Full text of "An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington"

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AN ILLUSTRATED 



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Walla Walla County 



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PPOI l:550P W. D. LVMAN 



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DEDICATED 



TO THE 



PIONEERS OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY 

THH BRAVE MHN AND DEVOTIiD WOMEN 



THOSE WHO HAVE GONE AM) 
THOSE WHO REMAIN 



■ Tct never a doubt, nay, never a fear 
Of old, or nozt', inczv the pioneer.''' 



PREFACE. 



The volume herewith presented speaks for itself, and extended preface is unneces- 
sary. It is fitting, however, that special thanks be given here by the author of the 
historical portion of the work to those who have so kindly assisted, by information, 
suggestion, and encouragement, in its preparation. 

Among these may be named the committee of endorsement, Messrs. Frank Paine, 
Lewis McMorris, and W. S. Gilliam, to whose patient attention and invaluable 
corrections the author is especially indebted. 

Particular mention should be made of the assistance given by Prof. J. A. Keener, of 
Waitsburg Academy, in the elaborate account of that institution. 

Prof. O. A. Hauerbach, of Whitman College, should be credited with the author- 
ship of the greater part of chapter twenty-three, and Mr. W. M. Proctor with that of 
chapter twenty-two. 

Many citizens of Walla Walla have given important information and have evinced 
an interest in the work, and a spirit of local patriotism which is one of the best auguries 
for a noble future in the historic county of Walla Walla. 

To these and all the hearty thanks of both publisher and author are due and are 
hereby most cordially tendered. 



AN ENDORSEMENT. 



We, the undersigned, after listening to the reading of the manuscript containing the 
"" History of Walla Walla County," written by W. D. Lyman, bear testimony that it 
gives evidence of extensive reading and conscientious research, and presents to our best 
knowledge, an accurate, comprehensive and impartial record of events, and as such we 
endorse and commend it. 

Lewis McMorris, 



,,T c- /- I Committee 

W. S. Gilliam, \ 

c- ,,. n \ of Citizens. 

F. \\ . Paine, | -^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 
Discoveries on the North Pacific Coast. 

Strait of Anian — Sir Francis Dralie — Juan de Fuca — Admiral de Fonte — Russian Exploration — Captain 
James Cook — Beginning of the Fur-trade — Troubles at Nootka — The " River of the West " — Captain 
Gray's Discovery — Explorations by land — Purchase of Louisiana — Lewis and Clark Expedition — Hunt's 
Expedition — The Tonquin Tragedy — Dawning ° I the Present 1 

CHAPTER L 
The Oregon Question. 

Great Britain's Claims — Hudson's Bay Company — Opinions of American Statesmen — Joint Occupation — 
Treaty of 1846 33 

CHAPTER IL 
The Inception of American History in Washington. 

Michael T. Simmons — Founding of Seattle — Division of Territory — Appointment of Isaac L Stevens as 

Governor — Boundaries of Washington Territory 37 

CHAPTER III. 
Missions of Walla Walla and Whitman Massacre. 

The Missionary Impulse — Parker, Whitman, Spalding — Mission at Waiilatpu — Whitman's Ride — The 
Massacre — Mr. Osborne's Reminiscences — " The Christmas Dinner '' — Cayuse War — Reminiscences 
of L. T. Boyd 40 

CHAPTER IV. 

Atte.mpts to Organize Walla Walla County. 

The Original County Boundaries — First Appointment of Officers — First Settlements— Gold Discoveries. . . 55 

CHAPTER V. 
Indian Wars of the 'Fifties. 

Troubles of 1853-.54— Council at Walla Walla— Looking Glass vs. Lawyer — Treaty Ratified— Its Provisions 
— Kamiakin and Peupeumoxmox — Outbreak of War — Battle of Walla Walla— Colonel Kelly's Report 
— Governor Stevens' Report — Stevens and Wool 58 

CHAPTER VI. 
Indian Wars of the 'Fifties — Continued. 

Campaign of '66— Battle of Grande Ronde— Colonel Shaw's Report — Second Walla Walla Council — Battle 
near Walla Walla — Trouble Between Stevens and the Regulars — Steptoe's Defeat — Its Avenging— 
Wool's Policy Reversed 77 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 
Definite Organization of Walla Walla and Political History, 1869-63. 

Early Settlers— First Appointments of Officers— Walla Walla Christened— Election of 1860— Effects of 
Gold Excitement — Sergeant Smith's Gold Discoveries — Beginnings of Business — Hard Winter of 1861- 
62— Famine Prices— Rush of Gold Seekers in '62— Election of 1862— Development of the Wheat 
Industry *^6 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Political History of Walla Walla County, 1863-66. 

Gold Discoveries in Boise— Stage Lines— O. S. N. Co.— Election of 1863— George E. Cole, Delegate— Effect 
of Rebellion on Politics — Founding of Waitsburg — Election of 1866 95 

CHAPTER IX. 
General and Political History of Walla Walla County, 1866-74. 

New Routes to Idaho— Attempts at Annexation to Oregon— Exportations of Flour— Election of Alvin 
Flanders to Congress— First Court House— Philip Ritz's Flour Trade— Starting of Railroad Projects- 
Selucius Garfielde— Election of 1868— Investigating County Officials— Ambitions of Waitsburg— 
Census of 1870— Election of 1870— Renewal of Attempts at Annexation— Railroad Projects— Founding 
of Dayton — Election of 1872— New Court House — Election of 1874 99 

CHAPTER .\. 
Annals of the Years 1875-1881. 

Completion of Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad— Division of County — Industrial Statistics- 
Election of 1876— Finances— Constitutional Convention— Election of 1878— Efforts at Statehood- 
Election of 1880 110 

CHAPTER XI. 
Walla Walla County Elections, 1882-1900. 

Thomas H. Brents— " Bossism "—Election Statistics to 1900— The Voting Precincts— Statehood— Walla 
Walla .Men in Cjagress- Penitentiary Politics — Present Situation— -Auditor's Report 115 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Land We Live In. 

Variety of Resources— Selection from Post-Intelligencer— Inland Empire— Legend of the Walla Walla 

Valley—" Beautiful W.illa W.illa "—Selection from Huwthjrne's History 120 

CHAPTER XIII. 

A Journey Through Walla Walla County. 

Enter County from the North— Waitsburg— Wait's Mill— Town Government in 1881— Churches of Waits- 
burg— Fraternities of Waitsburg— Schools and Public Improvements of the Town— Farming Region 
Adjoining— Dixie— Farming Region Adjoining Dixie— Farms Between Mill Creek and Russell Creek- 
Eureka Junction— "Wheat Kings"— Wallula— Fort Walla Walla of Hudson's Bay Times— McKinley 
and Pambrun— Abandonment of Fort Walla Walla by the English— Establishment of Steamboats on 
the River— Touchet—Frenchtown— The Garden and Orchard Lands— Dry Creek Ranches— Prescott 
— The New Farming Lands — The Alto Hill 1'j3 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Industries of Walla Walla County. 

\'iew From Pike's Peak— Physical Characteristics of the County— Story of Wishpoosh— The Stock Business 
—Statistics— Agriculture— Beginnings of Wheat and Flour Exportations— Dr. Blalock's Big Crop- 
Horticulture and Fruit Raising— Nurseries and Orchards— Fruit Fairs— Markets for Fruit— The Flour- 



CONTENTS. ix 

ing Mills — Their Output— The Gilbert Hunt Factory — Roberts' Foundry — Whitehouse & Crimmins' 
Factory — Other Lumbering Establishments— The Weber Tannery — Creameries — The Cox & Bailey 
Manufactory — Ringhofer Bros.' Saddle-tree Factory — Marble Works — Summary of Other Business 
Establishments 145 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Transportation Line.'; of Walla Walla County. 

Voyageurs and Bateaus — Early Steamboat Lines— Oregon Steam Navigation Company — Dr. D. S. Baker — 
— First Railroad Agitation — Grading at Wallula — Paper Railroads — Completion of Dr. Baker's Rail- 
road — Bought out by O. S. N. Co. — Stage Lines — Transcontinental Railroads — Northern Pacific — The 
Hunt Road— The 6. R. & N. System 165 

CHAPTER XVL 

Educational Institutions of Walla Walla County. 

Education in the West — Public Schools of Walla Walla County and City at Present — The High School— 
The Public School System in Early Days — Its Development — Whitman College — St. Paul's School — 
La Salle Institute — St. Vincent's Academy — Walla Walla College — Business College — VVaitsburg 
Academy l'i'4 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Earlier History of Walla Walla County, 1862-88. 

Establishment of Fort Walla Walla — Beginnings of Business — Steptoeville, Waiilatpu, Walla Walla — 
First Election — Successive Elections — City Indebtedness — Division into Wards — First Efforts at Munic- 
ipal System of Water Works IST 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Later History of City Government of Walla Walla, 1883-1900. 

Charter of 1883 — City Wards — Apportionment of Councilmen — Election Statistics to Present Time 194 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Churches of Walla Walla. 

Ancient Churches — Catholic Church — First Methodist Church — St. Paul's Episcopal Church — First Con- 
gregational Church — Cumberland Presbyterian Church — Christian Church — Baptist Church — Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, South — German Methodist Episcopal Church — First Presbyterian Church I9s 

CHAPTER XX. 

Fraternal and Other Organizations of the City of Walla Walla. 

Freemasonry — Odd Fellows — Odd Fellows' Home of Washington — Young Men's Institute — United Arti- 
sans — National Union — Pioneers of the Pacific — United Workmen — Degree of Honor — Women of 
Woodcraft — Woodmen of the World — Foresters of America — Knights of Pythias — Rathbone Sisters- 
Ladies of the Maccabees — Modern Woodmen of America — Improved Order of Red Men — Degree of 
Pocahontas — Royal Arcanum— Good Templars — Grand Army of the Republic — A. Lincoln Relief 
Corps — Sons of Herman — Order of Washington — Spanish-American War Veterans — Fraternal- Order 
of Eagles— Building Association— Walla Walla Gun Club— Walla Walla Club— Walla Walla City 
Library — Women's Reading Club — The Ladies' Relief Society — Walla Walla's Part in the Philippine 
War— Welcome Home 208 

CHAPTER XXL 

Journalism in Walla Walla County. 

The Pioneer Printing Press— The Walla Walla Press— The Washington Statesman— The Walla Walla 
Statesman — The Union — The Journal— The Garden City Gazette, the Watchman and the Walla Walla 
Record — The Argus — The Inland Empire — The Waitsburg Times — The Waitsburg Gazette 227 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Bench and Bar of Walla Walla. 

Old Times in the Circuit — The Days of Six-shooters in Court — Judge Strong's Court — Judge Wyche — Judge 
Oliphant and the Court "Getting Roused "—Judge Kennedy— Judge Lewis and his Peculiar Resigna- 
tion — Judge Wingard and his Lengthy Term — Judge Langford, Last of the Territorial Judges — Law- 
yers of the Olden Times — Superior Judges Since Statehood — Judge Upton — Judge Brents— Some 
Important Cases — The Thomas Murder Case — The Elfers Murder Case — Mrs. Pyle and J. T. Hurn — 
The Royse Murder Trial — The Case of Isaacs vs. Barber — The Case of Denny vs. Parker — The Walla 
Walla Water Case .' . 233 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Walla Walla in the Olden TiiMes. 

Richness of Material— Joe Lewis — The Vigilantes — Story of " Slim Jim "—The Story of Furth Patterson — 
Disunion Sentiment During the War— Union Flag at Milton — Political Business Men— Dr. Baker and 
his Railroad — "Wabash," and his flag— " Gentle Eells— " Portuguese Joe"— Allen's Knowlege of Faro 
—Colonel George and his Plug Hat— Ditto with the Water I5ottle— His Bet with the Priest— Floods in 
Walla Walla — Fires— Ancient Barrenness and Present Verdure 241 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Walla Walla City ln I90L 

By Way of Pasco— The State Penitentiary— The Sewerage System— Water Works— Law Suit Between 
Company and City— Establishment of Municipal Ownership of Water Works— The Hotels— The Banks 
—The Stores— The Residence Section— Suburban Homes— Visit to the Schools— The Telephone 
System— The Lighting System— Telegraphic Reminiscences— The Defunct Street Car System— Public 
Benefactions— Amusements and Entertainments— Condition of the Churches— The Postal Business— 
The City Fire Department— The Question of a New Charter— Opposing Opinions of the Press— Fort 
Walla Walla— Adjoining Attractions 2.i2 



GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

■ County Court House and Hall of Records 5B 

Combined Harvester 144 

Main Street, Walla Walla, in 1877 2fi4 

Main Street, Walla Walla, in 1901 2fi4 

Odd Fellows' Home, Walla Walla 21fi 

Walla Walla City Hall, Police and Fire Station 216 

- Walla Walla College 184 

■ State Penitentiary and Warden's Residence, Walla Walla 252 

■ Waitsburg Academy 136 

Waitsburg Public School 136 



PORTRAIT INDEX. 



PAGE 
A. 

Abbey, Henry J 384 

Abbott, John F 472 

Aldrich, Newton 480 

B. 

Baker, Dorsey S 288 

Berryman, J. E 496 

Blalock, N.G 472 

Bowers, C. J 502 

Bowers, Mrs. C. J 502 

Boyer, John FrankMn 296 

Bradbury, George W 4H6 

Brents, Thomas Hurley . 304 

C. 

Castleman, Nelson 432 

D. 

Dacres, George 4.52 

Delany, George 424 

Denne'y, Nathaniel B 488 

Denney, Mrs. Nathaniel B 48S 

Devvar, James M 476 

Dinges, Solomon 496 

E. 

EUingsworth, William 392 

H. 

Harbert, Joseph W 448 

Hardman, Sol 492 

Hardman, Mrs. S 492 

Harnien, Charles T.. 472 

Harmen, Mrs. Charles T 472 

Hoffmann, John o60 



Hoffmann, Mrs. John 
Hood, John R 



PAGE 

. . 360 
. . 408 



I. 

Isaacs, Henry Perry. 
J. 



312 



Johnson, Alexander 496 

Johnson, Samuel 502 

Johnson, William C 496 



Painter, William C 328 

Parker, HoUon Frontispiece 

Pettyjohn, Jonathan 464 

Picard, lohn 496 

Preston, Piatt A 468 

Preston, Mrs. Piatt A 468 

Preston, William G 468 

Preston, Mrs. William G 468 



K. 



Kershaw, James S. 
Kirkman, William. 



Loney, Samuel K 496 

Lyman, W. D 344 

M. 



Q- 



Quinn, Thomas 



368 



480 
876 



R. 



Reynolds. Rasselas P 416 

Ritz, Philip 4H6 

Rohn, J. 1 476 

Russel, Thomas A 496 



Mix, James D. . 
Mix, Mrs. Annie 



S. 

Seeke, Marshall C 602 

Singleton, John 460 

Smith, J. C 464 

Smith, Samuel J 440 

'i' T 'cX.'5 Stewart, Daniel 3.52 

P" ^ •.^. Swan, lohn M 488 



Manion, John 502 

Masterson, Andrew C 400 

McEvoy, Joseph 472 

McMorris. Lewis 320 

Miller, Joseph L 502 

Miller, .Mrs. lose 



McC. 
N. 



458 
458 



Nelson, Cyrus T., 



480 



Tavlor, John A 476 

Taylor, Mrs. John A 476 



Nelson, Hiram 480 

Norman, Nelson R 492 



W. 



O. 



Osborn, Obadiah. 



Ward, Michael B 336 

Wellman, Alfred C 444 

4.H; Williams, Edward J 488 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



A. 



Abbey, HiTiry J 384 

Abboit, John F 473 

Achurmann, Charles 3(i(i 

Aklrich, Milton 490 

Aldrich, Newton 4Sl 

Ash, Samuel A 441 

B. 

Habcock, E. F 382 

Bahcock, Georije \V 2^9 

Bachtoki, Alfred 3(i2 

Bachtokl, John 368 

Baker, Uorsey S 2**8 

Baldwin, J. M 38O 

Barnelt, Carrick H 4*5 

Barnett, George E 308 

Barrett, James S 348 

Bauer, Robert E 482 

Bauineister, Max 34I 

Beard, John A 4fiti 

Becker, Oswald 347 

Becker, I'hilip A 3.J8 

Berney, Ulysses H 4II 

Berrynian, J. E f,OU 

Herrynian, Richard J ,50(1 

Binghani, John E 9!Ki 

; Blaiock, N. G 474 

J Blaiock, Y. C 306 

Blanchard, Mrs. Elizabeth J 399 

Blandford, Henry S 326 

Boj,'le, Richard A 345 

Boston, Alvin 369 

Bourgeois, Eugene 493 

Bowers, C. J ,50o 

Boyer, Eugene H 354 

Boyer, John E 3.^9 

lioyer, John F 29'> 

Bradbury, George W 436 

Bralton, Walter A 4O8 

Brents, Thomas Hurley 3O4 

Brewer, B. F 4O6 

Brewer, John F 374 

Brewer, John W 398 

Brewer, Alerton E 402 

Brown, Alvah 28I 

liruce, James \V 378 

Bryan, M ilton E 403 

Brzezowsky, Frank 342 

Burns, Robert 372 

Buroker, J 4.'-,0 

Buroker, Udliam H 4S7 

Burr, Daniel 30" 

Burrows, Charles E 303 

Bush, John 428 



I'AGK 

C. 

Cain, Oscar 300 

Callahan, William 4,39 

Cameron, Alex 452 

Cameron, John A 305 

Caris, Matthias A 427 

Carnes, William H 442 

Castleman, Nelson 432 

Cation, James 479 

Cauvel. Austin Lynn 435 

Chamberlain, P. B 462 

Chamberlin, George Harris 445 

Clancy, R. G 407 

Clapp, Rufus 411 

Clark, William A 3(Jti 

Cochran, John G 403 

Coffin, IJelos H 338 

Copeland, Thomas 471 

Copeland, Wallace R 4(i(i 

Corkrum, Francis M 421 

Cox, Anderson 509 

Cox, Fred O 3!<2 

Crocker, Benjamin D 341 

Croup, Eli W 444 

Crowe, George R .... 431 

Crowell, Henry A 29S 

Cummings, .Amos 447 

Cummings, Charles F 433 

Cummms, James 3fil 

Cummins, Jesse 3ti3 

Cummins, Woodson 457 

D. 

Dacres, George 452 

Daniels, John H 300 

Dauhon, John W 325 

Davin, Hippolyte 342 

Davis, John A 479 

Davis, Lorenzo A 308 

Debus, Harry 357 

Delany, George 424 

Dement, Frank S 290 

Denney, Nathaniel B 488 

Dewer, James M 477 

Dewitt, "Oliver 4B1 

Dickinson, A. S 422 

Dinges, Solomon 497 

Dooley, lohn 318 

Dorris, Edgar A 403 

Drumheller, Jesse 333 

Dunlap. John K .3j6 

E. 

Edgerley, EIron 412 

Eichler, Charles H •"41! 



I'AGE 

Eldridge, Harlan D 422 

Ellingsworih, William .392 

Ennis, Christopher 303 

Estes, Hugh P 33j 

Evans, Andrew J 349 

Evans, Emmett 493 

Evans, Mark A .507 

Evans, Milton 482 

F. 

Faucette, John 327 

Ferguson, Walter S 443 

Ferrel, Brewster 405 

Ferrel, Joseph W 434 

Ferrel, Seth A 442 

Ferrel, Thomas J 432 

Fix, A. J 4.Mt 

Flohr, Michael 322 

Foster, Frank 332 

Foster, John H 351 

Fuller, John H 413 

G. 

Gaston, John 441 

Genevay, Lucien 292 

Gholson, Charles E 3(57 

Gilkerson, Charles 429 

Gilkerson, Harry 427 

Gilkerson, Thomas 429 

Gillhani, Alonzo 350 

Gilliam, Washmgton Smith 263 

Ginn, Richard 438 

Glasford, Wm 289 

Goodhue, James P 280 

Goodman, William S 349 

Gril'lith, Robert M 428 

Guichard, Ralph E 321 

Guthridge, Benjamin G 334 

II. 

Haggist, Fred 391 

Hall, lay H 314 

Harbert, Joseph W. 448 

Ilardman, -Sol 492 

Harer, John H 371 

Harman, Urias .S 448 

Harmen, Charles T 472 

Harper, Joseph L 3()1 

Hart, Francis G 374 

Hart, Thomas D. S 377 

Hartness, Orlander W 325 

Hastings, Henry W 397 

Hauber, Martin H 3S1 

Havnes, Oscar 3.55 



INDEX. 



Xlll 



PAGE 

Hays, William H 419 

Highlt-y, D. K ;»9 

Hill, J. iM ;^4o 

Hodgis, John H 307 

Hoffmann, John J^CO 

Hood, Charles Edward 508 

Hood, John A SOS 

Hood, John R 408 

Howard, Joshua A ... 49,5 

I. 

Ingalls, Henry 494 

Ingle, Elijah ;-i~6 

Isaacs, Henry Perry 312 

J- 

Jackson, Otis C 386 

Jacobs, Charles A 4.')0 

Jaussaud, Leon F. C 290 

Jennings, Jefferson 335 

Jessup, Theadore H 308 

Johnson Brothers 498 

Johnson, Robert H 383 

Johnson, Samuel 504 

Jones, William R 385 

K. 

Kauffman, John Jacob 316 

Keefe, Uion 317 

Kellough, George E 388 

Kelly, Martin F 507 

Kennedy, Robert 323 

Kershaw, J. Frederick 40-'J 

Kershaw, James S 482 

Kershaw, John H 411 

Kirkman, William 376 

Koger, Marion 409 

Koontz, William A ::i27 

Kralman, William 355 

Kuhl, Henry 433 

Kydd, John 285 

Kyger, Daniel T 294 

L. 

Lafortune, Joseph 449 

LaGrave, Dennis 879 

Lamb, James M 416 

Lamb, John D 47.5 

Lasater, Harry 406 

Lasater, James H 404 

Lee, Henry 495 

Lewis, George F 429 

Linn, Eathan A 437 

Logan Edward 3W8 

Loney, Samuel K 497 

Loundagin, George W 387 

Lovewell, Samuel Harrison 362 

Lowden, Francis M 324 

Lowden, Francis M., Jr 318 

Lowden, Marshall J 318 

Lyman, William D 344 

Lynch, P. M 4«7 

Lynrh, Robert E 418 

Lyons, Thomas 494 

M. 

Mabry, Mrs. Flmeline J 3^9 

Magallon, Adrien 358 



PAGE 

Malloy, William S 486 

Mangan, Edward H 417 

Mangan, Joseph J 415 

Manion, John 503 

Mann, William H 405 

Marcy, Benjamin W 3fi.5 

Martin, Michael 390 

Martin, Patrick 491 

Masterson, Andrew C. 400 

Mathew, William L 432 

Maxson, Samuel R 485 

McAuliff, James 315 

McCann, Edwin W 424 

McCool, Robert 414 

McCoy, John D 395 

McCoy, Joseph H 401 

McDonald, John B 425 

McDonnell, Edward 363 

McEvoy, Joseph 472 

McGhee, John VV., Jr 29ii 

Mclnroe, Charles 483 

McKinney, Thompson M 370 

McKinney, William 393 

McKinney, William E., Jr 390 

McLean, Clark N '.^99 

McMorris, Lewis 3'20 

Meiners, Martin 42li 

Michel, Justus 399 

Middleton, George H 449 

Miller, Joseph L .502 

Mills, Edward D 396 

Mix, Mrs. Annie McC 458 

Molkin-, Iwa S 373 

Moore, Miles C 282 

Moore, Thomas 345 

Morrow, 1. H 420 

Morse, Franklin -B 339 

M urphy, Horace J 364 

N. 

Nelson, Cyrus T 480 

Nelson, Hiram 481 

Nicholas, Amander M 451 

Noble, William A 395 

Norman, Nelson R 493 



O. 



O'Donnell. William 284 

Offner, Winfield S 311 

Osborn, Obadiah 4.56 

Osborn, Robert H 394 

Owens, S. A .391 



P. 



Painter, William C 328 

Parker, Hollon 273 

Peck, F.beneezer M 387 

Perkins, Perry C 379 

Perry, Alfred F 423 

Peterson, William 3.50 

Pettyjohn, Jonathan 4(54 

Phillips, Charles W 465 

Picard, John 499 

Preston. Charles B 375 

Preston, Dale 485 

Preston. Piatt A 470 

Preston, William G 468 



PAGE 

Q. 

yuinn, Thomas 368 

R. 

Reborn, John 413 

Reid, Albert E 439 

Reser, John L 4()3 

Reser, William P 457 

Reynolds, Allen H 307 

Reynolds, Almos H 310 

Reynolds, Rasselas P 416 

Roedel, Charles Ottmar 302 

Rohn, J. Fred 451 

Rohn, J. J 477 

Richardson, Charles B 454 

Riflle, ElihuG 3.54 

Ritz, Philip 496 

Rudd, Irby H 389 

Rulaford, George A 380 

Kussel, Thomas A 499 

Russell, Chai les 293 

Russell, E. Shepard 3.50 

Russell, Patrick 484 

Russell, Walter E 412 

S. 

Sanderson, Henry 285 

Scholl, Louis 319 

Schumacher, Carl 317 

Seeke, Marshall C 503 

Sell, Nicholas 419 

Seitz, John P 4.54 

Selland, Severt O 487 

Sharpstein, Benjamin L 364 

Shaw, Ellsworth E 314 

Shaw, Le F. A 301 

Shelton, William M 44f) 

Simpson, Francis I 410 

Singleton, John 460 

.Smails, George 311 

Smith, Ezekiel 343 

Smith, John C 464 

Smith, Samuel J 440 

Smith, William S 333 

Smith, Winfield D 359 

Stetson, Clinton 393 

Stewart, Charles B 286 

Stewart, Daniel . . 352 

Stewart, Meredith E 331 

Storey, John C 420 

Strah 1 , John U 402 

Strahm, Peter 394 

.straight, Zebulon K 326 

Stringer, Robert J 322 

Struthers, Williaiii A 397 

Sturgis, William P 484 

Swaim, Moses 430 

Swan, John M 489 

Sweeney, Samuel B 414 

Sweetser, Charles T 445 

Swezea, Thomas J 501 

r. 

Tash, Andrew J 426 

Taylor, Charles M 371 

Taylor, John A 476 

Taylor, Thomas 306 

Thompson, James B 509 



XIV 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Thompson, Robert 463 

Townsend, William C 347 

Truax, Henry C 343 

Tyson, Charles A 446 

V. 
\'illa, Frank 417 

W. 
Walker, Robert F 392 



Wa 



PAGE 

lace, Herbert F 348 



Ward, Michael B 336 

Weaver. Jacob F 3f<5 

Wellman, Alfred C 444 



PAGE 

Wilson, Valentme 369 

Wiseman, Jonathan T 409 

Wiseman, William N 407 

Woods, Joel 396 



Wheeler, Kmerson L 373 

Whitehouse, George W 295 

Whitman, E. B 287 

Whitman, E.S 287 

Whitman, Stephen G , 291 

Wickersham, James 365 

Wickersham, John 440 

Willi, Philip A 383 

Williams, Edsvard J 488 Young, Samuel P 'MO 



Yeend, James A 491 

Yeend, William 486 

Yenney, L O 501 

Yennev, Philip 506 

Yenney, W. H 495 



HISTORY (IF W4LLA WALLA COOITY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The opening of a new century is a fitting 
time to cast a backward glance in our local 
history, reconstruct to the eye of the present 
the interesting and heroic events of the past, 
and by comparison between past and present 
forecast something of the future. 

Old Oregon Territory, of which this coun- 
ty and this state were once parts, with its isola- 
tion, its pathos, its hospitality, has passed away. 
It had a strange history. It was the ignis 
fatiiiis of successive generations of explorers, 
luring them on with that indescribal)le fascina- 
tion which seems always to have drawn men 
tc the ever-receding circle of the "Westmost 
West," and yet for years and years veiling 
itself in the mists of uncertainty and misap- 
prehension. 

We do not usually realize how soon after 
the time of Columbus there began to be at- 
tempts to reach the western ocean and to solve 
the nn'stery of the various passages, north- 
west, southwest, and west, which were sup- 
posed to lead through the Americas to Asia. 
The old navigators had little conception of the 
breadth of this continent. They thought it 
to lie but a few leagues across, and took for 
granted that some of the many arms of the 



sea would lead them through to another ocean 
that would wash tlie Asiatic shores. 

In 1500, only eight years after Columbus, 
Gasper Cortereal, the Portuguese, conceived 
the idea of entering what afterwards became 
known as Hudson's Bay and proceeding 
thence westward through what he called the 
Strait of Anian. That mythical Strait of 
Anian seems to have had a strange charm for 
the old navigators. One of them, Maldonado, 
a good many years later, gave a very con- 
nected and apparently veracious account of his 
journey through that strait, averring that 
through it he reached another ocean in lati- 
tude 75. But by means of Magellan's Straits 
and the douljling of stormy Cape Horn, a 
connection between the two oceans was actu- 
ally discovered in 15 19. 

In 1543 Ferrelo, a Spaniard, coasted along 
the shores of California, and was doubtless 
the first white man to gaze on the coast of 
Oregon, probably somewhere in the \icinity 
of the mouth of the Umpqua river. 

In 1577 that boldest and most picturesque 
of all English sailors and freebooters, Francis 
Drake, started on the marvellous voyage l:)y 
which he ])lundered the treasures of the Span- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



3sh Main, cut the golden girdle of Manila, 
•queen of the treasuries of the Spanish orient, 
skirted the coast of California, Oregon and 
Washington, and at last circumnavigated the 
^lobe. 

But in 1592, just one hundred years after 
Columbus, comes the most picturesque of all 
those misty stories which enwrap the early 
history of Oregon. This is the story of Juan 
de Fuca, whose name is now preserved in our 
northwest boundary strait. According to this 
romantic tale of the seas. Juan de Fuca was 
a Greek of Cephalonia, whose real name was 
Apostolos Valerianos, and under commission 
of the king of Spain, he sailed to find that 
Strait of Anian, whose entrance the Spaniards 
wanted to fortify and guard so as to prevent 
ingress or egress by the English freebooters 
Avho were preying on their commerce. Ac- 
cording to the account given by Michael Lock, 
"he followed his course in that voyage, west 
.and northwest in the South Sea, all along the 
•coast of Nova Spania, and California and the 
Indies, now called North America (all which 
voyage he signified to me in a great map, and 
a sea-card of my own, which I laid before 
him), until he came to the latitude of 47 de- 
grees; and that, there finding that the land 
trended north and northwest, with a broad 
inlet of sea, between 47 and 48 degrees of 
latitude, he entered thereinto, sailing more than 
twenty days, and found that land still trending 
northwest, and northeast, and north, and also 
east and southeastward, and \ery much 
broader sea than was at the saitl entrance, and 
that he passed by divers ishuuls in that sailing: 
and that, at the entrance of the said strait, 
there is, on the northwest coast thereof, a great 
headland or island, with an exceedingly high 
pinnacle or spired mck. like a ])illar, thereupon. 
Also he said that he went on land in divers 



places, and that he saw some people on the 
land clad in beasts' skins : and that the land 
was very fruitful and rich of gold, silver and 
pearls, and other things, like Nova Spania. 
Also he said that he being entered thus far 
into the said strait, and being come into the 
North Sea already, and finding the sea wide 
enough e\-erywhere, and to be about thirty or 
forty leagues witle in the mouth of the straits 
where he enteretl, he thought he had now well 
discharged his office ; and that, not being armed 
to resist the force of savage people that might 
happen, he therefore set sail and turned home- 
ward again toward Nova Spania, where he ar- 
rived at Acapulco, Anno 1593, hoping to be re- 
warded by the Viceroy for this service done 
in the said voyage." 

This curious bit of past record has been 
interpreted bv some as pure m_\'th, and by 
others as \-eritable history. It is at any rate 
a generally accurate outline description of the 
Straits of Fuca, the Gulf of Georgia and the 
shores of \'ancouver Island and the mainland 
adjoining. And whether or not the old Greek 
pilot did actually exist and first look on our 
"Mediterranean of the Pacific," it is pleasant 
ti) imagine that he did, and that his name 
fittingly preserves the memory of the grand 
old myth of Anian and the northwest passage. 

There is one other more obviously myth- 
ical tale concerning our northwest coast. It 
is said that in the year 1640 Admiral Pedro 
de Fonte, of the Spanish marine, made the 
jciurne_\- from the .\tlantic to the Pacific and 
return, through a system of rivers and straits, 
entering the coast at ab. ut latitude 53. 
Coming from Callao in April, 1640. and after 
having sailed for a long distance through an 
archipelago, he entered the mouth of a vast 
river, which he named Rio de Los Reyes. 
Ascendino- this for a long distance northeast- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



•erly, he reached an immense lake, on whose 
-shores he found a weaUhy and civiHzed nation, 
wiio had a capital city of great splendor called 
Conasset. and who welcomed the strangers 
with lavish hospitality. From this lake flowed 
another river easterly, and down this Fonte 
descended until he reached another great lake, 
from which a narrow strait led into the At- 
lantic ocean. 

There is one curious thing about these leg- 
endary voyages, and that is the general accu- 
racy of their descriptions of the coast. Al- 
though these accounts are unquestionably 
mythical, it is not impossible that their authors 
had actually visited the coast or had seen those 
who had, and thus gathered the material from 
which they fabricated, with such an appear- 
ance of plausibility, their Munchausen tales. 

We are briefly referring to these fascinat- 
ing old legends, not for the purpose of discuss- 
ir.g them here at any length, but rather to re- 
mind the reader of the long period of romance 
and myth which enveloped the early history of 
our state. J^Iany years passed after the age 
of myth before there were authentic \-oyages. 
During the seventeenth century practically 
nothing was done in the way of Pacific coast 
exploration. But in the eighteenth, as by 
common consent, all the nations of Europe 
became suddenly infatuated again with the 
thought that on the western shores of Amer- 
ica might be found the gold and silver and 
gems and furs and jjrecimis woods, f(jr which 
they had been striving so desperately upnn the 
eastern coast. English, French. Spanish, 
I\)rtuguese, Dutch. Russian and .\merican. 
ei'.tered their bold and hardy sailors into the 
race for the possession of the l.'uid of the Oc- 
cident. The Russians were the first in the 
field. That gigantic power, which the genius 
of Peter the Great had suddenly transformed. 



like one of the fabled genii, from the propor- 
tions of a grain of sand to a figure overtop- 
ping the whole earth, had stretched its arms 
from the Baltic to the Aleutian Archipelago, 
and had looked southward across the frozen 
seas of Siberia to the open Pacific as offering 
them another opportunity of expansion. Many 
years passed, however, before Peter's designs 
could Jje e-xecuted. It was 1728 when Vitus 
Behring entered upon his marvellous life of 
exploration. Not until 1741, however, did he 
thread the thousand islands of Alaska and 
gaze upon the glaciated summit of Mt. St. 
Elias. And it was not until thirty years later 
that it was known that the Bay of Avatscha, 
in Siberia, was connected by open sea with 
China. In 1771 the first cargo of furs was 
taken directly from Avatscha, the chief port 
of eastern Siberia, to Canton. Then first 
Europe realized the vastness of the Pacific 
ocean. Then it understood that the same 
waters which frowned against the frozen bul- 
warks of Kamtchatka washed the tropic isl- 
ands of the South Seas and foamed against 
the storm-swept rocks of Cape Horn. Mean- 
time, while Russia was thus becoming estab- 
lished upon the shores of Alaska, Spain was 
getting entire possession of California. These 
two great nations began to overlap each other. 
Russians became established near San Fran- 
cisco. To oft'set this movement of Russia, a 
group of Spanish explorers, Perez, Martinez, 
Heceta, Bodega, and Maurelle, swarmed up the 
coast beyond the present site of Sitka. 

England, in alarm at tlie progress made by 
.Spain and Russia, sent out the Columbus 
of the eighteenth century, in the person of 
Captain James Cook, and he .^ailed up and 
down the coast of Alaska and of Washington, 
but failed to discover either the Columlna river 
or the Straits of Fuca. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



Xevertheless liis labors did more to estab- 
lish true geographical notions than had the 
combined efforts of all the Spanish navigators 
who had preceded him. His voyages mate- 
rially strengthened England's claim to Oregon, 
and added greatly to the Inster of her name. 
The great captain, while temporarily on shore, 
was killed by Indians in 1778. and the com- 
mand devoh-ed ujion Captain Clerkg. who 
sailed northward, passing through Behring 
Strait to the Arctic ocean. The new com- 
mander died before the expeditii)n hail pro- 
ceeded far on its return journey. Lieutenant 
Gore, a Virginian, assumed control and sailed 
to Canton. China. arri\-ing late in the year. 

The main purpose of this expedition had 
been the discovery of a northern waterway be- 
tween the two oceans and the extending of 
Briti.-h territory, hut, as is so often the case in 
human affairs, one of the most important re- 
sults of the voyage was entirely unsuspected by 
the navigators and practically the i)utcome of 
an accident. It so happened that the two vessels 
of the expedition, the Resolution an<l the Dis- 
covery, toiik witli them to China a small col- 
lection of furs from the northwest coast of 
America. These were purchased by the Chin- 
ese with great avidity, the people exhibiting a 
willingness to barter commodities of much 
value for them and endeavoring to secure them 
at almost any sacrifice. The sailors were not 
backward in communicating their discovery of 
a new and promising market for peltries, and 
the impetus imparted to the fur trade was al- 
most immeasurable in its ultimate effects. An 
entirely new regime was inau.gurated in Chi- 
nese and East India commerce. The north- 
W'Cst coast of America assumed a new import- 
ance in the eyes of Europeans and especially 
of the British. The "struggle for possession" 
soon began to be foreshadowed. 



One of the principal harbors resorted to 
by fur-trading vessels was Xootka, used as a 
rendezvous and principal port of departure. 
This port became the scene of a clash between 
Spanish authorities and certain British vessels 
which greatly strained the frienilly relations 
existing between the two governments repre- 
sented. In 1779. the viceroy of Mexico sent 
two ships, the Princesa and San Carlos, to 
convey Martinez and De Haro to the vicinity 
for the purpose of anticipating and pre\-enting 
the occupancy of Xootka sound by fur-traders 
of other nations and that the Spanish title to 
the territory might be maintained and con- 
firmed. ?klartinez was to base his claim upon 
the discovery by Perez in 1774. Courtesy 
was to be extendeil to foreign vessels, but the 
establishment of any claim prejudicial to the 
rights of the Spanish crown was to be vigor- 
iiusly resisted. 

L'lii.m the arrival of Martinez in the harbor, 
it was discovered that the American vessel 
Columbia, and the Iphigenia. a British ship, 
under a Portuguese flag, were lying in the har- 
bor. Martinez at once demandetl the i)apers 
of b<ith vessels and an explanation of their 
presence, vigorously asserting the claim of 
Spain that the port and contiguous territory 
were h.ers. Tlie captain of the Iphigenia 
pleailed stress of weather. On finding that the 
vessel's papers c unmanded the capture, under 
certain conditions, of Russian, Spanish or 
English vessels. Martinez seized the ship, but 
on being advised that the orders relating to 
captures were intended only to ap])ly to the 
defense of the vessel, the Spaniard released the 
Iphigenia and her cargo. The Xorthwest 
America, another vessel of the same expedition. 
was. however, seized by Martinez a little later. 

It should be remembered that these British 
vessels had in the inception of the enteriirise 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



5 



divested themselves of their true natiimal char- 
acter and donned the insignia of Portugal, 
their reasons being: first, to defraud the Chi- 
nese government, which made special harbor 
rates to the Portuguese, and second, to defraud 
the East India Company, to whom had l^een 
granted the right of trading in furs in north- 
west America to the exclusion of all other 
British subjects, except such as should obtain 
the permission of the company. To maintain 
tlieir Portuguese nationality, they had placed 
the expedition nominall}- under the control of 
Juan Cavalho, a Portuguese trader. Prior to 
the time of the trouble in Nootka, however, 
Cavalho had become a bankrupt and new ar- 
rangements had become necessary. The Eng- 
lish traders were compelled to unite their in- 
terests with those of King George's Sound 
Company, a mercantile association operating 
under license from the South Sea and East 
India Companies, the Portuguese colors had 
been laid aside and the true national character 
of the expedition assumed. Captain Colnutt 
was placed in command of the enterprise as 
constituted under the new regime with instruc- 
tions among other things "to establish a fac- 
tory to be called Fort Pitt, for the purpose of 
permanent settlement, and as a center of trade 
around which other stations may be estab- 
lished." 

One vessel of the expedition, the Princess 
Royal, entered Nootka harbor without mo- 
lestation, but when the Argonaut, under com- 
mand of Captain Colnutt, arrived, it was 
thought best l)y the master not to attempt an 
entrance to the bay lest his vessel should meet 
the same fate which had befallen the Iphige- 
nia and the Northwest America. Later, Col- 
nutt called on Martinez and informed the Span- 
isli governor of his intention to take pos- 
session of the countrv in the name of Great 



Britain and to erect a fort. The governor re- 
plied that possession had already been taken 
in the name of his Catholic majesty and that 
such acts as he (Colnutt) contemplated could 
not be allowed. An altercation followed and 
the next day the Argonaut was seized and her 
captain and crew placed under arrest. The 
Princess Royal was also seized, though the 
American vessels in the harbor were in no way 
molested. 

After an extended and at times heated con- 
troversy between Spain and Great Britain 
touching these seizures, the former govern- 
ment consented to make reparation and offered 
a suitable apology for the indignity to the 
honor of the tlag. The feature of this corre- 
spondence of greatest import in the future his- 
tory of the territory affected is that through-* 
out the entire controversy and in all the royal 
messages and the debates of parliament, no 
word was spoken asserting a claim of Great 
Britain to any territorial rights or denying the 
claim of sovereignty so positively and persist- 
ently avowed by Spain, neither was Spanish 
sovereignty denied or in anv way alienated by 
the treaty which followed. Certain real prop- 
erty was restored to British subjects, but a 
transfer of realty is not a transfer of sover- 
eignty. 

We pass over the voyage of the illustrious 
French navigator, La Perouse, as of more im- 
portance from a scientific than from a political 
standpoint, neither can we dwell upon the ex- 
plorations of Captain Berkley, to whom be- 
longs the honor of having ascertained the ex- 
istence of the strait afterward denominated 
Juan de Fuca. Of somewhat greater moment 
in the later history of the northwest are the 
\(jyages of Meares, who entered and described 
th.e al)o\-e mentioned strait, and who, in 1788, 
explored the coast at the \Knnt where the great 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COL'XTY. 



Columbia mingles its crystal current with the 
waters of the sea. In the diplomatic battle 
of later days, it was even claimed by some 
that he was the discoverer of that great "River 
of the West." Howbeit, nothing can be surer 
than that the existence of such a river was ut- 
terly unkniiwn t<i him at the time. Indeed his 
conviction <>{ its non-existence was thus started 
in his own account of the voyage : "W^e can 
now with safety assert that there is no such 
river as St. Roc (of the Spaniard, Heceta) 
exists, as laid dnwn in the Spanish charts," 
and he gave a further une(|uivocal expression 
of his opinion by naming the bay in that 
vicinity Deception Bay and the promontory 
north cif it Ca])e Disapjiointment. "Disap- 
pointed and deceived," remarks Evans face- 
tiously, "he continued his cruise SdUthward to 
latitude forty-five degrees north." 

It is not without sentiments of patriotic 
pride, that we now turn our attention to a 
period of discovery in which the vessels of our 
own nation plaxed a prominent ]iart. The 
northern mystery, which had been partially 
resolved by the Spanish, English, French and 
Portuguese explorations, was now to be com- 
pletely robbed of its mystic charm, s]:)eculation 
and myth nuist now give place to exact knowl- 
edge, the game of discovery must hereafter be 
played principally between the two Ijranches 
of the .\nglo-Saxon race, and Anglo-Saxon 
energy, thoroughness and zeal are henceforth 
to characterize operations on thi shores of 
the Pacific northwest. The L'nited States had 
but recently won their independence from the 
British Crown and their energies were find- 
ing a fit field of activity in the titanic task of 
national organization. Before the constitu- 
tion had become the supreme law- of the land, 
however, the alert mind of the American had 
begun projecting voyages of discovery and 



trade to the northwest, and in September, 1788^ 
two vessels with the stars and stripes at their 
mastheads arrived at Nootka sound. Their 
presence in the harbor while the events culmi- 
nating in the Nootka treaty were transpiring 
has already been alluded to. The vessels 
were the ship Columbia, Captain John Ken- 
drick, and the sloop Washington, Captain 
Robert Gray, and the honor of having sent 
them to our shores belongs to one Joseph Bar- 
rel, a prominent merchant of Boston, and a 
man of high social standing and great influ- 
ence. While one of the impelling motives of 
this enterprise had been the desire of commer- 
cial profit, the element of patriotism was not 
wholly lacking, and the \-essels were instructed 
to make what explorations and disco\-eries 
they might. 

After remaining a time on the coast. Cap-- 
tain Kendrick transferred bis shiji's proi:)erty to 
the Washington, with the intention of taking 
a cruise in that vessel. Pie jilaced Ca]itain Gray 
in command of the Columbia, with instruc- 
tions to return to Boston by way of the Sand- 
wich Islands and China. This commission 
was successfully carrie<l out. Tlie vessel ar- 
rived in Boston in September, 1790, was re- 
ceived with great eclat, refitted by licr owners 
and again dispatched to the shores of the 
Pacific, with Captain Gray in command. In 
July, 1 79 1, tlie Columbia from Boston and the 
Washington from China met not far from the 
spot where they had separated nearly two years 
before. They were not to remain long in 
company, however, for Captain Gray soon 
started on a cruise southward. On April 29, 
179J, Gray met \'ancou\er just below Cape 
Flattery and an interesting collof|u\' took place. 
\"ancouver communicatee! to the .\merican 
skipper the fact that he had not yet made any 
important discoveries, and Gray, with equal 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 7 

frankness, gave the eminent Britisli explorer sel's prow plowed the waters of that famous 

an accoiuit of his past discoveries, "including," "River of the West," whose existence had been 

says Bancroft, "the fact that he had not sailed so long susi)ected. The storied "Oregon" for 

through Fuca Strait in the Lady Washington, the first time heard other sound than "its own 

as had been supposed fr(jm Meares' narrative dashing." 

an<l map." He also informed Captain Van- Shortly afterward Vancouver came to 
couver that he had been "off the mouth of ai Cape Disappointment to explore the Colum- 
river in latitude forty-six degrees, ten minutes, bia, of which he had heard indirectly from 
where the outset, or reflux, was so strong as Captain Gray. Lieutenant Broughton of Van- 
to prevent his entering for nine days." couver's expedition sailed over the bar, as- 

The important information conveyed by cended the river a distance of more than one 
Gray seems to have greatly disturbed the e(|ui- hundred miles to the site of the present Van- 
poise of Vancouver's mind. The entries in couver, and with a modesty truly remarkable, 
his log shfjw that he did not entirely credit "takes possession of the river and the country 
the statement of the .American, but that he in its vicinity in bis llritannic Majesty's name, 
was considerably perturbed is evidenced by having every reason to believe that the sub- 
the fact that he tried to convince himself by jects of no other civilized nation or state had 
argument that Gray's statement could not have e\'er entered it before." This, too, though be 
been correct. The latitude assigned by the bad received a salute of one gun from an 
American was that of Cape Disappointment, .American vessel, the Jennie, on his entrance to 
and the existence of a river nKJUtli there, the bay. The lieutenant's claim was not to 
though affirmed by Heceta, had been deniecj remain forever unchallenged, as will appear 
by Meares ; Captain Cook also had failed to presently. 

find it, besides had he not himself passed that With the exijloration of I'uget sound and 

point two days before and had he not observed the discovery of the Columbia, history-making 

that "if any inlet or river should be found it maritime adventure practically ceased. But as 

must be a very intricate one, and inaccessible the fabled Strait of Anian had drawn explorers 

to vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs to the Pacific shores in quest of the mythical 

and broken water which then apjjcared in its passage to the trea.sures of the Tnd, so likewise 

neighborhood." With such reasoning, he dis- did the fairy tales of La Hontan and others 

missed the matter from his mind for the time stimulate inland exploration. Furthermore the 

being. He continued his journey northward, mystic charm always possessed by a terra in- 

pas.sed through the strait of Fuca, and engaged cognita was Ijecoming irresistible to adventur- 

in a thorough and minute exploration of that ous spirits, and the possibilities of discovering 

mighty inland sea, to a portion of which he untold wealth in the \-aults of its "Shining 

gave the name of Puget Sound. mountains" and in the sands of its crystal rivers 

Meanwhile Gray was proceeding south- were exceedingly fascinating to the lover of 

ward "in the track of destiny and glory." On gain. 

May 7th he entered the harbor which now The honor of pioneership in overland ex- 
bears his name and four days later he passed ploration belongs to Verendrye, wh j under 
through the breakers over the bar, and bis ves- authority of the governor-general of Xew 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



France, in 1773, set out on an expedition to the 
Rocky mountains from Canada. This explorer 
and his brother and sons maile many important 
explorations, but as they failed to find a pass 
th.rough the RocW mountains by which they 
could come to the Pacific side, their ad\-entures 
do not fall within the purview of our volume. 
They are said to ha\-e reached the present \icin- 
ity of Helena. 

If. as seems highly probable, the events 
chronicled by La Page in his charming "His- 
toire de la Louisiane." published in 1758, 
should be taken as authentic, the first man to 
scale the Rocky mountains from the east and to 
make his way overland to the shores of the 
Pacific was a Yazoo Indian, Moncacht-ape or 
IMontcachabe by name. But "the first traveler 
to lead a party of civilized men through the 
territory of the Stony mountains to the South 
Sea" was Alexander Mackenzie, who, in 1793, 
reached the coast at fifty-two degrees, twenty- 
four minutes, forty-eight seconds north, leav- 
ing as a memorial of his visit, inscribed on a 
rock with vermilion and grease the words. 
"Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada by land. 
July 22, 1793-'" His field of discovery was 
also without the scope of our purpose, being 
too far north to figure prominently in the in- 
ternational complications of later years. 

Western exploration by land, had, how- 
ever, elicited the interest of one whose energy 
and force were sufficient to bring to a success- 
ful issue almost any undertaking worth the 
effort. While the other statesmen and legis- 
lators of his time were fully engaged with the 
problems of the moment, the great mind of 
Thomas Jefferson, endowed as it was with a 
■wider range of vision and more comprehensive 
grasp of the true situation, was projecting ex- 
ploring expeditions into the northwest. In 
1786. while serving as minister to Paris, he 



had fallen in with the ardent Ledyard, who 
was on fire with the idea of opening a large 
and profitable fur-trade in the north Pacific 
region. To this young man, he had suggested 
the idea of journeying to Kamchatka, then in 
a Russian \-essel to Nootka sound, from which, 
as a starting point, he should make an explor- 
ing expedition easterly to the United States. 
Ledyard acted on the suggestion, but was ar- 
rested as a spy in the spring of 1787, by Rus- 
sian officials, and so severely treated as to cause 
a failure of his health, and a consecjuent fail- 
ure of his enterprise. 

The next effort of Jeft'erson was made in 
1792. when he proposed to the American Phil- 
osophical Society that it should engage a com- 
petent scientist "to explore northwest America 
from the eastward by ascending the Missouri, 
crossing the Rocky mountains, and descending 
the nearest river to the Pacific ocean." The 
idea was favoralily received. Captain Meri- 
wether Lewis, who afterwards distinguished 
himself as one of the leaders of the Lewis 
and Clark expedition, offered his services, 
but for some reason Andre Michaux, a French 
botanist, was gi\-en the preference. IMichaux 
proceeded as far as Kentucky, but there re- 
ceived an order from the French minister, to 
whom, it seems, he also owed otedience, that 
he should relincjuish his appointment and en- 
gage upon the duties of another commission. 

It was not until after the opening of the 
new century that another opportunity for fur- 
thering his favorite project presented itself. 
.An act of congress, under which trading- 
houses had been established for facilitating 
commerce with the Indians, was about to ex- 
pire by limitation, and President Jefferson, in 
recommending its continuance, seized the op- 
portunity, to urge upon congress the adx'isabil- 
ity of fitting out an expedition the object of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



which should be ''to explore the Missouri river 
and sucli principal streams of it as, by its course 
of communication with the waters of the Pacific 
ocean, whether the Columbia. Oregon, Colo- 
rado, or any other ri\-er. may offer the most 
direct and practical water communication 
across the continent, for the purposes of com- 
merce." 

Congress voted an appropriation for the 
purpose, and the expedition was placed in 
ch.arge of Captains Meriwether Lewis and 
William Clark (or Clarke). President Jeffer- 
son gave the explorers minute and particular 
instructions as to investigations to be made by 
them. They were to inform themselves should 
they reach the Pacific ocean, "of the circum- 
siances which may decide whether the furs of 
those parts may be collected as advantage- 
ously at the head of the Missouri (convenient 
as is supposed to the Colorado and Oregon or 
Columbia) as at Nootka sound or any other 
part of that coast; and the trade be constantly 
conducted through the ]\Iissouri and United 
States more beneficially than liy the circum- 
navigation now practiced." Li addition to the 
instructions already quoted, these explorers 
were directed to ascertain if possible on arriv- 
ing at the seaboard if there were any ports 
within their reach fre(|uented by the sea-vessels 
of any nation and to send, if practicable, two 
of their most trusted people back by sea with 
copies of their notes. They were also, if they 
<leemed a return Iw the way they had come 
imminently hazardous, to ship the entire party 
and return via Good Hope or Cape Horn as 
they might be able. 

A few days before the initial steps were 
taken in discharge of the instructions of Presi- 
dent Jefferson, news reached the seat of gov- 
ernment of a transaction which added materi- 
ally to the significance of the enterprise. Nego- 



tiations had been successfully consummated for 
the purchase of Louisiana on April 30, 1803, 
but the authorities at Washington did not hear 
of the important transfer until the ist of JuI3^ 
Of such transcendent import to the future of 
our country was this transaction and of such 
vital moment to the section with which our 
volume is primarily concerned, that we must 
here interrupt the trend of our narrative to 
give the reader an idea of the extent of terri- 
tory involved and if possible, to enable him to 
appreciate the influence of the purchase. 
France, by her land explorations and the estab- 
lishment of trading posts and forts, first ac- 
cptired title to the territory west of the Miss- 
issippi and east of the Rocky mountains, though 
Great Britain claimed the territory in accord- 
ance with her doctrine of continuity and con- 
tiguity, most of her colonial grants extending 
i!i express terms to the Pacific ocean. Spain 
also claimed the country by grant of Pope 
Alexander VL A constant warfare had been 
waged between France and Great Britain for 
supremacy in America. Th.e latter was the 
winner in the contest, and, in 1762, France, 
apparently discouraged, ceded to Spain the 
province of Louisiana. By the treaty of Feb- 
ruary 10, 1763, which gave Great Britain the 
Canadas, it was agreed that the western boun- 
dary between English and Spanish possessions 
in America should be the Mississippi river. 
Great Britain renouncing all claim to the terri- 
tory west of that Ixuuidru-y. In 1800, Spain 
retroceded Louisiana to France "with the same 
extent it has now in the hands of Spain, and 
which it had when France possessed it, and 
such as it should be according to the treaties 
subsequenlK- made between Spain and other 
states." 

The order for the formal delivery of the 
province to France was issued by the Spanish 



lO 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



had not been establislied at tliat time, but some 
king on October 15, 1802. and, as alx>ve stated, 
the United States succeeded to the title by 
treaty of April 30, 1803. Exact boundaries 
idea of tlie extent of tliis purcliase may be had 
when we remember that it extended from the 
present Britisli line to the Gulf of Mexico and 
included what arc new the states of Minnesota, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, 
Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, the 
territory of Oklahoma, Indian Territory, more 
than three-fourths of Montana and Wyoming, 
also parts of Colorado and New Mexico. 

Thus an enterprise which had its inception 
for its chief object to advance the commerical 
interests of the L'^nited States acquired a new 
puqxjse, namely, the extending of the geo- 
graphical and scientific knowledge concerning 
our ozvit domain. L'pon Lewis and Clark a 
further duty devolved, that of informing the 
natives that ol^edience Was now due to a new 
great father. 

The world-old wizard of "Out West" 
stretched his wand over them, and under its 
magic sway they began, by mountain trail and 
river and open highway of the prairie, to follow 
i*: into the wilderness. That same impulse led 
them which drew the camel-dri\-ers of Syria to 
the shores of the Mediterranean, which filled 
the sails of Roman galleys, which beckoned the 
Norse Viking to the desolate grandeur of 
Greenland, and which lit a signal tire in the 
tropic verdure of the Bahamas for the far- 
reaching vision of Columbus. So our great- 
grandfathers were chasing toward the sunset 
the shadow of their own coming greatness, a 
shadow gigantic but always growing, crossing 
the great plains with seven-league boots and 
stepping across the ridge-pole of the continent 
like a Colossus. 

It is not surprising that to minds just ad- 



mitted to this atmosphere of boundless expecta- 
tion, even this plain and common-place narra- 
tive of Lewis and Clark shouKI have had the 
fascination of a novel. 

This historic ex])edition had been pro- 
jected and even partially fitted out by Jefferson 
before the purchase of Louisiana. But imme- 
diately upon the completion of that most saga- 
cious investment, the lingering preparations 
were hastened, and on the 14th of May, 1804, 
the party left St. Louis by boat, upon the muddy 
current of the Missouri, to search for the un- 
known mountains and ri\ers between there and 
the Pacific. Their plan was to ascend the Mis- 
souri to its source, cross tlie divide, strike the 
headwaters of the Columbia, and, descending 
it, reach the sea. 

And what manner of men were undertak- 
ing this voyage, fraught with both interest and 
peril ? Meriwether Lewis, the leader of the 
party, was a captain in the United States army, 
and in Jefiferson's judgment was, by reason of 
endurance, boldness, and energy, the fittest man 
within his knowledge for the responsible duties 
of commander. His whole life had been one 
of reckless adventure. 

It appears that at the tender age of eight 
he was already illustrious for successful mid- 
night forays upon the festive coon an 1 the 
meditative possum. He was lacking in scienti- 
fic knowledge, but. when appointed captain of 
the expedition, had. with characteristic pluck, 
spent a few spare weeks in study of some of the 
branches most essential to his new work. Will- 
iam Clark, second in command, was also a 
United States ofificer. and seems to have been 
ecjually fitted with Lewis for his work. The 
party consisted of fourteen United States regu- 
lars, nine Kentucky volunteers, two French 
voyageurs, a hunter, an interpreter, and a ne- 
gn.!. To each of the common soldiers the gov- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



I r 



ernment offered the munificent reward of retire- 
ment upon full pay with a recommenflation for 
a soldier's grant of land. Special pains were 
taken to encourage the party to keep complete 
records of all they saw and heard and did. 
This was done with a vengeance, insomuch that 
seven journals besides those of the leaders were 
carefully kept, and in them was recorded nearly 
every event from the most important discov- 
eries down to the ingredients of their meals 
and doses of medicine. They were abundantly 
provided with beads, mirrors, knives, etc., etc., 
wherewith to woo the savage hearts of the 
natives. 

.\fter an interesting and easy journey of 
five months they reached the country of the 
A'andans, and here they determined to winter. 
The winter having been profitably spent in 
making the acquaintance of the Indians and in 
collecting specimens of the natural history of 
the plains — which they now sent back to the 
president with great care — they again embarked 
in a squadron of si.x canoes and two pirogues. 
On June 13th they reached the great falls of the 
Missouri. 

A month was spent within sound of the 
thunder and in sight of the perpetual mist- 
cloud rising from the abyss, before they could 
accomplish the difficult portage of eighteen 
miles, make new canoes, mend their clothes, and 
lay in a new stock of provisions. Of material 
for this last there was no end. The air was 
filled with migratory birds, and the ])arty was 
almost in danger of being overrun by the enor- 
mous herds of buffalo. 

The long, bright days, the tingling air of 
tlie mountains, the pleasant swish of the water 
as their cano-s breasted the swift current — the 
vast camp fires and the nightly buffalo roasts — 
all these must have made this the pleasantest 
section of their long journey. 



The party seems to have pretty nearly ex- 
hausted its supply of names, and after having- 
made heavy draughts ( n their own with various 
ptrmutatory combinations, they were reduced 
to the extremity of loading innocent creeks with 
the ponderous names of Wisdom, Philosophy, 
and Philanthropy. Succeeding generations- 
have relieved the unjust pressure in two of 
th.ese cases with the sounding appellations of 
Big Hole and Stinking Water. 

On the 1 2th of August the explorers crossed 
the great divide, the birthplace of mighty rivers, 
and descending the sunset slope found them- 
selves in the land of the Shoshones. They 
had brought with them a Shoshone woman, 
rejoicing in the pleasant name of Sacajawea, 
for the express purpose of becoming acquainted 
with this tribe, through whom they hoped to 
get horses and valuable information as to their 
proper route to the ocean. But four days were 
consumed in enticing the suspicious savages 
near enough to hear the words of their own 
tongue proceeding from the camp of the strang- 
ers. When, however, th.e fair interpretress had 
been granted a hearing, she speedily won for 
the party the faithful allegiance of her kinsmen. 
They innocently accepted the rather general in- 
timation of the explorers that this journev had 
for its primary object the happiness and pros- 
perity of the Shoshone nation, and to these 
evidences of benevolence on the part of their 
newly adopted great father at Washington, 
they (|uickly responded by bringing plenty of 
horses and all tlie information in their poor 
p(.)wer. 

It appears that the expedition was at that 
time on the headwaters of the Salmon river, 
near where Fort Lemhi afterward stood. With 
twenty-nine horses to carry their ainnidant bur- 
dens they bade farewell to the friendly Sho- 
.^hones on the last dav of .August, and com- 



12 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COL'XTV. 



niitted themselves to tlie dreary and desolate 
solitudes to the westward. They soon became 
entangled in the savage ridges and defiles, al- 
ready spotted with snow, of the L5itter Root 
mountains. 

Having crossed se\'eral branches of the 
great river named in Ikmhu- of Captain Clark, 
and becoming distressed at the increasing 
dangers and delays, tliey turned to the left, and, 
having punished a brawling creek for its in- 
hospitality by inflicting on it the name of Colt- 
killed, commemorative of their extremity for 
food, they came upon a wild and beautiful 
stream, inquiring the name of which from the 
Indians they received the answer. "Konskoos- 
kie." This in realit_\- meant simply that this 
was not the stream for which thc\- were search- 
ing. But not understanding, they named the 
river Kooskooskie. This was afterwards called 
the Clearwater, and is the most beautiful tribu- 
tary of the Snake. 

The country still frowned on them with the 
same forbiddmg rocky heights and blinding 
snow storms as before. It began to seem as 
though famine would ere long stare them in 
the face, antl the shaggy precipices were marked 
with almost daily accidents to men and beasts. 
Their only meat was tlie flesh of their precious 
horses. 

Under these circumstances Clark decided 
to take six of the most active men and push 
ahead in search of game and a more hospit- 
able country. A hard march of twenty miles 
rewarded him with a view of a vast open plain 
in front of the broken mountain chain across 
which they had been struggling. It was three 
days, however, before they fairly cleared the 
edge of the mountains and emerged on the 
great prairie north and east of where Lewis- 
ton now is. They fomid no game except a 
stray horse, which they speedily dispatched. 



Here the adx'ance guard waited for the main 
body to come up, and then all together they 
went down to the Clearwater where a large 
number of Nez Perce Indians gathered to see 
and trade with them. Receiving from these 
Indians, who. like all that they had met, seemed 
\cr\' amicabh- disposed, the cheering news that 
the great river was not \-ery distant, and seeing 
the Clearwater to be a fine, navigable stream, 
they determined to abandon the weary land 
march and make canoes. Five of these having 
been constructed, they laid in a stock of dog 
meat, and then committed themselves to the 
sweei)ing current with which all the tributaries 
of the Columbia hasten to their destined place. 
They left their horses with the Xez Perces, 
and it is worthy of special notice that these 
were remarkably faithful to their trust. In- 
deed, it may be safely asserted that the first 
ex])lorers of this country almost uniformly met 
with llie kindest reception. The cruelty and 
deceit afterward characjeristic of the Indians 
were learned jiartly of the whites. 

On the loth of October, haNing traveled 
sixty miles on the Clearwater, its pellucid 
waters delivered them to the turbid, angry, 
sullen, and lava-banked Snake. This great 
stream they called the Kimooenim, its Indian 
name. It was in its low season, and it seems 
fiom their account that it. as well as all the 
other streams, must have been uncommonly 
low that year. 

Thus they say that on October 13th they 
descended a very bad rapid four miles in 
length, at tlie lower part of which the whole 
river was compressed into a channel only twen- 
five yards wide. Immediately below they 
passed a large stream on the right, which they 
called Drewyer's river, from one of their men. 
This must lia\e been the Palouse river and 
rapid, and certainly it is very rare that the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 13 

niiglity Snake becomes attenuated at tliat puint until broken by tbe rounded summits of tbe 

to a widtli of twenty-five yards. Tbe next Blue mountains. They tind the Sohulks, who 

dav, descending the worst rapids they had yet lived at the junction of tbe rivers, a mild and 

seen (probably the ^^lonumental rapid) it re- happy people, the men being content with one 

pelled their afifrontery by upsetting one of the wife, whom they actually assist in the family 

boats. No lives were lost, but the cargo of work. 

the boat was badly wetted. For the purpose Captain Clark ascended the Columbia to the 
of drying it they stopped a day, and finding mouth of a large river coming from the west, 
no other timber, they were compelled to use which the Lidians called the Tapteal. This 
a very appropriate pile which some Indians was, of course, the Yakima. The people living- 
had very carefully stored away and cov- at its mouth rejoiced in the liquid name of 
ered with stone. This trifiing circumstance is Chimnapum. Here Captain Clark shot what 
noticed because of the exi)lorers speaking in he called a prairie cock, the first he had seen, 
connection with it of their customary scrupu- I.: was the sage hen, no doubt, a handsome bird 
lousness in never taking any property of the nearly as large as a turkey and very common 
Indians, and of their determination to repay along the river at the present time, 
the owner if they could find him, on their re- After two days' rest, being well supplied 
turn. If all explorers had been as particular, with fish, dog, roots, etc., and at peace with 
nuich is the distress and loss that wtndd have their own consciences and all the world, with 
been avoided. satisfaction at the prospect of soon completing 
They found almost continuous rapids from their journey, they re-embarked. Sixteen 
this point to the mouth of the Snake, which miles below the mouth of the Kimooenim, 
they reached on October i6th. Here they were which they now began to call the Lewis river, 
met by a regular procession of nearly two they described, cut clear against the dim hor- 
hundred Indians. They had a grand pow- i:;on line of the southwest, a pyramidal moun- 
wow and both parties displayed great affec- tain, covered with snow — their first view of 
tion for each other, the whites bestowing Mount Hood. 

medals, shirts, trinkets, etc., in accordance with The next day, being in the vicinity of 
the rank of the recipient, and the Indians re- Umatilla, they saw another snowy peak at a 
paying the kindness with abundant and pro- conjectured distance of one hundred and fifty 
longed visits and accompanying gifts of wood miles. This they supposed to be Mount St. 
arid fish. On the next day they measured the Helens, but it was, in reality, ]\Iount Adams. 
rivers, finding the Columljia to be 960 yards Near here Captain Clark. ha\-ing landed, shot 
wide, and the Snake 575. They indulge in no a crane and a duck. Some Indians near were 
poetic reveries as they stand by the river which almost paralyzed with terror. At last they re- 
had been one principal object of their search, covered enough to make the best possible use 
but they seem to have seen pretty much every- of their legs. Following them Captain Clark 
thing of practical value. In the glimmering found a little cluster of huts. Pushing aside 
haze of the pleasant October morning they no- the mat door of one of them, he entered, and 
tice the vast bare prairie stretching southward in the bright light of the unroofed hut discov- 



<4 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



ered tliirty-two persons, all of whom were in the 
greatest terror, some wailing and wringing 
their hands. 

Having hy kind looks and gestures soothed 
their grief, he held up his burning glass to 
■catch a stray sunbeam with which to light his 
pipe. Thereat the consternation of the In- 
dians revived, and they refused to be com- 
forted. But when the rest of the party arrived 
with the two Indian guides who had come with 
them from the Clearwater, terror gave way to 
curiosity and pleasure. These Pishquitpaws— 
such was their name — explained to the guides 
their fear of Captain Clark by saying that he 
came from the sky accompanied by a terrible 
noise, and they knew that there was a bad 
medicine in it. 

Being convinced now that he was a mortal 
after all. they became very affectionate, and 
having heard the music of two violins they be- 
came so enamoured of the strangers that they 
stayed up all night with them and collected 
to the number of two hundred to bid them 
good bye in the morning. The ]H"incipal busi- 
ness of these Indians seemed to be catching and 
curing salmon, which, in the clear water of the 
Columbia, the explorers could see swimming 
about in incredible numbers. Continuing with 
no extraordinary occurrence, they passed the 
river now called the John Day. to which they 
applied the name Lapage. Mt. Hood was now 
almost constantly in \iew. and since the In- 
dians told them it was near the great falls of 
the Columbia, they called it the Timm (this 
seems to be the Indian word for falls) moun- 
tain. 

On the next day they reached a large river 
on the left, which came thundering through a 
narrow channel into the e(|ually turbulent Co- 
luml)ia. This river, which Captain Lewis 
judged to contain one-fourth as much water 



as the Columbia (an enormous over estimate) 
answered to the Indian name of Towahna- 
hiooks. It afterwards received from the 
French the name now used — Des Chutes. 

They now perceived that they were near 
the place hinted at by nearly every Indian that 
thev had talked with since crossinor the divide 
— the great falls. And a weird, savage place 
it proved to be. Here the clenched hands of 
trachyte and basalt, thrust through the soil 
from the buried realm of the volcanoes, 
almost clutch the rushing river. Only here 
and there between the parted fingers can he 
make his escape. 

After making several portages they reached 
th.at extraordinary place (now called The 
Dalles ) Avhere all the waters gathered from half 
a million square miles of earth are squeezed 
into a crack forty-five yards wide. The desola- 
tion on either side of this frightful chasm is a 
fitting margin. As one crawls to the edge and 
peeps over he sees the water to be of inky 
blackness. Streaks of foam gridiron the 
blackness. There is little noise compared with 
the shallow rapids abo\e. but rather a dismal 
sough, as though the rocks below were rub- 
bing their black sides together in the vain 
eft'ort to close over the escaping river. The 
river is here "turned on edge." In fact, its 
depth has not b^en found to this day. Some 
suppose that there was once a natural tunnel 
here through which the ri\-er flowed, and that 
in consequence of a volcanic convulsion the 
top of the tunnel fell in. If there lie any truth 
in this, the width of the channel is no doubt 
much greater at the bottom than at the top. 
Lewis and Clark, finding that the roughness 
of the shore made it almost impossible to carry 
their boats over, and seeing no evidence of 
rocks in the channel, boldly steered right 
through this Witches' Cauldron. Though no 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 15 

doubt whirled along with frightful rapidity dalles and the cascades. But the explorers had 

and flung like foam flakes on the crests of the their eyes wide open, and the calm majesty of 

boiling surges, they reached the end of the the river and the savage grandeur of its shores 

"chute" without accident, to the amazement received due notice. They observed and named 

■of the Indians who had collected on the bluff m.ost of the streams on the route, the first of 

to witness the daring e.xperiment. After two importance being the Cataract river (now the 

more portages the party safely entered the Klickitat), then Labieshe's river (Hood river), 

broad, still flood beginning where the town Canoe creek (White Salmon) and Crusatte's 

of The Dalles now stands. Here they paused ri\'er. This last must have been the Little 

for two days to hunt and caulk their boats. White Salmon, though they were greatly de- 

They here began to see evidences of the white cci\-ed as to its size, stating it to be sixty yards 

traders below, in blankets, axes, brass kettles, wide. In this vicinity they were much struck 

and other articles of civilized manufacture, with the sunken forest, which at that low stage 

The Indians, too, were more inclined to be of the water was very conspicuous. Thev 

saucy and suspicious. correctly inferred that this indicated a dam- 

The dalles seemed to be a dividing line be- ming up of the river at a very recent time. In 

tween the Indian tribes. Those living at the deed they judged that it must have occurred 

falls, where Celilo now is, called the Enee- within twenty years. It is well known, how^ 

shurs, understood and "fellowshipped" with all ever, that submerged trees or piles, as indicated 

the up-river tribes. But at the narrows and by remains of the old Roman wharfs in Britain, 

thence to the dalles was a tribe called the Es- may remain intact for hundreds of years. It 

cheloots. These were entirely alien to the is. nevertheless, evident that the closing of the 

Indians above, but on intimate terms with those river at the cascades was a very recent event, 

below to the cascades. Among the Esche- It is also evident from the sliding, sinking, and 

loots the explorers first noticed the peculiar grinding constantly seen there now that a sim- 

"cluck" in speech common to all down-river ilar e\ent is liable to happen at anv time, 

tribes. The flattening of the head, which above The cascades having been reached more 

belonged to the females only, was now the pijrtages were required. Slow and tedious 

common thing. though tlie\- were, the explorers seem to have 

The place where Lewis and Clark camped en.dured them with unfailing patience. They 

while at the dalles was just below Alill creek were cheered bv the prospect of soon putting 

(called by the natives Ouenett), on a point of all the rapids behind and launching their ca- 

rocks near the present location of the car noes on the unnl)structed \-astness of the lower 

shops. river. 

The next Indian trilie, extending appar- This was successfully accomplished on the 
enth- from the \icinity (if Crate's point to the 2d of November. 'l"he\- were greatly delight- 
cascades, capped the clima.x of tongue-twist- ed with the verdure which now robed the gaunt 
ing names l)y calling themselves Chilluckitte- nakedness of the rocks. The island formed at 
(juaws. the lower cascades by Cnlumbia slough also 

Nothing of an extraordinary character ].)leased them greatly by its fertility and its 

seems to have been encountered between the dense growth of grass and strawberry vines. 



i6 



HISTORY OF \\"ALLA \V.\LLA COUNTY. 



From this last circumstance they named it 
Strawberry island. At the lower part of that 
cluster of islands, that spired and turreted 
relic of the old feudal age of the river, when 
the volcano kings stormed each other's castles 
with earthquakes and spouts of lava, riveted 
their attention. They named it Beacon rock, 
but it is now called Castle rock. They esti- 
mated its height at eight hundred feet and its 
circumference at four hundred yards, the lat- 
ter being only a fourth of the reality. 

The tides were now noticeable. This fact 
must have struck a new chord of reflection in 
the minds of these hardy adventurers; this 
first-felt pulse beat of the dim vast of waters 
which grasps half the circumference of the 
earth. And so, as this mighty heart-throb of 
the ocean, rising and falling in harmony with 
all nature, celestial and terrestrial, pulsated 
through a hundred and eighty miles of river, 
it might have seemed one of the ocean's mul- 
tiplied fingers outstretched to welcome them, 
the first organized expedition of the new re- 
public to this westmost west. It might have 
betokened to them the harmony and unity of 
future nations, as exemplified in the vast e.x- 
tent, the liberty, the 'human sympathies, the 
diversified interests, industries and purposes 
of that republic, whose motto yet remains, 
one from many. 

The rest of their journey was a calm float- 
ing between meadows and islands from whose 
shallow ponds they obtained ducks and geese 
in great numbers. 

They thought the "quick-sand river" — 
Sandy — to be a large and important stream. 
They noticed the W'ashougal creek, which 
from the great numl)er of seals around its 
mouth they called Seal river. But strange to 
say they missed the Willamette entirely on 
their down trip. The Indians in this part of 



the river called themselves Skilloots. Drop- 
ping rapidly down the calm but misty stream, 
past a large river called by the Indians the 
Cowaliske — Cowlitz — through the country of 
the Wahkiacums, at last, on the Jth of No- 
vember, the dense fog with which the morn- 
ing had enshrouded all objects, suddenly broke 
away, and they saw the bold mountainous 
shores on either side to vanish away in front, 
and through the parted headlands they looked 
into the infinite expanse of the ocean. 

Overjoyed at the successful termination 
of their journey, they sought the first pleas- 
ant camping ground and made haste to land. 
The rain, which is sometimes even now ob- 
served to characterize that part of our fair 
state, greatly marred the joy of their first 
night's rest within sound of the Pacific's 
billows. 

Six days passed in mouldy and dripping 
inactivity at a point a little above the present 
Chinook. They then spent nine much pleas- 
anter days at Chinook Point. This, however, 
not proving what they wanted for a perma- 
nent camp, they devoted themselves to explo- 
rations with a view to discovering a more 
suitable location. 

After many adventures of which lack of 
space forbids us to speak, they became settled. 
The party wintered in a log building at a point 
named by them Fort Clatsop, on the Lewis 
and Clark river, south side of the Columbia. 
On the 23d of March, 1806. they turned their 
faces homeward, first, however, having given 
to the chiefs of the Clatsops and Chinooks 
certificates of hospitable treatment, and posted 
on the fort the following notice : "The object 
o' this last is. that, through the medium of 
seme civilized person who may see the same, it 
may be made known to the world, that the 
party consisting of the persons whose names 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



17 



arc licrcunti) annexed and wlio were sent out 
liy tile t;i;vernnient of the United States to ex- 
plore tile interiiir of the continent of North 
America, did ])cnelrate the same by way of the 
Missouri aiul Columbia rivers, to the discharge 
of the latter into the Pacific ocean, at which 
they arri\'ed on the 14th day of November, 
1805, and dei)arted on their return to the 
United States by the same r(jute by which they 
had come." 

Of this notice several copies were left 
amon<;- the Indians, one of which fell into the 
hands of Captain Hall of the brig Lydia and 
was conveyed to the United States. 

The expedition made its way with no little 
difficulty up the C(jhimbia ri\'er. They dis- 
covered on their return a large tributary of 
that river (the Willamette) which had escaped 
their notice on their downward journey, and 
made careful inquiries of the Indians concern- 
ii:g it, the results of which were embodied in 
their ma]) of the expedition. 

.\t the mouth of the John Day river their 
canoes were abandoned, their baggage was 
packed on the backs of a few horses they had 
imrchased from the Indians, rmd tra\'eling in 
thiis manner, they continued tlieir homeward 
march, arriving at the mouth of the Walla 
Walla river on April 27th. The great chief 
Yellept was then the leader of the Walla Walla 
nation, and by him the explorers were received 
with such generous hospitality that they _\'ield- 
ed to the temptation to linger a couple of days 
before undertaking further journeyings among 
the mountain fastnesses. Such was the treat- 
ment given them by these Indians, that the 
journal of the expedition makes this ap]M-ecia- 
ti\-e notation concerning them: "We may in- 
deed justly afiirm that of all the Indians that 
we have seen since leaving the United States, 



the Walla Wallas were the most hospitable, 
honest and sincere." 

Of the return journey for the next hun- 
tlred and fifty miles, that venerable pioneer 
missionary, Dr. Jl. K. Hines, writes as fol- 
lows : 

''Leaving these hospitable people on the 
29th of April, the ])arty passed eastward on the 
great 'Nez Perce trail." This trail was the 
great highway of the Walla Wallas, Cayuses 
and Nez Perces eastward to the Iniffalo ranges, 
t'.) which they aniuially resorted for game sup- 
plies. It passed up the valley of the Touchet, 
called by Lewis and Clark the AVhite Stal- 
lion,' thence over the high prairie ridges and 
down the Alpowa to the crossing of the Snake 
river, then up the north bank of Clearwater 
to the x'illage of Twisted Hair, where the ex- 
ploring party had left their horses on the w^ay 
down the previous autumn. It was worn deep 
and broad, ;nid on many stretches on the open 
]ilains and over the smooth hills twenty horse- 
men could ride abreast in parallel paths worn 
1/y the constant rush of the Indian generations 
from time immemorial The writer has often 
passed over it when it lay exactly as it did when 
the tribes of Yellept and Twisted Hair traced 
its sinuous courses, or when Lewis and Clark 
and their companions first marked it with the 
licel of ci\'ilization. Rut the plow has long 
since obliterated it. and where the monotonous 
song of the Indian march was droningly 
chanted for so many barbaric ages the song 
of the reaper thrills the clear air as he comes 
to his garner bringing in the sheaves. A more 
delightful ride of a hundred and fifty miles than 
this that the company of Lewis and Clark made 
over the swelling prairie upland and along the 
crystal streams between Walla Walla and the 
village of Twisted Hair, in the soft May days 



i8 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of 1806, can scarcely be found anywhere on 
earth. 

To trace the explorations of these trav- 
elers further is not within the province of this 
work, but in order to convey a general idea 
of the labors and e.xtent of the voyage we 
ciuote the brief summary made by Captain 
Lewis himself: 

"The road by which we went out by the 
Avay of the Missouri to its head is 3,096 miles; 
thence Iw' land by way of Lewis river over to 
■Clark's river and down that to the entrance of 
Traveler's Rest creek, where all the roads from 
■different routes meet; thence across the rugged 
])art of the Rocky mountains to the navigable 
waters of the Columbia 398 miles, thence 
■down the ri\er 640 miles to the Pacific ocean — 
making a total distance of 4,1 34 miles. On 
■our return in 1806 we came from Traveler's 
Rest directlv to the falls of the Missouri river, 
Avhich shortens the distance about 579 miles, 
and is a much better route, reducing the dis- 
tance from the ]\Iississippi to the Pacific ocean 
to 3.555 miles. Of this distance 2.575 miles 
is up the Missouri to the falls of that river; 
thence passing through the i)lains and across 
the Rocky mountains to the navigable waters 
of the Kooskooskie river, a branch of the Co- 
lumbia. 340 miles. 200 of which is good road, 
140 miles over a tremendous mountain, steep 
.•and broken, sixty miles of which is covered 
several feet deep with snow, on which we 
passed on the last of June ; from the navigable 
part of the Kooskooskie we descended that 
rapid river seventy-three miles to its entrance 
into the Lewis river, and down that river 154 
miles to the Columbia, and thence 413 miles 
to its entrance into the Pacific ocean. About 
180 miles of this distance is tide water. We 
passed several bad rapids and narrows, and 
•one considerable fall, 268 miles above the en- 



trance of this river, thirty-seven feet, eight 
inches ; the total distance descending the Co- 
Ir.mbia waters 640 miles — making a total of 
3.555 miles, on the most direct route from the 
Mississippi, at the mouth of the Missouri, to 
the Pacific ocean." 

The safe return of the explorers to their 
homes in the L'nited States naturally created 
a sensation throughout this couritry and the 
world. Leaders and men were suitably re- 
wardetl. and the fame of the former will live 
\\'hile the ri\-ers to which their names have 
been given continue to pour their waters into 
the sea. President Jefferson, the great patron 
of the expedition, paying a tribute to Captain 
Lewis in 1813, said: "Never did a similar 
event excite more joy throughout the United 
States. The humblest of its citizens have taken 
a lively interest in the issue of this journey, 
and looked with impatience for the information 
it would furnish. Nothing short of the of- 
ficial journals of this extraordinary and in- 
teresting journey will exhibit the importance 
of the service, the courage, devotion, zeal and 
perseverance under circumstances calculated to 
discourage, which animated this little band of 
heroes, throughout the long, dangerous and 
tedious travel." 

Among many journeys of discovery liy 
land which followed that of Lewis and Clark 
we select as the most interesting and typical 
tl:at of the Hunt party, which was the land 
division of the great Astor movement to estab- 
lish the Pacific Fur Company. That com- 
]Xiny was established by John Jacob Astor for 
the purpose of making a bold and far-reach- 
ing attempt to control the vast fur trade of the 
Pacific coast in the interest of the United 
States. The sea di\'ision set sail frum New 
York in 1810 in the ship Tonquin. In the 
meantime Wilson Price Himt. the second part- 



HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



19 



iier in tiie concern, was at St. Louis organizing 
a land party, which was to cross tlie plains and 
■co-operate with the dixisinn l)y sea. Hunt had 
been merchandising for some years at St. Louis. 
His principal trade being with trappers and 
Indians, he had become very familiar with the 
requirements of the business. In addition to 
this primary requisite he possessed a character, 
native and acquired, worthy of more frequent 
mention in our early annals and of more fre- 
■quent emulation jjy his associates and suc- 
cessors. Bra\'e, humane, patient, cheerful and 
resolute, he rises from the mists of history and 
reminiscence as the highest type of the Jasons 
who vied with those of ancient story in their 
search for the fleeces (this time of seal and 
beaver instead of gold) of the far west. To 
a powerful physi(|ue and iron nerve Hunt added 
a refinement and culture rare indeed among the 
bold, free spirits of the frontier. 

In company with Hunt from the outset was 
another partner, Donald McKenzie by name. 
He was a man insensible of fear, inured by 
years of hardship to the ups and downs of the 
trapper's life, and renowned even on the border 
for his marvelous accuracy with the rifle. The 
first thing for them was to get their men. To 
do this all the tact and patience of Hunt were 
brought into full play. For a proper under- 
standing of his position it will be necessary 
to describe briefly the classes from whom he 
Avas obliged to fill his .ranks. 

There were at tliis time two great classes 
ol trappers. The first and most numerous were 
the Canadian voyageurs. These men were 
mainly of French descent. Many of them were 
half-breeds. They were the legacy of the old 
French domination o\-er Canada. Cradled in 
the canoe or batteau. their earliest remem- 
brance being the cold l)lne lake or foamine 
river, almost amphibious bv nature and train- 



ir.g, gay and amiable in disposition, with true 
French vivacity and ingenuity, gilding every 
harsh and bitter experience with laugh and 
song, with their quick sympathies and humane 
instincts easily getting on the best side of the 
savages, not broad in designing but not the 
less patient, courageous and indomitable in 
executing, these French voyageurs were the 
n:ain dependence of traffic in the wilderness. 
The second class were free trappers ; 
Eooshaways they were sometimes called. These 
men were mainly Americans. Virginia and 
Kentucky were the original homes of many of 
them. They were the perfect antipodes of the 
voyageurs. Often with gigantic frames built 
up on prairie dew and mountain breeze, with 
buffalo steak and wild birds' flesh wrought into 
their iron sinews; with nerves of steel, on 
which it seemed might harmlessly play e\-en 
the lightnings of Missouri storms, the drift- 
ing snows of winter but a downy coverlid to 
them, and the furnace blasts of summer but 
balmy zephyrs ; gorging themselves in the midst 
of plenty, but mocking the power of hunger and 
thirst when in want; mighty braggarts, yet 
quick as lightning to make good their boasts; 
patient and indefatigable in their work of trap- 
ping, but when on their annual trips to the 
towns given to wild dissipations and savage 
rcvelings, "sudden and rash in quarrel," care- 
less of each other's sympathy or co;niDany; 
harsh ami cruel to the Indians when in power 
over them, but bold and recklessly defiant when 
weaker than they; seizing without compunction 
the prettiest Indian women and the best horses 
as their rightful booty; with blood always in 
their eyes, thunder in their voices, and pistols 
in their hands, yet underneath it all many of 
tl-.em having hearts as big as- buffaloes, could 
th.ey but be reached, — this now vanished race of 
Booshaways has gone to a place in history be- 



20 



HISTORY OF W ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



side tlic 1)1(1 Spartans, whose greatest boast it 
was that the city had no walls, their army 
being the wall and every man tlierein a brick, 
or beside the Spanish con(|uerors of Mexico 
and Peru, like Orellana, who descended the 
Amazon on a raft and then put to sea with 
such a climax of audacity that even the stormy 
Atlantic was frightened into acrpiiescence and 
let him pass in safety. 

This old streak of brutality and tyranny, 
originally cast into the Anglo-Sa.xon nature and 
n-.anifested in its best form in the savage 
grandeur of the Norse Valhalla, and in the 
overpowering energy of the Vikings, and at 
every emergency breaking with volcanic fury 
tln-ough the tliin crust of modern culture, has 
.shown itself in no way more notably than in 
the whole Indian management of the American 
Government. These free trappers executed 
with a vengeance the unsiioken, but not less 
real, policy of our government. Humanity, 
ar.d even shrewd ])olic}-. had little place in the 
thoughts and actions of most of them. The 
Irdians were simply to be stamped on like so 
many rattlesnakes. In the trapper's code, for 
an Indian to look longingly at a white man's 
horse, or even to be seen in the ^■icinity of a 
beaver trap, was sufficient warrant to send a 
ride ball |)loughing its way through his heart. 
The Gallic gentleness and social)ility which 
enabled the Canadian voyageurs to go almost 
anywhere unharmed among the Indians, found 
no counterpart in the sterner composition of the 
great majority of .\merican trappers and 
traders. 

Such were the men from whom I hint had to 
make up his little army, and a ve.xatious job it 
was, too. The rivalries of opixjsing companies 
were the opportunity of the trappers. Big 
wages were demanded. Old whisky bills had 
to be paid off. The clutch of the sheriff had 



to be loosene 1 by the golden lever of wages 
in advance. Worst of all. Hunt found at 
nearly every station where he tried to eneaee 
men that the agents of the ilissouri Fur Com- 
p;iny, chief of whom was a Spaniard named 
Manuel Lisa, were neutralizing his efforts by 
representing the dangers from the hostile 
tribes and barren wastes intervening between 
the Missouri plains and the Pacific. But 
Hunt's patience and perseverance, backed by 
Astor's unstinted purse, overcame all obstacles, 
and in .\pril. iSn. the winter rendezvous at 
the mouth of the Nodowa ( four hundred and 
eighty miles above St. Louis) was abandoned, 
and in four boats, one of large size, and mount- 
ing a swivel and two howitzers, the party of 
sixty set forth up the almost untraveled Mis- 
souri. Of the party five were partners. Hunt, 
Crooks, McKenzie, Miller and McLellan. One 
was a clerk. Reed by name. There were two 
English naturalists, Bradbury and Nuttall. 
Forty of the party were Canadian vo\-ageurs. 
They were to do the rowing, transporting, 
carrying, cooking, and all the drudgery in gen- 
eral. The remainder were American hunters 
and trappers. These were the fellows to hunt 
and fight and i>lan and explore, and, when the 
proper place was reached, to cast themselves 
upon the mercy of the savages and wild beasts, 
endure hunger and thirst and establish trading 
posts. The chief of these hunters was a \'ir- 
ginian named John Day. We shall meet him 
freciuently. The party was in all respects 
most bountifully equipped. They designed 
following as nearly as possible the route of 
Lewis and Clark. 

Many interesting and some thrilling and 
exciting scenes were encountered on the pas- 
sage up the Missouri, especially on their way 
through the country of the Sioux Tetons. But 
thev met with no serious hindrance, and on 



HISTORY OF ^^'ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



21 



the nth of June they reached a large village 
of the Arickaras, fourteen hundred and thirty 
miles above the mouth of the Missouri. It 
had been determined before this, on the advice 
of several hunters who joined the party in the 
wilderness, after they had left the Nodowa, 
to abandon' their canoes at this point and, se- 
curing horses, strike across the country south 
of Lewis and Clark's route, so as to avoid 
the dreadful Blackfeet, who, alike the terror 
of the other Indians as well as of the whites, 
dominated all the region of the upper Mis- 
souri. So with eighty-two horses heavily 
loaded — the partners only, together with the 
family of Pierre Dorion, being mounted — on 
the 1 8th of July they set out hopefully, though 
with many gloomy prognostications from 
trappers remaining at the Arickara village, on 
their march across the Great American Des- 
ert and through the volcanic defiles of the 
great divide. 

On the wide monotony of the sky-bordered 
prairie they seemed to make no progress. Day 
succeeded day, and e\-ery morning's sun shot 
up, hot and dry, on apparently the very land- 
scape of the day before. They did not seem 
in fact, though taking a more direct route, 
to make so good time as did Lewis and Clark. 
Guided by the Crow Indians, they penetrated 
range after range of the stepping stones to 
the final ridge, supposing each to be the last, 
only to find when it was surmounted that one 
yet higher succeeded, and at last on the 15th 
of September — the summer already gone — 
they mounted a lofty peak whence the bound- 
less wilderness over which they had come as 
well as that which they must yet traverse, lay 
like a maj) at their feet. Gazing attentively 
westward tlieir guide finally pointed out three 
shining peaks ridging the western sky, whose 
bases he assured them were washed bv a trib- 



utary of the Colum1)ia. These peaks are now 
known as the Tetons from their peculiar 
shape. A hundred miles evidently lay between 
the wear}- travelers and that goal. When 
tJiere, they felt that they would be almost at 
the end of their journey, little realizing the 
character of the thousand miles of travel yet 
awaiting them. 

Passing the green banks of Spanish river, 
a tributary of the Colorado, they laid in a 
large stock of the plentiful bufifalo, gave their 
horses five days' rest and grazing on the 
alumdant grass, and on the 24th of September, 
crossing a narrow ridge, found themselves on 
the lianks of a turbulent stream, recognized 
by their guide as one of tlie sources of the 
Snake. From the name of the guide the 
stream was called Hoback's river. Down the 
rugged promontories which flanked this 
stream the party descended, often in danger 
of fatal falls, to its junction with a much 
larger one, which so much exceeded the first 
in fury of current as to recei\'e the name of 
Mad river. This seemed to issue from the 
midst of the Tetons, whose glacial and snowy 
immensity overtopped the camp of the trav- 
elers at the junction of the two streams. The 
all important question now arose, should they 
abandon the horses and make canoes with 
which to descend the river. It was evident 
that, though containing abuntlant water for 
large boats, it was so impetuous as to render 
navigating a dangerous Imsiness. But the 
Canadians insisted on making the attempt. 
Weary of the toilsome and rocky foot-paths 
of the mountains, and having all confidence 
in their well-tried ability in handling boats in 
any kind of water, they longed to betake them- 
selves once more to their favorite element, 
and, paddle in hand, their gay French songs 
beating time to the music of the paddles, they 



22 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



\V()ukl lie ready t(5 shocit another Niagara, if 
it came in their way. Tlie partners linally 
gave tlieir consent to mai<e canoes. Fortliwith 
tiie voyageurs repaired with joyful hearts to 
the adjacent woods, whicii soon began to yield 
up its best timber for the projected boats. 
]\Ieanwhile a party of three, of whom the re- 
doubtable John Day was one, went down Mad 
river on a two days' journey. They returned 
declaring that neither in boats nor with horses 
along the banks could the jiarty possibly go. 
Disappointed in this plan they now took 
the advice of Hoback to go to a trapping post 
which had been established the year before 
by Mr. Henry, of the Missouri Fur Company. 
This post Hoback knew to be on one of the 
upper waters of the Snake and he thought 
that it could not be far distant. A violent 
storm of sleet, arising in the midst of their 
deliberations, admonished them that winter 
was near at hand and that they must hasten 
on one way or the other. The Snake Indians 
who had come to their camp liefore tlie storm 
and had professed to know the location of 
Henry's post, now agreed to guide them 
tliitlier. Acc(jrdingly on the 4th of October, 
the liills all around being spotted with snow, 
they resumed their horseback march. Four 
days of coUl and difticult journeying tonk 
them to a cluster of deserted log huts. This 
had been Hem"y's trailing station, liut was 
now entirely abandoned. Beside the huts 
flowed a beautiful river a hundred yards wide. 
It was to all ai)pearance a fine navigable 
stream. Two weeks of industrious \\ork pro- 
vided fifteen canoes, and in these, hastily em- 
barking, they pusheil out into the stream. 
'I'heir horses were left in charge of the two 
Snake Indians. .\ine men also, including 
Miller, one of the partners, had been detached 
from the party at points l)etwcen Mad river 



and Henry's river, as the new stream was 
called. These men were to di\'ide up in squads 
and trap on the streams thereabout. Well pro- 
vided with traps, clothes, horses and ammuni- 
tion, they set out cheerfully into the unknown 
and wintry recesses of the mountins, expect- 
ii-g to issue thence in the spring with a great 
stock of valuable peltries, ^\'ith these they 
could make their best way to Astoria. 

^^'ith the rapid current aiding the skillful 
paddles of the voyageurs, whose spirits rose 
to an unwonted height, even for them, as soon 
as they found themselves on the water, the 
canoes swept swiftly on toward the sunset. 
Tliey soon came to the mouth of a stream 
which they took to lie their old friend, the Mad 
river. They now considered themselves fairly 
embarked on the main body of the Snake, and 
already, in imagination, they began to toss on 
tlie vast current of the Columbia, and even ta 
smell the salt breeze of the mild Pacific. Oc- 
casional rocky points abutting on the river 
made rapids which alternated with calni 
stretches of water, whose banks, shallow and 
grass}', were enlivened with perfect clouds of 
wild geese and ducks. For nine days they 
swept gaily on, with comparatively slight in- 
terruptions, making over three hundretl miles 
from the place where they had first embarked. 

1 hen they met with a most lamentable dis- 
aster. In the sec<ind canoe of the sipuulron 
were Mr. Crooks as bowman and .Vntoine 
Clajipine as steersman. The first canoe hav- 
ing safely passed a dangerous rajiid, the sec- 
ond essayed to follow. With a sudden lurch 
she missed her course and the next instant 
split ui)on a rock. Crooks and three of his 
companions succeeded, after a hard struggle, 
in reaching the land, but Clappine, one of the 
most i)oi)ular and useful men in the comj)any, 
was l«-)St amid the boiling surges. The_\' had 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\^\LLA COUNTY. 



2 J 



now arrived at an unboatable chain of rapids 
and frightful bhiffs, among which neither 
boats nor horses, nothing, in short, 1nit wings, 
were of use. At the beginning of this strait 
was one of those volcanic cracks peculiar to 
the rivers of this coast, in which the whole 
volume of the Snake is scjueezed into a place 
thirty feet wide. This miniature maelstrom 
recei\ed from the disheartened voyagers the 
name of "The Caldron Linn."' 

The whole sc|uadron now came to a halt. 
It was evident that a portage at least would 
be needed. And from the shaggy volcanic ap- 
pearance about and below them, they had great 
fear that the ubstructions extended a long dis- 
tance. This fear was realized when, after a 
forty-mile tramp down the river, Mr. Hunt 
discovered no prospect of successful naviga- 
tion. Returning to the main body, therefore, 
and discovering that they had but five days' 
food and no prospect of getting more, he de- 
termined to divide the party into four parts, 
hoping that some ime of them might find aliund- 
ant game and a way out of the lifeless, vol- 
canic waste in which they were. One party, 
under McLellan, was to descend the river; 
another under Crooks was to ascend it, hoping 
to find game or Indian guides on tlie way, 
but, if not, to keep on to the place where they 
had left their horses. Still another detach- 
ment, under McKenzie, struck northward 
across the plains, having in view to reach the 
main Cokimbia. 

j\lr. Hunt, left in charge of the main body, 
proceeded at once to cache a large part of their 
goods. Nine caches having been made to hold 
the large deposit, they took careful notice of 
the landmarks of the neighborhood ff^- future 
return, and then got themselves in readiness 
to move just as soon as the word should come 
from any of the scouting parties. Within 



three days Crooks and his party returned. 
Despairing of success on their doleful, retro- 
grade march, they had determined to share 
with their companions whatever might await 
them on the onward trip. Five days later, the 
party meanwhile beginning to see the ghastly 
face of famine staring at them, two of Mc- 
Lellan's party returned, bidding them aban- 
don all thought of descending the river. For 
many miles the river ran through volcanic 
sluice-ways, roaring and raging, at many 
places almost lost from sight underneath im- 
pending crags, generally inaccessible from its- 
desert bank, so that, though within sound of 
its angry ravings, they had often lain down, 
to their insufficient rest with parched and 
swollen tongues. 

To manifest their anger at the hateful 
stream they named this long volcanic chute 
the "Devil's Scuttle Hole." What now re- 
mained ? Nothing, evidently, but to hasten 
with all speed, their lives being at issue, to 
some more hospitable place. Ihe party was, 
therefore, divided in two. One division, un- 
der Hunt, went down the north side of the 
river, and the other, under Crooks, took the 
opposite side. This was done in order to in- 
crease the chances of finding food and of 
meeting Indians. It was on the ninth of No- 
vember that they started on this dismal and 
heart-sickening march. Until December they 
urged on their course, cold, hungry, oftea 
n.ear starvation. .\t occasional wretched In- 
dian camps they managed to secure dogs for 
food, and once they got a few horses. These 
were loaded down with their baggage, but, 
through scarcity of food, began soon to be too 
N'cak to be of much serx'ice, and so their attenu- 
ated carcasses, one by one, were devoted to ap- 
pease the hunger of the famished expk)rers. 

The country through which they were pass- 



24 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\-ALLA COUXTY. 



ing presented an almost unvarying aspect of 
volcanic and snowy desolation. The feu- 
frightened and half-starved Snake Indians that 
they encoinitered could give no information 
as to the route. They signified, however, that 
the great river was yet a long way off. Hunt 
estimated that they had now put about four 
hundred and seventy miles between them and 
Caldron Linn. They were evidently approach- 
ing something, for gigantic snowy mountains, 
lifeless and almost treeless, seemed to bar their 
further way. Nevertheless they persisted with 
the energy of despair and clambered painfully 
up the snowy heights until at a sufficient ele- 
vation to command a vast view. Then, with 
a waste of mountains in front and bitter winds 
whirling the snow and sleet in their faces, 
thev first began to despair of forcing their 
wav. The short winter's day shut in upon 
their despair, and they were compelled to 
camp in the snow. Timber was found in suf- 
ficient quantity to prevent freezing, but dur- 
ing the night another snow storm burst on 
them furiously, and daylight, sluggishly steal- 
ing through the snow-clogged atmosphere, 
found them in a perfect cloud. The roaring 
river far below them was their only guide to 
further progress. Down the slippery and wind- 
swept mountain side they picked their way to 
the river bank. Here the temperature was 
nnich milder. Devouring one of their skin- 
and-lione horses, they crept a few miles along 
the rocky brink of the brawling flood and made 
a cheerless camp. On the following morning 
(December 6) they were startled by seeing, on 
the opposite bank of the stream, a party of white 
men more forlorn and desolate than them- 
selves. A little observation convinced Hunt 
that these men were Crooks and party. Shout- 
ir.g across the stream at last he made himself 
heard above the raging river. As soon as the 



men discovered him they screamed for food. 
From the skin of the horse killed the night 
liefore Mr. Hunt at once constructed a canoe. 
In this crazy craft one of the Canadians dar- 
ingly and successfully crossed the fearful look- 
ing river, taking with him part of the horse 
and bringing back with him 'Mr. Crooks and 
Le Clere. 

Appalled at the wasted forms and despond- 
ent looks of these two men, and still further 
disheartened at the account they gave of the 
insurmountable obstacles to continuing down 
the river, Hunt determined to retrace his steps 
to the last Indian camp they had passed, there 
to make a more determined effort to obtain 
guides and horses. With dismal forebodings, 
therefore, on the following morning they took 
the back track. Crooks and Le Clere were so 
weak as to greatly retard the rest of the party. 
In this extremity the men besought Hunt to 
leave those two to their fate while they hast- 
ened on to the Indian camp. But Hunt reso- 
h.tely refused to abandon his weakened partner. 
The men began to push ahead until by night 
but five remained to bear him company. No 
provisions were left them except four beaver 
skins. After a night of freezing coldness, one 
of them being badly frost-bitten, Hunt, finding 
Crooks entirely unable to travel, concluded 
that his duty to the main company demanded 
his presence with them. Accordingly, having 
made the exhausted men as comfortable as 
possible and leaving two of the men and all 
but one of the beaver skins with them, Hunt 
and the remaining three men hastened on. 
A day and night of famine and freezing 
brought them up with their companions. The 
pangs of hunger were beginning to tell in va- 
cant looks and tottering steps. Some of them 
had not eaten for three days. Toward evening 
of that distressing day they saw with surprise 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



25 



and profound gratitude a lodge of Shoshones 
with a number of horses around it. 

Hunger knew no law. They descended 
on the camp, and seizing five horses, at once 
dispatched one of them. After a ravenous 
meal had satisfied their immediate necessities, 
they bethought them of their deserted compan- 
ions. A man was at once sent on horse- 
back to carry food to them and to aid them in 
coming up. In the morning Crooks and the 
remaining three men made their appearance. 
Food must now be got to the men on the op- 
posite bank. But a superstitious terror seemed 
to have seized their companions as they looked 
across the sullen river at them. Ghastly and 
haggard, the poor wretches beckoning across 
with bony fingers, looked more like spectres 
than men. Unable to get any of the Cana- 
dians, o\'erwhelmed as they were with ghostly 
fancies, to cross, one of tjie Kentucky hunters 
at last ventured the dangerous undertaking. 
Putting forth all his strength he at last suc- 
ceeded in landing a large piece of horse meat. 
Encouraged by this, one of the Canadians 
ventured over. 

One of the starving crew, frantic by his 
long deprivations, insisted on returning in the 
canoe. Before they had got across, the pleas- 
ant savor of the boiling meat so inspired him 
that he leaped to his feet and began to sing 
and dance. In the midst of this untimely 
festivity the canoe was overturned and the 
poor fellow was swept away in the icy cur- 
rent and lost. 

John Day, considered when they started 
the strongest man in the company, also crossed 
the river. His cavernous eyes and meager 
frame showed well how intense had been the 
suffering of the detachment on the west bank 
of the river. Often the wild cherries, dried 



on the trees, together with their moccasins, 
were their only food. 

The mountains which thus turned back 
this adventurous band were no doubt that 
desolate and rather unnecessary range border- 
ing the Wallowa country and the mouth of 
Salmon river. The detachments under Mc- 
Kenzie and McLellan, having reached these 
mountains Ijefore the heavy snows, and hav- 
ing found each other there, had stuck to that 
route until they had conquered it. After 
twenty-one days of extreme suffering and 
peril they reached the Snake at a point ap- 
parently not far from the site of Lewiston, 
and building canoes there, descended the river 
with no great trouble, reaching Astoria about 
the middle of January. 

Hunt and his men, saved from starvation 
by the discovery of the horses, hastened on 
to find Indian guides. But first Hunt, with 
his usual honesty, left at the lodge (for the 
occupants had fled at their coming) an amount 
of trinkets sufficient to pay for the horses he 
had taken. A few days later they reached a 
small village of Snakes. This, the largest vil- 
lage that they had seen on this side of the 
mountains, they had observed on their down 
trip,' but had not been able to get any assist- 
ance from the inhabitants. Now, however, 
with a persistence born of their necessities, 
they insisted on a guide. The Indians de- 
murred, representing that the distance to the 
ri\er was so great as to require from seven- 
teen to twenty-one days of hard traveling. 
They said that the snow was waist deep and 
that they would freeze. They very hospitably 
urged the party to stay with them. But as 
they also said that on the west side of the 
mountains was a large and wealthy tribe called 
the Sciatogas, from whom they might get 



26 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



food and horses. Hunt determined to push on, 
if he could find a single Lidian to accompany 
him. By a most bountiful offer this desid- 
eratum was finally met. They were informed 
tb.at they must cross to the west bank of the 
river, and enter the mountains to the west. 
With infinite tact and patience Hunt sustained 
the drooping spirits of the party. Many of 
them wanted to cast their lot for the winter 
with the vagabond troop of Snakes. They 
shrunk from crossing the chilly flood of 
Snake river with its huge ice blocks grind- 
ing other with a dismal sound. Then to 
commit themselves again to the mount- 
ains inspired them with terror. In fact, 
four of the Canadians, together with 
Crooks and John Day, were unable to go at 
all. But at last, in spite of doubt and weakness, 
everything was got together ( though they 
were obliged to desert their six sick com- 
panions) and in the bitter cold of the early 
evening (December 23) they crossed the river 
and at once struck for the mountains. They 
could only make about fourteen miles a day. 
Their fi\e jaded horses floundered painfully 
through the snow. Their only food was one 
meal of horse meat daily. On the fourth day 
of their journey the mountains gave way to 
a beautiful valley, across which they journeyed 
twenty miles. This must have been Powder 
river valley. Leaving this valley and turn- 
ing again into the mountains, a short but toil- 
some march brought them to a lofty height 
whence they looked down into a fair and 
snowless prairie, basking in the sunlight and 
looking to the winter-worn travelers like a 
dream of summer. Soon, best of all, they dis- 
cerned six lodges of Shoshones, well supplied 
with horses and dogs. Thither hastening 
eagerly, their hungry mouths were soon filled 
with roasted dog. This vallev. which looked 



so much like a paradise, must have been 
the Grande Ronde. Beautiful at all times, 
it must have seemed trebly so to these 
ragged and famished wanderers. The next 
morning the new year (1812) burst in upon 
them, bright and cheerful, as if to make amends 
for the relentless severity of its predecessor. 
The Canadians must now have their holiday. ' 
Not even famine and death could rob them of 
their festivals. So with dance and song and 
dog meat roasted, boiled, fried and fricasseed, 
they met the friendly overtures of the newly 
crowned potentate of time. Rested and re- 
freshed, they now addressed themselves to 
what their guides assured them was to be but 
a three days' journey to the plains of the great 
river. The time was mult.'plied by two, 
however, ere the cloudy canopy, which so 
enswathed the snowy waste as to hide both 
earth and sky from sight, parted itself be- 
fore a genial breath from some warmer clime. 
And then, wide below their snowy eyrie, lay 
stretched the limitless and sunny plains of 
the Columbia. Not more gladly did Cortez 
and his steel-clad veterans look from their 
post of observation upon the glittering halls 
of the jMontezumas. They swiftly descended 
the slopes of the mountains and emerged upon 
that diamontl of the Pacific coast, the Uma- 
tilla jjlains. 

Here a trihe of .Sciatogas or Tushepaws 
were camped, thirty-four lodges and two hun- 
dred horses strong. Well clad, active and hos- 
pitable, these Indians thawed out, almost as 
would have a civilized community, the well 
nigh frozen energies of the strangers. Re- 
joiced above all was Mr. Hunt to see in the 
lodges axes, kettles, etc., indicating that these 
Indians were in communication with the whites 
belmv. In answer to his eager questionings 
the Indians said that the great river was only 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 27 

two days distant and that a party of white of the journey was l^egun. Nothing extraor- 

men had just descended it. Conchiding that dinary marked the two hundreil mile boat ride 

these were McKenzie and party, Hunt felt re- down the ri\-er. 

lieved of one great anxiety. On the 15th of February, rounding the 

After a thorough rest the now joyful way- bluffs of Tongue Point, they beheld with full 
farers set forth across the fertile plains and hearts the stars and stripes floating over the 
after a pleasant ride of two days on the horses first civilized abode this side of St. Louis, 
obtained of the Tushepaws, lifting their eyes Right beyond the parted headlands and the 
they beheld a mighty stream, a mile wide, deep, water bordering horizon, they recognized the 
blue, majestic, sweeping through the treeless gateway to the illimitable ocean. As they 
plain, the Columbia. The hard and dangerous drew near the shore the whole population of 
part of the journey was now at an end. Li ^Astoria came pouring down to the cove (near 
the absence of timber, however, and because the modern site of "Dad's" saw-mill, now 
of the unwillingness of any Indians that they wharved over) to meet them. First in the 
met to sell canoes, they were obliged to wait crowd came the party of McKenzie and jMc- 
till reaching the dalles before launching upon Lellan. Having no hope that Hunt and his 
the stream. In the vicinity of the present men could escape from the winter and the fam- 
Rockland (they had come from L^matilla on ine they were the more rejoiced to see them., 
the north bank of the river) they had a "hyas Their joy in reuniting was proportioned to 
wa wa" with the redoubtable Wishram In- the darkness of the shadow of death whicli 
dians. Sharpened by their location at the coni had so long enshrouded them. The Cana- 
tluence of all the ways down stream, these In> dians, with French abandon, rushed into each 
dians had clearly grasped the fundamental other's arms, crying and hugging like so many 
doctrine of civilized trade, to-wit : Get the school girls. And even the hard-visaged 
greatest possible return with the least possible Scotchmen and nonchalant Americans gave 
outlay. To this end they levied a heavy toll themselves up to the unstinted gladness of the 
on all unwary passers. These levies were usu- occasion. The next day was devoted to feast- 
ally collected while the eyes of the taxed were ing and story telling. Xo doubt, like the feast- 
otherwise engaged. In short, these \\'ishram ing mariners of the .'Eneid, they discussed 
Indians were professional thieves. with prolonged speech the "ainissos socios." 

Endeavoring at first to frighten Mr. Hunt These, as the reader will remember, were 

into a liljeral "potlatch," then to beg of him Crooks and John Day, with four Canadians, 

l)y representing their great services in pro- who had been left sick on the banks of the 

tecting him from the rapacity of other Indians, Snake. Little hope was entertained of ever 

but finding no recognition of their claims ex- seeing them again. But as their story is a 

cept abundant whiffs at the pipe of peace, they natural sequel to that just ended, it shall be 

gave up in disgust and contented themselves given now. The next summer a party under 

with picking up whatever little articles might Stuart and AIcLellan, on their way from 

be lying around handy, .\fter considerable Okanagan to Astoria, saw wandering on the 

haggling several finely made canoes were pro- river bank near Umatilla two wretched beings, 

cured of these people ant! in these the last stage naked and haggard. Stopping their canoes to 



28 



lilSTOKV OF WALLA WALLA COL'XTY. 



investigate, they discovered to their glad sur- 
prise tiiat these l)eings were Day and Crooks. 

Their forlorn pliglu was c|uickly relieved 
with abundant food and clothes, anil while 
the canoes went flying down the stream with 
speed accelerated in the joy of deliverance, 
the two men related their pitiful tale. Left 
in destitution of food and clothing, they had 
sustained life by an occasional beaver or a piece 
of horse meat given by the Indians, whcj, 
seemingly possessed of a superstitious fear, 
dared not molest them. With rare heroism 
and self-abnegation, Crooks remained by the 
side of John Day until he was sufficiently re- 
cuperated to travel. Then, abandoned by 
three of the Canadians, they had plodded on 
amid Blue mountain snows, subsisting on 
roots and skins. In the last of March, hav- 
ing left the other Canadian exhausted at a 
Shoshone lodge. Crooks and Day pressed on 
through a last mountain ridge and found them- 
selves in the fair and fertile plain of the Walla 
Wallas. 

Here they were relieved by the kindness 
which marked the intercourse of those Indians 
with the whites. Fed and clothed they contin- 
ued down the river with lightened hearts, only 
to find at the dalles that there are differences 
in Indians as well as whites, for there the 
Eneeshurs, or Wishrams. as Irving calls them, 
first tlisarming suspicion by a frieniUy exterior. 
perfidiously robbed them of the faithful ritles 
which thus far in all their distress they had 
never yet lost sight of. and. stripping them, 
drove them out. More wretched than ever 
they now turned toward friendly Walla ^\'alla. 
And just as they were striking inland they 
saw the rescuing boats. So with added grati- 
tude they all paddled away for Astoria. But' 
poor Day never recovered. In an insane frenzy 



he tried to kill himself. Prevented from thia 
he soon pined away and died. The barren 
and bluffy shores of John Day river possess 
an added interest as we recall the melancholy 
story of the brave hunter who first explored 
them. The four Canadians were afterward 
fountl alive, though destitute, among the Sho- 
shones. 

The limits of this work forbid us to en- 
large upon the subsequent fortunes of the 
great Pacific Fur Company's enterprise. We 
could hardly do justice, however, to the heroic 
age of Oregon history without a few addi- 
tional words about the fur business and a 
brief description of that most dramatic event 
in all our early history, the destruction of the 
Toncpiin. 

Astor seems to have designed that Astoria 
should be the central depot of trade and sup- 
plies; that from it parties should radiate by 
land and river, and trade with the Indians for 
furs as well as fit out trapping parties of their 
own ; that from Astoria, as headquarters, 
should proceed the annual supply ship (from 
New York) on fur trading trips to the bays 
and ports north of the Columbia : and that 
those supply ships having filled up partially 
on those trips should complete their lading at 
Astoria. Then away for China, the great 
market for furs at that time. In China the 
emptied vessel should reload with nankeens 
and teas and silks wherewith to clothe and 
exhilarate the fair inhabitants of New York. 
Two years would pass in completing this vast 
commercial "rounding up." For the still fur- 
ther enlargement of his business, Mr. Astor 
had also made arrangements to supply the 
Russian posts at New Archangel. He wished 
to do this partly for the profits accruing 
therein and partly to shut off competition in 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



29 



his own territory. This last he could accom- 
pHsh tlirough that semi-partnership with the 
Russians in furnishing" tliem supplies. 

