a governor and a secretary, ap- pointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the senate, for four years ; also a treasurer, comptroller, prison commissioner, and superintendent of public instruction crea- ted by local law. Legislative authority is vest- ed in a council of 13 members and a house of representatives of 26, elected biennially by the people. The judicial power is vested in a su- preme court, district courts, probate courts, and justices of the peace. The supreme court consists of three judges appointed by the presi- dent with the consent of the senate for four years, and has appellate jurisdiction. A dis- trict court, with general original jurisdiction, is held in each of the three judicial districts into which the territory is divided, by a judge of the supreme court. There is a probate court for each county, with the ordinary pow- ers of such courts. Justices of the peace have jurisdiction of inferior cases. The assessed value of real estate in 1870 was $1,926,565 ; of personal property, $3,365,640; total as- sessed value, $5,292,205 ; true value of real and personal, $6,552,681 ; taxation not nation- al, $174,711, of which $40,594 was territorial, $132,171 county, and $1,946 town, city, &c. ; public debt, $222,621, of which $218,522 ($33,- 739 bonded) was county and $4,099 ($2,542 bonded) town, city, &c. The receipts into the territorial treasury for the two years ending Nov. 30, 1872, according to the treasurer's re- port, were $101,102, including $16,607 24 on hand at the beginning of the period ; expen- ditures, $89,817 18; balance, $11,284 82. The receipts are derived from taxes on property and polls and from licenses. The floating debt at the above date, less cash in the treasury, was $58,239 73; bonded debt in coin, $65,- 058 51, payable Dec. 1, 1875 and 1870, upon which interest to the amount of $4,471 31 was unpaid. In 1870 there were 25 schools, of which 21 were public, with 33 teachers, 1,208 pupils, and an annual income of $19,938. In 1872 the number of school districts was 87; public schools, 32 ; school houses, 26 ; teachers, 60, of whom 26 were males and 34 females; children of school age, 1,898 ; number enrolled, 1,416; total expenditures, $17,219 56. The census of 1870 returns 43 libraries, containing 10,625 volumes,, of which 11 with 2,860 volumes were not private ; 6 newspapers (1 tri-weekly, 1 semi-weekly, and 4 weekly), issuing 200,- 200 copies annually and having an average circulation of 2,750 ; and 15 church organiza- tions (2 Baptist, 6 Episcopal, 2 Mormon, 1 Presbyterian, and 4 Roman Catholic), having 12 edifices with 2,150 sittings, and property to the value of $18,200. Idaho was created a territory by the act of congress of March 3, 1863, from portions of Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington territories, comprising an area of 326,373 sq. m., and embracing the present ter- ritory of Montana and nearly all of Wyoming. The region within its present limits is a portion of the Louisiana purchase of 1803, and was included first in Oregon and subsequently in Washington territory. The Co3iir d'Alene mis- sion was established in 1842, and is situated about 15 in. E. of the lake of the same name. The permanent settlement of the territory did not begin'until the discovery of gold in 1860. IDAHO, a W. central county of Idaho territo- ry, bounded N. by Salmon river, W. by Oregon, and watered by the Little Salmon and other streams ; area, 8,500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 849, of whom 425 were Chinese. A large portion of the surface is covered with forests of pine. There are several fertile valleys containing good land. On the tributaries of the Salmon