Chapter 12

It will be noted from the act charging the ferry, that this part of the world was then Idaho County, the southern boundary of which extended south to a point in Snake River in latitude 44 degrees and 30 minutes, north, which is somewhere between Ontario and Nyssa. All of what is now Washington, Valley, Adams, practically all of Payette and a large part of Gem County was then within the county of Idaho, then as now, the largest county in Idaho.

The year following the coming of the Logans, came Woodson Jeffreys and Thomas C. Galloway, both from the Willamette Valley. Jeffreys had a family at that time of a wife, two sons and two daughters, whom he left at The Dalles because of want of school facilities here, and who joined him a few years later. Galloway was a young bachelor at that time.

I believe his brother William, then a boy, came with him or shortly afterwards, but he was raised in his beloved Willamette Valley. he could not give it up for the wilds of Idaho, and soon returned there where he spent the remainder of his life, a much beloved and respected citizen. He was for a time register of the U.S. land office at Corvallis and for a number of terms a circuit judge, which office he held until his death. The coming of these pioneers antedated the creation of Ada County, which came into existence on the 22nd day of December, 1864, a few months after their arrival, so they were for a time residents of Idaho County, and during their residence here lived in three different counties although on the same places they had taken on their arrival here.

Woodson Jeffreys had two brothers who came to make their homes on the Weiser, not long after his arrival. They were Solomon M. and James. Sol. as he was generally known, became associated with his brother Woodson in the cattle business and later in merchandise and flour milling projects, the cattle business being carried on under the name of Jeffrey Brothers, merchandise, under the name of T.M. Jeffreys & Co. and the flour mill under the name of R. Morehead & Co.

Jimmy Jeffreys had a fine farm across the road from the Jeffreys schoolhouse, now divided up between R.T. Davis, Arthur Breshears and John Kelly.

Sol Jeffreys located on the land just east of 12th Street east, including a part of the present holdings of L.M. Dickerson. Five acres of his holdings he donated to the county so that the lots might be sold to argument the countys scanty treasury, and on which was started the original town of Weiser.

Other early settlers on the lower Weiser were A.J. Bryant, who took a place, a part of which is now owned by Harvey Sweet and L.M. Dickerson:

Wm. A. Shaw, who took up land next above the Bryant place, and two of his sons located adjoining lands which are now held by J.C. Neeley estate, the writer and others. Next above was the Garrett Hendrix ranch, now the property of E.D. Ford, next the Williams family, who for many years held the land now occupied by William Parker, next to the T.C. Galloway holdings, the largest on the river, as he had located a tract and purchased others. Jim Jeffreys was next above Galloway, whose holdings I have already mentioned. Next above the Woodson Jeffreys ranch, now owned by R.T. Davis, was the ranch of S.J. Durbin and Captain Nelson Haven joined him, next above. Further up the river was the home of Dan Livingston, but as to the present owner, I cannot say. Above Livingston, James P. and G. Dal Gray made their homes, and across the river from their ranch were the ranches of I.E. McKenney and J.M. York. The Muir brothers now have the McKenney place, but as to who has the York place, I am not advised.

This takes us to the head of the valley and the lower end of the Weiser canyon and the end of the farm lands except around the mouth of Crane Creek, which were not taken for many years after the arrival of the first settlers on the river further down. I will also mention James Monroe, brother-in-law of the Jeffreys brothers, who was a horse trader and it was said was not a bad hand in a poker game. He was of a nomadic disposition and did not remain here many years, although one of the very early corners. Baxter White was also an early corner to the Weiser country. He owned a place along Mann Creek, immediately above the Jeffreys schoolhouse, which was for a long time owned by G.B. Barton and later by his son, the late Tim Barton, who sold it a short time ago. All of these oldtimers have passed on, some of them many years ago, as well as many of their immediate descendants and in some eases all of them, Garrett Hendrix, Jimmy Jeffreys, James Galloway, a brother of T.C. who was also an early pioneer and Dan Livingston, were all bachelors and died as such.