There were at that time three especially 
valual)le fur-producing animals found in vast 
numbers in this country. Tlie first, the bea- 
ver, was found in all the interior valleys, the 
Willamette country, as was afterward found, 
being pre-eminent in this respect. The two 
others, the sea otter and seal, were found on 
the coast. The sea otter fur was the most 
valuable. Its velvety smoothness and glossy 
l)lackness rendered it first in the markets of 
the world of all furs from the temperate zones 
of Xorth America, and inferior only to the 
ermine and sable and possibly the fiery fox 
of the far north. 

The profits of the fur trade were such as 
miglit well entice daring and avarice to run 
the gauntlet of icebergs, starvation, ferocious 
savages and stormy seas. The profits of a 
single voyage might liquidate even the enor- 
mous cost of the outfit. For instance, Ross, 
one of the clerks of Astor's company, and 
located at Okanogan, relates that one morn- 
ing before breakfast he bought of Indians one 
hundred and ten beaver skins at the rate of 
fi\-e leaves of tobacco per skin. Afterward a 
yard of cotton cloth, worth, say, ten cents, 
purchased twenty-five beaver skins, worth in 
New York $5 apiece. For four fathoms of 
blue beads, worth, perhaps, a dollar, Lewis 
and Clark obtained a sea otter skin, the mar- 
ket price of which varied from $45 to $60. 
Ross -notes in another place that for $165 in 
trinkets, cloth, etc., he purchased peltries 
worth in the Canton market $11,250. In- 
deed, even the ill-fated voyages of Mr. As-- 
tor's partners proved that a cargo worth 
$25,000 in New York might be expected to 
be replaced in two years by one worth a quar- 



ter of a million, a profit of a thousand per 
cent. We cannot wonder, then, at the eager 
enterprise and fierce, S(jmetimes bloody, com- 
petition of the fur traders. 

With this outline of the business awaiting 
the Tonquin, let us pursue her fortunes to 
their terrible conclusion. 

A Frenchman, Franchere by name, one of 
the Astoria clerks, is the chief authority for 
the story. Irving seems to have taken some 
poetic license with this account. According 
to him, with a total force of twenty-three and 
an Indian of the Chehalis tribe called Lama- 
zee, for interpreter, the Tonquin entered the 
harbor of Neweetee. Franchere calls the In- 
dian Lamanse, and the harbor, he says, the 
Indian called Newity. We shall probably be 
safe in following Bancroft and suppose tha 
place to have been Nootka. Nootka sound, 
on the west side of Vancouver's island, has 
been referred to on a previous page as a bad 
place for the traders. In 1803 the ship Bos- 
ton and all her crew but two had been de- 
stroyed there. 

But it is well worth noting that these In- 
dians, like all others on the coast, were dis- 
posed at first to be frientlly, and only the in- 
dignities and \'iolence of traders transformed 
their pacific disposition to one of sullen treach- 
ery. Captain Thorn had been repeatedly and 
urgently warned by Mr. Astor and his asso- 
ciates against trusting to the Indians. One 
standing rule was that nut more than four 
or five should be allowed on the deck at once. 
But the choleric Thorn treated with equal con- 
tempt the suggestions of caution and savage 
hucksters. A great quantity of the finest kind 
of sea otter skins had been brought on deck 
and to all appearance a most lucrative and am- 
icable trade was before them. But twenty 
years of traffic with the whites and a long 



30 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



•course of instruction from the diplomatic and 
.successful chief Maquinna had rendered the 
Nootka Indians less pliable and less innocent 
than Thorn expected. His small stock of pa- 
tience was soon exhausted. At one cunning 
and leering old chief, who seemed to be urg- 
ing the others to hold out for higher prices, 
the captain soon began to scowl with special 
rage. But the oily visage was scowl-proof, 
-and the impatient sailor had the mortification 
to see that he was likely to be out-Jewed by 
one of those dirty and despised redskins. He 
-could stand it no longer. In his most impres- 
sive and naval manner he bids the Indians to 
leave. But the obnoxious chieftain stands mo- 
tionless, a perfect statue of savage impudence. 
All sense and judgment \anished from the 
-captain's mind. Seizing him by the hair he 
propelled him rapidly toward the ship-ladder. 
Then, with a convenient bundle of furs, 
snatched up furiously, he emphasized the 
•chieftain's exit. Xor is it likely that he spared 
a liberal application of boot leather to tlie most 
accessible part of the savage trader's anatomy. 
Instantly, as if by magic, the Indians left the 
ship. In place of the babel of jabbering 
traffickers were only the hair-brained captain 
and his astonished and silent crew. ^Nlr. Mc- 
Kay, the partner on board, was very indignant 
when, on returning from a short trip ashore, 
he learned of the untimely cessation of trade. 
He assured Captain Thorn that he had not 
only spoiled their business but had endangered 
all their lives. He therefore urged making 
sail from the place at once. The Chehalis In- 
dian, Lamanse, also enforced jMcKay's wish, 
asserting that further intercourse with the In- 
dians could result only in disaster. But the 
stubborn captain would listen to no advice. 
So long as he had a knife or a handspike they 
needn't try to scare him into running before a 



lot of naked redskins. The night passed in 
(piiet. Early the next morning a number of 
Indians, demure and peaceable as can be imag- 
ined, paddled alongside. Bundles of furs held 
aloft signified their wish to trade. In great 
triumph Captain Thorn pointed out to McKay 
the successful issue of his discipline. "That 
is the way to treat them," he said; "just show 
them that you are not afraid and they will 
behave themelves." The Indians were very 
respectful and exchanged their furs for what- 
e\er was offered. 

Pretty soon another large boat load, well 
supplied with the choicest peltries, asked per- 
mission to go aboard. The now good natured 
and self-satisfied skipper gladly complied. 
Then another canoe, and a fourth, and a fifth 
disgorged a perfect horde on board. But some 
of the more watchful sailors noticed with alarm 
that contrary to custom, no women left the 
canoes, and that certain of the fur bundles the 
savages would not sell at any price, while as 
to others they were perfectly indifferent. Pret- 
ty soon it was noticed that, moving as if by ac- 
cident, the Indians had somehow become 
massed at all the assailable points of the vessel. 
Even Captain Thorn was startled when this 
fact became unmistakable. But putting a bold 
front upon his sudden fear, he gave the order 
to up anchor and man the top-mast, preparatory 
to sailing. He then cHxlered the Indians to re- 
turn to their boats. With a scarce perceptible 
flush darkening their listless faces, they picked 
up their remaining bundles and started for the 
ladder. As they went, their cat-like tread 
scarce audible even in the oppressive stillness 
their knotted fingers stole into their bundles. 
Out again like a flash and in them long knives 
and cruel bludgeons ! 

In an instant the wild war-yell broke the 
awful silence. And then the peaceful Ton- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



31 



(|uin's deck saw a slaughter grim and pitiless. 
Lewis, the clerk, and McKay were almost 
instantly dispatched. Then a crowd with 
fiendish triumph set upon the captain, hent 
on evening up at once the old score. 
The brawny frame and iron will of the 
brave, though foolhardy old salt, made him 
a dangerous object of attack. And not until 
a half dozen of his assailants had measured 
their breeding lengths on the slippery deck did 
he succumb. Then he was hacked to pieces 
with savage glee. Meanwhile four sailors, the 
only survivors, besides the interpreter, Lamanse, 
from whom the whole stgry is told, having 
gained access to the hold, began firing on the 
triumphant Indians. And with such effect did 
they work that the whole throng left the ship 
in haste and sought the shore. Lamanse, mean- 
while, was spared, but held in captivity for 
two years. The next day the four surviving 
sailors attempted to put to sea in a small boat, 
but were pursuetl and probably miu^dered by the 
Indians. And then, like a band of buzzards 
circling around a carcass, the Indian canoes 
began to cluster around the deserted ship. 

The night had been spent in savage mirth, 
and now in prospect of the rifling of an en- 
tire ship their joy knew no bounds. All was 
silent. The hideous tumult of the day before 
was succeeded by an equally hideous calm. 
Cautiously at first, then emboldened by the 
utter lifelessness, in throngs the Indians clamb- 
ered to the deck. Their instinctive fears of 
strategem were soon lost in gloating over the 
disfigured forms of their vanquished foes, and 
in rifling the store-houses of the ship. Arrayed 
in gaudy blankets and adorned with multiplied 
strands of beads, thcv strutted proudly over 
the deck. Five hundred men, women and chil- 
dren now swarmed the ship. 

Suddenly, with an awful crack, crash and 



boom, the luckless Tonquin with all its loatl 
of living and dead is flung in fragments around 
the sea. Her powder magazine had imitated 
Samson auKing the Phillistines, and she had 
made one common ruin of herself and her ene- 
mies in the very scene of their triumph. Dis- 
membered bodies, fragments of legs and arms, 
and spattered brains, stained and darkened the 
peaceful water far and wide. According to 
Lamanse, as quoted by Franchere, two hundred 
Indians were thus destroyed. Franchere also 
says that no one knows who blew up the ship 
though he thinks it most likely that the four 
sailors left a slow train on board when thev 
abandoned her. Irving most thrillingly de- 
scribes Lewis as having been wounded, and 
remaining on board after the four survivors 
had gone, for the purpose of enticing the sav- 
ages on board and then letting off the train so 
as to destroy himself and them in one final and 
awful retribution. Bancroft, however, find- 
ing no warrant for this in the narrative of 
Franchere, the only known authority, does not 
hesitate to accuse Irving of fabricating it. 

^^^^ate\■er may have been the details, the 
general fact, with its horrible results to both 
whites and natives, rapidly spread abroad. Ere 
long it began to be whispered with bated breath 
among the Chinooks around Astoria. Then it 
reached the ears of the traders there. At first 
entirely disbelieved, it began to be painfully 
sure, after the lapse of months, and no Ton- 
quin in sight, that there must be something in 
it. The floating fragments of stor\- finally as- 
sumed an accepted form, though not until the 
reappearance of Lamanse, two years after the 
e\'ent, was it fully understood. 

A more extended narration of that absorb- 
ingly interesting era of disco\-ery, exploration, 
and beginnings of trade, would lead us beyond 
•the jiurpose of this work. We desire rather to 



32 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



present a picture of our heroic age sufficiently 
full to make plain the steps of our subsecjuent 
evolution. The glimpses into our earliest his- 
tory already given indicate to us something of 
the stages of our progress as a civilized Ameri- 
can state. Exploration followed discovery; 
trade, exploration; settlement, trade. Develop- 
ment is now treading on the pathway of settle- 
ment. We have seen before our very eyes in 
the close of the nineteenth century, this devel- 
opment assume a new form. The genius of our 
railroad age has realized the dream of the old 
navigators, and has created from rails of steel 
the Strait of Anian. The northwest passage 
has been found, but it is dry land instead of 
water. And not alone have we put a north- 
west passage through our own land, but we 
have extended our hands into the Pacific ocean 
for more land. Great already, our territory, 
by the events of the past few years, has become 
larger, and our international influence vastly 
wider. Our nation is entering now, with this 
new century, upon an epoch of international 
power which will transcend the previous epoch 
as much as that transcends the era of our old 
colonialism. 

In this new age of world development, our 
good state of Washington seems surely des- 
tined to bear a conspicuous part. The treasures 
of the Orient and of tropic islands, the golden 
sands of Alaska, and the industries of the 
great states of our own Union, find their ex- 
change point on Puget sound. Our queen city, 
Seattle, holds the keys to the golden caskets 
of Asia and of the north. 

In variety and quality of resources, in the 
thrift and energy of her population, and in the 
excellence of her system of education and social 
life, the state of Washington gives promise 
that she will prove adequate to the vast oppor- 



tunities which her situation has placed within 
her grasp. 

Standing thus on the threshold of a ma- 
terial development whose possibilities dazzle 
the imagination, we are in some danger of for- 
getting the small and feeble advances of the 
first era of American settlement in this land, 
we are apt to forget the heroic striving which 
planted homes here and there in the wilder- 
ness. 

In that epoch of the making of a state the 
county of Walla Walla bore no inconspicuous 
part. Containing the first settlement between 
the Cascades and the Rocky mountains, being 
the scene of more tragic and stirring events 
tlian an\- other community in this portion of 
Old Oregon, having for many years the largest 
population anywhere within the state, and in its 
later development possessing, in some respects, 
the highest results of industrj' and production 
to l)e found within the inland empire, Walla 
Walla county may justly be regarded as one 
of the foremost counties of the state, both from 
a historical and a present point of view. 

In the early history of Walla W'alja county 
we find much of the pathos and tragedy which 
have marked the settlement of most pioneer 
-Vmerican communities. In its present, with 
its unfolding industrial activity, we see a part 
of that great movement which we have already 
pointed out as marking the present epoch of 
our state. In its future we plainly read the 
fulfillment of the promise of growth which 
will outrun even the most eager imaginations 
of the present. 

^\'e invite therefore to the perusal of this 
history both the old-timer and the new-timer. 
The old-timer will traverse again some of the 
difficult or dangerous or amusing experiences of 
the past, and by opening his eyes now upon one 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



33 



scene, now upon another, he will comprehend Ijefore, and by contrasting what he reads with 

again something of the distance that he has what he sees about" him will more clearly un- 

traversed. The new-timer will learn by the derstand what it has taken to make Walla 

perusal of these pages things unknown to him Walla county. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE OREGON OUESTION. 



While it is not within the distinct province 
of this compilation to enter into a detailed 
consideration of the early history of the Pa- 
cific northwest, nor even of that section now in- 
cluded within the boundaries of the present 
state of Washington, it is still but consistent 
that brief resume be given of the more salient 
points which marked the opening of this now 
fruitful and opulent section of our national 
domain to the march of civilization, — an ad- 
vancement made under conditions and circum- 
stances which bespeak the restless energy, the 
fortitude and the inflexible determination of 
those who constituted the forerunners of the 
star of empire. 

To the "Oregon question" Dr. Barrows re- 
fers as the "struggle for possession," and cer- 
tain it is that diplomacy never met a severer 
test without recourse to arms than was repre- 
sented in the long drawn out disputations, the 
ambiguous concessions and the alert watchful- 
ness which marked the history of that eix)ch. 
Fortunate, indeed, was it that the independence 
of the republic, the genius of the true .Vmer- 
ican spirit, were eventually brought into high 
relief, saving to our national commonwealth 
the great and valua])le territory which was at 
that lime practically a terra liieogiiita. 

As has already been intimated, there has, 



perhaps, no question ever arisen that so nearly 
precipitated a war between the United States 
and Great Britain without the actual conflict 
of arms. The Oregon question was one that 
included all points of international diplomacy 
and negotiations between the United States and 
Great Britain regarding title to the northwest 
country, and pertaining particularly to the ter- 
ritory now included in the state of Washington, 
for the country north of the Columbia river 
was what the English crown particularly 
coveted. 

Prior to 1818 the Hudson's Bay Company, 
a powerful corporation holding charter from 
the British crown, the same having been 
granted by Charles 11, in 1670, invaded 
the Oregon territory, including what are 
now the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, 
and western Montana. The personnel of the 
invading force included hunters, traders 
and trappers, who proceeded to fortify their 
possessions with commercial and military 
establishments. While these aggressive move- 
ments were under way a few persons from 
the United States found their way into the 
territory, and their interposition eventually led 
to the discussion as to the ownershii) of the 
country. Our great statesmen of the day 
naturally had very inadequate conceptions of 



34 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COL'XTV. 



the value and iinportaiice of the territory in- 
volved in the discussion, and this tact was un- 
mistakalily indicated in tlieir expressions. 

In the earlv *40s the National Intelligencer 
gave utterance to the following statements, 
which will strike the reader of the present day 
as ludicrous in the extreme : "Of all the coun- 
tries upon the face of the earth Oregon is one 
of the least favored by heaven. It is almost as 
barren as Sahara, and quite as unhealthy as the 
Campagna of Italy." Contemplating even the 
productive wealth of Walla Walla county alone 
at the present time, it seems abnost impossible 
that oliicial and ix^pular judgment could even 
at that time have l>een so llagrantly in error. 
Fiu-ther. Senator Dayton, of Xew Jersey, from 
the depths of his conviction and high order of 
intelligence, did not hesitate to speak as fol- 
lows: "Ciod forbid that the time shouUI ever 
come when a state on the shores of the Fa- 
citic, with its interests and tendencies of trade 
all looking toward the .\siatic nations of the 
east, shall add its jarring claims to our already 
distracted and overburdened confederacy." It 
is beyond peradventure that the contuiental 
idea bad not as yet pervaded the judicial body 
of the national governnieiit. 

As farther indicating the attitude main- 
tained bv the leaders of .\merican thought and 
action at the time, we can not do Inciter than 
to offer an excerpt from statements made by 
that gifted and venerated statesman. Daniel 
Webster, who said: "What do we want of this 
vast, worthless area, this region cd savages 
anil wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands 
and whirlwinds of ilnst, of cactus and prair,ie 
dogs?: To what use could we ever hope to put 
these great deserts or these great nwuntain 
ranges. imi)enetrable and covered to their k\se 
with eternal snow? What can we ever hope 



to do with the western coast, a coast of three 
thousand miles, rock-bound, cheerless and un- 
in\iting, and not a harbor on it? What use 
have we for such a country? Mr. Fresident, 
I will never vote one cent from the public treas- 
ury to place the Facitic coast one inch nearer 
Boston than it is now." 

One other opinion, voiced by Senator Ben- 
ton, in 1825. may be. with undoubted propriety, 
incorporated at this juncture. What the re- 
sult of the advice of this astute man might 
have been if followed is dit^cult to conjecture 
at this end of the centivry period : "The ridge 
of the Rocky mountains may be named as a 
convenient, natural and everlasting lK>undary. 
Along this ridge the western limit of the Re- 
public should be drav.n. and the statue of 
tlie fabled god. Terminus, should hs erected 
on its highest peak, never to be thrown 
down." 

The significance of these expressions is un- 
mistakable, and still we can scarcely wonder- 
that they were uttered and promulgated, when 
we take into consideration the fact that nearly 
all information in regard to the country — and 
that of a most fragmentary and unreliable 
character — had been received through repre-- 
sentatives of tlie Hudson's Bay Company or 
through persons jnlhienced by them, either 
voluntarily or otherwise. The emissaries of 
tlie Hudson's Bay. Company had advisedly, aiid 
for selfish purposes, looking to the aggTandize-. 
nient of the corporation, represented the region 
as a. "Miasmatic wilderness, uninhabitable ex- 
cept, by savage beasts and more savage men." 
Tliis action was takgu in order to discourage 
the settlement of white people in the conntry, 
which accomplished they realized would ulti- 
mately interfere seriously with their lucrative 
fur traffic with the aborigines of tlie land. 



HISTOKV OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



35 



JOINT OCCUPANCV TKKATV A rRACTUA:. FI- 
ASCO. 

llolli (ircat r.ritain and llic L'uitcd States 
beiiii^' apparciuly unprepared for delinile aclinn, 
in iSiS a treaty of joint occupation was en- 
teral into, liv tlie terms antl provisions of 
w hich "Tlie northwest coast of America west- 
ward of the Stony mountains shall he open 
to the suhjccts of the two contracting powers, 
not to he construed to the prejudice of any 
claim which either of the high contracting 
parties may ha\-c to any part of said country." 
This treaty was extended indefinitely in 1827, 
with the pro\-ision lliat after 18,^8 either i)arly 
could abrogate it h)- giving to the other one 
year's notice. Under this somewhat ecpiivocal 
treaty the shrewd representatives of the Llud- 
son's Bay Company resorted to every conceiv- 
able strategy to i^revent immigration from the 
United States, and they succeeded in efifecting 
their designs to a large extent for a consider- 
able period of time. However, an increasing 
knowledge of the value of the country stim- 
ulated the indomitable frontiersmen to move 
westward, and, despite the despicable efforts 
and questionable methods of the Hudson's 
Bay Compau}- to arrest wagons, l)reak 
l^lowshares, freeze out settlers, and by a 
system of overland forts and seajjort sur\-eil- 
lance prevent e\-ery movement that tended to- 
ward the actual occupancy of the countr)-, a 
suiilicient number of .\mericans had effected 
settlement i)rior to 1844 to force ui)on the 
United States the question of title. In the 
year mentioned JNIr. Calhoun, then secretary of 
state, demanded of the British government a 
specific statement of its claims to the Oregon 
territory. This overture elicited from (Ireat 
Britain a reiteration of a claim already made 
in 18J4, namely: "That the boundary line be- 



tween the possessions of the two countries 
should be the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude to where it intersects the northeast- 
ern braneh of the Columbia river, then dowu 
tlie middle channel of that river to the sea." 
'ibis claim, if allowed, would ha\e given Great 
Britain not only British Columbia but also the 
greater portion of the state of Washington. 
Great Britain based its claim upon the explora- 
tion of the Columbia Ijy Vancouver after Gray 
ha<I discovered it, and upon the occupancy of 
the country h}- the I Unison's Bay Com[)any for 
traffic in furs. 

The United States rested its claim on Cap- 
tain Gray's disco\-ery of the Columbia river, 
on the Louisiana purchase, on the explorations 
of Lewis and Clark, tracing the Columljia 
from its source to its mouth, on ihe settlement 
of Astoria, on the treaty with Spain in 1819 
and on the treaty with Mexico in 1828. Mr. 
Calhoun rejected the claim of Great Britain and 
proposed the forty-ninth parallel from the 
Rockies to the sea as the division between the 
two countries. The Democratic convention 
of 1S44 declared for the annexation of Te.xas 
and also "that our title to the Oregon territory 
was clear and unquestionable, and that no part 
of the same should be ceded to Great Britain." 
The shibboleth of the Democratic party during 
that campaign, relative to the Oregon question. 
was "fifty-four forty, or fight." An effort was 
made to abrogate the treaty of 1S27, and it 
seemed for a time that war between Great 
Britain and the United States was inevitable. 
The proposal of the llritish minister, INIr. Pack- 
enhain, to submit the cpiestion in dispute to 
arbitration was respectfully declined, and the 
ultimate result of the negotiations was the 
treaty of 1846, whereby the forty-ninth paral- 
lel originally pro]»sed by Mr. Calhoun was ac- 
cepted by Great Britain as the Ixnuulary 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



between the two countries. By the terms of 
tlie treaty provision was made that when the 
boundary line reached the waters of the Pa- 
cific coast it should run down the middle of 
the channel which separates the continent from 
Vancouver island, and thence soutlierly through 
the same channel and Fuca straits to the sea. 
No map or chart being attached to the treaty, 
according to which the line could be drawn, a 
vexatious controversy arose which came \ery 
near involving the two countries in war. The 
contention related to the location of the middle 
of the channel which separates the continent 
from Vancouver island. Great Britain insist- 
ed that it was in the Rosario straits or chan- 
nel, while the United States contended that it 
was in the Canal de Haro. Each iiarty ad- 
hered to its position through a protracted and 
vehement correspondence upnn the subject. 
Between these channels was an area of about 
four hundred square miles, including several 
prominent islands, comprising land area of 
about one hundred and seventy square miles. 
which was the bone of contention on the part 
of the two nations involved. 

After a prolonged debate of the question, 
each party determined to have its own way; 
by the treaty of Washington in 1871 it was 
agreed that Emperor William of Germany, as 
arbitrator, should decide which of the two 
claims was most in accord with the treatv of 



1846. He decided in favor of our claim, thus 
giving to the United States an undisputed 
claim to the island of San Juan and the other 
islands around it. Although the Hudson's 
Bay Company took possession of all the coun- 
try west of the Rocky mountains and on both 
sides of the Columbia river, yet Great Britain 
did not assert possession of that part of the 
country now constituting the state of Oregon. 
It is evident, however, that if the title was 
good north, it was equally good south of the 
river. Furthermore, if the title of the United 
States was good as to what is now \\ashing- 
ton and Oregon, why not equally good for all 
the territory, including British Columbia. 
Careful and candid students of the situation 
have contended that the proposition of Calhoun 
in 1844 to surrender to Great Britain all the ter- 
ritory north of the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude was made in the interest of slavery. 
The less there was of this territory, the less 
would be the number of free states to be ailmit- 
tetl to the Union. If he had not committed our 
goxernment to such an unfortunate, and what 
some have designated as "disgraceful." offer, 
it is quite probable that British Columbia would 
be to-day an integral part of the United States, 
a condition that many would consider desirable 
in view of the growing importance of that 
section. 



CHAPTER 11. 



THE INCEPTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN WASHINGTON. 



It is a well authenticated fact that, aside 
from missionaries, the first American to set- 
tle north of the Columbia river, or in any of 
the territory now comprising the state of Wash- 
ington, was Michael T. Simmons, who emi- 
grated to Oregon in 1844 and spent the first 
winter at Fort Vancouver. He is described as 
a stalwart Kentuckian, of splendid physique, 
great endurance and resolute mind, possessing 
all the qualifications of a successful pioneer. 
His stay at the fort enabled him to understand 
the disposition of the officials of thfe Hudson's 
Bay Company relative to American occupation 
of the northern country. He was doubtless 
convinced that it was their purpose to prevent, 
if possible, American settlement in that region. 
The desire to exclude American settlement 
was an evidence of the value of the country. 
This, with his patriotic spirit, prompted Mr. 
Simmons to make an investigation and dis- 
cover all he could about the region and its pros- 
pects. An attempt to explore the dense wilder- 
ness between the Columliia river and Puget 
sound was made by him and a few of his com- 
panions during the winter. In the summer of 
1845 Mr. Simmons made an extensive explora- 
tion of Puget sound, and was deeply impressed 
with the commercial value of the country. He 
selected a site for his future home at the head 
of Budd's Inlet, which is the most soiUliern 
extension, at the falls of the Des Chutes river. 
In the fall, he and others, seven in all, located 
on that spot, beginning the history of the per- 



manent settlement of Washington by Ameri- 
cans. It was an heroic attempt, and they were 
brave men who made it. 

Thev were among savages who gave no 
special evidence of hospitality, and they were 
separated from the nearest white settlers by 
one hundred and fifty miles of dense forests. 
But few were added to their number during 
the first vear. Within two years a sawmill was 
built at the falls of the Des Chutes. In 1848 
a few immigrants settled along the Cowlitz 
river. Thomas W. Glasgow explored Puget 
sound as far north as Whidby island, where 
he took a claim, being soon joined by several 
families. But the unfriendly attitude of the 
Indians necessitated the abandonment of their 
claims. 

Several things retarded the progress of the 
occupation of this region, among them Ijeing 
its isolation, the discovery of gold in California, 
and the brutal massacre of Dr. \\'hitman and 
others at Waiilatpu. The scattered families 
spent several years amid great perils, which 
could not have been endured by people of less 
braverv. They found the Indians, as a rule, 
hostile and even threatening their extermina- 
tion, but they met the insolence of the red men 
with herofc defiance. • This, with the timely 
and decisive measures of Governor Lane, and 
the building of Fort Steilacoom, with the aid 
of some friendly Indians, saved them during 
these critical years and made .American occu- 
pation permanent. 



38 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



About the year 1850 many who Iiad left 
for California at the outset of the gold ex- 
citement returned. Mr. Simmons had been in 
San Francisco and had brought with him a 
cargo of merchandise. \Vith this Ijasis he 
opened a store at Olynipia, which was the he- 
ginning of the first town in Washington. Set- 
tlements began to extend, and Steilacoom came 
into existence, and soon Port Townsend. In 
185 1 a company of resolute pioneers, after 
mucli exploration, selected claims on Elliott 
bay. .Among these hardy men were some who 
exerted a potent influence during the formative 
periods of territory and state, — Terry, Denny 
and others. 

The first attempt to establish a city on 
Elliott bay was at Alki Point. The ambition 
and expectation of the founders are indicated 
in the name which they gave to their embryonic 
municipality, — Xew \'nrk. Some of them 
soon removed to the east side of the bay. and 
the information which they received from the 
Indians regarding the country, especially rela- 
tive to the accessibility of the region east of 
the Cascades, led them to establish a rival city. 
They gave it the name of the chief, Seattle. 
Thus the name of an honored, true and dig- 
nified Indian chieftain has been perpetuated. 

After this settlements extended with in- 
creasing rapidity. Many jieople of extraor- 
dinary intelligence and enterprise and of ster- 
ling character came into the country. 

We soon find milling and coal-mining op- 
erations beginning- and within a few years 
the former develops to immense proportions. 
At the same time the country to' the south 
is developing — the lower Chehalis valley, and 
the Cowlitz valley down as far as the Coluiii- 
bia river. Attempts were made to establish 
great cities. So, at the close of 185 ^, we find 
in what was then kn(,wn as northern Oregon, 



settlements from the Cnlumbia river to British 
Columbia and from the Cascade mountains to 
the Pacific coast, in this territory we find the 
towns of Olympia, \'ancouver, Steilacoom, Se- 
attle and Port Townsend, with an aggregate 
population of three thousand. 

A resume of historical facts will lead us 
to consider briefly the circumstances and events 
leading to and connected with the 

DIVISIOX OF TERRITORY. 

Some of the earliest settlers north of the 
Columbia probably cherished the laudable am- 
bition of being the founders of a state. They 
were men of vision, and planned great things. 
We find that active measures looking toward 
separate political existence from Oregon were 
inaugurated as early as the 4th of July, 1851. 
Independence day was celebrated at Olympia 
l)y those who had settled around the head of 
Puget sound. Mr. J. B. Chapman, who was 
the orator of the day, took for his theme "The 
Future State of Columbia," and treated it in 
an eliH|uent and stirring manner. The orator 
struck a sympathetic chord in the hearts of his 
hearers, and the appeal tor prompt action found 
a ready response. During the day a committee 
on resolutions was appointed, and in rendering 
their report they recnmniended that representa- 
tives of all the districts north of the Colum- 
bia river meet in convention at Cowlitz Land- 
ing, for the purpose, as expressed, "of taking 
into careful consideration the peculiar position 
of the northern ])ortion of the territorv of Ore- 
gon, its wants, the best method of supplving- 
these wants, and the propriety of an earlv ap- 
peal to congress for a division of the terri- 
tory." 

The recmumendation being iri accordance- 
with the will nf the people, the various districts 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



39 



responded and a convention was held on the 
day appointed, with twenty-six delegates pres- 
ent. As a result of the deliberations of said 
convention, a memorial to congress on the sub- 
ject of division was adopted. The Oregon 
delegate to the United States congress was 
instructed to act in accordance with the memo- 
rial, and congress was petitioned t(.i construct 
certain roads necessary for the puljlic good, 
also to extend to the new territory the bene- 
fits of the Oregon land law. For some reason 
congress took no action on the memorial, and 
consequently the enthusiasm for territorial 
segregation lost its ardor for a season. But 
the agitation did not cease, for at Olympia was 
established a paper which had that for its ob- 
ject. 

Under the lead of this paper, called the 
ColumJjian, another convention was planned, 
the same being held at Monticello, on the 25th 
of October,, 1S52. There were present forty- 
four representative citizens, and the action was 
in harmony with that of the previous con\-en- 
tion. Cogent reasons were prepared and sub- 
mitted to General Lane, the delegate to con- 
gress, for the organization of a new territory. 
The Oregon legislature, meeting a few days 
afterward, exiiibited an unusually magnani- 
mous spirit by acting in harmony with the de- 
sires of the convention. General Lane acted 
without delay in introducing the measure to 
congress, and on February 10, 1853, it passed 
by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight 
to twenty-nine. The name Washington was, 
however, substituted for Columbia. The bill 
passed the senate on the second day of March, 
at which time the population of the new ter- 
ritory was somewhat less than four thousand. 
President Pierce appointed Isaac Ingalls Ste- 
vens, of ]\Lnssachusetts, as governor. IJe was 
a man eminently fitted for the position. Other 



official appointments were as follows: C. H. 
■\LiS(jn, of Rhode Island, secretary; Edward 
Lander, of Indiana, chief ju.stice; John R. 
Miller, of Ohio, and Victor Monroe, of Ken- 
tucky, associate justices; and J. S. Clendenin, 
of Louisiana, United States district at- 
torney. 

The act which created the territory gave 
to it an area more than twice as great as was 
asked for in the memorial, its boundaries be- 
ing defined as follows : "All that portion of 
Oregon territory lying and being south of the 
forty-ninth degree of north latitude, and north 
of the middle of the main channel of the Co- 
lumbia river, from its mouth to where the 
forty-sixth degree of north latitude crosses 
said river near Fort Walla Walla, thence with 
said forty-sixth degree of latitude to the sum- 
mit of tlie Rocky mountains." This included 
all of the state of Washington as it now stands 
and also a portion of the present states of Idaho 
and Montana. 

About the last of November Governor 
Stevens arrived, and issued a proclamation or- 
ganizing the government of the territory and 
designating the 30th for the election of a dele- 
gate to congress and of members of the ter- 
rit(jrial legislature, and h'ebruary for the con- 
vening of said legislature. Good material for 
the offices was not wanting, nor a sulticient 
number ambitious to fill them. Columlnis Lan- 
caster, of Clarke county, was electeil delegate 
to congress. Although a worthy man in many 
rcs])ects, he did not prove to be tpialified for the 
position at such a critical time. Men of fair 
abilities were elected as legislators, and ac- 
complished their mission creditably. The ma- 
terial jirogress of the territory was slow for 
several years. The Cascade uDuntains were a 
great barrier to the extension of settlements 
eastward. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MISSIONS OF WALLA WALLA AND THE WHITMAN MASSACRE. 



Few of tlie pioneer lands of tlie west have 
lacked their heroes. Few have lacked their 
martyrs. It has been the work of some to find 
the passes of the mountains, to blaze trails 
through the wilderness, to find the river cross- 
ings. Others have found it their task to dis- 
cover the materials and the routes of industrj' 
and commerce. Others vet asrain have had the 
grim destiny of meeting, fighting, killing, or 
being killed by the unfortunate natives. Still 
others, very few in comparison, assumed the 
yet harder, and. in most minds, the thankless 
duty of imparting the ideas of Christianity and 
civilization to those poor remnants of a doomed 
race. ^lost important of all, on yet others has 
l)een laid the weightiest task, that of forming- 
national political policies and managing the in- 
ternational questions arising out of the struggle 
for ix)ssession. 

Any one of the various lines of duty would 
ha\e been thought hard enough. \\'e find the 
strange spectacle in the annals of Walla \\'alla 
of one man performing them all. 

This man was Marcus Whitman. The pre- 
eminent services of this man have begun to 
receive a tardy recognition, and in the west 
at least he is now acknowledged as without 
a peer in the importance of his work as the 
foundation builder of Americanism in Oregon. 
Properly to understand the history of the 
Whitman mission and the massacre, and the 
events growing out of these in their bearing on 
the history of W'alla W'alla and the Oregon 



country, we must turn back the pages of history 
and take our station in the year 1832. In that 
year a strange thing occurred. Four Flathead 
Indians came from what is now Idaho to St. 
Louis, seeking the White ]\Ian's "Book of 
Life," of which they had heard some vague 
"report from some trappers or explorers in their 
own land. Two years were spent by them on 
their strange quest, years of suffering, danger 
and doubt. 

When at last they reached St. Louis they 
could not find words with which to make 
known their wants, and for a long time they 
wandered, tongue-tied, through the streets. 
Finally coming under the notice of Governor 
Clark, they were sent to a Catholic priest, and 
from him the story reached the country. It pro- 
duced "a profound interest among the churches; 
seeming to them a veritable Macedonian cry. 
Two missions were organized for the Oregon 
Indians, one by the Methodists under Jason 
Lee in the Willamette valley in 1834. The fol- 
lowing year the American Board sent Dr. 
Marcus Whitman of Rushville, New York, 
and Dr. Samuel Parker of Ithaca, New York, 
to examine the field and report on the condi- 
tions for missionary work. 

Having reached Green river, the general 
rendezvous of the trappers, it was decided that 
Dr. Parker should continue his journey to the 
Pacific and Dr. Whitman should return east 
anil make ready to come back and locate some- 
where in Oregon Territory. Accordingly in 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



41 



the early spring of 1836. in company witii his 
newly made bride, Narcissa (Prentice) Whit- 
man, and Rev. H. H. Spalding and wife. Dr. 
Whitman started across the plains. From the 
Loup Fork of Platte river in Green ri\-er the 
missionarv party traveled with the fur com- 
pany's annual detachment, but at the latter 
point they committed their fortunes and lives 
to a body of Nez Perce Indians whu had come 
to meet them. The letters and journals of Mrs. 
Whitman and Mrs. Spalding give us some 
conception of the heroic fortitude with wdiich 
they met the hardships and dangers of that 
unprecedented bridal journey of three th(jusand 
miles across the American wilderness. Reach- 
ing Fort Walla Walla, now Wallula, on Sep- 
tember I, 1836. and being in the general vi- 
cinity of the region where they had expected 
to laljor, it became apparent that they would 
need to establish friendly relations with the 
Hudson's Bay Company, the great autocrats of 
the Columbia valley. Accordingly they made 
the additional journey by Ijoat to Vancouver, 
where Dr. McLoughlin, a true-liorn king of 
men, received them with tlie kindly courtesy 
which always characterized his treatment of 
those who came to him. By his advice Whit- 
man was established at Waiilalpu, si.x miles 
west of the present Walla Walla. 

We must pass rapidly over the events of the 
ne.xt few years. Suffice it to say that they 
were years of great activity on the ])art of the 
missionaries. Travelers who visited the sta- 
tion expressed their wonder at the amount ac- 
complished l)y Dr. Whitman. 

He had brought over two hundred acres 
of land under cultivation, had built several 
large buildings, had put into running order a 
.small grist mill run by a water ])o\ver from 
Mill creek, had also a small saw-mill on Mill 
creek about fourteen miles above the present 



site of Walla Walla, had gathered together a 
large number of Indian children for instruction, 
and with all this was acting as physician to all 
the whites in the country and to many of the 
Indians. 

He was a keen observer of the international 
politics wdiich gathered about Oregon and could 
not fail to see that his plans were necessarily 
antagonistic to those of the great English fur 
company, whose Briarean arms reached to all 
parts of the land and wdiose evident and in fact 
necessary purpose was to keep the country in 
a state of savagery. Although the personal re- 
lations between Dr. Whitman and Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin were of the pleasantest sort, each was 
keen enough to see that success for the one 
meant defeat for the other. 

Busy as Whitman was with the multifari- 
ous duties which he had loaded upon himself, 
he became more and more absorbed in the vital 
question as to who was going to own this coun- 
try. Among a number of Americans coming 
to Oregon in 1842. was A. L. Lovejoy, a man 
of intelligence and force, who informed Whit- 
man of the pending Webster-Ashburton treaty 
between England and this country, the effect 
of which many Americans thought would be 
detrimental to their country. 

The more Whitiu;in thought of it the more 
he became possessed of the idea that it was his 
l)atriotic duty to go to Washington and inform 
the authorities of the nature of this country 
and its value, and assist the emigrants of the 
next year to cross the plains and mountains on 
their way to OregoiT. That was the primary 
idea of that great winter ride in 1842-3. made 
by Whitman, Lovejoy accompanying as far as 
Fort Bent. The details of that grand, heroic 
ride, with the momentous results hinging upon 
it and the magnificent success achieved, have 
been man\- times narrated, have been discussed, 



42 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



hotly disputed, exaggerated and belittled, and 
yet out of the general turmoil certain historical 
facts may be regardetl as definitely established. 
First, it is now conceded by all that Whitman's 
idea was "to save Oregon to the United 
States." 

Many writers have questioned this in the 
past. One writer (we are glad to say but 
one), Mrs. F. V. Fuller, has the unenviable 
distinction of having attributed low and sordid 
motives to the hero, believing that his oI)ject 
mainly was to secure the continuance of the 
mission as a source of profit to himself. She 
even at one time went so far as to suggest 
a doubt whether Whitman was ever in Wash- 
ington at all. Although those to whom Whit- 
man had related his experiences, as well as men 
who actually recalled seeing him in Washing- 
ton, had given their testimony, yet these per- 
sistent efl:'orts to depreciate him had produced 
a good deal of effect in the public mind. It 
was therefore a matter of profound interest 
when in 1891 there was made in the archives 
of the War department an extraordinary dis- 
covery. This was a letter from Dr. Whitman 
himself to the department, proposing a l)ill for 
the establishment of a line of forts from the 
Kansas river to the Willamette This entire 
letter and proposed bill appeared in the Walla 
Walla L'nion-Journal of .\ugust 15, 1891. A 
perusal of it will convince any one that Whit- 
man's aim in his tremendmis exertions was 
political, as well as that he liad all the essential 
elements of statesmanship. His aspersers have 
scarcely "peeped'' since the discovery of this 
letter. The fpicstion of "Why Whitman went 
east" has ceased to be debatable. We incor- 
porate here the beginning and closing of this 
letter, adding only that reference to the Union- 
Journal referred to. or to Dr. (). W. Xixon's 
book, "tb)\v Marcus Whitman .Sas'ed Oregon," 



will gi\e to liistorical students this final word 
on the controversy. 

To the Hon. James 'SI. Porter, Secretary of 
War. 

Sir : — In compliance with the request you 
did me the honor to make last winter while at 
Wasliington, I herewith transmit to you the 
synopsis of a bill, which, if it could be adopted, 
would according to my experience and observa- 
tion prove highly conducive to the best in- 
terests of the United States generally ; to Ore- 
gon, where I have resided for more than seven 
years as a missionary, and to the Indian tribes 
that inhabit the intermediate country. 

The government will now doubtless for the 
first time be apprised through you, and by 
means of this communication, of the immense 
migration of families to Oregon, which has 
taken place this year. I have since our inter- 
view been instrumental in piloting across the 
route described in the accompanying bill, and 
which is the only eligible wagon road, no less 

than families, consisting of one thousand 

persons of both sexes, with their wagons, 
amounting in all to more than one hundred 
and twenty, si.x hundred and ninety-four o.xen. 
anil seven hundred and seventy-three loose 
cattle. * * * * 

Your familiarity with the givernment pol- 
icy, duties and interest, renders it unnecessary 
for me to more than hint at the several olijects 
intended by the incli'sed l)ill. and any enlarge- 
ment upon the topics here suggested as in- 
ducements to its adoption would be quite su- 
i;erfluous, if not imiiertinent. The \-ery ex- 
istence of such a system as the one above 
recommended suggests the utility of postoftices 
and mail arrangements, which it is the wish of 
all who now live in Oregon to have granted 
them, and I need only add that contracts for 
this purpose will be readily taken at reasmiable 
rates for transporting the mail across from 
Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia in forty 
days, with fresh horses at each of the con- 
templated posts. The ruling policy proposed, 
regards the Indians as the police of the conn- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUxXTY. 



43- 



try, who are to be relied upon to keep the 
peace, not onl_v for tliemselves. 1)ut to repel 
lawless white men and prevent banditti, under 
the solitary guidance of the su]ierintendent of 
the several posts, aided by a well directed sys- 
tem to induce the punishment of crime. It will 
only be after the failure of these means to 
procure the deliver^' or punishment of \'iolent, 
lawless and savage acts of aggression, that a 
band or tribe should be regarded as conspira- 
tors against the peace, or punished accordingly 
by force of arms. 

Hoping that these suggestions may meet 
your approbation, and conduce to the future 
interests of our growing country, I have the 
honor to be, Honorable Sir, your obedient 
servant, 

Marcus Whitman. 

The second fact established in regard to 
\\'hitman's work is that he did produce a pro- 
found inHuence on the minds of President 
Tyler and Secretary Webster and others in 
authority, and as a result, other influences, 
]ierhaps, also reaching them, our government 
took an entirely new stand and began to raise 
the demand of "Fifty-four forty." 

A third fact is that he published broadcast 
in the spring of 1843, liis intention to return 
and pilot the train across the mountains. It 
is also true that many immigrants, though by 
no means all, were induced to come by his pres- 
ence and representations. 

A fourth fact is that he triumphantly suc- 
ceeded in conducting a thousand people, with 
wagons and cattle, to the promised land of 
Oregnn. The immigration of '43 was the 
deciding contest in the struggle for pos- 
session between England and the United 
States. The American home vanquished the 
English fur-trader. 

A fifth fact may be added to the effect 
that Whitman's station on the Walla Walla 
became the rallying point for Americans, with 



all their interests, between the Rocky Moun- 
tains and the Cascades. Waiilatpu was the 
eastern frontier of American settlement in Ore- 
gon. For though the mission posts of Lapwai 
and Tchimakain were actually farther east, 
they had no bearing on the political questiijn of 
the time. 

Such briefly summarizes the acknowledged 
facts in regard to Dr. Whitman and his work. 
As to the comparative value of. his services, 
as to the controverted questions of what some- 
have styled the "Whitman JMyth," this is not 
the place to speak. Suflice it to say that l)y 
the uniform testimony of liis contemporaries, 
as well as of the students of history. Whitman 
was one of the heroes of America and the chief 
factor in giving this "Valley of Many \\'aters" 
its high rank among the sacred places of our 
land. 

But Whitman's destiny was not yet ful- 
filled. The missionary had become the patriot.- 
the patriot had become the hero, the hero had 
become the statesman. Xow the statesman- 
must become the martyr. 

THE WHITMAN MASSACRE. 

After Whitman's return in 1S43 t'le In- 
dians had become restive and ugl_\-. They 
could form no conception of the exalted sen- 
timents which actuated the missionaries. They 
began to see in a rude way the logic of Amer- 
ican occupation. It meant a change in their 
whole method of life. It in-ijjlied farming, 
cattle-raising, houses, fi.xed and narrowed do- 
mains, instead of the hunting and wild life of 
their ancestral habits. They saw also the an- 
tagonism between the Americans and the Brit- 
ish, and inasmuch as the latter were the more 
disposed to maintain the existing condition of 
.savagery, the Indians generally inclined to 



44 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



sympathize with them. Dr. \\'hitman per- 
ceived tlie danger and tluring the summer of 
1847 he iiad in contemplation a removal to 
The Dalles. He liad arranged to purcliase the 
Methodist mission there and was planning to 
rem()\-e thither in the spring. In the meantime 
sinister influences were gathering around his 
devoted head, all unknown to him. His two 
principal enemies were Tamsuky. a Cayuse 
chief, and Joe Lewis, a renegade half-hrced 
who had wandered to the mission, had heen 
befriended by Whitman, and then with the 
inequity which seemed to be inherent in his 
detestable nature, became a prime mover in 
the murderous plot. 

During the summer of 1847. measles, in- 
troduced by immigrants. Ijecame epidemic 
among the Cayuses. Their native method of 
treating anything of a fe\-erous nature was to 
enter into a sweat ln)use. stripped of clothing, 
and remain there until thoroughly steamed, 
and then plunge naked and ]ierspiring into a 
cold stream. Death was the almost inevitable 
result. Whitman was faithful and unremitting 
in his ministrations, but many died. At this 
critical moment the wretch Lewis perceived 
that his oportunity had come. He made the 
Indians think that Whitman was poisoning 
them. He went so far as to affirm that he had 
heard a conversation between Spalding and 
Whitman as to what tlicy would do when tlie\' 
had got possession of the country. 

The Indians determined to make a test case 
of a sick woman, giving her some of Whit- 
man's medicine, and agreeing that if she died 
they would kill the missionaries. The woman 
died, and the plot came to a focus. 

Istickus of Umatilla, who had always i)een 
a warm friend of Whitman, had felt some ink- 
ling of the plot, and suggested to liim liis 
danger. He had never realized it before, but 



with his daring spirit had laughed off thoughts 
of harm. .\t the warning of Istickus, Mrs. 
Whitman, nolile. intrepid soul that she was, 
felt the darkening of the approaching tragedy. 
and was found by the children in tears for the 
only time since the death of her beloved little 
girl eight years before. The doctor told her 
that if ix)ssible he would arrange to remove 
down the river at once. 

But the next day, the fatal 29th of Xo- 
\ember. 1847. dawned. Great numbers of 
Tamsuky's adherents were in the vicinity. 
Survivors of the massacre say that on the day 
before, the little hill on which the monument 
is now situated, was l)lack with Indians look- 
ing down upon the scene. Their presence and 
their unfriendly looks added to the alarm felt 
l;y Airs. Whitman. 

At about I o'clock on the 29th. as Dr. Whit- 
man was sitting reading, a number of Indians 
entered and having attracted his attention l)y 
the accustomed re(|uest for medicine, one of 
them, said afterwards by the Indians to have 
been Tamahas, drew forth a hatchet and buried 
it in the head of his benefactor. Another 
named Telaukait. who had received many fa- 
vors from Whitman, then came up and pro- 
ceeded to beat and hack the noble face that had 
never expressed any sentiment but kindness 
toward those chiklren of darkness. The work 
of murder, thus begun, was followed with 
fiendish energy. Xone of the white men. scat- 
tered and unsuspecting, could offer any ef- 
fective resistance. They were quickly shot 
ilown, witli the excepti<.)n of such as were in 
])laces sufficiently remote to elude observation 
and glide away at night. Five men in that 
manner escaped and after incredible suffering 
reached places of safety. Mrs. Whitman was 
the onlv wnman who suffered death. The 
other women were shamefullv outraged, and 



HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY. 



45 



the children, both boys and girls, were held 
in cai)ti\-ity several days. William AIcBean, 
the Hudson Bay agent at Fort Walla Walla, 
displayed a dastardly spirit when he learned 
of the massacre, for instead of rescuing, he 
refused to harbor one man, Mr. Hall, who had 
escaped as far as the' fort, but shut the door 
on him, with the result that he perished. A 
courier was sent by ]\IcBean to Vancou\-er, but 
he did not even warn the people at The Dalles 
of their danger, though happily they were not 
molested. As soon as James Douglas, then 
chief factor in the place of Dr. McLoughlin, 
heard of the massacre, he dispatched Peter 
Skeen Ogden with a force to rescue the sur- 
vivors. Ogden showed a commendable zeal 
and efficiency, and by the expenditure of sev- 
eral hundred dollars, ransomed forty-seven 
women and children. The names of the mur- 
dered were Alarcus Whitman, Narcissa Whit- 
man, John Sager, Francis Sager, Crocket Bew- 
ley, Isaac Gillen, James Young, and Rogers, 
Kimball, Sales, Marsh, Saunders, Hoffman 
and Hall. A lock of long, fair hair was subse- 
quently found on the site of the massacre 
which was undoubtedly taken from the head of 
Mrs. Whitman. It is now preserved among 
the i)recious relics in Whitman College. 

Such was this dreadful event which at the 
now peaceful site of the Waiilatpu desecrated 
all the sanctities of life and left a tragic stain 
on the heroic pages of Walla Walla's history. 

As one stands now upon the monument hill 
and views that entrancing rural scene, the sil- 
\ery bend of the Walla Walla, the dark green 
belts of birch and cottonwood, the bright fields 
of alfalfa, the continuous wheat-fields, green 
or gold with changing seasons, the gullied Um- 
atilla highlands to the west, the roofs and spires 
of Walla Walla, near at hand to the east, with 
the many-hued Blue mountains filling the back 



ground of the east and south, it is hard to 
realize how Waiilatpu was once torn and beaten 
with the relentless cruelty of savage warfare. 
Still harder is it to realize that the momentous 
world question of the ownership of Oregon 
came nearer its focus of settlement in this quiet 
spot than anywhere else. The people of Walla 
Walla are not greatly given to imagining or 
idealizing, and hence do not generally realize 
the historical significance of the old mission 
ground. The time will surely come when they 
will perceive that the richest products of field 
and orchard have played but a small part in 
making Walla \\'alla known compared with 
that tale of heroism and patriotism. 

Among many reminiscences of that time 
those of some of the hapless children are the 
most vivid and tloubtless the most relialile, for 
a child's memory for details, as well as in- 
genuousness and freedom from prejudices, 
gives such testimony the greatest value. Among 
the children was Mrs. Jacobs, now matron of 
Billing's Hall, \\'hitman College. Her re- 
membrances of the hiirrors of the massacre, 
and the equally dreadful details of the escape 
of the Osborne family, of which she was a 
member, ha\'e the intensity of fire even after 
the lapse of these fifl}'-tliree years. Mr. Os- 
borne gave to Mr. Spalding many years ago 
for publication an account of his escape, from 
which we take the following extracts. Mr. 
Osborne says : "As the guns fired and the yeljs 
commenced I leaned ni}- head upon the bed and 
committed myself and family to my Maker. 
My wife removed the loose floor. I dropped 
under the floor with my sick family in their 
night clothes, taking only two woolen sheets, 
a piece of bread and some cold mush, and pulled 
the floor over us. In five minutes the room 
was full of Indians, but they did not discover 
us. The roar of guns, the yell of the savages 



46 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



and tlic crash of clubs and kni\-es and tlie 
groans of the dying continued till dark, ^^'e 
distinctly heard the dying groans of j\Irs. 
Whitman, Mr. Rogers and Francis, till they 
died away one after the other. We heard the 
last words of Mr. Rogers in a slow voice call- 
ing "Come, Lord Jesus, come qtiickly.' Soon 
after this I removed the floor and we went out. 
\\'e saw the white face of Francis by the door. 
It was warm as we laid our hand upon it, but 
he was dead. I carried my two youngest chil- 
dren, who were sick, and my wife held on to 
my clothes in her great weakness. We had 
all been sick with measles. Two infants had 
died. She had not left her bed for six weeks 
till that day. when she stood up a few minutes. 
The naked, painted Indians were dancing the 
scalp dance around a large fire at a little dis- 
tance. There seemed no liope for us and we 
knew not \\hich way to go, but Iient our steps 
toward Fort W'alla W'alla. .A dense cold fog 
shut out every star and the darkness was com- 
plete. W'e could see no trail and not even the 
hand before the face. We had to feel out the 
trail with our feet. My wife almost fainted 
but staggered along. Mill creek, which we 
had to wade, was higii with late rains and came 
up to the waist. My wife in lier great weakness 
came nigh washing down, but held to my 
clothes. I braced myself with a stick, holding 
a child in one arm. I had to cross five times 
for the children. The water was ic}^ cold and 
the air freezing some. Staggering along about 
two miles, Mrs. Osborne fainted and could go 
no further, and we hid ourselves in the brush 
of the Walla W'alla river, not far below Tam- 
sukey's (a chief) lodges, who was very active 
at the commencement of the butchery. We 
were thoroughly wet and the cold fog like snow 
was about us. The cold mud was partially 
frozen as we crawled, feeling our way, into the 



dark brush, ^\'e could see nothing the dark- 
ness' was so extreme. I spread one wet slieet 
down on the frozen ground ; wife and children 
crouched upon it. I covered the other over 
ihcm. 1 thought they must soon perish as they 
were shaking and their teeth rattling with 
cold. I kneeled down and commended us to 
my Maker. The day finally dawned and we 
could see the Indians riding furiously up and 
down the trail. Sometimes thev would come 
close to the brush and our blood would warm 
and the shaking would stop from fear for a 
moment. The day seemed a week. Expected 
every moment my wife would breathe her 
last. Tuesday night, felt our way to the 
trail and staggered along to Sutucksnina 
(Dog creek), which we waded as we did 
the other creek, and kept on about two 
miles when my wife fainted and could 
go no farther. Crawled into the brush and 
frozen mud to shake and sufifer on from 
hunger and cold, and without sleep. Tiie chil- 
dren, too, wet and cold, called incessantly for 
food, but the shock of groans and yells at first 
so frightened them that they did not speak loud. 
Wednesday night my wife was too weak to 
stand. I took our second child and started for 
Walla W'alla; had to wade the Touchet; 
stopped freciuentlv in the brush from weakness; 
had not recovered from measles. Heard a 
horseman pass and repass as I lay concealed 
in the willows. Have since learned it was Mr. 
Spalding. Reached Fort Walla Walla after 
daylight ; begged Mr. McBean for horses to get 
my family, for food, blankets and clothing to 
take to them, and to take care of my child till 
I could bring my family in, should I live to 
find them alive. Mr. McBean told me I could 
not bring my family to his fort. 

"Mr. Hall came in on Monday night, but he 
could not ha\e an American in his fort, and 



HISTORY OF W'ALL.V ^^'ALLA COUXTY. 



47 



he liad put liim over the Columhia river : that he 
could not let me have horses or anything for 
mv wife and children, and I must go to Uma- 
tilla. I insisted on hringing my family to the 
fort, hut he refused: said he would not let us 
in. 1 next begged the priests to show pity, as 
mv wife and children must perish and the In- 
dians undoubtedly would kill me, but with no 
success. I then Iiegged to leave my child who 
was not safe in the fort, but they refused. 

"There were many priests in the fort. Mr. 
JMcBean gave me breakfast, but I saved most 
of it for my famil}-. Provider.lially 'Mv. Stan- 
ley, an artist, came in from Coh'ille, narrowly 
escaped the Cayuse Indians by telling them he 
was 'Alain' H. B. He let me ha\e his two 
horses, some food he had left from Rev. Eells 
and Walker's mission: also a cap. a pair of 
socks, a shirt and handkerchief, and Mr. Mc- 
Bean furnished an Indian who proved most 
faithful, and Thursday night we started back, 
taking niy child, but with a sad heart that I 
could not find mercy at the hands of the priests 
of God. The Indian guided me in the thick 
darkness to where I supposed I had left my 
dear wife and children. We could see nothing 
and dared not call aloud. Daylight came and 
I was exposed to Indians, but we CDUtiuued to 
search till I was about to give up in despair 
when the Indian discovered one of the twigs 
1 had broken as a guide in coming out to the 
trail. Following these he soon found my wife 
and children still alive. I distributed what 
little food and clothing I had, and we started 
for the Umatilla, the guide leading the way 
to a ford. 

"Mr. McBean came and asked who was 
there. I replied. He said he could not let us 
in ; we must go to Umatilla or he would put 
us over the river, as he had Mr. Hall. My 
wife replied she would die at the gate but she 



would not leave. He finally opened and took 
us into a secret room and sent an allowance 
of food for us every day. Next day I asked 
him for blankets for my sick wife to lie on. 
He had nothing. Next day I urged again. 
He had nothing to give but would sell a blanket 
out of the store. I told him I had lost every- 
thing, and had nothing to pay; but if I should 
li\e to get to the Willamette I would pay. He 
consented. But the hip-bones of my dear wife 
wore through the skin on the hard floor. 
Stickus, the chief, came in one day and took 
the cap from his head and gave it to me, and 
a handkerchief to my child." 

Mr. Osborne and his family finally went to 
the W^illamette valley, where they lived many 
years as honored members of the community, 
though Mrs. Osborne never entirely regained 
her health from the dreadful experiences of the 
massacre and the escape. 

A less distressing case of a few weeks later 
is presented in the following extract from some 
reminiscences of Mrs. Catherine Pringle of 
Colfax. Mrs. Pringle was one of the Sager 
children adopted by Dr. and Airs. Whitman. 

The story of a Christmas dinner which fol- 
lows was given by Mrs. Pringle to the Com- 
moner of Colfax in 1S93: 

"The Christmas of 1847," said Airs. Prin- 
gle, "was celebrated in the midst of an Indian 
village, where the American families who kept 
the day were hostages, whose li\es were in 
constant danger. There is something tragic- 
all}- humorous about that Christmas, and I 
laugh when I think of some of the things 
that I cried over on that day. 

"When the survivors moved to the Indian 
village, a set of guards was placed over us, 
and those guards were vagabond savages, in 
whose charge nobody was safe. Alany times 
we thought our final hour had come. They 



48 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



ordered us ardund like slaves, and kept us 
busy cooking for them. Whenever we made 
a dish, they compelled us to eat of it first, for 
fear there was poison in it. They kept up a 
din and noise that deprived us of peace by 
day and sleep at night. Some days before 
Christmas we complained to the chief of the 
village, who was supposed to be a little gener- 
ous in our regard, and he gave us a guard of 
good Indians, under command of one whom 
■we knew as 'Beardy.' The latter had been 
friendly to Dr. Whitman; he had taken no 
part in the massacre, and it was claimed to be 
through his intercession that our lives were 
spared. 

"We hailed the coming of Beardy as a 
providential thing, and so when the holiday 
dawned the elder folks resolved to make the 
children as happy as the means at hand would 
allow. 

"Mrs. Sanders had brought across the 
plains with her some white Hour and some 
dried peaches, and these had been brought to 
our abode in William Gray's mission. White 
flour was a luxury, and so were dried peaches 
then. Mrs. Sanders made white bread on 
Christmas morning, and then she made peach 
pie. Beardy had been so kind to us that we 
had to invite him to our Christmas dinner. 
We had ever S(j many pies, it seemed, and 
Beardy thought he had tasted nothing so good 
in all iiis life. He sat in one corner of the 
kitchen and crammed piece after piece of that 
dried peach pie into his mouth. We were de- 
termined that he should have all the pie he 
wanted, even if some of us went hungry, be- 
cause Beardy was a friend on whose fidelity 
probably our lives depended. 

"And so we had our Christmas festival, 
and we sang songs and thanked heaven that 
we were still alive. After dinner and about 



an hour after Beardy went a^vay, we were 
thrown into alarm by a series of mad yells 
and we heard Indian cries of 'Kill them 
Tomahawk them !' A band of savages startec 
to attack the Gray residence, and we saw then 
from the windows. Our time had come anc 
some of us began to pray. The day tha 
opened with fair promises was about to clos< 
in despair. 

'■'J'o our amazement and horror, the Indiai 
band was led by Beardy himself, the Indiai 
we counted on to protect us in just such emer 
gencies. He was clamoring for the death o 
all the white women. 

■■I*"ortune favored us at this critical junc 
ture, for just as the Indians were enterinc 
the house messengers arrived from For 
Walla Walla. The messengers knew Beard} 
well, and they advanced on him and inquirec 
the reason of his wild language. 

"'Me poisoned,' cried Beardy; 'me killed 
White squaw poison me. Me always whit( 
man's friend; now me enemy. White squav 
must die.' 

"That would be a liberal translation of th( 
Indian words. Then followed a colloquy be 
tween Beardy and the messengers, and fron 
the language used we gleaned that Beardy hat 
suffered fn)m an overdose of American pie 
and not knowing alxiut the pains that lie ir 
wait after intemperate indulgence even in pie 
he rushed to the conclusion that the pie hac 
been poisoned. 

"It required a long time for the messen- 
gers to convince Beardy that the women wen 
innocent of any intention to cause him pain 
but that he was simply suffering from the 
effects of inordinate indulgence in an indiges- 
tible lu.\ury. 

"The messengers talked Beardy into a 
reasonable frame of mind; he called off his 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



49 



liorcle of savages, and peace once more spread 
lier. wings over the William Gray mission. 

"We were all happy that night — happy 
that Mrs. Sanders' pie had not been the means 
of a wholesale slaughter of white families on 
Christmas day. 

'"The messengers I speak of brought good 
news from the fort. Succor was at hand, and 
on December 29th we were moved to the fort, 
and started down the river to The Dalles, 
January 3, 1848. The Christmas of the year 
1847, 'I* 't was celebrated ■ in this territory, 
offers somewhat of a contrast to the Yule- 
tide merriment in all the churches and homes 
to-day." 

We have now described the Whitman mis- 
sion. Whitman's midwinter journey, his work 
for Oregon, and the massacre. It now re- 
mains to speak of the Cayuse war, which fol- 
lowed as a natural secpience. 

THE C.VYUSE WAR. 

The ransomed missionaries from Waiil- 
atpu, Lapwai and Tchimakain reached the 
\\'illamette valley in safety. Concerning 
those from Lapwai and Tchimakain, it may 
be said here to the credit of the Indians, that 
though one band, the Cayuses, were murder- 
ers, two bands, the Nez Perces and Spokanes, 
were saviors. Few things more thrilling ever 
came under the observation of the writer 
than the narrations by Fathers Eells and 
Walker of the circuit of the Spokanes at 
Tchimakain to decide whether or not to join 
the Cayuses. 

The lives of the missionaries hung on the 
decision. Imagine their emotions as they 
waited with bated breath in their mission house 
to know the result. After hours of excited 
discussion with the Cayuse emissaries, the 



Spokanes announced their conclusion : "Go 
and tell the Cayuses that the missionaries are 
Dur friends and we will defend them with our 
lives." 1 he Xez Perces made the same de- 
cision. Bold though those Cayuses were — 
the fiercest warriors of the Inland Empire — 
their hearts must have sunk within them as 
they saw that the Umatillas, the Nez Perces 
and the Spokanes, and even the Hudson's Bay ' 
Company, were all against them and that they 
must meet the infuriated whites from the Wil- 
lamette. For as soon as tidings reached the 
AVillamette the provincial government at once 
entered upon the work of e(|uipping fourteen 
companies of volunteers by an act of Decem- 
ber 9. These volunteers mainly provided their 
own horses, arms and ammunition, without a 
thought of pecuniary gain or even reimburse- 
ment. 

Cornelius Gilliam, father of W. S. Gilliam, 
of Walla Walla, was chosen . colonel of the 
regiment, and with great energy pushing all 
necessary arrangements, he set forth from the 
rendezvous at The Dalles on February 27th, 
1848. Several battles occurred on the way, 
the most severe being at Sand Hollows, in the 
Umatilla country. Five Crows and War 
Eagle, the great fighters of the Cayuse tribe, 
had gathered their braves to dispute the cross- 
ing of the Umatilla river. The former claimed 
that by his wizard powers he could stop all 
bullets, and the latter agreed to swallow all 
that were fired at him. P)Ut at the first onset 
the "Swallow Ball" was killed, and the wizard 
was so severely wounded as to be obliged to 
retire from the war. Nevertheless the Indians 
maintained a plucky fight and the whites suf- 
fered several casualties. The Indians broke 
at last and the way to Waiilatpu was clear. 
Gilliam's command reached it on March 4th. 
They paused several days to recuperate and 



50 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTV. 



give a reverent burial to tlie remains of tlie 
niartvrs, whicli had been liastily covered with 
earth when Ogden ransomed the captives, but 
were afterwards partiaUy exliumed In- coyotes. 
Tiie Lidians had now fallen back to Snake 
river. Following them thither the whites 
were somewhat outgeneraled. They surprised 
and captured a camp of Indians, among whom 
were, as afterwards discovered, some of the 
murderers themselves. But the wily Cayuses 
professed great friendship, and jjointing to a 
large band of horses on the hill, said that the 
hostiles had abandoned them and crossed the 
river. Completely deluded, the whites sur- 
rendered the camp and rounding up the horses 
started on their return. .\nil now the released 
captives, mounting at once, began a furious 
attack which proved so harrassing that the 
volunteers were obliged to retreat to the 
Touchet, and finally, although they repelled 
the Indians, they let loose the captured horses. 
These the Indians seized, vanishing with them 
over the plains. 

But the Indians in general had no wish 
to fight, and finding that the whites insisted 
on a surrender of the murderers, the tribe 
scattered in various directions; Tamsuky with 
his friends going to the head waters of the 
Joiin Day. There they remained for two 
years. In 1850 a band of Umatillas under- 
took to capture them, and after a fierce fight 
killed Tamsuky and captured a number. Of 
the captives five w-ere hanged at Oregon City 
on June 3d, 1850. The Cayuse Indians assert, 
however, that only one of those condemned 
was really guilty. That was Tamahas, who 
struck Dr. Whitman the first fatal blow. The 
claim that the others were innocent is very 
likely true, and if so is but another instance 
of the lamentable failure to apply either pun- 
islnnent or mercy accurately, which has char- 



acterized all Imlian wars on both sides. The 
imiocent have Ixjrne the sins of the guillv in 
more ways than one. 

I\Iany men afterwards famous in Oregon 
and \Vashington history took part in the Cay- 
use war. Among those we may name James 
Nesmith, afterwards United States senator, 
and father of Mrs. Ankeny, of Walla \\'alla. 
William Martin, of Pendleton, was a captain 
in that war. Joel Palmer, Tom McKay, J. 
M. Garrison and many others bore their part 
in that beginning, as later in the maturer de- 
velopment of the country. Colonel Gilliam, 
wdio had shown himself a brave and capable 
commander, was accidentallv killed on the re- 
turn, a most melancholy end of a career wdfich 
was full of promise to this country. 

In taking our leave of this great epoch in 
the varied history of Walla A\'alla, we can 
only say in the way of reflection, that. grie\- 
ous as this end of Whitman's career was, it 
will no doubt ultimately be seen to have pro- 
duced greater results for this region and tho 
world than if he had survived to enjoy a W'elb 
merited rest. For the subsequent development 
of this section, the founding of Whitman Col- 
lege, and the whole train of circumstances 
arising from American occupation may be seen 
in some measure to have grown out of the 
tragedy of ^^'aiilatpu. Here, as elsewhere, 
martyrdom seems a necessary accompaniment 
of the profoundest progress. While the offenses 
of the Indians cannot be condoned, yet charity 
compels the admission that the poor creatures 
were hardl}^ more responsible than the wild 
beasts who also disputed the ground with civ- 
ilized man, and though the progress of the 
world demanded the removal of both as ob- 
stacles, yet the disposition of many people to 
indiscriminate hate and to hold saxages to a 
higher standard of responsibility than we 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY 



51 



wnuld allow even fur the best of ourselves, 
does little credit to our boasted civilization 
and Christianity. 

The following interview casts so vivid a 
light on our earlier time, and bears so directly 
on the Whitman epoch, that we preserve it 
here entire. 

IXTERVIEW WITH L. T. BOYD. 

Mr. Boyd is a well-known pioneer of Walla 
Walla. He came to Oregon in 1843 with the 
famous wagon train led by Dr. Marcus W^hit- 
man. He drove Dr. Whitman's cart part of 
the way and was well acquainted with him. 
On October 5, 1900, he gave the following 
account of his experience at that time and of 
his subsequent hfe: 

"The way I came to get started was some- 
what peculiar. JMy uncle with whom I was 
living gave me a tremendous thrashing one 
day, which riled me so that I gathered to- 
gether my clothes and struck out afoot and 
alone. I came up into Jackson county, Mis- 
souri, and got in with an old farmer and lived 
with him a couple of years. One day the 
farmer's daughter told me that my uncle had 
got wind of where I was and was coming after 
me. so I skipped out from there and in the 
spring, having heard that an immigration was 
going to start from this country, I joined it. We 
started from Independence, Missouri, in the 
spring of '43 with about one hundred and 
fifty wagons which averaged about ten people 
to the wagon. It was commonly believed by 
the people in the wagon train that it was Dr. 
Whitman's influence that brought them to- 
getiier. 

"I was a lad of about nineteen years of age 
at that time and was assigned to drive Dr. 
Whitman's cart. The Doctor himself mile 



ahead with the captain of the immigration, 
Applegate, in a light wagon. They took with 
them when they started out each morning, a 
bundle of long sharp stakes with wdiite rags 
tied to their tops. Every half mile or so they 
would set up one of these stakes and the driver 
of the lead teams of the wagon train took 
these as his guide posts. When they struck 
a good place to camp with plenty of grass and 
water, they would stop and the train when it 
came up would stay there for the night. I 
drove the Doctor's cart every other day until 
we reached Fort Boise and from there I drove 
it all the way. 

"We had a good deal of rough weather 
along through the country near the Missouri 
river, but after we got to the Platte we had 
good weather all the way out. The first bad 
luck we had was in crossing the Platte. The 
water was so deep that it would get into the 
beds of the wagons and we were afraid that we 
would lose all our provisions. We had to stop 
and figure out a way of getting the provisions 
and things that water would spoil, across in 
some way. At last we hit upon the scheme of 
building bufYalo boats. So we struck out and 
killed a lot of 'buffalo and made boats out of 
their hides in which to take the stuff across. 
To get the boats across was no small trick in 
itself. We made long ropes of hide, and when 
a boat was filled a man would swim his horse 
to the nearest island, taking the loose end of 
the rope with him. When he was securely on 
the island the boat would be swung from the 
shore and the current would help to put it 
over to the island. Then the man would gO 
from that island to the next until the boat and 
its cargo were ferried across. This process 
took a lot of time but w as the best we could do. 
There were some cattle lost bj'- getting mired 
in the sand and two women came near getting 



52' 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY 



drowned. They had passed one island in safe- 
ty and were just being swung to another wlien 
tlieir raft sunk and they were left floundering 
in the water. They would certainly have per- 
ished had it not been for the bravery of Char- 
ley .Vpplegate and Air. Gilliam, who swam out 
from shore and rescued them just as they 
were being carried into the swift water above 
the rapids. 

"The wagons went in single file until we 
saw signs of Indians. Then they would form 
in a column of twos, and if Indians actually 
came in sight we drove four and four. At 
night we made a round corral by running the 
tongue of one wagon up on the hind wheel of 
the next wagon in front, and then camped in- 
side of that. One wagon would take the lead 
one day and the next day the wagon behind 
it would take the lead and the lirst wagon 
would fall back to the rear. We had to break 
the sage brush and it would have been too 
hard for one team to break the road all the 
time. All along ihe Platte there was heavy 
sand. 

"We crossed the North Platte at the Cot- 
tonwood grove and took across and struck 
the South Platte nearly one hundred miles be- 
low Independent Rock, which is right in the 
gap of the Rocky mountains. We never saw 
an Indian on the plains except at Cottonwood 
grove. There we met a war party, and when 
they saw us coming they all formed in line be- 
side the Indian trail and got off their horses. 
\\'e came up to them four abreast and formed 
a corral and put the women and children in- 
side of that. Then we made motions to the 
Indians to come clown as we wanted to know 
what they were going to do. They made signs 
that they wanted to be friendly, so they came 
down and we gave them bacon, flour and meat 
and such things as we could spare. When 



they got ready to go they got up and raisec 
war whoop, got on their horses and away tl 
went. This was the only party of Indi; 
that we saw except the Indians at the foi 

"We had hunting parties out nearly 
the time. We laid over at Sweetwater g 
for about a week and all the men went t 
and killed buffalo and antelope and laid ir 
stock of dried meat. There was plenty 
game and we had no trouble in getting a I 
supply. One day when we were about foi 
miles this side of Sweetwater gap we saw 
big cloud of dust rising away out to the soul 
Pretty soon we saw that it was a great he 
of buffalo heading our way. We hurried i 
and drove as fast as we could, but the he 
struck us about mid-way of the train. E 
Whitman ga\e us orders to make a gap f 
them, for if we didn't they would make oi 
for themselves and mash cattle, men ai 
wagons into the dust. We made a gap aboi 
two hundred yards wide for them and killed 
lot of them as they went through. The catt 
of the front wagons got scared and ran f' 
about a mile before they could be stoppe 
They turned one wagon right over on top of 
family of three little children, but fortunate 
no one was hurt. Another time some buft'a 
came near camp and scared a team so that 
ran away and ran o\er a woman and broke 
little child's arm. 

"Not long after starting we held an ele 
tion and elected Dr. Whitman guide, or pile 
as you might say, because he knew the route 
well, and especially from Fort Hall down 1 
knew it perfectly. Jesse Applegate w: 
elected captain until we got to Fort Ha' 
There some of the wagons got to lagging b 
hind and we broke up into two trains. Lim 
say Applegate took charge of the head trai 
and Charley Applegate took charge of the hir 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 5 3 

train. The trains arrived about a week the lost one and sometimes he would get back 
apart. After we got this side of the Black to the train before they did. He did most of 
Hills the wagons took their own gait, staying the doctoring. There was not much sickness 
in companies of four or ti\'e wagons, and were in the immigratidn. only two deaths; a little 
scattered from that time until we reached the child died on the way and a man named Rich- 
valley. Whitman stayed in the first train all ardson died at Fort Hall, 
the time. When his team fagged the com- "They looked to Whitman for everything; 
p;iny would furnish cattle and he would go on. for orders and for directions to travel. When 
"Dr. Whitman would give us family we came to the Black Plills he told us he would 
jirayer ever}- night and morning and preach have to stop and make roads across the swamp, 
once in a while, probably two sermons a week; He superintended the making of the corduroy 
nearly every Sunday evening he would have a roads in person. It took us two weeks to cut 
sermon. He would give out word every morn poles and carr^- them in. We laid down three 
ing that he would have family prayers, and long poles or strings of poles for stringers and 
as regular as the night came he would coma then laid other poles across them. There was 
out to the guard tent and have prayer out about a mile of road in one place and a quarter 
there. Everyone thought a great deal of him. of a mile in another that we had to build, but 
They thought that what he said was about; there were so many of us that it did not take 
right. Of course there were some that didn't long. Dr. Whitman did the managing of it 
like him, but that was only natural because and stayed right with the company till they got 
there were so many of them. it done, working right along with the rest of 
"I have heard him say that he went back the men. I do not think a more willing man 
to Washington on business, but he never talked to do work e\-er drew breath, and if there was 
much about it, or told what particular busi- anything that needed attention anvwhere in 
ness he went back on. the camp, he would get up at any time of 
"He was sandy complexioned, a man that night to attend to it. He was always in the 
would stand about five feet seven or eight, and place where there \N-as the greatest need of 
when he talked he talked fast. His eyes, I some one to take hold and do things, 
think, were blue, his mouth tolerably small and "At Fort Hall the Hudson's Bay ofificials 
his teeth very white and even. As well as I and trappers tried to get us to turn and go to 
can recollect, his forehead was rather square California. They were going in that way 
and his temples came out full and his brows trapping and they did not want us in their 
were shaggy. He had a heavy beard. He l.unting grounds: but we had our heads set on 
was raw-boned, broad shouldered and stood as Oregon and we made up our minds to go 
straight as an Indian. He was a good horse- through. Then they tried their best to get us 
man and had splendid powers of endurance, to leave our wagons and pack our stufif the 
He could stand almost anything and was al- rest of the way on horses. They said that we 
ways ready to take the lead in danger or work, cnuldn't cross the rivers, that the Indians 
It any one was out longer than usual, he was would scalp us and dri\e our stock off, and 
the first one to say: 'Come, boys, let's go and that even with pack-honses the trail was 
lumt for him." Sometimes they would find difficult, but with wagons it was impossible. 



54 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Dr. Whitman got up and told the men that 
tney could get their wagons the rest of the way 
just as easily as they had gotten them to Fort 
Hall, and he told us that he had already taken 
his wagon there. We told the Hudson's Bay 
people that we had made up our minds to fol- 
low Dr. Whitman and wherever he went or 
said we could go we were going. 

"We thought that Oregon belonged to the 
Indians and in the long run would belong to 
the United States unless the English got hold 
of it, and they were trying mighty hard to get 
hold of it. The settlers made no difference 
between the land north of the Columbia river 
and soutli of it ; it was all Oregon to the Sis- 
kiyou mountains. It was the treaty of 1846 
that really settled the Oregon question, and we 
all felt that it was our settling in Oregon in 
1843 that saved the country to the United 
States. 

"Along in the winter of 1842 Whitman 
made a speech at Independence, Missouri, and 
it was published and they got hold of it down 
in Franklin county and St. Louis. He made 
this speech at Independence on his way to 
Washington. D. C. It got spread around 
that there was to be an immigration the next 
spring, and a rendezvous was appointed at a 
place about ten miles from Independence. 
When Whitman came back from Washington 
in .\pril. he made another speech that he was 
going to take this immigration through to 
Oregon and that he would go all the way with 
them. 

"When we got to the Snake river an amus- 
ing incident occurred that came well nigh 
being fatal in its outcome. At the first cross- 
ing a Dutchman named Stemmerman tried to 
tlrive a cow across, as she would not Icail. 
When the cow got to swimming water, ho 
took hold of her tail to help himself along. 



The cow did not like this performance, and 
tin-ning around gave him a jab in the ribs with 
her horns. He let go the cow's tail and sank. 
As he did not come up some of the men 
jumped in and brought him out, and then we 
h.ad to roll him over a Cottonwood log until he 
came to. 

"When we got to the Grande Ronde valley 
the Doctor was called up to the Clearwater to 
attend Mrs. Spalding, so he left us and we 
w ent on. \\"e came right through Union and 
LaGrande and up past where Baker City now 
is. Coming through the Blue mountains we 
had a pretty hard time building corduroy 
roads in man\- places, and in general experi- 
enced about the hardest part of the whole trip 
almost at its end. 

"If I recollect right it was about the mid- 
dle of September when we struck the Whit- 
man mission. We found an adobe house 
about 30x40, some out-buildings and a corral 
made of willow brush. The Hour mill had 
been burned by the Indians during the Doc- 
tor's absence. 

"I believe that tliere were ten wagons that 
stopped at the station during the winter and 
the rest of the wagons went on down into the 
valley. When the cattle got rested up they 
came to The Dalles and came down in boats 
from there. 

"We settled in Yamhill county, Oregon, 
and 1 stayed there until a month or two be- 
fore the massacre. 

"We got news that the Indians were get- 
ting bad and we came up to kind of corral 
them. They all appeared to be friendly and 
we took a notion to take a little scout up around 
the Snake and Clearwater. We roved around 
until the news came that the Indians had killed 
Wliitman and all the family. We gathered 
together and came bagk again and staved for 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



55 



about eighteen months, ransacking the coun- 
try all over. The Indians got word that we 
were hunting them and tliey brought the girls 
that they had captured to \\'alhila, then Fort 
W'alla W'alla. We had one skirmish up here 
about four miles this side of the mouth of the 
Clearwater. We killed about forty of them 
and threw them in the river. While we were 
counting litjw many we liad killed, we ran 
across one old Indian whose horse had fallen 
on him and pinned him to the ground. As 
we came along he pulled his bow and arrow 
on us. but he only shot a couple of his shafts 
before we fixed him and threw him in the 
river with the rest. Only two of our boys 
were wounded and they not enough to make 
them stay behind. 



"We got a lot of them corralled in the Big 
Bend about ten o'clock one night and waited 
until daybreak to pick our ground to fight. 
1 he next morning at daybreak we opened fire 
on tliem, and, as the saying is, "the river ran 
red.' We didn't show any mercy on them 
and when the fight was o\-er we took some 
scalps in regular Indian style and strung them 
to our saddle bows. The Indians fought with 
bows and arrows and old flint locks, but they 
were pretty good fighters. This was our last 
big fight and it occurred about eighteen 
months after the massacre. When we got 
back to Wallula they tried to get us to go 
l^ack with the regulars to the valley, but we 
said we hadn't followed the regulars up here 
and weren't going to follow them back." 



CHAPTER IV. 



INITI.^L ATTEMPT TO ORG.\NIZE W.ALLA WALLA COUNTY — ORIGIiXAL BOUNDARIES — OFFICIAL 
APPOINT.MENTS PROGRESS IMPEDED BY INDIAN OUTBREAK. 



Reference has already Ijeen incidentally 
made to the organization of Walla Walla c un- 
ty, but it is clearly incumbent that further de- 
tails be given in regard to the vicissitudes and 
circumstances which attended the efforts made 
to erect the county. At the first session of the 
legislature of the territory after its organization 
sixteen counties were created, among the num- 
ber being Walla Walla, whose boundaries were 
described as follows: "Commencing its line on 
the north liank of the Columbia river, ojiposite 
the mouth of the Des Chutes river, and running 
thence north to the forty-ninth parallel of north 
latitude;" and it took in all of Washington Ter- 
ritory between this line and the Rocky mount- 
ains. Thus it will be seen that the original 



county included what are now northern Idaho 
and northern Montana, the greater portion of 
Klickitat and Yakima counties, and all of the 
territory comprised within the present counties 
of Spokane, Stevens. Whitman, Columbia, 
Garfield and W'alla W'alla. Of the counties of 
our great state W'alla Walla may be most 
consistently designated as the "mother of coun- 
ties." 

The ])opulation of this monster county was 
very small and widely scattered, so that it be- 
came expedient to attach it to Skamania county, 
contiguous on the west, for judicial purposes. 
The county thus had assignment to the 
first judicial district, over wliich Judge Obadiah 
B. Mcl'adden jjresided. The counties of Walla 



56 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



\\'a!la. Skamania and Clarke were jointly al- 
lowed one member in the legislatixe assembly, 
and the county-seat waa by enactment located 
on the land claim of Lloyd Brooke, who had, 
as previously noted, established himself at the 
old Whitman mission. This first legislature, 
that of 1854. duly reinforced the political and 
official dignity of the new county, as is shown 
in the following extract from the proceedings 
of the session : "That George C. Bumford, 
John Owens and A. Dominique Pambrun be, 
and they are hereby constituted and appointed, 
the board of county commissioners ; and that 
Narcises Redmond be. and is hereby appointed 
sheriff; and that Lloyd Brooke be, and is hereby 
appointed, judge of probate, and shall have 
jurisdiction as justice of the peace: all in and 
for the county of Walla Walla." Of these ap- 
pointments Gilbert's history speaks somewhat 
facetiously, as follows: "Some of these offi- 
cials never knew of the honor that had been 
cast at their feet: and IMr. Pamljrun, in 18S2. 
insisted to the writer that hitherto he had been 
ignorant of this early ap])lication to himself of 
Shakespeare's fancy, when he wrote that, 'Some 
are born great, some achieve greatness, and 
some have greatness thrust upon them.' None 
of these parties acted officially in the positions 
to which they were chosen ; and their appoint- 
nient. in a region including less than a dozen 
American citizens, was a legislative absurdity." 
It will be readily inferred that the Indians 
yet held practical dominion in the county, and 
there had as yet been no enactment for the ex- 
tinguishment of their title to the land within 
its environments. When this enactment was 
finally made, it may be said in passing, it gave 
slight evidence of the application of justice and 
was a veritable travesty. It must be admitted 
that there was but-little to attract settlers to 
this section at that time, for land could be easily 



secured nearer the centers of cix'ilization, 
where the hardships to be endured were far less 
arid where the menace from the Indians was 
eliminated. Indeed, it is a matter of fact that 
the federal go\ernment as yet had no right to 
give title to any claim for lands in the region 
lying between the Rocky and Cascade mount- 
ains. Yet such were the opulent resources but 
waiting proper development, that the settle- 
ment of the Cduntry could not be long de- 
ferred. 

The next session of the territorial legisla- 
ture was held in January, 1855, at which time 
a second attempt was made to bring about a 
genuine organization of the county. A statute 
was adopted on the 24th of January, and by the 
provisions of the same the following officers 
were chosen: Probate judge, Lloyd Brooke: 
county auditor. Lloyd Brooke ; county treasur- 
er. Lloyd Brooke : county sheriff. Shirley En- 
sign : justice of the peace, George C. Bumford; 
county commissioners. John Owens, George C. 
Bumford. John F. Noble. The county was 
further authorized to elect two representatives 
to the territorial legislature. It is interesting 
to relate that n(ine of the gentlemen mentioned 
seemed to desire the honors or emoluments of 
public office, since none of them cjualified for 
the duties of the respective jMsitions, thus leav- 
ing the county organization one of merely nom- 
inal character, as before. Thus it may be seen 
that AX'alla Walla coimty was born of sore 
travail and that her infant days were regarded 
with most apathetic interest. But the day of 
better things was e\en now dawning, for soon 
indisputable inducements were offered to the 
white settlers. 

But before the day was fairly to break it 
was necessary that there should precede, as 
there has in nearly every .American settlement, 
that hour of darkness before the dawn, an In- 



n 
o 
C 

n 
o 
c 

H 

O 

G 

z 

o 

> 

r 
r 

o 

m 
n 

o 
» 
o 

(/I 




HISTORY OF ^^^\LLA WALLA COUNTY. 



57 



(Han war. Fully to narrate this, with its causes 
and results, will require two long chapters. 

A few hrief statements, howe\-er, as to the 
first attempts at settlement may be fittingly 
connected with this chapter, though in chro- 
nology thev carry us somewhat beyond the 
Indian wars of the succeeding chapters. 

BITGIXXING OF SETTLEMENT OF EASTERN WASH- 
INGTON. 

Subsequent to the Whitman massacre, con- 
cerning which special mention has been made 
on other pages of this volume, the country 
east of the Cascade mountains, in area the 
lar-ger portion of the territorj- of Washington, 
had been without any white settlers, excepting 
a few here and there. Therefore it had no part 
in the initiatory steps toward territorial organi- 
zation. Prior to the '60s it had scarcely any 
history except that connected with the early ex- 
plorations, the labors of the early missionaries, 
the Indians and Indian wars. The first settler 
in eastern Washington after the missionaries 
was Henry M. Chase, who entered the W'alla 
Walla valley in 1851. He was soon followed 
by Lloyd Brooke, George C. Bum ford and 
John F. Noble, the three for a time occupying 
the Whitman mission. They had to leave be- 
tween 1855 'I'lc^ 1858. After the Indians had 
been thoroughly subjugated through the vigor- 
ous campaign of Colonel George Wright, the 
interdictof Major-General Wocl against the oc- 
cupancy of eastern \\'ashington by white people 
was rescinded by his successor in command. 
General N. G. Clarke. Accordingly the whole 
country was thrown open to settlement in 1858. 
Soon we find a considerable number of families, 
farmers and stockmen in the Walla Walla val- 
ley, and also along and adjacent to the streams 
flf)wing from the Blue mountains. Thus the 



development of the Inland Empire became as- 
sured. In January, 1859, the territorial legis- 
lature organized the county of Walla Walla, 
and a small village began to grow around Mill 
creek, about five miles from the Whitman mis- 
sion. Its first name was Steptoeville, then 
Waiilatpu. It was selected as the county-seat, 
and when the commissioners assembled they 
gave it the name of Walla Walla. The county 
was so large that one of the commissioners 
lived only about sixty miles from the present 
site of Missoula, Montana. It would have taken 
him six weeks to reach his county-seat on 
horseback and return. He never qualified. 

In i860 the Salmon river gold discovery 
gave a wonderful impetus to immigration and 
settlement north of the Snake ■ri\-er, and by the 
opening of the year 1861 the mining excitement 
in that region was at its height. Adventurous 
mining prospectors flocked in from all direc- 
tions. It was a verital)le and typical rush for 
the precious metal, and, as usual in such cases, 
misfortunes were more in evidence thaiT suc- 
cesses. The winter of 186 1-2 was an excep- 
tionally se\-ere one, and the gold-seekers on their 
wav to the Salmon river country suffered great 
hardships, as did, indeed, the settlers of eastern 
Washington, also. But the influx of population 
was stopped for but a short time. In the spring 
of 1862 the people flowed in in a tide, estimated 
at from five to fifteen thousand, while some 
say they were twenty thousand strong. 

With all the misfortunes concomitant with 
this almost unparalleled gold excitement, it 
served as the means of ushering in a new civili- 
zation, for it initialed the marvelous develop- 
ment which has taken place in the U]:)per Colum- 
bia country, Lewiston, at the confluence of the 
Snake and Clearwater rivers, was laid out early 
in 1862. The territorial legislature of 1859 
created S])okane county, lying north of Snake 



58 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



river to the British Hue. ^larch 3, 1863, con- 
gress passed an act organizing the territory of 
Idaho out of tlie eastern part of Washington, 
including nearly all the mining region. There 
^verc at that time in eastern Washington the 
counties of ^^'alla \\'a]la, Klickitat and 
Spokane. The increase in population north of 
the Snake river during the next decade was 
slow. This region had but few scattered set- 



tlers, not including the L'nitcd States soldiers. 
The limits of this work preclude the addition 
of details with respect to settlements other than 
those of Walla Walla. It may be sufficient to 
say here, that ^^'a]la \\'alla contained the only 
settlement worth mention in what is now 
Washington for some years after the opening 
of the country in 1859. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE INDI.W W.\RS OF THE ' FIFTIES. 



We have seen in the previous chapter the 
struggle for possession with England. Ameri- 
ca won. Her home-builders outmatched the 
fur-traders. But there was. as there always has 
been in our national history, another inevitable 
struggle for possession. This was with the In- 
dians. Tlie so-called Christian nations have 
never stopped to consider much the rights of 
the native claimants of the land. This, too, 
though accompanied by needless cruelty, de- 
ceit and treachery, is one of the necessary 
though seeminglv hard and I)itter laws of life. 
The thing greatly to be deplored in all Indian 
wars, however, has been the general practice 
on both sides of inflicting punishment upon any 
innocent person that might happen along. 
Some drunken and ferocious savages, as devoid 
of humanity as the wild beasts about them, 
would plunder, outrage and kill some family of 
immigrants or settlers, and forthwith, a band of 
tlie brave, manly, yet harsh and intolerant 
frontiersman, who have made our early history, 
would rush forth impetuously and kill some 



])oor Indian wretches who had ne\'er heard of 
the outrage and had not the remotest concep- 
tion of having committed any offense. In like 
manner, when some avaricious white had 
swindled the ignorant Indians out of land or 
some other valuable property, or some lustful 
and conscienceless white desperado had out- 
raged Indian women or murdered unoffending 
braves, a band of Indians, inflamed with whisky 
purchased of some post-trader, and armed with 
weapcins from the same source, would go im 
th.e war path and torture, mutilate and murder 
some innocent, helpless women and children, 
who had never had a thought of injuring a liv- 
ins" thing. No one who has ever lived on the 
frontier can wonder at the hitter and intolerant 
hatred of whites for Indians. But if we, the 
civilized and the victors, could ])ut ourselves 
in the ])lace of the natives and view life with 
their e\'es, none of us wonkl wonder that they 
hatl haled us with the fury and frenzy of wild 
beasts. For it is safe to say that for every pang 
suffered hv whites, a score have been suffered 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



59 



by Indians. And we, the higiier race, must 
admit tliat we know better than they, antl liave 
less excuse for inhumanity and intolerance. 

Yet in the final summary tliere can be no 
other conclusion than that the extermination of 
the majority of the Indians and the tutal de- 
struction of their claims as owners of this coun- 
try, was "writ down in the book of fate." It 
was simply part of the irrepressible conflict of 
life. Moreover by reason of the necessities of 
existence the early settlers could not wait to 
argue abstract questions of rights. They had 
obeyed the fundamental law to subdue and re- 
plenish the earth, and in pursuance of that con- 
dition of all progress they could not stop to 
philosophize on the princijiles of human broth- 
erhood. They had to live and with a tomahawk 
just leveled over their heads they had to repel. 
And if the right to repel existed, the right to 
counter attack followed as a matter of course ; 
for extermination of their enemies was, gen- 
erally speaking, the only effectual means of re- 
pelling. It was sad but inevitable. And 
though we have lived a "Century of Dishonor," 
it is much easier now to condemn them than it 
would have been then to improve. 

By reason of the conditions just noted, we 
find the history of our Indian wars the subject 
of bitter controversy. Hardly any two writers 
or witnesses give the same version of suj^posed 
facts. One has a bias in fa\'or of the volun- 
teers and makes his facts conform to his opin- 
ions, and hence represents the volunteers as al- 
ways justifiable and the Indians as always to 
blame. Another gi\-es the reverse impression. 
Nor are pioneers generally much disposed to 
qualify or smooth either their opinions or ex- 
pressions. It is all one thing or all the other 
with them. The other fellow is a fool or a liar 
and that ends it. Compromise does ni)t llnurish 



in pioneer conditions. All are angels on one 
side and all ijevils on the other. 

We shall use our best endeavor in these 
pages to present the facts without bias, ac- 
knowledging the probable impossibility of sat- 
isfying all readers. Ijut believing that at this 
tlistance from the time, though not far from 
the scenes of the struggle, we can calmly view 
it and clearly see that its good or evil are not 
to be found exclusively on one side or the 
other, but, as with all human affairs, the tex- 
ture of each is of a mingled warp and woof. 

After the Cayuse war had ended in 1850. 
by the execution of the supposed murderers of 
Dr. Whitman, there was a lull along the bunch- 
grass plains and sage-brush l)anks of the Col- 
lumbia and Snake ri\'ers, and a few adventur- 
ous explorers -and ranchers began to seek lo- 
cations on the streams hallowed by martyr- 
doms. The most considerable settlement was 
at Frenchtown. ten miles below Walla \\'alla. 
According to the best information obtainable, 
there were eighty-five persons, the men entirely 
of French origin and former Hudson's Bay 
Company employes, v.-ith Indian wives and a 
good stock of half-lireed children, living there 
and in the vicinit}-. There were a few men at 
what is now ^^'allula. There were some fifteen 
men living at various .separated points. Among 
them were Henrv AI. Chase, well known for 
many vears in Walla Walla, and Dr. W. C. 
]\IcKay, the most famous man of mixed white 
and Indian blood that ever lived in Oregon. 
There were three men, Brooke, Bumford and 
Noble, at Whitman station. 

On the 3d of March 1853, Washington 
became a separate territory. Major Isaac I. 
Stevens was appointed go\-ernor, and in the 
following summer he set out for his domain. 
Ciiild had been disco\-ered in the Culville coun- 



6o 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



try and tliere were many adventurers moving 
across the plains in that direction. The In- 
dians were very restive. These explorations 
they regarded with well grounded suspicion 
as the entering wedge of the establishment of 
white sovereignty. 

There were at that time two remarkable In- 
dian chiefs, chiefs who belong to that line of 
remarkaljle Red Men of which Philip, Pontiac, 
Red Jacket, and Tecumseh were more illus- 
trious specimens : whose qualities of mind and 
character contain a hint of what Indians might 
have been had they had any wide or long con- 
tinued opportunity. These two Columbia val- 
lev chiefs were Kamiakin of the Yakimas and 
Peupeumoxmox of the ^^'alla Wallas. Like all 
the Indian chiefs, he perceived the handwriting 
on the wall revealed by the entrance of the 
whites, and they determined to make a des- 
perate effort to burst their tightening bonds 
while there was yet a chance of success. 

There was a general outburst of all the 
tribes of Oregon and \\'ashington in i<S53 and 
1S54, which led into the great war centering in 
Walla Walla in 1855. This series of troubles 
began in the summer of 1853 in the Rogue river 
valley, in southern Oregon. The usual bitter 
controversy raged as to who was to blame for 
this. It looks as though whites and Indians 
were both equally so. In 1854 occurred the 
horrible ".Snake River Massacre," in which a 
number of immigrants who had ofYered no 
provocation whatever, were butchered in the 
most brutal manner. X'orman \\"ard, of Pen- 
dleton, then a boy of thirteen, was the only sur- 
vivor. That massacre occurred on the Boise, a 
few miles above Fort Boise. Great excitement 
ensued in the Willamette valley when this 
atrocity was known, and Major Haller was 
sent by General Wool, then commanding the 
Department of the Pacific, to the scene. Having 



partially punished the supposed perpetrators of 
the outrage, the command returned to The 
Dalles. All these things, with many smoulder- 
ing causes of discontent, prepared the Indians 
for war. 

THE GREAT W.\R OF 1 855. 

This war had three fields of operation. 
One was southern Oregon, another Puget 
sound, a third the Yakima and Walla Walla 
\-alleys. In all there were probably four thous- 
and Indians under arms, and many have be- 
lieved that nothing but lack of intelligent co- 
operation among these prevented the annihi- 
lation of all the smaller settlements. But the 
wirious pettv feuds and conflicting purposes, 
always characteristic of barbaric wars, pre- 
vented such ' co-operation. Indian fought 
against Indian, and whites profited thereby. 

In ]\Iay, 1855, Governor Stevens and Gen- 
eral Joel Palmer met the representatives of 
seventeen tribes at \\'alla Walla, to endeavor to 
make treaties for the cession of their lands. 
The council ground was on and around the 
identical place now occupied by Whitman Col- 
lege. The immemorial council ground of the 
\Valla Walla and other tribes of this country, 
lay between the college brook and the one north 
of it, and around the place now known as 
Council Grove. A fair, entrancing spot it 
must have been in its primeval luxury and 
wildness. The tents of the great chiefs were 
pitched, as nearly as can be ascertained, on the 
spot now occupied by the house of Mrs. E. H. 
Baker. 

FIRST COUNCIL OF W.VLLA WALLA. 

Lieutenant Kipp has preserved a graphic 
account of this important meeting. Governor 
Stevens and General Palmer had an escort of 
only about fifty men. The Indians gathered in 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



6! 



great nunil)ers. Old Cliief Lawyer led an army 
of Nez Perces. twenty-five hundred strong', 
and, as tlie sequel proved, it was well for the 
whites he did so.- 

Two days later three Innulretl Cayuses, 
those worst and most dangerous Indians, the 
"Spartans of the Columbia," reached the 
ground, surly and scowling as usual, led b}- 
several chiefs, of whom none was friendly ex- 
cept Stechus. Two days later came over two 
thousand Yakimas, L'matillas and Walla Wal- 
las. Governor Stevens and his small squad 
must have been somewhat startled to see that 
in case of treachery their lives were not worth 
a dime. But with his characteristic nerve he 
maintained perfect dignity and composure. 
That was a meeting worthy of the pen of Irv- 
ing or the brush of Bierstadt. Along the banks 
of Mill creek and on either side of those rip- 
pling spring branches, whose clear cold waters 
lend beauty and freshness to the pleasant hi:)mes 
of Walla Walla, were stretched the camps of 
the flower of the warriors of the Inland Empire. 
The "Valley of many W^aters" must have 
seemed blessed indeed to the tribes of the plains, 
after they had ridden across the arid wastes be- 
tween Yakima and Walla W'alla and emerged 
fiom the Touchet hills upon ths fresh and 
grassy dales now consecrated to the memory of 
that very missionary whom the Cayuses slew. 
It seems i)oetic justice that Whitman College 
should now hold the self-same spot which fifty 
years ago was the capitol of the confederated 
tribes. Poetic justice, and yet melancholy and 
pitiable, if we could by some magic wand ren- 
der again visible and audible the savage mag- 
nificence which was there out-stretched on the 
banks of Mills creek, and contrast it with the 
wretched remnant which now shamljles aimless- 
ly through this heritage of their fathers and 



look with inscrutable eyes toward their own 
certain fate. 

Governor Stevens opened the council on 
May 29th by a short speech setting forth his 
desire to purchase the lands of the Indians, leav- 
ing to them in perpetuity certain reservations. 
On the 30th and 31st both Governor Stevens 
and General Palmer addressed the council in 
lengthy speeches. These had to be translated 
into both the Nez Perce and Walla Walla 
tongues and from these they gradually filtered 
down among the mass of Indians. The In- 
dians were entirely unresponsive. Attempts 
were resumed unsuccessfully to get some sign 
of committal by the chiefs. On June 4th Law- 
yer broke the ice by an address favoring the 
treaty. Many of the Nez Perces followed 
Lawyer, but Joseph swung a large faction in 
the other direction. All the eloquent portray- 
al of Stevens and Palmer of the blessing's of 
civilization was received by the Indians with 
gutteral grunts, an Indian's sign of attention, 
but no token of approval followed, aside from 
the faction represented by Lawyer. 

Several days passed. The Cayuses bitterly 
opposed the treaty. Peupeumoxmox, the great 
Walla Walla chief, departed from his usual 
policy of taciturnity and openly opposed it. 
Peupeumoxmox had sufficient cause of griev- 
ance. He had been a friend of the whites. His 
sen had been educated at Whitman's mission. 
He had been friendly to Whitman. Then his 
son was taken by Stilter, of gold-discovery 
fame, to California. There the innocent and 
well-meaning boy was murdered by a crowd 
of those low, coarse, brutal white men, who 
have caused so large a part of Indian troubles. 
The father swore vengeance and bided his time. 

On June 9th came another great "Wa Wa." 
Governor Stevens was pitted against Looking 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Glass, the great Xez Perce war chief, wlio had 
airi\e(I late to tlic council, with a Blackfoot 
scalp dangling beside him as a tropy of a re- 
cent foray. The governor had decided to offer 
them three reservations, one for the Yakimas, 
one fnr the Xez Perccs. and one for the Cay- 
uses, Walla Wallas and Umatillas. He made 
a great speech, and aided as he was by the in- 
fluence of Lawyer, felt sure that he had at- 
tained his end. But the magnificent war chief 
Looking Glass leaped to his feet and poured 
forth a speech that soon had the tribes shout- 
ing and api)lauding around him. He was the 
Demosthenes of the occasion and the gov- 
ernor found all his work undone. But with 
the patience and skill which made him such a 
great figure in our annals, he again gathered 
up the broken threads of his work, and by 
private manipulations and persuasions, Lawyer 
being his right-hand man, he secured the assent 
of the chiefs to the signing of the treaties on 
the 11 th of June, and his work was complete. 
Lieutenant Kip asserts that they afterwards 
discovered that they had been all the time on 
the very verge of a volcano, for the Indians 
were spending most of their time tliscussing 
the question of whether they should massacre 
the whole detachment. The Cayuses, as usual, 
were the active originators of this plot. The 
firm opposition of the Nez Perces was the only 
thing that prevented its consummation. An un- 
told debt of gratitude is due the Nez Perces. 
No white man with a spark of humanity in 
him should forget these noblest of the red 
men. Had the plot been executed, the Indians 
would next have wiped out the soldiers at The 
Dalles, and after that the extermination of all 
the whites in the country east of Portland 
would have followed. 

The treaties negotiated at Walla Walla, 
June 12, 1855 (though dated June 9th), pro- 



vided fur the surrender by the Yakimas of the 
vast area of twenty-nine thousand square miles, 
being substantially Chelan, Yakima, Kittitass, 
Franklin, Adams, antl the most of Douglas 
ar.d Klickitat counties. From that cession 
was to be excepted the ])rincely domain, one 
o^. the finest bodies of land in the world, now 
known as the Yakima reservation. The Yaki- 
mas, it may be said, constituted a "nation" 
ccmposed of fourteen tril)es, extending from 
the Cascade summits to the Palouse river. 
The Nez Perces agreed to relinquish almost 
as large an area, embracing what is now a good 
part of Whitman, Garfield, Columbia and Aso- 
tin counties in Washington ; U^nion and Wal- 
li.wa counties in Oregon; and Washington, 
Idaho and Nez Perces counties in Idaho. A 
very large reservation was provided by the 
treaty for the Nez Perces; being, in addition to 
tliat now embraced in the Nez Perce reserva- 
tion, large tracts between the Alpowa and 
Snake ri\-ers and the Wallowa valley. The 
retention of the W'allowa was insisted on by 
Chief Joseph, and seems to have been the key 
t'j the ratification of the entire plan: antl it 
is the more to be deplored that the modification 
of the treaty in 1S63 afterward precipitated 
the Nez Perce war of 1877. That change in 
1863 involved the surrender of the Wallowa 
and the reduction of the Nez Perce reservation 
to what it was prior to its recent opening. But 
few Indians seem to have been consulted, and 
young Jose])h, son of the Joseph who took part 
in the treaty of 1855, insisted on their claim 
to the countr}-, and the difficulty led to the 
memorable war of 1877. This is not the [jlacc 
to discuss the event, but we refer to it here in 
order to illustrate the lamentable results which 
follow a failure to adhere to a given agree- 
ment from one administration to another. The 
treaty of 1855 should have been faithfully ob- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



63 



served unless abrogated by tbe clear and gen- 
eral agreement of botii parties. And there 
was tlie deeper obligation on the government 
to do it in case of the Nez Perces, for to them 
Governor Stevens and his party owed their 
lives, and the settlers owed a debt of thankful- 
ness not to be computed. Instead of i-emem- 
Ijering this, the land-grabbers goaded those 
steadfast friends of the whites into a cruel and 
causeless war. In connection with this Wal- 
lowa matter, an interesting- reminiscence was 
given the writer by John McBean, son of the 
Hudson's Bay employe of that name. Young 
McBean was at that time a boy of twelve, and 
I)eing a half-breed and knowing the Indian 
language perfectly, could pass at any time for 
an Indian. He related that while acting as a 
spy on the grounds, he heard the discussion 
about the treaties. And the whole matter de- 
pended upon whether the Nez Perces would ac- 
cept it. This they finally did on the distinct 
agreement that Joseph and his band should have 
permanent possession of the Wallowa. That 
point assured, the Nez Perces agreed. The 
others followed. That settled the whole mat- 
ter. Otherwise the treaties would iiever nave 
been accepted. Yet eight \'ears after, without 
general agreement by the tribe, the vital point 
was violated and the cherished Wallowa valley 
left out of the reservation to be demanded in 
later years by white settlers. It should be 
added that those immediate settlers were in no 
way personally guilty. Government was to 
liiame. That is a sample of one kind of reason 
for Indian wars. So much for the Nez Perce 
I'art of the agreement. 

The Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas, 
under the terms of this treaty, relincjuished 
their right to another magnificent territory, 
embraced substantially in the present limits of 
Walla Walla county in Washington, and Uma- 



tilla. ]\Iorrow, and part of Uni(jn and Gilliam 
counties in Oregon. Their reserx'ation was es- 
sentially that now known as the Umatilla reser- 
vation. Which of these three superb domains 
was the best would puzzle a good judge to de- 
cide. An}' one of them is larger than most 
of the Atlantic states, and in point of opu- 
lence of natural resources surpasses ecjual areas 
in most parts of the world. 

For their concessions the Indians were to 
receive what seems a just and even liberal 
compensation; though to the mind of civilized 
man ridiculously small; for the whole vast 
area of probably thirty million acres outside of 
reservations, was relincjuished for about six 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars in all ; per- 
haps, roughly estimated, two cents per acre. It 
is probably worth to-day, with its improve- 
ments, nearly a cjuarter of a billion dollars. 

The compensation of the Yakima Nation 
was two hundred thousand dollars, paid in an- 
nuities, with salaries for the head chief of five 
hundred dollars for twenty years, also some 
special agreement in regard to houses, tools, 
etc. The compensation of the Nez Perces was 
the same. The Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla 
Wallas were to receive one hundred thousand 
dollars; each of the head chiefs to have an an- 
nuity of five hundred dollars for twenty years, 
and also to have the usual special donations 
fur hiiuses, tools, etc. Peupeumoxmox, whose 
f;ivor was especially courtsd, was granted the 
uni(|ue privilege of beginning to draw his salary 
a: once, without waiting for the formal ratifi- 
cation of congress. His remaining son was to 
receive an annuity of one hundred dollars a 
year, a house and five acres of land, plowed 
and enclosed. Peupeumoxmox was also to be 
given three yoke of oxen, three yokes and 
chains, one wagon, two plows, twelve hoes, 
twelve axes, two shovels, a saddle and Ijridle, a 



64 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



set of wagon harness and one set of plow Iiai- 
ness. 

Having completed this great work, Governor 
Stevens passed on to the north and east to con- 
tinue tlie same line of negotiations with the 
Lidians there. Wc may say in hrief, that he 
succeeded in making a treaty with the Black- 
feet, but was unsuccessful with the Spokanes. 
]\Ieanwhile, during his absence, the great Walla 
Walla and Yakima war hatl burst with the sud- 
denness of a cyclmie upon the Columbia plains. 
A.nd not only here but throughout the Sound 
country the storm of war had burst on all 
sides. 

WAR BEGINS. 

That the outbreak of hostilities shijuld have 
occurred almost simultaneously at places so re- 
mote from each other as Walla Walla, Puget 
sound and Rogue river has led many to suj)- 
pose that there was a definite and wide-spread 
conspiracy. Others have believed that there 
was simply an identity of causes, and that these 
produced like results at like times. While it is 
altogether likely that there may have been hints 
oi outbreak in the air which spread from tribe 
tu tribe, it is likely that the second is the true 
solution. 

Kamiakin, the Yakima chief, and Peupeu- 
nioxmox, the Walla Walla chief, were the ani- 
mating force of the movement on this side of 
the mountains. Kamiakin was a natural gen- 
eral and diplomat. He seems to have signed 
the treaty at Walla Walla only under great 
pressure and with the mental reservation that 
he would break it at the first opportunity. 
Hardly had the ink dried on the treaty when 
he was rounding up the warriors over the wide 
domain of the Yakima nation. These chiefs 
seem to have seen, as did Philip and Pontiac, 



that the coming of the whites, if not checked, 
meant the destruction of Indian rule. If they 
struggled against fate at all they must do it 
then. From their standpoint they were adopt- 
ir,g the only possible policy. As some of the 
Xez Perces told Governor Stevens, they were 
not afraid of explorers, or trappers or soldiers, 
but they were afraid of men with wagons and 
axes. They had now been watching for fifteen 
years a steady stream of immigrants passing 
down to the \Mllamette. Steamboats were 
running on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. 
Towns were springing up. It was now or never 
for them. One Indian only, and that was 
Lawyer, the Xez Perce, perceived the impos- 
.sibility of the Indians ever coping with the 
whites, and that therefore the only wise course 
for them was to yield to the inevitable as easily 
as possible and adopt the white man's mode of 
life and live on terms of amity with him. 
Though Looking Glass and Eagle-from-the- 
light had dissented very strongly from the first, 
th.ey had finally yielded to Lawyer's powerful 
infiuence and the treaty had resulted. Now in 
the midst of the fury of war they remained true 
to their agreement. 

Kamiakin had gathered together a great 
council of the disaffected at a point north of 
Snake river. The fierce and intractable Cay- 
uses were the most acti\-e in the movement of 
any except Kamiakin himself and his imme- 
diate friends. Young Chief and Five Crows 
were the Cayuse chiefs leading the war, Stechus 
alone, with a very small following, holding 
aloof. 

The war broke out rather prematurely in 
September by the murder of miners who were 
traversing the Yakima \alley. Agent Bolon 
having gone courageously into the valley to in- 
vestigate the matter, was murdered and burned 
to ashes on September 23d. It is said that 



HISTORY OF WALLA \VALLA COUNTY. 



65 



Ouelchen. son of Owlii ami nephew of Kamia- 
kin, committed this crime. 

Tidings of the ontbreak of hostilities hav- 
ing readied The Dalies. Major Haller with a 
iumdred men started north at once and Lieu- 
tenant Slaughter went from Steilacoom across 
the Xatches pass to the Yakima to co-operate 
with Haller. But on October 6th, the Indians 
burst upon Haller with such energy that he was 
obliged to retreat with the loss of a fourth of 
his men, besides his howitzer and baggage. 
At this stage of affairs Peupeumoxmox fell 
upon old Fort Walla Walla, now Wallula, and 
tl'-ough it had no garrison the Indians plundered 
the fort of a considerable quantity of stores. 
The Walla Walla valley was swept of settlers. 
The regions also bordering Puget sound were 
ravaged by the Indians. At this time General 
Wool was the commander of the Department 
of the Pacific. It is not possible here to enter 
into any examination of the bitter and ran- 
corous dispute that has arisen as to General 
Wool's conduct of this war. It was intensely 
unsatisfactory to the settlers. Wool seems to 
have decided that the whites in southern Oregon 
were more to blame than the Indians, and he 
felt disposed in consequence to let them meet 
the results of their own acts. 

Discovering from experience that there 
was little to be hoped for from the regulars, 
Governor Curry and the Oregon legislature 
speedily equipped a strong force under Colonel 
J. W. Nesmith. Colonel Nesmith having 
gone to the Yakima country with four com- 
panies under general charge of Major Rains 
of the regulars, on what proved to be a fruit- 
less expedition, Lieutenant-Colonel J. K. Kelly, 
in command of five hundred men, marched to 
Walla \\'al!a. 
5 



B.\TTLE OF WALL.\ W.\LLA. 

There occurred the famous battle of the 
Walla Walla, on the 7th, 8th, 9th and loth of 
December, 1855. The force of Oregon vol- 
unteers having reached Wallula on December 
2nd, found that the Indians who they had 
hoped to meet there had eluded them, leaving 
the fort in ruins. Setting forth in two divi- 
sions on December 5th, the volunteers pro- 
ceeded up the Walla Walla river to the Tou- 
chet. Turning up the latter stream they had 
gone about ten miles when there suddenly ap- 
peared, with a flag of truce, no less a personage 
than Peupeumoxmox himself. Captain Con- 
noyer, w-ho was in the vanguard, entered into 
a parley with the Walla Walla chieftain, in 
which the chief stated that he and his people 
were anxious to make peace. He told Nathan 
Olney, the Indian agent with whom he con- 
versed, that he had at first intended to make 
war on the whites, but on reflection had de- 
cided that it would not be good policy. 

While the conference was in progress, the 
troops as well as the Indians had gradually 
gathered around in considerable numbers and 
finally passed on in the direction of an Indian 
village near at hand. 

Seeing that they were approaching a dan- 
gerous canyon, Colonel Kelly became suspi- 
cious that the Indians w-ere meditating treach- 
ery, and he determined to return a short dis- 
tance back upon the trail and camp without 
supper for the night. It was a cold, wretched 
night. Snow began to fall. Colonel Kelly, 
in his anxiety to make a forced march, had 
given orders to tra\el light, and they were so 
very light that they had no supplies. 

