Investor and Mining Millionaire Amasa Campbell [otd 04/06]

Amasa Campbell. Illustrated History.

Mining investor and executive Amasa B. Campbell was born April 6, 1845 in Salem, Ohio, about twenty miles southwest of Youngstown. In 1862, he took a clerk’s job at a firm engaged in grain and wool commission trading. After five years there, he worked two or three years in the west for the Union Pacific Railway.

During this period, Amasa developed an interest in Western mining prospects. For over a decade after 1871, he followed the industry in Utah, Colorado and Idaho. Biographers most often associated his name with activities in Utah, although no specific properties were identified.

It appears that his efforts provided him a solid hands-on knowledge of the business, but generated no substantial income. Accounts strongly suggest that Amasa decided – correctly – that the real money flowed to those on the investment and development side of the mining business.

He therefore returned east in 1882, and took up financial activities in Youngstown. Over the course of about five years, Campbell studied and learned the ins-and-outs of the investment business while cultivating a circle of potential investors. During this period he and another Youngstown businessman, John A. Finch, led the formation of a syndicate of capitalists who were ready to purchase and operate likely mining properties.

With that foundation, Campbell and Finch relocated to North Idaho in 1887 and began investing in the Coeur d'Alene mining district. They started with the Gem mine, located about four miles northeast of Wallace. The partners also developed the Standard Mine, further up the canyon and, in 1891, organized the Hecla Mining Company, which is still in operation today.

Gem, Idaho mine, 1899. University of Idaho Special Collections.

After marrying a Youngstown lady in 1890, Amasa established a home in Wallace. From there, he could oversee his investments in the region and search for other promising ventures. Thus, in 1893, the partners invested successfully in Slocan District mines in southeastern British Columbia.

Amasa’s wife Grace delivered their only child, a daughter, in May 1892. Not long after that, striking union miners fired on replacement workers at the Frisco Mine [blog, July 11], about a half mile from the Gem. Perhaps influenced by growing union discontent, Amasa moved his family to Spokane in 1898. Finch apparently moved there about the same time.

Amasa remained heavily involved in his Idaho properties and was such a fixture there that the governor offered him a position on the University of Idaho Board of Regents. Campbell declined, fearing he could not give that job the attention it deserved.

Campbell owned mines in British Columbia, timber tracts in western Washington, and shares of many businesses in  Spokane. And his Idaho interests were not confined to the Coeur d’Alene lead-silver districts. The Idaho Statesman quoted (January 22, 1902) the Grangeville Free Press, which said the Finch & Campbell gold mine located about forty miles southeast of Grangeville “is remarkable for the ore tonnage that has been exposed.”

When a railroad began an extension toward Salmon, in Lemhi County, it attracted much attention from mining interests. The Statesman noted (July 15, 1909) that “Among these are Finch & Campbell, the well-known Coeur d’Alene operators.”

The Spokane mansion he had built in 1898 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is now a museum open to the public. Campbell died in February 1912.
                                                                                                                                     

References: [Illust-State]

Hugh W. Johnston, "Amasa B. Campbell Papers, 1905-1922," Archives Manuscript 38, Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane (1987).

Nelson Wayne Durham, History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County Washington, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago (1912).

Aircraft Carrier Boss and Decorated Naval Hero Dixie Kiefer [otd 04/05]

Captain Dixie Kiefer.
U. S. Navy photo.

U. S. Navy Commodore Dixie Kiefer, winner of the Navy Cross and other medals, was born April 5, 1896 in Blackfoot, Idaho. The family moved around while Dixie was young: The 1900 Census shows the family in Spokane. In 1910, his widowed mother Christena was listed as head of the household, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

It was from there that Dixie received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He graduated from the Academy in 1918. Kiefer first served aboard the patrol ship USS Corona, which operated out of Brest, France, and acted as a convoy escort.

