Of all the legal writing I have done over the last 50 years, my research about dynamite assassin Harry Orchard and his victim, former Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, and one of the men from the Western Federation of Miners Orchard implicated, William D. Haywood, was the most exciting. Maybe it really was "Idaho's trial of the century."
But before I continue my story, let's look at some activities/growth within Idaho during the 1800s, creating pressures which culminated in the assassination and other acts of violence.
* Early 1800s: Explorers Lewis and Clark meandered through Idaho on their way to Oregon and discovered many furbearing animals and thus began the fur trade.
* 1860: Mormon pioneers established the first permanent Idaho settlement, Franklin, and farming made a foothold in Southern Idaho.
* In 1860: Miners found gold first on the Clearwater River and then on the Salmon River, Boise River Basin, Owyhee River... all by 1863. "Gold and silver fever" struck, producing a host of settlements, which are present-day "ghost town" tourist delights.
Clip on hair extensions* This rush of action brought a population large enough for Congress to create the Idaho Territory in 1863.
* And by the late 1800s, construction of railroads enabled shipment of Idaho's riches to all parts of the United States, and which, incidentally , provided considerable financial aid to BOTH sides of the Civil War.
* On July 3, 1890, Idaho Territory became the State of Idaho.
* During the 1890s, poor working conditions for miners encouraged them to join unions, the largest of which was the Western Federation of Miners. And guess who the union's "Godfather" was? Stay tuned.
* In 1892, violence broke out between union miners and non-union men and the mine owners.
* In 1899, a second strike broke out. Gov. Frank Steunenberg declared martial law and federal troops were called in to regulate the situation. This act was seen as a betrayal by Steunenberg union supporters, and likely because of this, he served only one term as governor , not seeking re-election in 1900, and was
Valentino Fake Handbagseventually assassinated by Harry Orchard on Dec. 30, 1905.
With this background, let me share my enthusiastic pursuit of the Steunenberg assassination. My wife, Margaret , and I made two trips to Boise, one to visit retired Supreme Court Jurist Byron Johnson, renowned for his research on the Steunenberg affair; and second, to spend an afternoon at the old State Penitentiary, escorted by a former prison guard, who actually knew Harry Orchard during his 47 years of confinement.
In fact, our guide had helped Harry Orchard attend to his hybrid roses, chickens and vegetables that he was allowed to grow on prison grounds and generously shared with fellow inmates. (Many of those roses are still growing and were in beautiful bloom while we were there.)
You may be saying to yourselves, "Who was Harry Orchard?" Harry Orchard's role in the Haywood trial was murderer and chief witness for the prosecution. Following the dynamite blast that killed former Gov. Steunenberg at the gate to his Caldwell home, Harry Orchard was soon apprehended in Caldwell, charged with the crime, to which he confessed, and was then held in solitary confinement at the Idaho State Penitentiary.
He also tried to implicate leaders of the Western Federation of Mi
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