JMuch difference of opinion devclojied as to 



66 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



tlie wisdom of pausing and camping on the 
trail. Captain Connoyer held the opinion, 
which he afterwards stated to Colonel Gilbert, 
that Peupeumoxmox was acting in good faith 
and that if the army had gone on with him, 
he being entirely in their power, they would 
have reached the village in safety and would 
have found plenty of food, passed a comforta- 
ble night, and that the war would have ended 
then and there. Colonel Kelly believed other- 
wise and has left cm record the following rea^ 
sons for his opinion : 

Colonel Kelly writes that Peupeumoxmox 
"stated that he did not wish to fighi and that 
on the following day he would come and have 
a talk and make a treaty of peace. On con- 
sultation with tlunurable Nathan Olney, In- 
dian agent, we concluded that this was simply 
a ruse to gain time for removing his village and 
preparing for battle. I stated to him that we 
had come to chastise him for the wrongs he 
had done to our people, and that we would 
not defer making an attack on his people un- 
less he and his fi\e followers would consent 
to accompany and remain with us until all 
difficulties were settled. I told him that he 
might go away under his Hag of truce if he 
chose, Init that if he did so we would forth- 
with attack his village. The alternative was 
distinctly made known to him. and to save his 
people he chose to remain with us, a hostage 
for the fullillment of his promises, as did also 
those who accompanied him. He at the same 
time said that on the following day he would 
accompany us to his village; that we would 
then assemble his jieople and make them deliver 
up their arms and ammunition, restore the 
l)roperty which had been taken from the 
white settlers, or pay the full value of that 
which could not be restored, and that he would 
furnish fresh horses to remount my command 



and cattle, to supply them with provisions to 
enable us to wage war against other hostile 
tribes who were leagued with him. Having 
made these promises, we refrained from mak- 
ing the attack, thinking we had him in our 
power, that on the next day his promises would 
be fulfilled. I also permitted him to send one 
of the men who accompanietl him, to his vil- 
lage to apprise the tribes of the terms of the 
expected treaty, so that they might be prepared 
to fulfill it. 

"I have since learned from a Nez Perce 
boy who was taken at the same time with 
Peupeumoxmox, that instead of sending word 
to his people to make a treaty of peace, he sent 
an order to them to remove their women and 
children and prepare for battle. From all I 
ha\e since learned, I am well persuaded that he 
was acting with duplicity and that he expected 
to entrap my command in the deep ravine in 
which his camp was situated, and make his 
escape from us." 

\\'e will not now undertake to say who 
was correct, but all seem to have agreed in 
one thing, and that is that the men had a most 
wretched night and became exceedingly im- 
patient, and rather blindly feeling that Peu- 
peumoxmox was to blame for all their discom- 
fort, they were in the mood for the tragedy 
that followed. 

This move of the "Yellow^ Serpent" w^as 
hard to explain in any way. It seemed very 
strange that he would have put himself right 
in the hands of his enemies unless he really 
meant to act in good faith. }iIoreover, it is 
not easy to see how he could have expected 
to gain anything by leading the whites to his 
village, so long as his own life was sure to be 
the instant forfeit of any treachcr\-. But on the 
other hand, it is very strange that if he was 
perfectly honest the Indians should have made 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



67 



the attack on the next day. Hu\ve\er it may 
ha\e Ijeen, it was plain that things were not 
going just according to program, for during 
the night Indians had gathered in great num- 
bers aliout on tiie hills, and were evidently 
watching in great anxiety to see what might 
be the fate of Peupeumoxmox. 

The sul^secpient exxnts matle it seem likely 
that the Indians had made a change of policy 
during the night. They shouted words in the 
Cayuse language evidently intended for the 
capti\e chief alone. 

\\ hen morning of that bleak December 
day dawned, Peupeumoxmox was very anxious 
to get some stay of proceedings. He said that 
his people needed time to prepare provisions, 
etc., in order to give the whites a fitting recep- 
tion. It was nearly noon before the cold, hun^ 
gry, disgusted command got started, and after 
passing through the canyon in safety they 
reached the Indian village, but alas ! no 
warmth or food, or welcome awaited them. 
The village was deserted. Scouts were seen 
on the surrounding hills, and finally after much 
shouting and gesticulating one Indian was in- 
duced to come to the camp. He proved to bo 
the son of Peupeumoxmox. Having entered 
into conversation with his son, the old chief 
finally directed him to notify the people to 
come in and make peace. 1 he son told him 
that they were only awaiting the arrival of 
Five Crows to do so. But they waited a long 
time and the famished and exhausted volun- 
teers saw that they must return to the mouth 
of the Touchet to join those there left with 
provisions and baggage. Doing so, night 
found them at the Touchet. 

In the morning early the force was under 
way with baggage and all available resources, 
moving toward Whitman mission where Col- 
onel Kelly planned to make a winter camp. 



Peupeumoxmox with several companions were 
still with them. Soon after the volunteers had 
crossed the Touchet, the ball opened. \Mio 
first fired is still a matter of dispute. Gilbert 
quotes A. P. Woodward as asserting that the 
whites fired first; a member of Company B, 
named Jont, being the one that fired the first 
shot. A running fight up the Walla Walla val- 
ley ensued. At the mouth of Dry Creek, near 
the present Loudon place, the Indians made a 
brief stand, but being forced from their posi- 
tion they broke again and pressed on hastily 
toward Frenchtown. There spreading across 
the valley they made a determined stand. Here 
Lieutenant J. M. Burrows, of Company H, 
was killed and a number of men were wound- 
ed. Giving way again, the savages retreated 
to the location of the Tillier ranch, and there, 
near the present site of the Frenchtown church, 
the fight was renewed. There Captain Ben- 
nett, of Company F, and Private Kelso, of 
Company A, were killed. 

The soldiers had found an abandoned how- 
itzer at Wallula and this, under charge of Cap- 
tain Wilson, was now brought to bear on the 
enemy. At the fourth discharge the piece 
burst, severely wounding Captain Wilson. 
But the Indians now broke again and fled. 
The fight was over for the time and the soldiers 
camped that night on the field of battle. The 
sp(jt where the severest contest occurred here 
was marked a few years ago by a gathering, 
with appropriate exercises and the raising of a 
flag provided by Mrs. Levi Ankeny; a deeply 
interesting occasion in which veterans of that 
war took great joy. Prominent among these 
were General McAuliff, William Painter, Louis 
McMorris and A. G. Lloyd, all known to 
everyone in Walla Walla. 

During that first day's battle, at about the 
hottest part of the action, Peupeumoxmox and 



68 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



his four companions in captivity l)ecame des- 
perately excited and seemed to be attempting 
to escape. Their guards, by a sort of common 
consent, withdut agreement or orders, began 
firing indiscriminately upon them. Li a minute 
or two all was over and the great "Yellow 
Serpent" with all his companions but one was 
lying dead. The one that was spared was a 
Nez Perce. Only one made resistance. This 
v.-as a powerful Willamette Indian called "Wolf 
Skin," who fought desperately with a knife, 
cutting one of the guards severely, until he was 
dispatched by a blow from the butt of a gun. 
It is asserted by some that the body of Peu- 
peumoxmox was mutilated shamefully. It 
should be said that all the testimony shows that 
the volunteers as a body were in no sense Re- 
sponsible for any atrocities, but treated the In- 
dians in an entirely humane manner. 

This massacre of the Indian captives (if it 
is to be considered as such) has been the sub- 
ject of the most bitter dispute. Some, as Gil- 
bert, have most strongly censured the troops, 
especially on account of the mutilation, as guilty 
of the "infamous acts of soulless men." Others 
have regarded the killing as necessary, on the 
ground that the Indians were trying to escape 
and rejoin their companions; that the battle 
was at a critical point and that self preserva- 
tion justified the killing of the chief whom they 
believed to have been meditating treachery and 
making all the trouble from the beginning. 
Lewis McMorris, who is the only one living 
liere who witnessed the event, tells the writer 
that he believes that "it was either kill them or 
let them escape," and they were apparently just 
on the point of doing the latter. ]\Ir. McMorris 
is confident that no one would have touched 
tliem if they had not tried to escape. Nobody 
now, however, justifies the mutilation of the 
body of the old tV'alla Walla chief, if it was 



really mutilated as asserted. Even Ehvood 
Evans, in the "History of the Pacific North- 
west," written for the express purpose of white- 
washing everything that any volunteer or other 
white man ever did, admits that it was "in bad 
taste" for the troops to mutilate the body of the 
chief. We will not undertake here and now 
to decide the vexed question of the rights and 
wrongs of the Walla Walla chief. The likeli- 
hood is that he or his people did meditate 
treachery, but whatever the plot may have been 
it failed to materialize. It is also probably true 
that some of the volunteers were bitter, intoler- 
ant, excited and very willing for an excuse to 
get rid of the captives. 

On the next day the battle was renewed. 
Colonel Kelly thus describes the events of the 
next twi) (lays, and inasmuch as his official re- 
port thus embraces the essential features of the 
case, we quote it at length. 

" Early on the morning of the 8th, the Indians ap- 
peared with increased forces, amounting to fully six 
hundred warriors. They were posted as usual in the 
thick brush by the river, among the sage brushes and 
sand knolls, and on the surrounding hills. This day 
Lieutenant Pillow, with Company A, and Lieutenant 
Hannon, with Company H, were ordered to take and 
hold the brush skirting the river and the sage bushes on 
the plain. Lieutenant Fellows, with Company F, was 
directed to take and keep the possession of the pomt at- 
the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Jeffries, with Company 
B, Lieutenant Hand, with Company L and Captain Cor- 
noyer, with Company K, were posted on three several 
points on the hills, with orders to maintain them and to 
assail the enemy on other points of the same hills. As 
usual the Indians were driven from their position, al- 
though they fought with skill and bravery. 

" On the 9ih they did not make their appearance un- 
til about ten o'clock in the morning and then in somewhat 
diminished numbers. As I had sent to Fort Henrietta 
for Companies U and E and expected them on the 10th, 
I thought it best to act on the defensive and hold our 
positions, which were the same as on the 8th, until we could 
get an accession to our forces sufficient to enable us to 
assail their rear and cut off their retreat. An attack was 
made during the day on Companies A and H in the 
brushwood, and upon B on the hill, both of which were 
repulsed with great gallantry by those companies and 
with considerable loss to the enemy. Companies F, I and 



i 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\ALLA COUNTY. 



69 



K also did great honor to themselves in repelling all ap- 
proaches to their positions, although in doing so one man 
in Company F and one in Company I were severely 
woundeil. Darkness as usual closed the combat by the 
enemy withdrawing from the field. Owing to the inclem- 
ency of the night, the companies on the hill were with- 
drawn from their several positions, Company B abandon- 
ing its rifle pits, which were made by the men of that 
company for its protection. At early dawn of the next 
day the Indians were observed from our camp to be in 
possession of all points held by us on the preceding day. 
Upon seeing them. Lieutenant McAuliff, of Company B, 
gallantly observed that his company had dug those holes 
and after breakfast they would have them again; and well 
was his declaration fulfilled, for in less than an hour the 
enemy was driven from the pits and fled to an adjoining 
hill which they had occupied ,the day before. This posi- 
tion was at once assailed. Captain Cornoyer, with Com- 
pany K and a portion of Company I, being mounted, 
gallantly charged the enemy on his right flank, while 
Lieutenant I\Ic.'\uliff, with Company B, dismounted, 
rushed up the hill in the face of a heavy fire and scattered 
them in all directions. They at once fled to return to 
this battle field no more, and thus ended our long con- 
tested fight. 

" In making my report I cannot say too much in praise 
of the conduct of the officers of the several companies 
and most of the soldiers under their command. They 
did their duty bravely and well during those four trying 
days of battle. To Second Major Chinn, who took charge 
of the companies in the brush by the river, credit is due 
for bravery and skill; also to assistant Adjutant Monroe 
Atkinson, for his efficiency and zeal as well in the field 
as in the camp. And here, while giving to the officers 
and men of the regiment the praise that is justly due, I 
cannot omit the name of Hon. Nathan Olney, although 
he is not one of the volunteers. Having accompanied me 
in the capacity of Indian agent, I requested him to act a^ 
my aid on account of his admitted skill in Indian warfare, 
and to his wisdom in council and daring courage on the 
battle field, I am much indebted and shall ever appreci- 
ate his worth. 

"Companies I) and E havinsj arrived from Fort 
Henrietta on the evening of the 10th, the next morning I 
followed with all the available troops along the Nez 
Perces' trail in pursuit of the Indians. On Mill creek, 
about twelve miles from here, we passed through their 
village, numbering one hundred and ninety-six fires, 
which had been deserted the night before. Much of their 
provisions was scattered by the wayside, indicating that 
they had fled in great haste to the north. We pursued 
them until it was too dark to follow the track of their 
horses, when we camped on Coppei creek. On the I2th 
we continued the pursuit until we passed some distance 
beyond the stations of Brooke, Noble and Bumford on the 
Touchet, when we found the chase was in vain as many 
of our horses were completely broken down and the men 



on foot. We therefore returned and arrived in camp on 
yesterday evening with about one hundred head of cattle 
which the Indians had left scattered along the trail in 
their flight. 

" On the 11th, while in pursuit of the enemy, I re- 
ceived a letter from Narcisse Raymond, by the hands of 
Tintinmetzy, a friendly chief (which I enclose), asking 
our protection of the French and friendly Indians under 
his charge. 

" On the morning of the 12th, I dispatched Captain 
Cornoyer, with his command, to their relief. Mr. Olney, 
who accompanied them, returned tn camp this evening 
and reports that Captain Cornoyer will return to-morro-w 
with'Mr. Raymond and his people, who now feel greatly 
relieved from their critical situation. Mr. Olney learned 
from these friendly Indians what before we strongly be- 
lieved, that the Falouses, Walla Wallas, L'matillas, Cay- 
uses and Stock Whitley's band of Des Chutes Indians 
were all engaged in the battle on the Walla Walla. These 
Indians also informed Mr. Olney that after the battle the 
Palouses, Walla Wallas and Umatillas have gone partly 
to the Grande Ronde and partly to the country of the 
Nez Perces; and Stock Whitley, disgusted with the 
manner in which the Cayuses fought in the battle, has 
abandoned them and gone to the Yakima country to join 
his forces with those of Kamiakin. We have now the 
undisputed possession of the country south of Snake river 
and I would suggest the propriety of retaining this 
possession until such time as it can be occupied by the 
regular troops. The Indians have left mu::h of their 
stock behind, which will doubtless be lost to us if we go 
away. The troops here will not be in a situation for some 
time to go to the Palouse country, as our horses at present 
are too much jaded to endure the journey, an i we have 
no boats to cross Snake river, no timber to make them 
nearer than this place; but I would suggest the propriety 
of following up the Indians with all possible speed, now 
that their hopes are blighted and their spirits broken. 
Unless this is done, they will perhaps rally again. 

"To-day (December 14, 1855i I received a letter 
from Governor Stevens, dated yesterday, which I en- 
close. You will perceive that he is in favor of a vigorous 
prosecution of the war. With his views I fully concur. 

" I must earnestly ask that supplies be sent forward 
to us without delay. For the last three days none of the 
volunteers, except the two companies from Fort Henri- 
etta, have had any flour. None is here an 1 but little at 
that post. We are now living on beef and potatoes, 
which are found en rdclie, and the men are becoming 
much discontented with this mode of living. Clothing 
for the men is much needed as the winter approaches. 
To-morrow we will remove to a more suitable point, 
where grass can be obtained in greater abundance for 
our worn-out horses. A place has been selected about 
two miles above Whitman station, on the same (north) 
Side of the Walla Walla, consequently I will abandon 
this fort, named in honor of Captain Bennett, of Com- 



^o 



HISTORY OF W.VLLA WALLA COUNTY. 



pany F, who now slftps benealli its stockade, and whose 
career of usefulness and bravery was here so sadly, but 
nobly, closed. 

" Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
' "JAME-S K. KELLY, 
" Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Left Column. 
" W. H. FARRAR, 
" Adjutant of Regiment, O. ^L \' ." 



Tlie winter following the battle of the 
Walla ^\'alla was one of the coldest and most 
trying ever known in this country. The vet- 
erans among the volunteers have left on record 
accounts of their sufferings, which show that 
war in an Indian country was not a picnic in 
those times. The writer has heard the late 
W. C. Painter describe vividly the experience 
of sleeping, or trying to, with scarcely any cov- 
ering and the mercury at twenty below zero. 

Meantime, while these events were occur- 
ring in the Walla Walla and Yakima coun- 
tries, what was Governor Stevens doing? As 
already noted, after having negotiated the 
treaty at \\'alla Walla in June, 1855, he passed 
on to the Blackfoot country where he also ne- 
gotiated a successful treaty. Having reached 
Hellgate, in the present Montana, on his return, 
he was met I)y a detachment of Xez Perce In- 
dians who informed him of the war and of the 
fact that he was thus cut off from any direct 
communication with his government. His own 
official report to the Secretary ni War gives so 
clear and \i\id an account of what followed 
that we reproduce it here. 

"The result of our conference was most 
satisfactory. The whole pnrty. numl>ering 
iourteen men, among whom were Spotted 
Eagle, Looking Glass and Three Feathers, 
principal chiefs among the Xez Perces, ex- 
pressed their determination to accompany me 
and share any danger to be encountered. They 
expressed a desire that after crossing the moun- 
tains I should go to their countrv where a large 



force of their young men would accompany 
me to The Dalles and protect us with their 
lives against any enemy. 

"Having replenished my train with all the 
animals to be had, on November 14th we pushed 
forward, crossed the Bitter Root mountains the 
twentieth, in snow two and a half to three 
feet deep, anti reached the Cceur d'Alene mis- 
sion the twenty-fifth, taking the Coeur d'Alenes 
entirely by surprise. They had not thought it 
possible that we could cross the mountains so 
late in the season. 

"With the Cfieur d'Alenes I held a council, 
ar.d found them much excited, on a 'balance for 
peace or war, and a chance word might turn 
them either way. Rumors of all kinds met us 
here : that the troops had fought a battle with 
the Yakimas and driven them across the Colum- 
bia towards the Spokane, and that the Walla 
Wallas, Cayuses and Umatillas were in arms, 
and that they had been joined by a party of 
Nez Perces. The accumts were of so con- 
tradictory a nature that nothing certain could 
be ascertained from them, excepting that the 
several tribes below were in arms, blocking up 
our road, and liad threatened to cut off my 
]);;rty in any event. However, I determined to 
push to the Spokane. 

"The Spokanes were even more sur])rised 
tl.r.n the Cceur d'.Vlenes on seeing us. Three 
hours before my arrival they had heard that 
I was going to the settlements by way of New 
\'ork. I immediately called a council ; sent to 
Fort Colville for Mr. McDonald in charge of 
that post of the Hudson's Bay Company: sent 
also for the Jesuit fathers at that jioint. They 
arrived. .\ council was held, at which the 
whole Spokane nation was represented. The 
Cceur d'Alenes and Colville Indians also were 
present. 

"The Spokanes and Colville Indians ex'inced 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



71 



extreme liostility of feeling: spoke of the war 
below; wanted it stopped; said the whites were 
wrong. The lielief was current that Peupeu- 
moxmox would cut off my party, as he had re- 
peatedly threatened. They had not joined in 
the war. but yet would make no promise to 
remain neutral. If the Indians now at war 
were (lri\'en into their country they would not 
answer for the consequences ; probably many 
of the Spokanes would join them. After a 
stormy council of several days the Spokanes, 
Oeur d'Alenes and Colvilles were entirely 
conciliated and promised they would reject all 
overtures of the hostile Indians and continue 
the firm friends of the whites. 

"Having added to my party and organized, 
etc., we thence made a forced march to the 
Xez Perce country. Air. Craig had received 
letters which informed me that the whole Walla 
Walla valley was blocked up with hostile In- 
dians, an<l the Xez Perce said it would be im- 
possible to go through. 

"I called a council and proposed to them 
that one hundred and fifty of their young men 
should accompany me to The Dalles. Without 
hesitation they agreed to go. Whilst in the 
council making arrangements for our move- 
ments news came that a force of gallant Oregon 
\i)lunteers, four hundred strong, had met the 
Indians in the Walla Walla valley and after 
fi-ur days hard fighting, having a nuni])er of 
officers and men killed and wounded, had com- 
pletely routed the enemy, driving them across 
Snake river and toward the Nez Perce country. 
The next day I pushed forward, accompanied 
by sixty-nine Xez Perces, well armed, and 
reached Walla Walla without encountering any 
hostile Indians. They had all been driven 
across Snake river below us by the Oregon 
troops. 

"It is now proper to inquire what would 



have been the conditi<in of my party had not 
the Oregon troops \-igorously pushed into the 
field and gallantly defeated the enemy. 

"The country between the Blue moun- 
tains and the Columbia was overrun with In- 
dians, numbering one thousand to tweh-e hun- 
dred warriors, including the force at Priest 
Rapids under Kamaiakun, who had sworn to 
cut me off; it was completely blocked up. One 
effect of the campaign of the regulars and 
volunteers in the Yakima country under Brig- 
adier General Rains, was to drive Kamaiakun 
and his people on our side of the Columbia 
river, and thus endanger our movement from 
tlie Spokane to the Xez Perce country. Thus 
we had been hemmed in by a body of hostile 
Indians through whom we could have (jnly 
forced our way with extreme difficulty and at 
great loss of life. We might all have been 
sacrificed in the attempt. To the opening the 
way to my party, I am solely indebted to the 
Oregon volunteers. Peupeumoxmox, the cel- 
ebrated chief of the Walla Wallas, entertained 
an extreme hostility toward myself and party, 
owing to imaginary wrongs he supposed to 
have been inflicted upon him in the treaty con- 
cluded witli the Cayuses and Walla Wallas last 
June, and had been known repeatedly to 
threaten that I never should reach The Dalles. 
He was the first to commence hostilities by 
plundering Fort Walla Walla and destroying 
a large amount of property belonging to the 
United States Indian Department. * * * 

"At Walla Walla I found some twenty-five 
settlers — the remainder having fletl to The 
Dalles for protection. With these were one 
hundred friendly Indians. Special Indian 
.\gent B. F. Shaw, colonel in the Washington 
Territory militia, was on the ground, and I at 
or.ce organize:! the district, ])laced him in com- 
Uuind and directed him, if necessarv, to fortify, 



72 



HISTORY OF \\^\LLA WALLA COUNTY. 



at all events, to maintain his ground should the 
Oregon troops Ije disbanded before another 
force could take the field. The Nez Perce 
auxiliaries- were disbanded and returned home." 

CHARGES PREFERRED AGAINST GENERAL WOOL. 

"Thus we had reached a place of safety un- 
aitled, excepting by the fortunate movements 
of the Oregon troops. Not a single man had 
been i)ushed forward to meet us, although it 
was well known we should cross the mountains 
about a certain time, and arrive at W'alla 
Walla about the time we did. Why was this? 
Arrangements had been made with Major 
Raines by Acting Governor ^lason, to push 
forward a force under Colonel Shaw to meet 
me at Spokane about the time of my arrival 
there. A company had been enlisted, organized 
ard marched to Fort Vancouver to obtain 
equipments, rations and transportation, which 
Major Raines had promised toth Governor 
Mason and Colonel Shaw should be promptly 
i\ rnished them. Some little delay ensued, and 
in the meantime Major General Wool arrived 
who immediately declineil equipping the com- 
pany, as promised by Major Raines, and stated 
that he could not in any manner recognize vol- 
tniteers or furnish them equipments or trans- 
portation, and declined to supply their place 
with regular troops, of whom, at \'ancouver 
alone, were some three hundred and fifty men." 

Following this description of his journey 
Governor Stevens went on to prefer charges 
of gross negligence on the part of General 
AX'ool. All history abounds in instances of in- 
tense personal feuds and disagreements, but 
our Pacific coast history seems to have been 
especially fruitful in them. That between Gen- 
eral Wool, with some of the officers who echoed 
Ins opinions, the regulars in short on one side, 



and Governor Stevens supported by the vol- 
unteers and the nearly united people of the ter- 
ritory on the other, was peculiarly acrimoni- 
ous. We insert the following extract from 
the report by Governor Stevens to the Secre- 
tary of War : 

"\Mien remonstrated with by Captain Will- 
iam ]kIcKay, in command of the company, to 
push forward to my assistance, when informed 
of the object for which the company was en- 
listed, and that if it was not pushed forward 
a: once, or if some other force was not sent, 
Governor Stevens and his party would be in 
the most imminent danger, the general replied 
that in his opinion the danger was greatly 
exaggerated ; that proliably Governor Stevens 
would be able to protect himself, but if he could 
not, then Governor Stevens could obtain an 
escort from General Harney. 

■'What a reply was that! A moiety of the 
L;dians now in arms had defeated a detach- 
n'.ent nf one hundred United States regulars. 
}ilajur Raines had placed on record his opinion 
tl'.at an insufficient force would be defeated by 
these Indians, and my party was supposed to 
number no more than twenty-five men. Yet 
Major General Wool very coolly says, 'Gov- 
ernor Stevens can take care of himself." So, 
too, in the remark that I could obtain aid from 
General Harney. Did (jeneral Wool know that 
the distance from Fort Benton to the supposed 
position of General Harney was greater than 
the distance from Fort Benton to The Dalles 
and that to obtain aid from him would require 
not less than six months, and that an express 
to reach him must pass through the entire 
breadth of the Sioux? Such ignorance shows 
great incapacity and is inexcusable. 

"Mr. Secretary — Major General Wool, 
commanding the Pacific Division, neglected 
and refused to send a force to the relief of mv- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



73 



self and party, when known to he in imminent 
danger, and ljelie\-ed by tliose who were less 
capable of judging, to be coming on to certain 
death, and this when he had at his command 
an efficient force of regular troops. He re- 
fused to sanction the agreement made between 
Governor Mason ami ^Major Raines for troops 
to be sent to my assistance, and ordered them 
to di.sband. It was reserved for the Oregon 
troops to rescue us. 

"The only demonstration made by Major 
Raines resulted in showing his utter incapacity 
to command in the field. As has heretofore been 
said, his expedition against the Yakimas ef- 
fected nothing but driving the Indians into the 
very country through which I must pass to 
reach the settlements. 

"I therefore prefer charges against General 
Wool. I accuse him of utter and signal in- 
capacity, of criminal neglect of my safety. I 
ask for an investigation into the matter, and 
for his remo\-al from command." 

.And now that we have allowed the gov- 
ernor to tell his own story of the final struggle 
in the Walla Walla, every reader asks, "And 
how did iit come out?" Gilbert pronounces that 
the Indians got all they wanted, and that so, 
the great Walla Walla war of '55 and '56 must 
go down in history as an Indian victory. After 
Stevens had reached The Dalles, Wright went 
back again for a short time to Walla Walla, 
with a force increased by one company. But 
having reached the scene of the council and the 
farewell fight, he held an amicaljle meeting 
with the hostile chiefs and assured them that 
"The bloudy cloth shall lie washed, jiast dif- 
ferences thrown behind us. and perpetual peace 
must e.xist between us." He even went so far 
as to recommend that the Walla Walla treaties 
should never be confirmed. Steptoe, bv Wool's 
orders, issued a proclamation that no whites 



should return to Walla Walla, except Hud- 
son's Bay People and missionaries. Wool, in 
general orders of October 19th, expresses the 
hope that Wright, "warned by what has oc- 
curred, will be on his guard against the whites, 
and prevent further trouble by keeping the 
whites out of the Indian country." But Step- 
toe had got his eyes partly open by the events 
of the season, and a little later he ventured 
t3 suggest that a good, industrious colony be 
permitted to settle in the Walla Walla valley. 
Wool promptly stepped on the suggestion by de- 
claring that "The Cascade range formed, if not 
an impassable barrier, an excellent line of d&- 
fence, a most excellent line of separation be- 
tween two races always at war when in contact. 
To permit settlers to pass The Dalles and occu- 
py the natural reserve is to give up this advan- 
tage, throw down the wall, and advance the 
frontier hundreds of miles to the east, and add 
to the protective labor of the army." 

Governor Stevens did not mince matters in 
summarizing this war and its results. His let- 
ters, both to Wool directly and to the War 
Department, might, without putting too fine a 
point on it, be styled "vitriolic." To the 
fiontiersmen of the country it seemed shameful 
surrender. After the bitter struggle of those 
frigid winters, after all the tedious traversing 
of dusty plains and snowy and precipitous 
mountains, after the lives lost and the many 
wounds received, and especially after the bril- 
liant and well-deserved victories won, then to 
have the regulars step in and rob them of all the 
fruits of victory by a practical capitulation to 
the hostiles — that was a jiretty hard dose for 
Stevens and his constituents. We need not 
blame the governor for some rather strong 
talk. 

Thus at the close of 1856 the Walla Walla 
valley was, by militarx' order, remandeil U> liar- 



74 



HISTORY OF \\^\LLA WALLA COUNTY. 



barism. In 1857 the present Fort Walla Walla 
was established, and a force in charge of Lieu- 
tcnant-ColoneJ Steptoe lay inactive at the fort. 

One thing interesting to note in connection 
Avith mustering out of the xdlunteers is that 
the horses which they had cai)tured on the 
Grande Ronde were sold at such a good price 
as to pay the entire cost of the expedition. 
Sales were for scrip issued by the territory, 
v.hich depreciated hut little. The total amoimt 
of script issued was $1,481,475.45. The gen- 
eral testimony of witnesses of those times is 
that there was a remarkably high morale on 
the ])art of all the \'olunteer forces, and that 
th.is was due \'ery largely to the character, ahil- 
ity, and magnetic influence of \\'ashington's 
first governor, certainly the greatest man in the 
official history of those times. And so there 
Avas "ciuiet in the land hy the space of a year." 
In 1858 the Yakimas became so troublesoms 
that Wright began to conclude that they were 
not such desirable citizens after all. Major 
Garnett was accordingly sent into their country 
with a strong force, and he seized and executed 
a numlier of their chiefs and liraves. killed seven 
hundred of their ponies, and secured quiet at 
last in the land of the sage-lM-ush. 

And now, though uf) battle was to be fought 
again on Walla Walla soil, it was the outfitting 
])oint fnr the most remarkaljle disaster in the 
history of the territtiry, one which, if it had 
not been for the ever faithful Nez Perces, woukl 
])iohal)ly have anticipated the Custer massacre 
i'l completeness and horr^ir. This was the 

STEPTOE DEFE.VT OF 1 858. 

Steptoe set out in May. 1858, to go witli 
two hundred cavalry to the Spokane country, 
though those powerful and independent Indians 
liad warned the troops to keep out, alleging that 



th.ey were neutral and wnuld nut allow either 
Yakimas or whites in their country. Steptoe, 
or more strictly speaking his subordinates, com- 
mitted a most egregious and incom])rehensible 
blunder in starting from Walla Walla. On 
account of the great weight of provisions and 
l>aggage, a brilliant quartermaster ( said to have 
been Lieutenant Fleming) concei\'ed the idea 
of omitting the greater part of the auimnni- 
tioii, by way of lightening the load. .\s Josei:)h 
McEvoy expresses it, the force was beaten be- 
fore it left Walla Walla. 

The expedition was made in ^lay. The 
wild torrent of Snake river was running bank- 
full from the floods of summer as the com- 
mand crossed. Timothy, a chief of the Xez 
Perces, with a few followers, was living then 
at the mouth of the Alpowa, and by his efficient 
aid the soldiers crossed the wicked looking 
stream in good order and good time, and con- 
tinued on their way, the iM'ave old Nez Perce 
accompanying them. 

On May 16th the force reached a point near 
four lakes, prohahly the grou]) of which Medical 
Lake is one, though there seems to be a rather 
curious difference among the survivors as to 
where all this hap])ened. But wherever it was, 
here the Indians gathered in strong force and 
evidently with hostile intentions. Steptoe. re- 
alizing the dangerous odds, decided to return, 
the chief Salteese assuring him that if he would 
retire they would not attack. It is said that 
one of the friendly Nez Perces struck Salteese, 
telling him that he was speaking "two tongues." 

On the next day at nine (/clock as the sol- 
diers were descending a canyon to Pine creek, 
just about where Rosalia is now located, the 
attack was suddenly made. Throughout the 
forenoon the retreat and fight continued. The 
ghastly consec|uences of the blunder about the 
ammiuiition h'egan to stare them in the face as 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



75- 



man after man had to cease firing. Captain 
O. U. P. Taylor and Lieutenant William Gas- 
ton were in command of the rear guard, and 
Avith amazing courage and devotion they kept 
the line intact and foiled all efforts of the In- 
dians to rush through. They sent word to 
Steptoe to halt the line and give them a chance 
to load. But Steptoe deemed it safer to make 
no pause, and soon after those gallant heroes 
fell. A fierce fight raged for possession of 
'tiieir bodies. The Indians secured that of 
Gaston, Ijut a small band of heroes fighting 
like demons got the body of the noble Taylor. 
One notable figure in this death grapple was 
De May, a Frenchman, who had been trained 
in the Crimea and in .\lgeria, and who made 
haviic among the savages with his gun barrel 
used as a sabre. But at last he, too, went down 
before numbers, crying, "Oh, my God, for a 
sabre." 

At night fall they had reached a point said 
to be somewhere on the east flanks of Steptoe 
Lutfe, though there is a difference of opinion 
as to the exact location. Here the disorganized 
and suffering force made camp, threw out a 
picket line for defense, and buried such dead as 
they had not been forced to leave. In order to 
divert the Indians they determined to bury their 
howitzers and leave the balance of their stores, 
hoping that if the Indians made an attack in 
the night they might succeed in stealing away. 
The Indians, however, feeling sure that they 
had the soldiers at their mercy, made no effort 
a: a night attack. There was but one chance 
of salvation, and this was Ijy means f)f a dif- 
ficult trail thmugh a canyon, which the Indians 
supposed to be entirely unknown to the whites. 
But by the good favor of fortune or Providence 
the Xez Perce chief Timothy knew this pass. 
Without him that next day would doubtless 
have seen a grim and ghastlv massacre. Dur- 



ir.g the dark and cloudy night the soldiers 
mounted and in silence followed Timothy over 
the unwatched trail. Michael Kinney, well 
known in Walla Walla, was in charge of the 
rear guard, and is our chief authority for this 
narration. 

The horrors of that night retreat were 
probably never surpassed in the history of In- 
dian warfare in this state. Several of the 
wounded were lashed to pack animals, and were 
thus led away on that dreadful ride. Their 
iiufferings were intense, and two of them, Mc- 
Crossen and Williams, suft'ered so unendurably 
that they writhed themselves loose from their 
lashings and fell to the ground, begging their 
comrades to leave some weapon witli which 
they might kill themseh'es. But the poor 
wretches were left lying there in the darkness. 
During that night they foUow-ed, generally at 
a gallop, the faithful Timothy, on wdiose keen 
eyes and mind their li\es depended. The 
wounded and a few whose horses gave out 
were scattered at intervals along the trail. 
Some of these finally reappeared, but must 
were lost. After twenty-four hours they found 
that thev had ridden se\'entv miles, for the yel- 
low flood of Snake river suddenly broke be- 
fore them between its desolate banks. Here 
the unwearied Timothy threw cut his own peo- 
p'e as guards against the pursuing enemy and 
set the women of his tribe to ferrying the force 
acr(xss the turbulent ri\'er. This was safely ac- 
C(.implished. and thus the greater portion of 
the command reached Walla Walla in satety 
ii-om that ill-starred expedition. 

Indi\idual narratives of experiences on that 
expedition have Ijeen given by men long after 
living in Walla Walla. Among these was John 
Singleton, Sr.. now deceased, who told the 
writer that being without a horse, he crawled 
on his hands and knees during the greater part 



76 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of two (lays, running at night, until he at hist 
reached Snake river and was put across the 
stream l)y the Nez Perces. His knees and hands 
were worn to the hone. A soldier named 
Snickster reported that he and Williams, rid- 
ing one horse, had reached Snake river, when 
the Indians overtook them and in a spirit of 
grim pleasantry told them that if they could 
swim the river tliey might escape. Plunging 
into the river with their horse, they soon fnund 
the Indian bullets boiling around them. Will- 
iams and the horse were almost immediately 
killed and Snickster, with an arm already 
broken, swam the rest of the way across Snake 
river. This story is told in several ways, and 
Michael Kinney considers it a fabrication. Air. 
Singleton, however, told the writer that he con- 
sidered it as true. Joseph ]\IcEvoy also regards 
it true, though he claims that Williams was 
killed in the battle. It was generally accepted 
as true in early times. But we would doubt the 
possibility of any one, even under the most 
favorable circumstances, swimming Snake 
river in flood time with a broken arm. 

Wright's e.xpedition. 

The se(|uel to the Steptoe defeat furnishes 
a more creditable chapter in the history of our 
Indian warfare. General Clark at once ordered 
Colonel Wright to equip a force of six hundred 
men, proceed to the Spokane country and casti- 
gate the Indians with sufficient severity to set- 
tle the question of sovereignty forever. On 
August 15th Colonel Wright left Walla Walla 
on his northern campaign. In the battle of 
Four Lakes on September ist, and in the liat- 
tle of Spokane Plains on September 51)1. Col- 
orel \\'right broke forever the power and spirits 
of the northern Indians. The severest blow 
which he struck them was the killing of nearly 



a thousantl horses. In his report Colonel 
Wright thus summarized the results of this 
campaign: "i. Two battles were fought by 
the troops under my command against the com- 
Ijined forces of the Spokanes, Coeur d'Alenes 
and Palouses, in both of which the Indians 
were signally defeated, with a severe loss of 
chiefs and warriors, either killed or wounded ; 

2. One thousand horses and a large number 
of cattle were captured from the hostile In- 
dians, all of which were either killed or ap- 
propriated to the ser\-ice of the United States; 

3. Many barns filled with wheat or oats, also 
several fields of grain with munerous caches of 
vegetables, dried berries and camas, were de- 
stroyed or used by the troops; 4. The Yakima 
cl'iief, Owhi, is in irons ; and the notorious 
Vv'ar chief, Oualchen. was hanged : the mur- 
tlerers of the miners, the cattle stealers, etc. 
( in all, eleven Indians), were hanged: 5. The 
Spokanes, Coeur d'Alenes and Palouses have 
been entirely subdued, and have sued most ab- 
jectly for peace on any terms ; 6. Treaties 
have been made with the abo\-e named nations. 
They ha\'e restored all property which was in 
their possession, belonging either to the United 
States or to individuals. They have promised 
tliat all white people can travel through their 
country unmolested, and that no hostile Indians 
shall be allowed to pass through or remain 
among them : 7. The Indians who commenced 
the battle with Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe con- 
trary to the orders of their chiefs have been 
delivered to the officer in command of the L'ni- 
ted States troops ; 8. One chief and four men, 
with their families, from each of the above 
named tribes, have been delivered to the officer 
ii; command of the United States troops, to be 
taken to fort Walla Walla and held as hostages 
for the future good conduct of their respective 
nations : 9. Tlic two mounted howitzers aban- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUxNTY. 



17 



cluned liy tlie troops under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Steptoe liave been recovered." 

The following words from General Clark's 
report show how completely the policy of Wool 
had been reversed. "Some time since I was 
persuaded that the treaties made by Governor 
Stevens, superintendent of Lulian affairs for 
Washington Territory, with the Indian tribes 
east of the Cascade range, should not be con- 
firmed. Since then circumstances have changed 



and with them my views. The Indians made 
A\ar and were subdued. By the former act 
th.ey lost some of their claims to considera- 
tion; and by the latter the government is en- 
abled and justified in taking such steps as may 
give the best security for the future." 

Thus the land rested at last from strife, 
and no general Indian war thereafter disturbed 
the "Valley of Many Waters." 



CHAPTER VI. 



INDI.-VN WARS OF THE FIFTIES CONTINUED. 



Governor Stevens reached Olympia early 
in January, 1856, and found that the storm of 
war was in full blast from east to west. The 
Sound Indians, aided by the Yakimas, had 
ranged over the greater part of the region 
adjacent to the sound and had killed 
many settlers. Governor Stevens, full of 
courage and resources, roused the dis- 
heartened settlers and set on foot measures 
for saving the territory by the equipment of an 
army of one thousand volunteers, organizing 
forces of friendly Indians, issuing script for 
meeting expenses, seizing necessary stores and 
implements, inducing the settlers to get back 
again upon their farms and plant their crops, 
and sending Secretary Mason to Washington 
to acquaint tlie government with their plight 
and needs. In the very midst of his appeal 
the Indians liy a sudden attack seized Seattle 
and destroyed the most of it. Nevertheless 
llie brave words and acts of the governor 
roused the faint-hearted and the territory speed- 
ily got it.self into a better jxisture of defen.se 
and finally of attack. The Washington volun- 



teers were equipped and the Second Regiment, 
under command of Colonel B. F. Shaw, started 
in the summer of 1856 for Walla Walla. 

Meanwhile the Oregon volunteers had been 
spending that dismal winter and spring at 
Vvalla Walla and vicinity. The first American 
fort of the regular army at Walla Walla was 
laid out on the location of McBride's stable, 
on^e of the old log buildings remaining there 
until a few years ago. The volunteers camped 
at a later time higher up the creek near the 
present location of the ranch of Patrick Lyons. 

During the spring Colonel Kelly returned 
to Portland, leaving Colonel T. R. Cornelius in 
command. The detachment set forth from 
their camp on J^Iill creek on March loth and 
proceeded to the Yakima country, meeting and 
dispersing the Indians whom they met there, 
and then passing on to the Columbia : they re- 
turned to Oregon and disbanded. They had 
rendered signal service, having broken up the 
Indi.-in forces of both the Walla Walla and 
Yakima countries. 

A\'hile tliev were doing this one of the most 



78 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



daring blows struck In- any of the Indians fell 
upon the settlers up and down the Columbia, 
near the Cascades. The famous old block 
house there is a souvenir of that epoch. As- 
sociatetl with it also is the memory of the fact 
that Pliil Sheridan fought there one of his first 
battles, distinguished, as he later was, for dare- 
devil courage and impetuosity. That Cascades 
disaster was one of the most cruel and severe 
that the settlements had suffered. 

The L'nited States troops at that time made 
The Dalles their chief headquarters and the 
force there had their hands full with wars and 
rumors of wars from ^^'alla Walla. Yakima 
and the Cascades. The ofificers more especially 
concerned with the campaign on the east side 
or the mountains were Colonel Wright, Colonel 
Steptoe and Major Raines. It is to be remem- 
bered that there were three distinct forces op- 
■erating in the country, \\z. — L'nited States 
regulars, Oregon \-olunteers and W'ashington 
volunteers. Governor Curry, of Oregon, and 
Governor Stevens, of Washington, were in en- 
tire harmony, believing alike in a vigorous 
prosecution of the war, but the L'nited States • 
forces were entirely aloof from them in sym- 
jiathy of aim and action. 

We have already outlined the achievements 
of the Oregon volunteers. In May Colonel 
Wright mo\-ed from The Dalles to Yakima. 
There he found a force of twelve hundred or 
more defiant Indians, whose evident strength 
seems to have led Colonel Wright to crave 
peace without a battle. He shaped his policies 
in the direction of acceding to the demand of 
the Indians that he withdraw from the country 
and exclude settlers therefrom. 

In July the Second Regiment of \\'ashing- 
ton volunteers, under Colonel B. F. Shaw, 
moved up the river and on July 8th camped on 
tlie place now owned liy the heirs of Alfred 



Thomas, about two miles above A\'alla \\'alla. 
Learning that the hostiles were in force in the 
Grande Ronde valley. Colonel Shaw determined 
to move thither and strike. Pushing rapidly 
o\-er the mountains he encountered the savages 
on July 17th. and in the most decisive battle 
thus far fought he scattered them in all direc- 
tions. The excellent Life of Governor Stevens, 
by his son, Hazard Stevens, contains a pictur- 
esque account of how Colonel Shaw, with his 
long, red beard and hair streaming in the wind, 
swept down like a hurricane upon the foe and 
drove them fifteen miles, clear across the valley. 
Colonel Shaw's own version is so clear and 
vivid that we believe our readers will enjoy its 
perusal. Alore clearly than any present de- 
scription could, this account preserves the flavor 
of the time in which it happened; that time, 
which, only forty-five years ago, seems so re- 
mote from our own. 

BATTLE OF GR.\XDE ROXDE, JULY IJ. 1 856. 

"\\'e arrived in the Grande Ronde valley on 
the evening of the sixteenth, and camped on 
a branch of the (irande Ronde river in the tim- 
ber, sending spies in advance who returned and 
reported no fresh sign. On the morning of the 
seventeenth, leaving Major Blankenship, of the 
Central, and Captain Miller, of the Southern 
battalions, assisted by Captain DeLacy. to take 
up the line of march for the main valley. I pro- 
ceeded ahead to reconnoitre, accompanied by 
Major Maxon, Michael ]vlarchmean. Captain 
John and Dr. I'.urns. After proceeding about 
fi\-e miles we ascended a knoll in the valley from 
which we disco\ere(l dust rising along the tim- 
ber of the river. I immediately sent INIajor 
Maxon and Captain John forward to recon- 
noitre and returned to luuTy up the command 
w hich was not far distant. The command was 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 79 

ii'stantlv formed in order; Captain Miller's and on our moving forward the enemy fled after 

company in advance, supported by Maxon, firing a few guns, part taking to the left and 

Henness and Powell's companies : leaving the part continuing forward. 

pack train in charge of the guard under Lieu- "Those who took to the left fell in with 

tenant. Goodwin, with a detachment of Goff's Capitain Miller's company, who killed five on 

comi)anv under Lieutenant Wait, and Lieuten- the spot and the rest were not less successful 

ant Williams" company in reserve with orders in the pursuit, which was continued to the 

ti) follow on after the command. crossing of the ri\'er, where the enemy had' 

"The whole command moved on quietly to ti'ken a stand to defend the ford. Being here 

this order until within half a mile of the Indian rejoined by Captain Miller and by Lieutenant 

village, when we discovered that the pack train Curtis with part of Maxon's company, we fired 

had moved to the left, down the Grande Rnmle a volley and I ordered a charge across the river, 

river. At this moment a large body of war- which was gallantly executed. In doing this 

riors came forward, singing and whooping, and Private Shirley, ensign of Henness' company, 

one of them waving a white man's scalp on a who was in front, was wounded in the face, 

pole. One of them signified a desire to speak. Several of the enemy were killed at this point, 

whereupon I sent Captain John to meet him We continued the pursuit until the enemy had 

and formed the command in line of battle, reached the rocky canyons leading towards 

When Captain John came up to the Indians Powder river, and commenced scattering in 

the}- cried out to one another to shoot him, every direction, when finding that I had but five 

when he retreated to the command and I or- nien with me. and the rest of the command 

dered the four companies to charge. scattered in the rear, most of the horses being 

"The design of the enemy evidently was to completely exhausted — I called a halt and fell 

draw us into the brush along the river, where back, calculating to remount the men on the 

from our exposed position they would have the captured horses and continue the pursuit after 

advantage — they no doubt ha\-ing placed an night. 

ambush there. To avoid this, I charged down "I found the pack train, guard and re- 
the river towards the pack train. The war- serve encamped on a small creek not far from 
riors then split, part going across the river the crossing, as I had previously ordered them 
and part down toward the pack train. These to do, and learned that a body of the enemy 
were soon overtaken and engaged. Tlie charge had followed them up all day and annoyed 
was vigorous and so well sustained that they them, but had inllicted no damage beyond cap- 
were broken, dispersed and slain before us. turing many of the animals which we had taken 
After a short time I sent Captain Miller to in charge and left behind. 
the left and },Iajor :\Ia.xon to the right, the "I learned also that Major Maxon had 
latter to cross the stream and cut them off from crossed the ri\er with a small jjarty and was 
a point near which a large body of warriors engaged with the enemy and wanted assist- 
had collected, apparently to fight, while I moved ance. I immediately dispatched a detachment 
forward with the commands of Captain Hen- inider Lieutenants Williams and Wait, sending 
ness and Lieutenant Powell to attack them in (he man who brouglit the information back 
front. The Major could not cross the river, with them as a guide. Thcv returned after 



8o 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



dark witliout tinding tlie major, but brouglit in 
one of his men whom they found in the brush, 
and who stated tliat one of the major's men 
was killed and that the last he saw of them 
they were fighting with the Indians. At day- 
light I sent out Captain IMiller with seventy 
men, who scouted around the whole valley with- 
out finding him, but who unfortunately had 
one man killed and another wounded whilst 
pursuing some Indians. I resolved to remove 
camp the next day to the head of the valley, 
where the emigrant trail crosses it and con- 
tinue the search until we became certain of 
their fate. The same evening I took sixty men 
under Captain Henness and struck upon the 
mountains and crossed the heads of the canyons 
to see if I could not strike his trail. Finding 
no sign, I returned to the place where the major 
had last been seen, and there made search in 
different directions and finally found the body 
of one of his men (Tooley) and where the 
major had encamped in the brush. From other 
signs it became evident to me that the major 
had returned to this post by the same trail by 
which we first entered the valley. 

"Being nearly out of provisions, and unable 
to follow the Indians from this delay, I con- 
cluded to return to camp, recruit for another 
expedition in conjunction with Captain Goff, 
who had, I presumed, returned from his ex- 
pedition to the John Day's river. 

"I should have mentioned previously that 
in the charge the command captured and after- 
w^ards destroyed about one hundred and fifty 
horse loads lacamas, dried beef, tents, some 
flour, coffee, sugar, and al)out one hundred 
pounds of ammunition and a great quantity of 
tools and kitchen furniture. We took also 
about two hundred horses, most of which were 
shot, there l)eing but about one hundred ser- 
viceable animals. 



"There were present on the ground from 
what I saw, and from information received 
from two squaws taken prisoners, about three 
liundred warriors of the Cayuse, Walla Walla, 
Umatilla, Tyh, John Day and Des Chutes 
tribes, commanded by the following chiefs: 
Stock Whitley and Simmistastas, Des Chutes 
and Tyh ; Chickiah, Plyon, W' icecai, Watah- 
siuartih, Winimiswoot, Ca3-uses, Tahkin, Cay- 
use, the son of Peupeumoxmox, Walla Walla 
and other chiefs of less note. 

"The whole command, officers and men, be- 
liaved well. The enemy was run on the gallop 
fifteen miles, and most of those who fell were 
s!-.()t with the revolver. It is impossible to 
state how many of the enemy were killed. 
Twenty-seven bodies were counted by one in- 
dividual, and many others were known to have 
fallen and been left, but were so scattered 
al)out that it was impossible to get count of 
them. When to these we added those killed by 
^iajor Maxon's command on the other side of 
the river, we may safely conclude that at least 
forty of the enemy were slain and many went 
off wounded. When we left the valley there 
was not an Indian in it, and all the signs went 
to show that they had gone a great distance 
from it. 

"On the twenty-first instant we left the val- 
ley Iiy the emigrant road and commenced our 
return to camp. During the night Lieutenant 
Hunter, of the Washington Territory volun- 
teers, came into camp with an express from 
Captain Goff'. I learned to my surprise that 
the captain and Major Layton had seen Indians 
on John Day's river, had followed them over 
to Burnt river and had a fight with them, in 
which Lieutenant Eustus and one private were 
killed, and some seven Indians. They were 
shaping their course for the Grande Ronde 
valley and had sent for provisions and fresh 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



horses. I immediately sent Lieutenant Will- 
iams back with all my spare provisions and 
horses and continued my march. On Wild 
Horse creek I came across Mr. Fites, a pack 
n-.aster who had been left in camp, who in- 
formed me, to my extreme satisfaction, that 
Major Maxon and his command had arrived 
safe in camp and were then near us with pro- 
visions and ammunition. These I sent on im- 
mediately to Captain Goff. 

"1 learned that Major !\Iaxon had been at- 
tacked in the valley by a large force of Indians 
on the day of the fight : had gained the brush 
and killed many of them; that at night he 
tried to find our camp and hearing a noise like 
a child crying, probably one of the captured 
snuaws, had concluded that my command had 
gone on to Powder river and that the Indians 
had returned to the valley by another canyon. 
He moved his position that night and the next 
day saw the scout looking for him, but in the 
distance thougbt that it was a band of Indians 
hunting his trail. Conceiving himself cut off 
from tlie command, he thought it best to re- 
turn to this camp, thinking that we would l)e 
on our way back to Grande Ronde with pro- 
visions and ammunition." 

\\ hile Shaw was winning this ver\' impi>rt- 
ant victory, Go\-erjior Stevens was making 
every eft'ort to sustain the friendly faction of 
the Xez Perces under Lawyer, aided by Will- 
iam Craig, a white man wlio had been adopted 
by the Xez Perce tribe and who had been one 
of the greatest factors in sustaining Governor 
Stevens. To hold the Walla Walla country 
seemed to the governor the key of the situation, 
because thus only could he come in touch with 
these faithful Nez Perces. The moral effect 
of Shaw's victory proved so great that the gov- 
ernor decided to go in person to Walla Walla 
to hold another great council of the friendly 



and neutral tribes and to get as many as possible 
of the hostiles to attend the same. He seems 
t') ha\e had the double aim of giving the hos- 
tiles e\'ery reasonable chance to make peace and 
also of refuting the slanderous charges of 
Wool to the eft'ect that he was treating the 
hostiles cruelly and dishonestly. On August 
3d he urgently advised Colonel Wright to es- 
tablish a permanent garrison in the Walla 
Walla valley and requested also that he meet 
him in conference at The Dalles on September 
14th. He also called out two hundred more 
\-olunteers to take the place of Shaw's force, 
whose term had expired. 

And so Governor Stevens set forth again 
on another of those harrassing, exhaustive and 
dangerous expeditions to which fate seemed to 
have appointed him. Reaching Vancouver on 
August 13th, he met Colonel Wright, who in- 
formed him that he could not attend the pro- 
posed council, but would dispatch Lieutenant 
Colonel Steptoe with four companies of regu- 
lars to reach \\'al!a Walla in season for the 
meeting. 

Ascending the river to The Dalles in com- 
pany with Colonel W^right, and while there 
meeting the chief officers of the command. Gov- 
ernor Stevens, with the ardor and enthusiasm 
of his nature, and with his personal ascendency 
over men, so influenced them that for the time 
being he seemed to have won them over entirely 
to hearty co-nperatinn with him in his plans. 
In reality, however, tliev were at that very 
time under orders from General Wool to dis- 
band the volunteers and expel them from the 
country and to forbid white settlers to remain 
;ni\-where in the n])]icr country, and to allow 
tlie Hudson's Bay ])Co])le only to occupy it. 
Wool's idea was to make the Cascade moun- 
tains the eastern frontier of American settle- 
ment ; a very wooly idea, if one may be par- 



82 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



donetl such a decrepit i)leasantry. Wright and 
Steptoe were ahnost guilty of dishonesty in 
allowing the gallant governor to proceed into 
the heart of the Indian country with such an 
erroneous impression of their real orders. 
Leaving The Dalles on August 19th the in- 
defatigable little governor pushed on ahead of 
Steptoe. attended only by Pearson, a trusty 
scout, and with no escort except the "Bull- 
punchers" of his ox train, he reached Shaw's 
camp, two miles above \\'alla ^^'alla, on the 
•23d. On September 5th. .Steptoe reached 
\\'alla ^^'alla and established himself at a point 
four miles below Shaw's camp, said by Lewis 
Mc^Iorris to have been at the present garri- 
son. The next day came Lawyer with a large 
force of Xez Perces, faithful still. 

Governor Stevens was exceedingly anxious 
to have perfect harmony of action with the reg- 
ulars and thereby present a united front to the 
enemy, manv of whom had drawn the cnn- 
ciusion that the regulars and volunteers were 
entirely different sets of people. He therefore 
requested Steptoe to move camp to a point near 
his own. On tb.e next morning Steptoe got un- 
der way and paused at the governor's tent, 
who supposed of course that he w-as going to 
make camp there. He was dum founded, as 
he well may have been, to discover that Step- 
toe was passing on from sight up the valley. 
This was the more startling, for on account 
of a report that volunteers below were being 
attacked, Shaw had gone down leaving Stevens 
with but ten men. However, it had now be- 
come necessary for Shaw and his force to leave 
permanently, and with this in \iew the gov- 
ernor requested Steptoe to return to his near 
vicinity; incredible as it may seem, Steptoe de- 
clined to do so, alleging that General Wool's 
orders did not authorize him to make any such 
arrangements. The governor, though it must 



have made his hot blood boil, had to retain 
a detachment of sixty-nine men and left Steptoe 
to his own devices, at a camp which was on 
tlie island on the present Gilkerson place. 
And now opens 

THE SECOND GRE.\T W.\LLA W.\LL.\ COUNCIL. 

Space does not permit us to gi\-e the de- 
tails of this remarkable meeting, fully as re- 
n^arkable as the one of the year before. The 
Kez Perces were in large force at first, and the 
faction under Lawyer was fully committed to 
the support of the whites. But a large num- 
ber, e\en of the Xez Perces, led by Looking 
Glass,' Speaking Owl, Joseph, Red Wolf and 
Eagle-from-the-Liglit, were plainly at the \'erge 
of outbreak. Kamiakain, the redoubtable chief 
of the Yakimas, was coming out with a strong 
force. The scrowling Cayuses and the brawny 
Umatillas came whooping, 3-elling and firing 
the prairie grass. ]\Iurder was in the air. Gov- 
ernor Stevens sent an urgent re(iuest to Step- 
toe to come to the council with at least one 
company. Steptoe returned an answer to the 
effect that if the Indians were reall}- meditating 
an outbreak he had not enough force to defend 
both camps, and therefore he deemed it neces- 
sary for Stevens to move to him. instead of he 
to Stevens. The heart of the fiery go\-ern()r 
was almost broken at this humilialinn. hut he 
had to yield to necessity, and he adjourned the 
council to Steptoe's camp. On the march 
Kamiakain and Owhi, with one hundred and 
five warriors under the immediate command of 
Cualchen, the murderer of Bolon, met them. 
The fierce and threatening lt)oks of these Yaki- 
ma braves did not reassure the little force and 
things looked exceedingly squally. On every 
day of the council but the first. Indians, armed 
to the teeth, took places near the governor, 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



83 



whh tlie evident design of murdering him and 
tl'.en attacking the force. Ixit tlie nerve and 
vigilance of tlie governor and those around him 
prevented. The faithful Nez Perces kept their 
drums heating all nigh.t and maintained a guard 
around Stevens" camp. As remarked before, 
the debt of gratitude to these Nez Perces is be- 
yond computation. One of the remarkable 
features of the last days of the council was the 
speech of Spotted Eagle, a Nez Perce, and one 
Of the warm adherents of the whites. Gov- 
ernor Stevens mentioned this speech as one 
which, for feeling, courage and truth, he had 
never seen surpassed. 

And now the council was ended, and what 
had been accomplished ? Nothing. They stood 
just where they were at first. Half the Nez 
Perces were determined to stand by the treaty, 
the other half not. All the other tribes were 
hostile. The governor repeated to them the 
terms of peace alone possible : "They must 
throw aside their gims and submit to the justice 
and mercy of the government, but as they were 
invited under safe conduct, they were safe in 
■coming, safe in council, and safe in going." 

Governor Stevens naturally felt disap- 
pointed at the failure of his hopes, but hav- 
ing done all that man could do he had no cause 
to reproach himself. Whatever impediments 
had fallen in his way were due to the position 
of General Wool and the officers who felt com- 
pelled to echo his opinions. It may very prop- 
erly be said here that \\'right and Steptoe dis- 
covered their errors soon and modified their 
lK)iicy. Wool ne\er did and in the early part 
of 1857 he was relieved of his command and 
was succeeded by General N. G. Clarke, who 
gave, as we shall learn later, a "new deal" to 
the impatient pioneers of Walla \\'alla and 
Other parts of the Inland Empire. 

And now the governor and his retinue must 



mi)\-e again westward. It must needs be that 
another battle be fought. Governor Stevens' 
own official report is the best summary of his 
return and of this last battle in Walla Walla: 

"So satisfied was I that the Indians would 
c;.rry into effect their determination a\'owed in 
the councils in their own camps for several 
nights previously to attack me, that in starting 
I formed my whole party and moved in order 
of battle. I moved on under fire one mile to 
water, when forming a corral of the wagons 
and holding the adjacent hills and the brush 
on the stream by pickets, I made my arrange- 
ments to defend my position and fight the In- 
dians. Our position in a low open basin five 
or six hundred yards across (he was attacked 
on what is now known as Charles Russell's 
ranch) was good, and with the aid of our corral 
we could defend ourselves against a vastly su- 
perior force of the enemy. 

"The fight continued till late in the night. 
Two charges were made to disperse the Indians, 
the last led by Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw in per- 
son with twenty-four men; but, whilst driving 
before him some one hundred and fifty Indians, 
an equal number pushed into his rear, and he 
was compelled to cut his way through them 
towards camp, when drawing up his men, and 
aided by the teamsters and pickets who gal- 
lantly sprang forward, he drox'e the Indians 
back. in full charge upon the corral. Just be- 
fore the charge the friendly Nez Perces, fifty 
i.i number, who had been assigned to hokl the 
ridge on the south side of the corral, were told 
by the enemy they came not to fight the Nez 
Perces but the whites. 'Go to your camp,' 
said they, 'or we will wipe it out." Their camp, 
with the women and children, was on a stream 
about a mile distant and I directed them to re- 
tire as I did not rerpiire their assistance and 
was fearful that mv men might not be able to 



84 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



distinguish tliem from liostiles, and thus friend- 
ly Indians he killed. 

"Tt)\vards night I notifietl Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Steptoe that I was fighting the Indians; 
that I should move the next morning and ex- 
pressed the opinion that a company of his troops 
would he of service. In his reply he stated that 
the Indians had hurned up his grass and sug- 
gested that I should return to his camp, and 
place at his disposal my wagons, in order that 
lie might move his whole command and his 
supplies to the L'matilla or some other point, 
where sustenance could be found for his ani- 
mals. To this arrangement I assented and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe sent to my camp 
Lieutenant Davidson, with detachments from 
the companies of dragoons and artillery with 
a mounted howitzer. They reached my camp 
about two o'clock in the morning, everything 
in good order and most of the men at the corral 
asleep. A picket had been driven in an hour 
and a half before by the enemy, that on the hill 
south of the corral, but the enemy was im- 
mediately dislodged and ground pits being dug, 
all the points were held. The howitzer having 
bten fired on the way out, it was believed noth- 
ing would be gained by waiting tUl morning 
and the whole force immediately returned to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe's camp. 

"Soon after sunrise the enemy attacked the 
camp, but w^as soon dislodged by the howitzer 
and a charge by detachment from Steptoe's 
command. On my arrival at the camp I urged 
Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe to build a block 
house immediately; to leave one company to 
defend it with all his supplies, then to march 
below and return with an additional force and 
additional supplies, and by a vigorous winter 
campaign to whip the Indians into submission. 
I placed at his disposal for the building my 



teams anti hulian employes. The block hou>e 
and stockade were built in a little more than 
ten days. My Indian store room was rebuilt 
at one corner of the stockade. 

"On the 23d day of September we started 
for The Dalles, which we reached on the 2d of 
October. Nothing of interest occurred on the 
road. 

"In the action of the 19th, my whole 
force consisted of Gofif's company of sixty- 
nine, rank and file, the teamsters, herders and 
Indian employes, numbering about fifty men. 
(3ur train consisted of about five hundred ani- 
mals, not one of which was captured by the 
enemy. We fought four hundred and fifty 
Indians and had one man mortall}', one dan- 
gerously and two slightly wounded. We 
killed and wounded thirteen Indians. One- 
half the Xez Perces, one hundred and twenty 
warriors, all of the Yakimas and Palouses, 
tw(j hundred warriors: the great bulk of the 
Cayuses and L'matillas and an unknown num- 
ber of the \\'alla Wallas and Indians from 
other bands were in the fight. The principal 
war chiefs were the son of Ouhi, Isle de 
Pere and Chief Ouoltomee; the latter of 
whom had two horses shot under him. and 
who showed me a letter from Colonel Wright 
acknowledging his valuable services in bring- 
ing about the peace of the Yakimas. 

"I have failed, therefore, in making the 
desired arrangements with the Indians in the 
Walla Walla, and the failure, to be attrib- 
uted in part to the want of co-operation with 
me as superintendent of Indian affairs on the 
part of the regular troops, has its causes also 
in the wlmle plan of operations of the troops 
since Colonel \\'right assumed command. 

"The Xez Perces, entirely friendly last 
December and January, became first disaf- 



HISTORY OF WALLA ^^^•\LLA COUNTY. 



85 



fected in consequence of the then chief of the 
Cayuses. L'mehowiish, and the friendly Cay- 
uses going into the Nez Perce country con- 
trary to my positive orders. I refused to 
allow them to go there in December last, say-i 
ing to them : T have ordered the Nez Percen 
to keep hostiles out of the country. If you 
go there your friends in the war party will 
come; they cannot be kept out. Through 
them disaffection will spread among a portion 
of the Xez Perces.' Umehowlish, my pris- 
oner, was sent into the Xez Perce country 
by Colonel Wright, and from the time of his 
arrival there all the efforts made by Agent 
Craig to prevent the spread of disaffection 
were abortive. What I apprehended and 
predicted had already come to pass. Look- 
ing Glass, the prominent man of the lower 
Nez Perces, endeavored to betray me on the 
Spokane as I was coming in from the Black- 
foot council, and I was satisfied from that 
time that he was only awaiting a favoraI)le 
moment to join bands with Kamaiakun in a 
w'ar upon the whites, and Colonel Wright's 
management of affairs in the Yakima fur- 
nished the opportunity. 

"The war was commenced in the Yakima 
on our part in consequence of the attempt 
first to seize the murderers of the agent Bo- 
lon and the miners who had passed through 
their country; and, second, to punish the trilje 
for making common cause with them and 
driving Major Haller out of the country. It 
is greatly to be deplored that Colonel Wright 
had ni;)t first severely chastised the Indians, 
and insisted not only upon the rendition of 
the murderers, but upon the absolute and un- 
cfMiditional submission of the whole tribe to 
the justice and mercy of the government. 
The long delavs which occurred in the Ya- 



kimas, the talking and not fighting, this at- 
tempt to pacify the Indians and not reducing 
them to submission, thus giving safe conduct 
to murderers and assassins and not seizing 
them for summary and exemplary punish- 
ment, gave to Kamaiakun the whole field of 
the interior, and l)y threats, lies and prom- 
ises he has brought into the combination one- 
half of the Nez Perce nation, and the least 
thing may cause the Spokanes, Cceur d'Alenes, 
Coh-illes and Okanogans to join them. 

'T state boldly that the cause of the Nez 
Perces becoming disaffected and finally going 
into war, is the operations of Colonel Wright 
east of the Cascades — operations so feeble, 
so procrastinating, so entirely unequal to the 
emergency, that not only has a most severe 
blow been struck at the credit of the gov- 
ernment and the prosperity and character of 
tliis remote section of the country, but the 
impression has been made upon the Indians 
that the people and the soldiers were a dif- 
ferent people. I repeat to you officially that 
when the Indians attacked me, they expected 
Colonel Steptoe would not assist me, and 
when they awoke from their delusion, Kama- 
iakun said, T will now let these people know 
who Kamaiakun is." One of the good effects 
of the fight is, that the Indians have learned 
that we are one people, a fact which had not 
previously been made apparent to them by 
the operations of the regular troops. 

"Is, sir, the army sent here to protect our 
people and punish Indian tribes, who without 
cause and in cold blood, and in spite of sol- 
emn treaties, murder our people, burn our 
houses and wipe out entire settlements? Ir, 
it the duty of General Wool and his officers 
to refuse to co-operate with me in my appro- 
priate duties as sui)erintendent of Indian af- 



86 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



fairs, and thus practically to assume those issue edicts prohibiting settlers returning tO' 

duties themselves? Is it the duty of General their claims, and thus for at least one county 

Wool, in his schemes of pacifying the Indians, ■ — the Walla Walla — make himself dictatnr of 

to trample dmvn the laws of Congress; to the country ?"' 



CHAPTER VII. 



DEFINITE ORGAXIZATION OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY AND POLITICAL HISTORY, 

1859 TO 1863. 

It was not until the autumn of Ihe yeat lands along the various streams as far north- 
1858 that the Walla Walla country was for- east as the present site of Dayton, located 
mally opened to permanent settlement or oc- on the Touchet river, in Columbia county, 
cupation by white men, and even yet it was Walla \\'alla county was as yet hobbling 
not until the following spring that Congress along with essentially no political organiza- 
ratified the Indian treaties made through the tion. as has been noted in a precetling chai)- 
efforts of Governor Stevens in 1855. The ter. The legislature, however, made another 
Indians were, however, in a state of subjec- effort to look after the destinies of this ter- 
tion and fear, owing to the successful work ritorial offspring, and in 1859, under an act 
of Colonel George \\'right in his recent ex- bearing date of January 19th of that year, 
peclition directed against the hostile savages once more appointed officers to ser\'e the 
in this section of the territory. This circum- ccnmty, the incumbents to retain their posi- 
stance made it ])racticable for the white set- tions until the election and (jualification of 
tiers to come in and occupy the lands. A their successors. The oflicers thus appointed 
number of ranchers and cattle men soon es- \\'ere as follows: County commissioners, 
tablished themselves along the streams run- John Mahan, Walter R. Davis, John C. Smith ; 
ning forth from the western base of the Blue sheriff, Edward D. Pearce; auditor. R. H. 
mmmtains. Among those who thus located I'veighart: probate judge, Samuel D. Smith; 
in this section during the ckxsing months of justice of the peace, J. A. Simms. Commis- 
1858 may be mentioned Thomas P. Page, sioners ]\lalian and Davis met at Walla \\';illa 
James Foster, Charles Russell, J. C. Smith, on the 15th of }ilarch, 1859, and, as author- 
Christopher ^laier, John Singleton, John A. ized by the general law of the territory, ap- 
Simms and Joseph .McAvoy, all of whom pointed James Cialbreath auditor and Lycur- 
long continued iheir residence there, being gus Jackson sheriff, after which they ad- 
well-known ])ii)neers. Mr. Simms subse- journed. 1. T. Reese was elected recorder 
cjuently became Indian agent at the Colville in the following July, and upon him devolved 
reservation, where he served acceptably. The the duty of properly entering upon the rec- 
year 1859 showed a materia! influx of per- orils the minutes of the proceedings of this 
manent settlers, ranchers filing claims to first, as well as subsecjuent meetings, of the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



»7 



commissioners. The secoiul meeting of the 
board was held on tlie J6th of March, when 
E. H. I'rown was appointed probate judge; 
Lycurgus Jaci<son, assessor ; Neil McGlin- 
chey, county treasurer; and Wihiam B. Kelly, 
superintendent of public schools. At this 
session of the lioard was also made provision 
for a general election, to be held in July, for 
which purpose the county was divided into 
two voting i)recincts, — known respectively as 
Drv Creek precinct and Steptoeville precinct. 
In the former the polling place designated 
was the residence of J. C. Smith, the judges 
being E. Bonner, J. ^l. Craigie and William 
Fink. Many were advocating the name of 
Steptoeville as the appellation for the county- 
seat, and for this precinct the balloting was 
to be done at the church in "Steptoeville." 
The election judges for this latter precinct 
were J. A. Simons, William B. Kel'y and 
William McWhirk, while to Thomas Hughes 
were assigned the duties of clerk, and under 
such official supervision was duly held the sec- 
ond election in Walla Walla county, the first 
having been held in 1855. 

The original board of commissioners met 
again jjrior to the election, their session hav- 
ing been held on the 6th of June, at Steptoe- 
ville. -At this time were arrangements made 
for the renting uf a conrt-house, for which 
accommodations the stupendous sum of 
twenty dollars per month was to be paid, 
while a tax le\'y of seven mills on the dollar 
was also made. At a meeting held on the 
2d of July, the commissioners accepted the 
resignation of James Gallireath, county audi- 
tor, appointing as his successor in the office 
Augustus Von Hinkle. At this meeting the 
name of Steptoeville was changed to Waii- 
latpu. 

Of ihe election held in July, 1859, no rec- 



ords are e.xtant, but that it occurred in due 
order is evident, for on the 5th of September 
following the new l)oard of commissioners 
assembled and by ballot determined their re- 
spective terms of service, — Charles Russell, 
one year; John ^Nlahan, two years; and Will- 
liam AlcWhirk, three years. The records 
of this meeting gi\'e the essential data in re- 
gard to the election, which, as above noted, 
had occurred, though no definite record of 
the same can n(_iw be fnund. The county offi- 
cers, therefore, whose bonds were ajjproved 
at this session of the board were as follows: 
.Auditor, I. T. Reese; sheriff, Lycurgus Jack- 
son; treasurer, Ne 1 AlcGlinchey; assessor, 
Thomas P. Page; surveyor, PL H. Case; jus-i 
tice of the peace, J. M. Canaday. To Mr. 
Reese was voted the sum of forty dollars per 
month for the rent of court-house. 

THE COUNTY SE.\T VILLAGE OF W.\LL.\ W.VLLA 

RECEIVES ITS NAME. 

The \-illage of Walla Walla was so desig- 
n;ited by the county commissioners at their 
meeting on November 7, '1859, and there was 
simultaneously granted to it a town go\'ern- 
ment. Here also was formally established the 
coimty-seat. — a due (|uota of glory antl hom^r 
for one day. The great fire which occurred 
ill 1865 destroyed many valuable records touch- 
ing the early political affairs of the county, 
such as election returns, assessment rolls, etc. 

THE ELECTION OF 1860. 

.\t a meeting held on the 7th of May, 
iXC)!), the county commissioners jilaced the tax 
le\-y for the _\-ear at se\-en mills on the di)llar, 
anil preparatory for the election in July fol- 
lowing divided the comity into f\\c voting 



88 



HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



districts. — Walla \\'alla. Dry Creek. Snake 
Ri\er. East Touchet and West Touchet. At 
this election there was submitted to the peo- 
ple the (|uestion as to whether or not a tax 
should be levied for the erection of a court- 
house and jail, and while the records, as pre- 
viously mentioned, do not give the returns 
for said election in any respect, the fact that 
the two buildings were not built at that time 
offers adequate evidence as to the negative 
character of the vote of the qualified electors 
of the county. Prisoners of the county still 
continued to be sent to Fort Vancouver to 
languish in durance \ile. The officers elected 
in July, i860, were as follows: Auditor and 
recorder, James Galbreath; sheriff, James A. 
Buckley; surveyor, M. J. Xoyse; assessor, 
C. Langley; coroner, Almiron Daggett; jus- 
tices of the peace. William J. Horton, John 
Sheets, Horace Strong, Elisha Everetts and 
William B. Kelly. Of the transactions of 
this official corps no trace of record can be 
found, but at the county election held in July, 
1861, the board of county commissioners con- 
sisted of W. H. Patton. S. Maxon and John 
Sheets. On the 5th of November Sheriff 
Buckley was appointed county assessor, S. 
Owens, who had been elected to the office in 
1861. having failed to qualify. The sheriff' 
had been, by virtue of his office, tax collector, 
and his appointment as assessor was a con- 
sistent action on the part of the board. That 
the citizens of the county still had certain 
yearnings for a bastile in which to confine 
malefactors, is shown in the fact that, on the 
8th of November the commissioners awarded 
to Charles Russell the contract to build a 
cdunty jail, at a cost of three thousand three 
Inunlretl and fifty dollars. The building was 
duly completed in the year 1862, the con- 
tractor receiving in payment for his services 



six thousand seven' hundred dollars in scrip. 
It is worthy of note in the connection that, 
in 1 88 1, Mr. Russell purchased from the 
county this historic old building, which had 
been the scene and center of many thrilling 
events, demolished it, and removed the debris 
to his ranch. For the building which he had 
thus erected at the behest of the county ha 
paid the sum of one hundred and twenty dol- 
lars, and it was not criminal salvage at that. 

THE EFFECT OF THE GOLD EXCITEMENT 

IX i860. 

In a preceding chapter we have had occa- 
sion to incidentally mention the gold excite- 
ment of 1S60, which eventually had so pro- 
nounced an effect upon the growth and de- 
velopment of the eastern portion of the ter- 
ritory of Washington. Prior to 1861 there 
had been but little to encourage permanent 
settlements by emigrants in the vicinity of the 
Blue mountains, where now stretch far and 
wide some of the most productive and valua- 
lile farming and fruit lands in the Union. 
In fact, it may be said that even as late as 
1 86 1 there was obtained a very slight concep- 
tion of the great intrinsic value of this sec- 
tion as an agricultural district, land available 
for cultivation being considered as of limited 
extent. What a revelation has been made in 
less than a half century! Even had the art 
of agriculture been forced forward here at 
the time mentioned, there was practically no 
market for products, no shipping facilities be- 
ing available, and aside from those connected 
with the garrison at Fort Walla Walla there 
v.ere no purchasers to be found for the prod- 
ucts of the soil. Those who had come hither 
and taken up ranches along the various water 
courses devoted the same to grazing purposes. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



89 



their plan being to utilize the lands for cattle- 
raising for an interval of a few years, rais- 
ing small crops of grain for their own use in 
the meantime, and, perhaps, having a small 
residuum to sell. A well-known historian 
has said in regard to the conditions existing, 
that "had the military post been abandoned 
in i860 but few whites would have remained 
east of the Cascades, and stock-raising would 
have been the only inducement for anyone to 
remain there." 

But through an unexpected source there 
was to be given an impetus to the settlement 
and development of this region. That metal 
which men hold as the basis of all values 
was destined to draw its devotees to eastern 
Washington and to absolutely transform the 
character of the country. One of the most 
notable gold excitements known to history 
was soon to come. It is related that a Nez 
Perce Indian made his way to California at 
the time of the gold excitement there, form- 
ing the acquaintance of some miners, whom 
he impressed by his intelligence and dignity 
of bearing. Among these miners was a some- 
what visionary and enthusiastic man, E. D. 
Pearce, to whom the Xez Perce brave gave 
information as to his home in the far distant 
mountain fastnesses of what is now Idaho. 
He told a fantastic and romantic tale of the 
accidental discovery which had been made by 
himself and two companions while encamped 
for the night among the mountains which 
had been his haunt from childhood. .\ light 
of surpassing brightness was suddenly re- 
vealed to them among the cliffs, having the 
appearance of a refulgent star. The super- 
stitious Indians regarded the shining object 
with awe, deeming it to be the eye of the 
Great Spirit, but at daybreak they summoned 
sufficient courage to investigate, eventually 



finding "a glittering ball that looked like 
glass," the same being imbedded in the solid 
rock. They were unable to dislodge the ob- 
ject, which they believed to be "great medi- 
cine." Pearce became imbued with the idea 
that the red men had discovered a wonder- 
ful diamond, and he determined to secure the 
same if possible. Upon this seemingly trivial 
circumstance hinged the disco\'ery of gold in 
what was eastern Washington, in i860. 
Pearce eventually made his way to the dalles 
of the Columbia and thence came to Walla 
Wklla, where he took up his abode. He 
scouted through the mountains east of Snake 
river and finally associated himself with a 
party, who were animated by the hope of 
finding gold, by reason of his representations, 
while he himself had ever in mind the won- 
derful diamond. 

The little exploring party comprised seven 
men, but they were eventually ordered out 
of the Nez Perce country by the Indians, who 
were suspicious of their plans. Pearce finally 
induced a Nez Perce scjuaw to lead them 
through to the Lolo trail by a route which the 
members of her tribe seldom utilized. They 
proceeded to the north fork of the Clearwater 
river, through the Palouse country, and even- 
tually camped on a meadow among the moun- 
tains. There one of the company, W. F. 
Bassett, tried for gold in the soil of a little 
stream which traversed the gulch. He found 
about three cents' worth of gold in his first 
pan, this being the original discovery of the 
precious metal in those mountains, and the 
place being tlie site of the famous Oro Fino 
mines, in the present state of Idaho. 

After washing out about eighty dollars in 
gold the party returned to Walla Walla, mak- 
ing their headquarters at the home of J. C. 
Smith, on Drv creek, and finallv fo thor- 



90 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



oiighly enlisting his interest and co-operation 
that he fitted out a party of about fifteen 
men, largely at his own expense, to return to 
the new gold fields for the winter. Sergeant 
Smith's party reached tlie mines in November, 
i860, arousing the antipathy and distrust of 
the Indians, who appealed to the government 
officers for the protection of their reserve 
from such encroachments. A body of sol- 
diers from Fort Walla Walla started out for 
the mines, with the intention of removing the 
interlopers, but the heavy snowfall in the 
mountains rendered the little party of miners 
inaccessible, so they were not molested. Dur- 
ing the winter the isolated miners devoted 
their time to building five log cabins, the first 
habitations erected in Oro Fino, sawing the 
lumber by hand. They also continued to 
work for gold under the snow, and about the 
first of January, 1861, two of the men made 
a successful trip to the settlements, by the 
utilizing of snow-shoes, while in March Ser- 
geant Smith made a similar trip, taking with 
him eight hun<lre(l dollars in gold dust. From 
this reserve he was able to pay Kyger & Reese, 
of Walla \\"alla. the balance due them on the 
prospecting outfit which had been supplied to 
the adventurous little i)arty in the snowy 
mountains. The gold dust was sent to Port- 
land. Oregon, and soon the new mines were 
the subject of maximum interest, the ultimate 
result being a "gold excitement" quite equal 
to that of California in 1S49, ''i"'l within a 
few montlis the rush to tlie new diggings was 
on in earnest, thousands starting forth for the 
favored region. 

\V.\LLA W.\LLA BENEFITED BY THE RUSH 
FOR GOLD. 

The budding city of \\'alla Walla profited 
materially by the influx of gold-seekers, who 



made their way up the Columbia river and 
tlience moved forward. to \\'alla Walla, which 
became the great outfitting headquarters for 
those en route to the gold country. At this 
point were purchased provisions, tools, camp 
accoutrements and the horses or mules re- 
quired to pack the outfits to the mines. 
Through this unforeseen circumstance there 
was now a distinctive local market afforded 
for the products of the Walla Walla country, 
and the farmer who had produce of any sort 
to sell might esteem himself fortunate, for 
good prices were freely offered. Nearly all 
the grain that had Ijeen produced in the coun- 
try was held, in tlie spring of 1861. in the 
mill owned and operated by Simms. Reynolds 
& Dent, the total amount not amounting to 
twenty thousand bushels. This surplus com- 
manded a high price, the farmers receiving 
two and one-half dollars per bushel fur their 
wheat, while at the mines the operators were 
compelled to pay one dollar a pound for the 
flour manufactured therefrom. The inade- 
quacy of the local supply of food pnnlucts 
was such that, had not additional provender 
been transported from Oregon, starvation 
would ha\-e stared the miners in the face. 
This fact gave rise to the almost unprece- 
dented prices demanded for the jiroducts essen- 
tial to the maintenance of life. New mining 
districts were discoxered by the eager pros- 
pectors and all was bustle ami activity in the 
mining region until the fall of 1861. In No- 
vember of that year manv of the miners came 
to Walla Walla for the winter, bringing their 
hard-earned treasure with them and often 
sjiending it with the ]irodigality so typical of 
the mining fraternitv in the early days. 

Although manv <if the diggings yielded 
from six to ten dollars per day, many of the 
operators feared the ravages of a severe win- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



9r 



ter and fully realized the animus of the mer- 
chants at Oro Fino, who refused to sell their 
goods, l)elie\'ing' that starxation would ulti- 
mately face the miners and that they could 
then secure any i:)rice they might see fit to 
demand. In November of the year noted the 
prices at Oro Fino were quiited as follows 
on certain of the necessaries of life: Flour, 
twenty-five dollars per one hundred pounds ; 
beef, thirty cents per pound; coffee, not to be 
had; candles, not for sale; and bacon and 
beans, exceedingly scarce. That the pros- 
pectors and miners should seek to hibernate 
nearer civilization and take refuge in Walla 
Walla was but naltural under the circum- 
stances. 

During the rush to the mining districts, 
both in 1861 and i86j, Walla Walla was the 
scene of the greatest actix'ity : streets were 
crowded ; the merchants were tloing a thriv- 
ing business ; and pack trains moved in a 
seemingly endless procession toward the gold 
fields. The excitement was fed by the glow- 
ing reports that came inmi th.e mining dis- 
tricts, and the natural result was to augment 
the flood of gold-seekers pouring into the 
mining districts in the spring of 1862, as will 
be noted later on. As an example of the allur- 
ing reports entered in the latter part of 1861, 
we may appropriately quote from the Wash- 
ington Statesman of that period, said paper 
being published in Walla Walla, and being 
the precursor of the Walla Walla Statesman 
of the present day. From an editorial in said 
publication we make the following extract: 

S. F. Ledyard arrived last evening from the .Salmon 
river mines, and from him it is learned that some six 
hundred miners would winter there; that some two hun- 
dred had gone to the south side of the river, where two 
streams head that empty into the Salmon, some thirty 
miles southeast of present mining camp. Coarse gold is 
found, and as high as one hundred dollars per day to the 



man has been taken out. The big mining claim of the 
old locality belongs to Mr. Wiser, of Oregon, from where 
two thousand, six hundred and eighty dollars were taken 
on the 20th, with two rockers. On the 21st, three thous- 
and, three hundred and sixty dollars were taken out with 
the same machines. Other claims were paying from two 
to five pounds per day. Flour has fallen to fifty cents 
per pound, and beef, at from fifteen to twenty-five cents, 
is to be had in abundance. Most of the mines supplied 
until first of June. Mr. L. met between Slate Creek and 
Walla Walla, en route for the mines, three hundred and 
ninety four packs and two hundred and fifty head of beef 
cattle. 

In the issue of the Statesman for Decem- 
ber 13. 1861, appears the following interest- 
ing information concerning the mines and the 
inducements there oft'ered: 

The tide of emigration to Salmon river flows steadily 
onward. During the week past, not less than two hundred 
and twenty-five pack animals, heavily laden with provis- 
ions, have left this city for the mines. If the mines are 
one-half so rich as they are said to be, we may safely calcu- 
late that many of these trains will return as heavily laden 
with gold dust as they now are with provisions. 

The late news from Salmon river seems to have 
given the gold fever to everybody in this immediate 
neighborhood. A number of persons from Florence City 
have arrived in this place, during the week, and all bring 
the most extravagant reports as to the richness of the 
mines. A report, in relation to a rich strike made by Mr. 
Bridges, of Oregon City, seems to come well authenticated. 
The first day he worked on his claim (near Baboon gulch) 
he took out fifty-seven ounces; the second day he took 
out one hundred and fifty-seven ounces; third day, two 
hundred and fourteen ounces, and the fourth day, two 
hundred ounces in two hours. One gentleman informs 
us that diggings have been found on the bars of Salmon 
river which yield from twenty-five cents to two dollars 
and fifty cents to the pan, and that on claims in the Sal- 
mon river, diggings have been found where "ounces" 
won't describe them, and where they say the gulches are 
full of gold. The discoverer of Baboon gulch arrived in 
this city yesterday, bringing with him sixty pounds of 
gold dust, and Mr. Jacob Weiser is on his way with a 
mule loaded with gold dust. 

\\ ithin the year more than one and one- 
half millions of dollars in gold dust had been 
shi])ped from the mining districts, — a circum- 
stance which of itself was enough to create 
a wide-spread and infectious gold-fever. An.- 
ticipating the rush for the mines in the vear 



92 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



1862. a great deal of live-stock liad been 
brought to the Walla Walla country in the 
latter part of 1861. while the demands for 
food i^roducts led many ranchers to make 
provisions for raising greatly increased crops 
of grain and other produce to meet the de- 
mands of the coming season. 

The winter of 1861-2 was one of utmost 
severity, and its rigors entailed a gigantic loss 
to residents throughout the eastern por- 
tion of \\'ashington territory, — a section 
practically isolated from all other portions of 
the world for many weeks. It has been said 
that this "was the severest winter known to 
the whites on the Pacific coast." The stock 
in the Walla Walla country perished by the 
thousands, the animals being unable to secure 
feed and thus absolutely starving to death. 
From December to Alarch the entire country 
here was et¥ectually hedged in by the \'a^t 
quantities of snow and the severely cold 
weather. Xot until March 22d do we find 
the statement in the local newspaper that 
^varm rains had set in and that the snow had 
commenced to disappear. One result is shown 
in the further remark, that "Occasionally the 
sun shines out, when the sunny side of the 
street is lined with men." The loss of stock 
in this section during that memorable winter 
was estimated at fully one million dollars, hay 
having reached the phenomenal price of one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars per ton, while 
flour commanded twenty-five dollars per bar- 
rel in Walla \\'alla. It may not l)e malajiro- 
pos to quote a list of prices which obtained 
in the Ore Fino mining region in Deceml)er-, 
1861 : Bacon, fifty to sixty cents per pound; 
flour, twenty-five to thirty dollars per hun- 
dred weight; beans, twenty-five to thirty 
cents per pound; rice, forty to fifty cents per 
pound ; butter, seventy-five cents to one dol- 



lar; sugar, forty to fifty cents; candles, eighty 
cents to one dollar per pound ; tea, one dollar 
and a quarter to one and a half per pound; 
tobacco, one dollar to one and a half; cofifee, 
fifty cents. 

RUSH OF GOLD-SEEKERS IX 1 862. 

In view of the recent gold excitement in 
Alaska, how familiarly will read the follow- 
ing statements from the Washington States^ 
man of March 22, 1862; "From persons who 
ha\-e arrived here from The Dalles during 
the week, we learn that there were some four 
thousand miners in Pcirtland fifteen days ago, 
awaiting the opening of navigation to thq 
upper country. Hundreds were arriving by 
every steamer, and the town was literally filled 
to overflowing." Under date of April 5th, 
tlie same paper gives the following pertinent 
information; "From one hundred and thirty 
to one hundred and forty passengers, on their 
way to the mines, come up to Wallula on every 
steamer, and the majority of them foot it 
through to this place (Walla Walla)." By 
the last of May it was estimated by some 
that between twenty-five and thirty thousand 
persons had reached or were en route to the 
mining regions east of the Cascades, but con- 
servative men now in Walla \\'alla regard 
that a great overestimate. The merchants of 
Walla Walla profited largely through the pat- 
ronage of the ever advancing column of pros- 
pectors and miners, but the farmers did not 
fare so well, owing to the extreme devasta- 
tions of the severe winter just passed. Enough 
has been said to indicate the causes which 
led to the rapid settlement and development 
of eastern Washington and Oregon, — an ad- 
vancement that might have taken many years 
to accomplish had it not been for the discov- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



93 



ery of gold, in so romantic a manner. Tlio 
yield of gold reported through regular chan- 
nels for the year 1862 aggregated fully seven 
millitin dollars, and it is certain that several 
millions were also sent out through mediums 
which gave no record. 

Li February, 1862, food products and 
merchandise commanded the following prices 
at Florence : Flour, one dollar per pound ; ba- 
con, one dollar and a quarter; butter, three 
dollars; cheese, one dollar and a half; lard, 
one dollar and a quarter ; sugar, one dollar and 
a quarter; coffee, two dollars; tea, two dollars 
and a half; gum boots per pair, thirty dollars; 
shovels, from twelve to sixteen dollars. 

POLITIC.\L HISTORY OF THE YEAR. 

The status of affairs in Walla Walla 
county at the opening of the year 1862 was 
radically tlitferent from what it had been at 
the time of the last county election, and the 
matter of choosing incumbents for the vari- 
ous official positions had become one of no little 
importance. The rapid increase in popula- 
tion and the varying character of those who 
had taken up their abode, for a greater or 
less time, within the boundaries of the county 
rendered it imperative that men of ability and 
sterling worth should be selected to adminis- 
ter the affairs of the county, where lawless- 
ness and crime walked side by side with vir- 
tue and rectitude. Many rough characters 
were attracted to the mining districts, and a 
large proportion of these had slight regard 
for the value of human life or for personal 
probity. Political affiliations had but little 
weight, under the circumstances, with the 
better element of the county's population; it 
was recognized as essential that good men 
should be chosen for office, rather than that 
the party lines should be strenuously drawn. 



A call for a mass convention was issued 
prior to the July election, the same bearing the 
signatures of the following named represent- 
ative citizens : R. H. Archer, J. D. Agnew, 
Ouin. A. Brooks, C. S. Bush, D. S. Baker, 
\\'. A. Ball, J. Buckley, O. L. Bridges, S. 
Buckley, A. J. Cain, H. J. Cady, E. P. Crans- 
ton, F. A. Chenoweth, W\ W. De Lacy, J. P. 
Goodhive, H. M. Hodges, W. P. Horton, 
J. Hellmuth, H. Howard, J. B. Ligersoll, W. 
W. Johnson, R. Jacobs, Kohlhauff & Guich- 
ard, E. E. Kelly, A. Kyger, S. Linkton, AL 
Lazarus, N. Northrop, E. Nugent, J. M. 
Norton, W. Phillips, W. H. Patton, R. R. 
Rees, L T. Reese, A. B. Roberts, B. Sheede- 
man, J. A. Simms, A. Schwabacker, John 
Sheets, D. J. Schnebly, J. Van Dyke and D. 
Young. 

For some unknown cause the convention, 
which assembled in Walla Walla on the 21st 
of June, 1862, failed to place candidates in 
nomination, but that various candidates were 
put forward is shown by the records. The 
election occurred on the 14th of July, the re- 
sult being as follows : For representative in 
the territorial legislature N. Northrop received 
355 votes; S. D. Smith 317, H. i\L Chase 
302, and F. A. ChenOweth 132; other officers 
elected being: Edward Nugent, district at- 
torney; James McAulifY, treasurer; H. ^L 
Hodgis, assessor; W. W. Johnson, surveyor; 
J. F. \Vood, superintendent of schools ; L. C. 
Kinney, coroner; and James Van Dyke, John 
Sheets and S. S. Galbreath, county commis- 
sioners. James Buckley was appointed sheritt, 
serving until February, 1863, on the 7th of 
which month Isaac L. Roberts was appointed 
as his successor, holding the office only to the 
17th of March, when he resigned, E. B. Whit- 
man being appointed, to fill the vacancy. 
James Van Dyke resigned the office of com^ 



94 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



jnissioner in August, 1863, and on the 5th 
of September of that year H. D. O'Brj-an 
was appointetl to the office. S. S. Galbreath 
failed to (|ualify as commissioner at the time 
•of liis election, hut held the office by appoint- 
ment, the same having been made on the 5th 
•of August. 1862. 



MATERI.\L PROGRESS OF WALLA WALLA 

couNxy IN 1862. 

The onspeeding tide of gold-seekers did 
not fail to bring in its wake a due quota of 
permanent settlers, for the resources of the 
\\'alla Walia valley began to receive a more 
grateful appreciation. Quite a large number 
of emigrants settled along the creeks and 
rivers skirting the base of the Blue mount- 
ains at the north and west. Farmers jiro- 
duced little to sell, and prices continued to be 
high. Sufficient grain had, ho\ve\'er, been 
raised to warrant the erection of another 
flouring mill, the same having been built l)y 
A. H. Reynolds, on Yellow Ha\\k creek. 
This was originally known as the Frontier 
mill, later as the Star. Captain Medorem 
Crawford, who was in command of the emi- 
grant escort of about eighty men, crossing 
the plains in 1862, and whose statements may 
be considered as authoritative as any data 
a\-ailable, estimated the number of wagons on 
the road for Washington territory and Ore- 
gon at sixteen hundred, and the number of 
persons at ten thousand. A large number of 
emigrants, principally from Iowa, settled in 
the Grande Ronde valley, being people of ster- 
ling worth and invincible courage, — the true 



l)asic elements of a prosperous commonwealth. 
A saw-mill was erected at the head of the val- 
ley, and the town of LaGrande sprung into 
being, having about fifteen houses in the fall 
of 1862. Flour sold there at fifteen dollars 
per hundredweight. 

In November, 1862, we have the authority 
of the Washington Statesman to maintain 
that the town of LaGrande had a population 
of one hundred, two stores, one hotel and a 
blacksmith shop. In March, 1862, Lewiston, 
at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater 
rivers, had been laid out as a town, Wallula 
gaining a similar prestige in the following 
month, lieing located on the Columbia river. 
At the close of the year 1862 Walla ^^'alla, 
a city of less than one hundred houses, nest- 
ling at the base of the Blue mountains; La- 
Grande, in the mountain valley, as noted ; the 
military trading post at The Dalles : Pinkney 
City (Colville), in Spokane county, consti- 
tuted, with the two previously mentioned, the 
village settlements established between the 
Rocky and Cascade ranges. Besides these 
there were, of course, tlie primitive mining 
towns in the mountains, the same being, how- 
ever, little more than camps. 

It was exceedingly gratifying to the in- 
habitants of this section to find that the win- 
ter of 1862-3 proved as mild and equable as 
had the previous one been austere and rig- 
orous. L'p to the beginning of February, 
1863. there had been practically no winter, 
and a grateful Chinook wind cleared the val- 
ley of snow, on the i6th of that month, the 
snow having, in fact, been in evidence for but 
a week. This represented the end of the win- 
ter. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



POLITICAL HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 1S63-1866. 



The legislature of 1858, by the erection 
of Spokane county, made the Snake river con- 
stitute the north and east boundary line of 
\\'alla Walla county, which still included all 
the territory between the Cascade range and 
the Columbia ri\-er. with the exception of 
Klickitat county. In January, 1863, the legis- 
lature of the territory created the county of 
Stevens; the same being taken from Walla 
Walla county and located west of the Colum- 
bia, along the borders of the British posses- 
sions and north of the Wenatchee river. The 
new county was attached to Spokane for ju- 
dicial purposes. 

The little city of Walla Walla had thus 
far been on the direct route to the mines and 
had grown and prospered through the influ- 
ence of the pack trains which were fitted out 
within her gates and through the flocking of 
the miners to the place to spend their gold 
in various ways. But in the latter part of 
1862 gold had been discovered in the famous 
Boise basin, in what is now the state of Idaho. 
This discovery deflected the line of gold- 
seekers from Walla Walla, which was now to 
one side of the most diredt line for the trans- 
portation to the new region of the passengers 
and freight coming up the Columbia river. 
The tide of emigration to the new mines set 
in in the spring of 1863, and this led to the 
establishment of a new town at the confluence 
of the Columbia and Umatilla rivers, the name 
•of the latter being given to the new village. 



From that point a line of stages was put in 
operation over the emigrant road to the Boise 
basin, and though W^alla Walla suffered 
somewhat from the deflection of travel and 
traffic, yet the energy and progressiveness of 
her merchants and citizens proved adequate 
t(i maintain to a large extent her trade 
jirestige, which attracted many o\'er from the 
slightly more direct route to the mines. Two 
stage lines gave a daily service between Walla 
Walla and Wallula, and these were taxed to 
accommodate passengers, who paid five dol- 
lars fare, while the transportation of freight 
between the two points was effected by the 
payment of twenty dollars per ton. After July 
I a tri-weekly mail was received from and 
dispatched to The Dalles, this service proving 
(if great value. Some idea of the amount of 
freight passing through the country may be 
gleaned from the fact that, upon the comple- 
tion of their thirteen-mile Dalles and Celilo 
railway, the Oregon Steam Navigation Com- 
pany sold to the government for the sum of 
forty-three thousand dollars the teams they 
had been utilizing for the transportation of 



POLITICAL MATTERS IX 1863. 

At the time of the county election in 1863 
a delegate to congress was to be chosen, and 
owing to the diverging opinions in regard to 
the Civil war, then in [jrogress, party alle- 



96 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



giance came to llie fruiit in tlie territory to a 
much greater extent than at any previous time. 
This led to a spirited campaign, the prime ob- 
ject of each party being, of course, to secure 
the election of their congressional candidate. 
George E. Cole, of Walla Walla, was the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, and the Re- 
publican party spared no effort to reduce to 
the greatest extent possible his home majority. 
The Radical vote of the county in the year 
1863 constituted only a little over one-third 
of its voting population, but a ticket was placed 
in the field for the sole purpose of maintain- 
ing a party organization, for the influence it 
might have in a territorial election. The re- 
sult of the election in the county, on July 13, 
1863, was as follows, the total vote cast hav- 
ing been a trifle less than six hundred : George 
E. Cole, the Democratic candidate for dele- 
gate to Congress, received 398 votes, while 
the Republican candidate. J. O. Raynor, re- 
ceived 146. Mr. Cole was ultimately elected 
by the vote of the territorj-. The only Re- 
publican elected on the county ticket was S. 

B. Fargo, prosecuting attorney, and that the 
greater portion of the voters must have re- 
frained from balloting on this candidate is 
evident when we revert to the fact that only 
forty-se\en votfes were cast, of which Mt. 
Fargo secured all but two. The other officers 
elected w^ere as follows : Joint councilman, 
Daniel Stewart; representatives, S. W. Bab- 
cock, F. P. Dugan and L. S. Rogers; sheriff, 
W. S. Gilliam; auditor, L. J. Rector; assessor, 

C. Leyde, who removed from the county later 
on, J. H. Blewett being appointed to succeed 
him, February i, 1864; coroner, L. Danforth; 
and county commissioner, Thomas P. Page. 

The finances of the county at the close of 
the year 1863 were somewhat suspiciously in- 
volved, and the investigation made by the grand 



jury resulted in various charges of official mal- 
feasance, negligence and even peculation. The 
situation may be briefly summed up by the com- 
parison of the figures representing the avail- 
able assets and the total indebtedness of the 
county on October 10. 1863. the report of the 
jury having Ijeen rendered on the 22(\ of that 
m(_inth. The total in the treasury at the date 
p.oted aggregated only $2,199.14, while the 
total amount due on county orders presented 
was $21,286.00, and on those not presented 
an additional $2,294.42, making a total of $27,,- 
5S0.42. The jury caustically remarked in its 
report that "The county ofiicers' books, pre- 
\ious to the present incumbents, have been so 
imperfectly kept that it is impossible to derive 
a correct conclusion from them." 

THE RECORD OF THE YE.\R 1864. 

1 

The early spring of 1864, ushered in after 
an exceptionally mild winter, seemed to give a 
spontaneous revival to the trade and mining 
activities east of the Cascades. Walla Walla 
showed herself capable of holding her own, 
and though not a city that vaunted herself, no 
one could deny that her precedence was still 
assured. The first line of stages between Walla 
Walla and the Boise basin was put in operation 
in the spring of this year by George F. Thomas 
& Company, though within the preceding year 
three different companies had been operating 
express business over the route in question. 
Walla \\'alla became, or continued, a central 
point for outfitting between the Columbia and 
the mining districts, notwithstanding the op- 
position offered by L'matilla, as already men- 
tioned. Near the headwaters of the Colimibia 
river, in the British possessions, the Kootenai 
nn'ncs had been discovered, and this soon di- 
verted much of the emigration from Boise to 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



97 



the new mines. All this tended to heget a 
greater confidence in the fntnre of the Walla 
\\'alla valley, which was growing to be re- 
garded as a most fa\-orable place for permanent 
settlement. 

The progress of the war of the Rebellion 
brought about an enrollment for a draft in the 
county, in 1864, and this indicated that there 
were 1,133 '"^''' '" ^'''^ county eligible for and 
subject to military duty, but the Democrats 
Hiade the claim at the time that fully three 
hundred of this number had been improperly 
enumerated, being simply transient residents, 
er: route to the mines. This enumeration, how- 
ever, taken in connection with the ballot list 
of the last election, offers the only available 
data relative to the population of the county 
in 1S64. 

The Statesman was authority for the infor- 
mation that the debt of the county at the close 
of the year 1864 aggregated seventeen thou- 
sand dollars, of wliich three thousand should 
be charged to defaulting officials, and four 
thousand five hundred dollars to loss by de- 
preciation in the value of the county script, 
which was issued to pay for the county jail. 
The assessment rolls of the }'ear gi\-e the 
property valuation of the county at $1,545,056, 
— an increase of more than four hundred thou- 
sand dollars over that of the preceding year. 

What was, perhaps, the most important 
e\-ent of the year, as bearing upon the dexelnp- 
ment and substantial growth of this section of 
the country, was the fortunate discovery to 
which another writer refers as follows: "'It 
was also fiiund in 1864 that tlie uplands of the 
Walla Walla country would produce grain, one 
of the farmers having gathered thirty-three 
bushels to the acre from a field of fifty acres, 
sower! the previous fall, on the hills that here- 



tofore had been considered useless for agri- 
cultural ijurposes. This was a more important 
discoverv than that of the mountain gold-fields, 
for it was a bread mine, opened for millions 
that are yet to come. The drouth of 1S64 did 
not prevent a bounteous wheat harvest, and a 
larger surplus of grain than ever before in the 
valley, much of wdiich was sold at from one 
and a half to two cents per pound." 



ELECTION OF 1 864 LOYALTY TO THE UNION. 

The Democrats of Walla Walla county held 
a convention in the city of Walla Walla on the 
1 8th of May, at which time resolutions were 
aaopted which indicated that at least the ma- 
jority of those assembled were loyal to the 
Union cause. That there was a percentage of 
voters in the county in sympathy with the cause 
of the Confederacy was but natural, but these 
were not so rabid as to withdraw their al- 
legiance from their party by reason of the reso- 
lutions wdiich signified the animus of the con- 
vention mentioned. Under title of the "Reg- 
ular Democratic Ticket" the Democrats of the 
county placed a county and legislati\e ticket 
in the field, the opposition being represented by 
a ticket whose caption was "Unconditional 
Union Ticket." 

The total number of votes cast was six hun- 
dred and twenty-eight. — a gain of only twenty- 
six over the number polled in 1863. It was 
claimed that fully one hundred legal voters 
failed to avail themselves of the franchise. 
James McAuliff, who was later, and for many 
years, mayor of the cit}' of Walla Walla, of 
wdiich he is still an honored resident, was candi- 
date for the office of treasurer on both tickets, 
and the result of the election was as follows: 



HISTORY OF \^'ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Office. 
Prosecuting Attorney. 
Prosecuting Attorney. 

Councilman 

Representative 

Representative 

Representative 

Representative 

Representative 

Joint Representative 

Probate Judge 

Treasurer 

Assessor 

Surveyor 

Coroner 

County Commissioner. 
For special tax 



Name. Politics. X'ote. 

J. H. Lasater Dem Sbl 

S. B. Fargo Rep 219 

. W. G. Langford .... Dem .... :S44 

.A. L. Brown Dem 37.3 

. F. P. Dugan .... ..Dem 324 

.E. L. Bridges Dem 337 

.O. P. Lacy Dem 325 

B. N. Sexton Rep 280 

.Alvin Flanders. .. .Rep 269 

.J. H. Blewett Dem 346 

.James McAuliff Dem .581 

.William H. Patton..Dem .... 323 

.Charles White Dem 352 

.A.J. Thibodo Dem 341 

H. b. 0' Bryan Dem 345 

230; against spec'al tax, 365. 



The early spring of 1865 was marked by a 
renewed rusli of emigrants to the mining dis- 
tricts in the north. As early as February it 
was reported that there were more than a thoit- 
sand miners congregated in Portland, where 
they awaited the opening of navigation on the 
Columbia that they might make their way on- 
v.-ard to the mines of tlie "upper country." 
Thev were followed by . many other eager 
searchers for the hidden aurific deposits. Ag- 
riculture was gradually advancing in e.xtent and 
importance in the \\'alla Walla country, and 
prices still continued high. In June eggs were 
selling in Walla Walla for forty cents per 
dozen and in September wheat commanded one 
dollar and a quarter per bushel. The city of 
^\'alla W'alla was visited by a disastrous fire 
on the 3d of August, and many valuable docu- 
ments were destroyed, including the county as- 
sessment rolls, town plats and city records. In 
this year the town of Waitsburg, on the 
Tmichet river, had its inception, the nucleus 
ci: the now prosperous municipality being a 
school-house and a flouring mill. 



iutd hitherto been e\idenced. The Democratic 
party girded its loins and claimed to have 
gained in numerical strength through the later 
immigration; while the Republican party per- 
fected a thorough organization. The delegates 
of the latter to the territorial convention were 
instructed to support Elwood Evans for con- 
gressional delegate, but the successful candi- 
date for nomination was Arthur A. Dennv, 
who had been for four years register of the 
land office at Olympia. 

While the Democratic convention of \\'alla 
Walla county conceded that political expe- 
diency authorized the selection of a congres- 
sional delegate resident west of the Cascades, 
they instructed their delegates to present the 
name of James H. Lasater for the office in case 
ot disagreement as to choice of a candidate from 
the coast country. James Tilton was, however, 
the nominee of the territorial convention. The 
result of the election in Walla ^\'alla county 
was as follows, the election taking place on the 
5th of June : 



Office. 



Xame. 



Politics. \'ote. 



Delegate .-Xrtliur A. Denny. Rep 3;^6 

Delegate James Tilton Dem 4iMi 

Prosecuting Attorney. .S. B. Fargo Rep 345 

Joint Councilman Anderson Cox Rep 364 

Representative J. D. Mi.x Dem 396 

Representative James McAuliff. ...Dem 392 



Representative 

Representative 

Representative 

Joint Representative. 
Sheriff 



.A. G. Lloyd Dem 368 

.T.G. Lee Dem 362 

. B. K. Sexton K ep 354 

.J. ^L \'ansyckle. . . Dem 367 

.A. Seitel Rep 407 

Auditor J. H. BleweU Dem 399 

Assessor H. M. Hodgis Dem 393 

Surveyor T. F. Berry 359 

School Superintendent. J. L. Reeser Dem .... 386 

Coroner A. ]. Miner Dem 384 

County Commissioner.. D. M. Jessee Dem 396 



POLITICS IX 1865. \^ ti,is election the total vote cast in the 

The political situation in 1865 was such as county was 749, a gain of 122 over the num- 

to arouse a more determined party interest than ber of ballots cast at the election of the preced- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 

h.g year. The several precincts in the county two candidates, as is shown by tlie returns en- 
were respectively represented in this total as tered above. The Republican candidate for 
follows: Walla \\'alia, 539: ^^'allula, 54; L^pper ccngressional delegate was elected by a ma- 
I'ouchet, 96; Lower Touchet, 39: Pataha, jority of over one thousand. Anderson Co.k 
16; Snake River. 5. The average Democratic was elected joint councilman to fill a vacancy 
vote of Walla Walla city was 291 and the caused by the removal of Daniel Stewart from 
Republican 238. It is to I)e noted that in all the territory, but the latter returned and claimed 
the other precincts majorities were given to the the seat when he was advised that a Republican 
Republican candidates, liut the Democratic had been elected. Singularly enough, he did 
ticket was \-icti.irious, witii the exception of not occupv the seat. 



CHAPTER IX. 



GENER.XL AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 1866-1874. 

In the winter of 1865-6 much snow fell in In the history of mining excitements, we doubt 

.1 T\- ,1 TT- 11 .. ^1 r ■ whether there ever has been a rush equal to that now 

the \\ alia \\ alia country, the same havmg „,„„„, m , r~ • r u 

■' ' '^ going on to IMontana. From every pomt of the compass, 

reached a depth of eighteen inches in December, they drift by hundreds and thousands, and the cry is, " still 

i86v This unusual precipitation worked '^""l '^°"'^-" JJ"" .^''='''=";'^"' promises to depopulate 

portions ot Cahlornia, and from our own territory, as well 

great hardships to the stock-raisers and to as Oregon, the rush is unprecedented. The stages that 

teamsters on their way from the mountains. 'eave here go out loaded down with passengers, all bound 

,^ -r , ,,,, , , for Blackfoot. In addition to the usual conveyances, men 

On January 16. 1 866, began another snow of enterprise have placed passenger trains on the route 

storm, which continued three days, leaving to between Walla Walla and Blackfoot, and those trains go 

• , IV -i- 11 • 1 ^ -1 r • i.1 out daily, with full passenger lists. Fare, with provisions 

Its credit fully eighteen inches of snow m the f.^ished, eighty dollars. . 

^■alle_\•. This was practically olditerated l)y a 

Chinook wind which swept the valley in the With the ever increasing population in the 

opening days of February. Navigation on the mining districts the problem of supplying the 

Columbia was opened on the 22d of the same camps became one of great importance, and the 

month, and the spring opened early and fav- question of transportation was one of utmost 

orably, though cloudy weather of unusual ])er- significance, since supplies would naturally be 

sistency cast its gloom over a portion of the secured through the medium affording the 

month of IMarcli. The rush of gold-seekers to minimum rates. Goods could be drawn from 

Montana mines was inaugurated in the early tuo sources of supply, San Francisco or Chi- 

spring, this having been pronounced "the cul- cago, and the rate war was on. The price per 

mination of the prosperous mining eix^ch that ton for the transi)ortation of supplies from San 

placed Walla Walla u])on a basis of perma- Francisco to Helena, Montana, by way of 

nence." Apropos of this, the Washington Owyhee and Snake rivers, in 1865, was three 

Statesman of April 13, 1866, speaks as follows : hundred and forty-five dollars; by way of Port- 
L.ofC. 



ICO 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\'ALLA COUNTY 



land anil the Snake river to Lewiston, thence 
by land to Helena, three hundred and twenty 
dollars: by way of Portland tn W'allula, thence 
by land to Helena, two hundred and seventy- 
five dollars; and by way of Portland to \\'hite 
Bluffs, thence by land to same destination, 
two hundred and seventy dollars. This data 
i; derived from information collected and pub- 
lished by the San Francisco chamber of com- 
merce. 

During the summer of 1865, according to 
reliable authority, more than one hundred pack 
trains, averaging fifty animals each, -with three 
hundred pounds to the animal, thus aggregat- 
ing seven hundred and fifty tons, were sent 
forth from tlifferent points on the Columbia 
river to Montana. The cost of transportation 
was fully two hundred and forty thousand 
dollars, and the value of the goods aggregated 
about one million, two hundred thousand dol- 
lars. These data will afford an idea as to the 
vast amount of freight wliich was transported 
through the Walla \\'alla valley in 1865, and 
at the opening of the succeeding year the White 
Bluffs route was enabled to offer a rate of five 
dollars less per ton than was Walla Walla. 
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company fav- 
ored the former route, as they were desirous of 
building up a town at White Bluffs, but this 
aroused the protest of the teamsters of Walla 
Walla, twenty-six of whom appended their 
signatures to a card which stated that in prefer- 
ence to any other point on the Columbia river, 
they preferred Wallula as the point from which 
to transport freight to Montana. This protest 
had due influence, and thus ^\'alla Walla was 
enabled to hold her own. 

Within the year 1866 an unsuccessful at- 
tempt was made to annex Walla Walla county 
t') Oregon, a memorial being presented to the 
Oregon legislature advocating such assimila- 



tion. This movement was inaugurated by 
Anderson Cox, to whom reference has been 
made in connection with the election of 1865. 
He succeeded in pushing the enterprise through 
the Oregon legislature, and held it in the back- 
ground in that of Washington. The scheme 
was headed off in large part through the efforts 
of Hollon Parker, who visited Washington 
City for the special purpose. It is a fact 
worthy of great interest that if tlie region south 
of Snake river had been annexed to Oregon 
its vote in presidential elections would have 
been sufficient to tiu'n the scale in favor of the 
Democratic candidates, and the election of 1876 
would have gone to Tilden instead of Hayes. 
The Democratic party elected e\'ery candi- 
date at the annual c<.iunty election held June 4, 
1866, the result being as follows: Joint coun- 
ci'man (for Walla \\'alla and Stevens coun- 
ties), B. L. Sharpstein: representatives. D. M. 
Jessee, R. Jacobs, R. R. Rees, H. D. O'Bryan 
and Thomas P. Page; treasurer, James ^Ic- 
Au'iiff: assessor, H. M. Hodgis; school super- 
intendent. ^^'. G. Langford ; county com- 
missioners. T. G. Lee and H. A. Livingston. 
W. L. Gaston was appointed county survej-or 
\v. the fi'llowing December. Commissioner 
Livingston met an accidental death, on the 24th 
of August, and on the 3d of December Elisha 
Pmg was appointed to fill the vacancy. The 
county had as yet provided practically no ac- 
commodations for the several officials, who la- 
bored under great disadvantages by reason of 
their inadequate quarters, which were indif- 
ferently shiftetl from place to place, with no 
provisions for property filing records and docu- 
ments. The county jail, used jointly by the 
citv, was a disgrace to the county and afforded 
so little surety against the escajie of prisoners, 
who were occasionally placed in irons on this 
account, — a thing that should have not been 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\\\LLA COUNTY. 



lOI 



required. In the year 1866 an abortive attempt 
was made to patch up the old building, the 
city enclosing the structure with a high board 
fence, for the privilege of using it, and the 
county magnanimously contributing a paltry 
sum, which was utilized in reinforcing the 
apertures made by escaping prisoners, and in 
fitting up, over the cells, a room for the jailor 
to occupy. 

IXDUSTRI.\L ACTIVITY IN 186/. 

