Idaho's most remarkable pioneer Chinese woman, Polly Bemis,
arrived in 1872. Although the movie, Thousand Pieces of Gold,
portrays her early life, it presents only part of her story.
Following their 1894 marriage, she and Charlie Bemis took up a
mining claim, not a homestead, on the remote Salmon River. Their
first cabin burned in 1922, and Charlie died shortly afterwards.
Polly's neighbors built another cabin for her, where she lived
until just before her death in 1933.
The highlight of our three-day, two-night adventure into rugged
north central Idaho will be a visit to Polly Bemis's cabin and
grave on the main Salmon River, today easily accessible only by
jet boat. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the
Polly Bemis Cabin is privately owned and in an excellent state of
preservation, thanks to its isolated location and the caring
attitude of the present owners. We will also visit Lewiston's Beuk
Aie Temple, now restored and on permanent exhibit at the
Lewis-Clark Center for Arts & History in Lewiston, as well as
The Historical Museum at St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, where some of
Polly Bemis's personal possessions are housed.
Dr. Priscilla Wegars will be your leader and guide for this unique
opportunity. In 1982 she founded the Asian American Comparative
Collection (AACC) in the Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of
Anthropology at the University of Idaho, and later edited Hidden
Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese
(1993). Priscilla has conducted extensive research into the
history of the Chinese in the Northwest, has directed several
archaeological survey and excavation projects of Chinese sites in
Oregon and Idaho, and has led numerous classes and tour groups to
Chinese historic sites in the West. For more information, visit
the AACC Web site.
Monday, July 8, 2002, 7:45 a.m. Meet the van at the west
end of the Kibbie Dome parking lot (next to Perimeter Dr.). Load
your luggage into the van and then you will leave your car parked
there for the duration of the trip. The driver will then take you
to the Laboratory of Anthropology, 3rd and Almon streets, for
introductions and orientation from 8 to 10 a.m. A slide lecture on
the history of Chinese men and women in the Northwest will provide
background and setting for Polly Bemis's arrival in Idaho. A
"hands on" examination of Chinese artifacts from the UI's Asian
American Comparative Collection will follow the lecture. At about
10:15 a.m. we will board the University van and travel to
Lewiston, driving past the former location of Lewiston's
Chinatown, of which nothing remains. The last building, an old
wooden "joss house," or temple, was demolished in 1959 when the Lewiston
Morning Tribune expanded its plant. The temple's altar and
other furnishings were moved to a secure stone structure nearby,
where they remained for over 30 years. In 1991 the temple
artifacts were relocated to the Lewis-Clark Center for Arts &
History where they were cleaned and conserved prior to
installation as the permanent exhibit, "Chinese at the Confluence:
Lewiston's Beuk Aie Temple." Following our visit to the exhibit,
we will eat our bag lunches at Prospect Park, formerly a Chinese
cemetery, and then journey on to Riggins, where we will spend the
next two nights at a local motel (included). You'll be on your own
for dinner and will have time to purchase bag lunch items for
Tuesday.
Tuesday, July 9, 2002. Following breakfast (on your own), we will board the van by 8:30 a.m. sharp and drive along the scenic Salmon River Road to meet our jet boat about 10 a.m. Don't forget your bag lunch, something to drink, your swim gear, hat, and sunscreen. On our leisurely trip up the River of No Return we hope to glimpse plenty of wildlife - bighorn sheep and moose are distinct possibilities! A lengthy visit to Polly Bemis's cabin and grave will provide an opportunity for a discussion of Polly's life, as well as another picnic lunch. On our return, we will stop at the Shepp Ranch across the river from Polly's cabin to visit Charlie Bemis's grave. We will return to the boat landing about 4:30 p.m., and reach our motel in Riggins about 6:00 p.m. Once again, you're on your own for dinner and to purchase bag lunch items for Wednesday. Please note that because it is impossible to guarantee river flows, there is a remote chance that unseasonably dangerous river conditions will regrettably necessitate canceling our trip to Polly Bemis's cabin. In that event, we will substitute another all-day boat or van excursion, returning to Riggins in the early evening.
Wednesday, July 10, 2002. After breakfast (on your own),
return to the motel, pack up your belongings, and assemble by 9
a.m. for the remainder of the discussion of Polly Bemis’s real
life. We’ll reboard the van by 10 a.m. and travel to The
Historical Museum at St. Gertrude in Cottonwood. The Museum was
founded by the late Sister Alfreda Elsensohn, author of Idaho
Chinese Lore. It has some of Polly Bemis's possessions, as
well as items that once belonged to other Chinese people who lived
in the Grangeville-Cottonwood area. Our picnic lunch on the
picturesque grounds of the convent will be followed by a
discussion comparing and contrasting the book and the movie, Thousand
Pieces of Gold, with each other and with the known facts
about Polly's life. Afterwards we will return to Moscow, arriving
by 5 p.m. However,
to guard against unforeseen delays, please do not schedule
anything urgent for that evening.
