FROM CHINA TO THE SALMON RIVER

Polly Bemis is a state treasure. “The history of Polly Bemis is a great part of the legacy of central Idaho,” Governor Cecil Andrus said at the 1987 dedication of her restored former cabin. “She is the foremost pioneer on the rugged Salmon River.” Bemis has also been memorialized as “the Pacific Northwest’s most famous Asian pioneer” and “Idaho’s most romantic character.” High praise indeed.

But praise would have seemed foreign to the hardworking, down-to-earth diminutive Chinese woman. Her daily concerns were far more practical. She spent most of her life in central Idaho, gardening, fishing and caring for animals. On occasion she was called on to deal with gunshot wounds