The productive energies of the Walla Walla 
valley, along the lines which ha^■e in the full- 
ness of time contributed most largely to the 
precedence and substantial prosperity of the 
section, began to be more self-assertive during 
the year 1867, since this year marked the in- 
ception of exporting flour to the coast, this rep- 
resenting at the time the sole manufactured 
product of \\'alla Walla county. A few bar- 
rels were shipped in an experimental way, and 
after the adjustment of freight rates by the 
Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which 
appeared to have discriminated against such 
shipments at one time, the enterprise graciously 
expanded. The amount of flour shipped to 
The Dalles and Portland from April 19 to June 
2, 1867, aggregated four thousand, seven hun- 
dred and thirty-five barrels, the transportation 
rates being six dollars per ton to either point. 
The shipment of flour to the mining districts 
within the year was approximate!}' the same 
in amount as that of preceding years. Later 
in the season a firm of Walla Walla merchants 
made the further experiment of shipping wheat 
to the coast, forwarding fifteen thousand bush- 
els, and proving unquestionably that grain 
could be thus transported down the Columbia 
to the coast markets at a profit. It will be 
readily understood that these two experiments, 



ii so they may be designated, were, with their 
legitimate and normal results, of transcendent 
importance to the rapidly developing Walla 
Walla \alle\-. .\s has been justly said in a pre- 
vious historical publication : "This was the 
beginning of the outward movement of the 
products of the county, made as a experiment, 
under circumstances that proved the practi- 
cability of a steady exportation of flour by the 
millers of this valley, and a consequent market 
for the vast quantities of grain it was capable 
of producing." 

• I 

POLITICAL. 

A review of the political situation in 1867 
shows that there was an extraordinary interest 
and acti\-ity in the ranks of both the Demo- 
crats and the Republicans. The principal point 
of contest and interest was in the selection of a 
delegate to congress, each party having a num- 
ber of aspirants for the important office. The 
people east of the Cascades felt that they were 
entitled to have a candidate selected from their 
section of the territory, inasmuch as the honor 
had hitherto gone to a resident of the sound 
countr}'. From the eastern section of the ter- 
ritory were five Democrats and two Republic- 
ans whose names were prominently mentioned 
ill this connection, and while the Republican 
convention for Walla Walla county sent an 
uninstructed delegate to the territorial conven- 
tion, a \'igorous effort had been made in favor 
of the candidacy of Judge J. E. Wyche. At 
the county Democratic convention the delegates 
chosen were instructed to give their support to 
W. G. Langford, of Walla Walla, so long as 
seemed expedient. They were also instructed 
to deny their sujiport to any candidate who 
endorsed in any degree the project of annex- 
ing Walla Walla county to Oregon. In the 



I02 



HISTORY OF \\ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



territorial convention Frank Clark, of Pierce 
county, received the nomination of the Democ- 
racy for the office of congressional delegate, 
the balloting in the convention having been close 
and spirited. The Repiil)lican territorial con- 
vention succeeded in running in the proverbial 
"dark horse," in the person of Alvan Flanders, 
a Walla Walla merchant, who was made the 
nominee, defeating three very strong candi- 
dates. 

Owing to the agitation of the Vigilance 
question, referring to diverging opinions of the 
citizens as to the proper method of administer- 
ing justice, the politics of the county were in 
a peculiarly disrupted and disorganized condi- 
tion, and the \'igilance issue had an unmistak- 
able influence on the election, as was shown 
by the many peculiarities which were brought 
to light when the returns were fully in. The 
Democrats of the county were particularly de- 
sirous of electing certain of their county can- 
didates, and it is stated that the Republicans 
were able to divert many Democratic votes to 
their candidate for delegate to congress by trad- 
ing votes with Democrats and pledging their 
support to local Democratic candidates. The 
fact that such bartering took place is assured, 
for while the returns gave a Democratic ma- 
jority of about two hundred and fifty in Walla 
Walla county for all other officers, the delegate 
received a majority of only one hundred and 
twenty-four. This action on the part of the 
AX'alla Walla Democrats secured the election of 
the Republican candidate, whose majority in 
the territory was only ninety-six. 

The result of the election in the county, 
held on tb.e 3d of June, was as follows : Frank 
Clark, the Democratic candidate for delegate, 
received 606 votes, and Alvan Flanders, Re- 
publican, 482. The other officers elected were 
as follows : Prosecuting attorney, F. P. Du- 



gan ; councilman, \\". H. Xew ell ; joint council- 
man (Walla Walla anil Ste\'ens counties), J. 
M. Vansyckle ; representatives, W. P. Horton, 

E. Ping, J. ^L Lamb, P. B. Johnson and B. 

F. Regan; ])robate judge, H. M. Chase; sher- 
iff, .\. Seitel ; auditor. J. H. Blewett; treasurer, 
J. D. Cook; assessor, C. Ireland; surveyor, 
W. L. Gaston ; superintendent of schools, C. 
Fells ; coroner, L. H. Goodwin ; county com- 
missioners, S. jNI. Wait, D. M. Jessee (evidently 
an error in returns, as W. T. Barnes, a Demo- 
crat, was elected), and A. H. Reynolds. 

The sheriff resigned on the 7th of Novem- 
ber. 1868, and on the same day James Mc- 
.\uliff was appointed to fill the vacancy. A. 
H. Revnolds resigned as commissioner, in May, 
i86g. Dr. D. S. Baker being appointed as his- 
successor. Of the successful candidates noted 
in the above list, all were Democrats except 
P. B. Johnson, J. D. Cook, C. Eells, S. M. 
Wait and A. H. Reynolds. 

THE FIRST COURT HOUSE. 

As the county dedicated its first court house 
in the vear 1867, it is incumbent that we make 
a brief reference to the same at this juncture. 
.\s early as 1864. the grand jury had made a 
report on this matter, and from said document 
we make the following pertinent extracts i 
"We, the grand jury, find that it is the duty of 
the county commissioners to furnish offices for 
the different county officers. This we find 
they have not done. To-day the offices of the 
officers are in one place, to-morrow in another, 
and we hope at the next meeting of the board 
of county commissioners that they will, for the 
sake of the integrity of Walla Walla county, 
furnish the different county officers with good 
offices." Notwithstanding this merited re- 
iiriiof, no action of a definite character was- 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\-ALLA COUNTY. 



103 



taken bv the board of commissioners until the 
meeting of Alarch i r. 1S67, when it was voted 
to purchase, of S. Linkton, a building on the 
corner of Alder and Third streets, the same to 
be paid for in thirty monthly installments of 
one hundred dollars each. A further expendi- 
ture of five hun(h-ed dollars was made in fitting 
up the Iniilding for the use of the county, and 
thus Walla Walla county was able to hold up 
a dignified head and note with approval her 
first court-house. That the structure was al- 
together unpretentious, and devoid of all archi- 
tectural beauty, it is, perhaps, needless to say. 
The executives of the county were at least pro- 
vided with a local habitation. 

REVIEW OF THE YEAR 1868. 

Within this year began the first logical and 
active agitation of the transportation ciuestion, 
and this problem involved the future of Walla 
Walla county and city to a greater degree than 
any other. Within the year an organized 
ettort was made to provide for railroad facili- 
ties for shipping the products of the country to 
the markets of consumption. Philip Ritz, ap- 
jjreciative of the results of tlie experiments of 
the pre\-ious year, consigned fifty barrels of 
Hour to Xew York city, where he disposed of 
the same at the rate of ten dollars per barrel, 
netting him a profit of one dollar and fifty cents 
a liarrel. This flour was the jiroduct of the old 
Phoenix mill. At the time, the cost of flour in 
Walla \\'alla was three dollars and se\'enty- 
five cents per barrel, and the transportation 
charges to Xew York, with commissions, ag- 
gregated four dollars and seventy cents a barrel. 
The cost of shipping wheat to San Francisco 
was too great to render it profitable to make 
shipments from Walla Walla, where the pmd- 
uct commanded only f(jrty cents jjer Inishel, 



and the same must be sold for one dollar and 
tu'enty cents per Inishel in San Francisco in 
order to cover the expenses of shipment, made 
at the rate of twenty-eight dollars per ton, of 
which amount six dollars per ton represented 
the transportation charges between Walla 
Walla and Wallula. 

Thus the project of constructing a railway 
line between these two points became the topic 
of much discussion and consideration. After 
several enthusiastic public meetings had been 
held, the business men of this section manifest- 
ing a live interest, the Walla Walla & Colum- 
bia River Railroad was organized. Hon. Al- 
van Flanders, the delegate in congress, secured 
fiom that body the right of way for the pro- 
posed line and alsn permission for the county 
to subscribe three hundred thousand dollars 
for the support of the enterprise, with the pro- 
\ision that this should be done only upon sub- 
mitting the question to the electors of the coun- 
ty and securing a fa\-orable result at the elec- 
tion. Xo definite progress was made in the 
matter for a term of several years, and the 
progress of the count}^ was materially retarded 
on this account. A fuller description of the 
transportation facilities of the county, and the 
history of the various enterprises involved, may 
be found on other pages of this work. 

A BRIEF RECORD OF THE YEAR 1869. 

Again in this }-ear was there to be chosen 
a delegate to congress, and the Democracy of 
Walla Walla county instructed their delegates 
to the territ(jrial comcntion to insist upon the 
nomination of a candidate resident east of the 
Cascade range, — the same desideratum that had 
been sought at the last preceding election. In 
the con\enti<in F. P. Dugan, J. D. Mix, B. L. 
Sharpstein and \X. H. Newell, of Walla Walla, 



I04 



HISTORY OF \\'ALLA \\ALLA COUNTY. 



were balloted for, but tlie nomination went to 
Marshall ¥. Moore, ex-governor of the terri- 
tory. 

Tile Republican nomination was secured by 
Selucius Gartielde, surveyor-general of the ter- 
ritory. The names of two of Walla Walla 
county's citizens were presented 'before the 
convention. Dr. D. S. Baker and Anderson 
Co-x. The nomination of (iarfielde proved 
unsatisfactory to many of the party adherents, 
ard dissension was rampant. The disaffec- 
tion became so intense in nature that a num- 
ber of the most prominent men in the party 
ranks did not hesitate to append their signatures 
to a circular addressed to the "Downfallen Re- 
publican Party." said document bearing fifty 
signatures in all. On the list appeared the 
name of the delegate in congress and the chief 
justice of the territory. The circular called 
for a radical reorganization of the party, 
charged fraudulent action in the convention 
and made many sweeping assertions. This 
action provoked a strong protest, and the dis- 
affected contingent did not nominate a ticket 
of their own. and Mr. Garfielde was elected by 
a majority of one hundred and thirty-two. 
He received in Walla Walla cnunty three 
hundred and eightj^-four votes, while his op- 
ponent, Mr. Moore, received seven hundred 
and forty. 

In the county election the Democrats elect- 
ed their entire ticket, by an average majority 
of three hundred. The county had at this 
time the privilege of electing six representa- 
tives to the lower house of the territorial legis- 
lature, which body had, in 1868, granted one 
more representative to the county. The re- 
sult of the election was as follows : Pros- 
ecuting attorney, A. J. Cain; representa- 
tives. N. T. Caton, Fred Stine, H. D. 
O'Bryan, J. D. Mix, J- H. Lasater, Thomas 



P. Page: probate judge, R. Guichard; 
sheriff, James McAuliff; auditor, H. M. 
Chase; treasurer. A. Kyger; assessor, M. C. 
McBride; surveyor, J. Arrison; superin- 
tendent of schols, William McMicken; cor- 
oner, L. H. Goodwin: county commissiour 
ers, W. T. Barnes, Daniel Stewart, C. C. 
Cram. The count)' gave two hundred and 
eighty-six votes in favor of a constitutional 
convention and only twenty-four in opposition. 

COXDITIOXS .VXD EVEX'TS OF THE YE.\R. 

The year 1869 found the ^\■alla Walla 
valley in about the same status as the preced- 
ing year, though a severe drouth, extending 
over the entire coast country, had caused in 
this section a partial failure of crops, so that 
there was no surplus of grain or flour to ship 
out, save what was sent into the mining dis- 
tricts. Wheat brought from seventy-five to 
eighty cents per bushel, and flour reached as 
high a figure as six dollars per barrel. The 
increased prices made the returning revenue 
practically as great as the year before, not- 
withstanding shortage of crops. 

As has been mentioned previously, the 
financial affairs of the county were badly in- 
volved at the time of the investigation inci- 
dentally made in 1863, and an indebtedness of 
from ti\-e to twenty tlmusand dollars had been 
in evidence continuously up to the year of 
which we are now writing. The last board of 
county commissioners realized that the finan- 
cial integrity of the county was in jeopardy, 
and they determined that of the officers of the 
countv must be exacted a more careful and 
efiicient discharge of their respective duties, 
while they also set vigorously to tlie task of 
placing the treasury department of the county 
upon a better basis — insisting that its business 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



105 



should be handled according to true business ' 
principles. Tiie board were fortunately ena- 
bled to eftect a radical inipro\enient along the 
lines mentioned, the e\-idence of this being 
conclusive when we revert to the fact that on 
the 1st of May, i86y, the obligations of the 
county amounted to $9,569.13, while in the 
treasury the cash deposit was represented bv 
$9,209.18. In view of the fact that the 
sheriff who resigned in Xo\-ember, 1868, was 
indebted to the county, according to the re- 
port of the board, to the amount of more than 
three thousand dollars, for delinquent taxes 
collected, the financial showing at this time 
was all the more creditable to the board and 
to the various county officials. 

w'aitsburg'5 ambition. 

The now thriving town of Waitsl^urg be-' 
gan to cast about for new dignities and honors, 
its ambition leading it to agitate the question 
of dividing Walla Walla county and giving 
to the town mentioned the coveted boon of 
being the official center of the new county. 
Walla Walla county at this time had an area 
of three thousand four hundred and twenty 
square miles, including what are Columbia 
and Garfield counties, and had the region been 
more thickdy populated it would have been too 
large and unwieldy for effective official control 
and management. In regard to the claims of 
Waitsburg and the matter of erecting a new 
county from W'alla Walla, Gilbert's history 
speaks as follows : 

The seat of justice was in one corner far from the 
geographical center, though located in the midst of the 
most thickly settled district. Waitsburg at that time had 
a grist mill, saw mill, hotel, several stores and a good 
school. It was both enterprising and ambitious; and hav- 
ing no paper of its own, ventilated its opinions in the 
Walla Walla journals. Had the upper position of the 
county been settled as it was a few years later, a division 



would have been desirable, but even in that event, Waits- 
burg was too near Walla W'alla to become an acceptable 
county-seat, being necessarily located in the extreme 
corner of the proposed county. That this was true and 
that it would be but a few years before the seat of justice 
would be moved to another place in a more central loca- 
tion, were facts recognized by many of the business men 
of that village, nevertheless a petition was signed by one 
hundred and fifty residents, and was presented to the 
legislature in October, 1869, a delegation of citizens of the 
aspiring town accompanying it to Olympia. The county 
was to be divided so that about one-half the area and one- 
third the population and assessment valuation would be 
segregated. The fact that Waitsburg was not a natural 
center, together with the additional facts that no other 
existing town was, and the upper portion of the county 
was not thickly enough settled to demand a separate 
government, caused the legislature to decline to take any 
action in the matter. Waitsburg's dream of official 
honors was over, and the springing up of Dayton a few 
years later served to convince them that had they been 
conferred they would have been of a transitory character. 



THE YEAR iS/O AND ITS RECORD. 

This year in Walla Walla county was 
marked by no events or conditions of special 
importance. Favorable climatic conditions 
having ]M"e\-ailed, the liar\-ests were bounteous 
again, and the surplus of grain and flour was 
so large as to justify large shipments of these 
products, much of the same being transported 
down the Columbia river. Tiie transportation 
charges were so heavy, however, that the 
lirices on the commodities in Walla Walla 
were exceedingly low, particularly in compar« 
ison with the prices ultimately paid at tho 
various points of destination. 

In the month of August the cit}- council of 
Walla Walla deeded to the county commis- 
sioners the present courthouse square, on 
i\Iain street, the same having been set aside 
for such purpose at the time the town was 
platted. The matter of erecting a courthouse 
had been under consideration, and not a little 
public interest was manifested in the question, 
The commissioners did not, as a matter of 
course, feel justified in making any expendi- 



io6 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



tures of county luiuls (H- credit in this line un- 
til the county h;ul secured a clear title to the 
land upon which the proposed building was to 
be erected. But when the deed to the land 
was finally in their possession the question of 
building- the court house remained in statu 
qi(i\ the matter having been indetinitely post- 
poned hy the commissioners. 

A census of the county was taken in the 
year 1870, and certain data resulting there- 
from will be worthy of perpetuation in this 
connection. The number of houses in the 
county was i)lacecl at 1,149; number of families, 
1. 1 50; white male inhabitants. 2,999; white 
female inhabitants, 2.1 11; colored male inhab- 
itants, III; coloretl female inhabitants, 81. 
According to these figures the total population 
of the county aggregated 5,102. The follow- 
ing statistics will indicate to a degree 
the condition of the county at the close of 
the year 1870, and is worthy of reproduC' 
tion : 

Average wages of farm hands, with board, 
$35.00; average w^ages of laborers, without 
board, $2.50; average wages of laborers, with 
board, $1.50; average wages of carpenters, 
$4.00; average wages of female domestics per 
week. $7.00: average price of board for labor- 
er per week. $5.00; number of farms in coun- 
ty, 654; acres of improved land, 52,620: 
bushels of spring wheat, 190,256; bushels of 
winter wheat. 2,667: bushels of corn. 25.487; 
bushels of oats, 1 14.813: bushels of barley. 
21,654; pounds of butter, 99,780: pounds of 
cheese, i.ooo; tons of hay, 6,815: number of 
horses, 5,650: number of mules, 627; number 
of milch cows. 4.772; number of work oxen, 
292; number of other cattle. 8.046; number 
of sheep. 5.745 : number of hogs. 4.768. 

It will be recalled that the history of 
growth and development in the county had 



covered at this time practically only one dec- 
ade, in view of which fact the people of the lo- 
cality had ample reason to congratulate them- 
selves on the showing made. 

POLITIC.M- AI-'l-WlRS IX 187O. 

According to all data available, the polit- 
ical pot boiled furiously throughout the terri-» 
tory as the liour of election ai)proache(l. Lack 
of harmony was manifest in both parties, and, 
as before, the chief interest centered in the 
election of a delegate to represent the territory 
in the federal congress. Those otfice-holders 
who \\ere most vigorously protestent and vis- 
ibly disafYected, were summarily removed from 
office in January of this year, by the president 
of the L'nited States, this action having been 
recommended by the congressional delegate, 
-Mr. Ciarfielde. who thus drew upon himself 
still greater opposition and dislike. A change 
in the existing laws made it necessary to elect 
a tlelegate again this year, and a strong at- 
tempt was made to defeat Mr. Garfielde. who 
was confident of being returned to the ottice, 
There could be no reconciliation of the war- 
ring elements in the Republican party. The 
Republican territorial convention of 1869 had 
appointed an executive committee, whose pcr- 
soiiiicl was as follows: Edward Eldridge, M. 
S. Drew. L. Farnsworth, P. D. Moore. B. F. 
Stone, Henry Cock and J. D. Cook. In Feb- 
ruary a circular was issued by Messrs. S. D. 
Howe. A. A. Manning, Ezra Meeker. G. A. 
Meigs. A. A. Denny ;nid John E. liurns, 
who claimed to have been constituted the ex- 
ecutive committee. The convention as called 
by the regular committee met in April and re- 
nominated ^Ir. Garfielde. The recalcitrant 
faction presented the name of Marshall Blinn in 
the convention, the bolters not being strong 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



107- 



enough to hold a separate convention, but 
hoping to gain sufficient votes to prevent the 
nomination of Garfielde. 

The Democratic convention was far more 
harmonious, the nomination going to Judge 
J. D. ]\Iix, one of the most honored citizens 
of Walla Walla, and one enjoying a wide ac- 
quaintance throughout the territtjry. The 
campaign developed considerable acrimony 
between the factions of the Republican party, 
but the results of the election showed that the 
disaffected wing gained but slight popular en- 
dorsement. Six thousand three hundred and 
fifty-seven votes were cast in this election, rep- 
resenting a gain of thirteen hundred over the 
preceding year. Garfielde was elected, secur- 
ing a majorit)' of seven hundred and thirty-six 
over Mix, the total vote for Blinn being only 
one hundred and fifty-five. L'pon the ques- 
tion of holding a constitutional convention 
there were one thousand one hundred and 
nine votes cast in opposition, and nine hundred 
and seventy-four in favor. 

By reason of the change in the law the 
county election also was held a year earlier 
than usual, occurring June 6, 1870. The 
Democracy were victorious in the county, 
electing their entire ticket with the exception of 
superintendent of schools. For delegate 
James D. Mix received in his home county 
670 votes, while Selucius Garfielde liad 527. 
The officers elected in the county were as fol- 
lows: Prosecuting attorney, X. T. Caton; 
councilman, Daniel Stewart ; joint council- 
man (Walla Walla, Stevens and Yakima coun- 
ties), N. T. Bryant; representatives, David 
Ashpaugh, James H. Lasater, John Scott, A. 
G. Lloyd, Elisha Ping and T. W. Whetstone ; 
probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff. James Mc- 
Auliff; auditor, H. M. Chase: treasurer. A. 
Kyger; assessor, A. C. Wellman; surveyor, A. 



H. Simmons ( he was succeeded bj- Charles A. 
White, who was appointed to the office ^lay 
I, 1871); school superintendent, J. L. Reser; 
coroner, L. H. Goodwin; county commission- 
ers, C. C. Cram, F. Louden and I. T. Reese. 

The officials elected in the county this year 
did not assume their respective positions until 
the succeeding year. The officers elected in 
the preceding year had been chosen for a term 
of two years, and they contended that the 
change in the law of the territory which made 
it necessary to hold the election in 1870, in- 
stead of 1 87 1, did not invalidate their right 
to hold office until the expiration of their reg- 
ular term. The matter was brought into the 
courts for adjudication, a test case being made 
in the contest between the prosecuting attor- 
ney-elect against the incumbent of the office at 
the time of the last election. In July James 
W. Kennedy, judge of the first district, ren 
dered a decision in favor of the defendant, 
holding that officers elected in 1869 retained 
their positions until 1871, thus reducing the 
term of the (officials last elected to one year. 

Oregon still cast covetous eyes upon the 
Walla Walla valley region, and in 1870 its 
legislature foruarded to congress another 
memorial, asking that there be annexed to 
Oregon such portion of Washington Terri- 
tory as lay soutii of the Snake river. The res- 
idents of the section indicated were not in- 
formed of the acti'jn until after the memorial 
had been presented to congress, and the prop- 
osition met with determined opposition here. 

R.MLKO.XU I>R(JJECT.S TOWX OF D.VVTOX 

FOfXDED 1 87 I -2. 

The problem of trans]jortation facilitie;> 
still continued the one which had most potent 
significance as determining the further growth 



io8 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTV. 



and iiermar.ent industrial prosperity of the 
county. In 1871 the matter of raih-oad facil 
ities was taken under consideration in an 
earnest way. some action having lieen taken. 
Init little having been accomplished in a prac- 
tical wav. .\t this time the Northern Pacific 
Railroad Company made a proposition to sur- 
vey a route from \\'allula to Walla Walla, 
contingent upon there being raised by the cit- 
izens of the county a subscription of two thou- 
sand dollars to assist in defraying the expenses 
of the survey. After the completion of the 
survey, in case the Xorthern Pacific tlecided 
not to build the road in accordance therewith, 
the plats and notes were to be turned over to 
the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad 
Company. The required subscription was 
raisetl. the .survey was made, and a report 
anil estimate of cost was given to the latter 
company in May, 1871. the Xorthern Pacific 
ha\ing deemed it expedient not to run its line 
to Walla Walla. A call for a s])ecial election, 
to vote on the question of subscription in 
county bonds, was called by the county com- 
missioners, but in view of the fact that it 
woukl be a needless expense to hold the elec- 
tion, the order was revoked. Later on they 
again called an election, under the act of Sep- 
tember 18. 1871, the former having been 
called luider the act of 1869. but the proposi- 
tion to bond the county was adversely met at 
the polls. In ISlarcli, 1872, the railroad com- 
pany began work at Wallula. grading several 
miles of the road within that year. A rail- 
road from Walla Walla to La Grande was 
surveyed as far as Umatilla, wlien the proj- 
ect was abandoned. 

In the fall of 1871 S. ^L Wait and Will- 
iam Matzger had begun the erection of a 
large fiouring mill on the Touchet ri\er. near 
the mouth of the Patit. and this .served as the 



nucleus of a town, which Ijegan to blossom 
forth in the spring of 1872, and grew so rap- 
idly that, by fall it had a population of five 
hundred people, with facilities in accordance. 
This town was Dayton, the present county- 
seat of Columl)ia county. 

The Republican territorial convention of 
1872 again nominated Mr. Garfielde for dele- 
gate to congress, the Democrats and Liberals 
])lacing the name of O. B. McFadden on their 
ticket, he being the candidate of the Democ- 
racy, who had coalesced with the Liberals, 
this being the year of the memorable "green- 
back" campaign in national politics. Mr. 
McFadden was elected by a majority nearly 
as great as Mr. (larfielde had received two 
years before. The holding of a constitutional 
con\ention was again voted on and defeated, 
Walla Walla county giving an adverse ma- 
jority of seven hundred and fifty-two on the 
jiroposition. In the county election there 
were three candidates for some offices, and 
four for that of auditor. The Democrats 
elected their ticket, with the exception of one 
commissioner. At this election also the peo- 
l)le of the comity voted in favor of the erec- 
tion of a county court-house and jail, the ma- 
jority in fa\or being two hundred and twelve. 
1 he officers elected in the county were as 
follows : Prosecuting attorney, T. J. Anders ; 
councilman. Fred Stine; joint councilman 
(Walla Walla, Stevens, Yakima and \Miitman 
counties), C. H. Montgomery; representa- 
tives, X. T. Caton, O. P. Lacy, E. Ping, C. 
L. Bush, John Bryant and H. ]\L Hodgis; 
]irobate judge, L Hargrove; sheriff, B. W. 
(iriffin; auditor, R. Jacobs; treasurer, R. R. 
Rees; assessor, William F. Gwynn: surveyor, 
A. L. Knowlton ; school superintendent, A. 
W. Sweeney: coroner. A. J. Thibodo; county 
commissioners. D. M. lessee. W. P. P.ruce 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



109 



and S. L. King. The last named commis- 
sioner resigned his position on the 4th of May, 
1S74, W. T. Barnes being appointed to fill 
the \acancy. 

THE YEARS iS/j AND 1S74 IN WALLA WALLA 
COUNTY, 

The vote on the question of building the 
court house and jail had been taken for the 
express purpose of securing a definite expres- 
sion of the opinion of the tax-payers rela- 
ti\'e to the much-needed improvement. 
Though the minority vote on the proposition 
was large, the commissioners felt justified in 
obeying the will of the majority, in harmony 
with which they caused plans and specifica- 
tions to be prepared and presented, finally 
adopting those of F. P. Allen, in February, 
1873, which provided for a brick court house 
on a stone foundation. Concerning this im- 
portant matter another historical compilation 
speaks as follows: "The design was for a 
main building, with an ell that would give 
ample accommodations to all the county offi- 
cers, court and jury rooms, and in the base- 
ment a jail with twelve cells. There were 
two stories above the basement, and the whole 
was surmounted by a dome, making a struc- 
ture of considerable beauty. Although the 
county now had a clear title to the court- 
house square, on ^lain street, there were sev- 
eral parties who desired to enhance the value 
of their property in the outskirts of the city, 
and therefore ofifered to donate land to the 
county upon which to erect the new building. 
These offers were considered and rejected, 
and the court-house square was selected as the 
building site. Two weeks later the commis- 
sioners saw fit to rescind their former action 
and accept the offer of four blocks of land 



between Secontl and Fourth streets, and one- 
fourth mile north of Main street, much to the 
displeasure of the citizens who desired the 
building erected on the court-house square, 
where it would not take a Sabbath day's jour- 
ney to reach it. The next step by the board 
was to alter the plans and reduce the size of 
the Ijuilding. take off the dome, and prune the 
structure of all its ornamental features, leav- 
ing it the appearance of a huge barn. The 
last act, and under the circumstances the most 
judicious one, was a conclusion not to erect 
the Ijuilding at all." 

POLITICAL. 

Within the year 1874 there was much dis- 
cussion in regard tn the annexation of a por- 
tion of Idaho to Washington and the admis- 
sion of the entire territory into the Union. 
Mass meetings were held in Walla Walla 
county and in Idaho, this section favoring the 
project with unmistakable tenacity^ and me- 
morials were presented to congress. The 
question of a constitutional convention was 
again defeated when submitted to popular 
vote. In Walla Walla county the total num- 
ber of votes cast on this proposition was only 
two hundred and sixty, and of these only 
twenty-four were in favor of the convention. 
Two candidates for delegate to congress were 
nominated, one being a resident east and the 
other west of the Cascades, which mountains 
had long represented the line separating and 
individualizing the interests of the two sec- 
tions of the territory. The nominee of the 
Republicans was Orange Jacobs, and the Dem- 
ocrats presented as their candidate B. L. 
Sharpstein, of Walla ^\'alla. Judge Jacobs 
was elected by a majority of twelve hundred 
and sixty. This was the era of the independ- 



1 10 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



•ent or "Grange" movenicnt, wliicli liad an 
unmistakable effect upon national ])olitics, its 
intluence being felt in this section of the 
Union. In the local election of Walla Walla 
county, held November 3, 1874, there were 
three tickets in the field, and three candidates 
were in line for nearly every office. The re- 
sult gave the Democrats the victory in otifices 
purely local in character, while the Republi- 
cans elected their candidate for prosecuting 
attornev and a few members of the lesfisla- 
turc. The officers elected were as follows : 
I'rosecuting attorney, T. J. Anders; council- 
man, E. Ping; joint councilman, W. W. 
Boon; representatives, R. G. Newland, J. B. 
Shruni, ['. M. Lynch, John Scott, H. M. 



Hodgis and .\. (1. Lloyd; probate judge, R. 
Guichard; sheriff, George F. Thomas; audi- 
tor, R. Jacobs; treasurer, R. R. Rees; assessor, 
Samuel Jacobs; surveyor, A. L. Knowlton 
(who resigned in November, being succeeded 
by P. Zahner) ; schools superintendent, A. W. 
Sweeney; coroner, A. J. Thibodo; county 
commissioners, Charles White, C. S. Brush 
and C. C. Cram. The coroner resigned in 
November, being succeeded by O. P. Lacy, 
who in turn resigned the office, in Novem- 
ber, 1875, V. D. Lambert being appointed to 
fill the \'acancy. Commissioner Charles 
White resigned in November, 1875. '^'^ ■''Ac- 
cessor being- Frank Louden. 



CHAPTER X. 



ANNALS OF THE YEARS 1875 TO 1S81. 



The year 1875 was an important one in 
the. annals of the city of Walla Walla, since 
it marked the completion of the line of the 
^\'alla Walla & Columbia River Railroad 
from \\'allula to Walla Walla, the work of 
the energetic and far-seeing Dr. D. S. Baker, 
thus affording to the county-seat its first rail- 
way connection with the outside world, and 
also affording shipping facilities far ahead of 
the primitive methods heretofore employed. 
The road had been slowly advanced toward 
completion by the intervention of private 
capital, the citizens generously coming to the 
rescue of the enterprise and subscribing near- 
ly twenty-seven thousand dollars. In October 
of this year were made the first shipments of 
grain by railroad out of Walla Walla, and it 
juay well be imagined that the completion of 



the road was the cause of marked satisfaction 
to the merchants and farmers of this locality. 
Other railroad projects were brought up and 
thoroughly discussed, Dayton ami Waitsburg 
having held mass meetings to consider the 
matter of securing railway connection with 
the county-seat, while other and more preten- 
tious projects were agitated. Li the fall of 
the year 1875 Walla Walla was connecteil 
with r.aker City, Oregon, by telegraph line. 

DIVISIO.N OF THE COUNTV. 

Reference has already been made to the 
attempt of Waitsburg to effect a division of 
the county in 1869, the effort being unsuccess- 
ful. But the increase in settlement, the rapid 
development in agricultural and other indus- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



1 1 1 



trial lines, made the proposition to form a 
new count}' not an unreasonable one in 1875. 
From a previously published history of Co- 
lumbia county we make the fr)ll(jwin<:;^ ex- 
tracts, which will show clearly how the di- 
vision of the county, by the erection of Co- 
lumbia county, was effected : 

The springing up of Dayton and great increase in 
wealth and population of the country surrounding it, led 
the minds of people to the idea that a new county should 
be created. They were a portion of Walla Walla coun- 
ty, but were so far from the county-seat that it was a 
matter of great inconvenience and expense to transact 
official business. Especially were the citizens of Uayton 
in favor of a new county, and the location of a seat of 
justice in their midst, as such a step would help the 
town. Dayton was the only town in the proposed new 
county, yet, as it was near the western verge, those who 
could see into the future recognized the fact that settle- 
ment of the Pataha, Alpowa and Asotin country would 
result in taking the county-seat away from Dayton in 
time, or in creating another county to accommodate the 
people of that region. This served only to spur them 
on in their effort to secure the prize for Dayton, hoping 
to retain it when the conflict came in the future, by creat- 
ing a new county, thus leaving Dayton in permanent 
possession of what it had gained. The Democrats had 
elected Elisha Ping to the territorial council in 1874, and 
as this gentleman was a resident and property-holder of 
Dayton his services were assured in securing the desired 
legislation. A petition was circulated and largely signed, in 
I8T.5, asking the legislature to divide Walla Walla county 
by a line running directly south from the Palouse ferry, 
on Snake river, to the Oregon line, thus leaving Waits- 
burg Just within the limits of the new county. The peo- 
ple of Waitsburg objected. If they had to be the tail to 
any kite, they preferred Walla Walla to Dayton. They 
delegated Mr. Preston to visit Walla Walla and consult 
with the people there on this subject. He addressed a 
large meeting in that city in September, and a remon- 
strance was prepared, which received many signatures, 
and was forwarded to the legislature. Representatives 
Hodgis, Lloyd, Lynch and Scott, of Walla Walla coun- 
ty, opposed a division with earnestness. The cause of 
Dayton was in the hands of A. J. Cain, who managed it 
in Olympia, with the assistance of Mr. Ping. The 
remonstrance sent in by the people of Walla Walla and 
Waitsburg called the attention of the legislature to the 
fact that the proposed line of division cut off two-thirds 
of the county, including the bulk of the agricultural 
land and all the timber, and suggested that if it was 
.necessary to create a new county at all, that a line run- 
ning from Snake river to the Touchet on the line between 
ranges :iS and 39, thence up the south fork of the Touchet 
to the Oregon line, be selected. This was twelve miles east 



of the other proposed line, and would leave Waitsburg in 
Walla Wallacounty, aswell asa large belt of agricultural 
and timber land that otherwise would be set off to the 
new county. Walla Walla found herself helpless in the 
matter in the legislature. The members from the west- 
ern side of the mountains were in the majority, and they 
were in favor of a division as desired by the people of 
Dayton. A bill to create Ping county was introduced 
and passed both branches, only to meet with a veto at 
the hands of Governor Ferry, who objected to certain 
features of it. Another bill was prepared, in accordance 
with his objections, to create the county of Columbia, 
and was hurried through the legislature in the last days 
of the session, receiving the governor's signature on the 
Uth of November, 187.5. The line was a compromise 
between the two proposed, and struck the Touchet two 
miles abgve Waitsburg, then went south si.\ miles, east 
six milL'S, and th.-n south to the Oregon line. 

Though the opening of the centennial 
year, 1876, found Walla Walla county de- 
prived of near two-thirds of its original ter- 
ritory, s'till prosperity smiled upon the locality, 
and the prospects for the future were most 
flattering. That the county had not suffered 
appreciably in the amount of real valuations 
by reason of the segregation of the new 
county of Columbia, is clearly shown Ijy a 
comparison of the assessed valuations of the 
years 1875 and 1876. In the former year the 
property in the county (then undivided) was 
assessed at $2,792,065, while in 1876 the total 
was nearly as great, being $2,296,870. Sta- 
tistics gleaned by the assessor in this year 
afford the following data : In the county were 
reported 239 mules, 5.281 horses, 11,147 cat- 
tle, 13.25^ sheep, 4,000 hogs, 1.774 acres of 
timothy, 700 of corn, 2,600 of oats, 6,000 of 
barley, 21,000 of wheat, and 700 of fruit 
trees. The new railway was handling a large 
amount of the produce of the county, flour 
being now manufactured in six mills in full 
operation in the county. Prosperity was in- 
dicated in divers ways, and the condition of 
the county treasury was gratifying. On the 
1st of May the treasury had a balance on hand 
of $5,271.61, and the amount due on out- 



I 12 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



standing warrants aggregated only $2,816.56. 
The roof of the court house was raised five 
feet in this year, and a two-story addition 
was made to the building, the dimensions of 
this annex being twenty by twenty-four feet. 
Another much-needed improvement was ef- 
fected, in that the commissioners constructed 
three vaults of brick to be used for the filing 
and preservation of the county records. 

The division of the county much dis- 
pleased the citizens of Walla Walla county, 
who felt that their interests were not properly 
considered by the people of the sound, who 
seemed to discriminate against the territory 
east of the mountains and to have no concern 
about this section save in the matter of deriv- 
ing therefrom as great a revenue as possible. 
Thus it came about that the matter of asking 
once more for annexation of this section of 
the territory to Oregon was taken up and vig- 
orously supported by many who had hitherto 
strongly opposed the measure. James K. 
Kelly, United States senator from Oregon, 
introduced in the senate a bill which provided 
for the submission to the voters of Walla 
Walla and Columbia counties the question of 
their annexation to Oregon, the territory thus 
including all south of the Snake river. The 
annexation scheme was bitterly opposed by 
the citizens of the Puget sound district, by the 
territory of Idaho and particularly by the 
citizens of Dayton, who could see no reason 
for the change, maintaining that by reason 
of the rapid settlement of the country it would 
soon be possible to secure the admission of 
Washington to statehood according to the 
plans originally outlined. Dayton accord- 
ingly sent to congress a memorial objecting 
to the bill introduced by Senator Kelly, where- 
upon Walla Walla took a definite action also, 
holding a mass meeting and also sending, in 



turn, a memorial to congress, favoring the 
bill in question. The bill failed to pass, as 
did also the liouse Ijill, of similar character, 
introduced by Representative Lane, of Ore- 
gon, and providing that the question should 
be voted on at the Xoxember election. Al- 
though this latter bill was favorably voted 
upon by the committee on territories, it met 
the same fate -as had the senate bill. The an- 
nexation idea being thus adversely considered, 
and realizing that nothing further could be 
done along the line noted, Walla Walla county 
finally accepted the situation gracefully and 
concluded to act in harmony with other sec- 
tions of the territory in the matter of work- 
ing to secure the admission of Washington 
to the sisterhood of states. 

COUNTY ELECTION OF 1876. 

The Republican nominee for delegate to 
congress was Judge Orange Jacobs, who was 
the incumbent of the office at the time. The 
Democrats nominated John P. Judson, who 
was defeated by a small majority, Walla 
Walla coimty having given him a majority 
of one hundred and fifty-two votes. The 
county election, held November 7th, gave a 
distinct victory to the Democracy, all its can- 
didates being elected. The one Republican 
elected was the county surveyor, whose name 
appeared on both tickets. The result of the 
election was as follows: Prosecuting attor- 
nev. T. J. Anders; councilman, Daniel Stew- 
art; representatives, W. T. Barnes, William 
:\Lartin, A. J. Gregory and H. A. Vansyckle; 
probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff, George 
F. Thomas; auditor, Thomas P. Page; treas- 
urer, William 0."Donnell : assessor, Samuel . 
Jacobs; surveyor, P. Zahner; school superin- 
tendent, A. W. Sweeney (who resigned in the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



"3 



following May, being succeeded by L. K. 
Grim); coroner, L. II. Goodwin; commis- 
sioners, D. J. Storms, James Braden and Dion 
Keefe. In the county eighty-five votes were 
cast in favor of the constitutional convention 
and two hundred and ninety-two in opposi- 
tion. The territory gave, however, a very 
satisfactory majority in favor of the holding 
of the territorial convention. 

The finances of the county were held in 
excellent condition during the succeeding two 
years, the report of the fiscal year ending 
April 30, 1877, showing the receipts to have 
been $46,657.11 and the expenditures $43,- 
797.99. The cash on hand aggregated $8,- 
130.73, while less than eight hundred dollars 
was due on outstanding county warrants. 
The advances made in the shipping of the 
products of the county is distinctly indicated 
by the following statistics in regard to the 
amount of freight handled Ity the Walla 
Walla & Columbia River Railroad in the year 
1877. There were received eight thousand 
tons, of which thirty-five hundred were agri- 
cultural implements. There were forwarded 
19,884 tons of wheat, 4,653 of flour, 917 of 
oats and barley, 326 of flaxseed, 81 of wool, 
172 of bacon and lard, and 280 of miscella- 
neous freight, — a gratifying total of 26,313 
tons shipped out from the territory tributary 
to Walla Walla. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

Judge Jacobs, the territorial delegate to 
congress, urged upon that' body, during the 
session of 1877-8, the passage of a bill admit- 
ting Washington to statehood, its territory 
to include the three northern counties of Ida- 
ho. Once again the old and dejected annexa- 
tion scheme raised its weary head, Senator 

8 



Mitchell, of Oregon, presenting to congress 
another memorial advocating the annexation. 
Congress took no action on the memorial. In 
November, 1877, the legislature of the terri- 
tory passed a bill providing for a special elec- 
tion, to be held April 9, 1878, to choose dele- 
gates to a constitutional convention, which 
was to be held in Walla Walla the second 
Tuesday in June. Fifteen delegates were to 
be chosen from Washington and one from 
Idaho, the latter to have no vote. The elec- 
tion called out about one-half the popular 
vote of the territory. In the meantime the 
work of framing a constitution had been 
pushed forward. The delegates to the con- 
stitutional convention were as follows : W. 
A. George, of Walla Walla; Edward Eldridge, 
Whatcom; S. M. Gilmore, Klickitat; S. M. 
Wait, Columbia; B. F. Dennison, representing 
the second judicial district; C. II. Larrabee, 
third judicial district; C. M. Bradshaw, Jef- 
ferson ; Henry B. Emery, Kitsap ; L. B. An- 
drews, King; D. B. Hannah, Pierce; Frank 
Henry, Thurston; .\. S. Abernctliy, Cowlitz; 
G. H. Steward, Clark; O. P. Lacy. Walla 
Walla; G. V. O'Dell, Whitman; and Alonzo 
Leland, of Nez Perce county, Idaho. 

On June 11, 1878, these delegates assem- 
l>led at Science Hall, in the city of Walla 
Walla, and were called to order by W. A. 
George. A temporary organization was ef- 
fected by the election of A. S. Abernethy as 
president of the convention. The committee 
on credentials made its report, after which the 
convention was permanently organized, with 
the following officers : A. S. .\bernethy, pres- 
ident; W. B. Daniels and William Clark, sec- 
retaries; and Henry D. Cock, sergeant-at- 
arms. The convention continued in session 
for a period of forty days, and within this 
time had framed a constitution to be submit- 



114 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



ted to the people for ratification or rejection 
at the next general election, to be held in No- 
vember. 1878. It is recorded that but little 
enthusiasm was manifested in the subject of 
the constitution, the vote on this issue falling 
fully three thousand short of that cast for dele- 
gate to congress. In favor of the adoption 
of the constitution 6,462 votes were cast, and 
against the same 3.231. Many were apa- 
thetic in the matKT by reason of the fact 
that they considered the adoption of the con- 
stitution somewhat premature and felt that no 
genuine results could be attained at this time. 
The Democratic territorial convention of 1878 
placed N. T. Cation in nomination for dele- 
gate to congress, and Thomas H. Brents was 
the nominee of the Republicans. Both the 
gentlemen were prominent lawyers of Walla 
Walla, so it will be seen that the people east 
of the mountains received due recognition at 
this time. Judge Brents is at the time of this 
writing judge of the superior court in Walla 
Walla county, and a specific sketch of his life 
appears on another page of this work. The 
vote cast in the territory was nearly three 
thousand greater than that of the last elec- 
tion, two years previous, the total being 
12,647. J"<^'g^ Brents received a majority of 
1. 301. and in his home county his majority 
was 146, the fact being particularly flattering 
to the successful candidate, since this was the 
first time that the county had ever given a ma- 
jority to a Republican candidate for delegate 
to congress. The Republicans captured a 
share of the county oflices at this election, 
held November 5th, electing the councilman, 
three representatives in the legislature, the 
auditor and treasurer, surveyor, school super- 
intendent and one of the commissioners. The 
result of the election was as follow^s: Prose- 
cuting attorney, R. F. Sturdevant; council- 



man. J. II. Day; representatives, John A. 
Taylor, D. J. Storms, J. J\I. Dewar and Mark 
F. Colt; probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff, 
J. B. Thompson; auditor, W. C. Painter; 
treasurer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, Samuel Ja- 
cobs; surveyor, P. Zahner (who resigned in 
February, 1880, F. F. Loeher being appointed 
to fill the vacancy) ; school superintendent, 
C. W. Wheeler; coroner, J. 'Si. Boyd; com- 
missioners, M. B. \\'ard, Amos Cummings and 
Samuel H. Erwin. The vote in the county in 
favor of the adoption of the constitution was 
eighty-nine, against the proposition eight 
hundred and forty-seven. 

The years 1879 and 1880 gave to Walla 
Walla an improvement in shipping facilities, 
since the Walla Walla & Columbia River 
Railroad was sold to the Oregon Railway <& 
Navigation Company, who changed the line 
to a broad gauge and otherwise so improved 
the equipment as to give the Walla Walla 
valley far superior transportation facilities to 
those hitherto enjoyed, thus tending to vitalize 
the industrial life of this section in a marked 
degree. 

Delegate Brents introduced in the national 
house of representatives a bill for the admis- 
sion of ^^'ashington into the Union, and 
though the matter w^as pushed forward with 
as much insistency as possible, yet congress 
refused to give it consideration, so that the 
agitation had to be abandoned until the next 
session of congress. Judge Brents was again 
nominated for delegate by the Republicans in 
1880, the candidate of the Democracy being 
Thomas Burke. The former was successful 
at the polls, his majority in Walla Walla 
county being one hundred and eighteen votes. 
By the county election of November 2, 1880, 
the various official positions were again di- 
vided, the Republicans gaining a majority of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



lis 



the offices. The result was as follows : Mem- 
ber of the board of equalization, T. C. Frary; 
•councilman, B. L. Sharpstein; joint council- 
man, Jacob Hoover; representatives, R. R. 
Rees and W. G. Preston; joint representa- 
tive, J. M. Cornwell; probate judge, R. Guich- 
ard; prosecuting attorney, George T. Thomp- 
son; sheriff, James B. Thompson; auditor, 
\\'. C. Painter; treasurer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, 
Samuel Jacobs; surveyor, Francis F. Loehr; 
school superintendent. C. \\'. Wheeler; coro- 
ner. Dr. H. G. ]\Iauzey; commissioners, M. B. 



\\''ard, Amos Cummings and S. H. Erwin; 
sheep commissioner, Asa L. LeGrow. 

At this election the question of levying a 
tax for the purpose of building a suitable 
court house and jail, compatible with the 
wealth and dignity of the county, came up 
for decision, and it is gratifying to know that 
the voters of the county gave to the proposi- 
tion an almost unanimous endorsement, 1,468 
votes being cast in favor of the levy and only 
158 against it. The fence law was also en- 
dorsed at this election. 



CHAPTER XL 



WALLA WALLA COUNTY ELECTIONS 1882-I9OO. 



At the election of 1882 the following offi- 
cers were elected : Representatives, H. H. 
Hungate, A. G. Lloyd and Milton Evans; 
attorney, George Thompson; auditor, William 
C. Painter; sheriff, J. B. Thompson; treas- 
urer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, William Hark- 
ness; surveyor, F. H. Loehr; superintendent 
of public schools, J. W. Brock; judge of pro- 
bate, R. Guichard; commissioners, Amos 
Cummings, M. B. \\'ard and S. H. Erwin; 
sheep commissioner, A. S. LeGrow ; coroner, 
\\". B. Wells. 

At the election of 1882 Judge Thomas H. 
Brents, of Walla Walla, was the Republican 
candidate for delegate to congress, and he was 
elected by a flattering majority. Of his serv- 
ices in this capacity due record is made on 
other pages of this work, in which connection 
we are also pleased to direct particular atten- 
tion to the sketch of his life, appearing on 
another page. He received in Walla Walla 



county at this election eleven hundred and 
thirty-one votes. It is to be noted that this 
election showed many "scratched" tickets, the 
reason assigned by the Walla Walla Daily 
Statesman being to "give 'bossism' its death 
blow," and to thus file a definite objection to 
what was pronounced a "giant evil." 

Touching this election the Statesman 
(Democratic) of November 11, 1882, speaks 
as follows: "Last Tuesday the tolerant spirit 
of the people gave out, and it became a fight 
between right and wrong, between honest 
go\-ernment and dishonest government, be- 
tween bossism and the people. It was a ques- 
tion whether the people or the bosses were to 
rule. The watchword was, 'The right thing 
must come to pass,' and it did come to pass. 
1 he people dropped their expressed wishes 
into the ballot boxes on Tuesday, and when 
they were counted 'bossism' died, as it should." 

The election of 1884 gave the following 



Ii6 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



results: Representatives, J. F. Brewer, Will- 
iam Fudge and J. M. Dewar; attorney, !•-. K. 
Hanna ; auditor, William C. Painter ; sheriff, 
A. S. Bowles; treasurer, J. F. Boyer; assessor, 
L. H. Bowman; surveyor, J- B. Wilson; su- 
perintendent of public schools, J. W. Mor- 
gan; judge of probate, R. Guichard; commis- 
sioners, Amos Cummings, \\ . P. Rcser and 
W. G. Babcock; sheep commissioner, A. S. 
LeGrow; coroner, H. R. Keylor. 

The record of the election of 1886 is here 
noted : Representatives, P. A. Preston and 
W. M. Clark; auditor, L. R. Ilawley; sheriff, 
A. S, Bowles; treasurer, J- F. Boyer; assessor, 
M. H. Paxton; survej-or, J. ]\I. Allen; super- 
intendent of public schools, Ellen Gilliam; 
judge of probate, R. Guichard; commission- 
ers, T. C. Taylor, Joseph Paul and Edwin 
Weary ; sheep commissioner, Timotliy Barry ; 
coroner, H. R. Keylor. 

In 1888 the following officers were elected 
in the county : Representatives, E. L. Powell 
and L. T. Parker: auditor, L. R. Hawlcy ; 
sheriff, J. M. IMcFarland ; treasurer, John F. 
Boyer; assessor, M. H. Paxton; superintend- 
ent of public schools, J. B. Gehr; surveyor, 
L. W. Loehr; coroner, Y. C. Blalock; justice 
of the peace, John A. Taylor; probate judge, 
H. W. Eagan; commissioners, James McAu- 
liff. Frank IMcGown and C. J. Laman; con- 
stable, James A. Messenger. 

At the election of 1890 the following in- 
cumbents of the county offices were chosen : 
Representatives, J. L. Sharpstein and J. C. 
Painter; attorney, H. S. Blandford; clerk, H. 
\\'. Eagan; auditor, W. B. Hawley; sheriff', J. 
M. JIcFarland ; treasurer, R. Guichard ; assess- 
or, M. II. Paxton; superintendent of public 
schools, J. B. Gehr; surveyor, L. \\\ Loehr; 
justice of the peace, J. W. Cole; commission- 



ers, J. -M. Hill, Milton Aldrich and Frank 
Lowden. 

The results of the election of 189J were 
as follows: Representatives, A. Cameron and 
Joseph Merchant; senators, David Miller and 
John L. Roberts; superior judge, W. M. Up- 
ton; clerk, H. . W. Eagan; attorney. Miles 
Poindexter; auditor, W. B. Ilawley; sheriff, 
C. C. Gose; treasurer, H. H. H ungate: super- 
intendent of public schools, E. L. Brunton; 
assessor, T. II. Jessup; surveyor, J. B. Wil- 
son; coroner, C. B. Stewart; justice of the 
peace, W. T. Arbcrry ; constable, M. C. Gus- 
tin; conimissioners, Edward AIcDonnell, J. B. 
Caldwell and Frank JNI. Lowden. 

In 1894 the following officers were elected 
in the county: Representatives, Joseph Mer- 
chant and J. W. Morgan; attorney. R. H. 
Ormsbee; clerk, Le F. A. Shaw; auditor, A. 
H. Crocker; sheriff', \\'illiam Ellingsworth ; 
treasurer, I\I. H. Paxton; superintendent of 
public schools. E. L. Brunton ; assessor, J. B. 
\\'ilson ; surxxyor, E. S. Clark ; coroner, S. M. 
White; justice of the peace, E. H. Xixon; 
constables, M. C. Gustin and Ben T. Wolf. 

The election of 1896 resulted as follows: 
Representatives, J. H. Marshall and .\. Ma- 
thoit; senators, David ]\Iiller and John I. 
Yeend; superior judge, Thomas H. Brents; 
attorney, F. B. Sharpstein; auditor, A. H. 
Cro'cker; clerk, J. E. Mullinix; sheriff, Will- 
iam Ellingsworth; treasurer. M. H. Paxton: 
survevor, E. S. Clark ; assessor, J. B. Wilson ; 
superintendent of the public schools, Grant S. 
Bond: coroner, W. D. Smith; justice of the 
peace, W. T. Arberry; constable, Ben T. 
Wolf: commissioners, Milton Evans and Os- 
car Drumheller. 

The following were elected to the various 
offices in 1898: Representatives, C. C. Gose 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY, 



117 



and Grant Copeland; sheriff, A. Frank Kees; 
clerk, Sciniyler Arnokl ; auditor, C. N. Mc- 
Lean; treasurer, John W. McGhee, Jr.; attor- 
ney, Oscar Cain; assessor, Walter L. Cad- 
man ; superintendent of public schools. Grant 
S. Bond; surveyor, W. G. Sayles; coroner, 
Y. C. Blalock; justice of the peace, William 
Glasford; constable, Emil Sanderson; com- 
missioners, Delos Coffin and D. C. Eaton. 

The election of 1900 gave the following 
results : Representatives, Grant Copeland and 
John Geyer; senators, \V. P. Reser and O. T. 
Cornwell; superior judge, Thomas H. Brents; 
l)rosecuting attorney, Oscar Cain ; auditor, C. 
N. McLean; clerk, Schuyler Arnold; sheriff, 
A. Frank Kees; treasurer, W. B. Hawley; 
assessor, Walter L. Cadman ; surveyor, W. G. 
Sayles; superintendent of public schools, J. 
Elmer Myers; coroner, S. A. Owens; justice 
of the peace, William Glasford; constable, J. 
C. Hillman; commissioners, Edward Corn- 
well and Amos Cummings. 

At this election Judge Brents received the 
largest majority ever accorded a candidate in 
Walla Walla county, 2,324 votes being cast 
in his favor and 1,295 '" favor of the oppos- 
ing candidate. 

At the present time the county is divided 
into twenty-six voting precincts. A list of 
these precincts, with the vote cast in each for 
the elections of 1896 and 1900 will be ii.und 
interesting for comparison. 



1896. 

Baker 93 

Clarke 160 

Clyde 103 

Coppei 78 

Di.xie . . . .' 167 

Eureka 97 

I'reniont 283 



1900. 

lOI 

192 
152 

79 

162 

2^1 



Frenchtown 64 97 

Hadley 59 47 

Hill 59 80 

Lewis 244 287 

Lower Dry Creek 54 55 

Lower Touchet 20 26 

Mill Creek yj 66 

]\Iullan 93 91 

Prescott 155 170 

Ritz 235 262 

Russell Creek 55 49 

Sims 124 168 

Steptoe 123 127 

Stevens 259 334 

Small 207 216 

Waitsburg 198 269 

Wallula 105 94 

Washington 123 112 

Whitman 199 220 

Total vote 3434 3785 

Total vote in the city 1485 1670 

It may be of interest to readers desiring 
an accurate conception of the financial con- 
dition of the county to have here presented a 
few statistics from auditor's report for the 
fiscal year ending June 30, 1900. By this 
statement it is shown that the number of acres 
of improved land in the county is 252,159.90; 
of unimproved land. 351,256.42: total num- 
ber of acres assessed, 603,414.32; that the 
value of lands exclusive of improvements is 
$2,812,505; improvements on lands, $492,- 
805 ; total value of lands and improve- 
ments, $3,305,310: that the total value of 
railroad tracks withhi the county is $911,685; 
and of personal property, $2,126,945; that the 
total value of all taxable propertj- as assessed 
is $8,245,852. These figures were so modi- 
fied by state and county boards of equalization 



iiS 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



and corrections by auditor as to make the total 
valuation of property $8,247,952. The report 
is authority also for the statement that the 
total county indebtedness in 1900 was $90,- 
460.64. and that the cash in the county funds 
^vas $12,437.60, leaving a net indel)tedness of 
$78,023.04. 

ST.VTEIIOOD. 

The statistical summary of elections just 
given makes no mention of the great event in 
the history of Washington state, to-wit, its 
birth. In 1889 Washington became a state. 
Some of the efforts to attain this consummation 
liave already been noted in these jjages. The 
government in general did not realize the rapid 
growth of this region, .\fter 1883, with the 
completion of the Xorthern Pacific Railroad, 
population increased \ery rajiidly. The am- 
bitious and energetic inhabitants of the terri- 
tory felt eager to don the garb of statehood. 
The national administration, in 1888-9, began 
to see that it would be a suitable time to admit 
the largest group of states ever admitted at one 
time. The pressure from Washington. Mon- 
tana and Dakota had been unceasing. The 
government became satisfied that these three 
great territories fulfilled all the requisites nec- 
essary for statehood, .\ccordingly a liill was 
pcssed in 1889 providing for the creation of 
W'ashington, Montana, North Dakota and 
South Dakota. This great change in the his- 
tory of the territory stimulated all mani-.er of 
enterprises, and turned the attention of home- 
seekers throughout the I'nited States to Wash- 
ington as a region where they might well cast 
their lot. It is a matter of interest and pride 
to Walla Walla to note that the last territorial 
delegate, John ]]. .Mien, and tlie last territorial 
governor, Miles C. Moore, were citizens of this 
l)lace. In the constitutional con\ention which 



was summoned to meet in 1890 for the purpose 
of framing a constitution for the new .state, 
Judge B. L. Sharpstein, Dr. X. G. Rlalock and 

D. J. Crowley represented Walla Walla. 

In glancing back over the political liistory 
of this state and territory it may be observed 
th.at Walla Walla county has i^een largely rep- 
resented in state affairs. Of the congressional 
delegates from 1857 to 1888 four were citizens 
of \\'all;i Walla county. These were George 

E. Cole, elected in 1863, Alvin Flanders, in 
1867. Thomas H. Brents, in 1878. i8?o and 
1S82, and John B. Allen, in 1888. Three other 
citizens of \\'al!a Walla. J. D. .Mix. B. L. 
.Sharpstein and X. T. Caton, were nominees by 
the Democrats, but not elected. 

Miles C. Moore, for many years an honored 
citizen of Walla Walla, was appointed by Presi- 
dent Harrison t'o the governorship of Wash- 
ington in 1889. L'pon him. therefore, deviilvcd 
the bowing out of the territory ruid the usher- 
ing in of the state. Men of all panies united 
in testifying that 1>oth duties were performed 
with conspicuous ability. The political history 
since admission to statehood has been of a 
somewhat checkered character. The state has 
been in general strongly Republican, and yet 
all parties ha\-e been distracted with factional 
struggles. The first state legislature was^ 
strongly Republican and chose as the first sena- 
tors W. (1. Squire, of Seattle, and John B. 
.Mien, of Walla Walla. The first Republican 
state convention met in Walla Walla, and nomi- 
nated E. P. I'erry for governor and John L. 
Wilson for representative to congress. The Re- 
publican candidates were elected l)y a large 
majority. Of the subsequent bitter strife 
between the .\llcn and the Turner factions 
we will not here speak. Xor will we speak 
of the failure by reason of that strife 
to elect a senator in the year 1893, nor 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



119 



of tlie appointment by Governor McGraw 
of John B. Allen to fill the vacant place 
and his subsequent rejection by the sen- 
ate. These things belong rather to the his- 
tory of the state than the county, although 
these conditions (l<iniinatc<l the political affairs 
of the county. It was during this portion of 
the county history that the management of the 
state penitentiary became such a potent factor 
in both county and state politics. One ring 
after another got control of penitentiary affairs, 
and candidates for state or national offices 
found it wise to exercise great caution in deal- 
ing with those penitentiary rings. The ap- 
pointment by Governor McGraw of J. H. Cob- 
Icntz to the wardenship of the penitentiary, the 
slashing manner in which the latter undertook 
tT run the politics of the county, as well as 
the meekness with which the majority of the 
county statesmen submitted to the yoke, the 
frequent spreads and entertainments, some of a 
highly moral and religious character, the sub- 
sequent defalcation, and at last the tragic sui- 
cide of Warden Coblentz, — of these we need 
not speak at length, for are they not all written 
i'l the chronicles of the tax payers of Walla 
Walla? 

During the past five years the most intimate 
c< nnection between the politics of Walla Walla 
county and the state has been through the 
candidacy of Levi Ankeny for the senatorsliip. 
Although the A\'ilson ring and allied influences 
have thus far been able to prevent the election 
of Mr. Ankeny, yet he has the hearty support 



of almost all tlie different parties in his own 
C(junty. 

In the presideiuial election of 1896 the 
usual Republican majority was overcome by the 
fusion of the Democratic and Populist parties 
into the organization kn(jwn as the Peoples' 
party. The vote was 1,596 Republican, 1,652 
Peoples' party, 2)7 Prohibition, 64 Gold Demo- 
crat. The presidential election of 1900 saw the 
tide turned tlie other way. 

In spite of the agricultural occupation of 
the people of this county the Populist party is 
not so strong as in other portions of eastern 
Washington. A generally conservative impulse 
has kept the independent elements from making 
ar.v large accessi )ns from the ranks of orthodox 
voters. Apparently financial and personal 
motives possess greater influence than political 
and independent ones. It is plain that the great 
desideratum in both county and state politics 
is some large general interest, which is cajjable 
of creating a genuine patriotism and true pub- 
lic spirit. Such influences, though rare, and be- 
lieved by some cynics not to act at all. ncver- 
thiCless do come into existence at times, and are 
ill reality the only salvation of republican in- 
stitutions. 

It may well be expected that a region so 
highly favored by nature as Walla Walla, with 
so many iniluences tending to the creation of 
an intelligent, patriotic and liberty-loving po])- 
ulation, will in due sea.son create a high stand- 
ard of patriotism and political rectitude. 



CHAPTER XII 



THE LAND WE LIVE IN. 



Tlie preceding chapters have been mainly 
historical. Those remaining will be mainly de- 
scriptive. 

In this chapter we propose to view some of 
tlie general physical aspects of this great state 
in which Walla \\'alla county is located. After 
such a view of the state as a whole we shall 
find it the more interesting to traverse in 
imagination our own county, and arrive at a 
due conception of its rich resources. Of all 
jTeculiarities of the "Evergreen state," none is 
so impressive as its infinite variety. From the 
rolling grass plains of the eastern part to the 
arid flats of Yakima, from the aiguilletted and 
glacier-crested uplifts of Chelan or Okanogan 
t.i the smiling vales of Walla Walla, from the 
fog-shrouded shores of Puget sound to the 
drifting sands and perpetual sunshine of Ken- 
newick. with all the variety of products which 
conform to such differences of nature, — coal, 
gold, silver, wheat, cattle, fruit, wool, hay, lum- 
ber, fish, hops, etc.. ad infinitum, — we note that 
one predominant fact of variety. To stranger 
and resident alike this presents an indescrib- 
able charm. In one sense Washington has no 
characteristics, for it is both dry and wet, both 
clear and cloudy, both timbered and jtrairie, 
both mountainous and level, lx)th barren and 
li-.xuriant, both beautiful and dismal. Equally 
contrasted are its products. All characters, 
then, may be said to Ijelong to it. 

This grand and varied character of our 
great state has received its tribute of admira- 



tion from both x'isitors and citizens. W'e can- 
not render this chapter attractive in any better 
way than by quoting some of the best of these 
beautiful tributes. 

For a brief review of the progress and pres- 
ent conditions of the great state of \Vashington 
there can perhaps be found no more reliable and 
incisive account than the following, which ap- 
peared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of Sun- 
day, December 30, 1900: 

■'It is not too much to claim for the state 
of Washington that it is at least the equal of 
any state in the Union for diversity of resources 
and magnificence of opportunity, and far sur- 
passes most. Its location on the Pacific coast 
is shared by only two other states, neither of 
which contains within its boundaries all of the 
advantages possessed by the most northwestern 
of the states of the Union. Its great inland 
sea of Puget sound forms a harbor imrivaled 
by any other in the world. Its mountains are 
full of mineral, its forests will yield lumber for 
many years, its wheat fields produce as fine a 
quality of grain as any in the United States, 
its orchards are infinite in their variety, its 
meadows are richer than can be found any- 
where else, and as a dairy state it has no equal. 
Of no less importance is the fact that its climate 
is the most conducive to sustained energy. 
The temperature runs to neither extreme, and 
is absolutely free from blizzard, drouth, tornado 
or flood. 

"The state of Washington owes its name 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



121 



to a Kentucky member of congress named 
Stanton. The petition to be set off as a separate 
territory from Oregon was before congress as 
early as 1852, and the territory was created 
]\Jarch 2. 1853. The name proposed was Co- 
lumbia, but Stanton said : 'We have already a 
territory of Columbia. This district was called 
Columbia, but we never yet have dignified a 
territory with the name of Washington. I de- 
sire to see a sovereign state bearing the name 
of the father of this country. I therefore move 
to strike out the work Columbia wherever it 
occurs in the bill and insert instead thereof the 
word Washington.' 

"It remained a territory until 1889. Acting 
under an enabling act passed by congress, the 
constitution of the state of Washington was 
framed by a convention of seventy-five dele- 
gates chosen by the people of the territory, at 
an election held May 14, 1889, under the act of 
congress approved February 22. 1889. The 
convention met at Olympia July 4, 1889, and 
adjourned August 22, 1889. The constitution 
was ratified at an election held October i, 1889, 
and on November 11, 1889. the president of the 
United States proclaimed the admission of the 
state of Washington into the Union. It is 
worthy of note that the act of congress provid- 
ing for the state of W^ashington was approved 
on Washington's birthday. 

"Tlie state lies between the 4r)tli and 49th 
parallels of north latitude and the 117th and 
125th meridians of longitude west from Green- 
wich. It has an area of 69,994 square miles, 
and is. therefore, greater in area than any state 
east of the Mississippi, and is greater than all 
six New England states combined. In i860 it 
had a population of 11,594; in 1870. 23,955; 
ii' 1880, 75,116; in 1885, 130,465; in i8go 
its population was 349.390; and now it is 
518,103. 



"The first settlements were trading posts of 
the Hudson's Bay and Northwestern fur com- 
panies. There was a settlement of farmers 
from the Red river valley, who located at Nis- 
qually in 1841. There were also early mis- 
sionary settlements at Walla W^alla in 1835, 
and Spokane, then Fort Spokane, in 1838. The 
first American settlement on Puget sound was 
made in October, 1845, at New Market, now 
Tumwater. In 1880 the largest body of urban 
population in the state of Washington was 
found at Walla Walla, which had a population 
of 3,588. The next largest body was in Seattle, 
with its population of 3.533. 

"The early historical accounts of what is 
now the state of Washington are very meager. 
Most of the expeditions had some other object 
tlian possession of this part of the country. 
Expeditions by Juan de Fuca, Captain George 
Vancouver. Captain Robert Gray, by sea, and 
by Captain William Clark and Captain Meri- 
wether Lewis, by land, ha\-e left their marks 
'w now familiar names. There was also one 
unfortunate expedition undertaken in 1832, 
under Captain Bonneville, numbering one hun- 
dred and ten men and twenty wagons, which, 
starting from Fort Osage, reached as far west 
as Fort Walla Walla. 

"Captain Nathaniel J. Wyeth, of Massachu- 
setts, also in 1832, got as far west as Fort 
\'ancou\-er. John Ball, a member of his party, 
opened a school — the first known — at that 
place. One of his teachers describes it as a 
primitive Babel. 'The scholars.' he says, 
'came in talking in their respective languages — 
Cree. Nez Perce. Chinook, Klickitat,' and 
others whose names he did not know. Dr. 
Marcus Whitman is another of the heroic pio- 
neers who has impressed his personality upon 
the early history of the state. 

"President Pierce, whose vice-president was 



12: 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



nanieil Kinc;, apix)inted Major Isaac I. Stevens 
tlie first governor, and all of these are remem- 
bered in the names of counties. A subdivision 
of Stevens county was. in i<^99, createil a sep- 
arate county under tiie name of the first gov- 
ernor of the state, Eiislia P. Ferry. By proc- 
lamation. September 29, 1853. from the sum- 
n-.it of the Rocky mountains. Governor Stevens 
announced his assumption of his executive 
duties, and soon after he arrived at Olympia, 
the selected capital. 

"The remoteness of the new territory made 
it,= development very slow. The construction 
of the Xortliern Pacific Railroad, wliich it was 
intendeil to terminate at Olympia. but which 
was extended to Tacoma in 1880. is one of the 
great historical incidents in the development of 
the state. Even then it was supposed that 
Portlaml would be the real terminus, but work 
was pushed on, and on September 7, 1883, the 
last spike was driven. On Monday, the 5t!i day 
of July. 1887, the people of Washington com- 
memorated the arrival the day before of the 
first overland train direct from Duluth to Ta- 
coma. From that time the growth of the state 
has been rapid. The building of tiie Great 
Northern has placed the state on tiie line of 
another great transcontinental road, and many 
branches have since been addeil. 

"The surface of the state is separated into 
two great natural divisions by the Cascade 
range of mountains, extending from north to 
south, placing about two-thirds of the total 
area of the state in the eastern division. This 
division makes a great difference in climate, 
and the tno portions dift'er very much also in 
soil and resources. The western side is much 
more thickly populated, and its climate is moist 
and far less variable than that on the east, 
where winter anil summer are more distinctly 
marked. Eastern Washington is the valley' of 



the Columbia, while western Washington is the 
valley of Puget sound, lying between the Cas- 
cades and the Olympics. 

"In western Washington the strip of land 
bordering on the Pacific coast and extending 
back as far as the summit of the first mountain 
ranges has a wet climate; the region between 
the coast range and the Cascades has a moist 
climate, varying in the amount of annual pre- 
cipitation from twenty to sixty inches; in east- 
ern Washington the annual precipitation varys 
onh^ from fifteen to sixteen inches, although 
there is an irregular ring within which the 
rainfall varys from fifteen to twenty-five inches 
annually, and these diversities afTect th.e char- 
acter of the native productions. 

"The moisture of western Washington re- 
sults in wonderful richness of meadow prod- 
ucts. Hay. oats and hops are the principal field 
crops, but the valleys are splendidly adapted to 
culture of fruits, vegetables and flax, and to 
the pursuit of the dairy industry. The drier 
climate of eastern Washington has made the 
cultivation of wheat the principal source of 
wealth, but irrigation of the volcanic soil has 
resulted in a marvelous production of apples, 
pears, peaches, apricots, cherries and all small 
fruit. 

"The mountains of the state of Washing- 
ton are entitled to special mention on account 
of their grandeur of scenery and their timber 
lands. Beautiful though many of its mountains 
are. there is none anywhere which can com- 
pare with Mount Rainier. With an altitude 
officially given as 14.444 teet. although it is 
actually nearer 15.000. it is the third highest 
peak <in the continent, but it stands first in 
grandeur and sublimity. The higher altitudes 
ot" these mountains give fir. hemlock and 
spruce: the tablelands fir and spruce: the val- 
Icvs fir. cedar, spruce, cottonwood, maple and 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



123 



alder. Mucli of this timber is surpassed in size 
only by the redwood forests of California. 

"At one time the mountains harbored the 
mountain lion, but he has almost disappeared, 
and of animals to be feared there are left only 
the bald-faced bear of the Cascade mountains, 
although on the east side there may be found 
occasionally a remnant of the wolf family in 
the gray wolf, the black w^olf, and coyote. The 
cougar — the mountain lion — the lyn.x and wild- 
cat are almost entirely extinct. The grand 
game of t!ie state is the elk, which is still to 
be found in the Olympic mountains. On the 
eastern side of the Cascades the mule deer 
stands next to the elk in size and grace. White- 
tailed deer, black-tailed deer, wild goat and 
many fur-bearing animals are to be found, and 
occasionally the mountain sheep, or big horn, 
r- to be seen. Of upland game, grouse, quail 
and snipe are plentiful. There is a sufficient 
quantity of water fowl, of Canada geese and 
of many varieties of duck, plover and curlew 
t) tempt the hunter. The waters of Puget 
sound, of the rivers and the coast teem with 
fish, including salmon, sturgeon, halibut, smelt, 
cod, flounders, oysters and clams. 

"Variety of resources is not more consid- 
erable than quantity. The state of Washington 
produces the largest merchantable timber, and 
has the largest mill in the world : it has the 
largest cannery in the world, and its jfroduc- 
tion of wheat, timothy hay, alfalfa and hops, 
to the acre, is greater than in any other state 
IT the Union. Oats run from forty to eighty 
bushels per acre, and barley from thirty to 
seventy bushels per acre. 

"The wheat yield runs from twenty to 
thirty-five bushels per acre, and even more, 
reaching as high as sixty bushels in the famous 
Palouse belt, and three crops of alfalfa can be 



raised in one year. Hay cuts from two to four 
tons to the acre, two crops a season. 

"One of the great resources of the state, 
'second only in importance to lumber, is its coal. 
In the southern part of King and in Pierce 
county the coal deposits are estimated to be 
practically inexhaustible. The character of 
much of the coal is bituminous and semi-bi- 
tuminous, making 66 to 68 per cent. coke. 

■"Mining has not yet been made a feature 
of the state industries, but gold, silver and lead 
mines are being developed rapidly. Copper is 
found in very large quantities, and tin has been 
discovered. Lime is of the finest quality, and 
good pottery clay is found in several counties. 
Apart from the advantages of warnnh and 
moisture which cause grass, flowers and various 
kinds of vegetation to grow the winter through, 
and justify the application of the name of Ever- 
green state as a distinctive description, the 
climate of the state of Washington is of \'ast 
importance in the consideration of personal 
comfort. The equability oi temperature is due 
to the fact that the prevalent winds are from 
the Pacific ocean. \''ery rarely, during two 
nvjnths of the year, the wind blows from the 
north, for tW'O or three days at a time, but the 
winters are made mild and warm and the sum- 
mers cool aufl no less mild, through the action 
of the wind passing over the pathway of the 
Japan current. This breeze, coming from the 
westerly and southwesterly points, is called the 
Chinook wind, and its effect is that every in- 
dustry can be followed with comfort through- 
out the entire year. 

"A state possessing this great natural temp- 
tation to those who have suffererl from the ex- 
treme heat and extreme cold of other parts of 
the country, accompanied as it is by such mar- 
velous resources, cannot fail to become one of 



124 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\^\LLA COUNTY. 



the wealthiest in tiie L'niun. To the settler the 
state offers great \irgin forests, made up of 
trees two and three hundred feet high, some 
of them running over one hundred and fifty 
feet to the first limh; a soil which makes a 
farm of twenty to forty acres e(|ual to one of 
eighty or one hundred and sixty in the middle 
or western states ; orchards hearing fruit of the 
value of two dollars and three dollars to the 
tree : homesteads each of which w ill raise 
enough in variety to maintain a family within 
its own limits ; vast resources of mineral wealth ; 
opportunities for every kind of industry grow- 
ing out of all this ahundance ; a ready resix)nse 
to the efforts of the industrious and a rich 
harvest for intelligently directed capital." 

The general features thus belonging to the 
state as a whole find some of their most perfect 
(ie\-elopments in the vast area known as the 
'"Inland Empire." 

THE INL.^ND EMPIRIC. 

The city of Walla Walla is recognized as 
representing the garden spot of the immense 
territory fittingly designated as the Inland Em- 
pire, and the old and historic county of similar 
name, ^^'alla Walla, lays just claim to as mani- 
fold attractions and as distinct a plethora of 
]);-oductive utilities as any section of the Pacific 
northwest. 

The Inland Empire is the vast and mar- 
velous region of country between the Rockies 
and the Cascade range of mountains, compris- 
ing all of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, 
v.-estern Montana, northeastern Oregon and 
southern portions of British Columbia. It has 
ail area of more than one hundred and twenty 
thousand square miles, — three times as large 
as the great Empire state, and with a popula- 
' tion exceeding half a million people and rapidly 



increasing. It is a region with hardly a rival 
in enchanting scenery and picturesque sublimity 
and varying forms of beauty. In it are found 
al' the inspiring phenomena that any aspiring 
lover of nature can desire. He can find broad 
and rolling i)rairics stretching in all direc- 
tions, verdure-clad plateaus, bordered by hills 
ci owned with sturdy pines ; and in the distance 
lofty and rugged mountains, rising higher and 
higher, pile on pile, the towering, majestic 
peaks wrapped in eternal snow. The moun- 
tains, fi.xed and inflexible as the granite of the 
Everlasting Will, — thsy "hurl oppression back; 
they keep the boon of liberty." Here one may 
w itness with wondering awe the results of the 
awful uphea\"als of ])rime\'al days, when the 
earth was twisted and tossed into a shapeless 
mass. He can look into the yawning, abysmal 
canyons and deep gorges worn out by rushing 
and foaming and ceaseless torrents for ages 
unknown : or upon the massive glaciers whose 
origin history fails to record. The lover of 
nature can revel in the enjoyment of an ever 
changing landscape, amid scenes which the Al- 
mighty alone could design and frame. It is be- 
yond the potentiality of human hands to paint 
them, and words fail to describe their dazzling 
beauty. It is a region of plains and prairies, 
of fertile valleys and of thick forests. The 
grandeur of the ensemble is accentuated by 
wide contrasts. There are lakes and streams 
in great variety. Portions of it have been 
designated as the "paradise of the sportsman." 
In the streams and lakes the fish are sufficiently 
plentiful to gratify the devotee of the rod and 
line, and the expert shot can scarcely fail to 
drop a curlew or chicken on the prairie, a 
grouse in the woods, a duck or goose on the 
lakes, and a deer or bear in the distant ravines 
or isolated valleys. This region is not only 
wonderful on account of its untold stores of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



125 



the rare and beautiful, where nature has spread 
her "banquets of health and beauty," but is 
also one hardly paralleled in diverse resources, 
which are almost limitless, and sufficient to 
maintain a population of many millions. There 
are rich agricultural sections, millions of acres 
in extent, such as the far famed Walla Walla 
valley, with the fine foot-hill farms of the 
Blue mountains, the Palouse country and the 
Big Bend, — each producing thousands of bush- 
els of wheat and other cereals annually. The 
prospector has already unearthed hidden min- 
eral wealth and treasures priceless to science 
and the uses of man. Wonderful discoveries 
have been made and are being made, and those 
yet to be made are inconceivable in the human 
mind. It is not within the province of this 
work to describe the mining districts of the 
Ir.land Empire, — they are almost too numerous 
to mention, and to adequately describe them a 
volume would be required. But consistency 
demands that reference be made to this im- 
portant branch of industrial activity which has 
had so important a bearing upon the develop- 
ment of all sections of the great Inland Em- 
pire, of which Walla Walla county is an in- 
tegral part and a glowing gem in its diadem. 

THE LEGEND OF THE W.\LL.\ W.\LL.\ V.\LLEY. 

In an attractive and valuable special edition 
of the Walla Walla Daily Statesman, issued 
under date of March 4, 1899, appears the fol- 
lowing romantic old-time story of how the 
county became the most beautiful and fertile 
section of the state, — incomparalile for the 
raising of cereals, fruit, grasses and live stock: 

"Once, long years ago, when the world was 
young and Dame Nature still in her 'teens, 
there was a beautiful lake. Brightly its blue 
waters gleamed in the sunlight, or moved re- 



sponsive to the wooing of the winds. Above 
iU shining surface circled the eagles and from 
out its wooded shores the swarthy savage 
pushed his bark canoe. About it, held close by 
strong encircling arms, stood the mountains, 
stern, unyielding, eternal. 

"Long had the lake been captive here. 
Vainly had it beat against the rock for liberty, 
now in anger, now in soft entreaty. The moun- 
tain heard in stony silence the pleading at his 
feet. 

"For many years the lake in patience waited. 
The sun kissed it, the winds caressed it. yet 
always did it long for freedom. One day the 
mountain's vigilance rela.xed, a tiny rift ap- 
peared within the rock and silently the lake 
crept through ; all the night so softly did it flee, 
the mountain did not know, but kept watch in 
peace until dawn revealed his desolation. 

"Great was the lamentation ; seamed and 
seared with grief, the mountain gazed upon the 
naked valley upon whose bosom so late the 
lake had slept. Slowly great rivulets of tears 
rolled down the rugged face. One by one in 
pitying silence the \alley gathered them upon 
its bosom, until the time should be the mountain 
might forget his grief and find comfort in its 
beauty. 

"As the years went on the valley grew so 
fair with the shining waters, worn like jewels 
on its breast, that day by day in the heart of 
the mountain the memory of the past grew dim, 
until at last the image of the lake Avas lost. 
Gladness spread over the face of the mountain, 
joy reigned in the heart of the valley. Then 
was the land of many waters fair as the day 
to look upon. 

"The above is a legend of the beautiful 
\\'alla Walla valley, about whose wealth and 
resources so much has already been written ; 
about whose marvelous development so much 



126 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



nil lie will he written as the coniinj^' years un- 
fold the tale. 

"There are many wonderful valleys in the 
world. — valleys so famous for one thins;- and 
ariother, the name of them is known the world 
over. It is not the purpose of this article to 
invite comparisons with the Old World, but 
i". is not too much to assert, that no where in 
these United States will a valley be found 
which exceeds this \\'alla Walla country in all 
that goes to make up natural beauty and nat- 
ural wealth. It is an emjiire in itself. Its pos- 
sibilities are practically illimitable. ICxery aid 
which nature cordd gi\e is here bestowed with 
a hand so generous, so lavish, that one is lost 
in wonder at so rich an endowment. 

"The approach to this valle\- from the west 
is not prepossessing. Great fields of sand, like 
those which line the ocean beach, lead the way 
to it. A desert, the effect of which is to dampen 
the anlor of even the most enthused traveler. 
But not for long. 

"When the miles of sand stretch away be- 
hind, and he sees before him the promise of 
things more fair, all the enthusiasms come 
thronging back, and he enters the valley only 
tc find his spirits mount higher and higher as 
the beauty and fertility of the country unfold 
before him. 

"Tlie fame of this valley as an agricultural 
center is abroad in the land, and justly so. Its 
record of the production of wheat and other 
cereals is imparalleled anywhere in the I'nited 
States. Even the great wheat-growing state 
of Dakota must take second j^lace in a com- 
parison of the yield per acre. Alillions of bush- 
els of grain are raised here yearly of as tine a 
quality as can be found anywhere in the world. 
The yield is astonishing. When the average 
is placed at twenty-five bushels to the acre 
it is a very modest figure indeed. It might 



he put twenty bushels higher and still lie within 
the limits of truth. 

"The other cereals grow e(|ually well. Bar- 
ky, oats, rye and buckwheat all yield immense 
crops of the best grade. In fact there is nothing 
the soil of this valley will not grow in aliund- 
ance, barring, of course, the tropical products 
and corn. The climate of Washington is not 
adapted to the successful culture of corn. The 
nights are too cool. Many of the farmers do 
raise it, and some of the finest varieties of 
sweet corn are grown successfully, but among 
the great pnulucts of this \alley corn really has 
no place. 

"(Irasses of all kinds are raised with ad- 
mirable success: alfalfa yielding the most per 
acre, and there are two. three and often four 
crops each }'ear. Clover grows abundantly and 
timothv yields anywhere from one to three tons 
per acre. The native grasses run riot. The 
farmer who raises stock as well as wheat has 
m need to worr_\- about feed. 

"It is a great country for stock of all kinds, 
cows, sheep, horses, hogs, and the market is 
sure. Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, \^ancouver 
and all the cities of western Washington must 
get their supplies in large measure from the 
\allevs across the mountains. The difficulty 
thus far has been, not in finding a market for 
stock or their products, InU in filling the orders 
which flood the market. Thousands of dol- 
lars go out of the state aimually for Initter, 
eggs, cheese, etc., which ought to remain at 
h.ome. The valley of Walla AValla alone is 
wide enough and rich enough to supply all 
these things in abundance. It is not too much 
to believe that some day it will be so. 

"The Walla Walla valley is a great fruit 
country. It would be a matter of difikulty to 
find anywhere in this country finer fruit than 
is grown in this valley. In point of size, color- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



127 



iiig, flavor and general all-round perfection of 
development there is no question but the Walla 
Walla fruits rank among the first. The east- 
ern farmer, especiallj- the man from ^Minnesota 
or the Dakotas, is familiar with 'grain fields. 
Ke knows all about the possibilities of wheat 
culture, the care of stock, the raising of poultry. 
But when he comes to Washington and takes 
a good look at the famous orchards of the 
Walla \\'alla valley it is then that he marvels. 
He knows nothing like them. There is nothing 
like them even further east, where famous 
orchards do exist. This valley leads the world 
almost in the wealth and (juality of its fruits. 

".Apples, surely the best all-round fruit 
which the Maker of the universe gave to man, 
are grown here in such abundance and in such 
perfection as to challenge the world to pro- 
duce their equal. 

"There is just enough of real cold in the 
climate of this section of Washington to de- 
velop and retain the fine flavor, which is notice- 
ably absent in the Sound country apples. Pears 
also reach the highest possible state of perfec- 
tion, and prunes of all varieties, and plums. 
There is no state in the Union which grows 
finer fruit of this variety than are found in 
the Walla \\'alla valley. 

'"All of the smaller fruits grow in the great- 
est profusion. Strawberries are an immense 
crop ; certainly none of finer fla\-or or of greater 
size are grown anywhere in the world. They 
are superb, and cherries, they are perfect, large, 
luscious, finely colored, deliciously flavored. 
From the time the trees are in bloom until the 
last cherry is gone they are a source of pleas- 
ure, satisfaction and profit. 

"As to grapes, the soil of this valley is per- 
fectly adapted to their culture. \\'estern Wash- 
ington has no grapes practically, the climate 



is too cool to ripen them. But in the \\'alla 
Walla valley the vines groan with their weight 
01 perfect fruit. Grapes from this valley rival 
the California product in all'the eastern mar- 
kets. 

"This is true of all the fruits except the 
purely tropical kinds. Whether it is pears or 
apples, plums or prunes, or any of the smaller 
berries, the soil fairly abandons itself to the 
growth of fruit, and the result is a perfection 
of development rarely excelled. 

"\^egetables of all kinds may be said to 
run riot. They mature early ; lettuce, radishes, 
asparagus, cauliflower and all of the green 
grocer's stock of edibles, which charm the eye 
and tempt the appetite, are marketable very 
early in the season. They seem to grow all the 
year round, for the markets are never without 
this supply of home grown green things. Mar- 
ket gardening pays well. There is always a 
ready sale for fine vegetables and prices rule 
generally higher than in eastern markets. 

"The climate of this valley is almost ideal. 
The rainfall is not heavy. There is some snow 
for a few weeks, perhaps — and sometimes the 
mercury drops rather low, but never for long. 
In the valley it is rarely too cold for comfort. 
Farmers plough until Christmas time and the 
crops are all sown in the fall of the year. By 
March usually, often as early as February, 
work is again resumed and from then on there 
is mild, delightful weather with occasional 
rains. During the summer for a month or two, 
or perhaps three, the weather is warm and there 
is no rain. This season, owing to the dry 
weather, is a bit disagreeable on account of 
dust. This of course is obviated in the city, 
but out in the farm districts along the country 
roads it is so disagreeable as to occasion no 
little discomfort. But where mav be found 



128 



HISTORY OF \\"ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



a climate witlnnit even one defect? This one 
i-i l)ut slight at the most, for the rest of the 
year the weather is without reproach. 

"Historically' the valley is interesting. It 
was once the home of powerful trilies of In- 
dians whose tepees dotted the green slopes, and 
whose ponies roamed at will over the beautiful 
undulating ground. Far and near rode the 
hunters in search of game, while the patient 
squaws remained in the valley gathering the 
fruits which grew almost without culture, dry- 
ing roots and herbs and herding the vast num- 
ber of ponies which made up a large part of 
the Indian's wealth. They were happy here 
and content. 

"But the wliite man came, as he always 
does, bringing with him energy and ambition 
ard civilization, attributes which the Indian 
holds in supreme disdain. For years the few 
trading companies tried to gain a permanent 
foothold among the tribes, but the Indians 
were warv until the Hudson's Bay Company's 
men came on, then for the first time a treaty 
was effected and a permanent trading post es- 
tablished. This was in 1828. A year or two 
later the old Fort Walla Walla, whose ruins 
are yet in evidence, was built. 

"Closely following the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany came Dr. Whitman, to whom, perhaps, 
more than to any other single agency belongs 
the credit of opening up this marvelous valley 
to civilization. He saw the wonderful natural 
advantages the valley offered to the home- 
seeker and it was not long before a tide of im- 
migation set in which has not yet begun to ebb. 

"Fremont also visited the Walla Walla 
country. His published statements regarding 
this mountain-girt Eden were widely read, in- 
teresting thousands and inducing many to find 
here home and health and wealth. 

"So the fame of Walla Walla grew. As the 



years have come and gone, the valley has grown 
fairer and richer and more desirable, and the 
end is not yet. It already is one of the wealth- 
iest sections of country of the great Pacific 
northwest. * \\'ith the hands of comn'ierce now 
reaching out to grasp new fields and to make 
new gains ; with markets constantly opening, 
the wealth of Walla Walla valley will one day 
surpass even the dreams of wealth which dazzle 
the imagination of men. If the state of Wash- 
ington fufills its manifest destiny, and takes 
its rightful place among the most important of 
these L'nited States, certainly ranking fore- 
most in the Pacific group, a prediction like the 
alxjve comes quite within the limits of prob- 
ability. • 

"There is no valley in the world which 
promises more to the home-seeker. Here is 
beauty, for nothing in nature could be fairer 
than this valley, stretching away for miles and 
niilcs. its green slopes reaching the summits of 
its mountain wall, its rivers making music as 
they ripple over the undulating ground. 

"On a midsummer day when the fields are 
bright with their wealth of grain, when the 
trees hang heavy with fruit, then it is that 
the valley seems fairly to exult in her beauty, 
and nature smiles at so rich a harvest. Here 
also is fertility of soil in a degree almost mar- 
velous; there seems a magic in the ground, 
which year after year yields its bounty so free- 
ly : there are no barren lands, e\'ery foot of the 
millions of acres is productive. So generous 
has been the hand of nature in this regard that 
even the slopes of the mountains are available 
for cultivation. Even here may the farmer sow 
seed and reap his harvest. 

"Here also is a climate than which it were 
hard to find a better. To the farmer of the 
east, weary with the heat of many summers, 
prostrating alike to brain and body, or worn 



HISTORY OF W' ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



129 



with tl'_e rigors of succeeding winters, whose 
Ijitter, Ijiting cold seems to nuni!) his very 
vitals, the chmate i>t this vaUey is the next 
thing to paradise. It gives him a rarified at- 
mosphere, wiiich keeps Iiim young. It gives 
him an ef|uable temperature, which permits 
him to be comfortable at least for nine months 
of the year. During the other three, which 
comprise the few weeks of weather too hot 
and the few weeks of weather too cold, he may 
have refuge from the one by flight to the 
mountains, a few miles distant, where blankets 
arid fire-wood are much in demand. From the 
other he nia_\' have release liv the light of his 
own fireside, from whose warmth and comfort 
lie may view with indifference the snows which 
briefly fly about its walls, and may listen with 
complacency to the winds which Ijeat against 
them. 

"It is a significant fact that those who come 
to the Walla \\'alla valley to build a home re- 
main here, and uKire, they grow rich. This 
\'alley is noted for its iirnsperous farms, its 
v,'ell-to-do ]ie()ple. The wlmle vallev has a look 
of thrift ; prosperity is written all over its broad 
acres. To the man of money seeking new 
fields of investment where profit and sure re- 
turns are promised, the \\'al]a \\'alla country 
ofi^ers opportunities unef|ualled. To the man 
who seeks a home, to the one whose only cap- 
ital is his brain or his good right hand, it of- 
fers a fair chance in the pursuit of all that men 
find dear. Industry, energy and ambition are 
all the capital a man need have; tlie vallev will 
do the rest." 

The following tribute to the "beautiful 
Walla Walla valley" is re])roduced from the 
edition of the Inland Eni]>ire of .August. 1900: 
"When the unerring hand of nature made 
the fertile hills and beautiful valleys which com- 
prise the territory now known as the Walla 



Walla \alley, and the All-Seeing eye looked 
upon them and said they were good, nothing 
sh.nrt of infinite wisdom could have made an 
attempt at telling any thing of the greatness 
and \alue to the world which future genera- 
tions would Ijring to the seemingly insignificant 
part of creation. .\nd, even to-day when we 
look out u])on a well developed country, when 
we see thousands of happy hi_)mes and pros- 
perous farmers and business men, when we 
behold about us a rising generation of patriotic 
and energetic young people, and looking toward 
the setting sun we note the opening of a new 
era ()f expansion in commerce and new ax'enues 
of industry, we ha\-e as little real idea of how 
future years will develop it as had our an- 
cestors of hundreds of years ago. The past we 
ha\-e seen and heard of, the future is all hidden 
in mystery and expectation. 

"Centuries passed and man in all his wis- 
dom and enterprising exploration pressed from 
the banks of Plymouth Rock to the westward 
across a country peopled by wild men, endur- 
ing all the hardships of pioneer experience, 
before the hand of fortune pointed the way to 
the section of country of which we speak, and 
almost discouraged with the wilds of the west, 
the early ])ioneer could not make up his mind 
to cast his lot in so lonely a place. But when 
once he had tested nature and found the fer- 
tility of the soil, the abundant supply of i)ure 
and wholesome water, the balmy climate and 
litautiful natural surroundings, he changed his 
mind and remained for a season. Imbueil with 
the fact that he had made no mistake, at the 
end of the year the sturdy pioneer found him- 
self more content and the future looked brighter 
and more promising. Others, of like sturdy 
natures, came and made friends with him, and 
— behold the change ! Where but yesterday 
was a vast expanse of hills and valleys, un- 



I30 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



productive and worthless, to-day were seen the 
foundations of homes, of firesides and of for- 
tunes. 

"The constant and untiring tread of prog- 
ress was westward and northward. Yet nature 
had so set apart from the other portion of the 
country the little \alley tliat it was not found 
as readily as some other places, and wlien 
found was more isolated and difficult of ap- 
proach. Surrountled In' high mountain ranges, 
traversed by ri\ers which, with the means at 
hand, could not be crossed, the valley was so 
set apart that its neighbors were beyond the 
mountains, and must be ever so. Rugged nat- 
ural conditions made the construction of high- 
ways and railroads a difficult matter, and at 
first the progress of the new country was slow 
and made under great tribulation. But the 
people came, tliey saw, they conquered. 

"Fifty years ago a band of sturdy soldiers 
pitched their tents wh8re to-day is the city 
of W'alla Walla. They were sent by the gov- 
ernment to protect the few white inhabitants 
from the incursions of the Indians, who 
abounded in all parts of the valley. The sol- 
diers were good judges of conditions, and 
when they found an ideal camping spot there 
tliey stopped and waitLnl. The government or- 
dered erected a garrison, and soon the busy 
mechanic was placing together the rough tim- 
bers which were to constitute the first Fort 
Walla Walla. The signs of life brought to the 
place b\- the new order of things induced men 
of enterprise and foresight to come and es- 
tablish themselves in the trade they saw 
in the new territory. Men came and began 
to build a city. Year after year they 
worked, and each recurring twelve-month 
made great improvements in conditions and 
in business. The little band of' ])ioneers 
was strengthened and it grew into a commu- 



nity. The community became a village, and 
the \illage developed into a town. Then the 
town became the leading trading place in the 
whole section of country from which it drew 
its business, and for hundreds of miles the 
name of Walla Walla meant the hub of com- 
merce to the people as fully as Xew York does 
to us of this generation. 

"Success always brings decadence or 
lethargy in its wake. And for years after suc- 
cess had come to \^'alla Walla the tinge of 
lethargy fastened itself upon the community, 
and it ceased to grow and expand as it had 
in (lays past. Then a new era of progress and 
de\elopment came, and of that we of to-day 
know about all there is to be told. New life 
was infused into the city and growth took the 
place of dormant energies. New people came 
and made new homes, new industries took the 
places then vacant. After a few years of this 
energetic development we have the Walla 
A\'alla of to-day. 

"Great-hearted nature has done a great deal 
for the places which man has tried to build 
up. In fact, nature always lays the founda- 
tion and man comes along and erects the super- 
structure. New York was given a harbor. 
New Orleans a great river opening to the gulf, 
San Francisco was given the Golden Gate to 
the Pacific, Seattle and Tacoma were pre- 
sented with a Puget Sound, Spokane, the queen 
of the northwest, was tendered l)y nature a 
wonderful cataract, yet \\'alla ^^'alla was not 
neglected. The gifts were not parcelled out 
parsimoniously, yet in the distribution Walla 
Walla was given her share. No sjwt in all 
the broad land, no city within the Ixtrders of 
our countrv has received from a kind nature 
more smiles than has our city. Surrounded 
by a most fertile section of country, stretch- 
ii;g scores of miles in every direction, at the 



HISTORY OF W^ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



131 



■confluence of sparkling mountain streams af- 
fording a bountiful supply of water for do- 
mestic, irrigation and ind.ustrial purposes, the 
location is ideal. The Blue mountains frown 
down upon the cit\' in grim sturdiness. remind- 
ing one of the great sturdy men and women 
who have taken such an acti\-e pnrr in the 
progress and development of the \alley. With 
mountain and stream, the rugged hills and 
pleasant \-alleys present a landscape which f(M- 
real beauty and picturesqueness of effect, is 
rarely equalled and never excelled. 

"In the early development of the valley the 
live-stock industry was an important factor, 
as stock fed all the year upon tha luxuriant 
growth of bunch-grass which covered the hill- 
sides from Snake river to the southward for a 
hundred miles or more. Great droves of 
horses, cattle and sheep were raised and from 
the sales of stock came fortunes easily and 
quickly. As the settlement became mere gen- 
eral the pasture disappeared and the produc- 
tion of wheat began. The grain grew well and 
the yields reported in an early day were gen- 
erally large. When trans])ortatii)n facilities 
were secured good money was made year in 
and year out by farmers and the business of 
the country was very good. The foundations 
for the successful men and the manv furtunes 
which are to be found now were laid in the 
early days of wheat raising in the \-alley of 
many waters. 

"As the years went liy the lack of fruit was 
imted and men were led to consider the neces- 
sity of planting orchards for the pmdurtion of 
fruits for local consumption. The market was 
limited and the territory which could be drawn 
on was necessarily circumscribed. But orchards 
were planted, and from them has sprung the 
great horticultural interests of the .section of 
to-day. The little tract of fruit trees has given 



way to the large orchards where hundreds of 
acres of land antl scores of men and boys are 
employed in the production and packing of 
fruits for the markets which have now widened 
ami broadened until the supply is not equal to 
the demand. Hundreds of carloads of fruits 
and berries are shipped from the cit\- e\-ery 
years to points in INIontana, Idaho, British Co- 
lumbia and Sound cities, where Walla Walla 
fruits are in demand over the article sent in 
frnm California. 

"The Walla W'alla valley proper is a large 
l:)elt of agricultural land lying south of Snake 
ri\er and west of the Blue mountains, extend- 
ing across the Oregon line on the south. It 
comprises the valley lands, the Eureka Flat 
country, a high plateau where wheat grows as 
naturally as weeds, the upper or foothill lands 
near the mountains anrl all of the lower bottom 
lands, used mostly for gardening. .\ great 
rich belt of land producing millions of bushels 
of wheat and barley and hundreds of carloads 
of fruit and vegetables annually, capable of 
maintaining a population of a million souls, is 
a brief description of the valley as it is to-dav. 

"Fortunate is that communit\' so fa\-ored 
b\ the gifts of nature that its descriptive story 
plainly told attracts and interests the wanderer 
in less fa\-ored climes. Strained efforts In- 
deft penmen to show conditions which do not 
exist: elaborate effusions and exaggerations to 
draw attention to cities and districts possessing 
no particular adxantages or charms, have long 
since ceased to attract the home-seeker or in- 
vestor. .\ simple rehearsal of what a commu- 
nity possesses in natural and acquired wealth, 
like the sayings of the plain, blunt man. elicits 
more attention that the grandiloquent effort 
where boom propensities are all too apparent. 

"That section of the Walla Walla valley ad- 
jacent to Walla Walla is indeed a favored sec- 



'3: 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



tion. It is a \'ast expanse oi fertile lields, bur- 
dened orcliards and prolific nature. To one 
e\en imrtially ac(|uainicil wit'.i its natural wealth 
tl'.ere is an inspiration in the subject. Imagina- 
tion does not have to be called into play, as 
the varied topics which the subject suggests 
give the writer a sufficient range upon which 
tc dwell indefinitely. 

"Think ! Orchards of luscious fruit and 
fields of wa\ing grain ; hills of precious metals 
arid dales of fertile soil ; rain and sunshine ; 
running brooks; pleasant nooks in hidden dales, 
and busy marts of trade; swift rushing trains 
over transcontinental rail, — all these, and many 
more topics, are suggested to the mind when 
Walla \\'alla is mentioned. It is easy to begin 
but hard to end. 

"This growing city is yet in its infancy, — 
just beginning to assume metropolitan propor- 
tions. The view of the city to the stranger, 
particularly in the summer season, is most in- 
viting. A panorama of wide and beautiful 
streets, lined with shade trees. The scene is one 
that never fails to inspire the weary traveler, 
after his dusty journey across the continent. 
On e\ery hand he cannot but observe the evi- 
dence of thrift and commercialism. He will 
find that nearly every person he meets is busy 
or intent on doing something-. When the 
stranger shall have pursued his in\estigations 
further he will discover that this bustling little 
city is built for all time and is the natural trad- 
ing center for a very ricli and extensive countrv. 

"A mistaken idea prevails that society in the 
northwest is different from what it is in the 
older commonwealths of the countrv. This 
^vas partially true in times gone by, but happily 
it is no longer the case, only in the particular 
that it is only those of an enterprising turn 
of mind who seek homes in a new country; con- 
se(|uently, the general spirit of the new west 



is more actixe and liberal than the staid old 
commonwealths of the east." 

The following excerpt from the history of 
Washington, edited by Julian Hawthorne and 
Colonel G. Douglas Brewerton, and issued in 
1893, is worthy of reproduction in this con- 
nection : 

"Walla Walla county, still Indian, and, 
alas, but too suggestive, as we turn the pages 
of \\'ashington"s blood-stained history, of the 
war-whoop and the scalping-knife, comes next 
uniler our re\iew. Its Astoria, Walla Walla 
and \'ancouver are household words in the 
story of territorial strife and struggle and in- 
delibly associatsd with the darkest of her early 
days. They are to the native of Washington 
"to the luanor horn" what the tower of London 
is to the Englishman. — the repository of dread- 
ful deeds and by-gone sorrows, — for we make 
history more rapidly in our daj's than in those 
vaunted 'good old times.' As we breathe the 
name, the syllables of Walla Walla trip giid- 
inglv o\-er the tongue with the musical step of 
many another Indian appellation, as, for in- 
stance, ^linnehaha; it is appropriate, withal, for 
a,- the latter means 'laughing water." so Walla 
\'\'alla signifies 'valley of waters," which is even 
better, for we ha\-e seen Minnehaha in the arid 
season when it laughed not at all. It is de- 
rived from 'Walatsa." meaning 'running' — for 
it carries both the interpretations, — but this is 
the less mellifluous Xez Perce, the Walla Walla 
or Wallula meaning the same thing, being taken 
from the language of the tribe whose name it 
bears. — the Walla Wallas. This region is, in- 
deed, well naiued the 'valley of waters.' From 
whence, we \vonder. does the "Siwash" get his 
p-oeticrd inspiration, for it would ofttimes puzzle 
tlie paleface to better either the beauty or ap- 
propriateness of his nomenclature. It can not 
be inherent, still less inherited. It is, we fancy. 



I-IISTORY OF WALLA \\'ALLA COUXTY. 



133 



unconsciously absorbed from tlie surroundings 
(natural, we mean, not artificial) of his every- 
day life. However he gets it, it may not be 
denied that the divine afflatus is held in most 
repulsive vessels, the filthy, unwashed jar of 
the red man's human clay. Of a surety poor 
Pegasus was never prisoned in a filthier stall. 
"To return to more prosaic themes, Walla 
\\'alla county was admitted in 1854, the only 
one of the southeastern Washington counties 
created with the establishment of the territory. 
It then embraced all the valley of the Columbia 
east of tlie Cascades, an area of nearh' two 
hundred thousand square miles. — an imperial 
domain, as it has very properly been called. It 
has. however, suffered successive curtailments 
till reduced to its present dimensions of thirteen 
Inuidred square miles. AMiat is left,' says 
Evans, 'is the oldest, best cultivated, and in 
every respect the most advanced part of Wash- 
ington.' Yet this grand expanse of exceedingly 
desirable country, in all its original fullness and 
fertility, was shut out from settlement for an 
extended season, through the foolish or vin- 



(hctix'e actions of General ^^'ool, who endorsed 
the equally sliort-sighted policy of his sub- 
ordinate. Colonel Wright. — a policy that pro- 
tected the Lulian, neglected the wliite, and prac- 
tically relegated to its primitive savagery this 
mighty and most productive domain. The 
ijiiginal empire of Walla Walla, we are told, 
was recognized as a garden spot even long 
before some other regions, where the soil was 
equally good, were deemed eminently desirable. 
It is said to produce more money's worth of 
grown products than any other county of the 
slate. Walla Walla derives its wealth from the 
ground. So enriched is this county by nature 
that it is not improbable that her recorded pop- 
ulation of the last census (1890) — 12,224 — 
will be doubled within the next decade. It is 
well watered, being bounded on the north and 
east by the Snake and Columbia rivers, while 
its southern boundary is irrigated by the Walla 
Walla and its tributary streams. * * * * 
Take it all in all. it is a lively, progressive 
region, an example to all good counties in the 
state, prospering and likel_\' to prosper." 



CHAPTER XIII. 



A JOURXEY THROUGH WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



In this chapter we propose to invite the 
reader to accompany us upon a journey 
throughout Walla Walla county. In the prog- 
ress of this journey we shall take time to drop 
in at every town or village in the county, as 
well as view in a general way the country 
tlirough which we ])ass. We shall omit the 
city of Walla Walla imm this chapter, inas- 



much as we intend to make it the subject of a 
special visit. It is fitting that we should visit 
first the place next in size to the capital, and 
tliis is Waitsburg. In order to see Waitsburg 
first of all we must enter the county from the 
northeast, and we will therefore suppose, if 
y(iu ])lease. that we have come from Spokane by 
the O. K. & X. Railroad. 



134 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



WAITSBIKC,. 

Leaving the main line at Boiies Junction, we 
proceed In- tlie \\'aitsl)urg and Dayton l)ranch, 
and after riding about two miles find ourselves 
approaching a beautiful little city occu])ying a 
level tract of land along the junction of the 
Touchet and Coppei creeks. But before pro- 
ceeding to speak of the attractive and beauti- 
ful surroundings of the place and adjoining 
country, let us renieniber that our quest is not 
only descriptive Init historical, and tliat we 
sliall therefore desire to turn our glass back- 
ward for a few moments u])on the period of 
earliest settlement in this part of \\ alia W alia 
c</unt\'. Claims were made substantially as 
early in the present vicinity of Waitsburg as of 
Walla Walla. In 1859 Robert Kennedy set- 
tied at the junction of the Touchet and the 
Coppei. Above him on the creek were Abner 
T. Lloyd, George Pollard, Josei)h Star and 
Samuel Galbreatli. A string of claims were 
laid out up the Co]3pei by Messrs. Patten, Mor- 
gan, J^aine, Doolittle, Bateman and Cox. On 
tlic Touchet below the mouth of the Coppei 
were James Woodruff, Edwai'd Kenton. Jona- 
than Kenny, Martin Plober. Luke 1 Icnsb;iw, 
Andrew Warren and John blister. 

The universal impression throughout the 
country at tliat tiiue was that none but the bot- 
tom l;inds were worth cuhi\ating. and inas- 
much as the area of bottom land i 1 tliat por- 
tion of the county is very small the popula- 
tion remained scanty. .\ faint attempt at a 
town was started on the Copjici about five miles 
from the present site of Waitsburg. In Jan- 
nary, 1863, this became a jwstoffice by the 
jiame of Copjjei. Luke Henshaw being the first 
postmaster. Coppei apparently was in a fair 
way tt) become a town, when in 1865 the start- 



ing of Waitsburg undermined it, and the pros- 
pecti\e city of Coppei died a natural death. 

The founder of Waitsljurg was Sylvester 
Yi. Wait. Mr. Wait was a pioneer of the pio- 
neers in this country, ha\-ing lived for some 
years in southern Oregon and then at Lewis- 
ton. IIa\-ing learne 1 in 1864 that a (|uantity 
of wheat could be purchased for one dollar 
and a half per bushel on the Touchet, he 
formed the project of putting up a grist mill 
and transforming this wheat into flour. This 
would e\idently be good business, as flour was 
worth fourteen dollars per barrel. The farm- 
ers very enthusiastically accepted Mr. Wait's 
lilans. Mr. Bruce and Mr. Willard, who then 
owned most of what became the town site of 
Waitsburg, gax'e ten acres of ground for a mill 
and a residence and a right of way for the mill- 
race. The farmers contracted to sell all their 
grain to the mill at the rate of one dollar and 
a half per Ijushel. With this basis of opera- 
tions Mr. Wait proceeded to get machinery 
from San Francisco and lumber from whatever 
source he might obtain it. mainly at a very high 
price. The mill cost aliout fiiurteen thousand 
dollars, which was a bea\y debt to carry in that 
C(in(lilion of the countrv. lint it jiroxed an ex- 
cellent investment, as Mr. Wait rapidly dis- 
charged the debt and laid the foundation of 
cjuite a fortune. 

William .\. Smith, a teacher by profes- 
sion, came to the new town in the spring of 
i8r)5 and decided to open a school on the 
'I'ouchet. This was the first school ever held in 
that ])ortion <if Walla Walla county, being 
opened on the first Monday in April. 1865. 
School district Xumber 3 was organized in the 
fall of that year. 

In the fall of 1866 a postofifice was estab- 
li^bed. with Mr. Smith as postmaster. L'p to 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



•35 



I'.i.is time the place had been \-ariously known 
as Wait's AliU, Waitsburg and Horsehead 
City, but wlien it Iiecahie a postoffice it was 
necessary to select some definite name. Mr. 
Smith suggested the name of Delta, by which 
the place was known until 1868, when by vote 
of the people the name was changed to Waits- 
burg. 

Up to this time there had been no attempt 
to lay out a town. Mr. W. P. Bruce, the chief 
owner of the location, had seemed disinclined 
to encourage the building of a town on his 
farm. But as it had liecome evident that the 
place was destined to become a business center, 
he made a survey and a plat of the beginning of 
the town, which was recorded on the 23d of 
February, 1869. 

The town grew slowly but steadily during 
the years that followed. The census of 1870 
gave a population of ioq. In that same year 
a notable event occurred in the arri\-al in 
Waitsburg of P. A. and W. G. Preston. They, 
ir. connection with Paine Brothers and Moore, 
bought out Mr. Wait's mill, of which they be- 
came and are still the sole owners. The first 
newspaper of Waitsburg, the Weekly Times, 
was first published in ]\Iarch, 1878. 

The vear 1881 was a notable one in the 



histi 



)f Waitsburg;. For in that vear a 



cit\' gmernment was organized, the railroad 
was constructed, and the greater jjortion of the 
business part of the town was destroyed by 
fire. The first town government was organ- 
ized in February of that year. The first elec- 
tion resulted in the choice of George W. Kel- 
licut, William Fudge, Alfred I'.rouillet, M. J. 
Harkness and E. L. Powell for trustees; W. 
H. George for marshal; J. W. Morgan for 
treasurer; and J. C. Swash for clerk. Accord- 
ing to the census of r88o, \\'aitsburg had a 
population of 248. It will give the traveler 



of the present time some impression of the 
growth of the town to be informed that it 
then contained two hotels, four saloons, four 
general merchandise stores, one furniture 
store, two drug stores, one hardware store, 
one variety store, one brewery, one harness 
and saddlery shoji, two li\-ery stables, two 
blacksmith shops, one jewelry store, one meat 
market, one flour mill, one planing mill, one 
castor mill, one corn meal mill, besides a Ala- 
sonic hall, postoflice, telegraph ofifice, express 
office, railway station, school house and two 
churches. 

The first pioneer church of \\"aitsburg was 
of the Methodist denomination. This was 
established in 1859 by Rev. George M. Berry. 
Like most pioneer churches it held its meet- 
ings in school houses for some time, l)ut an 
excellent church edifice was built in 1871. A 
Presbyterian church was established Ijy Rev. 
T. M. Boyd in 1877. The Christian church 
established itself in Si)ring Valley, four miles 
from Waitsburg, in 1876. The first pastor 
was Rev. Neil Cheatham, who has since be- 
come quite noted in connection with Populist 
politics. In 1880 a Christian church was es- • 
tablished in Waitsburg itself. Still later a 
United Presbyterian cluu'ch was founded, so 
that there are now four churches. 

Waitsburg, like most of our pioneer towns, 
has been well ecpiijiped with fraternal organi- 
zations. The pioneer fraternities were Waits- 
burg Lodge, No. 16, .-\. F. & A. M., organ- 
ized March 23, 1870; Touchet Lodge, No. 5, 
I. O. O. F., organized September 12, 1871; 
Pioneer Lodge, No. 16, I. O. G. T., organized 
July 20, 1867; and Occidental Lodge, No. 46, 
.V. O. U. W. 

The pioneer newspaper of Waitsburg was 
the Times, established in 1878. The xevy im- 
portant educational institution, Waitsburg 



136 



HISTORY OF \\ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Academy, was established in 1886, though the 
name was first employed in 1869. Of many 
of these features of Waitsburg thus briefly 
referretl to we speak at length elsewhere. 

Such is a general view of the pioneer life 
of Waitsburg. Having it in mind we are 
prepared to compare the present city with the 
past. We find as we stroll through the pleas- 
ant town that it has become an exceptionally 
well-built and well-equipped place of (accord- 
ing ti) L'liited States census of 1900) 1,059 
inhabitaiUs. We discover a $16,000 public 
school building of brick, in which seven teach- 
ers are employed, and there is an enrollment 
of 345 students. There is a high school de- 
partment in connection with the common 
school work. The school also possesses a 
library of over two hundred volumes and an 
excellent equipment of physical apparatus. 
\\e visit Waitsburg Academy and tnul it 
equipped with an elegant new building, erect- 
ed in 1899 at a cost of $20,000. The acad- 
emy is provided w^ith .an efficient and devoted 
faculty. We discover also four commodious 
and well-furnished churches, and these organi- 
zations are usually inlluential in Waitsburg 
and vicinity. 

We discover the fraternal orders to have 
developed at equal pace with the rest of the 
town, the Masons and Odd Fellows each own- 
ing a fine twt)-story brick building. 

We see also an excellent system of water 
works owned by the town, which derives its 
supply of water from the Coppei creek, and 
which, being a gravity system, furnishes the 
town perfect protection against fire and a 
bountiful supply for domestic use. 

Telephones and electric lights are among 

the more recent acquisitions of Waitsburg. 

Waitsburg, for its population, is a very 

heavy railroad shipper. During a period of 



six mc mills in 1895 there were shipped from 
the town 10,168 tons of freight, and there 
were shipped in 637 tons. This shows a far 
mure remarkable disparity between exports 
and imports e\en than in the ca^e of Walla 
Walla itself. 

We find in Waitsburg the following list 
of stores and other business establishments : 
Three general merchandise stores, two gro- 
cery stores, two hardware stores, one furni- 
ture store, two jewelry stores, two drug stores, 
two saloons, two newspapers, one bank, a 
planing mill, two lumber yards, one bakery, 
two livery stables, three blacksmith shops, and 
two hotels. 