After the war, Dixie learned to fly and, in 1924, performed the first nighttime catapult launch of an aircraft. He took off from the battleship USS California with only the ship's searchlights for illumination. Kiefer continued his association with naval aviation between the two World Wars.

His last station before WW-II was as executive officer of the seaplane tender and stores transport, USS Wright. The ship was steaming from Midway Island back to Hawaii when radio brought news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They cleared for action, but were not put to the test.

In February 1942, Dixie became executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. The following May, the Yorktown fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea, considered a tactical defeat for the Americans, but a strategic win. American aircraft mauled two Japanese fleet carriers so badly that they were unavailable for the pivotal Battle of Midway. Coral Sea also left the Yorktown badly damaged. However, extraordinary exertions by the crew and shipyard workers at Pearl Harbor quickly returned the ship to duty.

Thus, Dixie served as Yorktown’s executive officer at Midway in June 1942. The ship went down fighting for the victorious American forces, and Kiefer received the Navy Cross (second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor) "for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service." Forced to jump into the sea, Kiefer smashed an ankle and foot, one of ten major battle wounds he suffered in his career.

During his recuperation, the Navy produced a documentary film about the battles of an unidentified (under wartime security) fleet carrier called The Fighting Lady. Producers used mostly actual field footage, along with a few scripted scenes. Kiefer played “Captain Dixie,” in some of those scenes. The carrier was, in fact, a brand new Yorktown, commissioned in January 1943, after being renamed to commemorate the ship lost at Midway.

Ticonderoga shortly after Kamikaze strike. U.S. Navy photo.

Promoted, Captain Kiefer was assigned to command the new fleet carrier USS Ticonderoga. During attacks off Formosa in January 1945, multiple Kamikaze hits badly damaged the vessel.

Kiefer himself suffered a smashed arm and 65 pieces of shrapnel in his body. The Ticonderoga returned to combat after repairs, but Kiefer was not in command because he had not yet fully recovered.

Promoted to Commodore, that spring he took command of the Quonset Point Naval Air Station (10-15 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island). Dixie quickly earned the respect and affection of the officers and enlisted men under his command.

Commodore Kiefer's arm was still in a cast when the airplane he was riding in crashed in heavy fog near Beacon, New York, in November 1945. Special memorial services were held for Kiefer and the others killed in the crash, then Kiefer's body was moved to Arlington National Cemetery for burial.

Besides the Navy Cross, Kiefer received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Purple Heart.
                                                                                                                                     

References: Arlington National Cemetery Records.

Walter Lord, Incredible Victory, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York (1967).

James A. Mooney (Ed.), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Dept. of the Navy (June 1991).

Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy, Navy Department, Government Printing Office, (January 1, 1917).

Clark G. Reynolds, On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers, U.S. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland (October 30, 2005).

Steamer Accident Kills Five on the Coeur d Alene River [otd 04/04]

On April 4, 1887, the steamer Spokane pulled away from the dock at Kingston, Idaho. (That's about seven miles west of Kellogg.) The little boat chugged along the winding course of the Coeur d'Alene River. The Spokane had been built in 1882 for trade on the Snake River below Lewiston. Several transfers later, she was operating as an excursion steamer on Lake Pend Oreille. In 1887, a new owner moved the boat south to Lake Coeur d'Alene and modified it to handle freight as well as passengers.

Small steamer. Library of Congress.

She joined three other steamboats operating on the Lake. The U. S. Army built the first steamer in 1879 to haul feed for the animals at Fort Sherman [blog, Apr 16]. Coeur d'Alene City, which quickly appeared near the Fort, grew explosively after prospectors discovered gold and silver in the Coeur d'Alene River watershed. To exploit the traffic into the mines, entrepreneurs built two steamers during the winter of 1883-1884.

The owners reaped fine profits transporting passengers and goods up the river. The Old Mission at Cataldo proved to be the most reliable “head of navigation.” However, favorable water levels sometimes allowed boats to reach Kingston, about eight miles further upstream. That represented a considerable savings in time, effort and cost, given the rough roads of the time.