There were many splendid characters among these pioneers whose memory is entitled to mention. James P. Gray, mentioned before as the first sheriff of the county was one of them. I have said that all of the first generation are dead now. This I will correct by saying that Mrs. Gray still survives and lives on East Main Street with some of her family. I will say that the wives of these early settlers are deserving of as much credit as are their husbands and as to morality, they have far the best of it. Mrs. Gray is now past eighty years of age. She was a most devoted and helpful wife, and mother and a splendid woman and neighbor. She was noted in her younger days for her wonderful memory of earlier events amid particularly of the birthdays of the pioneers children. She could name the dates of all of them.

Returning to Jim Gray I will say that he was a man who would deny himself to assist some one else. He could not say no and was too often, for his own good, induced to become security for others, which cost him a great amount of money, but he could not refuse to grant the favor. He was a great lover of horses and it distressed him to see one abused by beating, over-work or lack of sufficient food. This love of the noble animal cost him his life. He had the city sprinkling contract and was driving one of the teams which was only partially broken to work, when a horsefly was annoying one of them, which Jim could not endure, so he got down from the wagon, with the lines in his hand and was endeavoring to kill the insect, when the team became frightened, jumped and kicked him and pulled the heavy loaded wagon over his legs, breaking one of them, and in a few days he died from the injuries received. He left many descendants, numbering at that time to between 35 and 40.

James Monroe York, a neighbor and long time partner of Jim Gray was a most splendid character. He and Jim were as much devoted to each other as any two brothers could have been. Their mutual friendship was equal to that of Daymon and Pythias or David and Johnathan. They ran a threshing machine for years, threshing all through this country and on the Payette River. Some time about 10 or 12 years ago, Monroe was not feeling well, but was determined to get to the home of his son Joe, who lived on Salmon River, to spend the winter, Jim and his wife begged him to stay with them over the winter but to no avail. They were certain that he could not endure the trip at that time, late in the fall, but Monroe believed he could make it. He had to go by way of Riggins on the Salmon and thence by horseback up the river to his sons ranch. The trip by stage down the Little Salmon was too much for him in his enfeebled state of health and he died at Riggins. Thus died a good and honest man, one who never lost a friend or made an enemy.

A couple, beloved by all, were Captain Nelson Haven and his good wife, Molley, as Cap. always called her when speaking to or of her. Their home was always a welcome place to either friend or stranger. They had four daughters, Ida, who became Mrs. Wm. McCullough; Ada, later Mrs. John Smith; Nellie, who married Wm. Monday, who was killed by Indians a short distance above where the town of Cascade, in Long Valley, is now located, and Minnie, the youngest, who is the wife of H.F.Linder.

Indian Massacre

I must now disgress from personal biographies and tell as best I can, of the massacre of Monday and his companions. Some renegade Indians in the spring of 1878 stole the work horses of Monday from his home in Indian Valley and made off with them over the mountain toward Long Valley. Monday secured the assistance of three men, Hailey, Croseclose and Three Fingered Smith, to follow the thieves. They picked up the trail that lcd up and over the range of mountains between Indian Valley and Long Valley, which they followed until they reached the place where they met their doom. The Indians were on a high point near the Payette River where they could see the men as they came down out of the timber and entered the valley and knew they were on their trail. The red devils hid themselves behind rocks above the trail and waited the coming of their pursuers. When they had reached a point but a short distance from their hiding places the Indians opened fire on the unsuspecting whites, killing Monday, Haile and Croselose and wounding Smith slightly. Smith dived into the river where there was an eddy and drift timber and dived under, preferring to drown than be killed by the Indians. I heard him say that he thought it was all off with him until he found a place where he could stick his nose up and get a breath between two logs. Here he laid while the Indians went all over the drift looking for him. Smith found his way out and started for a hunters camp where he was cared for until able to travel again. Word was sent to Indian Valley of the killing when a party went over and buried the bodies near where they fell. A monument has been erected at the point where the murder occurred.

I have been told that these demons went over to Squaw Creek where a party of old Indian fighters made good Indians of them. In fact one of  the men who did the good service told me enough to convince me that was what became of the murderers. Knowing my informant and his associates as I did I have little doubt of the truth of the report.