The city goxernment of Waitsburg con- 
sists of a mayor and five councilmen, who are 
elected annually on the first Monday in April. 
The present incumbents of these positions are 
as follows: Mayor. J. H. M(irn>w; council- 
men, J. L. Harper, B. M. Kent, J. B. Caldwell, 
W. J. Honeycutt, C. M. Taylor; attorney and 
city clerk, R. H. Ormsbee : treasurer, L. E. 
Johnson. 

One especiallv attractive feature of Waits- 
burg is the i)rofusion of flowers and trees 
throughout the town. Especially to one hav- 
ing come across the dry and treeless plains to 
the north, the freshness and luxuriance of the 
town on the Coppei presents a striking and at- 
tractive contrast. 

\\'e may leave Waitsburg by either one 
of two railroads, the Oregon & Columbia 
River Railroad by way of Dixie or the O. R. 
& X. R. R. by way of Prescott. We will, 
however, take our journey by way of Dixie. 
This route follows Coppei creek for several 
miles south and then climbs a high ridge 
which lies between that and Dry creek. This 
region contains some of the most magnificent 
farms in the state of Washington. Although 




WAITSBURG PUBLIC SCHOOL. 




WAITSBURG ACADEMY. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



137 



somewhat high and rolling and at first sight 
inconvenient to farm, the soil is of the most 
fertile quality, and the rainfall is hea\ier than 
in any other part of the connty. Among the 
notalile farms in this section may be men- 
tioned those of Messrs. Cornwell, Phillips, 
Minnick and Connick. The Royce farm, 
Avhich in 1900 had an iuidesira1)le notoriety 
by reason of the murder of the venerable 
owner by his grandson, is also in this general 
neighborhood. 

From Summit station a magnificent view 
can l)e obtained looking down the winding 
valley of the Coppei to the north, and the 
hazy plains of the Walla W'alla to the west. 
At our feet we see a pleasant little village 
situated in the narrow and fertile valley of 
Dry creek. 

DIXIE. 

The first settler in Dixie was Herman C. 
Act(ir, who located a homestead at this .point. 
The name was derived from the following 
circumstance: Three brothers of the name of 
Kershaw had become noted as musicians in 
the emigrant train with which they crossed 
the plains. A great favorite among the peo- 
ple of the train was the song of "Dixie." 
Almost every night the Kershaw hoys ren- 
dered this song, to the delight of the immi- 
grants. As a consequence the boys became 
known as the Dixie boys. Having subse- 
quently settled in the vicinity of where Dixie 
now is, the crossing of the creek first became 
known as Dixie crossing, then a school-house 
was built and styled as Di.xie school-house, 
then a cemetery was laid out which was des- 
ignated as the Dixie cemetery, then a post- 
office was established which was called the 
Dixie postoffice, and finally Dr. Baker's rail- 
road established Dixie station, and thus such 
has become its accepted name. 



Dixie became a genuine American frontier 
\illage, true to the ideal of an early establish- 
ment of scIkxjI, churches, postoffice and other 
elements of an .American community. Among 
the pioneer preachers were Messrs. Granville 
Gholson, W. H. Robbins, Bailey, Hamilton 
and Hastings. There are at the present time 
three churches. Christian, Methodist and Bap- 
tist. The pioneer school-teacher w^as John 
Ross. Mr. Storey, now one of the substan- 
tial farmers of Dixie, was one of the stand- 
bys in the Di.xie school-room. At the time of 
this publication the corps of teachers consists 
(if J. E. Myers, Elmer Chase and Mrs. F. B. 
Paris. That Dixie also has an excellent spirit 
of fraternalism is shown by the fact that they 
have a number of lodges. The Odd Fellows' 
lodge is the strongest, having fifty-seven mem- 
bers. There are two well-equipped stores in 
Dixie, one conducted Ijy C. L. Cochran and 
J. F. Jackson, and the other by M. E. Demaris 
& Company. The population of the place is 
about 250. 

Leaving Dixie, we find immediately below 
it in the valley one of the largest fruit ranches 
in the county. It contains about sixty acres 
of trees, the great majority of which are 
prunes and apples. Mr. Clancy, one of the 
pioneer orchardists of the county, is the owner 
of this fine orchard. Unlike the large orchards 
in the near vicinity of Walla Walla, the 
Clancy orchard uses no water for irrigation. 
It is planted on a north hill slope of the rich- 
est, deepest soil, and thus far its development 
seems to justify the opinion held by many that 
the finest fruits of the valle}' will be found in 
the foot-hills, where there is a sufficient amount 
of rainfall to dispense with irrigation. 

Below the Clancy place on Dry creek there 
extends a series of the finest farms of the 
county, among which may be named the Corn- 



138 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



well, the (iillian. the .Mdricli. the Yeeiul. and 
the Xelson places. As stated in another chap- 
ter, the place of Milton Aldrich has the distinc- 
tion of i)roducing the largest known crop of 
any place in Washington. One of the finest 
farms in the vicinity of Dixie is that of Hollon 
Parker, south of the town. 

Between the line of railroad which we are 
following westward and the flanks of the Blue 
mountains, lies a magnificent body of farm- 
ing land, in a belt of about seven miles wide 
by ten long, lying along Mill creek and Rus- 
sell creek. This is the oldest, wealthiest and 
most highly cultivated of the fanning lands 
of the county or indeed of the state. In this 
belt may be fnund the places of the following 
well known farmers : Messrs. Thomas, P. 
Lyons, Kennedy. Kigler, Gilkerson, Patterson, 
Fields. Harbert. Rifile, Tash, Evans, Farrel, 
Yenney, Barnett, Maxson, McGuire, Russell, 
Maier, Copeland, Shelton. Reser, Toner, Fer- 
guson, Delaney, and a number of others. It is 
safe to say that few bodies of grain land have 
yielded as much money to their owners as this 
extraordinary body of about se\-entv or eighty 
miles sf|uare. 

Leaving this fair spot, in which days might 
be pleasantly and profitably spent, we proceed 
to Walla Walla city: but leaving this for the 
present, we retain our seats in the cars and 
pass on bound for the great wheat country of 
Eureka flat. This is a very large body of 
farming land coming into ])rofitable cultiva- 
tion between Walla Walla and Eureka flat. 
Though at first sight imt so attractive in ap- 
pearance as the region east and south of Walla 
Walla, it has surpassed all expectation within 
the past few years by the wheat yield of its fat 
acres. 



EUREK.\ JUXCTIO.V. 

We reach Eureka Junction, thirty miles 
from \\'alla Walla, and here we pause for more 
careful observation of this most extensive 
grain region of the county. Eureka flat con- 
sists of a body of nearly level farming land, 
from two to five miles in width and about 
twenty-five miles in length. There are no 
towns in this region, thiiugh there are a nuniljer 
of stations, which are the home nf consider- 
able communities, and from which immense 
quantities of grain are shipped. The most im- 
portant stations are Eureka Junction, Clyde, 
and Pleasant \'iew. Even a cursory glance at 
Eureka flat will show the traveller that its 
history has been that of a canyon filled up with 
soil blown or washed from the surrounding vol- 
canic hills. At some points soil has been 
found to extend unchanged to a depth of 
two hundred feet. It is of the most fer- 
tile description, but on account of the dry- 
ness of the climate and the frequent winds, 
together with the excessive dust, it bears 
a poor comparison as a home land to the ver- 
dant and well watered tract in the southern 
part of the county. Nevertheless the most ex- 
tensive wheat ranches in the state are found in 
Eureka flat. Here is found the ten-tin )usand- 
acre ranch of W. H. Bal:cock, the "wheat 
king" of Walla Walla county. Here also may 
be seen a number of other ranches whose sepa- 
rate areas run into the thousands of acres, 
among which may l)e mentioned, the Puffer, 
the Blanchard, the Struthers, the .\tkins, the 
Upton, the Fall, the Painter, and many other 
ranches. Lack of water has been a serious 
impediment in times past in carrying on farm- 
ing operations in this region. Water was for- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



I39" 



nierly hauled in wagon tanks from the Touchet 
creek, an expensive and troublesome process. 
But latterly it has been discovered that abund- 
ance of water of the best quality can be found 
by boring to a depth of from one hundred and 
fifty to two hundred feet. During the past 
year the area of grain raising has been ex- 
tended from the le\-el lands of the flat to the 
adjoining hills. If the present amount of 
moistiire shall become a permanent climatic 
rule, thousands upon thousands of acres in the 
northern part of the county now used only for 
pasturage will become transformed into wheat 
helds. 

A student of the farming business, or any 
one interested in the development of industry, 
would find an object lesson in the great Bab- 
cock ranch. From fifty to a hundred men are 
employed, and from one hundred to three hun- 
dred horses. The yield of the ranch has been 
as high as a hundred and fifty thousand bushels 
in a year. j\Ir. Babcock has sufficiently got 
the start of the world to be free from the neces- 
sity of selling at once upon harvesting, and it is 
in fact stated that he now has on hand the 
greater portion of two years' crops. 

But we shall find it necessary, without fur- 
ther prolonging our stav upon Eurtka Hat, to 
turn our faces toward the Columl)ia river. 
After leaving Eureka Junction, we find that we 
are entering upon a heavy down grade, which 
rapidly takes us out of the fertile domain of the 
wheat belt into the barren and sandy tract bor- 
dering the river. Hunt's Junction is the only 
station. The road connects at this point with 
a short branch leading to Pasco, where it joins 
the Northern Pacific. A nule below Hunt's 
Junction we reach the oldest and, aside from 
Waiilatpu, the most historic locality in the 
county. 



WALLULA. 

This musically sounding name signifies the 
same, though in a different dialect, as \\'alla 
Walla; that is. "abundance of water." Wallula 
was foundetl l)y the Northwest Fur Company. 
It was one of nine forts estajjlished or acquired 
by the English fur companies at various points 
in their vast domain. An examination of a 
map would show that these forts were 
established with great regard to their stra- 
tegic and commercial importance. The en- 
tire list of forts is as follows: Vancouver, Col- 
ville, Okanogan, Kootenai, Walla Walla, Hall. 
Boise, L^mpqua, and Nisquall}'. 

Fort Walla Walla, which was the original 
of Wallula, was at first named Fort Nez Perce. 
It was established in 1818, by Peter Skeen 
Ogden, who was at that time a member of the 
Northwest Fur Company, but after the union 
of that company with the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany he became, and for many years continued 
to be, the chief factor of the company in this 
part of their territory. From the first this 
location seems to ha\e been of a warlike and 
violent character. The original fort was estab- 
lished upon the bank of the river, near the house 
formerly occupied by Joseph Merchant, now 
of Walla \\'alla. Some of the remains of the 
buildings existed to within a few years, but 
were subsequently swept away by the great 
flood of 1894. It seems never to have been 
of great consecpience as a trading post, but was 
very important as a stopping place for trains, 
and a point of defense against the Ind an^. 
The original fort consisted of an enclosure of 
pickets enconip;issing alxiut an acre, with a 
platform inside, from which all the approaches 
could be commanded. .At the northeast and 
southwest corners basti(jns were built. Within 



140 



HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY. 



the enclosure tliere were fuur buildings, built. 
of logs and adobe brick, one story high. As 
a means of subsistence for this fort there was 
established about twenty miles up the Walla 
\\'alla river a dairy farm of about twenty 
acres. Th.is was in the region now known, 
from that farm, as Hudson's Bay. 

Soon after the establishment of Fort Walla 
\\'alla, 'Sir. Ogden and his men were attacked 
by the Indians of the Walla Walla tribe, driven 
from the fort and compelled to retreat to the 
island in the Columbia river nearly opposite. 
Here the trappers completely defeated the In- 
dians, and for some time there were no new 
attempts upon the fort. This point, however, 
was subsecpiently the scene of many thrilling 
Indian encounters. Among others, ArchibakI 
oMcKinley had an experience which shows 
something of the nerve necessary for maintain- 
ing a post in Indian times. McKinley hap- 
pened to be entirely alone at one time in the 
store, which was connected with the ammuni- 
tion room. The Indians, finding but one man, 
were upon the point of making a rush upon 
him and looting the store. ^Ir. McKinley, 
perceiving their design, seized a lighted candle 
and held it directly over an open keg of pow- 
der, assuring the Indians that if they did not 
pause he would drop it in and blow both them 
and himself to the fnur winds. The Indians 
knew enough about powder to understantl what 
woukl happen. They cpiailed before the de- 
termined eye of the fur trader and rapidly slunk 
from tlie room. 

Under the joint occupation treaty of 1818 
between England and the United States, many 
Americans as well as Englishmen had occa- 
sion to visit Fort Walla Walla. Among these 
•were Captain Bonneville and Nathaniel J. 
Wyeth. It was in 1834 that Bonneville, after 
a midwinter journey of excessive hardships. 



rode into Fort Walla Walla. Here he was 
kindly received by Mr. P. C. Pambrun. who 
at that time was in charge of the post. As il- 
lustrative of the Hudson's Bay Comi)any's 
methods, it may l)e said that, although the 
agent received Bonnexille with the utmost 
courtesy, he flatly refused to sell him provis- 
ions by which he might equip himself for a 
further journey. All the agents of the com- 
pany had been instructed to do nothing which 
would facilitate the entrance of ri\al traders. 
Later in that same year of 1834 came the ad- 
vance guard of American missionaries, in the 
persons of the }iIethodist missionaries, Jason 
Lee. Daniel Lee. Cyrus Shepherd and P. L. 
Edwards. In the next year a guest at Fort 
Walla Walla was Dr. Samuel Parker, and in 
1S36 there \vere received also at the Fort Dr. 
W hitman and ]\Ir. Spalding" with their wives. 
In general it may Ije said that the .\mericans 
were treated I)y the authorities at Fort W'alla 
W alia with great courtesy and consideration. 
Vet it was contrary to the policy of the com- 
pany that Americans, either missionaries or 
traders, should make permanent establishments, 
lest in so doing American settlement should fol- 
low, and thus interfere with the business opera- 
tions of the company. Of the part played dur- 
ing the year of the AVhitman massacre by Will- 
iam McBean. then in charge of Fort W'alla 
W'alla. we ha\e already spoken in the chapter 
on the Whitman massacre. 

The treaty between England and the United 
States by which Oregon became the territory of 
the latter, was ratified June 15, 184^1. The- 
Hudson's Bay Company, however, was allowed 
to retain possession of its forts until such time 
as they could make a proper disposition of their 
property and conchule their business. In con- 
sequence of this Fort Walla Walla remained 
in possession of the Hudson's Bay Company 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



141 



until some time after the Whitman massacre. 
It was abandoned about the year 1853. 

After the abandonment of Fort Walla 
Walla by the fur company it remained prac- 



F. Cummings. There are a number of most 
excellent, intelligent people in \\'a]lu]a. 

The principal event in Wallula in recent 
years has been the building; of the cut-off line of 



tically a desert until the beginning of settle- the O. R. & X. R. R.,up the Snake river to 
ment of the country in 1860-61. It then be- Riparia, and it is o\er this line that the main 
gan to be known as Wallula and became the business of the railroad from Spokane to Port- 



landing place of the Columbia river steamers. 



laml 



now passes, leaving \\'alla \\'alla out in 



The Oregon Steam Navigation Company's the cold. 

steamboats ran regularly to Wallula in 1861, Although the country around Wallula has 

and in the spring of 1862 lines of stages the appearance of a barren desert, it is, when 

began to run from that place to Walla Walla, irrigated, of a fertile character and susceptible 

During the same year a town site covering of high cultivation. Perhaps the earliest and 

thirty-eight blocks was laid out by W. W. finest peaches raised in the entire state come 

Johnson. Many believed at that time that from the ranch of ]Mr. Thrasher, at the mouth 

\\'allula would be a great city, but it never be- of the Walla Walla ri\er. If any one desires 

came more than a transfer point. With its to see what this desert can do in the way of 

burning heat and drifting sand, Wallula was productiun, let him visit the orchard of B. S. 

not the most attractive place in the world, and Simmons, about twenty miles above Wallula, 

at times during its early history its inhabi- on the south bank of the Snake river. From this 

tants had the reputation of being about as hard place were taken grapes which won the first 

as the natural features of the locality. A de- award at the Chicago Exposition. 

scription by Bill Nye of his experiences in We will not follow the Hunt line from 

Wallula, and especially his attempt to sleep in Hunt's Junction westward to its terminus at 

the hotel provided for the delectation of Pendleton, inasmuch as the greater part of 

strangers, gave Wallula a wide though perhaps this distance is within L'matilla county, Ore- 

not enviable notoriety throughout the United gon. We will therefore transfer ourselves 

States. at Wallula to the cars of the Oregon Railway 

In 1872 the Walla Walla & Columbia & Na\igation Compau)-. and turn our faces 

I\i\er Railroad was begun and in 1875 great again toward Walla Walla, 

cjuantities of freight began to pass by this road There is but one town to speak of between 



from Walla Walla to Wallula, to be shipped 
thence down the Columbia. The junction of 
the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Railway 
& Navigation line in 1882 was the next great 
event in the history of Wallula. It has, how- 



Wallula and Walla Walla, and this is 



TOUCHET. 



This i)lace occupies a very fertile section of 



ever, never developed into anytliing more than land at the junction of the Touchet and Walla 

a transfer and railway station, and has at the \\'alla rivers. Its development has been en- 

jjresent time a population of probably not more tirely the result of the irrigation system estab- 

than one hundred and fifty people. The chief lished upon the Touchet during the past four 

business men are S. Ashe, A. E. Reed, and C. or fi\e years. The soil is of fine quality and 



142 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



needs only water t(j make it liiglily profluctive. 
Fruits and vegetables mature at least two weeks 
earlier than at Walla Walla and this gives 
the region a very imjjcjrtant advantage. There 
is a ijopulation of about two hundred people, 
ef|uipi)cd with school house, churchy store and 
shops. Among the industrious and energetic 
men who have made Touchet what it is may be 
mentioned Mr. .\. Zaring. John Zaring, Wood- 
son Cummings, James Cummings, Will Cum- 
mings, and Messrs. Gardener, Burnap and Cun- 
ningham. 

The portion of Walla Walla county from 
Touchet to Walla Walla and extending south- 
ward from the line of railroad up the Walla 
Walla river to the town of Milton in Oregon, 
is entirely difterent fruni anything we have 
seen in our journey through the county 
hitherto. A level valley of from half a mile 
t(i two miles in width, covered more or less 
with timber and lu.xuriant grass, llmugli with 
occasional spots of strong alkali, and with a 
great abundance of running water — it is pecu- 
liarly adapted to orchard, garden, and haying 
purposes. 

About four miles above Touchet we pass 
the famous Louden dairy ranch. It is one of 
the finest and most extensive ranches of this 
kind in the state. Two miles beyond Mr. 
Louden's we pass Frenchtown, marked by a 
large Catholic church and a number of closely 
connected ranches. These were established by 
Hudson's Bay employes, who, upon breaking 
up of that company, took up places at various 
points throughout the valley. Frenchtown is 
noted from a historical standpoint as being the 
site <if the great Indian battle of 1856, else- 
where described at length. Two miles east 
of Frenchtown, we ])ass a granite monument 
crowning a steep hill, and this we may recog- 
nize to be the Whitman monument. If we have 



time to leave the railroad and climb the monu- 
ment hill, we shall find ourselves looking down 
upon a historic spot. Xot only history, but 
present beauty surrounds us. for a fairer scene 
rarely meets the eye of the traveler. To the 
west the sinuous course of the Walla Walla is 
lost among the rolling uplands and the barren 
looking steppes of the Umatilla highlands. To 
the south the luxuriant valley stretches its 
vivid green across the golden slopes and azure 
heights of the Blue mountains. Toward the 
east the spires and roofs of Walla Walla are 
framed against a background of farm land, 
checkered with alternate gold and Ijlack, which 
far beyond the line of ranches may be seen, at 
most seasons of the year, to break against the 
eternal frost of the highest peaks .if the Blue 
mountains. 

If we should still further extend our side 
journey to the extent of taking a buggy dri\e 
from Wliiinian Mission up the valley of th.e 
Walla Walla, we should find ourselves pass- 
ing through a line of beautiful gardens and 
orchards, which extend almost without a break 
to Milton. Here reside many well ki.'own old- 
timers, among whom we might name .Messrs. 
Willis Keser. Cu.skar, Xewcomb. Harrer, Ben- 
son, while just over the Oregon line is found 
the jewel of all the places, that belonging to 
.Mr. O. R. Bailou, one of the foremost fruir 
men and promoters of all ])ub!ic enterprises to 
be iound in this country. The country be- 
tween Whitman station and Walla Walla, and 
for a number i^f miles south of the road joining 
the two, is rapidly becoming the garden of 
Walla Walla. In this region, which is about 
six miles in width by ten in length, may be 
found most of the large orchards, gardens, and 
nurseries of the county. Here are found, in 
addition to the places already mentioned, the 
great fruit ranch of Dr. X. G. Blalock. There 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



M3 



are also found here the beautiful places of Mr. 
Ritz and Mr. Offner. Besides these may be 
mentioned the smaller though not less fertile 
farms belonging to Messrs. J. M. Goe. T. Ly- 
ons, M. McCarthy, Dunham, Villa Whitney, 
Campbell, and many others worthy of more 
particular mention did space permit. A number 
of productive places around College Place 
should be named. About five miles west of 
Walla Walla the Oregon Railway & Naviga- 
tion Company started an experiment station, 
which is now the property of the United States 
government. Hundreds of different plants, es- 
pecially of the grasses, have been tested on this 
place, and found to be adapted to various 
special regions of this country. 

Again passing through Walla Walla with- 
out stay, we find ourselves journeying swiftly 
over the Dry creek plains and hills toward the 
northern portion of the county. The country 
immediately north of Walla Walla consists of 
a magnificent bench of the finest farming land, 
a considerable portion of which is owned by 
the Baker estate, Thomas Moore. Chris Ennis, 
and George Dacres. 

Eight miles north of Walla Walla we reach 
\'alley Grove on Dry creek. Up and down this 
valley stretches a beautiful scene of verdure, 
in contrast with the bare hills on either siJ'e. 
We say bare hills, but it must be observed that 
these bare hills are almost an unbroken wheat 
field. North and east of Valley Grove are found 
some of the most substantial farms in the coun- 
ty. The Berryman, Hadley and Thomas 
ranches lie to the north, the Nelson place to the 
south, the Drumheller, Burr, Robinson, Bowers, 
Loney. Paul and Paine ranches to the west. 
Several miles to the northeast, if we should 
journey over the rolling hills, we should reach 
the Hungate and Rondema ranches. This re- 
gion, like most of the northern and western 



portions of Walla Walla county, v.as for many 
years supposed not to be fit for cultivation. The 
developments of the past few years have been 
a matter of great surprise. During the harvest 
of 1900, the region betwixt Valley Grove and 
Prescott far suqjassed the supposed more fer- 
tile foot-hill belt south and east of Walla Walla. 
Eighteen miles from Walla Walla we reach 
the only remaining town of the county. This 
is 

PRESCOTT. 

Prescott was founded in the year 1882, at 
the time of the extension of the O. R. & N. 
Railroad from Walla Walla northward. It 
v.as founded on land owned partly by Charles 
Buck, and partly by Mr. Eleanor. The town 
site was first occupied by Rev. H. H. Spalding 
ill 1859. There he lived until 1862, when he 
went as Indian agent to Lapwai. The most 
important event in the history of Prescott was 
the erection in the year 1883, by H. P. Isaacs, 
of the great North Pacific Flouring Mills, at 
that time the most extensive flouring mill in 
the state. 

Prescott has become a well built and attrac- 
tive village of three hundred inhabitants. There 
are four stores in the place, of which the pro- 
prietors are Mr. Ibberson, Messrs. Watkins and 
Holmes. Mr. Johnson, and Mr. McSherry. 
These stores do an amount of business entirely 
di.sproportionate to the size of the town, for 
the surroimding country is prrfsperous and 
fairly well settled, and its trade is very heavy. 

There are two churches in Prescott, a 
Methodist and a Presbyterian. The schools of 
Prescott have de.servedly been a source of pride 
to the people of the place. The school is under 
the charge of Prof. John Woods, and his assist- 
ants at the time of this publicaion are Mr. 
Rogers and Miss Malone. 

Prescott contains also a hotel, livery stable 



144 



IIJSTURV OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY, 



anil the varidus simps necessary to ihc ungning 
of such a tmvn. "'rhe village hlacksniith" is 
also notable as one nl' the leading; politicians. 
This is Mr. janies llaviland. Another notable 
character is Mr. John Geyer. elected in 1900 as 
a member of the Washington legislature. 
Still another of the most famous inhabitants 
of the vicinity of Prescott, as well as one of the 
most honored of the old-timers, is Mr. Petty- 
john, who lives on a farm six miles west of the 
town. Lie is distinguished as being nut only 
one of the genuine, whole-souled ])ioncers of 
the epoch, but as being the father of more 
human avoirdupois tban any other man in 
AX'alla W'alla county. The average weight of 
the male members of the retlyjohn family is 
said to be about two hundred and sixty pounds, 
and of the female members about two hundred 
pounds. 

A vast and fertile wheat belt extends on all 
sides of Prescott. Perhaps the most fertile of 
all the tracts in the immediate vicinity is Whet- 
stone Hollow, northeast of the town. 

A very extensi\-e belt of land lying north- 
west of Prescott anil including the somewhat 
broken hill country as far as Eureka tlat, was 
largely, until within two or three years, gov- 
ernment land. The imi)ression up to that time 
was that it was too dry for successful grain 
raising. The generally heavy rains of recent 
seasons turned the attention of settlers to the 
possibilities of this great region. It has now 
become settleil, thousanils of acres have been 
broken up, and thousamls of l)ushels of wheat 
have been produced. I'^uiher to the cast, upon 
the road extending from Prescott to Lyons 
ferry on Snake river, are a number of old es- 
tablished places which have long been noted for 
their large grain production. In the center of 
the great area lies the J^Ialloy ranch. Both 
up and down the Touchet river from Pres- 



cott are manv well known and Drogressive 
places. Among these may be namc(l the fol- 
lowing: Those of Messrs. Brown, llanson, 
Hayes, I'lathers. Bowe, Romines, Sharp, Bar- 
nett. Pettyjohn, I'ttcr and Hart. 

After this examination of Prescott and its 
\icinit_v. we will resume our places in the cars 
and by a journey of a few miles tind ourselves 
at Bolles Junction. I'^rom this point a branch 
road of the Oregon Railway & Navigation 
C'ompan\- extends to W'aitsburg and Dayton. 

Continuing on upon the main line we t'md 
ourselves ascending the Alto hill. This tract 
of country, although quite elevated and some- 
what broken, is of the most fertile soil, and 
prtnluces immense quantities of grain. The 
grade from the summit of this hill down to 
Starbuck has long been a "terror" to railroad 
men. it averages over a hundred feet to the 
mile. Several serious accidents have occurred 
upon this portion of the road. It was largely 
the danger and expense of this hill which led 
the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company 
to build their line from Riparia directly down 
Snake river to W'allula. Having reached Star- 
buck, we tind ourselves within the confines of 
GarlieUl county, and hence our journey 
through Walla Walla county is ended. 

Jf we should examine our journey with a 
maj), we would find that the two railroads cross 
each other at Walla Walla, and between them 
cover pretty completely the different portions 
of the county. We shall see evidence of the 
idea elsewhere expressed that Walla Walla is 
essentially an agricultural county. ^Nlany in- 
teresting features of agricultural work would 
appear to the traveler, should he make his jour- 
ney in the harvest season. Among other com- 
paratively recent harvesting machines, is the 
immense combined harxester and thresher. 
This was formerly used largely in California, 



o 
o 

Z 

w 
o 

> 

< 

w 

H 
W 
W 




HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



145 



but the general impression was that the ruIHng 
hills of Washington would be unfavorable to 
its use. Recently side hill harvesters have been 
devised, which are apparently adaptable to al- 
most any region. It has been found moreover 
that even the common harvesters, like the Holt, 
can be worked advantageously on moderately 
rolling land. The Holt Company are now 
making one especially for side hill work. One 
of these great harvesters presents a strange ap- 
pearance to one unaccustomed to them, with its 
thirty-two horses, its driver elevated upon a 



seat twelve feet above the ground, and its grain 
sacks filled to be thrown off and picked up by 
the wagons which follnw. In favorable places 
the harvesters have cut and threshed as much 
as seventy acres of grain in a day, at considera- 
bly less cost than would result from using a 
sei)arate header and thresher. 

In completing this journey through Walla 
Walla county we can see that although it has 
not had extraordinary rapidity of growth, it 
has advanced steadily to an enviable place 
among the counties of this great state. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



TIIK INDUSTRIES OF WALL.\ W.\LLA COUNTY. 



A favorite point for picnic parties in Walla 
Walla is Pike's Peak. This is the most con- 
spicuous peak in that part of the Blue mount- 
ains which overlooks our valley. From it may 
be seen every acre of land in the Walla Walla 
valley. Let us take our station on that pictur- 
esque summit and from it \iew the fair jiros- 
pect spread out like a map below us. We shall 
see in one glance the tokens of the chief in- 
dustrial resources of Walla Walla county. 

To the north and west, farthest in the dis- 
tance, melting into the haze and dimly edged 
by some of the gigantic ])eaks of the Cascades, 
and if the light be just right, girded with the 
shining band of the Columbia, lies a vast strip 
of rolling prairie. This is what used to be the 
great cattlj range, stock raising being the first 
industry in time of this region. This same 
region is uuw ra])idly becoming the great wheat 
belt, though for a lon.g time thought to be so 

arid as to be unsafe for wheat culture. And in 
10 



wheat raising we have our second great in- 
dustry. 

Then looking again here and there, more' 
nearly in the center of the picture^ and espe- 
cially around the point which with a glass we 
can see to ha\e clusters of tree-embowered. 
houses, and which we therefore know to be 
Walla Walla itself, we may observe dark bands 
of foliage beautifully contrasting with the dul- 
ler hues of the plain, and these we know to be 
the orchards and gardens, the sign of the third 
great industry, horticulture. Then having 
looked across the distant prairie Ijelt of stock 
and wheat, and the middle zone of fruits and 
\egetal)les. our eyes now fall upon the foot- 
hill belt at our feet, rolling hills, cut with deep 
canons, girt with swift mountain streams, of 
the deepest, richest soil anywhere to be found, 
and with much greater rainfall than is found in 
any f)ther i)arts of the country. This foot-hill 
zone was the earliest settled part of Walla Wal- 



146 



HISTORY OF A\'ALLA \\'ALLA COUXTY. 



la county, and it has probably made more men 
rich than has any equal area of farming coun- 
try in this state, and possibly has not been sur- 
passed by any in the entire country. In it are to 
be found all three of the types of industry 
named, besides wliich it is beginning to be a 
region for the development of dairying, poultry, 
and fine stock, having for these purposes great 
natural adaptability, superior, perhaps, to any 
of the others. 

As we survey the rich expanse outstretched 
below our lofty eyrie, we can see the possibili- 
ties of manufacturing industry, still latent, in 
the swift and abundant streains, in the obvious 
plent\- and cl:eapness of all the essentials of 
life. 

In general terms it may be said that thus 
far the main industries which are revealed be- 
fore us are those of stock, agriculture, and 
fruit-raising. Walla Walla is essentially a 
farming country. As we view the "lay of the 
land" and as we learn by examination some- 
thing of the geological history of the country, 
we see that it was fore-ordained to be one of the 
food-supplying regions of the world. Like 
nearly all of the Columbia valley the Walla 
AValla country is of volcanic origin. At some 
time, thousands of years ago indeed, yet recent 
in geological history, probably in the Miocene 
or Pleiocene ages, there were prodigious over- 
flows of lava, with the Cascade and Blue moun- 
tains as the centers of outflow. After the era 
of fire was one of flood, or more probably there 
were successive eras of volcanic outflow and 
mountain elevation, alternating with successive 
floods. Many curious Indian legends indicate 
the traditional condition of this country. 
Among these is the flood legend of the Yaki- 
nias. They say that ages ago, in the times of 
the "Wateetash," before the Indians existed, 
there was a beaver named Wishpoosh that in- 



habited Lake Kichelas or Lake Cleelum at the 
head of the Yakima river. \\'ishpoosh was of 
enormous size, half a mile long, his scales glit- 
tered like gold, and he was so rapacious that 
he devoured animals and plants indiscriminate- 
ly, and even the rocks of the lake shore. Speel- 
yei, the great Coyote god, perceiving the des- 
tructiveness of the beaver, determined to kill 
him in order to save the I'est of creation. So 
he harix)oned him, or some say, caused him to 
swallow a coal of fire, which made him very 
"hot." In his fury Wishpoosh tore his way 
through the banks of the lake, and let the water 
down into what is now the Kittitass valley, 
which was then a great lake. In like manner 
he tore out the banks of that lake, then he tore 
out the gap where Yakima City is now situated, 
and so the waters of all that upper chain of 
lakes became united with the vast lake which 
covered pretty much all that now constitutes 
the W^alla Walla country. But \\'ishpoosh was 
not content to leave that inland sea undisturbed, 
and so the Umatilla highlands below Wallula 
were severed and the waters of this upper re- 
gion went on do\\n to the sea, and so the 
beaver found himself in the ocean, and, accord- 
ing to the old methods, he began to devour 
whales and other denizens of the deep. Speel- 
yei, perceiving that all creation was threatened 
l>y the monster, entered the sea and after a 
dreadful struggle slew him. The huge car- 
cass was cast up on Clatsop beach, and from 
it Speelyei proceeded to form the various In- 
dian tribes. Thus this legend accounts for the 
existence of the Indians and for the obvious 
fact that Walla \\'alla county, like the famous 
McGinty of a few years ago, was once under 
the sea. 

It was, then, a combination of volcano and 
flood that created this wonderful soil where a 
vicld of fiftv or sixtv bushels of wheat to the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



147 



acre is not unknown. The volcanic dust is as 
fine as fiour and by the action of wind and 
water it has been deposited to depths almost 
uniieard of in other parts of the world. There 
are places in \\"alla Walla county where over 
two hundred feet of soil have been found. 
From this enormous depth of soil it can readily 
])c seen that vegetation in this region has al- 
most inexhaustible nutrition. Moreover it is 
well known that this \-olcanic dust, o\-erlaid 
with vegetable loam, furnishes the ingredients 
for wheat formation in greater fullness than 
does any other known soil. 

Li addition to the peculiar adaptibility of 
this soil to farming, the climate is very nearly 
perfect for the great cereal crops. The rainfall 
is not heavy, ranging from about ten inches 
a year at the northwestern extremity of the 
county to probably forty inches a year in the 
most elevated part of the mountain section, 
while at Walla ^Valla city it is about eighteen 
or twenty. But this rather scanty rainfall is 
distributed with such general good judgment 
and adaptation to the needs of the growing' 
crops that it is abundant. November, Jan- 
uary, and May are usually the months of heav- 
iest rainfall, and these are precisely the ones 
that need it most. 

Many believe the experience of the last few 
years to indicate that the arid part of the coun- 
try is going to surpass the wetter and more 
fertile foothill belt for wheat production. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1900 in particular the wheat 
in the foothills, though magnificent in ajipear- 
ance, "went to straw," to an unusual degree, 
yielding only from twenty to thirty bushels to 
the acre, whereas the "dry belt," though not 
equalling the other in appearance, "went" from 
five to fifteen bushels to the acre better. More- 
over the cost of raising- a bushel of wheat is not 



more than half to two-thirds as great on the 
plains as in the foothills. 

With this glance at the industrial resources 
in general of this favored land, let us present 
a view of the special industries, following them 
somewhat in the order of their develoimient in 
tune. 

First in order comes the 

STOCK BUSINESS. 

The first cattle in the Walla \Yalla valley 
were brought in by Hudson's Bay employees 
in the vicinity of Fort Walla Walla, now Wal- 
lula, and in the region now known as Hudson's 
Bay. Dr. Whitman brought several cows with 
him in 1S36. Messrs. Brooke, Bumford, and 
Noble, who occupied the Whitman mission 
property in 1S51, and thence onward until ex- 
pelled by the Lulian war of 1855, had a large 
number of cattle. After the whites liegan to 
settle in the country in 1859, and especially 
a iter the discovery of the mines in i860 and 
f86i, the stock business received a great im- 
petus and man}' cattle were dri^•en in from the 
W' illamette countr}-. Most of them perished 
in the famous hard winter of '6i-'62, but the 
Inisiness was at once resumed with such energy 
that by the summer of 1863 it was reported 
tliat there were 1,45 5 horses, 438 mules, 1,864 
sheep, 3,957 cattle, and 712 hogs. The States- 
man reported that 15,000 pounds of wool had 
licen shipped out that year. It is said that 
there were 200,000 sheep in the \'allcy in the 
winter of 'G^-66. Sheep were worth at that 
time only a dollar per head. Stock of every 
sort increased rapidly from 1866 to 1875, \vhen 
the country had become so well filled uj) that 
shipping to California and the east began on a 
large scale. 



148 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



There seem no separate statistics available 
for the amount of stock driven out of what is 
now Walla Walla county. We find, however, 
in Gilbert's history a very valuable table pre- 
senting statistics of the amount of cattle driven 
from the "Inland Empire" from 1875 to 1880, 
which shows an aggregate of 259,100 head. 

"Between 1874 and 1880 William Kirkman 
drove 2,000 cattle to California from eastern 
Oregon, and he informs us that in 1873 he pur- 
chased cattle for ten dollars per head that own- 
ers had refused thirty dollars for the year be- 
fore, and ten dollars became the ruling price for 
stock cattle until 1879. Steers would bring 
from sixteen dollars to twenty dollars during 
this time. Prices now range fifty per cent, 
higher; or yearlings nine dollars, two-year-olds 
and cows fourteen dollars, three-year-old steers 
twenty dollars, four-year-old steers and up 
twenty-five dollars. The winter that closed the 
year 1880, witnessed the sad spectacle of these 
poor brutes starving to death by the tens of 
thousands. A heavy snow fell upon the valley 
country, upon the top of which a crust was 
lornicd that prevented the stock from traveling. 
Gathered in little bands, in large ones, or singly, 
they were corraled by illimitable fields of ice, 
where the snow in coming had found them, and 
the great plains for hundreds of miles were 
found dotted in the spring with their bleaching 
bones. This country will generally furnish 
Avinter grazing for stock; but it is not safe to 
rely wholly, upon nature's fickle moods for such 
a result, as the foregoing has thoroughly dem- 
onstrated by a destruction of eighty per cent. 
of the horned cattle in that region. The loss 
in Walla Walla county was a much smaller per 
cent., owing to better preparation by owners 
for feeding. The facts are that, as there is 
usually so little need for feeding stock in the 
winter, manv make no calculation for doing 



so, consequently the hea\-y Icjss when such neces- 
s'ity arises." 

The following paragrajih gives the statis- 
tics of increase in both human and stock ixjpii- 
lation for tlie tlecade of the seventies, for the 
entire territory : 

Population, 75,120. increase 214 per cent.; 
mules and asses, 626, decrease 34 per cent. ; 
milch cows, 27,622, increase 63 per cent. ; sheep, 
292,883, increase 565 per cent. ;, horses. 45,848, 
increase 312 ])er cent.; working oxen, 3.821, 
increase 75 per cent.; other cattle, 103,111, in- 
crease 266 per cent. ; swine, 46,828, increase 
1 68 per cent. 

The following table derived from the as- 
sessor's rolls for the years 1863 to 1879 gives 
a complete view of the stock in Walla \Valla 
C(.unty during that period. The years 1869, 
1872, and 1873, are lacking. 

ISfiS 1804 1865 1866 1867 1868 1870 18T1 1874 1875 

Horses .... 14.i.) 2223 2459 3748 3788 4703 5787 0074 8807 8862 

Mules 438 826 t2.i 1098 1720 1058 1727 lOlS OilO 401 

Cattle 31157 4374 4807 7080 7511 134311 141 14 15730 2JW10 17750 

Sheep , IS04 0!I7 2001 7810 .... 4421 8767 12li39 21208 32986 

Hogs 712 14S0 20:>0 4377 7008 1938 5007 7769 8150 OU20 

In 1875 Columbia county with 2,i6o square 
miles having been set oft', the statistics of Walla 
Walla county shows quite a diminution. 



1878 



Horses . . . 5270 

Mules 239 

Cattle. ..11227 



6403 
198 
109110 12U7 



6.102 
205 



7553 
214 



Sheep... 1313.S 17318 20000 20256 



Hogs. 



.4000 



7387 



4904 



Since 1879 the demand for agricultural 
land has steadily increased until the stock range 
has been so lessened that few range cattle or 
liorses are longer produced. The number of 
stall-fed cattle has increased, and according to 
the assessor's rolls the total in 1900 is 7.407. 
The number of hogs has also decreased, until 
the number is now 3,680. The most marked 
increase is in the munber of horses, which now. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



149 



according- to the assessor's rolls, number 10,- 
616. Sheep number 31,035. 

There is a very great increase in the poultry 
of Walla Walla county, the numlier now con- 
tained within its limits having probably doubled 
within three years, though there are no reliable 
data available. 

There is a very active poultry association in 
the city, and there have been several poultry 
exhibitions in the place, the excellence of which 
was a matter of astonishment to such as had not 
yet investigated our capabilities in that respect. 
Thousands of turkeys were shipped from 
Walla Walla to other parts of the state and to 
British Columbia during Thanksgiving, 1900. 
Walla Walla seemed in fact to be the only re- 
gion with a surplus. There is also the same 
interest felt in Belgain hares as swept over the 
country at large during the last few years. 

The next great industry in urder of develop- 
ment is that of 

AGRICULTURE. 

To one contemplating the many beautiful 
farms of \\'alla Walla county, and observing 
the millions of bushels of grain shipped hence, 
it seems very curious, but it is nevertheless a 
fact, that for years after immigration had be- 
gun to enter it was not supposed that the up- 
lands of this region were capable of producing 
grain. The reason is plain. The first immi- 
grants, coming in the fall when the long dry 
summer had robbed the land of moisture, saw 
a seeming desert of rolling prairie, with only a 
few narrow belts of bottom land which pre- 
sented any appearance of fertility. Those bot- 
tom lands they accordingly belie\-ed to be the 
<inly lands capable of agriculture. These lands 
had been tested at various jxjints by Hudson's 
Bay people, and Dr. Whitman at Waiilatpu had 
already raised considerable quantities of prod- 



uce more than sixty years ago. Dr. \\"hitniau 
made many agricultural improvements within 
a few years after reaching Waiilatpu. T. J. 
Furnham, visiting the mission in 1839. reports 
finding two hundred and fifty acres of land en- 
closed and two hundred acres in good cultiva- 
tion. A small grist-mill was then in operation. 
Ir may be remarked that the mill-stones of the 
old mill are now in the possession of Governor 
Moore of Walla Walla. Li 1841 Joseph Dray- 
ton of the Wilkes exploring expedition visited 
the mission and discovered a very fine garden, 
with vegetables and melons in great variety. 
"The wheat in the field was seven feet high and 
nearly ripe, and the corn nine feet in the tassel." 
By 1 841 the indefatigable Whitman had suc- 
ceeded in leading some of the Indians to culti- 
vate land and tend a few cattle and sheep. The 
Cayuses, however, never took kindly to agri- 
culture and the amount of land subdued by 
Indian labor was small. 

Little in the way of grain raising was done 
anywhere in Walla Walla county after the 
Whitman massacre until the close of the great 
wars of 1855-56. In 1857, after the estab- 
lishment of the present fort, a garden was 
planted by direction of Captain W. R. Kirk- 
ham. This was such a .success as to make it 
plain that the soil and climate were adapted to 
gardening. 

Charles Russell, afterwards well known 
throughout Walla Walla, was at that time con- 
nected with the post and seeing the labor and ex- 
pense of transporting from the Willamette the 
large amounts of grain necessary for the horses, 
lic proposed trying the valley lands with barley 
and oats. Accordingly in 1858 eighty acres of 
land on what is now the Drumheller place were 
sowed to barley. It yielded fifty bushels to the 
acre. During the same season Mr. Russell 
sowed one hundred acres of oats on the land 



ISO 



inSTC^RV OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



^vllicll lie afterwards limk up as the Russell 
plaee. The huliaus were so threatenint;- that 
he left it, ami the ealtle raui;iiif; in the country 
j^raxeil it so closely that there was apparently 
no hope of a crop. But in June, the Lidians 
having withdrawn. Air. Russell went out and 
fenced in the tleld with the result that he se- 
cured a yield of Tifl}- husheis of oats to the acre. 
During that same season one hundretl and fifty 
acres of oats was sowed on Dry creek by a 
man named Walter Davis. He, too, was 
^varned away by the Indians, Init a detail of 
soldiers from the fort went out and cut the 
oats for hay. In i860 Stephen JiLaxon raised 
a fine crop of wheat on Russell creek, farther 
from tiie bottom than any one else then thought 
uortli trying. 

There were few people in tlie country at 
that time, and the few there hatl thought little 
as yet of agriculture. There was no market, 
except at the fort. Jbit the discoveries of the 
Idaho mines in i860 and 1861 suddenly created 
a fine market. Farmers had little excuse for 
not making a '"raise" in that year, though the 
lamentable winter of 1861-62 caused most of 
tiiem more loss in cattle than they could make 
up in agricultural products. 

As a sample of the prevailing prices of that 
time, we may quote figures presented in the 
newspapers of that period as to the market 
prices of the following articles : 

Beans, from 12 to 15 cents per pound ; dried 
apples, from 20 to 24 cents per pound ; sugar, 
from 18 to 26 cents per pound; soap, from 16 
to 20 cents per pound ; butter, from 50 cents 
to $1 per ixDund; eggs, $1 per dozen; fiour, 
$5 to $6 per hun'dred ; whe:it, $1.25 to $1.50 
per bushel. 

In 1864 the very important discovery was 
made that grain could be produced on the hill 
land. Messrs. Stevenson. Evans and others 
experimented about that time in a small way, 



some successfully and some unsuccessfully. 
But in 1867 a considerable field of oats was put 
in b\- John Montague on the "bench," north- 
east of Walla Walla, not far from the Delaney 
place, wliich yielded over fifty bushels to the 
acre. Even this seems to have been little heeded 
at first. As some of the old settlers now e.K- 
press it, they were determined that the upland 
should not produce grain. While the bottom 
land and some of the foothill land was already 
recognized as the very best quality of wheat 
hinds, the majority of the settlers believed that 
the great body of up-lantls north of Mill creek 
was adapted only to a stock range. In the 
meantime, however, there was a steady inficnv 
if immigration, and the wheat acreage was 
r;q)idly increasing. In Xovemher, of 1864, 
the Statesman noted the fact that the wheat 
:ind tlour of this region was superior to 
much of that grown in the Willamette 
valley. In 1866 there were already five fiour- 
ings mills in the valley. These had imjiroved 
n\achinery and turned out a reallv excellent 
quality of fiour. In 1865 seven thousand bar- 
rels of fiour were exported from the Walla 
Walla valley. 

The wheat yieUl of 1866, for t'.ie entire 
'upper country," was estimated at half a million 
bushels, about half from the \\'alla Walla val- 
ley. It is recorded that in that year threshing 
rates were : wheat, eight cents, oats, six cents, 
ar.d barlew ten cents jier bushel. 

Wo find in Ciilbert's history the following 
tia.ta with regard to shipments and prices which 
are of permanent value, and hence we incor- 
porate them at this point. 

.An nuviculturnl suciety was organized in July of this 
year, by an assemblage of citizens at the court house, on 
the 9th of that month, when laws and regulations were 
adopted, and the following officers chosen: H. F. Isaacs, 
president; A. Cox and W. H. Newell, vice-presidents; J. 
D. Cook, treasurer; E. R. Rees, secretary'; and Charles 
Russell. T. G. Lee and A. A. Blanch, executive commit- 
tee. For the fair to be held on the 4th, 5lh and 6th of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



>5i 



the ensuing October, the last three gentlemen became 
managers, and the following the executive committee: 
H. P. Isaacs, J. D. Cook, J. H. IMewett and \V. H. Ne- 
well. 

In 1867 the grain yield of the Blue mountain region 
exceeded the demand, and prices that had been falling 
for several years, left that crop a drug. It was sought to 
prevent an entire stagnation of agricultural industries, by 
shipping the surplus down the Columbia river to the sea- 
board. Freights on flour at that time were: From Wal- 
lula per ton to Lewiston, 815; to the Dalles, $6; to Port- 
land, S6, and the following amounts were shipped: 

To Portland between May 27 and June i:^ 4,1.56 bar- 
rels; to The Dalles, between April 19 and June '2, i)'H bar- 
rels; to Lewiston, between April 18 and May 14, .577 bar- 
rels; total to June ISby O. S. X. Company, .5,311 barrels. 

The same year Frank & Wertheimer shipped from 
Walla Walla 15,000 bushels of wheat down the Columbia, 
thus starting the great outflow of bread products from the 
interior. 

In 1868 Philip Ritz shipped fifty barrels of flour from 
the Phftnix mills in Walla Walla to New York, with the 
following results: (It was the first of Washington Terri- 
tory products seen in the eastt. 

First cost of flour, S187.o0; sacks for same, 827.00; 
transportation to San Francisco, SIOO.OO; freight thence 
to New York, 8107.80; total cost in gold, 8422.30; profit 
realized on the transaction, 877.46, or 81.55 per barrel. 

Wheat had fallen to 40 cents per bushel in vValla 
Walla, because of the following scale of expenses of ship- 
ping to San Francisco: 

Freight per ton to Wallula, $6.00; thence to 
Portland, 86.00; thence to San Francisco, 87.00; drayage 
$1.50, commission 82.00,83.50; primage and leakage 81.00, 
bagging $4.50, S5.50; total expense to San Francisco, 
$28.00. 

In 1869 there was a short crop, due to the drough and 
want of encouragement for farmers to raise grain. June 
14, a storm occurred of tropical fierceness, during which 
a waterspout burst in the mountains, and sent a flood 
down Cottonwood canyon that washed away houses in the 
valley. In consequence of the short crop, wheat rose to 
80 cents per bushel in Walla Walla, and flour to 85.50 per 
barrel. In November, hay brought $17 per ton, oats and 
barley 2 cents per pound, and butter ■il'/i cents. 

Having traced agricultural development from its start 
and through its years of encouragement, till quantity ex- 
ceeding the home demand, has rendered it a profitless 
industry m 1868 and 1869, let us glance at the causes 
leading to a revival of inducements for tillmg the soil in 
the Walla Walla country. It should be borne in mind 
that the farmers in little valleys and along creeks nearer 
the mines than this locality, were supplying the principal 
mountain demand, and the only hope left was to send prod- 
uce to tide water and thus to the world's market. What 
it cost to do this had been tried with practical failure as a 
result. This shipping to the seaboard was an experi- 
mental enterprise, and there was not sufficient assurance 



of its paying to justify farmers in producing quantities 
for that purpose, consequently not freight enough of this 
kind to warrant the Oregon Steam Navigation Company 
in putting extra steamers or facilities on the river to en- 
courage it. The outlook was therefore gloomy. This was 
a state of things which caused an agitation of the railway 
question, resulting in the construction of what is more 
familiarly known as Baker's railroad, connecting Walla 
Walla with navigable waters. The building of this road 
encouraged the farmers to raise a surplus, it encouraged 
the Oregon Steam Navigation Company to increase the 
facilities for grain shi[)ment, it caused a reduction of 
freight tariffs all along the line, and made it possible for 
a farmer to cultivate the soil at a profit. Something of an 
idea of the results may be gathered from an inspection of 
the following exhibit of increase from year to year, of 
freights shipped on Baker's road to Wallula en route for 
Portland. Between 1870 and 1874, down freights shipped 
yearly at Wallula did not exceed 2,500 tons. In 1874 
Baker's road had been completed to the Touchet, and 
carried freight from that point to Wallula at S1.-50 per 
ton. In 1875, it was completed to Frenchtown and 
charged 82.50. Walla Walla rates avcaged 84.50. 

Freight tonnage from Touchet in 1874 to Wallula ag- 
gregated 4,021 tons; in back freight, 1,126 tons; from 
Frenchtown in 18;5 to Wallula, 9,155 tons; back freight, 
2,192 tons; from Walla Walla in 1876 to Wallula, 15,266; 
back freight, 4,0:^4; from Walla Walla in 1877 to Wallula, 
28,806 tons; back freight, 8,368 tons; from Walla Walla in 
1878 to Wallula, 35,014 tons; back freight, 10,4-54 tons. 

The great development of all fonrs of in- 
dustry in this country resulting from the build- 
ing of railnads in the 'eighties was especially 
marked in the wheat business. Wheat became 
recognized as the staple product of this valley. 
Walla Walla wheat began to seek the markets 
of the world, and every year marked a vast 
increa.se in the output from these rich Blue 
mountain foothills and from the great rolling 
plains adjoining. But this had already oc- 
curred even before the railroad era. The in- 
crease in acreage in the staple crops in "early 
times" is indicated in the following ;-ecords 
fnjm the assessor's books: 



1S63 

Acres of wheat 4782 

Acres of corn 1515 

Acres of oats 4515 

Acres of barley 1486 



1868 


1874 


1879 


9249 


20760 


46.557 


2136 


3640 




5086 


4786 


2995 


985 


3896 


11271 



152 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



There are some interesting facts to be 
gleaned from the foregoing figures. It should 
1)C rememl)ered that l)et\veen 1874 and 1S79 
the erection of Coluni1)ia county had diminished 
Walla AX'alla to less than half its former pro- 
portions. It is safe to add at least a half more 
to the figures of 1879 to get a true view of the 
growth in that period. It will be seen that corn 
■was quite extensively raised in early times. 
Then it decreased to a trilling amount. The 
climate was thought to be too dry and the 
sunnner nights too cool for the best results. 
\\'ithin the last three or four years it has again 
become quite a crop, fields of forty, eighty or a 
hundred acres in various parts of Walla Walla 
and L'matilla counties being of common oc- 
currence. It api>ears, too, that oats were at 
first a much greater crop than barhy, but by 
1879 barley was largely in the lead, ?ind the gap 
has greatly widened since. The reason for 
oats being so largely cultivated at first was that 
it was, and still is. the staple horse food in the 
^^'illamette valley, being peculiarly adapted to 
that climate. E.xperience finally showed that 
liarley was a better crop in this dry climate than 
oats, and moreover the establishment of Inewer- 
ies created a growing demand for barley. 

In 1S83 the Northern Pacific Railroad was 
completed to \Vallula and there joined the O. 
R. ik X., making a continuous line to Portland. 
In 1S88 the Northern Pacific was carried over 
the Cascade mountains to the sound. In 1884 
the Oregon Short Line was completed. This 
enlargement of shipping facilities acted like 
magic on the industries of the valley. It was 
known by that time that almost any land in 
Walla Walla county, except the arid tract in riie 
vicinity of Wallula and the timbered portion in 
the extreme eastern part of the county, could be 
made to yield profitable returns. Probably the 
greatest "eye-opener" to the people of Walla 
"Walla, as to the latent resources of their section 



and the greatest influence inaugurating wheat 
raising on a large scale here was the bold under- 
taking of Dr. N. G. Blalock on the tract of land 
known as the "Blalock Ranch," now owned 
mainly I)y George Delaney, six miles south of 
Walla Walla. Dr. Blalock has been a pioneer 
in a number of the most important enterprises 
in Walla Walla, and not the least of his great 
services to this country was his inauguration 
of wheat raising on an extensive scale. Com- 
ing to \\alla Walla in 1872 and soon being 
actively engaged in medical practice, he was 
keenly alive to the industrial possibilities of the 
country around him. It was not at that time 
generally believed that wheat raising would 
amount to much at any great distance from the 
\\ater courses. Dr. Blalock bargained for two 
thousand, two hundred acres of land, at a price 
of ten bushels of wheat per acre. After hav- 
ing gotten it into cultivation he received a )^ield 
of thirty-one bushels to the acre, a sufficient 
demonstration of the producing qualities of 
this land. In 1881 Dr. Blalock"s ranch yielded 
an average of thirty-five and one-fourth bush- 
els per acre on the entire tract of two thousand, 
two hundred acres. One body of one thousand 
acres yielded fifty-one thousand bushels, prob- 
ably the largest wheat crop ever produced on 
an equal area in the United States. But a 
more remarkable yield, though on a smaller 
body of land, was secured by ^lilton Aklrich, 
or. his Dry creek ranch. The yield on four 
hundred acres was an average of sixty-six bush- 
elf per acre. More remarkable yet, there was 
a volunteer crop the next year on the same land 
of forty bushels per acre. One hundred and 
six bushels of wheat from one sowing! This 
probably "holds the championship" for wheat 
yield. Thomas Gilkerson has raised one hun- 
dred and ten bushels of barley per acre. Ex- 
amples might be multiplied of extraordinary 
vields both on small selected tracts and through 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



153 



the country at large. It may I)e said that from 
twenty to forty busliels is the ordinary yield 
of wheat in Walla Walla cotinty. 

The "Great Depression"' of 1893 and on- 
ward tem]jorarily paralyzed agriculture in 
Walla Walla as elsewhere, but this section was 
in better condition to stand a "squeeze" than 
almost any other, and it recovered sooner. 
Nevertheless many of the largest farmers in 
the country, as Messrs. Babcock.Reser.Thomas, 
Delaney, Upton, and many others, were severe- 
ly pressed by that succession of lean years. In 
1897. as all inhabitants of this region will 
easily recall, the country began to emerge from 
the dark cloud. The two great crops of '97 
and '98, and the prevailing good prices, relieved 
the pressure on the farming community. Al- 
though prices in '99 and 1900 dropped seriously, 
the yields of those two years were good, and the 
great majority of farmers are now in a posi- 
tion to hold their crops for better prices. 

Evidences are multiplied on all sides tliat 
farming in the Walla \\'alla valley is a paying 
proposition. The beautiful city stands as a 
monument to the wealth that has been dug out 
of the ground by means of wheat. The many 
elegant farm houses, fine horses and buggies, 
the organs and pianos in the homes, the heavy 
annual purchases of groceries, clothing, and 
books and papers, as well as outlays for edu- 
cation and travel, — all tlie.se expenrlitures by 
the farmers of Walla Walla valley are practic- 
ally ])aid for in wheat mone_\'. The millions 
of dollars' worth of assessable projjerty in our 
city and county are simply the manifestation of 
so much natural wealth, sucked out of the' fer- 
tile soil of these hills ami vales by the milli<jns 
of grain stalks which have grown upon them 
during the last twenty-five years. 

In connection with the wheat industry, it 
will be found of interest to see the estimate 
made by an experienced farmer of the cost of 



raising wheat. Mr. Joseph Ilarbert, one of 
the most successful farmers of Walla Walla 
county, made for the special number of the 
Walla Walla Union some years ago, the fol- 
lowing estimate of the cost of a crop of four 
hundred acres, which yielded ten thousand 
bushels of blue-stem wheat. At fifty cents per 
bushel for the crop, this will lie seen to rep- 
resent a profit of al)out two thousand, three 
hundred dollars from land worth twelve thou- 
sand dollars or nearly twenty per cent., from 
which, however, should come wages of man- 
agement. 

The land was summer fallowed in 1894 
and valued at thirty dollars per acre. The 
estimate is in a locality where water and ma- 
terial to work with are reasonably convenient. 
The land is not very hilly and comparatively 
easy to work. The report is as follows : 



ITEMIZED EX- 
PENSES. 


COST. 


MOS. 
IN. PD. 


INST. 


TOTAL. 


Planting, 90c per 


$ 360 00 

44 00 

360 00 

44 00 

250 00 
9 00 

7 50 

8 00 
60 00 
44 00 

400 00 
215 60 
10 00 
450 00 
110 00 
120 00 


20 

18 
16 


$ 60 00 

7 33 

54 00 

5 87 


S 420 00 


Harrowing, lie per 
acre 


51 33 


Plowing, 2nd time, 
June, 1894 

Harrowing before 
sowing, lie 

500 bushels seed 
wheat, highest 
market price. . . . 

Cleaning seed 


414 00 
49 87 

250 00 


15 

14 

4 


1 12 
94 
1 00 
7 00 
5 14 

13 33 

7 18 

33 

15 00 
3 66 


10 12 


125 lbs. vitriol at 
He 


8 44 


Using vitriol on 
wheat 


9 00 


Sowing Oct., 1894, 
15c per acre 

Harrowing after 
sowing, Ur- 

Cutting, 81.00 per 
acre 


67 00 

49 14 

413 33 


4,400 sacks, S49.00 

per M 

Thirty pounds of 

twine, 33>:jC 

Threshing 10,000 

bushels, 4,'^e 

Hauling to R. R., 

2 'Ac per sack. . . 
Warehouse charg's 

to Jan, 1,1896.... 


222 78 
10 33 
465 00 
113 66 
120 00 








Total cost 


82,492 10 




$ 181 90 


J 2.674 00 



154 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



We have presentctl in previous pages of 
this cliapter figures sliowing tlie wheat yield 
in j'ears past. The reader will appreciate the 
vast gain in production when he is told that 
the yield of the year 1900 is estimated as 
follows: Wheat, four million bushels; hay. 
five thousand, five hundred tons. 

The next of the great productive industries 
of Walla Walla county is that of 

HORTICULTURE AND FRUIT-R.-MSIXG. 

In fruit culture, as in other respects, Mar- 
cus Whitman was the pioneer of Wal'a Walla. 
Whitman brought with him in 1836 apple 
seeds, which he planted in the following spring. 
Three of those ancient trees are still standing, 
objects of curiosity and veneration to the many 
pilgrims who visit that sacred spot. Smne of 
the citizens of Walla Walla will remember that 
in 1896, a beautiful cane, made from a limb 
of one of those ancient apple trees, was pre- 
sented by the city of Walla Walla to Di-. D. K. 
Pearsons, by whose philanthropy ^\'hitlnan 
College so materially benefited. 

Rev. H. H. Spalding started apple trees 
also in 1837 on the Clearwater river, and at the 
same time, or perhaps the next year, Mr. 
Spalding assisted Red Wolf, a Nez Perce chief, 
to plant apple trees at the mouth of the Aljjowa, 
in what is now Garfield county. These trees 
are still standing in a fine state of preservation. 

The first attempt to start a nursery '.n the 
present limits of Walla ^^'alla county was 
made by Mr. Ransimi Clark, in 1859. In the 
fall of the same year Mr. J. W. Foster brought 
trees from the Willamette valley and planted 
them on his present jilace. The orchard on 
what is now the Ward place, in the city limits. 
was set out in i860 bv A. B. Roberts. In 



1 861 the greatest step in the progress of the 
fruit industry was taken by the coming of 
Philip Ritz from Oregon. He brought with 
him a number of fruit trees, which he sold to 
Messrs. Gilliam, Erwin, Dobson, McKay, 
Drumheller, Moore, and Short, all of whom 
succeeded soon in raising fine orchards. The 
next year Mr. Ritz started a nursery of about 
sixty thousand trees on the place now renowned 
as one of the most beautiful in Walla Walla. 
Mr. Ritz's stock of nursery trees reached one 
m.illion in 1872, and continued at about that 
number so long as he remained in business. 
The gold excitement of the 'sixties created 
a great incentive to fruit and garden culture. 
Apples brought almost incredible prices in 
Oro Fino, Florence, and other mining camps. 
We have heard old-timers tell about big. red- 
cheeked Webfoot apples, each one nicely 
polished and wrapped in tissue paper, being 
sold for a dollar apiece. That was a great 
time for the fruit-raisers and nurserymen of 
the Willamette valley. ]\Iany of them laid 
the foundations of fortunes. It became plain 
to the first settlers of Walla Walla that on ac- 
count of location and evident adaptability to 
raising fruit and "truck," they could hope to 
command that market. Accordingly many 
trees were set out. and though the bonanza 
prices of the early mining times did not long 
continue, the Walla Walla farmers were not 
disapjiointed in controlling the markets. Walla 
Walla became the great outfitting point for the 
mines. Probably no better fruit has ever been 
raised than that in those first orchards. No 
pests as yet afl:'ected the trees. It was found 
th.at apples, pears, cherries, plums and prunes 
were peculiarly adapted to this country. 
Peaches, apricots, nectarines, and grapes were 
found also to do well, but were not so reliable 
as the first named. One of the best of those 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



155 



early orchards was that of W. S. Gihiam, on 
Dry creek. He had about twenty-five acres of 
assorted varieties of trees. 

Those early orchards succeeded excellently 
until that famous "cold day" of 1883, wlien the 
thermometer dropped to twenty-nine degrees 
below zero, by far the lowest temperature ever 
known in Walla Walla. The result was very 
disastrous. Many of the fanners lost all or 
nearly all their trees. Some who had hitherto 
taken great pride in their orchards, concluded 
that the danger of severe cold was so great 
th.at it was not worth while to reset trees. So 
for a number of years following the cold snap 
the fruit industry languished. It may be re- 
marked in passing that never but once since the 
disaster of 1883 has there been any repetition, 
and that was in November, 1896, ^^■hen the 
mercury descended to nine degrees below zero. 
The loss of trees was not then, however, so 
great as before. 

Early in the 'eighties began a new era in 
fruit-raising, cotemporary with the general in- 
dustrial awakening inaugurated liy the com- 
pletion of the transcontinental railways. 
Shrewd men then began to build for the fu- 
ture. Among many men whose energy and in- 
dustry laid the foundation of the fruit industry 
as at present developing, may Ije especially 
named : Dr. N. G. Blalock, O. R. Ballon, W. 
A. Ritz, Charles Whitney, W. S. Offner, H. 
C. Chew, John Thoney, and U. H. Berney. 

Dr. Blalock began the development of his 
magnificent fruit ranch in 18S5. The place 
originally contained an entire section of land. 
A donation of forty acres on the east end was 
n-.ade to the Walla Walla College, and around 
that quite a village has grown up. Of the 
remainder, the western part is still comparative- 
ly undeveloped. The major portion of the place, 
some four hundred acres, now contains about 



sixty thousand trees, of which half are prunes, 
a fourth apples, and the remainder pears, cher- 
ries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots. 
Among other great public enterprises under- 
taken by Dr. Blalock in connection with his 
fruit ranch is his contract to receive and dis- 
pose of the sewage from the city of Walla 
Walla. This is worthy of special note, both as 
being an interesting experiment in land enrich- 
ment, also as being historically connected with 
this great step in the progress of the city by the 
inauguration in 1900 of a sanitary and scien- 
tific method of sewerage. 

In connection with Dr. Blalock's under- 
takings it is fitting to mention here hi:, vast 
enterprise on Blalock's Island, in the Columbia. 
There he has sixteen thousand acres which he 
proposes to put into trees. Ten thousand trees 
are already out. The soil and climate are es- 
pecially well adapted to peaches and apricots. 
The season there is so early that trees blossom 
in February, and yet on account of the prox- 
imity of the ri\-er and the constant movement 
of the air, there has never been a destructive 
frost. Though not in Walla Walla county, 
this is essentially a Walla Walla enterprise, 
and hence worthy of mention here. 

Of all the various beautiful, successful, and 
lucrati\-e fruit ranches of Walla Walla county, 
time fails to speak in detail. No enterprises, 
perhaps, in the entire valley are so much ol)- 
jects of pride to residents and of curiosity to 
visitors. Nearlv every one who visits Walla 
Walla is taken on a "little ride" in such a way 
as to ])ass the Ballon, Whitney, Ritz, Blalock, 
and Offner ranches. The position of Mr. O. 
]\. Ballon iu the history of fruit-raising is sec- 
ond to none in our entire county. His ranch 
is one of exceeding beauty, about six miles 
south of the city in a rich section, abounding in 
springs. Mr. Ballon has been intimately con- 



156 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



nected with all tlie fruit fairs of Walla Walla, 
and to Iiis unselfisii devotion much of the suc- 
cess of the fairs has been due. 

The Whitney and Ritz places are near to- 
gether about two miles southwest of town, on 
one of the richest bodies of land out-doors. 
The Whitney nursery was established in 1884, 
now occupies a hundred acres of land, and 
gives employment to twenty or more men. The 
Ritz place is the most beautiful suburban place 
in this county and is of great historical in- 
terest. The name of Philii) Ritz is connected 
with almost every important event in the his- 
tory of this region, farming, fruit-raising, rail- 
reading and general impro\ement. The active 
and useful life of I\lr. Ritz was ended in 1889, 
since which time the place has been in charge 
of William A. Ritz, who has been intimately 
connected with every feature of the fruit busi- 
ness of this county. He has been for two 
3-ears president of the Fruit Fair Association. 

The Offner place, of ninety acres, is lo- 
cated about a mile west of town, and has been 
famous for its enormous productiveness, as well 
as for the beauty and convenience of the build- 
ings and all the improvements. The dis- 
tinguishing feature of Mr. Offner's connection 
with the fruit industry, however, has I>een his 
business as a shipper. 

The Thoney, Chew and Berney places are 
east of town on another rich spot of land. In- 
deed all the spots of land on which these or- 
chards and nurseries are located are so fertile 
that every one seems richer than the others. 
Mr. Thoney and Mr. Berney have for several 
years devoted their main energies to the busi- 
ness of the Walla Walla Produce Company. 
Mr. Chew has for the past two years been 
conducting the Walla Walla nursery, and has 
made large sales of trees in all directions. 

Besides these places which have received 



this special mention there are many others 
w Inch are eijuall}- worthy of notice, though not 
ha\ing yet come so conspicuously into public 
notice. No small amount of fruit is pro- 
duced right in the corporate limits of Walla 
Walla itself. Part of its beautiful shade is 
rich and fragrant with blossoms in spring, and 
weighted with luscious fruits in summer and 
autumn. The growth of the acreage of trees 
can be seen from the fact that in 1880 there 
v>ere estimated to be but about four hundred 
acres of trees, while in 1895 there were 2,810 
acres, of which 1,830 \vere in bearing, pre- 
sumably about 325,000 trees in all. There has 
been no reliable estimate since 1895. Some 
good observers think the acreage to be some- 
thing over three thousand acres. 

We have not given here any detailed ac- 
count of the garden business of W^alla W'alla. 
Suffice it to say that many of the rich spots 
of land in the near vicinity of Walla Walla are 
worked by Chinamen and Italians, both of 
whom seem to have greater ability than Amer- 
icans in that line of work, and that they pro- 
duce a prodigious cjuantity of all the common 
vegetables, both for supplying the to\vn and 
for shipping in all directions. The vegetables, 
like the fruits, of the "garden city" are re- 
nowned for excellence, as well as quantity. 

The following brief summary of statistics 
gives a conception of the present extent of the 
industry of fruit and vegetable-raising: 

The business of the Walla Walla Produce 
Company for 1900, about $150,000; of W. S. 
Offner, $150,000; of other dealers and ship- 
pers, alxiut $150,000; total, $450,000. 

The total number of car-loads shipped from 
Walla Walla in 1900 was alxjut six hundred, 
and of this eighty-five per cent, was fruit. 

There are consumed at home probably the 
ec'uivalent of about two hundred and hftv car- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



157 



loads. Some have estimated the totr.l yield of 
the county at nearly one thousand car-loads. 

The Walla Walla Produce Company 
shipped in 1900 about fifty thousand lioxes of 
apples. The Blalock Company, which handle 
only their own fruit, shipped in 1900 about 
five hundred tons of prunes, two hundred tons 
of apples, and one hundred tons of mixed 
fruits. 

The most notable recent event in the fruit 
industry is the consolidation of the Walla 
W'alla Produce Company and W. S. Offner, 
and their engagement of the large warehouse 
erected in the first part of 1901 on Main 
street, adjoining the Washington & Columbia 
River Railroad depot. The consolidation of 
the two largest shipping houses of the place 
and the establishment of their business in such 
commodious and convenient quarters will mark 
an epoch in the history of this very important 
business. 

This review of the fruit and garden indus- 
try of Walla Walla would be incomplete with- 
out reference to the fruit fairs which liave now 
become an established feature of the autumn's 
enterprises. There have now been six of these 
fairs under various auspices, the first one 
being held at the court house in connection 
with the meeting of the fruit-grov.-ers associa- 
tion, of which Dr. Blalock was then presi- 
dent. 

The next two fairs were held in Armory 
hall. The display was so magnificent and the 
crowds so great that it became evident that 
larger quarters must be provided. Accordingly 
fcir three years the fairs have been held in a 
pavilion on Second street. Every one has more 
than paid for itself, and every one has had a 
d.isplay of a character which has astonished 
visitors. Concerning the fair of 1900, the 
fourth in order under the management of the 



Fruit Fair Association, we find the following 
excellent account in the Inland Empire of Oc- 
tober, 1900: 

"The fourth Annual Fruit Fair of the 
Walla Walla valley was held in the city of 
Walla Walla October i to 7 inclusive, and was 
in every way the most successful and satis-- 
factory exposition ever attempted in south- 
eastern Washington. This was true as tij the 
financial aspect of the fair, as to the attendance 
and as to the quality of fruit on display. 

"Nature was responsible for the latter 
feature of the success of the fair, as she is re- 
sponsible for much that goes- to make up the 
category of the virtues of the Walla Walla 
valley. Give our agriculturists and horticult- 
urists a year with a well regulated rainfall, and 
frost which considerately stays away when not 
wanted, and they will with diligence and care- 
ful culture produce grapes, pears, apples and al- 
most every kind of fruits and vegetables of 
such quality and size as are seen in no other 
part of the Union. 

"In 1899 t'le l^^ir continued six days, but 
this year a full week was given, and the at- 
tendance exceeded that of previous years by 
over three thousand paid admissions. The \-is- 
itors were not restricted to Walla Walla and 
the immediate \'icinity ; fully one thousand came 
from Waitsliurg, Dayton and other neighbor- 
ir.g towns, and five hundred from Pendleton, 
Milton, Athena, and \arious points in our 
sister state. The scope of tlie fruit fair is 
broadening and exhibits are received from an 
ever increasing extent of territory. 

"From a financial point of view, the officers 
of the exposition have every reason to l)e con- 
gratulated. The gross proceeds of the fair 
were something over seven thousand dollars, 
and aliout eleven hundred dollars of this is 
profit, and is deposited as a nestegg for the 



I5S 



HISTORY OF W.VLLA WALLA COL'XTY, 



fair of 1 90 1. This is the first year in the his- 
tory of tlie fairs that any material profit has 
resulted in dollars and cents. Last year eighty 
<lollars was taken in over and above expenses, 
and the year before notiiing. Better manage- 
ment is responsible for this result, and a more 
thorough appreciation of the requirements of 
the fair. 

"T. H. Wagner's military band, of Seattle, 
furnished music for the fair, giving concerts 
every afternoon and evening. 

"Mrs. Jennie Houghton Edmunds was the 
vocal soloist, and Herr Rodenkirchen, who is 
known to fame in the east and west, was their 
cornet soloist. 

"One of the special features of the pro- 
gramme of the fair was an Indian war dance. 
A score of bucks and a half dozen squaws from 
the L'matilla reservation were the performers, 
and their presence recalled to many of the vis- 
itors the days when the prnximity of redskins 
was a consummation devoutly to be dreaded. 

"The woman's department was this year 
under the direction of Mrs. John B. Catron, 
and formed the most interesting and tasteful 
display at the fair. A part was devoted to 
collections of Indian curios and relics, and this 
department was always crowded with visitors. 
Lee Moorehouse, of Pendleton, had on exhibi- 
tion many of his photographs of Indians and 
scenes on the Umatilla reservation, pictures 
which even now are of interest, and which 
fifty years hence, when the development of the 
country has crowded the redskins further to 
the wall, will be of great historical value. 

"More than ever before have the people of 
this valley appreciated the value of fruit fairs 
and industrial expositions. Here the farmers 
and those interested in the various lines of 
agriculture and horticulture have an opportu- 
iiitv to see the results of each others' labors, 



and profit by their experience. They are en- 
couraged by the success of others, and obtain 
suggestions whicli are invaluable in their work. 
They learn in what direction the efforts of 
their neighbors are being exerted, and keep in 
touch with the development of the various ag- 
ricultural piu-suits. 

"The Belgian hare exhibit, prepared by S. 
C. Wingard and E. A. Coull, was a feature 
not before seen at these fairs. This exhibi- 
tion, with its hundreds of dollars worth of 
valuable imix)rted specimens of Belgian hare.? 
and fancy stock, was perhaps the most valu- 
able at the fair, and of the greatest in- 
terest because of its novelty. Belgian hare 
culture is yet in its infancy, and the gentle 
long-eared creature was the center of at- 
traction for those wlio wished to know more 
of these animals which are monopolizing so 
much attention among breeders of pet stock. 

"The railroads doing business in Walla 
Walla took a most active interest in the fair. 
Two pretty and unique booths were erected and 
they proved among the attractive features of 
the event. 

"The Northern Pacific and Washington & 
Columbia River Railways took the cue of the 
Boxers and a pretty fashoda was designed. 
The structure was erected near the band pa- 
vilion and was provided with seats and accom- 
modations for the ladies and children. The 
fashoda was built of native woods and finished 
with moss brought from Tacoma for the pur- 
pose. The work was artistically done. At 
night a number of colored electric lights gave 
a finishing touch to the scene. The design was 
largely the idea of Manager McCabe and Pas- 
senger Agent Calderhead. of the ^\'ashington 
& Columbia River Railway. 

"The booth of the Oregon Railway & Nav- 
igation Company was located near the main 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



159 



entrance and it was neatly planned. A com- 
modious square booth was finished and trimmed 
with grains and fruits taken from the com- 
pany's experimental farm near this city. The 
ceiling was made of a variety of handsomely 
colored wools in the unwoven state, blended 
together with artistic effect. The walls of the 
booth were hung with pictures, and chairs and 
reading offered rest and entertainment to all. 
The booth was in charge of General Agent 
Burns and C. F. Van De Water." 

The officers of the association for 1900 
were as follows : W^ A. Ritz, president ; C. F. 
Van De Water, secretary ; O. R. Ballon, super- 
intendent; Mrs. J. B. Catron, su]jerintendent 
of the woman's department. 

One final item of interest concerning which 
the reader is likely to desire information, and 
that is the location and character of tjie market 
for fruit. Mr. W. S. Offner, who is probably 
better qualified than any one else here to report. 
prepared a statement for the Walla Walla 
Union some time ago, which we insert here : 

"The markets for Walla Walla vall'ey fruits 
and produce are world wide, as the past sea- 
son has proven. Our market in days gone by 
has been confined to a small scope of country, 
owing to a lack of proper transportation fa- 
cilities; the fruit industry being in its infancy, 
we were known only to our local markets in 
our own state and portions of Idaho and Mon- 
tana. However, as our orchards and gardens 
ha\e increased, so have our transportation fa- 
cilities, and to-day we practically have four 
through or transcontinental lines, viz. : the 
Union Pacific, Northern Pacific, Great North- 
ern and the Burlington route, carrying our 
fruits into other states. This gives us a choice 
of the above named routes to all eastern mar- 
l:ets. All these roads make every effort pos- 



sible to supply us with suitable cars and accom- 
modations for handling our fruits. 

"Our early fruits and vegetables are mar- 
keted principally in what we term our local 
market—Washington, Idaho and Montana, the 
latter two being a good market the entire sea- 
son. As stated before, we furnish a large por- 
tion of our own state with early fruits and 
vegetables. As is well known of our valley, 
owing to its mild climate and early springs, 
we are able to bring our produce into the mar- 
ket from two to three weeks earlier than other 
parts of the state. This gives us a great ad- 
vantage, especially with strawberries, allow- 
ing us to ship the bulk of the berry crop be- 
fore they are in market elsewhere in the state. 
We have, until the past season, marketed most 
of our berries and cherries in the local mar- 
ket, but experience has shown us that we have 
a market for berries in car-load lots in Denver, 
Omaha, Kansas City, St. Paul, Minneapolis 
and other eastern cities. Our berries ripening 
at the time they do, do not come in competi- 
tion with the home-grown berries of Kansas, 
Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota. 

'"When we come to our larger fruits, espe- 
cially the prune, pear and apple, for which 
our valley is particularly adapted, I repeat the 
\i .regoing assertion that 'our markef is the 
v/orld,' having demonstrated the fact by ship- 
jiing a number of cars of prunes and pears to 
Si. Paul, Minnesota, Chicago, Kansas City, 
Indianapolis, Philadelphia and New York. We 
have had calls from many other eastern cities 
for our fruits that we cannot supply as yet, 
our output being too limited to supply the de- 
mand. Another market unknown to us until 
tl.e last season is British Columbia. They 
lia\e been calling upon us for our fruits, and 
a great many cars of apples found their way 



i6o 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



to these markets the past year, whicli only made 
the purchasers give us orders which we were 
unable to fill. Right Iiere I will state that the 
greatest trouble the fruit or commission men 
have is to get sufficient quantities of fruit to 
fill their orders. While the past season's fruit 
shipments from this valley have been numbered 
by the hundred cars, had we had a sufficient 
quantity of the right kind of fruits our car 
shipments would have been numbered by the 
thousands. W^ith increased production and bet- 
ter facilities for transportation to the eastern 
markets, we will soon be shipping our fruits 
by the train-load instead of car-loads, for it is 
a fact wherever our fruits have been tested 
they have met with favor and have created a 
demand which we have been unable to supply. 

"Another market opened to us is Texas, 
Arizona and Mexico, for it is a well-known 
fact that warm countries to not grow good 
apples, and e\en California, with all her wealth 
of fruit, orange groves, famous vineyards and 
big orchards in other fruits, comes to us in 
the spring for our fancy, well-kept winter 
apples. \Miile California and Mexico may send 
us their gold, oranges and lemons, we will send 
them in return the famous winter a])plcs of the 
Walla Walla valley. 

"La'st, but not least, comes our market in 
England for apples, some having already been 
shipped there. When our apples are once well 
known we will have a market for more than 
can probably be raised in the state, as our win- 
ter apples we would be glad to compare with 
the fruit of the most favored parts of the 
United States. 

"As to our fruit drying, it is yet in its in- 
fancy, we having been able so far to dispose 
of our fruit in a green state. There were 
several cars of prunes dried here last season 
and they were eagerly sought for in our eastern 



markets. Our Italian prune (which is nmstly 
raised here) commands a higher price than 
the famous California French or Petit prune, 
as it grows much larger and is of superior 
quality. An interview with any of tlie com- 
mission men of this city will undoubtedly \erify 
the facts that I have heretofore set forth and 
there is no question that we will find a mar- 
ket for all the fruit we can possibly raise in 
the Walla Walla valley." 

We have now spoken at length in regard 
to the three fundamental industries of this 
region. It remains to note more briefly the 
other lines of business which have become 
evolved from the necessities and opportunities 
of the country. It may be said that ihiiugh it 
is yet too early to find extensive manufactur- 
ing here, yet Walla Walla county has many 
of the natural facilities in abundance. Rapid 
and abundant streams may be made to furnish 
water-power in unlimited quantities. All the 
fruits of the earth and the products of animal 
life can be secured cheaply and of the finest 
qualities. The greatest drawback to manu- 
facturing is that iron and lumber must be 
shipped in for every kind of work. 

The chief industries of a manufacturing 
nature in Walla Walla are the flouring mills, 
tlic Gilbert Hunt separator manufactory, the 
Weber tannery, the various creameries, the 
sash and door factory, jind other wood work 
factories, the saddle-tree factory, and the 
marble works. 

First in order of time and capital come 

THE FLOURING MILLS. 

The first flouring mill in this county was 
liuilt in 1859 by A. H. Reynolds, in partner- 
ship with Dent and Simms. on the place owned 
now by Charles Whitney. The building was 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



i6i 



afterwards used as a distillery. It is still stand- 
ing, being used by Mr. Whitney as a store- 
house. In 1862 Mr. Reynolds built a second 
mill on the Yellowhawk, known as the Star 
mill. In 1862 H. P. Isaacs erected the mill in 
the eastern part of what is now Walla Walla, 
named it the North Pacific flouring mills, and 
thereby entered upon his long and successful 
career as the leading miller of this county. In 
1883 he erected the mill at Prescott, then the 
largest in eastern Washington. Andrew Mc- 
Calley was another pioneer mill man, cijming 
here in 1872, for some time superintending the 
North Pacific mills, then purchasing a mill 
west of town, erected by I. T. Reese in 1866. 
' Mr. McCalley was burned out, but rebuilt, and' 
the business was maintained by himself, and, 
after his death in 1891, by his sons, until the 
property was sold to W. H. Gilbert, who lost 
it by fire in 1897. The Eureka (first known as 
the Agate) mills were built by Ritz and 
Schnebly and conducted by W. C. Painter. 
Eventually they were sold to Welch and 
Schwabacher, who in turn sold them to Dement 
Brothers the date of the latter transfer being 
1880. The grades of flour manufactured by 
this mill have become famous wherexer used, 
and in fact they have found their markets in 
all parts of the world. The Washington Roller 
mill of Waitsburg was established in 1865 by 
S. M. Wait, the founder of that "burg," but 
was sold Ijy him to Preston Brothers, who en- 
larged and improved it, and now do a business 
in all quarters of the globe. Paine Brothers 
and Moore bought Mr. Wait's stock, and after- 
wards owned an interest in the mill, but sold 
out to Preston Brothers. It will give one an 
added sense of the largeness of this industry, 
as well as of the commercial closeness of the 
rest of the world, to learn that flour from these 
various Walla Walla mills goes to England, 



Italy, China, Japan, Philippine Islands, South 
Africa, Alaska and British Columbia. The 
City mills were erected by Scholl Brothers 
on Paluose street in Walla Walla in 1898. 
There is also a mill on the Yellowhawk, known 
as the Rising Star, erected by H. S. Kinzie, 
but now owned by Mrs. Rattlemiller. Several 
chop mills are also in operation in different 
parts of the valley. 

Such is a very brief summary of the flour- 
ing mills of this county. As to their capacity 
it may be said that the North Pacific mills of 
Prescott can grind five hundred barrels per day. 
Its average output, however, is about three 
hundred, and it ordinarily runs about three 
hundred days in the year, thus representing 
about ninety thousand barrels per year. The 
Washington Roller mills of Waitsburg and 
the Eureka mills of Walla Walla have each a 
capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels per 
day, aggregating in the year about sixty thou- 
sands barrels each. The City mills and the 
Rising Star mills turn out about seventy-five 
barrels each per day, or a yearly output of 
about twenty thousand barrels. Their total 
output may thus 'be seen to amount to about 
two hundred and fifty thousand barrels an- 
nually, or a business in flour alone of over 
three quarters of a million dollars. In addi- 
tion to this it should be noted that for every 
barrel of flour there is, on an average, seventy 
pounds of bran and chdp, or an aggregate of 
perhaps eighty-seven hundred and fifty tons. 
In addition to this, large quantities of break- 
fast food, as farina, germea, whole wheat and 
graham, in addition to the ordinary standard 
lirands, enumerated above, are sold at home 
and shipped abroad. It may doubtless be 
stated in round numbers that the annual out- 
put of mill products in Walla Walla exceeds a 
million dollars. 



l62 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY. 



Xext ill iiiag-nitiuie of tlie manufacturing 
industries of AN'alla Walla county is the 

"pride of wasiiingtox" 

factory of Gilbert Hunt & Company. This 
great industry originated in machine shops 
owned by Byron Jackson. Gilbert Hunt and 
Christopher Ennis bought the establishment in 
1 888. Its work at that time was little more 
than that of a repair shop. In 1891 Mr. Hunt 
bought out his partner and conducted the busi- 
ness alone until 1893, ^vhen the business was 
reorganized under the firm name of Gilbert 
Hunt & Company, with Mr. Hunt as president 
and manager, and Walter McCalley as sec- 
retary and treasurer. Associated also in the 
business are Frank Hunt and Jay Williams. 
The business was conducted in wooden build- 
ings, seeming rather to invite disaster by fire, 
which was realized in 1898, when the entire 
works on the north side of Main street, to- 
gether with the foundry of J. L. Roberts, were 
swept from the earth. Laidismayed by the 
heavy loss the company at once proceeded to 
the establishment of a far more complete and 
elaborate plant than before. Large brick build- 
ings were erected and every department of the 
enterprise was reorganized on a vastly larger 
scale than before. AMiile the company makes 
the "Pride of Washington" separator their 
specialty, they do a vast business in engines, 
pumps, wind-mills, hose, leather and rubber 
belting, water-tanks, and in fact pretty much 
everything concerned in farming, harvesting 
and irrigating machinery. Their business ex- 
tends all over Washington. Oregon and Idaho. 
During the year 1900 they manufactured fifty 
threshers and employed an average of seventy- 
five men throughout the year. They now make 
all their castings, as well as every sort of wood 



work which enters into the construction of their 
various machines. 

It is fitting to mention here the Walla Walla 
foundr}^, conducted in 1879 by Messrs. Mar- 
shall and Jones. J. L. Roberts, for many years 
prominent in business and political circles in 
Walla Walla, became a partner in the enter- 
prise in 1879, ^"d the entire owner in 1887. 
The business became extensive and lucrative, 
but the disastrous fire in 1898 destroyed it, and 
on account of inadequate insurance proved very 
unfortunate to Mr. Roberts. The foundry was 
not replaced, but the assumption of the same 
kind of work by Hunt &; Company has filled 
the demand for that class of manufacture. 

Of the 

OTHER M.\XUFACTURIXG ESTABLISHMENTS 

of Walla Walla the sash and door factory of 
Whitehouse and Crimmins occupies a very im- 
portant place. This extensive industry was 
founded in 1880 by Messrs. Cooper and Smuck. 
In 1888 George Whitehouse and D. J. Crim- 
mins became chief owners of the establish- 
ment, although Mr. Cooper has continued to 
be a partner to the present time. The mill is 
equipped with all the most recent and improved 
machinery, and turns out annually an immense 
amount of finished lumber, sash and doors, 
mouldings, lath, besides large supplies of cup- 
boards, desks and other house furnishings. 
There is handled annually from two to four 
million feet of lumber. The number of men 
employed varies from twenty to thirty, accord- 
ing to the season. 

Two other extensive lumbering houses in 
Walla ^^'alla, the Chamberlin Lumber Com- 
pany and the Oregon Lumber Company, deal 
in lumber, although not engaged in its manu- 
facture. The supply of the former comes in part 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



163 



from Gray's Harbor, that of the latter in part 
from Bridal Veil JMills in Oregon. It is esti- 
mated, however, that ninety per cent, of the 
lu.niher used in Walla Walla comes from Puget 
Sound, although these last named lumber com- 
panies of the county. The lumber business of 
the amount of the lumber used in a commu- 
nity is so large an index to its progress that 
we shall find it of interest to note the volume 
o.f business performed by the various com- 
panies of the county. The lumber business of 
the city and county are performed substan- 
tially by the three companies named in the city, 
together with two establishments at Waits- 
burg, one at Prescott, and one at Eureka Junc- 
tion. The entire amount of business is esti- 
mated to amount to about ten million feet of 
lumber, five million shingles, fift}^ thousand 
cedar fence posts, and six thousand doors and 
windows annually. 

The Weber tannery was established by 
Frank Weber, Sr., in 1871. In 1879 it suf- 
fered destruction by fire, but was at once re- 
built on a larger scale, and since that time has 
continually broadened its business. An im- 
portant part of the leather, as well as other of 
the harness-makers' and shoe-makers' supplies 
•of all kinds for this entire upper country, come 
from the Weber tannery. 

There are three creameries in the county 
a1 the present time, and their products in round 
numbers is estimated at 133,189 pounds of but- 
ter, besides considerable cheese, representing a 
total value of probably over thirty thousand 
dollars. 

One of the most interesting and prospect- 
ively important enterprises of recent establish- 
ment is the Cox and Bailey Manufactm-ing 
Company. This company has been established 
by the purchase of the building and plant of 
the Walla Walla Fanning j\Iill Manufactory, 



which was started by Messrs, Carnahan and 
Fuller in 1898. Cox and Bailey acquired the 
property in the beginning of the year 1901 and 
are, at the present writing, actively engaged in 
equipping their factory with the best machinery 
and material. Their design is to do a general 
nianufacturing and repair business, especially 
in the line of agricultural implements. They 
will also have a first-class sawing department, 
and will be prepared to furnish all kinds of 
scroll and bracket work of the best sort. They 
expect to ship logs directly from the Cascades. 
When fully equipped they will employ from 
twenty-five to thirty men. 

The inauguration of this enterprise at this 
time is not only of importance in itself, but 
is one among many indications of the broaden- 
ing and ever enlarging business activity of this 
section. 

Another home manufacturing establish- 
ment worthy of more extended notice than we 
can here give is the saddle-tree factory of 
Ringhofer Brothers. This was founded by 
Steve Ringhofer in 1880, his brother joining 
him in a few years. Few people in W'alla 
Walla realize the amount of work done by these 
two industrious men with their assistants. Nor 
do they realize the wideness of the market 
reached by these Walla Walla saddle-trees. It 
is nearly as large as the market for Walla 
Walla fruits. In Calgary, Caribou, Montana, 
Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and southern Oregon, 
to say nothing of points near at hand, cowboys, 
vaqueroes, prospectors and packers sit astride 
saddles whose frames were shaped right here 
in Walla Walla. This business is about as near- 
ly a home enterprise as any here, for though 
wood must mainly be shipped in, the hides, 
which are an eriually essential feature, are se- 
cured from the Weber tannery in Walla Walla. 
The extensive marble and granite works of 



164 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



two different firms here, those of Xiles & Vin- 
son, and Roberts & Son, are deserving of an 
elaborate description did space permit. The 
extent of the supply, as well as of the market 
of both these establishments, is as much of a 
revelation as are similar facts in regard to 
some of the other lines of business described. 

Li a review necessarily limited as this is 
in space, it is not possible to present an ex- 
haustive account of every worthy and interest- 
ing industry. We have endeavored to present 
in the preceding pages a clear picture of the 
essential lines of constructive industry, to de- 
scribe the basis of those agencies by which the 
people of this country actually create products 
A rough estimate would probably show the ag- 
gregate value of the material thus made by the 
people of the county in 1900 at somewhere in 
the vicinity of four million dollars; certainly 
a very large amount to be produced by less than 
twenty thousand people. 

In addition to the true productive indus- 
tries hitherto described, Walla Walla city has 
a correspondingly active list of mercantile and 
miscellaneous establishments, \\hich may be 
summarized as follows : Three banks, of which 
two are national banks and one a savings l)ank ; 
three hotels, beside five lodging houses and a 
large number of boarding houses, and eight 
restaurants ; eleven general merchandise stores ; 
six hardware stores; two furniture stores; four 
house decorating and painting establishments; 
five watch and jewelry stores; seven drug 
stores; three shoe stores; thirteen grocery 
stores; five regular meat markets, besides four 
fish and poultry markets; four plumbing estab- 
lishments; four bakeries, besides a dozen con- 
fectionery and fruit stands ; four dressmaking 
and millinery establishments ; five aericultural 
implement houses, and these, it may be added, 



do exteiisi\e business not only in this but also 
in adjoining counties; two saddlery stores; 
three toy stores; thirty- four saloons; five cloth- 
ing stores; three wood-yards; two bicycle and 
sporting goods stores ; three music stores ; four 
book stores; two breweries; ten barber shops, 
of which six have bath rooms connected; four 
photograph galleries; and seven livery stables. 
In addition to these, which may be called the 
standard lines of business, there are a large 
number of work shops and repair shops of 
various kinds, laundries, of which one is a large 
steam laundry, and various small, miscellaneous 
establishments. 

As an interesting evidence of the steady 
increase of manufacturing industries in this 
county, we may add the following statement 
with respect to a factory at Waitsburg, which 
api)eared in a paper of that city, while this work 
was in preparation : 

''The Evans Harvester Manufacturing 
Company is the name of a new company or- 
ganized in Waitsburg. The new company will 
erect a factory in that city in the near future 
for the manufacture of the combined harvester 
patented by J. G. Evans. The incorporators 
are J. G. Evans, Frank ^IcCown, A. Storie, 
Arthur Roberts, J. W. Morgan, G. -M. Lloyd 
and J. L. Harper. 

"The board of trustees for the first si.x 
months will be G. M. Lloyd, J. L. Harper, 
Arthur Roberts and Andrew Storie. Mr. 
P'rank AlcCown is mentioned for president 
with J. G. Evans as secretary and Arthur Rob- 
erts as manager. The arrangements will all 
be perfected within a few days. 

"iNFr. W. E. Singer will have charge of the 
mechanical department, assisted by Mr. J. G. 
Evans. 

"The object is to perfect one machine this 



1-IISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



i6s 



season and get a perfect pattern from wliich it has been operated quite frequently of late 

to construct more. The machine has been set and gives every promise of being a complete 

up in 'Mr. Cox's wagon shop, and will con- success." 
vince the most skeptical that it will thresh, as 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE TR.\NSPORTATION LINES OF W.\LL.\ WALLA COUNTY. 



As sufficiently developed already in prior 
pages, Walla Walla county was long isolated 
from other portions of Oregon territory. Yet 
even in the days of the fur-traders there were 
regular lines of transportation by which goods 
from vessels at Vancouver were distributed to 
all the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company 
tiiroughout the Columbia valley, and by which 
the furs gathered along the thousand brawling 
streams of the interior, were transported to 
ship-board, and thence to the markets of the 
Old World. The transportation lines of the 
fur-traders consisted of bateaus, with frequent 
portages on cayuse back or Indian back. That 
was the true age of romance in the history 
of traffic. Xo braver and more enduring 
knights of the wilderness ever existed than 
those French Canadian voyageurs. Bold, res- 
olute, indefatigable, always ready for privation 
with laugh, and jest, and song,, those Canadian 
boatmen were the very beau ideal of explorers. 
From the blue waters of the Athabasca they 
would enter the lake on the crest of the Rocky 
mountains from which the Columbia issues, 
and descend the might\^ stream, through its 
succession of cataracts, lakes, and broad ex- 
panses, until they whiffed the salt spray of the 
Pacific. 

When American immigration began to en- 



ter Oregon, the bateaus were still a frequent 
means of transportation from The Dalles to 
the Willamette valley. Far-seeing men, like 
Whitman and others, even in the earliest period 
of settlement, plainly grasped the conception 
of the great steamboat lines along the rivers, 
and the railroad lines across the prairies and' 
through the mountain passes, which would 
some time bring that majestic wilderness into 
communication with the rest of the world. 

STEAMIJOAT LINES. 

The first steamship that ever ploughed the 
waters of Washington state was the Beaver, 
a Hudson's Bay steamboat, which entered the 
Columbia river in 1836 and afterwards went 
to Puget soimd. She is still afloat somewhere 
on the waters of the gulf of Georgia. The 
first American steamship on the Columbia was 
the Carolina, in 1850. The first river steamer 
was a little double ender called the Columbia, 
also in 1850. On Christmas day, 1850, was 
launched the first river steamboat of any size. 
This, was the Lot \Vhitcomb. It is interest- 
ir.g for Walla Walla people to remember that 
tlie purser of this boat was Dr. O. W. Nixon, 
who has been such a steadfast friend of Whit- 
man College. In 1851 a mo\ement to estab- 



1 66 



HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY. 



liyli traffic with tlie "Inland Empire" was in- 
augurated l)y the building of the James T. 
Flint at the Cascades. The builders of this 
boat were Dan Bradford and B. B. Bishop, 
the latter of whom lived many years at Pendle- 
ton and was well known at Walla Walla. In 
1853 Allen McKinley brought the steamer 
Eagle to the cascades, where he had her taken 
to pieces to be carried by portage to the upper 
cascades, there to be put together again and 
relaunched. She was the first steamer to cut 
the sublime waters of the mid-Columbia. The 
3'ear 1S54 saw the launching of the Mary above 
the cascades. 1855 saw the \\'asco. In 1856 
the Hassalo was built. In 1857 the first steam- 
boat was built al)()ve The Dalles. This was the 
Colonel Wright, built at Celilo by R. R. 
Thompson and Laurence Coe. 

Thus, as we see, the steamboat lines worked 
their way at an early day, while Indian wars 
were yet raging, toward \\'alla Walla. 

In 1859 the famous old Oregon Steam 
Ka\igation Company was organized. By 1861 
its steaml)oats were running as far as Lewis- 
ton. The first steam railway lines in the north- 
v/est were the portage lines of this company. 
The first of six miles was on the north side of 
the river at the cascades, and the second of 
fifteen miles was on the south side between 
The Dalles and Celilo. These enterprising 
steamboat men got into business just in time 
to reap the rich harvest of the mining trade of 
i860, '61, '62. Though something of a mo- 
nopoly the Oregon Steam Navigation Com- 
pany was a great affair, and old settlers enjoy 
pleasant recollections when they call to memory 
the owners, captains, pursers, and even some 
of the deck hands. ]\Iemory easily conjures 
up the polite and yet determined Ainsworth, 
the brusque and rotund Ivucd, the bluff and 
hearty Knaggs, the frolicsome and never dis- 



concerted Ingalls, the dark and powerful Coe, 
the patriarchal beard of Stump, the loquacious 
"Commodore" W'olf, who used to point out 
the "diabolical strata" of the Columbia banks 
to astonished tourists, the massive figure of 
Strang, the genial Dan O'Neil, the suave and 
graceful Snow, the handsome Sampson, Mc- 
Nulty, with his rich Scotch brogue, "Little 
Billy," the bold and much experienced Baugh- 
man, and especially two of the "kid captains" 
of that early epoch, now still comparati\ 
young men, and e\cn then, though boys, con- 
sidered the best pilots on the river, \\'ill Gray 
and Jim Troup. 

After the inauguration of the steamlx'jat 
lines to Wallula and Lewiston, in 1861, traffic 
!)}■ prairie schooners began between Walla 
^^'aIla and Wallula. In 1862 and '63 there 
bia and Snake rivers, while the opposition line 
the ri\-er. But the completion of the portage 
railroads gave the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company such an advantage that they were 
enabled to make a compromise by which they 
were given the exclusive right to the Colum- 
bia and Snake rivers, while the opposition line 
was to have a monopoly of the \\'illamette. 
After this compromise had been effected the 
following schedule of charges was established : 

Freight from Portland to Wallula, per ton, 
$50.00 : freight from Portland to Lewiston, 
per ton, $90.00 ; fare from Portland to Wal- 
lula. S18.00; fare from Portland ^o Lewiston, 
$28.00. 

Freight from Wallula to Walla Walla was 
Sio, or $12, per ton. by wagon.' 

In i860 there came to Walla Walla a man 
who was destined to become the greatest figure 
in both pioneer railroading and other business 
in. the history of Walla Walla. This was Dr. 
D. S. liaker. Almost from his first landing in 
Walla Walla Dr. iJakcr, more fuUv than any 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



167 



one else, formed a conception of tlie vast latent 
resources of the Walla Walla valley, and began 
to form plans of connection between it and the 
steamboat line, but after opposition had been 
destroyed on the river Dr. Baker determined 
to establish a portage road at the Cascades, 
with the expectation that this would encourage 
independent steamboats. But the O. S. N. Co., 
having secured a charter and right of way 
from Congress, Dr. Baker, for the only time 
in his life, found himself checkmated and had 
to sell out at a sacrifice. 

Agitation for the building of a railroad be- 
came very active in Walla Walla between 1863 
and 1868. On March 23. 1868, the citizens 
of Walla \\'alla gathered at the court house to 
discuss this question. As a result of the in- 
vestigations which fcillowed the Walla Walla 
and Columbia River Railroad Company was 
incorporated. Its incorporators were D. S. 
Baker, A. H. Reynolds, I. T. Reese, A. Kyger, 
J. II. Lasater, J. D. Mix, B. Scheideman and 
W. H. Newell. Their plan was to get the . 
Oregon Steam Navigation Company to take 
one hundred thousand dollars of stock, Walla 
Walla county two hundred thousand dollars, 
and the city fifty thousand dollars. An act 
of Congress of March 3, 1869, granted the 
right of way and authorized the county com- 
missioners to issue three hundred thousand dol- 
lars in aid of the road, provided the people 
approved it at a special election. After some 
delay the time of this election was set for June 
26, 1 87 1. But it having become evident by the 
expression of public opinion that the subsidy 
woulfl be defeated, the order for the election 
was revoked. The com])any then made a prop- 
osition to the people of Walla Walla. They 
proposed, in case the people of the county would 
authorize the issuance of three thousand dol- 
lars in ])onds, to build a strap iron railroad 



within a year; to place in the hands of the 
C(Anity commissioners the money received from 
down freights as a sinking fund, and to allow 
the board to fix the rate on such freights pro- 
vided it was not placed at less than two dollars 
per ton, nor so high as to exclude freight 
Irom the road; to give a first mortgage on the 
r(jad, to secure the county ; and to give security 
that the bonds would be used in constructing 
the road. An election was authorized by the 
board on September 18, 1871. As a result of 
the election, out of a total vote of nine hundred 
and thirty-fi\'e, a majority of eighteen was cast 
against the measure and it was therefore lost. 
The people of Walla Walla of that time seemed 
to have been mightily afraid of some monopoly 
control. Inasmuch as under the terms of the 
proposition they could have fixed down freights 
at two dollars a ton when they were at that 
time as a matter of fact paying over eight dol- 
lars a ton by wagon, it would seem that they 
performed the feat sometimes described as "bit- 
ing off one's nose to spite his face."' At any 
rate it was a long time before they got a two 
dollar schedule. 

DR. B.\KER's R.MLRO.VD. 

This project being thus defeated so far as 
Walla Walla county was concerned, Dr. Baker 
with a number of men prominent in \\'alla 
Walla then determined to build ami equip the 
road themselves. A 'new company was organ- 
ized, with the following directors: D. S. 
Baker, W. Stephens, I. T. Reese, L. McMorris, 
?I. M. Chase, H. P. Isaacs, B. L. Sharpstein, 
O. Hull and J. F. Boyer. In :\Iarch, 1872, 
he began grading at Wallula. Meantime 
many railroad projects were in the air. Among 
these were the Northern Pacific, with a branch 
southward through the Walla Walla and 



i68 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Grande Ronde countries. In 1S73 tlie Seattle 
and Walla Walla Railroad Company was or- 
ganized. In 1874 the Portland. Dalles and 
Salt Lake Railroad Company, which had been 
organized some years before, was revived amid 
great enthusiasm on the part of the people 
of ^^'alla \\'alla and other points in eastern 
Oregon and Washington. In the same year 
the Dayton and Columbia River Transporta- 
tion Company was incorporated. This com- 
]ianv proposed to build a narrow gauge road 
from Dayton to Wallula liy way of Waitsburg 
and Walla Walla: thence by steamers and 
portage railroads to Astoria. These enter- 
prises were stronger on paper than on the 
ground. On March 13. 1875, the report was 
circulated throughout the "Inland Empire'' 
that arrangements had been made with English 
capitalists to advance money for building the 
Portland, Dalles and Salt Lake Railroad and 
that it was to be completed in five years. There 
was a general period of jubilees throughout 
the countrv until it was learned that this an- 
nouncement was premature, and that the ar- 
rangements had collapsed, like many other rail- 
road gas-bags. 

In the meantime Dr. Baker was working 
away quietly and effectively upon the Walla 
Walla and Columbia River Railroad. Fifteen 
miles of track had been completed from Wal- 
lula to the Touchet by March, 1874. Wooden 
rails were at first used, upon which strap iron 
was afterwards laid. Major Sewell Truax was 
the engineer in charge. In 1874 this little road 
carried from the Touchet to W'allula over four 
thousand tons of wheat and brought back in 
return n\-cr eleven hundred tons of merchandise. 
After much jjulling and hauling over the ques- 
tion of subscriptions by the people of the city, 
it was provided that if the railroads were im- 
mediately completed to Walla Walla the people 



should give the company three acres of land 
for depot and side tracks, secure the right of 
way for nine miles west of the city, and a cash 
subsidy of twenty-five thousand dollars. At 
last the great day of c9mpletion came. On Oc- 
tober 23, 1875, ^Valla Walla was connected by 
rail with the Columbia river. 

The building of Dr. Baker's railroad had 
involved a vast deal of work and enterprise. 
As an illustration of the peculiar expense of 
this road might be mentioned the difficulty of 
securing ties for its construction. These were 
first gotten out on the Grande Ronde river, 
floated down the Grande Ronde, Snake and 
Columbia rivers to \\'allula. at an average cost 
of about a dollar apiece, from three to four 
times the ordinary expense of ties. But the 
supply from the Grande Ronde proved inad- 
equate, and the projectors were compelled to 
have recourse to the Yakima river. In the 
year 1875 this railroad hauled 9,155 tons of 
wheat to Wallula. 

In 1876 contention broke out between Dr. 
Baker's railroad and the people of Walla Walla. 
Dr. Baker, apparently feeling — whether cor- 
rectlv or not we will not undertake to decide — 
that the people of \\'alla \\'alla had done very 
little to advance the interest of his road, had 
fixed the freig'ht rate at $5.50 per ton. Though 
this was much less than had been paid to team- 
sters before, it seemed extortion to some of 
the i^eople, and a committee of citizens was ap- 
pointed to request a reduction. The request 
was not granted. There was discussion by the 
Grange Council as to the possibility of making 
a canal from Whitman [Mission to Wallula. 
A number of merchants tried the wagon route 
again, freight being reduced to five dollars per 
ton, at one time even to four dollars and fifty 
cents. At the same time there began to be 
heavy shipments of grain by team from Day- 



HISTORY OF WALLA \\'ALLA COUXTY. 



169 



ton and vicinity to '"Grange City" at the mouth 
of the Tukannon, whence it was transported 
to Portland by the Oregon Steam Navigation 
Company's boats for eight dollars per ton. An 
opposition boat, the Northwest, was run for 
two years from Lewiston to Celilo by Captain 
Stump and Small Brothers, the chief owners 
being Paine Brothers & [Moore. 

It proved to be impossible for the teams 
to compete with the railroad, even at five dol- 
lars and a half per ton. The amount of freight 
steadily increased all that time. In 1876 there 
Avere hauled from ^\'alla Walla to Wallula 
16,766 tons, of which teams hauled 1,500 tons, 
the railroad the residue. The return freight 
amounted to 4,034 tons, showing a very heav}' 
balance of trade in favor of Walla Walla. It 
is, in fact, a remarkable feature of our county 
to-day that the exports exceed imports by prob- 
ably three to one. 

Other railway projects were in the air in 
that same centennial year of 1876. Among 
them was the Walla \\"alla & Dayton Railroad, 
but it never got beyond the map stage. 

In 1877 the first steps were taken in the 
great government enterprise of the Cascade 
locks, an undertaking which should have vast 
influence on the industrial development of the 
Inland Empire, though it evidently will not 
until the dalles are overcome. It was nearly 
twent}- years before the great canal and locks 
were finished. 

In 1877 there were 28.806 tons of freight 
shipped from A\'alla Walla by way of Wallula. 
The rate had then been reduced to four dollars 
and a half per ton. It is noticeable that in the 
same year 8.368 tons of freight were shipped 
in. and of this nearly half consisted of agri- 
cultural implements, showing something of 
the great development of the industry of 
farming. 



In 1877 Dr. Baker had preliminary sur- 
\ey5 and estimates on a branch from Whitman 
Mission to Weston, and this was ultimately 
completed as far as Blue Mountain station. 
But, as is nearly always the case with the pio- 
neer railway enterprises which pay, the Walla 
Walla & Columbia River Railroad was destined 
to be absorbed by a larger. It had become a 
well paying property under Dr. Baker's skill- 
ful and energetic management, and the Oregon 
Steam Navigation Company cast envious eyes 
upon it. They contemplated at that time mak- 
ing a regular system of narrow-gauge roads 
through the Inland Empire, connecting with 
the boats on the Columbia and Snake rivers. 
After long continued negotiations Dr. Baker 
sold the larger part of his stock in 1879 to 
the chief stockholders of the Oregon Steam 
Navigation Company, Messrs. Ladd, Ains- 
worth. Reed and Tilton. As we shall see later 
on, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company 
was in turn swallowed b}- the Oregon Railway 
& Navigation Company, and that in succession 
became a part of the great L'nion Pacific sys- 
tem. Dr. Baker's road, though thus temporary-, 
performed an incalculable part in the trans- 
portation developments of \\'alla ^\'alla county. 

STAGE LINES. 

While considering the pioneer steamboat 
and railroad lines, our suney would be incom- 
plete if we did not notice the great pioneer 
stage lines, which for many }ears were the 
chief means of mail and passenger transporta- 
tion. J. F. Abbott, whose family are still liv- 
ing in Walla Walla, was the pioneer stage 
manager of this valley. In 1859 he put on 
the first stages between \\'allula and Walla 
Walla. In the next year he effected a part- 
nership with Rickey and Thatcher on the same 



I70 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



line. Stage lines, carrying the mails, were es- 
tablished by Miller and Blackmore between 
The Dalles and \Valla Walla in 1861. Li the 
following year Rickey & Thatcher established 
a line from Walla \\'alla to Lewiston, and in 
the same year Blackmore & Chase operated 
lines between Wallula and Walla Walla. There 
were a number of independent stage lines run- 
ning between all the points named during the 
years that followed. George F. Thomas, whose 
family are now well known in Walla Walla, 
ran a line from Wallula to Boise by way of 
Walla \\'alla and the Woodward toll road. The 
great transcontinental stage lines of Ben Holli- 
day were operating on the plains in 1864, and 
partly through them Walla Walla began to 
come into communication with the world. 
That was the age of stages, hold-ups, Indians, 
and prairie-schooners, an age of romance and 
adventure which can never be repeated. The 
amount of business done by team in those times 
was something astonishing. A A\''ashington 
Statesman of the year 1862 estimated the 
amount of freight landed at Wallula from the 
steamers, to be thence distributed by wheel 
throughout the upper country at one hun- 
dred and fifty tons weekly, and the nunil>er 
of passengers from fifty to six hundred weekly. 

In 1871 an extensive stage line began to 
operate throughout this region. This was the 
Northwestern Stage Company. It connected 
the Central Pacific Railroad at Kelton, L^tah, 
with The Dalles. Pendleton. Walla Walla. Col- 
fax. Dayton. Lewiston. Pomeroy, "and all 
points north and west." To illustrate the ex- 
tent of its operations it may be said that it 
used three hundred horses, twenty-two stages, 
one hundred and fifty employes, and annually 
fed out three hundred and si.xty-five tons of 
grain and four hundred and twelve tons of hay. 

Such were what may be styled the pioneer 



transportation lines. — boats, railroads and 
stages. — of the Walla Walla countrv. \\'e now 
turn to those of a maturer growth, the great 
transcontinental lines, which now connect us 
with all parts of the world. 

TRANSCONTINEXTAL R.\ILR0.\DS. 

The state of Washington has been singu- 
larly fortunate in the number and character 
of its transportation lines. Unlike California, 
it has never become the prey of one rapacious, 
never satiated transportation devourer. like the 
Southern Pacific Railroad. Three competing 
lines, lines, too, which may be said to be guided 
in general by broad policies and an intelligent 
public spirit, the Northern Pacific, the L'nion 
Pacific and the Great Northern, connect this 
state with all parts of the world. Besides these 
the Canadian Pacific on the north and the 
Southern Pacific on the south as near as Port- 
land, add to our already generous railroad con- 
nections. This system of railroads, unequalled 
in the Union for a new state, is an index of 
what may be anticipated in industrial develop- 
n-.ent here in the near future. Freight rates 
ar.d passenger rates, .under the influence of this 
wholesome competition have steadily declined, 
the incoming of immigration has been en- 
couraged, the establishment of new industries 
has been fostered, and all phases of the activity 
of the state quickened. True, many farmers 
in the eastern part of the state feel that freight 
rates are too high, and every legislature writhes 
and struggles with one or more railroad rate 
bills. Some inland cities have had long con- 
tinued fights with the railroads on "long haul" 
conditions, etc. Yet when we come to balance 
up the general situation for the state we find 
our lot an enviable one as compared with most 
other western states, and especially California. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



171 



And it may be added, tlic sure prospect is of 
continued betterment. 