Unfortunately, the Spokane’s operator in April 1887, Capt. Nelson Martin, was not familiar with the river’s twists and turns. A former stage line owner, this was his first trip on the route. The boat reached a spot where the current split around a small island. The Captain perhaps waited too long to pick a branch to use, or simply miscalculated how quickly the vessel could turn. A surviving passenger stated that, “She was running very fast.” Whatever the cause, the hull thumped into a mass of driftwood. A probable over-reaction sent the little craft careening crosswise of the strong current … and it capsized.

Five of the approximately twenty passengers drowned in the accident. Three were prominent figures of the time: a Deputy U. S. Marshall, a former City Clerk of Spokane, and a mining investor from Maine. Authorities jailed Captain Martin and his engineer, but the two were soon released. New owners raised the boat and operated it for many years as the Irene.

Coeur d’Alene steamers enjoyed this first “heyday” – with almost limitless business, and profits – only until the railroads laid new tracks deep into the mining districts. After 1891-1893, lake and river traffic supported only one or two big vessels, and a bevy of smaller (40-60 feet) boats.

Steamer Flyer on Lake Coeur d’Alene, ca 1910.  Hult reference.

However, starting in 1899-1900, logging company money poured into the area to exploit the huge stands of Idaho timber. By 1910, Coeur d'Alene City had over ten thousand residents. Best estimates suggest that around fifty steamers operated on the Lake and its tributaries. Ten or so could accommodate hundreds of passengers: Recreational excursions became a huge source of traffic.

This second boom lasted longer than the first, but it too began to wane by around 1920. Railroad spurs grabbed more freight, and people began to prefer automobile travel. By the mid-1920s, only a handful of the big boats still operated, and the last disappeared in 1938.

Today, hundreds of personal watercraft ply the lake, and area resorts operate a few excursion boats. Still, a diesel-power people corral cannot quite capture the glamor and excitement of a classic steamer.
                                                                                                                                     

References: [Illust-North]

“By Request,” Lewiston Teller, Lewiston, Idaho (April 14, 1887).

Ruby El Hult, Steamboats in the Timber, The Caxton Printers Ltd., Caldwell, Idaho (© Ruby El Hult, 1952).

Spud Farmer, Expert, and Booster Joe Marshall – Idaho® Potato King [otd 04/03]

Joe Marshall. Beal & Wells photo.

Joseph P. Marshall, who did more than any other one person to improve and popularize the Idaho® potato, was born April 3, 1874 in Versailles, Ohio, about thirty miles northwest of Dayton. He moved west to Montana in 1892 and went to work at a stock ranch north of Billings. Over a period of years, he taught himself civil engineering as it related to canal building and irrigation systems.

 While shuttling between projects in Montana, North Dakota, and Texas, he also examined irrigation possibilities around what was soon to become Twin Falls, Idaho. He claimed land nearby in 1903 and moved his family there three years later. By then, canals were feeding water to acreage in the area, the railroad had arrived, and Twin Falls was booming.

Joe was still busy with his widespread projects so it was 1908 before his Idaho farm produced a full crop of potatoes. Two years later, he leased out the farm to pursue a project in Mexico. However, civil war in that country forced him back to Idaho by about 1915. As he became increasingly involved with his Idaho operation, Marshall spent more and more time studying how to effectively grow high-quality potatoes.  He also expanded his land holdings.

Idaho potato production hit a crisis point in 1921-1922. The quality of the tubers had deteriorated and was further degraded by disease infestations. Land from failed operations depressed the books of regional banks, and many more farmers with mortgages found themselves in dire financial straits. By then, Joe had gained a considerable reputation for his knowledge and attention to detail in raising, handling, and marketing potatoes.

Marshall began acting as an agent for the banks and out-of-state owners, trying to upgrade potato industry practices all over the state. His methods involved upgraded seed potatoes, improved field practices, and more care in post-harvest tuber handling. Soon, the reliably high quality of his potatoes, and those of farmers who followed his lead, began to command premium prices.

