Americans traditionally lived in what is
now northern Idaho and easternWashington.
Their name was given to them
by French traders, but they called themselves
the Schitsu’umsh. The name
means “the discovered people.”
Most of the year they lived in villages in
permanent cone-shaped houses covered
with bark and woven mats. They fished
for salmon, hunted game animals, and
gathered wild plants for food.
In the 1700s the Coeur d’Alene
obtained horses for the first time. The
men began making trips to the western
plains on horseback. There they hunted
William Frederick Cody
148 Cody, William Frederick BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
bison (buffalo) and traded with Plains
Indian tribes.
The Coeur d’Alene did not want traders
to enter their lands. However, they did
trade furs for metal tools, guns, and
other manufactured goods.
Like many other Native American tribes,
the Coeur d’Alene suffered from diseases
brought by European settlers. Smallpox
killed many people in the first half of
the 1800s.
In the mid-1800s the Coeur d’Alene
tried to resist settlers who wanted to take
over their territory. In 1858 a force of
1,000 Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, and
Palouse warriors fought a brief and
unsuccessful war against United States
troops. Following this defeat, the U.S.
government moved the Coeur d’Alene
to a reservation in what is now Idaho. At
the end of the 20th century about 1,500
Coeur d’Alene lived in the United
States.
#More to explore
Native Americans • Smallpox
Cold, Common
The cold is one of the most common
illnesses to affect humans. In fact, children
may get 6 to 10 colds a year. People
often catch colds during cold weather,
but chilly temperatures are not the
cause. Viruses, or tiny germs that enter
the body, cause colds. More than 200
different viruses can cause a cold.
The symptoms, or signs, of a cold generally
start two or three days after a cold
virus enters the body. Symptoms may
include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing,
coughing, sore throat, and headache.
More than 200 different viruses
can cause the common cold.
Morris Antelope was a chief of the Coeur
d’Alene people.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Cold, Common 149
The symptoms last from a few days to
two weeks.
Cold viruses spread easily from person
to person. Coughing and sneezing force
a cold virus into the air. People may
then breathe in the virus. They may also
pick up a virus by touching surfaces
where viruses have landed. Then when
they touch their noses, the virus enters
the body.Washing one’s hands may help
to prevent the spread of cold viruses.
There is no cure for the common cold.
Treatment includes resting and drinking
lots of water, juice, or soup broth. Steam
from a hot shower or a vaporizer can
make breathing easier. Saltwater nose
drops can also help a stuffy nose. Cough
drops can soothe a sore throat. Painrelieving
medicine can ease a headache.
#More to explore
Disease, Human • Virus
ColdWar
AfterWorldWar II the United States and
the Soviet Union were the superpowers
of the world. They became rivals as they
each sought to prevent the other from
gaining too much power. The period of
tension that existed between them came
to be known as the ColdWar. The
conflict did not result in actual war
between the two countries.However, it
did lead to a number of smaller wars.
Background
During WorldWar II, the Soviet Union
freed many countries of eastern Europe
from Nazi Germany. After the war, however,
the Soviet Union continued to
control the countries. It also forced its
own Communist economic system on
them.
The United States did not want Communism
to spread to other countries in
Europe. It also wanted the western
European countries as allies, or friends.
The United States therefore gave money
to those countries to rebuild after the
war. This was called the Marshall Plan.
It was named for George Marshall, the
American who proposed the plan.
Alliances
In 1949 the United States and its European
allies formed the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) to protect
each in case of attack. The Soviet Union
and its allies formed their own alliance,
the Warsaw Pact, in 1955.
Events of the ColdWar
Two major crises of the ColdWar
involved the German city of Berlin. At
the end ofWorldWar II the city, as well
as the country, was divided into four
zones. The United States, Britain,
In 1962 a U.S. ship (left) stops a Soviet ship
carrying missiles out of Cuba.
During the
Cold War
people in the
United States
built special
shelters to
protect themselves
from
nuclear war.
150 Cold War BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
France, and the Soviet Union each controlled
one of the sectors. In 1948 the
threeWestern powers announced that
they would combine their zones. The
Soviet Union then cut off road and rail
supply routes to the city, which was
completely within the Soviet part of
Germany. In response, the United States
and Britain delivered supplies by airplane.
This was the Berlin airlift. The
Soviet Union lifted its blockade in May
1949.
In the years that followed, many people
in East Berlin moved toWest Berlin to
escape control by the Soviet Union. In
1961 the Soviet Union tried to stop this