It is a noteworthy fact that the project of 
Pacific railroads was scouted at as visionary 
and preposterous by the most eminent men of 
the United States, such as Webster, Benton and 
others, though, as well known, Benton speedily 
discovered his mistake and became one of the 
foremost friends of the Pacific coast acquisi- 
tion. But the pioneers of the Pacific coast un- 
derstood better the resources and the possibil- 
ities of communication. Governor Isaac I. 
Stevens performed one of his greatest achieve- 
ments in the great exploration of the year 
1853, whicli had in view the establishment of 
some practicable railroad line to Puget sound. 
It is interesting to note that Captain George 
B. ^IcClellan was placed in charge of the 
western party in this Northern Pacific railroad 
survey. In the letter of April 5, 1853, from 
Stevens to McClellan we find the following gen- 
eral outline of the proposed work : "The route 
is from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Puget sound 
by the great bend of the Missouri river, through 
a pass in the mountains near the forty-ninth 
parallel. A strong party will operate west- 
ward from St. Paul ; a second but smaller party 
will go up thc^Iissouri to the Yellowstone, 
and there make arrangements, reconnoitre the 
country, etc., and on the junction of the main 
party they will push through the Blackfoot 
country, and reaching the Rocky mountains will 
keep at work tliere during the summer months. 
The third party, under your command, will be 
oiganizcd in the Puget sound region, you and 
your scientific corps going over the isthmus, 
and will ojierate in the Cascade range and 
meet the party coming from the Rocky moun- 
tains. * * * The amount of work in the 
Cascade range and eastward, say to the prob- 
able junction of the parties at the great bend 



of the north fork of the Columbia river, will 
be immense. Recollect, the main object is a 
railroad survey from the head waters of the 
Mississippi river to Puget sound. **=!=* 
We must not be frightened by long tunnels or 
enormous snows, but set ourselves to work to- 
overcome them." It is a curious historical fact 
tl'.at McClellan, although an engineer of the 
highest skill and ability, showed the same lack 
of daring and originality which during the 
Civil war ten years later obscured his conspic- 
uous talents and caused such lamentable chap- 
ters in the history of the Northern armies. For 
he quailed from the winter explorations neces- 
sary to determine the depth of snow in the 
Cascade mountains. 

Such was the first elaborate attempt at the 
establishing of a railroad route across the con- 
tinent. Though a long time elapsed, in the end 
it bore abundant fruit. In the 'sixties the en- 
tire country became interested in the project 
of railway connection between the Atlantic and 
Pacific. It was customary for political plat- 
forms to demand government action toward 
that end. This sentiment was the foundation 
of the subsequent immense land grant subsidies 
gi\-en tn the transcontinental railroads. 

After the war was over and the country free 
to turn its pent up energies to industrial pur- 
suits the grand popular dream of Pacific rail- 
ways began rapidly to be realized. California 
naturally had the first through line, and the 
golden spike that joined the Central and Union 
Pacific Railroads was driven on the lOth of 
May, 1869. Meanwhile the Northern Pacific 
had been incorporated and granted the right 
of way by congress on the 2d of July, 1864. 
In 1870 a contract was made with Jay Cooke 
& Company to act as financial agent for the 
road and procure means for its construction. 
In all tiiat agitation which resulted in this first 



172 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



definite step toward Iniilding the nortliern road, 
a well known citizen of Walla \\'alla was one 
of the most influential factors. This was 
Philip Ritz. Jilessrs. Cass and Ogden, two of 
the most important of the early directors of the 
road, afterwards stated that it was a letter of 
I\lr. Ritz that first called their attention to the 
enterprise. 

Work was actually hegun on the Northern 
Pacific Railroad in 1870. The division be- 
tween Portland and Puget sound was the first 
to receive attention in this state. It was nearly 
wrecked by the financial panic of 1873, which 
carried down Jay Cooke & Company and many 
other great houses. It was, however, reor- 
ganized two years later, and in 1879 construc- 
tion was resumed not to be suspended until the 
iron horse had drunk both out of Lake Supe- 
rior and the Columbia river. In 1881 Henry 
Villard, president of the Oregon Railway & 
Navigation Company, by means of his famous 
"blind pool," obtained a majority of the stock 
of the Northern Pacific Railroad and became 
its president. In 1883 he pushed the con- 
struction of the road from Duluth to Wallula, 
and there it was connected by the O. R. & N. 
■with Portland. The gorgeous pageantry of 
the Villard excursion, the great boom in Port- 
land which followed, together with the finan- 
cial downfall of Villard, the re-establishment 
of the Wright interest in the Northern Pacific, 
and the general collapse at Portland, are still 
no doubt vivid in the minds of all persons who 
were living in the country at that time. Not 
until the summer of 1888 was the gigantic 
task of crossing the Cascade mountains by w'ay 
of the Yakima valley and the Stampede pass 
fully accomplished. A year prior to that time, 
however, trains ascended and descended the 
Cascades bv the dizzy zigzags of the Switch- 
back, drawn by those gladiators of steel and 



steam, the mighty "decapods," which ground 
their way resistlessly up three-hundred-foot 
grades. 

Since the completion of the main line of 
the Northern Pacific, it has sprouted w-ith 
brandies in all directions. The most import- 
ant of these to us of Walla Walla is the Wash- 
ingtun & Columbia River Railroad, familiarly 
known as the Hunt line. This road was or- 
ganized as the Oregon & Washington Terri- 
tory Railroad by Pendleton parties in 1887. 
G. W. Hunt contracted to build the road in 
that year. The original projectors having 
failed in their means, Mr. Hunt took posses- 
sion of the road and in 1888 he built from 
Hunt's Junction to Heli.x and Athena, in Uma- 
tilla county, and to Walla Walla. The branch 
up Eureka flat to Pleasant View was construct- 
ed also in 1888. During the next 3'ear the road 
was extended to Dayton and in 1890 to Pen- 
dleton. Then Mr. Hunt, having shown such 
conspicuous energy and ability, and having 
thus far apparently been favored by fortune, 
found himself embarrassed by the tightening 
grasp of the hard times, and sold the road to 
C. B. W"right, of the Northern Pacific, in 
February, 1891. In December of that year 
the road was placed in the hands of a receiver. 
In 1892 it was reorganized under the name 
which it now bears. 

The present mileage of the Washington & 
Columbia River Railroad is 162./^ miles. Of 
this the main line from Pendleton to Dayton 
covers 128.41 miles, the Athena branch 14.59 
and the Eureka Flat branch 19.73; 117.78 
miles are in Washington and 44.95 in Ore- 
gon. Considering the population of the coun- 
try which it supplies, the amount of freight 
handled by this road is extraordinary. The 
amount of freight carried out for the year end- 
ing June. 1900. was. in round numbers, about 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



173 



one hundred and thirty thousand tons of grain 
and about twenty thousand tons of other 
freight. Of this amount 62,776 tons were 
shipped from Waha Walla -county. The 
amount of freight brought in was, in round 
numbers, forty thousand tons, of which about 
half consisted of lumber, wood and posts, and 
the other half miscellaneous merchandise. A 
little over half of this amount was discharged 
in Walla Walla county. By its connection with 
the Northern Pacific at Hunt's Junction, this 
line is the natural route from Walla Walla to 
Puget sound. 

The other transcontinental railroad upon 
which Walla Walla county is specially depend- 
ent is the Union Pacific system, through the 
Oregon Railway & Navigation line. This line 
was the successor upon the river of the old 
Oregon Steam Navigation line, having pur- 
chased that property in 1879. Henry Villard 
was its animating genius. He came to this 
country first in the interest of the German 
bondholders of the Oregon & California Rail- 
road. With the quick grasp of a statesman 
Mr. Villard perceived here the opportunity of 
a lifetime. He saw that a railroad up the 
Columbia river with branches north, east and 
southeast, might be thrust like a wedge be- 
tween the Northern Pacific and the Union 
Pacific and control both. He made three great 
steps in quick succession. The first was the 
incorporation of the Oregon Railway & 
Navigation Company. The second was the 
formation of the "blind pool," and the Oregon 
& Transcontinental Company. The third was 
the acquisition of a controlling interest in the 
Northern Pacific Railroad. 

The years of building the railroad from' 
Portland to Wallula, '8o-'83, were never sur- 
passed in activity and in results in the history 
of railroad building in this country. To the 



untiring and sometimes destructive energy of 
Contractor Hallett, the speedy execution of the 
difficult and expensive line along the Columbia 
river was due. In 1883, as already noted, the 
gap betwixt the Oregon line and the Northern 
Pacific was joined at Wallula, and the Pacific 
Northwest had its first through line to the east. 
Although Villard's financial downfall en- 
sued almost at the moment of his triumph, 
and the Oregon & Transcontinental Company 
failed, and as a natural consequence the O. R. 
& N. lost permanent control of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad, Villard's scheme is fulfilling 
its destiny in part, by the fact that the O. R. 
& N. has become an essential portion of the 
Union Pacific system. 

As now constituted, the O. R. & N. sys- 
tem is a vast and comprehensive combination 
of steamboat and railroad lines. It runs a 
magnificent group of ocean steamships from 
Portland both north and south, and it has a 
fleet of superb river steamers on the Columbia, 
Snake and Willamette rivers. It also has a line 
of steamers on Puget sound. 

The genesis of the railway division of the 
Oregon Railway & Navigation Company has 
already been described. With Portland as a 
starting point, it radiates in all directions 
throughout the Inland Empire. The main line 
extends from Portland to Huntington, a dis- 
tance of four hundred and four miles. At that 
point it connects with the Oregon Short Line, 
which extends five hundred and forty miles 
further to Granger, W^-oming, on the main line 
of the Union Pacific. The chief branch of the 
road diverging from the main road at Umatilla 
extends to Spokane. From this, as from the 
main line, branch out numerous important short 
lines. Those in Walla Walla county are the 
lines from Pendleton to Walla Walla, from 
Walla Walla to Riparia, from Walla Walla 



174 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



to Wallula, and from \\'allula by river to Ri- 
jiaria. There are also the narrow gauge lines 
from Walla Walla to Dudley and Dixie. The 
aggregate mileage, not counting the side tracks, 
is one hundred and sixty-four miles. 

The amount of freight shipped out of 
\\'alla Walla county by the Oregon Railway 
& Navigation Company during the past year 
was about thirty thousand tons, and the amount 
of freight shipped in was about thirty-five 
thousand tons. The "in-freight" included an 
immense quantity of wood and lumber, and 
hence exceeds "out-freight." 

This survey of the railroad connections 
of \\'alla Walla county would be incomplete 
without reference to the Great Northern line. 
Although this line does not touch Walla Walla 
countv.vet liv means of its traflic arrangements 



with the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com- 
pany it gi\-es us practically the benefit of an- 
other transcontinental line. And it must be 
stated that the Great Northern line, by the 
phenomenal energy, foresight and broad pol- 
icy of its management, has brought benefits 
to all the regions it has touched, and its pres- 
ence in this county is a proper subject of grati- 
fication. 

Though Walla Walla has at times been 
embarrassed by not being on either one of the 
main lines, and though the connections have 
not at all times in the past been the most con- 
venient, there has been a steady improvement 
during the past two years and we may look 
forward with confidence to a future of cheaper, 
more convenient and entirely satisfactory 
transportation ser\ice. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF W.\LL.\ WALL.\ COUNTY. 



The larger portion of this work is occu- 
lted with facts in respect to the political and 
industrial and military history of the county. 
But although these in the nature of the case 
are the most obvious and apparently import- 
ant, it does not follow that there may not be 
other agencies of deeper import. One of the 
great foundation ideas of American states, an 
idea which underlies all that we have and are 
as a people to distinguish us from others, is 
the great thought of popular education. Amid 
all the eager bustle of business and experiment 
which have characterized the west, there has 
ever been the eager determination that facili- 
ties for education should be afforded the chil- 



dren of the state. It need not therefore sur- 
prise us to find that the western states in gen- 
eral surpass older ones in provision for schools. 
Some of the people of the Atlantic states, ac- 
cutomed to look with something of a patron- 
izing disdain upon the supposedly uncultured 
communities of the west, are greatly surprised 
when they discover from statistics that the 
average of freedom from illiteracy is greater 
in the west than in the east. The three states 
with the least percentage of illiterates are 
Iowa, Nebraska and Washington. \\'hile we 
thus claim a very high standard for oin- state 
and for the west in general, we should not 
arrogate to ourselves an equality with some of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



1/5 



the picked communities of the eastern states 
in the organization and equipment of our 
schools. It takes time to accomplish the great 
results of a complete educational system. It 
is not yet possible that Washington should 
have schools equal in all respects to those of 
Ohio, Massachusetts or Michigan. 

But this we of the state of Washington 
can claim, that the people of no state surpass 
ours in general intelligence or in a disposition 
to accord the highest opportunities for edu- 
cation for their children. We ha\-e been lay- 
ing, broad and deep, the foundations for pop- 
ular education. Our schools, while not yet 
fully developed, contain within themselves the 
latent resources of a life and power equal to 
the best. 

What is true of the schools of the state in 
general is also true of those of this county. 
Considering the time that they have had, the 
schools of this county are a just source of 
pride to the citizens. Walla Walla city has 
become within the last few years an educa- 
tional center, perhaps beyond any other place 
in the state. Aside from the excellent public 
school system, at the head of which stands the 
high school, we have here Whitman College, 
Walla Walla College, St. Paul's Academy, St. 
Vincent's Academy, La Salle Institute, the 
Walla Walla Business College, and a privately 
conducted kindergarten. 

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

The following brief sketch, prepared by 
Superintendent G. S. Bond, gives an accurate 
impression of the public schools as now organ- 
ized: 

It is the primary object of the writer, in preparing this 
statement, to present to the pubhc a brief recital of the 
present condition of the educational facilities of Walla 
Walla county, rather than attem[it to give any account of 



the history and growth of those facilities. Were it even 
desirable to do so, it would, for two reasons, prove a 
somewhat difficult undertaking. The records compiled 
by the earlier school officers are quite incomplete, if com- 
pared with present requirements, and the subdivision of 
the original county into the present counties of Columbia, 
Garfield, Asotm and Walla .Walla, occasioned many 
changes in the various school districts, and led to a com- 
plete re-districting and re-numbering. This, the records 
in the county superintendent's office show, was done be- 
tween the years 1879 and 1&86. 

In 1891, the county superintendent, by order of the 
county commissioners, brought together in one book the 
plats and boundaries of the various districts, numbered 
consecutively from 1 to 53. Since that date, to meet 
the requirements of the constant increase in population, 
many changes in boundaries have been made and 13 new 
districts have been formed, making a total of 66. Six of 
these are joint w-ith Columbia county. 

The subdivision of the county into 66 school districts 
brings nearly every section within easy range of school fa- 
cilities. Especially is this true of the eastern and southern 
portions where the county is most densely populated. With 
but few exceptions these districts have good, comfortable 
school houses, furnished with modern pa'ent desks, and 
fairly well supplied with apparatus. Six new school 
houses were built, and a considerable amount of furniture 
was purchased last year. 

A movement which is receiving considerable atten- 
tion and which is proving of great service to the county 
is the establishment by private enterprise, entertainment 
or subscription, of district libraries. About twenty have 
received their books, whith are eagerly read by both 
pupils and parents. Others are preparing entertainments 
to raise a library fund. It is greatly to be hoped that our 
legislature may pass some law at this session to encour- 
age the district library. It is one of the measures most 
needed to improve our rural schools. 

Another feature that is proving of benefit to the 
country schools is common school graduation. An op- 
portunity to take an examination for graduation is given 
at various times, to eighth-grade pupils in any of the 
schools. The diplomas admit to high school without 
further examination. Many take pride in having finished 
the common school course, and are induced to remain in 
school much longer than they otherwise would. 

Eight districts are at present maintaining graded 
schools. There seems to be a growing sentiment in some 
of the more densely populated sections to gather together 
their pupils for the superior advantages of the graded 
school. Walla Walla, No. 1, provides an excellent four 
year high school course. No. 3 (Waitsburg) also has a 
high school department. 

Were all the schools in session at the same time there 
would be required a force of 116 teachers. The districts- 
employing more than one teacher are: Walla Walla 30 
Waitsburg 7, Prescott 3, Seeber 3, and Dixie, Wallula 
Harrer and Touchet 2 each. Of those employed at thig 



176 



HISTORY OF WALLA W^ALLA COUNTY. 



time, seven hold life diplomas or state certificates, 18 
normal diplomas, 25 first grade certificates, 21 second 
grade, and 15 third grade. Twenty applicants failed last 
year. If the present crowded condition of the Walla 
Walla and Waitsburg schools continues next year it will 
necessitate an increase in the teaching force of five or six 
at the former place and of one at the latter. 

The Teachers' Reading Circle was reorganized in 
January, and meetings have been arranged for the more 
central points throughout the county. The sessions are 
well attended, the exercises carefully prepared. About 
50 teachers have purchased one or more of the books and 
enrolled as members. All teachers have free access to a 
library of about 75 volumes, treating principally on theory 
and practice, or the history and philosophy of educa- 
tion. 

Our school districts never began a year on a more 
solid financial basis than they did the present one. Fifty- 
one of the sixty-six had a good balance to their credit in 
the hands of the county treasurer. A comparison of the 
last financial statement with that of previous years is 
given to mark the increase. 

RECEIPTS. 1897. 1898. 1900. 

Balance in the hands 
of county treasurer. S 9,.V21 43 S 9,297 24 S 25,838 81 

Amount apportioned 
to districts by coun- 
ty superintendent.. 32,104 54 56,210 31 58,574 66 

Amount received from 
special tax 11,76162 26,346 81 26,503 99 

Amount from sale of 

500 00 1,410 00 



school bonds 

Amount transferred 

from oth^r districts 
Amounts from other 

sources 



131 54 



82 69 



500 00 



2,212 15 



Total §54,019 13 


§93,347 05 


gl 13,629 61 


EXPENDITURhS. 


1897. 


1898. 


1900. 


Amount paid for 








teachers' wages . . . . S 


S 47,278 95 


S 38,691 71 


Amount paid for rents 








fuel, etc 


38,027 39 


10,697 78 


13,653 06 


Amount paid for sites. 








buildings, etc 




2,902 68 


32,152 61 


Amount paid for m- 








terest on bonds. . . . 


2,578 00 


2,645 55 


4.301 00 


Amount paid for in- 








terest on warrants. 


4,113 75 


5,649 78 


1,650 94 


Amount reverting to 








general school fund 
For redemption ot 


2 75 












bonds 






500 00 


Amount for other dis- 






tricts 






12 86 










Total $44,721 89 


569,173 94 


$90,962 18 


Balance on hand. . 


9,297 24 


24,173 11 


22,667 43 



The hard times experienced two or three years ago 
materially affected teachers' wages in this county. The 
average amount paid male teachers, according to the 
annual report of the county superintendent in 1898, was 
S56.57; for female teachers, S39.54. For 1900, male 
teachers, 862.50; female teachers, f 52.40. There seems, 
however, to be dawning a brighter future for the consci- 
entious teacher. Rigid examinations for two years have 
lessened the competition from those who entered the work 
only because they had no other employment; the districts 
are able to hold longer terms and pay larger salaries 
now. The minimum salary this year is 810.00; other 
rural districts pay $45 and 850. Salaries in the graded 
schools are from f65 to 8100 per month. The average 
length of term in 1898 was six and one-half months; the 
average for 1900 is seven and three-fourths months. 

The estimate in the county superintendent's annual 
report for 1898 places the total value of school houses and 
grounds at $162,080; of school furniture, 815,317; of ap- 
paratus, etc. , 83,871; of libraries, 81,690. Amount of in- 
surance on school property, $79,605; of bonds outstand- 
ing, 145,300; warrants outstanding, $41,274. The last 
enumeration of children of school age shows 4,275 resided 
in the county June 1; of these 3,621 were enrolled in the 
public schools, and made an average daily attendance of 
2,076. 

For 1900, school houses and grounds, 8194,060; fur- 
niture, 816,3.50; apparatus, 84,000; libraries, $2,450; insur- 
ance, $100,650; bonds outstanding, $75,300; warrants out- 
standing, 882,721.16; children of school age, 4,767; children 
enrolled, 4,102; average daily attendance, 2,322. 

Special mention shovild be made of the in- 
stitution which is the crowning feature of the 
pubhc school system, that is, the high school. 

THE \VALL.\ W.\LLA HIGH SCHOOL 

Was inaugurated in the year 1889. under the 
superintendency of Professor R. C. Kerr, who 
also acts as city superintendent. The high 
school was located at the first in the Baker 
school, but in 1890 was quartered in the Paine 
school, and there it still continues. Its first 
class was graduated in 1893. The total num- 
ber of graduates to 1900 was eighty. The 
course, which at first re(|uired three years, now 
gives four years of thorough study, which en- 
ables its graduates to enter Whitman College 
or any of the first-class colleges of the state. 
The number of students has increased rapidly 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



177 



until at the present time there are enrcjlled about 
one hundred and sixty pupils. The present 
faculty of the high school consists of Professor 
R. C. Kerr, Miss Rose Dovell and Professor 
J. W. Shepherd. Miss Amy B. Richards, Miss 
Blair and Mrs. Minnie Cohn were at different 
times on the faculty. The school is acquiring 
a considerable quantity of apparatus, and a 
well-selected, though not large, library. The 
high school is a just cause of satisfaction to 
the people of the town, and it plainly contains 
within it elements of growth and miprovement 
which will make it in time one of the best in- 
stitutions of the kind in the state. 

As we consider our present excellent pub- 
lic school systeiu, our minds are naturally 
turned toward the schools and the school build- 
ings of the old days. It is said that the first 
school-house was within the present limits of 
the garrison reserve, and the teacher was Harry 
Freeman, of troop E, first dragoons. The year 
has been said to have been '56, though it must 
have been '57, inasmuch as the fort was not 
provided with any buildings until that year. 
This school was attended by several persons 
afterwards well known in Walla Walla. 
Among these were James and Hugh McCool, 
and their sister ]\Iaggie, afterward Mrs. James 
ilonaghan, mother of the gallant Lieutenant 
Monaghan, who perished recently in the Sa- 
moan islands. Robert Smith, Mrs. Mike 
Kenny, John Kelly, and the Sickler girls, are 
also said to have attended this school. The 
next school was started by Mrs. A. J. Miner. 
Her school was at first a private one, conducted 
in 1861-62 in a house on Alder street near 
the corner of First street, about where Mr. 
G. W. Babcock's house now stands. J. H. 
Blewett was also one of those early private 
teachers. 

Up to this time there had been no public 

12 



schools. A school clerk had, however, been 
appointed, together with other officers, on 
March 26, 1859, in the person of William B. 
Kelly. J. F. Wood was elected superintendent 
of schools at the election of July 14, 1862. 
In that year district No. i, embracing the 
whole city, was organized, a room rented and 
a teacher employed. No building was put up 
for school purposes, and little attention seems 
to have been paid to education until the fall 
of 1864. At that time there were two hundred 
and three children in the district, of whom but 
ninety-three were enrolled. On December 12, 
1864, a school meeting was held, in which it 
was determined to levy a tax of two and one- 
half mills for the erection of a school house. 
The block of land upon which the Baker 
school house now stands was donated by Dr. 

D. S. Baker, and a building costing about two 
thousand dollars was erected. 

The new building proved inadequate for 
its purpose, and a new district was organized 
in 1868 in the southwestern part of the town. 
A site having been secured on the corner of 
Willow and Eighth streets, a building was 
erected, which, with some additions, served 
its purpose until 1879. In that year the pres- 
ent Park street school was erected at a cost 
of two thousand dollars. In 1881 the two 
school districts were consolidated by act of 
the legislature. The members of the consoli- 
dated board of directors, consisting of the di- 
rectors of the two separate districts, were H. 

E. Johnson, D. M. Jesse, B. L. Sharpstein, 
N. T. Caton, William O'Donnell and F. W. 
Paine. E. B. Whitman was clerk. 

By a vote at a school election of April 29, 
1882, it was decided to levy a tax of seven- 
teen thousand dollars for the purpose of erect- 
ing a brick Innlding upon the block occupied 
by the first public school Innlding. This build- 



178 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



ing was accordingly constructed in 1882, and 
very appropriately, from the name of the donor 
of the land, became known as the Baker school 
building. The elegant Paine school building 
appeared in 1888, tlie College Place public 
school house was added in 1897, and the Sharp- 
stein school building was erected in 1899. 

Amone the citizens of Walla Walla who 
have contributed much of their time and 
thought to the burdensome duties of school 
directors may be found some of the busiest 
and most active men. The names of two 
especial veterans in the service, Paine and 
5harpstein, are fittingly preserved in two of 
Ihe public school buildings. 

District No. i is now organized under the 
new system of cities of the second class. This 
provides for five directors. These five directors 
are at present N. G. Blalock, Frank Dement, 
W. R. Criffield, J. B. Wilson and John Mun- 
.tinga. 

A perusal of the facts given in the preced- 
ing paragraphs will convince any one that the 
public schools of Walla Walla are in a highly 
satisfactory condition. 

WHITMAN COLLEGE. 

^\■e have followed in an earlier chapter the 
thrilling and tragic events which made Waii- 
latpu memorable in the history of this state; 
the Whitman mission, the struggle for posses- 
sion, the planting of industry, the rallying 
place of the slowly incoming American immi- 
gration, the midwinter ride of the hero Whit- 
man, and then the yielding up before Indian 
.tomahawks of those noble lives, the massacre, 
.the war, and then the long period of desolation 
and loneliness. 

During the era of danger the whites, with 
Ihe exception of an occasional daring adven- 



turer, disappeared from the Walla Walla 
country. 

Silence at last rested on the fair valleys 
which had for ten years resounded with sav- 
age warfare. The Cayuses, the Walla Wallas, 
the Umatillas and the Yakimas yielded the 
scepter, and the stars and stripes waved from 
the Pacific to the Bitter Roots. 

As it became safe to venture into the land 
of battle, there came back land-hunters, cattle 
men, miners, explorers and ad\'enturers gen- 
erally, eager to seize some advantage among 
the bountiful resources which had been seen 
by the immigrants of the 'forties and the sol- 
diers of the Indian wars. But among the 
crowd of money-seekers there was at least one 
soul-seeker, and that was Father Eells. 

From the time when in the tragic year of 
1847, he, with the rest of the missionary band, 
had fled from the murderous natives, he had 
cherished the purpose to return. \\'hen twelve 
years had passed the time seemed ripe. In 
1859 Father Eells stood beside the grave at 
Waiilatpu in which the dust of the fourteen 
martyrs was mingled indistinguishably, and as 
he there contemplated the past, with its sad- 
ness and apparent failure, his mind turned to- 
ward the future with its hopefulness and cer- 
tain triumph. He made then a solemn vow 
that he would found a school of higher learn- 
ing for the youth of both sexes, a memorial 
which he was sure his martyred friend Whit- 
man would prefer, if he could speak, to a mon- 
ument of marble. 

In pursuance of his plan Father Eells pur- 
chased the section of land on which the mis- 
sionary tragedy had been enacted and there 
he prepared to erect the building and start 
Whitman Seminary. It soon became evident, 
however, that the town was going to grow 
about the fort, six miles east, and there. Father 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



179 



Eells decided, would be the proper place for 
liis cherished enterprise. Father Eels was en- 
tirely alone in his work, except for the equally 
devoted and faithful efforts of his wife and 
his two sons. They plowed and reaped, cut 
wood, raised chickens, made butter, and de- 
voted the proceeds, aside from that necessary 
to the essentials of life, to accumulating a 
fund for starting the seminary. It was a slow, 
disheartening task, with every external circum- 
stance against them. It is hard to conceive 
of a more pathetic history than that of Father 
Eells and his family, slowly, patiently, saving 
every scrap secured by their wearisome toil, 
in order to give it away for this purely un- 
selfish purpose. 

In about five years they had accumulated 
four thousand dollars, and then the seminary 
was located on ground donated by Dr. D. S. 
Baker. It was two years later, however, be- 
fore the building was completed. That first 
building was dedicated on October 13, 1866, 
Though the few people of Walla Walla did 
not then realize it, that was the greatest event 
in the history of the place up to that time. 

Space is not sutlicient to describe here the 
seminary. It did a sort of work necessary, 
but very trying to teachers, being ungraded, 
irregular, and without support, aside from the 
tuition. During that period Father Eells, Rev. 
P. B. Chamberlain, Professor William Mar- 
iner and Professor W. K. Grim were the chief 
teachers, though there were many others who 
taught for short periods. Among these may 
be named as principals Professor Crawford, 
Mrs. Jennings, Miss Simpson, Professor J. 
W. Brock, Professor Horace Lyman, Professor 
W. D. Lyman, Professor Rogers and Rev. Mr. 
Beach. Of assistants may be named Mr. Sam- 
uel Sweeney, now a well-known business man 
of Walla Walla; Miss Mary Hodgden, Miss 



Sylvester, Miss S. I. Lyman, Horace S. Ly- 
man, i\Iiss Clara Bergold, Mrs. M. A. Gustin, 
Mrs. Beach and \\\ A. Jones. It was a hard 
struggle to keep the life in the institution dur- 
ing that period, but devotion and patience, 
such as has seldom been seen, triumphed, and 
in 1883 the next great step was taken; for in 
that year the seminary was made a college. 
Dr. A. J. Anderson, who had been one of the 
foremost educators of the northwest and had 
been for several years president of the State 
University, was elected to the head of Whit- 
man College, and entered upon his nine years 
of faithful and efficient work. 

In 1883 the main building, now used as 
the conservatory of music, was erected, and 
Father Eells made a journey to the east to 
canvass for funds. He succeeded in raising 
sixteen thousand dollars. During the next 
year Mrs. N. F. Cobleigh, who gave several 
years of most effectix-e service in charge of 
the girls' boarding hall, raised eight thousand 
dollars by canvassing in the east. During the 
presidency of Dr. Anderson there was a con- 
siderable number of graduates, and the col- 
lege took a high stand among the institutions 
of the northwest. A number of the present 
leading men in the city of Walla \ValIa grad- 
uated during that period. But the resources 
of the college were then scanty and its work 
one of trial and hardship for the president 
and faculty. In 1891 Dr. Anderson resigned, 
having accomplished the most that had been 
done up to that time in the work of the insti- 
tution. Then J. F. Eaton was appointed presi- 
dent. The next three years were the severest 
and least satisfactory which had yet occurred 
in the history of Whitman. Owing to unfor- 
tunate policies and management the college 
lost greatly in efficiency and public esteem, 
and the support so fell off that in the summer 



i8o 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of 1894 it was seriously anticipated by many 
that it woultl never open again. It was saved 
by the devotion and efficiency of several of the 
trustees and faculty and by the election to 
the presidency in 1894 of Rev. S. B. L. Pen- 
rose. President Penrose entered at once with 
tremendous and never-flagging energy upon 
his great task of raising money and placing 
the college upon a solid foundation. Dr. D. 
K. Pearsons, of Chicago, whose philanthropy 
had already wrought wonders for several col- 
leges in the country, became interested in the 
heroic story of Whitman, antl offered fifty 
thousand dollars as an endowment fund, in 
case one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
were raised besides. Though that was in the 
very blackest part of the "hard times," the 
town of Walla Walla responded nobly, and 
the money was secured. Subsequently Dr. 
Pearsons made the offer of fifty thousand dol- 
lars for a main hall, in case there were twenty- 
five thousand dollars raised for a young men's 
dormitory. This also was mainly secured, 
]\Irs. Billings, of New York, being the largest 
contributor. As a result there arose upon the 
college campus in the eastern part of Walla 
Walla the stately Whitman memorial building, 
the most beautiful structure in this part of the 
state, and Billings hall, a comfortable, con- 
venient and commodious building, capable of 
accommodating seventy or seventy-five per- 
sons. 

During these building years of 1899 and 
1900 there was also a great growth in all other 
departments of the college. A great addi- 
tion was made to the physical and chemical 
appliances. The library was greatly increased, 
having reached on January i, 1901, nearly 
ten thousand volumes. The number of stu- 
dents increased from about fifty in 1894 to 
about two hundred and sixty in 1900. The 



faculty increased during the same period from 
eight to si.xteen. Although the resources of 
the college are yet limited in comparison with 
its needs and the ambitions and hopes of its 
faculty and friends, yet they have increased 
so much beyond any former mark as to place 
Whitman in the front rank of educational in- 
stitutions in the state. 

In connection with Whitman College it is 
fitting to narrate the steps taken to mark the 
grave of Whitman and his associate martyrs. 
As already noted, Father Eells decided that 
Whitman would have preferred a memorial 
school to a monument of marble. And for 
many years it looked as though Walla Walla 
and the state of Washington meant to take him 
at his word, and leave that grave with its sad, 
pathetic, tragic associations unmarked and un- 
noticed. For years the grave was the burrow- 
ing ground of badgers, and the dry west wind 
swept the dust of summer and the snow of 
winter around it, and cattle trampled it, while 
aside from a white picket fence, which was 
soon broken, there was no distinguishing mark 
of the heroic spot. But there were those in 
both Oregon and Washington, as well as else- 
where, who felt that the community's or the 
nation's self-respect required some due com- 
memoration of that grave. In 1897 the mat- 
ter was pushed in earnest by the college fac- 
ulty and by the Historical Society of Oregon, 
with the result that funds were pledged and a 
contract made to erect a worthy memorial on 
the neglected but hallowed ground. Accord- 
ingly, on November 29, 1897, the fiftieth an- 
niversary of the massacre, in the presence of 
a vast throng, the dedication services were 
dul}- performed. The monument consists of 
a beautiful, though plain and stately, granite 
shaft, erected on the hill o\erlooking the grave 
and all the surrounding country. The grave 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



i8r 



itself is marked by a marble crypt in which 
are enclosed such human remains as the exca- 
vation of the gra\'e disclosed. And in con- 
nection with these remains it is of interest to 
remember that among them, being mainly dis- 
ordered and confused, there were several hu- 
man skulls, one of which was pronounced by 
anatomists that of a female, doubtless that of 
Mrs. Whitman, and another was deemed to be 
without question that of Dr. Whitman. It was 
of the right age, and contained a gold-filled 
tooth. It was said by Perrine Whitman, a 
nephew of the doctor, that the latter had such 
a filling, a rare thing in those days. The most 
curious thing about these two skulls was that 
they were both sawed transversely from the 
forehead backward. This was thought by 
some familiar with Indian customs to have 
been done by the savages in order to let the 
"brave" out of the principal martyrs, which 
they thought might enter into the warriors 
and augment their power. 

So, though for long years the chief heroes 
and martyrs of Walla Walla seemed to be for- 
gotten, their recognition came. And though 
their physical substance was the prey to sav- 
ages and wild beasts and the waste of the ele- 
ments, their lives live again in the lives of the 
youth whom they permanently influence. 
Whitman College has become their monument, 
one. more lasting, it is to be hoped, than even 
the granite shaft or marble crypt of the grave. 
In completing this brief sketch of Whit- 
man College it is proper to name here the 
present faculty : Rev. S. B. L. Penrose, presi- 
dent and professor of philosophy; W. D. Ly- 
man, professor of history and civics; Helen 
A. Pepoon, professor of Latin; L. F. Ander- 
son, professor of Greek; B. H. Brown, pro- 
fessor of physics and chemistry; H. S. Brode, 
professor of natural history; O. A. Hauer- 



bach, professor of English literature and ora- 
tory ; W. A. Bratton, professor of mathematics ; 
J. W. Cooper, professor of modern languages; 
Louise R. Loomis, instructor in Greek and 
Latin; W. L. Worthington, instructor in 
Greek and Latin ; S. H. Lovewell, musical di- 
rector; Clarice Winship Colton, instructor in 
voice culture ; Edgar S. Fischer, instructor on 
the violin; Mrs. Crayne, matron of girls' dor- 
mitory; and Mrs. Jacobs, matron of the young 
men's dormitory. With this force and with 
the facilities and resources for work such as 
they are, the prospects of Whitman for the 
opening century are bright indeed. 

SAINT Paul's school. 

The history of Saint Paul's School is 
crowded with struggles and brilliant with suc- 
cess. No educational institution of the north- 
west can show a similar record. Some thirty 
years ago Bishop Wells planned to erect a first- 
class boarding school for girls on a picturesque 
piece of land donated for that purpose. The 
mason began his work. Three thousand dol- 
lars worth of stone was laid into the founda- 
tion of the coming edifice. The citizens of 
Walla Walla had pledged another three thou- 
sand dollars to aid the enterprise. Success 
seemed inevitable. But Tacoma, at that time 
the leading city of the sound, offered large 
inducements if the Walla Walla project would 
be abandoned in favor of a girls' seminary in 
Tacoma. Money proved too great a tempta- 
tion and Walla Walla had to leave its cher- 
ished dream unrealized. 

But the Garden city of the nortlnvest was 
not altogether ready to lose one of its noblest 
features. Dr. Lathrop, then rector of St. 
Paul's church, was a man of faith. He would 
not give up. And while he failed to build the 



l82 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



magnificent edifice, he used to greatest advan- 
tage the old buildings, wliich were soon crowd- 
ed with boarders from the surrounding coun- 
try. At tiiat time Mrs. Appleton made a do- 
nation of three thousand dollars to be used 
as a foundation for an endowment fund. The 
outlook grew brighter, but at the departure 
of Dr. Lathrop, who had been the soul of the 
enterprise, the doors of Saint Paul's had to 
be closed. 

For almost two years the school remained 
inactive. People had lost heart. The uncer- 
tainty of affairs discouraged not only those who 
might consider the principalship, but parents 
would hesitate to send their daughters. If the 
diocese had sold the school property, none 
would have been surprised. But Aliss Imogen 
Boyer, who was herself a graduate of the 
school, fully comprehended the high mission 
of a girls' seminary in this part of the coun- 
try and bravely took hold of the situation. 
Since that time Saint Paul's has gone steadily 
forward. Rev. Andreas Bard advocated the 
sale of the old buildings and the purchase of 
some excellent property on Catherine street. 
This motion was carried and followed by an- 
other which suggested the sale of the original 
school grounds and the erection of first-class 
buildings. The day school doubled the number 
of its attendants; a boarding department was 
added. To-day Saint Paul's is one of the finest 
educational institutions of the northwest. It 
is located on the most beautiful spot in the 
heart of the city, has all modern conveniences 
and offers to the young women of our state 
tlie highest advantages of culture. Among the 
members of its faculty are graduates of Smith 
College, Berkeley and Stanford L^^niversities, 
and the most prominent citizens of Walla Walla 
constitute its board of trustees or give to their 



daughters the advantages of its broad and lib- 
eral culture. 

If Saint Paul's school could find a wealthy 
patron, such as Whitman College found in Dr. 
Pearsons, its work for good could be infinitely 
expanded. The past has been a history of 
struggle and success — a continuous record of 
self-help and self-sacrifice. What the future 
would be with an endowment' fund behind the 
spirit of heroic enterprise, can only be imag- 
ined. But there is reason to think that finan- 
cial aid would place Saint Paul's School on a 
par with the old established institutions of the 
east. Walla Walla is to be congratulated on 
having in its midst such grand educational 
possibilities. 



THE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. 

The Catholics of Walla Walla, through the 
zealous endeavors of their pastors and their 
own generous co-operation, ha\e, for the last 
thirty-five years, been enabled to procure for 
their children the advantages of a Christian 
education. In 1864 was opened, where St. 
Mary's hospital now stands, by the Very Rev. 
J. B. A. Brouillet, a Catholic school for girls. 
This was conducted by the Sisters of Provi- 
dence. One year later St. Patrick's Academy 
for boys flung wide its portals. This educa- 
tional establishment stood near the present site 
of the Catholic church. The first teacher was 
Mr. H. L. Lamarche. This excellent precep- 
tor presided over the destinies of the academy 
for fifteen years. Among the other teachers 
were Mr. J. J. Donovan, Mr. A. M. Sommers, 
^[iss Tina Johnson and Miss Eliza Sexton. 
Mr. J. J. Donovan organized a company of 
cadets among the pupils. Later a brass band 
was established in connection with the school. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



I S3 



The positions of honor held by former stu- 
dents of the academy and the creditable manner 
in which they have acquitted themselves of 
their responsible duties are convincing evidence 
of the superiority of their moral and intellec- 
tual training. 

A new building had to be erected to ac- 
commodate the ever increasing numbers that 
applied for admission to the academy. Assist- 
ed by the generous contributions of his par- 
ishioners, especially by the magnificent bequest 
of Miss Maria O'Rourke, the Very Rev. M. 
Flohr was enabled to erect the elegant school 
building that stands on Alder street near Sev- 
enth. Right Rev. E. J. O'Dea blessed the edi- 
fice in JNIay, 1899. August 15, 1899, three 
brothers of the Christian schools arrived in 
Walla Walla from San Francisco to manage 
the new school, henceforth to be known as 
De La Salle Institute. It was so named in 
honor of St. J. B. De La 'Salle, founder of 
the congregation of which the brothers are 
members. De La Salle Institute opened Sep- 
tember 4, 1899, with one hundred pupils; the 
second year commenced with one hundred and 
thirty in attendance. 

St. Vincent's Academy is the Catholic 
school for girls. This noble institution was 
founded in 1864 by the sisters of charity from 
Montreal. The little band which undertook 
the arduous task of opening an educational 
establishment in the newly established terri- 
tory was composed of Sisters Columbay, Paul 
Miki and Nativity, whose names are held in 
veneration by all who had the happiness of 
knowing them. IMany and great were the 
difficulties to be overcome in the new and un- 
civilized country, in which resources are few 
and customs and manners strange. But the 
zealous laborers, aided by their devoted pas- 
tors, Vicar General Brouillet, Father DufYy, 



Father Flohr and kind friends, struggled on. 
With years the work grew, and now many of 
the rei)resentative women of the northwest 
prove their gratitude to their alma mater by 
lives of highest Christian purpose; they found 
that St. Vincent's bad been for them an inspi- 
ration. 

The present building, erected in 1879-80, 
is pronounced by all who visit it to be one of 
the finest structures in the state. It is spacious, 
well ventilated, convenient, and furnished with 
all mudern improvements. The extensive 
grounds surrounding the institution offer every 
inducement to the young ladies to engage in 
healthful exercise. 

The plan of instruction is systematic and 
thorough, embracing all that could be desired 
for the highest culture. Besides the graduat- 
ing department, a special course meets the 
wants of the young ladies who, not wishing 
to go through the course of graduation, are 
an.xious to obtain a good practical education. 

Every facility is afforded for attaining pro- 
ficiency in vocal and instrumental music. 
Stenography and typewriting are specialties. 
Plain and fancy needle work are taught free 
of charge. 

Two hundred and fifty day pupils and 
thirty-six boarders have been enrolled since 
September i, 1900. Nine sisters are teaching. 

Parents and guardians wishing to secure 
for young ladies the benefits of a solid and re- 
fined education, with maternal supervision over 
their health, morals and manners, will have no 
reason to regret their choice of St. Vincent's 
Academy. 

WALLA WALLA COLLEGE. 

This institution is the center of a flourish- 
ing community, the college itself owning one 



1 84 



HISTORY OF WALIA WALLA COUNTY. 



hundred acres of the town-site of College 
Place. It was founded in 1892, and has gained 
a reputable place among the educational insti- 
tutions of the west. It is the only college of 
its kind in the northwest : and that it is rightly 
located, is demonstrated by its liberal patron- 
age, which has been enjoyed since its opening 
nine years ago. 

It is owned and operated by the Seventh- 
Day Adventists. and though denominational in 
character, its doors are open to all young peo- 
ple of good moral character. On account of 
its high standard of morality, its Christian 
faculty, its atmosphere of culture and refine- 
n;ent, its full and complete curriculum, it is 
certainly a safe place for parents to send their 
children, as well as an institution where a lib- 
eral education can be received. 

The building is a substantial brick struc- 
ture, four stories in height, of modern design 
and architecture. Two brick dormitories are 
connected with the main building where non- 
resident students reside. These buildings are 
surroiuided by a beautiful campus, and the 
whole by orchards and gardens which appear 
on e\ery side. Spring water of the best cjuality 
is supplied to the building and also for irriga- 
tion purposes in the college garden, consisting 
of several acres. 

As the managers aim to make the college a 
place where young people of limited means may 
get their education, they have spared no pains 
to reduce all necessary expenses to a minimum. 
In fact the industrious student, by a wise use of 
his vacation and the assistance of the college, 
is enabled to meet his own expenses. The man- 
agers have learned that the self-sustaining stu- 
dents are its best. 

Walla Walla College is so located that it is 
the most conspicuous building in the Walla 
AN'alla vallev, and in it a tliriving city has 



grown up with the college, known as College 
Place. It has two merchandise stores, which 
do considerable business with the farmers for 
several miles around. The college has become 
to be closely associated with the economic in- 
stitutions of the community in which it is lo- 
cated. 

But \\^alla \\'alla College has a far more 
important influence. The world needs educated 
men and women, who are truly educated. True 
education is the power of doing. Every faculty 
of the being is to be educated and trained 
for usefulness. One writer has truthfully de- 
fined education as the "harmonious develop- 
ment of all our powers, both physical, mental, 
and moral." Such an education will expand 
and define. Witln ait it, the individual is more 
or less crippled. Correct education makes the 
essential difference in mental capacity, char- 
acter and destiny between the simple child of 
nature and the man of giant intellect. 

Board of Managers — G. \\'. Reaser, H. W. 
Decker, T. H. Starbuck, Greenville Holbrook, 
T. L. Ragsdale, S. A. Miller and G. A. Nichols. 
Officers — President, G. ^^^ Reaser; Secretary, 
T. H. Starbuck: Treasurer. G. A. Nichols. 
Faculty — E. L. Stewart. President ; J. A. Hol- 
brook, Ministerial Department ; Bible, I. A. 
Dunlap, M. D., Medical Missionary; Nursing, 
T. H. Starbuck, General Bible Language; 
Higher Mathematics. J. L. Kay. Preceptor, 
Mathematics, Language ; Francis Ireland. Nor- 
mal Department. English Language ; Luther J. 
Hughes. Science Department ; H. E. Hoyt, 
Commercial Department; Mrs. Helen C. Con- 
rad, Preceptress, Bible and History; George 
W. ^liller. Superintendent Music Department; 
Mrs. Emma Nichols, Art and Preparatory De- 
partment; Laura L. Fisk, Assistant Prepara- 
tory Department, Stenography; Mrs, Emma 
E. Cracker, Matron ; George Nichols, business 



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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



185 



manager; Verah McPherson, Accountant; Rose 
Gintlier, Secretary; Church School Depart- 
ment, Mrs. J. L. Kay. Tliere arc two hundred 
students in attendance at tlie i)resent time. 

BUSINESS COLLEGE. 

\\'alla Walla has had also for a number of 
years a flourishing business college. It was 
founded in 1887, by A. M. and J. L. Cation 
and J. R. Stubblefield. After conducting this 
with great success for four years, the projectors 
sold out in 1891 to Merwin Pugh. He con- 
ducted the school for another period of four 
years, and in 1895 J. W. Brewer became the 
owner and manager. In spite of the crippling 
effects of the hard times, the college was in the 
main well patronized through all those years. 

WAITSBURG ACADEMY. 

The founding of the Waitsljurg Academy 
is a simple story, inseparaljly connected with 
the establishing of the L^nited Presbyterian 
cliurch of North America in eastern \\'ashing- 
ton. 

Early in the 'eighties there was an active 
movement among all the religious bodies of 
the eastern states for the evangelization of 
Washington territorv. Rumors of vast re- 
sources, and genial clime had made a deep im- 
pression on the popular mind. It was felt by 
all religious denominations that this \-ast, pros- 
jjective state must be saved for Christ and the 
church — a work too heavy for the colonists 
alone, hence needing the support of friends 
everywhere, in order that necessary church and 
school buildings might be erected and pastors 
and teachers adequately supiilicd. 

In response to the general call for mission- 
ary and educational work in the region, the 



United Presbyterian church in the fall of 1884 
sent out the Rev. Joseph Alter as general mis- 
sionary to eastern Washington. He was suc- 
cessful in organizing church work in different 
locations, one of which was Waitsburg. Here 
he established a congregation, now known as 
the United Presbyterian church, Waitsburg. 
To this congregation the Rev. W. G. M. Hays, 
now Dr. Hays of the United Presbyterian 
church at Pullman, Washington, was sent in 
the early spring of 1886, by appointment of the 
Home Mission Board of the church. During 
the first months of Dr. Hays in this field, the 
con\-iction was forced upon him, that Waits- 
burg needed a high grade Christian school of 
secondary instruction — not a college; but a 
school distinctively Christian in methods, aims, 
and discipline, and of such a grade as would 
afford suitable training for tlie ordinary walks 
in life, or fit students for advanced work in 
colleges. 

Dr. Hays lent himself to this work. From 
a short historical article written by himself we 
copy the following: 

"We counseled with friends ; some shook the 
liead doubtfully, others of a more sanguine 
temperament said that they would like to see 
il tried, for they believed that such a school, 
properly managed, would succeed. We re- 
solved to put the matter to a practical test and 
laid our plans accordingly." 

The plans were well laid, the Board of Edu- 
cation of the church, upon request, made an 
appropriation of six hundred dollars for the 
first year, and sent Professor J. G. Thompson, 
A. B., to take charge of the work. The business 
men of the city guaranteed two hundred dollars 
to be paid in case of need. With this for a 
basis, and without any formal organization of 
either Board of Directors or Trustees, the 
Waitsburg Academy opened its doors to the 



1 86 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



public, September 14, 1886, the first year's ses- 
sion being held in the church building. 

Success attended the effort. The presby- 
tery of Oregon adopted the infant, and later it 
was taken under the care of the synod of the 
Columbia of the United Presbyterian church 
of North America; and at length became a 
corporate body under the laws of the terri- 
tory of \^'ashington. The incorporators were, 
the Revs. Hugh F. Wallace, W. G. Irvine, W. 
A. Spalding, \\\ G. M. Hays, J. H. Niblock, 
and Messrs. A. W. Philips, David Roberts, 
Edward F. Sox, T. J. Hollowell, and John E. 
Evans. 

In May, 1887, a joint stock company was 
organized whose object is expressed in the fol- 
lowing preamble to its constitution : 

"We, citizens of Waitsburg and vicinity, 
do hereby form ourselves into a joint stock 
company for the purpose of erecting an acad- 
emy building, assisting in the maintenance of 
the school for three years, beginning September 
I, 1887; and effecting an organization with the 
United Presbyterian church of North America 
for the permanent establishment of said acad- 
emy." 

This company raised nearly six thousand 
dollars, four thousand dollars of which was 
used in the erection of a frame building, and the 
remainder going for the support of the school, 
during the three following years. 

Dr. Hays undertook to raise an endowment 
fund equivalent to the amount raised by the 
citizens for the erection of a building, and, as 
the result of a visit to the east, he succeeded 
in raising two thousand dollars. In the fall 
of 18S9 the Rev. W. R. Stevenson at the in- 
stance of the presbytery of Oregon was sent 
east and succeeded in raising the endowment 
to four thousand dollars. In the spring of 
1892, iliss Ina F. Robertson, then principal of 



tiie academy, went east and raised the remain- 
ing one thousand dollars, together with six hun- 
dred dollars for the improvement of the build- 
ing. In 1894, Miss Robertson again went east 
and succeeded in raising the funds necessary 
for the erection of a new building. This build- 
ing is of brick, very commodious, and suitable 
for the work of the school. Its erection was 
completed before the end of 1896. 

The work done by the academy is grouped 
under the following heads or courses : Acad- 
emic, normal, business, preparatory and music. 
Each of these courses is complete in itself and 
eminently practical. The time required for 
completing any of these courses varies from 
two to four years, depending upon the course, 
the previous schooling, and natural ability of 
the student. The academic is the highest 
course, and upon completion of this course the 
graduate receives a diploma. 

The first class to graduate from the aca- 
demic department was the class of 1890, con- 
sisting of Misses Mary A. Dixon, Anna Flinn, 
Emma McKinney, and Mr. Robert Jones. 
Since that time there have been graduated from 
this course, including the class of 1901, a total 
of thirty-two. This does not include graduates 
from the other departments. The graduates 
are found in all the principal walks of life — 
business, medicine, law, teaching, the army and 
the ministry — many of them having completed 
a course at some higher or more technical 
school. 

The following is a list of the principals with 
their respective terms of service: J. Given 
Thompson, A. B., 1886-89: T.M. :\IcKinney,A. 
B., 1889-90; W. G. M. Hays, A. M., 1890-91 ; 
Ina F. Robertson, B. S., 1891-94. Rev. J. A. 
Keener has been principal since 1894. 

The academy looks forward \\ith hope into 
the future. It now has an offer of ten thousand 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUxNTY. 



187 



dollars for endowment and five thousand dol- 
lars for a dormitory, provided it raises five thou- 
sand dollars. An effort will be made during 
the year to complete this amount. With the 
increased facilities which will come from the 
possession of this much needed money the 
faculty will make such a school as was con- 
templated by the founders, and ab3ve all such a 
school as will, by its influence, help mightily 
in bringing in the kingdom of the Master. 

This sketch must not close without men- 
tioning the names of the friends in the east 
who have so generously assisted in the work 
here. These are : 'Sir. James Law, of Shushan, 



New York, and his sister, Miss ilary Law. 
Mr. Law has lately gone to his reward, but his 
sister still continues to be the good angel of the 
school, for to her generosity is due the afore 
m.entioned offer of money to the endowment 
fund. Neither must we close without recall- 
ing to the mind of the reader that to the energy, 
enthusiasm and faith of Dr. Hays and Miss 
Ina L. Robertson, generously assisted by the 
citizens of Waitsburg, is due all that the acad- 
emy has accomplished as an institution for the 
bettering of mankind. May it long live to ful- 
fill its mission. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



EARLIER HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA CITY 1 862- 1 883. 



Li the preceding pages of this work we 
have been considering Walla Walla county as 
a whole. We shall now present matter belong- 
ing more exclusively to the city. The civic life 
of the town has, to an unusual degree, con- 
trolled the life of the county. With the excep- 
tion of Waitsburg, no town of much size has 
risen in the county. At the present time the 
population of the county, as shown by the 
United States census of 1900, is 18,630. That 
of the city is 10,049. Many of the farmers 
having interests in various portions of the 
county live in the city. The business of the 
county has, therefore, to a greater degree than 
in most of our agricultural counties, gathered 
at the city. Reference has been made at vari- 
ous points in previous pages to the first estab- 
lishment of settlements in what is now the city. 
We have not, however, given the consecutive 



story of the founding and incorporation of the 
town, and this we will here undertake to out- 
line. 

Fort ^^'alla Walla was established in its 
present location in 1857. The first business of 
the region grew up in connection with supply- 
ing goods and produce to the post. William 
McWhirk was the first trader in the place. He 
came here in the spring of 1857 and set up a 
tent for a store near the present corner of Main 
and Second streets. During the fall of 1S57 
Charles Bellman set up another tent store near 
the present Jack Daniels saloon. There seems 
to be some difference of opinion as to who put 
up the first actual building. It is affirmed by 
some that William McWhirk erected a cabin 
on the north side of what is now Main street 
and Second, in the summer of 1857. In the 
fall of 'S7 Charles Bellman put uf) a structure 



i88 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of poles and mud a little farther to the east, 
near Ludwig's grocery store of the present. In. 
April of the next year, Louis McMorris put up 
a slab and shake structure for Neil McGlinchey, 
on the southwest corner of Main street near the 
present corner of Third. In the fall of 185c 
also various rude structures, some for residence 
and some for saloons, wer^e put up by James 
Galbreath, W. A, Ball. Harry Howard, IMich- 
ael Kinney, William Terry, Mahan & Harcum, 
James Buckley, and Thomas Riley. The 
first building that contained a floor, doors and 
glass windows stood on what is now the north- 
west corner of Main and Third streets. This 
was built by R. Guichard and William Kohl- 
hauff, and the location is still owned by the 
heirs of Mr. Guichard. 

There were two rival sites for the budding 
town. One was the point on the creek started 
by Mc\Miirk. McGlinchey and Bellman, the 
other was at the cabin built by Harry Howard 
half way between Mill creek and the fort and 
known as the Halfway House. Different opin- 
ions arose as to the proper name for the town. 
It was first called Steptoeville, then Waiilatpu. 
The first step toward a definite christening of 
the town was a petition to the county com- 
missioners asking that a town be laid out to be 
known by the name of Waiilatpu. This peti- 
tion was signed l)y the following names'. 
Charles H. Case, W. A. Ball, B. F. Stone, Jo- 
seph Hellmuth, E. B.Whitman, J. Foresythe. F. 
L. Worden, Baldwin & Bro., D. D. Baldwin, 
John M. Silcott, Francis Pierrie, R. H. Regart, 
I. T. Reese. P. J. Boltie, Dr. Tho.s. Wolf, Dr. 
D. S. Baker, N. B. Dutro, X. Eastman. A. G. 
P. Wardle. Neil McGlinchey, James Buckley. 
Frank Stone, Robert Oldham, Chas. Albright, 
William Stephens, R. G. ]Mofifit, D. D. Bran- 
nan, Pat 2^1arkey, R. Warmack, John M. Can- 



nady, William M. Elray, J. Clark. John May, 
James McAuliff, A. D. Pambrun. 

A protest was filed, asking that the name 
of Walla Walla be given to the place and to 
this the following names were attached : Sam- 
uel F. Legart, H. H. Hill, S. T. Moffit, John 
Cain, F. M. Archer, R. Powel, Louis A. Mul- 
lan. William B. Kelly. 

The protest prevailed and the commission- 
ers, on the 17th of November, 1859, fixed the 
name of Walla Walla and laid out the town 
with the following boundaries : Commencing 
in the center of Main street at Mill creek, thence 
running north four hundred and forty yards 
(440). thence running west one half mile to a 
stake, thence running south four hundred and 
forty yards to a stake, thence running east one 
half mile to a stake, thence running nortli to the 
place of commencement : eighty acres in all. 

Tlie town government was organized, by 
the appointment of a recorder, I. T. Reese, and 
three trustees, F. C. Worden, Samuel Baldwin, 
and Neil McGlinchey. The town was surveyed 
by C. H. Case, providing streets eighty feet 
wide running north and south, and one hundred 
feet wide running east and west. The lots were 
laid out with a sixty-foot front and a depth of 
one hundred and twenty feet. They were to 
be sold for five dollars each with the addition 
of one dollar for recording, and no one person 
could Iniy more than two of them. Ten acres 
also were set aside for a town square and the 
erection of public buildings, but this was re- 
duced to one acre. 

The first lots sold w ere those taken by I. T. 
Reese and Edward Evarts, both in block 13, the 
sale being recorded November 30. 1859. On De- 
cember 22, of the same year, one hundred and 
fifty acres of land was sur\-eyed into town prop- 
ertv for Thomas Wolf and L. C. Kinnev, the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



189 



farmer soon selling his interest to the lat- 
ter. 

The original plat of the town is not now in 
existence, having been destroyed, probably by 
the fire of 1S65. The earliest survey on record 
is a plat made in October, 1861, by W. W. 
Johnson, which purports to be a correction of 
the work of C. H. Case. 

On November 5, 1861, the board declared 
the survey made liy W. W. Johnson to be offi- 
cial, and W. A. George was employed as an 
attorney to secure for the county a prcyemption 
title to the land on which Walla Walla was 
built. \\'. \\'. Johnson was appointed to take 
steps to secure the title at the Vancouver land 
office, but he did not do so, and thus the effort 
of the county to secure the site failed. This 
ended what might be called the embryonic stage 
in the municipal life of Walla Walla, and we 
find the next stage to be actual incorporation. 

The city of Walla Walla was originally in- 
corporated by an act of the territorial legisla- 
ture, passed (jn the i ith of January, 1862. By 
the provisions of said act the city embraced 
within its limits the south half of the south- 
west quarter of section 20, township 7 north, 
range 36, east, of the Willamette meridian. The 
charter made provision also for the election, 
on the first Tuesday in April, of each year, of 
a mayor, recorder, five councilmen, marshal, 
assessor, treasurer and surveyor, all vacancies, 
save in the offices of mayor and recorder, to 
be filled by appointment by the council, which 
was also given the power of appointing a clerk 
and city attorney. No salary was to attach to 
the offices of mayor or councilman until the 
population of the city had reached one thou- 
sand individuals, when the stipend awarded 
these officers was to be fixed by an ordinance 
enacted by the council. The charter designated 
the following officers to serve until the first reg- 



ular election under said charter : Alayor, B. P. 
Standeferd; recorder, James Galbreath; coun- 
cilmen, H. C. Coulson, B. F. Stone, E. B. Whit- 
man, D. S. Baker, and M. Schwabacher; mar- 
slial, George H. Porter. The council assembled 
on the 1st of March to perfect its organization, 
when it developed that Mr. Schwabacher was 
ineligible for office, as was also Mr. Coulson, 
who proved to be a non-resident. Mr. Stone 
presiding, the council proceeded to fill the two 
vacancies by balloting, and James McAuliff and 
George E. Cole thus became members of the 
council, S. F. Ledyard being appointed clerk. 
The council again met, pursuant to adjourn- 
ment, on the 4th of the same month, when Mr. 
Cole was chosen chairman ; Edward Nugent, 
city attorney; and Messrs. McAuliff, Whitman 
and Stone were appointed to prepare a code of 
rules for the government of the council. 

Four hundred and twenty-two votes were 
cast at the first election, held April i, 1862, 
the following being the result : Mayor, E. B. 
Whitman ; councilmen, J. F. Abbott, R. Jacobs, 
I T. Reese, B. F. Stone and B. Sheideman; 
recorder, W. P. Horton; marshal, George H. 
Porter; attorney, Edward Nugent; assessor, 
L. W. Greenwell; treasurer, E. E. Kelly; sur- 
veyor, A. L Chapman ; clerk, S. F. Ledyard. 
On the nth of April, W. Phillips was ap- 
pointed councilman in place of J. F. Abbott, 
while in the succeeding year it appears that J. 
Hellmuth had been appointed in place of B. F. 
Stone. The recorder resigned in January, 
1863, his successor, J. W. Barry, being chosen 
at a special election held on the last day of that 
month. H. B. Lane succeeded Mr. Greenwall 
as assessor; on the i rth of April, 1862, Henry 
Howard was appointed treasurer, and W. W. 
DeLacy, surveyor, while in January, 1863, H. 
B. Lane was noted as clerk. The city re\enue 
for the first six months aggregated $4,283.25, 



I go 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of which sum Hquor and gaming licenses con- 
tributed $1,875. ^^'l^en it is remembered that 
this was at the height of the gold excitement, 
this last item may be well understood. 

During the last quarter of the year the 
revenue of the new city was $2,714.19, but so 
large were the expenditures -that the opening 
of the year 1863 found in the treasury a balance 
of less than five dollars. The value of property 
ill the city was assessed in 1862 at three hun- 
dred thousand dollars, the succeeding year wit- 
nessing the increase of the same to five hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

The vote at the election of 1863 was light, 
there being but one ticket in the field. The 
following ofiicers were elected for the next 
fiscal year: Mayor, J. S. Craig; councilmen, 
R. Guichard, A. Kyger, E. E. Kelly, W. J. 
Terry (who was succeeded by A. J. Thibodo, 
appointed in November), and G. Linkton; re- 
corder, E. L. Massy (who resigned, his suc- 
cessor, W. P. Horton, being chosen at a special 
election, held November 21); marshal, A. 
Seitel; assessor, H. B. Lane; treasurer, J. W. 
Cady ; surveyor, W. W. JoTinson. The council 
appointed E. L. Bridges city attorney, and H. 
B. Lane city clerk, the latter being later suc- 
ceeded by A. L. Brown. 

Again in 1864 but one ticket was in evi- 
dence at the municipal election, the result of 
which was as follows : Mayor, Otis L. Bridges ; 
■councilmen, George Thomas, Dr. A. J. Thi- 
bodo, J. F. Abbott, George McCully and P. 
M. Lynch; recorder, W. P. Horton; marshal, 
A. Seitel; assessor, A. L. Brown; treasurer, 
J. W. Cady; surveyor, W. W. Johnson. A. 
L. Brown received the appointment as city 
clerk. At the close of the municipal year the 
city was free from indebtedness. 

The election of April 4, 1865, developed 
somewhat of a contest on the offices of recorder 



and marshal, there being two candidates for 
the former and three for the latter, while there 
was only one for each of the other offices. The 
officials elected were as follows : Mayor, George 
Thomas; councilmen, Fred Stine, S. G. Rees 
(who resigned and was succeeded by John 
Dovell, in February, 1866), William Kohl- 
hauff, W. A. Ball and E. H. IMassam, the last 
two mentioned being later succeeded by O. P. 
Lacy and B. Sheideman ; recorder, S. B. Fargo ; 
marshal, E. Ryan ; assessor, A. L. Brown ; 
treasurer. H. E. Johnson; surveyor, W. W. 
Johnson; clerk (appointed), A. L. Brown. 

The end of the fiscal year showed a balance 
of $93.10 in the city treasury, a small amount 
in comparison with the revenue for the year, 
which had reached the very considerable total 
of $15,135.13, more than half of which had 
been derived from licenses. It is to be recalled, 
however, that the sources from which emanated 
these license fees were of such order as to en- 
courage lawlessness and great resulting expense 
to the city through its police and jail depart- 
ments and the administration of justice. 

The municipal election of April 2, 1866, 
gave the following results, there being at this 
time three candidates- for the mayoralty: 
ilayor, E. B. Whitman; councilmen. Colonel 
P. ^^'insett, J. J. Ryan, J. W. McKee, George 
Baggs and Fred Stine; recorder, W. P. Hor- 
ton; marshal, \\'. J. Tompkins; assessor, O. 
P. Lacy; treasurer, H. E. Johnson; clerk (by 
appointment), I. L. Roberts. The personnel 
o^' this official list had changed radically before 
the close of the fiscal year. Councilman Ryan 
was killed and was succeeded by B. N. Sexton, 
whose death occurred shortly after his appoint- 
ment, whereupon J. D. Cook was chosen to fill 
the vacancy. Councilman McKee resigned and 
was succeeded by William Phillips ; B. F. Stone 
was chosen the successor of Councilman Baggs, 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



191 



in February, 1867; Mr. Stine resigned in the 
latter part of 1866, being succeeded by R- 
Guichard: while in September of that year H. 
M. Chase succeeded to the office of clerk. 

Owing to the fact that the city had been 
steadily increasing its indebtedness for the past 
two years, there came a demand for retrench- 
ment, and the election of 1867, therefore, 
aroused more interest among the voters than 
had any previous one. In 1867 the municipal 
debt had reached nearly five thousand dollars, 
the receipts for the fiscal year 1866-7 having 
been $19,137.90, of which amount somewhat 
more than eight thousand dollars had been ex- 
pended in street improvements and about 
thirty-two hundred in police services. A larger 
vote than usual was polled by reason of the 
issue mentioned, and the following officers were 
elected : Mayor, James McAuliff ; councilmen, 
C. P. Winsett, William Kohlhauff, N. Brown, 
I. T. Reese and J. F. Abbott; recorder, O. P. 
Lacy; marshal, E. Delaney; assessor, M. Leidy; 
treasurer, H. E. Johnson ; surveyor, W. L. Gas- 
ton; city clerk (appointed), H. M. Chase. 
The office of city attorney had been temporarily 
abolished in 1863, but in January, 186S, Frank 
P. Dugan was appointed to this office by the 
council. 

The election of 1868 was held in July, in 
accordance with the provisions made in a re- 
vision of the charter, wdiich also made the re- 
corder ex-officio clerk and provided other 
nfinor changes in the conduct of the municipal 
affairs. The election was held on the 6th of 
July, the result being as follows : Mayor, 
James McAuliff; councilmen, A. Kyger, J. F. 
Abbott, Fred Stine, William Kohlhauff and II. 
Howard ; recorder and clerk, L. Day ; marshal, 
E. Delaney; assessor, C. Leidy; treasurer, H. 
M. Chase; surveyor, Charles Frush. 

The debt of the city still continued to in- 



crease, having nearly doubled at the close of the 
year ending June 30, 1869, the receipts for 
licenses having been reduced fully one-half, 
while taxes returned a revenue of slightly less 
than two thousand dollars. The expenditures 
of the year, though undoubtedly wisely made, 
largely exceeded the receipts. The election of 
July 12, 1869, gave the following results: 
Mayor, Frank Stone; councilmen, James 
Jones, W. S. Mineer, Thomas Tierney, P. M. 
Lynch and Thomas Quinn ; recorder and clerk, 
O. P. Lacy; marshal, Ed. Delaney; attorney 
(appointed), Frank P. Dugan; assessor, J. E. 
Bourn; treasurer, H. E. Johnson; surveyor, 
A. H. Simons. 

The result of the election held on the nth 
of July, 1870, was as follows: Mayor, Dr. 
E. Shell; councilmen, J. F. Abbott, N. T. 
Caton, H. M. Chase, William Kohlhauff and 
G. P. Foor; recorder and clerk, W. P. Hor- 
ton; marshal, E. Delaney; assessor, James 
Rittenhouse; treasurer, H. E. Johnson; sur- 
veyor, A. H. Simons. 

At the city election of July 10, 1871, the 
following officers were elected : Mayor, E. B. 
Whitman ; councilmen, R. Jacobs, P. M. Lynch, 
N. T. Caton, G. P. Foor and F. Orselli; re- 
corder and clerk, W. P. Horton; marshal, E. 
Delaney; assessor, M. W. Davis; treasurer, H. 
E. Johnson ; surveyor, A. L. Knowlton. F. P. 
Dugan was appointed city attorney by the 
council. 

The election of July 8, 1872, was somewhat 
more spirited, there being contests for all of- 
fices save those of mayor, treasurer and sur- 
veyor, to which positions each of the former 
incumbents was re-elected. Other successful 
candidates were as follows : Councilmen, Sig. 
Schwabacher, M. C. Moore, N. T. Caton, J. 
H. Foster and John Stahl ; recorder and clerk, 
O. P. Lacy; marshal, John G. Justice; attorney 



192 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



(appointed), Thomas H. Brents; assessor, M. 
W. Davis ; treasnrer, H. E. Johnson ; surveyor, 
A. L. Knowlton. 

At the opening of the fiscal year in 1872 the 
indebtedness of the city was nearly eleven thou- 
sand dollars, but this disconcerting total was by 
timely and far-sighted economy reduced to con- 
siderably less than one-half within the year 
mentioned. The receipts had been $24,995.70, 
and the assessment valuation of property, near- 
ly equaly divided between real and personal, in 
the spring of 1873 amounted to $988,682.00. 
Though the election of July 14, 1873, was one 
of lively contest, except for the offices of sur- 
veyor and treasurer, it resulted in the re-elec- 
tion of nearly all the ofificers incumbent the pre- 
ceding year, the result being noted as follows : 
Mayor, E. B. Whitman; councilmen, N. T. 
Caton, William Neal, J. H. Foster, J. N. Fall 
and M. C. Moore; recorder and clerk, J. D. 
Laman; marshal, J. G. Justice; attorney (ap- 
pointed), Ed. C. Ross; assessor, M. W. Davis; 
treasurer. H. E. Johnson; surveyor, A. L. 
Knowlton. The treasurer resigned in April, 
1874, F. Kimmerly being appointed to fill the 
vacancv. Under the council thus elected the 
city debt was again materially reduced, being 
only $2,243.07 at the end of the fiscal year. 
By a.change in the charter the city was divided 
into four wards, each of which was given one 
representative in the council, while the offices 
of clerk and recorder were again segregated 
and the council was emiwwered to appoint a 
clerk, who should also, by virtue of his office, 
serve as auditor. 

The city election of July 13, 1874, brought 
about a complete change in the official person- 
nel, with the exception of the marshal, who was 
re-elected without opposition. The result of 
the election was as follows: Mayor, James 
McAuliff: councilmen. first ward. F. P. .Vllen; 



second ward, Z. K. Straight : third ward, Will- 
iam Kohlhauff; fourth ward, Ed. C. Ross; re- 
corder, O. P. Lacy; marshal, J. G. Justice; at- 
torney (appointed), W. A. George; assessor, 
James B. Thompson; treasurer, C. T. Thomp- 
son; surveyor, P. Zahner; clerk and auditor, 
C. E. Whitney. 

The election of July 12, 1875, resulted as 
follows: Mayor, James McAuliff; councilmen, 
first ward, O. P. Lacy; second ward, D. C. 
Belshee; third ward, William Kohlhauff; 
fourth ward, Ed. C. Ross (resigned in spring 
of following year, A. H. Reynolds being ap- 
pointed his successor) ; recorder, J. D. Laman; 
marshal, J. G. Justice; attorney (appointed), 
W. A. George; assessor, S. Jacobs; treasurer, 
F. Kimmerly; surveyor, P. Zahner; clerk (ap- 
pointed), C. E. Whitney. 

The result of the election of July 10, 1876, 
was as follows, the changes being few in num- 
ber: Mayor, James McAulifif; councilmen, 
first ward, O. P. Lacy; second ward, G. P. 
Foor; third ward, William Kohlhaufif; fourth 
ward, .\. H. Reynolds; marshal, J. G. Justice; 
attorney (appointed), W. A. George; assessor, 
S. Jacobs; treasurer, H. E. Holmes; surveyor, 
P. Zahner: clerk, C. E. Whitney (appointed). 
The office of recorder had been abolished and 
the duties of the office relegated to a justice of 
the peace. 

Result of tlie election of 1877: Mayor, 'SI. 
C. ]\Ioore ; councilmen, first ward, \\'. P. 
Winans ; second ward, \\'. P. .Adams ; third 
ward, J. A. Taylor ; fourth ward, A. H. Rey- 
nolds; marshal, J. G. Justice; attorney (ap- 
pointed), ^\^ .\. George; assessor, Samuel 
Jacobs ; treasurer, H. E. Holmes ; surveyor, P. 
Zahner; clerk (appointed), C. E. Whitney. 

The city council calle<l a special election 
for June 7. 1878, to decide upon tiie question 
of rejecting the old city charter and reorganiz- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



195 



ing under the provisions of an act entitled "An 
act to provide for the incorporation of cities," 
which had been passed by the territorial legis- 
lature the preceding year. By the provisions of 
the new law the council would be composed of 
seven members beside the mayor, while in- 
creased governmental powers would be given 
to the body, including permission to extend the 
city credit to the amount of fifteen thousand 
dollars, and no more, and to appoint all minor 
officers except marshal. One hundred and six- 
ty-three votes were cast in favor of the measure 
arid one hundred and twenty-one against. The 
regular city election of July 8. 1878, ga\-e the 
following results, under the new law : Mayor, 
James McAuliff; councilmen, first ward. Fred 
Stine and W. P. Winans ; second ward, F. W. 
Paine and Z. K. Straight; third ward, John 
Taylor and William Kohlhaufi" ; fourth ward, 
M. F. Colt ; marshal, J. G. Justice. Officers 
appointed by the council were : Justice of the 
peace, J. D. Laman; attorney, J. D. Mix; as- 
sessor, Samuel Jacobs ; treasurer, H. E. 
Holmes; surveyor, P. Zahner; clerk, C. E. 
Whitney; street commissioner, J. E. Berry- 
man; health officer. Dr. J. M. Boyd. 

For the sake of convenience and the con- 
servation of space, the appointed officers will 
in the following lists be incorporated directly 
with the elective, without special reference 
thereto. 

Prior to the annual city election of 1879 
the city had lieen divided into three wards, in- 
stead of four, each of the first two wards being 
given two councilmen and three to the third, 
while four of the incumbents were elected to 
serve one year and three for two years. .Xnotlicr 
change in this regard was made by ordinance 
in 18S4, and the same is reproduced in a suc- 
ceeding chapter, which has to do with the char- 
ter under which the city is operating at the 

13 



time of this writing. The explanation is made 
so that the results of the elections may be un- 
derstood as recorded. 

City officers elected or appointed at the an- 
nual election held July 14, 1879: Mayor, 
James McAulifif; councilmen, first ward, A. S. 
Legrow and H. M. Chase ; second ward, J. M. 
Welsh and A. Jacobs ; third ward, William 
Kohlhaufif, William Harkness (succeeded by 
William Kirkman July 6, 1880) and George 
T. Thomas ; marshal, John McNeil ; justice of 
the peace, E. B. Whitman ; attorney, J. D. Mix; 
assessor, Samuel Jacobs ; treasurer, H. E. 
Holmes; surveyor, H. D. Chapman; clerk, C. 
E. Whitney ; street commissioner, J. B. Brooks ; 
health officer, J. E. Bingham. 

The election of July 12, 1880, called out 
the largest vote that had ever thus far been 
cast in the city, the contest being principally 
on the office of marshal. The result was as 
follows : Mayor, James McAuliff ; councilmen, 
first ward, L. Ankeny ; second ward, R. Jacobs ; 
third ward, William Kohlhauff and John 
Dovell ; marshal, J. G. Justice; justice of the 
peace, O. P. Lacy; attorney. J. T. Anders (re- 
signed in October, 1880, W. G. Langford suc- 
ceeding him) ; assessor, Samuel Jacobs; treas- 
urer, H. E. Holmes ; surveyor, H. D. Chap- 
man; clerk, J. L. Sharpstein (resigned Feb- 
ruary I, 1 88 1, Le F. A. Shaw being appointed 
to the vacancy) ; street commissioner, J. B. 
Brooks; health officer, J. E. Bingham. 

At the electiim held July 11, 1881, the 
question of creating a municipal system of 
water-works was submitted to the people, the 
result being an adverse majority of sixty-five. 
The officers chosen were as follows : Mayor, 
James McAuliff; councilman, first ward, Will- 
iam Glassford; second ward, Ed. Baumeister; 
tl.ird ward, .'\. H. Reynolds; marshal, J. G. 
Justice; justice of the peace, O. P. Lacy; at- 



194 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



torney, A\'. G. Langford ; assessor, Samuel 
Jacobs ; treasurer, H. E. Holmes ; surveyor, H. 
D. Chapman; clerk, Le F. A. Shaw; street 
commissioner, J. B. Brooks; health officer, A. 
X. Marion. 

At the election of July lo. 1882, there was 
another vigorous contest for the office of mar- 
fchal, and a large vote was polled, the of- 
ficers severally elected or appointed being as 



follows : ^layor, James McAuliff ; councilmen, 
first ward, W. P. \\'inans; second ward, 
Thomas J. Fletcher; third ward, X. T. Caton 
and John Dovell ; marshal, John G. Justice ; 
justice of the peace, O. P. Lacy; attorney. W. 
G. Langford; assessor, Samuel Jacobs; treas- 
urer, Richard Jacobs ; surveyor, John B. Wil- 
son ; clerk, Le F. A. Shaw ; street commissioner, 
J. B. Brooks; health officer. Dr. T. \\\ Sloan. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



LATER HISTORY OF CITY GOVERNMENT OF WALL.\ WALL.\, 18S3-I9OO. 



The city of Walla Walla was reincorporated 
b_\ an act of the legislative assembly of the ter- 
ritory of Washington during the session of 
1883, the same receiving the approval of the 
governor on the 28th of November, that year, 
and bearing title as follows : "An act to in- 
corporate the city of Walla Walla, and to par- 
ticularly define the powers thereof." 

This charter is of special interest for the 
reasons that it is the only one of the kind in 
the state, and that Walla Walla having by the 
last census become a city of the second class is 
now considering the question of reincorpora- 
tion under a new charter, using in that case 
the general form designated by the legislature 
for all cities of that class. 

CITY WARDS AND APPORTIONMENT OF COUN- 
CILMEN. 

■ Ordinance No. 185 passed the council of 
the city of Walla \\^alla February 22, 1884, 
receiving the approval of the mayor on the 
same day, and being entitled as follows : "An 
ordinance to divide the citv of Walla Walla 



into wards, and apportionment of councilmen." 
The text of the ordinance is as follows : 

Section i. The city of Walla Walla shall 
be and is hereby divided into four wards, to be 
known as the first, second, third, and fourth 
wards. 

Sec. 2. The first ward shall be bounded 
a." follows : Commencing at a point where the 
center of Main street intersects the center of 
Third street, thence southerly along the center 
of Third street to the center of Birch street ; 
thence easterly along the center of Birch street 
to the center of Second street ; thence southerly 
along the center of Second street to the south 
boundary of the city; thence along the south 
boundary of the city easterly to the southeast 
corner of the city; thence northerly along the 
east boundary of the city to the center of ^^lill 
creek; thence down Will creek to the center of 
East Main street; thence along the center of 
East Main and Main streets in a westerly di- 
rection to the place of beginning. 

Sec. 3. The second ward shall be bounded 
as follows : Beginning at the intersection of 
Main and Third streets; thence southwesterly 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



195 



along the center of Main street to the west 
boundary line of the city : thence south along the 
■west boundary line of the city to the south- 
west corner of the city; thence easterly along 
the south boundary of the city to the center of 
■Second street ; thence northerly along- the center 
of Second street to the center of Birch street; 
thence west along the center of Birch street 
to the center of Third street ; thence northerly 
along Third street to the place of beginning. 

Sec. 4. The third ward shall be bounded 
as follows: Beginning at the center of Main 
and North Third streets where they intersect, 
thence running northerly on the center line of 
North Third street to the center of Elm street ; 
thence northeasterly on the center line of Elm 
street to the center of North Second street; 
thence northerly on the center line of North 
Second street to the northern boundary line 
of the city; thence east along said northern 
boundary line of said city to the northeast cor- 
ner of the northwest quarter of the northeast 
quarter of section twenty (20), in township 
seven (7) north, range thirty-six (36) east; 
thence south to the northeast corner of the 
southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of 
said section twenty (20) ; t'lience east to the 
northeast corner of the city ; thence south to 
the center of Mill creek ; thence down the cen- 
ter of Mill creek to the center of East Main 
street ; thence westerly along the center of East 
Main and I\Iain streets to the place of begin- 
ning. 

Sec. 5. The fom-th ward shall be bounded 
as follows : Commencing at the center of Main 
and North Third streets where they intersect, 
thence running northerly on the center line of 
said North Third street to the center of Elm 
street : thence northeasterly on the center line 
of Elm street to the center of North Second 
street; thence northerly on the center line of 



North Second street to the northern boundary 
Hue of the city; thence west on said northern 
boundary line to the northwest corner of said 
city; thence south along said west boundary 
line to the United States military reservation; 
thence easterly and then southerly on the line 
of said military reservation to the center of 
Main street ; thence easterly on the center line 
of Main street to the place of beginning. 

Sec. 6. The number of councilmen to 
which each ward is entitled shall be as follows: 
First ward, two councilmen; second ward, two 
councilmen; third ward, two councilmen; 
fourth ward, one councilman. And they shall 
be elected as is provided in section 7 of this 
ordinance. 

Sec. 7. There shall be elected from the 
first, second and third wards each at the next 
general election and at every general election 
thereafter, one councilman, and in the fourth 
ward at the next general election and thereafter 
biennially, one councilman. 

Sec. 8. All ordinances and parts of 
ordinances, so far as they conflict herewith, 
are hereby repealed. 

election precincts. 

The city is divided into eight election pre- 
cincts, designated as follows : Lewis, Clarke, 
Whitman, Steptoe, Mullan, Fremont, Stevens 
and Sims. 

city elections — 1883-1900. 

The results of the annual city elections from 
1883 to 1900, both dates inclusive, are noted 
in the following paragraphs, said elections, ex- 
cept the first, being held under the provisions 
of the charter of the year first mentioned : 

1883. — Mayor, T. R. Tannatt; councilmen, 
first ward, William Glasford; second ward, H. 



196 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Wintler: lliird ward. A. S. Bowles: marshal, 
T. J. Robinson; attorney, W. G. Langforrl; 
treasurer. F. W. Paine; Iiealth oflicer. Dr. A. 
M. r^Iarion ; surveyor, J. B. Wilson ; street com- 
n-.issioner, J. B. Brooks; assessor, William 
Ilarkness; clerk, Le F. A. Shaw. 

1884. — Mayor, T. R. Tannatt; councilmen. 
first ward, A. M. Porter; second ward, Will- 
iam O'Donnell; tliird ward, Thomas Ouinn ; 
fourth ward, W. 11. Kent; marshal, T. J. Rob- 
inson; clerk, Le I". A. Shaw; attorney, W. G. 
Langford ; treasurer, O. P. Lacy ; justice of 
the peace, E. B. \\'hitman ; health officer, W. G. 
Alban ; surveyor, J. B. Wilson ; street commis- 
sioner, J. B. Brooks; sexton, J. S. McNeil. 

1885. — Mayor, J. ]\L Boyd; councilmen. 
first ward, J. W. Esteb ; second ward. J. Picard ; 
third ward, L. H. Bowman ; marshal. T. J. 
Robinson ; clerk. Le F. A. Shaw ; justice of 
the peace, J. D. Laman ; attorney. W. G. Lang- 
ford ; treasurer, Joel Chitwood ; surveyor, J. 
B. Wilson; street commissioner. J- B. Brooks; 
assessor. J. B. Wilson ; health officer. W. G. 
Alban; sexton, J. A. McNeil. 

1S86. — Maj'or, J. M. Boytl; councilmen. 
first wartl. William Stine; second ward, John 
Manion ; third ward, J- M- Hill ; fourth ward, 
H. G. Tobin; marshal. T. J. Robinson; clerk, 
Henry Kelling; treasurer. R. G. Parks; at- 
torney. J. L. Sharpstcin ; surveyor. L. A. Wil- 
son; justice of the peace, J. D. Laman; street 
commissioner, Charles Berg; assessor, Will- 
iam Harkness ; health officer, H. R. Keylor ; 
sexton, J. A. McNeil. 

1887. — Mayor, James Mc.\ulifF; council- 
men, first ward. D. W. Small; second ward. 
John Picard; thinl ward. George Dacres; mar- 
shal, T. J. Robinson; clerk. Henry Kelling; 
attorney. J. L. Sharpstein ; treasurer, R. G. 
Parks: justice of the peace, A. J. Gregory; 
assessor, M. H. Paxton : surveyor. J. B. W'W- 



son; street commissioner. Charles Berg; health 
officer. H. R. Keylor; sexton, Henry Sander- 
son. 

1888. — Mayor. G. T. Thompson; council- 
men, fust ward. W. H. L'pton ; second ward, 
John Manion: third waril. J. M. Hill; fourth 
ward, R. I\L ]\IcCalley; marshal. T. J. Robin- 
son; clerk. Henry Kelling; attorney, J. L. 
Sharpstein; treasurer, R. G. Parks: justice of 
the peace, A. J. Gregory; assessor, M. 11. Pax- 
ton; surveyor. A. J. Anderson ; health officer, 
Dr. Y. C. Blalock; sexton, Hem-y Sanderson. 
1889. — Mayor, Dr. N. G. Blalock; council- 
men, first ward, D. W. Small and J. H. Stock- 
well (unexpired term) ; second ward. Z. K. 
Straight: thirtl ward. J. L. Roberts and J. F. 
Brewer (unexpired term) ; marshal, T. J. Rob- 
inson: treasurer. R. G. Parks: clerk, Henry 
Kelling; attorney, J. L. Sharpstein; justice of 
the peace, John A. Taylor ; assessor, ]M. H. 
Paxton ; surveyor, \\'. G. Sayles ; health officer, 
Y. C. Blalock; sexton, Henry Sanderson. 

1890. — ALayor, N. G. Blalock; councilmen, 
first ward, J. H. Stockwell ; second ward. John 
Picard; third ward, H. A. Reynolds; fourth 
ward. R. :\r. McCalley; marshal. T. J. Robin- 
son; clerk, Henry Kelling; attorney, J. L. 
Sharpstein ; treasurer, R. G. Parks ; justice of 
the peace, V. D. Lambert; assessor, I\L H. 
Paxton ; surveyor. L. A. Wilson ; health officer. 
Dr. Y. C. Blalock ; street commissioner, D. A. 
McLeod; sexton. Pardon Bentley. 

1891. — ]Mayor, John L. Roberts; council- 
men, first ward, H. S. Young; second ward, 
Jacob Betz : third ward. .\. J. Evans ; marshal, 
T. J. Robinson ; treasurer, R, G. Parks ; clerk. 
Henry Kelling; attorney. W. T. Dovell; justice 
of the peace. John A. Taylor; assessor, M. H. 
Paxton ; surveyor. L. \\'. Loehr ; health officer, 
Dr. Y. C. Blalock ; street commissioner. D. A. 
INIcLeod: sexton. P. D. Bentley. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



197 



1S92. — Mayor, John L. Roberts; council- 
inen, first ward, B. D. Crocker; second ward, 
J. G. Munting-a; third ward, E. H. Massman; 
fourth ward, J. L. Jones; marshal, T. J. Rob- 
ir.son ; clerk, Henry Kelling ; attorney, W. T. 
Dovell; treasurer, R. G. Parks; justice of the 
peace, T. T. Burgess; assessor, M. H. Paxton; 
surveyor, L. W. Loehr; health officer, W. G. 
Alban; street commissioner, W. H. Brown; 
sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1893. — Alayor, John L. Roberts; council- 
men, first ward, Daniel Stewart; second ward, 
Jacob Betz; third ward, N. F. Butler; marshal, 
T. J. Robinson; clerk, Henry Kelling; attorney, 
W. T. Dovell; treasurer, R. G. Parks; justice 
of the peace, W. T. Arberry; assessor, J. B. 
Wilson; surveyor, E. S. Clark; health officer, 
W. M. Ely; street commissioner, W. H. 
Brown; sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1894. — Mayor, John L. Roberts; council- 
men, first ward, Milton Evans; second ward, 
M. ]\fartin; third ward, E. H. Massam; fourth 
ward, Stephen Ringhofer; marshal, W. S. 
Halley ; clerk, Henry Kelling ; attorney, W. T. 
Dovell; treasurer, R. G. Parks; justice of the 
peace, W. T. Arberry; assessor, T. H. Jessup; 
surveyor, E. S. Clark; health ofificer, W. G. 
Alban ; street commissioner, W. H. Brown ; 
sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1895. — Mayor, John L. Roberts; council- 
men, first ward, A. K. Dice ; second ward, Jacob 
Betz; third ward, J. D. Lamb; marshal, M. 
Ames; clerk, Alex. McKay; attorney, W. T. 
Dovell ; treasurer, R. G. Parks ; justice of the 
peace, H. W. Eagan; surveyor, E. S. Clark; 
street commissioner, D. A. McLeod;health of- 
ficer, W. G. Alban; sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1896. — Mayor, Jacob Betz; councilmen, 
first ward, Milton Evans; second ward, J. P. 
Kent; third ward, E. H. Massam; fourth ward, 
V. D. Lambert; marshal, M. Ames; clerk, J. 



E. Williams; attorney, C. M. Rader; treasurer, 
John W. McGhee, Jr.; surveyor, E. S. Clark; 
street commissioner, W. H. Brown; health of- 
ficer, W. G. Alban ; sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1897. — Mayor, Jacob Betz; councilmen, 
first ward, A. K. Dice; second ward, F. M. 
Pauley ; third ward, Oliver Cornwell ; marshal, 
J. J. Kauffman; clerk, C. N. McLean; attorney, 
.H. S. Blandford; treasurer, J. W. McGhee, Jr.; 
justice of the peace, J. J. Huffman; surveyor, 
E. S. Clark ; street commissioner, W. H. 
Brown ; health officer, W. G. i\.lban ; sexton, 
P. D. Bentley. 

1898. — Mayor, Jacob Betz; councilmen, 
first ward, E. H. Nixon ; second ward, Marshall 
Martin ; third ward, J. F. Brewer ; fourth ward, 
Albert Niebergall ; marshal, J. J. Kauffman ; 
clerk, C. N. McLean; attorney, H. S. Bland- 
ford; treasurer, John W. McGhee, Jr.; justice 
of the peace, J. J. Huffman ; assessor, Fred A. 
Colt; surveyor, E. S. Clark; street commis- 
sioner, D. A. McLeod ; sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1899. — Mayor, Jacob Betz; councilmen, 
first ward, G. W. Babcock; second ward, Fred 
i\L Pauly; third ward, E. S. Isaacs; marshal, 
J. J. KaufYman ; clerk, P. P. Reynolds ; at- 
torney, H. S. Blandford; treasurer, Le F. A. 
Shaw; justice of the peace, William Glasford ; 
assessor, W. L. Cadman ; street commissioner, 
W. H. Brown; surveyor, E. S. Clark; health 
officer, W. G. Alban ; sexton, P. D. Bentley. 

1900. — Mayor, Jacob Betz; councilmen, 
first ward, J. F. McLean; second ward, Mar- 
shall IMartin ; third ward, J. F. Brewer; fourth 
ward, Albert Niebergall ; marshal, J. J. Kauff- 
man ; clerk, R. P. Reynolds ; treasurer, Le F. 
A. Shaw; attorney, H. S. Blandford; justice 
of the peace. William Glasford; assessor, W. 
L. Cadman ; surveyor, E. S. Clark ; street com- 
missioner, H. H. Crampton; health officer, W. 
]'.. Russell; sexton, P. D. Bentlcv. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE CHURCHES OF WALLA WALLA. 



Walla Walla is sometimes called a city of * 
homes. It may also fittingly be called a city of 
churches. There are nine strong churches in 
this place of something over ten thousand in- 
habitants, besides six other religious societies 
of less strength. Of the first may be named 
the Methodist Episcopal church, Methodist 
church, south. First Presbyterian, Cumberland 
Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist, Cath- 
olic, Episcopal, Christian. Of the smaller or- 
ganizations, there are the Lutheran, German 
Congregational, German Methodist, Seventh 
Day Adventists, Christian Science, and Salva- 
tion Army. 

As to the first church building in Walla 
Walla, we find some reminiscences from one 
of the oldest of the old-timers, from which it 
appears that the first church was a Catholic 
church built in '59. The location of this was 
the old ^IcGillivary place, where Jacob Betz 
now lives. The church was built of poles, 
stuck in the ground, and covered with sliakes. 
It was without a floor, and its seating facilities 
consisted of one long bench. 

The next church was built on the corner 
of Fifth and Alder, just back from the present 
location of the Odd Fellows' building. This 
was a Methodist church and was built by 
Father Berry. It subsequentl)^ was moved to 
where Bryan's stable now is, and was used as 
a house for the hose-cart of the fire department. 
Afterwards, having been enlarged by a second 



story, it became the celebrated "Blue Front,"" 
which was burned a few years ago. 

First among the permanent churches we 
will name the 

CHURCH OF ST. P.\TRICK C.\TH0LIC. 

A second Catholic church was built in '61. 
Its location was near the present St. Vincent's 
Academy. This was erected under the general 
supervision of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Blanchet 
and Rev. A. Younger was the first resident 
parish priest. A sketch of the Catholic church 
niay fittingly be continued at this point by ref- 
erence to the fact that Father Younger was 
succeeded by Rev. J. B. Brouillet. Father 
Erouillet had been in the \\'alla Walla country 
a considerable part of the time from 1847. I" 
1864 he established St. Vincent's Academy, 
which at first was an institution for both sexes, 
but the boys were within a few years provided 
with a new academy of their own, known as 
St. Patrick's Academy. In the year 1870 St. 
Mary's hospital was added to the already large 
interests of the Catholic church. Father 
Erouillet conducted with great energy and suc- 
cess these allied and growing interests of his 
parish, and after having been relieved at in- 
tervals by Revs. Halde and Manz. he resigned 
his position in the year 1875 to take charge 
of the Indian bureau at Washington. Rev. 
Thomas Duffy became his successor. The 
congregation had in the meantime expand- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



199 



eel beyond the limits of the existing church, 
and a larger one had become a necessity. 
Therefore in the summer of 188 r the pres- 
ent magnificent structure was erected. Two 
years later there was a commodious addi- 
tion made to St. Vincent's Academy, and 
large and needed improvements were made 
in the hospital. Owing to a failure of health 
Father Duffy resigned and went to Cali- 
fornia, where he died. He was succeeded by 
the present parish priest, Rev. Father Flohr. 
The Catholic church is especially distingtiished 
for its fine organ and super]) musical services. 
Its programs fur Christmas and Easter are 
events which always attract great throngs, both 
of music lo\-ers and devout worshipers. 

We append herewith brief sketches of the 
history and organization of each of the other 
principal churches in the city. 

THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF 
WALL.\ WALLA. 

As to the early history of Methodism in 
Walla Walla county, we can not do better than 
to reproduce in full a brochure issued in the 
year 1900 and entitled "Historical Report of 
the First Methodist Episcopal Church at 
Walla Walla, Washington : Its Organization 
and Work as Reported and Adopted by the 
Second Quarterly Conference held at \Valla 
Walla February 7, 1900; by J. M. Hill and E. 
Smith, Committee." 

On page seventy-four of Rev. H. K. Mine's Mission- 
ary History of the Pacific Northwest, we find that the 
first sermon preached west of the Rocky mountains was 
delivered by Rev. Jason Lee at Fort Hall, on Sundav, 
July 27, 18;M. And in a book entitled Wild Life in Ore- 
gon, on pages 176-7, we will find that the first Methodist 
sermon preached at or near Walla Walla was by the 
Rev. Gustavus Mines, on May 2L 184.3, at Dr. Whitman's 
mission, six miles west of this city. Rev. Gustavus 
Hines also preached at Rev. H. H. Spalding's Lapwai 
mission, on Sunday, May 14, 184;!. 



We find that the first Methodist Episcopal church 
organization that was perfected in Walla Walla, or in 
that part of the country known as eastern Oregon or east- 
ern Washington, was in 18.59, and at that time the Walla 
Walla valley was just commencing to be settled up with 
stock raisers and traders. The town of Walla Walla was 
the principal or most important point, the United States 
, military post being located here, and this place having 
become the wintering place for miners, packers and 
freighters from the mines north and east of this country. 

The Oregon conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, having jurisdiction over the church work in this 
section, took up the matter of supplying it with the gos- 
pel, and at the annual conference held at Albany in 
August, 1859, appointed Rev. J. H. Wilber as presiding 
elder of this field, calling it the Walla Walla circuit 
w^hich took in most of that part of the country east of 
The Dalles, Oregon, comprising the Grande Ronde, Walla 
Walla, Snake river and Columbia river valleys as far 
north as the British line and east to the Rocky mountains, 
and appointed Rev. G. M. Berry as pastor for Walla 
Walla circuit. 

Brother Wilber and Brother Berry at once started 
for their field of labor. They came to Walla Walla and 
commenced the work by holding meetings at different 
places, at the homes of some of the people and at times 
in the old log court house at the corner of Main and Fifth 
streets. Soon after taking up the work Brother Wilber 
and Brother Berry decided to organize a class at Walla 
Walla, and on Monday, October 11, 1859, met and organ- 
ized the first class in the district; also held their first 
quarterly conference. The quarterly conference was 
called to order by the presiding elder. Rev. J. H. Wilber, 
and opened with singing and prayer. The pastor, Rev- 
G. M. Berry, was appointed secretary of the meeting. 
The following named brothers were elected as the first 
board of stewards: S. M. Titus, William B. Kelly, John 
Moar, A. B. Roberts and T. P. Denney. A. B. Roberts 
was elected as the recording steward. 

In January. 1860, the class decided to build a church 
in the town of Walla Walla, and appointed a building 
committee to undertake the work, consisting of the pas- 
tor, Rev. G. M. Berry, Brother Thomas Martin and 
Brother John Moar. At a meeting held in April, 1860, 
the committee reported that they had selected for a 
church site lots 6 and 7, block 10, at the corner of Alder 
and Fifth streets, and that Rev. G. M. Berry had made 
application to the board of county commissioners asking 
them to donate the lots to the church. At a meeting 
held on May 21, 1860, the first board of trustees of the 
church at Walla Walla was appointed, being Brothers 
T. P. Denney, S. M. Titus, John Moar, Thomas Martin 
and William B. Kelly; and on May 22, 1860, lots 6 and 7 
of block 10 of the original town of Walla Walla were trans 
ferred to the above named trustees for the church by the 
board of county co nmissioners of Walla Walla county. 

The building committee— the pastor. Rev. G. M 
Berry, as its chairman— with the few members, at once 



200 



HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



took up the work of building the church, which was com- 
pleted in the fall of 1860. It was the first church of any 
■denomination built in Walla Walla, and was built at a 
cost of $1,046.52, with unpaid bills to the amount of S131.02. 
These items are taken from the report of the auditor of 
the accounts of the building committee as reported at the 
third quarterly conference, held at Walla Walla on June 
24, 1861, by Andrew Keys, auditor. The pastor, Rev. G- 
]\I. Berry, had practically been Sunday-school superin- 
tendent, as well as pastor, ever since the organization of 
the class until the church was completed. We fail to 
find any record of the dedication of this church. 

The Oregon annual conference of 1861 created the 
Walla Walla district and appointed Rev. John Flinn as 
presiding elder and pastor at Walla Walla. At the 
Oregon annual conference held in 1867, the Walla Walla 
district was divided into one station and four circuits, 
viz: Walla Walla station; Walla Walla, Waitsburg, 
•Grande Ronde and Umatilla circuits. 

In 1868 the class having become strong, and desiring 
a new location for their church building, the board of 
trustees procured lots on the corner of Poplar and Second 
streets. Bought on May 30, 1868, from W. J. and Abell 
Arner for S250.00, and deeded to the following named 
trustees: H. Parker, T. P. Denney, J. L. Reser, Joseph 
Paul and John W. McGhee. The old church was moved 
to the new location, repaired and enlarged, and a parson- 
age was fitted up just east of the church, facing on Poplar 
street. 

At the Oregon annual conference held at Eugene, 
August 5 to 9, 1869, all the membership and appoint- 
ments formally denominated Walla Walla station, Walla 
W'alla circuit and Dry Creek were formed as one charge 
and called Walla Walla circuit, to which Rev. John T. 
Wolf was appointed as pastor and Rev. Charles H. 
Hoxie as assistant pastor. 

Rev. James B. Callaway was presiding elder of the 
district, and on September 18, 1869, called together at 
Walla Walla all of the official members of the new cir- 
cuit and organized the first quarterly conference, electing 
the following board of trustees: Charles Moore, T. P. 
Denney, D. M. Jessee, M. Emerick, Benjamin Hayward, 
A. H. Simmons, M. McEverly, William Holbrook and 
Oliver Gallaher. At the Oregon annual conference held 
at Vancouver, on August 25, 1870, Walla Walla city was 
again made a station, separating it from the Walla Walla 
circuit, and Rev. H. C. Jenkins was appointed as pastor. 

Early in the spring of 1878, under the leadership of 
the pastor, Rev. D. G. Strong, the class undertook the 
erection of a new church building. The old church was 
sold to Mr. J. F. Abbott, for two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars and moved off of the lots, and through the efforts of 
the pastor and his board of trustees, consisting of B. F. 
Burch, J. E. Berryman, H. Middough, John Berry and 
O. P. Lacy, together with the faithful members and 
friends, the new church was completed at a cost of about 
ten thousand dollars, receiving from the church extension 
society of the church a donation of one thousand dollars 



and a loan of five hundred dollars. The loan in due time 
was paid back. After the completion of the new church 
Rev. W. G. Simpson w^as the first pastor and Brother E. 
Smith was the first Sunday-school superintendent. For 
some reason not on record, the church was not dedicated 
until August, 1879. The collection and services at the 
dedication were in charge of Bishop Haven, he being the 
bishop for the annual conference held at Walla Walla 
August 7 to 12, 1879. 

It having been discovered in 188.3 that the board of 
trustees had never been incorporated under the laws of 
the territory of Washington, the quarterly conference di- 
rected that articles of incorporation should be prepared. 

B. L. and J. L. Sharpstein, attorneys, were employed to 
prepare incorporation papers, and on February 9, 1883, 
they were signed and acknowledged by the following 
board of trustees: Donald Ross, C. P. Headley, S. F. 
Henderson, J. M. Hill, H. C. Sniff, H. C. Chew, E. Smith 
and G. H. Randall, and filed with the territorial auditor 
and the auditor of Walla Walla county. At the first 
meeting of this board of trustees they elected the follow- 
ing officers: J. M. Hill, president; Donald Ross, secre- 
tary; C. P. Headley, treasurer. 

During the summer of 1887, the class, under the 
leadership of the pastor, Rev. Henry Brown, with the 
ladies of the church and the trustees, consisting of J. H. 
Parker, C. P. Headley, S. F. Henderson, J. M. Hill, H. 

C. Sniff, H. C.Chew, G. H. Randall and E. Smith, under- 
took the building of a new parsonage, and with the 
bequest of five hundred dollars from the estate of our 
departed brother, E. Sherman, designated by him to 
be used for a new parsonage and 6596.47 raised princi- 
pally by the efforts of the ladies' parsonage com- 
mittee, a two-story, seven-room parsonage was erected 
on the grounds of the old parsonage, facing Poplar 
street, and this was turned over to the board of trustees 
free of debt and fairly well furnished. 

During 1887, through the efforts of Rev. J. H. Wil- 
ber, a small church was built in the eastern part of the 
city and called Wilber Chapel. Brother W.J. White dona- 
ted a lot for that purpose, three hundred dollars being 
received from the church extension society, part of the 
balance being subscriptions from friends ; but the 
greater part being given by Rev. J. H. Wilber him, 
self. The church cost one thousand five hundred dollars, 
and was deeded to the trustees of the First Methodist 
Episcopal church of Walla Walla: viz: J. H. Parker, J. 
M. Hill, C. P. Headley, S. F. Henderson, H. C. Sniff, H. 
C. Chew, G. H. Randall and E. Smith. The church was 
sold to the German Lutheran society for the sum of one 
thousand six hundred dollars, on September 5, 1892 
returning to the board of the church extension about 
four hundred dollars due them in principal and inter- 
est. The dedication of Wilber chapel was by Rev. N. 
E. Parsons, presiding eider, assisted by Rev. J. H. Wilber 
and Rev. Henry Brown. During 1894, the church under 
the leadership of Rev. V. C. Evers, the pastor, with the 
trustees, enlarged the present church by extending it to 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



20I 



the north Hne of the property, increasing the seating 
capacity of the church with lecture room to five hundred 
and twenty-five persons. 

Our church property at this time is free from debt 
and consists of: 

One church building and lot, value, 5111,500.00; one 
parsonage and fraction of lot, value, $2,000.00 ; total, 
$i;j,.500.00. 

The following are the names of the pastors at Walla 
Walla and time of service: 1859 to 1861, Rev. George 
M. Berry; 1861 to 1863, Rev. John Fhnn; 1863 to 186.J, 
Rev. William Franklin; 1865 to 1866, Rev. James Dear- 
doff; 1866 to 1867, Rev. John L. Reser; 1867 to 1869, Rev. 
John T. Wolfe; 1869 to 1870, Rev. C. H. Hoxie; 1870 to 
1872, Rev. H.C. Jenkins; 1872 to 1873, Rev.J. W. Miller; 
1873 to 1874, Rev. S. G. Havermale; 1874 to 1875, Rev. 
G. W. Grannis; 1875 to 1876, Rev. S. L. Burrell; 1876 to 
1878, Rev. D. G. Strong; 1878 to 1880, Rev. W. G, Simp- 
son; 1880 to 1882, Rev. G. M. Irwin; 1882 to 1883, Rev. 
A. J. Joslyn; 1883 to 1884, Rev. W. C. Gray; 1884 to 1885, 
Rev. J. }). Flenner; 1885 to 1886, Rev. V. G. Strong; 1886 

to 1889, Rev. Henry Brown; 1889 to 1892, Rev. W. W. 

VanDusen; 1892 to 1896, Rev. V. C. Evers; 1896 to 

1899, Rev. W. C. Reuter; 1899 to 1900, Rev. Lee A. 

Johnson. 

The following are the names of the presiding elders 

of Walla Walla district, and time of service: 1859 to 

1861, Rev. J. H. Wilber; 1861 to 1864, Rev. John Flinn; 

1864 to 1866, Rev. Isaac Dillon; 1866 to 1869, Rev. J. B. 

Calloway; 1869 to 1870, Rev. W. H. Lewis; 1870 to 1874, 

Rev. H. K. Hines; 1874 to 1878, Rev. S.G. Havermale; 

1878 to 1882, Rev. D. G. Strong; 1882 to 1885, Rev. W. 

S. Turner; 1885 to 1886, Rev. Levi L. Tarr; 1886 to 1888, 

Rev. N. E. Parsons; 1888 to 1892, Rev. D. G. Strong; 

1892 to 1898, Rev.T. A. Towner; 1898 to 1900, Rev. M. 

H. Marvin. 

At this writing Rev. Lee A. Jolinson is 
pastor and Rev. M. H. Marvin is presiding 
elder. The membership of the church is now 
over three hundred. 



ST. P.\UL S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

This church was organized January 17, 
1872, with Rev. Lemuel H. Wells, now bishop 
of the diocese of eastern Washington, first 
rector. 

Services of the Episcopal church were held 
in Walla Walla as early as 1864 in churches 
■of other denominations by Bishop Scott, of 
Portland, an<l Rev. T. A. Hayland. For a 



year Rev. Lemuel H. Wells conducted services 
in the old court house, now the Star Brewery, 
corner of Alder and Third streets, when the 
present edifice was completed on the corner of 
Third and Poplar streets, at a cost of fifty-four 
hundred dollars. It is a cozy, comfortable 
luiilding; a happy exchange for the barren, un- 
attractive room occupied at first. 

Rev. Mr. Wells' first congregations did not 
number more than a dozen persons, with not 
more than half of these Episcopalians, but the 
great-souled qualities of this pioneer disciple 
of St. Paul were as a magnet to the church, 
and that i:iost appalling of all sights to a min- 
ister, "empty benches," was a state of affairs of 
short duration. 

The court room in a short time was inad- 
equate to the wants of the church, and the com- 
fort of a church building was not a fact of as 
great importance as the necessity of more room. 
The seating capacity of the church is nearly 
three hundred and in its earliest days was often 
crowded to overflowing. 

The Snnflay-school. beginning with three 
or four children, increased in an equal ratio -to 
the church congregation. These little Christian 
soldiers were phenomenal workers and aided 
in many ways in furnishing the church, espe- 
cially did they contribute generously to the 
fund for buying the bell. Their Easter offer- 
ings sometimes exceeded one hundred dollars. 
Most of this was earned by the giver or was 
the result of some sacrifice on the part of the 
donor. Mr. Wells was rector for ten years, 
with the exception of one and one-half years, 
which time was supplied by Rev. J. D. McCon- 
key. Rev. Wells was succeeded by Rev. Dr. 
Lathrop, a gentleman well adapted to continue 
the good work his predecessor had so heroically 
taken up. 

Those who have succeeded since then are 



202 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Revs. McEwan. Tichudr, Dr. Xcvins White, 
GoSs, Dr. Law, Palmer, and Bard, the present 
rector. 

The church has never enjoyed greater pros- 
perity tiian at tlie present time. Its financial 
condition is good, the vestry is composed of 
enterprising men, whose management of the 
churcli affairs is most satisfactory. The rector. 
Rev. Andreas Bard, is young and enthusiastic, 
earnest in his work, of pleasing personaHty and 
high order of intellectuality, eminently fitted to 
increase the good work of the church. St. 
Paul's church considers itself the fortunate pos- 
sessor of the most able minister in the state. 

The present building is uncomfortably 
crowded, and the erection of a large stone 
church is contemplated in the near future. 

THE FIRST CONGREG.-\TION.\L CIICRCH. 

The following excerpt from a publication 
issued in 1894, entitled Manual of the First 
Congregational Church of Walla Walla, Wash- 
ington, gives a very complete history of this 
church from the earliest times to the date of 
its issue : 

The story of the life of the First Congrcfcational 
church of Walla Walla is not a story of uninterrupted 
ease on the part of its members, or of continuous suc- 
cess and steady advancement on the part of the organi- 
zation itself. It came into existence as the logical result 
of the most extraordinary efforts by its founders and it 
has lived only by the sacrifice and earnest prayer and 
labor of its members. 

The first resident Congregational minister to settle 
in the state was Rev. Cushing Kells, better known to us 
as Father Eells, who entered the valley August 29, 1838, 
as a missionary to the Indians, and on that date the his- 
tory of our church commences, though no church organ- 
ization was formed for nearly twenty-seven years later. 
The history of the time between those dates is the his- 
tory of struggle, trial, privation, apparent failure, and 
abandonment of the field till 18()0, when Father Eells 
returned to the valley and took possession of the Mission 
farm, where he lived for a number of years, working on 
the farm, preaching, teaching and spreading the gospel in 
various ways. 



In May, 1804, Rev. P. B. Chamberlain seuled in 
Walla Walla for the purpose of occupying the field. 
This purpose he fulfilled by preaching occasionally in 
the Methodist church and by conducting a school. The 
growth of the school and the need of a place of worship 
led Mr. Chamberlain to buy ground and erect thereon a 
building for a school and for religious worship, a little 
west of the house now occupied by our good Deaconess 
Chamberlain. In this Congregational cradle the Con- 
gregational infant of Washington, rocked by Congrega- 
tional hands and fed on wholesome Congregational food, 
thrived until July II, 1868, when the little church, which 
represented such great sacrifice on the part of its build- 
er, was destroyed by fire. 

On January 1, 1865, the First Congregational church 
of Walla Walla, and the first in the state of Washington, 
was organized by Rev. Cushing Eells and wife, Rev. P. 
B. Chamberlain and wife, J. W. McKee and wife, and 
Edwin Eells, and the "Sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
was administered to the new church and to the other 
Christians present." The church grew slowly but stead- 
ily in numbers and strength, and when its place of wor- 
ship was destroyed had sufficient energy to immediately 
undertake the task of building a new structure. The 
result of its labors, augmented by generous contribu- 
tions from the citizens, we are now enjoying. 

The society was incorporated January Ifi, 1869, by 
Cushing Eells, John B. Stowell, G. W. Somerindyke, 
Robert Thompson, P. B. Chamberlain and Edwin Eells, 
the first board of trustees being composed of G. W. 
Somerindyke, J. B. Stowell and Robert Thompson. Edwin 
Eells was the first church clerk. The church flourished 
for a year or two, till from the removal of members and 
other causes, its fortunes changed, and from 1870 its cause 
waned and weakened, and in 1880 its doors were closed, 
to remain so until the arrival of Rev. N. K. Cobleigh in 
the spring of 1882. 

Interest was somewhat restored and the church 
prospered under his leadership for several years, until 
he was called to the missionary field of Eastern Wash- 
ington. The most notable official event during his pas- 
torate was the election of the first deacon of the church. 
Dr. A. J. Anderson, who was chosen to fill the office for 
three months. 

Rev. Ezra Haskell succeeded to the pastorate July 
8, 1894, soon after which the church seemed to receive a 
new inspiratiiin and a new life, every member working 
vigorously and successfully for its interests. During this 
pastorate the amount subscribed for the pastor's salary 
by the church was raised fron:>S40.0j to §60.00 per month, 
the amount asked from the missionary society being 
correspondingly reduced. It was during this pastorate, 
too, that the Christian Endeavor Society was formed, 
that valuable auxiliary to the church work being the 
result of special effort on the part of the pastor and the 
then few young people of the church. By reason of dis- 
agreement between the pastor and the church the spirit- 
ual health of the latter became impaired and the rela- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



203 



tion of pastor and people ceased at the end of the second 
year. 

On September 8, 188G, Rev. H. R. Foster, one of 
God's most gilted and consecrated servants, was called 
to the pulpit, but was compelled to resign because of ill 
health on June 20th of the next year. During this short 
pastorate the spiritual power of the church was increased 
most marvelously and it seemed to the members that 
God was indeed smiling on their efforts. However, this 
was but God's preparation for the future conditions. 

In the early years of the pastorate of Rev. E. R. 
Loomis, who was ne.xt called to be our leader, the cause 
flourished to the great satisfaction of the members. Many 
important modifications were adopted during this period, 
notable among which were the adoption of the new con- 
stitution by the church; a reincorporation by which the 
women were given the privilege of becoming members 
of the corporate body; the relief of the missionary soci- 
ety from the burden it had so long, generously, and faith- 
fully borne; the formation of a Junior Endeavor Society; 
and the closer union of the church and Sunday-school. 
After the resignation of Mr. Loomis the pulpit was sup- 
plied by him for some time, and afterwards, for a few 
months, by Rev. Mr. Hague, of Maine. 

The church was fortunate enough to have among its 
members several preachers who conducted the services 
until we were blessed by the arrival among us of our 
present pastor. Rev. E. L. Smith, whose labors speak 
for him and require no comments. 

Here we are in the year 1&94, as a strong man to run 
a race, well equipped for the work, earnest to do the Mas- 
ter's bidding, laboring for the salvation of souls and 
desirous of building up the Christian sentiment of the 
community in every way possible, but especially in the 
way of building a solid foundation and superstructure of 
Congregationalism in this part of the great Northwest. 