Marshall checking Idaho® potatoes in the field.
For high-resolution versions, contact the Idaho Potato Commission.

Naturally, top prices encouraged greater and greater production, which required a heightened effort to maintain the best quality. The University of Idaho (UI) helped with on-going research into all aspects of potato production. Also, the state created what would eventually become the Idaho® Potato Commission. (Idaho spuds became distinctive enough to merit a Registered Trademark.)

Potato history credits Chicago restauranteur Dario Louis Toffenetti with popularizing the huge “Idaho baker” as an inexpensive-but-filling menu item.

As the story goes, Marshall had made a trial shipment to Chicago that contained only the largest tubers. But the load failed to sell. (Joe almost certainly had to charge more to cover the cost of the extra sorting.) Dario dropped by the warehouse, saw the “huge and beautiful” potatoes, and had a vision. He bought the entire lot and began promoting “baked Idaho potatoes” at his restaurants. Toffenetti’s enthusiastic marketing further added to the premium identity of the Idaho® potato.

For over a quarter century Joe was "the face" of Idaho® potatoes, and, in 1940, the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association award him the title of "Potato King." Two years after he died in January 1964, the UI potato facility in Aberdeen was named the "Joe Marshall Potato Research Center" in his honor.
                                                                                                        

References: [B&W]

James W. Davis, Aristocrat in Burlap: A History of the Potato in Idaho, Idaho Potato Commission, Boise (1992).

Sheepman Hugh Fleming Found Dead. Killed by Cattlemen? [otd 04/02]

On April 2, 1894, riders on the range near American Falls, Idaho discovered the body of sheepman Hugh Fleming. The unarmed herder had been shot four times. Suspicion instantly fell on local cattlemen, who had threatened Hugh and his brother John on numerous occasions.

Western sheep herding. Library of Congress.

The dispute centered largely on the use of the public lands in Idaho, as it did in other Western states. Sheep came early to Idaho, arriving in 1860 with the first Mormon colonies along the southeastern border. These small flocks generally produced meat and wool only for local consumption, as did the cattle operations that followed the gold discoveries of 1861-1863.

However, with vast amounts of open range, cattlemen soon looked further afield. By the early- to mid-1870s, Idaho stockmen were trailing many thousands of cattle to railway terminals in Nevada and Wyoming. Sheep bands had also expanded, although not nearly so much as cattle herds. Even so, sheep holdings had become large enough to gain the attention, and ire, of resident cattlemen.

Thus, in 1875, the state passed the first regional “Two Mile Limit” laws, prohibiting the grazing of sheep on range "traditionally" used for cattle [blog, Dec 13.] By 1887, the law had expanded from an initial three counties to the entire state.

Challenges all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the law, as long as the restriction followed a "first-come, first served" rule for cattle or sheep or, oddly enough, horses. Equitable in theory, the law favored cattle in practice. Until the railroad arrived, large-scale sheep raising was impractical. Long-distance wagon shipment of wool cost too much, and sheep cannot "walk to market" as easily as cattle.

Then the railroad arrived, and sheep flocks grew (as did cattle herds), and crowded the range. Stockmen even pushed into forested lands. Idaho had no widespread range wars, but isolated shootings of sheepmen, and of cowboys, did happen. Back-and-forth slaughters of cattle and sheep were much more common.

Sheep in the forest. U. S. Forest Service.

The Fleming brothers had brought sheep to the American Falls range before 1884, and by then they had five thousand head. Despite death threats and harassment of their stock, they had hung on … and now, ten years later, one brother was dead. With plenty of known suspects, the Idaho Statesman confidently reported (April 3, 1894), “It is only a question of a short time when they will be placed under arrest.”

Law officers promised quick results, and soon had four cattlemen in jail. However, in those days before scientific criminology, officials had no way – other than some muddled tracks and, apparently, vague rumors – to connect the suspects to the crime. A week later, the newspaper reported that the men had been released for lack of evidence.

