Edward Dexter Holbrook was one of Idaho Territory’s first delegates to Congress. He died from wounds in a gunfight in June 18, 1870. | Courtesy Wikipedia IDAHO FALLS – Edward Dexter Holbrook stood outside his Idaho City law office on Main and Wall Streets as he came face-to-face with Charles Douglas. It was 8 p.m. on June 18, 1870, and the two men, once friends, had parted ways earlier that year and had come to confront each other in a gunfight. RELATED | Remembering the assassination of one of Idaho’s elected officials following the death of Charlie Kirk Holbrook, a 34-year-old Ohio native from whom a community 25 miles west of Malad gets its name, had started practicing law in the Buckeye State more than a decade earlier before eventually coming to Idaho Territory in 1865. The Democrat became one of Idaho’s first Congressional delegates when the territorial legislature elected him to the position. This was before the passage of the 17th amendment, which provided for the direct election of Congressional delegates by voters. RELATED | The personal scandal of one of Idaho’s most beloved politicians, and why voters never knew about it A news report at the time describes Holbrook as “a man of little education, a lawyer of attainments too meager to command any respect, his fortune in being twice chosen delegate is one of those anomalies that are harder to explain than learn. His abilities as a politician consist of his capacity to drink whiskey.” “Holbrook was a noticeable figure, and his manner, though somewhat stylish, indicated the genteel rough,” author Thomas Donaldson wrote in the book “Idaho of Yesterday.” “He had a swaggering walk, and always dressed in black broadcloth, with a low vest of buff color, and a broad slouch hat, black in color. He was a well-built man of medium height with black hair and whiskers, and in 1869 appeared to be about 35 years of age. Holbrook was a poor lawyer in culture and extremely verbose as a speaker” The Republican Party was in power at the time, a fact that frequently frustrated Holbrook. Idaho Territory, created with the stroke of a pen by President Abraham Lincoln two years earlier, was dominated by southern Democrats and Confederate sympathizers as the Civil War still raged in America. RELATED | Historian says Lincoln won Civil War with the ‘idea of Idaho,’ and early governor might have prevented assassination “The Radical Republicans favored harsher treatment of the defeated Confederate States than did Republican President Abraham Lincoln, whose more conciliatory policy, as he expressed it at Gettysburg, was aimed at ‘binding up the nation’s wounds,’” the Idaho Statesman wrote in a 2015 article about Holbrook. On Feb. 5, 1869, the House of Representatives unanimously censured Holbrook over some negative comments he directed towards Civil War Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, who was a member of the House from Massachusetts. As the New York Times is reported to have said in a front page story that day, it all started with Congress’s consideration of what was called the Indian Appropriation Bill. “When Butler made some derogatory remarks about Indian Agents, Mr. Holbrook thought this was personal and interrupted Gen. Butler and told him he was uttering what was unqualifiedly false, and that he knew it was false. A point of order was at once made,” the newspaper wrote, according to the Statesman. “Mr. Holbrook was given the opportunity to withdraw his words, which he refused to do in a sort of Border ruffian spirit. A vote of censure was then unanimously ordered and he was brought before the bar of the House under arrest, and the Speaker administered the censure of the house in severe terms.” The following year, Holbrook had a falling out with Douglas during the Democratic Convention in Boise. During an argument about how delegates should be selected, Holbrook is reported to have loudly spouted off his opinion. Idaho historian Rick Just says Douglas advised Holbrook to “pull in his horns.” “Douglas had some handbills printed that called Holbrook a thief and a rascal who was unfit to represent the territory. Delegate Holbrook had handbills printed that called Douglas a liar, a coward, and an assassin,” Just explains in a recent blog post. Although it’s not clear why Holbrook called Douglas an assassin, he apparently had some foreknowledge about something Douglas was involved in. The conflict had now come to a head and the two men now stood on the street in Idaho City to face off in a gun fight. After some words between them, which historical records do not specify, “they each drew a revolver and began shooting.” Eleven shots flew between them, one of which hit Holbrook in the abdomen. Deputy Sheriff T.M. Britten arrived, arrested both of them and helped Holbrook back into his office. He sat him down in a chair and promptly called the doctor. The doctor reportedly found the bullet lodged in Holbrook’s abdomen and determined “it was a hopeless case.” Holbrook died at 7 a.m. the next day, according to Just. Despite Holbrook’s bad reputation, the Idaho Statesman reports the funeral was the largest ever in Idaho Territory. More than 600 people attended. “About 200 citizens participated in a funeral march led by a brass band to the cemetery that afternoon. The coroner, who happened to be the grand master of the Masonic fraternity in Idaho, took charge of the burial ritual,” Just explains. As for Douglas, he was tried for manslaughter. He eventually pleaded self defense and was acquitted due to a hung jury.The post One of Idaho’s first Congressional delegates was killed in a gunfight. Here’s how it played out appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com