th
the Rocky Mountains and the Bitter Root Range as its front seat and
back. Another simile likens it to a right-angled triangle, with the
Bitter Root Range as its base. It is a vast tableland, wedge shape in
character, and may be said to consist of a mass of mountain ranges
packed up fold upon fold, one on top of the other.

Three names were submitted to Congress when the Territory was first
named. They were Shoshone, Montana and Idaho. The last name was chosen,
finally, because it is supposed to mean "The sight on the mountain." The
more exact derivation of the name seems to be an old Shoshone legend,
involving the fall of some mysterious object from the heavens upon one
of the mountains. The scenery in this State is varied in everything save
in beauty, which is almost monotonous. Bear Lake, one of its great
attractions, is a fisherman's paradise. Its waters extend twenty miles
in one direction and eight or nine miles in the other. This vast expanse
of water is one of the best trout fishing resorts in the world. Although
in a valley, Bear Lake is so high up in the mountains that its waters
are frozen up for many months in the year, the ice seldom breaking up
until well into April. At all times the water is cold, and hence
especially favorable for trout culture. Lake Pen d'Oreilles is about
thirty miles long and varies in width from an insignificant three miles
to more than fifteen. It is studded with islands of great beauty and
much verdure. Close by it is the Granite Mountain, with other hills and
peaks averaging, perhaps, 10,000 feet in height. The lake has an immense
shore line, extending as much as 250 miles. For fully a tenth of this
distance the Northern Pacific tracks are close to the lake, affording
passengers a very delightful view of this inland scene, which has been
likened to the world-renowned Bavarian lake, Koenigs See.

The State is also well known on account of the reputation for weird
grandeur won by the Snake River, also known as the Shoshone. This is a
very rapid stream of water. By means of its winding course it measures
fully a thousand miles in Idaho alone, and drains about two-thirds of
the State. Near the headwaters of the Snake River, in the proximity of
Yellowstone Park, there are very fertile bottoms, with long stretches of
valley lands. The American Falls plunge over a mass of lava about forty
feet high, with a railroad bridge so close that the roar of the water
drowns the noise of the loc