 Although the Governor offered a $500 reward for information on the murder (Idaho Statesman, April 21, 1894), nothing further was learned until an unrelated court appearance took a bizarre twist. During a trial for cattle rustling, the defendant claimed (Statesman, January 31, 1895) that he had witnessed the murder. He testified that three of the four men arrested and released earlier had indeed done the shooting. However, later investigation proved that the claimant was in McCammon, fifty miles away, on the actual day of the murder.

No one was ever convicted for the murder of Hugh Fleming.
                                                                                                                                     

References: [B&W]

Byron DeLos Lusk, Golden Cattle Kingdoms of Idaho, Masters thesis, Utah State University, Logan (1978).

"Omaechevarria vs. State of Idaho, 246 U.S. 343 (1918), Omaechevarria vs. State of Idaho No. 102" U. S. Supreme Court case (March 18, 1918).

Cattle Rancher, Idaho Governor, and U. S. Senator George L. Shoup [otd 04/01]

Senator George L. Shoup.
National Archives.

On April 1, 1889, President Grover Cleveland appointed Lemhi cattleman George Laird Shoup governor of Idaho Territory – the last to hold that position. He was also, therefore, first to hold the position of state Governor. Shoup then became one of the state's first two U. S. Senators. Records suggest that some convoluted political machinations lurked behind this progression.

Shoup was born in Kittanning, about forty miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in June 1836. The family moved to a ranch in western Illinois in 1852. Seven years later, George followed the rush to Pike’s Peak gold. At the start of the Civil War, Shoup joined an independent scout company, watching Indians in what later became Colorado and New Mexico.

When Colorado Territory was organized in 1861, Shoup became an officer in the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry. He was stationed at Fort Union, New Mexico, in the spring of 1862. He apparently did not see any direct action against the Confederate force that marched north from Santa Fe during that period. In late 1864, Shoup rose to the rank of Colonel in the Colorado Cavalry.

After the War, Shoup’s unit disbanded and he moved to Virginia City, Montana and opened a store. In 1867, George followed eager prospectors into Idaho and helped found Salmon City. He served as commissioner when Lemhi County was established two years later, and then served several terms in the legislature. By 1875, Shoup was one of the largest landowners and cattlemen in the region.

Shoup’s political career flourished and by 1889 he was one of the best-known and most influential figures in Idaho. Almost universally well-liked, any elective office he wanted, he could have. He wanted a U. S. Senate seat, which would open up when (if) Idaho achieved statehood.

However, factional disputes complicated matters. North Idaho leaders demanded one of the two Senate seats, but couldn't assemble a coalition strong enough to achieve that aim. (At that time, Senators were elected by the state legislature, not by popular vote.)

Governor Willey.
J. H. Hawley photo.

The factions finally compromised by promising the governor's chair to the North. Shoup agreed to become governor first, with the assurance of legislative support for his Senate bid. The scheme coupled his appointment with essentially unopposed election of a North Idahoan, Norman B. Willey, for Lieutenant Governor.

Idaho then became a state, with Shoup as Governor and Willey as Lieutenant Governor. When Shoup resigned to take his Senate seat, Willey moved up to the governor's position. A North Idahoan also filled the brief gap until the election of a full-term Senator to take a seat in March 1891. At the end of his four-year partial term, Shoup was reelected to the Senate for a full term starting in 1895.

For a man from a new, and very small state, George did remarkably well on the national stage. That included service on several important Senate committees. Then, in 1900, he was appointed to the five-member Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee (Idaho Register, Idaho Falls, June 29, 1900).

However, his loyalty to the Party cost him in Idaho. A coalition of Democrats and Silver Republicans, led by Fred Dubois [blog, May 29], won a majority in the Idaho legislature that fall. They denied Shoup’s next re-election bid, so he retired from public life in 1901. George passed away three years later.
                                                                                                                                     

References: [Hawley]

“Biographical Sketch: George Laird Shoup,” George Laird Shoup Papers, Manuscript Group 8, University of Idaho, Moscow (1994).