It is only necessary to add that the hopes 
above e.xpressed have been quite fully realized 
in the subsequent work of the church. Rev. 
E. L. Smith continued to ininister unto the 
society until November, 1898, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Austin Rice, the present pastor. 
In 1899 an elegant new church edifice was 
erected on the corner of Palouse and Alder 
streets, and the same has been occupied as a 
place of worship since January i, 1900. The 
])resent structure, by reason of its convenient 
and commodious basement, is peculiarly well 
fitted for building up the social life of the 
church. The Sunday-school, under the super- 
ii:tendencv of President S. B. L. Penrose, has 



become one of the strongest in the town, having 
an average attendance of about one hundred 
and fifty. The present officers of the church 
are : Standing Committee, Daniel Burr, A. H. 
Reynolds, John Baker, Mrs. Isabel Kirkman, 
INIrs. Eva Williams and Miss Anna Hill ; 
Trustees, W. D. Lyman, H. A. Reynolds, E. 
J. McGougan; Clerk, W. S. Clark; Treasurer, 
Jay Williams. The present total membership 
of the church is two hundred and twenty-three. 

THE CUMBERL.\ND PRESBYTERI.\N CHURCH. 

On the 5th of January, 1873, was effected 
the organization of the First Cumberland 
Presbyterian church of Walla Walla, those 
primarily concerned in such organization being 
the Rev. Harrison W. Eagan and seven mem- 
bers, the original elders of the church being 
Joel Hargrove, J. M. Reed and W. B. Simon- 
ton. Mr. Eagan became pastor, of the new so- 
ciety and ministered to the church continuously 
until the ist of January, 1882. During the 
decade of his pastorate more than two hundred 
members were received into the church, in 
wdiose affairs he continued to maintain a deep 
and lively interest long after the conclusion of 
his pastoral functions. He was succeeded by 
Rev. J. N. Crawford, who was in turn suc- 
ceeded by Rev. J. C. Van Patten. The Rev. 
^^^ W. Beck presided over the destinies of the 
society for two years, his pastorate having its 
inception in 1886, after which Rev. E. G. Mc- 
Lean, D. D., was pastor for five years, being 
succeeded by Rev. R. E. Powell, who retained 
the position two years, after which the church 
was placed under the pastoral direction of Rev. 
Duncan Wallace, who resigned the charge in 
September, 1900, remo\-ing to California. The 
present pastor of the churcli is Rev. G. A. 
Blair. The ])rcscnt membershii) of the church 



204 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



is about two hundred. From the time of its 
organization the churcli has steadily grown not 
only in numbers but also in its influence for 
good. It has been signally awake to every 
moral and spiritual interest and its collateral 
organizations are active and beneficent, the 
same including the Young Peoples' Society of 
Christian Endeavor, the Junior Endeavor and 
the Pilgrim and Missionary societies. The 
officers of the church at the present time are 
as follows: Elders, \\\ P. Winans, K. F. 
Eutler, J. \\'. Armstrong, W. S, OtYner, Dr. 
N. G. Blalock, G. H. Sutherland and A. AL 
Cation ; deacons, H. E. Johnson, George Star- 
ret t, J. F. McLean. A. J. Evans, A. J. Beard, 
P. U. \\'inans, Sam McBride, Marvin Evans 
and ]\L E. Brewer. 

Recapitulating the history of this prcspsrous 
organization, we may say that services were 
originally held in the old court house, which. 
at the expiration of a year, proved inadequate to 
accommodate the society, and the city hall was 
therefore brought into requisition. Recogniz- 
ing the exigent demand for a permanent house 
o.f worship, the society purchased a lot on the 
southwest comer of Third and Poplar streets 
and erected thereon, in 187(3, the present church 
edifice at a cost of six thousand dollars. The 
building was dedicated on the 4th of January, 
1880. being at the time free from indebtedness. 
It is worthy of note at this juncture, as in- 
dicative of the liberal and broad-minded at- 
titude of the citizens of \Valla Walla, that the 
sum demanded for the erection of the church 
building was secured by general subscriptions 
in tlie city and that these contributions were 
made without reference to religious affiliations, 
no aid from the missionary fund of the de- 
nomination being called for. 



THE CHRISTIAN CIIIRCH. 

In the fall of 1878 the Christian church 
of this city had its beginning in the temporary 
organization of eight people, for the purpose 
of worshiping and teaching according to their 
belief. Then on March 31st of the following 
year a permanent organization of eleven mem- 
bers was effected. Judge N. T. Caton was 
chosen clerk of the congregation and within 
a year the luimber of members was increased 
tc thirty-two persons. For some years th.e 
church had no regular minister, but was vis- 
ited occasionally by the Waitsburg pastor and 
by other ministers who by chance came this 
way. Brother Xeal Cheetem was frequently 
here and was very helpful to the struggling 
little band of disciples. For some years after 
the organization the meetings were held from 
time to time in several of the older church 
buildings, which were \ery kindly tendered by 
th.eir congregations. Then the old opera house 
was used for a short period. Later Baumeis- 
ter's hall was secured and used until the chm ch 
n^.oved into its own building, situated on Thirtl 
street lietween Birch street and Stahl avenue. 
The organization was incorporated July 31, 
1 89 1, under the name of the First Christian 
church of Walla Walla, Washington, with S. 
C. Cahert, F. N. Bowman and William Pres- 
ton as the first trustees. Previous to the build- 
ing of the new church Xeal Cheetem. J. 11. 
Mollis, A. H. Foster, J. B. Johnson and R. H. 
Lotz served the congregation as pastors. After 
preaching his regular sermon on Lord's Day 
morning, September 20, 1891, Pastor Lotz an- 
nounced that Judge J. H. Lasater offered the 
congregation a lot suitable for a church build- 
ing, providing the congregation would at once 



HISTORY OB" WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



205 



erect such a building. Steps were immediately 
taken to accept this liberal offer. A building 
committee composed of S. C. Calvert, chair- 
man, and F. M. Bowman, E. W. Thornton, 
B. W. Schell and William Preston, was ap- 
pointed, who were instructed to enter at once 
upon the work of raising funds and securing 
plans for the new cliurch building. 

A. C. Dickinson, of the Waitsburg congre- 
gation, very generously gave five hundred dol- 
lars in cash toward the fund, and the Church 
Extension Society of the Christian church gave 
a loan of one thousand dollars. These amounts 
with the liberal contributions of the members 
and friends of the church enabled the commit- 
tee to commence the building soon after the 
offer made by Judge Lasater. The plans were 
successfully carried out and the building com- 
pleted, and on April 2d of the following 
spring William F. Cowden, missionary in the 
northwest for the American Home Board of 
the Christian church, dedicated the commodious 
building now occupied by the congregation. 
Then with much enthusiasm the congregation 
began to increase its membership and repay the 
loan against its building. Again its friends 
and. members were true to it an<l lilicral in 
their gifts, so at this time the debt has all been 
paid and the building in a good state of re- 
pair. The membership has steadily increased 
until there are now over two hundred and sev- 
enty-five members in good standing and full 
fellowship. J. B. Daisley, C. P. Smith, J. F. 
Ghormley and O. J. Gist served as pastors in 
the order named since the dedication of the 
new building until January i, 1897. Since 
that date the ])ulpit has been occupied by L. 
O. Herrold. The present board of trustees is 
composed of Messrs. C. L Hall, Harry Lasater 
and D. W. Coward. 

The church in its early years has endured 



the usual struggles incident to starting and 
luiilding a new work, but out of it all God has 
brought a strong and united church which 
looks forward with great hope for the future. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

Services according to the forms of the 
Baptist church were held in Walla Walla as 
early as 1870, by Rev. W. H, Pruett, but 
nearly a decade passed before a formal organ- 
ization was effected. Of the genesis and 
growth of the First Baptist church of this city 
the historical edition of the Walla Walla Union 
of August, 1896, speaks as follows: 

'"To attempt to write a history of a church 
now in the zenith of its glory is like trying 
to write the biography of a great and good 
man while he is still alive and in the prime of 
his usefulness. The history of the First Bap- 
tist church of Walla Walla is a history of 
trials and triumphs. This church, like most 
of the western churches in early days, had a 
hard struggle for existence. The Baptists 
were late in effecting an organization in this 
city, which caused a great deal of hard work 
and patience to obtain a foothold. Many of 
the prominent families of the city were Baptists 
and had belonged to Baptist churches in the 
east, but on coming to Walla Walla found no 
Baptist church organization, so joined churches 
of other denominations. 

"On May 1 1, 1879, the First Baptist church 
of Walla Walla was organized, with five mem- 
bers, and Rev. J. L. Blitch, of Dixon, Cali- 
fornia, became the first pastor and served the 
church for a year and a half, .\fter remaining 
pastorless for several months the church ex- 
tended a call to Rev. D. J. Pierce, of Laramie, 
Wyoming, which was accepted. Mr. Pierce 
was well known fin the coast, having: served 



206 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



the First Baptist cliurch of Portland, Oregon, 
previous to this. It was during the two j-ears 
of Mr. Pierce's pastorate that the present 
clnirch ethtice was erected, at a cost of four 
thousand five hundred dollars, not including 
the lot. which cost about two thousand dollars. 
\Mth but twenty-seven members, Air. Pierce 
commenced the work of building, and carried 
it through to completion. After leaving Walla 
Walla Mr. Pierce became pastor of the First 
Baptist church of Seattle. Rev. A. B. Banks, 
pastor of the First Baptist church of Laramie, 
Wyoming, succeeded Mr. Pierce as pastor. 
During the two years of Mr. Banks' pastorate 
the church continued to increase in member- 
ship and influence. At the close of his pastorate 
the church extended a call to Rev. S. W. 
Beavan. during whose pastorate of a year and 
a lialf the church was greatly strengthened. 
Mr. Beavan was succeeded in his pastorate by 
his brother. Rev. J. H. Beavan, who served as 
pastor for five and a half years with great suc- 
cess. The church then extended a call to Rev. 
J. A\\ Neyman, but at that time it was not 
accepted. A call was then given to Rev. M. C. 
Cole, of Xew Orleans, which he accepted. Mr. 
Cole served the church as pastor for nearly 
three and a half years. This church has made 
a steady growth from the first. The church 
has always been liberal in its gifts to carry on 
mission work at home and in foreign lands. 
The property of the church is valued at about 
nine thousand dollars, including the parson- 
age." 

At the beginning of the year 1896 the 
church again extended a call to the Rev. J. W. 
Neyman, who accepted. Under his pastorate, 
which terminated in 1898, the church showed 
a healthful growth in all branches of work, 
as well as in membership, and this has been 
signally true also during the regime of his 



successors, Rev. J. F. Huckleberry, who had 
pastoral charge for seven months, and Rev. H. 
B. Turner, the present pastor. The church 
maintains a mission chapel at the corner of 
Ninth and Rees streets, and its work in a 
spiritual way and in tlje matter of various 
benevolences is proving a cumulative power for 
good. The various subordinate organizations 
maintained in the society are thoroughly vital 
and discharge their various functions with a 
high degree of efficiency. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. 

This church was organized by F. W. D. 
Mays in October or November, 1875, witli a 
small class, chief among whom were the old 
pioneers, D. M. Jesse and J. M. Gose and their 
wives. F. \\\ D. Mays used for some time 
the United Brethren church building for his 
religious services, as their class was then with- 
out a pastor. Their property was offered for 
sale and Mr. Mays made arrangements to pur- 
chase the same. !Money was appropriated by 
his general Board of Missions in Nashville to 
make the purchase. The authorities of the 
United Brethren church concluded, however, 
not to sell their property, and the money do- 
nated by the Nashville Board was used to buy 
two lots at the present location on Fourth and 
Sumach streets. On one of these lots was a 
dwelling house, still standing, the lower front 
of which was turned into a hall for church 
services by removal of partitions. Here serv- 
ices were held for two years. 

In 1876 Mr. Mays was returned, by ap- 
pointment of conference, to the charge for the 
second year. In September, 1877, the Annual 
Conference met in Walla Walla in said hall. 
Bishop H. N. McTyiere presiding. J. W. 
Compton was appointed as pastor for the en- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



207 



suing year. Li 1S7S F. W. D. Mays was 
again appointed pastor of tlie charge, and in 
the summer of 1879 he sold the lot on which 
the dwelling house stood and erected the pres- 
ent church edifice. This was not entirely com- 
pleted until several years later. 

For se\'eral years subsequent to the last 
date the charge was without pastoral oversight 
except such as could be given by the presiding 
elder of the district. During the succeeding 
t\\enty years a number of pastors ser\-ed the 
charge, among whom were J. S. Burnett, W. 
T. Haggard, P. M. Bell, M. V. Howard, E. 
G. Michael, W. M. Fancher, A. Y. Skee, C. T. 
McPherson and E. P. Greene. Li September, 
1900, J. \Y. Compton was again appointed 
pastor of the charge. The jjoard of trustees 
consists of T. F. Ladd, J. B. Cash and J. M. 
Keeler. 

THE GERMAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The first religious denomination to provide 
for the maintenance of German preaching in 
A\'alla Walla was the Methodist Episcopal, and 
for a number of years it was alone in its en- 
deavor to maintain religious services in the 
language which constitutes the vernacular of 
so large a proportion of our citizens. The Ger- 
man Methodist Episcopal church of this city 
w-as organized in the year 1884, Rev. William 
Esslinger being the first pastor and Rev. F. 
Baum the first presiding elder. At that time 
the membership was so small as to preclude 
the possibility of erecting a church edifice of 
their own, su that services were held in the 
First Methodist Episcopal church. During 
the two years following 1884, however, the 
German population increased rapidly, and tlie 
necessity of a building for worship began to 
i)e urgently felt, as the membership of the so- 
ciety was also rapidly growing. Accordingly 



an effort to raise the required funds was in- 
augurated and persistently maintained until the 
society was the owner of a neat and commo- 
dious edifice, entirely free of debt. This build- 
ing, with the ground on which it stands, is 
now valued at about five thousand dollars. 

The church is in a prosperous condition, 
although, on account of changes in residence 
and other causes, the membership is not large. 
The Sunday-school is attended by about thirty 
cliildren, who are instructed in German. Rev. 
C. A. Wentsch is the pastor in charge at 
present. 

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Revs. E. N. Condit, F. M. Boyd and Robert 
Boyd, graduates of Princeton Theological 
Seminary of the class of 1877 and commis- 
sioned as Home Missionaries by the Presby- 
terian Board of Home Missions, arrived in 
\\'alla Walla, Washington Territor_y, on June 
24, 1877. Rev. Mr. Condit immediately com- 
menced work, with the view of organizing a 
church, but after preaching six weeks w-ith 
good prospects of success crowning his efforts 
he was called to another field of labor. The 
work so well begun was continued by Robert 
Boyd, who preached for the first time in Walla 
Walla in the court house on Sabbath, August 
12, 1877. Rev. H. W. Stratton, S3-nodical 
missionary for the Synod of the Columbia, with 
the assistance of the Rev. Robert Boyd, effected 
an organization in Walla W^alla which con- 
stituted the First Presbyterian church of Walla 
Walla. The organization was composed of 
nineteen members. Services were held in the 
court house from November, 1877, until Jan- 
uary, 1882, then in the United Brethren church 
until November, 1884, when the First Presby- 
terian church was completed. 

From the organization of the church until 



20S 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



jMarcli, 1886, Rev. Robert Boyd acted as pastor. 
He was succeeded by Rev. T. M. Gunn, 
March. 1886, to June, 1888, Rev. E. M. Sharp 
from June, 1888, until March, 1891, Rev. L. 
M. Belden from Marcli, 1891, until Novem- 
ber, 1894. From that time until January. 1897, 
the church was without a pastor. The pulpit 



was supplied from time to time as the session 
could find supply. In January, 1897, the Rev. 
E. N. Condit accepted a call from the con- 
gregation, which position he held until his 
death, in June, 1900. Since that time the 
church has been supplied by different ministers 
af, the session could arrange. 



CHAPTER XX. 



FRATERNAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CIT OF WALLA WALL.A. 



Walla W'alla is pre-eminently a city of 
fraternal orders, and with very few exceptions 
the affairs of each are to be found in a flour- 
ishing condition. The various social and be- 
nevolent organizations in the city exercise 
their several functions and are numerically in 
harmony with the population of the "Garden 
City." 

FREEMASONRY. 

The time-honored order of Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons is represented in Walla Walla by 
two lodges, one chapter, a commandery and 
a chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. 

Walla Walla Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M., 
was brought into existence October 19, 1859, 
when the newly organized grand lodge of the 
territory of Washington granted a dispensa- 
tion to the following named citizens: C. R. 
Allen, Braziel Grounds, A. B. Roberts, H. N. 
Bruning, Thomas P. Page, Jonas Whitney, 
Charles Silverman, J. Freedman and R. H. 
Reigert. On the 3d of September, i860, a 
regular charter was granted to the lodge, the 
first officers to serve under the same being as 
follows: A. B. Roberts, worshipful master; 
J. M. Kennedy, senior warden: B. Sheidman, 



junior warden; T. P. Page, treasurer; W. B. 
Kelly, secretary; C. A. Brooks, senior deacon; 
J. Caughran, junior deacon; W. H. Babcock, 
tyler. 

In tlie summer of 1864 the lodge built a 
two-story frame structure on the corner of 
Third and Alder streets. Two years later the 
building was destroyed by fire and it became 
necessary for the lodge to hold its sessions in 
the assembly room of the Odd Fellows' Tem- 
ple. At a later date rooms were fitted in the 
Dooley Block, in East Main street, where the 
lodge has since had its headquarters, the same 
being known as the Knights Templar hall. 

At the present time the lodge has a mem- 
bership of seventy-five, and its financial affairs 
are in excellent condition. The officers of the 
lodge at the time of this writing are as fol- 
lows: T. S. Steel, worshipful master; Wel- 
lington Clark, senior warden ; L. S. Wilson, 
junior warden; Rev. Duncan Wallace, chap- 
lain; Joel Chitwood. treasurer; R. C. Gaston, 
secretary: H. J. Jones, senior deacon; Frank 
Jarvis. junior deacon; S. E. King, senior 
steward ; J. D. Jones, junior steward ; Mau- 
rice Murpliy. tyler. The regular meetings of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



209 



the \\'alla Walla Lodge are held at the Ma- 
sonic hall on the first and third Mondays in 
each month. 

Blue Mountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., 
was organized April 20, 1868, by a number of 
members who" withdrew from Walla W^alla 
Lodge for this purpose. The first officers were 
as follows : Fred Stine, worshipful master ; 
Lewis Day, senior warden; William O'Donnell, 
junior warden; A. Kyger, treasurer; R. Guich- 
ard, secretary ; J. D. Laman, senior deacon ; 
E. S. Crockett, junior deacon; C. Herzog, 
tyler. The lodge is financially strong and at 
the present time it has a membership of one 
hundred, its officers being: F. M. Pauly, wor- 
shipful master; J. S. Schrock, senior warden; 
J. H. Stockwell, junior warden; H. E. John- 
son, treasurer; Y. C. Blalock, secretary; Rich- 
ard ]\IcLean, senior deacon ; C. N. McLean, 
junior deacon ; \Villiani Van Patten, senior 
steward; R. A. Horn, junior steward; James 
Dorr, tyler. The regular meetings of the lodge 
are held at the Masonic Hail on the first and 
third Mondays of each month. 

IValla Walla Chapter, No. i, R. A. M.— 
A chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, known 
as Walla Walla Chapter, No. i, was organ- 
ized September 20, 1871, with the following 
charter members : E. S. Kearney, J. H. Blew- 
ett, A. B. Elmer, Z. K. Straight, P. A. Pres- 
ton, T. J. Peabody, A. B. Carter, J. B. Dexter, 
Alfred Thomas and H. C. Paige. The first 
officers of this capitular body were : E. S. 
Kearney, high priest; E. B. Whitman, king; 
W. P. Adams, scribe; E. S. Crockett, captain 
of the host; A. B. Carter, principal sojourner; 
R. P. Olds, royal arch captain; Fred Stencil, 
master of the third veil; J. Shepherd, master 
of the second veil; W. S. Mineer, master of 
the first veil; Z. K. Straight, guide; W. P. 
Adams, treasurer; R. Guichard, secretary. 

14 



The chapter now has a membership of one hun- 
dred, and owns considerable property. Regu- 
lar convocations are held at the Templar Hall 
on the second and fourth Thursdays of each 
month. The present officers of the chapter are 
as follows : J. H. Stockwell, high priest ; Levi 
Ankeny, king; F. W. Rees, scribe; W. P. 
Winans, treasurer; W. E. Russell, secretary; 
Y. C. Blalock, principal sojourner ; Henry 
Osterman, captain of the host; D. T. Kyger, 
royal arch captain; J. S. Schrock, master of 
the third veil ; F. M. Pauly, master of the first 
veil; Maurice Murphy, tyler. 

Washington Comiiiaudery, No. i, K. T. — 
By a dispensation granted x\pril 19, 1882, and 
issued by M. E. Grand Master Benjamin Dean, 
of Massachusetts, authority was granted for 
the formation of a commandery of Knights 
Templar among the Templars in good stand- 
ing in Walla Walla and vicinity. A short time 
afterward the commandery was instituted with 
a good charter membership. The present offi- 
cers of the commandery (December, 1900) 
are as follows : J. L. Jones, eminent com- 
mander; Henry Osterman, generalissimo; F. 
M. Pauly, captain of the guard; G. W. Bab- 
cock, treasurer; Y. C. Blalock, secretary; G. 
H. Chamberlin, senior warden; W. E. Rus- 
sell, junior warden; D. T. Kyger, standard 
bearer; Levi Ankeny, sword bearer; G. H. 
Snell, warder; Maurice Murphy, sentinel. The 
commandery meets on the first and third 
Wednesdays of each month at Knights Tem- 
plar hall. 

Alki Chapter, No. 25, O. E. 5.— Alki Chap- 
ter, No. 25, Order of the Eastern Star, was 
organized in Walla Walla May 21, 1892, with 
the following charter members : Le F. A. 
Shaw, Emma E. Shaw, C. L. Whitney, Lizzie 
E. Whitney, J. L. Roberts, Ollie Roberts, G. 
H. Snell, Clara J. Snell, D. T. Kyger, Addie 



^lO 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Kyger, F. yi Pauly. ^lary Fauly. E. R. 
Parkes, Laura B. Parkes, Mary Masterson, 
Sadie R. McLean, J. C. Lewis, ]\Iary E. Lewis, 
and H. E. ^'annatta. At tlie present time the 
chapter has one hundred and one members, 
and is in an excellent condition financially. 
The regular convocations of the chapter are 
on the first and third Thursdays of each month 
at Knights Templar Hall. The officers (De- 
cember, 1900) are: Xettie M. Gibson. W. ;\I. ; 
F. M. Pauly. W. P.; Ida M. McLean, A. M.; 
Stella M. Hawley, conductor; Xora S. Rus- 
sell, A. S.; D. T. Kyger, treasurer; \V. E. 
Russell, secretary; Laura B. Parkes, chaplain; 
Ferdinanda Horn, Adah; Clara J. Snell, Ruth; 
'Gertrude Parmela, Esther; Elizabeth Hill, 
Martha: Lutie M. Stiles. Electa; Sarah J. 
Smith, warder ; W. E. Graham, sentinel ; Ad- 
die Kyger, marshal; Flora C. Stoekwell, or- 
ganist. 

THE IXDEPEXDEXT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 

Odd Fellowship has a very strong and en- 
thusiastic following in Walla Walla, where 
the order is held in high estimation and its 
standard well upborne. In this city is located 
the Odd Fellows' Home of the state, a finely 
.equipped and well-managed institution, and 
here also are maintained three lodges of the 
order, one encampment, one canton and two 
lodges of the Daughters of Rebekah. 

The second lodge of Odd Fellows in the 
territory of ^^'ashington was established in 
Walla Walla nearly forty years ago and has 
enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity from the be- 
ginning to the present time, while from this 
mother lodge have sprung other organizations 
equally representative in nature. Indeed, it 
may be said that this lodge first instituted in 
Walla ^\■alla really merits the distinction of 
iieing designated as Xo. i, instead of Xo. 2, 



inasmucli as the first lodge in the territory, 
Olympia, No. i, had surrendered its charter 
in 1861 and did not resume it until 1865. 

Enterprise Lodge, No. 2. — On the 24th 
of January, 1863, A. G. Hovey, grand master 
of the grand lodge of Oregon, pursuant to an 
application, granted and signed a dispensation 
authorizing and empowering ^Messrs. A. H. 
Purdy, James McAuliff. ^^'illiam B. Kelly, L. 
A. Burthey and ileyer Lazarus to organize a 
lodge of Odd Fellows in the city of Walla 
\\'alla, the same to be hailed and known as 
Enterprise Lodge, X'o. 2. The lodge was duly 
instituted on the 23d of February, 1863, with 
the gentlemen above named as charter mem- 
bers. The officers who first presided over the 
destinies of the new lodge were as follows : 
James -\IcAuliff, noble grand; William B. 
Kelly, vice grand; and A. H. Purdy, secre- 
tary and treasurer. E. B. Whitman was the 
first district deputy grand master and the first 
representative to the grand lodge. The fol- 
lowing interesting record concerning the lodge 
is taken from an article written by Alex. 
Mackay, in 1897: 

"As above stated, the first charter was 
issued by the grand master of Oregon, but the 
sovereign grand lodge subsequently decided 
that Oregon had no rights in a territory, so, 
on September 26, 1865, granted a new charter, 
under which the lodge worked until A\'ashing- 
ton became a state, when a new charter was 
issued from our own grand lodge, while H. 
E. Holmes was grand master and Le F. A. 
Shaw grand secretary. 

"When Enterprise Lodge was ushered into 
existence Odd Fellowship was a comparative 
stranger in the great northwest. Our first 
meeting was held in James Conlan's building 
on Main street near Fourth. Here we were 
burned out in 1864. without serious loss. \\'e 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



21 I 



then removed to what was then known as 
Roberts' Grove, where we rented a IniikUng 
jointly with the Masons, bnt this l^eing remote 
from the city, Brother J. F. Abbott fixed us 
up a lodge room on the premises now known 
as the Cayuse stable. Here the lodge was very 
prosperous for a time. Candidates were nu- 
merous and our sick few. Everybody had 
money then, and if perchance we found one 
poor and destitute, he was usually so from 
choice. Since that time things have changed. 
Li 1865 the ]\Lasons built a line hall on the 
corner of Third and Alder streets, and as our 
quarters were becoming too small, we moved 
to this new hall, and again for a short season 
were prosperous and happy, until on the 4th 
of July, 1865, a fire broke out, which swept 
away that hall, together with our records, par- 
aphernalia, and all we possessed, except our 
written constitution, signed by the members 
as they were initiated. We then secured new 
quarters over Brechtel's bakery, ])rocured a 
new outfit, and the good work continued. We 
husbanded our means, put our money where it 
did the most good, and finally, in 1880, were 
enabled to build our present fine Temple, on 
the corner of ]\Iain and Fifth streets, at a cost 
of about twenty thousand dollars, which is at 
present worth at least twenty-si.x thousand 
dollars. But it is not for sale, for it is a 
monument which Enteqirise Lodge has raised 
with its own hands and every Odd Fellow has 
cause to feel proud of it. The erection of the 
building was commenced in July, 1880 (the 
corner-stone was laid July 4th), under the su- 
pervision of the committee from the lodge con- 
sisting of E. W. Eversz, Samuel Jacobs, D. J. 
Coleman and Julius Wiesick, assisted by the 
trustees of the lodge, H. .Wintler, Edward 
Baumeister and Charles Able. The building 
-was completed in December, 18S0, and in Jan- 



uary, 1 88 1, we held our first meeting in our 
new hall, Brother H. E. Holmes, N. G., pre- 
siding. The lodge then had one hundred mem- 
bers, and the present membership is one hun- 
dred and fifty-three. Since the organization 
of Enterprise Lodge four hundred and five 
members have signed the roll. Of the pioneer 
members few are now left, viz. : E. B. Whit- 
man, Charles Besserer, Charles Able, Edward 
Baumeister, John Rehorn, H. Wintler and W. 
■ H. Brown. The pioneers and past grands, 
who took a prominent part in the early his- 
tory of the lodge, and who have died since 
1890, are: A. Schumacher, November 7, 1890; 
Peter Erickson, August 10, 1891 ; E. W. Ev- 
ersz, January 3, 1892; D. J. Coleman, June 
19, 1893; John Goudy, June 20, 1895; John 
F. Abbott, March 13, 1896. 

"Among those who may be classed as pio- 
neer Odd Fellows, who have been initiated or 
joined Enterprise Lodge by card, and are still 
active members, are : E. B. Whitman, Charles 
Besserer, Henry Kaseberg, H. E. Holmes, S. 
F. Henderson, Alex. Mackay, C. C. McCoy, 
Jacob Betz, Charles Able, W. H. Brown, John 
Rehorn, H. Wintler, Charles Cooper, James 
Mclnroe, Thomas Taylor, John H. Stahl and 
James Bryan. 

"At present the lodge has a number of 
young memliers who joined the order since 
1880, many of whom are past grands, and all 
of whom take an active part in the workings of 
the lodge." 

The lodge convenes regularly every Wed- 
nesday evening. Its present officers (De- 
cember, 1900) are: W. Jessup, noble grand; 
Thomas Taylor, vice grand ; Levi Ankeny, 
treasurer; Burt Moore, secretary; and John 
Cauvel, permanent secretary. 

Washington Lodge, No. 19. — On the 7tli 
of March, 1881, a dispensation was granted 



2i; 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



for the iirganization of this lodge in Walla 
Walla, and on the 19th of the same month 
the lodge was formally instituted, the follow- 
ing heing the charter members: Le F. A. 
Shaw, James McAuliff, Christian Sturm, Jo- 
seph Cherry, W. G. Alban, A. McAllister and 
L. J. Shell. The first officers were James Mc- 
Auliff, noble grand; Christian Sturm, vice 
grand ; and Joseph Cherry, secretary. A regu- 
lar charter was granted to the lodge on the 
iitli of May, 1882. Its present membership 
numl)ers one hundred and twenty, and its af- 
fairs are in a most prosperous condition. Those 
incumbent of the official positions at the pres- 
ent time (December, 1900) are: G. E. Bar- 
nett, nol)le grand ; C. W. Scott, vice graml ; 
J. W. McGhee, Jr., recording secretary; and 
Le F. A. Shaw, financial secretary. The lodge 
meets on Thursday evening of each week, at 
the Odd Fellows' Temple. 

The following facetious description of the 
institution of Washington Lodge was com- 
posed by Dr. Belcher and read by him on the 
twelfth anniversary of the institution of the 



lodge. 



On March 19, in '81, 

At close of day, or set of sun, 

A hand of seven determined men, 

And one old goat assembled then. 

When all were there, the door was shut. 

The goat prepared his hardest butt. 

The men were bound his butts to dodge, 

That all might live to form a lodge. 

The N. G., which is " Noble Grand," 

And not " no good, " you understand, 

Was James McAuliff, and his \'ice, 

That is Vice Grand (now that sounds nice 

To speak of vice as being grand, 

In any place in Christian land) 

Was one Chris Sturm, who filled the place, 

And met the goat with smiling face. 

The next, I'm told, was Joseph Cherry, 

Our first recording secretary, 

And one you all know well, I ween 

Within these walls he's oft been seen. 

Le F. A. Shaw the goat then tried, 

And around the room he went astride. 



The hearts of all were in a flutter 
To see the strength of this old butter. 
Stronger than any ever seen. 
Stronger than oleomargerine. 
And also here, the truth to tell, 
This goat could butt as hard as — well 
As any goat of solemn face. 
Who knows his business in this place. 
William G. Alban to the front, 
A butt, a yell, a groan, a grunt. 
Then James McAuliff took his turn, 
The name of Odd-Fellow to earn. 
He stepped out quick, he felt so elad. 
He met that goat and then felt sad. 
Alexander, not he called the Great, 
But McAllister, came to meet his fate. 
The last to meet the goat and yell. 
Was one all know, Larkin J. Shell. 
That old goat knew his business well, 
He'd served his time the truth to tell. 
This little band, this honored few, 
Joined hands, a noble work to do, 
And also then they swore, forsooth, 
To live in friendship, love and truth. 
Were called Odd Fellows, every one. 
And named their lodge for Washington, 
The father of our country, great. 
Likewise our great and growing state: 
A name I think appropriate. 
For Washington, like all great men, 
Was made the butt of tories then. 
But all we think, as time goes past, 
"That he laughs longest who laughs last." 
My muse is tired, likewise my throat, 
I'll stop before you bring the goat. 

Trinity Lodgc^ No. 121. — This lodge was 
instituted on the 30th of April, 1892, when 
W. G. Alban, then special deputy grand mas- 
ter, assumed the chair, and with the aid of Le 
F. A. Shaw, grand secretary, and past grands 
from Enterprise Lodge, No. 2, and W'ashing- 
ton Lodge, No. 19, conducted the work of 
institution. The charter members of the lodge 
were Past Grand James P. Goodhue (who was 
a member of the jurisdiction of British Co- 
lumbia), C. C. Gose, \\'. H. Flagg, F. W. 
Kaser, F. D. Kimmerly, ^I. H. Gilliam, P. B. 
Hawley, C. W. Fredericks and J. Carter 
Smith. After tlic new officers had taken their 
stations fifty-one propositions for membership 
liv initiation and two bv card were received 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



213 



anil acted upon. Forty-seven candidates were 
initiated and given all the degrees and two 
were admitted by card. The first officers of 
the lodge were: W. H. Flagg, noble grand; 

F. D. Kimmerly, vice grand; J. Carter Smith, 
secretary; and P. B. Hawley, treasurer. The 
lodge has flourished from the beginning, both 
numerically and financially, having eighty 
names upon its membership roll at the present 
time. The officers for the term ending De- 
cember 31, 1900, are as follows: Alvin Bos- 
ton, noble grand; \V. A. Koontz, vice grand; 
J. Carter Smith, secretary; and Victor Hun- 
ziker. treasurer. The regular meetings are 
held on Monday evening of each week, and 
are very interesting and instructing. The lodge 
is composed to a very large extent of young 
men, and the}^ show an enthusiastic interest 
in its work. 

IValla IValla Eiicaiupmcitt, No. 3. — The 
local camp of this branch of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows was organized on the 
28th of March, 1881, by W. D. Plants, the 
following named being the charter members : 
H. E. Holmes, E. W. Eversz, Edward Bau- 
meister, W. H. Brown, Samuel Jacobs, Charles 
Abel, John Goudy and J. Q. Osborn. Since 
the organization of this encampment it has 
grown rapidly, and is now in a flourishing 
condition, having one hundred and tliirty bona 
fide members. The regular meetings are held 
on the second and fourtli Tuesdays of each 
month, at the Odd Fellows' Temple. The 
present officers of the encampment are : O. T. 
Cornvvell, C. P. ; J. A. Riffley, H. P. ; T. N. 
Bryan, S. \V. ; Alvin Boston, J. \Y. ; Le F. A. 
Shaw, scribe; and W. A. Koontz, treasurer. 

Canton IValla Walla, No. i, Patriarchs 
Militant, was instituted April 12, 1886, by H. 
E. Holmes, grand patriarch, assisted by W. 

G. Alban, grand representative, and Le F. A. 



Shaw, past grand representative and grand 
scribe. The charter members were W. G. Al- 
ban, captain ; F. D. Boyer, accountant ; N. Cas- 
tleman, sentinel ; and C. H. Kaseberg, picket. 
The principal officers in charge at present are: 
\y. H. Meyer, (acting) captain; Charles L. 
Whitney, clerk; Le F. A. Shaw, accountant. 

N'arcissa Rcbckah Lodge, No. 2, was in- 
stituted October 31, 1885, by H. E. Holmes, 
then deputy grand master, the charter mem- 
bershii) numbering thirty-five. The present 
membership is about one hundred and five, and 
the officers now in charge are : Mrs. Ratie 
McClees, noble grand; Mrs. Mary McKean, 
vice grand ; Mrs. Lizzie Bellingham, record- 
ing secretary; Herbert Osgood, financial sec- 
retary; Mrs. Sarah Gray, treasurer. 

Bcc Hive Rebekah Lodge, No. /O, was in- 
stituted March i, 1895, by Mrs. Emma E. 
Shaw, past president of the Rebekah assembly, 
with twenty-three charter members. The 
present membership is about one Hundred and 
twenty. The officers in charge at ])resent are: 
Mrs. Alma L. Krack, noble grand; Mrs. Mar- 
guerite Mullinix, vice grand; Mrs. Mary G. 
Vinson, recording secretary ; Mrs. May Bos- 
ton, treasurer. 

WELCOME LODGE, I. 0. O. F., OF DIXIE. 

It is fitting to include here a sketch of the 
Odd Fellows Lodge of Dixie. The names of 
members who compose the chartering of Wel- 
come Lodge, No. 117, I. O. O. F.. of Dixie, 
Washington, on March 26, 1892, were as fol- 
lows : Officers — W. J. Cantonwine, N. G. ; 
R. G. Clancy, Y. G. ; Marion Roger, R. Sec; 
Charles Cochran, Per. Sec. ; Adelbert Coch- 
ran, treasurer; R. A. Stockdale, warden; J. E. 
;\Iyers, conductor; Joseph Reed, R. S. N. G. ; 
J. M. Sanders, L. S. N. G. ; N. J. Walters, 
R. S. V. G.; A. A. Magrunn, L. S. V. G.; 



214 



HISTORY OF WALIA WALLA COUNTY. 



B. C. Roff, inside guard; G. \V. Sanders, O. 
G. ; L. Lanning, R. S. S.; Isadore Cocliran, 
L. S. S. jMcnibers — P. Dcmaris, J. \Y. Davis, 
Samuel Brooks, W. IL Johnson, Orin De- 
maris and Orlando Demaris. 

The order of L O. O. F. at this place has 
prosj)ered, having added since organization 
fifty-nine members, and has now in good stand- 
ing fifty-three members. A larger hall had to 
be built for the accommodation of its mem- 
bers, which was completed in 1893, size 30X 
65, two stories, the upper being used exclu- 
sively for lodge purposes, the lower for a gen- 
eral merchandise store and doctor's office. The 
building cost about thirty-five hundred dullars 
comi)letc, including furnishings. 

The Rebekah branch of Dixie, Washing- 
ton, was instituted March 24, 1893, with a 
membership of about eighteen, having added 
since about forty members. They are doing a 
grand work, giving their time, talent and 
means in fitting up a room in the Odd Fel- 
lows" Home at Walla Walla, furnishings to 
cost about one hundred dollars. 

ODD fellows' home OF WASHINGTON. 

Crowning the system of Odd Fellowship 
in the state of Washington is the noble insti- 
tution which we now take briefly under re- 
view, Walla Walla being signally favored by 
having the home located witliin her corporate 
limits. At a session of the grand lodge of the 
state, held in 1893, a special committee was 
appointed to consider the advisability of estab- 
lishing an Odd Fellows' home in this jurisdic- 
tion, and to determine, so far as possible in 
an incidental way, some appropriate method 
for its establishment and maintenance. The 
committee rendered its report at the annual 
session of the grand lodge in 1894, recom- 
mending the establishment of such a home and 



offering suggestions as to the most expedient 
way of establishing and maintaining the in- 
stitution. The report of the committee, with 
slight modifications, was adopted, whereby the 
rule was established that to secure funds for 
the establishment and maintenance of the 
home a semi-annual per capita tax on subor- 
dinate lodges be levied, and recommending 
that encampments, lodges and individuals 
make such voluntary contributions in aid of the 
home as their means and benevolence mig'it 
prompt. At this session of the grand lodge 
that body elected a board of managers, con- 
sisting of five of its members, the same to be 
known as the "Board of Trustees of the Odd 
Fellows' Home," and to whom are entrusted 
the supervision and management of all mat- 
ters pertaining to the home, under the direc- 
tion of the grand lodge, to which the board 
is required to make an annual report. Definite 
l)lans for the securing of necessary funds for 
carr3-ing forward the work were formulated, 
and the grand lodge also adopted a series of 
ten resolutions "defining the mode of proceed- 
ings to the establishment of the home," from 
which we quote as follows : 



First — Resolved, That tliere is hereby authorized to 
be established and maintained in this jurisdiction an Odd 
Fellows' Home for the care and support of the aged, in- 
firm and indigent members of the Order, who shall be in 
good standing in their respective subordinate lodges in 
this jurisdiction, and the dependent widows and orphans 
of Odd Fellow's m good standing of this jurisdiction. 

Ninth — Resolved, That any member of a subordi- 
nate lodge domiciled in the Odd Fellows' Home as a 
beneficiary thereof, shall not be entitled to receive from 
his lodge the usual benefits paid by his lodge to sick and 
disabled members; neither shall he be required, while re- 
maining at the home, to pay dues to his lodge. When a 
beneficiary member withdraws from the home, he shall, 
equally as other active membi rs, be subject to all provi- 
sions of the constitutions and by-laws of his lodge. 

Tenth — Resolved, That while a member of a subor- 
dinate lodge remains a beneficiary inmate of the home, 
he shall continue to be a silent or honorary member of 
his lodge, unless suspended or expelled for cause, under 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



215 



the laws of the orcU-r, and liis lodge shall be exempt from 
the payment of dues on his account for grand lodge 
revenue. 

Resolved, That for a beginning of the establishment 
of a fund for an Odd Fellows' Home, there be and hereb\ 
is levied a special semi-annual tax of ten cents per capita 
on each subordinate lodge in this jurisdiction, the first 
payment being due and payable December 31, 1894, on 
its membership for the preceding term ending June 30, 
l.^D-l. 



The members of the board of directors 
were as follows: J. M. Swan, F. A. Twichell, 
Z. M. Ceebe, W. P. Harris and E. L. Powell, 
and upon their organization Mr. Swan was 
chosen president and Air. Twichell secretary. 

At the session of the grand lodge in 1896 
the board of trustees submitted its report, rec- 
ommending, among other things, that the 
grand lodge should at that session select, or 
authorize to be selected, a site-location for the 
home and also "authorize such proceedings as 
may be necessary to establish and prepare the 
home for the reception and care of inmates." 
The report of the board was referred to a spe- 
cial committee of fi\-e members, who, in sub- 
mitting their report to the grand lodge, rec- 
ommended that the board of trustees of the 
home be authorized and empowered to receive 
and accept the best proposition, in their judg- 
ment, that may be offered them for the loca- 
tion of the home. The committee also recom- 
mended that one trustee be chosen from the 
Rebekah assembly, in place of the officer whose 
term expired that year. Later it was reported 
to the grand lodge that the Rebekah assembly 
had elected Emma E. Shaw, past president, 
as such trustee, her term to cover five years. 

The propositions for home sites tendered 
within the time prescribed by the grand lodge 
were from the Odd Fellows of Tacoma, Cen- 
tralia and Walla Walla, and as the last men- 
tioned was eventually accepted, it is appro- 
priate that we incorporate a description of the 



same, as quoted from the first annual report 
of the board of trustees, issued in 1898: 



This consisted of five acres of land (in what is known 
as the H. P. Isaacs' tract, and is within the city limits) 
and four thousand dollars in cash, or six and one-halfi 
acres with three thousand dollars in cash. The land in 
this tract, although limited in area, is superior in quality 
of soil. A stream known as Mill creek runs across it 
toward the rear end of the tract, with conditions favorable 
to placing there a hydraulic ram and elevating water to 
any part of the premises for irrigating or other purposes. 
This tract of land fronts (466 feet) north on Boyer avenue^ 
from which it has a gentle and even slope southward 
toward the creek at the south end. 

The Walla Walla Water Company agreed to furnish 
the home with a permanent supply of four hundred gal- 
lons of water free, provided the buildings were located on 
the Isaacs tract of land. This supply was supposed suffi- 
cient to meet domestic requirements. 



At a meeting of the board of trustees, held 
in Tacoma September 5, 1896, the Walla 
Walla proposition was accepted by a vote of 
four to one. Plans and specifications for the 
building were soon secured and the work was 
pushed vigorously forward, the contract for 
the erection of the home being eventually 
awarded to N. F. Butler, of Walla Walla. 
At a meeting of the board held in June, 1897^ 
J. M. Swan, then president of the board, was 
selected "to have the charge and care of the 
home and premises connected therewith, and ta^ 
enter upon his duties as such as soon as conven- 
ient after the home building, under present 
contract, shall be completed." The building 
was completed in the summer of 1897, accord- 
ing to the terms of the contract, and was duly 
accepted by the board of trustees. The home 
was opened for the reception of inmates on 
December i, 1897. 

The home premises and building are thus 
described in the first annual report of the 
board of trustees (1898), but since the issuing- 
of the same many improvements have been 
made about the place : 



2l6 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



The premises are located well within the city limits, 
fronting northward on Boyer avenue, with a frontage of 
four hundred and sixty-five feet, and extending south- 
ward to include six and one-half acres ot ground. Mill 
creek crosses the property about two-thirds distance 
from front to rear. The gradint; that has been done 
lately on the grounds renders the surface now quite even, 
■with a gentle slope from front towards the rear, as far as 
the creek. It lays well for irrigating when water is applied. 
The soil here is said to be moderately rich and product- 
ive: it is permeated with more or less alkali, is of a very 
light texture, leaching moisture rapidly, and frequent 
rains or artificial irrigation is necessary to make it yield 
fairly of vegetables, or of any plants that do not root 
deeply. We have one No. 6 hydraulic ram now in use, 
sending water to a tank in the top of the home building 
and to the barn also. This furnishes an ample supply 
for domestic purposes. We are now placing a No. 10 
hydraulic ram and pipes to supply water for irrigating 
purposes. In this dry soil and climate this is necessary, 
as no amount of labor will produce abundantly — espe- 
cially of vegetables — without a fair supply of water. A 
good sidewalk, six feet wide, and a neat fence are laid 
and built across the entire front, with a row of shade trees 
planted outside the walk. A good walk, six feet wide, 
extending from the building to the avenue, with a gate 
in front, is also placed. A front lawn, 80x150 feet area, 
on the space from the building to the avenue. Two 
^ates suitable for carriage entrances, one at each end of 
ihe lawn, with drives to and around in front and rear of 
the building. A carriage entering at one gate may drive 
to the building at either front or rear, and by moving for- 
ward depart by the other gate, or by making the full 
circuit of the building, depart by the same gate where it 
entered. These gates and drives are deemed as very 
convenient and appropriately laid out. 

The area of the home building is 42x90 feet, the 
basement is 8 feet 6 inches clear, floor to ceiling, the 
superstructure is two full stories and an attic story, which 
over its entire area is very suitable for dormitories, mak- 
ing it practically a four-story building. Its construction 
was, by contract, let to Mr. Norman F. Butler for the 
sum of 85,609. The specifications for its construction 
<under the contract) called for the setting off of two 
rooms in the basement (one for kitchen and one for store 
room or any purpose desired), the complete finishing of 
the first story in accordance with specifications and plan 
of rooms, etc., flights of stairs from bottom to top story 
of the building, all windows put in place, the laying of 
under (or first) floor in the two upper stories, and setting 
the hall studding and some cross or partition stud- 
ding; also that the building throughout should be wired 
for electricity and piped for water and gas, and a 460-gal- 
lon tank be placed in the upper part of the building 
ready for water connection. The contract for the con- 
struction of the building excepted the inside finishing of 
the two upper stories, which was left to be done at a sub- 
sequent time. 



The first story of the building is suitably divided 
into convenient rooms and apartments as follows: Seven 
bed rooms, a spacious room for dining hall, a reception 
room, a well lighted and spacious room for general use 
of inmates as library, card room, smoking room and gen- 
eral sitting room. 

A section is conveniently set off in one corner of 
the building, where there are two bath rooms, a recess 
with two fixed marble wash basins, a closet for storing 
linen, etc., and two toilet closets. The water system in 
its connections and distribution is very good and the 
supply for domestic purposes is more than ample for 
present needs. 

The original superintendent of the home, 
as has already been noted, was J. AI. Swan, 
and during his regime Airs. Dora Busbridge 
officiated as matron. The present superintend- 
ent is E. J. Colvin and Airs. Colvin is matron. 
The home has from the start been admirably 
conducted and is a distinctive honor to the 
Odd Fellows of the state. From the time of 
the opening of the institution to the present 
date (December, 1900) there have been ad- 
mitted as inmates eleven brothers of the order, 
one widow and thirteen orphans. Within 
this period three brothers, one widow and six 
orphans have left the home, and four brothers 
have died there. 

In conclusion we find it apropos to define 
tlie general object of the home, and this is 
succinctly given in Rule i, adopted by the 
board of trustees. We also append Rule 2, 
which defines the qualifications for admission: 

Rule 1. This home is not founded, and is not to be 
used, as a hospital for the care of persons temporarily 
disabled by sickness or accident. It is established for the 
care and maintenance of members of the order who are 
unable to earn a livelihood, by reason of infirmities of 
age and the chronic afflictions incident thereto; and are 
in indigent circumstances, without other means of sup- 
port, and of the infirm and helpless wives or widows of 
brothers; and of helpless orphans of members of the 
order, who are without other and proper provision for 
their care and education. 

A member of the order who is in standing and has 
maintained membership for two consecutive years in 
some lodge in the jurisdiction of Washington, and who 
from protracted disease or accidental injury has become 



'f 




I-— ^ 



I FT 




E' 



T' 




Odd-Fellows' Home, Walla Walla. 




Walla Walla City Hall, Police Headquarters and Fire Station. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



217 



so enfeebled as to be incapacitated to earn a livelihood 
(and being without proper means of support), such inca- 
pacity being seemingly permanent, and being certified to 
by a reputable physician, may be admitted to the home 
as a member thereof, on due application and recommend- 
ation of the lodge wherein such membership is held. 
Such persons upon being admitted to the home will be 
cared for in sickness and in health, while they remain 
members thereof, and will be required to relinquish all 
claims upon their respective lodges for benefits, as a con- 
dition of their admission to and support in the home. 
The funeral expenses required by the constitution and 
by-laws shall be paid to the home on the death of a mem- 
ber of the order who is a member thereof; unless the 
lodge wherein the deceased held membership shall im- 
mediately upon the death of such member remove the 
remains and conduct the funeral, or cause the same to 
be done. 

Rule 2. Members of the order to be entitled to ad- 
mission and become members of the home, as of right 
must be infirm and indigent as herein above set forth. 
Each must be at the time of admission, and for at 'least 
two years previous to such admission, a member of the 
order in standing within the jurisdiction of the grand 
lodge of Washington, I. O. O. F., and such member must 
present to the board of trustees, or to its authorized com. 
mittee on admission, a proper application to be admitted 
to, and become a member of the home, showing the fact 
of such membership in the order, date of admission to the 
lodge, rank therein, age of the applicant, and the fact of in- 
ability for self-support by reason of intirmitv and being 
without other means of support; requesting with the 
recommendation of his or her lodge to be admitted to the 
home, and that as a condition of being admitted, all 
claims for benefits while there are relinquished by the 
applicant. All such applications for admission must be 
recommended by the lodge, certified by the signatures of 
the noble grand and secretary, and be attested with the 
seal of the lodge wherein the applicant holds member- 
ship; and if admitted the application shall be preserved 
among the records of the home. 

Aged, infirm and indigent wives of aged, infirm and 
indigent Odd Fellows in standing in this jurisdiction, and 
the aged, infirm and indigent widows of Odd Fellows 
who, at the time of their death, were members in standing 
of lodges in this jurisdiction, may be admitted to the 
home upon satisfactory proof of the facts, by due appli- 
cation as above required, and subject to the same condi- 
tions as above provided for brothers. 

Orphans or half-orphan children of members of the 
order who are, or who, at the time of their death, were 
members in standing in some lodge in the jurisdiction of 
the grand lodge, I. O. O. F., of Washington, such children 
being under fourteen years of age, and without other 
suitable homes or means of proper care and support, may 
be admitted and cared for in the Odd Fellows' Home 
upon such proofs as shall be required by the board of 
trustees, to be furnished by either subordinate or Rebekah 



lodge. It is provided that all adult applicants for admis- 
sion to the home shall be of good, moral and temperate 
habits. Blank applications for admission to the home, 
appropriate for the respective classes above named, may 
be obtained upon application to the secretary of the 
board of trustees or to the grand secretary. 

YOUNG men's institute. 

The local council of this fraternal order 
was organized on the 15th of January, 1896, 
with a charter membership of thirty-two. The 
first officers were: D. J. Morton, president; 
N. S. Sullivan, first vice-president; J. Mc- 
Ouade, second vice-president; T. S. Scally, 
recording secretary; Byron Lutcher, financial 
secretary; Adolph Bischoff, corresponding sec- 
retary; John Kremer, treasurer: Joseph Mc- 
Bride, inside sentinel; Alonzo Murphy, out- 
side sentinel; W. H. Weber, John Dunnigan 
and M. J. Brennan, executive committee. The 
present officers of the organization are as fol- 
lows : T. E. Mason, president : Leo Ferguson, 
first vice-president; Joe LaFortune, second 
vice-president ; Joseph McGrath, recording sec- 
retary: William Ryan, financial secretary; 
John \\'agner, marshal; George Massam, treas- 
urer: Matthew Mooney, inside sentinel; Dr. 
Y. C. Blalock, medical examiner; Rev. M. 
Flohr, chaplain ; and Joseph Charrier, J. F. 
McAndrews and John Dunnigan, executive 
committee. 

UNITED ARTIS.\NS. 

The branch of United Artisans known as 
Crescent Assembly, No. 66, was organized in 
^^'alla \\'alla July 20, 1896, l)y Dr. Farnliam, 
with twenty charter memliers. The assembly 
at the present time has a membersliip of fifty 
and is steadily growing. Following are the 
officers: J. E. Ireland, D. G. M.; Mrs. Etta 
Macy, P. M. A.; W. A. Williams, M. A.; 
Delia Johnson, S. ; G. F. McGhee, I.; J. C. 



2l8 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Jones, secretary ; J. F. Stack, treasurer ; Mrs. 
Lena White, S. C. ; A. S. McDaniels, J. C. ; 
Ralph White, M. C; Dr. W. E. Russell, M. 
E. The lodge holds its meetings regularly 
on the first and third Tuesdays of each mpnth. 

THE NATIONAL UNION. 

This fraternal insurance organization es- 
tablished itself in the city of Walla Walla in 
March, 1S97, the organizer being Mr. A. H. 
Fowle, and the name by Avhich the local body 
is known being Marcus Whitman Council, No. 
730. At the present writing the membership 
numbers about forty, and the principal officers 
in charge of the council are : Fred Forrest, 
president; T. N. Bryan, vice-president; Her- 
bert Osgood, secretary; C. E. Gilbert, treas- 
urer. Like most of the orders in this city, 
the council is well supported, has plenty of 
money for expenses, and possesses a goodly 
supply of regalia and equipment. 

THE PIONEERS OF THE PACIFIC. 

This flourishing young order, whose su- 
preme lodge is located in Pendleton, Oregon, 
has firmly established itself in Walla W'alla, the 
local organization being known as Valley En- 
campment, No. 22. While membership is not 
confined to the first settlers of the Pacific 
coast, its degree work is commemorative of 
life on tlie plains during pioneer days, 'and 
one of its most important incidental advantages 
will be its keeping alive the memory of those 
stirring times. The charter under which the 
encampment exercises its authority bears date 
February 23, 1900, and was issued by H. K. 
Hines as supreme commander to the following 
persons, namely : Lillie M. Cox, commander; 
Edwin G. Cox, captain; Cantlace C. Bishop, 
chaplain; A. A. King, treasurer; Herbert Os- 
good, scribe; Emiline J. Aiabry, north scout; 



A. M. Pence, south scout; Nelson D. Cox, 
ancient guide; Addie Rasmus, messenger; 
Wesley Bailey, sentinel; Mary F. Jett, picket; 
Nelson L Blalock, Walter M. Ely, W. B. Mor- 
gan, Ruth Hales, Carrie Rudd, Charles Ea- 
gan, Milton B. Johnson, J. N. Jensen, Orsen 
R. Smith and others. The membership of the 
encampment at the present time numbers about 
forty, and the four principal officers now in 
charge are: E. G. Cox, commander; Mrs. 
Lillie M. Cox, captain; Herbert Osgood,^ 
scribe; A. A. King, treasurer. The organiza- 
tion is in a flourishing condition financially, 
and possesses an abundant supply of regalia 
and equipment. 

UNITED WORKMEN. 

Integrity Lodge, No. 26, Ancient Order of 
United Workmen, was organized in Walla 
Walla March 17, 1880, the charter bearing the 
same date. The following were the first officers 
and charter members: Le F. A. Shaw, P'. M. 
W, ; H. H. Brodeck, AL W. ; H. D. Chap:nan, 
F. ; J. F. McLean, O. ; C. E. Whitney, Rec. ; C. 
T. Thompson, Rec'r; C. S. Boyer, financial sec- 
retary; M. Wagner, G. ; F. J. Starke, L W. ; 
C. Sturm, O. W.; A. S. Nichols, A. L. Lor- 
enzen, W. B. Clowe, Charles Abel, E. S. Kel- 
log, J. C. Painter, William Jones, E. H. Mor- 
rison, M. Ryan, E. L. Heriff, P. B. Johnson, 
R. P. Reynolds, R. W. Mitchell, C. M. John- 
son, H. M. Porter, H. G. Mauzey, R. Stoot, 
Thomas Taylor, J. B. Welch, B. L. Baker, 

B. W. Taliaferro, J. \\ . Gray, A. Brodeck, 
J. H. Smith, W. C. Painter, J. N. Fall, Will- 
iam Vawter. The lodge is in a prosperous 
condition and has a membership of two hun- 
dred and seven. The regular convocations of 
the lodge are on the second and fourth Mon- 
days of each month. The present officers (De- 
cember, 19C0) are: A. J. Gillis, G. R. ; D. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



219- 



Wertheimer, Fin.; H. A. Blackman, master; 
J. W. Feilder, P. M.; Samuel Alaxon, Fore.; 
P. P. Pearson, Rec. 

DEGREE OF HONOR. 

Ida Lodge, No. 9, D. of H., derives its 
right to exist and perform its functions from 
a charter bearing date April 12, 1893, and 
signed by Oliver Hall, grand master workman, 
and J. M. Pickens, grand recorder. The per- 
sons to whom the charter was originally grant- 
ed are: Amelia Brodeck, P. C. of H. ; R. 
^Vertheimer, L. of H.; Allie E. Sloan, record- 
er; Jennie Sampson, receiver; K. B. Webber, 
L W. ; Ida K. Parks, C. of H. ; Mary B. Eich- 
ler, C. of C. ; D. Deane, financier; Agnes Vin- 
son, S. U. ; and Mary Stern, O. W. Under 
its authority they and their successors in office 
and the members who have fallen in line with 
them have maintained a prosperous and flour- 
ishing organization ever since. The place of 
meeting of this sorority is Knights Templar 
Hall, and the time the second and fourth 
Tuesdays of the month. 

WOMEN OF VVOODCR.\FT. 

The local circle of this sorority, known as 
Woody Glen Circle, Xo. 176, had its incep- 
tion on the 4th of February, 1898, jNIrs. Carrie 
Van Orsdell, of Pendleton, Oregon, grand 
guardian, being the organizer. On the char- 
ter are twenty-four names. The lodge has 
continued to prosper since its first meeting, 
and its membership has increased until it now 
numbers about forty-two. The order has re- 
cently installed its officers for the year 1901, 
the personnel of whom is as follows: Mrs. 
Eliza McDonald, past guardian; Mrs. Cath- 
erine Munson, guardian neighbor; Mrs. Nancy 
Koontz, banker; Mrs. Lutie M. Stiles, clerk; 
Mrs. Ollie Burke, advisor; Mrs. Virgie Bacon, 



magician; Mrs. May Vinson, musician; Airs. 
Katie Hall, attendant; Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper, 
inside sentinel; Z. Dimmick, outside sentinel; 
H. M. Hedrick, captain of the guard. The 
regular meetings of the circle are held in K. 
of P. hall on the first and third Saturdays of 
each month. 

WOODMEN OF THE WORLD. 

The Walla Walla Lodge of the Woodmen 
of the World was instituted in October, 1891, 
with the following officers : C. B. Stewart, 
C. C; Victor Wilson, A. L. ; R. T. Madrell, 
B.; S. W. White, C; W. C. Durham, E. ; 
T. S. Flowers, G. Since its organization the 
lodge has grown very rapidly and at the pres- 
ent time has over one hundred members in 
good standing. The regular meetings of tlie 
lodge are held on the first and third Tuesdays 
of each month. The officers (December, 
1900) are: D. J. Fry, C. C. ; J. R. Street, A. 
L.; H. N. Hedrick, B. ; C. I. Hall, C. ; M. 
Stiles, E. ; J. Vinson, W. ; J. W. Cookerly, S.; 
board of managers, G. C. Harris, W. T. Kirk- 
man and M. Stiles. 

FORRESTERS OF AMERIC.V. 

Court Ez'ciiiiig Star, No. ?5, was organ- 
ized in Walla Walla in January, 1896, with 
twenty-five charter members. Those who 
served as first officers were : J. W. Cookerly, 
C. R.; Marvin Evans, S. C. R. ; A. Mellin, 
treasurer; J. E. Thomas, F. S.; Herman 
Krack, R. S. Though cjuite young, the lodge 
is in excellent condition financially, and its 
membership has grown to about one hundred 
and forty. The lodge owns property valued 
at twelve hundred dollars. The officers are : 
A. K. Durant, C. R. ; J. H. McDonnell, S. C. 
R. ; Henry Sampson, treasurer; J. C. Cauvel, 
F. S. ; H. Osgood, R. S. The lodge is honored 



220 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



by tlic position of one of its members, J- W. 
Cookerly, wlio is at present grand chief ranger 
of the order for the state. Regular convoca- 
tions of tlie members are iield on Friday of 
each week at Odd Fellows' Temple. 

THE KXIGHTS OF rVTIII.VS. 

\\'alla \\'alla was the first city north of 
San Francisco to be favored by the establish- 
ment of a subordinate lodge of the Knights 
of Pythias. Of the organization and early his- 
tory of this lodge, which was known as Ivan- 
hoe Lodge, No. I, but little can be said, as 
the same has long since surrendered its char- 
ter and the records are not accessible to the 
compiler of this volume. Certain it is that it 
grew and flourished for many years and did 
not go out of existence until anotlier lodge 
had been established to which the interests of 
Pythian Knighthood in this locality could 
safely be entrusted. This is known as Colum- 
bia Lodge, Xo. 8, and was instituted on the 
23d of October, 1882, by authority of a dis- 
pensation granted by the grand lodge of Ore- 
gon, the organizer being Past Chancellor Jo- 
seph \\'eitz, of Friendship Lodge, Xo. 9, of 
The Dalles, who was assisted in the work by 
members of the old Ivanhoe Lodge, N'o. i. 
On the charter are forty-four names. The 
lodge has continued to prosper e\er since its 
incipiency. and ikiw has more than one hun- 
dred members in good standing. It is one of 
the richest K. of P. lodges in the jurisdiction. 
The first officers were: Past chancellor, S. A. 
Deckard; chancellor commander. W. M. 
Geddes; vice commander, H. S. Young; prel- 
ate, Robert Gerry; master of finance, P. P. 
Pearson; master of e.xchequer, Robert G. 
Parks; keeper of records and seal, E. P. Ed- 
sen; master at arms, ^^'illiam Leslie. The 
present officers are: C. C. Robert G. Parks, 



P. S. R. ; \'. C, Joseph Lenderman; P., Jacob 
Schubert; M. of W., C. A. Walter, P. C; 
M. of Ex., A. P. Pearson, P. C; M. of F., 
H. E. Johnson, P. C. ; K. of R. and S., T. D. 
S. Hart, P. C. ; M. at .\.. W. K. Deattie : inner 
guard, X. P. Miller; outer guard, F. j\I. Up- 
dike; trustees, Hans Ronier, P. P. Pearson 
and T. J. Rose. 

R.\THBONE SISTERS. 

Mistletoe Temple, No. 2^, Rathhonc Sis- 
ters, was organized and instituted April 6, 
1900, by Mrs. Alary Baker, of Colfax, AI. Ex. 
G. C. of the state of Washington, assisted by 
members of Waitsburg Temple. The first and 
present officers are : Most excellent past chief, 
Sarah Lambert; most excellent chief, Lizzie 
Games ; most excellent senior, Susan Kees ; 
most excellent junior, Annie Clement; M. of 
T., Gilliam Bartness; M. of R. and S.. Agnes 
Halter; M. of F., Bertha Hart; G. of I. T., 
Maggie Mclnroe; G. of O. T., Elizabeth Schu- 
bert. The membership of the order at the 
time of its inception numbered twenty-five. 

L.\DIES OF THE XI.VCC.VBEES. 

Garden City Hive, A'o. 4S, was organized 
February i, 1899, by Mrs. Catherine Powers, 
state deputy. The original membership num- 
bered twenty-eight persons, but the hive has 
increased numerically until there are now 
forty-five names on its roll. The officers in 
charge at present are: Mrs. Lizzie Crowe, lady 
commander ; Mrs. Mary Rogers, past lady com- 
mander; Mrs. Mary Evans, lieutenant com- 
mander; Mrs. Viola Harding, record keeper; 
Mrs. Lida Bentley, finance keeper; Mrs. Sally 
Smith, chaplain; Mrs. Abbie Caldwell, ser- 
geant; Mrs. Maden, mistress at arms; Mrs. 
Martha Ebert. sentinel; Mrs. Abbie Thomp- 
son, picket. The hive exercises its authority 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



221 



at the present time under charter bearing date 
November 5, 1900, and granted to the follow- 
ing officers, namely: Mary M. Woodworth. 
past commander; Amy A. Rogers, lady com- 
mander; Ellen M. Augustavo, record keeper; 
Lida Bentley, finance keeper; Sallie H. Smith, 
chaplain; May Evans, sergeant; Evie John- 
son, mistress at arms; Martha Ebert, senti- 
nel ; Nancy Baker, picket. This sorority is in 
a prosperous condition financially, and pos- 
sesses an abundant supply of regalia and equip- 
ment. 

THE MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA. 

This largest of all fraternal insurance or- 
ganizations first established itself in Walla 
Walla on October 29, 1897, when Mountain 
View Camp, No. 5,096 was instituted under 
dispensation of the head camp of the United 
States, granted to J. L Brown, one of its dis- 
trict deputies. Forty-three persons were ini- 
tiated into the mysteries of woodcraft on the 
first meeting night, and before all preliminar- 
ies had been arranged ten more were induced 
to join the order, so that there are in all fifty- 
three names on the charter. The camp has 
grown steadily since its inception, its mem- 
bership now numbering about one hundred 
and si.xty-five neighbors in good standing. 
There are also at this writing perhaps twenty 
persons awaiting initiation and adoption. The 
personnel of the officers elected for the ensu- 
ing year as follows : J. Jennings, venerable 
consul; B. S. Wadsworth, worthy advisor; 
G. S. Bond, clerk; C. S. Buffum, banker; 
Charles G. Shumway, escort; Drs. Russell, 
Owens and Stiles, camp physicians; A. C. T. 
Shelden, watchman ; John E. Johnson, sentry ; 
L. L. Reynolds, delegate to head camp. Under 
the efficient leadership of this able corps of 



officers the camp will undoubtedly continue to 
prosper, and a healthy growth in membership 
and influence may be confidently predicted. 

IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN. 

This fraternity established itself in Walla 
\Valla on May 18, 1898, when Walla Walla 
Tribe, No. 23, was instituted and initialed into 
the mysteries of the order, the organizer being 
J. L. McMurray, deputy great incohonee. On 
the charter are sixty-eight names, and the 
membership has steadily increased until it 
now exceeds one hundred and forty. The per- 
sonnel of the first officers was as follows: J. 
M. Hill, sachem; John R. Stockton, senior 
sagamore; A. W. Bennett, junior sagamore; 
Le F. A. Shaw, P. G. S., prophet; J. Carter 
Smith, chief of records; John Bachtold, keeper 
of wampum. Those presiding at present are: 
J. O. Snyder, sachem; J. M. Smith, senior 
sagamore; E. P. Palmer, junior sagamore; 
J. J. Schiffner, prophet; J. Carter Smith, chief 
of records; John Bachtold, keeper of wampum. 
The tribe is in a very flourishing condition 
financially and has regalia and equipment ga- 
lore. Its membership continues to increase 
rapidly. 

DEGREE OF POCAHONTAS. 

loka Council, No. 10, D. of P., was insti- 
tuted on April 14, 1900, by John M. Hill, great 
sachem of the great reservation of Washing- 
ton, the charter membership nuniljering thirty 
four. The first and present officers are : Emma 
E. Shaw, prophetess; Elizabeth B. Hill, Poca- 
hontas; Flora C. Stockwell, Wenonah; Lula 
M. Schwarz, keeper of records; Fannie Bach- 
told, keeper of wampum. This council is, not- 
withstanding its youth, in a very prosperous 
and flourishing condition. 



222 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



THE ROYAL ARCANUM. 

Jl'alla Walla Lodge, No. 1594, was insti- 
tuted on the 4th of May, 1896, and its char- 
ter was issued on the 26tli day of the same 
montli, granting to John N. AIcGhee, Jr., 
Allen H. Reynolds, Joseph C. Scott, Albert 
L. \\'illis, William R. Crifiield. Edwin S. Clark, 
01i\er T. Cornwell, NVilliam H. Kirkman, 
Ernest R. Stending, Walter AL Ely, John A. 
Beard, Osias P. Jaycox, William C. Dibblee, 
Harry O. Kelso, Herbert C. Gregg, Charles 
E. Burrows, Bazil W. Schell, Amos K. Dice, 
Thomas L. H. Bowman, Lewis L. Tallman, 
Arthur C. Cornwell and Charles E. Nye the 
right to initiate persons who may be accepted 
for membership by ballot of the fraternity, 
and to do all other acts and things which a law- 
fully constituted lodge of the Royal Arcanum 
may of right do. Under authority of this 
charter the lodge has been exercising its func- 
tions ever since, and at present it is in a duly 
prosperous condition. It meets on the second 
and fourth Tuesdays of each month in the 
S. of \'. hall. The officers for the year 1901 
are as follows : Regent, Edgar Lemman ; vice 
regent, W. C. Dibblee; orator, W. D. Lyman; 
past regents, J. W. JklcGhee, J. C. Scott and 
Edgar Lemman; secretary, J. C. Scott; col- 
lector, J. W. McGhee; treasurer, B. W. Schell; 
guide, R. L. Brittain; warden, E. A. Knight; 
sentry, A. F. Kees. 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS. 

Morning Star Lodge, No. 2^6, L 0. G. T., 
had its inception in the fall of 1899, and for 
some time thereafter a flourishing lodge was 
maintained. Latterly, however, no meetings 
have been held, but a movement is on foot to 
revive the organization, and it is hoped that 
before many days have elapsed the lodge will 



again be vigorously at work. Its charter, 
which is dated September 14, 1899, was issued 
to the following persons, namely: M. E 
Brewer, Duncan Wallace, Eva Westfall, Nancy 
Wallace, J. C. Cornwell, Burt Owens, JNIrs. A. 
M. Hannaman, W. J. White, F. ^^■arren Jes- 
sup, J. L. Bauldwin, Mrs. A. C. Guinn, \'ictor 
Wilson, Hattie Chew, Maude Brewer, J. W. 
Brewer, Jennie M. Brewer, Fannie Gholson, 
Josephine Parker, George Hausman, Allen L. 
\\'inans. E. L. Waldron, Corwin Waldron, 
J. Kissler, Joseph Wallace and Emma J\Iay 
Bauldwin. The officers who had charge of the 
organization for the first quarter were : Mer- 
ton E. Brewer, chief templar; Nancy Wallace, 
vice templar; Duncan Wallace, chaplain; F. 
Warren Jessup, secretary; George Hausman, 
assistant secretary; J. Kissler, treasurer; E. 
L. Waldron, marshal; Joseph Wallace, deputy 
marshal ; J. L. Bauldwin, guard ; J. W. White, 
lodge deputy; Mrs. A. M. Hannaman, super- 
intendent juvenile temple; Burt Owens, past 
chief templar. 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

A. Lincoln Post, No. 4, G. A. R., was or- 
ganized in ^^■alla AYalla on the 8th of Febru- 
ary, 1881, l)v J. 11. Smith, to whom a special 
dispensation had been granted. The following 
names appear on the charter: John H. Smith, 
John F. McLean, Parish B. Johnson, James 
i\I. Coolidge, R. P. Reynolds, Abram Ellis, 
James Howe, John A. Neill, O. F. Wilson, H. 
O. Simonds, Samuel Nulph. Charles Heim, 
Isaac Chilberg, A. D. Rockafellow, William 
Lesslie, F. F. Adams, F. B. Morse. R. M. Com- 
stock and Ambrose Oldaker, and the officers 
to whom authority was first entrusted were : J. 
H. Smith, commander; P. B. Johnson, senior 
vice commander; J. F. McLean, junior vice 
commander; O. F. Wilson, quartermaster; H. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



223 



O. Simonds, officer of the day ; Isaac Chilberg, 
officer of the guard; R. P. Reynolds, adjutant. 
The post has been in a flourishing condition 
tiiroughout the entire nineteen years of its his- 
tory, and is at present well supi)lied with regalia 
and equipment. Though the rules fnr determin- 
ing eligibility are such as to practically preclude 
an increase of memljership, A. Lincoln Post, 
No. 4, has iield its own well, the names on 
the muster roll at this date (January, 1901) 
numbering fifty-six. The officers installed for 
service during the year just opening are: B. C. 
Bedell, commander ; S. Baker, senior vice com- 
mander; Andrew Johnson, junior vice com- 
mander; R. P. Reynolds, chaplain; Robert Jen- 
kins, surgeon; E. W. Elliott, quartermaster; 
M. G. Parr, officer of the day; R. G. Coyle, 
officer of the guard; E. II. Nixon, adjutant; 
D. E. Earp, sergeant major. 

A LINCOLN RELIEF CORPS, NO. 5, 

Was instituted in April, 1886, with twenty- 
five charter members, the officer in charge of 
the organization and initiatory ceremonies 
being Mr. H. Carnes, commander of A. Lin- 
coln Post, No. 4, G. A. R. Some of the prin- 
cipal officers in charge of the corps during the 
first year of its existence were : Mrs. Jane 
Erickson, president; Mrs. Nancy Gregg, secre- 
tary; Mrs. Lizzie Crowe, treasurer. The 
lodge has flourished from the date of its incep- 
tion to the present, though the necessarily lim- 
ited number of eligibles for membership for- 
bid a rapid numerical growth. The persons 
constituting the present corps number about 
thirty-three, twenty-eight of whom are in good 
standing, and the officers who have been elected 
for the ensuing year are : Mrs. Abbie Caldwell, 
president; Mrs. Mary Baker, senior vice pres- 
ident; Mrs. Susan Clark, junior vice president; 
Mrs. Frank Bedell, treasurer; Mrs. Lizzie 



Crowe, sjecretary; Miss Cora France, chaplain; 
Mrs. Edith Birdsill, conductor; and j\lrs. Lida 



Brock, guard. 



THE SONS OF HERMAN. 

ScIiiUcr Lodge, No. 12, 0. D. H. S., de- 
rives its authority to exist and perform its 
distinctive functions from a charter dated June 
5, 1900, issued to thirty-three persons. The 
organization has flourished since its inception, 
and has enjoyed a healthy growth in member- 
ship. 

ORDER OF WASHINGTON. 

Whitman Union, No. ig, 0. of W., was in- 
stituted in Walla Walla in December, 1899, 
the date of its charter being December 26, of 
that year. The persons to whom the same was 
issued are the following, namely : Nancy 
Koontz, past president; Walter B. Brook, presi- 
dent ; Daniel Macy, vice-president ; James Z. 
Smith, secretary; William Koontz, treasurer; 
William Powell, chaplain; Emma E. Rogers, 
Mary ; Mrs. Margaret Mullinix, Martha ; John 
H. Wallace, conductor ; Donna L. Thomas, as- 
sistant conductor; Eva Magumm, assistant 
guard ; Thomas D. Foster, sentinel ; Dr. Walter 
M. Ely, medical examiner; John H. Bruer- 
statte, Matthew Wilkinson and John W. Foster, 
trustees. The lodge has been in active opera- 
tion ever since its inception, meeting regularly 
twice per month. The present membership 
numbers aliout fift\'. 

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR VETERANS. 

On Thursday evening. May 24, 1900, the 
resident members of Company I, N. G. W., met 
at Armory Flail and organized General Law- 
ton Post, S. A. W. v., with the following as 
officers : Commander, W. B. Bufifum ; senior 
vice commander, T. D. S. Hart; junior vice 
commander, D. H. Roche; adjutant, L. P. Con- 



!24 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



way; (luartonnastcr, IkMijaniin Goldman; chap- 
iain. Kcnnitli ^[cDowell; officer of the day, 
G. W. O'Neil; officer of the guard, C. S. Pres- 
ton ; trustees, C. F. Buffum and C. S. Timmons. 
At the present time the order in Walla Walla 
has sixty-two members. 

FRATERNAL ORHEU OF EAGLES. 

The Walla Walla Acric, No. 26, was or- 
ganized June iS, 1899, with a membership of 
fifty and in less than a year's time it had nearly 
three hundred members. The rapid growth 
of the order was due to the popularity of its 
enthusiastic supporters and the pleasant Sun- 
day evening convocations. The lodge at tiic 
present time has three hundred and forty mem- 
bers. The officers are : Oscar Cain, W. P. 
P.; John Smails, W. P.; Adolph Swart,^, W. 
T.; W. G. Campbell. W. S. ; H. S. P.landford, 
W. C. 

BUILDING ASS0CL\TI0N. 

The Inter-State Building, Loan and Trust 
Association was formed in Walla Walla, in 
1890, the main object being the mutual con- 
venience of both borrowers and lenders. The 
present officers of the association are : F. W. 
Paine, president ; William O'Donnell, vice- 
president; J. ]\I. Hill, treasurer; A. K. Dice, 
secretary; J. L. Sharpstein, attorney. 

THE WALLA WALLA GUN CLUB. 

The Walla Walla Gun Club was organized 
in Marcii, 1900, with a large membership. Im- 
mediately after the organization of the club 
grounds were procured at Fort Walla Walla 
and a gun house and targets were erected. The 
site is a typical one for the work of thee iub and 
is often frequented by visiting gun teams. The 
club hokls shoots regidarly on each Friday 
afternoon. On February 20, 1901, the annual 



election was hclil and other business done, as 
indicated in the appended newspajjcr excerpt. 

The Walla Walla Gun Club held its annual election 
of officers last eveninj;. The meeting was well attended 
and much interest was taken in the election. The new 
officers are: Z. K. Straight, president; John Justice, vice 
president; Will G. Campbell, secretary; Kred Martin, 
treasurer; John L. Sharpstein, captain. The executive 
committee is composed of the following members: Z. K. 
Straight, W. G. Campbell, J. L. Sharpstein, H. S. Baider- 
sone, and Wellington Clark. 

The club was organized a year ago this month with a 
healthy membership and during that time has grown 
rapidly. The names of sixty-seven sportsman are now on 
the membership roll. The club is considered one of the 
best in the state and boasts of a number of excellent 
marksmen. 

To- morrow afternoon the rifie and shotgun teams, 
which will represent Walla Walla in the match" shoot 
with Dayton next Sunday, will hold their last practice, 
and it is desired that all the members of the two teams be 
in attendance. The teams are confident of winning both 
events from Dayton. 



THE WALLA WALLA CLUB. 

On June 25, 1S90, fifty of the enterprising 
citizens of Walla Walla assembled in the coun- 
cil chamber for the purpose of organizing a 
club, the object of which should be the promo- 
tion of sociability and good fellowship among 
its members. "Sir. F. A\". Paine was chosen 
chairman of the meeting and ^Ir. Plenry Kel- 
ling, secretary. A carefully prepared consti- 
tution was oftered for the consideration of the 
proposed club, and after due deliberation the 
same was adopted. In accordance with its 
pro\'isioiis tlie following olticers were elected, 
namely, William Kirkman, president; F. D. 
Boyer, treasurer; J. L. Sharpstein, vice-presi- 
dent; Henry Kelling, secretary; Messrs. J. G. 
Paine, H. H. Turner, C. D. Ballon, J. L. Sharp- 
stein. T. R. Fastman. R. G. Parks. Frank 
Foster and Henry Kelling, governing commit- 
tee. Club rooms were opened on the third floor 
of the Rees-\\'inans building, and fitted up with 
billiard, pool and card tables, reading room. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



225 



etc. Tliese have been maintained continuously 
since. Tlie rooms are comfortably and taste- 
fully furnished, and would be a credit to a 
similar club in a much larger city than Walla 
Walla. At present the membership numliers 
about sixty-five gentlemen, and the officers 
now in charge are : Levi Ankeny, president; L. 
S. Wilson, vice-president; W. P. Winans, 
treasurer; Dr. W. E. Russell, secretary; R. C. 
Kerr, J. G. Paine, Dr. F. W. Rees, Dr. Y. C. 
Blalock, F. S. Dement, A. S. LeGrow, J. H. 
Stockwell. L. S. Wilson and Dr. W. E. Rus- 
sell, governing committee. 

THE WALLA WALLA CITY LIBRARY. 

There are few institutions which can be 
more potent for good in any community than 
a well-chosen public library, the effect of which 
naturally is to enable one to employ for his 
own elevation the hour which might otherwise 
be squandered in frivolities or worse than 
wasted in the mischief which idle hands will 
always find to do. The city of Walla Walla 
is especially fortunate in the possession of a 
very good library, comprising about three thou- 
sand five hundred volumes, and covering a 
wide range of subjects. As indicating the ex- 
tent to which the library is patronized, we may 
say that there are at present over nine hundred 
cards in circulation and that about forty vol- 
umes per day, on an average, are drawn out by 
the book-loving people of Walla Walla. One 
valuable feature of the library is its comforta- 
ble and commodious reading room, upon the 
tables of which all the leading magazines and 
many newspapers and other publications are 
to be found. For this splendid educational 
force the city is indebted largelj' to the Ladies' 
Reading Club, through whose exertions the 
major part of the initial thousand dollars' 
worth of property was secured. The library 

16 



first opened its doors to the public in November, 
1897, offering the free use of its 776 volumes 
to all residents of the city who would exe- 
cute an agreement to make good all books bor- 
rowed and ni)t returned, to pay promptly any 
fines for over-detention or injuries, and to com- 
ply with the rules. The library was and still 
is also available to those residing without the 
city limits upon payment of a nominal fee. The 
officers now in charge in the premises are 
Mrs. Margaret Center, librarian; A. K. Dice, 
Dr. E. E. Shaw and J. L. Sharpstein, directors. 

THE WOMAN^S READING CLUB. 

This prosperous and efficient organization 
had its inception in 1894, and it has ever since 
proved a forceful factor in the intellectual life 
and development of the city. To it more than 
to all other agencies combined Walla Walla 
is indebted for its already very respectable and 
rapidly improving free public library, for, 
though a start toward the establishment of a 
library had been before made, it was through 
tlie exertions of this club that the thousand 
dollars' worth of books and e(|uipments was 
secured, which was required by law as a con- 
dition precedent to its receiving municipal aid, 
The club has always fostered among its mem- 
bers a taste for the best literary productions of 
the best authors. Its announcement for the 
year 1901 outlines a thorough course of read-, 
ing in French history and literature. It shows 
a membership of twenty-nine, including many 
of the most intellectual and cultured ladies of 
the city. The officers now presiding are: 
Mrs. William E. Ritz, president; Miss Grace 
Greenwood Isaacs, vice-president; Mrs. Alvah 
Brown, recording secretary; Miss Mary Gil- 
liam, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Joseph 
Moore, treasurer. 



226 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



THE LADIES RELIEF SOCIETY. 

Tlie Ladies' Relief Society was organized 
in July, 1881, with Mrs. A. H. Reynolds, presi- 
dent; Mrs. J. H. Bauer, vice-president; Miss 
Martina Johnston, secretary; and Mrs. Rose 
Bingham, treasurer. The membership at the 
time of organization numbered sixty, and it 
has neither increased nor diminished since. In 
1885, the society was duly incorporated under 
the laws of the territory of Washington, and 
it has remained a corporate body ever since. 
During these long years of work, the society 
has furnished relief to many persons and fam- 
ilies, who, from some unfortunate circum- 
stances have found themselves without the 
necessities of life and temporarily without the 
opportunity to obtain the same. The society's 
finances are maintained by yearly dues in part, 
though money is also raised in various other 
ways, the most successful being the annual 
charity ball. 

The officers in charge of the society at i)res- 
ent are : ]\Irs. Thomas H. Brents, president ; 
Mrs. E. H. Smith, vice-president; Mrs. George 
Thompson, treasurer; Mrs. Levi Ankeny, Mrs. 
Thomas Moore, Mrs. \Villiams, Mrs. W. P. 
Winans and Mrs. H. Kershaw, trustees. 

W.\LLA WALL.V'S PART IN THE PHILIPPIXE 
WAR. 

When the call was made in the spring of 
the year of 1898 by the United States for vol- 
unteers many young Americans responded to 
their duty without the least hesitation, thou- 
sands leaving their homes of comfort and social 
ties to defend the flag that was more dear to 
them than a mother's love. This fact was no 
more thoroughly felt than in Walla Walla 
when not only Company C, X. G. \\'.. was 
mustered into service but as many as fifty 



3'oung men enlisted in companies of other 
towns. 

♦ Company C. whicli had been organized a 
number of years and had its full quota of men, 
was mustered into the service of the United 
States at Tacoma, ^lay 7, 1898. The com- 
pany was officered as follows : Captain, Will- 
iam B. Bui¥um; first lieutenant, ^l. C. Gustin; 
second lieutenant. T. D. S. Hart. Prior to 
April 30, 1898, the date when the company de- 
parted for Camp Rogers at Tacoma, great 
preparations were made for the event. In 
speaking of the occasion the Walla Walla 
L'nion in its issue of ]\Iay i, 1898, said: 

"The boys are off for the war. 'Old Glory' 
waved in the breezes from every business house 
in the city and the spirit of patriotism pervaded 
the heart of every citizen of Walla Walla when 
the people turned out en masse to bid the vol- 
unteers God speed. Either side of Main street 
was a mass of people and cheer after cheer 
went up as the soldiers proceeded. At the 
Washington & Columbia Ri\-er Railway depot 
the regulars from Fort Walla Walla came to 
a present arms and the \'olunteers passed up 
the line to the platform. There was hardly a 
dry eye in the multitude of people when the 
train pulled away. Women sobbed at the de- 
parture of a son or brother and gray haired 
men buried their faces and wept." 

After the company had arrived at Tacoma 
its name was changed from C to I and was 
known as Company I throughout the service. 

THE WELCOME HOME. 

On the morning of November 8, 1899, the 
city was wild with enthusiasm and anxious to 
welcome home the brave heroes. In reference 
to the day the Morning L'nion said: "Five 
thousand people assembled ?rt the W. & C. R. 
depot to greet the volunteers and welcome them 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



227 



to tlie home which eighteen months a^'o they 
left at their country's call, during which time 
they had served so nolily and gallantly. In 
recognition of their herioc services the citizens 
of Walla Walla prepared for them a reception 
on a gigantic scale never Iiefore attempted in 
this city, and every detail of the demonstration 
passed off successfully. The special train of 
six coaches pulled into the city promptly at eight 
o'clock and as the \'olunteers set foot on Walla 
Walla soil they received loud hurrahs from 
thousands of voices which echoed far and wide. 
After the hearty greetings had been exchanged 
a parade was formed and followed the course 
mapped out by the reception committee. Cap- 
tain Cheever, of the Sixth Cavalry, was grand 
marshal of the procession, assisted by Ralph 
Guichard, W. A. Bratton, W. A. Ritz, J. W. 
Langdon, Zeno Straight, John Albeit, Jr., and 
A. B. Hughes, as aides. The Walla Walla 
band came next in order, playing appropriate 



selections, and was followed by representatives 
of the Grand Army of the Republic, Army and 
Navy Union and veterans of the Indian wars. 
As these honored old men went plodding along 
trying to keep in step with the music they 
presented an impressive spectacle. 

"In direct contrast with these white haired 
veterans were the young volunteers who, so 
recently returned from the scenes of war, 
marched with quick, determined step and were 
received with a great demonstration. 

"Then came the most novel feature of the 
parade, the Chinese scjuad. Attired in rich 
colored costumes and bearing silk banners and 
big umbrellas thirty Celestials marched in the 
triumphial procession. The Chinamen ex- 
pended several hundred dollars towards their 
demonstration, which was voluntarily done not 
only as an evidence of their appreciation for the 
gallant heroes Init the action was prompted by 
a spirit of loyalty to their adopted country." 



CHAPTER XXI. 



THE JOURNALISM OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Journalism is an especially strong American 
idea. Free speech, free press, and free men 
usually go together. Some glaring evils of 
American journalism are plainly to be seen. 
The sensationalism, the advertising dodges, 
the policy-mongering, the partisanship, the 
slippery ethics, — all these are easily seen and 
justly criticized, but w-here is the American 
who would exchange the universal floods of 
light assured by a free press, in spite of tran- 
sient abuses, for the censored papers of Russia 
or the lethargic calm of Turkey. Democratic 



America would not be, without her free press. 
The journalistic history of Walla Walla 
has been essentially like that of other frontier 
American communities. Hardly had the first 
settlers secured the necessities of existence, be- 
fore some of them began to consider the advis- 
ability of starting a newspaper. It should be 
remembered indeed that a printing press was 
not an unknown thing even long prior to the 
beginnings of permanent settlement. In fact 
tiie first printing press ever used upon the Pa- 
cific coast found service in Walla Walla. This 



228 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



printing press was of the kind known as a 
Ramage printing, copying, and seal press, Xo. 
14. This press was sent from Boston by the 
American board of commissioners for foreign 
missions, to their missionaries at Honolulu in 
1819. Alter nearly twenty years service in the 
Hawaiian islands, the press, with type and 
paper, was sent by the missionary board to 
the Whitman mission. After a short period of 
service at the mission, it was moved again, 
this time to Lapwai, the mission in charge of 
Rev. H. H. Spalding. Mr. Spalding used it 
for nine years, and a remarkable use, too, he 
made of it. For he employed it to print trans- 
lations of portions of the Bible and other re- 
ligious literature in the Nez Perce tongue. In 
1848 this printing press was moved to Hills- 
boro, Oregon. After use for some time in 
Oregon it found a permanent resting place in 
the museum of the Oregon State University, 
and there after its unique and adventurous ca- 
reer, it remains on exhibition for the amusement 
of later generations. Such was the pioneer 
printing press of the Inland Empire. No others 
were introduced into the country until after 
the beginning of settlements in i860. 

The pioneer newspaper of Walla Walla 
and eastern Washington was 

THE WALLA WALLA PRESS. 

This was inaugurated by William N. and 
R. B. Smith. Smith Brothers had purchased 
a newspaper outfit of Asahel Bush, among the 
material being the old press of the Oregon 
Statesman, a paper published by Bush. 
Rather curiously, at that very time another old 
press, this one having belonged to the Orego- 
nian, was brought to Walla Walla by N. Nor- 
thrup and R. R. Rees. The two outfits arrived 
within two days of each other, but neither firm 
had had anv knowledge of the other's inten- 



tions. As soon as they recovered from their 
surprise they decided to unite and form what 
in modern times would be called a newspaper 
trust. As a result of the combination the first 
issue of the Washington Statesman ap- 
peared November 29, 1861. This was a week- 
ly paper, independent in politics, although 
Union in sentiment during the Civil war. One 
interesting thing to remember in regard to the 
launching of this paper is that in December of 
1 86 1 W. N. Smith made a horseback tour 
throughout Umatilla and Walla Walla coun- 
ties, and secured two hundred subscriptions at 
five dollars a piece, this number constituting 
nearly all the adult residents of this region. 
Smith brothers seemed to have made a success 
of their enterprise, considering the condition of 
the country. In July, 1862, S. G. Rees became 
a partner in the enterprise. The greatest step 
in the history of the paper was taken Novem- 
ber 10, 1865, when William H. Newell became 
editor and proprietor of the paper. The name 
was changed at that time to 

WALLA walla STATESMAN. 

Mr. Newell was in many respects a remark- 
able man. Although a Union man in politics, 
he supported President Johnson in the great 
struggle with Congress. The paper became 
from that time Democratic in politics. Quite 
early in the history of his connection with the 
Statesman, Mr. Newell undertook the policy, 
so often afterwards renewed, of establishing 
something more than a weekly paper. On Sep- 
tember 7, 1869, he began to issue a tri-weekly. 
It proved to be somewhat in advance of the 
times, however, and he was obliged to return 
to a weekly issue. In October, 1878. Mr, 
Newell started the daily Statesman, the first 
daily paper published in eastern Washington. 
This proved, however, to be the last act in the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



229 



busy life of William H. Newell. He died sud- 
denly on the 13th of Novemlier follnwing. 

Mr. Newell was probably the strongest 
journalist in the early history of eastern Wash- 
ington. He was a man of very strong, pos- 
itive character, with warm friends and bitter 
enemies. He was not in the habit of mincing 
matters or wearing soft gloves when he un- 
dertook to reform an abuse or ventilate what 
he considered to be fraud or trickery on the 
part of his political or journalistic opponents. 
It is related by old-timers that on one occasion 
when he was stumping the country against 
Judge Caton he began his speech in this wise : 
"Fellow citizens, it is always a disagreeable 
task to skin a skunk. But sometimes this has 
to be done, and when the duty devolves on me 
I do not flinch, hard as the job may be. Fel- 
low citizens, I have got to skin a skunk here to- 
night. I propose to skin N. J. Caton." Caton, 
who was sitting on the platform, began to 
reach for his hip pocket, and the meeting broke 
up in general confusion. 

Following Mr. Newell in charge of the 
Statesman came one who was his match in 
unique and original qualities, and long recog- 
nized as one of the foremost journalists of the 
state. This was Colonel Frank J. Parker. 
Colonel Parker was born in England, and has 
had about as varied an experience as miner, 
scout, soldier, correspondent, and politician, as 
often falls to the lot of man. 

The daily edition of the Statesman was 
continued for a short time afer Colonel Parker 
became proprietor, but was found to be too ex- 
pensive for the patronage of the sparsely set- 
tled region of that time, and was discontinued. 
But in February, 1880, Colonel Parker again 
determined to attempt a daily. At that time he 
obtained the first steam-power printing press 
■e\-er used in \\^alla Walla. 



Colonel Parker was in control of the daily 
and weekly Statesman, with short intervals of 
absence, luitil June, 1900. .\t that time the 
paper passed into the hands of the Statesman 
Publishing Company, Dr. E. E. Fall being the 
chief owner. The paper was increased to an 
eight-page size, and is now the largest daily in 
the eastern part of the state or east of the 
mountains outside of Spokane. The present 
editor is Frederick R. Marvin, formerly of 
Spokane. The enterprise of the Statesman, 
in doubling its daily matter and in securing the 
complete Associated Press dispatches, and in 
providing in general a complete modern news- 
paper, has been rewarded b)^ a great increase 
in both its subscriptions and advertisements. 
It has long been felt by citizens of Walla Walla 
that the time had arrived for a first class 
paper in this portion of the Inland Empire. 
V'arious attempts have been made hitherto to 
reach this desirable end, Ijut, b)- reason of the 
proximity of Spokane, Portland, and the Sound 
cities, it has not hitherto been possible for an 
ambitious modern newspaper to gain financial 
support in Walla Walla. The present effort 
of the Statesman bids fair to meet with perma- 
nent success, and is hailed with satisfaction 
by the citizens of this county. 

WALLA WALLA UNION. 

This paper has been the opponent and rival 
of the Statesman throughout its career. A 
number of able newspaper men have been con- 
nected with the Union, but the one name 
which is at once suggested in connection with 
it is that of Captain P. B. Johnson. What 
Horace Greeley was to the Trilnme. that Cap- 
tain Johnson has been to the Union. 

The Union was founded by a company of 
Republicans, in November, 1868. The first 
number appeared on April 17, 1869. H. M. 



230 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Jiulsoii was odilnr. llinui^li the i>apcr was un- 
<.ler the CDiurnl of a j^eiKTal etiuiniittce com- 
posed 111' 1'. 1!. |ii!ins(in, 1^. C. Ross and J. D. 
Cook. R. M. Smith and F.. L. TTerriff be- 
came tlio owners soon after the inauj^nration of 
the paper and retained their tnvnersiiip for ten 
years. F. C. Ross snccceded Mr. Judsoii as 
editor, wiiicli [losition lie held for some si.x or 
seven years, wlien, in 1S76, Captain Joimson 
became etlitor. .\ few hiter Captain Johnson 
purciiased Mr. Smith's interest, and a few 
years hiter still became sole mvner and pro- 
l^rietor. 

As a journalist Captain Joimson became 
noted for his vigor and energy and uncom- 
proniising position on most questions of pub- 
lic concern, lie was a Republican of the 
stalwart onler. L'nder his energetic leader- 
ship, Republicanism in the county became ag- 
gressive and well organized, and the heavy 
Democratic majorities which had n\arkeil the 
earlier history were succeeded bv ecjuall}' em- 
phatic Republican majorities during the last 
two decades. In 1890 Captain Johnson disposed 
of his interest in the L'nion to Charles Resserer, 
who was then conducting the Walla Walla 
Journal, and I'or .some lime it was published 
under the name of the Union-Journal. Walla 
W'alla has had the satisfaction of possessing 
newspaiier men of uinque and strongly marked 
traits, but of all the peculiar and original char- 
acters that ever appeared in Walla Walla jour- 
nalism, it is safe to say that Mr. Besserer heads 
the list. Nature broke the mould after making 
him, anil ne\-er created another such. A Ger- 
man by birth, of Spanish ilescent, well educated 
in his native country, a soldier in the Crimean 
war, as also in the .\mcrican Civil war and in 
Indian warfare afterwartls. acting as manager 
a* various times for a bakery, a distillery, a 
hotel, postmaster, justice of the peace, a sheep 



man, a farmer, and lastly an editor, Mr. Bess- 
erer i)rcser\-ed his own unique personality 
throughout all his changes in circumstances. 
He was a writer of marked ability, and under- 
stood well the recpiirements of the newspaper 
business. No one could ever tell, however, 
wh.it he might pnduce, especially if it was a 
notice of a death. It used to be said that death 
had a double terror in Walla Walla, lest Mr. 
Besserer should write an obituary o"f the de- 
parted. 

^Ir. Besserer retained control of the l'nion 
until 1896, when he sold out to Herbert Gregg 
and Harry Kelso. These gentlemen conducted 
the Union with vigor and success, as a bed- 
rock, simon-pure Republican paper, having 
strong opinions of its own, and vet amenable 
to reason when party necessity seemed to ren- 
der it judicious. In 1899 Messrs. J. G. Frank- 
land, Loyil .\rmslrong and ISert La Due pur- 
chased the Union and conductetl it successfully 
for a year. In 1900 it again changeil hands, 
Levi Ankeny being the purchaser this time. J. 
Howard Watson, noted all over the state as 
the brilliant correspondent of the Seattle Post- 
Intelligencer, became editor iluring the political 
campaign of 1900, and he is still acting in that 
capacity. Mr. Watson is an editorial writer of 
exceptional \igor and intelligence, and has 
"made things hum" since he took up his abode 
in Walla Walla. 

Since the Union is a morning paper and 
the Statesman an evening, their rivalry is not 
quite so intense as it might otherwise be. The 
very great improvements in both papers during 
the jiast \"ear or two have caused a marketl 
falling off in the number of subscribers to the 
papers in the large towns of this state and of 
Oregon. The Union and Statesman have both 
profited in like ratio. At the present time their 
good natnrcil ri\alrv and occasional editorial 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



231 



"scorcliers" on eacli other, ha\e afforded en- 
tertainment to tlieir readers, and liave increased 
business for themselves. 

Although the Statesman and the Union 
have been emphatically the papers of Walla 
Walla, there have been a number of others of 
shorter life, hut wliich, in their own held are 
deserving of notice and commendation. 
Among these was the 

SPIlilT OF THE WEST. 

Founded in 1872 by J. W. Ragsdale. 
Charles H. Humphries was one of the editors, 
followed by L. K. Grim and Charles Besserer. 
Li 1877 Mr. Besserer became proprietor of this 
paper, and clianged its name to the Walla 
Walla Watchman. A few years later the name 
was again changed to that of the Walla Walla 
Journal, which ultimately became merged into 
the Uni(jn-Journal, as has already been stated. 

Among other newspaper ventures of the 
earlier time we may mention the Morning Jour- 
nal, of 1881, and the Daily Events, of 1882, 
both published by M. C. Harris. In 1882 also 
appeared the Washingtonian, edited and pub- 
lislied by W. L. Black. 

Among the papers of a later period may 
be mentioned the Garden City Gazette, es- 
tablished in April, 1894, by W. F. Brock, and 
tlie \\'atchnian, which was developed out of it, 
by J. J. Schick, both of which were conducted 
with much vigor and general success. During 
this period there were several short lived cam- 
paign papers, which produced no permanent 
effect on the journalistic history of the place. 
We present a more extended notice of the pa- 
pers published at the present writing, in addi- 
tion to those already described. 

THE SATURDAY RECORD. 

Among the newspapers the Saturday Rec- 
ord stands apart as being the only distinctive- 



ly local and society publication in the city of 
Walla Walla. Established in y\pril, 1894, by 
Wilbur Fisk Brock, under the name of the 
Garden City Gazette, it was two years later 
sold to J. J. Schick, who changed the name to 
the Watchman, and watched over the destinies 
of the [japer until the early fall of 1900, wdien 
Bert Eugene La Due and J. (i. iM-ankland, late 
owners of the Union, came into possession of 
the plant. The name of the publication was 
changed to The Saturday Record and material 
improvements were made. The plant was at 
once moved to commodious (juarters in the 
Bingham building. Alder street, and the old 
Watchman merged into an eight-])age weekly ; 
a typesetting machine was installed, and a 
complete job plant, besides other requisites to 
make an up-to-date office, purchased. The 
plant is equipped with one of the most modern 
dynamos, and every piece of machinery in the 
establishment is run by electricity. 

The Record enjoys a large circulation, both ^ 
in the city and also in the country, the subscrip- 
tion list having doubled inside of a few months 
under the new management. The paper is ag- 
gressive in the interests of home and home 
u])l)uilding, seldom touching upon other than 
local issues. The owners and publishers have 
in view, in addition to the many improvements 
already made, the bettering and enlarging of 
the paper and plant from time to time as con- 
ditions warrant. 

THE WEEKLY ARGUS. 

The latest aspirant for journalistic distinc- 
tion is the Argus. This was founded on Sep- 
tember 22, 1898, by Walter Lingerfelder and 
(". H. Goddard. The active and aggressive 
]jolicy of the .\rgus, its fearlessness in 
attacking anybody and everylwdy whom it 
believes to be alnising the confidence of 



232 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 



the people, soon made it a marked force 
in the county. In February, 1899, J. E. 
iMulhnix acquired the interest of Mr. Goddard, 
and he in turn sold out to Walter Lingen- 
felder, who thereby became sole proprietor. 
The Argus is published weekly and is inde- 
pendently Democratic in politics. The Argus 
has been edited with marked literary ability, 
and in pursuance of its avowed policy has not 
scrupled to attack evils both high and low, 
thus incurring the enmity of many politicians 
as well as gaining the interest of the general 
reading public. 

THE INLAND EMPIRE. 

Among the very creditable productions of 
the past year, published jointly at Walla Walla 
and Spokane, is a monthly magazine, known as 
the Inland Empire. This is published by A. 
H. Harris. It is a magazine of twenty-four 
pages, and is a publication of which any com- 
munity might well be proud. It contains elab- 
orate articles, of both historic value and high 
literary merit, upon the great resources and 
educational and other institutions of those por- 
tions of Oregon and Washington east of the 
Cascade mountains, together with the great 
state of Idaho. 

1 he papers of Walla Walla county, outside 
of the city, have of course not been numerous, 
inasmuch as Waitsburg is the only newspaper 
town in the county, outside of Walla Walla 
itself. 

THE WAITSBiJRG WEEKLY TIMES. 

This has been the leading and most of 
the time the only paper of Waitsburg for a 
period of twenty-four years. This paper orig- 
inated in a joint stock company formed in 1878, 
for the ])urpose of "booming" that part of the 
county. The first publisher was B. K. Land, 



and the first issue appeared in March, 1878. 
It was leased for a short term to D. G. Ed- 
wards, and later to J. C. Swash. In 1880 it be- 
came the property of C. W. Wheeler. Mr. 
Wheeler has been for many years one of the 
marked characters of the county. He was first 
a teacher by profession, and served as superin- 
tendent of schools in Walla Walla county, and 
also as territorial superintendent. After enter- 
ing upon the management of the Waitsburg 
Times he devoted himself unremittingly to 
journalism. In 1900 his two sons, E. L. and 
Guy Wheeler, assumed entire charge of the 
paper, giving their father a much needed rest. 
The Times is provided with an excellent brick 
building, excellent modern presses, gasoline 
engine, and all the other conveniences of pres- 
ent day journalism. In politics it is uncom- 
promisingly Republican. 

As is necessary to the life of newspapers, 
the Times has a Democratic rival, in the form 
of the 

WAITSBURG GAZETTE. 

This newspaper was founded in 1899, the 
first issue appearing on the 29th of June, of that 
year. R. V. Hutchins was editor and propri- 
etor. On the 7th of March, 1900, the paper 
passed into the hands of C. W. McCoy. On 
January i, 1901, he in turn sold out to J. E. 
Houtchins, who is conducting the Gazette at 
this writing as an up-to-date paper in an up- 
to-date town. As already indicated, this paper 
is Democratic in politics. It has already ac- 
quired a large circulation throughout Walla 
\\'alla and Columbia counties. 

In concluding this survey of the newspapers 
of Walla Walla, we may say that in no feature 
of the life of the county has there been a more 
marked elevation of standards, within the past 
few years, than in journalism. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



BENCH AND BAR OF WALLA WALLA. 



In going over the county records in search 
■of data for this summary of the most import- 
ant events in the legal history of Walla Walla 
county one is struck with the many changes 
that have taken place in the style and manner 
of pleadings and the form in which they are 
now and were then presented. Just as in the 
appointments of the court room with its con- 
venient arrangement and commodious apart- 
ments there has been a remarkable advancement 
in forty years, so in the manner of preparing 
and conducting a case and keeping the records 
there has been great progress. In the time 
of the old District court, when the First Dis- 
trict comprised practically all of eastern Wash- 
ington, holding sessions at Colville, Colfax, 
Yakima and Walla Walla, about all the lawyers 
made their homes in Walla Walla as did the 
Associate Justice of the Territorial Supreme 
■court. It was customary in those days for the 
judge to take a light wagon and a camping 
•outfit and start out in company with the lawyers 
to hold sessions in the other parts of his district. 
Each county or sub-division of the district 
had its own local officers, as sheriff, clerk and 
prosecuting attorney, who in matters of im- 
portance were assisted by the district attorney 
for the territory. Those who took part in 
these legal journeys tell many amu'sing stories 
of the times they used to have. Though par- 
taking of the nature of an outing they were by 
no means pleasure trips, as at each town where 



a session was held, business had been accumu- 
lating for from four to six months, and the 
train of lawyers who followed in the wake of 
the judge were under the necessity of getting 
up their pleadings and bringing the causes to 
issue in the short time alloted for that term of 
court. There was no time for dilatory meas- 
ures, demurrers, and motions to delay pro- 
ceedings, but every one had to get down to 
business. Sometimes as high as thirty or 
forty cases were disposed of, most of them be- 
ing actually tried. This necessitated night and 
day labor on the part of the attorneys and they 
had to swim hard or sink under the loads im- 
posed upon them. 

In Walla Walla the court used to be held in 
the building where Betz's Brewery now is and 
the site of the present court house was a pub- 
lic square where executions took place. When 
we go into the offices of the lawyers now prac- 
ticing in Walla Walla and see their well fur- 
nished rooms, large law libraries with com- 
plete sets of State and United States reports, 
encyclopedias and digests ; with their stenog- 
raphers and typewriters and other modern con- 
veniences ; when we see all these appliances for 
doing accurate and expeditious work, we can- 
not help contrasting them with the days when 
Frank Dugan was wont to read citations to fit 
any case out of the sole book that comprised 
his library, and Colonel George carried his 
briefs in the top of his silk hat, and all the legal 



234 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



knowledge he needed in liis spacious head. 
Tlien. too, as we listen to the urderlv carrying 
forward of a trial in the presence of Judge 
Brents we are reminded of the contrast pre- 
sented hy a tunuilt of jangling attorneys, and 
Judge Oliphant vainly endeavoring to main- 
tain order by shouting: "Gentlemen, the row 
must stop ! This court is getting roused, and 
when this court is roused, it's roused, and 
there's an end on't." Or we may be reminded 
of a scene in Judge Strong's court, where the 
attorneys are sitting with their feet cocked up 
on chairs and benches and the air is dense with 
smoke. Suddenly the court becomes aware 
that proper decorum is not being observed and 
he declares : "There is too much smoke in this 
room. If you lawyers want to smoke you can 
go outside, but since the court has got to stay 
here it can smoke." Nor has there been in 
recent years such an exciting event as the run- 
ning fight with six-shooters between Judge 
Langford and the Mullen Brothers, attorneys 
who practiced in Walla Walla fifteen or twenty 
years ago. 

The good old times when everyone wore 
red-llannel shirts and long six-shooters have 
passed away, and with thcni have gone the days 
when all legal documents were written with 
pen and ink on foolscaj) pajier, when pleadings 
were short and formalities were more honored 
in the breach than in the observance. But 
there was a sturdy manliness in those days, 
bred of the rough surroundings, that atoned 
for many shortcomings, and was distinguished 
by a sense of justice, untramnieled by prece- 
<lents and hairsplitting legal distinctions. This 
trait was strikingly illustrated in one of the 
familiar sayings of Judge Wyche. Whenever 
the distinction was between a close adherence 
to precedent and ethical right, he would decide 
in favor of the latter bv the remark : "If I am 



not technicallv correct, I think I am giving vou 
substantial justice." So while we are rejoicing 
in the vastly improved general conditions, we 
must not sneer at the primitive methods of 
those who went before, nor overlook their ster- 
ling virtues. 

Court was opened in the First Judicial dis- 
trict of the territory of Washington, and the 
first order was signed on the ist day of June, 
i860, with Associate Justice William Strong 
on the bench. The first order was one admit- 
ting Edward L. and Otis L. Bridges to prac- 
tice before the court. Edward L. Bridges was 
appointed first prosecuting attorney for Walla 
Walla county, and James Galbreatb was the 
first clerk of the court. Judge Strong held the 
position until the 21st of October, 1861, when 
Judge J. E. Wyche was appointed. Under 
Wyche, Galbreath still continued as clerk, and 
J. J. McGilvra was appointed prosecuting at- 
torney. Wyche was succeeded on April 4, 

1864, by Judge Oliphant. who appointed B. 
N. Sexton as clerk and B. Fargo, prosecuting 
attorney. Oliphant only held until April 10, 

1865, when Judge Wyche came back to the 
First Judicial district. Tn :\Iay. 1867, P. B. 
Johnson was appointed clerk and Frank Dugan 
prosecuting attorney. J. K. Kennedy was ap- 
pointed judge in 1869. on August 14th of that 
year. Under bini R. P. Reynolds was clerk 
of the court and A. J. Cain hekl the office of 
prosecuting attorney. On April 29, 1872. J. 
R. Lewis was appointed to succeed James K. 
Kennedy. Judge Lewis's appointment to- 
Washington Territory was the result of a pe- 
culiar circumstance. He had been on the su- 
preme bench of the territory of Idaho without 
any e.xpectation of making a change. Some 
of his jxilitical enemies put up a job on him 
to oust him from his position. They made out 
a resignation, forged his name to it and sent 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



23? 



it on to Washington, D.C. Thinking that it was 
genuine the ofificials there accepted the resigna- 
tion and President Grant appointed another 
man in Judge Lewis's place. When later it 
was discovered that a forgery had heen com- 
mitted and that Judge Lewis had not resigned 
at all, the president did not know what to do. 
It was at last straightened out l)y allowing the 
new man to take Lewis's place in Idaho and 
transferring him to the First Judicial district 
of Washington Territory. W. H. Andrews 
was chosen clerk and N. T. Caton, prosecuting 
attorney. S. C. Wingard was appointed on 
May 10, 1875, ^"<J '^sld the office for ten years. 
During his term of office he sentenced twelve 
men to be hanged, and all of them were exe- 
cuted, either legally or by the mob. Two of 
these legal e.xecutions took place in Walla Wal- 
la, the remainder being divided up among the 
other towns where Judge Wingard held ses- 
sions of his court. T. J. Anders was prosecut- 
ing attorney under Judge Wingard and A. 
Reeves Ayres clerk of the court. T. J. Anders 
has since distinguished himself as a jurist, hav- 
ing been on the Supreme bench of the state of 
Washington for nearly twelve years, and be- 
ing at the present time chief justice. A. Reeves 
Ayres held the position of clerk for ten years, 
the longest of any incumbent since the organi- 
zation of the county, and his handwriting as it 
appears on the records is superb. George T. 
Thompson, who is still living in Walla Walla, 
was also prosecuting attorney for several years 
under Judge Wingard. W^ G. Langford was 
appointed judge and took up his work on De- 
cember II, 1885. Judge Langford was the 
last of the district jpJges ;ui(l held his office 
until November 18, 1889, when Washington 
Ijecame a state and the superior court took tlic 
place of the district court. Under Langford 



E. K. Hanna was prosecuting attorney and A. 
N. Marion clerk of the court. 

Turning from judges to lawyers, we find 
among the attorneys of the county many of 
brilliant minds, distinguished throughout the 
state and in some instances of national repute. 
W. A. George, E. L. Bridges, O. L. Bridges, 
J G. Sparks, and J. D. Mix, the most noted. 
The first named. Colonel George, was one of 
the greatest characters in his way in the states. 

Among the attorneys practicing in a little 
later time before the old territorial court who 
have since attained distinction the name of 
Honorable John B. Allen is most conspicuous. 
For a long time he was district attorney for 
the territory and upon the admission of the ter- 
ritory to statehood he was elected as one of 
the first United States senators. In 1893 he 
came up for re-election, but the Turner forces 
caused a dead-lock and no senator was elected 
at that session. Since that time Mr. Allen has 
been connected with the firm of Struve, Allen 
and McMicken in Seattle. 

D. J. Crowley, now of the firm of Crowley, 
Sullivan & Grosscup of Tacoma, began his 
legal career before the district court in Walla 
Walla. Mr. Crowley now holds a leading 
position among the members of the bar of the 
state of Washington and enjoys a wide prac- 
tice. 

Supreme Judge T. J. Anders has alreadv 
been mentioned as having made his start in 
Walla Walla. Judges Kennedy and \\'ingard 
are both living in Walla Walla at the present 
time, enjoying a well earned retirement from 
active life. Judge Lewis moved to California 
and has since become rjuite wealthy. 

The first Judge of the Superior court of 
Walla Walla county was William H. Upton, 
who held the position from November i8th. 



236 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



1889, until January 14th, 1897. Tlie clerks 
of the court under Judge Upton were E. B. 
A\'hitman, H. W. Eagan (four years), and Le 
F. A. Shaw. The prosecuting attorneys under 
Upton were Wellington Clark, H. S. Blanford, 
]\Iiles Poindexter, and R. II. Ormsbee. On 
January I4tli. 181)7. J'^'lge Thomas H. Brents 
assumed the tluties of judge of the Superior 
court, and in November last was re-elected to a 
second term of four years. The clerks of the 
court under Brents have been J. E. Mullinix 
and Schuyler Arnold, and the prosecuting at- 
torneys, F. B. Sharpstein and Oscar Cain. 

It will be found of interest to briefly outline 
here some 

IMPORTAXT CRIMINAL CASES. 

A case that attracted wide spread attention 
at the time of its trial was the Thomas murder 
case, which was tried at the April term of the 
district court in 1880 during Judge Wingard's 
term of office. 

