Pioneer Mother on the River of No Return

Book excerpt: In 1877, America was in turmoil from a recession, labor strikes and ethnic conflicts. From far off Idaho came a heroine to raise the flagging spirits of a nation. At the beginning of the Nez Perce War Isabella Benedict carried her children up the White Bird Canyon without food, while in mortal danger, until she encountered the U. S. Cavalry. Ironically, a Nez Perce man came to her rescue when the army proved inept. Her life included 2 husbands and 9 children, a father killed in a gunfight, a stepfather lynched in Lewiston, and a son-in-law convicted of manslaughter. Isabella used her Irish toughness, perseverance, and family loyalty to make her way on the American frontier and leave a legacy for her many descendants. Her story reveals a great deal about early Florence, White Bird, Grangeville, and Slate Creek, Idaho and about all the women of the West.