George Elmo Shoup, "History of Lemhi County," Salmon Register-Herald (Series, May 8- October 23, 1940).

"Norman B. Willey, March 25, 1838-October 20, 1921," Reference Series No. 400, Idaho State Historical Society.

Novelist & Newspaper Columnist Vardis Fisher [otd 3/31]

Vardis Fisher.
Bonneville County Historical Society.

Vardis Alvero Fisher, best known for his Western-themed novels, was born March 31, 1895 in Annis, Idaho. (Annis is about 4 miles north of Rigby.) He grew up in that area before going off to school at the University of Utah. After receiving his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees there, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1925.

From 1925 to 1931, Fisher worked as an English professor at the University of Utah and then New York University (NYU). While at NYU, he met Thomas Wolfe, who was an Instructor there. (Wolfe's literary fame, for Look Homeward Angel, would come later.) They remained friends until Wolfe's untimely death in 1938. Fisher taught some at Montana State University before becoming Director of the Idaho Writer's Project. He stayed with the Work Projects Administration effort from 1935 to 1939. After that, he devoted his full time to writing.

Fisher’s first published novel, Toilers of the Hills, appeared in 1928, about the time he took his position at NYU. His second, Dark Bridwell, followed in 1931. Set in pioneer Idaho, a milieu Vardis knew well from personal experience, these books present their settings with a level a verisimilitude that stamped all of Fisher’s work. Yet the power of these novels lies in his examination of how the hard, primitive environment shaped the character of the people who tried to make a life there.

Considering the magnitude of his typical themes, Fisher was an extraordinarily productive writer. He published thirty-seven or thirty-eight (bibliographies disagree) novels, most of them of considerable heft – many run over 400 pages. Besides those, Vardis published a half-dozen non-fiction volumes, some short stories and poems, numerous essays, and – for about thirty years – regular newspaper columns. As is often the case with highly prolific writers, critics consider his novels "uneven" – a judgement I would have to agree with. (Few writers hit a home run every time.)

Warner Bros. publicity image.

At his best, he received favorable comparison with such literary giants as William Faulkner, Thomas Hardy, and Thomas Wolfe. Personally, I think such views fail to give Vardis due credit. Fisher’s best material is every bit as powerful and insightful as the best of the “giants” – and far more readable. (I’m not a big fan of episodic, "stream of consciousness," or "inner turmoil" novels that have little or no plot.)

His popular legacy lies in the now-common western history and fiction style that features "naturalistic" or "nitty-gritty" detail buttressed by historical fidelity. At its best, the style neither glosses over the pain and violence of frontier life, nor exaggerates it for shock value. Thus, Fisher’s western-themed books are still both very readable, and instructive.

Ironically, Vardis may have succeeded too well. Some current reader/reviewers, not understanding the context, fault his themes as having been “done to death,” and seem to expect even more blood and feces. But the situations have been done to death because Fisher popularized them. In fact, Fisher's novel Mountain Man (1965) provided much of the script material for the hit movie Jeremiah Johnson. As for the “realism,” I’m not sure the recent “extreme-nature” approach is that much of an improvement over Fisher’s treatment.

For the last thirty years of his life, Fisher lived in a home he built himself near Hagerman, Idaho. He died in July 1968. Unfortunately, few of Fisher’s works are available today, except as now-costly volumes from the original print runs. And that’s a shame.
                                                                                                                                     

References: Richard J. Beck, Famous Idahoans, Williams Printing, (© Richard J. Beck, 1989).

Tim Woodward, Tiger on the Road: The Life of Vardis Fisher, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho(1989).

Guila Ford, Elizabeth Jacox, "Vardis Fisher, 1895-1968," Reference Series No. 1138, Idaho State Historical Society (January 1996).