Thomas and his wife, together with S. \\'. 
Brumfield and his wife, passed through Walla 
Walla earl_\- in the year 18S0, on their way to 
the upper country. They went up by way of 
Texas Ferry and had not been gone very long 
when Thomas and his wife returned alone, 
saying that they had decided to go back to 
Kansas, and that Brumfield and his wife had 
gone on up to the upper country. Nothing was 
thought of it at the time although Brumfield 
was known to have had considerable money 
when he left Walla Walla. Early in April the 
bodies of Brumfield and his wife were found 
near Texas Ferry, and suspicion at once rested 
on Thomas and his wife as the murderers. 
They were arrested in Kansas and brought to 
Walla Walla for trial. N. T. Caton and D. 
J. Crowley defended them and R. F. Stur- 



devant and T. J. Anders conducted the 
case for the prosecution. The case was 
hotly contested on both sides and the de- 
fense produced a witness who swore point 
blank that he had seen Brumfield alive and back 
in Kansas since the time when he was alleged to 
have been murdered. The evidence was so 
overwhelmingly against Thomas and his wife 
that Judge Wingard called the prosecuting at- 
torney to him before the witness had finished 
his testimony and told him to make out a charge 
of perjury against him, and not to let him get 
out of the court house. The witness seemed 
very nervous while testifying and was in con- 
siderable of a hurry to get out of the court 
room when he had finished, but the sheriff 
met him at the door of the court room with a 
warrant and he was subsequently tried and sen- 
tenced to five years in the penitentiary for per- 
jury. Thomas and his wife had demanded 
• separate trials. In Thomas's case the jury 
brought in a verdict of murder in the first de- 
gree and he was sentenced to be hanged on 
January 4th, 1881. The scaffold was erected 
in the i)resent court house yard and the public 
schools were given a holiday to witness the 
execution. Before the fatal drop Thomas con- 
fessed the crime and took all the blame of the 
murder upon himself, exonerating his wife. 
In view of his confession and assumption of 
the blame the case against Mrs. Thomas was 
dismissed. Sheriff James B. Thompson per- 
formed the execution. 

THE ELFERS MURDER CASE. 

The next criminal case resulting in an ex- 
ecution was that of John Elfers for the murder 
of Dan Haggarty. Haggarty owned a saloon 
near Waitsburg. John Elfers, on October 27th, 
1883, created a disturljance and got into an al- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



237 



tercation with Haggarty's bar keeper. As he 
would not be quiet they put him out. He came 
back a second time in an ugly mood and was 
again ejected. Nothing more was heard of him 
for half an hour when without any warning 
a shot was fired from without and Haggarty 
fell forward dead. Although no one saw 
Elfers at the time of the shooting, yet he had 
been seen looking in at one of the windows 
just before the shot was fired. He was found 
in Walla Walla and put under arrest. He was 
defended by Ormsbee and Hanson, and the 
prosecution was conducted by George T. 
Thompson. He was convicted of murder in the 
first degree and hanged by SheriiT James B. 
Thompson on January 15th, 1884. Judge Win- 
gard was the presiding judge. There is some- 
thing gruesome about these old death warrants 
with their black border and sable seal when we 
think of the chill which they caused to pass over 
the condemned man's soul as he listened to the 
sherift' read the fatal words : "hanged by the 
neck until dead," and realized that his last hope 
was gone. As we look through the court 
records now we see these gloomy evidences of 
man's effort to mete our punishment to his fel- 
low man for wicked deeds, and they stand out 
as dark birds of ill omen to warn the would 
be criminal from his dangerous path. The ex- 
ecution of Elfers was the last legal execution 
to take place in Walla Walla county. 

THE TRI.\L OF MRS. MARY PYLE AND JOHN 
HURN. 



lodging houses, one the Aurora hotel, on the 
corner of Rose and Fourth streets, and the 
other over near the Sisters' hospital. On the 
night of March 13th, 1888, both of these 
lodging houses were burned down under very 
suspicious circumstances. A number of fires 
had happened about the same time that were 
believed to be of incendiary origin, and an in- 
vestigation was instituted to discover the cause 
of the burning of the Aurora hotel, since the 
life of a young man named Harrold had been 
lost in consequence. It developed that the fire 
had been purposely set and Mrs. Pyle and her 
son, John Hurn, were arrested on the charge 
of murder and arson. Mrs. Pyle stoutly main- 
tained her innocence but the evidence was too 
strong and both she and lier son were found 
guilty of murder in the first degree and sen- 
tenced to he hanged. A strong effort was made 
to save them by some parties who believed them 
innocent, but without avail, until Mrs. Pyle 
got the endorsement of the prosecuting officers 
by making a confession in which she owned up 
to entering into a conspiracy to burn the build- 
ing for the insurance. A stay of exectition was 
subsequently granted and later Governor Sem- 
ple commuted the sentence of both prisoners to 
life imprisonment. J. L. Sharpstein and George 
T. Thompson conducted the case for the de- 
fense and T. J. Anders for the prosecution. In 
January of this year (1901) Governor Rogers 
granted Mrs. Pyle a full pardon and she was 
set at liberty, but died soon after her release. 



Another case that resulted in a conviction 
and death sentence was that of Mrs. Mary J. 
Pyle and J. T. Hurn, her son, for murder and 
arson. 

Mrs. P}-le and a man named Clink, who 
was paying court to her at the time, owned two 



THE ROYSE MURDER TRIAL. 

The trial of Frank Royse for the murder 
of his grandfather is still fresh in the minds of 
Walla Walla iieople. The farm of Benjamin 
F. Rovse, deceased, is about ten miles from 



238 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



\\'alla Walla and situated near Dixie. On the 
8th of February. 1900, the house was burned 
and the old gentleman's body was burned with 
it. At first it was thought to be an accident 
that the old man had been caught in the tlames, 
but the coroner's in(|uest developed the fact 
that the charred remains bore evidence of 
Jiaving sustained a gun-shot wound. Frank 
Royse and his grandfather had had some trou- 
ble about financial matters and Frank had been 
seen around the house before it was burned. 
He was arrested on the charge of murder in 
the first degree. Royse was defended by Grif- 
fits, Dovell, Ormsbee and ?\lcKinney, and the 
prosecution was conducted by Oscar Cain. The 
evidence that Royse had murdered his grand- 
father when drunk and then to hide the crime 
liad burneil down the house was too strong to 
be successfully opposed, so the defense con- 
fined themselves to proving insanity, and en- 
deavoring to at least secure a verdict in a 
less degree. Evidence was produced to show 
that James Saylor, a great uncle of the defend- 
ant, was then in an asylum for the insane in 
Iowa, and that his mania was of a homicidal 
nature. Expert testimony was also produced 
as to Royse's mental condition at the time of 
the killing and subsequent thereto, tending to 
show that he was afflicted with the homicidal 
mania hereditary in the family. The jury 
lirought in a verdict of murder in the second 
degree, stating that the crime was committed 
while Royse was in a suftkienlly sane condi- 
tion to know what he was doing, but was with- 
out premeditation or deliberation. Judge 
Brents sentenced him to twenty years in the 
penitentiary. An appeal was taken to the su- 
preme court of the state, and pending a final 
decision granted the defendant the privilege of 
bail, which was set at the sum of ten thousand 
dollars. Royse was able to secure the required 



amount and is now at liberty. His case was 
argued before the court in February, 1901, 
but a decision has not yet been handed down. 

IMPORTANT CIVIL C.VSES. 

Isaacs I's. Barber. This was a case involv- 
ing the rights of the prior appropriator of 
water upon public lands. The action was 
brought by H. P. Isaacs to restrain George H. 
Barber from interfering with a dam which had 
been erected for the purpose of diverting water 
from Mill creek into a race, or flume, which 
led to the Isaacs flouring mill. The defendant 
justified his action under the claim of the right 
to have the waters flow past his place situated 
on said creek between the point where the 
water was di\'erted and plaiutifY's mill. Isaacs 
in the year 1862 had diverted the waters of 
Mill creek into his race and used it for the 
propelling power of his mill. At the time of 
the diversion the point at which his flume be- 
gan was on the public domain. Later when a 
man named Dodge purchased the land over 
which his flume ran he secured a ninety-nine 
year lease of the privilege of so conducting 
the water across the premises. He contended 
that he had the right to make the diversion by 
reason of his prior appropriation, and also 
from having secured the permission of the 
owners of the land to construct his flume and 
finally that there had been such open and noto- 
rious and continui3us use as to give title by pre- 
scription. Barber claimed that the right of 
prior appropriation did not exist as a part of 
the law or custom of the locality, and next that 
the grantor, Dodge, acquired the title prior to 
the act of congress of July, 1866, under which 
Isaacs claimed his right by priority of appro- 
priation. 

Isaacs won in the Superior court and it was 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



239 



appealed to tlie Supreme Court of the state, 
where it was tried in tlie Xoveniber term 
in 1894. 

The Supreme court held tliat the right of 
prior appropriation existed prior to the act of 
1866, and that congress in that act simply rec- 
ognized it. It was a part of the laws and cus- 
toms of the locality when the diversion was 
made. To the second proposition of the appel- 
lant (that the land having passed by absolute 
^'rant before the passage of the act of 1866, 
the title held for such riparian rights as were 
recognized by the common law of England), 
the court held that since the tract of land owned 
by appellant had come to him through a con- 
veyance from Dodge, who had for more than 
twenty years acquiesced in the appropriation 
made by Isaacs at a point upon his land, the 
appellant could not interfere with the appro- 
priation. The lower court was upheld in its 
decision. 

THE CASE OF DENNEY VS. PARKER. 

This was a case invoh-ing the right of at- 
torneys to compromise a suit without the con- 
sent of the parties thereto, provided their action 
is afterward ratified ; and also the right of an 
administrator to compromise a lawsuit involv- 
ing title to realty, without sul)mitting the mat- 
ter to the probate court for approval. 

Nathaniel B. Denney, administrator of the 
estate of Timothy P. Denney, deceased, was 
plaintiff and Hollon Parker, defendant. In the 
life time of Timothy P. Denney he conveyed 
the property in question, together with several 
other tracts to the defendant. Later on an ac- 
tion was brought by Denney to have it declared 
that the defendant Parker held these tracts 
of land in trust for him. The district court of 
the territory decreed as the plaintiff had asked 



and directed the defendant to make a deed of 
the i)roperty to plaintiff within a certain time. 
An appeal to the supreme court of the terri- 
tory was taken and the judgment of the dis- 
trict court affirmed. An appeal was then taken 
by Parker to the Supreme court of the United 
States. 

While the cause was still pending in the 
supreme court of the territory, Timothy P. 
Denney died, and his wife, Elizabeth Denney, 
the executrix of his will, was substituted as 
plaintiff. Before the matter came to a decision 
in the Supreme court of the United States a 
compromise was agreed upon whereby one 
tract of land was to be deeded to Parker and the 
rest was to be deeded to Denney. The terms of 
the agreement were complied with and an order 
made by the Supreme court of the United 
States dismissing the appeal. 

In 1894 Nathaniel B. Denney, as adminis- 
trator of the estate of Timothy P. Denney, 
deceased, brought suit to recover title to the 
property that had been deeded to Parker under 
the terms of the stipulation above referred to. 
He claimed, First, That the attorneys who 
signed the stipulation were not authorized by 
their clients to do so. Second, that under the 
statutes an administrator or executor has no 
right to compromise a suit without authority 
from the probate court; and Third, that even if 
such a compromise could be made in a suit not 
involving realty, it could not be done when the 
effect of the compromise is to pass title to real 
eslc-te. 

The superior court of ^^'alla Walla decided 
in favor of Parker in this instance and an appeal 
was taken to the supreme court of the state. The 
supreme court held that attorneys did have a 
right to make compromises affecting title to 
realty, provided their clients subsequently rati- 
fied their actions; and in the case in 



340 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



question the clients had so ratified the ac- 
tions of the attorneys. As to the second 
proposition the court made a distinction be- 
tween the compromise of claims by an ad- 
ministrator which had not yet come into 
court for settlement, and those which prior to 
the compromise had become involved in a case 
in court, holding that in the latter event a com- 
promise could be effected without reference to 
the probate court for ratification. The third 
contention of appellant was met by the court's 
holding that such power of compromising mat- 
ters already in litigation was not necessarily 
limited to cases which did not involve the pass- 
ing of title to realty. 

The decision of the superior court was af- 
firmed and Parker retained possession of the 
tract that had been deeded to him in conse- 
quence of the compromise. 

THE CASE OF THE CITY OF WALL.\ WALLA VS. 
THE WALLA WALLA WATER COMPANY. 

This was a bitterly contested case and at- 
tracted Avide-spread attention on account of its 
public character and the large interests in- 
volved. 

On March 15, 1887, the City Council of 
Walla Walla passed an ordinance to secure a 
supply of water, and granted, under certain re- 
strictions, to the \\'ater Company, for a 
period of twenty-five years, "the right to lay, 
place, and maintain all necessary water mains, 
pipes, connections and fittings in all the high- 
ways, streets and alleys of said city, for the pur- 
pose of furnishing the inhabitants thereof with 
water." The city also agreed not to erect water 
works of its own during that period of twenty- 
five years. 

After this contract had been in force for 
about six years and on June 20, 1893, an ordi- 



nance was passed "to provide for the construc- 
tion of. a system of water works" for the pur- 
pose of supplying water to the city and its in- 
habitants ; to authorize the purchase and con- 
demnation of land for that purpose, and to au- 
thorize the issuance of bonds to the amount of 
one hundred and sixty thousand dollars to pro- 
vide the necessary funds. This proposition was 
submitted to the freeholders and carried by a 
sufficient number of votes. 

The Water Company made application to 
tlie circuit court of the United States for the 
district of ^^'ashington for an injunction 
against the city to keep it from expending 
money or selling bonds to erect such a system 
of water works. The company won its case in 
the circuit court and the city appealed to the 
supreme court of the United States. 

The supreme court of the United States 
held that the case depended largely upon the 
power of the city under its charter. The ordi- 
nance authorizing the contract, which was 
passed in pursuance of the charter, stated that 
the contract could only be declared void by a 
court of competent jurisdiction, and that until it 
should be so voided the city could not erect, 
maintain or become interested in any water 
works except the one established by the com- 
pany, while the ordinance of June 20, 1893. pro- 
vided for the immediate construction of a sys- 
tem of water works by the city. Upon the face 
of the two ordinances there was a plain conflict, 
— the latter clearly impaired the obligation of 
the former. The court therefore held that the 
original contract of the city should hold and 
that the city had no right to construct water 
works of its own until the twenty-five years 
were up. The decision of the circuit court 
was upheld. 

This decision made it necessary for the 
city to adopt other tactics in regard to the 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



241 



Water Company. The only thing left for the 
city to do was to buy out the interests of the 
Water Company under a provision of the con- 
tract, and in 1899 a proposition was presented 
to the voters to bond the city for a sufficient 
amount to buy out the Water Company and put 
the control of the water system in the hands of 
the city. The proposition was carried and the 



city now owns its own system of water 
works. 

There have been many cases involving 
greater amounts than those we have mentioned, 
but we believe that we have given a summary 
of the most important cases from a legal point 
of view; cases which involved far-reaching 
legal principles. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



WALLA WALLA IN THE OLDEN TIMES. 



Early history in Walla Walla county is 
rich in materials for the story teller. It abounds 
in incidents, striking, humorous, tragic, and 
in characters ranging from the religious fa- 
natic to the missionary hero, from the wander- 
ing vagabond and highwayman to the upholder 
of honor and law who might well fill the hero's 
place in any romantic novel. Many eyewit- 
nesses of those stirring times are still living, 
and it is from the lips of such men tiiat the 
material for this chapter has been collected. 

The earliest history of Walla Walla coun- 
ty, as of the whole northwest, centers about the 
names of the old explorers, fur traders and mis- 
sionaries. Of their lives and achievements we 
have already spoken at length in previous 
pages. But of one notorious character in our 
early tragic annals, we find an interesting rem- 
iniscence, worthy of preservation here, given 
us by the kindness of Mr. John Seek, of Walla 
Walla. This pertains to the infamous Delaware 
half-breed, Joe Lewis, who was the chief in- 
stigator in the Whitman massacre. It appears 

18 



that this wretch had a place at one time on 
board a man-of-war, and for some reason had 
been put in irons. Having managed to escape, 
he landed, after many wanderings, in Califor- 
nia, whence he came and made his home among 
the Indians of Walla Walla. He acquired an 
extraordinary influence over these Indians, 
and was the direct agent in the Whitman mas- 
sacre, apparently impelled thereto by no other 
motive than pure villainy. After the massacre, 
Lewis told the Indians that he had been at 
Salt Lake City, and that the Mormons had 
promised to come and drive the whites from the 
Oregon territory. He said that he would go 
and bring the Alormons on this mission, if 
he were provided with the necessary number of 
horses. Accordingly the Indians gave him three 
hundred ponies. With three of four men to aid, 
he set out for Utah. While camping at Ameri- 
can falls, on Snake river, in Idaho, he shot every 
one of his companions and alone made his way 
to Salt Lake City, where he sold the ponies. 
Such is the story of the doings of Joe Lewis, 



242 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



as gathered Ijy Mr. Seek from one McDofa, 
who had come to this country in 1834, in tlie 
employ of the Hudson's Bay Company. 



No period in the early history of Walla 
AN'alla is more thrilling in character and inci- 
dent than the time when the Vigilantes were 
in their glory. Like every other city of the 
northwest in those days, Walla Walla had its 
quota of gamblers, thieves and general toughs. 
The courts soon became powerless to cope 
with the evil doers. There were regular gangs 
of cattle thieves organized, who would operate 
much in this manner : Some one of the gang 
would start a bunch of cattle away to a certain 
point, where another lay in wait, who would 
drive them on to still another relay, and so 
they would keep them in motion until they 
were clear out of the country. It became ?1- 
jnost impossible to run down the thieves, and 
when caught, there were so many of their own 
jiumber to witness in their favor that it was 
jiext to impossible to secure, conviction. In 
1864 and 1865 the Vigilantes organized, and 
then came a reign of terror to the evil doer. 
It suddenly seemed as though nature had 
granted trees a new and startling fruit, for it 
became a very common thing to see dead 
men's bodies dangling from limbs. In one 
month during the busy season thirty-two men 
were reported as ha\ing been mysteriously 
hanged. The common expression as men met 
on the streets on a morning was, "Well, whom 
ha\e we for breakfast this morning?" And 
it was a very rare thing when some unfortu- 
nate's name was not served up for discussion 
as having suffered the vengeance of the dread 
society. There w-as no escaping its clutches 
when once it set its seal upon a man. As one 
■old-timer expresses it, "There was only one 
way to get out of their hands, when once they 



had started for you, and that was to literally 
tiy." 

Probably no one knows and remembers 
more concerning those tragic days than Mr. 
Richard Bogle, who is to-day living in Walla 
Walla. In the early days he kept a barber 
shop on Maine street, where Miss Beine's mil- 
linery store is now located. In those days the 
citizens of the place made it rather hard for 
men of -\frican descent. A negro could not 
get a room at a hotel. He was not allowed 
to eat in a public dining room. He could not 
buy a cigar or a drink in a gin room without 
first taking off his hat and showing due rev- 
erence to the august vendor of the booze. 
Consequently it was customary for Mr. Bogle, 
out of the kindness of his heart, to allow col- 
ored strangers who happened to be in the 
town to occupy the rear of his shop, where 
they could keep warm and sometimes cook 
a meal. 

Among the sojourners in the rear of Bo- 
gle's barber shop was a young negro about 
twenty years of age, very tall and slender, but 
with muscles like steel. He had been dubbed 
with the appropriate title of "Slim Jim." He 
was a sort of pet among the gamblers and 
sporting men of the community, having been 
brought up as a general roustabout for the 
horse men, jockeys and sports. 

Two men had just garroted a man in the 
lot back of Charles Roe's saloon. This means 
that when that man was walking along he 
suddenly felt himself seized from behind and 
his arms securely pinioned, while in front his 
startled gaze fell upon a man with a long 
knife, ready to slit- him open if he offered 
resistance. Thus at the pleasure of the rob- 
bers he was soon relieved of any gold dust or 
other valuables that he possessed. The two gar- 
roters in the case just mentioned were "Si.x- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



243 



toed Pete" and a pal. After being robbed 
the victim gavt the alarm and officers were 
soon in pursuit. The criminals were finally- 
captured and brought back and lodged in the 
jail, which was a small, weak structure stand- 
ing on the present site of the. court house 
Now the brother of one of the prisoners was 
a well-to-do saloon-keeper. Calling Slim Jim 
to him, he explained the predicament in which 
he was situated, and offered the negro a lib- 
eral reward if he would secure and deliver 
to the prisoners tools with which they could 
saw their way out. Slim Jim, with probably 
no knowledge of the seriousness of his crime, 
readily assented. "Jim," said the briber, as 
the young negro was leaving, "swear to me 
that you will never tell who hired you to do 
this." 

"Yes, sah! Yo can 'pend 'pen me, sah." 
And away he went, his eyes growing big as 
he thought of the treasure that would soon 
be his. 

He made his way down Main street to 
Dan Weston's blacksmith shop, which stood 
where now is Pauly's cigar store. Here he 
secured a file, a hammer and other tools that 
might aid in sawing iron, and soon had them 
in the cells of the two prisoners. That night 
Six-toed Pete and his partner cut out and got 
away. They were traced to Wallula and re- 
captured. L^pon being locked up the sheriff 
took them aside and said, "Now, you fellows 
probably realize ye're in a pretty bad fix. Ef 
ye want to save y'er necks ye'd better 'fess 
up who give ye them tools. An' ye might as 
well do it now as any time." 

"Slim Jim," was the response that came 
with perhaps more alacrity than magnanimity. 

That afternoon the sheriff appeared at the 
barber shop. "Tm lookin' fer a feller named 
Slim Jim." 



"Dat's me," responded the negro promptly. 
"Well, I want ye to come along with me." 
Jim, without any sign of surprise or hesi- 
tation, took his belt containing his pistol and 
"Arkansas toothpick" and handed it to the 
barber, saying as he did so, "Here, Dick, jes' 
keep these till I come back." 

At the jail he was confronted with the 
charge of having aided in the escape of pris- 
oners. He promptly confessed, pleading for 
his excuse that he "didn't know as it was so 
wrong." 

"Well, ni tell ye just one way to save yer 
neck," replied the sheriff. "Tell me who put 
ye up to this." 

"Ts swore I wouldn't." 
"That don't make no diff." 
"When I promise a thing I ain't agoin' 
back on it. So you can shoot me or hang 
me or do anything else with me, but Slim 
Jim's agoin' to stick to his word." 

It was evident to everyone that, negro as 
he was, his life wasn't worth much. But the 
way in which he carried himself throughout 
the whole matter had rather appealed to some 
of the citizens and so Ned James, agent for 
the express company, John Ryan and Ned 
Ryan interceded in his behalf and finally^ suc- 
ceeded in getting him freed. 

"Well, we'll let you go this time," said 
the authorities, and Jim found himself once 
more free. If he had been wise he would 
have left immediately, but he stayed around 
town for a few days more. 

The fourth night after his experience with 
the officers he was sitting with some compan- 
ions, listening to tales of adventure on sea 
and land. About eleven o'clock the proprie- 
tor of the shop went home. Before leaving 
he said, "Now, boys, if I were you I'd be in 
early to-night. Someway or another }-our 



244 



]-IISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



stories liave made me kind of nervous. You 
had better lock both front and l)ack doors 
to-night." 

"Ah, go on, you joker," was the laughing 
rei^ly he heard as he stepi^ed out into the 
darkness. 

Xo one during the day time ever heard or 
saw a \'igilante. But at night it was different. 
Then they were everywhere. 

"Halt!" said a gruff' voice in the dark- 
ness. The barber stopped. A figure stepped 
up to him. He was clad in a large coat with 
an immense cape, which he held over his head 
and drawn so across his face as to allow noth- 
ing but his eyes to be seen. Peering closely 
into the face of his man he said, "We're not 
after you. Go on, and see to it you don't 
look back." 

On one occasion a citizen was stopped six 
times thus, while walking from Fourth street 
up to First and around to Poplar. 

Between one and two o'clock the next 
morning all w^as quiet in the rear of the barber 
shop. Fifteen or sixteen negroes were lying 
sleeping in a row on the floor. Disregarding 
their friend's advice, the rear door was left 
open. 

Suddenly down Main street there stole 
twenty-five or thirty dark figures. Each was 
masked and each carried a rifle. They stopped 
in front of the barber shop. Half of them 
remained here while the rest w-ent quietly 
around to the rear door. Silently they filed 
in through the open door. They took their 
places at the feet of the sleeping negroes, each 
Vigilante covering a sleeper with his gun. 
Presently all the sleepers were aroused from 
their slumber by a rude voice, "Whoever 
moves will have liis head blown off!" Some 
of the negroes, beside themselves with terror, 
began to plead for mercy, but were summarily 



silenced. "What's your name?" said the man 
who stood over the first negro. 

"Jones." 

"We don't want you. What's your name?" 
to the next one. 

"Bill Davis." 

"We don't want you." And so on until 
they came to Jim. 

"Wlrat's your name?" , 

"Slim Jim," was the quick response. 

"We w-ant you. Put on your boots." 

Jim obeyed slowly and deliberately. Sud- 
denly he turned to his companions and ex- 
claimed, "Boys, these fellows mean to kill me. 
Stand by me." And with that he sprang upon 
the guard who stood over him and wrenched 
the gun from his hands. Suddenly he felt a 
deadening blow upon the left side of his head. 
He reeled and fell towards the right, when 
"thump," another blow from the butt of a 
musket knocked him back the other way. In- 
stantly a dozen hands had hold of him and 
he was dragged from the room. 

The next morning when the proprietor of 
the shop returned to his place of business he 
came upon a strange scene. Huddled into a 
corner of the back room were fifteen or twenty 
negroes like a herd of sheep when chased by 
dogs. 

"What's the matter?" 

Xo one answered. He looked about and 
saw blood upon the floor and upon the arch- 
way leading into the fore part of the shop. 
"The noise of battle hurtled in the air, 

Horses did neigh and dying men did groan. 

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about 
the streets," 
-solemnly recited an old man who prided him- 
self upon a knowledge of Shakespeare. 

"Come, you fellows, ^^'here's Jim ?" the 
barber asked. 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



245 



Without saying a word they took liim out 
and led him just outside the village to an old 
tree which to-day stands near Singleton's 
pond, in the front yard of Mr. McKenzie's 
place. There, swinging from a limb of that 
old tree, was all that was left of Jim. 

One of the strangest cases laid at the door 
of the Vigilantes was that of Furth Patterson, 
one of the most noted and most remarkable 
characters of the early days. 

To understand what happened to Patter- 
son, we must recall an incident which took 
place in Portland about the year 1863. 

In. one of the principal saloons of the city 
there were standing before the bar a group of 
men. One was a young officer wearing the 
uniform of a Union soldier, whose shoulder 
straps signified that he was a captain in rank. 
His name was Staple. It appeared he had just 
received his commission and was celebrating 
the event with his friends. 

There was in the company another man 
in whom we are interested. He was a model 
of physical beauty. Over six feet tall, full 
chested, broad shouldered, with a clear blue 
eye, and hair just turned gray, which he wore 
rather long, parted in the middle of the back 
and combed forward over the ears in the 
fashion then so popular. He was a southerner 
from top to toe and showed it in e\-ery move- 
ment, look and word. His name was Pat- 
terson. 

"I drink to the success of tlie LTnion and 
the flag," suddenly cried Captain Staple. All 
raised their glasses to their lips except Pat- 
terson. As if in answer to the looks of inquiry 
of his companions, he exclaimed : "The Union 
and the flag be damned ;" and he turned on 
his heel and walked up stairs. 

"Bring him back and make him drink," 
cried the excited men. "It's not onlv an in- 



sult to you personally, but to your uniform 
and your flag. Bring him back and make him 
drink." 

Thus often a brave man is forced into the 
arms of death. In view of the situation and 
the remarks of his comrade, and considering 
that it was his maiden efifort to keep unstained 
the colors he wore, the young captain felt that 
something must be done. He moved toward 
the stairs. From the landing above came a 
voice rich and deep, but with a ring in it that 

meant death : "I'll kill the first 

who mounts those stairs." 

The young captain hesitatetl. His friends 
foolishly urged him on. With pistol in hand 
he ascended the stairs. One! Two! Three! 
A pistol shot rang out. The young man reeled, 
the blood spurting from a hole over his heart. 
He was dead before he touched the floor. 

Patterson was arrested, tried and acquit- 
ted. He made his way to Hot Springs, now 
known as Bingham Springs. Bingham Springs 
was then on the main stage line from The 
Dalles to Boise, and was a place of some im- 
portance, having a good sized hotel, bath 
house, etc. 

Unfortunately for all concerned, it hap- 
pened that Patterson, whose reputation as a 
"bad man" was well established, and Pinkham, 
the sheriff of Boise, who was known as an 
overbearing bully, should meet at the springs. 
In politics they differed and had several dis- 
putes. One day Patterson was just emerging 
from a bath when, after two or three words 
from Pinkham, the latter slapped Patterson 
in the face. 

"I'm all alone to-day without my gun," 
said Patterson. "One of these days I'll be 
fixed for you and we'll settle this matter." 

"The sooner the better," said Pinkham. 

It was some three or f(.iur days after this 



248 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



binations. Many were the deep-laid schemes, 
of both business and politics, which had their 
incubation on that corner. 

Whole volumes of incidents, tragic, comic, 
thrilling, suggestive, might be gleaned from 
the old political history of this country. 

Mention has already been made of the fact 
that in the early days Walla Walla was rife 
with the southern spirit of secession and rebel- 
lion. There were men. however, who had the 
courage and nerve to speak out in favor of the 
•Union. Such a one was an old gambler and 
sport, known by the name of "Wabash," for 
he was a Hoosier by birth. 

One day he rigged up a flag in the follow- 
ing manner : To the barrel of his rifle he tied 
a piece of oilcloth, or rather hung it so that 
the barrel was covered and the oilcloth hung 
down on either side. 

Holding the impromptu banner over his 
liead. he walked boldly down ]\lain street 
shouting at the top of his voice, "Hurrah for 
the flag and the Union !" 

As he went along there appeared at doors 
and corners men, pistol in hand, to inquire 
into the presumptuous proceedings, but when 
thc_\- recognized the character of the man who 
carried the flag and recalled his reputation as 
a dead shot, and also when they saw the mur- 
derous nature of the flag-pole, they thought 
discretion the better part of valor and let the 
L'nion enthusiast alone. Yet old-timers say 
that scarcely another man had dared do the 
same thing. 

Xo one realized the lawlessness and spirit 
of rebellion against Uncle Sam's authority 
more than Edwin Eells. sometimes called 
"Gentle Eells," a son of Gushing Eells, who 
attempted to get the first census roll. Men 
played all manner of tricks upon him. It was 



not enough to give him all sorts of ridiculous 
and sometimes vile pseudonyms, but they even 
went so far as to take his enrollment book and 
use it for a football, arranged buckets of water 
on the eaves of the porch so as to give him a 
free bath, etc. Eells never lost his temper. 
He always remonstrated in a gentle way until 
finally his patience won the day and he gained 
for himself the epithet "Gentle Eells.'' 

We must not get the impression that 
Walla Walla in the "sixties was composed en- 
tirely of toughs and gamblers. There were 
many men of sterling character, keen business 
sagacity; men who made money, not at the 
gaming table, but by careful investments and 
skillful business management. We have al- 
ready spoken of Dr. D. S. Baker as promi- 
nent among these. He was a man of unique 
personal appearance, slender, wiry and stooped 
in frame, a face deeply furrowed by thought 
and care, a peculiar expression of his mouth 
in conversation, and an impressive deliberate- 
ness in his speech. With all his eccentricities 
he was a man of the highest integrity, the 
keenest intellect, and a genius in the world of 
financial affairs. 

Many stories are told of the little railroad 
which lie l)uilt and managed between \\'alla 
Walla and Wallula. People have recalled 
many times over the little cigar-box cars, the 
dumpy engine, the wooden rails and the strap 
iron with its everlasting tendency to turn up at 
erids and threaten to wreck the train ; the 
dog which some say was keiJt aboard to drive 
off the cows from the track. But the little 
railroad was a marvel in its own day and 
meant more to the Walla Walla \allev than 
any one thing that has happened since that 
time. 

Another character who could almost hold 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



249 



his own with anyhody, both in worldly pos- 
sessions and eccentricities, was Joe Freeman, 
generally known as "Portuguese Joe," since 
he was supposed to have hailed from Portu- 
guese stock. In about 1872 he made his ap- 
pearance in Walla Walla with some sixty 
thousand dollars which he had got in the Oro 
Fine mines in Idaho. He was then a short, 
heavy-set man, of very dark complexion, black 
beard and hair just turning gray. He seemed 
to have been gifted with some powers of ex- 
pression and at times tried his hand at ora- 
tory. The most remarkable characteristic of 
his efforts in speech was a well-developed 
habit of circumlocution, coupled with the ner- 
vous impetuosity of his southern blood. 

On one occasion he announced himself as 
a candidate for congressman, and gave notice 
of the fact that he would express his views 
on political matters on a certain afternoon on 
the corner of Third and Rose streets. 

Quite a crowd assembled, and when Por- 
tuguese Joe mounted the bed of the wagon 
which was to serve as a rostrum, he was 
greeted with deafening applause. 

Flattered and excited, he was soon sailing 
along on the tempestuous flood of his oratory, 
and making a genuine impression. But alas 
for the aspirant after political powers. There 
was a Cassius in the crowd, who had bribed 
the driver of the team which was hitched to 
Joe's grandstand. At a most interesting and 
exciting period in the orator's address, a sig- 
nal was given and the driver whipped up his 
horses, and the astonished audience was left 
standing watching the receding Demosthenes 
still spouting patriotism and madly gesticulat- 
ing until a corner hid him from view. 

The story of Portuguese Joe reminds us 
of another joke with which lie was connected, 



and which involved two of Walla Walla's 
prominent lawyers. 

Joe had lost fifteen hundred dollars at a 
game of faro. He brought suit against the 
proprietor of the gaming house, James Chaun- 
cey, alleging that he had been cheated. Allen 
and Crowley were employed by the defendant. 
It was an interesting trial and the court room 
was crowded. Allen was then a young law- 
yer and withal of a naturally gentle and inno- 
cent character. He was tr3'ing to show that 
if luck had gone the other way, Joe would 
have had no complaint to make as to the fair- 
ness of the game; in fact, that he was playing 
the baby act. 

Mr. Allen had asked several questions 
which showed that he did not have an artistic 
conception of the fine points of the game, 
much to the amusement of the audience and 
to the consternation of his partner, Crowley. 
The climax was reached when Allen asked, 
"Didn't you hold good hands part of the 
time?" This was too much for Joe, who 
jumped from his seat and in great e.xcitement 
began to draw diagrams on the floor and ex- 
plain that "hands" had nothing to do with it. 

Finally Allen, whose face had assumed the 
hue of a poppy, was relie\'ed and the audience 
was convulsed when Crowley dryly remarked, 
"John, you had better let me examine this 
witness." 

Speaking of lawyers reminds us of one of 
the most interesting characters at the bar at 
that time, — Colonel Wyatt A. George. He 
was a southerner, with all that implies of grace, 
])olish and gallantry. He was tall, slender, and 
erect even in his old age. He was always 
dressed in ])lack and was never seen without 
his tall black silk hat. In this he alwavs car- 



250 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



ried his papers and briefs, a tiling which once 
saved his life. 

In company with ^Mr. Ankeny, he was trav- 
eling on horseback, on his way toward Flor- 
ence. Suddenly the horse he was riding be- 
gan to buck and the colonel was thrown head- 
long down the side of a hill, lighting squarely 
upon his head. His hat was crushed down 
over his ears, but the pad of papers proved 
such a good cushion that he came out of his 
difficulty unscathed. 

This recalls another incident when the 
colonel probably wished for his old friend and 
protector. It seems he had become enamored 
of a woman whose husband was sick unto 
death. He had paid many visits to the place 
during the sick man's illness. One day the 
invalid asked his wife for a bottle full of hot 
water for his back. It was one of those old- 
time beer bottles, thick and solid as a brick. 
In the course of the evening in came the colo- 
nel. After chatting a little while very pleas- 
antly the sick man said : "Colonel, I wish you'd 
come close. I'm tired and can't talk loud. 
I want to whisper to you." The colonel, noth- 
ing loath, bent his head over the man and pre- 
pared to hear his parting words. The man 
affectionately put his arm around the colonel's 
neck, and having got a firm grip, reached for 
his bottle and before the astonished lawyer 
could break away he felt as though his head 
was a mass of shaking jelly. \\ e must not 
treasure up this incident against the good colo- 
nel, for his intentions were really good. He 
afterward married the widow. 

The colonel was an enthusiast at billiards. 
Indeed he had a very original way of spending 
his nights. He would begin to play at nine 
or ten o'clock, keep at it until three or four, 
then eat a meal such as would task the diges- 
tive powers of two ordinary men, and then 



settle down in his chair for his night's rest. 
At daybreak he would take a long walk into 
the country, and on his return be bright, wide 
awake and ready for business. He was by no 
means all eccentricities. He had a fine mind; 
was possessed of real literary culture, being 
perfectly familiar with the works of the great 
masters and able to quote them bv the hour, 
while as to his legal training and acumen, par- 
ticularly as to his knowledge of common law, 
he has never had a rival in this northwest 
country. For many years he was one of the 
well-known characters accompanying the court 
in its circuits. He was finally taken ill, and 
died in the Walla Walla hospital. 

On one occasion he was riding in a stage 
coach. On the seat next to him sat a Cath- 
olic priest, and the two had gotten into a 
heated argument as to mortals' chances of en- 
tering Heaven. The colonel argued that many 
a man not known for his sanctity while on 
earth would stand a chance at the Pearly 
Gates. 

"You will never see Heaven," responded 
the priest. 

'T'll bet you fifty cents I will," promptly 
responded the colonel. 

Let us hope that long ere this the priest 
has had to pay the bet. 

Walla Walla has had her full share of 
floods and fires and other calamities. It is 
said by old-timers that formerly a larger por- 
tion of IMill creek flowed through the town 
than at present. The bed of the creek also 
was much nearer the bank than at present. 
In consequence of this it was much more lia- 
ble to disastrous overflow. A large stream 
flowed out at high water in nearly the pres- 
ent location of the flume on Alder street. The 
greatest flood in the history of the town was 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



25ft 



in November, 1S61, immediately preceding the 
famous hard winter. That was a period of 
floods all over the Columbia valley. At that 
time George E. Cole had a log building nearly 
in the present location of the Model bakery. 
The creek then flowed farther east, nearly in 
the present position of Leroux's blacksmith 
shop. When the immense volume of water 
poured out of the mountains it cut right 
through the bank, undermining Cole's building 
and discharging an enormous flood right down 
]\Iain street, causing about as much damage 
as was possible, considering the little that 
there then was to damage. There have been 
frequent floods since, but the diversion of so 
large a portion of the water into the Yellow- 
hawk and Garrison creeks, together with the 
fact that Mill creek has cut its channel 
several feet deeper, has rendered its overflows 
less violent and destructive. 

Walla W'alla has had many fires also. 
Soon after the organization of the city there 
began to be efforts to form a fire company. 
The first fire company is said t(j have been 
the Washington, organized in 1863, Mr. Fred 
Stine being the leader in its formation. Their 
engine was an old "Hunneman tub." as it was 
called. The first fire worthy of mention was 
on the 4th of July. The celebration of the 
day was just fairly under way when Smith 
& Allen's store, nearly where the Salvation 
Army is now located, caught fire. There was 
great excitement, for the fire company had 
been disbanded before this and there was no 
organization whatever. However, a number 
of men, led by John Justice, rushed out the 
old Hunneman tub, got it into a stream of 
water which flowed near there, and succeeded 
in preventing any very disastrous spreading. 
The greatest fire in the history of Walla Walla 
was in ^March, 1887, when almost the entire 



business portion of Walla Walla between Third 
and Fourth streets was destroyed. Since that 
time the fires, though numerous, have not 
been very extensive, those of the Stine 
House, the Hunt «& Robert works, the States- 
man building, the Farmers' Alliance building, 
and the Elevator having been the worst. Al- 
though fires have been so numerous in Walla 
Walla, there have been only two cases of loss 
of life. One was in that of the Aurora Hotel, 
and the other in the Farmers' Alliance ware- 
house. 

The greatest contrast between the Walla 
Walla of the past and that of the present is 
found in the condition of the yards and lawns. 
Aside from the verdure which fringed the 
creek and the various spring branches, the 
most of ancient Walla Walla was as bare and 
desolate as the Wallula of the present time. 
The streets, trodden by the feet of hundreds 
of Indian ponies and torn up by the rearing 
steeds of inebriated cow-boys, contributed 
clouds of dust to every passing breeze, and a 
uni\'ersal grayish brown wrapped all objects, 
animate and inanimate. No fragrant locust 
trees or blushing roses or nodding snowballs 
or fresh, green grass relieved the dismal mo- 
notony of dust. Yet the wild rose bushes 
bloomed along the banks of the rivulets which 
then as now gladdened the waste, and the cot- 
tonwoods which skirted the creek shed their 
sweet perfume upon the zephyrs of May the 
same as now. It was plain e\-en then that 
Walla Walla had the making of a beautiful 
place. A person of imagination could look 
forward to the stately trees and verdant lawns 
which now make Walla Walla the pleasantest 
home city of the Inland Empire. One could 
then anticipate the yards full of tulips and 
lilacs, roses and chrvsanthemunis, and the yard 



252 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



after yard of peaclies. apricots, cherries, pears was possible thirty years ago for one of not 
and apples, whose flowery treasures in spring even a very prophetic soul to foresee some- 
attract tiie buzzing bees by myriads, and whose thing of the verdure and brightness and lux- 
branches bow in summer with the nectareous ury which these 3'ears of industry and growth 
distillations of the matchless soil and sunshine have created upon the old-time desert, 
of the Valley of Many Waters. In short, it 



CHAPTER XXIV 



W.\LLA W.\LL.\ CITY IX I9OI. 



We ha\ e presented in the preceding pages 
of this histor)' the essential features of both 
the past and present of Walla Walla county 
and Walla ^^'alla city. We have shown the 
evolution of the wild Indian country of forty 
years ago into the productive and orderly 
homes of civilized men. We have exhibited 
the present industries and the intellectual and 
moral instrumentalities of the region. \\'e 
have taken a journey throughout the length 
and breadth of the county, viewing its towns, 
its villages and its farms. To complete the 
picture it remains only to visit Walla Walla 
city and examine it as a stranger might, seek- 
ing a permanent home for himself and family. 
In doing this we do not propose a repetition 
of facts already stated, Init rather a series of 
such pictures of the town and such facts of its 
life as would present themselves to the eye of 
the traveler and investigator. 

A traveler approaching Walla \\"alla by 
the Northern Pacific and Hunt line encounters 
some risk of that strange and dreadful expe- 
rience sometimes known as being "pascoed." 
It occasionally happens that the trains east or 
west are behind time, antl as the Hunt line 
trains run on schedule time, the belated trav- 



eler finds himself left. He then has no re- 
course but to remain in Pasco until the train 
leaves for Walla Walla on the following day. 
It is said that some have walked rather than 
pass through that ordeal. But though Pasco 
has become, in the minds of Walla Walla peo- 
ple a synonym for all that is "weary, stale, 
flat and unprofitable," it would not be sur- 
prising if some time in the near future is should 
become a beautiful and attractive place. It is 
admirably situated at the conflux of the two 
great rivers, the Snake and the Columbia, the 
soil in the vicinity is fertile, there is an area 
of prairie land of thousands upon thousands 
of acres adjacent to the place, and all that is 
necessary to make a town is water. Many 
schemes have been proposed for getting water 
upon these great Pasco plains. The magnitude 
of the undertaking has thus far staggered pri- 
\ate enterprise, but when the L'nited States 
g()\"ernment undertakes the work of irriga- 
tion on a great scale, as it doubtless will, the 
Pasco plains will furnish one of the most hope- 
ful fields for development. A widespread 
scene of verdure will then greet the eyes of 
the traveler bound to or from \\'alla Walla, 
and he may then find a day or more spent at 



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II 

-^1 






HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



;55 



Pasco a pleasurable experience. Franklin 
county is at present having a boom of land- 
filings, and some time there will be a town. 

Walla Walla is unfortunate at the present 
time in not being on the main line of either 
road. There are, however, sleeping-cars upon 
both lines which convey the traveler directly 
to or from Walla Walla without change. 

If we come to Walla Walla by the O. R. 
& N. line, we find ourselves disembarked at 
a station in the northern part of the town. 
If it be daytime when we leave the train, we 
shall see on all sides around' a level plain so 
thickly covered with trees ' that the city is 
hardly visible. This dense foliage is the most 
noticeable characteristic of Walla Walla to the 
stranger who has been making his way over 
the vast treeless prairies which lie between the 
Cascade and the Blue mountains. Our eyes 
are speedily attracted to a large group of 
brick buildings immediately north of the sta- 
tion, and these we learn constitute the Wash- 
ington State Penitentiary. The author once' 
observed a j)arty of strangers viewing the peni- 
tentiary from the car windows and remark- 
ing, "They have fine school buildings in Walla 
Walla, don't they?" 

As one of the most prominent public in- 
stitutions the penitentiary must be accorded a 
visit by every one who would thoroughly "do" 
the Garden City. 

The penitentiary became a Walla Walla 
institution in 1887, having been removed to 
this place from Seatco. It was largely due to 
the persistent interest of Mr. Frank Paine that 
this step was taken. Walla Walla people 
raised five thousand dollars toward expenses 
of removal. Governor Squire was favorable 
to it. The various wardens in charge in their 
order of service, are as follows: J(jhn Justice, 



F. L. Edmiston, John McClees, J. H. Co])lentz, 
Thomas Mosgrove and J. B. Catron. 

We meet a most courteous reception from 
Warden Catron, and from him and from an 
inspection of the ground and the buildings we 
soon gather more matter than our present 
space admits of presentation. We find in the 
first place that the state has made a generous 
appropriation of space to the uses of the peni- 
tentiary. A farm of one hundred and fifty-five 
acres, with forty acres additional to be deeded 
to the state by the federal government, is now 
devoted to the uses of the institution. On this 
farm is raised a considerable part of the food 
supply of the penitentiary. The value of tlie 
products raised during the last year was $6,- 
646.20. Had it not been for an unfortunate 
attack of hog cholera, it is estimated that the 
income of the farm would have amounted to 
about $9,000. 

We find within the enclosure of the peni- 
tentiary a large number of well-equipped and 
well-furnished buildings, together with a jute 
mill and brick yard, the oufput of which con- 
stitutes a great item in the income of the peni- 
tentiary. 

The approximate valuation of the state's 
property here is $447,215.75, divided as fol- 
lows: Farm real estate, $8,225.00; farm for- 
age, stock and implements, $3,768.55 ; perma- 
nent improvements, buildings, etc., $241,- 
578.68; engine, boilers, light, etc., $9,497.28; 
jute mill, $144,704.00; brick yard, $5,- 
930.23; store house, $2,569.19; steward's 
department, $11,556.46; hospital, $1,072.40; 
armory, $676.95; office furniture, $603.25; 
warehouse, $15,375.35; furniture, etc., war- 
den's residence, $1,658.41. 

We discover the pojjulation of the prison 
on February 21, 190.1, to be four hundred and 



254 



HISTORY OF \VALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



fifty. About three-fourths of the entire num- 
ber are white males. During the past two 
years there have been but five females con- 
signed to the penitentiarjr. Nearly half of the 
convicts are lietween the ages of twenty and 
thirty. Of four hundred and five convicts on 
September 30, 1900, thirty-two only were illit- 
erates. There were two college graduates and 
one graduate of a theological seminary. Of 
the same fuur hundred and five two hundred 
and five were temperate, one hundred and 
ninety-six intemperate, and four were moder- 
ate drinkers. In view of the fact that the great 
majority of the convicts are less than forty 
years old, it is a somewhat melancholy fact 
that, of but one hundred both parents are liv- 
ing. Of the four hundred and fi\e tabulated 
on September 30, 1900, a hundred and five 
are farmers and laborers, twenty-four are min- 
ers, and twenty-nine are sailors. This seems 
to disprove the somewhat common idea that 
contact with nature and the physical occupa- 
tions is conducive to an upright and honest life. 
So far as we can judge, the whole ten- 
dency of the prison discipline and manage- 
ment is humane and sympathetic. Discipline 
is of necessity firm, and, when occasion de- 
mands, severe. The state has been liberal in 
appropriations for comforts and conveniences 
in the penitentiary. The most imi)ortant struc- 
ture made during the past year was the new 
dining hall and kitchen. This cost but six 
thousand dollars, and the results are truly sur- 
prising. We find a brick building, first-class 
in every respect, one hundred and sixty-one 
feet long and forty-three feet wide, with a ceil- 
ing of panelled steel, both substantial and ar- 
tistic. This same building is also employed 
as a prison chapel. On January 7, 1900, it 
was dedicated to this purpose, with appro- 
priate religious and musical services. We find 



an excellent hospital and a prison library of 
seven hundred and seventeen volumes. The 
convicts also have the conveniences of bath- 
rooms and suitable lighting and heating. 

One of the most interesting features of 
the penitentiary is the parole system. This 
system, now of two years existence, consists 
in the temporary and experimental setting at 
liberty of convicts whose record seems to oft'er 
hope that they are thoroughly reformed. 
While under parole each convict is obliged to 
have some person of standing in the state 
named as his first friend and advisor. The 
paroled prisoner is required to be at all times 
under the knowledge of tais first friend and ad- 
visor, and to be at any time subject to the 
call of the prison authorities. As a disciplin- 
ary measure this system has yielded good re- 
ults. The governor has paroled, under the 
terms of the law, fifteen prisoners. Two of 
these ran away, of whom one has been recap- 
tured and will be compelled to serve out his 
full time. The remaining thirteen have care- 
fully observed the requirements of the law 
and have in the main been steadily employed 
with good wages. 

The most important industrial feature of 
the penitentiary is the jute mill. This is the 
result of the thoughtful observation of Messrs. 
F. Paine and W. K. Kirkman, who observed 
the evil effects on the prisoners of lack of 
exercise and occupation. Messrs. F. Paine, P. 
Preston and Loudon were the commissioners 
at that time, and to them is due the jute mill. 
This is one of the most completely equipped 
manufactories of grain bags and other jute 
fabrics in the country. When operated to its 
full capacity the jute mill employed two hun- 
dred and filty-fi\-e hands. The output of the 
mill averages about one hundred and forty 
thousand grain bags per month, at the same 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



255 



time considerable quantities of hop cloth, mat- 
ting, special bags, twine, etc. For the period 
of two years ending September 30, 1900, the 
sales of jute fabrics, together with stock on 
hand, amounted to a total of $142,195.07, be- 
ing a profit of $10,548.37. 

The output of the brick-yard was for the 
same two years $3,854.39, representing a net 
profit of $647.64. The state has now discon- 
tinued making brick for public sale. One kiln 
of four hundred thousand brick was burned 
last year for the use of the penitentiary itself. 

The penitentiary is justly regarded as one 
of the best managed public institutions of the 
state. 

Having visited the penitentiary first of all 
(a certain proportion of the citizens of Wash- 
ington register first in this institution and 
never visit any other), we will, if you please, 
proceed "up town." It is literally up town 
in this case, for, although Walla Walla seems 
to be upon a level plain, it is in reality upon a 
slope of about fifty feet to the mile. 

One of the advantages of this sloping site 
becomes apparent even to a stranger, for he sees 
evidences from workmen and from accumula- 
tions of material that \\'alla Walla is build- 
ing a sewerage system, and the natural slope 
of the town site gives it a special advantage 
in the construction of such a system. Among 
many improvements which have marked the 
growth of Walla Walla during the past two 
years we find none so great as that of the city 
ownership of the water works, and the con- 
struction of a sewer system. The Cjuestion 
of this great step in the history of the city 
was for several 3'ears the burning subject of 
Walla Walla city politics. While we are mak- 
ing our way to a hotel we may very properly 
notice a few of the interesting facts leading 
to this important consummation. 



In the year 1867 Mr. H. P. Isaacs, J. C. 
Isaacs and J. D. Cook undertook what seemed 
to most of the inhabitants of Walla Walla the 
extraordinary project of building waterworks. 
Their w^orks were located on the present site 
of Armory Hall. The "outfit" consisted of 
a large pump, a huge wooden tank, and a 
quantity of wooden pipe. The water supply 
came out of Mill creek. The pipe consisted 
of logs, bored lengthwise by hand with augers. 
This water system seems not to have been 
altogether satisfactory, through its habit of 
working only occasionally when it felt like it. 
Mr. Isaacs, with his usual energy, soon be- 
came dissatisfied with such an inadequate 
equipment, and abandoned the Mill creek en- 
terprise, turned his attention to the higher 
land on his own place east of town. He saw 
that on account of the rapid slope, a gravity 
system would be entirely feasible. Accord- 
ingly, in 1877 he constructed reservoir No. i 
on his property, the same which now supplies 
the part of the town north of Mill creek. The 
water supply was derived from some of the 
large springs which abound in that region. 
Mr. Isaacs also built on the south side of 
Mill creek reservoir No. 2, which was in ex- 
istence until 1898, when it was succeeded by 
the present large reservoir in the same place. 
.Thus it will be seen that the general plan of 
the waterworks of \\'alla \\'alla was designed 
by Mr. Isaacs and has remained essentially 
unchanged, except for enlargement, to th,s 
day. 

In 1887 Mr. Isaacs sold out his interes*: 
in the waterworks to the Walla \^'alla Water 
Company. The company at once made great 
enlargement and improvement in the works, 
and in that same year made a contract with the 
city, by which they were to have exclusive 
right, under certain conditions, to provide the 



256 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



city with water for twenty-five years. As 
time passed on and the city grew, there de- 
veloped a strong popular desire that the city 
own the waterworks and establish in connec- 
tion with them a suitable system of sewerage. 
The pressure for this plant grew to overwhelm- 
ing strength in the year 1893. On July 10 
of that year, under the mayoralty of John L. 
Roberts, a special election was held upon the 
question of issuing bonds by the city for the 
purpose of constructing a city system. The 
result was an overwhelming majority in favor 
of city ownership of w'ater. Plans were at 
once inaugurated b}' the mayor and city coun- 
cil to enter upon the construction of a new 
system. Negotiations between the city and the 
Water Company for the purchase of the ex- 
isting system having failed, the Water Com- 
pany brought suit to restrain the city from 
building a new system. Their ground of action 
was the contract previously made, giving them 
exclusive rights for twenty-five years. After 
long litigation in the state courts, the case 
finally reached the supreme court of the United 
States. The Water Company won the suit. 
This left the city in a demoralized condition. 
It had failed in its purpose and had moreover 
expended several thousand dollars in the main- 
tenance of a losing suit. Nevertheless, the 
purpose to secure possession of the water- 
works and to carry out the plan of the sewer- 
age system did not flag. By public meetings, 
frequent articles in newspapers, and general 
agitation, the necessity of municipal owner- 
ship of these vital instrumentalities of a whole- 
some and prosperous town, was kept impressed 
upon the public mind. And at last in 1899 
a proposition was submitted by the water com- 
pany for the sale of their entire property, land 
and waterworks. Accordingly on the twen- 
tieth of June. 1899, a special election was held 



to determine the question of the purchase of 
the water system and the issuance of bonds 
for the establishment of a sewerage system. 
The affirmative won by an overwhelming ma- 
jority. The purchase price of the water works 
was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
In part payment the city issued municipal 
bonds to the value of one hundred and thirty- 
three thousand dollars. These bonds are to 
run for twenty years and bear four and a half 
per cent interest. It is a fine evidence of the 
standing of Walla Walla in the money mar- 
kets that these bonds were taken at a premium 
of one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars 
on the issue. In addition to those municipal 
bonds, bonds for the construction of a sewer- 
age system, secured by the income of the water 
works, bearing five per cent interest and sub- 
ject to be called in by the city, were issued. It 
was a source of satisfaction to Walla Wallans 
that a number of responsible bidders appeared 
to make offers for these bonds. Both series 
of bonds were disposed of to Morris & White- 
head, of Portland, Oregon. These indispensable 
prerequisites having been attended to, the city 
proceeded at once to advertise for bids for 
the construction of the sewerage system. A 
large number of bids were received from vari- 
ous places, and it was decided by the council 
that the offer of G. H. Sutherland & Company 
of Walla Walla was most advantageous. 
^Accordingly articles of agreement were en- 
tered into, and in the spring of 1900 the con- 
tractors began active work. The contract calls 
for twenty-three and one-third miles of sewers. 
A large part of the task is now completed, and 
it is expected that the entire work will be ac- 
complished by August, lyoi. Tliis will be 
considerably ahead of the contract time, which 
is Oct(.)ber 15th. The sewer system is being 
constructed of first class material, and the W(_irk 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



257 



is being clone in a manner to commanil tlie con- 
fidence of the city. One of tlie important 
featm-es of the system is the disposal of the 
sewage. This has been settled by a contract 
with the Blalock Fruit Company, by which they 
agree to receive and dispose of the sewage in 
such a manner as to render it innocuous, and 
free from further expense to the city. The Bla- 
lock company have given heavy bonds for the 
faithful discharge of their agreement, and in 
consideration thereof have the privilege of the 
exclusive use of the sewage for a period of 
fifty years. 

It is appropriate that we complete this 
part of our observation of the city by reference 
to the condition of the water works under 
municipal ownership. An extract from the 
Walla Walla Union of December 18, 1900, 
presents, in a better way than can otherwise 
be done, the condition of the system at that 
time. It may be added that there bas been a 
steady gain since that time. 

"H. H. Turner, registrar of the Walla 
Walla waterworks, has submitted his first 
report for the fiscal year ending November 
30, 1900. This report being the first since 
the city acquired possession of the property 
it is of considerable interest as it shows how 
the business of this department has been con- 
ducted and its present financial condition. 
From all appearances the property is in an ex- 
cellent condition. The report will be submitted 
to the council for its approval tonight. 

"The report shows that from all snurces 
the revenue has been $34,443.77, which in- 
cludes water rents, rents of water power, prop- 
erty and the profit on material. Miscellaneous 
•rents brought in $20,339.08; irrigation .$5,- 
665.10 and metered water $4,370.90. 

"The operating expenses and repairs 
amounted to $1,304.78, and general expen.ses 

17 



$619.69. The net gain for the year is 
given as $30,301.74. The expenditures of 
the distributing system amounted to $709.50 
and $17,787.73 has been paid in to the 
city treasurer. The cash statement shows 
receipts of $34,169.78, and disbursements of 
$31,072.32, leaving a cash balance of $3,- 
097.46. 

"A total distance of 25 miles, 3,500 feet of 
water mains are shown to be laid in the city, 
being an extension since the beginning of the 
year of S./Oiyi feet. A total of 95 meters 
are in operation which have been maintained 
at the rate of 41 cents per meter for the entire 
year, and the amount of water metered at 
16,512,625 gallons. 

"The report goes on to state that the stand 
pipe formerly connecting with reservoir No. 
2 near the Odd Fellows' home has been moved 
to the reservoir near Whitman street and lo- 
cated on the hill. 'Your committee.' the re- 
port says, 'has wisely adopted the policy of 
declining to extend mains unless sufficient 
business is in sight to pay a liberal return on 
the cost. Several applications have been re- 
jected on this ground. 

" 'Some of our water rates are considerably 
higher than the neighboring cities of larger 
size, but our schedules compare favorably 
with those of cities in the northwest whose 
population is aljout the same as ours.' It 
is then recommended that as soon as busi- 
ness will warrant that the schedule be revised. 
On the other hand it is suggested that exten- 
sions of mains will have to be made to out- 
lying districts, notably Bryant's addition, so 
as to supply families living there." 

We have l:)een proceeding in a very leisure- 
ly manner to our hotel, while taking notes- 
upon the water and sewerage systems of the 
citv. But at last we reach the Inisiness part 



258 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



■of town and between the tliree principal hotels, 
the State, the Palace, and the Dacres, we re- 
pair to the last named. This well equipped 
and comfortable hotel occupies the historic 
spot held for many years by the Stine House. 
The Stine House was one of the fixed insti- 
tutions of Walla Walla. It had held its po- 
sition for so many years that no one had 
dreamed of the ix)ssibility of its being de- 
stroyed by flood, fire, pestilence, or any other 
agency. When therefore on July 22, 1892, 
the Stine House deliberately went to work and 
burned up, the people of Walla Walla rubbed 
their eyes in astonishment, thinking it quite 
possible that the next event would be the 
burning of Pike's Peak. This unfortunate 
fire being in the very midst of the hard times, 
the owners felt little encouragement to re- 
build, and hence the unsightly ruins of the 
historic old Stine House remained for years 
.an eye-sore to the aesthetic and a menace to the 
timid. For the former could not look at it 
■without danger of strabismus, and the lat- 
.ter could not pass it, especially at night, with- 
out suspicion of foot-pads lurking within. 
Finally in the year 1899, which thus far may 
be considered the champion year for building, 
George Dacres, one of the moneyed men of 
'Walla Walla, purchased the property and by 
erecting an elegant, first-class hotel, with all 
■the modern improvements, supplied one of the 
greatest needs of the town. 

Having satisfied the inner man with the 
excellent menu provided at the table of the 
Dacres, and having rid the external man of 
some of the surplus dust which is sure to 
gather upon the traveler from Wallula to Walla 
Walla, we sally forth in search of further ex- 
perience. 

The streets of Walla Walla give the 
stranger the impression of business solidity and 



activity, but it must also be confessed that 
they give the impression of a plentiful lack of 
cleanliness. For, during the greater portion 
of the year, the streets of the otherwise fair 
city are in such a condition from mud, dust, 
or other defilement, that sales of blacking are 
said to have ceased except to superlative dudes, 
and only the leisure classes make a regular 
practice of keeping their hands and faces 
clean. It should in justice, however, be noted 
that the past two years have seen a consider- 
able improvement in the condition of the 
streets. 

For a city of a little over ten thousand in- 
habitants, ^^'alla Walla shows evidence of a 
very large amount of business. This is due to 
the fact that it gathers to itself the trade of 
a comparatively well settled region, over an 
area of probably a thousand square miles. 
The streets are therefore thronged with coun- 
try people and those from adjoining towns. 

This concentration of business has made 
Walla Walla a very wealthy city. It is said 
to be surpassed in per capita wealth by only 
three cities in the United states. These are 
Hartford, Connecticut, Helena, Montana, and 
Portland, Oregon. It is therefore without 
surprise that we see evidence of the stability 
and largeness of transactions of the banks. 
There are three banking institutions in the 
place. Two of these, the First National and 
the Baker-Boyer bank, may justly be called 
pioneer banks. The third, the Farmers' Sav- 
ings bank, is of later origin. The first of these 
banks was the Baker-Boyer, established in 
1870. At first a private bank, it became re- 
established as a national bank. Dr. D. S. 
Baker and J. F. Boyer for many years con- 
stituted its management. At the present time 
ex-Governor Miles C. Moore is president, 
^^'. W. Baker, vice-president, H. E. Johnson, 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



259 



cashier, and John ^I. Hill, assistant cashier. 
The deposits of the Baker-Boyer liank on Sep- 
tember 5, 1900, were $670,090.83. The First 
National bank was established in 1872 as a 
private bank by A. H. Reynolds, Sr. The 
management was known at that time under 
the firm name of Reynolds & Day. It subse- 
quently became a national bank and became 
largely the property of Levi Ankeny. At the 
present time Levi Ankeny is president, A. H. 
Reynolds, Jr., vice-president, A. R. Bur ford, 
cashier, and P. M. Winans, assistant cashier. 
The deposits of this bank on September 5, 
1900, were $791,378.89. The Farmers' Sav- 
ing bank was founded in 1889 and has contin- 
ued to be a savings bank to the present time. 
Its president is ^^^ P. Winans ; vice-president, 
G. W. Babcock, and cashier, Joel Chitwood. 
The average deposits of this bank at the pres- 
ent time may be stated in round numbers at 
$300,000.00. Thus it may be seen that the 
average deposits of the banks of Walla Walla 
are about one and three-quarter million dol- 
lars, an immense showing for a place of the 
^ize of Walla Walla. 

Leaving the banks, duly impressed with 
the idea that where there is so much money 
there certainly ought to be a large amount of 
trade, we find our expectations confirmed by an 
examination of the mercantile establishments. 
We find these in general heavily stocked with 
all kinds of new and standard goods. Some 
of the existing stores of Walla Walla are of 
peculiar interest on account of the,ir antiquity. 
The Schwabacher store was founded in the 
'sixties. The same is true of the hardware 
■store of William O'Donnell, the merchandise 
store of Kyger & Foster, and the bakery of O. 
Brechtel. Some of the largest stores of the 
present time, however, are of recent origin, 
.as the hardware and furniture store of Davis 



& Kasar, the dry goods and clothing store 
of O. P. Jaycox, and the agricultural imple- 
ment houses of Criffield & Smitten and John 
Smith. The various grocery stores Ukewise 
do an immense business, both in purchasing- 
supplies from the farmers and in disposing 
of their standard merchandise. 

We have spoken so fully in the preceding 
chapter of the fruit dealers, the millers, and 
the manufacturers, that it is not necessary to 
consider them again here. Leaving these there- 
fore we will saunter more leisurely through 
the rest of the business section, and then 
through the residence section of the city. We 
find among the other semi-public institutions 
two excellent and well equipped hospitals. 
These are, first, the St. Mary's hospital, under 
control of the Catholic Sisters, which was es- 
tablished in 1870, and was extensively enlarged 
in 1899. The other hospital was built in 1899, 
and is owned and conducted by Dr. J. F. Cropp. 
Both these hospitals are equipped for the best 
surgical work and scientific nursing. Among 
recent acquisitions of the Walla Walla hos- 
pital is an X-ray instrument, which has proved 
of great service in some recent cases. 

A ride through the residence portion of 
Walla Walla, especially if it be the leafy month 
of j\Iay, will convince the visitor that here 
is one of the most homelike of Washington 
cities. The suburbs of the place are peculiarly 
attractive. Without entering into invidious 
comparisons, it may be said the homes of E.x- 
Governor Moore, W. A. Ritz, Dr. Fall, \\\ 
W. Baker, Mrs. Stone, Max Baumeister, and 
the heirs of H. P. Isaacs, are of themselves suffi- 
cient to give distinction to the outer circuit 
of the town. We have spoken of the pro- 
fusion of trees which decorate the streets and 
yards of the city. It may be added that if 
io also fairly emliowered in shrubbery and 



26o 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



flowers of all sorts. Of these, roses ])reclom- 
inate. tlmuirh tlicrc are at proper seasons ])er- 
fect Ijanks of crysantliemunis. To the old- 
timer who recalls the dismal and sun-parched 
desert which from i860 to 1S75 constituted 
the site of the town, and then \'ie\vs the pres- 
ent verdure and glow of color, tlowers, shrub- 
bery, and fruit trees, redolent with the fra- 
grance of spring, the change seems almost too 
striking for belief. 

Turning again from the solid comforts of 
the residence pnrtinn of the town to the public 
institutions, we shall find the schools worthy 
of an extended visit. The historic facts of 
these institutions have been presented else- 
Avhere. but we desire to observe here the hous- 
ing and e(|ui]3ment prox'ided for the young 
students of Walla Walla. The three public 
school buildings, the Baker, the Paine, and 
the Sharpstein, are admirably built and 
equipped. The Baker school is the oldest of 
the three and less attractive and convenient 
than the others. The Paine school is the largest 
of the three, and in addition to the ordinary 
primary and grammar grades, contains also 
the high-school department. The Sharp- 
stein school is the most recent of the three 
and the most thoroughly provided with all 
modern conveniences. We find Prof. R. 
C. Kerr, the city superintendent. Miss L. L. 
West, the principal of the Baker school. 
Prof. F. I\L Burke, the principal of the 
Paine school, Prof. G. S. Bond, the prin- 
cipal of the Sharpstein school, and Prof. J- 
W. Shepherd and Miss Rose Dovell, of the 
high-school, to be teachers of thurough train- 
ing, large experience, and high ambition in 
their important profession. One excellent 
means of attaining their high standard has 
been the regular county and city teachers' in- 
stitutes. 



The visitor having already become inter- 
ested in the educational system of the town 
will desire to visit the other institutions of 
learning. He will very naturally make his 
way to the largest of these institutions, Whit- 
man College. He will find this college es- 
tablished in fi\-e buildings. The oldest of these 
and one of the historical landmarks of the 
town is the rear portion of the Ladies' Hall. 
This building, subsec|uently enlarged, has be- 
come a comfortable home for about thirty of 
the college girls. Adjoining this is the Con- 
servatory of Music, formerly the main recita- 
tion hall. A small building upon the left of 
this is used as a Y. M. C. A. hall. L^pon the 
north side of the street we find the two prin- 
cipal buildings of the college, Memorial Hall 
and Billings Hall. The former of these, the 
gift of Dr. D. K. Pearsons of Chicago, was 
erected at a cost of $50,000.00, in 1899. It 
is without question the finest schoul building 
in the Inland Empire, with the exception of 
the Idaho University and the Washington 
Agricultural College buildings and the Spo- 
kane high school. Billings Hall received its 
name from the sons of ]\Irs. Frederick Bill- 
ings, who was the largest individual donor, 
though many gifts, both in Walla Walla and 
in the east, were received for this noble pur- 
pose. The most interesting contrilniti'>n. how- 
ever, was one of nearly a thousnnd dollars by 
the students of the college. The faculty them- 
selves, though ill qualified to make such a con- 
tribution, added to this another thousand, and 
these subscriptions together may be said to 
have insured the completion of Ijoth builcHngs, 
since subscriptions in the town had practically 
come to a standstill, and in order to secure the 
gifts of eastern benefactors it had become 
necessary to raise the entire sum for both 
buildings before commencement of 1899. The 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



2G1 



jubilee in tiie college and aniung its friends 
everywhere, when it was knuwn that this de- 
cisive step in advancement had been taken, can 
never be forgotten by those who knew of it. 
We find Whitman College to have at the pres- 
ent time in all departments about two hun- 
dred and si.xty students, with a faculty of 
fourteen capable and enthusiastic teachers, an 
excellent library of nearly eight thousand vol- 
umes, and a well equipped physical laboratory. 

Walla Walla is evidently destined to take 
on more and more the character of an educa- 
tional center. For we have only to pass a 
dozen blocks south from Whitman College to 
find ourselves in front of the beautiful grounds 
and buildings of St. Paul's school. Liasmuch 
as we have already learned in another chapter 
the facts in the history of this institution, we 
need not here do more than enter into the com- 
modious and beautiful building erected in 
1900, and see the excellent work that is being 
done by Miss Boyet and her assistants. W^e 
shall probably meet in this visit Rev. Andreas 
Bard, the rector of the Episcopal church, who 
has been a most important factor in the build- 
ing up of this institution, as well as one of 
the brilliant lights of the Walla Walla pulpit. 

^It would not do for the visitor to Walla 
Walla interested in educational matters to fail 
of a visit to Walla Walla College, whose fine 
hrick building towers conspicuously upon 
the plain, two miles west of the city. This 
also has been elsewhere described, and it may 
sufiice to say here that a considerable village 
of honest and industrious people of the Sev- 
enth Day .\dventist faith has gathered around 
this college as a nucleus. Although devoted 
to the peculiar tenets of their faith, there is 
no question as to the excellence of the instruc- 
tion along the lines of study provided. .\nd 
whatever may be thought nf the peculiar doc- 



trinal views (if this sect, no one around Walla 
Walla doubts their sincerity of purpose and 
all heartily endorse their ideas of hygiene, 
cleanliness, and wholesome food. 

In our ]3eregrinations throughout the ir- 
regular and pictures([ue streets of the Garden 
city, we discover that although, as already in- 
timated, there is much to be desired in the way 
of improving those streets, yet that the town 
is well provided with telephone and electric 
service. It is said in fact that Walla Walla 
has more telephones according to its popula- 
tion than any other town in the state. By a 
visit to Mr. F. J. McGougan, the present man- 
ager of the city telephones, we gather the fol- 
lowing interesting matter in respect to the tele- 
phone system : 

Telephones were established in eastern 
W^ashington in 1S86. There were at that time 
a mere handful of subscribers in ^^'alla \\'alla, 
Colfax and Spokane. Upon the organization 
of the Inland Telegraph and Telephone Com- 
pany in May, 1890, three long distance lines 
v;ere established. One extended from Spokane 
to Davenport, another to the Cncur d'Alene, 
and one to Walla Walla l)y way of Colfax. 
The hard times affected the telephone business 
like others, but with the revival of 1896 the 
business of both local and long distance lines 
received an immense growth. At the present 
time there are six hundred and sixty telephone 
subscribers in ^^'alla ^^'alla. Any one of 
these can be placed in immediate communica- 
tion with ninety thousand subscribers of the 
Pacific States' Telegraph and Telephone Com- 
pany, besides many others in the territory of 
the Rocky Mountain Bel! Telephone Company, 
which comprises Idaho, Utah and Montana. 
There are also seventeen hundred public sta- 
tions in the territory of the first named com- 
pan\- which can be reached by telephone. 



262 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



Every city, town, and even village in the weit 
is now reached by telephone. The equipment 
has been constantly improved, and conversa- 
tions can now be carried on at a thousand miles 
distance more easily than at a hundred miles 
ten years ago. The increase of subscribers 
during the year 1900, in the territory of the 
Pacific State Telegraph and Telephone Com- 
pany was 21,206. 

The lighting system is at the present time 
under the management of the \\'alla \\'alla 
Gas and Electric Company. The ancestor of 
this company was the Walla Walla Gas Com- 
pany, founded in 1881 by A. Pierce and C. 
M. Patterson. In 1887 Messrs. Wads^vorth and 
Bromwell, of San Francisco, and IMr. C. E. 
Burrows, of Walla Walla, became the owners 
of the gas plant. In 1888 the Walla Walla 
Electric Light and Power Company was incor- 
porated. The business does not seem to have 
been a financial success until the city agreed to 
adopt the arc lamp for public lighting. In 
1889, accordingly, the \\'alla Walla Gas and 
Electric Company was incorporated by a union 
of the two companies with a capital stock of 
one hundred thousand dollars. .At that time 
a substantial stone and brick building was 
erected, and a 140-horse power engine was in- 
stalled. This proved inadequate for the grow- 
ing needs of the city, and in 1892 the com- 
pany established a water power on Mill creek, 
upon the place of E. G. Riffle. After the es- 
tablishment of this power excellent service 
was provided, but during the past two years 
it has been found that the great increase in 
demand for lights has necessitated another in- 
crease in power. The company is, therefore, 
planning to erect a stand pipe upon their prop- 
erty on Mill creek, w'hich will greatly increase 
the capacity of the plant. The number of arc 
lights now provided in the city is "/"/. 



The immensely augmented demand for 
electric lights and the apparent financial suc- 
cess of the present company has encouraged 
other capitalists to consider the advisability 
of a new system. The city has passed an 
ordinance granting a general form of franchise 
with certain privileges and certain requirements 
of any company which may choose to enter into 
the electric business. Under this general op- 
portunity a plan for a very extensive electrical, 
apparatus at the forks of the Walla \\'alla river 
has been framed by several of the moneyed men 
of Umatilla county and of Walla W'alla. This 
company has already secured a franchise for 
the purpose of bringing light and electric 
power to the city. Gustavus X. Miller, the 
company's engineer, has recently given the fol- 
lowing information in regard to the enterprise : 

"The plant is to be situated at the forks 
of the Walla Walla river, about twelve miles 
almost due .south of this city and the buildings 
and machinerj' there to erected will cost in the 
neighborhood of two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars. The power is almost unlimited 
and is by far the easiest acquired that I have 
ever seen where so great a head could be ob- 
tained. It will be necessary to pipe the water 
a distance of fourteen thousand, five hund^red 
feet in a barrel flume and at the place of 
dumping a head of two hundred feet will be 
easily obtained. This will mean at least four 
thousand horsepower and the advantages of 
such a giant force when chained and turned to 
the uses of the hands of man are too great to 
be realized at a single thinking. 

"The flume will be 54 inches in diameter 
and will be constructed of wooden staves, laid 
lengthwise. The minimum flow of W'ater at 
the dry season will he fifteen thousand gallons 
per minute and during the other portions of 
the year much greater. The electricity gen- 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



26s 



erated will be conveyed to tliis city Ijy means 
of four wires and the energy lost in transmis- 
sion will, be practically nothing. There will 
be required in the city of Walla Walla a dis- 
tributing station in order that the fluid can be 
sent out to the different portions of the city 
and transferred into light or power which ever 
the case might be. 

"it is also the intention of the company 
to run lines of wire to both Athena and Weston 
and I think to Pendleton, also. Also, it is high- 
ly probable that a large amount will be used 
by the farmers both for the purpose of operat- 
ing their farm machinery and to light their 
homes. Take for example during the harvest 
season. Any farmer can own an electric 
motor. When harvest comes around he will 
cut his grain and haul it all to one point ip the 
field where his separator has been established 
and connected with his motor. It does away 
not only with the necessity of ha\'ing an en- 
gine for this work but also with salaries which 
would have to be paid to both an engineer and 
a fireman. 

"An electrical line to Milton, Waitsburg, 
and other points would also pay, I think, and 
Avill probabl}' be built within a comparatively 
short time. There is a fine chance for Walla 
Walla to improve along this line and it will 
undoubtedly be taken advantage of by some- 
one within the next few years." 

It is hardly necessary to say that in ad- 
dition to its other means of communication 
with the rest of the world, Walla Walla has 
complete telegraphic communicatinn. Init as a 
historical item of interest we are reminded by 
an old-timer with wdiom we converse that it 
was on June i, 1870, that Walla Walla was 
first connected by lightning with the outside 
world. This pioneer telegraph line was Iniilt 
by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. 



James Henderson was the first operator in. 
Walla Walla, and the office was located on the 
southwest corner of Main and Third streets. 
The passage of the first messages was made 
a great occasion in the little city. A minute 
gun was fired and there was band music of a 
joyful nature. The first message transmitted 
was from Mayor Stone to Mayor Goldsmith, 
of Portland, and read : 

To the Mayor of Portland — Greeting: Al- 
low me to congratulate you on the completioa 
of the telegraph that places the first city of 
Oregon in connection with the metropolis of 
Washington, and to express the hope that it 
is lint the precursor of the iron rail that is to 
unite us still more indissolubly in the bonds 
of interest and affections. 

Fr.\nk Stone, 
Mayor of the City of Walla Walla. 

To which came back the following re- 
sponse : 

Portland, June i, 1870, Mayor Frank 
Stone, Walla Walla — -Your sentiments are re- 
ciprocated. May the completion of the tele- 
graph between Walla Walla and Portland tend 
to still further the prospects and good feelings 
of both cities, and your territory and our state. 
B. Goldsmith, Mayor. 

While observing the lighting systems and 
the various communication systems of the city, 
our attention is called to the fact that there are 
no street-car lines in Walla Walla. Conversation 
again with an old-timer discloses the fact that 
during the boom year of 1889 a car line was 
built from the O. R. & N. station to Second 
street, where it divided, one branch going to- 
Whitman College, the other branch to the city 



264 



HISTORY OF \\^'\LLA WALLA COUNTY. 



cemetery. After the disastrous collapse which 
followed so closely upon the heels of the boom 
(although it is proper to say that the collapse 
affected Walla Walla less than any other city 
on the Pacific coast), it became obvious that 
the street-car line was premature. Neverthe- 
less the company continued operating it for 
several years, although at a loss, and then 
granted to a local company the privilege of 
using the line without other expense than its 
maintenance for several years longer. Even 
under these conditions the company did not 
find the line sufficiently patronized to make it 
profitable. Accordingly in 1898 the line was 
entirely abandoned and the roadbed taken 
up. This pioneer street-car line would doubt- 
less have paid, even in spite of the hard times, 
had it not been for the great number of horses 
and carriages and bicycles in the town. On 
account of its having been for years a center 
of stock and agricultural interests, Walla 
Walla has abounded in horses. The people, 
moreover, have had the habit of both riding 
and driving to such an extent as not to "take" 
naturally to street-cars. By reason also of 
the large number of well equipped livery 
stables, carriage hire is very low. \^isitors 
from the sea-board towns, where from a dol- 
lar to a dollar and a half is the ordinary hack 
fare, are much astonished to discover that in 
Walla W'alla hack fare anywhere w'ithin the 
city limits is only "two bits." Furthermore, 
on account of the level site and wide streets of 
the town, it is an ideal bicycle town. And in 
spite of the fact, as we learn, that bicyclists 
have had much tribulation from city ordi- 
nances in regard to the use of sidewalks, Walla 
\\'alla is said to contain more bicycles per 
capita than any other town in the state. The 
number of bicycle tags issued by the city mar- 
shal to date is eleven hundred and fiftv. These 



tags werp issued in pursuance of an ordinance 
by the city council, imposing a tax of a dollar 
upon each bicycle. The announced purpose 
of this ta.x was to make a system of bicycle 
paths throughout the town. Thus far this 
laudable plan has languished, and many and 
violent are the anathemas w'hich bicyclists of 
all ages and sexes pronounce upon the heads 
of the "town dads." 

Our observations thus far have extended 
over the business, educational, and communi- 
cation phases of the life of the city. We can 
not do justice to our subject without learning 
something of the social, intellectual, and moral 
life of the place. Walla Walla is often called 
a "moss-back" town, and it is apparently true 
that the controlling influences are conservative 
and disinclined to venture into new schemes 
in either business or society. It appears also 
that tlie general spirit of the place is rather 
individualistic than co-operative, and that pub- 
lic enterprises, looking to municipal betterment, 
are not readily adopted. The people therefore 
"abuse" each other for their supposed lack of 
public spirit. In spite of this Walla Walla 
is conspicuous for its simplicity, hospitality, 
and general sociableness of its people. As 
noted elsewhere, there are numerous strong 
lodges of all the standard fraternities. The 
frequent entertainments and celebrations of 
these fraternities make occasions of interest 
and profit for all the people of the place. All 
manner of social gatherings are frequent and 
influential for good. One of the most potent 
public benefactions is the public library and 
reading room, where strangers may find en- 
tertainment, and young people of the place, 
who might otherwise acquire indolent and 
vicious habits, can gain solid l)enefit. 

The chief center of public entertainments 
and amusements in the place is of course the 




MAIN STREET, WALLA WALLA, IN 1877. 




MAIN STREET. WALLA WALLA, IN 1901 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



265 



Walla Walla opera house. Tliis very im- 
portant feature of a town was erected by D. 
W. Small in the year 1884. In the next j-ear, 
on account of a defect in the construction of 
the roof, a great weight of snow caused the 
building to collapse. It was but by the nar- 
rowest margin that a great number of people 
escaped being crushed within the ruins, as 
the collapse occurred but an hour or two be- 
fore a large fair was to have been opened. 
In the year 1894 the opera house came into the 
possession of Paine brothers, who made great 
improvements in it and equipped it in a first 
class manner. At the present time C. F. Van 
de Water is the lessee and manager of the 
opera house. There is an almost constant 
series of operatic and theatrical entertainments, 
mostly of a standard quality. We find a 
sentiment among the more cultured people of 
the place that the Shakesperian drama and 
other high class performances might be en- 
couraged to a larger degree, with both greater 
benefit to the public and greater profit to the 
manager. 

For a comparatively new city, the church 
life of Walla Walla is active and efficient. 
A liberal stranger, however, is impressed with 
the idea that there is too large a number of 
weak churches, and that therefore the moral 
and religious energy of the place is not utilized 
to the best advantage. We are told- that a 
religious census by the pastors of the city pro- 
duced the following general result : Number 
of families visited, 1,622; numljer of persons 
reported, 6,042; number of cluuxh attendants, 
3,733; number of church members, 2,146; 
number of Sunday school attendants, 1,677. 
A reliable index to the intellectual condi- 
tion of a place is its amount of postoffice busi- 
ness. A visit to this institution and an inter- 
view with Postmaster E. L. Brunton re\-eals 



a number of interesting facts. It is estimated 
that over fifteen thousand people receive their 
mail through the Walla Walla postoffice. 
About thirty-five hundred receive their mail 
through the boxes. There are four carriers 
at present on the city routes, with great need 
of another. There were two new clerks added 
during the past year, and the business of the 
office warrants another. The gross receipts 
of the office for 1899 were $16,378.36. Those 
for 1898 were $15,178.29 and those for 1896 
were $12,717.19. This record shows a 
steady and remarkable increase, and that for 
the year 1900 shows the same ratio of gain, 
being $17,437.17. There is reason to expect 
that, in the near future there will be established 
in Walla Walla a system of free rural delivery, 
and when this is done it will add for the 
farmers of Walla Walla one more reason for 
an affirmative answer to the question, "Is life 
worth living?" 

From the postoffice we proceed to the City 
Hall, and here by an interview with city clerk 
R. P. Reynolds we gather a number of in- 
teresting facts in regard to the city work and 
finances, in addition to those already given un- 
der the head of the water works and sewerage 
systems. Among them we learn that the gen- 
eral receipts of the city for the year 1900 were 
$45,268.04, and the expenses $32,629.38. There 
is a floating indebtedness upon the city of $27- 
806.41. In connection with the City Hall is 
the City Fire Department. And concerning 
tliis we find a very complete summary in a spe- 
cial num])er of the Daily Statesman, which we 
quote. 

"In addition to a paid fire department, 
Walla Walla has what might be considered the 
most efficient volunteer fire service of any state 
in the country. It has a comi)lete apparatus, 
consisting of two of the latest steam fire en- 



266 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



gines and a modern chemical engine, one hose 
wagon, and one Watrous aerial truck, and five 
paid men. 

"The city has a volunteer force of over 
125 men who respond to every alarm. There 
are three volunteer companies in Walla Walla, 
each of which is limited to a membership of 
40 men. The entire .department is under the 
direction of a chief, who, at the present time is 
Dr. Y. C. Blalock, one of the veterans of the 
volunteer service. Dr. Blalock is ably assisted 
by W. H. Weber, as first assistant, and Frank 
Ennis, as second assistant. The several offi- 
cers of the organization are : 

'■J. \\'. ;Mackay, president; John Smith, 
vice-president; Harry Debus, secretary, and 
J. F. Krepps, treasurer. 

"One of the oldest of the three volunteer 
companies is the Tiger No. i, which has 40 
members. Many of Walla Walla's oldest citi- 
zens have at different times served" with this 
company. The officers at present are : 

"Peter Werner, president; John Kramer, 
vice-president; W. H. Weber, secretary; Al- 
bert Neibergall, treasurer ; James Corliss, fore- 
man; William Ritter, assistant foreman; Ru- 
dolph Seifke, second assistant foreman. Tiger 
No. I was organized February 22, 1877. 

"Rescue No. i is another efficient com- 
pany, with a membership of 40, which was 
organized in March, 1894. The officers are: 
Harry Riffle, president; J. P. Scalley, vice- 
president; Frank Ennis, secretary; George 
Retzer, treasurer; William O'Rorke, foreman; 
R. M. White, assistant foreman. 

"The third company is known as 'Our 
Boys No. 3,' which was organized in July, 
1895, and has a membership of 40. Its officers 
are : J. W. Mackay, president ; William Foster, 
vice-president; Al Kelling, secretary; J. F. 
Krepps, treasurer; John Bachtold, foreman. 



James W. Mackay is one of the oldest members 
in the volunteer fire service, having joined in 
1895, ^n<i served continuously since that time. 
He has been the president of 'Our Boys No. 
3' company, since 1893, and was president 
of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Fire- 
man's Association in 1898. 

"Harry Debus, the present secretary of the 
local organization, started as a torch-boy with 
Tiger No. i, in 1879, and has served contin- 
uously ever since that time. He has, at vari- 
ous times, held the offices of president, secre- 
tary and treasurer of his company. Mr. De- 
bus was a prominent member of one of the 
early hose teams and has been on several of 
the teams which have won the state champion- 
ship in the various contests of the Eastern Ore- 
gon and Washington Fireman's Association. 

"Many of the oldest resident citizens of 
Walla Walla have served a full term in one 
of the three volunteer companies and are 
now on the retired list. Among them are : 
John Aheit, Sr., Jacob Betz, John P. Kent, 
A. Swartz, Emil Sanderson, J. J. Kauffman 
and J. P. Justice. 

"The term of service in the volunteer fire 
department is seven years, during which time 
and thereafter the members are exempt from 
the payment of poll tax and service as jury- 
men. About one hundred are now on what is 
termed the retired list, having completed seven 
years of service and received honorable dis- 
charges. Every member of each company is 
expected to respond to the alarm of fire, day 
or night, and if an employe of any firm in the 
city, he is permitted to leave his work, without 
a deduction of his salary. 

"The aim and object of the volunteer fire 
department is, in addition to providing a force 
for protection against fire, to hold annual 
tournaments, annual competitions and picnics 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



267 



and to Tender assistance to any disabled per- 
sons who have received injuries while on duty. 

"The next meeting and tournament of the 
Eastern Oregon and Washington Fireman's 
Association will be held in Walla Walla, on 
June 13 and 14. During this meeting there will 
be various contests, and Walla Walla's cele- 
brated hose team will again be a competitor 
in one of the competitions. This team under 
the captaincy of Emil Sanderson, has won the 
championship in all the contests since 1885, 
and there is but little doubt that it. will carry 
off the laurels at the coming tournament. 

"Walla Walla has the distinction of having 
the first steam apparatus in the state of Wash- 
ington. The volunteer fire department was or- 
ganized in 1868, the Tigers being the first 
company, and operating an old-time hand en- 
gine when the company was first organized, 
and for some time thereafter." 

Questions of sewerage and water-works 
having been satisfactorily settled, the greatest 
subject now looming up in municipal politics 
is that of a new charter. Walla Walla has 
existed under a unique charter, the only one 
of the kind in the state, bestowed upon the city 
in territorial days. As it appears that Walla 
\\'alla has now surpassed the population of ten 
thousand people, and become a city of the sec- 
or:d class, the question is being agitated as to 
reincorporation. It will be an interesting thing 
to future readers and historians to find here a 
statement of the requirements for such reincor- 
poration, together with something of current 
public opinion in regard to it. An examination 
of the laws with respect to this elicits the fol- 
fowing facts : 

To become a city of the second c'ass there 
must be a petition signed by two hundred or 
more freeholders of Walla Walla presented to 
the council, and that body must call a special 



election to designate that at the next regular 
election this cpestion will be submitted to the 
voters of the city. In voting for this the mark- 
ing on the ballot will be "For Advancement" 
or "Against Advancement." After it has been 
decided to become a second class city, there 
m.ust be an election held at which the following 
officers are to be chosen by the people : Mayor, 
twelve councilmen, collector and street com- 
missioner (combined), assessor, police judge, 
and city attorney. 

The changes resulting from passing into 
the second class would be many. The increase 
in the council would be followed by an in- 
crease in the permissible expenses of the city 
government. There would be no necessary in- 
crease in the expenses, but some of the salaries 
might be made higher if the board of aldermen 
saw fit. 

One of the most important changes would 
be in the schools inside the city limits which, 
according to the law, have already ceased to 
exist as district schools and have entered the 
class of city schools. This form of school re- 
quires a board of education consisting of five 
m.embers instead of a school board of three 
n;embers as at present. The members of this 
board are elected for a term of three years, 
the election occurring the first Saturday in the 
month of November. The board of directors 
of the public library is also changed from three 
to five, which are appointed by the mayor with 
the consent of the council. 

The other officers of the cit\' shall be ap- 
pointed by the mayor with the consent of the 
council and shall be : Chief of police, treas- 
urer, clerk, surve3'or, poundmaster, and. if so 
desired, superintendent of irrigation. For 
these officers the salaries of only the chief of 
police, clerk and trcasiu'er are stipulated.. The 
chief of police cannot receive m(M"e than one 



268 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



thousand dollars per year, the treasurer fifteen 
hundred dollars, and the city clerk the sum of 
one hundred and fifty dollars per month. 

The salaries of the city attorney and tiie 
city justice are not stipulated and may lie fixed 
ar whatever the council may see fit. The as- 
sessor will be paid the sum of five hundred dol- 
lars per year and the collector and street com- 
missioner cannot draw more than fifteen hun- 
dred dollars per year. Xo other salaries are 
stipulated. The chief of the fire department 
will he elected by the council and not by the 
volunteer firemen as at the present time. There 
may also be, if the council sees fit, a city jailor, 
to be appointed by the mayor. 

The city election is fixed for the fir.-^t Mon- 
day after the first Tuesday in December and six 
councilmen shall be elected each year after the 
first election, at which time the entire tweive will 
be chosen, the hold-overs to l)e decided by lot. 
The council must choose one of its number to 
act as president during the absence of tlie mayor 
and tiiere shall be a board of three councilmen, 
whose duty it shall be to try all cases of com- 
plaint against policemen or other city officers 
for neglect of duty, exceeding their authority 
and similar crimes whenever such charges shall 
have been preferred. The mayor shall have a 
vote in case of a tie in the council. 

Any oliiccr shall have the power to select 
and appoint, subject to the approval of the 
council, such deputies as he may deem neces- 
sary for the proper performance of the duties 
of his office. The salaries of these deputies 
must not exceed the sum of one hundred dol- 
lars per month in any case. 

In connection with the question of a new 
charter a difference of opinion has developed, 
the central point of which seems to be the 
powers of the mayor. The conflicting opinions 
have been represented by the Union and the 



Statesman, the former maintaining the -con- 
centration of power in the hands of the mayor, 
and the latter advocating a ixjpular election for 
every ofificer and a consequent distrilnition of 
power, and consequently it favors the retention 
of the present charter. We present extracts 
from the two papers, in the belief that such a 
preservation of current opinion will prove of 
liermanent interest : 

From Walla \\^alla Union of February i6, 
1901 : 

Spokane is discussing the proprifty of giving the 
mayor more authority on appointnifnts. It is believed 
that in this way the expenditures can be kejit under bet- 
ter control. The idea is that the mayor is the general 
manager of a business, and that to be successful he should 
be given the widest scope in his management of affairs, 
and then be held responsible for results. 

There is something in this that should appeal to the 
people of Walla Walla. In Spokane the mayor is rec- 
ognized as the head of the city government, but there is 
also a board of county commifsioners, a board of public 
works and a board of tire commissioners. The individu- 
als appointed by the mayor constitute these boards, one 
member being the head of each board and these boards 
select the appointees. By this act the mayor loses actual 
control and vests it in his appointees. In a measure this 
IS a success, but it is not as successful as it would be in 
case the appointments were directly in the hands of the 
mayor. There is a chance for the mayor to evade the 
responsibility for errors, which should not be. 

If the control of the city government is placed in the 
hands of the mayor, then the people can hold him re- 
sponsible for the errors and by the same token he is en- 
titled to the credit for a successful administration. The 
people should not divide the responsibility. For good 
work or bad it should be placed as nearly as possible in 
the head of the city government. 

It is jiroper and right that the mayor, the treasurer, 
the councilmen, the assessor, the police judge or city jus- 
tice and the street commissioner should be elected by the 
people, am) there would be no great harm done if the 
clerk and the attorney were also elected, though there is 
no doubt but the better government would be secured if 
the clerk and the attorney were appointed. This is not a 
new suggestion. It is the method which applies in a major- 
ity of the cities, large and small, in all the cities of the 
United States. It is found to be good law in Spokane 
Seattle and Tacoma: why is it not good law here to ap- 
point the head of the police department, and have him 
responsible to the mayor? ,-\s has been pointed out 
before, if the mayor is to be the head of the city govern- 
ment and is to be held responsible for the success of his 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



269 



administration, lie should have thf police force under, 
not ecjual with, him. The attorney is largely counsel for 
the mayor and the council; thence he should be appoint- 
ed and confirmed, for in this manner an attorney is 
always secured who is acceptable and in whom all parties 
have confidence. The clerk is very close to the council 
and could be appointed, as he should be chosen for his 
clerical ability rather than anything else, though as other 
duties are placed upon him it is largely a technical (jues- 
tion whether he is elected or appointed. 

From Statesman of February 18, 1901 : 

It is proposed to make for Walla Walla a new charter. 
There are not many reasons apparent for this change, 
but since we have reached the dignity of a city of the 
seeond class in point of population there are those who 
think we should cast aside our former official clothing 
and wear something different. 

There is a plot in this proposed program. One not 
seen by the people at a glance, and yet one which in 
future years may seem a great deal to everyone here. It 
is suggested by" some," and argued by the Union, the 
organ of these " some," that the offices of chief of police, 
attorney and clerk be appointed; that they be named by 
the mayor and held at his will. There is no reason in the 
world for such a move save a desire to build up a politi- 
cal machine. 

And there is exactly the plot at this time. 

If the mayor can name the chief of police, the chief of 
the fire department, the attorney and the clerk, will he 
not name those who have used their pull to get him in 
office, and who, when they are once in, will use their offi- 
cial positions to continue the machine of which they are 
then a part? Has this not been the history of all cities? 
Is it not the very thing which is causing trouble and scan- 
dal in more than one city at this time? Is not this build- 
ing of political machines the cause of forcing honest 
citizens in many cities to take the work of reform in their 
own hands. 

The city of Walla Walla may be metropolitan, but it 
is not metropolitan to the extent that it desires a corrupt 
machine in the city hall and a public scandal in the 
papers. Elect the officers. Bring every man who is 
connected with the management of city affairs as close to 
the people as possible. Have the people say whom they 
may want for chief of police, for clerk and for attorney. 
In county affairs are certain officers appointed that better 
men may he secured? More efficient men are secured 
by appointment than by election, argues the Union. Then 
why not, in county affairs, appoint the clerk and the at- 
torney and the sheriff instead of electing them? 

The giving of too much power to the mayor is danger- 
ous. It has so proven in every city in which it has been 
done, and Walla Walla ought to recognize the fact that 
she can gain much by the experience of others. 

One of the most imi)nrtant and Iiistoric in- 
stitutions in rir amund tiie citv is Fort Walla 



\\'alla. It is sometimes necessary to remind a 
stranger that Fort Walla Walla, under the 
Hudson's Bay regime, meant the old fort at 
the present site of Wallula. As elsewhere 
narrated, that was abandoned about the year 
1853. Jn the winter of 1856-7 rude barracks 
were established by the soldiers within the 
present limits of Walla Walla city. During 
the fall of 1856 a considerable number of 
soldiers occupied huts constructed of poles and 
slabs set on end and roofed witli dirt, brush, 
and rye grass. Several log cabins for the of- 
ficers were put up in the same vicinity, which 
was the present location of McBride's 1 '• • 
stable. One of those buildings was standing 
until about six years ago. In October of 1856 
General Wool directed Colonel Wright to es- 
tablish a pennanent military post at some point 
ii-. the Walla Walla valley. In pursuance of 
these directions Colonel Wright issued orders 
from his post at The Dalles to Colonel Step- 
toe to locate the post. The present location of 
the post (and a more beautiful and convenient 
one it would be hard to imagine) is due to 
Colonel Steptoe, assisted by Charles Russell and 
Joseph McEvoy. In the spring of 1S57 per- 
manent buildings were erected and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Steptoe took charge of the fort. By 
i860 the buildings were substantially as at 
present. 

Our space is insufficient to give any his- 
torical narrative of Fort Walla Walla. Suffice 
it to say that it has been a prominent financial 
and social, as well as military, feature of the 
place. There have been usually about two hun- 
dred soldiers established here. There has been 
m.uch talk at times of abandonment of the fort, 
but it seems now that there is no reason to ap- 
]5rehend such a step in the near future. Thou- 
sands of dollars are spent yearly in the county 
for the inirchase of provisions and equipment 



270 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



for tlie fort. The gallant officers, together with 
the accomplished ladies of the fort, have be- 
come almost indespensable to the ongoings of 
society in the town. For these and allied 
reasons the people of Walla Walla greatly de- 
precate any talk of abandonment. 

We have mentioned bnt a small part of the 
interesting features, historical and descriptive, 
which an extended visit to the Garden city 
would reveal. Every visitor to Walla Walla 
must see the \Miitman monument and old mis- 
sion grounds. He must spend at least part of 
the day upon Dr. Blalock's great fruit ranch. 
It is equally incumbent upon him to go to the 
magnificent wheat ranch of W. P. Reser and 



"see the elk." Nor could any one truthfully 
consider that he had seen Walla Walla unless 
he had ridden behind one of the spanking teams 
for which the town is noted up the wild and 
picturesque canyon of Mill creek to the points 
which are favorite resorts for camping parties 
during the hot Walla Walla summers. These 
and many more things must be deferred to a 
later visit. 

In concluding this chapter, and with it this 
history, we will only add : — If a period of forty 
years since the termination of bloody Indian 
wars can effect all the changes which greet our 
eyes on all sides, what will be accomplished by 
the next forty years? 




BIOGRAPHICAL 



RECORDS 




BIOGRAPHICAL RECORDS 



HOLLON PARKER.— Not all men order 
their lives to their own liking; nor yet are all 
men true to their ideals and their potentiality 
for individual accomplishment. It is, therefore, 
ever gratifying to take under review the life 
history of one who has wrought earnestly and 
faithfully and has proved a power for good in 
various relations of human existence, maintain- 
ing a high sense of his stewardship and having 
a constant recognition of the extraneous re- 
\sponsibilities concomitant with personal suc- 
cess. Such a man is he whose name initiates 
this paragraph, and no compilation having to 
do with the annals of Walla Walla county or 
the present state of Washington would lie con- 
sistent with itself were there a failure to incor- 
porate a summary of his active and signally 
useful career. 

The subject of this review is a native of 
the old Empire state, having been born in Ar- 
cada, near Palmyra, Wayne county. New York, 
October 2, 1832. His father, Preston R. Par- 
ker, was numbered among the early settlers in 
the northwestern part of New York state, hav- 
ing located his farm about thirty miles east 
of the city of Rochester. He rendered yeoman 
service in the war of 18 12, after which he de- 
voted his attention to the clearing and cultiva- 
tion of his farmstead, which was as yet prac- 
tically a primiti\-e forest. With his own hands 
hie felled the heavy timlier, laboring assiduously 
to establish a home for his familv. He was 

18 



united in marriage to Miss Lana Sanford, and 
they became the parents of six sons and four 
daughters, Hollon Parker being the sixth in 
order of birth. The father was a man of spot- 
less character and marked intellectual strength, 
and for about half a century he rendered de- 
voted and efficient service in the ministry of 
the divine Master. 

The preliminary educational discipline of 
our subject was attained through the somewhat 
meagre sources afforded in the early days, and 
through which so many of our most eminent 
men have risen to exalted station and high 
preferment. He attended the primitive log 
schoolhouse, where he laid the foundation for 
that broad general information and ripe intel- 
lectuality which have marked his later years. 
Plis later successes in life are doubtless due not 
less to his own indomitable spirit and firmness 
of character than to the atmosphere of his early 
youth and the worthy example of his honored 
father and most estimable mother, the latter 
being a representative of one of the foremost 
families of the old Empire state. Endowed 
with sturdy independence of spirit and with a 
courage born of his recognition of his own 
powers to will and to do, Hollon Parker severed 
home ties at the early age of nineteen years 
and started for the far west, intending to re- 
turn at the expiration of two years and to fit 
himself for college. Crossing the isthmus of 
Panama, part of the distance on foot, he ar- 



274 



HISTORY OF \\-ALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



rived in San Francisco on May 22, 1852. fol- 
lowing- tlie rusli into the mines in the northern 
part of tile state. Although fatigued from his 
long journey and emaciated by the fevers of 
the swamps of Panama, he finally succeeded 
in reaching the mines alive. It was here that 
the true grain and fiber of his most commend- 
able nature manifested themselves to the best 
advantage. Fully seven thousand miles from 
home, by the isthmus route, five hundred dol- 
lars in debt, a veritable walking skeleton, alone 
and among strangers, with not a dollar in his 
pocket and with a hard, cold winter at hand, — 
the prospects were assuredly not alluring. 
After various efforts he finally secured an in- 
door position for the winter, at fifty dollars 
per month. This stipend seems all the more 
diminutive when we take into consideration 
the circumstance that in the more remote min- 
ing- districts fiour was at this time worth one 
dollar and twenty-five cents per pound, salt six- 
teen dollars per pound, and other necessities in 
proportion. This was in the winter of 1852-3. 
Mr. Parker afterward taught school in the 
northern part of the state, saving his earnings, 
and finally, on October 28, 1853. engaged in 
business with a jiartner. under the firm name 
of Parker & Roman, in Yreka, Siskiyou coun- 
ty, California, handling a line of books, sta- 
tionery and notions. He continued in this line 
for over seven years, within which tinie he had 
accumulated about forty thousand dollars' 
worth of real estate and other property. These 
investments, mostly brick stores and merchan- 
dise, were lost during the dry winters which 
proved so disastrous to that country at that 
time, and by his being deceived in those in 
whom he trusted and had confidence. 

In August, 1855, Mr. Parker, accompany- 
ing several others on an exploring exj^edition, 
made the ascent of Mount Shasta, a feat that 



had been declared impossible by Fremont. In 
the party were three physicians, two of whorn 
were overcome with the gases and sulphurous 
vapors emanating from the boiling springs of 
the old crater at the summit of the mountain, 
several weeks elapsing before they were fully 
recovered from the effects of this ordeal. 

In 1856 ^Ir. Parker returned to his home 
in New York state, and while there was an 
acti\e member of the Wayne county convention 
whicli supported James Buchanan for the presi- 
dency. After the election Mr. Parker attended 
the inaugural ceremonies at the federal capital, 
and while there was one of over four hundred 
victims who, with President Buchanan, were 
poisoned at one of the leading hotels in the 
city, and of whom forty or more died, while 
many were left injured for life, Mr. Parker 
hmiself not recovering from the effects for 
man}^ years. 

In the spring of 1862, after having closed 
his stores at Yreka, California, and Jackson- 
ville, Oregon, Mr. Parker started north for 
the then celebrated Oro Fino mining camp in 
northern Idaho, arriving at Portland. Oregon, 
the following April. Continuing his journey 
northward, he arrived at Walla Walla about 
the middle of July, 1862, and here he lias ever 
since maintained his home. His intention had 
been to visit his brother, Esbon B. Parker. 
who owned some valuable mining property at 
Oro Fino. and then to return to San Francisco, 
w here he had his dental instruments and stock, 
intending to go to Lima, South America, for 
the purpose of entering upon the practice of 
dentistry in tliat place, for he had become 
an expert in this profession. However, after 
looking about in Wall Walla, he decided to 
again enter the mercantile business, handling 
his old line of books, stationery, etc. 

In 1863. ha\ing procured the requisite 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



275 



papers, Mr. Parker effected in \\'alla Walla 
the organization of the L'nion Leagne. whose 
object was the promotion of a spirit of patriot- 
ism among the citizens of the commnnit}-, and 
he was an active and zealons worker in the 
Union cause throughout the entire period of 
the war of the Rebellion. Although it met 
with some opposition, the league proved a suc- 
cess and gave to the country the impetus then 
necessary to clear it of the blacklegs and thieves 
who had secured such a vital hold upon the 
community that it had become necessary to 
organize a vigilance committee to protect the 
lives and property of the citizens. During this 
time Mr. Parker, with the able co-operation of 
Messrs. Thomas K. ]\IcCoy and Anderson Cox, 
worked incessantly to secure for the people hon- 
est and just go\-ernment and a more fa\'orable 
condition of judicial affairs. 

In the summer of 1863 Mr. Parker was 
elected a delegate to the Republican territorial 
convention, held at Vancouver, \\niile there 
he entered into a contract with the registrar 
and the receiver of the United States land of- 
fice, and agreed to pay their expenses, which 
the United States refused to do, in order that 
the}' might come to Walla Walla and give set- 
tlers an opportunitv to secure titles to their land 
before the same could be bought by speculators, 
as there was to be a government sale of the 
same lands the following month. Ijt this praise- 
worthy undertaking he was successful and 
thereby saved for the community over fifteen 
thousand dollars which would have been lost 
liad the settlers been obliged to go to the land 
office. In 1864 Mr. Parker, in connection with 
his other business, and at an outlay of sev- 
eral thousand dollars, opened a private land of- 
fice in Walla Walla, the object being to enable 
the new settlers to file on their land claims 
without going to Vancouver and Oregon City 



land ofiices. Simultaneously he engaged in the 
practice of law. Although his busine.-s had now 
assumed such proportions as to recpiire almost 
b.is entire time, he practiced one year in the 
L'nited States district court, and became in- 
terested very successfully in politics, so con- 
tinuing until i86g. 

During this time there was \-igorous agita- 
tion of the question of annexing southeast- 
ern Washington to Oregon, the territory in 
cjuestion lying south of the Snake river and 
including what are now the counties of 
Walla Walla, Columbia, Asotin and Gar- 
field. The measure was favored by An- 
derson Cox and many other prominent men 
in both Washington and Oregon. Mr. Cox 
having been elected to the Washington legis- 
lature, instead of approaching that body, ap- 
peared at Salem, Oregon, and helped to secure 
the passage by the legislature of that state of 
a memorial praying congress that the territory 
mentioned might be annexed to the state of 
Oregon. Upon learning of this action ]\Ir. 
Parker forthwith brought strong but secret 
forces to bear in opposition to the proposed 
scheme of annexation, and by his influence with 
the political leaders of Washington succeeded 
in preventing this consummation. The direct 
import of this movement may not have been 
evident to those of less foresight, but had this 
portion of Washington been annexed to Ore- 
gon, strongly Democratic in its political com- 
plexion as it then was, it would have thrown 
Oregon into the Democratic fold, in which case 
the entire political status of the nation would 
have been changed, as the Democratic vote of 
Oregon, with such supplemental territory, 
would have elected Tilden to the presidency of 
the United States. For his services and zeal 
in behalf of the country and his party Mr. Par- 
ker received the consideration and confidence 



276 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



of the government, and it may safely lie said 
tb.at through such inlluence he could have pro- 
cured almost any office or position pertaining 
tc the territory of Washington, had he so de- 
sired. 

On the 4th of February, 1869, ^h. Parker 
started to attend the inauguration of Presi- 
dent Grant. By means of a stage coach, a sled 
and a mud wagon he succeeded in traversing a 
distance of eight hundred miles, reaching the 
western terminus of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, at a little town called Wasatch, where he 
discovered that the railroad was blocked by 
snow. After a short delay the railroad com- 
pany transferred the party to Rawlins, where 
they found about two hundred other delayed 
passengers, many without provisions or money. 
From Rawlins they telegraphed to the Con- 
gressional committee on railroads at Washing- 
ton a repeated message for aid, the cost of 
transmission Ijeing forty dollars. The pas- 
sengers selected ]\Ir. Parker as leader and as 
one of a committee of three to devise ways 
and means of transportation and relief. After 
an unsatisfactory interview, the railroad of- 
ficials proposed that if the passengers would 
provide themselves with food for three days 
they themselves would furnish a carload of 
shovels for digging out the snow, and would 
thus send them on. This proved to be a gross 
deceit, for the engine was run into a snow- 
filled cut and the passengers were left without 
the implements for digging the snow, at the 
little coal mining place and station of Carbon. 
Realizing the danger of distress and even star- 
vation with their scanty provisions, the able 
bodied men left the bulk of the food for the 
women, children and old men and set out afoot 
for Cheyenne, a distance of over a hundred 
miles. After much distress (some having feet 
and hands frozen) they reached Cheyenne and 



an open railroad and proceeded thence to Oma- 
ha. One passenger died from exposure before 
reaching Omaha. From Omaha they proceeded 
to Washington, where they arrived three day3 
after the inauguration. 

^Ir. Parker was introtluced by Horace 
Greeley, May 18, 1869, to the Farmers' Club 
American Institute, New York city, and before 
this body was given a hearing as to the Walla' 
Walla valley and its various resources. The 
report which he thus entered was publislied in 
many of the leading papers throughout the east, 
in a circulation of over half a million (see 
report of said meeting in the New York Herald, 
Tribune, Sun, W^orld, Times, Scientific Amer- 
ican, Independent, Rural New Yorker and 
many other papers), and this constituted the 
first legitimate advertising of the Walla Walla 
valley. As a result of this Mr. Parker re- 
ceived a great many letters from various parts 
of the United States, and these were faithfully 
answered. For two months or more he worked 
at Washington city, serving the public in his 
efforts to secure better mail facilities and to 
further other important measures. Realizing 
the immense value of such work to them, Le- 
land Stanford, president of the Central Pa- 
cific Railroad, the authorities of the Union Pa- 
cific Railroad and John Haley, Sr., of the 
stage lines, placed their transportation at the 
disposal of ]\Ir. Parker, gratis. In the same 
year, in the month of May, Mr. Parker was an 
active member of the first national woman's 
tjufifrage convention, the same being held in 
New York city. 

It was through JNIr. Parker's efforts while 
in Washington, in 1869. that the commissioner 
of the general land office so changed the rules 
of the department for all the United States 
land offices that the settlers on government 
land could prove up by deposition instead of 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



2/7 



the personal appearance of witnesses, thus sav- 
ing the cost of their journey to the land office, 
which was o\'er one hundred dollars for each 
witness. Mr. Parker also succeeded, by the 
aid of Senator Wilson of Massachusetts, after- 
Avards vice-president of the United States, in 
securing the enactment of a provision of law 
whereby veteran soldiers could receive the hun- 
dred dollars bounty to be paid to each by draft 
on the United States treasury without the ex- 
pense of a journey to Oregon Cit)% where the 
paymaster was located. 

For nearl}' two years the judges of the 
supreme court of Washington Territory, the 
delegate to congress and others of unmistak- 
able influence had made efforts to ha\'e ap- 
pointed for the territory registrars in bank- 
ruptcy, under the United States bankrupt law. 
All these efforts had resulted in failure, but 
I\Ir. Parker, tlirough his private influence with 
Chief Justice Chase, succeeded in having three 
lawyers of his own selection appointed to fill 
the positions noted. For five consecutive years 
the Walla \Valla Board of Trade elected Mr. 
Parker delegate to the Columbia river water- 
way conventions, which were held at various 
places, the object in view being to aid and en- 
•courage the movement to open the Columbia 
river to navigation, and it was through his 
efforts that much was done toward agitating 
this important question. Its importance may 
be understood when we revert to the fact that 
the people now living in the great Columbia 
basin, which is drained by the Columbia river, 
and whose area is more than two hundred and 
fifty thousand square miles, — equal in extent 
to the whole area of New England, New York 
and Ohio, and a portion of Pennsylvania. — 
could not but receive untold benefit by the 
opening up of the river to navigation, as this 



area is opulent with the wealth of mines of 
gold, silver, copper, iron and other metals, also 
of timber and other products — an area capable 
of supporting many millions of people. (See 
Smalley's Magazine, St. Paul, Minnesota, Au- 
gust, 1887, for information in regard to this.) 
In this connection Mr. Parker was on the com- 
mittee for memorial to congress, the most im- 
portant committee, and in October, 1890, he 
was unanimously elected its president, which 
incumbency he has since retained. 

After nearly a quarter of a century of close 
application to sedentary business Mr. Parker 
found it necessary to seek employment in the 
open air, accordingly taking to the saddle and 
for four years superintending the fencing and 
cultivation of several thousand acres of land 
which he had acquired in \'arious counties. His 
diligence rewarded him by a return of from 
tliirty to fort}' bushels of wheat to the acre on 
land upon which ten years before he would not 
have paid the taxes. Wheat at this time was 
bringing only thirty cents per bushel, owing to 
exorbitant transportation charges, and eight- 
een per cent, interest paid on money secured 
from the banks. Mr. Parker has since con- 
tinued to devote his attention to the superin- 
tending of his farming and various other prop- 
erties, his success in temporal affairs being ex- 
ceptional and entirely the result of his own 
well directed eft'orts. After his arrival in the 
beautiful \Valla \Valla valley, although he had 
traveled extensively throughout the United 
States, in almost every latitude, the various 
ar,d wonderful attractions of the valley, the 
mild, healthful, invigorating climate, the 
various prolific resources, implying the produc- 
tion of almost every kind of vegetable, fruit 
and grain, — have kept him so cliarined since 
first he found the Eureka of his travels that 



278 



HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY. 



no place on Puget sound, or in Oregon or Cali- 
fornia, or in any part of the United States, 
has induced him to change his home. 

.Vmong the tourist experiences of Mr. Par- 
ker's life that which he recalls with the keenest 
pleasure is his tour to .Vlaska in August. 1899, 
in what was known as the "Presbyterian ex- 
cursion." There were some two hundred ex- 
cursionists, and when they reached that marvel 
of marvels. Muir glacier, only fifteen of the 
number dared to .scale its icy clilYs and cross 
its treacherous crevasses. Mr. Parker, active 
in spite of his years, was one of the fifteen to 
accomplish this feat. He regards the Muir 
glacier and its surroundings as the most sub- 
lime and awe-inspiring of all the scenes that 
he has witnessed. 

Mr. Parker is now in the ripe fullness of a 
perfectly matured life and has reached that 
point along the journey where he may pause 
and glance with calm retrospection upon the 
labors and vicissitudes of his past life, noting 
the obstacles he has surmounted, the efforts 
which it h