Dress casually in layers for warm or cool weather, wear walking or
tennis shoes, and bring light rain gear. Although there will be
some walking to visit the various sites, it will not be strenuous.
If you wish, bring a swimsuit, aqua shoes, towel, and sunscreen in
case time, weather, and river conditions allow for swimming.
Cameras are welcome, at your own risk on the boat. Bring a bag
lunch and beverages for the first day, plus money for two dinners,
two breakfasts, and two additional bag lunches/beverages. We will
furnish a large cooler for you to store your drinks and
perishables.
Because our van has very limited luggage space, your luggage should consist only of a small, soft-sided bag that can fit under your seat. (This is in addition to your day pack which you can hold in your lap or place at your feet.) If the class is full, we will exactly equal the van’s 15-passenger capacity. Therefore, be prepared to be cozy! We also appreciate your cooperation and good humor in changing seats with your fellow passengers following our frequent rest stops.
Credit students must bring a notebook with them for keeping a journal of the trip. Enrichment students may also wish to keep a journal, but it is not required of them. You might also like to bring a day pack for easy access to your notebook, rain gear, lunch, and personal items since your luggage will only be available to you at the motel.
Once again, although we expect to return to Moscow by 5 p.m.
on Wednesday, delays are always possible so it is best that you
do not schedule anything urgent for that evening.
Services of experienced and knowledgeable trip leader,
transportation by university van between Moscow and Riggins, one
day's exclusive use of a jet boat and its professional
operator/guide, two nights' double-occupancy lodging, and
admission/donation fees to two museums.
Not Included: Meals, beverages, incidentals, college credit,
optional gratuity to boat pilot.
You will get more out of the class if you can spare the time for
some advance reading and viewing. The following sources will
introduce you to the life of Polly Bemis as well as provide an
overview of overseas Chinese history and/or archaeology in Idaho
and the West. Libraries may also have the books or can get
them for you on interlibrary loan. Gift shops at our museum stops
sell some of them.
1. Required: McCunn, Ruthanne Lum, 1981, Thousand Pieces of Gold. Any edition.
2. Highly recommended: Movie, Thousand Pieces of Gold.
This may also be available in libraries, on interlibrary loan, or
at video stores. Please look for differences between the book and
film versions.
3. Recommended: Elsensohn, Sister Alfreda, 1979, Idaho County's Most Romantic Character: Polly Bemis, Cottonwood, ID, Idaho Corporation of Benedictine Sisters.
4. Recommended: Elsensohn, Sister Alfreda, 1970, Idaho Chinese Lore, Cottonwood, ID, Idaho Corporation of Benedictine Sisters, pp. 81-88.
5. Recommended: Wegars, Priscilla, editor, 1993, Hidden Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese, Amityville, NY, Baywood. Especially Chapter 9, "Besides Polly Bemis: Historical and Artifactual Evidence for Chinese Women in the West, 1848-1930," pp. 229-254.
6. Recommended: Map, Idaho County-Western Half, Big Sky Maps.
7. Recommended: Wegars, Priscilla, Chinese at the Confluence: Lewiston’s Beuk Aie Temple, Lewiston, ID, Confluence Press, 2000. To order, send a check for $6.00 ($5 plus $1 postage) made out to "AACC" to Asian American Comparative Collection, University of Idaho, P. O. Box 441111, Moscow, ID 83844-1111. Also available in class.
8. Recommended: Wegars, Priscilla, "Charlie Bemis: Idaho's Most 'Significant Other,'" in Idaho Yesterdays, 44:3 (Fall 2000), 3-18. Available in class for $3.00.
Later additions:
9. Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer. Cambridge, ID: Backeddy Books. 2003.
10. "Polly Bemis: Lurid Life or Literary Legend?" In Wild Women of the Old West, edited by Glenda Riley and Richard W. Etulain, 45-68, 200-203. Golden, CO: Fulcrum. 2003.
An optional one credit in anthropology (Anthropology 421, Section
1) is an additional $45 (undergrad) or $56 (grad) for Idaho
teachers. Unless you are already registered for summer
school, you will register for this credit Monday morning (make
check payable to UI Bursar). Others who do not qualify for this
rate pay $154 for undergraduate or $181 for graduate credit. There
is no out-of-state tuition for summer classes. Participants taking
the class for credit will need to keep, and hand in, a journal of
their experiences and observations. The best journals are ones
that are legible and that contain more than lecture notes and a
recounting of the trip's events; they also include thoughtful
reflections of your impressions, as well as an assessment of what
you have gained from this class experience. Please hand in your
journal when we arrive back in Moscow, or by noon Thursday, July
11, at the latest. It will be mailed back to you, so be sure your
name and address are in it and legible. Please also include the
course number.
Meet the van at the west end of the Kibbie Dome parking lot. You
may leave your car there for the duration of the trip.
For those who cancel on or before Monday, June 10, there is a $25
cancellation fee. There will be no refunds after that date;
however, you may send someone else in your place.